Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1894-01-27
on SCRIPTURE INTERPRETATION

eEponcnts 10 give 10 sacred texts q
hguraiivv Interpretation. Particularly
Is this the case with regard 10 nara.
lives, the incidents Of which seem In.
comprehensive 10 human reason.
Recently President Harper OF tho
university Of Chicago characterized II
as "nonsonse" to suppose that the nc.
count Of the Garden Of Eden hal any
historical OF geographical reality. The
whole story, no maintained, IN imag.
mary, Intended 10 illustrate tho writer's
idea Of the origin Of sin. In a similar
spirit rabbi In San Francisco Ia a
lecture On supUrsitlon, asks whether
the account Of Lops wife turning Into
a pillar Of salt IA meant to convey u
historical fact or n)? Aud he repeats
this question In regard to numerous
other OLD Testament oyonis. 10 eG.
plain the Scriptures NJ being In the
main oriental poetry, foil " grand
figures Of speech, void Of sub1iautial
facts, something akin 10 the imagiunfy
phantoms Of Arabian Nlghu, seems to
DO the dflft OF the latest rall1nallsiic
schools.
There Is nothing cntirsly new Ia
this. The Gnoslics Of tho early ages
mainininci that there was hidden
meaning Ia tho word, which wa,
known only to the select few, while the
literal sonsc, absurd a. it was pre.
nounced TO DO In some instances. was
good enough for the common people
who knew no better. Oflgen, although
not a Gnostic, IL iamou. for his
allrrorlcal and symb, t,ai intefpfoia.
tiona, many OF which are utterly
absurd. But the remarkable thing IL
that those modern intorpreters have
advanced no farther than the cel,.
bnted church father OF the second
century. His argument ran something
like this What OBLIGATION can DO de.
rived from tho history OF Abmham,s
Sin, for instance In the matter Of
Sarah and Aulmelcoh2 or. how can
the apparent discrepancies DO recon.
ciled? Either these things are true in
a spiritual and allegotlcal sense only.
or we must reject In, claim
tha. the Scriptures are divine.
ly Inspired. This Is Individuality
the argument OF today. But it, valid.
ity has already been tested throughout
tho ages and found wanting. The
sacred Scriptures have como out from
the test, like the children In the burn.
lug furnace Of Nebuchaiueztar. nm.
harmed. Tholr accuracy as a his,or.
ical record has been established with
every new fac. discovered, md the
Inference Is, that II there atm remain
some points which soom cloudei by
impenelfablo difficulties. these would
be- removed n ali the fact, in In, case
were known, Just q, In many instane,s
difficulties have alfeaJy vanished as
our knowledge has grown more ppriest.
To illustrate this truth. Tho poipt
made by the Jewish teacher concern.
Ing Lots wife viii answer tho purpose.
Ito evidently denies the poa,ibiiity M
tho narrative. But Mlchaelis, ouo Of
the most eminent Biblical scholara Of
the pat century, holds that tho sen.
teuoo commonly rendered "And she
Lots wiftl became a pillar OF salt. %
should properly be translated thus,
"And to her became a pillar Of s.lt. -
conveying the idea that a monu.
mont was afterwards erected 10 her
OF the material 10 abundant on the
shores Of tue Dead sea. II thishtae
meaning OF the verse, Josephus ,as
probably correct in his statement that
tho pillar was to bo seen there In later
times. Whether Miohaslls Is right or
wrong Ia Tor scholars to decide, but his
suggestion shows ooncluslvely that
Biblical students need not resort to the
allegorical Interpretation IN this In.
stance, since rational solution OF tho
principal difficulty Is no near at hand.
AMI what Is true in this particular IN.