The Portland daily press., 1894-12-10
THE SPIRIT OF THE WORD.
Rev. j. B. Spiers Considers the Position of
Ingersoll.

AACts Os CplcIS SOhSlNcIS pAlo ositAoA VI
Ingersoll.
At the New Jerusalem church yesterday,
the pastor. Rev. James b. Spiers' sermon
was entitled. A reply to Col. Ingersoll."
He took for his text the 18th verse of the
22d Psalm: ''They parted my garments
among them. and cast lots for my vestura."
He took this text as suggestive of the act
of those who deny the Bible. Jesus. outer
garment was made with seams, but his inner
garment was of one piece, and was not
divided. Mr.. Ingeraoll rends assunder the
outer-garments at the seams. but 1or the
inner-garment he must cast lots.
He confines himself to the literal sense
and we'll for him that he does. He knows
that the majority of people take gush ana
eloquence for logic.
He advances the argument that because
there is no historical proof Of the .author-
ship of the Scriptures, they were not IN
spired. The preacher could find no fault
with Mr.. Ingersoll for his statements about
the uncertainty of the authorship.
1t matters not who the writers were for
the spirit of the Lord could inspire any
writer. II the letter itself were the word
alone, then Mr.. Ingersol is right. We admit
that there are errors of astronomy. and
other sciences. If the letter were all he is
right as to the commandments. But the
letter is not all, though he confines himself
to it. Hence the difficulty of arguing with
man who will not rise-aboye the letter OF
the word.
We leave to others 10 defend the literal
history of tine Scriptures. The essential
thing is the spirit of the word. The letter
of the word is a Divine allegory from De-
ginning to end.
Where literal history could be used 1T was
used in preference to fiction. The essential
thing was to have the letter OF the wold In
such form as to express symbolioally the
spirit CT God himself.
Inspiration does not consist in making
story but in the choice of events Tor the
symbolicaI clothing of the spiritual sense.
In regard to the writer's of the Bible, the
spirit caused them to remember just that
portion of history that could be used
symholioally and to forget that which could
not be.
The literal sense says that God told
Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. We agree with
Mr.. lngersoll that God would not have told
Abraham to do that thing. But we do be-
Iieve that this story is literally true.
Abraham was impued with the superstition
of his ancestors who offered up their chill
dren. So far as Abraham was concerned it.
was command of God. He believed it to
be such. The incident is symbolical OF the
religious spirit OF the time. 1t is a part OF
the great allegory.
Moses, no doubt, heard voice with his
inner ear which gave rise to the Ten Com
mandments. and he attributed it to
Jehovah.
We must agree with Mr.. Ingersoll that
David was very wicked man. But the
Bible says that David was man after God s
own heart. But what David is meant? Not
David the king, the successor of Saul, but
the David whose spirit is manifest through
out the whole Bible that is, Jesus Christ.
He is the David that is meant, and His
warfare against evil is represented by
David. the kings warfare against his
Latrual enemies.