The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-05-23
PROVING THE BIBLE.

stock is owned by widows and orphans.
PROVING THE BIBLE.
One of the chief arguments of infdels
and unbeiievers against the. Christian re-
ligion has ever been that biblical history
lacked contemporaneous confirmation.
On this alleged fact they have boldly set
up the claim that the bible was but a
clever work of fiction, and that any
religion based upon it was perforce but
a sham and a fraud. Enthusiasts in the
Christian faith whose zeal outran their
judgment have in times past given
strength to this infidel reproach by
bungling forgeries of pretended history
whose falsity was sooner or later ex-
posed. But true believers in the bible
have for centuries sought to verify it's
authenticity and have found their re-
ward in much circumstantial and some
written evidence to support their theory.
OF late years archaeological research has
revealed many combinations of biblical
narrative and the claim is no longer
truthfully made that the scholarship of
the world is skeptical.
The New York Independent finds, in
this changed condition of things, occa-
sion for great rejoicing and boldly chal-
lenges the criticism of the skeptics 1t
says that the bible is no longer book
of lonely records. Fifty years ago it
seemed as if the only voice that came to
us out Of the ancient East was that of the
old testament. Babylon and Nineveh
had persisted irretrievably: nothing could
be gathered of their history except what
biblical authors told or what Greek
writers. to whom the rest of the world
were barbarians, had happened to gather
of the story of these nations that had
gone before them. The key had been
found to the Egyptian hieroglyphics. but
not much of value had been discovered;
some names of kings and multiplied
copies of one burial book 1t then
seemed hopeless to expect that any of
the many questions which scholars were
asking about the possibility of the truth
of the scripture records which bear upon
the histories of the countries about them
could ever be answered.
How different is the case now. The
annals Of kings of Babylon, Assyria and
Persia. written by their own orders and
in their own times, have been discovered
and the forgotten languages have been
reconstructed and read. 1t is something
amazing when one king. of, Assyria
makes mention of five kings Of Israel
recounts his dealings with them. The
king Of Egypt. who was probably the
Pharaoh Of the oppression, has been
found buried in his tomb and any tourist
that goes to Cairo can see his mummi-
fed features. Nebuchadnezzar tells us
in his own language of the great Babylon
which he had builded; Cyrus records for
our instruction his own story of how he
captured Babylon, and Belshazzar tells
us such little things as how much he
paid to the boatman to carry offer
ing to the temple of the sun-god. Nor
have the hidden libraries Of the East
been less fruitful. a whole mine of
historical material has been discovered
which opens to us the constitution Of the
primitive Christian church and brings
just the needed evidence of the early
composition of all four of the gospels.
Meanwhile the labor Of scholars in study
ing the literary problems connected with
the composition of the biblical books has
gone on with increased zeal, and arch
aeology adds its aid to critical investiga-
ton. The bible seems likely to be justi-
fed even out OF the mouths of it's enemies.
rtIE iron uATI SCANOAI