The herald., 1895-12-09

spiritual plans to save and bless all hu-
man spirits, and he is no ''respecter OF
PERSONS We can love and worship the
Father of Christ with ii our hearts, souls
minds and strength, but no moral, loving
and spiritual soul could love and wor-
ship the God who hates his own children
and who inspires few favorites to hate
all other nations. We do not overlook
the fact that God is often described as
good being in the books OF Moses and
that Christ quotes ard Endorses some nf
the doctrines of Moses. We rejoice III
this fact. At the same time Moses often
represents God as a black and dcviiish
spirit and worthy the curse OF mankind.
Christ came to fulfill the law and the
prophets. 10 fulfill Is to explain and
apply doctrines. While Christ criticizes
ana condemns the letter of some OF the
doctrines OF Moscs, he gave an interior
and spiritual explanation of the doc
trines. lie drew attention 10 the
thoughts ana desires which lead to the
acts of murder and adultery. We are co
live such truthful and sincere lives that
our simple yes and no are sufficient Tor
any question. In our treatment OF thoss
who injure us we are to cherish prayer
for them, that they might repent and
cease to Go wrong, and we are not 10
have their wicked spirit that delights in
wrong doing. We are to pray for our en-
emies and to do them good by helping
them to repent. Christ quotes passage
from Isaiah, leaving out the phrase ABOUT
revenge, and he declared that massage IN
the sixty-tirst chaptsr to be dlvins, IN
spired and good. lie tod the young
man that the keeping of the ten com
mandnents would give him the sense
of eternal life. He assured the lawyer
that if he kept the two great commahu,
mcnts he would be saved. lie conquered
Satan by quoting the Old Testament. He
declared that not lot or little OF tho
la dOrtripaq that INSPIRED
would ever perish from the earth. He
certainly did not teach that every word
OF th Old Testament was inspired. Tie
theologians who teach that all the Old
Testament is the inspired word OF God
are anti Christians. They oppose and
deny CHRIST in this matter. They do not
follow His example. They virtually call
Christ liar. Christ did criticize some
doctrines of Moses. He Condemned some
of the same doctrines. He corrected
other doctrines. He accepted as inspired
and true and infallble other doctrines.
Moses was inspired in many things, out
not IN all. He prepared the way Tor
CHRIST Just as much as John the Baptist
did. Ii there had been no Moses there
would have been no CHRIST. II the law
OF Moses had not been written the Cos
pei OF Christ could not have been writ
ten. But the progress from Moses TO
Christ was so great that the God OF Moses
no longer satisfied thoughtful, moral and
spiritual souls in Christs time.
1t is curious fact that those unwise
Christians who claim without any lnves-
tigation that the Old Testament is In
spiI cd, do not keep the laws OF Moses,
for an inspired doctrine is a doctrine for
all time. 1t is not a doctrine for few
years only. So an inspired doctrine Is al
ways binding upo: us. Christians DO not
keep the fourth commandment. Christ
did not change the day. The Jews Keep
l,nv Bow a r
the letter OF the commandment. Chrls,
tians keep Sunday, the day consecrated
to the sun By our pagan ancestors. They
have no authority for keeping Sunday
and for not keeping Saturday. Chrls'
tisns do not crcumcise thslr children.
They do not murder their dlsobedlent
sons and daughters. TLey do not stone
heretics, as Moses commanded. 1hey
do not let their fields rest every seventh
year. In fact Christians keep very lew
of the precepts OF Moses and yet theY
claim the precepts are all inspired. Nor
do the Jews keep their own laws. Ihey
dare not keep them if they desired TO do
So for murder is now forbidden for DISC
bedience 10 parents and for thinkers who
are called heretics. Christianity has re-
formed the Jews. They are not now
what they were in Christs time. Then
they offered sacrifices on altais, their
10 EN- me. in the temple al the great
feasts. they practiced polygamy according
to law. and they loved the land OF prom
ise They do not do these things now.
They have had no inspired prophets
telling them to make these changes. 1t
is the Chriutian influences under which
they have lived that have made them
give up the laws of tbeir ancestors. The
only five canons by which man can
Judge anv law, creed or inherited COM
nand are reason, conscience, love, spirit
and experiencps. Whatever contradicts
any one of these, or all of them, is false
There are things too high for our iacul-
ties, but We are not called uptn in this
life to Judge those matters. God PIE
sents every truth and command to men 5
reason, conscience, heart aud spirit.