St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-14


other manifestations than the ordinary
ones of nature? Is it not, even, an an
tecedent probability that He will speak
to lis through manifestations supernat-
ural and extraordinary, since the ordl-
nary ones do not III matters vital to us
satisfy the QucStionings of our minds
and the thirSiingS Of our hearts? We
can never be made to believe that the
sky is SO leadPn that q message from
the Ruler OF Nature cannot come to us;
that the goodness and truth which ma
ture makes US attribute to Him cannot
in direct scintillations light and sweet
Ell our darkened and deSo!ate souls
God is 10. guess, and revelation is no
absurdity.
The Bible book to be read and be-
lieVed! Why, it is replete with stories
of miracles, and a miracle is Impossible"
"A miracle is the badge and brand OF
fraud. No miracle was ever performed.
No Intelligent, honest man ever pre-
tended to perform a miracle, and never
will" But miracles are possible, aye,
antecedently probable. On what rea
sonabie grounds, we ask. will it be said
that the Supreme Mind from whom all
beings in nature receive their energies
has no energy of His own, and Is lmpo-
tent at any moment Of time to exercise
it, to do within bis realm what His low
liest subjects may do? 1t is Prof. Tgn.
dali who writes:
lit is no departure from scientific
method to place behind natural phe-
nOmena universal Father, who, i'll
answer to the prayers of His children,
alters the currents Of these phenomena.
Thus far, theology and science go hand
in hand" OF course, Mr.. Tyndali as
srrts that VIC fail in the veriiicatiOn of
miracles, but he cOnfesseS that there is
no unreasonablenoss in Supposing them,
and this is what we contend for at the
present moment. Miracles. we say, are
antecedently probable, as is direct
revelation from God, which, If IL hap
pens, demands the atteStati0n Of mir
acleS.
RESTS Oa the Church and Oh Christ.
Mere assertions are OF no value; cast
against the Bible they are pebbles
hurled against the walled city. and de-
note the weakness and rabid hatred OF
the assailant. 1t is said. Moses pre-
tended that he was instructed and as
sisted by jehovah; the Hebrews in his
time had no written language; they
could neither read Hor write: we know
that the book Of EccieSiaSteS was writ
ten by an Unbeliever: We know that the
book Of Exodus was written by SavageS;
we know that the story told IS lmpOsSl-
bic, and that the miracles were never
performed; the fact OF the ascension Of
Christ was not claimed by his disciples;
Matthew, Mark and Luke knew moth
ing OF the atOnement" All mere aSSer
tions. Assertions are easily made; they
are as easily denied. The Bible is I'M
hurt by them. The Insult offered to
hearers, whom these assertions are eX-
pectad to convince, remains.
There is nothing i'll books of the
Bible, we are told, that suggests the
idea of Inspiration; there IS 10 way to
prove the fact OF inspiration. But there
is Il way to prove the inspiration of any
book and all the books of the Bible. 1t
is the way which we have TO prove
Christ and His church. The Bible
means Christ and the church; Christ
and the church mean the Bible. The
Bible, Christ and the church stand or
fall together. You shall not separate
any one book of our Bible from the
whole Bible, nor the whole Bible from
Christ. nor Christ and The Bible from
ChriSpS church. They are together one
and the seIf-same divine dispensation
1t is objected that the authors Of
many books Of the Bible, or OF parts Of
certain books, are unknown; that no
certain date can be assigned for the
composition Of many OF the books, and
that there was not always through his
tory a uniformity Of Judgment as TO
what books were or were not inspired.
And what if all this be true? We take
the books Of the Bible as Christ and His
church gave them to us: and OH the au-
,hn ,,FE l,r,t I've al,
cept the books of the Bible as an in~
spired record Of divine revelation.
Questions of authorship and dates we
deal with on grounds of historical criti
cism upon which we fear not to enter
With the seekers Of historic truth, be
they believers or unbelievers. Know
Us for what we are, and what we con-
tend for. and the shafts Of war will not
miss 50 widely the mark.
You deny that the Bible is divine be.
cause, you say. it is q book which never
could have come from God, as we must
conceive OF Him, if we admit at all His
existence.
Arguments OF Unbelief.
Measurements and misconceptions
are the arguments OF Bible haterS
MisStatements. The word does honor
OEel IuCH " uSSGI liOIS VI lUlS hillu {.
The Bible is the enemy of art; the Bible
uph0ds lying, larceny. robbery, muir
der, the selling of diseased meat to
strangers, the sacrifice Of human beings
to Jehovah. 1t teaches the beauty of hui
man sacrifice, the sacrifice of babes
And these Measurements are made
publicly III enlightened America, and
Americans are found who applaud
them. They are perYerse readings OF
texts so obvious i'll meaning that mis-
conception of them is criminal. Does
the Bible, l ask, condemn art because it
forbidS the making Of craven images
for the purposes Of id0l-WOrship, as the
words Of Exodus plainly mean? Are
| infants sacrificed TO Jehovah because
the law bids the dedication of them in
| the temple and the redemption of them
| by the Offering of lambs or doves? Is
the selling of an animal dying Of itself,
as it might happen in divers manners
without the presence of dangerous and
contagious disease, the selling of dis
| eased meat?' The Bible, the book of
ages and of Christian civilization, de-
serves at least to be treated in truthful.
ness. The Bible untolds mysteries of
| Heaven. not of earth.
The Bible iSAa book of religion and
| moral righteousness; II IS not DOCK OF
human industry, of science, of finance.
Of civil government. Is it not the alb
surdity of absurdities to blame it for nol
teaching how to cultivate the earth, to
build houses, to weave cloth, to con.
struct bridges and ships, to paint pict-
ures and chiSel statues? The Bible is
not a text book on material progress.
OF course, for a materialist and an agnos-
tic there is nothing higher OF better, and
the book which lifts up towards God
and the plane of q heavenly life is to nc
| purpose. But all humanity is not OF
earth earthly, and there is room among
men for book whispering to us lessons
of God and His kingdom. 1t is an UNI
worthy conception of God to imagine