The record-union., 1896-10-12

Ine OlQ LneOry creates warfare between
these two revelations, the Bible and
Nature, but the new theory Of inspira-
tion goes far towards harmonizing
them, and surely we need harmony of
the texts In the rocks and in the Book,
verses and chapters.
The new theory assumes that COD
works through the human mind. All
earthly phenomena are the eftects OF
His intelligence, of His will God Is all
the while revealing his mind to men,
So that not only is the Bible inspired,
but everything else in the universe Is
inspired also. And after all, when we
speak Of the Bible being inspired we
mean man. The men who wrote the
books of the Bible were inspired before
ever they inscribed one line of it at all.
They lived before they wrote, and what
they wrote is the record or the effect of
the influence of Gods spirit upon them.
The Bible under God was lived long
before it was written. 1t is the out
come of the human mind developing
along religious lines. 1t is the sum OF
religious evolution under the guidance
of the great Creator and Developer
Men slowly learned by experience the
things they deemed were true and
those things they put on record. Ii is
nearly always so; public sentiment, the
effect of public experience, generally
ante-dates public record.
The Bible is the record of the eVolu-
ton Of man from a low point to that
level when he comes to know that he
is a son of God and joint heir with
Christ. The Bible was first written IN
mems minds, Zine upon line, precept
upon precept; here a little and there
little; now a little and then great
deal. In time those experiences took
form; in time the truth was revealed,
for it Is the nature of the truth to re-
veal itself. The Bible will never be ban
| ished from human life.
Mr.. Mel then said that undoubtedly
there arein the Bible many things which
once were believed to be true, but which
clearer light, further revelation or in
spiration has shown not to be true. AS
an example, he instanced the accounts
| of Genesis, some of which were legend
before they became history. They were
| the earliest ideas the human race had
as it started out on its journey toward
civilization. They are in one point OF
view the baby-talk of the human race.
| They hardly bear comparison with the
| later and loftier sentiments of st. Paul,
| lust as Jesus Christs cooings in His
virgin mothers breast do not bear COM
| parison with His word, HE that hath
| seen me hath seen the Father" or His
| pretty prattle at her knee does not
| compare with His startling announce
ment, II am the resurrection and the
! life'' 1t is strange that some Of those
| who put the Bible on one side because 1t
is not true to scientific facts are among
that school q belong to IT'D who hold to
the slow, gradual, painstaking and pain
| full upward progress Of man from the
clod. Yet they will refuse to see in the
Bible record ofman's spiritual progress,
! of his aspirations. efforts, Stumb1ngs,
haltings and arrivings, because the Bi-
| BILE does not speak with the authority
| of some modern text book on chemistry
| on geology or anthropology. Many
things are in the Bible that men think
are injunctions, commands, examples.
| AS a matter Of fact, they are records.
What woman of to-day follows the ex-
ample of Jael? What man follows the
| example Of Judas because betrayal Is
SPOKEN of in the Bible? Much Of the
| Bible is the record of men in pinafores.
| The race has outgrown infanule gar
| ments. When we become men we put
away childish things. We do not in
vite our friends to dine and offer them
mud pies or nice brown pebbles for
salted almonds. Human thought grows
like human beings. The childish things
Of the man of the Old Testament have
been put away for the mannish things
of the child of the New Testament 1t
will ever be so until, under the guidance
Of the Spirit Of Truth, we come unto "a
perfect man, unto the measure of the
stature Of the fullness of Christ.