The herald., 1896-06-08
Fair Sized Congregations We're
the Rule Of the Day
THE BIBLES INFALLIBILITY
Is Discussed by the Pastor Of Unity
Church
Mystery Of Sex Treated TheosophIcal1y BY
DR.. Allen Orifllths MAN and Woman
Factors In the Souls Evolution

Yesterday morning, the pastor OF
Unity church, Rev. j. 8. Thomson,
preached a sermon in answer to the
question, "Does any denomination teach
using the text. did not Moses give you
the law. and yet none of you keepeth
the law? Why go ye about to kill me?"
John vii:1s. In part Mr.. Thomson
said:
III all the Bible be inspired and in
fallible, then it necessarily follows that
| every precept in the Bible is inspired
and infallible. and that every precept
| in the Old Testament Is binding upon us
| and has a divine claim upon our obed-
fence. Every one that accepts the B1ble
| as an inspired and infallible volume IN
all its parts must, to be logical and con-
sistent, obey every Mosaic precept
| While all the orthodox denominations
profess their belief in the infallibility
and inspiration Of every part OF the
Bible, yet not one of them keeps all the
inspired precepts. The laws of Moses
contain definite commands about diff
| ferent kinds of sacrifice, about the or
daining and installing of priests, about
| the shape, size and material of the al
| tar, about the conservation of the first
born, and about the observance of the
| Passover. Christians refuse to keep
these inspired Mosaic laws; and the
Jews, while they keep the Passover, have
ceased to observe the other injunctions
Of their inspired teacher mentioned here.
1.-THE laws of Moses were not made as
temporary arrangements; for they were
| to be perpetual statutes, binding upon
all generations. Moses, who spoke by
the inspiration Of Gods spirit. never
I said about any of his laws that 1t was
made for a period only. It Is written
| that they were made for all time. The
fourth commandment and other pass
ages in the Mosaic writings require us
to keep the seventh day of the week
as our rest-day from labor; but Chris
tians keep the first day of the week in
open defiance Of perpetual and inspir-
ed statute. Protestants follow the ex-
| ample of Catholics in the Dissertation
| Of the Mosaic Sabbath, and they accept
the authority of the Catholic church in
this matter, and reject the inspired
| commandment of Moses. The change of
the holy day from the seventh to the
first day Of the week has no authority
throughout your habitations upon the
Sabbath day'-Exodus xxxv:3; but we
kindle fires in our homes on that day.
and we preach in warmed churches that
every part of the Bible is inspired and
that we ought to obey it. In the four
teenth chapter of Deuteronomy, we are
forbidden to eat pork; and yet we
breakfast on ham and eggs on Sunday
| morning, and we would laugh at any
| preacher that told us 1t was violation
of a divine statute. Idolatry is forbid
den in the second commandment, and
| the same commandment forbids the
making Of images of anything in heaven
above, the earth beneath, or the waters
| under the earth. We keep this COM
mandment by beautifeing our churches
with statues and symbolism, and the
Catholic church uses images in it's wor-
ship to intensity its devotions. In the
| thirteenth and seventeenth chapters Of
Deuteronomy the most barbarious pers-
ecution is commanded. A man is re-
quired to stone to death his nearest
and dearest relatives If guilty of heresy.
Civilization now forbids this form of
satanic cruelty. Christ's example ana
teachings are opposed to all kinds of per-
secution. So this divine and inspired
statute Of Moses is set aside as incom-
patible with our civilization.
Slavery was not only allowed by the
law of Moses, but statutes were made to
regulate it. A man could sell his daugh-
ter into slavery. according to the twenty=
! first chapter of Exodus. Polygamy was
allowed and regulated by Mosaic pre-
cepts. Jacob, David and Solomon obey
ed this holy commandment and so did
| thousands Of others. The Mormons obey
the law of Moses; but our government
sets itself up as a critic of Moses, and it
Is supported and inspired by all our de-
nominations in putting down polygamy
in Utah. In the twenty-second chapter
of Deuteronomy the crime of adultery is
to be punished by death. Our age re-
| jects this awful law and opposes the in
| spfred precept of Moses
| The orthodox churches justify their
course in rejecting certain precepts of
| Moses by saying that we are living under
new dispensation that does not require
us to obey Mosaic laws, and that the
Mosaic code was good enough for the
| Mosaic age, and that it was the best code
/ &c a apf In 1drrrv, ov,f
| upon the matter; but 1t contradicts the
dogma that the Bible Is inspired and in
| fall1Dle In every part. According to this
judgment, the. inspired laws Of Moses
are outlived and obsolete, and they have
no claim upon us in our age. Is it not
blasphemy to assert that an infallible
| and inspired commandment can become
| obsolete, Or that we can outlive the ne
| cessity of obeying a divine statute? Is
| not truth eternal? Did God ever inspire
a man to proclaim as truth some law that
| must in the very nature of things pass
away? Was it ever right for a man to
| sell his daughter into slavery? Was
polygamy ever right? Was it ever right
to murder people for heresy? Was it
| ever right to kill and rob people Of their
| lands, when the only authority for doing
so was some theory of the murderers?
| Gods laws are for all ages and all peo-
pies. He Is not the author Of any law that
|
| solete. Christ, in his sermon on the
mount, criticises and condems some of
| the Mosaic laws; and some of the proph-
| cts of the Old Testament criticise Mosaic
| or priestly commandments, and appeal
from them to higher spiritual and moral
laws of God.
Parts of the Old Testament contradict
| other parts; and the New Testament
contradicts some parts of the Old Testa-
ment Paul condemned circumcision, and
| said the laws and ceremonies were but
| shadows of things to come. In the epis-
/ tie to the Hebrews, it is written that
there is a disannuling of the command
| ment going before for the weakness and
unprofitableness thereof" and that 'if
| the first covenant had been faultless. then
| should no place have been sought for the
second" and that 1.-The law made nothing
| perfect" Christ and his apostles re-
jected several Mosaic precepts. Would
they have rejected inspired command
ments from God? When the orthodox
| denominations proclaim that they be-
| lieve in the infallibility and inspiration
| of every part of the Bible, and when they
| preach against some of those precepts-
| polygamy, persecution, slavery and the
Sabbath on the seventh day Of the week
ARE they not guilty Of lying? 1t is
surely time for them to say that they do
not believe In some parts of the Bible as
| inspired words of God, and that they ac-
| cept only the parts which commend
| themselves to their reason. conscience