The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-22
NO JONAH IN THE WHALE.
REV. c. II. STRONG SAYS THE STORY
WAS AN ILLUSTRA

The Bible Books of job, EccIesiaStcs
and Jonah AIIegOricaI and Pic
lures of Great Scripture Truths.
The Book Of-JOb AntagOnistic TO
the Reasoning Mind-The DecIara-
lions in EccIesiastes Remarkable
From "A Reasoning Standpoint-But
the illustrations Serve Their Pur-
pose.
Rev. Charles H Strong delivered most
entertaining and instructive sermon last
night at St. Johns church on the topic,
Religion and Reason" his text being
Matthew, xiv, IS: Heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not
pass away"
Rev. Mr.. Strong referred to his state
ment last Sunday that a proper exercise Of
the reasoning faculty is a necessary part
of the religion of to-day. The reasoning
faculty, he said, has Its proper and legiti-
mate sphere. So much that is unreasona-
BILE and immoral is forced on the minds of
men, that they must use their reasoning
faculties upon the objects presented to
them for their belief, though some people,
he said, object to the exercise of this
faculty by other men.
Christianity, he said, is a universal sys-
tenn, made not for one man or any clique
of men. but for all. What is good for
one in the word of God, is good for all
alike.
Mr.. Strong took up the discussion of
the three books of the Bible, which he
said have produced the greatest amount
of criticism, those of Job Ecclesiastes and
Jonah.
The book of job he said, is antagonis-
tic to the reasoning mind. No man can
believe that God could take such a man
and deliver him over into the hands Of
tan. The book of Ecclesiastes with its
assertion that all is vanity, he said, is
more ike a d1SquiSition of some blase man
or the world. and one might imagine it
10 nave been written by such a man
as a New York society man, or a repor-
ter on one of the sensational journals of
the day. The book of Jonah, he said, is
the third book. He asked if this book
brought any inspiration to those who
read 1t. The New York World once sent
a woman reporter to see if she could not
get INTO the stomach of whale. She
succeeded. so she stated, but did that
prove anything?" Mr.. Strong asked.
The story of Jonah and the whale, he
said, was used merely as an illustra ton.
Some were inclined to say if the Chris
uans Interpretation of the story as being
literal and true We're correct then they
must De scepttcs and unbelieYers. This is
where the great mistake is made. Mr..
|
drives men, and especially young men
from the church of God, is the unreason-
abe and sometimes even immoral things
they hear from the pulpit The Jewish
mind, Mr.. Strong said, always saw things
in pictures, the most sublime medium
with the exception of music. The old Jew
put almost everything he had to say in
| the shape of picture, Just as the Lord
did in the parallels.
The presumption is in the beginning that
these books are allegorical, pictorial, he
SAID, intended to picture some
| great truths, and these truths,
are among the greatest of the
| scriptures The book of Job is a picture of
| the suffering that many good men have to
| undergo-that men undergo in consequence
| OF their sins. The blase book of Ecclesias-
| ties teaches and pictures the truth that
| without God in the end all is labor and sor-
| row. We look upon all the works of ma
| are works of God. Take God out and all is
! labor and sorrow. All is vanity If you have
| no faith in God
Jonah was sent to tell the people of Min
and God forgave them, and Jonah was an
| cry because of il. A gourd vine
which sprang up in a night and covered
I Jonah while he slept, was destroyed a
| few hours after by hot Indian simeon
! and again Jonah was angered. Here Jo-
| nah was angered al the destruction of a
| simple gourd vine, and he was also an
| gered because the people of NineVah were
sistencies of men are shown and by pic
| torial illustration. What we want in
| these stories is Gods everlasting truth
| and not merly the practical or pictorial
form. 1t makes no difference in the world
| whether Jonah was ever in the stomach
| of a whale or not.lr 1t does not affect my
faith in the eternal truths of God. There
| is nothing unreasonable in these Illus
| trations of these great truths, and in then
| the word of God shall remain to US anC
| never pass away.