The times., 1897-12-05

anil the man who is seeking after God
will find it there. 1t is a great saying Cf
Goethe, The Eyangelists may contra iict
themselves as much as they please, SO long
as the Evangel does not contradict itself
TIE enlistment of my best feelings on the
side OF the Book made me proof through
life against whatever sneers or ratings
might find directed against it. For the
spiritual good of which / had been par
taker from the Book had convinced me
experimentally of the dishonesty Of all
such irreyerent assa ults''
As already said, we recognize the diff
ferent degreesof Importance and authority,
attaching to the different portions OF The
Bible. But, for all that, the whole Bible
is the best interpret er or all the parts Of
|, tho Bible; tue wGole EvangeI OF the diff
ferent parts OF the Evansel. Martin Luther
says, ~ tad hanging on my neck the
Pope, tie universities, II the Ceep-learned
and the Devil. These hunted me into the
Bible, wherein l seduuusly read, and
thereby, God be praised, at length attained
Il true under standing OF it," There is this
good that the enemies OF the truth accom-
plish They hunt a man into the Bible;
to all parts Of it!
1t is truethat Leviticus and Deuteronomy
are not SO essential IS the Gospels and the
Epistes. But these do not come to destroy
or dispace, but to fulfill. The history If
Judah anG Israel is not SO important rs tue
Acts OF the Apostles But tie martyr,
Stephen, thought he could do no better for
his prosecutors than to give them n resume
OF Old Testament history; though they
stoned him for it.. Tue Old Testament
has It's place and offices. Its preparatory
TO the New. The Levitical system fore.
shadows the better things to come. And
no one can understand the Epistle TO the
Hebrews unless he has made himself ia
miliar with this system in the Old Testa-
ment.
Men may approach the subject OF re-
ligion in such a spirit that the defender
or the apoIcgist of the Christian system is
obliged to 80 great deal Of preliminary
work before much progress can be made.
But, this, as Goethe above fntimates, is
mainly a diversion from the true and real
issue. They first want all the difficulties
removed; the scientific difficulties, and
these are always changing and alway new;
the difficulties in chronology and archae-
ology. They want to know who Melchize-
dek was and all about.the Witch of Endor.
They want to discuss the question as be-
tween the Israelites and the Canaanites; to
setteaIlUhc apparent Inconsistency between
the utterances i'll the psalms. In Il wor1,
they want t. traverse the whole territory
between Dan and Beer-Sheba before they
willingly address themselves to that decea e
that esus came her to accomplish at
jerusalem ir his pupils had the same spirit,
the teacher OF modern history, the teacher
OF mathematics, might meet with the same
embarra ssment.
But the question is whether it would be
at all different If these difficulties lid not
exist.
If you abstract what is offensive in the
Old Testament and get what the late Prof.
Swing wanted out OF the Bible the often
sive part of the New Testament remains
thedoctrineof PERSONAL g vii spirits; ofetemal
separation from the presence of the Lord
and the glory OF His power; the doctrine of
miracles, the doctrine OF the divinity and
atoning death Of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The carnal mind is ennity against God"
It is not subject To His law, neither indeed
can be. Begin by taking away from the
Bible to please men who want a religion
without becoming religious. and a heaven
without being read V for it, and you will not
cease until all is gone. So that when you
are done with your efforts to make the
Bible palatabe to man, whose heart TeseIs
against It. you have only admitted n prin.
ciple, which justifies him in saying, 4
dc not like the New TIE testament any better
tban the DID,