San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-15
THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS
HE SAYS TO STUDY THIS
HOLY BOOK OF GODS.
Calls Them Scientists And Traii'
tiOnalS - Bible Contradictions
Shown Up--The Whole Is a
VeXing And Perplexing
Study Says He.

New York, March 15.-The Rev. DR..
Lyman Abbott, in Plymouth church,
Brooklyn, last night, preached n SER
mon summarizing the recent lectures
on the Bible in which he stated that
many of the books of the Old Testa-
ment were collections of traditions
and parallels.
Biblical scholars" said Mr.. Abbott,
may be divided into two classes and
they approach the Bible from widely
different directions. First, there is
the traditional, or historical school of
critics, whom | shall call Traditional
lists. Second. there is the scientific,
or literary school, whom | shall call
Scientists.
The TraditiOnalst says: Christ
and his disciples did not set the Old
Testament aside No; He did not I'M
dertake to do so. That was not his
mission. He refers to the books of the
Old Testament but passes by the
question of their authorship. He does
not vouch for the authorship. Some
times Christ quoted portions of the
Old Testament against the rabies.
Il should not in the least hesitate
here, in this pulpit, to say 'Aesop's
Fables give you such and such
story, although well known scholars
hold that AesOp did not write all the
fables, but collected them. So Christ
in quoting from or referring to the
books of the Old Testament, merely
used the names given to them by ira
ditiOn.
When the Scientist find in the
Bible a story which, if he found it in
Greek literature, he would unhesitat-
ingly call folklore, he also calls that
Bible story folklore. If he finds in
the Bible a tale of wOndrous adven-
lures, Jonah and the whale for in
stance, which seems plainly to be SIM
ply of a rational and imaginative
character. he calls it a Satirical and
an imaginative tale.
In Genesis the Scientists find GER
tain tales respecting the flood, the fall
of man and the Creator. Then the
Scientist goes to the Assyrian tablets
written a thousand years before the
time of Moses and he finds stories of
the fall, the flood and the, Greater.
Then he goes to histories and finds the
Hebrews once dwelt in Assyria. Hence
he draws the logical conclusion the
Hebrews borrowed those stories from
the ASSyrianS.
The Scientist turns to the book of
the law-Leviticus-and finds signs
and evidences that the laws were not
all promulgated in one epoch. but
represent a steady growth.
THE old laws required sacrifices.
But the prophets decided some Sacri-
fees and the best men were living i'll
open disregard of the old laws. The
old law was that only the priest could
go into the holy of holes in the temple
but in another place young Samuel
was described as making his bed in
the holy of holes. God Himself APP
peared to disregard His own Com
mandments.
THE Scientist comes to Isiah. 1t is
yeXed question as to whether lSiah
was written by one or two or more
persons. In the second Isiah is a ref
erence to Cyrus the Great and hence
the Scientist concludes this part OF
Isiah could not have been written
one hundred years before Cyrus the
Great was born. ..-
Spiritual traditions also throw
light on the Old Testament author
ships. Now. in the fifth chapter of
Isiah-the first ISiah, he calls Israel n
vine that has grown from no fruit
and is doomed. That language is
easy to understand. Judah is still
in the holy land, but is to be conquer
ed and carried to Babylon in captivi-
ty. In the fortieth chapter of Isiah
it says to Judah: Comfort We, your
iniduities are pardoned.' We can I'M
derstand this if Judah is actually in
captivity in Babylon.
"And so Isiah is spiritually incOn-
least so the scientific stu
dent of the Bible says. r.s~ .rI |
There is nothing striking and revO-
IutiOnary in these results of Scientific |
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