The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-08-14

bers of the Abrahamic church at the
Union Meeting House, two miles east
of Franklin and eight miles west of
Lebanon, Warren Co., Ohio. on the
second Sabbath in October next,"
made up the first issue of the "Star
in the West"
Mr.. Kidwell in his address reviews
the reasonings OF Mr.. Sellon touch
ing investigation and Bible Criticism.
Editor Kidwell reveals himself in this
writing as one of the earliest "higher
critics" of the Bible. He touches
some of the questions which have be-
come rife in these later times under
the name of the Higher Criticism"
We give an extract that our readers
may see how these questions were
approached seventy years ago by a
Universalist editor. The following
will show that Mr.. Kidwell was early
in the field in this particular branch
of study and investigation:
Another circumstance which in.
wolves considerable difficulty in the
study of the Scriptures is the state of
literature at the time in which they
were written. Many parts Of the Scrip
lures were written in hieroglyphical
chQrQnfQrcs hi
ton of them in an alegorica style pc
culiarly adapted to the age Of the world
and the language in which they were
written. Both of these methods of rec
ord have long since become obsolete and
many sublime ideas attached to those
parts of the Scriptures are to US, no
doubt. forever lost. tits also we'll known
that the Scriptures were first written in
languages which have since become
dead, and not in common use, the idioms
of which are by no means familiar to us,
and knowledge of their grammatical
science almost inaccessible. The man.
ner in which facts were transmitted
from one generation to another by those
ancient records, was in many respects
vague and uncertain, they were written
upon parchments or skins and to pre-
serve them from being struck into obliv-
ion by the all devouring hand of Time,
they were transcribed from time to time
and the original copies lost, and in many
instances those characters. no doubt,
we're defaced, and their meaning changed
or lost. And under these circumstances
the transcriber would be under the
necessity of supplying the defect by
interpretations in order to give the
sense, or what he supposed to be
the sense. of the original writer. In
addition to all these difficulties, that
of translating book out of one
language into another. must involve
some uncertainty; much Of the original
sublimity will be lost, and the sense of
many important passages materially
changed, and in many instances new
ideas introduced, entirely foreign to the
original writer. These facts are abun-
dainty established by the many learned
and pious critics who have devoted the
principal part of their lives to this sub
ject. The many translations of the
Bible which have recently been made by
men of erudition and celebrity; the
many interpretations and various read
ings of the different manuscripts as
pointed out by Giesback and others,
abundantly prove that all the difficulties
above limited at, exist. more or less,
throughout the Scriptures"
The long stretch of the years
from 1927 to 1897 invites many refec-
tions for which we have no room at
the present time. Amid the many
changes of those years, the Western
Universalists have been served from
Cincinnati and Chicago with weekly
journal devoted solely to the interpre-
tation of the Gospel as held by Uni
versalists. Through al the changes,
our papers have been loyal and stead
fast to all the interests of the denom-
ination. The personal proprietor
ship for over half a century has been
marked with much toll and self sacri-
fee on the part of those who have
owned and edited the papers. Every
editor, with the exception of DR..
Quinby, has passed through periods
of financial distress, and with the
exception of DR.. Quinby, all suf-
fered more or less financially in the
publication enterprise. We are with
out any data for the early proprietors.
but from the time of Mr.. Gurley on,
it has been constant struggle to
maintain the Universalist press in the
West. 1t is we'll known that even
Mr.. Gurley was embarrassed in his
publication enterprises and had to be
assisted at times by friends. His for
tune came from Chicago property and
was not made in the publishing bust
ness. Since 1888, the Universalist
Publishing House, with ample capt.
tai, has issued The UNIvERsALIsT at an
annual loss which has thus far been
cheerfully borne, and has paid all its
bills, the House regarding the West
as the seat of coming empire. and a