The Portland daily press., 1897-05-13
An Open Letter from DR.. Blanchard.

10 the Editor of The Christian Mirror:
My attention has been called by friend
to recent editorial of yours which runs
as follows:
The true friends of that noble science,
the higher criticism, cannot fail of depre-
eating the misleading of the public now
in progress in connection with a course
of sermons being given in our city which
is with considerable eloquence and some
rhetoric declaring that the outcome of
higher criticism is the acceptance of the
positions of the bald rationalism which
for years their author has promulgated.
Men who know what higher criticism is
and have the scholarly instinct cannot
fail of resenting such a travesty upon re-
ligious science and deploring the peril
which those who have not had the time
or opportunity to master the subject are
encountering at the hands of one who
knows only too well how to take advant-
age of the last fad. -
If were to follow my inclination, I
should remain silent. The advice of an
honored friend, however, is that I should
reply. 1 accept his judgment 1 venture
then to assert that the course of sermons
on the Higher Criticism delivered by me
in my church will not be deprecated by
those persons who know best what the
higher criticism really is. DIR. George T..
Ladd in his book on 'sWhat is the Bible?"
says (page 1867, ''By the higher criti-
cism is meant that study which tries to
reproduce the influences and circum-
stances out of which the Biblical books
arose, and thus exhibit them as true
children Of their own time. 1t is, there
fore, the very laudable effort Of this
higher criticism to live over again, as
faithfully and wildly as possible, the real
life of the writers and to understand what
they wrote by understanding how, and
under what circumstances they came to
write as they did"
l believe that there is not one declara-
ton made in both courses of my sermons
which is contrary to the teachings OF so
eminent scholar as DIR. Ladd.
Your use of the phrase "bald rational
ism" seems to me very poor one.
So great scholar as the late Rev. DR..
f. II. Hedge wrote these words in his
mastery book on Reason in Religion
(page 200): "When a fellow Protestant
advances opinions which seem to us false,
irreligious, dangerous, let us try those
opinions by their own merits or dement's,
and judge them by their own evidence
or want of evidence, and not assail them
by the anile cry of Rationalism as if that
trait were itself sufficient condemnation
whereas in fact it is their only title to be
SO much as criticised. AS Protestants,
oil no dol fol
principle of our ecclesiastical position;
we may repudiate this or that rationalis-
tic conclusion, but we may not repudiate,
or repudiating cannot escape, the princi-
pie itself y
/ am at loss, therefore, to understand
what you mean by ''the travesty upon
religious science" which you have dis
covered in my sermons.
What the ''peril'' is which you deplore
because some may be misled by my teach
ings, am trying hard to understand l
shall be very glad if you will define the
"peril'' and the travesty'' and the "bald
rationalism" which you think you see.
The time has fully come, my brother, for
frank, full manly statements concerning
the Bible. The wondrous writings bear
ing that name are not studied nor revered
| nor loved as they deserve. Too many
praise them without knowing what they
are. Too many, offended by parts, fail
to see their grandeur. The higher critics
are engaged in noble work They are
assailed when they should be honored
They are coming to great unanimity of
opinion. For one, 1 follow them rever-
| entity and gladly. l find the Scriptures
worthy of continuous study and long to
| literature which is greater than any other
which the world possesses and which
shows the charging conceptions of God
and Duty which make Israel the great
teacher of mankind.
My sermons, therefore, are conservative
and constructive. teach men to see
that what is incredible in their state
ments, in the light of the knowledge of
the day, and what offends their moral
sense are simply the records of the beliefs
of very earnest men who believed nightly
in Power that makes for righteousness
and that in words of prophets and apos
ties, and, above all, in the words of Jesus
Christ, we have the most inspired words
of man concerning God and men.
| To characterize such an attempt as
'bald rationalism'' or fraught with
Fsperil'' Or a 'travasty'' seems to me not
only unscholarly and Infraternal, but
absurd.
| Fraternally yours,
| HENRY BLANCHA