The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-05
a MAN OF EARNESTNESS
EFFECT OF ST. PAUL,s TRAINING in
THE SCHOOLS OF TARsUs.
Hebrew Traits Observation-Disclosures
His Attitude Toward "Higher Crit
icfsmv would Have Been.
Brooklyn Eagle.

course of lectures on St Paul, Sunday even
ing. DR.. Abbott's remarks follow:
In a course of lectures such as this it il
almost indispensable to repeat a little at the
beginning of q second lecture what has
been said before; partly by way Of remind-
er to those who have attended and listened
to the first and partly by way of explana-
ton to those who have not. Modern schol-
ars pursue in their study what may be
called the investigating method. Whatever
the teachers conclusions may be respect
ing, let us say Shakespeare, If he is studying
literature, or the Puritan reformation in
England, if he is studying English history,
or chemistry, if he is studying chemical
science: whatever conclusions he may have
reached he no longer in our times attempts
to give to his scholars that conclusion
which they are to accept from him ready
made. He endeavors, on the contrary, to
conduct them by the path by which he mas
been led to that conclusion, to leave them
absolute liberty to reach such conclusion as
they will for themselves, sure that the con-
illusions that they reach by their own in
vestigation, guided by him. will remain.
while the conclusion given by him ready
made to them, will be very apt to be for
gotten.
ut is in this spirit that ! am endeavor-
ing to conduct this course of Sabbath even
ing lectures OF course, have not studied
the life and epistles Of Paul for quarter
of a century without reaching some con-
illusions, but do not assume any of those
conclusions in the outset of my lectures.
endeavor TO conduct you through the
process by which 1 have reached my con-
clusions In that study l tried, with more
IL ,r,4xv .A
opinions. 1 found myself compelled to re-
cast my whole conception of theology and
my whole conception of Paul and his teach
ing. All that ask you to do is in the same
spirit to lay aside as far you can your
preconceptons. Not that you may accept
my conclusons-not at all that, but that
looking afresh on the life and teachings of
this great interpreter of Christian life and
Christian truth you may reach such con-
illusions as your own judgment and your
own study may conduct you to, with such
guidance as you may choose to accept from
me for the time.
Last Sunday night, following this course,
we saw, or at least 1 endeayored to help you
to see, that Paul was not a philosopher, sit
ting down in his study, surrounded by his
volumes and working out coolly and deliber-
ately a certain scheme of thought that he
was, on the contrary, man of passionate
earnestness, a man to whom truth and life
were almost synonymous terms, a man who
believed with his whole nature whatever he
believed, a man to whom intellectual and
moral Indifference were impoSSibihtleS, a
man, too Hebrew by nature, seeing truth as
in a vision; an intuitionaliSt not loglclanS
though using logic afterwards as means
of communicating to dialectic age the
truth which he had received through proc
ess that might be called mysticism.
This is the man whose early life we are
to consider tonight. Our sources Oh In
formation respecting him are scani. Ills
biography begins with his conversion at
thirty or more years of age: IL ENDS WITH
his trst Imprisonment IN m3me; r. bis Com
version and nothing subsequent TO MS HTSe
Imprisonment. But he himself, In autopl-
information respecting himself and TINS IN
formation we are able legitimately TO am.
plfy by our knowledge OF the times anu
circumstances in which ne nVeo.
RIRrH AND EDUCATION OF PAUL
.sHe was born in Tarsus. His parents
and his ancestry were Hebrew, and he was
Inv birth. by inheritance and by develop
ment a Hebrew. His city was Greek city
in its atmosphere, though under Roman
domination. 1t was a famous university
town 1t was claimed in that time that tne
university was greater than that OF Alex
andria which is more famous in modern
knowledge. 1t was not only university
town. but it was town full Oh creek
scholarship, perhaps scarcely less SO imam
Athens itself possibly even more so; Inus
this boy drank in Grecian alIn9Spn1e si,, IA
edge of Greek literature would De ABOUT
like the knowledge which Huguenot poy
might get in Paris IN Inc eT " Of Diderot
and Voltaire for the Hebrews hateo tnS
Greek literature; they regarded II, VIII t
some show Of reason, as immoral 70 ln9
last degree They would have consluersu
it immoral to allow their boys 10 stuuy lno
Greek literature, as Puritan III eIe a. as
iramoral for his boy to study the uIamallc
literature of that age. They woulu ndve
none of it, There are some citatlonS IfoHR
the Greek poets in Pauls writings-threa
or four-but these citations were Simply
popular proverbs that any man might pich
nm In common intercourse In society
'ssIt is true that he learned the trace OF
tent making, but it is also true that the
Rabbinical law required every BOY 70 DO
at a trade, and there are abundant lnulca-
tions in his Hfe-to some of which we may
refer hereafter-that he was not poor
person He had means of support quite m
dependent either of his industry or OF the
cbrrch for which he spake Indeed it was
his boast that he was independent Oh thS
church. [ believe the indications are thaC
or Gift in money from the churches 10
which he ministered, unless, perhaps, Wnen
the Philippians sent him that missionary
box to Rome, some thoughtIuI person may
have packed a little money in 1t.
How long he lived at Tarsus we 90 nos
know Certainly at the age Of twelve ne nad
gone up to Jerusalem, where little later,
and very likely at that time, his sister was
living: whether at that time married or not
we do not know; she was married after
ward Here he entered the great Jewish uni
versity studied under Gamaliel, one or the
great Hebrew scholars of his time, ana
studied with passionate devotion the litera-
ture and the law and the hopes of Israel.
He has told us the results of this study.
He was not only Jew, but Phartsee. He
became not only a Pharisee. that is, sep
aratist or q Puritan of the time. but he
became of the strictest sect of the Phar-
isees, one Of the exceedingly scrupulous
ones in belief and in practice. He was or
thodox of the orthodox. If So we can tell
a little what his belefs were.
ORTHODOX IDEAS FOSTERED.
"He believed that the law had been given
to Moses in the mount. He believed that
every word and every letter of it had been
given. He would have been a great deal
more impatient of the higher criticism than
most impatient critics of that criticism are
in our time. He would have none of IT, He
believed that Moses wrote every word and
every letter. including the account of his
own death. He believed that Moses wrote
this by dictation, word for word, as God
gave it to him; unless, indeed, he went stin