Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-12-22
THE PLACE. OF JESUS.

"a 40 . ithNo VI ct1ho III VIC Nyhibio-
logical Map of the World, :, taking his
text from John l, 45 and 45. After
briefly alluding to the attempts of New
Testament critics to discrodit the his
toric accuracy of the gospels, Mr..
Bowser continued, in part, as follows:
Why do we believe in the existence
of any great historical personages?
First, because the story of their life
was accepted and uncont<adicted by
their contemporaries, or their imme-
diate successors; and second, because
we find that their work, or its results,
fits into what has been called the
chronological map OF the world Thus
the life, of Charlemagne fits into the
map of the ninth century, and without
1t there would be q blank which could
not be explained vast gulf of separa-
tion between the united empire Of all
Europe and the rising kingdoms Of
Italy, France and Germany which
could not be bridged. So the life Of
Mohammed explains that. religious
movement among the Arabs in the be-
ginning of the seventh century which,
in about 100 years, turned those wild
and wandering tribes of the desert into
united and powerful people, and led
them forth to overcome the world,
spreading their religion over large
part of Asia and Africa, and. having
crossed into Europe, conquerIng Spain
and even threatening Christianity.
In Just such a way does the life of
jesus fit into the beginning of the first
century and explain the growth Of a
religious idea which, originating in an
obscure village Among the hills of
Palestine, spread lis healing influences
in every direction throughout the civil
liked world. If Jesus mover lived, or
il the New Testament account Of his
teaching and character cannot be de-
pended on, whence camo the religious
idea embodied in Christianitye This
system of religious lifo and thought
was unknown to the Romans, in tho
and yet, in less than 800 years from
that date, it was found in every part of
the Roman Empire, having supplanted
the principles which had dominated
that people for ages. You can trace
this stream Of religious activity, step
by step, from Rome to Atheas, from
Athens to Ephesus, and then through
Asia Minor to Antioch, Damascus and
Jerusalem. But even here, though
near its source, You have not found 1T
for tho Jews repudiated it from the be-
ginning, and followed it through all the
world with tho NEST bitter anathemas.
But now, retrace your steps; and, going
little northward Of Jerusalem, you
find the humble town Of Nazareth.
| Here it is that all the accounts place
| it's rise. attributing to Jesus the pro-
found convictions and the moral force
from which il sprang. These accounts
as given in our gospels differ at many
points, it liz true, but this difference
only emphasizes the fact that in all the
essential particulars they agree. They
may be compared with photographs OF
a building, taken from four different
points of view; no two of thcm will be
just alike. but fitted together they
form complete picture. Thus the
gospels give different views OF the life
of Jesus, and when they are fitted
together they present . personality al
once unique, simple and sublime. They
give lis a plain man of the people, but
one so filled and inspired with love for
God and man that he devoted himself
to teaching religion and doing good,
and then at length sacrificed his life
for the truth he taught.
The central principles Of the religion
of Jesus differed from tho other re.
ljgious systems of the world in that He
alone taught the common people to cal
God Our Father" He always re
| garded himself as the Son of God,
though His favorite title was Son Of
Man, and He said that all who fol.
| lowed His precepts were His sisters and
brothers. And as He summed up thu
whole duty of the people in the twc
commandments of love to God and love
to man tthus ignoring the traditions
and ceremonies Of their ancient re-
| ligion), He aroused the antagonism o.
the priests who, in the third year o.
His ministry, on a false charge o.
| hlasphemy, had Him crucified. But
instead Of bringing His influence to al
end. His crucifixiou gave it mighty
spiritual power; and from the grave
He seemed to rise, in what st. Pau
| calls .'the glorified body, reappearinl
to His intimate friends in such waj
as to create in their hearts tho pro
found conviction that the liking o
Terrors'' was conquered, and that i'm
| mortal life awaited all who passee
through the portals of death.
Someone, however, may still objec
that, in spite of all the evidence to thu
contrary, these narratives might hav,
been invented, might haze, been com
posed and arranged so as to fit together
and produce this complete character
and then, after n time, might hay,
been accepted rs an historical fact, ant
so might have come down to us bear
ing all the marks of an authentic
record. Very we'll. But wo cannot LEI
it rest here. For we must now consider
that by this superstition VIC have ,
marvellous piece OF work on our hand.
4 "a piece of work without parallel il
literature. Wo must now face tho fac
that about is centuries ago an unknown
writer created an ideal person who sool
became, AND ever since has continued
to DO. The central figure in the histor,
of the civilized world. Shakespeare
tho greatest delineator of human natur,
which any age or land has produced
created many noble and beautiful char
acters; but with all his genius no die
not succeed in making an ideal towa:d
which the highest and the lowest o
the human race, alike, turn thei
longing eyes and troubled hearts, Tn
great authors of all time have fRilat
to create character which the worlt
regar s as the height of human us
piration, the type of human perfection
But for nearly 2,Ge0 years the Chris
\ of the New Testament has continued
walk before the world, being. s,
true and good, that the ages have no
been content TO honor him ms n Son o
Man, but have also worshipped him 81
Son of God.
| But, perhaps. our ohiector did no
mean to say that the whole Now Testa
ment story was IA fiction; but only tina
its different writer's used Language
,,,t 1>ta IL