The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-02-06
DIR. HIDEN ON CRITICS" "
THE OPENING LECTURE on "EVI-
DENCES OF CHRISTIANITY."
"The Plain Christian versus the Advanced
tors Most Instructive Discourse.

The first lecture in a course on xvi
dences OF Christianity" at Richmond
College was delivered by Rev. DIR. j. c.
Hiden In the College Chapel Thursday
night. The learned discourse was greatly
enjoyed by the audience.
DR.. Hidens subject was THE Plain
Christian Versus the Advanced Criuc" ~
He said:
For the words criticism "crluc"
"critlclse" and critical" our language
is indebted to the Greek. They are all
derived from a Grees verb which means
ito pick out" to choose" ito separate, Do
"to discern" and hence "to judge In
order To Judge correctly we must separate
the true from the false, the good from
the bad the valuable from the worthless.
According 10 the genius OF the Greek Ian
quake, a man who winnowed barley was a
critic" because he separated the valu-
able grain from the worthless chan.
Criticism, then, is the exercise of the
judgment upon the merits and the demer-
IT'S Of any person. work, place or thing
and this, whether the decision be favoTa-
bic or unfavorable. Criticism Is not con-
fined 10 fault-hnding. II may be altogether
favorable For instance: In the "Presby-
terrain and Reformed Review" for jan
uary. 1896. I read Prof. Howard Osgood 8
notice Of Prof VIM. Henry Green's great
work on "The Higher Criticism OF the
Pentateuch." In this striking notice there
is not the slightest sign OF an objection
on the part Of the critic. Prof Ossood
does not even hint that Prof. Green s
work could have been better done. Shll
Il is genuine criticism which we have
here. and criticism OF q very high order.
Indeed II recalls cooke upon Littletou. '
IN which the notes are Of as high author
ity as the text
Few literary men since Voltaire have
yentured to find serious faults In Ham
let" Macbeth" "Othello," or, indeed IN
any of Shakopeare's best PLAYS; and yet
there is no lack Of Shakeperean criticism.
our literature e. fun Of IL; and you cam
not read even Goe;he'S Wilhelm Meister'
without seeing how profoundly Shake
fpeare had lmpressed the greatest OF all
the writer's OF Germany.
CRITICISM INEVITABLE.
Criticism Is inevitable n YOU have any
sense of the meaning OF what you read.
ser or hear. Without criticism YOU cannot
have sn intelligent opinion about ANYBODY
ar an,hlng. II YOU say. Il had n pleasant
trip yesterday" you have criticised Your
"trip. When famous British autnor.
after visiting C9lo9ne. said tnat ne h'u
there found seventy-two genuine ana
lorne. When ne wrote
'sThe -lvor Phine as Is well-known,
Doth waeh the city of Coloene'
Ruf ten me. what hui power divine
car ever wash the river Rhine"
he was very decidedly eriticising the Ia
nous river
II ia evident then. that no ono ron in
telllpentlv read his Bible without heing IN
tbe vfric,est serse o Biblical critic. II
a pastor on visit 20 an afflicted NOM
Der 81 his church. selects Tor his reading
AZ rho bedside the list OF the returned
Fxiies IN the seventh chapter or Nehe-
miah. should say ne was bad Biblical
critic
Jf YOU accept tho WDie az diN'nclN
insnired guide Of your Ire. you 90 so
because YOU irdee the Bible 10 be
true and authoritative expression OF the
win Of God and therefore satisfactory
rule 81 faith and practice. lf YOU think
that Moses wrote the hook Of Deutercno-
NY: or ~ vou reiect ire Tth verse Or the
sth chapter - Johns first Lpis'le as
sr,sricue-in either case you are Ei'iiral
critic. In the first oaee, you are INDUCING