Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-04-30
CRITICISM AND CHRISTIANITY.


Where are we in biblical criticism? is
a question recently discussed by Pro-
fessor Wright of Oberlln before the
Cleveland conference. In his address he
stated that the Christian world now
has reached serious crisis that in
wolves the very life of the evangelical
churches. 1t was pointed out long ago.
In these columns that the criticism d.
rected against the earliest writings of
the Old Testament really was nothing
but flank attack on Christianity, and
this view has been amply demonstrated
as the principles of so-oailed higher
criticism were better understood and
found a wider application. when once
it is admitted that Genesis is COM
posed of myths and legends; that the
story of Abraham has only small
nucleus Of true history; that the
pntriarchs are mere names surrounded
by variety of distorted traditions, and
that the ancient history in general is
but compositions of the same class as
Shakespeare Hamlet or King Lear. i
is not possible to stop there. The next
step IS unavoidable. And that is to
treat the New Testament In the same
way. And this is exactly what Is being
done.
A prominent professor now fearless
ly states that Luke habltually expanded
the speeches attributed to Paul, inter
polating into them various views which
Paul would have rejected and main
tains also that Luke's historical state
ments are many of them grossly err
roneous, while another professor main
tains that Matthew habitually put into
christs mouth quotations from the Old
Testament which he did not use. The
crisis has come; the assault on the Old
Testament has been extended to the
New.
To the question whether we are
bound to accept the conclusions of
these critics and to surrender the gem
eral historical accuracy of the Bible,
Professor Wright replies that the best
antldote to the doubts engendered by
these critics IL to verify their refer
ences. This, he says, will readily
show how baseless are their argu-
ments and how insignificant are their
objections. The great danger at the
present time is that many fearful
clergymen will mistake the sound and
fury of the critics for real argument.
In short the danger is that they will
unthinkingly transfer their doctrine OF
infallibillty from the great body OF the
church teachers OF the past TO small
body OF overcontidont and self-asser-
tive critics the most of which have en-
tirely discarded the supernatural from
the Bible.
To illustrate how little foundation
there is for some of the most momen-
tuous conclusions of the higher critics,
Prof. Wright points out that the asser-
ton that the Pentateuch was written
after the time of Moses rests on such
passages as Gen. II: C: "The Canaan
lite was then in the land" phrase
they say that would not have been
used until after the time of Moses.
But such an Inference is entirely with
out foundation. The writer is speak
ing Of the time OF Abraham, 400 years
before. and it is notorious that the
Canaanite was then in the land
AnOlHer argument Is tHut the WOru
Israel" would not have been applied
to the descendants of Jacob until after
the settlement in Canaan. But this
is also false conclusion. The name
Of Jacob was changed to Israel hum
dreds Of years before the time of Mo.
SEES. and In one of the recently dis
covered inscriptions in Egypt, made by
the Pharaoh of the Exodus, the "pco-
pie Of Ysiraal' are especially named.
There is, then, no need of retreatins
for the advancing forces OF the crit
les, whose aim is, under the guse of
scientific investigation, to tear down
the Christian faith, but It is wen worth
TO note that while formerly inhdclity
confined itself to circles outside the
churches. today it lifts its head in the
Christian pulpits and sits enthroned In
some OF the halls Of Christian lnsti-
tutes Of learning. This is significant
and suggests the need to the whole
world OF new witness for God. as
given in this age by the Almighty
through His servants.