The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1899-12-06

will evidence yourself as an un-
fair reader, while you lose the
Books message to YOU, Other
readers, not SO open and deter
mined in their defiance, read with
quiet antagonism.
,. Sympathetic Receptivity.
Sympathy in reading ia 10 less
beneficial than in work. In a
special manner is il true that.
when the reader is in a receptive
mood with sympathy keen for the
truth, the Bible becomes Tho Book
of books. This kind Of spirit in
criticism will bring the largest re.
turns. False estimates of char.
acter are frequently the result
ants Of the failure to appreciate
through sympathy the individual.
The Bible was written for men to
to accept. The sympathetic re
ceptivity of the true critic of the
Bible--and in this other books are
no exceptions-will insure a lust
criticism, other things being
equal. Upon the reader Of the
Bible especially rests the oblira.
tion to read in this spirit.
II. THE METHOD or CRITICISM.
The Bible has come TO usas the
result Of many efforts and lives
both in its original writing and it,
subsequent transmission to differ
ent ages and peoples. We viii
take . glance at some of these
processes.
/. Textual Criticism.
Texlual criticism has developed
into a science with laws somewhat
systematically formulated. We
have traced some of The stems
through which the Bible has come
to US. We may recall the fact
that the autograph copies Of the
scriptures have perished. In The
numberless copies Of the books
that were made in different apss il
would be natural for some errors
10 creep in. The determination
from existing sources of what
must,have been, so far as judg-
ment is possible, the original
writing belongs to textual crfti-
cism. The word textual is sur.
gestive Of the nature Of the
science. The preachers use of
a passage upon which TO com
ment lin some instances from
which to comment) nxes for MANY
the idea Of the word text. The
larger meaning Of the word is an.
piled to the entire body of
writings. For example, TO speak
of the text Of Shakesppare's fIam-
let is to refer to the entire play as
written by him or as preserved in
the various editions. 70 use the
word in reference to the Bible Is
TO mean the book as q whole, o,
as the New and Old restaments.
Every book has a text which /.
equivalent to saying that a book
is book.
The material used in textual
criticism is somewhat varied and
exceedingly hard TO estimate
consisting in the old manuscripts,
the versions and quotations from
the early writer's. The age Of the
manuscripts, their family groups,
and merits serve as guides in tex :
tual criticism.
The work on the Bible, in this
department, does not differ from
that which assures Us Or our text
of Homer, Plato or Cicero; how.
ever, the Bible is far better at
tested than any Of the ancient
classics both as concerns the mum.
Der and age Of the witnesses and
their excellence.
2. Historical.
Under this idea il comprahend- :
cd those questions that deal with
the inspiration. authorship, and
date Of the books Men may be
found to question any and every
thing, nothing being too sacred
for their touch. So we are nei-
ther astopished nor frightened to
find men who deny the inspiration
Of the Bible. God moved men
by his Spirit to write his message
to the world and, though we may
not explain the manner, we must
accept the fact. Men may come
and men may 90 with attacks
upon the book but the Billie re :
mains "The Impregnable Rock of
Holy Scripture. = In his famous
"Character Sketches, I" DR.. Geo.
A. Lotion gives a striking picture.
/ An infidel attempts to overturn
the Rock of Christianity with his
little crowbar, while beneath MIN