The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-02-15
BILL ARP ON LYMAN ABBOTT,
The Georgia Philosopher on tho
Higher rCriticism-MOscs Had Album
dant Resources at Hand.

| O8nC resources at d3nu.
A great lawyer whose chief busines.
was to defend criminals was asked the
secret OF his success, and he replied
' 1t is TO deny everything and call fol
the proof" New England agnostcism
and higher criticism of the Scriptures
seem to- have like mayim. The deeper
u man goes into science the more In
clined Is he to call for the proof es
pecially If he has more learning than
brains, and has to strain his mind
to solve the mysteries OF life and ma,
ture.
I was Illuminating. about this, for
had just read the press dispatches that
Rev. Lyman Abbott, who succeeded
Henry Ward Beecher, had in u public
address in Boston declared that the
Book Of Genesis was u myth-a legend
written before tho flood by sOmo un-
known prophet-and that 1t was impos-
sible for Moses to have known OF the
things that transpired 1000 years be-
fore he was born, and he asks, "What
were lis resources If they were not le-
gends and myths?"
l know that it does not become me
to teach theology or the infalliblity Of
tho Scriptures. but 1t occurs to me that
If Mr.. Abbott can undermine the Book
structure of Biblical authority that has
for all these centuries. The Bible is
the standard OF the Rges-the headlight
Of thu nations, and 1t must stand as u
whole or fall as q whole. The rever-
end gentleman professes to believe in
the now testament and part of the old,
but II he ia really u Christian he must
believe as much OF the old testament a5
the Savior and His apostles did. 1t was
Christ who said in the parable Of Dives
and Lazarus, "If they will not believe
Moses and the prophets, neither will
they believe though one rose from the
dead" This is that Moses who pre-
dicted the coming Of the Savior when
he was giving the laws to the children
OF Israel-that Moses to whom Goa
intrusted the tables OF stone that con-
tanned the commandments, and who
wrote the most beautiful song in the
Psalms of David--that Moses who ap
peared in glory on the mount while
the Savior was transligured-t that Mo-
ses OF whom Paul said he was faithful
as q testimony OF those things which
were to come after. Rsfete ences are
too numerous to quote-all showing
that Moses was the vice-regent OF the
Almighty, and was a prophet inspired
by Him.
No, Mr.. Abbott cannot uphold the
new testament and pull down the old
He must sustain or demolish all. 1t is
the SAM old attack OF science upon
miracles because they cannot be ex.
plained upon any hypothesis Of human
reason ; wien the truth Is that Mr.. Alb.
bott himself is a stupendOus miracle,
and cannot tell how he thinks Or where
nf a n
memory Is located, nor how he can at
will raise his hand or close his eye; nor
how he took form and shape in his mo-
theirs womb. All nature is q miracle
the leaves Of the trees, the color OF the
flowers, the flight OF the bird, the intin-
ite smallness Of matter and germs, the
infin te magnitude and boundless extent
of the heavens and of space, and in all
creation there is nothing that has
pride, vanity and self-conceit save man
AN agnostic or skeptic or an infidel-
" The fool (onlyl has said in his heart,
there is no God"
Well, now, leaving out the inspira
tion that guided Moses when he wrote
the Book of Genesis, let lis come down
to human reason and see whether Mo.
ses had resources or net.
Mr.. Abbott is now sixty-fve-years
old. He Is the son of ISev. Jacob Alb
bott, who was born in 1903, and jacob
| was the son OF a Revolutionary sire
Mr.. Lyman Abbott has children and
perhaps grandchildren. That would
make five generations from his grand
sire. This Mr.. Abbott lived in com
munion with his father forty four years
and probably WAS @ young man when
his grandfather died. Now, if his grand
sire and his sire we're good, truthful,
Christian men, and no doubt they were,
how easy it was for Lyman to got q
true account of the Revolutionary war
so far as relates to all the incidents
part in. And how easy for Lyman to
hand it down correctly to his children
and grandchildren. No inspiration is
needed nothing but truth and u good
memory. This is precisely the case
with Moses-only six persons were
needed to transmit the account Of the
creation from Adam down to Moses
True there were twenty seven genera
tiOns during that long period OF years,
but they Tapped over each other sur,
prisingly, and 1T seems to have been q
dispensation OF providence that they
should. The chronology of the Mosaic
account is as clear as q bell, and figures
do not lie. Adam Tapped over into La.
mech and lived with him htty-six
years, and Lsmech was Noah's father.
Surely Lamech told Noah all about the
creation, Tor he got 1t direct from
Adam, and he lived with his son Noah
sos years-had plenty OF time didn't
he ? Noah had q son named Shcm,
who went into the ark with him, and [
reckon during the long rainfall the
old Rentleman didn't have much else
to talk about to his children besides
tho creation and Cain and Abol and
Seth and EnOch, and 80 Shem knew it
all about us we'll rs his father. Now,
Shem was another long lived patriarch,
for he lived 502 years after tho flood
He lived to see Arphaxad, Sarah, e ocr,
Peleg, Reu, Serug, Nahor, Terah, Alb
raham, Isaac and Jacob-eleven gencr-
ations. Yes, he lived and communed
with Jacob for fifty years, and old Noah
himself, the preacher OF righteousness,
lived until Abraham was sixty year
old. WelI, OF course old Father Noah
told Father Abraham everything that
Lamech had told him, and Shem told
it. too, and also had fifty years talk
with Jacob about 1t.
Is there any trouble about keeping
the account straight this far, and this