Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-01-11
THE Bible A HUMAN WORK.

In the special service at the Unitarian I
Church, Sunday evening, theiRev. Alex
andei 4. Bowser spoke on the Authority |
apd use of the Bible for modern ireaders
who do not believe it 10 be the inspired
word Of God in q miraculous or super
natural sense. He took his text'from |
Isaiah "a, 16, "Seelx ye out Of the Bpols
of the Lord, and read, !" After, speak
ing about the wonderful induance Of
this Book Of books' in religion and
various views Of its Inspiration and
origin, the preacher said:
The fact that many mistakes have
been found in the historic statements
Of the Bible, tc say nothing OF its
scientific errors, and philosophic mis-
conceptions, is sufficient reason for
Irrational Christians to set aside all
supernatural theories regarding its
divine origin and authority. and simply
say, as Emerson has said in 1.-The
Problem,'' Rf n R4T
Ont Of the heart of nature rolled
| /, The burdens of the Bible old;
y The litanies of nations came, ti
Like the volcanoes tongue of flame,
Up from the burning core below y
4 The cantcles of love and Woe A
| We should think of the Bible. study
its truths, and criticise its statements
as the work of men who Thought and
spoke and wrote as we do today. We
should treat it as a purely human work,
| the records of the life and ideas Of a
| nation as pre-eminently religious as the
| Greess were poetic and artistic Ii we
| are to believe that Grecian art and
poetry were produced in u perfectly
l i CHI
4 we regard the literature of the Bible as
the perfectly natural and human pro-
duction of Jewish experience. 1t is the
record of their struggles, defeats and
victories in the stress and strain of
| common duty and political strife,
together with the hopes and fears, the
faith and aspiration which inspired
A their minds, melting the soul to the
highest spiritual activity Anown in
history. asI.
| This view OF the Bible allows us to
study its pages with Few freedom,
pleasure, and profit We read its ac-
counts of the creation of the world, the
origin of life, and the beginnings of
history without being obliged to accept
it all as scientifically true; and with no
fear of committing the sin of heresy
and infidelity, if we entirely reject its
statements and conclusions. Thus II
becomes wholly different book, and
we disco, or fresh interest with every
chapter eager dosire to learn what
that ancient race thought about God
and life and the beginning of things in
this world. And is it not wonderful
that, while many Of their contem-
poraries held crude and superstitious
opinions concerning God, and life, and
duty, the ideas OF the Hebrews should
have so much of truth and goodness in
them as still to predominant the re-
ligious thought of the civilized world2
For instance, in other sacred scriptures
/ we read that the sun, moon anil stars
are divlnitles to be worshipped; but
, the book of Genesis teaches that the
+ Lord God made them all, gave them
, their appointed places, and assigned
, | them their regular work. IL other
, systems OF religion the people are
!, taught to pay divine homage to various
, birds and beasts; while In Jewish
/ thought, as pictured in the first pages
r of the Bible, all living creatures como
into being at the commands of the
> Almighty, who made the heavens and
e earth and all things therein.
{ Indeed, the fundamental principle Of
! the Jewish religion. as re, called IL
, those early records, is that all things
. were created by one Supreme Beint
i who rules the world, and guides thu
destiny of man. And his providentia
0 care for his people is beautifully illus
Q tiated in the stories of the patriarchs
1 Abraham, who is called of God to leas,
4 his native land and seek better coun
i try, becomes 'the father CT the faith
ful' because he trusted the prompting
e of the heavenly voice, and dared t,
{ follow its commands. And Isaac, Jaool
}, and Joseph are all represented as livins
g in the thought of this divine frienC
9 who is always near by to help them il
4 all their under takings, to guide then
o in all their ways. They entertain thi
x all.powerful protector as their guest
o they tnlk to Him, face to face, as on
IS man talks with another; they lister
it to his words. and obey His command
without fear or hesitation.
Now when we read all this in th
light of our rational and natural viey
N of the Bible as perfectly human book
J. we care nothing at all about the &C
j. counts as actual history, in our ever
/; increasing interest in them rs shown
j. the growth Of religious ideas. The his
ii tory and science and philosophy Of th
o book may all be proved untrue; but til
/ experience of those far-away ancestor
i; OF the Jcws, who felt after God as w
l. do now, teaching the world to pray an
it trust, to hope and aspire, this huma
IS experience Of theirs appeals to ou
4, hearts and minds as of the highes
i; authority in religious thought.
A. shows US how the human soul hh
Is always looked into the unseen world {
\ spiritual ideas and laws, and foun
Is evidence there of a divine presenc
t. with which it believed itself to b
r related; that this spiritual being wa
Of not only almighty and everywher
is present, but also righteous and true
t. and required these moral qualities |
his people. aM
Thea in Exodus we have the story {
st Moses, the great deliverer and law-eive
ID of the children of Israel, who leads thel
at out OF Egyptian bondage, and, after
I'd years of pilgrimage, brings them to th
D. land of promise, a free people, we
IL prepared foi the duties OF indopenden
B. citizenship in the new country. Whetht
/. the moral Law" was actually write
I'd by the finger of Jehovah on the table
10 OF stone and given to Moses is que
DO tion of small Importance, in tn
he modern view of the Bible, as compare
he with the fact that for thousands
it. years it has been the code of the ciyi
b. lied world; that, in all Christia
X churches. as we'll as jewish synagogue
ny the Ten Commandments are taught I'll
n children almost as soon as they lear