The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-02-24
ARP ON THE BIBLE.
Takes Issue with Lyman Abbott
Regarding Its Authenticity.
Philosopher Takes Little stock In
the Higher Criticism of the
Scriptures A Trip TO
Columbus.


Scriptures A Trip 20
Columbus.
A great lawyer whose chief business
was to defend criminals was asked the
secret of his success, and he replied:
at is to deny everything and call for
the proof" New England agnosticism
and higher criticism of the Scriptures
seem to have IA like maxim. The deeper
a 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 nature.
/ was Eliminating about this, for l
had just read the press dispatches that
Rev. Lyman Abbott, who succeeded
Henry Ward Beecher, had in public
address in Boston declared that the
Book of Genesis was myth-a legend
written before the flood by some I'M
known prophet-and that it was i'm
possible for Moses to have known of
the things that transpired 1000 years
before he was born, and he asks: what
were his resources if they were not
legends and myths?"
know that it does not become me to
teach theology or the infallibiiity of
the Scriptures, but it occurs TO me that
if Mr.. Abbott can undermine the Book
of Genesis he will overthrow the whole
structure of Biblical authority that has
Al, = I, fan nf inn
all these centuries. The Bible is the
standard of the ages-the headlight of
the nations, and It must stand as a
whole or fall as whole. The reverend
gentleman processes to believe in the
New Testament and part of the Old, but
if he is really Christian he must be-
lieve as much of the Old Testament as
the Saviour 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 Saviour when
He was giving the laws to the children
of Israel-that Moses to whom God in
trusted the tables of stone that con-
tanned the commandments, and who
wrote the most beautiful song in the
Psalms of David--that Moses who APP
peared in glory on the mount while the
Saviour was transf gured-that Moses
of whom Paul said he was faithful as
testimony of those things which were
to come after. References are too
numerous to quote--all showing that
Moses was the vice-gerent of the Al
mighty, and was 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 same old attack of science upon
miracles because they cannot be en-
planned upon any hypothesis of human
reason; when the truth is that Mr.. Abb
bolt himself is a stupendous miracle,
and cannot tell how he thinks or where
the power is located, nor how he can
at will raise his hand or close his eye;
nor how he took form and shape in his
mothers womb. All nature is
the leaves of the trees, the
color of the flowers, the flight of birds,
the infinite smallness of matter and
germs, the infinite magnitude and
boundless extent of the heavens and of
space, and in all creation there is moth
ing that has pride. vanity and self-con-
ceit save man--an agnostic or skeptic
or an infidel-"The fool (only) has said
in his heart there is no God"
Well, now leaving out the inspira-
ton that guided Moses when he wrote
the book of Genesis, let us come down |
to human reason and see whether
Moses had resources or not.
Mr. Abbott is now IS years old. He
is the son of Rev. Jacob Abbott, who
was born in 1903, and Jacob was the
son of revolutionary sire. Mr..
lyman Abbott has children and per-
haps grandchildren. That would make
five generations from his grand sire.
This Mr.. Abbott lived in communion
with his father A years, and probably
was young man when his grand
father died. Now, if his grand sire
and his sire were good, truthful,
Christian men, and no doubt they
were, how easy it was for Lyman to
get true account of the revolutionary
war so far as relates to all the Incl
dents that his grandfather knew. of or
took part in. And how easy for
Lyman to hand it down correctly to
his children and grandchildren. No
is matchmaking but
truth and good memory. This is
the case with Moses-only
six persons were needed to transmit
the account of the creation from
Adam down to Moses. True. there
we're 81 generations during that long
period of years, but they Tapped over
each other surprisingly, and it seems
10 have been dispensation of Provi-
lence that they should. The chronol-
ogy of the Mosaic account is as clear
is bell, and figures do not lie. Adam
appel over onto Lamech and
ived with him Sc years, and Lamech
Vas Noah's father. Surely Lamech
old Noah all about the creation. for
lc got it direct from Adam. and he
lived with his son Noah sos wears
rad plenty of time. didn't he? Noah
rad son named Shem, who went into
he ark with him, and reckon during
he long rainfall the old gentleman
ildnt have much else to talk about to
lis children besides the creation and
Jain and Abel and Setn and Enoch,
nd so Shem knew it all about as well
S his father. Now. Shem was another
ong-lived patriarch, for he lived SOP
ears after the flood. He lived to see
Arphaxhd, Sarah, Eber, Peleg, Reu,
'erug, Major, Ierah, Abraham, Isaac