Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-01-23

and the wonderful miracles of the
Bible, made by Prof. Charles ".
Pearson of the Northwestern Univer-
sity at Evanston, probably the
greatest Methodist college in the
country. Because we believe it will
create a storm of criticism that
will sweep across the continent,
we this week reproduce the most
significant Of the structures on the
Bible made by this noted savaut, that
our readers may be acquainted with
the substance of his obnoxious utter
ances:
BY CHARLES W. PEARSON.
Jesus told the ScribeS and PhariSeeS
that they had made "the word of God
of none effect through their tradi-
tion." Very many of our religious
teachers are today dong the same
thing. Modern preaching lacks truth
and power because so many churches
cling to an utterly untenable tradi-
tion that the Bible is an infallible
book. This dogma is their besetting
sin.
1t is the golden calf of their idol
atrous worship. 1t is the palpable lie
that gives the ring of inSincerity to
all their moral eXhortatiOnS. If
theologians wish to regain their lost
intellectual leadership or even to
possess an influence on the thoughtful
part of the community, coordinate
with that of poets, philosophers and
men of science, they must throw aside
the dogma of an infallible Bible as
completely and frankly as PrOteStantS
have thrown aside the dogma Of an
infallible Pope.
The Bible is the most precious of all
books. Its teaching that man is a
child of God and heir of heaven
ennobles human life, and is the great
basis of virtue, happiness and high
achievement.
But the great spiritual treasure of
the Bible is in an earthen vessel, and
the water Of life has been colored by
the medium which has preserved it.
The credulouS and the ignorant
disciple, the allegorist and the poet,
the priest and the scribe, in their
efforts to eXpOund and pOpulariZe
religious truth have all more or less
clogged and corrupted the spiritual
message of the prophets, and cur
teachers must frankly recognize this
fact. Let us look at few examples
of tares among the Bible wheat.
There is a story in the Book OF
Daniel that Shadrach, Meshach and
A bednego, for refusing to bow down to
the image of a Babylonian king, were
cast into a burning, fiery furnace. the
flames of which slew those that threw
them into it, and yet the fire had no
power upon three opponents of
idolatry. mot hair of their heads
was singed, neither were their coats
changed, nor the smell of fire had
passed on them" DAN, iii, ~
He must be very bold or a very
ignorant man who will assert that he
believes that this account is literally
true. 1t is certainly thousand times
more probable that it is legend or
allegOry.
We read in the books of Kings that
when Elijah fled from Ahab and dwelt
in the wilderness 1.-THE ravens brought
him bread and flesh in the morning
and bread and flesh in the evening""
Il Kings 1850 We read in that quaint
medieval book, 1.-THE Voyages and
Travels of Sir John Vaudeville" that
the monks of the church of st.
Catherine at Mount Sinai have plenty
of olive oil for their lamps Shy Gods
miracle: for the ravens, crows and
chOughS and other fowls of that
country assemble there once every
year and fly thither as in pilgrimage;
and each brings batch of bays or
olive in it's beak instead of offering
and leaves it there; of which the
monks make great plenty of oil"
The story of Eliiah'S ravens and
Mandeville's story of the ravens of st.
GATHERINGS mOastery are akin. They
are mere poetic fancieS, one as untrue
and incredible as the other.
We read that Elijah smOte the
divided hither and thither," so that
dry ground" 2 Kings 2:S.) Elijah is
meal and oil, and even to have raised
the dead. Il Kings 17:S-23.)
With his successor Elisha the myth
making fancy has been even more
active. He, too, was Said to have had
power over the elements. He divided
the waters with his mantle and went
through Jordan dry-shod 2 Kings
PA he made iron to swim y Kings
go, he multiplied widows single
pot of oil until it filled many vessels
2 Kings 4:1-7.) He, too, raised the
dead y Kings 4:1S-37.)
1t is impossible to draw any dividing
line between these alleged miracles in
the Old Testament and similar
accounts in the Gospels and Acts of
the Apostles. When a gate opens "of
its own accord" to let Peter through
Acts xii, 10) we think of the story
of Elisha and the ak that he made to
swim.
When Jesus is represented as
multiplying loaveS and fishes to feed a
great multitude, we think of the
widows barrel of meal multiplied by
Elijah and Of the cruise of oil increased
by Elisha
When Jesus is represented as walk
ing on the lake Of GenneSaret we think
of Moses dividing the Red Sea and of
Elijah and Elisha cleaving the waters
of the Jordan
The story of the raising of the son of
the widow of Main by Jesus recalsl
the story Of the raising of the son of
the Shunammite woman by Elisha.
The legendary element is as obvious
and as indisputable in the New
Testament as in the old.
Miracles of the class before spoken
of, once help, are now hindrance.
Those churches which continue to
teach that such legends, errors or
allegorieS are literal truth, faint all
the rest of their message. People are