Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-01-20
BIBLE NOT |NFA|L|B[E
Professor Pearson Of Northwest
ern University Startles
Church Circles.
Declares Dogma 81 Iniallible
Bible Is Besetting Sin Of
the Church.
Action of the Trustees OF the
University Awaited With
Interest.

infallible Bible is the besetting &in and
golden calf of the idolatrous worship OF
the churches
| This is the declaration of Professor
ment of English literature of North
western University, and foremost of the
advocates of creed revision for the
| Methodist church. The professor has
| just prepared paper entitled open In
spiration Versus Closed Canon and
Infallible Bible" as an answer to tt :
query propousded by the Rev. William
| Macaffee, pastor of the First Methodist
or university church of Evanston, last
Sunday. DIR. Macaffee's query was:
ION what basis can Christians unite for
| aggressive action?"
| 1T Is only on the basis of truth that
| Christians can unite" said Professor
Pearson Saturday. My views are set
| forth because self-respect and my con-
| ception of Christian duty forbid me to
keep silence in the presence of existing
facts DIR. Macaffee says very justly that
we should all engage in aggressive
| Christian work acknowledge the OBJ
litigation and am now endeavoring to
meet It,"
Professor Pearson's paper has caused
sensation in Northwestern University
circles in Evanston, and the probable
action of the board OF trustees of the
university is the absorbing topic of dis
cussion. In part, Professor Pearson
says in his paper:
Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees
that they had made the word Of God of
none effect thru their tradition Very
many of our religious teachers of today
are doing the same thing Modern
preaching lacks truth and power be-
cause so many churches cling to the ut
terly untenable tradition that the Bible
is an infallible book This dogma is
their besetting sin. 1t is the golden calf
of their idolatrous worship. 1t is the
palpable lie that gives the ring of insin-
certify, 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 dog
ma of an infallible Bible as completely
and frankly as Protestants have thrown
aside the dogma of an infallible pope.
1.-THE Bible is the most precious OF all
books. Its teaching that man is the child
OF God and heir of heaven ennobles hui
man life and is the great basis of virtue,
happiness and high achievement The
Bible is a noble collection of law. his
tory. biography, precept and poetry.
But the great spiritual treasure of
the Bible is an earthen vessel, and the
water of life has been colored by the
medium which has preserved 1t. The
credulous and the ignorant disciple, the
allegorist and the poet, the priest and
the scribe. in their efforts to expound
and popularze religious truth, have all
more or less clogged and corrupted the
spiritual message OF the prophets, and
our teachers must frankly recognize this
fact"
Examples of what he considers "tares
among the Bible wheat We're set forth
by Professor Pearson.
There is story in the book of DAN
iel,' he writes, that Shadrach, Me-
shach and Abednego, for refusing to
bow down before the image of a Baby
lonish king, were cast into burning,
fiery furnace the flames of which slew
those that threw them into it. and yet
the fire had no power upon the three
opponents of idolatry. Not a hair of
their heads was singed, neither were
their coats changed, nor the small of
fire had passed on them. Dan. ill.,, q.
He must be very bold or very igno-
rant man who will assert that he be-
lieves that this account is literally true.
1t is certainly thousand times more
probable that it is legend or allegory.
I'VE read in the book of Kings that
when Elijah fled from Ahab and dwelt
in the wilderness the ravens brought
him bread and flesh in the evening" We
read in that quaint medieval book, The
Voyages and Travels of Sir John Man
deville' that the monks OF the Church
of st. Catherine, at Mount Sinai, have
plenty Of olive oil for their lamps by
Gods mircle; for the ravens. crows and
choughs and other fowls OF that coun
try, assemble there once every year and
fly thither as in pilgrimage, and each
brings branch of bays or olive in its
beak instead of offering and leaves 1t
there: of which the monks make great
plenty of OIL The story OF Elijah's
ravens and Mandeville's story of the
ravens of st. GATHERINGS monastery are
akin They are mere poetic fancies. one
as untrue and incredible as the other.
1--WE read that Elijah smote the
waters with his mantle and they di-
vided hither and thither,' so that he
and his companions went over on dry
ground Elijah is said to have mir
aculously multiplied meal and oil and
even to have raised the dead.
with his successor Elisha, the
mythical 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
thru Jordan dry shod. He made iron
to swim. he multiplied widows
single pot of oil until 1T filled many
vessels. He, too raised the dead.
Some of these stories are crude and
childish, some are pathetic and sub
lime, but they are all alike legendary
and not historic.
ut is impossible to draw any divid-
ing line between these alleged mir
acles in the old testament and similar
accounts in the gospels and acts of the
apostles. When gate opens of its
own accord to let Peter thru, we think
of the story of Elisha and the ak that
he made to swim. When Jesus is rep
resented as multiplying loaves and
fishes to fill a great multitude, we
think of the widows barrel of meal
multiplied by Elijah and of the cruise
IF otl incraa sad nv Elijah