Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-05-15
Anti Christian A11egorizing.
BY BISHOP WARREN A. GAMBLER.

the woman must be an allegorical
woman. The man therefore must
be an allegoricaI man; for of such
a man only the categorical woman
will be a meet companion. If the
man is categorical. his paradise will
be an allegorical garden; the trees
that grew in It, aIlegorical trees;
the rivers that watered it allegor-
ical rivers; and thus we may ascend
to the very beginning of the crea-
ton; and conclude at last. that
the heavens are categorical heavens,
and the earth an allegorical earth.
Thus the whole history of the crea-
ton is an allegory, of which the real
subject is not disclosed; and in this
absurdity the scheme Of allegoriz-
ing ends"
Let it be understood that 1 am
not affirming that Moses. Jesus,
Luke, Paul and Jude spoke truly
when they set up Adam as an his
toric person and not an allegorical
character. OF course believe they
did; but 1t does not lie within the
scope of this article to make the
am concerned to affirm only that
these great teachers treated Adam
as a man and not as a myth. If
therefore, any gentlemen imagines
he Knows more about the matter
than did Jesus, Moses, Paul, Luke
and Jude let him step down and out
of the pulpit and openly avow the
infdelity he secretly entertains. 1t
is worse than idle to claim to be a
Christian and a Christian teacher,
while setting at naught the plain
teaching of the Christian Scriptures.
It is not honest. 1t is to sell poison
under a label whereby the purchaser
is first deceived and then des-
troyed.
1t is Of the most Importance that
men should know where all this sort
of thing leads and it's ultimate
destination WINS pointed out by DR..
Ellicott, the learned commentator
and the devotSt bishop of Glouces-
tor, years ago. In his "Christus
Comprobator'' he sa US: 1.-THE same
spirit that has found irreconceiva-
bic difficulties in the supernatural
element of the old Testament will
ultimately challenge the evidence
on which the Incarnation rests.
And the more so as all the age-long
testimonies of the old Testament,
all the foreshadowings of all the
promises that were greeted from
afar, all the sure words of proph-
ecy, will have been explained away:
and there win remain nothing save
two narratives, which, 1t will be
said, bear so patiently the traces
of illusion, or at the least of an
idealism expressing itself under the
guise of a1Ieged facts, that the doc
trine of the Word became flesh, the
doctrine which is the hope, light
and life of the universe will be
surrendered to the last demands of
what will have now become not a
distressed, but a ruined faith. When
that blessed doctrine is surrender
ed, the total eclipse of faith will
have commenced and the shadows
of the great darkness will be fast
sweeping over the forlorn and des-
olate SOUL"
Nothing can be palmer than that
the teachings of Jesus and the
Apostles concerning the old Testa-
ment are Numerically opposed by
the views of these rationalizing
critics, and it is becoming more and
more evident every day that honest
men must part company with either
Christ or the critics.
Kuenen distinctly avows the
right of criticism to review the
teachings of Jesus concerning the
Old Testament. So also does DR..
Toy, Rattle, Canon, Gore (now Bis
hop Gore) and Sandy.
Deliberately / choose to stand
with Jesus and the Apostles rather
than with the critics, which is but
another way of saying, 1 prefer to
be a Christian than to be a ra-
tionalist.
Moreover, I am resolved that the
rationalizing critics shall not in
the disguise of Christian teachers
pilfer my faith after the manner
of a pick-pocket. If I am to be
deprived of it they shall be forced
to wrench il from me in the open
as a highway robber might over
come me after a manful struggle.
Petty larceny pefpetrated by one
wearing clerical robes 1 will not
endure.
1t is to be hoped that the churches
in the south at least will not license
men to carry off surreptitiously the
faith of the people. We want none
of this anti Christian allegorizing.
P. ST. understand a correspon-
dent has been demurring to my ar
tlcle about "Appraising Christianity
Too Low" I have not seen his COM
munication, being absent from the
state; but am informed that the
gist of his contention is that Chris
tianity has done too little to deserve
a higher appraisement than that
of which 1 complained. Perhaps it
has not done much for this corre-
spondent; at any rate 1t is fair to
assume that he who holds his re-
ligion cheap has a cheap religion. I
do not so hold Christianity.
w. A. c.
Look at our clubbing offers and re
new now before your paper is diseon'