Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-02-21
Declares Faith In God and
Christ, and In Authority of
Old Testament
CAUSE OF DOUBTS PREVAILING
They Arose From Emperor Williams
Connection With and Interest in the
Work Of Professor De.itzsch, the AS
syrian Scientist and Theolosian Who
Advances Some Startling Views.

Berlin, Feb. 21.--Emperor William
faith in God and Christ and in the au-
thority of the old testament, as de-
clared in his Letter to Admiral Holman.
councillor of the German Oriental So
ciety, is accepted by the leading au-
isfactory evidence of his orthodoxy.
which for months has been the cause
of deep concern to theoogians and pas
tors.
The doubts began a year ago, when
the emperor first listened to Professor
Delitzschs lecture on the Babylonian
origin of the bible and increased later
when the emperor personally assisted
the Assyriologist in showing stereopti-
can pictures to sixty members of the
court. These pictures We're designed to
prove the Babylonian origin of the He
brew ideas. The emperor subscribed
to the funds to send Professor Delitzsch
again to Assyria and iscussed with him
when he returned the most recent dis
coveries, all to the dismay of orthodox
huential church administrators, par
ticularly the accomplished DR.. bryan.
der, who besought the emperor to
make some definite statement of creed
in order to restore the confidence of
the clergy and laity. The emperors
letter to Admiral Holman is the result
of DIR. Dryanders endeavors.
Other portions of the letter to the
admiral, not contained in the conclu-
sions given to the press yesterday. are
as follows:
During the evenings entertain
ment with us Professor Delitzsch had
the opportunity TO fully confer and de-
bate with her majesty, the empress, and
DIR. Dryander. while 1 listened and re-
manned passive. Unfortunately he
abandoned the standpoints of the strict
historian and assyriologist, going into
religious and theological conclusions.
which We're quite nebulous or bold.
When he became to speak of the New
Testament 1t became clear at once that
he developed such quite divergent
views regarding the person of our Sa-
vior that / had to express the diane
trically opposite view. He does not
recognize the divinity OF Christ as a
deduction therefrom; asserts that the
Old TIES tament contains no revelation
about Him as the Messiah. Here the
assyrioloSist and the historical inves-
tigator ceases and the theologian begins
with all his light and shadow sides.
In this province l can only urgently
advice him to proceed very cautiously
step by step, and at any rate ventilate
his theories only in the theological
books, and in the circle of his colleag
ues Spare US, the laymen, and, above
all, the Oriental society from hearing
OF them. We carry on excavations and
publish the results in behalf of science
and history, but not to affirm or at
tack religious hypothesis with Profess
sor De!itZsch, the theologian, who has
run away with the historian
The emperor then goes on to express
regret of the fact that Professor De-
litzsch did not adher to his original
purpose of translating and interpret
ing inscriptions excavated by the So
ciety, as illustrating relations between
Babylonian custome. morals. historical
events ana tracltlonS, ETC., ana the IS
raelites (which would have been In the
highest degree interesting for laylnen,"
and adds: He approached the ques-
ton OF revelation in a very polemical
tone, more or less denying it or reduc-
ing it to purely human matters. That
was "a grave error, for thereby he
touched on the innerrnost. hottest pos
session of many of his hearers, which
shook and even shattered the founda-
tons of their faith. 1t is a deed that
only the greatest genius should ven-
ture to attempt and for which the mere