Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-01-22
The Historical Jesus.

Unitarian DR.. Savage, In his Christ
mas sermon and iu letters to the San
have provoked the inevitable con-
troversy to which we gave up several
columns of space last Sunday. Let
ters on the subject, on both sides, are
still coming to US by every post. II
we should print these the controversy
would be continued endlessly. They
add nothing new, nothing Illuminating,
but leave the question exactly where
our correspondents left it last Sunday.
The impossibility of arriving at any
conclusion is due to the irreconcilable
difference of the controversialists con-
ceruing the premise from which their
argument must start. On the one side,
are the believers in infallible dogma
and divine authority. The question is
put by them beyond human argument.
On the other, are those who deny and
reject any such supernaturally author
itative settlement How, then, can
they meet in argumentp Unless they
can agree on this point, they will talk
and write in circle and their contro-
versy will never come to an end.
The question first to be settled is as
to the authority of dogma, and If it
cannot be settled by mere argument
between believers and sceptics, and
obviously it cannot be settled in that
way, the controversy is useless. We
have allowed it to proceed thus far,
simply to make apparent to everybody
the radical and irrecoucilable differ
ence between the disputants, and in
cidentally, to exhibit the differences
in the reading and Interpretation OF
Scripture not merely between believ.
ers and sceptics, but also between
those who accept generally the author
ity Of the Bible.
4 1t is controversy which began
| an ong Christians at very early period
in the history Of Christianity, and il
has continued uninterruptedly ever
since. At this time it has been made
more general and more acute by the
prevalence OF the view of the Bible
brought in by the so-called "Highel
Criticism" manner of looking at the
Bible which has been accepted by {
large part OF theologians and of thu
clergy of our time. This criticism
leaves, at most, nothing except
shadow of the dogma of Biblica
authority and infalibility, on which
Professionalism restly solely. So far a
any final authority remains to the Bibl
as supernatural revelation ant
records of facts and events, it is re
duced by the "Higher Criticism to
metaphysical abstraction merely; an
on such a foundation, of course, n
precise and Ineligible theology ca
be based.
DR.. Savage denies that Jesus eve
made any assertion of Divinity, and h
is controverted by believers in tn
Bible who quote texts from the Gospe
+. to overwhelm him. But whether th
texts are there or not makes no differ
ence in the main position OF the Uni
tartan. He denies the infallibility an
supernatural authority of the Bible
with all ii contains. He makes OF 1t
book of human authorship only; an
1t is hard to see, also. how the argu
ments OF the "Higher Criticism" no'
90 fashionable even in the circle {
Christian theologians, can have an
other conclusion. In the mind Of th
people, at least, they are PRACTICAL
indistinguiskable.
The discussion as to the histori
Jesus. at this time pushed into prom
i, nence, is natural consequence of th
unsettling of religious belief whic
comes inevitably from scientific Q,
: animation of the narratives of til
Bible; from the critical analysis OF tt
Christian evidences which has bee
introduced at this period. If the Bib
is not accepted dogmatically as IL
Word OF God, and therefore upque
, tionable, If its accounts OF the dealing
of God with man, II its solution of Il
lproblem OF existence, its miracles al
its narration Of events, even thouf
contradictory Of natural possibilit
are not believed in, simply becau
Q they are In the Bible, the whole stru
ture Of Christian theology falls to II
ground. Whether the historic Jes
asserted or denied his supernatur
origin and birth does not matte
EVENT. DR.. Savage admitted that i
Gospels attributed Divinity to Jesus
would reject 1t, all the same. He d
q nies their infallibility, even their a
thenticity and credibility as historic
7 documents Of authoritative value.
discover infallibility, ho might argr
requires infallibility In the discovers
and he knows no such power 10 m
or in any assemblage Of men. To hi
!, 4 dogma ii nothing more than hum
~ .lI 1~~-s. . u u. T. Z