Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-05-21
IGNORANCE AND ERROR,

AT the recent meeting Of the League
formed for vigorous war against
higher criticism. % the aims and
purposes Of the organization were
set forth. Mr.. William Hall
the president pointed out that
the Bible is now being subjected
to scholastic assault OF unparalleled
danger He did not believe in shutting
the sacred volume IN glass case h
was willing to have IT examined crl-
ticaly but he thought It was neces-
sary to protect Il from the assaults Of a
scholarship kat is essentially unscien-
the and the sole aim Of which Is to
deny the fab, the redemption. and re-
surrection, the divinity Of Jesus. and
other Scripture truths The effort to
meet this criticism on its own ground
cannot but be hailed with JOY and sat
isfacton by all who realize the anon
ally Of the present situation
AT the same time. there is a danger
greater than that presented in higher
criticism, and that is the neglect Of
reading the Scriptures and the ignor-
ance that Is a result OF this neglect.
How dense this ignorance is, is occa.
flonally brought 20 public attention.
The following data are found In the
New York Evening Mail, and need no
| further comment:
one Of the English teachers In the
Sheffield Scientific school. In the course
Of recitation before class of Yale
students, had occasion 10 ask a student
about the character OF Pontms PLATE
whose name was mentioned incidental
~ I'm the regular lesson The student
candidly admitted that he had never
heard OF the man, and then nalvely in
! quired lf he wasn't the steersman I'm
come ancient trlreme After the pro.
fessor had sufficiently recovered from
the shock, he asked how many Of the
class Of thirty-odd freshmen knew any
thing about Pilates place In history
\ show Of hands revealed the fact That
only few more than half the members
Of the class had ever heard OF him. and
part Of these looked doubtful, The pro
fessor told the ignorant students TO
study one Of the synoptic Gospels, as a
condition for further work I'm the class,
but they had no idea what the synoptic
Gospels are, until that had been ex.
planned
Several Of the instructors IN tho col
lego took occasion soon afterwards To
test the condition Of their own divisions
Mention Of Joseph Of Arimathea was
made IN one Of Tcnnyson's "ldyls Of the
King which the class was reading.
Choosing students at random, one OF
the instructors IN his four divisions
found not one who could give any ac-
count Of Joseph. Another found two
men In four divisions who mad u hazy
knowledge Of the man, gained prInci-
rally through the notes IN their Eng
fish books a third Instructor hit upon
only one man who wus ready 10 try to
place Joseph. Joseph Of Arluathea."
said the young man, who Il developed
later was a Jew, was the man whose
brothers stole his clothes and put him
i'm hole
Another example of the failure Of the
college students to observe the mjunc-
ton to search the Scriptures" comes
from Harvard In d recent examination
one Of the questions dealt with the
Identity of Haman, Of jew prosecuting
fame In the days Of Queen Esther
This Is the man about whom the pro-
verb AS high as Haman was written. "
wrote the student ~ am not certain
but think he was one OF the first IN.
ycntors Of the nying machine"
such ignorance reveals state Of AZ.
fairs Infinitely more dangerous, to SO.
cioty than the attacks OF more or
less open inndcllty. l. means that dc.
volional reading Ia ny little a part OF
home lfe, as It Is Of school exercises
II means that AL kinds Of errors ind AN
easy entrance, for those who neglect d.
drink of the pure fountains N truth
vlll easily be- persuaded to taste OF IN,
stagnant pools Of error Il means that
the morals win be lowered, for when
tho standards OF morality are nban.
doncd the victory OF the enemy &.
nearly accomplished There should be
a league for the universal study Of the