Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-07-11

Bible speaking to every need of man
and races, see new characters and
new civilizations growing wherever
1.-The Bible is planted and do not at
tempt to hold such omnipotent life
within the narrow shell of fallible
statement, but stand with grateful awe
before 1t, as I do before the growing
| tree, the secret of whose growth no
one will ever entirely know, though we
can eat its fruit, rest in its shade and
rejoice in this expression Of Gods love
and care. The Bible to me is inspired
because 1t inspires
| Divinity In Youth.
'"The divinity of the Bible is seen in
its youth
"Other books grow old, as we have
said, and die. The Bible lives. No
grave yard has SO many headstones as
that for dead books. Many men like
| Voltaire have marked out Gem etery
| for the Bible. and have told when it
| would have the dust to dust, ashes to
ashes repeated over it in Joy and not
| In sadness-but these places are still
empty-the Bible still lives and SO far
as we can see is not stricken with sick
ness. Nay, never had it such youthful
| strength and speed as now. The Re-
\ ligious Tract society of London stands
upon the spot where Bibles were once
publicly burned. Voltaires house in
London is now occupied by the Geneva
Bible society. Copies of the Bible are
daily sold at a stand in Florence, near
the Piazza della Signoria, where in
1893, Savonarola was burned at the
stake The British Bible society now
occupies the house in which Wycliff
was forbidden to circulate the scrip
lures. Many are studying the Bible to-
day where ten years ago one studied
it. Here and there man blasphem
ously raves against the Bible, but he
Is like child that would curse the sun
and ridiclue the chart of the heavens
and command the heavenly bodies to
stop. Were it not sad, men would
laugh in scorn at such spectacles.
Poor, misguided Ingersoll, made in the
image of God yet cursing him; speak
| ing for liberty, yet he would destroy
the source of liberty; needing com
fort and hope, yet having nothing but
petition Of high sounding words and
Fastening on with curse in his
|
man, trying to stop the purpose of him
who holds the world in his hand and
whose breath of life he himself u.s.
| With the egotism of Balboa without
half his qualities of an explorer No
harsh word have for him, only sor-
row for him and those whom he may
have deluded.
| Criticisms on Bible.
! "The criticism up on the Bible has
been like the great fire that once
swept over the Pyrenees mountains.
1t seemed to the inhabitants that all
their property was to be ruinedrbut
the fire open assures in the earth
through which cleaned the precious
metal, and while they lost some things
that they had treasured up, they had
gained greater wealth. This out of
every attack upon the Bible--so does
the wrath of man praise God-men
have come, with a clearer view of it's
imperishable truths. Many cherished
ideas may have persisted, but richer,
because truer views have been dis.
/ closed
One illustration of this cannot fail
to notice. The last attack of the in
fidel world has been upon the Bible.
The sceptic asserted that it claimed
as history that which was purely fic-
titious. He asked with sheer, Where
did there ever live such man as Sar-
gon or such people as the Hittites? No
trace of them can be found in history
or literature. Therefore your old book
deals in fiction It is untrustworthy.
Let it be torn to pieces as every de-
ceiver should
1 "But suddenly the spade Of the
archeologist strikes some buried treas
ures, and finds on these quaint old tab
lets of Ninevah the history OF Sargon
and that he was one of the richest
monarchs of Assyria. Now, too, in the
1 leading museums of the world are
! monuments that tell us of the Hittites,
4 and that their kingdom existed long
before and after Abraham and was one
of great strength. Thus does the very
earth open its heart to testify for the
word of God.
Claims of Bible Proved.
"The critics have also claimed that
the art of writing was unknown in
Palestine before David's time, there
| fore little dependence can be placed
upon the records of the old testament,
and that all references to writing are
therefore untrue. They have laughed
at the credulity of people for believing
the book. In 1883 some natives of Egypt
were digging for nitrous soil with
which to enrich their gardens and &C
cidentally found some clay tablets.
Prof. Sayce of Oxford has deciphered
4 these tablets and finds that they were
made before Exodus, and that among
them are messages from Palestine;
finds that learning was far advanced
and some cities had libraries. That
was centuries before the kingdom of
Israel was organized Thus again are
the claims of the Bible proved. So shall
1t be till the end of time. Men
will rail; God will still carry out his
purposes. The Bible will meet every
attack, as it has the onslaughts Of the
centuries past, with unfiinching cour.
age and frankness. Mems ideas of it
will be clarified, and so the
kingdom. of God shall come