The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-09

Now. where did that Chaldean shepherd, Abraham reared in the midst of heather idolatry, living all his life with almost nothing of what we call "culture," with out science, art manufactures. com merce, without even a house to live in where we may well ask did such man get that clear cut and perfectly intelligi- ble idea of his covenant God, whom he loved, reverenced, worshpped and oheyed to his life's end? There is not the slight est trace of an "abstract" God in any scene in which Abraham figured. His God could see and hear, and talk, and be talked to. There is not touch of ab- stract speculation in the whole of Abra- hams theology. Indeed, outside of "Job" and "Eeelesiastes' the old Testament is singularly destitute of speculation.
 Nothing could be more concrete and realistic than are the Pentatench, the Psalms, the Proverbs and the prophetic books generally.
 God of the Bible.
 It is, moreover, q noticeable fact that nearly all Hebrews who have dstin- guished themselves as speculative think CTS have practically abandoned the Juda- ism of the old Testament. Philo, Spinoza and Mendelssohn were all of Hebrew birth, but not one of them can be called a Jew in his creed. Abstract theological speculation is foreign to the general spirit of Old Testament teaching The truth is. that an abstract" God is much the same as no God God who cannot hate sin, and love the penltent sinner. who cannot reward the righteous, nor punish the wicked who cannot be loved by his people, nor dreaded by his enemies such God would be of little avail in controlling the conduct of average hu- man beings.
 We may well insist then. that no evo- lutionary or revolutionary sociology can account for the God of the Bible and that the theory which may possibly account for an abstract" God accounts for 'pallid abstraction that no human being ever worshipped.
 Dr. Toy candidly advertses me at the outset that he means to criticise my Bible out of existence. My Bible is, first of all, supernatural book-a revelations and the learned professors Christianity has no relish of the supernatural in it. If this were sound criticism then it would be hard to say why every one of us should not follow Emmerson's advice and make his own Bible.
 And If Abraham is to be ruled out as "unhistorical," because his religious ex- perience cannot be made to square with "evolution" and the laws of human prog ress, then the plain Christian asks,
  said, Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad" This bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it, and the covering narrower than he can wrap himself in it. I pre- fer a different lodging.
 Christ's Sayings.
 pr, Toy holds that there is no reason to believe that Jesus ever thought of him self as a sacrifice for sin. but as the au- thor is utterly dependent upon the New Testament, and almost entirely upon the four evengellsts for his knowledge of Christ's views, it Is very remarkable that he can cling to such an opinion in the face of the following statements. This is my blood of the New Testament which Is shed for many for the remission of sins ''The bread that I will give you is my flesh. which I will give for the life of the world; lay down my life for the sheep"
 Dr. Toy doubts whether Jesus professed to work miricles; but the plain Christian says; ''If the evangelsts do not prove that he professed to work, and did ac- tually work mirices, then they do not prove that he lived and preached"
 Of Jesus, our author says that the DOT triture of him in the Synoptics q. Q. the first three Evangelists) shows that he lived and acted as other men, That nothing was further from his mind than