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


 He fell to Boston just by gravitation." But l am not now dealing with my old dear friend but with his published views, and dear friend, but with his published views, and l know of none that could arouse my more determined dissent. Professor Toy gives no uncertain sound. After careful study of Prof. w. k IIarpers debate with Prof. Wm. Henry Green, in "IIebraiea," and of his "Stories of Gesesls" as published In the "Bibli- cal World" 1 find it extremely difficult to ascertain just where he belongs. To borrow the image of a distinguished British statesman, l should say that he seems to be like a ferry boat, made to go from one side to the other
 Not so Toy. He Is as pronounced as possible. He is Wellhausen done into English. In his history of the religion of
 Israel there is not the slightest recogni- ton of the supernatural; but everything is explained @ on perfectly natural prin- ciples. in this book he holds that it is not probable that David wrote any of the Psalms
 In his "Quotatons in the New Testa- ment' he does not hesitate to take issue with Christ on a question of eXegesis And why not? Jesus is not supposed to have been acquainted with the Coperni- can system of astronomy; and why should we credit him with a knowledge of "Biblical criticism which is much more modern than the received astronom- ical science.
 To this plausible question the plain Christian has two answers First Jesus does not say anything about astronomy, but every one of the synoptical evengel- ists credits him with saying that David wrote the 10th Matthew xxi, 43- A, Mark, xii 36, 37, Luke. XIX. 42-44 Secondly: An old thinker once asked with some point: "He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye. shall he not seer" And I fail to see that any modern science has at ali blunted the sharpness of that point. MT. Darwin denied the plain proposition that the eye was made to see with. He may have been perfectly consistent; but people of plain sense will think he was consist ently wrong.
 Regarding Evolution. Professor Toys book, Judaism and Christianity is one of the most rigorous and vigorous applications of evolution" that I have ever seen made to any moral or spiritual problems. It is not quite so bold as Taine. who in his English Liter ature'' accounts for the great master pieces by referring them to climate, food, situation. circumstances-in word 'en- vironment" Hamlet" Macbeth" even Midsummer Nights Dream" grew out of the insular situation of England and he beef eating and the beer drinking habit of its people.
 Dr. Toy is not so radical as this He admits that, in the religious life of prophets and seers there are some facts which we can no more explain than we can explain the genius of Plato, or the genius of Shakespeare. But Taine is tho only writer of my acquaintance who Is bolder than Toy in applying evolution |, to intellectual asd moral problems. It seems hardly extravagant to say that if Charles Darwin had been drowned in his voyage on the Beagle" instead of living to write the Origin of Species.' then pr. Toy would never have written Judaism and Christianity"
 The opening sentence of the introduce ton is striking summing up of the scope and tone of the whole learned work. "The rise of Christianity out of Judaism is a fact which, though of enor- nous significance. is yet in conformity with a we'll defined law of human prog ress." And, on the same page Religion must be treated as a product of human thought: and as human thought is devel- opcd only in and through society, re- lieion Qke language and ethies) may he regarded as branch of sociology. sub feet to all the laws that control general human progress"
 To this the plain Christian answers: