The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-07

globe. This little world bad ita hipporgrif
on the north and Its chimeras on the sout
and IL was 30 narrow east and west that II tn
Mississippi river and It's Missouri tributar
had been stretched across 1t like great scr
pent IL would have been necessary to col
itself up in order 10 get Its full length upol
| It.
| And yet small as this world was II had beel
the stage OF human action for fifty four hun
dred years. II had seen the rise and fall Q
| five great empires and witnessed the great
less OF heroes, the wisdom OF sages, the say
ipes of seers. the coming OF the son Of mai
and the development OF civilation and relig
| ion.
II had the aggregate OF human knowledg
and With the attain ment Is OF five millennium
its wisest children went out to Its border ant
wrote upon the pillars OF Hercules ne plu
ulira there Is nothing beyond, and they
thought they we're correct like the Protest
their creed statements and write upon them
Hitherto our fathers came and there is moth.
Ing beyond.
The little world made q great mistake
about Itself and II knows IL now and lis mis-
take has been corrected. The church made 9
% % ipta Se Just a. great but It is still in ignor
apce and It's mistake has not been corrected
and 1t ia not likely to be by men who think
that theology Is finished science and thai
they have got everything out OF the Bible In
to their creed statements.
Christopher Columbus was considered ar
i'm practical visionary by the very impracti'
ca generation In which be lived and so the
minister today who declares that he has dis
covered new world In theology is considered
a dreamer ofdreams by the very Impractical
gen era tion who will not test his claims by
the word OF God TO see whether ttsy are true
or not.
among the geptiles I do not remembr but
on g instance In which bis doctrine waa tasted
by the word of God, usually there was bigotry
snap judgment and persecution, but the
Bereans were more noble . man ,h ,hoee ole ~
with all readiness Of mind and searched The
scriptures daily whether those things were &c
and the result was that the were convinced
was true and many of them believed, also o.
honorable women which were GREEKS, ana o.
men not few.
The Jews prosecuted Paul for preaching tht
gospel when we know II was preached ln III
purity, and We suppose there will be bigotry
intolerance and persecution as long as tnsrs
ia unbridled depravity on the earth, but tnt
honest seeker after truth who hhs ears q
hear and q heart TO love divine truth VII
avoid these things, for they are evil and tneJ
ap ring from that part Of the man that II
carnal. 81,
Judgment of any new doctrine from the sim
pie fact that we are not capable OF 1noing Q
that doctrine with our present knowledge o
No electrician, not even Edison himself
was capable Of Judging Of Marsonps geIn1as mus
how to discover and Invent wireless teiegra
ply, and had Edison and others said ht
should not do 1t because u was lmposslDit
they would have Rtulti1ed themselves In The
sight OF all sensible men.
And in the same way no miuister Is capable
of Judging concerning the truth OF dootilnt
discovered by another until he has mace 9
special study OF the subject and Drought a.
the scrl ptures to bear upon 1t and reached thf
knowio6ue end the standpOipt OF the dis.
Now ask you to take your shoes OF O
vonr feet because you are approaching holy
ground You are now entering upon tne
greatest privilege possible 10 men 10 'n''
Like Moses at the burning bush and In the
cleft OF the rock at Sinia you WILL see not only
the dark ness and the smoke that envelopeo
its top, not only the cloud that filled the tenn
nIe and not only the clouds and darkness
that are about the eternal throne. but tht
being. the nature, the persons, the quailes
This postulale should be made as lucid as !!
ia true, that without the knowledge OF 600
there can be no theology and as the knowl'
edge OF God is imperfect theology ID necessar
- The he term theology is composed of two
Greek words, Theos, God, and logos, speech
speech concerning God. The sciepce o
theology then may be defined to be the
lev of Nile is no more dependent Oh its foun
dation for support than all true theology IL
dependent on knowledge OF God for sup
port. ,.,.x
ested in the unity OF the divine essence and
the trinity of the divine persons, but th ey
we're too busy as they thought TO learn more
OF deity With an imperfect knowledge OF God
and with q very meager knowledge OF Goo
they wrote much OF Him.
On the narrow foundation OF the Trinity IL
unity, indeed on the bare statement OF lne
trinity in unity they builded part OF thell
theolo ogy and the remainder had no founoa
| tion in the word of God or IN the knowledge
\ OF God, but was built upon error and falst
reason. Once and again and again we nnc
them arguing fallacy because OF their I'm
perfect knowledge OF God concerning Whon
they we're reasoning.
IN the Goth century OF the world is lat'
time to lay the true and complete foupdatloI
OF theology for the first time, but II could no
God and they did not seek 10 know Him a
He lie revealed in His word, indeed they
thought 1t would be presumption In them U
seek greater knowledge OF God, but tn
and now 1t is their privilege to search th
scriptures and learn all that they testif!
concerning God.
Pope says the proper study Of mankind i
man, but the proper the profitssols isIoa,, ana IT,
In remote age Zophar said to Job. cans
thou by searching find out GodP Cans't tho'
and out the Almighty unto perfection2 AN An
should ask his question today, the answe
would be: mo man hath seen God at an!
time, the only Begotten Son which is In tn
bosom OF the Father, He hath dec laret
Him" Here the scriptures plainly, and ex
pressly teach that Christ hath declared Coz
and It is not only our privilege but II Is ou
bounden duty to know the God that made
and to know him as perfectly as Christ ha
declared Him.
And Christ was not only the brightness o
the Fathers glory and the express image
His person, but he has declared the Fathe
with fullness and q minuteness that enable
us to know him as we'll as We do Gabriel o
Luclfer, or Nebuchadnezzar.
The Son says the Father is the blessed ant
only potentate, the King Of kings aud Lor
OF LORDS, who only hath Immortality, dwell
ing in light which NO man can approach un
To. whom no man hath seen nor can see
This is Just the kind OF description We shonl
expect TO hear OF deity and while II puts Hir
; away that man can not see His character an
I read His eternal history. In the great ou
4 lines OF his being we know Him today 9
grand and as glorious as eternity itself wi
reveal Him.
How poor. how rich, how abject, ho'
How complicate, how wonderful Is man!
How passing wonder He that made hiI
SUCH"
And vet we understand man and we unde
stand deity through the revelation OF Jesr
Christ
n we would learn concerning God and uI
| derstapd the subject OF the trinity, huma
philosophy must ue laid aside and we mui
seek our knowledge solely In revelation.
II is no surprise that men have not learne
the relation OF Gods qualities TO his being b'
/ cause they sought II where 1t could not
i found.
The world by wisdom knew not God an
l the world and the church will both fail
know Him by philosophy. You can call