The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-04-06

| OF the tuF1Sj1dR I&t1lSlou
| After referring briefly to what has
been said in previous lectures, Bishop
Restarick said that directly the human
mind seeks to bring into practical life
the relationship of Jesus Christ tt
humanity, theology, the science OF
God, is the necessary outcome of the
attempt.
"We know" he stated, Fthat il
any line the science of one generation
gives way to the science of another
The ascertained truths remain, the
theories, the hypothesis and the deduc-
tions, therefore, change with each
generation. There is constant need
of restatement.
Sometimes we have heard that
| Christianity does not agree with
science If it had agreed in any one
generation it would have been in the
| next condemned as false for so doing.
cit is true that the opposition of
many Christians to new revelations of
science has at times been unfortunate.
1t has arisen because Christians have
read into the Bible or into their beliefs
the scientific opinions generally ac-
cepted in their time. When biologists
found that the world was not created
in seven actual days, there was a
panic The acceptance of the scientific
view was thought by timid men to
mean the destruction of the Christian
faith. As a matter of fact the truth
of God as the Creator in the orderly
way outlined in the first chapter of
Genesis is more certain today than
ever before.
eeWhen the earth was found to re-
volve round the sun, it was condemn
ed by papal bulls as contrary to
Scripture and destructive to the faith
Bruno. in 1900, was burned alive for
asserting it, and Calico only saved
himself by reeanting. In our day the
theory of evolution was generally con-
demned by Christians as destructive
of the Christian religion, but now the
hypothesis is seen by devout men of
all names TO add to the glory of God
and to explain in clearer way than
any other hypothesis both the uni
verse and the Bible.
f'The trouble is that deductions
from hypothesis are often taken for
elemental truths and Incorporated into
ne's idea Of God and the universe.
Jesus Christ said: The truth shall
make you free It would have been
well if men had recognized this and
had known that no ascertained truth
can be contrary to revelation, though
it may be, and often is, contrary TO
mans convention of revelation.
The cry today is, Back to Christ.
If this means going back to original
principles and truths, it is an excel
lent idea, for upon no other basis can
Christian people get together. But
going back would not dispense with
theology, for everv man who thinks
about God and how to apply His truth
develops some sort of theology. +
"Some men in their desire for sim
plicity say: we will cast away all
creeds and accept the Bible-that only
shall be our creed But straightway
men who do not put their own pecu-
liar Interpretation on the Bible can
not belong to their organization. All
Of this comes from a totally wrong
of what the Bible is. Take
the New Testament. It is a message
20 people who had accepted Christ It
s addressed to men and women who
we're in the Christian society, called
The Church. 1t is not written as a
book out of which men were to pick
he Christian religion. This is shown
1y the 1aet that the New Testament
vas not written until the Christian
1hurch had been planted in most parts
# the civilized world. The New Tes-
ament was written to people who be-
leved IN Christ and were members
tAC NAlHAIA N0Icu lie 1UuuuEtl. L was
lot written as book out of which
nen were to construct a religion and
ound churches.
The modern divisions of Christian {
'eople into numerous bodies is almost !
ntirely due to the theory held so long ,
" Protestant denominations that the {
Bible is of verbal inspiration and that
ach individual could go to it and OBJ
ain from it absolute and exact truth.
With this came a sense of duty to
eparate from all who did not appre
lend the Bible as one did himself. As
. result, Professionalism disintegrated
NTH what was at first lamentable be-
anne often farcicaL
When Protestants can divide upon
he method of feet-washing or whether
IS sinful to wear buttons, as they
ave divided, it certainly is fareical,
ut scarcely more so than when Chris
lans divide on the question of whether
T not to use an organ IN church, or
whether certain crayaaS ara sinful II