The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-01-13


words OF scripture are nothing il
themselves. The PhaFIsees 50 t1aiaeo
these words that Paul through bitter
f experience cried in agony, The letter
kiIleth- Our fathers verbal fnSpira-
ton did the same thing. one of the
/ brightest young men who ever gradu.
ated from Yale University, pressed by
his fathers dogmas into a position.
! where 70 be true % the intellect God
had given him for his guide seemed
/ 10 require that he surrender his God.
/ in despair took his life. The letter
+ killed in his case. That was in nv
boyhood and I wildly remember the
/ keen anguish OF that tragedy. Some
I people TX their eyes on the Old Tes-
! lament as infaIlible history. Jesus
{ cares nothing for such Httlenesses. He
viii call AhimeIech Abiathar, Zecha-
! r1ah the son OF Jehoida Zachariah the
/ son Of Berechiah, psalms the law.
/ three years, or less than three years,
/ three years and six months. These
/ writings are not meant TO give Goth
| century historic accuracy In the
main the historical parts constitute
/ surprisingly reliable history fer their
/ time Jesus never quotes the scrip
/ lures as science They never pretend
ed 10 be a treatise on geology or as
/ tronony- Our Lord did not even ac-
/ cept all Old Testament teachings on
/ the subject of religion. With a wave
/ Of His hand He brushed away its
eambrous ritual and forever abrogated
not few Of its laws Of human con-
duct
Fare this a4+s+.,7a - r,~.,u 4---..s..
the scriptures and picture to your
self how revolutionary it was, DO
you wonder His people ruthlessly
/ brushed Him of the planet with scant
ceremony
Now. then. If these ancient scrip
lures, as divineIy authenticated his
tory, as exact science. as mere grace
Of literary form and as an authorita-
tive code Of ceremonial observance,
seemed 10 have little significance 10
Jesus IN what did their great hold
upon Him consist He tells Us These
are they which bear witness of me-
They introduced Him to the great God
wl1o dwelt N His own heart. He
found the Father whom He was per-
fectly 10 REVEAL 7nfrrored there. In
these words. These are they that bear
witness Of me- he enunciated for
Himself and His followers the only
true principle OF Old Testament study
VIII the Church of Christ ever learn
this lesson. These are they which
bear witness of me-? How easy 10
fasten upon the utterly inconseauen-
tiaI in the scriptures-sun- standing
still poetry, floating axe heads. con-
fiicting dates, early mans guesses Of
how tile world came TO be, hsh-man in
cidents in a great missionary parable.
lions and fiery furnaces in one of the
worlds rarest books of religious fic-
tionl How easy 10 dispute over such
details. forgetting ali about the one
Predominant Presence in this marvel
Gus literature! The Jew OF Jesus day
did that Christians of all ages have
followed their lead. Jesus. who said,
Il am the Truth. I am the Life, found
Himself in the Book, wherein SO many
of His people have discovered trivialt-
ties to fight over. He never could take
up these rolls. that He looked upon
as His dearest friends. without I'M
earthing thoughts which appealed TO
His deer-est consciousness and which !
helped Pim build those matchless prip-
ciples Of human conduct that today
sway our world.
The writer of Hebrews said that
Jesus was "in all points tempted ike |
as We are, yet without sin The gen
erations as they pass with their va
ried experiences say one after another /
Amen 20 this declaration. Our age
in its relation to the Old Testament
is being tried where none Of its pre- /
deeessors were. But Jesus went this /
road before US. You find slavery to
the letter of the scriptures in Paul. /
the Sreest man Of his generation. But !
none in Jesus. Our Lord says 10 every /
honest man willing TO acknowledge /
Him as Teacher, You have in your
heart as I had IN mine when I lived /
on earth. ImmanueI' God with yon.' /
the essential and eternal Christ. Test
your Old Testament Herewith. I did
it and The Book was luminous with /
truth You viii have the same expert
ence. Ay. there's the Master for rs
men,
20 the Man Of Nazareth holds ont
the key 10 the Hebrew Scriptures, to
every true scripture These are they
wh'of1 bear witness Of me- The /
ChTfSt, cur CHRIST. the lWeDIfeth ten +
turv Christ. thar Is the key. With I
this for your taIisfnen. how the diff .
cultias vanish. Corundruuls Of author +
shin. conflict Of chronolog5es. irreeon- +
cilahle statements. crude nature f
guesses. child mans viewpoint no .
longer bring anxiety. We meet them
and make the adjustment as in the case
Of any other book. They bear no pos
sible relation 10 the real message Of
these scriptures. We are seeking thu
eternal: how He disclosed Himself II
men of a race whose genius for see
ng Him is the miracle Of time AS
we pursue this main purpose, gIinapses
# early mans thought. pictures. Of
primitive institutions. suggestions ef
how minds dominated BY singuiarly
pure ideals Of God conceived natures
processes. noble orato~y. matches
beautiful poetry viii charm
Is Bur these can not turn rs aside
rom the dominating aim-the quest
rot of the Holy Grail. but Of some
hing 1fviner, Gods voice 70 mar in
as childhood days the accents al
ways known by ringing true 10 the
~hrist All other sounds are the