University Missourian., 1909-10-13
CHICAGO j, PAPER
ATTACKS BIBLE
Says Scriptures Fail to Men
ton Problems of Mo l.
ern Life.
OTHER STARTLIl G IDEAS
Condemns Book Because it
Tells of Wine-Drink-
ing at Feasts.
OTHER STARTLIl G IDEAS

CHICAGO, Oct 13-"How can we
teach total abstinence from a Bible
which represents Jesus as partaking
of wine at feasts, and which even
tells how he miraculously produced
wine from water on one occasion when
the supply fell short?"
That is one assertion among others
regarded as equally startling in the
leading editorial of the Biblical World
for October, issued today from the
University of Chicago press.
While the editorial is unsigned, the
editor-in-chief of the Biblical World
is Prof. Ernest Dewitt Burton, ID. d.,
head of the Department of New Tes-
lament literature and Interpretation.
Many on the campus declared the edi-
abstruse of all the higher criticism"
of recent years.
Endorsed by Staff.
DR.. Burton, when asked who was re-
sponsible for the editorial, said that
the entire staff of the Biblical World
/ indorsed it. 1T is the work of the
editors as body; 10 one person is
responsible" he said.
Already the editorial has started a
religious wrangle and the University
Of Chicago is declared to have re-
jected the Bible by many churchmen.
THE older ethical teacher used as a
( base of moral instruction some text
book which eXpounded the moral law.
A theologian who regarded the Bible
as compendium of moral precepts
| tion quite in harmony with that which
prevailed in secular education. But,
even so, many difficulties presented
themselves. What shall we say con-
cerning the commands of Jehovah in
the Old Testament to eXterminate the
women and children of vanquished
foe? How shall we account for the
! fact that the Old Testament heroes in
dulged in polygamy, forbidden by our
modern laws?
How can we teach total abstinence
4 from a Bible which represents Jesus
as partaking of wine at feastS and
which even tells how he miraculously
produced wine from water on one oc-
casion when the supply fell short?
Makes Direct Attack.
Not only does the Bible apparently
/ fail to condemn practices which our
own moral sense must condemn, but it
also fails to mention some of the prob
lens which are foremost in our mod
| ern life. How, for instance, can a
Christian gain an intelligent under
standing of the issues at stake in the
modern conflict between capital and
labor if he simply confines himself to
reading of the Bible? How can he
gain defensible moral convictions con-
cerning the ethics of child labor if he
confines his attention to literature
which never dreamed of the posi-
bility of modern factories and ma,
chinery?
"One result of the attempt to use
the Bible as compendium of ethics
is to be seen in the presence of our
churches of thousands of conscientious
Christians who are entirely devoid OF
sensitiveness to those moral issues
which are most real in our modern
industrial and social life. 1t is quite
possible, therefore, for one whose gen
eral education has been derived from
such a study of the Bible to believe
himself to be a conscientious Christian
while at the same time seeming to
others to be lacking in real interest in
! pressing moral problems"