Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-11-01
UP AGAINST IIEREsY.

Our Presbyterian friends are having
their share of trouble with scholars Of
their own faith, who refuse to accept
the Bible as the word of God. a few
years ago the case OF DR.. Briggs, the
famous professor of Biblical theology
in the Union Theological Seminary,
New York. occupied the attention OF
the religious world. He was pro-
rounccd n heretic. and left the church.
Now ii Is DR. 4. r. Day. professor in
the Old Testament department of the
San Anselmo seminary, California, who
is in the lime light He asserts that
the Pentateucli is not tile work OF Mo-
ses, excepting "a possible nucleus;" that
there is no statement in the Bible to
show that he wrote it, and that while
the decisions OF the General Assembly
are worthy OF respect, they do not con-
stitutc the law OF the church. and that
the Westminster confession does not re-
fer to the matter Under discussion.
A few days ago the commissioners of
the synod of California and Nevada,
after six hours OF heated debate. decid-
ed that his views are unsatisfactory
because incompatible with the stand
ards OF the Presbyterian church IN
the United States Of America as inter
preted by her highest courts" The
vote was 1858 to 80, five not voting. It
would seem. therefore. that Professor
Day will have to leave his position In
the Seminary.
1t should be explained, perhaps, that,
rs member of tho faculty of that
school, DR.. Day has subscribed to the
following oath:
I'm the presence of God and of the
directors Of this Seminary, | do SOL
EMMY and cX amino adopt, receive
and subscribe the Confession of Faith,
and Catechisms. of the Presbyterian
church In the United States of Amer
lea, as the Confession of my Faith, and
as containing the system of doctrine
taught in the Holy Scriptures, and
therein revealed by God to man for his
salvation; and do solcmnly and cx
amino, profess to receive the form of
government of said church as agree
able to the inspired oraclcs. And !
do solemnly promise and engage not to
inculcatc, teach or insnuatc anything
which shall appear to contradict or
contravene. either directly or impllcdly,
anything taught in said Confession OF
Fate or Catechisms: nor to oppose any
of the fundamental principles of Pres
byterian church government, while /
shall continue a professor in this SEMI
nary"
Tho question before the synod was
whether the Professor, in teaching his
higher criticism, conformcd to the
obligations he had solemnly taken upon
himself. The vote answered that
question in the negative.
Professor Day holds, we presume,
that. as the Westminster Confession Is
silent OF tho issue involved he does not
violate his oath of Office by advancing
the theories of the negative school of
critics on the authorship Of the Old
Testament. But the Synod, by Il ma
jority vote, expressed another view.
According to that vote the results of
the negative criticism are not accept
able TO Prcsbyterianism.
This has been declared repeatedly. y
couple or years Nso Two IlespS'ciiaii
professors were suspended from the
ministry after trial in the General AS
sembly. for holding and teaching such
doctrines. Several others have quiet
~ left the church without trial
And the attitude taken by the or
thodox Presbyterians on this question
Is absolutely correct. No church can
afford to accept II theory that is so
poorly supported by fuGts as is that
OF DIR. Day and his school of critics
and which strikes at the very founda-
ton OF the Christian religion,
Many of the younger students of the
ology arc fascinated by the negative
criticism because they see in its con-
illusions the verdict of the highest
scholarship and the most ripe fruits of
modern learning. This is II great mis-
| take. The Issue Is very old, TO so no
| further back than the nth century,
the Dutch nationalist Spinoza preached
the same doctrines us the negative
critics today though with less scholar
ship at his command But every critic
OF that school. from Spinoza to Briggs,
has found his worthy antagonist All
| scholarship Is by no means on the
| side of the assailnnts of tho Bible. And
I 1t is question whether the greatest
scholarship Is on that side. On the
other side we have Hengstenberg, Ifcil.
kurtz, zahn Rupprecht, NIoeller,