The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-06-02
THE PULPIT.
A SCHOLARLY SUNDAY GeRMc SN.r
REV. LYNN iARC.o HoUGhi.
Theme: The Thcologian's Task.

''"0~rivn, Y. Yin the Summer
FELL NJ r. Church Sunday morning
The rastor the Rev. Lynn Harold
Houeh. preached on "The Theolo-
gian Supreme Task" The text was
from II Corinthians 1875: bringing
bvorv thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ" MIR. Hough
sai L;
The theologian has a multitude of
tas',s. His world has room for many
a Hercules. In its vast fields there is
a summons to infinite toll and there
is opportunity for high and varied
achievement. IN his hand the theolo-
gian holds book which he is to mas
ter AMI 10 Interpret. This Is no sim
PIE achievement. The work enlarges
and divides itself until this book be-
cor'e1 the creator of vocations.
Sometimes the theologian IS a stu
dent CT detail. With the microscope
of his scholarship he applies himself
to the mastery Of the words weaving
acroes the pages Of the book Moth
ing about their life or history is tCo
small to claim his attention. For this
WORK he needs large resources. IN
the ola Testament field, all the Semi
tic Ian pguagcs have aid to give him.
In the New all Greek literature may
lie laid under tribute. a Crammarian
with eye alert for the slightest shades
OF meaning, he tolls with patience
through the years. He builds libra
ries and grows gray-whole genera
tions of him have grown gray--in ac-
complishing this task
Sometimes the theologian is stu
dent of the problem of authorship,
weighing the evidence of eof words,
of point OF view, and the historical
background pTe-suppOsed in particu-
aar portions OF the Scriptures, and so
rescuing buried documents from the
HeSateuch or discovering the un-
known prophet of the Exile.
Sometimes he is a Biblical theolo-
gian in the more formal sense, study
ing the theological outlook of differ
ent periods. and scientifically setting
forth the teaching of the various au-
thors of the book. At his summons
the prophets once more walk before
us: Amos. with his passion for right
eousness; Hosea. the prophet of the
suffering love of God; Isaiah. stalwart
statesman prophet in the nations cri-
sis; jeremiah, against whose bent
bare life the awful blasts beat in
fury, and the sunrise prophet of the
Exile, with face aglow with light and
heart athrob with His great message
of vicari0us suffering these. with all
the other figures of that wonderful
Old Testament life, and out of it all
God, with His high righteousness and
tender love. engaged for generations
in the training of a people--a great,
.divinely guided history pointing more
and more clearly forward to a Coming
One, who is to be at once its eIplana7
tion and its goal The ideas of the
various men who smoke to the nation.
the outlook of different periods. and
the way of looking at life and the
things of God which in a general way
characterizes the whole Old Testa-
lment time, the Biblical theologian
makes clear TO US.
Then at last the New Testament
life-the majestic figure Of the Spot
less One. with the winsomeness of
brother humanity, and the awesome-
ness OF the divine-the great Redemp-
tion Deed. before which we hide our
faces-a deed in which infinite love,
infinite woe, infinite righteousness
and infinite hope speak forever to the
world. Following Christ. the men
with lives struck into flame from His,
their words and work as redemptive
begin their conquests in history.
Then, ere We close the pages of the
book n glimpse Of the light never
seen o. sea or land" from Jerusalem
the 60 au. From all this pageant OF
greo- figures and great deeds, with its
one supreme lgure and one supreme
deed, the meaning is extracted so that
the teaching about life which comes
from Jesus and which is given by the
Various New Testament authors, Is
set Systematically before us. and al
last continued in such fashion that VIC
come TO see and appreciate the New
Testament point of view.
Sometimes the theologian is a his
torian tracing the life OF the church
through the burden-laden years, oil
the movement OF It's thought as il has
ceaselesslv grappled with the prob
lems of the faith. The ages become
articulate through his toll and thu
past comes before us, flung warn
from his pen.
There are great and necessar!
tasks, and master minds have beer
devoted to them. There are grea
tasks and stepping stones to a highe
the supreme task of all.
There comes one great demand t
the theolOglan. When the wonder o
the book shines out and the power o
its teachings is felt-as the past be
comes re2l-then the present stand
waiting. This past must be poured
into the life OF to-day. The book
the Christ Of the book--the faith o
the book, must be interpreted to tn,
life of now.
And this Interpretation is not to b.
placing of Christianity in SOM
mere section Of life. Every though
is 10 be brought into captivity to tn
obedience OF Christ. Christianity 4
either the explanation of all life-th
key 70 tor It is nothing. And I,
show that
'The acknowledgment OF God Fl
Christ,
Accepted by Thy reason solves 70
Thee, all questions in tn
earth and out of II"
to construct vital, organic view o
life, dominated by the essentials o
Christianity. this is the superb wor
TO which the theologian is called.
We neeu 10 iace the fact that tn
world cannot permanently accept
religion which Is smaller than life
TO refuse like the distinguished Gel
man theologlan, Albrecht Ritschl, I
relate Christian truth to scientiH
truth, is to sign the death warrant q
the faith.
Does II seem an ambitious thing I
demand a Christ dominated and
a -