The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1911-04-06
SAYS BIBLE IS NOT
INSPIRED BOOK
REV. LUTHER FREEMAN SAYS
PORTIONS OF 1T SHOULD BE
REJECTEO-NO REVELATIONS.

Kansas City, Mo, April 5.-When
the Rev. Luther Freeman, formerly
pastor of the Independence Boule-
ward Methodist church, occupied his
old pulpit Sunday, he was on a visit
here from Sioux City, where he is
president of Morningsde college, he
had no intention of delivering an
heretical message to his old congre-
CATION. Nor did he, DR.. Freeman
said in an interview later
But some of his hearers think diff
ferently. Members of the congre-
CATION to whom DR.. Freeman's views
were new, commented on his re
marks. Some of them said the speak
er had asserted the Bible should be
revised, that some of the books were
fakes" and that none of them was
inspired" If that isn't heresy, they
demanded to know what was
DR.. Freeman was seen and asked if
his critics had quoted him correctly.
Nothing New in These Views.
81 believe | can say | did use the
word fake" the pastor said, but |
did say the Bible was not inspired in
the sense that its authors had had
any direct revelation from God to
write what they did. There is moth
ing particularly new in the views |
expressed. | have been preaching
them many years in Kansas City and
elsewhere | said we should learn 10
read the Bible correctly and to reject
those parts that do not conform to
what the world is learning to accept
as the true conception of God, the
loving father.
God certainly never commanded
his prophets to write that slavery Is
good. that war is good and that the
other bloody and cruel teaching to
be found in some of the books of the
Bible are to be accepted today as his
precepts. | said We must read the
book of Job, for instance, as a drama,
as the work OF a great philosopher
and poet and not as the word of God.
The author of the lamentations was
no more inspired by God than was
Shakespeare, but that is no reason
braries.
God All About Us Now.
God did not reveal himself alone
! to the authors of the Bible. He did
not have a message for Isaiah and
| Nehemiah and Daniel only He is re-
vealng himself to us today in a thou
sand ways, through poets and preach
ers and statesmen, through the works
of Nature and the discoveries of sci
ence.
The Bible. must be rated as any
other book that contains teaching and
philosophy that is good for man. 1t
is not one book, but many, and We
must learn to accept each at its prop
] Ci htoC boOhS Stl III lllN
experiences of men who were seeking
God. Each in his own way has writ
ten his own conception of God, but
many of them were mistaken, and
none of them was authorized to write
my religious experiences and call
them revelation"
1T is news to me that any member
of the Methodist church considers
this sort of preaching heresy. If it is
! have been a hereto a long time.
never have preached the entire ac-
ceptance of the Bible. | never have
preached the heaven and hell of the
Bible and / do not know of any Meth
odist preacher who does. have stu
died the Bible thoroughly and love It.
It contains many great truths, many
great philosophers and as literature il
has not been excelled. But the word
of God-no."
Had trouble with your bread? No
use OF that, get sack of Honey Bee
N-t.