Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-06-13

Next the -paStof demOnstrated tnat
the great 1dificulty With people who
are losing their eoatideure in the Bible
| rs THE Word Of God Is that they are
not familiar with It's contents. Many
are still holding to the Scriptures In a
blind way, bopIng against hope that
they may MOI. loso their faith. They
are afraid 10 read and afraid to think.
lest they iose the very small amount
Of faith which they poSsess II only
such knew II. they never really have
bad well established faith.
Faith Versus credulity.
The Pastor proceeded to point out
the difference between true faith and
that which Is often misDamcd faith.
but which In reality is credulity. The
faith commended In the Scriptures is
that which relates to things which God
has promised Our forefnthers, he de-
clared. had too much confidence In
men. They swallowed the creeds OF
the Dark Ages; and the more absurd
the proposition. the more faith they
thought they had. They should have
asked. Where has God declared such
thlngsT He maintains that we should
accept by faith only what the Lord has
assured us of In His Word.
We have made Il great mistake as to
what faith really is. he thinks. Faith
must have II basis. and that basis must
have some intelligent presentation. To
believe In the Bible us the Word of
God merely because our parents did so
Is not faith at all; heathen peoples do
Just as well MS that-they believe as
their parents did. without lnvestiga-
ton. But to have fuith in the Bible
VIC must have proof that it Is of God;
and to have that evidence we must un-
derstand the Word
The Pastor holds that most people
are so pcrplexed that they do not
know what to believe. And yet he de-
clared. ut this very time when Higher
! Criticism Is undermining the founda-
ton of all faith. and when many intel
ligent people ARE afraid to think along
Scriptural lines. Bible students are find
Ing the Word Of God to be the most
wonderful Book in nll the world. Gods
Plan for human salvation was never
so well understood as Just now. in the
midst of all the turmoil In the denom-
nations, in the great institutions Of
learning and in the world.
Proofs That the Bible Is lnspired.
The Pastor then discussed some OF
the so-called findings Of Higher Criti-
cism-that Moses did not write the
Pentateuch. nor Isaiah the greater part
Of the prophecy which bears his name,
etc. These critics. he declared. are try
ing to prove something by the outside
of the Bible. Their so-called findings
! he believes to be matter Of mere
/ guesswork, although, ns some Of them
are very bright men, they put up a
strong argument in some things. They
will undertake to prove that Jesus was
mistaken when He declared that Isaiah
the Prophet said thus and SO; that st
/ Paul was also mistaken when he quot
! cd from the Prophet Isaiah and said
Thus saith the Prophet Isaiah; that
Daniel did not write the book which
bears his name-or If he did, that II
was fulfilled before the Christian era
Notwithstanding Jesus assertion tC
the contrary.
The Pastor, like all reasoning Chris
,.nliag thn tntnpnO
evidence of the Bible that it is thu
Word of God. That internal evidence
cannot be doubted The Old Testa
ment prophecies and the teachings o.
the Lord and the Apostles so interocl
and depend one upon the other that
no human being could possibly have
thought out the great Plan therein
found. All the way from Genesis t.
Revelation the parts SO coordinate ant
at together that one great, harmoniou
Plan of the Ages is the result. An
other strong proof Of the inspiration o
the Bible is furnished in present-da.
conditions, which were foretold by tn
Prophets thousands Of years ago.
Bible Not Man Made.
Then the speaker considered some o
the objections to the Bible usual,
brought forward by infdels. He show
ed that 1t is a weak argument indee'
which credits priests and kEayes witt
writing the Sacred Book. II Catholic
had made the Bible, they would natur
ally have put into 1t many thing
which are not there; for instance, the,
would have told about the Mass, abou
Purgatory, hell-hre and eternal tor
ment, of which there is nothing said
they would also have intimated tha
, we should use beads and images i
worship; they would have had some
thing about the immaculate conceptio
of the Virgin, and about st. Peter
! being the first pope, etc.
= IT, on the other hand, Presbyterian
had written the Bible, they would hay
put in great deal about He'll, abou
elect and non-elect infants, etc. Metl
g odlsts would have left out all abor
Q Election-makng ones calling an
! election sure, the Very Elect. etc.-fC
they do not know what to do wit
+ these texts Our Calvinistic friend
would have left out the texts abor
: free grace; for these DO not fit wit
; their ideas of election All these d,
nominations would have inserted som,
thing in regard to "the trinity" fC
they all hold that this doctrine is I'll