Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1914-08-13

VRAslQRs -RUSSELDj dear to the Chris
tfan is depicted.
Pastor Russell preached today from
the text, 'Woe into you, lawyers! for
We have taken away the Key of Knowl-
edge: We entered not in yourselves, and
them that were entering In ye hinder
ed."-Luke IL :52.
The word lawyer in New Testament
usage. the Pastor began, has a very
different meaning from our usage. 1t
applied to those religious teachers Of
the Jews who made special professions
of sanctity Of heart and earnest desire
to know Gods will and to teach It
Today the corresponding class are des,
ignated Doctors of Divinity.
1t was customary amongst the Jews,
the speaker continued, that lessons
from the Law and the Prophets should
be read daily in the synagogues. The
people were thus familiar with the let.
ter of the Scriptures. The majority
OF them were illiterate; for educa.
tional facilities then were not what
they are now. Consequently only a
few claimed to have knowledge of the
spiritual part of the Law and Prophets.
These were chiefly Of the literary and
wealthy classes. To these the com.
mon people looked for guidance.
The people were hungry for the Mes.
sage which Jesus brought. The ma
ton would have gone over promptly
to Jesus If the Doctors of the Law had
given the word. Moreover, Jesus
teachings harmonized the Law and the
Prophets. over which the Scribes and
Pharisees and the Sadducees long had
disputed. Had these Doctors of the
Law been as hungry for Truth as were
the people. undoubtedly their differ
ences of Interpretation of Scripture
would have speedily disappeared In the
light then shining upon the Bible
through the Holy Spirit, Jesus and Els
Apostles being Jehovah's mouthpieces.
The Pastor then drew a parallel be-
tween the Jewish Age and its Harvest
and the Gospel Age and its Harvest.
Now. as then, Gods people are perish.
ing for lack of knowledge. Now, as
then. the Doctors Of Divinity will not
use the Key OF knowledge themselves;
md have buried 1t from the people un-
a mass Of forms and ceremonies.
But is Knowledge necessary
1t was then shown that In our Lords
day the Jewish Doctors of Divinity
contented themselves with telling the
people what to do and what not to do.
hut did not help them to understand
the deep meaning Of the Law and the
Prophets. So 1t is today, the speaker
declared; a minister stands as a rep
resentative and m~outhpiece OF the
Church creed. which in roundabout
terms declares that whoever does not
live q sanity life will suffer an eter.
nifty OF torment Is not this a grfey.
GUS burden to put upon any conscien.
Hous soul? he asked, Has 1t not caus-
ed unreliable anguish to many OF Gods
true people? Has 1t not driven from
God and the Bible thousands Of the
most intelligent minds in the world2
As the Jewish Doctors Of Divinity
carried no such burdens, neither do
Christendom's Doctors of Divinity. In
private they acknowledge that they
carry no such burdens. In public they
give the inference that they do-not
90 much by positive terms as by Inn.
piicatien. tone, infection OF the voice
and by the fact that they represent
creeds which so teach. These In.
finentjal teachers are moi to be excused
because OF the claim that In their
ofiiciai capacity they lose their per
sonal responsibility and shift Ii upon
those who made the creeds and those
who adopted them. The people no
longer trust the creeds. They realize
that q greater light shines today than
when those creeds were formulated.
The people trust the Bible, the Pas.
tor declared. They understand orr
modern Scribes and Phartsees 10 give
assurance that the creeds Of Christen.
dom properly represent the teachings
ct Scripture. The creedai chains Womb
become ropes of sand &c the prominent
Doctors of Divinity would publicly "a
nounce the creeds, as nearly ali dc
them do " private conversation.
sysssnatic ksy- Hiding.
Next II was pointed ont that onr
modern scribes md Pharisees ara
proving themselves to be the antiques
~ th0s addressed BY Jesus. Takinc
10y the Key ~ Knowledge. they
IRE The people not 10 bother their
heads abort doctrines. but Is leave
These subjects 70 the clergy. bible
stst5 has degenerated into Z stndy 81
9~eosTaphy, cdstonaA etr. rafher fhan
y exoft ~ understand III phaphec1sa
" fise Misrepresentation of them eiysn ~.