Evening journal., 1921-03-07
Peoples Column
FIRsT or sEvENTH?
Editor of The Evening Journal:


peals to the fathers Of the early
church as the only authority for
First Day sacredness. Would it not
be more in keeping with the princi-
pies of Christianity If the doctor had
appealed to the grandfathers of the
early church - Matthew. Mark.
Luke, John and Paul?
"The parish church OF the first
two centuries" is appealed to as an
infallible guide. Presumably be-
cause the fathers, so-called, lived so
near the days of Christ and the apos-
ties. This is a tacit admission that
the gospel which was preached by
Christ and the apostles is the true
standard. But that has been re-
corded in the New Testament, and
therefore, instead of being obliged
to depend on the testimony of any
one who lived this side OF their time,
we can go direct to the fountain
head and can draw therefrom the
I gospel in as pure a state as though
we had listened in person to the
| teaching OF the inspired men. We
must judge the so-called fathers, not
by the time in which they lived, but
hy what they did and said. Let us
hear what reputable men have to
say of them.
DR.. Adam Clarke. in his COM
ment on Proverbs s. speaks of the
fathers as follows
"But of these we may safely
state. that there is not a truth in the
most orthodox creed. that cannot be
proved by their authority, nor a
horesy that may not challenge
them as its abettors. In points of
doctrine their authority is. with me.
nothing"
IL is this characteristic of the
fathers which makes them so valu-
able to the advocate of cause
which has no Scripture evidence in
its support.
In one OF his latest works, "The
History of Interpretation" Arch
deacon Farrar. of the Episcopal
church, says of the fathers:
There are but few of them whose
pages are not rife with errors
errors of method, errors Of fact, err
rors of history, of grammar, and
even OF doctrine. This is the lam
guage OF simple truth. not Of slight
ing disparagement."-Pp. 1862, 1853.
Again on page 164 OF the same
book. Farrar says:
without deep learning. without
linguistic knowledge, without liter
ary culture. without any final prin-
ciples either as to the nature of the
sacred writings or the method by
which they should be interpreted
surrounded by Paganism, Judaism
and heresy OF every description,
and wholly dependent on a faulty
translation. the earliest fathers
and apologists add little or nothing
to our understanding OF Scripture
Their acquaintance with the
Old Testament is incorrect, popular
! and full of mistakes their scrip
tural arguments are often baseless
their exegesis-novel in application
only-is a chaos OF elements un-
} consciously borrowed on the one
e hand from Philo. and on the Other
from Rabbis and Kabbalists. They
4 claim a grace of exposition, which IL
not justified by the results the!
{ offer, and they suppose themselve
to be in possession Of Christiai
p Gnosis. Of which the specimens OF
fered are for the most part entirel!
, untenable.'
In the last quotation from Far
rar. this expression occurs: sur
e. rounded by Paganism, Judaism anC
p heresy Of every description" etc
This seems to be forgotten by the
Doctor when he appeals to the faith
| ra.ufaAra fhafrn hnrIfa
because they lived so near the tim'
I CT the apostles, but overlooked th'
fact that they lived still nearer q
another time, namely, the time o.
D gross paganism. Sow If their char
aoters were to be determined by th'
character Of the people to whom
they we're nearest. in point OF time
we submit that the anteceden
probability that they would ASSUME
z the color Of paganism. is create
than that they would assume tn
color of Christianity.
The Sabbath of Jehovah, rests no
upon such himsy evedenc as tn
l. words of these venerable stagers o
, the first two centuries. but upon tn
y Living Word OF the living Cod
E1. 20 Sill.
Is In this epistle to the Galatian
e I:Sl. the apostle Paul said
d Though we. or an angel fror
" heaven, preach any other gospe
unto YOU than that which we hav
}? preached unto you, let him be ac
l. cursed"
10 The Fathers, so-called, spea
with the voices of inhrm and talll
\ BILE men. and not like the New res
r. lament writer's. with the her
" tongues Of the Holy Ghost Pete
-e 1921.
NJ. c. WHITEMARSH,
COS Grant Ave. Wilmington, DE