63
February 1925
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
3 :3 -6 ), or how the dead will be raised (1 Cor. 1 5 :3 5 ); but w hat is inspired we do know, for we are plainly told “ the Scriptures are God-breathed” , th a t is, th e sacred w ritings are th e product of th e Holy Spirit. It is stated by some th a t the though ts are inspired but not the words; however, th e claim of the •Bible is “ the Scriptures are inspired.” Dean Burgon has said “ You can not dissect inspiration into substance and form. As for the thoughts being inspired, ap a rt from th e words which give them expression, you m ight as well ta lk of a tun e w ithout notes, or a sum w ithout figures. No such dream can abide th e daylight for a moment. No such theory of inspiration is even intelligible. It is as illogical as it is w orthless.” As the Son of God proved He was God th e Son by what He was and did, so th e Word of God proves it is God’s Word by w hat it is and does. (T h e th ir d a r tic le in th is s e r ie s w ill a p p e a r in th e M a rc h is s u e .)
th e w riters were amanuenses, th is does not make them u n thinkab le machines., If any theory is desired, it seems in th e light of Scripture th a t inspiration is neith er partial, n atu ral, nor mechanical, bu t supern atu ral, plenary, dynam ical, and verbal. We agree w ith Drs. Hodge and Wakefield who say: “The affirmations of Scripture of every kind, w hether of spiritual, doctrine or duty, or of psychological, philosophical or principle, are w ithout any erro r when the ipsissiona verba of th e original autographs are ascertained and in terp reted in th eir n atu ra l and intended sense.’fe^ The F a c t of In sp iration The main thing to emphasize is the fac t of inspiration. We cannot explain it any more th an we can explain the mys tery of life, hu t as life dem onstrates itself by its liveliness so the Bible dem onstrates its inspiration by its fruits. How th e Spirit inspired the Scriptures we do no t know any more th an we can explain th e mystery of the New B irth (John
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T h e R easonab leness of M i racles T. T. IJolloway
I t is always a pleasure to give th e readers of The K ing’s Business something from th e pen of Mr. Holloway, an attorney in Dallas, Texas, who h as been fo r many years a devout stu d e n t of th e Word, and a teacher of a Men’s Bible Class in the Central Congregational Church of th a t city. P resen ting his subject, as he does, from th e standpoint of a layman and a lawyer, his argum en t is unanswerable. , H O .one who believes in a personal God, whatever th e ch aracter and lim itations of his belief, there should be no g reat difficulty in the possibility of behest of my reason, my choice and will and initiative. But I have violated no law of natu re. Still I have attain ed re sults th a t never could have happened in the ordinary course of natu re, ap a rt from my own will and choice.
And so, if a man had the necessary millions or billions of money, and the co-operation of certain governments, he could dig an immense canal from the A tlantic ocean through th e sand b arriers to the west of the S ahara desert and tu rn th e w aters of th e ocean, by gravity, into the great depression, so th a t it would eventually become a large sea, like the M editerranean, covering thousands of square miles in no rth ern Africa. The resu lt would be a change of the entire climatic con ditions of one or more continents. Rains would follow, and rivers would flow into the new sea. Its surrounding land would be converted into fertile plains and hills. A vast garden would tak e th e place of barren sands. Forests would arise and would he peopled w ith appropriate birds and animals. The whole course of n atu re will have been changed. T hat which was desert and waste and arid for thousands of years will be desert no more. This vast resu lt m ight be attained through the reason and choiqe and will and initiative of m an; or it m ight result from a g reat convulsion of natu re, like an earthquake, open ing a gap for the onrush of the w aters of the sea into the desert. But no law of n atu re would be violated. If this were done by man, it would simply be by his imposing his au tho rity and power over n atu ra l things and n atu ra l laws. God— The Author of All Law A personal God must necessarily have the power of reason and the attrib u tes of will and choice and initiative. Is it reasonable to suppose th a t God has these powers-and attribu tes, bu t does no t use them ? To do away w ith the possibility of m iracles, we m ust do away w ith a personal God, and become pantheists, or else do away w ith God entirely and become atheists. Most men believe in some kind of an original F irst Cause, whether they call it God or what. Is it conceivable
We all recognize th a t, as human beings, we possess the power of reason, and th a t we have those attrib u tes or fa c ulties known as will and choice and initiative. We can bring certain things to pass because we choose to do so, because we have th e will to do so, and because we exercise our own power or initiative to bring these things about. So we attain resu lts th a t would never have been attained by th e processes of n atu re and by th e force of n atu ra l laws, w ithout th e exercise of our own choice, will and initiative. That is what gives us our power and au tho rity over natu re, and enables us to direct the forces of n a tu re in such a way as to work out our desires. Miracles Not a V iolation of Daws of N ature Do not assume th a t a m iracle is a violation of th e laws of n atu re ; or a suspension of such law s;— though it may be a departure, in a way, from th e ordinary, unrestrained course of nature. Let us hold in abeyance for the time being any definition of a miracle. The law of gravitation is taken to be uniform . I take a stone in my hand, then release m y hold; the stone falls to the ground; th a t is-an exhibition of the law or principle of gravitation. But by muscular effort I may hold th e stone some feet above the ground for a considerable tim e; or I may toss it into the air and cause it to go, for a certain time and for a certain distance, in a direction opposite to th e course it would tak e if left to the attractio n of gravity alone w ithout the intervention of my will, choice and in te r vention. I have opposed the power of gravity by muscular force, bu t th ere has been no violation of the law of g rav ita tion and no suspension of th a t law. Or, I may tak e a ton of steel, wood and o ther heavy materials, and construct a flying machine, th a t will rise or fall, or go in any direction through th e air, at the
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