229
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
May 1930
I
ßditorial (Somment ~Q^> j
by Genesis and the sections of Exodus dealt with in this volume,, are only possible and intelligible within an environment in which Hebrews and Egyptians lived together. Dr. Yahuda’s contention,, if it be held to be proved, would carry fateful consequences, in other than linguistic directions. It would involve a radical revision, and indeed overthrow, of current critical conceptions o f real Hebrew literature . . . . if the Pentateuch is only explicable in an Egyptian milieu then the critics will’ have to begin their work all over again. — 0 — Imperialistic Scieyice P RE S S reports indicate that some members of the American Association of University Professors are assuming a belligerent attitude. They remember the Scopes trial in Tennessee, the dismissal of faculty mem bers in the University of Missouri because of the distri bution of a questionnaire on sex, and other events which to them appear to be “breaches of academic free dom.” They are stirred to a “more aggressive de fense of their rights as teachers and research workers to think and work unhampered by the taboos of society.” The attack upon what they presume to be their liberties is described as “the present-day con flict between science and superstition.” They produce again the much-overworked piece of fiction concerning Pope Urban’s ban upon “the honest inquiries of Galileo- about the universe” in order to make it appear that the orthodox Church has always been and still is the foe of true learning. They take themselves very seriously; in deed, they make definite suggestions as to the best method of preserving their freedom, lest, forsooth, our civiliza tion, bereft of their guidance in matters of scholarship, shall lapse again into the gloom of the dark ages. Their scheme was reported by Watson Davis of the Associated Press as follows: Citing the recent dismissal of faculty members of the Uni versity of Missouri because of the distribution of a questionnaire on sex, and earlier breaches of academic freedom at the Univer sity of Pittsburgh and in teaching evolution in Tennessee, a com mittee of the American Association of University Professors suggested to the visiting scientists (Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology) that they defend themselves by bringing about the adoption of a plan .whereby universities and colleges that dismiss teachers for unpopular ideas would be removed from an accredited list and professors who subsequently accepted positions in black listed schools would lose membership in their professional societies. The public will not take these men too seriously. I t is inconceivable, also, that any reputable college or uni versity would dare to defy public opinion by adopting such) a suicidal policy as is here proposed. And yet there are serious features about such a propaganda which cannot be ignored. It will stir counter agitation in two directions. First, it will spur men to new efforts to eliminate from schools supported by public funds all men whose teaching and methods are so evidently working toward the destruc tion of Christian faith and morals. Second, it will empha size the demand, already felt to be urgent, for the build ing of new schools of the highest scholastic standards
Egyptian Coloring of the Pentateuch
a half century or more a flood of rationalistic literature has been pouring forth from Ger- many. It has come to be expected that every new theological vagary or novel scheme of Bib- Heal criticism that emanated from German universities would' be accepted by “modern scholarship” without question. But there are signs of a reaction against rationalism, or better still, of a revival of the orthodox faith in that land. The writings of Dr. Karl Barth and Dr. Emil Brunner have been calling attention again to the old Christian standards which many sup posed Germany had totally discarded. And now comes a new voice, that of Professor A. S. Yahuda, of Heidel- burg, who has written a book entitled “The Language of the Pentateuch in its Relation to Egyptian.” It appears to be shaking the faith of the critics in the Graf-Wel- hausen dogma, to which they have long and tenaciously clung. A new theory about the Old Testament has been com ing from Germany about every ten years. The irony of the situation has been that each of these theories has been accepted in the United States about the time it was becom ing out of date across the water. Critics have not been discouraged, however, by the kaleidoscopic changes in details of these imported ideas. They have held firmly to their main thesis that there was a natural evolution of Israel’s religion. The Pentateuch has not been accepted as history but has been held to be a patchwork product of many minds and many pens which became completed, as we now have it, after the exile. The very foundations of this theory are threatened by Professor Yahuda’s showing that the Egyptian had a very strong influence upon the literary language found in the Pentateuch. He argues that the Egyptian coloring in language and style is such as would be possible only if the writing were done in an Egyptian and not a Babylonian environment. This opinion of the learned professor is not new to conservative scholars. Such books as “The Unity of Gen esis,” by the late Dr. Samuel G. Green, and “The Problem of the Old Testament,” by the late Dr. James Orr, as well as the more recent writings of Dr. Robert Dick Wilson and Dr. Melvin Grove Kyle, and others, have repeatedly called attention to the Egyptian coloring of the Penta teuch. It has been the habit of the critics to ignore this evidence offered by the conservatives. Are they at last being compelled to admit that it is unsafe to build upon an unproved and unprovable theory concerning the devel opment of religion against the testimony of evident and abundant facts? Dr. MacFadyan, of Glasgow, in a review of Professor Yahuda’s book, seems to recognize the'peril of the critical position and makes the following startling admissions: The broad thesis of the book, that the Pentateuch has been profoundly influenced by Egyptian, is supported by an ampli tude of detail of which this brief sketch can furnish but the remotest idea, and the conclusion of the whole matter is that linguistic phenomena, exhibited by the Pentateuch or at any rate ¡ r jg |H I
Made with FlippingBook HTML5