/CONCERNING thy testimonies I have known of old that thou hast founded them forever. —Psa. 119 : 152 .
I know tkat what soever God doeth, it shall be forever. —Eccl. 3 : 14 .
BIBLE NUMBER— May 1923
INSURE YOUR INVESTMENTS FOR THE LORD A GOOD INVESTMENT MAY BE A FOE OF THE
Your Insurance is Found in Our Statement of Doctrine (See Outside Back Cover) Which is Incorporated in the Deed to the Property, and CAN N E V E R B E C H A N G E D For Further Information Address T. C. HORTON, Superintendent 536-558 South Hope Street Los Angeles, California
THE KING 'S BUSINESS M O TTO : “I, the Lord, do keep it, I will water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” ----- 1 1 " Isa. 27:3 " ■■—¿ r r - r i— ■ ■■ ■ PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY TH E BIBLE INSTITUTE O F LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOUTH HO PE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CAL. E n tered as Second-C lass M atter N ovem ber 17, 1910, a t th e P o st O ffice a t Los A ngeles, C alifornia, u nder th e A ct of M arch 3, 1879 A cceptance for m ailing a t special ra te of p o stag e provided for in Section 1103, A ct of O ctober 3, 1917, auth o rized O ctober 1, 1918 ....................... . . . — i 1.1 .....i-..- i ■ — 1 11 VOLUME XIV May, 1923 _________Number 5 Rev. T. C. HORTON, E ditor in Chief Rev. K EITH L. BROOKS, M anaging E d ito r ALAN S. PEARCE, C irculation R epresentative CONTENTS E d ito rials: How God’s Word Works (451 ), Falsifying F acts (452 ), The Call of Christ (453 ), Build on the Book (453 ), Dr. Norris in Texas Legislature (454 ), Chestnuts (455 ), Advancing over th e Precipice (4 5 6 ),’ B itterness in th e Blood (457) Bible Briefs— (548) The Fundam en tal of Fundam entals— By Dr. Charles A. B lanchard (459) Bad E th ics of th e New Theology— By Dr. John Roach Straton, (462) Give Us God’s Word— By Dr. L. W. Munhall (465)
The Problem of Origins— By Dr. Leander S. Keyser (467) The Only Book Never Off The P ress— By F ra n k H. Mann (469) Science and th e Scriptures— By Sir W illiam Dauson (471) The Evolution Delusion— By A. W. Cornwall (472) The F a ith Cure Business— By Dr. Jam es H. Brookes (473) Christ and th e Scriptures— By Dr. Adolph Saphir (474) Bible Fundam entals— Rewards— By K. L. B. (476) Notes on Archaelogy (478) Bible In stitu te in China— By ^Walter T. Steven (481) Evangelistic Stories (483) Hom iiitical Helps (489) y Bible In stitu te Happenings (493) In tern atio n al Lessons (496) F undam entals Lessons (523) Song: ,“ My Saviour’s Bible”— By Rev. J. Mountain, D. D. (542) C u rren t Comment—-(543) Thought s fo r th e Unsaved— By Dr. Jam es H. Brookes (546)
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I’m Not Merely Smiling Now I’m LAUGHING with Joy Because the Contest for the Scholarship is on, and I am going to hundreds of new homes I Just Can’t Tell You How Happy I Am
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BIBLE NUMBER
THE BOOK OF GOD Thy though ts are here, my God, Expressed in words divine, The u tteran ce of heavenly lips In every sacred line. E ach word of th in e a gem F rom th e celestial mines, A sunbeam from th a t holy heaven Where holy sunlight shines. A thousand hamm ers keen W ith fiery force and strain , B rough t down on it in rag e and h ate Have stru ck th is gem in vain. I t stand eth and w in stand W ithou t or change or age, The word of m ajesty and light, The church’s heritage.
(H oratius Bonar)
HOW GOD’S WORD WORKS The Church of the Open Door, of Los Angeles, occupies the auditorium and other rooms of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles on the Lord’s Day. The church has no organic relation to the Institute but it has the same old-fashioned statement of doctrine (see back cover of this magazine), and is interdenominational. The church, which was organized in 1916, took a position in the very beginning that it would not proselyte. No one is asked to unite with it. Those who desire membership make request, sign a statement of doctrine, and are examined before being received. There are no pledges for gifts. Envelopes are given to each member and they agree to give as God blesses. The church has fifty seven missionary members—ten in Africa, eleven in China, twelve in Central America, ten in South America, five in Hawaii, two in Belgium, two in India, one in Palestine, four in this country. Thirty-two of the missionaries in the regions beyond are supported by the church. The Sunday School has enrolled at this writing, 1521 in the main Sunday School, 2,000 in the Home Classes held during the week in the homes, 2,339 on the Cradle Roll, and 4,300 in the Home Department. These four departments, eliminating the possible duplication of teachers, have over 10,000 people—young and old—enrolled, and have access to 5,000 homes. Over 400 people are engaged in voluntary work in connection with the church and school, and last year used thousands of the Gospel of John, tracts and other Gospel literature.
452 T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Now this church is one of those pessimistic, premillennial churches, believing: in the infallible Word of God and looking for the return of the Lord, and we are only giving this notice for the purpose of calling at tention to the fact that the enemies who are making light of the Old Book are now challenged to show their hands and produce some church whose doctrines, are opposed to the fundamental teaching of God’s Word that can show as good results. The Old Book stands. The Old Book works. The Old Book produces results. —T. C. H. ■si*- a ? afc FALSIFYING FACTS The Chicago University and some of the Methodist periodicals of the country have been doing a great injustice to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. We have no fault to find with their statement that we are pre- millennialists. We acknowledge it and stand with God’s Word in our hand and challenge proof of our being wrong. But we do desire to sound out a message of denial that we have millionaires back of otir work. This is a baseless misrepresentation and we request those who are re sponsible for it to correct the statement they have made. It is true that two men with big hearts for God have given generously to the’ Institute and have enabled us to erect our building. One has given almost every thing he has to God’s work in this and other lands. He has sold his home and built a smaller one in which he enjoys the fruit of his long service in seeing God’s blessing on thè work. The other man, more,than ten years ago, set aside a large portion of his means in a Trust Fund for work in the foreign fields, and the fund is still being distributed largely in China. The money from this fund has been given through the evangelical denominations, and our Methodist brethren who are assailing the premiliennialists and misrepresenting the Bible Institute of Los Angeles have been very glad to accept from that fund about $600,000.00, and are having for this year $25,000.00. In view of their attitude they should either refuse to receive these funds, or else refrain from their attacks upon an institution which is doing God’s service and is absolutely dependent upon the gifts of God’s people for its support. N The writer has had thè privilege of-knowing all the facts from the inception of the work and wants to say again that the Bible Institute^ of Los Angeles is indebted to these two generous-hearted, God-fearing, Christ- loving men for their generous help in this work, which is bringing them in large spiritual returns ; but he also desires to, say with renewed emphasis that the Institute is wholly dependent upon the gifts of God’s people for- its support. V < The Institute does not belong to any man, for the corner stone carries these words : D E D I C A T E D unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. -v The deed to the property contains a statement of doctrine that can be NOW IS THE TIME—ONLY FIVE
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 453 found on the back cover of this magazine, and which can never be changed. We are glad that this is so. No Modernist, no denier of the Virgin Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, can ever preach or teach here. We stand four square, open and above board for the good old Book, and no matter who mav come or who may go, we are anchored safely and securely for all time. . — t . c. h . J|g M ate THE CALL OF CHRIST It has never changed, “ Follow Me.” . Times have changed. Conditions have changed, but the need of the world has not changed, unless it be true that its need is greater than ever before. The Bible has not changed, and it never will: “ Forever, 0 Lord, thy Word is settled in Heaven.” He settled it, and that settles it. “ The Word of the Lord endureth forever,” And our Lord Himself settled it with His own lips when He said, “ All things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning ME,” Now the fact that a few men in the pulpits and in the schools are boast-, ing of their professed scholarship, and—in their effort to prove themselves- scholars—are handling the Word of God deceitfully, does not change the fact that they are simply puppets of Satan. _ They say that the Bible is not true, and we know that they lie. They say that Christ was not God manifest in the flesh, and we know that they lie. They say that there' is no literal hell and we know that they lie. And we can pray that God would break their hearts and bring them to the feet of Jesus, but we must keep our eyes on Him, and our ears open to hear His voice, “ Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” No man ever heard that message and followed Him who was not hon ored by the Lord in soul-winning. There are many things we are called upon to do for Him—helpful things—-blessed things—and things well worth doing, but THE THING above all others, which He emphasized in His own royal life, and which He stressed in His own words, was “ Follow Me.” Do you want to have a good time? Do you want to have a royal time? Do you want to have a joyful time? Do you want to have a fruitful time? Follow Him, and He will make you fishers of men. —T. C. H. a » BUILD ON THE BOOK If the attitude of the enemies of the infallible Book is right then we have a remarkable condition facing us. Our civilization has been built upon the basis oi the Bible as God’s Word. There can be no denial of this fact. Among the greatest of our scholars, our scientists, our statesmen, our spiritual leaders have been the men who have honored the Bible as of Divine origin. But the seductive seed of sedition has been sown with Satanic subtlety for a number of years in our schools and churches. The’ simple-minded and trustful saints have not sensed the peril and are not yet fully awake to the consequences and criminality of the course being pursued and of all that is involved in this propaganda against the Bible. “ If the foundations be destroyed what can the righteous do?” Well, MONTHS LEFT (See Page 458)
454
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
some of us cannot be moved. We know the Book. We have tested it under every possible condition and are more and more assured of its infallibility. Our hearts are heavy with sorrow for the church in its crucial crisis. We have built our house on the foundation of the sure Word of God. What can we do to help those whose faith is being undermined? God’s law for the brotherhood of saints is clearly defined in Deut. 22:8: “ When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not blood upon thine house, if any man fall from thence.” We must erect the battlements. We must keep the boys and girls, the men and women, from falling into the pit. We must keep our skirts clear from the blood of men. We must not allow any sickly sentimentality to obsess us. Our duty is clear. Our orders from High Heaven are definite. We must not waver. We must not yield one inch in matters that relaté to the Written Word because upon that foundation rest all of our hopes in the Living Word. —T. C. H. DR. NORRIS IN THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE Don’t worry— he has not given up his great work in F t. W orth. He was in th e Legislature as a guest, having been invited to speak in defence of a bill which was before them opposing th e teaching of Evolution in any of th e S tate schools or universities. We wish we had room to p rin t 'Dr. N orris’ en tire message. It was a NORRIS ADDRESS w ith th e humor and homey illu stration s so characteristic of him, and IT’S WORTH LOOKING INTO. WHAT? OUR PLAN
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
455
yet w ith th e forceful, unanswerable logic th a t carries deep conviction. Dr. Norris had sent a challenge to th e universities and schools to send a representative to meet him in debate on th e subject. One man h a d 1responded b u t a t th e last moment w ithdrew , so Dr. Norris h ad ' a clear field. We do not know a t th is w riting w hat th e resu lt of th e vote was, bu t we do know th a t th is is th e position which should be taken ,in every S tate where th e Bible is ostracised. Taxpayers .have a rig h t to demand th a t th e ir taxes should t not be used to pay .the salaries of enemies of th e Bible who are used of Satan to spoil th e lives of th e students. Every loyal American should stand p at on th is proposition. ' — T . C. H . ■ ^,1 &. ^¡fc. . 1 1 $ ( CHESTNUTS 1 Quite frequently some one sends us some article or book by an infidel or higher critical w riter, in which attem p ts are made to show th a t th e Bible 4s full of contradictions. We are asked to give in th e K ing’s Business refu tation s of these articles. Should we do so we should n either have tim e for anything worth while nor space in th e magazine for th e real sp iritu al food th e people need. There is not one of these so-called contradictions th a t is no t a chestnut so old it rattles in th e shell. They have been answered a thousand tim es and many of them could be easily solved by a child of ordinary intelligence. How these professedly well-read and scholarly th ink ers can continue to h arp on these ru sty strings is more th a n we can understand. s L et us look a t a few samples of these scholarly argum ents. Here is one who says, “ Im p artial critics have been'condem ned for publishing th e resu lts of th e ir study of. th e Bible, many Christians evidently holding it more religious to believe a lie th a n to know th e tru th . A careful perusal of the Bible would destroy th is kind of belief. Not one in ten thousand has ever read th e Bible critically. It has been swallowed whole.” The w riter th en proceeds to point out some outstanding contradictions as follows: “We find in Matt. 2:9 th a t wise men from th e E ast who came to worship Jesus when He was born, were led by a star. In Luke 2:9 it says an angel led the shepherds where Jesus was born. Was it an angel or a sta r? I t could not have been both. Was it wise men from the E ast or shepherds from His own country? This is th e so-called careful study of th e Bible. Any child ought to be able l to see th a t two entirely sep arate occasions are described. They differ as to tim e and place. Could no t God notify th e Jews by an angel th a t th e Messiah was born, and could He not, some months later., notify th e astrologers from th e E ast th a t th is g reat event had tak en place in th e world? Jew and Gentile were both in formed and each in a language th a t would best be understood by them . Take ano ther sample from th is same learned critic: “Who bore th e cross upon which Jesus was crucified? Matthew says it was Simon of Cyrene. John says Jesus bore it Himself. Which was it? Both could not have carried it.” Ju st because John did no t mention th e fact th a t Simon carried th e heavy cross a p art of th e distance for Jesus, who was already physically weakened by th e loss of blood and th e agonies He had suffered, th is careful stud en t th ink s it impos- ' sible th a t two parties could have been involved. One more sample will suffice. It is pointed out th a t Jud as hanged himself according to Matt. 27:5, while according to Acts 1:18 he fell and bu rst his bowels. FOR INSURED INVESTMENTS. (See Inside Back Cover)
456
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Has th is learned man ever read .any of the stand ard commentaries, practically all of which suggest th e easy solution to th is apparen t contradiction? Did he never give it a little though t himself? Does on e. statem en t exclude th e other? Might not Matthew tell of the mode of Ju d a s’ attem pted suicide w ithout describ in g -th e tragic result? Suppose th e rope broke and Jud as fell in such a m anner as to bu rst th e bowels? . So we m ight proceed w ith all of th e alleged, discrepancies before us. It has been ou r experience th a t as fast as one knocks down an argum ent of th is kind th e critic will set up another. “The n atu ra l man receiveth not th e things of th e Spirit, they are foolishness unto him. N either can he know them for they are spiritually discerned.” The things th a t are no t understood are always made an excuse for not putting into practice th e things th a t are understood. Jesu s’ challenge, “ If any man will do my* will, he shall know of th e doctrine,” is to tally ignored by them . They need th e new birth. Ill— K. L. B. I ADVANCING OVER THE PRECIPICE “Salvation by Character” was the Sunday morning sermon topic of a prom in en t Congregational m inister recently. He began by saying: “I am of th e opinion, th a t our fu tu re .does no t depend upon accepting any doctrine a t all, b u t does depend upon doing o r re frain ing from doing certain things. Your salvation does no t depend upon accepting any of th e doctrines of th e Bible. The m ost im po rtan t question is ‘W h at m u st I do to .b e saved?’ and n o t / ‘W hat m u st I believe to be save(J?’ ” The b ro th er has evidently forgotten th a t when men came to Jesus asking, “W hat m ust we do?” He replied “This is th e work of God th a t ye believe on mm whom he h ath sent.” Evidently th e re is no work th a t one can do un til he has BELIEVED something. This preacher is one of those who th in k they have ad vanced beyond th e old Gospel. Get w hat th e Apostle John says of his kind: “Any one who is advanced and will n o t rem ain by th e doctrine of Christ does n o t possess God” (Moffatt’s tran slatio n of 3 Jo h n 9 ). This is a warning to those who go on beyond th e Gospel. The Gnostics of Jo h n ’s tim e called themselves “ advanced th ink ers.” There are those today who th ink th e Gospel will do nicely for th e ignorant bu t they themselves have advanced beyond it. There .is such a th ing as advancing over th e precipice. One may get to know so much th a t he deserts first principles. This is not progress, it is apostasy. It is not going forward, it is going back t a the devil’s lie. The doctrine of Christ, including, as John shows in his first epistle, the veritable hum anity of Christ, th e essential deity of Christ, and H is propitiatory work upon the cross, is th e th ing appointed of God to guide men into eternal salvation. Who can deny th a t the g reat God has placed His seal to th is doctrine? He puts a value upon it. Therefore do not trifle w ith it. Why should it not make a C h ristian ’s blood boil to see one meddling w ith th e doctrine of Christ, which is th e th ing God has used th roughou t th e centuries to pluck men out of hell on earth? They who do not rem ain by th is doctrine prove th a t they do not possess God. However one may pride him self on his advanced thinking, he is a fool if he has left the doctrine of Christ out of his calculations. INVESTIGATION INVITES INVESTMENT of
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 457 Let us advance, by all means, bu t let it be a healthy progress along th e lines of revealed tru th and w ithin th e lines. • —K. L. B. BITTERNESS IN THE BLOOD “The servant of th e Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those th a t oppose them selves.”— 2 Tim. k 2:24, 25.- I Some one has said th a t th e re is a power in gentleness to subdue th e w ildest opposition. There are higher critics' who are w inning a following because of th e ir gentle spirit. There are orthodox men who are losing th e ir hold upon many because of th e ir harshness tow ard th e critics. Then again, th e re ig Dr. Fosdick, who th ink s th e Fundam entalists are so fierce, yet in a recent sermon he said of them, th a t they were medievalists, obscurantists, destructionists, reaction- ' aries, non-progressives, narrow-m inded, unscholarly, unscientific, uneducated, un cultured, ignoramuses, back numbers, mossbacks, one hundred per cent bigots, v,; trad itionalists, cranks, crass literalists, hopelessly benighted, and o ther little things too numerous to mention. Then th e re is Professor Vedder, th e higher critic, who so often has called atten tion to th e bad sp irit of th e Fundam entalists, and he has w ritten a book against orthodoxy, of which a reviewer says: “ If conservative scholars be tru ly so benighted as th e au tho r th ink s, they should be regarded w ith pity, Calumny and invective are no proof of fine artistry . Can th e re be genuine critical insight when th e re is b itterness in th e blood? This book seems to plan wholesale slaughter, seizes opponents by th e h air and drags them cruelly to th e ir fate. We say oi such books, They shall not persuade us even though we be w illing to be persuaded. When an au tho r reso rts to abusive invective we begin to d istru st him .” W hether in book, sermon, or conversation, th ere is one th ing th e world has a rig h t to insist u p o n # -th at men sh all be fair and courteous w ith th e ir opponents. P rofessor Leander S. Keyser, of th e L u th eran D ivinity School, Springfield, Ohio, said recently of his experience w ith evolutionists th a t “ they out-dogmatize • all the theological dogmatists of th e Middle Ages. I have read many of th e works of those g reat theologians, as well as those of earlier and la ter ages, bu t I must say th a t in dogmatism ,- arrog an t superiority and contemptuous ex pression, they cannot hold a candle to th e evolutionists w ith whom I have come in contact. They are cocksure of everything. An air of superiority, a haughty mien and an in to leran t spirit-y-these seem to be th e ir chief characteristics.” c No doubt the cause of orthodoxy loses out in many cases for th e want of a Christian courtesy and gentleness on th e p a rt of a preacher. Let us come back to P au l’s rule given Timothy. The offense of th e Cross, has not ceased, There is no b etter method for dealing w ith modern opposition to th e Gospel. T rue gentleness is not weakness. No am ount of scholastic attainm en t, b rillian t elo quence or sharp w it can tak e th e place of it. “I have always been afraid ,” said an old preacher, “ of driving men away from th e Savior. I would ra th e r e rr on th e o th er side.” There is a story about a bumptieus fellow who was gotten forw ard in a Methodist camp meeting. A good b ro th er who prayed w ith him said, “O Lord, tak e th e ungodly s tru t out of Ned Ingram .” If we have any of th is in our method of defending th e faith , we may well pray to have it ta k en out of us. Let us be strong, courageous, dogmatic—bu t not b itter, harsh and unchristian. —-K. L. B. LIFE, SERVICE, MEANS (Inside Front Cover)
"BIBLE BRIEFS” W ILL BE FOUND ON PAGE 548
NOW is the TIME To GET ‘ Over Twenty PeQple are Already Contesting for the YEAR’S SCHOLARSHIP in the BIBLE INSTITUTE an d a re m ak in g stre n u o u s efforts to re ac h th e goal. Som e of th e first- y e a r In stitu te stu d e n ts a re com peting— desiring th e sch o larsh ip fo r th eir second y e a r— an d th ey a re n a tu ra lly very enthusiastic, know ing from exp erien ce th e real value of th e prem ium offered. O n e stu d e n t has alread y se c u re d ov er a h u n d re d subscriptions, b u t she h as a close second in a n o th e r c o n te sta n t living in Seattle, p ro v in g th a t th e insiders have no special ad v an tag e ov er th e outsiders. A S P L E N D ID O P P O R T U N IT Y fo r som e Y oung P eople’s Society, M issionary Society, S unday School o r sim ilar org an izatio n to help som e w o rth y y o u n g p erson, anxious to fit him self o r herself fo r C h ristian w ork. R em em ber, too, th a t in soliciting subscrip tio n s fo r T h e K ing’s Busi ness y o u a re n o t engaged in a selfish w ork, for no one can tell the bless ing o n e copy of th e m agazine m ay bring. A c o n cre te illu stratio n of this is fu rnished by a su b scrib er w ho, sending in his renew al, said: **I d o n ’t see how 1 c an do w ith o u t T h e K ing’s Business as 1 th in k it is one of th e b est S unday School m agazines 1 ever had th e p lea su re of reading. I w ish 1 w ere able to p u t it in to every hom e in th is town. 1 rem em b er very well th e first copy 1 ever saw . I h ad alm ost given u p try in g to live th e C h ristian life. B ut 1 w as trav ellin g on a train and found a copy of T h e K ing’s Business and ju st -to p a ss th e tim e, p icked it u p a n d beg an to read it. T h e m o re I read th e m o re in te rested I becam e, so 1 subscribed an d have n ev er b een w ith o u t it since. * T h e “ In terestin g S tories from R eal E x perience’’ l a re alw ays an in sp iratio n td p eople engaged in C h ristian w ork. T h e “H elps on th e In te r natio n al an d F undam entals S unday School Lessons’* a re the^ b est o b tain able. T h e “C o n trib u te d A rticles’* an d “E ditorials’* alw ays ring tru e and c an n o t fail to give believers a larg e know ledge of a n d a firm er faith in th e W ord of God. FULL DETA ILS O F TH E CONTEST W ILL BE MA ILED PROMPTLY o n app licatio n to th e CONTEST MANAGER, KING’S BUSINESS O FFICE .
inthe RACE
Tke Fundamental of Fundamentals If the Bible Is Not the Very Word of God, We Are All at Sea on Every Other Article of Faith By CHARLES A . BLANCHARD , A . M.. D. D.. P resid en t W heaton C ollege
1. The Value of th e Bible to Men I heard Dr. Griffith Thomas say in an address a year or so ago th a t some one took th e trouble to w rite a letter and send it ou t to one hundred out standing, successful business men. At I remember his statem en t, no preacher, no m issionary, no Bible teacher was in th e number. The one hundred men were outstanding business men; the question subm itted to each of them was th is: “ If you were sentenced to life imprisonm ent and had th e privilege o! tak ing w ith you into your prison one book and only one, w hat would th at book be?” The statem en t was that th e en tire one hundred replied and th a t about ninety-seven out of th e one hundred business men, outstanding business men, declared th a t under the circum stances above mentioned, the one book which they would tak e w ith them into th a t prison would be the Bible. Does any sane man believe that a book w ritten ' by man could produce such an impression th a t ninety-seven out of one hundred outstanding busi ness men perm itted to choose only one book fo r a life imprisonm ent would select th e Bible if it were not th e Word of God? I do not believe it. 2. “W h at Man Makes, Man Can Improve.” Honorable W. J. Bryan, in his g reat address on “The Bible and Its Ene mies,” began on one occasion w ith this proposition, “W hat man makes, man can improve.” He spoke of methods of tran spo rtation ; the devices for lighting buildings and o ther elements of modern civilization. He showed how these had all been improved; man having made them , man improved them . The tallow candle, th e kerosene
HERE are many fundam ental tru th s in th e Christian faith. Each one of them is import a n t; none of them can he
neglected w ithout danger and loss. There is, however, one which seems to me in some respects more im portant th a n any other. I have in m ind the doctrine th a t th e Bible is th e very Word of God. I t is a fundam ental of our faith th a t Jesus Christ is th e only Saviour from th e gu ilt and power of sin. But how do we know anything about Jesus Christ? We learn of Him solely th rough th e Bible. Supposing th a t th e Bible is believed to be a hum an hook, subject to hum an erro rs and defects, how are we to know th a t our faith concerning Jesus Christ is tru e? I do not see th a t this is in any way pos sible. Still fu rth e r, we find th a t when men begin, to doubt th e fact th a t th e Bible is God’s w riting they pro ceed almost imm ediately to doubt th e person and work of’ Jesus Christ. This is n atu ra l and it is inevitable, and so respecting th e teaching about the Holy Spirit and all th e o ther funda mentals of our faith. I th erefo re call th e doctrine th a t th e Bible is th e Word of God, th e fundam ental of fqnda- m entals; th e foundation of th e founda tions, and I desire to set down h ere a few facts which lead me to th is faith , which has now grown -so strong th a t I do not usually speak of it as a belief b u t call it a knowledge. Let our question, then, be, “Who w rote th e B ible?” and le t th e faith of th e fundam entalist be th a t God w rote th e Bible, and let us mention here a few of th e facts which make it clear th a t th is must be tru e.
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lamp, th e gas plant, th e eleciric light, these are instances. We have th e same thing w ith reference to inter-communi cation: a messenger on foot carrying th e message; post horses properly stationed, greatly increasing th e speed of transm ission ; steam, train s and steam ships, carrying these messages a t a vast increase of speed; th e tele graph and the telephone, cutting down th e tim e requ ired still fu rth er, and now th e radio, giving us communica tions for thousands of, miles w ithout any appreciable lapse of time. “W hat 'm an 'm akes, man ‘can improve.” Mr. Bryan said th a t th e Bible, somehow or other, never had been improved. It commands everything th a t is right and good and helpful to men; it forbids everything th a t is wrong and injurious to man and society; it has never been improved in all th e years th a t it has been in th e world. No sane man pro poses to improve it.' It stands alone. 3. This W onderful Book is th e Oldest Book in th e W orld th a t is generally known and which has any practical influence upon human society. A few older books exist. They come to us from Egypt, from In dia, from China. But these books have never produced any great impression upon hum an society. They do not now; we have no reason to suppose th a t they ever will. They are in the hands of a few scholars; they are placed in a few g reat libraries, but th e millions of men and women in th is world know nothing about them ; care nothing about them . The Bible as a practical book for th e world is th e oldest book. All intelligent people know th a t books wear out. They grow old and die and are forgotten. Thou sands of books die every year; thou sands of books are born dead, never produce any impression upon human society, b û t here Is a book which com mands everything th a t is good; which forbids everything th a t is evil and
which n atu rally would be hated by wicked people, yet it outlives all other books; it is th e oldest book in th e world. Who w rote such a book as th a t? 4. This Book is th e Most Popu lar Book in th e World. It condemns all sin; it Requires all righteousness. Many men wish to sin and therefore hate it and many men are unw illing to do w hat is righteous and therefore they hate th e book, yet somehow or other th is oldest book in th e world lives on and its popularity increases. There are two methods of determ in ing th e popularity of a book; one is by the number of languages into which it is tran slated , ano th er is th e number of copies required to satisfy th e popular demand. Now the Bible is tran slated into hundreds of languages. No other book even d istantly approaches it in th is particular. At th e present tim é it is p rin ted in more th a n five hundred different tongues. How are we to ac count for. a fact like th a t? W hat man has ever w ritten a book which his fel low men though t of sufficient im port ance to tran slate into a hundred lan guages? Yet, here we have an old book, finished nearly two thousand years ago, yet vital and growing today and published in more th a n five hun dred different tongues. Who could w rite a book like th a t? Men? Not at all. A book like th a t must be w rit ten J)y th e One who created men; who knows what they need and undertakes to supply th a t need. 5. The Bible is th e Only Book in th e World Which is Up to Date. By th is I m ean-that it never has to be revised in order to make it harmonize w ith th e latest discoveries in history and science. All other books do have to b e revised. If they are not, th ere are errors in them which decrease th e ir value, if they do n o t entirely destroy it. The Bible, however, has REMARKABLE RESULTS FROM
461 th e revelations which history and sci ence have made. 6. The Bible a Scientific Book. Every now and again somebody tells us th a t th e Bible is not a scientific book and therefore it is not to be blamed because of scientific errors. These apologists for the Bible wish us to believe in it and they say what they say in th e way of an apology. B u t the Bible is a scientific book. It deals w ith the g reatest of all th é sciences: th e science of hum an life. I t gives par ticu lar rules for individual, domestic, social, commercial, indu strial, national living. Is th e re any science so im -r p o rtan t as th e science of hum an life? Would th e science of .electrical engi neering, astronom ical observation, geo logical study be of any value to men if they did not know how to live sanely and safely among themselves? How does it hàppen th a t the schools where th e sciences are studied and advanced are all of them located in regions where th e Bible has ta u g h t men th e science of hum an life? Persons who Will re flect upon th is fact for a moment will see th a t th e re is no science which compares in importance w ith th is g reat science of human life, and the Bible is th e tex t book. Individuals and com munities who will live .according to th is book will live well and happily, and those who refuse to live according to it are compassed about w ith miseries and fall into ruin. These facts, which can easily be verified by any thought ful person, convince me th a t th e Bible could not have been w ritten by a hu man being. Some one has said th a t bad men would not have w ritten it and th a t good men could not have w ritten it. I believe these statem ents to be, not generally, b u t literally and exactly according to fact, and therefo re I say not th a t I believe th e Bible to be th e Word of God, bu t th a t I know the Bible to be th e Word of God
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S never been convicted of error. Men who do not know much about it, tell us once iii‘ a while they have caught it in a m istake, b u t when we examine th eir statem ents we find th a t it is not -the Bible which is m istaken, b u t the men who disbelieve' it. Take two or th ree instances. Consider th e san itary laws of Moses; pu t them beside th e latest discoveries of medical science. Celebrated physicians are now telling us in th e daily papers to do exactly th e things for th e life and h ealth of our people which Moses told us to do th irty -^ five hundred years ago. If Moses gave us these directions on his own au tho r ity an 4 because of his own knowledge, how did it come about th a t he could do such a piece of work? If God told Moses what to w rite, as Moses-says he did, th e whole m atter is plain. Con sider th e discoveries of archeology. Archeology is a new science. _ I t is practically w ithin th e last seventy-five or one hundred years th a t it has done all of its work, yet it is continually confirming statem ents made in the Bible and is never contradicting them. Dr. E theridge of th e B ritish Museum was' one tim e asked if th a t great mu seum contained any evidences th a t the Bible 'may ever be m istaken, and he said, “Not one; bu t thousands of proofs th a t the Bible is tru e .” In science we find exactly th e same thing. I th ink it was Sir Charles Lyell who said th a t some eighty different geological theo ries had been invented which were sup posed to con trad ict biblical statem ents. A few years passed and he said every one of those eighty scientific theories had been disproved and rejected, while th e Bible stood ju st where it did a t th e beginning. This is a most rem a rk able fact: th a t a book w ritten so many years ago in such a dark corner of th e world, by people who were not learned in literatu re as th e Greeks and Romans were, should la st un til our tim e and be absolutely unin ju red by all
WORK IN CHINA. (See Page 481)
Bad Ethics of NextfTheology What Shall We Do About the Duplicity and Dishonesty of Some Who Deal with Holy Things? By JOHN ROA CH STRATON , D. D., P a sto r C alvary B aptist C hurch, New Y ork
fair and thoughtful mind m fail to be impressed by e tendency to evasion and ren duplicity which so fre
‘bodily resu rrection ,’ ‘personal, visible I* retu rn ,’ ‘evangelization of th e world,’ — are th e very battle-ground of two world views, one of which— and no doubt the trad itio n al one— the unso phisticated donor holds. Men of th e modern m ind subscribe to th e same words as do men of th e trad itional mind, bu t th e two types of m ind in vest th e words w ith meanings th a t are so far ap art, as to be almost incom m ensurable.” Here, then, is a frank adm ission th a t men representing modernism are ready to subscribe to trad ition al term s, but invest them , in th e ir own minds, w ith a meaning th a t has no more kinship to dictionary definitions and trad ition al accepted beliefs, th a n Mrs. Eddy’s va- porings have to tru e science or Scrip ture. Subtle Deceit Professor Kirsopp Lake, in his in troduction to “ Painted Windows,” th a t suggestive book by th e highly talen ted Englishman, “A gentlem an w ith a Duster,” says this: “ Over against th is is the rig h t wing of Liberals. There is probably little difference in th e m a tte r of private opin- j ion between them and th e left wing, bu t they are more concerned w ith safe guarding th e unity of th e Church. They endeavor to do th is by using th e old phraseology w ith a new meaning, so th a t, for instance, members of th is p arty feel justified in stating th a t they accept th e creed, though they do not believe in it in th e sense which was originally intended. This is technically called ‘rein terp reting ,’ and by a suf- ficient am ount of ‘rein terp retin g ’ all th e articles of th e creed (or indeed anything else), can be given w hatever
quently iappears in th e rank s of th e new theologians and the religious rad icals. The leaders in th is new school of though t are making an astu te and energetic effort to replace th e old faith w ith th e ir new theories. They realize th a t as leaders they are ahead of the g reat mass of th e people, and they seem to be willing to practice a subtle form of deceit by th e use of term s w ith a double meaning, in th e effort to hold on to money, place, and position, while they underm ine th e Christian faith which has been accepted in th e past, and is still accepted by th e vast ma jo rity of church people. We had, for example, in our New York papers recently a group of in terviews from well-known m inisters, in which they openly championed the th eatre, th e dance, etc., and frank ly adm itted th a t they had accepted Dar winism, and th a t they no longer be lieved in th e inspiration of th e Scrip tures, except, as they pu t it, in a “tech nical sense.” T h at meant, of course, th a t they did not believe it a t all, but simply used th e old-fashioned term s “ technically” to get by on. The term “ technically” was a palliative w ith which to ease th e ir consciences over th e ir m ental reservations about the old faith. The ed ito r of a religious paper, in discussing th e question of creedal statem ents, w ith which our brotherhood is now concerned, said this: “The term s used— ‘inspiration and au tho rity of th e Scriptures,’ ‘deity of Jesus,’ ‘incarn ation ,’ ‘atoning d eath ,’
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all of these g reat questions. He says specifically in th e sermon th a t he is “ speaking from the viewpoint of lib eral opinion.” His whole sermon, in fact, was a caricature, on one Side, of those who hold to th e orthodox Christian faith, and, on th e other, a most adroit and insidious appeal for th e radical and revolutionary views which today are underm ining th e faith of multitudes, leading many young men to leave the m inistry, hindering th e m issionary cause, and doing irrep arab le damage to th e Kingdom of God a t every vital point. Is it to be wondered at, therefore, th a t th e Ed ito r of THE PRESBYTE RIAN, in commenting upon th e amazing shiftiness of Dr. Fosdick, said in a re cent searching editorial: “Dr. Fosdick takes th e same view of th e au tho rity of th e Bible and of th e essential doctrines ta u g h t in It and accepted by th e church, as did Colonel Robert Ingersoli. They both reject th e Old Testament, and rehearse its m istakes. They accept th e New Testam ent in its social teachings of Christ, b u t reject all of its g reat fun damentals. Both Dr. Fosdick and Col onel Ingersoli were brought up in th e church. The difference between the two is this: When Colonel Ingersoli knew his beliefs were antagonistic to th e church, he w ithdrew and carried on his propaganda independently, ac cepting th e responsibility and mainte nance of th e same himself. Dr. Fos dick is determ ined to rem ain inside the church and fight h er by the boring process w ithin h er own walls, and com pel th e church to m aintain him and be responsible for him and his propa ganda. R ath er th an w ithdraw and follow his own course in his own way and w ith his own support, he means to stay in th e church, and by a b itter fight compel th e church to endorse him or exclude him and his followers. How
meaning is desired. The statem ent th a t God created th e heavens and the earth becomes in th is way an affirma tion of evolution: th e Virgin B irth af firms th e reality of Christ’s hum an n a tu re ; and th e Resurrection of th e Flesh affirms th e Imm ortality of th e Soul. Perform ed w ith skill, th is dia lectical legerdemain is very soothing to a no t unduly intelligent congrega tion, and prevents any breach in th e apparen t continuity of the Church’s be lief. It also prevents any undue ac rimoniousness of theological debate, for debate is difficult if words may he in terp reted to mean th e opposite of th e ir historical significance.” Dr. Fosdick Hedging Dr. H arry Emerson Fosdick, a Bap tis t preacher pastoring a P resbyterian Church, which in itself is a little ano malous, preached some tim e ago a ser mon against fhe F undam entalists. In th is sermon Dr. Fosdick repudiated th e V irgin B irth of Christ, th e tru e In sp ira tion of th e Scriptures, and th e Second Coming of our Lord, and also gave evi dence of lack of faith in th e Vicarious A tonement. Quite a storm of protest has been raised by these utterances, and now Dr. Fosdick, in a le tte r to the Ed ito r of one of th e Southern religious papers, seeks to create the impression th a t th e radical utterances in th a t sermon were not tru ly representative of his own convictions. He says in his. le tte r th a t the purpose behind his utterances was “ not to sta te my own point of view bu t to sta te two opposite points of view, which ought to be al lowed in th e Christian church.” This is an amazing statem en t from Dr. Fosdick, because, in his sermon, copy of which I have before me as I w rite, while he does sta te two opposing points of view about th e virgin birth, the inspiration of th e Scripture, th e second coming of our Lord, etc., he nevertheless explicitly champions th e radical and sceptical point of view upon
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does th is differ from th e purpose and action of the bandits who force th eir way into a home and compel its occu pants to throw up th e ir hands or yield th e ir property and th e ir lives? In the case of the bandits, th e only question is, Has the man of the house power to resist? If not, all is lost. If the church has not th e power to resist, she, too, will he devastated.” Then the Editor, afte r quoting from the Constitution of th e P resbyterian Church and showing how Dr. Fosdick is violating th a t Constitution by his radical u tterances from th e pulpit of th e F irst P resbyterian Church of New York, says in closing: “W hat is all th is bu t concentrated lawlessness, and we ask Dr. Fosdick how, as a professed Christian, a gen tleman, and a fair man, he justifies himself in being a p arty to such vio lence and lawlessness in th is tw entieth cen tu ry ?” So far as th is w riter is concerned, he- is perfectly frank in saying th a t he th ink s th e Ed ito r of THE PRESBY TERIAN has a full rig h t to sta te the case as he has stated it and to- ask th e question w ith which he closes. R ighteousness Recognized by th e Secular P ress That was a strik ing and profoundly wise editorial in THE NEW YORK TIMES, a little while ago, in which, in commenting upon th e dism issal of Professor Slaten from W illiam Jewell, the E d ito r made th e point th a t a man has^ th e rig h t to believe and teach any thing th a t he conscientiously holds to in th is free country; bu t th a t he hasn ’t th e -rig h t to teach w hat is destructive erro r to the very people who are giving him his support while he teaches. • During th e controversy some years ago over th e teaching of Professor George Burman F o ster of th e Univers ity of Chicago, th e E d ito r of THE DAILY CHRONICLE of th a t city w rote a leading editorial, called fo rth by the
opposition of th e B aptist M inisters' Conference to the teaching of P rofes sor Foster. The E d ito r of THE CHRONICLE used th e following strong words in his editorial: “We are struck w ith th e hypocrisy and treachery of these attacks, on Christianity. This is a free country and a free age, and men can say what they choose about religion w ithout be ing called to account for it; b u t th is is not what wfe arraig n these divinity professors for. They are to be criti cised upon other grounds. Is th e re no place to assail Christianity bu t a di vinity school? Is th ere no one to w rite infidel books except th e pro fessors of Christian theology? Is a theological sem inary an appropriate place for a general massacre of Chris tian doctrine? Mr. M angasarian de livers infidel lectures every Sunday in O rchestra Hall, and no one is shocked, bu t when professional defenders of Christianity jum p on it and assassinate it, th e public— even th e agnostic pub lic— cannot but despise them . If the expression of these infidel sentim ents by Christian teachers makes a marked and saddening impression on m ature minds, how must it affect th e young people in attendance a t th e University? 'These young people are not contam i nated by Mr. Mangasarian nor by the teachers of spiritualism , theosophy and free-thought, who abound in Chicago, bu t when the very men whom they regard as th e p illars of faith bend under them like a broken reed, it is inevitable th a t they will ieave th e uni versity confirmed infidels. Even so, we aré not championing either Chris tia n ity or infidelity, bu t only condemn ing infidels masquerading as men of God and Christian teachers.” And th e Ed ito r of THE WATCH MAN-EXAMINER a t th a t tim e wisely and tru ly said: “L iberty to teach is not license to teach erro r on foundations erected by
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who are to teach our young people in our schools are really believers, and not adroit intellectual acrobats, who camouflage th e ir scepticism, ration al ism, and infidelity w ith th e sacred and holy term inology of an age of faith! Unless th e sceptical preachers of to day are willing' to stand condemned be fore th e world of a subtle bu t real dis honesty, let them step out of th e Chris tian pulpit and carry forw ard th e ir propaganda frankly, and honestly, as Colonel Ingersoll did, in th e open. And let th e rationalistic professors in our sem inaries and colleges get to gether, organize th eir own schools, and raise th e ir own money for them . Then, all people can a t least respect them as men, even though they dissent from th eir views. But no honest man can fully respect another man who eats the bread of an in stitu tion or a denom ina tion while he is engaged in destroy ing the very foundations upon which th a t in stitu tion or denom ination stands. aas aè§■ in P ro testan t churches, who today be lieve th a t the Word of God can be righ tly understood and expounded only by those who have been educated in theological sem inaries. The Word of th e living God is in conflict w ith such a belief. A man may be fam iliar w ith all the dead languages, may be thoroughly in structed in the physical sciences, and may have a complete knowledge of lit era tu re ; but, if th is is all, he can no more understand the Holy Scriptures th a n th e King of the Cannibal Islands, not one whit! See Job 12:17; Ps. 92 :5 ; Isa. 40:28; 55 :9 ; Rom. 11:33; 1 Cor. 1:18-21; 2:9, 14. By th e aid of th e Holy Spirit, the
men loyal to tlie tru th as they und er stand It, for th e propagation of th a t tru th . Would it be ‘intellectual hon esty’ for a professor appointed to teach th e economic wisdom of free tra d e to tu rn his chair into a seat of in stru c tion in favor of protection? If a man th ink s he has a special message to deliver as to any question, economic, theological, or other, let him deliver it by all means, bu t a t his own charges, or of those who agree w ith him, not a t th e expense of those who hold him to be w rong.” W hat Shall Be Bone About I t? Our denom ination certainly ought to rid itself of th e duplicity, th e dishon esty, the hypocrisy and the sham th a t deals in these ways w ith holy things. The radicals and liberals and rationalists of today in our denom ination ought to be so cornered th a t they will be made to call a spade a spade. And the tim e has come when we ought to know, as we did know in other days, if those
Give Us God’s Word
By L. W. Munhall, D. D., Editor Eastern Methodist
jHB secret of the success of the Reformation was not, as nearly all are inclined to be lieve, in the ringing w ar cry
-—“ Justification by fa ith !” Back of th is glorious and most gracious tru th lay th e tru e reason, viz.: Giving the Word of God to the people. Rome held, as now, th a t only the priests educated in her schools were competent to read and expound th e Scriptures. L uther broke the chain th a t bound th e sacred volume, and henceforth it was to be ju st as free to the common people as to th e ecclesiastics, A knowl edge of th e doctrine of justification by faith was only incidental to th is fact. There are many, high in au tho rity
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