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“Preach the Word”
I t is a lamentable fact, that in too many of our seminaries where preachers are prepared for their work, the Word of God is not taught; but in its stead the philosophic schemes of so-called “fathers” and great divines are given as the basis of doctrinal belief. I t is true, that these schemes are brought to the Scripture for support, and texts are quoted in their defence. I t is true also that some of these schemes are consonant with Scripture more or less. But, with these admissions, the mistake still exists, that the Word of God plays a secondary part in the instruction. It is not taught; that is, it is not made the authoritative text-book. It is even sometimes introduced as a subject for criticism, and men like Reuss and Robertson Smith are brought in as the critical guides or, at least, helpers. As if a school of the prophets was intended to examine the credentials of God’s Word, arid not to take it humbly and gratefully for personal use and for use before the people. Some theological schools might without exaggeration be called “schools for turning believers into doubters.” The excuse, that men who are going to be preachers should know all that is said against the credibility, genuineness, and au- thenticity of the Scriptures, is a flimsy one. If that were the object, these objections would be considered only by way of parenthesis, and the overwhelming evidence of the Scrip- tures would be the main current of thought; but this is not the way it is done. On the contrary, the objections are magnified, and their authors are commended to the students for their perusal, and the hint is often thrown out that con- servative views of the inspiration of God’s Word are ari- tiquated, obsolete, and marks of ignorance. We have thus, in the very places where, most of all, we should expect to see the profoundest reverence for God’s Word, and its faith- ful study for the understanding of the Divine will, the ma- chinery for undermining the doctrine of Scripture inspiration and authority, on which all Christian truth rests, and that,
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