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Faith o f Our Fathers — living still In spite of dungeon, fire and sword; O how our hearts beat high with joy, Whene’er we hear that glorious word Faith of our fathers! holy faith! We will be true to Thee till death!
— “ the gates o f hell shall not prevail against it.” M att 16:1»
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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S IN E S S MOTTO: "I. the Lord, do keep it, / wiUwater it every moment, test any hurt U, 1 will keep it nightand day.’ = = = = = i1 g Isa. 27:3 = = = = = PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOUTH HOPE STREET. LOS ANGELES. CAL. Entered as Second-Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California under the Act of March 3. 1879 Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3. 1917. authorized October I. 1918 VolumeXIII May, 192a. Number 5 HORTON, Editor in Chief Rev. KEITH L>. BROOKS, Managing Editor ALAN S. PEARCE, Circulation Representative Contributing Editors DR. F. W. FARR DR. FRENCH E. OLIVER REV. WM. H, PIKE DR. A. C. DIXON CONTENTS Editorials: The Only Book (435), Is the Bible Unbelievable? (436), The Bible- less Brotherhood (437), A Bible Banishing Bishop (438), A'Lost Bible (439) Let No Man Deceive You (440), Where are the Perfect Men? (441). ’ Bible Briefs— (443) Bible and Modern Civilization— By Rev. Don O. Shelton (444) Scientific Accuracy of the Bible-—By Hugh R. Munro (447) The Bible as Literature—and More— By Dr. A. C. Dixon (450) Loosed from Intellectual Slavery—By Rev. Aristide Malinverni (455)
The True Church of Christ— By Bishop Ryle (457) Bible Institute in China—By Mrs. Keller (460) Evangelistic Stories— (462) Bible Institute Happenings— (468) Homiletical Helps— (470) The Talking Book-SBy Rev. C. H. Spurgeon (475) Notes on the Jews and Prophecy-V (476) Talk to the Unsaved—By John Horsch (477) Unfruitfulness is Sin— By Daniel H. Hill (478) Hot Shots from the Editor’s Mail— (480) Sunday School Lessons—-(482) Daily Devotional Readings— By Dr. F. W. Farr (509) Editorial Afterthoughts— (516) The Promise of Providence—By T. C. Horton (519) Book Review— (523) The Blood in the Book—By John Meek (525)
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THE BIBLE Within this awful volume lies The mystery of mysteries. Happiest they of the human race To whom God has granted grace To read, to fear, to hope, to pray, To lift the lateh and force the way. And better had they ne’er been born Who read to doubt, or read to scorn. — Scott
a& g4» CHOICE BITS PROM THE BIBLE, or,
WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE WISE MAN With my whole heart have I sought thee; O let me not wander from thy commandments. Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Thy testimonies also are my delight, and my counsellors. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word. Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against thee. I have chosen the way of truth; thy judgments have I laid before me. Teach me, O lo rd , the way of thy statutes, and I shall keep it unto the end. I have stuck unto thy testimonies. O lo rd , put me not to shame. Stablish thy word unto thy servant who is devoted to thy fear. I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. And I will delight myself in thy commandments which I have loved. THE ONLY BOOK When Sir Walter Scott was dying, he said to his secretary, “ Give me the Book.” “ What Book?” “ There is only one Book,” replied the nov elist, and the secretary handed him the Bible. Locke’s definition of the Bible has not been improved upon: “ It has God for its Author, salvation for its end, and the truth without any admixture of error for its matter.” Commentaries are good, but not good as substitutes for independent search. When Alexander the Great stood before Diogenes, as he sat by his tub the general asked the philosopher what he could do for him. The rather grim reply was, “ Simply get out of my light.” And any searcher has a right to say, “ Get out of my light” to every one whose shadow comes between him and the Truth. | reminds one of Mr. Spurgeon’s saying, suggested by the worm-eaten Bible which he found on the table of a Scottish wayside inn. Holding it up (Psalm 110.)
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UNDERMINING THE WORD OF GOD “ On whomsoever it shall fall, It will grind him to powder.” Mt. 21:44.
to the light, he noticed only one hole through which the light shone. One worm, it seems, had begun at Genesis and eaten through to Revelation; and Spurgeon prayed, “ Lord, make me a book-worm like that.” Such a book worm never turns into an earth-worm. It will have wings by and by. —A . C, Dixon. IS THE BIBLE UNBELIEVABLE? What a question to ask of people living in civilized nations! Have changed conditions in our land justified a change in OUr faith in the Bible! Have the brains of our great scholars become so brilliantly bright that they shed new ligiht on the Bible ! Has the incomparable history of the Church of God been wrought through belief in myths and fables? Must we burn the books of the fathers of the faith,—those men who walked by faith and toiled through tedious years to help fix our feet upon a firm foundation! Are we to surrender our souls to the sooth-sayings of silly, superficial scholars who sit in judgment upon the Scriptures and sentence them to the scrap heap ? Are we to permit our children to be chained and left in the darkness of the dungeon of unbelief and skepticism!
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S 437 Are the true men and women of the church to lie supinely upon their backs while Satan’s servants bind them hand and foot? Is there not a call from the crucified, glorified Christ to His chosen ones to unsheathe the sword of the Word, stand like stalwart soldiers and smite the traitors to the truth? Is there no appeal to the honest-hearted, faithful followers of our Lord from the hungry-hearted, sin-sick, perishing people who—without God and without hope—are heading hellward as fast as feet can carry them? Who among us will rally to the standard ; stand the test; raise our voices in testimony, and by lip and life challenge the charlatans who are toying and trifling with the most sacred things in human life and seeking to de stroy the foundations of our faith and the very fabric of our beloved country ? —T. C. H. THE BIBLE-LESS BROTHERHOOD . The membership in this club is constantly increasing, and the Congre gational Church seems to carry the honors, so far as members are concerned. Every few days one of the ecclesiastical eggs spawned in the seminaries breaks the shell and out pops a freshly feathered specimen of the black brood and immediately commences to cackle a Bible-less cackle. There is nothing new about these birds, except that they are beginning to roost in so-called orthodox churches and pull off stunts in the pulpit instead of in the cock-pit, where they belong. Here are a Couple of specimens,—one named Lockwood, hailing from Butte, Montana, the other named Hawkins and occupying the Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle, Washington. Mr. Lockwood denies the Bible, in toto, for he denies the miraculous in God’s Word. A Butte paper speaks in glowing terms of this startling sky rocket and assures its readers that the “ Home Missionary Society of the Congregational Church decided that he should retain his church, free from interferences from other denominations.” I We would not have taken the space to call attention to this specimen of the product of the Chicago University were it not that he only represents one bird of a brood for the support of whom honest church people are com pelled to give their money. He is a Unitarian, of course, but why pose as a preacher of the Gospel ? The Butte paper in our possession quotes him as saying: “ The God of\ the early Jews demanded sacrifice. As the nation developed the higher attributes their conception of God reflected the advance. God ceased to demand human sacrifice, became content with a sheep or a ram, and later ceased to demand any blood sacrifice whatever.” In a Seattle paper we find the following utterance from Mr. Hawkins: “ Blood sacrifice is a common idea amiong primitive people. The early Jews believed that the death of Christ was a price paid to an angry God to buy him off that he might not show vengeance on his sinful people. A modern study of the Bible, has clearly shown that Jesus never set forth any theory of blood atonement, but everywhere he emphasized the fact that man ought to be right with God by living right lives.” In this statement Mr. Hawkins practically calls our Lord a liar. A great gathering of ministers and laymen held a protest meeting, and the
438 T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S Dunlap Baptist Church and the Bethany Baptist Church published notice of their withdrawal of fellowship with the Plymouth Church until it should publicly disown the shameful betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Lockwood, and others belonging to this unholy brotherhood, should read Hebrews 10:28, 29. “ He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he he thought worthy who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the cove nant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?” —T. C. H. H& i 5^14. gfe» sfe A BIBLE-BANISHING BISHOP The title of a new book is “ Communism and Christianism” , the author being a Bishop in the,Protestant Episcopal Church (or, rather, he was). He styles himself in a paragraph under a picture of himself in regulation robes as “ The Right Reverend Montgomery Brown, D. D., member of the House of Bishops, Protestant Episcopal Church, some time Archdeacon of Ohio,” etc., etc. Under the title on the first page are these words: “ Banish the gods from the skies, and capitalism from the earth, and make the world safe for Industrial Communism.” The following is the dedication: “ This booklet is gratefully dedicated to the proletariat from whom Bishop and Mrs. Brown are sprung, and to whose unrequited labors (not to the good providence of a divinity) they “ Whoever buys this booklet under the impression that, because its author is a member of the Episcopal Church, and of her House of Bishops, and a citizen of the United States, it must be in support of Christian orthodoxism and Capitalist Democratism, will soon be disillusioned; for, from beginning to end, the contrary is the truth, the endeavor throughout being to have readers see religious things from the Darwinian, and political things from the Marxian viewpoints, and the«« are not at all the points of view afforded for the seeing of such things by Christian ism and Capitalism.” The bishop (God'save the mark!) commences with a full-fledged lie. Whatever he has in this land of ours—this good land—purchased at a great price and founded on the Bible—he owes to the Christian churches an4 schools which gave him whatever of ability he may have, his position, the comforts of home, the clothes he wears, the food he eats. If he ,were_ in Russia—where he belongs—he would be standing in the bread line waiting for a hand-out. We would not waste space in our pages, or the patience of any of our readers with any lengthy quotations from this book of 200 pages, now in its sixth edition, 75,000 copies having already been printed. The copy we have in hand was given to one of our workers by an I. W. W. at a park meeting. Suffice it to say that this “ bishop” (!) denies in toto the B ib le - Old and New Testaments. He says. “ No man can consistently be both a Socialist and a Christian.” Again he says: “ The one God of the Jews and the triune God of the Christians, if taken seriously, are superstitions; and the Bible revelation of their willings, and record of their doings, if taken literally, are lies.” ’ owe their wealth, leisure and opportunities.” On the outside back cover is this inscription:
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Another quotation: “ In the dispute between yourself and friend, of which you speak, you are altogether right and he is entirely wrong. In the last analysis it is a disputation as to whether or not the Jewish-Christian Bible contains an infallible revelation from an omniscient being, triune God,— Father, Son and Spirit. It does not.” He has fed largely at the trough of Carl Marx and Charles Darwin and Frederick Engels, and quotes freely from them. He has nothing new to give out, but he uses his title and robes and position to pass the poison on to°the unsophisticated. By the consent of the author of a book called “ God and Immortality , (Prof. James H. Leuba of Bryn Mawr College) he gives the following quotation: “ What, then, is the main outcome of this research? Chart XI, Partial Sum mary of Results, shows that in every class of persons investigated, the number of believers in God is less, and in most classes, very much less than the number of non-believers, and that the number of unbelievers in immortality is somewhat larger than the number of believers in a personal God, that among the more distinguished, unbelief is very much more frequent than among the less distin guished.” Mr. Brown then goes on to say, “ Within the generation to which I belong, Darwin and Marx, the greatest teachers that the world has had, went over the top of entrenched ignorance with the greatest books of the world, worth infinitely more to it than all its bibles together.” Again he quotes from Helen Keller (the blind woman): “With pain and anguish the Old Order has given birth to the New, and be hold, in the East a man-child is born! Onward, Comrades, all together! Onward to the campfires of Russia! Onward to the coming Dawn! Through the night of our despair rings the keen call of the New Day. All the powers of darkness could not still that shout of joy in far-away Moscow! Meteor-like through the heavens flashed the golden words of light, ‘Soviet Republic of Russia.’ Words, sun-like, piercing the dark; Joyous, radiant love-words banishing hate, bidding the teeming world of men to wake and live.” Helen Keller owes her ability to read and speak to the Bible and the blessings which come by grace through our Lord Jesus Christ, but she now exalts the “ red dawn of Moscow” ! ' God help our country and deliver our children from this chatter of the worn-out theories which have never brought a ray of peace and comfort to a single soul! Pray that the “ bishop” and his wife and Helen Keller and all of the kindred spirits of this foul cult may be converted to Jesus Christ, or else taken out of the way! —T. C. H. sfc A LOST BIBLE We read an interesting story in 2 Chron. 34:14-32 of how a long lost Bible came to light and once more warmed the hearts of the people. An unread Bible is always a lost Bible. When one is deprived of a thing, it is lost to him, even though it may be near at hand. There are many parlor table Bibles which are lost Bibles. Many Bibleless Christians will frankly admit that some power is always on the job to keep them from meditating upon the Scriptures. The Bible has a great enemy and he is likewise the enemy of every Christian. The devil knows he can’t do his work in a world where the Bible has its proper place in the lives of men. Why wouldn’t he hate it and do his best to keep it buried out of the sight of believers 1
440 T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S Have you noticed that a Bible is like some people^—very shy and retir ing ? Buy one, and in three days you can’t find it. Ah, it has burrowed its way under a pile of newspapers. Or it has hidden behind a popular novel, or climbed into the far corner of the stair closet shelf. How do you account for it? "We must make it feel at home. We must give it first place. We must covenant with God to read it every day. One of our Bible correspondence students writes us of her experience with her Bible and how she has learned to keep the Book ever in the place God intends it to have: “ You sent me a little pamphlet, ‘Our Bible Reading,’ by Rev. F. B. Meyer, B. A., and in it are these words, ‘Though you have failed again and again when you have trusted your own resolutions, you cannot fail when you are simply trust ing Him.’ I had been in the habit of making a resolution at night to get up in the morning to read my Bible; then the next morning it would be cold, or my eyes would feel tired, or I would not wake up, or something or other would be .the matter every morning, so that I accomplished nothing at all by making my reso lution. After reading the above quotation from the pamphlet, I cannot tell you how it was, but I simply asked God to get me up the next morning to read my Bible, then went to sleep not worrying about it. The next morning I woke up on time and without thinking about it at all got up immediately, dressed and studied my Bible until breakfast. I ask God each night to get me up in the morning and without any hesitation get up the next morning at the proper time and have read Deuteronomy through in an unbelievably short time. And the best of it is that I spend no time at all making resolutions or planning just how I am going to make myself get up.” —K. L. B. (Matt. 24:4) “ Handling the Word of God deceitfully” (2 Cor. 4:2)—how else can one who knows something of the Word of God characterize the majority of the so-called Bible study leaflets that are going out over the country from the “ American Institute of Sacred Literature” (Chicago University)? “ Christ’s Interpretation of His Second Coming” is the title of one just fresh from the pen of the Dean of the divinity school. Now, even the ordi nary student knows that Christ had a great deal to say about His second coming, and one might reasonably expect several Scripture quotations on a subject of this kind. The professor begins by informing us that the disciples and the Apos tle Paul, in their expectation of a literal fulfilment of the prophecies re garding Christ’s second coming, were very much mistaken. The fact that Christ did not return during their span of life on earth proves that they were wrong. They inherited these ideas from Judaism and it remained for the Apostle John, the latest of the writers, to set people straight on this matter. The strange thing is that if one appeals to the fourth Gospel to prove the Deity of Christ, this same professor will rule out the testimony as unre liable because John’s writings are too highly colored. Yet when he casts LET NO MAN DECEIVE YOU
T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S 441 about for a passage to help him to get rid of a literal coming of Christ, he thinks he finds it in the fourth Gospel, and so builds his whole argument on one verse. %“ Jesus’ own interpretation of His second coming,” says the professor, “ is set forth by the beloved disciple in John 14:21-23: ‘ If a man love me he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.’ ” Thus it is proven that the second coming has already taken place and that it is fulfilled in thé spiritual growth of each individual Christian. But would the professor really have his readers think that this was Christ’s interpretation of His promised second-appearing ? Would he open up his Bible and invite his readers to examine the context? What would become of the argument in that case? We find Christ talking about the sending of the Holy Spirit who, during His absence in heaven, was to mani fest the Father and the Son to all saints. Does the professor invite us to read the opening words in this ^same chapter : “ I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am, there ye may be also” ? How quietly does the dean pass over those great statements Christ made about His coming again, such as Matt. 24:27-30, or again, the angelic message that accompanied Christ’s ascension in Acts 1 ¡10-11. And the poor, mistaken Apostle Paul—what would the professor have us think of the statement with which Paul prefaces his teaching about the second coming : “ This I say unto you by the authority of the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:15) ? We see how the Apostle John has helped out the professor’s view. Now let us turn to John’s last writing. Surely he will set everything right. And so he does:’ “ Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, and all kindreds of the earth shall mourn because of him” (Rev. 1:7). And so the last book of the Bible carries the same message proclaimed in Matthew, Mark, Luke and the Epistles of Paul and Peter, and then closes with the prayer/“ Even so come, Lord Jesus.” “ He is here already, We do not need to wait for His appearance,” says the professor. / ‘ The Lord is not coming, He has come ; He is now pres ent as a spiritual King,” says Pastor Russell. “ He is here,” says Mrs. Eddy. “ Christian Science is the second coming.” “ He came in 1844,” says Mrs. White. “ Let no man deceive you,” says Christ Himself. “ For as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto the west; so shall the- coming of the Son of man be. ’,’ —K. L. B. WHERE ARE THE PERFECT MEN? Because we sometimes refer to the sins of believers, some seem to think we are pleading for sin, and the editor of an exchange (a holiness paper) goes after us in a strong editorial. Anyone who believes the Word of God is against sin. Deliverance from sin is legally for all in Christ (Rom. 8:1). Victory over sin is the chief thing in Christian experience (Rom. 6:13). It is the function of the Holy
442 T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S Spirit to impart to the believer the moral and spiritual virtues of Jesus Christ, aS'the life of the vine is communicated to the branches by the sap. Holy living becomes the dominating principle in all true believers. Still we find ourselves not exempt from temptation, nor free from mistakes in prac tice, temperamental difficulties, and the various infirmities of mind and body common to those who liVe in this corruptible state. The issue, however, is over the question of whether or not the sinful nature is entirely eradicated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within the believer. 1 John 3:8 is usually the passage relied upon to prove that a child of God cannot sin. This states that the one who commits sin is of the devil Some gather that there are a certain select few who have received a second blessing which has entirely eradicated the sinful nature. Verse 9 says that, 1 ["Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. ’ ’ The present tense -in the Greek sets forth a state. The born-again soul certainly does not habitually practice sin. He is not in a state of sin. If he continues in a state of sin, what proof is There that he has new life at all? John Wesley believed in perfection, yet he was careful to guard his position by; specifying that he did not mean perfection in the sense of being free from sins of ignorance, mistake, infirmity, negligences, nor ever in a state not admitting of spiritual increase. He refers to sins that are due to union with a corruptible body, and thinks while believers are in the flesh there Can be no absolute perfection as the necessary consequence of that union. What saint of God will not admit that there is yet much more that can be done for him by the Lord Jesus in perfecting his nature if he were but entirely yielded to the Spirit? That the believer can keep a good conscience and go to bed many a night with the consciousness that he has not wilfully grieved the Holy Spirit, we are sure. This, however, is not sinless perfection. We must ever be on our guard against the conflict with the flesh. We shall need daily crucifixion, prayer and dependence upon the advocacy of our Lord, the cleansing of the Holy Spirit and the power of the blood. Let us remember that God has something to say about those who say they are without sin and that He has given a strong warning for those who think they stand, f „ J —K. L. B.
stands! Should all the forms that men devise Assail my faith with treacherous art, I’d call them vanity and lies, And bind Thy Gospel to my heart!
The All-Sufficient Gospel How well Thy blessed truths agree! How wise and holy Thy commands! Thy promises, how firm they be! How firm our hope and comfort
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BIBLE
BRIEFS
MARGINAL NOTES FOR YOUR STUDY BIBLE
Ps. 56:8; Book for thoughts—Mai. 3:13. Compare “ Man of sorrows” (Is. 53:3) with “ man of-sin” (2 Thess. 2 :3). Compare “ Father of lights” (Jas. 1: 17) with “ father of lies” (Jn. 8:44). Three figures of the church: Build ing— Eph. 2; Body—Eph. 4; Bride— Eph. 5. Two things positively assured: Jews shall be planted in Palestine— Jer. 32: 41. Jesus is both Lord and Christ— Acts 2:36. Both propositions confident ly denied by modernists. Fellow-heirs— Eph. 3:6. Fellow- helpers— 3 Jn. 8. Fellow-citizens— Eph. 2:19. • Matthew records fourteen cases of healing by Jesus. Six were performed by the use of His hands; six by direct command; two do not specify methods used. Mark gives thirteen cases,— six by the~hands,.six by command; others, method not mentioned. John records three cases,— one'by use of means; two by command. The Adoration Psalms: 19, 29, 33, 103, 104, 111, 113, 115, 145, 146, 147, 148. The Meditation Psalms': 1, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 23, 24, 34, 36, 37, 39, 49, 50, 52, 62, 75, 82, 90, 92, 94, 99, 121, 125, 127, 128, 133^ 139. The Thanksgiving Psalms: .30, 40, 46, 48, 65, 66, 116, 124, 126, 129, 138, 149. The Worship Psalms: 5, 26, 27, 42, 43, 84, 100, 122, 134. The Penitence Psalms: 6, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143. The Old Testament mentions fifteen ancient books which are lost. See Num. 21:14; 2 Sam. 1:18; 2 Kgs. 23:28; Josh. 10:13; 1 Chron. 29:29; 2 Chron. 9:29; 26:22.
Degrees of joy: Joy—Gal. 5:22; Great joy— Lk. 2:10; Exceeding joy— ' 1 Pet. 4:13; Exceeding great joy—Mt. 2 : 10 . Degrees of power: Great power— ■ Acts 4:33; Mighty power— Eph. 1:19;. Excellent power— 2 Cor. 4:7; Exceed ing great power—Eph. 1:19. Compare God’s manifold works, wis dom and grace. Ps. 104:24; Eph. 3: 10; 1 Pet. -4:10. Compare the woman who would, Gen. 24:58, and the man who wouldn’t, Num. 10:30. Peace with God— reconciliation— Rom. 5:1; Peace of God— satisfaction — Phil. 4:7. Dead works—Heb. 6:1. Unfruitful Works— Eph. 5:11. Wicked works— Col. 1:21. Double titles of Jesus: Author and Finisher of our faith—-Heb. 12:2; Apostle and High. Priest of our profes sion—Heb. 3:1; Shepherd and Bishop of our souls— 1 Pet. 2:25. Compare the Dayspring— Lk. 1:78, the Daysman— Job 9:33, the Daystar— 2 ‘Pet. 1:19. Salvation Free— Isa. 55:1; Full— Lk. 2:29, 30; Forever— Isa. 45:17. Three things worth knowing: That my Redeemer, liveth— Job 19:25; That I know Him-—-2 Tim. 1:12; That it is well with those who reverence Him— Eccl. 8:12. Preachers’ Points: Study doctrine— 1 Tim. 4:13. Feed on doctrine— 1 Tim. 4:6. Labor in doctrine— 1 Tim. 5:17. Teach doctrine— 1 Tim. 1:3.. In the Lord: Believe — Acts 9:42; Stand— Phil. 4:1; Labor— 1 Cor. 15:. 58; Marry— 1 Cor. 7:39; Die—Rev. 14: 13. An object lesson: Bag for transgres sions— Job. 14:17; Bottle for tears-—
Bible and M odem Civilization Address Given at World’s Conference on Christian •Fundamentals, June, 1921 By don o. S helton
HE spiritual and m o r a l strength of a nation corre sponds to the Christian faith of the people. As the source
If a survey of the signs of the times reveals ominous and sinister tendencies the one who makes the survey need not be marked a pessimist. A man is not necessarily a pessimist because he is alert to find marks of decay and danger in the house he occupies. An engineer is not a pessimist because he listens alertly to the voice of his train, in order that no defective machinery may en danger the lives entrusted to him. A sea captain is not a pessimist when he establishes a continual outlook to pre vent catastrophe and wreckage. A Chris tian disciple is not a pessimist because he scrutinizes the signs of the times in the radiant light of the unerring Word of God that he may warn his fellow- men of impending peril. That the drift of our modern civiliza tion is away from God and His Word is overwhelmingly evident. In the light of the signs of the times, we may well ask: What has become of the philosophy of this world? What is the fruitage of the Christless philosophy of the Christless world leaders? The abounding evidence of moral de cline, the recent horror vof the world- war and the present world-chaos are lightning flashes revealing the desola tion which results when men reject the Word of God. Abandoning the moun tain heights of God’s truth, men find themselves floundering in the abysses of despair. . » Men have been trying to regulate their own affairs and the concerns of the world without reference to their duty to God. Priding themselves on the advance of science, the growth of commerce and the progress of clviliza-
of Christian faith is the Bible, the re ceiving with the heart of the Scripture as the authoritative Word of God is essential to the strength of the nation. The endurance and the highest welfare of civilization, therefore, are dependent on the hearing and obeying by the nation of the voice of God as He speaks through His Word. The source and vigor and welfare of civilization are contingent on Christian faith. This conviction Hr. Gladstone held from youth to age. He believed, says Mr. Morely, that the strength of the nation corresponds to the religious strength of the people. _George Wash ington recognized the hand of God in the remarkable beginnings of our na tional life. “No people can be found,” he said in his first inaugural address, "to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand which conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an inde pendent nation seems to have been dis tinguished by some token of providen tial agency.” The words of our Lord are as applicable to nations as to indi viduals, “ According to your faith shall it be unto you.” As by theirTruits nations are known, what do the characteristics of our mod ern civilization indicate as to the respect and reverence of the people for the Bible? Is the drift toward, or from, veneration for the Bible and obedience to its divine authority?
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the united testimony of missionaries that no matter what university degrees and university honors men win, they do not rise above the vices and immorali ties and superstitions of their heathen life unless they receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. “ The history of all times,” says one of the leading his torians of missions, “ shows ho example of this, that more civilization has been the means of elevating again a sunken people. . . . Christianity is not the bloom, but the root; culture is not the root, but the bloom of Christianity.” Without the sure and everlasting light that flows from the Word of God, with out the power of Christ and His Gospel, there is no inherent virtue in politics or in commerce or in art or in education to purify society or to refashion hu manity. Consequently if the Bible is ignored or rejected, our civilization will decay. No nation is so advanced in culture or in wisdom that it can improve upon the light that springs from the Scriptures. Any attempt to do so is as senseless as to light a gas lamp on a city street at midday when the sun is brightly shining. Human management of the world has proven a hideous failure, as the recent world-war indicates and as the present world chaos thunders. Bishop Nicholai of Serbia has said that the recent world carnage was a “ natural child of a wicked and Christless peace, Christless educa tion, Christless politics, Christless busi ness and Christless literature on the continent of Europe.” Only a few days ago the Prime Minister of England, Lloyd George, said: “ If this war is not the last war, the next will leave Europe in ashes. It is essential that we should find some means of dragging the nations out of this labyrinth of hatred.” The way out, and the power to use the way out, the Word of God alone reveals. “ Christ is all.” “ In Him are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden.”
tlon, they assumed a prolonged era of peace. The Bible was ignored and re jected. Christ and His Gospel had no pre-eminent place in the councils and In the commerce of the nations. Then came the deluge of the world-war with its accompanying horrors. Mankind stood up against God and His Word and used every available resource of skill and power, and sank in an ocean of shame and suffering. Then was again fulfilled the Word of the Lord: “ Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant’ pleasant plants, and shalt set i£ with strange slips: in the day thou shalt make thy plant to grow; and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow. Woe to the multitudes of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirl wind.” (Isa. 17:10-13.) Such Is the harvest nations reap when the people are not right with God. America’s most treacherous and dan gerous enemies are not outside the na tion, but within. The interior foes of unbelief, of selfishness, of self-depend ence, of licentiousness, and of disobedi ence to the light brought into the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, are the ene mies we need chiefly to fear. On every hand is abundant proof that when controlled by the philosophy of this world mankind is doomed. Secular education, apart from the teaching of the Word of God, has proven a failure as a means of social regeneration. It Is
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founder of the Young Men’s Christian Association. When presiding at an im portant meeting in his later life, he said with unusual fervor: “ This I will say, that we must stand steadfastly by the great principles of holding the Word of God to be indispensable as the basis, the middle, and the end of all our edu cation. If, in the least degree, to the extent of a hair’s breadth, you depart from that principle, you may remove me out of. this chair, and find some other man to sit in it, for whilst I draw my feeble breath never shall you see me in your presence again.” The whole Christian world must be summoned to this crusade. The flag of God’s love and of the redemption of mankind only through Jesus Christ must be unfurled so that all may see and understand. The great army of those who love their Lord must be called to move forward in honoring and pro claiming His Word. THE POWER BEHIND THE BOOK Dr. E. Y. Mullins has said: “ The Scriptures speak with authority, as does no other literature in the world. This authoritative note which rings so clear in the Bible is not due to anything external to itself. No court made it au thoritative by decree. No church coun cil made it so by decision. No pope made it so by hurling anathemas at those who denied it. The early church council in the second, third and fourth centuries did not make the Bible au thoritative. They simply recognized the authority of the book itself. The canon of Scripture under God took care of it self. It was inevitable that this dynamic and mighty literature would come together in a vital and organic unity since it was all created by one common life and power of God. Behind this suf ficiency and authoritativeness of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa ments is their inspiration.”
A clear, loud, prolonged call must go forth to the nation to return to the Bible,— to Bible truth and to Bible faith. All the best things in our civili zation we owe to the Bible. “ Destroy this volume,” said Dr. Payson, “ and you will take from us at once everything that prevents existence from becoming of all curses the greatest.” “ For more than a thousand years,” says Coleridge, “ the Bible, collectively taken, has gone hand in hand with civilization, science, law; in short, with moral and intellec tual cultivation of the species, always supporting and leading the way.” Knowing this to be true we are con fronted by the fact that every little while some dilletante educator or super ficial writer pussyfoots into public view with a self-made remedy for the world’s woes, having as much efficacy as a baby’s fingers would have in holding back a cyclone. Amid the arrogance and self-assump tion and colossal self-conceits of the wise of this world, it is a priceless bless ing to have the impregnable rock of Holy Scripture on which to rest, for our Lord said: “ The Scriptures cannot be broken." They are all-powerful! “ Is not my Word as fire? saith the Lord, and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” They are everlasting! “ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall never pass away.” Believing this, it is our highest privilege to hold the truth in love aud in a loving spirit to assert our convictions. The present is a time for red-blooded belief, for courage and for fortitude in exalting and pro claiming the infallible and indestructi ble Word of the Living God. Every part of our nation and the world needs men who will stand in the strength of God for the Divine authority of the Bible in obedience to the teaching of which lies the only hope of mankind. The hour calls for men with iron in their blood, who will stand for the Word of God as did Sir George Williams, the
Scientific Accuracy o f tne Bible All Settled Science Comes Toward the Bible The Scriptures and the Evolution Theory By HUGH R. MUNRO (Continued from the'May Number)
Sir John Herschell, Lord Kelvin, Sir Oliver Lodge, Prof. Dana, Sir J. W. Dawson and G. F. Wright, the order of creation and development there out lined is in accord with the consensus of highest modern scientific opinion. The question has often been asked, “How could Moses have accurate knowl edge of those matters which have for ages been the subject of conflicting opinion?” The answer can be found alone in the conclusion that he wrote under Divine guidance. Man’s Antiquity Again, the subject of Man’s antiquity has long been one of puzzling problems of science. Scripture and science agree in placing man as last in the order of creation, but among men of science there has been wide divergence as to the remoteness of the period when man first came upon the scene. It is well to remember at the outset that the chronology which appears on the mar gins of our reference Bibles is not a part of the inspired record, but was prepared in recent times by reverent scholars, to assist the student in the general location as to time of historic events. These dates are based mainly on internal evidence afforded by the Scriptures and, in» a large number of cases, their correctness can be actually demonstrated. Neither Scripture \nor the Biblical chronology attempts to as sign a date for the beginning of crea tion, or the advent of man, but the Genesis narrative implies for the latter a comparatively close contact with his toric times and the period can, under no circumstances, be reconciled with the
£ find accumulating evidence of the scientific accuracy of the Bible. It is recognized, of course, that the Bible is not
a scientific treatise and it would be ab surd to expect that Bible allusions to scientific matters should be couched in modern scientific termsrAs an inspired record, however, it is not unreason able to require that statements relat ing to science as to any other matter shall be truthful and accurate. One of the first and most remarkable facte which enter into the consideration of Bible science is that the conceptions presented in the sacred record are not the conceptions which prevailed at the time the record was written. In other words, we have the singular phenome non of a record upward of three thou sand years old which not only runs' counter to the prevailing view of the time in which it was written, but ac tually anticipates some of the most im portant results of modern scientific dis covery. Take, for example, what are known as the Cosmogonies of Genesis. Such cosmogonies exist in the literature of nearly all of the nations of antiquity, though generally in terms of the con ceptions prevailing at the time the record had its origin. For ages the ground has been constantly shifting as to these matters and there are instances even where the literature of a people has been altered to conform with tte scientific concepts of a later period. The Genesis record, however, has stood through all the storms and, according to the opinion of great leaders of mod ern science, such as Sir Isaac Newton,
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the juncture at which man came upon the scene is well founded, then we face the interesting conclusion that - the Biblical chronology and the figures ar rived at through the most recent sci entific investigation almost exactly cor respond. The Question of Evolution To refer to but one other field of scientific speculation where the ground is rapidly shifting, let us look for a mo ment at the present status of the theory of evolution. Darwin’s “ Origin of Species” will doubtless be regarded as marking an epoch in the literature of the nineteenth century, and probably few books of modern times have influ enced popular thought to an equal de gree. Nevertheless, it may be said with utmost conviction, that this particular theory of evolution has ceased to be a live issue, unless it be in certain of our theological seminaries. It is to be re membered that these theories were orig inally advanced by their author with considerable reserve and a full recogni tion of tbeir speculative character, but in the hands of the German scientists they became part and parcel of a ma- .terialistic philosophy, carried to ex tremes unthought of by Darwin or his associate, A. R. Wallace. Haeckel em ployed this new philosophy in his “ Rid dle of the Universe” to discount all forms of religious belief, and, in fact, to deny the existence of a Creator, al though it is interesting to note that in the later editions of this rationalistic work he bewails the desertion of man; of the leading men of science whom he had formerly quoted in support of cer tain of his positions. And quite as sig nificant in connection with the moral bearings of such a philosophy is the fact that in a work which Haeckel published shortly before his death, certain illus trations were used to prove his theories which some of his fellow scientists, purely in the interest of scientific truth, demonstrated to be deliberate forgeries.
extreme figures suggested by some of the prominent scientists o f the last cen tury. A generation or two ago it was common to refer to the geological epochs in terms of untold millions of years and some of the practical difficulties attend ing the application of the Darwinian theory were met by attributing these ▼ast periods of time to each stage of development. Darwin himself was particularly given to these extravagant estimates, and his thorough-going dis ciple, Prof. Haeckel, of Germany, has carried the practice to an almost fan tastic degree in alloting an inconceiv able period to a single stage in the so- called revolutionary process. The mors conservative opinion as to man’s an tiquity which began to develop in the latter half of the last century is repre sented in the estimate of the Duke of Argyll that man had been on the earth about two hundred thousand years. This was later followed by the investi gations of Sir Charles Lyell who sought exact data, proceeding along lines of the theory that the advent of man must have 'followed 'the close of the glacial epoch. It was considered that the best geological evidence bearing on this point was to be found in the channel of the Niagara river, the erosion of which must have occurred since the close of the glacial -period. After careful in vestigation of this channel, Sir Charles estimated its erosion must have occu pied a period of forty thousand years, and in order to afford an exact basis for future investigation, placed a monu ment at the brink of the Falls which would permit of exact measurements as to the rate of erosion in the future. This data has now been kept with scru pulous care for a period of nearly half a century and recent reports of the New York Geological Survey have reduced the figure to ten thousand years, while the United States Geological Survey makes a still lower estimate. If it be assumed that this scientific theory as to
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The great German physiologist, Vir chow, who at an early age looked with favor on the theories of Darwin, later repudiated them completely, while Dar win’s associate, Alfred Russell Wallace, who was almost equally responsible for advancing the theory of evolution, modi fied his views in later years to exclude man from the operation of the theory as well as in other respects. Lord Kelvin, probably the most famous man of science in England, during the last generation, repeatedly expressed his dis sent from the theory of evolution, his opinions being shared to a considerable extent by Sir Oliver Lodge and other leading contemporaries. Sir George' Mivart, the great English naturalist, said of Darwin’s theory— “ I cannot call it anything but a puerile hypothesis.” The Darwinian theory has at no time had any wide currency among the sci entists of France, while in America Louis Agassiz, J. W. Dawson, Prof. Dana, Prof. Shaler, Prof. J. F. Wright and other leading men in this sphere have held consistently to the view of a universe created and under the control of a Divine intelligence. We may say, in general terms, that the breakdown of evolution occurred at two points: First, the theory could not be consistently held without proof of the universal operation of the evolutionary principle in the natural world, and this proof has been entirely lacking. As a result of years of research, between two and three millions of forms of vegetable and animal life have been carefully classified, but the attempt to establish even a single instance of transition from one form to another by natural selection has signally failed. Second, the argu ment that such a transition requires an infinite period of time has been met by pointing to the fields of geology where, out of millions of specimens gathered in all parts of the world, the attempt to find a single connecting link has failed. No less an authority than Dr. Ether
idge, curator of the Fossil Department of the British Museum, has declared that within the walls of that great museum there is not a single specimen establishing the theory of evolution, and that, in fact, the evidence points the other way. a » 4» SUMMER. BIBLE CONFERENCE Following the Fundamentals Confer ence, announced on last page, the regu lar Summer Bible Conference under the auspices of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, will be held. As the Christian Fundamentals Con vention closes on Sunday, July 2, a recess will be taken over Monday and Tuesday, (Tuesday being the Fourth) the opening sessions of the Bible Con ference being held on Wednesday, July fifth. An exceptionally strong program is being arranged for this occasion. It is expected that the Bible Women’s De partment of the institute will have charge of the morning sessions, as here tofore, and in the afternoon and even ings such speakers will be heard as Dr. W. P. White, Dr. Cortland Myers, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Dr. David R. Breed, Dr. Frederic W. Farr, Dr. J. Hudson Ballard, Dr. Robert A. Hadden, and others. Detailed program will be published later, but we are making this prelim inary announcement that you may be making your plans for the month of July. SOMETHING, OR EVERYTHING R. C. Chapman was once asked, “ Would you not advise young converts to do something for the Master?” “No,” replied the veteran; “ I would urge young Christians to do everything for the Master.” “Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31),
n~he Bible as Literaturer -and M ore How the Manuscripts Were Preserved and Brought Together— Miracle of the Ages „ By DR‘ A' ■ HE Bible is literature written by the command of God. He certainly commanded Moses to write the book of the law. To C. DIXON ture, must be under the guidance of God. The Bible is literature written by the command of God, under the guid ance of God, and preserved by the pro vidential care of God. Moses com manded that the book of the law should ‘be placed by the side of the Ark. No safer place could have been found, and the more I study the history of the Bible the more profoundly am I con- \vinced that God has kept His book by the side of some ark all through the ages. As the Church-has been under His care and protection, so has the Book.
John on the Isle of Patmos a great voice as of a trumpet said, “ What thou seest write in a book and send it unto the seven churches.” And before the vision vanishes he is commanded to “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things whiclr shall be hereafter.” He is to write history, current events and predictions, and much of “ the Scrip tures” may be classified under these three heads. The Bible is literature written by the command of God .and under the.guid ance of God. In 2 Pet. 1;21 we read: “ Jio prophecy ever came by the will of man, but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” In writing to Timothy, Paul said, “ Every Scripture is God-breathed and is profitable.” There is no doubt that this is the cor rect translation. Look at the same Greek idiom in other places and you will find that if it is translated accord ing to the revised version it makes non sense. What the Holy Spirit meant to say was that every Scripture among “ the Scriptures” referred to by Christ is “ God-breathed and profitable.” Of course the writers of Scripture were in spired, but this means that the writing is also inspired. God’s breath is in the writing, so that when we speak the word of God we may be sure that His life is in it. It is plain that men, in order to write the God-breathed words of Scrip-
We have no autograph manuscripts of the apostles, and for a very good rea son. God knew that His people would be inclined to regard with superstitious reverence, if not with worship, those autograph manuscripts, and just as He has allowed every place in Palestine where Jesus stood to be so effaced that no traveller can be certain he is stand ing on the exact spot pressed by the feet of Jesus, so He has allowed these auto graph manuscripts to be destroyed, that we may be saved from the temptation to superstitious reverence. He would call our attention to the truth more than to the material form of the book. Let us look now at some of the arks in which the Bible has been preserved. (1) In Ancient Manuscripts. The oldest of these is known as the Vatican Manuscript, which has been in the Vati can at Rome certainly five or six hun dred years. It lacks the first four chap ters of Genesis, thirty-two of the Psalms, and all of the book f>f Hebrews after
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