VOL. Vm
NOVEMBER, 1917
No; 11
O N E D O L L A R A Y E A R TO THE READER.—Stick a oh’e*ceiit stamp on this notice, hand the magazine to t postman ordrop- it in a mail-box, without any address whatever, and it will be sent 'to the American, soldiers.
M O TTO : ''I the Lord do keep it, I w ill water it every m om ent lest any hurt it, I w ill keep it night and day."—Isa. 27:3.
C - R. A. TORREY, D.D„ Editor 1 T-C.HORTON, J. H. HUNTER, WILLIAM EVANS, D.D., Associate Edito» t .y;;*;'';;-y'-,■ ' A. M. ROW, Managing Editor : .■
: ' P ublished b y th e : BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc. ‘Lbs Angeles, California, U. S, A. Entered at Second-CIsss Matter November 17, 1910, at the postofiice At Lot Anaelcs, Cal., - under the Act ot March 3, 1879. • Copyright by R. A. Torrey, D. D., -and Bible Institute of Los Angeles, tor the year 1917 • • • DIRECTORS Lyman Stewart, president. A. Torrey, vice-president J. M. Irvine, secretary. . Leon V. Skaw, treasurer.; > • T. G.: Horton, superintendent. - William Evans. ; H. A; Getz. - ’^Nathan Newbÿ '' ÿ . J. O.- Smith i;T-V V..-'”- ■ • . DOCTRINAL STATEMENT | | g ' We; hold to the Historic Faith o f the Church as expressed in tke Common Creed ol Evangelical Christendom. and including: The T rin ityo f the Godhead.iyy .r: The* Maintenance of Good Works, | The Deity of the Christ, . The Second Coming of Christ. it: I ¿m ■ The Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity id Diversity of the Church,. the Body and Bride of Christ. The Resurrection .of the! Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. • The Reality and Personality Af Satan; ’The ;Substitutionary Atonement. The 'Necessity of the New Birth. .
SCOPE OF THE WORK
(7 ) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and heighborhood classes. (8 ) Oil Fields. A mission to men.cn the ail- fields. (9 ) Books.and Tracts. . Sale and dis tribution of selected, books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen at Los Angeles harbor-: 1 (11) The Bio?a :Club. Daily moon meetings for men' in the doyn-town district, with free reading-room privi leges. - | (12) -{Print Shop. For printing Testa- ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishment, profits going to free dis tribution of religious literature.
P u rn n co • The Institute trains, free T.itif!’..;. of- cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge an a Use of the Bible. , : r \ I ( I ) The Instituti Departments: held daily except op Saturdays, and „Sundays. (2 ) Extension work. Classes .and conferences held in neighboring' cities and towhs. ; y 'y y y .y :~ •(3 ); Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. (4 ) ' Spanish Mission, ' Meetings every night. - I " (3 ) Shop Work. Regular services in' shops and factories.; , ■ > (6 ) Jewish Evangelism. Persona] work among the Hebrews. :
S3 THE KING’S BUSINESS VOL. VIII. NOVEMBER, 1917 No. 11 A n o th e r L incoln N e ed ed— H ow C an G o d A n sw er P ra y e r?— W h y D oes N ot G o d G ive Decisive V ic to ry ?— T h e D em oralizing E ffects of W a r— T h e F o lly o f W a r— Is th e W o rld G row ing B e tte r?— Booze Still T rium p h an t— S ane D ietetics— M ystery of L ife E xp la in ed a t L ast— T h e P o p e ’s P ea c e P ropo sa l— T h e P re sid en t an d th e P o p e— Sit C lose an d L o o k U p— Sin Is B roken Fellow ship— Satisfied W ith th e A v e rag e— Resist N o t th e H o ly Spirit— N ations an d th e W a r— Consciousness of Sin— “ B ehold H ow G re a t a M a tte r a L ittle F ir t K in d le th ” ............................................................... 961 A rch aeo log ical F a c ts w ith W hich to T e st C ritical T heories. By M. G. Kyle, D .D ., L .L .D ,................. ............ ................ 973 “T h o u S c a rle t S in .” By R ev. Jo h n M aclnn is................ ........... 9 8 0 New M em bers of F a cu lty ...............................| ................................... 984 Puzzling P assages an d P ro b lem s....................................................... 985 Music in th e H om e. By C h arles H ow a rd M arsh ....................... 9 8 7 B a lb o a C hapel D e d ic a te d .................................................................... 9 9 0 W h a t T h in k Y e of Christ? By Dw ight L. M oody .................... 991 B ible In stitu te of L os A ngeles. By D r. M ark M a tth ew s....... 9 9 6 Evangelistic D ep a rtm en t. By B ible In stitu te W o rk e rs.......... 999 E vangelism a t V an couv er. By R ev. S. P. M iller.......................1006 H om iletical H e lp s ................................................. ..........d................. 1008 T h ro u g h th e B ible w ith D r. E v an s................................................... 1012 F a r H o rizo n ...........................................................| ..................................1015 I In te rn a tio n a l S u n d ay School Lessons. By R. A . T o rre y an d T. C. H o r t o n ................................__________________ ,.......... 1017 Daily D evo tion al S tud ies in th e O ld a n d N ew .T e stam en t fo r Ind iv idu al M ed ita tion an d Fam ily W orship. By R. A . T o rre y ............................................................................................1 0 3 5 SUBSCRIPTION PR ICE In th e U n ited S tates a n d its P ossessions a n d M exico, a n d p o in ts in th e C e n tra l A m e ric an P o stal U nion, $ 1 p e r y e ar. In all o th e r foreig n countries, $ 1 .2 4 (5 s. 2 d .). Single copies, 10 cents. TAB LE O F CONTENTS E d ito ria l:
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STUDY WITH DR. TORREY U sing his unique an d v a lu ab le w o rk “S tud ies in th e L ife and T each ings o f Our Lord” A s a suggestive comm en ta ry on th e fou r G ospels it h as n ev e r b e en equalled. It covers in a m o s t th o ro u g h m an n e r th e en tire life of C hrist an d fo r S u n d ay school tea ch e rs a n d le ad e rs of m eetings it is well nigh indespen sab le. T o th e p a sto r it will suggest m an y serm on outlines an d p ra y e r m eeting talks. Ju st th e th ing fo r use w ith th e In te rn a tio n a l S u n d ay School lessons. C lo th b o u n d , 7J/2x9 inches, ind ex es fo r b o th top ics an d S crip tu re passages, m ak ing an y p o rtio n of G ospels imm ed iately accessible. Price $1.50, postpaid.
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THE KING’S BUSINESS 0 = I^ W f Vol. 8 NOVEMBER, 1917 No. 11 E D I T O R I A L The Fleming H. Revell Publishing Company, 158 Fifth Another Lincoln Avenue, New York City, has the following proclama- N e ed ed . tion of Abraham Lincoln, made on the 30th day of March, A. D. 1863, pasted in its main show window on Fifth Avenue, with a comment to this effect: “Could any ruler today make a proclamation like this? If not, why not?” BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA— A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the supreme authority and ju st government of Almighty God in all the affairs of men and nations, has by a#resolution requested the President to designate and set apart a day for national prayer and hum iliation; and WHEREAS, it is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope th at genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon, and to recognize the sublime tru th , announced in the Holy Scriptures and .proven by all history, th at those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord; . .. , . , And, insomuch as we know th at by His divine law nations, like individuals, are subjected to punishm ents and chastisem ents in this world, may we not justly fear th at the awful calamity of civil war which now désolâtes the land may be but a punishm ent iijflicted upon us for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole people? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have .been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity ; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand#which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, th at all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God th at made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness. .* . . . Now, therefore, in-compliance, with the request, and fully concurring in the views Of the Senate, I do by this my proclamation designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. _And I do hereby request all the people to abstain on th at day from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite at their several places of public worship and their respective homes in keeping the day holy to the Lord and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to th at solemn occasion. < ■#r. All this being done in sincerity and tru th , let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the divine teachings th at the united cry of the nation will be heard on high and answered w ith blessings no less than the pârdon of our national sins and the restoraiton of^ our now divided and suffering country to its former happy condition of unity and peace. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. . , _ „„„ . . , _ . t Done at the city of W ashington, this 30th day of March, A. D., t863, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty-seventh. ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Those who object to the Bible doctrine that God answers prayer have been very fond of bringing up the objection that in times of war Christian people on opposite sides are both praying for victory, and of
How Can God Answer Prayer?
course God cannot possibly answer both. They seem to think that this is a knockout argument against the doctrine that God answers prayer. But those who bring forward this objection show their,utter ignorance of the Bible doctrine of prayer. The Bible does not teach that God answers everybody’s prayers: it teaches that He answers the prayers of those who are abiding in Christ (John 15:7). Furthermore, the Bible does not teach that God grants
964
THE KING’S BUSINESS every request even of the believer/ It does teach that God grants to the true believer in Jesus Christ, whatever he asks when he asks according to God’s will (1 John 5:14, 15). Of course it is not the will of God to give victory to both sides in any war or in any battle. Sometimes in His infinite wisdom it is not His will to give victory to either side. So, of course, it is impossible for a German believer to pray according to the will of God for victory for the German forces, and at the same time an English believer to pray according to the will of God for victory for the English forces. If the English believer is really abiding in Christ and the German believer is really abiding in Christ, they will not both pray unconditionally for victory in the same battle. This constantly recurring objection to the Bible doctrine of prayer is singularly shallow and unintelligent. be right, and, therefore, that God is under, obligation to immediately give decisive victory to the side that is in the right, and thus end the war. But the truth is that there is no nation on earth today that is right with God ; there is no nation on earth today, the majority of whose people acknowledge God, not merely with the lip.s, but by their conduct. It is true that the British people have not been guilty of the appalling atrocities and outrages of which the Germans and their allies have been, beyond a question, guilty. Nevertheless, the British as a people, as truly as the Germans, and the Americans as truly as the English, are rebels against God. The vasi majority in all nations today have rejected Jesus Christ, they have not accepted Him as their Saviour and surrendered absolutely to Him as their Lord and Master, and the one thing that God demands of men is to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ (John 6:28, 29; Heb. 11:16; 1 John 3:23). As a nation the English and Scotch are rebels against God; the Americans are rebels against God; the French are rebels against God ; the Germans are rebels against God ; and so is every other nation on earth a rebellious nation. Why should God come to our help? God’s holy book, the Bible, they either reject, ignore or disobey, God’s holy day they keep for their own pleasure. God’s Holy Son, Jesus, they trample under foot. On the Lord’s Day, the house of God is deserted, while the parks, beaches, and mountains, and movies are crowded. The god the mass of the people are wor shipping is not the one true God, thè God of the Bible, but the god of pleasure, and the god of money getting, and the god of lust. How can God hear our prayers as a nation? When we repent of our sins and confess them humbly before God, and turn unto God with humiliation and fasting and confession of sin and real renunciation of sin, then we can expect God to hear our prayers and not until then. God in His gracious unmerited mercy may see fit to give us victory and peace before we do this ; but we have no right to expect it, much less demand it. The great need of America, England and France, and every other nation today is not more money or larger preparedness, but genuine repentance before God. The only use the average man has for God, is not to worship Him and obey Him, but to make a convenience of Him, to look to Why does not God give decisive victory, either to the Entente Allies or Central Powers, and Thus End the War ? There are many who are either openly or cov- ertly blaming God for the continuance of this awful war. They think that either one side or the other must Why Does Not God Give Decisive Victory?
THE KING’S BUSINESS 965 Him to help him out of his troubles and to fight his battles for him, to cry “God mit uns” and then violate every law of God and canon of decency. We would do well to lay to heart the inspired words of the Psalmist ‘‘The wicked shall be turned into Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.” (Ps. 9:17). This is exactly what we see occurring in Europe today. By the millions the members of the nations of the earth that have forgotten God are going down into Sheol, the land of the dead, and it is what we will see in America sooner or later, no matter how the present war terminates, unless we repent.
A certain class of preachers are trying hard to make us believe that war develops the better side of man’s nature, but as a matter of experience* war develops all that is vile and worst in man. In a recent number of
The Demoralizing Effects of War.
the London Christian we read: “Some of the chaplains who are returning from the Front have anything but a pleasant story to tell of the moral condi tion of some of the troops. So far from the war having made them serious, it has had precisely the opposite effect. Life has become cheapened and many moral values have been completely changed in the estimation of the men. Saddest of all is the story of lust. What this must mean in the after-war days we can only dimly imagine; but of one thing we may be assured at once, that a large number of men will return to their homes with their purity vanished. War always has this effect unhappily, and the scale of the present war renders the problem today one of profoundest seriousness. Donald Hankey’s diagnosis is proving to be correct: the chief hindrance to the acceptance of the Gospel is not intellectual, but sensual. A chaplain who holds the respect of all the Churches declares that the lads who have successfully weathered the moral tempest which has beaten upon them are neatly all drawn from our Churches and Sunday Schools. It is a great testimony to the value of religious teaching, as the looseness of morals is the greatest condemnation of Paganism in Britain.” . A recent issue of the Berliner Tageblatte sums up the results of the war to date (August 25) as follows: “War^ loans, $87,000,000,000; loss in' dead and wounded, 24,000,000 men; killed, 7,000,000 men; crippled for life, 5,000,000 men; loss through, decrease of birth rate in all belligerent countries, 9,000,000 men. “The gold production of the world during the last 500 years amounted to $15,000,000,000, or less than one-fifth of the "cost of the world war,” the paper continues. “In $5 gold pieces, the $87,000,000,000 raised in war loans would form a belt th at could be wound around the earth nine times. j> “The funeral cortege of the 7,000,000 men killed would reach from Paris to Vladivostock, if one hearse followed the other. “When the war began the combined public debt of all European States was a little over $25,000,000,000, and now it is over $112,000,000,000. The British m erchant fl^et in 1914 represented a value of about $950,000,000. T hat is less than the annual interest England now has to pay for her war debt. Before the war Germany exported goods to the amount of $113,000,000 per year to the B ritish colonies. By cutting off this export England can eventually reimburse herself for her losses, but this will take more than 200 years. “Germany, with the amount spent by her for the war, could have bought all the cotton fields, the copper mines and the whole petroleum industry of the United States and still would have had several billion dollars left over. “Russia, w ith /her war expenses, m ight have covered her immense territories with a net of railways as close as th at of Belgium^ and France, whose losses in men are larger than the entire male population of Alsace-Lorraine, could have bought all the Portugese and Dutch colonies with the -money she sacrificed for the war. “W ith the enormous wealth destroyed by the war Europe m ight have been made a paradise on earth instead of a howling wilderness. There is no doubt th at the awful struggle would have been avoided if the nations had any idea of its enorm ity when it started.” The Folly of War.
966
THE KING’S BUSINESS This is a startling statement, but does it not understate the facts rather than overstate them? We prate about man’s wonderful progress in knowledge and humanity, but this statement shows that man is essentially as great a fool as he ever was; that all his vaunted progress in philosophy and science has not made him essentially a wiser man. Outside of the wisdom given of God, man is always a fool and a failure.
There are many blind optimists who insist in still preaching, even in the face of the collapse of civiliza- tion in connection with the present war, that the world is making rapid progress. The following report of the
Is the World Growing Better ?
morals committee of the convention of the American Confederation of Catholic Societies, presented at Kansas City,/August 27th, may help them to do a little thinking ? ... Society, the report reads, shows a startling decline. Justice no longer rules. The -family Ilfe U A i natl° n ls endangered, virtue, public and private, is decadent. , A largely contributing factor in this paganizing of the nation is divorce,” says the report. It has been recently estim ated th at up to the present more than a million divorces have been ^Jainne/wtin t ls, co^,nV"^ an<^ estim ated number for the current year will be greatly in excess of 100,000. It should be wholly useless to devote any consideration to the viciousness of this evil and what it means morally to the nation.” To combat this the committee hecommends: “Enactm ent of state laws requiring notices of ¿mpending m arriage to be posted several days before issuance of license; abolition ol common law m arriage wherever recognized, and finally, in states where only absolute divorces are granted, provisions for legal separation be made.” Modern pictorial reviews and the movies also come in for their share of condemnation. One of .the most serious assaults upon morality of the country today is manifested in inde cent illustrations in some publications and filthy stories in .debauching magazines,” says the report. t ^1?re Jhe established fact a high percentage of photoplay production deals with crime. There is the fact th at 25,000,000 daily attendance at picture shows from 25 to 50 per cent, of this attendance is composed of children. There is the fact th at juvenile court records show a linking of offenders with screen productions. . “The photoplay is today a corrupter of juvenile morals. Yet the makers of our laws are busy w ith m aterialities and personalities^ th at time can not be found to provide greater moral protection for the young from this morally corroding source of evil.” We are optimists, but our optimism is not of the blind sort that closes our eyes to the clear facts of modern life. We are optimists because we believe what-the Bible teaches about the Coming again to this world of our Lord Jesus, and the darker the night grows the nearer at hand, we feel, that glorious day is.
The Christian people of England are waking up to the ' fact of how completely their government is under the domination of the beer interests. In the July 19th issue of the London Christian the following editorial
Booze Still Triumphant.
appears: , “The Government has quickly shown the kind of stuff it is made of by yielding to the clamour for more beer during the summer months. We are assured that this additional output will not entail any inroad on our food supply or our stocks of sugar. Nor will further sugar be rationed to the brewers. The statement is too thin even for a politician to be able to cover up. Beer will not be brewed without sugar, and the only conclusion to be drawn, there fore, is that the brewers have been allowed to have in advance sufficient sugar to meet the new order. It is nonsense to talk about there bbing no further inroads upon our supply of sugar as the result of the new order. The inroads have been already made, to the public disadvantage. The poor are still unable to get what they need for their infants. The reason given by Mr. Bonar Law
THE KING’S BUSINESS 967 for the increase of the output of beer was that munition workers and harvest ers demand more beer in the hot weather. Had he cared to inquire into the matter, he could easily have learned that in many places haryesters thrive on a non-intoxicating drink which quenches thirst and feeds, while it requires little sugar in its production. We are well aware that harvesters need to drink freely in hot weather. But we are at war, and the country needs food, and there are better ways of quenching thirst than by drinking beer. None of these considerations, however, move a Government which is afraid of the Trade.” If America would take the ground that she would not send food stuffs to England until they ceased wasting their own food stuffs in the manufacture of Booze, it might bring the British Gdvernment to its senses. But if we were to do that we ought also-to prohibit in the United States the waste of food stuffs in the manufacture of beer, as we have already prohibited it in the matter of the manufacture of distilled liquors. \ The Journal of the American Medical Association of July 14, justly commends the rule for getting the best results from food selection brought forth by the Bureau of Home Economics of the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. These rules as given by the Journal of the American Medical Association are as follows: “1. Spend from one-fourth to one-third of your food-money for bread, cereals, macaroni, and rice. 2. Buy at least from a third to half a quart of milk a day for each mem ber of the family. 3. Spend as much for vegetables and fruits together as you do for milk. If you use half a quart of milk for each member of the family, this may not always be possible. Then spend as much for vegetables and fruit as a third of a quart of milk a day would amount to. 4. Spend not more for meat and eggs than for vegetables and fruits. Meat and eggs may be decreased with less harm than any of the other foods mentioned. The amount spent for meat may decrease as the amount spent for milk increases.” Pretty much all our magazines are full of- articles on the question of how to eat and how to feed one’s fam ily in the present time of stringency of food stuffs. Sane Dietetics.
For many years Life has been a mystery that has per- plexed the men of Science and defeated all their at- tempts at analysis and explanation; but at last, Dr. Leonard Thompson Troland of Harvard University
Mystery of Life Explained at Last.
has solved the mystery, or thinks he has. We will let our readers judge for themselves. In an article in the American Naturalist he puts forward what he- calls a “Catalytic Theory of Life.” He writes “In this conception I believe we can find a single, synthetic answer to many, if not all, of the broad, outstanding problems of theoretical biology. It is an answer, moreover, which links these great biological phenomena directly with molecular physics, and perfects the unity not alone of biology, but of the whole system of physical science, by sug-
968 THE KING’S BUSINESS gesting that what we call life is fundamentally a product of catalytic laws act ing in colloidal systems of matter throughout the long periods of geologic time.” Further on he says, “Catalysis is essentially a determinative relationship, and the enzyme theory of life as a general biological hypothesis, would claim that all intravital or ‘hereditary’ determination is, in the last analysis, catalytic.” We trust this will be as plain as A. B. C. to our readers.
Nothing that has occurred in connection with the awful war has awakened more wide and deep interest than the Pope’s Peace Proposal. The editor of T he K ing ’ s B usiness was in Montrose, Pa., when the
The Pope’s Peace Proposal.
Pope’s message was published. The editor of the Christian Herald of New York telegraphed him asking him to telegraph his opinion of this proposal, and he replied as follows: • “I long for peace even though we do not obtain all that we desire or that is clearly just, but I suspect all proposals concerning the present war or con cerning peace emanating from the Papal court. From almost the beginning of the war the Pope has been the catspaw, if not the ally of the Kaiser and the Central Powers. He has permitted the most infamous atrocities by the min ions of the Kaiser to pass without effective protest, even when the outraged victims were his own faithful Roman Catholic subjects. There is good reason to believe that he has an understanding with the Kaiser. His present move is for the purpose of weakening the hands of America, England, France and Belgium, by making the Roman Catholics restless. Thank God, however, our Roman Catholics, for the-most part, are patriotic in spite of the Pope.” The Christian Herald did not publish this opinion in full, omitting all after words “Papal Court.” It has since come to light, as all know, that the Pope did have some understanding with the Kaiser.
It was felt by many that the subtle cunning of the Pope’s Peace Proposal would embarrass the President of the United States, but all fears on this point were set at rest by the President’s reply to the Pope, made
The President and The Pope.
on August 27th. His reply reads as follows:
A ugust 27, 1917.
To His Holiness Benedict XV, Pope: In acknowledgment ^of the communication of your holiness to the belligerent peoples, dated A ugust 1, 1917, the president of the United States requests me to transm it the following reply: Every heart th at has not been blinded and hardened by this terrible war m ust be touched by this moving appeal of his holiness, the pope; m ust feel the dignity and force of the humane and generous motives which prompted it, and m ust fervently wish th at we m ight take the path of peace he so persuasively points out. But it would be folly to take it if it does not ini fact lead to the goal he proposes.^ Our response m ust be
THE KING’S BUSINESS
969
The object of this war is to deliverthe free peoples of the world from the menace and the actual power of a vast m ilitary establishm ent controlled by an irresponsible government which, having secretly planned to dominate the world, proceeded to carry the plan out w ithout regard either to the sacred obligations of treaty or the long established practices and long cherished principles of international action and honor; which chose its own time for the w ar; delivered its blow fiercely and suddenly; stopped a t no barrier either of law or of m ercy; swept a whole conti nent w ithin the tide of blood—not the blood of soldiers only, but the blood of innocent women and children: also of the helpless poor; and now stands balked but not defeated, the enemy of four-fifths of the worlds This power is not the German people. I t is the ruthless m aster of the German people. I t is no business of ours how th at great people came under its control or subm itted with temporary zest to the domination of its purpose, but it is our business to see to it th at the history of the rest of the world is no longer left to its handling. To deal w ith such a power by way of peace upon the plan proposed by his holiness the pope would, so far as we can see, involve a récupération of its strength and a renewal of its policy; would make it necessary to create a perm anent hostile combination of nations against the German people, who are its instrum ents, and would result in abandoning the newborn Russia to the intrigue, the manifold subtle interference and the certain counter revolution which would be attem pted by all - the malign influences to which the German government has of late accustomed the world. Can peace be based upon a restitution of its power or upon any word of honor it could pledge in a treaty of settlem ent and accommodation? Responsible statesm en m ust now everywhere see, if they never saw before, th at no peace can rest securely upon political or economic restrictions m eant to benefit some nations and cripple or embarrass others, upon vindictive action of any sort or any kind of revenge or deliberate injury. The American people have suffered intolerable wrongs at the hands of the imperial German gov ernment, but they desire no reprisal upon the German people, who have them selves suffered all things in this war which they did not choose. They believe th at peace should rest upon the rights of peoples, not the rights of governments—the rights of peoples great or small, weak or powerful— their equal right to freedom and security and self-government and to a participation upon fair term s in the economic opportunities of the world—the German people, of course, included, if they will accept equality and not seek domination. The test, therefore, of every plan of peace is th is: Is it based upon the faith of all the peoples involved or merely upon the word of anl ambitious and intriguing government, on the one hand, and of a group of free peoples on the other? This is a test which goes to the root of the m atter, and it is the test which m ust be applied. The purposes of the United States in this war are known to the whole world—to every people to whom the tru th has been perm itted to come. They do not need to be stated again. We seek no material advantage of any kind. We believe th at the intolerable wrongs done in this war by the furious and brutal power of the imperial German government -ought to be repaired, but not at the expense of the sovereignty of any people—rather a vindication of the sovereignty both of those th at are weak and of those th at arc strong. Punitive damages, the dis memberment of empires, the establishm ent of selfish and exclusive economic leagues, we deem inexpedient and in the end worse than futile, no proper basis for. a peace of any kind, least of all for an enduring peace. T hat m ust be based upon justice and fairness and the common rights of mankind. We cannot take the word of the present rulers of Germany as a guarantee of anything th at is to endure, unless explicitly supported by such conclusive evidence of the will and purpose oi the German people themselves as- the other peoples of the world would be justified in accepting. W ithout such guarantees, treaties of settlem ent, agreements for disarmament, covenants to set up arbitration in the place of force, territorial adjustm ents, reconstitutions of small nations, if made w ith the German government, no man, no nation could now depend on. We m ust await some new evidence of the purposes of the great peoples of the central powers. God grant it may be given soon and in a way to restore the confidence of all peoples everywhere in the faith of nations and the -possibility of a covenanted peace. ROBERT LANSING, Secretary of State of the United States of America. President Wilson has written many wise state papers, but we question whether he has ever shown himself to be such a wise and courageous statesman as in this letter to the Pope.
= = = = = = = =
There is a great sculptural representation of the Cruci- fixion in marble by one of the masters. Its peculiarity is that if you stand and view it from a distance it is all out of proportion. But there is a stool close by,
Sit Close and Look Up.
almost underneath it, on which you are required to kneel, and from this lowly place you may look up and sefe the Christ and the Cross in all their glory, beauty and proportion. Have you seen the Cross yet in its true light and meaning? If you stoop you will be able to see it.
970
THE KING’S BUSINESS It is estrangement from God. Salvation is nearness to God, communion with God. Salvation is not insur-
Sin Is Broken Fellowship.
ance against some future impending wrath merely, cer tainly not primarily; it is fellowship with God. We need to have concern for sin if we would ourselves enjoy or bring others into fellowship with God.
Our sin is that we are satisfied with the average. We are too content with low aim—that is our sin. “To
Satisfied with the Average.
him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” Our greatest battle is not between good and bad, but between good and the best. We are to “covet earnestly the best gifts.”
We should be careful in our treatment of the Holy Spirit. We may possess the Spirit, as every true believer does, and yet oppose the Spirit. The Spirit that indwells us may have to fight the spirit as well
Resist Not the Holy Spirit.
as the flesh that is within us. The incoming Spirit does not destroy our person ality : we still remain body, soul and spirit. Our spirit may grieve, quench and resist the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God in Paul was greater than the spirit of Paul which urged him to go into Bithynia while the Spirit suffered him not. It was the purpose of the Spirit that both Asia and Bithynia should have the gospel, but by others such as Peter (1 Peter 1:1), and Lydia (Acts 16:14). Let us permit God’s Spirit to bear witness with our spirit.
Does God punish nations nationally for their sins, now, in this life? Is God permitting these great nations to learn that righteousness exalteth a nation, but that sin is a reproach to any people ? What nation, think you,
Nations and the War.
will count most in achieving victory in this war? Will it not be that nation which first learns the deepest lesson that faith in and loyalty to God is worth more than arms and weapons? Does not history teach us this? Victor Hugo said, “Waterloo was God.” The victorious battle of the Marne was not due to the superiority of the allied forces or arms. It “just happened by accident” the unbeliever would say. When the news of that victory was brought to Kitchner and Roberts—the men who had about given up all hope of being able any longer to defend Paris, being more aware than any one else of the gravity of the situation and the inability of the Allies to hold out—one said, “My God, that’s a miracle.” The other said, “Some one has been praying.” The nation that will count most in this war will be the nation that leans hardest on God. Many people in England are calling for a day of prayer. So far, we under stand, it has not been approved by the Prime Minister. What a pity, if true. Blind to the secret of power! Will the United States do better? We wonder. We read recently that the state of Connecticut, which for 300 years has strictly observed the Sunday laws, has now allowed a state wide-open Sunday. Is this the way to win the war—by dishonoring God and His holy day ? How can we ask His blessing upon our arms? God still rules among the nations. Let not America forget. David 4 :28-37.
THE KING’S BUSINESS 971 It was Sir Oliver Lodge, who is quite old enough to have known better, who said what may be called a very foolish thing: “The higher kind of man does not bother his head about his sins today, still less about
Consciousness
of Sin.
their punishment. His mission, if he is good for anything, is to be up and doing.” The Bible strictly contradicts such a statement. It is the man who is most conscious of his own sin in relation to God’s holiness who has promise of greatest usefulness. Saul of Tarsus was not bothered much about his sins, consequently he did nothing that counted for much. But Paul, the Apostle, deeply conscious of his sinfulness, turned the world upside down for God. While satisfied to be called the chief of the Pharisees, Paul did nothing worthy of recording, but when self-styled the “chief of sinners,” he made a record worthy of the attention of Heaven. The fact is that the nearer a man gets to God the more he realizes his own sinfulness and the more useful he becomes. The assassination of one man is claimed to have been “Behold How Great the cause of this great world war. If this single event a Matter a Little was not the underlying cause, it acted as the match Fire Kindleth.” thrown among the nations already greatly susceptible to the combustion of racial jealousy and commercial hate. The murder of one man was an insignificant thing to bring about such dire havoc. But have not big doors been made to swing on small hinges before this? Was not the Thirty Years War caused by the throwing out of a window of a royal palace of two men? Was not the Seven Years War brought about by the shooting of a few soldiers? So this great world war, which now involves about twenty-five nations and peoples; that has caused the sinking of almost 2000 merchant and 150 man-of-war ships; that has devastated great areas in Belgium, Servia and Poland; that has made a wilderness of once flourishing parts of France, Austria, Germany and Turkey; that has laid upon the shoulders of the present generation, yea, and many generations to come, vast financial burdens; that has resulted in the slaughter of millions of men, women and children; that holds in captivity some two or more millions of men, and incapacitated by brutal wounds over four millions more; a war that covers practically the whole world—Belgium, France, Russia; in African jungles, in the mountain passes of Caucasia, among the highest peaks of the Alps, in Karpathian defiles, in the traditional cradle of the human race, even on the site of the Garden of Eden, and where the Tigris and Euphrates mingle their waters before entering the Persian Gulf-—all this fire of destruction started by so small a matter! So is it with sin. . All the tears shed by the race since Eden, and which have since then been flowing down the ages like one great and ever increasing river; all the groans uttered since the heart pang of Eve over the death of her son which have been gathering throughout the centuries like some monstrous thunder clap; all the broken hearts which since the first sin have been piling up like some great Alpine or Himalayan range of mountains—all this, and more too—yes, much more to follow, is the result of that seemingly small sin of dis obedience in the Garden of Eden. Yet, how strange, tragic, unbelievable— men still love sin. Romans 5 :12; James 3 :6.
■g niin................................. . | ARCHAEOLOGICAL FACTS |
with which to Test Critical Theories By m m jw m grov e k y le , d . d ., l l d .
piiiiiiinniiiHiiiiiniiiiiiimii ii [iiiiiii[iiiiiiiiiiiii H n«iiiiiiiii ii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilMliiiiilliilll lll l lllllll»lll llll lllui ll HlllllillMllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllinillllllllll
Note. —Thife following address by Dr. Kyle was delivered at the recent M inisterial In stitu te, held at Montrose, Pa., under the auspices of the Bible In stitu te of Los Angeles, and is a continuation of the subject, “Archaeology in Criticism',” which appeared in this magazine -for October.
there can be no antagonism between facts and truth in its broadest sense. There may be many things done, i.e., facts, which are against truth. All the existence of evil in the world attests that. But there can be no antagonism between facts and truth in the same field of thought, between the facts and the truth concerning the facts. There may be the most positive antago nism between moral truth and human con duct, but there can be no antagonism between the truth about the conduct of a certain person and the facts of his con duct; or between the truth about many per sons, i.e., history, and the facts of history; or between the truth about many statements of human thought and all the circumstances of those statements, i.e., literary criticism, and the material facts concerning the rec ords, i.e., archaeology. Critics and archae ologists seem to agree perfectly in the statement that there can be no antagonism between a correct literary criticism of trust worthy documents and the facts of archae ology. But it is, after all, a very ambigu ous agreement, for archaeologists mean, “you are certain in the end to come around to our way of thinking,” and the critics mean “You are certain in the end, when you get all the pieces put together, to reach the same conclusions that we have antici pated.” Who or where is the urripire? Who or what is to determine when the criticism is “a correct criticism?” When there is a conflict between the facts of archaeology and the conclusions of criti cism, which is to give way?
' » N the discussion of the func t i o n of “Archaeology in Crit- icism,” of which two parts, sgthe historical, setting and the guidance of methods, have
been discussed in preceding lectures, we come now to the third and last, and in all respects the most important part, which is to prove facts with which to . test critical theories. Archaeology supplies facts with which to test the theories of criticism. The simple statement of this part of the function of archaeology in criticism makes instantly apparent its far-reaching importance. The other parts of the function of archaeology in criticism which have already been men tioned, the furnishing of the true histori cal setting, and the guidance of methods concerning presuppositions, canons, literary form, and interpretation, are but prelimi nary and contributory, the function of ser vice : but the supplying of facts with which to test theories is final and dominant, the function of control. Wherever archaeol ogy has something definite to say, it claims the right to the last word. If it, as yet, only “bids fair to control criticism,” it boldly claims its right to control it now. Here is. heard the deciding voice of the monuments in Biblical criticism. Let us see upon how good ground archae ology makes this claim. It will be admit ted—-jt is admitted—that there can be no real antagonism between the facts of archaeology and a correct criticism of trust worthy documents. This is not to say that
974
THE KING’S BUSINESS
one’s life aside to a theory unattested by facts: however perfect the appearance, it may after all be only the mirage and the disappointed pilgrim may never again get back to the safe-road. Let theory first be confirmed by fact, then it may be received into the life. II. No th e o ry c o rre c t sim ply b ecau se it w orks. But a theory which meets all the known conditions of the case in hand is not by that fact proved to be true, and therefore to be received into the life. And the most alluring danger to which criticism is sub ject is the assumption of the contrary opin ion, namely, that a theory which meets all the known conditions of the case in hand is by that fact proved to be true. This is not the case. Such a theory must, in addi tion, be corroborated by independent evi dence, either the bringing to light of the expected facts or demonstration of the power of the theory to unlock mysteries. And even if mysteries be unlocked, the theory is not necessarily an entirely cor rect theory. The key that turns the lock must be something like the key that belongs to it, but may, after all, be a false key. There must be, in any case, whether of mysteries unlocked or of facts brought to light, independent, genuine evidence in addi tion to the adaptability of the theory to all the known conditions of the case in hand. Furthermore, a theory must not only be able to meet the test of some additional facts but the test of all the conditions imposed by any additional facts brought to light, and be able, also, to incorporate these new facts as naturally as those upon which the theory was originally constructed. This is the final and conclusive test, without meeting which no theory is to be received into the life. That a theory which meets all the con ditions of the case in hand is by that fact proved to be true is a mathematical dictum. Mathematics belongs to the domain of pure, absolute, and universal truth and there this dictum holds good. A theory which meets all the conditions of the case there fur-
FACTS ARE FINAL. To ask this question is to answer it. Theory must always give way to fact. In the settlement of disputes facts are final. Even so staunch a defender of the rights and functions of criticism as Dr. Driver, recognizes this principle, at least in theory. For he says: “Where the testimony of archaeology is direct, it is of the highest possible value, and, as a rule, determines the questions decisively: even where it is indirect, if it is sufficiently circumstantial and precise, it makes a settlement highly probable.” This prerogative of archaeological facts in the testing of critical theories, is evi dently far reaching in its powers and must of necessity be given wide and positive rec ognition. It is now to be scrutinized with the utmost care. The several rules, or canons, of this crit icism of criticism are inseparably linked together. I. No th eo ry to be a ccep ted u n til tested b y facts. No theory is to be finally accepted and made applicable to one’s faith and life, until it is tested and attested by facts. If it is in the field of experience, by facts of exper-' ience. If in the field of history, by the facts of history. And the Master com mends even revelation to this test when He says: “If any man willeth to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of God or whether I speak from myself.” Anything in the Bible may be discredited by theory. Everything in heaven and earth may be, indeed has been, discredited by theory. More, there can be no accepted realities in all the universe of existence, phenomena, and experience, if theory is allowed to stand unsupported by fact, per mitted, undisputed, to dominate the intel lect and faith of a man and so ultimately to direct his life. One might as safely abandon the beaten track for the most alluring but unconfirmed appearance upon the horizon of the Eastern desert, as turn
975
THE KING’S BUSINESS
the many persons who may have done a deed, but only the one way in which it was done and the person who did if. It is the many possibilities that never became actualities that constitute the whole field for detective work, and occasion most of the labors of judge and jury. If there were only one way for an event to take place; i.e., if every theory which meets the con ditions of the case in hand were the cor rect .theory, there would be nothing for detectives to do and the function of courts would be declarative, whereas in reality the chief function of the courts is to determine that one possibility which became the actu ality in the case. But the most painstaking procedure does not wholly prevent false convictions. The prosecutor presents a the ory of the commission of a crime, which meets all the conditions of the case, as made out by the evidence in his possession, convinces twelve jurymen, and secures a conviction. Yet sometimes afterward it is found out that another person committed the crime in an entirely different way. A recent case, which interested two continents, is that of Andrew Toth, who has been released from the Western Penitentiary, of Pennsylvania, after serving twenty years on a life sentence for murder; his release being brought about by the death-bed con fession of a man in Austria. 2. That the mathematical dictum under consideration is inapplicable to literature is equally well established. Sir Peter le Page Renouf argued with great acuteness and force that it is possible to assign sig nifications to an unknown script, give meanings to the words thus formed,* con struct a grammer, and translate inscrip tions as historical statements and make good sense, though not a single sign or word or construction or thought be cor rect. He says, indeed: “It is not difficult to make out the Ten Commandments, the Psalms of David, the Homeric poems, or the Irish melodies, on any ancient or mod ern monument whatever, and in any lan guage you please.” Not that it is not pos sible to avoid this, but that it is possible to
nishes one solution of the problem in hand, of which there may be other, sometimes several, correct solutions. But mathemat ical dicta are not always true in life' and literature and especially not in history, which in its unwritten form is but the com plex of life and in its written form the union of life and literature. Life, litera ture, and history do not lie. within the domain of universal truth, the domain of all possibilities, but in the realm of actual ities, and all possibilities have not become actualities. Indeed, most things have never been done. For in life, literature, and history there enters a new and most potent element, human volition, which chooses among all the possibilities one only in each case to become the actuality in the event. So that here there are not several possible solu tions of the problem of the event, but one only, and that the right one. All other pro posed solutions are false, however well they provide for the event, and even if they pro vide for it better than the real solution of the problem, for people do not always do things in the best or even the easiest way. The problem, indeed, in life, literature, and history is not to determine possibilities, but an actuality, not one or several of the ways in which an event might have taken place, nor even the way in which it might best have taken place, but the way in which it did take place. A theory which meets all the conditions of the case in hand may be one of the sev eral ways in which the event might have taken place, and yet it may be that it did not take place in that way at all; and only by independent, genuine corroborative evi dence is any theory to be attested as the way in which the event actually did take place. 1. That this statement of the case is cor rect in the experiences of life, we have abundant evidence in the proceedings of courts of law. Here judge and jury are not interested in discovering the many ways in which an event may have taken place or
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