April 1928
207
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
less than a fake? If it is simply a record of the gropings and blunderings of men, it'certainly is not entitled to consideration as the Word of God. Since Jesus Christ pronounced the Old Testament the very Word o f God, inspired not only as to words, but jots and tittles; if His statements are false, He cannot be considered a reliable teacher on any subject. He would
in many' good books, but is supernatural throughout. If the claims of Scripture break down at this vital point— if the testimony of our Lord also is to be consid ered unreliable— we may as well confess that we have no sure anchor for our souls. Why not appoint a committee of theologians to compile from the writings of men such a collection o f statements on moral questions as may
have to be charged at the outset, either with gross ignorance or de liberate deception. M o d e r n thinkers who object to such in spiration as the Bible claims for itself, tell us that this would degrade the writers to the level o f m e r e 'machines. They tell us the writers were not stenographers taking dictation. Nor does the Bible claim that they were. Inspi ration, in the Bible sense, we hold to be di vine influence over the writers’ freely acting faculties, so controlling them that the language they used should con vey the divine meaning and not pervert it. If a man often fails to ex press his own thoughts so as to be correctly un derstood, how could he express God thoughts unless God exercised oversight o v e r h i s words? I f God gave the writers s i m p l y ideas, permitting them to express them in their own words, what guar antee have we that they did express His ideas? Every word is one of the feet on which a sentence walks. It should, o f course, be borne in mind that verbal inspiration ter minates on the record,
appear, to our present knowledge, to be at least free from false-' hood? Still the world was never so full of Bibles, nor in all history have there been so many mil lions of people who will not accept any substi tute for it. In relation to all books it occupies a peculiar and solitary position. It remains in dependent of all other b o o k s . A venerable Christian said: “ When I get into the Bible, I feel blowing around my temples and stirring in my hair, the free, orig inal, ancient breath of the upper world, as ir resistible as the moun tain tempest. It is a Book unlike all others.” IT IS— AND W ILL REMA IN SO. Knowledge Shall Be Increased T HE words of Dan. 12: “ Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be in creased,” are surely de scriptive of the time of the end, and the prog ress made in the last few years cannot but remind us that we are approaching the lifnit of the age. The unremitting and
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Gilliams Service THE STAIRCASE UP WH ICH CHRIST IS RECORDED TO HAVE DRAGGED HIS HEAVY CROSS, IS STILL PRESERVED AS A MEMENTO TO HIS LIFE AND SUFFERINGS IN MODERN JERUSALEM.
not the human instrument who made it ; that is, the writers were not inspired in every act of their lives. God caused the writers to record the facts as they were. He did not necessarily cause the act recorded nor make the writer forever infallible. Furthermore, this inspira tion is not claimed for the hundreds of translations, into which, it must be admitted, errors, mostly of minor im portance, have crept. It is not mere “ illumination” which the Bible claims for its writers, Many men have “ bright ideas/’ but they would not dare claim, as do the writers of Scripture, that the Spirit o f God so possessed them, at the time of writing, that they made known the knowledge of God in words which precisely c o n v e y e d 1 His meaning. Inspiration is not human genius, such as is found
intense research into the wonders of creation has led to discoveries which have astounded the world. Even more wonderful avenues of research are open before us, and if our Lord tarry another year, we shall be even more amazed at the progress of knowledge and means of travel. Should the anti-Christ appear in the world, he would certainly find everything prepared for him, so that he could instantly communicate with every part of the world. World-wide achievements could be enacted within a few hours’ time. Here are just a few of the marvels witnessed during the year 1927: The world’s largest aeroplane engine (1300 horse power) has been perfected by the Packard Company.
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