a study of bible-第36节

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s　public　opinion　sustains　it。　Under　any　democratic　system　laws　virtually　always　have　the　majority　opinion　back　of　them；　but　the　minority　reserve　the　right　to　disregard　them　if　they　choose；　and　the　minority　will　be　more　aggressive。　Rising　from　those　relaxations　of　law　into　far　more　important　ones；　it　appears　that　men　in　business　life；　feeling　themselves　hampered　by　legislation；　set　themselves　to　find　a　way　to　evade　it；　justifying　themselves　in　doing　so。　The　mere　fact　that　it　is　the　law　does　not　weigh　heavily。　This　is；　however；　only　an　inevitable　stage　in　progress　from　the　earliest　periods　of　democracy　to　later　and　more　substantial　periods。　It　is　a　stage　which　will　pass。　There　will　come　a　democracy　where　the　rule　of　the　whole　is　frankly　recognized；　and　where　each　man　holds　himself　independent　of　his　fellows　only　in　the　sense　that　he　will　claim　the　right　to　hold　such　relation　to　God　and　his　duty　as　he　himself　may　apprehend。

In　these　times；　also；　the　development　of　temporal　and　material　prosperity　with　the　intellectual　mood　which　is　involved　in　that　affects　the　attitude　of　the　age　toward　the　Bible。　Sometimes　it　is　spoken　of　as　a　scientific　age　over　against　the　earlier　philosophical　ages。　Perhaps　that　will　do　for　a　rough　statement　of　the　facts。　It　is　the　age　of　experiment；　of　trying　things　out；　and　there　naturally　works　into　men　a　feeling　that　the　things　that　will　yield　to　the　most　material　scientific　experimentation　are　the　things　about　which　they　can　be　certain　and　which　are　of　real　value。　That　naturally　involves　a　good　deal　of　appreciation　of　the　present；　and　calls　for　the　improvement　of　the　conditions　of　present　life　first　of　all。　It　looks　more　important　to　see　that　a　man　is　well　fed；　well　housed；　well　clothed；　and　well　educated　than　that　he　should　have　the　interests　of　eternity　pressed　on　his　attention。　That　is　a　comparatively　late　feeling。　It　issues　partly　from　the　fact　that　this　is　a　scientific　age；　when　science　has　had　its　attention　turned　to　the　needs　of　humanity。

Another　result　of　our　scientific　age　is　the　magnifying　of　the　natural；　while　the　Bible　frankly　asserts　the　supernatural。　No　effort　to　get　the　supernatural　out　of　the　Bible；　in　order　to　make　it　entirely　acceptable　to　the　man　who　scouts　the　supernatural；　has　thus　far　proved　successful。　Of　course；　the　supernatural　can　be　taken　out　of　the　Bible；　but　it　will　destroy　the　Bible。　Nor　is　there　much　gain　in　playing　with　words　and　insisting　that　everything　is　supernatural　or　that　everything　is　natural。　There　is　a　difference　between　the　two；　and　in　an　age　which　insists　upon　nature　or　natural　laws　or　forces　or　events　as　all…　sufficient　it　is　almost　inevitable　that　the　Bible　should　lose　its　hold；　at　least　temporarily。

Regarding　all　this　there　are　some　things　that　need　to　be　said。　For　one　thing；　this；　too；　is　a　passing　condition。　As　a　matter　of　fact；　men　are　not　creatures　of　time。　They　actually　have　eternal　connections；　and　the　great　outstanding　facts　which　have　always　made　eternity　of　importance　continue。　The　fact　is　that　men　continue　to　die；　and　that　the　men　who　are　left　behind　cannot　avoid　the　sense　of　mystery　and　awe　which　is　involved　in　that　fact。　The　fact　also　is　that　the　human　emotions　cannot　be　explained　on　the　lower　basis；　and　the　only　reason　men　think　they　can　be　is　because　they　have　in　the　back　of　their　minds　the　old　explanations　which　they　cast　into　the　lower　forms；　deceiving　themselves　into　thinking　they　are　new　ideas　when　they　are　not。

It　ought　to　be　added　that　the　Bible　has　greatly　suffered　in　all　its　history　at　the　hands　of　men　who　have　believed　in　it　and　have　fought　in　its　behalf。　Many　of　the　controversies　which　were　hottest　were　needless　and　injurious。　All　the　folly　has　not　been　on　one　side。　Some　one　referred　the　other　day　to　a　list　of　more　than　a　hundred　scientific　theories　which　were　proposed　at　the　beginning　of　the　last　century　and　abandoned　at　the　end　of　it。　Scientific　men　are　feeling　their　way；　many　of　them　reverently　and　devoutly；　some　of　them　rather　blatantly　and　with　a　readiness　for　publication；　which　hastens　them　into　notoriety。　But　there　has　been　enough　folly　on　both　sides　to　make　every　one　go　cautiously。　It　has　been　remarked　that　in　Dr。　Draper's　book　The　Conflict　Between　Science　and　Religion　he　makes　science　appear　as　a　strong…　limbed　angel　of　God　whereas　religion　is　always　a　great　ass。　The　title　of　the　book　itself　is　not　fair。　In　no　proper　understanding　of　the　words　can　there　be　any　conflict　between　science　and　religion。　There　can　be　a　conflict；　as　Dr。　Andrew　D。　White　puts　it；　between　science　and　theology。　There　can　certainly　be　contest　between　scientists　and　religionists。　Science　and　religion　have　no　conflict。

It　is　interesting　to　observe　how　far　back　most　of　the　supposed　conflicts　actually　lie。　There　is　no　warfare　now；　and；　while　our　fathers　one　or　two　generations　ago　felt　that　they　must　fly　to　the　defense　of　religion　against　the　attacks　of　science；　no　man　wastes　his　strength　doing　that　to…day。　That　period　has　passed。　The　trouble　is　that　some　good　people　do　not　know　it；　and　are　just　fond　enough　of　a　bit　of　a　tussle　to　keep　up　the　fighting　in　the　mountain…passes　while　out　in　the　plain　the　main　armies　have　laid　down　their　arms　and　are　busy　tilling　the　soil。

The　period　of　conflict　is　past；　partly　because　we　are　learning　to　distinguish　between　the　Bible　as　it　really　is　and　certain　long…established　ideas　about　the　Bible　which　came　from　other　sources　and　have　become　attached　to　it　until　it　seemed　to　sustain　them。　The　proper　doctrine　of　evolution　is　entirely　compatible　with　the　Bible。　The　great　Dr。　Hodge　declared　that　the　consistent　Darwinian　must　be　an　atheist。　For　that　matter；　Shelley　defended　himself　by　saying　that；　of　course；　〃the　consistent　Newtonian　must　necessarily　be　an　atheist。〃　But　fifty　years　have　made　great　changes　in　the　doctrine　of　evolution；　and　the　old　scare　has　been　over　for　some　time。　Newton　is　honored　in　the　church　quite　as　much　as　in　the　university；　and　Darwin　is　not　a　name　to　frighten　anybody。　Understanding　evolution　better　and　knowing　the　Bible　better；　the　two　do　not　jangle　out　of　tune　so　badly　but　that　harmony　is　promised。

The　doctrine　of　the　antiquity　of　the　world　is　entirely　compatible　with　the　Bible；　though　it　is　not　compatible　with　the　dates　which　Archbishop　Ussher；　in　the　time　of　King　James；　put　at　the　head　of　the　columns。　That　is　so　with　other　scientific　theories。　Any　one　who　has　read　much　of　history　has　attended　the　obsequies　of　so　many　theories　in　the　realm　of　science　that　he　ought　to　know　that　he　is　wasting　his　strength　in　trying　to　bring　about　a　constant　reconciliation　between　scientific　and　religious　theories。　It　is　his　part　to　keep　an　open　mind　in　assurance　of　the　unity　of　truth；　an　assurance　that　there　is　no　fact　which　can　possibly　come　to　light　and　no　true　theory　of　facts　which　can　possibly　be　formed　which　does　not　serve　the　interest　of　the　truth；　which　the　Bible　also　presents。　The　Bible　does　not　concern　itself　with　all　departments　of　knowledge。　So　far　as　mistakes　have　been　made　on　the　side　of　those　who　believe　it；　they　have　issued　from　forgetting　that　fact　more　than　from　any　other　one　cause。

On　the　other　hand；　it　has　sometimes　occurred　that　believers　in　the　Bible　have　been　quite　too　eager　to　accommodate　themselves　to　purely　passing　phases　of　objection　to　it。　The　matter　mentioned　a　moment　ago；　the　excision　of　the　supernatural；　is　a　case　in　point。　The　easy　and　glib　way　in　which　some　have　sought　to　get　around　difficulties；　by　talking　in　large　terms　about　the　progressiveness　of　the　revelation；　as　though　the　progress　were　from　error　to　truth；　instead　of　from　half　light　to　full　light；　is　another　illustration。　The　nimble　way　in　which　we　have　turned　what　is　given　as　history　into　fiction；　and　allowed　imagination　to　roam　through　the　Bible；　is　another　illustration。　One　of　our　later　writers　tells　the　story　of　Jonah；　and　says　it　sounds　like　fiction；　why　not　call　it　fiction？　Another　tells　the　story　of　the　exodus　from　Egypt；　and　says　it　sounds　like　fiction；　why　not　call　it　fiction？　Well；　certainly　the　objection　is　not　to　the　presence　of　fiction　in　the　Bible。　It　is　there；　openly；　confessedly；　unashamed。　Fiction　can　be　used　with　great　profit　in　teaching　religious　truth。　But　fiction　may　not　masquerade　in　the　guise　of　history；　if　men　are　to　be　led　by　it　or　mastered　by　it。　If　the　way　to　be　rid　of　difficulties　in　a　narrative　is　to　turn　it　into　pious　fiction；　there　are　other　instances　where　it　might　be　used　for　relief　in　emergencies。　The　story　of　the　crucifixion　of　Christ　can　be　told　so　that　it　sounds　like　fiction；　why　not　call　it　fiction？　Certainly　the　story　of　the　conversion　of　Paul　can　be　made　to　sound　like　fiction；　why　not　call　it　fiction？　And　there　is　hardly　any　bit　of　narrative　that　can　be　made　to　sound　so　like　fiction　as　the　landing　of　the　Pilgrims；　why　not　call　that　fiction？　It　is　the　easy　way　out；　the　difficulties　are　all　gone　like　Alice's　cat；　and　there　is　left　only　the　broad　smile　of　some　moral　lesson　to　be　learned　from　the　fiction。　It　is　not；　however；　the　courageous　nor　the　perfectly　square　way　out。　Violence　has　to　be　done　to　the　plain　narrative；　historical　statement　has　to　be　made　only　a　mask。　And　the　only　reason　for　it　is　that　there　are　difficulties　not　yet　cleared。　As　for　the　characters　involved；　Charles　Reade；