Discrediting the Bible by G. B. T.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 6, 1916

Discrediting the Bible

By G. B. T.

Through all the centuries infidels, agnostics, and unbelievers of every type have done what they could to discredit the inspiration and infallible teaching of the Holy Bible. That this evil work is being carried forward in the schools of some of the strong evangelical denominations is to be deeply deplored. In the field of its enemies we might expect this, but hardly in the house of its professed friends. Under the high polish of higher criticism, and clothed in the garb of religion, the baneful work becomes all the more dangerous.

From an editorial in the Word and Way of Feb. 10, 1916, we gather that one of the Baptist missionary training schools is being conducted on what is termed the plan of the liberals, and in such a way that students who come expecting to be taught to love and reverence the Holy Scriptures are sorely disappointed, and find the foundations of faith removed from beneath their feet. The editor of the Baptist Missionary Training School Echoes (which is published by the training school), is quoted in the Word and Way as saying that on account of the nature of the teaching “there is a crisis in the life of the school now, and therefore a crisis in the life of every training school girl.” The editor of the Word and Way gives a number of quotations which represent the testimonies given by the students. Here is one:—

“I settled the question on my knees before God, and it is to him that I am accountable for my actions. . . . I would not ask any girl to come here and suffer as I have suffered for the last two weeks. . . . I cannot accept the school’s interpretation of the inspiration of the Scriptures and the deity of Christ, and I know—I do not merely believe—I know the personality of the Holy Spirit. . . . I cannot reconcile the teaching that ‘God found in Christ a man in whom there was so much of his spirit that he could do the perfect will of the Father, and that each of us has the same spirit as Christ, but in lesser

measure, with the words I find in John’s Gospel: ‘In the beginning was the Word, . . . the Word was God.’”

A junior student says:—

“I was born and raised in a Catholic home, and of course I received very little Bible truth. I was very anxious to hear all the truth the Word of God contained, and I was anxious to prepare for service for him. These are the two main reasons why I came to the training school. When I came, I was very much disappointed to find that only three hours a week were given to Bible work, and that the view was far different from that teaching I had formerly had. For instance, if I have to believe that the stories in Genesis are only suppositions, that they are only Babylonian legends to present to the people a theory of how the world came to be; if the books of Esther, Ruth, and Jonah are only stories,—in other words, if the Bible is not the Word of God as I believed it to be, my time here is being sadly wasted.”

A senior student is reported as follows:—

“I was a senior in this school, and therefore was not in Miss —’s classes, but I heard a great deal about what was going on, and to satisfy my own mind I went to Dr. —, and he made it appear that we both believed alike. He told me that on the fundamental truths of the Bible we stood together, but he said there were things in the Bible that scientists had proved to be not true. I asked him if there was not a possibility of scientists’ being wrong, but he seemed to prefer the authority of the scientists rather than that of the Bible. He used other illustrations to show that the Bible was not all true. The teachings mean a great deal to me, for my father is not a Christian, and he uses the very things taught here to prove that the Bible is not true. I have heard these things all my life, and if I stay and hold these teachings, how can I pray for my father and hope to have him change? I am not pleading for myself alone, but for the girls who will come after me. If we had said nothing about these teachings, nothing very likely would have been done. A great many girls come here with very little Bible study, and many of them have already lost faith; and then many ask why we leave if it does not hurt us, since we are seniors and not in Miss —’s class. Why do men in the church fight the saloon if it does not hurt them?—To help their weaker brothers; and that is what we are trying to do for the sake of other girls. We are asked to stay to save the honor of the school and of the faculty, but nothing has been said about saving the honor of God, and this is why I left the school.”

Another student says:—

“Miss — told me that she did not believe that the Bible is a true record of God’s dealings with his people, but that it is a record of man’s experience with God, therefore a human record containing many mistakes; for instance, the story of creation as described in the Bible is not true; that, instead of there being a devil, there is an evil influence that causes people to sin, and that the temptation of Christ is a story written to describe this evil influence that had come to him.”

Another testimony:—

“There is no fall of man; man has gone from lower to higher. There was no flood, this also is a story. There is no hell; hell is a punishment of sin on this earth. There is no Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament. We cannot study the Bible for the facts; but for the truth that is in it.”

Another:—

“I came to the training school to learn all that I could about the Bible, and in the study that I have had so far I understand that the Bible has more mistakes than truth in it, and that the Old Testament contains mostly stories and legends taken from other literature. I have come to the place by hearing this teaching where I am losing faith in God and his Word. I am very unhappy here, and feel that I cannot stay.”

Think of a professed Christian school teaching that Christ was only a man, that the record in Genesis is only a supposition, that other books of the Bible are only stories, that science proves the Bible to be untrue, that the Word of God contains many mistakes, that there was no fall of man, that there never was a flood, that there is no future punishment, nor any prophecy in the Old Testament concerning the coming of the Messiah. No wonder the students are perplexed and lose their faith in the Word of God. Such a situation is deplorable, and shows the prevailing infidelity of the times.

It is with great sadness of heart that we call attention to these statements. We do it only to show the tendency of the present time to drift away from God’s Word. These students are not in an infidel school, but in a professedly Christian school of a great evangelical denomination, where missionaries are being trained to work for sinners. But the infidel tendencies of higher criticism are so pronounced that the faith of the students in the Word of God, which is the very foundation of the Christian religion, is wrecked. This is truly deplorable.

This is a time when we should cling to the Book of God. Our salvation depends upon it. The strength of our whole work depends upon the immutability of God’s holy Word. The strength of our own denominational schools depends on their exalting the Scriptures to their proper place, and inculcating in the hearts of the students a love for God’s Word and a confidence in its truthfulness. Truly we should “preach the Word.”

G. B. T.