Are the Scriptures Inspired?
By Francis M. Wilcox
The question as to the precise position to be accorded the Scriptures in the literature of the world, and in the realm of Christian faith, has been a vexed problem, to a greater or less degree, in all ages of the Christian era. Nor is the question at the present time one in which there is concurrence of opinion and judgment, even among the Christian students of the church. Positions which a decade ago were regarded as impregnable, are now assailed as ingenious fabrications, designed to deceive the unwary and unsuspecting devotee of Scriptural inspiration. While the claims of archeological research would often tend to strengthen primitive faith in the sacred Scriptures, the higher criticism of the present century demands a revision of old beliefs and fixed notions regarding the Sacred Writings. There are not a few, however, whose faith still holds the Bible to be the Word of God. In this connection, the following remarks by Prof. J. H. Murphy, in the introduction to his commentary on the book of Genesis, is to the point: “If the Scriptures are not the Word of God, then the writers of these Scriptures, who directly and indirectly affirm their divine origin, are false witnesses; and if they have proved unworthy of credit in this fundamental point, they can be of no authority on other equally important matters. But neither before examination, nor after an examination of eighteen centuries, have we the slightest reason for doubting the veracity of these men, and their unanimous evidence is in favor of the divine authorship of the Bible. All that we have learned of the contents of these books accords with their claim to be the Word of God. The constant harmony of their statements, when fairly interpreted with one another, with general history, and with physical and metaphysical truth, affords an incontestable proof of their divine origin. The statements of other early writers, have invariably come into conflict with historical or scientific truth. “But still further, these books communicate to us matters concerning God, the origin and the future destiny of man, which are of vital importance in themselves, and yet are absolutely beyond the reach of human intuition, observation, or deduction. It is impossible, therefore, for mere human beings, apart from divine instruction and authority, to attest these things at all. Hence, these books, if they were not traceable ultimately to a divine Author, would absolutely fail us in the very points that are essential to be known; namely, the origin of our being, the relation in which we stand to God, and the way to eternal happiness, on which neither science nor history affords us any light. But they yield a clear, definite, and consistent light and help, meeting the very askings and longings of our souls on these momentous topics. The wonderful way in which they convince the reason, probe the conscience, and apply a healing balm to the wounded spirit, is in itself an independent attestation to their divine origin.”