“The Bible as the Supreme Authority.”
By W. N. Glenn
A WRITER in the Christian at Work undertakes to uphold the above sentiment, and starts out reverently, with the assertion that “the Bible is the supreme standard of faith and law of life.” But in the second paragraph he begins to qualify the premise, and falls to the proposition that “the Bible is supreme in its principles, and not in its precepts,” and inquires, “How shall we separate the principle from precept?” He then answers the question: “Native common sense will separate them. The feet-washing of the Master has the lesson of humility and lowly service. Thoughtful men do not repeat the feet-washing. They learn the lesson. They leave the precept and take the principle.” That is to say, practically, they make void the commandment by their tradition. Leaving out the precepts of the Bible, there would be little principle left. Imagine a father saying to his son, “John, I am going away to-day, and you must feed the cattle just as you have seen me do it.” In his father’s absence, the boy does not give the cattle anything to eat. He admits the principle is good; he believes in that, and is willing to be guided by it; but it must be separated from the precept. “Thoughtful” boys do not feed cattle. “They learn the lesson; they leave the precept and take the principle.” Yet they consider the authority of the father as supreme, in the same sense that the writer above quoted does the authority of the Bible. And farther on he compromises again, as might be expected, and plainly gives the Bible a second place, in the following language: “The Bible is supreme when interpreted in harmony with the Christian consciousness of the age. The Christian consciousness is a fact and ever has been; the creeds of the ages are born out of it; it is a power to-day.” Just so is father’s authority supreme when interpreted in harmony with Young America’s consciousness. This consciousness “is a power to-day.” Father is a first-rate fellow, and his authority will be respected, just as long as he allows the boy to do as he pleases. W. N. GLENN.