THE INERRANCY OF THE BIBLE.
By G. B. Thompson
THE following, clipped from the Syracuse (N. Y.) Journal of March 7, 1899, is significant as showing the attitude which professed Bible expositors are assuming toward the infallible Word of God:— "At the regular weekly meeting of Methodist ministers of New York, the proposition 'that the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible are no longer possible of belief among reasoning men' was advanced in a paper read by the Rev. S. P. Cadman, pastor of the Metropolitan Temple. Mr. Cadman pointed out alleged discrepancies, and asserted that the time had come when people could find truth only at its fountain head, Christ. "At the conclusion of Mr. Cadman's paper, the four hundred ministers present, including Bishop Edward G. Andrews, applauded him, and entered into a lively discussion of the proposition. The paper was one of a series, the first of which was based on practically the same grounds, and was read at last week's meeting. The utterances contained in these papers involve a radical departure from the tenets of the Methodist Church since its foundation, and were accepted by the most representative body of the clergy of the church in America. It places the Bible on a plane with historical works, and rejects the authenticity of all parts of the Scriptures that are not in accord with modern human reason. "Mr. Cadman said the authorship of the greater part of the Old Testament was unknown. The New Testament likewise contained many contradictions." "By the new construction, the truth of such Bible stories as Jonah and the whale, the fate of Lot's wife, Elijah's ascension, the age of Methuselah, Daniel in the lions' den, and God speaking to Moses out of the burning bush are questioned, thus undermining the fundamental pillar of Methodist theology." In view of the above, it would seem that the time foreshadowed by Paul in 2 Tim. 4: 1-5 had fully come. When a large and influential religious denomination begins to place the Bible on a level with such works of historic research as those compiled by Gibbon and others, and reins it up at the bar of human reason, it is time to become alarmed, not for the Word, but for the people who are led into the ditch by blind shepherds. The time has come when those who believe the Bible are no longer looked upon as 'reasoning men,' but are regarded as old fogies. Pointing out 'alleged discrepancies' has been the unholy work of infidelity in the past, and it is with sorrow we see them aided in their work by the professed watchmen on the walls of Zion. Yet, the Bible still stands. One celebrated infidel in the past declared that twelve men established the Christian religion, but he would demonstrate that one man could overthrow it. He is dead; but the Bible is still here, translated into the leading languages and dialects of the earth, and millions of copies are sold annually. Its precious truth still lives, and the fruition of the Christian's hope which it portrays will soon be realized. Man may continue the work of searching for 'discrepancies,' but there are none. 'Thy Word is true from the beginning; and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.' Ps. 119: 160.