Publication date
9/1/02
Volume
23
Number
17
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1902/17/1902-17-1.html
 
 
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E 
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(259 
21,11) 
a~ 
(;0 
I 
illform~ 
u~ 
of 
his 
apprecIation 
of 
this 
quality, 
and 
that 
Ii,' 
"Ill 
dea 
I 
\\lth 
us 
only 
in 
proportIOn 
as 
we 
possess 
it, 
80 
in 
our 
own 
experiences 
we 
find 
that 
we 
love 
most 
to 
assist 
and 
encourage 
those 
who 
manfIest 
an 
abiding 
confidence 
in 
us. 
YUL 
XXIII 
ALLEGHENY, 
PA 
.• 
SEPTEMBER 
1, 
190~ 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No. 
17 
DR. 
HENSON 
AND 
THE 
FALL 
Having 
been 
obhged 
in 
the 
past 
to 
critiCIZe 
the 
teachmgs 
of 
th,' 
celebrated 
Baptlst 
preacher, 
P. 
S. 
Henson, 
in 
respect 
to 
the 
eternal 
torment 
of 
the 
large 
proportion 
of 
our 
race 
bemg 
the 
di­ 
nne 
program, 
we 
are 
the 
more 
pleased 
now 
to 
be 
able 
to 
quote 
With 
approval 
his 
public 
utterances 
respecting 
original 
sm-the 
Fall 
of 
man-from 
the 
image 
and 
hkeness 
of 
hiS 
creator. 
He 
says: 
"The 
Bible 
does 
not 
declare 
how 
old 
are 
the 
heavens 
and 
the 
eal 
th, 
but 
only 
that 
in 
the 
'beginning,' 
whenever 
that 
was, 
the 
Lord 
created 
them. 
How 
long 
were 
the 
creative 
processes 
we 
ale 
not 
informed, 
for 
the 
word 
translated, 
'day' 
1Il 
Genesis 
is 
often 
employed 
in 
the 
Bible 
to 
denote 
great 
tracts 
of 
tlIne. 
"As 
to 
the 
method 
of 
creation 
the 
Scnptures 
make 
no 
ex­ 
plicit 
statement, 
though 
an 
evolutlOl1lst 
might 
Imagine 
that 
h~ 
found 
some 
shadow 
of 
support 
for 
his 
theory 
when 
he 
leads 
that 
the 
Lord 
said: 
'Let 
the 
waters 
bring 
forth 
such 
creature5 
as 
live 
m 
the 
water, 
and 
let 
the 
earth 
bnng 
forth 
sueh 
creature.; 
as 
live 
on 
the 
land.' 
As 
to 
man, 
indeed, 
a 
different 
formula 
en 
tlrely 
IS 
used, 
for 
God 
sai,l: 
'Let 
us 
make 
man 
in 
our 
image 
after 
our 
likeness.' 
THE 
FIRST 
MAN 
"But 
whether 
He 
made 
man 
Ly 
direct 
creative 
act 
or 
by 
the 
slow 
evo!utionaly 
proeesses 
of 
the 
ages. 
the 
gn'at 
fact 
rcmains 
that 
He 
malle 
hUll, 
allll 
thiS 
is 
all 
that 
the 
Bible 
llirectly 
dee 
lares. 
But 
whenever 
made 
and 
however 
malle 
therr' 
must 
han' 
I,een 
a 
first 
man, 
and 
as 
he 
had 
a 
name, 
or 
ought 
to 
have 
had, 
at 
least, 
for 
the 
pm 
poses 
of 
history 
there 
would 
s~elll 
to 
be 
no 
vah<l 
oh.ll'cbon, 
~ave 
that 
which 
arises 
from 
the 
'ollium 
theologlculIl' 
to 
the 
tra<lltionary 
name 
of 
'Adam.' 
So 
far, 
then, 
there 
would 
seem 
to 
be 
no 
reasons 
for 
controversy 
between 
the 
foremost 
scientlst 
and 
the 
most 
literal 
Scripturalist. 
"The 
great 
LatUe 
ground 
is 
rather 
to 
be 
found 
in 
the 
thirll 
chapter 
of 
Genesis, 
which 
glVl'S 
an 
account 
of 
that 
tremendous 
transaction 
which 
by 
common 
consent 
through 
all 
the 
ages 
has 
hpen 
denom1l1ated 
'the 
fall 
of 
man.' 
And 
never 
was 
there 
a 
mOJ 
e 
wi<lely 
prevalent 
disposition 
than 
there 
is 
today 
to 
dis­ 
Cll'lilt 
the 
whole 
Scripture 
narrative 
and 
to 
brand 
it 
as 
plepo,terous 
and 
absurll. 
And 
many 
timid 
souls 
have 
been 
BO 
0\ 
l'J 
,I 
\\"('ll 
h,Y 
thl' 
torlottInp~" 
of 
thp 
modnn 
l'ntJ('~ 
that 
th,'y 
scarcl'1y 
(lare 
affirm 
their 
belief 
in 
the 
substantial 
verity 
of 
the 
BILle 
story. 
FACTS 
FOR 
DOUBTERS 
"Xow, 
for 
the 
confirmatIon 
and 
the 
consolation 
of 
Buch 
quak­ 
in~ 
Ehs 
there 
are 
a 
few 
things 
It 
may 
be 
helpful 
to 
remember. 
The 
opeuing 
anll 
the 
closing 
secnes 
of 
man's 
'strange, 
eventful 
Imtory' 
as 
portrayP<l 
in 
the 
Bihle 
are 
each 
laid 
in 
a 
garden-the 
onp 
in 
Ellen 
and 
the 
other 
in 
Paradise 
Whether 
the 
trees 
and 
rivers 
llescribed 
in 
hoth 
stand 
for 
literal 
trees 
and 
rivers, 
such 
as 
Wl' 
are 
accustomed 
to, 
does 
not 
conCl'rn 
our 
present 
purpose 
But 
thl'y 
stan<l 
for 
something, 
and 
no 
(loubt 
the 
real 
fact 
will 
at 
la"t 
lie 
foullll 
to 
he 
far 
hl'yond 
the 
figure. 
ARGUMENT 
PROVING 
FALL 
"N 
ow, 
whatever 
may 
be 
sai,l 
of 
the 
figurative 
character 
of 
thl' 
language 
of 
Gl'nesis, 
some 
things 
loom 
up 
as 
indubitably 
tI 
Ill' 
1I1l!p-, 
thl' 
wiJolp 
~tl\l 
\' 
Ill' 
dl~l'IPllitt'd 
a~ 
n 
tl~~UP 
of 
Ill'~. 
"Onl' 
is 
that 
man's 
original 
state 
was 
a 
state 
of 
innocence. 
Of 
,'our~e 
it 
was 
if 
he 
came 
fresh 
from 
the 
hand 
of 
God 
by 
dirpl't 
erl'ative 
aet. 
And 
the 
likl' 
miQ'ht 
bl' 
affirmed 
if 
the 
lifl' 
he 
wore 
was 
the 
last 
result 
of 
ev~lution 
from 
the 
brute 
erl'atIon. 
No 
brute 
is 
a 
sinner, 
for 
he 
always 
acts 
up 
to 
the 
nature 
that 
is 
in 
him, 
but 
man 
is 
a 
sinner, 
and 
therl'fore 
some 
tIIllP, 
somehow 
hl' 
must 
have 
fallen, 
for 
now 
he 
consciously 
lives 
I 
plow 
hIS 
proper 
level. 
His 
very 
nature 
is 
depraved 
in 
its 
I']'O),p)1,lt]('S, 
an,l 
therefore 
now 
'when 
he 
would 
do 
good 
evil 
is 
rre'l'nt 
with 
him.' 
"Wl' 
l'xcnse 
the 
sinner 
of 
today 
on 
the 
ground 
of 
bad 
hl']'pdiiv. 
hut 
how 
r'aml' 
hl' 
bv 
tlIp 
ba,1 
hpredity? 
\\'e 
only 
dodgl' 
tlw 
diffieultv 
hy 
rpmoving 
it 
farther 
back.' 
And 
yet 
we 
eannot 
hl'lp 
asking 
whence 
flows 
the 
filthy 
stream 
that 
befouls 
all 
hun 
an 
history 
l 
The 
Scriptures 
locate 
the 
foundation. 
Has 
phtlo~ol'hy 
heen 
aUl' 
to 
(10 
any 
bptter~ 
INTERDICT 
AGAINST 
EVIL 
"'I'hl' 
second 
indubitahle 
thing 
is 
that 
God 
laid 
upon 
man 
an 
intl'l'lliet. 
'Vhat 
a 
pity 
and 
a 
shame, 
cril's 
the 
horrified 
"fltil' 
tll)t 
noel 
~h(]lIld 
-d 
n 
sn~rl' 
hy 
Willl·h 
to 
entrap 
the 
nn­ 
suspl'etll1g 
creature 
of 
His 
hand! 
"Anll 
yet 
If 
man 
were 
to 
be 
a 
subject 
and 
not 
a 
sovereign 
It 
must 
some 
day 
and 
111 
soml' 
way 
be 
<letermineu 
whose 
wIll 
was 
to 
be 
law 
upon 
this 
planet. 
If 
that 
matter 
once 
for 
all 
were 
to 
be 
tested, 
can 
any 
complainant 
conceive 
of 
a 
test 
more 
Wise, 
more 
consideratl', 
more 
conclUSive 
than 
the 
one 
that 
was 
was 
au 
opted 
9 
But 
what 
an 
outrage 
to 
interdict 
knowledge' 
and 
th,' 
denl 
has 
rung 
the 
changes 
011 
that 
outrage 
all 
down 
Ow 
ages. 
But 
he 
lIes 
about 
this, 
as 
IS 
Ius 
wont 
ahout 
eWI 
ytlllng 
else. 
It 
was 
not 
the 
tree 
of 
knowledge 
about 
which 
Gou 
urew 
a 
conlon, 
but 
the 
tree 
of 
the 
knowledge 
of 
good 
and 
evil-such 
knowledge 
of 
good 
and 
evil 
as 
comes 
from 
expenence 
m 
eVil 
dOlllg. 
And 
the 
yery 
words 
employed 
suggest 
their 
symholIc 
significance. 
MAN'S 
NATURE 
POLLUTED 
"The 
third 
great 
faet 
that 
looms 
up 
darkly 
is 
that 
man 
tJansgressed 
the 
interdict 
anu 
went 
beyond 
the 
bounds 
that 
God 
III 
Wisdom 
and 
in 
love, 
an<l 
from 
the 
very 
neces81ties 
of 
bC'mg, 
had 
apl'olllted, 
and 
so 
laill 
hunsl'If 
hahle 
to 
the 
venalty 
Wllldl 
the' 
l:)oVl'1 
l 
Igu 
of 
the 
univ, 
r~p 
nllht 
11l'l'd~ 
a 
tt 
Il'h 
to 
\ 
IOhd"d 
1.1\\ 
l'~ot 
only 
so, 
but 
III 
the 
act 
of 
tran"grl'SSlOn 
he 
dId 
violeJll'C' 
to 
Jns 
own 
nature 
as 
well 
as 
to 
the 
law 
of 
God, 
and 
so 
became 
cnp­ 
pled 
allll 
depraveu. 
That 
nature 
he 
transmitted 
to 
hiS 
posterity; 
for 
the 
Word 
reaus 
that 
'he 
begat 
a 
son 
in 
his 
own 
ilkeness.' 
Oorl 
never 
made 
a 
thlllg 
like 
Cam. 
H 
umalllty 
in 
Its 
totahty 
was 
in 
Adam, 
an<l 
therefore 
III 
a 
very 
true 
sense 
what 
was 
<lone 
hy 
Adam 
was 
<lone 
by 
us 
all, 
for 
the 
nature 
that 
was 
in 
Auam 
is 
in 
us 
all. 
It 
is 
not 
then 
Without 
reason 
that 
we 
speak 
of 
the 
'old 
man' 
in 
us, 
for 
it 
comes 
<lown 
to 
us 
from 
the 
very 
fountain 
head 
of 
humanity, 
anll 
If 
the 
fountain 
hea,l 
he 
foul 
nothing 
but 
the 
salt 
of 
the 
grace 
of 
GOll 
cau 
purify 
the 
stream 
that 
flows 
from 
it. 
THE 
BIBLICAL 
REMEDY 
"However 
much 
the 
language 
may 
be 
abused, 
there 
is 
such 
a 
thing 
as 
'the 
solidarity 
of 
society' 
anll 
the 
'ulllty 
of 
race.' 
It 
is 
true 
that 
'God 
hath 
malle 
of 
one 
blood 
all 
natIons 
to 
<lwell 
on 
the 
face 
of 
the 
earth,' 
and 
hence 
if 
one 
member 
suffer 
all 
the 
memhers 
suffer 
with 
it, 
an<l 
being 
partakers 
of 
a 
common 
nature 
and 
all 
its 
heritage 
of 
pain 
and 
peualty, 
up 
from 
the 
depth 
of 
the 
sin 
a 
III 
I 
sorrow 
illto 
which 
the 
first 
A,lam 
has 
plungetl 
us, 
we 
need 
to 
look 
to 
the 
Seeontl 
Adam 
through 
whose 
atoning 
,leath 
Wl' 
have 
rp(lempticn 
from 
tlw 
l'urse 
of 
~In, 
and 
through 
1<1entJfication 
WIth 
whose 
risen 
life 
we 
are 
malle 
par­ 
takers 
of 
the 
divine 
nature 
ami 
are 
reim,tatell 
III 
the 
relation­ 
ship 
of 
sonship 
to 
Go,l. 
"Such 
we 
believe 
to 
he 
substantially 
th" 
Rcriptllre 
rloctr1l1e 
of 
the 
fall 
of 
man 
through 
Adam 
and 
the 
restoration 
of 
man 
through 
Jesus 
Christ." 
"THE 
WAY 
OF 
THE 
LORD 
MORE 
PERFECTLY" 
The 
foregoing 
is 
goo<l-Scriptural 
allll 
logICal; 
hut 
Brother 
Henson 
shoul<l 
carry 
the 
qUl'~tion 
farther 
on 
the 
same 
Rcriptural 
and 
logIcal 
plane 
if 
he 
would 
have 
the 
whole 
truth. 
For 
in­ 
stance: 
WAS 
THE 
REAL 
PENALTY 
NOT 
STATED 
IN 
THE 
SENTENCE" 
(1) 
Where 
tloes 
the 
Doctor 
get 
his 
tbl'ory 
of 
C'termd 
torment' 
Answer. 
Undouhtedly 
from 
tillS 
dodrinp 
of 
thl' 
Fall 
wh"re 
all 
other 
"orthodox" 
people 
l'laim 
to 
find 
It. 
The 
claim 
is 
that 
our 
Creator 
not 
only 
meant 
all 
that 
he 
said 
in 
hiS 
thrpat 
to 
our 
first 
parents, 
aml 
in 
the 
curse 
or 
sentpnce 
follow­ 
ing 
it, 
but 
unutterably 
and 
infernally 
more: 
that 
when 
he 
said, 
"Dying 
thou 
shalt 
die," 
and, 
"Dust 
thou 
art 
and 
unto 
dust 
shalt 
thou 
return," 
he 
meant 
not 
only 
all 
the 
degra(lation 
amI 
pain 
allll 
anguish 
and 
dying 
of 
the 
past 
6,000 
years, 
referred 
to 
ahove 
by 
Dr. 
Hcnson, 
but 
includpd 
also 
an 
ptprnity 
ot 
anguish 
hevond 
this 
mentwned 
dying-for 
the 
di<;oherilent 
pall' 
and 
for 
all 
their 
unfortunate 
offspring 
who 
would 
not 
he 
so 
blpssed 
as 
to 
escape 
it 
by 
being 
of 
the 
"eleet,"-bronght 
to 
a 
knowle<lge 
of 
the 
Lord, 
assisted 
to 
faith 
an,l 
obl'dlenl'e 
and 
sanctification 
of 
spirit, 
and 
to 
correct 
views 
of 
haptism 
and 
obedience 
thereto. 
Where 
in 
the 
Scnnture 
will 
the 
Do('tor 
find 
for 
llS 
this 
diabolical 
plan 
set 
forth 
as 
the 
divine 
plan 
of 
the 
agl'R 
which 
our 
Heavenly 
Father 
purposed 
in 
himself 
before 
the 
world 
wasT 
Nowhere! 
Where 
will 
he 
find 
logic 
or 
reason 
to 
support 
such 
a 
theory1 
Nowhere! 
Logic 
and 
all 
thl' 
facts 
known 
to 
men 
corrohorate 
the 
Senp­ 
ture 
teachings 
that 
God 
declared 
the 
whole 
trnth 
in 
the 
death 
sentenl'e 
promulgated 
against 
our 
first 
parents 
when 
thev 
sll1ned, 
and 
inhl'rited 
by 
their 
posterity 
in 
a 
natural 
way. 
This 
sen­ 
te'nee 
in('ludes 
mental, 
moral 
and 
physical 
degeneracy, 
as 
[3065] 
ZION’S Avciust 15, 1902 as Gol informs us of his appreciation of this quality, and that he cin deal with us only in proportion as we possess it, so in WATCH TOWER (259 260) our own experiences we find that we love most to assist and encourage those who manfiest an abiding confidence in us. Ven AXII ALLEGHENY, PA., SEPTEMBER 1, 1902 No. 17 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER DR. HENSON AND THE FALL Having been obliged in the past to criticize the teachings of the celebrated Baptist preacher, P. S. Henson, in respect to the eternal torment of the large proportion of our race being the divine program, we are the more pleased now to be able to quote with approval his public utterances respecting original sm—the Fall of man—from the image and likeness of his creator. He Sys: “The Bible does not declare how old are the heavens and the eaith, but only that in the ‘beginning,’ whenever that was, the Lord created them. How long were the creative processes we aie not informed, for the word translated, ‘day’ in Genesis is often employed in the Bible to denote great tracts of time. “As to the method of creation the Scriptures make no explicit statement, though an evolutionist might imagine that he found some shadow of support for his theory when he 1eads that the Lord said: ‘Let the waters bring forth such creatures as live im the water, and let the earth bring forth such creatures as live on the land.’ As to man, indeed, a different formula en tirely 1s used, for God said: ‘Let us make man in our image after our likeness.’ THE FIRST MAN “But whether He made man by direct creative act or by the slow evolutiona1y processes of the ages. the great fact remains that He made him, and this is all that the Bible directly declares. But whenever made and however made there must have heen a first man, and as he had a name, or ought to have had, at least, for the purposes of history there would seem to be no vahd objection, save that which arises from the ‘odium theologicum’ to the traditionary name of ‘Adam.’ So far, then, there would seem to be no reasons for controversy between the foremost scientist and the most literal Seripturalist. “The great battle ground is rather to be found in the third chapter of Genesis, which gives an account of that tremendous transaction which by common consent through all the ages has heen denominated ‘the fall of man.’ And never was there a more widely prevalent disposition than there is today to diseicdit the whole Seripture narrative and to brand it as preposterous and absurd. And many timid souls have been so overawed by the toplofttiness of the modern critics that they scarecly dare affirm their belief in the substantial verity of the Bible story. FACTS FOR DOUBTERS “Now, for the confirmation and the consolation of such quaking Ehs there are a few things it may be helpful to remember. The opening and the closing scenes of man’s ‘strange, eventful history’ as portrayed in the Bible are each laid in a garden—the one in Eden and the other in Paradise Whether the trees and rivers described in both stand for literal trees and rivers, such as we are accustomed to, does not concern our present purpose But they stand for something, and no doubt the real fact will at last he found to be far heyond the figure. ARGUMENT PROVING FALL “Now, whatever may be said of the figurative character of the language of Genesis, some things loom up as indubitably true untess the whole story he discredited as a tissue of lies. “One is that man’s original state was a state of innocence. Of course it was if he eame fresh from the hand of God by direct. creative act. And the like might be affirmed if the life he wore was the Jast result of evolution from the brute creation. No brute is a sinner, for he always acts up to the nature that is in him, but man is a sinner, and therefore some time, somehow he must have fallen, for now he consciously lives Yelow his proper level. His very nature is depraved in its propensities, and therefore now ‘when he would do good evil is present with him.’ “We excuse the sinner of today on the ground of bad heredity, hut how came he by the bad heredity’? We only dodge the difficulty by removing it farther hack. And yet we cannot help asking whence flows the filthy stream that befouls all hun an history? The Scriptures locate the foundation. Has philosophy been able to do any better? INTERDICT AGAINST EVIL “The second indubitable thing is that God laid upon man an interdict. What a pity and a shame, cries the horrified eritie that God should set a snare by winch to entrap the unsuspecting creature of His hand! “And yet if man were to be a subject and not a sovereign it must some day and im some way be determined whose will was to be law upon this planet. If that matter once for all were to be tested, can any complainant conceive of a test more wise, more considerate, more conclusive than the one that was was adopted? But what an outrage to interdict knowledge! and the devil has rung the changes on that outrage all down the ages. But he hes about this, as 1s his wont about everything else. It was not the tree of knowledge about which God drew a cordon, but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—such knowledge of good and evil as comes from experience in evil doing. And the very words employed suggest their symbolic significance. MAN’S NATURE POLLUTED “The third great fact that looms up darkly is that man transgressed the interdict and went beyond the bounds that God im wisdom and in love, and from the very necessities of being, had appointed, and so laid himself liable to the penalty which the Sovercign of the universe must needs attich to violated law Not only so, but in the act of transgression he did violence to his own nature as well as to the law of God, and so became crippled and depraved. That nature he transmitted to his posterity ; for the Word reads that ‘he begat a son in his own lhkeness.’ God never made a thing like Cain. Humanity in its totality was in Adam, and therefore in a very true sense what was done by Adam was done by us all, for the nature that was in Adam is in us all. It is not then without reason that we speak of the ‘old man’ in us, for it comes down to us from the very fountain head of humanity, and if the fountain head be foul nothing but the salt of the grace of God can purify the stream that flows from it. THE BIBLICAL REMEDY “However much the language may be abused, there is such a thing as ‘the solidarity of society’ and the ‘umty of race.’ It is true that ‘God hath made of one blood all nations to dwell on the face of the earth,’ and henee if one member suffer all the memhers suffer with it, and being partakers of a common nature and all its heritage of pain and penalty, up from the depth of the sin and sorrow into which the first Adam has plunged us, we need to look to the Seeond Adam through whose atoning death we have redempticn from the eurse of sin, and through identification with whose risen life we are made partakers of the divine nature and are reinstated in the relationship of sonship to God. “Such we believe to he substantially the Scripture doctrine of the fall of man through Adam and the restoration of man through Jesus Christ.” “THE WAY OF THE LORD MORE PERFECTLY’’ The foregoing is good—Seriptural and logical; but Brother Henson should carry the question farther on the same Scriptural and logical plane if he would have the whole truth. For instance: WAS THE REAL PENALTY NOT STATED IN THE SENTENCE? (1) Where does the Doctor get his theory of eternal torment? Answer. Undoubtedly from this doctrine of the Fall where all other ‘‘orthodox” people claim to find it. The claim is that our Creator not only meant all that he said in his threat to our first parents, and in the curse or sentence following it, but unutterably and infernally more: that when he said, “Dying thou shalt die,” and, “Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return,’ he meant not only all the degradation and pain and anguish and dying of the past 6,000 years, referred to above by Dr. Henson, but included also an eternity of anguish hevond this mentioned dying—for the disobedient pair and for all their unfortunate offspring who would not he so blessed as to escape it by being of the “elect,’—hbrought to a knowledge of the Lord, assisted to faith and obedience and sanctification of spirit, and to correct views of baptism and obedience thereto, Where in the Scripture will the Doctor find for vs this diabolical plan set forth as the divine plan of the ages which our Heavenly Father purposed in himself before the world was? Nowhere! Where will he find logic or reason to support such a theory? Nowhere! Logie and all the facts known to men corrohorate the Seripture teachings that God declared the whole truth in the death sentence promulgated against our first parents when they sinned, and inherited by their posterity in a natural way. This sentence ineludes mental, moral and physical degeneracy, as [3065]

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