Publication date
11/15/02
Volume
23
Number
22
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
../literature/watchtower/1902/22/1902-22-1.html
 
 
VOL. 
XXIII 
ALLEGHENY, 
PA., 
NOVEMBER 
15, 
1902 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No. 
22 
of 
nature. 
But 
they 
hold 
with 
equal 
firmness 
that 
God 
has 
made 
man 
for 
Himself, 
and 
that 
if 
He 
has 
sent 
His 
Son 
to 
die 
for 
them, 
the 
physical 
order 
can 
not 
set 
the 
rule 
for 
the 
way 
of 
grace. 
If 
God 
has 
relented, 
nature 
may 
relent. 
They 
believe 
that 
if 
there 
is 
personal 
God 
miracles 
are 
possible, 
and 
revelation, 
which 
is 
miracle, 
is 
also 
possible. 
They 
are 
not 
dismayed 
when 
they 
are 
told 
that 
the 
Gospel 
age 
was 
the 
age 
when 
legendary 
stories 
and 
superstitions 
and 
miraculous 
pretentions 
of 
the 
most 
fanciful 
and 
grotesque 
kind 
abounded. 
Nay, 
rather 
their 
faith 
is 
firmer, 
for 
they 
take 
these 
stories 
and 
compare 
them 
with 
the 
Gospel 
miracles, 
and 
they 
say, 
How 
is 
it 
that 
the 
stories 
of 
the 
New 
Testament 
are 
lofty 
and 
tender 
and 
beautiful 
and 
significant, 
while 
the 
rest 
are 
monstrosIties? 
Granting 
the 
entrance 
of 
the 
Son 
of 
God 
into 
human 
history, 
granting 
the 
miracle 
of 
the 
Incarnation 
of 
the 
Supreme, 
there 
is 
little 
to 
cause 
any 
difficulty. 
With­ 
out 
the 
Incarnation, 
without 
the 
Resurrection, 
we 
have 
no 
form 
of 
religion 
left 
to 
us 
that 
will 
control 
or 
serve 
or 
com- 
fort 
mankind." 
-LIterary 
Digest. 
It 
is 
comforting 
to 
find 
some 
few 
of 
God's 
servants. 
tho 
still 
in 
"Babylon," 
keen 
enough 
to 
discern 
the 
real 
situation, 
and 
courageous 
enough 
to 
lift 
up 
voice 
and 
pen 
in 
defense 
of 
his 
eause. 
Very 
evidently, 
however, 
the 
nominal 
"Christian 
ministry" 
has 
gone 
or 
is 
rapidly 
going 
so 
far 
into 
unbelief 
of 
the 
very 
fundamentals 
of 
Christianity 
as 
to 
forfeit 
all 
claim 
to 
the 
name 
Christian,-as 
Rev. 
Nicoll 
suggests. 
It 
is 
not 
Ohristwn 
frtith 
to 
acknowledge 
that 
Jesus 
lived 
noble 
life. 
superior 
to 
that 
of 
other 
men, 
and 
that 
his 
teachings 
were 
Ruperior 
to 
others 
of 
his 
day. 
It 
is 
not 
Ohristwm 
faith 
to 
claim 
what 
the 
Bible 
denies 
respecting 
"the 
fatherhood 
of 
God 
ann 
the 
brotherhood 
of 
man;" 
nor 
to 
proceed 
on 
this 
basis 
to 
claim 
that 
Jesus 
was 
son 
of 
God 
in 
common 
with 
all 
others 
of 
our 
race, 
and 
peculiarly 
acceptable 
in 
propor­ 
tion 
as 
he 
was 
superior 
to 
others 
of 
his 
race. 
No. 
this 
is 
not 
Christianity: 
will 
not, 
and 
00 
not 
Jews, 
Mohammedans, 
Confucians 
Buddhists 
and 
many 
others,­ 
admit 
all 
this 
respeeting 
our 
Master,-and 
some 
of 
them 
more? 
Are 
these 
all 
Christians? 
And 
if 
not. 
are 
those 
minis­ 
terg 
Christians 
who 
still 
wear 
the 
livery 
of 
Christ 
in 
colleges 
ann 
pulpits, 
for 
valuable 
considerations, 
and 
who 
are 
still 
nnner 
solemn 
vows 
to 
faith 
which 
they 
~ometimes 
publicly. 
but 
more 
often 
semi-privately, 
disavow? 
Assuredly 
not. 
Let 
us 
get 
back 
to 
that 
honesty 
of 
thought 
and 
word 
which 
calls 
disbelief 
in 
the 
fundamentals 
of 
Christianity, 
"unbelief," 
i. 
e., 
"infidelity." 
We 
are 
told 
that 
Infidelity 
has 
disappeared;- 
that 
Renan, 
Paine 
and 
Ingersoll 
have 
lost 
their 
place 
and 
power 
as 
op­ 
posers 
of 
Christianity. 
The 
very 
contrary 
is 
true: 
every 
college 
and 
seminary, 
secular 
and 
theological, 
has 
become 
hotbed 
of 
infidelity, 
in 
which 
the 
leaders 
in 
world-politics, 
world-business, 
and 
world-religion 
are 
being 
taught, 
under 
the 
sanction 
of 
the 
"highest 
authorities," 
the 
verv 
disbelief 
in 
the 
Bible 
which 
Infidelity 
has 
all 
along 
urged. 
The 
places 
of 
Renan, 
Paine 
and 
Ingersoll 
are 
more 
than 
filleo 
by 
classi­ 
cal, 
scientific 
and 
theological 
doctors 
;-blind 
leaders 
of 
the 
blino. 
Let 
no 
one 
be 
confused 
by 
these 
false 
sbepherds. 
who 
are 
rapidly 
leading 
astray 
their 
ponfidin:r 
flocks; 
sa~·lll,!.!. 
Ppape 
and 
safety! 
All 
who 
follow 
them 
will 
SOon 
find 
in 
their 
hearts 
an 
aching 
void,-a 
leanness 
of 
soul.-a 
Christles"npss 
which 
will 
renner 
miserable 
indeed 
all 
who 
have 
once 
"tasted 
of 
the 
heavenly 
gift 
and 
been 
made 
partakers 
of 
the 
holy 
spirit." 
Christ 
and 
the 
apostles 
were 
either 
right 
or 
wrong 
in 
their 
teachings 
;-their 
claims 
were 
either 
true 
or 
false. 
If 
false, 
everything 
built 
upon 
them 
must 
logically 
fall 
with 
them;­ 
including- 
the 
very 
name 
Christianity, 
their 
synonym. 
If 
they 
were 
true, 
all 
that 
they 
taught 
stands 
together; 
and 
the 
name 
Christian 
belongs 
to 
these 
doctrines, 
and 
its 
appli­ 
cation 
to 
other 
teachings 
is 
sin; 
and 
its 
appropriation 
by 
others 
is 
grand 
larceny-robbery. 
The 
fundamental 
teachings 
of 
Christ 
and 
his 
apostles 
(true 
Christianity) 
are 
(l) 
The 
fall 
of 
man 
into 
sin 
and 
under 
its 
penalty-death. 
(Rom. 
5:12, 
17-19; 
Cor. 
15:22; 
Cor. 
5:14; 
Rom. 
6:23). 
(2) 
The 
ransom 
of 
the 
race 
from 
condemnation 
by 
virtue 
of 
the 
sacrifice 
of 
Christ 
"finished" 
at 
Calvary. 
(l 
Tim. 
2:5, 
6; 
Rom. 
5:18; 
Jno. 
19:30) 
(3) 
The 
salvation, 
or 
recovery 
of 
the 
race. 
or 
so 
many 
of 
the 
same 
as 
will 
accept 
the 
grace 
of 
God 
in 
Christ 
when 
brought 
to 
knowledge 
of 
the 
same, 
by 
It 
judgment-trial 
and 
restitu­ 
t.ion, 
called 
resurrection. 
(Acts 
3:19.23; 
,Tno. 
5'28, 
29) 
(4) 
The 
previous 
and 
preparatory 
trial, 
testing, 
judgment 
of 
an 
"f'led" 
class 
whose 
resurrection 
to 
"glory, 
honor 
and 
im- 
IS 
BELIEF 
IN 
MIRACLES 
ESSENTIAL 
TO 
CHRISTIANITY? 
No 
question 
in 
mode 
III 
religious 
thought 
is 
weightier 
than 
this 
one 
which 
Professor 
Charles 
\V. 
Pearson's 
much-discussed 
utterance 
has 
served 
to 
bring 
once 
more 
into 
prominence. 
The 
problem, 
of 
course, 
is 
far 
from 
belllg 
new 
one. 
In­ 
deed, 
it 
has 
been 
noted 
in 
several 
quarters 
that 
the 
Methodist 
professor 
used 
much 
the 
same 
arguments 
as 
those 
embodied 
in 
HUlllc's 
e_c,:ly 
on 
mlrae!es, 
publIshed 
hundred 
and 
fifty 
J'eal 
ago. 
In 
none 
of 
the 
theological 
controversies 
of 
the 
past 
cpntu 
ry 
\\ 
n9 
the 
conflict 
more 
earne"t 
than 
in 
this 
one 
over 
mIr:lC!P9, 
Hpnan, 
Strauss, 
and 
Huxley 
ranging 
them­ 
selves 
nctively 
on 
the 
one 
side, 
Bishop 
Lightfoot, 
Dean 
Fnrrar, 
nnrl 
Mr. 
Gladstone 
on 
the 
other. 
The 
Rev. 
Dr. 
W. 
Robertson 
;\ieoll, 
who 
IH 
he~t 
known 
a~ 
jOUlnahst. 
lmt 
who 
has 
also 
Gone 
considerable 
work 
in 
the 
field 
of 
theology 
as 
editor 
of 
the 
London 
ExpOSitor 
and 
"The 
Exp09itor's 
Bible," 
goes 
over 
til(' 
ground 
again 
in 
his 
new 
book, 
"The 
Church's 
One 
Foundation." 
The 
fir9t 
few 
sentences 
of 
the 
book 
show 
that 
this 
"foundation," 
according 
to 
Dr. 
Nicoll, 
is 
the 
miracu­ 
lou9 
Chri9t, 
and 
that, 
if 
there 
be 
no 
such 
Christ, 
"Christian­ 
ity 
IJJ.s9PS 
into 
the 
mist 
and 
goes 
down 
the 
wind." 
He 
de­ 
clal'e9'- 
"The 
church 
cannot 
without 
disloyalty 
and 
cowardice, 
quarrd 
\\ 
Ith 
('riticism 
as 
such. 
It 
is 
not 
held 
absolutely 
to 
any 
thpory 
of 
any 
book. 
It 
asks, 
and 
it 
is 
entitled 
to 
ask, 
thp 
('ritip: 
Do 
you 
believe 
in 
the 
Incarnation 
and 
Resur­ 
rection 
of 
Chn9t? 
If 
his 
reply 
is 
in 
the 
affirmative, 
his 
pro­ 
cess 
:'nd 
results 
are 
to 
be 
examined 
earnestly 
and 
calmly. 
If 
he 
replies 
in 
tbe 
negative, 
he 
has 
missed 
the 
way, 
and 
has 
put 
himself 
out9ide 
the 
church 
of 
Christ. 
If 
he 
refuses 
to 
answer, 
IllS 
silence 
has 
to 
bp 
interpreten 
No 
one 
argues 
against 
the 
right 
of 
philosophers 
to 
affirm 
that 
goodness 
is 
evpr~·thing, 
that 
miracles 
are 
impossible, 
and 
that 
nothing 
in 
.Jesus 
Christ 
has 
any 
importance 
except 
his 
moral 
teach­ 
ing. 
But 
Christian 
believers 
in 
revelation 
are 
compelled 
to 
say 
that 
these 
philosophers 
are 
not 
Christians. 
If 
they 
re­ 
fuse 
to 
do 
so, 
they 
are 
declaring 
that 
in 
their 
opinion 
these 
bPljef9 
have 
no 
supreme 
importance. 
To 
say 
this 
is 
to 
incur 
the 
penalty 
of 
extinction. 
For 
Christianity 
dip'! 
when 
It 
pa'!sl's 
altogether 
into 
the 
philosophic 
region. 
To 
believe 
in 
the 
Incarnation 
and 
the 
Resurrection 
is 
to 
put 
these 
facts 
in 
the 
foregrounn. 
Either 
they 
are 
first 
or 
they 
are 
nowhere. 
The 
man 
who 
thinks 
he 
can 
hold 
them 
and 
keep 
them 
in 
the 
background 
deceives 
himself. 
They 
are, 
and 
they 
ever 
must 
be, 
first 
of 
all. 
So, 
then, 
the 
battle 
turns 
on 
their 
truth 
or 
falsehood. 
It 
does 
not 
turn 
on 
the 
inerrancy 
of 
the 
Gospel 
narratIve. 
It 
dOPs 
not 
turn 
eyen 
on 
the 
authorship 
of 
the 
ao-pels. 
Faith 
is 
not 
belief 
in 
book, 
but 
belief 
in 
living 
Christ." 
Dr. 
Nichol 
holds 
that 
here 
is 
discussion 
which 
every 
Christian 
believer 
mmt 
enter 
upon 
with 
the 
keenest 
zest, 
since 
"it 
is 
controversy 
not 
for 
theologians 
merely, 
but 
for 
pnry 
man 
who 
has 
seen 
the 
face 
of 
Christ, 
and 
can 
bear 
pel 
~onal 
testimony 
to 
his 
power 
and 
glory." 
He 
continues:- 
"If 
we 
a'Bume 
at 
the 
threshold 
of 
Gospel 
study 
that 
everything 
in 
the 
nature 
of 
miracle 
is 
impossible, 
then 
the 
specific 
fJuestiom 
are 
decided 
before 
the 
criticism 
begins 
to 
o;JPrate 
in 
en 
ruest. 
The 
naturalistic 
critics 
approach 
the 
Cll] 
istinn 
reeorrls 
with 
an 
priori 
theory, 
and 
impose 
it 
upon 
thpm. 
b\ 
i"ting 
the 
hiRtory 
into 
agreement 
with 
it, 
and 
cutting 
ont 
what 
",ITI 
not 
))(' 
twi~tp,l. 
For 
e,ample. 
th? 
parlipr 
natnr­ 
flh"tic 
critic, 
Paulus, 
Eichhorn, 
and 
the 
rest, 
insisted 
on 
giv­ 
iT"! 
non-miraculous 
interpretation. 
Strauss 
perceived 
the 
lln~pif'ntific 
pha 
raeter 
of 
this 
method, 
and 
set 
out 
with 
thp 
I1n 
thip',l 
hypotlH'9is. 
Baur 
set 
to 
work 
with 
belief 
in 
the 
all-9tlfli 
irnry 
of 
the 
Hpgelian 
theory 
of 
development 
through 
antag'o'lism. 
He 
saw 
tendency 
everywhere 
Dr. 
Abbott 
set~ 
ont 
\\ 
jth 
the 
fa 
reg-one 
conclusion 
of 
the 
impossibility 
of 
mila(']f''!. 
l\fattllPw 
Arnold 
SilyS: 
'Our 
popular 
religion 
at 
prpspnt 
ronrcivrs 
the 
birth. 
ministry. 
and 
death 
of 
Christ 
as 
alto!!,.,thpr 
,tepppn 
in 
prodigy, 
brimful 
of 
miracles, 
and 
mira­ 
clr,< 
do 
not 
hnppc.n.''' 
TIll' 
110nhle 
with 
nll 
thpsp 
~nr1 
similar 
critirs. 
npp1ares 
Dr. 
Kiroll. 
liee; 
in 
the 
fact 
that 
they 
start 
out 
with 
the 
as­ 
snmptI'1n 
that 
"God 
can 
not 
visit 
'and 
redeem 
his 
people" 
and 
th~t 
"Hi9 
arm 
is 
chain€'d 
and 
can 
not 
save." 
Is 
it 
not 
much 
more 
rational. 
he 
ae;ks, 
to 
take 
the 
view 
that 
miracle 
is 
"thp 
fit 
accomnaniment 
of 
religion 
that 
moves 
and 
satis­ 
fies 
tlw 
soul 
of 
men, 
and 
that 
asserts 
itself 
to 
be 
derived 
di­ 
rpdly 
from 
aod?" 
He 
goes 
on 
to 
say:- 
"Miracle 
1S 
part 
of 
the 
accompaniment, 
as 
well 
as 
part 
of 
the 
('ontpnt, 
of 
true 
revelation, 
its 
appropriate 
conn­ 
tcrsign 
Of 
COljr~e, 
thosp 
who 
tilke 
this 
gronnd 
do 
not 
npnv. 
but 
rather 
firmly 
assert, 
the 
steadfast 
and 
glorious 
order 
(339-340) 
[3106] 
Vou. XXIII ALLEGHENY, PA., NOVEMBER 15, 1902 No. 22 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER IS BELIEF IN MIRACLES ESSENTIAL TO CHRISTIANITY? No question in modein religious thought is weightier than this one which Professor Charles W. Pearson’s much-discussed utterance has served to bring once more into prominence. The problem, of course, is far from being a new one. Indeed, it has been noted in several quarters that the Methodist professor used much the same arguments as those embodied in Hume’s essay on miracles, published a hundred and fifty yearg ago. In none of the theological controversies of the past century was the conflict more earnest than in this one over miracles, Renan, Strauss, and Huxley ranging themselves actively on the one side, Bishop Lightfoot, Dean Farrar, and Mr. Gladstone on the other. The Rev. Dr. W. Robertson Nicoll, who is best known as a journalist, but who has also done considerable work in the field of theology as editor of the London Ewrpositor and “The Expositor’s Bible,” goes over the ground again in his new book, “The Church’s One Foundation.” The first few sentences of the book show that this “foundation,” according to Dr. Nicoll, is the miraculous Christ, and that, if there be no such Christ, “Christianity passes into the mist and goes down the wind.” He deelares*— “The chureh cannot without disloyalty and cowardice, quarrel with criticism ag such. It is not held absolutely to any theory of any book. It asks, and it is entitled to ask, the critic: Do you believe in the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ? If his reply is in the affirmative, his process end results are to be examined earnestly and calmly. If he replies in the negative, he has missed the way, and has put himself outside the church of Christ. If he refuses to answer, hia silence has to be interpreted. ... No one argues against the right of philosophers to affirm that goodness is everything, that miracles are impossible, and that nothing in Jesus Christ has any importance except his moral teaching. But Christian believers in revelation are compelled to say that these philosophers are not Christians. If they refuse to do so, they are declaring that in their opinion these beliefs have no supreme importance. To say this is to incur the penalty of extinction. For Christianity dies when it passes altogether into the philosophic region. To believe in the Incarnation and the Resurrection is to put these facts in the foreground. Either they are first or they are nowhere. The man who thinks he can hold them and keep them in the background deceives himself. They are, and they ever must be, first of all. So, then, the battle turns on their truth or falsehood. It does not turn on the inerrancy of the Gospel narrative. It does not turn even on the authorship of the Gospels. Faith is not a belief in a book, but a belief in a living Christ.” Dr. Nichol holds that here is a discussion which every Christian believer must enter upon with the keenest zest, since ‘it is a controversy not for theologians merely, but for evcry man who has seen the face of Christ, and can bear personal testimony to his power and glory.” He continues:— “If we assume at the threshold of Gospel study that everything in the nature of miracle is impossible, then the specific questions are decided before the criticism begins to operate in earnest. The naturalistic critics approach the Christian records with an a priori theory, and impose it upon them. twisting the history into agreement with it, and cutting ont what can not be twisted. For example, the earlier naturalistie critic, Paulus, Eichhorn, and the rest, insisted on givire a non-miraculous interpretation. Strauss perceived the unseicntifie character of this method, and set out with the nivthien! hypothesis. Baur set to work with a belief in the all-sufficieney of the Hegelian theery of development through antagonism. Ife saw tendency everywhere. ... Dr. Abbott sets ott with the foregone conclusion of the impossibility of miracles. Matthew Arnold says: ‘Our popular religion at present conccives the birth, ministry, and death of Christ as altogether steeped in prodigy, brimful of miracles, and miracles do not heppen.’” The trouhle with all these and similar critics, declares Pr. Nicoll, lies in the fact that they start out with the assumption that “God can not visit and redeem his people” and thet “His arm is chained and can not save.” Is it not much more rational, he asks, to take the view that miracle is “the fit accompaniment of a religion that moves and satisfies the soul of men, and that asserts itself to be derived directly from God?” He goes on to say:— “Miracle is part of the accompaniment, as well as part of the content, of a true revelation, its appropriate countersign Of course, those who take this ground do not denv, but rather firmly assert, the steadfast and glorious order (339-340) of nature. But they hold with equal firmness that God has made man for Himself, and that if He has sent His Son to die for them, the physical order can not set the rule for the way of grace. If God has relented, nature may relent. They believe that if there is a personal God miracles are possible, and revelation, which is a miracle, is also possible. They are not dismayed when they are told that the Gospel age was the age when legendary stories and superstitions and miraculous pretentions of the most fanciful and grotesque kind abounded. Nay, rather their faith is firmer, for they take these stories and compare them with the Gospel miracles, and they say, How is it that the stories of the New Testament are lofty and tender and beautiful and significant, while the rest are monstrosities? . ... Granting the entrance of the Son of God into human history, granting the miracle of the Incarnation of the Supreme, there is little to cause any difficulty. Without the Incarnation, without the Resurrection, we have no form of religion left to us that will control or serve or comfort mankind.” —Interary Digest. * * * It is comforting to find some few of God’s servants, tho still in “Babylon,” keen enough to discern the real situation, and courageous enough to lift up voice and pen in defense of his cause. Very evidently, however, the nominal “Christian ministry” has gone or is rapidly going so far into unbelief of the very fundamentals of Christianity as to forfeit all claim to the name Christian,—as Rev. Nicoll suggests. It is not Christian faith to acknowledge that Jesus lived a noble life, superior to that of other men, and that his teachings were superior to others of his day. It is not Christian faith to claim what the Bible denies respecting “the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man;” nor to proceed on this basis to claim that Jesus was a son of God in common with all others of our race, and peculiarly acceptable in proportion as he was superior to others of his race. No, this is not Christianity: will not, and do not Jews, Mohammedans, Confucians Buddhists and many others,— admit all this respecting our Master,—and some of them more? Are these all Christians? And if not. are those ministers Christians who still wear the livery of Christ in colleges and pulpits, for valuable considerations, and who are still under solemn vows to a faith which they sometimes publicly. but more often semi-privately, disavow? Assuredly not. Let us get back to that honesty of thought and word which calls disbelief in the fundamentals of Christianity, “unbelief,” 7. e., “infidelity.” We are told that Infidelity has disappeared ;— that Renan, Paine and Ingersoll have lost their place and power as opposers of Christianity. The very contrary is true: every college and seminary, secular and theological, has become a hotbed of infidelity, in which the leaders in world-politics, world-business, and world-religion are being taught, under the sanction of the “highest authorities,” the very disbelief in the Bible which Infidelity has all along urged. The places of Renan, Paine and Ingersoll are more than filled by classical, scientific and theological doctors;—blind leaders of the blind. Let no one be confused by these false shepherds, who are rapidly leading astray their confiding flocks; saying, Peace and safety! All who follow them will soon find in their hearts an aching void,—a leanness of sou).—a Christleseness which will render miserable indeed all who have once “tasted of the heavenly gift and been made partakers of the holy spirit.” Christ and the apostles were either right or wrong in their teachings ;—their claims were either true or false. If false, everything built upon them must logically fall with them ;— including the very name Christianity, their synonym. If they were true, all that they taught stands together; and the name Christian belongs to these doctrines, and its application to other teachings is a sin; and its appropriation by others is grand larceny—robbery. The fundamental teachings of Christ and his apostles (true Christianity) are (1) The fall of man into sin and under its penalty—death. (Rom. 5:12, 17-19; 1 Cor. 15:22; 2 Cor. 5:14; Rom. 6:23). (2) The ransom of the race from condemnation by virtue of the sacrifice of Christ “finished” at Calvary. (1 Tim. 2:5, 6; Rom. 5:18; Jno. 19:30) (3) The salvation, or recovery of the race. or so many of the same as will accept the grace of God in Christ when brought to a knowledge of the same, by a judgment-trial and restitution, called resurrection. (Acts 3:19, 23; Jno. 5:28, 29) (4) The previous and preparatory trial, testing, judgment of an “elect”? class whose resurrection to “glory, honor and im [3106]

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