Publication date
7/15/03
Volume
24
Number
14
The WatchTower
Views from the Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1903/14/1903-14-1.html
 
 
 
VOL. 
XXIV 
ALLEGHENY, 
PA., 
JLJLY 
15, 
1903 
No. 
14 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
HOW 
SHALL 
WE 
UNDERSTAND 
THEM? 
before 
Christ-after 
the 
return 
of 
the 
Israelites 
from 
the 
Baby­ 
lonian 
captivity. 
The 
claim 
is 
that 
these 
books 
are 
pious 
frauds, 
having 
little, 
if 
any, 
foundation 
In 
truth. 
Dr. 
Pen­ 
niman, 
the 
lecturer, 
was 
not 
in 
sympathy 
with 
such 
open 
in­ 
fidelity. 
He 
was 
glad, 
therefore, 
when 
the 
excavations 
he 
men­ 
tioned 
disclosed 
certain 
outside 
information, 
corroborative 
of 
some 
of 
the 
statements 
of 
Genesis. 
We 
are 
glad 
that 
the 
Doctor 
is 
with 
us 
thus 
far; 
but 
we 
regret 
to 
note 
that 
he 
is 
so 
trnctured 
with 
the 
spirit 
of 
higher 
criticism 
that 
the 
re­ 
searches 
which 
he 
mentions 
have 
not 
convinced 
him 
that 
the 
Bible 
is 
of 
divine 
origin, 
and, 
therefore, 
unqualIfiedly 
true. 
He 
merely 
aumits 
that 
It 
is 
not 
unqualifiedly 
false--that 
these 
fi:'lulllgS 
prove 
that 
there 
is 
some 
reliability 
in 
the 
Scriptural 
account 
i-but 
he 
evidently 
is 
(l,S 
far 
from 
accepting 
the 
Bible 
narrative 
as 
it 
stands, 
as 
are 
the 
most 
destructive 
of 
the 
higher 
critics. 
The 
chronology 
of 
the 
Bible 
is 
so 
thoroughly 
interwoven 
with 
its 
narrative 
that 
the 
two 
are 
bound 
up 
together 
as 
web 
antI 
"oaf: 
to 
destroy 
the 
one 
destroys 
the 
other; 
to 
invalidate 
the 
one 
invalidates 
the 
other; 
to 
corroborate 
the 
one 
corrobo­ 
rates 
the 
other. 
There 
is 
no 
question 
whatever 
that 
the 
Bible 
contains 
a 
chronological 
chain 
down 
to 
the 
Babylonian 
captiVIty-even 
the 
captious 
find 
it 
impossible 
to 
disagree 
more 
than 
128 
years 
with 
what 
we 
have 
presented 
as 
the 
chronology 
of 
the 
Bible; 
-and 
then 
they 
must 
make 
that 
period 
shorter 
than 
we 
do 
instead 
of 
longer. 
No 
kind 
of 
reasoning 
or 
figuring 
based 
on 
the 
BIble 
statements 
of 
chronology 
can 
extend 
the 
period 
from 
the 
creation 
to 
the 
birth 
of 
our 
Lord 
beyond 
4,128 
years 
which 
we 
have 
absigned 
to 
the 
period. 
Dr. 
Penniman, 
as 
the 
dean 
of 
a 
university, 
and 
a 
lecturer 
upon 
this 
subject, 
is 
of 
course 
thoroughly 
a 
\\ 
are 
of 
these 
facts. 
Yet 
how 
strange 
It 
is 
that 
he 
should 
address 
an 
auJience 
as 
a 
champion 
of 
the 
Bible, 
and 
at 
the 
same 
time 
discredit 
the 
Bible 
by 
as!:'erting, 
'ts 
he 
doe::!, 
that 
man 
harl 
been 
on 
the 
earth 
some 
ten 
thousand 
years 
prror 
to 
the 
Christian 
era! 
If 
this 
gentleman 
is 
a 
friend 
of 
the 
Bible, 
the 
latter 
has 
good 
reason 
to 
cry 
out, 
"Save 
me 
from 
my 
friends!" 
If 
the 
Doctor 
is 
a 
disbeliever 
in 
the 
Bible, 
and 
is 
posing 
as 
its 
friend 
and 
champion, 
he 
is 
occupying 
a 
dishonest 
and 
dis­ 
honorable 
position. 
In 
any 
event, 
the 
Bible 
is 
far 
better 
off 
without 
such 
friends 
and 
such 
champions. 
Whether 
inten­ 
tionally 
or 
unintentionally, 
they 
are 
serving 
the 
cause 
of 
infidel­ 
ity-they 
are 
overthrowing 
faith 
in 
the 
Word 
of 
God. 
True. 
we 
are 
to 
expect 
just 
such 
things 
at 
this 
particular 
time, 
for 
the 
Apostle 
assures 
us 
that 
every 
man's 
faith-structure 
shall 
be 
tried 
so 
as 
by 
fire; 
and 
that 
all 
the 
wood, 
hay 
and 
stubble 
shall 
be 
destroyed. 
We 
are, 
of 
course, 
sure 
that 
those 
who 
have 
built 
their 
faith 
according 
to 
the 
direction 
of 
the 
Lord's 
Word, 
upon 
the 
proper 
foundation, 
and 
with 
the 
proper 
materials, 
the 
gold, 
silver, 
precious 
stones 
of 
divine 
truth, 
the 
Word 
of 
God,-these 
will 
never 
fail, 
will 
never 
be 
stumbled, 
but 
will 
come 
off 
con­ 
querors. 
But 
we 
also 
know 
that 
this 
class 
is 
a 
remarkably 
small 
one, 
out 
of 
the 
millions 
of 
Christendom. 
Let 
us 
not 
be 
surprised, 
then, 
that 
the 
"fire 
of 
this 
day 
shall 
try 
every 
man's 
work, 
of 
what 
sort 
it 
is." 
Let 
us, 
on 
the 
contrary, 
take 
the 
more 
earnest 
heed 
and 
the 
more 
firmly 
hold 
on 
to 
the 
things 
which 
we 
have 
received 
of 
the 
Lord, 
which 
in 
thc 
end 
will 
shine 
forth 
gloriously 
bright 
and 
convincing 
to 
the 
whole 
world 
of 
mankind. 
(211-212) 
VARYING 
DEGREES 
OF 
UNBELIEF 
The 
"higher 
critics" 
differ 
considerably. 
It 
would 
be 
amus­ 
ing, 
were 
it 
not 
so 
serious 
a 
subject, 
to 
note 
how 
the 
one 
class 
upbraids 
the 
other 
for 
"destructive 
criticIsm 
of 
the 
Word 
of 
God," 
and 
then 
in 
the 
same 
article 
proceeds 
along 
the 
same 
lines,--only 
a 
little 
less 
destructive 
of 
the 
faith 
For 
instance, 
note 
the 
following 
from 
the 
Presbyterian 
Standard:- 
"On 
Sunday 
last 
Dr. 
Josiah 
Penniman, 
dean 
of 
the 
Uni­ 
versity 
of 
Pennsylvania, 
delivered 
an 
exceeJingly 
interesting 
addres8 
or 
lay 
sermon 
from 
the 
pulpit 
of 
the 
Asheville 
Presby­ 
t('nan 
church 
at 
the 
morning 
hour, 
in 
which 
he 
told 
of 
the 
rl'mar 
kable 
revelation~ 
made 
by 
pick 
and 
shovel 
in 
excavating 
the 
Sltp 
of 
the 
ancient 
city 
of 
Chalneh 
in 
the 
valley 
of 
the 
Euphrates. 
This 
city 
is 
mentioned 
in 
Gen. 
10: 
10, 
and 
the 
WOl 
k 
of 
lEgging 
it 
out 
has 
been 
done 
by 
the 
umversity 
of 
l'ennbjdvaIUa 
during 
the 
last 
thirteen 
~years. 
The 
destructive 
el 
itrC8 
bay 
that 
the 
art 
of 
writing 
wag 
not 
known 
at 
the 
time 
of 
AlJraham. 
But 
the 
Umversity 
of 
Pennsylvania 
has 
exhumed 
more 
than 
forty 
thomantI 
burnt 
clay 
tablets 
full 
of 
written 
records 
dating 
back 
4,000 
years 
before 
the 
ChrJbtran 
era, 
and 
80 
2,000 
ypal 
s 
before 
the 
time 
of 
AlJraham. 
The 
destructive 
el 
itics 
say 
that 
the 
war 
of 
the 
kmgg 
as 
recorUell 
in 
Gen. 
14 
is 
all 
a 
myth, 
as 
at 
that 
early 
age· 
of 
the 
world 
such 
armies 
could 
not 
have 
been 
collected. 
But 
on 
some 
of 
the 
40,000 
tablets 
in 
the 
possession 
of 
the 
University 
of 
Pennsylvania 
taken 
from 
the 
bite 
of 
thiS 
ancient 
city, 
the 
nameg 
of 
the 
very 
kings 
who 
carried 
on 
this 
war 
are 
given 
just 
as 
they 
are 
recorJeJ 
in 
Gen. 
14, 
anJ 
some 
of 
the 
spoils 
WlllCh 
they 
carried 
off 
from 
Chalneh 
have 
been 
found 
in 
excavating 
the 
ancient 
city 
of 
Susa. 
"These 
excavations 
have 
up~et 
the 
already 
tottering 
chron­ 
ology 
of 
usher 
and 
have 
put 
the 
existence 
of 
man 
on 
the 
earth 
lJacl 
... 
some 
10,000 
years 
before 
the 
Christian 
era, 
and 
they 
show 
the 
eXistence 
of 
a 
high 
civilizatIOn 
at 
that 
early 
period. 
The 
work 
of 
exhuming 
Chalneh 
beg 
em 
on 
what 
seemed 
to 
be 
merely 
a 
mound 
of 
sand 
in 
a 
desert 
of 
drifting 
sand. 
The 
dome 
of 
a 
building 
was 
soon 
reached, 
which 
proved 
to 
be 
a 
magnificent 
temple 
of 
Baal, 
of 
whose 
worship 
this 
city 
was 
the 
center. 
The 
temple 
had 
been 
covereJ 
to 
the 
depth 
of 
more 
than 
forty 
feet 
from 
its 
base 
by 
the 
drifting 
sands. 
Among 
other 
curiosities 
found 
in 
adjacent 
buildings 
was 
the 
strong 
room 
of 
a 
real 
estate 
and 
banking 
house, 
containing 
certificates 
of 
deposit, 
title 
(lel'lls, 
tax 
receipts 
and 
the 
like, 
all 
on 
baked 
clay 
tablets 
and 
beautifully 
written 
in 
cuneiform 
characters, 
and 
they 
read 
very 
much 
like 
similar 
'papers' 
in 
a 
modern 
real 
estate 
dealer's 
ofIice. 
"Dr. 
Penniman 
had 
beautiful 
photographs 
of 
the 
buildings 
in 
the 
city, 
which 
were 
strong, 
massive 
and 
imposing, 
and 
very 
much 
like 
the 
best 
buildings 
in 
our 
modern 
cities. 
The 
names 
of 
the 
various 
kings 
and 
dynasties 
are 
given, 
with 
the 
dates 
of 
each, 
which 
extend 
back 
to 
a 
period 
2,000 
years 
before 
Abra­ 
ham, 
or 
to 
the 
trme 
of 
Adam, 
according 
to 
our 
common 
chron­ 
ology. 
'"nut 
the 
pick 
and 
the 
shovel 
went 
deeper, 
and 
the 
very 
sur­ 
prising 
discovery 
was 
made 
that 
this 
ancient 
city 
of 
Chalneh 
waR 
built 
on 
the 
site 
of 
a 
stIll 
more 
ancient 
city 
beneath 
it, 
vf 
which 
there 
seems 
to 
have 
been 
no 
memory 
or 
tradition 
at 
the 
fouJ](ling 
of 
the 
city 
of 
Chalneh. 
This 
city 
dated 
back 
at 
leaRt 
4,000 
years 
more, 
or 
to 
a 
period 
8,000 
years 
before 
the 
Chri"tian 
pra. 
Its 
inhabitants, 
whoever 
they 
were, 
were 
very 
skilled 
builders, 
and 
had 
massive 
stone 
houses 
and 
temples 
several 
stories 
high, 
in 
wlllch 
the 
arch 
IS 
freely 
used. 
The 
arch 
was 
unknown 
to 
the 
Egyptians 
or 
to 
the 
Greeks 
or 
to 
any 
of 
the 
ppople~ 
whom 
we 
call 
'the 
ancients,' 
and 
is 
considered 
a. 
Roman 
invention. 
But 
the 
modern 
pick 
and 
shovel 
unearths 
The 
question 
naturally 
arises, 
if 
honorable 
men, 
students 
it 
w!wre 
the 
sand>l 
of 
the 
desert 
had 
buried 
it 
so 
deep 
that 
all 
"learned 
in 
all 
the 
learning 
of 
the 
Egyptians," 
find 
in 
the 
ruins 
memory 
and 
tradition 
of 
the 
mighty 
builders 
who 
invented 
it 
of 
ancient 
CIvilization 
evidences 
satrsfactory 
to 
them 
that 
man 
and 
URea 
it 
some 
8,000 
to 
10,000 
years 
before 
Christ 
had 
passed 
has 
been 
on 
the 
earth 
at 
least 
six 
thousand 
years 
longer 
than 
ll\\ay 
from 
among 
men; 
and 
what 
has 
been 
considered 
an 
in- 
the 
Bible 
records 
teach, 
how 
shall 
the 
average 
person 
of 
me- 
\ 
ention 
of 
the 
Romans 
was 
really 
one 
of 
the 
'lost 
arts' 
of 
a 
dium 
ability 
and 
intelligence 
and 
opportunities 
determine 
what 
h1l!hly 
ciVIlized 
people 
who 
liypd 
and 
built 
and. 
wrote 
and 
is 
the 
truth 
on 
this 
subject? 
If 
he 
cannot 
rely 
upon 
the 
thought 
and 
perished, 
and 
the 
record 
of 
them 
and 
of 
their 
savants, 
upon 
whom 
or 
upon 
what 
can 
he 
rely? 
doing'S 
has 
lam 
for 
probably 
a 
hundred 
centuries 
so 
deep 
be- 
We 
answer, 
that 
the 
savants 
base 
their 
estimates 
on 
their 
neath 
the 
sands 
that 
tlwir 
burial 
place 
was 
used 
hy 
other 
men 
guesses,-and 
their 
guesses 
vary 
according 
to 
their 
mental 
as 
a 
place 
for 
their 
building; 
and 
these 
in 
turn 
were 
buried 
makeup. 
Many 
of 
them 
guess 
that 
man 
has 
been 
on 
the 
earth 
in 
the 
sand, 
the 
removal 
of 
which 
shows 
that 
the 
Bible 
record 
for 
millions 
of 
years; 
others, 
like 
Dr. 
Penniman, 
congratulate 
is 
accurately 
true 
in 
its 
minute 
details, 
for 
while 
man 
must 
themselves 
upon 
getting 
their 
faith 
down 
to 
a 
difference 
of 
only 
come 
and 
man 
must 
go, 
the 
Word 
of 
God 
abideth 
forever." 
six 
thousand 
years 
from 
the 
Bible 
standpoint; 
but 
the 
humble 
* 
* 
* 
child 
of 
God, 
who 
has 
made 
a 
proper 
use 
of 
the 
opportunities 
All 
should 
recognize 
clearly 
and 
distinctly 
what 
is 
implied 
now 
within 
his 
reach, 
has 
learned 
to 
have 
little 
confidence 
in 
by 
the 
foregoing. 
It 
means 
that 
the 
lecturer 
wholly 
di!:'agrees 
the 
guesses 
of 
the 
savants 
and 
higher 
critics, 
in 
proportion 
as 
with 
that 
open 
form 
of 
infidelity 
which 
denies 
the 
Bible 
in 
toto, 
he 
has 
learned 
to 
have 
great 
confidence 
in 
the 
Bible 
as 
a 
divine 
claiming 
that 
the 
books 
of 
Moses, 
as 
well 
as 
the 
books 
of 
the 
revelation. 
Those 
who 
will 
be 
easily 
moved 
to 
doubt 
the 
re- 
prophets 
of 
the 
Old 
Testament, 
were 
written 
only 
a 
short 
time 
liability 
of 
the 
Scriptures, 
under 
the 
instructions 
of 
its 
inju. 
[~220] 
Vou. XXIV pny ae nate ALLEGHENY, PA., JULY 15, 1903 No. 14 ee VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER VARYING DEGREES OF UNBELIEF The “higher critics” differ considerably. It would be amusing, were it not so serious a subject, to note how the one class upbraids the other for “destructive criticism of the Word of God,” and then in the same article proceeds along the same lines,—only a little less destructive of the faith For instance, note the following from the Presbyterian Standard :— “On Sunday last Dr. Josiah Penniman, dean of the University of Pennsylvania, delivered an exceedingly interesting address or lay sermon from the pulpit of the Asheville Presbyterran church at the morning hour, in which he told of the remarkable revelations made by pick and shovel in excavating the site of the ancient city of Chalneh in the valley of the Euphrates. This city is mentioned in Gen. 10:10, and the work of digging it out has been done by the University of Pennsylvania during the last thirteen years. The destructive clities say that the art of writing was not known at the time of Abraham. But the University of Pennsylvania has exhumed more than forty thousand burnt clay tablets full of written records dating back 4,000 years before the Christian era, and 80 2,000 years before the time of Abraham. The destructive cilities say that the war of the kings as recorded in Gen. 14 is all a myth, as at that early age-of the world such armies could not have been collected. But on some of the 40,000 tablets in the possession of the University of Pennsylvania taken from the site of this ancient city, the names of the very kings who carried on this war are given just as they are recorded in Gen. 14, and some of the spoils which they carried off from Chalneh have been found in excavating the ancient city of Susa. “These excavations have upset the already tottering chronology of Usher and have put the existence of man on the earth back some 10,000 years before the Christian era, and they show the existence of a high civilization at that early period. The work of exhuming Chalneh began on what seemed to be merely a mound of sand in a desert of drifting sand. The dome of a building was soon reached, which proved to be a magnificent temple of Baal, of whose worship this city was the center. The temple had been covered to the depth of more than forty feet from its base by the drifting sands. Among other curiosities found in adjacent buildings was the strong room of a real estate and banking house, containing certificates of deposit, title deeds, tax receipts and the like, all on baked clay tablets and beautifully written in cuneiform characters, and they read very much like similar ‘papers’ in a modern real estate dealer’s office. “Dr. Penniman had beautiful photographs of the buildings in the city, which were strong, massive and imposing, and very much like the best buildings in our modern cities. The names of the various kings and dynasties are given, with the dates of each, which extend back to a period 2,000 years before Abraham, or to the time of Adam, according to our common chronology. “But the pick and the shovel went deeper, and the very surprising discovery was made that this ancient city of Chalneh was built on the site of a still more ancient city beneath it, of which there seems to have been no memory or tradition at the founding of the city of Chalneh. This city dated back at least. 4,000 years more, or to a period 8,000 years before the Christian era. Its inhabitants, whoever they were, were very skilled builders, and had massive stone houses and temples several stories high, in which the arch 1s freely used. The arch was unknown to the Egyptians or to the Greeks or to any of the peoples whom we call ‘the ancients,’ and is considered a Roman invention. But the modern pick and shovel unearths it where the sands of the desert had buried it so deep that all memory and tradition of the mighty builders who invented it and used it some 8,000 to 10,000 years before Christ had passed away from among men; and what has been considered an invention of the Romans was really one of the ‘lost arts’ of a highly civilized people who lived and built and wrote and thought and perished, and the record of them and of their doings has lain for probably a hundred centuries so deep beneath the sands that their burial place was used hy other men as a place for their building; and these in turn were buried in the sand, the removal of which shows that the Bible record is accurately true in its minute details, for while man must come and man must go, the Word of God abideth forever.” * * * All should recognize clearly and distinctly what is implied by the foregoing. It means that the lecturer wholly disagrees with that open form of infidelity which denies the Bible in toto, claiming that the books of Moses, as well as the books of the prophets of the Old Testament, were written only a short time (211-212) before Christ—after the return of the Israelites from the Babylonian captivity. The claim is that these books are pious frauds, having little, if any, foundation in truth. Dr. Penniman, the lecturer, was not in sympathy with such open infidelity. He was glad, therefore, when the excavations he mentioned disclosed certain outside information, corroborative of some of the statements of Genesis. We are glad that the Doctor is with us thus far; but we regret to note that he is so tinctured with the spirit of higher criticism that the researches which he mentions have not convinced him that the Bible is of divine origin, and, therefore, unqualifiedly true. He merely admits that it is not unqualifiedly false—that these findings prove that there is some reliability in the Scriptural account ;—but he evidently is as far from accepting the Bible narrative as it stands, as are the most destructive of the higher critics. The chronology of the Bible is so thoroughly interwoven with its narrative that the two are bound up together as web and woof: to destroy the one destroys the other; to invalidate the one invalidates the other; to corroborate the one corroborates the other. There is no question whatever that the Bible contains a chronological chain down to the Babylonian captivity—even the captious find it impossible to disagree more than 128 years with what we have presented as the chronology of the Bible; -—and then they must make that period shorter than we do instead of longer. No kind of reasoning or figuring based on the Bible statements of chronology can extend the period from the creation to the birth of our Lord beyond 4,128 years which we have assigned to the period. Dr. Penniman, as the dean of a university, and a lecturer upon this subject, is of course thoroughly aware of these facts. Yet how strange it is that he should address an audience as a champion of the Bible, and at the same time discredit the Bible by asserting, as he does, that man had been on the earth some ten thousand years prior to the Christian era! if this gentleman is a friend of the Bible, the latter has good reason to cry out, “Save me from my friends!” If the Doctor is a disbeliever in the Bible, and is posing as its friend and champion, he is occupying a dishonest and dishonorable position. In any event, the Bible is far better off without such friends and such champions, Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they are serving the cause of infidelity—they are overthrowing faith in the Word of God. True, we are to expect just such things at this particular time, for the Apostle assures us that every man’s faith-structure shall be tried so as by fire; and that all the wood, hay and stubble shall be destroyed. We are, of course, sure that those who have built their faith according to the direction of the Lord’s Word, upon the proper foundation, and with the proper materials, the gold, silver, precious stones of divine truth, the Word of God,—these will never fail, will never be stumbled, but will come off conquerors. But we also know that this class is a remarkably small one, out of the millions of Christendom. Let us not be surprised, then, that the “fire of this day shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is.” Let us, on the contrary, take the more earnest heed and the more firmly hold on to the things which we have received of the Lord, which in the end will shine forth gloriously bright and convincing to the whole world of mankind. HOW SHALL WE UNDERSTAND THEM? The question naturally arises, if honorable men, students “learned in all the learning of the Egyptians,” find in the ruins of ancient civilization evidences satisfactory to them that man has been on the earth at least six thousand years longer than the Bible records teach, how shall the average person of medium ability and intelligence and opportunities determine what is the truth on this subject? Hf he cannot rely upon the savants, upon whom or upon what can he rely? We answer, that the savants base their estimates on their guesses,—and their guesses vary according to their mental makeup. Many of them guess that man has been on the earth for millions of years; others, like Dr. Penniman, congratulate themselves upon getting their faith down to a difference of onl six thousand years from the Bible standpoint; but the humble child of God, who has made a proper use of the opportunities now within his reach, has learned to have little confidence in the guesses of the savants and higher critics, in proportion as he has learned to have great confidence in the Bible us a divine revelation. Those who will be easily moved to doubt the reliability of the Scriptures, under the instructions of its inju [S220]

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