Show A BAD RELIGIOUS TENDENCY OCTOBER 22 we made some com upon cla a scriptural problem which a correspondent had propounded to the new york union it related to the destruction of the Ama lekites by saul according to a command given by the almighty A through the prophet samuel one sentence in the reply of the christian Chr idian union ill all of which we gave indicates a tendency that has of late become marked and widely prevalent among ex and defenders of he hely y writ belonging to various denominations the journal named attempts to show that the words thus saith the lord as used in the bible often mean no more than it is right or it ought to be and speaking of this solemn prefix to the command to saul to destroy the Ama lekites says in any case it shows as aa here used a defective moral judgment and that samuels teachings like those of all the other bible saints must be brought before the judgment seat of christ for revision and correction this is a remarkable concession to the enemies of the bible who continually reiterate the assertion that defective moral judgment is displayed by the men who wrote it in prominence learning and ability the new york christian Mris fian union to is probably second to no religious journal in this country yet it thus explicitly admits the questionable character of the moral judgment of one of the greatest prophets ever raised up to be a mouthpiece of god to man and by intimation includes all bible saints in the same admission in the same number of the christian an union from which the above is taken an attempt is made to enlighten a correspondent who asks As the world was not created in six days how could the sabbath have been instituted by god on the ground that he be had rested on the seventh da day y v as stated in the fourth commandment do you believe that the commandments man mand ments dment 0 and all the laws in the pentateuch were given by god or written by moses 0 P M following is the reply many of them proceeded from moses successors building on to his work and so were only involved in or developed from what the lord lord said to moses what god said to moses he probably communicated as now to us inwardly by enlightening the mind and conscience to see truth and feel its imperativeness the sabbath in bi of divine appointment made for man as jesus jesua says required by the physical and moral nature which god made that moses should we see this law written in our nature and assign a fanci fanciful fid reason for it only shows that he was like the rest of us in being better able to see what is right than to give the reason for it if what the lord said to moses was communicated in the manner described by the christian ahrian union moses did not talk with god face to awe as one man with another neither did the lord write upon tablets ot of stone with his bis own finger the ten commandments command mente and give ther the record to moses all such statements of holy writ are to be rejected the command to keep the sabbath day holy was not the word of an actual living speaking deity it was only the perception by a philosopher of a principle in nature which it would be well for man to observe and the reason ass assigned ignec by moses why the sabbath be kept holy was only a fanciful one it was as easier for h him im to see that the sabbath ought to be kept than to give other than a fanciful reason why it should be thus more and more ground is being g given to the infidel by the pretended defenders of the bible compromises without end are being made with objectors truly bible saints Sain toll have need to be saved from their modern friends who grow more and more willing to betray them I 1 that same christ before whose judgment seat beat the teachings of bible saints must be brought for revision and correction according to the christian union gave the command for the destruction of the Ama Arna lekites and while he was waa in the flesh he repeatedly endorsed the teachings of the prophets never once did he attempt a revision of the teachings of one of them so far as we are authorized to state if a command to destroy a wicked nation shows a defect defective ite moral judgment what is to be done with certain predictions and threats of vengeance made by the savior himself the tendency even among the ultra religious is either to reject or to neutralize the significance of the plainest and most vital portions of the scriptures in response to and by way of compromise with infidelity |