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Show f$ I BIBLE LEAGUE SHIPS st IN TROUBLED WAFERS 1 aii j . smaii I ! Mild Religious Mutiny Among Crew of Hioher ianci i I j Critics Who Look Ipon Bible as a Merc 'rwS Mil Literary Proiuct. vs ; ? 1 - in! i (Jr'M .1 'Written for the Intermountam Catholic.) Win",! ! 'Hi" first mooting of the members of tlie Amer- j 3. ;.n Bible League, which lasted , three days, took l'rub- r,t tlie Garble Collegiate church, in New York, J j l adjourned on the 5th of this month. The pur- irUi I 1"" "f tu? league, as stated by its president, Rev. J.ar,. 'I'r. P. Hall, was "to organize the friends of the inu I Uil'i". to promole a more reverential and con- I Mm. live study of the sacred volume, and to main-? main-? tlK- '"in the historic faith of the church in its inspira- Zlry ' ?rremo authority as the word of Cod." !'wn This statement involves two question of o- ,4 1 r""iS in,',ort t0 leaguers hrst, which is the his- pa?- I church? And, second, the value of that "th ' I'lircirs testimony in regard to the inspiration of ron- I tin- Bible? the ! a 111PP'ii'ff in which only Protestant divines t rurtioipated we may fairly conclude that they did 1 designate the Catholic church as the "historic oT- j "liif'-h"; first, because they have protested against fUy j :' r tesJimony, and, second, because they exclude 1 ;t j frvni ihe canon of the Scriptures certain books I vl'',;h an' n the ('atholic Bible. KeasonuRv pre-i.jd. pre-i.jd. i Mmiiiig that the Leaguers did not -mean the term in" "liiM..ric church'' to apply 1o the Catholic church. wo ask. What church if Will 1 hey answer, the Pro-losratit Pro-losratit church? But a church born-in the six-vonth six-vonth century is not historic. Its testimony, as 1o ihe iu.-piration of a book written sixteen hundred vrars prior to the birth of the Protestant church, ,v"")'l not be a cogent or logical argument for the , r 1; idier critic, infidel, or agnostic to accept ' the i.f Uil'l" as the inspired word of Cod. i ' waiving all these absurdities and ineon- 'T ..' si'-ncicp involved in the president's 'statement, g then; is still another insurmountable difh'culty vlicji an appeal is pade to the "historic church' 1 It is this: That "historic church," which preserved', dio Bible for sixteen hundred years before tho. ' ll.'i'onners rotestel against her, was comjielent, i. i'.. duly anhtoriz?d, to prouounc-c judgment on . pi i iniir"d book, or she was not." If the former. ' bow; Uy no possible means can a nay church be: 4-inp.ni;t to tell that a book i.. inspired unless iinTf i a divine guaranty that she is unerring in 1h t jii'Lniieiit. But the Protestant churches do iot "'ii iiK'rrancy. Therefore, their testimony in the i i ;i-f i : i u of the Scriptures goes by default, and ihf liigln r critics, who dispute every inch of ground v-ith them, are far more consistent and logical than ; i iif.v arc. ! In rcicetine the testimony of the real historic I liurci. and ridiculing her claims i authority, in- I jjillil'ilily. and indefectibility, it. is impossible for j tii'-f yn .Insists if the Bible, en their own priu- ? ' il'li s. to reach any positive conclusion concerning I u authority. It is equally impossible for these S JM''iI"i:ists to prove the inspiration of the Bible. Inspiration means that God. either by exterior or ; ir.tcrior influence, impels a man'to write. Writing j tnid.T this impulse, or influence, the Holy . Spirit r--i-i or guides the writer efficaciously, so . that 't tin : may nothing written that is contrary to ; the designs of God, whose agent lie is. I Ib.'jv prove this interior illumination of the f II "!y Spirit ; Beaon demands, and the higlK-r i cn:ies, inii'lcls and agnostics insist upon it, that t'h' 1'i-oof of what is interior (internal illumina- 1"'!i) di p nds first on the proof of what is exterior .j vi-ible. That is, there must be an authoritative. I'vir.y. visible and unerring church to tesiify tlu't t-t ; I i i writings are inspired, whilst ' other wril- 1 i though containing truthful narratives and I swli'.iiii' moral princi)les, are not inspired. ; 11;. ve the members of the - American Bible 1.' isr any such authority '. X. They even pr,- '' ;';iinst such authority, and with all their prc- i ' , i-.1 n sM-ct and reverence for the Bible, they hi - midormiued its authority: and ihe higher j ' who we insist are the more logical, are. s ",;;--ilr-d. ,,n tlieir owti prin'ipl"s. to view it like I ' U, r 1 k written by wis-, judicious anthers, J v 'HM-uss human subjeits. i -i;md taken by the "hicher critics." so far I r. ii'ir j i res nt criticis rs are concerned, is m- I v:;'... !;,;.,.. Protestants have not one single argit-i; argit-i; ; i..,-o.l on Jogiefd princitles tliat would prove I t :.'-!-,i-ive)y to an intelligent man that the Bible is j ' !s'-"d. All their arguments, boih'd down and j ;i syllogism, amounts to siinjdv this: The ! ' .l.--lare.- its own inspiration; what the Bible !'- musi be true; therefore, the Bible is the :' ': vd won! of (Jod. The hipher critics, infidels ! itmiostics deny the minor ro(osit;on. It can- i ! proven. I Bui waiving all this, wjiich U as clear to ihe : '..::: r i ilie"s mind as -J plus 3 do not eipur.l C, we J - ; .-ome back to "the historic faithof the j " ii . ii in the divine inspiration of the VJ ;,u ; j -i.pi-'ni- authority as the word of God.'' The I i. iciiris niDsl establish a communion between j i ; .md the AjKtstolic Church before they ca:i 1 I i' tlie inspiration or divine authority of the : j B . In ipj-ling to tlie authority of ihe Apos- '- i.ureh. they must j.ro.v that iheir churches 1 l----- iljc same authority, ju like President ; 1 It vi If inherits the authority first vested in t , ,-,. Washington by the Constitution of the j I. ''Kied States. This authority they must apply to ! tit- llihle with absolute certainty, and inur-t not ! hi'iu.le anv book, -chapter or verse-1 hat is un- I "i-pind, or exclude any lhat js inspired. The f,l"Moli, testimony as 1o the genuineness, purity Jli i integrity of tin; Scriptures must cover the in- ; s!'irc writings of those who wen, not Apostles. ; this is incumbent on the members o the j 1,;iiCu" bei'on' they can assert the divine iuspira- ! "f ihe Scrijitures. or conclude that they are j t 1:'-'iiv.i. frn, ,., own testimony. I I V l!l('' f'i,l,(,,: "laim ner pretend in do. 5 "'''.! Because it is impossible.e One instance. I V i"'1-1' thev include in their Bible an .uninspired I -n.-o is t10 addition made to the Lq rd's'. Prayer : j i llunc is the king'loni; and the power and tlu? ! . i glory, forever and ever. Amen."' - This is now admitted ad-mitted by all Biblical scholars to be an interpolation interpola-tion and is excluded from American editions of thhc Bible. We do not commend the higher critics fur rejecting the inspiration of the. Bible, but for their consist, ncy and logical acumen. . There is .-.till more to be said., F. 1). i. : . ' |