CHURCH OF CHRIST

Evening Star, Issue 18334, 23 July 1923, Page 2

CHURCH OF CHRIST

THE BIBLE v. A GUESS. ‘ Tho Bible or Scientific Guesses: Which?’ was the question considered by Mr J. J. Franklyn at the Church of Christ last evening Why, ho asked, should the Bible be discarded for textbooks, many of which, as Professor Simpson said, should be scrapped if ever ten years old? The Bible had stood the test of centuries, and tho first chapter of Genesis cfmtainel mow science than all of Darwin. While the oldest book in tho world, it was not antiquated. It had the largest circulation of .any book, .and dealt not only with the origin of life, the creation of man, bin covered the whole range of creation and redemption. Science, rigidly understood, was classified knowledge—tho -explanation of facts —not simply the utterance of what the scientists called hypothesis, which w r as simply a guess at things There was- as large a discrepancy and divergence of thought among scientists as among theologians. Tho whole thing was enveloped with supposition. The key words of the work of science were apparently and “probably.” “We may well suppose” was repeatedly said by Darwin. Surely the world wanted something stronger than a supposition Belief in God was fundamental to the highest development of human life. There wore influences that controlled, and the most serious thing was Hie fundamental faith in the being of God. Belief in (he Bible depended upon belief in God. We thought hick from i Ik; book to the origin of the bonk, and if the Bible be accepted ns true there was no difficulty in determining tho origin of man Evolution was not even a theory, and could not possibly ho a fact. Infidelity was noOting but a necklace of negatives The Bible was precious because its religion crowned love as the greatest force in tho world. Fellowship with Jesus Christ was the only school for the science o f heavenly things. Discard the Bible, and tho world was a hopeless enigma, human life a conundrum.