CORRESPONDENCE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XIII, Issue 3684, 20 August 1880, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE SCIHPTUIIE CONTROVERSY. (To the Editor of tho Thames Advertiser.) Sib,—l am not a clergyman, and am not awaro that, personally, the so called • religious arguments which have taken up so much of your columns of late, could affect me in the slightest degroe. I sometimes liko to,see the paper in tho hands of my boys, but this morning, after reading that of, Tmtheehr I deeiced that it might not come under their notice. We have not always tho time to put the other side in its proper,form before tho young mind. That tho judgments of tho Almighty, recorded in lumbers xvi., supposing they were true, should be characterised as " tho works of an Almighty demon," is rather too much, and indicates not a spirit of pious inquiry. Tmtheehr should know that tho Israelites were living under a Theocracy, and that the punishments he names were for high treason, But what is the difference, whethor the Almighty does, these things immediately—in the ordinary sense, miraculously—or mediately—by the use of means; as Isaiah x v., where ; the Almighty calls the Assyrian "the rod of his anger," and says," Tho staff in their hand is my indignation." Of. ; . course Tmtheehr will say that if God used Nebuchadnezzar in this waywell, I will not dare writo the word again, and I do so hope Tmtheehr will find some other, But then, Nebuohaduezzar's successors are still alive, i.e., the nation* alitieß, and I doubt much whethor Tmtheehr is so horrorstruck at men being put to death for treason on the ono hand, and slain in battle on tho other. And if there be " yearnings of the heart after God," as Truthcehr suggests, to which God takes any heed, it cannot be too much to suppose him the God of Providence in tho great affairs of the world. Why go back 3000 years? Read the newspapers if you want to see more misery than Korah, Dathan, and; Abiram, or their families over knew in this world, on aocount of their disobedience to God. Look at the bloated, wretched faces of some of your fellow* creatures sinking into a premature gravo, whose brothers and siaters dare not como near them, so foul are their deeds, so loathsomo their habits. Aud yet, air, God is only punishing these mediately; they are breaking His natural laws-I do not say disobeying his revealed, will. The truth seems to bo that an underestimate of tho enormity of sin underlies nearly the wholo of tho sontimentality which has appeared in most of the letters. The grand old Book stands, and no translation that will over be givon, faithfully, can in tho slightest degree make its teachings loss alarming'to tho sinner. It is to be hoped that these men who complain that our translation is .not perfect, and thut our ministers are not doing their duty, &c, will at least try and find out what already exists to the purpose. -1 suppose our school children know that in fallibility, is not claimed for the translators. Our oatalogues contain scores of books, almost any of which would seL theso persons right on what they would have our ministers hurrying- themselves about. We are threatened that the ancient copy of the' Scriptures last fouud is going to do very much in the way of throwing parts of tho present Soriptures aside. Well, beforo meu place so much confidence it would bo well to wait until tho matter has boon' fairly weighed. Is it not possible to be. lieve too muoh on that side? With tho boastings of ages the enemies of the Book have not been able to shake its testimony in the original, nor havo they succeeded in showing that our translation is not as faithful os good men could havo been expected to make it. We do not say that we shall never have a bettor; but perhaps it is not too much to say that we shall nover have such a translation as that it will not be a most precious acquisition to bo ablo to read the Soriptures in tho origi« nal. I havo writtenmore than I intended. If you think this of sufficient public importance, please oblige by giving it a little room,—l am, &0., Layman.