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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (May 12, 1911)
The Commoner. MAY 12, 1911 good and lasting influence not only on religion, but good citizenship and higher ideals in matters political." The banquet was presided over by Dean B. B. Evans of Drake university. A GRAND OLD BOOK The Chicago Inter Ocean of May 5th, says: Protestant churches of Chicago united in a mass meeting in Orchestra hall to participate in tho world-wide celebrations in commemoration of the three-hundredth anniversary of tho transla tion of the Bible into English. Tho capacity of tho auditorium was taxed to the limit and hundreds of persons wero turned away from the tercentenary celebration for lack of accom modations. William Jennings Bryan, the principal speaker, challenged scoffers of tho Holy Word and its divine inspirations to provo that they were right by attempting to produce a book equal in wisdom and teachings to the volume which has" stood thq test of centuries. Tho other speakers were the Right Rev. Charles P. Anderson, Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church, and the Rev. Ozora S. Davis, D. D., president of the Chicago Theological seminary. One of the most impressive incidents of the evening's program was a reading from an origi nal first edition of the King James version of the Bible printed in England in 1611. The book, which is valued at more than $50,000, iB now in the possession of the New berry library. In a locked case, the Bible was taken from the library to Orchestra hall, care fully guarded by three men, and as soon as the services were over it was "hurried back to its resting place in the library. The University of Chicago also possesses a King James ver sion of the Bible, but it is the second edition, and not as valuable as that exhibited at the recent ceremonies. In his address on "The Book of Supreme In fluence," Colonel Bryan spoko of the battles be tween the spiritual and material conception of life which have raged around the Bible for nine teen hundred years. At Chicago, on May 4, , at,. the celebration of the 3 00th anniversary of the King James trans lation of the Bible, Mr. Bryan delivered tho following address: For nineteen hundred years the battle be tween the spiritual and the material concep tions of life has raged around the Bible. "Search the Scriptures," was the command of Christ and to tho Scriptures the Christian world has turned ever since for its authority. Atheists and materialists have assailed the Bible at every point; they have disputed the facts which it sets forth and ridiculed the prophesies which it recites; they have rejected the account which it gives of the creation and scoffed at the miracles which it records. They have denied the existence of the God of the Bible and have sought to reduce the Savior to the stature of a man. They have been as bold as the prophets of Baal in defying the Living God and in heaping contempt upon the Written Word. Why not challenge the atheists and the materialists to put their doctrines to the test? When Elijah was confronted by a group of scorners who mocked at the Lord whom he worshipped, he invited them to match the power of their God against the power of his and he was willing to concede superiority to the one who would answer with ilre. When the chal lenge was accepted he built an altar, prepared a sacrifice, and then, to leave -no room for doubt, he poured water upon the wood and the sacrifice poured until the water filled the trenches round about. So firm was his trust that he even taunted his adversaries with their failure while his proofs were yet to be presented. The prophets of Baal, be it said to their credit, had enough confidence in their God to agree to the test, and their disappointment was real when he failed them they gashed themselves with knives when their entreaties were unanswered. Why not a Bible test? The -Book of Books has lived and grown through the centuries; we are celebrating the three hundredth anniversary of the King James translation. The Christian world has confidence in the Bible; it presents the book as the word at God but the attacks made upon it by its enemies continue In spite of the growth of the Bible's influence. The Christian world, by its attitude presents a chal lenge to the opposition and this Is an opportune moment to emphasize the challenge the mo ment when Christianity around the world Is celebrating the triumphs that the Bible has won during the past three centuries. Is tho Bible tho work of man, or is it an In spired book? Is it the product of human wis dom, or did its authors speak as they wero commanded by tho Lord? Atheists and materialists declare that it is merely tho work of man that it was written under tho limitations that apply to human wis dom. Taking this position, they must neces sarily contend that, unless man has degenerated in ability and declined in wisdom, ho can now produco a book equal to tho Bible, hot them produce it. Judged by human standards, man is far bet ter prepared to write a Bible now than ho was when our Bible was written. Tho characters whoso words and deeds are recorded In tho Bible were members of a single race; they lived among the hills of Palestine in a territory scarce ly larger than one of our counties. They did not have printing presses and they lacked tho learning of tho schools; they had no great libraries to consult, no steam boats to carry them around tho world and make them ac quainted with tho various centers of ancient civilization; they had no telegraph wires to bring them tho news from the ends of tho earth and no newspapers to spread before them each morning the doings of the day before. Science had not unlocked Nature's door and re vealed the secrets of rocks below and stars above. From what a scantily supplied store house of knowledge they had to draw, compared with the unlimited wealth of information at man's command today! And yet these Bible characters grapple with every problem that con fronts mankind, from the creation of tho world to eternal life beyond the tomb. They have given us a diagram of man's existence from the cradle to the grave and they have set up sign posts a't every dangerous point along the path. We turn back to the Bible for the Ten Com mandments which form tho foundation for our statute law arid for the Sermon on the Mount, which lays down the rules for our spiritual growth. The Bible gives us the story of the birth, the words, the works, the crucifixion, tho resurrection and the ascension of Him whoso coming was foretold in prophecy, whose arrival was announced by the Angel voices, singing Peace and Good-will the, story of Him who gave to the world a code of morality superior to any thing that the world had known before or has known since the story of Him who is the grow ing figure of all time, whom the world Is accept ing as Savior and as the perfect example. Let the atheists and the materialists produco a better Bible than ours, if they can. Let them collect the best of their school to be found among the graduates of universities as many as they please and from every land. Lot tho members of this selected group travel where they will, consult such libraries as they please, and employ every modern means of swift com munication. Let them glean In the fields of geology, botany, astronomy, biology and zoology, and then roam at will wherever science has opened a way; let them take advantage of all the progress in art and in literature, in oratory and in history let them use to the full every instrumentality that is employed in modern civilization; and when they have exahusted every source, let them embody the results of their best intelligence in a book and offer it to the world as a substitute for this Bible of ours. Have they the confidence that the Prophets of Baal had in their God? Will they try? If not, what excuse will they give? Has man fallen from his high estate, so that we cannot rightfully expect as much of him now as nineteen centuries ago? Or does the Bible come to us from a source that is higher than man which? But our case is even stronger. The opponents of the Bible cannot take refuge in the plea that man is retrograding. They loudly proclaim that man has grown and that he is growing still. They boast of a world-wide advance and their claim is founded upon fact. In all matters ex cept in the science of life, man has made won derful progress. The mastery of the mind over the forces of-nature seems almost complete, so far do wo surpass the ancients in harnessing the water, the wind and the lightning. For ages, the rivers plunged down the moun tain sides and exhausted their energies without any appreciable contribution to man's service; now they are estimated as 'so many units of horse-power and wo find that their fr,etting and foaming was merely a language which they em ployed to tell us of their strength and of their willingness to work for us. And, while falling water is becoming each day a larger factor In burden bearing, water, rising in the form of steam, is revolutionizing the transportation methods of the world. Tho wind that first whlsporcd Its secret of strongth to tho flapping sail is now turning tho wheel at tho well. Lightning, tho dread demon that, from tho dawn of Creation, has been rushing down Its zig-zag path through tho clouds as if intont only upon spreading death has been metamorphosed into an errand-boy and brings us illumination from the sun and carries our messages around tho globe. Inventive genius has multiplied tho power of a human arm and supplied the masses with comforts of which tho rich did not dare to dream a few centuries ago. Science la ferret ing out tho hidden causes of dlseaso and teach ing us how to prolong life. In overy lino, except in tho lino of character-building, the world seomB to havo been made over, but the marvelous changes by which old things havo become now only emphasize the fact that man, too, must bo born again, while they show how impotent aro material things to touch tho soul of man and transform him Into a spiritual being. Whorcver tho moral standard is being lifted up wherever life is becoming larger in the vision that directs it and richer In Its fruitage, tho improvement Is traceable to tho Bible and to tho influence of tho God and Christ of whom tho Bible tells. Tho atheist and tho materialist must confess that man ought to bo able to produco a hotter book today than man, unaided, could havo pro duced in any previous ago. Tho fact that they have tried, time and tlmo again, only to fall each time more hopelessly, explains why they will not why they cannot accept tho chal-1 lengo thrown down by tho Christian world to produce a book worthy to take tho Bible's place. They have nrayed to their God to answer with fire prayed to inanimate matter with an ' earnestness that is pathetic they havo employed , in tho worship of blind forco a faith greater than religion requires, but their Almighty Is asleep. How long will they allow tho search for tho strata of stone and fragments of fossil) and decaying skeletons that aro strewn around tho house to absorb their thoughts to tho exclu sion of the architect who planned it all! How1, long will the agnostic, closing his eyes to tho plainest truths, cry "night, night," when tho sun' in his meridian splendor announces that noon is here. The Bible has stamped its Impress upon he map of the world; Its boundaries aro clearly marked and the light that emanates from tho Christian nations Is flowing outward toward those t who sit in darkness. Back of tho progress that marks the present day Is the code of morala that Christ proclaimed and back of that codo of morals. Is tho Divine character of Him who is both Son of God and Saviour of Mankind. It is not necessary to rely upon his birth as a virgin's child or upon his mysterious resurrec tion to provo his claim to our worship. "Ho walks today along the shores of every sea" and performs that continuing miracle which wo behold when a man begins "to hate the things he loved and to love the things ho hated" that mysterious exercise of mysterious power that converts tho selfish, self-centered human being Into a center from which good influences flow out In every direction. Tho followers of Buddha may look upon life as a misfortune, if they will, and see escape only in tho loss of individual identity "the dew drop melting into tho sea;" those who believe in the Bible will still regard life as a great opportunity to be crowned with a Heavenly re ward. The followers of the Arab prophet may put their faith in force and rely upon the sword for proselyting power; those who believe in the Bible will still trust in the persuaslvo Influence of lovo and depend upon its manifestations to bring recruits to the army of the Prince of Peace. The followers of Confucius may content themselves with the negative philosophy of their teacher; those who believe In the Bible renew their strength in proportion as they embody In their lives the precepts of Him who would mako man a positive force for good an overflowing spring. Tho materialist may confine his thoughts to the things that the senses can weigh and measure; the Christian's faith reaches out to ward the throne above and takes hold upon tho verities that the mind can not grasp. i Tho atheist may delude himself with tho thought that ho has driven God out of tho universe; the Christian sees the Creator every where, hears His voice in tho promptings of conscience and feels His presence in his heart. To the'' doubts and "I do not knows" of the agnostic, the Christian, Bible in hand, answers: "I believe." i iVmiH'Mif n Vfarii tfli k Mvmmmti&rmmmiMmL