CURRENT EVENTS. 85 



say, on his own responsibility, that it seems desirable that young 

 men, non-theological students, should be able to obtain in our univer- 

 sities some knowledge of that ancient Hebrew literature to which 

 we owe so much ; that when the class in which such knowledge may 

 be gained is optional no section of the community has any substantial 

 grievance. As a matter of fact, the objections are made not so much 

 against the class itself as against the character of the teaching, and 

 such objections would lie against the attendance of young people at 

 a class in Biology or Geology as they are objections against the 

 modern scientific method. It may be said that it is all very well for 

 a " modernist " to talk in that fashion, but personally I disown the 

 title, it is as misleading as most other labels of the kind; no 

 " modern " view is of any use unless it has absorbed the best that is 

 available from the past. 



In conclusion, our Methodist and Baptist friends are to be con- 

 gratulated on the strength and dignity of their final deliverances on 

 this subject. It is not that their authority can be quoted for any 

 particular opinion, but that they have reaffirmed and vindicated the 

 spirit of freedom for which their churches were noted in their 

 earliest days. Especially has it been recognised that in the class- 

 rooms where young men are prepared for the ministry, the teacher 

 is expected to grapple earnestly with the difficulties of the situation 

 and make the students feel that what the church really desires is 

 the truth in each particular case and not the buttressing up of pre- 

 conceived opinions. This is not likely to lead to recklessness but 

 rather to a keener sense of responsibility on the part of teachers 

 and student's. On the whole, then, we may believe that the discus- 

 sion has done some good. It has shown that it is useless to appeal 

 to popular audiences without some clear positive statement. To 

 attempt to frighten people by retailing the most extreme speculations 

 and the most questionable conjectures does not yield any satisfac- 

 tory result. The time has perhaps come when an attempt should 

 be made to present in popular form some of the latest results of 

 scholarship, and some of our ministers have done good work as 

 teachers of the Bible and have created a new living interest in the 

 sacred literature. The supreme test to which all our theories must 

 submit is their power to explain the facts of the case, to bring back 

 to us the real life of the past in a way that shall help to inspire and 

 purify the present. 



W. G. J. 



