THE WITNESS OF ARCHEOLOGY TO THE BIBLE. 



221 



apparently unknown to the so-called Higher Critics, These men seem 

 like horses working in blinkers, occupied wholly with their subjective 

 criticism and taking account neither of archaeological discoveries, nor 

 common sense, nor indeed of the opinions of any who deny their 

 conclusions, whose views they wave aside by such expressions as "no 

 scholar now maintains." 



I should like to refer to the statement on page 205 that the original 

 Babylonian civilisation was Hamitic, as also was the case with Egypt. 

 If we compare the present representatives of the negro race with the 

 achievements of that race in ancient times, whether in government or 

 literature, we must recognise that the race has greatly declined. Evolu 

 tionists might well consider whether analogy drawn from this history does 

 not prove that a similar decline awaits the other races of mankind. Apart 

 from the Christian hope, the prospects of the human race are certainly 

 not encouraging. 



With reference to what Miss Hodgkin says on page 208 with regard 

 to the atmosphere of the stories of the Pentateuch, I was noticing recently 

 how Scott had failed in " Woodstock " to interpret the true character of 

 Cromwell and the Puritans as now brought out by the researches of 

 Cai'lyle, Gardiner and others. If this is true of the greatest of novelists 

 writing only at a distance of 150 years from the time he is describing, 

 how can we account for the scribes of the Babylonian capitivity giving 

 us what was the atmosphere of Egypt many centuries (according to the 

 higher critics) before they wrote? 



Referring, in conclusion, to pages 219 and 220, I should like to imagine 

 the surprise of Augustus Csesar had he been told that his chief title to 

 immortality would lie in the fact of a certain peasant boy being born 

 during his reign in a remote province of his empire, and that this birth 

 would make his name familiar to millions who would never hear of his 

 far greater uncle, Julius Caesar. We may therefore well consider whether, 

 among the events which are happening to-day, some little regarded may 

 not prove to be of far greater permanent value than those which are 

 now looked upon as important. 



Pastor F. E. Marsh said : — Two honoured servants of Christ, the 

 late Dr. Mendenhall, of America, and the late Dr. G. Gregory, kept a 

 record of the theories propounded by the higher critics over a period of 

 50 years, and the latter has stated : — " Referring to the Pentateuch, 76 

 theories ; referring to Historic Books, 116 theories ; referring to Poetical 

 Books, 108 theories ; referring to major Prophets, 98 ; referring to minor 

 Prophets, 144 — Old Testament, 542. Referring to the Gospels, 41 theories ; 

 referring to The Acts, 12 theories ; referring to St. Paul's Epistles, 103 

 theories: remaining books, 52 — New Testament, 208; grand total, 750." 



Of the 750, 603 are defunct, and many of the remaining 144 are 

 in the last stages of degeneracy and dissolution. Meantime, we need nob 

 be troubled by their postulates, but keep to the positive voice of the 

 Spirit. We cannot do better than keep to the Bible itself, for wc are 

 continually finding confirmations of its reliability and accuracy. Take 



