CONCERNING THE COMPOSllION OF HOLY SCRIPTDllE. 1G9 



of those great questions of Philosophy and Science which bear 

 upon the great truths of Itevealed lieligion. By its leading 

 and most capable adv^ocates, this change, however, is alleged to 

 be an integral part of the general intellectual progress of our 

 race ; so that without it the line of advance would be broken, 

 and the Christian Church left in the rear, an enfeebled and 

 neglected factor among the spiritual and intellectual forces of 

 the age. But it must not be forgotten that whilst its advocates 

 have appeared to hold the held and have certainly been 

 eminently successful in obtaining the public ear, a more 

 conservative party has continued to exist. For many years 

 this party appeared to be inditferent to what was transpiring. 

 It was thought possible that new light was breaking on the 

 sacred page, and there was an unwillingness to obstruct it. 

 But the party of change has, within recent years, reached 

 certain conclusions which it regards as " assured." The epoch 

 has been marked by the publication of such works as the 

 Encifclopcdia Bihlica and parts of the Polychrome Bible. 

 Although these jDublications indicate the high-water mark of 

 the change, and do not meet with universal acceptance among 

 its advocates, yet they serve admirably to show the direction of 

 the movement and its probable ultimate objective. They may 

 be taken therefore as indicating also, that the time has now^ 

 come, when the two parties may wisely and fairly submit their 

 ditferences to the tribunal of a more public religious opinion, 

 with a view to their adjustment according to the indisputable 

 sovereignty of truth. 



In all ages, many thoughtful minds have felt serious 

 difficulties of various kinds to an admission of the claim made 

 for the volume of Holy Scripture as "the Book of God, and the 

 god of books," or in other words, as possessing by its origin and 

 contents a supernatural title to our regard. Hence everyone 

 duly appreciating its worth, must most earnestly desire the 

 removal of all such difficulties as are not from the nature of the 

 case inevitable. It may help us, therefore, to a just perception 

 of the balance of truth between the two sides, to sum up brieily 

 a few of the difficulties which the party of change claims to 

 have more or less successfully dealt with, ejj. : — 



i. Alleged mistakes, scientific, historical, theological and 



literary, made by the sacred writers. 



ii. Alleged irreconcileable contradictions within the 



different writings themselves, and between one writer 

 and another. 



