The latest pronouncements of the scientific world are for him final on all matters. Every statement of belief in all spheres of human thought must be stamped with the seal of the approval of "scholarship" before it is considered worthy of his acceptance. If scholarship sends forth its dictum that God is an impersonal, unknowable substance, to this tenet he willingly subscribes. If, on the other hand, it explains the world purely along materialistic lines, then that tenet becomes his dogma. By such as are under the bondage of rationalism and tyrannical "scholarship" let it be noted that the voices of rationalism and scholarship are "legion," for they are many. The proof of the above statement is easily found by a rapid survey of the history of philosophy, which study will convince the unbiased mind that no two philosophers agree in general; but what one affirms the other denies, either in part or in toto. Furthermore, the theories and explanations of the scientific world as set forth in the standard. text-books and periodicals of today contradict and reject the theories and explanations, in many instances, of the books and publications of a decade ago. The scientific world changes so very to his search for knowledge and education. The thing which he condemns in modern scholarship is its rabid dogmatism, speculation, and ostracism of all who do not subscribe to its theories and speculation. Furthermore, after having studied the situation from various angles, he is thoroughly convinced that there is no conflict between real scholarship and the Bible. The latter, having been subjected to the most terrific attacks by enemies who concentrated all of their intellectual powers against it for its destruction, survives today and will continue to survive in the future. The work of faithful, scholarly archaeologists is constantly confirming it. The rationalistic criticism against the Scriptures, especially the Old Testament. is, as one noted critic well said, "nine-tenths purely subjective." Frequently the statement is made that all scholars are agreed on certain propositions. Especially are such statements the current coin in circles where the Bible is looked upon as purely a human book. This statement denies scholarship to all of those who believe that the. Bible is inspired of God. When the facts are known, it is evident that there is a very large group of men who, in native ability, keen discriminating and analytical powers, and scholastic attainments, equal any of the scholars who hold to the rationalist position. In the same circles the believing scholars are often spoken of as “traditionalists." If this term is applied to one because he believes those narratives and events which have been established by historical testimony and archaeology, to be a traditionalist is the proper thing. If, however, it is used to mean those who blindly hold to certain positions handed down from former generations without any investigations, it is improper and unethical to apply it to the large group of men referred to in the last paragraph. They have "by their works" proved that they refuse to accept as true things formerly believed and that they are diligent seekers after facts. rapidly that the one who was then thoroughly familiar with scientific thought but who since then has been unable to pursue his studies is almost a total stranger in that field. From these facts it is very clear that one cannot pin his faith in religious matters to the dicta of scholarship. The cumulative experience of the race should teach one that, although the human mind is wonderful and has accomplished amazing things, it is finite and there are boundaries beyond which lie innumerable things which it can never comprehend.* This statement being true, the finite mind can never fathom the problem connected with the existence of God, Who is infinite. Hence rationalism is a very insecure foundation upon which one may build for the future life. B. Orthodox The word orthodox is of Greek origin and means literally "thinking straight." When applied to the Jew it refers to that great mass of Hebrews who believes in the God of Israel and in the Tenach as His revelation. Likewise, the orthodox Jew confidently believes in the Talmud as an authoritative revelation of God which inherently was contained in the statutes, ordinances, and commandments referred to in Exodus 24:12. A further characteristic which especially distinguishes him is that he holds very tenaciously to the customs and manners which have been handed down to him through the centuries. The cardinal doctrines around which all things religious center, for him, is Israel's Great Confession, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is One." His God is the God Who made the heavens and the earth, Who chose the Hebrew people to be a people for His own possession, having called Abraham, the great ancestor of the race, and his descendants, to be a channel of blessing to the entire world. He, furthermore, believes that eventually his God will regather the nation and restore it to its own land and send the Messiah, Who shall reign from sea to sea, subjecting * As examples of such things note the following expressions: the soul, spirit, immortality, life, the processes of digestion and assimilation of foods in their sustaining life of the organism, electricity, and epistemology. With these expressions philosophers and scholars have grappled throughout the centuries and at present they know practically nothing more than when they began the study of the same. the Gentile nations unto Israel. In all of these fundamental tenets he is correct, generally speaking. As to his understanding of the Great Confession the reader will find a full discussion of it in Chapter IV of this book. Since the limits of this work prohibit an extensive investigation of the proofs of the existence of God, the reader is referred to any standard text-book on evidences for the many and indisputable proofs of a Supreme Being. |