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第7章

the lights of the church and the light of science-第7章

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what becomes; not only of his argument; but of his veracity; if

he; personally; does not believe that Robespierre existed and

did the deeds attributed to him?



Like all other attempts to reconcile the results of

scientifically…conducted investigation with the demands of the

outworn creeds of ecclesiasticism; the essay on Inspiration is

just such a failure as must await mediation; when the mediator

is unable properly to appreciate the weight of the evidence for

the case of one of the two parties。 The question of

〃Inspiration〃 really possesses no interest for those who have

cast ecclesiasticism and all its works aside; and have no faith

in any source of truth save that which is reached by the patient

application of scientific methods。 Theories of inspiration are

speculations as to the means by which the authors of statements;

in the Bible or elsewhere; have been led to say what they have

saidand it assumes that natural agencies are insufficient for

the purpose。 I prefer to stop short of this problem; finding it

more profitable to undertake the inquiry which naturally

precedes itnamely; Are these statements true or false? If they

are true; it may be worth while to go into the question of their

supernatural generation; if they are false; it certainly is not

worth mine。



Now; not only do I hold it to be proven that the story of the

Deluge is a pure fiction; but I have no hesitation in affirming

the same thing of the story of the Creation。 Between these

two lies the story of the creation of man and woman and their

fall from primitive innocence; which is even more monstrously

improbable than either of the other two; though; from the nature

of the case; it is not so easily capable of direct refutation。

It can be demonstrated that the earth took longer than six days

in the making; and that the Deluge; as described; is a physical

impossibility; but there is no proving; especially to those who

are perfect in the art of closing their ears to that which they

do not wish to hear; that a snake did not speak; or that Eve was

not made out of one of Adam's ribs。



The compiler of Genesis; in its present form; evidently had a

definite plan in his mind。 His countrymen; like all other men;

were doubtless curious to know how the world began; how men; and

especially wicked men; came into being; and how existing nations

and races arose among the descendants of one stock; and;

finally; what was the history of their own particular tribe。

They; like ourselves; desired to solve the four great problems

of cosmogeny; anthropogeny; ethnogeny; and geneogeny。 The

Pentateuch furnishes the solutions which appeared satisfactory

to its author。 One of these; as we have seen; was borrowed from

a Babylonian fable; and I know of no reason to suspect any

different origin for the rest。 Now; I would ask; is the story of

the fabrication of Eve to be regarded as one of those pre…

Abrahamic narratives; the historical truth of which is an open

question; in face of the reference to it in a speech unhappily

famous for the legal oppression to which it has been wrongfully

forced to lend itself?





Have ye not read; that he which made them from the beginning

made them male and female; and said; For this cause shall a man

leave his father and mother; and cleave to his wife; and the

twain shall become one flesh?〃 (Matt。 xix。 5。)





If divine authority is not here claimed for the twenty…fourth

verse of the second chapter of Genesis; what is the value of

language? And again; I ask; if one may play fast and loose with

the story of the Fall as a 〃type〃 or 〃allegory;〃 what becomes of

the foundation of Pauline theology?



For since by man came death; by man came also the

resurrection of the dead。 For as in Adam all die; so also in

Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians xv。 21; 22)。





If Adam may be held to be no more real a personage than

Prometheus; and if the story of the Fall is merely an

instructive 〃type;〃 comparable to the profound Promethean

mythus; what value has Paul's dialectic?



While; therefore; every right…minded man must sympathise with

the efforts of those theologians; who have not been able

altogether to close their ears to the still; small; voice of

reason; to escape from the fetters which ecclesiasticism has

forged; the melancholy fact remains; that the position they have

taken up is hopelessly untenable。 It is raked alike by the old…

fashioned artillery of the churches and by the fatal weapons of

precision with which the enfants perdus of the advancing

forces of science are armed。 They must surrender; or fall back

into a more sheltered position。 And it is possible that they may

long find safety in such retreat。



It is; indeed; probable that the proportional number of those

who will distinctly profess their belief in the

transubstantiation of Lot's wife; and the anticipatory

experience of submarine navigation by Jonah; in water standing

fathoms deep on the side of a declivity without anything to hold

it up; and in devils who enter swinewill not increase。

But neither is there ground for much hope that the proportion of

those who cast aside these fictions and adopt the consequence of

that repudiation; are; for some generations; likely to

constitute a majority。 Our age is a day of compromises。 The

present and the near future seem given over to those happily; if

curiously; constituted people who see as little difficulty in

throwing aside any amount of post…Abrahamic Scriptural

narrative; as the authors of 〃Lux Mundi〃 see in sacrificing the

pre…Abrahamic stories; and; having distilled away every

inconvenient matter of fact in Christian history; continue to

pay divine honours to the residue。 There really seems to be no

reason why the next generation should not listen to a Bampton

Lecture modelled upon that addressed to the last:





Time wasand that not very long agowhen all the relations of

Biblical authors concerning the whole world were received with a

ready belief; and an unreasoning and uncritical faith accepted

with equal satisfaction the narrative of the Captivity and the

doings of Moses at the court of Pharaoh; the account of the

Apostolic meeting in the Epistle to the Galatians; and that of

the fabrication of Eve。 We can most of us remember when; in this

country; the whole story of the Exodus; and even the legend of

Jonah; were seriously placed before boys as history; and

discoursed of in as dogmatic a tone as the tale of Agincourt or

the history of the Norman Conquest。



But all this is now changed。 The last century has seen the

growth of scientific criticism to its full strength。 The whole

world of history has been revolutionised and the mythology which

embarrassed earnest Christians has vanished as an evil mist; the

lifting of which has only more fully revealed the lineaments of

infallible Truth。 No longer in contact with fact of any kind;

Faith stands now and for ever proudly inaccessible to the

attacks of the infidel。





So far the apologist of the future。 Why not? Cantabit

vacuus。





FOOTNOTES



(1) Bampton Lectures (1859); on 〃The Historical Evidence

of the Truth of the Scripture Records stated anew; with Special

Reference to the Doubts and Discoveries of Modern Times;〃 by the

Rev。 G。 Rawlinson; M。A。; pp。 5…6。



(2) The Worth of the Old Testament; a Sermon preached in

St。 Paul's Cathedral on the second Sunday in Advent; 8th Dec。;

1889; by H。 P。 Liddon; D。D。; D。C。L。; Canon and Chancellor of St。

Paul's。 Second edition revised and with a new preface; 1890。



(3) St。 Luke xvii。 32。



(4) St。 Luke xvii。 27。



(5) St。 Matt。 xii。 40。



(6) Bampton Lectures; 1859; pp。 50…51。



(7) Commentary on Genesis; by the Bishop of Ely; p。 77。



(8) Die Sintflut; 1876。



(9) Theologie und Naturwissenschaft;

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