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the lights of the church and the light of science-第7部分
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that the two versions; possibly trimmed by the Jehovistic writer
on the one hand; and by the Elohistic on the other; to suit
Hebrew requirements; may not have been current among the
Israelites for ages。 And they may have acquired great authority
before they were combined in the Pentateuch。
Looking at the convergence of all these lines of evidence to the
one conclusionthat the story of the Flood in Genesis is merely
a Bowdlerised version of one of the oldest pieces of purely
fictitious literature extant; that whether this is; or is not;
its origin; the events asserted in it to have taken place
assuredly never did take place; further; that; in point of fact;
the story; in the plain and logically necessary sense of its
words; has long since been given up by orthodox and conservative
commentators of the Established ChurchI can but admire the
courage and clear foresight of the Anglican divine who tells us
that we must be prepared to choose between the trustworthiness
of scientific method and the trustworthiness of that which the
Church declares to be Divine authority。 For; to my mind; this
declaration of war to the knife against secular science; even in
its most elementary form; this rejection; without a moment's
hesitation; of any and all evidence which conflicts with
theological dogmais the only position which is logically
reconcilable with the axioms of orthodoxy。 If the Gospels truly
report that which an incarnation of the God of Truth
communicated to the world; then it surely is absurd to attend to
any other evidence touching matters about which he made any
clear statement; or the truth of which is distinctly implied by
his words。 If the exact historical truth of the Gospels is an
axiom of Christianity; it is as just and right for a Christian
to say; Let us 〃close our ears against suggestions〃 of
scientific critics; as it is for the man of science to refuse to
waste his time upon circle…squarers and flat…earth fanatics。
It is commonly reported that the manifesto by which the Canon of
St。 Paul's proclaims that he nails the colours of the straitest
Biblical infallibility to the mast of the ship ecclesiastical;
was put forth as a counterblast to 〃Lux Mundi〃; and that the
passages which I have more particularly quoted are directed
against the essay on 〃The Holy Spirit and Inspiration〃 in that
collection of treatises by Anglican divines of high standing;
who must assuredly be acquitted of conscious 〃infidel〃
proclivities。 I fancy that rumour must; for once; be right; for
it is impossible to imagine a more direct and diametrical
contradiction than that between the passages from the sermon
cited above and those which follow:
What is questioned is that our Lord's words foreclose certain
critical positions as to the character of Old Testament
literature。 For example; does His use of Jonah's resurrection as
a type of His own; depend in any real degree upon whether
it is historical fact or allegory? 。。。 Once more; our Lord uses
the time before the Flood; to illustrate the carelessness of men
before His own coming。 。。。 In referring to the Flood He
certainly suggests that He is treating it as typical; for He
introduces circumstances〃eating and drinking; marrying and
giving in marriage 〃which have no counterpart in the original
narrative〃 (pp。 358…9)。
While insisting on the flow of inspiration through the whole of
the Old Testament; the essayist does not admit its universality。
Here; also; the new apologetic demands a partial flood:
But does the inspiration of the recorder guarantee the exact
historical truth of what he records? And; in matter of fact; can
the record with due regard to legitimate historical criticism;
be pronounced true? Now; to the latter of these two questions
(and they are quite distinct questions) we may reply that there
is nothing to prevent our believing; as our faith strongly
disposes us to believe; that the record from Abraham downward
is; in substance; in the strict sense historical (p。 351)。
It would appear; therefore; that there is nothing to prevent our
believing that the record; from Abraham upward; consists of
stories in the strict sense unhistorical; and that the pre…
Abrahamic narratives are mere moral and religious 〃types〃
and parables。
I confess I soon lose my way when I try to follow those who walk
delicately among 〃types〃 and allegories。 A certain passion for
clearness forces me to ask; bluntly; whether the writer means to
say that Jesus did not believe the stories in question; or that
he did? When Jesus spoke; as of a matter of fact; that 〃the
Flood came and destroyed them all;〃 did he believe that the
Deluge really took place; or not? It seems to me that; as the
narrative mentions Noah's wife; and his sons' wives; there is
good scriptural warranty for the statement that the
antediluvians married and were given in marriage; and I should
have thought that their eating and drinking might be assumed by
the firmest believer in the literal truth of the story。
Moreover; I venture to ask what sort of value; as an
illustration of God's methods of dealing with sin; has an
account of an event that never happened? If no Flood swept the
careless people away; how is the warning of more worth than the
cry of 〃Wolf〃 when there is no wolf? If Jonah's three days'
residence in the whale is not an 〃admitted reality;〃 how could
it 〃warrant belief〃 in the 〃coming resurrection?〃 If Lot's wife
was not turned into a pillar of salt; the bidding those who turn
back from the narrow path to 〃remember〃 it is; morally; about on
a level with telling a naughty child that a bogy is coming to
fetch it away。 Suppose that a Conservative orator warns his
hearers to beware of great political and social changes; lest
they end; as in France; in the domination of a Robespierre;
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 w
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