make the sum of all heresy ; and he, only atheistical. But what a refuge is this ?
It
is surely true, as we have said, that the human mind which daringly
attempts to fathom the Infinite, almost of necessity will find a God
gradually fading from before it, matter stretching on through
eternity, worlds going alone and blundering at times, and
development-theories becoming beautiful. If the " World-Problem" stops
short of the last fatal step, its system of philosophy does not. This
is sufficient reason for pronouncing the teachings of the " Six Days "
infidel in tendency; and the " World-Problem has added force to the
charge. To one grubbing through the solitary depths of the Ego, the
light of Heaven " grows dim " indeed, and many a rank heresy is started
up. The author of the " World-Problem" speaks truly of the unknown
pouring upon us fast, as we go back or on in time ; and adds, that "
unless we fall back on revelation [so far, well], or some unscientific a priori principles,
as some sneeringly call them, all becomes a guess, a fool-hardy
assumption, that has not even the dignity of a conjecture." The door by
which he enters his labyrinth, is thus made obvious.
Use of science in exegesis. False
philosophy is prolific in the errors to which it leads. Among these
errors, is the canon of Bible interpretation announced, " that the only
office of science is to stimulate inquiry, and chiefly in cases where
it may have already had an obscuring influence tn the meaning of a
text" (p. 67); that, in exegesis, we " must divest ourselves of
science" (p. 65, 75), at least that which was unknown to the writer of
the work; that " the Bible should be interpreted of itself and by
itself" (p. 59).
The
canon might seem plausible, if the writers of the Bible were, in every
sense, its authors, and there had been no directing Mind to guide them
to language about the creative acts, or other subjects, embracing truth
which they could not fully comprehend, and which should ever expand
with increasing knowledge. It might seem plausible, if all knowledge
of facts in nature were not knowledge of facts in sci-
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