Project Gutenberg's New Witnesses for God (Volume 2 of 3), by B. H. Roberts This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: New Witnesses for God (Volume 2 of 3) Author: B. H. Roberts Release Date: November 9, 2014 [EBook #47316] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NEW WITNESSES FOR GOD, VOL 2 *** Produced by the Mormon Texts Project (MormonTextsProject.org). NEW WITNESSES FOR GOD II. THE BOOK OF MORMON * * * * By B. H. Roberts, Author of "The Gospel," "Outlines of Ecclesiastical History," "Mormon Doctrine of Deity," "Defense of the Faith and the Saints," "The Prophet-Teacher," etc., etc. * * * * IN THREE VOLUMES VOL. II. * * * * THE DESERET NEWS Salt Lake City 1909 PREFACE. The following work was begun twenty-two years ago, in England, when the author was in that land on a Mission, as assistant Editor of the Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star. It was the author's design then to make the treatise on the Book of Mormon the first volume under the general title "New Witnesses for God"; but after some progress in collecting and arranging the materials had been made, the thought occurred to him that the Prophet Joseph Smith in chronological order, if not in importance, preceded the Book of Mormon in the introduction of God's Witnesses in this last and great dispensation. The materials of this work, therefore, so far as they had been collected, were laid aside and work was begun on the treatise of Joseph Smith as a Witness for God; which, however, because of many other demands upon the author's time, was not published until 1895. Meantime work was continued from time to time upon the treatise of the Book of Mormon; and in 1903-4-5, the materials were used, substantially as in their present form, as Manuals for the Senior Classes of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Associations. The work has undergone a thorough revision at the hands of the author, and is now to take the place in his writings designed for it so long ago. While the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is but an incident in God's great work of the last days, and the book itself subordinate to some other facts in that work, still the incident of its coming forth and the book are facts of such importance that the whole work of God may be said, in a manner, to stand or fall with them. That is to say, if the origin of the Book of Mormon could be proved to be other than that set forth by Joseph Smith; if the book itself could be proved to be other than it claims to be, viz., and chiefly, an abridged history of the ancient inhabitants of America, a volume of scripture containing a message from God to the people to whom it was written—"to the Lamanites [American Indians], who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile; written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and revelation"—if, I say, the Book of Mormon could be proved to be other than this, then the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and its message and doctrines, which, in some respects, may be said to have arisen out of the Book of Mormon, must fall; for if that book is other than it claims to be; if its origin is other than that ascribed to it by Joseph Smith, then Joseph Smith says that which is untrue; he is a false prophet of false prophets; and all he taught, and all his claims to inspiration and divine authority, are not only vain but wicked; and all that he did as a religious teacher is not only useless, but mischievous beyond human comprehending. Nor does this statement of the case set forth sufficiently strong the situation. Those who accept the Book of Mormon for what it claims to be, may not so state their case that its security chiefly rests on the inability of its opponents to prove a negative. The affirmative side of the question belongs to us who hold out the Book of Mormon to the world as a revelation from God. The burden of proof rests upon us in every discussion. It is not enough for us to say that if the origin of the Book of Mormon is proved to be other than that set forth by Joseph Smith; if the book itself be proved to be other than it claims to be, then the institution known as "Mormonism" must fall. We must do more than rest our case on the inability of opponents to prove a negative. The security of "Mormonism" rests on quite other grounds; and, from a forensic standpoint, upon much more precarious ground; for not only must the Book of Mormon not be proved to have other origin than that which we set forth, or be other than what we say it is, but we must prove its origin to be what we say it is, and the book itself to be what we proclaim it to be—a revelation from God. From these remarks the reader will observe, I trust, that while I refer to the coming forth of the Book of Mormon as an incident, and the book itself as a fact subordinate to some other facts connected with the great work of God in the last days, I have by no means underrated the importance of the Book of Mormon in its relation to God's work of the last days as a whole. It is to meet the requirements of this situation that I have been anxious to add my contribution to the gradually accumulating literature on this subject, both within and without the Church, both upon the affirmative and the negative side of the question. My treatise is divided into four parts: I.—The Value of the Book of Mormon as a Witness for the Authenticity and Integrity of the Bible; and the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. II.—The Discovery of the Book of Mormon and its Translation, Migrations, Lands, Intercontinental Movements, Civilizations, Governments, and the Religions of its Peoples. III.—Evidences of the Truth of the Book of Mormon. IV.—Objections to the Book of Mormon Considered. It will be seen from the titles of these divisions that Parts I and II are really only preparatory in their nature. The more interesting field of evidence and argument is not entered until Part III is reached. But Parts I and II, if not so intensely interesting as the divisions devoted to argument, they are, nevertheless, every whit as important. It goes without saying that the success of an argument greatly, and I may say fundamentally, depends upon the clearness and completeness of the statement of the matter involved; and it is frequently the case that a proper setting forth of a subject makes its truth self-evident; and all other evidence becomes merely collateral, and all argument becomes of secondary importance. Especially is this the case when setting forth the Book of Mormon for the world's acceptance; in which matter we have the right to expect, and the assurance in the book itself that we shall receive, the co-operation of divine agencies to confirm to the souls of men the truth of the Nephite record; that as that record was written in the first instance by divine commandment, by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation; and as it was preserved by angelic guardianship, and at last brought forth by revelation, and translated by what men regard as miraculous means, so it is provided in God's providences, respecting this volume of scripture, that its truth shall be attested to individuals by the operations of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind. "When ye shall receive these things," says the prophet Moroni, referring to the writings of the Nephites, "I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." This must ever be the chief source of evidence for the truth of the Book of Mormon. All other evidence is secondary to this, the primary and infallible. No arrangement of evidence, however skilfully ordered; no argument, however adroitly made, can ever take its place; for this witness of the Holy Spirit to the souls of men for the truth of the Nephite volume of scripture, is God's evidence to the truth; and will ever be the chief reliance of those who accept the Book of Mormon, and expect to see its acceptance extended throughout the world; for, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so must the testimony of God forever stand above and before the testimony of men, and of things. I confess that these reflections have a saddening effect upon one who undertakes to set forth what he must confess are but the secondary evidences to the truth of the Book of Mormon, and make an argument that he can never regard as of primary importance in the matter of convincing the world of the truth of the work in the interest of which he labors. But I trust these reflections will help my readers to a right apprehension of the importance of Parts I and II, the importance of a clear and, so far as may be, a complete statement of the incidents connected with the coming forth of the book, and also of its contents. To be known, the truth must be stated, and the clearer and more complete the statement is, the better opportunity will the Holy Spirit have for testifying to the souls of men that the work is true. While desiring to make it clear that our chief reliance for evidence to the truth of the Book of Mormon must ever be the witness of the Holy Spirit, promised by the prophet Moroni to those who will seek to know the truth from that source; and desiring, also, as I think is becoming in man, to acknowledge the superiority of God's witness to the truth as compared with any evidence that man may set forth—I would not have it thought that the evidence and argument presented in Parts III and IV are unimportant. Secondary evidences in support of truth, like secondary causes in natural phenomena, may be of firstrate importance, and mighty factors in the achievement of God's purposes. I only desire by these remarks to place the matters to be considered in their right relations. B. H. ROBERTS. Salt Lake City, March, 1909. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PART I. THE VALUE OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AS A WITNESS FOR THE AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE BIBLE, AND THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. CHAPTER I. The Bible in the Nineteenth Century. CHAPTER II. The Witness of the Western Hemisphere. CHAPTER III. The Purposes for Which the Book of Mormon was Written. PART II. THE DISCOVERY OF THE BOOK OF MORMON AND ITS TRANSLATION.—MIGRATIONS, LANDS, INTERCONTINENTAL MOVEMENTS, CIVILIZATIONS, AND THE RELIGIONS OF ITS PEOPLES. CHAPTER IV. How Joseph Smith Obtained the Book of Mormon. CHAPTER V. The Translation of the Record—Martin Harris Amanuensis. CHAPTER VI. Translation of the Record (Continued)—Oliver Cowdery, Amanuensis. CHAPTER VII. The Manner of Translating the Book of Mormon. CHAPTER VIII. Publication of the Record. CHAPTER IX. An Analysis of the Book of Mormon. CHAPTER X. Migrations to the Western Hemisphere and the Nations that Arose from Them. I. Jaredites— Migration and Place of Landing. Capital and Centers of Civilization. Extent and Nature of Civilization. Numbers. Literature. Government. Religion. History. II. The Nephites. Lehi's Colony. Mulek's Colony. CHAPTER XI. Book of Mormon Lands. CHAPTER XII. Inter-Continental Movements of Book of Mormon People. Nephite Movements Southward. Nephite Movement Northward. CHAPTER XIII. Government and Religion Among the Nephites. Nephite Government. Religion. The People of Mulek. Government and Religion. The Lamanites. Civilization, Government, Religion. PART III. EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE BOOK OF MORMON. CHAPTER XIV. Classification of Evidences. CHAPTER XV. Direct External Evidences. The Testimony of the Three Witnesses. The Testimony of the Eight Witnesses. CHAPTER XVI. Direct External Evidences—The Three Witnesses—Subsequent Life and Testimonies. Oliver Cowdery. CHAPTER XVII. Direct External Evidences—the Testimony of the Three Witnesses—Subsequent Life and Testimonies (Continued). David Whitmer. CHAPTER XVIII. Direct External Evidences—Testimony of the Three Witnesses—Subsequent Life and Testimonies (Continued). Martin Harris. CHAPTER XIX. Direct External Evidences—Reflections Upon the Testimonies of the Three Witnesses. CHAPTER XX. Direct External Evidences—Testimony of the Eight Witnesses. Christian Whitmer. Jacob Whitmer. Peter Whitmer, Jr. John Whitmer. Hiram Page. Joseph Smith, Sen. Hyrum Smith. Samuel Harrison Smith. CHAPTER XXI. Direct External Evidence—Reflections on the Testimony of the Eleven Witnesses. CHAPTER XXII. The Testimony of Incidental Witnesses. CHAPTER XXIII. The Probability of Joseph Smith's Story of the Origin, Translation and Final Disposition of the Plates of the Book of Mormon. I. The Ministration of Angels is Neither Unscriptural nor Unreasonable. II. To Believe in Media for Ascertaining Divine Knowledge is Neither Unscriptural nor Unreasonable. III. Of Returning the Plates of the Book of Mormon to Moroni. IV. On the Loss of One Hundred and Sixteen Pages of Manuscript, Being the Translation of the First Part of Mormon's Abridgment of the Nephite Records. CHAPTER XXIV. Indirect External Evidences—American Antiquities. Preliminary Considerations. I. What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location and Character of the Jaredite Civilization. II. What the Book of Mormon Requires as to the Location, Extent and Nature of the Nephite Civilization. CHAPTER XXV. Indirect External Evidences—American Antiquities. Preliminary Considerations (Continued). III. Of the Probability of Intercourse Between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres During Jaredite and Nephite Times. IV. The Western World Since the Close of the Nephite Period—The Lamanite Civilization. V. Of the Writers on American Antiquities. CHAPTER XXVI. Indirect External Evidences—American Antiquities. I. The Evidence of the Existence of Ancient Civilizations in America. II. Chief Centers of Ancient American Civilization. Copan. Palenque. CHAPTER XXVII. Indirect External Evidences—American Antiquities (Continued). I. Antiquity of American Ruins. II. Successive Civilizations. III. Peruvian Antiquities. IV. The Mound Builders. Summary. CHAPTER XXVIII. External Evidences—American Traditions and Mythologies. I. The Creation. II. The Flood. CHAPTER XXIX. Indirect External Evidences—American Traditions and Mythologies (Continued). III. Tradition of the Tower of Babel. IV. Migrations. PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY To aid the reader in pronouncing accurately Book of Mormon names and also the difficult Spanish and Mexican proper names found in the body of this work, where it treats of American antiquities, we append, first, the rules of pronounciation of the Book of Mormon names formulated at the Book of Mormon Convention held at the Brigham Young University, Provo, May, 1903; and, second, a list of the Spanish and Mexican words—chiefly proper names— and their pronounciation in English. For the pronunciation of the Spanish and Mexican names I am indebted to Professor John M. Mills of the Latter-day Saints' University, Salt Lake City, Utah. RULES FOR THE PRONUNCIATION OF BOOK OF MORMON NAMES "Words of two syllables to be accented on the first syllable. "Words of three syllables to be accented on the second syllable with these exceptions, which are to be accented on the first syllable; namely: Amlici (c, soft); Amnion; Antipas; Antipus; Corihor; Cumeni; Curelom; Deseret; Gazelam; Helaman; Joneam; Korihor; Tubaloth. "Words of four syllables to be accented on the third syllable with the following exceptions, which are to be accented on the second syllable; namely: Abinadi; Abinidora; Amalickiah; Aminadi; Aminadab. "Ch is always to be pronounced as K. "G at the beginning of a name to be always pronounced 'hard.' "I final, always to take the long sound of the vowel. LIST OF SPANISH AND MEXICAN PROPER NAMES AND THEIR PRONUNCIATION A Acolhuas (ah col'wahs) Acosta (ah cos'tah) Acxiquat (ak he'quat) Acxopil (ak ho'peel) Ahahuetl (ah ha way'tl) Ahpop (ah'pope) Allabahamah (ah yah bah hah'mah) Amautas (ah mah oo'tas) Amoxoaque (ah mo wha'ky) Antisuyu (an tee su'yu) Atitan (ah tee tan') Atonatiuh (ah to nah'tee oo) Anahuac (ah nah wak') Aymara (i mah'rah) Aztlan (as tlan') B Balam Agab (bah lam'ah gab) Balam Quiche (bah lam kee chay') Boachia (bwa chee'ah) Bochica (bo chee'kah) Boturini (bo too ree'nee) Brasseur de Bourbourg (brah sieur doo boor boor) C Caha Paluma (kah'hah pah loo'mah) Cakixaha (kah kee hah'hah) Calel Ahus (kah lail'ous) Camalotz (kah mah lo'tz) Capichoch (ka peech'och) Carli (kar'lee) Carreri (kah ray'ree) Camanco kah pac') Ce Calli (say ca'ye) Cecumbalam (say cum bah'lam) Chap ul tepee (cha pool'tay peck) Chialman (chee ahl'man) Chiapas (ehee ah'pass) Chichen Itza (chi chen eat'sah) Chicomoztoc (chi comb os'tok) Cholula (cho lu'la) Cholultecs (cho lool'tecks) Chomeha (cho may'hah) Cioacoatl (see wa kwa'tl Clavigero (cla vee hay'ro) Colhuacan (coal wab can') Colla (ko'ya) Cantisuyu (cone tee su'yu) Cortez (car teth—Mexican cortes') Coxcox (cos'cos) Cozas (co sas') Cukulcan (koo kool can') Cundunamarco (koon doona mar'ka) Cuzco (koos'co) Coatzacoalcos (kwats ah kwal'cos) D De las Casas (day las ca'sas) Dupaix (du pay') F Fuentes y Guzman (fwen tes e goose man') G Gomara (go mah'ra) Gregorio Garcia (grey go'rio gar see'ah) Guanacauri (gwa'na cow'ree) Guarani (gwa rah'nee) Guatemala (gwa teh mah'la) Gucumatz (goo koo matz') H Herrera (a ray'rah) Hogates (o gah'tes) Honduras (own doo'ras) Huamantaco Amauto (hwa man ta'co ama oo'ta) Huaves (hwah'ves) Huehue Talapalan (way way tah la pah Ian') Huemac (way mack') Huitzitzilin (weet seet see leen') Huitziton (weet see tone') Hurakan (oo rah kan) I Ilocab (e lo cab') Iqui Balam (e kee bah'lam) Istli (east'lee) Ixtlilxochitle (east leel ho-che'etl) Izcalli (eas ca yee) J Jiutemal (hugh tay mal') Juitemal (whee tay mal) K Kabah (kah'bah) L Loak Ishtohooloo Aba (lo akish to hoo'loo ah'ba) M Mahucutah (mah hoo cooth) Malinalli (mah lee naw ye) Mama Oello (ma ma way'yo) Manco capac (man co capac') Mar Barrnejo (mar bar nay'ho) Mendieta (men dee a tah Michoacan (me choa can') Mictlanteuctli (meek tlan tenk tli) Mijes (me'hays) Mitla (me'tla) Mizes (me says) Miztees (meas'tecks) Montesinos (mon tay see'nos) Munez de la Vega (moon yes'day la vay'ga) N Nadaillac (nah day lac') Nata (nah ta) Naliuatl (na watl) Nahuatlacs (na wat lacs) Nimaquiche (nee ma kee chay') O Oajaca (oali ha'ca) Ozaca (o sah'ca) P Palenque (pah len'kay) Pamutla (pah moot'la) Panoaia (pa no ah'ya) Pantlan (pan tlan') Panuco (pa noo co) Paye Tome (pah ye to'me) Puhua Manco (poo wha man co) Q Quetzalcohua (kate sal'qua) Quequetzalcohua (kay kate sal'qua tl) Quetzalcohuatl (kate sal qua'tl) Quilaztli (kee las'tlee) Quirigua (kee ree'gua) Quito (kee to) R Rosales (ro sah'les) S Sahagun (sah hah'gun) Sierra de Cocotl (see a'ra day co co'tl) Suchiquecal (soo chee kay'cal) T Tahuantin-Suya Capac (tah whan teen'-soo-ya-ca pac) Talma (tal'ma) Tamoauchan (ta mwa chan) Tamub (tah moob') Tapallan (tah pah yan) Tecpatzin (teck pat seen') Tehuantepec (tay wan'tay peck) Temazcalli (tay mas cah'ye) Teocallis (tayo cah'yees) Teocysactli (tayo see sac'tlee) Teotes (tayo tes) Tezcatlipoca (tes cat tee po' ca) Tezpa (tes'pee) Titicaca (tee tee ka'ka) Tlacapan (tla ca pan') Tlaloc (tla lock') Tlaloques (tla lo kes) Tlamanalco (tla ma nal'co) Tlapallan (tla pa yan') Talascatec (tlas cal tes) Tlatelolco (tla tay lol'co) Teatl (tay otl) Toltan (tol tan') Tonacatecutli (to nali cah tay coo'tlee) Tonacatecutle (to nah cah tay coo'tlay) Topolitzin (to po lit seen') Torquemada (tor kay mah'dah) Tschudi (tchew dee) Tuccabatches (tuc cah bah'ches) Tulan-Zaiva (too lan-si va) Tzontemoc (tson tay moak') Tzununiha (tsoo noo ne'a) U Usumacinta (oo soo ma seen'ta) Utatlan (oo ta tlan') Uxmal (oox mal') V Vemac (vay mack') Veytia (vay tee'a) Viracocha (vee ra co cha) Votan (vo tan') W Wixipecocha (week see pa co' cha) X Xecoicovach (hay coat co vach') Xelhua (hay loo'ah) Xibalba (he bai'bah) Ximinez (he me nais') Xochiquetzal (ho chee kate sal) Y Yaqui (ya'kee) Ytztlacoliuhqui (eats tla co lee oo'kee) Yucatec (yu ca tec') Z Zaculi (sa coo'lee) Zamna (Sam'na) Zocheqnetzal (so chay kate'sal) Zopotec (sa'po tec) Zumarra (su mar ra) FOREWORDS. I. NEW WITNESSES FOR THE TRUTH OF GOD'S WORD ASSURED. It is a happy omen, that, while so much of the literature of our times is marked by a tone of infidelity, and especially by a disparagement of the evidences of the authenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures, there is in other quarters an increasing readiness to make the choicest gifts of modern science and learning tributary to the word of God. The eclipse of faith is not total. And it is an additional cause for gratitude to the God of Providence and of Revelation, that, even at this remote distance of time from the date of the Sacred Oracles, new evidences of their credibility and accuracy are continually coming to light. How much may yet remain, buried under barren mounds, or entombed in pyramids and catacombs, or hidden in the yet unexplored pages of some ancient literature, it were vain to conjecture; but of this we may be sure, that if any new forms of evidence should hereafter be needed, to meet any new forms of unbelief, and authenticate afresh the word of truth, they will be found deposited somewhere, waiting for the fulness of time; and God will bring them forth in their season, from the dark hieroglyphics, or the desert sands, or the dusty manuscripts, to confound the adversaries of his word, and to "magnify it above all his name."—"Historical Evidences of the Truth of the Scripture Records," by George Rawlinson, M. A. American Edition, 1885. II. THE WORLD'S HUNGER FOR KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHRIST. "Were a parchment discovered in an Egyptian mound, six inches square, containing fifty words which were certainly spoken by Jesus, this utterance would count more than all the books which have been published since the first century. If a veritable picture of the Lord could be unearthed from a catacomb, and the world could see with its own eyes what like he was, it would not matter that its colors were faded, and that it was roughly drawn, that picture would have at once a solitary place amid the treasures of art."—Rev. John Watson, D. D. (Ian Maclaren) "Life of the Master," Prologue. III. THE BOOK OF MORMON A WITNESS FOR THE CHRIST. "And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity, were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations. And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did prosper in the land; and I beheld a Book, and it was carried forth among them. And the angel said unto me, Knowest thou the meaning of the Book? And I said unto him, I know not. And he said. Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew; * * * * and he said unto me, The Book that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which contains the covenants of the Lord which he hath made with the House of Israel; and it also containeth many of the prophecies of the holy Prophets. * * * * And it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Book of the Lamb of God, which had proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came forth from the Gentiles, unto the remnant of the seed of my brethren. And after it had come forth unto them, I beheld other Books, which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles, unto them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles, and the remnant of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the records of the Prophets and of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb [the Bible] are true. And the angel spake unto me, saying. These last records which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish the truth of the first, which are of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and precious things which have been taken away from them; and shall make known unto all kindreds, tongues and people, that the Lamb of God is the Son of the Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved."—I. Nephi xiii. PART I. The Value of the Book of Mormon as a witness for the authenticity and integrity of the Bible, and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. NEW WITNESSES FOR GOD. II. THE BOOK OF MORMON. CHAPTER I. THE BIBLE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY "The Bible in the Nineteenth Century" will yet form an interesting subject for a volume. The writer of it will recount the attacks made upon the sacred volume by unbelievers, and the defense of it by faithful Christian and Jewish scholars. He will also be under the necessity of writing the history of the betrayals of the Holy Scriptures by pretended friends; and he will say such betrayals were more mischievous than the attacks of avowed enemies. He will balance the harm done by the attacks and the betrayals, against the good accomplished by the defenses, and give the net result of gain or loss. Which will preponderate? The nineteenth century was prolific in both assaults and defenses; and much valuable material was collected from unexpected quarters for the defense of the Scriptures; but for all that it is doubtful if in what is recognized as the Christian world the faith of the Christians in the Bible, as the veritable word of God, was as sound and absolute at the close of the nineteenth century as it was at the commencement of it. This is not saying that what is regarded as old fashioned faith in the Bible has been entirely banished, or totally eclipsed. There are those, and many of them, thank God, who still revere the Bible as the word of God, and therefore hold it true, and take it as a lamp to their feet, as a guide to their path. But there has arisen within Christendom itself—and chiefly within the nineteenth century— a class of Bible scholars who have done much mischief to faith in the Bible; who make it part of their boast that in their study of the Bible they have dropped the theological attitude towards it, viz., the preconception that the Bible is the word of God, on which conception men were wont to reason: God is a God of absolute truth; the Bible is the word of God; therefore the Bible is absolutely true. This position they now abandon and take up what they are pleased to call the "literary attitude or method." That is, they approach the Bible without any preconception whatsoever. They take up the collection of books forming the Bible as they would take up any other body of literature; as they would English, French, or German literature. "This method," says one high in authority in the new school of critics, "assumes nothing. It leaves the conclusion of the questions whether the Bible came from God, in what sense it came from God, how far and to what extent it came from God, all to be determined by examination of the book itself. This I call the literary method."[1] "This method," says another, "leads to the investigation of the origin, authorship, and meaning of the several books of the Bible, and the credibility of the history which it contains."[2] Concerning in what those of the Literary school are agreed, and in what their method results, as to the Old Testament, I quote the following: They are generally agreed in thinking that the book of Genesis is composed of three or four or more documents woven together by some ancient editor in one continuous narrative. They are generally agreed in thinking that the book of the Covenant,[3] with the Ten Commandments at its forefront, is the oldest book in the Bible; that the history in which that book of the Covenant is embedded was written long subsequent to the time of Moses. They are generally agreed in thinking that the Book of Deuteronomy, embodying a later prophet's conception of Mosaic principles, was not written or uttered by Moses himself in its present form, but some centuries after the death of Moses. They are generally agreed in thinking that the book of Leviticus was written long subsequent to the time of Moses, and so far from embodying the principles of the Mosaic code embodies much that is in spirit adverse if not antagonistic to the simple principles of Mosaism. They are generally agreed in considering that we have in the books of Kings and Chronicles history and belles lettres so woven together that it is not always possible to tell what is to be regarded as belles lettres and what is to be regarded as history. They are generally agreed in the opinion that Job, while it treats of history about the days of Moses, or even anterior thereto, was written later than the time of Solomon; that very little of the Hebrew Psalter was composed by David; that most of it was composed in the time of the exile or subsequent thereto; that Solomon's song was not written by Solomon, and is the drama of a pure woman's love, not a spiritual allegory; that the book of Isaiah was written certainly by two authors and perhaps more, the later book being written one hundred years at least after the earlier and by a prophet now unknown; that the book of Jonah belongs to the series of moral instruction through fiction, and that the book of Daniel conveys moral instruction by means of, to use Dean Farrar's phraseology, one of these "splendid specimens of the lofty moral fiction which was always common among the Jews after the exile."[4] Another recognized authority in the same field of learning in summing up the results of the so-called "higher criticism," says: It has thus far done an inestimable service in the removal of the traditional theories from the sacred books, so that they may be studied in their real structure and character. . . . . The higher criticism shows us the process by which the sacred books were produced, that the most of them were composed by unknown authors, that they have passed through the hands of a considerable number of unknown editors who have brought together the older material without removing discrepancies, inconsistencies and errors. In this process of editing, arranging, addition, subtraction, reconstruction and consolidation, extending through many centuries, what evidence have we that these unknown editors were kept from error in all their work?[5] Such dissecting as this can have but one general result—death of reverence for the Bible; death of faith in it, as the revealed word of God. The authenticity of the Bible by it is left doubtful; for while this method of criticism succeeds, with those who affect it, in proving that Moses is not the author of the five books for so many centuries accredited to him, it fails to tell us who is the author of those books. This Higher Criticism tells us that there are two and perhaps more, authors of the book of Isaiah's prophecies; that the last twenty-seven chapters were not written by the great Hebrew prophet whose name the book bears; but it fails to tell us who is the author of them. Nor can it be determined even when the unknown author lived. The same is true as to the other books of the Old Testament upon whose authenticity this system casts its shadow. The system is wholly destructive in its tendencies; it unsettles everything, it determines nothing, except that everything with reference to the authenticity, time of composition, inspiration, and credibility of the Old Testament is indeterminable. "It leaves everything hanging in the air," says one able critic of Higher Criticism. "It begins in guesses and ends in fog. At all events the result leaves us in a hopeless muddle, and, when that is the only thing settled, the proposed solution is self-condemned."[6] And yet the Doctor of Divinity who wrote that sentence, Rev. A. J. F. Behrends, when he comes in his treatise to remark upon the extent to which the destructive criticism obtains, has to confess that in eight of the most famous German Universities[7] possessing theological faculties, and numbering seventy-three professors in all, thirty of those professors upheld and taught the destructive criticism; while forty-three were counted conservatives.[8] A more significant admission, as showing the rapid increase of the radicals, or liberals, as the upholders of the destructive criticism are called, will be found in the following statement concerning the same theological faculties. "The so-called liberal wing has increased from ten to thirty during the last twenty-five years; and the conservatives have been reduced from fifty to forty-three." Of the American universities where the destructive criticism obtains, Dr. Behrends names eight;[9] and eighteen where "conservative criticism holds its ground."[10] It should be remembered that these are admissions of one upholding the conservative criticism as against radical criticism. The claims of the radical school for the success of their methods are much more sweeping than the admissions allow. But taking the extent to which the destructive criticism obtains, even at the estimate of those who are opposed to it, and who for that reason reduce its triumphs to a minimum, yet it must be admitted that it has succeeded in making very marked progress. It permeates all Protestant Christian countries; and all Protestant Christian sects. It is more in evidence in the churches than in the schools; and tinctures all Protestant religious literature. There is scarcely any necessity for unbelievers in the Bible assailing it from without; the destruction of faith in it as an authentic, credible, authoritative revelation from God, whose truths when rightly understood are to be accepted and held as binding upon the consciences of men, is being carried on from within the churches who profess to hold the Bible in reverence, more effectually than it could be by profane infidels. Doctors of Divinity are more rapidly undermining the faith of the masses in the Bible than ever a Voltaire, a Paine, a Bradlaugh or an Ingersoll could do; and that may account for the singular circumstances of absolute silence at present on the part of popular infidel writers and lecturers.[11] It is not my purpose here to enter into a discussion of the merits or demerits of Higher Criticism; to point out what is true in it, and what false. I am merely calling attention to a condition that has been created by that method of Bible treatment, viz., a condition of rapidly increasing unbelief among the masses in the Bible as the undoubted word of God. The learned who are leaders in the new method of Bible criticism, after destroying confidence in the authenticity of almost every book of the Old Testament; after questioning the credibility of the greater part of all those same books; after retiring some of the books from the dignified realm of reliable history to the questionable station of belles-lettres; after saying, "We are obliged to admit that there are scientific errors in the Bible, errors of astronomy, of geology, of zoology, of botany, and anthropology;" after saying, "There are historical mistakes in the Christian scriptures, mistakes of chronology and geography, errors of historical events and persons, discrepancies and inconsistencies in the historians, which cannot be removed by any proper method of interpretation;" after reducing the inspired writers to the level of just ordinary historical, poetical, and fiction-writing authors, by saying that the foregoing enumerated errors in the sacred books "are just where you would expect to find them in accurate, truthful writers of history in ancient times," and that the sacred writers merely "used with fidelity the best sources of information accessible to them—ancient poems, popular traditions, legends and ballads, regal and family archives, codes of law and ancient narratives," and "there is no evidence that they received any of this history by revelation from God, there is no evidence that the divine Spirit corrected their narratives either when they were being composed in their minds, or written in manuscript;" after saying, "we cannot defend the morals of the Old Testament at all points, * * * the Patriarchs were not truthful, their age seems to have had little apprehension of the principles of truth;" after saying that "God spake in much the greater part of the Old Testament through the voices and pens of the human authors of the scriptures," and then ask—"Did the human voice and pen in all the numerous writers and editors of the Holy Scriptures prior to the completion of the Canon always deliver an inerrant word?" and, "Even if all the writers were possessed of the Holy Spirit as to be merely passive in his hands, the question arises, can the finite voice and the finite pen deliver and express the inerrant truth of God?" After all this, then these Higher Critics propound the question: Can we, in the face of all the results of our literary and historical[12] method of treating the scriptures, still maintain the truthfulness of the Bible? And while they are speculating how they can make it appear that "the substantial truthfulness of the Bible" need not be inconsistent with the existence of "circumstantial errors;" and are indulging in subtle refinements to show that "none of the mistakes, discrepancies and errors which have been discovered disturb the religious lessons of Biblical history"[13]—masses who come to hear of these doubts cast upon what they have hitherto been taught to regard as the infallible oracles of God, answer off-hand: —If so much doubt exists as to the authenticity, credibility, inspiration, and authoritativeness of so great a part of the Bible, how are we to determine that the few remaining things you urge upon us are of divine appointment, or reach to any higher level than human conception and human authority? This their question; and, ever glad to meet with any excuse that will lend the lightest shadow of justification for casting aside the restraints which religion imposes upon the indulgence of human passion, and human inclination to worldliness in general, they rid themselves of their faith in the word of God, and in the religion it teaches, and walk abroad in the earth unchecked in their selfish pursuit of whatsoever may attract the fancy, please the taste or gratify the passions. For whatever may be the effect of what is left of the Bible, on minds of peculiar structure, after Higher Criticism is done with it, it must be conceded that a Bible of doubtful authenticity, of questionable credibility as to the greater part of it; with its divine inspiration and its divine authenticity remaining open questions—neither such a Bible nor any religion formulated from it in harmony with such conceptions, can have much influence over the masses of humanity. Again I find it necessary to say that it is foreign to my purpose to enter into a consideration of the merits or demerits of Higher Criticism, or even to point out how much of that criticism merely attacks an apostate Christianity's misconceptions and false interpretations of the Bible, and not the Bible itself. It is sufficient for my purpose, if I have made clear the results that must inevitably follow this attack upon the Scriptures under the guise of Higher Criticism. I must notice briefly the other side of the question; that is, give some account of the materials which have been brought to light in the nineteenth century for the defense of the Bible; materials which tend to prove its authenticity, its credibility, its inspiration and its divine authority. And here I am but a compiler of a very few of the principal results of researches that have been made in Egypt, in the valley of the Euphrates and in Palestine. I make no pretentions to original investigations of these researches, but accept the statements of what I consider to be reliable authorities in relation to them. In the year 1799 a French officer named Boussard discovered a large, black basalt stone at Fort St. Julian near Rosetta, in the delta of the Nile. From the circumstances of the discovery being near Rosetta it has always been known as the Rosetta Stone. It was inscribed in Greek, in Egyptian hieroglyphics, and a third class of writing which is called Demotic. The last is the common writing of the people of Egypt as opposed to the hieroglyphic which was written by the priests. The Greek upon the stone was readily made out, and it was found to consist of a decree drawn up by the priests of Memphis in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes, who ruled about 198 B. C. It was at once evident that the Greek inscription on this stone was the translation of the hieroglyphics upon it, and hence afforded a key to the interpretation of the Egyptian hieroglyphics. By the fortunes of war the Rosetta Stone was surrendered by the French to General Hutchinson and subsequently presented to the British Museum where it is now preserved. Accurate copies of the three- fold text were made forthwith and distributed among the scholars of Europe with the result that through the combined, patient labors of Silvestre de Sacy, Akebald the Swede, Thomas Young, Champollion, Lepsius in Germany, Birch in England, and others, the hieroglyphics were deciphered and a system of translation constructed which enabled European scholars to read many of the inscriptions upon the monuments of Egypt, and bring to light much of the history of that country which hitherto had been a mystery. This gave an impetus to research. The political representatives of the great countries of Europe made collections of antiquities in Egypt, and travelers spent much time and money in opening tombs and digging out ruins. The tombs have given up not only their dead, but with them the books which the Egyptians read, the furniture which they used in their houses, the ornaments and articles of the toilet of the Egyptian lady, the weapons of the warrior, the tools of the handicraftsman and laborer, the dice of the gambler, the toys of the children, and the portraits, statutes and figures of the men and women for whom they were made. The many-lined inscriptions upon the tombs give us their ideas about the future world, the judgment of the dead, the paradise of the happy souls, the transmigration of souls, and they enable us to place a juster estimate upon the statements of those Greek writers who profess to understand and to describe with accuracy the difficult religion of the educated Egyptians. And the result of all this, as affecting the authenticity of the Bible? Simply this: the manners, customs, governments, arts, sciences, occupations and state of civilization of the Egyptians in general, are demonstrated by these monuments to be substantially what they are described to be in the book of Genesis. Also there is supposed to be the confirmation of special events in the scripture narrative. Professor A. H. Sayce, for instance, has the following upon the existence of such a line of kings ruling at Jerusalem as Melchizedek is described to be in Genesis: "Among the cuneiform tablets found at Tel el-Amarna in Upper Egypt, are letters to the Pharaoh from Ebed-tob, king of Jerusalem, written a century before the time of Moses. In them he describes himself as appointed to the throne, not by inheritance from his father or mother (compare Heb. 7:3), but by the arm of 'the Mighty King,' i. e. of the god of whose temple stood on Mount Moriah. He must therefore have been a priest-king like Melchizedek. The name of Jerusalem is written Ura-Salim, 'the city of the god of peace,' and it was the capital of a territory which extended southward to Kellah. In the inscriptions of Rameses II and Rameses III, Salem is mentioned among the conquests of the Egyptian kings." The same writer sees confirmation of the history of Joseph, son of Jacob, in the following circumstance: The "Story of the Two Brothers," an Egyptian romance written for the son of the Pharaoh of the oppression, contains an episode very similar to the Biblical account of Joseph's treatment by Potiphar's wife. Potiphar and Potipherah are the Egyptian Pa-tu-pa-Ra, "the gift of the Sun-god." The name given to Joseph, Zaphnath-paaneah, (Gen. 41:45), is probably the Egyptian Zaf-nti-pa-ankh, "nourisher of the living one," i. e. of the Pharaoh. There are many instances in the inscriptions of foreigners in Egypt receiving Egyptian names, and rising to the highest offices of state. The story of the Exodus as related in the Bible is supposed to find confirmation in the following: "The cuneiform tablets found at Tel el-Amarna, in Upper Egypt, have shown that in the latter days of the eighteenth Egyptian dynasty, when the Pharaoh had become a convert to an Asiatic form of faith, the highest offices of state were absorbed by foreigners, most of whom were Canaanites. In the national reaction which followed, the foreigners were expelled, exterminated, or reduced to serfdom; while a new dynasty, the nineteenth, was founded by Rameses I. He, therefore, must be the new king, the builder of Pa-Tum or Pithom (now Tel el-Maskhuteh, near Ismailia), as has been proved by Dr. Naville's researches, and consequently, as Egyptian students had long maintained he must have been the Pharaoh of the oppression." The occupancy of the land of Goshen by the Israelites who, it will be remembered, were shepherds, is supposed to receive confirmation in the following: Further excavations of Dr. Neville have shown that Goshen, the Egyptian Goshen (now Saft el-Henneh), is the modern Wadi Tumilat, between Zagazig and Ismailia. A dispatch dated in the eighth year of the reign of Meneptah, the son and successor of Rameses II, state that Bedouin from Edom has been allowed to pass the Khetam or "fortress" in the district of Succoth (Thukot), in order to feed themselves and their herds on the possessions of Pharaoh. Khetam is the Etham of Exodus 13:20. The geography of the Exodus agrees remarkably with that of the Egyptian papyri of the time of Rameses II and his son.[14] The search for evidence of the truth of the Bible has not been confined to Egypt. Equal interest has been awakened in those ancient empires that occupied the valley of the Euphrates; in Palestine, and the Sinaitic Peninsula. European scholars with keen interest followed the study of the cuneiform characters found on Babylonian tablets and monuments. Progress made in deciphering this ancient method of writing led M. Botta, in 1842, to begin excavations upon the ancient site of Nineveh, but he met with little success. Later, however,—1845—Mr. Henry Layard (subsequently Sir Henry Layard) undertook excavations at the same place for the Trustees of the British Museum, and succeeded in uncovering the palaces of Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Assur-banipal, and in bringing to light the terra cotta tablets which formed the great library founded by these kings at Nineveh, and of which some twenty-two thousand are now preserved in the British Museum. An examination of these tablets soon showed that they consisted of historical inscriptions, astronomical reports and calculations, grammatical lists, etc., and scholars began to apply Sir Henry Rawlinson's system of decipherment of the Babylonian version of the Behistun inscription to the texts inscribed upon these tablets. A large portion of the history of Babylonia and Assyria through the translation of these tablets is now revealed to us, and the knowledge of the language of these countries has thrown much light upon the language, literature, history, and learning of the Jews. The excavations which have been carried on in Mesopotamia for the last fifty years have yielded the most valuable results; and the inscribed slabs, monolithic stelae, boundary stones, gate- sockets, bricks, seal-cylinders and tablets, now preserved in the British Museum, afford an abundant supply of material from which Bible customs and language may be freely explained and illustrated. The cuneiform writing is, at least, as old as B. C. 3,800, and there is evidence to show that it was in use as late as B. C. 80.[15] In 1865 the Palestine Exploration fund was opened, and excavations were begun in Jerusalem, and have continued, with some interruptions, until now. Since then researches have followed in the south, east and north of Palestine. Geological investigations have been made, natural history collections have been formed, enquiries into nationalities and customs carried on, towns, villages, hills, valleys, water courses, wells, cisterns, notable trees and other land marks have been located. In 1868 a party of engineering experts left England to make a scientific survey of the Sinaitic Peninsula. This they effected, making plans and models, taking three thousand copies of inscriptions with collections of specimens bearing on the zoology, botany and geology of the country.[16] The results of these explorations and dis...