ARTICTE VII.

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE BIBLE.

By REV. JAMES ROWLAND, Circleville, Ohio.

THE truths which the Bible discloses, relative to the nature, attributes and government of God; the creation of man and his immortality, are such as evince it to be the production of "Holy men of God," who "spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost!" In maintaining this position, it is of primary impor tance to show, that such a system of truth never could have been discovered by the unaided operations of the mind itself; and also, that when once revealed, no process of human reasoning can disprove it, or break up the chain of argument by which these truths are supported.

The Bible deals largely in primary truths, which are not wrought out by a tedious process of reasoning, like the abstractions of the human mind, but which are stated as absolute truths, and, as such, impose upon us the duty of yielding them obedience, or of show. ing them to be false. Some of these truths are of such a nature that they cannot be harmonized, and their true relations to each other discovered, except by the most thorough and accurate course of metaphysical investigation; but when they are thus systematized and woven together, they present a connected and consolidated fabric, which cannot be torn asunder.

There are extant, the productions of three classes of metaphysical writers: first, those who with a single hint of the truthobtained by tradition or otherwise-have honestly followed this ray of light, until they have lost themselves in the dense fog of heathen mythology, where we leave them, in vain attempting to grope their way out. The second are those, who, with the glare of truth shining upon their course, have attempted to shroud their own minds and the world, from its influence. And the third, such as have sought, by sound reasoning, to establish the doctrines revealed in the Scriptures.

Now, it is evident, that but one of these systems can be true, and the question to be decided by the mind, before it embraces one and rejects the other, is, which is most accurate in its reasoning and safe in its conclusions ?-which harmonizes with existing known facts, and the consciousness of the mind itself, and which violates both? And we are to determine whether, considering the education and circumstances of these different writers, we can suppose, that, by the unaided efforts of their own minds, they

have arrived at such uniform conclusions; or, in other words, whether they could have discovered such a vast number of primary truths. These truths are found interspersed with history, prophecy and commandment, as the precious metals, in their native state, lie imbedded with other ores, thus presenting an inexhaustible mine to the investigator, where he may continually make new discoveries, and enrich his mind with new treasures. This subject will be rendered plainer, if, before entering upon the argument, we briefly compare some of the primary truths of revelation with human opinions upon the same subject, and see which look like the clumsy operations of the finite mind, and which bear upon their face the impress of Divinity.

1. The very first sentence of the Bible, lays the foundation of moral obligation, by asserting that, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Here it is distinctly and positively declared, that there was a time when this material universe did not exist, because it had a beginning. It is also stated, that the cause of its existence, was the creative power of God. This, which seems to be merely the introduction of a narrative, is, nevertheless, the very foundation of the whole system of revealed truth.

It also appears to be a self-evident truth, as it is a philosophical axiom, that every effect must have a cause; yet it is a result to which the human mind does not arrive with intuitive certainty; because ancient sages have asserted, and modern infidels have reiterated, that matter is eternal; consequently, had no creator and no beginning. As a correlative truth, the Bible also asserts that this Being who made all things, is uncreated Himself; but is the self-existent and eternal Cause.

Now, it strikes us as very strange, that any philosopher should have discovered an absurdity here, where it is a conclusion that must inevitably follow, sooner or later, from any consistent chain. of reasoning upon admitted premises; or that they should have attempted to prove, that the idea of an eternal, intelligent cause, is more absurd than the idea of an eternal, unintelligent cause; or that they should have found it more difficult to admit the existence of an eternal mind than of eternal matter. If one appear absurd, the other is vastly more so; and if we reject the first, we certainly should the last.

No less strange does it appear, that men of intellect and learning, should have defended the doctrine of a fortuitous origin, or the casual existence of things, or that they should have maintained them to have existed in an eternal series; because the very term (series) implies succession in order; therefore, before each unit there must have been a pre-existing unit, and the indefinite multiplication of these only lengthens the chain which we must follow, link by link, until we arrive at the first in the series, THIRD SERIES, VOL. IV. No. 3. 9

which must be the cause of the rest. And this first cause must be self-existent and eternal. Nor is this all; for this eternal first Cause must contain within itself the principles of existence; therefore, could never cease to be: hence, there could be no succession of causes. Besides, a doctrine like this, imposes the necessity of supposing the existence of an endless multitude of finite, self-existent beings; for no being can possibly produce or bring into existence, a being of any other kind than itself, by the ordinary laws of propagation. Thus, for example, there must have been an Eternal Man, an Eternal Lion, an Eternal Eagle, an Eternal Oak, an Eternal Rose, Eternal Grass; in a word, as many kinds and sorts of eternal self-existent beings, as there are varieties in nature."

Here, then, upon the very threshold of revelation, philosophers have strained every faculty to discover the truth. They have looked down the profound depths disclosed by this single sentence, until they have grown dizzy-headed and fallen, covered with the wreck of their own fabrications.

It is not assuming an untenable position, when we assert that the doctrines of the Bible upon this subject, are precisely such as any consistent process of reasoning must lead to, or that any course of inquiry, which results in different conclusions, can be easily shown to be inconsistent in itself and false in its deductions; for all arguments, a posteriori, commence with axioms, and draw their conclusions from admitted premises.

The Spiritual nature of God, is another of those primary truths, which the unaided powers of the mind could never apprehend; and yet that nature is the foundation of His natural attributes. Locality is a property of matter; consequently, any material cause must be limited in its operations; therefore, the unity of God, His Omniscience, His Omnipotence, and His Omnipresence, all depend upon His possessing just that peculiar kind of existence, which the Bible ascribes to Him. This was a conception far too refined for the human mind; and men, reasoning from analogy, cumbered the operations of the Infinite Mind with a material medium, through which it was supposed to operate. Here is, doubtless, the foundation of the Polytheism of the ancient and modern heathen world; for when we admit materiality as a necessary attribute of the Deity, we must also ascribe to Him a locality, and then, of necessity, we circumscribe His power to a narrow sphere; hence the conception of a plurality of gods, or a vast number of material beings, operating within a limited space, with Jupiter at their head; hence, also, the fierce and bloody wars in which they were said to be perpetually engaged; or else, when the idea of unity was grasped, the mind immediately perceived the necessity of finding an all-pervading cause; therefore, the most subtle forms of matter, such as fire, water,

light, heat and ether, were all seized upon, and invested with Divine attributes, by minds groping in darkness, in the vain search after God. It was necessary, therefore, that revelation should declare the foundation, and transcendently glorious truth, that "GOD IS A SPIRIT," before the mind could advance a single step in any satisfactory inquiry relating to the Divine Nature, attributes and government. This seems to be a key by which the whole store-house of truth may be unlocked. If the Bible had done nothing more than disclose this primary truth, as a foundation upon which to base our inquiries, it would have rendered a most needful and valuable service; for, from this starting-point, the human mind might have arrived at some consistent notions upon the important doctrines of all related truths. Still, the knowledge would have been incomplete and unsatisfactory, because fallible minds and depraved hearts are continually drawing false conclusions, even from correct premises. Of the truth of this, we have many melancholy examples, in the mixture of Divine truth with heathen mythology, which we discover in the writings of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. In following the arguments and processes of investigation of these distinguished writers, upon some of these vital questions, when we see them, in many instances, approach the very confines of truth, just ready, as it would seem, to come to the light, and make the needful and grand discovery, we see them suddenly turning aside altogether from the line of truth, and losing themselves in the interminable mazes of heathen mythology; all, we are led to believe, in consequence of their gross conceptions of the Divine nature.

But when this transcendently glorious truth is once revealed to the mind, the soul beholds an existence like itself, its own Divine original, spiritual in its nature, intelligent in its action, and sublime in its conception-an object worthy the homage and reverence and love of all spiritual beings.

How do the sentiments of the wisest and best of these heathen writers, compare in beauty and in sublimity with the expressions of Scripture: "Howbeit, the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool. What house will ye build me, saith the Lord, and where is the place of my rest." "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God." "Behold, the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee." "Can any hide himself in secret

places that I shall not see him?" "Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is high as heaven, what canst thou do? deeper than hell, what canst thou know? the measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea. Lo these are parts of his ways, but how little a portion is heard of him; but the thunder

of his power who can understand?" No less wonderful are those truths which relate to the creation and moral relations of the human soul.

It is worthy of our careful attention to notice the philosophical accuracy of the Bible, in speaking of its origin, nature and destiny. In the outset, it declares that the Creator formed the body from the dust of the earth, thus showing its material origin. Then, when every nerve was fabricated, every muscle formed. every organ of sense and locomotion constructed, the course and office of every blood-vessel determined, he lay like some beautifully chiselled block from the hands of the sculptor, a mass of organized matter, as senseless as the earth from which he was wrought, or as the stiffened corpse prepared for inhumation. The next step in the work of creation, was to impart the vital principle to this material organization; and then we are told, that "The Lord God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Fanned by the breath of Omnipotence, the unconscious dust quickened into life, and man became a creature of thought, or, in the language of the Scriptures, he became a living spirit, and the inspiration of the Divinely imparted understanding. There is no confounding here of the laws of matter with the laws of spirit. One is of the "earth, earthy," the other, of heaven, heavenly. So in the account of final dissolution, which the Scriptures give, this distinction is preserved, and the one is represented as returning to the dust as it was, and the other to God, who gave it. One is said to be derived from the earth, and to be governed by material laws; therefore, subject, like all material organization, to decay. The other is represented as coming from God; spiritual, like its Author, and governed only by spiritual laws, and, of course, indestructible, by the operation of material causes.

How carefully the Bible avoids confounding those distinctions, between the mind itself, and the agent or organ through which it acts-distinctions which have been the cause of such confusion and uncertainty in all human philosophy; and how absurd does it appear to the eye of enlightened reason, to invest these organisms of the body with perceptive power, as all atheistical and material philosophers have done, when their structure and nature both show that they are merely mechanical contrivances, by which the mind both acts and is acted upon; when, too, we daily behold them retaining all their structural perfection, but as senseless as other forms of matter. We have many mechanical contrivances, by means of which the mind takes cognizance of things too minute, or too distant for these organs of perception to act upon; yet no one has ever thought of ascribing to them perceptive power, but they are regarded, as they really are, as mechanisms or contrivances, through which the mind acts and is acted