_Answer_. Yes, it is very wonderful; but the Jews, who must have seen bread rained from heaven; who saw water gush from the rocks and follow them up hill and down; who noticed that their clothes did not wear out, and did not even get shiny at the knees, while the elbows defied the ravages of time, and their shoes remained perfect for forty years; it is wonderful that when they saw the ground open and swallow their comrades; when they saw G.o.d talking face to face with Moses as a man talks with his friend; after they saw the cloud by day and the
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pillar of fire by night,--it is absolutely astonishing that they had more faith in a golden calf that they made themselves, than in Jehovah.
_Question_. How is it that the Jews had no confi- dence in these miracles?
_Answer_. Because they were there and saw them.
_Question_. Do you think that it is necessary for us to believe all the miracles of the Old Testament in order to be saved?
_Answer_. The Old Testament is the foundation of the New. If the Old Testament is not inspired, then the New is of no value. If the Old Testament is inspired, all the miracles are true, and we cannot believe that G.o.d would allow any errors, or false statements, to creep into an inspired volume, and to be perpetuated through all these years.
_Question_. Should we believe the miracles, whether they are reasonable or not?
_Answer_. Certainly; if they were reasonable, they would not be miracles. It is their unreasonableness that appeals to our credulity and our faith. It is im- possible to have theological faith in anything that can be demonstrated. It is the office of faith to believe, not only without evidence, but in spite of evidence. It is impossible for the carnal mind to
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believe that Samsons muscle depended upon the length of his hair. "G.o.d has made the wisdom of "this world foolishness." Neither can the uncon- verted believe that Elijah stopped at a hotel kept by ravens. Neither can they believe that a barrel would in and of itself produce meal, or that an earthen pot could create oil. But to a Christian, in order that a widow might feed a preacher, the truth of these stories is perfectly apparent.
_Question_. How should we regard the wonderful stories of the Old Testament?
_Answer_. They should be looked upon as "types"
and "symbols." They all have a spiritual signifi- cance. The reason I believe the story of Jonah is, that Jonah is a type of Christ.
_Question_. Do you believe the story of Jonah to be a true account of a literal fact?
_Answer_. Certainly. You must remember that Jonah was not swallowed by a whale. G.o.d "pre- "pared a great fish" for that occasion. Neither is it by any means certain that Jonah was in the belly of this whale. "He probably stayed in his mouth."
Even if he was in his stomach, it was very easy for him to defy the ordinary action of gastric juice by rapidly walking up and down..
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_Question_. Do you think that Jonah was really in the whale"s stomach?
_Answer_. My own opinion is that he stayed in his mouth. The only objection to this theory is, that it is more reasonable than the other and requires less faith. Nothing could be easier than for G.o.d to make a fish large enough to furnish ample room for one pa.s.senger in his mouth. I throw out this suggestion simply that you may be able to answer the objections of infidels who are always laughing at this story.
_Question_. Do you really believe that Elijah went to heaven in a chariot of fire, drawn by horses of fire?
_Answer_. Of course he did.
_Question_. What was this miracle performed for?
_Answer_. To convince the people of the power of G.o.d.
_Question_. Who saw the miracle?
_Answer_. n.o.body but Elisha.
_Question_. Was he convinced before that time?
_Answer_. Oh yes; he was one of G.o.d"s prophets.
_Question_. Suppose that in these days two men should leave a town together, and after a while one of them should come back having on the clothes of the other, and should account for the fact that he had
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his friend"s clothes by saying that while they were going along the road together a chariot of fire came down from heaven drawn by fiery steeds, and there- upon his friend got into the carriage, threw him his clothes, and departed,--would you believe it?
_Answer_. Of course things like that don"t happen in these days; G.o.d does not have to rely on wonders now.
_Question_. Do you mean that he performs no miracles at the present day?
_Answer_. We cannot say that he does not perform miracles now, but we are not in position to call atten- tion to any particular one. Of course he supervises the affairs of nations and men and does whatever in his judgment is necessary.
_Question_. Do you think that Samson"s strength depended on the length of his hair?
_Answer_. The Bible so states, and the Bible is true.
A physiologist might say that a man could not use the muscle in his hair for lifting purposes, but these same physiologists could not tell you how you move a finger, nor how you lift a feather; still, actuated by the pride of intellect, they insist that the length of a man"s hair could not determine his strength. G.o.d says it did; the physiologist says that it did not; we
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can not hesitate whom to believe. For the purpose of avoiding eternal agony I am willing to believe anything; I am willing to say that strength depends upon the length of hair, or faith upon the length of ears. I am perfectly willing to believe that a man caught three hundred foxes, and put fire brands be- tween their tails; that he slew thousands with a bone, and that he made a bee hive out of a lion. I will believe, if necessary, that when this man"s hair was short he hardly had strength enough to stand, and that when it was long, he could carry away the gates of a city, or overthrow a temple filled with people.
If the infidel is right, I will lose nothing by believing, but if he is wrong, I shall gain an eternity of joy.
If G.o.d did not intend that we should believe these stories, he never would have told them, and why should a man put his soul in peril by trying to dis- prove one of the statements of the Lord?
_Question_. Suppose it should turn out that some of these miracles depend upon mistranslations of the original Hebrew, should we still believe them?
_Answer_. The safe side is the best side. It is far better to err on the side of belief, than on the side of infidelity. G.o.d does not threaten anybody with eternal punishment for believing too much.
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Danger lies on the side of investigation, on the side of thought. The perfectly idiotic are absolutely safe. As they diverge from that point,--as they rise in the intellectual scale, as the brain develops, as the faculties enlarge, the danger increases. I know that some biblical students now take the ground that Samson caught no foxes,--that he only took sheaves of wheat that had been already cut and bound, set them on fire, and threw them into the grain still standing. If this is what he did, of course there is nothing miraculous about it, and the value of the story is lost. So, others contend that Elijah was not fed by the ravens, but by the Arabs. They tell us that the Hebrew word standing for "Arab" also stands for "bird," and that the word really means "migratory--going from place to place--homeless."
But I prefer the old version. It certainly will do no harm to believe that ravens brought bread and flesh to a prophet of G.o.d. Where they got their bread and flesh is none of my business; how they knew where the prophet was, and recognized him; or how G.o.d talks to ravens, or how he gave them directions, I have no right to inquire. I leave these questions to the scientists, the blasphemers, and thinkers.
There are many people in the church anxious to
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get the miracles out of the Bible, and thousands, I have no doubt, would be greatly gratified to learn that there is, in fact, nothing miraculous in Scripture; but when you take away the miraculous, you take away the supernatural; when you take away the supernatural, you destroy the ministry; and when you take away the ministry, hundreds of thousands of men will be left without employment.
_Question_. Is it not wonderful that the Egyptians were not converted by the miracles wrought in their country?
_Answer_. Yes, they all would have been, if G.o.d had not purposely hardened their hearts to prevent it. Jehovah always took great delight in furnishing the evidence, and then hardening the man"s heart so that he would not believe it. After all the miracles that had been performed in Egypt,--the most won- derful that were ever done in any country, the Egyptians were as unbelieving as at first; they pur- sued the Israelites, knowing that they were protected by an infinite G.o.d, and failing to overwhelm them, came back and worshiped their own false G.o.ds just as firmly as before. All of which shows the unreason- ableness of a Pagan, and the natural depravity of human nature.
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_Question_. How did it happen that the Canaanites were never convinced that the Jews were a.s.sisted by Jehovah?
_Answer_. They must have been an exceedingly brave people to contend so many years with the chosen people of G.o.d. Notwithstanding all their cities were burned time and time again; notwith- standing all the men, women and children were put to the edge of the sword; notwithstanding the taking of all their cattle and sheep, they went right on fighting just as valiantly and desperately as ever.