The work of the Holy Spirit - pagina 449

— DEFECTIVE LEARNING their assertions

found. fessors

need not surprise

They were nearly of New-Testament

all

409

The explanation

us.

easily

is

prepared at universities whose pro-

exegesis seek to estrange their students

from the traditional interpretation of the Scripture by making surprising observations; e.g., the students had learned at home that "the gift of God," in Ephes. ii. 8, refers to faith; but they had never

Then the

consulted the original text. perfect correctness, that

it

does not read

professor observed, with

avrri,

but

tovto,

adding

" :

The

gentlemen can see for themselves that this can not refer to faith." And, unacquainted with the subject, his inexperienced hearers suppose that nothing more remains to be said. If their Greek scholarship had been more thorough and extensive, they would have been able to judge more independently. With this conviction they enter the church and when a simple layman repeats the old exegesis, they delight, at least on such occasions, to parade the fruit of their academic training and the simple layman is made to understand that he knows nothing of Greek, and that the Greek text plainly reads the other way, and that ;

;

may not support the When sometimes the Heraut*

therefore he

antiquated exegesis. dares to repeat the old, well-tried

opinion, these youthful savants can not help but think

:

"

The

Heraut does not act in good faith the editor knows perfectly well that it reads rovro, and that Tr/crrw is feminine." Of course, the Heraut knows this very well just as well as Erasmus and Grotius knew it and, knowing a little more of Greek than these childlike rudiments, has taken the liberty, supported by the goodly com;

—

—

pany of the scholars just named, to entertain an opinion different from that of the Utrecht graduates. Undoubtedly every man has a right to his own opinion and to reject the traditional exegesis.

Moreover, in Phil.

tinctly stated that faith is gift of

God.

shallowness and artlessness of

men who

i.

23, it is dis-

But we protest against the in their ignorance pose as

and make it appear as tho even a tyro in Greek, if he be only an honest man, could not support the opposite opinion for a moment. For this is inexcusable in one who presumes to pronounce judgment upon another who knows what he is talking about, as will appear from the postscript of this article.

scholars,

The reader *

will kindly

bear with us for treating this matter

A religious weekly publication edited by the author.

Trans.

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