The Biblical criticism of the present day - pagina 33

Biblical Criticism of the Present

1904.]

My

third observation

that in this

is,

441

Day.

way

the ethical ten-

dency exhibits a theory which glitters indeed very temptingbut

ly,

fails

of the explanation which

it

is

bound

to give.

Rothc himself acknowledges that the apostles of the Lord,

and we add the Lord himself, have subscribed, not

New

ages, under the Old and

all

Covenant, have taught not a looming up of

from out the unconscious

ethical

life,

what the believing

Christian feels in this pious reading of the Scripture,

He

but only by the orthodox theory.

his,

indeed, that the Scripture does not

truth

the.

but very truly a com-

munication of conscious truth; also, that

covered by

He

which we defend.

ration of the ethicals, but to that one

acknowledges that the church of

to the inspi-

come with

this

not

is

grants,

theory to

the ethicals, but that the ethicals introduce this theory into the

vestibules

of

the

Scripture.

something by the side of the object

and

instance,

Hezekiah is

is

this is

to

every one perceives

posits a

new imaginary

to be explained.

one out of a hundred, Isaiah

have another

plain that this

And

and simply

that this explains nothing,

number

the depths of ethical

fifteen years

fifteen

life

;

added

When,

for

foretells that

to his life,

it

could not have loomed up from

so that already, by this single fact,

the ethicals are brought to face the painful choice, either to

declare that their theory

is

insufficient, or,

worse

yet, to

min-

imize Israel, one of the noblest organs of revelation, to a very unethical fortune-teller or an imposter of a low spiritual level.

My

last

observation

is,

that to

from such imperfect premises, the at length as the judges of their

What tles

does Rothe assert?

draw a usable conclusion ethicals themselves

own

appear

theory.

This, that the prophets and apos-

could not have possessed an " errorless " knowledge of

the truth, since they were ethically imperfect

;

nevertheless,

he himself dares to maintain that (risum teneatis amici) he,

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