Publication date
1/15/12
Volume
33
Number
2
The WatchTower
Views from The Watch Tower
The Watchtower Magazines
../literature/watchtower/1912/2/1912-2-1.html
 
VOL. 
XXXIII 
BROOKLYN, 
N. 
Y., 
JANUARY 
15, 
1912 
VIEWS 
FROM 
THE 
WATCH 
TOWER 
No.2 
PULPIT 
HAS 
LOST 
POWER 
The 
Rev. 
Lyman 
Abbott, 
of 
New 
York, 
spoke 
sadly 
of 
the 
decadence 
of 
the 
power 
of 
the 
pulpit. 
addressing 
3,000 
Univer­ 
sity 
of 
\Visconsin 
men 
and 
women 
at 
a 
convention 
at 
Madison, 
Wis. 
'It 
is 
said 
the 
cloth 
has 
lost 
its 
power-it 
has,' 
said 
Dr. 
Abbott. 
'It 
is 
said 
the 
pulpit 
has 
lost 
its 
power-it 
has. 
But 
a 
man, 
altruistic 
in 
the 
highest 
sense 
and 
spiritual, 
will 
never 
lose 
his 
power.''' 
.... 
-Press 
Report. 
It 
was 
certainlv 
appropriate 
that 
Dr. 
Abbott 
should 
make 
the 
above 
statement 
to 
college 
people. 
Admitting 
the 
facts, 
let 
us 
find 
also 
their 
cause. 
It 
is 
because 
of 
the 
inconsistency 
of 
its 
teaching 
that 
the 
pulpit 
has 
lost 
its 
power 
with 
the 
masses. 
The 
pulpit 
backs 
up 
and 
endorses 
the 
teachings 
of 
all 
the 
colleges 
of 
our 
day 
along 
the 
lines 
of 
Higher 
Criticism 
and 
Evolution. 
The 
people 
are 
coming 
to 
understand 
that 
this 
means 
that 
the 
pulpit 
is 
in 
antagonism 
to 
the 
Bible. 
If 
Evolu­ 
tion 
be 
true, 
man 
never 
fell 
and 
hence 
needed 
no 
Redeemer 
and 
no 
saving 
from 
a 
fallen 
state, 
but 
needed 
merely 
to 
be 
let 
alone 
in 
his 
evolutionary 
progress. 
According 
to 
Higher 
Criticism 
the 
Bible 
in 
general 
is 
unreliable. 
Moses 
never 
wrote 
the 
books 
accredited 
to 
him, 
and 
Isaiah. 
Jeremiah, 
Daniel 
and 
others 
nevC'r 
wrote 
the 
books 
accredited 
to 
them-never 
were 
inspired 
of 
God 
to 
write 
these 
books. 
And 
if 
this 
be 
true, 
then 
Jesus 
and 
the 
Apostlcs 
were 
deceived 
and 
could 
not 
have 
been 
in­ 
spired 
by 
GorI 
whC'n 
they 
quoted 
from 
these 
sacred 
writings 
of 
thp 
past 
and 
derlared 
them 
to 
be 
the 
\Vord 
of 
God 
and 
vouched 
for 
their 
authorship. 
NO 
WONDER 
CHURCH 
ATTENDANCE 
IS 
SLIM 
On 
the 
othcr 
hand 
the 
puhlic 
noticc 
that 
the 
very 
ministers 
who 
thus 
preach 
Evolution, 
Higher 
Criticism, 
unbelief 
in 
the 
divine 
Revelation. 
keep 
right 
along 
preaching 
some 
of 
the 
ab­ 
surdities 
which 
our 
forefathers 
claimed 
were 
in 
harmony 
with 
the 
Bible. 
Is 
it 
any 
wonder 
that 
the 
people 
are 
coming 
to 
see 
the 
inconsistency 
of 
such 
a 
position? 
How 
long 
might 
they 
expect 
to 
be 
blind 
to 
it? 
What 
must 
be 
the 
influence? 
The 
result 
is 
that 
the 
masses 
have 
less 
and 
less 
confidence 
in 
the 
clergy. 
The 
people 
do 
not 
know 
what 
the 
clergy 
believe 
even 
when 
they 
hear 
them 
speak, 
for 
their 
address 
may 
be 
from 
the 
standpoint 
of 
the 
creeds 
or 
from 
the 
stan 
rIp 
oint 
of 
Higher 
Criticism, 
acC'orcling 
to 
their 
mood. 
The 
result 
of 
this 
uncer­ 
tain 
sounding 
of 
the 
trumpC't 
is 
thai 
the 
masses 
are 
coming 
to 
the 
conclusion 
that 
the 
whole 
matter 
of 
religion 
is 
a 
big 
guess 
and 
that 
some 
of 
the 
guesses 
are 
influenced 
by 
temporal 
considerations. 
No 
wonder 
church 
attendance 
is 
slim! 
No 
wonder 
doubt 
and 
skepticism 
are 
prevalent. 
No 
wonder 
that 
faith 
in 
the 
Bible 
is 
undermined 
and 
religion 
made 
to 
look 
ridiculous 
and 
contradictory! 
The 
unbelief 
of 
the 
people 
grows 
and 
threa 
tcns 
to 
become 
agnosticism. 
or 
worse. 
atheism! 
Those 
who 
have 
brought 
about 
this 
condition 
of 
things 
during 
the 
past 
thirty 
years 
are 
the 
college 
professors 
and 
the 
best 
educated 
pulpiteers 
of 
Christen­ 
dom. 
And 
now 
they 
stand 
astonished 
at 
the 
results, 
which 
they 
should 
have 
foreseen. 
Verily 
they 
are 
fulfilling 
the 
divine 
prophecies 
of 
Isaiah, 
which, 
referring 
to 
our 
day, 
declare, 
"The 
wbdom 
of 
their 
wise 
men 
shall 
perish; 
the 
understanding 
of 
their 
prudent 
men 
shall 
not 
be 
manifest." 
(Isa. 
29: 
14) 
No 
wonder 
the 
civilized 
world 
is 
in 
trepidation 
as 
it 
sees 
the 
on­ 
ward 
march 
of 
Socialism! 
And 
however 
honest 
and 
well 
in­ 
tentioned 
many 
Socialists 
may 
be, 
the 
results 
of 
their 
effort 
will 
spell 
anarchy 
and 
a 
time 
of 
trouble 
such 
as 
the 
world 
has 
never 
yet 
seen-a 
time 
of 
trouble, 
however. 
predicted 
by 
Daniel 
the 
prophet, 
whose 
prediction 
was 
endorsed 
by 
Jesus 
himself.-Dan. 
12:1; 
Matt. 
24:21. 
* 
* 
* 
\Yhat 
is 
the 
remedy? 
No 
remedy 
can 
possibly 
reach 
the 
dis­ 
"ase! 
The 
Bible 
rightly 
understoocl 
is 
the 
balm 
of 
Gilead 
whieh 
alone 
could 
have 
helped. 
But 
matters 
have 
gone 
so 
far 
that 
comparatively 
f"w 
have 
sufficient 
confidence 
in 
the 
Bible 
to 
be 
willing 
to 
make 
a 
re-examination 
of 
it 
in 
the 
light 
of 
the 
divine 
plan 
of 
the 
ages, 
which 
alone 
shows 
the 
harmony 
of 
the 
\Vord 
of 
God, 
from 
Genesis 
to 
Revelation. 
But 
while 
we 
cannot 
hope 
to 
stem 
the 
tide 
of 
"higher 
crit­ 
ical," 
evolutionary 
infidelity-while 
we 
cannot 
hope 
to 
coun­ 
teract 
the 
influences 
of 
more 
than 
half 
of 
Christendom 
and 
of 
three-fourths 
of 
all 
the 
pulpits 
of 
Christendom, 
we 
do 
hope. 
by 
the 
Lord's 
grace, 
to 
find 
some 
of 
the 
truth-hungry 
sheep 
and 
to 
assist 
them 
to 
an 
appreciation 
of 
the 
heavenly 
Father's 
mes­ 
sage, 
given 
by 
Jesus, 
the 
apostles 
and 
prophets, 
but 
lost 
during 
the 
dark 
ages. 
We 
can 
help 
them 
to 
fin<l 
the 
lost 
key 
of 
knowl­ 
edge, 
whereby 
God's 
Word 
opens 
up, 
revealing 
to 
the 
eyes 
of 
faith 
and 
obedience 
a 
Creator 
infinite 
in 
wisdom, 
justice, 
love 
an<l 
power. 
a 
Savior 
and 
a 
great 
one, 
able 
to 
save 
to 
the 
utter­ 
mo~t 
all 
who 
come 
unto 
the 
Father 
through 
him, 
and 
a 
divine 
arrangement 
and 
plan 
consistent 
with 
the 
divine 
character. 
By 
these 
means 
the 
Lord's 
faithful 
ones 
will 
be 
sustained 
from 
falling 
in 
this 
evil 
day 
mentioned 
by 
the 
apostles 
and 
prophets. 
-Eph. 
6:11-13; 
Psa. 
!l1:7. 
Those 
who 
oppose 
our 
teaching 
are 
g-iven 
to 
misrepresenting 
it. 
They 
do 
not 
wish 
to 
speak 
untruthfully. 
but 
desire 
to 
hinder 
our 
work, 
which 
they 
fail 
to 
recognize 
as 
the 
Lord's 
work. 
It 
is 
difficult 
to 
answer 
the 
arguments 
of 
our 
opponents 
in 
a 
few 
words, 
when 
they 
misunderstand 
our 
presentations 
of 
more 
than 
thr"e 
thousand 
pages. 
If 
they 
cannot 
understand 
a 
detailed 
account, 
we 
have 
no 
hope 
of 
making 
a 
brief 
one 
satis­ 
factory 
to 
th"m. 
However, 
we 
give 
here 
a 
synopsis:- 
I. 
We 
affirm 
the 
humanity 
of 
Jesus 
and 
the 
deity 
of 
Christ. 
II. 
We 
acknowledge 
that 
the 
personality 
of 
the 
holy 
Spirit 
is 
the 
Father 
and 
the 
Son; 
that 
the 
holy 
Spirit 
proceeds 
from 
both. 
and 
in 
turn 
from 
all 
who 
are 
begotten 
by 
it. 
III. 
We 
affirm 
the 
resurrection 
of 
Christ-that 
he 
was 
put 
to 
death 
in 
the 
flesh, 
but 
quickened 
in 
the 
Spirit. 
We 
deny 
that 
he 
was 
raised 
in 
the 
flesh, 
and 
challenge 
any 
statement 
to 
that 
effeet 
as 
being 
unseriptural. 
WE 
BELIEVE 
THE 
BIBLE 
IV. 
\Ve 
affirm, 
with 
th" 
Scripture. 
that 
God 
alone 
possessed 
immortality, 
"dwelling 
in 
the 
lig-ht 
which 
no 
man 
can 
approach 
unto." 
vVe 
affirm 
that 
this 
divine 
quality 
has 
already 
been 
g-ranted 
to 
the 
Lord 
Jesus 
and 
is 
to 
be 
the 
portion 
of 
the 
elect 
bride. 
the 
"body 
of 
Christ." 
As 
for 
mankind, 
we 
affirm 
the 
di­ 
vine 
provision 
for 
these 
and 
for 
angels 
to 
be 
everlasting 
life 
for 
the 
obedient. 
This, 
by 
many, 
is 
mistermed 
immortality. 
We 
follow 
tbe 
Scriptures 
strictly. 
v. 
We 
hold 
that 
the 
entire 
race 
lost 
life 
with 
Father 
Adam, 
as 
a 
result 
of 
his 
failure 
in 
Eden; 
and 
that 
Christ 
died 
to 
secure 
a 
second 
chance 
for 
Adam 
and 
an 
individual 
chance 
for 
all 
of 
his 
race, 
who 
lost 
their 
first 
chance 
in 
Adam 
when 
he 
sinned. 
"As 
all 
in 
Adam 
die, 
even 
so 
all 
in 
Christ 
shall 
be 
made 
alive." 
(l 
Cor. 
15:21,22) 
A 
few 
of 
us, 
comparatively, 
having 
eyes 
of 
faith 
and 
ears 
of 
understanding. 
have 
had 
this 
second 
chance 
in 
the 
present 
life. 
Adam 
and 
the 
great 
mass 
of 
his 
posterity 
[4955] 
(27-28) 
Vou. XXXII Doral of ' (list Presenee BROOKLYN, N. Y., JANUARY 15, 1912 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER PULPIT HAS LOST POWER The Rev. Lyman Abbott, of New York, spoke sadly of the decadence of the power of the pulpit. addressing 3,000 University of Wisconsin men and women at a convention at Madison, Wis. ‘It is said the cloth has lost its power—it has,’ said Dr. Abbott. ‘It is said the pulpit has lost its power—it has. But a man, altruistic in the highest sense and spiritual, will never lose his power.’” . . . .—Press Report. It was certainly appropriate that Dr. Abbott should make the above statement to college people. Admitting the facts, let us find also their cause. It is because of the inconsistency of its teaching that the pulpit has lost its power with the masses. The pulpit backs up and endorses the teachings of all the colleges of our day along the lines of Higher Criticism and Evolution. The people are coming to understand that this means that the pulpit is in antagonism to the Bible. If Evolution be true, man never fell and hence needed no Redeemer and no saving from a fallen state, but needed merely to be let alone in his evolutionary progress. According to Higher Criticism the Bible in general is unreliable. Moses never wrote the books accredited to him, and Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel and others never wrote the books accredited to them—never were inspired of God to write these books. And if this be truc, then Jesus and the Apostles were deceived and could not have been inspired by God when they quoted from these sacred writings of the past and declared them to be the Word of God and vouched for their authorship, NO WONDER CHURCH ATTENDANCE IS SLIM On the other hand the public notice that the very ministers who thus preach Evolution, Higher Criticism, unbelief in the divine Revelation. keep right along preaching some of the absurdities which our forefathers claimed were in harmony with the Bible. Is it any wonder that the people are coming to see the inconsistency of such a position? How long might they expect to be blind to it? What must be the influence? The result is that the masses have less and less confidence in the clergy. The people do not know what the clergy believe even when they hear them speak, for their address may be from the standpoint of the creeds or from the standpoint of Higher Criticism, according to their mood. The result of this uncertain sounding of the trumpet is that the masses are coming to the conclusion that the whole matter of religion is a big guess and that some of the guesses are influenced by temporal considerations. No wonder church attendance is slim! No WE BELIEVE Those who oppose our teaching are given to misrepresenting it. They do not wish to speak untruthfully, but desire to hinder our work, which they fail to recognize as the Lord’s work. It is difficult to answer the arguments of our opponents in a few words, when they misunderstand our presentations of more than three thousand pages. If they cannot understand a detailed account, we have no hope of making a brief one satisfactory to them. However, we give here a synopsis: — 1. We affirm the humanity of Jesus and the deity of Christ. ur. We acknowledge that the personality of the holy Spirit is the Father and the Son; that the holy Spirit proceeds from both, and in turn from all who are begotten by it. ut. We affirm the resurrection of Christ—that he was put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit. We deny that he was raised in the flesh, and challenge any statement to that effect. as being unscriptural. [4955] No wonder that faith in the Bible is undermined and religion made to look ridiculous and contradictory! The unbelief of the people grows and threatens to become wonder doubt and skepticism are prevalent. agnosticism, or worse, atheism! Those who have brought about this condition of things during the past thirty years are the college professors and the best educated pulpiteers of Christendom. And now they stand astonished at the results, which they should have foreseen. Verily they are fulfilling the divine prophecies of Isaiah, which, referring to our day, declare, “The wisdom of their wise men shall perish; the understanding of their prudent men shall not be manifest.” (Isa. 29:14) No wonder the civilized worid is in trepidation as it sees the onward march of Socialism! And however honest and well intentioned many Socialists may be, the results of their effort will spell anarchy and a time of trouble such as the world has never yet seen—a time of trouble, however, predicted by Daniel the prophet, whose prediction was endorsed by Jesus himself.—Dan. 12:1; Matt, 24:21. * * * What is the remedy? No remedy can possibly reach the disease! The Bible rightly understood is the balm of Gilead which alone could have helped. But matters have gone so far that comparatively few have sufficient confidence in the Bible to be willing to make a re-examination of it in the light of the divine plan of the ages, which alone shows the harmony of the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation. But while we cannot hope to stem the tide of “higher critical,” evolutionary infidelity—while we cannot hope to counteract the influences of more than half of Christendom and of three-fourths of all the pulpits of Christendom, we do hope, by the Lord’s grace, to find some of the truth-hungry sheep and to assist them to an appreciation of the heavenly Father’s message, given by Jesus, the apostles and prophets, but lost during the dark ages. We can help them to find the lost key of knowledge, whereby God’s Word opens up, revealing to the eyes of faith and obedience a Creator infinite in wisdom, justice, love and power, a Savior and a great one, able to save to the uttermost all who come unto the Father through him, and a divine arrangement and plan consistent with the divine character. By these means the Lord’s faithful ones will be sustained from falling in this evil day mentioned by the apostles and prophets. —Eph. 6:11-13; Psa. 91:7, THE BIBLE Iv. We affirm, with the Scripture, that God alone possessed immortality, “dwelling in the ight which no man can approach unto.” We affirm that this divine quality has already been granted to the Lord Jesus and is to be the portion of the elect bride, the “body of Christ.” As for mankind, we affirm the divine provision for these and for angels to be everlasting life for the obedient, This, by many, is mistermed immortality. We follow the Scriptures strictly. v. We hold that the entire race lost life with Father Adam, as a result of his failure in Eden; and that Christ died to secure a second chance for Adam and an individual chance for all of his race, who lost their first chance in Adam when he sinned. “As all in Adam die, even so all in Christ shall be made alive.” (1 Cor, 15:21, 22) A few of us, comparatively, having eyes of faith and ears of understanding, have had this second chance in the present life. Adam and the great mass of his posterity (27-28)

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