1665. III. In Denying Spirit or Angel, the Sadducees Denied the Miraculous
III. In Denying Spirit or Angel, the Sadducees Denied the Miraculous
The Sadducees, in their denial of the miraculous, paved the way for the modernist.
1. It is amazing how scientific scoffers deny the miraculous. This is done because God is denied.
The first step in modernism is refusing to give God the first place.
The second step in modernism is refusing to give God the last place–any place.
The third step in modernism is giving man every place.
When "in the beginning God," is disputed, there is no room for faith in the miraculous.
When "in the beginning God," is believed, the miracles present no difficulties whatsoever.
2. It is amusing to see how scientific scoffers explain the miracles. There is one of two things the modernist, in denying the miracles, must do. He must either account for them upon natural grounds, or else he must deny the Divine records, and expunge the miracles from the Word of God.
As a rule, the modernist chooses the former method. He seems somewhat ashamed to entirely cast off the Bible records, so he tries to explain the miracles upon a natural basis and thus to eliminate every movement of a wonder-working God.
"What fools these mortals be." Even a great man of "Shorter Bible" fame, seeks to satisfy high class intellects, that cannot faith the miracles, by statements of natural causes which wouldn't satisfy the intellect of a well-taught child.
He says: "The seven plagues described in the oldest Biblical narrative were not miracles, but the natural catastrophes which from time to time have afflicted the land of Egypt. Most of them are characteristic of the Nile Valley, and can only be fully understood in the light of its physical and climatic peculiarities; * * unsanitary conditions and the defilement of the waters would breed frogs and flies. The flies, would in turn, spread abroad the germs of the disease which attacked the flocks." This must present a most brilliant and satisfactory explanation to scientific minds.
Concerning the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night, he says: "A brazier of coals is carried before the leader of the caravan to show where he is, and the direction of the march; * * by day there rises from these coals a column of smoke, * * by night the glowing coals are lifted aloft so that all may be guided by their light. In this manner the Hebrews were reminded of Jehovah's presence and guided by His Prophet, Moses."
Thus (placing his brazier of coals in the place of God's pillar of cloud and pillar of fire), the Scripture would read:
"The brazier of coals descended, and stood at the door of the Tabernacle" (Exo_33:9).
"And the Lord went before them by day in a brazier of coals, to lead them the way; and by night in a brazier of coals, to give them light; * * He took not away the brazier of coals by day, nor the brazier of coals by night" (Exo_13:21-22).
"And all the people saw the brazier of coals stand at the Tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped" (Exo_33:10).
"Then a brazier of coals covered the tent of the congregation" (Exo_40:34).
"And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the brazier of coals abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle" (Exo_40:35).
"And when the brazier of coals was taken up from over the Tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: but if the brazier of coals were not taken up, then they journeyed not" (Exo_40:36-37).
The crossing of the Jordan is "explained" as a huge landslide a little farther up the river; the capture of Jericho is "explained" as friends of the Hebrews within the city walls, at a preconcerted signal, throwing open the gates and letting the Hebrews rush in and capture the city.
They have no difficulty in explaining most of the miracles. They doubtless have their reason why the lions didn't eat Daniel, and why the three Hebrew children were not burned. They easily explain away the speaking of the ass, and Balaam's discomfiture.
When these modern Sadducees come to a matter like that of Jonah swallowed of the great fish but undigested, the most fertile brains among them fail to concoct a satisfactory, natural explanation, so glibly deny the story as a whole, and claim that it was an allegory; that Jonah was a mythical and not a real character.
When these selfsame modern Sadducees come to the resurrection of Christ, the supreme miracle of the Bible, they feel that they must explain it away, and so they fabricate various reasons for the belief that Christ rose from the dead.
One of them says that the resurrection was the report of Mary, who was in love with Christ, and that in her uncontrollable passion, she became the victim of an hallucination, and reported that she had seen the Lord.
Another claims that the disciples were a sincere lot, but that they were visionary, and imagined that they had seen the Lord, had talked to Him, and had eaten with Him, but that they were all mistaken.
Another claims that Christ did not really die, that He only swooned, and that when He was placed in the cool damp tomb, He was revived.
Still others, realizing the utter weaknesses of the human reasonings already suggested, come out plainly and say that the disciples put their heads together and fabricated a lie; that the lie made headway among the Christians, until, as the years went on, it was generally and sincerely believed.
We need no marvel that the Lord Jesus said: "Beware of the leaven of the Sadducees."
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR