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Old Testament criticism and the rights of the unlearned
Old Testament criticism and the rights of the unlearned Author:John Kennedy Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OLD TESTAMENT CRITICISM AND THE RIGHTS OF THE UNLEARNED PART FIRST THE PLEA STATED, ARGUED, AND ILLUSTRATED There are departments of knowledge in r... more »eference to which the great bulk of even well-educated men must be content to accept conclusions on the authority of others. Astronomy may be named as an example. The observations and calculations of astronomers belong to a region which is as a terra incognita to the mass of mankind. But the soundness of the Coper- nican theory of the solar system, which underlies them, and of the laws of gravitation which are associated with the names of Newton, Halley, and Kepler, and which are the bases of astronomical calculations, is proved to the perfect conviction of all men by results, the truth and accuracy of which need no demonstration but that of the naked eye. The mostpopular and least scientific calendars which we can purchase for a few pence at the beginning of any year, tell us, for example, what eclipses of the sun and moon will take place during the year, the extent of the eclipse, the moment of its commencement, the moment of its ending; and the parts of our earth's surface where the eclipse will be seen. The astronomical prediction never fails of accomplishment; and the authors of it may be called Experts, as distinguished from those who cannot follow their processes and must content themselves with results. It scarcely needs remark, and yet the remark must be made, and we shall soon find it of importance, that there is no true analogy between such experts and those who call themselves, or rather who are called, experts in biblical or literary criticism. There are two departments, it is true, which those who are not versed in the original languages of Holy Scripture must relegate to those who are. These are textual c...« less