Meanwhile we were told that the Bible had found a home and a refuge in the heart of the Protestant Church. From the Bible, as from a pure fountain, the Protestant drank in the refreshing waters of divine faith; in the Bible he discovered a sure antidote against the idolatry and superstitions of Popery. To the Protestant, therefore, the Bible became an object of that religious veneration which was due to its sacred character. Not alone did he receive its doctrine, its history, its facts of every kind, but every word, every syllable, every letter, he regarded as stamped with the impress of Eternal Truth.
But a great change seems to be now impending, and has, indeed, already commenced. The teaching of the first Reformers is forgotten, or neglected, by their disciples. The Bible has lost its charm. As Protestantism has advanced in years it has increased in boldness. The same spirit which three centuries ago protested against the authority of the Pope, rises up to-day to protest against the authority of the Bible. And once again it devolves on the Catholic Church to defend that sacred book, which has been preserved to the world by the blood of her martyrs, and illustrated by the eloquence of her confessors and her doctors.
As in the great revolt of the sixteenth century, so likewise in our time, the first murmurs of rebellion are heard in Germany. It is there that the spirit of free inquiry is first let loose; it is there that the Bible is first suspected and brought to trial. The various human sciences are, in turn, summoned as witnesses against it. It is hastily judged and rashly condemned. Little heed is paid to the venerable antiquity of the book, to the consent of all civilized nations, to the voice of immemorial tradition. True it is that the simple story of the Hebrew lawgiver contains a more profound wisdom than the proudest productions of Greek and Roman philosophy. True it is that, when the whole world was buried in darkness and error, it gave to man a religion which alone was pure and bright and holy. True it is that for ages it has withstood unshaken the attacks of hostile criticism. Yet must we now abandon it for ever as false and delusive, because, forsooth, it seems to clash with the scarcely intelligible babblings of infant sciences.
The contagion of these principles has, within the last few years, reached the shores of England. They seem to touch a secret chord of sympathy in the Protestant bosom. They have met with a ready welcome from the press. They have penetrated into the hallowed solitudes of the universities. And now, to the glory of free-thinkers and the shame of all orthodox believers, they have duly taken their place on the episcopal bench.
Amongst the advocates of the new opinion in England, there is none more popular in his style, none more plausible in his arguments, none more earnest in the cause, than John William Colenso, Protestant Bishop of Natal. Distinguished among his clerical brethren for his eminent skill in figures, he became, some few years ago, the chosen candidate for the see over which he now presides. He set out for his new mission armed with the Bible, and full of zeal for the conversion of the Zulus. His first thought was to make himself master of their tongue, and then to give them a translation of the Bible. While engaged in this latter task, he is asked by a "simple-minded but intelligent native, 'Is all that true?' 'Do you really believe that all this happened thus?'"—(Part 1. Preface, p. vii.). This very captious and subtle question seems to have taken the bishop by surprise. He is led to reflect and to examine; and the result of his labours is laid before us in the book to which, for a brief space, we invite the attention of our readers.
The position assumed by Dr. Colenso is simply this:—That the traditional reverence with which the Bible has hitherto been received, is no reason why it should not be submitted to the test of critical and scientifical investigation: that he has himself applied that test to the Pentateuch and the Book of Josue: that by that test he has proved the leading facts in both these books to be false: that the narrative, in general, cannot be regarded otherwise than as fabulous and legendary; nay, that, even as a fable, it is inconsistent, impossible, and self-contradictory. So much for those parts of the Bible to which the bishop's researches have hitherto extended. He means to proceed with his studies in the same spirit through the rest of the sacred books; and he is quite prepared for any consequences to which these studies may lead him.
Such is the general scope and character of a work which we cannot but regard as one of the most remarkable productions of the age. It has gained for its author a wide-spread celebrity. His ingenious arguments are discussed in every literary circle; they find an honoured place in our own periodical press; they are not unknown on 'change; and even in our clubs they have been for a time the topic of the day. It is meet, therefore, that a Catholic should be furnished with the means of defence, and thus, in the language of St. Peter, be "ever ready to give a reason of the hope which is in him".
But what an arduous task this would seem even to the most learned; how utterly beyond the reach of the simple and lowly! Here is an able and accomplished scholar, who presses into his service Hebrew, and Greek, and statistics, and history, and books of travels. These are formidable weapons, which few possess, and fewer still are skilled to use. Yet we need not, therefore, shrink from the encounter. The Catholic Church has provided a defence for all; for the unlettered mechanic, no less than the learned theologian. The one may take shelter beneath the protecting shield of an infallible authority; the other need not fear to venture into the open field, and meet the foe upon his own ground and with his own weapons.
Every Catholic firmly believes that, in virtue of a divine promise, the Church is reserved free from all error in her teaching. Now, on the subject before us, the Church has pronounced her judgment in clear and simple words. In the Council of Trent it is defined that "God is the author of all the books of the Old and of the New Testament"—(sessio quarta). And, surely, it would be nothing short of blasphemy to ascribe to God such a book as the Bible would be in the theory of Dr. Colenso. Therefore, that theory cannot be true, and the arguments by which it is supported must be false and delusive.
It may be that the unlettered Catholic cannot cope with these arguments in detail; cannot tell whether it is that the facts are untrue, or that the logic is unsound. But he well knows that the grace of faith was meant for all, though all have not the learning or the power to unravel the sophistry of error. He may, therefore, in safety cling fast to that Church which is "the pillar and the ground of Truth", and pass by unheeded the eloquence and the subtlety of those who would fain draw him into the arena of controversy. Conscious that he has truth upon his side, he has nothing to fear from the progress of human learning. New sciences may, in their infant struggles, seem for a time to clash with that Revelation which, in God's design, they were meant to confirm, to illustrate, and to adorn. But he may calmly await the issue of the conflict, with a firm conviction that, in the end, the cause of truth must triumph; that, when proof shall have taken the place of conjecture, when theories shall have been tested by facts, when doubt and uncertainty shall have been dispelled by new discoveries, science will then prove to be, as she has ever been, not the enemy of religion, but her friend, and faithful ally.