There lies a
deep destructive purpose beneath the brief utterance of Dr. Temple: "The
immediate work of our day is the study of the Bible.[169]" The Critical
Rationalism of England which is now attracting the attention of the
civilized world is of recent growth, but the energy with which it has
been cultivated is unsurpassed in the annals of skepticism.
Professor Jowett's commentary on the _Epistles to Thessalonians,
Galatians, and Romans_, was published in 1855. Coming from a highly
respectable source, and assailing the doctrines of revelation boldly, it
was a clear indication of what might be expected from the Critical
Rationalists as a class.
The doctrine of the atonement, according to this writer, is involved in
perplexities whose growth is of more than a thousand years. Christ did
not die to appease the divine wrath, and "sacrifice" and "atonement"
were accommodated terms used by the apostles because they had been
reared among the Jewish offerings and were familiar with them. The great
advantage we derive from Christ is his life, in which we behold a
perfect harmony of nature, absolute self-renunciation, pure love, and
resignation.
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