There is one other direction in which my own experience leads me to believe that Friends have a position of
peculiar1 advantage and responsibility, and I cannot close this address without making some reference thereto. We are all well aware of the great difficulties which have been faced and are still being faced by the Church of Christ to-day through the
advent2 of the historical criticism of the Bible. On the one hand there are those who believe that the Bible should be treated exactly as any other book; that the various documents which 105have been
embodied3 in it should be critically examined and that every statement should be checked and challenged. This treatment of the Bible has led to results which many regard as serious, if not
disastrous4. So much is this the case that many of the most earnest
followers5 of Christ believe on the other hand that the whole movement, generally spoken of as the “higher criticism,” is altogether evil and to be resisted with the whole strength of the Church. This school, with which are associated some of the most saintly and earnest
Christian6 workers, believes that we should maintain the entire literal inspiration of the whole of Holy
Scripture7. From the results which they have seen in the case of many who have been grievously upset, and whose faith seems to have been shipwrecked through following the higher critics, they have come to the conclusion that it is wrong to allow any question to be asked which might lead to the shaking of our faith in the literal accuracy of the whole book. To some it seems as though these two schools of thought could not possibly 106be reconciled. They regard their opponents as hopelessly narrow-minded and
bigoted8 or as giving away the very essence of Christian faith. But can the Christian Church afford to lose either section? It is true there may be
irreconcilable9 extremists on both sides; but even this I should be sorry to admit. Of course, there are some who have entered upon the critical study of the Bible from a sceptical standpoint: I am not referring to these. But there are many who are truly
devout10 scholars and who are intensely loyal to our Lord Jesus Christ; and there are many younger men and women who long to be able to maintain the faith delivered to their fathers, but who feel that, in doing so, they dare not be untrue to their own God-given reason, and who are therefore compelled to face the questions which some would counsel them to leave alone. The cure for such is not to tell them that an unorthodox view with regard to the authority of a certain book puts them outside the Kingdom of God: unfortunately there are not a few whose counsels to the young would seem to point in this direction. 107Can we not find a via media which will help us to work together in love in spite of the fact that we differ so greatly even on so important a question? If we cannot so work together I believe there must be weakness in our
testimony11 to Christ.
I think that the Society of Friends is in a position of unique strength in regard to this difficult problem. The early Friends realized—as their contemporaries did not—that the Holy
Scriptures12 contained the word of God; but that it was not right to speak of them as being the word of God. They realized the danger, to which the Reformers were many of them blind, of a literalism in the
interpretation13 of Scripture which would
bind14 men as did the tradition of the Elders in the time of Christ. Nevertheless, they held with tremendous
tenacity15 the view that the Scriptures were indeed inspired of God, and this none the less because the same Spirit who first inspired men of old to write was present and necessary to help the men of to-day in the interpretation of those writings. This view is thus expressed by Samuel Fisher:
108 “And because we do not, with the
misty16 ministers of the
mere17 letter, own the bare text of Scripture entire in every tittle, but say it hath suffered much loss of more than
vowels18, single letters and single lines also, yea, even of whole epistles and prophecies of inspired men, the copies of which are not by the
clergy19 canonized nor by the Bible sellers bound up, and especially because we own not the said alterable and much altered outward text, but the holy truth and inward light and spirit to be the Word of God, which is living [and] the true touchstone, therefore they cry out against us. Yet the Scriptures are owned by us in their due place and the letter is acknowledged by us full as much as it is by itself, to have been written by men moved of God’s Spirit.”8
This, it seems to me, is the platform upon which all
reverent20 scholars and devout lovers of the Bible can meet. The Society of Friends, which has ever stood for
tolerance21, is not the Body to
hurl22 anathemas23 at those who are finding light for their path 109in ways that to some of us may seem dark and
tortuous24. Rather, is it not the Body which, in the true spirit of its
founders25, may bring us together with a tendering of spirit, as we own allegiance to one common Lord and as we recognize together the far greater dangers that confront the Church in the sin and unbelief of the world in which we live.
The Church needs to recognize that even large
divergence26 of view in reference to the Bible is consistent with
loyalty27 to Christ, and that we must all stand together to face the great tasks that demand her undivided attention.
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1
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 |
参考例句： |
- He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
- He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。
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2
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 |
参考例句： |
- Swallows come by groups at the advent of spring. 春天来临时燕子成群飞来。
- The advent of the Euro will redefine Europe.欧元的出现将重新定义欧洲。
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3
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 |
参考例句： |
- a politician who embodied the hopes of black youth 代表黑人青年希望的政治家
- The heroic deeds of him embodied the glorious tradition of the troops. 他的英雄事迹体现了军队的光荣传统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
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4
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 |
参考例句： |
- The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
- Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。
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5
followers
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| 追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件 |
参考例句： |
- the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
- The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。
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6
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 |
参考例句： |
- They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
- His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
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7
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 |
参考例句： |
- The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
- They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。
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8
bigoted
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| adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的 |
参考例句： |
- He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
- I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。
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9
irreconcilable
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| adj.（指人）难和解的，势不两立的 |
参考例句： |
- These practices are irreconcilable with the law of the Church.这种做法与教规是相悖的。
- These old concepts are irreconcilable with modern life.这些陈旧的观念与现代生活格格不入。
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10
devout
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| adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness) |
参考例句： |
- His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
- The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。
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11
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 |
参考例句： |
- The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
- He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。
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12
scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 |
参考例句： |
- Here the apostle Peter affirms his belief that the Scriptures are 'inspired'. 使徒彼得在此表达了他相信《圣经》是通过默感写成的。
- You won't find this moral precept in the scriptures. 你在《圣经》中找不到这种道德规范。
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13
interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 |
参考例句： |
- His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
- Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。
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14
bind
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| vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬 |
参考例句： |
- I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
- He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。
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15
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 |
参考例句： |
- Tenacity is the bridge to success.坚韧是通向成功的桥。
- The athletes displayed great tenacity throughout the contest.运动员在比赛中表现出坚韧的斗志。
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16
misty
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| adj.雾蒙蒙的，有雾的 |
参考例句： |
- He crossed over to the window to see if it was still misty.他走到窗户那儿，看看是不是还有雾霭。
- The misty scene had a dreamy quality about it.雾景给人以梦幻般的感觉。
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17
mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 |
参考例句： |
- That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
- It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。
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18
vowels
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| n.元音，元音字母( vowel的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- Vowels possess greater sonority than consonants. 元音比辅音响亮。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
- Note the various sounds of vowels followed by r. 注意r跟随的各种元音的发音。 来自超越目标英语 第3册
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19
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 |
参考例句： |
- I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
- All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。
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20
reverent
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| adj.恭敬的，虔诚的 |
参考例句： |
- He gave reverent attention to the teacher.他恭敬地听老师讲课。
- She said the word artist with a gentle,understanding,reverent smile.她说作家一词时面带高雅，理解和虔诚的微笑。
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21
tolerance
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| n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差 |
参考例句： |
- Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
- Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。
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22
hurl
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| vt.猛投，力掷，声叫骂 |
参考例句： |
- The best cure for unhappiness is to hurl yourself into your work.医治愁苦的最好办法就是全身心地投入工作。
- To hurl abuse is no way to fight.谩骂决不是战斗。
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23
anathemas
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| n.（天主教的）革出教门( anathema的名词复数 )；诅咒；令人极其讨厌的事；被基督教诅咒的人或事 |
参考例句： |
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24
tortuous
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| adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的 |
参考例句： |
- We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
- They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。
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25
founders
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| n.创始人( founder的名词复数 ) |
参考例句： |
- He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
- The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句
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26
divergence
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| n.分歧，岔开 |
参考例句： |
- There is no sure cure for this transatlantic divergence.没有什么灵丹妙药可以消除大西洋两岸的分歧。
- In short,it was an age full of conflicts and divergence of values.总之，这一时期是矛盾与价值观分歧的时期。
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27
loyalty
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| n.忠诚，忠心 |
参考例句： |
- She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
- His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。
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