Henry Ward Beecher Quotes
Sink the Bible to the bottom of the ocean, and man's obligations to God would be unchanged. He would have the same path to tread, only his lamp and his guide would be gone; he would have the same voyage to make, but his chart and compass would be overboard!
Beecher, Henry Ward. Life Thoughts, Gathered from the Extemporaneous Discourses of Henry Ward Beecher. Sheldon, Blakeman & Company, 1858, p. 64.
This is an interesting quotation as it shows that there were opponents of literal interpretation of the Bible in the 17th century, and that they were among the leading men of the day. The argument that the Bible has divine inspiration but was written by men and should not be taken literally, has been made since the Ancient Jews received the Bible.
This quotation illustrates that in the late 19th Century, there were still very prominent American scientists who were Biblical Literalists as well—a virtual intellectual impossibility. Dana was a Yale professor, and yet he rejected Evolution and had the age of the rocks he studied all wrong. At the time, America had only 1 great world class scientist (Physicist Albert A. Michelson) and American Science really became great in the 20th century. Dana was not a total incompetent however. He had amassed vast descriptive knowledge of California and other areas and was at the time considered America’s preeminent Geologist despite his lack of understanding of many fundamental aspects of his own science which was understood by many English and European scientists.
showing a copy of The Bible These 2 quotations illustrate the classic case of a political flip flop. What caused Senator Pryor to “change his mind” was that between the two statements, a very conservative, religious fundamentalist registered for the 2014 primary election against Prior and announced that the reason he was running was because Pryor was legislating against the teachings of the Bible. Politicians tend to flip flop in the direction of their main opponent in the next election.
Henry Ward Beecher was an American Congregationalist clergyman, social reformer, and speaker, known for his support of the abolition of slavery, his emphasis on God's love, and his 1875 adultery trial. His rhetorical focus on Christ's love has influenced mainstream Christianity to this day.
