Reasonand Revelation: Or, The Province ofReason in Matters Pertaining to Divine Revelation Defined and Illustrated; andThe Paramount Authority of The Holy Scriptures Vindicated. Robert MilliganAs one can discern from the subtitle of this monumental work by RobertMilligan, the subject matter’s breadth is deep and weighty, dealing with thesupernatural revealing of the will of God and the corresponding authority ofthe Bible. Milligan produced thisscholarly work in defense of the Bible while serving as President of theCollege of the Bible in Kentucky University. Robert Milligan was widely known for producing no less than threemonumental theological works including An Exposition and Defense of theScheme of Redemption, Commentary on Hebrews and the present volumeof this review. His scholarship remainshighly respected even to the present day and the present volume is consideredto be one of the finer pieces of Christian apologetics of the 19th century.
The work begins in classic fashion with a presentation of evidences fordemonstrating the Bible as a product of a supernatural mind. Proofs from areas such as the Scriptures’unity, harmony, supreme morality, fulfilled prophecy and others are brought tothe forefront with a comparison to the principle of Cause & Effect broughtto bear. President Milligan weaves allthese proofs into an impressive “effect” and then explains that the only plausible“cause” for such an “effect” is a supernatural intelligent being; i.e., God. He challenges the reader to contemplate thetwo great proofs for God and His word with the principle of causality. The first is the intelligent design ofnature, and the second is the intelligent design of the Bible. Both of which lead the honest seeker to thesame conclusion—there is a God and the Bible is His book. Some may read these arguments and attempt todeflect them with the retort of “I have heard all this before.” One should keep in mind that the antiquity ofan argument has little bearing on an argument’s validity. When a criticdeflects the force of material with the statement “I have heard this allbefore”, then an appropriate response would be “Well, since you have had somuch time to examine the arguments, what is your refutation?” Deflecting an argument is not the same asdisproving it.
The text moves on to additional highly relevant matters relating toGod’s revelation including the canonicity of both Old and New Testaments, plusa discussion of Apocryphal writings which do not pass the test of canonicity; i.e., are not the words of God but ofuninspired men, thus subject to error. Oncecanonicity has been addressed, Milligan naturally moves to the next area ofinvestigation, the integrity of the Scriptures. Robert Milligan offers a distinction about key terms which bearmentioning here: “By the Integrity ofthe Holy Scriptures, I mean that their several books have been preserved pureand entire; by their Authenticity, that they relate the facts as they reallyoccurred; and by their Genuineness, that they were written by the authors whosenames they bear” (p. 213). All threeareas—integrity, authenticity and genuineness of the Bible are addressed inscholarly fashion by Milligan including citations by other works of scholarshipfor further research.
While it is important to recognize the inspiration, canonicity,authenticity and genuineness of the books constituting the Bible, it is equallyimportant that the type of inspiration be addressed. Are the thoughts or words of the Bibleinspired? Milligan explains the varioustheories of inspiration and makes the case for the Scriptures being“God-breathed”; i.e., inspired by God to the very words of the text. Once the infallibility of the Scriptures hasbeen established to include both the thoughts and words, the next logical areaof discussion moves to the proper interpretation of these inspired words; i.e.,hermeneutics. Milligan discussesprinciples of proper interpretation and exposition of the text which are ascritical as the text itself. RobertMilligan provides an analysis of both Romans and Hebrews to illustrate theseprinciples. There are other subjectscovered in this work as well and while the material may be somewhat dated,there is still profit to be had from reading Milligan’s scholarly treatment ofthese matters. In the final pages of thebook, Milligan discusses various forms of infidelity including atheism. Robert Milligan states the contest betweenTheism and Atheism clearly: “…Atheism: the greatest extremeof infidelity; the most monstrous and absurd negation that was ever uttered byhuman lips. All other forms ofinfidelity concede something to Christianity but Atheism concedes nothing. It dogmatically obliterates from the Bible,as a falsehood, every thing that is said in it respecting God, and Christ, andthe Holy Spirit, and the Scheme of Redemption” (pp. 436-437). Some things change over time, but some thingsdo not. As the Psalmist wrote, “The foolhas said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1a, NKJV). Atheists are no longer contentto hold these matters in their hearts, but now openly and arrogantly asserttheir insidious faith. While theiractions have become bolder, their classification by the Psalmist remains thesame.
Copyright 2012 Warren Christian Apologetics Center. Reprinted from Sufficient Evidence.
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