The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1874-02-06
OUR NEW YORK LETTER,
Henry Ward Beecher and Bishop
Cummlns.-our Correspondent Takes
them Both 70. Task.

I
There q sometimes matter iof grave
reflection aS well % for glib comment IN
the Monday morning reports from the
New York pulpits as furnished by some
Of the leading New York Journals. In
the Tribune Of February Cd, ander the
head Of Religious Gleanings," there are
brief reports Of sermons delivered the
day before by several eminent divines,
among whom were Rev. Henry Ward
Beecher, Of Plymouth Church, and the
Right Rev. BlShop Cummins, al Stein
way Hall. Of the former the Tribune
report says. "Mr, sBeecher selected for
bis subject that portion Of 81. John where
Christ predicts hiBuw departure from
the world, and tells his sorroWful disci-
pies, y II 10 eGpedient for You that ! 70
away; for II ! 60 not away. the Comforter
viii not come unto you MI Pan $4,000
ut was thought (said Mr. Beecher) that
the material existence OF Christ would be
the great and satisfactory means OF deter.
mining contfoVersies.o He, MI. Beecher
thought, differently however, and after do.
ciding that This great unity Of Church
and belief Is talltasy,m goes on 10 say that,
"ltwas best for the disciples, and II Is
best for the Church and Tor the race that
Christ lett the world II the Savior had
remained at Jerusalem there wou ID have
seen either y miracle, or else he would
have reached q venerable age, and been
mol simply amiricle buta monster, and he
would nave grown unlike men. He would
have been subject 10 human infrmiLies,
and continually hampered by them. Fur.
ther than that, the benefits OF seeing him
would have bsen permitted oalY tOa CON.
paratlvelY small number Of Inc human
race. 1t would have made the service OF
seeing Christ N burden." --r.T
II Is hard to decide which Ia the most
grossly irreverent in this paragraph, the
wild, unhallOwed speculation INDUCED In,
or the language in which 1t Is uttered.
In general no one .expects reverence
from Mr. Beecher, Il Is not q character
istic OF his, and we have learned 10 accept
many OF his notable, and, let us say, noble
4 utterances, in such fashion as he has been
pleased to give them. But here II seems
to US there ls reverence IN new direc-
tion, and to an extent that Is shocking
even to some accustomed to the sensa-
tlonal utterances Of Plymouth pulpit and
the Tabernacle style Of oratory. Mr.,
Beecher has In general handled scripture
facts and doctrine pretty freely, dealing
out his own Interpretation Of them after
a liberal fashion Of his own. But 10 the
great central idea In Christianity, the idea
OF a Saviour, q Divine Man, he has hlth-
erto been loyal In his teaching, and, with.
IN limits. reverent and devout N bis ut
terances On this subject he has seemed
to feel deeply and ferVently, and this feel.
ibg has been the real strength Of, al his
best preaching, and there deeming feature
In the midst Of much that has been
unworthy and unpalatRble to listeners
outside Of the Plymouth congregation. To
say now from the evidence just given that
he has abandoned that faith would be to
say too much. But what we do say Is,
that 1t is one Of the strongest proofs
Mr. Beecher has yet given Of growing
total untitness to preach anything outside
OF himself What he does preach, en-
phatically, is himselt-his ideas, his specu.
lations, his mental experiences, his feel
ings; until he has come to believe In
himself more thoroughly than In any
other fact in the universe. Having
measured all things by that one standard,
the result of perfect complacency, what
remains for him toreverence? And what
gospel shall he preach but the gospel
according TO Beecher? To all such Cos
pels there comes an end, and we cannot
but think that the end Of Mr.. :Beecher's Is
not far of. The intense egoism Of the
man has made him o law 10 himself 10
matters OF religious faith, and; we had
almost said, practice. To many others
also II has made his every utterance as
Flaw and gospel in times past; but that
it cannot long be SO, we think such teach.
ing as that TO which we have called at.
tention is the evidence. A gospel made
up Of self utterances and speculatlons as
wild, as protaue and proftless as these,
must end where It beganAin self.
In reading over the report Of DR.. Cum.
Minis sermon In the same column, we are
tempiedsto conclude that the Tribune re.
por1ets have 2 by some mistakegot the
hight Reverend gentleman's sermon very
much mixeds Otherwise, we are afraid
that 9Dra Cummins I himself has not,
searched the Scriptures with the dill.
gence which should at least secure cor.
rectness as to facts. We cannot, how.
ever, but think the reporter must be held
responsible in part for the statement 80
manlfestly wide OF the truth. The sub
ject OF the Doctors sermon was the
Communion Service" and was In part q
relutation OF the heresy Of Transubstantl-
alton. On this point he speaks as fol.
lows: (the italics are our own "Yet, II |
Christ was to be perpetuRlly present in The
Communion service, how was II 10 be &C.
counted for that there was no such doc
trine in many books oil the New Testa-
ment K One Of the Gospels, 81. Johns,
had not even an account Of the Lords |
Supper; neiLasr GoGs il mentioned in the
Acts; neither in Tie EpisLes 10 the CORN.
ttsdnsi Ephesians. Colossians, or Thessa.
lOnians. 81 Paul, the most elaborate and
searching writer on Christianity, does not
teach the doctrine of ltts Lords Supper"
These are astonishing assertions, truly,
and 1t they are not indeed tho result Of a |
reporters mistake, we can only hope for
Cummins that In changing his prayer
book, he has not also changed his Bible.
a.a.a lGy l.ziI ,s11, j. O.. D. Il