The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-06-16
GhtgateIIiqetrter
PREACHERS AND LATTY.
Tho Revolution That Il Going ON
In Public ODHniOn.

Tho Revolution That Il Going ON
In Public Opinion.
Extract from a sermon by the Rev Brooke Her.
i1ri In Chicago last sunday
The reformation which is wanted at the
present day, and which believe the
Churches themselves are ready for, II
they would he true to the best that is in
them, is reformation that shall admit
the fullest free inquiry about all matters
Of religion. It wants openly admitting
what almost every thoughtful man adj
mits in private-that these subjects Of re.
ligion are very deep, solemn subjects; that
all our statements Of theology are only,
at the best, shadows OF truth that are
greater than any statement about them;
that those truths are not things that Gun
be shaped into cut.and.dricd statements
by any man or any council 0t men; and
that the true, and really reyercnt, aud re.
ligious way is for men just 10 look into
them with all their mind and sOul-tO
look into the Bible, and most OF all into
the teachings OF Jesus Christ, who saw
them the .clearcst, and put them into
the very simplest words that ever were
and To look into what other teach.
era have thought and written about
them,-in fact IL try and get light and
reality anywhere from tho Bible, from
science anywhere where there does seem
to any man to BE- some real gllmmer OF
light on these deep, underlying, eternal
realities Of this life Of ours. ! onot say
that this free inquiry will lead to all the
old beliefs being given up ii honest in
quiry confirm thGm-well and good
What does want to be given up is tho
keeping up OF crCcds and standards OF
faith, and all GndCavors 10 lay down by
rule and limo what exactly Christians, or
what exactly even members OF any Christ.
ian Church are to believe, The time for
such things is gone by, 1t is not that the
creeds want altering n !ittIci il Is not that
some creed Of mine wants putting in the
place Of other peoples ere IL, it Is that
whole idea Of trying TO sum up divine
truth in little sets Of articles, and draw.
ing them up as line which the ministers
aud people Of any church must toe, is
mistake; truth cannot be put soi mems
minds can't be drilled to stand exactly in
line 20; the whole thing is blunder and
ii Is time It is done away That Is what
makes one feel sad about some Of the
movements around US that call themselves
"ReiOrmatiOns." There Is that "lSeiOrmCd
EpisCOpalian Church." which awhile Ngo
went out from the old EpiscopuIiun
Church. The old ecclesiastical boat was
too Cramping for strong, earnest men like
Brother Cheney and his fellows, so they
went out to set up the real thing, rs il
ought to be But then, what rClorma-
tion Did you read the reports Of that
"CounCiP they held some three weeks ago,
to settle il on its new reformed basis ?
And did you notice what they were spend.
ing their precious three days upon
Drawingup n creed They took tho old
"Thiry.ninc Articles" and just tinkered
them ip-reiOrmCd them about nm inch
and quarter; left out sentence here,
put In phrase thcre,-carcfnlly mended
up that venerable old piece Of theological
patchwork, with some very thin new cloth
Of their own, and then when they had got
their revised creed, seemed half afraid Of
doing anything with 1t, and at last finish.
cd up with compromise resolution
which neither stood clearly for the creed,
nor yet stood fairly for liberty.
No don't think any such Onc.horse
reformation as TINT Is going to meet the
need Of the time It Is not that the lines
Of creed want laying down an inch and
quarter ahead Of where the fathers put
them;i 1t ia that they want not to be laid
down at all, but that the mind and thought
Of the churches shall be left to net In
broad, reyercnt, opcn'eyed freedom!
And then, secondly, the reformation
that Ia wanted is reformation that shall
stand openly for the best thought it
knows. We want not only freer think.
ing, but more manly outspeaking Of what
Ia thought. touched on this by impli.
cation Just now, when spoke Of how, in
almost all the churches, people have got
quito beyond their old position, and yet
they always try to make believe that they
are standing Just where their fathers
stood They try to make out that there Is
as little difference "a pO.siblcl Aud, you
know, II Is very much the same even with
those who stand as what Is called the
"Broad Church" element in the different
bodies. There Is hardly one OF the dc.
nominations-tlat has not got Its broad
churChmen-men who arc whispered to
be quite beyond the old lines, SO far be-
You'd them that their friends tell You that
there is not my further "beyond" to get
to! And yet who can tell where they
really are, what they do positively nCanY
| don't know exactly how It ia in this
country, but those Broad Church reform.
ers in mine hardly ever speak right out.
You never know quite what they mean-
never, to the very fullest, Clearest thing
they think. They don't preach the old
doctrines, but they very seldom let out a
clear word against them, and even their
very brightest, new truths half the time
they wrap up as much like the old errors
as possible, so that people say, "Well,
there is not 30 much difference after ALL"
Now, this also seems to nc a very one.
horse kind Of reformation. 1t Is not this
which will ever really win the car Of So
ciety.