The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-12-07
Ch9nteIlfqenter.
rIcrgyman's Appeal Tor the
y" Revision Of CreedS.


t.C.llgo Tubuncl
r,s aurora Herald OF last Saturday
-. h, following article on the necessity
'l,,,,i,i1n Of creeds, which is under
,jnbe written by clergyman, and
DarR,o,, be read with special interest ~
'' irIiralion Of the drift Of opinion
'- ,r, members Of that class;
'- rssI,,,.t news from Egyptis that re-
- J,.royeries there make 1t certain
,f' Vo.r. derived the ten command
'a1s and many OF the rites and cere-
l'as .. rirep to the lsraelites, from the
mum ;.nt Egyptians, to whom they were
1 lp-', hundred, Of years before he had
A', .,,.,cucc. This fact renders it almost
AZ I.,,io ,ha, the account Of the Creation,
% sJ,m and Eve, the Garden OF Eden,
t,',IE Of the serpent, the story OF the
j., ,i ',' ,hc Iisobedience OF Eve and her
a.gl!r.a,Ins Adam to sin, are all Of the
,ms orisin, and were probably a tradi-
, ,''r lhc early Egyptians, from whom
. "yI were learned BY Moses, and the truth
" which i. exceedingly questionable.
T y i. commonly known as "the fall Of
,i lam /, the basis Of many crceds and
H",rioe. Of the churches; and II Adam
s -,rrr had anexistenCe, except in the ira.
'i i Of hcatheuish people, he could
S ., have "taIIen,' and hence the necessi-
n, ~, al revising the creeds,
say what We will about creeds, they
b,ys 4 rrca. influence upon the CharaG'
,",oihIicvcrs. 4 mans opinions make
Kim villa, he Is, good or bad. They shape
S.rlaracicr and actions through life.
Tosy iornm into organizations, societ.
l.. churches, aud cause new OrganiZa-
Jan. and new churches for nearly every
Indie oiopinon. In short, opinions are
Al lhe foundation Of every State and
s,efy political party, rs well as every
church. For opinions sake thousands Of
men have been prosecuted and put to
Death; and did opportunity occur now,
Gog.and. more would surrender their
i've. rather than give up their beliefs. Il
/. highly essential, then, that men should
boll 10 .ounddoctrineS, correct opinions,
and believe those things which are true.
S5 important was this question Of faith
considered by the early Christians that
"a india, early as'the fourth century, It
"a. promulgated that whatsoever will
be saved, before all things 1t is necessary
tb,, lie hold the Catholic faith; which
hi,b. except every one do keep entire
md inyiolatc, without doubt he shall per-
i.begcrIa.ringy.' No one after Il mo-
nsnt. rejection, will deny the desirable
ne,. Of having correct opinions upon all
subjects, particularly upon religious sub
lect.. which. more than any other, shape
The lie and character Of men.
Correct crccls, then, being necessary
Ielus see how some Of those in several,
churches correspond with recently dis.
covered facts. The "Andoyer Orthodox
Greed" which expresses the opinion Of q
miioriiy Of the Christian denominations,
reiis ~ follows;
That Adam, the federal head and repre-.
sentative Of the human race, was placed
in state Of probation, and that, in conse-
auencc Of his disobedienCe, all his de.
.cendmls were constituted sinners; that,
by nature, every man is personally dc.
PRAYED destitute Of holiness, unlike and
opposed to God; aud that, previously to
the renewing agency Of the Divine Spirit,
all his moral actions nrc adverse to the
character and glory Of God; that being
morally incapable Of recovering the
imagcoi ms Creator, which was lost in
Adam, every man Is justly exposed TO
eternal damnatiOn.
The Methodist Episcopal creed upon
thi. subject reads as follows:
Original sin standetIi not in the follow.
ing Of Adam las the Palagians do vainly
talk, but it Is the corruption Of the ma.
tnre OF every man, that naturally Is en-
gendercl Of the offspring Of Adam,
whereby man is very far gone from origi'
nal righteousness, and Of his own nature
inclined to evil, aud that continually.
The condition Of man, after the fall Of
Adam, is such that he cannot turn and
prepare himself by his own natural
strength and works, to faith and calling
upon God, &c.
The crCed' Of other denominations
make similar statements, and upon the
one statement Of the trNnsgressiOn Of
Adam is based great portion OF the
systems Of theology, embracing the doc.
trine' Of the fall Of man, original Elm,
total deprayity, the vicariOus atonement,
etc; but II there was no such man as
Adam, he did not transgress or fall there
lore those doctrines which are based upon
lhI' SamO'itiOn must give way before the
light Of these new discoveries. Hence,
we'ay, there Is u necessity for n revision
oicreeds, Men do not believe now the
same doctrines which were held by the
Church a few hundred years ago, and
ought not before joining II church, to I've
compelled to subscribe to Creeds which
" iaci' show, contain errOr8.
These creed' we're mostly established
%avcic Of some Assembly, Convention,
OF Council, and could he re.establiShed
by similar bodies. Suppose that able
representatives. were now sent from each
denomination to some Convention, and
they adopt AZ truth only such statements
a. they could unanimously agree upon,
which should form a statement Of the doc.
''ite' Of the Church. Such creed would
contain nothing but the truth, and could
Be subscribed to by all. With Church
lhu'unittd it could go forward and make
an easy conquest Of the world. What
Churches viii unite in striking out all
error from their Confessions Of FAITH