The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-13
The HcrcticaI Notions Of the Rev. De-
los ". Baker.

ing NJ the fruit " the tree Of knowledge that
grow In the midst " tho Garden " Eden.
This peculiar notion, which The Sun cannot
undertake to defend, Is held by the Row.
DELos Il. BAKER, of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church. II Is dangerous notion for n
Methodist preacher to proclaim. II has
brought the Rev. Mr.. BAKER into trouble. 1t
has led to his prosecution before the Ohio
Annual Conference of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church. Thc'trinl has ended In his con-
victlon; and tho punishment " suspension
from the ministry OF tho Church was inflicted
upon him last Tuesday
Tho trial was one OF great interest, i'm
portancc, and gravity. In the language
az the document upon which the Rev.
DELos H. BAKER was brought TO iudg
mcnt. he was charged with hold
ing and disseminating doctrines which
are contrary to our articles Of rci-
gon as set forth and maintained In our
standards Of thcology--tO Wit, WrSLEY'S
sermons and the theological writings of the
Rev. JoHN FLETCHER and the Rev. RICHARD
WATSON. and rs included in tho doctrnal
examinations required Of candidates fer
Elders orders The specifications were
was convicted 10y n unanimous vote OF the
thcolOginns by whom he was tried. The
leading specification, which was the first In
order, runs thus:
Specialization Firs,--fn holding and saying. In sui.
stance. various occasions. especially At the
Lovelaud Camp Meeting In tie cscnrcm w Ktrcmis.
X X. prf, SytvtstR WIrNs ". RisHrtt, and others.
that ADAM before the aii lad M more knowledge ol
good and evil than mule that tnAs before he oi
10 u
Idea OF right and wrong
Tho dangerous hcrcsy TO which tho Rev.
DELos r.. BAKER thus gave uttcrance has
been held by other thcologians; but none Of
them, 40 far rs we are aware. ever an
nounced it In the precise terms which he
employed. 1t was, perhaps, on this account
that he got into trouble. II was dsrcspect.
full in him to compare ADAM with mule or
rather, ADAMS knowledge with mules
According to the Scriptures, ADAM was
the first man, from whom we all sprang
and the juxtaposItiOn OF ADAM and the mule
takes us out OF religion into Darwinism.
We ourselves cannot tell how much knowl-
edge Of good and evil mule has. but those
who have studied the minds and ways al
mules conce,ie that they give evidence Of
moral perception Of very remarkable
kind. That ADAMS knowledge Of good and
evil, however. was superior to n mules has
been decided by the Ohio Methodist Confer
encc.
II Is noticeable fact that in forming
Judgment on tho point, appeal was taken To
the standards OF theology, and TO the au-
thority OF the Rev. JOHN WESLEY. the Rev.
JOHN FLETCHER, and the Rev. RICHARD
WATSON, and To- the doctrnal examinations.
But no mention was made OF the only nu-
thoritativc source of knowledge on the
subject the Scriptures In the book
Of Genesis Is TO bo found all that Is known
of ADAMS creation, qualities, conduct.
anil ways; and we should think that
when the Conference passed such severe
sentence upon the Rev. DELos Il. BAKER for
an error about ADAM, they would have
quoted some part Of the Mosaic record IN
support OF their judgment. II the Rev.
DrLos Il. BAKER should call upon them to
do this. and TO give chapter and verse per-
haps he would stnrtlc and dumfound them.
Thcncxt specification in the charge agans,
the Rev. DELos II. BAKER that was sus-
taincd by the Conference runs thus:
"spscihcNnon-In denying at the same time elsewhere
that there isto he literal resurrection Of the body"
The doctrine OF the literal resurrection Of
the body IT, according 10 the Ohio Confer
ence, fundamental feature OF the creed OF
the Methodist denomination. and he who
disbcllcvcs It IL unworthy to hold place In
the ministry OF the Church. There lie
no doubt whatever that many orthodox
Protestant clcrgym"n in the United States
have rcnuunccd their belief IN the dpctrinc
a 81 A..
ence is warning to as many Of these unbe-
levers ns are to BE- found In the pulpts OF
Methodism. 1t il no less n warning 10 the
whole membership OF Mcthodlsn. II
preacher may not deny II, lay member
may not. The churches of New York would
do well to carefully examine their adhercnts
on this subject; md II expulsion is the pom.
atty OF unsOundncss, IL must be enforced
without respect to persons.
The other important specification In the
charge against the Rev. DELos II. BAKER is
that he holds that sinners nrc destroyed, or
put out Of conscious existence Mt the day OF
Judgment. II this had been the only heresy
Of which he was accused, and II no had been
convicted Of it on the trial, he would have
deserved the sentence imposed upon him;
for the evcrlnsting existence and punish
ncnt Of the wicked IL fundamental article
Of orthodox Mcthodism. The Conference
might have put him out Of the pulpit on
this hcresy alone
The report Of the trial Of the Rev. DELos r.
BAKER shows that the Ohio Methodist Con-
ference Is determined to hold the clcrgymcn
who belong to it to the standards Of the
Church. Tho authorities Of other denomi.
nations may tolerate loose or irregular
thinking in the pulpit; they may re-
lax their discipline for one pur-
pose or another; they may fail to give
| proper heed 10 the ancient and rigorous
standards Of faith they may try to keep
certain disputed points In allegiance; but If
any clergyman Of the Methodist Conference
Of Ohio has an erroneous notion about the
extent and nature Of ADAMS knowledge, or
about anything else, no must step down and
| out.
| The Accident on the Long Island
Railroad.
An nccidnnt occurred on the Long Islnnd