New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-12-05
RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

A REMARKABLE ANNIvERsARY.-lh 25Oth
anniversary of the founding OF the W alertOwn
(hIass.) Fnst Parish Church was celebrated
last Sunday. The parish hrst saw the llgnG
July 30. $3.50, the same day thet ushered INTO
existence the First Church in Boston. Only
two churches of the Massachusetts Bay colony
can boast a greater age than these Two, ana
lew, if any eau reler to brighter historical as
sOciaiiOns than the one at WatertOwn. One OF
these earlier churches was formed ut Salem IN
1929 and the other at Dorchester, on the 9th
of June, 1929. A leading spirit IN the Water
town church was Sir Richard SatOnstall, OF
whom the Hon. Leverett Salt0nstal, OF New
ton is a lineal descendant. The first pastor
was the Bev. George Philips, an ancestor oi
Wendell Phillips and the Rev. Phillips Brooks.
The Rev Arthur NJ. Knapp, the pastor OF the
church. preached on sunday. Two years after
the settlement of WatertOwn, be sad, IA child
was born 80 him wno was the fist pastor 0t
this church. and he was nance LeI uDOaDeI
Phillips. his father being well velsed in Hebrew,
being peculiarly impress d with IT'S peculiar
significance and appropriateness. DIS WORD
the speaker took tor his text, stang a Us
meaning, one who rs escaped out OF Babel II
was IN this cOnsclOusness of ellyeTance from
Babel tnat this church was founded, the little
band OF colOnists who settled on the banks OF
CHARLES River having cOveDdnted Together IN
thanks to God for hi mercy IN delivering then
from the Babel of the Old World ana granted
them esraue INFO the freedom OF the New from
a state Monty of ecclesiastical domination into
the endowment OF untTammeiled liberty; from
the tonnage OF religions 10 ms INTO The freedom
of simple manhood from the tyranny OF ritual
in.O worship III splilt and IN truth. through
all these long years the story CT TINS churci ana
Of w-Eugland has been that Oi delVerance
from the trials of the early days, the narrow
provincial life, supprsttlOUs tears ana sternness
of the Purllans INTO the glad prosperity, the
broad. far-Ieachlng SYM dthy or the WOrld
uoblcst and best thought the talth founded
vb ieb ebapra soUIS amt II
ces with It's radiance, the peace which comes
from a better understanding OF Gods works
and ways and the joyous belief IN futuIe I'M
mortality. In view OF the tact that TINS church
was the first so assert It's absolute control oil lts
own affairs, Nh Knapp examined the PECULIAR
tie. of the congregation OF the parish, fOr mere
IL was A power behind the thTOne-even such as
10 lead its own pastors. There was always a
seeming antagonISm Of spirit and absolute N
depeudcnce which early led TO lsOla ION from
sister churches and made il the synonym OF
heresy, and thIs was from the beginning con
grrgatiOn OF herttics, and always, TOO, aided
aud upheld by their pastors. they were Ploua,
however and ever Watchtul or any infringe
mpnt of the sacred rights OF the Individual anu
church. he first colleague installed was placed
m ms position without inviting the other
churches, and this acrlOn OF independence anu
assertion of self-cOntrol inclCed torrent Of dis
approval from tie other churches
LATITUDE OF BELlEt.-IHe heF. ~; I
Eaches read u paper before the Philadelphia
BAPTIST Ministerial Conference last Monday,
III which the following question was dis
cussad What latitude OF belief is 10 De al
lowed in the doctrine OF inspiration HE
sneaker considered the topic under the follow
inl, heads: FIRST A person may hold to the IN
SEPARATION of the Scriptures and yet believe IN
the Development theory. be'Ief In the latter
theory is only q matter OF Interpretation OF
what is SAID III the Bible, and does not encrOach
ef,. aat ,t NePCnI|N \
person may accept the Inspiration OF The scrip
tures and yet reject the received chronology.
Four thousand ana TOUR years, OF 300 days each,
is a small period IN which e. cOunne the MS
tory OF the world before the time OF Christ, ana
If Il person believes day to be million years,
more or les, instead Of tWenty-fOuI hours, 1t
does not shake his belief IN inspiration, but The
iDferprrtatiOn Of IT, Thirdly. a person may
hold the iusT ration az the scriptures and r,J~ct
received INTERPRETATION Of them FOur,hly. \
person may hold to the inspration a. the Scrip
lures and vet De in doubt as To the canon al
the Scriptures. Lathe, n his early year, re
jtcted tie EpJst.e OK james from the canon.
The question of cdnonlcIty does not AE0.Ne in
the least tie ques lOn OIL inspiration. tlI'hly.
4 pgr~On may hold TO the inspiration OF tie
Scriptures and yet be III doubt a, to The method
OF inspiration. \ vide lauge OF btAei As pos
sble here. one may hold to the dlcCatOn
theory, and many do so hold III tact, the mem
ucls of the recent Presbyterian Council who
ft,arV. word by WOri Tus theory cannot eX-
.rI.iu many passages where the trIllueS OK men
snow through. The Apostles, III many places
ia thcir winnings, make statements wnich cou-
h.ct with the verbal theory, for God certainly
would not dictate words so varying III their
meaning. Another may hold 10 an inspired
soul IN the writer's of the Scriptures, and say
tLat tue words are human. while Il third may
firmly believe IN inspuat on, and maintain
that no definition of IL can be formulated. The
n
flmesr foundation Of the doctrine OF Inspiration
is Il clear conception of the person Of Christ.
If anyone says that ;he thlrty-nlne books OF
the Ola Test iment are not Inspired, the answer
is: Christ accepted them Us such, and that
settles she subject and the same answer can
be applied 10 many other objections.
IMPRIs NED RECrORs.-The Rev. |. Pelham
Dale. the Rituali,tlc rector of ST. Nedast 5,
LONDON, who has been III PRISON tor several
weeks, will probably be ncOndItlOnally re-
leased tomorrow On writ OF h3beas corpus,
and the other TectOrS who are suffering tor
conscience sake they say, will escape III
like manner. The subject has been widely dis
cussed in the English press secular a. well ~
religious, and great activity has been shown by
various religious associations IN eli culatlng Pc
titiOus and remOnstIanceS. IL Is stated that
every precautiOn has been taken against Nj.
Dales or his friends reentelmg 1T. Nedasi
Church. COmmlsslOnalrts are stationed WlJhln
the yes ~, ana are IeHcFtu livery lOui HuuIs'
and new locks have been placed upon the differ
ent doors Canon Fleming, preaching ut It.
Michael p, ChcStcr-squ!Te. recently, SAID: We
are surrounded just Row 10y an H ,the,ic re
Hgiou, which cones appealing to mems senses
with On excessive ritual, and some of our
clergy. who of oil men among us Onght 20 be
keepers. not law breakers, are 50 Obstl-
natciy hghrng this bartie that, t0rgettui of
all canouIca obedience and ordination vows,
they are ready 10 90 to prison rat er than obey
tie laws of thci Church and of the land. Bat
40 yestmeuiS or utuai Can justify awlessness,
and ALI tGls augufs thar n the Established
Church falls II will not be- by violent hands
moan wi bout but the blow will be struc> 10y
hands within her own pale. The three great
schnols o. ,houglt-high, Broad, AID Eydugth Ii
cal-mu4t ever be found ia our national
Church and u would be an evil day for her
when size has not room for them all. But those
who ar nov stIaIi ing her u carry another
scnnnl tina .niA as clnseLY rs N ran eO No Lhe