The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-07-29
the creation between France and England
OF veritalle bond Of union and pohey
OF cordial agreement.
Mr.. Beecher's Creed.

The Rev. j. S. KESNARD, OF the Fourth
Street Baptist church, Chicago, seems to
have cfec,uaIly cornered the Rev. HENRY
WARD BEgcnER. The undertaking was
bold one; forif there is an artful dodger in
this country it Is Mr.. BEECHER. The eel
and the Irishmans flea do not enjoy more
widespread regulations for getting out
OF the way just at the moment cap
ture is regarded a. fixed fact. II Mr..
KrSNARD had formulated an elaborate net
work Of logical approaches upon his game
he would probably have failed. About the
time he had closed up all the avenues lead
ing from the fence-corner Dir. BEEcnER
would have back-somersauted into the
field behind him, and have been found
gamboliing in an area OF Infinite latitude
nousness. Mir. KENYAGD no doubt knew
this, so he adopted the simplest method
possible, and demonstrated chat the easiest
way is the best. lie swooped down upon
THE celebrated Brooklyn divine" with
the request that he make a statement OF
his creed-fTed a polnt-bank question
at HIM that there was no getting out Of the
way OF.
Mr.. BERcHgR's answer has been made in
the fo.-m OF letter, which we are told is
ga compact statement OF what he believes"
lie krows, he says, that as TO the facts and
substance OF the Christian religion he is
I" orthodox and evangelca"; as to the
philosophy which has hitherto been applied
TO these facts he is not orthodox lie
rejects the agnosticism Of SPENCER, TYN-
DALI. and HUXLEY, but claims TO be ''cor-
dial Christian evolUtionist." This latter
expression is a felictous Tor inlelicitous)
Beecherism. by il, he explains, he means
that "the animal part Of man is evolved
from beings below him, while in spiritual
value lie Is the son OF God"
II all this means anything, il means that
Mr.. BEECHER goes even bowshot beyond
DR.. LIE CONTE. whose theory, when sifted,
we understand to concede an "interme-
diate interposition OF Providence" DR..
LIE CONTE is "theistic eyOluti0niSt." lie
holds that at some stage "In the evolution OF
higher forms from lower there was Divine
Interference that "new capabilities and
powers suddenly appeared, and that "there
was birth INTO higher plane" This"
he says, " occurred with the birth OF man."
and the essential feature OF the new birth
"has the capacity OF independent life and
Immortality" Mr.. BEECHgR would seem
10 believe i'm "two great first causes and
both he and Dr.. lie CoNTE array themselycs
against such eminent scientists as PROBES
sors NRCHOw, BEALE, STOKES, BARRANDE.
and others whose conclusions on the SUBJ
ject OF evolution we quoted afew days ago.
On the whole. we do not know which
is the predominant characteristic OF Mr..
BEECHER's creed-weakness or arrogance.
On the one hand it shows that unless many
of the leading paleontologsts aud anthro-
biologists of the world are all wrong there
is not point in il that is not vulnerable,
and on the other it assumes to settle
\ matter oif-hand that even TYNDALL
and HUXLEY, after long investigation, ap-
proach most cautiously. But admitting for
the sake of argument that man is result
OF the conjunction of the work OF "two
great first causes" Mr.. BEECHER is still
confronted with the ever-recurring ques-
ton that has been the stumbling-block OF
every evolutionist: WHO made BATHY-
BIUs?" The religious world has to thank
Mr.. KENNARD for forcing BroOklyn'S great
to show exactly where he be-
longs.