Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-12-02
ORTHODOXY"
Intelligent Sermon Last Evening at the
Christian Church.


Christian Church.
Orthodoxy" was the subject of Rev. A.
NJ. Growden's sermon at the Christian
Church, last evening, and his text was from
1 Thessalonians ", 81; prove all things;
hold fast that which is good"
"The spirit of investigation, said the
speaker, fought to be characteristic of
Christians. The Apostle never encourages
credulity, he desires all men to investigate,
to take nothing for granted. In the religi-
Gus world there is need of investigation !;
when confronted by the skeptie how many
of the protested followers of the truth of
God are able to give reason for the hope
within them ?"
Perhaps on the question of orthodoxy"
be continued, there is more diversity of
opinion than on any other question of re-
ligion. Yet, is it merely a question of
opinion? Is it merely accepting what we
feel to be right without proving the steps
which lead to belief? The etymology of
the word will help US to determine its
scope and give us something definite to be-
gin with Webster defines it as follows:
OR. Orthodoxos, from orthOS, right, true
and dora, opinion from dOkein, to think.
The word then means to think right, to
have correct opinion. The Constitution
of this country provides that Congress
shall make no law respecting an establish
ment of religion, or prohibiting the free ex-
ercise thereof There can be, then, no or
thodox religion by legal enactment or by
parliamentary authority. If we are to find
orthodoxy we must search elsewhere. The
Pilgrim Fathers came to this land in their
search for freedom to worship God.
America proudly says, Render unto Caesar
| Il. C. the Government) the things that be-
long to Cesar and then just as proudly,
You may form your own convictions as to
what you will render unto God The
Government leaves man where God left
him, a moral agent; he may turn to the
truth or blindly follow error.
I'm the popular acceptation of the word
orthodoxy has many meanings. The
hyper Calvinist believes that God from all
eternity decreed that certain number of
men and angels should be saved, and
| fixed number should be consigned to
eternal death; that these on the one hand
could not be increased, that the others
could not be decreased; that is his 'ortho-
doxy.' The Universalist declares that all
will finally be saved that is his 'ortho-
doxy. The year 1926 A. D. witnessed the
| formation of creed in orthodox standard
of faith which Constantine accepted it ac-
cepts the one God, Jesus Christ His son,
who in order to our salvation became in
carnate suffered and rose again and as
cended to Heaven; also, the Office of the
Holy Spirit. This creed was made OBJ
ligatory. In Jones Church History, page
139, we see a woeful result: The scriptures
were now no longer the standard of Chris
tan faith; what was orthodox and what
heterodox, was henceforward to be deter
mined by the decisions of the fathers and
councils; and religion propagated, not by
the apostolic methods Of persuasion, but
by imperial edicts and DEGREES. Arius op-
posed the DEGREES of the council of Nice
and was banished. In thirty years the
Arian DEGREES are accepted. What the
Council of Nice accepts as orthodox is con-
demned as hetrodox by the Synod of Arius
in 353.
History proves that orthodoxy cannot
be settled by Popes, councils, edicts, creeds
or confessions. If we can get no higher
than that the question cannot be settled
No body of men, unless inspired, have 9
right to declare what one shall or shall moi
believe. No vote can determine what i:
orthodox and what hetrodox. Incon
sistency is not dead; above the so-called
UNCONVENTIONAL cooperation ever anC
anon is heard the discordant notes
| Hetrodox,' unevangelical.' Yet. there
may be consistency in that. How car
union and cooperation exist where
creeds and confessions of faith ar,
made the standards of orthodoxy Eacf
new creed is protest against the 'ortho
doxy' of the preceding one.
To have a genuine orthodoxy, the re-
searcher after truth must go beyond tn,
date of councils and rest not until be stands
in the presence of those who spoke as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit In tina
age the words of Christ His apostles were
sufficient for faith and practice. In tina
day any one who believed in the divinity
of Christ would follow Him lovingly
aud obediently in all His require
ments, was orthodox 1. E., bssing BIZ
convictions on the truth he thought Alright
he acted Alright. Ought churches to ask
for more than that to-day? If that is no
orthodoxy what is2 The Bible and th,
Bible only should be the standard of ortho
doxy. Too often the matter is resolved
into the question of mine and thine
Thine is heterodoK, while mine is ortho
dox' The man who accepts Coos word
having no system or human plea to make
is orthodox: the man who pleads for re-
turn to apostolic practices, having the au
thority of Gods word only, is using for the
elevation of mankind the divine creed, the
word which is the power of God unto sal
walton. Those who accept the truth are
ever ready to prove all things by the
only true standard of orthodoxy. and hav-
ing proved them, to reject that which has
not the divine impress upon it. Let all
be generous enough to investigate, TO
prove, to accept that which is good By
this means only can men become wise
unto salvation"