The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-12-21

that we summon the Lord from His spiritual /
heavens into loaf OF bread in order that there /
may be something to sacrifice!
This is not an improvement on the Jewish |
ritual; 1T IS a retrogreSSion to the pagan |
ritual Ii There must be sacrifice, IL is better
TO sacrifice an animal than man: II that
man is the prince of life, the Son of God, then
TO sacrifice Him is crime without name. II
there must be priest to sustain religion. bet
Ter that 1t should be Jew Staying bullock
upon an altar than God cruclfying His beloved
Son upon the cross because that is a profana-
ton of the heavens.
tits difficult to speak of this with the respect
que to thought and sincerity. 1t is in direct
ana degrading opposition to the teaching and
trend OF our Lord. Ii it could be true. it would
De shocking beyond expression, 1t woul sub
sttute for the IendereSt rite OF Christianity tn
grosseSt rite, the most horrible appetite OF
heathendom
Paufs rhetoric in stating the doctrine of
Chrlsts ''sacrifcial' and ''expiatory'' work
IN behalf of sinners is detained
to have been necessitated by
the fact that be was preaching
Mosaic law and still within sight of the
cross. What was a wise practical form of
sound words in PauPs days" adds Miss
Hamilton, lis but historical. not prac-
tlcal sound of words for u.s.. y"
Nearly every phrase which is here cited from
| the Bible should be absolute-should be used
never except in it's appropriate historical
!
parted their own coloring to the rhetoric of
plety, and frightful coloring it is, CHASTITY
and repulSive
There is q fountain filled with blood
| Drawn from Immanuels veins
| ana sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains"
| NothlnB but long usage prevents US from see
| ing The hldeouSnesS of the picture. The Jews
were familiar with blood We recoil from it.
IL was to them term of publication. For US
| blood does not cleanse. 1t stains. 1t is the
| stain OF stains. For there is no sacrihcial
atoning quality in blood. 1t is the sign manual
OF the gravest crime.
redemption through His blood" Christ our
passover set forth to be a Precipitation through
faith in his blood'-they are all relics of Juda
ism and Of the pagan element in Judal SIN. Paul
was laboring to show it to convince the
Jews that the law-of which Precipitation and
lustlhcatlon were component part-was
goou Tor nothing: was obsolete. By the
| deeds of the law shall no fiesh be justified
The righteousness of God-alone, without the
law, outside OF the law. having nothing to do
with the LAWS manifested in Christ Jesus pro-
claiming redemption through repentance. All
the Precipitation which God wants is repentance.
when Is technically no Precipitation ut all
Faith in Christ is not faith in the blood of His
body, but IN the inspiration of His spirit.
All this gives some idea of Gail Hamil-
ton s theology, as presented Sunday after
Sunday to her Bible class of distinguished
women and men in Washington, and now
published for public perusal. But she
touches on many topics. She sets the doc
trine of election as taught by St. Paul
against the doctrine Of election as taught
by the Presbyterian standards and the
Congregational creeds, and claims that
Paups words and doctrines have been jug
gled IN the interests of theologians and
schools of belief. Presbyterianism comes
in for a full share of the authors sarcasm
and scorn. Among other things she says
1t is surely most curious twist of theologi-
cal candor and ingenuity which makes Paul
preach the opposite OF his humane and liberal
thought He has passed through a looking
glass world. He taught that God would con-
fine himself to the Jews, but was Father of the
Gentiles also: and men have bejuggled it into u
wicked doctrine that God would save or damn
creatures as He pleased. Paul taught that God
would save or damn as many as He wished to
save, and we render it that He will damn as
many as He wishes to damn. Paul preached
that God would not pass by or reprObate the
Gentiles, and we Gentiles turn upon him and
say that He shall. God says: Il Will have
mercy on whom will have mercy. Even when
turn from his sin he shall surely live. He shall
not die" Presbytery says: Not so. Lord.
Thou must stand by Thy word, and Thy word
shall be what 1 say it is. When L think that
Thou predestineSt man to everlasting death
they are unchangeably designed and their num-
Der cannot be increased or diminished
Gail Hamilton is still allied with the
liberal wing of the Congregationalists and,
therefore, naturally enough, contributes in
her liveliest vein her share of argument and
comment to the Andover discussion. She
sides with the president and professors OF
the theological seminary, and says that for
them to give up their seminary would be to
give up the inspiration of the fathers to the
limitations of the sons; to relinquish light
to darkness; breadth TO narrowness;
heavens fash Of radiance to earth's brood
ing obscurity. In another chapter she fur
1Ich mol
lsm," showing chiefly the difference be-
tween that denomination and those of the
older and more ritualistc churches
Possibly some of the views presented may
arouse the violent dissent Of some of the
more orthodox of Gail Hamilton's Con
gregational brethren, but, then, the
Congregational creed, such as it is,
of various radically opposing interpret
ations, and Gail Hamilton is simply
raveling in the right to describe Congrega-
. tionalism as it appeals to her. Her defini-
ton of the form of Congregational church
government can cause no discussion, for it
| is entirely clear and accurate. She de-
Scribes 1t in a nutshell when she says that
) Congregationalism sis modelled upon the
southern idea of a confederacy rather than
upon the northern idea of a nation"
In chapter entitled "Inspiration," the
author takes shy at DR.. Clark, who de-
picts an imaginary man fioundering help.
lessly in the mire until finally his feet hi
upon the firm ground of Gods promise ani
be stands on that and is safe. The ration
alistic craze" however, seizes him, and he
begins to widen his foundation by driving
I, in such human piles as reason
= ''ethical consciousness 1.-The mora
/, fitness of things,'' 'God mirroreC
: and limited in human conception" etc, un
: til he rests partially on divine and partly
q hmm fOr1r Iati
pile-work sinks completely and the mar
9 finds no solidity or rest until he rebuilds
i ''his faith upon child-like trust in every
work Of God,' his fixed belief being For
\ ever, 0 Lord, Thy word is settled il
heaven" Gail Hamilton thinks that these
. words of DIR. Clark ''tickle the ear ant
+ never touch the brain" In the course O
: her reply she says:
r What is the word of God?'' The Bible T,
}. another city sits another doctor of the SAM
:. law, equally had in reputation, and at his fee
e are gathered in group questioning him as t.
S the proper attitude of Christian toward tn
II Ineatre, TO whom thus answers he: Our con
science tells us not to go, lest at the very leas
d we violate the command to abstain from all ap
r pearce OF evil" Instantly then DIR. Clark
r rock-Dase begins to totter and we find odrSelve
Il nat IN the prlmeval mud, for the revised version
l. says that there is no such command; bids onl
e 10 avoid every species of evil, which not onl
b gives us no enlightenment on the question
whether the theatre is evil, but forces us to as
n whether every word of God" means ever
It WORD OF King James translation or every wor
); of the revised version. Until that is decided
G and because 1t is to be decided, and, therefore
v after 1t is decided, our faith rests partly on
Q divine and partly on human foundation. Fol
: ever, without doubt, the word OF the Lord
1t settled in heaven, but it is so far from bein
t settled on rth that all the churches an
s creeds and sects of Christendom have com
d into court for the purpose of settling it, Whel
d the word of God is settled on earth, earth vii
e be earth no longer, but the holy cty-the Ney
Jerusalem.