The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-23
The MacOuaarv Harasv.

Editor Morning Ne,Cs: Well, the YER
dict is against the Rev. Mr.. MacQueary Of
the Episcopal church for heresy. It could
not well have been otherwise, as you stated
in your editorial. When any church holds
to certain doctrines or creeds, of course to
differ is heresy. Heresy against the teach
ings Of that certain church, but not neoes..
sarily heresy against the truth St. Paul
was a noted hereto against the teachings Of
the orthodox Jews. Heresy was rampant
in his day. and only grew more 80 as the
church took on its religious complexion.
To one who has given some thought and
reading to religious controversies, the idea
of really knowing what is truth, outside of
positive and actual facts, is an absurdity.
All is theory. surmises, the metaphysical
gians. There is just as much in
mental as there is in palatic taste.
And that which is disagreesble OF upalata-
bic to either will be rejected. Mr.. Mac
Queary's crime is in being an advanced
thinker; the theological vestments of fifty
or one hundred years ago do not sit pleas
ently upon his mind. The world has grown
in thought and in research. AlleRories,
symbols. types, metaphors, figures Of
speech, ETC., are now being interpreted in a
rational and sensible, way
Perhaps many Of your readers may not
be aware of the fact that the now valued
King James translation of the Bible was
rejected by the people Of that day, aud the
only way to get it before the people was to
so lower it in price as against the other
favored translations that the poorer ella sses
bought it, and, hence, in time 1T became
the only translation read, but it took forty
years to work the change. PPejudices, like
our passions, are hard to conquer. As
| Terence wrote, Human nature is so con-
| stituted that ali see and judge better in the
affairs OF other men than their own and
to divest ourselves of some of our innate
| and educated prejudices would be like
| taking off our skin to feel bstter.
There is in this day OF thought and re-
search no pure orthodoxy. All men-made
creeds and beliefs are things of the reason
| alone, and as the mind is enlightened new
| thoughts and ideas step in and possess us.
The creation of man in a garden: the unity
of the human race; the ages OF Adam to
Noah; the food, and many other allegor-
ical and symbolic ideas are now being IN
derstood and properly interpreted. Mr..
MacQueary cannot and will not recall a
word he has written, bat he has given the
public a book that will be considered
rational and reasonable, truthful and
| sound, within the next twenty years.
The very fact that Mr.. MacQueary was
tried in January and his case has been
under consideration for over two months.
declares that he has made points, stated
| facts, declared historical truths that cannot
and will not be denied. Seeds of thought
have been planted that will never die. LIB
crafty, tolerance and a broad, deep charity
of thought have been invoked. The good
| old-fashloned hell, SO dear to some preach
ers. their great stock in trade, their last
resort to reach sinners. has faded away into
'sheol" undefined, "hades" not under
I "a
thought long after David's time. No great
truth was ever given TO the world that was
not at first fought. then ridiculed, then
Investigated, and at last accepted. Such is
the history of all great and original
thought. r. M. ..