The Big Stone post. (Big Stone Gap, Va.) 1890-1892, 1891-07-10

IT
TO enter any other folds, or to LEI the
sheep from those other folds browse within
cur own fold, NIL such actions mag be
churchiy but they arc NOS Christly
BfGorHY or cAUEcHMASsH1r.
80 What folly of aarrowness and bigosry
come under The name of churchmanshipl
Sometime since was seriously asked if it
was possible to be saved out Of the Epis-
copni Church After nineteen centuries
.of the study Of the words and life Of
Christ, there are sheep of the Good Shep-
hard who will show their loyalty to him
by never going into another fold. Nine-
teen centuries of study of the words and
life of Jesus leave US in the presence Of
many under-shepherds of the one Good
Shepherd, who will not themselves per-
form any Office of the shepherd in another
fold nor allow a shepherd of another fold
to perform such Offices in their own fold.
What an attitude is that Of some of
these good under-shepherds who, looking
over the vast fields of our American Chris
tianity, think to promote Christian union
by saying to the learned and godly men
ministering to what the preface of our
Prayer Book calls their respective
churches and therefore presumably min
listers We cannot allow you to minister
in our churches under any circumstances
whatever. Of course, we cannot allow you
to permanently ofliciatc therein without
conforming to the rules of our fold. Only
I a., hoe Of
our own clergy can we allow you to
administer the sacraments, since you do
not cali yourselves priests. But, more
than this, we cannot allow you to speak
at any Irregular service not provided by
the Prayer Book. We cannot allow you,
as baptized men, members Of the one
Church Of Christ, to do what any layman
MAJ freely do-spcak as a prophet the
message given you to declare
UYDER-snEpHEED WITH SLAVES.
eff Inc Good Shepherd foresaw how
his own underlings would fence off his
folds and try to bring the sheep from one
fold into another, thus to brand them
with the mark Of God, how lie must have
sighed oyer the abuses of the peeaful
shelter. What must have been his feel
ings if thus he foresaw his own under
shepherds busying Themselves in piling
stones ever higher on the walls which
separate the sheep Of God in their differ
ent folds, and in clubbing with their
slaves those sheep who would rear their
heads over the wall to lo9k with kindly
eyes upon the sheep Of other folds z"
THE NOnrpv crprpcTrTtON
Further on he says "Most Of our
churches are tolling under yoke of creed
superstition which, though their fathers
may have been able to bear it, the chill
dren surely are not. To be loyal to the
truth that is working in our generation
on every hand, thoughtful men IN those
churches ind themselves constrained to
be secretly disloyal to their tyrannops
creads. Faith and reason stand thus over
against each other In their souls in hostil-
ity which wrcnches their nature apart
into fata! schsm. Hearts warmly
human are crushed by the monstrous
beliefs which were natural to the age Of
the torture chamber and the inqusiton,
and tho jals that we're earthly bells, but
which now seem blasphcmous. The Cal
whistle churches are stricken with scep-
ticisms. Dogma is bringing forth doubt.
Creeds arc creating unbelief. The intel
ect and the conscience arc in revolt
against The authority Of aespOtq Gopfes-
sions Of faith. The dead hand of Calvin
must be relaxed or life will be stihed in
the churches over which he still tyranni-
cally rules from his grave.
THE SIGN Or ruE TIMES.
"He who reads the sign Of the times
sees clearly one of two alternatives before
our American Protestantism-thc throw
ing overheard of its cFceds or the simpli-
flying Of those creeds.
To-day could our Protestant churches
be content to part with thier reformation
confessions Of faith or to relegatc them
to the position which the Thlrty:nine Ar
ticles hold in our Church, and thus to fall
back upon that great catholic creed which
has come down through the centuries and
is by our own Church held forth as the
common heritage Of all who profess and
call themselves Christians awaiting their
claiming, there would be an immediate
emancipation from doubt, full breathed
sense Of intellectual honesty and al end
of strife and contention.
"'Ihe dogmas which are driving men to
doubt would be Of 20 necessity of the
faith. The disputations which are divid-
ing our Christianity would no longer in
volve any essentials of the faith, and
you'd be carried on as issues of pbiIoso-
ply and Of science rather than Of vital
religion Wellnigh every battle that is
being waged in our sister churches would
cease at once. Dr.. Brdgman would not
have to resign his pastoratc because of
his views on the question Of future pun
ishHeHt. Er. Briggs could excite no acrid
contention on the question of Inspiration.
The higher criticism would be subject
for the critics, not for the saints for the
doctors of divinity, not for the dcacons."
JAY GoVLD:s OPINION.
Hullisi Belief that Money Wilt be Plenty.