The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-06-02

him by standards made by human
hands, and crush with the s~heep-bind-
ing and the solid paper OF the very
book to which he invited their atten-
ton. Keep this fact in constant view
Of the champions of rheumatic trad1-
tionaIism who are assaulting Professor
Briggs, swear by Dogmatic Theology
and with all the vehemence of their
souls repudiate and hate Biblical The
ology. They propose to try him for
heresy for undermining the Bible, at
the same time refuse to confne them
selves to it's teachings for the standards
by which to conduct the trial.
IS PAPER DIVINE?
8. 1t means a paper creed against a
vital religion. The real centre of the
fight is over the supposed divinity of a
paper creed made hundreds Of years
ago by weak human hands. The day
for paper creeds is gone. Men have
persisted in teaching that the paper
was divine. But those who love Jesus
Christ have come to believe that only
those really love Him who keep His
commandments. They have come to
believe that a paper creed has nothing
to do with mans salvation or damna-
ton, but that what is in his heart de-
termines the question of salvation.
Not for paper creeds with traditional
comments, but living epistles, is the
aspiration of this school represented in
part by Professor Briggs. The religion
that cannot stand the test of life can
not be saved by all the paper creeds
now tinkered together by the sacred
cobblers of all the ages. The paper
creed that does not throb with the
divine life of Christ as He walks among
men to-day a only be a mockery to
the church that with lips processes it.
The question is, were the creed cobblers
Of the fifteenth century infallible, and
did wisdom die in the sixteenth cen
fury? A curious question to put in
this age.
SLAVERY VS.. FREEDOM.
4. It means Slavery against Free
dom. Shall men be allowed to think,
or shall they be bound in the shackles
of dogmatic idiocies and forbidden to
think, under pain of death2 Is it a
crime to think? Shall the church in
this age of school houses say to her
chosen prophets, Cursed is the man
who thinks?" If so, the days of that
church are numbered. 1t lags super
fuOus on the stage of a new world,
with no powers of adjustment to the
necessities of a new life. Do you be-
lieve in slavery or liberty? Do you
wish to be taught by slaves, bound and
gagged and paid to teach like a parrot
one thing under pain of death7 Or do
you believe in a living God, a living
Spirit, who is come to guide into all
truth7 Or in dead God, a dead Christ,
and bound and gagged mummies as
His ambassadors? This fight means
reason against stupidity, miscalled
faith. Faith is a moral act of the soul,
and is utterly foreign to the pious stu
pidity which rejoices in swallowing
dogmatic contradictions and absur-
dities.
This fight means a battle for the very
life of Christianity with it's misled but
earnest defenders. Unless the church
can be brought into living, vital CON
tact with the thought of the age-the
thought of the age is certain to be ma
terialistic, not spiritual. Do you be-
lieve in Jesus Christ? Do you believe
in His divine mission? If so, come now,
with all your manhood and woman,
hood, and demand that His church
shall leave the traditions of men and
hold fast only the commandments of
God.