St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-01-05
THE NEW THEOLOGY.

On his recent visit to st. Paul. Rev.
DR.. THOMAS. the pastor of the Peoples
church in Chicago, greatly disturbed
the orthodox SensibilitieS of some who
were drawn from unrevised religious
quarters to hear him. He prOfessed to
speak, and with a clearness not to be
misapprehended, for the new theology
which IS heard with growing distinct
ness at Andover, Brooklyn, Chicago, ST..
Paul, and is permeating the religious
elements generally more or less. LY-
NAN ABBOTT, the successor of HENRY
WARD BEECHER, was indicated as one
of the leaders of the new movement.
DIR. THOMAS presented the ''higher
criticism of the Bible, which he said
was made an idol of by some of the
pietists. 1t was inspired as men who
write great and ennobling thoughts
always are. In a recent lecture on
"The Evolution Of the Bible" Dr. ABB
BOTT presented views quite in harmony
with those indicated by the preacher
from Chicago. A few extracts will show
the character of the modern view. He
says:
at used to be the belief that the Bible is a
perfect book. l think that few hold this
opinion now. They may think they hold it,
but l do not believe that they do. Such a
man opens the Bible at Genesis. He finds
that the world was created in six days. and
to make perfectly sure that it means six
days of twenty-four hours each, it says:
And the morning and the evening were the
first day. If he believes that the Bible is
a perfect book, he is compelled to have two
IL.
& scientific standpoint and the other from
religious standpoint
He taxes the Ten Commandments and
places them in the chancel. Yet he knows
that man may keep every one of the Ten
Commandments and not be admitted to any
decent society III New York. He may obey
every commandment and yet not come up to
the Christian standard of living-no, not
even to the civilized standard as it exists in
New York today and we all know that
that is none too high.
There is another danger besides skepti-
cism. 1t is sham pretending to believe what
we do not believe. Let US be honest with
ourselves.
Il do not wish to shock any one. but do
wish to say that for my part do not believe
that the Bible is an infallible book.
1.-The Ten commandments are not our ideal
VI Iuel were nCt ideal
Christ took two principles from the old COM
mandments-love for God and love for ones
neighbor. That was not Christ's law That
was the Jewish law.
Take down those Ten Commandments
from your chancel-they do not belong
there. They are Jewish. Put up in their
stead the new commandment of Chrlst-that
yel love one anOther-for in that we find the
principle of self-sacritice
''The Bible is the product of 5000 years
growth. The truth has been growing from
Genesis to Revelation. 1 believe that the
new criticism and the new theology will
make US understand the Bible better than we
do now"
The new school takes down it's Bible
as the book of most value on all the
shelves, but differing from other good
good books only in degree of excellence
and varied and ennobling contents. 1t
Is not taken as the embodiment of full
and completed revelation. or as contain
ing complete system of ethics ex-
banded to the limits, and ready to be ap-
Piled to the needs of all times. Its
truths are germinal, and grow with the
enlightenment and elevation of the
race. Interpretations are as inspira.
tional as the text. Science, discovery,
history and constant revelations are in.
terpreterS. The new theology puts man
closer to the Infinite, and eliminates the
features that have been classed by the
unOrthOdOX as severe and irrational.
Its votarieS fancy that it is to pretty
nearly have the field in time.