The record-union., 1892-02-27
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
Expressions From the Various Re-
ligious Newspapers.
The Religious Thought of the Day as
Expressed in the Sectarian Press
Some Matters Of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.

Some Matters Of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.
Concluding an article on the divinity
of Christ, the New York Ctarchmdn (P.
| e. declares: "What the world wants is
not the hero, but the man; not deified
individual, but the word made flesh. 1t
does not derogate from the dignity or the
reality OF human nature to believe that it
Is made for union with God, that only
! he who is perfect God can be perfect
man. Jesus does not cease to be human
| when we see that he is the fullness of
humanity, that he is the universal man,
| that he has taken of the manhood into
God. He is not Godlike; He is God. In
| him we have relation to God; our SON.
ship is not the measure of his; his
/ sonShlp Is the ground Of ours. A small
minority OF refined and intellectual peo-
pie can for time find satisfaction in the
contemplation of a ChriSt-idea and the
practice of commonplace moralities, but
1t was not an idea but a person, son of
Mary and son of God, that made the
slaves and beggarS OF Roman cities of the
trst ages into martyrs and that will win
the hearts OF the masses in days yet TO
come. Call it a dogma, if you will; at
least 1t is fact call it mystery; but it
meets the need. One across the sea not
himself believer said little while ago,
! With the workingmen of England
Christ has the future But it will not
be the Christ of Renan, but of st. John:
not the hero, but the man. Men will not
deSplse their nature when they see it
throned on high; they will realize the
necessity of holiness when they know
that God dwells in Them"
The JVatchman (Bapt.) of Boston re-
marks that many OF the destructive Bib
| l1cal critics first come to conclusion
upon the moral ideas and standards
prevalent IN certain epoch and then
| boldly assign any narrative that betrays
an advanced ethical ideal to late date.
For instance, DR.. Toy in his Judaism
and Christianity page 1S4, characterizes
the age OF David as one of moral raw
ness and in which there is mo trace OF
| the sense Of sin, in the higher meaning OF
the expression In conformity with
this dictum the rebuke of Nathan to David,
/ 2 Sam. xii. Id, and the narrative in
Sam. vii, are regarded as productions OF
a much later period. Marcus n. Adler,
in the Asidtic quarterly points out that
the Jewish sanitary legislation is in mar
vicious accord with the results of modern
scientific research. 1t indicates a pro-
found knowledge of physiology and of
the methods by which disease is propa-
gated. The Indications are that the Mo-
sale legislation is still in advance of our
science, and that we may antici-
pate further combinations of the
wisdom of Mosaic restrictions. II
would be decidedly interesting to know
when these laws were written according
to the strictly priori theory that DIR.
10y applies to the two passages referred
to from Samuel. OF one thing we are
quite certain, namely, that they were not
written subsequent to A. D. 1892"
The New York Christian I7steILiaencer
(Reformed) protests against the Juggling
with words" which prevails in discus
sions on religious subjects. 1t says
:" Errancy' and 'inerrancy' of the Script
ureS are words that have sprung into
common use, What is meant by them ?
Errancy is charged as though the Bible
i was full of mistakes and contradictions.
And when called to answer what they
| are, refuge Is had to the existence con-
coded by all, of such mistakes as its
transmission by human agencies makes
| unavoidable. Inerrancy is sometimes
used and pressed as, though by it was
meant a Bible without a single human
feature or adaptation to the varying con-
ditions in and for which it was given.
Because of such indeterminateness OF
language, and especially the way in
| which it is used, the impression is left
on many minds that the Word of God is
| Is no wise different from other books, is
filled with errors and contradictions,
whereas, when the attempt is made to
enumerate them, those left unexplained
/ are so few and unlmportant as to be
merely a witness to the presence of a
| human element in its composition and
its transmission. What need there is for
a clearer definition of just what writers
mean when they use these pre-eminently
abused words, inspiration and revelation
How frequently are they juggled with
] lann ca I'D fl,O,, H. !.
ferent, or as if synonymous; so that the
reader Is left In mass of contradictions -
Commenting upon a recently published
article by the Rev. Burt Estes Howard, a
Presbyterian clergyman, upon the Atone
ment, the Presbyterian Banner of Pitts
burg says: "These are but samples OF
what fills the whole article. Christ's vi
carious sufferings, his substitution, his
atonement, as understood by evangelical
Chrstendom, are entirely repudiated.
| We may say, however, that the argu-
ments OF Mr.: Howard are not new; they
are old and threadbare; and his presenta-
ton of them is especially weak. That a
member of the Presbyterian Church, OF
OF any orthodox denomination, should
reject the atonement of Christ as it is de-
clared in the Bible and in every orthodox
creed, and that he should endeavor to in
duce others to do so, is cause for keen
natural outgrowth ofthe teachings of Drs
Briggs, Smith and Evans and their fol-
lowers, prominent among whom are Drs
Haydn and Sprecher, and Mr.. Howard
of Cleveland. After denying the uner-
ring and absolute infallibility of the
Bible, 1t is easy to take from it what il
does teach and to insert in it what it does
not teach. This is just what the author
of the article we have been considering
mas done. Holding the opinion he has
here avowed, be ought to see that he can
not consistently remain in the Presby-
terrain or any other orthodox church g
single day longer"
The Lining Church of Chicago Up. E.
has this to say on the subject of so-called
Christian Socialism: .The Christian idea
of social reform begins with the reforma-
ton of the individual. He must be made
to see the innate turpitude and injustice
OF selhshness as at once sin against God
and man, whether he be millionaire OF
a pauper. This is the essential character
Istic, the bottom principle of Christian
reform in sociology, and it presents a
marked contrast with the dynamics OF
socialism. 1t persuades. while the latte,
would force, men to be Just. It seeks to
effect radical changes in the individual in
order 10 promote the welfare of society
Socialism, on the contrary, proposes to
reyolutionize society in order to promote
the welfare ofthe individual. The antith-
esis is very striking between the force
of morals and the morals of force. Chris
tianity is in no danger of failing to be-
what it has SO often been, the conservatoi
of all that is righteous in social econom-
les. so long as it addresses its remedial
power, fearlessly and persistently, to the
extirpation of individual selfishness. Let
the clergy put in their best work along
that line.'
The New York Christian Enquire,