The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-03-16
THE Two EAfREAlES.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEREsY IN
NEW YORK AND CINCINNATI.


Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., Precedes His Reg
uiar Sunday Sermon with Some INSTRUCT
i've Comment on tho Smith and Briggs
Heresy Cases-State sectariaD Schools.
NEW YORK, March 12.-The Rev.
Thomas Dixon, Jr., preceded the sermon
In Association hall this morning by a re-
view Of the status Of the Briggs contro-
yersy and the petition for peace. He said;
Professor Briggs Of New York stands
acquitted and Professor Smith Of Cincin-
matt convicted of heresy by their respec.
tive presbyteries And yet Professor
Briggs is the greater hereto. The diff
ference is between thepresbytery Of New
York and Cincinnati The younger the
community the greater the yearning in
q majority of the average religious minds
for history" and traditions of the IA
thers." Having no historic institutions
or traditions Of their own, the younger
Christian communities cling with fierce
fondness to old wornout garments long
since discarded and despised by their
spiritual parents. Hence young Amer
lea in matters Of religion presents the
anomaly of extreme hide bound conserv-
atism and is unconsciously q quarter
Of a century behind the tradition ridden
old world in the true development Of
Christianity. What a spectacle, after
all, the Presbyterian church continues to
make of itself
There never was an age demanding
such practical action as today. 1t is an
age of open gates. 1t is an age of bound
less opportunities, an age Of crying soul
need, of measureless yearning for God,
the spiritual, the infinite, the eternal, to
be incarnated in life. All classes and
all peoples are crying for this word of
eternal life. The church must answer
this cry or die.
The Presbyterian church is answering
by trying to gouge out the eyes of its
prophets. Well may the judicious grieve
and circulate petition for peacel
II ever there was time when the
church should be at peace with herself,
1t is now.
But will they heed the cry for peace?
Hardly
If these fights should be dropped, the
names Of the great prosecuting commit
tee would be dropped too. And these
men never knew how important they
were until they began to protect AL
mighty God from ravenous, devouring
heretics. These men are the self appoint
ed protectors of Jehovah, his second
throne, his law, his people. Nobody ever
heard of them before these trials. And no
body will ever hear of them afterward.
That is the trouble.
Peace is impossible because these cham
pions of Jehovah would be out of job.
They are not much on fight against
the devil, but they are great on the court
martial of saint
And then, too, the difficulty about the
peace petitioners is that too many of
them belong to the party Of life and prog
ress. They cry in the wilderness. 1t is
vain to cry peace, peace, when there is
no peace. There are some things worse
than war. Surely a compromise that
settles nothing, but only postpones the
inevitable, is but adding wrath to the day
of wrath.
If the Presbyterian church is really di-
vided, why not divide? Why live in the
same house and fight forever? 1t is
but giving small men opportunity to air
their insignifcance while the world
laughs. Christian unity is not mechan-
ical uniformity. True unity is a spirit
ual fact, and organic unity in Christen-
dom will never be realized in institutions
until it lives in the hearts of the Christian
world. Uniformity is one thing, unity
another
We are one in Christ when we do his
will, follow in his footsteps, live his life.
Let US do this if we have to form new
church every day in the year. The hour
Of true unity will come at last.