The record-union., 1893-05-06
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.
1.-The course of certain critics is calcu-
lated to make persons of ordinary intelli-
gence give up the Bible as delusive in its
simplicity, an oracle of uncertain Tone"
says the New York Observer pres.
Gould these critics have their way, we
presume the milk of the Word would be
stirilized by the higher critical process be-
fore being dealt out from the pulpit. How
ever desirable scholarship may be in some
respects, il it makes either theoretically
or practically sealed book of the Bible,
II is doing incalculable harm. We could
wish to see for one brief hour a Bible such
as the united forces of the latest higher
criticism would produce. But were these
enlightened scholars to meet in some Jeru-
salem chamber for the task of preparing
revised Bible, we should simply wit
ness confusion worse confounded. There,
however, they should be compelled to re-
main until they produced better Bible
or decided to give up attacking the old
one. Canon Cheyne would take the task
of disproying the Davidic authorship of
the Psalms. Perhaps DR.. Washington
Glodden would lend his aid to promul-
gate that view if Canon Cheyne would
agree to aid in proving with DR.. GLADDEN.
That the Bible gives us in places blurred
and distorted ideas about God and His
truth But the latest conclusions of sci
ence are so varied that harmony would be
impossible. Yet, if DR.. GLADDEN. is right,
If the Bible even in parts gives us blurred
HlGfArfn1 Of rSd a isf
the demand of the hour, and the assem-
bly, we propose ought to convene imme-
dlately. But as for ourselves, we believe
that the milk of the w ord needs no steril-
ling;
The New York Independent, which has
returns from eighty-two of the two hun
dred and odd Presbyteries, after pointing
out that the proposed revision of the
estminster Confession has clearly
failed, says: "Thirty-four of the eighty
two Presbyteries ask for a new creed, and
doubtless quite number of those who
Tor constitutional reasons have taken no
action would also welcome a new creed.
This will probably be the outcome of the
revision movement, which has from the
beginning been a surprise. 1t received
an unexpectedly hearty Endorsement
when 1t was first proposed by the Assem-
bly,; but the more the church has studied
lLC SOHl6SSlOn dS IGNlSOtl, Gne stronger
has become its dissatisfaction. Both lib
erals and conservatives turn with favor
to the idea OF new creed. Indeed, this
| idea was strongly indorsed by the Assem-
bly, which appointed the Commission of
Revision; but it did not seem wise to
undertake to formulate a new creed while
revision was pending. Now that revis-
ion will be taken out of the way, we pre-
sumo that the General Assembly at
Washington will take up in earnest
| the question of new creed and
that commission will be appointed
| to formulate one. On the whole, we think
the church is to be congratulated on the
outcome. The Westminster Confession
is an antiquated document expressed in
antiquaIed terms. Any revision of it
would be sort OF patchwork. 1t would be
like putting new wine into old wineskins.
A short new creed expressive of the
evangelical doctrines held by the Presby-
terians, Methodists, Congregationalists
and others, win meet the wants of the
churches, and the venerable Confession
can repose in dignity and silence on the
shelves"
The Interior (Pres.) of Chicago says:
ut is only short time since materialistic
evolution, was the rage in the literary and
learned world. There was a furore over
it all abroad. The foundations were
DSlIS iii peTlleu. 1laC was only twenty
years ago. Who hears of it now? True,
evolution is employed as a working
hypothesis in every cabinet and college
in Christendom; but materialistic eyo-
luton is dead and gone into the limbo of
past mistakes. The methods of literary
criticism are not new. The employment
of it from the rationalistic standpoint has
been as much the rage as materialislic
evolution was twenty years ago, but the
| life of this philosophic fad will be shorter
than its predecessor. 1t is already dis
appearing in Germany, and 1t is only
| galvanized into apparent life in our own
| country by the opportunity it has given
| for personal exploitation for and against.
Our own church escaped disturbance dur
! ing the evolutionary craze OF twenty
years ago, but in the Southern Presby-
terian Church it gave rise to hersy trials
and disgraceful personal acrimony. Now
| it is our turn to lose our equipose about a
| flying cloud, which very soon Will dis
appear from the face of the world, never
to be seen again."
1.-The Christian union of which we write
is quite as much matter of growth as of
contrivance,n observes the Wutch,anu
(Bapt.) of Boston. 1.-THE method of union
by compromise probably will not effect
| much. The churches will inevitably
come nearer to each other as the enormous
demand of our age for aggressive Chris
| tian service is realized, and as they come
| to understand each other better. Indeed.
we are not sure that one-half of the
bigoted sectarianism in the world is due
to pure ignorance. We have often heard
cultivated people attribute to the Baptists
doctrines which they have never held.
and against which they have constantly
| protested; for instance, that baptism is "a
! saving ordnance Supercilious ignor-
ance does much to block the way 10
! Christian union. And before the impera-
tive need of cooperation, before the spirit
which comedies a generous liberty to
others, and is willing sympathetically to
! learn their point of view, before LOYALTY
to Christ and the New Testament rather
than TO creeds, much OF the current sec
tarianism is as certain to dissolve as the
SHOWS before the April SUM-"
without, we hope, being unchari-
table, says the New York Christian IN
qWirer (Bapt.), 1--WE find it hard to resist a
conviction that the most loud-mouthed
advocates of church unity reckon them
selves to have reached higher standard
than many other Christians and have a
good deal of a pharisaic spirit. 1t is far
more desirable TO make worldly man a
Christian than to turn q Christian from
one denomination To another, but it is de-
plorabie to find any Christian denomiua-
ton whose adherents think that it
has no special truth and no spe-
cial mission which make it desir-
able to bring other Christians into
its fellowship. Undoubtedly there should
be as little waste as possible of effort and
money in founding churches, but Chris
tians of varying creeds and customs can
not be expected to surrender their con-
victions, and ministers, if faithful men,
must declare what they believe to be the
whole counsel of God. The C0Rgreqation-
dlSt tells US, The greatest difficulty in the
way of cooperation lies in the conviction