The record-union., 1893-06-17
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.

II real, much more, if large major
ity of American citizens should demand
in a perfectly constitutional way the
closing Of the Chicago Fair on Sundays,
the fair not only ought to be, but un-
questionably would be, closed, ''says the
New York ChurcLn1an Up. E. Nothing
can be more delusive than petitions,
either to Congress or to the Executive.
at least on such matters as Sunday legis-
latlon. They are often signed by large
number of persons, many of whom,
however, get counted two or three times
over. But it is the perfectly contented
people, the people that have as much
sunday as they want and are determined
to enjoy their holiday in their own wav.
who never sign such petitions at all, and
who constitute the immense majority.
OF course, if you want to interfere with
your nelghbor, to lock him out of an art
gallery or museum, or to prevent him
taking his wife and family to Coney
Island, or buying Sunday newspaper,
or an lrecream soda, you will fortunately
nave to put yourself to q good deal of
trouble. Very likely you will draw uD a
petition to Congress, buttonhole every
acquaintance you possess, and insist
e'PNLi LIS Wiling his name at Jn0 IOOJ OF
It, Meanwhile the majority of your fell
loW-cltlzens Will never pay you the
slightest attention; they will go to Coney
Island, or perhaps to church on the ele-
waited railroad, exactly as it pIeases them
selves. And if the worst comes to the
Worst,an fairs, like theaters and saloons,
are opened on Sundays in Chicago, it is a
very comforting reflection that not a sin
gle American citizen is obliged to 90.
Nobody is worse off than the apostles
were IN this respect and the early Christ
lans. They were not allowed the use of a
policeman, or of the Roman legions for
the purpose of propagating their opinions
ana compelling their neighbors to be
more cody than they wanted TO be. And
yet 1t was that primitive Christianity
with no aid from the State-nay. Chris
tlanlty prosecuted and suffering-which
really conquered the world.'
An inst instructive contrast" says the
New \ DIRK ChurchmaH, lis afforded by
the ecclesiastical trial of Professor Briggs
and the civil trial of the Geary law.
The Geary law is brought before a COM
.paratively small number of men. chosen
Tor their expert knowledge and their iu-
dicial temper. The Judge from Cafitor-
MIA, where the public feeling against the
Chinese is hottest, declares the law I'M
constitutional; the Judge from Massachu-
sets, where the feeling against the Geary
law is hottest, declares it constitutional:
and though the decision of the court
doubtless dissatis1ies a great many, the
people OF the United States acquiesce and
cordially set themselves to study the
question how they can undo the practical
Injustice which the enforcement of the
law viii produce. The case of Professor
Briggs IS brought before mass meeting
Few of its members possess any expert
knowledge on the subject matter in
VOWED, fewer still possess a judicial tenn
per. Almost to man they have gone to
Washington to vote for or against DR..
Briggs; almost to a man they were elected
as Briggs or utiBriggs men. 1t is
doubtful whether in the whole Assembly
n score of men could be found who ap-
proach the case in the temper in which
the supreme Court approached the case
submitted to it. The Moderator, answer
ing to the Chief Justice, is an avowed
partisan, and leaves the chair that he
may swell by his vote the majority for
his party. As a result, whatever de-
csion is reached by the Assembly, no
real conclusion of tho decision Will be
reached in the church Professor Briggs
may be turned out, but no one will be
convinced that justice has been done, or
even that ecclesiastical law mas been OBJ
served. And men who believe with him
Will continue to preach and to teach eX-
actly as they did before"
Neither revision, which has failed
nor new creed, which has come into
large favor, could be expected to receive
much attention from this Assembly" re-
marks the New \ ork IndeDeHdeilL The
appeal from the New York Presbytery
and the trial OF Professor Briggs lett the
Assembly no time and no heart for much
else. The question of new creed has
therefore, been postponed. The church
will have another think a
and then the Assembly can start anew
i'll the matter, without, it is to be de-
Vouuy hoped, any heresy case to dis
tract its attention. AS for revision, that
is not likely to be revived again in any
form. The church has spoken on that
subject and spoken plainly. But all the
discussion of the past live years has
equally proved that the Westminster
Confession, as it stands, does not repre-
sent the living faith OF the church. The
action of the Presbyteries simply means
that it cannot by the process oil revision
be made to represent that faith. 1t re-
mains, therefore, to adopt another meth
Cd, the method that has worked sat!siac-
torily to Presbyterians in England and
Scotland; and secure either declaratory
statement OF the sense in which the old
confession is held, or a creed which shall
set forth the doctrines Of evangelical
Christianity. That is what the Presby-
ltI1dA Cuu1Cll - CIV 1QtullN lOOhiD2 lOr-
ward to, and when the heresy cases are
out of the way, 1T will have the oppcrtu-
nifty TO take the necessary steps TO pro-
vide such a creed.'
"There are two troubles with the West
minister Confession" says the National
BdpttSt OF Philadelphia. First, it APP
plies human logic TO what are undoubt-
eddy divine truths, and deduces from
these divine truths inierences which it
puts, in point of authority, upon "a level
with the divine truths themselves. This
is a process which we believe to be
wholly unwarranted. God is good. God
is omnipotent. This is divinely true.
But suppose we proceed to argue thus:
God is good; God is all-powerful; God is
all-wise. A good being must desire the
goodness and happiness of every one Of
Ills creatures and the total absence OF
pain and sin. An all-wise and all-pow-
erful being will be able 10 accomplish
these results. Therefore the existence
OF SIN ana misery in the world is impos-
slble- This would be strictly logical, ac-
cordlng to the formal logic Of men. ON
the other hand, we might say, God is
holy, God IS just, God is powerful. A
holy. Just and powerful being cannot
have any allowance TOR sin, and must
necessarily punish sinners according to
their desert. Therefore, remediIess and
eternal punishment must he the lot of all
who have slnned. And so we might pro-
coed, drawing from true premises conclu-
sions which should be strictly logical aud
yet absolutely false. The second fault OF
the Westminster Confession, as OF all
partisan confessions, is that it states but
one side; it does not temper, mitigate,
balance its statements by the equally
true, equally authoritative, equally di-
vine statements on another side"