St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-05
Dr.. Edwin C. Bolles Delivers
an Able Sermon on the
Subject.
The Defeat Due to Country
Bigots Who Have Been
Asleep.
Religion Not Necessarily a
Fossil From the Prehis-
toric Ages.

Bolles preached today on the Briggs
trial to a large congregation at the
Church of the Eternal Hope. The sub
Ject of the pastors discourse was, 'How
Heresy Trials Appear to a Liberal"
He began by stating that he did not
propose to abuse the Presbyterian
church, for their action was logical and
from their point of view right. 1.-The
teeth of persecution have been drawn
by time; in olden days Dr.. Briggs might
have seen the way to the scaffold or the
prison. The plain sense of the Westmin-
ster confession" he continued, "seems
to candid people just as the presbytery
has decided it; yet DR.. Briggs was
perfectly right. The only trouble is
that DR.. Briggs was the right man in
the wrong place. He can regard his
condemnation as every man who has
been ahead of his time could, as COM
piment, though perhaps an embarrass-
ing one. In the first place, the whole
matter may be regarded as great
waste of time, energy and enthusiasm.
There is something better for the
UtNiA W Wv IMAM ~ oNUtiO POiiilo
which will not be settled, and entering
on debate which is only wearying and
endless. The only reason for the exist
ence of church. Bible or creed, at all,
is to make men better, and heresY
trial makes them forget the spirit Of
God and neglect the golden rule about
their duty to their fellow men.
1T seems to me that such a heresy
trial is manufacturer of intidets. 1t
adds to the scandals which make great
many intelligent men and women de-
spise the church, which has more dam
ger to fear from the conclusions of the
world, that she preserves only the letter
and not the spirit of her Masters Cos
pei, than from any attacks which can be
made upon her from the outside.
.'The tone OF the great thermometer
of public opinion, the press, indicates
this feeling, and no one could have read
the last week without feeling that the
Presbyterian church has done much to
ALLEVIATE public sentiment from its re-
spect towards Christianity.
This heresy trial may be looked
upon hopefully as indicating the power
of the evolution of the world toward
liberal ideas in religion. DR.. Briggs
has tried to make the Westminster con-
fession elastic, as if made of rubber;
the assembly has decided that it is rigid,
of cast iron. But the expansive force
of reason and common sense is crack
ing, since it cannot stretch, its ancient
shell. The assembly has drawn the
lines. but it has not got the power to
put the butterfly back into the chrys-
ais, or the singing bird into its old
shell.
zone thing is certain; it seems that
there is more need than ever of a clear,
vigorous and devout statement of the
principles of the liberal church. 1t
must be made clear, that men may see
that religion is not necessarily fossil
from prehistoric ages, nor dangerous
compromise between conservatism and
progress. 1t must be vigorous that the
world may know that there are views.of
good and of religion. and Of human
duty and destiny, where faith is ground
ed on reason and where the lesson of
Gods eternal love is the beginning and
end of church creed"
DR.. Bolles, when seen after the sery-
ice was enthusiastic on the subject.
II Lave been close student of this
struggle" he said, lever since Elliott
F. Shepard wrote that bitter attack call
ing upon the presbytery TO eXpel DR..
Briggs. and adjuring the people not to
send their sons to Union seminary. DR..
Briggs was defeated by number OF
country bigots, who have learned moth
ing of the advance OF theology during
the last quarter of a century. Why, l
assure you. sir, that the leading PreSby-
terian clergy of this city are anxious to
receive Unitarians or UnIversaliSts or
any other people of responsibility into
their churches. According to the
PRESBYTERIAN notion of the infalli-
ii,y of The entile Bible. they
would revere as saints lot of men
who could not be classed even with
the men of Tammany Hall and Wall
street. Who cares whether when man
dies he is at once made as good as pos
sible in the next world or only attainS
perfection by degrees, as DR.. Briggs
teaches? These questions are only fit
for the middle ages. l can tell you, sir,
that the great masses of the thoughtful
people of this country are with DR..
Briggs. Let those bigots who ale SO
fond of holding out examples of divine
judgments ponder while over what
has happened since the first TRADE WAS
published against the dOctor-nOI that
L believe in such nonsense, but they
can probably take lesson from their
own dOgmas."