The Washington times., 1894-05-27
Lay Sermons for
Sunday Reading

dency to seeking "after God, If haply
he may find: Him." and as such is perhaps
the ultimate of the inherent desire to know.
Man would ever like to know the source oi
this 'Nile stream" OF life on which he finds
himself floating.
In the multiplicity of forms OF expression
Of religion man reveals the infinite varia-
tions of consciousness flowing through the
human organism, and at the same time en-
phasizes the human tendency to the self-as-
sertion of ascertained, discovered wisdom
"This is the way; walk ye in it."
Among all these forms OF approach to
religion II may be admitted that some one
may be nearer to the right. the direct line to q
goal, than any other one. 1t also may be
admitted that if any form is a necessity, sc
all the many forms are necessary in the
process of the true evolution Of religion, true
wisdonk but as no form is true wisdom, only
the exit ltnalization OF the imagination OF the
road leading thereunto, then 1t will follow
that religion itself is without form. and the
nearer the man approaches the reality the
fainter will become the form and symbol.
While tho arena of conflict at Saratoga is
hot with discussion about the inerrancy OF
the Bible, while all the skill of fence OF poll
tics is there brought into play to plumb
the tottering image of dogma that man has
set up on the plane of his yesterday of under
standing. thought naturally turns IN that di-
rection and to the true cause OF this heated
conilict-this effort to establish on lasting
basis their opinion of the color of this chame-
lion, the evolving soul. the consciousness
gradually unveiling this image OF God in man.
1t must be admitted by all who read history
that the Bible as book, collection OF sacred
writings. is a creation of the Catholic Church
and was so recognized until after the day OF
Luther. This first protestant who succeeded
in maintaining his protest and his life. began
the organization of a republic, instead of the
monarchy he had protested against. He
translated the Latin Bible of the Church into
his mother tongue; in doing so he was in
clined to omit several books of the then and
now complete book, but he would have a
republic founded upon constitution, a Bible,
instead OF the monarehical authority OF the
Pope As the Catholic or mother church has
found it logical necessity to declare the in
fallible authority of the Pope. so now the
Presbyterian or Orthodox Protestants find it
n necessity to the authority of their organiza-
ton to declare their constitution, or Bible, to
be infallible or inerrant. That book contains
a book or writing called the Prophesy OF
Isaiah, from whom the great Nazarine. and
his immediate followers made frequent quota
tionS.
In this script" or writing, or book. is
anu us ltdSOh lOttthci, ,
saith the Lord" We can hardly claim iner-
rancy in text and verbiagn and deny it TO the
underlying thought To reason together i'm
plies the ability to reason-two reasoning en-
titles, the necessity for reasoning. that your
sins of scarlet may become white like
WOOL is more than implied. So with this
authority let US reason together about this
.'inerrancy." this new infallibIlity" that is
set up. The first question is, When was it in
r,II haf, n ha inf
Which of the many translations and transcript
tions of its many parts and books is the infal-
lible? And if one is found that is the infalli-
ble then are not all others more or less falli-
BILE, and therefore dangerous. misleading,
anti-Christ? To quote from the proceedings at
Saratoga:
Or Lowrie, chairman of the committee on
professional proof texts. got the floor, but he
was unable TO secure the adoption of his
recommendation on account OF a difference
of opinion as to the best printed text OF the
English Bible The committee desired
either the best English edition or the best
edition of the American Bible Society. An
impetuous member wished to have the Ameri-
can revision of 1Ss1-'s5 adopted. and the dis
cussion which followed caused the whole
matter to go over as unflrished business.
"The question of theological seminary con-
troll. so far as the general assembly of the
Presbyterian church is concerned, is settled.
BY vote of almost four to one the report OF
the majority of the committee that considered
the matter was adopted to-day. The report
provides for gaining the power and right to
approve the appointments of professors and
directors, and asks the directors of the semi
naries to declare trust in favor OF the Pres
byterian church, which the general assembly
may enforce In the civil courts"
t,,h ~, pact
there is certain kind of infallibiity in words
the most forceful word to express the idea
gets itself used So by a vote OF to the
directors of seminaries are asked to declare
a trust in favor of the Presbyterian church.
which the general assembly may enforce in
the civil courts" Now at this particular time
what word in the wide sweep of modern Eng
lish coulI so infalliby express the intent
and purpose of this assembly? The ''sugar
trust and Its iniquities. which are rumored
to invade Senatorial halls. is in the mouth
and ear of the people. One of the luxuries
of life if not a necessity, is in the hands and
under the control of a corporation-inen
banded together to make money by wrestling
it from the unwilling hands of the poor. A
trust is control-a control OF the supply
of a commodity like sugar-so long as it re-
mains Il necessity. tDt Vi tue appt-
tites of the masses. the Communication of the
demands of the. palates of the many into
money for the pockets of the Grasping few.
trust in matters of faith also means con-
troll. So long as man has religious appe-
tite, and that appetite can only be fed from
a theological spoon of n fixed pattern. SO
long viii that pattern of spoon be in demand.
and the makers and conservers thereof re-
main the salaried masters Of religious
+har l,ar,
type OF servants of ALL
Souls are single-grains of sand are individ-
ually polarized. Man has sought out many
to introduce cohesion and to create
rock masses out of given quantities of sand,
but tine rock seemed to know its own time for
yielding up its cohesion to disintegration,
and the secret of cohesion went out with it.
Souls are not saved in bundles" but each
must individually become polarized to the
divine will through the avenues of experience
peculiar to itself. We have the Roman
Church and the Greek Church, the Car
and the Pope, each authority, each infallible.
So we have the Northern and Southern Pres
byterian Church. The creed is one. but n
fixed and frozen crystallization OF thought
could not stand the strain of sectional inter-
est. The prevailing thought of the time. the
little seed of sectional seli-interest, the my
interest VS.. your interest, grew in a little rift
,f this man-c.eated rock Of creed. until it had
destroyed its assumed cohesive force. it was
not rock after all, only an agreement OF sand
grains.
And now the thought has grown into habit;
l'rut is formed in the mind; the old split is to
De drawn together, and only remain US an old
,eam in the church history.
The human mind is so constituted that it
will accept a new truth, a new discovery, n
lew idea, and adopt it, but it cannot be said
coordinate with all the other adopted sons of
he mind into family of peace. So it is with
he theory of evolution as the law of the crea-
a.