The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-05-16

w The TWO Great Divisions of the Bible | Each Part Quoted by Early Writers as
 Divine Authority-Creeds of American s Protestant Churches.
 < The subject of Rev. Dr. McLane's \ opening lecture in the series he is de- ivering at Plymouth church was "The
 Bible in the Creeds of the Church" 6R After mentioning the features in Books as a history and as literature |sAnd in every other respect, he said that |9t was book the study of which is ENorth the attention, the thought and Ehe effort of every man, and that to one EFWishing to understand the Bible the #broper source to seek enlightenment G GGtoncerning it's teaching is from those @Who know the book itself, rather than from those who only know something Ehbout it.
 IN Dr. McLane spoke of the Bible as Etollection of books, and what it is the Eehurch, more than anything else, can Eanswer.
 E Then, speaking of the two great di- fkisions of the Bible into the Old and the kNew Testaments, he said that the for existed in the time of Christ and EMas called the scriptures, and it is Etherefore of interest to know how [Christ and the apostles regarded the Escriptures.
 Christ regarded the Old Testament as Ea word of divine origin, of gracious Prophecy and of abiding faith The in their sermons always quote |Hhe Old Testament as the inspired word Ebf God. They, like Christ Himself, Speak of it reverently, believinsly and 9lRwith full assurance of the divine au- < sthority of the truth of it's revelations i The origin and scattering abroad of Eithe New Testament was then describ- Ned pr. McLane said that from the of church literature we find #dts books quoted as sacred and author Edtative From the beginning of Chris Etian literature we find Christian writ Eers quoting the gospels as Christ and ESTiis disciples quoted the Old Testa- Ement By them both the Old and the E3New Testaments are guided as the en- tbodiment of divine truth.
 A Then, after mentioning several early HChristian writers, all of whom quote Esfrom both Testaments in this sense, pr. EsMcLane said that the creeds of the ESchurch are of great historical value be- {Icause they concentrate the common |faith of the men who frame them, and Ethe church which adopts them, but un- kfortunately they have also often been 4f<>,,,o l ;,, If tailave emphasized the points on which #Anen differ, while emitting to say any, kHthing about points on which men agree. EBThe absence of any formulated creed Fin regard to the scriptures is an argu- Ehnent of the common agreement of the |schurch during her early history in re- Expect to the scriptures
 I Then Dr. McLane spoke of the three Egreat divisions of the church of Christ, Esthe Protestant the Greek Catholic and Ithe Roman Catholic and mentioned the Geographical distribution of each, the Esnain points in the creeds of each, and #sthe points in which the creeds of each Ediffered Then he gave the substance |of the Confessions of Faith of the vari- Esous reformed churches, which include &Sthe Protestant churches of Switzerland, f8France Holland, Great Britain and tAmerica. The reformed churches on 1.-The continent and the so-called reform Fed church were composed of, respective Ellv the followers of Luther and the fol- Blowers of Calvin.
 Dr. McLane then gave interesting di- #gests of the creeds of various Ameri- fcan churches and the sources of these |Icreeds in the conclusion of his paper. IsTbis with other interesting facts which tconcl1ded the paper, is as follows:
 "Of the thirty nine articles of the |Church of England the sixth article is &.s fol1ows. Holy scripture contains Ian things necessary to salvation; so
 sthat whatever is not read therein, nor
 may be proved thereby is not to be
 .reo11ired of man, that 1t should be be- Ilieved as an article of the falth or De
 Thought requisite or necessary to sal
 vation. In the name of the Holy Scrip |ture we do understand these canonlcal 3books os the Old and New Testament,
 of which authority there was never
 any doubt in the church. Then fol- flows a list of the books Of the Old Tes- Xtament which is the same as you find
 lin your English Bible. Then there IS
 eiven A list of the apocryphal books of
 the Old Testament which may be read
 but which establish no doctrine. Then
 follows this statement: All the books
 |of the New Testament as they are com
 monly received. we do receive and &C.,
 count them canonical.
 This article contains the creed of the
 Protestant Episcopal church of Ameri-
 ca and also the creed of the Methodist
 Fpiscopal church, both of which fol-
 how the articles of the Church of Eng
 land.
 The Westminster confession of faith
 which was drawn up in Westminster
 lin the middle of the seventeenth cen
 turv. just two hundred and fifty years
 ago. and which is the doctrinal symbol
 of the churches of Scotland and the
 Presbyterian church of America, and
 (which, historically, has been one of the
 doctrinal standards of the Congrega-
 Eional churches, speaks of the Scriptures
 as follows: Tt pleased the lord, at sNn-
 dry time and in divers manners, to re-
 veal Himself and to declare His will
 unto His church. and afterwards for
 the better preserving and propasating
 pf the truth and for the more sure es-
 Establishment and comfort of the church
 against the corrpution of the flesh and
 of the malice Of satan and the world,
 commit the same wholly unto writing,
 which maketh the Holy Scriptures to
 be most necessary; those Durer ways