The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1896-07-10

Tr,t 1T, "W nu y.Ic,u lnlll. ala lnrl -i.uul,
come to tine know ledge uI tht TRUTH"
This nus not been " Theological gc
Indeed it ia an age which is inclined &c
slight theology. /, has dvrlt with =, eat
urgency upon the necessity for practical
religion. It is critical not only of thu re-
suit of thoughtful speculation, it is also
critical of the speculation itsrlf 1t con-
sders it "A foolish waste of time, pr, fit
less striving about things concerning
which we never can reach any cone ua-
ion. The latest word Of one OF tue lead
ing ministers If the day is hat thcol. gi-
cal lighting don't pay. An theology to
many minds has fallen under the head Of
what the apostle called doubtful Gj.9u,
taCous. DOcCrinAl preaching j. undo, a
ban; 81 minister, if he wants to hold he
good opinions of some minds has to keep
clear Of amy suspicion Of bringing tn. Oh
ogy into the pulpit. A leading seminary
professor Of this state told me H.cle
while ago that he thought il might be
possible in these days to preach thro'og-
ical doctrines, but It had to be carefully
done. Imagine such a way Of advising
bid instruction in Calvin's Institutes or
Edwards Pilgrims Philo 'Ophy hale q
century ago. The world does move,
whether advantageously or not, still it
evidently moves. This is not a day like
its predecessors when men stood in add
mTati0n before the wonders of dogmacic
systems and delighted to set togethc:
bone to bone of that wonderful logical
skeleton called systematic theology.
That is an evident truth both TO those
who Justify to those who depIore it. That
it is the truth, it seems to me, has been
very much the fault Of theology and the
theolOgians. ! most firmly believe that
theology ought to be the first of the sci
ences, that it should be such as to claim
without hesitatiOnlOur attention and ad.
miratiou. Let it be devoted to the search
Of the truth 10 matters of religion. let it
be the handmade to every honest q1est
after God and after Gods revelation to
man. There is no study or realm of
thought which could so interest and
ought so to attract the thoughtful atten-
ton of thoughtful people. Why it was
that Eve tempted Adam with an apple,
and why it could not have been pear.
1t moulds q spike out Of the hardest ,ogi-
cal steel that it can fad, and then tries
to drive hole through adamant Of i'm.
penetrable mysteries. What re7ults?
Why, with all the noise it makes at its
hammering, men only see a blunted spike.
They see it Is trying to see there what
no man can see there and what probably
wouldn't help him il he could. It's the
childish, foolish questions which theo-
logians have succeeded in making prom
inent under the title of theology, which
has blinded our eyes to the realm of
greatness in thought, which theology was
meant to ill. Erasmus tells US how in
10th century theologians, Protestants and
Catholics alike, found the essence Of theo-
logical learning in long words and mys-
terious dogmas. They made you under
stand notions and inatante, formalities
and quiddities, things which had no eyes
save such eyes as could see In the dark
things which had no existence; they
would dispute with zeal whether it was a
GREATER CRIME TO KILL THOUSAND
MEN
than to mend shoe on Sunday, VIII, ther