The herald., 1896-08-03
iisve and are sure that thou art Christ,
the Son of the living God.
FIRST Presby terisn Church

First Presbyterian Church
There was large attendance at the
First Presbyterian church on Figueroa
street yesterday morning. The music
sermon was preached by the pastor,
Rev. Burt Estes Howard, from the text,
Matthew xiii, $40, the substance of
which was as follows
Some writer of note has called the
attention of thoughtful minds to the
marked similarity between the condi-
ton of the world today and the world
in the time of Jesus. Whether the COM
parison can be drawn to such an ex-
tent as this gentleman supposes, still in
one respect there Is likeness. The
religious life Of Christendom has been
largely given over to dogmatic tests.
and loyalty to formulas and creeds has
been often emphasized above loyalty
of the teaching of Jesus. 1t Is true
enough that in the minds of those who
Insist on some doctrlnaire test of re-
ligion. the confessions and theological
utterances stand as the final interpreta-
ton of the words of the Master. And be-
cause men have come to believe that the
creeds of the churches are true express
sions in logical form of the thought Of
Jesus. they have given over returning
to the original sources for their truth
and have busted themselves in explain
ing and defending these purely human
inventions. In this regard the theolog-
ical world Of today is very like that Of
the time OF Jesus. 1t makes little differ
ence SO far as results go whether the
search for divine truth is strait-jack-
eted by the deliverances Of the scribes,
the restrictions of priests. or the limi-
tations of UNCONVENTIONAL symbols. In
no case can the WHOLE truth be seen
through the glass of an imposed and
iron-clad tradition.
Unfortunately, between the last Of
the great prophets and the advent of
Jesus there came In one Of those periods
which follow an age of inspiration.
when the intellectual consciousness of
the people, hitherto running full and
free. comes to a standstill and stag
mates. No teacher of the first order
arose to continue the stream of revela-
ton. but in his place appeared the lower
order of mind to which the letter Is
everything. on which the Spirit never
breathes. The scribes sat in the seat
OF the prophets. and revelation was sue
ceeded by exposition. Under the hand
of rabbis. without insight or magma
ton. the life departed from Hebrew
thought. and nothing was left but
empty, bloodless forms, as when flow
er Is plucked and dried. Theological
pedantry had done its work in the days
Of Jesus, and had reduced the sublime
ethics of the Old Testament to a wear
isome absurdity. The beneficent law
OF rest, SO full of sympathy With strug-
Cling people. was translated into SER
les of regulations Of peddling detail and
incredible childishness. The clean
heart of the prophet sank into an end
less washing Of hands, and filial piety
was wantonly outraged that the temple
taxes might be swollen. Jewish faith
had become a painted show, husk in
L..
Jesus and the Jews were ever at cross
purposes in this matter. He made his
appeal past tradition to truth, and they
disallowed this appeal and judged Him
by tradition; and by this standard there
can be no doubt he was a hereto"
1t has been repeated many times
since His day-this substitution of ira
dition for truth. We are struggling
against the same spirit today. The re-
ligious worA writhes and wrestles
in the clutch of its theological masters.
And men are cast out of the synagogues
and branded al heretics whose supreme
crime Is hunger to receive the bread
of life from the hands of Jesus Himself,
and longing to Stake their souls thirst
by a return to Him who stood and cried,
"If any man thirst let him come unto
mo and drink" But everywhere be-
tween the Lord of life and the needy
stand the ecribes with their dingy
and patched waterskins. The water
of life is dribbled out in stagnant cup
fuls at the end of a long catechetical
inquisition. The tests by which men
are classed as Christian are metaphys-
ical. not ethical. 1t is not what the man
is. but what he affirms, that determines
his place in the religious world. In this
respect we have drifted away from
jesus and have gone over to the side of
of the scribes and Pharisees, who cru
Gifted Him.
Romans rest on the councils down to
the one that affirmed the infallibility of
the pope: and an Anglican goes back to
the early councils and the fathers; a
Lutheran measures his faith by
the confession of Augsburg; and
the Scottish church seems to suppose
that Christianity was only once thor
oughly understood, when an assembly
of English divines met at Westmin-
ster." Everywhere there is this inter-
posing of human tradition and inter-
probation for the words of the Master.
Nowhere is there free appeal to Je-
sus as the source Of truth and the ulti-
mate judge of religious righteousness.
Calvin, Wesley, Luther and a host of
lesser names lie like a veil on the face
of Christ. A great church determined
to change it's creed, and there is JOY
both among the people and among the
dnRelS OIL nedNen, DuL lne
commission set to revise stultifieS itself
and crucifies afresh the Son of Man by
refusing to make Jesus the supreme
authority, and passing a resolution to
the effect that in making their revision
the Calvinistic theology must remain
intact. Has Calvin and not Jesus
spoken the final word of truth? Is
Wesley and not Christ the ultimate au-
thority in matters of faith? 1T comes
as a shock" says one, Ito attend some
heresy trial, and hear the prosecution
quoting a foreign divine of almost mir
aculous woodenness, and the defendant
taking refuge in a second-rate common
tator." Shall we appeal to the rabbis
and not to the Master? Is it vital what
any rabbi says or thinks? Or is the SUI
preme question, What saith Jesus?
L have no quarrel with theology or
with tradition on general principles. To
deny thology place in the world is to
discredit the free exercise Of reason.
Theorizing can no more be prevented
here than in any other department of
intellectual research. Theology, either
in the department of dogma or ethics
requires no justiflca ton; 1t only calls for
limitation. 1t is only when the theolo-
CLANS insist on twisting their results in
to chords with which to bind their fellow
men; it is only when they propose to take
thier speculations and build out of them
prisons In which to shut up free inquiry;
1t is only when they assume dictator
ship and lord it over human conscience,
that they have passed beyond their
province and are guilty of treason
;,,e,t t1,a f,.nn M