The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-09-18
THE PROFESSION OF FAITH.

Opposition to the Winchester pro-
fession of Faith begun in 1877, simp-
ly as an effort to substitute some
other word for the word restore"
eliminated in Meriden in 1895, in
vote to abolish every part of the His
toric Profession and put in its place
something altogether different. Ow-
ing to the wise provision in the con-
stitution of our General Convention,
two consecutive conventions must act
on such proposition and so the
matter comes up for final action at
the coming session in this city, in
few weeks. The opportunity thus
given for a sober second thought"
has produced in the minds of many
who voted at Meriden for the pro-
posed substitute, complete change
of opinion, and the prospect now is
that the new creed cannot possibly
receive favorable consideration
second time. The most that can be
expected by its friends is that it may
be changed by amendments; but
these, if approved by the convention,
must wait another two years for the
final action.
In view of this fact the unfavora-
BILE opinion entertained of the Meri-
den substitute and the impossibility
of final action on any change at the
Chicago session, large number of
proposed creeds have been brought
forward, and will no doubt be pre-
sented, with the possible result of
the approval of none of them. The
friends of the Winchester Profession
may therefore be assured that the
grand old creed will at least round
out century of glorious history.
Does the present generation know
much about that history. especially
what the Profession of Faith stood
for and the work it wrought for our
church in the early day of its adop
ton? 1t may be doubted if even
some of its most able opponents have
clear apprehension of what we
were and how we were looked upon
by the different religious bodies in
the new world, engaged as they were
a hundred years ago, in a desperate
struggle for existence.
We often think that we are now
living in degenerate and irreligious
times, called to mourn over deserted
churches and seemingly growing
tendency to ignore religion alto
gether. And in some respects our
condition is deplorable and alarm
ing. But the twenty years following
the close of the war for independ-
ence were so much worse in these
respects, that, as has been we'll said
by an eminent historian of American
Christianity, they include its low
est ebb-tide of vitality" Episcopal
bishops despaired and laid down their
functions, and no less clear headed
man than Chief Justice Marshall,
himself a pillar and ornament in
that church declared, "the church is
too far gone ever to be revived"
The Lutheran historian writes over
his account of all this period the
word "Deterioration;" while serious
proposals were made looking to a
union of the remnants of the Episco.
palians and the Lutherans. The
Methodists were also in such great
perplexity that despair well-nigh
wrecked their zeal. For three years
ending in 1896, their membership
diminished at the rate of 1000 per
year.
The colleges were also infected with
irreligion and immortality. "The
College church." says DR.. Lyman
Beecher, then a student at Yale
twas almost extinct. Most of the
class before me were infidels and
called each other Voltaire, Rousseau,
DIR. Alembert, ETC."
The decentralization incident to a
long war, the fury of political fac
tons, far exceeding in personal in
decencies anything manifest in our
day, the philosophic deism of men
like jefferson, the popular idolatry
of Paine, all had wonderful influence
in producing this state of things; but
impartial history will yet more fully
show that it was a reaction from the
terrors of Calyinism, the legitimate
after-result Of the fearful and agon
ling REVEALS under Edwards, whose