The record-union., 1897-08-29
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
EXPRESSIONS FROM VARIOUS
RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
The Religious Thought of the Day
as Expressed in the Sec
tartan Press.


when the church in the United
States has become more truly the
American church, a somewhat greater
uniformity in ritual may be looked
for than obtains now" says the New
York "Churchman" P. Ed, though
there will always be room, we trust, for
ritual use varying within certain limits,
according to the needs of different sec
tions of the country. While it is law
full, perhaps, to aim at a maximum of
ritual, it is by no means always ex-
pedient. In non-essentials the best in
terests of the majority should be con-
sidered. The question, What VIII tend
to unity the congregation should be
needed All schisms are deplorable, but
none so much so as those caused by
the forcing of some subsidiary point of
ritual upon a congregation. 1t Is one
of the growing characteristics OF the
day that in most parts of the country
ritual Gissension is dying out We
heard not long since of a conservative
parish where the rector had class of
instruction to teach his people all the
legitimate variations in the ritual of
the church, so that wherever they
might chance to go, they would have
understanding, and be free of prejudice.
Liberality regarding non essentials is
! true Fberality.''
"Objection is often made to the use
of the titles Venerable and Very
Reverend as 'preposterous and eXas-
peratine' While we are not inclined
to multiply titles" observes "The Liv-
ing Church" P Ed of Chicago, land
seldom use those in question, we are
not disturbed at the sight of them
The use of Reverend and Right Rev
erend' comedies the principle, and it is
only a question of taste and conven-
ience as to where we should draw the
| line. With the growth of the church
in this country, its organization must
| necessarily be more complex and its
| offices of administration more numer-
Gus. Perhaps it may be well to desig-
nate the principal officers by titles, and
! in doing SO we should follow the use
| of the Fathers. as we have done in
| adopting the titles now recognized. Be
sides, some dioceses have officially
adopted the titles referred to, and We
may not ignore them without discount
! esy. 1t should not be forgotten thai
| at one time or another nearly every
thing distinctively 'Episcopal has beer
! opposed as un-American, and we should
have nothing left of our ancient herit-
age, in polity or liturgy, if we hat
yielded to such criticism
I'VE can conceive of such evidence
| for the fidelity of some newly discov-
cred manuscript to what Jesus really
| said,' says THE Watchman" Bapt'
of Boston, that we should be strongly
| tempted to add that manuscript to the
body Of scriptural teaching, unless the
passage in Revelation (xxii: 20
served as an effective caveat; and tC
bent, many will hold, would be to dc
ment, many vii lhold, would be to Dc
violence to its obvious import. It is 6
real gain, however. to clearness O.
/ Christian thought, that such discover
les as this of the Logia, and others that
may be made. bring US face to face
with the fact that the ultimate author
| ity Of the precepts of the Gospels rests
/ upon the circumstances that they were
| spoken by Christ, and that a chic
value to us of the inspiration of the
writers of the Gospel is that it gives
us 4 supernatural guarantee of the
| fidelity Of their report. and of the cor.
rectness of the perspective in which
that report is presented. Whether there
! could he any conceivable historical OF
archaeological evidence of the authen-
! ITCHY of a manuscript which would
warrant US in placing it upon the same
| level rs the inspired record, is one oil
the most difficult and delicate questions
| Of criticism. Our own opinion is tha
| the supernatural guarantee of inspira
| ton is so radically superior to any
other guarantee, that the conformity O
any alleged teaching of Jesus will
those we already have in the Gospe
would be decisive as to their accent
ance."
Never has there been a time vhel
religion commanded so much though
and discussion as at the present" re
marks the "ChriStian Register, (TTni+