New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-12-15
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POPULAR OBSERVATIONS.
THE ORIGIN OF THE CREEDs'
DR. sAvAoE's VIEWS DEFENDED 81
FROM MODERN CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS


FROM MODERN CHRISTIAN SCHOLARS
To the Editor Of The Tribune ..,,As
Ct. The Tribune OF December containeu
Oh ~. Pew Percy T. Fem. severely crit-
49,, aoroa recent utterances of the Kew. III CO..
.aa regarding the origin Of the creeds OF Nh''''e
dom. w. ev,se.s sermons
For the last year or two DIT oa'aee .nd.
have been a familiar and douO'Iee'' ~ -. ii,
80 Intelligent and educated leaders hlo9'
- faaturs Of your own and other Journals
rhot renor,ed In The Tribune OF the o'h ih'''' nv
aver startling It may have been 10 you'
.rondent contained, nevertheless haTuy e
.,atsment which Is not supported by ihcon.fo
BILE evidence and Is not voucheo lot uy suo" ~.
ard authorities as Lumby, In his History VI az
C,oods " schaf in The Creeds OF Christehooa
Raron in The Greek Origin OF the Apoe.es
Creed" Cooper In "Analecta Nlc@ia a"u
others Let such have no. access TO- VI -,
rs.aiIv consult these works look up the aonhrapie
1919 an "creeds' by Principal Tulloch. IN ths
nin,b edition OF The Encyclopedia Britannica
"clor,ns ignorance OF Church history the chaIks
with which Nj Fem violently assalls Ut. oa'
aSa might without unfairness, De dppheu W NV
reverend critic himself. DR.. Savage. OF co''Se
knew perfectly well that the entire Nicehe O.eeo
1id not date from the year go IL H. lHoeeo
sauen; point IN his argument that the h's'oi'cs'
creads are accretions Of slow growth; but your
corresnondent the Rev Mr.. Fem. grossly perVer's
facts when he asserts so positively that II was a.
the Council of Constantinople in the year "ol mat
the so-called Nicene Greed was expanded ana mn
tshed" Every student OF Church history Is a"a'e
that the famous "flioque' clause (Which al one
,,me had eighteen anathemas appended TO ~, IN
the words Il believe In the Holy Ghost
who proceedeth from the Father and the Son.
vas not definitely and finally added 10 the Greco
until the Council of Toledo In the year oosi ana
the controversy whether the third person OF the
Trinity proceeded from the Father alone, or from
Father and Son conformity Ia matter concerning
which no human being can possibly know anythins
whatever, was the origin Of the schism between
the Greek and Roman communions which mas en-
Win 70 regard to the APOSTLES Creed Principal Tul,
loch says that AS matter OF fact ana chTonS oe o
what Ia now known as the Aposues Creeu Is . no.
found in anything Ike Its present form tli FOUR
centuries after The sh q me E s8bo Chuf'n
tradition which ascrbes it 10 the Apostles then m
does not reach beyond the NTH century. If it can be
carried back so far. The definite source OF me
sned to e. 10 GG "9 and o3n II
dix 70 his works" DR.. schafr. in briet summary
generally there is great difference between the
early creeds Of the Western Church and those OF
ternaiiy, and that the Eastern Church knew moth;
Ing OF creed made by. the Apostles themselves
proxiSnately the year 500 and 1T may be asserted
that the starting point cannot have been the nee COM NJ
any single Apostle In that case the history of the
seeds during me se bs ana hs t ben
AS 10 the so-called Athanasian Creed DR.. Schan
emphaticaly contradicts and dscredits such state
ments as are made by the Rev. Mr.. Fem The
great controversy over 1t IN England In 1855 he says
produced prolific literature, and the interesting
point brought out that there Is no certain trace
OF the creed higher up than the eighth century The
Utrecht Psalter IS the earliest manuscript contain
ing &C. but according the best scholars II Is not
earlier than the ninth century. The ascription 10
Cesarius and Hilary OF Aries Is mere conjecture.
This creed rejected by the Episcopal Church OF
the United States in 1875
But there is something OF infinitely greater con-
Germ to thinking men and women to-day than the
dates OF these old doctrina beliefs Are they true
Millions Of protesting Christians at the dawn Of
the twentieth century Of our era are required to be
leve that there are three who are "uncreate' and
three who are 'incomprehensible" and unless they
also at the time believe faithfully that
There are not three incomprehensibes. nor three
uncreated but one uncreated and one Incompetent
sible' without doubt they shall perish everlast-
ingly" Above all, is the story OF Adams fall. the
dogma upon which various statements In these
creeds primarily depend, a true one? Science en-
phatcally says that II is not; Christ in His teaching
gives no sanction TO II: prominent Christian minis
tiers Of various denominations deny: the Society for
Promoting Christian knowledge. one OF the foremost
missionary enterprises OF the world. Is publishing
works on Assyriology. showing II TO be a pagan
myth What shred or scntlla Of trustworthy evil
dence have the conservatives to offer In rebutta?
New-Yors. Dec. 10, 1897. q.