New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-01
DIR. NEWTONS VIEW OF HERESY.
THE HETERoDOxY OF TO-DAY OFTEN PROVES IT.
SELF THE ORTHODOXY OF TO-MOR-
ROW HE SAYS

ROW. HE SAYS.
The Rev. pr. r. Heber Newton. OF All Souls
Church Madison-ave. and Sxty-sixth-st.. preached
on Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy' yesterday.
THE outer body OF orthodoxy" he said. "the pop
ular system of doctrine In the orthodox churches IS
clearly not up TO date Very few to-day question
the fact that II is outgrown areadythat 1t is dead
matter needing TO be sloughed off But of the inner
body-the Catholic creeds-comparatively few recog-
nize that the same character holds though in less
papable form. Generally speaking. this body Of
truth Is satisfactory 10 the Christian consciousness
DO these creeds call for implicit and unQuestioning
acceptance IN every detail and phraseology7 Plainly
and palpably there details OF these creeds
which no longer satisfy the Christian consciousness
which no longer ring true 10 our thought. square
with knowledge. command unquestionne
acceptance be professed in literal sense
Take the assertion, believe in the resurrection Of
the body Who to-day believes literally IN the
resurrection OF the feshly material outer form OF
the bodily organization, which unquestonably
the meaning of those who framed this article Of the
creed?
with regard to the Church. believe it to be
divine institution we believe the State 10 be
divine institution. But do believe either
Church State be a Acknowledgment institu-
ton, TO be a perfect institution AZ found now We
believe neither in the divine rights OF kings nor tho
divine rights Of priests. We believe both Church
and State be growing institutions ever reaching
out toward something better. Orthodoxy Is an au-
thority not despotism-a constitutional rule over
the intellect. not autocrac tyranny OF the intel
leCt.
AN thought must be kept fluent, ready to take
new forms and developments. Tho new though,
and the new knowledge In every field heresy IL Is
the heretics in every department OF knowledge who
keep the body OF truth living, growing open to the
assimilation of new knowledge
what the new heresy accompshes for the most
part Is not 10 overthrow the old system and prove
II wholly false. What II accomplishes Is TO show
that something has been forgotten overlooked held
In excess or undiscovered At last the truth Of the
Ism Is absorbed by orthodox practice and becomes
part OF its System. and then the ism falls away
and disappears. The hereto Is the man " no realizes
that all truth Is not as yet known by the Church
not as yet formulated In its confessions OF faith He
u IS VINO brings ont some forgotten, overlooked
thought which has not found due emphasis in the
generally received body OF belief The heresv OF TO-
DAY therefore often proves Itself the orthodoxy OF
tomorrow II Is "A vision of truth seen In advance
by the few and gradually forced upon the many
The leresy spreads. IL becomes ism and we ha We
heterodoxy. challenging the authority OF ortho.
doSy ana threatening Its continued hold upon man
Kind the heterodoxy proves 10 hold ruth or
truths which the Church needs for it's growing de-
yelopm.nt Orthodoxy becomes leavened by the
thought or heterodoxy Orthodoxy receives n now
development takes a fresh growth and moves FOR.
ward 10 aome higher reach Of truth the heterodoxy
thus passing away We should consider what ma
be the truths contained IN the isms around thss
Church" mum" INV