The herald., 1897-10-10
CHURCnLY NOTES

Soooooooooooooooooooooooot
DR.. Richard S. storre, the venerable
propagAndist of Christianity, and for SO
many years president of thesAmerican
heard OF foreign missions, has resigned
that responsible position. He is now "a
years old and gives that az reason for
his retirement, claiming thatit is IAN age
when q man thinks he is entitled to take
things more easily" The majority of
money-maktng business men are in
their graves long before the septuagen-
'ary period Is reached
= + =
A curious medley Of languages was
that occurring few Sundays ago at
Douglas, on the Isle of Man. Divine
service was had at the Seamen's bethe,
in that place. during which the gospel
was read in Gaelic, the hymns sung in
Nanx, prayer offered in Welsh and the
sermon preached in English. We are
told, too, that on the previous Sunday
the Lords prayer was said in Cornish. "a
language the last (habituaD speaker
Of which died in the early years of this
century" The incumbent of that re-
ligtous organization, if not a classica,
scholar. has to be a linguist of no mean
versatility. Such a minister would
earn his salary.
Here is a startling item of religious
news from The Church Times England
In leading editorial that paper brings
II mi
The article is entitled "Who Are the
Wesleys?" and the writer, answering
his own question, among other things
boldly informs its readers that DR.. RigS
and Mr.. II. p Hughes have no more
right to be called "Wesleyans" than the
Archbishop of Canterbury has to be
called "Sandemanian." And he fur
ther asserts that if John Wesley could
revisit the scene of his labors he would
be an Anglo o-Catholic." Surely, small
sized reforma tion may be expected to
follow that announcement.
Double trees are deified in India. They
are objects of actual worship, as was
the oak among the Druids. A French
traveller writing of them in Partisan
Journal (Cosmcs), refers to the words OF
Bossueret, that among the pagan peoples
Of India everything is good excepting
God himself, and says that these trees
are almost regarded as gods and that
special virtues are attributed to them.
Describing them, he states that they
are union of two different species that
by chance have grown together, and that
at is this association, this intimate
union of two species that secures to them
the worship that Is paid them-paid not
to the individual, but of the more or less
complex mixture of the two beings"
Anything in nature that the pagan can
not understand he usually clothes with
divine attributes So true is it that
"The heather in his blindness
Bows down to wood and stone"
Bishop Whitehead (Epicopalian) of
Pttsburg attended the recent clerical
conference at Lambeth, England The
subject of the critical study Of the Bible
received marked attention from the
conference. Touching this, Bishop
Whitehead spoke of the wide latitude
permitted by the Episcopal church in
the Interpretation Of the Bible. AS Ions
as the essence of Scriptural truth is pre-
served there was no reason to be dis
.turbed-that is to say, those parts of
Holy Writ concerning the progressive
revelation of God. Bishop Whitehead
aptly says:
what difference does it make if man
has scruples about the Joshua and sun
episode, or the miraculous speech of
Balaam's ass. or if he. question the first
chapter of Genesis and prefers to view
It allegorically, If he believes that he has
a duty before God and that the Bible ls
his successive revelation? 1t is the en-
tire spiritual lesson and not the Incl
dental that is important. Truth may
be taught by allegory. The Episcopal
church believes in the Bible; holds It
to be the word of God, his revelation.
and yields the broadest right of crit
cism, which does not interfere with the
definite fact of Christ's mission. There
Is no need for alarm. Only hold fas;
with reverence to the intrinsic truth Of
the Bible"
On the other hand, the Methodist Re
corder (Pittsburg) quoting the bishops
words, claims that the Bible is for the
common people, the unlearned as well
as the scholar and the critic, to whom
recognizing the "intrinsic truth" is diff
cult Prove to the ordinary unculti-
waited intellect, says the Recorder, that
Genesis Is an allegory. and the words OF
Jesus metaphor, and you have deprived
1t of the foundations of faith. of solacs
and of hope.
The new and old theology compared
was the subject of an address delivered
in May last before the Presbyterian
general assembly Charlotte. N. Co by
Rev. S. NJ. Smith, and recently published
IN pamphlet form. Dr. Smith stands by
the old theology. He thinks Schleier