The record-union., 1898-02-13

The old legal maxim. De minimis non
curat lex has always been applied to
such spiritual cases as come before our
civil tribunals The court, State or
Federal will not set up standard
Of orthodoxy in trifies but it will take
written constitution and enforce it
as contract between parties in fundt-
mentals. While the fathers Ill years
ago found all the essential and neces-
sary articles of the Christian faith in
the confession and catechisms, they
found articles which We're essential
and unnecessary. The refusal of any
of these was not to debar any minister
of the synod or any candidate for the
ministry from the exercise of the min
istry within our bounds or from minis
terial communion The brother who
is not willing to allow this liberty, or
the brother who is not satisfied with
these limitations, is equally bound to
preserve the peace of the church, and
If from conscience, temperament, oi
disposition he cannot bring himself tc
this-the door is wide open for him to
seek either closer quarters or more
fresh air. The fathers of the church
had so fine a sense of honor them
differed from the accepted standards
of the church either in the liberty thus
allowed or in the restrictions thus i'm
posed, or in the charitable and genor-
Gus spirit thus manifested, would have
to be held in, when that was possible.
rather than fired out of it, when that
was needful."
According to the newspapers. that
eccentric genius, Dr. Herber Newton
of New York, who is still. We believe.
nominally a clergyman of this church,
has just sprung new sensation" says
the. Living Church (P E.) of Chicago.
IF we may believe the quotations Civ
en-, this gentleman has now become con-
vinced that the world has outlive1
Christianity and that new religion
must be found That is the manner III
which he is represented as describing
the work of his brethren IN the priest
hood of the church in which he has
voluntarily become an officer, and the
religion he has pledged himself TO
teach: 'Sublimely unconscious of the
day that is breaking outside the church
walls, our priests go droning the old re
frains. shout an impossible Bible and
an unnatural Christ, and anathematize
those who don't care 10 come in and
listen to their music of the past The
only novelty in this che bun esq"
which every one has i1ea.. ad nausa-
am from Ingersoll and his kind, is tha;
| it should fall from the lips of clergy
man in his pulpit. The speaker we'll
knew that but for the peculiar ethics
of his position no one would pay any
| heed to his utterances. The position
is that of an officer who having been
intrusted with the command of an i'm
poTtant post. surrenders it to the en-
emy."
THE point is often overlooked" says
| The Watchman" (Baptl of Boston,
that Baptists. by virtue of their cardi-
nal doctrines, are not only called in a
peculiar way to defend the Scriptures
from hostile assaults. but that they are
| under special obligations to stand for
| legitimate Interpretation of the Scrip
lures. There is no class of men Who
are doing more to weaken faith in the
Bible than those persons who, While
contending for an extremely high theo-
ry OF verbal inspiration, assume that
their allegorical fanciful, and unscien-
| tific interpretations of the Bible are
clothed with the authority of the word
Of God. Many of our readers will be
able to furnish Illustrations of this from
their own observation. They have
heard sermons based upon texts tori.
from their connection, or upon pas