Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-04-10
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LETTER OF DIR, HILLS,
Statement Setting Forth His Reasons for Leaving the
Presbyterian Church.

VA SAA4 S4xs ~
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES oooo6
does for all men. in all worlds, thru
all ages.
If the new scholarship has destroyed
my old view of the Bible, as never be-
fore i believe it to be the word OF God,
a light to feet and a lamp to my path.
After years of mental conflict and
doubt, have bought these faiths at a
great price. No one can wrest them
from me. For me the principles OF
evangelical Christianity seem as firmly
fixed as mountains and stars. So far
also from loving the Christian church
and the Christian ministry less, these
views have strengthened my love until
it has become an all consuming pas
sion.
Grateful to the old philosophers,
poets, essayists and sages who have
driven. back my mental horizon and
made me citizen of the universe, in
this hour am chiefly conscious of my
Indebtedness to Jesus Christ, whose
teachings, whose character, whose life
and death, have done more for my in
tellect, aspirations and conscience than
all the books and instructors. Never
has Christ's ministry seemed SO sacred,
inspiring and all-important.
OF late have felt that the church
was approaching a great crisis, and
that while we have been discussing
the nature of inspiration and petty
critical problems, and while we have
been trying each other for heresy, the
multitudes have been turning away
from the threshold of the Christian
| church to wander in the darkness and
creed, it was because / have feared
that an oyer-emphasis of creeds was
making the queen of sciences" theol-
ogy, to be associated with scorn and
contempt on the part of business men.
misunderstanding my real spirit
(perhaps thru my imperfect state
ment), some have said that am drift
| ing away from the Christian faith and
becoming interested in philosophy and
literature. Nevertheless, the exact OPP
| posite is the truth. OF late, it has
seemed to me that unless our church
es put away all minor issues and pre-
sent solid front, that our Christian
| civilization is to be overwhelmed by
the forces of mammon and greed, thru
the luxury of the selfish rich and the
Indifference of the disconnected poor.
All this has burned as fire in my
bones and have felt that if did not
speak. that the very stones in the
street would cry out against me.
/ now perceive that my position has
been misunderstood and nothing is
| left but for me to withdraw. / with
draw, not to escape existing respon-
sibilities on my part, for | shall hence
forth fulfill to the last degree my ev-
cry duty to the church of Christ. From
| this time / am bound to my college.
seminary and brethren in the minis
| try, but you are. free from embarrass-
memo or responsibility for my view.
Hitherto disagreements in the pres
| bytery have been accompanied by
trials for heresy and the disturbance
of the church. i hope that my with
drawal will strengthen friendship and
/ will make for peace. For lay down
| my ministry, not that l may be free
to attack some non-essential in the
creed that may be dear to some OF
you, but only that without any EN-
| barrassment or friction / may be free
1 to affirm those great positive princi-
| Piles of the Christian faith that we all
agree upon and love, as we love live
4 itself.
4 / know full well that the public will
misunderstood my frank words and
that cynics will say that have Worn
my heart upon my sleeve. For that
reason l address this letter to my
brethren in the presbytery of Chicago
and to you alone. To all my friends
in the presbytery I send greetings and
1 assurances of esteem, respect and at
| lection, and to the end that my views
| may cease to be an occasion of dis
tnrbance in the presbytery, ! now ash
you by unanimous vote to erase my
name from the presbytery and to per
nit me to demit my ministry in the
Presbyterian church.
i Newell Dwight Hills.
!, capita. It cost $7oo,o9s,5e4 to run the