The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-04-22
QUESTIONS OF RELIGION.
PROTESTANTISM.
It Must stand fer lie Faith or Surrender 70
the Church Of Rome.

odoxy, agnosticlsnl, even rank inideiity, and
oil manner OF heresies. brings TO mind the
quaint com plant OF Governor Winthrop. i am
ever IN the midst OF troubles III II 10 not one
thing, II Ia another" The Governor was not a
man 10 put up with. or tolerate in any way.
heresy, and with tho eloquent and fervent
Hugh Peter a. aid and encourager, the famous
trial for heresy became history. IL seems re-
markabls that at o time whom New England
was 80 thinly settled. no less than eighty-two
herssles were condemned at this trial. These
were Puritan hercsles. committed by Purltans.
and now when our modern heretics boast ~
Puritan descent, II may be a descent from
these early heretics. So blood will out. The
modern heresies seem TO be only a revival OF
those condemned so long ago.
some very good men repented then. So fine
man as Mr.. Cotton was contrite: but Harry
vane went on his way. he and others OF his
kind eventually bringing down ruin on the
Puritan cause In England. and himself and
Hugh Peter. singularly. fellow passengers to
New England, were not long separated on the
scafYold OF the Restoration. Mr.. Peter In bit
terness OF spirit saw the ruin coming long
before It came. In New England, however.
there was no federation OF errors in those
days. and out Of that came strength to meet the
trials in store for some $50 years to come.
The days OF political trial ara past: but now
with liberation the religious troubles return
to vex again, and there Ia nc Governor Winthrop
or any OF his kind TO hold them In check.
When Mr.. William Pynchon published his book
on Unitarlanism. 1852. the Boston authorities
had II burnt by the han4man. PyAchon and his
pastor, Mr.. MoXon, returned In disR ust to Eng
land and never returned to New England.
Oliver Cromwell was in q tolerant mood and
demonstrated often with New England for It's
intolerance, yet that was the blunder in his
,olicy which brought ruin on his sons head.
New England men saw plainly that the time
for liberation had not come.
Now In the fulness OF time. as 1t were.
when every man can be his own Pope and
in'allible at that" We find a strange increase
in heresy: nothing new. BY the way-the same
old thing. Long. long ago II was said that
science and religion could not harmoniae: yet
they did. and will for many generations to
come. for there IL nothing new under the sun.
not even in heresy.
IL Is a strange assum ption on the part OF
modern critics, that Of superior knowledge OF
the ancient text" There was never a time In
England or America when the pastors OF
churches could boast OF superior knowledge OF
the humanities over the early period In New
England aud OF that OF the Westminster A.
sembly. Those ministers were the rich fruit
OF that ~fervent zeal OF the Reformation, from
Calvin's time. ever Increasing up to the time OF
the Restoration" when came ruin and never
since has there been such a critical knowledge
OF the ancient languages.
The writer had n singular experience OF this
a few years since at York, England. Happen
ing there at the time OF the Convocation. 1t
was with great care that an early start was
made for that splendid minister In which the
convocation was held. No more glorious
church edilce exists, and York has Q popula-
lion OF 10000. Therefore. in so quiet a city. so
var removed, one would expect a great crowd
70 witness this splendid ial OF the
opening OF convocation. with the ~prelates and
higher clergy In their Official robes. with the
choir and the grand edlfce to inspire piety.
There were exactly ten persons other than the
participants; the church was dead. The next
day a dean, rising in convocation, said: 'Yester-
day at the opening service the Latin tongue
was used, and as l and several OF my fellow
m bers are unfamiliar with the Latin we
beg OF the Archbishop that in the future the
service be In the English tongue" Mind you.
these were tho higher Clergy. The answer
came short and dry: That by the rubric the
clergy were required to DO familiar with tho
Latin. and by the Act OF Uniformity learned
bodies. such a. conyocations. were allowed to
use the Latin tongue. but that II the request
was made to discontinue the Latin on account
OF ignorance, 1t would be heard" Nothing
further was said on that subject.
Here In this nineteenth century. in a con-
vocation OF higher clergy In the grand old
minister OF York, York where Alculn once
taught, o dean openly demanded a service in
English. as he Ind no familiarity with Latin !
Modern ministers. many OF whom perhaps like
the dean mentioned must confess no critical
knowledge OF even Latin. much less Of Greek
and Hebrew. are now posing as learned
textual critics, The early fathera Of the
New England ministry and Of the Vest
Minister Assembly could converse in Latin.
Greek and Hebrew, and among scholars In
those days these tongues were used for COM
munication and not the modern. Francis Bacon
had his most pretentious works carefully writ
ten in Latin. for he said that was the language
OF the future. His mother and aunts, the IA
nous daughters OF Sir Anthony Cooke. tutor Of
Edward W.. were 40 well founded in the an
clients that they translated books from these
languages into English and It was no rare
thing. Queen Elizabeth was fond OF her Latin.
and used it on her visits to the universities.
II was an apostate Jew who was excommuni-
Gated from the synagogue. who long ago estab-
lished the higher criticism" II lay dormant
two hundred years, until In our day and gen
Grafton some critics. making use Of his critical
knowledge. resurrected a forgotten scheme OF
Biblical destruction. Thus 1t Is that now We
are face to face with that heresy. Then cams
ademand for a new Bible. on the plea that the
King James version was not good enough and
a new version was Introduced. In It hell was
changed to hades. and that seems about all We
have heard Of It. Now comes a sudden out
burst against the very life OF Christianity az
taught By the Fathers-the doctrine OF foreordi-
nation and election. The latest thing is Christ.
not theology or Christ without theology-to be
Christ like" whatever that Is.
The views OF ~Ignatius "a. D. 1917 on the deity
OF Christ. the Atonement. the Office OF the
Spirit. the election Of grace. are introduced In
an artless and unargumentative way: "Our
Lord Jesus Christ. the Sceptre Of the Majesty
OF God. came not in the pomp OF arrogance or
pride. though who can understand the thunder
OF His powsri But He was meek and lowly. lie,
US steadfastly behold the blood OF Christ and
see how precious IL Is In the sight OF God.
which being shed for our salvation. hath pro-
cured the grace Of repentance for all the world.
All those" tspeaking OF the Old Testament
fathersl were magnlfed and honored. no,
through themselves. not through their works.
but through HIS will. And we also by
His will being called In Jesus Christ
are justified. not by ourselves. nor by
our wisdom. or understanding. or goblin ess,
nor By the works which we have wrought in
--A -.