The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-10-01

Said Creeds Should Be Taken into
the Heart and Not Tucked on
shelves-A Right Creed 1s Neces-
sary to Proper Development-Re-
vising the Creed Is Despising It.
If Much More Is Washed Out There
Would Remain Only Gospel Of
Sound Instead Of Sound Gospel.
Rev. DR.. c. NJ. Gifln, pastor of the
Elm Park Methodist Episcopal
church, delivered sermon before a
large congregation last night on the
topic. "Why Stick to a Creed?" He
found his text in Ephesians iv: Ia.
That we henceforth be no more chill
dren, tossed to and fro, and carried
about with every wind of doctrine, by
the sleight of men, and cunning crafti-
ness whereby they lie in wait to de-
ceive." Among other things, the doc
tor said:
"There are great many folk who
don't believe even the cardinal facts
Of the creed of the church to which
in which the ordinary person is never
expected to assent to the creed. Only
the clergymen and elders are eX-
pected to do that. When people are
not called to assent to a creed there
is no reason why they should feel OBJ
liged to stick to creed. It's not a
personal matter with them. In such
cases, q creed becomes simply a the
al G,,1 Nf s,;t
pinned upon the door of eccleciasti-
cism
"One of the things like about my
Catholic brethren down on the corner
is the thorough way they have of
educating the children and impressing
on their minds their particular dog
mas and beliefs. I am of the opn-
ion that if our young people were
told q little more about what they
believe and why they believe it. that
we would have more steadfast devo-
tion and loyalty to the cause of
Christ.
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY.
Don't you know that when the
body of a doctrine is transferred to
the care of the clergy that the people
are apt to say, this is not for me to
meddle with I remember pair once
who We're talking theology and one
asked the other if he believed in in
FAINT damnation. The other said he
believed as Parson Farrar did on that
question. On being asked what Par
son Farrar believed, he said he didn't
know.
He didn't know, but he believed.
I, lao ~ 1,
We shouldn't take our creeds tenta-
lively. We should take them to our
heart. A creed should not be simply
Il literary production to be tucked
away In a musty corner of a library"
In referring to the conceit of some
of those who believe in formulating
new creeds, the doctor said:
IF you measure the mental out
put of your life with the intellectual
creations of the earlier ages Of Chris
tianity. it will be rebuke to your
mental conceit. The colossal self-ap-
preclation of these creed revisersI re-
minds me of the boy who once stood
next to me. his head reaching my hip.
and said, See how big l am
There are very few of us who can
sit down and follow the Fathers of
the Church straight through and yet
there are those who crawl out and
call them old fogies. It's a slander
against strength. g. Stick right to your
creed in order to give power and de-
velopment to yourself A fllmy faith
never made great character.
There is one power that is over
looked too often. That is the power of
right creed; the power of bringing
about a right development by a right
doctrine. One can't be right if he does
not think right. In this anti-dogmatic
age, If you want d bigger brain you
can obtain it better by trying to mas
ter the plan of God than of trying to
understand the plot of novel;
WOULD CAUSE SURPRISE.
What a surprise there would be If
one of the fathers of the church who
studied, not SKINNED. his theology
should come into a modern pulpit and
unfold an immense argument in de-
Tense of some dogma. Your modern
nsipids in twenty minutes would fall
away from brain fag.
Il pray with all the earnestness of
my soul that no confession or creed |
shall ever be laid down until saints
and sinners are on q level. Life can't |
De right If ones creed isn't right. Jesus |
said do the right, but there are many |
who do without the right. The world |
,an never be made better by cutting |
otf the great fertilizing influence of
Christian doctrine.
But some say, Where is our creedo'
We're not troubled much. it's true. |
they can't revise the Methodist creed,
because the Methodist church is found |
I'd on "a faith that is unalterable. We
ire only interested in our brothers.
must say, however, that what is wrong
should be put out.
This talk of some people who tell
about getting formula of faith that
'an be placed under the finger mai!
outs me in mind of this talk of living
IN five cents day. I've been study
ng some of those menus and I find
hat you can't build up healthy body
IN them. Revising is despising the
reed.
'This getting away from the early
livines and washing out to a colorless