Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-05-05
CHANGING THE CREED.

There Is great agitation in the Pres
byterlan church a number Of prom
inent preachers belonging 70 It are
clamorlng Tor a new creed or a sub
stantial change IN its tenets They de-
clare that because Of certain features
Of the Confession Of Faith men are
staying out OF the church and men are
going out Of the church As instances
Of the objections raised by people IN
vIted to Join that church It Is related
as published IN the New York World
thar they thus express themsolyes:g
Owe cannot believe that God ever
created a soul simply 10 ordaln Il 90
everlasting death. or the not only In
human but ungodly doctrine that babes
may be destined 10 he'll"
People who are not acquainted with
the creed Of that church may be
startled at this assertion Is Il possible
that any confession OF faith contains
euch doctrine2 Here Is what Or.
Chas II, Parkhurst. pastor OF the Mad
ison Square Presbyterian church In
New York said concerning It in a re-
cent Sunday sermon;
we ought to have a new confession
of faith
1T Is surprising that the Presby-
terlan church Is able 20 do as much a.
u does with such ar inCLbus strapped
upon H.
Now this Is IN our book. the Presby-
terrain Confession OF Faith. IN the Third
Chapter:
III we are thorough Presbyterians
and believe what our own doctrinal
prospectus adyertises ms as believing
we believe Il probable that some OF the
children IN your homes, little children
perhaps the babe at your bosom Is
damned. already damned before Ii was
born. damned from everlasting 20 ever
lasting-and then you are invited 10
come into the church and say "our
Father
we pray that the time may be has
tened when this libel upon infinite grace
Of God shall be erased from our
records
This bold attack on the creed ~ his
church startled a number OF the minis
tiers who move In the old grooves and
they have protested vigorously against
any change whatever. But there are
many Of the leading lights who take
the same view as Dr. Parkhurst Rev.
Milton s. Lltueheld OF First Union
Presbyterian church says:
"The Implication that certain infants
are damned. the direct statement that
God has passed upon and ordained to
eternal wrath certain men and angels
whose number is uualterably fixed. Us
not a heresy-lt is absolute blasphemy.
II that were true. human responsibility
could not be- and judgment were not "a
trayesty, Il were an outrage.
once | believed that doculne-or.
rather / thought / believed d. | was
taught that 1 ought 20 believe it. but
now that I know the meaning of earthly
fatherhood, ! know that such a belief
cOntrayenes the lofticst sentiments Of
humanity 81 cuts the Ideas Of human
Justice at right angles
But strange 20 say, the same preach
er sugg,sts this:
The creed should have an honorcd
place among the sacred archives Of
the church. 10 should not be tam
pered with. for % was n necessary
truth 10 the seventeenth century. and
Il gave ne men of iron and a new Erg.
land, But now we want something df-
fereut and we should have an entirely
new creed and a shorter one"
How could the absolute blasnhemy
the worse than "heresy" Of today hay'
been part OF the necessary truth 90
the seventeenth century," Iftt Is fals.
and horrible now. 90 was an awful de-
ceptlon then. as much a libel on thN
God OF love as It IS IN the nineteenth
century
Rev. DIT Wallace Radcliffe OF th
New York Avenue Presbyterian church
haze this 20 say.
There is "A change Of creed comm
by process OF natural evolution. Tn
original Westminster Confession %
Faith was written ln the seventeent
century and for that century.
THE twentieth century demands
change; II needs something new
So It is the popular demand "a
something new" that prompts