The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-04-20
PRBSBYTERIANS
DISCUSSING IT.
They Are Giving the Change OF
Creed Some Attention.
1T WAS MADE BY MAN
Andtsome Are OF the Opinion That It Can
BE Changed with the Same Propriety
That Suggested elimination or
Infant Damuation.

Infant Damuation.
Canton Presbyterians are considering
the matter of change of creed that Is
proposed for them. The most important
change that is suggested is the elimin-
alton of the doctrine of foreordination,
which has long been insisted upon most
strenuously by good Presbyterians.
But infant damnation, which was SO
offensive to so many church workers
and a majority of the church's best
thinkers, was eliminated by the Pres
byterian church some years back after
having been as religiously followed as
the doctrine of foreordnation. No
great violence was done the church or
its people by this change. The infalli-
bility of creeds that are the product of
man Is hardly insisted upon at this time.
In Chicago, where the movement star
ted, much is being said and written on
the foreordination proposition that is
to come before the Presbytery that Is
soon to meet in st. Louis The Chicago
Chronicle discusses the question in
this fashion,
DIR. Parkhurst Is right about one
thing. If the Christian religion Is to
flourish or even to survive, 1t must get
back to first principles. 1t must cease
to depend upon man-made creeds and
rest it's case upon the principles taught
and exemplifed by its founder. The
| system of ethics comprised in the teach
| ings of Jesus Christ Is a good enough
| creed for any one. Councils, synods,
presbyteries, general assemblies cannot
add to 1t or take away from 1t without
going astray and leading others astray.
Formal creeds do not constitute a
religion. A man may say, II believe so
and so," when he really believes nothing
of the kind. DR.. Parkhurst, as he him
self admits, has been doing that very
thing. So has DR.. Hills. So have DR..
Smith and DR.. McGiffert, and dozens
of avowed heretics. AS for the secret
heretics-men who preach what they
| don't believe-we may well believe that
their number is legion. They have fol-
lowed beaten path, but their eyes were
elsewhere. They have professed belief
in the Westminster confession, but In
their hearts they have denied 1t. Men
made the Westminster confession; 1t is
inevitable that other men should ques-
ton or utterly reject the conclusion OF
the confession makers.
Nor will the difficulty be remedied by
patching up old creeds or framing en-
tirely new ones. Sooner or later these
will be doubted, questioned and finally
rejected. Then another formula will
have to be framed and thus the pro-
cess will have to be repeated ad finitum
unless in meantime people have come
absolutely to reject any creed at all
very likely contingency.
!; DIR. Parkhursts idea that the creed
of Christianity must eventually consist
of the words of it's founder and of NJ
human man will have to be adopted Il
that religion is to survive. No dogma
can be framed by any man that will b'
binding upon any other man. Christi
, anity, like all religions, must rest 1T
pretensions upon divine revelation o
it ceases to be a religion.
NEEDS REVISION.
The Chicago Times Herald discusse
the matter as follows
The Chicago presbytery has doubles
acted for the best interests Of the churcl
in meeting the general demand for re
vision of the creed. After voting, with
out controversy, to permit DR.. N. d
Hills to remove his name from tn
church rolls and expressing for him tn
warmest affection, the Presbyterian
2 ministers of Chicago agreed by unani
nous action to petition the coming gen
eral assembly Of the church to appon
a committee to take into consideration
the whole matter of a restatement o
doctrinal standards. This committee !
to have a year in which to formulat
recommendations regarding revision
of the present confession or the substi
tuition for 1t of a new and simple
statement of the doctrinal beliefs of tn
church 1t was fitting that the initia
tive in the movement for revision shoul
be taken by the venerable and scholar
ly Rev. DR.. Herrick Johnson, Of McCor
!. mick Theological seminary, under who's
leadership and instruction so many o
the ablest pulpit men of the west hav
been prepared for the work of the min
istry. The Presbyterian church is
great, conservative religious organiza
ton, embracing 1,542, 400 members in tn
United States and two or three time
= that many who attend upon its worshi
but are not cassed as communicate
1t embraces in it's membership a Yer
; large percentage of the intelligent, pro
1 fessional and well-to-do classes of ou
citizenship. Such church could not at
, ford to take a precipitate action upo
4 so vital question as the revision of 1t
doctrinal beliefs. A church of sue
dignity and power could not carelessl
l. renounce the tenets of a hundred year
a and more in response to popular clamo
occasioned by the withdrawal Of one G
its ministers, who desires to identif
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