The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-15
INCREASING LIBERALISM.


A striking feature of religious progress
is the increasing spirit of liberalism
among leaders Of Christian thought with
the churches slowly but surely following
in the same direction. The church may hes
itate to adopt the opinions of its advanced
thinkers IT may, indeed, bring about
the severance of the relations Of those
thinkers with it; nevertheless, 1t cannot
be successfully denied that the orthodoxy
of to-day is not the orthodoxy Of fifty or
sixty years ago in all particulars. The
churches to-day tolerate things that they
would not have tolerated fifty years ago,
and they fail to emphasize tenets of faith
which a half century ago were held to be
absolutely essential not only 20 good
standing in the church, but to the saliva
ton of The soul. This fact was empha-
sized in the Utica (N. V Presbytery a
few days ago when Or. Taylor formerly
pastor of the Presbyterian Church at
Rome, made a strong address in which
he advocated the elimination from the
Confession of Faith of Paragraphs l to
of Chapter g.
These paragraphs cover the doctrine of
election and reprobation, in reputation
of which DR.. Hills of Brooklyn resigned
from the Chicago Presbytery recently. A
resolution to eliminate the paragra phs was
lost, but the General Assembly was re-
quested 60 consider whether the time has
not come for instituting a movement to
effect in part a revision of the doctrinal
standards, or the adoption of a simpler
form of confession. DR.. HILLS ii will be
recalled, said in connection with his resig-
nation from the Chicago Presbytery, that
many ministers who adhered 10 the para
graphs in the chapter referred to did not
themselves believe the doctrine embodied.
In debating the question before the Utica
Presbytery DR. r. W. Brokaw OF Utica
called the Westminster Confession "a
back number" which should be put UNI
der a glass case and preserved as a GU
riosity." Another minister termed it "a
monumental literary curiosity, of no prac-
tical value in church work" Only half
a dozen of the older members of the pres
bytery voted against the resolution rec
ommending revision.
The Presbyterian Church, however, is
NOT the only one in which there is being
evinced a desire for a broader and more
liberal Interpretation of the requisite be-
liefs and duties of church members The
Methodist Church has here ofore been ex-
tremely rigid in its rules of personal con-
duct for members. Worldly pleasures
have been under the ban, and dancing,
theaters, card playing and like amuse-
ments have been especially interdicted
Within the recent past, however, not less
than three state conferences of the Meth
odist Church. North, have petitioned the
General Conference to so amend the Dis
cipline so as to omit from Paragraph 24S
the incomplete catalogue of prohibited
amusements, and to substitute for the
omitted part a paragraph in the chapter
of Special Advices" entitled Christian
Conduct" which urges members not 20
follow any pleasure that "cannot be used
in the name of Jesus" This would re-
move the specific injunction against dane
ing theaters. card parties, etc. The state
conferences that have taken action of this
kind are the New York, the New York,
East which embraces Connecticut, and
the New Jersey Conference In support
of the petition for amendment 1t is argued
that the rule has been dead letter for
many years. The Rev Mr.. Buckley as
serted that the rule should never have
been adopted. Should the amendment be
made by the General Conference, it would
be the most radical departure made by the
Methodist Church in a number of years.
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