New-York tribune., 1900-08-05
THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR UyBELIEF

One of the most common arguments against
the liberal movement in the churches is that IL
inevitably tends to ALLEVIATE people from the
Church When Christians cease to believe the
old traditional dOgmas of Christianity. 1t is
said, or even when they come to accept n less
rigorous Interpretation of them, they soon lose
all interest in organized religion and drift away
from the Church. This view seems so plausible,
indeed, that many liberals tactly admit its
truth and seek in different ways to break its
force.
Now if such really is the tendency of Hber-
alism the Church organizations are entirely
justified in opposing the liberal movement. For
1t Is the fundamental right of every society to
antagOnize views and theories that tend to dis
integrate or destroy 1t. Only thus. in fact, can
1t hope to live. While every organization must
allow a certain latitude of opinion in regard to
many questions relating to the organization, it
must stand for its fundamental principles and
oppose those of It's members who minimize or
deny them. But just here Christianity is facing
a difficulty to-day. What are its fundamental
principles? Are they to be found in the con-
ception of the faith enshrined in the traditional
theology undiluted by modern thought or in
the restatement of Christian belief and practice
which liberalism is striving in various ways to
make? This is the broad general question be-
fore the churches. AS we have said the con-
servatives assume that they are the true de-
tenders of the faith, and they seek to fasten on
the liberals the responsibility for the religious
declensiOn that nearly all denominations are adj
mitting to-day.
But 1t seems not to have occurred to them
that there is a plausible prOri argument for
the theory that conservatism is responsible for
religious detection From the point of view of
Roman Catholicism, for instance the RefOrma
tiOn was a great religious apostasy: yet the
Reformation was born In the Church, and all
its leaders were Churchmen. How came it that
this tremendous revolt from Catholicism could
take place if 1t is only in liberalism, as we are
told. that such a revolt can occur? For before
the Reformation the Church sternly suppressed
every form of heterOdOXy and insisted on an
unQuestiOning belief in all its dOgmaS. More
over, it had the physical power to enforce its
policy. 1t dominates not only the sphere Of
religion, but of politics and social life. Never
theless millions of Its members shook off its
allegiance for the very reason that IL did dOmi-
nate the whole of life and assumed TO hold
them to an unquestioning belief in the old
theology. So see il was conservatism and
not liberalism that produced the Reformation
Or may take a more modern case in point.
At a recent Presbyterian gathering in Edin-
burgh speaker declared that there are in
who do not go TO church While we cannot
vOuch for these figures. 1t is a fact that in
recent years there has been serious detection
from the old time standards of Scottish Ortho-
doxy. Yet for centuries Scottish Presbyterian
ism, the synonyme for the most unrelenting
strCtness of belief and practice, has had every
thing its own way in Scotland. 1t is true that
in recent years a strong liberal movement has
sprung into existence. but it has grown into
being within the pale of Presbyteransm. The
liberal movement may or may not be respOn-
sble for the decline in church attendance On
that point can pronounce no opinion. But
there can be no doubt that Scottish liberalism
was caused by the unbending rigidty Of Scot
tiSh PresbyteriaTism. Liberalism may be di-
rectly responsible for lax views in regard To
church membership and attendance. But in the
first instance conservatism is responsible for
liberalism. Drive out every one who questions
the least iOt title of the traditional faith
land the Church will grow strOng!' eXclaims
the conservative. Bat he fails TO that ii is
this policy which inevitably tends to make lib
erals And as rule he utterly refuses to con-
slider the question whether the movement from
Christianity might not be largely arrested were
the old theology 10 admit that as to some of its
positions there is room for an honest difference
Of opinion.