The Van Buren press., 1900-04-21
THE CONFESSION OF FAITH
Dr I.arl<hurst vigorously Denouncrs
the Westminster Creed Whtch lie
Declares Nobody Believes.

New York, April 16.-Rev. Dr.
Charles II. Parkhurst, speaking in his
pulpit in Madison Square Presbyterian
church yesterday, made vigorous as
sault on the Westminster Confession
of Faith. He said:
An incubus Upon the Church.
eve ought to have new Confes.
sion of Faith. 1t is surprising that the
PRESBYTERIAN church is able to do as
il is doing with such an incubus
strapped upon us as we are tottering
under in our present Confession. In
the first place, the thing wanted is not
a system of theology, for that is what
our present Confession is, but simple,
brief Saxon statement of half-dozen
or so of the vital ingredients OF Jesus
Christ's message to the world. could
get along with a Confession of Faith
containing but the little that Jesus
said when He was trying to make a
Christian of Nicodemus;
Christ's simple Creed.
"'God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten son, that who
soever believeth in Him should not
perish, but have eternal life
"That gives to us the doctrine of
Gods unlimited love, human guilt, the
divinity of Christ, salvation through
Christ, faith in Christ, immortality;
every word Saxon, three-quarters Of
the words monosylables, profound
enough for anyone, simple enough for
any four-year old.
Want IL New Creed.
at any rate we want new creed.
Amending this one will not meet the
necessities of the case, Better give It
a dignfied place in the museum for
what it is, than hack it to pieces and
revamp it for what it is not.
Opposed to the Doctrine ofGod's Love.
"And then, once more, if there were
among us the distinct feeling which
the Gospel so wonderfully guarantees,
that everything in all this great Chris
tan matter piyots on the absolute and
unconditional love of God, we should
be intolerant toward everything that
states or even suggests anything like
partial or an arbitrary love on Gods
part, loving some because He chooses
to and damning the rest in order TO
show what lie could do and how just
He was.
Damned from All Eternity.
"Now, that is our book, the Presby.
terian Confession of Faith, in the third
cEepter. If we are thorough Presby-
terans, and believe what our doctrinal
prospectus adyertises us as believing,
we believe il probable that some OF
the children in your homes, little chill
dren, perhaps the babe of your bosom,
is damned, already damned, damned
before it was born, damned from ever
lasting to everlasting, and then you
are invited to come into church and
say Our Father Why, any man who
should become n father for the sake
Of the Joy and glory he would have
in burning and racking his own Off.
spring, deliberately creating child
with view to the agony into when
he was going to torture II, would be
chased from the earth as fcnd and
an ebullition.
Hurts the Denomination.
"lt does not meet the case to sa,
that IL is only in the book and that
nobody breaches it, 1t is true that
nobody breaches it, and equally true,
| doubt not, that nobody believes IT.
nevertheless it is printed on the flag
Der cath which the Presbyterian army
is marching, and it hurts us as de.
nomination. Men are staying out be-
cause it is there, and men are going
our because ii is there"
TRAIN WRECKED BY A MULE.