The St. Louis Republic., 1901-03-11

depreciation to the old one. But unfortu-
natsly. 1t is an ideal which it is not possible
course suggested is too full of perils to ven-
ture upon it Creeds not made to Or
der; they grow in the church, nor can a
church leave its old creed as man leaves
old house to go into n new and more
suitable one which he has built for himself.
Creeds form part of the life of the church.
cannot be abandoned: and whatever may be
in the future. the time has not vet ccme
when the Presbyterian Church is prepared
to abandon its old, time-honored symbols
for new ones.
THE second method suggested and In
dorsed by large number of preshyteries.
is to revise the text of the Confession in
the particular places where the truth IS
not stated satisfactorily. and to add 20 it
essary to express the larger faith of the
church. Much is to be said in favor of this
course. 1t is direct and reasonable Nani-
festly. when document does not express
exactly or clearly what we believe the
manly way. is to write it that it does.
But there are some difficulties about doing
church tried this method and it failed to bo
approved. First of all, there is Il sentiment
against changing the old confession It 70
like attempting to patch an old. time-hon-
ored battlefiag with new material Tho
patch disfigures instead of improving 1t. It
must also be admitted that the confession
is wonderfully arranged in all its parts
that II is difficult to make any changes In
the text without running the change all
through H. II IS ike attempting 10 C.ldusso
the features of some masterpiece of scrip
ture in order to Please modern ideas. Tno
sentiment in favor Of preserving the cid
confession intact Is a strong one. and 1t
must be reasoned with. Something is due
it. The past has claim upon US and he
who does not revere its great deeds and
achievements is not likely to do ANYTHING
worth remembering in the present. Besides
all this. alteration in the text Of the con-
fession would tend to sever the historic
bond that unites so many different branches
of the Presbyterian family and place OBJ
stacles in the way Of closer union In tho
future
Advantages of Explanation.
1.-THE third method proposed is that Of
making an explanatory statement which
shall plainly declare in what sense the
church holds and interprets certain pas
sages In the present confession. and in
addition to this. to add what further truths
we have discovered in the Word OF God.
This method leaves the text Sa unenanged'
the misconceptions and obseurities and de-
clare the present belief of the church. The
eelo1 os made
few-not more than five In number In
deed. they could be reduced to two. They
feW plain 'V Words in % the " way of aI-
thoritative explanation could easily remove
the objections urged against these state
Free Church. and the United Presbyterian
Church Of Scotland. and 1t has proved
most satisfactory. When recently these
tWOs ChuTcnSS were uIuteu III Ohc OSuys
was on the basis of the old historical
creed. with the explanations which they
had added to it This method Is both rea-
sonable and practicable. for surely no man
can object to saying in what sense he un-
derstands the written creed. which he pro-
fesses to believe. And this: I believe. 10
the method which will relieve US OF our
present difficulties. and give rest and peace
to the church.
I'VE have committed to our trust q So
cred deposit Of truth. and 1t is our duty
to keep it in safety. and to proclaim 1t to
the world. We do not e1alt our confession
above the word Of God. or even place II in
preme Our confession tells what We have 8
found in the word. But let no one suppose
that assent to 1t is condition Of member.
ship in the church. The only condition OF
membership is faith In the Lord Jesus
Christ. sealed by obedience to his COM
mands. We require men who St would be bean, an,
TO the system of doctrine in our confession.
that others may be taught the truth, But
he who comes protesting faith In Christ
and declares that he is willing to be q
disciple. scholar in Christs school, =
gladly welcomed into the fellowship OF hDq
church"