Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-03-08

lew or the letters received as pest lep
Iresentative of the whole.
We are reminded of this extraordln
ariiy voluminous and embarrassing
correspondence by sermon preached
last Sunday in this city by the Rev
DR.. Lorimer. 1t was on the presen'
condition of thought in Protestantism
The rock on which Professionalism was
built was belief in the absolute au-
thority of the Bible. Now criticism OF
the Bible which reduces it practically
to a book of purely human authorship
and with the consequent inevitable
imrerfections of human knowledge
has entered into foremost schools OF
Protestant theology and proceeds with
out restraint Thus the miraculous
element of the Bible is made to dis
appear, and with it passes away the
foundation on which alone Christianit,
is based, for that, necessarily, is mir
aculous. AS DR.. Lorimer says, only the
pope, only the Church of Rome
comes to the front as TIE champion
of the Bible against the destructive
critics."
In our correspondence on immortal
ity, therefore, we find that the I'M
compromising defenders of belief IN
everlasting individual life for the sole
are usually Roman Catholics. In that
church all questions of theology are
settled and dismissed from the minds
of the laity more particularly, as dog
matically determined. Complete free
dom of thought. however. is the dis
tinguishing feature of Professionalism
The Episcopal church resents inclusion
in the ranks of Professionalism, or, at
least, a great and, apparently increas-
ing party in 1t does, yet there exist
in it radically opposing schools of the
illogical doctrine. the High" the
Low" the Broad" and the extreme
school of this last division which is
represented by DR.. Heber Newton, for
example. In Presbyterianism there is
a considerable, if not a great. part
|of the ministry, in the Bible DR..
Briggs is the representative, tho he
has passed over TO holy orders in the
Episcopal church. The movement for
the revision of the Westminster con-
|fession, upon which a committee of tho
general assembly is now engaged, may
be said to have received its impulse
from the new thought concerning the
authority of the Bible. Into the Con-
gregational church the same scepticism
has entered, probably even more ex-
tensively, and the Baptist and Metho-
dist churches and their theological
schools are feeling its influence, prob
ably to less but to q profound de-
gree. Protestant religious papers are
declining almost universally in circu-
lation and influence. and some of the
more important of them have secular
lied themselves very completely, or
II they treat of religious matters al
all, they are permeated with the scep-
teal spirit.
This being the situation 1t is not re-
markable, but wholly natural that the
very foundation on which supernatur-
al Christianity rests, or the immor-
tally of the soul, should be questioned
If the authenticity of scriptural mir
acles is rejected 1t is inevitable that
there should follow an appeal to the
actual demonstrations of natural sci
ence to test the soundness of the be-
lief in Immortality.
Accordingly, we look on the vast
volume of correspondence we are re-
ceiving in criticism of immortality as
the most significant evidence of a
contemporary decline of religious faith
which could be adduced Denial of
immortality involves denial of a future
state, supernatural and spiritual
realm, the existence of which is the es-
sential basis of theology.
That sums up the whole question,
and 1t is profitless to say more Immor-
tally is undemonstrable by human
science. The faith that clings to it is
beyond the reach of scientific or phil
osophic argument, and happily, for il
brings hope and consolation to those
who have it.