The sun., 1903-09-27
The New and tho Old Theology.

A succinct definition Of the basis OF the
"old theology" was given last Sunday by
DIR. PATTON the president of the Prince
ton Theological Seminary, when he said
that Christianity is piece Of informa-
ton given supernaturally and miracu-
lously.'
A definition OF the new theology,
now 80 fashionable, is presented in the
last number of the Outlook by Prof.
GEORGE FORT MOORE Of the Harvard
Divinity School. to this effect:
Tho philosophy which undesliss and pervades
the traditional dogmacs Is obsolete; the universe,
as science reveals II. cannot be construed on Its
premises In its terms The conception Of Script
ure and tho method of Interpreting II by which
theology was harmonized with philosophy and shs
specifically Christian dogmas were derived or
proved Is also obsolete But the tacts Of Chris
tian experience and religious history remain; the
CHRIST of the Gospels remains and these facts are
no sss Ineligible significant In our way of think
Ing than they were 10 the Greek fathers In theirs.
The task of the constructive theologian to day
Is to put in the place Of the old dognatlcs and apol
ogetcs a philosophy OF the Christian religion In
which the facts of Scripture, history and Christian
experience are interpreted In conformity with
modern conceptions OF the universe and GODS
relation 70 It and OF the nature and destiny OF man
Prof MOORE, we believe, is from the
Congregational Andover Theological
Seminary, and therefore his definition
may be said to apply to the more fash
ionable school of theology Of those
descendants of the Puritans who did not
Join the revolt Of DR.. CHANNINo, though
they now go further than he did, in their
substantial rejection Of the supernatural
and miraculous element in Christianity.
Still another definition Of the new
theology" is furnished by the Rev. f. P.
HURLEY in the Church Eclectic. a repre-
sentative of the Catholic party Of the
Episcopal Church. 1t is;
That Angucanlsm. like all other isms. Is huge
self .conceit-that the one certainty is the uncer'
tainty of all human opinions. and that the Prayer
Book Ls from " cover. nothing more nor loss
than a bundle of human opinions They seem 10
take as their motto In Judging OF the trufh or doc
true HUME assertion VIZ. that all our knowledge
resolves Itself into probability. Like DEscARFEs.
they think they more safely reach the submits
Of faith by doubling everything. The one thing
| they are sure Of Is that others know nothing, ana
they are not quite certain about the contents or
what one might not inappropriatey style their own
/ learned ignorance. These gentlemen would give us
! an Incarnation without q hypostasLs-a mutilated
rus1sr a. well as mutllated Gospel. They would
have ~ pin our faith 10 the ever changing hypoth-
eses hastily elaborated by those humorousiy styled
our advanced thinkers
The "hypostass' referred TO- We may
explain, is a term Of theology which re-
calls bitter dissensions in the early Chris
tian Church. II refers to the dogma Of
CHRIST as an essential person OF the
Trinity. Mr., HURLEY, therefore, may
be put in the same theological category
to which DR. PATToNs definition Of
Christianity IA miraculous information
assigns the Princeton president.
Mr.. HURLEY's paper. however, is
rather an assertion that Anglicanism has
inherited Catholic sacerdotal authority
than an attempt to define Christianity,
1t il written, more particularly, for the
purpose of denouncing majority of the
Anglican Bishops as heretical in reject
ing that theory: and, unquestionably,
fifty years ago the English prelates were
unanimously opposed to the Oxford
Movement; and only few months ago
the bishop Of DURHAM wrote Of the
episcopal Office that no one can prove
to me that the Church Of CHRIST stands
or falls with it, The Rev. DR.. RASH
DALI, a fellow of Oxford, has also ex-
pressed the same view still more recently.
He describes the Apostolic succession
as "a gigantic ngment' and says that he
knows of clergymen who even make a
clean sweep of the miraculous, yet seem
to cling to the doctrine of tho Apostolic
succession"
Mr.. HURLEY's paper, in spite OF its
title, cannot be called description OF the
new theology for the episcopal opin-
ions he assails 60 back to the very foun-
dation OF the Anglican Church, when
CRANMER said, "the King might, in vir-
tue Of authority derived from GOD, make
a priest. and the priest go made needed
no ordination whatever.
We refer to Mr. HURLEYs argument
only because it presents the view, tech