Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-09-20

! tenure OF circular which has been
ISSUED on the subject by the governor
| general of Warsaw, Maximovitch to
mis- subordinates. No person may in.
duce or abet member of the orthodox
| church TO enter any other fold. for
mat Is q crime. Another Pr ext
OF the bureaucracy is iilustrat ed in
this paragraph "A number Of
Stundists, or evangelical Christians.
nave been prosecuted for singing
hymns and offering up prayers since
the PRONUNCIATION of the cars ukase.
which permits them to do this. Nat.
urally they pleaded the authorize.
ton granted them by his majesty.
But their superior, the Zemsll1
nachalnik, forbade them to make any
allusion to that document in their
pleading s,-because officially it has
not been received
unprofitabIeness of Heresy Trials.
Speaking generally, heresy trials.
says the New York Churchman. have
been Improbable. a scandal to the
church, and unfruitful in results.
Sometimes the condemned heresy has
later become the accepted doctrine or
Il ne church and the world, as in the
case Of Calico. New discoveries. the
Opening up of new lines of mental
activity, of necessity X smt in the re-
consideration and recasting or
| theological statements and religious
beliefs. Tho new statements often. in
| fact generally, seem at first heretical
and subversive of the faith to those
who are not in touch with, or abreast
OF, the new movements in the in.
tellectual world and the new dis.
! coFeries which cause or affect those
/ movements. Men of middle age can
remember the mighty cutlery raised a
little over generation ago by the
teachings of Darwin and the sue.
cessive application of the doctrine OF
evolution to the physical and then to
the intellectual and moral world.
The views of the evolutionists were
regarded as subvarsive of all faith,
and the men who held them. or even
| those who were not prepared 70 de-
nounce them, were regarded by many
of eAe orthodox as heretics and
enemies of the church of Christ. 1t
is unfortunate for the church ana the
world il at such period of mental
activity the leaders of the church be
men lacking in breadth of mind. not in
touch with the thinking of the
scholarly world, or worst of all. not
lmbued with that profounder sense
of religion which sees ana feels be-
yond the letter the truth of the spirit,
The trials of Prof Briggs and
Prof. II. P. Smith in the Presbyterian
church, while they resulted in the con
demnation and deposition of those
men, so advertised their views and
furthered the propagation of them that
today it may be safely said, although
scarce dozen years have passed
since that fight began the views OF
these two men with regard to Bible
inspiration and the methods of Bible
study and Interpretation have really
won the victory within the church
from which they were expelled. 1t is
wise plan to have confidence in the
honesty and integrity of Christian
teachers. If man can with honesty
to his own conscience accept the
| formlrlartes of the church, and con.
form to them, 1t is best as a general
principle to accept his statement that
what hn NJ
missib'e under those formulas. Let
the pulpit stand outside the sanctuary
and grant to 1t great freedom OF
utterance. provided he who speaks
therein can offer with a true heart the
sacrifice of God at the altar, and re,
cite there those words through which
the church teaches its children the
faith for all time received.
Japanese Symposium.
A Buddhist newspaper of Toxic re-
Gently sent to 200 of the best-known
literary, scientific and educational
japanese, return postal cards. asking
them to answer the questions: ID
Whether they believed there was a
future world or not? (2) Why? and
go If there were such a world. what
they thought it would be like. OF the
200, SIS declined answering. OF the
lis who replied, many evaded the
issue, answering through their
stewards, alleging Illness or preoc-
cupation. One says frankly re knows
nothing about 1t and Toes not expect
to. Two are thinking md Investigate
ing" one of these is the noted journal
list, Soho Tokutomi. Another we'll
known writer. Juko Shiga, thinks life
too short for such ftFtile speculations.
No less than II reply that they have
never thought Of It, A few take refuge
10 metaphysical generadties. express
ed sometimes in verse. Only 3g OF the
1l5 frankly ayow belief in a future
life. Thirteen of these are Christians.
and they alone seem unequivocably
sure OF their faith. To one OF these
heaven Is "a place in which to realize
our Ideals" Another describes n as
"a place where one Is busy In dcing
the will of God, most profitably and
most happily" A third says rather
strilkingly, Materially, it is like that
OF the present world as | Of today
am as the of tomorrow"
Mr.. Takagi, editor of the Japanese
Christian Advocate, insists on the
everlasting growth and development.
The general attitude of those who do