The Washington herald., 1906-11-26
CRAPSEY is FIRM;
RENOUNCES CHURCH.
CONTINUED FROM FIRST PAGE.

Hundreds OF clergyrnen and thou
sands Of laymen in the Protestant Epis-
copal church have reached the same con-
clusion that I have, and their position in
the church is just as tenable as it ever
was.
This judgment affects no person ex-
cept myself Let no one be dismayed.
Let every man stand in his place-speak
bis mind boldly. and the truth viii soon
have such multitude Of witnesses that
all in the church must hear.
Il am about to carry our case to the
high court of free intelligence and the
enlightened conscience Of the world, and
if I win it there, / viii win it for every
church and every soul in Christendom.
If ] fail before that court, 1 will be glad
to fail. for my contention is not for my
conception, but for the eternal truth Of
God.
1T is to this work Of showing that God
is in man and man IN God that cOnse-
crate the rest of my life"
DIT. Crapsey talks at length Of his great
reluctance to leave the Christian minis
try and thus outlines his present creed:
in leaving the organized church, so
far as its ministry is concerned, I feel
that ] can take with me the best that the
church has given me; the fasts and
feasts: the vigils, and the tears Of the
church that have become mine by right
Of possession, and not all the courts and
bishops Of the church could take them
away. I shall watch in Advent. be merry
at Christmas. fast in Lent. weep on Good
Friday. rejoice at Easter, even though
the church servants shut its doors upon
me.
still a Disciple Of Christ.
While I seem to have lost my hold
upon some OF the traditional and physical
interpretations Of the creed. let it not be
thought on that account that have lost
my hold on the gospel Of Christ.
Il believe as never before that to love
the Lord my Cod with all my soul and
all my mind and all my strength, and to
love my neighbOr as myself is not only
more than law and the prophets, but is
also more than the creeds and the
churches. I see more clearly than ever
that the five negative laws Of righteous
ness laid down by Jesus hedge that
straight and narrow way that leadeth
unto life. To walk in that way has
been and viii be the constant labor OF
my soul. D."
Dr. Crapsey has given no indication of
whether he intends to enter the min
istry Of another church.
The "Crapsey case" had its beginning in
1893, when Dr. Crapsey published a book
"On the Causes and Remedy for the Dis
union of Christendom," which declared
that the church was In danger Of disin-
tegration if it did not hasten to recog-
nize the work Of science and to give
credit 20 modern views. These views
created a stir, and they were discussed
unfavorably by some Of the heads Of the
church
Denied the Miracles.
In February, 1850. ne began preaching
a series of sermons which denied the
virgin birth Of Christ. and denied the
possibility Of miracles, such as the resur-
rection. The sermon that called forth
from Bishop Walker. a demand for pre-
sentiment OF DR.. Crapsey's case was call
ed, 'The Present State of the Churches
and said in part:
"Of course, a belief in the infallibility
Of the Bible Is no longer possible to an
educated man, or 10 any one. in fact. who
reads his Bible with reasonable intelH-
geRce and attention
In the light of scientific research, the
founder Of Christianity. Jesus. the son
of Joseph. no longer stands apart from
the common destiny of man in life and
death. but he is in all things, as we are,
born as We are born dying as We die,
and both in life and death is in the keep
ing of that same divine power, that heav-
enly fatherhood.
When we come to know Jesus in his
historical relations We see that a mira
Gle is not help-it is a hindrance 20 an
intelligent comprehension of his person:
his character, and his mission. We are
not alarmed We are relieved. when sci
entifc history proves that his miraculous
birth was unknown TO himself unknown
20 his mother, and unknown TO the whole
Christian community of the first genera
ton
Four to One for Conviction.
a committee OF i've appointed to con-
slider the case late in 1905 reported that
three were against a trial and two for it.
The case was dropped temporarily, and
DIT. Crapsey considered the incident
closed. It was not long after, however,
that the standing committee Of the do
Cese reported in favor of a trial. Notice
was served on him to appear on April
T. 1906. in Batavia, TO answer charges
After trial that lasted more than
a month. the court found him guilty by
a vote Of four to one.
On June DR.. Crapsey filed an appeal
to "a board OF review. He alleged that
the court was biased had not permitted
him a reasonable time to prepare a de-
fense, had not proper jurisdiction, and
entered fields that it should not have
entered. He put in a general denial and
plea of error, and on that contention the
review was ordered. The board of re-
view sustained the lower court.
Dr. Crapsey is the son of a lawyer in
Ohio and grandson of Senator Morris,
one Of the founders of the Buckeye State
re left home at the age of eleven, and
went to work in a dry goods store. In
1S61. when he was fifteen years old, he
entered the army. After several months
service, in 1S62, his constitution gave way.
and he was invalided.
From then on he served in several
trades He conducted a country store
in West Virginia Then he left TO take
place in the Dead Letter Office in Wash
ingtOn. He entered the employ Of a
printing firm in New York This was
all before he was twenty-one years of
age. He finally entered St. Stephens Col
lege, at Annandale, and in 1872, when
he was about twenty years old. he
was ordained deacon and assigned to
work on the staff in Trinity parish, this
city.
Two years later he was appointed as
sistant minister. When he reached the
age of thirty he was appointed to the
parish to Adelaide Trawbridge. They
Crapsey was married while in Trinity