Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1906-05-18
ASSAILS SCOTCH CREED.
Presbyterian Minister Calls God of
Westminster Confession
False"

NEW YORK, May FL n final eff
fort to secure the abolition of the West
minister confession Of faith, THE basis Of
the Presbyterian creed, Rev. DIR. Samuel
Il. Carter has addressed AM open letter
to the general Presbyterian assembly,
which meets in Des Moines on May Is,
In which lie declares:
There never was there is not now, and
there never will be such a God the God
of the Westminster confession. 1t is an
idol Of mans invention as truly as any
worshiped in Delhi, Picking, or Africa.
Over Thirty Years in Ministry.
DIR. Carriers letter comes from Rome,
where lie is at present with an invalid
son. lie is an old man who has for more
than thirty years been a minister of the
Presbyterian church. Some years ago
he gave up his charge in order to devote
the closing years of his life to a fight
against scholastic theology" and the
Westminster confession.
The reading of his letter at the general
assembly in Des Moines is certain to
provoke the bitterest controversy on =
subject which has stirred the ministry
more than once.
Made Attack Three Years Ago.
DIR. Carriers first outspollen attack on
the Westminster confession nearly three
years ago moved the church to its
II
tended over a period of month";, which
for Il time threatened to result i'll the
trial of DIR. Carter for heresy, the mat
ter was allowed to drop. This time it
liz expected that the general assembly
will take definite action both on the
subject of the Westminster confession
and DR.. Garter.
DR.. Carter calls his letter to the gen
eral assembly "a protest and a confess
sion 1t was discussed at a special
meeting of the presbytery of Nassau at
Jamaica, L.. L., Friday, which decided
to leave action upon it to the general
assembly.
Appeals to Honesty of Ministry.
The letter is as follows:
The presbytcry of Nassau overturned the
general assembly year ago, asking thai
the brief statement of doctrine be substitut-
ed for the Westminster confession as the
confession OF our church. BY practically
unanimous vote the general assembly re-
1ected this overture and retained the West
minister confession. BY this action of the
assembly many ministers compelled to
declare their acceptance of confession
which they do not heartily believe, and
many of our best members to acknowledge
a creed of which they are ashamed. | ap-
peal from this action of the assembly 10
the manlinesS and honesty of the ministry
and membership of the Presbyterian church.
Many years ago when | ordained to
the ministry of the gospel l declared in Tie
most solemn manner that l believed the
Westminster confession to be the truth of
God. | now in an equally solemn manner
declare that | do not believe it to be the
truth of God; that / utterly reject it as a
setting forth of the character of the heav-
emily father.
God of Confession a False God
There never was, there is not now and
there never will be such a God as the God
of the Westminster confession. 1t is an
Idol of mans invention truly as any
worshipped in Delhi Pekin or Africa !
believe ,p5 iS In
fnitely and exquisitely good and gracious:
that the one thing that can neither fui-
ly receive nor declare is the boundless love
of God; that all the noblest exhibitions of
human love are but bright and beautiful
sparks from that intense and divine flame,
the love that through ages and generations
has been leading men by the fullest wisdom
and most tender providence to heights of
knowledge, love. and boundless hope that
far transcend all human thought.
! lift up this overwhelming divine love
before my fellow men, believing that this
alone will draw all men unto Him. l be-
lieye that the Westminster confession dark
ems and denies this great love of God. and
should not be retained as a confession of
any church today and that our church is
false to its greatest duty of being true
witness for God so long as it retains this
confession.
l send this protest and confession to the
clerk OF the general assembly and l invoke
upon 1t the blessing of Almighty God ana
the kindly Judgment of all honest men
Biggest of All Big Lies"
For years DIR. Carter has been a NOV
Ing spirit in q movement to secure the
revision or abolition of the Westminster
confession. Several half dozen years ago
the controversy almost disrupted the
general assembly of the Presbyterian
church in Scotland. The Interpretation
of God in the Westminster confession.
which the is fundamental basis of the
Presbyterian creed, has been criticised
again and again, though seldom in so
emphatic a manner as by DR.. Carter.
His letter recalls 4 statement made by
him on the eve of his departure for
Italy. when he said:
To me this whole subject is q matter of
truth or faisehood. To my own mind the
character of God, as portrayed in our re
ceiyed confession, simply is false. And the
matter appears TO be of the greatest i'm
portance because l believe the biggest and
worst lie of all the big, bad lies OF the
world is lie about God.