The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-13

CHURCHES. 90 well 90 mdivfdusis. Declared
u No Capable ef M


10 No Capable of M
To rnn EDrroa OF THE suN-str: When
. clergyman 10 tried for heresy II 10 asserted
by the prosecution that 10 10 not . question
OF the truth Of his teachings. but OF whether
they conform TO tho standards OF the Church.
The Church refuses to consider whether its
doctrines are true every time q member
denies them. IL 10 argued that. as IL has It's
tenets, one should know before taking orders
whether he accepts them. and II he does not
be should not become q clergyman. And
IL he changes his mind after accepting them
and promising TO teach them he should quit
his position.
There would be more force In this II the
Church we're under no OBLIGATION TO teach
the truth. But it 10 the duty Of the Church
to DO right In its teachings AZ well az OF the
clergyman, and II IL ceases TO teach the truth
II ought to get out OF business as well as he.
and IL 10 part Of his duty to see that IL does.
abe Church should be In Q proper position
before the people are asked TO conform to II.
The most important thing 10 TO be right. not
TO be regular. II tho Church is in error there
10 as much obligation TO correct it as to correct
any other In error.
One may not assume that the Church IL
always right and that one only has to learn
what It's doctrines are In order to know what
I 10 preach. There In no evidence Of thss bus
much evidence that II 10 not 90. The Church
has often erred and changed Its doctrines.
IL. a. well as . clergyman. may be heretioal.
In fact. every branch OF tho Church 10 hereti-
cal from the viewpoint OF every other branch.
Nothing 10 more certain than that all the
Churches are heretical except st most one.
and none knows which that one IL. and prob
ably that one also 10 hsretical. It a certainly
% in the opinion Of all the others. each Of
which thinks itself only Ia right. The most
generally admitted facts about the Churches.
therefore. is their heresy: and when all Of
them are thus thong ht to be h~eretIcal they
ought to be less sensitive about the heresy
OF their clergy.
Since. therefore, the Church can be wrong
a. well a. the individual. It In the special duty
OF It's clergy to keep 1t right. and when IL goes
wrong to set IL right. As new truths are con-
stantly discovered and It's old teachings are
found false it should take up these new truths
and reject these old errors. and not be kept
the same. right or wrong. The whole Church
may be taught a. well as the individual in
1t. and II Is the most appropriate duty Of the
clergyman TO attend to this.
For there must be somewhere power to
chan &c the Church. 10 cannot be kept right
when In chan ging, IL men may
not propose new doctrines to conform to
the new discoveries. II none may teach il
anything. IL must always remain as ignor-
ant as II originally was. and this while every
thing else lie going forward. The Church
would thus become a great depository of
error. instead Of one Of truth.
II, then. lie is the duty Of the clergyman In
taking his VOWS to promote the truth and
keep the Church teachings true, he must
when he finds anything wrong say so and
try to correct IL. He may not fly away from
this duty and leave the Church to its errors.
This being the condition OF the Church and
OF membership in IL, a clergyman when he
recognizes an error in its teachings ought not
to get out of the Church, but try to put the
error out.
Moreover. II a member no longer believes
one Of the doctrines then that ceases to be
q doctrine UNIVERSAL accepted In the Church,
and TO that extent 10 no longer q doctrine Of
the Church; and il many cease TO believe the
doctrines that were once deemed orthodox,
then these doctrines to a still greater degree
cease to be the doctrines OF the Church.. In
this way one doctrine after another disap-
pears. and the Church gets nearer right and
gets more truth. A large and growing part
OF the clergy and lsity may not be ignored
In calculating the doctrines OF the Church.
They may become the majority, when II
the Church keeps Its old doctrines IL will
have doctrines which are not generally be-
lieved by Il; 10 will cease TO believe its own
doctrines and be h%eretical as a whole.
b One can be true to the Church only by
preaching that 1t Is wrong when he so thinks
bsluk 70 uldke IL TlRnJ. III Is part OF his
privilege Ind also his duty to mend the Church..
He may work TO get the majority of the
clergy to bis views. so that they shall be the
orthodox ones and the views which he re-
jects the heretical ones. Those who hold to
one view ought not to feel that they must give
up. especially when they are right. They
may try to make the others give up whom
they think wrong. One has a right to argue
withinsthe Church. and persuade others, and
To do an In the n1aaf radical untto-. ~
any doctrine Is false he should try to get il
corrected. and not get out Of the Church when
he thinks he has found a truth. At most he
should let the others put him out IL they think
he 10 wrong. He himself cannot think 80.
and while he thinks the Church is in error
he may think IL is his duty to correct it. He
himself 10 not the one to put himself out be-
cause he Is wight. AUSTIN BIERsowRR.
CHICAGO. December 0.