Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-05-25
CONFESSION FALSE.
DECLARES WESTMINSTER STATE
MENT DOES NOT DEPICT GOD.

The Confession Denies His Great Love-Dr.
Carter States His Views to Governing Body
of Church and Asks That Change Be Made
So Preachers May Be Sincere.
The question OF disciplining or OF
trying on heresy charges the Reverend
Doctor Samuel T. Carter, who several
years ago became prominent in an ef-
fort to have the Westminster Comics.
sion revised, was taken up last week
by the Presbytery of Nassau at ia.
maica, L. I.
The meeting was called because OF
a letter in which Doctor Carter de-
clares that he does not believe the
Westminster Confession to be the
truth of God, but can idol OF mans
invention as truly as any worshiped
in Delhi, Pekin or Africa"
This letter is addressed to the Gen.
eral Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, which meets May Is in Des
Moines, Ia. The writer terms it q
"protest and confession"
The letter is as follows:
"Fathers and Brethren: The Pres
bytery of Nassau overturned the Gen.
eral Assembly a year ago, asking that
the brief statement of doctrine be SUBJ
stituted for the Westminster Comics.
sion as the confession of our church.
BY a practically unanimous vote the
General Assembly rejected this over
ture and retained the Westminster
Confession. By this action Of the as.
sembly, many ministers are compelled
to declare their acceptance of q con-
fession which they do not heartily be-
lieve, and many of our best members
to acknowledge a creed OF which they
are ashamed. / appeal from this ac-
ton of the assembly, to the manliness
and honesty of the ministry and men,
berehip OF the Presbyterian church.
"Many years ago, when 7 was or.
dained in the ministry of the Gospel,
l declared in the most solemn manner
that I believed the Westminster Con-
fession TO be the truth OF God: / now
in very solemn manner declare that
1 do not believe it to be the truth of
God; that I utterly reject il as set
ting forth OF the character of the hea.
venly Father.
"There never was, there is not now,
and there never will be such God as
the God of the Westminster Comics.
sion.
at is an idol OF mans invention as
truly as any wOrshiped in Delhi, Pek-
in, or Africa. I believe that the great
and true God is infinitely and exquis-
itely good and gracious; that the one
thing that we can neither fully 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 knowl-
edge, love and boundless hope that far
transcend all human thought. 1 lift
up this overwhelming divine love be-
fore my fellow-men, believing that
this alone will draw all men unto
him.
al believe that the Westminster
Confession darkens and denies this
great love OF God, and should not be
retained as a confession by any church
to-day, and that our church is false to
its greatest duty of being true wit
ness for God, 80 long IS it retains this
confession.
"I send this protest and confession
to the clerk OF the General Assembly,
and invoke upon it the blessing Of
Almighty God and the kindly judg.
ment OF all honest men,"
The letter was sent from Rome,
Italy.
Doctor Carter has been in the Pres.
byterian Church for more than thirty
years, but is not now in charge of q
church. More than year ago his
views were discussed by the Nassau
Presbytery.