The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-01-25


 is the third "A clergyman be-
 to his Church. it is his spiritual
 By withdrawing from his place Stee loses his power' It is, of course, upon the question of withdrawing that the controversy hinges. Dr. Abbott meets these points by an insistence in the form of questions addressed to pr. Crapsey upon the language of the form ularies and the ordinal of the Church. He is a strict constructionist. The Outlook sums up with a criticism of Dr. Craysey's definition of the funda- mental verities; but a general sym pathy with his point of view.
 The discussion Is timely one, and well worthy the consideration of every thoughtful churchman. It seems to us that there are two points which are of essential importance to just decision. The first is that which both Dr, Crap sey and the Outlook have emphasized The interpretation of all creeds and doctrines changes from age to age. 1 Some years ago the bishops issued a pastoral letter, in which they stated that "fixity of interpretation is of the essence of the creeds." Whatever they may have meant by the phrase, its ob- vious purport is one which cannot bear moments historical searching. To take the Nicene Creed, that splendid and immortal statement of the Church s faith as to Christ's person, it is easy to point out that the present generation simply cannot interpret it as did the fathers of Nicaea. The world has changed, and with it's philosophical terms and systems have changed. No man today can take himself back into the philosophic atmosphere of Nicaea, even though he be an idealist in direct spiritual descent from the Greeks. Much less can he do so If he be of some modern philosophical school which denies the validity of the meth ods of idealism Yet many of such schools may and do easily and enthusi- astically repeat that creed--and why? Just because they believe that these old Greek fathers and they themselves are driving at the same thing In the Apostles Creed the situation Is no different" As Dr. Chapsey has said no one today accepts the view of heav- en and earth and hades in which the creed was conceived. The descent into he'll, the session. the advent, all carry today different shades of meaning from of old. The variations in the interpre- ltation of the Communion of Saints have been many, and doubtless all at one time or another orthodox But these differences, in interpretation. do not matter. The essential thing is that we of today and they of past ages are driving at the same things" are striv- ing to express in sonie way common Christian experience.
 That brings us to the second consid. eration which is this: That the funda. mental question before such man is whether he is in profound sympathy with the things for which the Churcf has all along been standing. Int Church offers her creeds, her liturgy her office of devotion her sacraments All these he must enter into use, mak' media for his spiritual life, and th' conveyance of that life to others. If h' finds himself out of sympathy witt these things, impatient of them, read. to slur them, not merely desirious o fulfilling their meaning in modern Tiff and gradually conforming them to better expression of the needs am ! thought of that life but rather deslrou of destroying them, then surely It i time for him to go, for he can no long CT labor effectively. He cannot build It is time for him to go, for he vii want to go.
 But if he is in such fundamental syn pathy, if he looks to the Church a
 more than his spiritual city, as hi spiritual mother, as the embodimen : of Christ in the world; if he finds hi . own life filled with Christ and long to fill other lives with the same Chris l if he believes profoundly that tn l Church still stands for Christ and } Christ's Church, and if by leaving he 9 he would find himself orphaned an
 poor and destitute, bereft of what ha Q been his meat and drink, and spiritu = ally without a mission, then how ca : he leave her? And how can she, = whom he gives his hearts blood
 sacrifice of service, turn ana urlVe III
 out? By what right dare she say
 the Christ filled prophet: ''Becaus d you do not preach in all ways as : have been wont to hear, you shall nc ' preach?" By what right? Only h : that right by which the scribes ar IF Pharisees slew the master-the rigl d of those who will not hear the word n God except as tradition repeats it. Is who are deaf to the voice of him WI st descendeth in the flame of fire al l. giveth heavenly words to "holy ar st humble men of heart" Let not u le Church of Christ leave her master ar W sit in the seat of the scribes,-Pacii a Churchman.
 V TOTTTSA