The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-18
ROCHESTER'S HERESY TRIAL.
VIDE INTEREST IN THE CASE OF
THE REV. DIR. CRAPSEY.
0he Episcopal Rector Who Denies the Wiz"
gin Birth OF Christ n b Possibility
' OF Miracles-The Episcopal Church
Divided Over the Matter for q Year.

GIN Birth or CnflsV ana inc Possibility
OF Miracles-The Episcopal Church
Divided Over the Matter for q Year.
ROCHESTER,, March II The p~resentment
OF the Rev. Algernon s. Crapsey for trial
on charges Of heresy by the standing COM
mittee OF the Diocese OF Western New York
has brought to an issue q matter that has
been discussed by churchmen the country
over for q year or more. In fact, 1t seems
that the case, IL It ever was one between
DIR. Crapsey and the more rigidly orthodox
Episcopahans OF this diocese only, Is so
no longer.
The accused rector is supported by the
leaders Of the so-called liberal party
In the Church. Already many Episcopal
laymen and clergymen who favor a more
liberal attitude ave com out openly
in defence of DR.. Crapsey. Edward M.
Shepard Of New York has offered to assist
him In his defence before the ecclesiastical
court-an offer that has been accepted
and George Foster Peabody of New York
has offered to buy old Plymouth Church in
Rochester, now vacant, for DIR. Crapsey If
he is found guilty and unfrocked.
Although he was made the centre Of the
battle DR.. Crapsey has apparently now
become a small figure in the case, which
has been seized upon by the liberal party
lin the Church as offering an opportunity
to secure a broader Interpretation Of les
creed and doctrines.
Briefly stated, DR.. Crapsey denies the
virgin birth OF Jesus, saying that he was
born, lived and died like other men. He
declares that miracles are in conflict with
science and are no longer credible, and
that a belief in the inerranoy Of the Bible
is no longer possible to an educated man.
DR.. Crapsey's orthodoxy has been ques-
toned since the publication Of a series
Of tractates on The Causes and Remedy
Of the D laa a 81 3b. chT nsnsra IN nr about
eied the disintegration of the Church
because it refused to give recognition
to modern views n the discoveries Of
science.
into the fatal error Of "muttering with the
jips what the brain has not thought and the
heart has not felt u; that what they pretend
to believe is mere hearsay OF which they
have no knowledge" And of the miracle he
said: Natural forces are now known to
be Interchangeable in their nature and uni
form in their operation. They know moth
ing Of man and care nothing for his wishes;
the only way he can profit by them lie by
obeying, them; if he puts himself under
in their way they will destroy him.
In speaking Of the difficulty and danger
Of the modern ministry, of the need OF meet
ing the intellectual demands Of the hour,
demand, he said that when the intellectual
pastures at hand were exhausted the pas
toral flock called for new teachings.
at il my business as His servant and
the keeper of the Sheep declared DR..
ef' 5stfsr re tssd sS es afssu shs a &sa NTH N fss sSis
labor i must risk the loss of my way, the
loss Of my worldly reputation and my
honor, the loss Of my home and my friends,
and even the loas Of my life; It 4 because
have gone out, not knowing whittier they
went that the world has advanced from
the life of the beast to the life of the man.
In February, 1905. DR.. Crapsey began
eral topic, Religion and Politics In which
he directly denied the miracles and the
divinity of Christ, and IL Is these sermons
afterward. printed in book form, that re-
suited in his being called TO task and that
are made the basis Of the heresy charges.
in the preface to the boob DR.. Crapsey
made the following statement:
II we are told OF a certain being In human
form, born Of a human mother, expressing
consciousness in human speech. living q
human life and dying a human death, we
naturally predicate Of such a one a human
fatheBhood as we'll as a human motherhood,
for universal experience bears witness to
tlo 1dCu thoe z INV "hO &c IL Culu VI a
human mother Is also the child Of a human
father. To overcome this decomposition,
which Is established by universal experience,
would require testimony of overwhelming
force. The burden Of proof lies with those
who deny. not with those who assert, the
validity Of universal experience to establish
q given fact.
1t was in the sermon entitled The Present
State OF the Churches" that DR.. Crapsey
gave u~tterance to most of the statements
which have stirred churchmen since, and
may cause him to be unfrocked. Some
paragraphs OF the sermon were as follows:
OF course. a belief in the inerrancy Of the
Bible is no Ion ger possible to an educated
man. or to any one. in fact. who reads his
Bible with reasonable intelligence and atten.
ton. 1t does not need profound sch olarship,
1t only requires ordinary common sense, to
zee that the Bible Is not a miraculous book.
which orthodox theology claims 1t to be.
In the light of scientific research, the founder
Of Christianity. Jesus. the son of joseph, ne
lon ger stands apart from the common destiny
of man in life and death. but He Is In all things
like as we are, born as we are born, dying as
we die, and both In life and death is In the
keeping of that same Divine Power, that
Heavenly Fatherhood which delivers us
from the womb. and carries us down to the
grave.
When we come 10 know Jesus in His histori-
cal relatlonB, We zee tnaI u miracle Is not O
help-it Is q hindrance to an intelligent COM
prehension of His person. His character and
His mission. We are not alarmed, we are
relieved, when scientific history proves to us
that the fact Of His miraculous birth was
unknown TO Himself. unknown to His mother,
and unknown TO the whole Christian COM
munity of the first generation. We are re-
leved, I say, because we are no Ion ger COM
PEELED to look upon the scientific movement
as irreligious. but we are able to see it In q new
and greater religion, a religion based not
upon the sporadic miracle. but upon the
eternal law. We are no longer compelled
TO look for our God In some obscure event
Of the past; we have but to lift up our eyes to
see Him In the outgoing of the evening and
morning. of oil the days of our pilgrimage.
The clerical order is losing influence, not
because the world is CROWN less religious,
but because 1t is more religious than it was
aiIty years ago. Religion has to-day a wider
scope. and a farther reach than the clerical
Interpretation permits 1t to- have. The
churches and den nominations which now
claim to represent the religious interests of
mankind are the rear guard OF the powers
that make for religious progress.
industrial commarciallam In wiaar in tie