The Washington herald., 1907-01-14
CALLS DOGMA FALSE
DR.. CrapSey Says Morality
and Religion Clash.
LECTURE By FORMER RECTOR
Clergyman. Barred from Episcopal
Priesthood Because of His Teach
InEs, Declares Many immoral Con-
ceptiOns of the Deity Are Found in
Teaching of Christian Churches.

Rochester, Jan 13.-The subject of Dr.
A. S. Crapsey's lecture this evening was
''The moral breakdown in the churches
Il was not the intention Of the speaker
to dwell upon the facts that very great
numbers OF people who profess the re-
ligion Of Christ did not practice that re
ligion, but rather to call attention to the
more important fact that many of the
moral conceptions found in the dogma OF
the churches were in conflict with the
enlightened conscience Of the present age.
He began his lecture with a reference
TO a certain scene in Athens in the days
of Alcibiades. When the bright politician
and equally brilliant debauchee Of a Ger
tain banquet were discussing the religious
conditions of his country certain young
men who were present were deploring the
decay Of religion in Greece, but AIcibiades
said not so.
Having just returned from Corinth. he
said never before have there been so
many women consecrated to the services
of the Goddess of Love. The writer who
records this event was, if the speaker
was not mistaken, the immortal Plato
himself, and he saw nothing startling in
the words of Alcibiades.
Not Always in Accord.
This is evidence that what we call re-
ligion and what we call morality are not
always in accord.
It is true that at the time of AIcibiades
these religious Observances expressed the
current morality of his day. But morality
was then outgrowing that phase of reH-
gious observance, and from that time on
there was an increasing antagonism to
the religion of the people. The antago-
nism began TO grow. until at last we
hear the prophetic saying. God hath
not called US to uncleanliness, but TO
holiness.
Or. Crapsey said that it was a very
common occurrence which held that re-
ligiOn was guardian Of morality.
We readily acknowledge The immortality
of the ancient forms of religion which
were supplanted by Christianity. but we
fail TO see that even in our own religion
there are conceptions which the enlight-
ened conscience OF to-day condemns The
underlying thought of God in the Chris
tian dogma is immoral in its nature.
Calls God Cruel.
Cruelty is also an attribute OF God as
He is reported TO man in the dogma of
the church. St Augustine devOtes two
books Of the CITY Of God to prove that
God can keep by His immortal power a
body of flesh in internal existence in or
der to torment that body in the everlast-
ing flames.
DR.. Crapsey then went on 10 say that
not only We're there immoral conceptions
IN regard to the Deity contained in the
dogma Of the Christian churches. but
those churches, in their teachings held "a
false, degrading, and in a measure an
immoral conception of man.
Another immoral conception which is
imbedded in our dogma is the doctrine OF
exclusive salvation.
The saying that out of church there is
no salvation is arrogant and false
DR.. Crapsey then went on to speak at
length of the immortality which is ex-
hibited in the methods of salvation as
they are taught in the churches.