Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-04-08
A RELIGIOUS PUBLICATION.


inc Doctrine or the Atone me mt Dis.
cussed by the REV. DR.. James stalker.
A new volume comes from the Rev. Or.
James Stalker, "'rhe Atoncment." OF
the plan followed in this discussion DR..
Stalker says in his Introduction:
The plan of this course of lectures IL
very simple. First. go 1traight to the
New Testament. as the foundation and
authority. yet not so much to collect its
statements as to find out the position Of
the death of Christ in its presentation
Of christianity as a whole; and, there
fore. the first lecture is entitled THE
New Testament Situation" Then as the
light In which the people of the New
Testament saw the death of Christ de-
rerded on tho education Of the Old
Testament. I 20 back to study the in
stitutons in which the death of Christ
was foreshadowed hence the second
lecture is called, "The Old Testament
Preparation" Lastly. as we are not to
relieve anything merely because II Is
delivered to us by any authority. how
over divine. but are bound to penetrate
to the inner reasonaheness which will
ne all the greater the diviner the doc
Il me Is, | endeavor to harmonize the
Truth with the ideas and sympathes OF
.he present time in the third lecture.
" hitch IL therefore called "The Modern
Justification"
The opening chapter includes the fol-
lowing:
Thus, in the teaching OF Jesus Him.
sell. as we'll as in all the other types of
teaching in the New Testament, our
doctrines holds position from which
+. cannot be dslodged. But what l am
principally insisting upon is something
roadcr; it is the place of the atonement
in the entire New Testament situation
not in the literature so much as in the
listory-its place in the system of facts
arc truths of which Christianity con-
sisted. after 1t had undergone tho eX-
pcriences of the resurrection and the as
Cension. AS Christ thereby lad aside
tlch garments of His humiliation and
put on His robes of exatation-as He
passed from being the lowly Man Of Sor-
rows to he the Prince at Gods right
hand, to whom had been given all pow
Ct in heaven and on earth--so His death.
instead of being a humiliating enigma,
was recognized as being the ransom
li,en for the redemption of the world,
in accordance with Gods eternal plan
prophecy.
1t is interesting to observe that, as
soon as Christian thought began to spec
u'atn profoundly on our subject. this
was the aspect Of the truth on which it
fastened; for Anselm's famous ques-
ton. "Cur Deus homo?' Is intended to
re answered IN this very sense. This
acute and famous schoolman pointed out
/ \. ion fHafy o
what is believed about the person Of
Christ on the one hand and the estimate
, formed of His work on the other. The
,crson being such as by the resurrec-
tier and ascension Jesus was proved to
he. then. the incarnation can only have
taken place for some transcendent OBJ
cot: and. on the other hand, work
such as the redemption of the world
can only have been undertaken by one
such as Jesus was demonstrated by
THESE facts to be.
This balance will always be found to
hold good in theology. Lower the con-
ccption of the person. and inevitably the
work which He came into the world to
do dwindles into that of teacher and
en- example; lower the work from that
Of the redemption of the souls of men
from the guilt, the power. and the eternal
consequences of sin, and inevitably the
ecson is degraded In the same proper
ton. But a full and scriptural doctrine
Of atonement will always have as its
decomposition and accompaniment a
doctrine of the Savior like that OF the
second chapter of Philippians where
He appears as as one who being in the
form Of God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God or that of the mys-
tic words with which the prologue to
the Gospel according to St. John, COM
ihcnces: In the beginning was the
Word; and the Word was with God; and
tho Word was Cod"
am not denying that any portion Of
the Lords activity detached from the
.cst-say. His teaching-has virtue In It,
and may do people a great deal of good
or that any section Of His life, deach-
cd from the rest say. that which ter
In mates with His burial-may be n sub
.ect of study and an object of reverence.
exercising influence the extent or
value of which one would not desire to
C;rcumscribe. If there are
those wishing to bear the Christian
rame who believe that Jesus was only
| The child of Joseph and Mary. and that
t'e never rose out Of the sepulchre Of
Joseph of Arimnthea. then we frankly
concedo to them that His death cannot
| lave' been anything like what we call
| tne atonemcnt; but, If this Man was,
| in His origin and destiny, all that the
New Testament represents Him TO be-.
| then it harmonizes with the entire
phenomenon to believe that His death,
tosides being a key to the mystery of
| His earthly fortunes, was 4 transcend
| cnt act effecting for human beings in
| the world n change by which have been
secured both their peace with God here
| and their uncnding felicity hereafter.
| ard this objective result Of the death OF
| Christ anterior to our experience, yet
occurring to he appropriated in expert
ence. Is the primary benefit and virtue
| of tho atonement
CANADA AND THE PAYNE BILL.
| lJ.ror,, tho New Work. pOst)