El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-08-15

66XN THY," we are sometimes
w asked. do you people Of
Episcopal church make such
inslstent use Of the creed upon every
occasion Of public Worship Because.
we answer, as a church is an organiza-
ton OF individuals who have a common
purpose, it must have common ground
on which TO STAND. and the creeds Of the
prayer book ere UnaJ ground. A creed
IS the statement Of the reason for the
cnuIen being; II is its platform, It's
constitution, the statement OF its prin-
clpLes, and therefore a consistent part
OF Its public worship We hear some
times OF a creedless church, but so TO
SPEAK Is about as reasonable as to talk
OF a state without a constitution po-
uJlcal party without a platform, or an
organization or partnership without
terms Of agreement
Greed should BE Definite.
Inc creed OF a church nede not be
long but IT should be definite II should
state strongly and clearly, and as
briefly as may be, the cardinal things
as 10 which all are in agreement
There should be no ambiguity here We
want clear-cut statements in a party's
platform, in the constitution Of a state,
IN articles OF an organization, or In the
creed Of a church. Again the creed Of
a church should be simple as well as
QEAAAlAAE having stated essentials anu
stated them clearly II should stop out
side OF these there should be no small
degree Of liberty. The individual who
entels an organization Of any sort must
give up something as a matter of
course. Organization is necessarily eX-
elusive. 1t excludes those who are on
the outside. The individual must give
Up the liberty Of saying and doing
what would wreck or hinder the or
ganization. 1t is not required 10 give
al w-HH % TarT
articles Of agreement there must be
liberty TO think and act.
Two Creeds Are Compared.
Let US then apply these principles to
the two creeds, the Apostles and the
Nicene, which give expression TO the
belief Of this church, and have bone so
practically from the beginning.
The Nicene. the longer Of the two, IS
particularly for the clergy, while the
Apostles, or shorter one, IS for the
people We say-this-b because The longer
one was set forth first Of all in the
trial Of a clergyman It is the declara-
tiOn OF one who is to be ordained to
the ministry of this church His utter
ance, 4 do solemnly engage TO con-
form to the doctrines and worship Of
the church" is an acceptance Of the
Nicene creed. An acceptance OF the
Apostles creed is required OF those who
come 10 be baptized or confirmed ~DOst
thou believe all the articles Of the
Christian faith as contained in the
Apostles creedE' The reason for this
is that these creeds are simple state
ments Of facts. the cardinal. primal
facts Of Christianity. As TO these they
are definite and imperative. I believe
in God the Father. I believe IN Jesus
Christ, and in the facts connected with
his life. I believe in the Holy Ghost
I believe in the Holy Catholic church
believe In the resurrection OF the body
I believe in the life everlasting Here
we have the essential facts OF Chris
tianity-
They are not all the facts; other facts
are implied and bound up in these, and
their acceptance will follow when there
is intelligence and a teachable spirit,
but these other facts need not be put
into a creed.
The creeds, then. are statements Of
facts, not Of doctrines They state the
facts from which the doctrines are
elucidated- 1t is not. you viii notice,
1 believe in the Incarnation. IL is. I
believe in Jesus Christ, born OF the
Virgin Mary 1t is not I believe in
the AtOnement, but, I believe in Jesus
Christ. crucified under Pontius Plate.
It IS, I believe in the resurrection of
the body, but no doctrine, no theory,
no explanation Of the resurrection IS re-
quired OF any one. The fact OF the res
toration Of the body is in the hand Of
Facts But Not Doctrines.
And il Is by no means a distinction
without a difference that the creeds are
statements Of facts, and not of doc
trines- It is a very important distinc-
ton It Is true that doctrine is the
teaching OF facts, andsthat facts must
teach. But here is where the con-
Of Christianity have come in.
Here is where Christians and Christians
have often differed. They have agreed I
mainly as 70 the facts. and largely as TO
the deductions from these facts, but not
altogether. The same differences have
not always been drawn DoctrinaI
schools have been formed Men have
not always been able to think alike
even from the same premises, with the
result that the faith has not been held
in the same proportion
There has been failure to preserve
the proper perspective. Too much
stress has been laid upon some facts