The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-12
The Place Of lhe Creeds

in normal health, must be spiritual-pour- ing into the souls of men the divine power of Christ. Cold intellect dssoci- ated from the living purpose of God through his disciples, is snare and re- proach and not an honor to Christianity at all.
 The written creeds are only sort of artificial windbreak designed to protect the growth of Christ's living, saving truth among men. If therefore some passing breeze seems to have shaken them a little, the sensible thing is to look first and see whether the live gospel planting has been hurt. If it hasn't, there is no need to worry. Other damage can be easily repaired.
 A recent case from which illustrat ation of these remarks may be drawn, is re- ported in the proceedings of presby tery in Alabama.
 Birmingham pastor, examined on charges against his orthodoxy, was credited, as the formal report has it, with hearty adherence to belief in the inspiration of the scriptures, the deity of Christ in an atonement through Christ alone, in his life, obedience, death and resurrection
 Nevertheless he was specifically con demned as heretic Ghough pronounce ment of sentence was leniently deferred) because it was discovered that ''he does not believe that Christ died as our vica- rious substitute to satisfy divine justice and deliver us from the judicial penalty of the law"
 This terse technical record probably does not bring to view all the considera- tions that actually governed the presby- tery's judgment. but 1t indicates the ap- proach of the examiners to the issue In hand.
 r+ -.-o,,Ta orrao~ +hot Mr. I,dyoopHS wa e not asked at all the simple primary dues- ton which alone could be vital in case like this-the appeal to scripture-whether he could affirm with Peter: "Christ also suffered for sins once the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God"
 Doubtless he would affirm it--at least, it is conceded that he believes in "an' atonement accomplished by the Son of God If so, he is discredtee not for lacking the substance of gospel principles but simply for failing to employ the yer bal symbols conventionally expected by Presbyterian minister.
 Yet every one of his examiners must know that what matters with Christian preacher Is his faith in the reality of the reconciliation that Jesus on the cross ef- fected between man and God-not the use of any special term to describe the phios- ophy of the transaction.
 Ine pr6SDyISry says nothing dI dll OH this other query:
 Does this minister show, or has he ever shown, a capacity to bring the saw ing power of the omnipotent Christ to bear on men under the destroying power of sin?
 The formalistic attitude of presbytery is made evident by the very phrases of it's finding. It holds that "any attempt to modify the traditional theory of 'the satisfaction of the justice of God' through, the atonement 'fs in effect an attempt to discard the whole system of religion we have inherited from the fathers"
 Such a fashion of speaking glaringly betrays that it is indeed a system of logic which presbytery was thinking of a system confessedly derived from the fathers an entirely human thing-and not the simple efficiency of Gods good news.
 The Christian way to find out whether man is ''sound on the atonement" is to go and investigate whether he breaches that doctrine in such wise that men re- pent of their sins in sorrow for the suf- ferings of Christ.
 A man who can make another man see Christ hanging on Golgotha's cross so as to evoke penitent faith in that crucified Christ to save him, self-evidently is orthodox enough on the atonement to suit God. And it is mighty audacious busi-
 
 man who pleases God.
 On the other hand if minister can't make the Lords atonement real to men who need the benefit and comfort of it, 1 the accuracy of his thought about the means of it is a pathetically cheap and unimportant thing to alege in his favor. Doctrinal tests furnish a convenient rule of thumb which ordinarily indicates with approximate accuracy whether man is evangelical in his tendencies. They serve fairly for broad classifications. But when any ecclesiastical court sets them up as marks and measures of merit in and of themselves, there's harm threatening.
 To make the well kept integrity of old time theological syllogisms a decisive and final test to show whether man is a true minister of God is in truth the most atheistic of all heresies, for it denies for the present-day church the validity of the Lords promise concerning the Com forter:" ''He shall guide you into all the truth"
 l The abiding insurance of pure faith in 1 the church is the presence of the teach | ing spirit in the hearts of those intrusted with the gospel. He who has the spirit needs no other credential