The New York herald., 1922-07-10
Declares Those Who Ad-
here Strictly to Ritual
Are IntOlerant.
PROGRESS rs ONLY RECENT
No Other Generation Has Had
as True a Picture of Christ,
He Asserts.

The Rev. Gerald Birney Smith, pro-
fessor at the divinity school of the
University of Chicago, one Of the
teachers of theology specifically men
toned by DR.. John Roach Straton in
his sermon a week ago charging that
inidelity was rife in many Baptist
theological seminaries and colleges,
told congregation at the Park Ave-
nut Baptist Church yesterday morning
that it would be w~'i for others not
thinking the same as he to practice
the true Christlike spirit and refrain
from attacking his beliefs and the be-
liefs of others who do not care to ad-
here to the rigid formula OF any GER
tain creed. His subject was "The New
Religion"
Although DIR, Smith stated to a re-
porter for THE NEW YORK rrERALp at the
close of the sermon that it was in no
way an answer directed at DIR. Straton
and that it was a sermon he had
preached several times before. he ad-
nitted that certain parts of his discourse
could be made applicable to the remarks
by DIR. Straton at the Calvary Baptist
Church last Sunday night.
DR.. Smith said, in part:
1T Is most significant that some of
the greatest movements In religion were
protests against the form of religion
which adhered to the strictest sort of
eitual and formulas. There have always
been protests against this rigid type of
creed and there always will be. 1t Is
the privilege and province OF every man
TO worship as he sees At and by any
means so long as he does worship. The
Sabbath was made for man, and not
man made for the Sabbath. and it is
the same with religion. Temples are
standing IN ruins to-day and are re-
garded merely as curiosities because the
men who built them thought more of
the form of the temple than Of the
men who were to worship within. Re-
ligion Is facing a change from the strict
ritualitic creed to the liberal type where
in any man can worship his God in
any manner or form he desires.
Strictest Ones Are IntoIerant.
''The Bible of to-day is SO formally
divided up into chapters and verses that
1t is not the book it was intended to be
when 1t was written. Further, Is II not
true that the men who absolutely adhere
to the formal ritualistic type of creed
and follow the Bible in this manner are
intolerant. call their brethren names,
and would exclude those who do not
conform to their ways and methods =?
Are we not losing the things which
made those books sacred at the time
they were written"
Referring to the differences of various
students and teachers Of theology, DR..
Smith said:
Some take 1t that the passages of
St Paul were written for the would be
theologians to wrangle over In Bible
classes Why, the last thing in the world
st. Paul was interested in was text
book theology The old type of theol-
ogy which so many of our would be
theologians adhere so strictly to can be
classed with discussion of what might
have happened II Napoleon had won the
battle OF Waterloo; it is merely discus
sion of contingency which never hap
pened."
Bringing the teachings of his own
divinity school at Chicago University
into his sermon as an example of what
the new theology" consists of, DR.. Smith
said: 'In the library Of the school in
which l teach there are many books of
the old theology. One work in particu-
lar is In twenty-four volumes of immense
size. and in 1t the theologians discuss
what they know and lot more that they
don't know. The new theology does not
give picture of Jesus as a strange and
uninteligible Being, but one Whom you
may know and love. The new theology
is readable and squeezes out old matters
of speculation and leaves the meat Of
truth and logic. 1t tells US the few
things about God which are real.
Beginning 10 See.
When theology becomes domineering
over man. it keeps man from God; the
rev theology is seeking to serve man to
understand God without any rigid ritual
Is it not true also that the rigid theo-
logians are often less considerate and
less kindly Of their Christian brethren
than those who allow man to make his
own creed so long as he does make one :?
What is a system of doctrine unless 1t Is
an expression of life and love Of man
for God? Thank God that we are be-
ginning to see! No other generation
has been able to get as close to real
picture of Jesus as we do to-day. A
century ago you could find countless
volumes on the life of Jesus, but they
were all written by the strictest of the
rigid theologians and did not give real
picture. All these things were made for
man. and not man for these things.
When we find that spirit we find Christ
in the true sense"
At the conclusion Of his sermon, when
interviewed by THE NEW YORK HERALD
reporter, DR.. Smith said that he did
not intend to make a specific answer to
the charges made by DIR. Straton. nor
would he comment on them other than
to say: I'VE are passing through
stage where there are many differences
of opinion in every church. The most
important thing is to become Christlike
in spirit rather than to have any fight
over whatever differences there may be
in the creeds." DIR. Smith will preach
at the Park Avenue Baptist Church
again on the two coming Sundays. July
16 and %.