The Washington times., 1924-05-08
BISHOP CALLS
HIS ACCU5ERS
HERET|CS.
Welcomes Trial as Oppor-
tunity to Unmask IRE
Iigious Hypocrites"
Copyright, 1924, by Cosmopolitan
News Service.)


Copyright, 1924, by Cosmopolitan
News Service.)
GALLON, Ohio, May S.-When
Bishop William Montgomery
Brown is placed on trial by the.
Protestant Episcopal Church of
America on charges of heresy on
May q he will publicly proclaim
the position he has maintained
for the past dozen years against
religion as it is organized today.
He welcomes the trial as an OPP
portunity to unmask what he
terms religious hypocrites who
preach doctrines today with their
tongues in their cheeks"
Bishop Brown believes his
brethren have lost step with mod
ern thought, both religious and
economic. He believes their strict
adherence to creeds is Anticipated
and vicious, thereby retarding
human development.
Trial Stirs Nation.
Not since heretics were burned
at the stake hundreds of years ago
because they dissented from the
customary Interpretation of reliei-
GUS documents has religious trial
80 stirred the nation.
Replying to charges of heresy
which his church has brought
against him, Bishop Brown said to
the accusing ships:
The subject of this letter is my
heresy and yours and your mistake
IN dragging me into court for mine.
W. THE heresy for which I am to
be tried is briefly summed up in
the first part of this slogan: Ban
ish Gods from the Skies and Capt.
: talists from the Earth
. ~ This Is the slogan of the book
let, Communism and Christianism.'
from which the presentment com.
mittee of the House Of Bishops col.
ected twenty-three passages THAI
in the opinion Of it's three members.
are so many heresies upon which
] should be tried, deposed and ex-
communicated.
''My heresy does not consist in
rejecting the theology Of the Chris
tian Interpretation of redemptive
religion, but in emptying it of its
traditional supernaturalism and fill
ang it with scientific naturalisrn.
in this way I still hold to. the Gods
sof the Old and New Testaments,
out ! empty them of their Mosaism
and Paulinism and refill them with
Darwinism and Marxism.
Body is Inherited.
My body has been inherited from
animal ancestors, as Is evident from
the fact that it contains 207 ves-
tigial or useless organs, twelve of
which have been of no value to
any among my lower progenitors
since the fish stage. Any physiolo-
gist would tell me that l should
be very foolish if 1 attempt to rid
my body of these inheritances.
MY soul has been inherited from
my civilized, barbarian, savage and
: animal ancestors, as is evident
from the facts that it is fun of
uncivilized and inhuman DISPOSE
) tons and instincts. Any psychol.
ogist would tell me that 1 should
be very foolish if 1 attempted to
rid my soul of these inheritances.
THE Beelzebub of this world,
the father of devils, is the eco
nomic system which has during
many and long ages divided man
kind into two rival classes, the
owning master class. a small one,
ever growing smaller, and the
working slave class, larger one,
ever growing larger.
"In the name of all that is true
and reasonable, / ask you how is
1t possible for an educated and
honest man to be other than q rev.
dictionary hereto in religion, since,
IL he is orthodox, it is necessary
for him to believe the utterly inn
possible doctrines of Christianism
about the destiny to a celestial
heaven or hell.
Belief in Capitalism.
- "And in the name of all that il
true and reasonable, 1 ask you
how it is possible for an educated
and honest man to be other than
revolutionary hereto in politics,
since if he is orthodox it is neces-
sary for him to believe the utterly
impossible doctrines of capitalism
=, about the right of the owning,
parasitic class, though doing moth
ing useful, to have everything. and
the necessity of the working,
producing class, though doing
everything useful, to have nothing?
"P. S. Your letter written at Salt
Lake City is just at hand. I infer
Z from it that the three bishops ap-
pointed on the committee to visit
me are expected to report as 20 my
sanity. I would not care to have q
mental examination by them. They
are not experts.
"Think of if: The basic accuse.
ton of my trial must he in effect.
that / have violated my ordination
vows by denying the representation
Of the Bible, literally interpreted,
that the first woman, from the rib
Of the first man, by listening to
the persuasions of talking snake.
rs responsible for all the trouble
mankind has endured, including the
world war. the Japanese earthquake.
and the Teapot Dome. Think of a
court of bishops listening to such
an accusation against me, and in
the twentieth century.
Offered to Resign.
''ThrOugh the presiding bishop I
have repeatedly offered to resign
my seat in the house of bishops and
leave IL its members would place
themselves on record as believing
Z the representations Of the Bible,
literally interpreted. This challenge
F., has not been accepted.
"Furtherfore, 1 have offered to
!, resign my seat in the House IL it's
members will appoint three of their
members who will hold an open dis.
cussion with me and two helpers
concerning the religious heresies Of
my booklet before three equitable
selected judges; If at the end, two of
them join in the opinion that I am