The Haslingden Gazette. — 1907-03-16 (Haslingden, Lancashire, England)

REV. J. W. CLAYTON AND THE NEW THEOLOGY.  I It, Sunday night the Rev. J. W. Clayton. pastor of Salem U. M. F. C. Chapel. Haslingden, preached on The New Theology." He pointed out that they should distinguish between religion and theology. The one is abiding. the other may change. There were some explanations of religious life they could not accept. A man who had had no experience of religious life could rot explain it, though he might flatter himself that he could, just as a blind mail could not explain a picture. All theories of the intellect are constantly being re-constructed. There were examides in science and philosophy. The came laws held in religion. But men with the gift of reconstruction were extremely rare in every department. Religion had seen three men who had this gift—Origen of Alexandria in the second century, Augustine of the fifth, and Calvin of the sxteentli. Beecher said it was more likely we should have another Shakespeare than another Calvin. A man with the gift of reconstruction was one of God's rarest gifts. and we should be careful ;est we set his gift aside. Anew construction was needed in our day. The preparation for it hail been slow, for we had hail a century of growth in knowledge and Biblical criticism, and knowledge of the Book is greater to-day than ever. The ' Germans had a proverb which applied to this reconstruction. It was, "Throw away the dirty water out of the bath, but mind you don't throw , away the baby." ,  Approaching his subject more directly, the preacher said the Rev. J. R. Campbell wee a ion of a minister of their own denomination, the Rev. John Campbell, of Nottingham. The main intellectual influences of life had been the works of Principal Caird. of Glasgow, the Master of Relied (Edward Caird), T. H. Green, the philosopher, Principal Fairborn, of Oxford, and Cardinal Newman. His character was that of a mystic, full of spiritual power, and a man of vcry wide reading. The principal of the 311'W theology was that God in working in all things with the aim of developing a 'race involved in sin to the height of sons of God after the pattern of Jesus. Mr. Campbell did not believe in the Fall as history. The beginnings of history in all peoples it not history, but story, parable, poetry: and Christ appealed to the Eastern sense by teaching in parables. In those chys knowledge was handed /1 in song anal story. The story of the Fall we: an attempt to explain how man learned to , li,,tinvi,sh between good and (Wit by an evil eel. Ills had heard this story of the Fall sneered at. Yes. but sin never starts with a tragedy: the first sin of a life is never murder. Mr. Campbell defined sin as selfishness, living for self instead of for the good of humanity. They would want more , definition. A generous man is not always a good num. He would prefer to sa,l, that sin is o,,ortion of self-mill. Men may ,earels in strong threethins to be free from selfichnem and after all may miss their aim. The true freedom was to be found in serving God and our fellows Having touched on Mr. Campbell's view of the atonement —that it was not all done on Calvary, but was going on to-day—the preacher said here was the call for more sacrifice and reminded them that every time we wrong our bettei natum WV crucify the Christ afresh. Then Mr. Clayton cxpiained that owing to lack of time he would have to leave his treatment of his subject unfinished. but promisol to continue it on another Sunday evening. In closing he remarked that Mr. Campbell's attempt was not a final attempt. It was to be -bettered by and by. For the complete rounded circle of truth we must wait till the day we stand in Zion and behold our God.