EDITOR'S TABLE. 



271 



youth. The creed or the articles may 

 be somewhat vague and elastic, but can 

 not honestly be stretched much. Now, 

 the lay world believes in the progress 

 of knowledge, because it has witnessed 

 progress ; and it is persuaded that there 

 must be incessant progress in theologi- 

 cal science as well as in all other 

 branches of learning. It does not see 

 metaphysicians, physicians, historians, 

 chemists, zoologists, or geologists, com- 

 mitting themselves in youth to a set of 

 opinions which is to last them a life- 

 time, or even a day ; on the contrary, 

 they see all these classes of scholars 

 avowedly holding their present opin- 

 ions subject to change upon the dis- 

 covery of new facts, or of better light 

 upon old facts, and, as a rule, actually 

 modifying their opinions in important 

 respects between youth and age. In- 

 deed, fixity of opinion is hardly respect- 

 able among scholars. If it be said that 

 there can be no progress in theology, 

 because revelation was a fixed historical 

 quantity, the answer is, that revelation, 

 like creation, must be fluent; or, in 

 other words, that the interpretation of 

 revelation to the mind of man must be 

 like the interpretation of creation, ever 

 flowing, shifting, and, if the mind of 

 man improves, improving. No other 

 profession is under such terrible stress 

 of temptation to intellectual dishonesty 

 as the clerical profession is, and at the 

 same time the public standard of intel- 

 lectual candor has been set higher than 

 ever before. This is the state of things 

 which deters many young men of abil- 

 ity and independence from entering the 

 profession, and causes the acknowl- 

 edged dearth of able ministers." 



HEBER NEWTON AND THE HERESY- 

 HUNTERS. 



These observations of President Eli- 

 ot find an apt illustration in the case of 

 the Rev. Heber Newton, which is now 

 attracting a good deal of public atten- 

 tion. Intelligence and liberality have 



undoubtedly made great headway, and 

 put the theological profession out of 

 joint with the enlightenment of the 

 times ; but there is a pious-ignorant 

 class of great influence that is not to 

 be overlooked. Is it indeed so certain 

 whether intelligence or stupidity is in 

 the saddle in the popular theological 

 arena? Certain foolish fanatics have 

 combined to hunt the Rev. Heber New- 

 ton out of the Episcopal Church, on the 

 old charge of heresy. And what is the 

 pretext of this action ? Why, the rev- 

 erend gentleman appears to have been 

 doing a little thinking on his own 

 account the mortal sin of theology! 

 They say he made a solemn bargain, a 

 vow, that he would do no independent 

 thinking, have no opinions of his own, 

 but simply re-echo the authorized creed, 

 and that, having now begun to inquire, 

 he is no longer fit to remain in the 

 Christian Church. 



Mr. Newton has ventured to think 

 and to speak about the use and abuse 

 of the Christian Scriptures a proper 

 subject, one would suppose, for a clerical 

 teacher. He has opinions, sincere opin- 

 ions, which he deems important, about 

 the inspiration of the Bible, and how 

 that phrase is to be understood. Now, 

 it is incontestable that there has grown 

 up an interesting and important accu- 

 mulation of knowledge about the Bible 

 in recent years, and knowledge deter- 

 mines opinion, in spite of all the the- 

 ology in the world. And so it comes 

 about that Mr. Newton, having convic- 

 tions upon the inspiration of the Bible, 

 must suppress them, and thus go along 

 in comfortable hypocrisy, or express 

 them, and be turned out of the Church. 

 This was the dark age policy, with 

 certain grim accompaniments ; but is 

 the stupid bigotry of by-gone ages still 

 in the Episcopal saddle ? We shall see. 



Meantime, we venture to suggest 

 that the heresy-hunters widen a little 

 the scope of their operations; for, if 

 they are going to make thorough work 

 in purging the Church from all ad- 



