2 NORTH SHORE BREEZE 
The Trial of Professor Strong 
By Edward Carleton Knight 
és FELLOW MEMBERS of the Board of Trustees of 
Edgew ater Theological School,” said President Al- 
onzo W hite, ‘ ‘we are here to meet Professor Jonathan 
Strong regarding a recent utterance of his before the Ar- 
lington Society “of New York City, That utterance, as 
you kuow has been the object of a large amount of ad- 
verse criticism both from members of the church at large 
and from other citizens of the community. In justice to 
Professor Strong, however, before taking any action, we 
‘desire to give him an opportunity to state his position. 
Are there any remarks to be made before giving Pro- 
fessor Strong the floor? ........ If not we ails allow 
Dr. Strong to be heard,’ (bowing gravely toward the 
professor of higher criticism). 
Dr. Strong arose. Calmly and without a trace of em- 
barrassment he began: 
“Mr. President and members of the Board of Trus- 
tees of the Edgewater Theological School, I do not wish 
my remarks to be construed as an apology for, or retrac- 
tion of, what I said recently before the Arlington So- 
ciety of New York, but rather as an explanation of my 
attitude toward the present condition of the material or- 
ganization known as ‘the church’—not our own denomina- 
tion simply, nor the Protestant church as a whole, but 
what we may call the Christian Catholic Church, includ- 
ing all faiths founded upon the teachings of Jesus the 
Christ. This excludes neither the Greek Catholics nor 
the Romanists. 
“Thus defining the term church as I use it let me 
proceed to a criticism of the essence of my New York 
Speech, viz., that I think that it would be a desirable 
thing if we were to close all of our churches for, say, a 
period of two years, In the first place our churches do 
not include ‘The Church.’ “The Church’ in other words 
has grown to be—and ever was—a more inclusive term. 
‘The Church,’ properly speaking, is the spiritual body of 
Christ, which is purity. And all who love and serve 
God as Christ Jesus revealed Him are members of this 
body corporate. Many who never enter a church are 
members of Christ’s body in good standing. 
“On the other hand, there are many of us—both 
lay and clerical—within the material organization popu- 
larly called the church who, in our present understanding 
and practice of Jesus’ teachings, do not yet belong in the 
true church. So when I said that the churches-should 
be closed for two years I did not refer to Christ’s Church 
Universal. I intended to imply that the real Church has 
been so burdened with materialism, ritualism (which is 
another name for sense-u-al-ism) and doctrinal fallacies 
that it might be good for us to close our church doors for 
a couple of years and throw the light of Truth upon our 
errors in an effort to purify. 
“Our modern church organizations are a travesty on 
the original church, Jesus could have been crowned a 
material King. He refused it. No man ever had the 
control over popular will that He had, yet He avoided 
material organization and worldiy authority. He 
preached simply in public places and sent his apostles 
and disciples out two by two to preach likewise. He 
gave instructions to heal We sick, (a lost art among 
most of Christ’s ministers), cleanse the lepers, raise the 
dead and cast out devils, How many of us clergy- 
men can do these things to-day? And how many of us 
would obey our Lord’s injunctions and start out on the 
road with no money in our purses, and with no superflu- 
ous clothing, on the basis that the laborer is worthy of 
his hire. 
“Meditation on these things in our closets might 
bring Truth again by revelation. Prayer and scripture 
readings in family and neighborhood groups, in private 
houses, fields and public squares, would, perhaps, intro- 
duce elements of simplicity and reality into our devotions 
that are too seldom found now-a-days. ‘When two or 
three gathered together in my name I will hear their 
prayers’ would always be an assurance of God’s presence. 
“The petty controversies over ritualism, church sites, 
institutional policies, salaries, personalities, sects and 
creeds would, for a time, disappear, and we would, per- 
haps, take a long step forward toward Church Unity. 
Then might we stand upon the tower and watch with 
King Habakuk to hear what the Lord has to say unto 
us, We might learn ‘the new tongue’ (the language of — 
spirit) with “signs following.’ 
“We might learn to build a church upon spiritual 
foundations instead of foundations of -flesh and stone. 
Then more men, women and children in the land might 
think only Christ thoughts (spiritual thoughts) and there 
would be no need of fifteen million dollar cathedrals. 
While the sick are dying, the poor are starving and the 
sinful are committing more crimes, money can be put to 
better uses. 
“There was once a time when the church was the 
chief factor of education; now the press and the schools 
and the philosophies have largely superseded it. If the 
church is to retain its share of influence it must purify 
itself. This purification must come by regeneration as 
it does in the case of the individual, If the organized 
church were to confess its shortcomings and temporarily - 
close its buildings it might learn what St. Paul taught 
nearly two thousand years ago: ‘It is the spirit that 
quickeneth (giveth life) ; the flesh profileth nothing.’ ” 
Professor Strong finished his speech as he began it 
—calm, dignified, self-possessed. He stood facing the 
trustees waiting for interrogations, There was evident 
uneasiness on the part‘of the members of the board. No 
one seemed to know what to say. All looked toward 
President White. He looked at the trustees, then at 
Professor Strong. It was an awkward moment, Final- 
ly Dr: White said to Dr, Strong: Do I understand you 
to say, sir, that you still believe that it would be desirable 
to close all the churches for a period of two years?” 
“Yes, sir, I do.” was Dr: Strong’s reply. 
“Would not the world hold us up to scorn? And 
would not evil triumph over good?” asked President 
White. 
“Evil men might laugh,’ Dr. Strong replied,—and 
the material church would deserve it—but they could 
not hurt the real Church, Good has always been held 
up ‘to scorn by evil. But evil could not triumph in this 
case, for, by the church’s very act, the good of the 
Church might triumph over the errors of organization, 
and the material church might be purged and strength- 
ened for further conquest of the world.” 
Jacob Green, the oldest member of the board, said 
hotly: “It strikes me that this is an outrageous pro- 
position unworthy of our consideration, and I recom- 
