justice. It
would be impossible to conceive of any creed more horrible than
that of the Presbyterians. Although I admit--and I not only admit
but I assert--that the creeds of all orthodox Christians are
substantially the same, the Presbyterian creed says plainly what
it means. There is no hesitation, no evasion. The horrible truth,
so-called, is stated in the clearest possible language. One would
think after reading this creed, that the men who wrote it not only
believed it, but were really glad it was true.

Ideas of justice, of the use of power, of the use of mercy, have
greatly changed in the last century. We are beginning dimly to
see that each man is the result of an infinite number of conditions,
of an infinite number of facts, most of which existed before he
was born. We are beginning dimly to see that while reason is a
pilot, each soul navigates the mysterious sea filled with tides
and unknown currents set in motion by ancestors long since dust.
We are beginning to see that defects of mind are transmitted
precisely the same as defects of body, and in my judgment the time
is coming when we shall not more think of punishing a man for
larceny than for having the consumption. We shall know that the
thief is a necessary and natural result of conditions, preparing,
you may say, the field of the world for the growth of man. We
shall no longer depend upon accident and ignorance and providence.
We shall depend upon intelligence and science.

The Presbyterian creed is no longer in harmony with the average
sense of man. It shocks the average mind. It seems too monstrous
to be true; too horrible to find a lodgment in the mind of the
civilized man. The Presbyterian minister who thinks, is giving
new meanings to the old words. The Presbyterian minister who feels,
also gives new meanings to the old words. Only those who neither
think nor feel remain orthodox.

For many years the Christian world has been engaged in examining
the religions of other peoples, and the Christian scholars have
had but little trouble in demonstrating the origin of Mohammedanism
and Buddhism and all other isms except ours. After having examined
other religions in the light of science, it occurred to some of
our theologians to examine their own doctrine in the same way, and
the result has been exactly the same in both cases. Dr. Briggs,
as I believe, is a man of education. He is undoubtedly familiar
with other religions, and has,