^ N iiiiiliiiiiiiiiiiiiiM iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiN H im iiiiim im im iiH m iim iiiim im im im im in iiiiiiiu : ¡ THE NARROWNESS AND BIGOTRY I I OF SO-CALLED LIBERALS I niliiiiimiiimmmiiimimililimimmiimimimmimiiiiiimiilliiiimimiilimmmNllMiiI
A S A RULE the most narrow and bigoted men in the world are those who most flaunt their liberality. The following correspondence is an illustration of this narrowness. The quiet assumption of the new theology men that all who do not accept their ill-founded conclusions do not think for themselves, land belong to “the dark ages,” would be amusing if it were not so sad. While holding united evangelistic meet ings in the City of Philadelphia for three months in 1906, I received the following letter from a Universalist minister1 in a city in New Jersey. Of course we do not give the minister’s name, because the cor respondence reflects seriously upon him. The letter read as follows: . “Please excuse me for the liberty I take in addressing to you these few lines, but I desire from yóur pen a little information which I trust you will gladly give me. If you answer them in the affirmative, would you give me the names of five presidents or professors of theological schools who agree with you in the theology? I have kept in touch with your .work from the beginning of the Philadelphia mission, and I desire now to know correctly the , position you hold upon the central theological and ecclesiastical doctrines. The Ledger reports ° f . your sermons indicate that you are riding in a theological stage coach, con structed in the dark ages, and I cannot con ceive of a Yale graduate doing such a thing. Believing there must be some mistake, I write for light. Thanking you, I am, Yours in Christian fellowship.” The following list of questions was enclosed in the letter: Do you believe the following:
10. Man a Free Moral Agent? 11. Sovereignty of God? 12. Trinity? 13. Life is a Probation? 14. Salvation is from Hell? 15. Eternity keeps us as death finds us? 16. A Personal God? 17- A Personal Devil? 18. Heaven as a Place? 19. Hell as a Place? 20. Devil as a Fallen Angel? 21. Fatherhood of God (a) by Nature, (b) by Adoption? 22. Must one be a church member before he can be a Christian? 23. Have you ever made a special study of church creeds? ; 24. Do you know the chief doctrines of the different churches? Name three reasons why you are a member of your chosen church. Have you ever read any Universalist Literature ? What is your chief objection to Universalism ? To this letter we replied as follows, dated No. 505 South Forty-second St., Philadel phia, Pa., March 22, 1906: “D ear S ir : Your narrow-minded, dis courteous and ungentlemanly letter of March 20th received. I cannot but believe that you wrote in haste, and that if you had read the letter over you would not ^av?. ®enl It Is Quite possible for men to differ from one another and yet, neither one of them be an ignoramus. I ’ suppose you know this, but in your haste wrote foolishly. Of course, I know that there is a type of Universalist minister who is characterized by nothing so much as by narrowness and bigotry, and he takes it for granted that any one who does not agree with him has not studied the subject and knows nothing. I trust you are not of this type, though your letter implies that you are. You say, ‘The Ledger reports of your sermons indicate that you are riding m a theological stage coach constructed in the dark ages, and I cannot conceive of a Yale graduate doing such a thing.’ I have not read The Ledger reports of my ser mons, but suppose that to a large extent they reflect what I have said. If they do and any one thinks that they indicate that I am riding in a theological stage coach
1. Infallible Bible? 2. Special Creation ? 3. Original Sin? ' 4. Total Depravity? 5. Vicarious Atonement? 6. Physical Resurrection ? 7. General Judgment? 8. Endless Punishment? 9. Election ?
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