Tneir Value as a Stimulus to Faith. A n Ancient Baptist Creed Reproduced. Where Do Tou Stand?
H HE RECENT “ F undam entals” movements have inspired lead ers in several denominations to insist upon the adoption of def inite Biblical creeds, in order to define clearly the standing of those leaders who in the past few years have, through the pulpits, denied- all those basic doetrines for which evangelical churches have stood through th e years. N aturally a g reat cry has arisen against the formation qf statem ents of doctrine and it is alleged th a t an attem pt is being made to destroy lib erty of thought. Chi cago U niversity professors especially have been m aking great ado over the demand th a t th e B aptist denomination should de fine its beliefs. I t has been charged th a t the denomination has never laid down such a statem ent and th a t in these days of democracy all believers should be given all the latitu d e they m ight require. As a result of these protests against doctrinal standards, some very ancient creeds of th e B ap tist denomination have, been produced. The oldest of these is the “ Schleitheim Confession” formulated in 1527. The “ Philadelphia Confession” p atterned a fte r th e great historic docu ment known as th e “ W estm inster Con fession” bears th e date of 1642. Another is the “ New Hampshire Confession” (about 1742). These creeds ring true to 4 the great fundam ental teachings of the Bible and are well worth reviewing. The President of Kalamazoo College has now sent to The K in g ’s Business a copy of another aneient B ap tist creed th a t has probably not come to th e attention of many people. P resident Stetson says of it:— “ Several years ago there was sent to
Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan, for safe keeping, by Mr. J . T. Daniells of St. Johns, Michigan, a very interesting document which purports to be a B aptist Confession of F aith. “ In reply to a recent le tte r of inquiry, Mr. Daniells w rites concerning th is early statem ent of B ap tist belief, as follows: “ ‘When my w ife ’s grandfather, Samuel Abbott, was about to em igrate from Ver mont to the wilds of Cayuga County, N. Y., he asked the publishers fo r a copy of the A rticles of F aith of B aptist Churches, the same having ju st been adopted. The publishers replied, saying th a t as the A r ticles were not y et printed, .they would send him th e original d raft of same, and twenty-five or more years a fte r Samuel A b b o tt’s (my w ife ’s grandfather) death, the said Document was found in the pocket of a vest of Samuel A b b o tt’s th a t had been carefully preserved.’ ‘‘This Confession has no date and no name attached to it, nor is it possible to tell when, where, and by w hat religious body it was adopted. I t is w ritten on th e back of a copy of a thanksgiving proc lam ation by Governor Hancock, which bears th e date of 1788. I t is now pre served between two plates of glass and is kept in the vau lt of the College. “ The Confession is prefaced by a fra tern al le tte r to the B aptist association of Vermont. “ The confession is given as w r it te n - spelling, punctuation, capitals and phras in g .” So true to Scripture are the sta te ments of the Confession th a t we believe it will be. helpful to all to review them. We believe th a t th e v ast m ajority of the lay members of the B ap tist Church still adhere to these fundamentals, and we ree-
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