The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JUNE 4, 1886.

Bruce Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 1755, 4 June 1886, Page 2

The Bruce Herald. "Nemo me impune lacesset." TOKOMAIRIRO, JUNE 4, 1886.

The " heresy hunters " are still afc work in Melbourne, and the Rev. Mr Dodds, of Scots Church, is the object o£ their solicitude. These raids upon clergymen whose preaching does not satisfy the minds of those who set themselves up as judges are almost peculiar to the Presbyterian Church. However praiseworthy may be the motive which prompts to such watchfulness over the teachings of the pulpit, it is certain that the treatment meted out to offending ministers has resulted in infinitely more harm than good. If the interests of what is known as " sound doctrine " have been advantaged, a good many other equally important interests have suffered. Eor the sake of mere technicalities, brotherly love haa been sacrificed, and the stability of the Church and the influence of religion upon the people generally has been seriously weakened. The reverend fathers of the Church may be partly excused, for the reason that the very bulwarks of Christianity are being constantly either boldly assailed or insidiously undermined by infidels and freethinkers, but we venture the opinion that they will not succeed in strengthening the citadel by suspecting their own officers of treachery, and trying by court-martial all whose methods of defence are not exactly similar to their own. Were the Iron Duke to be resurrected and placed in command of an army on a modern battle field, it is probable that he would not approve of all the tactics of the generals, but he would certainly not court-martial them because they arranged their forces differently from what he did at Waterloo, and. used different weapons from those used in that historic struggle. Neither would Nelson, could he hoist his pennant on a modern ironclad, expect to see the tactics of Trafalgar repeated in a naval engagement. The heresy hunters of the Presbyterian Church are to the affairs of to-day just what Wellington and Nelson would be. Heroism is the same thing as ever it was, and the spirit of patriotism which animated the breasts of "Wellington's soldiers and Nelson's sailors is just the same as that which fires the breast of the heroes of to-day. The spirit of loyalty to the Christian religion is unchanged, and the religion itself is unaffected by the progress of time and the march of events. But there are a good many differences in detail. As a matter of fact, we are inclined to think that strictly judged nearly all Presbyterian ministers would be pronounced heretics, for there are few whose teachings exactly tally with the ancient standards of the Church. Nor is there any reason why any church of to-day should be bound hard and fast by antiquated rules and regulations. The reverence with which the Confession of Eaith, the longer and shorter Catechisms, are regarded is little short of superstitious. The men who prepared those documents were no better men than the men who occupy similar positions to-day. The two or three centuries ago they lived gave them no advantage in respect of nearness to the times when the documents relating to religion were written, but, on the other hand, discovery and re-search since then has shed a light on the sacred volume compared with which their light was but a glimmer. For any Church, or any association of men for the matter of that, to accept the conclusions of a couple of centuries ago is positively absurd. These Presbyterians will accept a revision of the Bible, will even help in revising it, but to touch their Catechism is regarded as something horrible. " Revise the fountain head by all means," they practically say, " but don't lay profane hands on our precious tanks, which were filled by our reverend forefathers. We want them just as they are, with all their aggregation of slime, and newts and sticklebacks. Whosoever dares to suggest a change, even he shall be prosecuted with all the rigor of synodical law." It would be much more sensible to revise the Catechisms than for clergymen to be constantly in danger of being hunted for heresy. 1 Even those who escape from such persecution, must have infinite trouble with their own consciences, for there are few whose teaching is in exact accord with the standards of the Church. Such a revision would be a source of strength to the Presbyterian Church, aud would tend to bring it more into conformity with tbe teachings of the original and solely authoritative documents of the Christian religion.