OFFENSIVE FORMULARIES.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12849, 6 July 1907, Page 12

OFFENSIVE FORMULARIES.

Canon Hen son, in his eormon at St. Margaret's, Westminster, on Whit Sunday, said it was that they should not shrink from facing the question which on this festival was forced on every membor of the English Church—tho question of the lawfulness in the court of conscience of using in public worship formularies to wliich ac individuals they would not ox animo (subscribe. On Whitenn Pay there we--e two such formularies—the Athanasian Creed and the Proper Preface in tho Communion Hervico. Doth of theso were offensive to large numbers of Christian people. With regard to th.-> Athanasian Creed, tho rubric ordering its use was obeyed under protest, and on tho supposition that a serious effort to alter the law was being made. In reference to tho Preface, the only expressions} -which wore fairly open to objection were those which took for granted a literal interpretation of tho narrative in th-o Acts. It wa>s not necessary to believe in the alleged phyHioal of tho Bpirit'e presence, nor did they feel bound to suppose that the disciples received any supernatural knowlecipje of foreign languages. Hie sacred writer desired to utter his conviction that the amazing sneopesos of the Christian preachers, which he himself had witnessed, had their start and thoir explanati.cn in ono fact—the presence in tho Church of tho Spirit of God. Every one he:ird that in the Goi-pel which appealed directly to himself; evoiy one discovered that tho same was tho case of others parted from him by the barriers of race, crewl, habit, class, temperament. Men who had been f.ti.inzers all their Uvea found themselves together in the Church, and wondoicd at tho pow<r which had broken down tho walls of partition. It was cortain that these two fade—the outpouring on Christians of power from above, and tho oon.vqitenco ns witnessed in tho course of Christian history— were never moro clearly perceived by senous Christians than they were at the present time; and whosoever »o per-reii-od them, and thankfully acknowledged tho Divino gund-noss which the-/ was able with comj)leto eincerity to join in their worship on tins festival. There was, however, a clear caso for change.