HERESY TRIAL

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 110, 11 May 1934, Page 7

HERESY TRIAL

PRESBYTERIAN. CHUECH

THE CASE OF DR. ANGUS

(From "Tho Post's" Representative.) . SYDNEY, May 5.

| The Presbyterian Church in New South "Wales and, perhaps, throughout Australia, has-been stirred 'to its depths as a result of the controversy over the doctrines preached by Dr. Angus, of St. Andrew's College, within the University of Sydney. .Following the publication of a book by Dr. Angus, "Truth and Tradition," in which he outlines very fully his beliefs, there have been grave developments, and although it appeared a fortnight ago that his explanations would be acceptable to his church, there is every reason for thinking now that that will not be tho case. The issues at stake are of such a character that tho Sydney Presbytery has decided to refer them to the General Assembly, believing that they can be decided only by tho higher court. Dr. Angus has his supporters iv tho Presbytery, and in flic Assembly, too, and the "trial" is arousing great interest among adherents to the Presbyterian Church and among other church authorities as well. VIRTUALLY FORGIVEN. At a, meeting of the Presbytery last week Dr. Angus made a statement which occupied him for more than an hour, and at the end he received an ovation and was virtually forgiven. A decision, however, was postponed until members had an opportunity of thoroughly digesting tho book which Dr. Angus had prepared. Since the publication of'the book there has been an almost complete reversal of the attitude of the Church. Leading Sydney Presbyterians are convinced that their church cannot endorse the broad doctrines of "Truth and Tradition." The number of sermons that have been preached, and the statements contributed to the Press, seem to show that Dr..Angus has again fallen into grave disfavour. Does this mean that Dr. Angus failed to give an accurate precis of his beliefs when he addressed the Presbytery, or that members of the Presbytery failed to understand his statement? The situation is certainly a very delicate one.

It is pointed out that there was no official shorthand writer to take down the remarkable speech that was made by Dr. Angus." Members must rely on their memory, and on the abbreviated reports that appeared in the news papers. The Press reports show that Dr. Angus touched on every one of the main controversial points in his book, and fearlessly set out his attitude towards thorn. H.e was by no means a meek advocate of his own case. Ho said quite bluntly that he would continue to preach. Christianity as he saw it; whether ho preached as a Presbyterian or not was for his church to decide. Ho then proceeded to give his views of Christ's teaching and the Biblical and doctrinal interpretation of them. . BELIEFS OP PROFESSOR ANGUS. It is difficult to state briefly the beliefs and teachings of Professor Angus. He denied the deity of Chvisfc but extolled his divinity; he refused to accept the doctrine of the Trinity; he denied the "materialistic" doctrine of the resurrection, and said he was concorned only with what happened to Christ's body, not to His soul; ho refused to preach the sinlossness of Jesus as being too negativo a glorification; ho flatly denied the doctrine of atonement and propitiation (as deduced from the belief that God required the violent death of Christ as a sin offering) and man's predestination to everlasting life or everlasting death. AH these points are raised in the book and are argued at much greater length than they were in the speech. Yet the speech moved the Presbytery to thankfulness that a "happier way now seemed to lie open through its difficulties." The book seems to have confirmed the Church in its original belief that Professor Angus had been guilty of heresy. It would be unjust to say that the whole of the Presbytery has been guilty of a change of attitude, for there have always been many of the elders who believe that the teachings of the professor strike at the very roots of Presbyterianism. Tins belief is held very largely, too, among the members of t'ho general congregations.

It is claimed in many quarters that if the Church condoned or accepted the doctrineß of Professor Angus there would no longer be any justification for tho Presbyterian Church. This section insists that the creed that has been advanced is almost a form of free thought, limited only by tho facts of the Bible and his own interpretation of them. It would seem, therefore, that a heresy trial is bound to follow. If Dr. Angus were convicted of heresy tho position of Dr. Anderson and Dr. Edward would provide an interesting collary. Those two men, with Dr. Angus, constitute the teaching faculty at St. Andrew's Collego (Dr. Anderson is the principal) and both of them have said that they share the views of Dr. Angus as to the true interpretation of the teachings of the Presbyterian Church.