The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1912. A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER ON THE CONFESSIONAL

New Zealand Tablet, 24 October 1912, Page 33

The New Zealand Tablet THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1912. A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER ON THE CONFESSIONAL

HE article on The Confessional' which we M |j(sL print on page 43 of this issue is remark- \? Ijjfflj able alike m regard to its source, its author, and its subject-matter and general tenor. Ik!w l ne article appeared in the September numher of ..".the Christian Irishman, an ultraX*Jsg?Vr- Protestant monthly published in Dublin. (P?. The publication . appears in a green cover, embroidered. with bunches of shamrocks but except for this somewhat deceptive exterior 'thereVisnothing specially Irish about it, and little that is overpoweringly- Christian. The paper is, it must be conceded,, free from mere abuse and scurrility; but its ' Christianity appears to consist chiefly in 'keeping, a watchful eye on ' Rome,' and in drawing attention to her supposed delinquencies and errors. The editor must have been caught in an unusually broad and amiable: frame of mind when, in a paper designed to wean the people from - Popery,' he let in an article which actually defends the Confessional. The author of the article is the Rev. J. Kennedy Elliott, minister of the" Presbyterian Churchy at Kent. Terrace, Wellington, and at present, apparently," Home on a holiday.; Mr. Elliott ; has been a well-known rieure in the life of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand for over quarter of a century, and is widely esteemed not only, for /general 7 good sense . and, solid ability, but : for , the gentleness and genuineness of ; his Christian character. -He is, we believe, ; a North of y Ireland man, and has, >it is needless to say, always been staunch in his Protestant principles. But he has ;:not shut his, eyes to the facts of u life and of human .nature; and, age, and .experience have forced * on him the 'conclusion that even in -, the deadly ;errors of Romanism-', there are large elements of truth!

■ That is the'thesis of his article. 1 ' It has often occurred to me/ he says, o ' that amid the many deadly errors of Romanism there must be some lurking and latent ■■ ■■< truth.' And of all the deadly errors "of Romanism '■■ the two selected for illustration" by this North of Ireland Protestant minister as containing a lurking and latent truth ' auricular confession and the doctrine of ministerial-absolution. '■ •' I feel persuaded,' he writes, ' that in this -practice [i.e., auricular confession y there must be some elements of truth, and because of which the custom has been endured for centuries.' Mr. Elliott then cites cases where Unsolicited -confession to himself, 1 or the pronouncing of some form of absolution on his part,- has ' brought undoubted relief to an (oppressed conscience. The cases cover a wide range of character- being a degraded woman, another 'an aged and saintly man who publicly had led an unblemished life' but who was troubled by the"• recollection of the- sins of his youth, and the third ' a venerable and genuine Christian,' who had often conducted religious services and who ' had always preached with -power and unction.' The minister made it clear that in none of these cases was any sacramental value to be attached to the proceeding, yet in all three immediate ~ and unmistakable relief was experienced. Wherefore the writer concludes:' I think we may concede .that occasionally benefit may be received by a penitent consulting an aged and sympathetic pastor.' * :^ : The concession coming from such a source, is something! but we think the Wellington pastor might very naturally and logically have carried his reflections and deductions a .' very ■ great deal farther. (1) He might have reflected that if confession, even in cases where i it was not regarded as sacramental ; or as in any sense part of a ; Divine ordinance, was the means of such unmistakable relief to the burdened soul, how much more 'efficacious must it be in the case of those who regard the sacred tribunal as directly instituted by Christ and for whom the words of absolution are not mere vague and general expressions but clear, definite, and authoritative;- Such, as he must know, is Confession in the Catholic Church. (2) If even ' an aged and saintly man' and 'a venerable and genuine Christian who had always preached with power and unction ' feel it an absolute necessity to their peace of mind to pour out the secrets of their soul, what passionate pent- ' up yearnings must there be in the hearts of the great army of common-place people, the'merely average Christians, who along the path of their stumbling : struggle towards better things have continually to lament ' the broken vow, ; the frequent fall.' Mr. Elliott mentions -the case of three or four people who actually came to him to have their consciences quieted. But for these few anxious souls whose situation was disclosed to him there must have been, even within the circle of his own people, scores and hundreds of others whose cases were never made known—-men and women bearing about the intolerable burden of a troubled conscience, without any recognised means of escape or relief available. (3) : Mr. Elliott might, we think, have reasonably gone on , to consider how gravely defective how hopelessly :■- un-Scriptural—is the Church of which he is such an honored representative, in not having fixed, definite, and. adequate provision for such cases. We say ' un- " Scriptural,' because the Gospel makes it perfectly clear ? that both the means and the power for applying to penitent sinners the benefits of the Atonement were ; fully provided. As My Father sent. Me,' said our Blessed Lord, 'so send I you. ■;■;■-■. . Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; - and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained * (St. John, xx., 21-23, /Authorised Version). In the Protestant Revised Version the word 'remit' is rendered plainly 'forgive.' It would be hardly possible for language to be clearerthere is not a single ambiguous word in the whole passage. The Catholic Church regularly and systematically exercises the great power there intended to be conveyed. But where is there in the Presbyterian Church, or in any Protestant Church, anything to correspond to those weighty words ? Who ever heard of a Presbyterian minister 'retaining ' the sins of any sinner, .how-

ever .impenitent ; or who ever heard- even of a Presbyterian minister specifically absolving ..a. sinner from specific sins? We venture to say that.it would: be less dishonoring to our Lord at once to reject His words, and to refuse to entertain them, than to profess to be His followers and to accept the Bible, and at the same time deliberately to ignore so simple, plain, and -withal so solemn an utterance. - / V .-■..■% ;;■'' ■ , -.-.■ - ~. . * .'. .■■-.' -■-. - " . It is impossible to withhold a tribute to the spirit' of fairness and Christian courtesy which marks Elliott's treatment of this question. There is. nothing here of the stereotyped Protestant view> of the Confessional as -a degrading and corrupting agency. And though the old-time and objectionable epithets 'Romish' and Romanism figure conspicuously in the article, the Wellington minister writes throughout: with feelings of the utmost kindness and -good-will regarding the Catholics with whom he -is acquainted. ./' I am not ashamed to testify that some whom esteem and love belong to the Romish communion. One of (these was the Rector of a Romish College, who never omitted an opportunity of honoring me and doing me a kindness. Another was the Governor of one of our Colonial jails, who also loaded me with many benefits. ... I know the evils of Monasticism, and I am opposed to the Conventual system, but candour compels me to -admit that I have received great and unexpected kindness from the Lady Superioress and Sisters of a Home for Incurables, in which there were several Protestants. . .-: , ■* It may be said that all this is dissimulation, and that it is all done designedly to curry favor and disarm suspicion. I can only speak of what I know and testify what I have seen. As for me I am certain that we will not weaken or surrender our position if we endeavor to imitate the gentleness of Jesus, and if we be courteous and speak the truth in love. 1 Will the Dr. Gibbs, and Robert Woods, and John Dicksons please note. *