Show AN ILLOGICAL THEORY SOME BOMB men noted for learning and who are credited with being unusually intelligent sometimes express ideas that are conspicuous for self evident absurdity it appears that dr brings briggs the noted conformist nonconformist non presbyterian who haa baa created a great flutter of late among the clergy and ranks of that le denomination nomination has been airing himself illogically by laying down an in congruous proposition according to the dispatches he be gave in the course of a lecture delivered at syracuse N Y J expression V t the following let it be distinctly understood that there can be no unity without divera Y A great many people confound unity with uniformity and in aftem attempting ting to force uniformity really create a gi division vision unity demands variety and in uniformity there can be none therefore no unity P the first ant sentence lent enoe amounts to stating that there cannot be similarity without distinction no unity without a difference in reference to the latter sentence of the statement the lector doctor holds on od account of unity and uniformity being confounded the difference between the two conditions is in very slight a division is created by an attempt to on en foice uniformity the absurdity of this idea is apparent the fact that one party seeks to enforce uniformity shows shown that the division divis ibn exis ed previous to the attempted enforcement the effort to enforce is in based on the existence of a division unity says the doctor demands variety 3 if he means that he can be united with his bis co religionists while holding views which they repudiate his idea of harmony maybe may be unique but they are not consistent some of the views which this noted presbyterian nonconformist conformist non enter lattim and wherein he differs from the great body of his hia brethren are in our view harmonious with revealed truth this is especially the case in respect to his bis opinions in reference to opportunities for salvation in the future life they are uniform with revealed truth enunciated in the scriptures Scrip turea according to the logic of his hie theory in IB regard to harmony of religious thought however if he hold held views opposed to scriptural doctrines doctrine there could still exist a united condition between his conceptions of truth and the expressions of the bible his reasoning is decidedly tortuous his own situation so as a nonconformist to is a flat contradiction of the theory he announced at syracuse |