Show THE HERETIC the NEWS ww wa favored with a call this morning from a gentleman who took part in the recent presbyterian assembly at washington and who voted against dr briggs As the gentleman himself has figured somewhat among those who advocate independence pen dence of thought and freedom of expression in religious circles even at times to the verge of heterodoxy he be was asked how bow he could reconcile his bis vote in the assembly with his previous ly y expressed ideas and his bis reply was quite frank and strictly to the point he holds that pros pres as an organization is unquestionably entitled to establish its own liturgy and make its own rules of religious conduct if these were not upheld all discipline would beat be at an end and the church must inevitably cease to be itself and at once become something else no matter whether dr briggs was right or wrong in his bis departures so far as they themselves are 0 mcern ed he was wrong in claiming the shield of the organization whose tenets he opposed lot let h him I 1 m enter the broad field of chris un untrammeled trammeled by systems and rules if he will or go into some other development of religious practice and do all the good he be ORD can but let him not as a presbyterian seek to propagate ideas adew i that are not amon among g the articles of that particular faith there seems to be nothing intolerant or bigoted in all that on the contrary it appears quite consistent and reasonable the right to be a heretic or a reformer is unquestionable but it those who are thu i actuated are unable to cause the church the pary par y or other organization stion to which they may belong to adopt their views it to is proper to either castie their advocacy or put them forth as the utterances of an individual not of those who will not have them |