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Show "LIBERALITY OF THOUGHT." I In an editorial which appeared in these col umns last week on the "Drift of the Protestant Episcopal Church." we called the atiention of our readers to the noticeable leaning of many of the bishops and clergymen of that church in the direction direc-tion of "liberality of thought' of "broad minded-ness,' minded-ness,' of "comprehensiveness," that is to say, to a negation of Christian truth, a mutulation of the oh nous of the church and a marked concession to the influences at work in the church to minimize, alter or sweep aside the teachings of our "Divine Lord. The Evangelical party of the Protestant Kpiup;il church which, at one time, was an influential in-fluential and aggressive element in maintaining a strong anti-Roman and ultra-Protestant attitude , Inwards everything Catholic has practically disap peared, and the field of contention is now occupied by the forces of two opposing parties. These two bodies, within the church, are known as the . Riuali-t or Catholic and the Latitudinarian or ; Broad-Church parties. The Broad Church division. I among which the word piety is losing its original meaning, embraces the free and easy livers, the ' , , .( indifferent ists and that large contingent of good fellows who lean toward a fashionable re- ; Jigion that does not trouble one's peace of mind I with appeals to conscience or annoying threats of punishment for sin. The other constituency is made tip of a few bishops, a considerable number ol clergymen ami of conscientious men and women, who s.tand by the traditions of the early Church, by the doctrinal teachings of Hooker and Andrews i and Laud and Taylor and of others who held fast to i many of the pre-riformation doctrines. The last act of stultification, perpetrated at the Richmond convention. 1 las opened the eyes of a large body of conscientious clergymen and laymen, who view with alarm the drift; of the Episcopal ship toward the cataract of infidelity. Against the mass of unbelief pressing against and threatening the sanctity of the church and the faith once delivered to the saints there is apparently no escape, except by the "Appian Way" leading to Home. When the bishops, the sentinels on the watch towers of Israel, are either sleeping on their posts, or traitorously conspiring with the enemy for the surrender of the fort, the casile is doomed. In a recent issue of "I he Lamp." the organ of the conservative party within the church. i!ie Reverend Paul .lames Francis, Fran-cis, whose learning is as profound as his sincerity is unquestioned, writes: "All conscientious church men know how needful the existence of a Catholic party is in ihe Episcopal church, if for no other reason than to serve as a counteractant to the designs de-signs which degrade the doctrinal standing of the church to the level of the Federation platform of the Protestant denominations, and enter into pulpit pul-pit exchange and intercommunion with them on terms of such equality as to make it impossible for ilioe who hold and practice their religion, to anv longer find an habitation in the Episcopal church.' 'J he reverend gentleman and the 7.000 within the , church "who have not bowed the knee to Baal." are conscientiously endeavoring to arrest the disintepra-i disintepra-i lion of the body spiritual, and to invest once more , their church in the garments of dignity, sublimity and the orthodoxy of other days. They are beginning begin-ning to perceive that time and strength and the talents which Cod has bestowed upon them are being be-ing wasted in contending with their clamorous adversaries ad-versaries who have the wealth of the rich and the passions of the multitude with them. The Episcopal Episco-pal church in the United States is meeting with the I( fate of all human institutions. The mortar of po-Uucul po-Uucul fanaticism which united it as a compact body against Rome is pulverizing and the church has now become a house divided against itself. Her clerics, except when actually performing divine service, are now undistinguishable from laymen and their sermons have degenerated into lectures' or platform dissertations in which extravagant whimsies and paradoxes, which are called science, take the place of the sound teachings of St. Paul. A low standard is set in these weekly addresses, in which the motives of the gospel are either withheld with-held altogether or urged with comparative infre-quency. infre-quency. The natural effect of renouncing high views and sound doctrine is to suspect or ridicule them in others. Clergymen, like James Francis Paul, who would stay the fatal movement in the church towards the maelstrom of infidelity or Anglican An-glican comprehensiveness, are traduced as unreasonable, unrea-sonable, bigoted, fanatical, or they are branded as pious cranks who mean well and for this reason i ought to he lolerated. To contend for Christion principles and for high views is folly or fanaticism, fanati-cism, and unable or unwilling to walk the path of piety, sincerity and Christian fortitude, the adversaries adver-saries of these upright and honorable men endeavor to laugh them down or make them ridiculous. When the bishops themselves are stricken with the disease of heresy and Latitudinarianism what hope is there for the people. Take for example the sermon ser-mon of Bishop Spalding of this city, preached at the consecration of the Anglican Bishop of Western Colorado only a few months ago. The charge of our Divine Lord to the twelve bishops he was sending out from Jerusalem to baptize in his name, in that of his Father and of the Divine Spirit, and to preach his doctrines, was not comprehensive enough for Bishop Spalding and he enlarged the privileges of the Apostolic office. Addressing the newly-consecrated bishop, he said: "We consecrate you, my brother, and send you forth into your district dis-trict to be the bishop of every city, and every town, and every settlement, of every school, and every hospital; of every lodge, and every union, of all social life, and political life, of family life. 'AH are yours.' Go forth as the Bishop of Socialism and Trade-Unionism, of Communism and Prohibition, Prohibi-tion, of Ethical Culture, Xew Thought, of truth held by all men, at all times. and in all places, and truth which was only discovered yesterday. There is truth in them all and the church needs that truth.' Xow, how does this language contrast with the words spoken by the bishop when, with his brother bishops, he imposed hands on the Rev. E. I. Knight. "Receive the Holy Ghost for the office and work of a bishop in the church of God (not in the lodges) now committed unto thee by the imposition of our hands; in the name of the Father, etc. And remember re-member lhat thou stir up the grace of God which is given to thee, etc." The Rt. Reverend Father in God. Bisihop Spalding Spald-ing tells us in this extraordinary address extra,?' dinary for a churchman that Christ our Lord established es-tablished an incomplete church, which was to wait for the coming of socialism, trade-unionism, communism, com-munism, prohibition, new thought, and God only knows what else, to round out and perfect the revelation reve-lation of His Divine son. And, to make his standing stand-ing with these erratic bodies secure, he tells them: "The church (of God) has need of the truth discovered dis-covered yesterday." Wasn't it "Monk"' Lewis who wrote : "To you the people look, as to the Holy Book, For the precepts and example they're to follow; But when ye prove untrue, as many of ye do, Do ye wonder why we're all so vile and hollow V |