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ZION'S
WATCH
TOWER
ALLltGHEl<Y,
PA.
is
open
only
during
this
Gospel
age,
and
that
the
highway
of
holiness
belongs
to
the
next
age.
While
rejoicing
that
the
world,
now
ul\willing
to
travel
the
narrow
way,
will
have
the
glorious
opportunities
of
the
hIghway
by
and
by,
let
us
rejoice
that
the
great
favor
of
God
respecting
this
narrow
way
has
been
brought
to
our
attention,
and
that
it
is
our
privilege
to
walk
in
the
footsteps
of
Jesus,
with
the
assurance
of
his,
assist
ance
all
the
journey
~hrough
to
the
fart~e~
en~,
a~d
wIth,
the
gracious
promise
of
hfe
eternal
and
partlclpa~lOn
III
the.
kmg
dom.
'
I
If
any
man
will
come
after
me,
let
hIm
deny
h~II!-self
[let
him
sacrifice
himself,
his
personal
interests,
ambltlons,'
etc.],
and
take
up
his
cross
and
follow
me."
VOl,.
XXVII
ALLEGHENY,
P
A.,
SEPTEMBER
1,
1906
VIEWS
FROM
THE
WATCH
TOWER
No.
17
The
real
trouble
is
re('ognized
by
but
few:
it
is
the
loss
of
the'
I
faIth
once
delivered
to
the
saints."
Twenty-eight
years
ago
faith
in
the
teachings
of
the
Bible
began
to
suffer
from
the
teachings
of
the
Evolutionists
and
the
Higher
Cntics.
As
a
result
faith
in
the
divine
revelation
has
waned,
and
Chris
tian
zeal
and
godly
living
in
proportion.
The
Bible
discredited,
faith
has
no
proper
anchorage,
and
as
our
Lord
said
of
the
Samaritans,
"Ye
believe
ye
know
not
what
I
"
Thus,
many
well-intentioned
people
are
in
a
pitiable
condition
so
far
as
religious
conviction
is
concerned.
The
pity
is
that
so
many
Christians
are
not
so
conscientious,
hut
willing
to
stultify
themselves
for
the
sake
of
unity.
The
B
ble
rule
is,
"
First
pure,
then
peaceable";
and
if
it
were
strictly
followed
there
would
be
a
religious
earthquake
which
wou],]
lead
to
true
po
ace
and
unity.
THE
LACK
FELT--CRYING
ALOUD
While
some
Christian
people
are
so
busied
with
forwarding
Federative
Christian
Union
and
in
performing
"many
wonder
ful
works"
(Matt.
7:
22)
that
they
do
not
feel
the
loss
of
spiritual
power
in
Churchianity,
others
more
alert
to
the
true
situation
are
crying
aloud
of
their
distress.
Thus,
for
in'stance,
l'he
Chnsttan
W
O1'k
and
Evangehst
(New
York)
says:
"The
great
1/ced
tS
to
make
the
church
mean
in
present
conditions
what
Christiantty
meant
to
the
world
ages
ago.
This
is
the
r/'al
reform
needed.
But,
strange
to
say,
there
is
no
effort
made
in
this
dire~tion.
Instead,
schemes
of
expe
diency
are
resorted
to.
In
their
last
analysis
institutional
church
efforts,
young
people's
movement,
church
federation
and
the
endowment
of
churches
are
such
schemes
primarily
designed
to
gloss
over
glaring
weaknesses,
and
to
stimulate
flagging
interests.
ThesE'
efforts
offer
nothing
for
improving
the
ethical
status
of
orgalllzed
religion
or
for
restoring
the
spirit
of
prim
itive
Christianity.
These
efforts
do
not
make
the
church
mean
in
the
new
condition
what
the
early
Christian
church
meant
ages
ago."
CONSCIENCE
A
BARRIER
TO
PEACE
Although
the
Presbyterians
and
the
Cumberland
Presby
terians
have
officially
united,
there
is
some
dissension.
At
War
rensburg,
Mo.,
each
denomination
had
a
church
edifice,
and
both
had
influential
members.
The
union
program
was
that
the
Cumberland
meeting
house
should
be
used,
but
a
majority
of
the
Cumberland
congregatIOn
(128
out
of
230)
objected
to
the
union
and
locked
the
building
against
the
Unionists
and
notified
them
that
it
could
not
be
so
used.
The
ground
of
objection
is
that
although
the
Presbyterians
have
adopted
a
new
statement
of
their
faith,
which
is
unob
jectionable,
they
still
hold
on
to
the
old
"Westminster
Con
fession
of
Faith,"
which
these
Cumberland
Presbyterians
can
not
conscientiously
endorse.
Asked
what
particnlar
portion
of
the
Confession
stung
their
consciences
into
disunion,
one
of
their
leaders,
W.
K.
Morrow,
produced
the
Presbyterian
Higher
Ca
tech
ism
and
read
the
following:
I
I
God's
decrees
are
the
wise,
free
and
holy
acts
of
the
counsel
of
his
will,
whereby,
from
all
eternity,
he
hath,
for
his
own
glory,
unchangeably
foreordained
whatsoever
comes
to
pass
in
time,
especially
concerning
angels
and
men.
I
I
God
by
an
eternal
and
immutable
decree
out
of
his
mere
love
for
the
praise
of
his
glorious
grace,
to
be
manifested
in
due
time,
hath
elected
some
angels
to
glory,
and
in
Christ
hath
chosen
some
men
to
eternal
life
and
the
means
thereof;
and
also,
according
to
his
sovereign
power
and
the
unsearchable
counsel
of
his
own
will
(whereby
he
extendeth
or
withholdeth
favor
as
he
pleaseth)
hath
passed
by
and
foreordained
the
rest
to
dishonor
and
wrath,
to
be
for
their
sin
inflicted,
to
the
praise
of
the
glory
of
his
justice."
Mr.
Morrow
closed
the
book
with
a
slam,
held
it
up
and
said:
I
I
I,
for
one,
can't
swallow
that
doctrine,
and
I
won't
have
it
forced
down
my
throat.
God
never
gave
such
a
doctrine.
It
is
of
the
devil.
It
would
drive
mon
to
the
devil
instead
of
bringing
them
to
God."
*
*
*
*
*
*
CONGREGATIONALISTS
CONFESS
THE
CHANGE
The
following
extract
from
The
Congregationalist,
put
in
the
mildest
possible
form,
shows
how
important
teachings
have
been
abandoned.
Some
of
these
are
improvements
in
that
some
errors
are
less
tenaciously
held;
but
with
the
rejected
and
incongruous
errOrs
went
truths
most
vital-most
essential
ttl
true
Christian
faith
and
necessary
as
a
basis
for
Christian
con
duct
and
zeal
for
divine
service.
N
ate
the
difference
between
what
"our
fathers
believed"
and
what
"we
believe."
We
quote:-
I
l
As
to
our
belief
in
Christ-our
fathers
looked
up
to
him
as
the
second
person
in
the
trinity,
seated
at
the
right
hand
of
the
throne
of
God
the
Father,
after
having
purchased
the
forgiYeness
of
our
sins
and
the
remission
of
sentence
of
eternal
death
by
his
death
on
the
cross
and
his
resurrection
from
th.e
tomb.
We
see
in
h:m
who
is
the
ideal
man,
the
Father
mam
fested
to
human
apprehension,
the
unique
revelation
of
God
to
men.
Through
him
we
know
God
and
we
worship
the
Father
in
him.
We
do
not
attempt
to
put
into
exact
forms
of
state
ment
the
relations
between
the
Father,
Son
and
holy
Spirit,
whose
manifestation
as
God
we
see
in
Jesus
Christ.
To
quote
Professor
Walker
here:
I
Whether
by
virgin
birth,
by
pre
existence
as
the
eternal
Logos,
by
enduement
at
baptism,
by
Davidic
descent,
by
all
these
lines
of
argument
combined,
or
by
others
like
his
sinlessness
and
moral
oneness
with
the
Fath.er,
that
unity
is
to
be
explained
or
no,
the
great
truth
to
whICh
these
interpretations
bear
witness
is
the
fundamental
fnet
of
Uhristianity--that
of
the
incarnation.
Its
explication
is
rela
tively
a
matter
of
speculation;
its
reality
is
of
prime
impor
tance.
'
,
'Our
fathers
regarded
man
as
created
perfect
in
one
human
pair,
who
by
wilful
disobedience
to
a
divine
command
corrupted
and
brought
sentence
of
eternal
death
on
the
whole
human
race
descended
from
them.
Our
fathers
believed
that
Jesus
Christ
coming
as
God
in
a
human
form
begotten
through
the
power
of
the
holy
Spirit
and
born
of
the
Virgin
Mary,
by
his
sufferings
and
physical
death
inflicted
on
him
by
men,
endured
the
equivalent
of
the
punishment
of
sinners
senten('ed
to
eternal
death,
and
delivered
from
it
certain
members
of
the
race
foreordained
to
be
saved.
We
believe
that
Jesus
Christ
the
son
of
God
living,
suffering,
and
dying
as
a
man
among
men
revealed
the
self-sacrificing
love
of
God
for
his
children,
who
include
all
mankind,
and
that
this
manifestation
continued
through
the
Spirit
of
God
in
and
among
men,
is
teaching
sin
ners
the
nature
of
sin
and
the
character
of
God,
and
is
draw
ing
all
men
unto
him.
"Our
fathers
believed
that
the
New
Testament
revealed
the
divine
plan
and
pattern
of
Christ's
churcb
on
earth,
and
that
it
was
Congregational
in
its
organization.
We
believe
that
the
Congregational
order
is
best
suited
to
the
Christian
development
of
the
individual,
to
I
intelligent
discipleship,
mutual
responsibility,
direct
loyalty
to
Christ
alone,
full
rounded
Christian
manhood.'
We
hold,
however,
that
whenever
and
wherever
modifications
of
this
order
are
found
to
be
best
suited
to
advance
the
kingdom
of
Christ
they
should
be
adopted,
and
that
the
disciples
of
Christ
of
all
denominations
should
work
together
as
far
as
is
practicable
to
show
their
unity
in
spirit
and
to
bring
his
kingdom
to
perfection.
.
.
.
l
'Our
fathers
believed
that
men
could
be
saved
only
by
believing
on
Jesus
before
they
died.
The
theological
contro
versies
of
the
last
twenty-five
years
have
resulted
at
least
in
toleration
for
Christians
who
express
a
reasonable
hop'e
that
those
who
die
without
knowledge
of
Christ
may
not
have
closed
their
probation
in
this
life.
The
tendency
thus
indicated
has
gone
so
far
that
some
Congregationalists,
who
believe,
as
all
Christians
do,
in
the
final
triumph
of
righteousness
over
sin,
nold
also
that
it
is
not
an
unwarranted
hope
that
this
triumph
may
include
the
final
redemption
from
sin
of
all
the
children
of
God."
~STERIAL
DISHONESTY
RESPONSIBLE
We
charge
that
this
spiritual
decline
and
loss
of
faith
in
the
Bible
is
the
resnlt
of
dishonesty
amongst
the
professed
[3846]
(271-275) is open only during this Gospel age, and that the highway of holiness belongs to the next age. While rejoicing that the world, now unwilling to travel the narrow way, will have the glorious opportunities of the highway by and by, let us rejoice that the great favor of God respecting this narrow way has been brought to our attention, and that it is our privilege to ZION’S WATCH TOWER ALLecHENY, Pa, walk in the footsteps of Jesus, with the assurance of his assistance all the journey through to the farther end, and with the gracious promise of life eternal and participation in the kingdom, ‘‘If any man will come after me, let him deny himself [let him sacrifice himself, his personal interests, ambitions, ete.], and take up his cross and follow me.’’ Vou, XXVII ALLEGHENY, PA., SEPTEMBER 1, 1906 No. 17 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER CONSCIENCE A BARRIER TO PEACE Although the Presbyterians and the Cumberland Presbyterians have officially united, there is some dissension. At Warrensburg, Mo., each denomination had a church edifice, and both had influential members. The union program was that the Cumberland meeting house should be used, but a majority of the Cumberland congregation (128 out of 230) objected to the union and locked the building against the Unionists and notified them that it could not be so used. The ground of objection is that although the Presbyterians have adopted a new statement of their faith, which is unobjectionable, they still hold on to the old ‘‘ Westminster Confession of Faith,’’ which these Cumberland Presbyterians cannot conscientiously endorse. Asked what particular portion of the Confession stung their consciences into disunion, one of their leaders, W. K. Morrow, produced the Presbyterian Higher Catechism and read the following: ‘*God’s decrees are the wise, free and holy acts of the counsel of his will, whereby, from all eternity, he hath, for his own glory, unchangeably foreordained whatsoever comes to pass in time, especially concerning angels and men. “God by an eternal and immutable decree out of his mere love for the praise of his glorious grace, to be manifested in due time, hath elected some angels to glory, and in Christ hath chosen some men to eternal life and the means thereof; and also, according to his sovereign powcr and the unsearchable counsel of his own will (whereby he extendeth or withholdeth favor as he pleaseth) hath passed by and foreordained the rest to dishonor and wrath, to be for their sin inflicted, to the praise of the glory of his justice.’’ an Morrow closed the book with a slam, held it up and said: “‘T, for one, can’t swallow that doctrine, and I won’t have it forced down my throat. God never gave such a doctrine. It is of the devil. It would drive men to the devil instead of bringing them to God.’’ * * * The pity is that so many Christians are not so conscientious, but willing to stultify themselves for the sake of unity. The B ble rule is, ‘‘First pure, then peaceable’’; and if it were strictly followed there would be a religious earthquake which would lead to true peace and unity. THE LACK FELT—CRYING ALOUD While some Christian people are so busied with forwarding Federative Christian Union and in performing ‘‘many wonderful works’’ (Matt. 7:22) that they do not feel the loss of spiritual power in Churchianity, others more alert to the true situation are erying aloud of their distress, Thus, for instance, The Chrisitan Work and Evangelist (New York) says: “*The great need ws to make the church mean in present conditions what Christianity meant to the world ages ago. This is the real reform needed. But, strange to say, there is no effort made in this direction. Instead, schemes of expedieney are resorted to. In their last analysis institutional church efforts, young people’s movement, church federation and the endowment of churches are such schemes primarily designed to gloss over glaring weaknesses, and to stimulate flagging interests. These efforts offer nothing for improving the ethical status of organized religion or for restoring the spirit of primitive Christianity. These efforts do not make the church mean in the new condition what the early Christian church meant ages ago.’’ * * * The real trouble is recognized by but few: it is the loss of the ‘‘faith once delivered to the saints.’’ Twenty-eight years ago faith in the teachings of the Bible began to suffer from the teachings of the Evolutionists and the Higher Critics. As a result faith in the divine revelation has waned, and Christian zeal and godly living in proportion, The Bible discredited, faith has no proper anchorage, and as our Lord said of the Samaritans, ‘‘Ye believe ye know not what!’’ Thus, many well-intentioned people are in a pitiable condition so far as religious conviction is concerned. CONGREGATIONALISTS CONFESS THE CHANGE The following extract from The Congregationalist, put in the mildest possible form, shows how important teachings have been abandoned. Some of these are improvements in that some errors are less tenaciously held; but with the rejected and incongruous errors went truths most vital—most essential tu true Christian faith and necessary as a basis for Christian conduet and zeal for divine service. Note the difference between what ‘‘our fathers believed’’ and what ‘‘we believe.’’ We quote :—~ ‘*As to our belief in Christ—our fathers looked up to him as the second person in the trinity, seated at the right hand of the throne of God the Father, after having purchased the forgiveness of our sins and the remission of sentence of eternal death by his death on the cross and his resurrection from the tomb. We see in h:m who is the ideal man, the Father manifested to human apprehension, the unique revelation of God to men. Through him we know God and we worship the Father in him. We do not attempt to put into exact forms of statement the relations between the Father, Son and holy Spirit, whose manifestation as God we see in Jesus Christ. To quote Professor Walker here: ‘Whether by virgin birth, by preexistence as the eternal Logos, by enduement at baptism, by Davidie descent, by all these lines of argument combined, or by others like his sinlessness and moral oneness with the Father, that unity is to be explained or no, the great truth to which these interpretations bear witness is the fundamental fact of Christianity—that of the incarnation. Its explication is relatively a matter of speculation; its reality is of prime importance.’ ‘‘Our fathers regarded man as created perfect in one human pair, who by wilful disobedience to a divine command corrupted and brought sentence of eternal death on the whole human race descended from them. Our fathers believed that Jesus Christ coming as God in a human form begotten through the power of the holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, by his sufferings and physical death inflicted on him by men, endured the equivalent of the punishment of sinners sentenced to eternal death, and delivered from it certain members of the race foreordained to be saved. We believe that Jesus Christ the son of God living, suffering, and dying as a man among men revealed the self-sacrificing love of God for his children, who include all mankind, and that this manifestation continued through the Spirit of God in and among men, is teaching sinners the nature of sin and the character of God, and is drawing all men unto him. . . . ‘‘Our fathers believed that the New Testament revealed the divine plan and pattern of Christ’s church on earth, and that it was Congregational in its organization. We believe that the Congregational order is best suited to the Christian development of the individual, to ‘intelligent discipleship, mutual responsibility, direct loyalty to Christ alone, full rounded Christian manhood.’ We hold, however, that whenever and wherever modifications of this order are found to be best suited to advance the kingdom of Christ they should be adopted, and that the disciples of Christ of all denominations should work together as far as is practicable to show their unity in spirit and to bring his kingdom to perfection. . . . ‘*Our fathers believed that men could be saved only by believing on Jesus before they died. The theological controversies of the last twenty-five years have resulted at least in toleration for Christians who express a reasonable hope that those who die without knowledge of Christ may not have closed their probation in this life. The tendency thus indicated has gone so far that some Congregationalists, who believe, as all Christians do, in the final triumph of righteousness over sin, nold also that it is not an unwarranted hope that this triumph may inelude the final redemption from sin of all the children of God.’’ MINISTERIAL DISHONESTY RESPONSIBLE We charge that this spiritual decline and loss of faith in the Bible is the result of dishonesty amongst the professed [3846]
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