The Religious World r'rench Protestants and the Dreyfus Affair In emphasizing the Protestant connection with the Dreyfus affair, the "Chrétien Belge" prints a list of distinguished names. First of all it calls attention to MM. Scheurer-Kestner, ex-Vice-President of the Senate, and Francis de Pressensé, one of the editors of the "Temps," both Protestants, and originators of the movement for revision of the Dreyfus trial. They took that stand when it was a manifest compromise of their material interests to do so, and they have held it unfalteringly ever since. To these names we would add that of Maître Leblois, the friend and lawyer of Colonel Picquart. M. Trarieux, another friend of Picquart and ex-Minister of Justice, who has also long been outspoken for revision, has been supposed to be a Protestant. He is, however, an independent, though a constant attendant at Protestant worship. Ex-Premier Brisson, a man of unswerving integrity and austere morality, is a Protestant, as is also M. Krantz, lately Minister of War. Both have been energetic Dreyfusards. President Loew, presiding over the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, worthy and impartial as he showed himself to be, was dispossessed because he Was unable to find against Dreyfus. President Loew is a Protestant, as are M. Jules Siegfried, the well-known Senator and philanthropist, M. Jules Laroche, formerly Governor of Madagascar, and Dr. Gibert, the distinguished physician and friend of the late President Faure. Dr. Gibert affirms that, before the affair" became open talk, the President said: Dreyfus has been condemned upon charges not communicated to the defense." Dreyfusards in the domain of education are Dean Bruston, of the University of Paris, Professor Buisson, also the head of the primary schools of Paris (who was recently and repeatedly insulted because of his convictions); and M. Stapfer, Dean of the Faculty of Letters at Bordeaux. The last named was summarily suspended from office and salary because he alluded to the "affair" in one of his lectures in a way to show his sympathy. Prosor Marillen, the soul of the anti alcohol movement, was insulted and spat upon by his anti-Semitic students at the University because of his sympathy for Dreyfus. Professor Raoul Allier, of the Theological Faculty of Paris, and Professor Albert Réville, the eminent author of the "History of Religions," belong to the same. group. Paris Protestant Pastors Place Of the distinguished family which has given so much mental and spiritual influence to France, MM. Gabriel Monod, a professor at the University of Paris, Édouard Monod, pastor of the Protestant church on the Avenue de la Grande Armée, and Théodore Monod, pastor of the Protestant church near the Bastille, have played considerable parts. Other pastors who have strongly declared themselves for Dreyfus are MM. Robert Hollard, of the Latin Quarter, Georges Migot, of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Charles Wagner, the well-known author and orator, Babut, Trial, Houter, and Comte. The last named is at the head of the Social Purity Movements, and is also the editor of the journal of that league, the "Relèvement Social." He was deprived of his salary by the Government for his adherence to the "League for the Rights of Men." To measure properly the part which these men have played, says a leading French journal, one needs only to note the hatred that they have attracted from their opponents; and this, too, gives a fair estimate of the importance of their intervention. Protestants number, it is true, but a few hundred thousand, as contrasted with many millions of Freethinkers and Clericals, but the Protestants of to-day, as the Huguenots of old time, stand, not only for a purer Christian faith, but also both for love of freedom and for reverent respect for law and order. Instead of the spread of the Protestant spirit, we find among most Frenchmen to day a glorification of the army as typifying national vanity, and a subservience to military tyranny. In the long run, however, the world must take cognizance of such an action as that of Madame Godard, a Protestant, who offered her home at Rennes to Madame Dreyfus, when all hotels there had been closed to the prisoner's wife. Upon French Protestants the duty is specially incumbent of revealing to France that character and courage which should make impossible the return of another Dreyfus infamy. Religious Liberty in Japan At the beginning of August the Home Department of the Japanese Government issued an edict compelling all religious sects, Christian or otherwise, to bow to the decrees of the local governors of Japan. The pronunciamento says that any person desiring to engage in the teaching of religion must forward to the local governor all particulars concerning his church, its finances, its scheme of faith, plan of extension, and personal and religious history of the applicant and other officers connected with the particular church. If it is wished to build any edifice for religious purposes, the following particulars must be answered: Why such building is necessary; date when building will be completed; name of building, where situated, and all necessary information relating to the land and building, and also the plan of the structure; the name of the religion, the method of its control and maintenance; when there is a chief preacher, his qualifications and the method of his election. If the building is not completed within the term stated by the applicant, the permit will be nullified. In case there is a change of clergymen or an increase in their number, or if any change occurs bearing on any of the tenets of the church, or, in fact, if anything is wanted, the clergymen, or those in charge, must go to the Governor for permission. Speaking of these requirements, members of the Jap anese Embassy at Washington declare that their Government has no intention of restricting foreigners in the freedom of worship, but that it wishes to be in possession of all the information possible. Mr. Nakagawa, Secretary of Legation, says that, previous to the new treaties entered into by Japan with other governments, all foreigners were subject only to the laws of their own countries, and could not be tried by Japanese courts. Churches and church property of foreigners were also subject only to the Governments to which the heads of the churches belonged. Under the new conditions, however, all church property of foreigners must be registered with the Japanese officials in the same way in which Japanese church property is registered, and the foreigners must conform to the same laws to which the Japanese in their religious work conform. Mr. Nakagawa adds that there is no intention on the part of the Japanese Government to interfere with the religious creeds and beliefs of foreigners. These foreigners in Japan can worship as freely in their own churches as in this country. They will be in no way restricted by the Japanese officials, but they will be required to conform to rules regarding legislation which, while not hampering them at all, will be beneficial in affording to them the protection of the Imperial Government. The Roman Catholic Church in South America In In Ecuador a movement has been started to restrict the clerical representatives of the Roman Catholic Church to their priestly functions, and thereby to free political life from their domination. Restrictive legislation has been achieved. During the past two years the clericals have twice vainly tried to overthrow the present Government in Ecuador, but in both cases the revolutionists were defeated by the Government forces. their turn the priests have appealed to the Vatican, and some of them have even threatened closing their churches. The report that certain prelates had recommended the separation of the Latin churches in South America from the jurisdiction of the Spanish Primate is declared by Monsignor Zubaria, Archbishop of Durango, Mexico, to rest on a misapprehension of fact. The Archbishop himself has just returned from Rome, whither he went to attend a Council of the Latin-American Archbishops, which had been convened by the Pope to consider the conditions of the Church in South America and Mexico. It is interesting to note that this was the first meeting in three centuries of Latin-American church dignitaries. It was attended by fifty-three Archbishops, each of whom presided in turn. Monsignor Zubaria says that the question of separating the Latin churches in South America and Mexico from the jurisdiction of the Spanish Primate is no question at all, for the very good reason that, though the Archbishop of Toledo still possesses the title of Patriarch of the Indies, such a title is purely honorary, and he has nothing to do with the South American or Mexican churches. Those churches belong to ecclesiastic provinces, each of which is independent of the others. Monsignor Zubaria admitted that the Roman Catholic Church in Latin America does not wield the power which it formerly had with the various governments. He believed, however, that it had not lost ground with the people. While all will While all will agree to the truth of the first statement, there will be many to doubt the truth of the second, and the Ecuador event seems to be a case in point. Mormonism A report read last week at the Methodist Utah Conference held at Salt Lake City includes some interesting statistics as to the number of converts from Mormonism, compared with the number of perverts to Mormonism. This is the first time that statistics on the subject have been gathered. Returns from twenty-eight churches of various denominations show that of their present membership seventeen and one-half per cent. are from Mormon sources, while during their history total gains from Mormonism and its apostates equal fifty-two and a half per cent. of their present enrollment. On the other hand, the instances of perversion to Mormonism from orthodox ranks have been less than a half of one per cent. of the numbers that have come from it. These statistics show a far larger proportion of converts from Mormonism than the present numerical strength of the orthodox churches would indicate. The proportion ought really to be enlarged, because many who have embraced Christianity have been compelled by loss of employment, social ostracism, and business boycotting to migrate from the State, and thus have been lost to church statistics. The proportion, however, is gratifyingly surprising; it might have been expected that when business and professional success and political preferment are enhanced by alliance with the dominant Church there would have been more additions to it. The Methodist Conference did not fail to memorialize & the House of Representatives at Washington to expel Mr. B. H. Roberts, the representative, not only of Utah, but of polygamy. Dr. De Costa's Resignation Last week the announcement was made of the resignation of the Rev. Dr. Benjamin F. De Costa, rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church of St. John the Evangelist, New York City. Because of the prominent part Dr. De Costa took regarding the ordination of Dr. Briggs, his resignation is not only of local but of general interest. However, Dr. De Costa says that the Briggs affair had nothing to do with his resignation. He asks to be relieved of the responsibilities and cares of his rectorship solely on account of his age. Six years ago Dr. De Costa resigned, but his vestry would not allow him to go; they will now probably give to him the place of Rector Emeritus of the church. He came to New York City in 1863, and, in addition to his clerical labors, assumed the editorship of the "Christian Times,” continuing in that work for several years. Later he edited the "Magazine of American History." In 1881 he became rector of the Church of St. John the Evangelist, where he has been ever since. Dr. De Costa has been a prolific writer. In addition to many sermons and religious writings, he has published a volume of poems and a novel. During the war he was Captain in the Fifth and Eighteenth Massachusetts regiments of infantry. Dr. De Costa's name seems Italian or Spanish in origin; as a matter of fact, he is a descendant of the Huguenots. Mount Hermon The new chapel, a birthday gift from friends in Great Britain and this country to Mr. Moody, is not at Northfield itself (as inadvertently stated in a paragraph in this department), but at Mount Hermon, five miles away. Because the girls' school at Northfield and the boys' school at Mount Hermon are both the product of Mr. Moody's untiring benevolence, people who know of the schools only by name often think they are one and the same. The management is entirely distinct. Mount Hermon, with the addition of the new dormitory opened last autumn, will probably be the larger school, by one hundred pupils, when it opens in September. It ranks as one of the best-equipped preparatory schools for young men in the country, and now enters upon the plan of running all the year round. Metaphysical Healing To the Editors of The Outlook: Referring to your late article on Metaphysical Healing, is it not perfectly clear, from the reading of the numerous medical bills presented, that suppression rather than regulation, so far as Christian Science is concerned, is the real and determined purpose of those who support them? If, as you claim, Christian Science healing constitutes "medical practice," why should not its duly accredited representatives enjoy the same recognition accorded the representatives of other schools? On the other hand, if Christian Science healing does not constitute "medical practice," it must be recognized as a religious exercise which is privileged and protected by the most sacred declarations of the Constitution. Prayer for the healing of the sick has always been a distinct feature of religious faith, and it has never been thought of as "medical practice" or in any way objected to until it became so definite in its purpose and so marked in its beneficent results as to be brought into competition with other means of cure which for so long a time have monopolized the business; and this matter of competition manifestly explains the anxiety and interest of the medical fraternity. When sincere Christian people assert their privilege and duty to heal "all manner of diseases" in themselves and in others, so far as their aid is solicited, as Christ healed them, and as he repeatedly commanded his followers to heal, it would seem that they are not overstepping the liberty which is guaranteed to every type of faith. In your statement that the community has the right and the duty to afford protection to little children against the neglect of their parents, it seems to be tacitly assumed that mental treatment is no treatment at all!-which is a palpable begging of the question. As conceded by the most eminent representatives of all schools of therapeutics, these schools. are not scientific but empirical, and no one need leave home to find abundant evidence not only of blundering diagnosis and experiment, but of the pitiful inade quacy of these systems at their best. On the other hand, Christian Scientists challenge investigation as to the efficiency of their method, and stand ready to give proofs that unnumbered cases of chronic disease pronounced incurable have been healed. It becomes, therefore, a very serious question as to what constitutes " neglect." Christian Scientists have reached the profoundest conviction that to ignore mental treatment and administer drugs is to be culpably neglectful of the body, as well as untrue to their best understanding of Biblical teaching. To interdict their privilege under these circumstances becomes a very serious infringement of that freedom of faith and individual liberty in which our institutions are grounded. Further, this protest and persecution comes, not from the people, but from limited classes-physicians and ministers -whose worldly interests are affected, in greater or less degree, by the rapid growth of this "new-old faith." That the doctors are especially sensitive on this point is seen in the associated efforts of all the warring factions of materia medica to secure repressive legislation in the interest of a common weal. Your final statement regarding the matter is gratifying to all lovers of freedom and fair play. In view of the unnumbered instances of wonderful cure effected, in view of the sanity and sincerity of the great body of its representatives, and in view of the emphasis it lays upon the teaching and practice of Jesus Christ and the ideal of personal purity and unselfishness which he presented to men, is it not more than manifest that Christian Science does not and cannot "endanger the health and wellbeing of the community," but will aid in that war against the sensual and the material to which all Christian and all other high-minded effort is committed? J. B. W. [See editorial page for comment on this letter.-THE EDITORS.] At a meeting of the guests of Lake Mohonk Hotel, August 21, at which Mr. Booker T. raised for the Tuskegee Normal and IndusWashington spoke, a collection of $1,750 was trial Institute, in Alabama. Notes and Queries NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS.-It is seldom possible to answer any inquiry in the next issue after its receipt. Those who find expected answers late in coming will, we hope, bear in mind the impediments arising from the constant pressure of many subjects upon our limited space. Communications should always bear the writer's name and address. 1. Does "faith," as used in the New Testament, mean the same as "to believe" or "belief," when used in reference to salvation? 2. Which is more primary in its meaning, faith or belief? If such discrimination can be made, which is exercised first in the process of conversion, faith or belief? J. P. R. 1. Yes. 2. Faith is the primary word. In faith an ethical element is always present; not always in belief. Faith, therefore, is the word to express the obedient consent of the will, which is the thing of moment in conversion or turning to God. Various beliefs may be preparatory to this act, but the act itself is an act solely of faith. In the New Testament "faith" regularly denotes trust in a person rather than belief of a proposition. Please recommend some healthy reading for a young woman who is fascinated with the Roman Catholic Church and in a most morbid religious state. P. M. S. The terms of this question are such as seemingly to preclude a helpful answer. The right sort of reading for an unknown person in a morbid state of mind is difficult to divine. For an inquirer of serious purpose in good mental condition we should heartily recommend Professor Foster's recent work, "The Fundamental Ideas of the Roman Catholic Church Explained and Discussed for Protestants and Catholics" (Presbyterian Board of Publication, Philadelphia). its extreme development. In an orthodox church, as in the present case, it cannot be complained of as not correct. Kindly inform me of the publishers of "The Law of Psychic Phenomena," by Thomas Jay Hudson. N. H. M. The A. C. McClurg Company, Chicago. I should like to inquire if there is a good short work on the miracles, designed to convince those who disbelieve in miracles. M. M. P. The most satisfactory "short" treatment of the subject that we have met is in a discourse on "Miracle and Life," in a volume entitled "New Points to Old Texts" (T. Whittaker, New York, $1.25). On" the miracles," taken severally, there is no short work that is valuable to-day. Dr. Bruce's " Miraculous Element in the Gospels ably aims to remove the difficulties of the subject, but is not a short work (Armstrong, New York). There is a young divinity student . . . who says for benediction, "Now may the peace of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost be with and abide with us forever." Is this correct? L. N. Y. It is in theological rather than Scriptural phraseology. It is derived from the socalled Athanasian Creed of the eighth century, in which Trinitarianism attained Please give me the name of (1) a book treating the New Testament as thoroughly as Canon Driver's "Introduction" treats the Old. (2) Some books especially helpful for a study of the teachings of the New Testament. R. F. C. Salmond's "Introduction to the New Testament " is designed for this. It may be advantageously supplemented by McGiffert's "Apostolic Age." This, together with Stevens's " with Stevens's "Theology of the New Testament," Smyth's "Christian Ethics" (Scribners), and Mathews's "Social Teaching of Jesus" (Macmillan), will probably be sufficient for a general view. |