TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SrEorrroze."1 Sin,—As your first correspondent
on this subject, perhaps you will allow me to say a few words in answer to Mr. Athelstan Riley's letter in your issue of May 20th. Being attacked, he- defends himself, and that is fair enough, but when he com- plains of hard words, such as "ignorant," " unenlightened," "obscurantist," used by his several opponents, he might recall the at least equally opprobrious terms used by his own side. At a recent Archidiaconal Conference advocates of revision were denounced as "latitudinarians," "loose Churchmen," "wanton would-be despoilers of a sacred fane," &c. Mutual recrimina- tions of this kind do not advance the argument. What I should like to do is to appeal to men like Mr. Athelstan Riley to consider whether it is not possible, without surrendering one iota of principle, to do something to meet the wishes of other Churchmen. Granted that to the majority of com- municants no alteration of any kind in the Prayer-book seems necessary, cannot they of their charity believe that there are some equally earnest Churchmen who feel otherwise, and who strongly hold that what troubles their own consciences will, as time goes on and knowledge advances, increasingly trouble the consciences of others, and even altogether exclude from the Church many good men whom we should all wish to have in. eluded ? Does Mr. Athelstan Riley really-wish his Church to be- Come more and more select and' exclusiee, till at last.with its unaltered and unalterable formularies, it becomes an insignifi- cant fraction of the nation P If he has faith in the benefits of Church membership and the efficacy of the Sacraments he can hardly wish to exclude men whom a few concessions would render whole-hearted Church workers. Now what loss to his side would these concessions involve P Would Mr. Athelstan Riley and his friends be deprived of any one item in the Church service which ministered to their soul's comfort P Would it really hurt their consciences to cease on Christmas and Easter day categorically to condemn to everlasting :damnation all who do not hold every jot and tittle of the Athanasian Creed P Could they not possibly bear to omit saying (or singing) of their enemy, "Let him fall from one wickedness to another "; "Let his children be vagabonds and beg their bread " P Would an 'amendment of the Sunday Lectionary (some forty years old only) offend them ? Do they in their heart of hearts wish for ever to exclude from the ministry every candidate, however otherwise eligible, who cannot bring himself solemnly to affirm that he " unfeignedly believes all the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments " P
If the answer to these queries is " Yes," then at any rate we know where we are, but if, as I surely hope, it is " No," then why, in the name of common charity, refuse the small measure of relief that is pleaded for P—I am, Sir, &c., A LIT REPRESENTATIVE.
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