LTD THE EDITOR OF TRH SPE(11ATOR:1 Sin,—No one can fail
to sympathise with the spirit of " W.'8" letter in last week's Spectator. But does he not fail to see what Modernism is ? It is not a new religion, but a restate- ment of the old in terms which the modern mind can accept. What are the facts ? Catholicism, in theory a world-religion, has lost hold of a large proportion of mankind ; many of its
most devoted adherents find an increasing difficulty in recon- ciling its official teaching, in part at least, with their best knowledge and moral sense. "W." perhaps experiences no such difficulty. But will he not admit the good faith of those who do experience it ? Will he forbid those who can to help them ? Modernism is an attempt to show that these stones of stumbling are not part and parcel of the teaching of Christ;
that they arise from the confusion of its temporary form with its lasting substance; and are, consequently, no sufficient
reason for the rejection of faith. A similar attempt was made, successfully, in the Free Church of Scotland in 1892 by the passing, under the Barrier Act, of the "Declaratory Act
anent Confession of Faith." The Calvinism of the West- minster Confession was an insuperable stumbling-block to many Christians. To remove this the Act in question declared :— " That in holding and teaching the Divine Purpose of grace towards those who are saved, and the execution of that Purpose in time, this Church most earnestly proclaims as standing in the forefront of the revelation of grace, the Love of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—to sinners of mankind, manifested especially in the Father's gift of the Son to be the Saviour of the world, in the coming of the Son to offer himself in Propitiation for sin, and in the striving of the Holy Spirit with men to bring them to repentance. That this Church also holds that all who hear the Gospel are warranted and required to believe to the saving of their souls; and that in the case of such as do not believe, but perish in their sins, the issue is due to their own rejection of the Gospel call. That this Church does not teach, and does not regard the Confession as teaching, the foreordination of men to death irrespective of their own sin."
Such efforts, surely, are of the Spirit of God. Heavy is the responsibility of those who would quench it and scandalise the brethren for whom Christ died.—I am, Sir, &c., SINITIC PA/AVI7LOS.
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