THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 716, 15 January 1910, Page 9

THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

: 'TEE FORMULA OF' SUBSCRIPTION.;. For over four years (says the/'Weekly Scotsman") the , Church . of. Scotland•■ has had. tho power of revising, the Formula by. which its'ministors attest their adhcrenco to the Confession of Faith. Several committees have, been searching for. tho right combination of. words, but to all appearances tho.end of the quest seems no nearer-now than at the beginning. The history of this strange quest; is highly, instructive as., an object lesson in tho" slow working of ecclesiastical government. 1 In 1905y-.Clause .5 was ' passed giving-.' the Church ipower. to I'ramd: a new Formula— "The Formula,of subscription; shall bo, such as may bo prescribed by the General 1 ■Assembly;, with, tho, .consent -of the majority of the Presbyteries." The, General Assembly; of 190G accordingly: .- appointed a large comnutteo. of over 100 members to search for,a formula. 'Lord Balfour of Burleigh presided over their deliberations. ' They . brought up . two formulas to tho General .Assembly: of 1907, and ono of them was'adopted. The gist of it was this!—"l hereby, subscribe 'the Confossion-of Faith..'.!. . declaring, that I. believo the Reformed Faith therein set forth,.to. which I will adhere." Under the Barrier Act, the new Formula .was sent: down-to Presbyteries,- with tho result that by 12 to-10 the Presbyteries; rejected tho new Formula. .The committee of 100 laboured in vain.—'and the' v;ork of<a.year was rejeoted with .coritiunoly.- Tho-High Churchmen poured ridicule on tho tormi '^efofmed/Faith"—as if faith could be reformed, or the "sacred deposit" of truth altered.;■ And thofo; who., wanted" more freedom declared that the freedom, it gave was illusory, /for/ it only boffnd tho Church anew, to /tho wholo :doctrine of the Confession. • When the General Assembly., met..; in/ 1908, the. Formula: adopted in 1907., had perished.-.'■'■ So again' tho General Assembly set.. forth to hunt for a formula, a This-time it appointed a small and select committal of, 30—its foremost 'men,of light and leading—and they'pored over the problem for a year, and brought up a' new formula. l'o ; the Assembly .of 1909. "I hereby subscribo the Confession of Faith,".it runs, "declaring that-1 accept it as the Confession,of this. Church,'and that 1 believe tho fundamental;-doctrines of> the Chris-. tian : faith.contained therein.",majority, the Assembly adopted this-new formula, and again; sent;it down,to,Presbyteries, ;. but .it' looks/as if./the Presbyteries; would reject this formula'also..;At present .its'.fate-hangs :in the balance; The. fact is;;that it 1 is a matter of little': importance : what,..form /'of:/ words the Church of Scotland, may "at last chodso : to express its relation to tho Westminster' Confession.. The .thing that; really .matters.is that, tho Church; has .now/.conv-pleto-power to frame its own It. is that, whicli.. brings tho Church of Scotland into; , line- with', the I other" Churches./ ". ;«v';:-. ■:."' : •„' '■/-.; ,- : .;'-:' /■/: