Doctrinal Instruction Important by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, Cal. · Jul 1, 1875

Doctrinal Instruction Important.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

"Young people grow up in all our churches who have no opinions of any kind concerning God, Christ, sin, salvation, the foundations of morals, the grounds of belief in a Creator, in duty or in immortality. Instead of being educated by doctrine, they are fed on sentiment. Instead of truth they get love. The consequence is that they drift easily into any church, creed or opinions which happen to attract them. They easily become either Roman Catholics or free religionists as accident determines. If they meet a Jesuit, they joyfully accept the pope. If they encounter a disciple of Huxley or Spencer, with equal contentment they reject God. And all this in the interest of liberality and toleration! But know this: that it is impossible to tolerate the opinions of others until you have some of your own. You cannot be charitable to those who differ from you unless you first differ from them. What sort of toleration does the chip, floating in the stream, exercise toward the current which sweeps it along. I have heard the story of a young lady brought up in one of our Unitarian parishes in Boston, which seems to be somewhat characteristic. She was visiting some poor Irish families to help them, and she encountered their priest. "You must not think," said she, "that I wish to convert them to my opinions." "What are your opinions?" asked the Roman Catholic. Then it appeared that she had none. But he had; so in a short time he had converted her to his views, and she has remained a Roman Catholic ever since."

The above from a recent sermon by Mr. Clarke is refreshing in these days of loose doctrine. Let us not be frightened away from a close adherence to sound doctrine by a cry of charity on the one hand or of bigotry on the other.

D. M. C.