selves. They only utter half their thoughts. And if they talk little, they write still less; and, when they do write, you may be sure they do not say the quarter of what they think. If they did, they would find no publisher; the publishers rarely print a book at their own risk, unless it has the 'imprimatur.' And the book that, by dint of economy, perhaps of privation, authors print at their own expense, finds no readers; it has been marked out as dangerous. Besides, they risk losing their modest salary, and what can one do without bread and without home? Only the rich can have that independence, which is denied to the poor, however industrious. But between those written lines, which scarcely mark a slight progress, how many stifled cries, how many generous thoughts!

The Liberal movement, in Italy, is modest and timid; but on the classic soil of the Renaissance, it has promises for the future. For our part, we shall certainly aid its progress, in some measure, by assuring all those of our sympathy who have already pronounced themselves. Isolation kills, -the hand stretched out fraternally sustains and encourages!

LIBERAL RELIGIOUS THOUGHT WITHIN THE

DUTCH REFORMED CHURCH.

BY PROFESSOR B. D. EERDMANS, D.D., LEIDEN.

I

WISH to make to you some communications about liberal religious thought within the Dutch Reformed Church. I especially refer to this church, not because I am a member of it, but because it was the Church of the State up to the beginning of the nineteenth century, and still is the most important church of Protestant Holland. In the beginning of the nineteenth century it lost its old position by the influence of the French Revolution, by which many things were changed in our country and equal rights were granted to the various churches.

I hope you will take some interest in Dutch religious life, for, though our country is small, and though, in these times in which the so-called Great Powers suppose that they have a right to govern the fate of mankind, it has lost the political importance it once possessed, yet I venture to say that as to liberal religious thought we are not obliged to refer to the glory of the past.

The name of Kuenen is known to many of you. A German scholar called him 'the conscience of the science of higher criticism.' His eminent learning was of influence not only in Holland but also abroad. Our Tiele still works with youthful strength in the history of religions, and we are proud of him. Our Scholten and Opzoomer were, perhaps, less known abroad, but in Holland they had no smaller reputation than Kuenen and Tiele. In dogmatics and philosophy they were leading masters. I do not make these remarks to boast of the merits of Dutch scholars, but in a meeting like this I feel obliged to mention their names with great thankfulness.

By their influence liberal Christian religion, as we know it now, has been preached from our pulpits since the middle of the nineteenth century. A great number of ministers were converted to the new ideas, and numerous pupils of the Leiden University propagated them all over the country. The new doctrine drew much attention. The churches were filled by large crowds anxious to be informed about it.

People called the new ideas Modern,' and 'Modernism' still is the name most used for the liberal religious party in Holland. The contents of the liberal religious faith may be expressed by the words: The belief in the living God, the Father of mankind, whose Spirit is living in the hearts of his children, who is to be served according to the principles of the doctrine of Jesus, our Master.

From the year 1850 to 1870 ministers did their very best in preaching against the old doctrines, and their fighting the common opinions was of great influence among the middle classes and educated people. I suppose you do not understand how it was possible to deny the truth of the common doctrines, without being expelled by the church government, as for instance happened in Scotland to your much-esteemed Professor Robertson Smith. The reason is, firstly, that the Dutch Reformed Church does not have bishops or superintendents. It is ruled by a Synod, which changes every year. But if we had possessed bishops, they would not have been able to cavil, as the Church has been on bad terms with its own Confession now for nearly three centuries. The doctrine of our Church was fixed by the National Synod at Dordrecht in 1618. It is chiefly contained in the so-called Dutch Confession in thirtyseven articles, and the Catechism.

The principle of the Confession is that there shall not be anything in it that is not conformable to the Holy Scripture. Very soon after 1618 divergent opinions were preached by ministers, who referred to the Holy Scripture as justifying them in doing so. Continued study of the Bible and the progress of science became of ever-growing influence. The only way to save the doctrine would have been to convoke a National Synod in order to expel the heretics. But at that time the Church was a State Church, and the General States of the Dutch Republic would not give permission.

So it was impossible to convoke a National Synod until 1816, when the new Kingdom of Holland was established. But then the difference of opinions was so great that the Synod did not venture to give any distinct determination of the contents of the doctrine. It obliged the ministers to agree with the principles of the Confession, without saying what these principles were. And so it has remained until to-day. So the actual position is, that everybody has to determine for himself whether he agrees with those principles, and that he has to find these in his own way.

Of course a number of orthodox people did not like such regulations. In 1834, adherents of the old Confession left the Church and founded a congregation of their own-the so-called Christian Reformed Church. In 1886 a new exodus took place under the well-known Calvinistic politician, the Rev. Dr. Kuyper. In several places they tried to take with them, in addition to their belief of the old Confession, the possessions of the parish; and it is not yet forgotten in Holland that Dr. Kuyper and his friends took crowbars and saws, and tried to open, during the night, the money-cases in the new church at Amsterdam. The judge, however, declared they should be content with the belief in the old Confession, without anything else.

In 1860 the whole Dutch Reformed Church seemed to be gained for liberal thought, and numbers of parishes called liberal ministers. In those days there was no general suffrage. The ministers were called by the vestry, which chose its own