but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the divine truth so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.

7. OF THE CHURCH

That a church of Christ is a congregation of immersed believers associated by a covenant of faith and fellowship of the Gospel, observing the ordinances of Christ; governed by His laws; and exercising the gifts,. rights and privileges invested in them by His word; that its officers of ordination are pastors, elders and deacons, whose qualifications, claims and duties are clearly defined in the Scriptures. We believe the true mission of the church is found in the great commission; first, to make individual disciples; second, to build up the church; third, to teach and instruct as He has commanded. We do not believe in the reversal of this order; we hold that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; and that the one and only superintendent is Christ, through the Holy Spirit; that it is scriptural for true churches to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel; that every church is the sole and only judge of the measure and method of its cooperation; on all matters of membership, of policy, of government, of discipline, of benevolence, the will of the local church is final.

8. OF THE ORDINANCES

That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost; to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen

Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin, and resurrection to a new life; that it is pre-requisite to the privileges of a church relation and to the Lord's Supper; in which the members of the church, by the sacred use of bread and wine are to commemorate together the dying love of Christ; preceded always by solemn selfexamination.

9. OF THE RESURRECTION AND OF THE
SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ; that He ascended to the right hand of the majesty on high; that as our high priest He is Mediator between God and man; and that He will return "in like manner" literally, personally and bodily, back to the earth.

PART OF THE OFFICIAL CREED OF A
DENOMINATIONAL COLLEGE1

We believe in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as verbally inspired by God, and inerrant in the original writings; and that there is no difference in kind in the inspiration of the books of the Bible. We reject the notion that just the thoughts and not the words of Bible writers are inspired of God, and believe that the Scriptures are of supreme and final authority in faith. and practice.

We believe in the immediate creation of man by Almighty God, rather than in his mediate creation. We therefore utterly reject the anti-Biblical and unscientific doctrine of evolution, whether it be theistic, atheistic, materialistic, or any other form whatever.

We believe that the first and second chapters of Genesis, which include the account of the making of Eve from Adam's rib, are historically correct and scientific

1 Quoted by A. Wakefield Slaten, in Academic Freedom, Fundamentalism, and the Dotted Line. Educational Review. 63: 74-7. February, 1923.

ally accurate. We reject utterly the mythical interpretation of these chapters.

We believe that Adam and Eve were the first created human beings in the entire history of the world, and that all nations, kindred and tongues had their origin in their loins.

We believe in the resurrection of the crucified body of our Lord, in His ascension into heaven, and in His present life there for us as High Priest and Advocate, and in the personal return of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, to earth.

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting conscious punishment of the lost.

THE KANSAS CITY CREED OF THE

CONGREGATIONALISTS 1

1

We believe in God the Father, infinite in wisdom, goodness and love; and in Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord and Saviour, who for us and our salvation lived and died and rose again and liveth evermore; and in the Holy Spirit, who taketh of the things of Christ and revealeth them to us, renewing, comforting and inspiring the souls of men. We are united in striving to know the will of God as taught in the Holy Scriptures, and in our purpose to walk in the ways of the Lord, made known or to be made known to us. We hold it to be the mission of the Church of Christ to proclaim the gospel to all mankind, exalting the worship of the one true God, and laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, the reign of peace and the realization of human brotherhood. Depending, as did our fathers,

1 Adopted by the National Council of the Congregational Churches at Kansas City, October 25, 1913. From Barton, Congregational Creeds and Covenants, p. 204-5. This creed is interesting in that, while it seeks to preserve a general allegiance to the Christian tradition, it further gives expression to the newer social ideals which are a vital part of the religion of many modern Christians.

upon the continued guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth, we work and pray for the transformation of the world into the kingdom of God; and we look with faith for the triumph of righteousness and the life everlasting.