Holding to the Old Paths

The quote below is taken from the writings of Charles Hodge, [1797-1878] who spent a considerable time labouring for the Lord at Princeton Seminary. He was the second Principal of the Seminary after the venerable Archibald Alexander. Charles Hodge so esteemed his predecessor that he named his son, Archibald Alexander Hodge, [A.A. Hodge] after him. 

In 1929 this renowned Seminary seriously departed from the old paths and forged a new way. It is a pity they didn't listen to one of their own:

I have had but one object in my professional career and as a writer, and that is to state and to vindicate the doctrines of the Reformed Church. I have never advanced a new idea, and have never aimed to improve upon the doctrines of our fathers. Having become satisfied that the system of doctrines taught in the symbols of the Reformed Church is taught in the Bible, I have endeavored to sustain it, and am willing to believe even where I cannot understand.

It is a reminder to us all that the spirit of departure is never far away, and sadly, is all too common within the professing Church of Jesus Christ. All too often there is the temptation to tone down the doctrinal, separatist position so that there may be a broadening of the appeal and an increase in numbers, accompanied with a mistaken belief that this will lead to greater relevance. 

There is no surer way to slide into irrelevance than by weakening historic, orthodox Christianity.

Update 16/1/13
Archibald Alexander was chosen in 1812 to be the first professor of the new Princeton Seminary. Speaking about the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Shorter Catechism some years later he said:
We venerate these standards, partly because they embody the wisdom of an august Synod; because they come down to us associated with the memory and faith of saints and martyrs and embalmed with their blood; but we love them most of all because they contain the truth of God - that truth which forms the foundation of our hopes. As our fathers prized them, and we prize them, so may our children and our children's children love and preserve them. Biblical Repertory and Princeton Review [1843], page 586.