It is, accordingly, of the greatest importance to the Church of God, that fallen men be regularly and extensively supplied with a legitimate Gospel ministry. This is the dictate of both reason and religion. Piety is the first qualification for ministering in holy things. No man can be lawfully admitted to membership in the Christian Church, much less to office in it, while evidently devoid of practical godliness.
Good sense is the second qualification for the ministry.
To call to the ministry a man of no talents is an incongruity not to be charged to the Head of the Church. A good theological education is the third pre-requisite in a candidate for the office of the Gospel ministry. Education itself can never be sustained as a a substitute for sense or piety. Nay, learning and talents unsanctified are a curse. But the very injury which the Church has suffered and does still suffer from absurd literature, is a powerful argument for the necessity of employing the best education in support of truth.