New-York daily tribune., 1844-01-20
stroy their hold upon the blessings Of Gods COW

ract-Congregafionalists Bapiists Methodlsts,
there is not even faint shadow OF authority
for the assertion that | unchurch them, IN any
sense, least of all in the sense IN which you un-
church me. To make this out, you must be a1ie
to adduce facts, not lnterences. The facts 10 the
contrary lie open to the knowledge OF any man.
The mutual interchange OF ministerial services
proves that it is not So If a minister OF any one
Of these Churches desires TO enter into The minis
try among US he is not re-ordalned; should
member of one Of these Churches choose to unite
with US, in constant or only occasional COM
munion, he is not re- paptised. You cannot point
! to an individual among US who would hesitate
] to sit down at the table of our common Lord,
with accepted members of any of these Churches.
We honor them, as the possessors of the truth,
and as having the best of all amprimdturs to at
test the validity Of their ministry and ordinances,
viz: the seal of Gods spirit, which has made
each of these bodies emlnently useful in lmprov-
ing mankind. We rejoice in their successes ID
accomplishing SO glorious an object, and consder
their successes as the best Of all evidence that
God is with them, and has recognized their or
CARNATIONS as possessing the essential features
of the catholic Church. Do they send 1orth
their devoted missionaries to a foreign tled, we
never interfere with their labors, as you nave
done in reference to those you call Lutheran-Cd!-
vinists, but we bid them God speed. cherlshng
no feelings of rivalry, much less OF anlmostF,
upon the ground that they do not articuate our
| Shibboleths in our way. What son or daughter
among rs will refuse to meet plous parent OF
another Church, at the Lords table, (as is noto
riously the case among you,) upon the GROUND
that it is not the Lords table, and that those
who meet at it are not ministers or members OF
Cbrist's Church These are significant ques-
tons, simply put, and ] beg the reader to ponder
them and decide how little reason there is for
the opinion that there is not much to choose be-
| tween US, as to charity exclusiveness,' un-
churching," &c.
Such is the state Of the facts But, second,
you will reply that our practice is inconsistent
with the principles you have quoted from our
formularies. To this answer, that IN those Tor
mularies there is not word which condemns our
practice. Let the reader examine your Je!eren-
ces and decide whether they are liable TO the
charge Of exclusvencss Farther, let him turn
to Book [. Oh. |. Of the Form of Government,
and he will find distinct declaration that we
{" believe that there are truths and forms with re
spect to which men of good characters and pTln-
ciples may differ y and that :" in all these, we
think it the duty, both of private Christians and
|
clearer remuneration of exclusive claims can be
! given than this
But to leave no room for the charge of incon-
sistency with our doctrines, let me add that the
principles in regard to ministry, which are set
forth in our symbols, no where make a linked
succession Of indiuiduuls an Indispensable requl-
| site in ministerial lnveslture. 1t Is at this point
that detect the fallacy Of your retort-a lalacy
already adverted TO, and which promised to no
tce. You demand from me that should admit
an ApOStOilCat ministry. e. lone derived, IN
some way, from Christ, through the Apostles. y
do admit it, but evidently not IN yoursc for
in your sense an Apostollcal ministry embraces
the idea Of an unbroken series of indiridualS.-
Now were | disposed, think it would not be
d tiicuit to show that if there be any weight in
the claim Of such an unbrokcn series Of ordlna-
tions ICE can establish as perfect right to 1t as
you The only difference between us being this,
that we trace the series through the ministers o;
Chrlst's Church as presbyterS, and you as pre-
lateS But we lay stress upon this, first, be-
cause no stress is laid upon it in Scripture, Of
there be, you can show it, and secondly, because
we Can conceive of cases IN which it would be
the duty of Christian believers to disregard the
punctios of ecclesiastical genealogy, which re-
gard for regularity and fitness would lead good
men to observe under ordinary circumstances
Conceive, for instance, of community Of Chris
tans cast upon desert shore; they have the
word of God but no minister; shall thev con-
tnue for ever without the Offices of Christianity,
and not rather appoint one or more of their num-
Der who shall give himself wholly to the work of
trinistering Gods word and ordinances Such
a one, believe with Luther, would be as truly
presbyter as if he had been consecrated by ALT
Bishops in the world. Conceive, again, of the
possibility OF SO extensive an apostacy from sub
stantla Christianity, IN any body calling itself
Church, as to make communion with them no
longer tolerabc, is there no remedy The Eng
lish reiormcrs thought differently, and so did the
rc,ormerS of the continent and so IN their turn
did Wesley and his coadutors, and large body
OF the Purltans. In one word, the exercise of
the right of separation is to be justified or con-
demned in the first instance, by the facts which
cIuscd the separation. If unnecessary, the scpa-
ration is schiSm, and It's immediate authors are
to be held responsible; but, if necessary, the sin
OF schsm rests upon those who made it neces-
sary. The grand point is not whether the Sece-
ders in any cese carry along with them minis
Try derived from the body they are quitting, but
whether they carry Gods word with them as the
charter OF Christian rights, organize themselves IN
substantial conformity to that, and then hunbly
ask Gods blessing.
have neither time nor room to expand these
truths and apply them to the case in hand. Let
1t be sufficient to add, at present, that an 1poSt0l
ic ministry authentcatcs its title 10 the name by
the fact OF It's miniserng Apostolic truth andor-
drnanceS, and by the seal of Gods blessing upon
It's services No other title. deed can be compared
with this. Who gave the better evidence OF '.di-
vine right" to preach the Gospel and administer
its symbolic ordinances, Robert Hall or a Dean
Swift, DR.. Chalmers or a Lawrence Sterne p
A thousand thoughts crowd upon me here, but /
must suppress them.