The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-01-13
TIE GREAT
THEOLOGICAL COCK FIGHT.
from the Commercial Advertiser.
Rev. DIR. Wainwright to Rev. Dr. Potts.

REV AND DEAR SIR I'm concluding my last letter to
you said that would not be either entccd or driven
IRON the position occupied when you called upon me d"
Notwithstanding your pertinacous use oil both these
modes of controversial warfare, stand there sI and
there mean to stand You shall "hod me as strictly as
you please to the proposition have thrown out wish
TO be held there But you shall not hold to assent to
your charge that this proposition was thrown out as
Defiance" that yours is the attitude of seltdcence
against unprovoked assault have denied this before
Il deny it agan-if repeated shall henceorth deny it
as Islander. uttered no defiance" attempted no
ecclesiastical prescription" "unchurced" no denomi-
nation OF Christians. God forbid that any OF those
who symbolic with in religious belief, should be
guilty of such arrogance toward their fellow men or
what is dreadful such bold assumption OF the sole
prerogatve of God The Church His, and he has consti
uted it according His will Those who do not cen
form its acquisitions unchurch themselves Instead OF
all this stale defamation often repeatedly excite popu-
lar preudice-so often answered-PRoyE from Scripture
and ancient authors that Bishops not essential to the
constitution OF the Christian Church. and then your work
will be done, and eecually done But until you have
accomplished this all the charges in which you so ber-
ally indulge about excusveness, uHchartabeness mon
opoy privileges, unchurching &c are utterly irrelc-
want, and only calculated will not say desgned) TO
divertlthe public mind from tibet rue issue
Enough OF this however Let me recall you once more
your position In your letter Of December 27th
you say ii will hold myself ready Should you adm.
that the reporter OF speech has not done you i'm
justice at least in this particularly to prove that this
position wiz there cannot be Church. SCI Is pregnant
with nnumerabe evil consequences, social and civil
and that it is unscrpurai ucharitabe, schismatca and
d,itrepubcan III its character admit the correctness
of the report is then joined and what you have
undertaken to prove set forth in distinct and emphatic
terms. You certainly will not that you did not under
stand what you undertook to prove that
you at no loss to my real meaning You have
then laid your work out for yourself Begin to execute
it, if that is your pleasure My part of the work shall
manage in my own way and when come to use terms
will leave you at no loss as to their meaning
Asto the two little pieces of history" to which yol
alludc the first in the modern department. is really too
small matter to make it worth my while to show how
utterly disngenuous your representation is As to the
piece ofancient history containing the alusion to the
Wadenses, and to Bishop Stllingeet if you indeed
ignorant you appear to be on these points and have
implicitly followed Dr. Mason and Dr. Miller without
taking pains to acquant yourself with the unanswered
and unanswerable counter statements OF Bishop Hobart
and Dr. Bowden will in due time, when the questions
up in their proper place. endeavor to throw some
light upon them Tor your benefit.
My wish now is simply to let the public Know through
my letter to you, as you avow that popular effect is
your ob CT that to you they indebted for this unor
tunae and may add unworthy exhibition of two clergy
conening in the public newspapers about qucs.
ton which has been discussed and again. and
to the abest popular arguments upon both sides OF
which is very easy by reason of the republication in
cheap forms OF 'lillers Letters" &c, Bowdens Let
tes in reply and Hobarts Apology for Apostolic order
and its advocates" assert that to YOU and to you alone
is owing that both placed in this, which will
cheeruly acknowledge to be unenviable positions;
that to you it owing that both subjected to the
rbad remarks of centious tongues and pens. and the
sober disapprobation OF large portion OF the secular
press; that to you it owing that friends
and large portion OF the pious and sober minded oil
all denominations feel deep regret and modification
| My course was inevitable. You challenged me to con
troversy upon the credit OF common newspaper report
you took private and friendly to ascertain ti
accuracy when the circumstances oil the case were ald
before you you refused to be convinced and you still
| fuse. Your character and standing in the community
respectable that should have been traitor t.
my own il had shrunk even in thought from your def
| ance. have met it, and stand ready to abide all it
consequences. You yield the point we have thus Ia
conended for ungraciously, as cannot help thinking
| but you yield it, You say you will commence" am
thus with the affirmative, have assumed the responsibility
1 Of the aggressor and the defer. Proceed.
beg you proceed to the proof. And take the II
berty to beg you also to proceed upon the purely scpt
rand historical merts Of the question, and in Christian
sp5it avoiding (asl for part by Gods help intend 4
de- all personalities all injurious epthets ard all appeal
to mere prejudice and passion Injurious epthets decid
nothing for if my doctrine should be Gods truth wha
they avail Appeals to mere prejudice and passion
decide nothing they cannot put my doctrine in tn
wrong, any than the universal clanor Of all Ephesu
put st Pauls doctrine in the wrong. My views Of Chr
tian TRUTH yon bound to believe sincerely
conscientiously held as your own And wherever the
are ercisive" as toward yourself or Others asset
(what certainly you have right to deny) that the
are held in my feelings as cHARIrABLY yours ca
be- where the latter exclusive toward various 0tht
highly respectable bodies of protesting Christians hay
the honor to be, Rev. and dear sir respectfully yours
| JONA. M. WAINWRIGHT.
| Friday, Jan. 18th.