Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1869-02-19
Baptist MINISTERIAL Institute.

FIRST DAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1863.
The Baptist ministers, some thirty in number
and lay delegates Of the State of Vermont, met
in the Baptist church in this city and organized
the Vermont Baptist Ministerial Institute, with
the following officers Chairman, Rev. C. A.
Thomas, ID, Brandon; Secretary, Rev. c. IIib-
bard, Chester. Committee of arrangement, Rev
H. D. Hodge, johnson, Rev. A. Norcross, Al
bany, Rev W y. Wilbur. Saxtons River, Rev.
5 F. Brown, Cayendish; Conductor Of the In
stitute and Lecturer, Rev. 4. Hoyey, b D.
After devotional exercises, DR.. Hovey proceeded
to lecture upon The DiriHe -futhoriiy and In
spiration Of the .Ner Testament Writings. He
maintained that their inspiration is shown by
the following considerations
/. They are worthy Of full confidence as his
torical records.
. They prove the inflllibility Of Jesus Christ
g. They prove Him 70 have promised the in
spira;ion Of the Spirit Of His Apostles, by whom
most Of the New Testament WAS written
t. Christ and His Apostles endorsed the Old
Testament Scriptures truth from God.
5. The inspiration Of the Apostles and Pruph-
cts was different in kini from that Of Christians
generally. 1t made them infallible teachers Of
truth
6. No valid objections have yet been urgei
against this view Of the Scriptures.
In the evening at 5 O'Clock, Prof Hoyey de-
lyerel lecture On the consciousness Of the ht-
man spirit ia The tqtcrnefiaie sfate,'' which
awakened general interest and called out a free
discussion, which closed the FIRST days exercises.
SECOND DAY,
The morning session was opened at Q O'Clock.
with Prayer by Rev J. Freeman, D D.
Rev. j. Goadby, D. D, delivered lecture on
Church Gorernmeat
The lecturer stated that there are four ways
by which membership in a Christian Church may
be terminated l. By death; > by exclusion I; 8.
by dismission by letter to join some other
church t. withdrawal which was claimed to
be the right Of any member in good standing.
This point was controverted, and gave rise to I
a prolonged discussion, the general tenor of
which was adverse to the position assumed in the .
lecture.
The sense Of the Institute on this subject, judi
ging from the prevalent tone of remark. would .
be fully expressed by a paragraph or two in 4
Prof. II. J. Ripleys work on Church Polity. On .
the " termination Of membership he says, page .
so. - From the nature Of the case, membership .
in a church, originating in obligation to Christ,
designed TO aid directly in a persons becoming
prepared for Heaven. and TO perpetuate the Sa-
viour's arrangements for the spiritual welfare of
mankind, is Of a permanent character. 1t is pro-
perly terminated only by death, or by exclusion
on the part of church for iustifable reasons. -
:" The voluntary removal of a member from
one church to another, may also be called a ter
minating of his connection with the former
church but this is only transfer of his con-
nection from one church to another. In point Of
theory, the connection with church is not dis
solved since he retains his connection with the
former till he has become united 10 the latter"
A right to withdraw from an organized body
cannot be Funded upon the fact that the body is
a voluntary association because man can vo-
UNFAIRLY enter into relations and connections
upon terms which he cannot at will disregard
He may assume perpetual obligations, such as he
cannot disown and in cases of mutual obliga-
tons, such as he cannot disown, except the fault
of the other party make them void. If this were
not 50, the existence of the church, considered as
a voluntary society, would be at the mercy of
human caprice.
AFTERNOON.
The lecture by DR.. Hovey, was on the subject
of Probation after Death.
viii the probation of any after death be con-
tinued in the intermediate state Are any or all
men on probation after death and until the final
jud gment? The affirmative views of Romanists
and of several modern authors, were passed
4 ! Ill Al.
adduced by them were examined critically and
and shown to be incapable of
sustaining the positions which they are relied
upon to establish.
A thorough examination of the whole subject
led to the conclusion that the probation of every
person ceases at death. 'The assumption that |
any who have not repented of sin in the present
life, will be likely TO do so in the intermediate
state, is purely gratuitous. Neither human
reason nor the word of God gives it a shadow of
Ia the discussion that followed, "a the state of
the righteous after death, was the subject most
fully developed In the opinion of DR.. Hovey
the righteous dead are in Paradise" Sin '
Abraham's bosom, 90 with Christ - terms ex- 7
pressing a state of conscious well-being and if
10 to be with Christ " is 10 be in Heaven as a
locality, then they are not as fully conscious of
It's attractions and its adaptations to afford the
purest, highest, deepest enjoyments, as they will
be after the resurrection unites the spirit to its
ylorifed body. There must now be some inca
oacities that will then be restored and without ?
which they cannot attain to the happiness in re- {
erve for them. Heaven has glories which they
,annot realize, except by the senses which the t
,lori6ed body will supply, in that supreme h
hour when it rehabilitates the spirit. The hap P
,iness of departed saints is now complete, in the
ense that nothing is wanting which their ca P
,acities can demand; and in that sense it will Il
4ways be complete, as Heaven will ALWAYS be
dequate to the increased capacities ACQUIRED by e
he resurrection Of their bodies v
Prof Hoyey next proceeded to speak at length
Ipon the inspiration of the Old Testament n
scriptures; his main proposition being, that
'hrist and His Apostles endorsed the Old Tesla
nent Scriptures as truth from God.'' Al
The morning lecture by Dr. Goadby was tax. Il
n up for further discussion, and occupied the
inc until five O'Clock. when the Institute ad- c
'urned until half-past seven O'Clock N
The following ministers are present L. Ira
y, Bethel; C. A. Thomas, D. D., Brandon IL
Goadby, D. D., Poultney; W. H. Rugg,
H. D. Grose. Hydeville; s. K. DeI-
II, Bennington; NJ. A. Wilcox, Burlington; Z. III
fills. Rutland; NJ Hibbard, Chester; T. A. &C
Cavendish; A. Norcross, Albany; hc