The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-17


member of another Presbytery, and not even
connected with the same Synod. He presented
formal charges against Mr.. Barnes in which he
studously avoided the use of the Objectionable
word heresy, as ambiguous and calculated to
prejudice him in public opinion. In these accu-
sations Mr.. Barnes was charged with holding
that sin consists in voluntary action; that Adam,
both before and after the fall, was ignorant of
the fact that the consequences of his sin would
extend beyond natural death; that unregene-
rate men are enabled to keep the command
ments and convert themselves to God and that
faith is an act of the mind. and not principle,
and is itself imputed for righteousness. The
charges of Dr. Junkn also maintained that the
author had denied the covenant with Adam,
and the imputation of Adams sin to his pos
terity; that mankind are liable to punishment
by reason of Adams transgresson that Christ
suffered the proper penalty of the law as the
vicarious substitute of His people, and thus
legally took away their sins and purchased
pardon; the imputstion of Christs active right
eousness: and that justification was other than
simple pardon.
MIR. Barnes second Triumph
The Presbytery gave patient hearing to the
case, which resulted in the Justification of Mr.
Barnes. The Presbytery pronounced the evil
dence submitted in support of the charges to be
mere ''inferences drawn from Mr.. Barnes Lam
I guage," which were not legitimate, and which,
even if they were legitimate could not be used
to convict of heresy or dangerous error, accord
ing to decision of the Assembly of 1924. Mr.
Barnes was therefore triumphantly acquitted of
having promulgated "sny dangerous errors or
heresies, contrary to the word of God and the
standards" of the Church.
This decision was unsatisfactory to DIR. jun
| kin, and the latter appealed from the Presby-
| terry to the Synod The Presbytery refused to
give up to the Synod its record of the trial. and
| Mr.. Barnes put in plea to the jurisdiction of
| the latter body, declining to stand his trial
| before it. The Synod thereupon decided that
| the Presbytery had acted disorderly in this re-
| fusal, and merted censure. DR.. Junkin was
then given full hearing before the Synod, and
as Mr.. Barnes refused to appear and argue his
cause, he was convicted of holding fundamental
| errors, and by vote of one hundred and SIX
| teen to thirty-one, motion to refer the whole
matter to the General Assembly having been
| previously voted down, was suspended from
| the exercise of all the functions proper to the
| Gospel ministry" until such time as he should
retract his and 'give satisfactory evidence
of repentance" Mr.. Barnes acquiesced in the
suspension, abandoning his pulpit for the time
being, and gave notice of an appeal to the
General Assembly.
An effort was then made by the adversies of
Mr.. Barnes to reconstruct the Presbyteries so
that he should fall to the lot of one which
would be able to manage him. One divine de-
clared that the only true course was the extir-
| patton of the obnoxious Presbytery, "root and
branch" Others were in favor of distributing
the members of the Presbytery; but this was op-
posed on the ground that it would be "like
spreading poison" and result in the contamina-
ton of the whole Synod. Still another advo.
Gated the exclusion of the Presbytery from the
watch and care of the Synod, hoping thus effec-
tually to free it from evolves in sleeps cloth
ing" The dissolution of the Presbytery was
finally agreed upon, its members being ordered
within six months to seek admission into other
Presbyteries, failing in which they were de-
clared to be ipso facto cut off from the commu-
nion of the Presbyterian Church. The members
OF the Presbytery which it was thus attempted
to dissolve appealed to the General Assembly of
1886, which met at Pittsburg. A week was de-
voted to hearing the appeals of the Presbytery
and of Mr.. Barnes, and both were sustained
the latter by a vote of one hundred and thirty
four to ninety-six. His suspension from the
exercise of his pastoral duties was reversed by
a vote of one hundred and forty-five to seventy
eight, and he again appeared in his pulpit to
the great rejoicing of his people.
Indiscretion of the Ir.s y,G,Srious ''New schoop'
The "New School" party was exultant over
this acquittal of Mr.. Barnes effected through
the influence of the moderate party, which held
the balance of power in the General Assembly of
1885, and taking sides with neither extreme.
exerted 1t, effectively for the time being only, to
preserve the unity of the Church intact. But,
in the belief that they had secured permanent
ascendancy, the "New School" party were dis
posed to make their power felt. They therefore
assumed the aggressive, and by their zeal
brought about reaction, of which their oppo-
nents were not slow to take advantage.
The Pittsburg Synod-after the transfer of the
United Missionary Society to the American
Board-under the conviction that the Presby-
terian Church should, as body, engage in the
work of Foreign Missions, and after vain
attempt to induce the General Assembly to
initiate a policy with this object in view, had
resolved itself into missionary society, and
after the adjournment of the General Assembly
of 1885, in which their friends had a majority,
appeared to have succeeded in transferring the
society to the care of the General Assembly and
in Transforming it into Board of Missions.
But the Assembly of 1886, where the friends of
Mr. Barnes and DR.. Beecher were in the ma
jority, refused to ratify the arrangement which
had been made by tho sanction of the preceding
Assembly, and through the action of its COM
mittee.
The sOid School, Party Exaspernted.
In this way the New School" party succeeded
in Disappointing the hopes and exasperating
the feelings of the sold School by what the
latter regarded as gross violation of express
stipulations and implied obligations.