The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-09-21
The Approaching Conference Of the
Evangelical Alliance.

]Ao oAo uay aPPIoacueS interest," centres Hofo
and more in the grand Christian council
which is so soon to be held in this city. Each
successive steamer which arrives from Europe
brings another batch of delegates our own
divines are making all needed preparations,
and we are not allowed to doubt that, when
the I'd of October comes round, New York will
have within its bounds an array of ecclesiasti-
| cal talent such as has not been witnessed in
any city since the birth of the present CEN
fury. We are not forgetful of the late Coun-
| Gil of the Vatican when we make this asser-
ton. It is not to Ibe denied that in pomp
and splendor and all that belongs to historic
dignity this forthcoming conference will fall
behind the late Council of the Vatican, but,
from the nature of the case it is reasonable to
presume that this Evangelical Alliance Con-
ference will bring to New York larger num-
| Der Of ecclesiastics than the late Gcumenical
Council brought TO Rome. The sessions of the
Vatican Council were held in secret None
but delegates or persons privileged by the
Church authorities were allowed to be present.
At this forthcoming conference it will be diff
ferent. At all the meetings to be held between
the I'd and the 18th of October the doors will
be open to the public. The discussions, in fact,
will be held in public, and we may
bring together ecclesiastics from all sections
OF the Continent and that the audiences, from
first to last, with the exception of the promised
evening meetings, will in the main be clerical.
| From all we can gather we are satisfied that
nothing will be left undone to make this the
grandest council which has ever been held in
the name and in the interests Of the Protes-
tant world.
1t is now many months since we first called
public attention to this conference. In the
interval we have frequently alluded to it,
and it is only few weeks since in an exhaus-
tive article we gave history of the association,
as we'll as o sketch of the programme to be
followed at the approaching meeting. For
the benefit of our readers we are not unwill-
ing to repeat some of the statements which
have already been made. Let us explain, first
of all, what is this Evangelical Alliance. 1t is
fact not generally known that the associa-
ton which has now assumed such gigantic
proportions really dates its origin from the
Bicentenary Commemoration of the West
minister Assembly, held at Edinburgh, Scot
land, on the 18th and 18th of july
1S43 A volume Of essays on Christian
union was the immediate result of that meet
ing-a result brought about mainly through
the iberality Of rich Glasgow merchant
whose name is now widely known throughout
the Churches-the late John Henderson, ESQ.,,
of Park. The essays did much to difflse the
feeling that the Protestant world was pain
fully and even shamefully divided. There was
surely some common platform on which the
various Protestant sects could meet, confer
and make arrangements to actagainst what they
believed to be common enemies. Preliminary
meetings were held in Glasgow, Edinburgh
and Liverpool, and finally the Evangelical
Alliance formally organized in London
in 1916. At this first London meeting six
different divisions were agreed upon, as fol-
lows:-First Great Britain and Ireland
second, the United States; third Franco,
Belgium, South Germany and portion of
Switzerland; fourth, North Germany and a
portion of Switzerland fifth, British North
America, and sixth, the West Indies. Branch
associations now exist not only in all the
places just mentioned but in Sweden, in Tur-
key, in Africa, in Australia and in New Zea-
land. Successive meetings have been held in
Paris in 1855, at Berlin, 1857; at Geneva,
1860, and in Amsterdam, 1867 The New
York meeting will rank as the sixth General
Conference of the Evangelical Alliance The
creed of the Alliance may be briefly stated as
follows:-The Divine inspiration, authority
and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures the
right and duty Of private judgment in the in
depreciation of the Holy Scriptures the unity
of the Godhead and the trinity of the persons
therein the utter depravity of human nature
in consequence of the fall; the incarnation of
the Son of God His work of atonement for
sinners of mankind and His mediatorial
intercession and reign the justification of
the sinner by faith alone the work of the
Holy Spirit in conversion and sanctifcation
the immortality of the soul the resurrection
of the body; the judgment of the world by
our Lord Jesus Christ, with the eternal
blessedness of the righteous and the eternal
punishment of the wicked the Divine insti-
tuition of the Christian ministry and the obi
cation and perpetuity of the ordinances of
baptism and the Lords supper. Such, in
brief, is the creed of the Alliance, although it
is distinctly declared that this does not in
volve an assumption Of the right to define the
limits of Christian belief, and is to be re-
garded only as an indication of the class of
persons whom it is desirable to embrace
within the Alliance 1t will thus be
seen that the Evangelical Alliance
clings to the side Of orthodoxy, is somewhat
exclusive in its character and does not by any
means cover the whole of the so-called Protes-
tant world Mr.. Beecher can belong to it,
but Mr.. Freeman Clarke cannot.
What are the aims and objects Of this Evan