The New York herald., 1873-09-29
Approaching World's Convention I'm
New York.

I The Evangelical Alliance and III
Approaching World's Convention IN
New York.
During the present week there will be
worlds convention in this city, compared
with the objects and far-reaching conse
quences of which all the contempornneou,
gatherings in Wall street may be numbered
among the feeting trihes of the passing hour
We refer TO the sixth General Conference Of
the Evangelical Alliance, which on Thursday
next, to continue for ten days, will be opened
in the hall Of the Young Mems Christian
Association. Considering the time place and
circumstances, the various races and nations
of men and the numerous religious sects that
will be represented ON this occasion, and bear
ing in mind, Notwithstanding its Protestant
limitations, the grand idea of Christian unity
which brings all these diverse elements into
this fraternal reunion, it will be widely recog-
nized as one of the most interesting and i'm
portant religious convocations Of modern
times In the page of valuable information
published in our issue of Saturday last touch
ing the history, the character and the objects
of this extraordinary assemblage it was not
inaptly designated 80 Protestant ecumenical
council"-a grand cosmopolitan conclave Of
Christian captains, q congress OF delegates
from every continent and the islands of the
sea, whose broad designs are to utilize the
united power of Christendom, to repress in
tolerance and persecution, TO spread the true
Gospel of Christ and to avoid those scandals
which have heretofore arisen, and so much
to the prejudice of the general cause, from the
dissensions and prosecutions among Christian
sects against each other.
The articles Of faith, or the dogmas which
may be called the platform of this universal
alliance, embrace the divine inspiration, au-
thority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures;
the right and duty of private judgment in
their Interpretation; the unity and trinity of
the Godhead; the utter depravity of human
nature in consequence of the fall; the incar-
nation of the Son of God; justification by
faith; the work Of the Holy Spirit; the i'm
mortality of the soul; the resurrection of the
body; the final judgment, and the divine in
stitutions Of the Christian ministry. 1t is to
be understood, however, that this is not to be
required ss creed or confession of, faith, but
as simply an indication of the class OF persons
whom it is desirable to embrace within the
Alliance. It assumes no disciplinary author
ity. 1t is o voluntary confederation Of Chris
tians and Christian sects, on the basis of unity
and harmony, for the propagation of the faith.
In brief, the fundamental rules Of this Alli-
ance, within the pale prescribed, may be ex-
pressed in the words Of distinguished Catho-
lie teacher-"In non-essentials, liberty; in
essentials, unity, and in all things, charity"
Upon this broad foundation the grand de-
sign is Christian fabric, which shall ulti-
mately cover the earth as the waters cover the
great deep. From the numbers Of delegates
to this Conference already in the city from
various churches classed as Protestant and
from Europe Asia and Africa, and from oil
parts Of our own Continent, we cannot doubt
that this will be the most imposing representa-
tive body ever assembled on this hemisphere
The five preceding general conferences of the
Alliance, in the order named, have been held
in London, Paris, Berlin, Geneva and Am
sterdam; but, under oil the favoring condi-
tions of the time, we may confidently antici-
pate from this meeting in New York the most
gratifying results in the history of the enter
prise. The American members Of the body,
in those practical currents Of thought which
in everything distinguish our progressive peo-
pie, will here for the first time have the oppor
tunity for giving shape and direction to the ap
pointed work of the Alliance, and accordingly
we expect that its labors in the cause of Chris
tianity in every form and in every land, will
be hereafter more positive and active than at
any period heretofore and more productive
of good fruit than any preceding general
conference of this evangelical league.
Under our existing financial excitements
there are croakers who will pronounce this
opinion a delusion and snare-who will
point the bewildered stranger to the confusion
of Babel in Wall street as disclosing our con-
dition for evangelical enterprises There are
doubling Thomases, we fear, who will whisper
to the Dean Of Canterbury that we will do
the best we can for the spread Of the Gospel,
but that just now we are mainly interested
in banks and bonds, and stocks and gold, and
greenbacks. The distinguished native East
Indian delegate from Bombay, the accom-
plished and polished Christian, Nanyan
Sheshadri. may be as much perplexed here
with the many divisions and subdivisions OF
our Christian sects as was in England
That learn'd Hindoo-that prince Of men,
Baboo Chesub Chunder Sen.
There are ss-grained Puritans, perhaps,
who will admonish their Christian colaborer,
the Rev. M. D. Kalopathakes, from Athens,
that we are as far from the true faith as were
the ancient Greeks when the faithful Paul
preached to them ''the unknown God;" that
we have set up the idol, and have established
in all our high places the worship OF the
Golden Calf, and that the day is still far in the
future when we may look for the descent OF