Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-26

eyening, in regard TO the name of the
council, was then taken up, and was the
SUBJECT OF long discussion, the Doctor
holding this was an advisory and not an ex
parte council.
Rev. DR. Post of St Louis, participated
in the discussion.
Judge Walker spoke on the subject of
jurisdiction, which he deemed an essential
| question and it was, he said, of exceeding
importance that the council should decide
4 tne question Of its power. If this is an ad-
visafy council, what is the power, its limit?
We are asked TO say whether Plymouth
Church has conducted itself properly, and
whether the two churches that have called
us have conducted themselves properly to-
ward Plymouth Church. If Plymouth
Ohurch chooses TO accept the invitation, we
may proceed as an exparte council.
Mr.. Barnes said it is very proper that we
should hear the parties, and so moved that
the resolution pending be laid on the table.
IL was laid upon the table.
The bearers of the message to Mr.. Beech
ers church reported the performances of
their duty, and were followed by the COM
mlttee Of that church, who read and sub
mitted their official reply amid breathless
silence. After thanking the council for the
courtesies extended, the committee of
plymouth Church retired. In short time
the council took recess.
DIR. StOrTs, in course of his remarks,
stated that if any man should intimate that
this council was packed either that man or
the men told deliberate falsehoOd. IL
had been said that the speaker and DR..
| Buddington were animated by a spirit or
| lsastility to Beecher. This was not So
Were they jealous of Mr.. Beecher's church?
| If so, they were jealous of other
churches. Peeple had said they wished to
investigate charges against member of
Plymouth church. This matter had been
hushed up long ago and the speaker had no
| desire 10 open il again. In what they were
| doing, they were not filed with malice or
hatred against any member of any church.
| COngregatiOnalism was sounded on the word
of God and they could Interpret what were
the rules and customs of church law, and
not what they ought to be. When church
member was guilty of dereliction of duty
his reclamation shOula be sought, but if
innocent Of the charges brought against him |
his honor should be cleared and he be vim |
dicated in the eyes of the world; but if he |
be guilty, send him forth with the brand |
upon him. In the Speakers Church no |
time would be lost in laying charges before |
an Examining Committee, and if proved |
true, the parties would be expelled from |
the church. The first thing done with a |
member of Plymouth Church against |
whom charges were preferred, was
TO drop his name from the roll |
without investigation by a committee |
Under the circumstances, it seemed to war |
rant interference on the part of their |
church. One thing noticeable throughout |
these attacks Of the press on Beecher, was |
loyalty of the church to its pastor. The |
speaker honored them for it, for there were |
among that congregation many friends of |
his own of thirty years standing. But per- |
hapS il will be said that the church vindi- |
Gated its pastor. 1t would have been a |
great deal better had the pastor been vindi- |
Gated by judicial council, and then no |
shafts Of malice or aSpersions could he cast |
at him atteTward.
In the further course of his remarks, |
StOrTs said:
Look at the case itself. II is an insiS- |
niticant case. Is 1t not one of the most |
startling, tremendous cases which have Oc- |
CURED in ecclesiastical history? Here is a |
man of brilliant and popular powers, Who'll !
ly known and widely welcome in the lee |
ture room and on the political platform, |
welding large influence in the country, |
formerly editor of one of the leading relig- |
iOus newspapers of the country for seven |
teen years, a member of his church convert
ed under the ministry Of the pastor of that |
church, active and prominent and enthu- |
iastic in il, l believe once superintendent of |
its Sunday school, suddenly heeeases attend
ing, living in the city, passing every day,
never crossing its Threshold; rumOrs arise |
attributing to him allegations concerning |
the pastor of the church; he IS brought up |
before the committee of the church and |
then the church, and he himself appears in |
the assembly in what looks like anything |
but a mood of repentance or confession, but |
what seems to be a mood of defiance. and |
is as telderly sent out so far as appears to |
us, as if he had been the Israelite in whom |
there was no guile.
DR.. StOus concluded as follows: Men |
will say this kind of Congregational fellow |
ship is the strongest force on earth. 1t |
does not hinder man from preacing what |
ne likes, whether it be the Calvanism Of his |
fathers or its opposite. 1t does not hinder |
a man from inviting to his union Universe
lists, Unitarians, Quakers and Catholics; |
but when any church desires to be extri- |
Gated from it, any church which has never |
shown anything but friendship up to |
that point, the reflections thrown |
upon that church are like the pelting of ice |
pellets in a winter hail-storm. This man,
accused of an offense against the pastor, |
goes out without reflection. We, who never |
uttered an inslnuation against that pastor, |
whose lips would have been bliStered if il |
had passed them, standing to maintain |
principles which to us are vital, have refec- |
tiOns raining upon us as thick as snow |
flakes and stinging as Indian arrows. NV |
heart bleedS as | ask you to show me what |
| shall do while l think of him whom | |
loved so long. vow that if my hand were
to add Intentionally and of malice any sor-
row to that which as it journeys to the
grave, may that hand wither from my side.
At the evening session DR.. Buddington
spoke at length. In the course of his re-
marks he said: If the Church changed
its fundamental principles it should also
change its name. This independence had
been claimed as a new departure, but it
was not COngregatiOnalism, as a council
like this was not needed. A small council
might have been found more adequate.
Plymouth Church from the first held DO
sition purely Congregational. They were
forced by our fellowship to give color
to those principles which they were
opposed to, but when they were exposed to
pollution their dearest, most sacred and in
alientiable rights were taken from them.
There were two ways by which they might
relieve themselves from Plymouth Church.
They might withdraw from fellowship
with that church in an open manner, but |
did not desire to do so without counsel,an |
besides it was against their platform. An
other method was by investigationby eoun- |
ell, who should determine what |
congregatiOnalism was, He requested the |
council to give them deliverance from fel- |
lOwship, which was becoming burdensome. |
They were not under the necessity of |
walking in fellowship with church hold |
ing such belief, and if they were silent in |
the matter, they would not be able to re- |
tain their own members in the church. |
When he asked them 10 unite them |
selves with us in council, was that |
threatening them? Their definition of !
COngregatiOnalism appeared to us to shut |
them out from all communion with us, and |
our request for a mutual council was treat
ed III such manner by them as to alb
solve US from any other proceeding in the
matter.