, 1874-05-19

Tho Judoatory for attempting too caliyaas this
quenon aomowlat at length ave e,,e'nr Deon re- O.
brotlircn, who wished to lInyo thoir vlows anb-
staut,ally in regard to tho matter. w presented
Tin. thero would leroaftor DO no nlisapprolion-
sion WITH respect to tho groand . ~ tho No., MAN,
ttonarly tho constitutional questions inyolvod.
hayo ondoayoratl to ooasidor candldly NIL tho
aspects Of tins caso TINT havo como boforo my
MUD. and trust ! haya not sufto!atl any pre-
yioua commitment to swergc my tudgmens In
anyAcssentinl rosract.
lilo following aoem TO mo tho material points
that claim special ettentlon:
First 1hayo few Sortta to say in regard to
Tho gsloral subject Of discipline In caaoa like tho
present, I mn not one Of those who denounoe
I'LL disciplinary actlou on tho part OF our J,dca-
tories aceent 2, agsa 10 S1 dS1fo os Of
lcsss osory Evangelical Church, has It's dlstino,
tive priucl;,los, which 1t must defond against
manifest alll willtul Infringement. Tue aalna Is
true of overy rormancnt organization III 'no
world
But there arc certain great ilous that ought to
govern us. especially III relation to tue exercise
Of discipline for alleged departures from tue
faisA OF the Churcl,, OF shortcomings in tho ds"
chargo Of ministerial duty :. ,,.,...,, ,,,
to loan towards tue aide Of liberty. 1t ID my
Judgment TINT all orthodox ohurelscs possessing
q Wide cccleslast!ca! power, where there Aas
been no connection with tile stato, have sur
fow attempts at discipline for alleged unsolina'
ness In tho iaith. Certainly this has been true
In tho history Of onr own Church., Why tho
division in 174l, but for tho oxetoise Of doubtful
terlan sohiem, hut for On unwiHo uso OF
| authority whun forbearanco would havo saved d
large aid useful eloment to the Church, which
wo are now en1ehvoring to recover Why, but
for like cauBo, the great Division Of 1883. which
was healed four yenra ago without any material
ooncosaionB OH either sido, except TO- ignore
previous action? In doubtful caaas It is safest
to pronounce iii favor Of ltborty.
must carry with III the uonscienoes not only OF
our own Church, but OF other Churches, nu1 Of
far-minded people Of tho world. Amy action
TINT seems to Hayor Of needless severity, eyen IT
lawful, is not expelient. unless vital interests
| arc clearly at stake. We ought 10 hnye grounds
for discipline In caAn like tho present, that
cannot bo caudldly questioned before we exer-
ciHo 1t otherwise reaction and disaster will ill.,
eyitably follow. What II Bomo errors layo been
commifted3 They should DO aucl, US are not iu-
| ctdent to ordinary human frailty. where we eau
believe that tie heart hna been right. that it may
not be said to us, Lot him ts,at ia without aa
g,aat or ko sin among yon oast the first stone o.
wisely reached by discipline, because thoy aro
ouly mistakes Of Judgment, and involve no in
senttonal wrong. It is too late In the day to
hopo for tho correction Of such OWLS by lordly
has been hypoctisy, or gross mis-
demeanor, lot 1t be clearly, unequivocaIly shown,
and then lot tho sword TO used, hut not until
then. we stand OH critical ground. Bottor TAKE
| no action for conviction, thRn to take doubtful
action, tho consequences Of which n1ay reach
| through whole generation. And II any person.
! then, Is determined to continue tho Strife lot
| tho responsibility be upon his own head. Truth
| III often better indicated by it's own power tlan
| by the sheer authority OF n baro majority.
What NOW QrH the questions ut iBHuo
PROF. sW1Sa,s ExPnEsB1oNs.
! l. Not whother Prof. Swing III altogether right
| iB his view Of prasbytorianism, aotual mud llis-
torica1. He may DO purity wrong OH tho point,
and yet hold and teach In accordance with our
! System. Our form Of government provides for
the amendment Of tho Confession, as wel as Of
othor pArts of our Bytcm which implies that
there may be q majority Of tho whole Church
! who feel that tho tino has come for revision.
while they helioyo that tho Confession as it is,
contains the systom Of doctrine Taught in tho
| Holy Scriptures. Prof. Swing may DO right or
wrong aa to the extent to Which n sush eonyin-
| to the changes tint Aave occurred on tho anD-
joct Of theological preaching, md yet DO guilty
| Of no ecclesiastcal oileuse. Prof. Swing Inns
| sail that some Of those formulas l,aye hoon
| fataliBu,, Or towards
INFANT DAn1NATloN,
| eto. It would ho more accurate, porhaps, to aay
that those statements arc not regarded by q
large portion Of tue Church as happily axprcas-
| ing tho truths OF, which they treat. For ex-
| ample, it Ia said in our Confession that elect
infants dying in infancy are sa1ed by tho blood
OF Christ-a form Of expression Which venture
to say would now be avoided by ttsreo-fourths
| lug to imply, y dark fotalis,n. by sug-
| costing tho question, What, then, OF non-elect
| infants? Oalvin'a Institutes wero published by
the Presbyterian Board Of Publication, O. s., in
| 1B41, with only the general disclaimer on the
| toF titan f1,arr NrtnI f,a
| gardod as too unqualified" And this work is
| still circulated by tho funds of our Church. In
these Institutes (Book 8, Gimp. 23 Soc. y o.
ours tho following passage: =" inquire again,
pendent Of my remcdy, should involve 80 1nally.
nations, tpitA their infant chiilren in etorua!
death, but because such was tho will Of God 7"
Then it il added: u It ia al. awful docroo, con-
Is, Sec 2D: III any Of those toho are otie,;s Of
lte Dtuine election, af1er having reco'yed tho
sign Of regeneration, depart out Of this lifo bo
foro thoy hnvo nttained years Of discretion, tho
Lord ronovates Them BY tho power OF His
| Spirit" So in other pasaagos. Such language
used in ono Of our books toutls to 1ix al inter-
| protation upon our Confession which it seenlB
| worth while to dHclaim nB not indorsed, now at
least, by olr Church. And Elay hore say TINT
it aaums to ME on tho reading Of Calvin that his
dying in infancy arc saved. though they may not
| have been baptized, lo doubts tile salvation OF
| those whoso parents were not in tho covenant.
Whether some Of the Westminster divlues n,ny
hayo held that thore arc uOn.elcct infants, I do
not know. Again, Calvin Says (Dook 3, Chap.
23 Sec. u: alt lB not at al consistent to trans
fer tho preparation lot aiuners) for obstruction
to any other tAau the secret counsel Of God !"
which il also assorted Just bofora in the context,
TINT God raised up Phnraoh, and whom Ho will
| Ho hnrdeneth. 'Whenco 1t follows that tho
cause OF hardening IL tho secret counsel Of Cod"
| And 10 in nlany other Passages. Tue language
t114 .1nf+,