The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1876-04-05
From the Southern Presbyterian Revisw.
THE PAN-PRESBYTERIAN ALLIANCE
CONCLUDED J

5 Another fatal objection is, that thi
Alliance will only expose our Church to ad
dtional peril, from that which is the grea
evil of the times, the spread of latitudina
riau spirit. The leading bodies with whicl
we are invited to ally ourselves are all taint
ed with Broad Chuschssm. That this charg
is true as to the Radical Presbyterian Churcl
of America, none among US can deny. Th'
fusion OF the two branches made it avowedly
a Broad Church, as was demonstrated, no
by our writers, but by the Rev. Drs. Hodge
and Van Dyke, and the Rev. Samuel Mil
Ter. As to another leading denomination
represented in the Presbyterian Alliance, i
was the fortune of the writer to hear the fol
lowing sentiments publicly uttered by one o.
its prominent ministers, and applauded tc
the echo: "We have no right to require uni
formity of doctrine or ritual within any oi
our own borders. We are bound to recog
nize all the vayiety IN our own Church, thai
we recognize an Others" That the same lit
sitpdinariaf spifit is isav5nipg the Pfesbyte'
rian Churches of Great Britain, is but toe
plain from their church journals. They nc
longer have the true ring of orthodoxy
The Presbyterian Church of France has
lately been rent into two bodies One is
Rationalstic and Socinian; the other, the
comparatively sound one, did not dare to re-
adopt the Gallican Confession, and enforce
its teachings upon all its officers, but only
adopted, in general terms, an evangelical
creed. The Broad Churchism of the ALI
ance itself is clearly disclosed by its ambig-
uous doctrinal basis. This is the "consen-
sus of the Reformed Churches" Who shall
state this consensus? Does it include the
sense in which Drs. Baman and Barnes pro-
fessed to hold the Westminster Confession ?
This is to be supposed. Again, according
to the uniform classification of church his
tory, the Congregational Churches of New
England belong to the Reformed branch Of
Protestant Christendom. Lately, the high.
est convention known to this body of Chris-
tians formally cast away their doctrinal
standards. Drs. N. Taylor and Bushnell
are probably the accepted exponents of the
larger part of the ministers. We presume
that this consensus may embrace this type
of the Reformed theology also. We repeat,
the associations into which this Alliance will
introduce US, will be found Broad Church.
Now, as long as the words of Scripture hold
true, that "evil communications corrupt good
manners" the association will inevitably be
found unwhoesome to our own Soundness In
the faith and doctrinal unity. But that
watchman upon the walls of Zion, who "has
knowledge of the times, to know what Israel
ought to do" is aware that the peril to truth
and Righteousness, from this latitudinarian
spirit, is 30 fearful, that to expose our be.
loved Church to it causelessly, is little short
of madness.
DR.. Palmer, in his unanswerable argument
at st. Louis, foreshadowed another influence
which must make this Alliance Broad
Church one. Its creed, as to doctvine and
order, mus. be the result Of Soncessione.-
Whatever is obnoxious to the convictions of
any of the constituent bodies, must be elmi-
mated from the common platform. One point
must be conceded to one party, and another
to another, until there is left, as the COM
mon doctrine taught by the Alliance, only
the most emasculated Presbyterianism.
6. But there are more grave obj jections to
this movement than those already unfolded.
1t contains the egg of monster. The prin-
ciple on which it is demanded is anti Pro-
testant and anti Presbyterian. The first
development may appear but harmless and
trivia, Indeed, the first organization is so
trivial as to be nugatory and useless but
the principle which dictates the alliance will
be sure to unfold itself with logical consiS,
tency, and the "King Log" which is now
rendered to US silly frogs by this Jupiter
Tonans of Nassau Hall, will in due time
be replaced by the liking S:Ork." DIR.
Blaike, of Scotland, may be accepted as a
good exponent of the movement. He tells
US that the need of this alliance is to supply
defect of Presbyterianism, which is an
ecumenical presbyterial court at the aper
of our constitutional system of PresbyterieS
and Synods. He declares that without such
visible centre of unity, our system is In
complete and weak that Christ evidently
did not design it to remain so; and that the
true significance Of this Alliance is, that it
| is the germ of that ecumenical court having
supreme Jurisdiction over all the churches in
the earth. Do they propose to claim such
jurisdiction for it? On no, not now. This,
says Dr. Blaikie, "would wreck the whole
scheme" But yet he is discontented with
the Evangelical Alliance, because its meet
ings have avowedly been meetings, not OF
church representatives, but of individuals as
sociated only in a private capacity" He
desires that the delegates to the Pan Pres
byterian Council shall be representatives ap.
pointed by the Assemblies of the several
Churches, either directly or through commit.
tees. He says that we are as yet "unripe,
indeed, for such council as would have au'
thoritative jurisdiction. "But the idea IL
of course not excluded" whether the
council proposed will work towards such g
result" is question which he does not de-
eide. But that it ought to work towards it
he very obviously believes and expects; since
he declares it the natural crown of an edi
fee which has never yet been brought tt
completion.
Such are the desires and theories which
underlie and prompt this alliance. They an
vOlue one of the essential elements of Popery
The cardinal doctrine of the Rsformers con
cerning the Church was, that only the spirit
ual and invisible Church could be Catholi
or Ecumenical. They taught that the onl.
unity designed by Christ among the severa
branches Of his people on this earth was tn
spiritual unity. Il was only on these prem
ises that they were able to refute the preten
sions of Popery. If the edifce sis no
brought to completion" until this visible ecu
menical bond is provided, then it is still in
complete uutil universal unity of the Who'll
visible Church, Reformed, Lutheran, an