The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1876-03-22
FoR THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
LOUISVILLE, KY March l3. 1876

Dear DretDreD,--Dly apuiUgy IOT tuio Vpeu letler
to you, as the active conductors of the Southern
Presbyterian Reuie0, in reference to the article,
1.-The Pan Presbyterian Alliance" in the number
for January 1876, is the following extract from the
notice of the RevieU, in the New York Evangelist
of March 9th:
The January number Of the Southern Presby
terrain Reuieo has some vigorous articles, and one
that is both violent and significant. All the more
so as ii IS anonymous, accompanied By no erpreS
SionS of editorial dissent while the following gen
temen are announced as conductors of the quar-.
tery there follow the names These circumstances
give the Reuieo and the articles of this kind in it.
highly representative importance, quite beyond
their intrinsic merits.
Then again, after summary statement of the
argument of the article. with citations of some Of
its bitterest sentences the Evangelist adds
1.-THE appearance of such an article anonymously,
without hint of editorial dissent and with the
published list of conductors and editors already
given, has a significance iohich zoe cannot ignore
Surely 1t ought to satisfy the most ardent among US
of the futility and evil of further efforts to bring
about fraterna correspondence with the Southern
Presbyterian Church. till it is pervaded and ruled
by new spirit.
united in the association at your request, with.
out being informed Of any specific covenants as to
the responsibility of the conductors, but presumed
that the ordinary literary usage here referred to by
the Evangelist was to obtain. NothiDg but my
great unwiingness to raise issues on the subject in
the association restrained me from solemn protest
against the publication of such an anonymous arti
Gle without editorial caUedt Immediately on reading
the January number. But in view Of the extracts
cited from the Evangelist, in which it is clearly In
tmated what use is to be made of the paper BY our
opponents at the North you will see that, with my
views cannot afford to- keep silence in regard to
what | regard as the very serious mistake of the
editors, in issuing such an article in a manner
which iustifes the public in regarding it as repre-
sentative of the association.
| Ny complaint against the paper at present is not
that it assas the action taken by our Church in
regard to the Presbyterian Alliance, though the
fact that the action had already been taken should
have secured more respectful, dignifed treatment
of the sui ject especially in the grave pages of a
Quarterly. Nor is it my purpose to controvert
severally the arguments against the Alliance. In
deed, do not see that the paper adds anything
material to the argument made in the Assembly be
fore the action was taken. Aud the style of pre-.
sentiug the argument in the Assembly was far bet
ter adapted to Influence thoughtful men than the
argumentum ad invidiana, which is the chief fea-
ture of this paper, with what may be described as
its tortiter IN Uerbis leniter IN re- The point of my
objection is that this paper, published as repre-
sentative paper, wholly msrepresents the position
and spirit of our Church toward the Northern and
other Presbyterian Churches OF the world, and that
too just at a crisis, when such Misrepresentation
of our spirit must blur and becloud the special tes
timony which the Lord, in his providence, has CD
trusted to us, by interposing between our witness
for the truth and the eye of the Christian world
what will appear to them to be the clouds of preiu
dicial passion, inordnate self.concet and Pharisa-
ism. Of what avail that we soemnly declare to the
Northern and British Churches that we stand aloof
from them, not in the spirit of schsm, but to wit.
ness against what we deem their departure from
the great truths of the spirituality and indepen-
dence of Christ's Church, if, at the same time, we
hurl at them passionately such invectives as these
1.-The leading Churches with which we are invited
to ally ourselves, are tainted with Broad Church
ism, ""A generation of Christians who are now
generally dominated by truculent and infdel abo-
lilionism who eonfound with the Protestant the
DRY of constitutional republican right, the insane
Jewellers theory; the Atheistc Radcalism of the
reign of terror, and impudenty call them by the
same name n X And whose evangelical reign
is signalzed by the modern outbreak OF social and
political corruption &c. Now this is free
country, with every man entitled to his own opin.
ion and his own rhetoric but | submit that one
claiming to be par excellence the true witness
bearer, as contrasted with the unfathful witnesses
of the Alliance division of our Church, exposes
himself by such rhetoric to the suspicion that pas.
sion and prejudice renders his testimony worthless,
and, therefore, such witness bearing ought not to
90 forth as representative of the Southern PreS5y
terrain Reuie,o.
By reason OF our peculiar origin and history as
separate Church, the most delicate and difficult
problem which We have to solve, is tt at of our po
sition toward the Northern and other Presbyterian
Churches. The difficulty has been how to preserve
unmpaired, and efficiently present to the Christian
world, our testimony for the spiritual and non seq
ular character of the Church of Christ against the
errors on this subject, both Of doctrine and con.
duct, of other Presbyterian Churches, and at the
same time justify our separation to our Christian
people, yearning for visible fellowship with all who
had the same standards of faith. And the difficult
ty has been increased by the pressure upon us of
persistent efforts to absorb us, both by friends
desiring our aid in the Northern Church, and by
enemies seeking to subject us to their yoke. So
far the matter has been managed with signal wis
dom, evidently wisdom given by the Holy Ghost
In the Baltimore Conference, though it failed as to
its direct purpose, we succeeded at last in securing
position in which we stand out before the Chris
tan world justified against the mputations of pas
sion and prejudice by our enemies, and with our
peculiar testimony, no longer blurred BY the false
colorings in which our opponents had succeeded in
presenting it. We had protested from the first
against the falsehoods of Radical fanaticism, that
I'VE we're, enthusiastically neither the friend nor
the foe of slavery" but stood with the Assembly
of 1885, maintaining, simply, that slavery was tol-
Grated in the Church during all the inspired ages
We had denied that our Church separated in the
interest of secession; for the Church has no func
ton to determine political questions, but on the
contrary, because the Northern Church had exer-
cised such function. We had declared our readi.
ness for fellowship with all who hold the Presby-
terian standards, SO far self respect would per-
NIT, without setting up our shibboleth as law
And all this the Baltimore Conference gave us CD.
portunity to confirm beyond controversy against
the denials Of enemies, by proposing officially to
accept as satisfactory conditions of fraternal rea.
tions. that those who had charged US with heresy
and blasphemy should ssy these imputations we're
now, on calm review, disapproved. This struck
Radicalism dumb for the time, and Conservative
leaders at the North, with the people at large
.I..-.-:.. Jouondad HWhy pot oooo,. ~ 49,. -, |