, 1877-02-04
THE WOMAN QUESTION.
MAY SIZE PREACH |
.TbH Frf&r{or.

'Ihf lNtF4of.
We published last week letter from our
friend, Dr.. Fiudlcy, Of Ncwarls, N. j., correct
ing our information in regard to the action Of
the Presbytery OF Newark in the case Of tue
Rev. Mr.. See. We had said that the cause OF
action was not the claim Of Il woman to fulfill
the office Of public preacher in the regular
asscmblages Of the Church. DR.. Findley says
that is just what was claimed. Mr.. See was
admonishcd because women who were licensed
or ordained preachers presented themselves In
the pulpit rs official messengers Of the Gospel,
and this fact was the ground OF Presbyterial
action. Dr.. Findley expressly states that
womans appearance iu Newark pulpit and
her public address to q congregation on the
Sabbath would not be accounted reason for no.
ticc BY Presbytcry. On the very occasion when
Mr.. See invited these lady preachers to otiiciate
for him women spoke Oh temperance from DR..
Findlcy's pulpit and DR.. Fcwsmith's without
exception from anybody.
We are glad to receive this correspondence,
and to state that with this understanding Of the
action Of the Prcsbytery OF Newark wc have no
fault to find.
We believe the instructions Of Paul to the Cor
fnthians aud to Timothy forbid the ordination Of
women as preachers Of the Gospel. We do not
regard tho prohibition Of the Apostle to be
local Or temporary. The one in the Epistle to
the Corinthians might perhaps be SO construed,
though even there one of the reasons giycl, is
the relative distinction between the sexes But
in the SECOND chapter of First Timothy, the
command IS general, relating no more to one
age or place than another, and is grounded ex-
plicitly in the fact that the man Is the divnely
constituted head OF the house.
Although it has not very much been the Gus
II IT
our Church, there is no authoritative legislation
against 1t. The General Assembly OF 1874 re-
cetyed an overture from the Presbytcry OF Rock
River, which 1t answered in the following brief
words: In response to Overture No. "a, the
Assembly expresses no opinion as to the Script
uraE yicw Of woman's right to speak md pray
In the social praycr-mcetfng, but commits the
whole subject to the discretion Of the pastors
and Elders Of the churches"
We regret TINT the Assembly did not put
self more explicitly oil record, but the action
has generally been accepted Us 4 tacit approval
Of wonan's taking part in meetings for prayer.
Dr.. Fndley refers to it as containing the ground
the trainers of this action. But It is o question
whether his course in inviting Miss Willard to
address Sunday congregation from his pulpit
falls within the lines Of that deliverance Of the
Assembly sse1 which gives pastors discretion in
It is no more contrnrention OF Pauline au-
thority for woman to speak to a thousand
people thun to hundred. To our mind the
question Is simply this: Does she claim to be an
official ambassador; Or IS she woman telling
to others tidings which have gladdencd her own
hearth
The line, therefore, which divides what a
woman may do in public address from what she
may not do is easily drawn. That Is preaching
which claims the authority Of ambassadorship.
That is preaching which is or Claims to be
official, and to be accompanied with other 1nfn-
fsterlal functions. That Is not which makes no