Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-01-30

=: of the amendment no speech was made,
. except by an advocate OF the resolution,
before the final vote. The material OF the
proviso. and that only, was under debate.
II seems to us incxplcable that the adj
yocaies of the proviso should have been
persistently, and IN face of repeated de
mails, represented as advocating the eX-
tension of ministerial fellowship beyond
Evangelical limits. If the power OF the
truth depended on the alleged number OF
subscribers 10 it, We should think that
much harm must he done to the interests
, of sound doctrine 10y the widespread
representation that provlso supported
by twenty-seven members of the General
Convention of Vermont, OF Il protest en-
dorsed by eleven of them signliicd a re
pudiaton of the Evangelical basis of fcl-
lowship in the pulpit And such false
representations would be the more harm
full, because made by men to whom dcllb-
crate Justification could not be imputed.
The widely circulated rumor, that there
has sprung up among the Congregational
churches Of Vermont party. even to the
number of eleven, opposed to the Evan
gelical basis of ministerial fellowship,
has no foundation except III the suspl-
cions and fears of those who have given
the rumor currency We would respect
a. |
lest the chief result of the present agita-
tion be the endorsement given by their
suspicious to the false charge of our enc
mics, enthusiastically speaking, that the
Evangelical doctrines are losing their hold !
on the Congregational churches.
Already certain of our brethren have Il ,
responsibility in this direction which they ,
may wish not to increase. And this re-
sponsibility is threcfold towards those
first, whose position has been msrepre-
sented; also towards the great body of [
| Evangelical churches. which have been
agitated hy Sroundless fears respecting an ,
alleged detection from Evangelical prin- ,
ciples i'll Vermont and still again, towards
the holders of false doctrines to whom Il
deceptive encouragement mas been given. i
Occasion for the First Pro, i>o.
The First Proviso serves simply 10 Sc ,
cure the right OF appeal from all human ,
creeds to the word of God. ,
The resolution, which was thought to ,
need this qualification. was in these words ,
''R.solred, That the General Convention of Con ;
gregaiional Ministers and Churches In Vermont. ,
while recognizing the entire absence of authority i
in the Convention over the Churches, understands =
Gates and requires the acceptance of the word of
God-whlch Is our only rule OF faith-as teaching {
our churches from the early times and sufficiently
set forth by former General Councils, notably by
| the Councils nj Boston and Ohern and that the {
reputation of any substantial part oi these doc =,
tunes (hed in common hy all evangelical churrhesl
Is considered by Us as inconsistent with continued
claim 10 dennninatoni fellowship with our minis v
| ters ami churches
This statement seemed to some obscure, .
ii not sclfcontradictory. 1t seemed par c
enthctically to affirm that the word of
God was the only rule of faith, hut i'll its 5
mann part Ia declare that the creeds cited t
contained really the final and supreme {.
criterion Of Congregational fellowship. n
The fact that the original resolution CON I
tanned no reference whatever TO the word t
of God, furnished an additional reason II
why this resolution, coming from the h
same source, should he tested on the r.
point covered by the proyiso 1t could V
not he forgotten that the author of both e
resolutions had publicly pronounced the
usual Congregational custom of asking II
candidate for ordination to make state s.
ment of his belief, bad custom AS as Il
suming that each minister is to have a a.
new system of theology See C.rOai- o
ctc of Dee. :, 1873. At the same time n
!e had been understood to maintain that "
the svnods Of Westminster, Cambridge, Y
Savoy, Saybrook, Boston and Ohorln, g,
published their statements as s'&RIdTHs Il
by which ones doctrinal soundness rs a W
preacher of the Word ought to be tested.
That there might he no uncertainty on ii
the question, whether the terms of fellow NJ
ship III the congregational ministry were le
to be sought i'll Tia. creed or i'll the Scrip IL
lures, the pruyiso Was offered. Ii was re- m
lecicd This record is clear Whether y.
ii satisfactorily expresses the Thought of IL
most ot those whose names support it. We II,
have been lel to doubt. But concerning III
an with the r,,.,l
rejection of the first proyiso ,f,S.sir Ic
proto,! against the action of body thnt cl
bears the Congregational name. m
We know of not one thing on which the a
Congregational churches from the earliest
times have more insisted than on the Ill
right OF appeal from all human creeds Z
to the word Of God. Indeed We under d,
stand that the genius Of Congregational IL
ism has treated this appeal, not merely us st
right to hc allowed, but also and even L
more, as an obligation To be insisted up e,
ON. CongreSationalism challenges every G.
teacher, both within and without its own of
communion, to trial at the bar of the di- IL
vine Word. andat the same bar itself stands III
always for trial. %,
DISTINCTION between Con.rccaiiouai- ci
i>n and the (rccd-f Oundcd Sect>. l..
Congregationalism, like all Protestant u
denominations, recognizes the Bible rs the c,
final test of Christian doctrine But Con I'll
grceationnlism has never, as some other II,
politics have done, recast the doctrines of +
Scripture in the mould of her own phil0sa- G.
phies or speculations. and m0ic the '
crsed MuS .Jorhcd Mc Stdndard from
which for purposes of ministerial fellow
ship there is no appeal. NJ
The ced-founded sects have maintain m
ed the right Of appeal to the Bible "
through the creed, and among those sects til
the full severity of our original rosolu- is
ton woulI apply titly to one who, rc- VI
manning within the BODY should even ~
with the best .icriptural warrant reicc: Il:
any part of the creed, except for the fact Il,
that assent is ly tacit agreement so quail
fled by reservations that il is practically III
of little worth as security for d"ctrinal W
purity. ~
Among us The night of appeal Ia the III
Bible not only through the creed bat d,
from IL, has always been maintained. Il
The Presbyterian church requires Of il,
!. candidate for liccnsurc Of ordination an N,
affirmative answer to these questions a: m
FIRST, "Do You believe the Scriptures of n,
the Old and New Tcstaments to be the Ii
Word Of God?" And Second, do You n,
sincerely receive and adopt the confes- ot
sion Of faith Of this church containing m
the system Of doctrine taught III the
Holy Scriptures >" Here is admitted the -,
exclusive claim Of the worlof God IN the ;r
infalliblc authority, and the right of the "
individual as an individual TO test and TO Il,
correct all creeds by reference To the Bi- -,
bic But none the less is the creed of the IN
PRESBYTERIAN church made the final test a.,
of fellowship for minister. Presby or
tcrian minister as such has no right of y,
appeal from the creed to the Bible. He ~,