Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-05-13
THE SEMINARY.


Graduating Essays Last Evenine'
Last evening the graduating exercises
of the Reformed theological seminary ter
minated by the delivery Of theses In the
chapel of the college. Despite the very
warm weather there was good audience
present, and the pulpit desk, reading desk
and altar were handsomely adorned with
flowers, superb cross upon the latter be-
ing of especial note, and the inscription,
/" Holiness to the Lord" in letters of
green, upon the wall Of the pulpit re-
cess facing the audience.
The customary ritual being conducted
by the president Of the seminary, Rev. E.
V. Gerhart, d. D., the choir connected
with st. .Stephen's( (college) chapel sang the
Te Deum Laudamus, and the first thesis
of the evening was read by Mr.. Newton
J. Miller, Of Allentown, whose subject was
Christian Morality" The speaker COM
batted the efficacy of the sO-called moral
ity of the world as a means of redemption.
Humanitarianism and all the other isms
incompetent to perform good works be-
cause they rest upon the foundation of
self. The principle of good works is faith,
and morality is a component of faith. A
requisite of good works is that they shall
conform to the law Of God, and love is the
realization of that law. That, then, is only
true Christian morality which depends on
love to God and love to man. The speak
er drew a. line marking the diff
ference between tho code Of the Roman
church, where the performance Of good
works is made to rest upon the command
of the hierarchy and is an act OfObedience
to the priesthood, and that of the Protest
ant faith, as outlined in the foregoing
scheme, and took the ground that
next to the LogOs stands personal exam
pie guiding men to eternal life.
The second thesis was read by MIR. G..
H. Herbst, of Cole5rookdale, whose sub
ject was "The Importance of Hebrew for
the Christian Ministry" lie took the
ground that the clergyman ought to have
q thorough familiarity with tho original
text of the sacred volume, and be no
longer dependent upon the laity for trans
latiOns. TO that end therefore tho student
of theology should mako this language
among the most earnest Of his re-
searches, and no longer plead weak eyes
as an excuse fOr not including it in
COURSE After pointing ont the dis
tinctive difference existing between the
Greek tongue and the Hebrew, the for
mer of which is i member Of the Aryan
family and the latter of the Semitic, the
speaker fclicitOusly described the beauty Ol
the Hebrew, with its grand and sympa-
thetic expression, its stately tread rs in.
stanccd in that noble poem Of the Book
Of job. and its power to mirror the very
sOnl and feeling Of the inspired writer
The speaker illustrated tho liability of the
minister to make mistakes by reason OF
his lack Of acquaintance with tho Original
text OF the Holy Book on account Of the
uncertainty of translated versions, and the
minister of God may, at no distant day,
need tho arlnor of the Hebrew to maintain
the integrity Of the Divine origin of the
Bible.
The subject of the thesis Of Mr.. Edgar
S. IIassler, of Mercersburg, was g The
Apostolate At the outset the speaker
presented historical sketch recountins
the selection and calling by our Lord O
His apostles. They were of Divine com
mission and sent into this world to pro
claim the gospel of Christ. On the day OF
Pentecost they entered upon the full wOri
Of their apostleship, having received power
from on high through the means Of th'
Holy Ghost. After describing thei
manner of work tho speaker sait
that while history upon this point
is somewhat clouded it is probabl,
that all Of the apostles of the early chUrcl
suffered martyrdom with the exception oi
st John. The various phases OF char
actcr exhibited in C:lrist's apostles al.
manifested in st. Paul, who stands
forth rs the representative OF faith
st. Peter of hope, and st. John Of love
The power delegated to His apostles by
our Divine Master continues in its genera
character to day in the ministry of thu
church. Ministers of tho gospel, like tn,
early apostles, are of Divine appointment
Theirs is no chance or hap-hazard enter
prise, but their holy mission is to 60 int
the world to convert and to save !; and il
this arduOus work they have the comfort
ing assurance Of the Saviour's blesset
promise, "Lo, ! am with you always,
even to the end Of the world"
The concluding thesis 10y Mr.. Edwin A
Gernant, Leesport, Pa, was upon ''Tht
Office OF the Keys" Since the holy cath
Olic church is the mystical body of Christ
the mission of the Reform ell church is the
performance Of the Office of the keys whose
functions are described in the answer t.
the SD question of the catechism tt
which the kingdom of heaven i.
against unbelievers. To tho holy
ministry is committed the preaching of tllt
the gospel, theirs is the Divinely appointed
means of grace. The most unchurchly
sects manifest an inner consciousness Ol
this and are exacting in their performance
Of certain Offices which they do not pro-
claim, no: concerning which do they have
the formulated dogmas OF scholarly theO
losiins. The argument of this orator
was to show the universal power of the
church, and hc ani,na,lvcrted upon the
readiness Of some of it, ministers
to employ the keys to unlock the gates of
hell for the entrance of the sinners whilst
they fail to make use of them to open the
gates of heaven to admit the redeemer.
This is the gospel of wrath and not the
gospel of love, the gospel of their Divine
commission. In support of his argument
the young gentleman quoted the promise
of the Master t. His apostles, I" Whatsoever
thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in
heaven, and whatever thou shalt loose on
earth shall bc loosed in heaven"
The number of the graduating class was
eleven, of whom, however, only the
above four read their theses, the others
handing theirs to the faculty. All were
scholarly and able productions, giving ev-
idence Of deep though: in their prepara-
tiOn and Of familiarity with church doc
trim. Only the baresS outline of the pa
pers read last evening have been given,
owing TO existing pressure upon our space.
The complete list of the graduates, with
the subject of their theses, is as follows
Alber: A. Black. Huntingdon, Pa, "The
Perpetuity of the Church an Evidence of