New-York tribune., 1882-04-27
rREoLoGY Is TAUGHT At PRIycEToN

LETTER FROM TIE REv. DIR. JOIN Ml4LfI-
TO ne Fd,t0r Of Ihc Trtb "nf
SIR: The wide circulation OF TIE Tribune
among The clergy makes 10 most einHeh' la'oi
that ask, when leg that may thronsh II c',n
tbe attention of the Professors Of Theology In the
Seminary AT Princeton to oertaln asseTons they are
IN In. bsbit Of making u ,he young men, which, OF
course they honestly believe, but which they can
not possibly believeif they look at them in the
naked shane in which wish t. Introduce them INTO
this letter If these mistakes were trivial would
not trouble vou but they arc deep-laid ana long
continued and The laymen have rights III such
CASE Tf it con be shown III the compass OF tins note
that the superb Church which Princeton represents
has kent up IN it, in its most important school di
yuit,-teachiuc that positively digusts the thorght
fuI its laymen have night 10 know IT, particularly
if the mistakes are easily corrected. and could oe
thoroughly reformed without disturbing the great
body Of Presbyterian theology.
The first Is this; at IS essential to salvation 20
believe in the Three Persons in one Godhead."
Tbes, are the very words Of tie THEOLOGICAL profes
sor Hodge's Outlines, D. 1885, Now nave III"
doubt that be thinks that all right ard that in his
new edition he puts tin with no ripple OF important
ouestion: but do doubt most seriously whether he
can look at it thus publicly held up, and agree to
stand by it as the actual reality. mean that 1t
1y;l not hear his own industrious thought. And
certainly raise the question whether, in this year
NJ grace. Dr. Peabody, and Mrs. Ware ana Sl1
Isaac Newton, and John Locke, and John Milton
and Isaac Watts, even though in Their case de-
NAL Of the Trinity adds tie grave error OF imparinS
and modifying and. in great degree denying the
Dev Of Christ can bc declared to be in pcrdltlon,
without shocking the good sense Of Presbyterian
| ism. and moving appeal to the professor 10
| chance snch discrcditahle teaching. what can a
church lose more by than by ideas which the sober
instincts Of the wise make pcrpetually offensive 10
! the nravcst and most decent OF the pcOpleI
A second teaching which we have In Princeton Is
that God is substance, and that this substance
has Int one consciousness and that this one con
scious substance ia in Three Persons such that, be-
fore the first creation God relieved His eternal soil
tude by company. the Ono Person with The Other
| in His one conscious snbst incc! wonder if law
vrrs and physicians know that this Is tanght III our
ieadlI seminary really feel stirred against 1t as
| q Pa,5an urofanitV. "A though God needed com
ny ana ns thourh tie Great Spirit Of the universe
! rouH nc So the suhcct cf loneliness rs to gender
the odd thought that ono cOnsci0usnesS cOlld nave
| love and counsel and intcrcOmnunloD together
The third Is that Augistinianlsm has nine POINTS
and that they ATr derived fIOIa Augusllne hlmbGi
! C Hodge Syst. ThcOl., v IL. ?. 333 specially ne
| Sfh point, and that one OF thcs. points Is thc
| d" "pererveranre of the Saints" This stands out
| conspicnoGsly i'll the textbook of the school And
vet Augustine taught uniformly FAILING ron
|
| know these gentlemen OF Princeton 10 be
suprenolv honest. / feo ashamed even TO say
that !hoy are; as though ih''8 "ere ''i' hn''o"
TIE truth is, Princeton ought 20 correct f'"h
mistakes. waking Up to them as II man does TO a
6lunter II tho types Anq pun towa,% lmc
| That > Inan who heileves IN the DEITY OF ChNsti
but not il the trpcity OF God. must necessarily bc
lost. tnst the tIpicity of God. though lie uaH 1ii
a single consciousness helps Him TO keep company
within that, III Three Persons. IN love anc inter
course and mat the " Perseverance, Of he SAINTS ~
was taught by Augustine, " ben he taught dlstnclS
| Failing from Grace" are mistakes that sh0u1
| pass in Princeton not one year longer hold
| them up in this public manner ID the pages
| of THg TRIBUNE and beg, ss any man hat
| a right &c do, the attention OF lhe oeihl-
nary. / ain ready, If they are asked
| for and yoa VIII allow ue The TOonl, win Nh0lt
treatise Of Watts showing that lie denied the Inn
iv; with letter giving his reasons for not recall
ing his doxologles, viz. that they had gone out ol
| ns hand WITT page at CT page OF Augustine show
| Da that lie denied PeTseveraDoo with the testl-
| r,ouy Of Baxter that that doctrine was not taught
| for a millennium after Christ, and with ample con
| 61natioG of the fact III the writings OF that
| thousand years. Perhaps should add as specimen
| quotations two-cne from Watts on the Three
Persons and one from Augustine, Oh perSevsr f,
some personal characters which are some
times attributed 10 the Blessed Spirit, bv
fgurative and Eastern manner of speech
! | am persuaded scarce any reader OF the Bible
would ever have imagined that the Spirit OF God
sigmhed anything else but power of the Divine
nature the influence OF tndb power, OF Zoo iliiScll
acting by that power" Works. 4to vol W. p 6OlD
Augustine says: Sod 10 certain OF dis children
does not give tho Perseveranee. Not be
cause they fegncd righteousness, but because they
did not continue In it Works, Migno's Ed,
pp 927, 92S.
The ancient and honorable" cried Isaiah
"he is the head, and the prophet that teaches lie:
he is the tail" know Princeton, and know thai
She would vince at the uost distant approach I,
the truth of this denunciatlOh and therefore
building upon my knowledge Of the honorabl,
traits of Ily respected townspeoplc, may not fee
sure that seminary whose only rGson fctre ls I,
keep the truth viii alter its course in these thre,
PARTICULARS oi teachlngf JAo. MILLER,
| Ir tnce4On, ApTl j ., 1882