The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1883-03-28
For the Central Presbyterian.
Supply of Ministers.

MeSSrS. Editors,-The question in re-
gard to the supply of ministers is not as
to what is desirable, but what is possible.
The advantages of foreign travel are so
great that l wish that every candidate
for the ministry might travel abroad for
year before taking the charge of
church. But it would not be wise TO
leave our churches vacant till our young
men could visit Rome, Athens, and Jeru-
salem.
The question is not, again, as to the
maximum but as to the minimum. We
urge all our ministers to aspire to the
greatest learning. We exhort our con-
gregations to free their pastors from Sec
ular labors so that they may give them
selves to study. But while the world is
crying for the gospel. while our fellow
men are perishing for lack of knowledge,
while our vacant and feeble churches are
dying, the only question is, What will
enable young man to be useful min.
lister?
The proposal, again, is not to lower
the standard of the ministry. God for
bid that we should leave to the future a
ministry inferior to that which we have
inherited from the past. Instead of low
ering we hope to raise our ministerial
standard We need, if possible, more
active, energetic, and efficient ministry
And learning is essential to the highest
efficiency especially among the ignorant
and the unlearned. 1t is the wish of all,
and especially 1 suppose the wish of those
who are urging reconsideration of our
mode of ministerial training, to increase
both the efficiency and the number of our
ministers.
What is our standard of ministerial
learning? What is the learning which
our ministers obtain and retain and use
daily in their ministerial work? The
question is not what branches are taught
in our theological seminaries I? but it is
harder and more practical one-what
learning our ministers actually possess
and use in their vocation? If we can
ascertain this we can then intelligently
discuss the questions as to the best mode
of imparting this knowledge to others.
Let US take an inventory of the average
qualifications of our ministers for their
work.
l. General intelligence, gained in boy
hood, youth, and age, on the farm, in the
shop, at home, by visiting, by travelling,
at school, at college, at the seminary, by
attending Presbyteries and Synods, and
by reading books, magazines and news
papers. This is very variable quantity,
for some will see and learn much, where
others will see little and learn less
Some, too, have had more advantages
than others.
2. Common sense. There is no pro-
lessor that can teach this. On these two,
minister's success largely depends.
3. Pastoral theology learned chiefly
from Gods dealings with us, our own ex
periences and observations, the word OF
God, with hints from the seminary pro-
lessor and our seniors in the ministry.
4. Systematic theology, gained from
the seminary professor and enlarged by
subsequent reading, study, and reflection
5. A knowledge Of the English Bible,
gained from various sources. The study
of the Hebrew and Greek originals in the
seminary undoubtedly contributed to it..
But the study of the Hebrew and Greek
did not do what was its object, T. e., make
us students Of the Hebrew and Greek
Scriptures Nine-tenths of our minis
tiers, it is safe to say, never open their
Hebrew Bibles except to study the texts
they take from the Old Testament; and
not one-half Of the remaining one-tenth
are capable Of forming an Independent
critical judgment of the meaning of the
original, or of going behind the interpre-
tations of Gesenius' lexicon. 1t will be
admitted that our ministry, as a rule,
does not read or study the Old Testa-
ment in the Hebrew. And the revision
has proved that they do not habitually
read their Greek Testaments. 1t is nat
ural that the unlearned should cry out
against any alteration in King James
version; it is their only treasure, their
most precious inheritance; but no regu-
lar reader of the newest and most anthem
tic text Of the Greek can Join in the
clamor, for in nearly every verse he finds
the meaning of the original more faith
fully and exactly rendered. We can
therefore only conclude that the Greek
Testament is not the peculiar treasure OF
the larger part of our ministers: that
they study not the original but the Eng
| lisb version
Now what is the shortest, quickest,
easiest, best, and cheapest way to gain
that knowledge of the English Scriptures
which our ministers possess, and which is
absolutely indispensable to minister Of
the word? is it to 90 Uio Rome, Athens,
and Jerusalem This was anciently the
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