The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-05-23
HOW ADAM WASCREATED
THE ASSEMBLY HEARS DRS.
WOODROW AND ADAMS.

49,
| Silent
BALTIMORE, May 22.-Ihe General As
sembly of the Southern Presbyterian church
resumed business at $3.50 O'Clock to-day.
The greeting of the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church North was re-
ceived and ordered spread on the minutes.
Rev. DR.. Smith, of the Committee on Pub
| lications, reported that department 20 be in
a prosperous condition, with large surplus
on hand. 1t recommends wider distribu-
ton of church publications by the employ
ment of colporteurs. The report was dock
eted
The case of Rev. DIR. Woodrow was re-
sumed and he spoke until IL 2:S0oclock, COM
pleting the presentation of his case.
DIR. Adams of Augusta, occupied the re-
mainder of the forenoon session and all of
| the afternoon session in an argument of the
case for the prosecution.
The church was well filled before the
gsvel of the Moderator fell, so great is the
interest manifested in the case of DR..
Woodrow. For sometime after Dr. Wood
row began to speak he was Interrupted bv
technical objections regarding the record of
| the case.
He then took up the record and explained
his views on the phenomenon of science as
not Inconsistent with the Bible.
| He had no right to say that the Scrip
| lures are contradicted by evolution. He
insisted that the control Of Go is para
mount, and to which all must submit, but
beyond that they should submit to no CON
troll. He had been charged with subordi-
| mating the Scriptures to science. That was
| moi trl1a 10 haI
a word which could bear any such CON
struction. He never had taught word
that would throw doubt upon the
headship of Adam, without regard to the
manner in which, or which, or of which
God formed his body. He quoted from his
writings regarding the elevation of the
| higher from the lower animal life. He had
never said a word about apes and monkeys,
as had so often been asserted. He believed
Adam was a miraculous creation. He held
all his beliefs to the teachings of the Holy
Scriptures, and to nothing else. So he holds
| his opinion as to the formation of Adams
body.
NATURAL HISTORY.
Upon any subject of which the Scriptures
are silent he accepts natural history as his
| guide, but only on such subjects AS q
church court, the General Assembly had
| nothing to do with his views outside Of the
teachings of the Bible. All it has to do is
to discover if his teachings conflict with
the Scriptures, and if they do not, then the
case must end. The laws of gravitation
inform us that iron in water will sink, and
| vet the Bible said in one place that ''iron
did SWIM" That instance did not make
| the law of gravtation inconsistent with
the Scripture. He then quoted the Scrip
ture as to the formation of the sun, moon
and stars, and of the four corners of the earth
| Did anyone suppose the earth to be rec
! tangular formation' 1t had been taught
that the sun and moon move around the
earth, but science had done away with that
idea, and it was no longer thought of. AS
to man, they were told that "out Of the
ground God formed every living thing"
and further on 1t says Adam shall return to
the dust whence he came. The serpent was
! condemned to eat dust.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE DUST.
Was that organic dust1 Certainly it was
inorganic matter. Was any man prepared
| to say that DR.. WOodrow'S views are antag-
onistic to the Blblel He did not think there
| could be. He quoted from Paddington
Brown and others their views of the dust Of
which man was framed, meaning the dust
from which throug h steps from one stage
| to another man came to have dominion over
all other living creatures He said he did
not believe that he would be condemned for
rejecting ideas which were held two hun
dred years ago, and which had no founda-
| ton in fact. It was once believed
that 1uuacy was controlled by the moon.
| Must he believe it now because it was be-
lieved thenf Tho assembly of Westminster
taught that the sun moves. 1t would be
unreasonable to expect that he will believe
it because Westminster taught it. 1t made
no difference whether the formation of
Adams body was mediate or immediate.
MADE A LIVING SOUL.
| He was made a living soul, and God made
a covenant with him.
The Presbytery Of Augusta could not find
a conviction against the speakers belief, for
| he had not antagonized the Bible. He had
not taught that God had performed His
works systematically. That will have to be
determined by each individual mind. He
believed, that God formed man out Of dust
of the ground and yet he was charged with
teaching contrary to the Bible and stand
ards, because he went beyond and believed
! beyond what was not contained In them or
| upon which they are silent 10 sustain the
| Synod of Georgia, would be to condemn all
who believe there may be some truth In
evolution. 1t was fact, that the church
had never failed, in deciding on science, to
decide wrong.
DIR. ADAMS REPLY.
Rev. DR.. Adams, of Augusta, the prose-
cutor, then began his argument on the
| part of the Synod of Georgia. He said it
mattered little what his motives in prose-
cutting this case were before the Presbvtery
of Augusta, as was spoken of by DIR. Wood
row yesterday They had met face to face
in the courts of the church, and never had
| DR.. Woodrow impugned the motives which
prompted his prosecution. The speaker was
of the committee to which had been referred
the complaint of heresy against DR.. Wood
row. In the committee in the presbytery
and in the synod, he had favored letting
DR.. Woodrow alone TO pursue his investga-
tions, and then to say how he believed
] Adams body was evolved. At that time
he knew little Of him, but supposed him TO
be a scientific man, who would work out
his ideas and proclaim the results. Now no
did not believe that there was an idea in
his address that was not obtained from some
one else. The Synod Of Georgia ordered
the Presbytery Of Augusta TO try him or
acquit him of heresy and error The speaker
was compelled to bring the case before the
proper court
REMOVAL NOT THE OBJECT.
The complainant had declared that the
| sole object Of the prosecutor was to remove
him from his professorship In college. That
could not have been but an indirect result.
The chair was very sore point with him.
He held the chair when the church
cried out against him. DR. Adams de-
nouuced the statement OF DIR. Woodrow