New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-03-18
'PREsBYTERIANs TO MEET.

'PRESBYTERIANS TO MEET.
T1kMy TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED By THE
NEXT GENERAL ASSEMBLY
ARE TIE CHURCHES NoETH AED SOUTH READY
roa ORGANIC UNION IA REVISION oETHE
CONFESSION OF FAITH PROBABLE
& VIEWS OF DIS. THOMPSON. HALL,
CROSBY, VAN pYEr AND OTHERS.
!, The General Assembly Of the Presbyterian
Church In the United States OF America will meet
this year in the Fourth Avenue Presbyterian
Church. of which the Rev, DR.. Howard Crosby is
,s,s4nr. Or. Crosby Is chairman Of the Permanent
.,ommittee that has to lay out the details OF the
Assemble with him are associated Drs. John HAL,
gt.aYev r, Rosster, George Alexander and Will
lam n Roberts, the stated clerk of the Assembly,
and the Rev. Henry T. MoEwen Elders Warner
Van Nordsn, Elliott F. Shepard, Samuel lnsiee'
W. L. Skidmore and S. S. Clark.
The Assembly will convene on May ana con-
tinue in session nearly two weeks. Ii wlil DC
opened with o sermon by the Rev. Dr. Charles
L. Thompson, Of the Madison Avenue PrcSoy terian
Church. the retiring moderator ms WIN DC
followed by the election Of moderator. AlVer
the reunion of the Old School and New school
branches IN 1870, the presiding officers were
berents Of the two branches. Later geographical
considerations came into the choice-bhe ONCE
ro,nr one year to the West and the next year 10
the East This has also been found to be q use
less expedient The wire-pnlhng' which existed
for a wear or two was quickly dropped when the
Church awoke to the political methods employed
and no quiet was the canvass last year that the
succersfpl candidate did not know till few hours
hefore the choice was made that his name was to
be presented
A BUSY SESSION PROMISED
There are q number Of committees OF "orK 'nl'
s....;,t.. an subjects assigned to them by the AS
ssnhlv in Philadelphia last May. One OF the
,nset important is the Conference Oommittee
chat Is discussing the question of cooperation
,.tveen the Northern and Southern Assemblies.
TIE question of organic union Is fondly dreamed
~ hv the Northern Church and by the younger
men in the Southern Church, but the leaders IN
the Presbyterian Church South have SET tnelr
faces as flint against uniting with the Norensrn
Church The Southern Assembly decided iase May
st its meeting in Baltimore that we are unAp.e
70 discover that the obstacles TO organic UNION
heretofore existing between the Northern anu
Southern General Assemblies have 70 any con
siderable extent been removed. tney .nei 'I'.
appointed their committee to confer WIN . SIN
liar committee appointed BY the Nortnefn onuis =,
IN reference to modes of fraternai co-opcfa1oH Al
Su,r;stian work. both at home and abroad"
n. the other hand, the Northern
ussenblv resolved that: This Assembly
s axrs.sses its conviction thai the most
.mective form of cooperation can Do
seca,ed only by an organic union OF the V"o
chrrchcs. hut g for the more efectual PERFORM
80. ~ Christian work." new committee was
snnc;nted TO confer with the Southern commit1ee
) . - 6ev1s,ng such methods Of conducting gu.
>eommon work. both at home and ABROAD Us sn'ai
80, the door TO the fullest and hearteSt co-op
s.a,ions The Conference Committee met IN TINS
-. =, Ysosrnber and viii meet again next month
q, Atlanta Then they viii formulate the .resuA'
of their discussions C.n,...,on
. ,s.other committee is at work On the Confession
- Ta,th going carefully over the PROOF tex's .,
~. Tonger and Shorter CatechismS It's eApecVa
&c ,nanv changes will be made, the scrlp.u0
go heine tested by the most advanced scnohi-
LII ., the day. 1t is not probable that any ar'-
49,, ohansps win be submitted by this eommietee,
sh.,e ms an overture laid over last year tnao
40 cause much discussion and no little feenns, %
"a s,sgesss revision of the third chapter OF inc
s'nob itself. with especial reference TO secuons
q g and T. The chapter u entusa "''
F+synsI DEGREES" 1t begins thus:
God from ell eternity dd ~ tne mCs' w. 800
.or.ssi a. His own win freely snA unehansesov olaa
S%s...,e, comss 70 pass; yet 50 or thereby neither
80 ~. snsor OF sim nor violence offered TO he wiz
y ia creatures nor 10 the liberty or oontnssHSs u
second causes taken away, but rather eSSoa'N
These are the sections TO when espec'ai a''e"'
zion ia called in the overture: MI.
apv the decree Of God, Tor tia MANIFESTATIONS OF ms
come men and angels predestRated unto eVefAS"
sy nte ana others tereOrdained to everlasting oeea
%Lrhese and angels thus proaesnassu - -
ras,ned are particularly and vnehsngeaby aessnea ana
- "a. .unber s 60 certain and dente that II CANNOT %
either increased or diminished. -,
40 God hath appointed the elect unto glory, 70
, IA by the eternal and most free purpose OF HIS w
screordained all the means thefeunto. "hersoo s.s5
Who are elected being fallen In Adam, are redeemed py
nh,s ara eectuay called unto faith In Christ by MS
soirf. wording In due season, are ]usnneas easV,'
ssnetifed and kept by His power through lava INV ~
yssion. Neither any others redeemed % cnns', 90
,seav called justified, adapted sAnethed and saved
but the elect only. -
THE rest Of mankind Goa was pleased, ACCORDING
a. ths ,asaareh.Sls counsel Of His own WILL whereby he
extsndeth or wihholdeth mercy % He pleasen' 0f e
glory Of HIS sovereign power over HIS creatures p~
b. ana to orda.n them TO dshOnOr ana wrsh i0f 'ne
-. 81 the nraIse Of His glorious Justice "
Tho sabbath Question, the Education OF the
Ministry the Church magazine, the lnNestment OF
the $3.50, 900 raised for the relief OF sgea mlnin
tars and the present methods Of raising money
for the mission boards. viii be among tne s0plcss
dscnssed twenty years ago, when the Old School
Assembly, met in the Brick Church and the New
School Assembly in the Church Of the Covenant
both on Murray HILL the reunion q the assem-
bl;es was the principal theme OF discussion IN
Moth bodies Before they adjourned the reunion
was perfected SO far as 1t could be by commis-
slonsrs, and On November ] q, see, in PItts5urg,
the certificate of reunion was signed ny inc onSeIs
~ the two bodies, and " Old School and New
School were histories.
WHY DR. THOMPSON Is OPTIMISTIC!
HE SEES NO SUFFICIENT REASON FOE DIVIDED
cHuRcH-Ts FUTURE.
Arc you In favor Of organic union between the
two assemhlies1" asked a Tribune reporter OF Dr.