New-York tribune., 1889-11-04
TWO VIEWS OF REVISION,
A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION PREVAILING
q gng EVEN AT PRINCETON.
DIR. M'cosH, OF THE COLLEGE, SPEAKS IN FAVOR
OF MODIFYING THE WESTMINSTER CUM
rEss,oN - PROFESSOR WAKEFIELD
OF THE SEMINARY. SEES NO
NEED OF A CHANCE.

NEED OF CHANGE.
Princeton, Nov. 2.--The advocates OF rcV'sion VI
Ihe Westminster Confession OF Faith were agiccaoy
surprised when at the fall meeting OF the New
Brunswick Presbytcry, the venerable eN-prcsueh' Oh
princeton College camo out squarely in favor OF tho
General Assemblys overture. Although the Presby-
,.rv by a vote of 81 TO l6, decided against disturb
ing the Standards OF the Presbyterian Church, the un
expected support Of DR. McCosh has led many OF the
liberals to hope that some Of the more conservative
prcsbyterics will also for revision at the sprnG
meetings
To Tribune correspondent who talked with him
regarding the revision of the Greed. which has as
sumed such an important position in the last rev
weeks Dr. McCosh said / not seeking to lead
In this question of revision am simply seehne W
do good by philosophy. have little influence IN inc
Presbyterian Church, and"
=" But that statement may be questioned by some OIL
your friends"
ferian Church. Put that down. I content myself
with letting my opinion be known, and the peopio
may take it for what 1t is worth"
"Do you think the Greed should be revised nowp
81 am Of the opinion that the Church should as
speedily as possible leave out few obnoxious pas
sages in the confession not at all need 70 the CONF
pletcncss of the expression of the system OF Doctrine
and put IN the very front full declaration OF Gods
love to men and free offer OF salvation. Ihls Do
ing done for the present, the Church should hold II
self ready to meet the wants of the years and ages as
they roll on.'
THE SPREAD OF PREsBYTERIAN1sM.
"How Will this affect the spread Of Presbyterian
kml"
at was my privilege some years ago bring all the
evangelical Presbyterian churches throughout the world
into an Alliance. To accomplish this crossed tho
Atlantic Ocean three or four times corresponded "'th
of individuals and with dozens OF churches.
In drawing out the constitution OF the Alliance
took pains let each church have It's own creed In
the agitation raised each church Will have to con-
s,der what Is 10 be its Confession. Meanwhile l
trust the churches will correspond with one anoher
and each hop the other. This VIII not be done 'his
year. or next but win be the work of years to come AS
the issue there will be closer union and WIDER eA-
tension Of the Presbyterian churches all over the
world.'
"What do you think OF a union OF all the cnurcneS
In Christendoml' ~
"I believe that the time has not yet come Tor
such a union, but It is coming The strength OF the
enemy Will compel it, But the time has now como for
confederation like that of the United states ii were
ten wears younger would start such consideration
Tho question has been raised repeatedly whether
or not Young men are being kept out Of the Presby-
terian Church by the hard doctrines OF Calvinsm'
On this point DR.. McCosh said at the PresDytery
Hitherto l have not favored revision OF our our
Tie question which is now being put ~ the Presoy
teran ehuhes all over the world Init IcT bee Is mos 70
danger in trying 20 Ignore Of suppress it-whSh %ouna IN
men generally, and lay arc raising the question:
and il is the plain duty OF the Chnron 10 bt dMe AZ ~
SectiSn. There are some passages In the Confession
Of Faith and in the Larger Cacchi.m of which It may
Cod and which are offensive in their expression.
Further there want OF clear ana pronhehs az she
M God shown % IL n so the 5S R the Of free and
honeSt Offer Of salvation to ali men, noneloct well
as elect For the last thirty nine years OF my lie le
are apt to open their hearts as knowing that
l. synPahize With them Most Of Of OET yogIns pS9 SHi
tSoS viii now do so, and they do 50 they L wl u
ind certain passages kno,ty, grabbed and hS1 sO 70
wfo meant 10 become ministers may be allured away
TO other professions, and tnat '1USg aSi1 TnI GnS
Themselves apRcysd Hd Sn$orea y t1Ga %a,
warranted expressions staring them IN the laco'
with profit by American educators
rRUDIrIoN AND HEREsIEs FROM GERMANY.
~I am not sure whether the present terms of sub
ecrption 10 the Standards will be sufficient In tho
distant or even I'm the near future. some OF our
younger men are saying. Nobody believes all the Coh-
fession everybody rejects some parts. may reject
what dlspleases me- At this present time we get
. more than half our erudition from Germany, but
also more than onehaf OF our. heresies our Con
sesson meets the hreses Of the seventeenth but not
lie more insdOuS Of the nineteenth century Ino
Church has now 70 see .nS, II .. ma, tbde in 1ermany
Ever since the Reformation the Church mas oeeh
amending its Confession. - =, ,,
confess that should Ike to have in the Prcsby-
torlan Church a shorter and simpler creed than the
Westminster Confess on. At the same tine our creed
be II shorter, be IT longer must contain az the
saving truths embraced In the consensus OK ule
churches. / believe that in the age on which we
have now ent.icd, the Church will have to engage N
fight for tho faith once delivered 10 the saih's.
] hold that the Presbyterian Church is quito fit for
that work. deny that the great body Of is ministers
are Arminian or haf-Arm nian. deny tat Chslles
Hodge or Alexander Hodge have departed from the
Conf ssion OF Faith. They may differ at times IN the
aspect they present and the phrases they use. but
The truths are the sanie-those of the old Pauline
theology"