New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-01-29
DIVISION, NOT REVISION.
TUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH DECLARED
TO BE NO LONGER UNIT.

CITIES THE RESULT OF THE DISCUSSION
OVER THE coNFEssIoN-HIs REASONS
FOR DESIRING NEW CREED
DR. PAXTON MAKES HIS
SECOND SPEECH
r,. debate in the Presbytery yesterday brought out
- teature in the Confession controversy. Up to
go, ,r,e il had been asserted again and again by the
. u' .ryatives that the General Assemby's overture
ia ~ A revision OF the Confession of Faith were
,d Was in danger OF dividing the Presby terian
S,r,rch especially the proposed new
c"n~a were pushed This prophecy has
s.n rIdculed by the advocates OF re
- &C well as by the new Greed men, But
'..,erdav Dr. Marvin r. Vincent one Of the most
's,.r,v ministers on the General Assembly's roll
.rv wears a successful pastor in this city,
-, known as preacher and an author. the
49, ~ Dr. Philip Schaff in the Greek professorship
- ,hs Union Theological Seminary, in his speech
listing revision and a new Creed announced ii as his
.o,smn conviction that the division feared by some
had already come.
. q, M, recognized that division is already fact
The Presbyterian Church in these last months has
,r.versed a space which separates her forever from
what she was before the last General
Assembly Not that the differences
., opinion did not exist then as now, but these
Ionger united Church before the world. We are con-
fessedly disagreed to articles of faith"
THE REV Mr.. LAMPE DEFENDS THE OLD CREED
six speeches added yesterday to the forty
one previously delivered of these three each
side. The church and galleries were filed, usual
scores of ladies being present The first speaker
the Rev. J. J. Lampe the pastor of Christ Church
He came out Quarey in defence Of the old standards
and backed his opinion that the Confession should
hv amiD Cian
fessor Henry B. Smith. is it not little singular"
he asked THAT what this Christian, catholic, broad
hrained philosophic and Biblical scholar believed and
taught less than twenty years ago has all at once
become so obnoxious and hurtiul to the Christian
re,cion that it must be changed as
sneedlv as possiblei" Mr. Lampe contended that the
attack which have been made on the Confession,
charging IL with containing horrible doctrines, was
,xtremely unjust and had been immensely overdone
And II is lust this" he added, (which raises sus
nicion In my mind, as know it does in the minds OF
others, that this movement means something more
than merely few non-essental changes in the state
ment OF the old doctrines" The speaker then took
I'D in detail many of the arguments made against the
confession by various speakers during the debate and
answered them from a conservative point Of view,
saying in part;
should assent to DR.. Croshy's argument If our Con-
fession a supraapsaran instrument Goa does no..
PASS by good people TO be damned ana
the Confession does not state. BY common cohseh'
since the Greed was formed it has been regarded as an
inaspsaran document Smith, Shedd, Briggs both the
Hodges the Confession itself g. s. g. states this truth
Why read into thee The decree of election
and reprobaon placed b. the Confession in the order Of
time after the God elects from race In reoeiloh
against Him, lost in sin and guilt and in common rum
some everlasting life and He does not choose so 10
elect and preteron involving ON its positive size
reurobaton-but there is no passing by Of innocent
person. They all in common guilt and ruin But 10
deny that such selection from sinful race Is
deny Scripture and fly in the face OF history as unioaeu
both in grace and providence.
Itds true we are here in the presence Of awful
mystery but the be disposed OF by appeals to
prejudice shorsghted human pity IL was stteu
here since that this doctrine was doomed lof te
reason that obnoxious TO the human consciousness
that consciousness having decided that 1t would be unjust
in God TO rcyrobate men, Well Mr. Moderator it is true
that this doctrine has met with the approval OF inc
human Consciousness from the time that Christ preache
until now but does not change the truth OF It, ana IL
,eems TO have survived the dsapprovl Of consciousness
But IL seems the view OF this brother the SOW
eregny God is to be exchanged for the sovereignty oil
consciousness He stated the authority OF dlstln
cuished Scotchman that hitherto Christianity had been
by holding up the sovereignty Of God but
now it was to the grace of God TO salvation Well II
has been the grace Of God to salvation since the PROMISE
WAS made TO first parents but it was sovereign grace
are we now TO understand the to be no longer
soyeregni
The doctrine Of consciousness has bad appearance
II is mischievous thing. In some quarters it has al
ready set aside Word OF God and now we hear that
proposes to suggest duties God to sinful men,
Again it is affirmed that the doctrine OF Gods sovereignty
az stated In the Confession. tends TO fatasm But the
Confession that man is free 1t anTms DOM uoc
nes in combination precisely as they are In the BLDG
No man is saved except his free choice OF christ NO
il reproated his free choice Of the way OF rum
In nothnp is man more free IN the utter rejection OF
the Gospel Christ In fact, the world OF sinners 80
mad against Christ that in spite OF the love OF Goa In
Him In spite Of death and the free offer OF salvation
ax.cd bitfOr
Of God fulfil His promise that Christ should
have seed 10 and should see OF the travail of His
soul ...
chance TO be saved He does offer Christ TO all men, ana
calls oil who respond Truly are called but few are
chosen In that He passes no one by. But men
despise Gods love- For twenty years have tfed 10 win
sinners Some other grace than that offered in crueihec
Christ 10 ALI men needed TO work In the hearts OF men,
I'd hera Is where election practically comes in Who
saved Won and me after had long rejected the love OF
God in Christi God by His Spirit IL was stated mere
that God owed every opportunity TO be saNeu wen
then, since He only can save he owes IL S'O "
save him as we'll MI Moderator we are here on premises
which lead straight TO Uniyersasm. yet we were told tha
this is Calyinsm. ~
The other speakers against revision were -; MA ~
VIZ hos heen converted to his present belief. he sald
during the debate and Professor William NJ faneCh
of Princeton seminary, who made MS sccOnu Speech
his dr.t having been given on Monday OF last week
Some discussion arose over point vi oiuel While
there were many who had not made their nrst speech
yet. The Moderator decided that ne c0uld speah; anu
lie denied many of the "perverSiOns OF CaINil ,
made the floor of the Presbytcry by the revision
advocates. lie somewhat inclined 10 he sever
DR. van Dyke fof his references 10 MIN on MonlaS
but was sure that Dr.. van Dyke had not mlsuuo''u
him.
PLEADING FOR THE COMMITTEE
Besides DR.. Vincent, DR.. j.. L. Clark OF Hariem'
and the Rev. X. D. Harlan OF the First Presbyterian
Church. spoke for tie committees report DR.. Clark
spoke eloquenty. Ir Harlan pleaded that the com
mittee of which he a member should not be
maligned and that his report should be adopted Turn.
ing 10 Dr. Lampe, the Moderator, lie said that he dd
NOT know till last Friday that they were French
Communists or German Socialists Russian Nihillsts
mill last Friday and now he was inclined to believe
that DIR Page useC the term revolutionist" In d
p;cLyyickian sense. The speaker denied emphatcally