St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-17

Scotch Presbyterian church. The entire
afternoon was devoted to the considera-
ton Of the report OF the committee on
revision which was submitted at the
session held week ago. DR.. Charles
A. Briggs and his frIendS were Oh udnd.
The professor succeeded in securing one
or two important amendments To the re-
port. The most important discussion
was that over the amendment recon-
mended by the committee that all refer
ence to Denomination, to everlasting
death. or any doctrine of nOn-eiectiOn,
should be omitted.
1t was recommended that the doctrine
be stricken out because it is merely
logical and philosophical inference de-
duced from the doctrine of election. and
is not a part of the Holy Scriptures.
The discussion between those favOring
the retention of the doctrine of fOre0r-
dinatiOn and those opposed TO it con-
suned the greater portion Of the SeS-
sion. The first resolution reported by
the committee was adopted. In the
second it was amended by suggesting
condensation" instead of ''slight con-
densatiOn." as reported by the commit
tee. The third resolution. excepting
two sections relating TO the doctrine of
sovereign election, sovereign preterl-
ton, eternal toreOrdlnation tn death,
was finally passed as reported by the
committee after long debate.
DR.. II. NJ. Field made a strong argu-
ment against fOreOrdinatiOu. On mo-
ton Of DR.. Briggs the words ''in the act
of regeneration" were stricken out in
section 2. After considerable discus
sion by DR.. Briggs, DR.. Sanford and
others. DR.. Briggs urging that some pro-
x-icin7 chnnfI I'm ff,oIsa f.r f,a al
OF those incapable of being called by the
ministry of the word. and for the
heather, substitute offered by DR..
Briggs was adopted as follows:
Infants dying III infancy, and other persons
who are incapable of being called by the
ministry Of the word are regenerated ana
saved by Christ. through the spirit which
worketh when and where and how He pleas
eth; also may other persons VINO have not
been called by the ministry Of the word,
The last clause was moved by DR..
Briggs. Section 1 was so amended as
10 read as follows:
Those persons who are called BY the minis
try OF the WORD aud yet resist the holy spirit
ana never truly come 10 Christ cannot be
saved; neither is there any salvation in any
other way than by christ truth and spirit.
At o'clock the presbytery adjourned
to meet next Monday.
During discussion at the session. DR..
Hastings, president of Union IheOlOg-
zeal seminary, made vigorous talk. Il
am free to say that | am in favor of
striking out all mention of the doctrine
of non-electiOn." he SAID, The doctrine
Of preterition l abhor. l believe
with all nv soul that tAe
Lord, in his infinite mercy.
passeth no man by. Where there is a
conscience, there is the holy spirit"
DR.. King then spoke in favor of pre-
teritiOn. DR.. Van Dyke, chairman Of
the general assembly committee, made a
speech in which he said he had come to
the conclusion that the doctrine of pre-
teritiOn was logically wrong. PTeteTi-
ton was the logic Of the dark ages.
Dr.. Il. NJ. Field wanted to ask DR..
Van Dyke to carry the line of his logical
system still further. He manded to
know by what right the revisOrs at
tempted TO limit the grace Of God. He
did not believe that the heather who
served the Lord according TO the lights
could be excluded from the benefit Of
salvation. DIR. Sutton favored going
back and holding on to the old confess
sion of faith. He did not believe
in sugar coating the obstacles
which deferred some from joining the
church so long as he believed the doc
trine to be true. He did not care if he
were in the minority. Christ's children
were always in the minority.
DR.. Briggs wanted to hold the church
from accepting as dOgmatic that which
they had no possible evidence of in the
Bible. He was tNenty-three years of
age before he believed that infants
were all saved, and there were many in
the church who still demurred from his
belief.