Morning journal and courier., 1891-11-17
THE LONDON COUNCIL.
Its Effects on Theology Ably Dii
 coursed by Dr. Munger.

Its Effects on Theology Ably Dis
 coursed by Dr. Munger.
 To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 was much interested in Dr. Munger's address at United church Sunday evening and crave a portion of your space for a brief attempt to cover some of the salient features of his masterly effort:
 Dr. Munger prefaced his remarks by an nouncing that Dr. Suderson of Waterbury would speak on Monday evening in the Davenport place church on the London Congregational council taken as a whole, and went on to say that he would speak on only one phase of the council, viz.:- Its relations and effects on modern theolo- gy. Dr. Munger then gave brief outline of the importance and purpose of councils in the past, that they were convened main ly for the purpose of enforcing creed or demanding confession of faith. The primary dogma of the Congregational church has always been entire tolerance and peaceful freedom. Hence these coun- cils have been matters utterly foreign and repugnant to the fundamentals of Congre- gationalism. Of late years, however, the idea of council has been changed and modified. No longer meeting for the pur- posoo ol uAClpiIuo auu ulsputo lt uds Coue to be meeting for advice and help of it's members and for the promoting of harmo. nious relations. Such meeting was the London council taken in the most modern sense of the word. There were present 300 delegates. one hundred from the United States and the remaining two hun dred chiefly from Great Britain and itf provinces; though there were also dele gates from Sweden, Japan and Madagas car. Etiquette demanded that the openin1 address should be made by an Englishman Accordingly it was pronounced by Dr Dale, the president of the council, whose lectures at Yale divinity school here 1T New Haven few years ago are so we'll re 1 membered- He chose as his subject ''Th, Divine Life of Man the Central Truth o Christianity" and delivered a most in structive and edifying address, avoiding any statements that might cause dissen sion or dispute with great tact and ye | making it perfectly evident what his per sonal convictions were. He made the in l carnation of Christ the foundation trutl I of Christianity. Incidentally he also mad' l the statement that he was personally op posed to Calvinism.
 The opening sermon was to be pro l nounced by an American minister. EHort had been made to secure Dr. Storrs or Pro lessor Fisher to deliver this, but unfortu | nately neither of them would accept | Finally Dr. Goodwin of Chicago was chos | en-a man of great zeal and courage, bu sadly deficient in tact. His sermon was 1 defense of the Puritanic Calvinism and l direct attack on the advanced moder1 views now held concerning this.
 | in his address he plainly confoundet cause and condition, arguing that the sue cess of the Puritans was derived iron
 their Calvinistic doctrines, whereas thei
 faith was merely a condition and not al
 indispensable one at that, and which wa
 attendant on their success. Dr. Goodwin
 advocated retrogression to Puritanic doc
 trines. His address was received in per
 feet silence by the English delegates, an
 courtesy prevented any adverse criticism
 but it was evident from the severe crit
 cisms of the English press and from tn
 statements of the delegates themselve
 that they have advanced from the intole1
 ant doctrines of Calvinism to highe
 plane of belief than has been attained b
 most of our American Cnngregationalistl
 This is probably owing to the fact 'ths
 Congregationalism is overshadowed hel 1 by the two great forces of Presbyterian
 ism, which is nothing less than organize
 Calviuism, for the one side and Unitarian
 ism on the other, both of whic
 tend to harden the already somswh,
 harsh doctrines of Congregationalism as d
 rived from the old dissenters. In Englant
 on the contrary, the influence over Col
 gregationalism is that of the Church
 England, and it notifying one, tendir
 to tolerance.
 1 In closing his lecture Dr. Munger state
 that the council would probably have
 marked influence on the theology of tn
 country and would probably bring
 about that Congregationalism makes son
 direct statement of it's views concernir
 Calvanism; and it is to be hoped th
 American Congregationalism may advan
 from belief characterized by intoleran
 and persecution to the loftier plal
 of belief already attained by our Engli
 brethren.