St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-10-13
PRINCETON PREACHERS.
DIR. Green on the Bible-A De
Tense of Briggs.

PRINCETON PREACHERS.
DR.. Green on the Bible-A De-
Tense of Briggs.
PRINCETON, n. j., Oct. 12.-Rev. DR..
Green, senior professor in the theOlog
zeal seminary and moderator of the last
general assembly, who is, perhaps, the
most profound Biblical student who is
opposed to the revision of the confess
sien of faith, preached yesterday before
the college students. and in the course
Of his sermon, after reviewing his we'll
known arguments for verbal inspiration
OF the Scriptures, said:
The question is as to the general
truStWorthineSS of the Bible. Can we
accept the Old Testament at all if it is
full of false statements in historical facts
which are not incidental, but essential?
If the stories of miracles are the emana-
tions Of the heated Oriental brain aud the
prophets were deceiyerS of the people;
If the human history contained in the
Bible is untrue, can we accept the state
ments, for which it is the only author
ity, concerning God? This is the point
for which we are fighting, not for the
mere verbal accuracy, but as to the
broad tFuthfulneSs and truStWorthineSs
of the Bible, against a destructive criti-
cism, which throws wide open the gate
which would lead us down into self
seeking rationaliSm."
New YORK. Oct. 12.--In the Bloom
ingdale Reformed church last evening
Dr. Madison c. Peters spoke to an inn
menSe audience in defense of Dr..
Briggs, whose trial on charges of
heterodoXy is now pending. He likened
his case to that of DR.. Lyman Beecher.
Albert Barnes and Prof. David Swing,
whose prosecution the Presbyterian
church has occasion to remember with
shame. Such trials, he said, should be
placed side by side with the burning of
witches in Massachusetts years ago, and
he thanked God that majority of the
clergymen of New York are in SYM
pathy with DR.. Briggs.
Power of the Press.
When the council reassembled the
topic for discussion was The Religious
Press and the Religious Uses OF the
Secular Press" Rev. Hugh Price
hughes, of London, delivering the essay.
He said there were now 1000 daily pa
perS. Was it not strange that this great
agency had rarely received the consid-
Grafton of the curches. 1t was now the
fourth estate. the greatest engine of the
world, and became so without the aid
of the church or its blessing. What
were the true functions of this engine?
First, TO collect news, and enormous
were the expense and results. Through
the telegraph every man might know
what TRANSFERRED in the whole world.
Christ condemned the religious men
who did not know the signs of the times.
A great function Of the press was the
definition Of public opinion. 1t was
we'll to know the prevailing opinion, no
matter what 1t was. Another function
of the press was to influence the public;
to impress upon 1t the views of the
editor. 1t had been said that the news
paper was mightier than the pulpit,
and perhaps that estimate was not too
high. The powers of journalism used
on the right side was enormous and IT.
resistible. For the creation of public
opinion in these swift days the press
was supreme. If so disposed, the
editors of the daily papers could render
incalculable service to the cause of God.
The religious press should never be
used for political purposes, and it
should extend its work in learning and
recording the progress OF GODS work on
earth.
Organs and Politics.
Rev. E. IL. Dewart, editor of the
Christian Guardian. of Toronto, Canada,
held that the church must have hero
press as we'll as her own pulpits, but he
disliked to hear the religious paper
called the organ of the church. In
times OF moral degeneracy, when the
public conscience is paralyZed by selfish
views of duty, the religious press should
fearlessly rebuke prevailing sins
whether it brings popularity or oppOSi-
ton and reproach, for time-Serying
press is the curse of the country.
Rev. DR.. Joseph f. Ferguson. presi-
dent of the Primitive Methodist Church
of England, could not say amen to all
DR.. Hughes had said, and especially
where he said that religious papers
should not take cOgniZance Of politics.
In England there were thousands of
people that received their politics, not
from the daily papers, but from the
weekly religious journal. Many parts
of this great country, he had been told,
were influenced strongly by the Roman
Catholic power 1t might be because
that power was concentrated, but might
it not also be because Of their use Of the
press?
Rev. E. E. Hoss, of Nashville, Tenn,
said the religions newspapers had not
kept pace with the secular press in de-
velopment, though the improvement
had been great. Every argument
brought forward to show that the church
should put its hand upon the pulpit
would apply with equal force to show
that it should put its hand upon the
press.
Rev Dr. Buckley, of New York, ed
itor of the Christian Advocate, believed
that the weekly religious paper had
greater influence in manufacturing
public opinion than the daily, and was
severe in his criticisms upon the secular
press.
Little Excitement.
Rev. Dr. Balmer, of England, was
grateful to DR.. Higher, and said it
might be that condemnation by some
speakers was equivalent to the praise of
others. This remark called forth mani
festations of mingled applause and con-
domination, and DIR. Balmer withdrew
his remark, but Immediately afterwards
aroused Mr.. Atkinson, of London, by
referring to a remark made to the effect
that one of the English political parties
had ridden into power on beer barrel,
and adding, eve have never learned
that the party was divorced from the
beer barrel"
Mr.. Atkinson replied excitedly that
the party never was married to it. DIR.
Balmer rejoined that he was sixty years
of age and as competent to form a judg-
ment as others. If tile gentleman was
in the British parliament ne would be
expelled.
At this stage DR.. Morley, of New