The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-10-06
Stormy Session Attending the Reading of the
Indictment Against the Celebrated Divine
Charges Which He Must Answer.
MethOdistS Continue the South Bend
Conferencein Bishop Ninde's Absence.
Baptist State Convention Called for To-Day and
Preachers FlOcking to Evansville-Qua-
ker Richmond Yearly Meeting.
PREsBYTERIANS EXCITED.
Hot Debate Over the Proposition to ID
charge the Briggs Committee.


Hot Debate Over the Proposition to Dis
charge the Briggs Committee.
NEW YORK, Oct 5.-Great interest was
manifested to-day in the meeting of the
New York Presbytery in the Scotch Pres
byterian Church. because the charge OF
heresy against the Rev. DR.. Briggs was ex-
pected to come up. The interest in this Is
| not confined to the Presby terian Church,
but has spread until the eyes of church
men and laymen throughout the
land are centered on the proceed
ings. The offense with which DR..
| Briggs is charged has made him
more prominent of late than any other
| Presby terrain in the land. For seventeen
years he has been the professor Of Hebrew
| in the seminary and has been a recognized
authority on biblical criticism IN this
country. 1t has long been known that his
| views were contrastod with those of DR.. V.
| Greer, of ttc Princeton Seminary. and DR..
| Patton, OF the the College OF New Jersey.
who represent the conservative element
| in the church, but he was never regarded
| as hereto.
Last winter he delivered an inaugural
address on THE Authority of Scripture" In
which the Bible, the church and reason
were named as the sources OF divine au-
| thority The barriers of Bible supersti-
| tiOn, verbal inspiration. authenticity, in
errancy, violations of laws of nature and
| minn.e predictions were demolished. This
| address precipitated matters in the same
way that the publication of the Rev. How
| ard Mcquesry's book brought about the
IL e
| tiOn of that divine.
The proceedings were to have begun at IL
| o'clock a. M, in the main building, but q
| preliminary meeting was held IN the chapel
| in the rear. Here. after the devotional ex-
ercises were over, it was moved that the
| presbytery should remain until the recess.
| and the motion was passed after some hot
discussion. In consequence of this the
| morning session was held without the par
ticipation of a large body of the
| pr esby ters who sat waiting the
church. Rev. DR.. John c. Bliss was
chosen moderator. This was declared to
be victory for the anti-Briggs men, al
though there was no division. The Briggs
| men wonld have liked to have had the Rev.
| Dr. G. l.. Thompson elect moderator. After
| some preliminary business of minor i'm
4
| of hearing the report of the committees on
prosecution which was to present the in
dictment against DR.. Briggs came mp I'M
mediarely there was turmoil. When Dr.
read the report. DR.. Alexander. of
| the University place Presby terian Church.
also arose and said he had q resolution to
begun. This was Pre~ticallg motion to
suspend business. Many of the presbyters
feared that the resolution had bearing
| on the report which would do away with
Its effectiveness.
There was much impatience to have 1t
read but DR.. Alexander was not to be put
down.
| THE ALEXANDER RESOLUTION.
A compromise was at last effected by
which DIR. Alexander consented to read mis-
resolution. The resolution DR.. Alexander
proposed to offer was as follows:
Whereas. The Presbytery of New York at its
meeting in May last, on account of utterances
| contained in an inaugural address delivered Jan.
| 20, 1891, appointed committee to formulate
charges against the author of that address, the
| Rev. Charles A. Briggs, ID. D.; and,
Whereas. Since that action was taken the ac
cused has supplemented those utterances by
responding to certain categorical questions,
Therefore. Resolved, that this presbytery.
i without pronouncing on the efficiency OF these
later declarations to cover all the points con-
| question, deems il expedient To arrest juuiclal
proceedings and hereby discharges the commit
tee from further consideration of the case.
dozen presby ters were straightway on
their feet talking eXcitedly. dozen diff.
ferent motions were made at once. and DIR.
Alexander took his seat in a perfect tur-
mOil. after moving to suspend the order of
the day to let in his resolution. DR.. Briggs
sat unmOved in a chair in the rear of the
room. Rev. DR.. Birch took the floor. He
said that no friend of DIR. Briggs could af-
ford to vote for the motion offered by DR..
| Alexander with view to disposing of the
real question at Issue in the manner pro-
posed by him. Dr.. Birch said that the re-
port did not condemn DR.. Briggs and SIM
ply reported charges against him. and it
would be for the presbytery to pass judg-
ment on him.
members of the church who prOfessed q
learning which could be dispensed from
theological chairs in seminaries, but was
too erudite to be preached by the ministers
was on his feet when Dr. Birch sat down.
and be urged that far greater interests
were at stake at this time than the out
come of the proposed trial to the New York
Presbytery. The revision. for instance, Of
the Confession of Faith. which was
now approaching happy contamination.
would be seriously endangered by prose-
cutting this matter at this time. An
trouble as wide as the latitude of the
church. The peace of the church. he said,
had not been so menaced since 1887 as it
was this morning.
AN APPEAL FOR LIBERTY.
DR.. Thompson made q strong appeal for
liberty in the church and urged that the
course suggested by DR.. Alexander be
adopted. He concluded by quoting the
remark of the late Rev. DR.. Henry j. Van
Dyke: If we cannot have liberty and
orthodoxy both. let US have liberty
BY the time DR.. Thompson finished speak.
ing the hour for recess had arrived, and
the question. therefore. went over, o vote
not having been taken on DR.. Alexanders
motion to suspend the order of the day.
| The members were much excited when the
session adjourned. and the room was very
bubbub OF reverend gentlemen shouting at
the top of their voices and waving their
hands franiically. When the presby terry
was reconvened DR.. Alexander opened by
withdrawing his previous motion to have
the consideration Of his resolution precede
| the hearing of the committee's indictment
against Dr. Briggs. He said he would put
1t off until after the report had been read.
The reading of the report then followed.
DR.. Birch prefaced the reading of the re-
port by saying that the committee had
carefully weighed the several charges
made against DIR. Briggs, and that 1T had
decided that it would be more expeditions
and at the same time bearing ont the sense
of the prpsbytery to contine the report &c