The Forrest City times., 1891-10-09
DR. BRIGGS UNDER FIRE.
THE GREAT PRESBYTERIAN
 CHURCH TRIAL BEGUN.
The Theological Teacher Aakea over the Coals for Preaching Al.
 legged Heretical DOcsrlnes.

NEW YORK, Oct. T.-GreAt interest was manifested in the meeting of the New York Presbytery in the Scotch Presbyterian church, because the charge of heresy against the Rev. Dr. Briggs was expected to come up. The interest in this is not confined to the Presbyterian church, but has spread until the eyes of churchmen and lay men throughout the land were cen tered on the proceedings at the church in West Fourteenth street.
 The offense which Dr. Brlggs is charged with has made him moro prominent of late than any other Pres byterian in the land. For seventeen years he has been the professor of He brew in the seminary and has been a recognized authority on Biblical crlti- cism in this country. It has long been known that his views were contrasted with those of Dr. Greer of the Princeton seminary and Dr. Patton of the College of New Jersey, who represent the con servative element m the church, but he was never regarded heretic.
 Last winter he delivered an inaug- ural address on "The Authority of Scripture" in which the bible, the church and the reason were named as the source of divine authority; and the barriers of the bible superstition, verbal inspiration, authenticity, iner- rancy, violation of laws of nature and minute prediction--were demolished. This address precipitated matters in the same way that the publication of the Rev. Howard MacQueary's book brought about the trial and subse- qnent change of denomination of that divine.
 The proceedings begun at II o'clock a. m. The Rev. Dr. John C. Bliss was chosen moderator. This was declared to be victory aor tac anti-Briggs men, although there was no division.
 After some preliminary business of minor importance had been disposed of the question of hearing the report of the committee on prosecution, which was to present the indictment against Dr. Briggs, came up.
 Dr. Birch said that the report did not condemn Dr. Briggs; it simply re- ported charges against him, and it would be for the presbytery to pass judgment on him Dr. Briggs. he said, was one of those members of the church who professed learning which could be dispensed from theological | Sh0Ao III SCAAih0tACSs p0V WCTc GOO erudite to be preached by the minis ters of the gospel. The Rev. Dr. c. L. Thompson was on his feet when Dr. Birch sat down, and he urged that far greater interests were at stake at this tune than the outcome of the proposed trial to the New York prespytery. The revision, for instance, of the confession of faith, which was now approaching a happy consummation. would be seri- ously endangered by prosecuting this matter at this time. An ecclesiastical trial now meant ecclesiastical trouble as wide as the latitude of the church The peace of the church, he said, had not been so menaced since 1s37 as it was this morning.
 Dr, Thompson made strong appeal for liberty in the church. He con ciuded by quoting the remark of the late Rev. Henry J. Van Dyke. If we cannot have liberty and orthodoxy both, let us have libertv.'
 Dr. Birch prefaced the reading of the report by saying that the commit tee had carefully weighed the several charges made against Dr. Briggs and that it had decided that it would be more expeditions and at the same time bear out the sense of the Presbytery to confinc the report to what was con tained in the inaugural address alone, as that was the most deliberate and emphatic expression of Dr. Briggs views. Dr. Hastings caused an uproar when he said: For the last two years this man tBriggs) has been bounded all through the land with misrcpre- sentation and lies" Cries of no" shame"
 The moderator interposed here and called Dr. Hastings to order.
 Dr. Hastin0s--''Well, I'll keep in bounds. I'll qualify by saying that for the last two years, this man, my colleague. has been under fire. Great laughter. l believe Dr. Briggs would greatly prefer vindication after n trial, but also believe that Dr. Briggs will suffer great deal and bear much; that he will sacrifice personal right for the sake of the church and it's great interests That man is not a heretic He believes in God and the church. have great deal of feeling for brother who has suffered what Hr. Briggs has"
 No action on the report was reached