New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-24
cocktail 1t makes me feel like another man.
Then | treat the other man."
PRESBYTERIAN REVISION.


Tho Presbyterian Revision Committee when
bas practically finished its labOrs had dlfilcu'e
and thankless task to perform 1t had no au-
thority to consider the question OF revision OIL i's
merits or to take any account OF the present
state of opinion in the Presbyterian Church Duu
il was ordered to do something much harder'
namely. to revise it's own report on revision III
harmony with the suggestions and recommends,
tions Of the various Presbyterics, being careful
m the same time not to impair or dilute any OIL
tho dotrinal statements of the old Confession
Strictly Speaking, the task set the committee
was an impossible one, and it ought not 10 De
blamed therefore, because it has In a measure
failed 10 perform it, 1t was evident at once thac
the more radical suggestions Of certain Presoy-
toios could not be considered, as for instance
that of thirty five Presbyteries asking Tor ne"
Creed Tho committee was not appolnteu %
formulate a new Creed, or even to suggest us
ACCESSIBILITY. What it did therefore, was Simply
10 consider such Prcsbyteiial suggestions as were
manifesty in line with the official attitude OF the
Church on the question of revision, and emDody
them as far as possible in its report
But TO do even as little as that brought the
committee face to face with another difficulty
ing any suggestions that would not impair tho
integrity of the old Confession. We do not as
sume to say that the conclusions Of the COM
mittce modify or dilute the teachings OF the Con-
fession concerning predesinalon, election, ana
the salvation OF heather and infants. But VIC
do say that any candid outsider who reads the
Confession and then reads the report OF the com
mittce, will at once feel that the committee has
at least rubbed the sharp angles OIL the old doc
trineS. if ii has not actually modified them No
one can suppose for an instant that were the
Westminster divines alive to-day they would re-
gard the report OF the committee as an adequate
or true statement of doctrine. In saying this we
would not be understood as crticislng the COM
mittee. On the contrary, we believe that 1t de-
serves the warm thanks of the Presbyterian
Church for its brilliant if not quite successful,
attempt to achieve the impossible.
What the next General Assembly will do with
This report is problematica Only one thing APP
pears to be certain the final outcome OF this
great movement will be revision Of some sort, at
some time. In tho present state of opinion in
tho Presbyterian Church an anti-reyision General
Assembly would be an mpossibility. But while
the work Of revision will 90 on, it's methods and
The General Assembly may consider the report
If the committee too radical, though that is hard
~ likely or not radical enough. In either case
it may discharge the committee, refer the
whole matter back to it for another year, with
new and moro explicit instructions. Or, still
again, it may conclude that it is impossible TO
revise the old Confession so as to satisfy every
body, certainly not without diluting its doctrina
statements. And so it may decide to leave the
Confession untouched, and put forth totally
new Creed short and simple in terms. for the
actual Use Of the Church, RELOCATING the Con-
fessiOn TO the archives Of the Church as an in
tcrcSting historical document. Anything and
everything is possible, except that sturdy and
unqualified assent TO every word in the West
minister Confession which used IN be the univcr-
sal rIle in tho Presbyterian Church. Not even
tho most uncomprOmsing conservative would
claim that such an acceptance can any longer
be enforced