Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1893-05-30
TO-DAY'S TELEGRAPHIC NEWS
Presbyterian General Assembly,

PRESBYTERIAN General Assembly.
WASHINGTON, May 30.-After the
opening of the assembly this morning
DR.. Young, chairman of the committee
on bills and overtures, reported that
the committee requested that the an
swer to the oyertures regarding the de-
liverancc of the assembly of 1892 upon
the inspiration of the Bible, made last
Saturday, be returned to the commit
tee. This was ordered, and then DR..
Young presented a substitute. This,
he said, was the unanimous expression
of the II members of the committee
present, the largest number at any
meeting yet held. 1t reads; "ln an
swer to the overtures from the presby-
teries of New York and st. Louis, and
the memorial of a large number-more
than 3O0-of the elders, deacons and
members of the Presbyterian church,
with reference to the deliverance of the
Portland assembly on the inspiration Of
holy scriptures, he would recommend
the following: This General Assem-
bly realfirms the doctrine of the de-
liyerance of the assembly of 1892,
touching the inspiration of holy scrip
lures, viz, that the original scriptures
of the old aud new testaments,
being Immediately inspired of God,
were without error and in so doing.
declares that the said deliverance
enunciates no new doctrine and i'm
poses no new test of orthodoxy, but in
terprets and gives expression to what
has always been the belief ofthe church
taught in the Westminster Confession
of Faith" Several reports were then
disposed of.
The trial of DR.. Briggs was subse-
quently resumed and he continued his
argument in defense of the charges
made against him. DR.. Briggs occu-
pied all the balance of the morning ses-
sion, going again over substantially the
same ground argued before the New
York presbytery. He was heard with
out interruption or incident of moment.
DR.. Briggs among other things said the
only errors he ever found or ever rec
| ognized in holy scripture had been be-
yond the range of faith or practice, and
therefore they did not impair the in
fallibility of holy scripture as rule OF
faith and practice. DR.. Briggs said it
was claimed that if he recognized en-
rors in matters beyond the range of
faith and practice, he excited suspicion
as to the infalliblity of holy scripture
within the range of faith and practice.
His accusers were entitled to that opin-
ion for themselves, but they had no
right to force their opinions on
him. The confession did not say
"rule of all things" but 1.-THE
rule of faith and practice" "The
sacred writings the doctor said,
"were not composed in heaven by the
Holy Spirit, they were not sent down
from heaven by angel hands, they were
not committed to the care of perfect
men, they were not kept by a success
sion of perfect priests from that mo-
ment until the present time. If these
h ID been the facts in the case we might
have had a Bible infalliblc In every
particular. But mono Of these things
are true. God gave his holy word to
men in an entirely different way. He
used human reason and all the faculties
of imperfect human natures. He used
the voices and the hands of imperfect
men. He allowed the sacred writings
to be edited and re-edited, arranged
and rearranged and rearranged again
by imperfect scribes. 1t is improb-
able that f.llible men should pro-
duce series of writings in!allible
in every respect. 1t was suffi-
Gent that divine inspiration and the
guidance of the Holy Spirit should
make their writings an infallible rule of
faith and practice, and that the divine
energy should push the human and the
fallible into the external forms, into the
unessential and unnecessary matters,
into the human setting of divine ideal.
1t is evident that l and others can hold
that holy scripture is "the only infalli-
BILE rule of faith and practice" and yet
hold that there are errors in holy scrip
ture in matters that do not in any way
impair its infallibility in matters of
faith and practice.
The jefferson Davis Funeral Train.
GREENSBORO, n. c., May 30.-All
night from Atlanta to Charlotte there
were demonstrations along the route
as the Jefferson DAVIS funeral train flew
by. Here it was bonfire lighting up
the crowd assembled at the track, and