Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-13

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able 10 convince the presbytery that this is the
case Ii the assembly enteriains their appeal
they will try to persuade the assembly that the
presbytery ought to have been convinced and
that its judgment of acquittal was erroneous.
We have read their arguments with care. q
matter Of interest in ecclesiastical law. ard il
these arguments represent the full strength Of
their case it does not seem TO us that the pres
bytery erred. The prosecutors as we look at
it. seem rather to have tried TO show two other
things-that these opinions are untrue and that
they are dangerous. They NAV. however. be
both of these. and vet not be opposed TO Bible
and confession. because neither the Bible nor
the confession covers all possible opinions. and
there may be wrong opinions which neither OF
them condemns or even mentions. DIR. Briggs
on the other hand claimed in his argument be-
| fore the presbytery both tina: his opinions
consistent with the Presbyterian standards,
which was all he needed to argue for, and that
! they were true
IAN this seems, very possibly. abssruse and
tedious TO many readers. Bat the interest and
even essential importance of il arises from the
! fact that the Presbyterian Church has n written
standard of doctrine by which Its ministers
must be judged and that the civil courts will
protect the rights OF a minister who may re-
ceive injury from discipline which violates the
obligation imposed ON church well minis
tiers by the written constitution.
"But. of course. stronger arguments NAV be
| brought forward. and perhaps the assembly
Briggs violate the constitution OF the church.
Certainly large numbers OF good men believe
that they do.
besides this ii is strongly urged that thoya-e
productive of great harm and undermine the
faith of many. The chief objection urged
against the first one Is that il makes salvation
possible for great many persons who either do
not have the Bible or who reject the Bible. liz
is thought that DIR. Briggs view admits tho
possibility that God may SPEAK directly 20 such
persons in their minds and hearts or in the in
situations of the church anG they be con-
verted and saved. He and his friends reply
that the whole Presbyterian Church believes
that at least some heathen will be saved with
out knowledge of the Bible and that all infants
diving in infancy will be saved, so that his teach
ing, even from this point of view, Is not very
terrible. but that really what he said was that
some men get certainty ABOUT God when they
commune with Him in their hearts in the
worship and sacraments of the church, even IL
such certainty does not come TO them from
reading the Bible. They say, further. that be
does not set reason church above the Bible
or even make them coordinate and perhaps
conflicting authorities. but that he believes and
has affirmed that, rightly undo rstood. they all
agree. And they point out that neither Bible
nor confession anywhere says that God does not
Q certainty through His spirit in the reason
or IN the institutions of the church.
THE ISERRAScY QUESTION.
1.-THE greatest stir has been made over the
! inerrancy question. The conservatives say that
/ there cannot have been any errors in the origi-