Omaha daily bee., 1893-06-02
FOUND GUILTY OF HERESY
or. Briggs Must Suffer for His Liberal
Views and Teachings.
is is SUSPENDED FROM THE MINISTRY
'erdiot OF Expulsion Sustained by n Large
I Majority IN tho Presbyterian General
Assembly-The Reverend Doctor
Refuses to Recant.

hereto in the person of DIR. Briggs, the
Esrst thing for the Presbyterian general as
5embly to do when it met this morning was
% consider what should be done with him.
ccordingly committee was appointed to
,ring in verdict, and its members were re-
uested to get to work at once. After
Iong session the committee brought in this
! Recommendation: Suspension from the
ministry and the assembly adopted the
,eport.
On the convening Of the Pres
,yterian general assembly the mod
orator announced the names Of the com
(Dittee to formulate the minute express
ing the sense of the assembly as to the vote
case. Rev Thomas A. Hoyt of Philadelphia
\was made chairman. The other members
are as follows: Ministers-H: W. Congdon,
i New York; j. II. Brooks, Missouri; G, w
Stewart, Nebraska; w. W. Harsha, Ne
| braska; ]. j. Lucas, India; G. d. Baker
Pennsylvania; E. p. Whallon, Indiana
Thomas Denning, Iowa. Elders-John
/ Randolph. Baltimore; Thomas McDougall,
6Onio; David Jackson, Colorado; E. T.
Greene, New Jersey; ]. A. Curry, Kentucky;
e. d. Warfeld, Pennsylvania The com
kmittee retired and the assembly as court
&adjourned, resuming legislative business as
"a an assembly
n The assembly adopted the report OF the
&committee on bills and overtures rcaffirming
&the deliverence of the assembly of 1892 on
ethe inspiration of the scriptures Recess
4 During the session of the committee
8moton was made by DIR. Stuart to adopt
Resolution admonishing DR. Briggs for his
3delivery of the inaugural and requesting him
al 20 refrain from further spread OF his teach
S;ngs, against which the church has spoken.
n Not Disposed to Reoant.
. 1t was suggested, however, by another
Tmember that possibly admonition would be
6Df no avail and it was decided that a sub
1committee should wait on DR.. Briggs and
(ascertain what position he would take in the
case. AS had been expected from his
l1speeches they found that DR.. Briggs was
J. not disposed to take back or modify any
Ything which he had said.
~ Upon making this report to the full COM
Tmittee it was decided that the only other
h thing to do was to suspend him from the
further practice of the Office of Presby-
n terian minister, and this was agreed to by
San unanimous vote.
DIR. Briggs is suspended indefinitely and
can only be reinstated on his recantation of
the matter in his speeches and writings to
which objection has been made. 1t is un-
likely that he will ever do that.
Prof. Briggs was not in his seat when
the closing scene took place, all tn
commissioners who mad given him
their support and counsel had gone
with the exception of Prof. Francis
Brown who waited to hear the verdict and
then left the church Drs. Birch and Lamb,
the members of the committee on prosecu-
tion, were also absent, Colonel McCook
being the only member in his seat. The
gallery pew, which had been occupied by
Mrs. Briggs and friends. was conspicuously
vacant for the first time since the assem-
bly, met.
The committee on theological seminaries
presented a report on Union seminary, of
3 which Dr. Briggs is one Of tho faculty dis
a avowing all responsibility for its teachings
81 and declining to receive any further reports
q from it until it is brought into harmony with
Il the church.
4 A loug and excited discussion followed the
8 presentation of the report which was re-
& reived by the assembly without objection.
Prof. Duf1ield of Princeton seminary tried
81 to correct the statement in the report in
4 reference to Prof. Henry Preserved Smith.
4 He claimed that Prof. Smith, while he had
been deposed from the ministry, was yet a
member of the church
mo, sir no, SIR" shouted out number
= of commissioners (meaning that DIR. Duiiield
was wrong). In the confusion DIR. Duffield
[&lsat down.
~ Defended Union Seminary.
88 DIR. Herrick johnson defended the dlrec-
&tors of the Union Theological seminary in
refusing TO arbltrate. He said the status
luo was that DIR. Briggs continued as a pro-
lessor under the direction of the board OF
directors OF the Union Theological SEM
nary, and that the veto power should also
ontinue until the general assembly settled
= Lhe matter.
Cries of ''question w here interrupted the
peaker, but before the question was put
Dr.. Duflield succeeded in making an explana-
ion about the case of Henry Preserved
smith. Prof. Smith, he contended was
simply suspended from the ministry and not
from communion in church matters, and the
report related solely to his rights as a mem
ber OF the church.
A member moved that that portion of the
report in regard to the character of Lane
seminary and the election of Prof. Smith be
laid on the table, but the motion was lost.
Rev. DR. Moore, one of the trustees Of
Lane seminary arose to explain why 1T was
the name Of Prof. Smith was found on the
list of professors of the seminary. He sale
was no person to fill his chair at the seminary
and as the term was so near an end it was
determined to continue him until the schoo
year WAS over.
"How about the new yearl" shouted
seyera! members and Dr. Moore explained
amid much derisivc laughter, that the sam,
conditions prevailed then as at the end o.
the previous term
Another lively discussion was then com
menced over that part of the report refer
ring to the Union seminary. DR.. Hcrricl
Johnson and Clerk Roberts contradicted eacl
other as TO the terms of the arbitration
proposition submitted to the seminary.
Prof Brown Explains.
Prof. Brown, representing the faculty O
the seminary, made an explanation of tn
position OF that body as he understood i,
lie prefaced this with the statement that h
had no objections TO offer TO the report @
the committee. If this assembly thought
was wise and just to take the action iLdicate
no word of his should prevent it. Upio
seminary was not here to ask anything fror
this assembly.
He was answered by DIR. Booth of Ne,
YORK.
The question was finally put and the r.
port was adopted in its entirety by larg
majority.
The next order of business was the cor
ideration Of the report of the committe
On bills and .overtures made last Saturda
In explanation of the dcliverance of til
Portland assembly last year upon the II
spiration of the holy scriptures. The repor
was us follows;
In answer to the overture from the presby
teries of Newark and St. Louis with referenc
to the deliverance of the last gene raj assembl
on the inspiration OF the holy scriptures, ia
committee would recommend the following:
This general assembly reafirms the deliver
ance of the lO4th general assembly, touchin
tho inspiration of the holy scriptures and
SO doing declares that the said deliyeranC
prets and gives expression to what has ey.
been cherished and believed In as IA funds
mental truth and which is expressly taught