The morning call., 1894-06-02
A GENERAL THEME.
Aggressive Church Work
for Conversion.
DIVINES IN DISCUSSION.
Presbyterians in a SynodiCai
Conference.
IN DISCUSSION.
WELCOMED FROM THE FAR EAST
Three Days Set Apart for Discussion
on Religious Questions in
Local Church.

In response to an invitation from Rev.
NJ. Nj. Gibson about 175 Presbyterian min
listers who had been in attendance at the
General Assembly of the United Presby-
terrain church at Albany, Or, arrived in
this city yesterday on special train. They
were accompanied by members of their
families. and were met at the ferry bv
reception committee composed of Rev.
Mr.. Gibson. James ScObie, John Steven
son and B. B. Mcclellan. The visit is
made for the purpose of seeing the coun-
try and holding an aftermath conference
at the First United Presbyterian Church,
on Golden Gate avenue and Polk street
At5P. NJ. the guests were entertained at
BANQUET 10 The church hall. For hosteSses
there were the ladies of the congregation
of the First and Second churches of Ala
media. Addresses of welcome we're de-
liyered by Rev. NJ. Nj. Gibson on behalf of
the church, by 3. B. Mcclellan for the
congregation, by Rev. George Mccormick
of Salinas on behalf of the Pacific Coast,
and by Rev. J. @. a. Henry and Dr.. Pull
len for the ministers of San Francisco.
Responses were made by Rev. John A.
Wilson of Allegheny, Pa, and Rev w. j.
Reed of PittsbuTg, Pa.
The general theme of the conference
was given as "The Aggressive Work of
World"
Rev. George Mccormick, DID, presided
at the evening session, which opened at s
O'clock. The first topic was THE Church
and the Bible" which was discussed by
three speakers under different heads. Rev.
First United resbyterian Church,
Pittsburg. Pa, delivered an address
on the study of the Bible. de-
claring the Bible is not studied
enough in the home. Too often the fam
lily Bible is big thing that weighs ten
pounds or more, and is never looked at
Modern literature, magazines and the daily
papers occupy the peoples mind too much.
so the speaker thought. To study the
Bible Alright people should contine them
selves 70 whatever passages impress them
most deeply, and study them TIL the true
bearing on the same subject should be
taken up and studied TO see what they
meant.
Rev. Mr. Diel Of the Xsnia Theological
Seminary, Ohio. spoke on 'AntaGonisms
of the Bible" He said that the Bible an
tagOnizes many things outside Of Itself II
Ia a book of antaRonisms. The mission of
the church and of the Bible is one-to
bring all men in this world into harmony
with God. 1t condemns all erroneous
the illogical opinions and opposes human
laws and opinions that are not in harmony
with itself.
| The Bible, therefore, is a great agitator
! Holy Spirit are antagoaizing all that is
wrong.
| Atheism is antagonized by the Bible,
which declares "rhon shalt have but one
| God" In teaching that God is a spirit ii
anita COMICS materialism; it teaches that
| the human soul Is not material and lives
after death.
1t antagoniZes all forms of immortality
and enjOins duty directly and indirectly.
! And so it may be seen in the history of
| Christianity that all false theooGies of
pagsnisn and all the other various forms
| of error were taught TO be inconsistent
with truth and the idea of q g0dhead.
The great work of reform must he
accomplished through the Bible and Chris
tianity. 1t is out Of the question to have
| just or righteous laws unless the great
| majority of the people are in sympathy
past is the same as of the present. The
conflict must go OIL until men acknowledge
and bow down before the living God
Mrs. Charles Peake of San Francisco
spoke on 'The Divinity of the Bible"
| There never was book that was the OBJ
jet of so much enmity. hatred, studied and
unprincipled assaults from the keen
satres of Voltaire to the ''silly inanities'
of an Ingersoll. Men have sought to destroy
this book; they cannot let this book alone
because the devil has said he will put il
out Of the world. But tie Almighty God
is with 1t. though he has chrsen the weak
to fight the mighty. 1t is divine because
of its adaptability to all human frailty,
every sin, every joy. every sorrow, emer-
gencv, situation, however pitiful. Every
man and woman can find in it true pho
tograph of himself or herself No other
book in the world can be found that pos
sesses all these qualities. No hook OF
mere human production has taken hold
upon the utterly degraded, the drunken
sot or the one who was lost in false
notions and q refusal to believe in God.
The conference will be continued this
evening and Sunday morning and even
ing, when some of the oldest Presby terian
| dtvines of America will deliver addresses
on a great variety of subjects. religious
| and moral,