The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-06-10
RELIGIOUS OPINIONS.

The following extracts from religious
publications are presented as the views
only of the papers from which they are
taken They will serve to keep posted
on living religious topics those who
take interest in such questions
The New York Independent thinks:
cit can be no matter of surprise, to
any intelligent observer that the Gen
eral Assembly should suspend. Prof.
H. P. Smith from the ministry of the
Presbyterian church, Considering
the history of the last year or two,
such a result was clearly inevitable.
The lower courts had decided against
him; and the Supreme court had not
only decided against Prof. Briggs, on
similar grounds, last year-and that,
too in the face of a verdict of ac-
quittal by the Presbytery of New York
but it had declared by a resolution,
separately adopted, that the Bible, as
we now have it, when freed from all
errors and mistakes of translators,
copyists and printers, is the very word
of God, and consequently without
error This Interpretation of the
doctrine of the standards made it inn
possible for Prof. Smith to justify the
position he had taken and for which
he was arraigned and condemned by his
Presbytery. His church, speaking by
it's chief court, refuses to allow one of
its ministers to teach that the Bible,
as we have ii, is, not without errors. 1t
does not believe that it is a mixture
of inspired truth and uninspired error;
and even though it be asserted that the
alleged errors are unimportant, and do
not affect the value and the certainty
of revelation, the church will not
countenance such a doctrine. There
can be no doubt that this decision rep
resents the church. The Liberal vote
is smaller than it was in Washington
by fifteen. There seems to be no bitter
ness Of feeling over the result, and We
anticipate no division"
The New York Outlook says concern
ing the same question:
'The practical effect of the trial and
conviction of DR.. Henry Preserved
Smith, is notice to all Presbyterian
ministers that. when any question
arises in that church, every minister
who takes part in the discussion does
so at the hazard of being turned out of
the ministry for so doing, if, as the re-
suit of that discussion, the majority
goes against him This decision. if it
be submitted to by the Presbyterian
freedom of teaching in Presbyterian
theological seminaries and freedom of
preaching in Presbyterian pulpits, but
of freedom of debate in the constitu-
tional judicatories of that church. Dr.
Smiths case differs radically from Dr.
Briggs case in two respects: First in
that he is not accused of holding that
the reason and the church are sources
of authority as well as the Bible; and,
secondly, in that he is not accused be-
cause of any teaching officially and in
his ministry, but only of defending.
before the courts of the church, teach
ing. the soundness of which was still
under debate in the courts of the
church. 1t should be added that there
is no suggestion that his spirit has
been provocative or polemical, or other
than kind, courteous, and Christian
throughout. This is the gravamen of
our condemnation of the Presbyterian
General Assembly. 1t not only prac-
tically endeavors to decide what is
truth by a majority vote in a mass
meeting, but it prohibits and Furnishes
free debate exercised in the previous