The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-23
A Presbyterian and q Cniversalist.

We print two letters elsewhere on this
page which call for comment. Tho first is
from Presbyterian and the second Ia from
the Rev. DIR. GROVE, a Universalist min
lister OF this town.
The letter OF the Presbyterian draws the
striking Inference that the call OF the Rev.
Mr.. MORGAN Of London to be the successor
OF the late DR.. JOHN HALL as the pastor OF
the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church Is
tho consequence OF the activity OF Mr..
Moody, the famous evangelist and that in
1t no has further and Interior designe."
In justification OF his assumption the
writer refers to a report that Mr.. MOODY
has sent out more than thousand letters
TO induce the call OF the London preacher,
following plan he pursued successfully in
engineering the call OF DR.. CHAPMAN to the
Fourth" Presbyterian Church OF New York.
Now, Mr.. MORGAN and DR.. CHAPMAN are
classed by our correspondent with Mr..
MOODY as evang lists, or preachers whose
mission 1t IS to provoke and produce REVEALS
by more or less special and sensational
religious methods. Mr.. MORGAN, who Is the
son OF an En- ;lish Baptist minister hogan
his m n st"rial career as an evangelist. In
character aud methods he Is the very re-
verse OF the late DR.. HALL, whose preach
ing was quiet and whose department was
strictly clerical. Mr.. MORGAN Is repres ent
cd to he more OF the rough-and-ready evan
gcist Of the MOODY sort--a man for
special service in REVEALS OF the old type
rather than adapted to the pastorate OF a
sold and ons,rvatlve Fifth avenue church.
This Presbyterian, moreover, is convinced
that Brother Moody is following persis-
tently p'aa for transform ng New York
Presbytcrianism and giving it a Northficd
Str pc Mortified being the place where
the evangelist has established his school OF
evangelism.
This is very striking news. Fifth Avenue
Prcsbytcrlanism turned into red-hot evan
gcism would be startling novelty: but, up
parently, Brother MOODY thinks tho trans
formation can be made. A fiery religious
revival In DR.. HALLS old, conservative and
coldly respectable church would be remark
able at this time of cooling and declining
faith. But it would vitalize the old bones
wonderfully, and therefore why should
our correspondent dread it 2 for what Pres
byterianism In New York, and more espe
cially in Fifth avenue, seems most to need
now Is waking up, and II Mr.. MORGAN
can succeed In alarming 1t into nervous &C.
tivity by his vigor, why complain?
The second letter, from the Rev. DR..
GROVE the pastor of the Univorsalist
Church OF the Eternal Hope, seems to
think that we misapprehend the true mean
ing Of agnostic, but the meaning is clear
and plain, being expressed exactly in the
word itself 1t means not knowing. The
agnostc does not deny; he simply says
do not believe because do not know. All
men who believe without this knowledge
must in the nature Of things, depend on
authority, which is dogma. Unless men
start out with such doRmatic assumption,
they have no supernatural basis upon
which to found their faith. They cannot
know the undenonstrable; they must
assume, and that is the dogma upon which
all theology rests.
DR.. GROVE resents the term. yet he could