The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-05-24

should approve the report of the Commit
tee on Bills and Dvevtures. 1t is useless Z.
HtnA that there is a. demand fo: revision
and one of such proportions as TO make if
imperative upon this assembly a AXE &C
ton. The church j. confronted with 4 Sc
riouS propoSirinn-one that requires con
summate skill and wisdom. | believe the
committee has taken the wiseEt IOsSID,e
course. After days of deliheratiUn and mos
afdionS thought, it has hat upon a sim
PIE. wise and efficient solution OF he Gucs-
ton-one. that by its virtues must needs
commend Itself u the favorable consiGtra.
tion of every fair man. The question OF
of the church.
In that way everybody will have a
chance to h" heard. and he will of the ma
Ioritv asccrta.ned. There is one suggestion
l would make and that Is, that the wor
invited be substituted In lieu of the word
requested, in the second line Of the third
recommerdation of the commit. eo's re-
pert. 50 that ii will read: TO further
the work OF The committee the presbytcries
ne and are hereby. Invited by the assembly,
Says II Is the Work of a Few.
Doctor y. l.. Latham of Philadelphia fol-
lowed Doctor Bolton. lie opposed the re-
port. In 'Ioine So he said. In part: In order
10 determine the cause of all this agitation
II becomes ms To inquire whence the com
paints come. Upon Investigation II will be
inunl me demand does not come from the
heart o; the church. bu, from "a few pres
byte:it> where. 10y the fervid eioqG"lca OF
pastors, the congregation has been lcrSuad-
w. go A'hAFtl tfiti8AFlN 10 III u tit'
church. The rf'sbXtery of Philade'phia. the
flotE"r pr'sbytery Of all. Is not in favor Of
| revision. though 10y a trick shs nearly de-
CARED for Il. \ few ministers in IN" church
nave caused all this agitation. Sn8li The
Presbyterian Church he moved by ;ho rude
! s"nSaiiOnalism Of u New York pastor. or
the sentimentalty OF a Brooklyn divine?
Rationalism l. at The root OF all this aGi-
IflioH- Some men in the church are en-
G.arorins to work out the mysteries OF
Gods manifold wisdom according tn reason.
theology and rationalism will not go hand
In hand. There are some things in the dis
persatiOn Of God we cannot comprehend
and cannot reconcile to finite reason. Faith
alone can carry US over these whirlpools
IN the current of existence. and unless We
sEree To that. then religion is Il failure and
faith a mockery.
AT the end of the Reverend Mr.. Latham's
speech. Moderator nickey. who Is from
not Intentionally riissiate the position o:
IN" Philadelphia Prcsbytery, but he Is in
error. ON the question Of revision that
rresbytcry simply decided 30 keep its mouth
shut and say nothing, either one way or the
other"
Doctor Holmes for Action.
Doctor r; 5. Holmes Of Pittsburg rcvt
addressed the assembly. He said: Il stand
for the report of the committee and against
all substitutes. | would prefer to SCI that
part OF the report eliminated which com
pels all preShytC:itS to act an the question.
!iolsnS vol"nS, and such an amendment
made as would leave il optional with than
10 act cr not. as they chose: SO far as
- - ''4i' ~ I w Hla -
lievt revision is favored. We stand fer
The Confession of Faith as a system of
doctrine. not a subscription of doctrine. To
be accepted ipsesS:ma verus. All Prosuy-
terians stand on the same ground. some
contending- that some represents a
mighty hOst-that SO much Of the confess
sion as is not made imperative should he
eliminated. That question is not now up
For discussion. IL is Il Pregnant fact. how
ever. that should influence cur considera-
ton. | want some action taken. because
| believe the eNiGency demands II. II We
leave the matter open for another year. for
that period Of time we Will subject our
selves TO acrimonious assault from press
and pulpit.
our critics. and while the question of re-
vision is in process of settlement there IL
no one who cam assail our church in fair
ness"
\ Lay mans Vigorous Remarks.
Elder Hugh NJ. Cooper of Topeka, Kas..
was the only layman who spoke in the
debate. He said:
Il have been in the church for fifty years
and never before made a speech. l cannot
refrain AT this time. however, from saving
a word. ! am opposed to revision. My pres
hytery doesn't want IL, SO far as | know. |
believe the church will make a mistake
If it accedes 10 the clamorines OF those
who would become iconoclasts and shatter
the creed We have loved all these years. I
represent the laymen. We are the men
who do the work. We foot the bills and we
don't demand and don't want any change.
smooth hats don't raise any corn. and II
there is no corn. there will be no churches.
| stand by the old catechiSm or constitu-
ton. and my presbytcry stands by ms. The
press is responsible for the most of this
trouble. and a few ministers the rest. Both
stand outside the church. | don't see any
possible hope Of salvation for the press,
ami don't want to see the ministers on
the inside until they have been modified
by the grace of God"
Doctor sprecher sppInudrd.
Doctor Samuel =. SprecheT of Cleveland.
o.. was the next speaker. Doctor Sprscher
vas vigorously applauded. and undoubiedly
created q deep impression; He arsued
report. In part he said:
II am sure there is Il profound misappre-
hensiOn on the part of some members Of the
assembly on the effect of the Abortion of
this report. There seems 10 be an apprshen-
sion that revision means an elimination OF
Whatever else may happen. tina: cannot
come to pass. Revision or no revision. that
system will remiin, being Theoretically root
ed into the heart. mind and soIl OF the
Presbyterian Church.
The adoption Of this report ,annot and
win not affect the salient features Of Cai- |
vinism. All il can do. if il does anything,
is to formulate q statement Of the Calviris-
tic system so clear that all can understand
required TO interpret its meaning. Ii is ar |
gued by the opponents To the adoption %
this report that It will %startle the presby- |
teries and cause fear for the faith. 70 hem |
] say, the easiest way To down this ghost. |
to aliay this apprehension, to prevent panic |
In pew and pulpit; is to adop, this report
- NA~ ~ NE~a 'AN 4
on the question. |
1T has. been argued that there is no f.
general demand for revision because. in lisa. |
over a hundred preSbyterfes petitioned for |
#. while today there are only thirty-seyen |
asking for revision. This is captious logic. 1
While II Is true that only thirty-SeVyn /
presbyteries have overturned for revision. /
the 1870 left Gid not overture against IL. and |
who can say that the majority We're not
persuaded by the fltility Of past efforts in
this direction that 1t was useless to make
further attempt at this time? This move
ment for revision is not a new one. 7 have |
been a minister OF the Presbyterian Church
for tweniy-eight years ard II was a vital
question then, and it will continue to be a
vital question until 1t is settled and settled
Doctor Johnson Cloves Debate.
by agreement of the assembly Doctor |
Johnson of Mccormack Seminary.
Chicago. closed the debate
Before ne began his address in behalf of
the report Ii was announced that the time
would have to be extended or he could not
the ten mlnutes allowed each speaker.
BY a unanimous vote the time was ex-
tended long enough to give him ten min
utes.
Doctor johnson said: Doctor Sprechar
helped us to bring our minds back to A
clear understanding OF the committees re-
port. If this body knows the facts 4. will
spprove the report. This report does not
the question of a constitutional |
process; that may or. may not come later. |
All 1t asks is simply TO ascertain the opin-
Isn Of the different presbytertes I j have at
\