New-York tribune., 1900-10-01
CREED REVISION COMING Up.
NEW-YORK PRESBYTERY PREPARING To
VOTE ON THE GREAT QUESTION.

One of the questions TO come before the New
York Presbytery, which meets to-day in the First
Presbyterian Church. Fffth-ave ard Eleventh-st
is the question Of revision of the Greed and
Westminster Confession 1t is not likely that anv
action will be taken in regard to the revision to-
day, inasUuch as the Presbytery has great deal
of routine business 10 transact 1t may be au-
thoritarively stated that the question will not be
acted upon finally before the November meeting OF
the Presbytery.
The general opinion Is that any attempt at re-
vision will be defeated There 2S2 presbyteries
in the country, and far sixty-one Of them or Is
per cent Of the whole number. have voted. OF
these twenty-seven stand against revision six for
a moderate revision. eleven for revisons that are
unspecifed. four for supplemental Creed, two for
an explanatory statement and three are undeter-
mined 1t takes twO-thirds Of the 2S2 presbyteries
TO order a revision OF the Greed, and present in
dications are that more than hundred presby-
teries Will vote against any change. AS II only
takes seventy-eght negative votes TO defeat re-
vision, it seems sure that the Greed will remain
IL now Is. Besides this the action Of the presby-
teries would not be fnal since the Presbyterian
Church is a representative one. and before any
change could be made in the Creed the subject
would have TO be taken by committees before the
General Assembly which meets in Philadelphia in
May. 1901. that any action taken now would be
nothing more than tentative and advisory.
In 1892 a vote on revision was taken but failed
and since then there have always been or less
frequent runors OF change. DR.. A ". Halsey. in
speaking Of the matter yesterday, said:
Whatever change is made will doubtless be a
simplifying one for the Presbyterian Church has
always tended toward sinplihcat ton-that indeed
being a tendency common 10 all churches at this
time think you will find that the Confession viii
R % f Be- a2n made and m ths fnt crse T Tbe s IS
large work. written by a body OF men in the six
teenth century who were judicial and temperate
and knew what they were doing. The suggested
change really seems to be an attack by the nine
teenth century on the sixteenth Personally l
should be sorry, / think. to see any change made,
Confession could not be changed without its being
marred Very few private members OF the Church
that is to say, the laymen-ever see the Confess
sion, and II II De changed II Will be wholly a
result Of battle between the dOctOrs-a theolOgi-
cal rather than popular change. There are, of
course. great many radical doctors who are in
Creed. But their activity IS met by a very firm
distance the part Of the conservatives. DR..
arkhursI probably represents the most radical
lew. he has suggested that the Creed be cut
own John iii, Is: For God loved the world
nat he gave his only begotten son, that whose
YER belieyeth In him should not perish, but have
This Is simplicity indeed. but it illustrates mod
tendencies. The trouble is that the Presby-
ais way into things and that is where Confession
and Greed are serviceable. II revisiOns made.
where will they stop? Things may be removed
from theology which cannot be removed from life,
and If we attempted to make changes we should
ind ourselves still confronted with the old difh-
culties in people themselves. If anything is done
think IL Will be in the direction Of a simple state
nent of a short and concise Creed In my opinion
the Confession will not be tampered with It IS
significant to note that the Presbytery Of New
Brunswick, In which Is Princeton has voted against
revision Princeton Seminary is Presbyterian
through and through. DR.. Warfeld is firm against
any change at all. but believe d.. Duf1eld does
Ing for Christian comfy rather than for denomina
tonal superiority.