The sun., 1902-05-25
The General Assembly and Marriage
and Divorce.

Ths adoption on Friday. by the Pres
bytsrian General Assembly. Of resolu-
tions providing for the appointment Of
a committee N confer with Q committss
Of the Episcopal Church, with . visw
Of securing some concerted opinion and
action by the Churches Of America rsla-
tive to divorce and rsmarriags u,
primarily. Of course. merely IN expres-
sion Of religious comfy and fraternity.
for the conference was requested by
the Episcopal committee; but II may have
large consequences in paving the way 30
the abandonment Of the distinctively
Protestant position ~ To matrtmony.
II there u to be concerted opinion
and action BY the Churches Of America
on this subject, the position Of the Roman
Catholic Church, the most numerous In
America. cannot be left out Of consdsrs-
ton. That position Ia that mssrimony
u q sacrament and therefore indissoluble
for any cause except death. Protestant
ism. from the time Of the Reformation.
has rejected that doctrine and admitted
a sacramento only baptism and tho
Lords Supper: and this has always
been one OF its cardinal and most dis
tinctive features. II also dedueed from
the teaching of 81. PAUL that, besides
adultery. wflful desertion releases the
innocent party from the marriage bond,
or a. the Westminster Confession lays
down the law:
In ,ss os.s - aauiterv ss,sv nar1sre n ,.t,w
ful for the lnass1t party W on, . divorce and
snsr divorce 70 nsrry smother. - 70 the offending
party we're dead. Nothing su, adultery or
such vrlrui dsssrxs. - esa In no vsy be rem.aisd
by the Church Or eivi hssissrsse y cause su teien,
Of dissolvins Ne bea1 81 marriage
The Episcopal Church. after having
allowed divorce for adultery only and
remarriage to the innocent party only.
10 obviously veering toward the Roman
Catholic position. It's GENERAL Conven-
tion has not yet got % far a. TO make
matrimony sacrament and indssoluble
except by death. but that Ia the view
held by the High Church party and.
moro especially, by the Ritualist or,
Anglo Catholic division Of IL; and a.
this school of churchmanship is growing
faster than any other and getting nearer
and nearer 10 Roman Catholic doctrine.
il is not improbable that before many
years matrtmony will he elevated caaon-
ically into q sacrament.
The Presbyterian General Assembly
has therefore consented to confer on
the subject OF marriage and divorce
with . Church which 10 tending to Q
sarramsntsl doctrine against which Prot
estantism in general has been arrayed
uninterriptedly sincs the Reformation.
All action on the question by the Gen.
eral Assembly il TO be deferred tll
after the conference. Moreover, even
tn get on the present Episcopal ground
the Confession would have to be amended
radically.
This 10 very significant, more especially
at time when Presbyterianism is trim
ming its sails with . view TO catchi ne
the bree,0 Of popular favor which scep-
ticism and the substitution OF ~sshctic
feeling for religious conviction have
Get In motion. Il In another sixn Of
the beginning Of the end or Of the
gradual stripping from Professionalism
Of the robs Of doctrine which has given
II its distinction throughout the long
period since the Reformation Of the
sixteenth century.
The principls Of the dissolubility Of
marriage having once been allowed. there
grew up Inevitably the modern system
OF treating marriage - Q OWL contracs
disoluble for many oauses. Greater
hardahips. % far - concerns physical
suffering. It y argued. may b inflicted
by Other breaches Of the marriage con-
Eact than adultery and wilful desertion
by Gross and habitusl intemperancs
or by insolersble cruelty, for example,