The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-06-07
LAYS STRESS ON
 SOLID EDUCATION Colonel DenSon Discusses Feat ures of PreSbyterianism THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY It ls Said the Westminster Confession of Faith Will Never Be Changed.
 Historic Scenes In Old
 Virginia.
 
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Col W. H. Denson, the well known lawyer, has returned from Lexington, Va. where he had been in attendance on the general assembly of the Southern Presbyterian church. He was one of the commissioners from North Alabama pres bytery. In reply to questions about the assembly and about Presbyterianisn In general, Colonel Denson said:
 "rhe Presbyterian church demands Its ministry to be highly educated. No body of men can assemble. for pious or secu- lar purposes. that has an average or a higher order of culture and practical sense than the ministry of this church. Many of the members of the body which l attended were ruling ,.ders and are judges and lawyers of state and national reputation. Parliamentary law is as well understood and enforced as in any leg isative body All matters were consid- cred with patience and research.
 Westminster Confession.
 "rhere will never be any changes in our confession of faith to meet the crit icism of those who are not Persbyterians.
 Like in all legislative bodies, some members favor changes and innovations in all things, and 1t requires the sturdy and fearless old soldiers of the cross to prevent such, and the iconoclasts must and do fall 'unwept, unhonored and un- sung
 "Presbyterians, like Paul before Felix, declare, But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers be- lieying all things which are written in the law and in the prophets Presbyte- rians believe the Bible as it is written, | inspired by God, the very thought and language of the text.
 The number of lawyers who were mem- bers of the assembly caused me to in- stitute an investigation and l ascertained there are more judges and lawyers in the Presbyterian and Episcopal churches than in any other religious denomination, according to the number of membership of the different denominations. I was ap- pointed a member of the committee on the Sabbath which is a matter of very
 
 nations. It became a question of prime importance and discussion in my com mttee.
 The Sabbath.
 'I was strongly impressed with the power and logic of the arguments made and the great respect maintained for that fundamental principle of our American system of government of separation of church and state and obedience to the
 Higher Criticism. q may be incorrect in my conclusions, but l am impressed with the belief that much of the wild ideas of evolution. ad- vanced thought and higher criticism so prevalent in our land arises not alone from agnosticism but from the doctors of divinity turned out from the theologi- cal seminaries of the land. There is much of practical infldelity in the pulpit of Protestant churches. Professionalism can take lessons of great profit from tho teachings of the Roman Catholic church on these questions.
 The dignity and conservatism of Pres byterianism was prominently manifested throughout all the proceedings. Historic Town. Lexington is a historic old town. It was the camp ground of emgrants from the coasts crossing the Allegheney mountains to the dark and bloody grounds of Ken lucky and to other western states.
 The scotch-Irish are vastly in the ma jority in citizenship.
 "The assembly was held in the church of which Stonewall Jackson was a mem- Der. His pew has his name on 1t. Gen eral Lee Is buried in the vault of old assembly hall of washington-Lee univer- sity.
 Lee and Jackson.
 "The fact that Lee arNA. Jackson are buried there will ever mike Lexington a historic place, and a mecca to which southern manhood will ever turn with reverential aspirations.
 "I returned home by way of Washing ton, and passed over in sight of several of the battle fields of Jacksons cam paign In 1862.
 The McCormicks. 'I saw in Rockbridge county the place where cyrus ana l,eander McCOrmlck or Reaper fame. were born. The old black smith shop in which the first reaper was made Is now standing In the summer of each year quite a number of the Me- Cormick family from Chicago visit their relatives here.
 T saw the home in the same county where Gibbs was born and where he re- gently died. Gibbs invented the sewing machine known as the Wilcox-Gibbs ma chine. I could tell a great deal descrip- tive Of the country that would be inter- esting. Looking west from Lexington towards the Allegheney range one is im- pressed with the marvellous beauty of the landscape, with the lofty mountains tow ering as it were to the remotest heights of vision.
 With quite a degree of solemn thought and reverence beheld this scene and the language of the woman of Samaria come to my mind in her interview with Christ at Shechem: Our fathers worshipped in this mountain, and ye say that in Jerusa- lem Is the place where men ought to wor-