The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-09

these committees met in Toronto. | had
the great good fortune to be present on
what | must call that most memorable
occasion.
After hours of the most earnest face
10 face conversation, during which many
important questions were fully and freely
discussed, this joint committee reached
unanimously the conclusion that the pro-
posed union was desired, and pledged
themselves to do all in their power to
bring it to a successful issue. The Pres
byterian general assembly met again the
following June, and after lengthy dis
cussion of the whole question, appointed
a still larger and more representative
committee to go more thoroughly into the
whole question and discuss the whole
ground. This committee, with enlarged
COMMITTEES from the Methodists and Con-
gregationalists, met the following De-
cember in the lecture room of Knox
church, Toronto. This again was most
memorable gathering.
Doctrine, Policy and Ministry.
After many prayers had been offered to
the great Head of the Church, every
member of the delegation was asked to
speak plainly, frankly and fully upon
three points-doctrine polity, ministry.
The delegates were asked if they had any
diffulty to state it. They were there for
q face to face conference. After several
talks had been made, one of our Meth
odist ministers came to the front and said:
i do not see how you are going to har-
monize the doctrines of John Calvin and
John Wesley A good Presbyterian then
got up and said: We do not have to;
these are sentiments of men; we do not
have to reconcile what these men said,
we can go to the Book of Cod We dis
cussed all this for over three hours, and
then we passed on and touched on polity,
and then upon the ministry, and then
when we had discussed the question from
morning until night, the committee was
asked to divide into three separate parts
and go back and discuss this matter by
themselves, and say whether or not, in
the light of what had been said, they
were prepared to go forward. We went
to our places and discussed the matter.
The delegates came in the next morning
without a dissenting voice.
Committees were appointed consisting
of sixteen Methodists sixteen Presby-
terians and eight Congregationalists upon
each of the points, and a committee OF
some fifteen appointed in law in order
that we might IL possible avoid the trou-
BILE that had arisen in Scotland, and be
able to take our property with u.s. These
committees then went seriously to work,
and in just year exactly to the day from
the time they had been appointed they
returned to give an account of the work
they had done. The committee on doc
trine had worked diligently prepared and
well outlined some nineteen articles on
the following subjects: God, revelation,
the divine purpose, creation and provi-
dence, the sin of man, the grace of God,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.
faith and regeneration, justification and
sonship sanctification, the law of God,
the church, the sacraments, the ministry,
fellowship. Christian service, and the final
triumph.
1.-The unprecedented and marvelously
inspiring thing was that these articles of
faith were accepted by the several con-
tingents of the united committee from
each of the several churches and for
warded, with a recommendation to its
body, without so much as the change of
a single word.
The speaker then stated that on most
points of doctrine there was absolutely
no difference of opinion. The two points
which created the most discussion in the
committee was article and article IL.
Article 6 reads: 1--WE believe that God,
out of his great love for the world, has
given his only begotten Son to be the
savior of sinners, and is of sufficient sal
walton to all men," I'VE believe also that
God. from the beginning, In His own
good pleasure, gave to his Son people,