The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1906-05-30
DECIDED IN DIR. cALDweLLs FAVOR.
Result of the Trial of Texas Divine by
General Assembly.

Greenyille, May 24.--Victory by one
vote was recorded for DIR. w. e. Cald-
well, of Fort Worth, Texas, today in
the case involving charges against him.
The General Assembly of Southern
Presbyterian Church heard many argu-
ments in the Caldwell case before a vote
was ordered. This resulted as follows:
Seventy-nine votes to sustain the COM
plant of DR.. Caldwell against the ac-
tion of the Synod of Texas in ordering
the presbytery to dissolve the relations
between him and the First Presbyterian
Church, of Fort Worth, Texas; eleven
votes to sustain the complaint in part,
and eighty-nine votes against DR.. .Cald-
well, making a majority of one vote for
the complainant. The Moderator NAM
ed a special committee to investigate
and report on the eleven votes, which
were cast for partial ratification of DIR.
Caldwell's course.
Only the question Of the legality of
the Synod of Texas was considered.
The merits of it's action were not touch
ed upon. The complaint charged the
Synod with acting illegally, and in the
second count with being unjust and I'M
fair to DIR. Caldwell. Since the first
charge is virtually sustained the second
count was withdrawn by consent when
the vote was announced.
THE VOTE.
The vote on Che complaint was taken
by Synods, the South Carolina Commits
sioners voting as follows:
In favor of sustaining the complaint:
f. ID. Jones, Bunyan Mcleod, B. Duz-
enberry.
To sustain the complaint of Fort
Worth Session against the Synod of
Texas:
w. M. McPheeters, r. A. Thompson,
j. w. Bankhead, T. j. Robins, P. A.
Emanuel, A. A. James, j. o. Temple
ton, F. E. Thomas.
To sustain the complaint against the
Synod in DR.. Caldwell's views in part:
Robert Adams, w. j. Mckay, j. G.
Henderson, A. w. White, M. S. Strib-
ling.
DR.. William Caldwell, pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church of Fort
Worth, Texas, entertains some views
which are regarded as heretical by
most Presbyterians. Briefly, he was
charged with being out of harmony
with the Presbyterians Standard with
regard to the Mosaic authorship of the
P%entateuch to the historic accuracy of
the earlier chapters of Genesis, the mi
raculous element in the Old Testament,
and lastly, Caldwell holds that Christ
died not as a penal substitute instead
of man, but simply for man.
But these questions were not properly
before the Assembly. The Fort Worth
Presbytery accepted DR.. Caldwell, and
he is pastor of the First Church. Some
members of the Presbytery made COM
plant to the Synod, which referred the
matter back to the Presbytery, which
again sustained Caldwell. Then the
Synod reversed the action OF the Pres
bytery. The questions before the AS
semby were whether the Synod acted
legally and within the constitution, and
whether its action was unjust and mis-
taken.
Some of the speakers, who have been
on the floor, confined themselves to the
matters at issue, but most of them
made some references to the
of DR.. Caldwell with regard to the his
torical accuracy Of certain sections of
the Bible.
The general public will not trouble to
go into the technical details of the case,
and only the verdict will be considered.