The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1906-08-29

terate the moral integrity with which standards
accepted
This is not only of the Presbyterian family of
churches but of several other provinces the king
dom. Ministers who have hitherto honorably borne
the banner of their chosen allegiance, find them
selves at variance with the doctrines which they
honestly admitted. Instead of following the
dictate of common honesty to quit church whose
principles they no longer agree remain, some in 81
ence as to their real convictions and preach what
they do not believe, boldly begin to assail
the creed which the Church affirms. Then a new
symptom of the great disease begins to show itself;
some of the congregations in the congrega-
tons begin to display sympathy with the vagaries
their minister's regardless of the honor of the Church
at large which stands committed before the world to
certain creed; and whose integrity is at once in
volved and demands either that those assailants il
its own bosom should be dealt with, the creed O,
the Church should be changed. Either of these lines
of conduct would preserve the integrity and save the
honor of the Church itself, and secure freedom to
the dissidents in its ministry But for church thus
situated, 1T is deadly dshonor either to allow its
creedal principles to be mpeached in it's own pupit
or to retain the standards long accepted, and the
same time to connve at serious departures from their
teaching 1t is even graver misdemeanor for any
church in arranging terms of union to deliberately
provide for divergent constructions of the creed
whlch Doth parties profess to receive true defini
ton of the Christian religion. This DESTROYS the
creed as a definition of doctrine. To make this
treaty. giving each of these divided sections of the
body the right to propagate each its peculiar views
Is still more aggravated offence; for it completes
the destruction of the creed as a covenant to main
tain and defend the truth, and mpeach the errors
which oppose it. No such church is able to command
the respect that justly yielded to it, 1t is
responsible for this want of fidelity; it ought to be
held responsible for it. 1t offence against the
holiness OF God to refuse to condemn such a breach
OF lntegrlty-to employ the undated terms of
hdence and esteem in reference it, and especially
to apply the terms of the honest men who
do hold them responsible. This was the line of con-
duct pursued by the Northern New and Old School
Churches in 1870 This is the line of conduct which
we are invited to hold by the advocates of Organic
Union among us. We to defile ourselves in Or
der to admit master all our ecclesiastical af
falrs-to put all our property into their absolute
control and to accept dicaon in the management Of
all enterprises.
we appeal to the common of every elder dea-
con and thoughtful layman in our whole bounds to
say whether their conscences will allow OF such du
pclty In our policy such violent imprudence i'm
our business arrangements But it will be said by
the bulk of the New Party the question to be decided
by the next Assembly is not Organic Union, but the
acceptance OF the Charlotte Articles of Agreement
Your good sense dear brethren will protect YOU from
being deceived by reinements or mislea bv indrec-
lions OF approach In vain is the net spread in the
sight of any bird of good sense An alliance is the
next and last step to Organic Union The Northern
engineers of this intrigue calculate surely on this
consummation They do not hesitate to express this
hope and this design DR.. Beattie the leader of the
New Party, afrms most earnestly that his views ter
inmate with alliance and have no ultimate reach tn
Organic Union. He is sneered at by the Northern
press for hinching from this contamination of his
own policy of alliance. Undoubtedly the natural and
logical outcome of his argument for alliance is Or
ganic Unions but may give him full liberty in de-
lining his position. The small section of the New
Party who have already declared for Organic Union
do so on the avowed ground that it is folly to resist
it, alliance is confessed by their contention to he tho