Los Angeles herald., 1909-06-14
PAN PRESBYTERIAN ALLIANCE
BY Frederic j. ffaskin

call of God and at once enlisted in the
work that resulted in the establish
ment of the Calvinistic creed. He and
Farel worked together for two years,
but they became so extreme in their
rule of church and municipality that
there was REBELLION, and they were
forced into exile after two years OF
residence. The people of Geneva very
soon found out, however, that they
could not get along without Calvin,
stern though his rule had been, and
again he was called to the work in
that city. 1t was while here that ne
got into his controversy with Servetus,
in which he forwarded certain docu-
ments to the Roman Catholic church
which served to identify Servetus and
aided in his conviction of heresy. CAL
vim did what he could to prevent the
noted hereto from being burned at
the Stake, but was unsuccessful To
the victims girdle was attached the
very manuscript which Calvin had
sent. 1t may be said of Calvin that
he was no more bitter toward Servetus
than were others, even the gentle Me-
lancthon seeing nothing but occasion
for rejoicing in the fate of Servetus.
Calvin was pre- eminently the theolo-
gian of the Reformation. He system
atized the doctrines of Professionalism
and gave it it's ecclesiastical discipline.
When death approached he requested
that no monument should be erected
to his memory, preferring the monu-
ment of service rendered rather than
one of stone. His wish was loyalty
respected, and today men have nought
but uncertain tradition to guide them
as to the exact spot where his mortal
remains were laid. During the week
from the I'd to the 10th of July tho
city of Geneva will honor the four
hundredth anniversary of his birth by
the unveiling of a monument to his
memory monument representing thu
offerings of the whole civilized world.
Calvinism had it's heroic age and it's
martyrs in the days of the French
Huguenots, the Duth republic, the
Scotch Covenanters and the English
Puritans. Their blood was freely
spilled in the cause they held sacred,
and they welcomed America as a city
of refuge from the relentless persecu-
tions of Europe. The historian Ban
croft, who was not a Calvinist, de-
clared that American liberty itself
might be traced directly to the little
republic of Geneva and through it to
Calvin.
The doctrines of the Geneva theo-
loglan first found footing on American
soil through the Hoguenots brought to
the Carolinas and to Florida in 1862
and 1885, through the efforts of Adj
miral Coligny. The Carolina project
was early abandoned, and of those
at st. Augustine the Spaniards left
only enough to tell the tale. The Sec
ond attempt to give Calvinism a Sc
cure footing in the new world was at
New Amsterdam, and in this effort
the foundations of the city of New
York were laid. The first congrega-
tion holding to the Presbyterian sys-
tenn of doctrine and polity to be or
iganized on American soil was the
Dutch Reformed church at New
Amsterdam in 1928. Jonas Michealius
was the leading spirit of the organiza-
tion. From this little church has
grown the Reformed church in Ameri-
ca, which is said to give more money
to church purposes per capita than
any other church In the world. The
Puritans of England became the Pres
byterians and Congregationalists of
America. In the parlance of that day
the Congregationalists were the Pill
grims' and the Presbyterians were the
"Puritans."
The first presbytery organized on
American soil was that of Philadelphia,
in 1905, with Francis Mackenzie as mod
orator. The first synod was that of
Philadelphia, with seventeen minis-
ters, organized in 1716. The first
synodical schism in the Presbyterian
church occurred in 1741, subscription to
the Westminster standards being the
point at issue The Philadelphia synod
divided into the New Side Synod of
New York; and the "Old Side Synod
of Philadelphia" Another point of
difference was William Tennent's Log
College. the "Old Sides opposing its
influence The New Sides" upheld 1t
and brought about the foundation of
Princeton university. with the Log Col
lege as its base. The schism of the
"Sides" was healed after seventeen
years.
For years the fire Of controversy
founded the first religious paper in the
United States. The two principal
claimants for first place in religious
journalism were Sydney E. Morse and
Nathan Willis, both of Boston, and
the year was 1916. Learned literary
men Investigated the question and diff
ferent conclusions were reached. AT
last there happened to be discovered
by a historian the tombstone marking
the grave. of John Wollwood Scott IN
the old Pine street cemetery in Phila-
delphia This gravestone bore the
statement that Scott had founded the
first religious newspaper in the world.
the Religious sRemembrancer, first pub
lished in 1913. Search for copies of this
paper was instituted. and they have
been found, showing beyond doubt that
Philadelphia, and not Boston, was tho
home of the first religious newspaper,
and that the Presbyterian church can
lay claim to it, since Scott was a
Presbyterian.
Copyright. 1909, by Frederic ]. Haskino
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Against Criminals