Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-05-24
NEW YORK PRESBYTERY WARNED
BUT UNPUBLISHED FOR HERESY

Continued from PAGE one
Commission on Licensure and Ordination
| with IL other New York Commissioners
Mceibben and Stevenson were among the
/ compla inants
Doctor Stevenson had no sooner finished
reading the report than man away in the
rear moved It's adoption. II was seconded.
Ihere was no discussion, and before one
could say Jack Robinson Moderator Mar
gus was putting the question. It was all
done so quickly--9O0 odd yeas without any
nays-that the Assembly had adopted the
report before. II fully realized it itself.
BLESSED BE THE TIE"
Then without signal lust as II every man
knew II was the only thing to do. the
great collection Of Presbyterian commits
sioners broke out into blessed be the tie
that bin6s."
The Steel Pier fairly vibrated with their
fervor They sang like men transhgured,
away from the homeiy business Of church
politics The light and happiness In their
faces was a sight long TO be remembered.
AS the song ended. there came a prayer
by the Rev Ezra b. Newcomb, of Keokuk,
Ia, a prayer just as involuntary as was the
song before II.
He praised God for granting "a solution
OF the trouble that had been tearing their
assembly asunder" and he prayed that
added strength be granted all OF them SO
that they might go on all right. And
IL
voluntary, came "All hail the power of
Jesus Name"
And then very solemnly, before Moderator
Marquis drove the General Assembly on to
other business which had to do with the
judicial commission, he adjured the COM
missloners to mind well what they had to
do because they were now in the Court
of Christ and all of one mind"
The heresy problem was almost the first
thing the General Assembly took up, Doc
tor Stevenson was on the platform for the
Committee on Bills and Overtures five min
utes after the devotional exercises He dis
posed of some minor business and then set
tied himself for the big task. Everybody
knew what was coming. II was In the air.
He began.
Your committee this year has had as
signed to 1t some very difficult and mo-
mentous problems. We would gladly have |
shifted the responsibilities but we felt that |
we had been chosen for the tasks and could |
not fail to carry them out, even IL we |
wished. We felt we had to interpret, not |
our own convictions, but the mind of the |
whole Church.
"The difficulties obvious right away be-
came more apparent as we went into study. |
At first a solution seemed wholly impos-
sible. But we worked and worked, and |
then we saw way out And the report |
which we present to you today is an unani-
nous, earnest report. which you should
do with as you think best 1t is not for
US 10 say IL rs lot you 10 40. we merely
recommend what we have set down in this
report"
Doctor Stevenson then read the report
II follows:
THE REPORT.
I'm answer to overtures No. 23. No. "a
No. 25. Nos 155 to No. 157, and paper 1853
of the action of New York
Presbytery in receiving and licensing can
didates for the ministry whose theological
beliefs do not accord with the doctrinal
standards of our church, and to overture
No. 26, calling for n deiverance, declaring
that 1t is not only discourteous and unwar-
ranted, but also unchristian and subversive
OF proper discipline for one Presbytery to
assent that the ministers of another Pres
bytery or Presbyteries are untrue to their
VOWS. your committee begs to
present the following report:
Commissioners from New York Presby-
terry and representatives of overturlng pres
byteries appeared before the committee and
made full and frank statements as to the
Issues involved. Complaint was made
against the members of the New York
Presbytery for licensing recently and on
previous occasions candidates who could
not affirm their belief in the essential doc
trines of the Word of God and our stand
ards, that our Lord Jesus Christ was born
Of the Virgin Mary. The members of New
York Presbytery felt deeply panied and
aggrieved that the overturing presbyteres
should propose drastic action, not on the
basis of the presbyterys records, but on