CHRISTIAN UNION AND ECCLESIASTI CAL REUNION. A Sermon at the opening of the Gene ral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of Ante- rica, Dayton, Ohio, May 19, 1864. FATIIERS AND BRETHREN :—lt is dust three quarters of a century since our first General Assembly met in the city of Philadelphia. The little one has become a thousand. The Presbyterian Church then numbered 188 ministers and 419 churches ; from these have sprung, under different names, more than 5,000 churches, 4,500 ministers and 500,000 communicants, representing a population of two and a alf or three millions. Our :growth and history have been determined, we trust, by a Divine wisdom, whose ,counsels It:ever change and never fail. The oracles of Irthat wisdom still teach us ,the lessons needed for the present hour, in the words by which Paul describes the final unity and perfection of the church, in his epistle to the EPHESIALNS, the fotrth chapter; at the thirteenth verse : Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the Unifledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect Mari, into tie measure of the stature of the full ness of Christ. Though the Son of God, says the apostle, ascended on high that he might fill all things, yet He condescended to give to Men a regal ascension gift, that of the ministry, for the - edifying of the body of Christ. Arid the end to be attained by this gift is, that all the church :become one in: aith and knowledge, and so: becOme one, that it shall be, as it were, the earthly .counterpart .of, the. Re deemer. Christ is one person, diVitie and and so is the church, which is his body; to be one.. As the end - of the first ,creation will be realized, when it becomes 'the unclouded mirror of the internal glory of the Creator, so the end of the new,erea lion, which is grounded in the incarnation, will . be reached, when it becomes the express image•of. the Incarnate God when it comes to the-measure of the stature of the fulness of Chirst. This is the prophetic' hope„ the ideal end of the church of our Lord. ' .< , This we say is the ideal of the ebuich; not as Contrasted with What is real,,but as ex pressing the true idea, its inmost life,,one< of rts'formative .elements. Its very iircnv 11, if it be healthful, must be a growth in uiiion and towards unity, just as a plant, as it grows, is held together by a more intense unifyin* power at the head of its life. The church in its essence is a'spiritual organism, vitally, united to Christ, and all its atoms are ensonled by the common life of one and the self-same Spirit, as all the branches leaves, flowers and fruit of ..fir tree are made one by,the common sap. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. It •is as, contrary to the true idea of the church that its parts should, be schismatic and 'warring, as ;t would be to' the true idea of a full grown man, that his eye should say to his hand; I have no need of thee, or,again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you. And though this " note" of the church Ap plies in an eminent sense only to the radiant. bride of the New Jerusalem, yet it' is, also the instinct of her deepest life even while militant here on earth, that she may at last appear before her divine bridegroom, having no spot,' nor wrinkle, nor any such thing, and receive from his loving hands the seam less robe and the victor's crown. 'And never did this great fact of the essen tial oneness of Christ's church and of the especial duty of the ministry to labor for it, need to be more wisely pondered and em phatically urged than in the present state of Protestant Christendom, and in view of the relations of the church to the other .great interests of human life and society as 'developed in our own country. In the ri valry pf sects we are apt to lose sight of the: prime social instinct of the Christian life; The unity of the' church is idealized, while its disintegration is realized. The only idea the 'visible church which many seem to 'haVe is based on the theory of a social com pact, 'long since abandoned by the best thinkers in relation even to politics: Terms of : communion have been adopted so narrow • ,anti local, that they could foster only dissen sion. The union of the church has become a figure of speech, a theme of 'sentimental - ,ritaps t ody ; its consummation is postponed to the ifulleniurn. And then, as Christian fel lowship must find some iexpression, the or ganizing and aggressive power of the Chris tianlife has been transferred to other which often take the proper work • 'fof • the Church out' f its hands, and. use their :pevirer•against itself. All: this, too, is but a Tart of a general tendency_which has shown .itself, in the state, as well as thb church. The, vicious sophism, that" the world is governed too much," has borne its fruits in secession arid rebellion'. • Discoid costs mole than con &int " The'•nation is now vindicating its Unity; by the costliest sacrifices. Let the • church. of. Christ heed: the. lesson, scrutinize 'the' rdisease • and inquire for the' remedy., And it is already doing it. Many true hearts in different communions feel the burden of these evils. Weary of strife, they ask for. peace. In view of past feuds and bitterness their speech is low out of the dust. This longing for union is as yet chiefly in the form of feeling ; yet feeling precedes action. Sentiments may . sewn to be evanescent Sowers; but all fruit is :only a full grown flower. By inspiring such longings, the great Head of the Church may,' in his own garden, be preparing a golden harvest. We are then heeding his promises and may. ask for his guidance when we consider the sub ject of .Christian Union and Ecclesiastical Reunion, to which our text invites us. And we propose to speak of it, first, in its more general aspects, as ,the goal and consumma tion of the church ; and then, in its particu lar relations to ourselves and those with whom we are now nearly. allied. I. Our first topiojs Christian Union; not unifovnity, nor even unity under one gov ernment, but union in its.more general relit tions. While those speculations and plans which look to an immediate reunion of all the 'Severed branches of the church may welt be regarded as impracticable and illu sory, yet tendencies to union must increase with the sound and vital growth of the church. If union and even unity is to be .the consummation of the church, then its progress must be in that direction. It would be profitable, did our time admit, to inquire into the leading causes of those divisions and subdivisions by which union lias'been frittered away. As long as there is imperfect knowledge or imperfect love, there is an element of discord ; for ignorance and sin isolate and divide, while wisdom and love are universal and tend to unity. Be sideS this, two potent and fruitful principles of 'division and alienation may be traced Aroxigh the historY of the church, strongly f AiOntra.sted, yet both working in the &one climtion : the one the lust <of ecclesiastical . ,domination, the Othei an extreme The one enforces conformity to ex ternal rules in matters :non-essential, and so runs into spiritual despotism; the other sets up the individual will, under the name of conscience, in opposition to the general will and the historic order. The one calls itself • conservative, the .other progressive. The former materialises the idea of union as a mere outward conforinity;V:' e latter ideal izes it, as a vague spirituallittite. The one puts the church into circumscription and confines it by rites and ceremonies ; the other is often reckless of all outward and visible forms and orders. The one is more objective and was rooted in the ancient church ; the other is more subjective and works subtly in modern society. Each has its relative rights ; each, left to itself, rush es into evil ; the problem is, their mutual conciliation in one complete system. Both the centripetal and the centrifugal forces must be combined if the church is to revolve in a true orbitarouncl. Christ, the central sun in our spiritual system. And both these tendencies in their ex tremes infallibly lead, from opposite causes, to dissension and disunion. Rome illustrates the one ; the history of many Protestant sects the other. The reformers opposed Rome because it put the centre of unity in the Papacy instead of in Christ. They de nied that there could be, or that there ought to be, any one central, organized hierarchy for the whole church throughout all the world, since this must trample on natural and personal rights. And so the reforma tion formed distinct national' churches. These, in their turn, through the baleful union of church and state; imposed a yoke, on the conscience, which our Reformed or Calvinistic churches were especially unable to bear. Erastianism provoked dissent. Dis-, sent, in its turn,-multiplied divisions, some. 'of which doubtless had> a providential rea son and necessity, and have contributed to the accelerated diffusion and stricter appli cation of Christian truth ; while others are based On arbitrary or trivial grounds. But so it is that hoth these, opposite princi ples, representing external malty and an arbitrary individualism, have • tended in the: same direction, engendering schisms. • Nor is it easy to frame even' a theoretic scheme on which the fragments can be re ,Stored to their lost union. The idea of uni versal, visible government for all the church _ea in all the nations; seems to be as visionary as that of a universal monarchy or republic. 'Arid even to the churches in the same country, there is only one plain. and easy -way by which they might all be united—and that is, by hecoming—Presbyterians, or Bap , fists, or Episcopalians, or Congregationalists. But this is like telling the hand 'to 'become a Riot; and the eye to become an ear. - Un less all past experience be a delusion, the church caixnever be reunited on the basis of .any claim or•pretension, which is the exclu sive possession of any one of 'the 'branches,- especially if it be a principle, which, like the papacy, apostolical succession,' or the necessity of any one mode of baptism, in volves the refusal of church rights and, fel lowship to otherdenomin' These are bars to the very possibility of reunion. • And then, too, supposing the union' of the churches effected, ;there. still remains the ;great unsolved queition of the relations of church and state---the central problem of human history'as it bears on the final destiny of the race'. All our present 'theories and adjustments are simply proirisional. And well is it for us, that we are not now called, upon. to ado anything more than meet present emergencies, and keep these two great forms of human society and life in ~:a state of ex ternal unity, For at the end one must be virtually resolved into the other. While such difficulties attend' the final and complete solution of this momentous subject of church union, it is still some com fort to think that each of the larger branch es of the church has done and is doing a great and needed work,,that each division and corps has some especial task assigned it. •Spiritual union must precede external unity ; and so, in proportion as all labor for the one end in the same spirit, will they be coming nearer together, marching toward the same' common centre, with one ,ensign, , full high advanced above all other banners of the sacramental host bearing that One Name, under which, alone can be inscribed the words ;—" El this thou shalt conquer." At the same time, much may be done and is now doing to 'mitigate the evils of dissent and: to draw Christians nearer together. The fragments feel the power of elective affinities. In the rapid multiplication of sects We have about reached a point, where we must choose between disintegration and reunion. The atoms.have triumphed over the forces. In many of our western towns, the sects are starving in the midst of plenty ; and, they 'begin to ask after a commons feast. Points of difference are neglected, and points of agreethent are magnified, And several broad general tendencies are ,working in this di rection. One of these is;. the. characteristics of-the later reviials, with Which our churches have, been blessed. These have been of a more mutual and co-operative character ; the laity have taken a more active part in them; the unity of the Spirit has been increasingly felt. When cb.urches are lifeless they are More under the sway of 'mechanical forms. 'Cold binds together in rigidity ; heat fuses the' particles. A higher temperature pro duces a-finer temperament, especially if One sets by who purifieth the sons of Levi and purgeth them as gold 'aid silver, that they may, offer unto the Lord a an:orifice of . . righte ousness. And is not the power of mere sectarianism losing something of its tenacity and rigidity ? Are any of us as. sectarian as 'we were twenty or thirty years ago ? _lf : even in the sphere of our natural life it can justly be said. that: " the enmities are mortal, and the humani ties are eternal," much more. does this hold true of our:spiritual:life. Polemics die, butt, - Christ liveth forever. Sects are transient', the church abides. -"Local arid personarfeudS are soon forgotten. - The lines become more flowing ; the -curve takes the place of the triangle. Without recommending any indis criminate laxity either of doctrine or of observances, we may hail ' such tokens: as auspicious. We judge our neighbors better; when we know them better. 'And we can now compare our differences better than ever before. Some of our divisions imported from .the old world ,are, becoming historical anachronisms and accidents. , The Arrnini alliSM of the Methodists is of a very different type from what the ,Calvinists of Europe used to call the "gangrene,"-for it is full of the flame of evangelism'; and our Calvinism has been enlarged by the theology of Edwards. If Antinomianism and Pelagianism are found here in our orthodox churches, they have certainly improved in their style of preach ing. The members of the different denomi nations are coming to look more alike. 'Sidelong influences 'insensibly creep in. Each judges the others more charitably, and itself less egotistically. It is increasingly felt that each branch of the church repre sents some important aspect of the Christian faith or life, which the others may have kept in the background. This one is more logical, that one more emotional ; another is more historic, still another-is, more individual ; one is absorbed, irr'doctriries, another is zealbns for work ; while all may be living for Christ and his church. Each may learn from the others, as they grow into one .Spirit. And for each and all, a great: point would be gained 'provided they could unite, not only in works, Of general philanthropy, but' also in some stated religious observances, - com memorative of the grand historic facts of the Christian faith, in which they all agree, and which cannot be appropriated - by any one branch of the church ; such as the birth, the death, and the resurrection of our Lord, and the giving of the Holy Ghost. For these festivals antedate, not only our divisions but also the corruptions of the Papacy ; they exalt the Lord and not man ; they involve a PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1864. public and solemn recognition of essential Christian facts, and are thus a standing protest against infidelity ; they bring out the historic side of the Christian faith, and connect us with its whole history ; and all in the different denominations could unite in their observance without sacrificing any article of their creed or discipline. This tendency to union is also aided in this century by the very genius of our republic. Democracy is often thought to be but another name for the triumph of indi vidualism-and anarchy. But this is a super ficial and unhistoric view. Democracy makes each individual concerned for the general good; and so it has more and higher inter ests in common than any other form of government, and tends almost irresistibly to unity. It gives to each man the deepest interest in government and law. It must have united action. It needs railroads, steamboats and telegraphs, to abolish space and time, that men all over the land may at the same time think and act 'together. With one' exception, we are amore united people now that we stretch across - . the continent, than were our fathers when they first fringed the Atlantic coast. There will and must be union here. And if while the state is blend ing- all races, the church continues, to split up into fragments, it will inevitably lose its power, in face of the •mighty and impetuous interests which , are now organizing to subdue this hemisphere. And a republic like ours, where church and state are separated, 'offers facilities for Christian. union , and reunion such as can nowhere else be bound. Exter nally, everything favors it—the spirit Of the people and the open pathway. •We are' 'far beyond the European complications, and may dare' hope that here the. reunion and 'pacification. of our Lord's divided chm.ch may be inaugurated with large. promise of' success. And even our present national conflict is teaching us a like lesson: . 'We are:gassing froin the Iliad to the Odyssey of our repub lican history (and under our 'Ulysses, too,) in an awe-inspiring and deadly battle bet Ween the -rational, principle of - man's right to freedom, and the despotic maadna, that • might makes right ; 'and also- bet Ween the instinct of national life And the' ,heresy of secession, which means •national death. All our peeple and-all our churches have felt the thrill of, patriotic' ardor inspired . ' by the renewed and intense -Consciousness of - that national, way, which is mutely foretold by. our very geography and by out common relations tia the othea nations;of, the.earth. theya have . all received„ . ,a new baptism,. a. baptiam of blood, the 'sign and' seal of • our national - regeneration. And so . they have been bound together as never, before ;, not only, by common hopes and common fears, by common exultation in the hour 'of Victory and'coin - main- mourning at the leas! of so- many of the bravest and beat of out coun try's sons, Whom it will take anOther ;gene ration to replace: riot only in the mimstra •ticins of Christians of every nameamong the sick, the wounded and the dying in our many hospitals and our many fields Of battle, where' they have all spoken:the seine lessons from the same, books : not only becauee our chastisements and afflictions have wrought in all our hearta'a cabner faith and a serener temper, which flees from the voice of discoid and longs for the one thing needful; but also because as we have seen the awful result and retribution of: the spirit' of dis union and hatred in the state, we have read a deeper lesson of the priceless Value of Christian fellowship and brotherhood ; so that in these throes of agonies of our mortal strife, our minor dierences have been. for- Fotten or buried `out' of sight, and our immortal 'faith and Christian charity have been vivified and enlarged. • Another and . More urgent call to union comes' tows from our' common interest against a common foe, which is assaulting the very citadel of our faith. Inifidelity is no longer wasting its strength in skirthishes and partisan warfare ; it is concentrating its subtile and malign power in a comprehensive and Organized ,ca,rapaign. Its two extrema, and contrasted forms, materialism and ideffa , ' ism, or atheism and pantheism, are redtagagia to well defined systems, which are strivflik to ally themselves with modern , civilizaiptk and modern; democracy. Each clairna toy'aia n the final system for man, idealism in;tlie name of the deductive process of denion: stration, and materialism in the name of the inductive'philosophy ; while Christian theism. attempts to hold and reconcile both these methods. Philosophical and historical,criti cism are at work to undermine the faith. The Eksays and Reviews, the Colenso contro versy Of England, Rendn's Life of jesus,. and Strauss's new elaboration of• his life of - Jesus., for More popular effect, are but_ the 'begin nings of a. contest which his been long fore seen, and in which the whole cif • historical Christianity, the Bible, the church, and all the doctrines and forms of our faith are at, stake. Is ,the Bible the same as all other books,' only the most popular? Is the church on the, same plane with all other: institutions, institutions, only the most diffused ? Ts Christian •experience the product - of religious imagination? •Is the incarnation the pro cesa of humanity in history, the Trinity a formula for in abstract laiv of thought, and the veryname of :God but another name for the Abselute Unknown ? , These are the questions.. A resolute attempt is making to blot Christianity out from the-record of living history; to resolve its facts into myths,, its miracles into jugglery, its , doctrines into ideas; 'its God-man into a, - vague Moral- hero. And this infidelity will strive.: for, the, pos session of our• land as for no other, 'in the full consciousness that thus' it holds the future in its grasp. Here, then, is a contrca versy; in view of which we cannot afford to ;spend our chief strength. in mutual crimina . tio.na sand doctrinal logomachy ; for it con cerns our common Christian heritage, lying back of all our: eoclesiastical and sectarian disputes. ,It must here draw Christiana nearer together, as it is already doing in Germany, France and England. And Romanism, too, should the designs of the , cool and wary Emperor of the French be carried out in Mexico, may, exalt itself anew in this Protestant land. The Latin and Aiaglo-Saxon races may yet come into deadly conflict on the same question which in Europe has kept them asunder for three centuries: The governments otEurope, too, as well as the Papacy, would be glad to stay our onward course. And both these contests against infidelity and against Itomanism are not only argu ments-for Christian union, but also lead -us to the real source and centre of such union, that is the adorable person of our. Lord. His is the only name' which can conquer them and unite us. In proportion as the different branches of the , church rally round Him, and make Him to be the centre. of their whole system, in that same proportion do they - live one life. • For the , church - is in its essence, the body of Christ : Our text asserts that we are to become one through the knowledge and faith of the Son of God. There is no other way to. a living and per manent union: and reunion All other pro jects know• not the, word that solves , the enigma. No church is ready for Union Until it is full of Christ. The whole pressure of modern thought and theology is just in this direction. When our theology, our preach ing, and our very lives say that Christ is our all in all, then we shall meet and flow together. And that blessed reunion will come, even though our eyes here on earth may not see its resplendent glories, for the Head of the church has pledged his unfailing word. And it shall be as much higher than the oneness of the old, even of the apostolic church, as perfect sanctification is higher than unconscious innocence. An old fable tells us that the majestic form of truth once walked the earth, but was dismembered, and that the sundered parts are wandering up and down in ceaseless, weary search—each for the others, since each is still and ever instinct with the old common life, and it is this instinct which impels the search, and this search thus contains a prophecy of the union of all the fragments in one radiant form at last. And so shall it be with the riven body of our Lord ; for each separate member is still vital with the memory of the old and loving union, and it will never be at rest until it fids all the others ; and bone shall come to bone, and flesh to flesh, and it shall be all clothed upon with the grace of an endless life ; and it shall be fairer than any of the sons and daughters of men, all glorious without and within,; and it shall be ,holy and without blemish : love shall distill from its lips; and its words 'shall be like celestial music ; and it shall bear upon its placid brow the • victor's wreath, and in its hands the victor's palm ; and all this shall it be, becalise'it is the bride of the Lamb, and the bridegroom will adorn his spouse, for whom He gave,his very life in ransom, with all manner of precious stones, and lead her into the .temple of God, and she shall live with Him and serve. Him in that heavenly city, and go, no more out forever. 2. Such anticipations of the final stateand the perfected union of the church of the Redeemer,, may well inspire . our hearts and guide our thoughts, as we now pass from the 'more general to the mornparticular.bra,nch of our subject ; -from the hope of final union to the question, of the union of those who are called by the same name, arid who have the.same standards of faith and order. All arguments for Christian imion have here more direct application, and are heightened by special inducements ; while many of the inherent;difficulties of wider projects become irrelevant and unsubstantial. And whatever the'difficifities, nevertheless ; says the Apostle, whereunto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, us'mind the mine thing. - It is, Of course, the reunion of the two main:branches of„the, Presbyterian Church which most ,directly concerns us. The ques tion is 'one of direct” practical moment. Setae think the full time for action has ,come; ; 411,thinkit wise to discuss the subject in its various bearings. The General`Assent blies 'that met last year inaugurated; for the -first time, a , truly, fraternal correspondence under the. happiest anspices. Good'irien. all over the land are praying for entire recon ciliation;:• 'lf it can be effected, its influence on the broader question of Christian union can hardly be over-estimated ; for time two bodies are made up to a large extent of-• the most solid, energetic, patriotic, wealthy and liberal part of our population, extending through the whole land, east and west, north and louth. United they might form the most effective Christian organization on the continent. , . At the same -time we must *look the diffL _ willies as' well as the encouragements full in the face. This is one of the cases' in Which it is easier to feel right, than to act just right. Several grave 'questions will be rais ed. What were feasible for two local churches or presbyteries, may not be as easy for 'two widely extended denominations. And, besides, a second marriage between parties who have been divorced. (whether legally or not) must be a sober, discreet and rational union, not, quite so spontaneous as the first, and accompanied by repentance and forgiireness. Setter defer the renewal of the bonds, than come together for strife and debate and to smite with the fists of wickedness. Better not try to tune the in struments to the .same, key, if there is dan ger of breaking the strings. Bat still what ever may be the difficulties, there are none which cannot be surmounted, if vie are all ready to, act in the spirit of that famous maxim of obscure or uncertain authorship, but of profound Christian import : In ne cessariis unites, in non necessariis libertas, trisque caritas.* Snell- a reunion implies three prime con ditiOns. The first'of these is, that there he a spirit of >mutual concession. Each must recognize the, good there is in the other, for, each . has of 'right a 'pretty' good opinion of itself, and neither can afford• to lose its self . ,respect. -An open and manly union . .,on equal terms is all that either side. can, ask or accept. There is to be no caPitnlatiOn*; neither is victor, 'neither is Vanqinshed; 'ex tePt' by the spirit'Of love. The second ; con dition is, that 'both, accept in its integrity . the Pres4terien system of church order as distinguished from other systems. On this ground,,the other•branch of our 'church has _had. its phial stability and strength, and here, for Ohne, we attempted unreal com promise' and adjnStments. The third condi tion that the reunion be 'simply on the basis of' the standards, which we equally ac cept, without private interpretation; inter preteikin their legitimate grammatical and historic sense, in the spirit of the original Adopting Act, and as "containing the sys tem of doctrine taught in 'the 'Holy Scrip tures." My liberty here is not to be judged of another man's conscience. Any other view net only. puts, for all practical purposes, the-.confession above the Scriptures, but also puts somebody's theological system above the Confession. rre-sripposing these conditions, let us now loOk somewhat more critically at our points Of;difference, yet with an irenic and not a Poleritic intent, mindful also of our respon sibility to our'only Master for the preserva tion and defence'of the truth and the trust committed, to our especial guardianshiP. For he that provideth not for his own house is worse than an infidel. Every powerful organization known. in history, has, been Shaped and moved by the influence of contesting and alniost opposite elements. Progress through and by conflict seems to be the law,of human Even, the naturalist finds it difficult to unfold the order of nature, withoUt implying . the exist tence of inert atoms as well as living forces. The conflicts of law and liberty, of the con servative and progressive elements of society,. enter into every civic debate, as do sover eignty and freedom into all theological 'dis putes. The chief problem of government, whether in the state or in the church, cen tres,in the adjustment of rival forces. As long as they • can work together in any , or -ganism it Is made.more effective; for (liver sity in unity is essential to . progress as well as to syminetry. The wheel is ever striving to fly froth the axle which reduces.the mo ,mentuut to harmony and. use. But, on, the other ( hand, ; when the colliding powers be borne. eiClusiVe - and Unrelenting, there must be diVision to avoid the, greater evils cif an archy. and despotisin. ,An attempt to se cure a cast-iron uniformity,Shivers a sensitive fabriC, into mere fragments::'' - , . _ *This saying has been ascribed - to Augustine, to Vin :censiof Lents, and several other ancient writers. Bish-, and Baxter, in 1679, eulogised it, 'ascribing, it to ' a paci ficator" whom he does not further name. Dr. Frederick Lucke, in a learned treatise on its " Ae, Author, Origi nal Form and True Meaning," published at Gottingen, 1860, reviews the history of this famous phrase, and ascribes its authorship to Rupertus'Maldenius, a Luth eran divine of the firstpart of the seventeenth century, who wrote a Paraeneste Votiva pro Pace Eccle.ia. This is also reprinted entire in Lnclre's work. In the Strudien and Kritiken, 4s Heft, 1861, Lucke further defended his position against the claims set up for Frank, a Re formed Theologian. The history of our Presbyterian Church illustrates these principles. When united, it grew apace because it contained such ener getic and diverse elements. The tension at last became so violent, that rupture was in evitable ; without such concessions as nei ther party was in the mood to make. The causes of the rupture were intricate and manifold, some of them running their roots into our colonial, and even our European ancestry. Some persons who are fond of ascribing great events to little causes, who explain the discovery of the law of gravita tion by the falling of an apple, say, it was all owing to the ambition and personal disputes of a few party leaders ; and they propose, as a sure remedy to let these die out, and then have the new generation settle the dispute on easy and agreeable terms. Just as if per sonal ambition' and theological eagerness be longed only to the fathers, and the children had no part in these frailties. It may yet be found, that something of the old Adam is still lurking in our youug Dielancthons. At any rate, they - might ptofitably be put `upon a 'course of Presbyterian history, adapted to beginners, if only to learn how complex, are the causes, theological and eeclesiastical, historical and even political, out of which our division was- engendered. A mouse cannot, beget a mountain. Our common Reformed faith was planted in New England by a population singularly acute, practical and homogeneous; and there it assumed the forth of Congregation alism. The 'same faith was later establised in-the middle and southern colonies by a more , diverse, emigration, from. New Eng land; ati well 'as from Scotland, Ireland and England ; and then it took on the 'form of Presbyterianism, unsupported by state pat ronage. Our first. Preabyteries and Synods were neatly eqUally divided -:between between New England and. the other emisrants. The Adopting Act of 1729 recognizes these dif ferences, and allows them " onl3r about arti 'cies not essential. -- or necessary,' implying that there are. such articles., The scattered churches rallied around this centre, and the circumference grew; The Great Revival of ,th•3jmiddle of, the last century brought out the differences. Old Side and New Side, New Yotk and Philadelphia,-were separated for sixteen years; but they readily reunited. in 1758, since they differed ,chiefly about men and measures. A Plan of Union, acceded 'to by the New England . churches, was framed in , lBol, to combine Presbyteri anism and Congregationalism in one sys tem ; 'and under this plan, the fast growing West was gathered in large numbers into the Presbyterian Churqh. The harvest was great ;:the reapers were many and human, arid' bekan• 'to contend for the spoils. New. England theolov was iilsu felt as a modify ing and..aggressive power, Warring again!t• iinputation, and a rithrted(-done: 'MOJA eto,lirtr,tical and send-political is- Wes fanned the. flames. The antagonistic ,forces began to show their teeth. The high est conks of the churCh became the arena of conflicts that disturbed their judicial im perturbability and senatorial serenity. The will of a majority was substituted for &judi cial process, and the Church was divided. And now for twenty-six years each- side has gone on- its way, and each has prospered. New England and the other branch of 'our Church, hoth proposed to absorb us ; and, _in fact, the one did pick up some who out ran us, and the other, some who lagged be hind. But we were able to march on, and save all:our, cannon and- baggage and cloth ing.and small arms ; and as we marched we re-organized, and consolidated, and 'did. some good -service, especially against a lax theology, a loose. independency and the fear ful evil of American slavery. And we have still, from our peculiar central and inter mediate p . osition; a great work to do. This position is so well defined and so advanta geous, that we can leave itonly in deference to a plain call of Providence, and that we 'cannot leave it, if it involves any surrender of the principles for which we have con tended and which-have given us stability and advantage. Even this-rapid andhuperfect recital may suffice to Indicate the variety and difficulty 'of the questionti raised by the project of 're .union. They were all along, the lines of our past history.: Some of them have to do with theological queStions, inherited from the scholastic Calvinism of .Europe, while others .turn:up9n moot** points 9f modern ethics and PsychologY. 'There is evenan etintiolegi 'calprebtein[gvowing . out of the necessity , of Americanizing foreign elements. There are. collisions on the theory of moral reform: especiilly as to the true attitude of the Church-about our, great national sin of sla very, the foe of : our ecclesiastieal,as well as .of oar political 'peace, the skeleton in our feasts of charity. And.then we eeMe upon . .the 'subject of mixed, and pure Presbyteri .anisrci and what es.l:i is, which leside on to the relation of the church to voluntary so cieties. There .are doctrinal differences, partly as to-the strictness of subscription to the nonfeissona, partly on specific heads -of doctrine. And, in fine, there are the per ennial and generic conflicts between the men- whose intellects, as. Newton says, need to be iveightedifith lead', and the men- who need to be plumed with feathers; between the agile and the stagnant ; between the historical and the-logical ; between the the ological.and the ethical , ; 'between idealists and :realists, Platonists and Aristotelians. For such tendencies run through all history, and their representatives spring up in every humeri: institution, because they stand for what is , inextinguishable in human nature and in htiman heeds. Several of these issues are obsolete. All of these difficulties are mitigated. The division has been in some respects of benefit to both . sides. Oar branch of the Church is much closer.: to its standards, taken even in the strictest interpretation, than it *as a quarter of dcentuiy ago. 'Has the oar side so far abat ed' what was•thought to be.its exclusiveness, that,we can now meet on equalterms on the some platform ? The question - is not, whether there are no differences, Taking both 9f us, as we now are, -the- queStion is, can we .. agree to differ? tet us scan the mooted . points. Some of these, we say,are obsolete 9r of no account.' The question of races, the contest between the. New England, and the Scotch, and Irish elements, is 'no affair for com pacts; the difference runs:in the blood. It may be settled. by social intercourse or inter, marriage. Then .the Plan of 'Union is twice dead and plucked up by the roots ; the rights of the few remaining churches formed on this , plan would of. course be respected. The matter of co-operation and voluntary societies is-no longer formidable. Our own action has decided our policy in respect to education for the ministry.. ,The extraordi nary Bales" 'of the American Home Mis sionary- Societt; virtually cutting . off our .churches frorci.the aid of an aiesociation, in which We' had,`to' say the least, equal and. time , limiored - rights, has cotapelled us to .take all our feeble churches under our own care. As. to foreign S missions, both The Ainerican'Board and-the-Assembly's-Boa rd rdeservepand use all the ftinds that can be contribUted to this object; 'and • that, too, without' jealousy or rivalry. For other philanthropic charities, Presbyterians have always been glad to unite. with Chris tians of different nacpA, .who labor for the needy and afflicted in times of peace or war. The p'ractical questions that might arise be tween the Committees or Boards of the dif ferent Assemblies could probably be adjust ed. The most serious point would perhaps be as to the unwieldy size of the reunited As sembly; and this might call for a more limited representation, and end in giving to our highest judicatory more strictly the character of a court of appeals. There remain, then, the two subjects of our doctrinal differences, and of Presbyteri anism as a polity and in its practical aspects. And these we ought to consider with such wisdom and love as not to revive past bitterness, or put a stumbling-block in the way of re-union. The Presbyterian system has always showed a marked affinity with a vigorous and logical system of theology. Accepting all the immemorial doctrines of the Church, the incarnation, the trinity, and redemption, it has also been especially attached to that system of grace unfolded by Paul and advo- cated by Augustine, which makes the divine sovereignty the basis and the divine glory the end of the whole economy; and which views the human race under the two generic aspects of the headship of Adam in respect to sin, and of the headship of Christ in relation to redemption. This system, though at first in substance adopted by the leading reformers, even in England,* has come to be designated 'as the Calvinistic. Its •best and fullest expression is found- in the :Westmin ster Confession and Catechisms„, which in doctrine are solid, in discipline distinct, in scope comprehensive, in form dignified, full of holy awe before the divine Word, and adapted to the edification of mature believ ers. The two main tendencies of historical Calvinism, that which emphasizes the divine • sovereignty, and that known as the theology of the - covenants, are therein impartially rep resented, neither exclusively. Oar differences centre, in part upon the interpretation of this Confession. An Old School man is popularly understood tp mean one who thinks that he adopts everyjot and tittle of these elaborate standards, the flosissima verba, just as they stand. A New School man is one who• accepts them—not "for substance of doctrine," that is not our phrase, but—as "containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures; which is the only form of assent demanded We receive the Confession, not as a rule o •!. 1 faith and life, for this only the Sciiptures can be ; but as containing our system of faith ,in contrast with Arminianism and Pelagianism, as well as Socinianiam and Ro manian. We accept it its legitimate, historical sense, as understood and inter preted through the histofy of our' Church. Both 'branches of our Church 'stand in the same general relation to other schemes of doctrine; both ;;;_;i ie l t Ln a pm an d the num gospel, andtrain up their 1i1f31114 oers 'in the •same system of faith and the same order of the Christian life. Our differ ences are of degrees.and not of kind, not of Yes and No, but Of more And less ; not of good and bad, but of good and better. Es pecially is this the case among. our laymen, whose vocation is practical Christian work rather than to ply questions that gender strife. And may we not differ in some points of technical theology, and still be substantially at one? Cannot charity find a conjunction, where a logical polemic interjects a disjunc tive dilemma ? Doubtless a well-t rained controvertialistmay -"Chase Some panting syllable through time and space! , and worry his opponents and weary his friends; but sober and candid men will look_ upon it as a gymnastic recreation rather than as a needful fight for the faith once delivered to the saints. The questions between us 'are about shades of orthodoxy, and do not reach to the dilemma t orthodoxy or heterodoxy. Men may agree in doctrine and differ in philosophy. " All error," says a,Church father, "is not heresy, though all heresy is error." Let each side explain its own meaning, and the black spot will often fade into a penumbra. Questions -that are important in a class-room, may be irrelevant as to :a public confession of faith. Certain extreme' speculationd are doubtless ruled out by both the spirit and the letter of our confession; as, for example, that God is the author of sin; that happiness and not holi ness, man's happiness :and not the divine glory, is the end of the system ; that the atonement is an expedient for moral im pression; and that =man'is able' of him self, without divine grace, to ;repent and turn unto - God. Ent these and - kindred errors 'were emPhatically rebukei by the Auburn Convention, which -denied that ',they were held by.our ministry".. And as to the points really in dispute, it - will be found that the substantial ground in respect to each and all of them is also common ground. Thus it is, we believe, in respect to the famoim' Ave pointa, which-we are debating, 'as our fore-fathers also summed ,up their controversies in Five Points. Our points are, the imputation of Adain's 'first, sin, the'imputation of Christ's righteinmness, the nature and, limits of the atonement, ability and, inability, and Christian perfection. Other questions, as of the eternal generation of the Son, are not now much pressed ; and few of us would be disposed to deny the doctrine of the eternal Sonship. As to the imputation of Adam's first sin, we may differ on . the question whether it be immediate or mediate, or both ; we may say with Augustine and Calvin and Edwards that, the sin is imputed to us because it is ours or with the scholastic Calvinist, that it is ours because 'it is imputed to us. One plan may be realistic and another man may be nominalistic in his philosophy, while we all agree that there is a proper imputa tion, that certain penal consequences of the great apostacy are reekoned to Adam's posterity by virtue of their union with him ; that from these evils An 'member of the race can be delivered, excepting by divine grace; and . also' in the practical belief that for original sin, without actual transgression, no one will be consigned to everlasting death. On the imputation Of Christ's righteous nesa,pne side may note its resemblance to the imputation of sin, and the other its points of difference; one may view it more in its relation to grace, and another to the satisfaction of justice; one may,distinguish between the active and passive obedience, and another may hold ,them tegether in the unity of Christ's person and rank ; while all agree that justification is 'ari actof God's free grace, whereby he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as:righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received 'by faith; tdone. The controverayas- to the nature of the atonement, whether it be a satisfaction of the distributive or the public justice of God, is substantially adjusted, when the terms are strictly defined .when distributive jus tice is restricted to the idea of rendering to each one according to his personal desert, and public justice is defined Jai having ulti mate respect to holiness, and not to happi ness; and when the atonement is viewed, not as a governmental expedient, or a means of '-moral impression, but as a satisfaction as `well to-the inherent, justice of God/as to the holy - ends of the divine law.; And as to the limits'of the atonement=--iff we dkoinot raise the intricate questions of the orqer of the *Calvin's Catechism was ordered ;to bepsed in the University of Cambridge as late as 1578.1 Baser and Peter Martyr were called by Oranmer to 4efehrfdge and Oxford. Bishop Jewel, in 1562, wrote to - 'eta Martyr t about the articles : "As to matters of doct ae, we have pared everything away to the very quic and do not u. differ from you a hair's breadth."—Zarizei - Item; 89. t
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