teespnitbratt. THOUGHTS ON THE ATONEMENT. 111. The Federal headship scheme of Cocceius, which the Westminster Divines have embodied in our Confession, is but another illutration of Tennyson's words Our little systems have their day: They have their day and cea9e to be They are but broken lights of Thee; And Thou art greater, Lord, than they. The system contained in itself the seeds of death and decay from the first, for whatever is not of God and not conformable to the divine order, is mortal and must perish, when the good which its temporary existence was meant to ef fect, has been effected. Now the merits of the system had alwaysbeen in its form and its method; rather' than in its es sence and its results. .But with the successors of Cocceius, the system itself and its results were everything. The method—free investigation of the Word .of God—waß quietly dropped, out of sight, lest it should lead to results inconsistent with the system. For that method another was substituted, —fcheelaboration of details of the sys tem itself with wire-drawn .exactness. Now no system, unless it be the .absolute truth expressed in absolutelycorrectlanguage, 'will admit of this.. But the Federal headship theory was only an approximation to the truth expressed in imper-. feet terms, and inferences from approximations are more likely to be divergences i drops the triuth than new.approximations. p i. . ... ... This new form of the Federalist.'theology (as it is generally called) is found in a; very'com-- mon book by a Dutch professor who died ,in 1708 Witsius’s “ Economy of .the Covenants” (pub. 1694), in which the contrast between the “ Covenan t ,of Workß” with Adam and : the “ Covenant of Grace” with Christ is defined very elaborately, as are the minor differences between the three dispensations, of.the latter. .Witsius even complains of the earlier theologians and: .Reformers for the freedom with which they .in terpreted the; Word, of God,, as inconsistent with, the Federalist system) - And it must be remem bered that it is to Witsius that our British and American Federalist Theologians look as their, great theological" authori(y. One "of them, ah English high Calvinistj-spealsß'of this book, which they have repeatedly re,-publiqhed. in translations, with praiSe Which migttt' bh tHoug r ht strong enough for the Gospel and Epistles of John, and the late J. A. . Alexander, of Princeton, mentions Witsius with Turretiq as the tyro writers of the xviith century whom he regarded as ’of prime authority to what “ the Reformed or Calvin istic system” was. These two 1 in fact represent Calvinism in its decay ; they differ from its no bler and simpler forms, as set forth by the Re formers, as Mr. Rusk in tells us the debased per-, pendieular Gothic architecture of Henry viith’s chapel• (Which is all line-drawing) : differs' from the noble Gothic of York Minister. Besides this, while. Witsius has been made irito a WFope with English-speaking. Calvinists, he never was an authority in his own. Church,, but only the leader of, a theological faction. The Federalist theories were never put into any con-, tiaental Church’s efeCd, and' wheffi they' had lived their day. and served' their purpose, they were suffered to drop, out iof existence. They, are only.thought of on the continent now.as old theories that did very well' for the time, but, .are. now obsolete:' ’ ■ With the Presbyterian Churches the case ; is different. The Westminsten Divides,! whose heads were fall: of Splemn Leagues: and Cove nants, were,so delighted wijtha theology that so closely resembled their Covenanter politics, that they gave the'Federalist theology a place’in their standards', and ■ in 1694 ‘ the- Scottish' Chiirch wisheditOi 11 put the screws on” the Episcopalian clergy who were left ip the national/Ghurch by “ the Revolution Settlement,’,’and iso prescribed,- as a sort of “ iron-clad oath,” tljat every Presby terian clergyman sho.uld ,sign,j the Westminster Confession. In this-way, the Federalist theology, though dead elsewhere, has kept, up a, sort of galvanized .life in oiir Churches, through that Confession being made $ more or less rigid teat of ministerial standing. But pven with them has not the system been, t/ulvanized rather than living ? Has it not been the dead hound to the living, and .often chilling the living into death ? Has, it not been an ob-> staele to true theological progress- and develop ment ? Is there not evinced in the later, history of these Churches the want of a fruitful theolo gy, which will evoke thought rather than stifl&i it under penalties, which will encourage free,.ex egesis and not lay it under the' ban ? . Is not our later Calvinism strong, only when it has some thing to fight, comparatively powerless for the work of moulding society '! Who shall deliver us from the body of this death ? Who shall teach us to speak in, the English of the Nine teenth Century, rather than the Dutch of the Seventeenth? Who shall once more find a place fur hope among the saving graces ? ; To proceed to some remarks on specific points in the Federalist theology : 1. The Headship theory is scriptural.,only in its form and not in its doctrinal content. The antitheses or contrasts,,upon which special em phasis is laid in any system., are the points by which its general scope may, be most fairly test id. Now both in the Pauline and in the Feder alist theology there is an emphatic contrast be tween two Covenants, and yet the-contrast is not the same. There are,in Paul’s, Epistles (inclu ding that to the Hebrews) many passages in , winch the Old Covenant, is contrasted .'with the Now. To three of these, and to one in the Gos pel of Luke, (Heb. vii. 22., ; ix, 15-17, 1. Cor. xi. 25., Luke xxi. 20), the Westminster Divines appeal in vindication of their Federalist theolo gy. A reference to {these passages, especially, the .first, will show the reader, what every impar tial commentator of our 1 day admits, viz. that Paul's contrast is not between a Covenant of "Works made with Adam, and a Covenant of Grace made with Christ, but between, the formal covenant of Judaism and the spiritual covenant winch we call the Christian dispensation. Be sides these, there are many other passages which no human ingenuity c.'Uid twist into conformity THE AMERICAN PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1868. with the Federalist theology, and which plainly show what is meant in the Word of God by “ the Old and New Covenants ” The names, too, of the two parts into which the 'Scriptures are divided—the Old and New Testaineuts (or Covenants, for the word is the same in the Greek —<tia#)jx)j)-X-show in what sense Paul’s distinc tion has been universally taken. Nor is this a mere verbal difference. These two contrasts are the central points of two theo logical systems. The contrast of Paul is that of the Church of all ages, of Augustine, of Luther, of Calvin, of Bunyan, of the human heart. It is the key to all Luther’s agonizing experience:; it was burnt into Bunyan’s soul during that ter rible time, when he was being led to experience “grace abounding to the chief of sinners.” It is not a mere speculative but an intensely prac tical distinction. It is not, like the Federal Con trast, theoretic, but experimental!; it finds a more or less prominent place in every normal Chris tian experience. The Federalist Antithesis is not practical, it reflects‘uo'needß'of the huma'n-heart;' it exercises no power over life, it brings forth no fruit—“why cumbo,reth it,the ground?” It is the out-growth qf .controversy between,.man and. man, not of the great controversy between man and G'od. "■ 11. The same mis-application of Scrlptilre pas sages.has led to the ascribing' a r character to the Covenant with Adtfm' which it could mover have 1 possessed, We .arC told that it is a ; CpvSiiaht of as'aistmgutS'Keffftom a CdvanaUt Of Grabe! In what sense is this true ? Wps ASam, before His fall, self-righteous ? Did he stand in his own. strength and obey in his own goodness, or did he owe.all to the righteousness off Goduimpatted to! him, through that intimate communion'with God which* he enjoyed ? If the' latter, then his works were aS much of graee, as our jhstiffeation' with out works must'bettor the. unfailen creature has no more claim on the, Creator than the fallen., Had Adamnev.er sinned, id would stilbbe true as- Tennyson.sings: • . ; ~ For merit lives from man to man And not irdm 'hian, 0 Lord, to Thee. ’ -- - • ■ **lhiK* • ■ The Old Covenant, then, assixming itp exis tence; must have been as feailly'a' CovChantdf grace as any could be, and it is only'bjr transfer ring .to it what Paul says! ofJudaism; .that such’ a..distinction, has,found place. , , : , , . 111. The exceptional and arbitrary position assigned to Adam'in the Federalist system is un warranted’ add Unreasonable. This f h ! ad always been the weak point of the system, as* if l is l as-: sumed that the, representative responsibility, un, der whi.eh Adam' came,,was, create.d.and, produced, by the Covenant made with him, and, that..this responsibility is absolutely different in kind from that‘of Anjr ! of ;; his descendants. That I tliei , e t ‘ik A difference wilt doubtless'beadmittedon' AH hands, 1 bu,t that the, difference ,da; the. pffeeti'of van, atti&l: cial agreement between;Go,d,9.nfl Adapt, ifeis.nqti so easy to see. Adam’s responsibility differs in. degree from ours, in that he is historically fclie first of men and'the'fifst Of siiineis/Fy whom’ “ Bin entered into the WOrld And'deUth'by sin;”" But this, is not. enough for, our. dogmatists. , iThe Covenant of, works ismffdedr; ajfff.th.ejmost; facti.-;, tious and arbitrary character assigned to it, to give him a new and'straiiger'position, thereby' adding to the ffferAl difficulties cohifocted' tfitH the subject-of original sin, niereiy'fer ‘the* sake l of getting: rid< of intellectual difficulties.i. , The discussions .which led,Jto .the disruption of 1837-8, brought out this objection ,in strong re lief, and" the 1 third , of 'tlie false doctrines' com plained of ih tb'e meindriil of T 837 is^that’ ‘•“We have ho more k> do with' the'first sin of Adam*: than'with the sins'Of any other’palrenti.” 11 Sucb' 'a ! ’statement is most .probably 'infer ence from the unguarded utterance of some*'ul traist, but it serves our purpose.,; The statement of the Auburn.. Convention’s avoids the artificial difficulties of the subject. They say : ' ’' ’ ■' f ' '“ By a divine "toiisHtulibn,' Adam was so"the head and ■ representative* of. the raoe that, as*;a! coPse qjience of his transgressions,, all mankind .became morally corrupt, and liable to death, 'temporal'aiid eternal;” "* ' ‘ 1v ‘ ilr ‘ :l ' j * Recent indications are*that'the same difficulty' is.> being* felt in other .quarters* and in: .ajwork; on. “Representative by,Bfqf.) Wal lace off Belfast, the question is,approae}ied on tbe positive side, and the effort made’to raise other men to the level of Adam in the'inatter'-bf 1 responsibility, rather than to brii^4ii]ff J down*'to others.,. He says.: j. . ; .: . > e ; “ The cov-euant relation between Adam , and. bis posterity is not to be. regarded, .therefore, as an ex ceptional <sr singiila'r chsb. ' It is'singblaf as Being’ the firsthand as involving cohsqquenoesi.more"mo-' mentous and vaster in extent than any similar case. But the moral'principle'wbich underlies it is not singular, but familiar to; man,, antecedent to revelation, and" apart from its'teaching.” - Off course Mr. Wallace does not write up to that, principle throughout his book, or the Prince ton Review would have fewer praiaes.for him.. But he has . made a beginning and “ will bpar watching.” How fortunate that there is ..one) good Princetonian heresy-hunter in tlle'Belfa'st' Faculty to keep an eye.on him ! ' ; 1 : For if, Mr. Wallace, as above quoted, is right, what becomes of the vast importance of the (Jov enant of workß ? The Federal headship resolves itself into a mere natural headship, differing somewhat from 1 the common 1 conception of natu ral headship, but still ordinary and not extraor-, dinary. The representative responsibility of Adam is made to rest, not on an artificial, agree ment, but on the great, principle of the divine order and of immutable morality—“No man liv eth to himself.” Such a responsibility is not pecu liar to Adam, hut belongs, in differing degrees, to every member of the human ; family. As re cent French philosophers are fond of declaring, there is a moral solidarity of tbe race;. the con sequences of no man’s acts ceases with himself,; for-their moral results pass over to those who are united with him by any tie of nature or of grace, and especially by the parental bond. Holmes, in his “ Guardian Angel,” presents this last truth with a Princetonian exaggeration. Such a statement of course we cannot accept as covering the whole ground, but it probably. goes as far into the definition of the subject as the limits of human knowledge and divine Rev elation admit. But neither this nor any state ment is exhaustive of this most mysterious sub ject of the connection between Adam and his offspring, a real connection which even Hodge,of xilleghany admits to be inexplicable, while he and Other Cocceians patch up a supplementary ljegal connection to get rid of the difficulties of the subject. LEOTUBE AND: SUNDAY SCHOOL EOOMS. PattLa&d.gUas' prayed and sang praises, when thrust into the innermost prison, their feet made fast in the stocks, and God heard their prayers and delivered them. The early Christians of Rome worshipped in the catacombs; the Vaudois in the.-caves and among almost inaccessible-moun tains ;' the 'Covenanters' upon the heaths* ’and among the fastnesses of the"hills; and their wor ship was accepted; God heard and blessed them. It was a necessity with them, for they were per secuted, poor, andhunted by the enemies of the Church: , Rut;. inf thjs ’enlightened day aud.land, when men need not a secret orout-ofthe way place to worship, but may iio it anywhere and at all times: when God has given to the Church'wealth and influence; there is no excuse for seekingsuch places as these; no reason for holding; prayer-meetings and Sunday-schools in dark, damp, and,dingy underground, apartments, badly!; ventilated, gloomy, , dispiriting and un healthy. ‘ A I'argedimtfiihf‘of* grace Will' bfe 1 heces safy fd hMd' in such' 'a'-place,' 1 anything]!Uqt-coldt formal; and > uninteresting., There, jg.no,;doubt, jre,certain^extent,,be come- used' to such places .and seem to forget their oppressive effects, b,ut transfer the congregation to a dlebb,' kid 11 chPeiful ‘'attd' a "different- spirit will -animate' them.:. Tile effectupon children is much greater thap.qpon, those more, advanced in life, inasmuch, more susceptibje and more easily in-’, fluencea‘fey surroundings/ It is only necessary to ! j*b 'fritih d'Sabbath-sc'booT kejit in bnWdf thebe dkrk caverns; Under a church, to one' above ground, wberetthe sun . can: shine, und where ;the : ceiling, is high and'the air pure,; andj.the most .careless observer will, ajt_ ’on'ce be cpnyidc.ed of the Valdej of cheerful'j sunlit Sund'ay'-sehoor rooms. " " • How‘much more ‘ bubykirt? and jbyods the'- children p how much more- melodious are their! swUe.t isongs, wheu;.the. sound has space,, than, w:hqp,reflected from,a,ceiling .qlqse to the,head,!; It is not',only the' spirits that are these underground apartments; frequently 'the health of old and "ybungTi* Undermined; ’ Many a teacher has up a. class, Dot on account of the, fatigue, pf teaching, (it can never BS*fifAgu‘in'g’W"otfe ! \Hio‘se ‘heart is’id the work,) but the close, damp .and ■ dingy room is the Cange,oldgngqpv,,and , heudache.j ,if not of; ; worse, ailments. The reason that scholars often object to going'to school, and ’are listless, uneasy and inattMtWC', ik'thd'sAni'e, ariS’bbt Ttfant' of TovC for the'' teaCh'er,''interest in 'the ‘lessCn's or delight in thei .pxei’eises.'? -.1 Therei :is inothing ithat children*, SOiUjuph ppjoy as a weltregulatjedtSunday-sobeslt; wi t th pr.opqr There are, very .few eases where the use of a basement is a necessity; if 'dthdr a'ccdmmWdationS 1 Cknno't be‘provided, let the audidnfce' chamber 'of the church be-used for' all.theuneetings; the week-day meetings are J ful-; ly : as import|urti,as .the regulair .Sabbath, services.;! With regaf’d'tb’the. comparative importance of the Sunday-school,' one off our leadibg clergymeh well rdUiarkCd’/tbkt'hie'did iibt'kndw whbthef the’ Sunday-school-beloiiged’' to' the 1 church or the church toL* the'Sundiyrschoo'l,.and it is well un d.erptood day that no.cburch can suepeed. The prayer-mpeting and, Sunday-. school hndicate' the condition of the church, and from them coipe' those- who f 11 up hCr ranks." * In many 'cases the Want comfort in such rooms is tlife' result of a| labk'.df ifitbreit iti the Sunday scnoo'l and’ in the not a waht of, means.; ,|papy a , pppi;ch,icp,n,tetnpla.ti , ng, the, improvementjeff,the*:audience;;chamber,,.or the ; building, of la! 1 more (attractive edifice, had better.* expend the : mQpeyiifi : - I pi*oVidiUg J an ample room fori these 'irieetlUgk;' ‘' ‘THfey* Uedct’ l iiot si be‘ i aftai l d of making it too attrgetiih!’ ‘oV'/tbo plea'Aght'; the; new church,' or". tHe;jGin'prove I nipnts to the old, will, fpilpw^as,a npturarsequeope.i;,, , ‘ class of,chuEches,, iu our connection, will perhaps serve toi illustrate the* Subject j they 'are 1 Stately edificeS; ‘built of brick,' with stone dressings, with tower and'spire, ugholsteife'd; S^^ete'd' Roots, fine .organs;-' everything indeed tffat refipfed taste, og , comfort can command, in the audience' .cliambefd, fine pf these buildings, has the lecture - and Sunday school, rooms under the church* .accessible by .de scending, seven steps' below" the street; pavement, poorly ventilated and uncomfortable,-the* wall's of a color and’finish'''to represent' stone! but with huge discolored Spots caused by dampness j-The lecture-room fufhi'shed ! with,straight-haiikedpeWs; no doubt, taken from an old, church,,and, the feushipns faded and worn.,j both of these, apart ments are indeed', 1 to'one not used'to them, al most repulsive. Need it be said'that 1 the "meet ing's held in such a room Are l unattractive and but poorly attended ? ~ Your spirits, sink as you descend into.them In thej Sunday-school room scarcely half ofjhe space is occupied by seats to, accommodate a hundred and fifty scholars. The fine:and imposing facade of the church, its grand' entrance anji vestibule, the truly beautiful audi ence. chamljst;- with high vaulted and groined ceilings, striking contrast to these rooms of tlie churcif, ' The upper-room has a sdul-inspiriiig, heart-eheering effect; the other causes a painful, oppressive feeling, heightened, no doubt, by the contrast. , The second church is not so truly beautiful, externally, but with a larger audience-chamber, is less imposing ; but'the and lec ture-rooms are in a building attached to the rear of the church and projecting‘beyond it on either side, the first floor of which is,occupied,by am ple vestibules, anff stairways, } under which, atone end, is a trustees’ room, in the other a pastor’s study; and the leeture'-room', fUrnisHecl with com‘- fortable settees’, carpeted, pleasaiit- an'd 'ample in all its appointments, , occupies: the, remainder .of the first floor. The Sunday-school room .occupies: the entire second floor, has a high ceiling, is well lighted by a number of stained glass windows; the walls are frescoed and adofned with' pictures, mottoes, and maps ; an Italian marble 1 tablet in the wall immortalizes,the names of the members of the school who .fell in defence of, humanity, in the late rebellion. A raised platform at one end. accommodates the organ, more advanced classes and officers, and at the other end is the infant school, separated by sliding glass doorsthe body of the room is filled with comfortable circular forms. This room accommodates six hundred scholars, and it is always well filled. Instances might be adduced of much more repulsive church lining xpoms and also of much more elegantly arranged ones, but these are fair specimens. flow long shall Christian congregations in this land and in this age, be forced to go down infer such places to enjoy the pleasure of the week-day meeting, where tired nature, after a day of toil, must struggle with such depressing surroundings, and many delicate persons be denied the privilege of assembling with God’s people in these social and most precious, seasons; and the Sabbath school teacher’ and scholars be subject to like privations ? Why not lift them to the light of day, to the glorious sunlight ? There is no doubt but that in the majority of cases it might he done, and well done, did the church only, consider the importance of the subject and put forth the:lie-; quired energy; the.otlier appointments Qf,th e church evince that it is not from want, of means. It simply requires a will. Nd estimate platted upon the stated preaching of the Word Can &e'tt>6 high; ‘it is the fountain from which we.drinkp from which we are taught and have the precious, Word expounded to us; next to the Bible, it is the magazine from which, we ilraw the materials with which to carry on the warfare of life. In the Sabbath-school we impart fch’ht which : WC jekrhy simplified to meet the requirements of the yonhg", and in, the week-day meeting, we are further pre-, pared, by instruction from the by com-, paring experience, by uniting our prayers in one. petitidh, and by the influence of the’Spirit, mord frequently - and more powerfully-granted in such meetings. Without lowering our. estimate iof the inijpq]jia,nce of the, Word preached, let us.ex.alt the social gatherings., and prepare for them cheer ful and comfortable meeting-places! living rooms, around which, like those of our homes, cluster some of the most. hallowed recollections of our lives* of .endeared,:teachers,, of Christian fellow,-, shjpi.and, communion* of blessed yisitatioqs of the Holy Spirit,; make them such, that none need stby away; so attractive’fhai hone will be willing to stay iiway. : P. M. SABBATH SCHOOLS Of GERMANY. : Although it is not five, years since ..the first Sabbathrschoolwas organized ip connection with the .Lutheran church in Berlin, they, are now to be, found in., almost, all-parts of Prussia,, and to Someextent through Central Germany. Arti cles like , the subjoined,; which Jllr. Brockelman translates.and,sends to us, are now, appearing in the, German papers, and begettiog a. wide-spread movement, full of precious,,promise to that nation, which;is now secoud, tojnque.in Europe. t So: far, as human agency in a missionary ,form is in volved, the labor of a : single, man; is sufficient to, keep, a school.moving forward,; andeyen, he is, obliged to pay a good share ,of his own expenses; for as yet it ,is, only the English-speaking Christian, whojhasiweli learned, tp, giye< mpneyfor the.ad-. Vance of Christ’s spiritual, kingdom., . If Heaven eoutinues fco bless the work, as hith erto, it will - npt be .long before, Germany,will; stand shoulder; tp .shoulder;with:Qreqt. Britain and, the. United States, in-all the (moral enterpri-i ses of the : day... \)’c have articles just received, which, when translated, will dd something to enrich’the Suhbuth-school liteirature* of our own chuntry. < •’W'ttSli, too, may -we hot.' 'expect from the',improved: characters! our immigration,iwhen Sabbath.-sc,hpols ;shall.; thus become generjal,.? ,Any one, tp accelerate a movemeu ( t so, ajiispi-. ciously commenced, may do much, by sending cbntriblilibns oT’anyaidbUnt to Mr. 1 A. S. Barnds, the well-kn6wnVbook publisher,'No. 11l William' street,l.New: York. ■ dfi the* donor willsend his address, he-jwjll be,informed: through ~a commit-, lafliesandgeittlemen in, just yhat way his contribution has been applied, and there will be U'd percentage'off for hdm# or incidental expen- SeS-i' r ■' • i I’KKK SUNDAY SCUOOI.S. ?{ Free.Snnday-scho.olSiCaa pnly have a blessed result beeause' they are an institution by which spiritual citr'e is' taken of the ‘Children. They afe ;: beneficially disciplined', by instructing’ them inithe word of God,-by praying andsingingwith. them,.by making them acquaintpdwith'holy his., tory aud, by telling them stories., So they accus tom themselves to' fear the Lord and to be obedi ent. u As soon as the obligatory Sunday-school is over, which 1 must hold every Sunday, the vol untary ouebegins, and* art! uay -scholars' remain. After singing and (praying, biographies of believ ing men are told and explained aud impressed upon the Children’s mind; That these stories may riot be lost, but take root in their hearts, and that.at the same time,,the parental house may be brought into connection! with the Sunday-school, I make the children write down on slates at home what they have heard in the Sunday-school, and examine it : the next morning in the day-school. This gives at once opportunity to-,make farther remarks about itj though riot religious, but prac tical and orthographical ones. “Is it not worth while to collect children du ring one half hour on the day of the fjord, which is made to be a bldssiog for us? T do' entreat all believing school-masters to cotne > forward and' help to prepare the youth for the kingdom of God. Dear parents and .school-masters, prayer is beautiful and necessary for salvation, .but. we must also work upon the souls of our children if Christian society is ever to be reformed and irii-' proved. Our 1 first task-must be to save the chil dren' from perditidn, and to teach them how to. keep, the . Sunday. If we assemble our school children on Sundays around us with- love - and patience, with faithful and persevering prayer, our labor will be blessed, because Satan’s empire will be shaken .in its foundation,- if the lambs', are torn out of his hands aud -oonducted to, the Saviour’s lap. ‘ > “ lovely to look at a free Sunday-school! I do riot sit before them iri my every day’s coat but in my Sunday clothes. I have ririt'to punish' them, but I treat the’m ‘as : a father : treats his children. Joy and delight is on their, faces, when fhey listen to my. stories.. , This encourages me to undergo the fatigue of the school.' 'Whoever does something for his Saviour, will feel a great joy- ’■ , No one may say that, he is too, tired. . The Lord gives strength and enables the weak to do the work. Whoever has established Sunday schools, will praise the Lord who considers him worthy to feed the lambs of Jesus, but whoever has not yet done so, may begin in the name of Jesus, and must not mind the world's derision. The children will come. Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The precious Saviour sends them and conducts them himself to us. Woe to us, if we offend them by not keeping the Sunday with them, but blessed are we, if we exert ourselves that none of them may be lost ” THE BUFFALO CONTENTION. LETTER from REV. MR. RANKIN, (0. 8.) Editor American Presbyterian :—My attention has been called to yodr. report of the proceedings of the Buffalo Presbyterian Convention. Let me correct an error or two into which you have fallen, in regard to my speech delivered on that occa sion. I. suppose you wrote from memory, and therefore could not be very accurate. ; ( The case I cited from the Digest to prove that ministers holding the Governmental theory of the Atonement should he regarded as in good standing in the church, was not that of Hezekiah Batch. Mr. Balch was condemned for alleged errors and required to renounce them. The de cision r mentioned was in regard to the Synod of Philadelphia. In the fall or 1818, that Synod condemned the Hopkinsian doctrines, one of which was the Governmental . theory. The As sembly of 1 SI?, reviewed their proceedings and censured them in strong terms, I argued that subsequently the standing of those holding, that vidW'dft'he Subject had' never been questioned, and- accounted for the action in the case of Mr. Balch on,the ground that lit was taken early in the, discussion of thesubject, in this country- — that at a later day, when more light was gained, that theory was not considered inconsistent with a sincere adoption of the Confession of Faith— that at the division of the chUrd'h in 1838, a number of ministers who {held t hat view of the atonement .remained .with the Old School, and were never molested; —others returned and were received without objection! ' it was no part of my design in that “argu ment” to shew that wide differences of doctri nal: views were: plainly allowed by the highest authorities.” What I attempted to prove was, that difference of interpretation of doctrine was allowed, &c., —that if a iuan held that oar con nection with Ad'am was of such a nature that all mankindidescetiding from'him, by natural gener ation' are born in sin and condemnation, his stand ing ,iu the church ought not to be questioned— that he had a right to explain that connection in his own way—he might, as in the confession, do if by the word covenant- —of by the word consti tution or law—-his interpretation might be true or not true—if he held the fact he held one of the taught in that, symbol;—that men might diffef as to what constituted the penalty of thfe ianl/ahd yet agree inf 1 thfe fact' that Christ suifered in* the stead of sinners, —that some Old Butiuol'incii -defurednjhe-^jeno^^rwerj--u osoriptur ally—that liberty of interpretation should be ac corded to all —here is debatable ground—here men of good character may differ—within this wide territofy, individuals and societies have am ple! room ■to exerdise forbearance. ’ To prove this, 1 cited the language of the Confession of Faith, Fqrrn, of Government, Chap. .1, Bee. 5, and the action of thp, Assembly,,of 1824 in the ease of Craighead. ■ r * Tne Old School never regarded 1 the New as holding heresy, or as'being heretics. In prose cuting Mr. Barnes;, Dr- J unkm disclaimed in the strongest terms, that he charged him with heresy; and in the trial of Dr. Beecher, Dr. Wilson made the same disclaimer. The most that has been alleged against them is error) in doctrine. In my argument before the * Convention, I expressed surprise that NewSchoof brethren.: should now admit the truth of this charge and contend that there are such doctrinal “ differences ” as to pre clude the reunion of the fcio bodies. At the time of the separation it Was fetoutlydenied. The catalogue of errors condemned by the Assembly of 1887, was indignantly denied in tolo by the minority; and if it had not declared that those errors prevailed extensively in the Presbyterian church, and impugned former Assemblies it would have passed unanimously; ■ As it was the vote was 109 to 7, with 11 non liquet. This much I judged was due from me in ex planation of your notice of my Argument in the Convention. Yours fraternally, Items. —“An assistant or ah one, he did not care which,” was recently the subject of an application by a clergyman of Rochester, Nlw York., to his parishioners.—The American Sunday-school Union held, its annual meeting in New York recently. The report states that -within the last ten years, 20,000 Schools, containing 1,000,000 children," have been established. During the past year 10,000 teach ers have been employed in teaching 7.0,000 pupils, and $115,001) have been expended.—At the last meeting of the American Bible-Society three new auxiliaries were recognized, arid graDts of hooks made, amounting to 2(1,256 volumes, besides others to the value of $2,0801 The Rev; H. Dyer, D. D., and Rev. 1? . H. b owler, Di D;,:were elected delegates to represent the Society at , the .annual meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society.— In New York there are 222 churches and 119 missions of evangelical character, .34 Catholic churches, 6 .Jew ish synagogues, 7 Spiritualists of otherdenomi nations, making a total of 419 churches of all kinds, with accomodations for 200,00.1 persons. The average attendance ia about 150(000., Colleges.— John A. Brown, Btq., of Philadelphia, has subscribed the very liberal bum of $20,000 to the endowment of Lafayettb College, at Easton, Pa. Also,, ; the.' Hon. William A.| Dodge, $lO,OOO. —The Board of Trustees of Princeton College, week beforeOast elected to the'Presidency of the Institu tion, (vacant .by the resignation, of the Rev. D. D. MacLean,,D. I).), the Rev. Wiliam Henry Green, D. D,, Professor in the Theological Seminary. Dr. Green is a graduate of Lafayette College and of Princeton Seminary, and was-Jor some years pastor of the Central church, Philadelphia. He is the au thor of a Hebrew Grammar, and has been a con tributor to the Princeton, anil probably other lie views. At the same meeting, John C. Green, Esq., of New York, proposed to add to the endowment of the College, upon certain specified conditions, the sum of $lOO,OOO, and also to give real estate in Princeton. contiguous to the College, valued at from $20,000 to $25,000. AJ T. Rankin,
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