ahr, ic . 11.. 7!itv,:bpirrian
New Series, Vol. V, No. 3^
JohnAWeir 15ju1y69
PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 'lB6B.
$3 00 By Nail. $3 50 By Carrier.
50oto Additional after three Months. 1
gtmrritaitgrulaghttian.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1888.
SUPREMACY OF THE SPHERE OF FAITH.
Who, by searching, can find out God? 4 ques
tion which gives a hint of •the limits of the rea
soning faculties. By themselves, they cannot in
troduce us to the highest objects of human inter
est. The stream' 'cannot rise 'higher than its
fountain. That which is born of the flesh is flesh.
That which is within the reach of reason, must
belong to the sphere of reason; Amon, indeed,
in its right exercise, would make us aware of its
own limits and so point obscurely, to something
beyond itself. Rightly used, it would be ready
to receive and act upon truth, originating in a•
source beyond its own powers of discovery, as its
highest privilege and most beneficent exercise.
But its great, radical fault, and the proof of its
share in the fall, is its perverse disposition to ar
rogate to itself the supremacy among the faculties
and to rule out everything that will not render
an account at its bar.
The supreme power of the soul is that which
makes us cognizant of supreme truth; that which
ranges beyond reason's utmost confines among
spiritual realities; that which produces conviction
without an intervening process ,of reflection and
ratiocination; that which never has asked and
never will ask of such processes the right to its
conclusions, or the means of defending them..
The conclusions of science based':on the adthitted
imperfect testimony of the senses and the defec
tive and uncertain operations of the understand,
ing, must be inferior in authority to the absolute
assertions of the faith-principle; the varying and
often contradictory phases of scientific preposi
tions and systems cannot claim comparison with,
the eternal realities of faith; the scientific ten
dency, which is felt and which can be followed
by the few only, , cannot aspire to dominate the
universal characteristic yearning of the 'human
race; science, which makes us better acquainted
with the relations of our material and temporal
existence, must be regarded as the most danger
ous of the foes of humanitrifiti4fUSeeto
the comparative insignificance of, its whole,
sphere, and its subordination to that class of
truths which points to mates higher destiny, his
celestial relations and his kindred to 'Deity, and
if it claims to comprehend absolutely the whole
of man's interests. Self-love, self-respect, con
science, hope, aspiration, the yearning for rest, in
perfect truth and perfect love, the outcry of con
scious guilt and the fearful apprehension of judg
ment to come, the sigh of the broken hearted—
these deep voices of the soul affirm, with linen-,
swerable emphasis, the supremacy of the objects
of faith over every possible result of the processes
of mere thought. The most carefullyr:drawn con_
elusions of science, which contradict the funds_
mentals of faith—the 'existence of 'a personal God,
and of an immortal inimaterial soul, the possibility
of miraciles and of a revelation, the distinction
between right and wrong and the future state Of
ewards and punishment, the need and, the possi
); fifty of an atoning sacrifice and a perfeot Saviour,
mustgo down. No amount of argument, no chain
demonstration cap establish conclusions in the
Orld which are at war with , thstwhie4 supplies
1.8 downright necessities of living men. The
iffiest achievements of science cannot suppress,
the heart of man, a joyful echo to that faithful'
ying, that Jesus Christ came into the world
save sinners. Even after the hopedfor triumph
the godless, material science of our day, and
silencing of the pulpits and the schools of
elegy, the aching void of the soul will secretly
onstrate the indestructible vitality of the,
h-principle, and it will, abide its time and take
revenge in new and stupendous forms, of au
_tition, if not allowed its natural and legitiMate•
se as man's guide and governor• through the
Such results, though their possibility in ,this
llenwoild is Admitted, we do not for a moment
nticipate. But amid whatever vicissitudes, we
re sure the victory must be with that.principle
f faith "which o'Vercometh the world." This
tone the builders may refuse, but it shall be the
eadstone of the ,corner,, Thosoever shall fall
pon it shall be:brolon, hilt upon whomsoever' it
hall fall, he shall be,-ground to powder.
Dar Amid such vast convulsions' of_ nature as
he late South Amerimin earthqualle, the query
uggests itself, what is thdretio hinder'ilui still
idet Otead of such devafitatioSlUUtilliilolvds
he wholli • globa, and the Calie race Of man ?
" hat•is, Qur confidence in the stability ofuur)
arthly :surroundings ? The merely • scientific
ad ltse' nothldg but vaguei
ot, tthibifig that can be called SifitUsWei„iiillie'
question. The believer in God'sprovidence and
in the plan of Redemption, can • promptly' say :
the world is certain to be preserved , until the
moral ends of its creation , are answered. It is
saved from general catastrophe for' the ' sake of
the Church. Nature is no: blind . ir l ieSPoOsible
force, but is controlled to work out end.
than its own. Under. these higher ruling ob
jects alone, it can claim to be !called a Cosmos.
Rightly read, nature
. testifies most clearly to
moral ends in her awn " structure. The' .great
geological catastrophes, , eras, and progress, in,
ages past, all join to.point to man, and to prepare
this world to be. his home, his workshop, and' his
temple. We canodt 'doubt ' that' such`':leaser;
though dreadful catastroPhies; as we Fitness, are
equally'under Prbvidential, Control, and , eqoallY
tributary to the interests of our race.
THE TREATY 'WITH CHINA.
•
The most secludectand inaccesaihla of foreig,9
nations hitherto, the tote most reluctant to form
relations with 'others, and the -most' arrogant in'
its Self-importance and• self-sufficienc,y; I l leoNT seems
to have fairly and voltintarily adopted the , oppo
site policy, and in a. manner unheard of, is invi
ting all civilized nations to form friendly alliandes
with itself, for all the purposes ' , usually contem
plated in internatiobel f intercourse. ‘Aforeigiter,
an " outside barbariau h an American, was chosen
to lead this unparalled, universal embassy,of :the
Celestial Flowery nation; and, Its mark of the
Chinese estimate set Upton such servicies,:his sal
ary,'originally fortf thousztud dollars per annum,
has beeii doubled, 4 w are told an American
' •
resident of Shanghai, duriag the progress of the
mission, without Mr. Burlingame's knowledge or
request. / ;'• '
The treaty latelY'eendluded between Otir gov
ernment and this novel embassy is worthy of con
sideration. It will probably.be of. more signifi
canoe than that formed
,with anyiother power,
since we are the nearest ;civilized neighbor of
this vast empite, and are likely to carry on the.
greatest trade with Chine, ,not only for our own
purposes, but on account of. Europe as well. Oar:
own advanced positiontt before all th e continents ,
Otti t ie globe in
,beingtraversed l eom * pletely, from
ocean to ocean, 14 a — continuous 'line' of railroads,
will make us the medium of commerce from one
side to the other of the . old world., It will be
easier and more direct to get from tbe'Eesiein , to
the Western shore of that body of land, throuilt
the 240 degrees of longitude, in the ,roi4t, of
which is plaped North America, than throngh
the 120 , `degrees of actual distance which, sepa
rate& the Thaines River from the Hoing,ho;since
the 'actual time of travel via the Pacific Railroad
will be leis than one-half of that consumed by
theold. ,route, via, the Cape of Good , Hope,,
The, first.two articles of the treaty coneede , the
simple rights of China to her own territory', over
her own subjects; and to such parts 'of 'her Policy,
as she dees not, choose , to bripg within , the condi
tions of a
_treaty with other nations. ,The Third
provides for Chinese 'consuls at our .ports,ott the
same terms with those enjoyed by Great Britain
and Russia. This will furnish protection to the
ChineSe emigrants in the ports-of Califoimii 7 , fO j r
inatabae, where they have been subjected to such
abusive treatment as is only paralleled by that
visited upon the freedmen of the,,South, and as
every class of men ; not holding a recognized posi
tion in society, are liable to meet. For an out
raged Chinaman to get justice in , California, has ,
been an exceedingly rare thing, as the laws of
the. State do not a allow a Chinaman to testify
against a white man. ; , The presence of a Consul .
at San Frameisco, Sacramento, Ste., , ,be ; :a
guarantee, that such' unredressed. wrongs will be-
Come,matter, of negotiation between the two gov-,
ernments..
' Article Fourth enlarges the scope of ,a, clause
in the treaty of ten years ago; by vwhich., the
Christian's of our country and converts in ' Chiba
were exempted from persecution : , The present
treaty secures toleration for our' CountiyMen of
every.religious persuasion, and, in return,.stipu-,
latesthat, as with Americans in- China, 'so 4 ' Chi
nese subjects in the United States shall enjoy entire
liberty of conscience, and shall be exempt from all
disability or,ersecution on account of their reli
giousfaith. The mutual:right of sepulture :is
also ccinc'eded. Whether this article will be un
derstald asencouraa b ino• o
Chinese immigrants to
introduce the entire system of Budhism, with its
orders of priesthood, its public observances, its•
temples, and its corrupt and' contaminating hea
then practices and abOininationa, is Or,' exactly
clear. Already the:fifteen or tWentiilibilsa.nd of
these people in San , Francisco haveilt, temple of
somelretensions, with a hideous idol-which they
worship, not far frOm the buSiness"centre 'of the
city. ' As this Vast' people, ' embra6i4e one-t itd
of 'the - huitiar` family; knacks at the dooi.)I6 o Ol'ill'',
country, through 'one of our MU citizens, itlated
to St well known minister of the Gospel,' ifjnoeix
t-- -
Christian man himself, and asks. entire equality.
of religious privileges for Budhirim, as fdr Chris
tianifyi it semis an appropriate time for uI 3: to ask
aft& our 'Own'a repute as Christian' natiud;
how far 'such a charactet, if we actually possessed
it, would restrain us, from grii:nting the whole bur
den.of their prayer, 1 Admitting that we should:
toleratef these people in their owni chtisew , belief,i
which'. no one 4oubts, do we not, by &finding'
entire liberty' of conscience and exeMptiO r n i frcim i
all disability i on account of religious ,and,
worship--do Iwo not concede a principle radically
and dangerously inconsistent with our religions
tositicin as u Christian' nation ? Hive We not'
slighted, ant:Lao:endangered those greilt *ref
principles derived from the Bible, which:actnally,l
lie 'at theloandation of our laws and of our
isteric4:l' as a free people, in this offer of pOlitieally'
eqUaliOig with theM the worship of false gods;'
Of to
'
no:go s a all, e perpe ra a ttn
and "the Cton o
natifinsin the name of religion 7:Or is.our
tianity so well-grounded ,and: rightfully Oonfiddnt.
thatit`can more than ettdure, can meet and, by
the unaided poirer 'of 'its truths, 'tranlifertethese
idolatotla into nominal folloviers, at least, of As"
Christ, before, they have inflicted serious miaChiel,
upon ourselves by their publicly allowed heatheia
ish obserViincesl •
It inuSt be remembered that these fift:y'thon '
sand Chinesein California are but. the advance
guard of what may tern. out a .mighty eastward.
moveindnt 'from the most populous hive of hu
inanity in the World, which, , like theamarchnf
dintindlive anidtals, rats, locusts, army *thins;
squirrels,nnts, in vast nut4ers ; like thediigia;
tions of,Goths, Vandals, and _Saracens, and, like,
the 'movements. of rebellious hordes in China
itself,`maybe,utterly'beyond the. control •of the.
more :civilized; htit"nurherically :"rdoes',.
Shall we beckon this heathen Maas to our Shores,.
with the,express. understanding >tl at tlieir ,hea c ,
theuisnrishall *ork them no disadvantages .?,• Or,
to turn horneward, are we not reminded,,bylthe
concession, of • this fourth article, of the protracted'
t (Aeration of the nuisance of poligamy l in the heart.
of our' country,_ udder, the •nude
religioni ?; _And is not the .persistent.hphtly of
our 'politikans towards this enormity; as practiced
by, our ` own citizens, a significant hint as to the
possibility that similar practices of our, heathen
neighbors, in the name of religion, enjoy like
sufferance, if any political end were to be gained'
by it? Is'a combination of Chinese add of Mey-'
mon interests such , ad impossible thing in thefu-,
'titre, after this , treaty, has, produced , its , expected
•
'results, that it should 'be dismissed with a laugh?
Or shall we promptly the criminals of Utah'
the alternative of abandoning - their Public and
avowed immoralities, or of coming ` under the
dis
grace and penalties of the law, and at the,same,
time netify the Chides° government, that the,
fourth article of the treaty, cannot he consteued
to allow practices abhorrent to Christian niorali
t. 3 ? could not do the latter
consistently, unlees we also did the. ormer. •
The; remaining, articles of the Treaty do not
call for special,:' comment. They are, Fifth
provision for regulating the Coolie traffic accord
ing to the ordinary hUmene principles of irumigra-'
thin ; Article sixth guaranteeing to' citizens , Of.
each nation„the .right to • unobstructed travel or
residence in either country, with the.same privi
leges, immunities and exemptions which are ac
corde d to the citizens or subjects of "the most
favored nation ' —a provision which will probahly •
lead, to the settlement, and, perhaps, naturaliza
tion of many Chinese among us, who are now;
merely adventurers;and bring a hetter class of
this people to our shores. The "most favored.'
nation;"
natiikn'' clause of this u article,,shOws, that . China
has not advanced, beyond her former-narrow con
cessions• as to the right of residence';' foreigners ,
are not allowed to settle in the country aflarge,,
but only in the few ports on tie outer bodadaiies"
of the Edipire, throWn open to foreigners by ex
isting treaties. „Mr. Burlingame has !not yet suc
ceeded in liberalizing the nation to 'the point of
welcoming foreigners to a residence in every part
of their wide dominion:; A l .rtiele seventh pro
- vides for equal enjoyment of educational facilities
in ,both countries by,the citizens of both. Arti
cle eighth, and last, gives opportunity to our Gev
ernment, to take part, by the appointment of,En.-
gineers, in any improvements, 'such as railroads,
and, telegraphs, which', the ibhinese Government
shall, of its own option, and: under its own- con
ti of .undertake to carry out. ' -
This 'treaty has 'provoked a grat 'degree of
jealouty`and ill will in the newspapers of Aug ;
land, but it seems to ,that the move*entia the ,
hands of -thii Embassy,, although headed„:l4 ant
American; is of the broadest inteinaiionaPhhar
actei!,' and ''cOnteinplates,
admission o'.f + China into g
the, .i.41, - CATOle"of'i k 44'
J 4 rt s Li c!.: h!iti
tlonalities which
,profess to be governed by a re
gard to the principles of justice in their dealings ,
iwith
. one ariother, and will thus protect China
against another such an outrage , as the Opium
War. True philanthropists ought to .rejoice at
such a result, and ought not to find it grievous
if the nation which has..helped China into such
a proud position reaps, , for a time, .a somewhat
larcrer share of the advantages.
Fresh opportunities and duties in the Evan
gehzation of China, it is vary easy to see, are
brought to the American Churches by this Em
bassy, led by , an American, .and by this treaty
which brings the two nations into new and more
general relations. May God enlarge our plans,,
our gifts,. our, spirit of, self.consecraiion and of
prayer, in proportion to the grandeur of the
emergency.
ARE :THE ;OLD AscßOok. SACRAMENTAL
~; CALVINISTS?
The North-western Presbytekian,. p. S. pa
per of Chicago, notices our article on the teach-,
ing,s of the Westminster Standards on the subject
of the Sacraments in a style very different from
that adopted by its Philadelphia: coadjutor.- It
quotes , largelY and "continnouslyowhat we•aaid bn
the. subject, and 'represents .us . with as muck faii
•neas.as we can expect from 'a theological school
which is in a .stater of , ehronio alarm. , • It is in
deed as fairas We can expect any thoroughly Old
SchooLman to , be, in regard to any: one who dia-
Bents from him.
•Ontnne point he gi'es to bur anewer. He takes
theeground that; the:loalvinistiO doctiine of the
sacraments is that of the , Old School .Church as
such.' He accepts the Calvinistic doctrines of
Baptismal Regeneratinn and of a Eucharistic
Real• Presence of Christ's 13ody and Blood;' not
merely as stated in the Westininster Standards,'
but; also 'as embodied. in our quotation from the
Scotcb. , Confeesionl of 1560. He 'is:as fUll and'ex
plicit as any one could desire, .denouncia,g the
Zwinglian doctiine as' an attempt to "retire the
supernatural from! 'experimental Chriatianity,"
an "opposition to.the;presence.'of Jesus; by 'the
pfficienCY` of the Hely Spirit,ln the sacraments."
We are -gratified; and .we- are -sure- The Pres
byterianlyill belo,--4oubirsurs that- The Re
formed Church .Messenger will be,so,—to find our
'Chicago, friend : tic, explicit here. But we Are not
less astonished than gratified. If this „is Old
School doctrine, then that. Church Aas been hid
ing its light under'; a bushel to a very ,greviOus
:extent. We had supposed 7 —with most othersr—
that the common Protestant doctrine (of the Sacra
.
,being commemorative rites) had obtained,
with some few exceptions, within her pale. We
are certainly not aware of the opposite doctrine
being advocated T from any of her pulpits --we are
certain that it has not been so from her • press
luntil The Noilh, - Western - Presbyterian set the
igood example. the _N:orgt Western kindly
tell us—and we think .The . ,Refprmed „Olturch
'Messenger, and The Presbyterian would like to
know alSo, in whiCh of the numerous issues of
the'o. S. Board from the pens of our Old School
:divines, we shall find the, orthodox doctrine yin
dicated against a galpsaying,generation
Earther,_ The , Nortla, Western. Presbyterian, re
pudiates Zwingliaeism not only for its own sake
but, as "New .scl i toolt „Indeed, th,e editor seems
to write under the impression that we have spoken,
'of it ,as such. ; We do not believe,that,t,here•is
theslightest differeore betw,een the two Branches,
of. the „Church la this regard. We distinctly
charged Zuinglian,
r views ow ! the Pre:byterian
Churches which-speak the English language.; we
might.haye excepted,, the American German; Re
formed,Church. We believe that the case is precise-.
ly with us as it ismith t tlte Old , School. - The g,reat
mass of both, churches are utterly,,iudifferent to
the,,doctrines in question. ~Of the few. who have
Itad,their attention, aroused, to the subject, the
greater part reject Calvinism and accept Zuin-,
glianism. Thak there are ex,ceptions in both
Branches we know, , but , they are probably 'as
numer-ns, in our Branch 'aa„inithe• Other Branch.
Unless some very sudden, rpolutton fi shottld , take
place among.his followersis,n, „eye_ nt not h impossible,
in the ,present state !of. excitement , apd,
we doubt if Dr. Erskine will find,a haker's dozen
of the most obstructive:Q., S. men, • Fho will sub-
scribe ; to his doctrine of,sunernatnral sagrament,,s,
— ff a Eucharistic real, ,presence
„of..the „body and
blood ,Christ,,and,,a baptismal ;regeneration.
Let r him count noses, ~ • ~ t,
Oil two. .other rintstodr briticlas sorely mis
interpreted us.. He tbokt: our , reference to John -
Locke'si"Philbsophy *Comnion.Sense+,..ai an •
endorsement of thattgreat '!Philistine,". and bases
thereon, all sorts, of admonitions .and •;ceriaareat
,ast,tonliew Sehooltielianbe uptin.philosopliic sys-'
tems:t, ;we , x ndividnailyl differdfrOw, the o.
*en , ,aitiall,. , it.is in; being. ;much:, more, decidedly,
Genesee E - va,ngelist, No. 1166.
Ministers $2.50 H. Miss. $2.00.
I. Address :-1334 Chestnut Street.
opposed to John Locke than they are; and it
has always been the very characteristic of the
New School to lay no sort of stress upon a man's
philosophy of things, provided I;t4 has " the root
of the matter" in him, in head.and heart.
The North Western gravely infers from our
article that there exists in, the Now. School Church
an clement, which may be appropriately designated
as Taylorism, which would " retire the supernatu
ral from experimental Christianity," " intred,nee
the Philosophy of Common:Sense , as an expounder
'of Christianity," and teach that "regeneration is
but' a , change of purpose," that "man needs not
a new life but only aid, the , aid of illumination,
roor.sl e suasion, favorable surroundings, etc., to do
,all ,that the Gospel requires." We can only reply
that such a representation of. even the most de
cided New School, men, would, like the Protest
at. Albany, be merely ridiculous, were it not that
there are perhaps many in the Other Branch
who will accept it as true. They are simply
a mis-statement too gross to be ranked even
among caricatures, for a caricature pre-supposes
some kind ,of resemblance to, the thing carica
tured. •
The article closes with a warning to its readers
not to accept our representation of the doctrine
of the Confession as reliable /. as ~being made up
in the most arbitrarY way, of detached sentences,
strung together, with words
,which we have in
serted. Such a caution cannot stop. there. We
challenge our critic to specify, any point in which
we have misrepresented the Confession. If we
have done so, show it; if not, the editor , is bound
in courtesy to'retract his pstiagrlph implying that
we' have.
se' Dr.
_.E. Wentworth; in. amote to Zion's
Herald; proposes to correct the statement of oar
'correspondent GENESEE, that, the members of the
Chinese Embassy are notidolators because Con
fueianists:,;--Ic.. .
"There is an image of Confucius in every
;school-house, tot, which pupils pay. reverence,
homage, worship. There are, sometimes, if not
'always, images of Confucius,,in the temples of
Confucius, and, *here there is; no image, an an-
I cestral tablet,rand at the annual and Setni-anbual
,sacrifices offered in the Provincial temples, al:li
pals, grains, silks, music and prayers are offered
at the shrine of Confucius. The 'old Confucian
temple at Foo Chow hacl,in it a wooden image of
Conflicins, 'which was burned when the temple
was deStroyed by fire: The followers reverently
gathered up the ashes of 'the idol,,urned them,
buried them, and raised a huge tornb,over them,
as ,the , Romanist would say, with °. imposing
ceremonies.'"
Intelligent, observ,ers in China are not agreed
as to whether any real worship is designed in these
proceoings
ser Street' preaching is being prosecuted in
New Yorli' with a good deal of vigor, such men
'as Stephen' H. Tyrig„ Jr., and Geo. J. Mingins
throwing themselves heartilfin to the ivoik. In
,our own citrit can' hardly be, sai&to" have been
,dropped in past years at all. 'Mr. James G-rant
.of the First H. P. Church has long conducted
these ont-door setvices in connection.with their
long established colored mission school in St.
'Mary street, and his efforts 'have been ably sus
tained by others, among whom we .notice''Mr.'
:Geo. R. 'Stuart, Jr. On recent Sabbaths, quite a:
:number of localities have been occupied on Broad,
street for this purpose, the young men. of the
city:having put their hand, to the plow. Dr.
Allen of the Third Church has 'not been, be
hind in this good cause.
The current `in bu r r Presbyteries on Re-•
union is all one way.' Without turning aside sly
more than to record an occasional diasent from'
the2d'and the 10th articles, the Plan of the,Joine
COminittees is adopted everywhere: as a whole.
There is no tarepering or tintering with that'
Which both Assemblies adopted, and to which
they gave such a satiafactorY explanation by the'
Report of the Special Committee, on the one hand,
and the Answer 'to the Protest on the other. ,
.16r*Our readers will observewith interest the
large amount of information which - we are 'able
to lay before them in regard to our own Church.
It will be found. that noi one of, our denomina
tional papers is so full in this - irespeet' as THE.
APLERICAN. PRESBYTERIAN'. JiliSt now, the
'meetings of Presbyteries and Synods demand a.
large space, but as:the question of Reunion is,
under discussior4.our , readers will not think us
too,liberalinkut ;policy... To make the different'
parts of thuCkurch , known.to each other, and for
keep alive a low of spiritual 'sympathy, by;
prompt' and full interchange of thoughtand in 4
telligenee,:are leading objects of newspaper ea-.
terprise in the= religions world.