USA > Connecticut > A complete history of Connecticut, civil and ecclesiastical, from the emigration of its first planters, from England, in the year 1630, to the year 1764; and to the close of the Indian wars > Part 54
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He further argues, " This proposition may be proved, from the grounds the synod at Saybrook went upon, and the expressions they used in the agreement they came into. They mention it as a principle universally acknowledged, Quod tanget omnes, debet tractari ab omnibus. What all are concerned in, all have a right to act in. This they had an especial respect to, in coming into this agreement. Now those affairs, in one consociated church, which do re- quire an ecclesiastical council, do concern, and will affect, all the other churches united with it. This is particularly
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the case of ordination, as has been proved already ; and, Book Il. therefore, the churches of a particular consociation, upon the principles of the Saybrook synod, have a right to act, 1759. in all cases that happen within their limits, which require the determination of an ecclesiastical council; and especial- ly in an affair of so great consequence to them all, as the settlement of a minister in any one of them. By necessary consequence, our consociated churches are not at liberty, in these cases, to call councils at large, or to pick here and there a church ; but are, by the very principles of their constitution, limited to their brethren of the same consoci- ation.
" The expressions used by our venerable fathers of the synod at Saybrook, are agreeable to this principle, on which they acted. Thus, in the second article, they men- tion this as the end for which churches were to consociate, viz. For mutually affording each other such assistance as may be requisite upon all occasions ecclesiastical. In the next article, they say that, All cases of scandal, that fall out within the circuit of any of the aforesaid consociations, shall be brought to a council of the elders, and also mes- .sengers, of the churches within the said circuit. In the fifth article they provide, that when any case is orderly brought before any council, &c. their determination shall be final. In the next article, they order, that if any pastor and church doth obstinately refuse a due attendance and con- formity to the determination of the council, &c. they shall be reputed guilty of scandalous contempt, and the sentence of non-communion shall be declared against such pastor and church. This is the language of the Saybrook agree- ment, from the beginning to the end of it; it says, all oc- casions ecclesiastical, all cases of scandal, any case brought before a council, &c. He observes, that the constitution allows of no exempt cases, and that allowing them would destroy the very design for which the churches consociat- ed. He thinks it certain and indisputable, from these con- siderations, that all councils were, by the constitution, lim- ited to the consociations of their particular districts."
He observes, "The ordination council at Wallingford consisted of the elders and messengers of seven churches ; their advocates will have it, that they were an ecclesiasti- cal council, known and approved by our constitution : the only proof they produce of it is this ; the heads of agree- ment mention the pastors of neighboring congregations as proper persons to concur in an ordination. A slender proof indeed ! I believe no council ever carried their claims so high, and produced so poor a commission. The
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Book II. expression, pastors of neighboring congregations, must be stretched pretty hard to make it take in a minister at the 1759. distance of an hundred and fifty miles, which was the case of one who sat in this council : But it is a greater stretch still, to make it mean both ministers and messengers of churches.
" I conclude, therefore, on the whole, that the churches of Connecticut, by entering into consociations, have limit- ed themselves to the particular consociations to which they belong, in all cases, (without exception) that require the advice, or determination of an ecclesiastical council'; and particularly in the important affair of ordination : That our constitution acknowledges no council but a consociational one : And that to set up an ordination council in opposi- tion to the consociation, is not only perfectly unconstitu- tional, but absolutely subversive of the consociation of churches, which is the very basis on which our constitu- tion stands.
" If we consider the matter merely as an ordination, without regarding the special difficulties that attended it ; the nature of the union that subsisted between the church of Wallingford and the other churches of the district, the principles on which this union subsists, and the good ends it was designed to answer, all unite to require that the consociated churches should have been invited to exam- ine and approve the candidate, and to act in the ordina- tion.
" But if we consider this ordination with its peculiar cir- cumstances, it will appear to have been one of those diffi- cult cases which could not be issued without considerable disquiet : For Mr. Todd allows that, at a parish meeting, consisting of two hundred voters, fifty appeared against the proposed settlement of Mr. Dana, and these appear to have been continually gaining ground ; for at the time of the ordination, they were increased to the number of ninety five. Some of these were gentlemen of figure and estate ; and it was evident that they were fixed and in earnest in their opposition. Every one must be sensible, that a case thus circumstanceed must be really a difficult one."
. Mr. Hobart says, " I do not love to give names to any number of gentlemen, that will displease them, yet I can- not help saying that it is a plain case with me, that these gentlemen must, on the principles of our constitution, be esteemed as an anti-council; and therefore, not only be judged destitute of all ecclesiastical authority, but even as having' acted a criminal part ; especially those (who were almost all of them) that were pastors, or members,
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of consociated churches ; for they acted contrary to the Book II, agreement they had entered into, and the obligations they were under; they set themselves up in opposition to the 1759. highest ecclesiastical authority in that consociation of which they were members, and did all that in them lay to dissolve all consociations of churches in the colony.
" It is not so much as pretended that there ever was be- fore an instance in which any council, called to an ordina- tion, acted in opposition to the declared sense of the conso- ciation of the district. The gentlemen who met in council at Wallingford, have the unenvied honor of being the first that ever did so in Connecticut. In all other cases there has been some reason to presume, that the consociated churches did approve the candidate, and allow of his set- tling within their bounds. It was always in their power to have assembled in council, and protested against the pro- ceedings. Or if any, over whom a minister was to be or- dained, had any thing to accuse him of, they might have complained to the consociation, as was now done. Nor do I believe there ever was an ordaining council before, but what would, in either of these cases, have shewn so much regard to the constitution, and the peace of our churches, as to have stopped proceedings."
Mr. Hart had suffered himself in expressing his own groundless suspicions of other men's being influenced by some of the worst designs of which mankind are capable ; and, speaking of the members of the council at Walling- ford, complains, that after their ordination of Mr. Dana, they were spoken of as . Arminians and favorers of heresy, and he appeared concerned for himself, lest some unfavor- able imputations might be thrown upon him.
To this Mr. Hobart replies, " It is universally known to all, who are, in any measure, acquainted with things of this nature, that there has been a very great change (ei- ther for the better or the worse) in the principles or doc- Corruption trines of religion introduced into the English nation since in doc- our forefathers left it ; so great, that those doctrines which trine. were then, almost universally, esteemed not only impor- tant, but (some of them) fundamental truths of christiani- ty, have by some been explained away, by others flatly denied, and, by too many, even treated with banter and ridicule. Arminianism led the way, Pelagianism followed it, Arianism and Socinianism brought up the rear. And while such as professed the gospel were explaining away, or denying its most essential doctrines, Deism has come in like a flood, and almost swallowed up the name of Christianity.
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BOOK II. " These corruptions in doctrine have crossed the atlan- tic ; and too many in our churches, and even among our 1759. ministers, have fallen in with them. Books, containing them, have been imported ; and the demand for them has been so great as to encourage new impressions of some of them : others have been wrote on the same principles, in this country ; and even the doctrine of the sacred and ador- able Trinity, has been publicly treated in such a manner, as all who believe that doctrine must judge not only hereti- cal, but highly blasphemous .*
"How far a liking to these errors, or a desire to open a door for their admission into our churches, might influence the members of the ordination council, or their advocates, I cannot pretend to say ; for I must own, I am not able to. look into the hearts of men ; nor will I indulge myself in publishing conjectures, as Mr. Hart has done : but facts Arminian- ism imput- ed to the are open, things of which every man is a judge. For my own part, I can truly say, that I never before heard, nor do ordination I now believe, that any one member of that council, gain- council, and their advocates.
Grounds of suspicion.
ed that character (that is, of an Arminian, or favorers of heresy) since, but what had that same character before. I have enquired of gentlemen who have a large acquaint- ance in the country ; they all say, that they have not heard louder complaints of this kind, against those gentlemen, since the ordination at Wallingford, than they had heard before. It is unhappy that they ever gave so much occa- sion for suspicions of this kind; and more so, that they should take such measures as tend to strengthen such sus- picions, Some of them certainly.knew that they had this character, and have often complained of it as an abuse. Had they modestly declined acting in this case, they had taken a proper way to have removed the suspicions others had entertained of them ; but to set themselves up for the only judges in this case, in opposition to the remonstran- ces of their brethren, and to the constitution they professed to act upon, which constitution some of them had before carried to as great a height as any (and to a higher than most) men in the country, was certainly the way, not to re- move, but to strengthen those suspicions. t
* The Rev. Mr. Edwards, in his preface to his treatise on the doctrine of original sin, mentions the great corruption of doctrine in New-England, by Dr. Taylor's writings, which had been published about fifteen years before, or about the year 1742.
t These were the very gentlemen who deposed Mr. Robbins, directly against the will, and in opposition to the church : and who excluded three of their brethren, in the ministry, from associational communion, for as- sisting in the ordination of the Rev. Mr. Lee, of Salisbury, who was of an entirely unexceptionable character, and a candidate in whom both the church and town were well united, because they did it without the previ
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" There are several other things which have the same Book II. tendency : I shall mention one or two.
" The first, is the connecting the business of Wallingford 1759. with the affairs of Yale College. Wallingford has no more connection with the college, than any other parish in the government ; and the two ministers of New-Haven county, that have the honor to be fellows of the college, were of the ordination council. It is well enough known, that the students of Yale College attend public worship and ordi- nances under the administration of the professor of divini- ty ; and I suppose few are ignorant that this was very much owing to a certain gentleman's refusing to satisfy the corporation, that he was not Arian in the important ar- ticles of Christ's divinity and atonement, when they let him know the reasons of his being suspected on these heads, some of which were taken from sermons he delivered on sacramental occasions, when the scholars did attend. En- deavours have been made to raise a ferment, and throw the government into convulsions on this account, but hith- erto in vain : the friends to the ecclesiastical constitution of the country, have justified and supported the college in this measure, esteeming it necessary for preserving the faith of our churches in the most important doctrines of the gospel."
Here he takes occasion to notice a virulent writer, who had employed his pen both against the college and the le- gislature of the colony, and had cast injurious reflections on the principal gentlemen in the legislature and corpora- tion, and who was known to differ from the established doc- trines of our churches, in the most important articles. He says, "but I must own that I was surprised to find Mr. Todd and Mr. Hart joining with him in it, and publicly owning a connection between the two cases. This looks like a design to open a door for letting in men into the min- istry, that differ fundamentally from the doctrines estab- lished in these churches.
" Another thing which directly and strongly tends to raise and confirm suspicions of this kind, is the manner in which these gentlemen express themselves, and the satis- faction they discover, when they suppose they find a weak place in our constitution. I suppose all that have read Mr. Hart's remarks must have observed several things of this kind: Thus, when he had exerted himself to the utmost, to prove that the pastors of neighbouring congregations, ous advice of the association ; were some of the most violent opposers of. the religious awakening in the country, and the only gentlemen who had publicly thanked the legislature for their tyrannical, unjust, and persecut- ,ing ecclesiastical laws. Now they had become great sticklers for liberty,
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Book II. mentioned in the heads of agreement, meant a body of men different from, and that may be opposed to the asso- 1759. ciations and consociations spoken of in the articles for dis- cipline, and found that this would, unavoidably, make the several parts of our constitution inconsistent, he says, " If there is a little jumble in this part of our constitution, let the constitution itself bear it." And again, when he men- tions it as an objection some might make to this scheme, that the churches are but poorly guarded against corrupt ministers, he says it may be replied, that " it is what it is." I believe a man who is not of a very suspicious temper, will find some disposition to doubt, whether the man that uses such expressions, be a very zealous friend to our con- stitution; and even whether he does not rejoice, in think- ing it such a weak, jumbling thing, as is insufficient to se- cure our churches against corrupt ministers.
" Now if, on the whole, we have reason to fear the pre- valence of error, it certainly concerns our associations and consociations to exert themselves; not indeed by assu- ming any authority which does not belong to them, but by strictly observing the rules and directions of our constitu- tion. And all the friends to the faith and order of the gos- pel established among us, will, doubtless, encourage and strengthen them therein.
Appeal with res- pect to Liberty.
" The grand objection against the scheme I am plead- ing for, is, that it establishes a tyrannical power in coun- cils, and destroys the liberties of particular churches, and the members of them. The advocates for what they call the ordination council at Wallingford, are continually harp- ing upon this string; and as the objection is popular, they seem to have raised expectations from it. I am heartily willing to join issue with them here. I am a sincere friend to liberty, and detest tyranny of every kind, ecclesiastical as well as civil. I freely consent that the whole contro- versy should turn on this single point. If my principles establish tyranny, I give them up on the spot : nay, I will go further,-if they do not more effectually promote and secure the rights of mankind, than the opposite scheme does, I am content that they be exploded. To determine which of these schemes is most favourable to the rights and liberties of christians, it will be proper to view them in different lights. As,
1. In their aspect on the liberties of particular churches. I allow that a particular church has a right of choosing their own pastor, but say, that, in the exercise of this right, they must have the approbation of the churches with which they are united in consociation, and may not pro -.
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ceed to the settlement of a minister without this. The gen- Book II. tlemen whom I oppose, do not pretend that a particular church is under no limitation at all, in the exercise of this 1759. right; but allow they must have the concurrence and as- sistance of neighbouring churches in calling, choosing, and settling their own ministers. It is a right thus limited, that Mr. Todd represents himself, and those joined with him, as contending for. Mr. Hart likewise allows, that a church cannot settle a minister without the approbation of neigh- bouring ministers and churches; for he allows ordination councils to hear complaints against a pastor elect, and ex- pressly says that their judgment is decisive and final. We are agreed, then, that churches are thus limited in the ex- ercise of this right, and the only question between us, in this spot, is, who shall limit them? Now, if this limitation itself be inconsistent with the liberty particular churches ought to have, it will follow, that both our schemes are ty- rannical, and that they are equally so : But if this limita- tion be a just and reasonable one, these two opposite schemes are equally free from any thing tyrannical or op- pressive. I am sensible of but one circumstance in which these gentlemen can so much as pretend that their princi- ples are, in this case, more favourable to the liberties of a particular church than mine; and that is, what they call an ordination council, chosen by a particular church, whose right it thus limits. And here they seem to place the em- phasis, a council of neighbouring churches, chosen by themselves. But now, churches, in entering into conso- ciation, do choose the council of that district, to assist them in all cases that require the assistance of an ecclesiastical council, and, consequently, this is as truly a council cho- sen by themselves, as any picked council can be.
2. "Let us consider these two opposite schemes, in the influence they will have on those parties, into which a church is too often unhappily divided. That churches are too often divided into parties, will not be disputed; and when they are so, that each party has some rights, cannot be denied. The meanest of men, and even the vilest crim- inals, have a right to be tried by indifferent judges, and to have impartial justice done them. The choice of a minis- ter is one of those cases in which a church may be divi- ded ; and it may be that the division shall be nearly equal : there may be but one more for the man than there is against him: and since particular churches are not infallible, it is possible that a minor part may have reason and justice on their side. Now, in this case, our constitution, as I have explained it, appoints certain and known judges between
1
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Book II. these parties : but, upon the other interpretation, it allows of one of the parties to choose all the judges; and that 1758. they may be sure of having such as will give a judgment in their favour, it permits them to send far and near, and pick three or four ministers and churches out of three or four hundred. Let all men of common sense judge which of these methods is most agreeable to the rights and liber- ties of christian's, and in which a righteous and impartial judgment is most likely to be obtained; and let every man consider that he may happen to be one of such a mi- nority.
3. " The rights and liberties of the whole consociated body, must be taken into consideration, in order to deter- mine which of these schemes has the most favourable as- pect on christian liberty. A number of churches united in consociation, are to be considered as, in some respects, one body; and this such a one as has rights, liberties, and privileges belonging to it. Now, my scheme allows the several members of this body to act in affairs wherein they are all concerned, But the opposite scheme admits, that one member of this body may impose a guardian, an in- spector, a judge over all the rest, (perhaps twenty in num- ber,) not only without their consent, but against their de- clared dissent, as I have before observed.
" Let the gentlemen on the other side fairly answer these things, and they have my free consent to use all their rhe- toric, in painting the glorious advantages of their own scheme in point of liberty, and to load mine with the epi- thets, tyrannical, oppressive, and intolerable. But, till they do this, I hope I do not flatter myself, when I suppose the impartial public will judge, that the interpretation have given of our constitution, is not only perfectly con- sistent with the liberties of our churches, but even the only way in which those liberties can be preserved, and the rights and privileges of all parties concerned, be maintain- ed and secured."
Notwithstanding the early and extraordinary pains which the gentlemen of the ordination council at Wallingford, and advocates employed to prepossess the clergy and church- es in general in their favour, by narratives, and sounding the alarm, that the liberty of the churches was in danger, and that councils were usurping an unconstitutional and. tyrannical power, the clergy and people in general approv- ed of the doings of the united council. They expressed their approbation of their sense of the constitution, when. they met in general association, the June after their result, in the following resolves.
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. " At a general association, at the house of the Rev. Ebe- Book II. rezer White, in Danbury, June 19th, 1759 :
"Resolved, by this association, That as the consocia- 1759. tion of churches is one great thing that the composers of Resolu- the platform had in view, as they expressly declare that tions of the what affects all ought to be managed by all ; so the ec- sociation, general as- clesiastical constitution of this colony knows of no other relative to council whatever, but a council of the consociated church- the contro- es of the district, or, in some cases, a consociation of a versy. particular district, united with a neighbouring consociation, called in according to the direction of the constitution.
"Resolved, That it is most expedient, for preventing the introducing of unsound and disqualified men into the ministry, and entirely agreeable to our ecclesiastical con- stitution, that the council for the ordination of ministers, to whose province it belongs to examine candidates for ordi- nation, should consist of the consociation of the district to which the church belongs, over which a pastor is to be ordained : and as this has, for sundry ycars, been practi- sed by several consociations in this government, so we re- commend it to universal practice."
Mr. Todd, the next year, replied to Mr. Eells, attempt- ing to vindicate himself with respect to his former narra- tive, and to justify the ordaining council. Mr. Hart, also, wrote a reply to Mr. Hobart. But they did little for the strengthening of their argument : they used hard words, in too many instances, instead of arguments. They imputed dishonourable and grievous things, not only to the united council, but to Messrs. Eells and Hobart, and the general association of the colony. They insinuated, that their de- sign was to deprive the churches of their dearest rights and liberties. Mr. Hart reproached the corporation of the college, and charged them with unconstitutional and arbi- trary measures .* He calls Mr. Hobart's remarks on his representation that there was a jumble in the constitution and that it was what it was, most impertinent; and char- ges him with giving his words a most disingenuous and perverse turn : and further says, " This is such an instance of meanness of spirit and perverse ill nature, as I should not have thought this good gentleman capable of."t He says, a spirit of jealousy and evil surmisings has possessed us, and charges the general association of the colony with it. His words are, " Our last general association gave a remarkable instance of this shameful distrust and jealousy, in recommending it to the particular associations, for the, future, not to trust their committees with a power of ex. * Page 53 of his reply. + Pages 54 and 55.
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