USA > New York > A history of the purchase and settlement of western New York : and of the rise, progress and present state of the Presbyterian Church in that section > Part 29
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The Presbytery of Buffalo, on their minutes, under date of Feb- ruary, 1837, say, " The great doctrines of grace, as held by Edwards, Bellamy, and Dwight, are uniformly received, and God has condescended to honor his truth by constant effusions of the Holy Spirit upon the people, over whom we have charge." In July of the same year, in animadverting on the exscinding act of the General Assembly, they say, " The insinuations on the floor of the General Assembly, that unsoundness in doctrine, and disorder in discipline, were prevalent in the Presbyteries of New York, are not true in relation to the Presbytery of Buffalo. We have ever cherished a sincere attachment to the doctrines and discipline of the Presbyterian Church. We hold to its Confession of Faith ; we preach the doctrines which it teaches from our pulpits ; we have administered its discipline, and maintained its order ; and we claim it as a right not denied to the meanest and most degraded, to be heard and tried before we are condemned and executed." Similar testimonies might be adduced from the records of the other Pres- byteries, were it needful.
The state of doctrinal sentiment in the Presbyterian Church in Western New York, and in the " new school" Presbyterian Church at large, is, perhaps, as fully exhibited in the Report of the Com- mittee on Doctrine, in the Minutes of the Auburn Convention, held at Auburn, August 17, 1837, for the purpose of consultation and advice on the subject of the action of the General Assembly, in May preceding. The report of the committee, as adopted by the Convention, says, " Whereas it is declared in the 'Circular Letter ' of the late General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, 'to all the churches of Jesus Christ,' that 'very serious' and 'alarming errors and disorders' have long prevailed in the bounds of the ex- scinding Synods and other portions of the church, and as the late Assembly appears to have been influenced in deciding on the case of these Synods, by these alleged errors and disorders : There- fore,
" 1. Resolved, That while we bear in mind that, with the excite- ment of extensive revivals, indiscretions are sometimes inter- mingled, and that in the attempt to avoid a ruinous practical Antinomianism, human obligation is sometimes urged in a matter that favors Arminian errors, yet we are bound to declare that suce errors and irregularities have never been sanctioned by thes
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Synods or Presbyteries, that the prejudice has in a great degree arisen from censorious and exaggerated statements, and from the conduct of persons not in connexion with the Presbyterian Church ; that all such departures from the sound doctrine or order of the Presbyterian Church, we solemnly disprove, and, when known, deem it our duty to correct by every constitutional method.
" 2. Resolved, That, as the declaration of the religious sentiments of the Synods and Presbyteries whom we represent, we cordially embrace the Confession of Faith of the Presbyterian Church, 'as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures,' as understood by the Church ever since the Adopting Act of 1729, viz. 'And in case any minister of the Synod, or any candidate for the ministry, shall have any scruple with respect to any article or articles of said Confession, he shall, in time of making said declara- tion, declare his scruples to the Synod or Presbytery, who shall, notwithstanding, admit him to the exercise of the ministry within our bounds, and to ministerial communion, if the Synod or Presby- tery shall judge his scruples not essential or necessary in doctrine, worship, or government.'
" 3. Resolved, That in accordance with the above declaration, and also to meet the charges contained in the before-mentioned circular, and other published documents of the late General Assem- bly, this Convention cordially disapprove and condemn the list of errors condemned by the late General Assembly, and adopt, as the expression of their own sentiments, and, as they believe, the preva- lent sentiments of the churches of these Synods on the points in question, the list of 'true doctrines' adopted by the minority of the said Assembly in their 'Protest ' on this subject, as follows, viz.
"TRUE DOCTRINE.
" 1. God permitted the introduction of sin, not because he was unable to pre- vent it, consistently with the moral freedom of his creatures, but for wise and benevolent reasons which he has not revealed.
" 2. Election to eternal life is not founded on a foresight of faith and obedi- ence, but is a sovereign act of God's mercy, whereby, according to the counsel of his own will, he has chosen some to salvation ; 'yet so as thereby neither is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established ;' nor does this gracious pur- pose ever take effect independently of faith and a holy life.
" 3. By a divine constitution, Adam was so the head and representative of his race, that, as a consequence of his transgression, all mankind become morally corrupt, and liable to death, temporal and eternal.
" 4. Adam was created in the image of God, endowed with knowledge, right- eousness, and true holiness. Infants come into the world, not only destitute of these, but with a nature inclined to evil, and only evil.
" 5. Brute animals sustain no such relation to the moral government of God as does the human family. Infants are a part of the human family, and their suffer- ings and death are to be accounted for on the ground of their being involved in the general moral ruin of the race induced by the apostasy.
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" 6. Original sin is a natural bias to evil, resulting from the first apostasy, leading invariably and certainly to actual transgression. And all infants, as well as adults, in order to be saved, need redemption by the blood of Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Ghost.
" 7. The sin of Adam is not imputed to his posterity in the sense of a literal transfer of personal qualities, acts, and demerit ; but by reason of the sin of Adam, in his peculiar relation, the race are treated as if they had sinned. Nor is the righteousness of Christ imputed to his people in the sense of a literal transfer of personal qualities, acts, and merit ; but by reason of his righteous- ness, in his peculiar relation, they are treated as if they were righteous.
"8. The sufferings and death of Christ were not symbolieal, governmental, and instructive only, but were truly vicarious, i. e. a substitute for the punish- ment due to transgressors. And while Christ did not suffer the literal penalty of the law, involving remorse of conscience and the pains of hell, he did offer a sacrifice which infinite wisdom saw to be a full equivalent ; and by virtue of this atonement, overtures of mercy are sincerely made to the race, and salvation secured to all who believe.
" 9. While sinners have all the faculties necessary to a perfect moral ageney and a just accountability, such is their love of sin, and opposition to God and his law, that, independently of the renewing influence or almighty energy of the Holy Spirit, they never will comply with the commands of God.
" 10. The intercession of Christ for the cleet is previous, as well as subsequent, to their regeneration, as appears from the following scripture, viz. ' I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me, for they are thine. Neither pray 1 for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word'
" 11. Saving faith is an intelligent and cordial assent to the testimony of God concerning his Son, implying reliance on Christ alone for pardon and eternal life ; and in all eases it is an effect of the special operations of the Holy Spirit.
" 12. Regeneration is a radical change of heart, produced by the special operation of the Holy Spirit, 'determining the sinner to that which is good,' and is in all cases instantaneous.
" 13. While repentance for sin and faith in Christ are indispensable to salva- tion, all who are saved are indebted, from first to last, to the grace and Spirit of God. And the reason that God does not save all, is not that he wants the power to do it, but that in his wisdom he does not see fit to exert that power further than he actually does.
" 14. While the liberty of the will is not impaired, nor the established connexion betwixt means and ends broken by any action of God on the mind, he can influence it according to his pleasure, and does effectually determine it to good, in all cases of true conversion.
" 15. All believers are justified, not on the grounds of personal merit, but solely on the ground of the obedience and death, or, in other words, the right- eonsness of Christ. And while that righteousness does not become theirs, in · the sense of a literal transfer of personal qualities and merit ; yet, from respect to it, God can and does treat them as if they were righteous.
" 16. While all such as rejeet the gospel of Christ, do it, not by coercion, but freely, and all who embrace it, do it, not by coercion, but freely, the reason why some differ from others is, that God has made them to differ.
" In further illustration of the doctrines prevalent in these sections of the church, the Convention deelare that the authors whose exposition and defence of the articles of our faith are most approved and used in these Synods, are Presi- dent Edwards, Witherspoon, and Dwight, Dr. Smalley, and Andrew Fuller, and the Commentators, Henry, Doddridge, and Scott."
Perhaps no better exhibition of the doctrinal views of the minis- ters and churches of the Presbyterian order in Western New
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York can be given, than is furnished in this exposé made by the Auburn convention. Entire uniformity did not exist. The same shades of difference existed between the ministers and the church- es, as were to be found in other parts of the Presbyterian church, and among the Orthodox Congregational churches of New Eng- land, with which the General Assembly holds correspondence. There were some who were strongly tinctured with the peculiar sentiments of Dr. Hopkins ; some sympathized in sentiment with Dr. Emmons ; others favored the theological views of what has been called the "New-Haven School ;" a few leaned to what has since been denominated "Oberlinism ;" while all, or nearly all, regarded Edwards, Witherspoon, Bellamy, Dwight, Smalley, the elder Spring, Strong, and others of that stamp, as having been burning and shining lights in the church.
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CHAPTER XIX.
The Subject continued The real Reasons for the Exscinding Act, Difference in Doc- trinal Views, Difference in Judgment, how to conduct the Benevolent Operations of the Church, Determination of the Old School Party to secure a Majority in the Assembly. Measures adopted. Plan of Union abrogated : Committee of Ten, and their Report : Excision of the Synod of the Western Reserve : Declaration against the American Home Missionary Society, and American Education Society. Ex- cision of the Synods of Utica, Geneva, and Genesee. Dissolution of the Third Presbytery of Philadelphia. Organization of a Board of Foreign Missions. Testi- inony against Doctrinal Errors Order to the Synods of Albany, New Jersey, Michigan, Cincinnati, and Illinois. State of feeling produced in Western New York in view of the Exscinding Act. Fourth Resolution of the Assembly, how understood. Strictures on this Resolution. Attempt of the General Association of New York to divide the Churches ; these attempts abortive. Auburn Convention, Resolutions passed, Commitlees appointed, and their Reports ; unanimity of the Con- vention. Results of the Meeting. Commissioners of the Exseinded Presbyteries attend the Meeting of The General Assembly of 1838 : their Commissions rejected. Assembly organized Statistics of the New School Presbyterian Church : Statistics of the Old School Presbyterian Church in Western New York. Formation of Pres- byteries and a Synod. Increase of the New School Church in Western New York.
To the reader, who attentively considers the circumstances and character of the Presbyterian Churches in Western New York, it may be a matter of inquiry, " What was the real ground of the exscinding act of the General Assembly of. 1837?" No doubt the rigid Presbyterians of the Old School felt that the entire system of Presbyterian Government in the church was highly important, and, in the estimation of some, nearly indispensable to the existence of a well organized church. That churches without a bench of ruling elders should be permitted to have a standing in their connexion, and have a voice in the government of the church, was viewed by them as a circumstance replete with danger, especially as emi- grants from the New England States where the system of Con- gregationalism prevailed, were pouring into the western wilds in such immense numbers. They undoubtedly feared that their whole system of church order would be overturned, unless a stop was put to this state of things. Such a fear is distinctly acknowledged in the circular letter of the General Assembly of 1837. There was also a difference in the theological views of the Old School and the New School ; or, perhaps, it would be more correct to say, in their systems of Mental Philosophy. In the Assembly's testimony against error in doctrine, they seem to have supposed that these errors were extensively held by the brethren of the New School. If such was their supposition, they were greatly in error. Those who voted in the negative, on the resolution to condemn these errors,
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so voted because the resolution asserted, that these errors were prevalent in the church. In their protest against the act of the Assembly, they distinctly acknowledge them as errors, in the com- mon understanding of the terms used, and they state what they denominate the "true doctrine" on the subjects to which they relate. This statement of true doctrine was adopted by the Auburn Con- vention, as the expression of their own sentiments, and as, accord- ing to their belief, the prevalent sentiments of the churches con- nected with the exscinding Synods, and it is contained in the sixteen propositions given in the preceding chapter. When the protest containing this statement of true doctrine was presented to the Assembly, Rev. William S. Plumer, of the Presbytery of East Hanover, offered the following resolution, which was adopted, viz. " Resolved, That duly certified copies of this paper be sent to the respective Presbyteries to which the signers of the protest belong, calling their attention to the developments of theological views con- tained in it, and enjoining it on them to inquire into the soundness of the faith of those who have ventured to make so strange avowals as some of these are."
This resolution shows that, in the estimation of Mr. Plumer and the Old School part of the Assembly, these propositions, denomi- nated true doctrines by the Protestants, and adopted as such by the Auburn Convention, contained strange avowals, and of so sus- picious a character as to demand an investigation into the soundness of the faith of the individuals, whose names were affixed to it. We are not informed which of the propositions contain the strange and suspicious avowals ; but the resolution, in connexion with the pro- test, is conclusive evidence that the Old and New School parties in the Presbyterian Church were not harmonious in their doctrinal views on all theological questions. This difference of theological opinion was viewed by the Old School party as very material, and inconsistent with the union of both parties in one church organi- zation. The New School party considered it as referring to matters of minor consequence, and as by no means a hindrance to a cor- dial union of the parties in the same church.
On the manner of conducting the benevolent operations of the day, there was a difference in judgment and in practice between the Old and New Schools in the Presbyterian Church. The mi- nisters and churches of the New School party had, from the begin- ning, generally contributed to the funds of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. They felt a strong attach- ment to this Board, had assisted and co-operated in sending out the missionaries, and felt themselves sacredly bound to sustain them in their arduous work. They were attached to the American Edu- cation Society, which was engaged in the support of indigent pious young men in their preparation for the ministerial office. They approved of the American Home Missionary Society, and gave the
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principal part of their collection for Home Missions to its funds. These institutions acted on liberal principles. In the appointment of missionaries, and selection of beneficiaries, no inquiry was made whether they belonged to the Congregational, the Presbyterian, or the Reformed Dutch church. The missionaries were taken indis- criminately from these denominations, and continued their ecclesi- astical relation to the judicatory with which they had been con- nected. The Old School party in the Presbyterian church would have all these concerns, so far as that church was engaged in them, under the direct supervision of the General Assembly, managed by Boards of their appointment, and directly responsible to the Assem- bły. The missionaries employed must be members of the Presby- terian church ; and the churches which might be formed by them from converts among the heathen, or of Christians in the new set- tlements, must be strictly Presbyterian churches. The beneficia- ries, supported by the funds for education purposes, must be mem- bers of a Presbyterian church, educated in a Presbyterian Seminary, with the expectation that, when educated, they would be ministers of the Presbyterian church.
The different views entertained on those subjects by the Old and New School parties in the Presbyterian church, had, for several years, been an occasion of jealousies, and a ground of animosities, in meet- ings of the General Assembly. The New School party, which scarce- ly had an existence a few years ago, had grown to a large body, and powerful from intellect and character. It was even doubtful which party constituted the majority. At several times the New School party had the ascendency in the Assembly. This was particularly the case at the meeting of the Assembly in Pittsburgh, in 1836. At that meeting several important subjects were decided, which brought the parties into strong collision with each other. The ap- peal of Rev. Albert Barnes from the sentence of the Synod of Philadelphia, suspending him from the performance of the functions of the gospel ministry, on a charge of heresy, brought against him by Rev. George Junkin, D.D., was tried, and Mr. Barnes, by a strong vote, was restored to his ministerial standing, with no con- demnation passed upon any of his sentiments. The Assembly also rejected the proposition for a transfer of the Western Foreign Mis- sionary Society to the General Assembly, and the organization of a Board of Foreign Missions. These decisions were borne very re- luctantly by the rigid Old School members, and undoubtedly pre- pared the way for the proceedings of 1837. Leading members of the Old School party declared that a division of the church would be effected at the next meeting of the General Assembly. There can be no doubt that the leading members of that party came to the meeting of 1837, with the determination, in case they had a majority of the votes of the Assembly, to effect a division in some way or other.
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On the opening of the Assembly of 1837, it appeared that the Old School party had a decided majority in the house, and it is evident that they were determined on taking such measures as to secure them a majority in all time to come. As the first step towards a radical reformation in the church, the " Plan of Union " of 1801 was abrogated, as unconstitutional. The next step was, to pass a resolution to cite to the bar of the next Assembly, such inferior judicatories as were charged by common fame with irregu- larities. and to exclude the members of those judicatories from a seat in the next Assembly, until their case should be decided. The Assembly then appointed a committee of ten on the state of the church, of whom five were taken from the majority, and five from the minority in the vote on the resolution citing the inferior judica- tories. The design of the appointment of this committee was, if pos- sible, to effect an amicable division of the Presbyterian church intotwo distinct organizations. The majority were determined on a division in order, as they conceived, to preserve the pur ty and regular or- der of the Presbyterian church. The minority were willing to yield to this measure, to preserve what they believed to be their just rights, and be permitted to live in peace. The committee were agreed on the propriety of a division under existing circumstances ; but could not agree on the time when it should take place, nor on the terms of the division. They reported the state of the case, and were discharged.
The object contemplated by the appointment of the committee on the state of the church having failed, a motion was made, de- claring that the Synod of the Western Reserve is not a part of the Presbyterian church, which, after a debate occupying a consider- able part of three days, was carried, by a majority of twenty-seven votes. The next step in the progress of reform was, a resolution affirming that the organization and operations of the so called American Home Missionary Society, and American Education Society, and its branches, of whatever name, are exceedingly in- jurious to the peace and purity of the Presbyterian church ; and recommending that they should cease to operate within any of the churches under their care. This was carried by a majority of thirty-eight votes, the majority having been much increased by the exclusion of the members of the Synod of the Western Reserve. The excision of the Synods of Utica, Geneva. and Genesee, then . followed, and, at a subsequent period, the dissolution of the third Presbytery of Philadelphia. The Assembly organized a "Board of Foreign Missions," consisting of forty ministers, and forty lay- men ; adopted the testimony against " doctrinal errors," said to be rife in some parts of the Presbyterian church; and completed their work of reform, by enjoining on the Synods of Albany, New Jersey, Michigan, Cincinnati, and Illinois, to take special order on the subjects of irregularities in church order, or errors in doc-
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trine, charged upon some of their Presbyteries, and to report their doings thereon to the next General Assembly.
Among those who were then declared not to have a standing in the Presbyterian church were some of the choicest spirits of the age ; some of extensive learning, and superior talents ; some of enlarged theological attainments, and accurate biblical research ; many of the most useful ministers, and successful in winning souls to Christ ; many of deep piety and ardent zeal. Among them may be particularly noticed the late venerable James Richards, D.D., Professor of Christian Theology in the Theological Seminary of Auburn, a man of warm piety, an able and correct theologian, indefatigable in the performance of the duties of his station, and universally esteemed by all his extensive acquaintance. At the seventeenth meeting of the General Assembly, in 1805, he was elected Moderator of the Assembly. Among those who voted in favor of the resolution to exscind, we find the names of many ex- cellent men ; men of high standing in the ministry, and in the Presbyterian church; men of warm piety, and kind feelings. They undoubtedly honestly believed that they were performing a duty which they owed to God, to some of them a painful duty, and that they were promoting the interests of Christ's kingdom in the world.
When the news of the proceedings of the Assembly reached Western New York, it produced a great sensation. The meeting of the General Assembly was an event which had been contemplat- ed with solicitude. It was well known that the Old School party in the Presbyterian church were exceedingly restive in the present posture of affairs, and that many of them were determined on a di- vision of the church. if it could be effected ; but it probably never entered the mind of a single individual, that the Assembly could adopt such a measure as that of declaring five hundred ministers, and forty thousand communicants, who had been received in ac- cordance with the strict order of the Presbyterian church, not to have a standing in that church. The fourth resolution of the As- sembly evidently invited disunion and division in the Synods, Pres- byteries, and churches. It is predicated on the supposition that there were several churches and ministers, if not one or two Pres- byteries, in connexion with the Svnods, which, as the Assembly term it, were strictly Presbyterian in doctrine and order, and wish- ing to unite with the General Assembly, and directs them to apply for admission, if ministers or churches, to those Presbyteries be- longing to the connexion most convenient to their respective loca- tions : or, if a Presbytery, to make application to the next General Assembly. The Assembly, in their answer to the Protest of the Commissioners from the three Synods, say, " This Assembly merely tenders its advice to the ministers and churches sincerely Presby- terian, and points them to the constitutional door by which they
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