USA > Virginia > Sketches of Virginia : historical and biographical > Part 61
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LASTLY, A DIVISION OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
A correspondent of the Southern Religious Telegraph, of June 24th, 1836, speaking of the Assembly of which he had been a mem- ber, says : "I hope that such another Assembly will never meet but
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once again ; and then only with full and delegated powers amicably to separate, in order that each party may prosecute its own views and plans in its own way. On the slavery question, the Assembly did all that they could do as conscientious men. That is not the body of men to settle this matter ; nor need the South ever look for peace and rest from any of its decisions on this point. And now it becomes a grave and serious question, whether the Southern section of our Church will any more, or again, expose its representatives to the scoffs - and taunts, and jeers and misrepresentations, and excommunications and maledictions of the abolitionists, both male and female."
To this the Editor added : "We fully concur with our correspon- dent, that a crisis has come; and that if there can be no com- promise, division must be tried. If the South cannot look for peace and rest in the Assembly, on the slavery question, is it not time for all the Southern Presbyteries to refuse unanimously to send repre- sentatives to that body ?"
The Presbytery of Concord, North Carolina, at its fall meeting in 1836, expressed ·itself strongly: "The friends of orthodoxy throughout our country should, with deliberation and firmness, co- operate in every prudent effort to secure what true Presbyterians cannot surrender ; and that to guard against all precipitancy, and afford ample space for the repentance and reformation of erring brethren, it be respectfully recommended to await the decision of another General Assembly. Rather than surrender the truth, or perpetuate the present distracting agitation, we will feel bound to submit to a division of the Church, upon any plan which may be found most conducive to peace and good order."
The Presbytery of South Carolina resolved, "That, in the view of this Presbytery, the Old School and the New have got so wide apart, in sentiment and feeling, that for the future there can be no hope of friendly co-operation united in one body. That for the sake of peace, and the better promoting the interests of Christ's kingdom, the parties ought to separate. But, in case of separa- tion, we will closely adhere to the standards of the Presbyterian Church."
Position of the Virginia Synod.
At the meeting of Synod at Petersburg, November, 1836, a paper was presented by George A. Baxter, William Hill, S. B. Wilson, William S. Plumer and James M. Brown, appointed for the purpose, drawn up by Dr. Baxter, expressive of the position the Synod then held.
ACT OF THE VIRGINIA SYNOD,
Unanimously adopted in Session at Petersburg, Nov. 7th, 1836.
" Whilst we enjoy, within the bounds of this Synod, a great mea- sure of peace and unanimity, and soundness in theological views, some other parts of our denomination are divided and distracted to
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such a degree as calls upon the church for deep humiliation and humble prayer to Almighty God for the removal of the evils by which we are afflicted. The prominent causes of our disturbance consist in the tendency to error, the spirit of angry controversy with which that tendency has been met, and, the great loss of Christian affection and brotherly confidence between the parties which have arisen in the contest. We believe that the causes, which appear most prominent now, are not the original cause of the evils by which we are surrounded. Our church must have departed from God before He gave us over to the unhappy state of things in which we find ourselves involved; and deep humiliation, repentance, and the doing of our first works, must precede the removal of those things by which we are afflicted.
" One thing which presses with peculiar force on the Presbyterian Church, in the South, is the spirit of abolition, as lately developed in some parts of the country. This spirit, we believe, is entirely contrary to the word of God. It is well known that the apostles ministered and planted churches in countries in which slavery abounded, and that of a more aggravated form than ours; and yet masters and slaves were members of those churches, and equally under the acknowledged authority of the same spiritual teachers. In this way the inspired apostles had the subject of slavery fully before them; and they gave directions, without any appearance of reserve, for the mutual duties of the relation, leaving the whole subject of slavery to the benign and gradual operation of the gospel. These facts should convince us that the apostolic directions in the New Testament ought to form the rules for the government of our conduct in this matter. If, after this, the master is criminal, it cannot be by sustaining the relation of master, according to the rules given by divine inspiration, but by the violation of those rules. There is, however, one passage of Scripture which not only shows the criminality of abolition doctrines, but also so plainly and fully prescribes our duty in relation to them, that we think it proper to quote it at length." It is in 1st Timothy, 6th chapter, 1-5 verses - ' Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own mas- ters worthy of all honor, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed. And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort. If any man teach other- - wise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godli- ness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil sur- misings, perverse disputing's of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness : from such withdraw thyself.' We think it is as plain as words can make anything, that modern abolition principles and spirit constitute the case of those men who teach otherwise than the apostle approves, and from the
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class from which he commanded Timothy to withdraw himself. The apostle's teaching was, that servants should count their masters worthy of all honor, and do service to believing masters, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. Certainly the modern abolitionist teaches otherwise than Paul taught, and if he cannot be convinced of his error, the only Scriptural remedy is to withdraw from such.
" Another view of the case, which we think important, is this :- When the General Assembly was formed, a large majority, if not all the Churches and Presbyteries out of which it was formed, were in slaveholding states. The attempt to make slaveholding a bar to communion or to fair ministerial standing now, is changing the constitution of our church, and the original terms of communion. This we cannot permit. Therefore, the Synod solemnly affirm that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church have no right to declare that relation sinful, which Christ and his apostles teach to be consistent with the most unquestionable piety ; and that any act of the General Assembly which would impeach the Christian character of any man because he is a slaveholder, would be a palpable violation of the just principles on which the union of our church was founded, as well as a daring usurpation of authority, never granted by the. Lord Jesus. Lest the sentiments just ex- pressed should be misunderstood, Synod would add that the likeli- hood of the necessity of any geographical division through the operation of this fanatacism, is not so great as it was some time ago. Yet, on this subject, be the danger small or great, a vigilance corresponding to the exigencies of the times is our manifest duty.
" In the next place, we would observe that certain errors have been lately exhibited, which we think furnish just ground of alarm to the church. We will not undertake to say how much of this error may consist in unusual phraseology, nor how far it may arise from incor- rect theological views. The mysticism of words has often been sufficient to raise separatory walls between brethren. Yet whether the error consist principally in words or things, it is not to our churches a matter of indifference. Words are understood to stand for things, and the erroneous phraseology of a writer or speaker is calculated to lead his readers or hearers wrong, and if generally adopted must subvert the faith of the purest churches. The points of error which we think the most dangerous to us, relate to original sin, regeneration, justification by the righteousness of Christ, and the ability of the creature. The doctrine of the' Presbyterian Church touching original sin has always been, that our first parents, by their first act of disobedience, fell from their original righteous- ness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties of soul and body ; and they being ~ the root of all mankind, the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all descending from them by ordinary generation ; and that from this original cor- ruption, whereby we are utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and inclined to all evil, do proceed all actual
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transgressions. We deeply regret to see a phraseology used on this subject which is calculated to subvert the doctrine of our confession of faith, and, as we believe, of the Sacred Scriptures. Such as, original sin is no sin, but a mere tendency to sin, which in itself is not sinful; the posterity of Adam are in no sense guilty of, or liable for, his first sin ; and that men are born innocent and without any moral character, &c. Whatever explanations may be given of such language by those who use it, we cannot but view it as calculated to introduce ruinous error into our church, if used by Presbyterian ministers.
" On the subject of regeneration, Synod must testify against all modes of expression which imply that regeneration consists in a change of the governing purpose by the creature, or in a holy act, or series of acts of the creature, and not in the mighty working of the exceeding greatness of the divine power in new creating the soul, and enabling it to put forth holy exercises - or that regeneration is in any proper sense the work of any creature but of God only.
"We are very much grieved by observing a tendency in many modern writings to introduce something like the Unitarian doctrine of justification ; a doctrine which supposes that the death of our Saviour made no proper satisfaction to the claims of the divine law, and that the justice of heaven did not require such satisfaction to be made; but that God was always placable, and willing to justify the sinner by a mere act of sovereign pardon as soon as the sinner would turn to him with penitence and submission. We consider this doctrine as one of the most insidious and dangerous errors which has ever corrupted the Church of Christ. It sometimes assumes. the plausible, but deceitful phraseology that Christ has made our atonement ; has purchased our redemption, and that we are saved through his merits ; while it denies, and is intended to deny the im- putation of our Saviour's righteousness as the vicarious propitiation for our sins.
"The ability of the sinner is sometimes rashly and erroneously exhi- bited, as if he were able to convert himself, and make himself a new heart independently of the sovereign, regenerating and converting grace of God. - This doctrine, when carried out, goes to the subver- sion of our whole creed, and as we believe, to the subversion of the whole system of the gospel. Yet on this point we feel called on to say that there is on the other side an error which leads to an ex- treme equally dangerous and subversive of the Christian faith. We mean the error of those who assert that the sinner has no power of any kind for the performance of duty. This error strips the sinner of his moral agency and accountableness, and introduces the heresy of either Antinomianism or Fatalism. The true doctrine of our con- fession, and as we believe of the Scriptures, keeps continually in view the moral agency of man -the contingency of second causes -the use. of means, and the utter inexcusableness of the creature; whilst at the same time it places all our dependence for salvation, on the sovereign power and grace of God, in the regeneration and justifica-
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tion of the sinner. Therefore, whilst Synod do constantly affirm that by the fall the human understanding has been greatly darkened, the faculties of the soul greatly impaired, and through the depravity of the heart the human will is entirely deprived of freedom to that which is good, and is free only to that which is evil, and that con- tinually ; yet they do assert that they cannot approve of any lan- guage which in its fair interpretation deprives man of his moral agency - denying that his enmity is voluntary, or teaching that it is in any wise excusable.
" Respecting the question, what class of organizations we shall em- ploy for carrying on the great enterprizes of the church in the day in which we live, Synod would state that in the education of young men for the ministry, and in the work of domestic missions, our Pres- byteries are now happily united with the Boards of the General Assembly. In the work of foreign missions we are in connection with the Synod of North Carolina, most pleasantly united in the Central Board. All these organizations are ecclesiastical and Pres- byterian. In the work of supplying the world with Bibles, evan- gelical books and tracts, and in some other branches of benevolence, our churches have long co-operated with the national societies insti- tuted for these several objects. Towards these, and every other voluntary association in our country, which has for its object the spread of pure and undefiled religion, the Synod entertains no other - than friendly sentiments. The Lord bless them all, and make them all blessings. Synod cannot, however, refrain from expressing their deep conviction that it would be wrong for the more exclusive friends of either mode of organization to refuse to any respectable portion of our Church, facilities which they desire for conducting the foreign missionary enterprize ; it being always distinctly understood that such an organization as they desire, should confine,its efforts to the bounds of those churches or ecclesiastical bodies which desired co- operation with them; and equally wrong for the friends of either of the particular organizations in any wise to cripple the operations of the other by unkind interferences.
" In the foregoing sentiments we are unanimous. And now we solemnly call on all our members, and the friends of Zion within our bounds, in maintaining the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace, to beware of a liberality which in any wise disregards the distinction between truth and error - to cultivate the spirit of fraternal kind- ness and confidence -to watch against the spirit of angry contro- versy - to pray for the peace of Jerusalem - to hold fast the form of sound words -to obey the truth and follow holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.".
GEORGE A. BAXTER, D. D., ) . WM. HILL, D. D., S. B. WILSON, WM. S. PLUMER, . JAMES M. BROWN.
Ministers.
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A Convention Called.
In January, 1837, the Committee of Correspondence, after confer- ring verbally and by letter with brethren in different parts of the Church, sent forth a call, saying -" That the real friends of the doctrines and constitution of our Church are now satisfied that the present state of things ought not longer to continue ; and that the time has come when effectual measures must be taken for putting an end to those contentions which have for years agitated our Church." The committee then recommended - "That Presbyteries friendly to the doctrines and institutions of our Church instruct their Com- missioners to the next General Assembly to meet in Philadelphia on the second Thursday of May ensuing, together with such delegates as may be appointed by minorities of Presbyteries, in order fully and freely to compare views, and to unite upon such constitutional measures of remedying exciting evils as it may be judged expedient to submit to the consideration of the Assembly."
The Virginia Presbyteries determine to go into Convention.
The ministers in Virginia contemplated the appointed Convention, and the succeeding Assembly of 1837, with the anxiety of men caring for the interests of their Lord's kingdom. It seemed to many, if not all of them, that then and there would be the arena of the final inevitable conflict. They appeared to dread the coming contest more than any other portion of the Church. Baxter, who since the death of Rice and Speece, had no peer in the Synod in theological influence or metaphysical talent, trembled at the crisis. Hill, not accustomed to tremble at any danger or conflict, was all anxiety. Personal friends, and cheerful co-actors in all matters hitherto concerning the Virginia Synod - standing shoulder to shoulder in all conflicts that in the remotest degree endangered her integrity or her honor-all alive to her present position and duty- their sympathies were running in different directions at the present crisis. Agreeing on the principles of the Synod's paper they had prepared - agreeing on the subject of revivals and ministerial re- quirements -they began to diverge on the question, What course shall the Virginia ministers now pursue ? The parties agitating the Assembly were so equally divided in numbers, talents, wealth and intelligence, that the Southern vote, hitherto pledged on neither side, would give the desired and decisive majority in the Assembly. Baxter's sympathies were with the Old school, while he disliked much that he read and heard of their spirit and doings ; Hill sympa- thized with the New, while he disapproved much that came to his knowledge. But neither Baxter nor Hill wished the Virginia Synod to follow in the wake of either of the dominant parties ; both were re- solved on some third course yet to be found out.
Baxter, among the bravest of men, trembled for the ark of God. Separation from those he had counted brethren, entangled by their circumstances, or willingly bound to the party he most disapproved,
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DIFFERENCES IN THE VIRGINIA SYNOD.
was a strange work, to which he turned his thoughts with sorrow. Hill contemplated separation from other brethren with equal dissa- tisfaction. The associates in sympathy went with these elder brethren in trembling and prayerfulness. The spring of '37 had come before Baxter had decided upon his course. Hill was decided from the issuing of the call for a Convention. Late in the winter, a student of Theology at the Seminary asked Dr. Baxter what he thought of two articles in the Presbyterian, giving the reason for a Con- vention. He had not read them, and could not answer. The
question aroused his mind ; he read ; he pondered ; he decided that the most prudent course for the Virginia brethren, and in fact for all the South, was to be represented in the Convention. His reasons satisfied the brethren of West Hanover; and at the spring meeting he was appointed delegate to the Convention and to the Assembly. This example was followed by the other Presbyteries, and delegates were appointed by all. This was thought to be the best way of uniting the Southern church in her future course.
Until the action of the Assembly of 1836, Dr. Baxter had con- tended that the expressions used by the New School in setting forth their theological opinions, were capable of a construction harmonizing with the confession as understood in Virginia, and ought, according to their repeated demand, to be so interpreted. The resolutions in the case of Mr. Barnes, caused him to abandon that ground; and he was prepared to go with the Old School in their Theology, ex- cepting that he feared there might be a leaning in some brethren to Antinomian tenets. Hill was not effected by the decisions of that Assembly, and felt confident that the Old School were on the high road to Antinomianism.
While all were anticipating some division, or revolutionary move- ment to put an end to the difficulties in the church, it is not probable any one thought of a division in the manner it actually took place, or of the division of Virginia Synod in any manner. The great mass of. Virginia, it was supposed, would go together. A few, per- haps, "might find themselves a peculiar little secession." Some were saying, "If Rice were alive we should all go together ; his sweet spirit, with the clearness and strength of Baxter, would pilot us through these difficulties by the blessing of God." The Virginia delegation felt the delicacy, of their situation. The peace of the Synod, and of the church at large, the progress of truth, freedom of conscience, were all at stake. How should they maintain them ? They hoped, by going into Convention, to agree with the brethren from other parts of the church, upon some decisive movement, that might commend itself to all as the best the condition of the Church permitted.
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THE CONVENTION OF 1837.
CHAPTER XL.
THE CONVENTION OF 1837.
DR. BAXTER was President of the Convention assembled May 11th, 1837, in the Sixth Presbyterian church, Spruce street, Philadelphia. He filled the chair with dignity and simplicity of manner. Occa- sionally, in Committee of the Whole, his voice was heard on import- ant subjects. None of the delegates from Virginia or North Caro- lina, or in fact of any Southern Presbytery, occupied much of the time of the Convention. They were busy in collecting facts from documents produced upon the floor, and from the statements of those who spoke from their own personal knowledge. The mercantile world, at that time, was agitated by a storm whose deep tossings wrecked multitudes.
The Convention was employed some days in receiving documents and statements of facts, and opinions about the course to be pursued. Mr. Smyth, of Charleston Union Presbytery, proposed that the Convention take no action on the subject of slavery. Mr. Plumer, of East Hanover Presbytery, read a paper containing seventeen propositions to enforce the principle- that slavery being a political institution, its existence was not a proper subject of ecclesiastical in- terference, either as to its duration or extent; and, therefore, discus- sion in Convention could produce no good. Dr. Baxter, in Committee of the Whole, expressed opinions favorable to the dissolution of the Plan of Union; and of citing ecclesiastical bodies thought to be un- sound to answer at the bar of the Assembly, should the Old School be in the majority. But should the Old School be in the minority, he proposed secession by Presbyteries and Synods ; and the forma- tion of another General Assembly as soon as practicable.
On Saturday, the 13th, a Committee was appointed, consisting of Rev. Messrs. Wilson, of Cincinnati, Witherspoon, of South Carolina, Foote, of Winchester, Musgrave, of Baltimore, Potts, of New York, Engles, of Philadelphia - with elders, Ewing, of Redstone, S. C. Anderson, of West Hanover, and Boyd, of New York, to receive documents and papers, and prepare business for the Convention. This Committee held frequent meetings for consultation and prepara- tion of resolutions for the consideration of the Convention. Dr. Miller, of Princeton, making some evening visits in Philadelphia, stepped in at Mr. Boardman's, and found the Committee engaged ; apologising, he was retiring; the Committee insisted on his remain- ing, and aiding them in their consultation. Finally, the list of errors to be proposed for condemnation was committed to him for his careful revision and correction. This work he performed to the entire satisfaction of the Committee ; and the list, as returned by him, after a day or two was presented to the Convention, and made part of the memorial to the Assembly. Dr. Cuyler and Mr. Junkin 33
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ERRORS IN DOCTRINE.
coming in, were invited to take a part in the deliberations. Dr. Baxter moved cautiously in Committee as in Convention, and suc- ceeded in taking positions satisfactory to himself and the delegates from the Southern Presbyteries.
On the afternoon of Monday, the 15th, the Business Committee began laying before the Convention a series of resolutions and propositions, in preparation for a memorial to the Assembly.
"Resolved, That the next General Assembly should express their decided condemnation of the following errors, which are alleged to have obtained currency in the Presbyteryian Church."
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