A Daring Moderator. THE PRESBYTERIAN SENSATION IN SYDNEY.

Evening Post, Volume XLVII, Issue 89, 16 April 1894, Page 4

A Daring Moderator. THE PRESBYTERIAN SENSATION IN SYDNEY.

Last woek we were informed by oablo of an attack made upon the Moderator of the New South Wales* Presbterian Genoral Asßombly on account of his utterances on the question of Biblical Inspiration at the opening of the Assembly's last session. > The Modjrator in quostion ib tho Rev. George M'lnnes, of St. David's, Ashfield. The following is a summary of his address, as given by a contemporary : — Fathers and Brethren— We are at the beginnings of a ohange, the most profound and far-reaohing, the moßt momentous and the most fraught with promise, that has eyor taken place in the history of the Christian Chnroh. This ohange has already been mado by Christian soholars. It must soon be made by the Christian people. Be it your care, fathers and brethren, to make yourselves acquainted with the necessity for, and the M>BnnlKJ£' wncl llltl vt tlilu gl'CUl UlUVUmont. There is great peril to the peace and faith of the Clmrohj not, indeed, m the ohango itself , but in a blind and unwise resistance to it A sense of this peril has induced me to call your attention to this grave subject. This impending and all-important ohange is a t-ansition from the theory that the Bible is a "verbally inspired and inorrant'eodo of rules " to a more reasonable and truer view of the real nature and actual function of the Book. Mr. M'lnnes oontended that the theory of Verbal inspiration never was embodied in the old standards of the Prosbyterian Churoh. In the Confession of Faith plenary inspiration of the Scriptures was not mentioned. Having proved that the anoient standards of the Church gave no countenance to the doctrine of plenary inspiration, the Moderator ' proceeded to denonnoe the doctrine. He said : — , But it is gone, and its loss is great gain. For it has been the ally, the vantage ground, and the trenchant weapon of the infidel. It has banned inquiry, nnd "loved darkneßß rather than light It has narrowed, perverted, and bewildered theology It has cramped the energies of the Church, oheoked her development and growth, and made the faith of many only a wretched half faith. It has turned many to indifference or to unbelief who, but for it, would have believed and followed Christ. The greatest gain from the disappearance of the " verbal oode of rules " theory is that Christ is thereby restored to His proper place and authority. This is prptty strong, considering that it comes from the Moderator of a Churoh whioh has always olaimftd that of all Christian bodies it is pre-emiuently tho one which has maintained the Soripturos as the one and sole rule of faith, discarding all traditions. But tho speaker showed that the Westminster Assembly, in spite of strong pressure, doclined to conntenanoe tho theory of verbal inspiration. Cortainly, Lnther and Calvin did not hold the theory, the former even going so far as to call the Epistle of James so much stuff." Immediately on the conclusion of the address the Rev. R. Dill Macky rose and eaid : " I desire to publicly record my dissent from the address whioh wo have just heard from the chair." Other members called "Hear, hear" and "So do I." The Rev. T. W. Dunn, formerly of Auckland, said: "It is a oowardly attack." Next day a vote of thanks was proposed to the Moderator, in whioh his address was referred to as " suitable." Tho objeotora proposed to omit the word "suitable," but this was negatived by a huge majority. Next day reasons of protest were given in, the prino>r*l ground being that the address was ciooidedly Materialistic when carried to its logical conclusion, and had a tendency to iiHj'air the authority of the Confession of Faith and othor standards of our Churob." During the disoussion a large number of clergymen declared their full concurrence with the statements mado by tho Moderator. The Rev. J. Auld said :— " Last Sunday, in reading a ohapter from Jeremiah, in which the prophet called down the most awful ouraes upon his enemies, he conld not then resist saying to bis people : ' We must not imagine that it is the spirit of God speaking now, but ho was afraid it was tho old Adam.' " Tho dissents were reoorded.