PRESBYTERIANS. 



635 



illation of the genealogies of the Bible, in 

 which, among other things, the writer spoke of 

 Eber as being an " ethnological abstraction/' 

 This was considered by many in the Church as 

 a reflection upon the genuineness of the gene- 

 alogy of Christ, and was noticed in several of 

 the Presbyteries as a new offense by Professor 

 Smith, and a contempt of the action of the As- 

 sembly. Resolutions were adopted in twelve 

 Presbyteries calling the attention of the Com- 

 mission of the General Assembly to the subject, 

 and requesting it at its meeting in August to 

 take the article into consideration, " so far as 

 to adopt such steps as they may judge fit to 

 meet the disturbance, and anxiety prevailing in 

 the Church, and to vindicate scriptural princi- 

 ples." Professor Smith presented a letter to 

 the Church through his own Presbytery of Ab- 

 erdeen, explaining that the article complained 

 of had been written and furnished to the edi- 

 tors of the "Encyclopaedia " some time before 

 the meeting of the Assembly ; that it was 

 wholly out of his control at that time ; that he 

 had expected the volume to be published be- 

 fore the meeting, so that the Assembly would 

 be able to act with the new article before it ; 

 and that he was sorry it had been delayed. In 

 view of the decision of the Assembly upon his 

 case, he had felt it his duty and was arranging 

 his work so as to avoid disturbing controver- 

 sy and devote himself to such departments of 

 church work and scholarly research as could 

 not excite it, but might rather bring him into 

 closer sympathy with those who differed from 

 his critical opinions. The Commission of the 

 Assembly met August llth, and having con- 

 sidered the requests of the Presbyteries and 

 the letter of Professor Smith, appointed a com- 

 mittee to examine the new article and the let- 

 ter, to consider their bearing upon the accepted 

 belief and teaching of the Church, and to re- 

 port their opinion and advice to an in hunc 

 effectum meeting of the Commission to be held 

 October 27th, before which Professor Smith 

 was cited to appear. 



The committee reported at the meeting thus 

 appointed to the effect that the writings of 

 Professor Smith raised new questions in the 

 history of the Church in cases of heresy re- 

 specting the infallible truth of the Holy^Scrip- 

 tures. The committee did not, they said, im- 

 pute to Professor Smith the intention of assail- 

 ing the integrity and authority of the Scriptures 

 in the writings they had examined ; but the 

 statements made by him in many particulars 

 were fitted, and could hardly fail to produce 

 upon the minds of readers the impression that 

 Scripture does not present a reliable state- 

 ment of truth, and that God is not the author 

 of it; and it greatly concerned the character 

 and credit of the Free Church to make it clear, 

 in opposition to any such impression, that it 

 held firmly and would maintain the infallible 

 truth and authority of the Scriptures as the 

 word of God. The report then adduced par- 

 ticular passages supporting its views, and con- 



tinued by stating that " the whole tendency of 

 the writings examined by the committee is* fit- 

 ted to throw the Old Testament history into 

 confusion, and at least to weaken, if not to de- 

 stroy, the very foundation on which New Tes- 

 tament doctrine is built ; moreover, the general 

 method on which he proceeds conveys the im- 

 pression that the Bible may be accounted for 

 by the same laws which have dru-nniiu-d the 

 growth of any other literature, inasmuch as 

 there is no adequate recognition of tin- divinu 

 element in the production of the book." The 

 committee accordingly recommended that the 

 Commission take steps for making it evident 

 that "the Free Church can not sanction the 

 kind of teaching animadverted upon in this re- 

 port, which these writings would justify, and 

 for urging the General Assembly to declare to 

 her people and to other churches that she can 

 not sanction the ideas suggested by it." The 

 committee took issue with Professor Smith as 

 to the interpretation put upon the action of 

 the previous General Assembly, saying that 

 the Assembly neither did nor could determine 

 a general principle as to what views were con- 

 sistent with the tenure of office in the Free 

 Church, and that the judgment it had uttered 

 was applicable only to the case before it. A 

 motion was offered by Dr. Wilson, approving 

 the report of the committee, declaring that the 

 views of Professor Smith were dangerous, and 

 protesting against the Church being implicated 

 in the promulgation of them ; resolving to 

 transmit the whole matter to the General As- 

 sembly for further action ; in the mean time 

 instructing Professor Smith "to abstain from 

 teaching his classes during the ensuing session, 

 leaving the whole question of his status and 

 position in the Free Church to the determina- 

 tion of the ensuing Assembly " ; and advising 

 the College Committee to make provision for 

 the teaching of Professor Smith's classes. Mr. 

 Ross Taylor offered a motion blaming Profess- 

 or Smith for making unguarded statements; 

 transmitting the report of the committee to 

 the Presbytery of Aberdeen ; and calling upon 

 Professor Smith to heed, in the discharge of 

 his duties as professor, the admonition ad- 

 dressed to him at the last Assembly. The mo- 

 tion of Dr. Wilson was adopted by a vote of 

 270 to 202 for that of Mr. Taylor, and Profess- 

 or Smith was suspended. 



VIII. UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CiiURcn OF 

 SCOTLAND. Reports made to the Synod of this 

 Church at its annual meeting in May, 1880, 

 showed that the number of members in full 

 communion was 174,134, or 932 less than were 

 reported at the Synod of 1879. The amount 

 of contributions for congregational purposes 

 had been 225,402, and the amount of mis- 

 sionary and benevolent contributions 79,268, 

 making the total income of the Church for 

 1879, 336,738, or 30,649 less than the in- 

 come for 1878. 



The Synod of the United Presbyterian Church 

 of Scotland met in Edinburgh, May 3d. The 



