The Presbyterian Church New School 1837 1869

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Excerpt from A Book of Remembrance, the Presbyterian Church, New School, 1837-1869: An Historical Review Bly OF 1850: twelve States represented. Home missions the central subject; church extension urged, denominational re' sponsibility: obstacles to growth removed. Position and claims Of the Church: an important book of defense. As sembly OF 1851; place and attendance; its transactions, de' liverances on various subjects, - the Sabbath, temperance, slavery. Church extension advocated; revivals reported; pro test against church rivalry. Assembly OF 1852, convened in Washington. Three important measures adopted: 1. De nominational agency for home missions; relations to Amer. H. M. Society. 2. Education for the ministry, theological seminaries, Western Education Society. Publication of church literature; Quarterly Review. New departure deter mined. Assembly OF 1853, plans of preceding year followed; home missions, education, tract publication. A fourth meas ure. Church erection; fund provided. Debate on slavery. Re vivals noted. Assemblies OF 1854, 1855, 1856. General situ ation favorable. Church extension still the controlling inter est; four main departments reviewed. Church organization matured; fraternal correspondence maintained; action on various subjects. Many revivals, but no net growth; causes noted. Assembly OF 1857: large attendance. Church exten sion; growth of denominational feeling. Protracted debate on slavery; deliverance adopted; withdrawal of southern commissioners. Formation of the United Synod South; statistics of the secession. Assemblies OF 1858, 1859: Church development the chief interest; important reports on missions, education, publication, church erection. Organization now complete: obstructions to progress removed. Religious life and activity. Review of the entire decade. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Chesseman gives the reader an in depth account of the schism that developed in the Presbyterian church in the 19th century. Old School Presbyterians maintained Calvinist orthodoxy from the 1830s to the 1860s. New School Presbyterianism embodied mainstream evangelical Christianity in the middle decades of the nineteenth century. Their modified Calvinist theology, zest for revivalism, moral reform, and a desire for interdenominational cooperation set them apart from the Old School. Schism divided the two schools of Presbyterians in 1837 when an Old School majority expelled New School members for tolerating theological errors. There were also differences over a plan of union with Congregationalists and slavery. In the decades after 1840 New School theology became more conservative. In 1869 New and Old Schools reunited when New School theology became more orthodox.

This book deals with the history of the particular American religious sect which, because of its large and varied membership, its intellectual vigor, and the part played by its clergy in shaping public thought, affords the richest field for a study of the influence of religious organizations upon American life. The story of the struggle of the Old School Presbyterian leaders to choose between their desire to avoid a break in their church and their feeling that it was their duty to voice their loyalty to the Union forms an interesting and illuminating commentary on the problems of the troublous times of the War of the Rebellion. The minor Presbyterian groups played varying parts, but always occupied more than their proportionate share of public attention because each met its own problems with a characteristically Presbyterian individuality. Professor Vander Velde's monograph is important not only for American religious history but also for the fact that it illustrates how closely Church and State were related during the Civil War period.

The far-reaching social and intellectual changes in the United States since the Civil War have had a definite effect upon the religious thought of American churches. In this volume, a distinguished scholar and theologian has undertaken an inductive study of theological issues in one of the major denominations, the Presbyterian church in the United States of America. Since this church was in the thick of the social and intellectual ferment that changed the living and thinking habits of Americans, much that transpired in it finds broad parallels in other leading American churches. Thus, the story of the Presbyterian church is, in essence, a kind of theological barometer of American history. Avoiding sweeping generalizations, Lefferts A. Loetscher briefly traces the history of the Presbyterian church from its founding by New England Puritans on Long Island in the 1640s to the disruption of 1837 and the "wedding day" of Old School and New School Presbyterians in 1870, following the reunion of 1869. From this point, he examines in detail the development of the church, analyzing the controversies that occurred over the years, interpreting the various theological issues that led to disputes.