History and Ecclesiastical Relations of the Churches of the Presbyterial Order at Amoy, China by J. V. N. (John Van Nest) Talmage
page 21 of 82 (25%)
page 21 of 82 (25%)
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answer, _God made them so_, and that without any plan or forethought on
our part, and now we thank him for his blessing that he has made them one, and that he has blessed them because they are one. "That misconceptions have got abroad in our Church concerning our views, we have abundant evidence from various private letters. They were written with the most kindly feelings towards us, but evidently under the impression that we find difficulty in organizing our churches according to the order of the Dutch Church. We have never found any difficulty of this kind. It is true that when we were called to the solemn duty of _commencing_ a church organization in an empire containing one-third of the inhabitants of the globe, we gave the subject of church polity a more careful investigation than we had ever before given it. The result of this investigation was a cordial (and, as we think, intelligent) approval of the order and forms of our own Church. We have commenced our organization according to the order of the Dutch Church, and we expect to proceed, as fast as the providence and grace of God lead the way, after the same order; and we use the forms of our own Church. Our Presbyterian brethren unite with us in these things. "But it is not strange that such misconceptions should be spread in the Church. They are the necessary result of publishing certain remarks made in Synod concerning our paper, without publishing the paper itself. "In the Report of the Synod, Synod's Board, Board of Foreign Missions, it is said: 'It would have been well if the memorial had been placed, in a printed form, in the hands of the ministry. This they [the Missionaries] suggested, but the Board felt it was purely a Synodical matter--that they could not act in the case.' With all due respect, and with the kindest feelings, we desire to make three remarks on this |
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