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RICHMOND, VA. September 20, V.)i -
VI IK i I X I A SYNOD is lioMinii its one hun
dred ami thirty-tifth anniisil session at
I 11 i< >i i Seminary in Richmond. This is tin*
luniiiniiiu of a new arrangement for ii< inee!
inii". It 1 im - become in. tic and more difficult each
year tu liiitl a church lliat ?*? >u l? 1 entertain so
larjje a IhmIv. At its last session tin* Synod
^elected tin* Seminary as its permanent place
uf nieetinir. ami will meet there from year to
year. with the proviso that each alternate year
it will accept an invitation from any church
tlial wishes to entertain the Itody. So far as
I >o ? i I > l? * I he monitors of Synod will he lodged
in the dormitories of the Seminary and the
t raining School. As it i? prohahle that these
will not accoiiiniodate all who will eoinc, others
will he provided for in private homes. This
year the Synod will he the quests of the (Jinter
Park ("liureli, which will serve meals in the
Seminary dining-room. Hut hereafter it is
Hcliiiuffh'r Hall, t'nion TlieoloKritHJ Seminary, Richmond, \ where tlio Synod ?f \ irKinia is meeting,
planned that the Svnod shall entertain itself".
A r rangeuicnts will lie marie with the Seminary
to furnish meals. This is the first time in the
South, so far as we know flint any eourt of the
I 'resbyterian Church has adopted a permanent
meeting place, or h;is planned to entertain it
self'. When the new buildings of the Training
School are completed it will l>e easier to ac
commodate the Synod. If is claimed flint this
arrangement will have some decided advant
ages. The memliers of the Svnori will he
tin- own much more closely together, and they
will |>e aide to see much more of each other
than when scattered among many homes. They
will also he ahle to transact the business of the
Synod more expeditiously. The sessions of the
ImmIv will he held in SchauH'ler Hall, the new
model Sunday School Ihiilding. This building
was a gift, to the Seminary by Mrs. Kennedy,
??f New York.
O V X ( ) I )S generally are meeting much earlier
^ than usual fliis year, and many Presby
teries will meet later. This is in accordance
with a very wise suggestion of the CJeneral As
semhly. Some times in the past matters have
Ik-cii sent down hy tlir Assembly to he passed
<?n to tin* I'reshyteries. As the Synods usually
uu't alter tlie fall meetings of I'reshyteries.
communications from tlie Synods did not rear
t lie I'reshyteries until the spring meet itius.
wliieli were held after tlie houiniiiuii of anotla r
eeelesiast ica I year. Now such matters can l?o
passed on without unnecessary delay. This
will add to the importance o| the Synod
and will put it in the place to which it belongs
in the economy of the ('liurcli.
Dk\ II AIMiV KM K.I {SON KOSDICK is a
liaptist minister, ordained to preach the
yospel of salvation through failli in a Saviour,
horn of the Virjiin. and crucilied on the cross
to make atonement for man's sins. Kor some
time, in response to the call of that Church, he
has heen p reach iiiir every Sunday in the ureal
First I'reshvteriau Church of New York. In
li is preaching lie lias attacked and denied and
denounced almost all <>t' tlu? fundamental doc
trines hold by the Church wliicli ordained liini
and by the Church for which he is now preach
ing for a pretty good salary. The Continent,
speaking of hint ami his preaching says: "l)r.
Fosdick takes the sjime view of the authority <>L'
I lie liible and <d the essential doctrines taught
in it and accepted by the ( lunch. as did Coioml
Robert Ingersoll. They l>oih reject the Old
Testament, and rehearse its mistakes. They
accept the New Testament in its social teach
ings of ( 'In ist. hut reject all of its great funda
mentals. I >oth Dr. Fosdick and Colonel Inger
soll were brought up in the church. The dif
ference between the two is this: When Colonel
Ingersoll knew his lteliefs were antagonistic to
the church, he withdrew and carried on his
propaganda independently, accepting the re
sponsibility and maintenance of the same him
self. Dr. Fosdick is determined to remain in
side the church and fight her by the boring pro
cess within her own walls, and compel the church
to maintain him nnd l>e responsible for him and
Iiis propaganda. llathcr 1 1 i;i 11 withdraw and
follow Iiis own course in his own way ami wit!,
his own support, lie means to stay in tho church,
ami hv a hitter liji'lit compel the church to en
dorse lii in or exclude liim ami Iiis followers.
Ill ? w does tliis differ from tlie purpose ami ac
tion of tlie hamlits wlio force tlicir way into
;i home ami compel its occupants to throw up
their liamls or yield their property ami their
lives? In the case of the hamlits, ilie only
<|iie-tion is. has the man of the house power
to resist If not, all i^ lost. If the church
has not the power to resist, she too will he de
vastated."
ROC Kit I5AI5SOX, the well known busi
ness man, in speaking to the ipicstion,
"Why I (io to Church," said:
-The need o) the hour is not more factories
or materials, not more railroads or steamships.
not inure jinnies or more navies, lull rather
more education hased on tlie teachings of .lesn-.
I lii' prosperity of our country depends on tin*
motives ami purposes of the people. These
motives and purposes are directed only in the
right course through religion. In spite of their
imperfections, this is why I Iwliove in our
churches, ami why I am a great optimist on
their future. We stand at the cross-roads. We
must choose between (iod and mannnon. Ma
lerialisin is undermining our civilization as it
hits undermined other civilizations. I'nless we
lieed the warning iu lime ;in<l get Inick to the
real fundamentals, we must fall even as the
civilizations of Kgvpt, Greece and Rome fell
and for the same reason. Statistics of every
nation indicate that true religion is the power
necessary for I he development of its resources,
ami for its successful continuation. The chal
lenge goes out to every man to support his
church, to take au active part in the religious
life of hi* community, to live according to the
simple principles upon which this, the greatest
country in the world, was founded three hun
dred years ago."