Vol. XII OCTOBER. 1919 No. Ill BULLETIN COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY COLUMBIA, S. C. Published Quarterly by the Board of Directors of the Theological Seminary of the Synods of South Carolina. Georgia, Alabama and Florida of the Presbyterian Church in the United States Entered as Second-Class Matter July 11, 1908, at the Postoffice at Columb ia South Carolina. Under the Act of July 16. 1894) FACULTY THORNTON WHALING, D. D., LL. D. PRESIDENT OF THE SEMINARY, PROFESSOR OF DIDACTIC AND POLEMIC THEOLOGY. WILLIAM M. McPHEETERS, D. D., LL. D., PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT LITERATURE AND EXEGESIS. HENRY ALEXANDER WHITE, Ph. D., D. D., LL. I)., PROFESSOR OF NEW TESTAMENT LITERATURE AND EXEGESIS. RICHARD C. REED, D. D., LL. D., PROFESSOR OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY AND CHURCH POLITY. JAMES 0. REAVIS, D. D., LL. D., PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH BIBLE AND HOMILETICS. EDGAR D. KERR, A. M., B. D., INSTRUCTOR IN HEBREW AND GREEK. W. H. MILLS, A. B., D. D., INSTRUCTOR IN RURAL SOCIOLOGY AND WORK OF COUNTRY PASTOR. GEORGE S. FULBRIGHT, A. B., INSTRUCTOR IN ELOCUTION. SMYTH LECTURERS. A. H. McKiNNEY, D. D., LL. D., 1919-1920. W. H. Roberts, D. D., LL. D., 192u-1921. THE COLUMBIA SEMINARY AND THE SOUTH- WESTERN SYNODS. The following letter has been addressed to the Synods of Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee by the President of the Columbia Theological Seminary, in the interest of securing the co-operation and support of those Synods in the ownership and administration of the Columbia Theo- logical Seminary. The question of the future attitude of those Synods to the whole matter of theological education is to be canvassed at their approaching meetings. The Synod of Tennessee meets at Brownsville on October 14th and the Synods of Mississippi and Louisiana meet on November 18th at Columbus and Baton Rouge, respec- tively. To the Synods of Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee : Dear Brethren : By appointment of the Board of Directors of the Columbia Theological Seminary and with the approval of all of the controlling Synods now owning and administering the Columbia Theological Seminary, I have been appointed as their representative to present to you an overture to the following effect : The offer is hereby made to the Synods of Mississippi, Louisiana and Tennessee to admit them to the same rights of ownership and control in the Columbia Theological Seminary as those now enjoyed by the present controlling Synods, and that each Synod have its representation on the Board of Directors, determined on the basis of pro- portionate per capita Church membership. If this over- ture be accepted, the Board of Directors and the present controlling Synods offer to secure an amendment to the Charter and to the Plan of Government, which will give legal and constitutional authority to this offer, and admit the Synods overtured to the rights and privileges which are hereby offered. Praying for a full and candid consideration of this overture, I am, Most cordially yours, (Signed) Thornton Whaling, President, Columbia Theological Seminary. Columbia, S. C. An argument supporting this proposition was published in the Columbia Seminary Bulletin for January, 1919, and republished in July, 1919. The reason for this publica- tion was the desire that the light of full publicity should be turned on the whole matter of future relations of these Synods to theological education. The Synods overtured ought to have every opportunity to know exactly what is proposed to them; the ministers and elders should fully canvass the plan presented and the issues involved, where they are so momentous in their influence on the entire future of the Church, as represented by these bodies. It is the purpose, also, of this publication that the Synods of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama should be fully informed of the plans which are in progress. No one can possibly claim that the fullest information has not been widely given the Columbia Seminary's overture to the Southwestern Synods. The reasons given are reinforced by the fact that the Alabama Synod has declared itself satisfied with its present relationship with Columbia Seminary. That Synod was of the opinion that the relationship which had existed for nearly a century with the Columbia Seminary did not need revision and that the Synod's educational status was already complicated enough, without introduc- ing additional factors into its complexity. That Synod not only shares in the ownership and control of Columbia Seminary, but also of the University at Clarksville, and, in addition, owns and administers the Presbyterian Col- lege of Alabama, the Orphanage at Talladega, and owns The Isbell Female College. That Synod is now engaged in an earnest effort to place its own schools wnon a stable [4] and satisfactory foundation and could not well afford, at present, to adopt still another school for patronage and support. The financial status of the Columbia Seminary is rein- forced by the fact that the Synod of South Carolina is about to engage in a million dollar campaign for the Columbia Seminary, the Presbyterian College of South Carolina and Chicora College for Women, of which the Seminary will have a generous share. In addition, the Synod of Georgia has authorized a raising of a minimum sum of $35,000 for the endowment of the Goulding Pro- fessorship and a Field Secretary, whose success in this kind of work has already been proven, will start in this work at an early date. Alabama also has authorized the raising of $150,C00 by campaign, for the Presbyterian College of Alabama and the Columbia Seminary. So that the financial resources of the institution are to be enlarged in the immediate future, making possible still more effective and progressive work. THE STANDARDIZATION OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIES. The Faculty and the Board of Directors of the Columbia Theological Seminary have taken the initiative in a earnest desire to secure the standardization of oui Theological Seminaries in reference to their curriculum, their entrance requirements, the powers of administration possessed by the Faculty, the rights of Presbyteries in determining the courses of study, and, in fact, the whole relation of the Theological Seminaries to the life of the Church. The most important factor, perhaps, in eccle- siastical work today is the Theological Seminaries, and yet they have no recognized status in the constitution of the Church. It is believed that the other Theological Seminaries will be glad to share in this movement, inspired by the same reasons and virtually the same expe- riences that have led the Columbia Theological Seminary authorities to inaugurate this effort. The overture is as follows : [5] "The Faculty and Board of Directors of the Columbia Theological Seminary hereby respectfully overtures the General Assembly, in session at New Orleans, La., May 15th, 1919, requesting that the Assembly be pleased to appoint an Ad-interim Committee, consisting of one pro- fessor and one director from each of our Theological Sem- inaries, to consider and report to the succeeding General Assembly, meeting in May, 1920 : "First As to the propriety of inserting a new chapter in the Book of Church Order, defining the ecclesiastical status of the Theological Seminaries, with the full state- ment of the power of control possessed by the General Assembly, the curriculum which ought to be taught, the degree of control possessed by the Seminary over the candidates, and all other questions which may seem to the General Assembly and to the life of the Church, and to prepare such chapter, if in its judgment there be suffi- cient need for it, reporting to the next succeeding Assembly. "Second To consider the question of appointing a Per- manent Committee on Theological Education, whose duty it should be to supervise the interest of the Church in this great field, seeking to develop Theological Scholarship and to promote, in a wise and efficient way, the produc- tion of books of Theological and Biblical Scholarship, meeting the needs and issues of our own day in a satis- factory and conclusive way. "Third To consider and report to the General Assem- bly upon any other questions relative to Theological Semi- naries and Theological Education, and the interest of the Church therein, which it may seem wise to this Ad-interim Committee to incorporate in its report. "W. J. McKay, President of Board of Directors. "Hugh R. Murchison, Secretary." The Assembly very wisely, in view of the momentous issues involved, put this overture on the docket for one year, and next referred it to the other Theological Semi- [6] naries for their information and also for such action as each Seminary may think wise in the premises. The Assembly's action was as follows : "We recommend that this overture be placed on the docket for consideration by the General Assembly for 1920, and that copies of said overture be sent by the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly to the Faculty and Board of Trustees of each of our Theological Seminaries, to wit: Austin, Columbia, Louisville and Union, for their information." The policy of the Columbia Theological Seminary is doubtless that of all of the other Seminaries, and may be stated somewhat as follows: First This Seminary desires to uphold the highest standards of ministerial preparation and training and seeks to have its students graduates from some reputable college with the Bachelor's degree. In order to reinforce this policy, the Seminary declines to confer the degree of Bachelor of Divinity upon any one who has not taken the preceding academic degree. In some instances, men have completed well the entire Seminary curriculum, but as they did not have a collegiate degree, they were declined the diploma carrying the B. D. degree with it. Second In every case, a student entering the Seminary is required to have the permission of Presbytery to attend the Seminary and its approval of the courses of study pur- sued by him. In some instances the Presbytery follows the provision of the Constitution as to "extraordinary cases," having approved of their candidates studying in special courses in English, leading to diploma without degree. Such students have been admitted to all of the Theological Seminaries during the entire history of our Church. Third All of the Seminaries, by special arrangements with the Southwestern Presbyterian University, agreed to admit students of said institution to the same status in the Theological Seminaries that they had at that Univer- sity. This was done upon the ground that the Divinity School had been closed and the students could not carry out the plans formed, for a joint academic and theological [7] study. The several Theological Seminaries had arranged with adjacent colleges and universities, which made this arrangement possible: Union Seminary with Richmond College, Kentucky Seminary with the University of Louis- ville, and the Columbia Seminary with the University of South Carolina. But these students, of course, were required to have the approval of Presbytery before enter- ing upon the study at the Seminary under this arrange- ment. FourthIn no case has a student from a denomina- tional college been allowed to enter the Columbia Theo- logical Seminary before graduation, except with the approval of the college from which he comes and the Presbytery under which he is a candidate. This has been done in only three or four instances and it is not encour- aged. This does not apply to students from the South- western University, where there is a special arrangement, entered into by all of the Theological Seminaries. Fifth It is the settled desire and policy of the Faculty and Board of Directors of the Columbia Theological Sem- inary, to reduce the number of extraordinary cases as far as possible, and to require the full curriculum, including Greek and Hebrew and all other studies of students attending the institution ; and it is the hope that through this overture to have the General Assembly stamp its approval in its organic law by legislation which will accomplish this end, and secure from the Presbyteries more careful and thoroughly considerate action before approving special courses of study for its candidates. It is believed that all of the other Seminaries are heartily in sympathy with this plan and, therefore, there is a most earnest hope that something practical and effective will result from this overture. [8] IN MEMORIAM. Robert Alexander Webb. One of the most honored alumni of the Columbia Theo- logical Seminary was the distinguished Robert Alexander Webb, D. D., LL. D., who graduated at this institution in 1880. He was an honored and successful pastor in South Carolina of the famous Bethel Church in York county, which gives name to Bethel Presbytery, and of the West- minster Church at Charleston, S. C. He then entered upon his life work as professor of Systematic Theology, first at the Southwestern University for sixteen years, from 1892-1908, and then in the Kentucky Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Louisville, from 1908-1919. Thus for twenty-seven years Dr. Webb was the accom- plished, inspiring and effective teacher of the greatest of all the sciences in two of our Theological Seminaries. His name and memory are cherished with great affection in this Seminary, where for three years he was a student and in which he served as Smyth Lecturer in 1914-15. The subject of his lectures was, "The Doctrine of Chris- tian Hope," and it was a distinct contribution to the litera- ture of theology in this field, and deserves more adequate publicity and wider circulation. His book entitled, "Theology of Infant Salvation," covers a wide field in a most able and convincing manner. It is unfortunate that the title conceals the value of its contents from the general reader, for the book deserves to be a theological and religious classic. As a man, Dr. Webb was possessed of a brilliant intel- lect, which combined in rare degree rational and imagina- tive factors. His most thoroughly logical and philosoph- ical discussions were lighted up with the blaze of facile and ever-active imagination and fancy, and if he had written poetry or indulged in rapsodies, the numbers would have moved under the impulse of linked argumen- tation. His emotions were dynamic and easily aroused and the current of profound feeling ran like the Missis- sippi through all of his living and thinking. He was [9] moral and conscientious by nature and dictates of obliga- tion were to him final. The play of humor radiated in his countenance and enlivened most delightfully his inter- course with others. As a friend, Dr. Webb was tender, forbearing, frank, genial and delightfully communicative. There was, how- ever, a beautiful reserve, which kept him from becoming effusive. He loved his friends with an intense devotion and his loyalty to them was ready to bear almost any strain, even telling them frankly of their mistakes and foibles. His students were attached to him with an admiration and affection, which was based in large measure on great love which he cherished for them. No one who ever sat in faculty with him could forget how earnest he was as to the real interest of his students ; how forbearing and long-suffering he was with their foibles and failures and how skillfully he could plead for even the most hardened offender to have another chance. As a Christian, Dr. Webb was singularly consecrated. While incapable of cant or pretense, the super-natural had become ingrained into the very texture of his mental habitudes, so that by inner impulse he lived "in the "Heavenlies." If any man in our day walked with God like Enoch, Dr. Webb was the man. He had profound experience of sin and of grace and all forms of Pharisa- isms was entirely foreign to his religious convictions. An undisguised humility and modesty, a beautiful meekliness and lowliness of spirit adorned his character with a charm that made every sensitive soul love and admire him. As a theologian, Dr. Webb was orthodox, Biblical, con- fessional, and thoroughly rational in the true sense of the word. He w T as a sound and convinced Calvinist, upon the basis of Scriptures and reason alike. It is a great pity that he did not publish more and it is hoped that his lec- tures to theological students have been left in such shape that a System of Theology can be digested from them. After twenty-seven years of teaching no man in the his- tory of the Church was better prepared to publish such volumes. When requested by his friends and brethren to publish his lectures, his reply exhibited his real humil- [10] ity ; he said if he were to publish such a book that nobody would read it, but he was much mistaken in this estimate. As an ecclesiastic, Dr. Webb was gifted and influential, but for some years, for various reasons, he had retired from active effort to influence the ecclesiastical life of the Church, but he was a thorough believer in the distinctive mission of the Presbyterian Church in the United States, and an advocate of its continued separate existence. He made no effort to conceal his views from those who had the right to know them. The Seminary which he attended, the Synod of which he was a member, the Church of which he was minister, is bereaved in his transfer from the services of the Church below to the higher services of the Church Triumphant and Heavenly. His memory and services are cherished with deep affec- tion at this Seminary, to whose interests he was so devoted and loyal. [11]