BULLETIN

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Published Quarterly by the Board of Directors
of the Theological Seminary

of the

Synods of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States

Vol. II.

JANUARY, 1910

No. 3

[Entered as Second Clas. Matter July 11, 1908. at the Postoffice at
Columbia. S. C. under the Act of July 16. 1894.]

"WE DO YOU TO WIT."

How pleasantly quaint is this rendering of the apostle's
words (2 Cor. viii., 1) given in King James' Version. "We
do you to wit," i. c, we cause you to know. And what was
it that the apostle was thus anxious for the Corinthians to
know? It was "the grace of God bestowed upon the
churches of Macedonia." "The grace of God!" How
good it sounds! And how did the apostle know that God
had bestowed His grace upon the churches of Macedonia?
What was the outward and visible sign that the Macedonian
Christians had received the grace of God in their hearts?
Paul was not a searcher of hearts. He could, however, see
what was "as plain as a pike-stafT." And this is what he
saw, "that, in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of the
joy, and the deep poverty" of these Macedonian Christians
had "abounded unto the riches of their liberality" (2 Cor.
viii., 2). When the pagan neighbors of these persecuted,
poverty-stricken Macedonian Christians saw them putting
their hands into their pockets to promote the very cause
which had brought persecution upon them, they no doubt
scratched their heads to find the explanation of so singular
a phenomenon. Not so the apostle : he knew what was to
pay. To him it was as clear as daylight, that this pro-
cedure was not of "nature," but of grace. Your shrewd and
calculating citizen of "Vanity Fair" has to see from four to
six per centum before he will open his fist, or loose the string
of his money-bag. No one, we suppose, is simple enough to
connect the grace of God with an outlay of money, made in
order to secure a return of from four to six per centum.
That is not "grace," it is what is called no doubt, stupidly
enough called "business."

And what, pray, is the net of the foregoing? Simply
this : That where there is genuine Christian liberality, there
there is proof positive of the presence of the grace of God.

"For this is Expedient for You/'

And why did the apostle thus cause the Corinthian. Chris-
tians to know the grace of God bestowed upon the churches
of Macedonia? The apostle himself shall tell us. He
knew that God's grace need not be limited to the churches of
Macedonia. Not only so, but the spectacle of what that
grace was accomplishing among the Macedonian churches
moved him mightily, so that he longed to see its blessed
influences extended to the Church at Corinth. "Insomuch,"
as he says, "that we desired Titus, that as he had made a
beginning before, so he would also complete in you this
grace also." Paul was neither ignorant of nor indifferent
to the good points of these Corinthian Christians. He
cheerfully recognized the fact that they abounded as he
strongly puts it "in everything, in faith and utterance and
knowledge;" yes, and in their love to him. But this made
him only the more anxious to see them "abound in this
grace" of liberality "also."

He would not have them misunderstand him, however,
and so he adds, "I speak not by way of commandment," as
though to force their hand, but simply "as proving through
the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love." The
apostle, as has often been remarked, was in the best sense of
the word, a thorough gentleman. And yet with all of his
love for these Corinthians, with all his honest satisfaction in
their excellences, there was evidently something troubling
him. What it was comes out When he says, "And herein I
give my judgment : for this is expedient for you, who were
the first to make a beginning a year ago, not only to do,
but also to will." There it is. The churches of Achaia had,
so to speak, started the ball a rolling. They had passed
their "resolutions," it seems, and had actually made a begin-
ning of the good work a year prior to the time at which the
apostle is now writing. Indeed, he had been speaking their
praises to "them of Macedonia" (ix. 2), telling the latter
that "Achaia hath been prepared for a year past." And

now he could not avoid a feeling of chagrin, both on his own
account and on theirs, to see them paltering with their privi-
leges, in danger of playing shilly-shally with their announced
purpose, in danger, after having themselves headed the pro-
cession, of themselves fetching up far in the rear.

A false start is worse than a fiasco. It impairs morale.
It engenders distrust. Unexecuted resolutions exact their
revenge, by stripping us of our resolution. They tend to
create the balking habit. It was the wise man who said,
"Better not to vow, than to vow and not to pay."

We "Do You To Wit."

And, now, brethren beloved, of the Synods of South
Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, we note the dif-
ference, please, in the position of our quotation marks, we,
not the apostle "do you to wit," i. c, cause you to know,
gladly bring to your attention, "the grace of God bestowed
upon" our sister Synods of Virginia and North Carolina.
And what evidence have we that God has bestowed his grace
upon our brethren of these Synods ? Evidence the same in
kind that convinced the apostle that that grace had been
bestowed upon the churches of Macedonia.

"The contributions to all causes have had a decided
increase. It has been resolved to add two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars to the endowment of Davidson College, and
this movement has enlisted the sympathies and labors of all
the ministers and a large number of the laymen in the
churches. The work is going on with many indications of
final success. Another addition to the Southern! Presby-
terian College and Conservatory of Music progresses
encouragingly. A capacious plant for a high school to be
used for Home Mission work, located in Ashe county,
is going up. The Statesville Female College has made addi-
tions to its buildings and equipment, etc., etc."

Not only so, but our brethren in these Synods have re-
solved to raise the pretty sum of $300,000 for the better

endowment of Union Seminary; and, better still, they have
already raised, in round numbers, $100,000 of this amount.
We bid them Godspeed, and predict for them complete suc-
cess.

The Synods of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and
Florida were not behind their sister Synods in resolving to
care effectively for the better equipment of their Seminary
also. Nay, they have made a fair start in putting their reso-
lutions into effect. Hence, the more reason for pushing the
matter to a successful conclusion. Shall we not do it?

Significant Figures.

SYNODS

Virginia and North
Carolina

S. Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama and Florida

Year

CO

o

2

O
05

00

CO

Til

CO

Oi

CO

CO

o

CD

*76
*66

25

o
a>

83
70

27

CO

96

84

28

O

CO

105
92

44

CT>

CO

105
88

51

CO

Number of candi-
dates

136

184
72

124
65

122
69

131
74

133

70

90
78

37

Number of students
at respective semi-
naries

69

* Because of the joint relation that the Synod of Alabama sustains to the
group of synods owning and controlling Columbia Seminary and that owning
Southwestern Presbyterian University, figures of the second line in which
only half oi its candidates are reckoned to Columbia Seminary come nearer
revealing the real facts.

The figures of the foregoing table, while not surprising,
are certainly significant. They show, as was to have been
expected :

1. That in order to a considerable student body at a given
Seminary, there must be a considerable body of candidates
in the Synods controlling the Seminary.

2. That there is a pretty steady ratio between the number
of candidates in a given group of Synods, and the number of
students present at any time in the Seminary of those
Synods.

6

SYNODS

Number |
Candi- l
dates

Number
Com-
municants

Arkansas

20

7

26

27

16,268

7,961

20,462

24,561

Florida _ -

Georgia

South Carolina

Total Number

80

69,252

North Carolina

119

43,663

From the accompanying
table, it appears that while the
four Synods of Alabama,
Florida, Georgia and South
Carolina together have 25,589
more communicants than the
single Synod of North Caro-
lina, they have 39 fewer candi-
43 663 dates for the ministry, than that
great Synod.

Is it any answer to these figures to say that God alone can
call men into the ministry ?

The single Presbytery of Concord, in the Synod of North
Carolina, has 49 candidates as against the 46 of the two
Synods of Alabama and Georgia; and the 53 of the two
Synods of Georgia and South Carolina,

Necrology.

We give below the names of the ministers, alumni of
Columbia Seminary, who have died within the period of the
past three years :

Angus Johnson, member of the class of 1836; Presbytery
of Dallas.

Robert H. Reid, member of the class of 1849; Enoree
Presbytery.

J. H. Alexander, D. D., member of the class of 1852;
Presbytery of Central Mississippi.

Nicholas W. Edmunds, D. D., member of the class of
1855; Harmony Presbytery.

Robert Bradley, member of the class of 1859 ; Harmony
Presbytery.

H. M. Brearley, member of the class of 1860; Pee Dee
Presbytery.

S. C. Alexander, D. D., member of the class of 1861 ;
Presbytery of Pine Bluff.

K. M. Mclntyre, D. D., member of the class of 18G3;
Fayetteville Presbytery.

J. Lowrie Wilson, D. D., member of the class of 1869 ;
South Carolina Presbytery.

J. H. Thornwell, D. D., member of the class of 1872;
Bethel Presbytery.

Josephus Johnson, D. D., member of the class of 1872;
Presbytery of Central Texas.

D. S. McAlister, member of the class of 1874; Presbytery
of Florida.

J. William Flinn, D. D., member of the class of 1875;
Charleston Presbytery.

Richard C. Ligon, member of the class of 1875 ; Presby-
tery of South Carolina.

J. L,. Williamson, member of the class of 1878 ; Presby-
tery of South Carolina.

William G. Neville, D. D., member of the class of 1881;
Bethel Presbytery.

J. D. Henery, member of the class of 1903 ; Presbytery of
Kanawha.