Columbia Theological Seminary Bulletin, 21, number 4, July 1928

BULLETIN

OF

COLUMBIA

THEOLOGICAL

SEMINARY

THE CENTENNIAL

Published Quarterly by

COLUMBIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

DECATUR. GEORGIA

Vol. XXI JULY, 1928 No. 4

Entered as Second Class Matter May 9, 1928, at the Postoffice at Decatur, Georgia,
Under the Act of August 24, 1912.

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2012 with funding from

LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation

http://archive.org/details/columbiatheo1928colu

Columbia's Centennial

GRACED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE GENERAL
ASSEMBLY

And nothing could have been more gracious than the con-
siderateness of that venerable company ! But, in view of this
Century of accomplished service, surely it was a grace of con-
gruity. In view of that Columbia Triumverate B. M. Palmer,
J. H. Thorn well, J. Leighton Wilson, which gave to the
Southern Assembly her grand particularities, it was even a
grace of condignity. Viewing the widening horizons of oppor-
tunity, may it prove the (/race of consecration.

GIRDED BY THE FAITH OF THE FATHERS

The pressing challenge from secular civilization and scien-
tific relativism to the Church to abandon her Gospel and
adopt the program of social melioration, how the fathers
of the Church honored alumni of the school, hurled it back
with no uncertain rejection! Dr. A. M. Fraser bade the
Seminary and the Church take no lower tasks than the procla-
mation of the Eternal Gospel. He plighted the troth of the
New Columbia to the Unique Characteristics of the Christian
Religion; while, with the same solemn fidelity, Dr. A. B.
Curry, declared her missionary message to be the Apostolic
Commission. Columbia's first Commencement in Atlanta, her
maiden effort in the second century of her life, was made
with every bugle ringing out the Evangel, every turret flying
the flag of Emanuel !

GRIPPED BY THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SONS

David's Captains, Columbia's Alumni,
A Fellowship without Envy!
A Loyalty without Reserve !

So the grand old grad. Dr. C. \Y. Grafton, 73, pledged
it and so the school enjoyed it. What unity ! What enthu-
siasm ! From what distance they came for this reunion ! What
'a round table fellowship* ! "All one will." "and we will work
thy will who love thee"! What a tonic for the President!
"Sweet faces, who will help him at his need!"

3

The Presentation of the Gavel

TO DR. HARRIS E. KIRK

Moderator of the General Assembly..

Mr. Moderator'.

By the votes of your fellow-commissioners, you have been
elevated to the moderatorship over this Assembly. On behalf of
Columbia Seminary, and by appointment of the chairman of its
Faculty, I come to place in your hands a symbol of your authori-
ty. It is eminently fitting that you should preside over this
Court of the Church with a gavel presented by Columbia Semi-
nary. For the General Assembly has come to Atlanta at this time
in order that it might participate with us in our centennial
celebration.

This gavel was made of material taken from the old campus
and from the new. One part of the gavel stands for the yester-
day of Columbia Seminary ; the other part, for the to-day and
the to-morrow. The union in this gavel of wood from the old and
new campuses is meant to represent to you and the general
Assembly the relation of the Columbia of the present to the
Columbia 'of the past. They are not divided: the old continues in
the new, and the new is "carrying on" in the spirit of the old,
seeking to give to its aims and ideals larger fulfillment. The
saving fundamental truth held and held forth on the Campus at
Columbia we cherish still at Atlanta, and are endeavoring to
commit to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also.

The Columbia of the past is rich in yesterdays, having reached
to summit of one hundred years of life and service. It is. rich,
not only in years, but also in memories: memories of creative
personalities, whose works abide ; rich in traditions : traditions
of faith that worketh by love ; of scholarship consecrated to
service ; of sacrifices cheerfully offered ; of sufferings patiently
endured ; and of hopes long deferred but now being realized.
The Columbia of to-day is bright with promise, being encouraged
by the glory of past achievement to undertake great things for
God and expect great things from God.

So I have the honor and pleasure of presenting to you this
gavel in the name of Columbia Seminary, the century-old insti-
tution which has recently returned to renew its youth in the
heart of its enlarged constituency.

Rev. J. B. Green, D.D.

4

The Centennial Class

A class of twenty-two was graduated at the Centennial
Commencement. Their fields of labor extend from Carolina
to Texas and Oklahoma. Several are engaged in the work at
home, pending mission appointments abroad.

The class has appointed a committee, consisting of 1. M.
Richards, J. K. Johnston, Claude Mcintosh and Dr. 1. B.
Green, to arrange for the raising of a substantial fund, as the
class's Centennial tribute of support and affection to their Alma
Mater.

The Centennial Class bears a unique distinction. They spent
t\fb years on the Columbia campus where they became thorough-
ly imbued with the spirit of ( )ld Columbia. As the first Senior
Class on the new campus in Atlanta, they form, in the Seminary
life, a strong connecting link between the past and the future.
The Centennial Class has been a medium through which the in-
fluence of the traditions and hallowed associations of the first
century has been re-incarnated in the campus life of the New
Columbia.

CLASS ROLL

Eugene Griffin Beckman, A.B., B.D. Wewoka, Okla.

Walter Montgomery Crofton, B.A., A.M., B.D. Dublin, Ga.

Charles Cureton, A.B., B.D. Converse, S. C.

William Harper Dendy, A.B., B.D Andrews, N. C.

Robert Clifton Dorn, A.B., B.D. Houston, Texas

Charles Grenville Hamilton, A.B., B.D. Durant, Okla.

Bob Shiver Hodges, A.B., B.D Batesburg, S. C.

John Knox Johnston, A.B., B.D. Chesterfield, S. C.

Robert Plympton Lovell, Jr., Ph.B., B.D Fort Worth, Texas

Malcolm Alexander Macdonald, A.B., B.D. Union Point Ga.

Angus Guy Mclnnis, A.B., B.D. Crawfordville, Ga.

Claude Mcintosh, A.B., B.D New Brookland, S. C.

Ralph Leon McRaney, A.B., B.D St. Joseph, La.

James McDowell Richards, B.A., M.A., B.D Clarkesville, Ga.

George Francis Swetnam, A.B., M.A., B.D. Vaiden, Miss.

Walter Swetnam, A.B., B.D. Calhoun City, Miss.

Donald Augustus Swicord, A.B., B.D. Chunju, Korea

Eugene Thomson Wilson, A.B., B.D Asheville, N. C.

Walter Daniel Arnold Hamer, S. C.

Angelo James Luck, A.B. : Asheville, N. C.

James Samuel Mansfield . ... Bessemer, Ala.

Rufus William Oakey Atlanta, Ga.

5

Presentation of Loving Cup
to Dr. W. W. McPheeters

On Behalf of the Alumni of

Coin in bia Theological

Seminary

On the Occasion of the

Fortieth Anicersary of

His Professorship.

The Gilbraltar steadfastness,

the "< )ld Faithful" loyalty, the
genuine beneath the surface love
of the great Dean of Columbia,

received striking and whole-
hearted appreciation at the
Alumni Banquet held in his
honor May 21st. The meeting
over-flowed in numbers, enthusi-
asm, fun. fellowship and affec-
tion. Deep spoke to deep in this
feast of soul fellowship. For
forty years Dr. McPheeters' love
for his boys has shone un-
climmed ; for forty years the
loyalty of this Richmond alum-
nus has preserved Columbia's
autonomy and heritage ; for
forty years, in the Battle for the Bible, he has stood like a
stone wall. By precept, by faith, by publication, by letter, by
personal visitations, he has been a mighty influence in the
seminaries, the colleges, and the Church for the integrity of the
Word.

After tributes by Dr. R. O. Flinn, Toastmaster, Dr. D. M.
Douglas, Dr. S. C. Byrd, Dr. S. H. Hay and others. Dr. J. Blan-
ton Belk eloquently expressed the universal esteem of the Alumni
in the following appropriate words :

Mr. Toastmaster, Our Honoured Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen :

The high honor and special privilege of presenting this token
of love to our honored guest have been bestowed upon me. How
can I say to Dr. McPheeters what is in your heart? Who am I
to interpret love to our professor of interpretation? Interpre-
tation is an art that comes only with years of painstaking appli-
cation.

6

Dr. McPheeters

"A Loving Cup" That is our text. And to be true to the
Columbia system, we must look with care upon the immediate
context. Behold, sir, that context About you are gathered men
who have filled this cup to overflowing with love. No professor,
in such company, would have a greater right to say "My cup
runneth over." My instructions were to say, "We love you as a
scholar and as a gentleman."

Your classroom with its quiet dignity, its air of learning, its
chaste and cultured personality, is among the happiest memories
of the past.

The immediate context brings before us in logical sequence
the larger context. Here is only a cross section of your students.
Behind is the dark background of Columbia's Alumni for fifty
years. From city, and hamlet, from the country and mission
fields come the love and good wishes of your preachers.

And what shall 1 say of the literary context? How urgent
you used to be, sir, that we should consider well this important
element in interpretation. Have you not just felt the literary
genius of Sam Hay and S. C. Byrd, and those other masters of
expression? I gather all that has been said here tonight and focus
it upon our text.

And still the literary blends into the artistic symmetry of the
cup itself. Where could one find more of beauty, both of shape
and workmanship, than here? How other can we explain such
artistry than to believe that the cup itself was built upon the
architectonic principle !

A student need not remind you, Dr. McPheeters, that "Loving"
is a present participle. Divinity is an Eternal present tense.
Here, then, we behold the historical context, and declare that
loving you tonight, we always have loved you ; even when you
were hard on us, we loved you ; even when you were disap-
pointed in us, we loved you. And I shall violate every rule of
interpretation by projecting the historical context into the future
and saying: "We always will love you!"

Let us read the inscription :

"Presented to

Dr. W. M. McPheeters

On the occasion of the 40th Anniversary

of his professorship in

Columbia Theological Seminary

As a token of love from his former students

Atlanta

May 21, 1928."

7

Dedicatory Address

The Reverend J. Sprole Lyons, d. d.

The dedication of this splendid building
is the first step in the development of an
imposing and beautiful quadrangle. It will
be the right wing of the central and domi-
nant structure which will include a tower
of imposing height, of chastened but charm-
ing beauty, containing a spacious and wel-
coming entrance, with upper floors devoted
to library and stack room purposes. Beyond
this central tower, and serving as a balance
to this building, will be a large, spacious
and beautiful library. Leading off on the
left of this great central and composite
structure is the new dormitory now in use, beyond
which will be the Refectory. On the right side of
the rectangle thus forming will be the Chapel, and
on its western slopes will be the Athletic building !
and, of sacred interest, in the central area of the
great quadrangle will be the original chapel of
Columbia Seminary, which is to be removed to this
site; in which the Original Book of Church Order of
our Assembly was prepared by Doctors Thornwell,
Adger, and others ; where generations of young min-
isters have developed the gift and grace of preaching;
and where Woodrow Wilson gave his heart to Christ
in a public profession.

The completion of the group of comfortable Pro-
fessors' homes, and the construction of Mission
Terrace a group of cottages and apartments for the
accommodation of returned missionaries and their
families, will add greatly to the value, the beauty
and the usefulness of this wonderful community.

I am under the restraint of an insistent modesty
on part of the generous donor of this building, Mr.
J. Bulow Campbell, which calls for brevity and
avoidance of any but necessary personal references.
Suffice to say that no background of personality
could be more attractive, nor more worthy of having
the plain facts about it uttered definitely and fully,
than the personal and family features, which finds
beautiful and enduring expressions in the wonderful
structure.

(Cam):

1rcct^ in id
A Bcbotcli (

Etrtunia (j

"'iTherc is no hiphcr ca
(Christia

I will, therefore, conf:
and useful building, anc
its dedication, will tell tc
after. What will such i
of this building? As he n
this inscription, and re;
between the lines, he w:

1. Think of a goodly I
con is probably the bes
human spirit while it is
the flesh.

2. He will think of I
cumstances of her nobl
voted, consecrated, Chr:

3. He will be certain t
son, who is a sharer in
Such a man is doubtless
but he has in the priv
spreading through the w

8

ill iaU

jinn, XLrihntc to
[Jiistian pother

b'm Campbell

t|, on earth than that of the
thrislrp"

myself to what this great
lis striking inscription of
1 thoughtful visitors here-
isitor gather as the story
:s this structure, and reads
the facts plainly visible

r<nan. And that such a per-
lat God can do with the
anted in the limitations of

I godly woman in the cir-
earthly service "a de-
Elan mother".

Hhink of a dutiful, devoted

mother's Christian faith.

ttle lower than the angels,

je of understanding and

the Gospel of Salvation

through Jesus Christ, a joy of which Peter
said, "which things the angels, desire to
look into", and which Moffatt in his new
translation beautifully expresses, "the very
angels long to get a glimpse of this".

4. He will sense in the words quoted in
the inscription, "There is no higher calling
on earth than that of the Christian Minis-
try", the supreme passion of a mother's
heart, her "heart's desire for prayer", that
her son might be called into the Gospel
Ministry.

5. He will pause, and will ponder upon
another "mystery of Providence", another
"unanswered prayer of faith" ; for this
devoted Christian son was not called to the
Ministry of the Gospel ! This costly building could
not be provided out of the modest income of a minis-
ter of the Gospel ! While he was not called to the
Ministry of preaching the Gospel, he was called
to a more difficult and more dangerous ministry
to serve God in one of the most trying and
most perilous of all lines of service to be in busi-

ness for the Kingdom of God ; to use the signal
talents for financial achievement with which God had
endowed him for God's glory ; to serve his Lord
where so many great souls succumb to the suffocat-
ing and hardening influence of "the love of money",
which so easily becomes slavery to money. We must
gratefully recognize the increasing number of really
great men in business who are keeping their souls
free, who, while in fact they are "captains of indus-
try", are more and more tasting the joy of becoming
far-seeing and most effective engineers of human
welfare and the kingdom of God.

6. The thoughtful visitor of the future will grate-
fully remember the words of Prov. 31 :28 concerning
the godly woman, that when all else has been said
of her worth and honor in all of life's relationships,
this is also and ever true "Her children rise up and
call her blessed".

Therefore, recognizing the good hand of our God
that has been upon us, and speaking for the Board

of Trustees of Columbia Theological Seminary, I declare that:
For the sacred memory of this godly woman Virginia Orme
Campbell ;

For the expression of gratitude for the filial devotion and
Christian zeal which have devised this memorial ;

For the preservation and dissemination of Gospel Truth ;

For the inspiration of like-minded investment in the Kingdom
of God ;

For the training of Christian workers through generations to
come ;

For the building of the Church at home, and sending its service
to earth's remotest bounds

This building is now, and ever shall be

Dedicated to

The Service of Almighty God, our Father,

Through Jesus Christ Our Lord and Saviour,

By the Ministry of the Holy Spirit!

Amen and Amen !

The Theological Seminary

the Heart of the Church

"This is an appropriate time for us to realize afresh the
importance of the Theological Seminary in the Presbyterian
System. It is the heart of the Church. It is the main motor
and source of power in the life of Presbyterianism. It is in
our Theological Seminaries that the type of doctrine, the
spirit of worship and service, the denominational character
and fashion are fixed, at least, in general. The young min-
isters going out from these Seminaries furnish to a great
degree the ideals that become established in the congrega-
tions which they serve. The foolish saying, T love religion
and flowers, but I hate theology and botany,' makes no
appeal to normal Presbyterians, or to any other sensible
people.

Since the Theological Seminary is the heart of our great
system of life and work as a denomination, its well-being
should be an uppermost concern of all who work and pray
for Gods glory in our Church."

From Centennial Address,
By Rev. J. Sprole Lyons, D. D.

NOTE The Centennial addresses will be published later with the Centenni
Catalogue.

10

Anna Church Whitner Memorial Fellowship

The Seminary is gratified to announce a trust fund of $10,000
established by Wm. C. Whitner, LL. D., of Rockhill, S. C. The
income from this generous trust will be used to provide a
Fellowship yielding $500.00 annually. Dr. Whitner has established
this Fellowship as a memorial to his Mother who was an ernest,
consecrated and devoted Christian woman. Each year the faculty
will make the award to some alumnus of marked ability and at-
tainments, to be used for a year's post graduate work in an
American or European institution.

The establishment of this Fellowship on the occasion of the
celebration of our Centennial, makes it possible to begin the new
century with an added advantage to the students of Columbia
Seminary. The higher standard of education among the lay mem-
bers of the Church makes it desirable to provide for further
study by men of extraordinary promise. This is, therefore, the
source of much satisfaction at the Seminary. The gift, which was
wholly unexpected and voluntary, leads us to hope that others
may follow the example of Dr. Whitner.

A Unique Demand

The highest test of a teacher is his ability to create an interest
in his subject to arouse and inspire an appetite for learning.
And the hardest field in all the Seminary curriculum, in which
to meet this test, is the field of Semitics.

The splendid abilities and rich devotion
of Dr. E. D. Kerr, received signal recog-
nition this year in the request of his stu-
dents for additional work in the Hebrew
Old Testament. An inspiration for addi-
tional mental perspiration over the
Hebrew radicals in all his years of
teaching "some score" of languages, it
may be doubted if this linguist has ever
received a finer testimonial. Dr. Kerr

11

Prof. m. C. Robinson, A.M., Th.D., D.D.

Dr. Robinson, Professor of Ecclesi-
astical History and Church Polity, was
inaugurated before the General Assem-
bly Tuesday evening. The address, "A
Historical Sketch of the Seminary and
the Church in the Southeast," was. a
summary of the thesis presented by
Prof. Robinson to Harvard University,
for his Doctor's degree. This thesis will
be published. Prof. Robinson's address was warmly received.

One feature of the thesis is the elaboration of the Thornwellian
Polity as the structural lines of the Southern Presbyterian
Church. Several members of the Harvard Examining Committee
expressed agreement with the thesis, that recent research has
vindicated the positions of Dr. Thornwell, in contradistinction
from those of Dr. Hodge, in regard to the office of elder and
minister of the Word. Prof. Robinson brings to the presentation
of Thornwell's polity a conviction supported both by the tradition
of Columbia Seminary, and by the results of critical research.

Prof. Robinson comes to Columbia Seminary with thorough
preparation and marked ability, combined with the enthusiasm
of youth. He has pursued post graduate work at the University
of South Carolina, Princeton Seminary, and the Lutheran Semi-
nary, Gettysburg, Perm. Before assuming the duties of his Chair
a year ago, Prof. Robinson spent one year at Harvard. This
spring he received two degrees : Doctor of Theology from Har-
vard, Doctor of Divinity (honorary) from his Alma Mater,
Roanoke College, Virginia.

From Harvard University:
"My dear President Gillespie:

"May I send you a line to express the satisfaction that we have taken in the
presence here, this year, of Mr. William C. Robinson, and the great regard and
esteem in which we have come to hold him.

"I am sure that he is a very valuable man on your staff, and it seems to us that
he is likely to develop into one of the leading teachers of church history in the
whole South.

"Pardon me for seeming to tell you what you already know better than I do. of
Mr. Robinson's quality and charm, but I could not let the occasion pass without
saying to you, that we, too, have gained a very high opinion of him.

"Yours very truly,

"JAMES H. ROPES, Acting Dean."

12

Prof. Hunter B. Blakely, A.M., Th.D.

Columbia is privileged to offer to the
Church this year, in her new professor,
a Presbyterian of A. R. P. ancestry and
education, a man of highest talents, of
widest opportunities for developing those
gifts, of thorough training in the best
recent world thought. Prof. Blakely set
conspicuous records at Erskine College,

P. c j t t v Dr. Blakely

nnceton beminary and University,

Edinburgh University, and the Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary. From the latter he received his. Th. D., Magna Cum

Laude. Edinburgh has accepted his work as satisfying their

requirements and has requested him to present a thesis for the

Ph.D. degree. For the past sixteen months he has been studying

at Oxford, Edinburgh, Berlin, Marburg and Tubingen.

Dr. Blakely has a personal acquaintance with the great leaders
of the German vital movement away from the negations of
Liberalism back towards the Christian evangel e.g. Karl Barth
of Marburg, and Carl Heim of Tubingen. He writes: "It is
wonderful to find Tubingen, which was known all over the world
for its liberal theology, sounding such a positive note today"
Some of these notes are : the theology of Revelation ; the histori-
city of the miracles ; the transcendent Holy God ; the Johannine
authorship of the fourth Gospel; Justification; "the possibility of
the forgiveness of sins through the death of Jesus Christ" ; the
proclamation "in no uncertain terms" of the deity of Christ and
the atonement. Columbia men will thus be among the first to re-
ceive an adequate first hand presentation and evaluation of the
radical and far reaching changes which are sweeping over the face
of German thought, that has been offered in any American semi-
nary or university.

From Southern Baptist Theological Seminary:
"My dear Dr. Gillespie:

"I congratulate you heartily on getting Blakely. I can recommend him unre-
servedly for the Chair of New Testament. He is gifted, studious, consecrated,
scholarly, with a pleasing personality. He ought to do exceedingly well.

"Cordially vours,

"A. T. ROBERTSON."

13

A Message From the President of the Board

The friends of Columbia Seminary may well rejoice over the
fuller life into which this beloved Institution has entered, co-
incidental with its entrance into a new century of history. Especial-
ly is this true of those whose generosity has made such life
possible. It is now equipped with a beautiful partly completed
home, well placed in the largest membership center of the Church,
is manned by an able faculty, ample in size for best work, has an
enthusiastic, growing student body, is the subject of an increasing
liberality from Church and individuals, and these things, with the
inspiration had from an hundred years of service, make its future
to glow with hope and promise.

This happy state of affairs has been wrought by much hard
work, backed by earnest prayer, for those who are responsible
for the welfare of the Seminary have given it freely of their
best. The new home is not complete, but enough has been done
to enable the Seminary to settle down comfortably in its new
environment. When the time comes for other buildings to be
added, great hearts, will supply them.

In the mean time, there are other needs to be supplied, and
these were faced by the Board at its last meeting. While they
were under consideration, an offer from a friend was received,
proposing to contribute $60,000, provided the Board would raise
$75,000; both sums to be used to balance the budget and ex-
tinguish a building debt necessarily incurred in the removal of
the Seminary. It is needless, to say that the offer was promptly
accepted and a committee named to carry it into effect. A gen-
eral campaign in the five controlling Synods is not possible, and
reliance must be had on individual gifts to meet the terms of the
offer, and these must be in the hands of the Board by July 1,
1929. Appeal is now made to all who love and are interested in
the Seminary, to come to its aid with their gifts, or their personal
efforts to obtain same, or both. Any member of the Board, or of
the Faculty, or of the Alumni, will gladly forward such gifts,
or they may be sent direct. They may appropriately be termed
a Centennial offering to the Seminary, in gratitude to God for
the long and useful service it has rendered the Church.

J. T. Brantley.
14

SMYTH LECTURES

The Smyth Lectures for 1928-29 will be de-
livered by Dr. W. T. Ellis, of Swathmore, Perm.,
widely known as a world traveler, archaeologist
and delightful lecturer.

ELLIS EPIGRAMS

"Life is always contemporaneous in its real
significance."

"The Bible is proved genuine by its place
references."

"All this ancient history is now dated by
Christ. What a Symbol of conquest is the calen-
dar !"

"Paul was the first great Christian theologian,
and he did not blink the tremendous implica-
tions of his message."

Bible Lands Today.