tant Church. Whatever action may be adopted by either
body is a safe index of the sentiment pervading the entire mass of
French Protestantism. In the General Conference which convened in Paris
in the spring of 1863, there was a violent debate between the
Rationalistic and Evangelical members. M. de Pressense presided. Pastor
Bersier made a remarkable speech, in which he declared that true
science, light, liberty, and progress are on the side of earnest faith
in revelation, the atonement, and the other great doctrines of Christian
truth. At the conclusion of the discussion, the following protest was
carried by an overwhelming majority:

"The Conference, considering that the faithful may be troubled by
systems of the present day, attacking the very basis of Christianity and
the Church; that these negations are produced in the name of science,
and given as the definitive results of the elaboration of modern
thought,--protests in the name of Christian faith, of Christian
conscience, of Christian experience, of Christian science, against every
doctrine which tends to overturn the existence of supernatural order, of
the divine authority of the Scriptures, of the divinity of Jesus Christ,
and all that touches the very essence of Christianity; such as it has
been professed in all times, by all churches, marked with the seal of
religious power and faithfulness. The Conference invites the faithful to
beware of these systems of science, a thousand times contradicted by the
incessant transformations of the human mind; and exhorts the different
churches to make efforts and sacrifices to favor the development and
progress of Christian science."

The Rationalists hoped that by spending a year in the industrious
promulgation of their opinions, they would gain some official
recognition or power in the ensuing Conference. Accordingly, when the
General Conference of 1864 convened, they demanded the passage of a
resolution by which ministers would be freed from all authority, and
permitted to preach any doctrine, no doctrine, or a denial of all
Christianity, as they might choose. The debate was very animated, and
lasted three days. But the result was all that the most sanguine friends
of orthodoxy could desire. The Conference adopted the following
declaration, by a large majority:

"_Whereas_, For some years, pastors and professors of theology have
expressed opinions which affect not only the divine authority of the
Holy Scriptures, but