The Old Side-New Side Controversy
Encyclopedia
The Old Side-New Side Controversy occurred within the Presbyterian Church in Colonial America
and was part of the wider theological controversy surrounding the First Great Awakening
. The Old and New Side Presbyterians existed as separate churches from 1741 until 1758. The name of Old Side-New Side is usually meant as specifically referring to the Presbyterian Church. When one is referring to the debate as a whole, Old and New Light
is usually used.
successfully organized American Presbyterians into the new Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
.) Rather, as the first Presbyterian colonists began arriving in the Middle Colonies
in the late-17th and early-18th centuries, the Presbyterian Church was organized from the ground up. America's first presbytery was created at a meeting held in Freehold Township, New Jersey
in 1705 or 1706, and initially consisted of seven congregations.
As Scottish
and Scotch Irish immigrants to the American colonies in the early 18th century swelled the number of Presbyterians in the colonies, the number of congregations grew rapidly throughout this period, and it soon became apparent that all the congregations could not be accommodated within a single presbytery. As such, in 1717, at a meeting at Southampton, New York
, the colonies' first synod, designated the Synod of Philadelphia, was formed. The Synod of Philadelphia was initially divided into four presbyteries: the Presbytery of Long Island
; the Presbytery of Philadelphia; the Presbytery of New Castle
; and the Presbytery of Snow Hill
(soon absorbed into the Presbytery of New Castle).
It is unclear when the trouble and differences arose in the Synod of Philadelphia. What is agreed is that by 1737 trouble was undeniable. That year the Synod passed several acts of importance. The first was one forbidding the practice of itinerant preaching by requiring permission from the governing presbytery to agree to the traveling minister. The second was the requiring of a college diploma prior to a candidate being taken on trials for the ministry. For those unable to go to college two committees were set up who would examine the candidate and certify them as ready for trials or not. These first two acts seem aimed at those who supported the First Great Awakening. Gilbert Tennent
specifically thought the act about college diplomas was directed at his father, William Tennent
’s Log College
from which the majority of early Awakening supporters graduated. The third act of that year created a Presbytery of New Brunswick
. This presbytery was controlled by pro-Awakening men, who would be called the New Side. It was the first presbytery controlled by the New Side. Those who opposed the Awakening would come to be called the Old Side.
In 1739, the New Brunswick Presbytery presented a defense of their licensing John Rowland, entitled An Apology of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, against the Education act of 1737, as Rowland had no diploma as his only place of training was the Log College
. The Synod considered the Apology, but rejected it and upheld the 1737 act. To this a protest was entered by Gilbert Tennent
and other New Side adherents. This protest was renewed the next year and joined by more New Side ministers. This time the Synod agreed to repeal the act. No permanent solution was reached. During the synod, the New Side ministers preached in a pulpit erected for the coming of George Whitefield
. Whitefield had befriended the New Side ministers, especially Gilbert Tennent, and they were preparing for his arrival by sermons. The Old Side ministers were not allowed to preach in this pulpit. Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Blair also presented papers to the Synod where they accused ministers within the church as being unconverted, but no names were given despite the request of Synod.
The year of formal breech occurred in 1741 when after the Presbytery of Donegal failed to discipline one of its New Side members, Alexander Craighead
, for violating the Itinerate minister act of 1737. He had preached in the pulpit of Francis Alison
without permission. Alison tried to get a trial against Craighead at Synod, but nothing would come of it as the New Side ministers would not allow it. Craighead read papers in his defense and the New Side presented charges against John Thomson a leading minister of the Old Side. Finally on June 1, Robert Cross presented a Protest against the actions of the New Side. The Protest was signed by the leading Old Side ministers including John Thomson and Francis Alison. The New Side ministers and elders requested a vote to see who was in the majority. The Old Side ministers were in the majority, and the New Side ministers withdrew and formed the Conjunct Presbytery. The Old Side ministers continued as the Synod of Philadelphia. The entire Presbytery of New York was absent from the Synod of 1741 probably in hopes of avoiding taking sides.
The factions of the Old Side and New Side did not die down. The Synod of New York had 72 ministers in 1758 when it merged with the Synod of Philadelphia, which had only a little over twenty. Thus, the New Side doctrine was imposed upon the Presbyteries and became the rule of the Synod. By 1762 disagreement over the plan of union and examination of candidates for the ministry had erupted at synod. The Old Side did not inquire into the candidate’s experience to determine his acquaintance with religion, and the New Side minister had done so. The synod decided to leave it up to each presbytery on whether or not to question candidates in such a manner. That year they also created a Second Presbytery of Philadelphia, which was clearly done on a theological split, not a geographical one. In 1765 the Old Side controlled Presbytery of Donegal was split into multiple presbyteries. On account of this perceived violation of their rights and the Plan of Union, the Old Side members of the Presbytery of Donegal withdrew from Synod and Revs. John Ewing and Alexander McDowell, both Old Side ministers, protested the decision of synod to split Donegal. In the end, the outbreak of the Revolutionary War took center stage and by the end of the war the Synod of New York and Philadelphia dissolved and in 1788 the first General Assembly was formed.
1. Philosophy of ecclesiastical government. Points one and two of the Protest deal with government. The Old Side believed the Synod was a higher court than the Presbyteries, and had legislative powers. The New Side believed the Synod was a higher court, but had only advisory powers. Thus, presbyteries were not bound to obey a Synodical rule. This led directly to the New Side Presbytery of New Brunswick ordaining and licensing men without conforming to the acts of Synod passed regarding licensure and ordination.
2. Itinerate Ministry. Point three of the Protest regards the itinerate ministry conducted by many New Side ministers. New Side ministers regularly preached in churches that were under the oversight of Old Side ministers. The Old Side found this disorderly, the New Side was offended that they were not welcome in the pulpits of fellow ministers of their own denomination. Traveling around and preaching in pulpits that were not your own was a common practice during the First Great Awakening both inside and outside of the Presbyterian Church.
3. The Doctrine of Convictions. Points four through seven all deal with consequences of having a different understanding of the Doctrine of Convictions. The Old Side ministers accused the New Side ministers of rashly condemning other Presbyterian ministers as unconverted (point four), of teaching that regularly ordained ministers could do no spiritual good if they were unconverted (point five), of preaching the ‘terrors of the law’ (point six), and of requiring a conversion narrative and being able to judge the gracious state of an individual by that narrative (point seven). The New Side condemned the Old Side for not requiring narratives or preaching the terrors of the law. Gilbert Tennent at least believed that some ministers were unconverted and that people should not sit under the ministry of an unconverted minister. This comes from his famous sermon, “Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry” .
Colonial America
The colonial history of the United States covers the history from the start of European settlement and especially the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain until they declared independence in 1776. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain and the Netherlands launched major...
and was part of the wider theological controversy surrounding the First Great Awakening
First Great Awakening
The First Awakening was a Christian revitalization movement that swept Protestant Europe and British America, and especially the American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s, leaving a permanent impact on American religion. It resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of personal...
. The Old and New Side Presbyterians existed as separate churches from 1741 until 1758. The name of Old Side-New Side is usually meant as specifically referring to the Presbyterian Church. When one is referring to the debate as a whole, Old and New Light
Old and New Light
The terms Old Lights and New Lights are used in Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms have been applied in a wide variety of ways, and the meaning must be determined from context...
is usually used.
Background: Presbyterianism in the American Colonies to 1741
Throughout the colonial period, there was no unified Presbyterian Church throughout the American colonies. (This would not be accomplished until 1789 when John WitherspoonJohn Witherspoon
John Witherspoon was a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of New Jersey. As president of the College of New Jersey , he trained many leaders of the early nation and was the only active clergyman and the only college president to sign the Declaration...
successfully organized American Presbyterians into the new Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America
The Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was a Presbyterian denomination in the United States. It was organized in 1789 under the leadership of John Witherspoon in the wake of the American Revolution and existed until 1958 when it merged with the United Presbyterian Church of North...
.) Rather, as the first Presbyterian colonists began arriving in the Middle Colonies
Middle Colonies
The Middle Colonies comprised the middle region of the Thirteen Colonies of the British Empire in Northern America. In 1776 during the American Revolution, the Middle Colonies became independent of Britain as the states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware.Much of the area was part of...
in the late-17th and early-18th centuries, the Presbyterian Church was organized from the ground up. America's first presbytery was created at a meeting held in Freehold Township, New Jersey
Freehold Township, New Jersey
Freehold Township is a Township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 36,184. Freehold Township was first formed on October 31, 1693, and was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21,...
in 1705 or 1706, and initially consisted of seven congregations.
As Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
and Scotch Irish immigrants to the American colonies in the early 18th century swelled the number of Presbyterians in the colonies, the number of congregations grew rapidly throughout this period, and it soon became apparent that all the congregations could not be accommodated within a single presbytery. As such, in 1717, at a meeting at Southampton, New York
Southampton (town), New York
The Town of Southampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, U.S., partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town had a total population of 54,712...
, the colonies' first synod, designated the Synod of Philadelphia, was formed. The Synod of Philadelphia was initially divided into four presbyteries: the Presbytery of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
; the Presbytery of Philadelphia; the Presbytery of New Castle
New Castle, Delaware
New Castle is a city in New Castle County, Delaware, six miles south of Wilmington, situated on the Delaware River. In 1900, 3,380 people lived here; in 1910, 3,351...
; and the Presbytery of Snow Hill
Snow Hill, Maryland
Snow Hill is a town in Worcester County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,409 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Worcester County.-History:...
(soon absorbed into the Presbytery of New Castle).
Beginnings of the Controversy, 1737-1741
Gilbert Tennent
Gilbert Tennent was a religious leader. Gilbert was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of religious feeling in Colonial America, along with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield...
specifically thought the act about college diplomas was directed at his father, William Tennent
William Tennent
William Tennent was an early American religious leader and educator in British North America.-Early life:Tennent was born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1695 and was ordained in the Church of Ireland in 1706...
’s Log College
Log College
The Log College was the first American Presbyterian theological seminary located in what is now Warminster, Pennsylvania. It was founded by William Tennent and his son Gilbert Tennent and operated from 1726 until William Tennent's death in 1746....
from which the majority of early Awakening supporters graduated. The third act of that year created a Presbytery of New Brunswick
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
. This presbytery was controlled by pro-Awakening men, who would be called the New Side. It was the first presbytery controlled by the New Side. Those who opposed the Awakening would come to be called the Old Side.
In 1739, the New Brunswick Presbytery presented a defense of their licensing John Rowland, entitled An Apology of the Presbytery of New Brunswick, against the Education act of 1737, as Rowland had no diploma as his only place of training was the Log College
Log College
The Log College was the first American Presbyterian theological seminary located in what is now Warminster, Pennsylvania. It was founded by William Tennent and his son Gilbert Tennent and operated from 1726 until William Tennent's death in 1746....
. The Synod considered the Apology, but rejected it and upheld the 1737 act. To this a protest was entered by Gilbert Tennent
Gilbert Tennent
Gilbert Tennent was a religious leader. Gilbert was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of religious feeling in Colonial America, along with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield...
and other New Side adherents. This protest was renewed the next year and joined by more New Side ministers. This time the Synod agreed to repeal the act. No permanent solution was reached. During the synod, the New Side ministers preached in a pulpit erected for the coming of George Whitefield
George Whitefield
George Whitefield , also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican priest who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain, and especially in the British North American colonies. He was one of the founders of Methodism and of the evangelical movement generally...
. Whitefield had befriended the New Side ministers, especially Gilbert Tennent, and they were preparing for his arrival by sermons. The Old Side ministers were not allowed to preach in this pulpit. Gilbert Tennent and Samuel Blair also presented papers to the Synod where they accused ministers within the church as being unconverted, but no names were given despite the request of Synod.
The year of formal breech occurred in 1741 when after the Presbytery of Donegal failed to discipline one of its New Side members, Alexander Craighead
Alexander Craighead
Alexander Craighead was a Scots-Irish American preacher.He was born in Donegal, Ulster, Ireland around 1700, and came to North America with his father, the Reverend Thomas Craighead. He preached at the Middle Octorara Church, along the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, during the 1730s, but...
, for violating the Itinerate minister act of 1737. He had preached in the pulpit of Francis Alison
Francis Alison
Francis Alison was a leading minister in the Synod of Philadelphia during The Old Side-New Side Controversy-Early life and education:...
without permission. Alison tried to get a trial against Craighead at Synod, but nothing would come of it as the New Side ministers would not allow it. Craighead read papers in his defense and the New Side presented charges against John Thomson a leading minister of the Old Side. Finally on June 1, Robert Cross presented a Protest against the actions of the New Side. The Protest was signed by the leading Old Side ministers including John Thomson and Francis Alison. The New Side ministers and elders requested a vote to see who was in the majority. The Old Side ministers were in the majority, and the New Side ministers withdrew and formed the Conjunct Presbytery. The Old Side ministers continued as the Synod of Philadelphia. The entire Presbytery of New York was absent from the Synod of 1741 probably in hopes of avoiding taking sides.
Years of Schism, 1742-58
For the next several years the Conjunct Presbytery and the Synod of Philadelphia battled in print and over reuniting with the Presbytery of New York standing in the middle. The Presbytery of New York generally favored the revival, but had doubts about some of the extreme and disorderly actions. Finally, in 1746, the Presbytery of New York left the Synod of Philadelphia and joined the New Side. The Conjunct Presbytery then became the Synod of New York while the Old Side ministers continued as the Synod of Philadelphia.1758 Reunification and Legacy of the Controversy
As the fervor that was the Great Awakening died down, the two synods spoke about union. These talks were in full swing by 1751, but would not come to final fruition until 1758. On May 29, 1758 at three p.m. the two synods unanimously decided to unite forming the Synod of New York and Philadelphia.The factions of the Old Side and New Side did not die down. The Synod of New York had 72 ministers in 1758 when it merged with the Synod of Philadelphia, which had only a little over twenty. Thus, the New Side doctrine was imposed upon the Presbyteries and became the rule of the Synod. By 1762 disagreement over the plan of union and examination of candidates for the ministry had erupted at synod. The Old Side did not inquire into the candidate’s experience to determine his acquaintance with religion, and the New Side minister had done so. The synod decided to leave it up to each presbytery on whether or not to question candidates in such a manner. That year they also created a Second Presbytery of Philadelphia, which was clearly done on a theological split, not a geographical one. In 1765 the Old Side controlled Presbytery of Donegal was split into multiple presbyteries. On account of this perceived violation of their rights and the Plan of Union, the Old Side members of the Presbytery of Donegal withdrew from Synod and Revs. John Ewing and Alexander McDowell, both Old Side ministers, protested the decision of synod to split Donegal. In the end, the outbreak of the Revolutionary War took center stage and by the end of the war the Synod of New York and Philadelphia dissolved and in 1788 the first General Assembly was formed.
Differences
There are three main areas of disagreement between the New Side and the Old Side. These are the three areas enumerated in the seven points of the Protestation of 1741 made by the Old Side ministers.1. Philosophy of ecclesiastical government. Points one and two of the Protest deal with government. The Old Side believed the Synod was a higher court than the Presbyteries, and had legislative powers. The New Side believed the Synod was a higher court, but had only advisory powers. Thus, presbyteries were not bound to obey a Synodical rule. This led directly to the New Side Presbytery of New Brunswick ordaining and licensing men without conforming to the acts of Synod passed regarding licensure and ordination.
2. Itinerate Ministry. Point three of the Protest regards the itinerate ministry conducted by many New Side ministers. New Side ministers regularly preached in churches that were under the oversight of Old Side ministers. The Old Side found this disorderly, the New Side was offended that they were not welcome in the pulpits of fellow ministers of their own denomination. Traveling around and preaching in pulpits that were not your own was a common practice during the First Great Awakening both inside and outside of the Presbyterian Church.
3. The Doctrine of Convictions. Points four through seven all deal with consequences of having a different understanding of the Doctrine of Convictions. The Old Side ministers accused the New Side ministers of rashly condemning other Presbyterian ministers as unconverted (point four), of teaching that regularly ordained ministers could do no spiritual good if they were unconverted (point five), of preaching the ‘terrors of the law’ (point six), and of requiring a conversion narrative and being able to judge the gracious state of an individual by that narrative (point seven). The New Side condemned the Old Side for not requiring narratives or preaching the terrors of the law. Gilbert Tennent at least believed that some ministers were unconverted and that people should not sit under the ministry of an unconverted minister. This comes from his famous sermon, “Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry” .
Views Today
There are many different view points on the Old Side – New Side Conflict today. Historian Joseph Tracy held that the Old Side was saved from drifting into “the dead sea of Arminian inefficiency, and the bottomless gulf of Unitarianism” by reuniting with the New Side in 1758. Others think that there were no doctrinal divisions between the two parties, just ones of methodologySee also
- Gilbert TennentGilbert TennentGilbert Tennent was a religious leader. Gilbert was one of the leaders of the Great Awakening of religious feeling in Colonial America, along with Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield...
- William TennentWilliam TennentWilliam Tennent was an early American religious leader and educator in British North America.-Early life:Tennent was born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1695 and was ordained in the Church of Ireland in 1706...
- John ThomsonJohn Thomson (Presbyterian minister)John Thomson or Thompson was born in Ireland and became a minister in the Presbytery of Philadelphia, later the Synod of Philadelphia. He served as a missionary in both Virginia and North Carolina, where he died a natural death in 1753...
- Francis AlisonFrancis AlisonFrancis Alison was a leading minister in the Synod of Philadelphia during The Old Side-New Side Controversy-Early life and education:...