Springfield 1636-1886, History of Town and City, by Mason A. Green ...

21G SPRINGFIELD, 1636-1886.
detected the landslide. But it was more than a neglect to bow to
the dictum of the ministers. In this town the fashion was early set
to choose laymen rather than ministers as leaders, and yet the change
was quite as marked here as elsewhere.
This is no treatise on theology, but the liistor}' of the Springfield
people cannot be written and its theology ignored. The Puritan
fathers held that the churches should be made up of " visible saints"
only. Baptized persons were at first, at least, subject to reprimands
and discipline even before entering into full fellowship. The church-
membership of persons who grew up, married, and presented their
children for baptism without themselves going to the communion
caused disquietude. To illustrate : Brother A. is a member in full
communion, and presents his son B. for baptism. B., when grown
up, neglects to make a public declaration of repentance, and thus is
never admitted to the Lord's supper, but he in turn presents his son
C. for baptism. The question was whether the Abrahamic covenant
would be potent with tlie infant C. if baptized, by virtue of the
church membership of (xrandfather A. The New England divines
disagreed, and there were eventually enough non-professing church-
members and enough infant C.'s presented for baptism to disturb the
deepest faith. A ministerial assembly called by the New P^ngland
Legislatures met at Boston in 1657, decided that the sons B. could
present their children C. for baptism provided the B.'s were not scan-
dalous, and solemnly aver the covenant in their own persons. This
was given, however, " with clue reverence for any godly learned that
may dissent."
These half-way covenanters were not allowed to come to the Lord's,
supper. The churches were thus made up of those in an intermedia-
tory or probationary state and of those in full communion. The
ranks of the former class were fast growing, and quite possibly led
some of the ministers to review and restate their belief as to church-
membership. Rev. Solomon Stoddard, of Northampton, was the first,
or at least the most prominent, minister who felt compelled to break