James Morison, the Scottish Finney. XI

James Morison, now supported by his young wife, came to the United Secession Synod in Glasgow in June 1841. He came to appeal against his deposition from the ministry of the Church by his Presbytery.
First of all, Morison appealed that he had not deviated from "the main scope of the Subordinate Standards", and that the tenets which had been charged as heretical in Kilmarnock were Biblical.
Morison's appeal was to the Bible, but, as we have seen, Morison interpreted the Bible in a mildly rationalistic way. He noted "[men] are not required to do more than they have 'strength' to do, and, if they were, they could not be responsible for not doing it."
When Morison came to speak in his defence, the huge church building was full. Morison spoke openly and honestly. He confessed that he had not studied the Subordinate Standards of the Church as closely as he might have. He had assumed that his preaching was not contrary to the Standards. He complained that the Presbytery had misrepresented his teaching to the synod. Morison quoted theologians from every age of the Christian Church, and he appealed to Dr. Brown's teaching at the United Secession Theological Hall.
The Presbytery called for their sentence of deposition to be upheld. Although Morison had friends, including his own father and Professor Brown, the Synod decided that Morison's teaching was indeed contrary to the Subordinate Standards. He was suspended from the ministry of the United Secession Church.

Morison returned from the Synod meeting to Kilmarnock, unsure of what he would find in Clerk's Lane.
What he found we shall, God willing, see next time.