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July 14, 1909. . THE
agreed and sent over Mr. Ilichard
Blunt Mr. Blunt" "returned" "and
baptized Mr. Blalock .... and, Mr.
Blunt being baptized, he and Mr. Blacklock
baptized the rest, etc." Of the Introduction
of immersion in America, Dr.
Newman writes: "The introduction of
immersion by Williams," "about March,
1639," "was three years in advance of its
introduction among the Baptists of Eng
ami. vAiner. un. Hist. Sec., Vol. II,
pp. 41, 49, 50, 79, 80.)
From these quotations it will appear
(1) how comparatively modern is the
beginning of Baptist Church history; no
substantial traces back of the Anabaptists
of the sixteenth century, who had
their origin about January 21, 1525; (2)
how the early Anti-Pedobaptists or Anabaptists
practiced "affusion" as "the
common mode" of baptism, and this they
continued to do for more than one hundred
years; (3) how our Baptist friends
are forced to trace their early history
through the Anabaptists, who practiced
"affusion," or else defer the beginning
of their history to the beginning of the
seventeenth centurv. little if nnv ooritoi.
than "1619" (see McQlothlin?"Anabaptism"),
but, in recognizing the Anabaptists,
they are compelled to recognize
some as members of the Church who
were not immersed; (4) how large a
period of time between "the close of the
apostolic age" (Newman) and "the
church" of "the modern Baptist" (McGlothllu)
must be spanned by "a churoh"
which made "grave departures In doctrine
and practice from the apostolic
standard without ceasing to be a Churoh
of Christ .... or else it must be maintained
that during long periods no
Church is known to have existed" (Dr.
A. H. Newman); (5) how the idea of
apostolic succession can no longer be
maintained by our Baptist friends, (6)
and Ihntlv hnxu thn Dontlot ~#
t mw w vu\> x/a|/i.tov VUU1 VII OI
this country is undergoing a wonderful
change as to liberality. Teachings for
the publication of which only ten years
since Rev. W. H. Whitsltt, D. D., LL.D.,
w^s ousted from his position In "The
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
of Louisville," are now openly and persistently
propagated by his successor
(mirabilissima audacia) and by Dr. A. H.
Newman, professor in "The Southwestern
Theological Seminary, of Waco.
Texas," and not a voice is raised; but
all talk with praise of our able professors.
8. M. Tenney.
Troupe, Texas.
Paul's missionary Journey led him anywhere
where there was a call for help.
Livingstone Baid, "God had only one
Son, and he was a missionary." A trader
passed a converted cannibal, who
was reading the Bible, and said to him:
"That book is out of date In my country."
"If it had been out of date here,"
was the reply, "You would have been
eaten long ago." The memorial tablet to
Dr. Geddie in Aneitam in the Npw
brides has this Inscription: "When he
landed In 1848, there were no Christians
here. When he .left in 1872, there were
no heathen."
- . .. v
PRESBYTERIAN OE THE SOUT
PRESENT TENDENCIES IN EDUCATION.
In this age, when woman is thrust so
ooosplcuously forward into the limelight
of public notice, those of us who have
conservative ideas of home and woman's
sphere are often confused and sometimes
pained at the seemingly unseemly scramble
for recognition and rights at times
and places utterly unsuitable and unbecoming
to woman. We note the conflict
at the polls, but can raise no hand ^o help
or hinder.
-?
x ue nut-olidii uoes concern us, and concerns
us very closely, for are we not in a
large measure responsible for the ideas
and opinisnB daily absorbed by our young
people to bring forth its fruits in their
lives? We can not drift backward into
the tide of last 'century's thought and
bravely adopt those principles our grandmothers
proudly held. We are meeting
the living issues of the twentieth century,
with all its progressions, and mayhap its
retrogressions.
It seems to us the problem of the hour
is how so to direct and regulate, to
modify and supplement the education of
woman that she may be better fitted for
luiuiung ner uoa-glven mission, for practicing
her natural profession, and, by
daily living its principles, to raise the
standard of home-making. This is the
problem to be solved by home and church
and school jointly. If the advanced ideas
as to the true place of woman are not
in acordance with those we entertain,
"To the law and to .the testimony*'
should be our motto, and on this ground
we may safely stand and formulate our
creed.
Home is the seed-plot There is the
early preparation of the soil that is to
yield its fruit in season. But there are
homes and homes. In some the ground,
by sad neglect, is turned over to evil
powers. No small wonder, then, that,
after awhile, weeds and thistles grow,
and the cares and riches of this life
-? " * '
iuuk niljr guuu ueea iuai me cnurcli
may sow.
Teaching is closely akin to preaching,
in that each is responsible for leading
young feet into right paths; for the
molding of hearts and minds and wills
into a right conception of life. We put
these things first as of first importance.;
but the school is also responsible for
the Intellectual trend and advancement
of those committed to her care.
It is generally conceded that in England
the standard of literature is higher
than in the United States. May this not
be acounind for in the fact that the
English youth remains under tutelage
longer than does the average American?
I quote the opinion of a modern llteratteur,
who declares that the spirit of commercialism
is nreventlnsr ViJcVm.
education of our youth. This seems true.
The young man goes to college, crams,
rushes through the course and enters
business. The young girl does likewise,
or marries. **
The strenuous times may require an
early use of all youthful activities for
the maintenance of the complex lives
f
H. ir
we are living today; nevertheless wo
deplore the necessity that must take our
boys and girls from the class-room and.
turn them into wage-earners, breadwinners,
before they have fully mastered?assimilated
Into their mental,
make-up?the substance of the textbooks
which are to give tone to taste
and strength to character.
Am I overstepping my bounds when.
I plead for a longer school life especially
for girls? In my own 'experience
in school work I find there are many
who close books and enter life?whatever
that may mean to them?at the
tender, unripe age of sixteen? True, a
school curriculum is not an education.
It is only a foundation. Education is a
life work, and many an American, to hlshonor
be it nniH hoc 1 1 ?*-*?
-- uum 6U1UCU, UUUiy,.
richly, grandly, that education in spite
of the fact that he was deprived of all
early advantage. Nevertheless, the
faithfully followed curriculum of a good
school is the best foundation for the
uprearing of that strange structure,
'character, without which what is man or
woman ?
Realizing these opposing conditions,
the strenuousness of. the times calling
for youthful activities, the antagonism of
the advanced woman endangering the
home, and the alluring attractions of
the world suing far its place in the lives,
of our young people?realizing also our
own responsibility for the future of these
soon-to-be women, is it any wonder the
conscientious teacher is appalled at the
situation? So much to be accomplished
in the very few years allotted to school
life! %
The true school is not dealing with
sciences and languages, nor yet with dollars
and cents only, but with human
beings, and the lessons that are taught
to those who sit daily upon the forms
before us are weighted with influences
which extend far beyond the limits of
the class room. The results are felt in
their lives, and. oh, how pitifully few
years are given to this great work in
the case of most girls?girls who are to
be our nation's future home-makers!
Stephenson Seminary.
HOW TO INTEREST CHILDREN IN
THE SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONS.
A teacher recently asked this question
in the Presbyterian. So far no answer
has appeared. A valuable suggestion has
been made in Dr. Howard Agnew Johnston's
leaflet, "Organizing a Church for
Personal Work." (This can he had, free,
from the Evangelistic Committee (Presbyterian),
Winona, Ind.). The suggestion
is this: Let the teacher and as many of
the scholars as are Christians form rf
prayer circle, who shall pray daily for
every unsaved member of the class. Let
them also engage- to use their influence
in leading the unsaved to Christ. Such a
course will be beneficial in a variety of
ways. It will put the praying band inte
a higher spiritual condition; it will thus
render their unconscious influence greater,
and the Hearer of Prayer will answer
their united petitions. .
*3
.