Newspaper Page Text
58
Ififa Mil Jppttet
J. J. TOON, - ■ - - Proprietor.
Rev. D. SHAVER, D.D., Editor.
THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 186 7.
A Question of Consistency.
A correspondent of the Presbyterian Wit
ness argues that the “ Christian liberty ” of
individuals does not Vacate ‘ the perfect right
of the church to defend herself and the truth
from determined opposition within,’ and that
she may lawfully deny membership to regen
erate perils, whom “ remaining ignorance
and corruption” have betrayed into error.
One of his illustrations runs on this wise :
« Here is a man you have been laboring
with. He at length gives evidence that he is
a child of God. In nine cases out of ten he
will embrace that system of doctrine and those
practices, which.you, his spiritual father, em
brace. But there is an occasional case differ
ent. He is a parent, and, all you can say or
do, he maintains that he ought not to have his
children baptized. Having failed, instead of
saying we will make an exception in your
case, tell him * that you can not repeal, but
must enforce this law. Ihere, however, is a
Baptist church, in error as you believe in this;
but that you would an hundred fold rather see
him in a church of Christ, though in some
things in error, than without.’ He will feel
then that it is principle not party, which in
fluences you, and it will give that man a con
fidence in you more probably than any one
else. And the world—and the world has
keen eyes —will say, ‘ That man is in earnest
in his convictions, and loves souls and the
truth more than party.’”
Pedobaptist sects generally, as is well
known, do not pursue the course which this
writer counsels. They welcome to member
ship parents who ‘ maintain that they ought
not to have their children I aptized,’ and
“ wink at” the life-long neglect of what they
are pleased to style an “imperative duty”
and a “ precious privilege.” Shall we say,
then, as his language implies, that ‘ it is party,
not principle, which influences them ’ —that
they ‘ love souls and the truth less than party 1 ?’
We remit that question to the bar of One
who is alike their Judge and ours. He will
decide it, in the day, when
“ His eye lightens forth controlling majesty ”
before an assembled world; when He shall
show that lie has “ casketed His treasure ”
within all ecclesiastical organizations, and pass
sentence, without bias of partiality or preju
dice, on the matters of reprehension from
which none are spotless. Let it suffice us,
awaiting that verdict, to lay the enquiry on
their consciences, as a point of personal con
cernment to themselves alone; and with it,
the rebuke which rises from their own ranks,
as a self-preferred indictment, not to say, con
fession, of guilt. Have they taken the ques
tion, in solemn anticipation, to the Judgment
Seat, and weighed and settled it (so to speak)
there , with something of the awe that must
enclothe the weighing to which no error shall
cleave and the settlement from ap
peal* shall lie ?
Southern Baptist Convention.
This body meets at an important juncture,
and every consideration of sound policy de
mands that it should be large in numbers,
wise in counsel, strong in faith. Take a brief
outline of the train of thought which justifies
and demands this view.
We live in a time of transition. One era
passes away ; another enters. What changes
have come over us in the political and social
world ! What changes may lie before us!
Such a time is, with emphasis, a crisis. It
separates from the past; it decides for the fu
ture. Instants are moments: the Now moves!
What is ha* tens to transfigure and lose itself
in what will be.
Nothing is ineffective, nothing trivial, at
such a time. Every thing waxes causal.
Action and inaction, alike, become Influence;
and a year may give color to the century that
follows it. You remember the magic tent of
which we read in Arabian fable : “fold it, and
it seemed a toy for the hand of a lady ; spread
it, and the armies of powerful sultans might
repose beneath its shade.” Our daily perfor
mances or neglects now, are the tent folded
—so slight are they in seeming ; the history
of generations to come may be simply the
spreading of the tent—so resistless is the po
tency that works through them !
At such a time, no error is little. Those
which we most contemn as unworthy of re
gard in the calculation of the forces that affect
society, may prove ‘ like the grain of mustard
seed, which, when sown, is less than all the
seeds in the earth, but when it groweth up, is
the greatest among herbs and becometh a
tree.’ In the sphere of religious activity,
we need now —with regard to what men ac
count minor faults—especially with regard to
omissions of duty for a season, salved by the
promise of repair through fidelity in times to
come—the watchfulness necessary in the
sphere of health, when, at certain stages of dis
ease, the oversight or slumber of the nurse for
an hour, entails on the patient lingering re
lapse or inevitable death : for if we turn aside
from the straight path but a handbreadth, who
shall tell us * whereunto it may not grow,’ as
our own feet and the feet of our children fol
low out that deflection ?
Now, Christians do not live at such a time
by mere accident. Divine Foresight and
Sovereignty place them in it, and impose the
special responsibilities of the position on
them. They are raised up by the Lord, to
see to it that Zion takes no harm amid the
convulsions that shake the world. They are
his chosen priesthood, to bear the ark in safe
ty, through night and storm, until He cries,
“ Peace, be still,” “ until the day break and
the shadows flee way ” before the manifesta
tion of His presence.
Oh, high and holy function ! Let us not
dream that we may forego, or postpone it. It
must be discharged, arid discharged now. Not
to address ourselves to it, is to refuse the per
ere
Ifr ■
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST: ATLANTA, GA„ THURSDAY, APRIL 4,1867.
bring together brethren from every quarter
of the South. The fidelity and zeal of our
people should represent themselves there.
The numbers in attendance should testify that
we are alive to the danger and the duty of the
hour—that we ‘ prefer Jerusalem above our
chief joy ’ —that the work of the Lord enlists
our sympathies, commands our means, is our
acknowledged, our beloved life-work—that no
clouds overhanging o»r temporal interests
have power to obscure, for the eye of faith,
the crown held forth from the skies by the
Captain of our salvation, but, under and
through their shadow, we press forward to
win it.
To argue that the meeting is of slight con
sequence ; to forget that the showing we make
at Memphis and the spirit which breathes
forth from those who assemble there, must,
in great measure, decide whether our Boards
shall, or shall not, tread backward steps, in
their labors for the evangelization of the land
and the conversion of the world; to act as
though the work of the Convention may be
adjourned fpr two years, or performed per
functorily—for the mere sake of getting
through, no matter how : what is this but to
assume that the great Converter and Evange
lizer has no use for the body, or for those who
are its constituents, at present 1 And if that
lesson be learned, in this connection, how may
not the evil leaven spread ; how must it, as a
canker, eat out the heart of all our Christian
activities 1
We plead, then, for a full Convention—one
in which our whole brotherhood may speak,
or by which our whole brotherhood may be
influenced—one which shall ‘devise liberal
things,’ and give a mighty impulse to the
cause of missions at home and abroad. But
to secure this end, churches, in most cases,
must meet the expenses of, at least, the min
isterial delegates. Very few of our pastors
have the necessary means; but to how many
of their congregations will it be “ a crying
shame,” if they withhold them 1 We hope
that a spirit of wise liberality will be mani
fested by our people in this matter.
The Love of Money.
‘ William Derby, a wealthy and eccentric
Englishman, seven feet tall and broad in pro
portion, died, at Vienna recently, four days
after a fall inflicting fatal injury ; but, during
that interval, he sold his body to a museum
of natural history, and received the money
for it.’
Surely, that was money which an heir that
loved him would shudder to inherit. How
could a wife bear to say, “ This is the price of
my husband’s body?" a son. or daughter,
“My father sold his body for this 1 ” There
would be equal pain in spending it, or keep
ing it.
But is there not a far more common case
which ought to trouble the spirit more pro
foundly, and yet does not, —the case of those
who bequeath to others the riches which have
been the price of their souls 1 Are there not
thousands who accept and enjoy an inheritance,
and never pause to think that the soul was
wickedly, madlsr, givenin exchange fj>r it 1 ?
Yes ; say that he was a fool to sell his body
—that nothing but a blind, fatuous love of
money could prompt him to it! Pride yourself
on being wiser; and then go—prove that insanity
a thousand fold worse than his has smitten
you, by getting gain in sinful ways, and thus,
for love of money, selling your soul ! Such
is the power of self-delusion with men. When
will they break its fetters ? when rouse them
selves from its dreams 1
The Breach of the Law of Immersion.
Laxity in one form leads to other forms of
laxity. We can not stand on the line of di
vergence from Divine appointment: we move
—and must move —farther and farther from
“ the direct forthright ”of obedience. In the
matter of the ordinances especially, not to ad
here with scrupulous fidelity to that which is
laid down in the word of God, “ so, and no
more, and no less, and no otherwise,” is to set
out on a path of aberration, which, little by
little, but surely, runs into the total surrender
of Scriptural requirement.
We have just met with a case in point. The
Free Will Baptists of New England, at their
rise, while observing the law of immersion as
to church membership, disobeyed that law as
to communion. But what are the present
tendencies of usage among them ? A writer
in the Zion's Herald, (the Methodist organ at
Boston,) states, as “ a sign of the times,” that
‘Free Will Baptists now and then receive
members from other denominations, who have
not been baptized by immersion.’ He tells us
that ‘ one minister of note, where a case of
the kind was before several brethren for ad
vice, said he was accustomed to admit such
persons to membership as candidates for bap
tism, implying an indefinite postponement of
the rite;’ that ‘a Yearly Meeting sustained
the action of a church in their reception ; ’ and
that ‘ the enquiry, whether the General Con
ference would not condemn the course, was
met by the answer, “ No, we have long been
accustomed to do that.” ’ This writer argues
from these facts, that ‘ the Free Will Baptists
are changing front, and will soon form an im
portant part of the great Pedobaptist army.’
A correspondent of the Morning Star, (the
organ of the denomination at Dover, N. H.,)
in reply, says : “ If some few have been ad
mitted to church membership from other de
nominations who had not been immersed, we
do not judge the matter, not knowing the pe
culiar circumstances in such cases. . . If
persons not immersed are received without
very satisfactory reasons, the way is open for
the reception of many who have not been im
mersed, and looseness and disorder may be
the result.” And from this reply we infer
that the statements of the Methodist writer
are true: that instances of the surrender of the
law of immersion in the matter of church
membership have occurred, and that even those
who have not taken part in such instances
virtually concede that “ peculiar circumstan
ces” may furnish “satisfactory reasons” for
them—which must induce their rapid multi
plication. The first wrong step has smoothed
the way for a second, and given an impulse
it. To tamper with the law of im-
point, is to put in motion an
' i, . drives steadily toward its neg-
Wksingle waiver is inchoate abo
e is—inflexible fidelity
f ► .. Ak people will not tail to
read their duty in the light of this example.
The duty discerned, they will discharge it.
Another in point deserves passing notice.
The validity of immersion as “a mode” of
baptism, is not impugned by the Standards of
the denominations around us, or by the schol
arship which in some respects has gone for
ward in advance of the Standards. But while
this is held as lawful, an equal lawfulness is
recognized as attaching to sprinkling, or pour
ing. Here is a breach of Scriptural injunction :
the Divine appointment is brought down to a
level with human substitutes for it. And
what is the practical result 1 In the professed
observance of the ordinance, the human sub
stitutes are exalted above the Divine appoint
ment; they are administered with far greater
frequency, and it is thrust more and more into
discountenance, until Rev. R. Boyd, in the
Pittsburg Christian Advocate , feels authorized
to say: “So far as I know, the Methodist is
the only Pedobaptist church that grants their
people the privilege of immersion.” If this
be even approximately true, the Scriptural
law is substantially set aside. First, it was
modified to authorize an unwarrantable usage ;
and then, the usage, by reaction, stamps obe
dience to the law as itself unwarrantable.
Such is the path in which the Free Will Bap
tists have taken the first step : such the path
on which we are asked to enter, when men
urge us to depart from the law of immersion
in the matter of communion. The question
is, whether we will throw ourselves into the
current which sweeps on toward the utter ab
rogation of the law. There can be no hesita
tion as to the answer which should be return
ed. We feel no doubt as to the answer which
will be. The present generation of Baptists
will not deal a suicidal blow against their own
life, and the life of the truth to which their
fathers bore witness even unto death.
Our Southern Zion—in Our Exchanges.
Arkansas. —Rev. A. J. Cansler, recently of
North Carolina, writes from Batesville that since
his settlement in the State, he has baptized six
persons.
Kentucky.—Rev. J. D. Arnold, of Simpson
county, “proposes to visit portions of the adjoin
ing counties, to solicit aid for the suffering South.”
—Rev. A. S. Worrell writes to the Texas Baptist
Herald: “Georgetown College is gradual]}- in
creasing in numbers, and will, I think, attain its
former numerical prosperity within a few years.
This Institution you are aware, is under the direc
tion of Dr. N. M. Crawford, and to this fact, doubt
less, much of the prosperity of the College is
owing.” He also states that more than 300 of our
churches in the State are represented as without
pastors!—Rev. J. S. G. Watson reports “the
present of anew worsted quilt and calico squares
enough to make another” to his wife, from the la
dies of Mortonsville, including all denominations
and non-professors.—Rev. G. F. Bagby, as Agent
of the Domestic Board to the churches of Bracken
Association, has received subscriptions amounting
to s2,62B.—Rev. F. W. Stone, pastor of Maysville
church, is superintendent and chorister of the
Sabbath school.—Chestnut Street Church, Louis
ville, was to have been dedicated last Sabbath af
ternoon ; and for the two Sabbath nights preceding,
more than 40 had been baptized in the Walnut
Street Church.—Rev. N. M. Crawford, D.D., re
ports a revival, with 22 baptisms, at Georgetown.
—A church constituted on Cumberland river, Pu
laski county, last December, with 21 members,
has received 15 additions by baptism.
Makyland.—A Baltimore correspondent of the
National Baptist says : “ There have been some
recent additions by baptism to our city churches.
Dr. Fuller has frequent occasion to ‘ trouble the wa
ters.’ Dr. Williams of the First Church, has enjoyed
a season of refreshing, in which 20 have been con
verted, and Dr. Wilson who has been temporarily
supplying the Franklin Square pulpit, has bap
tized five candidates within a brief period. The
Baptist cause, after a long season of depression,
seems again about to move forward in Baltimore
and Maryland." —Rev. W. E. Hatcher, recently of
Manchester, Va., was installed pastor of the Frank
lin Square Baptist Church, Baltimore, March 17.
Mississippi. —“ Memoirs of Rev. S. S. Lattiinore”
have been prepared by Rev. W. C. Crane, D.D., to
be published for the benefit of his widow. They
will contain an account of his debates, and some
of his sermons and notes of sermons.
Missouri. —A pastor, serving four churches, re
ports to the Journal, revivals in all of them, with
an aggregate of 100 conversions and 56 baptisms.
—A revival in a church, constituted lately in Barton
county with 9 members, increased its membership
to 46. —Thirteen additions were made to Clear
Creek church, Marion county, during a meeting
last month, and others await baptism.
North Carolina. —Rev. Jno. Ammons is teach
ing at Mars Hill, between Ashville and Burnsville,
and serving several churches. —Prospects are not
encouraging at Ashville, where Rev. T. Stradley
is pastor.—The church at Hendersonville prospers
under the ministry of Rev. S. G. Jones. —Rev. F.
P. McGee has been appointed a missionary for
this State, by our Sunday School Board at Green
ville.—Dr. S. Wallen, a popular physician of
Madison county, has entered the ministry.—Rev.
H. Rogers died recently in Moore county. —The
Memoir of Rev. J. L. Prichard is passing through
the press, and will be ready for delivery in a few
weeks. Price $1.50. Address Rev. J. D. Huf
ham, Raleigh.
South Carolina. —Seven converts were baptiz
ed recently at Anderson, by Rev. Mr. Beverly.—
Rev. J. 0. B. Dargan, D.D., General Agent of the
State Convention, fears that its missionaries are
not doing as much as might be desired, from want
of support.
Texas. —Rev. D. B. Morrill, in the Baptist
Herald says: “In Palestine, an old dilapidated,
weather-beaten church house, with the windows
broken out, with one or two male, and perhaps a
half dozen female members, with scarcely the sem
blance of true piety, are all that is left of a once
large and flourishing Church.” We have a min
ister residing there who preaches once a month in
the Methodist house of worship.—Of Rusk, he
says: “ The Baptists have not even a 4 name to
live.’ It was my purpose to preach here several
nights and stay over Sabbath, but no one felt suf
ficient interest to procure a house. I would have
been willing to preach in the court house, a private
dwelling, or a work-shop, but preaching seemed
not in all their thoughts. LikeDemas, they have
loved this present world. Only a little over one
year ago we had * report of quite a revival and a
flourishing Church at this place.”—Rev. J. B.
Daniel preaches at Rockwall, Kaufman county, in
a bouse of worship used by five denominations !
Six additions were made recently to the church at
Huntsville ; 25 at Towash, Hill county; 15 by
baptism and quite a number by letter and resto
ration at Farmington, Grayson.—Rev. W. C.
Crane, D.D., is collecting materials for “Memoirs
of Sam. Houston,” a work which he hopes to com
plete within the next two years.—J. H. L. Wes
ley was ordained at Antioch church, Smith coun
ty, March 3.-Rev. J. W. D. Creath writes to the
Religious Herald: “ The Baptists are fast increas
ing in numbers from emigration, conversions and
baptisms. Among those coming in, are many ex
cellent brethren in the ministry, young men of
talent and of deep piety, who come to labor for
Christ. We have quite a number of young men in
our colleges who are licentiates. The organization
of new churches is almost of daily occurrence with
us. There seems to be an increasing desire with
many of our ministers to consecrate themselves
more and more to the work whereunto God hath
called them. The membership of the Baptist
churches, as a general thing, are ready for every
good work. Agents for the Bible, Foreign Mis
sion, Domestic Mission, and Sunday School So
cieties, as well as for our State Convention and Edu
cational interests, are daily visiting the churches.
All are aided to some extent. All our institutions
of learning, both male and female, are doing well
for the times in which we live and the circum
stances by which we are surrounded.”
Virginia.—The First church, Washington street,
Petersburg, which was destroyed by lightning sev
eral years since, Has been ‘reconstructed,’ and
was dedicated, the,24th ult. Rev. T. H. Pritch
ard, pastor, preached the sermon.—The baptisms
in the Fredericksburg church amount to 70; more
than half of them, of young men ; and about 25 of
them, of persons connected with the Sabbath
school, which now numbers 339 teachers and
scholars.
Glimpses of the Times.
Sensible Co-V&rtnership. — A minister
writes to the Nashville Christian Advocate:
“I have fallen upon anew plan, which I be
lieve will succeed in furnishing the Advocate
and Visitor to many of our members who
could not obtain it otherwise—viz : where sev
eral families live*tn one neighborhood, to sub
scribe conjointly. There are many who are
able to pay fifty cents or one dollar, that are
not able to pay three. ‘ Where there is a will
there is a way.’” This is practical good
sense. Why should two neighbors go with
out the Index akd Baptist because neither
T
one is able to it, if the two have ability
to take it in co-partnership ?
Infant Baptism. —Prof. Phelps, of Ando
ver, in his recent work on Regeneration, says :
“We must rank among the tokens of intel
lectual disease, we must regard as a degrada
tion in a civilized mind, that taste which leads
one to protrude a Christian baptism, or the
imposition of consecrated hands, or the pro
fession of a Cbxistian creed, or communion
with a Christian church, or the reception of
the Lord’s Supper, in advance of that work of
God’s Spirit by which a sinner is born again.”
The National Boptist replies: “Now this is
precisely what iMvit, baptism does. It is the
head and frontoffending, that it ‘pro
trudes Christian baptism in advance of that
work of God’s Spirit by which a sinner is
born again.’ gainst that ‘ bad taste which
leads’ to this thrusting of the symbol before
the thing symbolized, the Baptists have borne,
and continue to their solemn testimony.”
Nor is it withiu* our communion alone that
this “intellectual disease,” this “degradation in
a civilized min®’ is seen in its true colors.
Rev. R. Boyd, «the Pittsburg Christian Ad
vocate. says regard to his brethren, the
followers of Wtiley : “Strange to tell, there
is probably no branch of the Pedobaptist
churches, in proportion to numbers, where so
few baptized children are found. This mat
ter is neglected, but by
some it meets greater opposition in the Meth
odist church than from any other source.”
“ At writeMfi the Evangelical
repudiates as “ new,” “ un-Lutheran”
and “ anti-scriptural,” the doctrine of Dr.
Mason that “ the children of Christian parents
are born members of the church, and that
their baptism is founded on this membership.”
The Young.—A writer in the Episcopal
Methodist remarks : “ It has been said —and I
fear with much truth—that Methodist parents
are more indifferent in regard to the religious
training of their children than any other de
nomination. Thousands have been baptized
and thereby been constituted, or acknowledged
members of the church, but how seldom are
they reminded of the fact by their pastor.
No classes are formed—not even
a list of their names can be obtained.” Is this
the boasted efficacy of infant baptism 1
Mockery. —A writer in the Witness, the
Cincinnati organ of the United Presbyterian
Church, says: “Families must be brought up
in the church. At each baptism the parents
are required to renew their professions of faith,
come under a promise to bring their children
up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
What a solemn mockery ! This child is taken
out and is seen very seldom in the public sanc
tuary thereafter.”
Loss.—A writer in the London Watchman
adduces the faets, that the Wesleyan Confer
ence minutes contain no question relative to
the children, and that there is no report of the
numbers in the Catechumen class, to explain
the loss of so many of their baptized children,
of whom not a few drift into the Established
church and others become utterly worldly.
“ Natural ’’Membership. —At a Unitarian
Conference in Suffolk county, Mass., recently,
a speaker, said that “ half the population of
this country wbf> go nowhere to church, natur
ally belong to the Unitarians ; and the Unita
rians mean to have them !” Nobody belongs
naturally to the Baptist church: nature must
be renewed to confer a title to admission.
This speaker employed phraseology allowable
only on the Pedobaptist hypothesis of heredi
tary memberships and if that hypothesis were
suffered thoroughly to 4 Judaize’ Christianity,
would it not end in Unitarianism—or worse?
Baptismal Salvation. —A sermon preach
ed a few weeks since, against the doctrine of
regeneration by baptism, recalls the fact that
once the question was gravely discussed in the
Theological Faculty of Paris, whether if an
infant be in danger of death, and no water at
hand, it would not be better to throw it into
a well with the sacred formulae, than to leave
it to expire and perish everlastingly for the
want of them ! Those were the times and
those the men, whose acceptance of infant bap
tism is used a£ an argument to prevail svith
the modesty of its rejectors, and silence them !
Without Warrant. —A correspondent of
the Journal and Messenger quotes Henry
Ward Beecher sas having said, in a sermon re
ported in the Independent, June 23, 1864, (at
which time waif cut off the communication be
tween the two sections,) with reference to in
fant baptism: flt is not commanded by Scrip
ture. It is not’ brought down as a substitute
for circumcisiojn. And there is no well at
tested case of ?its administration in the New
Testament-” .|. “ God gives every church
and every mar| the right to do every thing
that is good. *f any body asks me where is
your texL children? I reply,
there is none. And if lam asked, then why
do you baptize them ? I say, because it is
found to be beneficial. And if any man says
to me, do you think the baptism of children
is a Divine ordinance ? My reply is that I
believe an ox-yoke is a Divine ordinance. I
practice it not on account of any Scriptural
command, but because Scripture confers on
me the right to use any thing which is good
and beneficial.”
Communion. —ln an article on the union of
the Old and New Schools, the Missouri Pres
byterian says: “ We recall that in 1856 the
two Assemblies were in session in New York,
and it was proposed in our Assembly that
overtures be made to the other body for a
joint communion. Dr. Philips, pastor of the
church in which our (the Old) Assembly was
sitting, took the floor immediately and oppos
ed the motion with so much vim and earnest
ness, as something that ought not to be thought
of for a moment, that it was at once laid on
the table.” Doubtless some of the ministers
who helped to lay it there, expressed them
selves, in the course of the same year, as
shocked by the bigotry and bitterness of Bap
tist close communion.
Close Communion. The Episcopalian
(Evangelical) urges non-communion with the
advanced Romanizers of its own church :
“ There is a duty to perform, and that is to
abstain from Ritualistic observance of the sa
craments. Withdraw thyself from what is
not the table of the Lord.” It sounds rather
queer —this advice to introduce close commu
nion between different parties of the same
denomination! Close communion, then, is
not altogether and necessarily evil. It may
have a proper sphere, and do a proper work.
Baptists of Oregon. —There are in Oregon
4 Baptist Associations, 35 churches, 31 or
dained ministers, and 1,300 communicants.
Laxity. —Says a writer in the Congrega
tionalist: “l am credibly informed that con
verts have been recently received by two
Baptist churches in this region, when it was
known that they believed in open communion
and would practice it.” The Christian Era,
w'hile pronouncing the supposition that open
communion view's are making progress among
Baptists “ really amusing,” says : “We should
have supposed that a man living any where
in New England would have known of Bap
tist churches which would receive just such
inconsistent members as the above mentioned
show themselves to be. Such Baptist churches
there always have been, and we suppose there
always will be.” There, are none of them in
this section, so far as we know.
English Baptists. —Rev. John Stock writes
from Devonport to the Christian Era : “ In
the Baptist denomination l hear of nothing
worthy of special note. We certainly are
not becoming more Calvinistic, but the re
verse. The tendencies of religious thought
in this country in every denomination, are very
largely in the direction of Broad Church
views. With a wide theology we are getting
lax practice. Many members of Baptist
churches in this country think an occasional
visit to the theatre, or opera house, or a game
of whist, or dancing at balls, not inconsis
tent with their Christian profession. The sign!
is not a propitious one.”
African Mission. —The American Baptist
says: “ Rev. T. A. Reid, for many years a
missionary of the Southern Baptist Board to
Yoruba, Africa, is about returning to that
country with a company of colonists to pro
secute missionary labors there. His enter
prise is endorsed by Drs. Anderson, Backus,
Weston, Armitage and Kendrick, of New
York, and by Isaac T. Smith, president of the
Metropolitan Savings bank, who will receive
all moneys contributed for this mission. The
Yoruba people are estimated at three millions,
and all speak substantially the same lan
guage.” Has he dissolved his connection with
our Board at Richmond —which, by the way,
has held no communication with the Index
and Baptist for three months and more?
Immersion. —A correspondent of the Nation
al Baptist states, that a recent baptismal occa
sion was afterward referred to by eight per
sons, as the time of their being awakened to a
sense of their need of a Saviour.
Baptists of the North West. —In Ohio
11 per cent, of the present members of the
churches are received by baptism during the
past year, in lowa 10 per cent., and in Minne
sota 7 per cent.
Seventh-Day Baptists.— This denomina
tion, at its last General Conference, reported
68 churches, 33 pastors,7,oo4 members; the
contribution of $2,302 42 to the Missionary
Society during the year, and an accumulating
fund in the treasury amounting to $7,264 74.
How to Stop the Leak. —A contributor
to the Times and Witness proposes that “ all
churches, in giving letters of recommenda
tion, shall mail them to the church instead of
entrusting them with the individual whom
they recommend.” This is the plan by which
he thinks we may remedy the evil of having
so many persons retain their letters of dis
mission for years when they change their res
idence, and not connect themselves with the
church in whose bounds they settle.
Scarcity of Ministers. —Nearly one-third
of the Baptist churches in this country are
destitute, says a writer in the Journal and
Messenger ; nor are they likely to be supplied
at an early day. In Indiana, for example, in
1865, there were 460 churches and 235 min
isters ; in Illinois 719 churches and 398 pas
tors ; while in the latter there were only 28
and in the former only 14 licentiates.
An Enviable Distinction. —A minister of
our denomination said, not long since : “ The
Baptists of St. Louis are the most consecrated
set of Baptists to be found in the United
States.” Let our membership in every city
tremble lest the Heart-Searcher and Works-
Knower should deem them the least.
Welsh Baptists. —The Glamorganshire
Association has a constituency of more than
15,000 members. The total membership in
the 11 Associations of the country is 67,621 ;
and since 1852 the sum of $60,000 has been
subscribed as a permanent Loan Building
Fund, to aid in the erection of churches.
Destitution.— Rev. W. P. Harrison, of
Atlanta, writes to a Southern Methodist ex
change : “ There are nearly sixty ministers
and their families that must suffer in this State
alone, without some efficient aid reaches us
from abroad. I could take you to a place
within a day’s ride, where the only church
service is held at night, for tlm reason that
the whole
(^armpond^nrft.
Southern Baptist Convention.
Dear Brethren: —As the time is rapidly
approaching for the meeting of the Southern
Baptist Convention in our city, we feel called
upon to address you a few words of affection
ate exhortation and invitation.
That the interests of the Redeemer’s king
dom in our own country, and the great and
glorious work of preaching the gospel in all
the world and to every creature demand now
greater concert of effort on the part of all our
churches and people, we sincerely believe;
and, in order that the work of the Conven
tion be fully and faithfully performed, we all
need a more lively appreciation of our re
spective duties and responsibilities.
The mysterious dispensations of Provi
dence have devolved upon us opportunities
such as have fallen to but few of our brethren
for the accomplishment of good—the exercise
of the true Christian spirit —that of love and
forbearance—-and for the exhibition of all the
ennobling virtues of our holy religion. Liv
ing in a land most terribly afflicted and deso
lated by the ravages of war, famine and flood,
surrounded by thousands of our impoverished
and suffering brethren, and multiplied thou
sands of poor, lost and ruined sinners, perish
ing for the bread of life, and calling upon us
to send them the gospel; broken and scat
tered churches to bo regathered and supplied
with good and faithful pastors, and destroyed
meeting-houses rebuilt; many crushed and
bleeding hearts to cheer and console with the
exceedingly great and precious promises of
the jgospel, and many of our dear brethren
in the ministry are anxiously waiting an op
portunity to go into destitute places and there
lift up the standard of the cross, preaching
“ good news, glad tidings of great joy,” and
enlisting soldiers in the grand army of our
King ; shall we not loose their bonds and let
them go ? Provisions must also be made to
sustain our noble and self-sacrificing mission
aries, whose labors have been so signally
blessed of God the past year in winning souls
to Christ, and in building up and strengthen
ing small and dependent churches. And the
Macedonian cry is coming to us from all parts
of our own country, and from heathen lands,
“ Come over and help us ! ” To which we
must hearken and respond with whatever
ability God has given us, or prove recreant
to our high and holy trusts.
Truly, “ the ways of Zion do mourn,” and
we are most solemnly called upon to
“ strengthen the things that remain, which are
ready to die.” Great and momentous respon
sibilities are pressing upon us; and, although
we have lost much—suffered much—are poor
in worldly goods—if we are rich in faith, we
can “ rise and build.” “ Oar God He will
fight for us." Though He has suffered us to
be sorely chastised, terribly afflicted, He is
our Father, and loves us with everlasting
love. “ For lam the Lord ; I change not;
therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”
O, let us return unto Him with all our hearts,
prostrating ourselves before Him, obediently
submitting to the dispensations of Providence,
ever remembering our dependence upon His
grace, and we shall find the way open before
us, that we may go up and possess the land.
Only let us rely fully, confidently upon Him,
and the means will be furnished to carry for
ward all our denominational enterprises. And
let us never forget that the most trusting, be
lieving soul lives nearest Heaven, and is
sure of abundant supplies of spiritual bless
ings.
The approaching Convention will be one of
very great importance, and the whole South
ern country should be fully represented. Let
all our churches esteem it a privilege and a
duty to represent themselves ; and let provis
ions be made to send as many pastors as pos
sible. Churches should see that no faithful
pastor is kept from the Convention for want
of money to pay his expenses. Will not the
churches attend to this at once '{ The breth
ren here will make ample arrangements f or
the accommodation of all who come. A com
mittee of reception will announce, in due time,
where delegates will be met on their arrival
in Memphis. Homes will be ready for all;
and we now say, in the name of our people,
and in behalf of the Convention, come, breth
ren, come one and all; and may the Lord be
with us all ! A- Miller.
S. 11. Ford.
Memphis, March, IBt>7. J- R- Graves.
News from the Piney Woods.
“ All quiet along the” Flint,at least in the
“regions round about” Albany. About the
towns and villages there may be some lively
discussion and speculation as to political mat
ters, but in the piney woods, or country, it’s
very quiet. There is, in some neighborhoods,
a degree of excitement in the way of a friend
ly rivalry among the planters. I find in my
“ diocese ” —I am a Bishop —that even the
freedmen have caught this spirit, and it has a
very salutary effect.
The planting interest or~ bur*section is pro
gressing well thus far. My observation ex
tends over a considerable portion of country,
and, all in all, I am prepared to “ second the
motion” of brother Sweet, the editor of our
paper —the Albany News —“ that the freed
men are doing better this year than last.”
I am glad to report a religious interest in
one of my churches among the freedmen,
where I yesterday “ buried with Christ by
baptism” thirty-four. And I must state, as
a collateral fact, that there is more quiet, less
trouble, and more work done in that very
neighborhood than any, perhaps, I know of,
and it is close to the Bureau, too. I have
heard the opinion frequently expressed, of
late, that the negroes “ were doing better right
here than any where I can hear from ; ” mean
ing in South-Western Georgia. I am dis
posed to think they are doing as well as any
where, and better than in many places. Now,
I ma y—yes, I will —be considered fanatical,
but I do say, it is attributable to the religious
element among this people in our section.
On this I could say hnuch, but desist for the
present.
Ever and anon we meet with romance in
real life. Yesterday, in two miles of my
meeting, a lady died ‘who, only about fifteen
days before, was led to Hymen’s altar. Your
readers, many of them at least, have read
“ Hervey’s Meditations among the Tombs/L
some of them may have^j^B
most impressed by his meditations at the
tomb of the “lovely Sophronia,” who died
under circumstances so sad; in the striking
language of the author, becoming at once “ a
Mother and a Tomb.” But in the case alluded
to, it was, if possible, more sad. The passago
from the bridal to the tomb—how sudden !
The rich attire of the bride clothes the corpse
how soon ! How soon the bridal party are
become a mourning group ! “ Thou hast all
seasons for thine own, O Death!” “At an
hour when ye think not,” . . .
W. N. Chaudoin.
Cottage Home, near Albany, March 25, 1867.
Return of Bro. Hogue to the Choctaw Nation.
Armstrong Academy, C. N., I
February 14, 1867. j
Rev. M. T. Sumner, Cor. Sec. :
Dear Brother: —Yours of January 3rd
reached me yesterday, being forwarded from
Linden. I had written you three several
times before leaving Texas, but no word from
you. On the 15th of January I left Linden,
en route for this place, hiring transportation
on a credit. The weather was favorable for
the season, and we arrived here without any
serious mishap. I have rented a place for
S2OO, the only one to be had except little log
huts, situated in the bottoms, and just vacated
by the refugee Indians.
The Choctaws seem to be in pretty good
spirits, and at this time are manifesting un
usual interest in religious matters. They are
now at work repairing their preaching places
with a zeal that is truly encouraging, if they
will only hold out. They are showing more
signs of interest in neighborhood schools than
they ever have at any time heretofore.
I am inclined to think favorably of your
plan of conducting our missionary associations.
In a conversation had with Peter Folsom last
November, we were consulting on that sub
ject, and a similar cause was suggested, with
out any reference to the number of white mis
sionaries.
Shall I try to secure the services of a regu
lar interpreter ? If so, what salary must I
allow ? While the war continued, I was
much of the time troubled to get interpreting
done. The one that served me most was an
old man, who would act when present without
charge. When I could not do otherwise, I
paid for such service.
The Choctaw' to whom I sold our cld sta
tion, and whose notes l still hold, now thinks
that it will be some time before he can pay
for it. He wishes me to take it back. He
has suffered the place to go to rack greatly.
Whether to give him longer time or to take
it back and rent it, I know not. I can not
occupy it again myself. In your next, please
communicate all the necessary instructions in
regard to your plans, and the course desired
for me to pursue in reference to the above
matters, etc.
If this reaches you safely, I suppose you
may venture to address me as heretofore, at
“ Armstrong Academy, C. N.” The “ outfit”
of which you speak, if it reached Linden, will
be forwarded to me by a friend at that place.
It would relieve me much to have it in hand.
I sincerely hope that the set time for the
Lord to favor Ins work Jo just <>t band, and
that the reasonable desires of his people will
be fully realized. Hoping to hear from you
soon, or in due time, I remain,
Yours truly, etc., R. J. llogue.
P. S. The above letter will be read with
interest by the friends of brother H. The
Board must forward S6OO to brother H. in a
few days. This will be necessary to meet his
present demands, or to render him at all com
fortable. lam pleased to read the letter or
appeal of brother Muse, president of the Ex
ecutive Board of the Bethel Association, in be
half of this mission. Every pastor in the As
sociation should take up a collection in his
church to aid in sustaining this work. Brother
Hogue tnust be sustained. We have bound
ourselves to see his family provided for. I
hope to see brother Muse with a full hand
and encouraged heart at the meeting of the
General Convention in April.
M. T. S., Cor. Sec.
Baptism.
ST. FRANCIS BTa EE x CHURCH, MOBIEE, ALA.
A young girl of some 15 years was bap
tized on the evening of the 24th of March.
She was a Sunday school scholar, and member
of a Bible class, the teacher of which is a ven
erable, white-haired Georgian, Deacon Cuth
bert. The father of this dear girl, who was
the Treasurer of our church, was buried by
us on the 24th of November last—just four
months prior to the baptismal burial of his
child.
Two weeks prior to his death, while ho was
at family worship, praying for his children,
and especially for this daughter, the prayer
was answered. Conviction was there begun,
to be deepened by the sad loss of the father
so soon afterward. The relation of her sim
ple, child-like gonversion to God, and her bap-
wroug'hrov. u-mill for good v S.
Explanatory.
Rev. R. Fuller, D.D., writes, under date
Baltimore, March 27: “I hope your readers
will not infer from your editorial of the 21st
inst. any sort of unwillingness on my part to
do every thing and any thing in my power
as to Mr. Peabody’s donation. The simple
fact is, that I have received, acknowledged, and
forwarded, as I might with commendation, a
very large number of applications. At times I
felt myself overwhelmed by the inunda
tion; but I willingly worked at it. A great
many letters, however, from institutions and
individuals simply request me to write an ap
peal and state their cases—which is impossi
ble. After all, if a case be clearly stated and
addressed directly to Mr. Winthrop, it will
be carefully examined; nor would any such
general recommendation as I can give as to
most of the schools be of any consequence.”
Mercer University.
The undersigned earnestly requests all who
are in arrears for interest to Mercer Univer
sity, or to the Baptist Convention of the State
of Georgia, to make immediate
shall be at Columbus at the
Convention, where I hope
many, lb-mit
any time by
“ 'll not 1' ' ’
i: