CHUISTIAN S&JTH-WESTERN BAP
VOL 48-NO. 26.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA, GA
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Boston-ology.
[The following is an extract from the poem of Rev. I.
N Tarbox, on “Modern Science,” delivered at the an
nual convention of the Alpha Delta Phi Society in New
Haven, May 12th.]
Perhaps I owe my hearers an apology,
In turning now a moment to theology.
If you would know the wooders of divinity,
You must come down to “Boston and vicinity,”
Where moral systems rise and disappear.
Still fresh and new a score or two a year,
Launched on the world, all bristling und complete
By what is called “omniscient self-conceit.”
One who lives here is privileged to attend
A preached gospel, where some Reverend friend.
Still pressing on all mysteries to explore.
Makes some bold push none ever made before;
He goes so fast you sometimes think indeed,
Thut he is riding a velocipede.
Come on then, stranger, go along with me,
Let’s to the House of God in company;
With reverence let us heed the Sabbath call,
Which sounds abroad from Horticultural Hall.
This is the land, sir, of the Pilgrim Fathers,
Home of the Chauncys and the Cotton Mathers.
To Horticultural Hall, then, let us go,
Where the fair flowers of sacred rhetoric blow.
Now who stands up the gospel to proclaim,
Should wear, of course, a Reverend to his name.
With this heaven-born appendage, he may teach,
Doctrines like those we hear our preacher preach:
“All prayer is folly. Undeveloped souls,
“That linger yet upon the muddy shoals
“Os earthiy being, these in prayer may find
“Some feeble comfort, but the higher mind,
“The philosophic man, has no such need.
“Sufficient ever to himself, indeed
“If he desired to pray, it is not clear,
“That ther£ is any one his prayer to hear,
“We dare to ask if that huge personality,
“Which men call God, be shadow or reality.”
Now tell me stranger, ere you take your hat,
Say, did you ever hear the like of that!
Perhaps you don’t remember where you be,
For this is Sunday, and the man you see,
Who’s been a talking, is the minister;
Nay, spare that doubting look so sharp and sinister,
For aught I know a Doctor of Divinity,
With his old Puritanic consanguinity.
Where, stranger, will you find, go far or near,
Such Christian privilege as we have down here?
Os course you’ll come uext Sabbath and the next,—
Some will preach with, and some without a text.
To make the whole seem gentle, kind and human,
At times the preaching will be done by woman;
Firmly by the old Scripture rule we bide,
For Deborah sang and Miriam prophesied:
And when a stricter doctrine we demand,
Some pious laymen near will lend a hand.
Next Sabbath comes. Promptly we take our seat,
To lose no crumb of this rich gospel treat.
Another Reverend brother tries to show,
What be from his vocation ought to know :
That the old Christian Faith leads men astray,
That “Free Religion” is the better way.
And if you ask what Free Religion is,
’Tis of a kind, my friend, you cannot miss,
You have it always, whether saint or sinner,
Whether you kill your wife or eat your dinner,
In fact the mixture can’t be spread much thinner.
You look surprised. You don’t believe my friend,
That this man also is a Reverend ?
Why certaidly he is, ’tis-“3abba-day,”
This is a Christian minister, on pay,
Hired by the people here to preach and pray.
Perchance to try once more, you feel inclined,
And see what farther wonders we can And:
Our preaching here affords a wide variety,
And some uncommon types of modern piety.
We heard one minister and then auother,
To-day we have again a Reverend brother:
He rises now- keep still and hear him state
The Christian theme be essays to debate.
“The piety of Pantboism, as displayed
Among the Hindus of the higher grade.”
Again the stranger says—you cannot mean
That this is Christian worship we have seen ?
Not Christian worship? Pray what is it then?
Isn’t this the Sabbath-dav ? I ask again
Isn’t that a minister, made such by rule,
A finished product of our neighboring school ?
It onlv proves what I set out to state,
Our Christian privilege down here is great,
We have the gospel in as irihny dishes
As ought to satisfy a Frenchman’s wishes.
If then you have a theologic doubt.
Some knotty point, you cannot well make out,
Bring it to Boston, in the winter season,
And get the marvellous light of modern reason
Concentered on the case. ’Tis certain, very,
The effect will be quite extraordinary,
Cramp’s “Baptist History.”
This is the best book of the kind that has
been written. It is worthy of a wide circu
lation. Every Baptist minister ought to read
it. Those who have read and followed Or
chard’s History of the Baptists, ought to read
this to correct errors. It is written with
ability and with a moderation that evinces a
desire to keep within the bounds of strict
historical accuracy. Occasionally, the author
betrays the feeling of one whois trying to
make out a case. In speaking of the Nova
tians, in the latter half of the third century,
he says : “ Novatianism and infant baptism
were diametrically opposed to each other.
It was impossible to preserve the purity for
which the Novatians contended, in any church
which had admitted the novel institution. . . .
We may safely infer that they abstained from
compliance with the innovation, and that the
Novatian churches were what are now called
Baptist churches, adhering to the Apostolic
and primitive practice.” The fact that No
vatianism and infant baptism were inconsis
tent with each other, is not sufficient ground
from which “ we may safely infer” that they
did not practice it. The author has before
stated that this period “ was neither one thing
nor the other, but a mixture of incongruities
and that there was therefore much inconsis
tency in current views and practice. In North
Africa, between which and Italy there was a
close intercourse, infant baptism at this time
was prevalent. It would be remarkable if it
had not found its way into Italy at this time.
The probability is all on that side, and the
“ doubts and questions” of Boniface to Au
gustine at a later period, do not lessen this
probability. But even if the Novatians did
not practice infant baptism, still they were
not “ what are now called Baptist churches,
adhering to the apostolic and primitive prac
tice.” The denial of infant baptism does not
of itself make one a Baptist. This is a com
mon mistake with those who write Baptist
history. Baptists have other and important
distinctive principles. At the best, the No
vatians were Episcopalians holding to a con
verted church membership not Baptists
“ adhering to the apostolic and primitive prac
tice.”
The Donatist schism occurred in North
Africa in the early part of the fourth century.
It originated, as did the Novatian schism,
upon a question of discipline. The Dona
tists, like the Novatians, maintained that
membership should be confined to the regen
erate. It might be expected that this princi
ple would exclude infant baptism. Accord
ingly, the author says: “The principles
would undoubtedly lead them to the rejection
of infant baptism. Some authors affirm that
they did reject it. For my own part, lam
inclined to think that they were didvided in
opinion, and that some of them admitted in
fant baptism, though the admission was in
consistent with their acknowledged principles.
The majority, I am willing to believe, ad
hered to the New Testament practice.” It
would have been much more satisfactory if
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA,, THURSDAY, JULY l, 1869.
he had given us the certain data which “ in
clined him to think ” and made him “willing
to believe ” this. Doubtless, however, it
would have been extremely inconvenient to
do that. The Donatists sprang up where in
fant baptism started and flourished most. At
the time of this schism, it was prevailing
through all that region. Optatus, the con
temporaneous historian of the schism, tells
us that the question was discussed by the
Catholic party, whether those baptized in
infancy by the Donatists, and wishing after
wards to change over to the Catholic church,
should be received without rebaptism. The
Donatists certainly practiced infant baptism,
however inconsistent with their principles.
Unfortunately, inconsistency between princi
ple and practice, was not uncommon at this
time. As the author says, this period was
“a mixture of incongruities.” There is no
sufficient proof that any among them did not
practice it. But even if none of them did,
they were still not Baptists, but Episcopa
lians with Baptist principles as to church
membership.
The author is not quite accurate as respects
the German Anabaptists. He speaks of them
indiscriminately as Baptists. In justice to
Baptists, this is to be protested against. The
term “Anabaptist ” was a general one, ap
plied to all who re-baptized in any way, or
for any cause. It embraced all sorts of char
acters, some o e them crazy fanatics. Very
many of them baptized by sprinkling or
pouring. Before the times of Menno it is
difficult, if not impossible, to tell who among
them were what we would now call Baptists.
Hubmeyer, whom the author calls a Baptist,
“on the occasion of re-baptizing his church
at Waldshut, directed water to be brought in a
milk-pail, and baptized about 300."
Whoever reads this history expecting to
find a Baptist “succession,” will be disap
pointed. The writer has done the best that
can be done, probably, in that direction, and
a careful reading of the book will satisfy one
that such a “succession” cannot be histori
cally made out. And what difference does it
make? The truth of our principles does not
depend our showing an historical succession
of visible churches holding these principles.
If our Saviour’s promise to his church neces
sarily implied that there should always be
visible organized churches, preserving in un
broken succession apostolic doctrine and
practice, then indeed it would be necessary
for any bodies claiming to be churches of
Cnrist, to establish their “ succession.” Fa
ber incautiously fell into this error, in con
tending with the Romanists, of admitting
that the Saviour’s promise implied this, and
in his “Inquiry into the history and theologv
of the Ancient Valleuses and Albigenses,"
endeavored through them to make out on the
Protestant side the required succession. But .
with all his ingenuity and learning? it must
be confessed that he has failed to make out
his case. Our Saviour’s promise necessarily
implies no such thing, and the true standard
of appeal, therefore, is not to an historical
succession, but to the word of God. If we
can trace our doctrines and practice in the
New Testament, let us be content with this,
and leave to the Greek and Romish churches
the only standard of appeal they have —his-
torical succession. They are welcome to it.
Wm. Williams.
Greenville , S. C.
Expenses of the Boards.
As my brother, Dr. Mclntosh, has seen
proper to mention my name in his recent ar
ticle on the “ Expenses of the Board of Do
mestic Missions,” not omitting the fact that
my resolution, offered in the Southern Bap
tist Convention, at Macon, was finally laid on
the table, and that, too, “ by such a vote as
left no doubt of the confidence of the Con
vention iu the fidelity of its Boards,” it is
proper that I should explain to the brethren
of that body, and especially to those of the
Georgia Baptist Convention, whose delegate
I was, my reasons for having offered that
resolution. I am not insensible to the fact
that my course may subject me, in some
minds, to the imputation of being “ a busy
body in other men’s matters,” andatroubler
of Israel. I feel called upon to say that, in
moving that resolution, I had no “ personal
pique” to gratify, nor was it designed to
“ trifle ” with a serious subject. It was of
fered because I kneio there was a necessity for
it. The developments made by Dr. Mcln
tosh show that 1 did not act “ uncertainly,
nor as one that beateth the air.” If the mere
offering of that resolution has contributed, ir.
any degree, towards eliciting the facts brought
to light by him, I ought to be thankful. That
they are given to satisfy others than myself,
is doubtless true. His article answers the
purpose sought to be accomplished by my
resolution, in part, but not wholly.
Having ever been an advocate of conduct
ing missions through the agency of Boards,
the only object had in view was the welfare
of the missions committed to the care of its
Boards by the Convention. It was not my
purpose to excite suspicion as to their “fidel
tiy.” The fact that we differ with men in
judgment, by no means implies a want of
confidence in their integrity. As to the man
ner in which I ought to have sought the de
sired information, whether by asking ques
tions on the floor of the Convention or through
a committee, was left to the exercise of my
own judgment —Dr. Mclntosh having given
no intimation of his wishes on that subject.
It was no part of my purpose to require the
Boards, in their reports, to specify “ every
ream of paper, every package of envelopes,
and every steel pen. ’ Nor did I intend to
ask them to make an elaborate argument
about corn meal, flour, meat, lard, etc., to
prove that forty-five hundred dollars in 1867
was not worth more than three thousand dol
lars in 1868.
On the following points, however, I did
desire information: 1. What were, or had
been, the salaries of the Cor. Secretaries of
the Foreign and Domestic Mission Boards*
since the war? In vain had I looked into their
reports for this information; and, though
partially enlightened myself, I desired the ex-
act figures, that they might be sent up (not
“down,”) to the churches. 2. Why the salary
of the Cor. Secretary of the Domestic Board,
including a period of two years past, was seven
thousand five hundred, whereas that of the
Foreign Secretary, for the same period, was
four thousand dollars? 3. Why the item of
“ Travelling Expenses,” in the report of the
Domestic Board for 1868, was $1,931 45,
while in that for 1869, (as shown by Dr.
Mclntosh,) it was only $467 89 s' 4. I thought
the following item, in the report of the Do
mestic Board for 1868, needed explanation :
“ Printing Minutes of Convention, and Ala
bama Baptist Stale Convention, etc., $345 51.”
5. Whether some plan might not be adopted,
by which the expenses may be curtailed?
That such a plan may be devised, I have no
doubt.
Though the Boards may “ have better op
portunities of knowing what is needed, and
forming a correct judgment, than brethren at
a distance,” it is not too much to expect that
they will consider suggestions, respectfully
offered, hoping that, by some means, they
may be enabled to bring to the support of
the missions under their care, all the Baptists
of the South. That there are many in this
State who once sustained these Boards, who
now stand aloof, is a fact well known to the
writer. They complain that a large propor
tion of their contributions for the use of the
missionaries, is consumed in expenses; and
that, too, in some cases, at the same time that
the missionaries themselves are detained from
their field of labor among the heathen, or
have to get along as best they may for months
together, without a portion of the small sala
ries promised them. Or, as in other instan
ces, they are discharged from service alto
gether.
By what process of reasoning Dr. Mclntosh
reaches the conclusion that, but for the suc
cess of the Marion Board the Southern Bap
tist Convention would have “perished,” and
that it was by the efforts of their Secretary
the Convention was “saved,” I am unable to
perceive. The idea has prevailed, that the
existence of the Boards is dependent on the
Convention, not that of the Convention on
the Boards, and of both on the churches.
Whenever the contrary is made to appear, 1
shall be no longer “a Board-man.”
Thus, you perceive, brother Editor, I have
ventured to show my opinion on this subject,
notwithstanding your emphatic declaration in
regard to the “exhibit” made by Dr. Mcln
tosh, that “ it is an end of controversy in the
premises.” Should others of your brethren
be found to entertain views slightly at vari
ance with your own, of course you will not
fall out with them on that account. Whether
any of the fathers, living or dead, have “ ren
dered more important services to the Bap
tists of the South than ” the Cor. Secretary
of the Marion Board, is also a question about
which there may be honest differences of
opinion, the decision of which may well be
left to posterity.
This article is not intended to apply to the
Sunday School Board, at Memphis, for the
reason that it is yet in its infancy, and I am
not sufficiently acquainted with its operations
to form a correct judgment concerning them.
J. H. Campbell.
Thomasville, Ga.,Jnne 16, 1869.
Baptist papers throughout the South
will confer a special favor by copying.
J. H. C.
Note. —When we published the exhibit of Presi
dent Mclntosh, we spoke of it as u an end of contro
versy in the premises.” We meant, of course—an
end of reasonable controversy. Our opinion is not
changed—it is strengthened rather—by the foregoing
article. If others, like brother Campbell, differ with
us in judgment, we cannot help it. “A fallible man
must fail somewhere,” old Dr. Johnson used to say;
and, for our part, we are as willing to fail here as any
where else—here, where our error (if we be in error)
is on the side of a liberal and vigorous prosecution of
the mission work, at home and abroad.
We regret this discussion. It will never be reck
oned among the “ important services rendered to the
Baptists of the South.” It is liable to be abused by
the covetous and the lukewarm, as a plea for with
holding or stinting contribution to the funds of the
Convention. And we are sorry that brother Camp
bell, when alluding to the dissatisfaction which is felt
by some among us on account of the expenses of the
Boards, did not pause long enough to disavow sym
pathy with the course they have adopted, and to urge
a liberal support of the cause notwithstanding the
mistakes into which the faithful men entrusted with
its administration may be supposed to have fallen.
He might, in this way, have prevented in part the
wrong effect of the discussion. But nothing can
altogether prevent that effect. And we hope, there
fore, that the discussion will be confined within the
narrowest limits and closed at the earliest date pos
sible.—Ed.
Temperance.
Permit me to offer a few practical sugges
tions on this subject. It is universally ad
mitted that intemperance is a great evil. Let
us get to work to arrest it. How can it best
be done 1 By organizing .
Let the people organize themselves into so
cieties, it matters not of what order. lam
satisfied that this is a subject which has re
ceived too little attention in our country for
the past few years. An occasional exhorta
tion to the brethren to abstain from use
of intoxicating liquors does very little good.
Let us go to work, and arrest iis progress,
and endeavor to redeem those who have
already fallen into the snares of the tempter.
Those desiring to organize Lodges, either of
the Independent Order of Good Templars, or
Sons of Temperance, can get all necessary
information and assistance by addressing
either of the following gentlemen: Jas. G.
Thrower, Worthy Chief Templar of Atlanta
Lodge, Independent Order of Good Tem
plars, Atlanta, Ga.; or, Dr. Wm. King,
Grand Worthy Patriarch of Sons Tem
perance, State of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Both
these organizations are good, and well worthy
the support of the people, having, for their
sole object the good of humanity. Let us
organize. Charity.
Atlanta, June , 1869.
More Grace. —We believe substantially
in what is sometimes called “ second conver
sion,” and a “ higher Christian life for the
earlier Christian experience often gives place
somewhat suddenly.to one very much loftier,
and broader, and fuller, and more joyous
than that which had preceded it.
An Explanation.
Editorial comments on a communication,
“Evangelization of the c&lored people,” in
the Index of June 10, seem *o call for a brief
explanation.
“A Georgia Baptist,” w%n preparing said
article, was well aware thaf “facts furnished
by the minutes of our Convention, for every
year since the close of tife-war, show that
Southern Baptists are notSbnoxious to the
charge of doing nothing toward the accom
plishment of this great work.” And know
ing this, he carefully refrirthed from making;
or insinuating, any such charge. And so
carefully did he refrain, that the phrase, “do
nothing , ’ or its equivalent, is not to be found
in the entire article. Th*' phrase “withhold
the gospel” is used oncei, but the drift
spirit of the article clearly show that the
withholding spoken of i**only that which
would be obviated by a*, vigorous forward
movement. The gospel is withheld from
those who, having it not, vtould have it by an
enlarged missionary operation.
The stand-point of the -vriier of the •com
munication commented on*: was that point in
the operations of the Doib< stic Board which
was reached at the close or the last year’s la
bors. His out-look was future, and
his “pointed argument” "was only against
what seemed to him thr “erroneous posi
tion,” that no additional “forward movement
was made,” because of the “perplexities
which now surround the relation of the races
at the South.” While heartily agreeing with
the Convention, “that the-inbors of past years
should be continued —should be pressed for
ward with unflagging resolution and growing
zeal," the effort of A Georgia Baptist was,
—a feeble effort indeed, still an effort—to
urge the churches to attempt still greater
things for Christ and the evangelization of the
colored people, than had as yet been at
tempted. And this he lifted, on the ground,
that by thus preaching the gospel in the “re
gions beyond,” the antidote to the existing
“perplexities” would be«dministered, and a
possible cure of the evil
The writer hereby acknowledges his obli
gation to the editor for the information that,
after all, the real perplexity is the want of
money, and that the question before the Con
vention, and the question “settled for a
twelve-month” was “a question of machin
ery”—“only that and noting more”—that it
respected the “modification of our general or
ganization, by instituting anew Board, or a
new department in the Domestic Board, to be
specially charged with fthe management of
Home African Missions;” and that to the
adverse decision of this question, reference
was made, in the editorial of May 20, re
specting “no forward niovement.” A care
ful reading and close examination
of the proceed blips oUCIWj Convetrtiofl, as re
ported in the mammoth Weekly Telegraph,
failed to discover this information.
A Georgia Baptist.
Note. —If we misapprehended the former
article of our correspondent, the fault is
scarcely ours. That article contained abso
lutely no reference to the work which South
ern Baptists have done, and are doing now,
toward the evangelization of the colored peo
pie. He could not have ignored that work
more completely, if, of set purpose, he had
“carefully refrained” from all recognition of
it! Under these circumstances, how could we
understand his plea against ‘withholding the
gospel’ from the blacks, as bearing the sense
he now puts upon it ? How could we construe
his language as implying that we withhold
the gospel from that race, only as we with
hold it from our own ? Os course, we accept
his elucidation of his meaning. But if he
had allowed his pen to say that there were
“labors of past years which should be contin
ued,” and that along with these, he urged
simply an “ additional forward movement”—
his meaning would have been obvious from
the first, and he would have been troubled
with no “editorial comments.” — Ed.
The Sin of Being Homely.
“He is homely certainly; but he did not
make himself, and is not, therefore, respon
sible for his face.” In some respects this is
true. It was not by any act of volition on
our part that the dust became moulded into
the wonderful lineaments of the human form.
But in one sense, and that a very important
one, we are responsible for our faces. The
passions that we indulge—the graces that we
cultivate, have very much to do with our
physiognomies. We see one child upon the
face of which lies a beauty that stirs the
heart of every beholder. We see another
whose features are void of those delicate
graces that so charm the eye in the other.
Sixty years pass over both. The once lovely
child is now a stern, grim featured old man,
with not a vestige left of that beauty which
adorned his childhood. Passion and troubles
borne impatiently have seamed his face with
hard, knotty ridges, and deep furrows, and
lent to his eyes a fierce glare. But the child
whom we once deemed plain, has had the ir
regularities of his face to soften with age until
he now presents afi aspect far more pleasing to
contemplate than the sylph figure of a ball
room belle. In the latter we witness the re
sults of art. The former is but the impres
sion which a good heart will make on the
outward man.
It is sad to think how very few persons be
come more handsome as they grow old. The
contrary is by far the more common. We
sometimes listen with an incredulous smile
to the vaunt of some old woman of almost
frightful ugliness, that she was once a beauty.
Her boast, however, may be true; but if so,
what a mournful commentary does it afford
upon her life. Had she been good as well as
pretty, her beauty might have been modified
by time, but would not have been wholly
destroyed. Nay, it would have become
more pleasing to contemplate, just as we de
light more in gazing on the sun when he
hangs in tremulous lustre on the verge of the
horizon than when he shines from the zenith
in the full splendors of noonday. But the
very feet that her oomeliness has disappeared
—that her appearance is now calculated to
excite disgust rather than pleasure, proves
that she did not cultivate goodness. She can
not allege that God has made her homely.
She issued forth from His hands with the
contrary impress stamped upon her form.
That it has been dimmed, and almost effaced
is less her misfortune than her fault.
It is no mere flourish of words when we
say that it is every one’s duty to cultivate
the beautiful in their minds, in their hearts,
and upon th< ir persons. That no device will
impart to bodies naturally uncouth that just
ness of proportion required by the laws of
aesthetics, is unquestionably true. Even,
these, however, we contend, will be greatly
improved by the constant cultivation ot the
Christian graces. But it is the features of the
face that may be most modified by the cul
tured the heart, and every one may feel
assured that though despite their efforts they
may remain plain, they can not, if they be
good, be unpleasing. Cherish a bright, sun
ny spirit, with a disposition to look at the
silvery side of every cloud, and to make the
best of everything, and your face will become
such as your friends will delight to look
upon. *
Growing In Grace.
This did not once so trouble me,
That better I could not love Thee;
But now I feel and know,
That only when we love, we find
How fur our hearts remain behind
The love they should bestow.
While we had little care to call
On Thee, and scarcely prayed at all.
We seemed enough to pray;
But now we only think with shame,
flow seldom to Thy glorious name
Our lips their offerings pay.
And when we gave yet slighter heed
Unto our brother’s suffering need,
Our heart reproached us then
Not half so much as now, that we
With such a careless eye can see
The woes and wants of men.
In doing is this knowledge won,
To see what yet remains undone;
With this our pride repress,
And give us grace, a growing store,
That day by day we may do more,
And may esteem it less.
—Richard Chenevix Trench.
Faith—l.
As long as men are concerned about the
great salvation, so long will the subject of
faith be full of interest. Faith must be ex
ercised by the accountable sinner, else there is
no salvation. “He that believeth not shall
be damned.” “Without faith it is impossi
ble to please him ” —God. “ Being justified
by faith, we have peace with God, through
our Lord Jesus Christ.” Whatever defects
there may be in Christian character, there
can be no Christianity where the gospel faith
is wanting. This faith is one thing, not many
things. God has singled it out from every
thing else in the universe as the means of
union with Christ. “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” It
follows, ns equally trbe,*that*we may do any
thing, or everything else but believe, and yet
we must be damned !
If such be the importance of faith, no
question can be more momentous than this,
What is it? To such a question millions
have replied, and among them the greatest as
well as the smallest names among the pro
fessed followers of Jesus. Sad is the thought,
too, that innumerable writers and speakers
on this subject have not found their way to
heaven. Essaying to instruct others, they,
themselves, were ignorant, and fell to rise
not again. With fear and trembling, then,
it becomes us to approach such a subject.
What is faith? we ask again. The ques
tion must be answered. We must know
what the answer is, else our salvation is im
possible. Let us try to obtain the answer in
words from the Scriptures. Jesus said to
Martha, (Jno. xi: 25, 26,) “I am the Resur
rection and the Life: he that believeth on
me, though he were dead, yet shall he live;
and whosoever liveth and believeth on me,
shall never die. Believest thou this ?” Mark
her reply, (vs. 27): “ Yea, Lord ; I believe
that thou art the Christ, the Son of God,
which should come into the world.” Here
we have the plain words of Jesus, teaching
us what faith is. It is to believe on Him, or
or in Him, in and on meaning, evidently, the
same thing. What this imports, is plainly
ascertained from Martha’s confession of faith,
which immediately follows, “I believe that
thou art the Christ, the Son of God.” Her
faith was saving, else we must marvel that
the Master did not point out at once what
defect there was in it. Then, according to
this passage, saving faith consists in believing
that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Further testimony on this point is found in
Matt, xvi: 16,17. The Lord had asked of
the disciples whom they said He was. Peter
replied," Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.” And Jesus answered and said
unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon, Barjona:
for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto
thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”
This statement of the Apostle is like that
of Martha, and therefore we should hesitate
not for a moment to give it an equal value,
even if the Saviour had made no reply. But
when we see that reply—how full of warmth
and satisfaction it is—with what energy it b
communicated, we need no further proof that
Peter’s faith was saving. We may notice a
mystery at the end of the quotation. The
Father had revealed this faith to Peter, if we
understand the language. The same thing
occurred, doubtless, in the case of Lydia,
(Acts xvi: 14,) whose heart the Lord opened
that she attended unto the things spoken of
Paul. How this special mercy is bestowed
on some of the human family, or on any one
of them, we are wholly ignorant. Why it is
done, is what belongs to Him who gives no
account of His matters. But, from whatever
source faith may come, it consists in believ
ing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, so
far as the passages examined are concerned.
Let us take one more Scripture on the
same point. In Acts viii: 37, we have the
confession of a convert immediately prece
ding his baptism. Philip said to the eunuch,
who had asked for baptism, “If thou believ
est with all thy heart, thou mayest be bap
tized! And he said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God.” In this confes-
sion Philip saw rfothing to condemn, so the
Ethiopian was baptized. In the 3rd chapter
of John, the brazen serpent rs given as a
type of Christ. The suffering Israelites were
to look upon the serpent that they might be
cured. All who looked were healed. In
like manner, all perishing sinners who look
to Jesus Christ; t. e., believe on him, or be
lieve him to be the Son of God, shall not
perish, but have everlasting life.
Now, if the Scriptures here presented show
the way of life, it follows that, if other Scrip
tures offer salvation on« other terms, then
there are more ways than one to be saved.
But we are plainly taught there is but one
way. “ I am the way,” says the adorable
Jesus. There is but one Saviour. There is
but one faith. He that believes Jesus Christ
to be the Son of God has saving faith.
Many are ready to say, perhaps, that all
who make profession of the Christian religion
have the faith above described, and that the)
will, according to this view, be saved, or,
rather, that they are already saved. And
when the lives of such professor are exam
ined, they are found wholly wanting in the
graces of Christianity. It is true that many
profess to be of who are not; but it is
not true-that any one of the human family
believes in Christ without being an heir of
salvation. All who say, or who believe they
have the faith of the gospel, are deceived, if
their lives are not in accord with the true
faith. They may be wholly unable to find
any defect in their view of the Saviour. The
best skilled of the saints may not be able to
find any defect for them, but it is there. It
is the truth of God, that to accept of Jesus
as the Son of God, is eternal life. To this,
we may add, that faith, while it is the exer
cise of the believer, is also the gift of God.
The Saviour’s language to Peter, which has
already been noticed, proves this. We are
saved by grace, through faith, and that not of
ourselves ; it is the gift of God. Salvation
is the gift of God. The faith which unites to
Christ, is also the gift of God. It is the duty
of all men to believe the Gospel, or to be
lieve in Christ, because they are commanded
to do it. The ability to exercise saving faith
comes only from God. W. M. Davis.
Glimpses of the Times.
BAPTIST.
A Swift Traveller. —Rev. Crammond
Kennedy, in the Church Union, says: “We
can conceive that ‘the church of the future’
will allow liberty in many respects, including
‘infant baptism,’ but not that there will be
those inside of it who will insist on celebra
ting the Lord’s supper by themselves, ex
cluding fellow-members in Christ, and thus
giving the lie (in appearance) to the unity of
Christ’s body.” This shows with what ra
pidity he makes the descent of error: a lit
tle while ago he began with open communion,
and has already reached (what Spurgeon es
chews) Ojj«n Membership. lie has less* force
of intellect and character to withstand the
legitimate tendencies of his wrong practice ;
and now to get the unbaptized to the Lord’s
table, he will admit them into the church.
Oregon. —“ The Baptist churches of Ore
goon number near two thousand members,
but not one of them is self-supporting. There
is wealth enough among them, but from some
radical defect in their organization they do
not yet learn to stand alone.”
English Baptist Preaching. —Rev. S. S.
Cutting, D.D., in reference to the preaching
he heard in England, writes to the Examiner
<& Chronicle: “The Baptist preaching was by
far the ablest and the best. 1 heard the
Brocks, father and son, I heard Dr. Landels
and Stowell Brown, I heard Mr. Spurgeon of
course. I heard all of these in tneir ordinary
pulpit ministrations. All these men are
trained preachers —men who show in every
sermon that it is their aim to make the
preaching of the gospel the power of God.
Not one of them uttered a crude thing—not
one of them uttered common place or plati
tude—l will add, to their unspeakable credit,
not one of them uttered a fine thing. Most
thoughtful their sermons were, most Scriptu
ral, most evangelical, most earnest, going
straight to the minds and hearts of congrega
tions accustomed to be taught, and assembled
for that purpose.”
Laxity. —The editor of the Church Union
claims to know of a Baptist minister (not an
open communionist, either avowed or in se
cret) who would not hesitate to exchange pul
pits with Dr. Chapin, the Universalist.
PRESBYTERIAN.
Worship. —Rev. Dr. Musgrove, in the Old
School Presbyterian General Assembly, said,
of heaven : “I have never been there, and
don’t know what kind of worship they have
there, but my strong conviction is that it is
Presbyterian.” This sentence was greeted
with laughter: and well it might be, for since
in heaven there are none but believers, the
worship must be, to that extent at least, Bap
tistic.
Giving. —The contributions of Southern
Presbyterians, the past year, to the four Com
mittees of their General Assembly, are esti
mated by Rev. W. Brown, D.D., at $140,-
000—more than double the amount given the
year before.
A Chequered Life. —A correspondent of
the Associate Reformed Presbyterian , says
that Rev. James Woodrow was born in Eng
land, lived in Scotland, in Canada—graduated
at Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsyl
vania—supplemented his collegiate education
by a course of study at Heidelberg, Berlin
and Paris on the Continent—was a Professor
for some time in a college in Georgia, and is
now a Professor in the Theological Seminary
at Columbia, S. C.
"Not Quite.” —Rev. Dr. Jacobus, at
the Old School General Assembly, said:
"If there is any church rather than another,
fit to be the Millennial Church, it is ours.”
He based this opinion on the ground that it
is "notan exclusive church” —a quality, in
illustration of which he said, among other
things: "We have said to the Baptist, we
will accept your form of baptism; but we
do not feel it to be quite as Scriptural as
ours.” Now, the spirit which can give cur
rency to such a perversion of Scripture on a
subject so plain as baptism, and so funda
mental to questions of order, is (to say the
least) “not quite” Millennial.
LUTHERAN.
" Born in the Church.” —A writer in the
Evangelical Lutheran gravely says: "If the
parents are in the church, their children can
not be born out of it, any more than a child
can be born out of North Carolina, whose
parents are, at the time of its birth, in North
Carolina.” He calls this "a logical view ”
as if men might argue from a question of
territory to a question of character—from a
geographical to a spiritual question!
' WHOLE
CONGREGATION A
“Notf Bound.” —A Cbngrdgatioti
at White Water, Wis., wrote recently .
will say that we ought to follow the mt
baptism laid down ;>y Christ an!) a post,.
To which I reply, we are not bound to a
any such thing, even if we knew what it was,
and I do not think we do know what it was.”
EPISCOPAL.
Infant —Rev. C. W. Andrews,
D.D., Episcopal, says, in a late pamphlet,
that “seven theoriesof Pedobaptism have been
propounded and each contended for as the
true theory, and the only true theory, so plain
that none need err, and this to the great scan
dal and amazement of the advocates of the
other six:” namely, the Opus Operatum The
ory, the Seed of Grace Theory, the Ecclesi
astical Theory, the Charitable Hope Theory,
the Prevenient Grace Theory , the Figurative
Theory, the Hypothetical Theory.
Unchurching. —At the Protestant Episco
pal Convention for California, at San Fran
cisco, Bishop Kip pronounced that M thodist,
Presbyterian, Congregational and Baptist
preachers are not clerg) men, but that Romi-h
priests are true ministers of Christ.
“ High ” Doctrine —“A correspondent of
the Protestant Chwchman says that Bishop
Beckwith, at a Confirmation service in Ma
con, Ga., preached baptismal regewfujytion,
and t apostolical succession iad,c{:»n«j/p;t- \:S
Rome—a glaring absurdity.*’
METHODIST.
Queer Baptism. —A writer in the Method
ist Advocate speaks of a Christian lady whose
unbelieving husband would not allow the
baptism of her infant boy, on the appointed
Sabbath : “ When service was over, and the
congregation were in the churchyard, all at
once there came a soft sprinkle as of dew
without any visible cloud, (the sun was shin
ing.) She held up her boy, and thus in the
presence of his father was he sprinkled. He
is now a good boy, but has never been re
baptized, and she would be willing he never
should be.”
Wide Disparity. —The English Wesleyan
paper, the Watchman, says that while the
admissions to probationary membership, the
present year, have been at the rate of 100,-
000 for the twelve months, there will be re
turned to the ensuing Conference probably
only about 3,000 additions the full and per
manent membership.
The Children. —A correspondent of the
Southern Christian Advocate mentions a re
cent revival in one of the Methodist churches
in Atlanta, as the fruit of preaching, every
afternoon for two weeks, by the Presiding
Elder, to the children.
Sponsors. —With regard to the use of God
fathers and Godmothers in the English Epis
copal church the Nashville Christian Advo
cate says: “In most cases, it is feared, the
whole business is a form, if not a farce.” Is
the case altered for the better, when with the
Advocate, men “ baptize all children, whether
their parents are Christians or not,” on the
ground that “ the church is bound to see
to their religious training!” Does “the
church” see to it any more than the spon
sors? or any more than Baptist churches
which, of course, exclude children from the
ordinance ?
ROMANIST.
Lukewarmness. —The Western Catholic
laments “the existence of avast number of
young Catholic men and women in this coun
try, who are not practical Catholics. For
convenience of consideration, we will classify
these persons as follows: First, those who go
to church on Sunday as a matter of habit,
but do not approach the sacraments. Second,
those who go to church on extraordinary oc
casions, but do not approach the sacram -nts.
Third, those who do not go to church, and of
course do not approach the sacraments.”
Romish Schools. —The Western Catholic,
whil* defending the schools of that sect from
the charge of interfering with the religion of
the pupils, says: "On the altar are the im
ages of the Virgin and St. Joseph, and all are
required to bow to them. During Lent,
pictures, representing the various scenes of
Christ’s passion, were hung around the wall,
and, before each, the pupils knelt and prayed.
Some of the Protestant pupils de lined par
ticipating, and were reprimanded. Very
proper, in our opinion. The rule is invaria
ble in every Catholic school in the worid that
all shall participate alike in all the religious
practices of the institution, and those prac
tices include a rigid observance of Roman
Catholic pr"Ctices. n
California. —The Roman Catholic Moni
tor, San Francisco, says there are 50 Catho
lics among the Chinese of that city, and that
some of them had been educated in the Cath
olic seminaries of China, and are well ac
quainted with Latin and speak it with some
fluency. A late missionary at Hong Kong
has been appointed to look after their spiritual
wants.
DISCIPLE (“CAMPBELLITE”).
Pardon. —A writer in the American Chris
tian Review says: “Ask the Baptist, who, on
condition of his sins having been previously
pardoned, as he supposes, has been admitted
to baptism, what evidence he has of the par
don of his sins. What will he say? Will
he not tell you he knows his sins are par
doned, because he felt it ? Ask a Disciple of
Christ how he knows his sins were pardoned.
Will he not answer, Jesus says I am par
doned, and I believe him. I was commanded
to be baptized for the remission of my sins.
I obeyed the command, and I have the word
of Jesus that I am a pardoned man.”
Atlanta. —A correspondent of the Ameri
can Christian Review states that by “ the
munificence of one noble heaven-attained
heart, $5,000 have been placed in bank,” to
assist the “little band of Disciples who have
struggled, since the ‘cruel war is over,* to
r build their house of worship, and to rees
tablish in this greAt railroad and radiating
centre the ‘truth as it is in Jesus.’”
UNIVERSALIST.
Descent. — The Universalist society at
Dubuque, lowa, not long since, raised funds
for the purchase of a parsonage, by a masquer
ade ball!
SPIRITUALIST.
Immorality. —The Nashville Christian Ad
vocate quotes from the organ of the Spiritu
alists, —the Banner of Light: "I have no
God besides doing right.” "Do men ever
deteriorate in the other world ? I do not be
lieve that they ever do, neither here nor
there.” “Then we are to infer that men may
do whatever they please. Yes: I believe
that all wrongs all the lesser rights will final
ly become the highest and best good.”
Spiritualists say: “Those that act the
worst will progress the fastest.” “Sin is a
lesser degree of righteousness.” “There is
no high, no low, no good, no bad.” "Murder
is right, lyiqg is right, adultery is right.”
JEW
Jerusalem. —“ Fifteen years since, there
were but two or three families of converted
Jews residing in Jerusalem : now there are
about twenty-five households which have for
saken Judaism and embraced Christianity.”
$Q;,2446.
