Newspaper Page Text
CHRISTIAN INDEX Ai\n SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST.
VOL. 49-NO. 16.
A RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER,
PUBLISHED WEEKLY IST ATLANTA, GA
TERMS.—CIubs of Four, ($3.00 each) per annum...sl2.oo
Clubs of Three, ($3.33 each) per annum... 10.09
Clubs of Two, (3.50 each) per annum 7.00
•T. J. TOON, Proprietor.
Upward!
Up, to a higher level,
To a nobler range of thought 1
Up! for the sunlit summits
The day’s first beam have caught;
Leave, leave the petty trifles
Which enervate the mind;
Thou shalt find gems of richer worth
Than all that’s left behind.
Up, to a higher level,
To a truer style of life!
And dwell above the surges
Os worldly care and strife;
Live lor the glorious future
Which lies before thy soul;
Walk in the paths of energy.
Wisdom and self-control.
Up, to a higher level,
A stronger, holier heart!
And seek unfailing guidan.ce
From revelation’s chart;
Onward and upward, seeking
A better, happier sphere,
Where dwells a clearer, purer light,
A warmer atmosphere.
Up, to a higher level,
There are heights above thee yet;
The blazing star of progress
Shall never on thee set,
Till rises on thy vision
The glory-lighted day,
When earthly darkness, night and storm
Have rolled like mists away.
Up, to a higher level,
With a pure and steady aim 1
Fix not thine eye on pleasure,
Nor the flashing meteor, fame;
But speed with eager footsteps
Where Jesus’ feet have trod,
Straight up through duty’s narrow path
To happiness and Goa.
Christian Banner.
Two Yards of Earth.
Two yards of earth, and a marble bust
Reared aloft from the common dust,
And a hero’s sabre covered with rust;
And the sunset’s splendor streaming around,
And a thousand glories under the ground.
Two yards of earth and the potter’s field,
With the merciful angels alone to shield
A murderer’s grave, a convict fled
Into the future to meet the dead ;
And the rank wild grasses scattered around,
And crimes and curses under the ground.
Two yards of earth, and heaven’s air
Fanning the lilies white and fair;
And modest violets gathered around,
And spotless virtue under the ground.
Two yards of earth and a woman’s name,
Whose life was woe and whose death was shame;
And the cold rain beating a naked mound,
And a thousand miseries under the ground.
Two yards of earth I O, who shall say
Whether of these is the better clay?
God give us grace in our hapless round
That leads to this kingdom under the ground I
—Edgar L. Paxton.
The Autobiography of an Old Pilgrim.
( Continued .)
The narrative of my experience, while con
nected with a church in an unconverted state,
be it remembered, was introduced to sustain
the scriptural representation, that an outward
reformation- ~a mere conformity to the exter-
relig'on —affords no evidence that one
the saving grace of God ift
his heart. 1 shall now proceed to notice two
or three mooted questions in reference to con
version, and point out what I conceive to be
the concurrence of my experience with the
teachings of God’s word.
1. By what agency is the conversion of a
soul effected ? All Christians, reputed ortho
dox or evangelical, ascribe it to a Divine
a g enC y—to the Holy Spirit that enlightens,
quickens, renews, sanctifies, seals, &c. The
child of God is said, in the Scriptures, to be
“ born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God;”
“that which is born of the flesh, is flesh, and
that which is born of the Spirit, is spirit
“ the wind blovyeth where it listeth, etc., so
is every one that is born of the Spirit.” The
spiritual offections which characterize a child
of God are also ascribed to the Holy Spirit.
“ The fruits of the Spirit are joy, peace,” etc.
2. A second question is, whether a soul is
converted under the ordinary operations of
the Holy Spirit, or by some special and ex
traordinary exertion of its divine power?
There are very many who occupy exalted po
sitions in the church; are popular pastors of
wealthy and aristocratic city churches, learned
professors and presidents of high schools, col
leges and universities, and who figure as prin
cipal speakers and managers in all our eccle
siastical assemblies, have honorary initials
affixed to their names whenever they appear
in print, and who are reputed, withal, wise
and good, who sneer at (if they do not de
nounce as fanatics, or deluded enthusiasts,)
their humble backwoods brethren, who pro
fess to have experienced any supernatural in
fluences of the Spirit. “ Non equidem invi
deo,” etc. I envy them not, but rather mar
vel that it has never occurred to them that,
notwithstanding the high estimate they and
their admirers may form of their wisdom and
sanctity, it is possible their humble brethren
may have received a greater degree of spirit
ual* illumination than they, and that it is,
moreover, possible that, in rejecting the doc
trine of a supernatural influence in the work
of conversion, they may commit a sin (if not
the sin) against the Holy Spirit. To admit
the thought occasionally, 1 would respectfully
suggest, could do them no harm. It might
improve their manners, if not their morals,
by rendering them less dogmatic, less super
cilious, less consequential, more condescend
ing to their untitled brethren, and more like
the only perfect man that ever sojourned on
earth—the Lord Jesus Chaist.
The Acts of the Apostles and their letters
afford abundant evidence of extraordinary in
fluences of the Holy Spirit, in the conversion
of Lydia, Saul of Tarsus, the Jailer, and the
thousands converted on the day of Pentecost.
“ I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth,” said the Saviour on one occasion, “ that
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and
?rudent and hast revealed them unto babes.”
'his certainly indicates a special illumination
imparted to those who. werg^eßSfigfljj^Bl
truth to which I have referred is as fresh in
my memory as if it were"uttered only a mo
ment since, not another word that was utter
ed at that meeting, not another word that
ever fell from the speaker during the three
months, or more, that I attended on his min
istry, has left behind it the slightest trace
on the tablet of memory. All this appears
to me extraordinary; and as I had been
brought'up very"religiously from my early
childhood, I cannot account for it, scripturally
or philosophically,"without ascribing it to the
extraordinary of supernatural influence of the
Holy Spirit.
3. A thirdjquestion is, Is the work of con
version an instantaneous one in all ca'ses? I
answer, There cannot be a mo
mept when it can truly be said of any one,
He is neither the subject of Satan nor the
subject of Christ, nor can there be a moment
when one can falsify the declaration of the
Saviour and serve God and Mammon at the
same time. The work of sanctification is pro
gressive,"but.notThat of conversion.
It does not necessarily follow/ that all can
know the preclse,time of their conversion. In
travelling, one step will transfer us from’one
State or kingdom into another, but, from the
absence of any visible landmarks, we may not
know when we have jtaken that step; or,
though the landmarks may be visible, we may
not recognize them as landmarks set to notify
one of thedocation of We
may suppose them to be landmarks set for
some other purpose. So it is with the trav
eller to the kingdom of heaven. There may
be so much of the mists of human frailty
around him as to hide from his view the land
marks of heaven, or, through ignorance of the
Scriptures, he may fail to recognize them as
such. Conversing with a young man on one
occasion, who had recently been converted,
but who doubted the fact, I asked him, Do
you think you love the Saviour? He replied
promptly, “ O yes ; I know that I love Him,
but I think if I were really converted I should
love Him a great deal more.” He had in his
heart one of the most notable evidences of con
version—the love of Jesus; yet, because it
was so different from what he conceived a
new born soul would feel, he did not receive
it as evidence that ho had passed from death
unto life.
There is a proneness in human nature to
measure others by "ourselves, and
the piety of others whose experience does not
cot respond with\>ur*own. w This is decidedly
wrong. God’s word, not our experience, nor
the experience of any other, is that by which
all shall be tested in the day of final reckon
ing. There are in all the world, no two blades
of grass in the field, no two leaves in the for
est, no two faces among the children of men,
no two human voices that are exactly alike.
There is, in the creations of the Spirit, the
same endless variety that there is in the
physical world around us.
4. Does conversion effect a radical change
in human nature, eradicating its natural evil
propensities, etc. I As this is a question of
vast importance, both.to saints and sinners, I
wish to say more on it than it would be ex
pedient to introduce in this article : I there
fore defer a consideration of it till next week.
Abdiel Nekoda.
Education in Qreat Britain. /
The'action of the New York Legislature
in making special appropriations for Romish
schools and charitable institutions, and the
contest in Cincinnati over the introduction of
the Bible into public schools, have given fresh
interest to the question of education in all its
aspects. As the new Constitutions, made
for the Southern States, incorporate school
systems in the organic laws, we are to have,
in our halls of legislation and journals, the
same discussions, which have agitated the
public mind of the North. As bearing on
the general subject, I have gathered from the
recent debates in Parliament and from other
sources, some information in reference to ed
ucation in England, which may not be with
out interest to your readers.
Evidently, there is a newly-awakened zeal
in Great Britain in behalf of national educa
tion. Societies have been formed to secure
this boon. The present ministry have intro
duced a bill, looking to a national measure.
The old parties seem not to be divided on
the general principle, that education is a na
tional affair, and that it is the greatest and
most important duty a State can discharge.
England has been behind Holland, France,
Belgium, Prussia, Switzerland, and even
Austria, in providing facilities for cheap pub
lic instruction. The Government has no
public education and only accepts “the hum
ble and auxiliary task of following private
benevolence and societies which interest them
selves to educate the people.” It has entered
into a sort of partnership with private per
sons and allowed them, on payment of a
paltry sum, to draw large amounts of money,
thereby transferring to other hands its own
solemn responsibilities. The Government
thus aids in building houses, training teachers
and instructing children. The schools, in all
cases, must belong either to some religious
denomination, or, at least, besides common
instruction, impart daily a knowledge of the
Scriptures by reading the authorized version.
A denominational system has supervened and
the Anglican church, of course, gets a lion’s
share, profiting by the grants far more than
all other religious bodies. Just as Episcopa
cy in the U. S. has monopolized government
chaplaincies in the army and navy, so the
mother church in England has the appetite of
the daughters of the horse leech for patronage
and “ spoils.” The grant for education, from
its commencement in 1838 to 1862, amount
ed to about 10,000,000 L. The Church, in that
time, had drawn, for educational purposes,
something over 6,000,000/., while other bod
ies had drawn only 2,000,000/. For build
ings, the Church monopolized 1,200,000/.,
while dissenters got about 200,000/. The
returns for 1868 show that 87 per cent, of
the money granted for buildings went to the
Establishment. A particular sect, enjoying
the whole of the ecclesiastical and educational
endowments
the i 'ltnirtflflliT
FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 1870.
subject is, of course, surrounded with difficul
ties. How to absorb the existing schools
into the national system, is a perplexing
question, requiring practical wisdom and
many concessions. Another more difficult
and exciting problem is the religious ques
tion, so warmly discussed in Northern jour
nals and pulpits. Shall religion be taught ia
the schools ? If so, how can it be so arranged
as to prevent one denomination from having
the advantage over another? Is a purely
secular system desirable, or can it be enforced 1
The experiment is said to have been tried in Hol
land—“ a people singularly advanced in spec
ulative freedom ” —and to have failed. Much
acerbity of feeling and distrust, leading to
crimination and recrimination, have been ex
hibited by Churchmen and Dissenters, in the
discussion. An Episcopal prelate said that
the great obstacles to the religious education
of the people, were beershops, dissent and
overcrowded colleges. Retorts, severe and
just, were returned against the “selfconvict
ed fanatic.” Others of “ the Church ” de
nounce the non conformists as a discontented
and disappointed faction, and quite naturally
they, in return, fear to see the Establishment,
such a cruel step-mother, so intolerant and
persecuting, with such Romeward proclivities,
associated with the State in the management
of national education.
- If education cannot be managed on the
principle of perfect religious equality, it is
insisted by many Dissenters that the only
other satisfactory alternative is secular schools,
leaving to families the religious
instruction of the enforced
by injustice, does no£ dMnnroid itself to the
instincts, or common sense of the people. A
law, tainted with inequality or wrong, is a
great “irreligious lesson, penetrating deeply
into the mind of a nation, and poisoning the
source of true religion.”
It is singular that all the churches have
more faith in themselves than the Church of
England. Others are willing to undertake the
work of teaching their children. Confiding in
the voluntary principle, they do notshrink from
the glad responsibility. The Church of Eng
land, having wealth, position and intelligence,
has fed so long at the “public crib,” and
been so long upheld by civil power, that she
has become enervated, and lacks self-reliance
and conscious vigor.
It is gratifying to notice in the Parliament
ary debates, the independent, manly tone of
speech of the Dissenters, and their bold asser
tion of the wrongness of the Establishment.
Revolutionary as have been the recent changes
in British legislation, thorough equality of
churches and entire separation from the State
are not now to be expected; because, as Mr.
Gladstone says, “Nothing is more admirable
than the benevolence and generosity of man
kind. Men will sacrifice their time, their
money, their health, their ease, their most
favorite occupations and pursuits, for the pur
pose of benefitting their neighbors ; but the
melancholy part of human nature is, tha.,
although these men will do all this and more,
and will devote their lives to promote a par
ticular cause, yet if you touch some dogma
or theory which has grown up and crystalized
itself in their minds, they will cease to make
any further sacrifices rather than give up
their dogma or theory.” Kipein.
Removal of Mercer University.
Os tie thirteen Trustees who decided on
the location of Mercer University, my recol
lection is, that there were eight in favor of
Penfield, and five in favor of “ White Hall,”
near what is now the city of Atlanta. The
leader of the minority was Hon. Mark A.
Cooper. I then thought Penfield an unfortu
nate location—l think so still. If my vote
would decide the question of removal, I
should not hesitate a moment in casting it in
the affirmative. As matters now stand, no
Board of Trustees, and no Faculty, can make
the Institution prosper where it is. I am
persuaded, if the good men who decided this
question upwards of thirty years ago, were
living now, they would vote with me on this
subject. But where? 1 answer, almost any
where else than where it is—Savannah, Au
gusta, Atlanta, Griffin, Macon—anywhere
that is easy of access, and where the students
can have society. I vote for Macon, especial
ly if Oglethorpe College is to go to Atlanta.
No Female College in these United States
(so-called) has been more uniformly prosper
ous than the Wesleyan Female College at
Macon. If Macon is healthy for girls, Ido
not see why it may not be so for boys. Next
to Macon, I would prefer Griffin. The cli
mate is healthy, society good, and would im
prove under the shadow of Mercer Univer
sity. Population, I suppose, about five
thousand, and increasing.
J. H. Campbell.
Thomasville, April, 1670.
Answers.
“I am the pump ; you work the handle,”
said the late Dr. Manly to a brother who
was asking his views on certain topics. “ B.”
seems to be trying the same experiment. Be
it so; I have nothing to conceal.
Question I.—ls our churches are imper
fectly organized, as you believe, why should
there be any apprehension of being charged
with treason for saying so ? Cannot the mat
ter of church organization be discussed tem
perately and dispassionately, without injury
to the denomination ?
Answer. —Baptists who regard their church
organization as perfect, will charge any one
with high treason who insinuates the least im
perfection. Would you not? The trouble
will be to get them to admit the probability
of imperfection, so as to reason with them.
Perfection will not discuss, patiently, the
charge of imperfection. The question can be
discussed “ without injury to the denomina
tion,” if it were not for infallible mudslingers.
But they will cry “treason! treason!” like
Patrick Henry’s commissary whose response
to all questions was, “ beef! beef!”
Question 2. —You say, “A Baptist church
is unworthy the name which has not in its
own body, every of&oer named in the New
Testament churches,” Now, I know some so
that have not in them a mem
a beacon, to say nothing of
evangelists, etc. What will
PHHinl
‘dissolve enough of them,
i-S’V*-■.!'«-'■;£* ‘ organize an -{ st - ic
with the firm
.‘ 'HMkbLicei
to disastrous results. The pastorship of four
churches is unscriptural, and absurd. It is a
part and parcel of our imperfect organization.
A New Testament church met every Lord’s
day, and had its pastors, elders, evangelists,
deacons, etc., and contributed weekly. The
practice of monthly meetings, and one pastor
serving three or four churches, originated in
the necessity of things at -the first settling of
this country, when preachers were scarce, and
is now continued as though it was scriptural.
There are now pastors enough to serve all
the churches weekly, if th# thousand and one
little, inefficient bodies were dissolved and
churches constituted at points central, where
moral power could go out “ in all the region
round about.” Every unscriptural schedule
will come to grief in the end, however rea
sonable and plausible it may seem at the
start, and however much necessity may be
pleaded for running it. 0- amounts to this;
It is the substitution of human wisdom for
Divine wisdom, and Jesus will blow upon it.
Question 4 —Lastly, (;f you will allow me
one more question) our imperfect
church organization be the. effect, instead of
the cause, of the preserT low standard of
piety ?
Answer. —l think not. Baptist church or
ganization has been better than it is now. It
is better now in England and other countries
than in America. The standard of piety has
gone down with .the departure from the pat
tern shown in the New Testament. This
should surprise no one. A departure from
apostolic precept and example is dangerous,
ruinous. There is no hope but in return.
Ritualism or New Testarrjmtism is the con
troversy —men’s plans, God’s plans—
which has the most efficiency? Were I in
clined, or bound, to adopt ritualism, I would
seek the most touching and imposing affair
that human wisdom has devised, instead of
the little Lilliput affairs tlfSt are thrust upon
public attention. But I both. And
here, for the present, this pump will stop.
H. E. T.
New Testament Logic.
There is, perhaps, no Hook open for our
fierusal, in which we find so many different
ines of argumentation, as/a the New Testa
ment; and it is not unfiequently the case
that we wholly misinterpret the language of
the sacred penmen, and draw conclusions quite
different from those designed.
If we turn our attention to the 6th-chapter of
Paul’s letter to the Hebrews, and read from
the 4th to the 7th verse, we_find these words :
“ For it is impossible Tor those who were
once, enlightened, and have tasted of the
heavenly gift, and were made partakers of
the Holy Ghost, and have' tasted of the good
word of God, and the powers of the world
to come, if they shall awpy, to renew
them unto repentance; seeing they crucify to
themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
Him to an open *We conclude at
once, that the Apostle clearly admits the pos
sibility, at least, of a Christian’s falling away
from a state of spiritual enlightenment, from
the possession of the heavenly gift, from
partaking of the Holy from the en
joyment of the word of Utod, and the prom
ise of the world to come, and thereby teaches
the doctrine of falling &fn grace. In other
wpr4», * n S **»
the cbnsciousness of forgiven sins, with a zeal
burning for the cause of his Redeemer, and
with the love of God glowing upon the altar
of his heart, “ reading his title clear to man
sions in the skies,” —may to morrow fall
away, and feel that he is a guilty sinner, for
saken and abandoned by his Saviour, groping
his way in moral darkness, a subject fit only
for the association of Dives. Yesterday a
Christian, to day a sinner, if death had taken
him hence yesterday, to-day he would have
been happily housed in heaven, in full view
of the great white throne,'singing the song of
Moses and the Lamb—the song of everlast
ing deliverance; but should he die to day, he
must go away, “ where their worm dieth not
and the fire is not quenched.” Well might
such an unfortunate man ask, why have I lived
this last day? In twelve hours of heaven
yesterday, to-day in hell.
Does the Apostle teach, all this? or, does
he even admit it? Let us examine and see.
If this conclusion is correct, it is because
it is deducible from the hypothesis in
the text. It may be asked with some show
of argument, why did the Apostle use the
following language: “If they shall fall away ”
—if, indeed, it were impossible for them thus
to fall away ?
We answer, that this language was used to
argue the impossibility of their falling, in the
strongest possible light. '
If we turn to Ist Corinthians, 15th chapter,
and read, commencing at the 13th verse and
ending at the 18th, we have the following ar
gument : “ Now if Christ be preached, that
he rose from the dead, how say some among
you, that there is no resurrection of the dead ?
But if there be no resurrection of the dead,
then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be
not risen, then Is our preaching vain, and
your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are
found false witnesses of God, because we have
testified of God that He raised up Christ,
whom He raised not, if so be that the dead
rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is
not Christ raised. And if Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your
sins.” *
The necessity, and absolute certainty, of
the resurrection of the dtSd, and of Christ,
are here presented in the most forcible man
ner; and by adopting the same hypothetical
line of argumentation, would the Apostle be
understood as admitting that Christ has not
risen from the dead ? because, indeed, he uses
the word “ if” in arguing the resurrection of
the dead,and of Christ? So far from admit
ting that there may be no resurrection from
the dead, he brings to bear the mighty power
of his logical mind to establish and show the
very opposite.
We refer, again, to Luke, 19th chapter and
4th verse, which is in these words: “And he
answered and said unto them, I tell you, that
i/ these should hold their peace, the stones
would immediately cry out.” In that
glowing account of the Saviour’s triumphant
march into Jerusalem, we learn that His dis
ciples were so much overwhelmed with the
presence of the incarnate God, the very pic
ture of simplicity and humility, thus riding
into the proud city of Jerusalem, that the whole
multitude began “ saying, Blessed is the King
in the name of the Lord: Peace
glory in the highest.” The
Dim to rebuke His disci
possible but the latter is impossible, there
fore the former is impossible. Therefore we
conclude, that the employment of a hypothe
sis in an argument does not justify believing
that to be true on which the hypothesis is
predicated.
Let us return. “If they shall fall away,”
etc.; by no means argues that they can possi
bly |fall away; but the context shows that,
we h-dmit for the sake of argument, that they
can, fall away. It is impossible to renew
them again to repentance, and why ? because,
they have crucified the Son of God afresh,
and put him to an open shame; more prop
erly rendered: “Again crucifying to them
selves the Son of God, and exposing Him to
shame.” This latter impossibility does not
grow out of the enormity of the sins here
enumerated, because every sinner, before his
conversion, is again and again crucifying to
himself the Son of God, and exposing Him
to shame; but when he arrives at the ap
pointed time for his regeneration, the blood
of Christ is found sufficient to atone, and the
Holy Ghost competent to the work of regen
erating; but the real irnpossibilityjrest? upon
the fact that those who were once enlightened,
and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and
were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and
have tasted of the word of God, and the
powers of the world to come, can never corn
mil the sin above enumerated.
And in support of this position we read, in
John’s Ist epistle, 3rd chapter and 6th and
9th verses, the following clear and pointed
statements: “ Whosoever abideth in Him
sinneth not; whosoever sinneth, hath not seen
Him, neither known Him.” Again: “ Who
soever is born of God doth not commit sin,
for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot
sin, because he is born of God.” If, there
fore, it is impossible fur those who have been
“ made alive from the dead ” to commit sin,
it is impossible for them to crucify again the
Son of God, and put Him to shame. It is
likewise impossible for them to fall away.
John G. McCall.
Quitman, Ga.
The Money-Test of Piety.
It may sound ungracious in some ears, but
it is none the less true, that the money-test is
the best criterion of a man’s religion. Some
times, indeed, we may find a man who is
willing to contribute liberally to a cause for
which he is unwilling to make any other
sacrifice. We sometimes—perhaps frequent
ly—find men who seem to think that if they
will only pay handsomely into the treasu
ry of the church, they need not trouble
themselves about living according to her re
quirements. But while we concede that
there are cases like these, we still contend for
the general rule, that the best payers are the
best Christians. Os course, there are in eve
ry church very good members whose means
are limited, and of whom much could not be
expected. But if they be earnest and zeal
ous, they will prove it by their liberality,
even though they be poor. For it is the
manner, rather than the amount, which indi
cates the spirit. Every one who has any
experience in business, knows that there are
men who pay largely, who do not deserve to
be called good paymasters. They pay only
when they cannot help it, and then with such
a. show xx£ reluctance .that it is evident:
they had much rather not do so. So' there
are men who contribute to the church largely’
who care not to be classified as liberal givers.
They show too plainly that other motives
than the cause of Christ urge them to yield
of their substance. Sometimes the officers
who have it in charge to make collections,
have to operate on the baser feelings of their
nature in order to get from them the amounts
which their means would warrant them to
give.
Now a man who has a genuine zeal for the
welfare and prosperity of his church, will
need no stimulating to induce him to give
pecuniary aid towards building her up. If
the Lord has blessed him with abundance, he
is willing of that abundance to give largely,
and instead of seeking to avoid calls on his
purse, he is ever looking out to see where
money may be profitably invested for the
Master's service. If he be poor, there is still
no lagging. The mite that ne is able to con
tribute, is paid in with promptness and with
pleasure. He does not wait to be asked, nor
expose deacons to the unpleasant duty of
asking for his quota time and again. He
knows that such delinquency would make
them feel as unpleasantly as it would-him,
and though pride is not his ruling motive, he
does have too much pride to wait to be pushed
into doing his duty.
The man who gives to his church as large
ly as his means will allow, will, as a general
thing, enjoy his church privileges. He will
feel that it is his church; that he has an in
terest in all that she has and is. He will not
be pulled half-reluctantly into her enterprises,
nor feel like a stranger when he enters within
her walls. His pastor and his brethren will
all be the dearer to him when he feels that he
and they qre all engaged in one common
work, and that he has aided its furtherance as
far as his ability will allow. *
A Most Important Matter.
The statements in an article on “ Sunday
School May-Day Celebrations,” in the In
dex of April 7, are sad and alarming. “ Three
young men killed in difficulties at Sabbath
school celebrations last May,” “a big drunk”
at one picnic, and “ half the boys under the
influence of strong drink" at another, is the
drift of th e Statement, These shameful ex
hibitions were not, however, the results of
“ May-day celebrations.” The picnics were
simply the occasions for the manifestation of
an existing evil.
Another fact will point to the root of this
great evil, and also indicate the remedy for
it. Two fairs were recently held by evan
gelical (!) churches for the ostensible purpose
of obtaining means for extending the king
dom of our Redeemer. At each fair punch
was furnished, and the excellence of the punch
was held up by the newspapers as an induce
ment for young men to attend. These things
show that the difficulty is in a demoralised
public sentiment. And the remedy can be,
under God, only in a correct public sentiment
on this subject. While the Christian public
smiles upon these things, they will flourish.
Only beneath their chilling frown will these
degrading practices cease,
How shall a oorrect public sentiment be
formed on this subject? The pastors of our
churches should preach pointedly and per
sistently on the subject. The deacons should
before
on to perdition. Are the churches doing
their duty ? Deacons and members sell the
liquid fire, and members, young and old, are
being destroyed by it. We ask again : Are
THE CHURCHES DOING THEIR DUTY IN THIS MAT
TER ? A Bible Baptist.
“ Mercer University.”
“ l only ask permission to set the good bro
ther right before the readers of his article,
who may misunderstand him, because they
do not know him as well as I do.” if the
readers of the highly appreciated old Index
only kngw certainly who “ Mercer” is, they
would say, Why, “ W.,” we know the brother
well. Some of us have known him from the
cradle up. He was born in the “ black belt”
of Georgia, and, as you say, “ he is generally
right and, on the location of Mercer, he is
O K, certain. Well, what is the right setting
“ W.” wished to give “ Mercer ?” It is this:
“ that ‘ Mercier’ and * W.’ differ as to loca
tion,” and that “ Mercer” “ would not be un
derstood as impugning the motives of the
respected brethren of the Board of Trustees
“ that ■ Mercer’ krould not have it understood
that ‘ W.’ would compromise the interests of
the University for any local advantage it
might be to Macon.” No : “ Mercer” would
not, for a moment, impugn the motives or
purposes of the Board of Trustees—some of
ikrhom are our most esteemed and pious breth
ren, and a few of them, the spiritual and reli
gious fathers of “ Mercer,” who, in days that
have past, gave him encouragement in reli
gious and secular interests. Nor would
“ Mercer” ‘believe that “ W.” would “ oorn
{iromise the interests of the University for
uc&l advantage to Macon;” but everybody
who knows the beloved “ W.,” knows that he
is a man of “ faith,” both in God and, to a
great extent, in his poor, short-sighted fel
lows, and, therefore, “ W.” is liable to be led
into financial and secular errors. “ W.” is
surrounded by some of the sharpest, shrewd
est, quickest, money making Baptists in his
church, that live in the South, and in these
good brethren “ W.” has the utmost confi-
dence, and their views on practical business
matters, such as the removal of Mercer Uni
versity, would go a long way in controlling
“ W’s” vote; and the probable advantage this
“ University” would be to the trade and real
estate of “ W’s” good brethren, would con
trol them in locating the home of “ Mercer”
at Macon. Money and monied men, and Bap
tist rich men, always have, and will always
in the future, exert a mighty influence over
the church and State. Well, I believe this is
right in matters of financial interest of the
church and our College, as it is the monied
Baptists who have to foot the bills for Bap
tist Colleges. But whilst all this is true, it
will do no harm for the poor Baptists, who
have, generally, all the children to educate,
to indicate their ideas, modestly, as to the
safest place to send their boys for education,
* where their morals can be most easily culti
vated; and the unanimous decision of the
fatherThwill be, not a city—a large commercial
city —for the education of our boys. I. will
not urge my location upon the friends of
“Mercer;” as “W.” says, no “ use to discuss
location until it is decided to remove it.”
But I would urge this: that the question of
removal be settled at the Convention. This
agitation is doing our College great injury.
The boys at college and from dbllege, as well
as Baptists over the country, are thinking
more of removal than they are of patronizing
the College. lam straight out for removal,
immediately, to some suitable place. The
boys at Penfield now are writing home that
they are not satisfied to continue at Penfield.
Since the question of removal has been agi
tated, the boys are in for it, if it is only not to a
place seven miles from Griffin, or any other
depot. Therefore, let the Convention start
about removal. lam not sure that I will be
at Newnan next week, as I am not a delegate
to the Convention; but if I should be, it will
afford me pleasure to see brethren Irwin, But
ler, Burney, Brantly, Warren, Stocks, Calla
way, Vason, Obear, Toon, Tucker and others
put aside all local interest, and the idea of
getting large “ city” contributions, and go to
work, and put the College where it will pro
mote Baptist interests, by educating scores
more than ever before of our boys through
the land, who would attend “ Mercer” if re
moval was settled, and proper efforts were
made. “ Mercer.”
What are You Doing for Jesus?
As I was riding in the cars, two gentlemen
directly in front of me were talking with
each other. They seemed like old friends
meeting after a long separation. One re
counted his attention to business and his suc
cess, adding, “I have quite a family; and
now, with plenty of means, I intend to work
less, and enjoy my Self.”
After a pause, his companion quietly asked,
“And what are you doing for Jesus ?
“ For Jesus! O, I don’t know about that.”
Silence followed, and the thoughtful ex
pression of countenance seemed to tell me
those words had gone to the heart, and they
went, too, to my heart, “ What am I doing
for Jesus?” I am trying to make dear friends
happy, but what' am 1 doing for Him ? I
have resolved to begin anew, and labor for
Him who is my Saviour and
ican Messenger.
Theological Training.
We need on the part our churches such a
wise, generous foresight as shall determine
that the rising ministry be possessed, as far
as in it lies, of the broadest and richest cul
ture. A classical and literary education is
not all that a minister needs. There must be
a complete thedlogical, spiritual and practical
training. We need, and the lack of it is the
bane of our time, such a systematic and thor
ough theological training as shall fortify the
mind against the onsets of a false philosophy,
and amid the fascinations of new and pleas
ant theories sprung from the fields of German
scepticism or English rationalism, can write
over against them all, as the great Arnauld
did upon the fly-leaf of his Malebranche,
<( Fulchra, Nova, Falsa," — Beautiful, Neio,
False.
A Presbyterian’s Testimony.
Rev. H. B. Pratt, of Hillsboro, N. C., in a
recent discussion, made the following state
ment: “The Baptist argument, like the Ro
man sword, is short and easily handled. The
ordinary man, the unlettered African, can use
it as well as the most accomplished scholar
or the most learned divine. Did you believe
before your baptism? No. Then you have
not been baptized. Have you been under
the water? No. Then you are not baptized.
this argumeut and
r the impress
Ills ’ tile
WHOLE NO. 2486.
Honesty in Creeds.
“If any man is conscientiously a Method
ist, or a Congregationalism or a Pelagian, or
an Arminian, he is entitled to our respect so
long as he is a respectable member of sooietvany
and maintains a Christian walk in his o ,ttarß “
denomination, but he has no right to OC&J eon
into a communion in which his peculiar w
proclaimed views are contrary to the' comply
knowledged doctrine and discipline of attention
church, and to profess that he accepts such egs ,
doctrine and order ex animo, as in full accord *" d
with the teachings of Holy Scripture. If
this be not doing the work of the Lord de
ceitfully, we know not what is; and if it be,
then it is written, ‘Cursed is he.’ There is a
moral obliquity in such meanness, which is
beneath criticism.”—. Chris. Intel.
Items.
Sect-Exaltation. —Archbishop Magee, on
one occasion, told his hearers—members of
the Church of England, of course—that they
ought to be thankful that their creed and ritual
separated' them as widely from Geneva as
from Rome; and that the Dissenters had a
“religion without a church,” and the Catho
lics “a church without religion.” The Epis
copalians, of course, had both. They were
all right.
Writing for the Press. —Some refuse to
write because they cannot reach their own
ideal. That is a mistake. The very letters
that disappoint the writers most, very fre
quently are the most interesting to the read
ers of them. I was once asked to write a
letter for a paper. I declined by saying I had
nothing to write about. Well, said the ap
plicant, write about nothing.
The Dance and Devotion. —lt is related
that once upon a time there was something
before the Old School Presbyterian General
Assembly in rebuke of dancing, when a ruling
elder, (I am sorry to say,) who approved that
amusement, pleaded for its allowance, wind
ing up his discourse with urging his own ex
perience, declaring that he had been often as
devotional in a ball room as he ever was at
the communion table. Whereupon another
dryly observed, “ Moderator, I have no doubt
of it.” What does any devout person sup
pose that man knew about devotion 1
The Majority. —Athanasius once said :
“If the world goes against truth, then Atha
nasius goes against the world, for Jehovah
and Athanasius are always a majority.”
Invisible Church. —The question as to
what this may mean has been settled by some
person through the Central Baptist. He
thinks it applies to those members of the
churches, whose names appear on the church
book, but whose persons never appear in the
congregation.
Spanish Proverbs. —He is a rich man who
has God for his friend. He is the best scholar
who has learned to live well. A handful of
mother wit is worth a bushel of learning.
You had better leave your enemy something
when you die, than live to beg of your friends.
Enjoy what little you have while the fool is
looking for more. Saying and doing do notdirre
together. May you have good luck, my son,
and a wit will serve your turn. Gifts break
through stone walls. Go not to your doctor
for cverj-ail, jnor to -your pitoher for overy
thirst. There is no better looking-glass than
an old true friend. A wall betws( 4 ’ , ‘*tw.o
preserves friendship. A creditor always
a better memory than the debtor. ~
Resurrection of Christ. —M. de Rress
ense says: “ The empty tomb of Christ has
been the cradle of the church; and if in this
foundation of her faith the church has been
mistaken, she must needs lay herself down
by the side of the mortal remains, I say, not
of a man, but of a religion.” A prettily
poetic way of saying what Paul long ago
uttered none the less forcibly. Read it in 1
Cor. xv: 17, 18.
Wordsworth’s “Study.”— A writer in
the Quarterly Review remarks that “it was
in the open air that Wordsworth found the
materials for his poems, and it was in the
open air, according to the poet himself, that
nine-tenths of them were shaped. A stran
ger asked permission of the servant at Rydal
to see the study. ‘This,’ said she, as she
showed the room, ‘is my master’s library,
where he keeps his books, but his study is
out of doors.’ ”
Liberality. —The Evangelical Union, com
posed of the pastors the native churches
gathered in ancient Armenia by American
Missionaries, has adopted this resolution:
Resolved, That we exhort our churches to give
one-tenth, or more, of all their earnings for
the Lord’s work—not as bound by the Mo
saic law, but from the duty of Christian lib
erality, and because they, and all they have,
are consecrated to God; and when necessary,
they are to give all their possessions, and
their lives also for His glory.
Tearful Love. —Dr. Thompson says of
Tholuck, that in his early theological lectures
at Halle, “he read his notes weeping that his
students could not see light because they did
rot have love.”
Prayer. —Kneeling means adoration; stand
ing means reverence, attention, waiting; but
what does sitting at one’s prayers mean, save
listlessness, coldness, disrespect ?
A Church. —A writer in the N. Y. Melh*
odist says: “The New Testament ekklesia
is from kaleoo, to call, and ek, out, and is the
term used for our word church —an assembly
called out or called together, and means spe
cifically those persons called out from the
world, and united to Christ inwardly by
faith and outwardly by baptism. Baptism is
the door into the Christian church.
Good Thought. —Elizabeth Fry’s motto,
the first to come to her mind as she awoke in
the morning from her slumber, and the last
as she lay down at night, was, “ What can I
do for the Lord Jesus Christ /”
The First Step. —He that makes but one
step up a stair, though he is not much nearer
to the top of the house, yet has stepped from
the ground, and is delivered from the foulness
and dampness of that. So in the first step of
prayer, M God be merciful to me, a sinner.”
Though a man be not established in heaven,
yet he has stepped from the word, and the
miserable comforts thereof.
Dancing. — l never knew a decidedly pious
Christian—l mean one that lived in the en
joyment of religion—who, at any time, advo
cated or practiced the sinful amusement of
dancing. I have seen many who, in their sin
ful days, passionately loved the sin of dancing,
but after their conversion could not look upon
it with the least degree of allowance. To
my mind the strongest evidence of the sin
fulness of dancing—outside of the Bible,
|which condemns “ all ungodliness and world-
together with all kinds of revel-
with the sash
. slid den Chris
IS? *' ItttahL:"' l