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J'... !!»■!!■■ 11 - ■ = ' / CHRISTIAN INDEX AND SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST. VOL 50—NO. 9. )$3 00 A YEAR.f A. RELIGIOUS AND FAMILY PAPER, PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN ATLANTA. OA AT $3.00 PEE ANNUM, Invariably in Advance. T. .7. TOON, Proprietor. “In Remembrance of Me,*' 1 will remember Thee, dear Christ! How all Thv life on earth was spont for others, How Thou didst cal! the poor Tbv friends and brothers; ADd, thus remembering I shall daily b* In this more like to Thee! I will remember Tbee, dear Christ! How Thy pure spirit wrestled with temptation. And conquered—for our help and consolation j And, thus remembering, I shall h ,pa to be Daily more like to Theel 1 will remember Thee, dear Christ! How Thou didst minister unto the lowly, The vile, the sick, the wretched, the unholy; And, thus remembering, I shall learn to be, Dear Master, more like Thse! I will remember Thee, dear Christ 1 How Thou didst pity human woe and weakness, And for man's hate returned but love and meekness; And, thus remembering all, shall I not bo More end-more like to Thees —«i'. U. Jiruun*. The Atonement. Many and important engagements have prevented me from continuing and conclu ding my remarks on this great and grand theme. Our last article was devoted to a consideration of the theory of expediency, and 1 gave a few quotations from the authors who accept and advocate the expedient view of the Christian atonement. I promised to examine, in their order, all the assumptions which are usually made, and whioh are all embraced in Dr. Wardlaw’s definition, which 1 gavp. - . M « Assumption First. —That the death of Christ preserved unsullied the glory ot Jus tice. Yet Dr. Wardlaw expressly states that the claims of retributive justice—the justice which awards good or evil, according to personal rnerit—*ure left untouched by the atonement. lie emphatically states that this justice admits of no substitution; its claims are met only by the personal sufferings of the tran-gressor. What seems to me strange is, that the claims of this justice can be laid aside without any compensation, yet the claims of public justice cannot be suspended without public satisfaction, involving death. The claims of retributive justice are disre garded by these theorists, because they see that really they could not be met in any way by the sufferings of our Lord ; but as our Lord did suffer, and as it is assumed that He suffered to meet the demands of some kind of justice, it is further assumed that public justice required some kind of satisfaction, ivnd that nothing but the death of the Son of God could supply the satisfaction required. No effort is made to show why retributive justice may, in some cases, be left without satisfaction. ft is assumed—and assumed lightly, that God can, under certain condi tions, withhold the punishment of sin from the sinner, though strict justice demands its infliction. Had these theorists attempted to account for the neglecting of the claims of retributive justice in the divine administra tion, they would hav» discovered that the same reasons woe 1 '! show it to be possible for God to forgive sin, in some cases, not withstanding any justice. Justice is an essential element of moral character, but not the only element; and though nothing can be done by a virtuous being which is contrary to justice, yet may many things be done which are beyond and above justice, because not required by it. Justice may be exceeded, but uot contradict- | ed. Mercy is an attribute of God, as well as of every other virtuous being; but mercy lies altogether beyond justice. The province of mercy begins where that of justice ends. As far as justice —mere there is no room for mercy, but from the point where the path of mere justice ends, the golden path of mercy extends indefinitely. Mercy is not opposed to justice, but is, in everv point, above it, and never descends so low." It is mercy that passes over the claims of retributive justice, and leaves the peni tent sinner unpunished, except as he is pun ished by sorrow for every thought and act of sin; and mercy may, in a similar manner, pass over the claims of public justice. After all, mercy, by a peculiar process of her own, meets, most fully, the claims of every kind of justice, not in the letter, but in the spirit. While it is acknowledged that mercy meets the claims of retributive justice, it they are met at all, the theorists to whom we now refer, assume that those of public justice are met alone by the death of Jesus. Public justice has reference to the well-being of a whole community, {Hare;) and in this case has reference to the happiness of all God’s intelligent creatures? A firm persuasion of the justice of God as well as of His benev olence, is essential to their happiness; and it is supposed that both his benevolence justice are appeased by the death of Christ. Dr. Wardlaw wisely leaves out, however, from his definition, every reference to the benevolence of God. “He gave His Soa,” it is true, to suffering, but that, of itself, is no proof of benevolence; it may be, proof, father, of deficiency of natural affection. A ■uod father might have sacrificed his own surely oouiand not upon his son. On the supposition underlies this theory, that the Son— Jesus Christ—was a different being from God, tho sufferings of the Son are manifest proof of His own benevolence, but certainly prove nothing in the way of God, His Father. Do »he sufferings of Christ demonstrate the jusMce of God as a Governor—the jus tice of the Divine administration 2 Let us look at the crucifixion from a distant point, as it would be looked upon by intelligent beings throughout the creation. How does the matter seem to stand? Rebellion has taken place in a small province of the Em pire. A whole nation is found guilty of treason; but among the rest there is one of whose innocence there is no question. He has obeyed the laws of His country snder every condition of being. He is confessedly unconnected with the revolt. True he ha 9 an affection for the rebels, and is heartily sorry for their lot; still he hfltes their re bellion. He pities them most sincerely, and is anxious that they should have another trial after they have received his teaching on the relation of subjects to rulers. He offers to suffer anything for them, and the government accepts his offer, and speedily hastens his ex ecution. The guilty are free and the inno cent suffers. Ido confess that I see no jus tice here. If the government be so regard less of personal merit that it cares not whether the guilty or innocent endures the pain, I should be suspicious that the next act would be the punishment of the innocent without any personal consent. At any rate, I have no doubt that such a conduct on the part of any human government, would meet with the disapproval of all thoughtful men; and surely that which would be disgraceful in the government of men, cannot be glorious in the government of God. Suffering for others is the highest and tru est virtue. But while, one individual might voluntarily undergo pain and loss for'another, be Wuuld be acting in a region of mortality ikr higher than justice—in the region of mercy ; but a government, as the maintainer of justice, could never agree to the accept ance of the pain of the innocent for the pun ishment of the guilty. Our Lord sacrificed his life in promoting human welfare. His sufferings were voluntarily undertaken, and so far it was all mercy; but had another party —a second person—inflicted pain as the penalty of sin, the w hole transaction would have been lowered into the region of justice, and the conduct of the latter would have been unjust. The first assumption haring failed, let us consider the second— viz., that the death of ' Christ showed ihe perpetuity and continuity of the claims of public justice. This it did not do. The claims of public justice are supposed to be actually set asido. Public justice—justice which secures the happiness of the virtuous community—can never be satisfied unless the criminal himself suffer the evil consequences of his evil deeds. If he be not actually punished, he must under go a painful process of genuine sorrow fo sin, and beome permanently virtuous. But if the criminal is not punished—is not re quired Vo find either surety or substitute, but has these found for him by the Governor, how can the virtuous population be assured that such orimes will not be repeated? The Gov ernor seems to favor the felon, and shield him from justice by providing a substitute. According to this theory, the guilty is free and acquitted, and an innocent person, in no way connected with the crime, is publicly dishonored, and that by the chief magistrate. Crime is not punished, but ad vantage is taken of the generosity and heroism of an innocent being, to secure a public execution—an exe cution, however, which leaves the claims of public justice untouched, and the virtuous subjeots in a state of jeopardy. These two assumptions having failed, it is evident that the others fall to the ground also, as they are built upon these. The claims of justice are disregarded, and the salvation of man, according to the theory of expediency, reflects no honor on the govern ment of God. Os all the theories considered, this now discussed is the least satisfactory, because the least logical. The theory of debt, in its Cal vinistic aspect, as set forth in the writings of Dr. Owen and President Edwards, is the most logical; only it reduces the Divine be nevolence to a minimum; renders the iove of God much less than that of ordinary men, and makes salvation of justice, and not of grace. The expedient theory, moreover, gives 100 prominent a place to fear as a motive to obe dience. One of the principal objects of a public execution, is to benefit the community by terrifying those who might be prone to commit acts of violence, and thus prevent the recurrence of crime. The death of Christ is supposed thus to act upon the intelligent creation. But experience in connection with public executions, has abundantly shown that fear is one of the weakest motives of virtue; and experience has proved, on the other hand, that the mightiest motive to holy deeds is the manifestation of disinterested benevolence. If, therefore, enmity against God, or want of love to Him, be the fountain of which sin is but the stream, it follows that the shortest and safest way of preventing sin, is to de stroy existing hatred. Love alone engenders love, and, therefore, whatever shows the love of God, supplies the strongest rnotire of obe dience. J2gP*The theory of expediency fails to supply great fear as a motive of holy life; for fear arises in proportion to the certainty of punishment, and not its severity. The history of crime is our proof. But does the death of our Lord, according to the theory of expediency, show it probable that, in case of future sin, the sinner shall be surely punished? Not in the least. In the case of human sin, the sinner is not punished, but a make believe of severity is shown by the suffering of an innocent person, and the sinner who escapes is not required to take any pari in the find ing of a substitute, but all things are arranged without his aid. It is not wise to generalize from a single case, but as far as this case goes to prove anything, the natural inference is, that if any other race of beings should sin, the punishment will fall upon some sinless substitute, and not upon the transgressors, and this will be found for them by the king, so that they need not be in trouble. Ido not mention the death of Christ as proving anything in relation to the treatment of fu ture sinuers, but simply say that if it doss prove anything, as is assumed by theorists, it proves the non probability of actual sin ners, and thus encourages rebellion rather than obedience. But if the sinner escapes punishment only on condition that he passes through the painful process of repentance — hates sin and loves holiness so intensely that to sin becomes an impossibility, and to do good a necessity, then is the heinousness of sip and tho sublimity of obedience recog nized in the most forcible manner. Such an acknowledgement of the misery of sin, and the advantages of a holy life by one whose experience embraced both, would be a real discouragement to evil, as well as an incen tive to good. Many other theories of the atonement have been proposed, some of which are prob ably unknown to me. ©a no subject have “ doctors differed ” more than on this. In stead of basking calmly on the summit of Olympus, they have dwelt in a vexed and gusty region, loud as the hall of the winds. Leading divines in Europe, among whom we may mention the Rev. Baldwin Brown, are discarding their cherished theories, and have declared that the whole question ha3 got to be reconsidered. Mr. McLeod Campbell has proposed a species cf representative theory, and Rev. Dr. Bushnell works it out more fully. This theory seems to have been sug gested by an expression of Edwards, who says, “That to satisfy Divine justice there must be either an equivalent punishment , or an equivalent sorrow and repentance .’ Ed wards accepts the equivalent punishment, and believes a punishment to have been inflicted upon Christ equivalent to that deserved by all the elect. Campbell rejects the theory of Edwards, and believes that our Lord, as a man, sorrowed and repented for sin instead of all men, and in virtue of His divine na ture, this sorrow and repentance were suffi ciently intense to satisfy the demands of di vine justice. The chief and fatal objection to this theory is that it is a mere assumption or hypothesis. Our Saviour is never represented as repent ing for men; besides, His own innocence rendered repentance impossible, for repent ance is only possible to the guilty. This theory seems to me scarcely to de serve any notice at all. Like the others, it requires the separation of Christ and God. It moreover requires the genuine repentance of an innocent person, which is impossible, and it assumes that for the repentance of one many others are accepted, which seems to be equally absured. It will beobserved by the thoughtful reader, that I have carefully abstained from propos ing any theory. According to the declara tion made more than once at the beginning of this discussion, I have attempted to set forth the reasons why certain theories of the atonement were unsatisfactory to my own FRANKLIN PRINTING HOUSE, ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 1871. mind, and could not be received until my objections to them were removed, hoping that some one, able to do so, would solve my difficulties and remove my objections. My object has been to show that the various theories which have been proposed have been erroneous, believing that the first step iu at taining to the truth, is to remove all error. My aim has beeif negative and destructive. What I have written, has not been written to support any theory, but to show thoughtful men that the subject of the atonement of Christ requires, on the part of Christian peo ple, reconsideration. All preceding theories must be abandoned, and the whole subject must be studied de novo. It remains for me only to show, by an examination of particu lar texts, that the theories referred to are un scriptural, to complete the demonstration of ihe common errors of theologians, and to clear the ground for a positive and construc tive part of the subject. Galileo. Young Men’s Christian Associations. These Associations, we are free to grant, are doing much good, and we should be sorrv to diminish that good. The books and peri odicals they gather together, the rooms sup plied with these means of mental and moral improvement, where young men may find better and more congenial society, winter evenings, than elsewhere, —above all, the de votions in which the pious unite, are worthy objects, to say nothing of the charities some times dispensed arid the bestowed upon the sick and needy. They are indeed equal often to the churches <-f whose member ship they are made up—the elite of whose membership. The well selected portions of Scripture read, and the hymns sung, with the comments and remarks offered, and the ex hortations made at the meetings, ofl!bn amount to an excellent service. Meeting statedly and frequently, for the most part, they con stitute churches in fact, with only the ordi nances wanting. It will not be surprising— it will be strange, indeed—if they do nut de velope into church organizations. Dr. Whate ly, as we have si-en stated, objected to the Evangelical Aliiance, that it would ultimate, with its creed, its terms of association, and its ignoring of denominatioual distinctions upon occasion, in anew sect. The beginning of that prediction is seen in a church already organized in the city of Paris, which, doubt less, wiil find imitators. The “Church of the Strangers,” in the oity of New York, presided over by Dr. Deems, whose sermons from the pulpit are now being published weekly, and scattered over the land, ala Spurgeon, is an embodiment and expression of about such a church as, we imagine, would be formed by the young men in the Christian Associations, in things in which they could agiee. \Ye are not now objecting to these Associa tions, —we may never do so, —but only set ting, iu some sort, evil over against good and good against evil. We have sometimes had it cross our minds, that perhaps sects would multiply until the differences beerme so in finitesmal that one could scarcely be dis tinguished from another, and that in some period or periods, when vigilance was asleep and charity active, many might again become one, or all be absorbed into the right! In some way, Presbyterianism is coalescing. An offshoot of Episcopal Methodism, in this country, is returning whence ft came. We believe that the minor divisions of Baptists begin to feel lonely. And, undoubtedly, earnest spirits among the “ Disciples” are looking wistfully upon those who are agreed with thejn in the act of baptism and in the exclusive claim of the Bible as a rule of faith and practice. Abroad, the established churches are giving up the best of their late membership to a closer connection with dis senters, and Rome is receiving back to her bosom many of her children, albeit for ages estranged from their parentage. Young Men’s Cnristian Associations will furnish the means of gratifying Christian yearning for brotherhood. It is only to be feared that the spirit of compromise may grow up and find scope for exercise pari passu. A question is worthy of being raised, whether, in these times of so many extra ecclesiastical societies, the energies and time given to them might not more profitably and consistently be devoted to the church, Christ’s own institution? YVe have seen a zeal for them it was difficult to elicit for the church. Meanwhile, the prudence which we cannot command in our intercourse and relations with all Christians,can only be supplied from on high. Thither let us prayerfully turn our eyes. “If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally unto all men .... and it shall be given unto him.” So shall all men find a resource while oscillating between the danger of endorsing error and of unnecessarily estranging them selves from their fellow’ Christians. E. B. Teaoue. The Metropolitan Pulpit. I gave you, in my last, my impressions of one of my Triumvirate. The next is quite a different character. I suppose most of your readers are acquainted with the name of Dr. Johk Hall, ofNew York. Were they Ken tuckiaus, 1 might remind them that he suc ceeded to the pastorate of Dr. N. L. Rice, whom we claim to have been whipped into notoriety by Alexander Campbell. Dr. Hall was called from Dublin, a year or so ago, to take his present charge, the aristocratic Pres byterian church of the land, and at once step ped to the front of the Presbyterian ministry. A somewhat familiarity with him, through the columns of the New York Observer , made me love and admire him, and l felt that I could understand the fact that crowds were now seen tending towards that fashionable place of worship every Sabbath morning and atternoon. The Dr. does not preach at night. Besides the fact that ho is perhaps the most prominent preacher in his denomination, 1 would have deemed it a misfortune not to have heard him, from personal acquaintance with his writings. Going at an early hour, I fouud no difficulty in procuring a seat, though the church was filled. 1 looked around me and fouud no evidence of that wealth and aristocracy 1 expected to find, and 1 com mended the taste of the people in dressing plainly in the sanctuary. How unseemly to flauut our finery in the Lord's house ! What want of taste, as well as piety, to perpetuate uupleasant distinctions of social position, where, equally as in the graveyard, all ought to be on an equality ! I was still further pleased when I found the singing here, too, congregational. Every pew was abundantly supplied with books, and “all the people” praised the Lord. The Dr., a large man, of commanding presence, somewhat marred, I thought, the effect of the sermon by preach ing in a gown. lam of that school who dis believe in all these accessories. Let the preacher stand on a common footing with the lawyer and the politician. The gospel needs no accessions of “ the dim religious light,” the awe-inspiring pulpit, the gown, to make men feel it is a solemn, sacred message. Let it make its own way; and if men do not distinguish is character, let it fail. These ap pliances will do but little to help it into a carnal, unsanctified, hating human heart. The text was Isaiah lxvi: 13. “As one whom his mother conforteth, so will I com fort you.” The text, t£e preacher said, im plied the need of efimfort, the s«urce of comfort and the peculiar manner in which the Lord comforts His people —as one whom his mother cornforteth. The heads were treated instructively, simply,-fcrcibly. The strength and beauty of the sermon were spent upon the last head; and as one only who can ap preciate the love of a mother and the love of Jesus is able to, did the speaker make the one illustrate the ether. I will attempt no analysis, as I was unable at the time to make one. I did not criticise, I enjoyed. I only know how full, rich, and tender the Saviour’s love was made to appear under the light of this illustration as it was cast upon it by the master hand of the orator. It was a good sermon. It was what a sermon ought to be. It left the mind-turned towards the glory of heaven, and tne heart softened by the power of gospel truth. There was one characteristic of this sermon—to me, the ser mon of the day. Standing in refreshing con trast with the one I haff heard and the one I was to hear, and tbalAgjXas the absence of thought apparently the audience. There seemed to be no fe|sire for mere pop ularity—no endeavors,least stopping from his high least deviation from his great duty, toxnitain it. The them was all ; and when, with heart felt earnest* ness, yet classic taste, tjMt was discussed, all was done. But I must drop the curtain and open be fore you the third act, fchich finds me at the church of Rev. T. DeWitt Tallmadcs, D.D., in Brooklyn. 1 had not been prepared, by the notices l had seen in the papers of Dr. Tallmadge, and the in-in tabernacle which had been recently built by his congregation, to appreciate the sensation both he and it — which the most 1 could scarcely say—are at present creating in Gotham and its dormi tory, Brooklyn ; —for Broolyn is no more than the sleeping apartment of New York. The Free Tabernacle, as it is called, is built entirely of iron, and has capacity, it is said, to seat 3,500 people; the aisles, of which there are quite a number, converge towards the pulpit, the pews being arranged in a semi circle around it, and there is a door at the end of each aisle, so that egress is amply pro vided for. Here, too, I went early, and here 1 found a greater crowcKhan during the day. Eagerly the people kept corning in until I be lieve there was not another seat, and 3,500 people were waiting to Lear the gospel. ' I had time to notictftthe pulpit, which is something like the description of Spurgeon’s. The preacher has by his seat at the rear of the pulpit, a table, on v.liich lies his Bible, etc. In front and to one side is a reading stand, where he read his text, chapter, hymns. When he was preaching, there was nothing before him. Immediately behind ,the preacher’s plat form is the immense dfrgan of the Boston jubilee, looking, itself, like a small house,the organist sitting in /rdf * of the pulpit , and thus at a considerable distance from the or gan itself. The first performance was a vol untary on the organ. What it was, sacred or profane, lam unable to tell you. I only know that it wonderfully brought out the tremendous powers as Veil as sweetness of the gigantic The staging after this, was feere, as in the morning. A leader,'vA;o looked as though he might have oorne by express from a Paris tailor—that is, if it had not been for the blockade—occupied the platform during the singing of each song. There was here, too, an abundance of books, and the people rose up and sung, 1 thought, more sweetly than I had ever heard the simplest of melodies; such as, “My days are gliding sweetly by,” etc. There was no noise. The waters of melody , just as it were, lifted themselves up, and wave after wave baptized you in song. Mr. Talmadge, after the preliminary exer cises, rose up and took as his text, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken hearted,to preach deliverance to the captives.” He is a man of the medium size, spare, with light hair and large, prominent, sharp fea tures. He is ugly. His voice seemed to fill the house, and I had no difficulty in distin guishing a single word ; yet it was unpleas ant, flat and hollow, and I could not tell where its power was gained. In the sermon I was sadly disappointed. There was nothing in it worthy of the congregation which had beeu drawn together. The absence of evangelical matter was not compensated by intellectual power, nor was want of thought atoned for by excellence of sentiment. Under the first head he described poor people, the sewing women, the man who had not paid his d^bts; and though he went from side to side of the Fulpit and spoke in a hollow, theatrical tone, could see nothing in what he was saying to justify any superfluity of effort. Under the second head he described different situations of distress. The third was the only one in which he presented any gospel truth, and that was without unction or power, where he drew an analogy betweeu the captive and the sinner. The principal part of his sermon was his exclamations, sometimes three times in succession, each time with more apparent agony, stamping his feet, the words “good news” which he had defined gospel to mean. I could but think what a sad pity it was to have all these starving souls go away unfed. I could but think what a privilege the man was throwing away of preaching the dear gos pel of Jesus to that waiting throng. And yet ninety people had joined his church that morning, and he will preach next Sunday to the largest congregation in the two cities. The advertisement to his new book, “ Crumbs Swept Up,” claims that he is the most popu lar preacher in the world. B. Our Seminary at Greenville. Every Baptist in the South should be in terested in the “ Southern Baptist Theologi cal Seminary,” Greenville, S. 0., and no doubi would be, were they acquainted with its practical, every-day operations. We find that those who are most acquainted with it are most interested in it; while those that are least acquainted with it are least interest ed in it. It will, therefore, be a serviceable act, upon the part of any one, to give our Baptist brethren a more familiar acquaint ance with this “ School of the Prophets.” Greenville is located inthe northwestern part of tho State of South Carolina, among the mountains not far distant from the States of North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia. The scenery surrounding the town is really sub lime; the society can hardly be surpassed in the State ; its healthfulness is proverbial; while its central position makes it convenient to travellers for all parts of the United States. Here stands the “ Southern Baptist Theo logical Seminary,” whose object, in its origi nal establishment, by the cooperation of Southern Baptists, was to furnish such minis terial education as our rising ministry might require. Such is its present object. The rich and the poor, the high and the low, the young and the old, may enjoy its advantages. While it does not rigidly require that any one shall have enjoyed a thorough literary and classical education, it does by no means discourage such a course. As to the ability of the Institution, it has few equals, if any, in the United Slates. It has an able corps, consisting of five Profes sors, to undertake its duties, who stand in the fore-ground of our denomination. Those who are acquainted with them, ask no words of recommendation. A candidate for the min istry will be arduously employed for three or four years in the course—generally four. This is saying much for the ability and thor oughness of a course strictly theological. Each study is separate and independent of every other study. Auy one of those in the English department can be taken up and com pleted in one session. Those of the Hebrew and Greek departments require one or more sessions, according to the student’s previous knowledge of these languages and his aptitude to learn. All the Professors have more or less to do with the languages; but Dr. Broadus is instructor in Greek, (now on a visit to Europe,) Dr. Boyce in Latin, Pi of. Toy in the Oriental languages. Persons wishing to go to Greenville, as students, will find ample accommodation rnade for their comfort in the way of board and lodging. IThq students ygenanftlly board together .a the “ Sefrilnary Hall.” In this way, their board, including the services of one to superintend the domestics, and ser vants to attend to the table and hall, will amount to about $9 a month. For fuel, lights and washing, $2.50 a month. Furni ture of room, from $lO to any amount, fur time spent at Seminary. This furniture can be sold at the close of college life to other students coming in, and thus most of the money be recovered. Some students, mar ried and unmarried, prefer board in private families, at costs from sl2 to S2O per month, —fuel, lights and washing not included. Two examinations during the year—inter mediate and final. They are extremely rigid, and held mainly in writing. Those who stand a satisfactory examination merit the diplo mas they receive. The Seminary puts no one through (unlike a great many literary Colleges) who does not fuily master the course. Diplomas are conferred on students merit ing them. They are given for proficienoy in one or all the schools—in one or all the studies. There are two Societies connected with the Institution. The Missionary Society meets one day in each month. The Professors and such a number of students as prefer to join, (generally a large majority,) meet together. The day is devoted to the interests of mis sions. Speeches, essays, reports, letters, etc., come up, and are disposed of in the regular order. Prayer is made at the opening and close of the meetings. The exercises of this Society are truly interesting, and exert a most salutary influence over the minds of the stu dents in behalf of missions. They are missionaries, and foreign missionaries, too. You would hardly hear such a sentiment drop from their lips, as you hear from some Baptists who call themselves missionaries. “ We will attend to Home Missions first, and then to Foreign Missions,” amounts to drop ping Foreign Missions altogether. There is also a debating Society, organized by the students, called the “ Andrew Fuller Society.” It meets weekly. Its purpose is similar to that of all societies of the same character. It has sho.wn.a decided influence over its members, in the improvement of their style, in the discipline of their minds, in the training of their voioes, and in the gen eral development of their extemporaneous abilities. The Seminary at Greenville is the place for all seeking ministerial education. None more thorough and satisfactory ; none more healthy and convenient; none more pleasant and agreeable. No period of my life has been spent more profitably and pleasantly than while at the Seminary at Greenville. I love the Seminary, its Professors, its students, it 9 society. May the Seminary live a long and prosperous life, and shed light upon every Baptist heart. W. J. Mitchell. Columbus, Qa., Feb. 3th, 1371. Sowing 1 , Are we sowing seeds of kinduessf They shall blossom bright ere long. Are we sowing seeds of Uiseord ? They shall ripen into wrong. Are we sowing seeds of honor? They shall bring forth olden grain. Are we sowing seeds of falsehood? We shall yet leap bitter pain. Whatsoe’er our sowing be, Reaping, we its fruit must see. We ean never be too careful What the seed our hands shall sow; Love from love is sure to ripen, Hate from hate is sure to grow. Seeds of good or ill we scatter Heedlessly along our way; But a glad or grievous fruitage Waits us at the harvest-day. Whatsoe’er our sowing be, Reaping, we its fruit must see. —Ploitghman. Prayer. O mighty prayer, that canst such wonders do, To force both heaven and the A'mighty too! Fools were those giants, then, since if, instead Os heaping hills on hills, as once they did, They had but heaped up prayers on prayers as fast, They might have easily conquered heaven at last. Very Opportune. The article of “R.,” in a recent number of this paper, under the caption “ Shall the Boards and the Convention livet” I consider very opportune. I heartily concur with the writer in all the positions he has taken in that article, and hope our brethren will consider well what he has written in reference to our Boards. I cherish for our Northern brethren the same feelings of Christian fraternity which he has expressed, and, I think, has manifest ed, in his article. I have read, with painful interest, all that has been published, of late years, in the In dex and Baptist, and in the Religious Her aid, of Ya., on the subject of Boards, and have been truly grieved at the disposition manifested by some good and beloved breth ren, who are not more kindly disposed to their Northern brethren than am I, to with draw their support from our Southern Boards, in part, if not wholly. I favor keeping up our Southern organizations, not from sectional considerations, but from a regard to the good of the cause of Christ at large. Northern brethren of note and iufluence, prior to the late war, expressed the opinion, that the sep aration of the brethren North and South, in their missionary operations, though a painful act, and followed by some uapleasaut conse quences, had tended to the furtherance of the cause of Christ. One of them, Rev. D. Benedict, the historian, went further, and ex pressed (or intimated) an opinion, that the time would come when a third organization, for the extreme West, would be deemed ex pedient. It is upon the ground of expediency, and uot from any jealousy of, or unkind feelings towards our Northern brethren, that I am decidedly in favor of keeping up our South ern Boards. And, if it be expedient to do so, I do not see how one true lover of Jesus, be he located at the South or at the North, can entertain a doubt as to the duty of Southern Baptists to unite all their energies and all their means in support of their own mission ary organizations. The main question to be decided, then, is the question of tmpedieney. I would respectfully urge our brethren to eonsider this question coolly, dispassionately, carefully and prayerfully. If it be deemed inexpedient to keep up our Southern organi zations, let us dissolve them and go over in a body—horse, foot and dragoons—to our Northern brethren; but if it be deemed ex pedient to keep them up, let us rally to their support and sustain them with ranks unbro ken by considerations of particular local or personal interests. To avoid prolixity, and the occupying of more space than would be compatible with ihe variety that it is desirable to preserve, I wiil defer, for another time, reporting the considerations which induce me to believe that it is expedient to keep up our present Southern organizations. J. S. B. Franco*American View of the French Situa* . tion. (The following is a translation of a leading editorial in the Oourrier dee Etals Unis, a French paper published in New York, in the interest of the resident French population. It is interesting as an evidence of the state of feeling among those of the French people who ire in condition to say what they think, and -bows the combustible naturo of the material with which King William and Bismarck, and the French Assembly have to deal. The translation is made for the Index and Bap tist, by 11. 11. Tucker, Jr., a student ot Mer >er, and a son of the President.) Is this Peace ? Paris is fallen. But is Fratioe fallen with it 1 Does the capitulation of Paris include the capitulation of France? Yes, the armis tice is the end of the war; this is our opin ion ; we will say, rather, it is our desire. Paris fallen, France falls also; for, as the Herald says, Paris is still France. Paris alone stopped the march of the enemy and limited the invasion; and now, when Paris itself, with all its power and with all its he roism, has succumbed, where can a place of* support be found able to resist the immense weight of the armies who have put their knee on our throat ? But although Paris is fallen, and France is fallen, and the war is ended, is tins peaoe? No. Who'will dare to pretend that France submits to perpetual subjugation I He knows very little of our country who thinks it capa ble of such supreme philosophy, of such sub lime humility. When we say that “the armistice is the end of the war, it is our opin ion and our desire,” we wish to say that if broken by the struggle, cut to pieces by the sword, calcined by fire, we lay down our swords of which the fate of war has left us only the scabbards, ( trongons ,) it is because we wish to retain blood enough in our veins to recover; it is because we wish to preserve breath enough to revive ; wish to take breath and to recover our strength, then to wait for a chance, and when the tune comes, to fly at the throat of our enemies and avenge our selves. That is savage ! Yes. That causes civilization to recede and retards that beauti ful humanitarian theory of the abolition of war! Os course it does. We shall be bar barians ! Well, suppose we are I And the world will point at us! And what if it does? We have done enough for prosperity and peaoe; for the arts and for science; for in dustry and for the advancement of humanity. What does humanity care for us, and what benefit have we derived from the disinterest ed services which we have rendered to the world 1 We have not even derived sterile sympathy from them ; for there is not a nation but laughs at our fall, and they are only isolated voices which utter a few words of pity for us. The thing is done ; there will be a truce, but there will be no durable peace for the generations to come. France, resembling mutilated persons who suffer always with their amputated limbs, will never rest until her broken arms are re united and restored. (Qtte ses troncons ne se soient rapproches et ressoudes.) No matter if Europe does trem ble at our convulsions, <ve have no longer any heart or soul but for ourselves. What is the agitation and anxiety of others to ua ? Enough of chivalry, enough of generosity, enough of sacrifices for others. We are henceforth selfish, and we will think only of our scat tered members, of our children separated from us, of our flesh torn violently from our bleeding body. Everything is not yet de stroyed, God be thanked! But if everything were buried under lava and scoria as the giant Encelude buried under mount Etna, our limbs, palpitating, would yet shake the immense chaos heaped on our heads. Let no, one, then, tiust this peace which is to fol low. Whatever governments may come, kings or people, emperors or tribunes, they will be accepted by France only on condition of espousing her hatred and her vengeance. Cursed let every one be who shall build a kingdom on our ruins. Perhaps it will stand while we are too feeble to resist; but as soon as strength returns all will crumble and go to dust. Let it be said, then, that France is going to have a national assembly which will give it a government, and probably a repub lic. So let it be; but the republic must be forewarned that it must change its device, and instead of the sacred words Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, it must inscribe upon its banner this antithesis of the Em pire : The Republic is War. Scripture Figures—The Sea. The imagery of the Scriptures derived from the sea is abundant, showing the familiarity of the Scripture writers with marine facts and phenomena. Yet 1 think there is nothing, in all the range of the Bible, even hinting at the phenomena of tides. The tides never cease to interest those who are conversant with them. Modern preachers, living on the At lantic or on tide water streams, find many an illustration of spiritual themes in their phe nomena. How beautifully, for example, has Dr. Arnot, in his “ Roots and Fruits of the Christian Life,” wrought out from them an iilustrairipn concerning Christian progress. The tide advanoes hour by hour, although at any one moment in which we gaze on the water there may be no indication of the water’s rising, although there may be every now and then a backward fluctuation. So the progress of the Christian is onward from year to year, despite temporary reactions. The Mediterranean is well nigh tideless, and prob ably the Scripture writers, deriving their ma rine knowledge from this sea, knew nothing concerning tides, and heu cesaid nothing about them.— Cor. Presb. Infant BAPTisM.--Dr. Bledsoe,in the South ern Review, says : “ The Protestant Episco pal Church of this country, as well as the Church of England, dtmms every new-born infant to * God’s wrath and damnation;’ to ‘temporal, spiritual and eternal death;’ to ‘ the lire prepared for the devil and his an gels,’ from which it is delivered only by bap tism.” It was the discovery of this fact, he tells us, that induced his retirement, years ago, from the ministry of that church. Somebody Hit. —A Boston minister says he once preached on “ The Recognition of Friends in the Future,” and was told after services by a hearer that it would be more to the point to preach about the recognition of friends here, as he had been in the church twenty years, and didu'c know any of its member*. !$B 001 YEAR.} WHOLE KO. 2529. To Thee I bring my sins to Thee, The gins I OH not count, That till may cleansed be In Thy onoe opened Fount. I bring them, Saviour, all to Tbcc; The burden is too great fur me. Mv heart to Thee I bring, 'The heau I cannot read, A faithless, wande ing thing, An evil heart indeed. I bring it, Saviour, now to Thee, That tlxed and faithful it may be. To Thee I bring my care. The care I oannot flee; Thou wilt not only share, But take it all for me 0 loving Saviour, now to Thee I bring the load that wearies me, I bring my grief to Thee, The giiel I oanrot tell; No words shall needed be, Thou knowest all so well. I bring the sorr >w aid on me, 0 suffering Saviour, all to Thee. My joys to Thee I bring, T"e jnvs thy love has given, That each may be a wing To lift me nearer heaven. I bring them. Saviour, all to Thee, Who hast procured them all for ms. Mv life I bring to Thee, T would not be my own; 0 Saviour, let me be Thine ever. Thine alone! My heart, my life, my all I bring To Thee, my Saviour, and my King, —Sunday Uagatint. Maxims for the Gospel Minister. 1. Prepare—with Christ’s aid in view. Matthew xxi: 22; xxviii: 20. Proverbs xvi ; 1. 2. Enter tiiu Pulpit—with Christ’s hi. ample in view. Hebrews iii; 1,2. I Peter i: 15. S. Preach—with Christ’s honor in view. ICorin. x: 81. Colossians iii: 17,23 4. Leave off —with Christ’s power in view. Matthew xxviii; 18. II Corinthians iv ; 7. J tide 25. 5. Await Results —with Christ’s prom ises in view. James v: 7. Isaiah I: 4. Jeremiah i; 19. Matthew xxiv: 35. Isaiah liv: 10. 0. Dispel Dejection. —w : th Christ’s re wards in view. Proverbs xxix : 23. I Sam uel ii: 30. Romans il; 7, 10. Johnxii: 20.— Chr. Obs. 1. Be thoroughly resolved that you will be satisfied with the man and his ministry, even if you should discover some things which you think might be improved. 2. Give him the confidence and affection of your heart. 3. Always welcome him cordially to your dwell ing, and bestow upon him those respectful attentions which are pleasant to every man, and have much to do with the comfort of a minister. When you car. do so with propriety and without foolish flattery, let him know from your own lips that his ministry is ac ceptable to you. 5. Never in his presence compare his ministry with that of another man, so as to convey to his mind the impres sion that you mean to disparage him. 6. Be ready at all times to cooperate with him in what he may propose for the good of the church. 7. Never, except for the weightiest reasons, take ground against him. Spear. The Wrong Word, and the Right. A few months since, 1 was conversing with one of the elders of our church, and expressed surprise that a certain wealthy family in our congregation should contribute so little to spread abroad the glorious gospel. He im mediately remarked to me, “They are a re rnarKably prudent family, sir.” 1 smiled and said, “ No, sir, prudence is not the word, stin giness is tae term.” And so, J believe that ministers and elders—the sessions of our churches—are, in part, responsible for the short-coming of many of the members of our church. We are afraid to call things by their right names, and do not press home the duty of giving as we should —of giving according as the Lord has prospered us.— Chris Obs. Unity (?) —The Pall Mall Ganette gives the following statement of the differences be tween the three Church parties in the Angli can Church: ‘‘Between the Broad Church man, who detests priestcraft, who cares little for ecclesiastical usages as such, and believes that God’s Church is not confined to a par ticular organization, and the extreme Ritual ist, who finis a brother in the blindest priest of Rome, and a heretic in the most enlight ened of Protestant dissenters, there Can be little sympathy or communion. The Evan gelical Churchman disavows both—the one for the superstition which acoepts as Catholio verities the most offensive of Romish dog mas; the other for the rationalism which cedes more to reason than 10 faith, and does not fear to examine into and to question the most popular articles of Protestant theolo gy-’ Tkansubstantiation. —ReV. J. M. Rod well, a London Episcopal clergyman, Roman izes in this fashion, on John vi: 53: “ i’ho body of which the Lord spoke, which was given to eat, was the same body which was given to die; that body which was given to die was the same body which was now given to be eaten. Exactly as the Jews not only slew the Paschal Lamb, but ate it, so Jesus Christ, who was the true Paschal Lamb, was eaten in the Holy Eucharist, which was mere ly an extension of the Incarnation.” Clear Proof of Folly. —The house of Rev. George C. Thrasher, at Buchanan, Va., is beset or haunted by “spirits” or “some other meu,” and he, she, it, or they, do all sorts of funny things. Mr. Thrasher says that he has abandoned all hope of solving the mystery, but that he is satisfied by one cir cumstance that the visitor is a fool. “He said .one night ho wanted money,” and no one but a fool—be he man or dem n—would come to the house of a Baptist proaoher for that article.” Woman’s Faithfulness. —lt has been beau tifully and truly said, that if Christianity were compelled to flee from the man?ions of the great, the academies of philosophers, the lulls of legislators, the throng of busy men, we should find her last retreat with woman at the fireside. Her last audience would be the children gathered around the mother’s knee; the last sacrifice, the secret prayer, escaping in silence from her lips, and heard only at the throne of God. What the Romanists Havb Donb. —In his “ Rise of the Dutch Republic.” Motley says that a poor wretch, accused of having ridiculed the Catholio sacraments, had his tongue torn out before being beheaded, and a cobbler, named Blaise Bouzet, was hanged for having eaten meat soup upon Friday l Contempt. —Somebody has said “ there is nothing contemptible in this world but con tempt.” And a great English poet has put into the mouth of one who drank deep of all worldly wisdom, as the culmination of earth ly experience, the words, “I have unlearned contempt.” Montana.-— Rev. John Cady Is the otljr Baptist preaoner in Montana. Out of a pop uiation of twenty thousand, no church ot the denomination has been orgauieed- __ A New Pastor.