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SOUTH-WESTERN BAPTIST, ' ' \ THECHRISTIAN HERALD, - • °* Alabama ~ of Tennessee. ESTABLISHED I 811. THE CHRISTIAN INDEX BY JAS. T. HARRISON & CO. Subscription, per year 82-60 Table of Contents. First Page—Alabama Department: The Lord’ll Supper—No. IL ; Innocence and Righteousness; Ordination ; Rev. S. A. Goodwin ; Tne Religious Press. Second Page Correspondence : Parting Words to the Baptists of Georgia—S Land rum; Rev. W. B. Bennett; Popery; O.di nation, and Thoughts on Missions ; Pen Dropping; Ordination; Huxley on the Bible; Old Truths; Missionary Departs ment. Third Page—Children’s Corner: Bible Ex plorations; The Sunday school—for 1882 —All in the Gospel of Mark. Fourth Page-Editorials: Prayiifc in Public; A Sermon Spoiled ; Glimpses and Hints ; Georgia Baptist N jws. Fifth Page—Secular Editorials: Our Wealth in Wood; Literary Notes and Comments ; A Memorable Day ; Georgia News. Sixth Page—The Household : The Gathering Place poetry ; Watch Your Words— poetry. Seventh Page—Farmers’ Index : The Expo sition ; Nitrogen as Manure; Useless Ani mals ; Rye as a Winter Grass ; Improve ment of Poor Land. Eighth Page—F.orida Department: Alachua . i Baptist Association ; The Florida, Atlantic k. \ and Gulf Ship Canal, etc. F Alabama Department. UY SAMUEL HENDERSON. THE LORD'S SUPPER.—No. 11. All men must see that the inspired Apostles of our Lord would more likely understand the laws of his kingdom than those who live nearly two thous and years after His ascension. May we not claim that their construction of these laws, as detailed in the “ Acts of the Apostles,” and in their epistolary correspondence, possesses all the au thority of inspiration? No man can doubt this, who believes the New Tes tament belongs to the sacred canon Acting under this conviction, we have but to open the New Testameni where they first commenced to carry out the . great commission, “Go ye into all the k world and preach the gospel to every ■ creature,” etc. The second chapter of W Acts contains this first account; on f which let us premise that it was but “ about ten days after their last inter view with the Lord —that they had spent those ten days “ in prayer and sup plication” —and that on the day of Pen ticost, “ they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.” And let us premise fur ther, that the application of the laws of the kingdom of Christ to the occasion was to be the precedent for all coming time. According to our first principle, to-wit: That New Testament example is equivalent to New Testament com mand, it gives to the ecclesiastical order of the day of Pentecost, all the authori ty of divine law. The first thing done by the Apostles on the descent of the Spirit was, to preach. Peter, acting for the others, delivered the first gospel sermon after the ascension. That gospel came with power, for the people were “ cut to the heart,” and cried out, “ men and breth ren what shall we do?” “Repent,” rings out in commanding tones from inspir ed lips. “Be baptized every one of you in the name of the Lord Jesus, for the remission of sins,” follows in quick suc cession. Then follows the divine re cord, in which the commission is car ried ou in letter and spirit:—“Then they that gladly received his word were baptized; and the same day there were added to them about three thousand souls. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellow ship, and in breaking of bread and in prayer,” etc. Acts II: 37—42. To con dense all into a sentence, the apostles preached the gospel; the people repent ed and believed; on the goodly confes sion, they were baptized; alter they were baptized and added to the church, they “ continued stedfastly in ... . breaking bread,” etc. Who then may undertake to annul this divinely con stituted order of things ? Who will dare invert a single dnty in this chain of obligations ? As Baptists, we claim to stand upon impregnable ground when we say that believing must pre cede baptism, and that those who in vert this order by making the commis sion to read, practically at least, “ He that is baptized in infnncy, and be lieves in his maturity, shall be saved,” renders the ordinance null and void, even though it is performed by immer sion. The most solemn sincerity never can convert an error into truth. A duty performed in obedience to that er ror never can be accepted as the equiv alent of Christian obedience. This is just what we say of those who would wrench the Lord’s Supper from the po sition assigned it in the New Testa ment. Christ and his apostles placed it where it is, there to remain “ till He comes.” Fidelity to Him demands that we shall “ keep the ordinances as they were delivered to us.” No considera tions of mere expediency—no appeals to our Christian charity—no ban of popu lar odium—should have the weight of a straw in swerving us from that line of duty prescribed by our glorified Re deemer. We should and must be proof alike against the smiles of mistaken friends and the fires of persecution. What adversity could not extort from us in the ages past, we must hold sa cred in our days of prosperity. The time has been when our ancient breth ren, remanded to the dens and caves of the earth, if they had offered themselves as communicants at the tables of their persecutors, would have been driv en from the very precincts of their churches like so many wild beasts; and shall we sacrifice this integrity to the Master, tested fn the fiery furnace, to embraces of real or simulated friend ships ? So the whole matter resolves itself into this—shall fidelity to Christ, or the demands even of good men, take precedence ? Shall we sacrifice prin ciple to policy ? Shall truth and ex pediency exchange places ? Let these questions be seriously pondered by all. But, say our Pedobaptist friends, we have been baptized, and are therefore entitled to sacramental communion at ycur hands ? This places the whole question where it belongs; that is, it is close baptism, and not “ close commu nion,” that separates us from others, and we propose in our next to glance at this aspect of the subject. Accord ing to the almost universally accepted principle, that baptism mnst precede communion at the Lord’s table, the whole thing, so far as this part of the argument is concerned, hinges upon “ what is baptism ?” It will take but little space to answer this question, with no book but the New Testament as onr guide. INNOCENCE AND RIGHTEOUS NESS. We generally understand innocence to mean, not knowing evil, whereas we suppose righteousness to consist in knowing both good and evil, with a disposition to choose the good. Inno cence is, therefore, a purely negative virtue, while righteousness is a positive forth-putting of our moral convic tions. Innocence may exist in refer ence to any given crime, without any praiseworthiness, since not to know of the existence of such a crime implies nothing praiseworthy in not commit ting it. One of the great lawgivers of Greece was once asked why he did not make a law against parricide, (the killing of one’s parents,) and he re plied that no such crime was known to his countrymen, and that the way to introduce a crime was to make a law against it. It is plain, therefore, that righteousness is more than inno cence, as a positive virtue is more than a merely negative virtue. If we sup pose that a new-born babe comes into the world perfectly innocent, we can not attach to its innocence the same moral value, so to express it, that we would twenty or thirty years hence, as we saw that same child grown up to manhood, contending successfully with its own corruptions, and the cor ruptions that are in the world, thus ex emplifying every moral excellence. We always measure the value of moral qualities by the obstacles they over come. The stronger a man’s depraved desires, yet if his conscience is stronger, we give him the more credit when he overcomes them. In.a New Testament sense, we often use innocence and righteousness, or justification, as synonymous terms. In one respect this is true. Justification, considered as declaring one innocent, is preceded by pardon. It is the ac ceptance of what Christ Las done and suffered for us, instead of what the law of God demands of us. So that while we are,as the phrase is,de facto, sinners, we are, de jure, justified. That is, the work of Christ for us is accepted by the Great Lawgiver as done by us, so soon as we believe in His Son. We are thenceforth treated as if we had con formed to every jot and tittle of the law, that is, as if we were innocent. ATLANTA, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1881. We are still in fact sinners, but we are inlaw pardoned and justified, Christ having cancelled the sentence against us. But then, in considering those quali ties as moral virtues only, not as Chris tian graces, the distinction is obvious. The distinction between the standard by which character is measured by this world and the standard by which God measures candidates for heaven is al together different. Nothing short of perfection can meet the demands of God’s standard. This perfection is only found in Christ. Hence, Paul labored to “present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” What we mean to say is, that all the boasted innocence of the world, combined with the best righteousness it can attain, can never rise higher than the emotions that in spire them. Those virtues only are acceptable to God which are rooted and grounded in Christ. Those virtues may grow, as all other virtues grow. “We learn to speak by speaking; to run by running; to study by studying; just so we learn to love God by loving.” This habit exercises our minds to dis cern good and evil. At the call of the Baptist church in Talladega, a presbytery composed of J. C. Wright, John B, Mynatt, E. T. Smyth, S. Henderson, and the pastor, J. J. D. Renfroe, met on the fourth Lord’s day in November, for the purpose of ordaining our young breth ren McGaha and Browning, both of whom being members of the Talladega Baptist Church. The ordination ser mon was preached at 11 o’clock by S. Henderson, from 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study.” J. B. Mynatt was requested to act as secretary. Dr. Renfroe, the pastor, conducted the examination, which was quitq rigid, especially on the inspiration of the Scriptures and some of the more prominent points of our faith and practice; the ordaining prayer was made by E. T. Smyth, fol lowed by the laying on of hands ; the charge was delivered by J. C. Wright, terse, practical and comprehensive; presentation of the Bible, with appro priate remarks by the pastor, Dr. Ren froe, there having been two splendidly bound, large family Bibles provided for the occasion by the generosity of friends; the right hand of fellowship concluded the service. A noteworthy act in the ordination service was, that the pastor had the credentials of those brethren written out ready for the signa tures of the presbytery, and they were signed in the presence of the audience and delivered to the candidates at the conclusion of the charge by Brother Wright; the benediction was pro nounced by Bro. McGaha. We have all great hope that these brethren will make able ministers of the New Testament. Bro. McGaha graduated at Howard college at the last commencement, standing among the highest for scholarship and deport ment. Bro. Browning had taken a pretty extensive course at the Oxford College, and enters the ministry under fine auspices. So that they each have a substantial foundation on which to begin, upd by study and industry, will answer the expectation of their friends and be blessings to the world. Bro. McGaha has already been called to Jacksonville and Mt. Zion, in Calhoun county where an inviting field awaits him. We also understand that Bro. Browning has been, or is likely to be called to the church at Childersburg, a place which if he accepts it, will be creditable to him to fill. To the affec tions and confidence of ou rbrethren and to the good will of all, we commend those young minsters. May the “good wili of Him that dwelt in the Bush,’ ever attend them. REV. S. A. GOODWIN, D. d''. The following resolutions were adop ted by the Union Springs Baptist church, on accepting the resignation of their pastor, Dr. 8. A. Goodwin : Your committee present the follow ing : Dr. S. A. Goodwin having been our pastor for about two years, we feel that we have a right to say that we know him. In the intimate relation which we have sustained to him, we have had much to do with him, and we have closely studied his motives and actions, and have weighed well his actions. In the light of faithful inspection on our part, we have found him faithful and honest as a citizen, just and generous as a friend, and orderly and upright as a Christian. His labors of love among us have been abundant; his counsels have been faithful and wise; his in structions, as to Christian relationship, and its duties to man and God, have been clear and full, and his thoughts, manner and power in the pulpit, he may be said to be grandly inimitable, chaste in his language, elegant in his style; majestic in his voice,and Christ like in his spirit, when expounding the Master’s will to man. We do not feel that we speak the language of fulsome praise when we accord to him grandeur of peerless solitude. Add to these statements the fact that his wife, sister M. H. Goodwin, is a highly cultivated lady, of remarkable gentleness of na ture, and of a truly lowly Christian character—at once the embodiment and exponent of grace and goodness. And we may well be esteemed as speak ing the language of honesty and truth in the following resolutions: 1. That we deeply deplore the ne cessity that severed our relationship to Dr. Goodwin as pastor, and in strong and abiding confidence and love, we give him up with sad hearts. 2. That we warmly commend him to the church and community at Dan ville, Virginia, and to the world, as an able and faithful minister of the Gospel of Christ —making plain and powerful the doctrines of grace in his preaching and of godliness in his life. Exercising the feeling of gratitude for the comforts and spiritual strength he has imparted to us, as our guide, we lift our voice to Heaven in prayer for his richest bless ings upon him and his charge in all future ages. 3. That copies of this report be for warded to the Alabama Baptist, The Christian Index and the Religious Herald, requesting publication, and that the same be tendered to Dr. Good win. John 0. Hixson, Ch’n Com. The Religious Press. Let us not forget that our alms to the poor are only half rendered when they are bestowed simply upon the body. The souls of the poor and sick also need our charity.— Christian Advocate. Very good,but just reverse the propo sition and it is equally true. Remem ber that your benefactions to the poor are only half rendered when they are bestowed simply on the soul. “If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled, notwithstanding ye give them not those things which be needful for the body, what doth it profit?” A long sermon and a short one both combined in one, is the following one from Toplady; just see how short it is and yet how long! Holiness is not the way to Christ, but Christ is the way to holiness. And here is a pretty scrap from the Morning Star: The truth.—Stick to the truth under all circumstances; but do not adhere to it in such away as to make it odious or offensive. When you presentit, do so in as attractive a form and pleasing a man ner as possible. It is a picture —a beau tiful picture like apples of gold in a frame-work of silver and precious stones. Who can behold its beauty and not be enamoured of it ? God did not design to make his truth hideous or repulsive,and we should not. It is based on the greatest love, human sympathy, self abnegation and sacrifice, well adapted to wend its way to the human heart,and we should help it and not hinder it. We have some brethren who preach the truth, but they do it in such away as to make it both odious and offen sive. The New York Methodist, in its no tice of a Presbyterian tract, “How was Jesus Baptized?” says: Its purpose is to show that the New Testament gives no certain proof that our Lord’s baptism was by immersion. The whole matter seems to be, to the last degree, trivial and without import ance. To answer that question by “Don’t know, and don’t care,” might seem irreverent; it certainly would not be impertinent. The form of such a ser vice is not its substance; and as our Lord ate the last Passover without the pre scribed forms, so, were it certainly de termined what was the form of baptism in the earliest times, that would not bind the church of to-day to that form. Os course, when men feel (1) that they are able to choose for themselves a better way than Christ chose for himself, or (2) that they are at liberty to reject the way Christ chose for him self and adopt for themselves a worse way, the question becomes “to the last degree trivial.” But if “trivial to the last degree,” why not give the whole matter up, and have no way about it tt all? Strange that Christ should command what is “without import ance!” Strange that men’ should see no importance in ascertaining what Christ’s commandment on any subject really was! A contributor to the Watchman has the following sensible words, on a sub ject which has been made the occasion of much thought, of late: What is inspiration ? I understand it to be such an influence that those in spired were preserved from error in what they spoke or wrote. It they were • writing history, then from the mass of matter before them, they were able to select the true from the false, and that which was most important from that which was of less consequence, or not so pertinent to the circumstancesand occa sion of their writing. Were they stating facts that came within their knowledge, then inspiration preserved them from mistakes, and also aided them in select ing matters for record. Were they speaking or writing of things nnknown to men, then they spoke or wrote as the Holy Spirit suggested directly to them, an 1 in these cases, things which they themselves might or might not under stand when thus made known to them. Some of our young people will yield to the short-lived amusements of Christmas times and in a day commit indiscretions for which a year’s sorrow and a lifetime of suffeiing will not atone. We beg them to do nothing which will yield them less next year than it yields now. We echo and would like to emphasize this word in season from the Central Baptist. Christmas times, in some localities and some circles, are Satan’s great annual Feast of Ingathering; many of the ordinary restraints upon personal indulgences are removed for a season, and by the snare of broader license in questionable amusements, souls are “taken captive by him at his will.” We have known more than one person in our day, to whom an hour of “merry Christmas” has brought clouds that darkened a character and wounds that embittered a life. The Independent is informed that the Rev. Mr. Simpson, who so recently re nounced infant baptism and resigned his ministry in the Presbyterian church, on the 13. n ult., it being communion Sun day in the church to which he had been ministering, and the people desiring him to administer the ordinance, was obliged to decline on account of the violent ob jections of some members of the presby tery. Another minister was sent for the purpose. That is a trifle narrower than Baptist “close-communion,” or than the Episcopalian doctrine as to “orders.” It is admitted in the highest quarters that Bishop Cummins, though he renounced his office in the Episcopal Church, was still a priest and a bishop, and capable of conferring valid orders. But Mr. Simpson’s resignation of the'ministry of the Presbyterian church seems to be accounted a demission of the Christian ministry; and men who are anxious to remove all barriers to communion with Baptists refuse a minister, whose only offence is that he agrees with the Bap tists touching infant baptism, the privi lege of breaking bread for Presbyterians. Watchman. If our Presbyterian brethren wince under this criticism, they may accept it as, at least, an illustration of the ease with which plausible charges of narrowness and bigotry can be gotten up. Nor would it be amiss for them to question whether something of their own work in that line of things against Baptists, may not rank with the fair minded as what the Watchman has said ranks with themselves. Rev. W. A. Jarrell, of Weatherford, claims to have discovered “within the last year,” that there “are not a few Baptist preachers, evangelists, and pas tors and churches, that receive persons for baptism, when they know they make no profession of conversion.’’ Elder Jar rell denounces such ministers as thieves and robbers, who would steal the purity of the churches to make a name for themselves, and warns the churches. So writes a correspondent of the Texas Baptist Herald, who questions the truth of this grave charge. We hope that the charge will prove to be groundless: things are in a sufficiently bad state among us, even on the sup position that there is nothing worse at work than a want of sufficient care and spiritual insight and dispassionate judgment, in the reception of mem bers. We would grieve to think that, in addition, the divine law of a regenerate membership is knowingly and wickedly trampled down for personal ends. A correspondent of the Presbyterian sharply rebukes those who are con stantly asking “What can the church do to make her services more attract ive?” We quote: Does not the canon of attractiveness demand that all the hard bones of hard uncompromising doctrinal truth shall be VOL. 59.— NO. 49. removed, and leave the soft, pulpy mass of mere sentiment and poetical fervor? Have poetry!—that pleases the senti ment. Have rhetoric !—that excites the emotion. Have well-rounded and high sounding words!—they tickle the ear. Have propriety and grace! in manner and gesture!—these delight the eye Preach against otherchurches or “sects’’ you may—for that, by indirection, flat ters your own congregation. Aisail the sins of the ancients and the Pharisees, for the lightning that strikes on the other age or continent produces no alarm here. A writer in the Lutheran Standard says: The Scriptures show that in our natu ral condition we are not fit for God’s kingdom; for they declare that flesh and blood slnll not inherit the kingdom of God. Now, God’s appointed way. in which we are to be b >rn again and tuns fitted for His kingdom, is baptism. He says also: That children ought to be baptized is evident from the fact that they are in like condemnation with adults, being born of the flesh and therefore unfit for God’s kingdom. It is even more im portant for them than for adults,because it is the only means of grace applicable to them, whereas adults have also the audible Word by which they may be brought to faith. Can we innocently withhold our pro test against Pedobaptism, while doc trines so subversive of Christianity are avowed as its corner-stone? If is evident, from even a brief study of the statistics of the Presbyterian Church as officially given out by the General Assembly, that infant baptism is not practiced in that denomination to a sufficiently great extent to cause much discomfort, even to those who most earnestly disapprove of it. A glance at the record will astonish many even of the most pronounced Presbyterians. In the Rev. Dr. Hall’s magnificent church, in Fifth avenue, with its membership of 1,730, there were 21 babes baptized last year. In Dr. Crosby’s, which numbers 1,384 members, there were only 17. Dr. Bevan’s Brick Church, has 1,100 mem bers, but only 23 infants to dedicate in baptism. In Dr. Robinson’s Memorial Church 570 members could show only 8 baptized infants. Across the East River the showing is no better. Talmage has the largest membership in the denomina tion,numbering 2,471; yet among all this army there were only 49 infants bap tized in the Tabernacle. Dr. Cuyler baptized 31 infants in a membership of 1,761. Dr. Ludlow, with 378 members, reports 6 infant baptisms. Dr. Van Dyke, with 571, and brother Crosby, with 336, report no infants baptized. The church at Sag Harbor, which is one of the most prosperous on Long Island outside of Brooklyn and has 357 mem bers, has had no infants to baptize. The First church at Buffalo, the Bound Brook (N. J.) church and the First at Princeton, N. J., are similarily lacking in infantile additions to the flock. So with the West Arch street, in Philadel phia, with a membership of 309, and a building which cost $250,000. All this is a strange comment on the zeal of that people for one of their nominally cherished ordinances. These statements from the New York Sun would surprise us, if we did not recognize the power of scriptural truth to make its way among an in telligent Christian people, even where creed-barriers and custom-barriers seek to keep it out. Years ago, Rev. Flavel S. Mimes called Presbyterians, “Semi- Baptists ;” and there seems to be some reason for the name. The New York Methodist has a word to say in behalf of its co-religionists at the South, who have been upbraided for not having “established so much as one school for the colored race.” We quote a few sentences, which Northern Baptists ought to recognize as true of their own Southern brethren: In point of fact, Southern white Methodists contribute much more than Northern Methodists to the education of colored people. It is true that they do this mainly for public schools, and it is not altogether unfair to claim that in snpporting such schools they only do what N orthern Methodists do at home. There is. however, this great difference: the Southern public education for blacks is new and mostly paid for by whites. There is also the fact that no Northern community has so vast a mass of poor to provide with public education. “Science is the foundation upon which the church of the future must and will rest.” So says one M. Cora Bland a female M. D. If this be the case, the founda tion will be rather shaky. We are happy in the assurance that the church past, present and to come, is founded on Jesus Christ, qs its chief corner stone. "Oa Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sanl.” The 58,218 white Baptists of South Carolina contributed last year for relig ious purposes $124,595 —an average of $2.14 1-5 cents per member,