Newspaper Page Text
Many good and strong things were said in be
half of
MISSIONS
During the Session of the
Sonthern Baptist Convention.
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It is not always easy to distinguish
the spirit of genuine fraternity. Much
that passes as “liberal,” “broad,”
“fraternal,” is, we suspect, really in
difference.
Rev. Jefferson Faulkner, now in
his 83rd year, lately at Six Mile and
Carbin Hill churches, in Alabama,
preached twelve sermons in seven
days.
According to the London Specta.
tor the finest thing written in memo
ry of Tennyson is a poem by Mr.
William Watson, published in the
Illustrated London News.
Dr. J. L. M. Curry has been again
re-elected General Agent of the
Peabody fund, to distribute it to the
Normal School in Nashville, Tenn.,
and in other Southern States, accord
ng to their needs. It is a great and
good work.
It should never beforgotten that
while it is our duty to “contend earn
estly for the faith delivered once for
all to the saints,” our contention
must be in the spirit of that faith-
The temper of the gospel must be
preserved in commending its truth,
if we would “win the souls of men.”
The General Convention of the
Episcopal Church, sitting as a Board
of Missions, took a long step in a
right direction in instructing its man
agers that in the future no subsidies
from the Treasury of the United
States in aid of Indian education
are to be sought for or accepted.—
Hatchman.
Miss Anna B. Hartwell, daughter
of Rev. J. B. Hartwell, of San Fran
cisco, has been appointed by the
Foreign Mission Board of the South
ern Baptist Convention as a mission
ary to Canton, China. She expects
to sail November 26th, on the steam
er City of Ptkin, the same vessel on
which she returned to this country in
November, 1877.
Rev. M. R. Deming, who for tho
last four years has been efficiently
identified with the church at Bow
doin Square, and much longer with
aggressive Christian work in Boston*
has been unanimously elected sec
retary of the New York Baptist City
Missionary Society, and has accept
ed the appointment, to enter upon
labor in this new field in Novem
ber.
The only consolation the dying
Renan could offer his sorrowing wife
was thM : “We undergo the laws of
that nature whereof we are a mani
festation. We perish, we disappear!
but heaven and earth remain, and
the march of time goes on forever.”
How different from, “I know whom
J have believed, and am persuaded
that he is able to keep that which I
have committed unto him against that
day I”
Mr. A. P. Clarkson, 11. R. S., of
Wimbledon, England, furnishes the
Pall Mall Gazette with statistics of
the proved crimes of the clergy of
the Church of England from Oct.
Ist, 1891 to Oct. 10th, 1892. The
crimes were as follows : Breach of
promise, 14.; cruelty to animals, 18 ;
bankrupts, 254; elopements, 17; sui
cide, 12; drunkenness, 121 ; assaults,
109; other charges, 84. Let it be
borne in mind that these crimes
were committed by preachers of the
established church, and the need for
disestablishment will be the more
apparent. There cennot be a state
church without a low state of piety.
“Like people, like priest.”—Western
Recorder.
(ttetian 3niicr.
Our English brethren set out to
raise a hundred thousand pounds
sterling as their centenary offering
for missions, to celebrate the one
hundredth anniversary of the forma
tion of the English Baptist Mission
ary Society. Our latest advices are
that nine-tenths of this sum has al
ready been raised. We beg every
Baptist who reads this statement to
send the very largest contribution
he possibly can to our two mission
boards.
It has long been a subject of re
mark that our Northen brethren mix
religion and politics in away which
seems strange to us in this latitude.
Not a few preachers and editors of
religious journals have boldly entered
the political arena. A New York
pastor has recently published an as
tonishing plea for this sort of thing
in which he says “a preacher will not
be degrading the dignity of his pul
pit by taking advantage of a Presi
dential election campaign for the an
nouncement of great moral princi
ples which bear upon political duties.
* * * If we put the spirit of
Christ rightly into political discussion
it will cease to beseeularand become
truly sacred teaching.” As if this
were not enough, he closes his some
what heated argument with these
words : “Rightly understood, the bal
lot box, iu its place and time, is as
sacred to the devout Christian as the
waters of holy baptism or the table
of wholy communion in their time
and place. No man may claim the
honors and enjoy the blessings of a
fervent Christian except he perform
the duties and meet the obligation of
a patriotic citizen.” As the political
affiliations of the author of those
remarkable utterances are perfectly
well known to tho people for whom
they were written it is difficult to
avoid the suspicion that this pastor
was purposely writing a shrewd cam
paign document. We have no words
to express our utter repugnance for
such degradation of sacred things.
We have watched with interest to
see what the Episcopal convention
in Baltimore would have to say on
the subject of Christian unity. Dr.
Huntington, of New York, voiced
probably the most liberal sentiment
of the body in a ringing speech in
favor of it. He is reported to have
said: “We say to all other com
munions that we are willing to go
out and meet them half way, more
than half way, if necessary,
and let them worship as they
will, if they will only confess to
agreement in the faith and historic
ministry of the church.” The “his
toric ministry of the church” is, we
suppose, another name for apostolic
succession, It is very odd that so
mnch stress should be laid upon a
historic ministry which had its be
ginning in the reign of Henry
VIII.
And as to the question of unity
it will be time enough for the Bap
tists to consider the overtures of our
Episcopal brethren when all the
pedo-Baptists sects have united with
them. If, however, we have cor
rectly interpreted the meaning of
“historic ministry,” we fear the day
of unity is afar off. Why not try to
unite all Christian people in “the
faith and fellowship of the gospel,”
instead of “the faith and historic
ministry of the (Episcopal) church?’
According to the foremost Episcopal
scholars,the New Testament churches
practiced only immersion. Arch
bishop Litton has clearly shown that
those early churches, received only
immersed believers Into their fellow
ship, that their officers were only
pastors (sometimes also called bish
ops and sometimes ciders) and dea
cons, and that their polity was con
gregational. The only plea for uni
ty which will appeal to Baptists must
be a proposal to unite on the teach
ings of the New Testament.
The announcement is made that
the First church, Washington, D. C.,
Dr. C. A. Stakely, pastor, has ar
ranged to send out and support two
foreign missionaries, one under the
Missionary Union at Boston, the oth
er under the Foreign Mission Board
at Richmond, Va.
A. S. Merriman, Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court of North Caroli
na, joined the Methodist church on
Thursday last. He was the son of a
Methodist preacher, and regularly
attended the church.—Bib. Recorder.
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. NOVEMBER 24, 1892.
HUMAN FREEDOM.
BY S. G. HILLYER.
Continued from Nov. 3rd.
Human freedom is a God-given
right to every man to regulate, with
in certain limits, his own conduct ac
cording to his own will.
I haye already shown that the Bi
ble verifies this definition, by the
account which it gives us cf Adam’s
experiences in th'e garden of Edom
He did not hold his beautiful Para
dise by an allodial title; but he held
it as a fief, —in loyalty to God as his
supreme Sovereign, and Lord para
mount. That this was tho nature of
his title is manifest from the terms of
tho deed. “God said unto the man,
of all tho trees in tho garden thou
mayest freely eat, but of the tree of
the knowledge of Good and Evil,
which stands in the midst of tho gar
den, thou shalt not eat of it; for in
the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.”
These words indeed invest Adani
with a noble estate, and with a wide
area of freedom. But that freedom
was unlimited. God reserved to
himself one tree whose fruit man
was forbidden to eat on pain of
death. Obedience to that command
was the condition upon which Adam
held his estate. And that tree was
tho symbol of God’s sovereignty,
and of his right of “eminent domain”
over all bis works.
Abstaining from the use of that
tree was a perpetual tribute of obe
dience which God required of the
man as a token of his loyalty to his
infinite Sovereign. Now in tho
light of this story it is certain, that
Adam’s freedom was a God-given
right to regulate his conduct in the
garden, within a specified limit, ac
cording to his own will.
But it came to pass that Adam
was not satisfied with tho freedom
that God had given him. He was
led, no matter liow, to cast an evil
eye upon that forbidden fruit. He
began to covet it, and to regard the
restraint put upon him ns a- galling
yoke. He wanted more freedom.
Well, yielding to an impulse of pure
selfishness, and forgetting his loyal
ty to God, he did eat of the forbid
den fruit. He had the power to do
it of course ; but did he have free
dom to do it ? If so, why did God
curse him for it ? Why that dread
ful sentence, “dust thou art, and un
to dust thou shalt return ?” That
curse, and that sentence plainly show
that Adam was not free to eat that
fruit.
But Adam was the representative
of the human race. So far as his
relations to God are concerned, what
ever was true of him is true of all
mankind. The story of Eden, brief
as it is, gives us a typical forecasting
of man’s moral history down to the
present day. God has been pleased
to give to all men a wide area of
freedom. Perhaps 90 percent of all
the actions which it is possible for
men to perform, are found within
the area of his freedom. For these,
man will never be called to account,
because, God has given him freedom
to perform them. But there are a
few restrictions. They are written,
though, in dim and uncertain lines,
upon every human heart. So that
all men, to the extent of their knowl
edge, are without excuse ; but the re
strictions are given, by divine author
ity, far more plainly in the precepts
of the Decalogue. This table of the
Law, however made known, and as
far as it is made known, stands to
all men just as the forbidden tree
stood to our first parents. By it,
God assumes moral government over
mankind. It is an expression of his
own sovereign and paramount will,
to which the will of every human
being is required to conform on pain
of death. Hence every precept of
Law is an abridgement of freedom.
All this shows, that, while man does
indeed possess a wide area of free
dom by the gift of God, yet it is
definitely limited by the Law of God.
I have stirely said enough to prove
that the above definition of freedom
is verified by the Bible.
It is also verified by every man’s
consciousness. For every sinner
does know, by bis consciousness,
that, when he commits a sinful act,
be has no right to commit it; which
means that he has no freedom to
commit it. It is this conviction, which
sometimes pierces the soul with a
sense of guilt, and lays it penitent at
the feet of sovereign mercy; but
sometimes, it kindles the fires of re-
morse, that shall burn on, and on,
forever. No mat ever yet felt a
sense of guilt, or a pang of remorse
for doing a thing which ho was as
sured he had a moral right to do.
Hence, all men are conscious, that
there are many things which
they have full freedom to perform,
or not, just ’as tney please, while
there are other actions, which they
must do, or not do, —not according
to their own choice, —but according
to feeling of more! obligation, im
posed by some authority which they
are bound to obdy. And most men
believe that authority is found in the
paramount Will of the supreme Be
ing. Surely, then, consciousness veri
fies the definition. ,
In the third place, this definition
is strikingly corroborated by all the
governments known among men,
from the nursery to the throne.
They are all founded upon an
abridgement of freedom by the obli
gation of loyalty to the paramount
will of the ruling power. For want
of space, I can give but one exam
ple. The people of Georgia claim to
be a free people. But they are un
der government. A government,
however, imposed by .themselves in
convention assembled. Still it is a
government. And every citizen
knows that ho is bound to obey its
laws, and that this obligation is an
abridgement of his freedom. He
knows that he has no right, and that
means no freedom, to perform an
action which the Legislature has for
bidden ; while outside of its enact
ments he enjoys full liberty to do as
he pleases without any confiiot with
the sovereignty of the State z And
so in all governments human
vine.
I think I have shown, by the Bible,
by the testimony of consciousness,
and by the analogies of 11 the gov
ernments known amongimen, that
human freedom is a God-given
right to every man/to regulate, with
in certain limits, his ow '>nduct ac
cording to his will.', ’’ S •
It only remains to show, that, with
this definition, human freedom is not
in conflict with God’s sovereignty.
On the contrary the two are in per
fect harmony. For, so long as a
man regulates his conduct according
to his own will within the area of
his God-given freedom, he is surely
giving no offence to his sovereign,—
nay, he is rendering to God the hom
age and loyalty that are due to him.
God looks upon such an obedient
subject not only with approbation,
but with complacency ; for he gave
to his creature freedom, “richly to
enjoy,” within its appointed bounds.
And he will never call him to ac
count for doing so.
But men, like their first parent,
are not content with the freedom
hat God has given them. They do
not like his moral government. They
fret and chafe under its restraints.
Hence they madly break over the
limits of their freedom, and indulge
themselves with all kinds of “forbid
den fruit.” They think they are
extending their freedom ; but this
oon proves to be a great mistake.
They have only changed masters.
Instead of being ruled by the will of
their Father God, whose restraints
are all beneficent, and prompted on
ly by his love, they are now domina
ted by Satan, who rules only to op
press, aud allures only to destroy.
Are they free ? True, they have
the power to defy the thunders of
God’s Law, and rashly to snatch the
forbidden fruit; but arc they free
to do it, when, the next moment
they are held captives under the
condemnation of tho Law, to meet,
at last, the retribution due to their
rebellion against God ? No, no, they
are not free. Jesus says : “he that
commits sin is the servant (slave) of
sin.”
It was to redeem men from this
dreadful bondage that Jesus came
into the world. For he says : “If
therefore the Son shall make you
free, ye shall be free indeed.” By
his precious Gospel, and the agency
of His Holy Spirit, he brings many
sons and daughters safe into frisking
doin, and there they are set free with
the “liberty of the children of Grid.”
And hero we find perfect freedom.
The child of God is, in Christ, so rec
onciled to God, that he willingly ac
cepts his sovereignty with faithful
loyalty, and regards with adoration
the perfections of Iris nature ; so that
ho exorcises his freedom within the
the limits which God has ordained,
not with reluctant, but with joyful
submission to his paramount will.
He sees the Law in a new light. Its
awful terrors, which made the sinner
quake, have passed away. Ho npw can
an see that it is “holy, just and good,”
and that it was promised by love,
and devised by wisdom to secure the
best well-being of his children. And,
therefore, as far as the frailty of his
nature will permit, it is his free
choice to render to the Law perfect
obedience. Hence as Cowper put it;
“He is the freeman, whom the Truth
makes free.”
73 Wheat Street, Atlanta.
The Apostle Peter was a man of
strong personal characteristics. He
was likewise a man of a representa
tive character. Hejhad his class, he
was a many sided man. His charac
ter may be seen from many a stand
points. He was kaleidescope; in
fact, all tho apostles were class men,
Each represented his class, they
were chosen largely for this reason.
That all future followers of Jesus
Christ might see.themselves illustrat
ed under the varied conditions of
Christian experience. It is perhaps
true, that more practical lessons can
be deduced from Peter’s history than
any other one of the apostles.
Early in his histojy, the Master
found t it necessary to change his
name from Simon to Cephas, which
signifies potros in Greek, aud petros
translated from Greek to English
signifies a small stone, a little rock,
in contrast with petra translated sig
nifies a great rock.
The Master saw in the character
of this man, who was to become a
useful apostle, the elements of ficle
ness, just as a little rock is knocked
about by the foot of the passer-by
or brushed out of the way by the
broom of the servant sweeping the
yard, he needed stability, like many
of those who should live after him,
he thought he possessed, in a large
measure, that of which, be was most
deficient. He was quite self possess
ed. ■'*
lie was a man of decided physical
courage, but decidedly wanting in
moral. He had a sword, and carried
it about with him. On one memorable
occasion in the presence of his Mas
ter, he used it with success. He
was impulsive and illustrated this
trait, when his master asked his
apostles, “Whom do men say that I,
the Son of man am.” Peter im
mediately replied, “Thou art the
Christ.” Jesus approved the fact
given in this reply, pronounced Peter
a happy man in consequence of his
recognition of this foundation truth,
and the blessed. Master then brought
out another glorious truth, that He,
Jesus, was the Christ, a truth: justly
comparable to a great rock, petra,
upon which his church was to be
built, as stable and immovable as the
Stone Mountain in Georgia, or as the
rock of Gibralter. Peter was a lit
tle cobble stone. The Son of man
the Christ of God, is the foundation
of his church. This church has
withstood the fires of thirteen cen
turies of the bitterest persecutions,
and will continue to stand till the
end of the ago.
This same Peter in the Palace of
the High Priest lost all his*courage
and was unable to stand up before a
girl and assert his discipleship of his
affectionate Master, as she asserted
it. He repeatedly denied even with
bitter oaths and cursing. This self re
liant, brave and courageous man,
quails before the face of this female
witness, his courage was all gone he
had fallen into sin, and despair, sur
rendered to the enemy. Peter
thought his determination and ad
herence were quite sufficient to sus
tain him, and although all men should
deny Christ, ho would not. What a
bitter experience 1 Christ turned him
lose, and alas, he became an easy prey
to sin and satan. Many have since
since Peter’s fall, been constrained
to look alone for support to the hold
of Jesus Christ upon them, rather
than their hold on the Saviour. This
illustrated lesson of Peter has proton
a land mark, a mile post, an index
pointing out this breaker in the Chris
tian pathway.
Take heed lest ye fall, watch and
pray. Our final deliverance on the
shores of immortality will bo wholly
ascribablo to God.
Peter’s fall was not from grace,
but into sin. His apostleship was
continued, Jesus still loved him, and
gave him an assuring loving look,
Which brought him down, he went
out and wept bitterly. The love of
Jesus is an everlasting love, it does
not depend stability. The
humblest Christian finds it neecssary
to repent daily.
Peter’s faith did not fail him, he
was overshadowed for a while by
sin, Satan had a oold on him, and he,
like ourselves frequently, was the
creature of adverse circumstances,
but Peter was kept by a power
superior to circumstances and the
power of Satan combined. Peter
did not need, nor require a second
regeneration, but lie greatly needed
restoration to the favor of his Mas
ter, which he received upon his bit
ter weeping; then ho could adminis
ter comfort to his brethren in like
circumstances. This circumstance in
tho life of Peter has afforded com
fort to multiplied thousands of Chris
tians since the days of this apostle:
he has had cause to thank the Mas
terjthat his impulsive,fickle and unsta
ble character has been turned to so'
much of good to the succeeding gen
erations of Christians.
J. G. McCall.
Written for the Christian Index.
DENOMINATIONAL TOPICS.
The discussion of subjects pecu
liar to Baptists, when well handled
is calculated to do much good. It
familiarizes those unacquainted with
Baptists of the fact that they are not
a bad people, but rather that they are
peculiarly loyal to Christ. It dissi
pates much fog from the minds of
those who have been taught that the
Baptists are very insignificant in
numbers, more so in intellectual
culture and through their bigotry
like Ishmael, have their hands against
every other denomination, and there
fore the hands of all others have
been against them, Such asser
tions as these have recently been
sown over a good scope of country
about here, by an official of a popu
lar denomination as he has boon over
his district, shaking up his people.
It acquaints tlreir own people with
facts that many of them do not know,
but ought to know. Many have
united themselves with Baptist
churches not from any personal con
victions, but simply frqm environ
ment, and could not give an intelli
gent reason for their church connec
tion.
Meetings of several days held in
different parts of associational
bounds, devoted especially to discus
sion of doctrinal subjects, church
organization and polity, mission ob
ligations, interspersed with sermons
upon kindred topics would doubtless
bo good educators in these lines.
Fifth Sundays might be well utiliz
ed in this way. That is an off day
with most pastors, and they should
arrange to meet in this way and es
tablish the people in the principles
and practices to which they hold.
They would thus be doing good to
others, getting better acquainted
with each other, so increasing mu
tual love. They would command a
larger tribute of respect from the
world, and would lead the deceived
perhaps to an appreciation of some
divine truths with which they had
been unacquainted. The meetings
should begin on Friday or some days
before Sunday. Ono of these sub
jects presented at one meeting, with
two weeks or a month intervening
before another presentation, would
be buried out of sight under the
events taking place between before
the next came, and so but little good
would be done. But when for three
times on three successive days these
follow one another, with each suc
ceeding one the interest heightens)
so that by the close the points are
well established, and tho enthusiasm
has burned them into mind and heart.
The fifth Sundays are so employed
by some of the associations in Ala
bama. The fifth in October with
the two preceding day such a meet
ing was held at Alexander City
church, and the good effects were
very manifest to any observer. The
principal subjects at this meeting
were:
1. The church—its organization—
its object.
2, The law and object of true
church discipline.
8. What have the Baptists done
for the world.
4. Nunday-schools and their man
agement.
5. Missions.
Opportunity was given for ques
tions and brief answers.
Brother Minister,
Working Layman,
Zealous Sister,
We. jco striving to make
Tlie Index
the best of its kind* Help xw by securing a
new subscriber. .
VOL. 69—NO. 47
Sermons upon kindred topics were
at times preached.
Each subject had an assigned
B peaker to open it, and it was then
open for general discussion.
The subjects were well handled hy
the brethren, and from the first the
interest grow to the close. “What
the Baptists have done for the
world” was presented by Brother C.
S. Johnson in a written address pe
culiarly felicitous and striking, and
was followed by a happy oral one
from Brother Feazell.
On Sunday night the meeting
closed with the finest sermon on
“keeping the ordinandes as delivered
that it was ever my privilege to hear,
by Brother Feazell,
The time for clossng had come
but the people lingered and talked,
wishing the meeting could still go
on, telling how happy they felt—•
how much stronger they were in
their convictions that the Baptists
were right, how glad they were to be
Baptists, etc. Even those of other
denominations seemed to have
caught some of the spirit and ex
pressed approval, and evidently had
a profounder respect for us than ever
before.
We are to be blessed at the close
of November by a visit from some
of our best Centennial speakers, and
have another feast of two days,
Brother Ora Dawson is coming
back to his native State, and wilj
take charge at Tuscaloosa. We are
glad he is coming bomo again. Eu«
faula has captured Brother Gray, of
Miss. We are sorry for Miss, to
lose him, but are glad that Alabama
has captured tho prize. Brother L. *
M. Bradley goes from Phoenix City
to Brundidge. It will be a fine peo
ple and noble pastor thus associated.
Brother J. S. Dill is soon to visit his
father at Howard College. I hope
some Alabama church will prevent
his return to California. I will con
tinue at Alexander City.
On tjie 22 of November the State
’Convention meoi- 1 with thq J’arker
Memorial church, at Anniston, As
we convene so near the border of
Georgia, we hope the Index will not
fail to be represented, and that a
number of the Georgia brethren will
be with us.
G. E. B.
Bro. T. P. Dudley, Jr., has gone
to his mission field at Deccan, India.
Bro. Dudley bears a name that has
long been honored in Kentucky, and
many prayers will go up for God’s
blessing on his labors in India. He
bears the name, as we have previous
ly noted, of his honored kinsman
who was for years a leader of the
Baptists of Kentucky
and of the West, There is a poetic
justice in Bro. Dudley’s going as a
missionary.—Weston Recorder.
Among the many Societies long
organized these days, here is one we
can commend. The Funeral ’ Sub
scription Society—a branch of the
King’s Daughters—has been organi
zed in New York city for the pur
pose of assisting the poor to give
their dead a respectable funeral at
the lowest cost.
Rev. J. B. Shelton, of Bowling
Green, Ky., has been elected pastor
of the Baptist Church at Corsicana,
Texas. He has been engaged to
spend a month or two in the service
of the Sunday-school Board before
entering upon his pastorate.
Rev. Archilbald Wheaton closed
his pastorate at South Norwalk,
Conn., on Sunday, Oct. 28d, and will
go at once to the assistance of Rev,
Dr. R. S. MacArthur of the Calvary
Church, New York City.
Rev. J. B. Hawthorne, D. D., dur
ing his pastorate at Atlanta, Ga., has
welcomed over sixteen hundred peo
ple into his church
Dr. B. M. Wharton’s church, Nor
folk, Va., recently sent up $530 for
missions. It has given SI,OOO to the
Centennial fund.
The Christian Intelligencer: “The
world owes more to Wickliffe, Huss,
Luther, and Calvin, than to Colum
bus.”
The Roman Catholics have con
tributed but 1359,791 for missions
among the colored people in five
years.
It is asserted that Protestant
Churches have spent $18,000,000
among colored people since the war