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Many good and strong things were said in be half of MISSIONS During the Session of tho Southern Baptist Convention. Subscribe to and read the Christian Index, if you would keep informed. ESTABLISHED 1821. ©he ffihriatian ijndcx Published Every Thursday at 57% S. Broad Street, Atlanta, Ga. J. C. McMICHAEL, Proprietor. Organ of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. Subscription I’nicE: Obe copy, one year $ 2.00 One copy, six months 1.00 One copy, three mouths 60 Obituaries.—Ono hundred words free of charge. For each extra word, one cent per word, cash with copy. To Corkrbpondrnts.—Do not use abrovia tions; bo extra careful in writingproper names; write with ink, on one side of paper; Do not write copy intended for the editor and busi ness items on sune sheet. Leave off personal ities; condense. Business.—Write all names, and post offices distinctly. In ordering a change give the old as well as the new address. The date of label indicates the time your subscription expires. If you do not wish it continued, order it stop ped a week before. Wo consider each sub scriber permanent, nutil he orders his paper discontinued. When you order it stopped pay up to date. Remittances by check preferred; or regie tored letter, money order, postal note. Exceedingly little was done by Con. gress before the holidays. The country is now looking for some active work and good results. Speaker Crisp is reported by the New York World as saying that both a ma jority of democrats in both houses favor an early extra session of Congress, lim ited in Its objects. In his judgment there would be no difficulty in securing «n early adjournment of an early extra session, if one should be called. Each aAutcli and its Sunday school should have'sumo definite plan of mak. ing offerings. The plan adopted and found to work successful ihould be used also by the Sunday school. If your church and school have not as j’H adopted some plan do not lot this, the firstmonth of the new year pass away before you have one in successful operation. While we do not agree with President Elliott, of Howard college on all his views upon the subject of immigration, we do indorse him in the following: I deny that such political and social evils as we suffer from are to be justly attributed to recent immigrants. It is the experienced voters, and not the in experienced, who are responsible for weak or bad legislation and administra tion. It is not new immigrants who buy votes, or who pass the tariff acts which inevitably breed vote-buyers, Our no torious spoilsmen and political machin ists have been sometime in this country. — <- It w-» an interesting scene on Prior street just before Christmas arrived to see vehicle after vehicle loaded with something for the poor and driven away- A stranger from an Eastern city looked intently on the scene for some mo ments. Turning to a friend he said, “I do not wonder now at tho prosperity and growth of Atlanta. A people so considerate of the poor, and so charita ble will always be prospered by the God who dispenses blessing and prosperity to a people. Perhaps no city is in ad vance of Atlanta in the remembrance of the poor and needy. Very mistaken ideas prevail with many about heresy trials. When a man teaches or preaches doctrinal error and he is called to account the Central Baptist very correctly says such investi gation is not intended to decide whether he shall think ;»nd speak as he chooses, but whether he shall retain his connec tion with the church and denomination or college and yet teach false doctrine. This is a free country and every man is at liberty to hold his own opinion, but no man is at liberty to retain his con nection with any organization, with which he is not in sympathy and against whose creed he is arrayed. For instance, if the pastor of a Baptist church should bold and teach sprinkling as baptism the presbytery of investigation would be called, not to decide whether it is his right to believe as he does, but to de cide whether tho charges against him are true, and in case of conviction, to recommend tho severance of connection between him and the church of which ho is pastor. At the resent session ot the South Carolina Baptist convention Dr. A. E. Dickinson raised the question whether it is necessary for the Home and Foreign mission boards to publish the Home Field and Foreign Mission journal - The Baptist Courier represents him as saying “Let me say a word, if you please. Here arc on this floor the editors of thir teen Baptist weekly newspapers, and every one of us are anxious to got the uew - s which our Missiou Boards and our Sunday-school Board want to pnt into the hands of of our people, young and old. If one-tenth of the labor spent in preparing matter for the Foreign Mis sion Journal and the Home Field were given to supp’. tag such matter to tho Baptist weekly papers, it will be far bet ter for the Boardsand for nil concerned. Why keep up these monthlies when the work could bo done far better by tho weeklies? I am not saying this be cause I happen to bo connected with one of the latter, but because in my inmost soul I believe we are making a groat mistake in this matter. Think of it brethren, and let us do what is best to be done.” Tho Legislaluro passed a bill at tho recent session, looking to elevating tho standard of our public schools. The bill provided that in addition to what is now taught, should be taught tho constitu tions of Georgia and tho United btates JBljr (tljristian fniicr. history, physiology and hygiene. Gov ernor Northen vetoed tho bill because it was contradictory in that it named the branches to be taught and then author ized teachers to be licensed, who upon examination are found to be incompe tent to teach them. Tho Governor very properly says: If the children in a community are entitled under tho law to receive instruction in treatises on tho constitution of Georgia and the constitution of tho United States, history, physiology and hygiene, tho teachers licensed to give instruction in tho public schools ought certainly to be competent to teach these branches. Otherwise the pupils will be, by law, de nied tho right the law itself has guaran teed to them. “It is bad policy to license teachers who are known to be incompetent to give instruction in a large part of the studies authorized to be taught. “WRONG AND DANGEROUS.” In tie issue of December Bth, un der the caption of ‘Wrong and Dan gerous,’ Brother Webb is pleased to give the readers of the- Index an epistle touching the subject of Bap tist Associations and Churches ‘peti tioning’ and ‘memorializing’ the law making powers of the government “favoring” and “opposing” measures of importance for the general weal. He candidly says, the views ad vanced are submitted for the faith ful consideration of his brethren. I demur respectfully to his conclu sions and seriously question his logic. It is proper to say, I do not know the brother. His article was written for your readers, because of the action of an ■ Association, passing a resolution to memorialize the present session of the Georgia Legislature to defeat the effort to give incorporated cities and towns control es-the liquor question. As to the merits of th\ legis lation, we have nothing to pay, how ever, he says citizens, a town coun cil, a grand jury or a political con vention may invoke the State to en act certain measures; but with con siderable assurance, he declares “a church is no part of the government is not amenable to government nor the government to it. A church is Rot entiilA to a vote, dor any repre sentation.” These assertions are somewhat random, and disconnec ted. lie seems to argue because a church is no part of the government, it is not amenable to government. Exactly where he learned the fact that a church is not amenable to gov ernment, we would like to know. If your correspondent is the pastoi of a Baptist Church, and sb. Add so far influence his church as to get that church to pass resolutions that Mon day should be, and that Sunday should Rot be a day of rest, and then practice it, he would learn from the action of the next grand jury acting under the charge of the Judge of the Superior Court, that he and his church were amenable to govern ment. If a church were in their church capacity to organize and pnt in force any treasonable action a gainst the government, State or Fed eral, he would very soon learn that churches are amenable to govern ment to the same extent of criminal liability, as an individual, a political convention, a grand jury, or a town council would be, if they were to be so foolish as to commit the same of fences against the government and good morals. The fact is, churches and church members are amenable to govern ment in the same way and to the same extent as other organizations and their members are. This state ment is so axiomatic that proof would bo superfluous. Again he says, “This practice of churches is a bad one and tends to undoing the great work, which the Baptists have always done in behalf of religious liberty and the entire separation of church and state.” Let us see, if we understand him, the practice of churches and associations in memo rializing Legislatures and Congresses or constitutional conventions he says is bad, and tends to undo what Bap tists have practiced in their past his tory. Perhaps so, but if he is right, we have not read the same history. In the Colonial history of our gov ernment we learn that most of the colonies had laws passed allowing them to control the spiritual inter est of the people. This intolerance was peculiar in Massachusetts and Virginia. Dr. Armitage in his his history of the Baptists page 777 says: “in these (Massachusets and Virgin ia) the influence of the Baptists as the Champions of religious liberty was specially felt aa they resisted ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JANUARY 5, 1893. the legislative, judicial and execu tive departments combined.” “John Proctor a public school teacher of Boston was appointed to carry the case to England. He also drew up a remonstrance to the Leg islature.” Dr. A. again says, Warren Associ ation appointed a committee to seek redress of grievances for tho Bap tists and appointed first Hezekiah Smith, then John Davis their agent to the Court of Great Brittain. About tho year 1788, the baptists of Virginia, New York, Rhode Is land and Massachusets and other States made one united effort to se cure the right of soul liberty unmis takably incorporated in the constitu tions of these various states and of the United States—these glorious results were accomplished directly by Bap tists appointing committees armed with memorials and protests ad dressed to Legislatures, Congresses and Constitutional Conventions. As a matter of political history Patrick Henry defeated Mr. Madison for the United States Senate because he doubted Mr. Madison’s soundness touching these amendments as de manded by the Baptists. About the year 1789, the Baptists of Virginia formulated an address to the President of the United States on the subject of their personal re ligious rights and General Washing ton made a most respectful reply. It would do every Baptist good to read that response, but it is too long to copy in such an article as this. And as a result of Baptists’ associa tions, and committees memorializing congress, this article was added by amendment. “Congress should make no law re specting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The exercise of the right of memori alizing a State Legislature or the Congress of the United States for or against any pending bill is not dicta tion to the government and has nev er b“cn so regarded by the States men of this or any other day. This sacred right is incorporated into the constitution of the U. S. and the con stitution at the same time has forever set the seal of disapprobation upon the union of church and state. T have read of straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. J. G. McCall. How gratified we ought to be, as we contemplate our institutions of learning. The Chicago University, Southern Baptist Theological Semi nary, The Rochester school and many more that are grand institutions— and as claimed—for the higher edu cation of our ministerial students. How pleasing the prospect that our Baptist Ministry have privileges equal to every demand, and oppor tunities for the highest attainments in the ministry. The student whose heart is aflame with desire to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ and at the same time casting about for the means of reaching the highest abilities for accomplishing his pur pose. Now if such student lived in Mis. souri, of course, he would enter Wm. Jewell College. The Theological de partment of this school is largely maintained by contributions sought immediately from . the brethren through the agency of an “agent for ministerial education.” If he is successful in his pursuits he graduates in seven years perhaps, and generally speaking he goes at once to the seminary at Louisville and then commences again the solic iting process for funds to maintain our Missouri boys in the Seminary. Well, of course, as long as this continues to be the rule I see no way out of the difficulty and tho young men who finally get through realize that it has been so largely by the benilicence of others. It strikes me that our misterial student who has completed the Theological curriculum and that it has taken seven years to do this; that to put into practical use the training gained by preaching for a few years, thus gaining a practice found nowhere else and at tho same time recuperating lost energies suffi cient for another seige; and also obtaining pecuniary recomponco for his labors sufficiently to pay his ex penses at the seminary and thereby gaining a consciousness that he has not been a beneficiary for his entire education. * I do not believe that one dollar of money ought to bo collected from Missouri Baptists to aid ministerial students who have completed the Wm. Jewell course. To obtain the highest results there' must be a res toration of lost vitality superinduced by a seven years course while gain ing this needed energy for further study. Money enough ought to be accumulated to pay all further out lays. T. M. S. Kenney. Boonville, Mo. THE HOUSE OF GOD. BY S. G. HILL YER. The house of God is a very pecu liar structure. It is not built of bricks and mortar, or of stones cut from the mountain quarry. God did permit Solomon to build for him such a house in Jerusalem, to take the place of the old and faded Taber nacle. And the Lord promised to dwell with Israel there, as long as they should keep his commandments. But this house, with all its gorgeous ritual, was but a shadow— a type, of another house which was yet to come. Solomon knew that the house which he had built, at so much cost, fell very shyrt of a fit abode for the great Jehovah. In his dedicatory prayer he said, “The Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee, and much less this house which I have builded!” And sure enough, in a few centuries, that magnificent struc ture had perished in the flames. But God has another he use, not made with human hands. It is a spiritual house, —“The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.” ’ What a glorious privilege, what a distinguished honor it is to be a wel come inmate of this great house. Men delight to have access, if only for an hour, to the parlors of earthly kings, but these are but poor cot tages compared with that house not made with hands, which God has built upon tho Apostles and Pro phets, \Jwbus' ng the chief oorueAdone. The inmates of this house “holy na tion, a peculiar people, a royal priest hood.” Surely then they are lifted to the highest plane of dignity and honor known on this earth. If this be so, it becomes immense ly important that we should know how to behave ourselves in the house of God. Paul said to Timothy, “These things have I written unto thee that thon mightest know how to be, have thyself in the house of God.” These words, it is true, were address ed to a single individual; but it is easy to generalize them. Every church member, as well as Timothy, should know' how to behave them selves in tho house of God. And one most important design of all the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles, was to teach us this most needful lesson. Even in human society, it is found to be very necessary to under stand good manners. When invited to attend an entertainment in a friend’s house, people usually put on their best attire, and conform care fully to the established rules of social life. It is this sentiment which helps to promote refinement and culture among men and women, and to in tensify our social pleasures. But in finitely more important it is to know how to behave ourselvesin thatsocioty which includes the inmate* of tho house of God. To enter this holy circle, we do not need to deck ourselves in out ward costly apparel. The way is thrown open as wide for the poor mendicant as for the millionaire. And yet, there is needed, for admis sion, a toilet, if you please, which transcends insplendorall thetrappings of an earthly court. It is woven with the out-givings of our spiritual af fections towards God; and it is dis played in all the beauties of the Chris tian character. Such is the indis pensable dress that makes one neet for the house of God, “which” let us not forget, "is tho church of tho liv ing God, tho pillar and ground of tho truth. Let us now consider how wo should behave ourselves in the house, the church of God. Human society has adopted, for itself, a code of po liteness and good manners, which is very useful in regulating our world ly social intercourse. It rules the toilet,it smooths away the ruggedness of conversation with its beautiful euphemisms, in a word, it enforces tho X recognixed conventionalities of society. It may do all this, and yet exert no moral effect upon character. A man may be a very Chesterfield in manners, and yet devoid of good ness. As Shakespear pithily re marks, “One may smile, and smile, and be avi Ilian.” We expect better things of those who are inmates of the house of God. Their rules of conduct are not mere conventionali ties. They are founded upon the immuitablo principles of right. They reflect the beauty and the perfections of Him who is tho great proprietor of His own house. They are given to us by His authority, in tho teach ings of Jesus and his inspired Apos tles. And, better than all, we see them most perfectly' exemplified, in the pure and spotles life of our greats Redeemer. I need not repeat them here. They are accessible to every reader, and they plainly tell us how wo should behave ourselves in the house of God. Remembe, the church member is, always and every where 4 within the house of God. No mat ter where he may be—at home or abroad, alone, or in company, in the week or on Sunday, he is a church member, and is bound to observe thes divinely appointed rules of Christian deportment. The obligation to observe these rules is emphasized most forcibly when we consider that the “Church is the pillar and ground of the truth.” The Apostles hero use the word “church”-in a collective sense. But what is true of the whole, is true of all its parts. Each local church is a pillar and ground of the truth. Nor does this important function depend upon its members, its wealth, or its culture; but solely upon the lives of its members. Just here it is well to notice that the churches are all upon one level of equality before God. Whereever a company of baptized believers have found Christian fellow ship for each other, and have united together under their own pastor and iKaooue, anu upon’ »uu' faiCii <"IT0 Gospel, for the service of God, and for their spiritul growth and edifica tion, there is a church of Christ com ploto in its structure, its privileges and its functions. It is God’s house for every one of its members, and to the extent of its influence, it is the “pillar and ground of the truth.’ The terms “pillar” and “ground” are metaphors. And they present to us the church as a foundation which upholds the fabric of truth that rests upon it, and the solid strength of that foundation is found under God, in the right behavior of its members. But there is another figure which also emphasizes the neccessity of ho ly living. In John’s vision in the Isle of PaotmoSjhe saw “seven golden candle sticks;” and we learn that the candle sticks represented the seven churches of Asia Minor. Dr. Jesse Mercer, in commenting upon this passage, called upon the people to no tice that the candle sticks were all made of gold. The churches might have differed in numbers, in wealth, in culture and even in efficiency; but they were all of pure gold, i. e., all were equally dear to Him who walk ed in tho midst of them. How com forting this is to small, weak, obscure churches! How gladly wo ukl I send to all such, a word of cheer and en couragement! Lift up your heads my brethren! The little flock to which you may belong, the Master calls a “Golden candle stick.” Now a candle stick is not itself the light, but its function is to hold up the light. Paul exhorts his Philip pian brethren to live as “the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world holding forth the word of life.” Here we learn that the word of life, (which is tho Gospel), is the light which is committed to tho churches, to be by them held forth, that they shine as lights in the world. But how are they to hold it forth? They can do it only in the pure and upright lives of their members. Re member, Christ is tho light,—the true light, and the medium, through which it shines, is his Gospel, tho “word of life' which every saint must illustrate in the beauty of his character, then his “light will so shine, that others seeing his good works shall glorify our Father which is in Heaven. And thus we see how every church member should behave himself in the “House of God. 78 Wheat st. Atlanta. BUT FOUR MONTHS AND THEN—- WHAT? Brethren of Georgia.—Four months more and the limit of the Centennial year—as set by the South ern Baptist Convention, will be reached. Has tho amount assigned to your great State, of nearly 143.- 000 white Baptists, been raised? 825.000, in addition to your regular contributions for Foreign and Home missions, may seem a large sum to raise when times are hard and prices are low. But it is an old saying, and a true one, that “many hands make light work.” Your appoint ment of this 8250.000 Centennial fund averages but about 17| cents per pocket, for your people. That does not seem a very heavy burden. Even in a family when there are 10 of them members of the church, and the father must give for tho 10, it is but 81.75. Even if that should be beyond the reach of many such fam ilies, which is hardly the case, for the reason that there are very few families that have ten of their num •ber members of the one church, in which there are not several of this number who could pay their own individual part. Then over against such a possible fact there are hun dreds of families where but two or three of the family are included in the. membership of your churchhs, and to these families God has given the ability to give ten times 174 cents for each one of the househol d whether members of the church or not. There are individuals in your churches who could give this 17£ cents over and over hundreds of times. The question, in isolated cases, may bo one of ability, but in nearly every ordinary case it is sim ply a question of inclination. God has given you the means. How can any child of God, who feels the worth of souls at home and abroad, be destitute of the inclination to give for their evangelization when the opportunity is put before them as it is in the appeals that are beard on i c.tV*■> Aid-.! But the year is nearing its close. What we do should be done quickly. It is becoming an interesting ques tion what shall the outcome of these remaining four months be? Success or failure? We can’t afford to fail brethren. We need not. If we do it will be because we did not care enough for the movement to make it a success. That this is the fact I shall not believe till I am compelled to, and then with shame-facedness. I can’t believe our people in the south are not interested enough to give, over and above their regular offer ings for Home and Foreign mission work, as a thank offering to God for the work of modern missions, 8250.- 000, or at the rate of 19 cents and a fraction for each one of our 1,282,221 Baptists of the South. When we have individual brethren and sisters> who are going from 8500, to 85.000 of this amount, shall it go out to the world that while Great Britain, with but a few over 300.000 Bap tists, all told, has raised over 8500,- 000, while the Baptists of the south, numbering more than a million ami a quarter, can’t raise one-half what Great Britain has raised? That while our English brethren could raise nearly 81.05 per member, wo failed to raise ninteen cents per member- Who can think foramoment that the means of our brethren in Great Brit ain excell the ine.'tns of our people more than eight fold? That is ab surd. Why the aggregate wealth of our more than one million and quar ter Baptists excells that of our breth ren over the Sea many times. But four months of our Centennial year remain. What then? Success or a mortifying failure? Which? F. M. Ellis. HAS ANY ONE GORE TO HEAVEN? This question was answered affirm atively in the Index a few weeks ago. But Dr. Dobbs will please ex cuse me for contradicting his deliv erance on this subject. I maintain that all who have died in faith have gone to a heaven but not to the heaven. It is true that the sainted dead are with Christ, but this does not neces sarily putthem in the highest heaven. Christ is everywhere. He is with the Father on his right hand and at the same time he is with the disem bodied spirits in Hades. The sainted dead cannot reach their ultimate glory in the disembodied state. Paul’s desire to depart and be with Christ Brother Minister, Working Layman, Zealous Sister Wo are striving to make Tlio liklojc tho best of its kind* Help us by securing a new subscriber. VOL. 70—NO. 1. does not imply that, the sainted dead were entered into the final state, the highest heaven, and full enjoyments and service of the perfected and glorified. Wo shall not be perfect and perfectly glorified, until after our bodies have been raised and wo shall have been changed and have put on tho glorious body of our Lord. A final judgment is an unmeaning thing or, a mere formality, if tho saints after having been sent to tho heaven shall bo called back and re judged and resent to/' - heaven in which they are already. No, no one has gone to the heaven . of the completely blest yet, although every believer after death is with Christ and is in a happy condition. In proof of this position read the following Scriptures: And no nan hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended out of heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven John 3:13. For this wo say unto you by the word of tho Lord, that we that are alive, that are left unto tho coming of the Lord shall in no wise precede them that are fallen asleep. N. V. 1 These. 4: 15. 16. 17. But if the dead are already in the heaven, they have preceded us, the living, and those who shall remain and be alive at the coming of the Lord. Whereas the Scripture teaches that we shal all go to heaven together, and at the same time. Further Peter declared on the day of Pentecost: David is not ascended into the heavens. His bones and ashes were in his sepulchre on that day, and nobody ever pretended that David had risen. Now if David Las not arisen and ascended into the heaven, then, nobody has. Christ has not yet ended his medi atorial reign and not until then, shall he return to hrs original relations with the Father. Then the end shall eojn<>. a»<l after judgnm/u, he shall say, come, ye biased -I my Father. It would be idle to ( <• come, if 1 ■ 1,1 I have wriften this without Dobbs’ answer before me. I, 0 sorry that I lost it, otherwise, should have replied more fully. C. K. Henderson. 1 Woodlawn, Ala. A LOG BOLLING. • My father lived in the country where “log rollings” were in fashion. In the heavily timbered districts lhe farmer could not cope with the mass ive forests alone but his neighbors were invited on a given day to join their labors on some selected wood land. They met in the early morn ing to combine their strength in piling the logs into great heaps th: t they might be burned out of the way of the plowman. These “log rollings” were joyous seasons. The strong young men would try each other's strength at the hand-spike all day long. They sang happy songs and made the heaviest of work a frolick At night they gathered at the farm house with tiiu young women who had been quilting ami cooking all day long, and spent the evening in innocent amusement, at least tolera bly innocent. Tho corn shucking was another occasion of great pleasure. Whoa tho corn had been gathered from the fields ami heaped up under the shed all the neighbors were invited to come and husk at this farm yard to day, at another to-morrow, until the entire settlement crop had been put away for future use. Ear by ear we pulled the husks from the corn with nimble fingers counting the blue grains and the red with some favor, ite girl in a race to see who would find the most and claim a pawn the redemption ol which often paid well for the day’s work. The wheat threshing was another season of mutual helpfulness that cemented friendships and made life’s greater burden’s light by a combina tion of forces. When the wheat was stacked in place and tho gearing of the old machine was put in good repair ami well greased, all the neigh bors formed a kind of threshing company that went from stock yard to stockyard and assist ed each other in running tho laborious machine that thresh ed their wheat. I remember that we boys never grew tired of any of these public workings. We worked harder and endured more than in uuy other employment with fur less