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and strong things were said in be
half of
lIISSI < > X s
■ During the Session of the
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ered letter, money order, postal note.
Grossner was he founder of the mis
sionary society in Berlin which bears his
name. In twenty years, 1838 to 1858, he
paid from his own pocket 33.000 marks,
or about $8,500 and 300,000 marks, or
about $75,000 received from others, and
sent to the heathen 111 missionaries. All
this was done between his 65th and his
85th years. It was a noble example of
liberality, self-denial, and earnest work.
’ A correspondent of the Lutheran
Standard, writes rather sarcastically
about a certain Methodist Missionary
Conference which voted an appropria
tion of $5,581 for the conversion of 200,-
000,000 heathen in Africa, and not less
than $85,000 for the conversion of Luth
erans in Germany, Sweden, Norway and
Denmark.
The location of the conference is not
given, but we think the criticism has
much force in it. 'l'he negroes in Ameri
ca, easily within reach, to say nothing of
those in Africa, are much more in need
of missionary effort than are the Luth
erans in Germany, or the other countries
named.
It is said that the church, of which Dr.
Talmage is pastor in Brooklyn, is in debt
$275,000. Os this amount $20,000 fall due
April Ist. ■ Unless it is paid Dr. Tal
mage says the house will be closed. The
church has a nominal membership of
7000, yet, it seems probable that they
will fail to raise the sum required.
If these are facts, another example is
brought to view, of an overgrown church
with an untrained, undeveloped member
ship. No man can do the preaching re
quired of him, and at the same time do
Vthe pastoral work needed by such a con
\wation. lie can not know the names,
ni,p-",hjless the spiritual wants of his
members.
The investment of such an enormous
onn> Single bowse is a piece of foolish
extravagance. To undertake it without
the money in hand, or, at least, within
sight, is not in accordance with the in
junction, “owe no mrn anything but to
love.” In plain terms it is uot just to
the workmen nor to those who furnish
the material, or who lend the money to
carry on the Work.
It would be infinitely better to count
the cost before beginning to build, to di
vide the money into fifteen or twenty
parts, if it is ready cash, and to erect
fifteen or twenty houses at points where
they are needed, and to organize as
many churches, supervised by as many
pastors.
The Boston Nation gives some statis
tics showing the number and rates of in
crease of the crimes of murder and sui
cide during the year 1892, In the whole
country there were 6,782 against 5,906 in
1891. A review of the four years pro
ceeding shows that the number bad
doubled, and that some constant cause
has been producing a steady increase.
Equally alarming results are shown in
regard to suicide. There were 3,850 in
1892, against 3,3.81, in 1891. A review of
the four years, including 1892, shows
that the number had nearly doubled.
The increase in population during
these years shows a small per centage,
and by no means accounts for the large
increase in these crimes.
Despondency and restlessness are as
signed as the main causes. We might
ask, What causes despondency and rest
lessness? Whiskey, fast-living, inade
quate pay for work done, the excessive
greed and heartiessness of employers in
over-working their employes, and incast
ing them off when sick, or disabled, like
wornout, worthless machines, and, last
ly, the abseuce of parental authority, and
control of children at home, in subject
ing them to obedience, and training them
daily, in the practice of self-restraint
and self-denial, 'Die writer above allud
ed to closes his article witii this note of
warning:
“This is a period during which the
elements of an impending crisis, destin
ed to be the greatest in the history of the
and of the world, have been gath
ering their forces, and. it would be
strange indeed if the tension of the com
ing storm were without effect, in disturb
ing the moral balance of men.”
Significance or Lent.—The Church
man has these remarks on Lent:
“The real significance of Lent is self*
denial. It is no self-denial to a millionaire
to give SI,OOO to a missionary society or
a hospital. To give $lO to either, might,
for clerk at SSO a month with a wife and
children, be next to a mortal sin. But
nearly everybody knows that ho is allow
ing himself many indulgences which,
though generally harmless, may in time
make a slave of him, lie hardly knows
whether this be so or not until ho makes
the experiment: Can Ido without them?
It is is absolutely essential, not only for
the religious life, but for auy truly noble
life, that a man should have perfect com
mand of himself.”
Well and truly said. The Index ven
tures to add that this interpretation of
the moaning of Lent should apply as a
constant, abiding influence on a Chris,
tian’s life. The matter of self-denial
should not be spasmodic, coming and
going by “fits and starts.” Hero is
Baont of Jesus on the sub.
any man wishes to come
let him deny himself and
ils cross daily, and follow
i to be a daily business. A
I prayer followed by months
Lilgence, worldli-mindcdness,
is a sort of kangaroo religion.
(ffpfetian 3 n tier*
jumping suddenly from one extreme to I
the other, that does not promote rea 1
steady-going piety.
For the Christian Index.
FROM OUR NORTH CHINA MISSION.
character sketch number two
MRS. WONG OF BUHGO.
Buhgo is a largo village about
twelve miles west of Tung Chow.
In order for an understanding of
Mrs. Wong’s present spiritual condi
tion, it is necessary to give some
thing of her history prior to conver
sion.
At the age of eighteen, Miss Way
became the second wife of Mr. Wong,
the only son of the wealthiest man
in Buhgo. At twenty-six, she was
left a widow with two children, a
son and a daughter. As the first, or
superior wife was childless, and as
daughters do not inherit property in
China, this son now became sole
heir to his father’s large estate. But
should he die without an heir, Mrs
Wong would be cut off with a small
pension, perhaps grudgingly given,
and the entire property would revert
to some near male relative who could
keep up the ancestral worship. The
boy was therefore given constant
and tender care. Both the grand
father and the superior wife died
soon after; but the grandfather had
carefully provided for the guardian
ship of the child by a trusted relative.
At the age of fourteen the boy
was married to a woman older than
himself. At seventeen he became
dangerously ill. The poor mother
had been a devotee before ; now she
was more diligent than ever. She
made presents to all the temples,
and made vows, promising one thing
after another, until she vowed to give
her all, if only her son should be
spared. Every thing was done that
could be done ; but all to no avail.
Her boy died, and without an heir.
Mrs. Wong was overcome with
grief. She lost faith ‘in her gods and
in everything. The room in her house
which had been devoted to the wor
ship of the goddess of mercy, was
used for a< different purpose. Now
the wretched woman had neither son
nor god; and the relatives of her
husband were conspiring to get pos
session of her property, by striving
to drive her into committing suicide,
and by other means. •‘One night as
she lay npon her brick bed in gloom
and despair, looking through her lat
tice window and gazing into the un
known heavens, she seemed to be
moyed by the twinkling of the silent
stars as they shown in upon her.
Dragging herself up into a sitting
posture, she looked out upon them,
and in the agony of her soul cried
out: ‘Heavenly Father, if you arc
reaily a merciful and living Father,
if you will grant me a grandson, I
shall know that it is your wish to
keep me alive. I leave it in your
hands.’ From that moment she took
courage.”
About two months afterward, twin
grandsons were born. Her enemies
were bafiled ; but to this day, though
those boys are nine years old, Mrs.
Wong dare not trust them out of
sight of some trusted protector.
There is continual danger of their
being stolen or destroyed by some of
her husband’s relatives.
It was several months after the
birth of these twins that Mrs. Craw
ford, while spending some days in a
hired room in Buhgo, first met Mrs.
Wong. Mrs. Wong had never seen
a foreigner till now. This made her
shy; and the memory of her recent
bitter persecutions, caused her to bo
slow in forming any intimacy with
the'despised foreigner. Still the Gos
pel story interested her. She visited
Mrs. Crawford repeatedly, and al
lowed Mrs. Crawford to visit her
home one time. She began to learn
to read Christian books, and improv
ed her time diligently during Mrs.
Crawford’s visit to Buhgo. Her
fears gradually gave wuy and in their
place came an earnest desire to obtain
salvation. But she did not dare to
declare herself a Christian for fear
of her enemies who were seeking
every pretext to dispossess her of her
property. Mrs. Crawford says: “I
watched with interest how she would
come out in open profession. I
taught her carefully, to the best of <
my ability, but avoided pressure in
every way.” .She herself would say: i
“Let mo clear myself fully of all 1
idolatry and complicity in it, that, i
after onco committed, I may hold on i
faithfully and not break with this as <
I did with my former vows.’’
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. MARCH 23,1893.
I To live as a Christian she would
have to keep the Lord’s Day, and,
being at the head of a large house
hold, that would be a hard matter-
She would have to stop all that idol
atrous worship which is so linked
with every event in a Chinaman’s life.
. She would have to refuse contribu.
tions to the temples and theatricals
(which are apart of temple worship),
and that would bring down upon her
the wrath of the town-council and
her fellow-townsmen. She would
have to cease offering worship to
her husband’s ancestors; which would
invite his relatives to persecute her
anew, and would out off all sympa
thy from her friends. She was long
in coining to the point where she was
ready to be baptized; but, for more
than a year previous, she had regular
services every Sunday in the room
formerly dedicated to the goddess of
mercy; but now dedicated to God.
At the same time she had invited
Mrs. Crawford to make her home
her regular stopping place when
visiting Buhgo, and prepared a room
especially for her use.
She was baptized something over
three years ago; and since that time
her persecutions have been incessant-
Her crops have been stolen: a num
ber of times attempts have been made
to burn her out: corpses have been
thrown upon her land; beggars have
been instigated to besiege her, and
many other moans of anoying her
have been employed. Others who
were inquiring the way, have lost
their interest in the presence of her
persecutions. And 'yet, two other
members of her household have been
baptized; and another man is per
sistent in his desire for baptism; and
others show interest in hearing the.
truth.
Every Sunday these three or four,
and frequently one or two outsiders,
come together in the little chapel in
her house and have an all day service.
They sing and pray and read the Bi
ble and talk about it; I suppose much
in the way the Christians used to do
in I*>e early cent ries.
Mrs. Wong has the Spirit of Christ
within her. Her gentle manners
and exhibitions of affection, so dif
ferent from native women generally ’
manifest the new life within her. She
says: “When unable to sleep at night,
I get up and read my Bible for
hours.”
When Mrs. Crawford is out doing
her itineration work, she will meet
her at villages not too far away, and
assist in teaching the women and
girls. She also teaches the women
and girls of her own village. In
her position as a woman of wealth
and high standing, her remarkable
character is yielding an influence
throughout that region, in behalf of
of Christ, which cannot be reckoned.
Wm. D. King.
Hwang Ilion, ()’. O. Chefoo)
China.
EXPLANATION FOR BRETHREN
BREWER AND DAVI3.
In the little piece I wrote on the
scope of the examination of an Or
daining Presbytery I evidently cross
ed the thinking of these two dear
brethren and how many moro like
them I shall not likely ever know. I
do not care to defend my position
further, but simply to explain two or
three points out of respect to the
opinions expressed.
Bro. Brewer thinks that soundness
in doctrine is as much a qualification
for church membership as piety.
This ho would not push to its con
clusion. Beginning with the children
we take many people into the church
who are not acquainted with the
principles of Christianity in any ex
tended degree. If wo may bo as
sured of their conversion and their
willingness to bo baptized, wo receive
them and rnako it our concern to
teach thorn tho doctrine afterwards.
But wo do not select such to fill the
offices in our churches.
Bro. Brewer further asks if I be
lieve that all tho members of the
churches are regenerate persons. I
do not know. Possibly they aro not-
This does not affect tho question. I
am only anxious to teach by every
moans that wo Baptists believe they
ought to be regenerate persons before
they become members. Therefore
the Presbytery should not act as if
tho church undervalued regenera
tion and it remained for them to in
sist on what the church had neglect
ed.
Bro. Brewer next asks; ‘‘Why
should we have a Presbytery at all
if the church is capable of judging ? ”
Because wo have inspired direct
ion in the matter. The church per
forms its part and the Presbytery
performs its part. Diviuo direction
is given to each in its sphere. In the
Acts tho directions are for tho church
and in the Epistles the directions are
for the Presbytery. Tho church
which is composed of regenerate
persons is capable of judging of the
piety. The Presbytery which is com
posed of religious teachers, is capa
ble of judging of the qualifications
of one who is to become a teacher.
If the Presbytery should find the
candidate for ordination, either igno
rant or unsound, it would only need
to report that in their judgment the
applicant was unfit for a teacher, not
necessarily unfit for membership-
There the matter would end. If the
Presbytery should examine an ex
perience of grace and report un
favorably, the church must either
discredit the judgment of the Pres
bytery or proceed to unchurch one
of their members, not because he had
lost fellowship with them, but be
cause ho failed to gain fellowship
with another body of men.
Bro. Davis thinks the examination
cannot be harmful to any concerned.
It may be quite true shat it has never
been harmful, but can we say that it
has not ? Why do these brethren
acknowledge with so much grief,
that there are unconverted people in
our churches ? May it not be on this
very account? We have been try
iny through the years to teach the
New Testament doctrine of convert
ed membership and according to
their own admission wo have failed.
May it not be because we have
preached one thing and practiced
another? The Apostle Paul called
all the members Saints. Some of
them in his day did not act very
saintly, but ho intended to teach that
they ought to be Saints.
Does my Bro. Davis mean to in
;fer that the election of a member to
the office of Doacon It. 'Pastor, ought
to raise a doubt about his regenera
tion, and sot him up before the Pres
bytery to bo quizzed about his per
sonal knowledge of the Lord ? Doos
it not rather point him out as the
brother in whom the church has the
utmost confidence and the one whose
piety is apparent to all ?
Again Bro. Davis says: “To find
the aplpicant unfionverted, if it were
true, would bo good for all concern
ed-” Yes, that would be good. If
the church had been deceived, and
the brother himself had been decei
ved, it would be a good thing for all
parties to find it out. But will they
find it out? The Presbytery which
hears his story will not have the op
portunity to judge of his religious
experience, that the church has had,
because the church has heard his ex
perience and has seen his life, and
they have said by thoir action in
electing him to the office, that his ex
perience has gained their fellowship
and his life has confirmed the judg
ment.
Lastly Bro. Davis declares the
Presbytery to be called to endorse
the action of tho church. Here I
must demur. I hesitate to set my
self against such a wise and careful
student as I know Brother Davis to
be. But as I’aul said to the noble
Peter, “He was wrong and I with
stood him to the face.” I love Broth
er Davis and he loves me, and there
fore there can bo no danger in my
saying that he is evidently wide of
the purpose of an Ordaining Prosby
tery. According to New Testament
teachings of a Baptist church, no
body of men on earth or under the
earth can endorse what tho church
does. They may approve, and if
that is tho sense in which ho uses
“endorsed,” there would bo no seri
ous objection. But to endorse, in
tho sense of making valid, is no part
of tho work of a Presbytery. They
aro an advisory council. Called by
the church, do there work under the
supervission of the church and are
disbanded by the church. I know
that sonic of our practices have not
recognized these facts, but that is
what I am writing about, our failing
to practice the doctrine which we
preach. With deference as a child
Affectionately,
F. C. McConnell.
Elder W. O, Barrett died March 4th
1893, at Lathrop Mo., tho home of
bis son,
THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION,
BY A. B. VAUGHN, JR.
No. 3.
In my last article, it was shown,
and I think clearly shown, that the
advocates of absolute free-will, by
their theory render not only certain,
but inevitable the perdition of not
only a part, but of the whole of man
kind.
But it may be objected that the
position of the advocates of free-will
has not been correctly stated. In
reply, I have to say, that reference
to the works of Thedore, Tappan
and Bledsoe, will show that I have
fairly stated that for which they con
tend ; and moreover I have fairly
stated that for which all opposers of
tho scripture doctrine of election
must contend, if they are consistent.
For why do they charge upon the
doctrine, that it renders certain the
perdition of any part of mankind,
unless they would remove the human
will from the influence of motives ?
For while election, that which is al
together without the mind, is never
presented as a motive, in effecting
the conversion of the soul; still the
advocates of free-will, as well as the
advocates of the Scripture doctrine
of election, see that in accordance
with God’s purpose to save, express
ed in election, the gospel is so pre
sented.
Neither the Scriptures, nor the
advocates of the scripture doctrine
of election, teach that a man is saved
against his will. In every man’s
conversion, his will is influenced to
ward God in repentance, and toward
Christ in faith ,by motives not exter
nal, not without, but within the soul.
Absolute free-will, as we have
seen, is unscriptural, anti scriptural*
It now remains for us to enquire:
what is gained by admitting that the
will is influenced by motives in its
choice, in the direction which it takes,
while denying the Scripture doctrine
of election ?
If the will is influnced, directed by
motives, the question arises, how ?
There must be some way of ascer
taining. Motives must influence the
will according to some law’, which,
when it is correctly understood, we
'shall find to be unvarying in its
general operation. Otherwise the
fact of prophecy could never have
been, nor would such a thing as so
cial order bo possible. That law
must be, that the stronger of
two, or the strongest of many
motives presented to the mind; or
those less strong or least strong, so
presented, influence tho will in its
choice. No other alternative is pos
sible. The latter alternative, besides
being a palpable contradiction of all
experience and of all history,would be
attended with an interminable con
fusion of disastrous events. Accord
ing to such a law of mind, the right
eous in character would furnish or r
jails and penitentiaries with criminals
in conduct; while tho most wicked in
heart would stand forth as examples
of moral excellence. For as a man
wills, so ho acts, except in case of
co-action. Such a law would flatly
contradict tho words of Christ: “By
their fruits ye shall know them;’
conduct would furnish no true index
to charaster.
Tho will is therefore influenced,
directed by tho strongest motives
But motives are not self-originating ;
nor are they produced by the mere
act of will. Whence then do they
arise? Where do they reside?
What is the measure of their
strength ?
They aro orignated by tho mind’ 8
contemplating some object of thought.
They reside in the soul. The meas
ure of their strength is tho character
of the individual.
These truths might be aptly illus
trated by a multitude of facts drawn
from both secular and sacred histo
ry; and all who thoughtfully study
themselves will find them, confirmed
in their own experience. Passing
by the first two, I wish briefly to no
tice tho last as having special bear
ing on this discussion of election.
Judas Iscariot betrayed tho Lord
for thirty pieces of silver. Suppose
tho same proposition had been made
to Paul, would he have accepted it ?
A thousand times no. Tho silver is
tho samo in both oases. “What
makes it a motive in tho ono case
and not in tho other ? Why evident
ly the settled preferences, affections
and desires which constituted the
character of each.” Tho character
determines and gives strength to the
motive. That which is a motive,
influencing one man in a certain
direction, influences another man in
the entirely opposite direction. His
tory, Sacred and Secular, abounds
in instances illustrative of this fact.
And that which accounts for it, is
“that the causes of volitions lie
wholly within the soul. Outward
things have value and attractiveness
only as the mind siezes upon them
with its desires, only as they are ob
jects of some want within.” The
strongest motive therefore, is “the
bent of the mind, the fundamental
and rulingjpreference.”
It is nothing against the truth of
the doctrine here advocated, that
now and then, a man puts forth sin
gle volitions, performs individual
acts contrary to his true character:
as for instance when an ungodly
man professes Christianity, or when
a Christian commits sin. This is
but the temporary flowing back of a
wave, while the main current be
neath goes steadily on undisturbed
in its course. Wait but for a time,
and the settled character of the man
will be seen in the uniforn puttings
forth of his will.
Judas Iscarot was numbered
among the apostles, still he was a
devil; and his character Anally came
out in his betraying the Lord.
Peter was truly regenerated, yet in
a moment of fear, he denied his
Lord. But see him yonder in the
darkness weeping bitterly over the
temporary displacement of his char
acter; and watch that character set
tling itself more firmly, as he ap
peals to the omniscience of his Lord,
to attest his deathless love: “Lord
thou knowest all things, thou kuow
est that I love thee.”
If you have gone with me atten
tively thus far my friends, you very
readily see, that the will is the man
choosing; that God in constituting
him thus, can be charged with no
unrighteousness; that no violence
has been lone to man as a free-agent; i
that man acts, and aote freely and I
except in cases of co-action, he does
as he pleases. You see moreover
that it is utterly impossible for him
by a mere act of will to reverse his
moral nature. “Let him make the
attempt, and he finds himself as
powerless, as a man standing upon
the surface of the ground over one
of those subterranean Kentucky riv
ers, would be to turn back in its
course the rushing torrent that flows
beneath his feet.” [Strong.] And
think you that we see now what God
did not see from the beginning? No.
That were to deny his omniscience;
and that were blasphemy. God saw
man fallen; and opposed to holiness
as he is. God saw him dominated by
self-love; and that self-love cannot
throttle and slay Self-love. God
saw that without the mysterious but
powerful operation ofjthe Holy Spir
it within the soul, by which man’s
preferences, affections, desires—
character is radically changed, made
a new creature, the whole race, with
not a single exception would be in
evitably and {eternally lost.
. (Concluded next week.)
THE FUTURE OF CAMPBELLISM. •
BY MANLY J. BREAKER.
It ought to be possible for an hon
est man to approach with a judicial
mind, any question relative to any
religious sect. Just so far as any one
falls below this he is unfit to discuss
religious questions. Moreover, while
speculations as to tho future of any
thing must be involved in moro or
less uncertainty, they need not be
wholly without profit; for they may
help us to analyze tho question dis
cussed, and thus assist in the discov
ery and maintenance of tho truth.
When ono sets himself to consider
tho probable future of any move
ment, four things ho must study, to
wit: (1) tho internal conditions there
of ; (2) its relations to other move
ments ; (3) the spirit of the ago, and
(4) tho history of similar movements.
Lot us soo what light such a study
would throw on tho future of Camp
bollisin.
First, tlio internal conditions of
this movement aro full of interest.
Even a casual observer, with limited
opportunities for observation, must
uotice ono or two quite marked fea
tures. Tho period of struggling for
* The necessity for the uno of tho term
lIH,n TO apparent to all from this:
ipi Obristinnity. ’ Does nny ninii
»hk that question and limit his inquiry to the
niovoineut begun by Mr. Cunipboh? Os course
1 umo tho term in no Invidious senso whatever.
Brother Minister,
Working Layman,
Zealous Sister
We are striving to make
The Index
the best of its kind. Help us by securing a
new subscriber.
VOL. 70—NO. 12-
existence is nearly passed away and
is being succeeded by a period of
adjustment and digestion and recon
struction. This is always a trying
period; for it is always easier to pull
down than to build up. A marked
characteristic of the first period in
the history of Campbellism was the
gathering together of a great mass
of heterogeneous material. Multi,
tudes covld stand on| the platform:
“Make the good confession and be
baptized for the remission of sins,’’
who find that in many other things
they are not at all agreed. Hence,
Campbellism of to-day is marked by
two factions, the progressivist and
the reactionary. 'The former are in
favor of adopting the missionary and
educational methods of other de
nominations, while the reactionists
bitterly oppose all such things and
even declare non-fellowship for those
who favor them. At the same time
there are equally marked tendencies
towards and from the ordinary evan
gelical doctrine. Some of the older
preachers (and a few of the younger)
still proclaim the bald literalism and
undisguised ritualistic legalism of
Campbell and Lord; but many of
tho others tend very strongly to the
common evangelical doctrine of justi
fication by faith alone. Indeed, it is
quite likely that had Mr. Campbell
spoken as some of his followers now
do, though his utterances had pained
his Baptist brethren, these brethren
would not have gone to the extreme
of withdrawing fellowship from him.
Which of these two sets of tenden
cies will finally prevail, it does not
take a seer to see. The progressiv
ist party is building its churches, pub
lishing more of the papers and books
building and endowing the schools
and colleges, supporting missionary
boards and missionaries; and the re
actionists will steadily decline. The
latter may split off (if indeed they
have not already done so), but like
the reactionist party among the Bap
tists in 1833 they will certainly per
ish. Yet the success of the* progress
ivists will be obtained at the cost oi
lessening much of the original dis
tinctiveness of the movement.
Secondly, the relations which
Campbellism bears to other denomi
nations are worthy of attention.
Formerly it waged a warfare of ex
termination. Its avowed purpose
was to absorb them, and nothing
seemed to give its advocates greater
pleasure than to report that they had
gained converts “from the sects.”
This spirit cannot be said to be whol
ly exorcised ; but it has been much
subdued. In very many towns, and
in all cities, Campbellites take their
places in various sorts of Christian
work just as do any other non-Cath
olics (except Lutherans and Episco
palians). Indeed, frequently some
of the most prominent and efficient
workers in these joint movements are
Campbellites. This, of course, in
volves a recognition of the Christian
character of “the pious unbaptized, ’’
and is a great toning down of the
fundamental principle that sins are
remitted only in baptism. Moreover,
this contact with other denomina
tions is fast leading to the adoption
of current methods in church and
denominational work, and “the model
church in Jerusalem” is but little
spoken and much modified. In a
word, Campbellism is fast taking its
place as a Protestant sect, claiming
indeed peculiar doctrines and mis.
sion, but practically accepting the
situation of ono among many. Os
course there is still stout kicking
against this ; but tho tendency is too
marked to be denied, and too strong •
to be stopped or changed.
Thirdly, Campbellism has thus
been compelled to fall in with the
spirit of the age. That spirit abhors
doctrinal disscussions and makes
practical piety the tost of a sound
faith. Had Campbellism taken it<
rise to-day rather than nearly throe
quarters of a century ago, it would
have been an utter failure. For the
first fifty years of its history men
still delighted, in discussing tho doc
trines of religion, but now, except in
rural districts removed from tho cur
rent fooling of the period, they listen
very impatiently to such discussions
and refuse to become aroused by
them. Some indeed of tho principle
men among the Disciples see this so
plainly that they have wholly aban.
donod ordinary doctrinal preaching,
just as tho preachers of other sects
have. There may indood come |u
change over the spirit of tho ago and
doctrinal preaching return, but the