Newspaper Page Text
ESTABLISHED 1 <S2
The Christian Index.
Published Every Thursday, Cor. Ivy St.
and Edgewood Ave.
J. C. McMICHAEL, Propribtok.
Organ of the Baptist Denomination in
Georgia.
Subscription Prick :
One copy, one year $ 2.00
One copy, six months 1.00
Obituabiks.—One hundred words free of
charge. For each extra w ord, one cent per
word, cash with copy.
To CORRRHroNnKNTS.—Do not use abrevia
tions; be ex tracareful in writing proper names;
write with ink, on one side of paper; Do not
write copy intended for the editor and busi
ness items on same sheet. Lea\ e off personal
ities; condense.
Businkss.—Write all names, and post offices
distinctly. In ordering a change give the old
as wel las the new address. The date of latte I
indicates the time your subscription expires.
If you do not wish it continued, order it stop
ped a week before. We consider each sub
scriber permanent, until he orders his paper
discontinued. W’hen you order it stopped pay
upto date.
Remittances by check preferred ; or regts
tered letter, money order, postal note
In every trouble there are three troub
les,—the foreseeing, the enduring, and
the remembering' and who may say
which of these shall be the worse? The
one doubtless w hich has most of our
faultiness mingled with it. For out of
ourselves, in the last analysis, comes
the trouble of our troubles.
God graciously stoops to make ex
changes with us, gift for gift, his for
ours. He stretches forth one hand to
proffer Opportunities for working good,
and at the same time stretches forth the
other to receive in return Performances
of these good works. How have we
dealt with these hands? Have we taken
from the full hand and left the other
empty?
A right love and a wrong love can
no more dwell together in a heart and
be at one with t each other there than
can integrity and theft, or honor and
hypocrisy, or Christ ami Belial. But is
it not a fait of language which allows
such phrases? whereas the truth is that
what we call wrong love is not love, is
loves base counterfeit ami that is simply
saying love we have already said "right
love.’’
It is popular with many writews who
call themselves Christian and “liberal,”
and with many who aver themselves
sceptical and even atheistic, to rebuke
the Scripture as painting the de
pravity of human nature in colors far
too dark. But docs not current non-
Christian and anti-Christian literature
bear out the scriptural doctrine 2 What,
for example, must be thought of the na
ture of which Balsac says: “It is natural
to deny what we cannot understand, to
insult what we envy, and to destroy what
we cannot possess"?
The London "Times” quotes Glad
stone as having once said that no ma >
shonld be allow ed to hold office as Pre
mier after he is sixty years of ago. But
'the Grand Old Mau'liad not then learned
to appreciate properly the capabilities of
advanced age, and has lived to refute
his dictum by his ow n example. Now
at the age of eighty-four years he is fill
ing that office witli an ability and indus
try which put many a younger man to the
blush.
We begin life w ith too low an estimate
of old age and its possibilities, and nev
er altogether get rid of it. 'lbis preju
dice, for it is to a great degree nothing
else, causes our churches to set aside
many a winker in the vineyard, whom
the Lord of the vineyaidhas not set a
side
You have written your sermon. Read
it over, blot out everything which bears
the marks of satire and irony: every
thing which makes the hearers look
smilingly, unsympathetically, uncharita
bly contemptuously on the faults of oth
ers; everything which makes any hear
er feel as though you so look on his
faults.
Then when you have done this, where
ever you find breaks in your manuscript
wiite in what love prompts, love putting
itself in place of the bearer: love patient
with his obduracy so like your own of
old: love pitying his wretchedness of
which you too once had experience; love
yearning for ids salvation as though it
were a second and fuller salvation to
you; love ready to give itself to him in
Christ even as Christ gave to you him
self.
During the late season of festivities a
young lady, chafed, impatient, angry,
reckless, said; "There is one tiling I can
do; I can die and send you my Christ
mas Greetings from Hell.” It is scarcely
possible to hear these words without a
shudder. But say that we might
have received Christmas Greetings
from the World of Despair, of w hat kind
would they have been? Would warnings
have come to us, such as the rich man
would fain have sent: from “torment
of tire” to his brethren ? Or up
braidings for temptations of ours which
led souls now lost astray, or neglect
which left straying souls to perish
through want of effort to reclaim them!
Or exultations of malice, looking eager
ly forward to the hour of doom w hich
shall drag us also down into the bot
tomless gulf? These are disagreeable
questionings: but we may derive some
profit from dwelling on them in our
thoughts awhile.
Alas, what divided hearts we have:
weakly divided:divided wickedly throb
bing now witli love of the Father,
and now witli love of the world! How
like our inner man is to the coin of the
Roman empire in the days of Constan
tine, with the cross on one side, the mark
and token of Christianity, and the sym
bolof the sun-god. the mark and token of
Paganism, on the other. Oh let us seek
singleness of heart, and give none of it
to the world, and give it all to God. Let
us strive to learn the three lessons of
life; for life has three lessons only. The
whole of the wisdom it teaches us may
be summed up in these points, whereas
there is no wisdom if these be wanting.
1. God is necessary to our happiness:
without him, it is not in the power of all
things else to bestow it. 2, God is suffi
cient for our happiness: he can bestow
it even though lie should not bestow any
thing else. :L God is our happiness, he
bestows it in bestowing himself, henc •-
forth we have either that high blessing
God in everything, or that blessing
higher still every tiling in God.
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX.
"MAY GO UNDEtUA NEW NAME.’’
Dear Index :—You asked me
to write something for you, and
just as I said to myself, “Nothing
to write about,” my’ eye fell upon
an article in the Atlanta Journal of
the 12th instant, it reads as follows :
“Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 12. —
A good deal of interest has been
aroused among local ministers by
the announcement that Dr. Kerr
Tupper, pastor of the First
Baptist church of Denver, and one
of the best known divines in the
West, had made the startling an
nouncement in the minister’s meet
ing, that in a short time the Bap
tist and Christian denominations
of the world will be united under
the name of the latter, and that
the conferences looking to that end
are now pending.
His statement, which implies a
question of vital importance was
fully stipulated | ventilated ] here
to-day, and it developes that the
scheme of consolidation has pro
gressed secretly to a point that
makes its consummation quite pro
bable.”
When 1 reached the expression
“progressed secretly,” my head al
most began to swim,l could not keep
from thinking of the secret work
ings of the Spanish Inquisition, of
the secret Russian police regula
tions, of all the hidden ways of the
Prince of Darkness. To think
that the scheme of consolidation
had progressed almost to comple
tion, and we out-of-the-way folk
had been kept in profound ignor
ance of the whole affair till now !
Just about to be handed over and
we did not know it!
But when I looked at the name
again, “Dr. Kerr Tupper,” and in
my mind filled it all out “Kerr
Boyce Tupper,” I said, “Never,
can’t be ; no one who has Boyce in
his name, or Tupper in his name
can carry on conferences, and es
pecially secret ones looking to the
sullying of the name Baptist, to say
nothing of utterly blotting it out.
Some one from Indianapolis has
taken unwarranted liberties with
man who bears the name of
two of the noblest men that God
has given to this generation.
It was not much more than an
hour after 1 had recovered my
equilibrium when a friend entered
the room, and pointing to an arti
cle in the Savannah Morning News,
said, “Read that.” The article was
written with great head lines,“May
Go Under a New Name. The
proposed Union of the Baptist and
Christian Churches.” Then came
the body of the article as follows .
“There is a wide spread interest
all over the country’ in regard to
the proposed amalgamation of the
Baptists and the Disciples of Christ.
The scheme of consolidation lias
progressed rapidly, and in the opin
ion of Dr. Kerr Tupper, a promi
nent divine in the West, the time
is not far distant when the Baptist
and Christian denominations will
be united under the name of the
latter.”
Under the name of the latter,
the name “Baptist” to be lost or
laid aside forever ! Well that is
sad, very sad, indeed ! So many
memories cling about the name :
John, the Baptist, William Cary,
Baptist; John Bunyan, Baptist;
Hall, Fuller, Spurgeon, Baptist,
and then such a host of them over
on this side of the water, and all
of them so proud of the name
Baptist. I can imagine my own
great grand children in the year
1950 looking over an Enclopedia
(new edition ) and finding the word
“Baptist,” and then reading what
the compiler says : “The name of
a denomination of Christians that
once flourished, both in England
and in the United States, but was
swallowed up by the Disciples of
Christ (by wicked people some
times called Campbelites) like the
whale swallowed Jonah.” But I
will be dead and forgotten long
before my posterity shall read in
that Enclopedia.
Let me return to the article in
the Morning News, and quote a
little more : “The basis of the pro
posed union formulated by the
Christian church is as follows :
1. What is the grand aim, what
is the prime purpose, what is the
distinct mission of the people
known as the Disciples of Christ?
The answer is: To unite in a
loving brotherhood, Christians of
every name and creed and peculiar
usage.
2. In what way do the Disciples
propose to bring about this union
of the children of God? The an
swer is by persuading them to be
satisfied \ ith the religion of Jesus
as he gave it to mankind, and as it
is described on the pages of the
New Testament.”
Well that is good, no mistake
about it. 1 like this “basis of un
ion” very much indeed. The only
possible improvement that I could
suggest would be the insertion of
two more words, so tlffit it would
read, “By persuading them to ac
cept and be satisfied with the re
ligion of Jesus as he gave it to
mankind, and as it is described on
the pages of the New Testament.”
I am ready for a union with these
good people on that basis, and with
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. JANUARY 25. 1894.
everybody else on the face of the
whole earth. That is exactly what
the Baptists have been working for
all this time ; and since they were
working to this end so many,
many years before Rev. Alexander
Campbell was born, we can’t see
any use in changing our names
just to do what we were doing al
ready.
But I must return to my Morn
ing News article, it reads :
“Dr. Goodwin’s Views .—A
Morning News representative ask
ed Rev. S. A. Goodwin, pastor of
the First Baptist church, yesterday
about the proposed union. ‘I
knew nother of a union of the
Disciples with the regular Baptists,’
he replied, ‘but,” said he, ‘I have
long favored it, and know of no
insuperable obstacle in the way of
its consummation.
Precisely so, as said before, we
all are in favor of it, and always
have been, and the only obstacle in
the way of these, and all others
being united with us, is the failure,
as we understand it, to “Accept
and be satisfied with the religion of
Jesus as it is described on the
pages of the New Testament.”
But it is possible, brother Index,
that some people can’t just put in
succinct form what is described” or
taught on the pages of the New
restament, and for the assistance
of such, I beg to recommend to
them a copy of what is known as
“ I’he Philadelphia Confession of
Faith.”
For the convenience of the read
er, scripture references are attach
ed to each article, so that there can
be no difficulty in seeing just what
the New Testament does teach.
And if one is so situated that he
cannot secure this abstract of New
Testament teachings, if he will
apply to the clerk of any regular
Baptist church, it may be the First
Baptist church in Savannah, or
Gum Log church in Raccoon Hol
low. the clerk will take pleasure in
furnishing him with the very thing
he needs, and that too, without
charge.
But I must again return to the
Morning News, Dr. Goodwin con
tinued : “The sympathy existing
between the two denominations is
strong, and the differences which
divide them are yearly diminish
ing.” Then the News man asked,
“What are those differences which
divide them?” The doctor replied :
“One of the most important was
the belief of the Disciples in bap
tismal regeneration, which the Bap
tists disclaim, but the greater part
of the Disciples, so far as I can as
certain, no longer hold to that doc
trine, and with this eliminated,
the minor differences that now
separate them can be easily adjust
ed.”
Dr. Goodwin is all right on this
point; he understands full well
that when fundamental errors are
discarded, there is some hope that
matters will get right after awhile.
He says noth'ng about changing
our name, or losing our identity.
He did not even know of these
“conferences,” nor of the “propos
ed union.” The truth is, judging
from his answer, he is keeping one
eye steadily on the New Testament
teachings, as epitomized in the
Philadelphia confession, and the
other eye on these good people,
and finds that “The differences
which divide them | and us] are
yearly diminished:” He sees
Mohamet coming to the moun
tain, instead of the mountain go
ing to Mahomet. God’s word is
sure and steadfast, and we welcome
all who come to it. But as to
uniting with our churches, we
don’t want people to come in a
lump, or even by groups, but to
come one by one, so we can hear
each ones experience of grace as
Peter heard that of Cornelius, and
then have the opportunity of bap
tizing each one as we become satis
fied that he is already a new crea
ture in Christ Jesus.
But brother Index, there is an
other feature to this thing :
The Indianapolis communication
is dated January 12th ; the publica
tion in the Atlanta paper appeared
the evening of that same day, an
article based upon this communica
tion appears on the morning the
13th in Savannah, and I am told
one on the same day in a Macon
paper, (I did not see that) on the
same subject. Three publications
in the same State, practically, on
the same day, may all be accidental,
but it does look as if there was
some ground for this alleged
“secret” business. Is Georgia es
pecially favorable ground for intro
ducing this subject ? or is it, that
Georgia is especially hard to be
managed by those who are attend
ing to this “amalgamation” business,
and special influences are to be
brought to bear upon us? It is
time for somebody to rise and ex
plain.
We all respect the man who
honestly differs from us as to the
teachings of God's word, but we
have contempt for him who would
be willing for a moment to discard
what he believes the Book does
teach, or accept of that which he
does not believe that it teaches.
More than that, if there are those
in any of our Baptist churches who
are dissatisfied, or who do not hold
to what is set forth in the articles
of faith on which their respective
churches were constituted, the hon
orable thing for such parties to do,
is to get out, and get out as quick
ly as possible, and not to annoy us,
nor attempt to undermine us by
secret conferences, nor by any oth
er dishonorable means.
W. L. Kilpatrick.
Hephzibah, Ga.
BAPTIST AFFAIRS IN MISSISSIPPI.
Among the writer’s earliest rec
ollections is the familiar face of the
old “Christian Index and South
western Baptisf’in his grandfather’s
family. During all the years since
that not very remote period of an
tiquity, the Index has been a more
or less familiar visitor. The la
mented Dr. Tucker was a well
known and prominent figure
among Mississippi Baptists, as the
president of Martha Washington
Female College at Poutotoc, which
of course went down in the wrecks
of the dark days of 1861 to 1863.
During the Southern Baptist Con
vention of 188 1, in the city of Co
lumbus, it was my privilege to hear
one of the very best of sermons,
characterized by marvellous
strength and rare beauty, from Dr.
Tucker. When next I saw him it
was at the Southern Baptist Con
vention of 1891, in Memphis, only
a short time before his death. The
scene will never be forgotten of
his majestic form and snowy locks
as he arose and said : “Brethren,
have you seen the Avalanche of
yesterday and its attack on pastor
Venable? I have, and it has
grieved me deeply,” or words to
that effect; and he then offered the
resolutions of vindication which
were adopted by the body.
Dr. Tucker always reminded me
of the Index and the Index of
him, as he was so long associated
with it in an editorial way. Your
presence is still most highly appre
ciated, indeed, with due respect to
your bright past, you grow better
and brighter all the while.
Dr. Hackett, the able and excel
lent chief editor of our State
paper, “ The Baptist Record,” has
had quite a little tiff with acute
bronchitis, accompanied with fever.
This kept him in doors about forty
days, and his absence f rom his edi
torial post for so long a time, was
most seriously felt in all the lines
of work pushed by the paper. But
now, to the joy/of all of us, he is
.again on foot ar?-'bis nost of
duty, hard at wo'rL Since Dr.
Gardner left us for Florida and
then found pasturage and work in
your State, pastor L. S. Foster has
been promoted again to the edito
rial chair and manages the Re
corder’s Field Glass. Secretary A.
V. Rowe, one of our strongest and
best men, is the missionary editor
of the paper, and keeps up his de
partment well.
There have been some sad deaths
recently among our people. The
venerable Mrs. Jane E. Gambrell,
mother of Dr. J. B. Gambrel),
president of your Mercer Univer,
sity, and of Rev. J. 11. Gambrell-
Brookhaven, and Rev. I). E. Gam
brell, Fordyce, Ark., has laid aside
the cross for the crown. A note
from Dr. Gambrell to th'? “Record”
a short time since said : “Mother
died November 29, full of years,
charity, faith, and hope. I thank
God for such a mother.”
Deacon William E. Bolls, of the
Rodney church, after a long and
active and useful life, has gone to
his reward. A former pastor says
of him : “He always proved him
self a spiritual and sympathetic
helper.”
Rev. Joseph Buckles, of Casey
ville, a most excellent man and a
strong and able preacher of the
gospel, has lately gone to his re- j
ward greatly lamented.
Dr. J. T. Zealy died on 10th De- ■
cember, at McComb City. For (
years he has been a prominent
character in Baptist affairs. He
has been a teacher of girls in
Jackson and Winona. He has been
pastor at Jackson, Winona, and .
other important places. He has
also wielded a graceful and force
ful pen, though has never published
very much ; only small works, such J
as historical sketches of churches, I
pamphlets, etc. A great man has [
departed.
Some excellent men have left us
for pastorates in other States. Rev.
W. A. McComb has resigned the
pastorate at Yazoo City, and ac
cepted the care of the church at
Eureka Springs, Ark., the home of
the eminent evangelist, Rev. W. '
E. Penn. Just before leaving he, i
aided by Rev. Geo. W. Knight, 1
held special revival services with
the Yazoo City church, resulting
in a large ingathering. By his re
moval we lose a strong young |
minister. Rev. J. L. Finley, a
faithful veteran missionary and col
porteur of the northern part of the
Stat a, has gone to Texas. Rev. '
J. 11. Taylor, of Kossuth, one of
the strongest and most active min
ister in the same section of the
Stale, has gone to Texas. Rev. J.
R. Barrett, of Rienzi, resigned his
pastorate and has gone to King-
ston, Texas. He is another good
man leaving for “the West.” And
still another, Rev. R. W. Merrill,
the gifted young pastor of the Car
rollton church, who succeeded so
well for six years in the pastorate
of the Valence Street church, New
Orleans, goes from us to Beaumont,
Texas.
Many leave us and “go West.”
Indeed Texas, in the make-up of
her Baptist ministry, is a large
slice of Mississippi gone west.
Many good men remain and are
doing excellent service for the
Master. Os some of these, and !
their work I will tell you in an- |
other letter. Jason.
DE. HAWTHORNE ENDORSED.
The Index has never, in its |
seventy odd year’s existence, had j
as large circulation as it now has.
Consequently it has never before
in its long life, been more influen
tial for good than now. As an evi
dence of the Index being read we
print the following, from a Kansas
City pastor. ,
Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 13, ’9.;.
Mv Dear Dr. Hawthorne : !
I have just read your sermon in ’
the Christian Index, and am |
obeying a resistless impulse to say
a word or two to you.
You showed yourself a Chris
tian hero in your struggle with the
“whiskey business.” You have
“stood up” for the dear church of
Jesus. You are aiming in this
sermon at one of the greatest foes
of American society—the attempt
ed displacement of woman. A'y
thing—any calling, which is in
compatible with being a wife, a
mother, a keeper of our homes,
ought to be considered out of the
domain of her business. “ Let
your women be keepers at home.”
The temptation to enter upon these
callings which are incompatible
with motherhood, is bringing that
in the perpetuity of the race into
disrepute, so that now the larger
families of children are born to the
women who are—on account of
ignorance—unable to avoid child
bearing, and consequently the
future generation will have been i
trained by that class of mothers
which is least capable. This is
undermining the race. Here in
Missouri a few of our Baptist wo
men go about over our State'
making public addresses to “mixed
assemblies.” I wish your manly
Voice could be heard in our State.
A great many of our best brethren
atrree v’itb "on in much that you
say, and some or these days they .
will join you and reinforce you. I
Some will malign you, but truth
commends itself. Nature is your
ally in this struggle. It is just now
and then that nature produces a
monstrocity like Mrs. Lease. There
are a few cases even in this great !
universe of wise purpose, where a I
“stick of timber” seems to have j
been spoiled by a mistake. Per- :
haps Mrs. Lease was intended to
be a cranky man like several of our 1
Kansas brethren.
Yours in Jesus,
GRATIFYING.
BY BRO. JNO. F. EDEN.
The extract from a recent ser- ■
monos Dr. B. 11. Carroll, of Texas, j
which appeared in the Index
recently and the article of Dr.
Hall, of Newnan, last week, are
very gratifying ; and especially so
when considered in connection
with a late article in the Examiner
on “Some Southern Peculiarities.”
By the way, is it not a little
singular that the unanswerable
arguments of Dr. Carroll against i
alien immersion should appear in
the Index simultaneously with an
article in the New York Examiner !
from a Georgia Baptist, stating 1
that “ Landmarkism is a strict
characteristic of the < )ld Regular
Baptists? However since J. R.
Graves ran his career, this spirit is
waning. Alien immersion is un
popular in the South, yet the cos- ,
inopolitan spirit is slowly introduc
ing it.”
If landmarkism is opposition to
alien immersion and strong ad
herence to pure Baptist principles
without any compromise with
Rome and her practices, then 1, for
one, thank God for landmarkism, j
and pray that the Baptists of the :
South may ever be “Old Regular ,
Baptists. If this is landmarkism, '
then it was not born, nor did it I
die, with J. R. Graves. If he has I
run his career, the principles which |
he advocated will never run their
career. While they may seem to
wane, it is only a seeming and for
a brief period. These principles :
had a vigorous birth at the begin- I
ning of the gospel—they are the ;
truth—and “truth crushed to earth 1
will rise again,” and the rising is
Phmnix-like.
It is very much to be regretted
that any Baptist paper should “ad- ,
vocate alien immersion,” since J
there is neither Scripture nor logic 1
for it. “Alien immersion is un- |
popular in the South,” because the
Baptists of the South are like they
were in New Testament times, they
are “a peculiar people.” j
Baptists of the South do not
I need, and I hope they do not de
■ sire, “ the cosmopolitan spirit,”
. which introduces alien immersion.
I From such a spirit, “ Good Lord,
deli\er us.” Southern Baptists
have long been recognized as the
conservators of peculiar Baptist
principles in their purity. J. R.
Graves, one of the strongest adher
ents to and advocates of these pure
principles, was ever hated by'those
who oppose these principles, and
.little loved by Baptists of the “cos
mopolitan spirit.” We should al
| ways love the name and revere the
| memory of this man, who was
willing to be hated and maligned
because he loved and zealously ad
vocated these pure principles.
We trust that the dear old Index
i (yet new each week) will long live
in increasing power and prosperity
in her loyalty to these pure Baptist
(and which is synonymous, Bible)
principles. Let us thank God for
such men as Drs. Carroll, of Texas,
and Hall, of Newnan, Ga.
Quitman, Ga., Jan. 16th, 1594.
NOTES FROM SOUTH CAROLINA.
BY REV. C. C. BROWN.
---
1 am afraid, brother Index,
we are not the best of neighbors.
The muddy little torrent that flows
between us serves to separate us
too effectually, and like Jew and
Samaritan, we have no dealings
with each other. Is there any good
reason for neighbors to be so
'‘offish.” One of your honored in
habitants once told me that Geor
gia had a grudge against Carolina,
beca>- “ had a very bad habit
of tnving a.! .'..■r vagabonds and
rascals across the river to find a
home among your people. Os
course, this does not have reference
to any one from this State who is
neither a vagabond nor a rascal,
and hence I hope no ex-Carolinian ’
will “call me out.” or demand my
author for settling a question of
honor. The truth is, we have quit
exiling our convicts to Georgia for
the simple reason it is too good a
place to go to. It is said there are
many ex-Charlestonians scattered
over the South whose desire is to I
return to Charleston when they
die, and I am coming to think the
same about some Georgians. The i
chief executive of my wardrobe i
and bureau is a Georgian, and |
seems to have a desire something 5
like the above.
Well, sir, I have no great news
to bring concerning the people who
live on this side the river, more
than to say we are moving on to
wards better things. All our
churches seem to be living and
laboring in harmony, and our
Methodist brethren say they never
expect to be able to catch up with
us, unless we either quit growing
or employ a new statistician. The
latter has come to pass, and brother
I). W. Key, of Society Hill, is
henceforth to work out, in figures,
the story of our growth. Brother
A. J. S. Thomas surrendered the
work as too hard for him. 1 am
inclined to think one weakness of 1
the Baptists is an over-weaning de- I
sire to count,and if ever it comes to '
pass that some one is appointed to
count the thousands among us who
do nothing for the churches, that
man will find his hands full.
One of your recent correspon
dents, >n discussing an able address
made by a young man, confesses
that he was much surprised, seeing
that the speaker was so young. Be
ing neither old nor “right rank
young,” as an old fellow said about
a horse he was trying to trade
away. 1 think I may be allowed
to express myself on this point.
Whether it be right or wrong, it is
not mine to judge, but 1 am quite
sure I can truthfully say, this is the
young man’s age, and many of our
old brethren have done much to i
make it so. It too often happens j
now that experience is mistaken
for knowledge, and a man thinks ;
he knows either because he used to j
know or ought to know. When
one reaches this stage, all study
and investigation come to an end, '
and one draws continually upon
past resources—draws until at last
his drafts are dishonored. Upon ;
this follows the time of complaint
and wailing, because age and ex
perience are not properly appre- j
ciated. The world, is round and '
funny, but men are not such great
fools as to be easily deceived all the
time. Tears and experience com
bined do not necessarily make a
wise man, and the old man who has |
given up study and research will
find himself relegated to the rear,
no matter how much he used to
know, or how much he thinks he
now knows. An aged brother not
far away from me says the custom
now is to go through the orchard
and pluck the green fruit, while the
ripe and mellow are left to rot and I
decay. But it should be remem
bered that the young man who be
gins work now, if he has made use
of the advantages within his reach
in the way of obtaining an educa
tion, actually begins where many
of the fathers ended, A college
training, with two or three years
at our Seminary superadded, is 1
equal to twenty-five years study I
VOL 71—NO. 4.
without these helps. The Semina
ry course is chiefly beneficial in
teaching young men, not only
what books to use, but how to use
them, and I am quite sure that this
last is the one lesson that most men
has given seven or eight years to
hard work, under the wisest teach
ers and amid the most propitious
surroundings. I cannot see why it
should be a matter of surprise to
hear a young man make a really
able speech. Fifty years ago, lam
told, young men were given but an
indifferent place in the church, and
along with the women, were ex
pected to keep silent. This arose
from the interpretation given to
the term “elders” so much used in
the New Testament, but a change
has come about, and more stress is
now layed upon “Let no man des
pise the youth,” than upon the fact
that “elders” were old men. The
older brethren should labor to re
main young in mind and heart. To
put a discount upon the ability of
young men—when they are really
able—will solve no problem nor re
move any difficulty.
Sumter, S. C.
HOW ABOUT THE DEACONS?
———
BY REV. H. R. BERNARD.
It will be conceded by all that
the office of deacon is of vital im
portance. We readily see that the
deacons are responsible in a great
measure for the success of a church.
Upon the piety, tact, faithfulness,
and good sense of the deacons
hangs the destiny of the church, in
no small degree.
Sometimes the church does not
do well, does not make progress,
seems to be sickly. When this is
observed,the church often becomes
restless, desires to change. What
change? Why, a change in the
pastorate of course. Something is
the matter, and the remedy is to
get another pastor, and if affairs do
not improve, get another.
I have been wondering here
lately, if there ever was a church,
that thought its troubles grew out
of the fact that the deacons were
at fault. Did it ever occur to a
church yet, to ask the deacons to
resign, and let others be elected
and ordained? Brethren of the
churches, suppose sometime when
you are not doing well, and do
not know what the trouble is,
and are going to guess at
a remedy, that you guess the
deacons are not altogether what
they ought to be, and then secure
others. Suppose you experiment
this way a wiilii and gi VC tuv
preachers a rest. I have seen
many a church after a new pastor,
but never one after new deacons.
Have you ?
Athens, Ga.
TIDBITS.
A sermon is an appeal, founded
on argument, and enforced by il
lustrations and application.
A preacher should shun as a ser
pent all can’t, all pulpit tone and
pulpit manner, everything tint’s
put on for effect.
Poets are prophets :—Moses’
song is linked with the song of the
Lamb. David’s verses are realized
in the experience of Christ and
Christians.
William Langlande in his “Vis
ion of Piers Plowman” sees all
classes and conditions of men and
satizes the seven deadly sins—
pride, luxury, envy, wrath, avarice,
gluttony and sloth, and pungently
comments on the worthlessness of
Papal bulls and the supreme value
of a godly life. Now, though he
lived during the last two-thirds of
the 14th century, he distinctly pro
phesies in this poem the overthrow
of the monastic system which took
place under Henry Sth, and that of
the Saracenic order. He taught
that salvation was by Christ only,
and depicted the coming trials and
triumphs of the true church. He
was one of the earliest reformers—
a morning star with Wiclif of the
Reformation.
How carefully we should plant
and culture and guard the moral
forces of childhood ! Chas. Lamb
says : “Next to making a child an
infidel is the letting him know that
there are infidels at all.” May not
a preacher by a casual unanswer
ing slur at some clearly stated error
sow a seed of distrust which will
grow into a upas-tree.
Reverence is the supreme con
dition of Divine worship. Pro
pound spirituahnindedness and
tense watchfulness are necessary
to reverence. A congregation
is gathering for worship. Many
stand without, many sit within,
doing what? Conversing up to
the moment of singing on the
veriest trifles. During the worship
of song, the outsiders storm and
stamp down the aisle. During
the worship of meditation, while
the Bible is read and preached,
should an infant chirp, a dog enter,
a man sneeze, a woman enter
decked in a new bonnet, how
many giggle, or whisper, or turn
their heads, and 10, the sensitive
spirit of devotion is broken. After
quietly entering God’s Sanctuary,
take your seat, close your eyes,
Continued on Bth page.