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ESTABLISHED 1821. TheGhristian'lndex FuMUbel Every Thursday By BELL & VAN NEHH Address Christian Index,Atlanta, Us Organ of the Baptist Denomination in Georgia. subscription Price: One oopy, one year IS.O* One oopy, six months 1.0 ▲bout Our Advertisers.—We propose hereafter to very carefully Investigate our advertisers. We shall exerolse every care to allow only reliable parties to use our col ■mns. Obituaries.—One hundred words free of •harge. For each extra word, one cent per word, oash with copy. To Coß(RESpondents—Do not use abbrevi ations; be extra careful In writing proper names; write with Ink, on one side of paper. Do not write oopy Intended for the editor and business Items on same sheet. Leave Off personalities, condense. Business.—Write all names, and post cffloesdlstlnctly. In ordering a change give the old as well as the new address. The date at label Indicates the time vour subscription expires. If you do not wlsn It continued,or der It stopped a week before. We consider each subscriber permanent until he orders his paper discontinued. When you order It stopped pay up to date. Remittances by registered letter, money order, postal note God Glorified in Character. LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BE FORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN. MATTHEW V 16. Every human intelligence sheds some light in the world. It may be a light that lights only a household, possibly a hamlet; it may be a light that illuminates nations, and for centuries. The degree and kind of the light de pends partly on the degree of in telligence, partly on the ends towards which the intelligence acts. The deeds which are done reveal distinctly the glory or the shame of the ends for which they are done. It is after the style of Oriental imagery that the text speaks of deeds as casting light. Modern thought goes behind this, and fixes its attention on the source of deeds—character. It is not so much the doing of a man, but the man himself that modern thought takes cogniz ancewof; and character shows either the glory or shame of the sources whence it is derived. The text sets before you the connec tion between human character • *nd divine glory. I, am aware that “the glory of God”—a phrase so often carelessly drop ped— to modern taste, smacks strongly of cant. But this old phrase is full of mean ing—as full of meaning and signifying asO much to-day as when used by the ancient Hebrew prophet. It is fitting, therefore, on such a day as this, to ask ourselves how human character can be formed so as to glorify that Creative Mind from which all sprang, by which all are sustained, and to which all rational intelligence shall return for account. There are three ways of look ing at character. First, there is the view that regards it as the mere spontaneous outgrowth of inherited or implanted impulses; something moved from within, but affected from without, springing up like a mushroom, and gone in a day. There are plenty of such characters. An other way of looking at character is by architectural imagery. Character is something carefully built up. slowly and steadily rising. Character may be built on a deep, broad substructure, great blocks of truth sunk deep in the human mind. On such a foundation one can rear a mag nificent structure which no vicis situdes can shake, no human calamity overturn. Such a one is not formed in an hour or a day, but requires a lifetime. It is formed by earnest thoughts, persistent purposes, under hard ships, in spite of temptations, slowly reared as a grand temple. Another more common idea of character is suggested by the origin of the word. It may be regarded as a mere imprint re ceived from environment, or as an imprint not determined solely by environment, but also by our wills controlling and effecting the impression we choose to re ceive. The Greek word from which “character” is derived means a stamp, then the impress of the stamp, then the strong, abiding impression which the human soul, by inward power, shapes from outward influences. On either of these conceptions you fix your eyes on the inward forces,—thought, purpose, and moral effect. In all cases char acter depends entirely on a clear perception of life, a clear resolu tion as to the use to be made of life; on the purpose which a man forms, and towards which he directs his energies. There can be no impression on anything so unstable as water; there must be a consistency, to determine what kind of an im- THE CHRISTIAN INDEX. | SUBSCRIPTION, Fee Yeab,. ...•*.00.1 I TO MINISTERS, 1.00.1 pression is to be received. The question arises, whence do we derive our impressions? There are two great theories of the i r'in of the universe. T <ose are called theists who regard the world as the creation of an Omnipotent, Omniscient, and in finitely Benevolent Being. God created the world from an irre sistible overflow of benevolence, because He desired to create be ings upon which to lavish His goodness. To such an extent is this carried that it is claimed the whole universe is a boundless system to promote satisfaction. Human satisfaction is blessed ness. The whole teems and pro duces that man may gather, say ing; “We are the little sover eigns; we are the beings for whom the heavens roll, and whom God girds Himself to wait on.” The other theory is exactly opposed to this. God in His eternal counsels created the universe for His own ends, His own glory, that we might see His wisdom and glory. Human beings were created to preceive, recognize.and declare His wisdom and glory. This, carried to its utmost extent, lands us in the conception that all beings were created only to set forth the justice and mercy of God. Human happiness is not*excluded, but it exists to subserve the Divine ends. It has even been said that a protion of the race is predestined to eternal damnation to illustrate the Divine glory. Each of these theories is an ex treme to which we refuse our assent. Yet we may believe that the world exists for the glory of God without accepting the grim ness of the latter theory. Hu man happine-s and Divine glory are so intimately cennected that we cannot think of one without the other; they cannot be sepa rated . Grant that this is true, what, then, should be our ruling pur pose? We must fix distinctly on an unchanging purpose, that our acts shall have constant regard to the honor and glory of that Being who gave us existence and made it blessed, —a purpose that requires the help of God, and has the service of God at its end. Here we cmnot forget how utterly unfitted human beings are to make themselves objects of glory. No man can set him self up to glorify himself without failure. Such is the competition and selfishness of world t'm# he will find himself thwarted at every step. Only he who loses his life for righteousness’ sake shall save it. No man can reach a position desirable for him to obtain, who does not reach it as the result of the Divine ordering. He is not placed in it simply be cause mankind sees he is fitted to obtain it. There is no creature who creeps about on the earth who is so despicable as the man who seeks his own aggrandize ment and gratification; and no creatures are so mean as the men who seek glory for themselves at the expense of others. But he who looks about him search ing into the world and looking afar, bent on seeking the Divine will which is also seeking him, is sure to find that will, and often at unexpected times and places. While it may not be true that it is right for a human being to seek glory as his end, it is true that God has the right to seek a special object of glorification. Two distinct thoughts are con nected with the idea of glory. The old writers used to speak of essential glory and declara tive glory. The essential was that which was inherent in being. God alone has that. The declarative glory is that which makes known His glory, His glorious will. God makes known His purpose to glorifiy man, and therefore He is glorifying His own ends. So that we can not separate human happiness from Divine glory. To glorify God, therefore, is to de clare, to make known His glory. You may ask how a declaration of Divine glory can be made in the world? First of all, by de claring its worth. How we set to work to glorify man! How men glorify military genius with epics! How men glorify holi ness with lyrics, as David glori fied the holiness of God! There is something to recognize in God. Are not men exalted who ponder on the nature of God, His holiness, His love, His infinite mercies? Do they not thus de clare His glory? How are we lifted up and inspired by the contemplation of that majestic character illustrious above all at the Centennial Exposition! How men going to and fro on that busy street in New York look up at the serene bronze face of the statue in front of the Treasury building, and glorify his patriotism! It lifts up every human heart by its dignity, until one is constrained to say, so may I live that my life may be an honor to my country, a sacri- ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY. DECEMBER 31. 1896. flee for the common weal. How infinitely more, when one turns to Christ and hears the cry, “I have finished the work Thou gavest me to do, Father, glorify Thy name!” are we stimulated to all that is best and noblest is life, all that can glorify “our Father” and His Father. —ltaccalavreate Sermons— Hob i nson . For the index. Reminiscences of Georgia Baptists. BY S. G. HILLYER, DCD. No. 21. REV. JESSE H. CAMPBELL. I devote this paper to the menr ory of Rev. Jesse H. Campbelb another of the group of ministers sent forth from the Sunbury church to labor among Georgia Baptists. Dr. Campbell was born January, 1807, in Mclntosh county, but his boyhood and youth were spent in Liberty county, where his father had a small estate about five miles from Sunbury. It was in the academy at Sunbury that he re ceived his academic education under the instruction of Profes sor James Shannon, who was an eminent teacher. It was here, too, that the Lord called this young student to repentance to wards God, and to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. This brings us to the time of his CONVERSION. He was only sixteen years old when that important event in his life occurred. We learn from himself, in a letter addressed to Rev. Walker Lewis, of the Meth odist church, that his father was not a professor of religion, but he had a devotedly pious mother. No doubt she bad often prayed for her darling boy. I cannot do better, at this point, than to quote brother Campbell’s own account of his conversion, as reported by his personal friend, Mr. W. Lewis, from the letter above referred to. He said: “I learned to be a profane swearer from childhood, and by the time I entered my sixteenth year I was impiously, awfully profane. I was a pupil in Sun bury at the time, and in the fall of that year God revived his work in the Baptist church, the only one in the place, and the first re vival I ever uiicis: iif li."' 'JB ister by the died soon after of yellow fever in Charleston. He was the first Methodist whom I ever heard, and I was greatly aroused under his preaching. Contrary to my pur pose, I was constrained to remain to the night service. It was the first time I had ever heard the anxious invited forward to prayer. I was the first to embrace the op portunity, and was instantly fol lowed by many others. Not many days elapsed before I found peace in believing in Christ; and joined the church soon thereafter.” This account of his conversion is very concise. We are left to infer what must have been the struggles and anxieties which he felt under the sudden and deep convictions that had possessed his heart. And we are left to in fer how he was led step by step to peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. But we are left in no doubt of the genuineness of his conversion, as the follow ing incident will show. The very night after his bap tism in the morning, his mother called upon him to conduct fam ily worship. This was a fearful trial for a boy of only sixteen summers, and for a church mem ber less than one day old. At first, as might be expected, he would have preferred to have been excused; but his mother overcame him, his sisters too en couraged him, and even their lady guests did the same thing, and his father also, though not a church member, bad given his consent. His scruples gave way under such pressure, and he resolved to try. I will here let him tell the rest of the story himself: “Trembling from head to foot, I went forward. Falling upon my knees, my tongue was loosed, the fountains of my heart were broken up, and I poured forth such a prayer as melted all in hearing. My father was sobbing like a wearied child; my sisters and their friends were over whelmed; the servants in the portico were weeping aloud, and my poor consumptive mother had as much of God’s goodness as she could bear. From that night my father was a changed man (though he never became a church mem ber) ; my sisters and their guests were soon converted; and the poor servants came for their full share of the saving grace of God.” What an argument for family worship might be drawn from this incident in the early life of our brother Campbell! Alas, how many thousands of fathers and mothers allow the streams of living water that iLw from the family altar to run dry from sheer neglect! Reader, it is not enough that you should attoud the public exercises of the house of God. David did that mof.t faithfully; but when he had offered his sac rifices at the Tabernicle, we learn that he returned home “to bless his household.” The mode he adopted, we know not ; but the words clearly imply a religious service of some kind with his family. We cannot overestimate the moral power of family prayer. HIS MINIS'I KY. That prayer in his father’s house was the germ of brother Campbell’s ministerial life. He began, almost immed iat* ly, to take part in the social meetings of the church, by leading in p -ayer and by exhorting his young friends as he had opportunity. So zeal ous was he that he won through out the section in whic! he lived, the title of “the boy preacher.” These youthful efforts soon cul minated in a desire to “evote his life to the ministry. r J this end, when about eighteen ears old, he went to Athens to complete his education at the State Univer sity. In this, however, he was disappointed by the unexpected death of his father.. He was the only living son, and he was com pelled to return home that he might take care of his three sisters, and to settle up his fath er’s small estate. Just here occurred an incident that deserves to be mentioned, because it illustrates the man. When the commissioners were about to divide the little property, he instructed them to divide it into only three parts and to give it all to his sisters. They, indeed, earnestly protested against his giving up his share, but he would not be moved from his purpose. He gave the whole property to his sisters. What an example of a noble, unselfish and loving brother. Having closed up his domestic business he proceeded to arrange for his life-work. It has already been stated elsewhere, that he was ordained at Sunbury in 1830 along with Rev. J. S. Law and Rev. Charles B. Jones. He then left the seaboard and for a time studied theology with Dr. Sher wood, near Eatonijvu, in Putnam county. Butmt 3«Jteg|Hong be beipl more than fiffj^ him to be a man of great firmness of purpose, of ardent piety, of unfaltering zeal and of excellent judgment, especially in guiding, as a skilful shepherd, the several flocks committed to his charge. His preaching was instructive, exhortatory and persuasive. He could preach the doctrines of grace as Baptists hold them; and yet he could make the sinner feel his personal responsibility in the matter of his own salvation. Brother Campbell’s devotion to the ministry was exclusive of all secular occupations that would interfere with his preaching the Gospel. At the same time, he was an earnest advocate of all the benevolent enterprises in which his brethren were engaged. He loved Mercer University. He loved the cause of temperance. He loved the Sunday school. And he loved the cause of modern missions. In all these matters he worked with characteristic zeal and perseverance, because he knew them to be subsidiary to the success of the preached Gos pel. Brother Campbell was one of the most active agents in the or ganization of the Central Associ ation. It was organized in the interest of all the benevolent in stitutions of that day. And it soon made itself an important factor in promoting them all; and in this work Dr. Campbell was always and everywhere conspic uous. If my memory is not at fault, it was Dr. Campbell who first sug gested and labored to bring about the conference of ministers at Forsyth in 1830, in order to allay, if possible, the strife between Missionary Baptists and their op ponents. The effects were not apparent at first, but it was not long before a better feeling was noticed, and anti ism gradually declined till its advocates were reduced to a small minority. I must not fail to notice brother Campbell’s last and, perhaps, his most Christ-like work. It was in his old age. He had retired for rest to live with his son in Colum bus, Ga. But he soon found work to do among the poor of the city and its suburbs. Like his Master, he went about among them feed ing the hungry and tending the sick and preaching the gospel to gathering multitudes in the open air. Ido not know if ever in the prime of his life he did a better work than he did in his city mis sion at Columbus. But he has at last reached home, where he rests from his labors, and bis works have followed him. 568 S. Pryor st., Atlanta. For the Index. Taking: a Collection. C. E. W. DOBBS, D.D. Os course every pastor feels it to be his duty to see that regular collections are taken in his church or churches for our va rious mission boards. How could it be otherwise when we remem ber the Master's command to dis ciple the nations, and listen to the affecting appeals which come to our ears from those noble brethren who have charge of these boards ? These men are simply the servants of the de nomination who have been in trusted by their brethren with these great interests. They de serve the prayerful sympathy and hearty co-operation of all who love the Lord. Granting then that we recognize the obliga tion, how shall the treasuries of these boards be supplied ? First of all, as pastors we should be so in touch with the mission work being prosecuted in all fields as to be informed in regard to its progress and needs. A pastor who does not know can not teach It is sad to know that so large a proportion of pastors do not take pains to be so in formed- Quite recently a prom inent pastor of one of the churches in was asked by the president of the Woman’s Mission Circle in his church if the Southern Baptist Convention had any missionaries in South America. His answer was: “I believe there were several sent to Brazil, but I’ve heard nothing from them for a long time.” The good sister was seeking in formation for a paper she was preparing for her mission circle. She was discouraged, but wrote to the Asked and Answered man and received the information she desired. Is it any marvel that the church of which that pastor is the shepherd gave just sl3 to Foreign Missions last year? With the means of information fur nished through the Foreign Mis sion publications and the denom inational weeklies, a pastor gdiould be ashamed to be igno- - fields. the work at home and abroad. My own plan has not been to preach set sermons on the various mis sions; rather I have preached missions very much like I preach baptism—by sprinkling. That is, I sprinkle both baptism and missions in my sermons through the whole year, though occasion ally it is well to give more elab orate discussion of these sub jects. The pastor does his peo ple a real service when he gets them to reading our mission lit erature and denominational pa pers. A reading church will be an 'informed church, and an in formed church is usually a liberal church in giving to the Lord’s cause. Another important thing is to have a plan. Let the church de cide at the beginning of the year to take quarterly or bimonthly collections for missions, or other objects fostered by the denomi nation. Where no fixed time has been advised by the association let the church fix its own times, but be sure to fix them. For example, let it be resolved and entered upon record that “we will take collections as follows: Ist quar ter for Home Missions; 2d quar ter for Foreign Missions; 3d quarter for State Missions ; 4th quarter—as -you please.” This suggested outline explains my meaning as to fixed times, only it would be well to state what Sunday in the quarter the col lection is to be gathered in. At the beginning of the quarter let it be announced from the pulpit what object is to receive the con tributions of the people that quarter. Some Christians have tbe good habit of laying by on the first day of the week just what they propose to give to the various objects. Three weeks before the day for the public col lection let the pastor or a com mittee appointed for the quarter send each member of the church a circular, inclosing an envelope furnished by the board in whose interest the collection is to be taken, in which is concisely stated the object of the collec tion, and giving some particulars of the work being done. Permit me to give the following as the sort of letter to be sent: “Our annual collection for the American Baptist Missionary Union will be taken up Sunday, June 28. On the inclosed enve lope you will see a statement as to the great work the Union is doing in advancing the kingdom of our Lord. Nearly twelve thousand converts were baptized by our missionaries last year. Surely such success should in spire our gratitude and quicken our zeal for the cause. Write your name on the envelope, put in your contribution, and return to me Sunday, June 28. Give what you can. Remember that it is written, ‘ The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.” “Affectionately, Your Pastor.” Where the pastor feels that he cannot personally attend [to the details let him see that a judij cious committee is appointed to do it. I have usually found that I could do it more to my satisfac tion, and where I have not had time I have “found time. When the envelopes return, and my ex perience has been that at least four fifths do return, I call my mission committee together and the amount is counted and sent to the proper board. My illus tration chances to be the last cir cular sent out in the interest of the Missionary Union, as I am pastor of a church which is with in the bounds of the Union. In this instance the circular was mailed to each member June 1, four weeks before the collection. The minutes show that our church is credited with $289 for Foreign Missions that associa tion al year But whatever plan is adopted', it must be worked to be effective. Collections do not take them selves. Some one must be behind the plan. Whether this or that method is chosen, let every pas tor feel his responsibility, and see that something is done in some way. The pastor is God’s appointed leader of the people and he should not sflirk his duty. But let him act with the wisdom and prudence and faithfulness which the Master gives to every earnest seeker, and the Lord shall be glorified. Indianapolis, Dec 16, 1896. For the Index. The Coronation of the Virgin of Guadalupe. MISS SARAH HALE, GUADALAJARA, MEXICO. Missionaries have frequent evi dences that God is present with them to select their work for them and to help them in the doing of it. Os these personal experiences we generally prefer not to speak they are very precious 4° A-.'’ But 'some things have recently come to light in the history of evangelical work in Mexico of which it is a pleasure to write, as they demonstrated to us that God was working with us. The Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico just as St. George is the patron saint of En gland. The Catholics say that about three centuries ago Mary, the mother of Jesue, appeared to a poor and ignorant Indian named Juan Diego as he was on his way to the City of Mexico, when he was about two miles from the city. She told him to go and tell the archbishop that she would hence forth take Mexico under her spe cial protection. He was to tell him alsothat it was her desire that a church should be built in her honor on the hill where she ap peared. As the archbishop was, according to the story, somewhat hard to convince, she appeared to the Indian three or four times, and finally gave him some flowers and painted her pictures on his cotton mantle for his edification. When the archbishop saw these things he could resist no longer, but at once put up the pictures as a thing to be worshipped, and set about hav ing the church built. The worship of the Virgin of Guadalupe gradually became uni versal. For many years her pic ture has been the most popular idol in the country. It is in most, if not all, the churches, in nearly all of the private houses, and on the outside as well as the inside of many business houses. A few years ago Senor Plancarte, an influential priest in the City of Mexico, proposed to the Mexicans to crown the Virgin of the original picture, the one which was painted on the Indian’s mantle. He want ed the n to hang a gold crown over the head of a picture of little merit painted on a soiled and decaying cotton cloth. The proposition met with great enthusiasm, and more than a million of dollars were con tributed to pay for the croWn. Many ladies gave their diamonds with the pleasant idea that they were to shine in the crown of the “Queen of Heaven.” The crown was made by a prominent jeweler of Paris, France. Tbe 12 th of Oc tober was appointed for the coro nation of the Virgin, and many distinguished Catholic j were in vited to take part in the ceremony. It was expected that it would be very imposing. But as the time approached prayer was made continually by all Protestant workers in Mexico that it might not result in the in crease of the worship of the idol, as VOL. 76-NO. 53 the Catholics hoped. Undoubted ly the prayers were heard. The long-expected day arrived. But a liberal mayor had just been ap pointed for the village of Guada lupe which had sprung up around the church He informed Senor Plancarte that the law forbidding processions must be obeyed ; the result was the coronation was a much less brilliant affair than had been expected. The Catholic ed itors also afterwards called atten tion to the fact that comparatively few Indians had come from a dis tance, though formerly great num bers had been accustomed to at tend even the annual feasts in hon or of this Virgin. They attributed th“ir conspicuous absence to the influence of the Protestant mis sionaries. The jeweler who made the crown, being proud of his work and of having been selected to make so important an ornament, wrote a de scription of it and published it in a Pariß journal. He said that it made quite a fine and beautiful ap pearance notwithstanding the fact that the diamonds in it were all paste. The diamonds were all paste ! Then what had become of the real diamonds which the Mexi can ladies had given with the ex pectation that they would adorn the Virgin’s crown ? That is the question with which the liberal papers of Mexico, in which the jeweler’s letter promptly appeared are still plying .Senor Plancarte. Another thing thut they trouble him no little about is the disap pearance of the crown that was painted on the head of the Virgin. The picture hung in the church and had been seen by thousands, all of whom knew that the crown was there. Besides that, as I have said, thousands upon thousands of copies of the pic'ure were scattered over Mexico, and the crown was in every one of them. But when the public was admitted to see the gold crown hanging over the head of the picture, they were aston ished to find that the painted crown had disappeared. Senor Plancarte and his associates had seen the in consistency of a person’s wearing two crowns, so they had skilfully erased the painted one. But the liberal papers persist in asking Senor Plancarte how it came to disappear. If that picture, they say, was miraculous, how dared he or any other man change one line or shade of it ? Or did the crown disappear miraculously ? Or was it revealed to him that he ought to erase it ? To all of which he only repli 8, notwithstanding the facts to the contrary, that the crown was never there ! But the severest blow has yet to be narrated. Thirteen years ago the then Archbishop of Mexico re quested a distinguished Mexican historian, Senor Icazbalceta, to give him his opinion as a historian of the appearance of the Virgin to Ju an Diego, no doubt expecting that the answer would tend to confirm his faith in that miracle. The his torian refused for some time, but finally yielded when the archbishop wrote him that he “requested him as a friend and commanded him as a prelate,” to write him what he had learned by historical investi gations about the appearance of the Virgin. He wrote the arch bishop a letter in which he showed by irrefutable historical facts that there was no proof of the truth of the popular story. He showed that tnere was no mention of the occurrence in the histories of the time in which it was said to have taken place, and that long after that, when some priests began to try to palm it off on the people, other priests resisted and accused them of teaching falsehoods; he proved that on the spot where the Virgin was said to have appeared, and where her church now stands, there was formerly the shrine of a popular female Aztec deity, and that the Catholic priests substitu ted the pictures of the Virgin for that of the heathen deity. From that time to the present the picture has been worshipped with at least some of the heathen rites, such,for instance, as the wild dances by the intoxicated Indians who resort to this shrine on the anniversary of the day on which she is said to have appeared. Icazbalceta sent this historic let ter (or pamphlet, for there are 78 pages of it) to the archbi hop; but he kept a copy of it. Many friends of his urged him to publish it, but he refused, saying that “he was not called to be a martyr.” He has since died; and this year after the coronation of the Virgin, his letter has been published, to the great consternation of the Catholics. Their attempts to answer the his torical facts in it are puerile. The eyes of many of the Catho lics have been opened by these cir cumstances to see how they have been imposed upon. One influen tial and highly respected bishop has declared that while he is faith ful to his church in other respects, he cannot and will not teach a sto ry which he has found to be so ut terly false. This was alarming, as it was found that nearly if not Continued on Bth page. □ 1