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About The Baptist banner. (Atlanta, Ga.) 186?-1??? | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 1863)
f(je baptist fanner/ a -— i i Wf fffOrF| B A r IB i I Bi A ’ \KL/ i Bl tx 14 W /»' I' ’ I W \\M /IL I I - -'ll kT I x flr-A. ? ■Myl w •The entrance of Thy Word giveth light’ A. 0. DAYTON, Editor. JAS. N. ELLS, Secular Editor. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1863. Our Platform. 1. None but those who make a credible pro fession of faith in Christ should be baptized. 2. None are really baptized except those who are immersed upon a profession of their faith in Christ. 3. None can properly be members of the church of Christ, except they have been bap tized. 4. None can properly be ministers of Christ who are not members of the church of Christ. 5. Non-afflliation with those who refuse to obey Christ in these things —with those who re fuse to walk according to the Divine rule. 6. We shall insist upon Baptists practising what they hold and teach. The next number will complete the fourth volume of The Banner. Will not each friend of the paper, who may read this announcement, not only renew his or her own subscription, but try to send us anew subscriber? Will you do it? Calvinists and Armenians. For about two hundred and seventy years the so-called Protestant churches have been in perpetual, and often bitter, contro versy about certain points in Theological faith which have been termed Calvfcistic and Armenian. The dispute however did not begin with Calvin and Armenius. They were only representatives of parties and opinions that nave existed from the days of the apostles, and which became neither more nor less reasonable and Scriptural from their advocacy of them. As, however, She points of difference were clearly stated *nd elaborately discussed in the disputes between the parties under the leading of these men, it is convenient to refer to the doctrines as theirs. The Calvinists main tained, Ist, concerning Election, that God has, from all eternity, chosen a certain fixed number of our race to happiness and heav en ;that this choice was made without any reference to faith, good works, or any other condition whatever in the chosen, but only of the sovereign grace and purpose of God. The Armenians held, on the other hand, that God, from all eternity, determined to bestow salvation on those whom He fore saw would repent and believe, and per-’ severe to the end of their lives in holiness. Then, as regards Reprobation, the Calvin ists held that all mankind who were not chosen to life, though no worse than others, were left by God to go on in sin and ordain ed to everlasting death, to the praise of His glorious justice. The Armenians held that, though God did, from all eternity, ordain the wicked to death, it was because he foresaw that they would not repent, believe, and persevere to the end in good works. With the Calvinists election and repro bation are absolute, dependent only on the will of God without regard to the character of the persons, or, rather, regarding them as all alike dead in sin and alike deserving death, and unworthy of any favor. With the Armenians the election and reprobation are conditional, dependent on the faith and obedience which God foresaw would be in nome and wanting in others. 11. In regard to the extent of the Atone ment : The Calvinists held that, while the sacri fice of Christ was sufficient for all the world and secured, that salvation might be opened to all; yet it was the will of God that it should be efficacious only to those who had been chosen from all eternity and given to Christ by the Father as his own people. The Armenians held that Christ died alike for all, and that each and every indi vidual of the race has equal interest in His redemption, but none who do not repent, believe, and persevere to the end can be partakers of the benefit. The efficacious relation of the atonement depends, according to the Calvinists, upon the simple will and sovereignty of God ; and according to the Armenians, upon the will of the persons saved. HI. In regard to original sin : Both parties agreed that man, by nature, is so lost and dead in sin that no one, of his own will, can truly and savingly repent and believe, or perform any other good work, and hence that repentance and faith are the THE BA. J? TI ST BANNEH,. result of the regenerating work of the Spirit of God. But the Armenians contend that this spirit is given alike to all; and the reason some are not, is to be found in the fact that some receive and yield themselves of their own wills to its- influences, while oth ers resist and cast it from them. The Calvinists do not see, either in the Scriptures or the experience of men, any evidence that the Spirit is given equally to all; and if it were they hold that as all are alike dead in sin, all ‘will alike reject it un less the Spirit itself shall so change tfleir hearts that they are willing and desirous to receive it, and hence if any are brought to repent and believe, it is not of themselves, but of the will and power of God. They are willing, indeed, but not till God has first changed their wills. IV. The Calvinists maintained that all who were chosen of God are effectually called, justified, sanctified, and saved, and though men may resist the call of the min istry and the Word, God will always make this divine call efficient by giving with it a heart to obey; so that while those who refuse to hear are guilty and lost by their own sin, yet those who hear and regard do so be cause God changes their evil nature by the power of his Spirit, and they give Him all the glory. The Armenians hold that no niore effec tual call or other operation is given to the saved than others, but when any one yields of his own will to the influences given, equally to all, then he is effectually called. V. In regard to perseverance : The Calvinists hold that, as all who are converted to Christ are those who have been chosen of God, called of God, justified by God, so they will be surely sanctified by God and saved. He that has begun the work will perform it to the day of Jesus Chrigt. The Armenians, on the other hand, as they hold that the will of man was efficient in the beginning, so it is to determine the continuance of the work ; and though God gives to each the means by which he may persevere, yet he has no assurance that he will not fall away and be lost. Such,, we apprehend, are the main points of difference between the great parties into which the religious world has been divided. The church of England, while its Articles are Calvinistic, has probably a large major ity of its ministers and members on the other side. So we think it is with the Southern church. The Presbyterians, both Old School and New School, are Calvinistic. The Cumberland Presbyterians are Arme nians. The Primitive Baptists are Calvin istic. The Missionary Baptistsare divided. In the last generation it is probable there may have been a majority in some sec tions of our country who were Armenians, but at this time we know of no part of our Confederacy where the Calvinistic element does not predominate among our brethren. For ourselves we profess not allegiance to either party. We belong to no sect. — We endeavor to follow Paul as Paul fol lowed Christ. We will, when time and circumstances permit, give to the readers of The Banner our position, and the grounds of it, and they may then locate us where they please. a. c. d. The Church and Hie Soldiers. We visited a church, a few days since, which is accustomed to write, monthly, an especial letter to its members in the army, and to receive answers from them. As they are mostly in the same regiment, this is easily done, and the results are very happy to both parties. The young mem bers who are in the camp are encouraged and strengthened by the watchcare and sympathy of the brethren and sisters at home, and these, on the other hand, are en abled to act with a better understanding of all the facts connected with the condition of the soldiers. The whole community is interested in hearing of the religious, as well as the temporal, welfare of the boys.— Would it not be well for all our churches to adopt some such plan] of regular com munication with their young men who have gone into the army ? It can be done by many churches, and it seems to us it should be done wherever it can. a. c. d. State Change Bills. The Comptroller General, in his forth coming report, states that the sum of $473,- ! 000 in cnange bills (1,633,000 in number) has been issued pursuant to law. We are glad to see this small currency driving from circulation most of the shinplasters signed by individuals, most of whom are unknown to the public who are called upon for con fidence. The labor of signing, numbering, registering, and trimming these bills is far greater than most imagine. It has required the attention of some half dozen clerks continually for the last six months or more. The work is not yet half completed, if the entire million of dollars authorized shall be prepared for circulation, all of which, we presume, has been struck off by the engraver. The Christian Sabbath. There is no question, as it seems to us,' that God ordained the Sabbath as a day of rest for all the race of man. See Gen. 2:3. It was the first law God ever made for man. To what extent it was observed after the fall of Adam we have no means of knowing. The historical record embodied in the book of Genesis is very brief, and makes no fur ther mention of the rest ordained by God until Israel was in the wilderness upon their way to Canaan. But there the Sabbath was recognized and referred to as an exist ing institution, and one which ought to have been known and regarded by the people. See Exodus 16 :22-30. This was before the giving of the law from Sinai. It was before there had been any legislation con cerning the Sabbath for the Jewish nation. God recognized his own law given some fifteen hundred years before—observed it himself on the’giving of the manna, and when the people would still disregard, said unto Moses, “ How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws ? When the people came to Sinai he en acted it again, and made it one of the Ten Commandments. These commandments were the laws of God, not to the Jewish nation only, but to all the race. They are the rule of right and wrong, not for one nation, but for all mankind. This has, so far as we know, never been questioned, ex cept in regard to the fourth command. All the others are now universally held to be binding on all people. WHY ? Because they are God's iaws for all people. But some of these were reenacted as a part of the civil code of the Jewish nation, and spe cial provision was made to punish the offender who should violate them under the Theocracy or the government which sue . ceeded the Theocracy. These municipal i laws of the Jews were never binding on oth er nations. They were not left, however, to i worship idols without law, because God ; made special provison to punish idolatry among the Jews. They were not »left to dishonor their parents, because God*requir ed a disobedient son among the Jews to be . put to death. No more were other nations left to violate the Sabbath, because God required the youth who picked up sticks that day to be stoned. God did not under take to tell othsr nations how or to what extent they should punish offenders against these laws—but he did not absolve other nations from obedience to them—and when the municipal laws of the Jews were re pealed, or ceased to be in force because the execution of them was impracticable, this did not repeal any one of the ten great mor al laws which had been ordained for all.— The law of the Sabbath was as much bind ing on the whole world as was the law con cerning theft or murder. It must continue to be binding until it was repealed, or changed by the same God who at first en acted it. The question, then, arises whether the law has ever been repealed or changed. It had not been repealed in the time of Christ, for he was careful to observe it and inculcate its observance on his disciples.— He did, indeed, correct some foolish and erroneous notions which the Jewish people had concerning it, and taught them that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. He healed the sick upon that day, and told them it was lawful to do those things that were needful for the pres ervation of health and life. See Mark 2 :27—28; Luke 13 :13—16. But he never so much as intimated that the fourth com mandment was to be repealed. After his death the disciples, who were preparing to embalm his body, ceased and “ rested upon the Sabbath according to the commandment.” Luke 23 :56. Jesus had never taught them that the Sabbath was not to be any longer a day of rest. What, then, was the change which he, as Lord also of the Sabbath, saw fit to intro duce ? The substance of the law that had always been in force was simply this : That after six labor there should come a day of rest. The Jews had been accustomed to count this rest day as the seventh of the week and thus they marked the time when Jehovah rested from his six days’ labor. When Christ had risen from the dead, his disciples began to mark the day on which he rose triumphant from the grave. They did not refuse to rest each seventh day, but they made a different counting of the time.— They held a double Sabbath, and then la boring six days rested ths seventh, which would thus be counted «s the first. The change was but a suitable commemoration of the fact that our Redeemer had finished the work greater than that of creation, which he came to do. But now we for the Scriptural authority in which we make this statement.! !We confess it is not sog£*lain as we might| have deaired. There is no command to i-nanga the day, much less to dispense with *■ altogether as a day of rest. Those peo- ' ! pie called “ Seventh day Baptists ,” who still ' insist on observing the last day instead of the first of the week can make out a much stronger case for themselves than we thirty day Baptists can for holding our church ! meetings once a month. But though we have no commandment, we have the example of the first Christians, begun in the days of the apostles, and con tinued into after ages. We learn from John 20:19 that the disciples were assem bled with closed doors on the evening of the first day of the week, awaiting the de velopments of the reported resurrection of the Lord, of which they had heard in the morning, when suddenly Jesus himself ap peared in the midst of them. Then in the 26th verse of the same chapter, we read that after eight days, or on the eighth day afterwards —that is the first day of the next week—they were again assembled, and Jesus again met with them. Then we read in Acts, “That the disciples came together 1 on the first day of the week to break bread, and Paul preached to them.” The manner ■ in whiehjt is mentioned, seems to intimate that it was already a custom to meet on > the first day. See Acts 20 : 7—And upon - the first day of the week, when the disci- > pies came together to break bread, etc.— ■ In Revelations 1 : 10, we find mention made > of the Lord’s day. John says he was in ■ the spirit on that day. By reference to ! early church history we learn 'that it was ) the first day of the week that was called the ’ Lord’s day, and that it was observed as a , day of worship to God ; and we learn fur f ther that ever since the days of John, the • Lord’s day —that is, the first day—has been ‘ observed by Christians as the rest day in “ stead of the seventh. These are, so far as we can now discern, 1 the grounds we have for the change of the ■ day from the seventh to the first. They certainly do not look to the abolition I of the Sabbath as a day of rest. They inti ' mate no repeal of the command which ’ says “ six days shalt thou labor and do all ■ thy work, but the seventh is the rest day s of the Lord thy God. In it thou shalt not > do any work.” The utmost that can be i made of them is that they sanction a new ; starting place in the counting of time, and make the week days begin on Monday in- > stead of Sunday. ; But while this is our present opinion, we ■ are conviction ; and if any one can prove to us that the old law of REST has been repealed, we will at once protest against : those laws of Georgia which forbid men to i labor on the Sabbath as though it were a sin. a. c. d. Bank Deposits. On the Ist of July, 1862, the sum of sll, 588,378 was on deposit in the several banks in Georgia, and at the same period in 18G3, $25,101,848, showing an increase of unemployed capital to the amount of $13,513,470. By the act of November 29, 1862, the banks are entitled to twelve and , a half cents on the hundred dollars for re ceiving and paying out deposits, which, we think, is a very moderate compensation for keeping a man’s accounts and his funds in safety. Reduction of Prices.—The Confede rate Society at Enterprise, Miss., formed for the purpose of a general reduction of prices to near the old standard, has been re markably successful this far, as will be seen from the following statement to the Mont gomery Advertiser: As I informed you would be the case, corn is now selling to the soldiers’ families at $1 per bushel. The extortioners \>re selling cotton yarns at $22 to S3O, and thro’ the Society’s merchants, L.B. Moody &Co., we entered the list and sold at sl9, and we are now making arrangements with the cot ton factories of Georgia to sell at a much reduced rate. They sold rice at 30 cents per pound ; we ' sell at 18 cents. They sold salt at $45 per bushel, with an upward tendency ; we sell at , $32, and hope to bring it lower still. They ■ sold flour at SSO a sack; we sell at $33. — They sold sold sugar at $2,50 per pound, ; with an upward tendency ; we now sell at $1,60. Now, we see no reason why a similar so ciety here would not bring about a like re < duction in the prices of the necessaries of 1 life. The experiment is at least worth atrial. Foreigners in the Confederate States. —lt appears from the United States census for 1860, that the number of foreigners in the States now forming the Confederacy were: Alabama 12,000 Arkansas 4,000 Georgia 11,000 Kentucky 59,000 Louisiana- 81,000 Mississippi 8,000 Missouril6o,ooo North Carolina 3 qqq South Carolina„ 10 000 Tennessee 20’000 Texas 47*000 Virginia 35,000 T0ta1443,000 Total number in non-seceding States and Territories, 3,693,000. The Rehoboth Association, Again Our brief and very imperfect notice of the meeting of our own little Association has, very much to our surprise, induced somebody to write a whole column for the Index, headed “A. C. D. and Missionary Plans.” The writer is very charitable. — He apologizes very prettily for us. He is convinced our notice must have been written hastily due without consideration.” But if not so written, he says : “ It may be considered an open attack upon the system “ favored by a majority of Baptists.” We protest that we had no intention to attack the Boards; we never thought <of such a thing. It is true that the article in question was written hastily. We have no time to write otherwise. But since reading the-strictures of our brother, we have read it over delib erately—very deliberately— and with all the consideration which his remarks seemed o reqnire—and have now to say, that were we to write it again, barring one or two errors in punctuation, we should make no . changes in it. We take the responsibility. We heartily endorse it all. We think our hasty words were true words—our first thoughts were right thoughts; and our ex pression of them, though not quite so happy as we might desire, was none too strong or forcible. We have even felt more deeply, since reading our good brother’s strictures’ the importance of bringing the missionary work nearer to the hearts of the people.— We believe, more than ever, that every association should choose its oivn man, and see him, and know him, and love him’ and then send him out, and feel that the whole responsibility rests on them to secure his comfort while he is in the field. What is everybody’s business nobody attends to; and to that extent that responsibility is divided, individual churches cease to feel it. Every church that is able to do so, ought to have its own missionary, supported by itself and reporting to itself, as Paul and Barnabas reported to the church at Antioch. When one church can not do this alone, some two ought to unite in the work, and when two are notable of themselves, others may unite with them, oven to the extent of all the churches in an Association. This is our idea of missionary plans, or rather of mis sionary support. We think it is Scriptural, and that commends it to us, mnch more than to know it as “the system favored by a majority of the Baptists.” We have never been sure that majorities could not err. We have seen much sin and suffered much sor row from opinions and actions of majorities. The Word of the Lord is worth more than all the majorities in Christendom. •But while this is the plan which we ap prove, and which we would gladly see adopt ed by every church and every association, where it is practicable, we have no disposi tion to force jt upo n our brethren. We approve, and therefore we commend it. “ I believed, and therefore have I spoken.” But if there are any who prefer another way, let them work by it. If they think their way a better one, let them say so. We shall not accuse them of making “an open attack on the system favored by'the” minority “of the Baptists -—“as though it were a crime.—— Though, for aught we can see, it is as likely to be a sin to differ from the minority as from the majority. For ourself, we ntlher love* to be with the minority, especially when the minority happens to ba with the Word of the Lord. c< D Receipts for The Banger. Mrs. Eliza Baker, Rome, Georgia, $ 2 00 Mrs. J. J. Milner, Zebulon, “ 500 G. W. Milner, « « sqq R. L. Crawley, Atlanta, “ 500 Elder J. M. Stillwell, Madison, “ 500 J. J. Collier, Vienna, “ 500 Mrs. E. C. Jones, Stilesboro, “ 250 J. C. Lockhart, Pigeon Creek, Ala., 5 00’ Mrs. M. V. Burton, Tuscaloosa, “ 500 L. M. Thomasson, Rose Hill, “ 500 W. T. McCarra, Henderson, “ 500 W. B. Holstead, Elba, “ 500 H. Goolsby, Old Town, « 500 J. H. R. Carden, Wilsonville, “ 250 C. D. Waller, Greenwood, So. Ca., 500 Elder J. M. Nicholson, Scooba, Miss. 5 00 J. A. Blanton, Army of Tennessee, 10 00 Elder J. M. Muse, Missionary of Tallapoosa, for certain soldiers, 10 00 Ban* Reports. ( The condition of the several Banks in Georgia, which made reports to the Ist July, 1863, is summed up by the Comp troller, showing an increase of $19,274,784 in their operations within the preceding twelve months, nearly the whole of which consists in Confederate Treasury notes, to support the public credit. The Banks de serve well for their patriotic course is this respect. jggfTerms of The Baptist Banner, $5 per annum—invariably in advance.
