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About The Baptist banner. (Atlanta, Ga.) 186?-1??? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 1863)
W /Jfßlill gB b| UM wjr . * f , ‘The entrance of Thy Word glveth light,’ A. 0. DAYTON, Editor. —t-g bafomow I JAS. N. ELLS, Secular Editor. . SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 28,1863. Ourl’iatform. 1. None but those who m'ake ft tession of faith in Christ should be baptized. 3. None are really baptized except.those who are immersed upon a profession of their faith.in Christ. 8. None can properly tie members or 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 Qhrist. 5. Non-affiliation with those who refuse to obey Christ in these things—with those who re (use to walkjaccording to the Divine rule. 6. We shall insist upon Baptists practising what they hold and teach. Mr. leave on Monday, intending to represent The Banner at the Mississippi Baptist State Convention, which convenes at Hillsboro bn briday next. He will take his ink-horn with him in this, his first trip to the West. Scriptnres’on'botli Sides. Nothing has done so much to embarrass religious truth, and prevent it from being cordially received by every truly converted mind, as the idea that there is Scripture on * both sides of all controverted questions in theology. Men seem to suppose that the object of the inquirer should be, to see on which side there is a preponderance of Scripture proof. They are willing to be governed by the Bible if they can find what the Bible declares, but feel that this can rarely be known with any certainty,' since when they think they’ have found a decided balance on one side, it is uncertain how soon an opponent of the views adopted may discover and present some text on the other side which had been overlooked, and which will turn the scales. Thus it is com-’ mon to hear men say, that while all denom inations have more or less Scripture, such or such a one has not. We heard of a Dutch Justice, when we were a boy, before whom a suit was brought, and the lawyers had closed their arguments in the case’and awaited his de cision : “ Shentlemens,” said his honor, “ I gives shudgment in favor of both of you.” “ But, Squire, we can't both be right.— If the plaintiff is right, the defendant is wrong; and if the defendant ih ; right, the plaintiff is wrong.” “Yesh, dat is what "you say, now, but you have both proved to me dat you have both the law and the testimony on your side, and I ish sworn to give shudgment according to the law and the testimony. So I gives shudgment in favor of you both.” Like this Dutch Justice are, to-day, a great majority of the so-called religious world. They . stenj to the arguments of the preachers, and give judgment in favor of all sides. Nay, they grow angry, and call you hiad names, and think bitter things i about you, in their heart, if you take the liberty U> appeal to their common sense, and assure them that two statements in op position to each other can not both be J rue. Or, if they have the sense and honesty to admit this, they conclude that it is simply impossible to know any thing about the matter. Either the Bible is on both sides,; or else no one can certainly know what the; Bible teaches. Men are not such fools on ' any other subject, and they should not be on this. What can be done to disabuse their minds 1 How cau they be convinced that God is not like a political demagogue, on both sides of all questions about which the people chance to entertain opposing opinions? How can they be convinced, that when there « tmr single plain and un-| equivocal deliverance of the Holy Word,l declaring a certain fact, or a certain doc-j triue, there can be no other contradicting or opposing it ? To illustrate what we mean : 1 what can be done to convince them that the | Bible does not teach, in some places, that I1 some true Christians apostatize and go to ' hell, while in others it declares that not' one of them shall ever perish ? How can ' we convince them that the Bible does not i teach, in some places, that God elected cer- - ! t »in persons from all eternity to everlast - UHaC flAimfenf rtUNS kh. |hem, onfyfof iVis own graejous will, ' while teaches that there was no eternal election at all, or, if any, it was of characters and not of persons, or if of per sonsTonly of such perj’^tas'God foresaw j'would repent and believe, and persevere in good works to the end of their mortal lives 1 -MOK® convince them that the I Bible does not, in some places, ordain, or authorize; the Episcopal form of church and .3?H )tbart riari, and in othtfrs the "irnriy^^ k iit ill people, oF ejse that it has made no provi sion at all for the.government of the Church of Christ? How shall we convince them; that the Bible. does notr,, teach, in -some plaices,.’that the LutJjerang are the true Church, in others that the Episcopalians are, in others that the Presbyterians are, inQth •ers that the Ylethodists r and in others, still, that the baptists constitute that; body,, and’ in others that- the Church is any thing- apd ' everything thatfmetft/may choo>c to naake 1 and call- the Church;? 7; AVftjftAy theift , that it ia absurd to suppose thatajl these . opposing, and-contradictory views can be true;, but what. absurdity will not men ’ swallow where it relatea.to ’i may.shnw them Chat, tp supposeall these thiugs are in tfte Bible, involves the Bible in Contradictions, ;aud the God Truth in i falsehood. .But they seem more willing to accuse God of falsehood than to abandon the delusion that all denominations are , Scriptural and.fitgftt. j of( bad odi * Here is the work—-here ia.the labor for i those who love the truth. We must first - find some means to show the world that all , cannot be right, before it is worth while to spend Our breath in trying.to show which [one is right. Who will help us in this I work ? a. c. d. —,— A Friendly Dlsciimsloii of our Mis stouary Plans, We had no intention of entering, at pres ent, upon any general discussion of the plans adopted by the majority of the Baptists for their missionary operations, until the sdb • ject was, as it were, pressed upon us by the Christian Index. We differ, in some par ticulars, from the majority of our brethren ( We do not blame them for holding and de - fending what they regard as right. They are sincere and conscientious. But we de sire to see their strong reasons. We are ready to give them ours. And on our way from the Bethel Association, in conversation with brother Boykin, the energetic and tal , ented editor of the Index, w r e proposed to him a free and full discussion of the ques tions involved in our misionary work, to be conducted in such a spirit as should charac terize the language of Christian men, con tending for the Gospel of God. To this proposition, we are happy to say, brother Boykin at once, and very cordially assented, and agreed to publish our articles in the Index, we publishing his in The Banner. In this discussion brother B. may reason ably expect to triumph. lie believes has the truth, and if he has, this will give him the greatest of all advantages over us. Then he has the whole time of a man in the prime of his strength, and enjoying vigorous health, to bestow upon his editorial labors —while we are laboring hard from half past eight in the morning till nearly sunset, in our school-room, five days in every week, and going somewhere to preach, almost every week, upon the other two. So tliat with our feeble health, we can get no time to either think or write, except the scraps which we can secure while waiting for the ringing of the college bell. Then, brother Boykin has been long a resident in Georgia, and is familiar with the facts which bear upon the point in controversy, and proba bly has access to important documents un obtainable by us. Add. to this, that he will have the sympathy and support of those great organizations, the Conventions and their Boards, and the approbation, not to say the prejudices, of the mass of the de nomination—and it cannot be expected that we will gain anything by the discussion, for ! ther than the truth may help us. It is only because we think we have the truth that we are willing to present our views in this for mal manner. We publish with this the article from the Index, to which we referred, and will next week suggest the true points to be aimed at in the discussion a. c. d. [From the Christian Index.] A C. D. AND MISSIONARY PLAN& In a late Banner, brother Dayton, noticing the . Itehoboth Association and its missionary ope rations, employs such language as implies a re proach upon those Association* which see fit to cooperate with the Boards,and such as corf veysthe impresswn that by independent actiofi, the Rehoboth Association not onlv feels a stronger iacentive to generous zeal, but that it actually accompLishes more than other Associa tions. We do not assert that he irUended re proach; bat Lhe ideaof sup''rioritgis soevidaxtiv attached to the mission plans of that Association that the article may be fairly construed into an attack upon the Boatd system, whether so de signed or not. Now, we by no means contro vert the right of an association to act as it sees best, in its missionary plans; and when one is a. y ■ — • inclinedjo do more injany one way Shan in any other way; we bid it ‘‘God sgped,” and urgpft forward. all verity, no doesas much as and £ll of them need continual spurring to bring them up to the .m&rk’pf a of Christian duty in re gai-d! to missßTO But we think ft isyet to be proved that tbe.llehoboth is the “model. Associ., we think it is yet to be verified that the Relio both’is more liberal than other Associations; and we think it is yet to be demonstrated that aetjon independent of our Boards begets greater >lbvh arid'., zeal sos” the missionary .cause, and en genders a more enlarged liberality. It is not in point at all that because an Association feels more interest in any particular missionary whom she raayjhave sent out, and that therefore she is morezealous in missioharyoperalionsjsutm in terest in a particular missionary may exist, and a mor<- ardent zeal for the great mission cause —may, by no means, make greater sacrifices than other Associations. Indeed, a [critical view of the case wotild induce a contrary be lief. We campoint’ to the Georgia, Bethel, Wash ington, Hepzibah, and Columbus Associations, Which act in concert with our Boards, (not to mention others) and ask wherein they fall one whit behind the Rehoboth in missionary zeal. The Georgia sustains brother Slover among the , Indians, the Columbus brother Phillips in Afri ca, and the Washington brother Stone, (we. be lieve,).and the Bethel, brother Harden and his wife, in Africa, having a “ Board or Convention between them” and those missionaries; and we i respectfullyjnquire it the Rehoboth “takes a , deeper interest” in brother Murrow than is felt ’ by these Associations ? Can, ft bp said that ; the I flame of Christian liberality and missionary fervor burns brighter in the hearts of the Reho both brethren than .in the hearts of the brethren i of the above mentioned Associations ?Do not. other Associat ions “look with'deep concern upon 1 the progress of tlie-(mission) work?” Da not’ i those Associations that act not independently of the Boards have “harmony, zeal and religious feeling” pervading their whole body t, Wpyld > not an analysis of missiopary contributions ex hibit as much ortaore liberality on the part of 1 other Associations, than has ever been manifest > ted by the Rehoboth / Brother D. wishes “eve* ry Association to test the plan of independent action for “.two or three years, and sqp how ’ much,more happily and extensively the hearts o’s the masses would beat for the Lord ; Vi but ' brother D. must recollect that Assocn I ations are awaiting the result of the Rehotioth’s , experiment; let that Association finally demon strate the entire superiority of disconnection 1 witft Boards, before all other Associations dis . sever that connection. Brother D. says, ‘‘what if every Association would put but one in the field, and give him all the means for the most effective working—would not much jjnore be done than ever has been through the Boards of the Gon vention ?” with*' out thinking of the sophistry of the interrogator! - ry. Is it not possible for each Association to sustain** missionary'th rough, the Boards? Is brother d. ignorant of the accomplishments of • the'Virginia Goshen Association through the Boards ? Might we not turn the tables by ask ing, ‘.what if all the Associations did as well as ’ the Goshen, (through the Board or its agent, would not a great deal more be done than the Rehoboth ijas,.ever done by independent ac-> < tion ?” Does not the Georgia “know and love” brother Slover, and will it be likely to “let go of the rope while'he is in.the well ?” r Is’the to forget or neglect bro. . Harden and his wife, just because the “rope” is wound round the Board windlass ? Will the 5 Rehoboth, by holding the “well rope” in its . hands, the Central, that uses the lever power of a windlass ? Does the 1 Rehoboth feel a ‘'deeper interest” in Indian - missions than the Central ?or the Georgia, for the Bethel ? The truth is. brother D,, we wantjhe love of ■ missions more in our hearts, and then we will , do more- Let our people be cultivated up to the giving and and then not only - will “ interest ”be felt, but mighty deeds . achieved. We would not for the world really depreciate ’ the plan of operations adopted by the Rehoboth, • but we deprecate that criticism which implies a reproach upon other Associations for choosing ; to follow a different method. As for ourself, » when experience shall have established satis factorily the superiority of any other plan, then we will be ready to adopt it, if it is a plan - adopted not for an isolated case only, but sujta-< ble for general adoption, For it must be con- ! fessed that, independent of a preference of some : Associations for a Board, there is a necessity for an agent to operate with that liberality of the ■ Baptists which, without the medium of a Board, » might go unexpended, and remain useless and t unprofitable. So that “a plan to be adopted by every Association,” must be of universal adapta bility But it is evident that the article iu question was written hastily and without due considera tion ; if iu>t, it may be considered an operf attack upon the system favorqd by the majority of Baptists* And that others may see fpr them* selves we give the article. No Excellence without Labor. When about to lead his army over the Alps, the renowned French commander said to the engineer who had been sent forward to ascertain the possi bility of the undertaking—‘is it practicable ?’ ‘lt is barely practicable,’ was the reply. ‘ Let us set for ward, then’ said Napoleon. They did set forward, and that extraordinary undertaking which won the admiration of the world was successfully accom plished. This brief conversation furnishes an index of Napoleon’s character. It discloses the secret of his success—his Indomitable energy and pejseve ranee in whatever he chose to undertake. With regard to intellectual greatness, it is espe cially true that there is ‘no .excellence without la bor.’ No man ever rose from a humble position in life to that .of ,a distinguished scholar, or great man, great in the true sense of the word, without much labor. All the great men that have ever lived, men of learning and disciplined minds, became great through their own exertions. They did not hesi tate to make sacrifices, to undergo hardships, to ex- [ pose themselves to persecution and ridicule in thei pursuit of knowledge. They felt that knowledge; was a priceless gem, an immortal' prize for which ■ they were seeking—one which would not de- ; cert thorn at death, but which, if rightly used, would • conduct them to happier worlds above; and in the i pursuit of this object, they scorned whatever had a ■ tendency to divert their attention from this, their I beloved pursuit. These great men frequently met' with ridicule and persecution. Their motives of ; conduct were not understood or appreciated by the men of their age. It remained for after generations to honor and immortalize their names, and feap the f reward of their labors. To them we are indebted j for all the great discoveries and inventions that have benefited mankind, and whatever of civilization and '! refinement we now possess. Will not our friends, everywhere, ’ take the trouble to send us accounts of Religious Revivals, and Church News, for publication in The Banner? ‘ ] Terms of THE BAPTIST BANNER— 1 Five dollar* per year. I Newspaper Borrower?. A ‘ borrower’,is an unflnishbd being, ijefe in complete. There is a screw loose in his organiza tion. He is A bad man~-that is, an unsafe one.' He never comes to anything good, and is always poor It is anfold Scandinavian proverb that when Satan /wished wfth, and (jnally SrstNeta him borro.wing, and ft ia a good old Saxon proverb that ‘he that goes a borrowing, goes a sor rowing.’ The whole tribe of borrowers are utterly mean, and the newspaper borrowers are the meanest of the.tribe, j, In/this country newspapers arc so cheap that every man can—and every decent anan does—buy his own.* It dirties and rumples a paper to handle’it, and no man likes to have his favorite family journal soiled by borrowers’ hands. Subscri bers to good papers like to preserve them in good edn'dition ; and in order to do thre, the paper must be kept smooth, clean, and whole. No one likes to preserve a.dirty, torn, or rumpled paper, and one such unsightly number spoil* a Whole—one num’ ber of a paper lost • breaks the continuity of a vol ume, and there is a degree of sentiment," too, about a favorite family newspaper. A man acquires an affection for it, and > i* in the ease of hi* wife and baby, don’t want anything else to meddle with it* Therefore the newspaper borrower is a disturber Os the peace and happiness of familes; he is a pest, a nuisance, and should be permanently diepOßqd of in a manner'that would'prevent him from annoying honest,'’decent pepple who pay for their newspapers, and should tb fead and preserve them in.peace. -b* / ■ -lit A J.'j ‘ Ocr Paper, to-day, speaks for itself. — All will be pleased with the very interest ing original articles contained in it. The denominational department is safe while ' in Elder Dayton’s hands; and we are de- I termined to ‘ do our best’ towards making I The Banner, of Atlanta, a w’elcome guest at every well-ordered fireside. Our aim— ; ‘Make home happy.’ The little ones shall ' not be forgotten —the editor loves the dear 1 children—and kind Aunt Edith will give ■ them, during the year, several very pretty i Maries* etc. r t l t b ' v * •’ -* 1 r***‘ j ; '’;Df ’i; ‘ Receipts For The Banner.; ! Chas. D. MalUry, Albany, Georgia, $5 00 • Ichabod .Davis, Americas, “ 5 00 L Perry, “ 5 00 1 W. M. Whitlow, Andersonville, “ 5 00 i Thomas Stocks, Oak Hill,. “ 500 Mrs. W. Alexander, “ 5 00 J Mrs. J. H. Smith, Atlanta, “ 5 00 >J. M. Butt, “ “ SQO J T. J. Russell, Island Home, Ala., 5 00 «J. M. Russell, “ “ “ 500 ! J. T. Bostic, Flintville,, So. Caro., 5 00 * Mrs. A.T. Stuekey, Cartersville, “ 5 00 I W. B. Gallman, Cry stalJSpring, Mis., 5 00 f W. E. Dancey, Canton, “ 5 00 J. R. Powell, “ “ 5 00 1 Mrs. Bostick, “ “ 500 ' J. A. Dinkins, “ 5 00 J T. J. Smith, “ 5 00 ’J. Woodall, Byram, “ 500 r W. M. Lea, jJackson, “ 5 00 J. M. Lewis, Brandon, “ 5 00 [A. Neely, . “ “5 00 > Tho. Trigg, “ “ 500 IJ. W. Bilbo, “ “ 500 T. P. Marion, Hillsboro, “ 5 00 A. J. Rowe, Starkville, “ 5 00 ! A. Foster, “ 5 00 ‘ C. A. Hogan, “ “ 5 00 'A. P. Maxwell* “ “ 500 1 W. H. Glenn, “ “ 5 00 i D. A. Outlaw, Choctaw Agency, “ 5 00 [W. W. Hastings, “ “ “ 500 IW. S. Bray, “ “ “ 500 1 C. W. Jordan, “ “ “ 5 00 Mrs. S.T. Spencer, “ “ “ 5 00 Mrs. Dollie Crenshaw, Selma, Ala., 5 00 Miss S. E. Dykes, Cedar Bluff, “ 5 00 A. Anderson, Burnsville, “ 500 » Domestic Board Missions, Marion, to send i&ie Banner to soldiers, 1000 00 Battle at Chattanooga. On the 23d instant, the enemy made the first demonstration against our lines around Chattanooga, and succeeded in gaining two hills on our left, one of which they On the morning of the 24th, the enemy, after heavy cannonading, made an assault in order to gain possession of Lookout. — In the afternoon an attack was made on our right, for the possession of the mountain on the one hand, in order to perfect their com munication with Bridgeport, and to secure the railway leading to Cleveland on the other. It seems that both these objects have been accomplished, and the former defensive line of our army has been reas sumed. Our communication with East Tennessee is unimpaired, and the advan tages gained by the enemy*consist in an > uninterrupted line of transportation to ! Bridgeport and Murfreesboro. The daily papers publish the rumor that Gen’l Longstreet has captured Kpoxvilie.— :If this ne* s be true, the enemy have in ef j feet gained nothing. Ordination. Brother Thomas J. Beck was ordained in Penfield on Sabbath, 22d November, 1863. The presbytery was composed of N. M. ' Crawford, S. G. Hillyer, 11. H. Tucker, W. Singleton, and J. L. Blitch. 1 The examination was conducted by bro*. Crawford and Tucker. The sermon was preaehed from Acts xi, 24, by Dr. Tucker; the prayer was made by Dr. Hillyer; and the charge given by Dr. Crawford. Right hand of fellowship by the piesbytery. Benediction by the candidate. WHAT IS “ Look here, Parson D.,_haye : you ever \ read our great work on baptism ? I think if you Baptists would read more on our j > ou would [not be and ’overbearing as some of, youjseem “1 do not know,Squire, your great work. most of the books, I believe, which, have been f published on your side of the controversy.” “ I referred to jhe work'of Dr. Summers. It doos not, indeed, make 4 sions but 1 regard it as the best and most that was ever written.” ■ “ you hhve not examined care fully were ever written, especially upon our side of the willing to allow that Dr. Summers has done • as well-for. your fide as any one has ever done. The Doctor^ writes with much clear- A ness and force. He says, for the most part, plainly what he means to say. He makes a very plausible’argument, and has adopted a most excellent arrangement of his topics. Yes, 1 have readftSummers, and 1 likejt very much.” Iyim,glad_to_ hear, you [say so, Parson. I always knew’you were not quite as strait- • laced as some of your brethren. If they were all as liberal, as you, we would get along[so much I do not blame you for not regarding most of our],books on baptism, for Dr, Summers, himself, says most of them are worthless.” “Yes, most of them ar6 than worthless.” “But you think the Doctor’s is valua ble?” • “Il is to me on some accounts. No book is really valuable that advocates error— especially in religion. And, in this view, I regard the work you speak of as worse than useless. Ib is not only not good, but positively bad.” “ I thought you said you liked it ? ” “ So I do in comparison with some oth ers that have been forced upon the world. I like it because I find in it a plain and in telligible exposition of some points in your Methodist faith and practice. So stated and evidenced that you can not slip out of them when they are shown to be unscrip tural and absurd, by saying that the Meth odists do not but only one of their Ministers. This book was published ten years ago. It had the sanction of two 1 of your Bishops, and was published by one > of them for your Church. So I take it for i granted that it is a fair exposition of the > and practice of your body at that time. 1 And as it has not yet been repudiated, I ( suppose it represents you still. On this ( account I like it, and sometimes refer to it.” 1 “ What do you think of his definition of , baptism ? It seems to me that it is in itself 1 a most conclusive argument.” “ Do you remerpber what it is ? ” “Yes. He says ‘Baptism is an ordi nance instituted by Christ, consisting in the application of water by a Christian Minis ter to suitable persons for their initiation into the visible Church And consecration to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.’ ” “How does he know that is baptism? Does he undertake to prove it ? ” ‘ No, he only states it, I suppose, as his own opinion.” “ Then it is enough for me to state as my > opinion, that baptism does not consist in applying water to suitable persons, but in plunging suitable persons into the water. 4 The very meaning of the words baptize and baptism, as they were used in the time of Christ, requires this. And this meaning you can find in any Greek lexicon you choose to examine.” He says that in the New Testament ‘ the word properly denotes purification by water.’ ” “ I suppose he borrowed that idea from Dr. Beecher of Illinois, who makes a large argument standing like a cone upon its apex, all sustained by the little incident that some question arose between the Jews and John’s * disciples about purifying, and which seems to suggest a conversation about baptism. Baptism is a sort of purification, but that purification is performed by immersion in water. Baptism is washing, but the wash ing is performed by immersion in water. The word . for baptism means immersion— Qvt purification nor washing; yet when there is an immersion in’water there is a consequent washing and purification. He j must be very dull who cannot perceive that the baptism, that is, the immersion, is one thing and the consequent purification is an other. If the Lord had meant to call it purification he would have used the Greek • word which meant to purify, and that was not Baptidso but “ I thought you would find some way to get out of it, Parson. It is hard to get you j Baptists cornered.” “ Why, my dear sir, there is nothing to get out of. You come and tell me that there is an argumeat against immersion in the very definition of baptism as you find i
