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J. V. SLICKBTOCK & CO , $1 a Year. CONCESSIONS. Said tho late Dr. Bushnell, in his work, Christian Rnrtiuc: “It has been the mood of Christian learning in the generations past—for the learned men have moods and phases, not to say fashions, like others in the less thoughtful conditions —to make large concessions in the matter of baptism, both as regards the manner and the subject. But a reaction is now begun, and it is my fixed con viction that it will not stop till the encouragement heretofore given to tho Baptist opinion is quite taken away.” That in the past ages large conces sions have bceu made to the correct ness of the Baptist views on both the manner and subject of baptism, is what no one can deny. Tho schol arship of the world unite in saying that the Baptists are right in the defi nition of tho word used by our Lord in commanding the ordinance, that its meaning is immerse, and “its secs ondary meanings, if it ever bad any, all refer in some way or other to the same leading idea.’’ Dr. Anthon, author of the largest series of classical works of any American says : “’That it was under stood as a command to immerse by by those in the centuries immediately succeeding Christ; and that any thing less than immersion was hardly accounted baptism ; and that only by immersion can the symbolism of the ordinance be understood, and that there are passages of Scripture that cannot be understood without recol looting that anciently immersion was baptism.” All these are fully and freely conceded by the vast majority of scholars, more especially where no controversy has arisen with the Baptists, and the matter is specula tive belief. Volumes have been fill ed wi)h these concessions, and every year adds to the number. Dr. Bush nell was mistaken in regard to “a reaction having begun,”’ for many that study the subject are compelled by the stern logic of facts to grant every concession that a Baptist can ask. except be fails to yield obedi once to that which the Lord com manded. Many regret that the change has taken place and wish the act of baptism could Le again re turned to. Years have passed since Dr. Bushnell saw the beginning of the reaction, and at no time have Pedo baptists made larger or more complete concessions to the truth of the Baptist position than is now done. I will add a few quotations as sam ples of these concessions. A volume could be filled with similar ones: Bossdet, one of the ablest of Ro* man Catholic writers and preachers, in his “Variations of Protestantism,” says: “Itis a fact invariably admit ted by the Keforn ers,although certain individuals are at present disposed to cavil about it, that baptism was Instituted by entirely immersing the body; that Jesus Christ so received it, and caused it to be so adminis tered by his apostles ; that the Scrip* tifires know no other baptism ; that Antiquity so understood and prac ticed it; that the very word carries ■frithit the idea, aftd that to baptize is to immerse ; this fact, I say is unanimously confessed by all the reformers themselves, and by the very persons who best knetf the Greek tongue and tho ancient customs of both Jews anjl Christians ; by Luther, by Melaucthdh, by Calvin, by Casan bon; by Grotcus, by all the others, itnd’very recently by Julien, the fond est of coutradicJftoA of all the minis ters.’’ These words were written more thah a century and three quarters ftgoi Bossuet died 1704, and shows that at that time the Baptist position was - “iiualiimohsly confessed by all,’ '‘invariably admitted.” LdtbfJr wished to restore immer sion, for ill his d&y in Germany, the • pradtiCb df sprinkling was the pre* valent one. - Calvin acknowledged that the word baptize nieans im merse, and so was obeyed in the >Wt toilet primitive church i, yet he himself was the first one that published a ritual in which immersion was not the re cognised act. Nor do I know that the language of Bossuet is much too strong to be applied at this day to all scholars of all denominations; if we except a few controversialists where Baptists abound. “It being so expressly declared here (Rom. 6:4,) that we are buried with Christ in baptism, by being bu ried under the water ; and the argu ment to oblige us to a conformity to his death by dying to sin, being taken henx’e, and this immersion being re ligiously observed by all Christians for thirteen centuries, and approved by our churches, and the change of it into sprinkling, even without any allowance from the Author of this insti tution, or any license from any coun cil of the church, being that which the Romanist still urges to ju*-ttfy his refusal of the cup to the laity ; it were to be wished that this custom might be again of general use, and aspersion only permitted as of old, in cases of the clinics, or in present danger of death.”—Whitby’s Com mentary. Prof. George Campbell, D. D, of Scotland, was a hundred years ago, one of the most prominent thinkers and best scholars in the country ; it was felt that he was about the only man who could reply to the attacks on Christianity by Hume, and to this day his works hold a respected place among our text books. His works on “Pulpit Eloquence,” and “Ecclesi astical Histoiy,” are worthy of study. This distinguished Presbyterian cler gyman said : “I have heard a dispus tant in defiance of alletjmology and use. maintain that the word rendered in the New Testament baptize, means more properly to sprinkle than to plunge, and in defiance of all antiqui ty that the former was the earliest and most general practice in baptiz ing. One who argues in this manner never fails, with persons of knowl edge, to betray the cause be would defend; and though with respect to the vulgar, bold assertions general ly succeed as well as argument; and sometimes better, yet a candid mind will always disdain to take the helps of falsehood even in support of truth.”—Pulpit Eloquence, p. 394. Dr. Chalmers, perhaps the most in fiueutial Presbyterian minister of this century, says on Rom. G:4. “Tho original meaning of the word bap tism is immersion ; and though we regard it as a point of indifference whether the ordinance so named be performed in this way or by sprink ling. yet we doubt not that the preva lent style of administration in the apostles’ days was by an actual sub merging of the whole body under water. We advert to this fur the purpose of throwing light on the an alogy that is instituted in these verses. Jesus Christ, by death, un derwent this act of baptism—even immersion under the surface of the ground; whence he soon emerged again by his resurrection. We, by being baptized into his death, are conceived to have made a similar translation ’’ An invidious reader may say, can it be possible that such admissions are made by distinguished scholars, who still practice sprinkling or pour ing for baptism ; aud you say that you can cite hundreds of concessions from those who continue to practice another act than immersion ? In re ply I would say, I have stated truth fully that such quotations may bo quoted from the most distinguished scholars as to the meaning of the word, its symbolic meaning, and I do not believe a single ecclesiastical historian of any reputation can be cited who does not acknowledge that immersion was the ancient mode of baptism. Why they, conceeding so touch, still paactice otherwise, I can not tell. Some, as( Chalmers, quoted above,'look on it as “a point of in difference whfether the ordinance so naniftd'be perdn'rr.Hj in this' way or by To such if never “AJI I TREREVORK BECOME YOUK EXKMY, BECAUSE I TELL YOU THE TRUTH?” CUMMING, GEORGIA. WEDNESDAY. OCT’R 20. 1880- presents itself as a question of per sonal duty. Others may regret that the primitive practice of immersion cannot bo restored, and are willing to aid in its restoration, so far as an acknowledgment of its true action is concerned, but are not prepared to sever their connection with the church of their fathers, and the many i ties by which they are thus bound, that they may yield obedience to this command of Christ ; perhaps they may not look on the difference as of sufficient importance for these sacri fices. They remain in tho denomina tion with which they aro connected ; as scholars they testify as to tho cor rectness of the Baptists to the teach ings of Jesus and his apostles, but acquiesce in the change that has been made, and some even approve of the change. Notably among these is tho Very Rev. the Dean of Westminster, A. P. Stanley, D. D., in his late ar ticle in the Nineteenth Century, fur October last. But his position and concessions are such that I will not increase tho length of this article by citing them.— J. J. K., in Texas Baptist Iler ahi. VISIT TO EAST TENNESSEE. I left for East Tennessee, my for mer home, via Tunnel Hill, stopping over two or three hours. From thence I was conveyed safely to Var nell's Station on the E. Tenn. & Ga. Railroad by Dudley E, E. White, who weighs about 2G5 pounds, and the writer about 200, besides a box or two of bottles, not filled with some thing to drink, but with carbonated Skoke. Bro. White’s remedy for rheu matism. Well, stopping over at Bro. Fagala s till morning, got aboard of tiain and two hours mu found me at Chatata, there was met by Bro. G. B. Cate, in company with J. M. Roberson. Reached the meet ing house about 12 o’clock, just about the closing of the opening sermon by Bro. Burns. This body (Eastanolla Association) organized by electing C. Denton, Moderator, and W. L. Cato, Clerk. The reading of letters showed an in crease by baptism, but little for the mission cause. Several good speeches were made in the Association on missions, Sunday schoolsand educa tion. I thought if they had been made by the different pastors to the churches instead of to the Associa tion, more money would have been sent up for the mission cause. The pastors seem to get but a small sti pend for their labors, all of them having to work at home in ordet to enjoy the privilege of preaching to the churches abroad. The preachers are self sacrificing, but one thing is quite apparent: They have not been faithful in preaching and insisting on the churches doing their duty to them aud the cause of missions. This duty is too much neglected by pastors. I met here many of my old brethren, kinfolks and friends with whom I was associated in the days of yore, and formed new acquaintances. Hero I met with Bro. B. R . Wo mack, Editor of the Rttptist Reflect tor, and heard him preach an able sermon. Also met with my much esteemed Bro. Eld. Z. Rose, and beaid him ; he is still a great preach er, though about 70 years of age. He likes the B. B. and promised to give us some more articles for the paper on different subjects, provided the editor will publish them. I told him he should have a hearing. The meeting throughout was interesting; good preaching, good speeches, and many good things to eat. My stay was nearly a week and it seemed but two or three days. I represented the interests of the Baptist Banner*. though there were several other pa pers represented and seeking pat ronage. The Baptist Beacon pub* fished at Knoxville; Tenn , an indes pensable necessity for East Tennes see Baptists,’ which T hope will be patronized liberally. The people ai'c generous and' hospitable, ahd I Lope ere long to hffar that E. Tennessee Baptists are trying to do their whole duly towards the cause of the Mas ter. Cate. THE WILL OF MAN. Man’s will never was and never will be equally inclined by the Al mighty to good and evil. When man was fresh from the hands of our great Greater his will was wholly in clined to good. Gen. i : 27; v: 1 ; Eccl. vii : 29. In his fallen state the will is inclined only to .evil. Gen. vi: 5 ; vii: 21; J er. xvii: 9 ; Rom. vii : 8 ; Titus iii: 3. In men’s state of begun recovery, their new nature, implanted by regeneration, is inclin ed to good only, while the unrenew ed or old man, still only to evil. Rom. vii : 1-1-25 ; Gal. v : 17, 19-24. In the heavenly state the will shall be inclined only to good. In the lost condition, beyond the confines of time, to evil and only evil, world without end. Rev. xxii: 11. O how glad in view of all this should we all be that God has revealed a plan of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus, and has connected a powerful gospel therewith, whereby He makes the rebellious sinner's will all right in the day of this gospel’s power. Psalm, 110. And whereby He works in all His people to will and to do His own good pleasure without view ing any merit in them, but much in Jesus every way. everywhere, and al ways, not only till the end of this world, but also world without end on toe part of all that believe on, love and serve Him. Now may we not say ? “All hail the power of Jesus name, Let angels prostrate fall: Bring forth the royal diadem And crown Him Lord of all.” And in connection with such proc lamation say : “In all my Lord’s appointed ways My journey I’ll pursue ; Hinder me not, ye much loved saints For I must go with you.” Amen! Fare thee well. Yours in Christ, I. H. Goss. Bowman, Ga. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY A writer in the New York Obser ver tells the following story of the manager of a mill neat Baltimore, who died on the last day of 1878. It shows that where there is a will to prevent Sunday work, there is gens erally away found. Mr. Thompson Was a native of Paisley, Scotland. His biographer says: “The first difficulty be bad showed tho man. It bad been the custom from the first working of the mill to repair the machinery on the Sabbath when the mill was not running. The owner of tho mill, who lived at it, was a very absolute and exacting man, with whom it was difficult for his managers long to remain. Mr. T. was informed of it. He said nothing but attended to everything which belonged to his work. When the Sabbath morning came, all was quiet about the mill; not a hammer was heard; not a voice calling for this one or that, for this thing or that. It was a Sabbath. That still ness was broken by the old gentles man calling for the manager. Be ing sent for, he came down. “What is the meaning of all this, Mr. T., that you are not repairing the mill ?” He calmly said that there was not any thing needing repairs. “Nothing needing repairs ! That is impossi ble. The mill has been running so many years, and there never has been a Sabbath that we have not had to repair, until you came. Get the key and let us go and see?’ Down they went to the mill —in one story then another, and on round every place where any work could have been needed, and lo and behold he could not find anything against his new manager. “Tjiey retired to’ their homes, and on Monday tlib nffil went on as usual until Saturday night, and then stop ped until Monday. On Sabbath morn ing the scene of tho preceding Sab bath, with a little more zeal and en- ergy of temper, was repeated. But there was nothing to repair. Out of the rage broke forth the inquiry: ‘How is it that you have no repairs ? The whole machinery will be getting out of order one of these days, and there is no telling what time we will lose.’ On this Mr. T. explained: ‘On Monday morning Igo into the mill, look over everything, and in quire about all matters; if anything is out of order I have it repaired at once. On Tuesday I do the same, and so on from day to day, that there shall not be loss of time or any weak or broken part neglected; and when Friday comes I have everything in its place, unless something should occur on Saturday. If so, I have it all done that evening; and in that way I have no work for the Sabbath day.’ “This was all said in a quiet, mod est manner, without the slightest ex citement of any kind, but, as Mr. T told me then with a determination if he could not carry on the mill without working on the Sabbath, he would leave. He was then a young man,, with a young family, and a stranger here; but he stood like a man, calm, but as determined in his principles as any hero. The owner of the factory had to say that he was the best man he had ever had there, and his conduct gave him a characs ter in the of his employer ten times more commendatory than if he had yielded to dishonor God for the favor of the man who employed him, This may be a word to railroad mei%, His conduct was quiet, as everything else about him all his life, but it spread abroad and strengthened the hands of others and led men who regarded the Sabbath to look after a man who could attend to his business and honor God’s day.— Bap. Record. A BURIED TEMPLE AND PAL- ACE. The second Assyrian expedition, which was conducted by Mr. Hor muzd Rassam, brought to light some interesting things. Comrhencing operations on the mounds of Nine veh,' Mr. RasSarn succeeded in ex ploring a site which was regarded as forbidden ground. This was the mound Nebby Yunus, the supposed tomb of the prophet Jonah. In this mound he discovered remains of palaces erected by Esarhaddon and Sennacherib. His labors on the mounds of Nineveh have resulted in the recovery of a large number of in scriptions, many of extreme interest. Passing southward, he vi§itcd Nim roud, where he continued his labors in the Temple of Venus. This build ing, which he discovered in his for mer expedition, was dow thoroughly examined, and found to be a large open temple, containing shrines of several deities. There were also found a number of seats arranged in parallel rows, forming a centre aisle from the chief altar. The plan now recovered seems to favor the idea of its having been a species of forum where religious and other councils were held. The explorations in Ass syrief have discovered many valuable monuments. Mr. Rassam extended his operations into fields untouched since the time of Sir A. H. Layard’s expedition, aud he was able to carry out a series of explorations on the mounds of ancient Babylon. Here his discoveries have been most bril liant. In a mound hitherto untouch ed' he discovered a palace of Nebuch adnezzar’s with rich, enamelled col umns, beams of Indian wood, and every indication of having been a most splendid edifice. His eXcavas tions in the mound of the Birs Nim roud, the site of the supposed Tower of Babel, have proved that the de struction of this great edifice was due, not to lightning or hostile at tack, bitt to a volcanic eruption, which had torn and shattered’the edifice.— Am. Autiquarldn. One doilar will pay for t'ie Banner one year. PUBLISHERS & PROPRIETORS. Vol. 4? No. 40. LETTER FROM KENTUCKY. I have just closed a meeting of days’ at Finley’s school house about five miles south of Louisville, Ky., and strange as it may be to the read ing world I preached the first gospel, or. Baptist sermon ever preached in that neighborhood, composed of ah most all nations of the world, but principally Germans and Americans, native born, and many different re/ ligions, but mostly Roman Catholic, Lutheians and German Episcopal Methodists, and near the Wet Woods noted for vice of every grade, as well as crime. I had a good meeting-—- increased in numbers and interest every day organized a Sabbath school, had three by experience and baptism, whom I buried with Christ in baptism in a pond of water near by last Sunday at 3 p, m., and preached, as is .my custom, on baps tism, to over a thousand people who had never seen such a sight before, and demonstrated great interest in the scene, but was not much pleased with my sermon on baptism. (Text John 14 c., 15 v.) I stirred up the whole subject on baptism and left theffl to their sober rejection, hops ing that I had sowed good seed in good soil, which would spring up and produce much fruit to the honor and glory of God, I left an appointment to be with them next Monday night, at King’s school house, about two miles west of Finley’s, and try again among somewhat a different people, blit still the same religious sentiment, except a few Campbellites, and if I do any* ; thing worth attention will write you. Yours in Christ, . , B. F. W. Goss. Ladiga, Ala., Oct. 0, 1880. Dear Bro. Wood: I came to this place to attend the Tallahassee and v Ten«>lsland Associa* tion, which met with the Liberty Church on the Ist day of this month. There was nearly forty churches rep resented and all seemed to bo more than over determined to do mission*’ ary Work; about two hundred and fifty dollars wore raised in cash and pledges for missions. The preachers were all united with tho brethren in the work. And I think that the pros pects are bright foi the future in this portion of Alabama. I have been preaching in the community all the week, and I think some good has been accomplished; Christians aro revived and many sinners have asked for piayer. I go to Cross Plains to-day to preach for my dear brother H. A, Williams. He has done a great work at that place. By his untiring labors he has succeeded in having a good house of worship built and the church has been strengthened. May the good Lord bless his labors abun dantly. Igo Monday to Tecumseh to spend next week. Pray for me that the Lord may bless my labors there. T. A. Higdon. HARD ON HIM. Some time ago I read in a scrap book something like the following: A Mr. Brantley, a Methodist min ister had been appointed chaplain to preach to the penitentiary convicts. Taking a walk through the enclosure soon after his arrival, ho was thus accosted by one of the inm'ates: “This is Rev. Mr. Brantley, is it not ?” “Yes, sir, that is my name.” “Sent here to preach to tts, I sup* pose ?” “Yes, sir, that is my object here.” “I also learn that you are a’ Meth* odist “I am.” “Mighty glad of it, sir, for we are nearly all Methodists here.” H. But he thatdoeth truth cometh to the light, that' his deeds may be made manifest/ that they are wrought in Go I.