I - ORGAN OF THE AFRICAN METHODIS1' EPISCOPAL ZIOIT OEUROH IN ^JMERIOA. YOIUME XXII. CHARLOTTE, N. C.f THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3,1888. i LIFE MORE ABPNDAinV Some Or The Accessary Conditions Be fore One Gets This Life. A NOTABLE ADDRESS. [Opening address of V. D. David, the Tamil Evangelist of India, on “Round Top,” one Sunday afternoon, at the4 re cent Norfhfield Conference.] "v f “J am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundant ly." John 10:10. j I want to give you the message of God. Not my own word, but His word, I shall speak. What is “life?” What is “the life more abundant?” Before I touch on the life more abundant, I want to deal with life. In order to make this very plain, let me give you some points that you may know 9 WHAT IS NOT UTK. Morality is not life. A Christian man can be a moral man, bat morality itself will not make a man a Christian. Once a moral young man ther thing. ] fow you may be having a reformation. Wulll reformation is not regeneration. Sei itimental religion is not experimental rel trlon. You may reform yourself, but th; t is not life eternal. Herod waB such a i lan. ke reformed his kingdom ac* co: ding to the counsel of John the Bap tis , but never was converted. "For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and ob* served him; and when he heard him, he die many things, and heard him gladly.” (Mark 6:20.) “Herod had laid hold on Jo in, and bound him, and put him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife.” (Matt, 14:5.) 1 coaid give many other instances, bat I Link that these are quite enough to pri >ve that these things are not life eter na . WHIT THEN IS LIFE ETERNAL? 1 n a word, it is a “right about face’ ’ — chinge the heart, and change of life. Le t me give you some points so that you mt y prove whether you have life eter na. . The first mark of life Eternal is coi mciion of tin. “And he, when he is co: ne, will 'convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” (R. V. John 16:8.) Forbe ho d, this selfsame thing, that ye were mi de sorry after a godly sort, what earn est care it wrought in you, yea, what clc aring of yourselves, yea, what indig na lion, yea, what fear, yea, what long injyea, what zeal, yea, what avenging t In everything ye approved yourselves to be pure in the matter.” (R. V. II Cor. 7:11.) First the Holy Ghost comes into yo ir heart and shows you what you are. Hi causes you to see the photograph of yo ir own heart; and in that you are able to see all that you are. Have yon ever ha 1 this experience in your life? O 1 W sen the Spirit is a candle in your con scienceyou will be able to see just what you are. I know the Spirit of God brought His own light into my con sci ence nineteen years ago. I had never beloved in these things. I was laugh in j at the ideas of Christians, and wrote agtfnst the preachers, and mocked th sm. Not a bit of feeling did I have ujon this kind of a life. But the Lord juit brought the light into my heart, an d I had no power to stand against H m. If you have not had this experi en co of conviction of sin, or, in other words, if you have not seen yourself, th it you are wrong in the sight of God, II ell you, according to the Word of God, yc u are not converted. 1. The second step is acknowledging your tins. In Psalm 51:4, you will find, D ivid acknowedging his sins; he says “I hive sinned”—not “we;” but he puts it “I”—“Against thee, thee only, have I si ined.” (Psa 51:4 ) Some people want to hide themselves in the plural number —“we;” but when you get a real convic ts >n of sin you always change the “we” into “I.” If you are an honest man, you will never try to hide your sins from G >d. All those who haye conviction by tl e power of the Spirit are sure to ac knowledge themselves sinners in the si {ht of God. Examine your life. Where aie you standing in the sight of God? FHiat about your business life?—Your sc cial life ?—Your family life ? Just ask G >d to show you. Your pride, selfishness, grudges, worldliness, love of money, lcve of pleasure—oh ! ask God to show ▼i >u all. If you are living in anv known si o, you are not a Christian. “He that 0 immitteth sin is of the devil; for the 4 tvil sinneth from the beginning.’* (I J >hn 8:8.) So, humble every nook and & irner of your heart; everything is be fore Him plump and plain. O, dear fi iends, find out your true state in His presence. If you do not acknowledge y sur sins, you will never come to the p Dssession of life eternal. 3. Then eonfemon of tin. “If we con figs our sins, he is faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us f 'om all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9.) 1 lave you confessed your sins to God ? I es, many have done it. They confess a ud they stop there. Many know how t > confess their sins, but they stop there; a nd some don’t like at all to confess. 5. The next all important step is for nking tin. “He that covereth his sins a hall not prosper; but whoso confesseth «nd fonakeih them shall have mercy.’’ (Proverbs 28:13.) This is the deep lack ii many church members. Many are t onvinced of their sins—they acknowl* (dge their sins—they confess their sins, II ut they do not f&rtake their sins. This is called repentance. Repentance, does i iot mean feeling sorry for sins; that is a I >art of it, but not all. God says that be lore yon get eternal life you must for f ake your sins entirely. All those who lo not forsake iheir sins will never be laved. In India,I visited many churches hav I ng from 10,000 to 14,000 professed con certs. Many of them were living just i ibout as they used to do. I asked a mmber of these, “How do you know rOu are converted?” They said to met ‘We acknowledged andconfessed our : BIBLICAL EPISCOPACY “Back To Rome!” Seems To Be Th< Trend Of Tbe Bishop’s Argument. BT REV. JHO. A. D. BLOICE. Dear Editor: The Bishop’s article essaying a reply to mine, savors sc much of the argumentum ad hominem and the argumentum ad invidiam* thal were it not for a few Scriptnreal quota tions therein to sustain his conscientious convictions of the divine right of Epis copacy, I would consider it unworthy oi my attention. t beg leave to inform the Bishop that I am not “contending for the faith and prac tice of the Fathers,” but “for the faith once delivered to the saints.” I would also assure him that “epithets and un couth sayings generally employed in newspaper contentions” shall never XUC UC1CU9C i/uaiauici uic -aliy aiuuoo. of what I conceive to be the truth is my sole aim. While I honor, lave and esteem my superiors in office, and especially those placed on the Episcopal bench by the suffrage of their peers, I love, honor and esteem Truth more. . r* My intense love for the Scriptures, and appreciation of their contents as the foundation and ground of tfuth, forbid me accepting any unscriptural dogma or tradition of individuals or organizations without some inquiry and investigation. If therefore the genuineness and au thenticity of the New Testament Scrip tures be accredited by the Bishop, then the references and arguments produced in my last two articles have reached the finality of a geometrical problem to ev ery unprejudiced mind, and may justly merit the subscription of “ Quod erat dem onstrandum In dilating upon the merits of Patris tic writings touching the Divine right of Episcopacy, the Bishop, in his ifirst essay, remarks, “Strange indeed that we accept of their Bible and not their polL ty.” It was not the Episcopal Fathers who gave us the Bible. Neither the superscription nor subscription of the Books of tho New' Testament thus in forms. I shall not open a question just here, but suffice to say that the Roman Catholic idea of the Church being great er than the Bible lies encouched in this remark. “Back to Rome!” seems to be the trend of the Bishop’6 argument. The Bishop’s quotation of Mark 3:13, 14, and Luke 0:1213_to prove the divinity of the office and order of the Bishopric would suggest to a New Testament Greek student either a defective ac quaintance with the principles of Exe gesis,' or a superficial knowledge of the true meaning of New Testament Greek terms. The Bishop seems to dis cover the Episcopal element in the word “ordained1” of our authorized version. Possibly, he also sees the laying on of hands in it, preceded by a ritualistic ser vice of which the Saviour’s prayer, to which.he alludes, forms a part. If the Bishop will take his Greek Testament and review his quotations, he will find that the Greek word in Mark 3:14 trans lated “ordained” by our authorized ver sion, is liEpoiesen,” which means to make or appoint; and that the word sub stituted for it in Luke 6:13, and trans lated “cTwse” “EkUxamenos,” which means to select. If he will now turn to 2 Cor. 8:19 and Acts 14:23, and compare the words “chosen” and ‘•ordained” in the English version with the words for which they stand in the Greek Testa ment, he would, no doubt, repent of his error and confess his mistake. The words in the Greek translated in the English|version “chosen” and“ordained” respectively, are cnnrotonstMit” and 'cluirotoneMantte,” which mean to vote or appoint by stretching out the hand. The word “Epoiutn” in Mark 3:14 has no modern day Episcopal idea in it. It ■imply means to appoint, or as Luke says, to choose. Both Evangelists quot ed by the Bishop tell us that the Saviour having appointed or selected the Twelve, named (onomcune) them not Epiteopaui, or Bishops, but Apostollous or Apostles. ■ I would again advise the Bishop, to study well the distinctive meaning of these terms. The Bishop, after quoting John 20:21, 8dds “Thus making them overseer or Bishops.” To what does. this “Thus” refer ? I would remind the Bishop that asserttons are not proofs no matter how many “Thus’s” may conclude them. We do not deny the order and office of the twelve as Apostles. We deny that the Lord made them Bishops. The Apostles as heralds of the gospel were all equal. No one was Bishop over the other. Touching the Bishop’s citations from Psalm 109:8,1 would simply remind him that the Apostles did not quote from the Hebrew Scriptures, but from the Sep tuagint or Greek version. Any student of -New Testament Greek would quick ly see and carefully heed the significance of this suggestion. Yes, I am willing to be left with Peter who saw ths ridiculousness of the pre tensions of modern Episcopacy, and re duced it to the level of an Episcopacy ever other men’s business. See 1 Pet. 4:15. -“But let none of you suffer as a murderer , or as a thief, or as a busy body (cUlotnepiacopos) a bishop oyer oth er men’s matters.” Adieu until we meet again. OOHGLOMMU.TIOS Of 8TAT*M*HTS The Bishop’s articles are logical stamina that one can scarcely see, ' the drift of his argument. They seem to , be simply a conglomeration of state ments, heterogeneous in character, and affirmative of lothing. The exegesia of passages quoted is moife than fa alty, and the inferences drawn are fallacious beyond degree. References to’ Mosheim’s Commentary and Bishop El nd’ef History of the First Century are out of order when compared with New Tee ament History. Wo are deal) ng with "Biblical Epiecopa eg,” or the Ep: scopacy of the Now Tes tament. On* ha# ho need of turning to Conybeare aid Howson’s “Life and EpSst'.e of St. :?ani, ’ or Corley’s “Lives of the Apostle i” “for a true copy of the letter” recorded in Acts 15:23-29. The letter as presented to us in the New Tct-' tament is sufflciemiy true to answer ail Scriptural purposes. The suggest; on to turn to these Com mentaries, Histories, and Lives, may af ford a precedent in later years for the ministry of tho A. M. E. Zion Church to turn tn thn “T?sh»V of Ttiahnn Pettey on “Biblical and Patristic Epis copacy,” for settling the question of the Divine right of Episcopacy, and the threefold ord< r of the ministry. The decisions of dogma and tradition should have nc authority, legal or eccle siastical, in the light of Biblical facta and Apostolic evider cea. Let the Bible speak for itself, and let dogma and tradi tion be relegated to their respective spheres of influence. “Back to the Text,’ should be the ;ry of every honest seeker after truth. Fearing that I might be found guilty of arguing in a circle, 1 shall wait until I seo the Bishop take an onward march, before I begin again to track his path, and expose to public gaze his hidden foott teps. A tlantic dtp, JV. J. ZION IN FLORIDA. BT BEV. ». F. STEVENS, P. E. I succeeded Rev. F. Smith as pre siding elder ucd by the help of God I intend to b reak the former record of the district. The ministers are waking up along all lines. Rev. T. D. Upshaw, of New Hope chapel, OaryviI^eT ia one of Zion’s young sons v^ho was assigned here after Rey. Fitch refused to go. He has done a good work and added 20 persons to th<» church. We expect a good report from this work on gener al fund. Summerville is a new work. A church has jest been built on it. The pastor, W. D. Linnox, is getting along nicely with his people. At Point Washington Rev. J. 0. Bellamy wan Bent to gather the dock send feed them. Instead of doing so, he went' as a Vrolf and scattered them and then tried to close the church against the members. Poor fellow! He didn’t know any better, having been in all oif the Negro denomina tions in the South and wouldn’t stay in any of them for the reason that he was called' but not chosen. I preached there four nights, had four converts and six accessions to the church. We organized a Sunday school, a W. H. and F. M. Society, and a V. 0. !3. and left the church in good condition. R. Middleton, J. others are pillars of the Rand and church. Rey^ H. Taylor is doing all he can to pat our church on solid basis at McAsker Mill which is 12 miles across Ohocbtohachee Bay. He has organized two new ohurches this year. This is the kind of men Zion needs in Florida—men, who* will not sit and wait for bthers to die in order to get their places, but men who are willing to gc out and build up the Connection. Rev. Taylor is the giant mf We it Florida. Rev. C. S, Scarboughow is pot getting along so well with his work at Cotton Dale. Pastor and people seem .to lovo each other, but it looks as if he cam ot manage them. We had a‘ good time at Tallahassee, Rev. J. C. Lee is here. He is hired out in a st >re instead of pastoring his church. We need a strong man for this Capital of the State. Oar next conference meets here. One year ago Zion was not known in Drifton. Rev. R. H. Hurst has built a .chuich here and added eight members to it. He has suffered for Zion’s sake. Let all who believe they are caied to preach go and do will be ten new ts on my District another, EMANCIPATION SPEECH. The Negro Still Climbing The Ladder Of idrancement. CLOCK TO THE TOP. [Address by [lev. E. M. Smith, pastor of the St. Mark's A. M. E. Zion -Church, Athens, Tenn., delivered at the Coart Hoase irf the Emancipation Proclama tion meeting, J w. 3rd, 1808.} Ladies, Gentlemen and Fellow-Citi zens: I assure you with a grateful heart that the opportunity Which now pre sents itself to me affords me no little de gree of pleasur 3. I do not come before you to try to b< tter what baa beensald; I come because i, is my duty. Like all ether races, tho Negro is still m the line of progress: Ne t at the foot nor at the middle, but so :lose to the top-round of tho ladder of a* iraneement that he nay well be consldired o*b of the first in ranks. The Nigro, like all other races, has his ups anc downs; yet In many re spects his case presents a different as pect to the world than that of his pres ent competitors; for to my mind there has never been a race of people- who have made the lame nhlimited progress under the same conditions and in the Rama lenvth of tt th» “Knrlu” hated Negro. Brea his worst enemies will not attempt to deny this fact. And now stretching before ns in the great field of advancement, in legislative halls, in oar sc io«l houses, in every con ceivable line ol industry, yonr, wisdom cannot bat bel old the climax of the Ne gro’s progress, though faint was the be ginning. The question now may be asked, why is it that .1 commend one race and not another ? Is it because of a special point of gain I wish to reap ? Or is it because of the prejudice stirred up in me? My reply, dear friends, is neither. It is only from a heart filled with the love cf justice. It is from a motive pure and true as the qualities of tried gold. I might pause, it is true* and flatter tin Caucasian race which would claim naturally to be the first in the line of pi ogress; or perhaps exalt the Mongolian to heights which he has never attained yet, through the omnis cient eye of tt e Almighty my wrong acts would be found out, while beneath the loathing o 'a guilty conscience, as an outcast, I wou d feel condemned. Bo as the Romans of old, I will say, “Let jus tice to whom j isticc is due.bejjiven, for Caesar and his edicts must be obeyed.” Taking up the line of argument from which I have somewhat deviated, I am forced to a great pause when I contem plate the Negr )’s past or beginning; for here lies t ie invisible protoplasm from which shall develope the highest organism of man, only to be considered machines in the hands of a dominant race.- The Nigro was considered by ( the tiller in tt e ante-bellum days only an instrument to be used in the hands o* another, but if those producers were liv ing at the present day by his achieve ment they would necessarily have a higher opinioi" of him. According to onr chances we have superseded all , classes in progress, regardless of its size or principles. Yes, from the exiles of ] barbarism hav 3 we come. Out of the ( most ignorant ants and darkest j angles of Africa, by marauders were they brought, ; without sympathy, friends or money. By innumerab ic hosts did they continue to pour in upon our shores until this fair America, .he home of the brave and the land of tho free, was glutting In the brutish nractices of human- slavery. vhich lias stained her bright name ,nd laid low ti e higher virtues, which could only crown her to be the peer in reedom of all nations. Tet while a bi tss-minded pwple were still revelling' n that atmos[ here of God-given free lom for which they through many sac ificcs had gained, they did, in the face »f all this, on save and deprive others of bat which thsy had justly [gained. But hrough all this, the just God who sees md rules all t hihgs, still kept His omuls, sient eye upo:i the wicked doings of nan, and inasmuch as they meted it out o others, now' should the same be neted out to them. Independence imong the Colonists could now be heard is the cry rising po-frcm-* alt Sources,' laying tutu, taxation without represent a ;ion was tyranny. In the midst of all his, Providence brought forth Crispus ittucks, a E egro slave, to challenge jven Great B rltain herself for the cause >f Independence. And for the princi ple of this right he bravely met his death, ihereby beinf the first martyr of Inde pendence. The Anglo-Saxon, his broth er, who, because he was endowed with the mere supi erne powers,held hisbroth sr as a slave The Revolutionist con pi ered in tha great struggle and not w ithout the i dd of the Negro. And again was the Negro forged in chains of silvery more' debasing and cruel than ever known in the annals of civilized hist >ry. During the two hun dred years oi more in which the Ne gro was in bondage, he was not standing still nor rett rning to misfortunate traits of the past; tut instead was rapidly tak ing those strides w^ich were destined to make him a | rest and prosperous future. In the place >f barbarfaun he partook of the elements of civilisation; and with these he adap tedjjteffelf to the surround ing sit boon slave existing with individuals of the same rights under the same material and spiritual laws? This question was a monster. A. weight of conviction was on the one side and a load too large for digestion on the other. Providence was now rapidly but silently opening the way to which the Negro though ignor ant was developing. God himself with His mighty host had set in opposition those instruments which would scon burst forth the clouds of the gospel truths. The Church and the ministry were the first in action. And mighty ones were they. With their martyrs and their saints of devotion did they pour forth their denunciation of human servitude—'that none shall be called mas ter save God. And with the more pow erful agencies of prayer the strongholds of mammon slavery were soon seen to shake. The press began to cry alond and when her blasts were all turned loose frith full force the fortress of slavery was again seen to tremble. From every pulpit and rostrum the voices of Garri son, Wendell Philiipe and others could be heard thundering ia words of logic their abhorrence of the moat diabolical oriminal practices by men of intelli. gence that the world had ever known. Anu bo poweriui were weir appeals mat the whole world was stirred to the greatest depths of sympathy for the op pressed. The crisis had come. Legisla tive enactment had been propounded and enforced. The legions could lay under it no longer. Secession was de clared. Fort Sumter had been fired and a Jefferson Davis had been crowned in the city of Montgomery, Ala. But where was Alexander before Egypt fell ? Where was Napoleon be fore France was subdued ? They were being reserved until their time of need fulness should come. And thus it was with old America and the secessionists. Sod was holding in reserve Lincolm Grant and Sherman who should be on theb' fields of duty and force to subjec tion the rebellious sons, Davis and Lee, with their children; to liberate those bondmen who had served their untimely end as Inferiors and not equals, that they might pursue the line of progress equal to that of their Anglo-Saxon brother, rhos with the fall of Richmond and principally the year sixty-three, Africa end her children have been marching 3n, on,on, migrating to the different States without money or friends. lie liaSAtriven to keep pace with all other races. As I have said, I will .repeat tgain, according to the Negro’s circum itances he stands to-day second to no >ther race in the strides of progress. We have our great men, preachers of the gospel, lawyers and doctors and profes iors, men like Hon. B. K. Bruce and Booker T. Washington and our Bishop George W. Clinton, A. M., D. D., John W. Smith, D. D., Editor of the Star of Sion. These men are worthy of note ind any race may feel proud of them. Remember all this has been accom jlished in thirty years. If you will par ion me for the presumption, I will say hat in the next thirty years the world vill be more astonished at his achieve nents than it is now, I hope at ,he expiration of that time that all pre udice against the darker race of man vill have been wiped out of existence ind happily may we all then be making >ur progress on to God. You talk about solonization, emigrating to Africa. The Segro is here; and here we expect to itay. This country the American Ne gro knows. Our future is filled with jrightness, and as the poet says, '‘Lives >f great men all remind us, we can nake our lives sublime, and departing eave behind us, foot prints on the sands >f time.” 1 HIGH SCHOOL VISITORS. This morning Bishop George W. Clin ;on. of Charlotte, N. C.; Bev. C. H. Wye, )f West Harrisburg, and Rev. J. H. Mc Mullen, pastor of Wesley Union Zion A. If. E. church, paid a visit to the High School in charge of Dr. William Howard Day. Bishop Clinton is one of the. re=_ jresentative^ colored men of the new Wtu. 'tester day morning and evening ;he Bishop filled the pdlpit of Sev. Mc Mullen's charge, speaking in the morning of “The Great Faith and Wise Choice of Moses," and in the evening on “Christian Life and Duty.” The partv inspected the High School and were much pleased with what they saw. Bi shop Clinton will return to his home Wednesday. Be expressed himself as well pleased with what be had seen. Bishop Clinton, who annually delivers a series of theological lectures before the well known school of Booker T. Washington, is actively en gaged in the work of improving the con dition of bis- people. Unusual success has attended his efforts. He will preach to-morrow ntoht'at the Harris A. M. E. Zion church, Marion street. While in Harrisburg he is the-guest of Rev. J. H. McMullen.—1the Harr Murg Nett*. A mutually pleasant surprise at tended this visit to the High School, as the Bishop and the Principal rec ognised each other as old acquaint ances. Principal, Prof. Baer and Bishop Clinton some years ago in structed together in the Teachers’ Institute, of Iforth Carolina. Both of the gentlemen rejoiced in the op portunity of renewing an old and profitable acquaintance and each eras * of the other’a success. Bmhop incident aa viat to REVIVAL FIRES BURN. Presence Of The Holy Ghost Mani fested—Work Progressing. BY BEY. B. A. FISHEB, D. V. Editor of Stab of Ziok: The work in the first or “Philadelphia district is in a state of prosperity, The revival fires are burning in many pirts of the work. Wesley church in Philadelphia is in the midst of a gracious outpouring of the Diving Spirit. Both Bishops Walters and Clinton have labored in this meeting. Er. Goler and others of Zion’s leadeif hive also preached the Gospel dur ing Sts progress and have rejoiced in the con verson of many souls. Over ; forty have been taken direct from the ranks of the enemy, and between * s! seventy-five and a hundred acces sions to the church. Brother Oald well is happy; he sings and shoots. Rev. B. J. Bolding at our church in South Media rejoices in the con version of twenty souls, fourteen of whom joined his church. The writ er labored with him in this meeting, doing all the preaching whilp pres ent, but one sermon which was de livered on Sunday morning, 16th, tie pastor, which was a splejadldone. II Dr. J. Mitchell Hall, at Avondale church, rejoices in the greatest riviv al in the history of that church.. Dr, Hall graduated from Marion College, later in theology, and went as a missionary to Africa and taught the heathens thd blessed gospel. He came back and subsequently studied medicine and graduated with honor from Howard University, Washing ton, D. C. His few years’ practice in Washington found him climbing to eminence in that profession. The call of God which he heard in his earlier days seeming to ring louder in i is ears, he has entered with all the powers of his soul into the v/orjc of a gospel minister. His success is^’ simply grand. He was appohitey ^ Bishop Pettey to Avondale church last May and he has more than doubled its membership. Within ' the last two weeks he has had forty- “ nine accessions. Rev. J. H. Hardin, of Newtown, Pa., stands at the head of the list so far this year as a church builder. Within a very few weeks from Sow be will dedicate the~ most beautiful brick church owned by colored peo ple in all that part of the country, 'i.his he has done, neglecting no other financial responsibility. I think our Conference Steward will bear me out in saying that Brother Hardin was £ mone the first, if not the very first that sent in a dollar general fund after receiving his appointment at confer ence. When the writer held his first quarterly conference he found: about half of his general fund was raised and sent in. onfer isfiiit I learned from the steward that _ j| neveral brethren have not rent in gen