North Carolina Newspapers

HI OLLlHilORTH CAROLINA CONFERENCE, M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. ESTABLISHED IN 1855. RALEIGH, N. C, DECEMBER 20, 1S99. .,ir CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. Pi.- the Ncrfa uaro ins UonTerx yrii v. u- - WKKKI.Y AT R Aires- N. C. -s matter in th- office at Raleigh. T. iVKY, i). n- WATSON, . . . Editor. ..ixess' Manager. New Series. Vol. 1, No. 44. .TESIRS OF SUBSCRIPTION. v Year. Si.50. 1 Six Months, - Cash in Advance. .75 - : ; :ie gospel ami wives of deceased .roacliers in the North Carolina .ir.thorized agents, will receive the i It shows the date up to which has heeu paid. Change in label is ordered changed, both old and .V.rvs.- ini.-t be given. i rvouev, be sure to state whether it is i ,- . -v.1 scription. ; . . iters an. 1 make all checks and money .xxiyj''--- U the RALEIGH CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. A-' ...r !:v- EDITORIAL odists to cultivate them. Other churches are occupying the territory. We are glad that these sections are cultivated by some Christian church. Yet we are sorry that the Methodist church seems to be aban doning or ignoring them. The matter should receive special attention at our District Conferences. Last, but not least, we must turn the tide in the way of members. The tide seems to be ebbing instead of flowing ; a net decrease in membership was reported at Washington. It startled us. Can we afford to make a similar report at New bern? Men and brethren, there should be this year prayer mighty prayer that the whole church in the North Caro lina Conference may receive such a bap tism of the Holy Ghost that the last year of the century will be known as the Pen tecostal year. .Prayer, consecration, in telligent activity, complete dependence upon God will work wonders. THE CHRISTIAN'S CHRISTMAS. SOME OBJECTIVE POINTS. i.u r Conference has come and gone, e sur.d on the threshhold of an- Contereuce year. It is useless for i. t. i 1 ; to vX'ui l Over past millcss, ui uiuuu ra-t failure. What we have de J from each should help us in the w::irth of God to prepare to meet the r.ds of the future. There aw many things to be done dur- :?t:ie Conference year which has just We can enumerate only a few. Of co-use; it is seen that the mailing : of the u Old Raleigh" must be in to contain the names of five thou :cribers. Preachers and people ver so united before on the Con org.iii. Young and old are work it. It is necessary to have a i :.. a 4-1,4- euUippeu impel, m uiui-i lucil erf. inn the functions in a way !': blessings to the Confer the other life, and the same state of af fairs will prevail. Future punishment of the wicked is not only a sequence wrought out in spiritual life, but a regulative ne cessity bound up in eternal principles. There is no doctrine more emphatically taught in the Bible. There is no doctrine whose wisdom is more cleaily demon strated in the working of human exper ience. We trust that no preacher in the North Carolina Conference will be neeli gent in preaching the personality of Satan and the reality of future punishment. We regret that there has been in some quar ters, a relegation of the sterner doctrines of the Bible. Their promulgation is as sorely needed now as in the older days, and we must faithfully preach them. TO THE BOYS AND GIRLS. :l. u A 1 ) V C ) C A T E Mo 1 1 1 h . r tn TPrpu'p trom Ling to the : the preachers during that ;:::h t::.ugh to round out the fiftieth :z?.:A ,A the subscription list. Aeat work is to be done in further- the Twentieth Century Fund. This i lloo I movement. It seems greater and 'tstcr to us as it progresses. The other :it columns of Methodism are falling 'o line. The North Carolina Confer ::e:n;M not be in the rear. Every one 1 : feel that it is a great privilege to : , thi- cause. Our preachers should to K-cure from each man, woman, child a subscription to the fund. All h;ty here, and no man can per-t'.-.e :itv of another. The preacher r.;r.c':iber that he can present from :-K-!'it and around the fireside, no in--'t which will bring in larger returns tb.t of the Twentieth Century y:- Drr.'iiciuae must be established, 'nr.mg has already been made. The '"are r, ;idly increasing, and it is ex that in a few weeks the sound of ::n:rr and trowel will be heard on the - !bnmg. We must have a plant ni'niensnrate with the strength and Methodism. Rev. J. W. Jen ::s: vlio inaugurated the cntei prise, and -'i so active in furthering its inter '1Us )r. ( r. appointed . Agent for the -'tf;. lie will travel the length z telth of the Conference in behalf j.-nis, md we bespeak for him ' the r .ers, but the material en nt or -ill t nmnrhers and lav- mm 4 V trust that so much will be '; uriS year, that the orphanage report ..iw ue a giuwiii un. . '"m- missions in our midst must be Ull' and Draverfullv considered. We , 'tautly hearing of sections which Ano" her week, and Christmas will have come and gone. It is the celebration of the birth of Him whose mission it was to bring peace to man. Only Christian's can properly observe and fully enjoy this blessed celebration. Not until one en joys the life which Christ came to bring can he so appreciate the blessing as to make Christinas day the outward ex pression of an inward reality. Christ less ones observe the day, but they make it a day of selfish enjoyment. They dis honor that name which stands for the highest unselfishness. We observe the day properly 011I3 when they honor Him wThose day it is. We should have the Christ-life within. It should be a time for the white banner of peace to wave from every rampart of the soul, for love, not seeking its own, to pour its richest treasures into the cham bers of want and suffering, and for faith to sing its most triumphant songs into the ear of humanity. The Christian observes Christmas not L," i by receiving, but by sending gifts; net j by pampering the body, but by feeding i the soul ; not in hilarious revelry, but by I giving true expression to a Christ pos sessed and Christ-possessing life. Christ's Christmas present to the world was a life given for the world. Our rich est Christinas present to God will be a heart which hungers and thirsts for that life which is had with Christ in God. If we have this life, our thoughts, words and deeds will drop as pearls into the outstretched hands of the world's great brotherhood. It is a good time, when we celebrate the birth of our Saviour, to make an in ventory of our spiritual effects, and pre pare for a more successful experience in the business of the Lord. It is a good day on which to receive a fresh baptism nt, Qnirif and to reach the summit of Ul t.l J j' 7 It is suggested that the Advocate has a large army of young readers. The let ters published during the year show that the little ones receive the Advocate as a welcome guest. We are pioud of the fact that our Conference organ has en listed the affections of the children. We pray that it may be a great blessing to them not only now but in years to come. WTe want the army of little Advo cate readers to furnish or build a room at the Methodist Orphanage. Dear little friend will you not, when you write to the Advocate, enclose a small amount for the little boys and girls in North Carolina who have no father and mother? Let us see how much the boy and girl correspondents of the Advocate can raise during the year. Then there is something else we want to say to you. For a year you have been studying the Bible by asking and an- openly on the subject of Trusts. During the campaign of '96, he avoided any men tion of the subject. He now expresses himself as opposed to those trusts which raise prices and destroy competition. He thinks that the State governments have failed to abate the evil, because of the great variety of laws enacted. Uniformity of legislation, in his opinion, would be very salutary. The President said enough on this question to convince the public that in the next election, no one party will monopolize the political war cry, "Down with the Trusts!" III. The Nicaragua Canal is a subject which lies very near the President's heart. He also adverts to the commer cial situation in the East, and advises the formation of a Trade Committee to take in hand the questions affecting our trade in China and Japan. He commends the Paris Exposition, and speaks of the friendly relations of this government with England and Germany. He ad vises strict neutrality in the South Afri can war, but intimates that the United States would have been willing to inter pose as an arbitrator, had either side ex pressed its desire in this direction. IV. The President places his greatest em phasis perhaps on his statements regard ing the Philippine question. He is op posed to any measures which would look like a compromise with the rebels. He is for carrying on the war until peace has been established in Luzon. He is in fa vor of the retention of the Philippines, though no specific form of government is suggested. He is verv much opposed to swering questions. Suppose vou tell us !:tv,e establishment of a protectorate by now' in your letters what story in the Bible you like best, and why. Then after awhile, we will have you to answer some other questions. We trust to make the Advocate better and better for you. Don't forget the orphans. A FAITHFUL WATCHMAN. day OUi u the mount of consecration. It is a for the making of new purposes, and the mapping out of new journeys into the kingdom of grace. Beloved, the Christ in the heart will make Christmas a blessing to you and other. Mav you enjoy the occasion, which we trust will be a beautiful mile stone on the journey of life. OLD AND STERN, BUT TRUE. We are g lad that the fact is becoming more widely recognized tnai u. of .spiritual vitality in many sccboiu m our country is due to tl.esof temnFl f not the elimination, of the doctrine of h.ture pun ishment. Imagine, if you Please, tte state of society should the ulea prevail tUt men and women can break the laws of the country and notsuffe, Black heathen ism wold reign. The .mage of God would be erased from the table, of nn a ity. Sin, and nothing but sm , -on M cover the earth from Ple t Pole- break the laws of God ana That rationalism in its worst form is creeping into Methodism, which has al ways been considered as the "Old Guard" of orthodoxy, is only too evident. In preachers' meetings, in addresses at con ferences and conventions, the followers of John Wesley are treated to doctrinal dis sertations which would open the eyes of Wesley Asbury, and other Methodist pio neers, if they were living. W7e are not surprised to know that the Boston University School of Theology is harboring one who teaches our forthcom ing preachers that Jesus Christ is no au thority on the Old Testament, and that the miraculous conception of Christ is only a myth. We are glad that Rev. W. W. Schenck has had the courage to come forth and rebuke this peculiai sin in high places. We need men to stand as vigilant watch men on the towers of Zion. As long as we have such as Mr. Schenck, we cannot be utterly hopeless over the situation. the United States. He gives his reasons in these forcible words : It would involve a cruel breach of faith. It would place the peaceable and loyal majority, who ask nothing better than to accept our au thority, at the mercy of the minority of armed insurgents. It would make us re sponsible for the acts of the insurgent leaders, and give us no power to control them. It would charge us with the task of protecting them against each other, and defending them against any foreign power with which they choose to quar rel." The President affirms the arrange ment made by General Bates with the Sultan of Jolo with the distinct under standing that no privilege granted the latter shall be construed as favoring1 slavery in the inland-. HEEDING HOW- WE HEAR. Sum! ay School Time..) Course of Events. 1. The President in his annual message makes a most gratifying report of the ma terial condition of the country. The finances are all one could wish, it seems. There is a cash balance of $279,000,000 in the Treasury, and most of this is in gold. The President urges necessary modifications in the National Banking Act. Our exports for 1899 were a billion dollars over the exports and imports com bined iu 1870. It is clearly evident that our export trade is very rapidly growing, and that it has been quickened by the events transpiring in the East. II. It was a great surprise when the Pres ident in his message expressed himself so Emerson said truly mat we wonder, not at the unusual, but at the usual. Most of us find something very wonderful in the new7 wireless telegraphy, by which messages have been sent across the Brit ish channel without the use of any con necting wire between the two instruments employed. But we do not stop to think that from our earliest experience of life we have been using a system of wireless telegraphy far more delicate and wonder ful. The human ear is the most perfect instrument within human knowledge for dealing with sound. It has a range as high as the highest and as low as the low est of the instruments devised by man for musical purposes, and within this range it has some twenty-four hundred notes, being about twenty within the compass of each note on a grand piano. It detects the faults and failures of all other instruments, and it is the test by which we adjust them all. It discrimi nates in some wonderful way the tones which indicate sex, nationality, age, and mental mood, in every speaker or singer. It hears a whole group of sounds at the same instant, and discriminates among them to 'which it shall give attention. And, as it is not directly played upon, this instrument is itself a wireless tele graph, responding to the work of other sound-making .instruments within its range. This wTonderful instrument, with its delicacy of adaptation, instead of requir ing a cathedral to give space to its ex quisite machinery, is all shut up within the size of a closed hand, inside the hu man head, and approached through two narrow orifices, whose size would seem in sufficient for almost any purpose. And those who admire the wonderful patience of the inventors who have developed the wireless telegraph might well spend a lit tle of their wonder on the workmanship of this older instrument, and find, as Galen did, the theme of a hymn of praise 111 the structure of the human body. Naturally an instrument of such won derful value and adaptability suggests that it is intended for high uses. It is, indeed, the most wonderful of the gate ways between the mind and the wodd of nature and of humanity. It tells us more about both than even sight does. The blind man suffers from a smaller calam ity than does the utterly deaf. The former has the wonder of the human voice to lighten up his darkness. Pie lives on terms of equality with his fellows in the matter of free communication of feelin and thought. He is a member of any sol ciety he enters, and that on terms of prac tical equality, because he can h.nrwW they are saying, and in what tones and with what emphasis of emotion. In con tact with nature he misses more Vmt PVPtl there he gets far more than the thought- iess observation ot ins condition would lead us to suppose. As Ccwper says: Not rural sights alone, but rural sounds. Exhilarate the spirit, and restore The tone of languid nature. Mighty wirwls That sweep the skirt of some far-reaching wood Of ancient growth, make music not unlike The dash of the ocean on his winding shore, And lull the spirit while they fill the mind.v And Wordsworth, wdio makes more of sound than does any other English poet. in his ode on "The Power of Sound" expands this thought to the whole range of human and social life. It is through ,the ear that the noblest passions of the heart are stirred, from the mother's re sponse to her child's cry to the answer of a great people to the cry for justice and! right made by the voice of a great orator. The best literature is addressed to the ear, and is never taken at its true value until it is read aloud, and better still, read in society. The "mighty mouthed in ventor of harmonies, God-gifted organ voice of England." johr, Milton, had the blind man's delicate perception of sound when he showed, in "Paradise Eost", of what the English speech was capable in the adjustment of sound to sense ; and no one need think of mastering that great poem who does not read it aloud. Pro fessor Corson, of Cornell University, who stands among our academic critics for pure literature, insists that poetry cannot be appreciated until read aloud and with just emphasis. The highest use of hearing is as the meaus to faith: "Belief cometh of hear ing, and hearing by the Word of Christ." Paul says that from his own experience. It was the sooken word of a Master which arrested him on his way to Damascus. It w:as the tone and living power of the living speech of a living Christ which altered the tenor of his whole life. It was the fervent conviction acquired in that moment of personal contact which made him a preacher of the gospel. And it has been the fervent conviction ac quired in such moments of living contact that has fitted men to preach the wrord in all latter ages. The Spirit of God has used the speech of men who believed with all the energy of their natures tc reach and arouse other men from their natural torpidity. The word taught and preached by men who have become alive to God through the word, is the spiritual agency by which the kingdom of Christ is advanced. There are instances in which the mere printed page has beeu used to convey the earnest conviction of the man who wrote it. But the natural and normal way is by the contact of man with man in ut tered and emphatic speech, whether ad dressed to the great assembly, or under four eyes, or in the little group of the class gathered around the teacher. The notion that the printing press is likely to supersede the spoken word can be en tertained only by those who have never given thought to the experiences of their own lives, or wdicse experiences have been unusually barren. Hence the importance of our Lord's warning, recorded by one evangelist as "Take heed hcwr ye hear," and by an other as "Take heed what ye hear." lost to the Methodist Church, Mpth- v- ruining is uuiiv- v y