Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.”
VOLUME XLVI.
RALEIGH, N. C., THURSDAY, MARCH 30, 1893.
NUMBER 13.
ife Jim.
The Organ of the General Convention of
the ■ hristian Church
CARDINAL PRINCIPLES.
1. The Lord Jesus is the only Head of
the ehu ch.
2 The name Christiaan, to the exclusion
of all party or sectarian names.
3. The Holy Bible, or the Scriptures
of the o.d and New Testaments, suffic
ent lUe of faith tnd practice
4. Cl r stian character, or vital j iety
he only test of fellowship o ' membership.
5. The right of private judjirti -nt,, and
he liberty of conscience, the privi'ege
md duty of ail.
Table of Cpjrjteqts.
The Pulpit
Moses’ Invitation to Hobab.160-61
Contributions. n
Progress of Religious Liberty in
Japan. .... . 161
A Few Thoughts about Music... 161-62
Elon College. 162
Newspaper Ghosts.....163-64
Selections.
A Brave Christian ...... 162
Ballast. ... 162 63
From Pastors and Field.
Ivor, Va. 163
Holland Items .165-68
Asheboro Christian Church. 165
Gleanings. TBiT
Elon College. 165
Editorial.
Editorial Notes. 166
Flying Around . 166
Denominationalism. 166
Sister Adams. 197
Rev. J. R. Maynard. 167
An Enquiry. . 167
Notiee.... 167
Our Premiums. 167
The Childrens Corner. 168
Miscellaneous
Moral Influence of Ministers. 171
A Secret Tallisman. 171
Our Daughters . 171
Literary Notes.. 171
Perfect Through Suffering-- 17
Alehoholin Surgery. 172
Depreciating Other People. 172
The Stay Aways. 174
Many a Christian is struggling in
darkn<s<anl discouragement because
he is so little acquainted with his Bi
ble.
Durham, N. C,
Dear Sun: -The Normal Institute
of Sunday School Workers of North
Carolina convened here the 24th in
the First Presbyterian church Geo.
W. Watts, President, and J W.
Snow, Secretary, exerted themselves
considerably to make the Institute a
success, and succeeded remarkably,
for it was a grand success. Prof.
Hainill of Illinois was present. He
has given the Sabbath school work
such undivided attention he can make
every theme he touches interesting
and instructive. His Bible drill on
the book of Job was grand. There
were quite a number of topics dis
cussed by the various teachers which
were very interesting and I trust will
result in great good to the Sabbath
school. The various evangelical
churches were represented0 in the In
stitute. Prof Hamill showed very
clearly the necessity of a more thor
ough training of the teachers and
grading them for ‘heir work. I wish
every Sabbath school superintendent
and teacher among us could have
heard his lecturee on the Bible and
the Sabbath school work
I conducted services Sunday morn
ing and evening in my church with
marked signs of revival interest.
J. W. Welixjns.
ftotes from Harvard.
The Rev. Edward Everett Hale
preached for us last Sunday night.
Harvard is his alma mater and it al
ways honors him, when he speaks
here, with a large audience. The
Rev. Dr is getting old now but he is
still in active life and he represents a
living, active faith. He is thorough
ly awake to the great social questions
which agitate now so much the minds
of the present age
They say we are to have the Rev.
Lyman Abbott with us again this
term. I for one, in common with
many others, certainly hope so. I he
very name of Lyman Abbott will
ever have associated with it, for me,
a live theology and a deep, broad
spirituality.
In fact as one hears from time to
time these mtn of such useful lives,
of such depth of thought, coupled
with such profound spirituality and
so elert to the complex problems of
modern society, one can but be deep
ly impressed with the fact that the old
dogmas of an antiquated theology
are positively and absolutely dead. The
pulpit aftd the church have to con
front questions that the theology of
fifty years ago never dreamed Rules
and theories that were accepted as
final and sufficient some half century
ago would today be rejected as im
partial, selfish and useless. This is
true in science, philosophy, and the
ology. It is no less true of the one
than the other. What men want to
day—and what they must have, or
they will have nothing.—is living
principle, not isolated facts and theo
ries. Men want to know how to live
they will let dying take care of itself.
As Mr. Silas Thompson tells us in his
“Divine order of Human Society,”
“The Bible 4s eminently a sociologi
cal book. To very many Christians
much of the Bible means nothing or
next to nothiug, because they have
no perception of its sociological pur
pose. John the Baptist and our
Lord both begin their mission by pro
claiming, not a way of salvation for
individuals, but a kingdom of heaven
a new order of society, a holy and
universal brotherhood embracing, or
aiming to embrace the whole family
of man.”
We need to day not merely a re
pentance and a faith which will mere
ly enable us to escape “from the
wrath which is to come”—in the fu
ture-sometime —away off yonder, we
need a faith—living and active which
will help us to escape the wrath which
is,—a faith which will enable us to
“love our neighbor as ourselves. ” “If
a man say, I love God, and hateth
his neighbor, he is a liar.” I think
sometimes we forget how Christ him
self tells us that at the last Judgment
the good shall be separated from the
bad—the sheep from the goats. It
can be fouud in Matt. xxv. 31-46.
The language there is too plain
to bn ignored. The distinction is
fully marked and,, closely drawn
Read those verses and you will find
that the marks of distinction are
“not regular attendance at church—
not sound notion in regard to the
form of baptism, or methods of or
dination, or appostolic succession, or
the nature of Lord's Supper, as to
who shall partake and who shall not,
or church organization, or what not.
These may be and are doubtless im
portant, but these are not the dis
tinctive things by which Christ se
parates the good from the bad.’*
But here it is that seals the doom of * /
mortal man and immortal soul. “The
performance or non-performance of
social duties." “I was in prison and
ye visited me not,” etc.
“Verily, I say unto you in
asmuch as you did it not unto the
least of these, ye did it not unto me.
And thou shall go away into ever
lasting punishment,” etc.
The doctrine of Humanitarianism
is not a dead doctrine by any means
and never will be “until th> king
dom come and thy will be done in
earth as in heaven.” Man is born
into society. He can’t escape it.
He must adjust himself to it. He
can’t withdraw from it. He finds
his noble, better, self, not in the pro
motion of selfish or ambitious ends,
but in the betterment of the whole.
The promotion of self to the detri
ment of another is mean, selfish, and
fiendish. We are brothers in society,
fighting for *a common cause and
gainst a common and powerful enemy.
I know not better how to close this
thought and these notes than by a
quotation from Carlyle, not from his
“Past and Present,” this time but
from his “Hero as Priest.” Listen;
what profound thoughts are iot^d
in these few sentences: “A e po<
all true men that live, or' that eve«
lived, soldiers of the same army, en
listed, under heaven's captaincy, to
do battle against the same enemy,
the empire of darkness and wrong?
Why should we misknow one another
fight not against the enemy, but
against ourselves, from mere differ
ence of uniform? All uniforms
should be good so they hold in them
true valiant men. All fashions of
arms, the Arab turban and swift
8cimetar. TJior’s strong hammer smit
ing down Jotuns shall be welcome.
Luther’s battle voice, Dante’s march
melody, all genuine things are with
us, not against us. We are all un
der one captain, soldiers of the same
host.”
J. O Atkinson. *
37 Trowbridge 8t.fCambridge, Mass.