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BY ATKINSON & LAWRENCE. IN ESSENTIALS, UNITY ; IN NON-ESSENTIALS, LIBERTY ; IN ALL THINGS, CHARITY. $1.50 PER YEAR. ELOM COLLEGE, N. 0., fHURSDAY, AUGUST 1,1901 ESTABLISHED 1844. volume liv: number31 Christian $Ur\ PUBLISH Kl> WKKKLY. The Official Organ of the Southern Chris tian Convention. CARDINAL PRINCIPLES. 1. The Lord Jesu- la the only Head of the church, l. The name Christian, to the exclusion of all party aiid sectarian names. H. The Holy Bible, or the Scriptures of • he Old and New Testaments, sufficient rule of faith aud practice. 4. Christian character, or vital piety, the o .ly test of fellowship or membership. ft. The right of private judgment, and the liberty of conscience, the privilege and duty of all. Current Comment. The Functions of the Church. The Church, that great com pany, known as the followers of Jesus Chiist, has its functions as an organization. It should be thought of as an entire whole and not as part tight and part wrong, not as part having an exclusive patentwright on the truth and part as having no part in the carrying out of theMaster’s will among men. Neither Jew nor Gentile, neither bond nor free, n?ither Catholic nor Protes tant, neither one Protestant de nomination nor another has grasped the whole truth of the great church of God. Christ, himself, reproved the sectarian spirit when He com manded his disciples to let alone those not of their number who were casting out dt-vils in His name. The church of Christ, the great church militant, has hun dreds of branches called si cts or rt^iinminiitinns and d o w n through t h es e generations— down through these nineteen centuries—the disciples ol Jesus have been forbidding those not of their number—not of their sect or denomination. These things ought not so to be. Just ^ as each denomination has its in dividual churches,have tht ir pas tors each teaching his respective parishioners from different texts from all other ministers, on any given Sabbath, so the great Head of the church militant has or dained different sects and de nominations in his church to carry forward the work of re deeming the world. The Mas ter has a grand work in progress and expects each denomination to use well its opportunity of saving the world from sin. Let us strive to cease from sectarian abuse and learn as denomina tions to engender the spirit of brotherly love for our fellows. The chief function of the church is to save the world through the preaching and teaching of the gospel. Other functions are Christian sympathy for the poor and un fortunate in the erection and maintenance of charitable in stitutions, and in the founding and maintaining of institutions for Christian education. Whenever the church is per forming these functions there is denominational loyalty and good works. Whenever it is not per forming these functions there is denominational discord and evil works. - To Put Down Lynching. Gov. Aycock has announced his intention to put down i) nch ing in the State and calls on the church and the press to aid him —a sensible "call and one that ought to be responded to right - liberally. We are sure the reli gious press will respond to this call. North Carolina had only three lynchings last year while Vir ginia had six, Louisiana twenty, Mississippi twenty, and many other states ran up into the teens. Let the good people of our State put the disapproval stamp on lynching, so heavy that it will be fell in future cases where a lynching might occur. But there is a phase of our court procdure that ought to have the stamp of disapproval just as heavy as lynching, and that is the allowing of money to sway justice, or to delay justice in cases ol crime that might, and occasionly do, result in a lynch ing. It tjie church and the press, the two greatest agencies in making and guiding public opin ion, advocate a thiug fearlessly faithfully it shall b : done. It is a known tact that the great majority 6f people among us advise against settling disputes by law, and especially is this the case when there is more money on the opposite side than on yours. If the law, on the ether hand, were so conducted as to con vince the public that it is an agency ot justice in all possible cases, there would not be that distrust we now find. We call upon the religious press, especially, to wage this needed relorm i.-? the law that the seeming necessity of justice through the lynch law may be abolished. Sunday School Libraries. Ni xt to good people, we place good books. Many homes are not able to own many good books, but a number of families may j >in their means and secure a gook selection ol good books in every Sunday school. The community that can have this one-time luxury, but now necssi ty, in the Sunday school and does not, is lacking in that ener gy that makes lor the best cu t u re and training of boys and girls. If we mean to succeed continu ally we must be awake continual ly totne means of success. To -ucceed in church and Sunday school, wj must be ah rt and take onto the new mt thods of succes just as in business. The most prosperous farmers are those, as a rule, that use the la'est improved t agricult ua-raT machinery.- The man with the cradle harvesting wheat beside his mighbor with his reaper instinctively leels himsell getting behind. The Sunday school that fails to adopt the latest and best methods ol conducting the Sun day school instinctively feels itself lagging behind, and when you begin to feel thus you wijl soon grow sensitive over reproot or truth searching council, a very unpleaseut state of feelings to get into. Rural Free Delivery. The rural free delivery of mail is a question of vital importance. Norm Carolina is one of the most backward states in the Union in securing free delivery. If you live within a half-day’s journey of a town and have a good road leading from the town through your community, and can get one hundred families along this road to join in a pe tition for a free delivery route, you can get it and have daily mail brought to your door. Or if you live away from this route you may have a lock-box put up on the road and get your mail daily .anyway. Those who have not had the benefits of a daily mail coming to their doors do not know what they are losing in not seeking the advantages of rural free de livery. Let every progressive citizen in communities where a rural free delivery route may be operated go to work and secure this advantage that may be had for the asking. Noith Carolina has only fourteen of these routes while Illinois has over four hun dred. FROM REV. H. L. HIMES. The Sun is a good paper and I often read its from the pens of ! the brethern with i n t e r e s t. i Friends have requested me to i matte an explanation through ! The Sun, which I trust, you will ! allow. I once saw three hun dred dollars worth of flowers and wreathes placed upon, and 1 arouod, one grave, yet few such tokens of love were carried to that wealthy man (whose bod'' lay there) while he lived to ap preciate them. It made such an impression upon us (wife and I) that we began to carry flowers to those who were sick. Their words ot thanks and expressions ot pleasure, which I saw in their countenances, sufficed for our time, and I went away a happier man. Some of them nave gone, as we sing, “To that beautilul land where the flowers never lade.” And I want to extend to the dear brethren of the N. C. and Va. Christian Conference tokens ol love and fraternal greetings before more of us are separated for all time. Not withstanding just one action of that fraternity in conterence, dur ing my absence has not only caused much conjecture detri mental to myself, but caused me to suffer much in spirit. That action was the dropping o( my name from the conference roll and publishing the same without any explanation or just ificaton, so far aB l have yet been informed. I write, through tears, in justice to myself and to the cause we all represent, and for the benefit and satisfaction of The Sun’s readers. I write not to find fault or complain against the dear brethren. I closed a good paying business in Greensboro and moved to Elon College witli the view of contin uing business there, and at the same time take a college course to better quality myselt lor the ministry. I loved the new village and institution that I had made sac rifices in moving to. I added to its buildings, to its groves and to its library, and ytt did so little compared with what I hooed to do. Merchandising there did not justify my staying. I was compelled to discontinue my col lege course and seek employ ment elsewhere. I mo1 ed to At lanta, Ga., in 1895. A series of misfortunes followed me here and there, and I often thought if I could meet an individual with an experience ,similar to Job’s, what a ay mpathizer I. would have had. Providential intervention was so thrown around me that I lost all my earth ly estate, and more than was mine. I thought I was ruined, hut l was not. I held to my In tegrity, serving the Lord with humility. The first years I was away I received blanks from Bro. Holt„the conference secre t iry, for ministers annual reports. I filled them out and returned same to lonference. There be ing no Christian church in At lanta I worshiped and labored among other denominations, us ing the right of private judge ment and liberty of conscience, knowing that it was a privilege and a duty. When called, I went in the name of Him who is no respecter ol persons. I re ceived calls to preach and lec ture from the M. E and from the M. E. South, from the M. P , from the Baptist, the Congrega tional and from the Southern Congregational churches. I re sponded to them all. The South ern Congregationalisis asked me to serve them one year as pastor. I did so. At the close of the year they re-elected me for the ensuing year, and invited me to unite with them. I told them positively that I would do as 1 had already done, that is, labor with them for the salvation ol souls, only in co-operative union and that I would still remain in ihe Christian church. This they understood. They asked me i I would accept ordination ai their hands. I must confess 1 did not know what to answer They asked me again. Finally I told them I />ould be sufcjec to whatever was their pleasure ir reference to ordination, in al this,, the Southern Congregation alists of Harmony Grove, Ful ton Co. Ga, will bear witness also to my acceptance, and punct uality and zeal and success ic the salvation of souls. Withoul going beyond the limits of iheii own church government, they called a council fas they say] and that trom the Presbytery That council from the Preshy terian church under the auspice: of the Southern Congregationa church, ordained a man (not £ candidate) whom they knew was a member of the N. C. anc Virginia Christian Conference And jn a letter to Bro Holt, 1 told him of the above action, after which 1 received no more ministeti il annual report blanks. And not until last year, after I had returned from Ga. was I in formed that my name had been dropped from the Conlerence roll. I received it with wonder and surprise. It has been detri mental to me and to the great cause we all, as members of the same fraternity, represent. Much surmising, and interroga tion, have gone the rounds. One of which is : “Do you know that H. L Hines has been turn ed out of Conference?” This is why I go “bound in the spirit” as the apostle of apostles said, “not knowing the thing that shall betall me.” Although I go along silently and am weak, still I am stronger than before, and while the in heritance, that carries with it trouble, has passed away, I am richer, by far, than ever before. God is revealing himself to me more and more, and I begin to see now that by one step at a time He is leading me on. I shall still hold Him up who through all these years of adver sity, and£trial, and temptation and suffering, has held me up. Blessed be His glorious name forevermore. Had He not held me I would have fallen, for, in my distress and discouragement, I disc ivered my fellow trav. 11. rs “passing on the other side.” Lastly, I know of no apologj to offer for the action of the brethren in conference, unless the presumption was, that 1 had joined the Southren CoDgrega tionalists. May our Lord and Savior keep us all from presump tious sins Your brother in His name, H. L. Hines. “I DON’T KNOW” BY T. C. WILLIAMS I notice in Christian Sun o( June 13th an article endorsing very strongly a former article by Rev. R. H. Holland, headed “I Don’t Know,” about which 1 would like to offer some rt flec tions. The brother’s manner of txpiession in the beginning, im presses us with the idea that he regards his experience and the extent of his acceptance of the Srripture, as of a standard type. This is uulortunate unless his ac ceptance were more full and complete and his experience more Scriptural. The brother seems to depend only on the five senses for the knowledge of Salvation, but the Lord who gave the five senses has also gi ven another source of knowing spiritual’ facts, which in its place is greater than the'-,1 John 4—2, “ Hereby know ye the Spirit of God : Every spiri that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God then verse 13. “Herby know we that we dwell in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.” Doubless a very large per cent of the professed Christians of the world do not know they are saved ; the Mas ter saw this when he called at tention to that parable of the leu Virgins. They represented the inner circle of the church, aud yet just half were excluded. The Bible standard of the knowledge of salvation, it seems to us very clear, whether our appropriation is so clear or not. 1 John 2 13 ‘And hereby we do know that we know hiui, if we keep his commandments,” then . verse 5 “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected : hereby know we that we are in Him.” 1 John 3 —14 “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the breth ren. He that loveth not his broth er abideth in death,” and 24 “And he that keepeth his com mandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abidi tli in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” Also John 10:14 1:24 and 17:3 But the facts and i the philosophy of the whole thing, as it were, are given in Rom. 8:12 to 16. “Therfore 1 brethren, we are debtors, tnt tef the flesh, to live after the flesh. . For ii ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ^e through the Spirit do motify the deeds ol the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit ol God, they are the sons ol God. Forje have not reoived the spirit ol bondage again to fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,whereby we cry, Ab ba, Father. The Spirit itself (himself,) beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the child ren of God.” We heard a prominent D D. in a revival meeting some 25 or 30 years ago, take the position straight out, in a sermon, that a man cannot know when he is converted, that it is a matter ol faith and not of knowledge ; and he recited a conversation, had with a brother who claimed that he knew. He asked him if he would have been positive of his conversion, had an angel assur ed him of it; and the brother hesitated. Now,the mistake they both made, was in supporting some other, than a Bible meth od of information ; and, the non recognition of that other great fact that seems so universally ignored, that faith has to do with things yet to come ; while knowledge has to do with facts existing ; that while faith is the substantial apprehensionof things hoped for, knowledge is the re cognition of facts existing now, Hcb 11 : 1. And just here, let me say, if I am in a saved rela tion to God, it is an existing fact capable of concious recognition, or it is not a fact; or peradveut ure, may it be an existing fact and yet my life and spirit be so secularly absorbed, and I failing to be led by the Spirit, to such an extent that my spiritual ap prehension has become bedimm ed and benumbed, and I withdrawing or refusing thatab andonment of sell to God, that gives the Holy Gh 'St the right of way, my only teacher and guide? Tins dear old brother, the L). D., has gotten a long way beyond that now. He has got ten out where he can and does say with 2 Tim. 1:12. “1 know whom 1 have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have commit ted unto him against that d.iy,” and he is still teaching and preaching the gospel now. In Romans 8:16 we should take notice, it is said, the Sj iiit bear eth witness with, not to our spiiit; jvhen all condemnation is removed, and we begin to ap preciate God’s charade, and love as we had never thought of before, and a thrill of gladness comes into our hearts, our spirits are enabled to look up and lov ingly cry Abba, Father, when the blessed Spirit bears witness to the same great fact; as we sometimes sing, The Spirit an swers to the blood and tells me I am born of God.” The brother in stating his uncertainty of be ing saved, says, “I have no di rect revelation from the heaven ly world as an infallible proof that I am saved ; I heard no au dible voice from God, or angels ; and I have had no die.ims or vis ions.” Well, to put it mildly, he is calling attention to the fact that God has not seen lit to fur nish us such evidence of his ac ceptance as is adapted to the apprehension of oujr five * senses ; but thaks toGod, Our Father he has enabled us in our heart of hearts, to see our acceptance in the face of our‘ Lord. But the brothei seems to be troubled about sanctification, holiness, perfection. He s iys, “Paul did not think he was per fect,” and then quotes first Heb 6 : i as proving it ; but Paul was here arraigning the Hebrew Christians tor the little grogress they had made in learning the lessons of the Jewish types as pointing to and tulfi.lcd in Christ and Hts kingdom. lie upb aids them with being babes, to be fed on milk ; ami it is these upbraid ed ones that he urges on, with himself to learn all that the “school master,” the law, had to teach. But the brother, seems to rely more particularly upon Phil. 3:12 vhic.li isj ist no proof at all, 1 >r Paul was not to'king about spirtu.d perfection in this life at al', but r< surr« ctinual per fection ; as a lu ther proof of this in the 15'h verse of (he sam» chapter, we have him in th ring himself perfect. -'''out the central oojiCt in the brother’s artic'e seeme to be tc pul himself on record against sanctification, holiness or perfec tion. He claims that perfection is not reached so long as pro gress is going on and that pro gress is goingon in the heart and lile of the best type of Christians till death. Now, we doubt it a moderately intelligent advocate of sanctification can be found on the continent, who does not believe in the‘necessity for con tinued progress, or growth in grace, in order to reach the high est type of Christian experience injthis life. Such perfection as the brother seems to have in his mind is not attainded in this life not even in the hour of death is that stage of progress when further progress is impossible. We have no idea that Moses who has been in the better land near 3,560 yeras, or Isaiah who has been there about 2,700years or Enoch who has been there needy 8,000 years, have either ipproached that sort of perfec tion. The trouble with this brother, like so many others,is lie dusen't seem to get hold of the idea in volved in the difference between purity and maturity. The perfection to which w§ are urged in the Bible in the perfection of the little tot, just learning to walk, and the father who wants to teach him bids the nurse put him down in the rough yard, and then throwing his arms open bids him come. The liltle fellow delighted, starts with all the strength he posesses but soon trips and falls over something in his way that he had not suspected the danger >f; he cries and starts again, md falls again, so on till the father’s arms are reached. In a few months experience with tails and hurts, he learns to be more cautious and does not fall so much. Now, the desire, the .m.O.tive, the purpose and the will of that child were perfect; his information and physical struct ure were not mature, hence the blunders. Ihtse controversies, this fight ing what we choose to call dog mas, is productive ot much more harm than we are aware Its most natural, and may I not say unavoidable, effects are impov erishing the spiritual life ot those engaged in it, damages the faith ol others, and discounts the church in the minds of the decidedly irregligious world, and too frequently, otherwise good men, peradventure, led on by their prejudices are found fighting against God, for precon ceived opinions And just here permit me to call attention to a t. ct, potent to all in a position to observe, that the c mfidence of the "out and out” world, is weakened toward those who op pose holiness,, the formal—non spiritual members is pleased and acquiesces with vehemence, while the quiet, unobtrusive, Bible reading, spirtual thirsting Christians, although he may not be able to endorse all that some professing holiness may say and do, is grieved and frequently hurt, spiritually. Sanctific ition, perfection or holiness is a B ble doctrine, and it is for living Christians. Three books in the Now Testament are addressed to the sanctified,i Cor l, 2 and 30, 1 Peter 1, 2. and jude 1. Now," would it not strike youj as very strange for God to inspire a book of intdruc t;ons to men, teaching them how to live, and then address or di rect that book to those who were dying or very near death? The Savior prayed for the sanctifica tion of His disciples, John 17 117, as though it were something that had not been dotae tor them yet, though in the immediately pre ceding verse he declares that they are not of the world even as He is not of the world. And that omething for them and in theih was done on the day ot Pentecost. And what we all need, vastly more than the set tling of theological qu ?stions, is spiritual power, spiritual com munion with God, spiritual lighi and a spiritual conscience. We have not written with anj view of controversy and w< \ ; v >hall not engage in any. We | have no dogmas to defend, or j advocate and what we want is ! truth, not as I like it, or as you ; like it, but as it is—as God has given it. UATHEREI) CRUMBS. I!Y MISS BESSIE STALEY. I Letter from Abrotid.j The tunnel is nine and one t uith miles long, twenty-eight feet wide and twenty-one teet high. It is laid with a double line of rails and is lined with masonery throughout. Can you imagine our thoughts with over three-fifths of a mountain above us? Yet we chattred gaily, nothing fearing, trusting the God who gave the plan of the tunnel. Ah ! It is light again. We look at our watches. We have been in the tunnel seventeen minutes. We look in the guide book and we are 1,000 feet“lower than when we entered. The station is Goeshenen. On the other side of the tunnel the name, of stations were mostly Italian, but how they approach the German. At Wasen, the next town only five miles distance, we ure 600 feel lower. W* decend the slope of the Bristenctoch to the town of Amsteg, only 1,800 feet above the sea. The next town of importance was Altdorf, which figures in the-s'.ory of William Tell. Here Gessler ruled and here the famous cross-bowman pierced the apple w ith a well directed bolt. Soon we came to lake Lucerne, the lake of the Four Cantons, on the shore of which is the town of Flu lien near wich is the chapel of William Tell, although we could not see it from the railway. Tell, the loved and honored founder of the Swiss Republic, led the sturdy Swiss from one battle to another until they gain ed their independence over the Germans—and for four hundred years the name of Tell has in spired the Swiss lad as the name of Washington does the Ameri— can youth. yj i wc apcu unuugu me iu*vua of Schwize, Brunnen and Stei aen and skirting the “Zuger See.” On leaving the shore of the Zuger See passed through the villages of Immense and Kussnucht and were again on the shore of lake Lucerne, whose beautiful waters blended so per fectly with the color of the sky that the one might be mistaken lor the other. After having counted about sixty tunnels on this ride from Milan, across the Alps, we emerged from a short tunnel to fiend ourselves at a railway sta tion on this lovely Swiss lake. This was Lucerne, the capital of the canton of that name and beautifully situated at the efflux of the river Reuss from the lake Lucerne. We enjoyed our lunch at-the hotel des Balances Reussriver. The St. Gotnard railway over which we came to Lucerne was constructed in 1872 to 1882' at a cost ol $47,000 000. It is one of the most stupendious engineering enterpises of modern times. The great tunnel alone cost near ly $12,000,000. Louis Favre, the engineer, died of apoplexy in the tunnel on July 19, 1879. Lucerne has a population of i about 28,000, 5,000 of whom are protestants, who enjoy their re lious freedom. In 735 the con vent of St.JLeodegar was founded tiereand the village derived its name from Ludger a synonym of Leodegar. At lunch, onr courier told us to go that even ing about 6 130 to the old cathe dral, if we wished to hear one of grandest organs in the world. We went as directed and at the east of the Schweizerhof Qjay we be held with its two tall spires Hofkirche (High church)of St. Leodegar, the principal Catnolic church of Lucerne. We paid one franc (20 cts.) each and entered the church, where we saw magnificent wood carvings. This grand organ has ninety stops, it is a wondeful instrument thateachantsevery lover of mu sic.These concerts are held in the church every week day evening from 6 130 to 7 130. Enraptured’ [Concluded uu fourth page.[
The Christian Sun (Elon College, N.C.)
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Aug. 1, 1901, edition 1
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