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About Pacific Christian messenger. (Monmouth, Or.) 1877-1881 | View Entire Issue (May 31, 1877)
“GO YE, THEREFORE, TEACH ALL NATIONS. MONMOUTH, OREGON, MAY 31, 1S77. THE MESSENGER plentifully with the wisdom“ which is like unto the serpent's, knows that we being a power with the peo ple, it will not do to leave us out However this may be, we are invi ted. Should we participate ? I am constrained to believe that we can not consistently do so. The follow ing are some of my reasons, for so thinking: / 1. It is not the apostolic method of converting men. To think . of one of the ajMistles, or evangelists in the role of the modern revivalist is enough to make one ashamed of the comparison. I have yet to known of a revivalist who does not resort th. schemes and tricks that are shamefully out of harmony with anything fouipl in Acts of Apostles. In these meeting« tfiere is nothing of the dignity and power of the an cient preathey. The truth is, there is very little that can be called , preaching at all. The eflbrt to get men and women to do, hot what the Gospel says, but something pre- PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY THE Messenger Publishing Co., MONMOUTH, POLK CO., OREGON, Id devoted to the ca«*e of PrtWfltive Ctir tut (unity and the dUTa^ioM of (ieaet** *1 Infoi nmtioMn, bride l’er Year,.in Advance, $2.50 All cotniuiuMc*tions reh'..ing*<> tl>® p«qer iu any way, should be adthvwed to the Puhiiaber, aw above, -bend money by Bank Draft, terud Letter, or Money order on Dalian, at our ribk. Advertisers will find thM one of tire beat suo- dhims on the Pacific Queat for making tlreir bnsinea« known- • Communications. Sinlesshess. Salem, Oregon. ITS OPERATION, IKTLCENCK, BAPTISM AND INDSKLLINO. y A Short Sermon on a Short Text. 1 the modern revivalist^ rather than ' — after the preaching of the apostles. In our great anxiety to make con vert«, we have built in wood, hay, stubble, which, is a shame to the - - church now. and will' be finally burned; and should the builders be saved, it will be ar by fire. I am tqld that many who are con verted in these revivals have joined the Christian Church, because- the Christian preacher waft co-operating in the meeting; Well, possibly, I should not feel anything but joy at x this; but I will say that the preach er whpse church has received a large addi tiort of th is kind, may ¡-x--------- pect hard work to prevent the ne- • cessity for a very large exclusion very soon. Have sucK converts any idea of our movement other than it is on<$ of the sects ? Have they joined the church from principle, or somer __ . thing less? We already have top many who cothe in untaught; and j t is thi s element t h at ia- rewrintf ~ ~ trouble in tlie'eongregations by an effort to run the Reformation after thè model of the “ other denomina tions.” They are ever a sensation al, unwise, restless, and troublesome set. I would not be understood to that the additions made to the churches the past winter are this _kindof mate rial,. but that here is- Y tow <1.‘Trej>eat three [»iter nintern one of our dangers in such meet an«l three ore maria» and your ings. People are told to join “ the souls will lie instantly pure as they were at your baptiSln.”’ The <tuc- ohwoL vf thetr choree ; that " one trine of this extract of course I do is as good as another ;” that “ every not charge upon thq revivali.lt; but one should be, a member of some I do claim that the way of influen church.” Persons joining us with cing men is the Same. When I see such notions as these, will be a people kneeling at the- ftfet of a curse instead of a blessing. They preacher, be he Catholic monk, or may be good matérial for sectarian moderh revivalist, I long for Peter ism, but they add weakness instead to say, “ etan«l up; I myself also am of strength ,to a cause which claims a man.” Think of that preacher of to lie an enemy to all sects. They the cross proclaiming to those as may be faithful to the denomina sembled in Solomon’s porch, “I tions, but to us they will never be now give you five minutes by the so long as we are faithful to our watch to decide whether you’ll go plea. 3. I object to working in such to heaven or hell.” My candid con meetings,-because in them we are viction is that whenever we, by forbidded to tell sinners what we word or deed, give countenance to know to be their duty. There mav such proceedure as is commonly be an instance or two where our seen in these meetings, we thereby preachers have been allowed to go divest ourselves of much of our in untramtneied ; but the rnle is that power to preach the ancient Gospel certain subjects are forbidden. Into as did the apostles and their con no meeting will I ever go when temporaries Our Relation to Revivals. my mouth is locked and my tongue 2. My second objection grows BY 1. H. HABDIX tied. I cannot agbee to enuntepane« • out of the first; it is that the con as right any meeting where the The past winter has been marked, verts made in such meeting are not Master is not allowed tu speak. in the religious communities of the genuine, and soon go back to the It makes me indignant to think country, by “ Union meetings,” con world. Being influenced to make of men whose characters rise little ducted by a class of professional re “ profession of religion,” by sensa above the mountebank sitting in vivalists. They being union meet tional methods and not by the judgment upon the words (Ji^apoH- ings, our people and preachers in Preaching of the'G<>spel, when the tles, prophets, an<l Jesus bunself, some instances have been invited sensation is over, their “ reljgion ” determining what part of their to join them. Some have done so; is over. Having got religion by teaching may be admitted in the others have refused. the wort! of men, instead of being meeting, and what jiart must lie The question now arises, which bom again, not of corruptible seed, left out did right ? Should we join in such but of incorruptible, by the wonl of These arq among the prominent meetings or not Thi$ is a jjpee- Qod, which live« and abides forever reasons why I dee» it wrong for tion which, in the not wry remote the-word of man dies, and their re us to Work in, or coun f—nw « such past, would not have given the least ligion dies with it revivals. We may be •¡lei .nar trouble, for the simple rear on that It may sound strange to those ro wnninded, prejudiped, bigoted; it we would not, have Keen invited ■ who have alwaye charged us with may make us, apparently, unpopu but the world has moved a little, not making genuine converts, to lar to refuse ; but really it wfil give and the orthodox can now screw hear the charge returned to them < ils a jxiwer as a “ peculiar people ” their consciences up to the point of but it is true, nevertheless. It may that we cannot otherwise exert.— asking us to help in " union meet be repliid that the sameTs frequent Apoetolic Time». - , * -, ings.” Whether tins is because we ly true of the converts made in our It ha« been ascertain« d that have grown more “ evaagelical,” or meetings. I am sorry-to know that Spiritualism in the United States the orthodox less so, I shall not say. it is; but to me the cause of it is has sent 16,000 persons to insane There is a possibility that neither plain to be discerned. We habe Asylums. It has wrecked h tneax— is true ; but that our modern revi-. .ninny of us modeled our evangelical destroyed virtue, and ruir. I souls valist having provided hhneelf labora after the sensational style of for time and eternity.
