PACIFIC CHRISTIAN MESSENGER, FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 18&k
4
l-’A.CIF'IO
C hristian messenger .
T. F. CAMPBELL, E ditor .
]
M iss MARY STUMP,
FFICF. EDITOR AND PUBLISHER.
Will FRIDAY,
Subscribers
please
JUNE
lo. notice
lsSl. the
date following their names on the
paper ? It tells the time when your
subscription expires ; thus, if the date
reads 1’82, your subscription will ex­
pire Jan. 1, 1882. If the date after
your name is a time past, you are in
arrears. Please remit a little before
your time is out, if possible.
_i------ , -
The annual qieeting of the Trustees
of Christian College will be held on
the 14th day of June, at 1 o’clock
p. M,, in the College, at Monmouth. A
full attendance desired.
<»
'A. W. L ucas ,
Secretary.
*
■4
A
4
Any translation which gives us this
as it is in the original must be a good
one; but failing in this, whatever
may be its literary merits, it must be-
bad.
By this standard^ we shall bo
guided in our review of the work.
The Educational Problem.
NL'MBFA dV.
If we trace the line of civilization
since the advent of Christianity, we
find by the facts of history that men
of faith- have in every instance led the
advance guard. Infidels do not ad­
vance civilization; they follow in the
wake, opened up by- men of God; It
is only men of faith in God who eub-
due the earth, and who cause th» wil­
derness to bloom and blush like the
rose. The earth by inheritance be­
longs to the people of God. The
promise is that “ the righteous shall
inherit the earth. ” Christ, the royal
king, is to recieve the uttermost parts
of the earth fox his possessions.”
Where have infidkls ever founded an
empire
or built a city? From the
Preserving Records.
time the disciples of.Christ “went
The sealed recard is the very best
everywhere preaching the Word
testimony in any given case.
'
from the time of the great dispersion
Every permanent organization has
mentioned by —up to thia, present
its archives where it files ‘fiftvay its' J
time, njen of faith have extxniled the
’ records and preserves them with
lines of Christian civilization. Mem
greatest care. The more important
of faith, centuries ago, entered the
documents are often duplicated and
territories of Lfmin and Fiance—perp­
The New Translation.
• kept in different departments to guard
etrated Normandy—penetrated Saxo­
against accident
ny— penetrated Britannia.—penetrat­
We have been watching, wit»« in­
With all the prudence man can ex­
terest, the comments of the press, both ed Scotia and the Em.ertJd Isle; and
ercise and all the care he can bestow,
finally penetrated the wi’jds of Ameri­
moth will eat, flood destroy and fire religious and secular, on the forth­ ca, where the tree of civil and religi­
consume, his best guarded records coming translation of the New Testa­ ous liberty was planted.
leaving him in doubt or profound ig- ment, which was issued from the Lon­
Religion, pure and undefiled, is. the
norance of the past. Not so with the don press about the 20th of May.
legitimate
inheritance ci the American
Most of these criticisms were made
record which God has mads in the
people.
This
is «the palladium A our
in advance of the appearing, of the
past. -
,
•
“
grand
Christian
Republic. The Bible
In nature he stereotypes the cur- work, based on what cduld be learned
—
the
common
legacy
of all mankind
rent history in the rocks in a language fiom the translators privataly as te
—
isour
magna
chai»
of social mor­
intelligent alike to all nations and all the general character of the work, and
als
and
political
ethics.
AVhat right
ages. The fish, the fowl, the reptile the probable changes that would be
have
I.Uropear.
atheists
to come to.
and the mammal are filed away in the effected. Some express, .much confi­
this
land
of
Bibles,
and
demand
their
safe archives which God has appoint­ dence in the merit of the work,
banishment
from
our
pubic
schools
ed—the enduring rodk the everlasting hoping that we shall have a volume
free from those obsolete vyords and and fsom courts oi justice ? They are
hills.----------- ——---- — _. -
nothing buV cMqr followers in the
The earth holds in its bosom the antiquated expressions which mar the
history
the physical changes to I beauty of the volume and, in many rear of God’s sacramental hosts. The
which it has been subjected in the cases, in the Old Testament especially, < atholies are more consistent than
Protestants in strenuously striving to
past, as well as a faithful record of all cause the text to be offensive to the
the tenantry of land^ocean and air in modesty of the age. Others, and ap­ keep religion in the schools. The ar­
parently the greater number, are de­ gument they use is as reasonable as it
all past time.
in advance the loss of those is invulnerable. If their religion were
’
The record is not < only lithographed, J ploring
multinlied almost ' i familiar forms which, because of their the pure religion of the New Testa­
but duplicated and multiplied
indefinitely in mountain ranges, i quaintness, cling the more readily to ment, unmixed by human tradition,
’ broad plains and beneath the ocean’s j the memory and link themselves to uncontaminated by false dogmas, and
■ recollections of childhood and the unsullied by a sensuous spectacular
profonndest depths.
worship, the conclusion of their argu­
Neither moth nor rust, flood nor paternal home. Others express the
ment would be simply irresistible.
opinion
that
a
rigid
conformity
to
flame, nor the corroding hand of time
As it is, it has' great potency. They
can destroy this record. It is com- grammatical rules will give it a stiff
teach" cbvrectly—though founded on
and
formal
style
not
in
harmony
with
posed of the indelible foot-prints of.
what we conceive to be false promises
1
the
spirit
of
devotion.
time, the enduring vestiges of the ages '
—when they assert that-'education ’’
A
partizan
spirit
will
cause
many
that are past. Though it speaks a
is
a curse instead of a blessing with­
universal language, whose alphabet is to reject it, however excellent in other
out
the presence of religion, as a
»the genera and species of vegetables respects, on account of some word or
leavening
influence and a transform­
and animals living and fossil, yet to phrase which will affect their, peculiar
ing
power.
Hence we do not see
be read and understood it fliust be , i theology. This, it may be remem­
much
cause
for.' censuring Roman
studied amdlearned As any other re­ bered, is net the translation under­
Catholics
because
Jjiey see fit to re­
cord. Alan has but just entered these taken, some thirty years ago, by the
move
their
children
from “godless
great archives of nature'and formed j I American Bible Union, under Baptist
schools.
”
Religion,
such
as it is, is
for himself a primmer with which to auspices, and to which the Disciples
made
very
prominent
in
all
their edu­
prosecute the study. Here we are to I contributed largely. It is the work
cational
institutions.
And
it is on
learn thé'recorded'history of what of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
this
account
chiefly
that
they
are
anJ associated evangelical denomina­
. tGod has done, in the past.
able
to
maintain
their
"
Catholic
But God has also epoken to man, | tions. It has been accomplished by.
unity,” coupled with the idea of Papal
and he has preserved in a similar two committees of learned men, one
infallibility. They make literature
manner and with equal care what he in England and the other in America
ancient
and modern classics, and the
That the work will contain very great
has said.
physical
sciences, subordinate to reli­
When the canon of the Old Testa merit may reasonably and safely be
gion.
This
used to be the case with
ment was completed in the Hebrew, it presumed. And whether it shall take
Protestants
;
but they have permitted
became a dead language, fossilized i th? place of the received version or
scientific
infidels
and. finally, educat­
and incapable of change. The canon not, the labor and expense of pre­
ed
skeptics
to
enter
their schools and
of the New Testament was then per­ paring it will be amply repaid in the
colleges.
In
some
of
our American
fected in Greek, and it ceased to be a added store of Biblical criticism and
colleges
the
Bible
is
respected
like any
the increase of knowledge resulting
spoken language.
other
book
;
in
some
it
is
faintly
rev­
The Old Testament was duplicated from reading it to compare and con­
erenced
as
the
Book
of
books.
So
far
by being translated into the Greek, ; trast its literary merits with the old
as
our
colleges
are
concerned,
we
are
and the New by being translated into volume.
We shall reserve our criticisms glad to record the fact that the Bible
the Hebiew, while they were yet
living, spoken languages. Then God uniil we have a copy before us, and is made a very prominent text book;
sealed them up, stereotyped and made have given it a candid and, we trust, but nevertheless, it has long been our
conviction that young men studying
them permanent in language, as he an impartial reading. And we shall
had lithographed the records of nature take greater pleasure in epeaking of for the ministry, have been obliged to
and made them permanent in the fossil its merits, than of what we may deem spend entirely too much timfr in par­
strata« of earth. These Scriptures its defects. What we want is to ing over heathen classics, the higher
mathematics and abstract sciences, for
can no more be changed by man, than know the idea, the thought which
which studies only few are adapted.
can the fossil reççrd in nature. They God would communicate to man.
I
.
speak the same language, the same
thoughts, to all nations and all ages.
Whatever may be the diversity of
languages at different times and in
different ages, and whatever the
vicisitudes of each, the Hebrew and
the Greek with their grammars and
! their lexicons must remain the same,
unchanged in form or thought. They
contain the history of man, his origin,,
his relations, and his destiny, as de­
veloped through the revelations and
providences of God. The love, mercy
and condescension of the Heavenly
Father through the -gift of. his ' fon,
Jesus, to redeem and
f—3 save lost humani-
ty—his words and works, his death
and resurrection, his ascension—and
coronatioft, all speak- in the same
divine strains to the heart of rffan to­
day that they did eighteen hundred
years ago, and that they will eighteen-
thousand years so come should time
continue so long.
The value and importance jof these
records to man máy be inferred from-
the miraculous care with which ,he
has preserved them. These originals­
cons ti tute the fountain whence all the
living languages of earth may be en­
riched with the divine will by trans-
lations which for a language instinct
with lifie constantly changing must be
revised from time, while the text em­
balmed in death and stereotyped by
fossilization remains the same forever.
The time devoted to these stndies
should be'. devoted to a thorough mas­
tery of tho Bible, t» Churoh History,
and to a severe self-diseiplme. As
many who go to college, cannot be­
come scholars—cannot even rise to
mediocre—the money spent on them
should be saved for the common edu­
cation at all. W b have entirely too
many “ educated men ” who are net
in the proper sense educated at all.
Some of the misleading mottoes of
the age are these: “ Knowledge is
Power,” “ Money is Power,” "Cetton is
King,” “Hog is King.” “Wheat is
King,” etc. This, is the drift of the
age. All this means materialization.
This is the kind offoed the youth of
our land is fed- upon. Bower to pos­
sess, power to get ahead,'power to
rise above the common -herd of man­
kind, power to rule, power to-bo rich
and independent—this is the chief
factor whiah operates in the present
affairs of society. This is the syren
song of the age. But the oracles of
God declare, “ Not by might and
power, but by the Spirit of our God ’’
we conquer. And again, “ The battle
is not to- the strong, nor the race to
the swift, but to him who does the
will ef the Lord.” Nebuchadnezzar
boastingly said,- “ Is not this jrreak
Babylon, that I have built by the
might <af my power, and for-the glory,
of my kingdom : “And for indulging,
in this self-laudation, tho Almighty,
banished him from the companionship
of mtn, and for seven years compelled
him to live upon grass like the beaets
of the field. This is typical of the
fate of all notions and- peoples who
“ forget God,” All these graven imag­
es of “powe*.” God will turn into
curses upon those who refuse to- rev­
erence his boly nama. What is to
save the [eople from indulging in
crime and In all the excesses o£ liber­
tinism, if “ power ” ix to be defiled in­
to the “ god of this world? Each
class of people have their god—the
god of power, the god avarice» the god
knowledge, the god fashion, tho god
science, the goddess lust. All this
means materiality, and not faith Tn'
God.
”
.
W* have- shown in a ‘ former essay
that crime, not only in vulgar form
but in the most seductive ^guise, in­
creases with the increase of knowl­
edge. The ancient seer said that in
the latter times “ mon shall run to
and fro, and knowledge shall be in­
creased but “ the hearts of men shall
fail them,” because they have lost
faith in God. When all men seek to
be served, and refuse to serve others,
the order of the society must inevita­
bly break down. If we take the re­
straints of religion out of national
legislation, and neutralize the moral
forces of society by serving only sen­
suous gods, society is just as certain
to dissolve and lapse into chaos, as
that physical death will follow all
mankind if you decompose the air oa
and expel the preserving principle of
oxygen. Religion,«pure religion, the
religion of the Bible, must be made
the preserving element of the individ­
ual, of society, of the family, of all our
schools and colleges, and of the na­
tion. Ungodly teachers should not
be allowed a place in our schools;
skeptical professors, who create more
dou'ots than they remove, and who walk
bv sight and not by faith, have no
business in our institutions of learn­
ing ; atheistic and corrupt men should
not be selected to make bur laws and
to direct governmental alfairs. Wheth­
er knowledge of science increases
or whether wealth abounds, the words
of infinite wisdom still remain true,
that " the fear of the Lord is the be­
ginning of wisdom, and that to part
from evil is understanding.” The
man who does not recognize and hon­
or this principle, is as morally incapa­
ble of governing a State as he is unfit
to train a family of children. The
pervading sentiment of the Bible is,
" Love God, and keep his command­
ments, for this is the' whole duty (or
pleasure) of man.” The man who re­
jects this sentiment, ’is- a- traitor to-
God and to his country. . It is our
firm conviction that no atheist ought -
bo be encouraged, if indeed allowed, to-
sit in the councils of our nation. The
recent expulsion of Bradlaugh from
the British Parliament because of his.
avowed atheisuj, and because of his
persistent efforts to obtrude his blas­
phemy upon society, was an act as
wise as it was just; because he who
would rob a nation of all,virtue and
self-respect, and remove. all - fear of
God from before the eyes of the peo­
ple, is to all intents and purposes both
a thief and a robber.
If we cannot make -scientists of the
youth, of our country, and cannot im-.
part to them a knowledge of the
classics, let us at least teach them
“ the fear of God,” which is the begin­
ning of wisdom.” All:the youth of
this land, of whatever class of nation­
ality, should be taught reading and.
wrfiihg, and ‘‘the fear of the Lord.’’
A. common knowledge of letters and
the fear of the Lord, are co-ordinate
branches of education-; and hence the
man who will not teeognize this fun­
damental principle-ci the divine gQVr
ornment, is neither fit for a teaaher
nor a legislator. S arely, for the pres­
ervation of the g< vernmeut, and for
the glory ef the Church of Chris t, the
oomthon elevation of the people, by
the means indicated, is of far more
importance than ‘be establishment of •
so many colleges- and universities^
which are only accessible to the favor­
ed few. In the North 'there is more-
knowledge than pure religion ; in th»
South there is more of the religious,
sentiment and fn less skepticism than. -
lb the North. The North may non
need less knowledge, - but it. need*
much more of the faith and religiotu*
sentiment. The South needs a vast
amount of " book education,” with a
still higher elevation of tho religious
sentiment. *'hi these subjacts, there
is pressing demand for gensial equali­
zation.— A. G. Review.
-
Reporta from ths. Field.
TntafT, L an « Ca, O r .,
May 29, 1881.
Editor
‘--------- —
Bros. Phillip Mulkey and I. N.
Mulkey csmmenced a meeting at Lost
Valjpy school house, neat; this place,
on zFrida.y evening, May 20th, con­
tinuing until the following Wednes­
day evsning. The iipmediate result
being ben additions, to- the church"
(at Treat); nine by baptism, and one
(Sistox (da Panter) reolaimed. Surely
we have good reasons, bo rejoice, and,
indeed, we have been made to rejoice
to see so many bow to the will of
heaven while in their youth.
Bra. I. N. Mulkey has been filling
his monthly appointment« at the plat»
of said meeting fc-c about two yea»,
and he is now permitted, at least, in
part, to enjoy the Sruits of his efficient
labors. Truly some prophets have
•0’L-«utoess in their awn
country. Imagine for a moment the
ten young converts all in Sunday
school and at church to-day, seemingly
very much interested in the worship,
and adding much thereto by their
presence and much appreciated help
in singing. Who would net thank
God and take renewed courage.
P. S.—We have just been informed
that Bro. Abel Bristow, of Pleasant
Hill, died to day about, 12 o’clock.
Your brother in hope,
D... W. B ridges .
E ugene C ity , June 4, 1881.
Bro. Campbell:
. By request, I send you a report of a
meeting in_ Linn county, which com­
menced on the fifth Lord'* day in
May. Two services on Sunday and
three on the following evenings after
the school adjourned.
The audiences were large, erder
good, interest intense and results glo­
rious. Seven confessed the Savior
and one received by relation, all of
mature age. Four of them were heads
of families. Bro. 1. N. Mulkey did
the most of the preaching.
The interest was intense, but we
were compelled to close the meeting,
though the brethren entreated ear­
nestly for a continuation.
Your brother in Christ,
U ncle P hilip ,