The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1868-06-13

Macon. 6eeFgiay MayE1st-#as-n0t
held. The reason assigned for not
holding the meeting is, that mas
much as circumstances indicate the
failure of the object for which the
meeting Of Commissioners vas pro-
posed to be held, it is the judgment Of
our Commissioners that such a meet
Tag is inexpedient. and therefore
should not be held"
Prof, Stowe has a very readible artl-
Gle on The Talmpdn3n!t he June
Atlantic, telling what II is, ano CIV
ing some specimens efTats teacnlng.
/ The peculiarly about It when Is
most striking to modern Christians Is
that in its original state At was kept
unwritten. with scrupulous rever-
ence. lest By being written down some
points should become fixed before
they had fully grown to perfect truth.
The Jews held that Moses first dellv-
cred. along with the written law, a
body Of unwritten teaching, which
great scholars and prophets trans
nitted orally from generation to gen
Grafton. The great doctors were in
their belief inspired, In a measure, to
understand, and slowly to perfeet-this
body Of unWritten truth. By keeping
it unwritten they would keep open
room for alteration. Too much can
not be said of the zeal, abilities
and really immense learning of some
Of these doctors of the oral law.
They we're men oftimes of remarkable
greatness of character. In times of
persecution their example was worthy
Of any faith. 1t was not until the
third century after Christ that the
Talmud was written down. 1t was
codiied, So tt speak, before it vas
written. The immense labor involv-
ed 10 arranging, all in ones head,
this vast mass of proverbs, fables, ex-
positions, &c, can hardly be conceiv-
ed by the modern scholar. The man
who finally did it was a doctor who
had been a poor shepherd, and who
fell In love with the daughter of the
richest jew in Jerusalem. His only
chance Of pleasing her proud father
was in becoming the greatest scholar
of his nation. He became this, and
won the prize Of his ambition. As a
doctor Of the oral law he mastered it
so thoroughly as to be able to arrange
it in order in his own mind, and IN
this order-i it was finally written down.
The last New York AdUocate has
some personals in regard to the new
officers elected. by General Confer
ence:
Stephen NJ. Merrill, Editor elect of
the Western Christian Adeocate, uni
ted with the Ohio Conference in 1916.
In 1889 he was transferred to the
Kentucky Conference, and appointed
presiding elder of the Maysville dis
trict. In 1910 he was stationed at the
Greenup Street. Church, CovingtOn.
Two years later he was retransferred
to the Ohio Conference. He has been
in the regular work through all his
ministry, and at his election was pre-
siding elder of the Marietta district.
He has a vigorous mind, well stored
and cultivated. and his friends say he
will make a first-class editor. His
speech on the constitutional question
underlying the subject Of lay delega-
ton will be widely read. He relieves
Rev. DIR. Reid, whose editorial labOrs
have been transferred to the North
Western AdUOcate, the Methodist or
gan of the great orth-W Vest.
Aud this respecting DIR. Walden,
Assistant Agent: --ihL
j. NJ. Walden, d. D., Assistant
Agent elect of the Western Book
Concern, entered the travelling min
istry in the Cincinnati Conference in
1858. Prior to this, we believe, he
was connected for three or four years
with the editorial staff in Cincinnati
and in Kansas, and participated in
4 the great struggle to make the latter
a free State. He has spent-eight years
in Cincinnati, four of them as station
ed pastor, three as Corresponding
Secretary of the Freedmen's Aid So
ciety, and the last year as Presiding
Elder Of the East Cincinnati District.
He is one of the originators of the
Theological and Religious Library
Association of this city, and its Cor
/ responding Secretary. He Is also
Chairman of the Board Of Managers
of the Public Library, which position
he has held for the last three years
He has been active, energetic and
successful thus far, and his election
to his new post gives great satisfac-
ton. He is about thirty years Of age.
INDIANA ASBURY UNIVERSITY
COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES.