The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-04-05
SHALL WOMEN PREACH:
The Question AmrmadveIy An
swered mt the Baptist ninisters'
~EnnlAnameR ~

The Question 8mrmadvely An
swered nj the Baptist Minister'S
Conference.
n. Y. Herald OF Tuesday.
Without taking a formal vote yester-
day the Baptist Ministers Conference de.
cided the question, "shall women preafhf'
in the affirmative by the weight and force
Of their opinions. The question was
brought up incidentally by Rev. Robert
B. Hull, OF the Tabernacle Church, in this
| city, who read an essay on sThe Social
Meetings Of the Church. he first told
his brethren that there was no model IN
the New Testament after which such
meetings could be patterned. He then
described the character OF the religious
meetings OF the apostolic days and the
persons who participated in them and
showed that all those meetings were
social: that the modern Church has drift
led away from the simplicity OF. those
early gatherings, and that the setting up
Of one man, minister, or layman, to con-
troll the meetings oil, the Church has Q ten
dency to destroy personal religious
liberty and drive the people away
from the house Of God. In the
course OF his description OF what
social meetings ought to be Mr.. Hull Il
pressed his emphatic approval of women
taking in meetings, Brother Lodge dis.
sented from this, the prohibition OF Panl
with him weighing more than anything
that he had ever read or heard on the
other aide. DR.. D. q. Miller, Of Green
point, L. l., differed with Brother Lodge
and wished that women would talk more
In church and less out Of II. Mr.. Gait was
In favor OF women speaking in religious
meetings also, but he would have the sub
iects o. remafk chosen beforehand and
the persons to speak appointed. But this
would crush cut the spoutaneity Of the
m~eetipgs, which some OF his brethren
could not indorse.
Brother Osborn wished that women
would talk more in meelings; "for,' he
said, "they have the happy faculty gener.
ally Of sayipg the right thing at the right
time,and much more pleasantly andlotci'
bly, than men can. oftentimes the prayer
orthe word Of exhortation OF . godly
woman will produce. much better and
more important effects than fine sermons
OF the ministers or brilliant addresses Of
other men. And rs all our churches are
made up largely OF women much vital
power Of the Church IL Loaf by prohibiting
women to speak, DR.. sarles, too, would
rather have them speak than have such
long pauses as sometimes occur 10 the
social meetings. DR.. Samson went back
Ito Homer and Virgil to show that women
took part in religious meetiDgs, and that
in the time OF the apostles this also was
the custom. He also gave the exegetical
meaning Of the Greek word calico toshow
that Paul prohibited not speaking or ex-
hortation BY women in the Church, but
~aeonnected discourse" which the word
means. And this, In !. Corinthians,
agrees with /. Timothy, when he sutfera
not a woman to teach nor TO usurp the
authority over mar a. . teacher. Women
were allowed to prophesy-that 10 10 70;
late Christian experience and give aEofd
Of exhortation, but not to preach sermons
as men did or do.
Other brethern also favored the par.
ecipaton by women in all the social
mtetings Of the Church; but a to the di.
rection and conduct Of such meetings
Opinions varied. Some would have them
wholly spontaneous: others would have
the minister or one Of the laymen take
iedarge. Some would have o order o.
service and some another; but nearly al
were agreed that, whatever the order or
direction, women should speak.