The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1882-03-02
Echoe. from the Religion. Press.

Echoes from the Religious Press.
Baptist Courier: When a Christ
ian of any denomination
receives ordination, he Is,
from the Baptist point of view,
simply recognized and designated
publicly, as chosen and devoted to
the work of the ministry among
those whose faith and practice he
represents. If he is heard and
treated as u minister by people of
other denominations than his own,
il is because Christians know, or
feel the difference between essen
tials and non essentials in religion.
When, therefore. this man so or
dained becomes a Baptist, Tor for
that matter, anything else than what
he was before), we see no reason
ton should not be repeated, recog-
nizing and designating him as
chosen and devoted to the work of
the ministry in his new sphere. We
see good reason why it should be re-
peated. Nearly every consideration
o that enforced the desirableness and
Importance of his ordination in the
first instance remains of force in the
second.
Baptist Reflector: Possibly, and
probably, one ofthe keenest of the
vain regrets that will find us at the
dying hour, will be the opportuni-
ties of doing good we have lost
we have, from want of watchful-
ness, from sheer neglect, let slip. 1t
is, or 1t ought to be, the desire of
every Christian to do good, as often
rs he can, and to as many of his fell
lowmen, as possible. Surprising this
desire to exist, in the full strength
of prayful purpose, there is but
one way to success, to be watchful to
embrace every opportunity. This the
apostle Paul enjoins when he SAYS,
''Do good unto all, as you have OPP
portunity." This is the full meas.
ure of every mans duty. God
never requires us to reach beyond
our reach, but only to be sure we
go IN at the doors he opens for us,
and at all of them. And this rule
applies 10 the weakest saint as well
as the strongest-to the little school
and to Gabriel as well. No one is
low enough to get below it, or high
enough to get above it. The exact
limit of the responsibility ofman, or
angel, is opportunity. Our duty al
ways lies at hand, we have but to
do it.
Watch Io,Oer: The church should
cooperate cordially and earnestly
with the pastor, as principal with
agent, constituency with representa-
tive, soldier with officer. The
reputation and influence of pastor
in a particular field depend more
upon such support than upon his
talent, culture or character. Criti-
cisIng a pastor before family or the
community is as impolitic and sui
cidal as for one to cIiticise his part
ner in business on the board of
trade, or his wife and children in
social circles. The weakest
pastor is stronger with the loyal
support of church than
the strongest challenged and criti-
cised by capricious, ambitious, part
isan or selfish members. Honest diff
ferences with pastor, discussed with
him alone and prayerfully, may cor
rect his errors and improve his min
istry. But tree criticism of his SER
mons, conduct of prayer-meeting,
and general work, is pretentious,
selfish and schismatic. The wisest
and best members never thus wrong
the pastor and obstruct his work
They may counsel with him private
ly, but they will not dishonor him
before their families and neighbors.
They will defend his honor as they
would that of friend, business part
ner or companion.
A few weeks since we rode from
Washington to New York with
Governor Perham, of Maine, ard
had long talk and interesting con-
versation with him as to the actual
state of the case. Governor Per-
ham has had all the opportunity
for judging that any public officer
or private citizen of the state could
have. He is calm and judicial in
his views and opinions, and a
thorough temperance man, though
not so prominently connected with
the movement, of course, as Neal
Dow has been. Governor Per-
ham declares that the change
wrought by the prohibitory law
has been great and beneticent. Aud
though it has not been able abso-
lutely TO obliterate all illegal traffic
and what man of common sense
would suppose it couldn't has
nevertheless greatly suppressed the
evil, and made it both a disgraceful
and dangerous thing to sell liquors.
1t has, he says, achieved great
change for the better in the state.
and accomplished all that any rea-
sonable man could have expected.
So greatly has the reform modified
public opinion that both political
parties are now in favor of the law.
The party that opposes ii is neither
the Republican nor the Democratic
party, as such, but the "rum party"
In some places it is more thoroughly
enforced than in others; and in such
places the results are correspond
partly because the officials charged
with the execution of the law, or
because of other peculiar obstacles
in the way, its operations are less
satisfactory. Hence, those who
judge the whole state by limited
local fields, are sure to misjudge,
and as correspondents of papers, or
public speakers, give erroneous inn
pressions as to the actual tacts.-Ec.
WatchmdR: We allude here to the
phenomena of those remarkable dis
coveries which modern history by
painstaking excavations has made
at Pompeii. One of these represents
in one group two men and one
woman wholly petrified by the
laval shower which two thousand
years ago was rained down from
Vesuvius upon Herculaneum and
Pompeii. That tempest of volcanic
fire and flame was not, we may fifty
infer, wholly unlike that which de-
scended on the cities in the vale of
Siddim. In the destruction of life
which ensued, the results too, were
strikingly similar. The only dissim-
ilarity was in this, that at Sodom
there was, so far rs known, but one
human monumental figure wrought
out. that from all the saline elements
of the region here concentrated in
force, became "pillar of salt" At
Pompeii there was more than one
there were three in one room-all
turned not into salt, but from the
other elements of a differing vol
canic region, they were resolved
into stone itself. Yet there were
full rounded outlines of the men and
women-with ring ON the fin
Qer-petrified into hardness
-. ..o.-o- of&asua The .aaa