Morning journal and courier., 1883-02-24
Diplomacy in Truth.

Rev. John Hall Gives Further Instruc-
 tions to Young Min1Bters i'm AHarquand
 Chapel.
 Rev. John Hall spoke again yesterday af- ternoon in Marquand chapel to the young gentlemen fitting themselves for the minis try. The general tenor of his rather infor- maI remarks was in the direction of the in- culcation of reasonable diplomacy in deal ing with people in our sinful world. He said as he looked into the faces of the stu dents he could not but think what blessed power they might be if they acted with fer vor and good judgment and he should be glad if anything he might say would be to them any encouragement. He was not to- day to give them lecture on the subject of the s'Evidences of Christianity D for the pro fessors of the college had undoubtedly done their duty in such 8 matter.
 The speaker said that it appeared that they who were to teach others should be espec- ially conversant with the things they were to teach When general was about to enter upon battle he took pains to see that the artillery was pointed in the right direction. | and just so it should be with the work of the minister He would now speak upon how ' to use the evidences.
 The reverend gentleman proceeded to ex- ' plain the meaning of the word sapologet1c, as used in connection with Christian othlcs | or work. When we talk of apology, in ordi- nary usage, there is an implication that some \ fault or offence has been committed for \ which an apology or excuse IS Tn order: The | students, however, need not be told that It was not in such sense that the word was | now used. It simply meant defense" kaeainst assaults and was used by way Of ans ! wers to captions questions. Now one or two things should be remembered by the ! young minister as of cautionary value. Cau- \ tion should be used that the ministers should not use hard language. There are \ words which have an acquired sense which might be used in that sense sometimes, but \ when such word was used it should be with qualification. One of these words, very \ common in the ordinary speech of people, ! was the word 'infdel," and it was frequent ly misused. We should look to the original meaning of words. We could say of the confidence in them and it may be wiser than to call aman an infidel because he says what we do not believe. Just such word IS
 ssskeptic" The speaker had always been g \ skeptic in a certain sense. So was every \ body with faculty of examining anything in order to find the truth. The word nova days had come to mean something different
 from what it did once, when skeptlc was one who did not take anything without study
 This principle of examining was right the Bible teaches us tc prove all things. We properly \ welcome truth upon evidence and are skeptl ' cal True we do not attempt to prove { everything by the same kind of evidence E The scientific investigator has class of evi \ dence to prove a certain class of facts-h'
 uses material facts to prove the truth of hl
 material theories man looks at the pre- \ sentation of evidence suitable to settle cer \ tain matter. Let us not fear that we ar \ skeptics: but that we do not look at the ap \ propriate kind of evidence for the given case
 Another word, said the speaker, ,that should
 be used with caution, is ''secularism. II \ the true sense of that word it was proper tC | be secular We are all secularists in way Christian seeuIarism is the hope of the world
 the inspiration of goodness, charity and al
 excellent things. On the other hand thenon Christian secularist is not at all the sam kind of man as the Christian secularist. N Do not, said the instructor, needlessly \ wound men by hard words and thus Perhap
 bar them from right access to truth. Le
 men know, when necessary, that you ar \ with them part way and only separate iron ! them on matters open for discussion. Do no
 let men know that you know something. A grea ' many people fancy that ministers only knoy
 and dare what they were taught in college \ Let them know that this is not so, but not il \ 40dcl
 in an indirect way sometimes, not going at
 hammer and tongs fashion.
 ' Do not over estimate the irrelgion of tn
 world. Now church may not always be filled The trouble may be found otherwhere thai
 in the worlds irreligion. It may occur t. | you to say to yourself: Here have beel
 talking about laches when l should hav | been saying things to bind men to the faith.
 The Christian cause was never as strong il l relationship to the race as now It IS tru ' that the proportion of Christian evidences
 compared with opposite evidences was neve
 so large as now. In power, aggress1Venes
 and success the Christian interest was never
 as now, so powerful as against the evidence
 of unbelief.
 " The speaker said he knew of but one o two publicly pronounced infdels in England
 among them Bradlaugh, and but one i
 this country. True, we have dognnatists an N strong individualism among public preach | CTS coming in some degree from the curren ' spirit of federation. The popularity of Huz ley, Darwin and one or two others had bee over-stated, as booksellers know. There WE
 little sale for. works of the agnostics. Tn II newspapers do not encourage them and the ) are pretty quick to print what people de |, \ mand. .
 The speaker went on to show that absur allegations were made against the Bible, hay ' been withdrawn from argument and discard ed Those who say that the Bible is th \ outcome of blind enthusiasm and the wor | of men. earnest but mistaken as to facts, ar diminishing in number. There is 8 highe class of disputants, who, while acknowledg : \ ing that the Bible IS the grandest result c , \ the religious faculty in man, still look upo \ it as 8 purely human work.
 The listenerS were told to be patient an tender as well as honest and true. The wor mother church" was significant ofthe out .. stretched arm to welcome the returning war derer and wayward child. Use frequently : but incidentally, bits of knowledge here an ! there to strengthen the truth, without seem ing to make an ado about it. The harmon of the gospels can in such way be shown the best knowledge Truth can be oonveye
 oftentimes parenthetically.
 Much was said in support of the. inculcs \ ton that light could be made to penetrate darkened soul by indirect gleams, whe the broad glare, poured on 8 man all at oncs would confuse and daze and lead to a sudde spirit of resistance. Much of the lectur was devoted to showing that the vaunte oriental wisdom was not new and that all c it that was good for anything was in tn
 Bible. Said the speaker: If we can pro
 mote honest inquiry we shall do well. Me will then feel that they can safely trust tn living word for time and for eternity.
 Church Of the Messiah Fair. The programme for this evening will be a } auction sale of the remaining fancy good