The Dickinson press., 1884-12-27
Methodist Centenary o~oufsrsue..
The Methodist Centenary Conference at Bal
timore closed on Wednesday

The Methodist Centenary Conference at Bal
hmore closed on Wednesday
II PASTORAL.
OF the bishops is addressed "To the Methods
people in the United States and Canada"
says: "Permit US to remind you, dear breth
rem, while we extend hearty congratulations
upon the success Of the past and express thu
~profoundest conviction that even nobler anc
grander achievements await us in the future
that the mission given us by providentla
allotment is not yet accomplished. w.
entreat you, brethren, do not forge
thai hitherto Methodists have been dis
tlngulshed by the emphasis they have given
essential doctrines of Christianity. In all the
years of our h story truths relating to God, tc
moral government, Immortality to etern-
al %retribution, have been sacredly main.
tanned and asserted with great distinct.
ness, and that we have held in com
mon with all Christian people to the inspira-
ton and divine authority of the scriptures, the
divine origin of the church, and the vocation
of the ministry, the value of the sacrament,
and indispensableness of the s~trictest morali-
ty. according to ths New Testament standards;
and that beyond all these points. we have made
conspicuous the Nervousness of sin, the neccs.
sity OF atonement, the universally of pro-
nounced redemption, freedom of will, and
purenoss of grace. Not one of these can be
discarded or distorted without manning the
SSAACi4c u SulNutiOll iIlu revealed JOSOGl. But
even these foundations OF truths, however en-
phasized, will not meet the demands of the
soul, and never could have produced the pho
nomena of Methodist life and history.
THERE ARE DOCTRINES
to be emphasized, doctrines which re-
provided, doctrines Which undsrIie the
experiences of the soul in its emersence
out of the darkness and death of sin into the
light and life OF righteousness. The other doc
trines have been the rallying cry of Methodism
i'll the past, and must be in the future. They
the witness Of the Spirit, sanctifcation and
Chr. ':an perfection. Out of these come all
our tA 'eriences, all our joys and hopes, our
Inspiration and zeal; and upon these are built
all our special forms and means of grace, our
our benevolences and our correction
al institutions. These doctrines, above all
others, ha' !, n tone and shape and spirit to
our orsn .lzat.o on and determined its work and
place IN history. Take from Methodism these
of experience, or even the emphasis
given them, or overlap them with %llfeless forms
and ceremonies, or mar them by human specu-
lations concerning the mode of divine proceed
ure in them, or confuse them by any %conceiv-
able departure from their simplicity, so they
shall become only doctrines of the creed, un-
voiced IN the soul as the very essence of saliva
ton, and then our glory is departed forever.
We therefore plead with you, brethren, as you
'~ANS ~ PuAAIS - IN S1uICl dlQ w pOWtT "
convert the people and spread Scriptural holi-
ness, hold fast these doctrines, as they come
from the fathersas they appear in tho Script
ures and as theyhave been attested by the ex-
periences of the church in past ages" The
address urges u maintainance of family reli-
gion. "The hottest sanctuary on EARTH" the
address says, lis the Christian home. Neither
the church nor the Sunday school can do the
work of the home, or become an adequate sub
stltute for the influence of prayer in the house
hold. See to 1T that your children be all taught
of the Lord with sound instruction. Let
H HAND OF RESTRAINT
be employed, yetwith such tirmness and gentle
ness as to win and keep the children, as we'll
as to hold them in subsection to authority"
The address speaks of the Sabbath as o pillar
Of Christian civilization. ga spiritual church
the Sabbath is an impossibility. God
has consecrated one-seventh of our days to
rest and worship. The law enjoining it's OBJ
seryance is both positive and moral, Embedded
in the Decalosue, enforced i'll the New Tesla
.ent, and interpreted and illustrated in the
practice Of the primitive church. The grand
for the conquest of all lands for Christ
has begun. The voice of the Lord bids us go
forward. We dare not accept q secondary
place. With our schools and colleges, with
our wealth and culture, with our social power
md our vast Numbers, we must have q large
share in the worlds evangelization."