The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-06-02

So easily ara bishops made,
By ansns woInS,s within;
Wesley his hands Coke hath laid
But, who laid hands on him.
OF course no one had ordained Wesley
bishop. He calls himself prcsbyter OF the
Church Of England, and DIR. Coke also. The
Foundation, then, of the Methodist episcopate
in America is that Mr.. Wesley felt that he
bishop. When DR.. Coke called himself bishop
Wesley was furious-said man should call
him (Wosley] bishop, and begged Coke
and Asbury to put an end to this business,
for ChriSts sake. DR. Coke assumed that he was
a bishop when he got to America and prevailed
On Asbury to act with him in organizing the
Methodist Church in America. If those men had
been where Wesley could have reached them,
the history of religion in America would have
been very different from what it Is. There
would have been at least dozen less Sects for
the world to point out
/ really hope DIR. Marine won't feel himself as
much bishop as Bishop knickerbackcr, and lay
his hands suddenly on DR.. Alabaster like DIR.
Coke, because we have scots enough already,
God knows The Methodists would at once re-
iect any such ordination Just as we do DR.. Coke's
and Mr. Asbary's ordinations They did just
what st. Paul warns the elders of the Church
of Ephesus not 10 do. They drew away disciples
after them into schism. Wesley renewed st
Pauls warning against the danger of the sin OF
separating from the church. and bids his disci-
pies remember the fate of korah Dathan, and
ADRIAN. / hardly know why DIR. Marine
challenged nae to this argument from the Bible
and history. aIn afraid there is nothing left for
him but the refuge of that representative Meth
odist in the General Conference the other day.
Some member quoted 1t. Paul to sustain his posi-
ton and the obiector refused TO accept the ipse
dixit OF st Paul. He said he wouldn't take the
lpse dlxit Of DEITY against what he conceived to
be according to reason and liberality am one
OF the most liberal men. bat do feel bound alb
solutely by the words of the Bible and facts of
history. In my other letter. printed May II, /
gave some facts about DR. Coke. l want to add
that Watson, in his life of Wesley, says Or
Coke was only occasional visitant in America
and though in the sense of office he was a bishop
there, when he returned home, as here he had no
such Office, so he used no sAch title and made no
such pretepsion.' HewaS not bishop when near
Wesley. who. he says. made him bishop. When
4 man is made u general of the regular army
DOES he lay aside his rank when ne changes his
residence! How would it work TO have Presi-
dent in the sense of Officer When Dr. Coke
returned to England, as late as 1913, he was
still so uneasy at not being a regular
bishop that he wrote long letter to VIM. Will
berforce, begging to he appointed bishop for
India, so that he could be ordained.
Before leaving America DR. Coke not only
wrote to Bishop White about getting back into
the church, and the re ordination of his Metho
dist preachers. but he wrote also to Bishop Sea
bury, laying his wish also before him, saying:
Il well know that they, 1.-THE Methodist preach
ers.l must submit TO ordination. which
believe might be easily brought about"
This easy fashion of making ministers with
out authority. principle that would break up
any government as it has broken up Methoaism
into differing sectS, went far in Virginia that
the lay preachers there began to oIdsin each
other The Methodist conferences had to declare
these ordinations invalid. As to the ''provi
deutiai call Wesley and Coke had TO orlain
ministers because of the necessity, Let it be
known. that in just seventy-three days after
Wesley laid his hands on DR.. Coke. Bishop Sea-
bury. to whom DR.. Coke, when wiser applied for
ordination, was consecrated for the church in
America DR.. Marine chooses to ignore my
question about the minutes of the first
General Conference. The facts are
these DIR. Coke went to work
TO organize the Methodist societies intoa church;
but the minutes Of the proceedings, and Yves
ley's letter. showed hn to oe simply superin-
tendent of the societies. In the course OF the
year Mr.. Asbury printed the minutes, and put
in the word bishops for superintendents. The
historian adds: They changed the title without
the consent of the conference Out of this
fraud has grown the whole claim that Coke was
bishop. and thea that Wesley ordained him.
This explains Nesley's strong language, For
Christs sake put an end 70 this business"
This business" is about on par with DR.
Marines method in replying to my historic
statement. He says ! sarbled Wesley's letter
by quoting the words. II have this day set apart
superintendent Dr. Coke. and leaving off the
words ''by imposition of hands and PRAYER.
The imposition of hands and prayer has nothing
to do with what Wesley did in fact. it is only
the manner of doing il. The thing he did was
TO set apart Dir Coke rs u superintendent for
Methodist societies, as he had being doing for
forty years. None of the other men he set apart
by imposition of hands and prayer. or by any
other form dared 80 suffer themselves to be
called bishops. 1t made Wesley shuddtr to hear
this of DR.. Coke and Mr.. Asbury
DR.. Marine says l lnisrepresent Mr., Wesley's
second letter to DR. Coke and Mr. Asbury in
which he shoulders at their pretentious strut
tings, and says that Wesley used that strong
language because he preferred the word superin-
tendent TO the word bishop. when every scholar
knows that the words ARE synonymous" | am
glad to argue with DIR, Marine aud join his wish
that the Methodist bishops had ever since been
known simply rs superintendent" 1t would
have silnplifed the matter entirely Wcsleys
wise ceunSelS would have been needed: and we
would have been one united magnificent army to
day-an impregnable phalanX DIR. Marine
thinks misreprese1t Dir. Cokes letter to Bishop
White, because DR. Coke says our ordained min
listers will not ought not to give I'D their right
of administering the sacrament" DR.. Coke is
referring TO the ordained ministers of the Church
of England who were in the Methodist societies.
He knew very well the difference between lay
preach and an ordained minister He says dis
the lay preachers, must submit to reordinattoii.@
AS to DR.. Marines thirdly, L must
refer to his own words, printed May IA.
The instrumentation is really on DR.. Marines
part. He says am in ''hot haste to reach the
conclusion that there is such institution as
the Methodist Episcopal Church" My words
printed are The fact being that when Wesley
appointed DIR. Coke superintendent, there was
no Methodist Episcopal Church in existence in
America or anywhere else earth" See. the
historian says {page Az "Me were only re
ligious society, and not church, and page IA
he says. AT this conference THAT is the con
ference when DR.. Coke began his irregular work.
we formed ourselves into a regular church /
am not to blame for these facts; and lsr. Marine
must stick to the truth just rs it is-iust as he
seems to have forgotten that he states it in the
earlier part of his letter, speaking of Dr. Coke in
that Christian conference in '84, he says DR.. Coke
proceeded to the formal organization of the
Methodist Episcopal Church of the United
States"
10 cap tho climax, DIR. Marine, while accusing
nae of misreInesenting Wesley, leaves out the
whole first sentence of his first letter to Dr.
Coke, which reads, 'Whereas, many of the yseo-
pie in the southern provinces of North America.
who desire to continue under my care, and still
adhere to the doctrine and discipline of the