Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-08-25


PurltanS are berated by two cIasses-those
who are ignorant of them, and those who
are unable to rise to the grandeur of their
purposes. We, as Baptists, ought to be-
long to neither"
"The doctrinal differences between Init.
arlans and uniyersalists, says the Christian
fiegiSter, are not greater than the differ
ences which exist among Uuitarians or
among CnlverSallSts themselves upou GER
tam points. There is no reason why In
missionary helds these churches should not
cooperate IN sustaining liberal preaching.
II is not good policy, we think, to have
TWO feeble churches under these different
names struggling in the same town, when
strong liberal movement might be made
oy their tHSlon. In any such union, OF
course, there must be mutual concessions.
Each church has Its special traditions, its
points of emphasis, its hymnologv. its liter
ture, These must not be too tenaciorslz,
held. a young and struggling missionary
church need not sickle too much for The
historic position Of its denomination if IL
wishes to make historyof its own. TTpitv
charity, liberty, are three graces which
may we'll be kept in mind, and the two Iast
are very essential for the attainment Of the
first
THE First Presbyterian Church of Erie,
Pa, recently called a Canadian minister to
be its PASTOR says the Cbrjs!itm Seerfto,,,
of Hartford. "They were notified that K
their new pastor came, it would be in viola
tion of the contract-labor laws The
Catholic University at Washington Las
recently made arrangements for the I'M
portation of faculty from Europe, and
the managers feared that their professors
would be prohibited by the laws. Rnt
great is the power of Catholicism with the
Government, and the authorities ruled
that liberal construction of the laws
would be made and the Catholic professors
admitted. We have no particular af'ec-
tion for this law, but we hold no dis
elimination should be made between
Catholics and Presbyterians. The So
called American Catholic University IS
thoroughly foreign in its character. and
might just as well be located in Rome. 10
Will not be American in any sense. Aud
why Its foreign professors should he hired
and brought over here, while Presv-
terlan church cannot have the same priri-
lege, Is one of the questions this Govern
ment must answer"
"Attributing to God the same freedom,
and wisdom we do to human author In
the selection and use of the material which
Is necessary TO the unity and pertinent to
the theme of his work, it is presumption,'
says the New York ObserrcF. "to say that
much of the Bible is immaterial, inner
feet, and merely human Critics assert
that there are many trivial things IN the
Bible which could not be the subject of
divine notice ard inspiration. How do
they know what is trivial and what is inn
portant IN Gods view and purposes? Be
sides, every great work and system is
mainly made up of what is seemingly
trivial. How often the seemingly trivial
point is the pivot on which the greatest
events turn and by which the most mo-
mentous results are determined Nature
aDounds In things apparently trivial,
which The scientist pronounces essential
and without which the book Of nature
would be detective and misleading The
multiplicity and mTnuteneSs of the details
in the Bible, which are the occasion of
hostile criticism, afford one of the best
proofs OF It's inspiration and authenticity.
Their verliication Is the evidence OF divine
superintendeucy."
at is a healthfuI sign observes the
GdriSt5aa HlteiigcRcer, "that the Presbyter-
ian Church has not only opened the ques-
tlon of the revision of the Westminster
Confession of Faith, but that the Church
Is considering it with SO much earnestnesss
Whatever be the result as respects changes
or notifications, the agitation will be
healthtu IN stimulating attention to doc
trine, and causing on the part Of all an ez-
animation of standards which it is very
possible many in the Church have never
even read. One effect already of the sub
mission to the presbyteries of the question
as to whether any modification is desired
has been the great demand for The Con-
tession OF Faith which is being read more
generally and carefully than ever before.
This is well, since in this age, which laws
so great emphasis on Christian activity.
Christian belief, the only solid foundation
OF right doing, has far too often been put
into the background. There Is in all
churches to-day painful lack Of indoc.
trlnatlon-iew can give clear statement
OF what they believe, and still fewer a rea-
son for the faith they profess. Anything
which will lead to careful examination
and study Of systematized doctrine cannot
but be healthful"
"rhe whole theory of allen immersion
is an historical absurdity," saws the New
York Eramiaeg. st rests upon the asser-
ton that can never be proved. An alien
immersion, as distinguished from n regu-
lar or valid immersion. is a baptism of a
believer by an administrator who has not
himself been baptized 1t is argued by
those who reject such immersions that a
valid baptism requires two thing: first. a
properly qualified candidate; se ondly.
properly qualified administrator. The first
requirement necessitates, of course. a cred
liable profession of faith second, that the
administrator shall himself have been ban
tized (immersed) upon profession of faith.
Where either of these elements are Lack
ing, it is held that the baptism is Invalid.
Now, it is evident on very slight consider
alton that if this theory of baptism be ac-
knowledged, there is not single person
living to-day who can be certain that he
has received valid baptism. For the va
lldIty of any single baptism REQUIRES. ac
cording to this theory, an uninterrupted
line of immersed administrators running
back to the times of the apostles. If there
has been single break in the line any
where, the baptism is by the defnition
Invalid. In other words, the opponents of
ILAhASASiOn pllCS tneIuSSlNtS under
obligation to establish the doctrine of ban
tismal succession from the days Ct the
apostles until now, which is a theory a
thousand times more absurd and incapabIe
of proof than the theory of apostolic sue
cession."
"There may have been time, there
probably was time saws the E.:arniiner,,
when the feeling among Christians against
the Jews was mainly religious. There are
traces in medieval literature, not few. of
such feeling. 1t is not impossible that
this feeling still survives among some
exceptionally bigoted Christians. That
the feeling is at all general IN this country
and in these days is, however, altogether
incredible. Such prejudice as exists against
Hebrews among people nominally Christ
ian may be much more plausibly ascr:bed
to race feeling than to religious feeling.
The Hebrews are still as distinct race
among us as the Chinese For Hebrew
to take Christian wife, unless she first
ablures her own religion and adopts his, is
a far rarer thing, considering the relative
numbers of the two races, than for China
man to take a Caucasian wife. So long as
H. Il Il