The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-05-11
G~reencastle Church Doors Thrown Open
to Three Distinguished Prelates.
Bishops Fowler, Joyce and Warren Hold Their
Respective Audiences SPELL Bound with
Powerful and Allegorical Sermons.
Indianapolis Methodists Listen to Bishop
Hurst on the New University.
Venerable Bishop Bowman Elsctrifes Q Lafay.
cite Audience Sermons by Bishops New
man. Fitzgerald, Vincent and Mallalieu.
SERVICES AT oREENCAsrLE.
Visiting Methodist Bishops Take Posses
sion of All Churches in the City.

SERVICES AT GREENCAsTLE.
Visiting Methodist Bishops Take Posses
sion of All Churches in the City.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal
GREENCAsTLE, Ind, May 1o.-With five
Of the Methodist Episcopal bishops preach,
ing in the churches here today il 10 but
natural that the population should feel o
religious and intellectual lift unusual even
to this orthodox community. The bishops
have been hard ct work In business session
for the greater part of tho week, but their
deliberations lave been sealed with an i'm
penetrable secrecy, which it is more than
suspected will hardly be justified by the
outcome when the seal is finally broken.
Perhaps the most important matter before
them il the assigning TO each bishop the
conferences over which he is TO preside
during the year. Until recently it was not
the custom to give this news to the daily
papers at all, it being considered the
special plum of the Methodist weekly Ad-
v~ocates. This custom, however, has been
changed as ever the bishops. some
of them at least. have come 20
recognize the fact that the daily
papers reached a greater number of their
members than UNCONVENTIONAL organs. The
news will probably be given out on Mon
day night OF on Tuesday.
The long business sessions have. to some
extent, told upon the health of those direct
ing heads of the great church. Bishop Foss
was unable to preach to-day. and Bisho
Fowler. although he preached, evidently
did so under pressure. Bishop Mallalieu.
who is more rugged, in fact. a very active
man. was taken across the country this
morning. in o carriage, to I'LL an
engagement at Mooresville. The aft
ernoon services at Meharry Hall, at
which one or more of the bishops would
have spoken. were gwen up. as it was seen
that the burden would be too heavy.
Bishop Joyce was able to preach two SER
mons to-day. both of which were fully up
to the tandsrd expected Of q bishop.
Bishop FowIer's Eloquent Sermon.
A large audience assembled in College
avenue Church. this forenoon. to hear
Bishop Fowler. The service was opened by
the pastor. Rev. Salem b. Town. ID. D.. and
the choir sang specially selected music.
President John, Of the University, read 40
the Scripture lesson the first twelve verse;
of Hebrews. Bishop Fowler took as his
text Phil, ii, Q:
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted them.
There is in one of the galleries of the
Vatican" said the Bishop, "a fragment Of
o statue which is known as the Torso Bel
videre. 1t once represented Hercules in
repose. and is from the chisel of a famous
Greek sculptor. But time has been busy
with it. The head is gone. as are the arms
aud the limbs. Yet Michael Angelo called
himself the pupil of the Torso, and in his
extreme age, when the curtain Of perpetual
darkness had settled down upon him, he
would cause himself to be led to this old
fragment. where he would stand by the
hour. passing his hands over il. Ii is the
finest monument of human genius in the
field of sculpture. This morning / ask you
to come into the great gallery of God fuIlof
wonderful characters, and. passing by all
others. come to the great central figure
the character of Jesus. Once to have seen
Him is to be forever blind to everything
else. Really seen aDd comprehended, He 10
the chiefest amoag ten thousands. the one
altogether lovely. Letus II possible, catch
some new inspiration from His presence.
1.-The utterance IN the text Is a divine.
not q human, argument. 1t is too deep
for our philosophy. not the way we estimate
things. We look for the cohorts. we count
the banners; we listen to the rumble of the
artillery wheels. Wal is the golden oppor-
tunity Of human ambitions. Men mount
to power over heaps of the slam. For the
unregenerate human heart to submit Is to
court ~trampling and meekness deserves the
pillar. That 10 the human argument. But
not SO here. On account of suffering,
whereforef Because He emptied himself Of
the glory He had with the father; because
He exchanged the songs of the angels for
the boots Of the mob; because Heexchanged
the scepter that swayed over aliintelligence
for the spikes of the felon's cross; because
He exchanged the unspeakable gloryof the
court of heaven for the obscurity ana bar
| renness of the manRer. Therefore, for that
God has highly exalted Him-giyen Him q
name above every other name. Surely that
is Gods argument and not ours.
II find one indication of His exaltation in
the preparation that was made for His COM
ing. for it is in the constitution of the
human mind that events must cast their
shadows before. We Judge of an event by
the preparation made for that event. We
can tell a little of the dignity that God
conferred on the peasant OF Nazareth by
the preparations that were made for His
coming. The mind of the race was put in
readiness for the coming of Jesus. 1t Is q
long process to get ready for a great truth.
The gnarled and knotted human heart 10
not opened easily. i think the great truth
for which this country will be remembered
in the coming generations Is the truth OF
evolution; not in its physical type nor its
atheistic type, but in its tbeistic type. hay
ing q divine impulse to lead us mp the suc-
ceeding steps of the development of life.
| One experiment after another is tried and
fails; one race after another contributes its
little mite TO the problem of our deliver
ance, but all alike come to the same utter
failure until at last there ARISES
one of those magnificent characters
that we cannot but admire in
any d~ispensation ana truth. whose majesty
we must gaze pom with reverence. Great
Plato, crying out of his deep distress. said:
Il was born in iCnorance: L have lived in
insecurity; / die in trepidation. . cause
of causes. pity me!
ALL NATIONS JESUS.
The whole mind Of the race 10 made ready
to welcome Jesus. so that He comes as the
desire of all nations. More than that, the
preparation has gone into the surround
ings and into the earth itself. Alexander's
armies carried that wonderful Greek tongue
to the nations of the earth. that there
might be some vehicle that might be used.
when Jesus should come. that He
and His disciples might spread the great
word. See how Rome planted herself. and
it was the boast of her citizens everywhere
that no Romans neck passed under the
yoke. See that little hawk-nosed, hazel.
eyed Jew with the big head. the man from
Tarsus, writhing under the blows Of the
public whipper. Hear him speak. 4 Am q
Roman citizenp That stops the blows and
gives him q chance TO speak the gospel
Take the Roman roads running through
the provinces. You might think they wsrs