Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1893-12-21
COMMUNICATED.
The Right Ways Of The
Lord?"

community" and it has been well known
for some time past, that the ST. Clairs-
vile Gazette is a self-constituted critic
of the policy of the Presbyterian church
and the censor of Dr. Alexander, and
loses no opportunity of making him the
object of its spleen and billingsgate. DIR.
Alexander needs no defense. He has
stood before this community too long to
have his character now blackened or his
usefulness impaired by penny y-a-liner.
Neither do the internal affairs nor finan-
cial business of the Presbyterian church
need any outside influence. A congre-
cation that has perpetuated its existence
for nearly a century, and, amid the
fluctuations of the past, has maintained
healthy growth and steady progress,
especially during the more than quarter
of century of the present pastorate, has
grace and wisdom to bring to a happy
issue everything pertaining to its internal
management.
Were it not that last weeks Gazette
contained diatribe against the church,
without respect to denominational lines,
and impugned her financial policy as an
usurpation without divine authority, this
article had not been penned.
The Gazette says: Zone of the greatest
obstacles in the way of building up the
churches to-day is the present drain it
has been made to be upon the surplus
money of the people. From the time the
infant can toddle to the Sunday school
until old and feeble his gray head is hid
den under the coffin lid, the contribution
box is ever before him every time he
enters the church. Salvation once was
free; now it costs enough to buy the
richest throne in the world"
The sentiment Of the Gazette, as out
lined in the above quotations, is not self
evident; neither can it be proved, and is
wholly subversive of the teaching of the
God never ordained, nor
established church on earth without
box. Every member of the
Jewish church, by divine command, was
required to pay the tithe. This, with the
other commanded offerings of the Jewish
ritual, is, at the lowest estimate, supposed
to amount to one-fifth of the income of
every Jew. Had the Gazette been pres
ent when those muni6cent contributions
were made for the erection of the Taber
nacle and Temple, and to maintain their
costly ritual, it would have said, this
great "drain upon the surplus money of
the people" is zone of the greatest
obstacles in the way of building up the
churches" Yet, we know, from the tes-
timony of the faithful and true Wit
ness," that the church's greatest munifi-
cence was the time of her greatest tenn
poral and spiritual prosperity.
The financial policy for the church,
which the Gazette outlines, was once
adopted, at least in part, by the Jewish
CHURCH, and this is Gods testimony to it:
" Will man rob God? Yet ye have
robbed me. But ye say, wherein have
we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with curse; for ye have
robbed me, even this whole nation"
ThenS time of great prosperity is prom
ised, conditioned upon the practice of the
opposite policy.
The contribution box is distinguish
ed feature Of the New Testament church.
Christian bene6cence is a part of her
regular divine service. Her Head and
King says: The workman is worthy of
his hire" at is more blessed to give
than to receive" At the organization of
the church under the Christian dispensa-
ton, while the influence of the day of
Pentecost was exerting its mighty power
building up the churches" all that
believed were together, and had all things
common; and sold their possessions and
goods and parted them to all men, as
every man had need" And this, too,
without word of protest from the In
spired Apostles, that they were raising
an obstacle to the success of the church,
draining "the surplus money of the
people,"
That the contribution box has place in
the Sanctuary Of God, every time any one
enters the church, is manifest from the
divine "order" given by an inspired
Apostle: Upon the first day of the week
let every one of you lay by him in store,
as God has prospered him." etc. This
" order" concerning the collection"
requires that all shall give; that all shall
give upon the first day of the week" or
on the Christian Sabbath; and that all
shall give pfoportionate part of their
income, Gas God has prospered him."
But why multiply evidence? The
veriest tyro in knowledge of the Gospel
knows that the teaching of the Gazette
is subversive of the Word of God. Sal
vation is indeed free, but in an altogether
different sense than that in the article
under review contemplated; and Gods
requirement of a contribution box has
never kept the poorer classes of people
out of the church. "Hath not God
chosen the poor of this world, rich in
faith and heirs of the kingdom" etc.?
The declaration that ait is not right
to send thousands of dollars across the
sea to be spent we don't know how" is
simply a malignant, unsupported asser-
ton, devoid Of any foundation in fact; but
stopl it may be admitted that "1oe don't
know how" A paper that represented
julius Caesar and Jesus Christ, Plato and
Paul as contemporaneous, certainly does
not know everything.
The church does not claim infallibility.
1t may have made some mistakes in
educating young men for the ministry.
But, if any young man educated for the
ministry, is as great a misit as some who
have assumed the editorial chair, the