The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1893-06-09
The Other Side.

AhO ObhCt DluCs
In the fall OF 1888, about the time
Mrs. Frame held her first meeting
here, the Rev. J. c. Mitchell, then
pastor Of the First Presbyterian
Church, preached the following SER
mon: ..... ...- |
Tim. ii. S-l2. 81 will therefore that
men pray everywhere, lifting up holy
hands, without wrath aud doubling. In
like manner also, that women adorn
themselves III modest apparel, with
shamefaceedness and sobriety; not with
braided hair, or gold or pearls, or costly
array; Dut (Which becometh women
protesting godliness) with good works.
Let the woman learn in silence with all
subsection. But suffer not woman
to teach, nor to usurp authority over
the man, but TO be in silence"
1t has been the custom OF your pas
tor for nearly fifteen years to deliver
expositOry sermons on Sunday aud
Wednesday nights. In our regular
several whole books Of the Scrip
tures, and have now reached that
poriol of the pastoral epistle of Paul
10 1imoIhy, in which the Apostle
lays down the rules respecting the
conduct and department OF Christian
women in the public worship Of God.
1t is one advantage attending on
this our habit OF exposition, that in
turn every part OF the word of God
must lie e&pOunded Many passages
thar are rarely treated from the pull
Ipjt, force themselves upon us; and in
honesty we are bound t. pass moth
ing. Aud thi4 | hold to be true
reverence for Gods word true proof
for belief in its inspiration.
The Apostle probably wrote this
epistle from COrinth, where the law
a. stated in Cor. xiv. 81 was in force
The subject for discussion s, Shall
women be licensed to preach? 1t
may be well to observe that ] employ
the word preach here in its technical
! sense, as referring to a regularly
authorized minister. The active and
! practical aid Of laymen is indispeusa-
! bic to the aggressive propagation Of
/ the gospel. 1t was so in the Apostles Z
age, and has been ever since, and in
a modest and unObtrusive way wo-
men have been equally in the SER
vice Of the Master. It was Il woman
who carried the gospel message to the
| Samarit6us, and woman who first
made proclamation Of the resurrec-
ton of Christ.
How is this question Of licensing
women to preach, ! e, in the sense
already explained, to be decided ?
Are we to fall back upon our sense OF
propriety, and the fitness Of things ?
Is Ihis question TO be decided by
each ones phims or caprices? Is
there no iufallible standard to which
we can appeal? All Protestants pro-
Tess to receive the Bible as the only
infallible rule OF faith and practice.
"TO the law and to the TESTIMONY,
then, il they speak not according tO
these, it is because there is no light
in Ihem.n Before commenting on
this passage in Timothy, we would
direct your attention to Two parallel
passages, one in Cor. xiv. 34-3S; the
other in the eleventh chapter, verses
3-l6 In this first epistle to the Cor
inthians we have tue principles OF
Christianity applied to the details Of
ordinary lite. When the great prin'
cipIes OF Christianity are taken up by
ardent and enthusiastic minds, they
are lmost sure to run into eXtrava
gances. In this eleventh chapter we
meet twp Of those eXtravagant abuses
of Christian truth which arose from
its too enthusiastic reception. q, Re
| specting the conduct and depOrtmen
OF Christian women in public assem-
blies; (2) Respecting the abues at
tending the administration of the
Lords Supper. Our business a
, present is with the first. The
7 Apostle laid down q broad principl,
, OF Christianity when he taught tht
: doctrine of human equality. Thls ht
, does in these words: There IL
r neither Jew nor Greek, there Il
r neither bond nor free, there is neither
male nor female, but ye are one IL
r Christ Jesus" Observe, not only II
+ the distinction between Jew RnC
= Gentle abolished, but also thu
equality of man and woman is de
Z clared. There is probably no woIC
in our language which has been mOr'
, uarar.lly milan NaratnOH than thf