The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-11-20
MIR. FEHLANDT ORDAINED.
HE MAKES 4 FURTHER STATEMENT
 OF BELIEF TO THE COUNCIL.

Ho Objected to AnswerinE Certain Cate-
 gorical lQuestions-suppnrted in His Po-
 siti m by Dr. Mungsr-lh Inc rdlnatlon
 servioe-sermon by Professor Brastow.F
 The bell of the Howard avenue church rang at 7:l5 last evening. by which. 1t was known that Mr. A. F. Fehlandt bad been accepted by the council of the Congregational churches. and would be ordained at the evening service. The council met yesterday afternoon. MT. Fehlandt presented further state ment of his religious belief. as his first statement did not cover the ground which the council desired. He did not feel 1t in his power to give an answer with thorough consistency and accu- racy to certain questions propounded by the council. For instance, he did not feel able to speak with the greatest certainty on the results of modern biblical criticism, and he refused to give categorical answers to certain questions regarding the authenticity of the records of the miracles. The coun- ell demanded a "yes' or mo-" and he declined to give 1t. In his statement he also emphasized the moral instead of the predict1ve element in the Bible pro- phecies. He was supported In the po- sition he took of not giving categorical n hu n- x1yho ho
 1t should not prejudice the council against him if he did not give such an- swers.
 The council also gave much weight to the earnest and efficient work which he had done at the Howard avenue Con- gregational church, where he has off, ciated as assistant pastor for some time. This church strongly testified to the satisfactory and evangelical charac- ter of his preaching.
 The ordination sermon was preached
 by Rev. Prof. Lewis o. Brastow. of the
 Yale divinity school. His text was: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou
 hast the words of eternal life" John 6, 6S. His subject was: "The Sufficiency and Centralfty of Jesus Christ" In his discourse which was most thoughtful and instructive, he said: Men need to
 be free, but they also need to be gov erned. We all need Master, and 1t is | more the Master than the religion that
 holds the allegiance to the soul. There
 can be no religion as there can be no
 friendship without personality. The ef-
 fort to save religion and lose God is. In | my opinion, one of the sublimest follies of the age.
 If man has never found Jesus Christ he has failed to follow the lead ing of his better nature. The main difficulty in this highly intellectual age is that men cannot see their way to Christ clearly. We need such preaching as shall satisfy the hunger | of the human soul. It Is the age of | conscious, self-suflciency, not of con- | scious want. The hardest thing which our brother here will find in the min-
 istry on which he is entering, is the
 task of arousng conscious religious
 want in men. How is a man going to
 satisfy the spiritual hunger who does
 not know that his soul needs to be 1 filed" &
 | After pr. Brastow had finished speaking Rev. Dr. Twitchell, who acted as the presiding officer of the meeting, offered the prayer of conservation at which time the ceremony of the laying on of hands was performed.
 Rev. w. J. Mutch, pastor of the How ard avenue Congregational church, then spoke on "The Function of the Minister of To-day" In his remarks he said: Christ could hardly be taken as model for minister. The circum- stances surrounding Him were so differ ent. But His instructions to His first ministers, it is most important to heed. | Where and how minister shall speak and conduct himself must be largely l determined by his own qualities and capabilities He must determine for himself whether he will devote himself exclusively to his pulpit, or take part in the public life of the community. | The day has passed, if in truth it ever really existed, in which a minis | ter's powers as citizen are limited.
 The superstitious regard for the minis
 ter, too, is fast disappearing. but in l recompense his words will be received aore as the words of brother made | touch with God. The pulpit is an important fountain of public opinion.
 People like to be told the things they | already know and realize. But that | never casts and moulds thought. Christ | never thought it worth His while to tickle the ears of the groundlings. He | crushed the machinery of an effete con- | servatism and smelted it over in the furnace of divine love. The minister | must seek to stimulate faith. He is given large freedom and large respon-
 sibihty. -'.~s
 "It has been said since o'clock to- night that we ordain & man, not doc- trinaire. And am thankful that it is l a man we ordain-a man who can bear
 the gospel to. others. My brother, with all my heart do I welcome you into the ministry. We have labored together in fellowship, and this people have ap- proved our teachings. So whether our lot be cast together or far apart, may we both keep in view the high and holy aims of our calling"
 The meeting then closed with singing and the benediction. The ministers present were Rev. Dr. Twitchell, Rev. Professor Brastow, Rev. MT. Mutch, Rev. O., R. Howe of Westville and Rev. FranA R. Luckey.
 ~---------------S E4Est Editors Meeting.
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