The Van Buren press., 1899-07-08
A Sectarian Scrap.
From the Ratesrllle Guard.

From the Batesville Guard.
| MENTION was made in a recent issu
of The Guard of UNCONVENTIONAL prize
fight. to be pulled off at Melbourne, b,
two preachers of the Baptist and Method
ist churches, in the antiquated form o.
a doctrinal debate. Great prepare
ton, it appears, is being made for tht
event and public notice is given that
while the people of Melbourne viii
entertain as many visitors, during the
progress of the debate, as they con
veniently can, it would be well for those
not specially invited to come prepared
to take care of themselves. The meet
ing. it seems, has grown out of doctri-
nal controversy between these two
preachers, which has been running for
some time in one of the Melbourne
papers, and its unchristian spirit is
proven by the accusations each has
brought against the other, If the half
of these be true, they ought both to be
expelled from the ministry and the
church.
But not all the people of Melbourne,
by any means, look on this sectarian
slugging-match with approval, Twenty
seven citizens, some of whom are well
known here. protest against it. through
the Register, and urge that it be
abandoned, because they believe it will
be detrimental to the churches and to
christianity. and will engender strife
and discord in the community. To this
the Register adds its individual protest
and suggests that the debate be turned
into revival meeting. We have yet
to hear of the first debate of this
character that did not result in positive
harm to the churches and to the com
munity in which it occurred. They
are usually confined to preachers who
have more pugnacitv than grace, and
more egotism than Christ like humility
The question on which they are general
ly centered is whether much or little
water should be used in administering
the rite of baptism and they always
leave it just where they found it. They
settle nothing and make it more difficult
for ministers who preach the Gospel to
build up the cause of christianity.
Who ever heard of Moody turning
aside from the great work of saving
souls to quarrel with his brother over
some non essential point of denomina
tional belief, about which christians
may conscientiously differ without i'm.
pairing their usefulness as citizens or
endangering their souls salvation
Spurgeon, the greatest Baptist that ever
lived, was too busy leading sinners to
repentance and making men and women
better and happier, to waste precious
time in doctrinal debates. These are
examples that preachers everywhere,
and of all denominations, may safely
and successfully follow. In reading
our exchanges the other day, we found
the following item on the local page OF
the Hope Gazette
Yesterday morning the three pastors,
of the Presbyterian, Baptist and Meth
odist churches in the city, met in the
study of Bro. Williams for consultation
aud prayer. These pastors are anxious
for the great harmony and christian
fellowship possible between all the
denominations, because so much greater
and more effective work can be done to
save the irreligious, and also to sys-
tematically look after the sick and poor
of the community. These meetings will
be held every two weeks, and announce
ments will be made from time to time
in the paper and pulpits of other matters
proposed.
How beautiful it is for brethren tc
dwell together in harmony and love
How much more worthy of the high and
sacred calling of the christian ministry
| is it not, to try to save the irreligious
and to look Systematically after the
sick and the poor, than to be humping
each other, like followers of the prize
ring, over doctrinal points of no vita
Importance And how much more
tranquil and peaceful are the communi
ties, and how much more powerful
agencies for good are the churches
where the pastors work earnestly to
gether, as they do at Hope, than wher,
the preachers, mistaking their oppor
tunities for usefulness, become fire
brands for the dissemination of discort
and strife.