The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-05-02


nan. and th5 TScsssaiastst Confessioh
hsg 10. interfe7red with ns one minute.
But now that the eleotric lights have
been turned on the imperfections Of
that creed-and everything that man
fashions is inperfect-let US put the
old creed respectfully aside and get a
brand new one.
1t is impossible that people who
lived hundreds of years ago should
fashion an appropriate creed for our
times. John Calvin was great and
good man, but he died 1856 years ago.
The best centuries of Bible study have
come since then, and explorers have
done their work, and you might as wen
have the world 90 back and stick 10
what Robert Fulton knew about steam
boats and reject the subsequent, I'M
movements in navigation, and go pace
to John Gutenberg, the inventor OF the
art Of printing, and reject al! mooern
aovsnaner ~, ~ presses, aud go back to the
t;rs -" when telegraphy was the elevatisg
If signals or the burning OF bonhres on
the hilltops and reject the magnetic
wire which is the tongue Of nations as
TO ignore al the exegetes and the phil
o'ogists and the theologians Of the last
336 years and put your head under the
sleeve of the gown Of a sixteenth cen
tury doctor. | could call the names Of
20 living Presby terian ministers Of re-
lieion who could make q better creed
than John Calvin. TIE nineteenth
century ought not to be cslled to sit at
the feet Of the sixteenth.
But you, ''it is the same old BIZ
Bile, and John Calvin had that as we'll
as the present student of the Scrip
lures. Yes; so it is the same old sun
in the heavens, but in our time it has
gone to making dsguerrectypes and
photographs. 1t is the same old water;
but in our century it has gone to run
ming steam engines. 1t is the same
old electricity; but in our time it has
become lightning footed errsud boy.
So it is the old Bible, but new applics-
tions, new uses, new interpretations.
You must remember that during the
last 800 years words have changed
their meaning, and some Of them now
mean more and some less. | do not
think that John Calvin believed, IS
some say he did, in the damuation OF
infants, although some of the recent
hot disputes would seem to imply that
there is such a thing IS the damnstion
Of infants. A man who believes IN
the dsnnation of infants himself de-
serves to loose heaven. do not think
any good man could admit such a pos
sibility. What Christ will do with all
the babies IN the next world conclude
from what he did with the babies in
Palestine when he bugged them and
kissed them. When some you grown
people go out of this world, your doubt
full destiny wall be an embarrassment
to ministers officiating at your obse
quies, who will have to be cautious SO
as not to hurt surviving friends. But
when the darling children 60 there are
no ''ifs" or butts" or guesses.
We must remember that good John
Calvin was logicisn and metaphysi-
clan, and by the procliyities Of his ma
ture put some things in sn unfortunate
way. Logic has its use and metaphys-
les has its use, but they sre not good at
making creeds. A gardener hands you
a blooming rose, dewy, fresh, but Sc
we're botanist comes to you with rose
and says, q will show you the struc-
ture of the rose," and he proceeds to
take it apart and pulls of the leaves
and he says, There are the petals"
and he takes cut the anthers, and he
says, ''Just look at the wonderful
structure of these floral pillars and
then he cuts the stem to show you the
juices of the plant. So logic or meta
physics takes the aromatic rose of the
Christian religion and says, i will
just show you how this rose of religion
was fashioned" and it pulls of of it
piece and says, THAT is the human
WILL" and another piece and says,
This is Gods will, " and another piece
and says, This is sovereignty" and
another piece ard says, This is free
agency" this is this, and that is that.
And while I stand looking at the frag-
uents Of the rose pulled apart, one
whom the Marys took for gardener
comes in and presents me with Grim
son rose, red as blood, and says, SIN
hale the sweetness of this; wear it on
your heart, ard wear it forever" l
must confess that I prefer the rose in
full bloom 10 the rose pulled apart.
Again, there are Christians who are
under sepulchral shadows and fears and
hoppled by doubts and fears and sins
long ago repented of. What they need
is to understand the liberty Of the sons
of God. They spend more time under
the shadow Of Sinai than at the base Of
Calvary. They have been singing the
only poor hymn that Newton ever
wrote:
'Tis point l long to know;
Of it causes anxious thought
Do I love the Lord or no?
Am | his or am I not?
Long to know, do you? Why do you
not 6nd out? Go to work for God, and
you will very soon find out. The man
who is all the time feeling his pulse
and looking st his tongue to see whether
it is coated or not is morbid snd cannot
be physically we'll The doctor will say,
go out into the fresh air and into &C.
tive life and stop thinking Of yourself,
and you will get we'll and strong" So
there are lecpie who are watching their
spiritual symptoms, and they call it
self examination, and they get weaker
and sicklier in their faith all the time.
Go out and do something nobly Chris
tiau. Take holy exercise and then ez-
anime yourself, and instead Of Nevton's
saturnine and bilious hymn that I first
quoted you will sing Newton's other