The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-02
Brethren of the Simple Life.

In Bellefontainc Ohio, all this week, is
a meeting of primitive Christians. set
of believers curiously remote from the
world in their faith and practice. 1t is
the annual conference or reunion of the
so-cal!ed Dunkers or Dunkards, properly
the Thinkers, that is, Dippers, trine
Immersionists. The name "Dunkards'
carries an offensive burlesque sugges-
ton. The right title is the German
Baptist Brethren" but even this is anti
q,Iated and unsatisfactory. 1t is said
that an effort will be made at this con-
vention to substitute the stronger and
simpler name, Brethren,
Born of the seventeenth-century re-
action in Germany against religious
indifferentsm and the formal and UNI
spiritual State Church, the German
Baptist Brethren as definite organza-
ton is little less than 200 years old.
The founders and first members went
back to the Gospel" had their share of
persecution at the hands of the beades
and bigwigs of the time. In the twentes
of the eighteenth century they came
over to the land of liberation and settled
about Gerlnant own. in Mr.. PENIS
colony. There they founded their first
church in l723,
In the dictionaries of American biog-
raphy, which find room for so many
ninth class Colonial small officials and
lunkheads, we have looked in vain for
the name OF CHRISTOPHER SAUR, one of
the fathers of the transplanted Church.
The words Saur imprint still stir
gently many Il collectors heart. SAUR
and the Bible he printed deserve more
glory than they have had,
From Germantown the church of the
Bret hren was difiused slowly to Mary
land. Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois.
and finally even to Nebraska and North
Dakota Our learned friend, the In
ternational Cyclopadia gives it about
1000 communicates. The Brethren
are not imposing in numbers but by
their old-world walk and conversation.
They are too humble to be moved by the
higher criticism. They believe abso-
lutely in the inspired infallbility of the
Bible. They seek to live according to
the New Testament. That is their creed
and code They greet each other with
the kiss of peace, saluting with holy
kiss. They hold that repentance, faith
and baptism are the conditions to saliva
ton They get their name of Thinkers
or Dippers from their Interpretation of
Matthew xviii, 10: Baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and Of the
Son, and Of the Holy Ghost" In their
baptsmal ceremony, limited to be-
levers, the person to be baptized is
dipped" face forward at the mention
of each name of the Trinity. They have
their communion service at night, after
full meal, preceded by washing,
the brethren washing the feet of the
brethren and the sisters the feet of the
sisters.
But this punctiliousness of ceremony is
less interesting than the practice without
self glorihcation of what ToLsToY and
other droning prophets preach. The
Brethren are non-resistants, non-it-
giants. They try to live peaceably with
an IlCI AlSpu'tS tudl lse d'IlcIlS
them are settled in the church. Divorce
is said to be unknown among them, so far
behind the times is this unprogressive
folk. They are total abstainers and
frown upon tobacco. AS to dress, plain
ness is the custom; hut there are vary
ing degrees of it, Some bit of coq,letry,
some studied elegance of sober garb,
SIM pier mnnditiis will peep out. we may
be sure, wherever there are pretty girls.
1t is easier to preserve orthodoxy of
belief than Of clothes. Little eccen-
trcitics of fashion or tho want of il grow
up in some folds Of the Brethren Is il
still true that in some n woman who
supplants, bonnc, with hat is regarded
as "A wandering sheep; We have heard Of
PENNSYLVANIA Dunkards who disa greed
as to the great question whether coats
should be fastened with hooks-and-
eyes or buttons. Two sects or sub-sects
arose in consequence, if We remember
right. The controversy was fully az
important as and much more ineligible