Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1903-11-09
BApTISTS AND BIBLE
Of Rev. DR.. Halsey's Address
at O'Neill Hall.

At the service in O'Neill han yester-
day morning DIR. Halsey read a paper
on "Baptists and Bible Study, which
was given some years ago before the
New York Baptist state convention by
President Benjamin Ide Wheeler, then
a professor in Cornell university. We
give quotations from the address:
| suppose / may be assured that no
enc of us would admit that he is a
Baptist either because his parents were
or even because he believes immersion
to be the proper mode of baptism. We
are neither adherents of 2 tribal cult
nor ritualists. We are the farthest
removed from either position.
our various peculiar tenets are all
CT them merely special applications of
4 fundamental principle, a principal
that contains our answer to the much
mooted question Of the seat of author
ity in matters of faith. The question
is simply this: What is the power that
may speak the commands of God to
my life and say do this that it may
do il? What influence is that which
may convince my heart and cOnstrain
il tc trust? BY what seal and insignia
am 1 to recognize and identify the
mandates of the King of my life?
Medieval thought in all its branches
labored under the incubus of submits
SIGN to external authority. The organ
liza ton of thought was Ihonarchical.
not democratic. l. in philosophy the
appeal was always in the last instance
to the great masters of the past, pre-
er;inently Aristotle it was in religion
just as definitely to the church The
church, with its councils, creeds, ira
ditions and popes, was a monarchicaI
organization of religious thought 1t
Imposed an authority from without.
The faith of its adherents was subject.
not constituent.
The reaction from this attitude of
thought introduced modern history, and
It was in the fullest current of reac-
ton that the modern Bapists had their
origin. They took up a position re-
moved from the monarchicalism of me-
dieval thought. They turned their
backs on every throne of external au-
thority in matters of faith. and revert
ed to the plain democratic individual
ism of. the first proclamation. The
kingdom of God is within you"
After rejecting the authoritative
power of the human accretions OF
Christianity in form of tradition and
council edicts, and denying the author
ity of the established church over the
individual conscience, when they turned
fer guidance to the Bible. it was not
that they might substitute one form of
external authority for another, but
that they might transfer the seat of
authority from the throne of the bishop
to the throne of the enlightened and
inspired conscience of the individual
Once the independent authority of the
historic church had been disowned, no
visible power was recognized as COM
petent to change the baptismaI rite. as
the historical church had done. from
its instituted form. and so our fathers
became immersionists.
once the ultimate seat of authority
had been esta blished as within the en-
lightened and inspired individual con-
science no sanction could be found in
revelation o. reason for constitution
of the community of Christ upon any
other basis than of conscious personal
faith, and so our fathers became Ana
baptists. Withholding recognition from
infant baptism.
Once the authoritative claims OF re-