Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-02-19
HARD AND KILLS FEW.

lt would seem that boon in the
"Course of Study" for the yearling
Asburys who take the Summer Insti-
tute of-Theology at the Vanderbilt
has "poison under its wing" as Pat
rick Henry said of the Constitution.
By the bye, the South got dose of
it. The volumn in question is the
product of professor of Yale. col
Iege In New England. The Wesleyan
(Atlanta) Advocate, in recent edito-
rial, protests against the use of this
volumn. The organ of the Georgia
Conferences objects to drenching our
colts, "young, inexperienced and
mentally unframed preachers" with
decoctions of doubts that simmer in
the minds of the Yale "higher crit,
ics." The stuff that delights the
palate of contract and embalmed"
piety Of the official brand, 1t is the
verdegris aud ptomains scraped from
the brass kettles where German lec-
turers on theology stew their own
conceit into pottage for export, "in
tins" to flavor the jerked and juice
less routine of patristic dullness in
American institutes. The sedentarv
and-sodden German, swollen by beer
into soft, cylindric sausage, feeding
his vanity on the mushrooms of his
inner consciousness, is as ridiculous
to sane and wholesome men as the
monkey tapping the soup made by
co1dling the end of his tail In a pan
of boiling water.
To use a Yale textbook at the
Vanderbilt that stings Methodist
doctrine and leaves the egg of a grub
that will eat out the core, depositing
bitter, black dust in the interior of
our creed, suggests treachery on the
inside and gross lack of vigilance in
the "chief captains" We never saw
the treatise, for we do not reward, by
a purchase, authors or publishers for
assailing the doctrines Of our Church.
The Wesleyan, the organ of Georgia
Methodism, does not sound the
alarum without gravest reason to
call tho camp to arms.
When We hear that such q pernic.
ious publication has been inoculating
our young preachers, it gives us
pause. 1t is matter of deepest con.
oern that our Church is increasing
in such scanty numbers. The stout
men who won this continent to
Methodi:m had plain, old flInt-lock
rifle, We have a weapon with num-
berless improvements. They had to
mould bullet by bullet, pour their
powder out of horn into hand. then
into the muzzle. We can buy a
complete cartridge, with o cap on it,
ready for use. Rut they brought
down their man at every flash of the
tiint, We are not 80 successful.
What is the reasong Has not the
Wesleyan Advocate hit on it to some
degreeg Is not the fault in the am.
munition? Maybe, the powder in
the shells has not ballistic energy.
Is it not wise to sbun material that
lessons the effect of our guns?
If we had gift with crayon we
would sketch an itinerant sitting in
the sunshine, amid the shucks at the
mouth of Virginia topstack (for
there was not spare room at the
"home" with flreplace) ON a winter
day, with Bible and Hymn Book (he
never heard of the muddy food of
words from Dutchdom), preparing a
sermon-a sermon that went to the
mark-for in those days there were
many "slain" when the "thundering
legion" moved upon the forces of
the Evil One.
Rewvre of powder that blows out
at the touchhole.-Rev. John j. Lafl
ferty.