The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1909-06-16
THE MANNING TIMES, MANNING, s. c.. JUNE 49, 1909.

VI N4S La I1NO w ~. oss = " ~
risen Lord by non-observance Of special
days. but the more by making every
! Sabbath a resurrection memorial, and
every day a day of fesvive Christian Joy.
So much the moro to His divine honor
and in keeping with the genius of His
religion, than a yearly feast borrowed
from heather customs and but partially
modelled after Jewish rite which found
its conclusion in the slain Christ.
I have two more witnesses to the
statement already given. that it IS not
taught in the scriptures. The first wit
ness Will put on the stand is Professor
"Albert New, a. B. 4. NJ, Principle Of
Jordan High School," When I am
through with him will then pay my
respects TO the only one reference here
tofore made to evidence OF apostolic
practice OF the festival.
In his rational mood, the one lucid
moment of bis reflection on the subject,
he said in his first article: "True: we
are not expressly ordered in the New
| Testament to observe Easter" Then,
as the reader will see by reference to
his article, placing the unscripturalness
of it along by the side Of three other
practices of some churches, / e; admit
ting women to the Lords Supper, chang
ing the Sabbath from 1th to lst day OF
the week, and infant baptism, he says:
'Nov one of the four is the 'ipse clXit'
of the Bible itself" In his last epistu-
larry: II rigidlv adhere to my former
contradiction of the 'unscripture as
pect OF Easter by re-atfirming that Sun
day las distinct from the Jewish Sab
batl:) infant baptism: and the admis.
sion of women to the Holy Communion,
all stand, or fall, together, equally with
Easter, if the ipsisslma verba Of the
New Testament is the test"
Now, dear reader, [ am not trying to
settle, wholesale, all the questions OF
church practice, nor do Intend to drag
down any other because one that might
esteem the greatest OF all Christian
Festivals is imperilled. | would ratn-
er let each stand on its own merit.
One is not apt to catch for other foun-
dations till he feels the one he is de-
pending Oh failing. But, giving his
words all the weight that could be ac-
corded sucha witness, what do you thlnk
of his consistency He says, True: we
are not expressly ordered in the New
Testament to observe Easter" The Gus
tom is not supported by ''the ipse dixit"
of the Bible itself"-he ''re-aflrms that
=. all stand or fall together, equal
ly with Easter. if the ipsessima verba
of the New Testament is the test
ask, in ali candor, what on earth can
possess a sane man, to make him want
to deceive himself and others by hold
ing on to thing, and by indirectlon,
worry himself to death 10 plausibly sup
port it as scriptural, when his own
words so clearly condemn him?
admit that his inconsistencies would
destroy all the dependable weight OF his
testimony in favor of my position If 1t
was not so completely supported by 9TH
ers already given. That being the case:
with all the Yerbosity with which he
has tried to cloud the question in hand,
one must see his utter desperation IN
the loss of a ''great Christian Festival"
if he shall not succeed in upholding it
in plausible misleading. Ponderous task,
my friend, is yours. You will need much
of the help of later fathers than Mean
der, Irenaeus and Ignatius.
Now, before leaving the subject, am
happy in referring the reader OF this
discussion to another infallible witness
to my contention. 1t is the Book itself.
In the King James or Authorized Yer
sion of the scriptures, you will find the
word ''Easter" one time, Acts l2:4. In
the original tongue, Pascha, which
means passover was used In all the
versions of the Bible that have found
popular favor, that is even eXtant, the
word is translated Passover, except
in the authorized version. Even though
the astute defender of the Easter Gus
tom has tried to make popular impress
sion that such is not the case without
proving it.
The very root of the word in the orig
inal will tell the untutored that 1t would
be unseemly to build the word Easter"
from the Greek root ''Pasch." l chal-
lenge the reader of these lines to be his
own Judge about the question, as per-
sopal searcher of the scriptures for the
true light on the subject, which will
make him happy and confident in his
discussion.
Not content with the villifying state
ments of his Scholarly Reply" his i'm
patient spirit impelled him to bring out
Supplementary" Reply. To measure
the spirit of his unfairness and disposl-
ton to browbeat he inslnuates, as at
other times, that had at least handled
the truth carelessly. ':All things are
infected, that the infected spy," these
insinuations are born of the pucllanl-
nous view he has taken of the question
from the beginnin e.
I did not quote from the Encyclopae-
dia the passage he brought out, because
l was not trying to prove, like himself,
an admitted truth involved. [ knew and
stated that the churches practiced the
rite in the second and later centuries
and did not need the testimony OF ex-
tended witnesses. I defy any reader OF
the quotations MADE from the Encyclo
paedia by Prof. New, to tird one express
sion that indirectly leads one to see in
their meaning reference to Easter as
antedatins the time have named, save
one.
That is the one referring to Poly.
carp's inheritance of the right from
the Apostle John" /. too, cavllled
over that expression until in vain l
could not find its support in classic lit
erature. When analyzed the Apostles
own words in his writings and search
ed his biographies for the support OF
the reference and found none whatever
I was impelled out Of honor to myself
and the apostle, to conclude that it was
an Interpolation, and not genuine. That
is the reason, and to a reasonable man:
good one for not confusing all the
other references, with an accidental
one which would destroy them.
Now, l will ask my ingenious disput-
ant to tell his readers why in his quota
tions from that Encyclopedia be left
out the references l had made. When
he uses them in his arguments with
fair disposition will answer mis- every
inquiry: seriatim, to the best OF my
ability and join him IN his Easter fes..
tivals if I cannot show the fallacy of
their plea for it as Christian institu-
tion