The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-07-13
MEXICAN MISSIONS.
Or. Neil E. PressIy Presents the Cause
at AbbeViIIe.

IL HubVutiiC'
Few. DIR. Pressly occupied the A. r. P
pulpit On Sunday morning and at half
past eight o'clock he delivered a most
excellent sermon from the SAME pulpit.
At the morning service the church was
;iIlcd tn its capacity. Members from
other churches, and citizens generally
desired to hear the distinguished mission
airy who stands 50 high in the A. r.. P. c.
Rev. E. B. Kennedy introduced the
missionary from Mexico in whose work
the church he said, had a pardonablc pride
We have long contended that it was vanity
that made A. r. P's. crush home mission
churches in raising money for Mexico.
DR.. Pressly named a verse in the
Scriptures which was favorable to mis-
! 5ions, and then he made a recital of the
~ignorances and the shortcomings of the
Catholics in Mexico, nearly all of which
statements We're inapplicable to the
Catholics of America. He saw nothing
| good in them, and the inference is that he
is at work among a very sorry lot of
| Catholics. He named over q lot OF the
| Commandments, which, if the Catholics
had ever heard them, they very nearly
| lisregarded. He thought they wor-
| shipped idols, and he said that they did
not repent Of their sins, but would ask q
priest to forgive them. They were not
| allowed to read the Bible. This statement
| set a nearer to Illuminating and casting up
in his mind the anne Of the Christians in
Abbeville who read the Bible daily. In
I'll this city of Abbeville if there is one
Who reads his Bible daily, we are not in
! formed Of the fact. And in one city,
which he named, it was estimated that
,nly about five per cent Of the people
attended worship. >CThis reminded II Of
his hearers, that in the city of Abbevillc,
The actual attendance on public worship
was only twenty percent.)
The Doctor told a most Interesting story
If how a p~roselyted Catholic, a converted
| heather, or some, sort Of a Mexican, had a
Bible just like the one on the pulpit desk,
which that Mexican carried about hid, and
| read us no man In America has been known
to read it. The Doctor named the number
Of millions of dollars that different coun-
| tries had invested in Mexico, all whom
expected dividends from their investments.
Christian people who sent money to
.vangelize Mexico also expected dividends.
And they were receiving them. He cited
lrst one instance where q convert had
gone straight from Mexico through the
pearly gates to tho city Of golden streets,
ind then he said he knew of many such
cases. And who can tell the value Of a
single soul. II capitalists received a
| return in paltry dollars, how much more
have Christians to their credit in saving
the lost Of Mexico. "What shall it profit
4 man if he gain the whole world, and
lose his own soul?"
The Doctor is perfectly sincere in his
| belief that the Mexican mission is a good
| thing, and we would not dispute what we
| know the Doctor knows to be a fact. The
| mission is a most heavy tax on our people.
| Ind we believe that it is crushing the life
| )ut of our own home mission churches,
| md we further believe that the injury
| from which the church suffers because
Of Mexico is not compensated by the good
| which our missionaries are doing. Nobody
denies the Scripture authority for mis-
| Sions, but nobody has yet shown scriptural
authority for either taxing anybody, or
| taking the Bible from anybody at home,
that MeXicans or others might have q
chance at the Bible. The point which we
would make is, that undue Importance Is
attached to the work Of missions, when
that work tends to take the Bread Of Life
from our own people. IL
The Doctor said there were nineteen
million people in Mexico, Of whom one
hundred thousand were protestants.
He said something Of a gift of $500 and
Of the people paying a tenth Of their in
come, but much Of this We did not quite
understand. One congregation paid al
most the entire salary OF their pastor. We
must have misunderstood some part of
this speech. We pay $4,000 Of gold in
| salaries. This would make, il a tenth were
| given, 81, 400 in Mexican money. When we
believe the total collections in Mexican
| silver Tor so cents on the dollar Of our
money is considerably less than $4,000, in
| silver, or less than 81, 900 in our money.
Our people were so much delighted at
Dr.. Pressly's statements in the morning
that some of them, it seemed to us, were
willing to throw into the contribution
plate, our prospects for securing a pipe
Iorgan.
The meeting in the morning was especi-
ally pleasing. The sermon at night was
most excellent.
The prayers by the pastor were good,
the singing was splendid, and the music
was up to the highest requirements.
We had intended to make a deliverance
on the subject of the proposed pipe organ,
but things we're so pleasant on that day
that we have it not not in our, heart to
make a note of discord where all was so
harmonious. After a while, when we have
recovered from the pleasure Of the day we
may have our say, but at present we hope
to be excused from suggestions, which we
might think for the good of the church.
even il not quite in harmony with the
prevailing opinion of the congregation.
When we bid DR.. Presley goodbye we
told him that he ought to leave his charm
ing young daughter in America. From
~thatopinion he dissented, saying that she