Norwich bulletin., 1917-02-03
CHURCH WORKERS, INSTITUTE
 OPENED FRIDAY NIGHT
inspiring Address by Rev. A. w. Bur
 don of Federated Church.


 vicinity opened church workers in- stitute in the Central Baptist church Friday evening, and it will Continue Saturday and Sunday under the super vision of Dr. William J. Sly, director of religious education fer Rhode Island and Connecticut.
 Rev A. B. Coats, D. D., was unable l to be present Friday evening to speak but he will be here today. Dr. Sly explained the purpose of the institute and also explained various kinds of institutes.
 Rev. George H. Strouse, pastor of the First. Baptist church, spoke on The Prophet as Teacher. Rev. Mir. Strouse pictured prophet as he ap- pears to the mind. A prophet is ma nwho is thinking of a day coming that is called Gods day, he said. \ prophet is a man who had a, burden i on his heart and wants to reconcile men to God. Prepare to meet thy God is the words of a prophet. Dr. Sly spoke relative to points that should be observed in Sunday school teaching. The need of teachers being prepared and the schools providing the 1 best equipment. He emphasized the Sunday school a prospective teachers class.
 Following Dr. sIys talk, the group problems in teaching were discussed ff1! fGloys Youd Eleentary G Mrs IIi WIiiam Sly; Adult Edwin Hill.
 Our Baptist Heritage. Rev. A W. Burdon. pastor of the Federated church spoke on Our Bap- tist Heritage in History and in parS he said:
 One approaches church history amidst a 'babbIe' of sounds, for an en- emy hand a stream of conflicting voic- es demand a hearing. These voices come to Us first, as a gentle stream from d peaceful mountain side, but gaining in volume. and power, until it becomes a mighty torrent. Leaping it seems as if we shall never, never find the surface; nor set our feet upon the shore.
 Though we cannot claim. an un- broken apostolic line of Baptists from the beginning it is important in our thinking to remena Der that always there have been men, or groups whose principles and practice, was identical with our own. claiming the right to worship God according to the dictates of the human conscience. and against the established order of things which brought danger to the purity of the Gospel, as taught by Jesus Christ The Earliest Protest The earliest protest that succeeded | was that of Montanism about the | middle of the second century as Mon Janus gathered about him number ! was Testulian.
 | They condemned the Catholic church for her worldly spirit. The Montsn- | ists opposed worldly tendencies advo- eating return to the New Testament idea of a spirited church. They in sisted on confning church membership to those giving clear evidence of re-
 generation by the Holy Spirit. They baptised only believers. and practiced the one form that was em- ployed during the second century, namely, immersion: and finally were driven out of the Catholic communins We have been told that they were Baptists in every thing except name. They appear to be so well establish ed tsp prove for their claim. We can not dismiss it without saving that the the very ones which in the course of time came to be the distinguishing feature in the programme of our de- ncminational fathers
 Passing to the third century we meet propaganda of these same principles among the Noratians. Or ganized about the middle of the cen turyF by Novatianus. presbyter of Rome
 The name "Novatiani' by which this sect was known. was applied to them by their enemies. They preferred the name Cathari (The Pure.)
 Novatains and his followers were ex- communicated by Rome in 257 H. D. and from then on claimed to be the only true church. All converts who came to them from the Mother church they insisted upon re-baptizing and in this sense they were the original Ana baptists.- Persecution was ruth lessly employed for their extermina- ton. but only had with the effect to deeper their convictions, and extend their influence and they may clearly trace to the 9th and 7th century. eve cannot pass without word in regard to a sect that arose in the fourth cen tury, the Donatus. The explantion for this sect is a controversy. that arose over the character of the Ttain's church.
 On one hand there were those who believed tn church is a. school for larning goodnss. On fthe other hand there wer- thos who contnded the chnrch is already a graduate body of holy beings. These latter. were the Donatists. Our reason for placing them in this line of our Baptist genealoSy is that Iil<e the Novatiaus they plec-