The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-11-19
LIVE FEAST HELD
 IN OPELIKA CHURCH
Alabama Methodist Confer ence Conducts Annual De-
 votionaI Service

OPELIKA, Ala. Nov. 1S.-(Special Leased Wire.)-Sunday devotional exercises of the Alabama Methodist conference, in session since last Wednesday in the First Methodist at 9:30 a. m. This ceremony, pc cuilar to the Methodist denomina- tion, was conducted by Rev. J. A. Peterson of Montgomery and carried out in the traditional Methodist style.
 The clements of bread and water were passed out among the congre- gation by four venerable elders of the conference. Old time songs. such as the Fountain Filled With Blood, were raised voluntarily by members of the congregation and joined n by the throng without instrumental accomplishment. Following this, tes- timony as to their religious expert ences were given by various persons in the assembly.
 Hundreds Turned Away.
 During the love feast exercises and long before the II o'clock hour at which the regular morning preaching service was to begin, per sons began arriving to obtain seats at this service where Bishop Warren A. 0dnuleT was ScneQuleO to pTSdCn. Chairs were placed in the aisles of the auditorium and every seat in the gallery was filled before 10:30 o'clock. By the time the first strains of the organ had announced the be- gininns of the regular morning serv ice, the space behind the altar rail was utilized for seating space, and hundreds were turned away from the church on account of the filling of the edifice to capacity.
 Bishop Candler took his text from the fourteenth verse and the fifteenth chapter of II Corinthians, bearing on the reality of the resurrection of Christ. This epistle, said the speak CT, Is one of those whose authorship is not disputed by the most skeptical. Speculation Prevailed Then.
 Corinth. he declared. was a great gathering place of people of all sorts of ideas and there speculations as to matter arose. These speculations, the bishop declared. prevailed today and are no new thing.
 Paul wrote these letters to the Corinthians, especially the first, to stop those devisions arising among the Corinthian Christians brought about by such speculations. Some of these people, even at that early day, wanted to be called Christians with Out holding to any Christian doctrine Co ent day, the preacher declared. ls We must hold to this essential trust of the resurrection he as- serted. The bishop denounced the attitude of those people who said they were Christians, but denied their belief in the Virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ T don't see." he said, "why some people should always be striving to see how little they can believe. I don't want to Fletcherize on truth.l'
 Follow Creed Part Why.
 Such people, said the bishop, will go this far with the orthodox In re- ceiving the apostles creed to say that they believe Christ is dead and buried. The preacher said the evil dence of the resurrection is well es- abolished. The men who bore wit ness to the resurrection were not creduluous. he said. In fact, the Master was continually rebuking his followers for their hardness of heart and slowness to believe.
 Bishop Candler spoke of the credulity of modern people Among them he mentioned the great scien- ist Crook. and his leaning toward spritualism.
 Think of the man who invented Crook s tube going to a cabinet and having conversation with a spirit called Katy he remarked.
 Among the other illustrious con verts to spiritualism the bishop ridiculed were Sir Oliver Lodge, an other famous scientists, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The latter, he said. he did not think so much of. as he devoted his early life to writ ing detective stories that the bishop thought were foolish.
 O o O
 No Motive For Manufacture.
 The men who bore witness to the resurrection, said the bishop, had no motive for manufacturing story- of the resurrection. In fact, their telling this story got them into trouble and into prison wherever they went. The .so-called discrepen- cies and variations in their stories of the resurrection proved that they were not manufacturing evidence, he declared.
 T am always suspicious of testi- mony that is too mechanically per feet. It is like the testimony that detectives offer when they want 10 convict a negro" commented the bishop.
 At the morning service the fol. lowing were ordained deacon: R. T. Jones, Joseph H. Metcalf, William M, Pickard, Henry M. Ellis and John A. Bridges.
 MATT A0DlN-r~