Scraps from the Editor's Waste-Basket. I. A LARGE QUESTION.-A reader of this Magazine for forty years, starting from our remarks concerning the "Bradlaugh" incident, asks the following large question:-"To what extent may Christians ally themselves, in social and political matters, with the atheist and avowed unbeliever; and is it a part of Christian duty and Christian charity to recognize in such the same degree of conscientiousness as in those who hold themselves accountable to God for every action of their lives?" The question is divisible into two parts. I. The latter portion admits of a ready answer. (1.) That the test of a man's "conscientiousness" is not his avowed belief or unbelief. The want of 66 conscientiousness" in some men of faultless theological belief is too notorious to require proof. James has treated with superb scorn the theory that weighs a man's character by his creed. "Thou believest that God is one. Thou doest well;" but thou dost not do much. "The devils also believe and tremble." (2.) The probabilities are that a man with a real and living belief in the living God, as the Judge and Saviour of men, will have a finer conscientiousness than one who denies His existence. But probability is not certainty, and men must be judged by their acts, and not by their professions merely. (3.) "Christian duty and Christian charity" alike urge that we judge a man fairly, and if we make any difference we ought to behave more considerately and kindly towards those who have not the help and joy of faith in our Heavenly Father, than to such as are checred by that inspiring confidence, and whose lives are strengthened by the consciousness of His presence. II. The former portion of the question is to be met in this way. (1.) "Alliance with atheists in social and political matters" is permissible for social and political ends; e.g., for the suppression of "intemperance and other social vices, and the removal of tyrannical caste and class legislation. We help the atheist, and we help society; and do to our neighbour as we ought to wish to be done to. (2.) It seems to us that such "an alliance" is not only permissible, it is also wise. If you work only with those who are eager to work with you, "what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?" What better way is there of proving that we are the children of the perfect Father "who maketh His rain to descend on the evil and the good," than by working side by side with those unfortunate men who do not know their Father; and striving by our interest in works that interest them, and us alike, to prove that the love of God is a greater social and political power than all others? (3.) I believe, too, such an alliance is obligatory. The abstention of Christians from civic, political, and social affairs is contrary to the spirit and the prayer of our Lord when He asks, not that we should be taken out of the world, but that we should be kept from its evil. Christianity gains nothing by intolerance, and the denial of social and political rights. It löses; and loses incredibly. II. MINISTERIAL PERSISTENCY.- - In a letter from a deacon of a church that wants a pastor, there is the Postcript, "Another letter from the Rev. Jeremiah Lowly, wanting to come. This makes the third from him and one of his friends." The unblushing vanity with which some men urge themselves and their abilities on churches is unspeakably pitiable. We could sit night and day in ministerial sackcloth and ecclesiastical ashes as we read and hear the reports of our deacons about the doings of ministers endeavouring to lift themselves into churches. Another cause of grief is the way in which, out of mere pity, good men will urge the names of ministers on the attention of churches without a shadow of right to expect the churches to profit by When the acceptance of their nominees. will it be understood that the churches do not exist for the sake of the ministers, but the ministers for the sake of the churches? Not a week passes without affording abundant reason for the reestablishment of our Church Advisory Board. III. "LOST." - An "old deacon" of one of our Yorkshire churches writes most lamentingly concerning the "Lost" Year Book, and says, "It is the middle of August, and we have seen nothing of it. With such a go-ahead man as our Secretary we expected it at the latest by the middle of July. The whole denomination is interested in the document, and we must be kept without it six or eight weeks;" and much more of the same sort. Other churches in the same county complain. Certainly we must do better in this matter, and that right early. SCRAPS FROM THE EDITOR'S WASTE BASKET. 349 IV. MR. GLADSTONE has not had to wait long for his reward. A short while since he was the most abused man in the three kingdoms. But, yesterday, his sickness touched the national heart; and the world waited and watched by the bedside of the sick statesman. No finer sight has been seen of late than the spontaneous, deeplymoved, and far-reaching homage to England's Premier. Nothing could make more manifest the hold he has on the heart and conscience of the people. We thank God for his recovery: we thank Him, too, for this witness to the deeplyrooted place a righteous and God-fearing man can yet win in British life. V. THE BAPTIST UNION will hold its Autumnal Session in the Metropolis this year. It will commence October 4th and continue for the three following days. Monday will be given to welcomes and to the Baptist Missionary Society. Tuesday, also, will be absorbed by Foreign Missions. The Baptists of Great Britain and Ireland are doing their Home work with such magnificent success; their aggressions upon the vice and scepticism and irreligion of the empire are so conspicuous, and the churches are in such a state of absolute perfection that they only need two days, i.e., about fourteen hours for the consideration of questions pertaining to our work at home. Probably we may not always be so fortunate. Still we will make the best of our condition, and hope to have a most fruitful time for the kingdom of God all the world over. We welcome the churches to London with all our heart. our VI. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL CENTENARY has been celebrated with abounding enthusiasm, living gratitude, a keen appreciation of the difficulties of coming work, and an earnest desire to get ready for the work of the new century. We chanced to be passing through Derby on way to Derbyshire dales and moors, when the people of Derby were gathered in the huge Drill Hall, to sing and speak of the work of Raikes and his successors. It was a splendid gathering: its chief feature being a speech from Sir William Harcourt, revealing the Home Secretary's real interest not only in Sunday Schools but in the Christianity there taught, in the men (of the non-priestly class) and the women who do the work, and in the beneficent results of their toil. We rejoice to know that all through the country, and all over the Anglo-Saxon world, the Centennial has been observed with a heartiness and zest full of promise for the generations yet unborn. VII. OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL CENTENNIAL MEMORIAL is proceedig towards its completion; but not at the rate and with the enthusiasm it ought. Mr. E. S. Wigg, of Australia, has given a sovereign. At Sheffield, a friend handed me 5s. Two friends, at Praed Street, gave 4s, 6d., and Mr. Sawtell, 2s. 6d. There are many schools that have not yet given any sign of interest in this matter. Do not let October come in without an effort. Mr. Shaw wishes to begin his work very speedily. Sunday school teachers, we look to you. Send us aid forthwith. VIII. THE TACTICS OF THE TORIES.Beaten at the polling booth they are bent on two things: first, worrying, if they can, Mr. Gladstone to death. No one can be in the House long without seeing signs of this fatal purpose. And, secondly, as they cannot succeed in that they are resolved to make legislation impossible by obstructing the progress of every measure. When in power they only got us into trouble, and now they are out of place and power, they do all they can to prevent the Liberals from putting the nation right. It is the policy of the dog in the manger. IX. POLITICS IN AUGUST.-The Government has found a recipe for the cure of the disease of obstruction. The remedy is simple, but it will be effective. It consists merely of a fixed resolve to prefer legislation to grouse shooting. The 12th of August is no longer sacred to the moors. Talk is not to be allowed to massacre Government measures; but they are to be carried through in spite of the obstructive and irritating chatter of Lord Randolph Churchill and Mr. Gorst. We record this signal Liberal victory with unalloyed pleasure. X. ALCOHOL AND PUBLIC HOSPITALITY.-This is becoming a serious question. Actually so learned and philosophical a body as the British Medical Association has voted that the tickets for dinners, at its general assemblies, shall not include a charge for wine. This is a portent. No doubt the wine will go, too, in due course. Is Dr. Norman Kerr fully aware of the prodigious change he is inaugurating? Moreover, we heard, the other day, of a body of divines dining, on the occasion of a religious gathering, with nothing better to drink than "water" and "zoedone." This, also, is a portent. If this kind of thing goes on a Christian man will not be able to dine in public with his brethren without becoming a "teetotaller," at least, for the time. It is intolerable. Will Christianity survive it? Reviews. THIS handsome volume is a part of the Commentary for Schools, issued under the editorial care of Dr. Ellicott, Bishop of Gloucester. We refer to it here for the purpose of quoting what it says on baptism. Referring to the baptism of the "three thousand souls," Professor Plumtre says, "The largeness of the number has been urged as rendering it probable that the baptism was by effusion, not immersion. On the other hand, (1.) immersion had been clearly practised by John, and was involved in the original meaning of the word, and it is not likely that the rite should have been curtailed of its full proportions at the very outset. (2.) The symbolic meaning of the act required immersion in order that it might be clearly manifested, and Rom. vi. 4, and 1 Peter iii. 21, seem almost of necessity to imply the more complete mode." A more satisfactory deliverance in favour of our practice we could not desire. In other respects the volume will be valuable to young pastors and Sunday school teachers. G. W. M. THE AGE OF THE GREAT PATRIARCHS FROM ADAM TO JACOB. Vol. I. By Robert Tuck, B.A. S. 8. Union. WE have read this volume with real and large advantage; indeed, after reading it for review, it so interested us by its ability and freshness that we read it again for its mental stimulus and profit. In our opinion this is high praise. Teachers in Young Men's Bible Classes, and in the upper classes generally of our schools, will do well to get this volume. They will not find every sentence perfect, every définition complete, or every theme handled with faultless skill; but they will have a masterly treatment of difficult themes, a keen perception of the heart of a subject, a broad and suggestive exposition in small compass, and a forcible stimulant to their own thinking. It is better than most of the Teachers' Helps we have seen. NOTES ON THE GOSPEL HISTORY. BY S. G. Green, D.D. Part I. S. S. Union. THIS Volume consists of the Notes for S.S. teachers, published by the S.S.U. from 1871 to 1875. They are here re-arranged, placed in chronological order, and re vised so as to form them into a connected and complete series on the life of Christ. The "Notes" are brief and appropriatə, expressed in simple language, directed to the details of each paragraph of Scripture, as well as to its general drift, and supplemented with useful practical hints. THE GLOUCESTER MARTYR. By William Higgs. S. S. U. Price 1s. A SKETCH of the life and times of John Hooper, Bishop of Gloucester and Worcester, carries us to the heart of some of the most thrilling and critical moments of our English life. It takes us to Oxford (that spring and source of the main religious movements in our national history) in the days of Erasmus and the rise of the Greek learning; to Zurich, when it was a refuge for the English dawning Protestantism; to London, in the days of Gardiner and Bonner; and to Gloucester, where Hooper died as a witness to the "simplicity that is in Christ " Mr. Higgs is a useful guide to these places and events, and it is a fitting thing to complete our visit to the city of Raikes by fellowship with John Hooper, the Gloucester Martyr. SOUGHT AND SAVED. By M. A. Paull. Nelson & Sons. Price 3s. 6d. THIS is one of the Prize Temperance Tales of the United Kingdom Band of Hope Union, and is one of the most interesting illustrations of the way in which a brave little "Band of Hope" child may influence those who are given over to intemperate habits. It was chosen out of 116 MSS to receive the FIRST PRIZE, and without any doubt deserves exalted rank, not only in Temperance Literature, but in serviceable fiction generally. Old and young alike will find intense delight in reading its pages. IT OUGHT TO BE EVERY S. S. LIBRARY FORTHWITH; and a door should be opened for it into every home in the land. IN THE APOSTLE PAUL'S MEAT ARGUMENT. By Rev. A. J. Parry. Swansea: Lewis. THIS is an exposition of 1 Cor. viii., x., xi., Romans xiv. 3, 6, 14, 23, and Col. ii. 16, in their bearing upon the duty of Christians towards the drinking customs of the day and it is marked by careful exegesis, acute and solid reasoning, and a vigorous enforcement of the duty of total abstinence from participation in the drinking practices of the present day. As an exposition of the scriptural basis : Information should be sent by the 16th of the month to 51, Porchester Road, Westbourne Park London, W. W. REYNOLDS, Sec. pro tem. The Fifty-second Annual Conference of the LINCOLNSHIRE AND CAMBRIDGESHIRE GENERAL BAPTIST SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHERS was held at Long Sutton. The Rev. G. Towler presided. At ten o'clock reports were read. At eleven o'clock the Rev. J. C. Jones, M.A., read the scriptures and prayed, and the Rev. G. F. Pitt preached the Conference sermon. half-past two the delegates met, under the presidency of Mr. H T. Taylor, of Boston, who gave the annual address. The Secretary of the Union (Mr. J. T. Atton) read the minutes of the last meeting, and Rev. J. C. Jones, M.A., read a At paper on "How can the papal and priestly influence at work amongst the young be most effectually met by the Sabbath school teachers." A very lively and interesting discussion followed, in which the Revs. G. Towler, G. F. Pitt, and Messrs. Dring, Atton, and Franks, took part. Rev. J. C. Jones was thanked for his very valuable and elaborate paper, and requested to send it to the Editor of the "General Baptist Magazine" to be printed. Also thanks were given to the preacher (Rev. G. F. Pitt), for his excellent sermon, and to the Chairman for his address. At five o'clock between 200 and 300 persons sat down to tea, after which a public meeting was held in the Exchange Hall, which was crowded in every part. The following took part in the meeting: Rev. G. Towler, chairman; Revs. D. Thomas, J. C. Jones, J. Stead, T. Church, T. Howard, C. Barker, and Messrs. Sutterby and C. Dring. The Conference next year is at Coningsby-preacher, Rev. C. Barker; chairman, Mr. C. Dring, Long Sutton; writer of paper, Mr. Wright, Boston; subject, "The Duties of our Ministers in connection with the Sunday School;" committee of management, Messrs. Dring, Franks, Best, and Atton. CHURCHES. DONINGTON-ON-BAIN.-The anniversary of this ancient church was celebrated on Monday, Aug. 2, by a tea and concert of sacred music, given by the choir of the Louth, Eastgate church, interspersed with addresses by Revs. W. Orton, C. Payne, E. H. Jackson, and others. LONDON, Worship Street.-After two years of anxious uncertainty the friends have secured, on the Bethnal Green Road a few yards from Shoreditch, High Street, a capital freehold site for their new chapel, at a cost of £2,500. It is proposed to expend a further sum of £5,000 on the building, which will be commenced at once. The church is now worshipping at No. 11, Worship Street, and in the Great Central Hall, Bishopsgate Street, under the pastoral care of the Rev. W. Harvey Smith, Secretary of the Southern General Baptist Conference. LYNDHURST.-Our church in the New Forest has a history of some two hundred years. The Rev. W. H. Payne recently delivered a sermon on the bicentenary. The chapel has been renovated, and from subscriptions, a bazaar, and the anniversary services, the cost has been defrayed. At the anniversary, July 21, the Revs. J. W. Wilson, W. Power, G. Read, the pastor, and other friends, delivered addresses; and on the 28th the scholars of the Sunday school united with neighbouring nonconformist Sunday schools to celebrate the Centenary of Raikes' formation of Sunday schools. NORWICH, St. Clements.-The Rev. G. and Mrs. Taylor were presented, on July 8th, by the church and congregation, with their portraits, a copy of "Young's Analytical Concordance," and an illuminated address (the work of Mr. J. R. Canham), in celebration of their silver wedding. H. Trevor, Esq., presided. The portraits are life size, and were executed by Mr. J. Mann, St. Giles Street. The pastor gratefully acknowledged the present. Speeches were delivered by Messrs. Roche, W. W. Weyer, W. B. Taylor, J. R. Canham, J. W. Bushell, and J. W. Taylor. STANGROUND-New Baptist Chapel.On August 17 memorial stones were laid by Charles Roberts, Esq., and the Rev. T. Barrass, in the presence of a large number of people. About 200 persons afterwards partook of tea. In the evening a public meeting was held in the Primitive Methodist Chapel. Mr. S. C. Colman presided, and addresses were given by Messrs. W. Heath, J. A. Jones, J. H. Wood, C. Roberts, and T. Barrass. The amount collected was £21. CHAPEL ANNIVERSARIES. BIRCHCLIFFE.—Aug. 8. Preacher, Rev. C. Williams. Collections, £12 12s. NAZEBOTTOM.-Aug. 8. Preacher, Rev. W. March. Collections, £6. SCHOOL ANNIVERSARIES. LYDGATE, Todmorden.-Preacher, Rev. R. F. Griffiths. Collections, £59 11s. 7d. PETERBOROUGH.-Aug. 8. Preacher, Rev. W. Evans. Collections, £21. WOLVEY.-Aug. 8. Preacher, Rev. C. Payne. Collections, £14. After a S. S. Centenary celebration on Monday, he delivered his lecture on "Uncle Sam's Farm." TEMPERANCE WORK. LEICESTER, Dover Street.-Band of Hope.-Rev. C. Payne delivered his lecture on "Uncle Sam's Farm" on Tuesday, August 10th. BAPTISMS. BOSTON.-Eight, by J. Jolly. CHESHAM.-Seven, by D. McCallum. DERBY, St. Mary's Gate.-Eight, by J. W. Williams. HEANOR.-Four, by W. Smith; preacher, Mr. T. H. Bennett.-Eight, by J. Mee; preacher, Mr. Swan.-Eighteen, by W. Smith; preacher, Mr. T. Wooley. ILKESTON.-Four, by A. C, Perriam. LONDON, Borough Road.-Twenty-four, by G. W. M'Cree. LONDON, Church St.-Three, by J. F. Jones. LONDON, Praed Street, &c.-Nine. MACCLESFIELD.-Four, by J. Maden. MANSFIELD.-Six, by J. Parks. NORWICH.-Nine, by G. Taylor. NOTTINGHAM, Old Basford.-Eighteen, by J. Alcorn. PETERBOROUGH.-Four, by T. Barrass. SUTTON ST. JAMES.-Five, by C. G. Croome. MARRIAGES. SCOTHERN-GREEN.-At the G. B. Chapel, Kirkby, by Rev. A. Firth, William Scothern, jun., to Elizabeth Emma Green, both of Kirbby. OBITUARIES. CLIFTON, ISAAC, of Sutton St. James, died on his twenty-first birthday, July 13, 1880. He was one of a family whose parents and friends have long been connected with this church. He was an invalid for several years, and suffered greatly from a painful disease, which he bore with the greatest Christian fortitude. His joy in the Lord, and patient submission to His will, will not soon be forgotten. He pleaded with all to meet him in heaven. He had a great desire for the salvation of his neighbours, and we believe some will have to thank God for even his affliction. He had a desire to pass to Jesus alone; this desire was granted him, for in a calm sleep, when he had been left alone for a few minutes, his spirit passed away without a sigh. He was baptized a short time back, although ill at the time; but he longed to fulfil the commands of Christ. A memorial sermon was preached by Mr. Croome, to a large and attentive congregation. J. DERRY, MRS. S. J., wife of Mr. John Derry, of Bourne, and daughter of Mr. John Wilkins, of Coalville, died at her father's residence, July 12th, 1880, aged 25, after an illness of three years' duration. During her long and severe affliction her trust in the Saviour was firm and constant, her resignation to her heavenly Father's will calm and unwavering, and her hope of everlasting life unclouded and joyful. She waited very long, but very patiently, for the perfect rest into which she has now entered. The remembrance of her gentle Christian spirit will long be very precious to her bereaved relatives, and to all who knew her or visited her in her hours of weakness and suffering. She gave remarkable proof, during the heavy trial through which she passed, of the sustaining and sanctifying power of the religion of Christ. J. Š., H. |