Gospel Herald, 1860-07-07

              Devoted to Ohristianitjr, Morality, the Interests of Sabba^,!! Sohools, Social Impi'OT7-ein.en.t, TeirLperan-ce, Education, and General Ne-w-s-lf'*:-
"BEHOLD,   I   BRING   YOU   GOOD   TIDINGS   OF   GREAT   JOY  ....   ON   EAETH   PEACE,   GOOD   WILL   TOWARD   MEN,'
VOL. 17.
DAYTON, 0., SATURDAY, JULY 7,1860.
NO. 10.
SELECT POETRY.
]
Tie Christian's Home-
Launch thy bark, marinerl
Christian, God speed thcel Let loose thy rudder-bands,
Good angels lead tlieel Set thy sails warily.
Tempests will come; Steer thy course steadily,
Christian, steer home!
Look to the weather bow,
Breakers are round thee; Let fall thy plummet now,
Shallows may ground thee; Reef in the fore-sail there!
Hold the helm fast! So let the vessel wear.
There swept the blast.
"What of the night, Watohmah?.
What of the night?" ,; "Cloudy— all quiet.
No land yet—all's right," Be -wakeful, be vigilant,
ranger may be At an hour when all seemeth
Securest to thee.
How gains; tbe leak so fast?
Clear out tbe hold; Hoist lip thy merchandise.
Heave out thy goldl There, let the ingots go.
Now the ship's rightj Hurrah! the harbor's near,
Loi the red lights!
Slaolten not soil yel
At inlet orislar d. Straight for tbe Jbeficon, steer,
St raighl for tbe high-land; Crowd all thy canvass on.
Cut Ihrough the foam; Christian, cast anchor now,
Heaven is thy home?"
ORIGINALITIES.
WrUlen for the Gotpel Herald.
Positive Theology. JMo. 5	
BY  A,   W,   BANFOKD,
It is but justice to the readers cif the Herald who may li,ave felt any in¬ terest in these articles, to know that Bro, Ellis and myself had arrang¬ ed for the publication of a No, onco in tvvo weeks. No, 4 was duly forwarded by me, but never rqached him; and, that without any othor fault excepting neglect to write liim to explain its non¬ appearance, wo were, until a fi'w days sinee, respectively ignorant bf theso facts. Hereafter the regular appear¬ ance of thp articles may be expected.
The three preceding numbers, in¬ clude all I designed to write connect¬ edly,! in reference to the being, attri^ butes and characler of God; although farther evidences and illustrations of the position, in them assumed, may incidentally Occur in connection with the points to be hereafter discussed.
I next propose to treat upon the ro- lation- of man to G-od:; and the fact, na¬ ture and >extent -of hnman deprav¬ ity: i My reason.for introducing this proposition -previous to a scriptural analysis of the/dcte-revealed concern¬ ing Christ  and the   Holy Spirit,   is.
that all the important practical ques¬ tions, arising in tho mind of saint or sinner, in'rofcrenee to either or both these characters, relate to their abili¬ ty to redeem and save, cleanse and sanctify the soul of man—deliver it from'sin and all its consequences—ef¬ fect a glorious resurrection from the dead, and crown his whole renewed being with immortal bliss and glory.
The position and'qualifications of Je¬ sus Christ as a Saviour, and of the Holy Spirit as a Sanctifior and Com¬ forter, being thus, the most important points to bo settled, we regard it as appropriate to first investigate the na¬ ture and- extent of Sin, the existence and consequences of which, alone, rendereid necessary'the manifestation of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit in these official characters and rela¬ tions.
The magnitude and importance of this subject, and the amount of con¬ troversy which it has engendered, may justify, perhaps, a few prelimina¬ ry obstrvatibns.
Every proraipent and well defined system of theology, is, perhaps, more distinctly characterized by teachings concerning Sin, than by any other question within its purview. Disguise, or a'tempt to evade it, as ho may, it is the doctrine of tho hereditary, total and complete moral and na'.ural de¬ pravity of tho whole man—so entire, as is asserted, that he has no percep¬ tion of what is good, until after his conversion; upon which is built tlio Antinoniian's theory o'f "particular atonement" with all its concomitant dogmas.
Admitting, as he contends, that the soul in sin, is as dead as is tho body in the grave; a:nd, as the scriptures as^- sert, that there aro some who will not be converted and saved ; it indeed fol¬ lows, that'to provide an atonement for those who could never awake frora the death of sin, until miraculously cal etl, and upon whom God had determined nei;er to make this call; would be an improvident waste of means.
On the other hand, tho Universalist assumes that sin is merely a alight/rtw.r paS', pre-ordained of God^atteiided with somo inconverienees in :f/us life, from which sothething which he calls Christ,'came tosave men if they would be saved—if not, it is of small conse¬ quence, as it never endangered their happiness beyond the present exist;- ence.
Between these extremes, we may find almost every conceivable shade and gradation of sentiment; whilo it is observable, that" the views of these holding them, of the importance, dig¬ nity and sufficiency of Christ as a Saviour, are co-extensive with their estimate of the personal responsibility and guilt of man aa a sinner, and with the danger and extent of tho conse¬ quences of his transgression.
I shall not take time and space to prove propositions, so well authentica¬ ted by observation and experience as are the foregoin.?; but, if toey ar6 correct, it is clear that it is not wholly immaterial what may be our views of sin.
If a man is fully of opinion, that, without agency of his own, ho came into the world with a disposition so depraved that no exercise of his will, either active or passive, can have any
influence upon, or connection with his moral renovation; that he can only be brought to a state of tnoral life, as soHie superhuman agency, without hia passive' con,sent even, impels or per- foims the work; there is truly but lit¬ tle incentive to him to do anything but 10 "eat and drink" and a,wait "God's own good will,"
Again, having nointelligent percep¬ tion of his individual and personal re¬ sponsibility and guilt,'he regards sin as a misfortune rather than a crime, and his deliverance as an arbitrary favor, which, without any reason, oth¬ er than a pre-ordained necessity it is his good fortune to enjoy.
The belief of the opposite extreme induces similar consequences.
The man v;ho holds that sin is a mere t'emjjorary evil here—its effects not'so grievous but they can be en¬ dured—and, especially, if as some teach, it was ordained and permitted only to enhance tho happiness of man, when arbitrarily delivered frora its bondage, has also but little to induce him to repent of, and forsake it.
His views of the Saviour will, also, 'be correspondingly low and meagre, as he estimates his value by the raeafiui*ejjKtha|W|ffi;er and misery he,
ble "posiuvoly" teaches, of'the origin, nature, perpetuity and consequences of sin; and I hopo that all -v\'ho may feel an interest in these articles, will preserve the papers in which they ap¬ pear, that wheu completed they may 136 subjected to criticism in their rela¬ tion to each other,
Alarion, Ind., June 18, '60.
Written for tlie Oonpel Uerald.
"Religions DeEominations in the Uni¬ ted States-"
¦ This is .the title of a late work by Joseph Belcher. (I hope to.be ex¬ cused for ii'ot prisfixing "Eev." to the Author's name.) The only inetance of the use of the word reverend ir< the Biblo, is ili Ps. Ill: 9: atid there it is applied to the Lord, I concede that it is right to honor and revere,a. faith¬ ful ini'nister; and a wife may reverence her husband, if he be worthy; but thero is too much of human vanity in the use of fiev., or Hon,, as a title,— How would it sound to speak of Simon, j5(7r Jbni^A, its Eev. Simon Peter!
I' take pleasure in recommending the book, as ono which ought to bo ex¬ tensively circulated. No minister, no matter to what church he belongs, should be without it, or^a substitute. Its stylo ia eloquent; and so impar¬ tially does tho Author treat of the different denominations, that ono would almost think, while reading his account of a particular denomination, that the writer himself was a membtir of that denomination; although, when you come to read of another, he will appear equally favorable to that; and so on wilh several of the principal sects of the day.
I feel a particular interest in the circulation of this work, because it will incline those who read it to take a more general and inipartial view of religious people of all parties. Thia may tend to enlarge the souls of many
narrow-minded,  party-spirited secta¬ ries, who are in the habit of thinking that there are no'christian's outside of ¦ their own communion.
It is true, I do not wish to encourage denominationalism. But I want men and ;women of different parties to al¬ low themselves to think, that their salvation does not depend upon their belonging to a particular denomina¬ tion. There is no denomination—(I hate to write this long word sooften)— I say there is no sect, which can truthfully be, c.alled the Church of Christ; because there .'.;re Christians in many—perhaps, in all parties. At least, there are good people in all churches, ',   :
But there is one true Catholic Church . or Generl Congregation; but itis not assembled on earth—it, is,not a fleshly organization ; nor is Pope Pius IX. at'ita head. It.is the "General Assembly of the first-born, -wt.o are written in heaven."
I deny a general visible church on, eartlh. What is co,minonly called the "6hurch militant," consists of congre- ' gations of Christians, which should not be generalized nor confederated into parties. They should be independent, and named after their particular locali¬ ties,and not from favorite leaders. Iwill not bo called a Baptist, a Methodist, a Presbyterian, a Calvinist, a Carapbell- ite, nor a Lutheran—if I can help it.
I desire, and am trying to be a fol¬ lower of Chriat; will associate as much as I can with the good of all pcrsija- sions; and, when, I find, mysejf in. proximity t^o a pure Christian Congre- . gation, who are "walking in all the, conimindments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless," I intend to have my name enrolled on their Chiirch-Book.
Wm. Pinkeetdn, Jr. .   Gillespieville, €>., June 14, 1860.
WnUenforllie Gotpel Herald.
Railing.
There are many peVsons who get iii- to a habit of finding fault with their neighbors. I have been reading in the "Advent Eeview and Sabbath Herald," and in it I see the Advents call tho va¬ rious churches, Babylon. Alas, I fear the Advcntist too is only a member of thegreat Babylon, I sec in the Ad-' vent society a fault, which is a promi¬ nent characteristic of all denomina¬ tions; the fault of thinking oneself right and all otliera in error, and arro¬ gating to oneself the privijet'o of rail- ingat others. I seein thia society on¬ ly a faction ccntonding for peculiar tenets. In thia, it is like its sister de¬ nominations. Like them it gives un¬ due attention to some peculiar tenet; trying to make something appear of vital importance, whicii is scarcely even so much as mentioned in the Tes¬ tament. One of the most remarkable examples of this kind, is, perhapa, that of breaking bread every first dayof the weekwhich one denomination takes from tho seventh verse ofthe twentieth' chapterof Acts of tho Apostles. Inrt'y be -w'i-ong in thinking so, butroMfitio|.; but,think that theso peculit^ritiCa and' distinctions do cause, even at iBife day gome degree of hatrrid! If %a re-' member, the time was once,'wT^en one denomination would" endeavor to ex¬ tirpate another by Vidlent means; and no doubt the motives which actuated