xt798s4jmj8h https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt798s4jmj8h/data/mets.xml Rogers, W. C., 1828- 1889 books b92-123-28575537 English Christian Pub. Co., : St. Louis : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Disciples of Christ Biography. Recollections of men of faith : containing conversations with pioneers of the current reformation, also numerous incidents and anecdotes of these heroic heralds of the cross / by W.C. Rogers. text Recollections of men of faith : containing conversations with pioneers of the current reformation, also numerous incidents and anecdotes of these heroic heralds of the cross / by W.C. Rogers. 1889 2002 true xt798s4jmj8h section xt798s4jmj8h

RECOLLECTIONS

MEN

OF FAITH.

t)ONTAININ4.

CONVERSATIONS WITH PIONEERS OF
THE CURRENT REFORMATION.

A L.-)

NUMEROUS INCIDENTS AND) ANECDOTES OF THESE
HEROIC HERALDS OF THE CROSS.

BY W. C. ROGERS.

ST. LOUIS:
CHRISTIAN PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1889.

This page in the original text is blank.

PREFACE.

I have attempted to sketch faithfully the meagre
outlines of the life and labors of the distinguished
men of whom I speak in these pages. To write of
these without partiality or prejudice is not an easy
task.
In justice to myself and all concerned I wish to say
that these "Recollections of Men of Faith" have been
prepared while I have been engaged in holding pro-
tracted meetings-going from house to house, caring
for the flock, or at home, as I could find opportunity
when released from more pressing duties. The anec-
dotes and incidents have been recorded, not merely to
amuse, but to benefit the reader.
I trust that these, together with graver matters men-
tioned, may not only prove interesting, but especially
helpful to those who have entered or propose enter-
ing the ministry.
Some of these sketches are too brief, but I did the
best I could-giving all the facts and incidents at
hand, or that were furnished me. The more lengthy
sketches could have been enlarged, but I have pre-
sented enough for my present purpose.
Some of my brethren in the ministry suggested that
(3)

PREFACE.

what I knew concerning "The Pioneers," as well as
what I might gather up from others, be put into book-
form, that the youth now living, who had been free-
born, might know something of the many trials, sac-
rifices and sad experiences through which the fearless
Pioneers passed, in this the nineteenth century, in
order to enjoy "freedom to worship God," and that
they might transmit to coming generations the pre-
cious inheritance which is ours to-day.
To the following persons I am under many obliga-
tions for services rendered: Mrs. John N. Mulkey,
Glasgow, Ky.; Elder Ed H. Smith, Horse Cave, Ky.';
Elder J. C. Creel, Plattsburg, Mo.; Prof. I. B. Grubbs,
Lexington, Ky.; President W. S. Giltner, Eminence,
Ky.; President W. J. Barbee, Ash Grove, Mo., and
Elder J. B. Jones, Los Angeles, Cal., for his admirable
essay on "The Genius and Spirit of our Plea."
If in perusing these pages the reader shall derive
half the pleasure I have been permitted to enjoy in
preparing them, I shall feel amply rewarded for all
my pains.
W. C. ROGERS.
Cameron, Mo., 1889.

CONTEN TS.

CHAPTER I.

A. CAMPBELL .

AYLETT RAINS.

,JOHN T. JoHNSoxN

B. F. HALL

(GENIUS ANT) SPIRIT OF

J. J. WYA'rT .

JAMES E. MATTHEWS

HARRISON WV. OSBORNE

JoHN ROGERS .

JOHN ROGERS

CHAPTER 11.

CHAPTER III.

CHAPTER IV.

CHAPTER V.
O1-R PLEA, BY Jf.
CHAPTER VI.

CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VIII.

CHAPTER IX.

CHAPTER X.

CHAPTER XI.
JOHN NEWTON MULKEY
CHAPTER XII.
JACOB CREATH, JR. .
CHAPTER XIII.
DUKE YOUNG .
(5)

B. Jron.l

X 30

. 53

. 78

. 106

. 126

. 132

. 135)

. 158

. 195

. 209

. 230

251

This page in the original text is blank.

INTRODUCTION.

When a great movement perpetuates itself through
successive generations, the men who stand connected
with its origin and who largely make their influence
felt in its inauguration, of necessity become objects
of interesting inquiry to the student of history. The
importance of their work, as identical with the cre-
ative factors of an epoch, would forever inspire either
the curious or the sober seeker of knowledge with
a keen desire to know something of their lives. This
is especially the case when the movement is of a
religious character and attended with most important
and far-reacing results. The happiness of mankind
is too extensively involved in great changes affecting
Christian interests to admit of indifference on the
part of any who sincerely desire the highest good of
the race. Religious revolutions are very properly
supposed to concern the -welfare of the world in a
higher degree than any other great historical events.
Indeed, if we would measure the full magnitude of
blessing for humanity in the Lutheran Reformation,
for example, we would discover its creative influence
in many great national and political changes for the
better.
In the effort to restore the religion of the New Testa-
ment and to establish on this basis the union of all
who sincerely love the Lord Jesus Christ, and who
are striving to do his will, two all-important duties
(7)

INTRODUCTION.

devolved on the active promoters of the movement.
It was needful to recognize Christian worth and gen-
uine piety wherever found, and to offer a ground of
union which could be accepted without the sacrifice
of conscientious convictions. Such effort contempla-
ted no warfare upon consecrated believers themselves,
but upon those traditional barriers of human origin
by which Christian unity has been destroyed and out
of which denominational walls have been erected to
the division and distraction of the spiritual body of
Christ. The inventions of men, becoming sacred from
long usage and sanctified by religious reverence, con-
stitute the chief and almost insuperable obstacle to
the restoration of the primitive unity of the church.
Those whose religious feelings have been dominated
by such customs from the very dawn of their con-
sciousness, are swayed by a power scarcely conceiv-
able by those who have never experienced this thral-
dom. Yet this enslaving spell must be broken, and
all errors in theory and practice standing in the way
of the union of God's people as demanded by the
New Testament must be abandoned before this union
can be accomplished.
It was with this conception, unflinchingly and per-
sistently maintained, that the "pioneers" of this
great movement advocated with such power and suc-
cess the union of all Christians on the divine basis of
apostolic teaching apart from human traditions. They
did honor alike to their intelligence and their hearts
by maintaining a generous liberality of Christian sen-
timent, in reaching out for the pious of all names,
without the surrender of any element of the divine

INTRODUCTION.

foundation on which all were invited to stand "in
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the
Son of God." When Jesus, the divine Shepherd, re-
ferred to "other sheep" than those- which he had
beg un to gather, he significantly added: "Them also
I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there
shall be one flock, one Shepherd." Thus in his
thought the oneness of his flock depended on the
hearing of his voice alone and apart from the unau-
thorized voices of all false shepherds or self-consti-
tuted leaders of his people. Now the church, in con-
sequence of " the falling away" predicted by Paul,
has lost more than its primitive unity. Indeed, it lost
this by losing its full and exclusive adherence to the
teaching of its divine Head, and the restoration of the
former is impossible without the re-establishment of
the latter. For just so long as the authority of men
claims and receives the reverence due alone to the
authority of God, the discordant voices of false shep-
herds will effectually hinder the scriptural union of
God's people. There must be " the pulling down of
strongholds-casting down imaginations and every
high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ."
Accordingly, the men introduced to the reader of
this biographical work acted constantly with the
conviction that they had much more to do than simply
to plead for Christian union. They conceived it to be
also their province to offer to the religious world the
only basis on which this union could be effected-the
indestructible "foundation of the apostles and proph-
2

INTRODUCTION.

ets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone."
To point ever to this and steadfastly resist the inter-
mingling of traditional elements they regarded as a
duty of most imperative and solemn obligation. In
their noble effort to "come firmly to original ground
and take up things just as the apostles left them,"
they felt the incongruity of accepting "the historic
episcopate" as originating without the seal of apos-
tolic authority, and they disdained the self-stultifica-
tion that would be involved in the practical recogni-
tion of any of those perversions of Christian ordi-
nances by which the great apostasy is characterized.
They well knew that their grand plea for Christian
union could never be successfully carried out by any.
attempt to establish a quasi fellowship of believers
on a mere sentimental agreement to disagree over
"the doctrines and commandments of men."
Now the sublime work which these heroic lovers
of divine truth proposed to themselves is essentially
the work that devolves on their brethren of the pres-
ent generation. To end in the establishment of an-
other " denomination," the formation of one more
religious party, would be to pass sentence of condem-
nation on their very existence as a people. It would
but repeat and intensify the sin of sectarianism in-
stead of extirpating its hideous features from the
fair form of Christ's spiritual body. If, indeed, the
struggles and triumphs of the great men whose labors
are described in this work become a source of inspir-
ation to its readers, an instructive help toward the
formation of correct conceptions and a stimulus of
high resolve, the aims and labors of its author will

INTRODUCTION. 11

be amply j ustified. W. C. Rogers, of Missouri, the
son of one of the self-sacrificing leaders of this move-
ment, is well qualified in a number of respects for the
authorship of a work like this. His intimate person-
al acquaintance with many of those whose character
and career he here delineates; his complete sympathy
with their purposes and toils, and his educational
fitness to do justice to their noble lives, induce the
belief that the work will prove interesting and in-
structive. Let it go forth on its mission in furthering
the interests of the great cause of human redemption.
I. B. GRUBBS.

This page in the original text is blank.

RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

CHAPTER I.

ALEXANVDER CAMPBEL L.

HEARING HIM-HIS WORK IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.

In the year 1850 Alexander Campbell was making
a tour through Kentucky in the interest of Bethany
College. He came to Harrodsburg, where I, with many
other school-boys, heard him speak on a chosen theme.
The hour for preaching, at 11 o'clock A. M., had nearly
arrived, when Mr. Campbell alighted from his car-
riage and walked into the law office of the Hon. Frank
Ballinger, near the meeting-house in which he was
soon to speak.
Having seated himself, he called for a small piece
of tobacco, not to chew, but to take a bad taste out
of his mouth. A young brother preparing for the
ministry hied away into the burg, and soon returned
with the desired quid, and the unpleasant taste was
at once removed. Whereupon he walked to the house
of God, and, in company with James Shannon, Presi-
dent of Bacon College, entered the old-fashioned pul-
pit.
He read these words from the first chapter of 2 Tim-
othy: " When I call to remembrance the unfeigned
faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grand-
mother Lois, and in thy mother Eunice; and I am
persuaded that in thee also." He spoke full two

RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

hours, in behalf of a better, more thorough training
of -the youth of our country, insisting that the Bible
be taught in all families, schools and colleges.
In speaking of the capabilities of the human mind,
and of its wonderful developments, he referred to the
perfection attained in the science of music by such
masters as Beethoven, Mozart, Handel and others.
These advanced gradually from the A, B, C, until,
touching the chords of the harp with such a skillful
hand, discoursing such strains of music, that all ears
were ravished, all souls thrilled and carried captive.
By hard study and continuous application, they had
so mastered certain difficult pieces as to be enabled
to play them all unconsciously, seeming not to pay
the least attention to what they were doing. No end
to progress or advancement in this life-none, per-
haps, in the life beyond. Who can measure the
height, depth, length, or breadth, of man's capabilities
A Mr. Soloman, German by descent, Professor of
Music in Greenville Institute, sat right before the
speaker, and was more than delighted at what he
seemed to regard as a personal compliment. He
shuffled about, winked and nodded, looked around
ever and anon, rubbing his hands together as if par-
tially beside himself.
But everybody knew Prof. Soloman, had witnessed
his antics many a time, and only smiled. The entire
address was a most powerful and emphatic plea in
favor of educating the whole man, the physical, intel-
lectual, moral and spiritual. This was absolutely
essential in order to the well-being of man here and
hereafter; without this we could never advance as a

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

nation to a higher civilization, could never transmit,
untarnished, our liberties and free institutions to those
coming after us. In this speech, it is needless to say,
there was much material presented for serious thought
-for mothers, fathers, Christian people of all orders,
as well as for those statesmen who stand at the helm
and direct the ship of state. The theme discussed
on that occasion by the distinguished speaker is
to-day one of immense magnitude, as we contemplate
our t3ins as a nation, the prevailing ignorance among
the masses now pouring into our midst from all parts
of the world.
It is said that the mariner, far out on the bosom of
the sea, tossed hither and thither by wind and wave,
throughl clouds and darkness, stops, when opportunity
affords, and takes a reckoning, that he may know
where he is so it might be well for this great nation
of ours to ascertain its exact position. There may be
dangers ahead. It may be that the prow of our noble
ship is turned in the direction of quicksands, shoals,
or hidden rocks. Unless a nation is more than highly
civilized it cannot possibly stand-ultimately it must
go down. Long ago the sentence came forth from the
mouth of Him who "changeth the times and the sea-
sons, who removeth kings and setteth up kings," that,
"the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee
(God) shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly
wasted."
Many of the college boys were not a little disap-
pointed in hearing Mr. Campbell, expecting to witness
a display of oratory, as they imagined oratory to be.
Instead of this, they had listened to a plain, dispas-

RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

sionate argument. Not enough show, and by far too
much cool reasoning and statement of facts to suit
their crude taste. However, it was mutually conceded
that the speech, in its line, was a masterly effort.
Never had a great audience paid such rapt attention
to any speaker in that house before. Pretty difficult
to define eloquence, or analyze an eloquent discourse.
And then a good style-what is it -and how hard to
obtain it!
A gentleman once heard John -C. Calhoun, in the
United States Senate. "Why," said he, "his lan-
guage is so plain, so easily understood. I verily be-
lieve I could use as good myself." On being told
what had been said of his address and style, Calhoun
remarked that that plain, terse style had cost him
twenty years of hard study.
During Mr. Campbell's stay in Harrodsburg he was
as busy as a bee. When not lecturing, or reposing
on his couch, he was constantly engaged in conversa-
tion. I am not sure that I am correct in thus stating
the matter; he rarely ever conversed in a large com-
pany of friends-but rather declaimed-and all were
willing that he should do so. President Shannon was
of the same order, largely. Still he and Mr. Campbell
now and then really conversed, and at times with
much animation. President Shannon, in speaking of
their talks, remarked that he had failed to provoke
Mr. Campbell into a controversy as to the justness or
unjustness of the late war with Mexico. Mr. Camp-
bell, however, did say to him with considerable em-
phasis that he could not believe that one Christian
nation, so-called at least, could wage a just war

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

against another Christian nation. He would not dis-
cuss the merits of the question-but this was his view,
in short, and here the matter ended. But President
Shannon did believe that the United States was justi-
fiable in going to war against Mexico, and was as well
prepared to defend this view as any statesman in the
Union. He was wedded to the political school of John
C. Calhoun, and would have suffered death rather than
abandon his creed. This expression may seem ex-
travagant, but I will not modify it, for I feel sure of
its truth. When that eminent statesman died, I said
to President Shannon one morning just before called
to books, " that his sun had gone down behind a
cloud." "Not so," he replied, "it has set in splen-
dor." President Shannon also held the view that if
American slavery was not ordained of God, it c-uld
be maintained by the teaching of Christ and his apos-
tles, and ought to be perpetuated. No man that I
have ever been permitted to hear on this subject could
array as many and as strong, plausible arguments
from the Scriptures, in favor of this position, as could
he. He discussed in Harrodsburg with President John
C. Young, of Centre College, Danville, Ky., the moral
and scriptural bearings of American slavery, and
that, too, with the zeal of a thorough-going, scholarly
son of Erin. But few men in the Current Reformation
forty years ago could so strongly fortify a single pro-
position as President James Shannon. His language
was the best-he played no tricks-never set traps to
catch his opponent. but was ever candid, fair, straight-
forward. Mr. Campbell regarded James Shannon not
only as a Christian gentleman, but as a scholar of

RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

rare culture. I heard him remark that the address
delivered, or read, before the Bible Union Convention
at Memphis, 1852, by President Shannon, was com-
posed of the purest English he had been permitted
to hear in the United States. Mr. Campbell's position
on American slavery is well-known. He looked upon
it as a moral blot on our fair escutcheon-as a fearful
political evil-doomed finally to be rooted out and
destroyed by the humanizing, Christianizing influences
of Christianity.
When Mr. Campbell passed through Maysville, Ky.,
on his way from Bethany to hold the Lexington debate,
Aylett Rains met and spent the night with him. The
approaching discussion and the probable results were,
of course, the uppermost topics of conversation.
Rains had tried the steel of the redoubtable Sir
Knight, N. L. Rice, now about to enter the list against
Mr. Campbell, and hence he thoroughly understood
his skill in debate, as well as in maneuvering.
As an " artful dodger" Rains considered him pre-
eminent-far in advance of all he had ever encoun-
tered in pitched battle. Pretty well versed in church
history, the philosophy of the schools,-thoroughly
posted in the creed of his church-sharp in logic-
plausible and shrewd,-patching up new-vamping
and burnishing worn-out errors-ever keeping in the
background, and veiling plainest truths and facts
undeniable,-such was Mr. Rice, and such a man was
not to be desired as an opponent in public debate.
Momentous questions had been agreed upon, and
could not be profitably examined in the presence of
the learned or the unlearned with such a lawyer-like

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

debatant. Moreover, he was sarcastic, full of humor-
ous, laughter-provoking anecdotes, and was constantly
seeking the advantage; ever ready to parry a blow,
or step aside in time of real danger. Even when suf-
fering a Waterloo defeat he was cheerful. Such an
opponent was Mr. Rice, and hence possessed great
power over the people at large.
For argument he could substitute bold, reckless
assertion; for indisputable fact, anecdote; for plain,
unvarnished truth, precious morsels of casuistry,
crowding into one half hour's speech far-reaching
questions that the wisest mortal could not fully answer
in a day. All of this and more of a similar character
Mr. Campbell said he had heard from reliable sources.
" I preferred," he remarked, " President John C. Young
as my opponent, but he was not the available man.
He is, in every respect, a Christian gentleman, a man
of acknowledged scholarship and integrity. Possess-
ed of dignity and fairness, he would never engage in
playing tricks as a mountebank in order to obtain the
advantage or secure an evanescent victory. Mr. Rice,
from all accounts of him, will enter the debate in order
to succeed at all hazards. He will endeavor to carry
every point, whether he answers my arguments or not.
But then all the arrangements are now completed-
no change can be effected-' a mouse may evade the
paw of a lion."' "This," said Bro. Rains, "seemed
to be a sort of prophetic utterance, as Mr. Campbell
could rarely induce Mr. Rice to stick to questions
fairly, or answer his arguments on their merits."
After the debate was published, Mr. Rains. on reading
it the first time, was considerably annoyed by the

20 RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

anecdotes, evasions and quibbles of Mr. Rice, while
the candid presentation of the whole truth, on the- part
of Mr. Campbell, was all that could be desired by his
friends; so Mr. Rains conceived, and was well pleased.
Reading it a second time, he was less -worried by
these innuendoes and funny allusions, and more deep-
ly impressed with the powerful reasoning and sweep-
ing generalizations of Mr. Campbell.
Giving the debate a third careful reading, he scarce-
ly noticed the pitiful tricks and artful maneuvers of
Mr. Rice, while the great arguments and unquestioned
facts offered by Mr. Campbell stood out in bold relief
as imperishable monuments in favor of the truth as it
is in Jesus.
In May, 1852, the Bible Union Association convened
in the city of Memphis, Tenn., for the purpose of dis-
cussing, in well-prepared addresses, the necessity of
revising the word of God, and giving it in the exact
words of the Holy Spirit to all nations.
John L. Waller, at that time the most distinguished
and influential Baptist in the West, was president of
that association. He and Mr. Campbell had often
engaged in many a pitched battle as to the teaching
of the Christian Scriptures, and yet they had seen but
little of each other. That they were now exceeding
good friends, their correspondence would evidently
show. Strange that they had not seen more of one
another up to this date. Now they had both stopped
at the same hotel, and Mr. Waller's room, by pre-
arrangement, adjoined Mr. Campbell's.
When introduced, Mr. Waller facetiously remarked:
"Well, Bro. Campbell, you are a better looking man

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

than I expected to see. For a 'fierce warrior' you
have a very pleasant face indeed." Mr. Campbell
replied pleasantly: "As to looks, Bro. Waller, I shall
say little or nothing. I had no conception of seeing
so much carnality in John L. Waller, of Kentucky,"
alluding to his weight, which was, I presume, at this
time no less than three hundred pounds avoirdupois.
These great and good men had many most fraternal
interviews at this meeting. It was talked of, about
this period, that John L. Waller was coming over to
the views of Mr. Campbell, but it was only talked of,
never realized. No doubt Mr. Waller's feelings were
greatly changed toward Mr. Campbell, and he re-
garded him more orthodox, so to say, than at any
previous time. Many letters most fraternal passed
between them, but Mr. Waller died a pronounced
Baptist.
When Mr. Campbell delivered an address, in 1855,
before the young ladies of the Baptist Female Semin-
ary, New Castle, Ky., I had a conversation with him
as to this correspondence between him and Mr. Waller.
Prof. Farnem, of Georgetown, Ky., had requested Dr.
Nuckols, of Shelbyville, to ask Mr. Campbell for Mr.
Waller's letters addressed to him in the past few
years. As the Doctor was unable to see Mr. Camp-
bell, he desired me to ask for these. I did so. And
I shall not soon forget his looks and words on that
occasion. Turning his clear blue eyes upon me, he
said: "My Baptist brethren now have all the letters of
Bro. Waller to me they will ever obtain-at least
until after my death." Did Prof. Farnem write the
Life of John L. Waller, or did Dr. S. H. Ford IWhich

2 RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

Thomas Campbell lived and died a staunch Cal-
vinist. He never preached on God's sovereignty as
connected with man's free agency except in the very
words of the Holy Spirit. His opinions were scrupu-
lously held as private property, not to be obtruded
upon others, nor to be interfered with by anyone.
However, he loved dearly all his brethren, those from
whom he differed in opinion as much as those with
whom he was in accord.
The safe ground of union and communion occupied
by the disciples at the present time was not discov-
ered by accident. The hand of God, it appears to
me, may be noted in many a step taken, in many a
movement inaugurated. Strange, indeed, is it, that
in all the difficulties encountered, in all the obstacles
overcome, how few unscriptural positionswere assumed
by the pioneers. The cardinal features of "The Plea"
remain the same to-day and are as invulnerable as
when first proclaimed to the world more than eighteen
hundred years ago. How cautiously, how prayerfully,
and may I be permitted to say, how successfully, did
6ur- fathers seek the truth. And their escape from
bondage, is it not marvelous Taking into consider-
ation their environment, may we not conclude that the
Lord gave them deliverance-granted them that per-
fect freedom now enjoyed Groping their way in
Egyptian darkness, how were they ever enabled to see
the light, or to attain the priceless blessings of Chris-
tian freedom In the beginning of his arduous labors
as reformer, Alexander Campbell conferred much with
his father, Thos. Campbell. He relied greatly on his
judgment, and rarely ever differed from him on matters

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

of paramount importance. Occasionally they stood
opposed to each other in things purely philosophic or
speculative. They frequently talked on the subject of
foreknowledge and predestination. On one occasion,
while conversing on this profound theme, Alexander
said, " Father, I am of the opinion that the best way
in which to discuss this matter is on our knees in
prayer to God." A most excellent way in which to
disc-ss a great many questions besides the foreknowl-
edge of God.
One thing is worthy of being recorded in regard to
thet several debates, oral and written, of Alexander
Campbell. He is strongest, most powerful in his
strictly Bible arguments. In his arguments supported
by history he is correct and convincing; but not so
overwhelmingly triumphant as when relying wholly
upon the Word of God to sustain him. Take, for ex-
ample, his great debate with Purcell. With what
clearness and force he reasons when confining himself
wholly to the one Book, and how lame the effort of
his opponent in comparison. Again, examine closely
the discussion with Robt. Owen, and all fair-minded
persons will at once be convinced that his most con-
clusive arguments are derived from God's Word--
arguments which come down upon his opponent " ter-
rible as an army with banners," sweeping away and
consigning to utter oblivion all his pretentious reason-
ing. Was that celebrated twelve hours' speech ever
equalled by any of his cotemporaries And was it
not rooted and grounded on the Bible Its strength
and glory consists in its being of the Word of God,
and being true to it first and last.

RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

There can be no safety in wrangling over untaught
questions-questions foreign to the Bible. Such mat-
ters can never be settled to the satisfaction of anyone,
by philosophic or metaphysical disquisitions. Such'
reasoning is well calculated to divide the Lord's
people, and turn the mind and heart away from things
that make for peace. Herein is surely taught a lesson
to all disciples of Christ, whether it be seriously
heeded or not. Much freedom is guaranteed the
Christian in the New Testament. He who sits at the
feet of Christ and his apostles daily-who under-
stands thoroughly the Word of God and strictly con-
fines himself in the examination of all religious matters
to its teachings, not speculating or theorizing, how-
ever strongly tempted to do so, is, of all men in the
kingdom of God, the freest and in the least danger
of being led astray or of falling into any very griev-
ous error.
What has Alexander Campbell accomplished in the
religious world What has he done to benefit man-
kind
1. I will only offer to the reader a few suggestions
in answer to the above questions; much might be said
and to the point, but space forbids. He showed those
sincerely in search of the truth how to read the Scrip-
tures so as to understand them.
Owing to the divisions in the religious world and
the various theories as to conversion, the Bible had
been neglected. Or if it was examined, these contra-
dictory theories were in the way of understanding its
meaning. Besides, many persons were in the habit
(and are to-day) of approaching the Scriptures with

ALEXANDER CAMPBELL.

a proposition in mind and heart that must be proved
to be true. This has been, and is at the present time,
a fruitful source of error. It will ever be the wrong
method by which to reach the truth. Mr. Campbell
urged all who desired to know the will of God to sit
at the feet of Christ and his apostles, and, according
to just laws of interpretation, submit themselves to
their teaching; endeavoring simply to learn as pupils
what must be believed and what must be done in the
premises.
2. Jesus Christ is the central personage in the
Christian Scriptures-occupies the central position in
the " Christian system." Christ and not dogma, form-
ula, or philosophic speculations, is the true object of
faith. That "Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the liv-
ing God " is the Christian's creed.
3. The scriptural plan by which the sinner is par-
doned of past sins, becomes a disciple of Christ; what
he must believe, what he must do, and what the Lord
must do for him, in order to the forgiveness of his
sins..that he may enjoy the gift of the Holy Spirit
and the hope of immortality, were all presented in
their proper order as found in the Christian Scriptures.
4. Baptism and the Lord's Supper were not occu-
pying their proper place as ordained by the Lord
Jesus Christ. He called attention to this fact, and
also to the scriptural design of both of these institu-
tions, urging on all whom it concerned to abandon the
traditions of men and accept what was taught by
Christ and his apostles as to the purpose of these
divine ordinances.
The minister of the gospel, as well as the Rlock, con-
3

26 RECOLLECTIONS OF MEN OF FAITH.

ceived that the leading object in coming together on
the Lord's day was, after singing and praying to God,
to preach or to hear preaching. It is clear, however,,
from the examples given in the New Testament, to-
gether with allus