Gospel Herald, 1860-02-11

              Devoted to diristiaixity-, Moralitj^ the Interests of Sabliath Schools, Social Impi'OvemerLt, Temperan.ce, Education., and G-eneral NeTirs.
"BEHOLD,   I   BRING   YOU   GOO-D   TIDINGS   OF   GEEAT   JOT  ....  ON   EARTH   PEACE,   GOOD   -WILL   TQ-WARD   MEN.'
VOL. 16.
DAYTON, 0., SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1860.
NO. 39.
SELECT^fOETRY.
Drawing Water-
BY   PIKEBE  C.4.RT.
I had drunk, -w-ith lips ungated, -where tbe fonts
of pleasure burst, I had hewn   out   broken cisterns,  aud they
mocked my spirit's thirst, -indlsaid, "Lifo is a desert spot, and measme-
less and dry. And God will not give me water, though I pray
and faint, aud die."
Spoke there then a friend aud a brothei: "Else
aud roll the stone a-waj', There are -wells of water hidden inthy pathviay
every day" Then I said ray heart -was sinful, -vtry  sinirl
was my speech, "All the -w-ellaof God'a salvation are toe   deep
for me to reach." ,
Andhe answered, "Rise and labw,  doubt  ard
idleness is death. Shape thee out a goodly, vessel with tbe sttocg
hands of thy faith : So [ wrought aud shaped tho vessel, tben bert
lowly, kneeling there, And I drew up living  water  -with the golden
chain of prayer.
ORIGINAJJTMES.
Wri:len for the Gospel Herald.
The Resurrection.
BY WM. L. JOHNSON.
This subje.ct, to many, is an interes¬ ting theme. It is one on which much lias been written and more has been said; and it is with some diffidence that I approach this, as it might not im¬ properly be termed, sacred subject. It is indeed, the cap-stone of the Chris¬ tian Eeligion as taught by the Apostles.
There seems to be a principle in the human heart which causes every indi¬ vidual to long for immortality. .Doubt¬ less thia desire is the legitimate out¬ burst of that part of man which was, "in the beginning," made in the image of God.
It is not my purpose now, however, to answer the question, "Ifa man die shall he live again," but to speak of the literal resurrection ofthe body.
I suppose that all who believe that thero is a future state, and that all who livo aright will inherit it, believe that in that state we shall have a body; but were I to question each, I dare say that a niajorityifnotali wouldsay, "Iwould rather not have my present body, in its present state, deformed, diseased, and mutable as it is. And, fltrther, I presume that they would say, "I don't believe I shall have this body just as it is,now.". So far, a majority, if not all, agree, but from this point the opinions of men diverge.
At the time when Christ was on earth, there were two leading secits among the Jews, the Pharisees and the Saddueees, holding very different views of the subject under eonsider¬ ation. '" The Pharisees held that an¬ gels and spirits had an existence, while the Saddueees denied the existance of both. They were what would now be tertned Materialists, or, perhaps, Atheist.
Even the Pharisees, bolioving, as they did, in angel and spirit, were .yet very ignorant, "st'ff-neckod peo¬ ple." They could believe in nothing, except they could see and feel it.— There had been times when they had worked by faith; wEen tbey wero more   spirittial  minded,   bat   at  the
time of the coming of Christ, this pow¬ er did not belong to them as a na¬ tion ; and this is doubtless one of the reasons why Christ came on earth at that particular time; that is, to bring them back to a state of knowl¬ edge and purity. They had become a very sensuous people, and could be¬ lieve nothing, unless testified to, by the senses. It was so, even with the Pharisees; how much more so, then, withthe Saddueees, who were not only ignorant, but skeptical.
The Jews believed in angels only, because they had been seen. Some may have been able even in that day; to see them, as their ancestors had been before them. Nothing less than this would convince them.— This is true, not only of the Jews in general, but even of His disci¬ ples. Although they had been with him from the beginning; had listened to his teachings, day after day, and month after month; yet they did not, until after the day of Pentecost, when they were overshadowed by the Holy G-host, fully understand him, nor the object pf his mission.
If Christ, when crucified, had left his body in the grave, and he himself had gone to heaven without appearing to any one, the disciples would have been scattered, his teachings would soon have been forgotten,, and all that would now be to, us of him, or them, would be a sjieok on the scrollof histo¬ ry; that
" Once in the flight of ages past,
There lived a man, and who -was he','
Mortal! lio-we'erthy lot be cast,
That man resembled thee." &o.
But blessed be God, ho did not leave his body in the grave, nor did he go to heaven before he showed himself, not only to the Apostles, but to niany other witnesses^
It was necessary for Christ to rise fromthe dead, to teach that the dead do not sleep in the tomb. First, it was necessary for him to appear to them in a form which they could recog¬ nize; and second, it was necessary for him to have his natural body for they knew;, him only as a man;—they were but men themselves, and could see Only as men see. Again, in their un¬ enlightened state their minds were ob¬ tuse, slow to comprehend any new truth, and scarcely if ever looking be¬ yond an earthly kingdom.
When Christ was seeii by the disci¬ ples, prior to his ascension, (and in¬ deed I do not remember thtit he wtts seen at all subsequent to that event, ex¬ cept as described by John on the Isle of Patmos,) he was always seen in hia natural body: Even the prints of the nails, and tho marks of the spear were in his hands, feet, and side. He plain¬ ly states that his body had not yet been glorified; and the evident reason that it had not been done yet, was,that he migiit show hirii.self to his disciples in it.
They could not see spirit forms, of which his body would have been, and subsequently was composed; and if they would have been able to see his spirit, the disciples generally would not have been, and however much the apostles might have preached "Christ and the resurrection," a , deaf ear would have beon turned to their teach¬ ings, as long as they knew that the body lay in the tomb, for the general
belief was, that the spirit slept with the body in the tomb, (and many be¬ lieve this still, as regards those who die,) while the Stwlducees thought there was no spirit to sleep.
It appears to me then, that the firat grand step to be taken to teach the immortality ofthe soul, and the sleep¬ lessness of the spirit, is to remove the body from the tomb. But if the mere removalwasallthathad been necessary, the "Host of Heaven" might have aecomjilished that, simply by remov¬ ing the body to some secret place; or by burying elsewhere. Then the Apos¬ tles might have been inspired to know that he had ascended,- and had gone about teaching it; but this would have been no evidence to the Jews, for even as it was, with all the evidence before them, thoy accused the apostles of stealing away his body, and then de¬ ceiving the people by telling them "Christ had risen from the dead." With how much hotter grace could they have accused them, had no one seen him after the crucifixion.
Had Christ not been seen by any one except the Apostles, the claim of the Jews that Christ was not resurrec¬ ted, might have somo show of possi¬ bility; but the fact that he was seen by many othera, and that even the Apos¬ tles themselves were not expecting, nor at first prepared to comprehend the fact, all to iny mind are strong ev¬ idences in, favor ofthe actual and liter¬ al Eesurrection of Christ; and the cir¬ cumstance of Thomas thrusting his hand into the spear wound, and the nail wounds in his side and liands, ought to settle the question, that not only the soul or spirit of Christ was not permitted "to sleep in hell," (the grave), but the body alao was literttUy removed from the tomb, and re-ani¬ mated by His immortal Spirit.
Tippecanoe, Jan. 19,1860. [Continued next week.]
 M*    11 m II     wm     	
Wriltm for the Ooepol Berald:
Liberal Christianity.
There has been many fears enter¬ tained, and some complaints in refer¬ ence to the use made ofthis, and terms of similar meaning, by a number of miniaters and others among us as a christian people, but on mature and deliberate reflection, I ttm oftlie opin¬ ion, that their/ears and complaints ar groundleaa.
I am disposed to think that those brethren who have objected to the use of the term, were well disposed in their sentiments, and were deeply and in heart intorested in the defence of truth, and were of the opinion that an effort was making to treat and intro¬ duce division, by changing to somo ex¬ tent the basis nnd Sentiments ofthe Denomination. That thore are men in the different denominations in this country who Avould bo pleased to change the bd.ii,s savl Sentiments of the Denomination, and have the influence with them; to sustain their System and views of Divine truth, Ihave notthe least doubt in my mind.
I would be much pleased to have all the Denominations stand on the same liberal basis and hold the same senti¬ ments with us; but I am not able to learn that it'has been the design of any of our ministers to make any change in reference to what are considered old
and well defined land-marks among na. An effort to work up to old land¬ marks would do good.
I am ofthe opinion that many have felt that there was danger in the use ol this and other terms " We have been in a peculittr position for the last few yeara, in whieh many have felt that there was immediate danger of depart¬ ing from the faitli, but t DOW feel in my own mind that the uncalled for ex¬ citement is subsiding, and the second sober reflection ofthe once united broth¬ erhood will remove those former fears, and that all will again stand as in for¬ mer days, and not be alarmed tit small matters. Men should give themselves time to examine such matters from every stand point.
Tlie term'is not a new one amongus, yet it has been treated by some as though it had nevor been used among UB until recently; but this is a slight mistake as any one may learn by con¬ sulting the old files of the Palladium.
Por one, lam not able to remember the time when I first heard the terms, '. Liberal Christianity, Liberal Sentiments, Liberal view of Divine truth. Liberty of Conscience, Liberty to read, understand and practice the word of God as each one understands it for him and herself, with other terms of similar meaning, that have been uaed freely by our ablest and best miniaters of the past.
It does appear to me that some of our people are becoming more selfish and Sectarian in their feelings and ac¬ tions than th cy were several years since, and I admit that I am not able to ac¬ count for it.
Perhaps Iain mistaken iu my judg¬ ment on this point, if so, I am willing to be corrected, it ia not' my desire to make one statement on thia, or any other point, not strictlj^ in time with the past history and present condition of the Denomination.
I am not able to see on what the Denomination have been too liberal in their feeli-.igs and actions towards oth¬ er Denominations and others who held different points in theory from ua.
Por over sixty years we have been preaching up Christian Union, not on a Technical, Theologiccd basis; but that of Character, and that character to be formed by devotional obedience to the revealed will of God. A great change has taken place in the sentiments and feelings ofsomo in reference to several points. Ohristian character will do as a test, provided the person, or persons believe about as they do, and curse such men ttnd things as they curse.
Such liberty of opinion as that is not worth contending for, itis not that character of freedom of opinion for which we as a Chriatian people have been contending for many years.— When tbey commenced thero was a great difference of opinion among them on many points in Theology; but now we must have a unity of sen¬ timent in theory, and have but little to do with others, except they will consent to sail under oiir directions.— This, in my opinion is, moving in the wrong direction—it is going back into Sectarian sentiment and feeling again. It has been the opinion of some among us that others in the church wero too liberal in their feelings towards oth¬ era. That the Unitarimis have beon treated with too much  confidence,  in