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Western Christian Advocate (Newspaper) - August 11, 1875, Cincinnati, OhioVol . 32.cincinnati, wednesday August 11, 1875. Whole no. 2,255. Totwest4u i Musil �bv0c4ts, a mud w1skli at methodist Book concern. A it Ccoce a a Walden Arentt. Frances s. Hoyt editor. John j. Hight assistant. Office we Fot Tuth Stejr. 0 two dollars and fifty cent fee annul. Xxx or amass. All itinerant Pieken Are age it. Eates of attest Kiiren Irr Sony Fry of Cagie Lar Ortor. .25 out per line oct inked three month .�?.21 pc m a a six a special notices. 1c m marriage notices. 5c cents 1 insertion. Eos be de is on i abolish. Kex re Kaeo Vuk or Parker in i amp a Leoce Dens a Page 219, holds the following language a a there used not be any hesitation in reverently declaring that god can not annihilate a moral agent. If he could would he not have annihilated the Devil that vexed his beloved son in the wilderness so tar As we can gather from the sacred writings Ofca has been the attitude of god in relation to the Devil he has degraded his position in the universe he has taken away the Lustrous Robe with which he was originally clothed he has caused him to Wither into the most awful and repulsive deformity on every Side the most tremendous pressure has been brought to Bear upon him but no Force can touch the life i abolish is nothing but abused divinity and can god be annihilated All moral creatures Are such by virtue of a divine element in their nature. But can not god withdraw the divine element let us pause what would he make of it could he absorb the Poison element which for a life time had been riven up to the Devil a these Are the most startling utterances that we have Ever read from the pen of any Christian author. According to this Dogma god All moral agents in general and the Devil in particular Are of the same elemental nature and Are alike incapable of annihilation or they All hold immortality by the same tenure. These shocking vagaries savor More of pantheistic mythology than of Bible verities. The scriptures clearly discriminate Between the creator and the creature. He is Seif to intent undivided and indivisible in Hie nature. He is Independent and All creatures depend on him. All human souls Are within the Purview of the Law of dependence therefore they Are creature spirits. Hence god the creator says a fall souls Are but this notion would have it a a i am All Soule in one common the idea ignores the Unity of the holy one. It makes him divisible in the same ratio that men exist. And god must subdivide to the extent that human spirits shall hereafter multiply. The notion thus virtually in deities the deity by dividing his essence indefinitely. It transmutes his divine nature into the Devil and into All wicked men who a Poison and abuse the divinity a that is contained in them. They Are not absorbed into his essence but it is still in them and yet they Are out of his favor and liable to eternal damnation from his Justice. Upon this wonderful showing god can not be Happy for the reason that the a divine element a in All wicked beings is a a abused poisoned a and diabolic de and May be damned eternally in so far then As the multiple of the damned shall extend so far must the aggregation of the divine misery co extend. Happiness can not consist in such a duality of the Demon and divine a this horrid theory indicates. This notion has Many features of Hindoo pantheism. The Fakir devotee Hopes by successive transmigration into and out of Many bodies to be eventually absorbed into Hie god Brahma and thus gain heaven by losing his identity in the source of All life. Or. Parker imagines that god will ignore his former self in the Case of wicked men and devils because they have a a poisoned the divine element contained in their does the doctor mean that holy men will find their heaven by being reabsorbed into god As the Hindoo fancies he will be in his Brahma Echo can softly reply. Revolting As these vagaries Are some among us seem to have a liking for them. Hence one holds the following language on this Point a a the human soul is not a creation but it is an emanation from god and therefore can not be annihilated and wicked souls will never be absorbed Back into god a implying that holy souls May be thus absorbed into deity. With this brother the souls immortality implies its uncreated divinity. Here ecce Deus crops out distinctly in the theory of the brother. A a the soul is not a creation a is the Battle cry of his Challenge to discuss this Point. I respond the soul of Man is a creation. All that is uncreated is contained in the creator. Each creature thus is set at an infinite distance below god. The souls of men Are individual entities and Are All outside of the a a divine elements of the All creating holy one. Prus Ace should restrain any Man from the pantheistic Dogma of a a uncreated souls. Who remembers Back into eternity past before he exited in the body the witness is upon the standi lot him speak. No answer comes. If the souls nature be a a a divine element a surely it would not be thus Stul tidied on Cross examination con turning things of a old from then that other attribute that or. I Weer 0hiiai for the Devil is a new born myth. He assumes that god could not if he would overcome the Power a a Given up to the Devil for a Long life time a of sin and rebellion. The Power gone out of god into the a abused divinity in the Devil is defiant of All the strength of the godhead a no Force can touch the life a of the grim monster. But who feds any indication of such latent omnipotence in Hering in his nature not one. Alas for such vagaries we Are not intimating that god will annihilate the Devil and wicked moral agents but we protest against this Mode of proving the fact that immortal woe is a a reserved for the Devil and his wicked men and devils can be immortal without in Hering in the a a divine element a for that tenure. God does not get his elemental nature poisoned nor has his divinity Ever been abused and diabolic de in ruling and punishing the guilty in the place prepared for the Devil and his Angels. Verily no. We will notice another Point in a a science falsely so its teachers say a a really there is not a particle of matter in All the universe. All that men Call matter is Only a phenomenal development of divine a Clergyman once said in my pulpit a a there is not a particle of matter in the half thinking that the preacher had lost his wits i asked him what Are our bodies and All the visible and tangible objects around us he replied a a All these Are phenomenal and Are the effects of concatenated and correlated spiritual i demanded what he meant by those forces. He said a you May Call them one tells me my soul is an uncreated a divine element a and another tells me that my body is a a gods action or a phenomenal show of spiritual dynamics a or forces. But then All brutes fowls fishes and All things else Are As divine As myself. They claim divine forces for their immaterial selves. We had All along called All visible and tangible objects matter but in the new lesson Given us to learn to a a they Are nothing but the spiritual Force of natures plainly this is Bald pantheism atheistic enough for the adage a god is nature and nature is a god is every thing in the Concrete so he is nothing in the abstract. The idea blaspheme the existence of a personal god. Once on a time a Learned professor of a a physical science a came to our town to lecture. He told us repeatedly that a a the soul of Man is a part of his experiments brought out some electric Sparks and he gravely Eaid a a this is part of god a query. What is not part of god at this rate next morning i went to his room to talk with him about his pantheistic doctrine and the landlord informed me he was in bed and added a a if you do not like his doctrine then answer this was a Little the coolest thing in All the farce to Call on a Man a a of sound mind and disposable memory a to answer one who does not believe that there is a particle of matter in the universe and who says that electric Sparks Are a part or god. I am ready to worship one god who is a spirit but i protest against the adoration of siting Sparks chafed out of a Glass Rod by the hands of Learned Mon maniacs the object of my religious homage. Here is a physical science a with a vengeance. If i must answer the like of this i will do it by telling a Story. It is said of some philosopher that he All night Long brooded Over the question whether there is any heat in fire and decided that the heat was in the idea of fire. Next morning he went to Market bought a leg of Mutton and after adjusting it upon a spit he poured copiously of his hot ideas upon his meat till noon. The result is known of course. I will add the language of or. Gray a a Brethren you have already carried your Learned pranks quite too i entreat you to Stop the play before you Stu Latify your brains too much and sell out to infidelity for Lesa than nothing. To such reckless visionaries i would finally say in the words of holy Paul a a beware lest any Man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit after the traditions of men after the rudiments of the world and not after tee Honor men of the German �on1versitils. By sky. William g. Ward. An article published some time ago in the Western on dueling among German students reminded me of the sequel to one of those performances As it passed under my notice More than a year ago the particular entertainment to which i refer was not for the students Only. It seemed to Call out the whole population of the swarming old town of Halle fifty thousand though they be. The object of All the uproar was to get a View of the funeral procession of a student killed in a Duel. The stately Progress of this procession through the streets of the City was Only one of the Semi annual triumphs which have Long been granted to the belligerent orders of the University As an official Reward for their faithfulness in the service of their ancient moloch and their rapid Advance in the March of civilization. All the principal streets of the City through which the procession was to pass were literally packed with eager multitudes waiting to see the spectacle. First came a military band of thirty pieces then the professional pall bearers of the City in their Long Black Robes and Wous hats like those worn by the military in the Days of Frederic the great. The triumphal car was perfectly open on All sides with a High canopied under which the coffin reposed in state beneath a Mantle of wreaths and Flowers. The car appeared to be drawn by four elephants but on a nearer View they proved to be Only horses covered with huge Black Robes which reached to the ground and left Only the eyes exposed peering out through hideous holes in these extraordinary masks. In front of the horses were a number of the deceased a fraternity carrying the emblems of the order while close behind the car walked a company of professors one of whom was dressed in the official Robes of a Clergyman and afterwards pronounced the funeral oration. Next followed a few carriages with the family friends of the deceased and his Mother and Sisters for the victim was the son of a widow. Then came the real object for which the whole display was gotten up the sixteen orders into which the a a color students a of the University Are divided. Each organization was headed by three students who wore the state dress of the order and carried its of Hgt state dress meaning ponderous gauntlets and Broad sashes with gayly coloured Caps about the size of a Waltham watch fastened on the forepart of the head by rubber bands. After the leaders came the Ordinary members of each society from twelve to forty in number distinguished by the color of their Caps. On this account the students belonging to the organizations Are called color students while All others Are called a part of these orders Are entirely peaceable As the a shakespearean club a or the purely literary or musical associations which Are four or five in number. But All the others Are the genuine fighting Crews of the University and now March in this procession for the Mere glory of displaying their colors and their hacked faces. Ralle averages one Hundred and fifty duels a year so that the Marks of the rapier Are not infrequently to be met with though Only about two a year Are killed there Are often a dozen wound Given As the result of a single Challenge. As this procession shows the accumulated result of several years hacking it May be easily understood that a worse chopped up set of faces could hardly be found in Christendom. But the work of the rapier is not the Only kind of tattooing which disfigured the faces of these braves. Many of them Bear the Marks of an amount of dissipation and ruin which will rival the worst that some of our famous american colleges can exhibit. The difference in the two cases however is this the color students in America do not form a caste Strong enough to Rule the College. The camels outnumber them two to one Aud beat them in every thing except the ruin for which the organizations exist. The three leaders in the fraternity of the deceased wore Long streaming plumes of White and yellow to indicate that they were the sufferers on this occasion but with their hacked and bloated faces they looked More like american indians than civilized and mourning White men. One of them had still a Patch on his nose to hold together a Gap where the Point of a rapier had recently slipped through but that Wae the greatest Honor of All because it was More plainly to be seen than a simple scar would have been. The society which had the Honor of doing the killing was very thinly represented though under the existing customs they ought to be proud of the distinction especially so in View of the treatment which the survivor has received. The Law forbids dueling but in such a Way As to really encourage it. Indeed the faculty in most of the universities Are known to encourage the custom As the chief excitement in student life and one of the greatest influences in attracting chivalric minded youths. Unless some one is killed there is not the slightest no Tice taken of any amount of fighting but when one is slain and his friends make complaint the authorities Rouse up Ali at once and pretend to be greatly enraged. Each University has its own court and Power to determine the punishment which most offenders shall receive. But this being a charge of murder the Man was turned Over As a criminal to the tender mercies of the civil courts of Prussia. The usual punishment from the University would have been two years imprisonment in a fortress. What the civil Coutts would do no one could Tell. But Ady punishment at All would evidently be a flagrant offence against even the loosest kind of Justice. The Man was not killed directly Dor any worse injured than is usually the Case. Daring the Duel an artery in his Temple was severed which the attending surgeon staunches and pronounced a a not after this the Duel was resumed Aud finally closed without being considered at All remarkable. The next night while the Man was asleep the vein burst through the fault of the surgeon or from some other reason and the patient bled to death. Of course the same Accident might have happened to any one of the combatants that have fought during the entire year. Bat that is not the question. Dueling is forbidden by Law and this Man has not Only Ben found guilty of fighting contrary to Law but has actually killed his antagonist. He is therefore a criminal and we turn him Over to the civil courts. The unfortunate Slayer immediately left his society lest it should be suppressed on his account and then went to meet the courts alone while his former Brothers went dueling As before. Even the conflicts about the order in which the different societies should March to the grave of his antagonist was sufficient cause for a number of duels during the next few Days the civil courts set the Man free after less than an hour s hearing. So the custom received no particular rebuke. The procession itself was the greatest encouragement of duelling that could possibly be Given. A few nights before the same student societies had paraded the streets with a torchlight procession in Honor of professor Beischlag shaving refused a Call to Berlin but the Torch Light was not half As Good As Daylight to reveal their scars of Honor and therefore the funeral had much More eclat. More people also will crowd to see the procession than did on the night of the Torch Light and professor Beisch lag himself will deliver the oration. What the professor said was a mild and Well guarded protest against duelling which was probably about All he could say quador the circumstances at least All that he ought to say while the Laws remain As they Are. The students of the different societies were then All brought up around the grave. The flags were of Sile or Satin very elegant and the standards sur mounted by Silver eagles but air were closely furled and heavily draped. The Coffia was deposited the eagles wire lowered from All sides Over the Mouta of the grave while the whole body of the students Sang an old hymn which they always use on such occasions. The standards then came up again and every body started off at his own discretion. At the Gate of of cd cemetery the three almost bareheaded leaders of each order sprang into an open Barouch unfurled their colors and drove into the City at a fast Trot. So they went streaming along until a dozen and of Jar had passed. Last of All came the one with a Patch on his nose and the yellow and White streamers but strange to say Tjie horse Only walked and the Flag was still furled. However the White and yellow plumes of the troop streamed out with nearly As Good effect As the flags of the others and the conspicuous nose and Patch made up for All they lacked. Honor is the great Hobby of these worthies. They right for Honor and Are therefore the principal repositories of this precious fluid to be found in the universities. Americans Call it Ber but the principal consuin3r3 claim that if a fraternity sit up All night after a weft contested Duel and drink Twenty or thirty glasses apiece it is then nothing but pure Honor which they have imbibed. If one of their number is killed or Dies they hold a similar meeting and after the last round simultaneously break their glasses in the hard Oaken table. And Cal it a Salamander for the the Public speaker. By prof. Kobok lan�uia<3 e. �?�., a we consider 1. Abundance. The speaker must have language in abundance. He who has two words for the same thought has the advantage of him who has but one. If for a Given thought Happy May not be at command felicitous May and be More expressive asst is More elegant. If irrevocable May not give the exact shading of the thought irreparable May and if Good Superior excellent May not sweep to the top of idea transcendental May. Language like dress begets favor or Disfavour for the wearer. A courtier in a scant and thin Robe would look plebeian. So ideas. Pauper ideas May Wear a pauper garb but Royal ideas should Wear a Royal Robe. Only Richness in language can meet this demand. On the contrary Many a Young speaker fails As much for Lack of words As for Lack of ideas. Here is fallacy which i have not time to unfold Only to state namely that ideas will bring words. This is error. They do not always bring words much less the appropriate word. Take the ignorant Hod Carrier who sees his a a Boss a stretch a line from one Corner of a building to another not opposite then hears him Call it Cata Wampum never hears it called any thing else would he in after life be Likely to use the Correct word Diagonal no. Again if you put into the hands of a child for the first time that charming instrument the Kaleidoscope revealing to him a never ending variety of tints and lines so delicate that he feels he is on the Borders of fairy land could he give this instrument its Correct name no. He might say a a that thing that shows such pretty or purty things a or More excitedly �?o0 0 that thing a Etc. But never until taught would he use that Beautiful word Kaleidoscope. L3t the speaker therefore be supplied with abundance of words that out of this abundance he May present the appropriate word whether Bright and delicate As if bearing spirit messages or Strong and ponderous As if bearing the Fiat of Fate. 2. This language must be varied. Abundance and variety Are not convertible terms though reciprocally helpful of each other. Abundance May Stop Short of variety and variety Short of abundance. Variety is of the highest importance. As Good music can not be made in one key so speaking Oan not be made attractive with one set of phrases. Language must ebb and flow with thought and feeling. It must play up and Down the Broad Soale of human passion varying through All the moods and tenses of the soul. The old aphorism from a a grave to Gay a and a a Gay to 1 the measure. It Remes we want the great Kes the soul at times that touches the heart stateliness of John Grace of Campbell tenseness of Junius of the a Golden grave Quot does not quires More. At round word that s the soft Sweet Wor now the Pondero son now the file now the idiom at now the Rich Al mouthed a Chrys at times the airy As if in fairy heavily As if drive they must be la info echoes of Distant music at times rough and loud As the Roar of the tempest. Soft la the Strain when Zephyr gently blows and the smooth Stream to smoother numbers flows but when the loud surges lash the sounding Shore the hoarse rough verse should like the torrent the sound should so far As possible be an Echo of the sense. 3. And last words should in a Large degree be Anglo Saxon. Few things tend More to feebleness of style than a latinized English a the words Are longer consequently More material for the same amount of execution 6 they Are less familiar consequently More of the Reader s time taken up in translating them that is grasping the exact thought c the order of arrangement is Likely to he More or less inverted. All these Are found in the stately cumbersome Ness of Johnson. His sentences Are Long and involved and his words Long and noisy and thus at times he goes thundering Forward like an empty train on a rough Road Down Grade. Hence would be a just punishment to inflict on the guilty to prevent them from contracting a Legal marriage during Tho life of the innocent partner from whom they had been divorced while the innocent party should to permitted to marry again. But is it not in the very nature of the marriage relation in its very design and the obligations it imposes that there should be this very Mutual suffering for the crime of the one party is it not so in hundreds of other instances for instance a wife becomes a confirmed paralytic or Lunatic is not the husband just As effectually deprived of her As though he wore divorced but where is his remedy it is one of the possibilities and responsibilities of the marriage relation that he assumed when he took her to wife for better or worse in sickness and health. Or take this Case a Man is proved guilty of felony and sent to the Penitentiary for _ a a 11 a Long term of years or of murder and is feile Swift or Gray wow sentenced Fox ate where Pray on the waiting maid snuff the Candle he would say suspend the super incumbent dross of that nocturnal luminary. This style is not wholly to be discarded any More than court Robes but a discreet Man will we amp a court Robes Only on court occasions. The speaker should alike discreetly judge the fitness of such language to the occasion. On the other hand Anglo Saxon words like neat but Plain dress Are suitable on almost All occasions. They have expressiveness sufficient elegance wide variety and Superior Force. In this last they Excel and let it not be forgotten that this is the highest Quality of style. Here is what the poet says on this subject a a think not that strength lies in the big round word or that the Brief and Plain must needs be weak to whom can this be True who once has heard the erf for help the Tongue that All men Peak when want or woe or fear is in the Throat so that each word gasped out is like a shriek pressed from the sore heart or like a strange wild note Sung by favor words like Rifle balls when in Small Compass usually Fly straightest Aud farthest. In conclusion let him who would be a speaker Bear in mind that he must have language varied abundant elegant and if possible forceful and at command. The Christian Law of divorce. By Rev. J. Krehbiel. Concluded now this it seems to me is clearly the answer of Christ to the question of the pharisees with regard to this matter of Divo Cement so far from being lawful for a Man to put away his wife for every cause it is unlawful for him to do so for any cause. It is contrary to the original institution and design of marriage it is utterly subversive of that family relation and affection which marriage was originally designed to promote indeed it is destructive of the whole order and Well being of society and the state of which the family is the foundation. The most that can be claimed is that in Case of fornication or adultery the innocent party May acknowledge and take advantage of the fact that the marriage Bond has been practically severed by the guilty party. But in spite of the act of sin by one of therefore i conclude it is not the Cotrice theory that adultery or fornication is the Only crime that admits of divorce and remarriage is the remedy for the innocent wife is not her husband just As effectually lost to and separated from her As in the other Cage the fact is in this world of sin and suffering where Man Are so intimately connected and so mutually dependent upon each other suffering on the part of the innocent for the crimes of the guilty can not be prevented and the More intimate the relation As that of Brothers and Sisters parents and children husbands and wives the More certain Are the innocent to suffer with and for the misdeeds of the guilty. Again it is urged that to refuse to the innocent party the right of remarrying would not Only inflict suffering but also great and unnecessary hardship. For instance an innocent woman obtains a divorce from her libertine husband and has a family of Small children to support should she not be permitted on account of her children to marry some Good Man who would be willing to assume their support and training but would not this same argument apply with equal Force to Many cases where the state Grants divorces for causes that the Church must regard As inadequate where for instance is the difference in Point of hardship where a woman has been divorced from a Drunken brutal husband leaving to her care a family of a mall children and the Case of a woman similarly circumstanced who has been divorced from her husband on the ground of his adultery How Many women have been deserted by their husbands leaving helpless families of children to their care and Why should they be debarred from the privilege of divorce and subsequent marriage Here is a Man who attempts the life of his wife and she knows that she is not Safe so Long As she remains with him now Why should she not have the privilege of divorce and subsequent marriage is not the crime of murder for the Man who attempts murder is a murderer As great As that of adultery the reasoning does not hold Good the doctrine i open to too Many objections must trip Light and at times trudge the lash. At times and delicate As the the parties the great Law stands a a what god hath joined together Man must not put even where the crime of adultery has been committed divorce must be the very last resort of the Christian. Divorce is by no Means compulsory in the innocent party and it is perfectly legitimate to forgive and receive Back again. If this be not so then Why do st. Mark and st. Luke in recording the 8avior�?Ts words on this subject omit entirely the one Only reason Given by st. Matthew and Why does st. Paul in writing to the corinthians urge that there be no putting away and no leaving for any cause merely holding the Christian husband or wife blameless if the Heathen partner shall disrupt the marriage tie we now come to consider the other part of this subject namely is it lawful for divorced persons to remarry the prevailing idea i think is that in Oase of divorce for the cause of adultery the innocent party at least is at Liberty to marry again. But is this a fair explanation of the Savior a language 1 confess to me All that i have yet heard in favor of the remarriage of divorced persons even of the innocent parties is not satisfactory. Admitting that divorce is allowable where adultery has been committed does it necessarily follow that the exception also applies to the remarriage of divorced per sons Justice revolts from the idea that the apparent permission should extend to the guilty party for that would in effect be offering a Premium on the crime. If a Man or woman can not get a divorce with the privilege of remarriage saving for the cause of fornication but can for this then Why should they not overlap this Barrier for this reason few if any will contend that the privilege extends to Tho a who Are themselves guilty of the orime and have Given cause for the divorce. It is assumed therefore that the criminal party must be excluded from a privilege resulting from his or her own criminal act. The reasoning May be Good but certainly no just Oriti ism on the words of Christ will show any thing in this matter of privilege in favor of the innocent party. Besides if by the act of Divo Cement the innocent party becomes unmarried and perfectly free what is the status of the other party is he or she still married if so to whom by what Law human or divine can one party be held As in any sense still bound to another while that other party is perfectly free is not marriage a Mutual thing and can there Ever be such a thing As a dissolution of the marriage Bond that does not mutually affect both parties no matter what the eau6e?. But then it is urged that it would be unjust to make the innocent suffer for the crime of the guilty and that therefore it of Christ. Christ would have no divorce. In his Church he would have a return to the original institution and design of marriage a Union of one Man and one woman for life. When actual divorce final separation takes place he would have it regarded As itself an evidence of crime for which the guilty party under the Law suffered death and for which under the gospel he or she is excluded from the kingdom of Grace unless the sin is repented of and Pardon obtained. But under no circumstance must such divorced persons marry again As that would Only be a perpetuation of the crime and an enhancement of the guilt. My conviction is that under no circumstances should the Church permit this thing in her membership or give it her Sanction. Let the Church Bear a decided unequivocal testimony on this subject and she will do much to counteract the Loose tendencies of the age and to increase the respect for the marriage relation. Let the Christian ministry refuse to knowingly solemnize such marriages let the Church declare that those who will offend in this matter can have no place within her Pale and much will have been done to insure better and More Correct views on the subject among the people and better legislation on the part of the state. Let the words of Christ put an end to All controversy with regard to this matter so far As the Church is concerned. A a whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another commit eth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband and is married to another he Oom Mittet Mark a 11, 12. A this a to conclude in the words of judge Davis a is the Law of Christ. It reaffirms the fundamental Law of marriage Indi solubility. It Ean not be overruled by any ordinance of Man. It Oan not be avoided by any sophistry. It Oan not become obsolete in the Church without disaster. It is the common Law of England and the United states. It is indeed and in truth when put to the test the accepted Law of the Christian funeral. By a. W. R. Mappy. An eminent divine has lately Given to the Public the opinion that the Day is approaching when the last sad offices performed for the dead will undergo important modification and the preaching of funeral sermons become largely a thing of the past. Ministers Are sometimes prompted to complain of the heavy demands made upon them from this direction when there is hide or no remuneration. The growing expansiveness of funerals falling like a Burden upon the poor causes a cry from another Quarter. We have thus been led to inquire into the origin of our present funeral customs and know what we owe to Heathen so to christianity and to the social influence of modern civilization. All civilizations have possessed some kind of funeral solemnities. With the jew both humanity and his religion urged him to pay the last honors to the departed not to have them was considered not Only a disgrace but a calamity also the greeks and romans went so far As to think it was essential to the peace of the departed spirit. As respects the question shall we Buru or Bury heathenism says Burn christianity says Bury. Burning was the custom of the greeks and romans. The people of god have in All Ages practice burial. The Case of Saul and his sons 1 Samuel Xxxi 12was extraordinary As Well As daring the time of pestilence mentioned by Amos i 10. With the jew the ceremonies properly began in the House of mourning when the relatives gave the last kiss and closed the eyes and Mouth. Loud lamentations then burst Forth especially on the part of the females. Additions being made to the company by the neighbors and friends the Soene frequently reached a tumult Mark a 38. Owing to the hot climate speedy burial was observed generally before Sundown on same Day of decease. Costly grave clothes even purple Robes sprinkled with aromatics were used. The Warrior Lay with his Armor the Rich with their jewels. It was a custom with the romans to conduct their funeral ceremonies by night. The Early christians preferred the Day still continuing however to carry lighted tapers in their processions. In that age it moved to the place of burial now it takes its Way to the Church unless a funeral discourse has already been pronounced to the House of mourning. Then a prominent place was Given to the professional mourners who indulged in loud and doleful lamentations and added to the conf on by the beating of boards or sounding their mourning pipes now nothing is heard save the tolling of the Bell a custom gradually substituted for the beating of boards. The place of burial was generally without the City Gates. The custom of burial within the Church had its origin in the fourth Century when Chi Pele began to be built Over the remains of martyrs and others of distinction in the Church. The Church Yard was set apart for the use of Kings and emperors. After the lapse of a few centuries the common people were admitted also to burial to. This incl sure 6naily, about the age of Charlea a be the Church Yard was left solely to them whilst the great of Earth were transferred to the Church. Three places at various periods have been observed for the delivery of the funeral discourse namely the House of mourning the Church and the Side of the open grave. In the Early age of the Church a simple address was All that was customary. It was made up largely of Praise of the virtue Merit and works of the deceased. Only martyrs Bishops or persons of such distinction were thought worthy of this regard All others no matter How holy were Laid to rest with no word or panegyric from the officiating elder. With the Rise of the reformation the seeds of innovation began to germinate and has reached a development in this Day in Sharp contrast with the pro mite funeral custom we May add in Sharp contrast with a common sense View of propriety. The reformers in place of masses and prayers for the dead prevalent during the Middle Ages instituted the practice of proclaiming the word of god at the grave. This coupled with a simple remembrance of the deceased announcement of his death and a word of Comfort to the mourners satisfied the demands of the Christian heart of that Day. Why should it not prove equally satisfactory in this Day we however in this respect have departed from the simple service of the reformers in As great degree As they departed from the still More simple service of the Early christians. To Day the minister would be relieved of Many embarrassments were he called upon for a Sermon Only where the deceased had Long been a faithful Follower of Jesus living a holy consistent Christian life or again it would be a great Relief could he get through with a simple exhortation. It is quite embarrassing to the minister when he is expected to preach common transgressors of the divine Law into heaven. Of course he will not do this but How much better if he were Only expected to deliver a simple exhortation and leave the eternal Fate of the departed where it properly belongs with god. Through the corrupting influence of centuries we have reached the Point when address or exhortation no longer Suff Ceth when the pulpit must be entered a text chosen a Sermon preached when this respect must be paid to All professing christians no matter what their lives have been when even children Are included Yea ail men eve a the most ungodly and most bitter enemies of the religion of Jesus. No. The demand for a Sermon is largely ceasing in Many communities and very adj thanks be unto god that such funeral customs Are not every where prevalent and that they Are antagonized elsewhere by the liturgical service the Reading of scripture and prayer or address of warning. We Pray for a Strong current of counter influence that the Christian funeral May Settle into something like its Normal state

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