^r.^.T^r ■WFWrm'^V' \j -f" j— Hi $|* fttfJjM&n ^isilos. COLUMBIA, S. C. Friday, September 27,1872. .1 Editors: Rev. A-H. RUDE, D.D., Columbia, 8. C. R*V. I.X MILLER, AM., Staunton, Va. fn essential*t, unity ; in non-essential*, liberty ; in all things, charity.” J. > . e. ' mm SPECIAL NOTICE^. Reiuittauvott must Ivo made in Post Office Orders, Rank Checks, or Drafts, if ptwsible. If these e»n not be obtained, send the money in a Registered Let ter. All Postmasters are obliged to register letters when ret)H$i in church? Was "'says .the non-professor, surely no reason why a . “Bat,” “there is should not atteud, as I am uot Christian." Wo reply, there surely is the best of reason. Again we ask, what are the characters that com pose a circus! ,Ifc is already admit ted they are not Christians. Are they, £lien, men aud women of repu that from ltobiuson, Dan Gastello, Van Am burg, et id genus, tliere is one to be found of pure moral char acter. Is it right, then, for you, who though not a Christian, yet set great store to your purity and good name, to encourage a set of men and wo men whom to entertain in your honse you would consider a lasting disgrace? To show by your pres ence,, your pleasure, your money, encouragement to these traveling cess pools, is to very nearly ally your-, self to them in principle. It is cer tainly making “yourself partakers of others’ sins.” Though not a Chris tian, do* you uot value parity of heart and character? Then frown dowu those of “easy virtue,” whether found in the purlieus of your towns and cities, or in the mingled herd of menageries and circuses. Then think of the waste of money. None will contend that any one is benefitted by attendant; upon a circus* Admit that if is possible to touch pitch and yet not be blackened, the .misdirected uso of our money in these times of want and suffering is of itself a sin. Robinson publishes that in Win chester alone he took in over #3,000. The two'circuses theu iu this valley, at a moderate estimate, took iu and carried ofi at least #20,000. And this, too, from a people who have been stripped of their property, and spoiled of their wealth! A people who have dead and crippled living heroes appealing to them not to for get their past services and sacri fices; the one demanding a monument, simple but lasting, to preserve his memory to his childrcu and country men, the other asking ns to provide him with a scanty support, which in consequ ace of mangled limbs he is no longer able to secure. The widows and children of our deceased country men are i reduced to beggary and want, and in mute eloquence demand at our hands some grateful recogni tion of the services of their buried husbauds and fathers. Bat for these we have nothiug to spare. We al most grow impatient; at the bare at the endless calls made opou onr purse. Bnt iu the face of this sacred duty, so criminally neglected, * we cau i>our our wealth by the thous and, iuto the hands of circns pro prietors, and think we have done no wrpug. O' shame! whore is thy blush ? Will not God visit,, with a lash more smarting than that just re moved, a people who eat* thus rob those who have the highest claims upon their liberal and cheerful sup port? If, after our dead are deceutly cared for, our living maimed and de pendent, fed and clothed and sheltered, and our dismantled and burnt church es replaced, there is surplus funds to divert to a chauuel from which there cau be uo possible .retuni, meu choose to si>oud It in this way, there will then be somo excuse ; till then, we feel it to be a sin of no tommon enormity. .< M. For the Lutheran Visitor. - Synodical Resolutions. We are beginning to hear com plaints, “loud nnd deem” coming np from every quarter of tlie church, to the effect that many of our Syodieal resolutions are “merer sound, signify ing nothing.” There is reason for complaiut, and it is high time that there should be a 'reformation inau gurated in the matter; Finding upon the record, in these latter days, that one of our Synods bns Jtesolred.to do a certain thing can uot safely bo ac ceptcd as a guarruutec that the thing -will bo done. But why not ? Examine those resolutions, and you will generally find them to lie, in themselves, excellent—giviug evi dence of earnestness, practical seuse, and a projier appreciation of the church's w^nts, on the part of those who frame and adopt them. Listen to the discussions upon them on the floor of the Synod, prior to their adoption, and, utiless you are what is vulgarh and irreverently called “an old stager” in the Syuodical harness, you will be charmed with the energy, the enthusiasm, the detenuf nation, with which the brethren are coming up to their work, and you feel as though the cluycb ought to be heartily congratulated ou the pros pect of tho immediate dawning of a brighter day. But ask about these same resolu tions a year or two later, and bow often is it the ease that you find them to have been but a dead letter -the minutes their tomb! - ly, and jou.can not admit that yonr first judgment concerning them was incorrect. They still seem to be the very thing for the juncture which called then) forth. They express in good,' stroiig English, that which was neither unimportant nor imprac ticable. VVhy then was little or nothing accomplished by them ? Was it because resolutions upon paper, table moral character! \ ou do uoj^ .however good, can do nothing of believe they are. \ou have no itlea themselves, and because the brethren having exhausted, as it would seem, all their euthusiasm and energy in merely framing, discussing, and adoptiug them, there was no power left in the church to give them force and efficiency*? If so, would it not lx* well for us and for the chnrch to re member that fact in the future? If only onr resolutions once made, recorded, and printed, execute themselves, onr various church interests, no doubt, wonld go forward very satisfactorily indeed. Bat as that can not lie, as any rational person can sec at a glance, . we respectfully submit, whether if would not be wise for us, in our Synodical conventions, to hus band our spirit and strength a little, so that instead of spending them altogether in the making of resolu ;ions, something might be reserved for carrying them out after we get lome ? Even if the division of abor were so made that a little more of effort should be given to executing than to making reaolutious, we do not believe that the chnroh at large would lose by the rtrraugcmcut. Seriously, we are, to make use of a houiely but forcible figure, (origi nating, we believe, among our Meth odist brethren,) something like chunks of wood, more or less ignited. When brought together, as m Synod ical conclave, and blown upon by ;he breath of eloquent exhortation, we are soou all ablaze with devotion to the church, and straightway re solve great things on her behalf. Bnt iow hard it is for ns, after our separ ation, to maintain in any good meas ure the warmth which glowed in our bosoms prior to the Synod’s adjourn ment ! Some of ns honestly try sometimes, no doubt, each in his own field of labor, to keep up a little □dependent blaze, and to fire the learta of our people with interest in and zeal for tho general enterprises of the chttrch, bnt then some cranky church member, i>erhaps a member of the k Church Council, takes a notion that we are getting a little tyo ar dent in certain directions, and that it is his duty to throw a little cold water on onr efforts, and how grace fully the flame flickers! how speedily up to the next Synod for the annual blowing. Now tho dopjpgable results of this sort of work so promptly suggest themselves to every sensible, reflect ing mau, that they need uot be very particularly pointed out. It It a way of doiug thiugs which cau be pro ductive only of evil, and that oon tinually, both t! the ministry and to tfco church at large. It is sadly demoralizing to the character of the individual minister. It makes him a party to “promises made, but never kept.” ' Weakens in him the sonse of obligation to keep his word. Accustoms him to look upon the violation of pledges made in Synod with growing indifference; and familiarizes him to a voluntary assumption of responsibilities, after- went to be disregarded, which may not always be confined to his mere Syuodical relations. Fanlis descen- SUM, &C. It introduce! among our uiibistera a lamentablejtrnut of confidence in oue anotbw;A want of confidence which,ou the.*#!* hand, is very dis couraging, sometimes almost paralys ing, to the effiarts of those w ho are disposed faiththlly to act upon the resolutions they have helped to make —and which, on the other baud, those who are careless in dnt^, make to serve as au excuse, at least to their own coincietioes, for their failures to do what Synod has enjoined. It brings onr Synodical bodies as such, nud our ministers as men, iuto disrepute with our people. The members of our churches soou learn that in our couveutions, saying is one thing, aud doing quite u different thing. Settling down iuto the cou- victiou that onr annual discussions aud resolutions are, for the most part, “all talk aud no cider,” they fail to expect lunch Qpetn our deliberations and decisions, lose interest in the en terprises wo have in hand, and be come careless in many instances as to the sort of delegates they send up to the Synod, or as to whether they have a Lay representation there at all. Bo that at last there is, at least, ooui|taratfve failure aud all around—a want of confidence,! a want of earnestness, a want of sys tem, a want of prayerful, self-deny ing, laborious devotion to the cliarch’s interests, under which our Zion sadly langaisbc* iu this South ern land, aud seems vainly to be sighing for the day when she may A, garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.” Brethren, shall this state of things continue among ns ? Slmil the future of our Synods be no improvement npou their jiasf ? Shall we permit the evils here hinted at to go ou in creasing iti number add magnitude to the end ? With God's blessing We can easily change thht which is fast makiug the worthlessness of Synodical resolutions proverbial among us; aud if we would advance' the church’s interests, aud prove faithful to that which link lieen com mitted to us, we must chajngc it. We are glad to know that thi# is the firm conviction and solemn determination of many of our brethreu. ITere and there we begin to see chiering signs of a growing efficiency in our Syn ods. Let the good work |jo on. Let ns who are ministers ctiljtivaty more assiduously than ever Christian affec tion, courtesy and confidence, in our intercourse with one nnother. Ieralto with tho ministry in devising and carrying out such measure's as the (OteceHsful prosecution of the gfeat work in which we are eilgaged may demand, aud give over the suicidal policy of sending only those who can' most conveniently go, regardless of their fitness. Let such laymen, when chosen, endeavor faithfully to do whnt the church asks at their hands, even though a little sacrifice of time and money be involved in it. fin a word, let all of fts, ministers and toy men, prayerfully seek to take advan tage of every opportunity, and to use all the means within our po'We*, for advancing the interests of our For the Lutheran Vidtor. lews Churches. A friend has placed in our hauds a letter received from one of bis members, who is now on a visit to the “far West” It eutertaioed us, and will doubtlessly also interest not a few of our readers: ■ ", Iowa, Aug. 18, 1872. Of religious matters I cau uot give you a perfect accouut, not having had a loug enough expe rience here. One thing, however, 1 know, this community is very re ligious. Hie people here are gen erally Catholics, or, to speak cor roctly, “Romanists;” and they are very strict in observing days, fasts, ceremonies, etc. Borne of them would not for their life cat meat on Friday, but they drink “lager” or brandy till they reel, aud think tlit iuselvea awfully. holy. It is re ported that the priest himself got snoozy on the Fourth of July. I myself heard him announce from the pulpit the manner in which the Fourth was to be celebrated, aud that they would have beer on the occasiou. Upon the whole, however, he is said to be a better mau thau his immediate predecessor, who they say was a regular soapstick. Be fore the preseut priest came, the Catholic beer saloons, and of course grogshops, were regularly open ou Suuday, aud debauchery worse ou that than any other day. The pres cut priest has stopped this profaua tion. It is still not uucommon here to some to slip^around to back doors, aud after awhile to come out the same way, bnt not in the same con dition. Another very religious or irreligious practice is to carry pro duce to market ou Sunday on the same trip they are making to church. It is a common thing to see a woman with hew book of worship and a bas ket of eggs at the same time ou Sunday on her way to church. In chnrch, however, very strict rules are observed. Some of these commend, themselves to Protestauts even, while others seem ludicrous. One custom, I think, might be ob served by Protestants to their credit as worshipers of Jehovah; many here, when they enter church, kneel down as soou as they get to their scats, and appear to s{x*nd a brief time in sihuit devotion. This is as suredly uot unbecoming to any chris- tiau. But they also have a custom of bowing at every move they make, vutumg m, gtMug mmm, or jming from ouc place to another, they al ways first fe bow to something; wheth er it is to the image of Mary, or the Saviour, or some saiut, I do not know, for they have so many im- ages, pictures anil ornaments, that it would take a loug time to learn to know all of t)icm. I saw one hang ing above the pulpit on the wall. It was about the size of a common doll. baby. I did not know what it represented, until the priest in his sermon, admonishing his hearers to follow Jesus, turned to the image, took It down, and holdiug it out wards, to the congregation said, “fol low him.” Then I knew that the im age represented Jesns. Now this worship of I can not under stand. • Flow can a true worshiper of God bow down to any image when he is told so plainly not to bow to any ,likeness of anything, either in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth ? But these people even ren der to man the reverence which alone belongs to God. When St. John wan about to bow down to the angel, the latter said: “Do it not, for I also am one of thy tellow-ser- vauts.” Yet these ix*ople actually pay that homage to the priest which belongs to God alone. There is an Irish lady living within a few rods of onr honse. She is otherwise not very ignorant, and wants to be con- sidered as good, or rather better, than the common class of people about here, yet I am told that she actually, when meeting the priest in the street a few days ago, got down on her knees to honor or worship hitu. To tell you of all the maneuvering, mumming, siuging, tolling, robing, and nnrobing with golden raiments and other gowns, is'more than I can detail. You have probably seen such things yourself, as they are common to all Roman tots. One thing 1 noticed uncommon to other chnrehes. The communion was given to a single member. They do -not appoint regular communion meetings, at which all the members meet anil commune together; hut when n member wishes to commune, household or denomination near here. There is aximall church between this and 8 that I noticed on my way out, which I was told was a Lutti- cran church; but all thftt 1 know about it is, that the members are Germans. There is a German Meth odist chnrch not for from here to which I have been several times. The last time they had communion, I was very much pleased, for it ap peared so mucb like our own meet ings, that there were bnt two differ ences ; the communicants knelt around the altar, and the language was all German.” beloved Zion, for it is utterly vain to 1** to *h« makes it known to the look for God’s blessing ahd help an-1 priest, and receives It alone. You less we are faithfully striving to help ourselves. Let us to steadfast, im movable, always abounding in the work of the Lotd, and wo shall soon know from the blessed and abiding results, that onr labor is not in vain in the Lord. • • • Rev. A. J. W#ddell, of Morristown, Pa., has declined the call extended mention of their wants, and complain it dies away!—aud we smoulder on i to hiui by the Lntherau again in the old way, while we go | Winchester, Ya, church of of coarse know he only gives tho bread, and drinks the wine him- seif. *' I have toen to other chnrehes since here, bnt they being Protes tants I saw nothing very remarka ble. In the Presbyterian there is a considerable difference from us in giving the bread and wiue; two lay members carry both around through tho house to the communicants. I do not know of any of our own For the Lutheran Visitor. ADDBJS8S Delivered before the Sabbath school of the Wentworth Street Lutheran Church, Charleston S. CL, at the monthly concert, SAugust 4th, 1872, by Captain D. 0. Wayne—a . Vet- • trymdn of the church. Beloved Children, Teachers, and Officers Tu response to the solicitation of your devoted Super intendent, and I trust from lore to the Savior, and also the tender lambs of HU flock, again I appear before you to raise my feeble voice, aud con tribute niy mite to the Sabbath school. On this occasiou.I trill tell you something about two young mee who lived many years ago. aud the story of whose lives U most interest ing, especially so, because all that I may tell you about them is true. . 1 hope you will pay dose attention to all I say to you, and may God bless wliat may be said. Away down the loug aisles of the oeuturies, there lived two remarkable young men. They were from entirely different stations, in .life. Oue of them was the sou of a great king, who -swayed the sceptre over a mighty nation, “achosen people,” and his son was reared in laxary and splendor. His companions and asso ciates were the scions of royality, the elite of the kingdom. He was a captain under his royal father, and had com maud of one thousand meu; was a mau of great personal bravery, having distingushed himself in seve ral bloody battles, and was at last killed in battle, as also were his'two brothers; and his royal father was sorely wounded, and fell upon his own sword and pat an end to his life. Tims iierished the king and his three sons in oue battle. The youug man about whom 1 am speak ing possessed many uoble traits of character, and prominent among in ‘ ii ..i. au» s .it i >nl friendship to the other youug mau, (about whom I will speak to yon di- reetly.) For be perilled his own life, and incurred the fierce anger of his father, in order that he might give timely warning to his young friend, and thereby enable him to flee from the vengeance oi htoiufuriated father, the king, who hud sworn to take the young man's life. My little boys aud girls, is uot this a uoble 8|»ectacle, a charming aud most toantifol char acter ; one to admire, to love,- to imi tate. How few could now to found who wonld encounter a father’s an ger, and peril. their life to save a friend. The sacred narative tells us that so great was his love for his friend, that “his soul was knit with the soul of his frieud,” that he loved him as his own soul, that l^e stripped himself of the robe that whs upon him, and gave it to his friend, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, aud to his girdle. Now who among these boys wonld give their friend his bow and arrow, or his kite, or his little boat, or his little chest of tools ? aud who among these dear little girls wonld give her frieud her pretty dress, her pretty bonnet, her beautiful doll, her haud- some work box, bet lovely reticule, her splcudid musical box! The ex ample of devoted friendship of this noble yo.uug man is worthy of irnita-. tion by all who hear me. I will now tell you about the other young man. His parentage was hum ble, his father a shepherd or a farmer, his sou a shepherd’s boy, whose duty it was. to take care of his father's flocks, to I coil them to green pastures, to defeud them from ferocious wild beasts. It was a pursuit which re quired great presence of mind iu time of danger, real-courage, un daunted bravery. For we are told that on one occasiou he slew a lion and a bear, aud delivered the lamb. He had no rifle with which he could shoot the lion and the bear, but he caught him by the beard and sinoie him, aud slew him. It was a fierce encounter, one which would have ap palled less stonter hearts. He. at tributed his success in the fearful struggle wholly to the Lord, and to Him ascribed his deliverance. What an exampla to all who hear me. We generally take all the praise and credit ourselves. 1, * « r . • Not very long after his fight.'with the lion aud bear, there came to war against his nation a powerful neigh boring uation, and they bad iu their army a mighty man, a great giant, aud day after day this giaut defied *the armies of the living God, for forty days; and all the men of war were afraid to go out ani fight with I. or against him. All this time the young man wqa tending faU fother’i sheep; three of his toother* hag joined the king’s army, and one u! bis fieM tit ay his wifj drowned in Death had ' of los e w together, child, did In mother** pi; n A to the hoi *Se took ev< long walks inhabited di tihe neoessar, and herself nortfcfifasqd roads; we ver ure to set her hand, Her dress wij woven ami bauds ; a re buckle, feet were cLi high heels; ingij ‘«ad< snow which ly melted, the snow, w] foot, and da z ed to the p tains along companion seooe of k'Bi duties often I daughter aloj assay. During oi joornejs, sin ^of a foil tain, or from glare of the was failing seemed to in V gray and hah it .Was as shaped mot hi air wherever] and she coulj AkUJ oUififct W.j of cobwebs The gray v< , heavier, and , from a long a| | his daughter The aged u ajourney to his moans; I -as possible, ai passed, to, and with bin daugl fectly blind, to see .the i£ij exposure had of his daughtl aud bright ey< both. ‘ Fathi-i I the oapiul of | cult and foti< months; bui strength too ni down with sic arrived, anil poor blind gir] hor father. 8! % entirely forsa! l'erfbct strait] a state ©f gre:j Lfska was oue .she now'expei tat and “fors;,! God was a vci] greatest trouble rough wavs & v en before si **ntiment of I tent fever tool of her great k kept off the d«?|] erwiac might h\ and when at « scionsuess, a u] Whispered gent I n it h friends." true I'rieuds, u the «uknown found at death j house, where A VOU] l he keeper of tl in, had t i| n <** to h is u ) ireful „„ rsin skill, had| blessing, be*u i, her life* Mighty a «»y since th< of mourning foj light of hi s| gi»e