USA > Ohio > History of Ohio Methodism : a study in social science > Part 3
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5. The early pioneers also possessed strong moral and religious ideas. They believed in the co-operative forces of religious principles to build up a national life. The ordinance of 1787 declares that religion, morality, and knowledge are necessary for good gov- ernment and the happiness of mankind; schools and the means for education shall forever be encouraged. In harmony with this declaration the laws of the Ohio Company made it obligatory for every person to keep the Sabbath by attending some place of religious wor- ship agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience. They recognized the Bible as the greatest civilizing force on earth. Herbert Spencer and others of a similar school, in attempting to account for social progress, make it the result of an unconscious evolu- tion; but the early pioneers believe that it was the outgrowth of a personal vitality. They believed that they were linked to God. They felt that the hope of the Nation, which they were founding, could not rest upon material agencies or industrial greatness, but upon the simple teachings of Jesus. Here was the beginning of the essential secret of the extraordinary progress of Ohio. Buckle, in his History, ignores the moral element in social progress. He believes that all civilization has been grounded in the soil, and that wherever men are free to fight with na- ture, and subdue the soil, there you will find the highest civilization. £ This statement can not be verified when you come to study the civilization of Ohio. The progress of the cliff-dwellers and mound-builders that inhabited many parts of this country, was begun and carried to a considerable de-
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gree of success, and then was for some cause fatally interrupted. More than ten thousand earthworks, including mounds, effigies, and inclosures, found within the territorial limits of Ohio, speak of their great antiquity before the settlement by the Indian tribes. Certainly these mound-builders were under favorable conditions and blessed with pleasant environ- ment; but they never became a strong and advancing society.
"These smiling heavens beamed as brightly over them as over us," says R. S. Storrs. "The waters were as near, the open fields were as inviting to them as to us; and no intervening commerce has brought to any part of our country one element of wealth, in mine or quarry, in rippling stream or opulent hillside, which was not as present to them as to us. It is something behind all natural environment which gives to a people the promise of progress. We have not found the secret of this when we have measured the mountains in scales, and have counted the hills; when the acreage of tillable land has been reckoned, and the push of streams against millwheels has been stated in figures. The depth saith, It is not in me! and the sea saith, I can not declare it! Neither sunshine nor dew, the fat- tening rains, nor the breath of long summer, can build feeble communities into great commonwealths, or crown the regions which they make attractive with the triumphs and trophies of a noble and happy human society."
The Indian tribes likewise never attained civili- zation, and were even unready to accept it when it was brought to them. They stolidly resisted the new
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arts and nobler inventions of advancing civilization. They did not prove susceptible to the aspirations and the pure and refining moral natures of the early pioneers. Savage grossness had so impressed itself upon their spirits that they were, for the time being, practically deprived of all the moral and physical elements that go to make civilization possible. Thus we see that this vast tribal federation, rich in physical greatness, has perished for the one of sovereign force, of supernal ideas. These facts show to us that all social progress, to be vital and organic, must have large conceptions of the brotherhood of man and the Fatherhood of God, to re-enforce the mind and spirit of the people, and help them to sustain their energy in building up the highest forms of civilization. It is certain that the moral ideas and impressions were the supreme forces in developing our present resources. These subtle moral impressions of the early pioneers and their posterity have had more to do with the progress of Ohio than the grandest endowments of na- ture. Their stimulating faith and dominating moral ideas were among the sovereign forces that have en- abled them to display such an energy in subduing the soil, and in building a State whose power and influence is a just cause for pride and exultation by all her cit- izens. These inherited moral qualities, transmitted and preserved, have overcome all unfavorable conditions of the soil and climate, and have enabled the people to preserve this national life, and achieve great dis- tinction among the nations of the world. It is evi- dent that the moral force has been primary and car- dinal in our growth, while all the natural circumstances
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of favorable climate, virgin soil, broad rivers, extensive forests and mineral resources, as secondary and accessory forces, have produced the happiest effects in the growth of the commonwealth.
The growth of Ohio reveals a deep historic phi- losophy and significance. The whole trend of history shows that it is continuous and connected. The stream of historic tendency is directed by an overruling Prov- idence, and maintained by a Divine energy. We would be untrue to the teachings of history, if we were to fail to connect the external series of events and phe- nomena of the first century of our history with God's plans and purposes. They are connected and inter- mingled in such a way as to reveal a Divine hand that has taken up the thread of human action, and deter- mined and guided its course. If then we would find the real interpretation of our historic progress, we must trace the forces at work back to God. Many of these forces are potential in man's nature; but be- low all events and individual actions are the under- lying forces and principles and designs of God work- ing to help man realize his true personality.
When we come to make application of these great principles to the concrete examples traceable in the early settlement and growth of Ohio, we discover that in some mysterious way God was making preparation for the events that were to follow. Look at some of the facts. It was one hundred and sixty-seven years after the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers, before the first settlement was made in Ohio. These were years of preparation; and posterity was being trained and
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disciplined and made ready for a grander and wider sphere in the great West. The French and Indian War had taught the Colonists the use of arms, so that they were ready to defend their liberty.
6. They were likewise schooled in self-government. They had not only a profound respect for law and order and constituted authority, but the people had been trained to public administration in local congre- gations, township-meetings, and provincial assemblies, so that all these agencies were at work to raise up a class of earnest and consecrated men who should be- come leaders and pioneer settlers in the West. The heroic ideas, principles, and doctrines of these early pioneers were formulated by the time they established their first colonies, and they imbedded them in their laws. Conspicuous among these laws was that of civil and religious liberty. These principles had gained such a powerful foothold in the Eastern Colo- nies, that, when they came to lay the foundation of the new empire, these ideas were incorporated in their laws.
They believed that religion had an important re- lation to the welfare of the people, and introduced its teachings. Religious toleration had but barely tri- umphed when they left the Colonies to settle in Ohio, and now they wanted every man who came among them to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience. Had the French or English civili- zation prevailed, we might have had a Union of Church and State. This would give to the Church special rights, and privileges to one faith, with the
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State to support and sustain it. Such a condition would have been fraught with evil, both to our civil and religious liberty.
The ideas of civil and religious liberty are the essential principles in human nature; and we must accept and expand these in an organic and living manner if we are to secure the largest development. Certainly there was no more opportune time for the achievement of this great need that was struggling for realization. As we study the minds and character- istics of the early pioneers, we see how their thoughts and deeds have been the chief elements and agencies out of which has come all that is noble and elevating in our present civilization.
Again, the Divine hand was seen in the displace- ment of the French and English civilizations for that of a more advanced American type. The events in our history were so ordered that French ideas of civili- zation should be superseded by the higher idea of civil and religious liberty which were so favorably de- veloped in the early colonies. He who rules the affairs of mankind has apparently selected, endowed, and trained the Anglo-Saxon race to serve him, and to carry out his purposes of grace to the ends of the earth. He does not exert his power arbitrarily, but by means; and as we study the great events of our national life, we can not doubt that God has been forming this Nation, especially the great West, as a majestic arena for the victories of Christianity.
Take another marvelous indication of Providence. The growth of population in Ohio has been un-
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precedented. The entire Northwestern Territory in 1800 had a population of forty-five thousand. In 1810 the population had increased to two hundred and thirty thousand seven hundred and sixty in number, and by 1830 it made a gigantic stride, and rose to nine hundred and thirty-seven thousand nine hundred and three. Ohio now has a population of above four millions, which is more than the thirteen colonies had when they declared independence.
Notice the marked epochs of growth. The first epoch followed the introduction of canals in 1825, when the population soon reached one million in num- bers. The second epoch began with the introduction of railroads in 1840, which was also followed by a great inflow of population. A quarter of a century before the first epoch began, the Christian Churches were firmly planted in Ohio. They had given char- acter and direction to the moral and religious life of the early pioneers, who in turn were prepared to re- ceive and powerfully influence for good the emi- grants with their diverse elements of character that settled among them.
The Divine purpose appears again in the time and manner of securing the first charter from the Govern- ment to settle in the West. When the sentiment of slavery was at its height, and the early colonies had turned their attention to the great West, the appeals for a charter in 1775 were very timely. The lessons of the Revolution were, in a measure, forgotten in . one section, while a reaction for the continuance of slavery had taken place. When this charter was given,
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it was then possible to establish civil and religious liberty, and for these ideas to determine the character of the future development of the West.
The State of Ohio was being prepared likewise for the leadership of the great West. Here it was that these great national ideas were to be cradled and scattered into every new State and Territory. Thus Ohio's noblest sons and daughters have been reared up and trained with these national ideas, and have pushed westward to form new societies and States. We can not compute the effect of this emigration by the loss in Christian power to our own social, religious, and political life; but one thing is certain, the West has been made the richer and better thereby. The outflow of emigration westward from Ohio, from the year 1850 to 1890, has been something remarkable. It was esti- mated in 1880 that Iowa, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Illinois contained five hundred and eighteen thou- sand people, then living, who were born in Ohio. Si- multaneously with this outflow, there has been an inflow of immigration from foreign countries, many of whom have been aliens; and the original descendants of the pioneers have been left to mold and shape this some- what crude material to our ideas of American citizen- ship. A number of public men in Indiana came from Ohio: Hendricks, Voorhees, Harrison, and Mc- Donald. Minnesota has been blessed by some of Ohio's noblest men, such as Ex-Secretary Windom and others. Ohio has had a more notable interest in Iowa than perhaps in any other State. It is said that one-half the distinguished men of Iowa came from Ohio or New England. Senators Wilson and Alison
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were born in Ohio; and McDill, Kirkwood, Ex-Gover- nor Clarkson, and many others came from Ohio. Most of these men were sons of the early settlers and the products of good families. We mention these cases to show how the ideas and purposes of the early pio- neers have not only proved a great blessing to Ohio, but have extended themselves throughout the West.
We have thus considered Ohio as the highway of national ideas, and where the highest form of civil government has found a partial realization. No prophet can foretell the magnitude of results yet to be realized. In our study of the physical and moral con- ditions under which we are placed, the question comes: Are we ready to perpetuate the cardinal and funda- mental principles and moral ideas to a fuller realiza- tion in our day and generation? We have a work to do in Ohio which will require much fortitude and a most heroic energy. We will prove ourselves worthy if we are great enough to appreciate our legacy, and labor to realize the great responsibility and work that remains for us to achieve in the future. The history of Methodism in Ohio shows that this Church has been, under God, one of the greatest social and moral forces in the State in conserving and promoting the fundamental principles of a Christian civilization, and in contributing to the illustrious triumphs of the gospel.
Chapter II. The Mission of Methodism. 4
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HE rise of Methodism was the birth of a spiritual reform of which all Christian denominations of Great Britain and Amer- ica were in desperate need. . . . It was a re-enforcement of Apostolic Christianity also, in every other Christian denomination in the English-speaking nations and colonies. We have all felt the throb of its pulsations. It has been what new blood is to falling dynasties and decadent races."-Phelps.
E thus, by comparison, see what was the secret of the Wes- leyan movement. Rejecting the cumbrous rigidity of High- Churchmanship on the one hand, and the ultra extreme of the doc- trine of justification by faith on the other, Wesley retained an ener- getic Church polity, and a true doctrine of salvation through Christ. To these he added the intensifying doctrines of the conscious wit- ness of the Spirit and entire sanctification, and insisted on their actual realization in experimental life. His entire system of polity and doctrine and life thereby strangely presaged and harmonized with modern freedom and activity. It was an anticipation of our age. It was the morning-break in the religious world of the mod- ern life."-Whedon.
66 O long as there is a radical difference between truth and false- hood, and so long as truth sustains relation to life, it will make a difference whether men believe true or false doctrine. Doc- trines are the roots of life. Great lives do not grow out of false beliefs. Yes, doctrine is immensely important, but not all-impor- tant."-Josiah Strong.
ETHODISM has had a grand mission to fulfill in modern Christendom-a mission of mediation between the sects on the one hand, and between an exclusive Church and a neglected world on the other; and there is a moral majesty in the firm and sure tread with which it has marched to the accomplishment of its work."-Christian Examiner.
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M ETHODISM has a sublime mission. We may estimate her value in the world by what she has done. Perhaps no other agent has done more to lift humanity to a higher plane. This ac- complished mission may be summed up in the fol- lowing marvelous facts: She occupies the second largest place in the Protestant world, and the first among English-speaking people, and gives promise of becoming the dominant form of faith. The entire membership of Methodism in the United States aggregates nearly six millions, and has a following of at least thirty millions. Her past history and present achievements are prophetic of still wider and grander results. A correct estimate of the early mission of Methodism can not be formed with- out understanding the conditions of English society at the time the denomination sprang into existence. The spiritual and moral dissolution that spread over England in the eighteenth century beggars descrip- tion. The corruption was general, and affected both Church and State. The spiritual life imparted to the State Church by the Lutheran Reformation had well- nigh disappeared. The bulk of the ministry were "ig- norant" and "indolent." It is difficult for us to im- agine the gross ignorance and errors of doctrine, the sectarian bigotry and spiritual paralysis of that period. Society was reeking with vice, drunkenness, and hypocrisy. The masses were ignorant and brutal, while bribery and corruption flourished in the State.
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The time was ripe for Providence to raise up a leader whose deep feelings and burning devotion should prove effectually the power of God to lift up a sinful nation. John Wesley, born at Epworth in 1703, was this providential man. He sprang from a noble stock. His father was an earnest, faithful, and conscientious preacher, and his mother a woman of fine intellect, devout spirit, and good common sense.
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Wesley spent thirteen years as a student in Oxford University, where his intellect was thoroughly dis- ciplined and equipped for the great work of life. It was while in the university that he formed his ex- cellent resolution to devote "all my life to God; all my thoughts, words, and actions; being thoroughly convinced that there is no medium, but that every part oi my life must be a service to God, or to myself, which is in effect to the devil." This remarkable man cer-
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tainly had a distinct religious mission. He saw the need of a spiritual elevation in England, and threw himself with intense earnestness into the great crisis of the hour. He possessed qualities which singularly fitted him for the undertaking. He had a personal religious experience, clear and intelligent convictions, and a well-balanced mind. He thoroughly grounded himself in the Scriptures, and maintained a strong faith in the providence of God. He offered himself as a worker of God, and set about the tremendous task of relieving the spiritual dearth of the Church, and mak- ing war upon all forms of evil. His magnetic per- sonality and impassioned appeals gave him great in- fluence with the people. One historian regards him as the most apostolic man that ever rose in England. John Wesley was destined to exert a world-wide re- ligious influence. He was an arduous worker. He toiled incessantly through a long life to do a work for God and humanity. His powerful preaching and his personal oversight of the societies he established, and his struggle against evil, rank him easily among the great leaders of the world's history. Justin Mc- Carthy, the historian, says of him: "He brought to his work a frame of adamant, as well as a soul of fire. No danger frighted him; and no labor tired. Rain, hail, snow, storm, were matters of indifference to him when he had any work to do. One reads the account of the toil he could cheerfully bear, the privations he could recklessly undergo, the physical obstacles he could surmount, with what would be a feeling of in- credulity, were it possible to doubt the unquestion- able evidences of a whole crowd of heterogeneous wit-
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nesses. Not Mark Antony, not Charles XII, not Na- poleon, ever went through such physical suffering for the love of war, or for the conqueror's ambition, as Wesley was accustomed to undergo for the sake of preaching at the right time and in the right place to some crowd of ignorant and obscure men, the con- version of whom could bring him neither fame nor fortune."
Wesley spent fifty-five years in preaching, during which time it is estimated that he traveled over two hundred and fifty thousand miles on horseback, and preached more than forty-two thousand sermons, and published two hundred books of his own composition. He also made an entire translation of the New Tes- tament.
The mission of Methodism is predominantly evan- gelistic. It began, not as a doctrinal movement, but as a spiritual force. The truths contained in Scrip- tural doctrine were something more than formal be- lief in teaching; they were to be felt and lived by the people. The words of Christ to his Church were to be spirit and life.
There never has been any corporate attempt in the Methodist Church to formulate a complete system of doctrine. The few doctrines she holds have had a practical value, and were developed by the experi- mental method, and so built into her theology. Wes- ley was unexcelled as a clear thinker. He applied the scientific method to religious truth and experience. He aimed at the practical use of the experimental truth of Christianity. In a pure, terse, and logical manner ne defined and expounded the doctrines that
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satisfied the most pressing needs of his hearers. He cared more to prove Christian truth regarding human duty by using it, than he did to give it dogmatic form. In the writings and sermons of Wesley there is a clear exposition of all the essential doctrines of God's Word. "The distinctive doctrine," says President Bashford, in speaking of Wesley's teachings, "may be summed up in four phases, which sound as if they had been adopted upon the battlefield, or the march for the evangelization of the world: I. Salvation for all per- sons; 2. Salvation from all sin; 3. Each person may know he is saved; 4. Each person should witness to the fact."
Methodism has taught these fundamental ideas of Christianity as facts rather than doctrines, and her triumphs lie enwrapped in their belief and experience. The teaching of repentance and faith were regarded of more importance than metaphysical discussion or the upholding of a theological system. A message of the impartial love of God, and the element of power contained in the gospel for sinful, tempted, and dispir- ited men declared in the most earnest and sympathetic manner, would naturally commend itself to the spir- itual apprehensions and necessities of the people. It was the declaration of inspired truth, backed by the energies of the Holy Spirit, that spoke of sins forgiven, banished the gloom of doubt, and restored men to the family and favor of God, which made Methodism such a great power in the world.
I. Wesley was content to teach that the mission of Methodism was to preach and exemplify holiness. "A Methodist," he says, "is one who has the love of
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God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost, given unto him; one who loves the Lord his God with all his heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. He rejoices evermore, prays without ceasing, and in every- thing gives thanks. His heart is full of love to all man- kind, and is purified from envy, malice, wrath, and every unkind affection. His own desire, and the one design of his life, is not to do his own will, but the will of Him that sent him. He keeps all God's command- ments, from the least to the greatest. He follows not the customs of the world; for vice does not lose its na- ture through its becoming fashionable. He fares not sumptuously every day. He can not lay up treasure upon earth; nor can he adorn himself with gold or costly apparel. He can not join in any diversion that has the least tendency to vice. He can not speak evil of his neighbor any more than he can tell a lie. He can not utter unkind or evil words. No corrupt com- munication ever comes out of his mouth. He does good unto all men; unto neighbors, strangers, friends, and enemies. These are the principles and practices of our sect. These are the marks of a true Methodist. By these alone do Methodists desire to be distin- guished from other men."
It is evident that Wesley cared more for spiritual life than for orthodoxy. He never gave a formal creed to his societies in England, and his liberality and cath- olicity is shown in the formula of faith for the Meth- odist Episcopal Church in America. He made it so brief and simple that it offers no serious embarrass- ment to the opinions of those who have "a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from
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