THE NEW RELIGION AT HUNTLEY.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1408, 12 July 1881, Page 3

THE NEW RELIGION AT HUNTLEY.

TO THE EDITOB. Sir — taking advantage of your excellent motto of "Equal and exact justice to all men of whatever religious persuasion," let me beg a small space in your useful paper to correct some blunders of your Huntley correspondent. In your issue of the 2nd inst., you have a somewhat humourous report of " A new Religious f^vaze." Humour and wholesome ridicule are all very well in their places, but they are to be scouted by all honpst and truthloving men when the truth of serious things is endangered by them, or when the sacrifice of truth is necessary in order to give point to them. But, sir, when the humourist eouiJeaeenxis tQ cowardice it becomes simply contemptible. E.ach of these characteristics is peouliar to that report, It is also far behind the age so far as it refers to baptism. "The form of baptism," at which he sneers, is countenanced by nearly all professing Christians. He could not have been thinking of the very highly respected body of Baptists, also the doctrine of the English prayerbook, the admission of nearly every theology, that immersion is scriptural. No, Sir, he dare not thus write of baptism and mention them. His valour cannot rise above an already everywhere spoken against and down-trodden sect of about half-a-dozen in number, in the out-of-way Huntley. Let your correspondent or anyone else know, that even a despised worm will turn, and that the Clnistadelphians are prepared to defend the truth they hold, crapy though it may appear, against any champion their opponents may think fit to expose to the results of a platform brepze. Your correspondent does not say the truth when he says " several others have joined them, but have deferred their baptism." This is in effect to hay that others have joined them, but have not joined them. No one can join them without being immersed. Again, he is untruthful when he says that " their leading and attractive tenet is that there is no hell." Is his tenet of hell attractive ? Is it not rather repulsive, 'and the principle cause of the rapid spread of infidelity and crime ? But, sir, the Chriatadelphians do believe in a dreadful hell, Avhere, '' for the wicked, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth," and melting away "like wax before the fire." I may also state that they recognise no other Priest but Jesus, now at the right hand of God in Heaven. Your correspondent "speaks evil of things he understands not. He also manifests very bad taste in attempting to bring respectable and law-abiding persons into the area of the ridiculous, for no good purpose whatever. What does he mean by a great dissention, especially among the three new converts, he mentions, and he knows of no more ? This looks very much like an attempt at great swelling words, and, like his other words, without knowledge. But, Sir, there is no truth in the assertion, much less in the idea of their having, by a church meeting, accepted the verses contained in the Herald as inspired. But even if they did, your correspondent throws his stone while in a glass-house ; that is, presuming that he has had respect for that Book we have all been taught to recognise as the Holy Scripture. What has he been doing with the authorised version ? Has he not been receiving that aa inspired, and please where would he have been but for the bare circumstance that the Herald wa9 not the only public means of information until the appearance of the book itself? And how many sermons would have been preached on the " revision " as represented by the Herald. I'll venture to say that he has been hoaxed to an incalculable extent by the representations of gentlemen in whose veraciily the public have no more confidence than in the Herald, hoaxed much more in Biblical matters than it is possible to hoax the Christadelphians and others less affected, for the . agitation desire fora' revision of an. already excellent revision. ' Oljrjstadalptlians do.ricft manifest that anxietjr f for ( jthe^i;e,visioii that others do. from the,fas,|jhatf they, are as a body pretty well acquainted with all the possible improvements,

dent know that if he tampers with us he may burn his fingers, and have to apply his "mental dentale" to rather uncrackable nuts. But Sir, I find my letter is longer than I intended. Hoping you will kindly favour us with its insertion, I am, Sir, your obedient servant, Chazb. Huntley, July 7, 1881.

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