Elder Benjamin Franklin. - ICOTB

1 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH AND WRITINGS OF Elder Benjamin franklin . VOL. I. NINTH EDITION. DAYTON, O.: PUBLISHED BY DANIEL SOMMERS. 1889. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by G. W. RICE, In the Clerk's office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio. __------------------------------------ Stereotyped by CAMPBELL ft Co., Cincinnati. CONTENTS. PAGE DEDICATION,.. vi BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH,..9 OUR POSITION, NO. 1, .. 69 SERMON ON THE ETERNAL. PURPOSE OF GOD,.. 74 NEW CATECHISM FOR CALVINISTS, .. 93 THE MISSION OF INFIDELS, NO.

2 96 OUR POSITION, No. 2, ..101 OUR POSITION, No. 3, .. 106 THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY, No. 1 ..111 THE MISSION OF INFIDELS, NO. 2,.. 116 TRINE IMMERSION,..121 OUR POSITION, NO. 4,.. 125 THE KINGDOM OF MESSIAH (BY W. C. ROGERS.) ..130 OUR POSITION, NO. 5, ..144 THE MISSION OF INFIDELS, NO. 3, .. 149 OUR POSITION, NO. 6,..154 THE CONTRAST FAIRLY STATED, NO. 1, .. 159 OUR POSITION, NO. 7, ..178 THE CONTRAST FAIRLY STATED, NO. 2 .. 183 SECTARIANISM CONFESSEDLY 201 THE BEGINNING CORNER (BY J. R. HOWARD),..206 OUR POSITION, No. 8, ..229 OUR POSITION, No. 9,..234 OUR POSITION, No. ADDRESS ON ENDLESS PUNISHMENT.

3 245 OUR POSITION, No. OUR POSITION, No. 12,..269 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 1, ..275 DIVINE AUTHORITY FOR OBSERVING THE LORD'S DAY (BY J. K. HOSHOUR,) ..282 (iii) IV EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 2,.. 293 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 299 DIALOGUE OF DEVILS, NO. 1,.. 305 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 4,.. 312 DIALOGUE OF DEVILS, NO. 2,.. 318 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 5,.. 325 DIALOGUE OF DEVILS, NO. 3, .. 330 CONTROVERSY ON THE INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT,..338 DIALOGUE OF DEVILS, NO. 344 CONTROVERSY ABOUT THE SPIRIT,..351 DIALOGUE OF DEVILS, NO. 359 SERMON ON THE NECESSITY OF REGENERATION.

4 366 DIALOGUE OF DEVILS, NO. 6,..385 DISAPPOINTMENT, DELUSION AND DECEPTION,..393 GOD TO BE FOUND IN HIS APPOINTMENTS, ..398 FOREKNOWLEDGE AND HUMAN AGENCY ..404 EARNESTLY CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH,.. 409 EVIDENCES OP CHRISTIANITY, NO. 1,.. 414 LETTERS TO ALL RELIGIOUS PARTIES, No. 1,.. 420 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 2,.. 427 LETTERS TO ALL RELIGIOUS PARTIES, NO. 2, ..435 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 3.. 441 LETTERS TO ALL RELIGIOUS PARTIES, NO. 3,.. 449 EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, NO. 4, .. 456 LETTERS TO ALL RELIGIOUS PARTIES, NO. 4,.. 463 LETTERS TO ALL RELIGIOUS PARTIES, NO.

5 5.. 469 DIALOGUE ABOUT THE PREACHER,.. 475 LETTERS TO ALL RELIGIOUS PARTIES, NO. 6, .. 481 ELEMENTS OF BLINDNESS NOT IN PART, BUT IN FULL, HAPPENED TO SECTARIANS, ..493 MIRACLES WHERE THEY CEASE ..507 THE Publisher dedicates this Volume to the memory of Elder Benjamin franklin , founder of The American Chris- tian Review, also to all Christians, in every place, whose motto is: "Where and as the Bible speaks, they speak, and where and when the Bible is silent they are silent;" and who, in contending for the "faith once delivered to the saints," hold fast the practice of the Apostles, and the "form of sound words," delivered by the Holy Spirit to them, and by them to the ages past and to come.

6 "The Spirit and The Bride say come; let him that hear- eth say come; let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." PUBLISHER. (vi.) DEDICATION. WHEN a good man dies, we cherish his memory and virtues; and for years afterward his deeds of kindness and humanity are referred to and spoken of with gratitude and thankfulness by the recipients of the same. When such a man has been extensively useful in some particular field of labor, it is wise and just to gather up the evidences of useful- ness he may have left behind, putting them in form, that they may be seen and read, and become a source of instruction to others.

7 The author of the essays, addresses and articles collected and published in this book, except three, was a man of many eminent virtues of heart and qualities of mind; highly en- dowed and gifted by nature with a physical endurance that fitted him for the labors of the position he was called by the Head of the Church to occupy. He strove hard to make the most of his time, his talents, his money, and his whole life, that he might to the greatest extent benefit, improve and elevate others; freely receiving, he gave freely, and good to others appeared the one great aim of his life.

8 Having been associated with him for a period of about twenty-two years, in the publication of the American Chris- tian Review, it affords me great pleasure in compiling and giving to the Christian world the most valuable and useful productions of his mind and pen. They are re-produced without any revision, addition, alteration or amendment, that the author might appear before his Christian brethren again in the same language that he used twenty-five years ago. In selecting, I have confined myself to the two volumes of the Monthly Review, which was afterwards merged into the Weekly.

9 This has been done because his addresses to the the public were at that time freer from the controversies into which his pen was necessarily run in after years; and because they contain his best thoughts upon the different subjects handled. When first published they attracted much attention, and were read with great profit by many outside of the subscribers to the Monthly, which had but a limited circulation. I offer these documents to the Christian broth- erhood everywhere, on account of their intrinsic merit and(vii) the valuable information they contain, that in this form they may be preserved from being lost and become a monu- ment to the author's memory.

10 They are better adapted to the minds of the common people than, much that was written by more scholarly men. Whoever reads this book will be pleased at the simplicity of the language, and yet the force and power with which the subjects treated upon and pre- sented, stand out prominently and impressively. They were written for the people, and for the information and enlighten- ment of the skeptical and believing alike. In these partic- ulars, we see the characteristics of the author, as in every- thing he has written.