John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brotherPaton, John Gibson
Religion
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides, volume 1 (of 3) : $b An autobiography edited by his brother
Paton, John Gibson
Missionaries -- Vanuatu -- Biography; Paton, John Gibson, 1824-1907
I had also a very large Bible Class—a sort of Bible-reading—on Monday
night, attended by all, of both sexes and of any age, who cared to come
or had any interest in the work. Wednesday evening, again, was devoted
to a Prayer Meeting for all, and the attendance often more than
half-filled the Church. There I usually took up some book of Holy
Scripture, and read and lectured right through, practically expounding
and applying it. On Thursday I held a Communicants’ Class, intended for
the more careful instruction of all who wished to become full members of
the Church. Our constant text-book was “Patterson on the Shorter
Catechism,” than which I have never seen a better compendium of the
doctrines of Holy Scripture. Each being thus trained for a season,
received from me, if found worthy, a letter to the minister of any
Protestant Church which he or she inclined to join. In this way great
numbers became active and useful communicants in the surrounding
congregations, and eight young lads of humble circumstances educated
themselves for the ministry of the Church,—most of them getting their
first lessons in Latin and Greek from my very poor stock of the same!
Friday evening was occupied with a Singing Class, teaching Church music,
and practising for our Sabbath meetings. On Saturday evening we held our
Total Abstinence meeting, at which the members themselves took a
principal part, in readings, addresses, recitations, singing hymns, etc.
Great good resulted from this Total Abstinence work. Many adults took
and kept the pledge, thereby greatly increasing the comfort and
happiness of their homes. Many were led to attend the church on the
Lord’s Day, who had formerly spent it in rioting and drinking. But,
above all, it trained the young to fear the very name of intoxicating
drink, and to hate and keep far away from everything that led to
intemperance. From observation, at an early age I became convinced that
mere Temperance Societies were a failure, and that Total Abstinence, by
the grace of God, was the only sure preventive as well as remedy. What
was temperance in one man was drunkenness in another; and all the
drunkards came not from those who practised total abstinence, but from
those who practised or tried to practise temperance. I had seen
_temperance_ men drinking wine in the presence of others who drank to
excess, and never could see how they felt clear of blame; and I had
known ministers and others, once strong temperance advocates, fall
through their “moderation” and become drunkards. Therefore it has all my
life appeared to me beyond dispute, in reference to intoxicants of every
kind, that the only rational temperance is total abstinence from them as
beverages, and the use of them only as drugs, and then only with extreme
caution, as they are deceptive and deleterious poisons of the most
debasing and demoralizing kind. I found also, that when I tried to
reclaim a drunkard, or caution any one as to intemperate habits, one of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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