6. After a person is sufficiently instructed in the written Word, the
Holy Spirit operates directly upon the heart in regeneration. Newgent
affirmed.
In most respects the two men were well matched. Holt was a man of
scholarship, a deep, logical thinker, and possessed oratorical ability of
a high order, which, with the practice afforded by thirty-two debating
bouts, rendered him an antagonist not to be despised. Newgent, then in
his prime, possessed a splendid physique, a strong, musical voice that
seemed never to tire, which was especially adapted for out-door speaking.
Though not a product of the schools, as was his opponent, his mind was
strong, clear, and alert. He was ever a close student, not only of books,
but of human nature. He could readily analyze a proposition as much by
intuition as by logic, and discern at a glance the weak places in his
opponent’s position. His wit and humor served him well in such matters.
When he turned the shafts of ridicule upon a weak point in the position
of an opponent, it was as though all the batteries, field pieces, grape
and canister, and every other instrument of destructive warfare had been
turned loose at once. As there were none of the scholastic or bookish
elements in his style, he invariably had the sympathy of the masses.
Doctor Holt made the opening address, affirming that his was the only
true church—“identical in doctrine and practice with the Church of Christ
as revealed in the Scriptures.” He referred to various doctrines held by
his church and supported them by Scriptural authority. In most cases they
were doctrines accepted by all evangelical churches, affording no ground
for controversy. The address was eloquent and logical.
When Newgent arose to reply, he complimented the brother’s address and
expressed his approval of much that was said. “But now, Mr. Moderator,”
he continued, “I would like to know what church my brother belongs to
when he asserts that they believe thus and so. He frequently referred
to ‘My church.’ If he belongs to a church, how are we to know, in the
absence of a written creed, what the doctrines of his church are? Shall
we take his statements? That would not be safe, for I find that they
differ among themselves on various important points.
“According to Mr. Webster, he has no church. Webster says, ‘The Church of
Christ is the universal body of Christ.’ Paul speaks of the ‘whole family
in heaven and earth.’ All saints in heaven and on earth belong to the
Church of Christ. This includes the children. When the disciples asked
Jesus who was greatest in the kingdom of heaven, he ‘called a little
child unto him and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily, I say
unto you, except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall
not enter into the kingdom of heaven.’
“Hence, his church is not THE Church of Christ, neither is it A church
of Christ. Again, according to Webster, ‘A church of Christ is a body of
Christian believers, observing the same rites and acknowledging the same
ecclesiastical authority.’ It denies all creeds and all ecclesiastical
authority. Hence, it cannot be A church of Christ.”
He then appealed to the president, urging that, in the absence of a
written creed, they should take the writings of their recognized church
leaders to ascertain what the doctrines of his opponent’s church—granting
that it was a church—were. The president so ruled. It then became the
duty of Doctor Holt to show that the doctrines indicated were the
doctrines of his church according to the church authorities, and also
that they were Scripturally sound; and furthermore to prove that other
doctrines promulgated by the church leaders, which he had not mentioned,
were in strict harmony with the Word.
This opened up a bigger field than even the great high priest of
Campbellism was prepared to occupy. Newgent was as familiar with the
teachings of his opponent’s church as Doctor Holt was himself, and had
foreseen and prepared for this emergency.
“I knew you would not be prepared for this, so I thought I would be good
to you,” he said in a manner suggesting a cat’s habit of playing with
a mouse just before crushing its bones, “I have, therefore, prepared a
creed from the writings of Mr. Campbell and other leaders of your church,
which will enable us to ascertain what your church teaches.”
He then read the following improvised creed, the different items of
which were based upon statements cited in the writings of recognized
authorities of the church Doctor Holt was so zealously defending:
I. We profess before all men that we believe in water baptism by
immersion; that it is the great panacea for all spiritual maladies.