FROM

THE

MILLENNIAL HARBINGER.

THIRD SERIES.

VOL. II.	BETHANY, VA. OCTOBER, 1845.	NO. X.

      AT the request of a brother greatly devoted to works of benevolence and mercy, and whose Christian charities are not confined to one or two ways of doing good, we have been induced to write a number of tracts on important subjects, the first drafts of which we shall occasionally lay before our readers in the Harbinger. They will appear in size of 4, 6, 12, and 24 pages, according to the subjects. We shall numerically arrange them under the head of Tracts for the People.--The Bible, faith, repentance, baptism, the Holy Spirit, justification, sanctification, adoption, immortality, the kingdom of heaven, will not be altogether so doctrinal nor in form so didactic nor argumentative as the present No. I. We hope to be able to give them a more popular style and character. Tracts on interesting subjects, for gratuitous circulation, is one of the various and numerous methods of doing good introduced by the art of printing, which, as a people, we ought to use in common with others, according to the spirit of the age. The ancient Apostles wrote--we print letters, treatises, and tracts. Thus they spoke while living; and though dead, they still speak to us. We may imitate them. Our writings have not their authority. Their writings were not, however, all preserved; and, of course, some of them were for temporary purposes. In this respect we may resemble them, and write for the benefit of our contemporaries, if not for posterity. We have many Scribes amongst us as a people. If Pharisees were to keep pace with our Scribes, I should fear for posterity. It may be one of the characteristics of the coming age, that the Scribes shall be many and the Pharisees few.

A. C.      

[The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, 2 (October 1845): 445.]

      Alexander Campbell's "Tracts" was first published in The Millennial Harbinger, Third Series, Vol. 2, No. 10, October 1845. The electronic version of the essay has been produced from the College Press reprint (1976) of The Millennial Harbinger, ed. Alexander Campbell (Bethany, VA: A. Campbell, 1845), pp. 445.

      Addenda and corrigenda are earnestly solicited.

Ernie Stefanik
Derry, PA

Created 14 February 1999.
Updated 7 July 2003.