The Lay Preacher Author:Hans Christian Andersen, John Bate, Anonymous Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: OUR COUNCIL CHAMBER. [We shall be willing at all times to correspond privately with any young preacher who may require whatever help it is in our power to giv... more »e, subject only to the condition that all letters to which a private reply is desired, shall contains stamped directed envelope for the answer. Any communication of this kind, addressed Rev. F. Wagstaff, Great Barr, Birmingham, shall receive our best and earliest attention.] John B.—Why trouble yourself about such subjects as " the unpardonable sin ? " Far better choose simple topics more edifying to your hearers. It is true that many wise and good men have perplexed themselves for ages about Matt xii, 32, but we think you are far more likely to puzzle the minds of a simple congregation, than to do them good, by taking that text. even if we complied with your request and published " a good taking outline " upon it. We are not prepared to do this, and frankly confess our inability; but for your own private satisfaction, and that of any other readers who may be interested in the subject, we give a brief extract from Professor Plumptre'on the subject. He suggests " the blasphemy against the spirit," as a better translation, and points out that the word Holy, printed in our English version in italic, is not in the original. He then says:—" To condemn the Christ as a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber was to speak a word against the Son of Man. These offences might be sins ot ignorance, not implying more than narrowness and prejudice. But to see a man delivered from the power of Satan unto God, to watch the work of the Spirit of God, and then to ascribe that work to the power of evil, this was to be out of sympathy with goodness and mercy altogether. In such a character there was no opening for repentance, and, therefore, none...« less