Barton W. Johnson was born in Tazewell County, Illinois. His early education was such as could be obtained in a backwoods school, on a farm, and from the few books he could buy or borrow. In his eighteenth year he commenced to study at Walnut Grove Academy, now Eureka College, where he attended for two years. Then, after teaching for one year, he went to Bethany College in 1854. At that time the college was presided over by Alexander Campbell, aided by such professors as R. Milligan, W. K. Pendleton, R. Richardson, and others of less note. In 1856 he graduated in a class of twenty-seven, the honors of which were divided between him and W. A. Hall, of Tennessee.
In the fall of 1856, be engaged in a school in Bloomington, Ill., preaching on Sundays in the vicinity. The next year he took a position in Eureka College, where he remained in all seven years, two years as its president. In 1863, he acted as corresponding and financial secretary of the American Missionary Society, and was re-elected to that position at the convention of 1864, but he declined to continue, having accepted the chair of mathematics in Bethany College. Here he remained two years, until after the death of Alexander Campbell, when he returned to the west. After a pastoral charge at Lincoln, Ill., he accepted the presidency of Oskaloosa College, in connection with the care of the Church at Oskaloosa. A failure of health compelled him to cease teaching two years later, but he continued to preach for the congregation for four more years. In the meantime, THE EVANGELIST, long published as a monthly, had assumed a weekly form, and he became its editor. For about sixteen years he has been engaged in editorial work; on THE EVANGELIST, in Oskaloosa and Chicago, and subsequently on the CHRISTIAN-EVANGELIST in St. Louis. In the meantime he has written several books which have had a wide circulation.
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Christ and the Future Life
THE HOPE OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
When the curtain rises in the drama of humanity, one of the first scenes revealed is the discussion of the riddle of human life. What is man? Is he a worm, or is he a god? When he dies, does he "surrender his individual being and go to mix with the elements, to be a brother to the rock and to the clod which the ...read
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The Faith That Justifies
"Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." --Rom. 5:1.
I. Paul affirms in this verse that we are justified by faith. No doctrine is more strongly emphasized in the Scriptures. I refer to John 11:24; 20:31; Acts 10:43, as samples of the corroborative passages. They teach us that the believer s ...read