"

"You are quite a little theologian," said the Doctor with a smile. "May
I ask my young theologian a question? How do you manage to swallow the
Baptist doctrine of close communion?"

"They do not seem close in their communion," promptly replied Dorothy,
"not any closer than you Presbyterians."

"You surely are a valiant defender. How do you prove that?"

"You believe, do you not, Doctor, that no one ought to come to your
communion table who has not first been baptized?"

"Yes, that is our rule. I certainly would not advise one who has not
been baptized to come to the table."

"The Baptists believe that, too."

"But the Baptists do not think I ought to come with them, and yet I have
been baptized."

"Yes, but you have not been Scripturally baptized--so the Baptists
think."

"But what have they to do with my baptism? I am satisfied with it. I
believe it is Scriptural. I thought the Baptists contended for
individual freedom in interpreting the Bible. I follow my conscience
with my Bible and decide that I must be sprinkled, and now you say the
Baptists say I ought not to commune because I have not been baptized the
way they prefer. In other words, the Baptists want me to interpret the
Bible not as my conscience decides, but as their conscience decides. If
I have followed my conscience about baptism, what more could you ask of
me as to my baptism, and why should the Baptists therefore refuse me a
place at their table?"

"Doctor, I don't think they refuse anybody a place at their table. I
expect that is where so many people get the wrong idea about the close
communion of the Baptists. Mr. Walton says that they keep no policeman
at their table to keep people away. I think that is very important to
remember. They believe that everybody must interpret the Bible according
to his own conscience, but that does not mean that they think that
everybody that does this will interpret the Bible as was originally
intended. But they do leave it to every man's conscience."

"Ah, you are mistaken there, my little lady. That is just what the
Baptists do not do. They do not leave it to other folks' conscience,
but--"

At this point the Doctor turned to Mr. Walton and said:

"Mr. Walton, I think it is one of the calamities connected with the life
of the Christian church today that so much of her energy is expended in
arguing about differences rather than in discoursing on their
agreements. I think denominationalism is a bligh