The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-02-03
miscellaneous.
REV. I. DEWITT TALMAGE.
THE DRAMA AS AN ELEMENT IN
RELIGION.
Sho Great Play In Which All Humanity Take
Part-At the Beginning Cradle at the
End a Grave,

DRAMATIC ELEMENT IN CUR NATURES
Text-Ex. 2OI6: "Thou shalt not bear
false witness against thy neighbor."
This thunderbot of Mt. Sinai, like the
1ig.zag lightning you have often witness
sed on summer sky, strikes this way
and that way. He sins against the text
who ISLANDERS man, woman, family or in'
stitution. propose to preach sermon
on subject involving vast intt rests, and
perhaps the eternal destiny ofmultitudes
viz, what are we to do with the dramatic
element God has implanted in our ma
turesP discuss this subject at this time
because the drama is more prominently
before the people than for long time,
and because it has been represented
from one end of the county to the other
that have assailed the reputation OF
foreign actress now in this country, when
all those who have attended this church
Sabbath after Sabbath will unanimously
testify that l have said nothing of the
kind, nor come within ten thousand
miles of making the slightest allusion to
her, either in prayer or sermon. l had
two god reasons for saying nothing sd-
Versely. First, knew nothing on the
subject. have no proof for or against
her. l have purposely refrained from
reading on that subject, and l know less
of her than Of almost any public person
age. For all l know she may be among
the best or worst. have cultured ignor.
anCe in regard to her. My ignorance in
regard to her is 30 rank that the stalks
of it have grown ten feet high with
leaves two feet broad There is no
bound to my ignorance on that subjeC'
The other reason for my abstinence from
discussion of that subject was that J.
wished powerful and memorable illus
tration of the misrepresentation COR
stantly going on about me and my
church. My friends wonder why l
notice this particular instance. Now
they will see why. 1t was a most con-
spiCuous instance by which / could illus
trate what is perpetually going on in the
Misrepresentation of myself and this
tabernacle. am not making complaint.
would not turn my hand over 10 have
stopped, for eventually it works well,
There are hundreds who are now the
hardest working Christian people in this
church, who came here to see and hear
the extraordinary things said to trans.
pire, and got converted to God under
the first sermon they heard, as was the
case with reporter who was sent by a
New York newspaper one Sabbath night
to caricature me and my work, He tells
me he came early, got his esd.pencil well
sharpened and his reporters pad well
planted, and then went on to make fun
of every thing till, after the sermon was
over, his hand began to tremble 30 that
he could not write, and at the close OF
the sermon he came forward asking for
prayers, that night gave his heart to
God, and is now preaching the Gospel
every Sabbath "a an evangelist. And he
tell me he had almost perpetual revival
under his work. So l would not stop
this wide misrepresentation of myself
and this church. But l now declare to
the people of the United States and of
Christendom that this falsehood about
my preaching against the reputation OF
an actress ia only one of five hundred
falsehoods 10 regard to myself l use it
as the type Of multitudee. The majority
of the country do me full courtesy and
are always generous, while there are
others that have somewhere standing
amsng the Hoe cylinder printing presses
a machine with bands and wheels and
hoppers, where they Could, if it were
necessary, turn out lies about me fifty a
minute.
And yet some of my friends say ;
why do you not answer this? Why do
you not answer that2" Bless your hearts
then l could do nothing else. tell you
now for the first time how l have
arranged it. l have made a bargain
With my blessed Lord if he will take
care of me and my reputation and my
family, l will preach the best can and
comfort all the people l can, and enooul-
age all the young men l can. God is
doing his part gloriously, and am doing
my part imperfeCtly, but as we'll as l
can. Besides this, right after special
assaults u0on myself-and for about
twenty years it has come at least once a
year-We are apt to have revival. Just
as weather observers declare that after
heavy cannonading there is apt to be a
heavy rain, so when this church or my.
self have been specially bombarded by
guns secular or ecclesiastical, we are
sure to have great shower of re gival
After one assault upon me six years ago,
three hundred and twenty.eight souls
stood up connecting themselves with
the church in one day in this house, and
l baptized about two hundred of them
that morning, till my hand was well.
nigh palsied. After the ecclesiastical
assault, which closed about year ago,
we received six hundred and seventy
eight souls. The divine blessing is gen
orally proportioned to the preceding
abuse. This year l am expecting at
least two thousand souls TO be converted
to God and this Tabernacle.
Then | am consoled by the history Of
many Of the ministers OF the past who
we're far better than myself John
Penent, the blessed John Penent, his
history the inspiration of Christendom,
immortal John Penent, WAS charged and
arraigned for horse.stealing, his limo.
auk n hlfabad ~ l.. - l.,