The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-12-14

= RELIGIOUS TRAMP.


Nc DiscourEos Further ON His F,vorits
Topic.
Yesterday our repor er mot his old
tramp acquaintance again, who, a. per
promise, had more TO say on religion.
The old fellow looked mouldy aud
draved up from the rain and the cold
and as Paul had written to Timothy
snee that he might take a littls wine
iorthe stomach's sake, the old man was
prevailed upon 10 imbibe something
warm, which thawed aim out.
SIT is an Interesting study" he said.
''as to the causes which led tho people +
the world, after the dispersion at Babel,
to idolatry and To the new and different
forms of religion. The change
was gradual and was the result Of tho
natural degeneration OF tho race OF man.
Nou see, after Adam and Eve trann-
crossed and their descendants were
brought into the world through the
travail and suffering of woman. man
was born in sin and with the depraved
tendencies in his heart. After the dis
psrsion the races wandered farther and
Iarther from the one and true God and
His worship to worship OF idols and to
formulate new doctrines. The first in
AovatiOn was in the worship Of the
lowers and objects of nature. While
they Journeyed 10 their new homes, IN
the lour quarte.s of the globe, they
titled the soil and fed their fiocks, and
their attention was attracted to the sky,
one day clear, another cloudy; to tho
sun, resplendeut in its noenaay brill
snce, and then obscured at night; to the
audding and blooming of flowera,
the mantllng of the trees in green
Ia the sringtimo and the russet and
ssre of the autumn foliage, to tho spark
ling and Silvery chimes Of tho leapins
brooks ia the summer time or their lev
manacles in the winter. They looked
upon the storm with awe; heard tho
deep toned thunder aud gazed upon the
lurid lightnings with fear and tremb-
sling. All these processes of ture
were mary els aud mysteries TO them.
They had forgotten Tho one ard the
iruc God, and they reasoned that all
these processes were self moved and
guided by their own inner and hidden
forces. hence thew wurshiuped them.
Tho American Indians, the Aztecs. early
Htndons, the Chinese and the Parsees,
all shos IN their sacred writings and
traditions this nature worship. Wa 500
u IN the worship of fire by the Parseos,
earth by the Chinese, in the reyer-
ence for the Great Spirit by the
Indians in the sun worship OF the Peru
viSns.
The first mention or trace Of idol,trv
We have In The bible In in Genesis, the
xxi chapter, | think il il, where il Ia
written, "Rachol had stolen the images
that were her lather's' Both Jacob and
laban term these images idols or gods.
they we're the tofaphim or lucl: .giycrs.
The races found il difficult to tasten
ueWN NV a.. l..
lhcorpOreal things, therefore they made
images, AT first intended only to repre-
sent their ideals Of the various gods of
nature, but after awhile they began TO
!mbuo the images themselves with god
hness-hr gan 10 veuerate them ~ the
real gods lCOlairv went ON Tor wears
and decades aud centuries, and the one
shu true cod sent His prophets to preach
'ssihsl 1t and 10 confound
wv priesthood of tho false
gous aud TO foreteu ms
coming of the Savior.
uieu some sixteen centuries before
Vac Christian era, and, of course, WINS
my q participant I'm any of tho worlds
sNcn.S during that timO as | had been.
run 'he beginning of the building of
wv tower I Babel up To my death.
~ parents wandered toward Egypt at
tqe dispersion, aud in Egypt lived and
uIou: khampsinitoS, a noted Egyptia,
a'chitoct who built a treasure house for
cno OF the kings, was a desconlent ot
my FAMILY, hence IT, Ia that have taken
ms name. ! was born the second timt.
a. d., q, in tho city OF Rome. Nv
lSlhor was y Roman soldier, and had
seen service with the troops in ,Ierusa-
,em, but had been transferred to Rome,
nus nome. a few years p 'iOr to my birth.
IN Rome and throughout Greece,
% fact In all the globe,
ldolatry prevailed exclusively
avo in the land OF tho Tsrmli;es. You
snow what the mythologies of Greece
md Rome " rc, aud IL " needless tor
me To dwell on them. The mythology
VI Greece, however, is most entertaining
eadlng, IL Is NJ once quaint and rOeti.
az, IL was with the heathenism OF
'ieece and Rome that tho Apostle Paul
ulme In contact. In Athens, Corinth
IVY Ephesus he was brought face TO face
IN idols and with tho temples of this
..s.so worship, and Il was through Paul
.uaS the power of God was shown In
pnerthrowing this false religion. SoOn
~ FauPs preaching the whole ~ stem
WIS IN ruius, the iuols destroyed the
..9Smples crnmbllng and iOrsakon and
'oe sites ni its " orship forgotten.
Aiter Paul had overthr5wn the idol.
|,iaS o, Greece aud established the Chris
NV iglpn, he went 10 Rome aud there
ina,eu Tue doctrine ct Christ, going
|pa,sne, 10 urent Britain. The Apostle
'''r - SAIL by Nn anrieht chrnnicler to
s-"sru sohe lin, Ia Or az Dfltain