The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-02-22
TALMAGE.
Moro CongratulatOry Letters Oh
the Event of DR.. Tai
IMAGES Birthday.
A RefutatiOn Of ISLANDERS Offered
Against Christianity by Infidal
Speakers From Pulpit
and Platform.
False Charges That Are Made by
Scoffers and Disbelievers
Against All Churches.
All Things In Nature and I'm the Circum
stances of Life Point to the Truth
of Religtca-Christ the Way
of Eternal Life.

Of Religten-Christ the Way
of Eternal Life.
BaooKLYN, N. Y, Feb. 15.-Another in
stallmento of complimentary letters on DIR.
TsImaees birthday comes through the
Brooklyn Magazine. Among the more re.
markab.e are the letters OF Senator Colquitt,
Elk Governor Blackburn and DIR. Spear. Sen
ator Colquitt writes ss follows:
Senate Chamber, W asbington.-Rev. T. DE
Witt Talmage, ID. D.-My Dear Sir: beg
the event of your birthday anniversary; q
day that gave the world q preacher of the
Christian IA tn, whose eloqueuce is unri-
vailed. whose weekly congregations EN-
brace the people of an entire continent. with
whom every sentiment and religious preju
dice are subordiDated to Christian love fol-
the human race-whose highest ministerial
ambition is to make men better, and TO COM
pei them TO love one another; such day de-
serves cordial recognition from every good
man In the land and with all my heart
tender you my card. A. II. CoLQJITT
Elk Governor Luke p. Blackburn, of Ken
tucKy, writes to the editor of the Brooklyn
Magazine rs follows: II sympathiss most
heartily with the friends and admirers Of
DIR. Talmage in their desire to make his SD
anniversary an occasion of congratulation
aud gladly embrace the opportunity OF ex
tending to him my most cordial greeting
The day Of his nativity was one fraught In.
deed with the rich bounty of God TO tbil
generation and pregnant with fntellec
rual and moral forces and power destined Il
stamp itself upon succeeding ages. Among
the most prominent to-day upon the watch
towers of Zion stands he whom We delight
f;Uhf for n faith nj "a ia thars
against fanaticism and big0try within snC
the evil aud bias hemous tendencies Of the
a q without Whenever and wherever ske p
tlcism and science, falsely, so called, have
reared their sacrilegious heads, the sword o.
the Lord aud of Talmage has smitten and
driven them to confusion aud shame. l es
TEEN 1t high privilege to knew him an(
call him my friend Would that coult
pay o fitting tribute to ms genius and godli
ness the EN- bod iment of all that is elevating
manly and enobling in life. Ipray that hi
life may long be spared a. an ornament Il
his profession and blessing and an honor {.
his race"
DR.. 3. I. Spear says: Though not an hs
bitual attendant upon his church, have
Within the last five years. heard him preacl
as many rs q hundred sermons; and hence
think 1 know what he is in the pulpit a
well as out of 1t. My judgment Is that
taken ali in all, be is the most remarkable
impressive attractive and prof table preache
of the Gospel to whom ever listened H
is indeed q marvellous man when standin
before q popular congregation, and his bis
tory in this city proves that fact beyond tn
possibility of reasonable doubt He is, b.
the consultation of his mind, genius of tn
highest order, beinga poet and Q dramstis
at the same time; and his great powers Il
both respects be utilities for the glory G
God and the good of mankind. alike in tn
pulpit and else where"
THE SERVICES OF THE DAY.
At the Brooklyn Tabernacle DIR. Talmag
publicly announced the receipt Of $50 sen
him IN an anonymous letter for chsritsbl
objects and said that half had been given
the Rsformstory for Convicts, Housto
street, New York, and the other half throug
the descons to buy winter coal for q po<
woman.
The opening hymn in the services was:
salvation. oh, the joyful sound.
IT'S pleasure To our ears;
sovereign balm for every wound,
cordial Tor our fears"
The subject of the sermon was a reply
ISLANDERS against evangelical churches n
Gently uttered by intidel pulpits and pla
fo.ms The text was from Revelations Z
J0-11: II took the little book out of the ar
gels hand and ate il up, and it was in N
mouth sweet as honey. and as soon as hs
eoLen IL my ockAy WAS OittcI, onQ Nc Sal
unto me, Thou must prophecy again befol
many peoples DR. Tai mage said
Domitisn, the Roman Emperor, had in b
realm trouble some clergyman who woul
keep preaching. ana he sxiled him to . rock
island, used for punishment, as Russia senc
clnyicts to Siberia and England sends col
victs to Australia That island, now calle
Patmos is so rocky and barren that the il
hsbitapts live by fishing But one Sunds
while the ex,led clergy man OF whom Ispes
sat at the mouth of q cavern In the hill sid
perhaps humfned half asleep by the drone
the sea, he had . supernatural dream, an
time and eternity passed in panoram ma befol
him Among ether strange spectacles
dresmt he saw an angel with o little boo
and he asked the angel if he might have i
Well, you know that things are sometim
iuconsrcous in Q dream, and 80 the ane
gave the little book to him and said thai viii
It would be luscious to his taste after ne g,
1t down he would suffer from indigestion
Obeying the angel, the evangelist in b
dream devcured the little book and. a. b,
been foretold. ii was sweet while being ma
ticated, bat sfterward physical distress al
bitterness. Who the angel was. and VIII
the little book that he gave was iSuncerts
TO commentators, and so / take no respons
bility OF Interpretation, but wall cay that
suggests to nae the creed of the Evar gelic
churches, which skeptics in our time fI
little bJok of evangelism which the angel
the church hands out Is To them . luscio
mor.el Of witticism, but lies in them sfts
ward dry dyspepeia-
All intelligent people Rave creeds, eth
written or unwritten, that Is, : class of the
riss which you have adopted-politic
creeds, that is, beliefs about tariffs, sbo
currency, about civil service, about COVER
ments; social creeds, that 10, opinions abo
manners and customs and good neighbl
hood; aesthetic creeds. that Is. belief abo
tapestries and enumeration; aye, religio
creeds, that is group of sentiments abo
deity and sbont the soul aud about the o
seen future The only being Who hes
creed about anything is IN idiot Recent
the beliefs OF evangelical churches have be
under fusilade of caricature and misrep
senfatson. Men In pulpits or on piasforl
have set up certsin things as the orthod
faith aad then have leveIed at them eli tn
muskstry OF denunciation. They pat ~