Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1885-04-18
EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANITY. "

lected for his text Revelation K. g
and l wen unto the angel and said
unto him, Give me the little book. And
he said unto me, Take it and eat it up;
and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it
shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey"
DR.. Talmage began his sermon with a
description Of John on the isle OF Pat
mos, and told how in d dream all these
things were revealed to him. What this
little book was, said the Doctor, | do not
profess to know. On this subject com
mentators are much divided. To me,
however, it is suggestive OF the creeds Of
the churches, which to the scornful and
disappearing crowd are q sweet morsel,
but which, when swallowed, are found
to be bitter and indigestible. Men laugh
at creeds, as if they were absurd and un-
necessary. Why, we have all orr creeds.
We cannot do without our creeds. The
only being who has no creed is the idiot.
DIR. Talmage then gave a description
of what he called Evangelical Christi
anity." 1t was not a thing of shreds and
patches, inharmonious, incongruous, H.
consistent. On the contrary, it was q
well rounded, homogeneous, consistent
whole-a perfected thing. heaIthful, TO
seate and full OF beauty. 1t was OF this
Christianity he desired to speak. 1t was
this Christianity he desired to defend
against the jeers and jibes of the sooner
aid the blasphemer. 1t was said OF the
Presbyterians that they believed and
taught that the children Of the unregen-
crate go to hell at death. If any man
would find him such a Presbyterian-a
man who go believed and SO tanght-ne
would give him a title to all the property
possessed. with the right to possession
tomorrow. 1t was O libel on Presbyte-
rianism. And so Episcopacy was mis-
represented when it was Csaid Episcopa-
lians put their faith in mere forms and
symbols; and the Baptists, when it was
said they believed hat no one can get to
Heaven unless he was first immersed;
and the Methodists, when it was said of
them that they could save themselves
and that they needed no Holy Spirit to
help them.
Men laughed at the Trinity. 1t was
inconceivable. It was absurd. There
were many things besides the Trinity
which men could not understand. 1t
would he all explained by and by. What
they could not know now they would
know hereafter. Men laughed at the
doctrine of justification by faith; yet it
was this doctrine Which, proclaimed by
Luther, gave new life to the nations.
Men laughed in like manner at regener-
alton and at the doctrine of vicarious
sacrifice; yet there was nothing mere In
telligible than one, nothing of more fire.
quent occurrence than the other.
SERPENT WORSHIP.
Serpent worship, It has long been
known, was q popularity of some of the
Malagasy tribes. The Rev. Mr.. Little,
for several years a missionary in NADIA
gascar and who has just published o
book on Madagascar and Its People"
tells the following story Not many
years ago, somewhat Disguised with the
practice as it prevailed among the Bet
zileo tribe, he resolved to exhibit the
folly Of the same, and if possible to
bring it into contempt. 1t was known
to him that a large serpent was a daily
guest at a certain house, where he was
addressed by name, and whittier he made
daily visits from the forest. The good
priest went to the house just as the ser
pent was creeping up to the door.
Selling a club, he dealt the hideous
creature q deadly blow. The entire
tribe rose against him and he had to flee
for his life. Many OF the Betzileo
families he adds, ''have small en-
closures near their dwellings where they
maintain numbers of these reptiles and
regard them with the utmost rever-
ence."
EDUCATIONAL ALU OF WORK.
The Rev. DR.. Charles Parkhurst -
Work intensities our power. 1t acts like
a voice W 'ch imper;ously commands cur
RSttttIth tLttEicS EDN LIIdtSilhiS tutIA
into a solid phNlanz. The difference be-
tween meH is not so much Ii disparity OF
power as a disparity of concentration Of
power. Work stops the dissipation Of
our powers and congresses them. aud 50
lakes them stronger. Difficulty is one
OF our best frieuds; 1t has lcCn cal ed
the raw material Of success. Worh tasks
Judgments and opinions formed in
school. All Egyptian schooling must ba
tested lay some Arabian campaign.
Your theories may be very tine but they
are not legal,tender till Endorsed by ex-
perience. 4 teacher is best taught by
teaching. Doing is tuition. Action de.
tects all the weak places. Work en-
larges our hearts and thoughts Ivy hold.
ing Us in close contact with the cur.
rent Of life.
THE oRh6s MISSION.