The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-07-04
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE's SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: pulpit and Press Made
Allies"

TEXT: "The children Of this 10ortd are
In their generation wiser than the cn''"'e''
of fh0ht."-Luke xvi, 8.
Sacred stupidity and solemn incomPetency
and sancti6ed laziness are here reouKeo py
: Christ. He says worldings are wider awake
for opportunities than are ChrlstlanS. wen
of the world grab occasions while Chrlstlan
naonIe let the most valuable occasions drift
by nnimproved. That is the meaning OF our
Lord when he says: "The children OF TINS I'M
world are in their generation WISER IMAM 'he
children Of light"
marked illustration of the truth OF that
maxim is in the slowness OF the Chrlstlah re-
lipion to take possession of the secular Priht.
ing press. The opportunity Is open, anu mas
foss lon1e r. time been open, but the eccleslastl-
cei conrts and the churches and the ministers
of religion are for the most part allowing Tue
GOLDEN opportunity to pass unlmproveo:
That the opportunity is open l declare from
the fact that the secular newspapers are glao
of any religious facts or statistics Una! you
nresent them Any animated ana s1lrhs
article relating to religious tnemes eney
would gladly print. they tnank you ho' ens
information in regard to churches II
wrong has been done to any Christian
church or Christian institution you
could 90 into any newspaper OF tne iaLo
~ have the real truth stated. Dedica-
49,, saryices ministerial ordinations ana
PASTORAL installations, corner stone laying OF
q church, anniversary OF q charitable socleIy
win have reasonable space IN any secui4s ~
journal, if it have previous nouce glVgn. -
had some great Injustice done me there Is
-ot an editorial or areportorial q room In the
Tinted States into which could not 60 ana
eet myseh set right, and that Is true OF any
Veil known Christian. Already the daily
sacnlsr nress during the course Of each week
nnhlisbes as much religious informatlon ana
b;oh moral sentiment as does the weekly re-
ieious press. Why then does not our glori-
ous Christianity embrace toese tnaghhiaoenSs ~
onnortunities2 I have before me suoJectot
irst and last Importance. How shall we Sc
cure tbe secular press as q mlght1er re-en-
forcament to religion and the pulpit
The first thing toward this result IS cessa-
t;on Of indiscriminate hostility against news
naperdom. You might as well denounce the
LEGAL profession because OF the snysters, OF
the medical profession because o. the quacSs'
or mercbandise because Of the swlndllng tar
ea;n, makers. as to slambang new spapers be-
eanse there are recreant editors and unfar
reporters and unclean columns. Guttenoerg,
the inventor of the art Of printing, was aooae
to destroy his types and exhngulsh the art
because Il was suggested to him that PRINT
i,o might be suborned into the service OF the
iieyil, but afterward he bethought hmsen
that the right use Of the art might more tnan
overcome the evil use OF it, and SO ne
SHARED the type and the intelligence OF all tol-
loving ages. But there are many to-day IN the
depressed mood of Gutenberg with uphfted
hammer. wanting to pound to pieces tne
tvne- who have not reached his better MOOD
IN which he saw the art Of printing to be the
rising sun of The worlds Illumination. II IN
stead Of fighting newspapers we spend tne
same length Of time and the same vehemence
in marshaling their help in religious dlrec-
tions, we would be as much wiser as tne man
who gets consent Of the railroad superln,
tendent to fasten a car to the end OF rail
train. shows better sense. than he who ms
his wheelbarrow up the track to meet and
drive back the Chicago limited express. Inc
siIliest thing that man ever does IS TO nght
a newspaper, for you may nave tine moor l0r
the newspaper has the floor every day OF the
week. Napoleon, though a mighty man, had
many weaknesses, and one OF the weakest
things he ever did was to threaten that II the
Eneiish newspapers did not stop their ad-
verse criticism Of himself he would with four
hundred thousand bayonets cross the channel
for their chas5isement.
5 Don't fight newspapers. Attack proVokes
attack. Better wait till the excltemens oio"s
over and then 90 in and get justice, for get
IL You win II you have patience and common
sense and equipoise Of disposition. 1t ought
to be a mighty sedative that there Is an
enormous amount Of common sense In the
world. and YOU will eventually be taken for
what you are really worth, and you cannot
be puffed up end you cannot be written
down and If you are the enemy OF good 80
ciety that fact will come out and II you y are re
established. I know what l am talking
about, for T can draw on my own experience:
An the responsible newspapers as far as
know are my friends now. But many OF
YOU remember the time when was
The most continuously and meanly at
tackled man in this country. God gave
me grace not to answer back, and l kept
silence for ten years, and much grace Is
required. What I said was perverted and
twisted into just the opposite Of what did
say. My person was maligned, and ! was
presented as gorgon, and was maliciously
described by persons who had never seen me
as a monstrosity in body, mind and soul
There were millions Of people who believed
that there was large sofa in this pulpit, al
though we never had anything, but chair,
and that during the singing by the congrega-
ton was accustomed TO lie down on that
sofa and dangle my feet over the end. Lying
New York correspondents for ten years
misrepresented our church services, but
we waited, and people from every neighbor.
hood Of Christendom came here to find the
magnitude OF the falsehoods concerning the
church and concerning myself. a reaction
set in and now we have justice, full justice,
more than justice and as much overpralse as
once we had under appreciation, and no man
that ever lived was so much indebted to the
newspaper press for opportunity to preach
the Gospel as am. Young men IN the min
istry, young men in all professions and occu.
pations, wait You can afford to wait
Take rough Misrepresentation as Turkish
towel to start up your languid circulation,
or a system Of massage or Swedlsn move.
ment, whose poGes and pulls and twists and
thrusts are salutary treatment. mere Is
one person you need to manage and that is
yourself Yeep your disposition sweet by
communion with the Christ who answered
not again, the society OF genial people, and
walk in the sunshine with your hat or and
you will come out all right. And don't join
the crowd of people in our day who spend
much Of their time damning newspapers.
Again, in this effort to secure the secular
press as mghtier reinforcement OF religion
and the pulpit, let US make it the avenue OF
religious information. II you put the facts
of churches and denominations OF Christians
only into the columns of religious papers,
which do not in this country have an aver
age of more than ten thousand subscribers,
what have you done as compared with what
you do if you put these facts through the
daily papers which have hundreds Of thou.
sands of readersa Every little denomination
must have its little organ, supported at great
expense, when, with one.half the outlay q col
unn or half column Of room might be
rented in some semi-omnipotent secular pnb
ication, and 80 the religious information
would be sent round and round the world
The world moves so swiftly to-day that news
q week old is stale Give Us all the great
church facts and all the revival tidings the
next morning or the same evening. My ad-
vice, often given to friends who propose to
Start a newspaper, is: ''Don't! Don't! Em-