The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-02-13
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUN.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: ISLANDERS Against Religion
Answered"

TEXT: "And took the little book out Of
the angels hand, and ate it up; and It tcds
in my mouth s,ueet rs honey; and as soon
as Ihad eaten it n.u belly ,0as bitter. And
He said unto me: Thou must prophesy
again before nany peoples, ana natto"s'
and tongues. and kings. Rev. (, 10-ll.
Domitian, the Roman Emperor, had in his
realm a troublesome evangelist who would
keep preaching, and so he exiled him to q
victs to Siberia, or as sometimes the English
Government used to send prisoners to Aus.
tralia. The island speak Of Is now called
Patmos and is so barren and unproductive
that its inhabitants live by fishing:
But ono day the evangelist OF whom
speak, sitting at the mouth Of a cavern ON
the hillside, and perhaps half asleep under
dream, and before him pass as In panorama.
time and eternity. Among the strange
things that be saw was an angel with q
little book in his hand, and in hia
dream the evangelist asked for
this little book, and the angel gave ii
to him, and told him to eat it up.
As in a dream things are sometimes in
congruous, the evangelist took the little book
and ate it up The angel told him before
mouth, but afterward he would be troubled
with indigestion. True enough, the evangel-
ist devours the book, and 1t becomes to him q
sweetness during the mastication, but after
ward physical bitterness
Who The angel was and what the book was
no one can tell The commentators do not
agree, and shall take NO responsibility Of
Interpretation, but will tell you that
it suggests to me the little. book
Of creeds which skeptics take and chew
up and find a very luscious morsel
to their witticism. but after while 1t Is to
them a great distress The angel Of the
church hands out this little book OF evangel-
ism, and the antagonists OF the Christian
Church take it and eat 1t up, and 10 makes
them smile at first, but afterward 1t Is to
them dire dyspepsia
ALI intelligent people have creeds-that Is,
favorite theories which they have adopted.
Political creeds-that Is theories about tariff,
about finance, about civil service, about
government. Social c-eeds-that Is, theories
about manners and CUSTOMS and good neigh
borhood. Esthetical creeds-that is theories
about tapestry, about bric-a-brac, about
styles Of ornamentation. Religious creeds-
that is, theories about the Deity, about the
soul, about the great future. The only being
who has no creed about anything Is the
idiot. This scofing against creeds Is always
part of the scoffer, for he has
himself hundred creeds in regard to other
things. In our time the beliefs OF evangels-
tic churches are under fusilade Of carica-
ture and Misrepresentation. Men set up
what they call orthodox faith, and they rake
it with the musketry Of their dsnunciation.
They falsify what the Christian churches be.
lieve. They take evangelical doctrines and
set them in harsh anu repulsive way, and
mt fhof ont of fha nrta
truths. They are like Tiad anatomist. who,
desiring to tell what IExa Is, dissects hu-
man body and hangs up In one place the
heart, and in another place the two lungs,
and in another place an ankle bone, and says
that Is a man. They are only fragments Of
man wrenched out Of their God appointed
places.
Evangelical religion is a healthy, symetri:.
cal, we'll -jointed, roseate bounding life, and
the scalpel and the dissecting knife Of the in.
fidel or the atheist cannot tell you what it Is.
Evangelical religion is as different from
what 1t is represented to be by these enemies
as the scarecrow which farmer puts IN the
cornheld to keep of the ravens Is different
from the farmer himself.
For instance these enemies of evangelism
say that the Presbyterian Church believes
that God IS q savage Sovereign, and that He
made some men just to damn them, and that
old slanders come down from generation to
generation. The Presbyterian Church be-
lieves no such thing. The Presby yterian
Church believes that God is a loving and just
Sovereign, and that we are free agents.
mo, no; that cannot be, -" say these men who
have chewed up the creed and have the con-
sequent embittered stomach. THAT is impos.
sible; If God is Sovereign, we can't be free
agents." Why, my friends. we admit this
t., all nN ol
mage, am a free citizen Of Brooklyn. 80
when please and I come when please, but
have at least four sovereigns. The Church
court OF our denomination; that Is my
ecclesiastical sovereign. The mayor OF this
city; he is my municipal sovereign. The
Governor Of New York; he IS my State
sovereign. The President Of the United
States he is my national sovereign Four
sovereigns have !. and yet In every faculty
you see. it is possible that the two doctrines
90 side by side. and there Is q common-sense
way of presenting it, and there Is a way that
is repulsive. II you have the two doctrines in
worldly direction, why not in O religious di-
rection If I choose tomorrow morning to
walk into the Mercantile Library and i'm
prove my mind or to go through
maica, who has flowers from all lands
growing under the arches Of glass, and who
has an aquarium all asquirm with trout and
gold fish. and there are trees bearing
oranges and bansnas.-if want to 60 there,
Icould. I am free to 60 II want to go
over to Hoboken and leap into a furnace of
an oil factory, If want to Jump from the
platform Of the Philadelphia express train,
II want to leap from the Brooklyn Bridge,
may. But suppose I should 60 tomorrow
and leap into the furnace at Hoboken, who
would be to blame That is all there is
about sovereignty and free agency. God
and He has blast furnaces. If you want to
walk in the gardens, walk there. If you
want to leap in the furnaces, you may.
Suppose now q man had charmed key
with which he could open ali the jails, and
he should open Raymond Street jail and the
New York Tombs and all the prisons on the
continent. In three weeks what kind Of
turned out Of those prisons and psnitentiar.
les. Suppose all the reprobates, the bad
spirits, the outrageous spirits, should be
turned into the New Jerusalem. Why, the
next morning the gates Of pearl would be
found off hinge the linchpin would be gone
out Of the chariot wheels, the ''house
sau;aa Of many an;. mansions" would a.o be burg
libertinism and assassination would
reside in the capital of tho skies. Angels Of
God would be illsulted on the streets. Heaven
would be dead failure II there were no
great lookup. If all people without regard
to their character when they leave this world
go right into glory-I wonder II in the
temple Of the skies Charles Guiteau and
John Wilkes Booth occupy the same pew!
Your common sense demands two destinies!
And then as to the Presbyterian Church be.
lieving there are infants in perdition, il you
will bring me Presbyterian Of good morals
and sound mind who will say that he believes
there ever WIS baby in the lost world. OF
ever will be, will make him deed to the
house live in and he can take possession
tomorrow.
So the Episcopalian Church is misrepre-
senred by the enemies of EVANGELISM. They