The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1889-02-08

AnsWered-The Churches Misreprs-
Observation-Disclosures BY Faith De
fended-Power Of Prayer.
Rev. Or. T. Dewitt Talmage's sermon
at Brooklyn recently was on 'Slanders
Against Religion Answered" His
text was: "And I took the littls
book out OF the angels hand and ats
it up; and it was in my mouth sweet a
honey; and a. soon a. I had eaten 1t my
belly was bitter. And he said unto me,
Thou must prophecy again before m.ny
peoples, and nations, and tongues, and
kings. '"-Revelations K 10.1L The rev.
srend gentleman said:
Domitan, the Roman Emperor, had in
his realm troublesome evangelist who
would keep preaching, and SO he exiled
him to barren island, as now the Rus
slams exile convicts to Siberia, or as some.
times the English Government used to
send prisoners to Australia. The island
speak of is now called Patmo,, and is so
barren and unproductive that its inhabit-
ants live by fishing. a.aa.
But one day the evangelist Of whom
speak, sitting at the mouth of cavern on
the hillside, and perhaps half asleep under
the drone of the sea. has a supernatural
dream. and before him pass as in panorama
time and eternity. Among the strange
things that he saw was an angel with q
little book in his hand, and in his dream
the evangelist asked for this little book,
and the angel gave 1t to him and told him
to eat it up. As in a dream things are
sometimes anonymous. the evangelist
took the little book and ate it up. The
angel told him beforehand that it would be
very sweet in the mouth, but afterward he
would be troubled with indigestion. True
enough, the evangelist devours the book.
and it becomes to him a sweetness during
the mastication, but aftet ward q physical
bitterness.
Who the angel was and what the book
was no one can tell The commentators
do not agree, and / shall take no response
bility of Interpretation, but will tall you
that it suggests 10 me the little book OF
creeds which skeptics take and chew up
and find a very luscious morsel to their
witticism. but aftsr a while it 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
them smile at H. st, but a. terward it is to
them dire dyspepsia.
Ali the intelligent people have creeds-
that is, favorite theories which taey have
adopted. Political creeds-that j., theories
about tariff, ab,Mt finance, about civil
service, about government. Social creeds
that is, theories about manners and
customs anu good neighborhood. Esthet.
ical cresds - that is, theories about
tapestry, about bric.a brac, about styles
Of ornamen.atio Religious creeds-
that is, theories about the Deity.
about the soul, about the great flu ure
The only being who has no creed about
any thing Is the idiot. This scoffing
against creeis il always a sign OF pro-
found ignorance On the part of the scoffer,
for he has himself q hundred creeds in re-
gard tc other things. In our time the be-
liefs of evangelistic churches are under a
fusiiade of caricuture and misrepresenta-
ton. Men set M what they call orthodox
faith, and then they rake it with the mus
kerry OF their depunc;atIon. They falsiiy
what the Christian churches believe.
They take evang elicai doctrines AMI set
them in a harsh AMI repulsive way, and
put them out Of the association with other
truths. They are like q mad auatomist
who. desiring to tell what q man is, dis
sects human 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 a man wrenched out of
their God-appcin.ed places.
Evangelical gion is a healthy. sym
metrical, well-jointe4, roseate, bounding
life, and the sCa;pel and the dissecting
knife Of the infiiel or the atheist can not
tell you what 1t is. Evangelical religion
is as different from what it is represented
to be by these enemies as the scare-crow
which the farmer puts in the cornfield to
keep off the ravens Is different from the
farmer himself
For instance, these enemies Of evangel-
ism say hat the Presbyterian Church be-
lieveS that God is a savage sovereign and
that He made some men just to damn them
and thai there are infant in hell a span
long. These old slanderers come down
from generation 10 genera ion. The Pres
byterian Church believes no such thing.
The Presbyterian Church believes that
God is a loving and just sovereign and that
we are free agerts. mo, no, that can not
be, "say these msn who have chewed up the
creed and have the consequent emhittered
stomachs. "Tnat is impossible; il God is
q sovereign xe can't be free agents."
Why, friends wo admit this in every
other direction. J, Dewitt Talmage, am a
free citizen Of brooklyn. l go when l
please. but have at least four sovereigns.
The church court of our demon nation
that is my ecc esiastical sovereign; the
mayor of tbs cIty-he is my municipal
sovereign: the Governor of New York-he
is nv Sat, sovereign; the President Of
the United States he is my National SOW
ereign. Fou- SOW creigns have l. and vet,
in every facs 'ty eS body, mind and soul,
am free ms :. SO you see it is possible
that the two doctrines 60 side by side, and
there is q common sense way of presenting
it, and there is way that is repulsive.
If you have two doctrines in a worldly
direction why no in a religious direction.
If Ichoose tomorrow morning to walk into
the mercantile library and improve my
mind. or to 60 through the conservatory
OF my friend at Jamaica, who has flowers
from all lands growing under arches of
glass and who ba. an aquarium all
asqu nm with trunt and gold fish and there
are trees bearing oranges and bananas
il want to 60 there l could. / am free 10
60. If want to go over to Hoboken and
leap into a furnace of an oil factory, il 1
Vant to jump from the platform of the
Philadelphia express train, if want to
leap from Brooklyn bridge. l may. But
suppose / should go tomorrow and leap
into the furnace at Hoboken, who would
be to blame? That is all there is about
and free agency. God rules
nd reigns and He has Conservatives and
he has blast furn ces. II you want to
walk in the gardens, walk there. II you
Sant to leap into the furnaces you may.
Suppose now a man had a r. n rned kev