Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-11-16
An Able Sermon.
EDITOR CHRONICLE:

EDITOR CHRONICLE:
The sermon preached by the Rey G. S.
Clevenger of Rapid City in the Congre-
gationalist church here last Sabbath
morning was so appropriate TO the spirit
of the times that venture to offer this
communication to the readers of the
CHRONICLE
The subject was "Christ the Messen-
ger" IF Christ was not Messenger
sent from God. if the Father has not
spoken TO mankind through his Son
Jesus Christ, then" said the preacher,
"has the silence of the eternal world
never been broken"
The discourse was purely argumenta-
tive, dealing from rational and practi-
cal standpoint with the evidences OF
Christianity. 1t was the strongest argu-
ment in support of the Divinity OF
Christ which it has ever been my
privilege to read or hear; and as sat
under the spell Of the preachers elo-
quence, wished that every man in the
Black Hills tthe biggest hearted men
ever met, but somewhat skertical) could
hear that sermon. As for myself, con
fess that had felt for sometime that the
foundations of the faith Of my fore
fsthers were slipping away, but at the
close of this sermon, seemed to stand
with both feet planted upon the bed
rock.
Neither your space. Mr.. Editor, nor
my time will permit full exegis of the
sermon, but l will briefly refer TO the
two arguments which impressed me
most forcibly:
/. No other teacher has lived among
men whose teachings were not impreg-
mated with the errors and fallacies which
arise from the finite nature Of our
faculties-the limitations imposed upon
human intelligence. The most common
ly accepted doctrines are being continu-
ally overthrown, as the light strengthens
upon the page of human knowledge.
Our text books of the sciences and other
branches of knowledge have to be re-
written every ten years in order to
eliminate these exploded and effete
theories. But Mr.. Clevenger defed any
man to put his finger upon a single
teaching of Jesus Christ which has ever
been successfully attacked. The whole
body of His teachings as found in the
four gospels of the New Testament,
without single exception, are as fresh
and universal in their truth to-day as
when they fell from His lips-they have
withstood the criticism, scrutiny, inves-
tigation and assault of 1900 years. The
only possible explanation Of this fact is
that these teachings we're emanations
from the Divine Intelligence itself.
2. Again, Mr.. Clevenger said, they
tell us that humanity is on an ever
rising scale by virtue ofits own inherent
force. III this be true, why does not
humanity in its upward progress evolve
some character still purer and loftier
than the Galileean peasant? III it be
true that humanity is on an uprising
scale by its own inherent power, why is
it that we must still 60 back 1900 years
for our ideal of perfect and noble
character?
Jesus Christ, in his earthly ministry,
"spake as never man spake." and fur
nished to humanity its one ideal Of .
perfect character, because he was the
Son of God. These two facts establish
his Divinity.
w. O. TEMPLE.
Custer City, s. D.. Nov. Is. 1889.
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