Connecticut western news., 1890-07-09
WE ARE WITNESSES!
DR. TALMAGE'S OPEN AIR SERMON
 AT BEATRICE, NEE.

AT BEATRICE, NEE.
 The Logic of the Skeptic Is Met by the
 Overwhelming Testimony of Millions
 of Christians and Proved to Be False.
 BEATRICE, Neb., July 6.-Dr. Tal- mage preached here in the open air to an immense congregation which had gathered from all the surrounding country to hear the famous preacher. His text was, "We are witnesses" (Acts iii, 15 Following is his sermon:
 In the days of George Stephenson, the perfector of the locomotive engine, the scientists proved .conclusively that a railway train could never be driven by steam power successfully and with out peril; but the rushing express trains from Liverpool to Edinburgh, and from Edinburgh to London, have made all the nations witnesses of the splendid achievement. Machinists and naviga- tors proved conclusively that steamer could never cross the Atlantic ocean i; but no sooner had they successfully proved the impossibility of such an un- dertaking than the work was done, and the passengers on the Cunard, and the Inman, and the National, and the White Star lines are witnesses. There went up guffaw of wise laughter at Professor Morse's proposition to make the lightning of heaven his errand boy, and it was proved conclusively that the thing could never be done; but now all the news of the wide world, by Asso- ciated Press put in your hands every morning and night, has made all na- tons witnesses.
 So in the time of Christ it was proved conclusively that it was impossible for him to rise from the dead. It was shown logically that when 8 man was dead he was dead. and the heart and the liver and the lungs having ceased to perform their offices, the limbs would be rigid beyond all power of friction or arousal. They showed it to be an abso- lute absurdity that the dead Christ should ever get up alive; but no sooner had they proved this than the dead Christ arose and the disciples beheld him, heard his voice and talked with him, and they took the witness stand to prove that to be true which the wise acres of the day had proved to be i'm possible; the record of the experience and of the testimony is in the text: 'sHim hath God raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses" :"
 THE sKEPTIC'S ARGUMENT.
 Now, let me play the skeptic for 8 moment. "There is no God" says the skeptic, flor I have never seen him with my physical eyesight. Your Bible is pack of contradictions There never was miracle Lazarus was not raised from the dead, and the water was never turned into wine. Your religion is an imposition on the credulity of the ages. There is an aged man moving over yon- der as though he would like to respond. Here are hundreds of people with faces little flushed at these announcements, and all through this assembly there is a suppressed feeling which would like to speak out in behalf of the truth of our glorious Christianity, as in the days of the text; crying out: ''We are wit nessesr
 The fact is that if this world is ever brought to God it will not be through argument, but through testimony. You might cover the whole earth with apol- ogies for Christianity and learned trea- tises in defense of religion-you would not convert 8 soul Lectures on the harmony between science and religion are beautiful mental discipline, but have never saved a soul, and never will save a soul. Put a man of the world and man of the church against each other, and the man of the world will in all probability get the triumph. There are thousand things in our re- lgion that seem illogical to the world and always will seem illogical.
 Our weapon in this conflict is faith, not logic; faith, not metaphysics; faith, not profundity; faith, not scholastic exploration. But then, in order tc have faith, we must have testimony and if five hundred men, or one thou sand men, or five hundred thousand men, or five million men get up and tell me that they have felt the religion of Jesus Christ a joy, comfort, a help an aspiration, am bound as 8 fail minded man to accept their testimony want just now to put before you three propositions, the truth of which I think this audience will attest with over whelming unanimity.
 RELIGION BRINGS CHANGE OF HEART
 The first proposition is, We are wit nesses that the religion of Christ is ablt to convert 8 soul. The Gospel may have had 8 hard time to conquer us we may have fought it back, but WI were vanquished- You say conversion is only an imaginary thing. We know better ''We are witnesses. There never was SO great a change in oul heart and life on any other subject a. on this. People laughed at the mission aries in Madagascar because the. preached ten years without one con vert; but there are B, ,O00 converts il Madagascar today.
 People laughed at Dr. Adomram Jud son, the Baptist missionary, because h. kept on preaching in Bnrmah five year without single convert; but there ar twenty thousand Baptists in Burmal today. People laughed at Dr. Morri son, in China, for preaching there sever years without Q single conversion; bu there are twenty-five thousand Chris tians in China today. People laughe' at the missionaries for preaching at Ta hiti fifteen years without single COT version, and at the missionaries fo preaching in Bengal seventeen year without single conversion: yet in al Gnose lands there are mu1tttudeS Christians today.