The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-05-07

should come atyou now with an argu.
ment, you would answer me with an ar
gsmept; ifwith sarg4sm, you would an-
swer mo NTH sarcasm; blow for blow,
stroke for stroke; but when come and
knock at the door of your heart, you
open it and say: YCome in, my brother,
and tell me ~ you know about Christ
and Heaven"
Listen to two or three questions: Are
you as happy as yon used to be when
you Believed in the truth Of the Chris
tian religion2 Would you like to have
your children travel on the road in
which you are. now travelling? You, had
relative who professed to be q Chris
tian, and was thoroughly consistent, liv-
ing and dying in the faith Of the Gospel.
Would you not like to live the same
quiet life, and die the same peaceful
death? I have letter, sent me by one
who has rejected the Christian religion.
1t says: 81 am old enough to know that
the joys and pleasures Of life are evanes-
cent, and to realize the fact that it must
be comfortable in old age to believe in
something relative to the future, and to
have faith in some system that pro-
poses to save. am free to confess that
would be happier II ] could exercise
the simple and beautiful faith that is
possessed by many whom know. ] am
not willingly out of the church or out OF
the faith. My state Of uncertainty is
one Of unrest. Sometimes l doubt my
immortality, and look upon the death
bed as the closing scene, after which
there is nothing. What shall ! do that
! have not done2" Ali scepticism is q
dark and doleful land. Let me say that
this Bible is true or false. II 1t be false,
we are as we'll of as you; II IT be true,
than which Of US Is safer?
Let me also ask whether your trouble
has not been that you confounded Chris
tianity with the inconsistent character
Of some who profess itp You are law
yer. In your profession there are mean
and dishonest men. Is that any thing
against the law? You are a doctor.
There are unskilled and contemplate
men in your profession. Is that any
thing against medicine? You are
merchant. There are thieves and de-
frauders in your business. Is that any
thing against merchandise? Behold,
then, the unfairness Of charging upon
Christianity the wickedness of its dis
ciples. We admit some OF the charges
against those who profess religion. Some
OF the most gigantic swindles of the
presentday have been carried on by men,
bers Of the church. There are men
standing in the front rank in the
churches who would not be trusted for
IS without good collateral security.
They leave their business dishonesties
in the vestibule of the church as they
go in and sit at the communion. Hav-
ing concluded the sacrament, they get
up, wipe the wine from their lips, go
out, and take up their sins where they
left of To serve the devil is their
regular work; to serve God, sort OF
play-spell. With Sunday sponge they
expect to wipe of from their business
slate all the past.week's Inconsistencies.
You have no more right to take such a
mans life as specimen OF freligion than
you have to takdJthe twisted irons and
split timbers that lie on tho beach at
Coney Island as aspecimen Of an Ameri-
can ship. II is time that we draw a line
between religion and the frailties Of
those who profess II.
Do you not feel that the Bible, take II
all in all, is about the best book that the
world has ever Seen? Do you know any
book that has as much in It? Dut you
not think, upon the whole, that its In
fiuence has been benehcent? leone to
you with both hands extended toward
you. In one hand have the Bible, and
in the other have nothing. This Bible
In one hand ! will surrender forever
just as soon as in my other hand you
can put book thktis better. To-day l
invite you back into the old-fashioned
religion Of your fathers-to the God
whom they worshiped, to the Bible they
road, 10 the promises on which they
! leaned, TO the GROSS on which they hung
their eternal expectations. You have
no been happy day since you swung
of; you will not be happy minute un-
til you swing back.
Again: There may be some OF you
who, in the attempt after Christian
life, will have to run against powerful
passions and appetites. Perhaps 1t is a
disposition TO anger that you have TO
contend against. and perhaps, while in
q very serious mood, you hear Of some
thing that makes you feel that you must
swear or die. know Christian man
who was once so exasperated that he
said TO mean customer, II can
not swear at you myself, for !
am member Of the church, but II you
will go down stairs my partners in busi-
ness will swear ct you" All your good
resolutions heretofore have been torn
10 tatters by explosion Of temper. Now
there Is no harm in getting mad II you
only get mad at sin. You need TO bride
and saddle those hot-breathed passions,
and with them ride down injustice and
wrong. There are thousand things In
the world that we. ought TO be mad at.
There is no harm in getting red-hot II
you only bring TO the forge that which
needs hafnmering. A man who has no
power of Righteous Indignation is snim-
beclle. Bat be sureiti is righteous In
dignation, and not o petulanoy that
blurs and unravels and depletesthe soul
There is large class of persons in
mid-life who have still in them appetites
thai were aroused in early manhood, at
q time when they prided themselves on
| hoinc N tuittla faat " Uhioh Uvara "