The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1890-07-11
sKEPTICS ANSWERED.
Dr.. Talmage Discourses on the
Truth OF Christianity.
Wonderful Power OF RslIgtoa at An Stages
OF Lfe-Facts About COMMUNICATIONS
Ing the Trials Patiently-The sa-
viour's Great Bounty.

WIN 1Almago pro1cne0 70 an immense
throng at the Chautauqua assembly at
Beatrice. Neb. He took for his text
Acts i'll Is: 1--WE Are Witnesses" DR..
Talmage said:
In the days of George Stephenson, the
)erfector of the locomotive engine, the
scientists proved conclusively that .
railway train could never be driven by
steam power successfully aud without
peril; but the rushing express trains
from Liverpool to Edinburg, and from
Edinburg to London. have made all the
nations witnesses of the. splendid
achievement Machinists and nayigat-
ors proved conclusively that steamer
could never cross the Atlantic ocean;
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 Prof
Morse's proposition to make the light
ming of heaven his errand boy,
and 1t was proved conclusively that
the thing could never be done; but
now all the news OF the wide
world, by Associated Press, put
in your hands every morning and night,
has made all nations witnesses So in
the time Of Christ it was proved con-
clusiVely that IL was impossible for Him
70 rise from the dead 1t was shown
logically that when a 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 1t to be an absolute alb
a,trdfku that the doaA ChrfaN oh avar
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 wiseacres of the day
had proved to be impossible; the record
of the experience and of the testimony
Is in the text: Him hath God raised
from the dead, whereof we are wit
nesses."
Now let me play the skeptic for a mo-
ment "rhere is no God" says the
skeptic. "for have never seen him with
my physical eyesight Your Bible is q
pack of contradictions. There never
was q 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
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, 1--WE are wit.
nessesi''
The fact is, that IL this world is ever
brought to God, 1t will not be through
argument but through testimony. You
might cover the whole earth with apol
ogies for Christianity and learned treat
Uses in defense of religion-you would
not convert a soul Lectures on the har
mony between science and religion are
beautiful mental discipline, but have
never saved a soul and never will save q
soul Put a man of the world and a
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 religion 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 to have faith we mus
have testimony, and If 500 men, or 1 ,0o'
men. or 500. 900 men get up to tell m'
that they have felt the religion of Jesul
Christ q Joy, q comfort, a help an aspir
alton, am bound as q fair-minded mar
to accept their testimony. want jus
now to put before you three PROPOSE
tons. the truth of which think thi
audience will attest with overwhelming
unanimity.
The first proposition is: We are wit
nesses that the religion of Christ is abb,
to convert soul The gospel may hav'
had hard time to conquer us. we ma.
have fought 1t back, but we were van
quished- You say conversion is only al
imaginary thing. We know better
I'VE are Witnesses" There never wa
so great a change in our heart and Iif,
on any other subject as on this Peopl
laughed at the missionaries in MAZDA
gascar because they preached ten year
without one convert; but there are 80.
900 converts in Madagascar to-day
People laughed at DR. Adoniram Judsou
the Baptist missionary. because he KEEP
on preaching in Burmah Eve year
without = single convert; but there ar
$4,000 Baptist in Burmah to-day. Peopl
laughed at DIR. Morrison in China 10
preaching there seven years without
single conversion; but there are $500
Christians in China to-day. Peopl
laughed at the missionaries for preach
ing at Tahiti fifteen years without
single conversion and at the mission
aries for preaching in Bengal seventeen
years without q single conversions; We
In all those lands there are multitude
OF Christians to-day.
But why go so far to find evidence O
the Gospels power to save soul? Nv
are witnesses" We were so proud tina
no man could have humbled US; W
were so hard that no earthly powe
could have melted us; angels of Go
were all around about US, they could no
overcome US; but one day, perhaps at
Methodist anxious seat, or at q Presby
terrain catechetical lecture, or at burr
al. or on horseback, n power seized u
and made us get down and made u
tremble, and made us kneel. and mad
Us cry for mercy. and we tried to wrencl
ourselves away from the grasp, but W
could not It flung US fat and whel
we arose we were as much changed a
Gourgis, the heather, who went into
prayer meeting with u dagger and gul
TO disturb the meeting and destroy II
but the next day was found crying: 20
my great sinsl o, my great Saviourv
and for e'even years preached the Cos
pei Of Christ to his fellow mountaineers
the last words on his dying lips being
"Free gracer' o. IL was free gracei
There is n man who was for ten year
. hard drinker. The dreadful appetite
had sent down its roots around tn