The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-07-12
SKEPTICS ANSWERED.
DR.. Talmage Discourses on the
Truth of Christianity.
Wonderful Power of Religion at All Stages
of L~ife-Facts About Converslon-Bear-
Ing the Trials Pa~tiently-The Ss-
viour's Great Bounty.

In the days of George Stephenson, the
perfector of the locomotive engine, h
scientists proved conclusively h a O
railway train could never be driven by
steam power successfully and 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 navigat-
ors proved ~conclusively that a 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 vent
up a guffaw of wise laughter at Prof.
Morse's proposition to max 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 he wide
world, by Associated Press, put
In your hands every morning and night
has made all nations witnesses. SO In
the time of Christ 1t was proved con-
clusively that it was impossible for Him
to 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 Oh arousal.
They showed it to be an absolute abb
surdity that the dead Christ should Q
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. 'There Is 10 God" says the
skeptic, 'for l have never seen him with
my physical eyesight. Your Bible is o
pack of contradictions. There never
was a 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
a 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, 1--WE are wit
nesses!'
The fact is, hat IL 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 treat
ises in defense of religion-you would
not convert O 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 q man of the world and q
man of the church against each other
and the man Of the world will in all
probability get the triumph. There are
q thousand things in our religion that
seem illogical to the world and alwaye
will seem. illogical. Dur 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 must
have testimony, and II 500 men, or LOCO
men, or 500, 900 men get up to tell me
that they have felt the religion OF Jesus
Christ q Joy, a comfort, q help, an aspir'
alton. / am bound as q fsir-minded man
A. - NI4t. AaaNt-n4-- mani ianot
now to put before you three PROPOSE
tions, the truth of which l think this
audience will attest with overwhelming
unanimity.
The first proposition is; We are wit
nesses that the religion Of Christ is able
to convert a soul. The gospel may have
had a hard time to conquer us, we may
have fought 1t back, but we were van
auished. You say conversion is only az
Imaginary thing. We know better
1--WE are witnesses" There never wal
80 great a change in u heart and life
on any other subject as on this People
laughed at the missionaries in NADIA
gascar because they preached ten years
without one convert: but there are SO,
600 converts in Madagascar to-day
People laughed at DR.. Adoniram Judson
the Baptist missionary, because he KEEP
on preaching in Burmah five years
| without a single convert; but there are
90 900 Baptist in Burmah to-day. People
laughed at DR.. Morrison in ChiRa fol-
preaching there seven years without .
single conversion; but there are 95, oO(
Christians in China to-day. People
laughed at the missionaries for preach
ing at Tahiti fifteen years without 4
single conversion and ut the mission.
aries for preaching in Bengal seventeen
years without a single conversions; ys'
in all those lands there are aaftttgde:
Of Christians to-day.
aaBut why go so far to find evidences i
Gospels power to save a soul? "Ws
Illnesses" We were 40 proud tina
LII On could have humbled us Va
II 30 hard that no earthly powt
feoufd have melted ps; angels Of 3D.
were all around about as, theEco1M no
overcome US: but one day. pefhaps ct 1
Methodist anxious seat, or at q Presby
terrain eatechetical lecture, or st . burr
al. orAon horseback, a power seized NJ
and made us get down and made VI
tremble, and made us kneel, and madt
US cry for mercy, and W. tried to wrench
ourselves away from the grasp. but w
could not. 1t flung us fiat, and yheI
we arose We were as much changed q,
Gourgis, the heather, who went into
prayer meeting with . dagger and q gul
TO disturb the meeting and destroy II
but the q day was found crying: 20
my great sinsI o, my great Saviopr!t
and for eleven years preached the Cos
pei Of Christ 70 his fellow mopntaineers
the last words on his dying iips being
"Free g~race!' O, IL was free grace!
There is a man who wal for ten year
a hard drinker. The dreadful sppetit
had sent down its roots around IT,
palate and the tongue, and on down uu
til they were interlinked with tn
yitals OF body, mind and soul; but b
has not taken any stimulants for to,
years. What did that? Not temperanc
societies. Not Prohibition laws. No
moral suasiop. Conversion did it.
Now, If ! should demand that al
those people here present who bave fel
the converting power of religion sh0ul
rise, 80 far from being ashamed, the
would spring to their feet with NOR
alaerity than they ever sprang to tn
dance, the tears mipglipg with their Q,
hilaration as they cried, 'We are wi
nesses!" And IL they tried to sing th
old gospel hymn they would break dow
with emotion by the time they got
the second line:
Ashamed of Jesus, that dear friend
On whom my hopes OF Heaven depend1
mol when ] blush, be this my shame:
That I no more rever His name"
Again i remark that 1--WE are wi
nesses'' of the Gospels power to con