Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-07-17
SKEPTICS ANSWERED.
Dr.. Talmage Discourses on the
Truth OF Christianity.
Wonderful Power of Religion at All Stages
OF Life-Facts About Conversion-Bsar-
ing the Trials PatIently-The Sa-
viOur's Great Bounty.

During his Western tour Rev. T. De-
Witt Talmage preached 10 an immense
throng at the ChaatAuqua assembly at
Beatrice, Neb. lie took for his text
Acts iii. Is: "We Are Witnesses" DR..
Talmage said;
In the days ofGeOrge Stephenson. the
perfector of the locomotive engine, the
scientists proved conclusively that a
railway train could never be driven by
steam power successfully ard 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 = steamer
could never cross the Atlantic ocean;
but no sooner had they successfully
proved the impossibility Of such an I'M
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 it 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 it was impossible for him
TO rise from the dead. 1t was sh5Wn
logically that when a man vas 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 absolute abb
surdity 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 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 mo-
ment. There is no God" says the
skeptic, ''for have never seen him with
my physical eyesight. Your b BILE is a
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
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 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 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
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
a thousand things il 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 must
have testimony, and if 500 men, or 900
men, or 500, 600 men get up to tell me
that they have felt the religion of Jesus
Christ a Joy, a comfort, help an aSpir-
alton, am bound as a fair-minded man
to accept their testimony. | want just
now to put before you three PROPOSE
tiOns the truth of which 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 soul. The gospel may have
had hard time to conquer us, we may
have fought it back, but we were van
pushed. You say conversion is only an
imaginary thing. We know better
I'VE are witnesses" There never was
so great a change in our 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 49,
600 converts in Madagascar to-day.
People laughed at DR. Adoniram Judson,
. L,
on preaching in Burmah five years
without a single convert; but there are
90, 600 Baptist in Burmah to-day. People |
laughed at DR.. Morrison in China for |
preaching there seven years without a
single conversion; but there are $4,000 |
Christians in China to-day. People |
laughed at the missionaries for preach |
ing at Tahiti fifteen years without a
single conversion and at the mission |
aries for preaching in Bengal seventeen /
years without single conversion; yet |
in all those lands there are multitudes |
of Christians to-day.
But why 60 so far to find evidence of |
the Gospels power to save soul? I'VE !
are witnesses" We were so proud that |
no man could have humbled us; we
were so hard that no earthly power |
could have melted us; angels of God |
were all around about us, they could not |
overcome us; but one day, perhaps at a |
Methodist anxious seat, or at Presby- |
terrain catechetical lecture, or at buri- /
al, or on horseback, a power seized us /
and made us get down and made us /
tremble, and made us kneel, and made |
US cry for mercy, and we tried to wrench |
ourselves away from the grasp, but we /