The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-07-16
TALMAGE OUT WEST.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE PREACHING IN
NEBRASKA.
Am Open Air Sermon Delivered TO the Null
titufles Prom the Text, 1--WE Are witness

Amopen Air Sermon Delivered to the NJ"
titufies Prom the Text, 1--WE Arc "ltne'
ses."
On Sunda, DR., Talluage preache
at Bre.trice Nebraska, in the ope
air to all immense congregatlo
which had gathered from all th
surrounding country to hear the Is
nous preacher. Ills text was, w
are witnesses. (Acts 8: l5.) Fo!
lowing is his sermon:
In the days Of George Stephenson
the perfector of the locomotive en-
gine, the scientists proved conclu
sively that railway train could nev
er be driven by steam po.er success
fully and without peril; but the rush
ing express trains from Liverpool tx
Edinburgh, and from Edinburgh tt
London, have made al the nations
witnesses of the splendid achieve
ment. Machnists and navigator<
proved conclusively that a steame:
could never cross the Atlantic Ocea1
but no sooner had they successful.
proved the impossibilit, of such al
undertaking than the work was done
and the passengers on the Cunard
aud the Inman, and the National
sSnd the White Star lines are witnes
sessa5ere went up a guffaw Of wise
uehter.arsProfessor Morses propo
sition to make the lightning ofheavel
his er1and boy, and it was proved
conclusively that the thing coulo
never be done; but now ali 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
conclusively' that it was impossible
for Him to rise from the dead. Il
was shown logically that when 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
showedst to be an absolute absurdlty
that the dead Christ should ever get
up alive; but no sooner had they
proved this than the dead Christ
arose, and the disciples behold Him,
hear His voice, and talk with him,
and they took the witness stand to
prove that to be true which the Wis
eacres OF the day had proved to be
the record of the exper-
ience and of the testimony is IN the
text: '.Him hath God raised from the
dead, whereof we are witnesses.
Now, let me play the sceptic for a
moment. 'sThere is no God" says
the sceptic, ssfor I have never seen
him with my physical eyesight. Your
Bible is a pack Of contradictions.
There never was miracle. Lazarus
was not raised from the dead, and
the water was never turned into vine.
Your religion is an imposition on the
redulity of the ages" There IS an
aged man moving over yonder as
'ss6SssEgil he would Like to respond.
are hundreds of people with
q little flushed at these an
hcements, and all through this
embly there is suppressed feel
which would like to speak out IN
half of the truth of our glorious
asstianity, as in the days of the
$sxs, crying out, "We are Witnesses!
The feet is, that if this world IS
ever brought to God, it will not be
through argument, but through tes-
timony. You might cover the whole
earth with apologies for Christianity
and learned treatises in defense Of
reigion-you would not convert a
soul. Lectures on the harmony be-
tween science and religion are beau
tifl mental discipline, but have never
saved a soul, and never will save a
soul. Put a man Of the world and a
man of the chureh against each other
and the man of the world will in all
probability get the triumph. There
are q thousand things IL our religion
that seem Illogical to the world, and
always Will see2 illogical. Our weap-
on in this conflict is faith, not logic:
faith, not metaphysics, faith, not pro-
fundity; faith, not scholastic ezplors-
ton. But then, in order to have
faith, we must have testimony, and #
Eve hundred men, or one thousand
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, a comfort, a help,
an aspiration, I am bound as a fair
minded man to accept their testimony.
7 want just now to put before you
three propositions, the truth OF
which I think this audience will attest
with overwhelming unanimity.
The first proposition is, We are
witnesses that the religion of Christ
is able to convert i soul. The gos-
pei may have had a hard time TO con
quer US; we may have fought it back,
but we We're vanquished. You say
conversion is only an imaginary thing.
We know better. ''We are wines
ses." 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 Ma.
dagascar because they preached ter
wears without converts; but there are
$4,000 converts in Madagascar today
People laughed at Dr.. Adoniram
Judson, the Baptist missionary, be
cause he kept on preaching IN Bur
nah Eve years without single con
vert; but there are 10000 Baptists II
Burmah today. People laughed a
Doctor Morrison in China, for preach
ing there seven years without sin
gle conversion; but there are 25,OO'
Christians in China today. Peopl
laughed at the missionaries 70
preaching at Tahiti fifteen year
without q single conversion, and a
the missionaries for preaching Il
Bengal seventeen years without
single conversion; yet in all thos
Tl.,,c