Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-04-10

bad you must all have it.
| Since you put the Bible on ycur stand in
the sitting room, has the Bible been TO you,
| O woman, a curse or blessing? Why is it
that woman when she is troubled will go
to her worst enemy, tie Bible? Why 90
you not go for comfort to some Of the
great infidel books Spinoza's Ethics"
or Hume's Natural History of Religion"
or Paine's "Age of Reason, or any one OF
the 230 volumes Of Toltaire? No, the silly
deluded woman persists in hanging about
our Bible verses, LET not your heart be
troubled" "All things work together for
good "Weeping may endure for a night"
II am the resurrection" "Peace, be still"
Furthermore, rather than invite | resist
this plague of infdelity because it has
wrought no positive good for the world and
is always hindrance. | ask you to mention
the name of the merciful and the education
! al institutions which infidelity founded and
is supporting, and has supported all the way
Observation-Disclosures pronounced against
| God and the Christian religion, and yet pro-
nounced in behalf of suffering humanity.
What are the names of them? Certainly not
the United States Christian commission, or
the sanitary commission, for Christian
| George Fl. Stuart was the President OF the
one, and Christian Henry w. Bellows was
the President OF the other.
Where are the asylums and merciful i'll
stitutions founded by infdelity and sup
ported by iniidelity, pronounced against
God and the Bible, and yet doing work for
the alienation Of suffering? Infidelity is 50
very loud in its braggadocio it must have
some to mention. Certainly, il you come to
speak of educational institutions it is not
| Yale, it is not Harvard, it is not Princeton,
| it is not Middletown, it is not Cambridge OF
Oxford, it is not any institution from which
diploma would not be disgrace. Do you
point to the German universities as excep-
tionsS have to tell you that all the German
universities to-day are under positive
Christian influences, except the University
Of Heidelburg, where the ruffianly students
cut and maui and mangle and murder each
other as q matter of pride instead of infamy.
Do you mention Girard College, Philadelphia,
as an exception that college established by
the will of Mr.. Girard which forbade re-
ligious instruction and the entrance Of
clergymen within its gates. My reply is
that lived for seven years near that college
and | knew many Of its professors to be
Christian instructors, and no better Christian
influences are to be found in any college than
in Girard College.
There stands Christianity. There stands
infidelity. Compare what they have done.
Compare their resources. There is Chris
tianity, prayer ON her lip; a benediction on
her brow; both hands full of help for all who
want help; the mother Of thousands of col
leges: the mother of thousands of asylums
for the oppressed, the blind the sick, the
lame, the imbecile; the mother Of missions
for the bringing back of the outcast; the
mother of thousands of reformatory institu-
lions for the saving of the lost; the mother
of innumerable Sabbath-schools bringing
millions of children under drill to prepare
them for responsibility and usefulness to
say nothing of the great future. That is
Christianity
Here is infdelity; no prayer on her lips, no
benedicton on her brow, both hands clenchei
what for? To fight Christianity. That is
the entire business. The complete mission
of inidelity to fight Christianity. Where
are her schools, her colleges, her asylumS OF
mercy? Let me throw you down whole
ream of foolscap paper that you may fill all
of it with the names of her benehcent in
situations, the colleges and the asyiums, the
institutions of mercy and learning, founded
by infidelity and supported alone by infde.-
ity, pronounced against God and the Chris
tian religion, and yet in favor of making the
world better. 'Ob, " you say, "a ream OF
paper is too much for the names of those in
situations Well, then, throw you quirs
of paper. Fill it all up now. l will wait
until you get all the names down. "Oh,"
you say, ''that is too much" Well, then, I
will Just hand you a sheet Of letter paper.
Just fill up the four sides while we are talk
ing of this matter with the names OF the
merciful institutions and the educational in
situations founded by infidelity and supported
all along by infdelity, pronounced against
God and the Christian religion, yet in favor
of humanity.
"Oh," you say that is too much roori.
We don't want whole sheet of paper to
] sxrito dOxyt ha M rnp | la
ter tear out one leaf from my mem Orandum
book and ask you fill both sides Of it with the
names Of such institutions oh" you say.
''.hat would be too much room | wouldn't
want so much room as that" Well. then
suppose you count them on your ten fingers
"Oh," you say. mot quite 50 much as tnat.
Well. then. count them on the fingers OF one
hand. "Oh, you say, I'VE don't want quite
so much room as that Suppose, then. you
halt and count on one finger the name of any
institution founded by infidelity supporter
entirely by infdelity, pronounced against
God and the Christian religion, yet toll
ing to make tie world better. Not one!
Not one.
Is lnfdelity 50 poor, so starveling so
mean so useless? Get out, you miserable
pauper of the universe Crawl into some
rathole of everlasting nothingness. Inhdelty
standing to-day amid the suffering. grooming,
dying nation, and yet doing absolutely
nothing save trying to impede those who are
toiling until they fall exhausted into their
graves in trying TO make the world better.
Gather I'D all the work. all the mercltul
work. that infidelity has ever DONE add it
all together, and there is not so much nobii-
! ty in it as in the smallest bead of that sister
of charity who last night went up the dark
allev of the town, put jar of Jelly for an
invalid appetite on a broken stand, and then
knet ON the bare floor praying the mercy of
Christ upon the dying soul.
Infidelity scrapes no lint for the wounded
bakes no bread for the hungry, shakes up no
pillow for the sick, rcuSes no comfort for the
bereft, gilds nc grave for the dead. While
Christ, our Christ, our wounded Christ, our
risen Christ, the Christ of the old fashioned
Bible blessed be His glorious name forever!
our Christ stands this hour pointing t. the
hospital, or to the asylum, saying: Il was
sick and We gave me couch, | was lame and
, We gave me a crutch, ] was blind and ye
phvsicianed my eyesight, | was orphaned
and We mothered my soul, | was lost on the
mountains and We brought me home: mas
much as We did it to one of the least of these,
We did it to me"
But thank God that this plague of inf
deity will be stayed. Many of those who
hear me now by the Holy Ghost upon their
hearts will cease to be scoffers and will be-
come disciples, and the day will arrive when
all nations will accept the Scriptures. The
book is going to keep right on until the fires
of the last day are kindled. Some of them
will begin on one side and some on the other
side of the old book They will not end a
bundle of loose manuscripts easily consumed
like finder thrown into the fire. When the
fires of the last day are kindled, some will
burn on this side from Genesis toward
Revelation, and others will burn Oh this
side from Revelation toward Genesis. andin
all their way they will not find a single
chapter or single verse out OF place. That
will be the first time we can afford to do
without the Biole.
What viii be the use Of the book Of GEN
esis. descriptive Of how this world was male,
when the world is destroyedy What will be
the use of the prophecies when they are all
fulfilled? What will ba the use o. the
evangelistic or Pauline description Of Jesus
Christ when we see Him face to faces What
will be the use of His photograph when we
have met Him in glory? What will be the
use of the book of Revelation. standing as
you will with your foot on the CLASSY sea.
and your hand on heringing harp. and your
forehead chapleted with eternal coronation,
amid the amethystine and twelve gated
glories OF heaven; The emerald dashing its