The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-07-21
TALMAGE In KENTUCKY.
WITNESSES TO THE TRANSFORMING
PoWe r OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION.

G'nero"" hS''on Of Madame son'aT--.
rho Missionaries and Their ,Rewar,i---
Ignorance "i UnbeIi.ycrs.
lirGH BRIDGE, KY, July IA vast
concourse o' people assembled this morn.
ing on The historic camp ground at High
Bridge, Ky. to hear DIR. Talmage
preach. They came from all the sur.
IoundiDg cities, towns and ueighborhood
A large contingent from Louisville ant
another from Cincinnati were present
Many OF the visitors have remained here
sihce yesterday afternoon, when DIR. Tai.
mage preached IN the same place. The
text ri his sermon this morning was from
A"is iii, l5, "We are Witnesses"
Standing amid the hills and groves o
Kentucky, and beior this great multitude
That 10 man can number. most of whom
| never saw before and never will see
again in his world, L choose very
practical theme. In the days OF George
stephenson, the perfector OF the loco
motive engine, the scientists proved
cunclusivcly that a railroad train could
Lever be driven by steam power success
iully without peril; but the rushing eX.
lrcss trains from Liverpool to Edin.
lurah, and from Edinburgh to London,
lave made all the nation witnesses oi
Tie splendid achievement.
Machnis,s and navigators proved con.
rlmsivcly that steamer could never
cross the Atlantic ocean; but DO sooner
lad they successfully proved the impos.
sh'itv OF such an undertaking than the
work was done, and the passengers on
lie Cunad, and the Inman, aud the
National, and the White Star line ure
wincssea. There went up guflaw OF
" sc laughter at Professor Molse's pro.
losit:on to make The llshtning of heaven
lis GRAND boy, and it was proved con.
,lusivcly that the thing could never be
'iuA,; but now all the news of the wide
world put in Your hands every morning
;I q Biylt has made all nations wines.
Scs.
80 in the time Of Christ it was proved
unClusivelv that It was impossible for
lin tn rise from the dead. It was shown
LOGICALLY that when Il man was dead, hc
vas dead, and the heart, and the liver.
and tic lungs having ceased to perform
llicm offices, the limbs would be rigid
hey ond all power of friction or ar,usal.
They showed it TO be an absolute absur.
dity that the dead Christ should ever
htt up alive; but no sooner had they
proved llis than the dead Christ arose,
andrtl disciples beheld him, heard his
voice, and talked with him, and tn ey
took The wiln' sscs stand TO prove that to
Ic hue which the wiseaeres of the day
had proved 10 be impossible; the record
oi ,he experiment and of the testimony
is III the ttXt: Him hath God raised
from the dead, whereof we are witness
ses.D
F0II.Y OF TIE AGNOSTIC.
Now lot me play the skeptc for q
',cment. There is no God" says the
skcptic, for Lave never seen him with
my ply steal eyesi9ht. Your lie is a
pack OF contradictions. There never
was Il miracle, Lazarus was not raised
from thG dead, and the water was neve L
'mned into wine. Your religion IS an
imposition OH The credulty of the ages -
Nhelc is an I'd man moving in that
pcw though h., would like to respond.
Here are hundreds OF people with faces
little flushed at these announcements,
and all through this throng there is q
suppressed feeling which would like TO
speak out in behalf of The truth of our
glorious Christianity. as in the day 8 of
The text, crying out, I'VE are witness
scs!'
7 he fact is that if this world is ever
hCught TO Godlt will not be throue h
argument, but through testimony. You
might cover the whole earth with a,olo-
.i's for Christianity and learned tea
Uses i'll defense OF religiou-you would
not convert a soul. Lectures on the
harmony between science and religion
al" beautiful mental discipline, but have
never saved Il soul and never will save IL
soul. Put Il n,an OF The world and man
of Tic churc:, against each other, aud
the man OF the world will, in all proba-
bility, get the triumph. There arc n
thousand things il our religion that seem
Illogical 10 the world, and always will
seem illogical
Our weapon in this conflict is ailb.
not logic; juiLh, not metaphy sics; faith.
not lroiundiLy: faith, not schulaslJc ~
ploration. But then, in order To have
mith, We must have testimony, aud If
tive hundred men, or one thousand men,
or live hundred thousand men, or five
million men get up and tell me that the,
lave lett ile feliE ion OF Jesus Christ a
10Y. a comfort, a. help, an inspiration. |
ain bouLd as a iair minded man to accept
their testimony. l want iustnow to put
before You lmee propositions, the ruth
'f which Yhibk Ibis audience will attest
with oven abelmng unauimity. The
lirst piopGsition is: We are witnesses
that The religion OF Christ is able to con.
vert soui, The Gospel may have had
n Lard time 70 conquer US, We may have
fought II back, but we were vanqushed.
You say conversion is only an ina. mary
thing. We khDw better. ''We are wit.
nesses." There never was so great a
change itGour heart and life on any 9th, r
subject as on this,
PeoPlcSlaughed at the missionaries in
Madaeasfar because they preach, d ten
Years without one convert; but there are
many thousands of converts in Madasas-
car today. People laughed at DIR. Jud.
son, the, Baptist missionary becau SO he
kept ontpreacbing In Burmah five Years
witliouY aslpgle convert; but there are
many thousands of Baptlsts IN Burinah
today. tpeople laughed at DR.. Morrison n
IN China for preaching there seven Years
without a single convels sion; but there
are ma y thousands OF Christians IN
Cmna today. People la ighed ut tie
msssioparies ior preaching at Tahiti tor
iiitcen. Years Without single conversion.
ard aEthe missionaries for preaching in
BengdassevcnleGn years without a single
CONVERSION; Yet in all those lands thel @
are gt,ititudesyof Christians today.
Butwby go go far TO find evidences of