The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1891-07-17
GOSPEL WITNESSES.
DE-. TaImage Talks to a Large Audi
ence In kentucky.
=skoptics Answered by Modern wonders
Living witnesses to the Truth OF the
E8IbIe-yaiue OF Eaith-POEer OF
Religion

Bridge, Ky. His text was from Acts
iii Is: I'VE are Witnesses The
preacher said:
Standing amid the hills and groves of
Kentucky, and before this great multi
tude that no man can number, most of
whom I never saw before and never
will see again In this world. I choose a
very practical theme. In the days of
George Stephenson, the perfector of
the LOGON otive engine, the scientists
proved cOnclusively that a railroad
train could never be driven success
fully without peril; but the rushing ex-
press trains from Liverpool to Edin-
burgh and from Edinburgh to London
have made all the nation witnesses of
the splendid achievement Machinists
and navigators proved cOnclusively that
a steamer could never cross the Atlantic
ocean; but no sooner had they success
fully proved the impossibility of such
an undertaking than the work was
done and the passengers on the Gu
nard and the Inman and the National
and the White Star lines are witnesses
There went up a guffaw of wise laugh,
ter at Prof. MOrse's proposition to make
the lightning of heaven his Grant boy,
and it was proved concIusively that the
thing could never be done; but now all
the news of the wide world put IN your
hands every morning and night has
made all nations witnesses. So in the
time of Christ it was proved cOnclu-
ssively that it was impossible for him to
rise from the dead. 1t was shown logic
ally 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 or arousaL
They showed it to be an absolute alb
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 experiment 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 sIzeptic for a
moment. There is no God" says the
.skeptic, ''for I have never seen him
with my physical eyesight Your Bible
is pack of contradictions. There
never was miracle. Lazarus was not
raised from the dead, and the water
was never turned into wine. Your re
1igion is an imposition on the credulity
OF the ages" There is an aged mar
moving in that pew as though he would
like to respond Here are hundreds OF
people with faces a little flushed a
these announcements, and all through
this throng there is a suppressed feel
ing which would like to speak out il
behalf of the truth of our glorious
s. Christianity, as in the days of the text
q crying out: I'VE are witnessesg'
The fact is that if this world is ever
brought to God it will never be through
argument, but through testimony. You
might cover the earth with apologize,
for Christianity and learned treatises il
defense of religiOn--yOu would not con
vert a soul. Lectures on the harmony
between science and religion are beau
-tiful mental discipline. but have neve
saved q soul and never will save q soul
Put man of the world and a man O
the church against each other and tn,
man of the world will. in all prObabil
ity, get the triumph. There are
thousand things in our religion tina
seem Illogical to the world and Away
will seem Illogical. Our weapon in thi
conflict is faith, not logic; faith, no
metaphysics; faith, not PrOfuRdity
faith, not scholastic exploration Blu
then in order to have faith we mus
have testimony and if 500 men, or I. OO
men. or 500, 600 men, or 5, OOO, 600 mel
get up and tell me they have felt tn
religion of Jesus Christ a joy, q com
fort q help, an inspiration, 1 am bOunt
as y fair minded man to accept thei
testimony.
want just now to put before 20
three propositions, the truth of which
think this audience Will attest wit
overwhelming unaniuaity. The frs
proposition is: We arc witnesses tina
the religion of Christ Is able to CONVEX
"a soul The Gospel may have had
hard time to conquer rs, we may hav
fought it back, but we were venQuisheC
Yon say conversion is only an in
zaginary thing. We know better. ''W
are witnesses" There never was s
great q change in our heart and life o
any other subject as on this Peopl
laughed at the missionaries in hERdsgas
car because they preached ten year
without one convert; but there az
many thousands of converts in Mads
sgascaF to-day. People laughed at d.
-Judson, the Baptist missionary, becaus
he kept On preaching IN Bzrmah Nv
years without a single convert; bJ
there are many thousands Of Baptist
paryaIa Ianuhad :