The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-04-16

lvalanches that ever slipped from the |
Alps, coming with moro strength than !
Ill the lightning express trains that ever
Whistled, or shrieked, or thundered
across the continent.
Now, in this sentiment OF inlide!
thinkers cannot join, and propose to
give you some reasons why / cannot
be an mtidel, and so I will try to help
out Of this present condition any who
may have been struck with the awful
plague Of scepticism.
First, cannot be an inidel because
infidelity has no good substitute for the
consolation it proposes to take away.
Y You know there are millions of people
who get their chief consolation from this
book. What would you think of cru
sadc ofthis sort? Suppose MIN should
resolve that he would organize con-
spiracy to destroy all the medicines from
all the apothecares and from all the hos
pitfalls OF the Garth. The work is done.
The medicines are taken and they are
thrown into the river, or the lake, or the
sea. a patient wakes up at midnight
in paroxysm Of distress, and wants an
anodync. "Oh," says the nurse, ''the
anodynes arc all destroyed; we have no
drops to give you, but instead Of that I'll
read you q book on the absurditlcs Of
morphine, and OH the absurditics of all
remedies" But the man continues to
writhe in pain, and the nurse says: cpl
continue to read you some discourses on
anodyncs, the cruclties of anedynes, the
'indeCcncies of anodynes, the absurditics
Of anodyncs. For your oroan, I'll give
you laugh" Here in the hospital is a
patient having Sangrencd limb ampu-
tatcd. lie says, ooh, for ether. Oh,
for chloroform." The doctor says,
"Why, they arc all destroyed; we don't
have any more chloroiorm, or ether; but
have gotsomcthing a great deal better.
l'll read yOua pamphlet against James
Y. Simpson, the discovcrer of chloro-
form as an anTsthctic, and against Doc
tors Agncw, and Hamilton, and IIosack,
and Mott, and Harvey, and Abcrncthy."
"But," says the man, 81 must have
some anTsthetics." "No," says the
doctors, ''thcy are all destroyed, but we
have got something great dca' better"
"What is that" ''Fun." Fun about
medicines. Lie down, all yc patients
in bellevue hospital and stop your
Groaning-all yc broken-hcartcd of all
the cities, and quit your crying; we have
tho catholcon at last! Here Is Il dose
OF wit, here is a Strengthening plaster Of
sarcasm, here is a bottle of ribaldry that
you arc to keep well shaken up and take
a spoonful OF it alter each meal, and if
that does not cure you, here is solution
OF blasphcmy in which you may bathc,
and here is Il tincturc Of derision. Tick
lc the skeleton of death with repartec!
Make the King of Terrors cacklc! For
all the aGOnics Of all the ages, q Joke!
Millions Of people willing with uplftcd
hand toward hcaYcn to affirm that the
Gospel Of Jesus Christ is full of conso-
lation for them, and yet inlidclity pro-
poses to take it away, giving nothing,
absolutely nothing except fun. Is there
any greater height, or depth. or length,
or breadth or mmcnsity Of mcanness in
all Gods universe!
Inlidcli!y is religion Of "Don't
know" Is there a God? Don't know.
Is the soul immortal? Don'tknow. If
we should meet each other in the future
world will we recognize each other?
Don't know! y religion of"don't know"
i)r the religion Of Il know" 81 know
III whom l have believed" 81 know
that my Rcdeemcr livcth." Inlidclty
proposes to substitute religion of aw-
tul negatives for our religion of glorious
positives showing right before us world
OF reunion and ecstasy, and high COM
panionsh;p, and glorious worship. and
stupcndous victory; the mightiest JOY of
earth not high enough to reach to the
base Of the lIimalaya Of uplifted spIen-
dor awaiting all those who On wing Of
Christian faith will soar toward it.
Have you heard of the conspiracy to
put out all the lighthouses on the coast?
DO you know that on a certain night of
next month, Eddystonc lighthouse, Bell
Rock lighthouse, Shcrryvorc llghthous sc,
Montauk lighthouse, IIatteras light
house, New London lighthouse, Barne-
gat lighthouse, and the G4O lighthouses
on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are to
be cxtinguishcd> "Oh," you say, "what
will become Of the ships on that night +?
What will be the fate Of the one million
sailors following the sea? What will be
! the doom Of the millions Of passen gers :?
! Who will arise to put down such a con-
spiracy?" Every man, woman, and child
in America, and the world. But that is
| only q fable. That is what inlidelity is
trying to do, put out all the lighthouses
on the coast Of eternity, letting the soul
go up the "Narrows" Of death with no
light, no comfort, no peacc-all that
coast covered with the blackest of dark
ness. Instead Of the great lighthouse, a
glOwworm Of wit, FREELY OF jocostv.
Which do you like the better, o voyager
for etcrnity-thc FREELY or the lighthouse?
What mission iniidclity has started
on! The cxtinguishment of lighthouses,
the breaking up of lifcboats, the dismiss
sal of all the pilots, the turning of the in
cription on your child's grave into n farce
and lie. Walter Scott's "Old Mortal
ity,' chisel in hand, went through the
land to cut out into palmer letters the
half obllterated inscriptions on the tomb
stones, and il was a beautiful mission.
But inlidelity spends its time with ham,
mcr and chisel trying to cut out from the
tombstoncs Of your dead all the story of
resurrection and heaven. 1t is the lCon-
oclast Of every village graveyard, and of
every city cemetery, and of Westmin.
stcr Abbey. Instead Of Christian con-
ISOLATION for the dying, freezing sneer.
Instead of prayer, grimace. Instead
OF PauPs triumphant defiance Of death,
q OOiEU ONT Won know NOT wborn 10 , TOW