Milford chronicle., 1891-06-19
TALMAGE ON THE CREEDS
HE GIVES HIS OPINION N ANSWER
TO MANY QUESTIONS.

Satan Hlmss1f Is the Chief Instigator
the Controversy Now Raging in Man
Churches. and Earnest Work for Chri
Is the Remedy.
BROOKLYN, June 14.-Dr. Talmage dea
in his sermon this morning with the vel
timely tOpie-the Battle Of Creeds Aft
so long ard exhaustive a discussion
clerical circles and in the secular pre-.
there seemed nothing more to be said q
the subject. DR.. Talmage, however, hf
his own way Of looking at all subjects, an
even people who thought they knew a
that could be said on both sides receive
light from the fresh and original contribr
ton which he made to the controversy
His text was taken from Proverbs XVI, Il
ale that passeth by and meddleth wit
strife belonging not to him is like one tina
taketh dog by the ears.
Solomon here deplores the habit of rush
ing in between contestants; Of taking par
IN the antagonisms Of others; Of joining II
fights which they ought to shun. They d
no good TO others and get damage rthem
selves. He compares it to the experiment
Of taking dog by the ears. Nothing s,
irritates the CANNES as to be clutched BY
the lugs. Take them by the back of th,
neck and lift them and it does not seem Il
hurt or offend; but you take the dog by
the ear, and be will take you with his teeth
| In all the history of kennels no intelligent
or spirited dog will stand that. Now, y
says Solomon, you go into quarrels o.
| controversies that are not yours and you
will get lacerated and torn and bitten.
He that passeth By and nleddleth with
strife belonging not to him is like one that
taketh dog by the ears. '"
THIS IS THE AGE or CONTROVERSY.
This is a time of resounding- ecclesiastic-
al quarrel Never within your memory or
mine has the air been so full of missiles
The Presbyterian church has ON hand a
controversy so great that it finds it pru-
dent to postpone its settlement for at least
one more year, hoping that something will
turn up. Somebody might die or new
general assembly may have grace to han
die the exciting questions. The Episcopal
church has cast out some recalcitrants, and
its digestive organs are taxed to the ut
most in trying to assinnilate others. "Shall
women preachg" "Or be sent as delegates
to confeFences2" are questions that have
put many of our Methodist brethren on the
anxious seat" And the waters in some
of the great tapestries are troubled wa
ters Because of the controversies through
out ChristendOm the air is now like an
August afternoon about o'clock, when it
has been steaming hot all day, and clouds
are gathering, and there are lions of thun-
der with grumbling voices and flashing
eyes coming forth from their cloudy lairs,
and people are waiting for the full burst of
the tempest. am not much Of weather
prophet, but the clouds look to me mostly
like wind clouds. 1t may be big blow,
but hope it will soon be over. In regard
to the Battle of the Creeds, l am every day
asked what l think about it. want to
make it so plain this morning what / think (
that no one will ever ask again.
Let those who are jurymen in the case /
I mean those who in the different ecclesi- 4
astical courts have the questions put di- /
rectly before them-weigh and decide. Let /
the rest of us keep out, The most dam
aging thing on earth is religious cOntro-
Versy. No one ever comes out of it as good
4 man as he goes in. Some of the ministers
n all denominations who before the pres
int acerbity were good and kind and use
.ul, now seem almost swearing mad.
These brethren l notice always open their
'iolent meetings with prayer before de-
touring each other, thus saying grace be-
ore meat. They have moral hydropho-
ia that makes us think they have taken
log by the ears. They never read the i'm
,recatory Psalms of David with such zest
s since the Briggs and Newton and Mac
lueary and Bridgman and Brooks ques-
ions got into full swing May the rams of
he sheepfold soon have their horns sawed
III Before the controversies are settled
oOd many ministers will, through what
hey call liberalism, be landed into prac-
Ical inidelity, and others through what
hey call conservatism will shrink up into .
igots tight and hard as the mummies of
,gypt which got through their contro- )
ersies three thousand years ago. :
SATAN STIRRED IT Up. I
This trouble throughout Christendom I
as directly inspired by Satan He saw !
lat too much good was being done. Re y
'uits were being gathered by hundreds of /
to the Gospel standard. The /
ctories for God and the truth were too ,
ear together. Too many churches were 8
ling dedicated. Too many ministers were 3
,ing ordained Too many philanthropies 8
ere being fostered. Too many souls n
ere being saved. 1t had been dull time \
the neither world, and the arrivals were a
o few. So Satan one day rose upon his Q
rome and said, eye powers of darkness, q
,ar" And all up and down the caverns P
e cry was, "Hearl HearP' Satan said: Il
There is that American Board of Com n
issioners for Foreign Missions. It must h
her be demolished or crippled, or the it
st thing you know they will have all v,
tions brought to God Apollyon the 3,
,unger! You COUP to AndOver and get K
e professors to discussing whether the o,
athen can be saved without the Gospel 81
vert them from the work OF missions 10
d get them in angry convention in a Al
1m at Young's hotel, Boston, and by the
ne they adjourn the cause of foreign IN
ssions will be gloriously and magnif- n,
itly injured Diabolus the Youngerl We
"a go up and get Union Theological m
ninary of New York and the general he
emily of the Presbyterian church at de
troit at swords points and diverted from dc
work of making earnest ministers Of In
igiOn, and turn that old Presbyterian tn
lrch, which has been keeping US out Of G,
toners for hundreds Of years, into q in
endid pandemonium on a small scale tn
addon the Third You 90 up and as nr
1t that old Episcopal church. which has Va
n storming the heavens for centuries In
ia the sublimest prayers that were ever tn
ered-church of Bishop Leighton, Bislf- trt
White and Bishop McIlvaine, and get nr,
t denomination discussing men instead 81.
discussing the eternities Abaddon the ~,
lrthl You 60 up to that old Methodist NC
rch which has, through her reviyals, rie
{ millions to heaven which we would ~
erwise have added to our population; -,
church of Wesley and Matthew Simp- inc
against which we have an especial M
dge, and get them so absorbed in dis Vii
sing whether women shall take part in mo
conference that they shall not have so stn
ch time to discuss how many sons and tb,,
ghters she will take to glory" c,ar
hat amazes me most is that all people Vii
lot see that the entire movement at this aoo
call over Christendom is satanic, Many Nj
,he internal attacks are sly and hidden the
strategic and SO ingenious that they ~ y,
not easily discovered. But here is q
/ and uncovered attempt of the powers y,
arkness to split up the churches, to yet 81
listers to take each otLec by the throat ~ -
make religion laughing stock Of earth ~.
hell, TO leave the Bible with no more -
iect or authenticity than an old almanac ~
-. a..fT I. \