Milford chronicle., 1891-04-10
A PLAGUE OF UNBELIEF.
THE MOVING CAUSE OF ALL THE
PLAQUES OF CITIES.

DR.. ra1mage's Mastery Contrast Of tn,
Effects Of Christianity and AgnostIeism
The Glorious Results Of a Living Faith
What Has Inadelity Done9
NEW YORK, April g. Continuing hi
/ course of sermons on 1.-THE Ten Plaques Of
the Cities, Rev. DR.. Talmage today tool
for his subject "The Plague of Infidelity'
The discourse WIS delivered TO large and
appreciative audiences at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music in the forenoon and the
New York Academy OF Music in the even
ing. The text was Romans iii, H. 'Lei
God be true, but every man a liar.
That is if God says one thing and the
whole human race says the opposite, Paul
would accept the Divine veracity But
there are many in our time who have dared
arraign the Almighty for falsehood. In
fidelity is not only plague, but it is the
mother Of plaques.
It seems from what we hear on all sides
that the Christian religion is a huge blum
der; that the Mosaic account of the creation
is an absurdity large enough to throw all
nations into rollicking outlaw; that Adam
and Eve never existed; that the ancient
GOOD and Noahs ark were impossibilities;
that there never was a miracle; that the
Bible is the friend of cruelty, of murder, of
polygamy, of all forms Of base crime; that
the Christian religion is woman's tyrant
and mans qualification; that the Bible
from lid to lid is a fable, a cruelty, a hum
bug, a sham, a lie; that the martyrs who
died for it's truth were miserable dupes;
that the church Of Jesus Christ is
properly gazetted as a fool; that when
Thomas Carlyle. the skeptie, said, 'The
Bible is noble book" be was dropping
intoimbecility; that when Theodore Parker
declared in Music hall, Boston, "Never a
boy or girl in all ChristendOm but was
profted by that great book, he was be-
coming very weak minded; that it is some
thing to bring a blush to the cheek Of
every patriot that John Adams, the father
of American Independence, declared "The
Bible is the best book in all the wOrld;"
and that lion hearted Andrew Jackson
turned into a sniveling coward when he
said, '"lhat book, sir is the rock on which
our republic rests" and that Daniel Web
ster abdicated the throne of his intellectual
power and resigned his logic, and from
being the great expounder of the constitu-
ton and the great lawyer of his age turned
into an idiot when he said, "My heart as
sures and treasures me that the gospel of
Jesus Christ must be a divine reality
From the time that at my mothers feet
or on my fathers knee 1 first learned to
lisp verses from the sacred writings they
have bean my daily study and vigilant con-
temptation, and if there is anything in my
style or thought to be commended the
credit is due to my kind parents in instill-
ing into my mind an early love of the
and that William II. Seward,
the diplomatist Of the century, only showed
his puerility when he declared, 1.-The whole
hope of human progress is suspended on
the ever growing influences of the Bible;"
and that it is wisest for us to take that
book from the throne in the affections Of
multitudes and put it under
our feet, to be trampled upon by ha-
tired and kissing contempt; and that
your old father was hoodwinked and
eajoled and cheated and befooled when
be leaned on this as a staff after his
hair grew gray, and his hands were
5remulous, and his steps shortened as he
zane up to the verge of the grave; and that
your mother sat with a pack of lies on her
ap while reading of the better country, and
If the ending of all her aches and pains, 4
md reunion not only with those of you
Who stood around her, but with the chill l
lren she had buried with infinite heart /
.che, so that she could read no more until [
he took Off her spectacles and wiped from |
hem the heavy mist of many tears. Alasl
hat for forty and fifty years they should
lave walked under this delusion and had (
under their pillow when they lay a-dying /
II the back room, and asked that some /
words from the vile page might be cut upon .
he tombstone under the shadow of the old I
ountry meeting house where they sleep .
oday waiting for q resurrection that viii
lever come.
This book, having deceived them, and
aving deceived the mighty intellects of
he past, must not be allowed 70 deceive
ur larger mightier, vaster, moro s6upen
Gus intellecUs And so out with the book
rom the court room, where it is used in
he solemnization of testimony. Out with
} from under the foundation of church
nd asylum. Out with it from the domes-
ie circle Gather together all the Bibles
be children's Bibles, the family Bibles,
hose newly bound, and those with lid
early worn out and pages almost obliter-
ted by the fingers long ago turned to
them all together, and let us
iaSe a bonfire of them, and by it warm
ar cold criticism, and after that turn I'M
er with the plowshare Of public indigna-
on the polluted ashes of that loathsome,
dulterous, obscene, cruel and beautiful
Ook which is so antagonistic to mans
berty, and woman's honor, and the
-orld's happiness.
iAGNosTICs ATTACK THE VERY LIFE.
Now that is the substance of what inf
city proposes and declares, and the at
lclI on the Bible is accompanied by great
cOsity, and there is hardly any subject
bout which more mirth is kindled than
1out the Bible. / like fun; no man was
'er built with keener appreciation OF it.
here is health in laughter instead of harm
physical health, mental health, moral
.alth, spiritual health - provided you
ugh at the right thing. The morning is :
cand. The Indian with its own mist bap-
yes the cataract Minnehaha, or Laughing I
Taser. You have not kept your eyes open
your ears alert if you have not seen the
a smile, or heard the forests clap their !
lnds, or the orchards in blossom week /
,lee with redolence. But there is a laugh /
r which is beautiful, there is Il laughter ]
hich has the rebound Of despair. 1t is Q
1t healthy to giggle about God or chuckle
lout eternity or smlrk about the things ]
the immortal soul. 10
You know what caused the accident
ars ago on the Hudson River railroad. /
was an intoxicated man who for joke !
lied the string Of the air brake and t
opped the train at the most dangerous
int of the journey But the lightning {
ain, not knowing there was any impedi- 7
ant in the way, came down, crushing out i
the mangled victims the immortal souls {
at went speeding instantly to God and Il
dgment 1t was only joke He thought c
would be such fun to stop the train. he q
1pped it. And so infdelity is chiefly /
zious to stop the long train Of the Bible, I
d the long train of the churches, and the 5
ig train of Christian Influences, while n
nnng down upon us are death, Judgment d
d eternity, coming a thousand miles a b
mute, coming with more force than all d
D svalanches that ever slipped from the D
ps, coming with more strength than all 81
e lightning express trains that ever whis-
d or shrieked or Numbered across the p
ntinent. v
,T-- l., fl,ts. s1o,.1.rit,- ~ srfIaf fl,ssi-ar,