The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-04-06
Rev. Thomas j. May on the Methods
Of the Gifted Orator and
Lawyer.
Christianity Has Stood Much
More Severe Tests In tho
Theater.



religion, he said, would be relieved Of many
of its difficulties il men would use common
sense in matters of faith 40 in matters Of
business. II matters not how mysterious
and uncertain the problems Of science and
human affairs may appear, mer are ready
and willing to sit down and try to solve
them with patience and condor. II the
solution promises to remove any burden
from the shoulders Of the world and prove
q blessing to mankind. men will double
their diligence mi earnestness in study
md investigation. They do not begin to
doubt when the investigation begins, hut
often times 40 they collect data, compare
and weigh evidence; they are inspired by
expectancy and faith. But it is proverbinl
that when men come to the examination OF
matters of religion and faith, they come
doubling. Why 10 1t that men use such
hard common sense in every thing that per-
tains to their temporal concerns and none
or 80 little in things that make for their
spiritual we'll being? There are multitudes
of persons go %prejudiced against the Bible
and it's teachings, 30 biggoted and inflated
with ~concet, and SO unfair and dishonest
in their Investigations of spiritual truth,
that you only have to hold the
Bible up in your hand and they will de-
nounce it as untrue, without having read
three chapters of its contents. THIS class
only have to hear some other person quite
as rrejudiced, conceited and ignorant as
themselves, condemn it, and at once they
agree with their condemnation. Men have
become so bare-faced in their denuncia-
tions of the Bible and the Christian relig-
ion, that you will hear them e~xulting that
Bob Ingersoll don't believe the Bible, and
the easiest and most foolish conclusion they
reach is, II don't believe it, either.'' But
it some one should be standing by and say,
'syes but Washington, Lincoln and Gar
field, Of our own nation, Gladstone and
Bismarck, across the sea, as we'll as the
long line of the greatest scholars the world
has ever produced. almost without excep-
ton. all believe the Bible" the reply would
undoubtedly be. ''well, they must have all
been mistaken, but | know that Col. In
gersoll is correct" Men seem to forget
that the Bible treats of the most profound
subjects that the human MN can con-
template. It deals with the metaphysical.
the spiritual, the moral, the infinite, the
immortal, the eternal. Subjects that re-
quire the most profound thought of the
greatest and ~clearest minds. And yet there
bend and apply readily. The Chris
tian faith no where c~ontradicts reason.
There is not one principle or doctrine
in all the word of God, not one miracle, not
supported by an abundance of testimony.
God asks his rational creatures to accept
nothing in or out of the Bible without sui.
ticient evidence. Those who accept Christ
md His religion He has promised to put the
witness within them. He that is willing to
do His will shall know of the doctrine.
There stood around Christ when He ut
tered the words of the text three classes of
individuals. There was a GLASS of true be-
levers. They believed, in God. They
knew that such a voice from Heaven was
possible, and at once recognized it as the
voice Of God. They had no misglvings
God had spoken, and that the voice came
from Heaven, and hence they were not
alarmed or perplexed. The voice filled
them with joy and delight. Thers was a
second class standing by that might be
termed %scotfers, who try to dispose of every
questioned about the voice, l can see one of
them look up toward the sky with a de-
risive sheer upon his face and answers: 81
guess it was nothing but thunder" "Yes,'
hut says the other, sit did not sound like
thunder; it sounded excctly like a voice.
Nothing but thunder; it was thunder. l
am satisfied it was thunder" says the other.
Tue third GLASS might be DESIGNATED as
honest investigators, but skeptical and ma
terialistic in their turn of mind. They
reasoned that it was not impossible that a
voice should como from heaven. Having
admitted the possibility of the voice COM
ing from the sky they tried to explain it
by ascribing it to an angel. They said
that it was an angel spoke to him. Jesus
answered and said: ''Ihis came not be-
cause of me, but for you sakes."
These three classes find their representa-
tives in the world at the present time. The
first class are open to conviction and are
ready to accept the truth whenever it is
PRESENTED to them. Who will pretend that
those who have accepted the bible and
minded? The fact is the thinking and lit
erary work of the world Is done 10 day by
those who accept the bible as the very word
of God and christianity as the only
true religion in the world. II has
always been 80. The best literature of the
has emanated from Christian scholars. The
Christian church is ready any day to COM
pare learning and literature, minds and
men, with all the rest of the world. There
are none who rejoice more in the progress
OF scientific truth and results, than Chris
tlan scholars. l may say of a truth there
are none who have labored moro patiently
and perseveringly in the cause OF science
than men of learning in the Christian
church. The Christian scholar cannot
reach u final analysis of the dew drop or the
rosebud, and yet it does not shake his
49, VAN AAoao Spon Va Wal o1 CvOAA l
give him much solicitude.
By beginning with God in Jesus Christ
everything can be explained ultimately.
But If God in the person of Jesus Christ is
ruled out of the universe nothing can be
understood OF explained in the moral and
spiritual realm, or in nature. I may add.
It is true that the mind grasps the physical
much more readily than the spiritual, Be-
cause the physical is seen. the spiritual un-
seen. Tn physical is seen and can BIZ
touched, handled, while the spiritual can
not be seen or handled. And we nave been
10 accustomed from our infancy to
deal mostly with the physical or material
rather than the spiritual. The saddest fact
of all is, we have been in league too much with
the temporal concerns of this life. to the
exclusion of our eternal iutet ests of the life
beyond. hut should we accustom ourselves
to with the unseen and eternal,
and carry the same common sense with us
in such c~ommunings that we do into the
store and upon the farm, we should ee sur
rounded by n purer, clearer atmosphere, in
the things that pertain to our holy religion.
The second class of persons who stood in
the presence of Christ when the voice came
from heaven, said with a derisive smile:
''It was thunder-it had only thundeied."
This class was a mixture made up OF scot
fers, skeptics. infidels aud atheists, and
find their representatives In our modern
society. l shall deal with them in the mix
ture and briefly. Az / nave already init
mated this mixture of modern apologists
try to dispose of evei ything sacred, vener-