Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-06-25
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
Subjects THE. Battle of Creeds. y

TEXT: Vie that posseth BY and mcddleth
Wath str1te belonging not to hin, is like oni
thdt tdketh a dog bp the ears Proverbs
XVI, IL 70
solomon here deplctcs the habit of rush
ing IN between contestants. of taking mart
IN the antagOnisms of Others: of ioiisiap In
ngnts which they ought to sh.n. They do
oe good to others and gel damage for them
selves. ne compares it to the experiment of
tta "a cog oy the ears. Nothing SO irri-
=, 1aIes CANNES as to be clutched by the lips.
lake them by the back of the meek and Ri
snem and it does not scerM to hurt or offend.
put You take the dog by the ear, and he will
TAKE you with his teeth In all the history
OF ke.,neis no intelligent or spirited dog will
stanu mat. Now" says Solomon 'syou 90
lnto quarrels or CONTROVERSIES that are not
yours and you viii get lacerated and torn
and bitten. He that passeth by and med.
dleth WITH strife belonging not to him is like
one 81, tnat taketh a dog by the ears'n
tnis is the time of resounding ecclesiastical
quarrel. Never within your memory on.
mi mine has the air been so full Of missiles
me Presbyterian Church has on hand con.
troversy SO great that 1t finds it prudent to
postpone its settlement for at least one more
year, hoping that something will turn up.
SOMEBODY might die OF new general assem-
Oily may have grace to handle the exciting
questions. The Episcopal Church has east
out some recalcitrants, and its digestive Or
gans are taxed to the utmost III irving to as
simulate Others. ''Shali women preachyp
VI be sent as delegates to conferences
are questions that have put many of
our Nietnodlst brethren on the 'anxious
seat And the waters in some of the great
taptlstrles are troubled waters Because of
me controversies throughout Christendom
me ar is now like an August afternoon
about flve O'Clock, when it has been steamino
not all day, and clouds are gathering. and
there are lions of thunder with grumbling
voices and flashing eyes coming forth from
Their cloudy lairs, and people are waiting
TOT the full burst of the tempest. | am not
much OF a weather prophet, but the clouds
look to me mostly like wind clouds. 1t may
De big blow, but 1 hope it will soon be
over. In regard to the Battle Of the Creeds
am every day asked about it. / want to
make 1t 50 plain this morning what think
that no one will ever ask again.
Let those who are jurymen in the easel
mean those who in the different ecclesiasti-
cal courts have the questions put directly
before them-weigh and decide. Let the rest
OF us keep out. The most damaging thing
on earth is religious controversy No one
ever comes cut of it as good man as he
goes in. Some of the ministers in all de-
nominations who before the present acerbity
were good and kind and useful, now seem al.
always open their violent meetings with
prayer before devouring each other. thus
saying Grace before meat. They have moral
hydrophobia that makes us think they have
taken dog by the ears. They never read
the lmprecatory Psalms of David with such
zest as since the Briggs and Newton and
Maclueary and Bridgman and Brooks ques-
IONS got INTO full swing. May the rams of
the sheepfoid soon have their horns sawed
on Before the controversies are settled a
good many ministers will, through what they
call liberalism, be landed INTO practical in
ndelity, and others through what they call
conservatism will shrink up into bigots tight
and hard as the mummies of Egypt which
got through their controversies three thou
sand years ago.
This trouble throughout Christendom
was directly inspired by Satan He saw
that too much good was being done. Re-
crults were being gathered by hundreds of
thousands to the Gospel standard. The
victories for God and the truth were too
near together. Too many churches were
being dedicated. Too many ministers were
Delng ordained. Too many philanthropies
were being fostered Too many souls were
being saved. 1t had been dull time in the
neither world, and the arrivals were too few
30 satan one day rose upon his throne and
said, I'VE powers of darkness, hearr' And
all up and down the caverns the cry was,
Hear! Hear" Satan said: There is that
American Board of Commissioners for For
eign Missions. It must either be dem oished
OF crippled, or the first thing you know they
will have all nations brought to God Apol-
lyon the Younger You go up to Andovel
and get the professors to discussing whether
the heather can be saved without the Cos
pei. Divert them from the work of mission.
ana get them in angry convention il
room at Young's Hotel, Boston, and
Dy me True they adjourn tue cause Of
foreign missions will be gloriously and
inagniticently injured Diabolus the oun-
gerl You go up and get Union Theological
Seminary of New York and the genera
assembly OF the Presbyterian Church at De
troit at swords points and diverted from thu
work OF making earnest ministers of religion
and turn that old Presbyterian Church
which has been keeping us out of customer,
Ior hundreds of years, into a splendid pan
demonium on small scale Abaddon tn,
Ihirdl You go up and assault that old Epis
copal Church, which has been storming thu
heavens for centuries with the sublimes
prayers that were ever uttered--church oil
Bishop Leighton, Bishop White and Bishop
Mcllvane, and get that denomination discuss.
ing men instead OF discussing the eternities
Abaddon the Fourthi You 60 up to that OLD
Methodist Church. which has, through her
revival, sent millions to heaven which We
would otherwise have added to our popula-
lion; the church Of w esley and Matthew
Simpson, against which WA hare 81 as;sAazsssl
-ss,uui5e, and get them so absorbed in discuss
ing whether women shall take part in her
conference that they shall not have so much
time to discuss how many sons and daughters
she win take to glory
What amazes me most is that all people
do not see that the entire movement at this
time all over Christendom is satanic Many
OF the internal attacks are sly and hidden
and strategic and SO ingenious that they
are not easily discovered But here is a
bold and uncovered attempt Of the powers
Of darkness to split up the churches, to get
ministers to take each other by the throat
to make religion laughing stock of earth
and hell, to leave the Bible with no more
respect or authenticity than an old almanac
OF 1929, which told what would be the
change Of weather six months ahead and
in what quarter Of the month it is best to
plant turnips. In word, the effort is to
stop the evangelization Of the world. 1t
seems to me very much likesthis: There has
been . railroad accident and many are
wounded and dying. There are several
drug stores near the scene OF casualty. All
the doctors and druggists are needed and
needed right away. Bandages, stimulants.
anRsthetics, medicines Of all sorts. What
are the doctors and druggists doingf Dis
cussing the contents OF some old bottles on
the top shelf, bottles of medicine which
some doctors and druggists mixed two or
three hundred years ago. Come doctors"
"Come druggists! !" cry the people, and help
these wounded and diving that are being