Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-02-15
DIR. TALMAGE'SC CREED
A SERMON SUGGESTED BY CURRENT
THEOLOGICAL DISCUSSION.

Unuerstood by All
BROOKLYN, Feb II, AT the Tabernacle
service this morning after the usual read
ing OF the Scriptures the congregation
sang
Jesus shall reign whpreer the sun
Doth his successive journeys run.
The sermon which followed was appar
emily suggested by the storm OF theological
controversy now raging in the churches
In these times when it is quite uncertain
what many Of the clergy really do believe
this sermon makes ii very plain what the
pastor OF the Brook Ign Tabernacle believes
His text was taken from Luke vi H. And
he came down with them and stood in the
plain"
Christ on the mountains is frequent
study. We have seen him on the Mount of
Olives, Mount of Bratitudes. Mount Mo
riah, Mount Calvary Mount OF Ascension
and 1t Is glorious to study him on these
great natural elevations But how is it
that never before have we noticed him on
the plainp Amid the rocks high up on the
mountain, Christ had passed the night, but
now, mt early dawn, he Is coming down
with some especial friends, stepping from
shelving to shelving here and there lo0s-
ened stone rolling thwn the steep sides
ahead OF him, until he gets in Il level place,
so that he can he approached without
climbing from all sides He is on the level
My text says, lie came down with them
and stood in the plain
CHRIST ON THE LEVEL.
Now that Is what the world wants today
more than anything else-a Christ on the
level, easy to get at, no ascending, no de
scending, approachahle from all sides
Christ on the plain. The question among
all consecrated people today is, What is the
matter with the Minister'S Many of them
are engaged in picking holes in the Bible
and apologizing for this and apoogizng
for that In IN age when the whole ten
dency is to pay too little reverence to the
Bible, they are fighting against Bibliolatry
or too much reverence for the Bible, They
are building n fence on the wrong side of
the road, not on the side where the preci
pice IL and off which multitudes are fall
ing, but on the upper side of the road, so
that people will not fall up hill of which
there is no danger
There Is no more danger of Bibiolatry
or too much reverence for the Scriptures
than there is that astrology will take the
place Of astronomy or alchemy the place
Of chemistry or the canal boat the place Of
the limited express rail train What
theological farce it is Ministers lighting
against too much reverence for the Scrip
lures. ministers making apology for the
Scriptures, ministers pretending to be
friends OF the Bible, yet doing the Book
more damage than all the blatant infdels
on all the earth.
The trouble is our theologans are up in
the mountain in II fight above the clouds
about things which they do not under
stand Come down on the plain and stand
beside Christ, who never preached a tech
nicality or didactiCism. What do you,
o wise headed ecclesiastic, know about
the DEGREES of Godp Who cares tig about
your ublapsariansm or your supralapsa
rianismp
What II spectacle we have in our denomi
nations today, committees trying to patch
up an old creed made two or three hundred
years ago so that 1t will fit on the Nine
teenth century. Why do not our millinery
establishments take out Of the garrets the
coal scuttle hats which your great-grand
mothers wore and try to fit them on the
head of the modern maiden2 You cannot
fix up n three hundred year-old creed so rs
to fit our time. Princeton will sew on
little piece and Union seminary will sew
and Danville seminary will sew on other
pieces, and by the time the creed is done it
will be as varlegated as Joseph's coat of
many colors Think of having to change
an old creed to make it clear that all in
fants dying go to heavenl
am so glad that the committees are go
ing to let the babies in. Thank you. So
many Of them are already in that all the
hills OF heaven look like a Sunday school
anniversary. Now what is the use of fix
ing up creed which left any doubt on
that subject No man ever doubted that
all infants dying go to heaven unless he he
a Herod or Charles Guiteau, | was op
posed to ovcrhauing the old creed at ALL !
but now that !, has bepA lifted up and its
imperfections set up in the sight of the
world. say, Overheard with it and make |
a new creed. There are today in our de
nomination five hundred men who cou Id |
make better one. could make better
one myself.
As we ARE now in process Of changing |
the creed, and no one knows what we are
expected to believe, or will two or three |
years hence be expected to believe | could |
not wait, and so have made creed Of my |
own which intend to observe the rest of
my life. wrote it down in my memoran |
dun book some six months ago and 1t reads |.
as follows My creed The glorious Lord !.
To trust him, love him and obey him is all |
that is required, TO that creed invite all .
mankind. 4, De Witt ralmage.'
THE PEOPLE ASK TOO MANY QUESTIONS,
The reason Christianity has not made .
more rapid advance is because the people |
are asked to believe too many things. .
There are, | believe, today millions OF |
good Christians who have never joined the /
church and are not counted among the .
Lords friends because they cannot believe .
all the things that they are required to
believe. One half the things man is eN |
pected to believe in order to enter the |
church and reach heaven have no more to .
do with his salvation than the question, |
How many volcanoes are in the moon? or, /
How far apart from each other are the .
rings of Saturn' or, How many teeth .
there were in the jawbone with which .
Samson smote the Philistines2 | believe
ten thousand things, but none Of them .
have anything to do with my salvation,
except these two-l am sinner and Christ .
came to save me.
Musicians tell us that the octave consists .
only Of five tones and two semitones, and .
all the Handles and Haydns and Mozarts
and Wagners and Schumanns of all ages .
must do their work within the range OF .
those FIVE tones and two semitones. So /
have to tell you that all the theology that .
will be of practical use in our world is
made out Of the two facts of human sinful .
ness and divine atonement. Within that .
octave swing THE Song Of Moses and the
Lamb" the Christmas chant above Beth
lehem and the Hallelujah of all the choirs
standing on seas of glass,