The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-05-18
THE SIN OF SILENCE
Christians Must Speak When God
and the Bible Is Assailed.
Rev. t. Dewitt Talmage Tells Why Reli-
glous People Should Go Armed with
the Sword OF the Spirit In De-
fense Of Christianity.

tabernacle, Rev. DIR. Talmage illus
trated In the most convincing language
the duty of Christians of embracing every
opportunity todo good and advance the
cause of the Kingdom of Christ His text
was: Mark TX, 25, "Thou dumb and deaf
spirit, charge thee, come out of him."
Here was case of great anguish.
The son of the household was possessed
of an evil spirit which, among other
things, paralyzed his tongue and made
him speechless. When the influence
was on the patient, he could not say
word-articulation was impossible. The
spirit that captured this member of the
household was dumb spirit-so called
by Christ-a spirit abroad to-day and as
lively and potent as in New Testament
times. Yet In all the realms of sermon
ology, cannot find discourse concern
ing this dumb devil which Christ charged
upon in my text, saying: "Come out Of
him."
There has been much destructive SUI
perstition abroad in the world concern
ing possession by evil spirits. Under
the form of belief In witchcraft, this de-
lusion swept the continents. Persons
were supposed to be possessed with
some evil spirit, which made them able
to destroy others. In the sixteenth CEN
tury, in Geneva, 1900 persons were
burned to death as witches. Under one
judge, in Lorraine, 900 persons were
burned to death as witches. In one
neighborhood of France 1000 persons
were burned. In two centuries 100000
were slain as witches. So mighty was
the delusion that it included among its
victims some of the greatest intellects
of all time, such as Chief Justice Mat
thew Hale and Sir Edward Coke, and
such renowned ministers of religion as
Cotton Mather, one of whose books,
Benjamin Franklin said, shaped his
life and Richard Baxter, and Arch
bishop Cranmer, and Martin Luther;
and, among writers and philosophers,
Lord Bacon. That belief, which has
become the laughing stock of all sensi-
BILE people, counted its disciples among
the wisest and best people of Sweden,
Germany, England, France, Spain and
New England. But, while we reject
witchcrnft, any man who believes the
Bible must believe that there are dia-
bolical agencies abroad in the world.
While there are ministering spirits to
bless, there are Internal spirits to him
der, to poison and to destroy. Christ
was speaking 10 q spiritual existence,
when, standing before the afflicted one
of the text, He said: "Thou dumb and
deaf spirit, come out Of him"
Against this dumb devil of the text,
put you on your guard. 20 not think
that this agent of evil has put his blight
on those who, by omission of the vocal
organs, have had the golden gates of
speech bolted and barred. Among those
who have never spoken word are the
most gracious and lovely and talented
souls that were ever incarnated. The
chapiains of the asylums for the dumb
can tell you enchanting stories of those
who never called the name of father or
mother or child, and many OF the most
devout and prayerful souls will never.
in this world, speak the name Of God or
Christ. Many deaf mute have seen
with the angel Of intelligence seated ut
the window OF the eye, who never came
forth from the door of the mouth. What
a miracle of loveliness and knowledge
was Laura Bridgman, of New lamp
shire, not only without faculty ofspeech,
but without hearing and without sight.
all these faculties removed by sickness
when two years OF age. yet, becoming
wonder ut necdlcwork. Mt the piano.
at the sewing machine. and an intelli.
gent student Of the Script urcs. and con.
founding philosophers, " no came from
all parts of the world TO study the phe
nomenon. Thanks 10 Christianity for
what it has done for the amcloration OF
the condition of the deaf and the dumb
Back IN the ages, they were put 10
death ms having no RI lht, with sich pau.
city OF equipment, to liys, and for
centuries they were classed among
the itliotic and unsafe, But in the
sixteenth century came Pedro Ponce,
the Spanish monk; and in the seven.
teenth century came Juan Pablo Bonet,
another Spanish monk, with dactylology
or the finger alphabet; and in our own
century, we have had John Braidwood
and Drs. Mitchell and AclSerly and Peet
and Gallaudet, who have given TO un.
counted thousands of those whose
tongues were forever silent, the power
TO spell out on the air by manual al.
phabet their thoughts about this world
and their hopes for the next. We re-
joice in the brilliant inventions in be-
half of those who were born dumb.
One of the most impressive audiences l
ever addressed was in the far west two
or three yeas ago-an au dience Of
about six hundred persons, who had
never heard a sound or spoken word,
an interpreter standing beside me while
addressed them. congratulated that
audience on two advantages they had
over the most of us-the one that they
escaped hearing great ma ny disagree
able things, and, on the 9th er fact, that
they escaped saying things they were
sorry for afterward. Yet, after all the
alleviations, shackled tongue Is an ap-
palling limitation. But we are not this
morning speaking of congenital mutes.
We mean those who are born With all
the faculties Of vocalization and yet
have been struck by the evil one men
toned in the textr-thc dumb devil TO
whom Christ called when He said,
'srhou dumb and deaf spirit, charge
thee, come out of him"
There has. been apotheosization OF
silence. Some one has said silence IL