St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-12-26

Is meant the foretelling with certainty
of some event which could not have
been foreseen in natural causes. AS
Economical predictions, shrewd guesses,
vague expressions. clever forecasts are
not prophecies. Prophecy deals with
the future. and with certainty. AS a
miracle is the work of God, so is a
prophecy. Only God can work a
miracle. and only God can utter a
prophecy. AS He may give miraculous
powers to man, so also He may give the
gift of prophecy to man. Man is but
the instrument; the power is Gods
power. Prophecy is possible. God
knows future events with certainty
Indeed, for Him there is no future.
Time is mere human thing. Gods
knowledge is one eternal act, embracing
all time past, present and future. God
can convey this knowledge OF future
events to man. His power implies this.
Man can receive this knowledge. 1t
may advance his spiritual interests. and
the giving of 1t shows forth Gods good
ness. As none but God can have a GER
tain definite knowledge of these events
or which we speak, it follows thai
prophecies are signs proper to Himself.
1t was pr0pheSied that a Messiah
should come; that He was to be of tie
house of David; that lie was to be born
i'll Bethlehem: that He was to work
many miracles: that He was to die for
our sins; that the Jews for refusing to
receive him were TO be scattered among
hp oil fol IN tIx,
and how faithfully these utterances
have been fulfilled.
Miracles also are a divine seal upon
Christianity.
ONLY GOD CAN WORK A MIRACLE.
Ii others do so they are merely Gods
Instruments. Miracles are therefore
Gods own seal upon that religion to
prove which they have been worked.
The evidence we have in favor OF
miracles in proof of Christianity is the
historical evidence of the sacred Script
ures. The law OF Moses leads up to the
law OF Christ. The miracles of the Old
Testament have the same weIghtA OF
historical testimony i'll their favor as
the chief events of the old Jewish
nation. The miracles attributed to
Christ and to the apostles rest to some
extent upon the historical authority of
the New Testament. They are borne
out by the same testimony as the ordi-
nary events narrated in the Gospels
Neither in the Old nor in
the New TeStaments are miracles
given as detached events. They
are intimately connected with the
civil affairs of the Jewish people; they
are woven into the public life of Christ
and OF the apostles. Christianity was
offered to the world upon the evidence
of miracles publicly worked to prove It's
claim. 1t was accepted on these terms.
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY.
The wonderfully rapid spread of
Christianity most strikes the thoughtful
mind. In 800 years Christianity was
taught throughout the world as then
known. In the Acts of the Apostles St.
Luke tells OF st. PauPS travels. He
describes that apostles journeyings
through Palestine. Syria, Greece. Italy,
etc, building churches everywhere.
The same Is true of st. Peter, as his
first epiStle shows. st. Andrew taught
Christianity i'll Scythia and Greece. st.
James the Less in Judea and Galilee,
St. Thomas in India, st. Bartholomew
i'll Armenia, st. Philip in Scythia, and
SO of the Others Whether or not st.
Andrew preached iii Scotland and st.
James the Greater in Spain, as tradition
says, certain it is that the apostles scat
tered themselves through MANY lands
in such way as to call forth wonder.
particularly in those days of difficult
travel.
The natural means used for the
spread of Christianity do not account
for lis extensive propagation. These
means were SO few and SO poor, and the
obstacles were so numerous and so
powerful that there is no proportion be-
tween cause and effect. The religion
was new. Long standing traditions,
errors and superStitionS were opposed
to it. The pride of heather philos-
ophy, and the fury Of pagan priests
presented no mean barrier. The
Jews were most persistent persecu-
tors. They sent Saul to Damascus,
they stirred up tine Romans. they stoned
Steven. they forced PLATE to pu: Jesus,
the founder of Christianity, to death. A
most violent persecution, almost unin-
terrupted for 800 years, ragged through
the Roman empire. Trades people and
merchants opposed Christianity because
1t was running their business in idols
and victims; men of letters because
they drew their inspiration from pagan
deities; Stald and stately men of wealth
because it was new and uEtried; the
civil power because pagalism was the
established religion of the state.
To SurmOunt such obstacles as were
presented there was the Father of
Christianity, born of poor mother in
stable. He was before the public for
three years, was put to death OH cross,
rose again, was seen for forty days, but
no longer. There were twelve. apes
ties, de:t tute of all those means which
naturally sway mems minds. They
were not learned, nor rich, nor eloquent
They belonged to despised race, the
Jews; they came from the most obscure
province of Palestine, Galiiee. These
few men, more obscure even than their
dead leader, without any apparent au-
thority, more powerless to the human
eye than any average twelve men picked
up at random, preached with success
these seemingly incredible factS-God
became man, and after His crucifiXion
He rose from the dead.
MAHOMETANISM.
Since the parliament of religions it
has become fashionable to compare
Christianity with Buddhism and Ma
Buddha was not a god, nor
the envoy of god, and did not come
for the salvation of the world. He be-
gan life of austerity; he did not con-
tinue it. There was no violence at
tempted against him or his followers;
there was against Christ and the Chris
tians. Buddhism denies a God and a
human soul; Christianity is based upon
the existence of both. Buddhism re-
duces all things TO an assemblage of
forces working naturally and neces-
sarily as magnet upon iron; Chris
tianity asserts the doctrine of tree will.
The 1500J0,000 Buddhists of today do
not hold the same doctrine as did their
founder. Of the many millions of pro-
Tossing Christians naarly III Iannunino