Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-09-22

}
we do not differ inside the church in theol-
| ogy half rs much as they differ outside the
church in science. If they reject our relig-
ion because we differ in some minor points,
we might just as we'll reject science because
the scientists differ, but as far as can tell
| the war of in1del science against Christi
| anity is not SO severe as it used to be, be-
! cause these men are anagonistic to each
| other and us far as l can tell it is going to
be a war between telescope and telescope.
Leyden jar and Leyden jar, chemical appar-
atus and chemical apparatus. They do not
agree on anything.
Do you supposethat this Bible theory about
the origin of life is going to be overthrown
by men who have different theorles-50 diff
! ferent theories-about the origin OF l1fe3
And when Agassiz comes out and puts both
feet on the doctrine Of evolution and says In
regard to many scientists ri notice thai
these young naturalists are adopting as the
cries in science things which have not passed
under observation. Agassiz saw what we
all see-that there are men who talk very
wisely WAC know but very little, and that
| just as soon as a young scientist finds out the
difference between the feelers Of wasp and
| the horns of a beetle he begins to patronize
| the Almighty and go about talking about
culture as though it were spelled c-u-l-c-h-a-r
] --culchar
1t makes me sick to see these literary tops
| going down the street with a copy OF Darwin
under one arm, and case of transfxed grass
hoppers and butterflies under the other arm,
talking about the "Survival of the Fittest,
and Huxleys "Protoplasn,' and tho "Nebu-
lar Hypothesis" and talking to us common
men as though we were fools tfthey agreed
in their theories and came up with solid facts
against Christianity, / say perhaps they
| ;<h4 10 inn, raceiOn huf fh0V do nor
agree. Darwin charges upon Lamarck, Wal
lace upon Cope Herschel even charged
upon Ferguson. They do not agree about
| the graduation OF the species they do not
agree about embryoloSy. What do they
agree about?
Herschel wrote whole chapter OF what he
calls Errors In Astronomy. La Place says
that the moon was not put in the right place !
| that IL II had been put four times the distance
from our world there would have been more
harmony in the universe. But Lionviue
comes up Just in time to prove that the Lord
was wise and put the moon in the right place.
How many colors woven into the light?
Seven. SAYS Newton. Three, says David
Brewster. How high is the aurora borealis?
Two and half miles high, says Lias. One
! hundred AMI sixty-hve miles, says Twlnigf
How far is the sun from the earth? Seventy
six million miles, says Lacaille $4,000, 900
miles, says Humboldt 80, 600, 900 miles. says
Henderson 104, 100000 miles, says Mayer.
| Only little difference OF 2S,000,000 miles
| These men say we do not agree in religion.
Do they agree in science? Have they come
| I'D with solid front to assault our glorious
| Christianity?
| "Gentlemen OF the jury, have you agreed
upon your verdict" the court or the clerk
says to the jury, having been out all night,
on coming in. "Have you agreed on your
verdict?' If they say yes, the verdict is
taken and recorded. If they say, "No, we
Jury room. II one juryman should say, Il
think the man is guilty OF murder" and an
other juryman should say, II think he Is
guilty OF manslaughter," and another jury
man should say, II think he is guilty OF as
sault AMI battery with intent to kill, the
Judge would lose his patience and say, go
back to your room now and make up YER
dict. Agree on something"
Well, my friends, there has been great
trial going on for centuries and for ages be-
tween Skepticism, the plaintiff, verses
Christianity, the defendant. Inc scientists
hive been impaneled and sworn on the jury.
They have been gone for centuries, some oil
them. and they come back, and we say,
Gentlemen Of the jury, have you agreed
upon a verdict?" They say, "No, we have
not agreed" Then we say, sGo back for
few more centuries and then come in andsee
if YOU can agree, see if you can render some
verdict" Now, there is not the meanest
prisoner in the Tombs Court who would be
condemned by jury that did not agree, and
vet YOU expect us to renounce our glorious
Christianity for such miserable verdict as
these men have rendered, they themselves
not having been able to agree.
But my subje It shall no longer beede-
fensive il must / aggressive. must show
YOU that instead OF Christianity falling back
II is on the march, and that the coming rellg-
ion of the world is 70 be the religion OF the
Lord Jesus Christ 1900 times intensified.
1t is to take possession Of everything-of all
laws. all manners, all 1stoms, all cities, all
nations. 1t is going to ne so mighty as com
nared with what it has been, so much more
,niohtv that if will seem almost like new
religion.
I adopt this theory because Christianity
has gone on straight ahead Notwithstanding
all the bombardment, and inf1dellty has not
DESTROYED church, or crippled minister,
or rooted out one verse of the Bible, and now
their ammunition seems to be pretty much
exhausted. They cannot get anything new
against Christianity and If Christianity has
gone on under the bombardment of CEN
turies and still continues to advance, may we
not conclude that, as the powder and shot OF
the other side seem to be exhausted, Chris
tianity is going on with more rapid stride?
find an encouraging fact in the thought
that the secular press in this day and the
nuIpit seem harnessed in the same team for
the proclamation of the gospel. Tomorrow
there will not be banker on Wall street or
State street or Third street who will not have
in his pocket or on his table treatises on
Christianity, calls TO repentance and Scrip
ture passages, 20 or so of them. in the 70
ports of the Christian churches of this city
and other cities. Why, that thing would
have been impossible few years ago. Now
on Monday morning and Monday evening
the secular press spreads abroad more re-
ligious truth than all the tract societies OF
the country spread in the other six days.
Blessed be the tract societies We hail them,
and We hail these Others
l say it would have been impossible few
years ago. Hundreds of letters would have
come to the secular newspaper offices, say.
ing, stop my paper; we have religion on
Sunday; don't give US any through tho
week. Stop my paper" But have been
told that many of the secular papers have
their largest circulation on Monday morning,
and the whole population of this country are
becoming sermon readers. Besides that,
have you not noticed the papers proclaiming
themselves secular almost every week have
religious discussions in them?
Go back few years when there was not
decent paper in the United States that had
not discussion on the doctrine Of eternal
punishment. Small wits made merry, I
know, but there was not an intelligent man
IN the United States that as result OF that
controversy in regard to eternal punishment
did not ask himself the question, "What is
o. 10 II