The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-09-20

The memoirs" were read and pond
cred, and the decision came that they
must be burned, and not until the last
word of those memoirs" went to ashes
did the literary company separate.
But, suppose now all the best spirits OF
all ages were assembled to decide the
fate of the Bible, which is the last VIII
and Testament of our Heavenly Father,
and these Memoirs Of our Lord Jesus
what would be the verdictP Shall they
burn or shall they live? The unani-
nous verdict Of all is, "Let 1t live,
though all else burn" Then put to-
gether on the other hand all the de-
bauchees and profligates and assassins
of the age, and the unanimous verdict
concerning the Bible would be, Lett
burn" Mind you, do not say that all
infidels are immoral, but do say that
all the scapegraces and scoundrels OF
the universe agree with them about
the Bible. Let me vote with those who
believe in the Holy Scriptures. Men
believe other things with half the evil
dence required to believe the Bible.
The distinguished Abner Kneel-
and rejected the Scriptures, and
then put all his money into
an enterprise for the recovery OF that
hocus-pocus Captain Kidd's Treas
ures," Kneeland's faith for doing SO
being founded on a mans statement
that he could tell where those treas
ures were buried from the looks of a
glass of water dipped from the Hudson
River. The internal evidence of the
authenticity of the Scriptures is SO ex-
act and so vivid that no man, honest
and sane, can thoroughly and continu-
ously and prayerfully read them with
out entering their discipleship. So l
put that internal evidence paramount.
How are you led to believe in letter
you receive from husband or wife or
child or friend? You know the hand
writing. You know the style. You
recognize the sentiment. When the
letter comes you do not summon the
postmaster who stamped it and the
postmaster who received 1t and the
letter-carrier who brought it to your
! door to prove that it is genuine let
ter The internal evidence settles H.,
and by the same process you can for
ever settle the fact that the Bible is the
handwriting and communication of the
infinite God.
Furthermore, as / have already in
timated, we may increase our faith by
the testimony Of others. Perhaps we
of lesser brain may have been over
come by superstition or cajoled into an
acceptance of hollow pretension. Sc
will, this morning, turn this house
into a court room and summon wit.
nesses, and you shall be the jury, and
now enpanel you for that purpose, and
will put upon the witness stand mer
whom all the world acknowledge to be
strong intellectually and whose evi
dence in any other court room would
be incontrovertible. will not call tC
the witness stand any minister Of th'
gospel, for he might be prejudiced
There are two ways Of taking an oatl
in court room. One Is by putting thu
lips to the Bible and the other is b!
holding up the right hand towarC
heaven. Now, as in this case, it is tn,
Bible that is on trial, we will not asl
the witness to put the book to his lips
for that would imply that the sanctit!
and divinity of the book Is settled, an'
that would be begging the question
So shall ask each witness TO lift hi
hand toward heaven in affirmation
Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice Of tn
Supreme Court of the United States
appointed by President Lincoln, will
take the witness stand. "Chief Jus
tice Chase, upon your oath, please b
state what you have to say about tn
book commonly called the Bible" TIL
witness replies: "There came a tim
In nv life when / doubted the divinit
of the scriptures, and l resolved
as lawyer and Judge, I woul
try the book as / would tr
ANYTHING in the court room, taking evi
dence for and against. 1t was a lon
and serious and profound study, an
using the same principles of evidenc
in this religious matter as always d
in secular matters, | have come to tn
decision that the Bible is a supernat
ural book, that it has come from Goo
and that the only safety for the huma
race is TO follow its teachings" Judge
that will do. Go back again to you
pillow of dust on the banks of th
Ohio" Next put upon the witnes
stand a president of the United State
, John Quincy Adams. "Presider
Adams what have you to say about tn
Bible and Christianity" The pres
dent replies: 81 have for many year
made IL practice TO read through th
Bible once a year. My custom is I
read four Of five chapters every morI
ing Immediately after arising from m
; bed. 1t employees about an hour of m
time and seems TO me the most suit
. BILE manner of beginning the day.
. what light soever we regard the Bibl
whether with reference TO revelation
10 history, or to morality, 1t is an II
, valuable and inexhaustlble mine {
! knowledge and virtue" Next pt
! upon the witness stand Sir Isaac New
, ton, the author Of the "Principia," +" an
the greatest natural philosopher u
I world has ever seen. "Sir Isaac, whit
e have you to say concerning the Biblef
r The philosophers reply is: We accour
0 the Scriptures Of God TO be the mo-
r sublime philosophy"
9 Next put upon the witness stan
: the enchantment Of letters, Sir Walt,
e Scott: and when / ask him what I