The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-20

] pirate, Tor satan IS the fatner OF tndJ III
4 of incrcdulity. Peter used that same IF
when, standing on the wet and slippery
deck Of a fishing smack Of Lake Galllee,
/ he saw Christ liking on the sea as
I though il were as solid as pavement
/ of basalt from the adjoining volcanic
. hills. and Peter cried out: IF it be Thou,
. let me come TO Thee on the water. ~ what
. a prepOsterOus "IfI' What human foot
/ was ever so constructed as TO walk on
wafer In what part Of the earth dld law
/ of grayitatiOn make exception 10 the rule
| that man will sink to the elbows when
/ he touches the wave of river or lake, and
/ will sink still further, unless he can
SWIM But here Peter looks out upon
/ the form in the shape Of man deIylng
the mightiest law of the universe, the
/ law of graduation, and standing erect on
the top Of the liquid Yet the lncredu-
/ lOussPeter cries Out TO the Lord, If 1t be
/ Thou" Alas for tnat lncredulous If.
/ IL is working as powerfully in the latter
/ part of this nineteenth Christian century
/ as it did in the early part of the first
| Christian century Though a small con
! junction. ii is the biggest block to-day IN
/ the way OF the gospel chariot. If! nv
| We have theological seminaries which
! spend most of their time and employ their
/ learning and their genius in the manufac-
| turing of Ifs" With that weaponry is
assailed the Pentateuch. and the miracles
| and the divinity of Jesus Christ Almost
everybody is chewing on an If" When
many man bows for prayer he puts his
knee on an IF" The door through which
people pass into inidelity and atheism
and all immoralities has two door-posts,
and the one is made up of the letter u, "
and the other Of the letter IF"
There are only four steps between
strong faith and complete unbelief. First,
surrender the idea of the verbal inspira-
ton OF the Scriptures, and adopt the idea
that they were all generally supervised
by the Lord. Second, surrender the idea
that they were all generally supervised by
the Lord and adopt the theory that they
were not all but partly supervised by the
Lord Third, believe that they are the
gradual evolution of the ages, and men
wrote according to the wisdom of the
times in which they lived. Fourth be
lieve that the Bible is a bad book and not
only unworthy of CredenCe. but pcrniCiOus
and debasing and cruel. Only four steps
from the stout faith in which the mar
tyrs died to the blatant caricature of
Christianity as the greatest sham of the
centuries. But the door to all that pre-
cipitation and horror1is made out of an
"If.' The mother of unrests in the
minds of Christian people and in those
who regard the sacred things is the IF
of incredulity In 1879, in Scotland, saw
a letter, which had been written many
years ago by Thomas Carlyle to Thomas
Chalmers. Carlyle, at the time of writ
ing the letter, was young man The
letter was not to be published until after
the death Of Carlyle. His death having
taken place, the letter ought to be pub
lished. 1t was letter in which Thomas
Carlyle expresses the fortunes of his own
mind, while relaxing his faith in Christ
lanity, while, at the same time, he eX-
presses his admiration for DR. Chal-
mers, and in which Carlyle wishes that
he had the same faith that the great
Scotch minister evidently exercised.
Nothing that Thomas Carlyle ever wrote
in "SartOr ReSartus,H or the French
Revolution or his Life Of Cromwell"
or his immortal Essays" had in it more
wOndrOus power than that letter which
bewailed his own doubts and eXtolled the
strong faith of another. | made an exact
copy of that letter, with the understand
ing it should not be published until after
the death of Thos Carlyle, but returning
to my hotel in Edinburg, l felt uneasy
lest somehow that letter should get out of
my possession and be published before its
time. So ] took it back to the person by
whose permission / had copied it. All
reasons for its privacy having banished, I
wish it might be published.
Perhaps this sermon finding its way
into a Scottish home may suggest its
printing, for that letter shows more
nightly than anything have ever read
the difference between the Il know of
Paul and the II know of Job, and the
81 know" of Thomas Chalmers, and the
Il know of all those who hold with a
firm grip the old gospel on the one hand,
and the unmOOring, beStOrming and tor
turing "If' of incredulity on the other.
l like the positive faith of that sailor boy
that Captain Judkins of the steamship
| Scotia picked up in hurricane. GO
aloftr said Captain Judkins to his mate.
and look out for wrecks" Before the
mate had gone far up the ratlines, he
shouted IA wreck a wreck!N "Where
| away2N said Captain Judkins. Ion
| the port bow" was the answer, Life
boats were lowered, and forty men
volunteered to put out across the
angry sea for the wreck They came
back with dozen ship-wrecked, and
| among them a boy of twelve years. "WhO
are youl' said Captain Judkins The
| answer was: II am Scotch boy. My
! father and mother are dead and | am on
| my way to America" What have YOU
! herel' said Captain Judkins as he
! opened the boys jacket and took hold of q
rope around the boys body. 1T is q
rope, - said the boy. But what is thai
! tied by this rope under your arm ~
THAT, sir, is my mothers Bible. She
told me never to lose that" Gould yoI
not have saved something else?" Not
and saved that Did you expect to g(
down?' YES, sir, but l meant to take
my mothers Bible down with me
"Bravol" said Captain Judkins, Il will
take care of YOU That boy demon
strated certainty and a confidence tina
l like Just in proportion as you hav,
few ITS of incredulity in your religion
will YOU find it a comfortable religion
! My lu and unqIestioning faith in it il
| founded on the fact that it soOthes anl
sustains in time of trouble. l do not be
lieve that any man who ever lived haC
more blessings and prosperity than havt
received from God and the world. But
have had trouble enough to allow IN
opportunity for finding out whether gu
religion is of any use in such exigency.
have had fourteen great bereavements
to say nothing of lesser bereavements, 70
| was the youngest of a large family
have had as much persecution as comes {
most people. | have had all kinds O
trials, except severe and prolonged sick
ness, and l would have been dead lon
ago but for the consolatory power of GU
religion.
Any religion will do in time of prosper
ity Buddhism will do. Confucianisn
will do. Theosophy will do. No religio
at all will do. But when the world get
after you and defames your best deeds
when bankruptcy takes the place of larg
! HiyiHpnHc yr-h 10. 81,