The Baptist headlight., 1893-10-01

whom do they send? To the postmas-
ter, to the attorney general, to the
aldermen, or to the pastors of the
churches? And if there be not room
for the obsequies in the private house
what building do they solicit? The
academy of music, the hotel, public
hall, court house? No: the churches.
And if they want music on the sad oc-
casion do they select the "Marseil-
! laise" hymn, or ''GOd Save the Queen"
or our own grand national air? No:
they want the old hymn with which
we sang their old Christian mother to
sleep. They want the Sunday-schOol
hymn that their little girl sang the
| last Sabbath afternoon she was out be-
p! fore she was seized with the awful
sickness that broke fathers heart and
mothers heart. Oh, you know as we'll
as / dol shall not dwell on it any
| longer-the church Of God. instead of
| being wOrnout institution, stands
nearer the sympathies of the people
than 1T ever did and eclipses all other
| Institutions
| But our antagonists 90 on and say
that Christianity is falling back, in the
fact that infidelity is bolder now and
more blatant than it ever was. | deny
| so bold now as it was in the DAYS of our
| fathers and grandfathers. There were
| times in this country when men who
were openly and above board infdel
and antagOnistic to Christianity could
| be elected to high office. Now let
some man wishing high position in the
| State proclaim himself the foe of Chris
tianity and an infidel, how many States
of the Union will he carry; how many
| counties: how many wards in Brooklyn?
| Not one.
From Christianity to Infidelity.
All. my friends, intidelity in this day
/ is not half as bold as it used to be. If
it comes now, it is apt to come under
the disguise of rhetoric or fantastic
! sentimentality. | know if man with
great intelligence does become an
infidel and begins an attack on Chris
tianity it makes great eXcitement-Of
course it does, and people come to the
conclusion, weak minded Christians
come to the conclusion that everything
is going overheard because some man
| of strong intellect assails Christianity.
If a man jumps overheard from
| Cunard steamer, he makes more eX-
citement than all the 500 sane passen-
gers who continue in the berthS or on
the decks. but does that stop the ship?
| Does that wreck all the 500 passengers?
1t makes great excitement when a
man leaps from platform or pulpit
into infdelity. but does that hinder
our glorious Bible from taking its mill
ions into the skies? / tell you infidelity
is not half as bold now as it used to be.
But" say our antagonists, Christi
anity is falling back because science,
its chief enemy, is triumphing over it. :"
Now / deny that there is any war be-
tween science and revelation. There
is not a fact in science that may not
be made to harmonic with the state
ments of the Bible. So said Hugh
Miller; so said Joseph Henry; so said
Prof. Hitchcock: SO said Prof. Sill
man; SO said Prof. Mitchell.
Joseph Henry, the leading scientist
of America, better known and hOnored
I'm the royal societies translantic than
any other American, lived and died a
believer in the religion of Jesus Christ.
Joseph Henry knew all the facts of
geology and Yet believed the book of
Genesis. He knew all the facts of as
tronomy and vet believed the book of
Joshua, the sun and moon standing
still. Joseph Henry knew all the anat-
omy of man and fish and yet believed
the book of Jonah.
If the scientists of the day were all
agreed, and they came 1p with solid
front to attack our Christianity, per-
haps they might make some impression
upon 1t, but they are not agreed. 1t is
often said that we religiOhists are fail
ing in our advocacy of Christianity be-
cause we differ in our theology. 1 tell
YOU we do not differ inside the church
in theology half as much as they differ
outside the church in science. Ifthey
reject Our religion because we differ
on some minor points, we might just as
well reject science because the Scien-
fists differ. But as far as [ can tell the
war of infidel science against Christi
anity Is not SO severe as it used to be,
| because these men are antagonistic to
each other. and as far as can tell it is
going to be war between telescope
and telescope, Leyden jar and Leyden
| jar, chemical apparatus and chemical
apparatus They do not agree on any
| thing.
Do YOU suppose that this Bible theory
about the origin of life is going to be
overthrOwn by men who have differ
ent theories-tifty different theories
about the origin of life? And when
| AgaSSlZ comes OuI anu putS pOIH 1eeC
on the doctrine of evolution and says
| in regard to many scientists, Il notice
that these young naturalists are adopt
ing as theories in science things which
have not passed under observation,
Agassiz saw what we all see-that there
are men who talk very wisely who
know but very little. and that just as
| soon as young scientist finds out the
| difference between the feelers of
wasp and the horns of beetle he be-
gins to patronize the Almighty and 60
| about talking about culture as though
| ~ xrara Sna1Iad c-u-l-c- -h-a-r-culchar