The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1893-09-22


trine of eternal punishment. Small
wits made merry. 1 know; but there
was not an intelligent man in the Uni
| ted States that as result of that con-
troversy in regard to eternal punish
ment did not ask himself the
question: "What is to be my
eternal destiny?" and 50 some years
ago, when Tyndall offered his prayer
gauge, there was not a secular paper
| in the United States that did not dis
cuss the question: docs God ever
answer prayer? May the creature inn
press the Creator?" Ar not all these
facts encouraging to every Christian
and every philanthropist? Besides
that, the rising generation are being
saturated with gospel truth as no other
generation, by this international series
of Sunday school lessons. Formerly
the children were expected only to nib
BILE at the little infantile Scripture
stories, but now they are taken from
Genesis to Revelation, the strongest
minds of the country explaining the
| lessons to the teachers, and the teach
ers explaining them to the classes; and
we are going to have in this country
five million youth forestalled for
Christianity.
Beside that, you must have noticed
| if you have talked on these great
themes, that they are finding out that
while science is grand in secular direc-
tions, worldly philosophy grand in Sec
ular directions, they cannot give any
comfort to a soul in trouble.
Talking with men on steamboats, and
in rail-cars, find they are coming back
to the comfort of the gospel. They
say: Somehow human science don't
comfort me when have any trouble,
and l must try something else;" and
they are trying the gospel Take your
| scientific consolation to that mother
who has just lost her child. Apply the
doctrine of the survival of the fittest;'
| tell her that her child died because its
| life was not worth as much as the life
of one that lived. Try that, if you
dare.
| Go to that woman who has lost her
husband and tell her that it was a
geological necessity that that man
/
megatherium disappeared in order to
make room for higher style of crea-
| tion, and go on with your consolation
| and tell her that there is possibility
that ten million years from now we
ourselves may be geological specimens
on the geological shelf. petrified speci-
mems of the extinct human racel And
after you have got all through with
your consolation if the poor afflicted
soul is not utterly crazed will send
out the plainest Christian from my
church, and with one-half hour OF
prayer and the reading of scripture
promises the tears will be stayed and
the consolation and the joy in that
house will be like the calmness of an
Indian summer sunset There will be
a glory flooding the house from floor to
cupola.
Oh, young man, do not be ashamed
to be found on the side of the Bible
Do not join those young men who in
this day put their thumbs in their vest
and swagger about the streets an6
stores, talking about the glorious nine
teenth century, about its light being
sufficient without any Bible, and with
out any Christ, and without any God.
| Vernon was the son of an English
squire He was brought up in great
elegance. There was a man working
on the place by the name of Ralph
Vernon used to often talk with Ralph
After while Vernon went off to col
lege. and came back with his mind full
of skepticism He talked his skepti
cism to Ralph the workman. After
awhile Vernon went from home again
was gone for years, came back, an1
among his first questions when getting
home was: "Where is Ralph?" ''Oh,
said the father, Ralph is in prison
waiting for the day of execu
ton" Vernon hastened to see Ralph
Ralph, looking through the wicket
of the prison, said, Vernon, how goo,
you are to come and see me! lam glaC
to see you. 1 hardly expected yo'
would come and see me. / don't blam
you; l don't blame anybody; l onl.
blame myself; but Vernon, want yol
to promise me one thing. VIII you
Vernon replied, "I will" 81 want yo'
l PROMISE lle ucNcE W ohCP POiStoh
in the presence of anybody. You SCI
it might do them harm. When yo'
used to say there was nothing in tn
Bible, and it didn't make any differenc
how we lived, we would com
out happy at the last. somehow
it had bad influence upol
me, and 1 went from bad t
worse until am here, and 1 must di,
for my crimes" By almost superhu
man effort the sentence was changed
and he was to be transported to anothe
country for life. The ship going the r
was wrecked on Van Dieman's Land
Among those who perished was Ralph
the victim of Vernon's skepticism
Vernon tells the story to-day with tear
and a broken heart; but it is too late
Oh! do not talk skepticism, do not tai
skepticism. Let God be true, thoug
every man be found a liar!