The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-10-06
A NOVEL PROPOSITION.
DR.. Talmage suggests a Celebra-
tion for All Christendom.
The Nineteen Hundreth Anniversary Of
the Birth OF Christ-SOme Ques-
tions and Answers Con-
cerning It.
PROPOSITION.

cent Sabbath, Rev. DIR. Talmage
startled and interested his congrega-
tion with a proposition for a worlds
celebration of the nineteen hundreth
anniversary of the birth of Christ. He
took for his text:
To us a child is born.-Isaiah ix- 6.
That is tremendous hour in the his
tory OF any family when an immortal
spirit is incarnated. Out of very dark
cloud there descends a very bright
morning. One life spared and another
given. All the bells of gladness ring
over the cradle. know not why any
one should doubt that of old a star
pointed down to the Saviour's birth
place, for star of joy points down to
every honorable nativity. new eter-
nifty dates from that hour, that min
ute. Beautiful and appropriate is the
custom of celebrating the anniversary
of such an event, and clear on into the
eighties and the nineties, the recur-
renee of that day of the year in an old
mans life causes recognition and more
or less congratulation. So, also, ma
tions are accustomed to celebrate the
anniversary of their birth and the an
niversary of the birth of their great
heroes or deliverers or benefactors
The 22d of February and the 4th of
July are never allowed to pass in
our land without banquet and
grafton, and bell ringing and cam
nonade. But all other birthday an
niversaries are tame compared with
the Christmas festivity, which cele-
brates the birthday described in my
text. Protestant and Catholic and
Greek churches, with all the power of
music and garland and procession and
doxology, put the words of my text
into national and continental and hemi-
spheric chorus: ITO us a child is
born.n On the 25th of December each
year that is the theme in ST. Paurs
and st. Peters and st. Marks and St.
Isaac's and all the dedicated cathe-
drals, chapels, meeting and
churches clear round the world We
shall soon reach the nineteen hum
dredth anniversary of that happiest
event of all time. This century is dy-
ing. Only seven more pulsations and
its heart will cease to beat. The fin
gers of many of you will write at the
head of your letters and the foot of
your important documents, 1900. y
1t will be physical and moral sensa-
ton unlike anything else you have
before experienced. Not one hand
that wrote '1SOI'' at the in
duction of this century will
have cunning left to write 1901 at
the induction of another. The death
of one century and the birth of an
other century win be sublime and sug-
gestive and stupendous beyond all es-
innate. To stand by the grave of one
century and by the cradle of another
will be an opportunity such as whole
generations of the worlds inhabitants
never experienced. pray God that
there may be no sickness or casualty
20 hinder your arrival at that goal, or
to hinder your taking part in the vale
dictory of the departing century and
the salutation of the new. But as that
season will be the nineteen hundredth
anniversary of Saviour's birth, now
nominate that great international
jubilee or exposition be opened in this
cluster of cities by the sea-
coast on Christmas day, the
25th of December, 1900, to be
continued for at least one month into
the year 1901. This century, closing
December 81, 1900, and the new CEN
tury, beginning January /, 1901, will
il not be time for all nations to turn
aside for a few weeks or months from
everything else and emphasize the
birth of the greatest being who ever
touched our planet; and could there be
more appropriate time for such com
memoration than this elimination of
the centuries which are dated from
His nativity? You know that all his
tory dates either from before Christ
or after Christ, from II. C. or A. d. 1t
will be the year of our Lord 1900 pass
ing into the year 1901. We have had
the Centennial at Philadelphia, cele-
brative of the one hundredth an
niversary of our nations birth
We have had the magnifi-
cent expositions of New Orleans,
and Atlanta, and Augusta, and
St Louis We have the present Worlds
exposition at Chicago, celebrative of
the four hundredth an anniversary of this
continents emergence, and there are
at least two other great celebrations
promised for this country, and other
countries will have their historic events
to commemorate, but the one event
that has most to do with the welfare
of all nations is the arrival of Jesus
Christ on the planet, and all the enthu-
siasm ever witnessed at London or
Vienna or Paris or any of our Ameri-
can cities would be eclipsed by the en-
thusiasm that would celebrate the ran
som of all nations, the first step to-
wards the accomplishing of it being
taken by an infintile foot one winters
night, about five miles from Jerusalem,
when the clouds dropped the angelic
cantata: "Glory to God in the high
est, and on earth peace, goodwill to
men,"
The three or four questions that
would be asked me concerning this
nomination OF time and place, / pro-
ceed to answer. What practical use
would come of such international cele-
bration? Answer: The biggest stride
the world ever took toward the evan
gelization of all nations That is a
grand and wonderful convocation, the
Religious congress at Chicago. 1t twill
put intelligently before the world the
nature of false religions which have
been brutalizing the nations, tram
pling womanhood into the dust, enact
ing the horrors of infanticide. kindling
funeral pyres for shrieking victims.
and rolling juggernauts across tn e
mangled bodies of their worshipers.
But no ore supposes that anyone will
b converted 70 Christ BY hearing Con-