Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-03-21

/ biiSNAN pass a law llldJ llltIt SLbulu DG
no more Bibles printed in America and
no more Bibles read. If there are 49,.
100000 grown people in the United
States, there would lie 40OCO,OJ0 pco-
pie in an army to put down such law
and defend their right to read the Bible
But suppose the congress of the United
! States should make n law against the
reading or the publication Of any other
book, how many people would go out in
! such crusader
! Could You get 40,OO0OOO people to go
ont and risk their lives in defense of
Shakespeare tragedies or Gladstone's
tracts or Macaulays History Of Eng
| landT You know that there are 1000
men who would die in defense of this book
where there is not more than one man
who would die in defense of any other
book. You try to insult my common
| sense by telling me the Bible is fading
out from the world.
1t is the most popular book Of the CEN
! tury. How do know it? | know it just
as know in regard to other books. How
many volumes of that book are publish
ed2 Well, you say, 5000. How many
copies Of that book are published? a
hundred thousand. Which is the more
popular? Why, of course the one that
has 100, 900 circulation. And if this book
| has more copies abroad in the world, if
there are five times as many Bibles abroad
as any other book, does not that show
you that the most popular book on the
planet today is the word of God?
"Oh," say people, 1.-THE church is a col
lection of hypocrltes, and it is losing its
power, and it is fading out from the
world" Is it? A bishop Of the Metho-
dist church told me that that denomina-
| ton averages two new churches every
day of the year. There are at least 1900
new Christian churches built in America
every year. Does that look as though
the church were fading out, as though 1t
were defunct institution Which in
stitution stands nearest the hearts of the
people of America today? | do not care
| in what village, or in what city, or what
neighborhood you go. Which institution
is it? Is it the postOttice? Is 1t the no.
tel? Is it the lecturing hall? All, you
know it is not. You know that the IN
stitution which stands nearest to the
hearts of the American people is the
Christian church. If you have ever seen
a church burn down, you have seen
thousands of people standing and look
ing at it-people who never go into
church-the tears raining down thell
cheeks. The whole story is told.
AN UNPOPULAR BELIEF.
You may talk about the church being
a collection of hypocrites, but when the
diphtheria sweeps your children OIL
whom do you send for? The postmaster,
the attorney general, the hotel keeper,
alderman? No, you send for minister
of this Bible religion. And If you have
not a room in your house for the obse-
uuies, what building do you solicit? dc
YOU say, Give me the finest room in the
hotelG' Do you say, Give me that
theater?" Do you say: GIVE me place
in that public building, where | can lay
nv dead for little while until we say
prayer over it?" No. You say, "Givt
us the house of God"
And if there is a song to be sung at the
obseuuies, what do you wantf Wha'
does ANYBODY want? "The Marseillaise'
hymn. God Save heQueen| Our owl
grand national air? No. They want th'
bymn with which they sang their OLE
Christian mother into her last sleep, o.
they want sung the Sabbath school hymn
which their little girl sang the last Sab
bath afternoon she was out before sh'
pot that awful sickness which broke you
heart. | appeal to your common sense
You know the most endearinS lnstltu
ton on earth, the most popular lns'ltu
tion on earth today, is the church of tn
Lord Jesus Christ.
The infdels say, "Infdelity shows 1t
successes from the fact that 1t Is every
where accepted, and it can say what !
, will" Why, my friends, lntdellty l
not half so blatant in our days as 1t wa
in the days of our fathers. Do you know
that in the daysof our fathers there Wer
pronounced infidels in public authorit
and they could get any political position
LET a man today declare himself antag
onistic TO the Christian religion, an
; what city wants him for mayor VIVA
, state wants him for governor, what Ia
ton wants him for president or for KING
! Let a man openly proclaim himself tn
: enemy of our glorious Christianity, an
> he cannot get a majority Of votes in an
state. in any city, in any county, IN an
ward of America.
. RELIGION IS SCIENCE.
= Do Won think that such scene coul
- he enacted now as was enacted IN II
: days of Robespierre, when a shamele'
=, woman was elevated as a goddess an
. was carried in a golden chair to cath
: dral where incense was burned to h'
= and people bowed down before her as
+ divine being, she taking the place OF u
= = bible and God Almighty, while IN II
= = corridor of that cathedral We're enactt
= snch scenes of drunkenness and debauc
- - erv and obscenity as have never bee
~ ~ witnessedy Do you believe such TIM
= - could possibly occur in Christendom t
= . day? No, sirl The police, whether
= paris or New York, would swoop on II
y - know infdelity makes a good deal
81 talk in our day. 1t is on the prlnclp
that if a man jump overheard from
1 Oh mi EXCL