The Progress., 1894-03-24


BROOKLYN, n Y, March lN.-In the
Tabernacle to-day, Rev. DR.. TaImagc
preached u most eloquent and char
actcristically vigorous sermon in rctu-
tatiOn OF the Oit-r"ncWcd assertion OF
the enemies Of religion that Chris
tianity is rctrogradin% and the Bible
losing its hold upon the hearts ana
COnSCjCncCS Of men. The Su1lrct oi
the discourse as announced was.
"from conquest to N"hHurSl l''
text being taken from Amos .: NuI,
"HchOId the days come, satin the
Lord, that the PIowman shall over
take the reaper.
Picture OF a tropical cline with a
season 50 prosperous That the harvest
reaches clear over to the planting
time and the Swarthy huSbandman
swinging the sickle in the thick gram
almost feels the breath OF the horses
on his shoulders the horses hltchco L"
the plOW preparing for new crop
"Bchold the days come, satin inc
Lord, that the ploWman snail over
take the reaper. When IS that' ha'
is now. That Is this day Whcn hardly
have you done reaPlng one harvest
before the plowman IS getllng ready
for another.
| know that many declare that I mrs
tianlty has collapsed, that thc blplc i
an obsolete book, That the 'hrIStia"
church is on the retreat ! Will mere
and now show that the opposite OF
that is true.
An Arab guide was leading frcnch
intidel across a desert, and ever ana
anon the Arab guide would get down
in the sand and pray to the Lord. 1t
Disguised the French inhdel, and after
awhile as the Arab got up from one OF
his prayers the intidcl said: 'lioW DO
you know there is any Code" and the
Arab guide said: GLOW do | know
that man and camel passed along
our tent last night? | know it by the
footprints in the sand. Andyou want
to know how / know whether there is
any God. Look at that sunset. Is
that the footstep of a man?' And by
the same process you and have come
to understand that This book is the
footstep of Goo.
But now let us see whether the Bible
is a last years almanac Let us see
whether the church of God is in Bull
Run retreat, muskets, cantecns and
haversacks strewing all the way. The
great English historian, Sharon Tur'
ner, a man Of vast learning and OF
great accuracy, not a clergyman, but
an attorney, as well as historian,
gives this overwhelming statistic in
regard to Christianity and in regard
to the number of Christians in the diff
ferent centuries. In the first century
500 900 Christians; in the second cent
ury, 1000, 900 Christians; in the
third century, 5000 600 Christians
in the fourth century, 10000,
600 Christians; in the hftf
century, 100000 Christians; IL
the sixth century, 20, OOO 900 Christians
in the seventh century, "a, 200, 600 Chris
tians; in the eighth century, 3O,Ooo,O 0'
Christians; in the ninth century, 40,
00C, 600 Christians; in the tenth cen
fury, 50,OOOUOO Christians; IN the
eleventh century, 20, OoO COO Christians
in the twelfth century, SO,OOO, OOo Chrls
tians; in the thirteenth century, TO-
100000 Christians; in the fourteenth
century, SO,OOo,OOO Christians; III th'
fifteenth century, 100000 900 Chris
tians; in the sixteenth century, 10
600, 900 Christians; in the seventeenth
century, l55, OOO,O 600 Christians; in thu
eighteenth century, 200, Oo'Ooo Chris
tians-a decadence, as you observe, II
only one century, and more than MADE
up in the following centuries, while
is the usual computation that there
will be, when the record OF the nine
teenth century Is made up, at Ieas
30O,OOO,OO0 Christians Poor chris
tianity what pity 1t has no friends
How lonesome 1t must be- VINO VII
take it out OF the poorhouse? 200
Christianity! Three hundred million
in one century. In few weeks of tn
year 1881 ., 500,0OO copies of the New
Testament distributed WhV tn