The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-03-19

preached a most eloquent and char
acteristica1y vigorous sermon in refu-
tation of the oft-renewed assertion Of
the enemies of religion that Chris
tianity is retr0grading and the Bible
losing its hold upon the hearts and
consciences Of men The subject of
the discourse as announced was.
From Conquest To Conquest" the
text being taken from Amos 9 xiii
''Behold the days come, saith the
Lord. that the plowman shall over
take the reaper.
Picture Of d tropical cline with a
season SO prosperous THAT the harvest
reaches clear over to the planting
time and the swarthy husbandman
swinging the sickle in the thick grain
almost feels the breath Of the horses
on his shoulders. the horses hitched to
the pillow preparing for a new crop.
Behold the days come, saith the
Lord, that the plOwman shall over
take the reaper" When is that2 That
is now. That is this day when hardly
have you done reaping one harvest
before the pIowman is getting ready
for another.
/ know that many declare that Chris
tianity has collapsed that the Bible is
an obsolete book. that the Christian
church is on the retreat i viii here
and now show that the opposite Of
that is true.
An Arab guide was leading a French
inidel across a desert. and ever and
anon the Arab guide would get down
ia the sand and pray to the Lord 1T
Disguised the French inidel, and after
awhile as the Arab got up from one of
his prayers the infdel said. How do
you know there is any GOd2" and the
Arab guide said. How do Z know
that man and a camel passed along
our tent last night? know it by the
footprints in the sand. And you want
to know how / know whether there is
any God. Look at that sunset. lis
that the footstep Of man2' And by
the same process YOU and have come
to understand that this book is the
footstep of Cod
But now let as see whether the Bible
is a last years almanac Let us see
whether the church of God is in d Bull
Run retreat. muszets, canteens and
haversacl1s strew ing all the way The
great English historian, Sharon Iur-
ner. a man Of vast learning and of
great accuracy, not clergyman, but
an attorney, as well as historian,
gives this overwhelming statistic I'm
regard to Christianity and in regard
to the mum Der of Christians ia the diff
ferent centuries. In the first century,
500, 600 Christians; ia the second cent
urv. 1000, 600 Christians; ia the
third century. 5, 600 600 Christians;
in the fourth century, 5000,
600 Christians. in the fifth
century. 1900. 600 Christians; in
the sixth century. 20. coo 900 Christians
in the seventh century, -. 600, GOO Chris
tians5 in the eighth century, 80, 600, 600
Christians; ia the ninth century, 40,
OOC, 600 Christians, in the tenth cen
fury, $4,000. 900 Christians; in the
eleventh century. TO- GOO. 600 Christians;
in the twelfth century. So 600, 600 Chris
tianss iii the thirteenth century, 75,-
OO0. coo Christians in the fourteenth
century So GOO, 900 Christians, ia the
fifteenth century, 100, GOO 900 Chris
tians; in the sixteenth century, 125.
600. 600 Christians; i'm the seventeenth
century, 49, coo, 900 Christians; in the
eighteenth century, zoe. 600. 600 Chris
tians-a decadence, as you observe. in
only one century, and more than made
UP ia the following centuries, while ~
IS the usual computation that there
will be, when the record of the nine
teenth century is made up, at least
800. 600, 600 Christians. Poor Chris
tianity! what pity it has no friends.
How lonesome st must be- Who viii
take it out of the p0orhOuse2 Poor
Christianity Three hundred millions
in one century ia a few weeks Of the
wear 1881 2, 500. 600 copies Of the New
Testament distributed Why. the
earth is like an old castle with twenty
gates and a park of artillery ready
to thunder down every gate Lay
aside all Christendom and see how
~
honevcom bed and attacked by this all
conquering gospel. At the beginning
Of this century there were only $50
missionaries; now there are 49, OJC
missionaries and native helpers and
evangelists. At the beginning of this
century there were only 80, 600 heather
converts; now there are I, 100 GOO con-
verts from heathendom. There IS not
a sea coast on the planet but the bait
terv of the gospel is planted and ready
to march on. north. south, east west
You all know that the chief work of
am army is to plant the batteries 1T
may take many days to plant the bat
teries and they may do all their work
in ten minutes. These batteries are
being planted all along the sea coasts
and in all nations. lit may take good
while to plant them. and they may
do all their work IN one day. They
viii Nations are to be boon in one
day. But just come back to Christen-
dom and recognize the fact that dur
ing the last ten years as many people
have connected themselves with evan
gelical churches as connected them
selves with the churches in the first
fifty years Of this century.
So Christianity is falling back, and
the Bible, they say, is becoming an
obsolete book. 60 into court, and