The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-19
CONQUEST TO CONQUEST
Christianity Not RelrOsrading Nor
The Bible Losing its Hold.

French Infdel- Figures Which Prove
That the Church is Not on the Re
treat-The Bible and the Death Bed.
Brooklyn, n. Y. March 1s-In the
Tabernacle to-day. Rev. Or. Talmage
preached a most eloquent and character
isticaIly vigorous sermon in refutation of
the oft-reuewed assertion Of the enemies
OF religion that Christianity is retrograd-
ing and the Bible losing its hold upon the
hearts and consciences of men. The sub
ject Of the discourse, as announced, was
"From Conquest to Conquest" the text
being taken from Amos 9.13, Behold the
days come. saith the Lord, that the plow-
man shall overtake the reaper"
Picture of a tropical cline with a sea
son so prosperous that the harvest reaches
clear over TO the planting time, and the
swarthy husbandmau swinging the sickle
in the thick grain almost feels the breath
OF the horses on his shoulders, the horses
pitched TO the plough preparing for a new
crop. Behold, the days come saith the
Lord, that the plOughman shall OVertake
the reaper When is that! That is now.
That is this day when hardly have you
done reaping one harvest before the
ploughman 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 / viii here and now
show that the opposite of that is true.
An Arab guide was leading French in
fidel across a desert. and ever and anon
the Arab guide would get down in the
sand and pray to the Lord. II disgnsted
the French infidel. and after awhile as
the Arab got up from one of his prayers
the intidel said How do you know
there is any God ~ and the Arab guide
said: "How do l know that man and
camel passed along our tent last night
/ know it by the footprints in the sand
And you want to know how l know
whether there is any God. Look at that
sunset Is that the fOotstep of a MANI"
And by the same process you and I have
come to understand that this book is the
footstep of a God.
But now let US see whether the Bible is
q last years almanac. Let US see
whether the church of God is in "A Bull
Run retreat, muskets canteens and haver-
sacks strewing all the way. The great
English historian, Sharon Turner, a man
of vast learning and of great accuracy.
not clergyman, but an attorney, as well
as a historian, gives this overwhelming
statistic in regard to Christianity and
in regard to the number of Christians
In the different centuries. In the first
NNlbutA DODfuJU NAlllSblduSs III tLt sec
ond cent Try, 1000, 900 Christians; in the
third century 5000 600 Christians; in the
fourth century, l0.0O0,000 Christians in
the fifth century, 100000 Christians in
the sixth century, &O,OO0,00O Christians:
In the seventh century, 24,000,000 Chris
tians; in the eighth century, 10000 600
Christians; in the ninth century, 10000
600 Christians; in the tenth century, So
O00000 Christians; in the eleventh cen
f1rV "a OO0 ono n 5risfIane- II, tho t.ra1ftl
century 10000, GOO Christians; in the thir-
teenth century, 15,00O,0O0 Christians; in
the fourteenth century, S0,0O000O Chris
tians; in the fifteenth century, 100. OOO 600
Christians; in the sixteenth century, 1875
100000 Christians; in the seventeenth
century, $4,000 600 Christians; in the
eighthteenth century, 100000. 600 Chris
tians-a decadence as you observe. in
only one century, and more than made up
In the following centuries, while it is the
usual computation that there will
be, when the record of the
nineteenth century is made up, at
least 500 0C0,O0O Christians Poor
Christianity what pity it has no friends.
How lonesome il must be- Who will take
II out of the poor hOuse2 Poor Christian
ity. Three hundred millions in one cen
tury, in few weeks Of the year 1881
2,500,000 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 heathendOm is being surrounded and
honeycombed and attacked by this all
cOnquering gospel At the beginning of
this century there were only $50 mission
aries; now there are -. 900 missionaries
and native helpers and evangelists At
the beginning of this century there were
only $1,000 heather converts: now there
are L,150,000 converts from heathen-
dom. There is not sea coast on the
planet but the battery of the Gospel is
planted and ready to march on north,
south, east, west You ali know that the
chief work Of an army is to plant the bat
terles. 1t may take many days to plant
the batteries, and they may do all their
work In ten minutes. These batteries
are being planted all along the sea-coasts
and IN all nations II may take a good
while to plant them, and they may
DO all their work in
are To be born in a day. But Just come
back to Christendom and recognize the
fact that during the last ten years as
many people have connected themselves
with evangelical churches as connected
themselves with the churches in the first
fifty years of this century.
50 Christianity is falling back, and the
Blble, they say, is becoming an obsolete
book. ] go into court and wherever I
lind judges bench or a clerks desk. /
find Bible Upon what book could there
be uttered the solemnIty Of an oath?
What book is apt to be put in the trunk
OF young man as he leaves for city life?
The Bible. What shall find in nine out
OF every ten homes in BROOKLYN? The
Bible In nine out of every ten homes in
Chrlstendom! The Bible. Voltaire
wrote the prophesy that the Bible in the
nineteenth century would become extinct.
The century is nearly gone and as there
have been more Bibles published in the
latter part OF the century than in the
former part of the century. do you think
the Bible will become extinct in the next
six years. / have to tell you that the
room in which Noltaire wrote that
prophesy, not long ago was crowded from
floor TO ceiling with Bible from
Switzerland. Suppose the congress
OF the United States should pass
law that there should be no
more Bibles printed in America. and no
more Bibles read. If there are forty million
grown people in The United States. there
would be forty million people in an army
TO put down such a law and defend their
right TO read the Bible But suppose the
congress Of the United States should make
law against the reading or the publica-
ton of any other book, how many people
would 20 out in such crusader Could
you get forty million people to 20 out and
risk fbgifs l-ae in,