The Globe-republican., 1894-03-23
RELIGION GROWING.
DR.. Talmage Denies That Christi
anity Is Retrograding.
The Good Work Moving Forward BIZ
BILE More Popular Than Ever Before
False Charges Vigorously
Refuted-The Proof.

Dewitt Talmage took for his subject
From Conquest to Conquest" the text
being taken from Amos ix. 13: "Behold
the days come, saith the Lord. that the
plowman shall overtake the reaper.
DIR. Talnage said:
Picture of tropical cline with a
season so prosperous that the harvest
reaches clear over to the planting time,
and the swarthy husbandman swing
ing 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. Be
hold the days come" saith the Lord,
''that the plowman shall overtake the
reaper When is this? That is now.
That is this day when hardly have you
done reaping one harvest before the
plowman is getting ready for another.
know that many declare that
Christianit. has collapsed. that the
Bible is an obsolete book, that the
Christian church is on the retreat
will here and now show that the oppo-
site of that is true.
An Arab guide was leading French
intidel across a desert and ever and
anon the Arab would get down in the
sand and pray to the Lord. 1t disgust
ed 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 know whether there is any God.
Look at the sunset Is that the foot
step of a MANI" And by the same pro-
cess you and have come to understand
that this book is the footstep of a God.
But now let us see whether the
Bible is a last years almanac Let us
see whether the Church of God is a
Bull Run retreat muskets canteens
and haversacks strewing all the way.
The great English historian. Sharon
Turner, man of vast learning and of
great accuracy, not a clergyman, but
an attorney, as well as historian,
gives this overwhelming statistic in re-
gard to Christianity and in regard to
the number of Christians in the differ
ent centuries: In the first century,
100000 Christians: in the second CEN,
fury, 1000. 900 Christians: in the third
century, 5000, 00U Christians: in the
fourth century, 10000, 900 Christians in
the fifth century, 100000 Christians:
in the sixth century, 90, OOO 900 Chris
tians: in the seventh century, "a, OOO,-
900 Christians: in the eighth century,
80. 900, 900 Christians; in the ninth CEN
fury, 10. OGO. 900 Christians; in the tenth
century. $4,000. 900 Christians: in the
eleventh century, 70,000,O0 Chris
tians; in the twelfth century, 10000 600
Christians; in the thirteenth century,
.5. 900, 600 Christians: in the fourteenth
century. $4,000, 900 Christians: in the
fifteenth century, 100. 600, 600 Christians:
in the sixteenth century, $4,000, 600
Christians: in the seventeenth century,
155. 900. 900 Christians; in the eighteenth
century. 200.00O.000 Christians-a de-
cadence. 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 CEN
turv is made up, at least 800, OOO. 900
pity it has no friends. In few weeks
of the year 1881 2.5Oo.OO copies of the
New Testament distributed Why, the
earth is like an old castle with twenty
gates and park of artillery ready to
thunder down every gate. Lay aside
all Christendom and see how heather
dom is being surrounded and honey
combed and attacked by this all-con-
quering gospel. At the beginning of
this century there were only $50 mis-
sionaries: now there are p, 900 mission
aries and native helpers and evangel-
lists. At the beginning of this century
there were only 30, 900 heather con-
verts: now there are l, $50. 900 converts
from heathendom.
So Christianity is falling back, and
the Bible, they say, is becoming an OBJ
solete book. l go into court. and
wherever l find judges bench or a
clerks desk. l 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 the 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 Christendom? The Bible. Voltaire
wrote the prophecy 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 CEN
fury 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 Voltaire wrote that prophecy
not long ago was crowded from floor to
selling with Bibles from Switzerland
.'Oh," say people. ''the church is a
collection of hypocrites, and it is los
ing its power. and it is fading out from
The world" Is it? A bishop of the
Methodist church told me that that de-
nomination averages two new churches
every day of the year. There are at
least l,500 new Christian churches
built in America every year. Does that
look as though the church was fading