The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-03-23

our glorious Christianity, and he cam
not get a majority of votes in any
state, in any city, in any country. in
any ward of America
Do you think that such scene could
be enacted now as was enacted in the
days of Robespierre, when shameless
woman was elevated to goddess, and
was carried on golden chair to
cathedral, where incense was burned
to her and people bowed down before
her as divine being, she taking the
place of the Bible and God Almighty,
while in the corridor of that cathedral
were enacted such scenes of drunken
ness and debauchery and obscenity as
has never been witnessed? Do you be-
lieve that such a thing could possibly
occur in Christendom to-day? No, sir.
The police. whether in Paris or New
York would swoop on it
They say, these men, that science is
overcoming religion in our day. They
look through the spectacles of the in
fidel scientists and they say: 1T is
impossible that this book can be true;
people are finding it out; the Bible has
got to go overheard: science is going to
throw it overheard" Do you believe
that the Bible account of the origin of
life will be overthrown by infidel
scientists who have fifty different
theories about the origin of life?
If they should come up in solid
phalanx, all agreeing on one
sentiment and one theory, per-
haps Christianity might be damaged;
but there are not SO many differences
of opinion inside the church as outside
the church. People used to say: There
are SO many different denominations of
Christians-that shows there is nothing
in religion" l have to tell you that all
denominations agree on the two or
three er four radical doctrines of the
Christian religion. They are unani-
nous in regard to Jesus Christ, and
they are unanimous in regard to the
divinity of the Scriptures How is it
on the other side? All split up-you
cannot find two of them alike? Oh, it
makes me sick to see these literary tops
going along with a copy of Darwin
under one arm and a case of transfiXed
grasshoppers and butterflies under the
other arm, telling about the sur
vival of the fittest," and Huxley's pro-
toplasm, and the nebular hypothesis.
The fact is, that some naturalist just
as soon as they find out the difference
between the feeling of a wasp and the
horns of a beetle, begin to patronize
the Almighty; while Agassiz, glorious
Agassiz, who never made any preten-
sion to being Christian. puts both his
feet on the doctrine of evolution, and
says: / see that many of the natural
lists of our day are adopting facts which
do not bear observation, or have not
passed under observation" These
men warning with each other; Darwin
warning against Lamarche, Wallace
warning against Cope, even Herschel
denouncing Ferguson. They do not
agree about anything.
All! my friends, the church of Jesus
Christ, instead of falling back, is on
the advance. ] am certain it is on the
advance. o, Lord, God, take Thy
sword from Thy thigh and ride forth
to victory.
/ am nightly encouraged because l
find among other things that while this
Christianity has been bombarded for
centuries, infidelity has not destroyed
one church, or crippled one minister,
or uprooted one verse of one chapter of
all the Bible. The church all the time
getting the victory, and the shot and
shell of its enemies nearly exhausted.
have been examining their ammuni-
ton lately; / have looked through all
their cartridge boxes. They have not
in the last twenty years advanced one
new idea. They have utterly exhaust
ed their ammunition in the battle
against the church and against the
Scriptures, while the sword of the Lord
Almighty is as keen as it ever was
And then l find another most en-
couraging thought in the fact the Sec
ular printing press and pulpit seem
harnessed in the same team for the
proclamation of the gospel. Every
Wall street banker tomorrow in New
York, every State street banker to-
morrow in Boston, every Third street
banker tomorrow in Philadelphia,
every banker in the United States and
every merchant will have in his pocket
a treatise on Christianity, a call to re-
pentance, ten. twenty or thirty pas
sages of Scripture in the reports of SER
mons preached throughout these cities
and throughout the land to-day. 1t
will be so in Chicago, so in New Or
leans, so in Charleston, so in Boston, so
in Philadelphia, so everywhere.
Beside that, have you noticed that
during the past few years every one of
the doctrines of the Bible came under
discussion in the secular press? Do
you not remember a few years ago
when every paper in the United States
had an editorial on the subject: ''Is
there such a thing as future punish
ment?" 1t was the strangest thing
that there should be discussion in the
secular papers on that subject. but
every paper in the United States
and in Christendom discussed: rs
there such thing as retribution?' l
know there were small wits who made
sport of the discussion. but there was
not an intelligent man on earth who
as the result of that discussion, did not
ask himself the question: What is
going to be my eternal destiny
Then look at the international series
of Sunday school lessons Do you
know that every Sabbath, between 3
and o'clock, there are 5.000,000 chill
dren studying the same lesson, lesson
prepared by the leading minds of the
country, and printed in the papers, and
these subjects are discussed and given
over to the teachers, who give them
over to the children; so whereas once
and within our memory-the children
nibbled here and there at story in the
Bible, now they are taken from Genesis
cl.. IL h.ar- AQQ