Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-06-13
STANDS LIKE A ROCK.
kEv. Or. TALMAeE OPPOSES BIBLE
RECONSTRUCTION.

He shows How Futile Are the AssAuits
Made Upon the scriptures-The Bible ~
Compared TO Other Books-Its Divins
Protection.
NEW York, June 9.-In his sermon foi
today Rev. DR.. Talmage deals with sub
ject that Is agitating the entire Christian
church at the present moment-viz, "Ex'
purgation Of the Scriptures" The text
chosen was, "Let God be true, but every
man liar (Rorhans Iii, ~.
The Bible needs reconstruction accord
ing to somo inside and outside the pulpit
1t is no surprise that the world bombards
the Scriptures, but It Is amazing to find
Christian ministers picking at this in the
Bible and denying that until many good
people are left in the fog about what parts
Of the Bible they ought to believe and
what parts reject The heinousness OF IND
ing fault with the Bible at this time Il
most evident. In our day the Bible Is as
sailed by scurrility, by Misrepresentation,
by infldel scientists, all the vice OF eartL
and all the venom Of perdition, and at this
particular time even preachers Of the gos.
Del fall into line of criticism of the word
Of God. Why, it makes me think OF SHIP
In September equinox, the waves dash
ing to the top of the smokestack, and the
matches fastened down, and many prophe.
swing the laundering of the steamer, and
at that time some Of the crew with axes
and saws go down into the hold of the
ship, and they try to saw of some OF the
planks and pry out some OF the timbers
because the timber did not come from the
| right forest. 1t does not seem to me
| commendablo business for the crew to be
helping the winds and storms outside
| with their axes and saws inside. Now,
| this old gospel ship, what with the roaring
| of earth and hell around the stem and
stern and mutiny on deck, is having very
rough voyage, but have noticed that not
one of the timbers has started, and the
captain says he will zee it through. And
have noticed that keelson and counter
timber knee are built out of Lebanon cedar,
and sho Is going to weather the gale, but
no credit to those who make mutiny on
deck.
When see professed Christians in this
particular day finding fault with the
Scriptures it makes me think OF a fortress
terrifcally bombarded and tho men on
the ramparts, instead of swabbing out and
loading the guns and helping fetch up the
ammunition from the magazine, are try
ing with crowbars to pry out from the
wall certain blocks of stone because they
did not come from tho right quarry. Oh,
men on the ramparts, better fight back and
fight down the common enemy instead OF
trying to make breaches in the wall!
/ While l oppose this expurgation of the
Scriptures shall give you my reasons for
such opposition. what" say some of the
theological evolutionists, whose brains
have been added by too long brooding
over them by Darwin and Spencer. "you
don't now really believe all the story Of
the Garden of Eden, do your" Yes, as
much as / believe there were roses in my
garden last summer. But" say they
"you don't really believe that the sun an6
moon stood stillP" Yes, and if hat
strength enough to create sun and moor
could make them stand still or cause the
refraction Of the suns rays so 1T woulc
appear to stand still. But" they say
"you don't really believe that the whal'
swallowed JonahP' Yes, and If wer,
strong enough to make whale coult
have made very easy ingress for the refrac
|
him If he were an unworthy tenant. "But,
say they, "you don't really believe that tn
water was turned into wineY Yes, JUS
as easily as water now is often turned int
wine with an admixture OF strychnine ant
logwood. But" say they, 'you dom
really believe that Samson slew thousan'
with the jawbone Of an ASST" Yes, and
think that the man who in this day as
saults the Bible Is welding the sam
weapon.
There is nothing in the Bible that stag
gers me. There are many things I do no
understand, I do not pretend to under
stand, never shall in this world under
I stand But that would be very poo
God who could be fully understood by tn
human. That would be very small In
. finite that can be measured by the finite
You must not expect to weigh the thun
derbolts of Omnipotence in an apothecary'
4 balances Starting with the idea that Co
can do anything, and that he was presen
at the beginning, and that he is presen
: now, there Is nothing in the holy Scrip
lures to arouse skepticism in my heart
! Here l stand, fossil of the ages, dug u
from the tertiary formation, fallen off tn
shelf Of an antiquarian, a man in the Lat
ter part Of the glorious nineteenth century
believing in whole Bible from lid to lid
am opposed to the expurgation of th
Scriptures in the first place because tn
Bible in its present shape has been SO mi
raculously preserved. Fifteen hundre
years after Herodotus wrote his histor
there was only one manuscript copy of II
Twelve hundred years after Plato wrot
his book there was only one manuscriI
copy of 1t. God was so careful to have u
have the Bible in just the right shape tha
we have SO manuscript copies Of the NeV
Testament 1000 years old and som
: of them 1850 years old. This boo
handed down from the time Of Christ G
Just after the time of Christ by the han
of such men as Origen in the second Ger
tury and Tertullian in the third Ger
tury and by men Of different ages who die
for their principles. The three best copie
of the New Testament in manuscript i
the possession of the three great churche
the Protestant church of England, tn
} Greek church of st. Petersburg and th
Romish church of Italy.
1t is plain matter Of history that Tiscf
= endorf went to convent in the peninsul
;. of Sinai and was by ropes lifted over th
;, wall into the convent, that being the onl
mode of admission, and that he saw theI
In the waste basket for kindling for tn
fires manuscripts of the holy Scriptures
1 That night he copied many of the passage
of that Bible, but it was not until 15 veal
had passed of earnest entreaty and praye
and coaxing and purchase on his part ths
that copy Of tho holy Scriptures was pr
into the hand Of the emperor Of Russia
, that one copy so marvelously protected.
Do you not know that the catalogue I
% the books of the Old and Now Testament
as we have 1t is the same catalogue tht
has been coming on down through tl
agesp Thirty-nine books of the Old Test;
ment thousands Of years ago Thirty mir
now. Twenty-seven books Of the Ne