Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-04-19
REV. SAMUEL sCHwARM
Discourses on the Importance OF the Res
direction ard Its Proof.

The congregations at the English Luth-
eran church. on Sixteenth street. were
very large and the services unusually
interesting There were thirty-seven addi-
/ tons TO the congregation, and six chill
dren were baptized. The floral decora-
tions in honor Of the day were notably
handsome The pastor. Rev. Samuel
Schwarm. took for the subject Of his dis
course. The Importance Of the Resurrec-
ton of Christ and It's proof"
And Il Christ be not raised. your faith
is vain: We are yet in your sins. Then
they also which are fallen asleep in Christ
are perished."-I. Cor. 15:17:iS.
Paul makes the fac, CT the resurroc-
ton of Christ from the dead the keystone
OF the arch that spans the chasm between
earth and heaven. between mortality and
eternal life. Take this Keystone out and
the whole arch tumbles into the abyss and
there is no passageway between the two
Without this fact. faith is vain. sins are
still imputed. and those who have fallen
asleep trusting in Jesus are persisted.
Not that the resurrection is the whole OF
Chris,s redeeming and restoring work
but that it is the completion Of it. the
sign and seal that he is able to redeem,
and that he can give eternal life.
Blu, what proof does Paul produce for
this all important fact? He produces the
testimony of competent eye witnesses that
Christ had risen from the dead. He was
seen Of Cephas. then of the twelve, then
by above five hundred brethren at one
time. of whom the greater part still live:
then by James. then by all the apostles,
and last of all by me also. as by one born
out of due time. So Paul produces more
than five hundred witnesses to prove this
all important fact that Christ arose from
the dead. He himself was one of these
witnesses. and the larger part Of the 9TH
ors We're still alive ~ the time when he
wrote this epistle and could be called and
placed into the witness box.
But some skeptic will say: that IS mere
" tradition. it is but myth, it is not
history. This is the position which the
high critics of the New Testament took
some years ago. but this criticism has
utterly broken down. The claim made at
present by the higher critics in regard to
parts of the Old Testament is no doubt in
part 10 hide the failure of this criticism
in regard to the New Testament. and. II
possible. TO bolster 1t UP a little while
longer. There has just come from the
Leipsig press a volume entitled. 'Chron-
ology of Old Christian Literature. the
product Of the pen of Prof. Hammock. of
Berlin. who has no living equal in histor-
zeal knowledge and who has been counted
a liberal in theology. in which he de-
C'ares that the attempt to sketch the ORR
gin and development Of Christianity. 10y as
sumng that the New Testament books
were a tissue Of receptions and frauds
and late I'm appearance. has utterly broken
down That the school Of Baur is dead.
and that tradition has been vindcatcd as
true and trustworthy. His arguments
place the date of Paurs conversion In the
very year of the crucidXion. and brings
the date of his epistlos back TO IS \ D.
for Thess.. and y a. D. for Corinthians.
Hence. according to the latest and best
historical research. this epistle was writ
ten by Paul no, later that twenty-five
years after the resurrection. al time
when. as Paul says. the greater number
Of the witnesses Of the resurrection might
still be living. The Gospel. with the ex-
ception of John. was written earlier:
Matthew's probably within eight years of
the crucifxon.
How could 1t have been possible to palm
off these Gospels and epis,les on the Jews.
and Greeks and Romans. so near to the
time Of the pretended event and TO have
made thousands and hundreds Of thous-
ands and millions of converts to Christ
If their story was false? We must not
forget that Paul himself was one of the
Chief Pharisecs and opponents of Christ.
ard knew all the possible arguments
against the resurrection. but became
convert of Christ and a martyr wisness
Of the resurrection. After marshaling -
Witnesses and presenting his proof he
confidently eXc!aims. But now is Christ
risen from the dead. and became the first
fruits Of them that slept II any fact in
history can he proven the resurrection of
Christ is. Thanks be 10 God. which Civ
eth Us the victory through cur Lord Jesus
Christ"