The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1898-08-13

name. ANA quite certain Is 1t,
that there has never been one
tenth as many Atheists in the
world at any time as is commonly
supposed. just as today, the
orthodox Mohammedan names
everybody an infdel who doesn't
profess faith in Mohammed and
the Koran, so in time past it was
customary in Christian lands to
call pretty nearly everybody an
Atheist who happened to be at odds
with the prevailing type of
orthodoxy.
Why, as we all know, some of the
profoundest believers in Almighty
God this world ever saw, some of
His highest and broadest-browed
prophets, have been called Atheists
and prosecuted and put to death
as such. And even now, occasion
ally, men are accused of Atheism,
who as matter of fact entertain a
far nobler faith in the Living God
and worship, and seek to obey
Him in a far grander and truer
way, than their short-sighted ac-
cusers, Yea, | am quite sure that
none of the worlds i9ms has ever
had so small a following as Athe-
ism; and where its followers are:
today, do not know unless they
be in the insane asylums-for |
have never met any Of them, |
have met, to be sure, many men
and many women who lived ar
thelstic lives; who talked and
schemed, and wrought, and went
their foolish ways, as if this uni
verse were vacant of any God, or
they ignorant of his presence in it.
But | have never known any man
or woman who would decline to
profess what Capt. Phillip did on
the battleship Texas, believe
in Almighty God"
What we need, then, to be con
| cerned about, is not that men
should be able to utter this pro
! fession of belief-pot at all. But
this, rathel-- that we and all men
should entertain the right idea OF
Almighty God, should be possess
of the right sort of belief in Him,
and that they and we ahoold! give
qtterauce to our idea and Our belief
in true Cody, Christly, deeds 30,
infinitely more significant to me,
Infinitely more cheering and IN
spring to me, than Capt. Phil
Hips profession of belief, were the
efforts made by him, and by all
the officers and crews of the vic
torious ships, to rescue from pam
and desth=at fisk TO themselves tthr
1.-THE brave fellow-belng with
whom they had Just heqn eAgaged
lin aeadly conflict! II open the
book of Deuteronomy at the goth
Ichap,, tho 10th verse, and | read
there this-supposed to have been
uttered by Moses, the mouth
piece of jehovah. tI &c me wArrlng
,Israe,;tes; 'i0f the cities OF those
neople which the Lord thy uo'
doth give thee for an inheritance nee.
tbou shalt save nothing alive INA
hreotbeth; but thou shalt utterly
DESTROY them, las the Lord NY
Cod hath commanded thee. . l
! = doubtful what would have hap
; noned off Santiago, after the bat
, tle Of July 3rd, had the grea
. Jewish law-glver with his idea 0
t Almighty God, been in oomman mn
. Of the victorious aeet' Ever
spaniard would have been above
TO perish-to drown-to be oio"
No by exploding magazines ,
= deyoured by sharks, and when u !,
y = Inst cry of agony had ceased, u I,
= last vain struggle ended, and u
= last chastity form had disappear(
beneath the sun-lit pitiless wave
Il The victors, in all probablht.
! would have raised a hymn
y y triumph, and of thanks, to eho'a
: Ike that which followed the owe
~ throw of the Egyptians IN i
: : Red Sea. How vast change h
q come over the spirit of mans ID
y Of God, between the days wn
y tbo greatest religious leader
IS antiouitv could be supposed
Us Give the command | have J,
C. onoted; and that Sunday, in JuI
n al Lords day, indeed, when, I
pc thunderous battle fought-a
an won-the foe stricken with def
'" lo,,,o;r-(IOd's commal