The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-07-28

they please and sit where they please;
the other group, women hidden aud
carefully secluded in a side apartment
where they may hear the voice Of the
preacher, but may not be seen. No re-
finement. No liberry. No hope for this
life. No hope for the life to come.
hinged nose. Cramped foot. Disfgured
face. Embruted soul. Now, compare
those two conditions. How far toward
this latter condition that ! speak of
would a woman 20 if Christian infiu-
ences were withdrawn and Christianity
were destroyed? 1t is only a question
of dynamics If an object be lifted to
certain point and not fastened there
and the lifting power be withdrawn,
how long before that object will fall
/ down to the point from which il start
I ed? 1t will fall down, and il will go
still farther than the point from which
il started. Christianity has lifted wom-
an up from the very depths Of degrada-
ton almost TO the skies. If that lifting
power be Withdrawn she falls clear
back to the depth from which she was
resurrected. not going any lower. be
cause there is no lower depth. And yet,
Notwithstanding the fact that the only
salvation of woman from degradation
and woe is the Christian religion-and
the only influence that has ever lifted
her I'm the social scale is Christianity
| have head that there are women who
reject Christianity. | make no remark
in regard TO those persons. In the ST.
lence of your own soul make your OBJ
servations.
If infidelity triumph and Christianity
be Overthrown, il means the demoraliza-
tion of society. The one idea in the
Bible that atheists and infdels most
hate is the idea Of retribution. Take
away the idea of retribution and pun
ishment from society, and it will begin
very soon TO disintegrate, and take
away from the minds Of men the fear
of hell. and there are great many Of
them who would very soon turn this
world into a hell. The majority of those
who are indignant because of the idea
of punishment are men whose lives are
bad or whose hearts are impure and
who hate the Bible because of the idea
Of future punishment for the same rea-
son that criminals hate the peniten-
tiary. Oh, ] have heard this brave talk
about people fearing nothing of the
consequences of sin in the next world,
and have made up my mind it is mere
ly a towards whistling to keep his cour-
age up. have seen men iiaunt their i'm
mOralities in the face of the communi-
ty, and have heard them defy the judg-
ment day and scott at the idea of any
future consequence of their sin, but
when they came TO die they shrieked
until YOU could hear them for nearly
two blocks. and int the summer night
the neighbors got up to put the win
dows down because they could not en-
dure the horror.
/ would not want. TO see a rail train I
with 500 Christian people on board go I.
down through drawbridge into /
watery grave; / would not want to see /
500 Christian people go into such dis
aster, but tell you plainly that could /
more easily see that than | could for
any protracted time stand and see an
infidel die, though his pillow were of
elder down and under a canopy of YER
million. / have never been able TO
brace up my nerves for such a spec
tacle. There is something at such a
time so indescribable in the counte-
nance. l just looked in upon it a min
ute or two, but the clutch of his fist was
80 diabolic and the strength Of his voice
was so unnatural ] could not endure it.
'There is no hell, there is no hell. there
is no hell" the man had said for GO
years, but that night when ] looked
IN the dying room of my infidel neigh
Dor there was something on his counte-
nance which seemed to say: "There is,
there is, there is, there isl" The
mightiest restraints to-day against
.heft, against immortality, against lib
against crime of all sorts
.he mightiest restraints are the retri-
buttons of eternity. Men know that
hey can escape the law, but down in
he offenders soul there is the realiza-
ion of the fact that they cannot escape
Iod. He stands at the end of the road
# profigacy and He will not clear the
ruilty. Take all idea of retribution and
out of the hearts and
minds of men, and it would not be long
,efore our cities would become Sodoms.
he only restraints against the evil pas
ions of the world to-day are Bible re-
traints.
Suppose now these generals Of athe-
SIN and infidelity got the victory, and
oppose they marshaled a great army
made up of the majority of the world.
hey are in companies, in regiments,
n brigades-the whole army. For
gard. march, We hosts of infdels and
theists, banners flying before, banners
wing behind, banners inscribed with
he words: "No God No Christ No
No Restraintsl Down
nth the Biblel Do as You Please!"
he sun turned into darknessl
Forward, march. We great army of
lfidels and atheistsl And first OF all
on will attack the churches. Away
18th those houses Of worship. They
ave been standing there so long de-
iding the people with consolation IN :
heir bereavements and sorrows. All .
nose churches ought to be eXtirpated, ,
ley have done so much TO relieve the
st and bring home the wandering, ,
nd they have so long held up the idea ;