The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-11-27
lHt DAWN OF A
NEW ERA HIS TOPIC
[Concluded from Page 81

civilization.
our stay in the east has been costing
treasures, blood and tears and human
lives, but this has always been the price
paid for freedom and civilization. For
Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines
brighter day Is dawnng. ] In fancy see
1t. l picture a future of free schools,
free press and free church, with com
| Inerce, railrca ads, electric cars and tele'
graphs. / also see wholesome laws with
honest judges and courts OF justice. And
| over which floats as symbol OF free
| dom and liberty the glorious stars and
| stripes.
Advancement has been made along
moral and religious lines During the
| first few years of the century there were
| ten times as many intidel books sold In
| America as copies of Gods word. But
| now the demand for the Bible is so
| great that about thirty thousand are
| printed every day I'm the year. 1t is an
| era of Bible societies organized for the
| distribution of Gods word OF Home and
| Foreign Missionary societies which have
| for their object the conversion of the
world to Christ; Of church extension So
cieties which aim to put a church on
| every hilltop and in every valley and in
| every hamlet and village of the land; OF
| Freedmans Aid and Southern Educa-
tion societies which are striving to edu-
cate and convert not only the millions
the south.
Neither of these societies were known
one hundred years ago. But the pessl-
mist says we have not made any adj
| Yancement in the cause Of temperance.
lie tells us that more liquor is sold than
ever before in the history of the world.
| We admit there Is a great amount OF
liquor sold today That there is great
need of work on the part of Christian
men and women everywhere Yet we
cannot accept the statement that no ad-
vance has teen made.
WAS IN EVERY HOUSE.
Within the century even a minister
might have his drinks and no one thought
1t wrong. Liquor was in every house
and most everybody drank. Election day
was day for getting drunk and even
the installing of New England pastor
was an occasion for a good deal of
drinking and hi.arity.
The manufacturing. selling and drink
ing are not as respectable as they were.
When men drink they prefer to do 1t
behind screens and stained windows
We judge somewhat of the moral prog
ress of the people by the increase in the
membership OF the church. At the be-
| ginning of the century there was only one
member to every fifteen of the inhabtt-
ants. Now there is one to every four.
This, you see, includes a very large per-
centage of the adult population. The
church Is making rapid advancement. AT
, the end of the first ten centuries of her
history she had fifty million members
During the next five centuries this num-
! Der doubled and there were one hundred
| | millions. During the next three centuries
she added another hundred million. Sc
that in the year 1900 she had two hundred
l millions. But row a. the end of this
, century she has four hundred and fifty
millions. Her increase in the last hun
dred years has been more than during
the former eighteen hundred. But the
; peSsimist says "There is a great amount
of skepticism and infdelity in this age
, | Much less" l reply, than in any agt
of the past centuries" Then he asks
"Why do we hear so much about it?''
You have heard of the man who tried
4 to dispose of several car loads of frog
= legs. At length, one man while no
= wanting a car load promised to take sew
eral dozen. Some days after when HI
{ came to deliver them he had only thre,
= pair. He said he had been greatly dis
a appointed; these were all he had caught
He further stated that he lived by thu
side of a pond and every night he heart
Q so much noise that he thought Their
|, must be millions OF frogs in it. But H.
q had dragged 1t with seine, drained 1t
and raked It, and "he could find onl,
these three" On the subject of infdeit,
I l need say no more. You can draw you
0 own conclusions.
$ THE PESSIMIST'S INQUIRY.
q But the pessimist inquiries, Are W
% not drifting from the old landmarks an
: leaving the old doctrines? Are we no
!, tending towards liberaism?" l answe
- there may be some danger that in gettin
s away fIom extreme dogmatism we ma
2 swing too far the ether way. But thin
the churches papapallN cOnp6
faith though we may hear more abou
good works and love and mercy tina
e harsh doctrines. 1t Is only few year
i ago that many believed that the destruc
C tive critics would take from us our Bible
. They dissected and analyzed its part:
y But they have given it back to us wit
u Ieverenced hands not only unhurt b.
n confirmed by careful study.
a Bishop Hurst, who is one of our ables
- Bible students and a careful observe
- of everything pertaining to the Scripture
i and the church, recently said there is n
e question that the present trend of Germa
y criticism on the &C spells and Pentateuc
:, is in favor of the conservative position.
II For the last thirty years until a yer
i recent date the general contention ha
a been In favor of the so-called highe
n critics, The pendulum IL now swingifl
back and the German people are return
'e ing to the school of Neander Tholoc
anu t1OnBSlenOuTB. we nave HO uout
- that within the next five years all III
~ main positions assumed by the highC
criticism will have been taken from
y There Is not an eXtrere view hithert
s, held by the destructive critics of eth,
N the Old Testament or the New which h5
~ not been greatly weakened or entirel
% abandoned, Professor Harnock, an EN-
81 nent German critic. now admits tn;
re some of his former views are untenabl
;" And he adds 1.-THE old Christian lite
r atuTe is solid historic ground"
- The unearthinG of tablets and cur
is forms in the old world and the discovers
g. made in Egypt and other places in Il
ot | east are constantly confirming though
~ full men and women in their belief in tn
- grand old book. So we can say in Il
~ language of another 1.-THE world of schc
n ! arship was reVer surer of Christ al
,g never nearer to Christ and the world
~ large was never more anxious to 81
- Christ than now. Back to Christ is Il
lu Worlds battle cry The Christian wor
10 is asking What would Jesus do? al
of never in the worlds history have the
"a been so many true men and wom'
~ ready to follow Jesus-follow Him to sc
Is denial, to holy living, TO benevolent Sc
e. vice, TO the ends Of the earth"
es A STIRRING, PRACTICAL AGE
Let us in this stirring. practical ag
~, meet the demands upon us and nal
W the most of our lives. Let us measu
ne up to our responsibilities An old ma
or said to me some time ago, II was bo
,o fifty years too soon." / think God wan
% us in this age and just where We al
&c In our present positions opportunities
ut usefulness are constantly opening to I
t. Let us be ready to do what God wou
| Ia hf