Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-08-11

brought her to this country. .lomas
Paine. who was so squalid and 50
lOathsOme and so drunken and so prof
ligate and so beaStly in his habits.
sometimes picked ont Of the ditch.
sometimes too filthy to be picked out
Thomas Paine. one would have thought
that he could have been depended on
for steadfastness against this great de-
| lusiOn.
But no. In his dying hour he begs
the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy. Pow
erful delusion, all conquering deluslon.
earthquaking delusion Of the Christian
religion. Yea, 1t goes on. It is so i'm
pertinent. and it is so overbearing. this
chimera of the gospel. that. having
conquered the great picture galleries
OF the world. the old masters and the
young masters. it is not satisfied until
1t has conquered the music OF the
world. Look over the programme Of
any magnificent musical festival and
see what are the great performances
and learn that the greatest of all the
subjects are religious subjects.
Gospel Structures.
Yes, this chimera of the gospel is not
satisfied until it goes on and builds it.
self into the most permanent archltec.
ture, so 1t seems as If the world is nev-
or to get rid Of it. What are same Of
the finest buildings In the world? st.
Pauls, st. Peters and the churches
and cathedrals Of all Christendom.
Yes. this impertinence of the gospel.
this vast delusion. is not satisfied until
it projects itself and in one year gives.
contributes. SG.250.000 TO foreign mis-
slons. the work Of which is to make
ounces and fools on the other side of
the world-people we have never seen.
Deluded doctors-22O physicians meet
ing week by week in London in the
Union Medical Prayer circle to wor.
ship God.
Deluded lawyers-LOrd Cairns. the
highest legal authority in England.
the ex-adviser of the throne. spending
his vacation in preaching the gospel
Of Jesus Christ to the poor people of
Scotland. Frederick T. Frellnghuysen
Of New Jersey. once secretary Of state.
an old fashioned Evangelical Christian.
an elder in the Reformed church. John
Bright. deluded Quaker. Henry VIII
son. the vice president Of the United
States. dying a deludcd Methodist or
Congregatlonallst. Earl Of Hintorc
dying a deluded Presbyterian
The Nnnbals in South sea. the
bushmen Of TERRA del Fuego. the wild
men OF Australia. putting down the
knives Of their crnelty and clothing
themselves in decent apparel-all uu
der the power Of this delusion. Judson
and DOty and Abeel and Campbell ana
Williams and the 5000 missionaries
Of the cross turning their backs on
home and civilization and comfort and
going ont amid the squalor Of heathen-
ism to relieve IT, TO save IT, to help II.
tolling until they dropped into their
graves, dying with no earthly comfort
about them. and going Into graves
with no appropriate epitaph when they
might have lived in this country and
lived for themselves and lived luxu-
riously and been at last put into bril-
liant sepulchers. What delusion!
Yes, this deluslon Of the Christian
religion shows itself in the fact that
. g. la In, la
Now, It is bad enough to cheat man
when he Is well and when he is pros
porous, but this religion comes to
man when he is sick and says: You
will be we'll again after awhile. You
are going into a land where there are
no coughs, and no pleurlsles. and no
consumptions, and no languishing.
Take courage and bear up Yea. this
awful chlmera Of the gospel comes TO
the poor, and 1t says to them. You
are on your way to vast estates and to
dividends always declarable." This
delusion Of Christianity comes to the
bereft, and It talks of reunion before
the throne and Of the cessation OF all
sorrow. And then, to show that this
deluson will stop at absolutely moth
ing, 1t goes to the dying bed and fills
the man with anticipations. How
much better II would be to have him
die without any more hope than swine
and rats and snakesl Shovel him I'M
derl That is all. Nothing more left OF
him. He will never know anything
again. Shovel him under, The soul Is
only a superior part OF the body, and
when the body disintegrates the soul
dlsIntegrates. Annihilation, vacancy.
everlasting blank, obllteratlon. Why
not present all that beautiful doctrine
to the dying instead Of coming with
this hoax, this swindle Of the Christian
religion, and filling the dying man
with anticipatIons Of another life until
some In the last hour have. clapped
their hands, and some have shouted.
and some have sung, and some have
been so overwrought with JOY that
they could only look ecstatic2 Palace
gates opening. they thought-diamond
coronets flashing. hands beckoning. or
chestras sounding. Little children dy-
Ing actually believing they saw their
departed parents. so that although
the little children had been so weak
and feeble and sick for weeks they
could not turn on their dying pillow
at the last, in a paroXysm Of rapture
uncomfortable they sprang to their
feet aud shouted, "AIother, catch ne;
am coming"
More Swindlers.
And to show the immensity OF this
delusion, this awful swindle of the
gospel Of Jesus Christ, open a hospi-
tai. and | bring into that hospital the
deathbeds OF a great many Christian
people, and take you by the hand, and
| walk up and down the wards OF that
hospital, and ask few questions. |
Task. Dying Stephen, what have you to
sayT Lord, Jesus, receive my
spirit" "Dying John Wesley, what
have you to say" "The best Of all Is
God Is with u.s." dying Edward
Payson, what have sou to sayT II
float In a sea OF glory" "Dying John
Rradrord, what have you to sayT' IF
| 49,. n. my rvav of ooin0 TO heaven