The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1899-05-19

missionary of the cross to-day in
heather lands breaches generally 70
! TWO groups-a group Of mGn who do as
they please and sit where they please;
the other group, women hidden and
carefully secluded in a side apartment,
where they may hear the voice of the
preacher, but may not be seen. No re-
finement. No liberty. No hope for this
life. No hope for the life to come.
Hinged nose. Cramped foot. Distigured
face. Embruted soul. Now, compare
those two conditions. How far toward
this latter condition that | speak of
would a woman go if Christian inf1u-
ences were withdrawn and Christianity
were destroyed? 1t is only 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and the lifting power be withdrawn,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 it start
ed? 1t will fall down, and it will go
still farther than the point from which
it 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power be withdrawn she falls clear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 in the social scale is Christianity
[ have head that there are women who
T ,,,1y, IL
in regard to those persons. In the 81
lence of your own soul make your OBJ
servations.
If infdelity triumph and Christianity
be overthrown, it means the demoraliza-
ton 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 a great many of
them who would very soon turn this
world into a hell. The ma jority 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 l have made up my mind it is mere
ly a coward's whistling to keep his cour-
age up. have seen men tiaunt their i'm
moralities in the face of the communi-
ty, and 1 have heard them defy the judg-
ment day and scoff 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 in 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
with 500 Christian people on board go
down through a drawbridge into a
watery grave; | would not want to see
500 Christian people go into such dis
aster, but l tell you plainly that could
more easily see that than l could for
any protracted time stand and see an
infdel die, though his pillow were of
elder down and under 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. | just looked in upon it a min
ute or two, but the clutch of his fist was
so 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 60
years, but that night when | looked
in the dying room of my infdel 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
theft, against immortality, against lib
ertinism, against crime of all sorts
the mightiest restraints are the retri-
buttons of eternity. Men know that
they can escape the law, but down in
the offenders soul there is the realiza-
ton of the fact that they cannot escape
God. He stands at the end of the road
of profgacy, and He will not clear the
guilty. Take all idea of retribution and
minds of men, and it would not be long
before our cities would become Sodoms.
The only restraints against the evil pas
sions of the world to-day are Bible re-
straints.
Suppose now these generals of athe-
ism and infdelity got the victory, and
suppose they marshaled a great army
made up of the majority of the world.
They are in companies, in regiments,
in brigades-the whole army. For
ward, march, ye hosts of infdels and
atheists, banners flying before, banners
flying behind, banners inscribed with
the words: No God! No Christ! No
No Restraints! Down
with the Bible! Do as You Please!"
The sun turned into darkness!
Forward, march, ye great army of
you will attack the churches. Away
with those houses of worship. They
have been standing there so long de-
luding the people with consolation IN
their bereavements and sorrows. All
those churches ought to be eXtirpated,
they have done so much to relieve the |
lost and bring home the wandering, |
and they have so long held up the idea
of eternal rest after the paroxysm of
this life is over. Turn the st. Peters |
and ST. Pauls and the temples and tab
ernacles into clubhouses. Away with |
those chuchesi
Forward, march, We great army of in |
fidels and atheists. and next of all they |
scatter the Sabbath schools filled with |
bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked little ones
who are singing songs on Sunday after
noon and getting instruction when
they ought to be on the street corners
playing marbles or swearing on the |