The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-01-18
MAGE'S SERMON.
FINDERS WITH THE
WORD OF GOD.

Il FINDERS WITH THE
WORD OF GOD.
4 The Alleged Uncleanness of tho Bible
Only the Uncleanness of tho Hearts
and Mind Of tho Would-Be Ex-
purEators.
Let God be true, but every man a
liar Romans 8: 4.
a The Bible needs reconstruction ac-
cording to some inside and outside the
pulpit 1t is no surprise that the world
bombards the scriptures, but it is
amazing to find Christian ministers
picking at this in the Bible and deny
Ing that until many good people are
left In: the fog about what parts of the
Bible they ought to believe, and what
parts reject. The Nervousness of find
ing fault with the Bible at this time is
most evident. In our day the Bible is
assailed by scurrility, by misrepresen-
tation, by tnfidel scientists, by all the
vice Of earth and all the venom of
perditton, and at this particular time
even preachers of the gospel fall into
line OF criticism Of the word of God.
Why, 1t makes me think Of ship in
September equinox. the waves DASH
Ing to the top Of the smokestack, and
4 the matches fastened down, and many
phophesying the laundering of the
~ keamer, and at that time some of the
w with axes and saws go down into
hold Of the ship, and they try to
on some of the planks and pry
some OF the timbers because
kmber did not come from the
ATest! 1t does not seem to me
Apdable business for the crew
jig the winds and storms
their axes and saws in
u. this old gospel ship, what
de roaring of earth and hell
md the stem and stern, and mutiny
deck, is having very rough voy-
but have noticed that not one
e timbers has started, and the
lin says he will see it through.
have noticed that keelson and
er-timber-knee are built OF
canon cedar. and she is going to
weather the gale, but no credit to those
who make mutiny on deck.
When l see professed Christians in
this particular day finding fault with
the scriptures 1t makes me think Of
fortress terrifically bombarded, and
the men on the ramparts, instead Of
swabbing out and loading the guns.
and helping fetch up the ammunition
from the magazine, are trying with
crowbars to pry out from the wall GER
tain blocks of stone. because they did
not come from the right quarry. Oh.
men on the ramparts, better fight back.
and fight down the common enemy,
instead Of trying to make breaches in
the wall.
While oppose this exprrgation of
the scriptures. shall give you my
reasons for such opposition. What"
say some Of the theological! evolution
lists, whose brains have been added
by too long brooding over them by
4 Darwin and Spencer, you don't now
really believe all the story of the Car
den Of Eden. do you?" Yes. as much
. as believe there were roses in my
!. garden last summer, but" say they,
li4'you don't really believe that the sun
and moon stood still?" Yes, and
II had strength enough to create a
sun and moon COLD make them stand
still, or cause the refraction of the
SUMS rays so it would appear to stand
still. But" they say, you don't be-
lieve that the whale swallowed
Jonah?" Yes, ard If I were strong
enough to make IT, whale could have
made very easy ingress for the re-
fractory prophet, leaving to evolution
to eject him. If ne were an unworthy
tenant! But" say they. you don't
really believe that the water was
turned into wi.e?" Yes, just as easily
as water nowis often turned into wine
with an admxture of strychnine and
Hollywood! ''iut," they say, you don't
really belieN that Samson slew thou
sand with che jaw-bone of an ASST"
Yes, and think that the man who in
this day ssaults the Bible is welding
the sam weapon!
am opposed to the expurgation OF
the scriptures in the first place, be-
cause he Bible in its present shape
has cen SO miraculously preserved.
Fiften hundred years after Herodotus
write his history, there was only one
tntnuscript copy of it. Twelve hun
ted years after Plato wrote his book,
aere was only one manuscript copy
If it. God was so careful to have us
have the Bible in just the right shape
that we have fifty manuscript copies
~ OF the New Testament a thousand
years old, and some Of them
fifteen hundred years old. This
book handed down from the
time Of Christ, or just after
the time. Of Christ, by the hand OF such
men as Origen in the second century,
and Tertullian in the third century,
and by men of different ages who died
for their principles. The three best
copies of the New Testament in manu-
script in the possession of the three
great churches-the Protestant church
OF England, the Greek church of st.
Petersburg, and the Romish church of
Italy.
It Is plain matter of history that
( Tischendorf went to convent in the
i peninsula OF Sinai and was by ropes
lifted over the wall into the convent,
that being the only mode Of admission,
and that he saw there in the waste