The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-07-06
OF DIVINE ORIGIN.
DR.. Talmage's Reasons for His Be
lief in the Scriptures.
The Good Accomplished in the Worid
as an Evidence-An Answer 10
AgnOsticism-Proph
FuIHlled.
TCopyright, 1900, by Louis Klopsch'l
Washington

Christianity and agnosticism Dr' L al
mage has taken decided STAND, anu III
this sermon declares his unWaverlnS
belief in the divine origin of the Scrip
lures; text, Matthew, 7:l6, do men
gather grapes Of thorns?
Not in this country. Not IN any
country. Thorns stick, thorns lacer-
ate, but all the thorns put together
never Welded one cluster of Catawoa
or Isabella grapes. Christ, who was
the master of apt and potent illustra-
ton, is thus setting forth what you
and | well know, that you cannot get
that which is pleasant and healthful
and good from that which is bad. Ii
YOU find a round, large, beautiful Gus
ter of grapes, you know that 1t was
produced by good grapevine ana not
from a tangle of Canada thistle. Now
if | can show you that this holy Blole
Yields good fruit, healthful fruit, splen-
did fruit, you will come to the concur
sion that it is a good Bible, and all the
arguments of the skeptic against II
when he tries to show it is bad BOOK
will go overheard.
DO men gather grapes of thorns:
Can a bad book yield good results:
Skeptics with great vehemence declare
that the Bible is a cruel book. Ihey
read the story of the determination OF
the Canaanites and of all the ancient
wars and of the history of David and
Joshua, and they come to the conclu-
sion that the Bible is in favor of lacera-
L., %, nd ma
Now, a bad book will produce a bad
result. cruel book will produce a cruel
result.
You have friends who have been in
the habit of reading the Bible great
many years. Have you noticed ten
dency to cruelty on their part? Have
YOU ever heard any of them come out
and practically say: 4 have been read
ing the story about the determination
of the Canaanites, and am seized upon
with disposition to cut and slash and
maui and pinch and murder and knock
to pieces everything / can lay my
hands on?" Have your friends in pro-
portion as they become diligent Bible
students and disciples of the Christ OF
the Bible shown a tendency toward
massacre and murder and manslaugh-
ter? Has that been your observation?
What has been the effect upon your
children of this cruel book? Or if you
do not allow the book to be read in
your household, what has been the ef-
feet upon the children of other house
holds where the word of God is hon
.ored? Have they as a result of reading
this cruel book gone forth with cruel
spirit to pull the wings of flies and to
pinion grasshoppers and to rob birds
nests? A cruel book ought to make
cruel people. If they diligently read it
and get absorbed with its principles
that cause must produce that effect. At
what time did you notice that the
teachings of this holy Bible created
cruelty in the heart and the life of
George Peabody, of Miss Dix, of Flor
ence Nightingale, of John Howard, OF
John Frederick Oberlin, of Abbot Lau-
renee? Have you noticed in reading
the biography of these people that in
proportion as they became friends of
the Bible they became enemies to hui
manity? Have you not, on the
contrary, noticed that all the institu-
tions of mercy established or being es-
tablished were chiefly supported by the
friends of this book? There is the hos
pital in war time. There are 90 Chris
tian women. They are binding up
wounds; they are offering cordials;
they are kneeling down by the dying
praying for their departed spirits
Where does the cruelty crop out? They
have been reading the Bible all theiI
lives. They read it every morning;
they read it every night; they carry il
under their arm when they go into
the hospital.
Where does the cruelty of the bool
crop out? Is it in the gentleness o.
their step? Is it in the cadence o.
their voice? Is il in the sympathetic
prayer they offer at the bedside of thu
dying? Your common sense tells you
that a cruel book must produce crue
results. When you can make a ros,
leaf stab like a bayonet, and wheI
you can manufacture icicles ont of tn,
south wind. and when you can poison
your tongue with honey got from
blossoming buckwheat, then you cal
get cruelty out of the Bible. Tha
charge of the skeptics falls fat in thu
presence of every honest man.
Again, infidels go on ard most We
hemently charge that this Bible is al
impure book. You all know that al
impure book produces impure results
No amount of money could hire yo'
IN allow YOUR child to read an un