The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1900-07-06


of the Bible. 1t is impossible to get
the accurate statistics, but suppose
there are 200,0C0,(00 copies OF the
Bible abroad, this one book read more
than any 20 books that the world ever
printed, this book abroad for ages for
centures-where are the victims!
Show me 1000. Show me 500 victims
of an impure book. Show me 100 de-
spoiled of the Bible. Show me so.
Show me ten. Show me two. Show
me onel Two hundred million copies
of an impure book and not one victim
of the impurity! On the contrary,
YOU know very well that 1T is where
the Bible Las the most power that the
family institution is most respected.
You must remember also that the
authors of the Bible came from diff
ferent lands, from different ages ana
from different centuries. They had
no communication with each other;
they did not have an idea as to what
was the chief design of the Bible, and
vet their writings, got up from an
these different lands and all these dlf-
ferent ages and all these different
centuries, coming together make
perfect harmony in the opinion OF the
very best scholars of all lands. is not
that a most remarkable fact?
The Bible is made up of the Old
Testament and the New Testament
let us take the New Testament first.
WHY do I believe it? Why do l take
If TO NV heart? 1t is because it can
be traced back to the Divine heart
lust as easily as that aisle can be
traced to that door, and that aisle 10
that door.
Jerome and Eusebius in the first cen
tury and Origen in the second century
and other writers in the third and
fourth centuries gave list OF the New
Testament writer's just exactly CORE
sponding with our list, showing that
the same New Testament which we
have they had in the fourth century
and the third century and the second
century and the first century. But
where did they get the New Iesta-
ment? They got it from lrenaeus'
Where did Irenaeus get it? He got 1t
| from Polycarp. Where did Polycarp
get it? He got it from st. John, VINO
| was the personal associate OF the Loro
Jesus Christ. My grandfather gave a
book to my father, my father gave 1t
to me, l give it to my child. Is there
any difficulty in tracing this line?
On communion day l will start the
chalice at that end of the aisle, and the
chalice will pass along to the other end
of the aisle. VIII it be difficult to trace
the line of that holy chalice? No diff
Guilty at all. This one will say: 81 gave
if TO that one" and this one will say:
81 gave it to that one" But it Will not
be so long line as this to trace the
New Testament. 1t is easier to get at
the fact. But you say: although this
was handed right down in that way
who knows but they were lying impos'
ters? How can you take their testi'
mony?" They died for the truth OF
that Book. Men never die for a lie
cheerfully and triumphantly. They
were not lying imposters. They dice
in triumph for the truth of that New
Testament.
"Well" says someone, nov l an
ready to believe that the New Tesla
ment is from the heart of Christ, but
how about the Old Testament? Why
do YOU believe that?" ! believe the Ole
Testament because the prophecies fore
told events hundreds and thousands o.
wears ahead-events which afterwarc
took place. How far can you see ahead
Two thousand years? Can you SEE
ahead a hundred years? Can you SEE
ahead five minutes? No, no! Human
prophecy amounts to nothing. Herr
these old prophets stood thousands o
years back, and they foretold events
which came accurately true far on il
the future centuries. Suppose | should
stand here and say to you: Twenty
five hundred and sixty years from nov
three miles and half from the city o
Moscow, there will be an advent. and j
will be in a certain family, and it will
be amid certain surroundings /
would make no impression upon yol
because you know / cannot foresee
thousand years or one year or one min
ute, and l cannot tell what is going t.
transpire in a land far away. But tina
is what these old prophets did.
Besides all this, you must remem
Der that the most of the writers o
this book were uneducated men. How
can you account for tie fact tina
| when Thomas Darlington Macaulay
standing in the house of parliamen
in London, wanted to finish off mag
nificent sentence he quoted from tn
fishermen of Galilee, or. sitting in hi