The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1901-07-05

an arctic night, the cold equal to the
darkness. You do well to be angry, |
but how about those who have been
flung of scepticism, and that is more |
millions than you will ever know of |
until the Judgment day reveals every |
thing. All, here comes your opportu-
nifty for gentleness, kindness and |
sympathy. The probability is that If |
you had been piled with the same in
fuences as this unbeliever there !
would not be Bible in all your
house from cellar to attic. Perhaps
he was i'm some important transaction
swindled by member of the church
whose taking of the sacrament was
sacrilege Perhaps he read agnostic
books and heard agnostic lectures
and mingled in agnostic circles until
he has been befogged and needs your
Christian help more than anyone
that YOU know Of DO not get into
any laborcd argument about the
truth of Christianity He may beat
you at that. He has whole artil-
| lery of weapons ready to open hre'
| Remember tnat no one was ever re-
| formed for this life or saved for the
| life 20 come by an argument but IN
| humblcst and gentlest way, your
voice subducd, ask him a few ques-
tions. ASK him if he had a Christian
parentage, and if he says yes ask
him whether the old folks died happy.
Ask him if he has ever heard of any
one going out of this life in raptures
of infdelity and agnosticism. Ask
e a =. slaftt raff %
able fact that the Bible. after so
many years, sticks together and that
there are more copies of il in exist
ence than ever before. Ask him IL
he knows of any better civilization
than Christian civilization and
whether he thinks the teachings OF
Confucius or Christ are preferable.
Ask him il he thinks it would be
fair thing in the Creator of all things
to put in this world the human race
and give them no direct communica-
ton for their guidance and, if they
did wrong, tell them of no way OF
recovery. | think If n famous intidel
of our time, instead of being taken
away instantaneously had died in
his bed after weeks and months of
illness he would have revoked his
teachings and left for his beloved
family consultations which they could
not find in obsequies at which not
one word of Holy Scripture was read,
or at Fresh Pond crematory, where
no Christian benediction was pro-
nounced. | do not positively say that
in a prolonged illness, there would
have been a retraction, but | think
there would.
But let me confess at this crisis OF
my sermon that there is not an in
junction in the Bible more difficult to
obey than the words of the text
While it applauds a wholesome indig'
nation, IL warns against sinful an
ger And there is in all the realm
of passion nothing more destructive
than indiscriminate hate. First OF
all, it frenzies the nervous ganglia
Those people who easily fare up or
little provocation go into high dud
, geon, take umbrage without reason
, snap you up quick, have ruined theil
nerves, and there is only one thing
worse to ruin. and that is the brain
and we say of one that is given tC
frequent ebullitions of temper tina
, he is an unbalanced man. A business
man of our acquaintance said: Z"
cannot afford to get mad. 1t hurts
r me So"
. A man thoroughly mad can sa.
/ enough in two minutes to damage
2 him for 20 years. 1t only took fiv,
/ minutes for the earthquake to de
1 stroy Caracas. One unfortunate sen
| tence uttered in affront in n speecl
n in the United States senate shut for
o ever the door of the white hous
$ against one of the most brilliant mel
+ of the last century.
+ Surprising all other characters il
S the worlds biography stands Jesu
e Christ, wrathful against sin, mercifu
a; to the sinner. Witness His behavio
5 toward the robed ruflians who de
n handed capital punishment for a
$ offending oman--denunciation TO
:, their sinful hypocrisy, pardon 70
/ her sweet penitence. He did no
e speak of Herod as "his majesty" o
# "his royal highness," but dared {
/ compare him to cunning fox, say
t. ing: go We and tell that fox" Blu
r, alert to the cry of suffering, He find
y ten lepers and to how many of tn
n ten awful invalids did He give cor
v valescence and health? Ten. Rebuff
d ing Pharisaism in the most con
l.! pressed sentence in all the vocal
i ulary of anathema-"Ye serpents, y
d generation of vipers, how can We e'
k cape the damnation of hell?"-ye
y looking upon Peter with such tender
" ness that no word was spoken-un
1t not a word was needed, for the loo
e spoke louder than words. "And tn
It Lord looked upon Peter, and Pete
lie went out and wept bitterly" Oh, wha
IN a look it must have been to brea
1t down the swarthy fisherman apostle
1t 1t was such hurt look, such b'
ID seeching look, such a loving lool
f. such a forgiving look! Was ther
d, any other being since time begai
a. such a combination of wrath agains
We wrong and compassion for I'll