Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1901-07-13

are being planted ali along the sea
coasts aud In all nations. IL may. take
q 70 I'd while 10 plant them. ADD they
NAV, do all their work In one day. They
will. Nations arc 80 be born in . day.
But Just come back TO thristendom
and recognize the fact that during the
last ten years as many people haze cea-
nected themselves with erangsncal
churches as connected themselves with
the churches in the first 20 years OF last
century. So Christianity Is falling
back, and the Bible, they say. Is be-
coming an obsolete book. 60 into
court. and wherever | find judges 1
bench or a clerks desk l find Bible
Upon what book could there be uttered |
the sole mnity OF an oath2 What book
Is apt 20 be put in the trunk OF the
young man as he .taNes for city life;
The Bible. What shall find in nine cut
of every ten homes in this city? The
Bible. In nine out of every ten homes
in Christendom2 The Bible. NO.taire
wrote the prophecy that the Bible Ia
the nineteenth century would become
extinc<. That century is gone. and l
have to tell you that the room in which
Voltsire wrote that prophecy not long
ago WAS crowded from floor 20 ceiling
with Bibles from Switzerland.
Suppose the congress OF the United
States should pass law that there
should DO no more Bibles printed in
America and no Bibles read? II
there are eO.OOo.OOO grown people in
the United States. there would be co.
/ oOo. 600 people IN an army 10 put down
such a law and defend their right &c
4 T1..a ~
rress OF the United States should
make law against the reading or
the publication OF any other book.
how many people would 60 out IN
such a crusader Could you get co.
600 900 people 20 60 out and risk their
lives In the defense Of Shakespeare
tragedies or Gladstone's tracts or
Macaulay's History OF EuglondT
You know that there arc a thousand
men who would die in the defense OF
this book where there IL not more
than one man who would die in the
defense of any other book. You try
20 insult my common sense by tell
ing me the Bible is fading out FROM
the world. IL is the most popular
book OF the centuries.
How do l know IL? know II JUS
as ! know i'm regard 20 other books
How many volumes OF that histOr!
are published2 Well. you say 5000
How many copies OF another bool
are published2 A hundred thousand
Which is the more POPULAR Why. o
course. the one that has the hundre'
thousand circulation. And II this bool
has more copies abroad Ia the world
81 there are five times as many Bible
abroad as any other book among civ
ihzed nations. does not that show yo
that the most popular book on cart
to-day is the word OF God2
, oh" say people, the church Is
collection of hypocrites, and II y lo'
ing its power. and IL Is fading on
from the world" Is it2 4 bisho
OF the Methodist church told nae tina
that denomination averages two ne
churches every day. In other word
they build T3G churches In that d
nomination in a year. and there al
. at least !, 500 new Christian church,
. built i'm America every year. Do
that look Us though the Christia
=. church vycre fading out, rs though
were a defunct institution VIII
stands nearest TO the hearts of n
American people to-day / do ~
care In what village or what city
= what neighborhood you go. What
&c? Is il the post Sfiice2 /. il a
X hotel2 Is IL the lccturing hall? 4
e yeu know il is not, You know IN
y that which stands nearest TO q
10 Rearts Of the American people is Z
is Christian church.
The infldels say: There is gre
liberty now for infdels; freedom
platform. ln6delity shows its pow
- from the fact that IL is eveTywhe
- tolerated, and 1t can say what
will" Why, my friends, infidelity
. not half so blatant IN our day as
was in the days OF our fathers
" you know that in the days of our
= theirs there were pronounced infid
= IN public authority, and they COT
get any political position? Let a m
10 to-day declare himself antagonis tic
II the Christian religion. and what c
= wants him for mayor; what ST
Wv wants him for governor; what
ton wants him for president or
" king? Let man openly prOela
~ himself the enemy of our glori'
IN Christianity. and he cannot get !
nv jority of votes in any state. An G
ls city, in any county. in any ward
America.
= am nightly encouraged beca
find, among other things. that WI
this Christianity has been bombar'
= for centuries infideity has not
stroyed one church, or crippled
minister. or uprooted one verse
one chapter of all the Bible. If {
has been their magnificent record