The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-02-14

Copyright. 1901. by Louis Klopsch, N. z,
Washington, Feb. 1O.-In this dis
course DR.. Talmage calls for more
demonstrative religion and hearty
speaking out on the right side Of ev-
erything; text, Mark 9: Is, "Thou
dumb and deaf spirit, 1 charge thee,
come out Of him."
Here was case Of great domestic
anguish. The son of the household
was possessed of an evil spirit, which,
among other things, paralyzed his
tongue and made him SPECIFICS.
When the influence was on the patient,
ne could not say word-articula-
ton was impossible. The spirit that
captured this member of the household
was dumb spirit-so called by Christ
"a spirit abroad today and as lively
and potent as in New Testament times.
Yet in all the realms of sermonology
cannot find discourse concerning
this dumb devil which Christ charged
upon in my text, saying. Come out of
him."
Destructive Superstition.
There has been much destructive
superstition abroad in the world con-
cerning possession by evil spirits.
Under the form Of belief in witchcraft
this delusion swept the continents.
Persons were supposed to be possessed
with some evil spirit, which made them
able to destroy others. In the six
teenth century in Geneva $500 persons
We're burned to death as witches. In
one neighborhood of France 1000 per-
sons We're burned. In two centuries
Suo,OO0 persons were slain as witches
SO mighty was the delusion that it
included among its victims some of
the greatest intellects of all time,
such as Chief Justice Matthew Hale
and Sir Edward Coke, and such re-
nowned ministers of religion as Cotton
Mather, one of whose books, Benjamin
Franklin said, shaped his life-and
Richard Baxter, and Archbishop Gran
mer and Martin Luther; and, among
writer's and philosophers, Lord Bacon.
That belief, which has become the
laughing stock Of all sensible people,
counted its disciples among the wisest
and best people of Sweden, Germany,
England, France, Spain and New Eng
land. But while we respect witchcraft,
any man who believes the Bible must
believe that there are diabolical agen-
c1es abroad in the world. While there
are m1nistering spirits to bless there
are Internal spirits to hinder, to poison
and to destroy. Christ was speaking
to spiritual existence when, standing
before the afflicted one Of the text, he
said, Thou dumb and deaf spirit.
come out Of him.
Dumb and Deaf Spirit.
Against this dumb devil of the text
put you on your guard. Do not
think that this agent of evil has put
his blight on those who, by omission
OF the vocal organs, have had the gold
en- gates Of speech bolted and barred.
Among those who have never spoken
word are the most gracious and
lovely and talented souls that were
ever incarnated. The chaplains Of the
asylums for the dumb can tell you en-
chanting stories of those who never
called the name of father or mother
or child, and many of the most devout
and prayerful souls will never in this
world speak the name of God or
Christ.
Many deaf mute have seen with
che angel Of intelligence seated at the
window of the eye. who never came
forth from the door of the mouth.
What miracle of loneliness and
knowledge was Laura Bridgman of
New Hampshire, not only without fac
ulty of speech, but without hearing
and without sight, all these faculties
removed by sickness when years of
age, yet, becoming wonder at needle
work, at the piano, at the sewing ma
chine and an intelligent student OF the
Scriptures and confounding philoso-
piers, who came from all parts of the
world to study the phenomenon.
Thanks to Christianity for what it
has done for the amelioration Of the
condition of the deaf and dumb. Back
in the ages they were put to death as
having no right with such paucity Of
equipment to live, and for centuries
they were classed among the idiotic
Great Benefaotors.
and unsafe. But in the sixteenth CEN
fury came Pedro Ponce, the Spanish
monk, and in the seventeenth century
came John Pablo Bonet, another Am
ish monk, with dactylology, or the
finger alphabet, and in our own coun-
fury we have had John Braidwood and
Drs. Mitchell and Ackerly and Peet and
Gallaudet, who have given to uncount-
ed thousands Of those whose tongues
were forever silent the power to spell
out on the air by manual alphabet
their thoughts about this world and
their hopes for the next. We rejoice
in the brilliant inventions in behalf Of
those who were born dumb. One Of
the most impressive audiences l ever
addressed was in the far west, an au-
dience Of about 600 persons, who had
never heard sound or spoken word,
an interpreter standing beside me
while addressed them. l congratu-
lated that audience on two advantages
they had over the most Of us-the one
that they escaped hearing great
many disagreeable things and on the
other fact that they escaped saying
things they were sorry for afterward
Yet after all the alterations shack
led tongue is an appalling limitation.
But we are not this morning speaking
of congenial mutes. We mean those
who are born with all the faculties Of