The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-02-16
A SILENT RELIGION.
DR.. Talmage Sets Forth It's Evils
in His Sermon.
Duty of Christians to Speak Ou
Heartily on the Side of Right
COMMUNICATING Out the
Dumb spirit.
Copyright 1901. By Louis Klopsch. N. "
Washington,

| Copyrlght' l'Vl. by Louis hlopsch. N ~
washington
In this discourse DR.. Talmage calls
for more demonstative religion and a !
| hearty speaking out on the right side |
of everything; text. Mark 9:25: Thou |
dumb and deaf spirit, charge thee,
come out of him."
| Here was case of great domestic |
anouish. The SON of the household was
| possessed Of an evil spirit, which, |
among other things, paralyzed his
tongue and madehim speechless. When
the influence was on the patient, he
could not say a word-articulation was
impossible. The spirit that captured
this member of the household was
dumb spirit-so called by Christ-a
spirit abroad. to-day and as lively and
potent as in the New Testament times.
Yet in all the realms of sermondom l
cannot find discourse concerning this
dumb devil which Christ charged up
on in my text, saving: Come out of
him."
There has been much destructive SUI
perstition abroad in the world concern
ing possession bv evil spirits. Under
the form Of belief in witchcraft. this de-
lusion swept the continents. Persons
were supposed to be possessed with
some evil spirit. which made them able
to destroy others. In the sixteenth CEN
tury in Geneva 1900 persons were
burned to death as witches. In one
neigh borhood of France 1000 persons
were burned. In two centuries 200, 900
> persons were slain as witches. So
mighty was the delusion that it includ-
ed among its victims some of the great
est intellects of al. time, such as Chief
Justice Matthew Hale and Sir Edward
Coke. and such renowned ministers of
= religion as Cotton Mather, one of whose
books. Ben iamin Franklin said. shaped
his life-and Richard Baxter, and Arch
bishop Cranner and Martin Luther;
and. among writer's and phlos ophers,
: Lord Bacon, That belief, which has
a become the laughing stock of all SEN
J.. sible people, counted its disciple
among the wisest and best people OF
: Swe,sen, Germany, England. France
@ Spain and New England But while We
= reject witchcraft. any man who be.
: lieves the Bib,e must believe that there
are diabolical agencies abroad in tht
j world. While there are ministerinc c
c spirits TO bless there are internal spirits
l. to hinder. to poison and to DESTROY
: Christ was speaking to a spiritual ex
istence when, standing before the af
flicted one of the text, he said: "Thor
# dumb and deaf spirit. come out of him.
= Against this dumb devil of the text
nut YOU on YOUR guard. Do not thinl
' that this agent of evil has put his bligh-
D on those who. by omission of the yoca
l. organs. have had the golden gates o.
e speech bolted and barred. Amonc
. those who have never spoken n worf
are the most gracious and lovely anC
Il talented souls that were ever incarnat
= ed. The chanlains of the asvlums fol-
the dumb can tel Won encbantinc
stories of those who never called tn,
name of father or mother or child. ant
L many of the most devout and nroverfu
7 souls will never in this world sneak tn,
r. name of God or Christ.
!, There has heen apotbeosizo+ion of 81
= lance Some one has said silence !
J. Golden. and sometimes the greatest fri
70 umnb is to keen vour mouth sbu+ I'm
sometimes silence is a. crime and III,
direct result of the baleful influence n
q tbe dumb devil of our text There !
IL hardly man or woman who has no
Is baen nresent on some occasion whe,
10 The Christian religion became n tarpe
for rai,lerv. Perhaps il was over /,
l. tbe store some dav when there was no
g much Going on. and the clerks were in
j. group. or il was in the factory at tn,
=, mon smell or II was out on the farm
- nnder the trees while YOU were resting
3 or II was in tbe clubroom. or il Wa
e in a social circle or it was in the stree
% on the wav home from business. or i
=, was IN some occasion which Won re
. member without nv describing il
l. some one got the laugh on the Bibl
J. and caricatured the profession of re
IS ligon as hypocrisy, or made a pun ou