The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1901-05-03
A SILENT RELIGION.
DR.. Talmage Sets Forth Its Evils
in His Sermon.
Duty Of Christians to Speak Ont
Heartily on the Side of Right
eOusness-Casting Out the
Dumb Spirit.
Copyright, 1901. by Louis Klopsch. n. V
Washington Feb 10

! Washington, Feb TO-
, In this discourse DR.. Talmage call
II for more demonstative religion and
o. hearty speaking out on the right sid
: Of everything; text, Mark 9:25: Tho
i dumb and deaf spirit, l charge thee
come out of him"
Here was a case Of great domesti
l. anguish. The son of the household wa
possessed Of an evil spirit, which
T. among other things, paralyzed hi
tongue and madehim speechless. WheI
the influence was on the patient. b,
could not say a word-articuiation wa.
impossible. The spirit that captured
this member Of the household was a
dumb spirit-so called by Christ
spirit abroad to-day and as lively and
potent as in the New Testament times.
Yet in all the realms of sermondom
cannot find a discourse concerning this
dumb devil which Christ charged up
on in my text, saying: "Come out Of
him"
There has been much destructive SUI
perstition abroad in the world concern
ing possession by evil spirits. Under
the form Of belief in witchcraft. this de-
fusion swept the continents. Persons
were supposed to be possessed witt
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. I'm one
neighborhood OF France 1000 persons
were burned. In two centuries 100000
persons were slain as witches So
mighty was the delusion that il includ-
ed among its victims some Of the great
est inte.lects of all time such as Chief
/ Justice Matthew Hale and Sir Edward
/ Coke, and such renowned ministers of
religion as Cotton Mather, one of whose
books. Benjamin Franklin said. shaped
his Iife-and Richard Baxter. and Arch
bishop Cranner and Martin Luther;
and. among writer's and philosophers.
Lord Bacon. That belief. which has
become the laughing stock Of an SEN
sible people, counted its disciples
among the wisest and best people Of
Sweden, Germany. England. France,
Spain and New England. But while we
reject witchcraft. any man who be-
Aeves the Bible must believe that there
are dia5olical agencies abroad in the
word. While there are ministering
spirits TO bless there are internal spirits
to hinder. to poison and to destroy.
Christ was speaking to a spiritual ex-
istence when, standing before the af-
hicied one of the text. he said: Thou
dumb and deaf spirit, come ont Of him"
Against this dumb devil Of the text /
put you on your guard. Do not think
that this agent Of evil has put his blight
Oh those who, by omission OF the vocal
organs, have had the golden gates Il
speech bolted and barred. Among
those who have never spoken a word
are the most gracious and lovely and
souls that were ever incarnat-
ad. The chaplains of the asylums for
the dumb can tel you enchanting
stories of those who never called the
name Of father or mother or chile. and
many Of the most devout and prayerful
souls will never in this world speak the p.
lame of God or Christ.
There has been apctheosization Of si-
ence. Some one has said silence is
GOLDEN. and sometimes the greatest tri- !.
imph is to keep your mouth shut; But +,
Ometimes silence is a crime and the !,
irect result of the baleful influence Of "
he dumb devil of our text. There is
ardly a man or woman who has not
een present on some occasion when
he Christian religion became a target
Or rai.lery. Perhaps it was over in :.
be store some day when there was not J.
luch going on, and the clerks were in ,,
roup, or it was in the factory at the "
oon spell, or ii was out on the farm :"
nder the trees while you were resting, -
r it was in the clubroom, or it was -
a social circle, or it was in the street
D the way home from business. or it
as on some occasion which you re- -
ember without my describing it.
ome one got the laugh on the Bible ~
I'd caricatured the profession Of re-
yion as hypocrisy, or made a pun out U"
something that Christ said. The i,
ugh started, and you joined In. and .,
1t one word Of protest did you utter. =,
hat kept you silent? Modesty? No. :,
capacity TO answer? No. Lack Of ~
iportunity? No. II was a blow on ,"
,th your lips by the wing of the dumb ~, ~
vii. If some one should maligu your ~
ther or mother or wife or husband ~
child, you would flush up quick and
her with an indignant word or
ubled up fist make response. And
[ here is our Christian religion which
s done so much for you and so much
r the world that it will take all eter-
" to celebrate it. and yet when it was
tackled you did not so much as say:
differ. | object. ] am sorry 10 hear is
u say that There is another side no
this" You Christian people ought lik
such times as these to 60 armed, not ou
IN earthly weapons, but with the IL
ord of the spirit. You ought to have mo
lr or five questions with which you str
I'D confound any man who attacks "H
A man 90 years old was gal
ling me how he put to flight scoifer. reg
aged friend said to the skeptic: oui
id you ever read the history Of ric.
eph in the Bible?" Yes" said the Go,
n, lit is fine story, and as interest dri
a story as I ever read" We'll fro
h., said my old friend, Suppose that +
cunt of Joseph stopped half wayY sell
l." said the man. then it would not but
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