The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-07-09

poaru. but tne TACT tnat ne Jumps over
board does not stop the ship. Does that
wreck the 500 passengers? Ii makes
great excitement when a man jumps from
the lecturing platform or from the pulpit
into infdelity. but does that keep the Bi-
bic or the church from carrying millions
OF passengers to the shores Of eternal
safety?
These opponents say that science is
overcoming religion in our day. They
look through the spectacles OF the infdeI
scientists. and they say: 1T is impossible
that this book be true. People are find.
ing it out. The Bible has got to 60 over.
board. Science IS going TO throw it over.
board" Do you believe that the Bible
account Of the origin OF life will be over,
thrown by inidel scientists who have sc
different theories about the origin of life:
II they should all come up in solid pha-
lanx. all agreeing on one sentiment and
one theory. perhaps Christianity might be
damaged, but there are not so many diff
f~erences Of opinion inside the church as
outside the church. Oh, il makes me
sick to see these literary tops going along
with a copy of Darwin under one arm
and a case Of transfxed gr~asshoppers
and butterflies under the other arm tell.
ing about the survival of the fttest''
and Huxley's protoplasm and the nebular
hypothesis! The fact is that some natu.
~ralists just as soon as they find out the
difference between the feelers of a wasp
and the horns Of a beetle begin to patron.
lie the Almighty, while Agassiz. glorious
Agassiz, who never made any p%retension
to being a Christian, puts both his feet on
the doctrine of evolution and says: al see
that nan OF the naturalists of our day
are adopting facts which do not bear OBJ.
servation or nave not passed under OBJ
servation. These men warning with each
other-Darwin warning against Lamarch,
Wallace warning against Cope, even
Herschel denouncing Ferguson. They do
not agree about anything. They do not
agree on embryology. do not agree on the
graduation OF the species"
Perfection of Christianity.
What do they agree on? Herschel
writes a whole chapter on the errors of
astronomy La Place declares that the
moon was rot put in the right place. He
says il it had been pui four times farther
from the earth thai IL i now there would
be more harmony III the universe. but
Lionville comes up just in time to prove
that the moon was put in the right place.
How many coiors woven into the light!
Seven. says Isaac Newton. Three. says
David Brewster. How high is the aurora
borealis? Two and a half miles. says
Las. Ninety miles. say other scientists.
How far il the sun from the earth! Sew.
e~nty-six million miles. says Lacalle.
Eighty-two million miles, says Hum
boldt. Ninety million miles. says Hen
dersou. One hundred and four million
miles, says Mayer. Only a little differ.
ence of 2S,000,000 miles! All split up
among themseIves-not agreeing on any
thing.
Here these inidel scientists have i'm
paneled themselves as q jury to decide
this trial between In6lelity, the plaintiff.
and Christianity. the defendant, and aft
er being out for centuries they come in to
render their verdict. Gentlemen of the
jury, have you agreed on a verdict? No,
no. Then go back for another o years
and deliberate and agree on something.
There is not a poor miserable wretch in
the city prison tomorrow that could be
condemned by a jury that did not agree
on the verdict. and yet you expect rs TO
give up our glorious Christianity to please
these men who cannot agree on anything.
All, my friends, the church of Jesus
Christ instead of falling back is on the
advance. ! am certain it is on the ad-
vance. see the glittering Of the swords;
l hear the %tramping Of the troops: | hear
the laundering parks of artillery. o God.
/ thank thee that l have been permitted
to see this day of thy triumph. this day
Of the confusion of thine enemies! O
Lord God. take thy sword from thy
thigh and ride forth to the victory!
l am nightly encouraged because
find. among other things. that while this
| M - 20. I1o- ha~aho~lna Por aan.
turtles infdelity has not destroyed one
church. or crippled one minister, or up
rooted one verse Of one chapter of all the
Bible. If that has been their magnificent
record for the centuries of the past. VIVA,
may we expect for the future? The
church all the time getting the victory
and their shot and shell all gone.
Secular and Religious Press.
And then l find another most encourag
ing thought in the fact that the secular
printing press and the pulpit seem har
messed in the same team for the procla
nation of the gospel. Every banker il
this capital tomorrow. every Wall stree
banker tomorrow in New York. ever
State street banker tomorrow in Boston
every Third street banker tomorrow il
Philadelphia. every banker in the United
States and every merchant will have il
his pocket a treatise on Christianity. 10
l20 or 80 passages of Scripture in the re
ports OF sermons preached throughout tn
land today. II will be so In Chicago. 81
In New Orleans, 50 in Charleston, so il
Boston, 50 in Philadelphia, 50 in Cincin
matt, so everywhere. ] know the trac
societies are doing a grand n gloriou
work. but l tell you there Is NJ power Of
earth today equal 20 the fact that tn
american printing press Is taking up tn
sermons which are preached to a fey
hundred or a few thousand people, an
on Monday morning and Monday evenin
scattering that truth to the millions
What an encouragement to every Chris
tian man!
Then you have noticed a more sig
nihcant fact il you have talked with pee
pie on the subject. that they are gettin
disguised with worldly philosophy as
matter Of comfort They say 1t does nc
amount to anything when you have
dead child in the house. They tell 20
when they were sick and the door Of th
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