The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1901-07-19

toonth century would become extinct.
Tho century is gone, and haya to toll
70. !hs! tho room in which Voltairo
wrote that propheoy not long ago was
crowded from foorto ceiling with Bi-
bios from Switzerland.
Suppose the oongrosB Of tho Unitod
States should pass law that thore
shc uld be no more Bibles printed in
America and no Biblos read. II thore
arc 6O,0O0,0C0 grown people in the
United States, thore would be so OO0,.
OQO people in an army to put down
such a law and dofond their right TO
read tho Bible. But suppose the oon-
gross Of tho United States should make
a law against tho reading or tho publi.
cation Of any other book, how many
pooplo would go cut in suoh q crusade?
Gould you get 60, 900, 600 pooplo to 20
out and risk their lives in tho dofenso
OF ShakosLoaro's tragedies or Glad
stono's tracts or Maoaulay's History
of Eogland2" You know that tboro
are thousand mon who would dio In
the dofonso of this book whore thoro
is not moro than ono man who would
dio in tho dofonso Of any other book.
You Try to insult my common seuso by
telling mo tho Biblo is fading out FROM
tho world. 1t 10 tho most popular book
Of tho conturios.
How do know it? I know it just
as know in regard to othor books.
How many Volumes Of that history arc
published? Woll, you say 5000. How
many oopios Of another book arc pub
lishod? A hundred thousand, Which
ia tho moro popnlar2 Why, Of oourso,
tho one that has tho hundred thousand
circulation. And if this book has more
copies abroad ia tho world, if there are
i've times as many Biblos abroad as any
othcr book among civilized nations,
doos not that show you that tho most
popular book on earth today is tho
word Of God?
'Oh," say people, tho church is a
collection of hypooritos, and it is los.
log it's power and it is fading out from
tho world" Is it2 A bishop of.tbo
Methodist church told mo that that do
nomination averages two now churches
eyory. day. In otbor words, they build
730 churches in that denomination in q
year, and thero arc at loast 500 new
churches built in America
every year. Docs that look as though
tho Christian church wcro fading out,
,s though it wero dcfunot institution?
What stands nearest to tho hearts Of
tho American people today? do not
care in what village or what city or
what noighborhood you 60. What is
it? Is it the postofioe? Is it the
hotol? Isit tho looturing hal2 All,
you know it is notl You know that
that which stands nc srest to the hearts
OF tho American pooplo is tho Chris
tian church.
You may talk about tho church be
ing collection Of hypocrites, but
whom tho diphtheria swoops your ohil-
dron off whom do you sond for7 The
postmaster, the attorney general, tho
hotel koopor, aldorman2 No. You
sond for a ministor of this Bible rolig
ion. Aud If you havo not room in
your house for tho obaoquies, what
building do you solicit? DO you say,
Give me Tho finost room in the no.
tolY' Do you say, "Glvo me that
theater?" DO you say Give me that
public building whero | can lay my
dead for little whilo until wo say a
prayer over it?" No. You say. "Give
us the house Of God" And if thoro is
a song to bo sung at the obsequies,
what do you want7 What does any.
body want2 Tho "Marseillaiso Hymn2'
God Save the Qdoen2" Our own
grand national ARR No. Thoy want
tho hymn with which thoy sang their
old Christian mother into her last
sloop, or thoy want sung tho Sabbath
school hymn which thoir little girl sang
tho last Sabbath afternoon she was out
before she got that awful sickness which
broke your hoart. | appeal to your
common sense, You know the most
endoaring institution on earth, the
most popular institution on earth today,
is the church OF the Lord jesus Christ.
a man is fool that docs not rooogniz !,
it,
The infdols say: "Thore is great
liberty now for in6dols; freedom Of
platform. Infidolity shows it's power
flom tho fact that it is everywhere tol.
oratod, and it can say what it will"
Why, my friends, infidelity is not half
80 blatant in our day as it was in tho
days of our fathers. Do you know that
in tho day, OF our fathers there woro
pronounced ilfidoIs in public authori.
ty, and they could got any political
position? Let man today declare
himself antagonistic to tho Christian
religion, and what city wants him for
mayor; what state wants him for COVER.
nor; what nation wants him for prosi-
dent or for king2 Lot q man openly
proclaim him ,olf the enomy OF our
glorious Christianity, and he cannot
got q msjority Of votes in any state, in
any oity, in any country, in any ward
Of America.
A distinguished infdol years ago rid
ing in rail car in Illinois said. "What
has Christianity ovJr donor" An old
Christian woman said: "lt has dono
one good thing anyhow. 1t has kopt an
lnfidol from boing governor OF Illinois"
Az stood in the side room oftho opera
house Of Peoria, Ills, prominent gon-
tioman OF that cit2 said, can t,ll you
tho secret Of that tremendous bittorness
against Christianity" Said l, swat is
II" why, said he, ''in this vory
house there was great convention to
nomlnato governor, and thoro were
three or four candidates. AT tho Same
timo thoro was in church in this CITY
. Sabbath school convention, and it
happened that ono Of tho mon who was
in the Sabbath school convention was
also member Of tho political oonyon-
lion. In the POLITICAL convention the
highest on tho roll at that time