The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1901-08-27
TRIUMPH OF CHRISTIANITY
DR.. Talmage Says the Church of Christ
Is the Most Endearing institute
ton on Earth.
Its Unsurpassed Growth =. IuildelIty Related
tcopyright iai.I

great movement; text, Amos tx, -, Be
hold the days come, saith the Lord. that
the plowman shall overtake the reaper"
Unable because of other important du-
ties to accept the invitation TO take part
in the great convention of Christian En-
deavorerS at Cincinnati, i preach a ser
mon OF congratulation for ali the members
OF that magnificent association, whether
now gathered in vast assemblage or busy
in their places of usefulness, transatlantic
and cisatlantic. And, as il is now harvest
time in the fields and sickles are flashing
in the gathering of great crop, | find
mighty suggestveness in my text
1t is a picture of a tropical cline. with
a season so prosperous that the harvest
reaches Gear over to the planting time
and the swarthy husbandman, busy cut
ting the grain, almost feels the breath of
the horses on his shoulders, the horses
hitched to the plow preparing for new
crop; Behold the days come. saith the
Lord, that the plowman shall overtake
the reaper" When is that? That ia
now. That is this day, when hardly have
you done reaping one harvest of religious
result than the plowman is getting ready
for another.
In phraseology charged with all venom
ana abuse and caricature | know that in
hdels and agnostics have declared that
christianity has, collapsed; that the Bible
Is an obsolete book; that the Christian
church is on the retreat. 1 shall answer
that Wholesale charge to-day.
Between 5000 900 and 1000. 900 Endeav.
orers sworn before high heaven that they
Will do all they can to take America for
God, Europe for God, Asia and Africa for
God-are not the signs most cheering? Or,
TO return to the agricultural figure of my
text, more than million reapers are over.
taken by more than a million plowmen.
Besides this, there are more people who
oeheVe m the Bible than at any time in
the worlds existence
But now let us see whether the book is
a last years almanac. Let us see whether
the church of God is a Bull Run retreat.
muskets: canteens and haversaclSs strew-
ing all the way. The great English histor-
ian Sharon Turner. man of vast learning
ana great accuracy, not n clergyman, but
an attorney as well as a historian, gives
TINS overwhelming statistic in regard to
Christianity and in regard to the number
OF Christians in the different centuries
In the first century 500 900 Christians. in
the third century 100000 Christians. in
the fourth century 100000 Christians,
IN the fifth century 100000 Christians.
IN the sixth century 20,000.000 Christians,
in the seventh century 240O0,OOO Chris
tlans, IN the eighth century 10000 900
Christians, in the ninth century 10000 900
Christians, in the tenth century $4,000. 600
Christians, in the eleventh century TO-
100000 Christians, in the twelfth century
SO,OOO,OOO Christians. in the thirteenth
teenth century S00OO,u00 Christians. in the
fifteenth century 100000, 900 Christians, in
the sixteenth century $4,000 900 Chris
tlans, In the seventeenth century l55. 900 e
900 Christians, in the eighteenth century
20O,OOO.OOO Christians-a decadence, as you
observe, In only one century and more
than made up in the following centuries,
while II is the usual computation that
there were at the close of the nineteenth
century 47O,O0O,OO0 Christians, making us
to believe that before this century is
close the millennium will have started its
boom and lifted its hosanna.
Poor Christianity What a pity it has
no. friends! How lonesome it must be-
Who will take it out of the poorhouse?
Poor Christianity Four hundred mill
ions in one century.
AT the beginning OF the nineteenth cen.
fury $50 missionaries: at the close of that
century $4,000 missionaries and native
helpers and cvangelists. At the beginning
OF the nineteenth century there were only
5O.OOO converts; now there are over 1000.
600 converts from heathendom
So Christianity is falling back and the
Bio!e, they say, Is becoming an obsolete
book! | go into n court, and wherever
md a judges bench or a clerks desk |
ind Bible. Upon what book could there
be uttered the solemnitv OF an oath :
what look is apt to be put in the trunk
OF the Young man as he leaves for city
HE! The Bible. What shall / fnd i'm
nine out of every ten homes in this city?
Inc blble. In nine out of every ten homes
In Christendom? The Bible Voltaire
wrote The prophecy that the Bible in the
nineteenth century would become extinct.
Inc century Is gone, and / have to tell
you that the room in which Voltaire
wrote that prophecy not long ago was
crowded from floor 70 ceiling with Bibles
from Switzerland.
Suppose the Congress of the United
States should pass a law that there should
be no more Bibles printed in America and
no Bibles read. II there are 10000 GOO
grown people IN the United States there
would be 10000, 600 people in an army to
right TO read the Bible. But suppose the
Congress of the United States should
make a law against the reading or the
publication OF any other booI-how many
people would go out in such a crusade?
Could you get 60000,0OO people to 20 ont
and risk their lives IN the defense of
Shakespeare's tragedies or Gladstones
tracts or Macaulay's History of Eng.
IandF' You know that there are a thou
sand men who would die in defense of
this book where there is not more than
one man who would die in the defense of
any other book. You try to insult my
common sense by telling me the Bible is
iadin@ c. tro2 tic world. 1t is the most
popular book OF the centuries.
On, say people, the church is n col
power and IT is fading out from the
world. is it? a bishop of the Metho.
dist church told Inc that that denomina-
tou averages two new churches every dav
In other words they build $50 churches
IN That denomination ia year and
there arc a. least 1900 new Christian
churches built in America every year.
Does that look as though the Christian
church were fading ont. as though it were
o deiunct institution What stpGds near
est TO the hearts of the American PEOPLE
today L do not care i'm what village or
what city or what ucighborhood Won 60
what Is ltE Is u tho postotnce? is d. the
hote.F Is 10 thc lecture hall? All, Won
Know DO rs not. You know that that
which stands nearest TO Che hearts of the
American people is the Christian church
\ on may talk about the church being n
collection of hvpOcritCs but wien The
llpdtipl7 sweeps your children on. whom
DO You send torE The postmaster? The
Attorney General? The hotel kccpor2
of ths Bible religion And if there is "a
song to Doe sung at the obscquics. what do
you w9utt What does anybody wantg
luc NlrscilNsc HmuU Good Save
tle Quceu.' Our own grand national arr
No. They want the hymn with which
they. sang thcir old Christian mother into
per- l1st sleep. or they want sung the Sab
tath 1a9l hymn. which their little erl
sang tue last sabbath afternoon she was
olt before sine got that awful sickness
which broke Your heart. I appeal to your
common sense 1o1 know the most p.-
o. tiinr lu- tuition uu earth to-day is OBJ.
church OFT the Lord Jesus Christ A man
is TOOL chat does not rccoeaze Dc.
lEe lu1dcls says There s great liberty
nov. lor uhdc.-- freedom 0f platform.
..-l'.y SHOWS lts poWct from tho fact