Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1901-01-09

IN lHlS discourse Or. a mage calls
Tor more demonstative religion and a
hearty speaking out on the right side
OF everything; text. Mark 9:25: Thou
cumo and deaf spirit, l charge thee.
come out of him"
here was a case of great domestic
anguish. The SON of the household was
possessed of an evil spirit, which,
among other things, paralyzed his
tongue and made him speechlesS. When
the influence was on the patient, he
could not say worG-articulation was
impossible. The spirit that captured
TINS 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.
net IN all the realms of sermonGom l
cannot find a discourse concerning this
dumb devil which Christ charged up
on IN my text, saying: Come out of
him"
mere 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 with
some evil spirit, which mace them able
TO destroy others. In the sixteenth CEN
tury in Geneva 100 persons were
burned to death "a 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 Gelusion that il includ-
cd among its victims some of the grea
est lntellects 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 jam min Franklin said, shaped
his life-and Richard Baxter. and Arch
bishop Cranner and Martin Luther;
and, among writers and philosophers,
Lord Bacon. That belief, which has
Oecome the laughing stock of all SEN
slble 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
heYes the Bible must believe that there
are dlabolical agencies abroad in the
world. 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-
1stence when, standing before the af-
ficted one of the text, he said: Thou
dumb and deaf spirit come out 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
on those who, by omission of the vocal
organs, have had the golden gates of
speech bolted and barred. Among
those who have never spoken a word
are the most gracious and lovely and
talented souls that were ever incarnat-
ed 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 child. and
many of the most devout and praVerfuI
souls will never in this world speak the
name of God or Christ
There has been apotheosization OF 81
lence. Some one has said silence *
golden, and sometimes the greatest tri-
umph is to keep your mouth shu5. But
sometimes silence is crime and the
direct result of the baleful influence of
the dumb devil of our text. There i
hardly a man or woman who has not
been present on some occasion when
the Christian religion became a target
for raiIery. Perhaps it was over in
the store some day when there was not
much going on. and the clerks were in =
group, or IL was in the factory at the
noon spell. or il was out on tic farm
under the trees while YOU were resting.
or it was in the clubroom. or il W..
in a social circle, or it was i'm the street
ON the way home from business. or il
was on some occasion which YOU re-
member without my describing H..
Some one got the laugh on the Bible
and caTicatured the profession of re-
ligion as hypocrisy, or made a pun out
of something that Christ said The
laugh started, and YOU joined in. and
not one word of protest did YOU utter
What kept you silent? Modesty? No.
Incapacity to answer? no. Lack of
opportunity? No. 1t was a blow on
both your lips by the wing Of the dumb
devil If some one should malign your
father or mother or wife or hus band
or child. you would flush up quick and
either with an indignant word or
doubled up fist make response. And
yet here is our Christian .igion which
has done so much for YOU and so much
for the world that il will take all eter-
nifty TO celebrate il. and yet when IL was
attacked YOU did not so much as say:
81 differ. | object. am sorry 10 hear
you say that There j. another side
to this" You Christian people ought
IN such times as these to 60 armed. not
with earthly weapons, but with the
swo-d Of the spirit. You ought 20 have
four or five questions with which you
could confound any man who attacks
Christianity. \ man 90 years old was
telling me how he put 10 fight scofTer.
My aged friend said TO the skeptic:
did you ever read the history Of
Joseph i'm the Bib'e?" yes" SAID the
man, "it j., fine story. and as interest
ing story as ! ever read" We'll,
now" said my old friend suppose that