Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-07-13

~
-----------------------------
RISK their nves In the defense or shake
speare's tragedies or Gladstone's tracts
or Macaulay's History Of EnglandT
You know that there are a thousand
men who would die in the defense or
this book where there is not more than
one man who would die In the defense
of any other book. You try to insult
nv common sense by telling me the
Bible is fading ont from the world. IL
It the most popular book Of the centu-
ries.
How do | knowi | know 1t just as
know in regard to other books. How
many volumes Of that history are pub
lished? Well, you say 5000 How
many copies of another book are pup
lishedf A hundred thousand. Which
is the more popular? Why, Of course
the one that has the hundred thousand
circulation. And If this book has more
comics abroad In the world, If there are
five times as many Bibles abroad as
my other book among civilized ma
tions. does not that show you that the
most popular book on earth today Is
the word of Godl
"Oh," say people, "the church Is a
collection Of hypocrites, and 1t Is los
ing its power. and 1t is fading out from
the world. Is It? 4 bishop Of the
Methodist church told me that that de-
nomination averages two new churches
every day. In other words, they build
73O churches In that denomination In
a wear. and there are at least loo new
Christian churches built IN America
every year. Does that look as thouSh
the Christian church were fading out,
as though It were defunct institution
What stands nearest to the hearts OF
the American people todayf l do not
care In what village or what city or
what neighborhood you so. What IS
IT? Is it the postofiice? Is It the hotelf
Is It the lecture hallf All, you know
1t is not. You know that that when
stands nearest to the hearts OF the
American people is the Christian
church.
InhdeIity Decreasing.
You may talk about the church being
q collection Of hypocrites. but when the
diphtherIa sweeps your children of,
whom do you send for? The postmas-
ter? The attorney general? The hotel
keeper? Alderman? No. You SEND Tor
minister of this Bible religion. And
If YOU have not a room In your house
for the obseques, what building do you
solicit? Do you say, "Give me the
finest room in the hotelY' Do you say
"Giye me that theater" Do you say
"Giye me that public building, where
can lay my dead for little while until
we say a prayer over itT' No. You
saw. Give us the house of God" And
If there Is song to be sung at the
obsequies, what do you want! What
does anybody want? The "Marseillaise
HvmuY God Save the QueenT Our
own grand national air? No. lhey
want the hymn with which they sang
their old Christian mother into her last
sleep or they want sung the Sabbath
school hymn which their little girl sang
the last Sabbath afternoon she was
out before she got that awful sickness
which broke your heart. ! appeal to
your common sense. You know the
most epdearlng Institution on earth, tho
most popular iastitution on earth to-
day. is the church Of the Lord Jesus
Christ. A man Is fool that does not
recognize it.
The infidels say: There is great liD-
erty now for ln6dels-freedom OF plat
form. Inhdellty shows its power from
the fact that it is everywhere tolerat'
ed, and 1t can say what it will" why,
nv friends, infdellty Is not half 80
blatant In our day as 1t was in the days
of our fathers. Do you know that In
the days of our fathers there were pro-
nounced in6dels In public authority,
and they could get any political posi-
ton? Let a man today declare himself
antagonistic to the Christian religion
and what city wants him for mayor,
what state wants him for governor,
what nation wants him for president or
for king? Let man openly proclaim
himself the enemy of our glorious
Christianity, and he cannot get ma
iority of votes in any state, in any city,
In any country. in any ward OF Amer
lea.
A distinguished lnAdel years ago.
riding In a rail car in Illinois, said
"What has Christianity ever doneF
An old Christian woman said: 1T has
done one good thing anyhow. 1t has
kent an infidel from being governor OF
Illinois" AS | stood In the side room
Of the opera house Of Peoria, llls.' a
prominent gentleman Of that city saiu
81 can tell you the secret OF that ire
mendous bitterness against Christian
Ity." Said |, what is itT why
said he. lin this very house there was
q great convention to nominate gov
srnor. and there were three or four can
didates. At the same time there was
J in q church In this city a Sabbatt
school convention, and II happened ina
one of the men who was in the SaDDatf
school convention was also memOel
of the political convention In the po
Iitical convention the name highest OF
the roll at that time and about 10 p'
nominated was the name Of the grea
champion infdel. There was an 40
tournment between ballots. and In tn
afternoon when the nominations wer'
being made a plain farmer got up an'
said: 'r. Chairman. that nomination
must d. be made. The Sunday schools
of Illinois will defeat him. That END
ed oil prospect of bis nomination"
The Christian religion Is mightier 70
day than 1t ever was. Do you thinl
that such scene could be enacted nov
as was enacted In the days OF hoDes
pierre, when a shameless woman wa