The Yale expositor., 1901-07-12

times as many BlDleS ABROAD as any
other book among civilized nations,
does not that show you that the most
popular book on earth today is the
word of God?
"Oh," say people, "the church is a
collection of hypocrites. and 1t is los
ing its power, and it is fading out from
the world" Is it? A bishop OF the
Methodist church told me that that de-
nomination averages two new church
es every day. In other words, they
build 73O churches in that denomina-
ton in year, and there are at least
1900 new Christian churches built in
America every year. Does that look
as though the Christian church were
fading out, as though it were defunct
institution? What stands nearest to
day? / do not care in what village or
what city or what neighborhood you
go. What is it? Is it the postoffice?
Is it the hotel? Is It the lecturing
hall? All, you know 1t Is not! You
know that that which stands nearest
to the hearts of the American people
is the Christian church.
In the Hour of Distress
You may talk about the church being
collection of hypocrites, but when
the diphtheria sweeps your children
off whom do you send for? The post
master. the encouragement, the no.
telkeeper, alderman? No. You send for
a minister of this Bible religion. And
If you have not room in your house
for the obsequies. what building do you
solicit? Do you say, "Give me the fin
est room in the hotel?" Do you say,
Give me that theater?" Do you say,
"Give me that public building where l
can lay my dead for a little while we
say prayer over it?" No. You say,
Give us the house of God" And il
there is song to be sung at the obse-
quies, what do you want? What does
anybody want? The "Marseillaise
Hymn" God Save the Queen?" Our
own grand national air? No. They
want the hymn with which they sang
their old Christian mother into her
last sleep, or they want sung the Sab
bath school hymn which their little
girl sang the last Sabbath afternoon
she was out before she got that awful
sickness which broke your heart. l
appeal to your common sense. You
know the most endearing institution
on earth, the most popular institution
on earth today is the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ. A man is a fool
that does not recognize it.
The infidels say: There is great
liberty now for infidels; freedom Of
platform. Infidelity shows its power
from the fact that it Is everywhere toll
Grated, and it can say what it will. !"
Why, my friends, infidelity is not half
so 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
pronounced infidels in public author
ity, and they could get any political
position? Let a man today declare
himself antagonistic to the Christian
religion and what city wants him for
mayor; what state wants him for gov
ernor; what nation wants him for
president or for king? Let a man
openly proclaim himself the enemy of
our glorious Christianity, and he can
not get a majority of votes in any
state, in any city, in any country in
any ward Of America.
What Christianity Does.
A distinguished infidel years ago
riding in a rail car in Illinois sad,
what has Christianity ever done?'
An old Christian woman said: at
has done one good thing anyhow. 1t
has kept an infidel from being govern
or of Illinois," AS l stood in the
side room of the opera house of Peoria,
Ills, a prominent gentleman of that
city said 81 can tell you the secret OF
that tremendous bitterness against
Christianity" Said l, What is it?'
why" said he, Gin this very house
nate a governor, and there were three
or four candidates. At the same time
there was in church in this city a
Sabbath school convention, and il
happened that one of the men who was
in the Sabbath school convention was
also a member of the political con-
vention. In the political convention
the name highest on the roll at that
time and about to be nominated was
the name of the great champion in
fidel. There was an adjournment be-
tween ballots, and in the afternoon
when the nominations were being
made, plain farmer got up and said:
Mr. Chairman, that nomination must
not be made. The Sunday schools OF
Illinois will defeat him. That end ed
all prospect of his nomination"
The Christian religion is mightiei
today than it ever was. DO yen thinl
that such a scene could be enacted nov
as was enacted in the days of Robes
pierre, when a shameless woman was
elevated to the dignity of a goddess
and carried in a golden chair to a ca
thedral where incense was burned t
her and people bowed down before hei
as a divine being, she taking the place
of the Bible and God, while in the cor
ridor of that cathedral were enacted
such scenes of drunkenness and de
bauchery as had never before been wit