Milford chronicle., 1901-07-12

How do I know it? l know it just as l |
know in regard to other books. How |
many volumes of that history are publish |
ed? Well, you say 5000. How many |
copies Of another book are published? 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 copies abroad |
in the world, if there are five times as |
many Bibles 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?
ooh" say people, "the church is a col
lection of hypocrites, and it is losing its
power and it is fading out from the
world" Is it? A bishop Of the Methodist
church told me that that denomination
averages two new churches every day.
In other words. they build 13O churches
in that denomination in year, and there
are at least 800 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 the
hearts of the American people today? I
or what neighborhood you go. What is
it? Is it the postofIice? Is it the hotel?
Is it the leetuFing hall? All, you know it
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 a
collection of hypocrites, but when the
oh
do you send for? The postmaster the at
torney general, the hotel keeper, alder
man? No. You send for a minister Of
this Bible religion. And if you have not
a room in your house for the obsequies,
what building do you solicit? Do you
| say, "Give me the finest room in the no
| telP' Do you say, "Give me that thea
| ter?" Do you say, "Give me that public
! building where | can lay my dead for a
! little while until we say a prayer over
! it?" No. You say, "Give us the house
Of God" And if there is a song to be
sung ut the obsequies, what do you wantf
| What does anybody want? The MAR
! seillaise 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 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 COM
mon sense. You know the most endcar-
ing 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 infdels say: "There is great liberty
now for infidels; freedom of platform.
Inhdelity shows its power from the fact
that it is everywhere tolerated, and it can
say what it will" Why. my friends, in
fidelity is not half so blatant in our day
as it was in the days Of our fathers. Do
you know that in the days of our fathers
there were pronounced infdels in public
authority, and they could get any politi-
cal position? Let a man today declare
himself antagonistic to the Christian re-
ligion, and what city wants him for may
or; what state wants him for governor
what nation wants him for president OIL
for king? Let a man openly proclaim
himself the enemy of our glorious Chris
tianity, and he cannot get a majority Of
votes in any state, in any city, in any
country, in any ward Of America.
What Christianity Does.
A distinguished infdel years ago riding
IN a rail car in Illinois said, 'What ha
Christianity ever doneY An old Chris
tan woman said at has done one goo,
thing anyhow 1t has kept an infde
from being governor of Illinois," As
, stood in the side room o. the opera hOus
of Peoria, Ills, a pro- Inent gentleman
! of that city said, 81 i tell you the sc
cret of that tremendo. bitterness agains
1 Christianity" Said |, what is itF
: "Why," said he, Sin this very house Their
n was a great convention to nominate
governor and there were three or fou
: candidates. At the same time there wa
!. in a church in this city Sabbath schoC
h convention, and it happened that one Q
q the men who was in the Sabbath schoC
n convention was also a member of the pc
! litical convention. In the political cor
n vention the name highest on the roll a
that time and about to be nominated wa
the name of the great champion infde
:. There was an adjournment between ba
h lots, and in the afternoon, when the non
p nations were being made, plain farmC
n got up and said: Mr.. Chairman, tbs
: nomination must not be made. The SUI
NJ Say schools of Illinois will defeat him
J. That ended all prospect of his nOmini
h ton"
10 The Christian religion Is mightier todG
= than il ever was. Do you think TIN
10 such scene could be enacted now as WI
IN enacted in the days of Robespierre, whit
10 q shameless woman was elevated to Il
40 dignity Of goddess and carried in a gol
! en- chair to a cathedral where incen
NJ was burned to her and people Bow,
n down before her as a divine being, s.
al taking the place of the Bible and Go
while in the corridor of that cathedT
40 were enacted such scenes of drunkenne
III and debauchery as had never before be
81 witnessed? DO you think such a thil
n could possibly occur in ChristendOm I
Of day? No. The police of Washington,
NV of New York. or of Paris would swo
III upon 1t. I know lnfdclity makes a go
\ deal of talk in our day. One infdel c
vn make great excitement. but | can t
No. you on what principle it is. 1t is on
1t- principle that if a man jumps overbO'
At from an ocean liner he makes more
nv element than all the 500 who stay
IN. board. But the fact that he jumps oy
In. board does not stop the ship. Does t
Of wreck the 500 passengers? 1t ma
NV great excitement when a man jumps fl
,er the lecturing platform or from the pu
into infdelity, but does that keep the
,rh bic or the church from carrying MILL
1t of passengers to the shores of eter
er- safety?
Ten These opponents say that science
be- overcoming religion in our day. T
in look through the spectacles of the int
Tile scientists, and they say: 1T is imposs
all that this book be true. People are
Va ing it out The Bible has got to go o
= | nj e 20 -
.ec- board" Do you believe that the b
ten account of the origin of life will be o
tod thrown by intidel scientists who have
as different theories about the origin Of ]
hes If they should all come up in solid
So lanx, all agreeing on one sentiment
BIZ one theory, perhaps Christianity Nigh
lete damaged, but there are not so many
ar ferences of opinion inside the churcl
k outside the church. Oh, it makes
,uld sick to see these literary tops going a
.th? with a copy of Darwin under one
INK and a case of transixed grasshop
CITY and butterflies under the other arm
ing about the survival of the fit
u ~ and Huxley's protoplasm and the net
NY hypothesis The fact is that some I
,t ten ralists just as soon as they find out
'cf difference between the feelers of a
~ III and the horns of a beetle begin to pa
eA- ize the Almighty, while Agassiz, glo
navy I1' Agassiz, who never made any prefer
1or to being Christian, puts both his fe
~ ~, the doctrine of evolution and says: i"
WIN that many of the naturalists of our
are adopting facts which do not bea
servation or have not passed undel
nited servation. These men warning with
there other-Darwln warning against Lam
a III Wallace warning against Cope,