The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1902-05-15

done. The most wretched day in the
week was Sunday. Religion was driven
into them with a triphammer. They
had a surfeit of prayer meetings.
They were stuffed and choked with
catechisms. They were told by their
parents that they were the worst chill
dren that ever lived because they liked
to ride down hill better than to read
"Pilgrim's Progress" They never
heard their parents talk of religion
but with the corners of the mouth
drawn down and the eyes rolled up.
Others went into skepticism through
maltreatment on the part of some
who professed religion. There is
man who says: "My partner in busi-
ness was conspicuous in prayer meet
ing, and he was officious in all reli-
gious circles, but he cheated me out of
$4,000, and 1 don't want any of that
religion" Then there are others who
get into skepticism by natural per-
sistence in asking questions, why or
how? How can God be one being in
three persons? They cannot under
stand it. Neither can I. How can God
be complete sovereign and yet man
free agent? They cannot under
stand it. Neither can I. They cannot
understand why holy God let's sin
come into the world. Neither can l.
They say: Here is great mystery;
here is disciple of fashion, frivolous
and goddess all her days; she lives on
f0 ha i,,o
tian mother, training her children for
God and for heaven, self-sacrifcing,
Christlike, indispensable seemingly
to that household; she gets a cancer
and dies" The skeptic says: 81 can't
explain that" Neither canI.
lean see how men reason themselves
into skepticism. With burning feet 1
have trodden that blistering way. l
know what it is to have hundred
nights poured into one hour. There are
men in the arid desert of doubt who
would give their thousands of dollars
if they could get back to the old re-
Egion of their fathers. Such men are
not to be caricatured, but helped, and
not through their heads, but through
their hearts. When these men really
do come into the kingdom of God, they
will be worth far more to the cause
of Christ than those who never exam
ined the evidence of Christianity
Thomas Chalmers once skeptic;
Christmas Evans, once a skeptic; but
when they did lay hold of the Gospel
chariot how they made it speed ahead!
If, therefore, address men and wom-
en- who have drifted away into skepti-
cism, l throw out no scoff: rather i'm
plead you by the memory of those
good old times when you knelt at your
mothers knee and said your evening
prayer and those other days of sick
ness when she watched all night and
gave you the medicine at just the right
time and turned the pillow when it
was hot, and with hand long ago
turned to dust soothed your pains, and
with that voice you will never hear
again unless you join her in the bet
ter country told you never mind, you
would be better by and by, and by that
dying couch where she talked so slow
ly, catching her breath between the
words-by all those memories I ask
you to come and take the same re-
ligion. 1t was good enough for her;
it is good enough for you. Aye, make
a better plea: By the wounds and the
death throe of the Son of God, who ap-
proaches, you in infinite love with
torn brow and lacerated hands and
whipped back, crying: "Come unto
me, all ye that labor and are heavy
laden. and l will give you rest"
Other persons apologize for not en-
tering the Christian life because of
the Inconsistencies of those who pro-
fess religion. There are thousands of
poor farmers. They do not know the
nature of soils or the proper rotation
of crops. Their corn is shorter in the
stalk and smaller in the ear. They have
ten less bushels to the acre than their
>neighbors. But who declines being a
farmer because there are so many
poor farmers? There are thousands of
incompetent merchants. They buy at
the wrong time. They get cheated in
the sale of their goods. Every bale of
goods is to them a bale of disaster
They fail after awhile and go out of
business. But who declines to be a
merchant because there are so many
incompetent merchants? There are
thousands of poor lawyers. They can
not draw a declara ton that will stand
the test. They cannot recover just
damages. They cannot help a defend
ant escape from the injustice of his
prosecutors. They are the worst i'm
pediments against any case in which
they are retained. But who declines to
be lawyer because there are so many
incompetent lawyers? Yet there are
tens of thousands of people who de-
cline being religious because there are
so many unworthy Christians. Now, /
say it is illogical. Poor lawyers are
nothing against Jurisprudence; poor
physicians are nothing against medi-
cine; poor farmers are nothing
against agriculture, and mean, con-
temptible professors of religion are
nothing against our glorious Christi
anity.
Other persons apologize for not be-
coming Christians because they lack