Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-03-11
TALMAGE
SERMON
By Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Psster Of Jefferson Park Presby-
terrain Church. Chicago

Los Angeles, Cal, March Elm this
sermon the preacher discusses the
psychological phenomena of mind in
fuencing mind and shows how the
soul may be elevated and energized by
divine influence. The text is Acts X,
q IL, And he saw heaven opened and
certain vessel descending"
Theory is often little more than the
hne art OF guessing. 1t is sometimes
the way OF concealing the fact that
you do not know a thing, by using
scientific language. 1t is the verbal
means we have OF dressing up specula-
ton TO make 1t look plausible. But
there are certain causations impossible
90 analyze, and learned answers only
sE make the phenomena the more mysteri-
ous.. A
What is specific gravity? THAT is
the physical law you answer, (which
Isaac Newton discovered. Sitting one
- day under an overarching tree branch
In his orchard, he felt pun of wind
upon his cheek. The overhanging
branch swayed, and a fall pippin, like
lump of gold. dropped into his lap.
Then the English sage began to won
instead 0. flying away, as though 1t
had the wings of a bird, toward the
stars. As result of these ponderings
Newton generaIized all the causes of
cohesion and gravitation which bind
this earth into compact mass and
called them specific gravity" But,
my friend, with your learned answer
you have not explained to me any
thing. In reference to the laws Of
physical cohesion you have only given
70 me two big words to express what
did not know before and what do
not know now. what is hfe3" once
asked a school professor. what is
- the definite life? Here is body
weighing unds. A bullet is fred
!, out of an as sins gun. One moment
that body is live; the next it is dead.
Itweighed 100 pounds before the heart
ceased to beat;,it weighed 160 pounds
after the breath had left the nostril.
Give me definition Of life" rWhy,
life," answered the professor, as moth
ing more or less than the juxtaposi-
tien OF the protoplasmatic molecules"
Bis learned answer left the subject as
great mystery as ever.
Spiritual Phenomena.
- As In the material world, so in the
mental and spiritual world there are
facts and phenomena which we know
to be certainly true, though we cannot
explain them. We must recognize "a
tional results as such, although we can
not tell the why's and the where
flores" nor the causes which produced
these results. For instance we are
nearly all ready to grant the power
OF human telepathy, or the influence OF
one human mind upon another human
mind oven Qt A distance IN,
public meeting some night you exer-
else the power OF will upon a person
and soon he will turn round and look
at you, although that person could give
no rational reason why he turned and
looked. Indeed, so powerful sometimes
AZ this influence OF one human mind
= e over another that many students OF
criminology hare come to the belief
that. some II urderers who WELD the
dagger or air the pistol may be mere
ly the helpless and plant Instruments
or unknown criminals who have i'm
PEELED them 10 commit their murderous
~. deeds. Mesmerism, hypnotism be-
witchery, enchantment are merely
q long names defining this mysterious
ha power. which almost everywhere in
~ the intellectual world Is beginning to
+ 80 be recognized, and men are asking
throne the supremacy OF the individual
WILL George Du Maurier in his famous
book deals with the hypnotic power
= one human mind may have over an
fas other mind In that book the English
l'i writer makes Svengali, Polish Jew
ana musical genius, by hypnotism
aafrs- iEansform French laundress into n
- prima DONNA he lays all Paris at her
II Feet, although IN her normal condition
that young woman's voice was weak
a. and her ear could not recognize music
al harmony from a discord
Gospel TeIepathy.
- AS one human mind has an influence
81. over another human mind, we also
know that there is a spiritual telepathy
subtle, mysterious influence which
the other world exerts upon our own.
Nisional messages as direct and unmis-
taxable as that which came TO Peter
upon the house top OF Simon's house in
Joppa may also come to us. We may
$3.50 be unable 10 explain how the divine
'as manifestations come to the human
u mind. God viii speak to us now IL we
= will only let him, as surely as he spoke
> IN many cases to his servants of old
II we look 10 God continually for guild
ance, to US, too shall the promise be
fulhlled, Thine ears shall hear a word
behind thee saying, This is the way;
- walk ye in It." The purpose of this
sermon is not to analyze the causes of
divine telepathy so much as to suggest
ways in which God may be speaking
-ssssf 70 his children in these days.
.lasNs Gospel telepathy, In the first place
- comes to Gods children as 1t did To
Peter upon Sinon's house top, in broad
daylight BY that do not mean that
ns II necessarily ines to us as 1t did
: 49,, 70 Peter at tn IN hour or when the
sun IL highest Ia the meridian. but do
.a1t mean this: When God speaks to man
'ar he speaks to him when he is rational.
when he is wide awake when his
senses are on the alert not when he Ia
cooped up in some dark, deceitfui re-
treat. Of spiritualistic medium or
when he is tossing about on his couch
Mt midnight in uneasy slumber as the
result of his digestive organs having
been overloaded There is a vision of
the spirit and a vision OF the flesh
There is a vision which comes from
God and one that is, like the nightmare
the product OF our own brain under the
disturbance of physical or mental con-
ditions- There must be careful discrim-
inaton lest we accept foolish fancies
and mischievous impulses as the voice
OF God. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the
spirit is spirit.
God Speaks In Rational Way.
- IL speak very emphatically on this