The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1906-08-31

and the grave. in the supreme moment
OF the worlds history, there was no
hurry, no haste. no excitement, but
that, with the same majestic COM
yCsure. the same GiyiLe sublimity,
the same majestic calm that marked
Him in the storm on the Sea OF CAL
lice, He rises from tho grave. He
does not tear the handkerchief from
His face and fling In across the room,
hut calmly unbinds His head and
face, lays il aside in a place b. itself
and passes out Of the sepulchre Is
that made mp. and pat in without a
word OF explanation? Never. We
have read not a picture. hut facts,
with detail here and another there.
OF which the writer. apparently. LSd
no conception OF the meaning but
simply wrote what he saw.
We have a volume of evidence on
the resurrection OF that kind. First.
the apostles, beyond peradventure.
made the resurrection Of Jesus the
cornerstone OF their preaching, and
they preached il in the very city
where He was crucifed and before
the court that condemn ID him. Fur
thermore, they gave their lives for a
testimony. Men do nor do that for
what they know 10 be false. Second
ly. the early church. which came ont
Ot the Jewish church, changed the
Sabbath Observance from the seventh
day to the first day OF the week, and
anyone who has studied Jewish his
tory knows the hardest thing in the
world is to change Jewish customs,
AM something tremendous must have
hannnnnf "a m h,
BILE simply by common consent. The
third fact is most Signiticant-the
moral transformation Of the apostles
themselves. They were a pack of ut
terly demoraliZed towards. and a few
days after we see that same company
filled with the most indomitable cour-
age that the world has ever seen
What had happened" Jesus had risen
and they had seen Him. All intelli-
gent men who deny the resurrection
admit that the apostles thought He
had risen. Straus says: We admit
that they had seen something: may
not this appearance have been Wis
ionary?' That IS, they saw a vision
Our answer is This: Whoever heard
of eleven men having the same vision
at the same time. and OF 500 men
having thc Same vision? An old ar.
gument against the resurrection has
been revived within the last five
years. and il was that Jesus was not
really deed and was rpsuscitated. and
they appeal to a historic fact that
certain Jewish officer was taken down
from cross and brought back &c
life. We have FIVE objections to this:
First, what preceded tho CruCitiXiou
the scOur@ing, etc. Second, the
Jews and the Romans took specia,
precautions TO prevent this. Third
remember His broken heart. Fourth
if He had been reSuscitatcd He would
have been in state OF absolute phys
iCal collapse, as was the case with
the Jewish officer, who was an in.
valid all his life. Fifth, if so. the
ones who rpsuscitated Jesus must
have been the apostles and the .rans.
formation in them remains unac.
counted for. Finally. il it was NOT
resurrection. then the whole thing is
fraud. and 2 deliberate fraud Who
can believe that Christianity with its
lofty precepts Of morality and holy
living rests upon IA fraud and that
Jesus was a party 20 il" No man car
believe it.
There is only one conclusion: The
resurrection Of Jesus Christ from
the dead is the best proved fact is
history There is only one really
strong argument against Ii, and tha,
is that no one else was ever raised
from the dead. The answer to that
is that the life OF Jesus was unique
His mission and nature and character
were all unique and it was only TO be
expected that the issue of that lif.
would be unique. II is impossible
for any man Of loyal mind, or whs
has had any experience OF evidence
who wants 10 know the truth, to sit
down before the -four Gospels anC
take them up, point by point, examine
the statements and thoroughly sift the
evidence to come to any other con.
clusion than that Jesus Christ actual.
" arose from the dead. as reCOrdcd
in the four Gospels. What of it!
Everything. II Christ rose again then
Christianity is no longer 4 system o'
abstract divinity, but gospel oi
proven facts, and everything that you
and I have been taught to believe
and that is dear to the Christian
heart, and the glory OF the life ia
come, is an absolute certainty.
Seeking 10 Save.
Christ is in all His redeemed, as
a. u. u. n