Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-04-20

n Nfdtcul0us POsitiOn.
Are you going to take the ridiculous
and Illogical stand which a noted edi-
tor OF city newspaper did when he
wrote TO lawyer friend OF mine a
letter that went thus: "A man who
drinks can preach a better temperance
lecture than all the fanatics on earth.
But you cannot make men good by
law. ] am not a believer In religion,
80 called. but was convinced long ago
That the ultimate redemption of the
children Of men must come through the
Incubation In their hearts OF the re-
iigion Of Jesus Christ. If men make
Christ the model. even though 1t be a
superstition, as I believe. virtue will
dominate the world OF vice and sin
will be Ininimized. But 1t must come
through moral suasion and not through
force and compulsion" Now, my
friend. is that your illogical stand?
Are you prepared to assert with your
one breath that Jesus Christ is the
best OF all human beings and then to
assert with your next breath that
Christ is deceiver. Nay. nay, not
that As an intelligent man you
should be ready to say here and new:
mo man could have uttered such
words as did Jesus Christ unless he
was true. And therefore, If Christ is
true. Christ Is the Son of God" BY the
law OF logic and common sense we can
not get away from this conclusion.
The Bible biographies or Christ, by
their Internal evidence. prove that
Christ's life was divine.
Now, having seen enough OF the signs
and wonders OF the Bible to prove that
Il rs OF dfyin. authorship. I am ready
to make a confession. am ready to
confess thnt this holy book is filed
with mysteries Like a blind man,
bump mp, against them everywhere.
But because scannot understand why
God should so love the world that he
gave his only begotten Son that whose
ever belieyeth on him should not perish,
but have everlasting life. Is that any
reason why should reject that divine
offer OF pardon and eternal life? NAY,
nay again say. Why all the prom
ises OF God are given to. us cannot
conceive. But those promises are there.
And because they are there will ac-
eept them and live by them and leave
the explanations for eternity.
But now. believing that God is low
ing Father and that the Bible is given
to us by divine Inspiration, the next
difficult question which confronts US Is
this: why does loving Father, who is
preparing such felicity for us on the
other side OF the grave. allow so much
misery and suffering and injustice to
his dear ohes on this side of the
graveT" for we all can say with the
psaimist, Il have seen the wicked In
great power and spreading himself like
a green bay tree Yes, we have seen
wicked Dives in q palace and good
Lazarus as beggar dying In the gut.
ter. But that is not the universal rule.
Religion has IN IL the promise OF the
life that now is. A proof OF the fact we
may see around us in prosperous. hap.
py men, who are leading good Chris.
tian lives.
Grndstone's Testimony.
Let me prove this statement by the
testimony OF one of the greatest OF
English statesmen OF. the past century,
Hon. William Il. Gladstone. who once
said: Christianity is the religion In
the command OF whose professors Is
lodged proportion OF power far ex-
ceeding its superiority OF numbers, and
this power is both moral and material.
In the realm OF controversy IL can
hardly be said to have n serious an
tagonist. Force. secular or physical,
IL accumulated In the bands OF Chris
tinns In q proportion absolutely over
| whelming. and the accumulation of in
fuence is not less remarkable than that
Of force. This Is not surprising. for all
the elements OF influence have their
home within the Christian precinct.
The art. the literature. the systematized
Industry, Invention and commerce-in
one word. the. power OF the worid--arc
almost wholly Christian. The nations
Of Christendom are everywhere arbi-
tiers OF the fate OF nom Christian ma
tons" Where people as a nation have
honored God. there God has always
honored and blessed those people. The
signs Of these blessings everywhere
prove that God Is looking after and
caring for his own. Now, having seen
bow God blesses his own in great num-
bers. am ready TO believe that he is
blessing his own even when he permits
the heavy hand OF trouble TO fall upon
them l cannot understand always
why this trouble comes. but am ready
by faith to accept 1t as blessing. And
why should not we accept as blessing
the troubles which come to Gods dear
ones. although we cannot understand
why these troubles come? Do we not
as parents, often have to do that which
MAJ seem cruel or hard to our chill
drep, and vet we thus affiIct for our
ehiI1reM'6 good? let me illustrate my
khe9ght fFomltwo incidents of my per-
sonai life.
When was called to the city OF Los
Angeiess two years ago. within half a
block Of my church there were two lit
tie children about two years of age.
They were twins. They could then
lust toddle Almost every day or my
'-fife Z passed thefr futhes-s home. Those
two little babies were the pets of our
neighborhood. They attended some of
our Sunday school entertainments. One
was called s'Bluey" and the other
"Pinkey." Why l could never make
out. for they always dressed alike and
looked alike. and. like two red apples.
both OF size. you could not distin-
guish one from the other. When you
thought you were talking to one you
We're almost sure to find out that you
were talking to the other. The other
Sunday one of those little girls. then
about four years old. went into the
kitchen and began to play with matches.
She struck one. 1t ignited. Her little
fluffy dress took fire. And before we
pronounced the benediction OF the even