The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-07-30
Calnna9e
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. D. D.


crossroads, where we are open to
choose the world. its pleasures and its
unbelief on the one hand or the road
which leads to the higher life Of faith
and to eternal comprehensive OH the
other. The text is l Kings xviii. 81.
How long halt We between two opin-
ions?''
Elijah, the author Of the words of my
text, Is speaking to King Ahab and to
the children of Israel. He describes
the nation as hating or hesitating
The word was an appropriate one. A
man who is not sure about his posi-
ton or his course. who travels little
way in one direction and then little
way in another direction, makes no
progress He halts and stumbles. 1t
is a most unsatisfactory state, whether
1t relates to people of that olden time
or to people of our time. so many of
whom are similarly hating. Elijah
contends that Jehovah is God and that
Baal Is a mere block Of wood or stone
that cannot hear prayer or reward
his Worshipers. He proposes to prove
it to the people then and there. Let
two affairs be erected and slaughtered
animal be laid ON each. Then let
Baal's. priests pray to him to send
down fire to burn up the sacrifice, and
Elijah will pray to Jehovah to do the
same to the other sacrifice. The result
will prove which Of the two is able to
hear and answer prayer, which of the
two is God The proof was clear and
unmistakable. The prayer to Baal fel!
on deaf ears, and there was no re
Spouse. Elijah prayed to God. and the
fire fell on his altar and consumed It.
Then the people began to cry, The
Lord he is the God. the Lord he Is the
God" Now, the purpose Of this ser
mon In a nutshell Is to contrast some
! Of the illogical theories or false be
| liefs which the people Of this day are
believing with the incOntrovertible
wholesome beliefs of the Bible.
would make test case this morning
| Of these theories and today let you de
eide whether you will worship God OF
whether you will bow before the shrine
of false philosophers.
In order to make our consideration
little more personal let us this morning
use the Socratic method Of asking and
| answering questions. Thus l turn t'
| one gentleman and. say: MY friend
| what is you belief about God? Do you
believe there ever was a Creator of the
universe? Do you believe there is Nar
intelligent Divine Being who today Il
ruling all things? What is your ides
about God, anyway" Well you an
swer, Il do not believe in God. l an
an atheist l am an atheist In the
sense that l am an eyolutionist. | be
l-lieve that man Is Simply the higher
| form of the animal creation. In thu
vegetable world the biologists tell Us
that all plants are developed from
some earlier form Of plant, so l believe
that man Is development from thu
1 lower form Of animal life. Now. Coz
has absolutely nothing to do with thu
| creation. Law. natural law, has de
yeloped this world and nol ling else
When a baby comes into this world h
is born like puppy, and when maj
goes out OF it he dies like q dog. AM
that is all there is in human life d.
you believe that, my brethren? Is sucl
a theory rational? Is 1t according Il
common sense?
Building the Temple.
who made these laws of nature
Who constructed them? Supposing yo'
stood upon Mount Moriah In 1912 b. {
AS you stood there you saw the work
men excayating foundation, and yo'
saw long line Of teams drawing N
their huge stones ON the one side of III
hill. and on the other side Of the bill
there came up another line of team
:. drawing beams and rafters and doors
Then, supposing, without noise OF ham
mer or rasping of saw, all these differ
ent stones and beams and rafters an
doors were put into place. would yo
for one instant be foolish enough t
suppose that King Solomon's temple, q
1t rose higher and higher and higher
did not have one master mind plannin
It? And yet want to tell you, from
common sense standpoint, that 1t Is "a
. more rational to suppose King Sole
mons temple went up by haphazar
chance, without any designing arch
tect, than to suppose this magnificen
temple OF q world was created by hal
hazard chance.
Or take another illustration. SUI
posing you take carriage and driy
through the country and you com
|. to great wheat region. Then perhaT
you find fine mill built upon q rive
bank near by. and you see the waite
Of that river damned up so that it ca
tumble down upon wheel and turn
Then, watching, you see the whei
taken into that mill and ground int
1our and shipped to the great cite
where 1t Is baked into bread. Yo
would not be foolish enough to SUI
pose all that growing of the whe'
. and that grinding Of the wheat an
that baking Of the wheat were done /
chance. Well, then. It you grant