Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1907-08-02
Caln1ase
Sermon
By Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase. d. ID.

choose the world, it's pleasures and its
unbelief on the one hand or the road
which leads to the higher life Of faith
and to eternal companlonships on the
other. The text Is 1 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 a little
way in one direction and then a 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
Baars 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 Cod The proof was clear and
unmistakable. The prayer to Baal fell
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 a test case this morning
OF these theories and today let you de-
eide whether you will worship God or
whether you will bow before the shrine
of false philosophers.
In order to make our consideration n
little more personal let us this morning
use the Socratic method of asking and
answering questions. Thus l turn to
one gentleman and say: "My friend,
what is you belief about God? Do you
believe there ever was n Creator Of the
universe? Do you believe there is an
intelligent Divine Being who today is
ruling all things? What is your idea
about God, anyway well" you an
swer, IL do not believe in God. / am
an atheist i am an atheist in the
sense that 1 am an evolutionist. be-
heve that man is simply the higher
form OF the animal creation. In the
vegetable world the biologists tell us
that all plants are developed from
some earlier form OF plant, so believe
that man Is development from the
lower form of animal life. Now, God
has absolutely nothing to do with the
creation. Law, natural law, has de-
veloped this world and nothing else.
When n baby comes into this world he
Is born like puppy. and when man
goes out OF II he dies like dog, and
that is all there Is in human life" Do
you believe that, my brethren? Is such
a theory rational? Is IL according TO
common sense?
Building the Temple.
Who made these laws Of nature?
Who constructed them? Surprising you
stood upon Mount Moriah In lO12 ID. C..
AS you stood there you saw the work
men excavating a foundation, and YOU
saw a long line OF teams drawing up
their huge stones on the one side of the
hill, and on the other side OF the hill
there came up another line OF teams
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 and
doors were put into place, would you
Tor one instant be foolish enough to
suppose that King Solomon's temple. as
1t rose higher and higher and higher,
did not have one master mind planning
1t? And yet want to tell you. from a
common sense standpoint, that it is far
more rational to suppose King Solo
mons temple went up by haphazard
chance, without any designing archi-
tect. than to suppose this magnificent
temple OF world was created by hap
hazard chance.
Or take another illustration. Sup
posing you take a carriage and drive
through the country and you come
10 great wheat region. Then perhaps
you ind fine mill built upon q river
Dank near by, and you see the water
or that river damned up so that IL can
tumble down upon wheel and turn IL
linen, watching, you see the wheat
taken into that mill and ground into
hour and shipped to the great cities.
where 1t is baked into bread. You
would not be foolish enough to sup.
pose all that growing of the wheat
and that grinding OF the wheat and
that baking Of the wheat were done by
chance. Well. then, II you grant a
master mind originated and planned
the one process, Will you not grant
mat God Is somewhere around when
Won see the grass growing In the val
ieys Tor the horses and the cattle. and
the nuts falling or the tree for the
squirrels. and the seeds dropping to
the ground for the cnipmunks. and the
winds blowing the pollen from tree to
tree In order that they may be fer.
tiizedF Is the cosmos OF the social
world any more incredible than the
cosmos of nature? t
The Creation of Life.
oh, but" some one says, "you mis-
understand me. l do not believe this
world came into existence in a day
or In year or in a millennium. II
has taken centuries upon centuries and