Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-08-14
8ILLY SUNDAYS PREACHING.
-Dispa,ch.)


1t is said that Mr.. Billy Sunday, the
baseball evangelist" in the twelve
years of his ministry has converted
over one hundred thousand men and
women to a public acknowledgement of
their belief in Jesus Christ as the only
means of salvation.
Billy breaches according to the tricks
he learned on the diamond he
catches the sinner between bases and
runs him down. He doesn't plead with
his unregenerate hearers. He goes at
'em hammer and tongs, and gives 'em
the very devil.
1.-The devil," says he, ''isn' anybody's s
fool. Lots of men will tell you that
there isn't any devil. That he is just
figure of speech, "a poetic personifi-
cation of the sin in our natures Peo-
pie who say that-and especially the
sneaking, time-serving, hypocritical
ministers who say that-are liars.
Liarsi Liars! They are calling the
Holy Bible a lie. I'll believe the Bible
before believe Old Mother Eddy and
lot of time serving. tea-drinking, So
cietifed, smirking minister's! No, sirl
You take Gods Word for it; there is a
devil.
"Oh! but the devil is smooth guy.
He was in the lifetime of the Saviour.
and he is now. He is right ON his job
all the time. Just as he appeared to
Christ in the wilderness he is right
here in this tabernacle now, running
around up this aisle and down that.
trying to make you sinners Indifferent
to Christ's sacrifice for your salvation. ."
Nor does he mince matters about
damnation. In closing sermon at
Fairfield, Iowa, he said:
Tonight, when the last song is sung
the last prayer said and we have all
passed out into the night, and Fred has
switched off the lights and the place is
dark-your chance, sinner, will be gone.
If your heart is not soft before then.
it is hardly likely that it will ever be so
nearly won again. You say in your
heart, Tomorrow But tomorrow at
daylight the doctors buggy may be
standing at your gate, the family may
be standing around with handkerchiefs
at their eyes. The doctor will turn to
them and say. He is gone The un-
dertaker will come and do his work.
The friends will gather and listen to
such kind words as may decently be
spoken of you. and then, as Mr.. Moody
once said of man who died in spite of
his prayers, they will take you, a
Christless corpse in a Christless coffin,
and lay. you in Christless grave. My
God, my friends, if the Lord would
only draw back the veil which is be.
tween you and your coffin, you woulc
leap back in horror to find it so neal
that you can reach out and touch it
But you say, Tomorrow
1t has always been puzzle to u.
why an evangelist like Sunday, or Sam
Jones. or Drummer Fife-it is a lone
list should be able to stir up and bring
to repentance thousands of sinner.
whom the constant preaching of regu.
lar ministers of the gospel has neve,
touched. But such is the fact, anC
many are mislead by it. Judging by
appearances, they conclude that SEN
sational evangelist is a more efficient
means of grace than an orthordox min
ister. And this is the worst feature OF
evangelistic meetings. They tend to
disparage and demoraiize the orderly
work of the organized church. But il
men and women who enthuse over
evangelists will make fair computa.
ton they viii ascertain that where a
hundred converts are made by evange-