Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-06

J lead the bunch so close to hell that yot
: can smell the sulphur fumes as they belc
: from the inferno below.
The biggest coward In America today
the biggest coward we have in the pro
fession of Christian religion, who Il
! afraid to come out and declare himsel
} In a campaign like this is the business
man. He is afraid that sorhe saloon
, keeper, some brewer, some black-lel
gambler. some madame of the red light
district and others OF that kind-they'rt
afraid they'll lose their trade by II, and
by the eternal God they ought to be
punished before the moon changes.
BUSINESS CowARDICE DEFINED
zone of the worst curses OF the church
today is cowardice on the part of busl-
ness men whose names are on the church
records. A coward oh. how hate him
The man who Is banker and a miser-
able, moral coward, the man who is
afraid Of some old. booze hosting beetle
| browed, hog-joweled brewer that hap
pens to deposit his dirty, stinking money
In his bank-fcr fear he might withdraw
his deposit. Let both go to perdition to-
| gether. The business men who is cow
| ardl He Is afraid OF vlrile religion
afraid OF offending n prospective GUS
toner, client, and keeping away busl-
ness. Everything nowadays is business,
|
| Is but second or third TO financial success
| That is what II is today. ,t
We have got wonderful country: Won
| derful, the American advances in indus
try, but am mighty sorry to say that
| am unable to say we have not had a cor
responding advance In the morality and
! decency of the country. We lead the
| world in crime. I will give you some
| facts about American crime before / get
| through, American crime, and the Grim
inal record of America that will make
| your blood run cold, and blush that YOU
live beneath the Stars and Stripes. Mur-
derers suicides, graft bribery, divorce
and adultery; they indicate not moral adj
vancement, but retrograding. Crime is
more common than honesty Honesty is
rarer today than 1t was 30 years ago in
America. The pursuit of money and busi-
ness is pulling your men away from the
church We are facing the constantly
growing danger of dominance OF the ma
terial over the spiritual This is a busy
age In which we live. We have hardly
time to tie our shoestrings. A fellow
wakes up in the morning and rishes AT
night. rushes at the depot-the brakeman
pokes his head into the train and wells 20
minutes for lunch, and he grabs a sand
wich. cup of coffee in one hand and a
cigar In the other and then he will nav
$50 to the doctor because he is full of
dyspepsia.
This is a day of isms and schisms and
ologies, fol- da -rols, tommy rot and here
sizes TO lead the people astray. 1t is an
axiom that the measure OF your prepara-
tion will determine the measure of your
.success-in religion, politics, anything
else.
Doctor Booth, years ago in New York.
when Moody was preaching there, said:
Brethren, 1t is disgrace that many
have been sitting and carplng and crti-
cisng this man; here is man who mur-
ders the kings English twice in every
sentence and vet he has done something
In this city of New York that you have
not done--that is, arrest the attention of
this city for one month and held 1t toward
Gods mind and Gods truth for one
month, and until we do that It behooves
us to pray instead of sitting In judgment
on his work.
prepared his sermon on the text: Come.
for all things are ready He just had two
heads, Come and Come now He got
three young men who went ahead and
inquired the way to God. That was three
more than they had ever had before in
that petrlfed, :midewed church
''I want to say to this audience tonight
before forget 1t, that l believe that the
Bible is the Word of God from cover to
cover. Not because can understand It,
for l cannot, Not because / understand
its philosophy, speculation or theory. I
cannot; wouldn't attempt 1t, and ] would
be a fool IL tried, L believe it because
1t is from the mouth Of God, the mouth of
God has spoken 1t. Ht I
3, DESPISEs A COMPROMISE
God despises compromiser He de-
spises man who trims his sail to catch
passing breeze of popularity.
'I tell you, folks, we have got to de-
termipe now as to revival responsibility.
1t is never with God, never, 1 used to say |
AH. L
hand and / used to say there is coming |
revival, but have learned to thank God
that His promises are in the present |
tense-n=o-w. Salvation is in the present |
tense. I never pray save me Lord, at |
last, for Jesus sake-save me now. / am |
making no provision for relapse.
"Tisten to me. II in your city there
are sins of immortality, drunkenness and |
crime, If you have seduction, pandering |
and white slavery and your streets are |
filled with staggering, reeling drunkards,
and girls losing their virtue, the respon-
sihllity for that state of things is not |
with God. but with the citizenship of |
Philadelphia. God puts 1t up to your |
church and your town, and IL your |
churches are losing their power, respon-
sibillty Is not with God. but with the |
membership of that church, of the fellow |
who stands in the pulpit, or both.
rphe responsibility has never been with |
old fellow said to me. What do you think |
of this modern evangelism I said Il |
don't know anything about it, My evan
gelism is as old as the cross of Jesus |
Christ don't know anything about the |
modern evangelism. A revival is not OBJ |
jectionable, some say, but well, 1t is an |
abnormal condition. say, you lie. A re-
vval Is not an abnormal condition, but |
normal one, Do you mean 20 tell me and |
insult God by saying that this cold in |
different, card-playing, beer-drinldng. |
bridge. whist, Dutch lunch. Sunday base
ball, sitting on the bleaeheTs looking at
a ball game instead OF going TO church, do
you mean 70 say that Is a normal condi-
ton of the church? 1t is your backsllding
condition that Is the abnormal condition.
That Is what is the matter with you, yoL
have got in wrong.
when you get down on your knees and
read the Bible; have family prayers and