He (Mr. Ingersoll) is said to be a very brave man. I dare him to do one thing. I dare him to take his mother’s Bible, and some Sunday afternoon, go into his room, and locking the door, kneel down, and while kneeling read the fourteenth chapter of John. Nothing there about Jonah and the whale; nothing there about the sun and moon stopping; nothing there about the manner in which Eve was made.
Certainly a man so brave that he defies the God of the universe, and scoffs at the armies of martyrs and apostles, and prophets, and bullies perdition—certainly, a man as brave as that ought to be brave enough on a Sabbath afternoon to go into his room and kneel down, if the door is locked, and read the fourteenth chapter of John.
Here is infidelity: no prayer on her lips, no benediction on her brow, both hands clenched—what for? To fight Christianity. That is the entire business. That is the complete mission of infidelity—to fight Christianity.
Where are her schools, her colleges, her asylums of mercy? Let me throw you down a whole ream of foolscap paper that you may fill all of it with the names of her beneficent institutions, the colleges and the asylums, the institutions of mercy, founded by infidelity, and supported by infidelity, pronounced against God; and the Christian religion and yet in favor of making the world better.
“Oh,” you say, “a ream of paper is too much for the names of those institutions.” Well then, I throw you a quire of paper. Fill it it all up now. I will wait until you get all the names down. “Oh,” you say, “that is too much.” Well, then, I will just hand you a sheet of letter paper. Just fill up the four sides while we are talking of this matter.
“Oh,” you say, “that is too much room. We don’t want a whole sheet of paper to write down the names.” Perhaps I had better tear out one leaf from my hymn book, and ask you to fill up both sides of it with the names of such institutions. “Oh,” you say, “that is too much room; you don’t want so much room as that.” Well then suppose you count them on your ten fingers. “Oh,” you say, “not quite so much as that.” Well, then, count them on the fingers of one hand.
“Oh,” you say, “not quite so many as that.” Well, then, count on one finger the name of any institution founded by infidelity, supported by infidelity pronounced against God, and the Christian religion, yet toiling to make the world better. Not one! Not one! —TALMAGE.
