Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1894 — CAREER OF TALMAGE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CAREER OF TALMAGE.

RECALLED BY HIS RESIGNATION OF HIS PASTORATE. flow He Bnllt Up the Tabernacle and Gained for Himself a National Reputation—Cannot Be Accused of Departure from Orthodoxy. A Man of Original Methods. Naturally the resignation of Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage as pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle caused something of a sensation not only in the city of * churches but throughout the whole country, for Dr. Talmage is as well known in the rest of the Union as in the State where he was born and where he became famous. Dr. Talmage has been connected with the Brooklyn congregation for a quarter of a century, and the sudden termination of his relations while in the

full vigor of his power as a preacher was calculated to cause a commotion. It would doubtless be unjust to the eminent divine to suggest that he desired to create a sensation by his action in this instance As a matter of fact, he has heretofore employed what critics have called sensational methods to build up the Tabernacle and not to do it injury. Dr. Talmage began studying for the ministry shortly after leaving college and was a chaplain In the army during the civil war, but had not attracted much attention when he went to Brooklyn, although he had gained a local reputation in Philadelphia by his energy, his eloquence, and his original methods. The church to which he came was broken down and almost hopelessly disintegrated. He put new life into it, and drew a crowd almost from the start He was talked about from one end of the land to the other. The comments were not always complimentary. but he made many warm friends, and his church grew and flourished. It is a significant fact that in all his devices to attract popular attention Talmage has confined his sensationism to words and methods. He has not ventured to proclaim any new or heretical ideas. He has left new theological fields unexplored, and has stuck close to genuine old-fashioned orthodoxy. Indeed, he doesn’t inflict

much theology of any sort on his hearers. No revision of creeds ever troubled him or his church. He preaches, the hell Are of Calvin, but he never speculates about the fate of unregenerate infants or worries over the issues which threaten to disrupt the American board. His severest critics never have brought any imputation of heresy against him; neither has his private character ever been assailed.

REV. T. DEWITT TALMAGE.

THE BROOKLYN TABERNACLE.