<TITLE>06. Par 16-18</TITLE>L-16 I used to think, when I was little boy, and how the first little story you--and the little girl, either, that ever told your mother, there's a conscience there, said, "Don't do this, little boy. That's wrong. Don't do that."
You remember when you smoked that little corn silk cigarette out behind the old fireplace, and eat some coffee to keep mother from smelling it on your breath?
"Have you been smoking?" 
"No, mama," and the conscience begin to say, "Don't do this; that's wrong." See? Then you wade over that, and next thing you know, you pass by the church. You hear the hymns; you hear the preaching. Every red light God flashes before you, you just break the barriers down and go right on; don't pay any attention to conscience or nothing else. Then did God send a person to hell? No, you sent yourself. That's right. You went on your own accord. God throws every red light in front of you He could, and you just kept moving right on, headlong. You determined to do it.
Now, there's a red light hanging down here in the city. If you run through that red light, the city's not responsible for you. You did it on your own will. That's right. So then God has done everything that he can to keep people and to bring them to Him and love them.

L-17 Now, this old, old question of Christ, the virgin birth, how did it ever happen? Sometime ago, I was up in the mountains. I'd just moved up there, going--I was going to go bear hunting, and I was going along side of the cliff, and there was a cowboy come riding along. I looked around; I heard a horse. And I was tracking a--an elk. And he said, "Uh, Hello?"
And I said, "Howdy do?" 
He said, "What are you tracking?"
I said, "I'm tracking an elk."
He said, "I don't want to call you a liar, but you're tracking a cow."
I said, "Well, I've tracked enough to know that a cow doesn't have two claws that drops that low and neither has a pointed hoof."
And so He said, "Well," he said, "What are you?--What are you?"
And I said, "Well, I'm going back there hunting." I said, "I'm looking for a fellow by the name of Jefferies."
He said, "I'm that fellow."

L-18 I said, "Yes. Well, you're supposed... The ranger told me, direct me to a cow fence," and I said, "From there I'm to go to Corral Peaks."
He said, "Well, can you ride?"
I said, "A little bit."
He said, "Well, crawl up back here."
So I got on there, and he said--went around, he said, "Well, where you from?"
I said, "Indiana."
And he said, "What's your occupation?"
I said, "A preacher."
He said, "A what?"
And I said, "A preacher."
He said, "You look too intelligent for that." ...?...
I said, "Well..." I seen you--them westerners was a rather rough talking sort of people: flat, but lovely people." And well, I said, "Sir, I think that's a mark of intelligence."
And he said, "Oh," said, "I guess you believe that story about Jesus Christ or ever what they called him."
I said, "Yes, sir."
Said, "You believe that virgin birth?"
I said, "Yes, sir."
He said, "If I prove that's a lie, will you believe it?"
I said, "You couldn't do it. There's no way at all for you to do it."
He said, "I..." he said, "A person that's got real good sound thinking mind will know that was in error."
"Well," I said, "then I guess you have to class me as not having a sound thinking mind," I said, "because I believe it is the truth just as true as it can be."
And he said, "Well, now, I want to ask you something." He said, "To begin with, I want to state myself that I'm an infidel." He said, "I don't believe in anything about God or nothing else. I don't believe there is such a creature."
And I said, "Oh, you don't?" I said, "Then you are really in a bad shape."


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