One Born Every Minute

P. T. Barnum, of Barnum & Bailey Circus fame, has been cited as the source of a famous quote, which was actually made – not by Barnum – but by a rival of Barnum named David Hannum.

Dr. Benjamin Wiker has summarized the background of the popular phrase:

“The story begins with Mr. George Hull, a student of archeology and paleontology who contrived a famous hoax to make money. Hull had a “giant” carved out of stone, and buried on his cousin’s farm in Cardiff , New York . Why? Because evangelists of the time were preaching about lost giants that roamed the earth, and Hull knew he could make a mint if the buried giant was “suddenly” unearthed and put on display. And he did. Things went so well that he was able to sell two-thirds interest in the giant for $30,000 to a group of men, one of them being banker David Hannum (who believed the giant real). P.T. Barnum tried to buy the giant, but Hull and Hannum wouldn’t sell. So, ol’ P.T. had one carved of his own, and claimed Hull and Hannum’s was a fake! Seeing the streams of visitors flowing in to see P.T.'s “giant,” Hannum, still believing his own giant to be real, declared: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” *

Our society tends to be very gullible at times.  Many long to hear – and quickly accept -- some new thing (cf. Acts 17:21) without carefully investigating it.  Satan, man’s greatest enemy, knows this and is eager to deceive us into believing lies.  After all, “when he speaks a lie, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).  So Satan is never more pleased than when attempts are made to discredit God and His Word.  Satan seeks to keep us from the “saving knowledge" of the Truth.

“For the time will come. . . when men will not put up with sound teaching. But after their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear, and they will turn their ears away from the TRUTH and turn aside to MYTHS.” (2Timothy 4:3-4)

The Truth is: God, the Creator and Sustainer of life, loves us.  He loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, for us (John 3:16).  Jesus, the divine Son of God, lived among us (John 1:14) then He “died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” 
(1 Corinthians 15:3-4).  The Apostle Paul wrote: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15)

The Truth is: Jesus WILL save those who: believe in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) in His name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38; 22:16).  He will CONTINUE to cleanse those who CONTINUE to strive to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7).

Do NOT be deceived by the lies of Satan; don’t be a SUCKER!  You CAN know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free (John 8:32)!  

BELIEVE the Truth of God’s Word, and OBEY it!

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

*  Dr. Benjamin Wiker, “The Lost Tomb of Jesus: Here We Go Again.”  tothesource.org -- http://www.tothesource.org/3_6_2007/3_6_2007.htm.  For further information, see Brown, R.J.  “P.T. Barnum Never Did Say ‘There’s a Sucker Born Every Minute.’”    https://web.archive.org/web/20060111084803/http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html

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