©if gfrulw flfuwitvat
BELLEPONTE, PA.
Tho Largest, Cheapest anil Beat Paper
I>UHMSHKO IN CKNTKIC COUNTY.
lll.ACk vs. l\(JKItS()l,|„
An Able IhTeuse of (lirlslltinll).
,/wlye Black Meets the Great Infitlel Lec
turer in Debate in the Payee oj the 11 North
American Review" anil Gives Huna Taste
of His Quality.
Hou. Jeremiah SS. Hluck ami Col.
Robert (J. Ingersoll have contributed
articles to the August number of the
North American Review in which the
former defends the cause of Christian
ity and the latter attacks and opposes
it. Colonel Ingersoll's arguments are
the same as those with which the pub
lie has been made familiar in his lec
tures. Judge Black in masterly rhet
oric and with a fund of illustration
that is remarkable, defends the Jew ish
theocracy and then proceeds to dem
onstrate the truth of the Chri-tiau
religion. We regret that we have
room for only a small portion of this
able paper and as we are obliged to
select a part we prefer to give that
which relates more particularly to the
Christian dispensation. Judge Black
reasous as follows :
When Jesus of Nazareth announced
Himself to he Christ, the Son of (Jod,
in Judea, many thousand persons who
heard His words ami saw His works
believed in Ilia divinity without hesi
tation. Since the morning of the crea
tion nothing has occurred so wonder
ful as the rapidity with which this re
ligion spread abroad. Men who were
in the noon of life when Jesus was put
to death as a malefactor lived to see
Him worshipped as ( Jod by organized
bodies of believers in every province
of the Roman empire. In a few more
years it took complete posses-ion of
the general mind, supplanted all other
religious, and wrought a radical change
in humau society. It did this in the
face of obstacles which, according to
every human calculation, were insur
mountable. It was antagonized by
all the evil propuusities, the sensual
wickedness, and the vulgar crimes of
the multitude, as well as the polished
vices of the luxurious classes; and
was mo.-t violently opjsised even bv
those sentiments and habits of thought
which were esteemed virtuous, such a*
patriotism and military heroism. It
encountered not only the ignorance
and superstition, but the learning and
philosophy, the poetry, eloquence, and
art of the time. Barbarism and civil
ization were alike its deadly enemies.
The priesthood of every established
religion aud the authority of every
government were arrayed against it.
All these, combined together and
roused to ferocious hostility, were over
come, not by the enticing words <>f
man's wisdom, but by the simple pre
sentation of a pure and peaceful doc
trine, preached by obscure strangers
at the daily iieril of their lives. It is
Mr. Ingersoll's idea that this hap|>en
ed by chance, like the creation of the
world ? If not, there are but two oth
er ways to account for it: either the
evidence by which the apostle* wi re
able to prove the supernatural origin
of the gospel was overwhelming and
irresistible, or else its propagation wan
provided for aud carried on by the
direct aid of the Divine Being Him
self. Between these two infidelity may
make its own choice.
Just here another dilemma presents
its horns to our adversary. If Chris
tianity was a human fabrication its
authors must have been either good
men or bad. It is a moral impossi
bility —a mere contradiction in terms
—to say that good, honest and true
men practiced a gross and willful de
ception upon the world. It is equally
incredible that any combination of
knave*, however base, would fraudu
lently concoct a religious system to
denounce themselves and to invoke the
curse of God upon their own conduct.
Men that love lies, love not such lies
as that. Is there any way out of this
difficulty, except by confessing that
Christianity is what it purports to be
—a divine revelation ?
The acceptance of Christianity by a
large portion of the generation con
temporary with its Founder and His
a{>o*tles was, under the circumstances,
an adjudication as solemn and author
itative as mortal intelligence could
pronounce. The record of that judg
ment has come down to us, accompa
nied by the depositions of the princi
pal witnesses. In the course of eigh
teen centuries many efforts have been
made to open the judgment or set it
aside on the ground that tho evidence
was insufficient to support it. But on
every rehearing the wisdom and virtue
of mankind have reaffirmed it. And
now comes Mr. Ingersoll to trv the
experiment of another bold, bitter,
ami fierce reargutnent. I will present
some of the considerations which
would compel me, if I were a judge
or juror in the cause, to decide it just
as it was decided originally.
First. There is no good reason to
doubt that the statements of the evan
gelists, as we have them now, arc gen
uine. Tho multiplication of copies
was a sufficient guarantee against any
material alteration of the text. Mr.
Ingersoll speaks of interpolations made
by the fathers of the church. All he
knows and all ho has ever heard on
that subject is that some of the innum
erable transcripts contained errors
which were discovered and corrected.
That simply proves the present integ
rity of the documents.
Second. I call these statement* dep.
osiliont, because they arc entitled to
that kind of credence which wo give
to declaration* made under oath but
in a much higher degree, for they arc
more than sworn to. They were made
in the immediate prospect id' death.
lVrtiaps this would not idled the con
science of an atheist —neither would
an oath—but these people manifestly
believed in a judgment after death,
before a (Jod of truth, whoso displeas
ure they feared above all things.
Third. The witnesses could not have
been mistaken. Tho nature of the
facta precluded tho possibility of any
delusion about them. For every aver
ment they had "the sensible and true
avouch of their own eyes" and ears.
Besides, they were plain-thinking, so
ber, unimaginative men, who, unlike
Mr. Ingersoll, always, under all cir
cumstances, and especially in the pres
ence of eternity, recognized the differ
ence between mountain* and cloud*.
It is inconceivable how any fact could
bo proven by evidence more conclu
sive than the statement of such per
sons, publicly given and steadfastly
persisted in through every kind of per
secution, imprisonment, and torture to 1
the last agonies of a lingering death. j
Fourth. Apart from these terrible
tests, the more ordinary claim* to
credibility are not wanting. They
were men of unimpeachable character.
The most virulent enemies of the
cause they spoke and died for have
never suggested a reason for doubting
their personal honesty. But there i*
affirmative proof that they and their
fellow-disciples were held by those
who knew them in the highe.-t estima
tion for trulhfulnc-*. Wherever they
made their report it was not only be
lieved, but believed with a faith so
implicit that thou-and* were ready at (
once to seal it with their blood.
Fifth. The tone and tctujHT of their
narrative impress u* with a sentiment
of profound resjiect. It i* an artle-s,
unimpas-ioned, simple story. No ar
gument, no rhetoric, no epithets, no
praise* of triends, no denunciation of
enemie*, no attempts at concealment.
I low strongly these qualities commend
the testimony of a witness to the con- j
faience of judge and jury is well I
known to all who have any experience i
in such matter*.
Sixth. The statement made by the
cvangeli.-t* are alike upon every im
portant point, but are different in
form aud < xpression, some of them
including details which the others
omit. Tli -sc variation* make it per
fectly certain that there could have
been no previous concert between the
witne— -, and that each spoke uid •
pendeiitly of the otln r-, according to
his own conscience anil from bis own
knowledge. In considering the testi
mony of several witne--e* t.> the -attic
transaction, their substantial agree
ment upon the main facts, .with cir
cumstantial ditl'oroncv* ' r/A detail,
is always regard" I a* •< j char
acteristic of truth .^Bfhere
rub- < \ id< r
thau
in
more
of mankind.
himself, admits the run. ,>\wf concede*
it* soundness. The logical consequence
of that admi*sion i* that we are bound
to take this evidence a* incontcstably
true. But mark the infatuated per
versity with which he seek* to evade
it. He says that when we claim that
the witnesses were inspired, the rule
does not apply, because the witne.*es
then speak what i* known to him who
inspired them, and all mu-t speak ex- j
actly the same, even to the minutest
detail. Mr. Ingersoll's notion of an
inspired witness i* that he i* no wit
ill's* at all, but an irresponsible medi
urn who unconsciously and involun
tarily rap* out or writes down what
ever he i* prompted to say. But this
i* a faise assumption, not countenanced
or even suggested by anything con
tained in the .Scriptures. The apostles
ami evangelist* are expressly declared
to lie witnesses, in the proper sense of
the word, called ami sent to testifv
the truth according to their knowl
edge. If they hail nil told the same
story in tho same way, without varia
tion, ami accounted tbr it* uniformity
by declaring that they were inspired,
and had spoken without knowing
whether their word* were true or false,
where would have been their claim to
credibility? But they testified what
they knew ; and here comes an infidel
critic impugning their testimony IK-- !
cause the impress of truth is stamped
upon its face.
Seventh. It does not appear that the
statements of the evangelists were
ever denied by any person who pre
tended to know the facts. Many
there were in that age and afterward j
who resisted the lielief thnt Jesus was
the Christ, the Son of (Jod, and only
Saviour of man ; but Hi* wonderful
works, the miraculous purity of His
life, the unapproachable loftiness of
Hi* doctrines, Hi* trial and condem
nation by a judge who pronounced
Him innocent, Hi* patient suifering,
Ilia death on the cross, and resurrec
tion from tho grnve—of these not the
faintest contradiction wa* attempted,
i if we except the false nnd feeble story
which the ciders and chief priests
bribed the guard at the tomb to put in
circulation.
Kighth. What we call the funda
mental truth* of Christianity consist
of great public events which are suffi
ciently established by history without
special proof. The value of mere his
toricnl evidence increase* according to
the importance of llic facta in •loca
tion. their gcucrul notoriety, ami the
magnitude oi their viaible eoiiHcuueii
coh, C'ornwallis aurrciulercii to \N ash
ing ton lit Yorktown, ami changed the
deathiy of Kurope und America. No
body would think of calling u witness#
or even citing an ollicial report to prove
it. duliuH t'ic*ur waa u-u.--inut<d.
Wo do not need to prove that fact
like an ordinary murder, lie waa
muster of the world, and hi# death
was followed by a war with the con
spirators, the battle at. l'hilippi, the
•piarrel of the victorious triumvirs,
Actium, and the permanent establish
ment of imperial government under
Augustus. The life and character, the
death and resurrection, of .Jesus are
just as visibly connected with the
events which even an infidel must ad
mit to he of e<|ual importance. The
church rose and armed herself in
righteousness lor conflict with the
powers of darkness; innumerable mul
titudes of the best and wisest rallied
to her standard und died in her cause;
her enemies employed the course and
vulgar machinery of humun govern
ment against her, and her professors
were brutally murdered in large num
bers ; her triumph was complete; the
gods of 11 recce and Home crumbled'
| on their altars ; the world was rcvolu-
I tionized and human society was trans
! formed. The course of these events,
! and a thousand others, which reach
down to the present hour, reeeiveil its
! fust propulsion from the transceudeut
fact of Christ's crucifixion. Moreover,
we find the memorial monuments oil
' the original truth planted all along
! the way. The sacraments of baptism !
and the supper constantly j>oiut us j
back to the Author and Finisher of
our faith. The mere hi-.orical evi
dence is for these re sons much strong
! er than what we have for other occur
; rences which are regarded us undenia
ble. When to this is added the cumu
lative evidence given directly and
|ssitively by eye witues-es of irre
proachable character, and wholly un
contradicted, the proof beco nes so
strong thut the disbelief we hear of i
seems like a kind of insanity.
: II Is Ills <-r -rr-.f of tha ovum,
j W !.. }| • :■ • 11. re tl.o r{, • !* :.t, I
| An I inU't m#n tn<|
From the facts cstahlisheil hy this
evidence, it follows irresistibly that
the gospel has come tw u- from (iod.
riiut sileni 'S all reasoning alxnit the
wisdom ami ju-tiee of its doctrim-,
inee it is im[Hi-.sihle even to imagine
that wrong can he done or commanded
by that Sovereign Heing whose will
alone is the ultimate standard of all
justice.
Hut Mr. I tiger >oli is still dissatisfied,
lie ruis< s objections as tal-e, fieetiug
and basele-s as clouds, ami iu-ist# that
they are as stable as the mountains,
whose everlasting foundations are laid
l.y the hand ol the Almighty. I will
compress his prop isiti-uis mt,, plain
words printed in ilWuv, and, taking a
look at his misty creations, let them
roll away and vanish into uir, one
alter another.
< 'iristianitu offers eternal salvation
as the reicani of belief ahmr. This is
Ik
N<i sueli doctrine is propounded in the
Scriptures, or in the creed of nnv
Christian church. <hi the contrary,
it is distinctly taught that faith avails
nothing without repentance, reforma
tion and newness of life.
The mm J'l 11 lire to bfheyr ) t is J/llli
uhtd in h< 11, I have never known
any Christian man or woman to a.-
' sert this. It is universally agreed
that children too voting to understand
.it do not need to believe it. And this
exemption extends to adults w ho have
never seen the evidence, or, from
weakness of intellect, arc incapable of
weighing it. Lunatics and idiots are
not in the least danger, aud for aught
I know, this category may, by a !
stretch of Cod's mercy, include njind
constitutionally sound, but with facul- I
tics so perverted by education, habit
or passion that they are incapable of
reasoning. I sincerely hope that, ;
upon this or some other principle, Mr.
Ingcrsoll may escape the hell he talks
aliout so much. Hut there is no direct
promise to save lnm in spite of him
self. The plan of redemption contains
no express covenant to pardon one '
who rejects it with scorn and hatred.
J Our hope for him rests upon the in
finite compassion of that gracious
Heing who prayed on the cross for the
insulting enemies who nuilcd Hint :
j there.
The mystery of the second hirth is tn
-1 comprehensible. Christ established n
new king' o-u in the world, but not of
it. .Subjects were ndmitted to the
privileges and protection of its gov
ernment by a process equivalent to
naturalization. To lie born again, or
regenerated, is to be naturalized. The
words all mean the same thing. Docs
Mr. Ingcrsoll want to disgrace his own
intellect by pretending that he cannot
see this simple analogy ?
The doctrine of the atonement is ah
turd, unjust ami immoral. The plan
of salvation, or any plan for the rescue
of sinners from the legal operation of
Divine justice, could have been framed
'•uly in the councils of the Omniscient.
Necessarily its heights and depths are
not easily fathomed hy finite intelli
gence. Ilut the greatest, ablest, wisest
and most virtuous men that ever lived
have given it their profoundest con
sideration, and found it to lie not only
authorized by revelation, but theoret
ically conformed to their best ami
highest conceptions of infinite good
■less. Nevertheless here is a rash and
superficial man, without training or
habits of reflection, who, upon u mere
glance, declares that it "must bo
übaudoned," because it seems to him
"absurd, unjust, and immoral." 1
would not abridge his freedom of
thought or speech, aud the aryamen
tum ml vererundium would bo lost up
on him. Otherwise I might suggest
that, when he finds all authority, hu- >
man and Divine, against him, he hud j
better speak in a tone less arrogant.
lie does not comprehend how justice '
nnil mercy run he blended together in I
the plan of redemption, mnl thin fore j
it cannot be true. A thing is not nec- j
essarily false because he docs not uii- '
derstand it; he cannot annihilate a
principle or fact hy ignoring it. There
are many truths in heaven and earth
which no man can see through ; for
instance, the union of man's soul with
his body is not only an unknowable
but au unimaginable mystery. Is it
therefore false that u connection does :
exist between mutter and spirit?
How, he u-ks, can tin sufferings of
un innocent pri son satisfy justice for the
! •ins oj tin guilty ? This raises a meta
physical question, it is not necessary
or possible for me to discuss here. A* ;
matter of fact, Chri-t died that sin- J
tiers might be reconciled to (iod, and I
; in that sells.* Ho died for theiu ; that
is, to fiirni-h them with the means ot i
averting Divine justice, which their
crimes had p'ovofced.
II liat, lie again a-k, would u> thiol
ot u man uho allowed another man to
du Jor a crime which he himself had
committed t 1 un-wcr thut u man
who, hy any contrivance, cuu-c# bis
j own off. n-e to be visited upon the head
i of an innocent per-oii i- unspeakably
depraved. Hut are Christians guilty
of thi* busem-s becau-c they accept
the blessing* of an institution which
their great benefactor died to estab
lish? I,oyulty to the King who has
erected a most beneficent government ,
for us at the cost of His life—fidelity
; to the Master who bought us with Hi
hlood —is not the fraudulent suls titu-
I ion of an innocent jwr-oii in place of
a criminal.
The doctrine oj lion rtsi-tancf, for
j given em ot injuries, reconciliation with
) enemies, as taught in the .V- w Testa
j ment, is the child of u > akne--, dtgrad
j nig, and unjust. This is the whole
substance of a long, rambling diatriln-,
a- incoherent a- a sick man's dream.
Christianity doc* not forbid the m <■< -
-ary defense of civil -•.< i' tv, or the
pro|M-r viudicati n of ] r- mil rights.
Hut to cherish animosity, to thirst for
mere revenge, to hoard up wrong-,
r<-al <>r fancied and lie hi wait tor the
chance of paying tlmm lnu k ; to Ire
impatient, unforgiving, malieiou>, and
cruel to all who have ero—-d u—
th ->• dialr dical pro|M.-n<ities are chi. k
>■>l and curbed by the authority and
-pirit of the fhri-tian religion, and
the application of it has converted
men from low savages into refined aud
eivilizisl In-ings.
The punishment oi sinners in eternal
hell is cjrrssnr. The future of the
-oul i- a subject on which we have
very dark views. In our present state,
the mind taken in no idea except what
is conveyed to it through the Imdily
senses. All our conceptions of the
spiritual world are derived fr<>m some
analogy to material things, and this
| analogy must necessarily be very re
mote, Irecausc the nature of the sub
jects com pa ml is so diverse that a
; close similarity cannot Ire even sii|*
po-ed. No revelation has lifted the
veil In-tween time ami eternity ; but in
-hadowy figures we are warned that a
very marked distinction will be made
Iretweeti the good and the* bad in the
next world. f|ceulative opinions con
cerning the punishment of the wicked
its nature and duration, vary with the
temper and the imaginations of men.
Doubtless we are many of us in error;
but low can Mr. Ingcrsoll enlighten
|us ? Acknowledging no standard of
right and wrong ill this world, he can
have no theory of reward# and punish- :
mcnts in the next. The deed# done in
the body, whether good or evil, are
nil morally alike in bis eyes, and if
there be in heaven a congregation of
the just, he #e<* no reason why the
worst rogue should not lie a member j
of it. It is supposed, however, that j
man ha# a soul as well as a body, and
that both are subject to certain laws,
which cannot lw violat<*d without in
curring the proper penalty—or conse
quence, if be like* that word bettor.
If Christ was (lint. He knew that
! His followers would prosecute and
murder men for their opinions; yet he
did not forbid it. Them is but one
way to deal with this accusation, and
that is to contradict it flatly. Noth
ing can be conceived more striking
than the prohibition, not only of per
secution, but of all the nassiona which
lead or incite to it. No follower of
Christ indulge* in malice even to bis
enemy without violating tlie plainest
rule of his faith. He cannot love
God and bate bis brother; if he says
he can, Bt. John pronounces him a
liar. The broadest benevolence, uni
versal philanthropy, inexhaustible
charity, are inculcated in every line of
the New Testament. It is plain that
Mr. Ingcrsoll never read a chapter ol
it; otherwise be would not have ven
tured upon this palpable falsification
of its doctrines. \\ bo told him that
the devilish spirit of persecution was
authorized, or not forbidden, by the i
Gospel ? The person, whoever it was, i
who imposed upon bis trusting ignor- i
ance should he given up to the just |
reprobation of his fellow-citizens.
Christians in modern times carry on l
mars of detraction and slander against i
our onotlu r. Tlio discussions of theo- .
logical subjects by men who believe
in the fundamental doctrines of Christ
arc singularly free from harshness und
abuse. Of course | cannot speak
with absolute certainty, but I lielicve
most confidently that there is not in
all the religious polemics of this cen
tury as much slanderous invective as
•an Ihi found in any ten lines of Mr.
| liigersoH's writings. Of course I do
not include |>oliiieul preachers among
I my model* of charity aud forbearance.
I hey are a mendacious set, but Chris
tianity is no more responsible for their
misconduct, than it i- for the treachery
of .Indus I-eariot or the wrongs done
|to Paul by Alexander the copper
smith.
Hut, says lie, Christians have been
guilty of wanton and wicked persecu
tion. It is true that soma (lersons,
profc-sing < hristianity, have violated
the fundamental principles of their 1
j faith by inflicting violent injuries und i
i hloodv wrongs upon their fellow-nien. !
Hut the perjs trator- of these outrages i
were in fuel not < liri-tiuu* ; they were '
either hypocrites from the beginning
or el-e base a[*>stat<-* —infidels or ;
something worse—hireling wolves, j
i who-e gosjsd was their maw. Not :
one of them ever pretended to find a
j warrant lor his conduct in any pre- i
eept of ( hrist or any doctrine of his j
church. All the wrongs of this na
ture which history records have been !
the work of politicians aided often by 1
priest* and ministers who were willing
to deny their l/.rd und d.-ert to the
i enemy for the sake of their temporal i
interests, lak"- the ca>.-* most com- |
mouly • U'-d and see if tlii- be not a true
account of them. The auto da fe of
Spain and Portugal, the burning of
| Smitlifield, and the whipping of wo
men in Massachusetts were the out
come of a cruel, false, and antiehris- '
tiun jMiliey. Coligny aud his adher
, • ni- were killed hy au order of ('liarh*
IX., at the instance of the '
who headed a hostile faction, and
merely for r<n- ms of state. I/ui*
XIV , revoked the edict of Nantes,
and hunished the Waldense* uuder
pain of confiscation of death ; hut this
it'ic done on the declared gr .und that
the victims were not safe subject*, i
Ine brutal atrocities ot < romwell and
the outrages of the f 'range l.*lg<*
against the Iri-h < "atholie- were not
j- r-eeulioii- by religious js-ople, hut
moveineiit- as purely js litical a- those
of the Know-Nothing-, Piug-l'gly-,
i and Hlo-sl-1 ub- ..f this c untrv. It
the t .i-|Krl should !*• blamed for tin— •
act- iu ojqs -itioti toils prineiples, why
not ul-o charge it with the cruelties of
Nero, or the present p rsecutiou of the
•I• -uits bv the infidel republic of
France.
CknMittsutg is <.jij>..snl to fnodatt • f
thought. The kingdom of < hrist is
lias*f upon certain principles to which
it repiire tlieas-.-nt of every one who
would enter therein. If v<hi are un
willing t > own Hi# authority and
conform your moral conduct to Hi*
law-, you cannot expect that He will
admit you to the privileges of His
government. Hut naturalization is not
tbreesl upon you if you prefer to lw
an alien. The Go*|el makes the
strongest and tcnder--t np|>eal to the
heart, reason, and conscieoct of man
—CDtrcat# him to take thought for
hi* own highest interest, and by all its
moral inllueuec provokes him to gtssl ■
work* ; hut ho i* not constrained hy
any kind of dure** to leave the ccr- |
vice or relinquish the wages of sin.
Is there anything that savors of tyran- j
ny in tlii# ? A man of ordinary judg- j
tinm will say, no. But Mr. Ingcrsoll
thinks it as oppressive as the refusal
j of Jehovah to reward the worship of!
demon*.
The tlosprl of Christ does not satis
fy the hunger of the heart. That de
ls lids upon what kind of a heart it is. i
If it hunger* after righteousness, it
will surely Is* filled. It i* probable,
also, thai if it hungers for the filthy !
I food of a g'slles# philosophy it will j
get what it# appetite demands. That I
was an expressive phrase which Car-
I vie iimh] when he called modern infi
delity "the gospel of dirt." Those
who arc greedy to swallow it will
doubtless be supplied satisfactorily.
Accounts of miracle are always false.
Are miracles impossible? No one will
say so who ojieus hi* ey<* to the mira
cle# of crcatiou with which wc are sur
rounded on every hand. You cannot
even show that they are a priori im
probable. God would he likely to
reveal Hi# will to the rational crea
ture who wore nsjuired to obey it;
He would authenticate iu some way
the right of prophets and a|to#tlcs to
speak in His name; su|>ernatuial pow
er was the broad seal which He affixed
to their commission. From this it fol
low# that the improbability of a mir
acle i# no greater than the original
improbability of a revelation, and that
is not improbable at all. Therefore
if the miracle* of the New Testament
are proved by sufficient evidence, we
Ivlieve them os we believe any other
established fact. They become denia
ble only when it is shown that the
great miracle of making the world
was never performed. Accordingly
Mr. lugersoll abolishes creation first,
mid thus clears the way to his dog
matic conclusion that all miracles ate
"the children of mendacity."
Christianity is pernicious in its moral
effect, darkens the mind, narrows the
soul, arrests the progress of human so
ciety, and hinders civilisation. Mr. In
gcrsoll, as a zealous apostle of the
"go*pl of dirt," must b expected to
throw a good deal of mud. Hut this
is too much; ifr-iujuset himself instead
* ,'sl. '
of flailing the object of hin assault.
When I answer that all we have of
virtue, justice, iutellectual liberty,
moral elevation, refinement, Irenevo
leuee and true wisdom came to um
from that aouree which he revile* a*
the fountain of evil, 1 am not merely
putting one aaaertion against the oth
er; for i have the advantage, which
he baa not, of speaking what every
tolerably well-informed man known to
be true, lie fleet what kind of a world
thin wan when the disciple* of Christ
undertook to reform it, and compare
it with the condition in which their
teaching* have put it. In it* mighty
metropolis, the centre of it* intellect
ual and political power, the best men
were addicted to vice* so debasing
that I could not even allude to them
without soiling the paper I write upon.
All manner of' unprincipled wicked
tu-RH wa practiced in the private life
of the whole population without con
cealment or *bame, and the rnagi*-
■ trate- were thoroughly and universal
ly corrupt, Benevoleuce in any *ha|o
was altogether unknown. The belp
less and the w-ak got neither justice
; nor mercy. There wa no relief for
! the |or, no succor for the *iek, no
refuge for the unfortunate. In all
pagandom there wa* not a hospital,
almshouse or organized charity of any
-ort. The indifference to human life
was literally frightful. The order of
a successful leader to a--a--inate hi*
oppoaeuts was always obeyed by hi*
followers with the utmost alacrity and
pleasure. It was a sjjeeiijl amusement
of tin tsipulace to witnee- the shows
at which men were compiled to kill
one another, to l>e torn in piece* bv
i wild leasts, or otherwise "butchered
to make a lioman holiday." In every
; province paganism enacted the same
Cold-blooded cruelties; oppression and
robbery ruled supreme; murder went
rampaging and red over all the earth.
I'he Cliunh came, and her light |* ne
trated this moral darkness like a new
-tin. She covered the globe with in
stitution* of mercy, and thousand*
upon thousand* of her disciple* de
voted themselves exclusively to work*
of charity at the sacrifice of every
earthly iuteje-t. Her earliest adher
ent* were killed without remorse—
Ireheaded, crucified, -awn asunder,
thrown to the lx-a>t-, or covered with
pitch, piled up in great heaps and
-lowly burned to death, But her
taith was ma ie jerfect through suf
fering, an l the law of love roe in
triumph from the ashes of her mar
tyr-. Thi- religion ha- c-ome down to
u through the ages, attended all the
way by righteousness, ju-tiee, temper
aniv. mercy, tran-pareut truthfulness,
exulting hoj*>, and white-winged char
ity. Never wa- it* influence for good
more plainly |rc< ptible than now.
It ha* not converted. purifies!, ami re
formed all men. for it* fir-t principle
i* the freedom of the human will, and
there are tho*e who choose to reject it.
Hut to the ma-- of mankind, directly
and indirectly, it has brought un
counted benefits and blessing*. Abol
ish it —take away the restraint* which
it imj-*4*s on evil passions—silence
the admonitions of its preacher*—let
all Christians a-ase their labor.- of
charity—blot out from history the
; records of it* heroic benevolence—re
peal the law* it has enacted ami the
j institution* it has built up —let its
moral principle* be abandoned and its
miracles of light Ik- extinguished—
i what would we come to ? 1 need not
answer this question ; the experiment
| has been partially tried. The French
nation formally renounced Christian
ity, denied the existence of the Su
preme Heittg, and so satisfied the hun
j ger of the infidel for a time. What
followed? Universal depravity, gar
ments rolled in blood, fantastic crimen
unimagined before, which startled the
earth with their sublime atrocity. The
American people have and ought to
have no special desire to follow that
terrible example of guilt and misery.
It is impossible to discuss this sub
ject within the limits of a review. No
doubt the effort to be short has made
me obscure. If Mr. Ingersoll think*
himself wronged, or his doctrine mis
construed, let hint not lay my fault at
at the door of the Church, or cast hi*
censure on the clergy.
"A drum que feci, in me eonccriile
ferrum." J. 8. BI.A<K.
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