Wisconsin herald, and Grant County advertiser. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1844-1845, 1845-03-29

subject which he had not thoroughly invest
gated According 10 his own confession. Vol.
iaire had not examined The subject Of Christ.
ianiy. and his course in reference to il is
striking iiIusiroion of wha, one al England's
most eloquent disines has said Of infdeliiy-
that lis chief source.is defective christianity
being itself nothing more Than noxious spawn
bred 10 The stagDant marshes Of a corrupted
religion. "--Rosseau. differed entirely from his
counirymen in character. He was more phi
less vanity perhaps, and more ,asle: as also
more poeiical wiihal. And This. il has seem
ed TO me. is the most prominent Trail in The
character Of Rosssa0 he was poei-a sick
ly, sentimental poet; with sensibli'ies
strong and morbidiy scute; with heart al
enmiiy with God. aud with lnisan,hropicalIy
excited towards his fellow men. Who with
snch feelings is prepared properly to examine
the evidences Of christianity Nay. do moi
Inc bare possession Of surh feelings eahibi,
high degree Of mental mbecili,yl He nigh,
exhibit poets eye ''in fine phrensy rolling"
bu, was as truly insane in respect Of divine
revelation. as father Miller ever was. on the
subject Of the prophecies.
The great British historian stands al the
head Of English inhdels Hume had great
. ness 10 many things such as is rarely surpass.
ed but 10 some points he was extremely weak
VIVA, can be more imbecile than his celebra-
ted Argument against mraces-ihe moral le-
yer by which he attempted 10 upse, The bible. :
1--WE can have no evidence of the existence Of
an event which contradic,s the testimony Of
which rest the authority of the scriptures. are
opposed 10 our experience and therefore the
bible cannot be the word Of God" "And So"
said an ingenius English writer 10 an amusing
essay, styled " Historic Doubts, relative TO
Napole.s 3onapar, y" So on this principle,
we can have no certainty, that such person
as the French Emperor ever lived for the ev-
dence Of this fact is ten times less 10 his case,
than lha. such person as Jesus Christ lived.
that heswas what he claimed 10 be, the son Of
God-thai he labored, preached, wrought mir
acles. died and rose again from the grave-and
that the bible is what i. Processes TO be. the
word of God. and of binding authority -
And he Showed i, to a demonsuation-he
showed tina, Hume's argument in his " Essay
on Miracles a sheer falacy- mere w;ihe
of straw. sundered by the slightest touch
Who would think of quoting such an effort as
an example Of great intellectual power And
above all, who would wish 10 rect his faith and
his interests for another world, on such sandy
| Foundation I!
Lord ShsGsbofy, aud Gibbon, aud few 9th
ers Of this character. complete The catalogue Of
in6del writers. Their number is not large
The whole rank and file OF infdeli,y Is but
small. Compared with those who stand in the
opposite ranks. they are bu, very few indeed
not 1.-THE nor hundredb; and as respects
intellectual power. they are as far behind their
opponents as 10 numbers. Who are these
champions of inhdeliIyl Go'iaths in vauni-
, ing they may have been. "speaslng great
swelling words Of vani'y." against book
they knew vt.y liule about, and who had new.
er examined thoroughly the evidence on which
i, resis. Blu, Gplia,hs 10 any thing else, some
Of them certainly were not, nor were any OF
them great. when they came 10 rt ason against
he bible II ,hoy had strength & exhibited il on
an o.he. occasion it failed them here. Vollaire
in hls warnings about the scriptures and The
church, seems like the mefest intellectual pig
my. IL hope | do no, burden you." said the
fly TO the OK. Sitting on his horn. " did not
know tina, you were there BEFORE replied The
OF. About as much may we suppose have
grsa, minds felt the pressure of the French.
mans rawlings against the bible. Did You ev-
er see puny mouse 10 the paws OF Rian,
eat Something such appears the lule
frenchman in the hands of his theological oP-
pouents This NAV be set down as certain
and an examination Of their works will confirm
it-,hsI no infdel writer ever added anything
said against Christianity bu, rather di min
ished it. Il had better been for their reputation
as writers and scholars.if they had never Open
ed their lips sgsins, the bible. However great
they may appear on other subjects. here they
seem 10 lose iha, towering greatness which on
o.her occasions, had attended them. Strange
then. tia, aay youth should suppose skept-
cism to be an evidence Of greatness or mental