New-York daily tribune., 1845-05-16
THE TRIBUNE.
InfideB and Infidelity.
DosTnS Nav IA

,o,iee of The lnhdel Convention then IN ses-
.oo in your city Will you allow an honest Inf
Al tboDest in his iniidelity) 10 grumbe little
through your columns. at the tenor OF some OF your
,,m.rks. particularly al the close OF your article
p,.sing by your ideas Of the modus op~andi by
rbrb man becomes an Infidel, (Which, so far as
rr r,pprlence goes, is wofully erroneous) l wish
IN notice the following:
uBu, Inadey naked and per does not furnish any
-snso, 10 Virtue and discussions from Vice replace
,bse which he has rejected He may be very good man.
bot moi on OF what he dsbe ieves His accounting
v-,, an mposter will provide other sanctions in lieu
~ ,hose of Revelation for the Commandments Thou
.sait not kun; shalt steal, &c Having cut
,s from the restraining and supporting influence OF the
,,iyiou. In the community of which he j. menUer aud
h,vln.-r.saded simply Inhdelnothing 10 operate
l, stead wonder that he quite often falls below the
moral standard Of his time and vicinity"
Ii IL upon such remarks as these that wish TO
comment, and through the same columns which
circulated them, seek TO protest against the infer
euces which many will draw from them Do the
piunc,ions, "Thou shalt not kill, steal" &c. re-
c.lye no other sanctions than those furnished bv
Revelation If not, whence comes the universal
sentiment Of the evil influence of theft and murder
where the light Of Revelation has never dawued
slslence' require revelation upon parchment TO
Ipndrr them obligatory upon man. Will not the
toamORest sense perceive at once that the sacred
ness of these conditions Is coeval with their exist.
encel If so, how lrlfilng IL seems TO attach any
Importance TO Moses or Jesus, authority toT
wha, IS right by an eternal law! If the sanction
Of Revelation through Moses render an injunction
or law binding upon the race, why are not women
caught IN adultery stoned, and why is not Slavery
with the Mosaic melloratiOns instltuted2 know
American Slavery ls dGfendcd upon such grounds,
/ The "persuasions 10 Virtue ana discussions from
Vice" which you attribute TO Religions, are not
The Ony conditions OF virtue and VICE, suppose -
Else, why does not the Inhdel, when he rejects
them, fall entirely away instead OF still being :" d
/ very good man :" II he has parted with any re-
sraist over the vicious tendencies OF false
society, what hnders him from being worse in
proportion as he is void OF that restfalnt He may
be "good man" without IT, while many are the
wors, Of men with il; or a, least with the faith in
its Efficacy You ask, lst wonder that he tthr
lnfdrD often falls below the standard of his time
aud vlclnty?" Can you sincerely declare that IN
your opinion greater proportion ot lndels liian
Of Christians do fall below the moral standard OF
their lime and ;icinlty :" The idea seems so as
lOnishinsly al war with tacta-every-d day, street,
corner and pollce.repGrt iacts-ifat am unable
10 properly Characterize IL. VIII put II 10 your
sincerity again. 1t, 10 your experience in the So
cal rDurler Reform, large majority of the most
4 active minds 10 that reform have not been moral
| mea and men whom the church denounced as In.
hdes! Aud were they not men who had thrown
K oil nearly all the arbitrary authorities which have
l cumbered the true laws of humanity, and rested
l their hopes upon Truth for Truths own sake p
X SuCh these are lnfdels to church organiza.
ton, Upon the word OF sincere individual |
canno, regard your article as doing Justice IL those
you notice.
You aude to the physosnomy and craniology
fIt
!ear, so lar as to be beyond reach ct single Dele
GATE And were not your lnterences drawn rom an
ns ec'lou OF The heads othe spectators in the back
\ s-dt>-mapy of whom were Christians wOrshpuc
usually IN The same building The Delegates We're
Called TO The front seats. About $50 were present
al the opening of the Convention; the rcmaiaiu.
II 90 were spectators, and very many OF them were
| Chls,lans 1t this should be the source of your
Information, it will only afford an additional proof
0l 'hr lnlnsllce CT haSty conclusions
/ respectfully yours. Az ISrIDEL REroRMEn.
u Having said our say in the first instance aud
Low gwen place TO our correspondents replication
'nbattm, we presume we may here very fairly
Ike leave OF the matter Our conviction remains
nshaken, that Christianity, rightly understood,
iords all the sanctions 10 Virtue that lnfdrls can
I ave and some more And, while we know and
ee happy 10 consider friends many who call them
Ewes or are esteemed by others luhdels, we can.
'odoubt that lniides as class rank below Chrls-
a'ns In moral excellence and phlanlhropic effort.
sad IN regard 10 the aspirations To Il Social Reform
Il which our correspondent speaks, we know very
'w wwho have taken interest in them who are not
Christians, and we have no hope that any real Re-
sim will be effected save by those who are deeply
noued with the spirit of Christianity.
We know well that the individual who main
Ans, from no impulse Of pique or perverseness, d
Eecuiatlve tenet which is unpopular in the com
"unlty around him, and which subjects him to
u'euess reproach and ignomlny is almost neces.
afiIy an upright and generally good man. Ii the
NV 'nhdels who Go this Were the whole body oi
'a'aes, The moral character OF the body might
''n'Fas' not unfayorably with that OF others Bu,
AU fsht, IN comparison of moral character, te
'Aelade those lntdsls who spend their Sundays In
'S0oins bIaSphemy 10 each other in darkened
s'ssao1s, or that large class who wear long faces,
ana are conspicuous for outward sanc,ity, who
VSou churches on speculation and in every way
1"Ae gam Ct (seemins) godliness. while d, heart
'aS'oenng Christianity mere sham-a cunning
"'ua whereby the crafty manage and profit by the
"iPe These men are commonly held up by
H<a inhdes as reproach TO Chr.tianl,y-we
@aA they condemn lntide,y, rather When
Nai'si'ans shall mostly deny or cloak their faith
'aenever and wherever it may be unpopular, We
a'I consider the fac; reproach, not 10 the reli-
s"as they may profess, but 10 tha, which they
[Ed. Trib