The daily comet. [volume] (Baton Rouge, La.) 1850-1856, 1855-05-22
cOMMUNICATED,
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Respected Sir. One Of your strong.
est grounds for opposing skepticism.
and supporting christiany, you said
in your lecture on Skepticism-was
this: Christianity oxght to b tvzse,
even # 1t is not. F" mo one, I hope.
will say that this is a misrepresenta-
.ion" or that your language was m;sun.
derstood.) This position Of yours is, to
my mind. extremely pregnable and
insecure-as shall proceed to show.
unless am totally mistaken as to
what christianity is.
Christianity Is not the cultivation
Of our moral nature. Although chris
tians, advocate and practice to some
extent certain system of morals
which is very limited and inadequate to
mans nature and wants-yet this NOR.
atty is not what is essentially requisite,
to constitute christian. All the relig.
ions Of the earth inculcate the devel-
opement Of the moral faculties, there
fore this cannot BIZ claimed as a pc.
culiarity Of the christian religion
Nor. indeed. is it; for the christian
clergy assert from thir pulpi,s empla-
ticaIly and explicitly that morality wiN
not take its possessor to Heaven. They
recommend the cultivation of moral
qualities. -Truth-Justice and chart
ty-Love, Goodness and Mercy.
temperance. forgiveness, Brotherly
and Neighborly Love, Patience. HUI.
mility, Meekness &c. But let no one
imagine that these features are the
essential constituents of the system.
These are but the adornments OF chris
tianity as they are also Of all the re-
ligiors Of the world. A Mahcmedan,
Pagan, Jew, Mormon. Indian,
Chinese, or any other religion under
heaven, or an infdel to all systems,
any of these may cultivate the moral
faculties to their highest point Of
attainment, and yet be as far from
being christian as the east from tho
west. What then is christianity !
What are its fundamental principles :
Its distinguishing characteristics The
correct answer to these questions will
enable US to discover definately what
that great desideratum is, which you
ever fought to be true, whether it be
so or not. q"
Christianity, then. as distinguished
from other systems, is a certain Faith.
u peculiar Faith orBelief: Belief in
what? Il Faith or Belief in the
positive reality and truth Of certain
things alleged to haze occurred IN the
history Of the human race. We will
glance at only the cardinal points of
the Christian Faith-.fsr the minutia
are almost without end. Christianity
then, asserts that the first human cou-
pie ~ by the way very natural and ap-
parently innocent act ofeating fruit fell +!
from a PRIMAL state of blessedness
and innocence, to one of everlasting
aud irretreveable disgrace and sin,
and wretchedness. No christian, I
presume will deny this. The "FaH
Of man is certainly the very fouu-
dalton stone in the " Faith, " for with
out this oil the successive portions
would be superduous. This then, is
a fundamental principle in the chris.
tian faith. And shall l understand
you, sir, to assert that this - ought to
have been so" even if it had not
What but the fall of man lave
Christendom been lamenting and be-
wailing these thousand OF years for
The whole human world has (so says
been sunken in depravty from
its very infancy. and the infection of
the Original Sin will reach to the
end Of time, and yet the promulgators
Of this dogma cody assert in this en-.
ighened age that it Fought to be 70"
Or " ought to haze been # 1t IS not. ="
Il your language has any definite
meaning it must be this, as one item
IF faith. Again. All this dire dis
,ster-this worldwide and dreadful
wreck of the human family, was pro-
ected and contaminated by an evil and
potent parsonage styled the Devil.
Is not this the orthodox creed? Does
my christian deny the claims of the