Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-11-14
rnE ,gANE on INFIpELITK.


TEsE yyANE OF INFIDEBITX.
A convention of anti-religionists, com
posed of Atheists, Infdels, Secularists,
and Frce-Lovers, was held IN Philadelphia
last week. In report of the second days
proceeding we find the following:
'.NIr. Cooper-We have labored for
many years TO show the character of the
fables in the Bible; and l think we have
proved that they are not fit for nursery
rhymes Who killed Cock Robin! Why
we have killed the Bible. The day is
come when we have proved that we don't
want 20 live by the suifrages Of the priests
nor TO die 10y them either.
''Mr WalkeT-We must not be too
sure that the Bible is killed. Ii may,
indeed, be killed 50 far as philosophers and
secularisls are concerned; hut look at the
masses Are they not still following the
Lad of the priesthood which derives its
authority from the Bible! If We com
rare the circulation Of our liberal papers
with that Of the orthodox journals, we
may well doubt whether the Bible is yet
dead | admit that | appreciate what is
GOOD in the Bible, but [ could wish that
The suggestions vcneration for 1t were
dead VIC must disseminate liberal ideas
and mako them popular before the Bible
can be killed =
For forty years or more a little knot of
professional infidels in the United States
have labored hard and spent their money
freely in persistent efforts 10 disseminate
their opinions. They have kept alive a
weekly newspapeT-the Investigator,
published at Boston and edited by MIR.
Abner Kneeland; they have printed and
circulated books and tracts; they have
formed clubs and societies and established
libraries; and now, when they call con
vention 10 see what can De done to pre-
vent an ''entiro cessation from public de-
monstrstion" of what they term 'fhe
liberal cause, = the appeal is answered by
Seventeen persons, including one lady, "
and they unite in giving the most dOleful
accounts OF 'the feeble condition of their
cause. One Of the speakers said that
he could find no one in Philadelphia who
knew that such a convention was TO be
held, and he felt, when he saw that
only seventeen persons had come to
attend il, that he might say ''the
dead have come 10 bury the
dead" The secretary OF a central
committee" reported that for pamphlets
sold - during the year only five dollars
had been received, and thai the most that
could be said of the labors of the com
mittee was that they chad not been en-
entirely useless Another speaker said
that, despite all the efforts TO the contrary,
there was a "frightful increase of super
etition;' that "the clerical power was on
The Increase and that "a gentleman
who is as radical an atheist as the speaker
himself, is building a church at IA cost OF
100000, and would laugh at any one
who asked him for $50 for "the liberal
cause. Ia short, the story was that athe
ism and infleliiy were on their last legs,
and all that the Convention could do ii
The hope of rcyiying them was TO agree Il
make desperate effort 90 raise 1000 Il
pay lecturer for a year.
Now, the moral of all this is patent,
saws the New York World The atheists
and infdels have failed because they hav,
attempted 80 tear everything down and Il
build nothing up. They have contenteC
themselves with negation and have re
Trained from affirmation They have pro
posed to take everything away and TO Civ
nothing in return. They ask men to Civ
up their Bible, to abandon the faith 0
their childhood, TO forget the lesson
learned a, mothers knee and enter
lwined with the sweetest and hottest 0
associations and remembrances, and il
exchange to content themselves with
sizing of cod aud barren negations
What We ask you to resign are super
stitions, said the atheists; "they may b
80, but even superstition is better thar
nothing, was the reply of almost ever
one OF com,c, there may he niue
higher reason than this for The mHera
bile failure 10 which tue inGdclS confess
il may he said that Heaven frowned upO
them AMI that Providence brought thei
schemes to naught; but the failure is sui
hciently accounted for 10y the reason W
have assigned A glimmering of thi
truth seems 10 have forced its way int
the minds of some of the dolorous sever
teen. Some think we should 60 to wOr
and build up a scientific positive system,
? said one of the speakers. Another speak,
y said that he believed that 1.-The mind whic
gathered up scientific facts and commun
Gated them TO The people was calculate
10 dotcn times more good than 1.-The min
that wanted to tear down the superstition
faiths enCumbering the world : hut Il
result of the discussion was that il vi
better 10 still labor at clearing away Il
rubbish Wen, even rubbish is bett
than nothing. If YOU ask man TO I
sign his belief in the immortality Of b
soul, in the sense in which theological
understand that phrase, you must off
him something in exchange for that belle
or lie win refuse 10 part with what he ms
confess may be an illusion, hut which
still pleasing and comforting though
While atheism and infidclity have tn
been whitening away, all over Christie
dom, constant, palpahle and ever-increa
ing progress has been made 10y tho
schools of thought which take afiirmati,
instead of negati0n for their basi
and, while placing no limit 10 L
range of scientific and positi
truth nor denying the possibility of t
existence of truths which cannot vet
demonstrated. ask for the belief in moi
inc which cannot be positively prove
and demand implicit faith for whateN
can thus be demonstrated TO be positive
true. From the pulpit ever and an
comes voice of complaint and warni
concerning the increase of scepucism
the land hui, the Philadelphia convC
lion itself being the witness, atheism a
infdelity, go far from increasiI
have scarcely foothold in I