Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-07-29
INFIDELTTY.

terms the growth of infidelity in the United
States. It says "the religious faith of the
people is daily growing weak, There Is In
our day and generation, wide spread in
fidelity pervading the educated mind of the
United States" No one who is well IN
formed can doubt the truth Of the above
statement, while very few understand the
cause or causes of this lack of faith in sec
tartan dogmas, called religion and Christi
snity. Educated men who profess to be
Christians devote their whole moral power
and intellectual force to the work Of proving
th't the religion ofevery sect is false but that
advocated by the writer, or speaker, if
preaching. Taken in the aggregate, all
prove that every system of Christianity is
an error and wholly unworthy of belief. 1t
is but a few years since the ministers of
large and influential denomination taught
from the pulpit that there ale infants 10
he'll, not span long, who had been there
roasting for thousands of years, and would
there remain in intense suffering forever, as
just punishment for mans original sin.
The reaction from this shocking faith
was the dogma of Universalism, which
dispenses with all future punishments,
retaining not even the Catholic purgatory.
The lancet and the scslpsl, in the hands of
the doctors Of theology, have bled and dis
sected christianity to death in their fierce
sectarian wars, and infdelity is the out
come in the minds of large numbers. The
appeal discourses earnestly about "the
alarmiugly common vice of infdelity," ''the
church" and "churchmen,' and thinks that
the right of jury-trial will be lost 10 the
country if "no man believes in future re-
wares and punishments. Our contem-
porary can hardly believe that Christ
died for all, and that a perjured juror
or witness may repent and go to heaven.
1t is bad heart that generally gives life and
vigor to infidelity, and rot weak faith in
the divinity of Christ that corrupts mans
moral principles. Suppose one man honestly
believes that three and two make six and at
the same time believes in the "Mother of
Cod" and as some think, has an excess of
faith; while another man equally honost,
believes that three and two make four, and
is Protestant, with weak and deficient
faith. Another man takes the mean be-
tween these two orthodox opinions, and
says that three and two make five. Both
of these honest sectarians will agree that be
is an atheist; and that their faith must not be
subjected to the methods of exact science.
Theologians have committed the serious
mistake Of exscting faith in their dogmas
without clear and satisfactory evidences of
their truth. This error sets up mans be-
lief as above Gods truth, than which 1t is
not easy to find more cslamitous mistake.
The founder Of Christianity and his apos-
ties laid great stress on its truth, and any
one who fears that it will be wanting when
weighed in any exact balance, has that ex-
treme weakness of faith which kills what it
SO feebly supports. Paol saw this,
and denounced those OF little faith.
Church worship has become matter of
mere forms and ceremonies, with very little
self-denial, charity, or purity of heart.
Christ Indignantly scourged the money
changers out of the temple. Suppose sll
who love money more than tie Savior of
man, were driven out of American Church
es, would there not be many pews and pull
PITS to let? Thousands have not piety
enough to make decent hypocrites, some of
whom are honOred as pillars of the church.
When foot dies from gangrene, it must be
cut of, or death extends 20 the whole body.
Reformation, deep and vital, is the only
thing that can cure the moral plsgue of pre-
sent impiety and infdelity. Pure religion
is an inspiration Of the soul, such as Paul
felt when the divine light overpowered him,
and changed at once and forever the whole
conduct of bis If. Peter, whose name
means 'rock," had the kind of religion
most popular in modern churches, when he
told three lies in succession, denying sill &C.
qusintance with Jesus in an hour of dan
ger. He was not an infdel, nor was Ju 1aa,
yet their conduct is not commemorate.
DISBELIEF is not the great evil of the age
as the appeal appears to imrgine when it
says: 'If we can save the popular heart
from this disease, our country will still
pursue her path of peaceful triumph in all
that makes civilization illustrious; if we fall
into it, the star of our happy republic will
go out in darkness and, it msy be, blood"
"The STIR of our happy republic" needs
only the pure ether of TRUTH as it exists
in the universe, to shine OF illustrious and
forever-not belief in the mists, clouds,
darkness and storms Of conflicting super
stitions and theologies. Pure gold stands
fire, and shines brighter when all alloy
removed by the reagents of the crucible.
Away with your bcse metal, your shams,
your counterfeit religion, and the "popular
heart" will rejoice and thank God for the
ort;ola