The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1873-10-23

q Ssmbo " the deer had passed that way.
OIL yss. m ssaai' odd yvu shoot him 2
sUh l no. u,sssap why not7' "On
n sssa, be IVES making such swfdl jumps
I jes let him alone; he will soon break
bic own neck Jumping" go,
Now just let 9olish alone. lie will
soon break his own neck jumping.
PnuS.
This correspondent givss expression to
one form Of Christian thought In refer.
encs TO inndelity. To treat with con-
tempt oil discussions Of the tsness Of the
religion, 10, In the opinion Of
many professors Of that religion, the rhost
sfee,uL way Of meeting the Efforts Of the
'kep'ics. Daring the past forty years, In
which modern skep,icisn has hsd lie birth,
the Christians have endssvorsd, how
vainly 10 proven BY the strong hold unbs-
lief has Obtained upon modern society, TO
crush il BY the policy Of contempt. In
the olden time, the 70, X and the faggot o.
the ,heologian were sc,ive in storN TO
suppress doubts Of the infAllibility Of the
priests, but In these later days
the sneer Of the prelate and
the scofhne voice Of the Chris.
,ian laymsn have taken their place; and,
with pleasure we ssy, have been ineffec,.
usi to suppress discussion and search for
the truth.
We know sanguine Christians believe
that ,ksp,icism has made no advance
has gained nothing like q victory 10 iu
contest with orthodoxy they actually be-
levs the Fabian policy of the priests has
been successful. This 10 = most laments-
bic error Even so far back ~ 1864,
Froude could say ru,htully; al
this moment . general doubt
10 coming up, liks . thunder.
storm against the wind, snd blsckening
The sky. Those who cling most ,ens.
'ciously TO the faith In which they were
educated, yet confess themselves per-
picked. They know what they believe, |
but Why they believe il, or why they
should require others to believe IL, they
Cannot tell, or cannot agree"
This, we know, is the testimony Of .
doubtsr, bu. proof Of what W. have said
10 furnished by the evidence Of men who
stand in the froat ranks Of the CHRISTIAN
religion. The Righ, Rev. the Lord Bishop
Of Glouscester and Bristol, England,
10 1870, sp ke of "tLe skepticism and ur-
belief which for ,he last few years have
been distinctly. traceable in oil classes"
doubt is every ~here," eIclaims tn
Right Reverend the Lord Bi.hoP Of Win
chester "scientidc discovery, says Rev.
NJ. Fowls, ais bringing man face to face
with the deepest questions Of rsligi 'us
belief, and it 10 melancholy indeed 10
notice the absolute ignorance Of popular
relig'cnism, and its popular leaders, ~
to the true nature Of the approaching
crisis" We nigh. pile up, mountain
high, evidence Of this kind going to prove
that the do.no,hing policy of the Christ
,ans has been . failure. skep,icism bs'
not killed itself jumping. Letting il
alone " the hope il would do 90 has been
. fatal mistake. Ssmbo must use his
mu.ket or the deer vii. never be captured.
Skepti.ism must be met and comba.ted
not - of old with Ore and sword, but with
logic. Science must be called 10 the aid If
Cnrisliani,y, and history required to win
dictate il. claim, before the triounAl Of the
world. Intellectual difficulties that pre-
| sent themselves to the iDQuiiers concern.
ing Christianity, must be removed, and
no, be, ~ Frouds says they are by learned
prelnles, treated ~ if they deserved rather
TO be- condemned and punished than con-
sidsred and weighed These difficulties
arc the sincere prepleI',iss Of honest
m,uds aud must be respected by the
priests.
Surely We would ell rather believe thss
di,believe. Make man kioW that, Ito
speak in the vsrnacular OF the
pulpi.) there is crown
Of glory laid up for ali
who walk in the leading string. Of the
church, and who will then wander sfter
the vsyariss Of the Dentons, those
echoes OF the thoughts Of the deep think
era who doubt
Let us - Christians be charitable. BE.
cause ice believe, should We hurt those
who have not faith even as grain OF
mustard seed? The people who listen 10
D.rton are seekers after truth snd II
the Rev. Mr.. Thsyers will convince then,
,hs, they should walk in the gospel p<th.
they will do 50. But Chrisiians do no,
--ek to convince these men. They hurl
1T them sna,hemss. vill,ty, abuse them
and, st last, doubt IN them become
hostility, and men who only
sought Ut frat for truth are made part
.sns Of un belief, who, no longer seeking
10 know il truth 10 within the walls Of the
/ church, assail them with shouts Of hatred
and desire their downfall; they become
As in,olersn. IN opposition as most Chris.
,isns are in belief, and are ready 10 believ,
all tina, the apostles Of sk'p,icism teach
not because they have weighed in he
scale of reason those teach,ngs, but be-
cause they are prepared by sympathy e
believe the teachers who do not believe
ths tenets of n pslivion,they stxrted out [,