, 1874-03-23
DISCOURSE by F. /. Patton, OF the In"
terror"
DR.. uolmor on tho. Congrogn-
! tfonnl Way"
TIE REAL ABRAHAM.


:lall, corner Of WahgBll avenna and Twonty-
.ocou,l stroot HiB subject was tho Life Of Abra-
ia1n MS viowod from rational standpoint, and
ln!to largo audionco wus present to listen to
.Ao eloquent nnd nblo speakers ro1narkB.
IIo commenced bis discourse by rcforring to
Tho fact that most divinea thought 1t necessary
to surround religion with secrecy and mystery.
Whi1o, ulldor cortain circumstances. tlia might
he correct, yet 1t hatl been proven TINT by oovor
Ing the Bible with tho vo'l Of mystery, tho moral
Worth of its contents wuB lost nnl tic mnssos
lost their belief.
, Take the bandago off tho eyes OF a man who
had lopg wandered in tho dark. and hold up to
him the Bible, and ho would ilud 1t full Of errors
aud CONT adscsions. Tho frcc-thinker would
sooner give religion to uian tlan rob him Of it,
hit ho wanted mai 10 understand religion. TO-
form, jews Nere RrerEe to hollow ceremonies antl
ies, mud uono shoulil exist. When Moses gave tho
law, he assembled all Israel at Sinai. that thoy
might listen aud sec for themselves. Tho minister
must not gnin knowledge and wisdom to deposit
part il unto others Us he understood it
tion, and toll them tle truth, and
lead them to tho higher spheres
Of life. That miulster WHO taught rolig1on In
ite nahednoss, who tore Of tho mysterious Gov
crlng. would aooncr reach his object tlan no who
covered it up with tho improbable and impossi-
bio. Time would break tho loading-etrings Of
childhood and show tic world that tic Bible wna
not tho light Of knowledge and Tho torch Of ad-
vancoment which it was profesacd to be.
While other religions wero trembling before
the banlisk-g g1ances of soonce thors stood calm
and unconccrned. rather court!ng scrutiny than
shrinking from it.. Cnrist' d lifo was but myth,
md it was tho rock on which Christianity was
founded. Reformed Judnism had l. far better
foundation. Would 1t disturb thom ii 1t WIS
said Moses Ind not lived, aud ali
S1gus not anaSG 5 %Ss oaya yh as s nor es9%a n
tho great men of tho Diblo. They did not oo1,-
Tess religion because Abraham confessed rolig-
ion, nor was their belief founded on anything
contained in tho Bible, and therefore it cruublod
to pieces nnd tho conteutB became like those Of
any other book.
Vh!e many admitted TINT this WAS the truth,
still they said TINT minister. would do bctter to
keep quiet and shy nothing about it.; thoro was
trutlip Why create suspicion aud trouble?
What did it matter to tho congregation whether
Abraham was 600 or 100 years Of ago, aud whether
wonderful things attributed to him? Io differ.
cd with them; it WAS his duty to lay lnattors
before his congregation as ho found theln, aud
tell nothing but tho truth. II tho Bible wcro
thB holy book it WIS enih to be, then ovcry doubt
should be satisfied aud 1t should bo found out
where the sacred ended and tho human began.
It was atated TINT tho bible was written by
Moses How did Moses know what would be
that tho .epirlt Of Gol had come over him and
he was invested with prophotio eye. Aben
Ezra, tho great thinker, IN Ills analysis Of tho
Blblo, always remarked :, when HM . ho camo to
st'fendi as sad |s %ss mani Seops aae
When ALen Ezra found in tho bible that Abra-
ham wandered into Canaan long before the Ca-
nuanites existed, he nsnnin said: "There is u
secret" Tho entire life oil Abraham, the
spea1cr continued Us described in tue Bible, was
full of the mysterious anu contradictory. How
was 1t known thas God said to Abraham, "And
will nlalso tloo exceeding fruitful, and I will
nuke nations Of thoe, aud Kings shall come out
Of tleo,"' whom tho art Of writing did not exist
Mt that tlme3 Tho fact was, tho Bible was writ
ton many years after Abrnliam nnd AloHos. It
was wilton at tho time Of tho prophets,
when all These things prophosicd. had
happened, and thoy know all about 1t. Il was
nloroy Substitution Of the past for the present.
Not till after tho timo Of David could the propll-
cts yet thoir idea Of tho future grcatuoBs Of
tsluel. Tho Hnma laws which rulo the spirits OF
naou to-day ruled them ut tint time. God was
no hunlan beings could, nor over would, forotcN
the future, eyen it they wero Moses md Abra-
ham.
But II thore existed no way Of handing down
these stories of tho Diblo in writing oecause that
srt was not yot invented, it WAS natural to sup
pose t!lat they had been handed down to us in
the sau,e mutlnor Ill most nations bud kept their
ns;0Dfa as Been ana vory e'f as s5a' deny asy is n
quo generation to tho Other and finally
ha they passed from mouth to mouth, becoming
greatly exaggerated. That such was tho fact
WIS slown by Tho legend OF tho grave at Boer-
Bleba. There it was rolatod thoro Htood ven-
erahlo onls, and beneath TINT oak was the grave
continuing tho bones Of Abraham. And there
wore close by Boyen wolis which Abraham dug
himself, and on tho Why to Bethel there still OK
eli nt{ ~, .4,1
Another legend said tint lsaao dug the wells,
md that Jacob built the altar; and all lator it
WAS asserted that it wna built by Que Of tho jew
ish Kings; Thus It would DO aoen that az 10.
places wcro chnngcd, aud one hero was subBti-
tuted for another.
But aa a Hon loved tho memory of his parents,
no did tho Jew love the legends OF his ANCESTORS,
and studied aud initiated their lives. Naturally
enough each ntion invested the horoos OF ita To-
EendB with tho peculfRrities Of the nation So tho
Germans spoke Of their ancestors M great and
powerful, athletic, rough aud uneouth but noblo
md intrepid men: The Greclu spoke Of tloir
Jason US d ulan studying now routes for extend
ing commerce BY land mud sca. IIorcu!cs was
reported asiightiny with giauts, aud Thosol,s wns
named the fonndor Of citics. Every mutton l,ud
its herous according to tho poclliariteA OF their
race. THO IIindooa lookod upou their horoes as
I3rahmins who, with praying md faBting, acarol
The gods themselves. Take tIeAo and other heroes
together aud Abraham, the nAtional hero Ut tho
Jews, will he fully Understood md appreciated.
lIe was no panitant whu mado the heavens
tronlbIe, nor was he founder OF cities, neither
great conquoror, nor Hage. No; Abraham was
aman; nothing moro nor nothing loss the very
ldaal man iH what Abraham represented. Abra-
ham still appeared before thcm tho picture Of
harmonious nlau, not aB a jew, but solely Oh g
man.
So shono Abraham, the jewish hero, as tho OK
ample If true malli1lesH, aud inspirod thon with
brotherly love. morallty, and humanity. Aud 10
bad hia pioturo been kept holy up to the present
time, a'!tl lo WIN revived by all nations, oaoA Of
which added to lia qualities aud added eouliari-
Lies Of tloir own to iis noble lkoneaB. HiB image
inspired Them with the love Of God for was lie
not readf at any tltno to saorihoo hiH only child
on the 4ltar OF Qod2 And did hiH noble exam
ple not inspiro Isrnol with enorgy md hopo III
tho tlmo OF her tribulattou mud sorrow? Willie
tho heroes OF many natIoualties believed III the
control Of Htarh, Abraham lookod M to them, aud
compared them with men whom dod waa load
Ing to q common point. At tho bidding OF God
lie left Ills country and his Possessions 10 sproad
light aud l'appinoas among Als follow boIngs, md
uB suon nonth, north, oast. or west, building al
tnra md plRntjnY tim oP