, 1874-05-04
lNCERSOLL.
A. Word for Prof. Swing.

Col. Robert q. 1ngerso1l, OF Peoria, 1eotured
In Ktngabury Music HILL last oyoning on
HcroBfos and norotics Of To-Day" There
"as vary large attendance, and tho audience
rnanifeatod great intereBt In tho diaoourse. Gen.
|. N. Stiles, In = few appropriate words, intro
ducod tic looturer, who read from very thick
manusoript.
Col. lngoraoll commenced by saying that who
over bad an opinion Of Lis own, and honestly OK
ptessed 1t, would bc considered ieretio. Tho
word MAS born OF intellectual slavery and Of
church persecution. From tho Inauguration Of
the Christian era, the Church had been OH.
gagged IN efforts to make all mon aud
women believe alike. God Ind been represented
an hating, with imp1aoabIo hntrod. every herotfc,
and the Church, acting in His name, followed
tho dcad oven into their graves, and conflacatod
their property to sacred useB, depriying their
children Of broad, merely on the ground Of nun-
posed herosy; for 1t had been law TINT tho
goods and ohnttols Of all horetics should he for
fcttod to tho Church Of God.
In support Of this theory, and Of many others
liko it, book, supposed to be Gods book, WAS
pretty vol, 80 long as the Church nun
aged to keep all copies thereof to It.
self; but when other people outside
Of prlests and ministers, began to read that
book, they began to intetprot its moaning in
different ways, and herosy was {airly started in
the road Of intellectual progression. [Applause.]
The bloodioRt wars Of ali history had beeu
T7aged in tho name or God and Of the Biblc.
nannors bore and foil over tho fold Of death in
tho name Of Jesus Christ, and tortures wero
praoticed against unbolieve1a with portinacioua
and eystemato cruolty TINT devils might have
envied. For agea Protestants ind denounced
tor had denounced aud murdered Pro-
testants. LuthcrnnB had porhecutod Pros
bytorlans. and tho, latter had burned
Epscopnlinns, all for the. grace and glory Of
aodi Ths etbbot groaned, the aeaifold rocked,
pendent and heroic. diyo any orthodox church
In the world to-day power over any other church,
and tho result would bo determination to tho
weaker sds; lApp!aaae Yes; It xead punish,
chain. and fire. [Continued appiause.l
Why shonld tho Church love what for God
hatod? Why should We hope redemption for
the sinner whom her God branded, and ourscd,
cpd doomed to eternal pain? Evory church
ton to ite power. From Augustine to Patton
loud applausel there Ind been the same iutol-
erancs Of truth, the Hame hatred Of honost dif-
ference, the same attempt to control tho human
intellect and to cratnp tho human understand
AL chu,ches c1aimoa to act and speak for God
by virtue Of Divine revelation. Human expo
rionce, however. went to show that tho Church,
nos net aod.,n , He % was 5uzt-maae The ,!.; doo;
power. Without herasy thoro could
have been no progrosa:. Tho orthodox Christian
was Theological fossil, embedded in that rock
called Faith, and all Lis efforts we're directed
Ing other people from hettcfing tholrs: Laugh
tor end applauso.1 These we're tho legitimate
and worthy successors Of the learned divines
who had in other days sanctioned the cutting
I.AA
ing ct tho stake. on the ground that the sinner
would have full time for repentance. Laughter
and continued chcoring.] It waa no
wonder, therefore, that Jesus Christ had
'a H.. ,S Win th.tao hs Geo=s nnd End the
was first started in the year 1908, and lad been
kept up with astonishing industry until within
comparatively modern times.
The lecturer here pictured mnny Of tho hor-
rors Of the inqusitional systom in language that
wae majostically terrible in Its eloquence. His
weird pictures burned the martyr at tho stake,
tho flames leaping around and cutting him up
the vito tortured before tho hueband, the babe
amitten for the hcresy of its parents and all tho
we're called tho darker and middlcs ages.
Tho hatred OF hcroticB WAS. in fact merccsB
beyond description. Bones woro crushed in
iron boots; needles driven under finger nails !;
cries and groans proclaimed the beautics Of
Orthodox religion, and tho benelcent spirit of
the Church Of God Aud the piouH people who
had done oil thig-tho infamous md ignorant
rrieathood-t1en fell upon their kneea and
horeIical persecution by burning THO victims in
:was tho order, Of tho day, and, during
the early days Of what waa called "the
neaS The peu' oene1 so5s Of
member, apr cared to be directed toward saying
Or burning every other Ohristiau of the faco OF
the earth. And all this waR done IN tho namo
Of God whom they had Tho audacity to call
:. That p!ous founder Of tho AnglIcn1
Laughter and cheers], bud regulated faith BY
act Of Parliament. He had the tenets duly
PLACED in the statute book. and whoever failed to
burning, hno, Or imprisonment, according to
tue gravity Of the offense. Yet it was u singular
tact that not single article OF the Protestant
Episcopal Church Of tho reign Of Honry VIII.
would be sanctioned by TINT samo church o-dny,
md any Episcop4lian during to believe any 1o ono
Of tloHe articles would, no doubt, bo tried on
charges Of horesy. [Great laughter and cheer
ing] Such waa the consistency OF Religions
reformation, about which 60 much had beon
written and utteredl II the articles Of Heury
VIII. could be enforced In the Protestant Epis-
eopal Church today, every believer in modern
Episoopacy would be burned at tho stake.
tsensst'on.l According to the established
llE6u u every tnuTGu IN tA6 world,
slavery was held to be tho road to heaven;
liberty tho road to hell. Tho Churon
had, during fifty generations, carried tho black
ilag. [Applause.l sho lind hated with the
hatred Of . domon, graspea with tho rapacity OF
miser, stnng with tue venom Of 4 SCORPION
and peraecuted with the malignity OF /. fond.
[Great applauae.] Ho had, IN addition, the
1erocity Of tiger mud conscience OF aerpent.
Tho lecturer then gayo q akaoA Of John Cnl-
Yin and Of Calvln'sn,, dwelling particularly on
tho fine Iron points ct the Presbyterian faith.
HI described tho inBicerity and cruelty Of Calvin,
who had established III Geneya q gov
ernmont 80 infamous, 80 intolcrab!e.
1iuaily aroHe md compelled him 10 Gy. Lie,
however, was rcca>lea by tho voice Of tho fana-
tics and commenced nnaw bis carecr OF blood
and iniquity. When soryotus, driven from
Franco by the Roman Church, for daring to
speak the truth, flod for shelter to Calvin, tho
latter-who had treacherou8ly and understand
eddy loaguea with Rome to destroy the fugitive
had servetus arrested on the charge Of blas-
phemy, tried and condemned to bo burned at the
stake. Tho sentence was carried into execution
tho torture was slow and, for four hours,
ttrn ~s1st{