The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1874-04-29
Faith and Charity.


Editors OF the Register. 49,.
1t is painful to see the spirit shown
towards Inquirer" by the champions Of
reason. We as Christians must take
different grounds when arguing with
skeptics. Undoubtedly they are as
honest in their convictions as we are,
and we must approach them ins spirit
OF kindness and good feeling if we wish
to bring them 10 knowledge ofthe
truth. This GOspslis declaration; we
must believe or be damned. II we use
our reason and bring it down on q levi
ell with our imperfect understanding
we shall undoubtedly be lost, When
we resort to human reason aud bring
the scriptures to the truth, we are at
once met with such statements that no
man who is ip possession OF his senses
can reconcile, and are in danger OF be-
ing driven into the positions occupied
by Inquirer" and who, l have the
charity to believe. has been led of by a
too free use OF his reason in religious
matters. / shall let pass any remarks
made by my reasoning antagonists Of
the Christian type and proceed 10 ac-
count for the position OF "lpquirer,
but before doing 90 | will remark that
| agree with him only in this, that
such men as Paine, Volney, Voltaire,
Hume, De- Holbsch, Huxley, Darwin
and Renan, as Inquirer remarks are
very shallow, especially Volney 8
Ruins" Hume's Essay on Miracles"
and Paine on "The Prophecies" Any
school boy who has been properly edu-
Gated and brought up carefully in an
orthodox Sunday school. with proper
| interpretations put on sll the difficult
points, aud thoroughly drilled in Scotts
comm e u taries, provided you start him
in young, and not allow'his mind to get
poisoned by reading any skeptical
works, will be able to see clearly the
fsllacy Of all their reasoning. 1t only
REQUIRES the weakest instruments that
God may use 10 confound the wise.
The position OF Inquirer" presumes
him 10 be a Guostic Christian. The
Gnostics, says GibboD. arose at the end
of the frat century, they derided all the
miracles and wonders oil the Old Testa-
ment. the fall Of man by the eating OF
an apple, the religion Of Moses who
held out no doctrine OF future life,
but whose rewards and punishments
were all OF this transitory LIE. Now
Inquirer" ought to see that Jesus
Christ brought life sod Immortality to
light; that is, the doctrine taught by
Moses az To immortality, was supsrsed-
ed by this new doctrine OF Christ, this
new revelation we are to receive through
faith. Now zee what reason will do
for us2 We are at once confounded by
an entire and radical change in the
purposes OF God, and zee further how
we are confounded by reason, Paul,
Gal. 4, 22 to 81 verses, says, that the
two children OF Abraham were sllegori-
cal children and were not oi flesh and
blood, and il 30 from whom did the
race OF Jews descend2 Also ID Cor. 3
and 6 verses, Paul tells them they are
not to believe the letter oil the Scrip
lures for the letter killeth. l
will further refer him TO Hebrew
7th chapter on Melchizsdek.' We can
only understand this chapter through
faith, for II we attempt 70 reason, We
become lunatics at once. All these
mysteries and difficulties that "Inquir.
er" would place before our eyes are
easily reconciled BY the words q Paul
who tells US not 10 take the literal
meaning Of the Scripture, but they are
to be understood alLtgrieally. or. /
would cay, spiritually. .as -.
We are not to grope shout, using
only the "dim light Of reason" We
are to believe first Of al, and then faith
will illuminate our path, and we shall
then wonder why We could not havs
seen the great and grand plan Of salvs.
ton. c.r -.v a
Our Christian teachers have mad.
this great plsn their study for sighteer
hundred years and ought 70 under
stand it as clear a. the noon day sun
and why not rely on them Is We would
on our doctor or laayeri AZ laynen
we expect them to instruet us 10 relig'
ious matters, aud should not atismp
to pry into the great Christian myster