The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1875-12-14
SWING DECLINES.
Aud Gives Good Reason FOR beeIIninr

4 An - - To- = ~. N n "a ~
4 "A few daysago. sIr. c.Antlrews d
Detroit, wrote au open letter in the
Times to Prof Swing, asking him to be-
come an atheist. Prof Swings reply
appeared in the Times of Sunday we
publish part OF the letter:
G. ANDREws, Detroit, Mich \ Our
open letter In the Times appeared when
was in tile midst of labors aud confusion
incident to q removal OF my .ark OF the
I Lord" from one place % another: for not
only do shepherds 60 with their fiocks
from one vale to another, but also the
shepherds OF ideas often migrate as rap
idly as old springs aud old pastures fail.
Furthermore, 1t Is not probable that you
expected any reply, either soon or late.
" Is almost certain that you adopted the
form of a letter because In the cpistolary
! style we can all write, with more case and
! with more kindness or severity. Unex-
pectcd though any reioinder may he, vet
a brist one Is hereby sent to my stranger
friend. 1t shall contain only . few gem
eral statements. Nothing less than book
could do Justice 10 either the :rticistic or
the religious -ide Of tiis debate gfs
ishould decline your respectful inyi-
tatoD TO BECOME an atheist, because that
forrn Of belief seems to me to involve
| more at the spirit of credulty than Is in
volvcd by belief in thcism. Instead OF
offering higher rationalisn. II offersia
humber relationslism. for a universe is
suing from etcrai matter 10 to me an idea
less reasonable thar the conception of a
world rising out ofan eternal mind. One
may well avoid atheism in order 10 avoid
crellulity. That the human race came
from chemical action isa dogma rs far
removed frcm logic as any dogma OF n
moderate thcism. BctweeRtwo dogmat-
isins. that of atheism and that of the Ser
mon on the Mount, infinitely. prefer the
latter.
1t il wonderful. Mr.. Andrews. that ai-
ter you haze yourself assumed that the
universe came from q material basis. you
should think men dognlatic who assume
q spiritual origin Of all things, and should
ieel tlnta special feast OF reason were
spread out before your school. One who
can believe that the material and spirit
ual phenomena around MS came IRON
eteral dust, ought to be willing Tor tho
rest of us TO think, pretty, much a. we
please upon all Questions. - -
You cannot well claim j. :. Mill. lie
was not an atheist. He was only a nom
believer. lie waited for light; whereas
the dogmatic atheist has found il. Speak
ing Of his father, Mr. MIL says ia his
',autobiograplHi: = AZ 49, 81 4
Finding, therefofe, no halt-placc in
deism, he remained in state of perpleX-
ity, until, doubtless after many struggles,
he yielded to the conviction that, con-
Corning The origin OF things nothing
whatever can lie known. This i tie
only correct statement OF hi; opinion for
dogmatic atheism he looked upon rs ali
surd rs most of those whom the world
has considered atheists have always
donc."
L II then positive atheism is as absurd
a. dogmatic theology by the conies sion
of your own greatest guide, it must be
that you are not sitting at the feast of
reason. but at thettable of doubt, and Gu
JOY really no better food than that spread
out before the liberal clergy.
| STRAUSS and Darwin and Huxley. in OBJ
iectiBg to formulated religion. do not
cspouse dOgmetic atheism. They all de-
clare equally against both systems, and
take refuge in the belief that no one can
postulate either side of tile questions. :.
| Ia coming forward with a doginatic
| atheism, you do IN the world of materil-
ism what Prof. Patton docs in the world
of Spiritualism. that is. you come with
an assurance which the evidence doe, not
justify: come As though the universe
had told you some secret which il would
not confi1e TO Mil aud Strauss. De-
handing OF me demonstrations. YOU
should set me an example.
Permit De to invite YOU back to INV
wide plain Of charity. The most careful
thinkers from Plato 10 Mil have toiled
over four theories OF the universe, il the.
cries they can be called. First, the sen.
sual. That one, you sir, seem 10 hold.
All things came from That which Nhas
length, breadth. and. tlickuess. SECOND
came the idealistic. That there Il nc
matter anywhere. All Is mind and IL,
images. Third came the sceptical i,les
that the origin and destiny
stand s.. MiiI and the seieniI~s. T IA,
away from you. Mr.. Andrews. Fourth
came the theistic or religious method,
which assumes first Creator, and then
his universe obeying His viii, now, such
is the evidence or want or evidence la
these four cases, that all posiiiveness
among intellectual men ID impossible.
Each smiles toward his opposite and
says. after AL, who knows:nn. You
are not in a. situauon, Mr.. Andrews TO
justify you IN saying much about the
crcdulity OF DIR. Thomas and my self. The
poverty OF evidence which you see around
IL. also surrounds you. Mind being the
power that now inycnts and cXccutes
and love. and aspires and hopes and teils,
and matter being passive waiting Tor
mind to shape it'into slip or an engine,
or a palace, or "a statue, or a harp pre-
fer to sce the world springing up from
mind rather than from particles of float
ing mir. An eternal God Is ~ probable
az eternal dust. " J&a34 " clFJ
extend you good wishes and hope
you will confess with Mr.. Mill that relig.
ION may perhaps be true. and that iHail
may perhaps be immortal "a ,Nata
| DAVID SWING.