, 1875-08-08
HuriBRAS" vs., FALLOWS.
TIE FoRXEr4 REFoEna,

gave te' ieral IeaaonA, good and valid ones, /
Enln'k. why, in my opinion, Christianity u op-
po' I'D 70 human progress. Tho Rev. Dr.. Fa!ioTs
c' nprlnents me again by reference to my article,
~ f1o resumes the discussion OF the topic iu his
discourse Of last Sunday. ! do not desire to
annoy the Doctor By pertinaciouely following
him up with c1iticisnas slnce he is about the last
ono OF our Chicago clergy whose preaching
ought to excite czltic1sm- Il is necesfary.
however, in justice to myself, to call
attention to the error that the talented
gentleman has fallen into in regard to my ale
gatione In tie quotations he takes from my
article, the reader would Infer, and Dr.. Fallows
would himself inadvertently presume, infer
that had alleged, that the religious principle
OF religion itself, is product OF intellectual cul-
tnre, and that the opposite idea to this uas 50
uuphllosophicA that only the emphas,s Of the
clergy could cauee it to prevail Taxing thia coz
etruction Of this part Of my argument, he there
upon shrewdly ATTACKS this ono point only,
and marsha1s against it formidable army
Of authorities. none of which, he assures us, are
clerg>men, and all OF whom testify in coutra-
dlction to the assertion attributed to me.
Now it MAS not IN such sense that used the
word "religlon" in the sentence quoted. l
used it AZ referring to y sys:ematlzed religion,
with creed, a theology. and system OF wor-
ship aud none OF the authorities given initiate
against my position in the least ! agree with
them entirely. Had Dr. Fal]ows not omitted the
sentence which stood between the Two he quoted
from me, this would have been spparent. 1t WAS
this:
Some of tho greatest philosophers and thnker. have
clearly demonstrated that religions the production
Of atases Of enlightenment, and are modified BY the
temperament OF the Faces that embrace thnu- They
a.e the result of enlightenment, not ita cause.
Then follows what I said As to the cause Of
the opposite idea being prevalent, and which
DR.. Fatlows quotes. I do not deny, but emphat-
icaily assert, that the religious Instinct shows
itself prominently in the infancy OF races and
among peoples the most barbarous- That saw
ages make crude efforts at worship OF supernat-
urai beings, ana that thi1 .1ells1ons element IL
are sayage, however, this feeling does not ac-
quire systemization Which we call religion.
It requires csrtsin stage Of intellectual degel-
opmeut before tho abler minds seize upon 1t.
snd oFGanizs under 1t. i eerS%oaa Soa; ,ea Of
priesthood claiming nearer relations
with Deity than the rest OF men.
TAat ill religions are OF benefit in the infancy
OF nations, and for loos time thereafter, Ii
probably true Thev help to harden tribe into
3 nation, and establish the dominion Of order
and law.
But it Is nevertheless apparent to Us all that
people a. times outgrow the form OF faith 10
which they have beeu long accustomed, and
new religion or radical modincatlon OF the old
one, becomes acceptable and necessary. A.
the mental development Of q people begins
to conc in conflict with its religious
canons, struggle begins. Tbs defenders OF
the old faith succeed, perhaps for centuries, III
keeping back the lnroadH OF Thought. but At
last the ground swell comes with irreslstibla
impulse, aad the old religion has to reform its
c.eeds, or 60 to the cemetery Of defunct super
stttlous. Sec bow the monotheism OF Moses Ior
many . century satisfied that truculeut Jewish
race, with it's bloody worship OF revenge
tn, jealous God uho, like . pirate
to rob and butcher its innocent people.
Not glimpse in that religion Of anT hereafter,
of anv immortality to man. Family on tue VS.
ion OF some OF tue prophets flashed tho yislon
of some life beyond the grave; but not tn a.
most the time OF Christ d!d party arise 10 tne
Jewish Church Who inserted the immortality Of
the soul. Long and bitter WAS the Opposition to
the new idea, nor lad it ended At tue tune
Of Jesus. The powerful eecs OF the
sadducees still fought for the Old
faith With no o. 11e 10. PSap PSaq
lses thus adopted when they introduced this
toat idea OF immortality into the Mosaic creed
And WAS it not the intellectual Development OF
those centuries that brought those people up to
the conception Of that 1dea? ,,
when Jesus announced His mud religion OF
the Fathcrhood Of God, and brotherhood OF
man." the chef obstacle to It's universal
reception va that the people had i'd
not reached stage Of culture
awhere they could appreciate 30 e1alte 9 90 pule' @
nle who arc sufficiently advanced In culture 10
adopt 1t, aud it may bs centuries Still to come
before it will.
The Jewish religion has, however, made great
changes IN it's creed aud ritual under toe s. H.
auenca OF intellectual advancement. aud little
.nria mi. find in 4 modern synagogue to remind