The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-01-02
InfideIs on the Rampage.

The in1dels threaten to storm THE SUN.
We had never supposed there were so
many inndels among us as have lately
turned up in the shape OF lively corre-
spondents vino send us disputatious let
ters in defence Of inndelity. We were, Of
course, aware that we had among our
readers hosts OF Israelites, and Protestants
and Roman Catholics, with good many
Heather and Mormons but we had hardly
realized that besides all these varieties OF
religious thinkers, we had such multitude
of readers who reject every form and
phase OF religious belief.
We are surprised. when with our minds
eye we view the swarmuG iundols who
address themselves to THE Sun, that they
do not organize so as TO display their
strength before the community. They
would certainly make pretty formidable
show, and an interesting one When or
ganized, we should know where to find
them. and the ground on which they
stand, ana the exact range Of their unbe-
lief, and the principles upon which they
reason and through which they act, and
the practical objects they desire TO accom-
plish. AS it is, we find that our upholders
y,
existing systems OF religion, have fixed
upon no Affirmative realities, or what the
philosophers call categorles OF thought,
about which they agree. They d iffer in
all sorts Of ways regarding the origin OF
material appearances, the laws OF the uni
verse, the creation and destiny of man,
the nature of that potent something which
"a called the mind or the soul, or the spirit,
the basis of morals the historical Develop
ment OF the world, and every other gene
ral principle or particular fact OF the
visible aud invisible phenomena Of time
and space.
1t easy enough for them to assail any
creed or form OF religious belief; but
something more than this unsatisfactory
kind OF work is demanded Of them by
mankind. In n strict sense inndelity is a
mere ncEntion, aud the word inndel, as
ordinarily used. means simply an uube-
lever. More precise definitions Of these
loose terms are needed. The great HOBBIES,
who wrote the 4" Leviathan," Ia called an
infidel; ana so is JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU
and 70 is DAVID HUME; and SO is EDWARD
GIBBoN; and so Is THOMAS PAINE; but all
these men believed in God. DAVID
STRAUSS was believer in God, and so Is
ERNEST RESAN. In the modern scientific
school OF skeptics, often called infdels,
TYEDALL believes in II God, and so does
HERDERT SPENCER. Such men are more
correctly called Dcistsi but even that
term is unsatisfactory; for Christians, Ma
hometans jews, aud Pagans, likewise be-
heve in Deity. Even AUGUsrE CoMTT
himself wrought out a sort OF PantheistiC
divinity immanent in humanity.
The word Atheist, not inadel, Is tho best
designation for n man who dlsbolieves II
the idea OF personal Godhood, though mos
men, even OF this kind, substitute for the
Divine Personality n pervasive and intel
tigent force through which the Univers,
operates. The myrinds OF followers o.
CoNFUcIUs In China ara ordinarily spokel
of as infdels, bat YET they worship tn
names OF their ancestors and have man,
sacred ceremonies.
As a general thing, in the way terms ar,
used among us, a disbeliever in Christian
ETY., or In the existing Christian church
unless he be a Jew or n Mormon, is callct
IN inndel, just rs in Turkey disbelicvc
m Islamism is called an inldel.
But we cannot find out much about IN
neas Of aDYGiyep class Of wen BY being toy