The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-10-15
A Reverend Literary Dis
honesty.

II the Rev. O. Il. FRoTIIINoHAM likes H.,
he may practice the religion of Mumbo-
Jumbo, worship the ancient mystery Of
the Teetotum, or preach the New Gospel
OF Bosh. He may take his creed from
Baron DHoLBAoH. Count CAGLIosTRo. or
JOE SMITH, from the Koran, the Vedas
the Eddas, or the Fables of 4Esop. This
lie free country, and nobody can tell how
many kinds OF religion flourish under its
| all-embracing flag.
Tho Rev. o. B. FRoTHINoHAM is not o
Christian minister. He makes no proteuce
to Christianity. Indeed, he repudiates the
name of Christian. lie rejects the Chris
tian religion, aud, so far a. we are in
formed every other kind of religion that
has been coucocted up TO this time. He
has not even been able, unless we are mis-
taken, TO get up religious system for him
self, ON his own account. lie merely
hovers through the realms of uncertainty,
gazing ut the spectres that grin in the
moonshine and occasionally falling into
the pitholes that swarm with Others like
himself These things also he has a perfect
right to do IL he likes.
Nevertheless. the Rev. q. u. FRoruISG-
HAM breaches on Sundays, and in prose-
cutting his business as u preacher, he reads
from sundry books held to be sacred by
those who believe in them. and, among
Others from the Scriptures OF the Old and
New Testament. Sometimes he denies the
truthfulncss or disputes the morality OF
the passages he reads: sometimes he ex-
poses their meanness or meaningessness;
and ofttmes he shows the translucent
superiority OF the nonentties which he
himself is trying to get hold of. This also
he may do, IL he likes it.
But, in doing this, he has no right, not
even ms nonentitarian, TO distort the
passages he processes to quote or mutilate
the Scriptures he pretends to read This
he does. That he does it in his Sunday
operations, we infer from the fact of his
lately doing 1t on an occasion that ought
TO have been far more impressive 1t
was at n funeral-the funeral of one of our
fellow citizens at which he acted us the
hierophant. To make show of reading
the Scriptures in presence OF the dead
certainly could not have been necessary,
from his point of view; but il he did for
any reason make the show, under the
circumstances was he not bound, III honor
"
and to refrain from butchoring them in such
n way that they could not be recognized
even by those most familiar with them
Yet, instead of following the language, or
giving the sense of Holy Writ, he was
guilty at the time OF doing the very thing
from which the meanest specimen of the
Christians whom he despises would have
shrunk. 1t was a case OF false pretences
shocking rs well as shameful. We say 1t
was not necessary for man of his mind,
in directing the funeral rites. to read the
Scriptures at all. Many people, in these
times, are buried without any sort OF sane
timonious ceremony and only n short
time ago, n burial service was conducted,
in his preaching place, according to the
pagan mummeries of ancient Egypt,
though, in saying so, we should add that
even these were parodied till they became
fnrcical.
1t was in murderous fashion that the
Rev. o. b. FRoTuISGHAM mutilated the
Scriptures at the funeral to which we are
referring. He left out of the selected
passages every alluson to the central
figure around which they are grouped
Then he read n few verses from the 18th
chapter of the First Epistle TO the Corn-
thiaus; but carefully refrained from read
| ing a single one OF the verses Of the solemn
chapter in which JESUS CHRIST is spoken
OF, or in any way alluded to. Still more
destructive was his mutlation of that
sublime portion of the Apocalypse in
which the Seer of Patmos describes his
| vision of heaven. Thus where the multi
tude OF the redeemed are represented as
|
ing glory unto the Lamb Mr.. FRoTH-
INGHAM cast away the Lamb, without
letting ii be known that any Lamb was
there. So again, little further on in the
same chapter, when one OF the elders of
heaven said unto the Apostle JoHN, These
| are they which have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of
the Lamb" Mr.. FRorHISGHAM committed
the improperly OF stopping snort with the
word white lea wing out the succeeding
| phrase, which Is the characteristic portion
OF the heavenly elders answer, and which
| contains the essential idea which the rove
lator desired TO convey.
| Thus did the Rev. q. B. FROTHINGHAM
throughout Thus 1t was he took to HIM
self, nj funeral, the dread malediction
which JOHN, at the close ofthe Apocalypse,
invokes upon those who take away from
the words of this book This he doubt
less thinks of no consequence; but as "a lit
erary man, he ought at least TO pay the
authors whom he quotes the decent respect
of quoting them fairly.
Everybody has heard of the man who
| justified his atheism by the Scriptunl SEN
tenee, "there is no GOD" leaving out
from his quotation the preliminary words,
1.-THE fool hath SAID in his heart" No less
preposterouS, from the religious or literary
point of view, are the Scrptulal mutila-
tions Of the Rev o. B. FRoIHNGHAM.
| The frightened Republicans are pretend
Ing that there Is nothing serious to them in the
| loss of Indiana. with chutorlng teeth they
| tell US that they never caied mucn for Indiana,
and can get alon. just ABOUT ia well without It.
If this be true, why did they send thither
| scores OF their aDlcst stufnn supnLara fran, all