Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1877-10-15
Alefan0rla Qbazette
MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER Is.
A Personal God.


The Liberal Club of this city enjoyed last
evening what might be called religious and
scisnti6c free and easy. The Rev. G. =. Ms.
Carthy, pastor of the American Free Church,
opened the meeting by delivering lecture on
the belief 10 40 inlioite, intelligent and personal
God It Vas announced that at the close Of the
lecture debate would be u order, and al wlo
wished to dispute the lecturers Opinions were
at liberty to do 50. Mr.. Mccarthy was bold
man thus to beard the lion 10 his den, for Sci
ence Hall, where tho lecture took place, is the
stronghold Of free thought. All the free think.
ers we're out 10 force last night. They were uu
mistakable.
Mr.. Mccarthy spoke at greater leugth thaa
any of his opponents. His argument showed
the strongest orthodoxy, and all the powers Of
bis mind and tongue we're brought out in sup
port OF the popular belief in living God. lis
chief point was, that Intelligence could sprln:
from nothing but iDtelllge8ce-thc inlioitc, IL.
teigent God-and that Gods intelligence
could not be caused by anything but intcllisenc,
that is, by Himself. Some held, he said,
that science is opposed to religion. and plays
into the hands Of those who dcoy the exlstenc,
of en- absolute, intelligent being But how
can this be when all nature is but revelation
of personal being and intelligence? The 90.
jects of science must have been embodied
thought before they could have been compre.
hended by the thought Of scientists. The scrlb
blipgs of child on slate arc incomprehcusi'
Bile because they embody no thought but tho
expression of thought in book or in picture
is always inteligible to thinking man. The
same relation which the eye bears to the llghr
and the lungs to the atmosphere is borne by
the soul to God, to whom it turns as naturally
as the heliotropc to the sun. 1t Is reasonable
to believe in personal Icfnite Being and IRA
tional to doubt its existence. Let atheism pre-
vail and civilization will cease to progress art
will lose its inspiration, ,scieEcc will have no end,
religion no foundation, and the brotherhood OF
man no lasting bond. The times Informs u
that philosophy is but long way OF spelling
fool, and with that agree. | ask if this bIlc!
address can be overturned argumentatlycy, and
If any ono who wishes to oppose 1t will prove
that he is not Ounce ne will do 1t by treating
the subject iu rational way.
The next speaker viewed the matter from Il
different standpoint, holding that the bchei
in an iufntc, intelligent and personal Gods un-
reasonable" aud that there is 40 moro neccsI.
ty for God out OF nature to produce what We
see tnlu tIGTU II VI d HlIn NhECl ~ q C'oSn'
Such q God, he said, is irreconelable
with the facts of history and experience. II
there be God with tho power and the will why
has He not made this q world OF plenty ana
peace instead OF allowing it to bo marked with
the black spots which the history of the race dis
play? No solution being offered to this conun'
drum anotherTnan Of free thought mounted tn"
stand to state that "if God started this machine
(the universe) perfectly, it don't want Him to
run it, and if Ho didn't, Ho bo!chod the work.
and is no God" "If there wero such God III
existence before tho world" he added, "He
must have lived without eating for there WAS
nothing to cat without smelling, for there was
nothing to smell, and without thinking, i1r
there was nothinf to think sbout-tiil. by acct
don't. He happened to thirk Of making world.
The speaker then read letter, accusing Mr..
Mccarthy ofaLtempting TO enforce his arguments
by personal ridculn and abuse Of his opponents,
A man in tho audience repeatedly dcmanded
who tho letter WAS signod BY, but was a. last
sonced by learning th It il was anonymous
Tho fourth speaker took the stand Mt TIL; POM
and declared that "tOr ono man ID affirm tao OK
istence OF personal God and .notAor to deny
it is dogmatism. puro and simg - for wo shsn'
luuly know nothing sboat il: But there Is
nothing in tho univcrs, which reves :!
character such q, tho Jupiter Of tho Ko-
mans or tho Jehovah OF tha Hebrews nor *
there anything in nature which reveals ma
character of their "-N \. Ir,lH.