The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-04-04
BEECHER ON BOB iNCERSoLL.
SOME EXPRESSIONS OF OPINION B
PHE PASTOR OF PLYMOUTH

THE PASTOR OF PLYMOUTH
CHURCH.
II Think said Mr., Beecher, 'sthat
Mr.. Ingersoll with the best intentions
doubtless in the world, has made
representation of religion and of the
Bible that would be rejected by any
intelligent denomination Of Chris
tian men under the sun. 1 hold the
scriptures to be inspired, not in the
same way that Milton and Shakes
peare were severally inspired literary
inspiration, to sit down and write
out whole book; / recognize that
it is the sum of the religious litera-
ture of one people through period
of more than two thousand years. It
has been gathered into one book and
it is the records through that period
of time, and is like any other history
so far as it is history, and like any
other poetry so far as it is poetry. 1t
is a religious book. 1t is a book of
experience of the past-belongs to
the past. It forms the record, not Of
of that divine inspiration which be-
longs to the whole nation, to the life
of a generation. MI. IngersOlls
criticisms do not invalidate the Bible
any more than wheat is invalidated
or it's value lesSened when a man
brings me the straw upon which it
grows and asks me to eat that. Now,
there are great many things in the
growth of the book which stand in
the same relation to the book as the
straw stands in relation to the grain.
Who cares for Leyiticus, Deuteron-
omy, etc., all these institutional
statements which the people of the
present age have outgrown! Now,
take the New Testament. 1t repre-
sents more advanced period. The
point which Mr.. Ingersoll criticises,
and which men generally criticise,
are matters about which the human
brain has no CONFERENCE.-THE doc
trinal forms, the structure of the
universe, the absolute nature of God,
the theory or human government and
the doctrine Of last things. They lie
beyond the horizon. We have no
means of investigating them. Yet
that is the ground on which the sects
have fought their battles. Look at
the New Testament. What are its
teachings, its ethics They take hold
of the spiritual life. and there is no
dispute about the fact that it teaches
honesty and chastity and all the high
est virtues. All denominations agree
in this. and even all men who do not
believe in the Christian religion at
ALL
These moral men,
Eyes, and these teachings afford
the best grounds for the existence of
| the book. In his arguments against
the Bible he attacks the weakest part
of it. the language of the metaphor,
| the language of drama, which was
used as symbolization and intended
to inspire poetic people with a sense
of the grandeur of God. He literal.
ICES it as if God was stern tyrant.
| Now. | do not care how wretched a
trellis of grapevine is growing on. If
you take that trellis away from it the
grapevine goes down TO the earth.
| would not take away from the
| Brahmin their faith unless | had
another one to put in the place Of it,.
| would not disturb the most unletter.
ed Roman Catholic girl to take away
her faith in her Deeds of Are Mdrtds.
unless l had substitute for it. !
think it would be cruelty to knock
a crutch out from under a man who
used it as an aid TO his legs. simply
because I hated crutches, and make
him 90 without them for this cruelty.
Mr.. Ingersoll in his lecture SAYS: i
know not the captain of the ship in
which l am sailing. know not the
port to which l am bound. but / am
going to stick to the craft. and if i,
sinks | shall 60 down with it, That
strikes me as expressing the feeling:
of a man who was thunderingly sea
sick. / felt that myself when on III,
back. sick. on voyage to Liverpool
but never thought of saving I'D ny
yomit under these circumstances.
Attorney General Ogden of Louisian,
L. IL A.