Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1879-05-10

As [ thought over this it occurred to
mo that it was the same in moral and re-
ligious lite. Two centuries ago men
began to instil the poison OF inidclity
into the moral and religious system OF
Europe At first the doses were small
and insignificant, but gradual y increas-
ing doses were administered, until now |
the blasphemy of such men as Mr.. I'm
derwood, of. Boston. and of Robert G.
Ingersoll is endured with scarcely a
word of protest. In dealing with Col. |
Ingersoll l shall try to show where he
be onys as au infidel. what his power
may be, and what class OF people he
NAV influence. Since he says that there
Is nothing supernatural, that force de-
nies creation and detles control, and that
matter and force are eternal, L assume
that his place is among atheists. AS an
| atheist he has begun what he supposes
to be work of destruction more power
| tul than that done by the delsts of the
| last two centuries L claim, however.
that he is not to be compared with Vol >
taire, Hobbs, Kant and Parker, who were
all profound scholars, champions in the
great army of tree thought. mighty en-
gines, doing vast zeal of destruction.
| No: il Ingersulls name Is to be men-
toned With these it must be by way OF
contrast. lie .ls a gimcrack. toy,
piece of mechanism having noisy clat-
) ter. q thing for men oi shallow minds
with nothing else to do to play with.
Yet with such he bas strength, this CO.
Hath Of intidelity, and the sling TO be
used to slay him must be loaded with
scholarship up to the times and ar album
dance OF latin in the power aad grace OF
t God. l do not mean by this that he is
, a man of power. On the contrary, he
lsa man mercy oil words, and his ar
guments, it what he says may be called
such, are but the etfusions OF Il buffoon
e the SOAP. bubbles of hair-brained mol
q orator. In one OF his lectures he dem
. onstrates that an honest God is the no
blest work of man. and people chez
8 him as he asserts that laith i'll Christ i
b s. mixture OF insanity and Ignorance
/. that to believe in God is to confess one
=. self either fool or knave. But whel
u the crude sneers and cheap wit have ial
o len on the air that is the last OF them
Q and what he calls his arguments are re
futed by two agencies. The first is
thoughtful people who. although the
may be carried away with him in In
u lccture-room, think about what he ha
it said after they leave 1t. That utter
70 thought is curse to him. The othe
r agency are the newspapers, which hav
done much to bring him before the pull
D. lie in order that his utterances might b
d recorded in cold type. Perhaps hi
y graceful oratory, that drapery OF ians
!. uage, and the Interpolation ut propt
). distances of resonant periods may char
a nearer, but the reader finds him to
. nothing but gathering piece OF mecl
d anism. Cold type IS terrible rebuE
N to him. Yet, as 1 said, he has strength
Many q young man has sunken deep'
20 into licentiousne,s because Of the do
ed trines heard from his foul tongue mar
ch men whose depraved tastes incline thel
Id to cling to hab Is OF debauchery ar
lust find their justification for doing |
in what he says To be sure they a
men of too few brain. to know the d
he ference between truth and banterin:
dy they are the scum OF society, who Wa
,r only an authority, no matter how WEI
~ or shallow, to bear them along in 81
ne nlng, and In Ingersoll they find such
,es guide. Yet these men have souls
lis save, and SO lar as Ingersoll is respo
Ia. sible for encouraging them in sin,
far will he be held responsible on t
WI judgment day.
ng Mr.. Moment then read portions
i've Col. Ingersoll's lecture on The Cod
,ta denying design in creation, the inspl
W. ton OF the bible and the power OF pra
aot ier, and SAID that he would submit the
lb- without comment except by general d
The malls. to the good sense OF his congrce
.e3 tion. .'All | ask OF those OF you who
not understand as much as you wor
CT like to of Col. Ingersoll is to read wi
! a he has written. l have brought
not forward merely as a curiosity. as
you strangest monstrosity "l inc amer. .s
lol. s" I. ~ ",t ,toaa W" n,Ho 49, t,s g, VEAL
ave to submit to his influence; to all 9TH
de- he is a by-word. grotesquc mockery
in gimcrack"