Weston weekly leader. [volume] (Weston, Umatilla County, Or.) 1878-189?, 1880-10-16
rHuRLow WEED ON 1NaERsoLI.

The following letter from Mr.. Weed
appears in the New York Herald.
Men entertaining infdel opinions for
the last twenty or more years, and until
the appearance of Robert G. Ingersoll.
have seldom obtruded themselves upon
the public. There is nothing In the
manner or matter of modern divines
either to provoke or invite antagonism.
Clergymen do not, as formerly, dwell and
linger upon the dark features Of theolo-
| gy. Nothing is now heard of the fate of
tinfants nota span long" The ministry
of'our day is a ministry of peace, charity.
and good will. This generation learns to
love and serve rather than to dread and
distrust our Creator and Saviour. What
ever grounds existed formerly to tempt
scoffers and revilsrs, the religion of our
time disarms and silences unprejudiced
criticism.
Colonel Ingersell, whom I know, has
the reputation of being gentleman Of
education, with well stored mind and
attractive personal manners, who speaks
fuentlY and eloquently. A man thus
gifted can do much good, but much more
evil, according TO the principles espoused
and the lines of conduct marked out for
himself Colonel Ingersoll, it seems, up
on the entrance into active life, chose
the left instead Of the right pathway,
and becomes reviler of, instead of
believer in, religion which has been
making the world wiser, better and hap
pier for almost nineteen centuries.
Without questioning Colonel Ingersoll's
sincerity or impugning his motives, ] am
persuaded that if half the time expended
in fortifying himself with arguments had
been devoted to an intelligent ami i'm
partial consideration Of the evidences
establishing its truth, the country would
have had instead Of reviler gifted fol-
lower Of Him, whose missions, labors and
character, viewed from a worldly stand.
point, inspire admiration, affection and
!. gratitude Is it not, therefore, painful.
to see men richly endowed perverting-
their gifts, misusing their talents in per-
sumptious revilings and ribald jesting
: against Creator and Saviour from
whom every earthly bounty and blessing
emanates
No act Of the Saviour's life and no
word He ever uttered has been or can
. be construed or tortured into hostility
to the welfare and happiness Of every
member of the human family. Human
laws are founded upon the Divine law.
All that concerns our happiness here and
hopes of happiness hereafter is derived
: from the Scriptures. On the other hand,
what has infdelity done for usa Who
profits by its teachings7 After depriving
its followers Of their belief in a future.
how does it compensate themnWhat
does it offer in exchange for a life Of
imxortality9 If, for. example, Colonel
Ingersoll should be summoned to the
!. bedside of dying friend or relative,
e what words of comfort could he offer2
b. Of what service could he be to that
n stricken friend7 Would he aggravate
the sufferings Of one whose last hours
9 needed soothing by telling him there was
| ~
p ing him?
: This cruel theory is repelled not on,
:. " by revelation but by the laws of Ns-
. ture. Nature is instinct with evidences
n and confrmations Of the truth of revela-
o tion. The vegetable and floral world
$ only die to live again. The products Of
the earth live and die annually. The
. buried acorn reproduces the living oak.
b And yet inidelity insists that man, the
6 image of the Creator, wonderfully en-
dowed and gifted, under whose auspices
the world has been enlightened, elevated
and adorned, is after brief existence to
oe as though he never had been. Con-
trast the labor of Voltiare and Paine
with those Of John Wesley. Can it be
said with truth that the former two made
any one better or happier9 Hundreds
% Of thousands of the followers of John
y Wesley have lived and died and other
!. !, hundreds Of thousands survive, rejoicing
In their conversion from sinful to q
: Christian life. The memory Of WeSley
is everywhere cherished BY the good and
the pure, while Voltaire and Paine are
only remembered for the evil rather than
It for good they did.
It Use Oriental Hair Tonic for preserv.
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