, 1880-10-03

LOOK up, dear CsllQ, ana 90 lot TeAf-
Thy God is over air.
OswEa0, NJ FLoRK.oE-
.INGERSOLL'S LECTURE.
REPLY FROM A CATHOLIC STANDPOINT BIZ TIE
REV. F. K WEN1NnER, d. u.
II the Editor Of 1he Chicago Tribune.
CHICAGO. Sept es.-Insersoll 1s regarded us
one Of the most audactous blasphemers against
religion and revelation. But reviewing his last
lecture, What Must We Do to Be saved?" his
blasphemfes and Insults against logic and
against charity are by far more audacious and
conspicuous
To prove this assertion We shall point out the
following contradictions and calumnies con-
taincd in it. The reason why We confne our
selves to an exposition Of his utter Disregard
Of logic and the sha1nelesness Of his calumntes 9
aud not to discuss at lca:-1h the intrinsic weak
ness and wantonness Of his arguments, is his in
credible ignorance Of historical facts and the
surprising deficiency Of study on the topics OF
his discussions
How far this, his ignorance Of historical facts,
goes appears at the very outset Of bis attacks
against the authenticity OF the Gospels. His
argument is that the books OF the New Testa-
ment were not written in Hebrew and are there
fore spurious; evidently supposinR thar, at the
time Ut Christ and His Apostles, the language Of
the Jews was Hebrew. But any scholar who has
knows that ut the time Of Jesus and the Apostles
the jews did not speak Hebrew, but Chaldaic.
The reason why The Apostles wrote in Greek
Cicero and others. Greek Eas spoken over the
whnie w.'rid. and was therefore the most suit
able language in which to write the Gospels, not
only for the Jews but for mankind in general
living ut that time.
1nKrrsoll moreover pretends thatthe Gospels
were only written number of centuries after
the Apostles, affirming it Notwithstanding the
are fsand in ths Writings q 81 the arst, second,
All this MIR. ingcrsoll ignores
How. then. cnn we argue in earnest with one
1niecd. lngerson is not Il worthy opponent in
the iane Ut scientific discussion.
70 inc ye 9f of 'm We shall make tRaf
such vulgar and abusive language against God
and Christianity at large is by no means to be
ary dccornm, but. is to be rebuSed Without
gloves We shall apply to him the maxim pro-
ne b gnrts Which ns sff
SINE measure in which sou shall measure unto
others shall it be measured unto you" We
means original thinker, but frivolous plagiarist
Of Tom Palna. whose mocklnE-oird he Is. and to
This promised. let us now first point out In
Rersoii's amazing deficiency OF logic.
conceraing ~ quoted article On the Gospels;
s. s. osEas e Hea!! He We
wF9te @ s. the New Testamentg % - Z don't know
appiause.] Sbames Is this a convincing argu-
saving, for Instance: Who wrote the works # ef
etSSe aoss Roeed
What logical consequence is this? Because
H fnsspsaia sbassfd know that from the beginning
Of The authen,.city | Of The Gospels as Written by
the very men whose names thcy bear. He should
pay especial attention u what Justin. in the
He says. - kc[aomber that we were not born
Christians, but were made such. We were in
and elsewhere. 1ndeed. We were not SO foolish
es tn believe Without ha ring most seriously ex-
amtned the truth OF the Gospels and Christian
faith, because by embracing Christianity We wers
exposed to lose everything. even our very lives"
Justin and numberlcss Others before and after
ta se as s a Il ns
ask why return to the creed Of the Church:
As* ams, 5ot era,nt,.e q 5e crots; ezs1mtncz, ct
believe Examine, and you, too, will believe
That's what tngersol1 dues not want to do. He
ss With rkess fs a1;dnet to the
assertion. Of his With needless applause
Even when, which is but seldom. he attempts
conffrtnA bis utter deficiency OF scientidc &C
curacy and l..gical = trimming. In proof Of this
te'r especially to hs criticism Of the
he objects, ' don't understand it" But ts this
q proof that what the -Athanasian creed aiI1rms
that :. i don't understand it = that Others are
not talented and learned enough to understand
If he Objection, VI DON'T understand it.. had
any proving force. then ali truths Of history
were rone. mud with the ~ don't understand it"
the e. s hosape1. obserses reasoa % has il this
case to be locked up in 1atl prison" :.
ess t 4ss @ ssfar
absurd nxioni, ' / am in favor OF absolute free
dom Of thought; In T. the realm OF the mind every
Absolute means thorough independence:
bur this in order OF reasoning would make OF
the 1sonA man simply doS the v9s,
same time in what contradiction this principle
plnces lnuefsoll himself. If there is an absolute
arEue ] against others who think otherWise than
htnlselI!
Ingcrsoll to gain applause draws conse-
o,1ences not from premises but from placing
sentences out OF their logical connection cover
Ing !1is fraud with dynamic explosion Of wit to
make his audience IAtlgh and thus cause them
to overlook his logical hunders.
Very often. instead of refuting the oppostt
views. he simply denies the truth opposed %
kn.,su axiom Of the schools, WIS always held in
ridicuie by the canon: PLUS protest unus asinus
nc9arc. guam teentum doctorcs pr1bars,Ioae
3Hckass 1ndy deny more than a hundred or
learned men can prove to DC true
He tntessantty repeats big stupid t5Isak1on,
IT. The people applaud and cry, - Good3' Poor
% Tas atrocty of his calumntes !. still, graater,
l:eyiew;ux the Gtspeis, he simply declares thai
what does not suit him has been tntetpolated:
Iy whom It wis done. His stereotyped answer |
is always the same, II don't know. When con-
eidertn9 his io9icat blunders VIC had3to soy TO
ourselves repeatedly, Poor felleW! poor logl-
cian!' But. considering his calat44ies, we we're
forced to e1c1aim. " Infamous fellow! shame
less sIandercr! prove what yQ4s assert For
BY your yaunred accusation yoh blackmafl the
whole body OF the Church With fhe repreach or
fraud" ,s.F
OF similar calunnies Is lnEetso)l guilty By |
misrepresentfng the 1enets Of the articles Of the
creed. For instanoe, he spfaks of nnbapttzed