Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1881-08-04

of feeling for his measure of righteous
ness, you can not tell from day to day
what he will think or do. Cr0la Hs
| As to slavery, Mr.. Ingersoll's objec-
tion that Jehovah permitted his chosen
people to hold the captives they took in
war or purchased from the heathen as
servants for life, it is answered that the
| infallible God in so doing proceeded
upon good grounds, and that when Jew
took neignboring savage foI his bond
servants incorporated him into his fam
lily, trained him. taught him to work and
gave him a knowledge of the true God
| he conferred upon him most beneficent
boon. Polygamy is another of his OBJ
jections to the Mosaic constitution,
Strange to say, 1t is not there. 1t is
neither commanded nor prohibited !; it is
only discouraged. If Mr. Ingersoll were
a statesman, instead of a mere politician,
he would see good and sufficient reason
for the forbearance to legislate directly
upon the subject. 1t would be improper
for me te SET them forth here. am
He knows probably that the influence
of the Christian Church alone, and with
out the aid of State enactments, has ex-
| tirpated this bad feature of Asiatie man
ners wherever its doctrines were carried.
Why does--he throw polygamy into the
face of the religion which abhors it ?
Because he is nothing if not political.
The Mormons believe in polygamy, and
| the Mormons are unpopular. They are
guilty of having not only many wives,
but much property. and if a war could
be Missed up against them its fruits
might be more "gaynefHll pillagde than
we doe now CONCEIVE Of" 1t is a cum
ming manenver. this, of Strengthening
atheism by enlistfng anti Mormon rapac-
ity against the God of the Christians.
can only protest against the use. he
would make of these and other political
interests. tits not argument; it is mere
stump Oratory. 8t~'sslni slH .1l'5ilI. Z
do not enumerate in detail the posi-
tive proofs which support the authentic
| ity of the Hebrew Bible, though they
are at hand in great abundance, because
the evidence in support of the new dis
pensation will establish the verify of the
old-the two being so connected togeth-
ef that if one is true the other can not
he false 'p-f' '' ' s4'i'-
When Jesus of Nazareth announced
himself to be Christ, the Son of God, in
Judea, many thousand persons who
heard his words and saw his works be-
lieved in his divinity without hesita-
tion. Since the morning of the crea-
tion nothing has occurred so wonderful
as the rapidity with which this religion
spread itself abroad. Men who were in
the noon of life when Jesus was put to
death as malefactor lived to see Him
worshiped as God by organized bodies
of believers in every province of the
Roman Empire. In few more years it
took complete possession of the general
mind, supplanted all other religions, and
wrought 3 radical change in human So
ciety. 1t did this in the face Of obsta-
cles, which, according to every human
calculation, were insurmountable. 1t
was antagonized by all the evil propen-
sites, the sensual wickedness, and the
vulgar crimes of the multitude, as well
as the polished vices of the luxurious
classes, and was most violently opposed
even by those sentiments and habits of
thought which were esteemed virtuous,
such as patriotism and military heroism.
1t encountered not only the ignorance
Land superstition, but the learning and
philosophy, the poetry, eloqnence and
wit of the time. Barbarism and civiliza-
ton were alike its deadly enemies. The
priesthood of every established religion
and the authority of every Government
were arrayed against it. All these were
overcome, not by the enticing words of
mans wisdom, but by the simple presen-
tation of pure and peaceful doctrine,
preached by obscure strangers at the
daily peril of their lives. Is it Mr.. In.
gersolrs idea that this happened by
chance, like the creation of the world |?
| I will present some of the considera-
tions which would compel me, were. /
Judge or juror in the cause (the accept
ance of Christianity to decide it just as
it was decided originally. IA, -. ~.
First-Tbere is no good reason to
doubt that the statements of the, Evan
gelists, as we have them now, are genu-
Inc. The multiplication of copies was a
sufficient guarantee against any material
alteration of the; text, Mr. iIngersell
speaks of interpretations made by the
fathers of the church. All he knows
and all he has ever heard on that spb-
jsct is that some of the innuperable
transcripts contained errors which were
discovered and corrected. That simply
proves the present integrity of the docu
ments. as, c1.-.af.. -i.i- -.-.sf5rfl
Second-I call these statements depo-
sitions, because they are. entitledlto that
kind of credence which we give to decla-
rations made under oath-but in much
higher degree, for they are more than
sworn to. They were made in the i'm
mediate prospect of death. Perhaps this
would not affect the conscience of an
atheist-neither would an oath-but
these people manifestly believed in a
Judgment after death. before God of
truth, whose displeasure they feared
above all things. rl-e '''7 -,. ~.
The witnesses could not have been
mistaken. The nature of the facts pre-
eluded the possibility of any delusion
about them. For every averment they
had "the sensible and true avouch of
their own eyes" and ears. Besides, they
were plain-thinking. sober, unimagina-
tive men, whe, unlike Mr.. Ingersoll, al
ways, under all circumstances, and es-
pecially in the presence of eternity, re-
cognized the difference between noun
tains and clouds. 1t is inconceivable
how any fact could be proven by evil
dence more conclusive than the, state
ment of such persons, publicly given and
steadfastly persisted in through every
kind of persecution, imprisonment and
torture to the last agofies of lingering
death. liI iii ia.
Fourth-Apart from these terrible
tests, the more ordinary claims to credit
bility are not wanting. They were men
of unimpeacbable character. The most
virulent enemies of the cause they spoke
and died for have never suggested rea-
son, for doubling their personal honesty.
But there'is affirmative proof that they
and their fellow disciples were held by
those who knew them in the highest es-
timation for truthfulness. Wherever
they made their report it was not only
believed, but believed with a faith SO