National Republican., 1881-07-28
AFTER INGERSOLL.
PRAYER AND A SUPREME BEING.
Waves OF Forec-Prayer Essentially Subjective
ghe Great Inflde's Premises Wrong
What Prayer Is-What Paul
Says About It.,
To the Editor OF THE prrrBLrcAs.

NOlOiltl lNObtIN iIRtIbDllg lllt ulObl
magnificent blackguord on the earth to-day
sits rs an automaton revealing TO reporters the
great secret of the universe, and tells lost and
ruined race that he Is glad Guiteau, the assassin
is not an inndel, as ifa murderer could be Chris.
uou. lngesoll forgcts that the assassin Gulteau
was an inhdc for fifteen years, and apcd the Colo
mel even to his style of speech. Any man, whether
member Of a church or not, that could say, n.
Gulteau did that "Lifc Is only nimsy dream" is
no Christian, but an nfdcl. II 4 heart sickenlng
10 read the sermons Of the pulpit on prayer and
special providence. and these follies
INGTRsotL 1MrUTES TO GOD
nn1 the Saviour. There is Il wave Of force that
travels from brain to brain. from heart TO heart,
en- rapport over tho world, so that when the
glass bomb ended the life ortie Car of Russia the
telegraph trembled with the current that shocked
the New World. rhis is the power that commu.
nicntcs life to the world: this Is the magic that
sways men, and the Colonel mover could have writ
ten his lectures had there been no Blbe. Where is
the Colonies benevoence' where are the aims.
houses Of his school2 Where Rrc the charities for
the poor and necdy1 viii his apostles answer?
wHvN AsSAStAs WAS TOLD
Behold Paul prayeth," that prayer moved world.
II Sibrated through world that had stoned
Stephen, who had prayed in the presence OF Paul,
ard that prayer was answered in n practical way
at Damascus. Prayer is essentially subjective
and by eternal law must necessarily be SO, and the
blabbng theological fools OF Pocasset and Salt
Lake City are the extreme upon the one side and
Colonel lngcrsolrs school the extreme upon the
other. Ifthc first lesson to man was that he is
god. why should the Colonel thlnk It incredible
that one should ask his Father, the Almighty, for
pure heart9 God does not interfere with a ray
oflight that comes quiyCring to us from the ocean
waves of the sun. He does not defect bullets nor
appear upon battle fields.
IMAGINE tEFF DAyIl
praying for the success Of slavery and his generals
upon the battle. field with the Bible in one hand
and a sword in the other, and Colonel Ingersol
standing before vast audience saying, "EIere is
your Bible and here arc your Christians" 1fthe
Almighty is on the side Of Davis, he got badly
whipped. We'll, Colonel your mistake Is that God
is on no mans side. God Is on His own side aud
no other. The great scene painted upon the can
vas Of Heaven has not yet been unrolled. We are
but events in this great panorama that
Is passing onward forever Colonel 1nger-
SOILS premises are as terribly wrong
as the AhanaSian creed Science tells us that It is
an eternal truth that the dropping of pebble upon
the water carries waves through the universe for
ever so that today the battle of Waterloo is going
on in the heavens us 1t did on the terrible 18th OF
June, 1915, on Mount st. Jean.
TOUCH THE RIGHT CHORD on WIRE,
and your message goes to the bosom of God. Touch
the right wire and you reach the hearts OF men.
To say that millions of systems of worlds were
erected from nothing Is to talk nonsense. To say
that there can be no intelligent governor Of the
universe is to deny ones own eyesight and ones
own existence, for there is not day but we see
intelligence governing matter. To say that all
other worlds contain intelligent life Is to deny
life in this world. Man is god, and controls force
| and matter. May 1t not be that Gods eternal law
has made prayer eternal2 II friends and good
cheer raises the SICK is not that prayer in itself?
care not who the man Is, or what position he oc-
cuples, there times in his life when the soul is
OH its knees. IT. on the battlefield, cheer some
times leads to victory,
LET rs CALL 1T PRAYER
II the beating the charge in the rough and rugged
places on the Alps carried Napolcon's army over.
let us call that prayer. 1t is the great onward
march of God Almighty. Jesus has never yet been
preached. Dogmas and creeds have taken the
place of the Saviour of the World Jesus was
practical MANA divine being that labored to bet
ter the race-and yet in His name they have reared
| mighty edifces and In His namo committed many
| brutal murders. Man, the animal, has had the
sway In our world; man, the spiritual, will yet
take It, Colonel Ingersoll, Is 1t not strange thai
| Paul never mentions miracle or wonder per.
formed by Jesus. but breaches living Christ? Dc
you remember that Paul kncelcd down on tho
beach of the Mediterranean and prayed? Do yor
know that that prayer has Travelled all along tn,
ages till
| 1T HAS COME TO Us?
Prayer is to mould our own hearts to purity, and
when we are pure Others catch the flame. Had
you not, Colonel, better come down from your
lofty state of criticising the Almighty and get O
little spiritual life into your own soul2 Had you
not better help light the lamps than put them
out? Help make the world better; build charita.
bic institutions; seek out poverty and relieve It.
wit, sarcasm theology, and science neveryet bound
| IN Np nlop hnar ~.
afflicted. Between yourself and the preachers Of
to day, yesterday, and forever l have no choice
except that wish that both were abolished. TIC
silence you and build up the Church would be a
grievous curse; to silence them and let you go on
would indeed be awful. Let us eliminate from the
world both, and then "Let us have peace"
| G. II. d.