Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-05-08
Greatest Minds Of All the Ages.

| this country as TO which was the grandest
poem ever written, by large majority they
would say Paradise Lost. That poem was
! written by one of those fools that believed
in the Bible-John Milton. Benjamin
Franklin was also one of the victims OF
christianity judging from the letter he wrote
to Thomas Paine urging him to burn up
| his Age OF Reason, and on another occasion
saving: LAS to Jesus Of Nazareth. l think
the system of morals and his religion as he
left them to us is the best the world ever
saw or is likely TO see." Patrick Henry, the
by it when he said Of the Bible: There is
a book worth all other books which were
ever written Benjamin Rush, among
the wisest of the philosophers and anato-
| mists of his day, was swindled by it so that
he wrote: christianity is the only true
and perfect religion" Isaac Newton, the
leading philosopher of his day, decoyed by
this religion so thathe said: IL accept the
scriptures of God to be the most
Sublime Philosophy"
David Brewster, before whose name
all the scientists Of the world bow, was
caioled by this Christianity till he said: IL
have had this light for many years, and oh,
how bright il is to me-" President Thiers,
one of the greatest of French statesmen,
was overcome by this delusion till he ac-
| knowlcdged that he had prayed when he
! said: Il invoke that God in whom | am
happy TO believe David Livingston, the
African explorer overcoming lion and
panther and savage yielding before this re-
! figion, and was found dead on his knees.
William +. Gladstone, perhaps the greatest
! of living EngliShmen, so utterly befooled
| by his religion that he goes to church
every Sunday, and often goes into the
chancel and reads prayers for the congre-
| CATION.
Yea, even frst-rate infdels aud all their
| lives iniidels cannot be depended on for
steadiness against this delusion. Goethe.
! one Of the leading skcptics, wrote: 1T is
belief in the Bible which has saved me and
| is the God of my moral and literary life"
Rousseau. the inhdel, succumbed To the
wiIes OF fChristianiiy.
| and said: IL must confess the majesty OF
| the Scriptures strikes me with aStonish
Hent.' Altamont, the famous iniiiel, sur.
rendered in his dying moments, as he
| cried out: Thou blasphemed yet most in
dulgent Lord God. hell is itself II refuge II
| il hide one from thy frown" Noltaire, the
most talented intidel the world has ever seen
| having written 2GD separate publications
| and the majority Of them spiteful against
| Christianity, and being the most conspicu-
Gus libertine of bis day, might have been
| supposed safe against the delusion OF the
Y p
| take the sacrament Of the Lords Supper
| and to be buried with Christian burial.
| Tom Paine, the god OF modern infidels, his
| birthday celebrated with great enthusiasm
| in New York and Boston the paragon Of
Bible haters, charged by his brother infdel,
| William Carver, with drinking a quart OF
brandy day at the latter's expense, and
refusing 10 pay for 1t, the most gracious
| and adOred name in the sccptic's calendar,
| after stealing another mans wife and
| bringing her from England To America and
| staggering along the streets so filthy and
| drunken and profligate that no decent man
wanted to come within a hundred feet Of
| him-one would have thought that he could
be depended OH for fidelity To his lifelong
| principles. But no! He dies, crying TO
tie Lord Jesus for mercy. Powerful delu-
sion All conqUcring delusion' Word.
shaken delusion.
This SiupcndOus Hoax -
Of the Christian religion has not only taken
possession OF the picture galleries OF the
world giving 10 the old and young masters
the greatest subjects, rs ] showed you in
former discourse, but even music has been
captured. Read over the programmes OF
the great musical festival in New York last
week, and find that the greatest perform.
ances were on religious themes, thous.
and singers deludcd enough to sing them
enough TO hear them. Beethoven, deluded
by Christianity till he composed the high
Mass in ID major Haydn deluded till he
wrote THE Creation" and Handel deluded
till he composed the oratoriOs OF Esther"
and deborah" and "Jeptha, Israel in
Egypt" and "The Messiah What is
worse, this great fallacy Of religion haspe
petuated itself in most substantial archi-
lecture, so that il seems We are never toget
rid Of it. What are among the largest and
finest buildings of the world? ST. Pauls,
ST. Peters, and the cathedrals and churches
Of all Christendom, This hallucina'
ton, not content with being
stationary. gives us in one year
g.. 2j0. 900 for missions to make ounces on
the other side Of the water and fools OF I -
pie whom we have never known.
DcIuded Doctors!
Two hundred and twenty physicians meet.
ing weekly for devotion in the medical
prayer union In London. Deludcd lawyers!
Lord Cairns, the highest lawyer in Great
Britain and the legal adviser Of the throne
preaching the Gospel OF Christ during va.
cation Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, our
present Secretary OF State, an old fashioned
evangelical Christian John Bright de.
lud.d Quaker Henry Wilson, Vice Pres!.
dent. diving a deludcd CongregatIonalist!
Earl Of Kintore, dying deluded Presbyte.
rian Wild men 9f Australia and cannlbals
OF the Soti::s,. Gas sld bush .men OF Terra
del Fugo deuded till they ;..'"n thc!f khl'e,
and put on decent apparel. Jndson ana
Abeel and King and Williams and Camp.
bell and g. 600 missionaries deiuded 70 leave
home and civilization and ease 10 spend
their lives amid the squalOr and Ignorance
that they went to help, and dying without
any earthly comforts and put in grave
u-,,l .nttanh trhan fheu fniubt
have lived here in luxury and had brilliant
obsequies.
Oh. what q DeIusIon!
Omy Lord and nv God. what deiusion,
Delusion! Submerge me with IL FIJI
my eyes and ears with it. Encompass my
soul with il, Spread IL over me like
canopy, Put il under my dying head as a
pillow, and under my soul as an outspread
wing! Whelm me with IL, Roll 1t over
my soul in ocean surges, ten thousand
fathoms deep, II infdelity, and atheism,
and annihilstion be the reality, and Chris
tianity be the delusion, give me the delu.
abide them, and the latter is 50 radiant and
blissful / must have it. But the over
yhelming conclusion OF you all Is that
nothing that produces such grand results
as Christianity can be delusion. lie, q
cheat. hoax, q chimera, a fable, q hal!u-
cinatiOn cannot launch such glory upon
the centuries Our common sense as well
as our logic convinces Us that bad cause
cannot produce such illustrious result
out Of the womb Of such monster no such
angel can be born. Oh, how many are here
who began by thinking that religion was
stupid farce, and have found out that II is
AGreaf Reality.
II changed your course. What are you do
ing in church to-day? Why are your sing
| ipe these songs? Why have you brought
your families with you? Why did you
bow your head in the opening prayer!
Why. when I talk of the ending OF
all your tears in the bosom Of God.
do tears stand in your eyes, not tears OF
regret, but tears Of Joy like those that
stand in the eyes Of homesick children far
away at school when some one talks 70 them
about going home? Why do you feel 20
peacefully submissive about the death OF
those concerning whose departure you once
felt so angry and rebellious?
Something is the matter with you. they
| said at the club house, What have Those
religious people been doing with JonnE
\ Some of YOU are scholarly and scientihc