Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1882-11-21
For the Democrat.
4 IFS ATOsLAYMAN. FfAEf
lU. EDITOR: s k#ft Ed

of October oath, is another excellent pa
per by Layman on Scepticism," and he
says he is at loss to know whether |
intended an approval, or sarcastic con-
demnation of his former article on the
christian Religion" when l said, I" the
more such letters we have the better ed
ucated are the people, consequently the
more atheists and infidels." AS mat
ter Of fact, was never more in earnest
in my life. | said it seriously and cam
didly, for | honestly believe it to be a
fact; and. Mr.. Editor, this last paper is
better still. have not CLEANED so much
information from all the Christian SER
mons have heard or read in the past
five years as I have from this same arti-
Gle on Scep,icism, and will guaran-
tee that if read by the same number OF
people it will be of more benefit than
any ten sermons preached in Oxford
County last Sabbath. | am as well
aware Of the fact, as is Layman himself.
that he intended to encourage belief
in revealed Christianity" and have not
the slightest doubt but what it had that
effect on many who read it; but what
encourages one may discourage another.
| must thank Layman for doing one
thing that never knew Of any Chris
tan doing before,--that is, he told the
truth about the lives of those five emf
nent men who were all born in the short
space Of forty-,hree years time-that
they were Deists, and yet lived "mOrdl.
exemplary ircs." Who in all Oxford
ever before heard these men spoken of in
that manner: Seventy. five per cent. o.:
the people in Name think that Noltaire
was Il fend straight from hell-that when
be died he retained to that place pre-
pared for the damned. Yes, Layman, /
thank you for telling she truth about
those men, for coming from YOU, a Chris
tian of learning, it will have weight, and
wee | able ! would have Bro Watkins
send copy of that paper into every fam
| liz in the County. 81 die rorshyyipg
Go3, ior'ng nag friends, not hui'ag n'y
enemies, tpt dctestmg superstition Is
il recorded that man ever died with purer
words on bis lips than those Of Vol
taire's: We believe il is not on record !;
and just think Of i,-Noi,airc a Deist
But were the Christians satisfied TO let
the body OF Noltsiye remain inthc abbey
Of his nephew: Not much. " twas only
| by a s,fatagem that lis friends got him
buried in the Abbey Of Salliercs. in
Champagne. more than q hundred miles
from Paris. II was even proposed to
dis;u;cr the body. which remained IN the
vaul; Of the village church Of RomiIle-
sur. Seine, till, on July 10, 1871, It was
transferred TO the Pantheon amid the
wild acclamaiionS Of the people. In
April, 1914, some bigotod roya!:st stole
away the bones and ashes from the Pan
ihcon and threw them into hole which
had been dug in piece of waste ground
near tie Rayriere de Ia Care, opposite
Berg. 4 quantity of lime was poured
upon them, the hole was filed up, and
al was said" Now do lot consider
this any argument against Christianity,
and never did. | have always main
tanned that if every Christian on the
earth save on, proved false and tina, one
remained true, that the case had not
been made ont against Christianity.
Without doubt it is fact, as Lsyman
says, that zone Of the prominent causes
Of infdelity may be ascribed TO tie term
Die prosecutions and crimes pcrpeirated
by protesting Christians against their
fellow. men, under the pretended sane
ton of their holy religion but this had
nothing to TO with myself Those cru
elites could never MAKE or unmake facts
that always were and ever Will be. Vol
taire, Tom Paine, or Col. Ingersoll never
made me an atheist or "a inidel, FOR !
never read word from the pen Of either
for more than ten years after | was an
infdel, and | have never read any Of
their works except some Of lngcrsolfs
ard this las, summer | read for the first
time, Paine's Age Of Reason And
will say here that neither Of them ad-
vance single idea that did not have.
But ! have already taxed your patience
more than intended. could make
better argument were better read. The
only weapons have are reason and COM
mon sense, and sometimes | think they
are little gauzy; but | have one conso
lation, and that is. that I,ayman is edu-
Gated and | get information from each
and every one of his letters. SELAH.
oct. 30, 1882.