The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-05-11
Believers and Freethiukers

We acknowledge that we admire the youth
fol audacity of Rev. Mr.. Young with which he
filings his heaven-storming assertions into the
world while they lack all proper definite or
historical foundation. Not what he really
says surprises US, because the same arguments
can be heard from any ignoramus, but the
positive assertion with which he delivers it,
the dogmatic assurance with which he filings
his pebbles of sophistry against the rock of
logical thought, and thinks thus to demolish
it. Will the reverend gentleman give us proof
for his assertion that Freethinkers are bigot-
ed? He must acknowledge that Freethink-
er never attempts to make propaganda and for
| the very good reason, for to become a Free
thinker it requires sound and healthy brain,
an unprejudiced mind and high degree of
education. How many of these qualities do
we find among the mass of mankind
Freethinkers allow every one to work out
their own salvation in their own way and only
| ask to be left alone.
But Mr.. Young gives positive proof that the
same federation is not to be found in any
church. He himself arrays himself in cam
paign against them while they are not at all in
his way and while there are more and better
fields open for his activity than this crusade.
Why does he not preach to his congregation
Of morals, benevolent philanthropy OF broth
erly love and kindred subjects, instead Of fill
ing them with hatred and contempt against
people who differ from him in thought, and
who are willing to give them the widest scope
for their faith and belief.
Who ever may possess but an ordi-
nary knowledge of the history of man
kind knows that bigotry is an inseperable
companion to all positive religions. More
men have been killed in religious wars than all
others together; for inhuman brutality the
wars between Mohamitans and Christians, and
Christians against Christians stand out in bold
relief.
No Freethinker has ever burnt any one for
different faith; do not tell us that the Catholic
church is the only one that made use of the
funeral pir,; Calvin, the Reformer, delivered
his different thinking friend to the stake. OF
hese things nothing is ever said to the con-
gregations.
Wherever in the United States bigotry
makes its appearance it comes from the church.
TO the church we are indebted for Sunday
and Temperance laws, which force themselve s
everywhere into political life and create hatred
and animosity.
If there are people who rejoice to scott at
religion, we deplore and regret it, for the
reason that religion is a historical necessity,
and founded in the nature of the human fam
lily; otherwise nothing is bettered by it. Every
human being feels his dependence on those
powers which he cannot control. Superstition
and ignorance changes those powers into per-
sons as outside of nature, while sound sense
in reasoning, good logic and science find
and aim to acknowledge them in nature. To
the great mass of the human family positive
religion is day as essential as meat and
drink. While we, as freethinkers, know this
we wish them welcome to all the consolation
they can draw from it, in return we request
them to leave us aiJne.
1t is not necessary to defend Ingersol; men
like him have always a swarm Of petty enc
mics and rivals who either do not or wish not
to understand him, yet he remains what he is.
If he makes use of funny sayings in his lee
lures it is in cases where orthodoxy excites to
fun; in serious matters Ingersol thinks serious
ly. Rev. Mr.. Young should be a little more
careful and modest in his opinion of men who
do not possess the faith of the Bible. He is
too young to have learned anything regular or
methodical.
that there is nothing beyond their horizontal
Haeckell, Bauer, Straus, Renan, Franklin,
Volney, Jefferson and an army of others who
have not accepted the Bible as book of God;
the Rev. Young disappears in tn. darkness of
oblivion. His fury about the Bible proves
that he knows nothing of its history, its origin
or perfection, that all this is not known
to him. We doubt whether Rev. Mr..
Young has read any other than a school
manufactured work on peOlopv or has ever
gotten beyond Caesar in which, by the by,
for otherwise he would judge different of the
Bible. What is contained good in it We ack-
nowledge. We follow its moral laws as far as
they can be made applicable to the present
situation; the reverend gentleman does do
no more. He doesn't even keep the 81 bbath
of the Bible. With this we must not forget
that the moral laws of the Bible were kept by
all civilized nations of ancient times and long
before there was a Bible in existence, from
which we can conclude that the moral laws of
the Bible are nothing more nor less than the
common laws of the whole human family.
We acknowledge we do not understand the
arguments of Mr.. Young which he uses in his
claims that Christianity gives more freedom of
thought than free thinkers. The reasons for
his assertions he does not give but only
phrases; but the time is past when you
can catch flies with phrases; implicit
faith and logical thought, are two
opposed ideas, when either
begins the other ceases. 1t says in the Bible,
whosoever believes shall be saved, conse-
quently good Christian has to do nothing
but believe, not think, at least not about re-
ligious matters.