The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-04-28
INFIDELS ANSWERED..
BY REV. DR.!H.A, HRANN, OF NEW YORK
Al ~. Joseph's Cathedral Last Eight-A
Catholic Clergyman'S F0rcibie Argu.
menls 4 gAinnt the sOphlstrics of
AEn0Stics, Atheists nnd Neists.

Rev. Henry a Brann, DID,, Of New York
city, u Catholic Clergyman and journalist Of
wide reputation, lectured at tho Cathedral
last evening, bis subject being, IAN Answer
10 Iufdeli.y." The Cathedral, large ns /. 10,
was crowded by the large audience attracted
by the iamo Of the speaker and the interest
which always attaches to subisciaakin 10 that
the audience was made up OF Protestantg,
many prominent professional and business
men being present RI. Rsv. Blshop Ksin,
Mgr. Sullivan and Rev. Fathers McEiliRo.l,,
Deehan and McMenamin occupied seats In
the sanctuary. The Doctors line OF arsu.
msnt was s%u substantially as iollows:
The world to-day Is divided into TWO hostile
camps, the Christian on the one hand, mud
the intldel on the other. The inGdel army
Is organized into several divisions; there ars
Agnostics, Atheis.s, Deisls and aiater;alis,s.
We shall charge on them to.Sight With
Christian weapons aud put them to flight
one after the other.
First come the Agnostics. What say ,hei.
leaders? They say they DO not know
whether there isa God, or u future life. or a
soul. They claim TO be Spiritual Know
Nothings. Now In regard TO them We shall
tloto ASV bLn lGA lb u IClkululS III luUlku
knowledge. Here the lecturer divided hu.
man certainty into three branches, physical,
metaphysical and moral, and proved ils ex.
istence. He next showed the inconsistency
OF ABnostlcs In being as dogmatio and EN-.
pha.ic In asserting that they do not know, as
(Chrlslians are III asserting that they do now.
The charges brought Agalnst the dogma,isn,
OF Christian teachers are equally forclble
against the assertions Of The dogmatlzing
Agnostics.
1T there Is no truth csrta!n,n argued the
lecturer, Then there Is no principle OF
morality or OF civic obedience certain, since
these depend on the existence OF God, gu.
prerne truth and law giver." This point he
developed.
Ho showed next that the mathematical
truths are not more certain than historical
truths and illustrated this fact by several
mathematical problems.
The Doctor next attacked the Athe.
lists and proved against them the existence
OF God. "a man who sees a watch or Il house
knows tina. q man must have made ii: and
90 when We see the earth and sturs We know
that n supreme cause must have made them.'
Mex! come the Dsi8ts with Tom Paine al
their head. They will not believe In revela,
tion, the supernatural or miracles; hut the
Doctor shovel that nature, paine's Bible,con,
tanned as many mysteries and miracles G.
! the Bible Of the Christiaus. There ia mystery
in the grain OF wheat lying in the grourc
and producing the blade and the ear there
Is mystery in the Matching OF egg, and IL
everything. This point was clearly illus
trated.
Then come the Materialists, against whon
the Doctor proved the spirituality and i'm
mortality OF the soul. He showed that mat
Ter has not properties which the soul pcs
sesses. lie showed that the Msteria!is,.
themselves do not know what matter is, mol
can they define it. ''The l which thinks In
me-" said he, "is always the same from the
cradle to the grave. 1t never changes. Bui
everything material does change. Therefore
the soul is not material"
The Immortality Of the soul was proven by
analogy, by the voice Of nature End by tht
testimony OF mankind. II all ends at the
grave, then when trouble and trials come
hand ME the knife or the pistol"
Tho discourse was listened 10 Throughout,
with the most profound attention. No ad.
mission fee was charged, but Il collection Wal
taxed up ut the conclusion OF the lecture 10,
the benefit OF the Ladder Aid Society, 10,
which organization Q handr5me sum wa.
realizsd.