The semi-weekly miner., 1884-08-02
Colonel Ingersoll's Lecture.

Rensbaw Opera House was closely packed last
evening with an INTEL gent audience to listen
t, Crlonel Ingersoll's lecture on Orthodoxy"
It would be impossible. even ii the rpace were
at our command. 10 give the briefest synopsis Of
his lcompa.abl discour. z. Col ILgersoil is
the king uf American orators and never fails to
euchain his audience no matter what their
crpeds, beliefs or prejudices may be. He proved
his last evening From his first appearance
upon the stage until he retired from it he COM
named the undivided attention OF his listen-
rs by discourse of one shining chain of spark
ling thoughts linked together W The most beau
,if.l garlands Of oratory. The speaker advanced
no new p opositiou uor denied the existence OF
an Infinite power, but contented himself by at
taking the cree 8 and teachings Of churches.
He handles the ,ld and New Testament without
GLOW. ID denied that either was the work Of
iuspirati0n. He asst rted that the New Testa-
ment was much worse than the Old and ad-
vanced in evidence that in the Old Testament
human suffering ended in the grave, wherein In
the New it only commenced at death. He
charged that the clergy dare not speak their
honest thoughts born IF their brain and heart,
but preav vhed decept on because 1t pays them
to preach it OR hodOxy, he said, was founded
on supet stition aud fear, but is dying of the
the suf ening of the brain and ossitication of
the heart. Every thing. the speaker sa d, but
fac,s must die The pathway of life is strewn
with cradles aud graves. Man. beast, Leaf, bud,
even the plants must perish and give pace to
the new. Fact, absolute truth Is the
only lmperishable thing; all else decay.
The astrologer has given place to the
astronomer: the seer, the prophet. the sooth-
sayer have made roo:a for the philosopher, and
the preacher must vacate the pulpit for the
teacher who has earned his theology from the
open book of nature.
He ploughed through the various creeds,
cutting right and left leaving the marks of his
pointed wit and Iidicule upon them all.
He opened the gates Of heaven and hell md
direy ted the atlenh N Of his audience to their
occupants. In the one he sh wed the saved
husband and father and IN the Other he pointed
out the list mother and children, and de
uounced the plan of salvation that hardened
the heart of the one to the endless tor,ures of
the oilers. He did not want to 70 into .
heaven from which those whom he loved 80 dear
ly upon earth were forever bar ed, He
believed in no heaven that did not give perfect
Joy to those who entered it. aud p rfect Joy
could not exist in the heart Of enc who knew
that his loved ones were enduring the torments
OF the damned. He wanted 10 60 to heaven,
If there is su h place, upon his own merits
He cared not to he q winged pauper who en-
ioyed celestial bliss through the merits Of some
one else. He referred to the four principal
miraclzs menti med in the New Testamen-ths
i'm maculate conception of Ch Isl. his resurrec-
ton, his appearance to his friends, aud his as.
cension, aud asserted his disbelief in either of
them, He held that Christ was the son of
Joseph aud hat it was not until q hundred
years after his death that he was counted
rs Goo. In conc uslon the speaker touched
on home and love and eloQuently
mplored his listeners 10 do all they can to make
be QUE brighter and sppier by cult waiting the
other at the fireside which he deuominaled the
true altar of worship. The eloquent gentleman
Was frequently interrupted by APPLAUSE and
several times he was compelled to wat vi til 1t
had subsided before he could proceed. To night
Colon Ingersoll will tell Q Butte audience
what they must do to b saved.