Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-12-25
CHRISTIANITY AND 1NFIDEL.
ITY HARMONIZED
Ebenezer Greazer Writes an Open
Letter of Thanks to Mr.. Penniman.


INGERSoLL TAVERN, State of Mizura,
December twenty tn.
Revernt Mister Pennymann, pasture of the
presbyterian Church, witch is in Irontun,
State of Mizura:
DEER BRUTHER:-I am so much obleeged
to YOU tibet cant help but take my pen in
hand and write you few lines. Deakon
Spoonakoon tole me tother day tibet you was
goin to give your sheep sum extra pastur
on Sabbath mite, shown EN- tibet Their haint
no infidels, tibet everybody BELIEVES in chris
tianity, and tibet I orter go up.
Et furst didn't much like to 60 to hear
you fur was sumwhat sot fornenst presbyte-
rams, b'leiyin ez did tibet they was so terrible
strait and sanktimonius; fur my good ole
muther lived and died in the presbyterian
faith, and had drifted off inter what folks
call infide1ity; but consented an went, an
eternity kin only tell how nifty glad am
tibet did.
1 never was so happy ez / hev been cents
tibet hour. / sung Sans all the way home,
an when got home made peggy git out of
bed and drink whisky punch-cider, 1 mean
Ito your health till nigh onter midnight.
never cud stan the ways of the so called
christian folks. From the time furst lernt
to say: "now lay me down to sleep" along
side of my muthers nee, 1 had been taut tibet
christianity was a b'Iieyin that Jesus Christ
is the son of the Twin God, an trustin in him
hully for my sole's salvation. Now, that was
nifty hard Twin fur me, an / he'd drifted
away till stood along side tibet noble hero,
Bobby Ingersoll. But my conscience was
alters mitily troubled and 1 he'd tried to
make myself b'lieve tibet christianity was on
ly ''love, an joy, an peace, and long suffering,
an fidelity, an meekness, an temprance," an
would gro more an more Uneasy when my
good ole muther 'ud say: "Nezer, them
things Amt christianity; them's jist the fruit
of christianity. Faith in Christ as the Son
of God, an obeyin of him an trustin in the
merits of his blood Is christianity"
While was troubled, sumhow 1 cudn't
b'lieve her altogether, an now cents l heerd
your most elokent pleadip last Sabbath mite,
see my muther was poor ole deluded sole,
and died in retched ignorance.
| My deer bruther, I never kin be grateful
enuff to you for sidin with me on tibet ques-
| ton, an eff you'll cum out to deakon Spoon
akoon's I'll git him to give you the best fat
| ted rooster he has on the farm.
Jist to think of this poor ole worl maxim
sich hard rode of christianity! Els enough
| to make my ole eye run down in rivers of
tears. Jist think of the martyrs who died for
Their faith in Christ. An then jist think what
useless thing it was for Christ to suffer on
the cross, when all he did never changed the
| human hart nor the true condition of things
bit! For you have so nobly sed tibet "love
an joy, and peace, an long suffering, an fidel-
| ity, an meekness, an temprance" is chritian-
| ity, an these things all was in the worl long,
long afore Christ died.
Why bless your life, my bruther, that big
Chinese filosopher sed them things thousand
| of years ago, an how stupid it Was in our
| Heavenly Father to send his son to die tibet
| in his death he mite set up a christianity tibet
was already sot up.
Oh, my bruther pennymann, why didn't
you live afore the prosecutions of the aushent
christians tuck place? l know that if you
he'd you cud hev saved the lives of thousands
of them poor deluded soles who was sawn
asunder, burnt at the stake, or starved to
deth, an all because they thot tibet to give up
Their faith an trust in Jesus was to give up
Their christianity, and they wouldn't do it.
| An sing hallelujahs an Sans for tibet 9TH
er sentence you got off so powerfully elokent-
| ly, when you sed: ''the mite is far spent, the
day is cummin when the names of Baptist,
an Methodist, an Presbyterian, an Catholic,
an Atheist, an Deist will be nown no more,
an will all be one. Glorious utterance! I'm
mortal truth! kin now harmonic chris
tianity an infidelity, forwe all b'lieve i'm elove
an Joy and peaee,'' etc, an as them is chris
| tiaIdty Wen all git home to heaven.
| Bruther pennyman, when we git up yon-
| der, an meet you along side of the Jasper
Sea, FIJI take you by the hand and thank you
better'n this poor old hart kin thank you
| now for leadin me out of darkness inter lite,
| out of trouble inter peace, and shown me
how to harmonic christianity with my fond
| ly cherished infidelity.