The Arkansaw traveler., 1884-11-22

V ' sf tAe sunaanesfal e3enenn q being . Esias being. A Aosse vitAs~s sscA power is a desd horse hsrd uitAcut sscA pe-ez t \ dead hisd: man witA-' ou, such power is a dead man; God without II IS dead God-ne God ss all n miracles. which are the deSni<ions of Gods poser in religieos seaching are all absurd and hs only to add oainn to rehg,cn. thea < is an odioas thing tor religion to claim God al ali. MracAsA are but the manipuiaaions cf nasure's material and forces on Gods payt as man and all ansmAlz do on then part they are not vs0iAtions of la~ any more than any other free acton of living agsnix Then Mir. lngersol's ans~ez rests upon . dennition ot religion that develops the fact taat when he would say his wors, against christianity he would say ii has the ies,imoaials of divine power. l, re;Ardseis,l las,os be- carse the power of God IS fn it. Discard miracles as absurd and you escape athessm only by the po~er ofiogicai Jolly But . gwen class of miracles may be de- nounced as absurd and false because no, in accord with the knosn character of God A persons kno~iedge of God oAa give the oaly bass of rjeeaon of the re- cord ot miracles My neighbor may tell ne that he saw hrsle mule with street dray moving c2 she street ~lsh th.rsy bales of cotton and would not belleve him, because l kno~ he poser of the htile m ale and know tha, three bales makes his load He nigh; move the th,r,y bales on car on iron rails ba. go, on the stree, dray. To damage chns;iAa- fly by alleging miracles agA,ns, i, would require o. Mir lngersou 10 prove hy exhibit of a knowledge ot God ;hA; he could not perform miracles. ,ust as the test Of AoTse and mule poser gives the k1osiecge 10 show what IS absurd in declaration oonoernins them. Bs, he desires no such kno~ledge. and II IS matter of no concern 10 him whether God exts,s or noi.
 Mr lusersoll. in his ans~et thea. wIih is mask torn oti says chnxlanl,y reiards osvi.sss,lon, because = has the power of God ID II. and dont like Him, and lie shall To; be God if can help II. He Ac,s as If he ~as in debt 10 God and does ne; san, :o pay up. oa, would repadiAie the debt
 The rext matter in dehni;son, is his cbysetfsn to ernA punishment. He defines ,he questionable doctrine IF these words l, teaches the infxiie absurdiy. ;hz; hnre offense can be jas,ly visited hy eternal punishment" l, teaches DO such ihing. l, says !" Le. the .ieked man forsake his ways, and the unughteous man hts thoughts, and le, him turn unto Ihe Lord ~ho wiii have mercy upon him, ard 10 our God ~ho will ahundan:iy rardon' II he does tn,s the oFense ceases ard the punIsAmen, does too. If he does no, then the ofense continues and the punishmen; continues. because the ofiense coetinueS If he never does then the of5ense becomes eternal and the punishment oecomes eternal. solely because the oAense De comes eternal.
 Eternal punishment in christian doc ,rine IS only against eternal s,nnlng The most practical method of oserthrowing eternal punishment, is 10 qui; shining bad statements of i, only make i, worse :. Les the wicked man forsake his ways"
 Hls nsxi declaration is, that chns- tianisy endeavoss to destroy intellectual hberty- He makes this assertion in the face of the fact tha, history shows ,ha, christian men and women have shed more martyr blood in the assertion of liberty than all the re>, Of the world pu, together. Can he show a single marry to the cause of intellectual liberty ~ho vas no, christian.
 He says. the church for a thousand years did ali within its power to proven, the expressioc of honest though; nd when the church had power there was in this world no ovilira;ion.r The church may not aisays have been an exponeni of christianity.
 Christianity has history ,of Zoo or more yearx The thousand years to which MT. Ingerson re5ers, embrace a period of coalition of church and civil government The shousand yeary then became an exponent not of christianity proper or properly of civil government, bu. of the coalition of the .wo.
 Christianity has history of about four