The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-08-05
WILLIAM c. FISK,
Private Secretary.

-Infidels are in the habit of claiming
that they as class, are as moral, kindly
and upright as Christians, and reason that
Christianity is not necessary to produce
such results. Granting all that they
claim for themselves, (which no obseryant
person can do, however, they do not
seem to know that all that they have in
their makeup that is Christly, comes
from the religious influences that sur
round them and that has permeated So
ciety. What they might have been IN
der less favoring circumstances the fol-
lowing able remarks, taken from an after
dinner speech by James Russell, Lowell,
U. s. Minister to Great Britain, will
show:
81 fear that when we indulge ourselves
in the amusement of going without re-
ligion, we are not, perhaps, aware how
much we are sustained at present by an
enormous mass all about us of religious
feeling and religious conviction, so that,
whatever it may be safe for us to think,
for us who have had great advantages
and have been brought up in such way
that a certain moral direction has been
given to our character, | do not know
what would become of the less favored
classes of mankind If they undertook to
play the same game.
"Whatever defects and imperfections
may attach to few points of the doc;rinal
system of Calvin-the bulk of which was
simply what all Christians believe-it
will be found that Calvanism, or any
other ism which claims an open Bible and
proclaims crucified and risen Christ, is
infinitely preferable to any form Of polite
and polished skepticism, which gathers
as its yotaries the degenerate sons of
heroic ancestors, who, having been train
ed in a society and educated in schools
the foundations Of which were laid by
faith and piety, now turn and kick down
the ladder by which they have climbed
up, and persuade men to live without
God and leave them to die without hope.
The worst kind of religion is no religion
at all; and these men, living in ease and
luxury, INDUCING themselves in the
amusement of going without religion
may BIO thankful that they live in lands
where the gospel they neglect, has tanned
the beastliness and ferooity of the men
who, but for the Christianity, might long
ago nave eaten tuelr carcdSeS ike tE6
. South Sea Islanders, or cut off their heads
and tanned their hides like the monsters
of the French revolution. When the mi.
croscopic search of skepticism, which had
hunted the heavens and sounded the seas
to disprove the existence of creator, has
turned its attention to human society, and
has found place on this planet ten miles
square where decent man can live in de-
cency, comfort and security, supporting
and educating his children unspoiled aud
unpolluted; place where age is reverend
ed, infancy respected, manhood respected,
womanhood honored, and human life held
in due regard; when skeptics can find
such place ten miles square on this
globe, where the gospel of Christ has not
gone and cleared the way and laid the
foundations and make decency aud secur-
ity possible. it will then be in order for
the skeptical lterati to move thither and
there ventilate their views But so long
as these very men are dependent upon the
religion which they discard for every
privilege they enjoy, they may we'll hest
tate little before they seek to rob the
Christian of his hope and humanity of its
faith in that Savior who alone has given
to man that hope of life eternal which
makes life tolerable and robs the grave of
its gloom"