Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-03-22


ISIS aud spirtnalists II there WAS An, 1
merit 10 the Obi cllon We might retoftnpon
our Christian friends with terrible effeci
oy reminding them OF their religions vars
ana connections, and Of their numerous
creed, that are constantly changing and
clashing In discord aud strife Liberals. !
whether athnistic, materialis,ic on spirit
utllstic, believe In mental liberty, aud
coucede to each other the risbt IN 1
differ 10 their intellectual cony,c.
lions II men are honest and yir.
tuous, they are acceptable to liberalism,
no matter what they believe.
AS T0 THE FUTURE.
1t Is said that liberalism offers no hone
for the future. What hope does CHRIS. |
tianity offerY / whl tell Won
1t offers us the hone ,SVt
99 per cent. Of the souls bonn IN thjs
world, and among them some OF the
noblest that ever lived, w,l h.
sent to an eternal he'll OF
fre aud birthstone. The entire
population of the world "a 1892 900 0O0
OF these Sss, oO0, 900 are Christians by ia.
lions, leaving 1904 ,O00, 600 to 90
100000 are Catholics, and 81 600,
900 Greeks - 2s2, O0O, 900 more to De
damned according To Professionalism
The O6,OOO,OOO Protestants viii 20
TO he'll according to the Catho-
lies, and Of the Protestants, hy
nations, large proportion are
unbelieyers, who viii be damued accord.
Ing t. their own creeds. As class be.
leve the Liberals are happier aud more
hopeful than Christians know that
am far happier aud far more hopeful than
| was when was a Christian. Then
could never feel satisfied Of my own sal
walton. When thought my own
unhappy to think that so many
Others would be damned.
WHY 1T is UNoRGANIzED.
1t is said that liberalism is morgan
lied. Three TO four thousand years ago
this world did not have sense enough TO
produce Liberalist. Two thousand
years ago it cructied all that could be
found. For the next 1900 years they were
murdered by every Christian nation. Two
hundred years ago they were i'm
prisoned. Fifty years ago they were not
able to get hearing. AS late as seven
years ago they We're mobbed in our own
state. Give us liberty and gty US time
and we viii organize. Give ~ hundred
years OF Liberal propagaudisw and
venture that liberalism will ba more
powerful than all Professionalism Too
much organization has been the. course OF
many reforms.
OFFENDING ITS WORK.
1t is said that liberalism has done
nothing for the world. 1t has not done
much because it has not had the time
and opportunity. Give us 1900 years ana
We will do something. What did Christ.
ianity do until after the reforma ion?
She destroyed the Greek aud
Roman civilization, degraded and
ostracized learning, burned the
best library the world then
had and brought on the dark ages. Lib.
eralism has established popular freedom
10 this country; it has established the
scientific meth I'd of interpreting nature;
II has forced new and more rational inter-
pretations OF the bible; it has furnished
means for many useful aud benevolent
enterprises. Seven Liberals, James
Smithson, VIM Segbert, VIM. Mcclure,
Robert Dale Owen, Chas II. HlrneH
james Lick aud Thomas Jefferson gave
SIP 000, coo TO the cause OF humanity,
Where are seven Christians who have
done the same? ChriStiahs, it Is true,
have given more in the bulk, but there
are more OF them.
Mr.. Shaw concluded his address, with
an appeal to Liberalists TO work together,
not Tor the glory Of God, but for the good
Of the race.
THE EVENISG CIVILIZATION
fair audience greeted Mr.. Shaw at
night to hear him discuss civilization. He
first defined the term, and next antlyzed
the causes, which he divided into natural
and artificial causes. The first embraced
climate, soil and food, and he
showed how these three important
factors played a great part
In civllizing a people The artificial
causes he classified as political, intel
lectual, industrial, commercial and eth
ical.
A consideration of these causes formed
the preface TO his discourse, aud being OF
didactic character was lit
tie dry, though clearly and intel
| llgently put. After they had been
briefly touched on the speaker
app cached the main issue, SO to speak,
| in defining the difference between ethics
and religion. Here he warmed to his
theme, and throwing of the formal aud
| somewhat strained manner, assumed IN
the earlier part OF his talk, spoke with
great fluency and animation. The ethical
Fside Of humanity needed the highestculti-
yation. L hlc, he understood to embrace
honesty, purity, virtue, truth, sobrley
and every good thing Religion, as de-
aned by the speaker, seemed synonymous
with superstition.
Some comparisons were made between
the leading nationAlitles, and the ptaker
showed his patriotism by awarding the
first place to the United States. Our
progress had been ever onward. we
had advanced in direct pro-
portion AS we had cast OH
| Inc old orthodox idess and
DILUTED OUR CHRISTIANITY
! with leayrn oi'ratlOnalism and common
sense. spain was cited asa priest-ridden
land What standing has she among ma
tinns? Nj xco was an eninentiy felg'
lions country, but Tor 800 years had beeg
4 groping iu tue dark. ! be land was iul'
81 aods. affairs and crucifxes--and ignor'
auee aud crime What had the bible
done flr Mexico? II was IN worse
4 ,lnht than wht II overrun by Cortes ano
III Spaniarls. Contested with tnes'
countries were Germany, France ene