St. Paul daily globe., 1888-06-18
IT is A DISAPPOINTMENT.
Such Says Dr.. Smith Is Gladstone's
Latest Effort. .
ADVICE TO BOB INGERsoLL.
Neither of the Disputants Have Dis.
Cussed Christianity, But Indulgef
in Words, 10 -

uOuSe Yesterday morning by Dr. smith S
discourse. A deeper subject could not
have been chosen, and the issue between
MesSrs.. Gladstone and Ingersoll WAS
we'll defined. The text was from See
ond Timothy, iv, IA and Is: Alex
ander, the coppersmith, did much evil;
the Lord will render to him according
to his works; OF whom be thou ware
also: for he hath greatly withstood our
words" DR.. Smith said: ~
The attention which has been at
tracted by the series of religious arti-
cleS in the North American Review
makes it fitting that they furnish basis
for our thought this morning.
Such debate has very high intel
lectual interest on account of the great
gifts of the diSputants. Mr.. Gladstone
reasons out of his wide scholarship. and
with the conSummate rhetorical arts of
which he is an acknowledged master
Col. lngersoll was never seen to better
advantage in his unrivaled use of
English, his epigrammatic wit, and, as
usual,
HE SALTS HIS PAGES
with interrogation points, after which
easy fashion every subtle suggestion
takes on the form of an argument. The
fate of the Christian religion will not be
settled nor permanently affected by
such gladiatorial exhibition.
Religion is personal matter between
the individual and his destiny. Faith
and unfaith cannot watch like hostile
camps while their chosen leaders after
medieval methods settle the strife by
single combta
Notwithstanding its literary merit
| confess that the performance of Mr..
Gladstone is disappointing to me. 1t is
not that he fails in making answer, but
it is that the discussion is incidental,
negative and fragmeatary. He cannot
get away from the corporation idea Of
the Christian church-that great
Christendom," enclosing ''heavenly
treasure" is the thing to be defended.
The subject of Immortality is pre-
sented by Mr.. Ingersoll in the following
fine paSsOge: 1.-The idea of Immortality
that, like sea, has ebbed and flowed in
the human heart, with its countless
waves OF hope and fear
BEATING AGAINST TIE SHORES
and rock of time and fate, was not born
of any book, nor of any creed, nor of
any religion. 1t was born of human
lection, and it will continue to ebb
and flow beneath the mist and clouds
OF doubt and darkness as long as love
kisses the lips of DEATH" In reply to
this, Mr.. Gladstone refers to faith in
Immortality among the Egyptians, and
states that the most powerful mind
among the Greeks, that of Aristotle, had
10 clear conception of a future personal
existence.
1t will appear to any who are used to
the consideration of these questions
very singular that about the only refer
ence to Christ that appears in Mr.. Glad
stones article is to defend Him from
having called the chosen people ''gen-
GRAFTON of viperS," by showing that the
epithet was applied to the Phariseest
Mr.. Ingers0ll i'll his reply was never
at better advantage in the utterance of
epigrammatic untruthS. But when he
says, ''If orthodox Christianity is true,
an infidel has not the right to live has
ne not forgotten the words, ''Bless them
that curse you. do good to them that
hate you?" When he says 1.-The Bible
was never rejected by the cruel" does
he not forget the wholesale slaughter of
Christians by which the emperOrS or
Rome sought to prove the untruth of
the gospel which the martyre preached?
He declares that Jehovah established a
religion ''in which every temple was q
slaughter house and
when it is well known that the Mosaic
ritual modified the sacrifices of Egypt
and of surrounding nations. He fails
to discriminate between the legal code
and the religious preceptS of Moses,
and cannot understand that Il theocracy,
a government directly under divine
control, must regard idOlatry as treason.
Mr.. Ingersoll lacks most of all the
historical spirit. He judges Moses more
severely than he would Washington,
and ignores the thousands Of years be
tween them. He expects Joshua to be
as mild as WilberfOrce, and to be laying
his hands on the shoulder of draymen
like Bprgh, forgetting that these last
are products of the gospel of love.
But Mr.. Ingersoll, whatever else he
question of Christianity. Christianity
is the message and person of Christ.
Briefly, there is but one God, revealed
to us by ministry of light and love,
imposing upon us an unriyaled moral
jty, promising to US an Immortality after
death.
When Mr.. Ingersoll has time, let him
debate Christianity.
cannot close better than by quota
ton from recent speech by James
Russell Lowell, who is typical Ameri-
can as Col. 1ngerS0ll is not. when
the microscopic search of skepticism.
which has hunted the heavens and
sounded the seas to diSprove
THE EXISTENCE OF A CREATOR
has turned its attention to human So
ciety and has found the place on this
planet ten miles square, where decent
man can live in decency, comfort and
security, supporting and educating his
children, unspoiled and unpolluted; a
place where age is reverenced, infancy
respected, manhood respected, woman
hood hOnored, and human life held in
due regard; where the gospel of Christ
has not gone and cleared the way, and
laid the foundation and made decency
and security possible, it will then be in
order for the skeptical literati to move
thither and there ventilate their views"