Telegram-herald., 1888-05-07
HE'LL IS ITO LET"
fRee THOUGHT BY Oh. WATTS
Lecture On the SataFe and f1hasnes Of
Free Thought ~Ed It's fnfiosles
UpoE the Csurcbes and
eoefeEy.

DIR. Charles Watts. of ToEonto. lectored
twice in Powers 0pess House yesterday 70
large audiences. taking for his subject : Free
was its infiasnee upon society, aud N the
evening he coEtinued his snbjsct By treat
ing OF its inhaencs upon the churches Ar.
J. n. Jsn,ison presided 81 the meetings and
introduced the speaker.
he opened with the text that "A House
Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand.
and under existing conditions of
the present churches they could never
stand lie divided the churches under
three heads. Roman Catholic Protestant
and Gon-conlornllng. He SAID that priest
was respected not on account OF bis priest
hood bul on account Of bis moral positi0n.
In bis lndl lsiment against the churches he
said that ali the orthodox churches are and
ever have been opposed 10 free thought:
that the Roman Catholic Church was nom
est. but that II was = most dangerous insti-
tuition, Is il wss SO radically opposed 10
tree thought. de said that the Roman
Cstholic Church could not commit an error
bat that human b-ings were ali born IN sin,
and if the church aid not forgive
sins. the occupation OF the priests
would be gone. fhe confessional
WAS the worst thing that had ever been
foisted upon the people, and wss vast vast
machinery of evil and wickedness. The
Catholic Church was very bad, but the
Protestant Church was nearly as bad. be
said that if bishops would get out Of the
English Parliament and write their own
sermons instead of buying them for so
much per HUNDRED, they would be better
posted as to the wants OF people, and would
not always be found opposing all measures
leading TO educational advancement aud
enlightenment. The non-conformists. i. e.,
the Pnntans. Methodlsts and Pres
byterisns were always haunted with
nightmare, and always utter the
only truth there is In the church
when they acknowledge their wickedness.
They came hera TO escape oppression, anc
then turned oppressors themselves. Tho
Bible might be all right. bat that IL could
not be taken IN this day of modern thoug ht;
it might have been all right 1900 years ago.
but no scientific men ever use II in THAR
examination. No political organization
uses 1t for guide, 1t was too old, We had
outgrown il. The Bible is the same today
as yesterday and did not keep up with thu
advancement of the nineteenth century.
The door had been opened for heresy even
| in the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope
had Just refused 10 interfere with tn
Irish troubles in Ireland, as appealed 10
| by the Tories twenty years ago the ords
should have been instantly issued putting t
stop to all political agitation in Ireland
| Modern thought had done it. in his opin-
ion. When ne was boy truth was tested
| by the Bible; now the Bible is tested by
truth. Orthodoxy given up was his
third indictment. Infant damnstion " a
no logger IL vogue, and If a ministel
| should say 10 q father: Now. yoCr son J.
| damned" the minister would receive .
| sound shaking up at the hands OF the irate
parent. Modern thought bad killed tLs
| devil anu shut up he'll. Hell was to
LETT" he did not know where the dew
| was. Modern thought hsd dispeiled tbe
| idea that God was infinite. es the niue
| could not conceive of time when there
was no world. no time. nothing al ali. II Il
/ could, where can the mind place ths
| eator He referred TO the Garden Of
| E1en and the food. and said that no MAJ
| today would wadt to have charged 10 hin
| the fall of Adam and Eye, and the curse,
that led to the flood. Who created the
| devil? If God did not. then God did not
, create all things Where did the sin come
from from God2 Nc; not according -
/ the Bible. So where did it come from, ths
devil? If from the devil, where did the
devil get il? lie was in favor Of giving the
devil bis due. he taught knowledge, and 10
Adam and Eve modesty.
His last indictment was. "that the tesch-
ings of the church would not stand the ties
of the day" The ministers could not de
fend on the platform, in public debate, tn
religion that they preach Sunday after sun
day. The churches must go down or re
| form, they mast revolutionize and
! conform to modern thought ol
they would soon be left in the distance
| he referred TO the fact that the churcbe'
were turning every stone possible 10 &c
riches, although the Bible expressly says
that riches wtIe complete bar 20 enterinl
the kingdom OF heaven. The church o
the future would be one OF morality anC
culture. and not Of theology. SIR Wstt'
closed his lecture by appealing 10 bis hear
ers no matter what their belief faith vas
to live up to IL. aud If there was home II
the future all would inherit Il. and wouiS
leave marx in their world that would b
looked upon witbspride and admiration.