The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1888-05-17
MIR, GLADSTONE ON MIR. INGEEsoLI

| istiC of Mr.. Gladstone III all MS SohVO
versIal literature. He questions not MS
opponents honesty; he imputes no mo-
tives. But he mercilessly exposes MIR.
Ingersoll's Interpretations of Scripture,
as in his incongruous coupling of differ
ent texts to make good the assertion
that Scripture condemns men to everlast-
ing fire for erroneous belief; his gratul-
tous assumptions, as that Jephthahs
sacrifice of his daughter is approved by
Scripture because it is narrated IN scrip
ture; his philosophical Inconsistencies,
as in his contemporaneous statement
that no belief has any moral quality at.
tached to it, and that belief in eternal
pain is an 'infamy Of infamies;' his ex-
traordinary dogmatism, and his careless
and bv-the-way declaration that Shaks
peare is 'by far the greatest OF the hu-
man race;' his rhetorical skill In mis-
stating and so confusing issues, as IN
his condemnation of the Christian doc
trine of self sacrifice as inconsistent
with faith IN an infinite God, MIR.
Gladstone's exposure and refutatlon OF
this last we venture to quote, as aHoru
inc a striking illustration of several OF
his characteristics in this paper, his dell
cate irony, combined with perfect cour.
tesy, his spiritual Interpretation OF
Scripture, and his insight into and un.
yelling of the profounder truths OF
spiritual experience: ..-
i proceed to another of the notions,
as confident as they seem 10 be CRUDE,
which the Reply has drawn into Its
wide casting net;
WHY should God demand a sacrifice
from mani Why should the Infinite
ask anything from the finiteT Should
the sun beg of the glowworm, and
should the momentary spark excite the
envy of the source of lightF
This is one of the cases in which nap
by or snowy illustration is, in the keply
before me, set to carry with rush the
position which argument would have TO
approach more laboriously and more
slowly. The case of the glow-worm with
the sun cannot but move readers pity,
it seems so very hard. But let us sup
pose for a moment that the glow-worm
was 50 constituted and so related to the
sun that an interaction between them
was a fundamental condition of its
health and life: that the glow-worm
must, by the law of its nature, like the
moon, reflect upon. according to It's
strength and measure, the light which
it receives, and that only by process
involving that reflection its own store OF
vitality could be upheld? 1t will be said
that this is very large petitiO which is
absolutely requisite in order 70 make II
paraIlel to the, case of the Christian.
The argument which the Reply has to
destroy is and must be the CHRISTIAN
argument, and not some figure OF straw,
fabricated at will 1t is needless, per
haps, but it is refreshing, to quote the
noble Psalm (Ps, l., 10, II, IA, l5,) IN
which this assumption OF the Reply Is
rebuked. All the beasts Of the forests
are mine, and so are the cattle upon a
thousand hills. II l
be hungry l will not tell thee, for the
whole world is mine' and all all that ,ant Is
God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows
unto the Most Highest, and call upon
Me in the time of trouble, so will l hear
thee, and thou shall praise Me- Let me
try my hand at counter illustration.
| If the Infinite is to make no demand
upon the finite, by parity of reasoning
the great and strong should scarcely
make them on the weak and small.
WHY, then, should the father make de
mands of love, obedience, and sacrifice
from his young child? Is there not some
flavor of the sun and glow worm here!
But every man does 80 make them, If he
is a man of sense and feeling; and he
makes them for the sake and in the in
terest of the son himself, whose nature
expanding in the warmth Of affection
and pious care, requires, by an inward
law, to return as well as to receive.
And so God asks of us. in order that
what we give to Him may be far more
our own than it ever was before the
giving, or than it could have been I'M
less first rendered up to Him, to become
part of what the Gospel calls our
treasure in heaven
We desire always to comply with the
Apostolic injunction to Honor all men,
but we find compliance sometimes
difficulty, and we confess frankly that
the difficult, is rarely greater than in
the case of Mr.. Ingersoll. 1t is not that
we differ from him in all his assump-
tions, in most of his processes, and In
the larger part of his conclusions. We
differ quite as much from Monsignor
Capel But it requires a very rigorous
enforcement of the law. Judge not,
that We be not judged to avoid con
demning as morally dishonest one who
combines an apparent ripeness of cul-
ture with a constant disregard of the
laws of intellectual honesty; who habit
ually misrepresents his opponents, gar
bles and misquotes their Sacred Book,
builds up for them beliefs which they
dsown, substitutes now ridicule, now
rhetoric, and now vehement and un-
proved assertion from candid statement,
fair inquiry, and rational argument.
We find it difficult to excuse dogmatism
and appeal to prejudice even in dis
ciple of ecclesiastical authority; but the
weapon is at least congruous with the
cause. But when these medieval weap.
Uns-which the church is all too grad
ually learning to unuse-are taken up
by an avowed apostle of liberalism, the
incongruity gives added shock to moral
sense. 1t is as if a civilized army should
equip itself with scalping knives and
bring scalps home as trophies of its vic
tory. The essential immortality of Mr.
Ingersoll's method-we speak of the
method, not of the man who uses it and
who may be pardoned by reason of his
prejudice as others are by reason OF
their ignorance-has never been more
searchingly exposed than IN this paper
of Mr.. Gladstone, who thus sums up liz
results
'Candor and upright intention also
impose upon commentator the duty Of
formulating his animadyersions, | sun
them up under two heads. Whereas We
are placed in an atmosphere of mystery
relieved only by a little sphere of ligh
round each of us, like clearing in al
: American forest (Which this writer hal
so well described), and rarely can SCI
farther than is necessary for the direc-
ton Of our own conduct from day tt
day, we find here, assumed by particu
lar person, the character of an universe
Judge without appeal. And wherein
I the higest self.restraint is necessary IL
these dark but therefore all the more ex
citing inquiries, in order to maintain tn,
D ever-quivering balance of our faculties
= this writer chooses to ride an unbrokeI
t horse, or to throw the reins upon hi
= neck.'-IChristian Union.
Answer This Question.
3, Why do 80 many people we see arounC
8 us seem to prefer to suffer and be mad
I miserable by indigestion, constipation