The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-04-09

the better. o voyager for eternity-the
FREELY or the liglIthouse'
What a mission infidelity has started
on! The extinguishment of lighthouse,
the breaking up of lifeboats, the dis
missal of all the pilots, the turning Of
the inscription on your child's grave
into n farce and lie. Walter SCOTS
Old Mortality, chisel in hand, went
through the land TO cut into palmer
letters the half obliteratcd inscriptions
on the tombstones, and it was a beau
tiful mission. Bat inGdelity spends its
time with BANNER and chisel trying to
cut ont from the tombstones of your
dead all the story of resurrection and
heaven. IL is the iconoclast of every
village graveyard, and of every city
cemetery, and of Westminster Abbey.
Instead of Christian consolation for the
dying, n freezing sneer. Instead of
prayer, a grirnace. Instead of Pauls
triumphant defiance Of death, going
out You know not where. to stop you
know not when, to do you know not
what. lEat Is lnJ0ellJy.
FOLLY or THE PoLYGAMIsT's CLAIM.
Furthermore, cannot be an infidel
because of the false charges infidGity
is all the time making against the
Bible. Perhaps the SANDER that has
made the most impression and that
some Christians have not been intelli-
gent enough to deny is that the
Bible favors polygamy. Does the God
of the Bible uphold poiygamy, or did
hel How many wives did God make
for Adam2 He made one wife. Does
not your common sense tell you when
God started the marriage institution he
started it as he wanted it to continued
If God had favored polygamy he could
have created for Adam five wives or
ten wives, or twenty wives, just as
easily rs he made one.
At the very first of the Bible God
shows himself in favor of monogamy
and antagonistic to polygamy. Gen
esis ii, "a, Therefore shall a man leave
his father and mother, and shall cleave
unto his wife" Not his wives but bis
wife. How many wives did God spare
for Noah in the ark9 Two and two
the birds; two and two the cattle; two
and two the lions; two and two the
human race. If the God of the Bible
had favored a multiplicity of wives he
would have spared plurality of wives.
When God first launched the human
race he gave Adam one wife. At the
second launching of the human race he
spares for Noah one wife, for Ham one
wife, for Shem one wife, for Japhet one
wife. Does that look as though God
favored polygamyf In Leviticus xviii,
IS, God thunders his prohibition of
more than one wife.
God permitted polygamy. Yes; just
as he permits today murder and theft
and arson and all kinds of crime He
permits these things, as you well know,
but he docs not sanction them. Who
would dare to say he sanctions them1
Because the presidents of the United
States have permitted polygamy in
Utah you are not, therefore, to con-
clude that they patronized it, that they
approved it, when, ON the contrary,
they denounced it, All of Gods an
cient Israel knew that the God of the
Bible was against polygamy, for in the
four hundred and thirty years of their
stay i'll Egypt there is only one case
of polygany recorded-only one.
All the mighty men OF the Bible
stood aloof from polygamy except
those who, falling into the crime, were
chastised within an inch of their lives.
Adam, Aaron, Noah, Joseph, joshua
Samuel, monogaInists- But you say,
Didn't David and Solomon favor
polygamy9" Yes, and did they not get
well punished for itl Read the lives of
those two men, and you will come to
the conclusion that all the attributes
of Gods nature were against their be-
havior. David suffered for his crimes
in the caverns of Aduf1am and Massada,
in the wilderness of Mahanaim, in the
bereavements of Ziklag. The Bedouins
after him, sickness after him, Absalon
after him, Ahithopel after him, Adoni-
! jah after him, the Edolnites after him,
the Syrians after him, the Moabites
after him, death after him, the Lord
God Almighty after him. The poorest
peasant in all the empire married to
the plainest Jewess was happier than
the king in his marital misbehavior.
How did Solomon get along with
polygamy. Read his warnings in
Proverbs, read his self disgust in Ecclesi-
astes lie throws up his hand in loath-
ing and cries out, Vanity of vanities,
all is vanity" His seven hundred
wives nearly pestered the life out OF
him. Solomon got well paid for his
crimes-well paid. 1 repeat that all
the mighty men of the Scriptures were
aloof from polygamy, save as they were
pounded and failed and cut to pieces
for their insult to holy marriage Il
the Bible is a friend of polygamy why
is it that in all the lands where the Bi
hls predominates polygainy is forbid.
dan, and in all the lands where there is
no Bible it is favored. Polygamy all
over China, all over India, all over At
RIGA, all over Persia, all over heather
dom, save as the missionaries have
done their work; while polygamy doe.
not exist in England and the United
States, except in defiance of law. The
Bible abroad, God honored monog
amy. The Bible not abroad. Goo
abhorred polygamy.
BEAUTIFUL BIBLE PICTURES OF wo
. MAN.
= Another false charge which infidelity
has made against the Bible is that it i
antagonistic to woman; that it enjoin
her degradation and belittles her mis-
sion. Under this impression man,
women have been overcome by tn,
plague of infidelity. Is the Bible tn,
enemy of womani Come into tn,
picture gallery, the Louvre, the Lux
embourg of the Bible, and see which
pictures are the mora bonorod uor