The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-04-08

hey. Instead of Christian consolation
for the dying, freezing sneer. Instead
of rayer, grimace. Instead OF Pauls
triumphant defiance Of death, a going
ont you know not where, to stop you
know not which, to do you lrnow not
what That is infidelity.
Furthermore: cannot be an infdel,
because of the false charges infdelity is
all the time making against the Bible.
Perhaps the slanderer that has made
the most impression and that some
Christians have not been intelligent
enough to deny is that the Bible favors
polygamy. Does the God of the Bible
uphold polygamy, or did He? How many
wives did God make for Adam? He
made one wife. Does not your com
mon sense tell you when God started
the marriage institution, He started 1t
as he wanted it TO continue? II God had
favored polygamy He would have Gre
ated for Adam five wives, or ten wives,
or twenty wives, just as easily as He
made one. At the very first OF the
Bible God shows himself in favor OF
monogamy and antagonistic to polyg-
amy. Genesis H. "a: Therefore shall
man leave his father and mother and
shall cleave unto his wife" Not his
wives but his wife. How many wives
did God spare for Noah in the ark? Two
and two the birds; two and two the
cattle; two and two the lions; two and
two the human race. II the God OF the
Bible had favored multiplicity OF
wives, He would have spared a plurality
OF wives. When God first launched the
human race He gave Adam one wife.
At the second launching Of the human
race lie spares for Noah one wife, for
Ham one wife, for Shem one wife, for
Japhet one wife. Does that look as
though God favored polygamyP In
Leviticus xviii. 1S, God thunders His
prohibition of more than one wife.
God permitted polygamy. Yes; just
as he permits to-day murder and theft
and arson and all kinds of crime. He
permits these things as you well know,
but he does not sanction them. Who
would dare to say he sanctioned them.
Because the presidents of the United
States have permitted polygamy in
Utah, you are, not, therefore, to con-
clude that they patronized IL, that they
approved it when, on the contrary, they
denounced it. All OF Gods ancient
Israel knew that the God Of the Bible
was against polygamy, for in the four
hundred and thirty years Of their stay in
Egypt there is only one case OF polyg-
amy 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, monog-
amists. But you say: didn't David
and Solomon favor polygamy?" yes,
and did they not get we'll punished for
itP Read the Ii es Of these two men
and you will come TO the conclusion
that all the attributes Of Gods nature
were against their behavior. David suf-
fered for his crimes in the caverns of
Adullam and Massada, in the wilderness
Of Mahanaim, in the bereavements of
Ziklag. The Bedouins after him, sickness
after him, Absalom after him. Ahith-
opel after him. Adoniiah after him,
the Edomites 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 Jewsss
was happier than the king in his mar
ital misbehavior. How did Solomon get
along with polygamy? Read his warn
ings in Proverbs, read his self-disgust
in Ecclesiastes. He throws up his hands
in loathing, and cries out: "Yanity of
Vanities, all is vanity" His seven hun
dred wives nearly pestered the life out
Of him. Solomon got well paid for his
crimes-well paid. Irepeat l 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. II
the Bible Is the friend Of polygamy,
why is 1t that in all the lands where
the Bible predominates, polygamy is
forbidden, and in the lands where there
is no Bible. IL is favored. .Polygamy all
over China, all over India, all 'over
| Africa, all over Persia, all over heathen-
dom, save as the missionaries have done
their work; while polygamy does not
| exist in England and the United States.
except in defiance of law. The Bible
abroad, God honored monogamy. The
Bible not abroad, God abhorred
polygamy.
Another false charge which inHdelity
has made against the Bible is that II is
antagonistic to woman, that II enjoins
her degradation and belittles her mis-
sion. Under this impression many wo-
men have been overcome Of this plague
of infidelity. Is the Bible the enomy Of
women2 Come into the picture fullery.
The Louvre, the Luxembourg vi the
Bible, and see which pictures arc the
most honored. Here Is Eve, a perfect
woman, as perfect woman as could be
made by perfect God Here is De-
borah, with her womanly arm hurling
host into the battle. Here Is Miriam,
leading the Israelitish orchestra on the
banks Of the Red sea. Here Is motherly
Hannah, with her own loving hand re-
plenishing the wardrobe Of her son Sam
uel, the prophet Here is Abigail, kneel-
ing at the foot OF the mountain nutil the
four hundred wrathful men, at the
sight Of her beauty and prowess halt,
halt-a hurricane stopped at the sight
Of water lily, dewdrop dashing back
Niagara. Here is Ruth, putting to shame
all the modern slang about mothers-in-
law as she turns her back on her home
and her country, and faces wild beasts
and exile and death that she may be with