Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-03-17
CHRIST THE SAVIOUR,
THE HOPE OF HUMANITY, THE
JOY OF THE WORLD
The Rock of Ages Against Which
the Tempests of Time Have
Dashed In Vain.


a Myth?" and "Jesus a Man." and
the invitation to state what evidences
| possess of the truth Of Christianity.
l might answer this request by sim.
ply stating al know my Redeemer
liveth," but that will not be accepted
by the infidel who denies Christ, or
the scofier, who may or may not have
the courage to say just what he be-
lleves, but varies his creed, as occa-
sion may warrant, to tickle the fancy
OF those he wishes to please. OF the
two classes Of men, | must confess
that / have much more respect for the
intidel, like Mr.. Brown, who, from the
long contemplation OF the stock in
trade OF comparatively modern inf
dels, has all the arguments" like the
little balls used by the thimble -rigger,
at his fingers ends, than the free-and-
go-easy Unitarian, who chameleon
like can change his hue to suit his sur
round;ngs, and who while he may
shout for the Lord, can, if occasion
warrants, make obeisance to the devil
at the same time.
/ say these gentlemen will not ac-
cept anything as true that is beyond
the limited vista of mortal compre-
hension, and the difficult task is as.
signed me OF adapting known (or re-
vealedD laws to the demonstration Of
the little studied and less understood
psychic influences of the soul. II
either of these critics will tell me the
exact nature of that mysterious cur
rent called electricity, or by what
means it suspends the law of resistance
and pulsates around the globe in an
instant; if they will explain to me the
wonderful alchemy of Nature by which
the constituents OF crude earth are
evolved into the majesty Of the oak or
| tiaeSiy vi Vic ucautuul COiOio vi TIC
lily or the rose; if they can give me
the slightest conception of the extent
of the universe, with all the appliances
which science has lent to knowledge /;
l will endeavor, by analogy, to demon
strate the possession OF occult powers
sometimes-denominated the sixth
sense-whereby intuitive knowledge
is possessed. derived from the exercise
of functions as difficult Of explanation
as the mystery of taste, or sight, or
precisely how we feel, or hear, or
smell.
Mr.. Brown bases his dogmatic asser-
tion that Christ is myth, upon what
he claims is history; but it will be
noted that he does not take history as
presented, but just such portions of
the record as suit his purpose. When
he discovers that Josephus recognizes
the Saviour, he declares that portion
to be an Interpolation and calls upon
his companship OF |" eminent scholars"
whose brains have ran so long in q
groove that they have become lop-
sided, to acquiesce in this 'olent pre-
sumption. The "indirect references"
of all other histories are in the same
breath declared to be forgeries, the
only way of sustaining the proposition
he sets forth.
Now while it is fully sdmitted that
history is often unreliable, that some
of the beautiful legends of modern
days have been disputed, even to the
story Of William Tell and the instruc-
tive incident of George Washing ton
and his little hatchet, which have
been the admiration of all patriotic
and good people, it does not follow
that because some iconoclast comes
along, with frenzy in his brain and
a void in the soul, that the tyrant was
not defied, or that the cherry tree did
not suffer immolation. Mr.. Brown
has doubtless read some of the his
torical contributions of our own day
published in the Tacoma Ledger-and
noted how far they varied in telling
from the actual truth as it transpired.
Could greater accuracy be attained in
recording the acts thousands of years
ago, before the printing press had
placed in durable form history that
sill varies from truth just in proper.
ton as the same facts are seen differ
emily by different eyes. Will Mr..
Brown claim, on second thought, that
he is justified in sitting the grain from
the chaff, when SO much of the grain
was of light weight and SO much of
the chaff seems to have fallen through
the wide meshes which intolerance
at that day no less than now, selected
for the winnowing process?
But let us for moment cast aside
the question at issue. Let us suppose
for moment that Christ never lived.
or that if lie lived he was no more
than mortal man. What good will
the inculcation of this idea produce?
Will it make the world betters Or
will it not remove prop, a comfort, u
solace, and the greatest hope of i'm
mortality from that great multitude
of Jealous workers whose hearts now
sing i'll unison and love, whose souls
are exalted by the knowledge of i'm
mortality, and who strive to emulate
on earth the blessed example of the
saints who have crossed over, a vision
of whose happiness is constant in
spiration to earn the reward of well.
doing from the promise OF redemption
through the Saviour Would even
the intidel have the heart, when he
seriously contemplates the results of
this joyous belief, put out the light