The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-12-11
In HIS NEW LECTURE
COL. ROBERT G. INGERsOLL AGAIN
AssAILs CHRISTIANITY.
Talks ON "The Foundations of Fufthr
to nm Audience at EngIish's and
Ridicules the Bible.

Robert @. IngersolPs new lecture on
The Foundations OF Faith" was heard al
Engiish's Opera House last night by ar
audience somewhat smaller than usually
turns out to hear the great agnostic in
TINS city. The argument employed In this
new effort to destroy what Mr. Ingersoll
terms THE doctrine of eternal PAIN is
along the line OF what is coming TO be con-
sidered the higher criticism of the Bible
HIS Illustrations are more from the dis
coveries Of science than they once were
During his lecture he gives the following
dehnition OF religion as he would have IL:
Religion Is to love justice, to long for
the right, TO love mercy, to pity the suffer-
ing, to assist the weak, to forget the
wrongs. to remember benefits, to love
truth. to be sincere, to utter honest words,
10 love liberty, to wage relentless war
against slavery in all it's forms. to love
wife and child and friend, to make a hap
by home, to love the beautiful In art and
nature, to cultivate the mind, to be IA
miiiar with the. mighty thoughts which
genius has expressed, to cultivate courage
ana cheerfulness. to make others happy,
to hll life with the splendor of generous
acts, to discard error, to destroy prejudice.
to receive new truths with gladness, to
cultivate hope, to see the dawn beyond the
night, to do the best that can be done and
then to be resigned-this is religion of
reason, the creed Of science"
No diminution IL Mr.. ingersolps old time
oratorical vigor that has become familiar
to the American public can be notice /.
His great good nature ever beaYnine from
his countenance, the freedom from malice
a hor ft
Ing hits are delivered placed him on the
best OF terms with his hearers. Wit and
reason are deftly mingled in this as in
all his lectures. His audience was noticea-
Oily sympathetic and demonstrarive. His
m mIisuy saiues were so frequently ap-
p.auded that often he was interrupted
oiiu MS cimax drowned N the noise.
GEOLOGY AND GENESIS.
One OF the foundation stones of our
Iaitn' he said, SIS the Old Testament. II
tnat book Is not true. IL its authors were
unaided men, IL it contains blunders and
raisenoods, then that stone crumbles to
dust The biologists demonstrated that the
author Of Genesis was mistaken as to the
age OF the world. and that the story of the
universe having been created In six DAYS
soous SIX Thousand years ago could not be
Speaking of the gold and silver collected
oy KING David for the temple in Jerusalem,
mon. Colonel Ingersoli said:
According to the blessed Bible, David
Collected about two thousand million dol
lars in gold, making total of seven thou
sand million dollars. Is this true? There is
In the Bank OF France at the present time
1850 nearly s6D,ooo0O0, and so far as We
KNOW, IL Is the greatest amount that was
ever gathered together. All the gold now
known. coined and in bullion. does not
amount to much more than the sum coll
coected nearly eight dna tons nav Of
goid-that he by economy got together
about sixty thousand tons Of silver. making
'sThe average freight car carries about
fifteen tons-David's gold and silver would
load about 4.533 cars, making train about
thirty-two miles in length. And all this
ninety feet long and forty-five feet high
and thirty wide, to which was attached a
porch thirty feet wide, ninety feet long
and and $50 feet high. Probably the architect
Turning from the Old to the New Testa>
ment and taking up the alleged differences
In the accounts OF the birth OF Christ, Col.
1T is claimed that the writer's were di-
vinely inspired, and that all they wrote
sSous the birth s Of Christ From
the Christians point OF view nothing could
have been of greater Importance than that
event Do the accounts I'm in Nat Mat
accounts be true? Luke never heard
Of the star, and Matthew knew moth
ing OF the heavenly host Luke never heard
of the wise men, nor Matthew Of the shep-
herds. Luke knew nothing Of the hatred
OF Herod, the murder of the babes or the
flight. into Egypt. According to Matthew
and the child and fled into Egypt. Accord
ing to Luke, they all went to Jerusalem,
and from there back to Nazareth.
- - T..I~. =
II took place when Cyrenius was Governor.
Here Is another mistake. Cyrenius was not
appointed Governor until after the death of
place until ten years after the alleged
birth of Christ So. If Luke tells the truth.
Joseph, being warned by an angel, fed
Herod was dead. If Matthew and Luke are
both right. Christ was taken to Egypt ten
years before he was born and Herod killed
the babes ten years after he was dead:
Twill some Christian scholar have the
goodness to harmonic these inspired ac-
counts?'
ATTACKS THE TRINITY.
The doctrine OF the Trinity. according to
Colonel Ingersoll, is absurd. He said: cit
Is claimed not only that Christ was the
Son OF God. but that He was. and is. God.
Was He God before He was born?
What evidence have we that Christ was
God? Somebody has said that Christ
claimed that God was His father, and that
He and His Father were one. We do not
know from whom he received his nforma-
ton.
$50 II is declared that the Father Is God
and the Son God and the Holy Ghost God
and that these three Gods make one God.
According to the celestial multiplication
table, once is three, and three times one is
one. and. according to heavenly subtraction,
II we take two from three three are left.
The addition is equally peculiar. If we add
two TO one we have but one. Each one
Is equal to himself and the other two.
Nothing ever was. nothing ever can be
dogma OF the Trinity. At this point. alb
surdity having reached its limit nothing
more can be said except, Let US pray"
The wide differences in the sayings of
taken up by Colonel Ingerson.
I'm the New Testament" he said. I'VE
find the teachings and sayings OF Christ. If
we say that the book Is inspired, then we
must admit that Christ really said all the
things attributed to Him by the various
writer's. II the book is inspired we must &C
cept Ii all. We have no right to reject the
contradictory and absurd and accept the
reasonable and good. We must take II all
just as II is.
believed that God was loving father, that
He would take care OF His children, that
they need do nothing except TO rely i'm
plicitly on God He said:
- Blessed are the merciful. for they shall
Love your enemies. bless them that
curse YOU do good TO them that hate you
and pray for them which despitefully use
YOU and prosecute you.
Ask and il shall be given you. Whatso-
ever We would that men should do TO you,
do We even so to them. III we forgive men
their trespasses your heavenly Father will