The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-11-20
HIS PAGAN Philippe.
a CINCINNATI CLERGYMAN ON NIGER
SOILS LECTURES,
Criticism Of His Latest Address-A Patron
Saint OF the vicious-Candid Excoriation
OF the Great Inhdel.

At the Walnut Hill congregational
church, Cincinnati, the Rev. Sydney
Strong devoted his remarks on n recent
Sunday TO Colonel Robert g. Ingersoll,
the we'll known lawyer and lecturer. He
said:
"Mr. Ingersoll has made his annual
pilgrimage to our city, speaking his usual
philippe against orthodox Christianity
under a new title, The Foundations of
Faith When / read the announcement,
j had hopes hat ut last Mr.. Ingcrsoll had
emerged into tho ripper, constructive period
of life N would give to the world the
foundations Of his religious belief. Mr..
Ingersoll is getting along In years and has
talked so much about religion that the
world has a right TO expect to hear some
thing about his religion. In this we were
disappointed. Instead, II is only fair to
say, he severely criticised the religion OF
other people. Criticism is perfectly fair,
yet when n man Is about throescore years
old and has made himself the religious in.
structor of thousands We should expect
him to occasionally say something positive
and define his own religious policy. Mr..
Ingersoll's lecture on The Foundations Of
Faith was, however, an attempted de-
struction of accepted foundations and tho
laying Of no other foundations.
81 take up the discussion OF Mr.. niger
soils position not TO make a personal at
tack, but because he is the exponent Of the
religious life Of multitudes. Mr.. Ingersoll
does not draw crowds by his eloquence
alone. He Is really the moutbpiece OF the
doubts and opinions of thousands. Great in
fidols Tor doubters) rise by the same means
that great reformcrs rise. Ingersell and
Paine and Voltaire are natural products
Of their age. Thousands Of people first get
into the stage of doubt, Of opposition TO
existing beliefs, when along comes some
gifted man, who gathers their doubts all
together and gives them utterance. That
such men do much good In helping to de-
stroy hoary headed error there can be no
doubt. They perform a service also In
drawing mems minds back to essentials.
Even Jesus did a great deal Of destruction
work likewiso Luther and Wesley. Had
they done no more they would have been
great infdels. But while they were de-
stroying they were building. Here, l may
say, Mr.. Ingersoll fails.
II freely grant that he has lone good by
his criticisms-though open minded men
can hardly applaud his spirit-yet we can
not take for our leader a man who Is only
n great doubter. Men cannot lean On
doubts. / am willing TO thank Mr.. niger
soil for helping TO remove some outgrown,
shaky foundations. Yet no fails as n leader
for not pointing out other foundations on
which to build. Mr.. Ingersollis follow
ers' should keep this clearly I'm view.
Grant that his criticisms are correct, yet
no fails as a leader.
81 wish TO make IL clear whom Mr.. In.
Rersoll represents, that We may under
stand the strength and weakness OF his po-
sition. He Is the spokesman Of the vicious
classes In society. He may not desire TO
be, yet he does not escape IL. His position
as a destroyer and not n constructor makes
il almost inevitable. The vicious classes
are opposed TO existing institutions and
accepted opinions and naturally find In
Mr.. Ingersoll an ally. His words are quot
ed with approval in houses Of prostitution.
Ae-eaHahIar whn attends his lecture Is
not checked In his career Of villainy, Is
rather encouraged, and he treats Mr.. In
g~crsoll's beautiful words on love and jus
ticc rs he does the red lights OF the theater.
Mr.. Ingersoll--it may be far from his in
tentions-has become the patron saint OF
the vicious classes.
This fact becomes serious when we re-
fleet that he could help 1t. Jesus drew
blttl AEONNS NHth ht ain nlil tilo
priests and scribes, but when he turned
upon the men before him and told them
TO repent of their sins a GOODNESS came over
his followers, and they fell away He
came to save, not destroy. II Mr.. Inger-
soil wishes TO escape from the applause of
tho vicious, let him picture the evils of
drink and prostitution and gambling and
prize lighting, not pass them over by say
ing that hypocrisy and bigotry are worse;
let him with burning eloquence call upon
his hearers TO repent Of the sins. 1t can
DO helped. Thc reason the vicious classes
regard Mr.. Ingcrsoll rs their spokesman Is
because he joins with them in opposition
10 accepted institutions and opinions. Let
him begin to build up on righteousness,
and hc could bo freed from the embarrass-
ing applause Of the gambler, prostitute
and other vicious ones. Here is where the
great donbtcr fails.
II account also for his hufdon the COM
munity because he voices the protests of
hundreds OF Intelligent men against IRA
tional views of the Bible held by n large
number of Christian people. Ingcrsoll-
ism might fifty he called the reductio al
absurdum Of the doctrine Of plenary in
spiration. Ii Is curious 10 notice how Mr..
Jngersoll takes n doctrine of the Bible
most tenaciously held by many Christians
and uses IL rs his best weapon In attack.
There are many men who do not wish to
discard the Bible who are yet pushed to do
1t because the church, they think, insists
ON their holding hat every word Is historic
ally, scientifically, ohronologically true.
Mr.. Ingorsoll expresses their minds. They
do not sanction his spirit perhaps, yet be-
llove that he Is right. He represents n
largo and increasing number of intelligent
men who protest against the traditional
views OF the Bible. The strength of the
eloquent dcubtcr's position lies I'm the fact
that his criticisms, not Of the real Bible,
but of n current view of the Bible, are
well AIKEN. To be frank about IL, I am
willing To thank him for his good service
~ this line. His not always sweet attacks
VIII, / think, help us To recover the real
bible, which will tell nightly for spirit
ual freedom and growth.
"Mr. Ingersoll clearly Is the spokesman
Of many people. For this reason I proceed
IT, point out where his views seriously foil.
NHa IL NOT serious Ipxity will answor