The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-04-20
REPLY TO INCERSOLL.
Mr.. Blackstone Sermon Yesterday
Morning in the Episcopal Church
THE ATHEIST, THE AGNOsTIC
One Says There is No God, the
Other Asks Is There a God
"Having NO Hope and With
out God in the world"

and hltnOut GOQ III the NOIlus rum
Ephesians i:12. The sermon, which was
in the nature OF a reply TO the recent lee
ture delivered from a Chicago pulpit by
Colonel Robert @. Ingersoll. was as fol-
lows:
IF God Is, is He not In the world as
well as elsewhere? IL He is not In the
world, where is He? If He Is, and is I'm
the world, is He here merely as a specta-
tor? or is He active force In the
worlds affairs? II He has any interest
in the world may not expect Him to
show IL, at least now and then? III He
does show IL. how can He do IL but by
doing something out of the common or
der of things7 But IL He does anything
out Of the common order we at once have
phenomenon. Where must we place IL?
Into what category, the preternatural or
supernatural? We have an event to deal
with. differing from the ordinary course
of things. IL IT simply differs, we call 1t
'preternatural.' that is. beside nature. II
Il is beyond any law we know, II is SUI
pernatural. An illustration has been
given. The dark day. which once ter
rihed all Europe was preternatural;' the
resurrection of the dead is supernatural
Darkness was familiar TO men, but not
a dark day IL was out of the common
order of things; but rising from the dead
was not In any way known. so when the
resurrection took place IL was supernat-
ural; beyond any law that men knew.
There are certain kinds OF thinking
apparatus which lead men to deny the
supernatural but not TO go any farther
than to take the position of an agnostio
in IL. OF the reality of the cause of super
natural events II so they ever occur.
There are thinking machines that have
been convinced of the actuality of the SUI
pernatural as well as the preternatural,
and their thoughts go out to the cause;
they are believers in God. The agnostic.
who is one. asserting that he neither de-
mics nor affrms the existence of God, but
who does not know, thereby leaving the
probabilities for and against equal. is in
consistent when he dogmatizes upon the
supernatural and says II never happenI
inconsistent because. II. possibly. God is
then the supernatural may be (of course
II He is not. n cannot be.)
THE out and out atheist. that is one
whose thinking machine utters no uncer-
tain sound. but says right out, there is
no God Is wholly consistent in denying
the supernatural in the worlds affairs.
And that other man who says. I believe
In God Is not as consistent In believing
in the supernatural. because, IL he is a
real believer In God, he expects God to do
things now and then that are beyond
any law the workings of which he
knows.
THE atheist-we know where to find
him; he misleads nobody. He comes right
out boldly and says. There is no God
He says Il TO children, TO men and to wo-
men, and so when he denies the super
natural In the world we are not sur
prised; and It is very seldom he can do
any harm, because the natural instincts
OF humanity are offended at the affirma-
ton There is no God There is no ear
open to listen to anything such a person
Gays. A belief that God is comes with
birth. There may be all sorts OF concep-
nf Crdf hAfn 1,.se a. l.
known fact that II is never necessary for
missionary to any people, however low
In the scale Of humanity, TO begin his
teaching by telling them of the existence
OF some power wiser. mightier. more low
Ing or more hateful than man. There
would be as much reason for an astrono-
mer TO begin teaching his pupils by prov
ing there is a sun. The sun shines, and
though a child never heard the name we
give this luminary. yet he would know IL
is, because IL had forced itself upon him
So God has in some way forced a belief
that He is on the mind and conscience of
every one born in the world. The few, the
very few who say There is no God IL
they really believe that way. are abnor-
mai creatures. They are freaks of ma
ture. and have no more power to per-
suade men to think as they say they do
than some deformed specimen of the race
would have in persuading the sound and
"th-BAblVtAituth 10 GnOGaNOr 10
make himself like him. The out and out
atheist isn't a dangerous man in regard
20 influencing others TO deny God, for the
child OF tender years, the men and wo-
men possessing very moderate abilities,
VIII instinctively turn from him. They
may not be able to refute his reasoning.
but they have the consciousness that
something is wrong, for God cannot be
reasoned out OF existence
Not so with the 'agnostic' He appears
in the garb of light: he comes before men
in the robe of extreme humility. He saws.
we have earnestly studied the question.
is there a God?' and we are not able 10
make up our minds. We cannot find Him.
There are some reasons to believe that
He Is. There are other reasons for be-
ieving that He is not We will not say
that He is not Neither will we say He
is Our statement must be, We don't
know Our advice Is not to think about
Him. IL is foolish TO worship Him whom
you do not know, and we would advise
you to say nothing mean about Him. for
IL He happens TO be IL might not be
well for you. The right thing to do is 10
ignore all thought of Him and do your
duty TO the world. Educate. amuse. do
something 20 help the general prosperity
of men: try to supplant tears and sorrow
with laughter and JOY; Danish poverty
and ignorance by the introduction of
riches and learning; At all men TO revel
in delight. as they learn the constituents
OF the rocks or inhale the perfume of the
rose. or behold the beauty OF the prism.
or are warmed by the suns rays or stan1
astonished at the twinkling or dancing
lights OF the heavens. These are ours:
these things we know. And we know
Furthermore. viz: that II there IL a God,
He never comes TO this world. No pray
ers have ever increased prosperity. The
sick. the afflicted and the dying are here
in spite OF the myriads OF applications
that have been 10 a supposed living COL
The laws Of nature are Interchangeable.
This is quite taking 70 a certain class OF
minds and does an infinite amount Of
~schief 10 the young and immatured.
people are represented in our text.
God in the World lie may be.
know Him when they 70