Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1896-12-12
A REPLY TO lNGERsULL.

-
Colonel Ingersoll, In a recent num-
Dor Of the New York Journal, has an
attack on the New Testament, which
the Journal charscterizss as "ths oesl
argument ever ADVANCED agalnsI
Christianity" It's replete with gar
ingly false statements and soph'strJ-
exceptionally 80 even for an in'elieo'
tual product Of the noted sgnostie-
and II this is I've best that can be ad'
vancsd against the Christian religion,
there 10 no danger in agnosticism.
Mr.. Ingersolls reasoning can DO
scanned with much profit. He opens
with ths assertion that we do net know
who wrote the four gospels, to which 1t
IL sufficient to reply with another asser'
ton: We do know who wrotethem. The
evidence OF the early ecclesiastical writ
ers has decided that. We can reier to
Athanssius, Epiphanins, Augustip,
Jerome and others, who lived In the
early agee, as witnesses to the genu'
inensss OF these books, and their evil
dencs 10 historical. Until some other
historical evidence has been found,
contrsdieting theirs, II ie absolute
folly to deny their authorship OF the
gospels. II Ia entirely question Of
evidence, not OF conjecture.
Ingersoll next argues that tho four
gospels do not agree, and are conse-
quentIy not true. This 10 sophistry, AND
uoes not even possess the charm oil
novelty. Years ago Archbishop
WhAteiy In an anonymous pamphlet
met this very argument ny proving
that Of all the histories sxtsn'
Of the hrst Napoison' not TWO
could be found that agreed
perfectly In the main incidents. his
conclusion tnat none OF them were en-
Tilted 10 credlt, ana thAt Napoieoh
was, perhnps'Sa myth, encountered a
Storm OF ridicuie' but when the author
announcer mat mat WAS sxactiy the
argument OF the inndeis against the
four gospels, the ridicuis was siienceo.
The gospels do agree. Ills not true
that the fourth gospel Is nj variance
with the other three. 10 state that IL
is, 10 amply 10 repeat iaIsshoou' iof
which there 10 not even the shallow OF
excuse at this time, when biblical re-
search has cleared up what years ago
seemed to be contradictions or dn'
cfepancies. The differences existing
in the statement Of details are Indirect
proofs OF the genuineness OF the
records, a. In case OF concerted fraud
they would have been absent.
II Christ rose from the DEAD, the
TO His enemiesf be did appear 10 Hlf
enemies, to one OF the chief repre-
sentativss Of the prosecuting host
And 80 real, 20 overpower,ng was that
appearance that Saul became one oil
His most ardent followers, whose les
timony has come down Though oil
ages, to the reality OF the resurrection
from the dead. And, besides, He APP
peAred to more than dive hundred peo.
pie ct one time. Our Savior, then,
Notwithstanding Mr.. lngersoll's state
ment that the resurrection was
"done In secret corner,'
appeared after His death both
to friends and enemies, both
In private and public. But 1t is, per
haps. q prerogative of agnostics tc
make statements about subjects o.
oa ny Ao' y. vi
completely ignorant.
Again the colonel asks II apybod y
g.. 49,. h,.,,, =, -..,s, -,
attended by q celestial greeting
whv ro,o Th.ra ara hundrads Iivino
al the present moment, members Of