The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1896-04-18
BOB INGERSOLL.
The Sentinel's Correspondent
Hears, Sees and Thinks of
the Great Atheist.
Measles. Moles, and Et Cetera Talk
From the Nations Capital.

"Aoi1ANpAo>, ~ w., ApIil 10, 1870.
Editor Sentinel:-I have for long
time doubted the wisdom of the pulpit
and the press in dignifying Col. Robert
G, lngersoll with such serious con-
sideratiOn and attention, and al
ter bearing the man I am more
firmly set in my convictions that chris
tianity has made a great mistake in
advertising him so extensively. One
OF the first lessons taught our children
in the early morning of childhood, at
home. at Sunday school and at church.
is to ever regard Bob Jngersoll as a
hideous monster of sin and iniquity
and his teachings as deadly poison to
the soul. Having heard so much atten-
tion paid him by good people in my
early life, had about come to the con-
clusion that he was far more import
ant parsonage than old Satan himself,
and my young suspicious had almost
become aroused to the belief that there
must be something powerful and con-
vincing about the man and his teach
ings, and had I not had an opportunity
Of hearing and judging him for myself,
l might have gone through life under
a very unsatisfactory delusion as to his
real merits. Did you ever experience
sort of itching sensation aud were
unable to decide in Just what part of
the anatomy it was located? Well,
that describes the kind Of desire that
l have always had TO see and hear the
celebrated lngersoll. Celebrated be-
cause of the notoriety given him by
christian people, ana l am glad beyond
measure to be able to say to our young
people who may not have heard him,
tha: 50 far as his attacks on the chris
tian religion are concerned, he is no
more than Il great big bubble easily
pc netrAted and exploded by the shafts
of truth and reason. That he is a
clever Alker, u good rhetOriticiah. and
has ii perfect command of the English
lang uage cannot be denied. His NOR
al lectures, which he uses tc bait his
audience and sugar coat his bitter sub.
iec,, contain some splendid truths and
beautiful sentiment which are express
ed and illustrated by him in the eX
quisi,e grouping ot superb sentences
and the most magnificent pictures that
the inn. yipation can paint. He lisa good
Judge Of human nature, we'll read,
well-travelled man, and knows how to
play upon the emotions OF men. but
when b. wades out into the deep sea OF
his ungpdly >ubjec, he at once assumes
A Iabor.d attitude and impresses one
with the belief that were it not Tor the
dollars in sight Bob would not be
there. His measurement OF the rell
gion r' he Bible by the most -hva ee
and a,,.r.iHus deeds Of religious aud lr-
,e)iri,us Intolerance committed 10 the
darn, :, ages Of is nuranr" land >nrtrstl'
,i., ,.,u vets hin ,h lu-'nrrri'l and
ircc,.- .>'-ncN. ;inG hi !l"'slc'I llr"nee
agalr~, In. Holy Scriptures fade te
fore H.. "riving suhIiehl "l truth and
reu,uu ike mist before the morning
suD and leaves him standing deserted
alou. Ike an ''unkown bark upon an
unknown sea.''-a NAH who has sold
his irheritage in Heaven fo' little
earthly notur.e,y and few shining
dollars. May our just and lrnlent Goa
have mercy on his poor. shrlveled niue
soul Would that every man. woman
and child in the world could hear his
weak. sen.eless and pitiable arralgn-
,sent Of the Deity. by whose lenlency
alone the miserab bic little creature is
permitted to exist. for to hear him Is
10 become convinced Of the utter insig-
nitieance of the man who believes, or
pre,ends to believe. that man evoluted
from the tadpole. Did we not believe
that God created all men, we might
think that Bob Ingersoll's soul had de-
generated from the ,adpole. the mos
quito or some other unlmportant AMI
NAL. Bob himself can never 90 any
!, rr, IN the christian faith; it is only