Evening journal., 1897-03-06
n IHCERSOLL AND THE BIBLE.
HE QUESTIONS THE VALIDITY OF
THE OLD TESTAMENT MIRACLES
AND DENIES THE EXISTENCE OF
THE SUPERNATURAL.

III OH EIk4NAA CLlAAs
To the Editor Of the Evening Journal
Sir: Within the past few days the
press of this country has published an
other Of Mr.. Robert G. Ingersolps char
acteristic statements, a statment apro-
DOS Of the current discussion of the Old
Testament miracles, and impugning the
validity Of the miracles described there
in. Mr.. Ingersoll lays great stress upon
the variance displayed by the writer's OF
the books Deuteronomy, Leyiticus and
Numbers, in matters Of detail. 1t is a
matter OF little or no consequence
whether or not the writer's Of these
particular books Of the Old Testament
are unanimous in their descriptive ef-
forts OF any particular event; neither is
1t OF transcendent Importance whether
Noah took with him into the Ark 'one
pair OF each species Of living thing"
OF seven pair Of the clean and one Of
the unclean." That Noah did enter the
Ark is an accepted fact. and, at this
late day, 1t is both unnecessary and
childish In the extreme 10 stand on the
order of his having entered the same.
We have but to turn to the efforts OF
more recent historians in order to dis
cover discrepancies In the detailing of
any given event At the same time.
those historians have invariably dis
played an unanimity or concensus Of
opinion that such and such a circum-
stance actually transpired. But Of
course, each and every literary effort of
Mr. Ingersoll has for its fixed purpose
the discrediting and impugning CT the
contents of both the Old and the New
Testaments.
Mr.. Ingersol claims still further that
lin a few years the really intelligent
will give up the idea that the Bible is
an inspired book, and will deny The ex-
istence OF the Supernatural" These
words uttered by this blatant Agnos-
tic, are merely opniOnatiye and emf
nently Ingersollesque inasmuch as both
fact and experience disrobe them of
every vestige of prophetic truth. I'm
less ge assume that the intelligence Of
an 1ngersoll Is the legitimate represen-
tative Of she real intelligence Of the
world, an assumption too untenable to
be seriously entertained, then it may be
said that for the past 1900 years the
eal.intelligence Of the world has acr
cepted both the Old and the New Test
ments as books whose primal and fun
damental principles are based upon IN
spiration-and inspiration only. For
1900 years the Bible has been the bea
con, whose light has illumined the feet
of generations as they traversed the
unknown and mysterious paths of life.
For 1890 years the Bible has smoothed
thedying pillow. and its teachings have
formed the staff upon which humanity
has reclined as it penetrated the mists
and shadows of the mystic valley OF
death. And the Bible. Mr.. Ingersoll to
the contrary, will be largely in evidence
nrt fta tfrt,I ttftl fha lflf1r life
of this apostle Of Agnosticism has been
"rounded by a Sleep and when "the
wrecks uf matter and the crush of
worlds make Chaos reign supreme.
Mr.. Ingersoll denies the existence of
the Supernatural. W0ll, this Is not the
first time that the American public has
been inflicted with this gentleman s
grotesquo and phantasmagorial opin-
ions concerning things theological. But,
Whilst Mr. 1ngersoll denies the exis-
tence OF the Supernatural, to what
cause or agency does he attribute his
corporeal existence of to-day? Has
Science. with all her knowledge ever
created life out of inanimate matter?
Have thc properties OF the protoplasm
ever generated that which is living or
sentientg Is life generated, governed
and controlled by the unalterable and
immutable laws of material nature
Most docidedly-No. Therefore, in the
absence of any conhrmatory or trust
worthy evidence as TO life itself having
originally emanated from either the one
source 0r the other, we are content TO
incline 20 the almost universal belief
that mankind both physiologically and
psychologcally, is OF Divine creation
Mr.. lngersOll orrs in arrOgatlng 60
N al
Tor in asking ourselves the question
'Js there or is there not a life beyond
the grave?" we must conhne ourselves
within the limits of reason, or, In
other words, we must condne ourselves
to what the brain of man can compre.
hend. And the brain of Mr.. Ingersoll
as that of every man, is limited con
cerning this momentous question:
fact, 50 limited and circumscribed as G,
dwarf the human or finite comprehen
sion to the most infinitesimal proper
tions in one OF the cemeteries OF Lon
don there reposes the hOnored dust o
the late Professor Huxley, one of th'
most profound thinkers Of this or an,
age. Upon his tomb is inscribed th'
Following sentiment:
And If there be no meeting past tn
grave,
Gall is darkness. silence. yet 'tis rest
And yet, Notwithstanding the profund
ity of tins once famous Agnostic's intel
lect. Huxley was content to write an
TO punctuate his own eptaph with al
interrogaton-an Interrogation indica
tive of the mans inability to solve life
most complex problem. But Mr. lngel
soil, a man who is in nowise the pee
OF Huxley. save in the employment G
chaste ana graceful diction, would hav
the American public TO believe that
knows it all'-that he. Ingersoll.
the very embodiment of imperial wis
dom II there be one fool more motle
than another. il is the irrepressibl
idiot who declares. with all the fulsom
blatancy OF first-class ignoramu
There IS no God. Such specimens {
mental malformation should be whiI
ped for their brass-lilIe impudence. 1t
but a short while ago that Mr.. Ingel
soil set the table on a roar q tab
MW E1