Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-02-11
CHURCH MEMBER AND AGNosrIc.

When the will of Henry NJ. Taber of
New York was read, the Presbyterian
denomination received II great shock.
He was n millionaire cotton broker. was
president of the board OF trustees of
an old and noted Presbyterian church.
and during the greater part of his life
was supposed to he pous member of
II. But for twenty years before his
death he was an aguostic, and for fif-
teen years he was secretly engaged in
propagatlng, with his purse and pen
radical agnostlcism. He contributed
generously both to the church Of which
he was n member, and to the publica-
ton of free thought literature, but
the aid he gave to the latter cause was
under cover.
He died on the 4th of last month. and
his will contained scathing denuncia-
ton of Christianity. Soon after his
death book written by him entitled
Faith and Fact" was published. and
1t has augmented the effect produced by
his will, for it is vigorous assault up
on the Christian religion as taught by
the leading sects of the day. The in
PRODUCTION was written by lngersol, and
the contents show that Mr.. Taber had
been a great reader of sermons and OF
literature relating TO religion. Inc
book is Ingersolian in doctrine, senu-
ment and argument. and adds nothing
new to the agnostic literature OF the
day. though some OF its paragraphs
are somewhat striking. Here is sam
pie:
ut is but historical truth that Chris
tianity has discouraged learning an
tagonized science and retarded civil
cation; that 1t has instigated fear, IN
cited persecution and encouraged war
that IL has stirred up jealousy, enmity
and strife; that 1t has been the prop
OF thrones, the friend of despotism, the
enemy of liberty. that 1t substitutes
faith for reason. legend FOR tact, IRA.
dltion for history. fable for truth; that
IL would punishe honest thought with
never-ending torture, and reward dis-
honest belief with eternal bliss; that II
has shown itself to be ignorant. credu-
lous, superstitlous, bigoted, arrogant,
irrational, unjust, tyrannica', pnari-
saical, cruel and immoral, that II false
Iy assumes to possess the only true
system by which uprghtness of char
acter and moral conduct are inculcated
and attained; and that 1t enormously
claims to have established the only m
stItutlons of n benetioent character
that have existed. The prosecutions
and murders for opinions sake have no
parallel in the history OF any other
than the Christian religion
This Is a very severe arraignment OF
the Christianity now known to the
world, but of course 1t has no applica-
ton to the system of religion, phil
osophy and government that was actu-
ally introduced by the Savior. 1t mere
" describes the results of the apostasy
from that system. which became COM
plete at an early period of the Chris
tlan era. and which, undeniably, has
filled the so-called Christian world
with sin and woe. The bulk of Mr..
Taber's book is very similar in charac-
ter to the average of agnostic efforts
on similar lines.
The most singular feature of the
whole matter is that while he was en-
gagged in collecting material for and
writing this book. he should have held
n responsible position in an old and
strictly orthodox church, and should
have posed as n plous member of it,
His double life destroys all confidence
In the sincerity OF his convictions upon
any subject. for he must have been a
complete and accomplished hypocrite.
There is ground for the suspicion that
among the rich and fashionable con-
gregations of the dny.there are many
like him; and that not infrequently his
counterpart can be found in the pull
nit.