The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-16
IDEAS OF INGERSOLL
TELLS A ST. PAUL AUDIENCE WHAT
HE BELIEVES AND WHY HE
BELIEVES 1T
PLEASED HIS MANY HEARERS


ments and Avoided vituperation
His Evident Earnestness I'M
pressed Those Who Listened,
Though They Did Not Concur
Interruptions That EnIivened.
Col. Robert G.. Ingersoll's lecture Is
story Of his life. The foundation Of
1t fitted the audience that assembled
at the Metropolitan last evening to
listen to it. He was an agnostic be-
cause he did not get his opinions from
his early surroundings. and yet the ia
nous orator asserted at the very out
set that opinions are formed from sur
roundings.
1--WE get our ideas as we do our gar
ments. Had we been born in Constan-
tinople we would have been Moham-
medans; if in Central Africa We might
be bending the knee to stuffed
snake" Col. Ingersoll then related the
experiences of his early life. How he
had been brought up by parents who
believed in what Is known as Chris
tianity.
and" said he, Eve should be chari-
table with all believers They are hon.
est in their beliefs. They think as
they do because they wish. They were
taught to believe, not as they must. but
as they were wished. When that is
reversed then the world will be filled
with intellectual hospitality"
EARLY EXPERIENCES.
Like the most of you," said Col. In
gersoll, 81 was raised among people
who knew-who were certain. They
did not reason or investigate. They
had no doubts. They knew that they
had the truth. In their creed there
was no guess-no perhaps. They had
a revelation from God. They knew the
beginning Of things. That God COM
menced to create on Monday, four
thousand and four years ago. They
knew that in the eternity back Of that
morning he had done nothing. They
knew that it took Him six days to
make the earth. They knew exactly
what He did each day, and when He
rested. They knew the origin Of evil,
Of all crime. Of all disease and death.
They know not only the beginning but
the end. They knew that life had one
the path. grown and narrow,
filled with thorns and nettles, stained
by bleeding feet, led to heaven, and
that the road, broad and smooth, Dor
dered with fruits and flowers, filed
with laughter and song, and all the
happiness of human life led straight
to hell. They also knew that the ma
jority of human beings were travelling
on the latter road. They knew that
the human heart was utterly depraved,
So that man by nature was in love
with wrong, and hated God with all
his might. Despite all this, he had
grown to be an agnostic-not because
he so willed but because by research
he must"
OLD-FASHIONED SERMONS.
Col. Ingersoll told how in winter the
only amusement afforded was the re-
vtval. and how the youth, and some
who were not youths, were converted
each winter and backslided in the
spring. How the sermons were mostly
about the agonies Of hell. the joys and
ecstacies Of heaven, salvation by faith
and the efficacy of the atenement. How
the feelings Of the young were wrought
upon until they lost what little sense
they originally possessed. and pictured
some Of the scenes at the "mourners
bench" He commended that these peo-
| pie became practically insane. Col. In
| gersoll then related the story of; the
| Vermont farmer who, on his deathbed,
| told minister who had called to COM
| fort him, that he had been too busy to
|, prepare for the future to which the
divine referred. He called attention to
| his splendid farm, which he said had
| taken all his time and energies to
| bring to such state Of perfection.
| He had been honest, and he had
brought his children up to enjoy the
fruits Of his toll. The farmer conclud-
| ed:
Mr. Preacher, have no fear of the
| future. There may be such a place as
| hell-but IL there is you can never
! make me believe that it Is any worse
than old Vermont
STORY OF LAZARUS.
"The final bolt that rivited my oppo-
sition to orthodox religion" said Col.
Ingersoll, was the story Of Lazarus
and the rich man, as related by a Free
Will Baptist preacher" He described
Dives, the rich man, who suffered for
water, and cried out that Lazarus be
sent to moisten his parched lips. and
! that this unheard prayer of the suf-
| ferer went on for all time without re-
lief having been afforded, "and then I
hated the religion and all that was
| connected with it. For the first time I
| understood the dogma of eternal pain
| for the first time my imaginatfon
grasped the height and depth of the
Christian horror. Then I said: 1T is
a lie. If it is true I hate it ALL From
| that day the flames Of hell were
quenched. From that day I have pas
sionately hated every orthodox creed I"
MINIMIZING HE'LL.
| Nothing pleases me better" con-
tinued the speaker, than that the be-
| lief in eternal pain is growing weaker
every day. That thousands of minis
tiers are ashamed Of it, and either no
longer preach it, or so modify their
references to eternal punishment as to
greatly minimize it's horrors. 1t gives
me joy to know that Christians are
| growing merciful, so mercifuI that the
fires of hell are burning low-ficker-
Ing, choked with ashes, destined in a
Few years to die out altogether. For
! centuries Chrlstendom was madhouse.
ropes, bishops, cardinals, priests,
monks and heretics were all insane.
Only a few-four or five In a century
were sound in heart and brain. ONLY
| a few, in spite Of all, heard reasons
| voice. Only a few, in the wild rage of
| ignorance, preserved the perfect calm
| that reason gives. We have advanced
In few years the Christians will be-
| come-let us hope-humane and SEN
s1ble enough to deny the dogma that
! fills the endless years with pain. They
| ought to know now that this dogma
| is utterly inconsistent with the wisdom.
| the justice and the goodness of God
! They ought to know that their belief
| in hell gives to the Holy Ghost-the
| the mouth Of the Lamb Of God with the
| fangS of a ViDer"