The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-08-12

and in the war against this terribl,
chimera, this delusion of the Gospel
But no: in his last hour he asks FOL
Christian burial and asks that the,
give him the sacrament of the LORD
Jesus Christ. Why. you cannot de
pend upon these first rite infideis: yor
cannot depend upon their power to re
sist this great delusion of Christianity
Thomas Paine, the god of modern
skeptics. his birthday celebrated In
New York and Boston with great en-.
| observation-disclosures Paine. the paragon
| of Bible haters-Thomas Paine. about
whom his brother infdel. William
Carver. wrote in letter which have
at my house. saying that he drank II
quart OF rum day and was too mean
and too dishonest to pay for it-Thom-
ms Paine. the adored OF modern inf
delity-Thomas Paine, who stole an
| other mans wife in England and
brought her to this country-Thomas
| Paine. who was so squalid and so
loathsomc and so drunken and so prof
| ligate and so beastly in his habits.
| sometimes picked ont OF the ditch,
sometimes too filthy to be picked out
Thomas Paine. one would have thought
that he could have been depended on
for stcadfastncss against this great de-
fusion.
But no. In his dying hour he begs
the Lord Jesus Christ for mercy. Pow
erful dclusion. all conquering delusior
carthquaking delusion of the Christian
religion. Yea, il goes on. 1t is so i'm
pertinent, and it is so ovcrbearing, this
chimera of the Gospel, that, having
conquered the great picture galleries
of the world, the old masters and the
young masters, it is not satisfied until
it has conquered the music of the
world. Look over the programme of
any magnificent musical festival and
see what are the great performances
and learn that the greatest of all the
subjects are religious subjects.
Yes, this chimcrn Of the Gospel is not
satisfied until ii goes on and builds it.
self into the most permanent architcc-
tire, so it seems as if the world is new
cr TO get rid of it. What are some of
the finest buildings in the world? st.
Paul's, st. Peters and the churches
and cathedrals of all Christendom.
Yes, this impertinencc of the Gospel,
this vast dclusion, is not satisfied until
it projects itself, and in one year gives,
contributes, $6,250,000 to foreign mis-
sions, the work of which is to make
ounces and fools on the other side of
the world-people we have never seen.
Deluded doctors-220 physicians meet
ing week by week in London in the
Union Medical prayer circle to wor-
ship God.
Deludcd doctors-Lord Cairns, the
highest legal authority in England,
the cx-adviscr of the throne. spending
his vacation in preaching the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to the poor people OF
Scotland Frederick T. Frelinghuysen,
of New Jersey, once secretary of state,
an old fashioned Evangelical Christian,
an elder in the Reformed church. John
Bright, deluded Quaker. Henry Will
son. the vice president of the United
States, dying dcluded Methodist or
Congrcgationalist. Earl of Kintorc
dying a dcluded Presbyterian.
The cannibals in South sea. the
bushmen of TERRA del Fuego, the wild
men of Australia, putting down the
knives of their cruelty and clothing
themselves in decent apparel-all un-
der the power of this delusion. Judson
and Doty and Abcel and Campbell and
Williams and the 1900 missionaries
of the cross turning their backs on
home and civilization and comfort and
going out amid squalor of heathen-
ism to relieve it, to save it, TO help it.
toiling until they dropped into their
graves, dying with no earthly comfort
about them, and going into graves
with inappropriate epitaph, when they
might have lived in this country and
lived for themselves and lived luxuri-
ously and been at last put into brilliant
scpulchers. What n delusion!
Yes, this delusion OF the Christian re-
ligion shows itself in the fact that it
goes to those who are in trouble. Now,
it is bad enough TO cheat a man when
he is well and when he is prosperous,
but this religion comes TO man when
he is sick and says: You will do well
again after awhile. You are going into
n land where there are no coughs. and
no plcurisies, and no consumptions, and
no languishing. Take courage and bear
up" Yea, this awful chimera of the
Gospel comes to the poor, and it says to
them: You are on your way to vast
estates and to dividends always dec!ara-
BILE" This delusion of Christianity
comes TO the bereft, and it talks OF re-
union before the throne and of the
cessation of all sorrow. And then, to
show that this delusion will stop at
absolutely nothing, it goes to the dying
| bed and fills the man with anticipa-
| tons. How much better it would be
| to have him die without any more hope
| than swine and rats and snakes! Shovel
him under! That is all. Nothing more
left OF him. lie will never know any
| thing again. Shovel him under! The
soul is only a superior part of the body,
and when the body disintcgrates the
soul disintegrates. Annihilation, va
cancy, everlasting blank obliteration.
Why not present all that beautiful doc
trine to the dying instead of coming
with this hoax, this swindle of the
| Christian religion and filing the n wing