The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-08-27
Wby Converted
EIDHarY.Burner
Nnswers PrNtttt.


library, have aroused much controversy.
He has been deluged with letters both
Endorsing and criticlsinE his change OF
belief. Mr.. Otto Wettstein, of Rochelle.
Ill, a most active agnostic, sent Mr..
Waggoner a long letter Of criticism, TO
which the new convert responded vigor-
ously upholding his faith in Christianity.
The letters are as follows:
Dear Brother-To explain the existence
and operations of this inscrutable uni
verse-its life, its order, its harmony
some one in the dark ages, ignorant of
nature, conceived the notion that a SUI
preme personal agent was logical ne
cessity to create and manipulate this
vast aggregation of worlds and systems;
and then complacently made THE affirima-
ton that a gigantic being of some sort
existed in nature who first created and
now governs the universe. AS long as the
Bible was considered an infallible guide
70 this faith science and reason were sub
ordinate to the church.
But since the advent of Voltalre, Paine.
Claiming, Parker and Ingersoll, the
Bible has been generally repudiated as an
infallible guide to truth, even by the
most brilliant minds within the church.
and theism must now be subjected to the
crucial test Of science and reason or fall.
Infinite phenomena necessitate cause
to produce them. A solitary cause cannot
possibly be the factor to produce all the
organic forms of matter on this globe, or
all the other worlds. and attend to the
gyrations, movements and infinite
changes of other cosmic bodies at the
same time. Omniscience and omnipotence
are words easy enough TO speak. but
nothing in nature corresponds with them.
All mind is necessarily conditioned and
limited, and in unfavorable conditions
cannot exist
The belief in personal Immortality
must be rejected for like reasons. All
forms Of matter are finite. begin and end;
their constituents alone are eternal. Man
is but a special form OF matter. When
this form is incinerated or disintegrated
that particular form has vanished for
ever. Death Is precisely what il appears.
and what we know it TO be-only this
and nothing more. Believe what you
know about it and you know ali about 1t.
Il is reasonable to believe that when
man is dead he can still live. Can a man
of the form, outline and functions of the
real man survive his own destruction and
then be reconstructed instantly out of
nothing? If made out of something. let
the spirfualists tell US what.
Personally. 1 fear the present life and
all its dread possIbilities-not death. The
conditions during the eternity after
death being identical with the conditions
before conception, why should 1 fear to
die? Non-existence cannot possibly be In
the least disagreeable.
My dear brother truth seeker. let me
implore you to consider well before you
consign to the flames the highest and
noblest thoughts Of the world. Yours,
with esteem and affection,
OTTO wETTSTEIN.
Rochelle. ILL.,, August H. 1899.
Dear Sir-In your letter you request me
TO give my opinion in plain terms of your
open letter of recent date. 1 will in as
terse and brief a manner as possible give
you my plain views OF the same.
Regarding the falslty and foolishness
(as you ASSERT of the theologians in
asserting that God exists, you certainly
cannot claim any right to make such a
bold assertion. A lack of understanding
or astuteness on your part to that end
would be as bottomless and as far from
reason as an attempt has been up TO this
writing to establish perpetual motion.
AS to the ignorance OF those who
asserted that there was a great God
possessed of infinite power over all the
darkness as to the existence Of any other
power-agnostic and Ingersollian. Pray
tell us. forsooth. where is your great God
OF infidelity and secularism that borders
upon the infinite power which pervades
all nature? And how can you or dare
you presume to. dispute the fact that
the incompatible power, for which we
have no better name than electricity, is !
not intimately and insearably a part of
the great divine power which orthodox
scientists assert is the great creating.
protecting and motive power that moves
all the universe?
AS TO the persons and their opinions
that are often quoted regarding the ex-
istence or non-existence of a great God. |
you have said nothing about the opinion !
of the Hebrew nation. They EMPHATIC
ally assert that there is. n God-the same
kind of a God that you. I'm your fruit 'ess
assertions. claim does not exist. The
opinions of those agnostic writers and of
yourself have nothing TO do with the
case. We want facts-not vague opin-
ions.
Regarding your futile attempt at argu-
ment. you seem to be entirely destitute /
of anything. even a shadow Of an argu- !
ment. You pursue the well-known course /
of agnostics-alias Knownothings-in tell |
ing what you do not know ind what you
do not want to know. instead OF what
you do know.
You would. II possessed Of the power. /
destroy all but your own pet. bOttomless /
ideas and from the debris thereof you /
would never be able to raise. Phoenix
like dr. otherwise, anything good. or
much less better.
Finally. after carefully perusinG and
considering your so-called pleadingS in I
the case, l have arrived at the conclu-
sion. unqualihedly. that you have most
signally failed in every sentence to make 4
a point or points sufficient TO constitute /
a case. and | shall most respectfully take /
leave to file demurrer 20 your pleadings .
in the case. II You fail to understand 4
what I mean by this. consult some good ,
lawyer. who will inform YOU. Truly |
yours. NJ. o WAGGONER.
Toledo. Ohio. August Il. 1859.
GIFT OF A HEREFORD. /
Yesterday in the offices Of one attorney
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