Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-08-11

| tne WlckeuneSS lneTe WIS at tnat tlIne
abroad. One day my father cleared ev.
| erybody out OF the cabin except my
self and locked the door, He said:
David, what are you going to dol
What are you going to beY Well I
said. father. am going to follow the
sea- Follow the sea and be a poor.
miserable. drunken sailor, kicked and
| cuffed about the world. and die Of fe-
yer in foreign hospital oh. nov !
said. Father. will not be that; will
tread the quarter deck and command
as you do No, David my father
said; no, David, a person that has
your principles and your bad habits
will never tread the quarter deck or
command My father went out and
shut the docr after him. and | 50 ID
then. will change. will never swear
again, will never drink again. will
never gamble again. and. gentlemen,
by the help Of God, have kept those
three vows to this time. soon after
that became a Christian. and that de-
cided my fate for time and for eter-
nifty"
Another captive of this great Chris
tian delusiOn. There goes Saul Of
Tarsus on horseback at full gallop.
Where is he going? To destroy Chris
tians. He wants no better play spell
than to stand and watch the hats and
coats Of the murderers who are mas
sacring Gods children. There goes the
same man. This time he Is afoot
Where Is he going now? Going on the
road to Ostia to die for Christ. They
tried to whip II out Of him. they tried
to scare it out Of him. they thought
they would give him enough Of ii by
putting him on small diet, and denying
him a cloak. and condemning him as a
criminal. and bowling at him through
the streets: but they could not freeze
It out OF him. and they could not sweat
II ont of him. and they could not pound
II out OF him. 50 they tried the surgery
Of the sword. and one summer day in
&C he was decapltated. Perhaps the
mightiest intellect Of the G.OO0 years Of
the worlds existence hoodwinked.
cheated. cajoled. duped by the Chris
tlan religion.
"Delusion" Of Christinnity.
All. that is the remarkable thing
about this delusion Of Christianity 1t
ovcrpowers the strongest intellects.
Gather the critics. secular and reli-
gious. Of this century together and put
vote to them as TO which is the
greatest book ever written. and by
large majority they will say paradise
Lost" Who wrote Paradise LOStT
One of the fools who believed in this
Bible. John Milton. Benjamin Frank
lin surrendered to this deluslon. IL you
may Judge from the letter that he
wrote to Thomas Paine begging him
TO destroy "The Age of Reason" In
manuscript and never let it 90 into
type, and writing afterward. In his old
DAYS. "Of this Jesus OF Nazareth /
have TO say that the system OF morals
he left and the religion he has given us
are the best things the world has ever
seen or Is likely to see" Patrick Hen
ry. the electric champion Of liberty. en-
slaved by this delusiOn. so that he
SAYS. "The book worth all other books
nut together Is the Bible Benjamin
Rush. the leading psychologist and
anatomIst Of his day. the great medical
scientlst-what did he say? THE only
true and perfect religion Is Christian
ity." Isaac Newton, the leading phil
losopher OF his time-what did he say!
That man surrendering to this delu-
sion of the Christian religion. crying
out. "The sublimest philosophy on
earth is the philosophy Of the gospel
David Brewster, at the pronunciation
of whose name every scientist the
world over uncoyers his head. David
Brewster saying, "Oh, this religion
has been n great light to me, a very
great light all my days" President
| Thiers. the great French statesman,
acknowledging that he prayed when
he said. 81 invoke the Lord God, In
whom | am glad to believe" DAVID
Livingstone. able to conquer the lion,
able to conquer the panther, able to
conquer the savage. yet conquered Dy
tbis delusion, this hallucination, this
great swindle OF the ages. so when
they find him dead they find him on
his knees. William Il. Gladstone, the
strongest intellect In England. Unable
to resist this chimera, this fallacy, THIS
delusion of the Christian religion. went
TO the house OF God every SaDoath
and often. at the invitation OF the rec
tor read the prayers to the people II
those mighty intellects are overcome
NV This delusion. what chance Is there
for you and for met
About Inndeir.
Besides that. have noticed thar
nrst rate irfdels cannot be depended
ON for steadfastness In tae proclame-
ton Of their sentiments. Goethe =
leading skeptic, was SO wrought Upon
bv this Christianity that In weak
moment he cried out, my belief In the
Bible has saved me In my literary and
moral life" Rousseau, one Of the most
eloquent champions Of inhdellty,
spending bis whole life warning
against Christianity, cries out, The
majesty of the Scriptures amazes me,
A,temont, the notorious inhdel one
would think he would have been safe
against this delusion Of the Christian
religion. Oh. no. After talking against
Christianity all his days, In his last
hours he cried out. "Oh, thou bias.
phemed but most lndulgent Lord God
hell itself Is a refuge II II hide me from
thy frownr Vsltalre, the most talent
ed infldel tie world ever saw, writing
go publications, and the most OF them
splteful against Christianity, himself
the most notorious libertine OF the cen
tury-one would have thought be could
have been depended upon for stead
fastness in the advocacy OF lnhdelity
and In the war against this terrible
chimera, this delusi0n OF the gospel
But no; In his last hour he asks for
Christian burial and asks that they
give him the sacrament OF the Lord
Jesus Christ. Why, you cannot de-
pend upon these first rate intidels; you