Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-08-12

/ delusion of Christianity comes to the
| bereft. and it talks of reunion before
| the throne and of the cessation of all
sorrow. And then, to show that this
delusion will stop at absolutely moth
/ ing, it goes to the dying bed and fills
the man with anticipations. How
much better it would be to have him
die without any more hope than swine
and rats and snakes, Shovel him un-
der! That is all. Nothing more left of
him. He will never know anything
! again. Shovel him underi The soul is
only superior part of the body. and
when the body disintegrates the soul
disintegrates. Annihilation, vacancy,
everlasting blank. obliteration. Why
/ not present ali that beautiful doctrine
to the dying instead of coming with
| this hoax, this Swindle of the Christian
religion. and filing the dying man
with anticipatioHs of another life until
some in the last hour have clapped
| their hands, and some have shouted,
and some have sung, and some have
been SO overwrought with joy that
they could only look ecstatic? Palace
gates opening, they thought-diamond
coronets flashing, hands reckoning, or
chestras sounding Little children dy-
ing actually believing they saw their
departed parents. so that although
the little children had been so weak
and feeble and sick for weeks they
could not turn on their dying pillow
at the last, in a paroxysm Of rapture
uncomfortable they sprang TO their
feet and shouted, Mother, catch me;
/ am coming"
More Swindlcrs.
And to show the immensity of this
delusion. this awful swindle of the
gospel of Jesus Christ open hospi-
tai, and I bring into that hospital the
deathbeds OF great many Christian
people. and take you by the hand. aud
1 walk up and down the wards of that
hospital, and I ask Il few questions. |
ask, Dying Stephen. what have you to
say?' Lord, Jesus, receive my
spirit" Dying John Wesley, what
have you to say?'' The best of all is
God is with us" Dying Edward
Payson, what have sou to say?" 4
float in a sea of glory Dying John
Bradford, what have you to sayY' "if
there be any way of going to heaven
on horseback, or in fiery chariot, it is
this" Dying Neander, what have
you to say?" q am going to sleep now.
Good niUl,f - .T,,-
Foster, what have you to say?" "a
pilgrim in the valley, but the mountain
tops are all agleam from peak to peak"
Dying Alexander Mather, what have
you to say?'' ''The Lord who has taken
care of me 80 years viii not cast me
off now; glory be to God and to the
lamb! Amen, amen, amen, amen!'
dying John Powson, after preaching
the gospel so many years, what have
you to say?" my deathbed is bed of
roses" dying DR.. Thomas Scott,
what have you to say?" This is heav-
en- begun" Dying soldier in the last
war. what have you to say?" Boys,
[ am going to the front" dying tele-
graph operator on battlefield of Vir-
ginia, what have you to say?" "The |
wires are all laid, and the poles are up
from Stony Point to headquarters"
Dying Paul, what have you to say.%
81 am now ready to be offered. and the |
time of my departure is at hand; l
have fought the good fight, have fin
fshed my course, have kept the faith
O death, where is thy sting? o grave,
where is thy victory? Thanks be unto
God who giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ"
o my Lord, my God, what delu-
sion, what a glorious delusion. Sub
merge me with it, fill my eyes and
ears with it, put it under my head for
a pillow-this delusion-spread it over
me for canopy, put it underneath me
for an outspreau wing-roll it over me
in ocean surges 10000 fathoms deep.
If infidelity, and if atheism, and if an
nihilation are reality and the Chris
tian religion is delusion, give me the
delusion.
Grand Results.
The strong conclusion of every rea-
sonable man and woman is that Chris
tianity producing such grand results
be a delusion. A lie, a cheat,
swindlc, Il hallucination cannot launch
such a glory of the centuries. Your
logic and your common sense convince
you that Il bad cause cannot produce
IN iilustrious result. Out of the womb
Of such a monster nc such angel can be