Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1899-08-09

night. Tremendous delusioni
Admiral Farragut. one of the most
admired men of the American.-uayV
early became victim of this CSrls-
'ian GelCsioa. and, seated not long be-
fore his death ut Long Branch. lac wns
giving some friends an account OF his
early life. He said: "My father went
down in behalf OF the United States
government to put an end to Aaron
Burr : rebellion. | was n cabin GOV and
went along with him. | could swear
like an old salt. could gamble in every
style Of gambling. | knew all the wick
edness there WAS At that time abroad.
One day my father cleared everybody
out of the cabin except my selfand locked
the door. He said: David. what are YOU
going TO do? What are YOU going TO
be- Well | said, father. | am going
TO follow the sea- Follow the sea and
he poor miserable. drunken sailor
kicked and cufFed about the world. and
die of fever in foreign hospitalY
oh. no. ! said. Father. | will not be
that; | will tread the quarter deck and
command, as you do No. David my
father said; no. David. person that
has your principles and your bad habits
VIII never tread the quarter deck or
command. My father went ont and
shut the door after him, and | said
then: Il will change. l 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 Christian. and that de
cided my fate for time and for eter-
nifty"
Another captive OF this great Chris
tian dciusion. There goes Saul of
Tarsus on horseback nj 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 lie is afoot
Where is he going now? Going on the
road 10 Ostia 10 die for Christ They
tired TO whip il 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 IL cloak, and condemniug him as "A
criminal, and bowling .; him through
the streets; but they could not freeze
it out Of him, and they could not sweat
il out of him, and they could not pound
it out OF him, 50 they tried the surgery
OF the sword, and one summer day in
Sc he was dccapita;ed. Perhaps the
Inighticst intellect of the COCO years
of the WORLDS existence hoodwinked.
cheated, cajolcd, duped by the Chris
tan religion.
All, that is the remarkable thing
about this delusion of Christianity, 1t
| overpowers the strongest intcllccts.
Gather the critics, secular and reii-
gious, of this century together and put
vote TO them as TO which is the
greatest book ever written, and by Ii
large majority they VIII say paradise
Lost" Who wrote paradise Lost ~
One of the fools who believed in this
| Bible, John Milton. benjamin Frank
| lin surrendered TO this delusion. if you
may judge from the letter that he
wrote TO Thongs Paine, begging him
to destroy The Age of Reason in
manuscript and never let it 90 iuto
! type, ard writing afterward, in his old
| days: OF this Jesus OF Nazareth /
have TO say Of the system of morals
lie left and the religion He has given us
are the best things the world has eyer
seen or is likely TO sec" Patr:cl, Henry.
the electric champion of liberty, en-
shaved by this uelusion. so that he saws:
1.-The book worth all other books put to-
gether is the Bible" BENJAMIN Rush.
the leading ply siologist and anatomist
| of his day. the great medical scientist
what did he say? THE on.vtruc and
perfect religion is Christianity." Isaac
Newton, the leading philosopher of
his time-what did he say? That man
surrcndcring TO this delusion 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 uu-
covers his head, David Brewster saving:
"Oh, this religion has, been great light
TO RE. very great light all my days"
President Theirs, the great French
statesman. acknowledging that he
prayed when he said: 81 invoke the
Lord God, in whom | am glad TO be-
lieve.' David Livingstone. able TO con-
Pucr the lion, able TO conquer the PAN
Their, able to conquer the savage. Yet
conquered by this delusion, this hal
lucination, this great swindle Of the
ages. 50 when they find him dead they
find him on his knees. William T.. Glad
stone, the strongest intellect I'm Eng
! land, unable 20 resist this chimcra. this
iaJacy, this deiusion Of the Christian
religion, went TO the house Of God
| every Sabbath, and often. AZ the inyi-
tatIon Of the rector, read the prayers to
The people. II those mighty inteilects
are overborne 10y this delusion, what
chance is there for you and me?
Besides that, have noticed that
first rate infdels cannot be depended
on for stcaclfastness in the proclama-
ton OF their sentiments. Goethe,
fonIfrcr Il