The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-01-28
WAS JEFFERSON A MONST TERI
He Attended Church Regularly Gave Literally and Never
Uttered Profane Word.
BY N. B. HERRING, NJ. D.

day is sermon by the Rev. DR.. Kilye
which. for this day and age. and coming
from the head Of a great insti:i ,on al
learning Is n masterpiece OF Mediaev l.
ism. That such thoughts IN any as.
could enter the mind Of true disN,lt
of Christ, is evidence of the little ttfecl
His teachings have had upon the world
If the Master tried TO teach anything );
was, the duty Of loving one ano.her. Ilc
told us even to love our enemies. lie
never called anybody Monster, al
he never slandered a mother. ii y true
that on one occasion he called ais hypr
critical disciple Il devil, but afterw lrd,
forgavc him.
For the president of q eoilAgc, where
science is taught in the week 10 pro.
claim from the pulpit on Sdnda. his
hatred OF natural law, looks as ii he HID
taken counsel rather from 2etar ;llau
Paul. 1t may be when the i'me comes
that he will swear with a mighty na!h
he didn't say il. AS Il test of his hon
esty, and his desire to instruct others N
the straight and narrow way, | wohld
ask him 10 explain what he means Ivy
the personality OF God" | am very iS.
n0ram on this point, and so. presume
are many OF his flock. He began his
discourse by saying, The personality OF
God is the supreme fact of cur faith
Now without some idea of the object oi
faith. il is impossible to have faith: and
unless il can be shown that God has a
personality. and the idea of that per
sonality can be presented clearly To
our mental conception. 1t Is Impossible
for any man to have faith III that per
sonality Evidence must come from
some source. Is DR.. kilgo's bare asser-
ton sufficient? How many readers OF
history will have faith in his assertion
that Thomas Jefferson was Il monster
The Bible says 'God is not man; God
is Il spirit; God is light: God is love.
Man is the only creature that the world
recognizes as IL person. and az God Is
not II man, mans personality cannot
be a type Of Gods: and farther, Webster
says, personality as we can conceive it.
is essentially a limitation and II reia-
ton Does Dr. kilgo limit God and
make him q relative being! VIII DR..
Kilgo explain the personality of light,
and the personality OF love? Perhaps
he can explain the personality of spirit,
and tell us what Il spirit is VIII DIR,
kilgo please take Il retrospective view
Of his inner Consciousness, and ask him
self. Have l. John G.. Kilgo, any idea
at all OF that being we cal! God?" IF he
finds that he has such idea he will be
able to put it down in plain language.
and we will AL be thankful But am
willing to wager il cigar or "a cigarett c
even. that DR.. Kilgo's idea of God is
authrOromorrhic, and that il is not one
whit better. Tor above that Of the South
Sea Islander Let us hear from you
brother.
The church and the world today *
athestic to its very core. The very best
men are unconsciously without God. The
pulpit today has less OF God in its ut
tarances and less OF his power about it
than it ever had. and unconsciously so.
The whole thing is SO insdious that the
ordinary man is not likely to discover It.
doubt IL he would be able to do So ir
he knew OF it and tried
In this quotation there is, perhaps, Ar
unconscious truth. The ordinary man"
has not discovered it. but the thinker
has discovered it long ago. ] boldly as
sert that the thinking man who regularly
attends church (any OF them for twenty
years, listens to and digests what he
hears in the pulpit will become an in
tdel. il not an atheist. ! assert fur
thcr that the thinking man who reads
and digests the most scientific books Oh.
atheism and intidelity will become a.
much disgusted with their sophistry as
he is with the propagandism OF the
church. The thinking man. then, after
these experiences, erects an altar in his
own soul to God, and there he worships
his Maker in peace.
Now who is responsible for this State
of things? After the preaching of the
gospel for two thousand years and DR..
Kilgo can sum up that work in the quo
tation above. there is but one conclusion
for the thinking man; and that is, thar
the doctrine is false, or its apostles are
not the right men.
That monster Thomas Jefferson :.
Brann ought TO be alive. No other man
can tune his Tyre to the utterance OF
English suited to this occasion. | will
not attempt it; | will only relate what
| heard from the pulpit when | WAS a
boy. The text was from Revelations
and was pitched upon the monster with
seven heads and ten horns. When
go TO church it is. and ever has been.
TO get information. The singing. tho
praying, the genuhcctions and the ali
mems are merely s:deshows in which
am not interested. The sermon is all |
go for. Forty years ago there was
preaching. What they missed i'll breadth
they made up in length. To boy ten
or twelve years old, il three-hours SER
mon was sore trial, but even then,
on n hard bench. | was respectful, and
elrdeayored to get the giSt Of the sermon.
AT that age i looked upon the preacher
as being truly Il man of God. | believed
every word he uttered. ! swallowed it
all. even when it had no taste. | am
wiser now ! refuse 10 swallow the in
sipid and all that which has 4 mixture
Of gall. But to my story: The preach
or finally got all the way from firstly zip
to siXthly. and when half the cOngrega.
ton had begun to snore he came TO last
~. | knew what that meant, and as
| had so far learned nothing of the
Monster" | pricked up my ears hoping
TO get a m0rsel | could taste. 1t came,
and | have never forgotten the SAVIOR.
The preacher said: Friends and broth
crS, 4 am now going to tell You what thar
monster is" and bending over the high
top pulpit. with countenance furrowel
Ii IL, h. h a