The Monmouth inquirer., 1907-02-07

rands even though you are answering
the calls of greed and crime" Thus
all doors Of good are not necessarily
disciples or Gods children. Though
we today find Jehu topping over the
throne of an infamous king, yet Jehu
himself was just as heartless, as mer-
CHESS and as much of a criminal as
Ahab or Jezebel. who slew Naboth IN
order that they might annex his vine
yards to the royal domain.
The sinful life Of Iellu as rulfller
Of Elijah's prophecies finds its dupli-
cate in the lives. OF many sinful men
whom God at times has used for GER
tain purposes. Study, for instance, the
life Of Thomas Paine. Most OF the
present generation never think OF
Thomas Paine except as a blasphemer
and an enemy of Jesus. When we men
ton his name there rises before us his
book. ''The Age of Reason" which has
done as much damage as any book
ever penned by man, II not more.
When Mr.. Paine went to his friend
Benjamin Franklin and placed the
manuscript of his book in his hands
for him to criticise before 1t was pub
lished Mr.. Franklin read the manu-
script and then wrote to Thomas Paine
the following letter:
Franklin to Paine.
Dear Sir--I will not enter into any dis
cussion of your principles, though you
- Oh
give my Opinion that, though your reason
ings are subtle and may prevail with
some readers, yet you will not succeed 50
as to change the general sentiments OF
mankind upon that subject, and the cor
sequence Of printing this piece will be a
great deal of odium drawn upon yourseit,
mischief to you and no benefit to others
I would advise you, therefore, not 10 at
tempt to unchain the tiger, but to burn
this piece before it is seen by any other
person. II men are SO wicked with re-
ligion. what would they be without it?
He that spits against the wind splits in
his own face. b. FRANKLIN
Reasonable and powerful letter that.
But Paine would not heed the warning.
He sent forth his "Age of Reason" on
its mission of spiritual and moral and
physical destruction That book brought
down a hurricane of odium upon Thorn
as Paine. We hardly ever think OF
him except as the infidel, the BIAS
phemer and the enemy of society. But
amid your excavations of this book do
you recall the fact that Paine the in
fidel was also Paine, one of the great
leaders and most powerful factors in
the struggle for American liberty? In
the darkest days which preceded the
preparation of the Declaration of In
dependence his pen was busy. He
published book at that time called
Common Sense" 1t was plea for
national independence. 1t was written
in simple language and was read every
where. Dare any man, facing the his
torical facts, declare that God did not
forge out of the blasphemous pen of a
scofing infidel golden wand to guide
the American people into Independence
hall of old Philadelphia?
Arnold as a Fighter.
Study the fife of Benedict Arnold.
We deride and excoriate that name.
We say: Arnold? Oh, yes. there is
one Arnold's name which we all hate,
and that is the name of Arnold the
traitor" But Benedict Arnold did not
attempt to betray West Point until
ITO, or until the Revolutionary war
was half over. During all the prelim-
mary struggle and during the three
years of carnage his was name to
conjure with, and no man was Drawer,
no man truer, to the American flag
than he. We find the same apparent
incongruity in the character of Cath
crime the Great of Russia, whom his
tory regards as one of the greatest
and wisest rulers Russia ever had, al
though her own heart was selfish
heart of stone and her evil domestic
life the symbol of all that is base and
impure.
Study the life of Napoleon Bona
parte. Who will say that even his
cruel, selfish life was not used by God
as a means OF ultimate good? Nine.
de Stael denounced his inhumanities in
these words: Far from gaining assur-
ance in meeting Bonaparte oftener, he
intimidated me daily more and more.
/ confusedly felt that no emotion Of
the heart could possibly take effect up
on him. He looks uponsa human being
as a fact OF as thing, but not as
fellow creature. He does not hate any
more than he loves. There is nothing
for him but himself. All other beings
are so many ciphers. The force of his
will lies in the imperturbable calcula-
ton of his selfishness." And yet this
man, thus characterized by the far
sighted Frenchwoman. this selfish
monster, this human Frankenstein, who
conquered and betrayed millions of
homes with no more conjunction than
a cook would break few eggs to
make an omelet for breakfast. was the
man who stopped the horrors of the
French revolution and demolished the
guillotine with one stroke Of bis sword.
Dare we state that God does not at
times use even the sins Of his Jehus
for good purpose?
In your life and mine we may be do
ing good In way. We may be helping
some men. We may be giving employ
ment to the poor. We may be kind to