The morning journal-courier., 1908-11-14
FRA TILTS WITH
 DR. ALBERTSON Eminent Antagonists Debate Here on the Declaration That Christianity Is
 Declining
AN EPIGRAMMATIC BATTLE
Ebert Hubbard Witty. Willy and Not Too Sincere, While Minister Is Really in Earnest and
 Statistical.

Elbert Hubbard. Philistine, the Fra of East Aurora N. N., fought an cpl grammatic battle of words against the Rev. C. c. Albertson, Presbyterian of Rochester in Warner hall, last night, over the formers affirmation that Christianity Is declining. This en- gagement closed series of four de- bates in New England cities during the last four days between these two eminent opponents of Knowledge and Belief. Hostilities brewing for years were precipitated by a recent chal- enge perpetrated by the self-adver- Using Roycrofter
 It cannot be said with assurance that anyone left the hall last night convinced of anything he did not al- ready believe, Those who were Christians were not lost to tho cause by the subtle. willy Elbert's witty sal- lies. They listened-and laughed. Perhaps the Fra Is too great humor- ist to be a great debater, suhordinat- ing his points to the furthering of his fame. and Fame to Fra Elhertus stands for Fortune. On the other hand defending his faith, Dr, Albert son fought confidently, his tactics simple, his discourse intense, direct earnest, frank.
 Christianity, said Hubbard In open ins the debate, is but one of the seven great religious systems of to-day, each with it's millions of adherents Christ was only one of nine possible Messiahs the other eight now forgotten. Christianity was founded on Jesus by Paul, then fused with Paganism. Jesus lived in a writing age, yet was never written about; he wrote noth- ing and the men who wrote the gos- pels were not the men who knew him. "T believe in Jesus of Nazarus," he declared. He was savior but not the Savior. We are all sons of God, l am divine but l am not Diety. Jesus was & reformer, an honest, sim pie, brave and generous spirit, so d. vine indeed that we have confounded hirr with Diety" After rambling on in his own delightful fashion for half an hour in this strain, he was relieved by Dr. Albertson.
 The minister frs. declared the spirit of levity in which the debate was pro ceednR, then launched into his defense of tha faith. Many figures were quoted to show the increasing strength of the church to-day as compared with the years 1880, 1895 and 1900, Controvertine Hubbard's declaration that the churct has grown steadily less powerful, since the middle ages, he declared that ont minister in a pulpit like Spurgeon's ol Beecher's has more influence to-day than had the pope when he was mak ing and unmaking kings To show tha Christianity has not lost It's hold oi the strongest minds of the human rac' (here the Fra enjoyed q quiet laugh pr Albertson presented the names O Ian Maclaren, Henry Drummond, Glad stone and Newton, drawing from Hub bard the retort that these men wer' great in spite of their belief in Chris tanity not because of 1t.
 In summing up, Hubbard cited Adam Smith, David Hume, Thomas Carlisle Robert Louis Stevenson, John Ruskin William Morris, Frederick Froebel an, Richard Wagner as proof that tn church had no monopoly of grea minds He also took exception some what acrimonously to the minister statistics declaring that eminent a authority as the Rev. pr, Josiah Stron had repudiated such figures as unre liable