The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-03-29
WHAT GREAT MINDS HAVE
THOUGHT OF THE BIBLE.
(By John Aiarcus.)


recurring to the boastful assumption
that the brightest minds in the intel
lectual world were in accord with the
views he holds regarding the Bible
Like nearly all sophistical and egotisti
cal reasoners of his type, who are
good at running bluffs" and have no
scruples at all in resorting to lies
wherewith to defame the God of the
Bible. he will assert with brazen eff.
frontery that no intelligent person, un-
tinged with the spirit of Superstition,
could possibly give credence to the
claims of that Book lie is but an
echo of Ingersoll who gave utterance
in one of his addresses to the follow
ing sentiments:
IF men will read the Bible as they
read other books, they will be amazed
that they ever, for one moment sup
posed a being of infinite wisdom to be
the author of such ignorance and of
such atrocity. The Bible burned
heretics, built dungeons, founded the
Inquisition, and trampled upon all the
liberties of men. All the philosophy
of the Bible would not make one scene
in Hamlet / could write a better book
than the Bible, which is full of bar
barism."
Now over against this gallish twad-
die, this consummate arrogance and
outlandish self-esteem, l desire to
place the sentiments and sayings of
men whose shoes latchet" the bias
pheming apostle of unbelief was mot
worthy to unloose," men who stood so
far above hi min scholarly attain
ments, that he, by honest comparison,
was but dwarfted specimen of in
sufferable ignorance and monstrous i'm
pertinence. There was no question of
Robert Ingersoll's brilliancy, and pow
ers of oratory, but any one who as
serts that he was a man of depth of
intellect, does not knoY whereof he
affirms. But the doughty Colonel had
it in for the Christian world as a re-
suit of his losing the governorship of
Illinois, all this owing to his hatred
of the Bible The people of his own
state were too "superstitious" to exalt
such a man to the chair of state, and
so Bob determined to get even" with
the Christian public. and from that
time on he turned all the satire and
brilliant oratory he could command
against the Bible and the God of the
Bible. In the meantime he took good
care to make sure of bonanza prices
for his lectures, and he usually de-
manded and obtained $40O per night
There was enough truth in his lectures /
to sugar-coat his sophistry, for Inger-
soil, while he thought he was engaged !
in demolishing the very foundations
Of Christianity was only blazing away
at a "man of straw" Much that he
said about the processing church and
the ministry was ironically true; but
he never once touched the heart of the
whole matter He made many just
aings against an apostate church, and
Tor this am thankful; he harried and
pounded a world-compromising hypo-
critical eccesiasticism, with all its re-
igious millinery in a most delightful
manner. and THAT did good, for our
Iod can "evcn make the wrath of man
o praise Him." But when it came
o his criticism of the Word of the
living God, about all that he could
10 was to play the clown, and seek to
,ring into ridicule Book of which
le had might v little honest knowledge.
Yet this writer has very little faith
n any of thes seventh-rate shallow
disciples OF Intidelity ever admitting j,
he truth, or acknowledging that they j
night possibly be wrong in their argu-
lents and fulminations against the
'ible They are like case that comes
. mind An eminent lawyer had in /
ourt very clear case. After pre- ]
entiug an array Of testimony, law, |
nd preeedents that he thought was !
he submitted the case.
o his utter astonishment. the Judge. !
-ho was bigoetedly and dogmatically ,
n the opposite side of prejudice, de {
ided every point of the case against {
i'm After he had recovered from /
is amazement, he arose~and proceed {
d to read Blackstone and leading /
irists, the statute law, and judicial i
eeisioRs, fatty contradicting the de {
sion of the Court. The Judge pom h
oasly interrupted him with; THAT
i'll do you no good; the mind of the Q
ourt is made up; cannot change it" 7
he lawyer replied y have no ex- O
OF changing the opinion of t
lie Court l do not question the in s
and the infallible accuracy
its decision. only wanted to show
hat comsummate fools Blackstone.
ent, and all jurists, our legislators,
N all fha iudeaS eyCant tha irdpn nf