The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1913-04-02
Old Time DisbeIiever Is
Hardly Mentioned
IN ANY SERMONS Of TO-DAY
Time Was When He Proved a
Theme of Inspiration
For Preachers.
IMPROVEMENT IN THE TIMES

mons left the infidel unmentioned.
His argument may have been
used to point a serious moral, but,
at any rate, he figured large in the
vocabulary of the cloth; he was
easily recognized, and his social
and religious outlines were unmis-
taxable He could be called
names without offense,' as John
Richard Brown reminds us in The
Standard baptist, ChicagoD He
could be prayed for With precision,
and his special shortcomings of
faith and life were public property:
they We're sometimes a real institu-
ton Of the countryside. But, OBJ
serves this writer, the race seems
to have died Quito lie in the
grave with the ichthyosaurus and
other horrible creations of the fos-
sill past" or course, there is
modern intidel, but, we are told, he
docs not make the flesh-and-
blood appeal of his deceased race:
he is fugitive, evasive and even un-
faithful othe implications of what
he believes. He prefers a liar
and the fine leaves of new and
subtle vocabulary cover it, So
that the old infidel. being dead. is
coming into new appreciation,
and the churches are sorely miss
ing him.
"He was a great inspirer of min
isterial copy; he was responsible
for many forms of ecclesiastical bel
LAGRANGE. The infidel Goliath was
man of some intellectual dexteri-
ty. who could interest light-minded
persons and lewd fellows of the
baser sort, by a recital of the Mis-
takes of Noses the 'Banalities of
the Bible" and the Imperfect Nor
atty of the Saints" 1t was prof
liable excursion into the real of
holy things-ears We're tickled at
so cents head; IL was a mildly en-
citing adventure into the peace of
believers-the lecturers were gen
orally the theme of numerous pull
pit answers for three months after
ward; it was a totally irrelevant
way of dealing with the problems
of the times-for the arch inlidel
was never taken seriously by low
ers of men.
THE new fighting goes on behind
ramparts with the use of disap-
pearing guns. The old intidel bold
ly-and profitably-dragged hi
gun across the field in front OF the
believers to draw their tire-he al
ways succeeded in doing it. But
this antagonist has no true success
sors. He has become memory.
Lectures on selected topics of inf
deity do not draw respectable aud
fences even when the handbills are
featured with the promise in large
type No Collections lnfidelity as
paying investment is not listed
on the stock exchange of mems best
hopes"
Then there is another type of i'm
fidel who is being missed
"He is the aggressive and often
blatant neighbor who used to boast
of his lack of faith-which he al
ways identified with believing what
is not so-and which he emphasiz~
ed by series of inane profanities
To the pious he was always a baf-
fling problem. He was an objec'
of solicitude whenever special
meeting broke out in the neighbor
mood; often he would be PRAYED for
publicly, with the inevitable growt
of his already swollen self-CoNce'
when he heard OF il. His forum
was the countrv store. @" i ho -
not invite enor"h replies ~ tn"
place OF high deliberation, he was
always sure OF an audience at N
hotel, This infdel showed tNat h'r
end was near when the orly .n"A-
fence he could command We're tho
small bows or the youths OF 'N'
neighbo~hood who were In their
FIST active and amusing probes
against the universe. But the bows
and men grew up; they are now