The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-06

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the Christian world was aghast at
their temerity, and all sorts of blood
cCrdling tales were told of these
monsters of ipiquity.'' Many firmly
believed that ,VoItaire,> Paine, and
their contemporaries had tsoId their
souls to the devil since it was deem
ed impossible for a man not possess
ed of demons to deny the entire truth
of the Word. Paine, from a hero of
the American revolution, whose pen
was, considered almost as potent as
Washington's sword, became in a day
an object of almost universal execra-
ton and ,ob1oquoy. When he died a
woman and her son in a carriage, a
Quaker on horseback, and two weep
ing negroes on foot, constituted the
funeral cortege of him. who had once
been a popular idol And yet, except
for the popular and controversial lit
erary style, Paine's age of Reason
seems today but a mild criticism of
the Bible, and one which, couched in
less honest language, might we'll is
sue from pulpit.
At a more recent period the, e1e-
Quent Ingerso11 pointed out what he
considered to be 1.-THE Mistakes of
Moses and enjoyed wide popularity
as lecturer, while the greatest of
American reviews opened its pages to
him for controversies with Gladstone,
Cardinal Manning, DIR. Henry M. Field, Z
Judge Jeremiah S. Black and other
defenders of thief aith.
While Paine, Ingersol1, Bradlaugh
and other popular leaders doubtless
exercised great influence in bringing
about the present attitude of open or
yelled doubt as to the truth of all
or parts Of the Bible, the nineteenth
century scientists were chiefly respon-
sible The publication of Darw1n's
great works seemed. to many minds.
to bring to an issue the conflict be-
tween science and the theology based
on the Bible, While Darwin himself
took no decided stand on the subject
of religion, the great majority of the
scientific men who embraced the new
doctrine of evolution became Nthe
avowed enemies of the supernatural,
and in consequence denied all the
principal tents of Christianity, as de-
rived from Holy Writ
While free-thought and science at
tackled the Bible as foes, many
friends within the Christian ram
parts, unable to deny the conclusions
of the scientists, set about the task
of the reconciliation of the seeming
ly warning systems of thought. Many
of them succeeded, at least to their
own satisfaction, and by a new inter-
probation Of the Bible sought to give
it the attestation of science.
messed the. development of an inf1u-
entail school-or, rather. of many
Biblical critics. who, while |
often reaching the conclusions set
forth by the unfriendly Deists of the
preceding century, still retained the
name Of Christian. Scarcely a word
in the Bible has escaped the analysis
of these critics. a majority of whom
arec Iergymen, but their influence has
been largely confined to the centers
of learning, and has only Indirectly
affected the popular mind.
That the "oId time religion which
defends the Bible as inspired And true
in every word, from lid to lid, still
has a large following, is evidenced
by the enthusiasm which eyerywhere~
greets such evangelists as Billy |
Sunday. Nearly every. Protestant de- |
in America, however, con- |
tains a considerable and influential !
of clergymen and laymen who |
belong to the new school, which |
describes as allegories. many of the
things in the Bible which were for
merry universally, and are still by.
large body, accepted as plain and lit
eral statements of facts.
Thus it has come about that while |
the Bible IS printed and circulated In
increasingly large numbers, 1t Is PROP
ably read by proportionatety FEWER
neople. and accepted un-eservedly by |
= Inuchf esser number. <Investi cation
among high school and college stu
dents. or among thinking worknen,
shows that while majority continue
to accept the Bible as the Word of
God, they insist upon giving it their
own Interpretation, or that of one or |
another -4ofl the schools of heretical
cri+icis m. The old unquestioning |
faith in the Bible is apparently dying |
ont. To some this means the rising |
Of the Sun of Truth; to others the
eclipse of the Source Of All |
Wisdom.