Year: 1875

tells me there is hell for the wicked and heaven for
the good and who At the same time. tells that my


fate foroordaned teaches that am the creature
of destiny and II believe his teaching and accept his
statements true he instils In my mind the prln-
cipes Of faalisn Therefore, claim that this iheory
OF fatalism u the direct result OF religious teachng


and Is OF tho many erroneous and oaneiu dognas
that have forced the world by religious zealoA
But however this may be- the fact stands undisputed


that the doctrine exists damaging In its influence
and ruinous in its tendencies and is need
less to say that the Bible teaches no
such doctrine, but that this theory Is
the fruit OF mans imagination. To say that oil men
are creatures destiny and that whether their ao-
tions lives and sayings be good or evil IL from no
fault of their that they responsibility or
deserve no commendaiion. as they have power to
resist the OF circumstances TO make state
ment which s at direct variance with every accepted
social principle and with all the teachings OF the
Scriptures Yet this is the theory Of fatalism as ad-
vanced by the fatasts OF tho day. and which has taken
such broad hold the minds Of that IL Is to-day
exerting q mighty influence In the world Think
moment can or reason in this doctrine


1t an established and undspued fact that all men
moral agents with mind and reasoning faculty to
disngu good from evil and will TO enable them to
follow resist tho ncnations OF their nature IL


is true that emergency makes the man, Dut ~ ,ne
time In any great emergency OF mans lie
reason thought will and all the attributes and charac


erscs that make and mould his being are brought INTO
play and he accepts or rejects the opportunity accord


ing TO his own inclination. The emergencies or the
times made Napoleon Bonaparte the master genius OF
political Europe but II he had rested secure IN his De-


lief in destiny, making effort II he had failed TO bring
into play his wonderful will and determination, thou


sand emergencies might have presented themselves ana
the greatest mind OF Europe might still have sumoereu
on in obscurity and Napoleon Bonaparte would have
lived and died unknown and unhonored Mo- emergencies
may 70 call out the prominent traits in mans
character, may aid in making him conspicuous and
famous, but the man iB what he makes himself Hal
Daniel Webster Clay Calhoun and all the other great
men our own country has produced in the past few
generations, TO say nothing OF the multitude OF hon.
ored names history hands down to from the worlds
earliest stages to the present dayhad all these either
from lack Of application want OF energy Jailed to
seize the opportunities would they have gained undying
fame from the emergency OF the hours Surely no
thinking mind can say yes have often heard II sad
that, because refuse to take my life have not
the power to do So and am consequently not a free
moral agent; but to every thinking mind the absurdty
of such statement must be palpabe, for my own love
power that keeps me from the deed Take
It in any connection you will mans own Will Is the
power that controls his life and actons Faalism Is
contrary ideas OF Divine Providence and s detr


mental TO progress advancement and civilization and
hence should be rejected by reasoning, thinking minds
as injurious That il Is detrimental to progress aud
DANGEROUS in its influence must be papabe to any one
who thinks OF the influence II would in the world


Let fatasm become generally acknowledged fact and
accepted principle and you will lind that
the grand motive power that impes men to
themselves and their fellow man to higher plane or
knowledge will fail to exist Make feel that they
are the OF destiny entirely dependent
emergencies OF life, and you deprive them Of their
Independence and take from them their individuality
and they become great helpless mass, trusting to
their destiny TO supply all their wants and make them
selves slaves OF its caprices Surely we cannot
afford to accept such doctrine without tho most indu-
bitabe proofs of its truth. LlBEkALIIAS