The Bible defended and atheism rebuked

Front matter

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JPBESS NOTICES.

That the public may see the estimate in which this work is held, the Publisher has collected the following notices of the first edition :

Dedication

To the obedient Believers of the "Gospel of the Kingdom of God," (Mark i, 14 ; Luke ix, 2-6 ; Rom. xvi, 25, 26,) and to all of good and honest hearts, of every creed and of no creed, who sincerely desire to know the truth as it is in Jesus, and the more excellent way of the faith once delivered to the Saints, and who may have the courage to follow their convictions, although these may lead them to forsake the devious and treacherous paths of human wisdom and authority in religion, this defense of the Bible against the infidel assailant is earnestly inscribed by their friend and ally,

THE AUTHOR.

Preface

It is to defend the Bible as the Word of God and an authentic Divine Revelation to man that these pages are written.

I do not attempt to maintain or vindicate the creeds and systems of Catholic or Protestant Christendom. That issue is not now before us.

It is proposed, in this work, to keep a single object in view, which is the truth of Cod's word and the vindication, as therein declared, of Cod's ways to man.

It has been well said that a good cause is more apt to be injured by an injudicious defence of it by its' friends than by the most violent attack of its enemies. Hence the danger of attempting too much. I prefer to deal with one subject at a time. This precaution is the more necessary in this instance, because the aurthor of the lectures to which I am replying has very adroitly assailed the Bible by attempting to hold it responsible for the real or supposed sins and follies of the people and churches who profess to follow it. N'othing can be more unmanly and unfair. It is an attempt to mix the tares with the wheat, the dross with the gold, and then complacently to point to the debased compound as not the true metal.

The Bible religion has been altogether Divine from

Vi the beginningo From its glimmering light in the Garden of Eden and in the Patriarchal age, through its brighter radiance in the Law and the Prophets, to its present morning-star beams in the *' times of the Gentiles/' and onward to its full effulgence in the light and meridian glory of the approaching kingdom and reign of Christ on earth as the Sun of Righteousness, the Gospel has been of God, not man ; not human, but Divine. It has never shone with borrowed light. It is self-illuminating. Its watchword is: "Not Rome, but Jerusalem; not Socrates, • but Moses ; not Plato, but Paul ; not C^sar, but Christ."

St. Paul, one of its inspired teachers, styles himself " an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from thj dead," and addressing his Galatian brethren he adds : " I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man, for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." It is so yet. Now a Divine message must be couched in Divine words. Hence the wise admonition : ''To the law and to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word it is because there is no light in them."

" If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God."

To speak thus is to confine us to a " Thus saith the Lord, and thus it is written."

This must prove my apology, if one be necessary, for restricting this reply to an humble bat firm and un-

Vll daunted defence of God's Word, which embodies that supreme wisdom and authority to which all Christians bow with profound reverence.

No apology is needed to those who reverence the Bible as the Word of God, for this attempt to defend that Word and to confute the sophistry of one whose life is spent in laborious efforts to impeach and vilify the Divine oracles. Of the entire sympathy of such there is no reason to doubt. Those who have not adopted as yet that Holy Book as the Divine guide of life, bat who value the safety and happiness of mankind, we point to the public avowal by Mr. Ingersoll of his " sympathy" with Socialists and Nihilists who would subvert all law and order and convulse the world by wholesale murder and crime, In this connection we refer them to his confession, " My sympathies cluster around the point of the dagger, '^^ etc., as collated in the following pages.

Shall we not endeavor to nip, in the bud, such pernicious sentiments, and, by concentrating public opinion, arrest their inculcation in our now peaceful and happy country ? Let all who honor marriage and respect the sacred duties and obligations of domestic and social life arouse themselves, and stand up with united front as one man against these betrayers and destroyers of all that we hold dear.

In moral as in physical life it is the first step that costs. Errors and vices are gregarious. They love company, and need mutual support to give them countenance. Communism, Socialism, Nihilism, all

Vlll gravitate to a common centre, wliich is Atheism ; and as that is the sum of all crimes, it is alike our interest, our duty and our only safety as a people to oppose and arrest the beginnings of evil.

Stephens City, Virginia.

Preface To The Second Edition

The kindly and earnest welcome with which this little work has been received by the public, and by his Brethren of the Household of Faith, induces the author to publish a second edition.

Within a few months after its issue, the edition of one thousand copies was exhausted, and a further demand has come to us since, which can only be met by an additional supply.

It is gratifying to know that the work has attracted the attention of the reading public and of the press ; of scholars and students, both lay and clerical, and of many earnest learners and honest thinkers, and enquirers as well. As the writer makes no claim to reputation in authorship, and as there is no attempt at fine writing in its preparation, it is fair to infer that this demand for another edition is the result of the interest and value of the theme, and is not due to the inconsiderable advocate. This is not surprising, since no subject can surpass in interest and importance to every reflecting mind the great question of our future destiny when the present fleeting life is over — a question which directly involves

X PREFACE TO THB

the authenticity of the Holy Scriptures as the very corner-stone of our holy religion, where alone we have any certain assurance of future life. Surely if "there is none other name under Heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved, except the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth," (Acts iv.), all men must be deeply concerned in the issue joined in such a discussion, and we cannot easily over-estimate its momentous import.

There is another reason which has doubtless conspired with other causes to produce this demand for full discussion of the questions involved. It is the spirit of the age. The present generation of men in our country, and among all English speaking people, is more and more alive to the inestimable value of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of inquiry and discussion in respect to' what is true and real on all subjects and sciences which affect our welfare and happiness as sentient, rational and responsible beings. With all thoughtful minds, the sentiment of religious faith and the necessity of its being well-founded form no exception to this well nigh universal uprising of the human soul for more light and better knowledge. Far from having any reason to dread or deprecate this awakened spirit of investigation, this earnest grappling with the profoundest problems and the deepest mysteries of humanity, the enlightened Christian w^comes and even rejoices in it, for he knows that this determined spirit of inquiry, wisely directed and pursued, must lead to good results. To pursue the opposite path — "to let alone that which is quiet," — ^is doubtless a sound maxim for a corrupt cause.

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yet such is the usual course with "the wise and prudent" of every generation, and verily they have their reward in the apoplectic slumber which precedes dissolution. The faithful servant of the Master has not so learned Christ. He is taught to "prove all things and to hold fast that which is good" — to "believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God" — to "contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints," being assured, "if you continue in my word yoa shall be my disciples, indeed, and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free," * * *

* * and "If the Son therefore shall make you

free, you shall be frpe indeed."

Every intelligent reader of the Holy Oracles should know that nothing in the sight of their great Author is of more insignificant value than an implicit, unreasoning faith which emasculates our noblest mental faculties and prostrates our whole moral nature at the shrine of a blind credulity.

Recognizing, as every rational man must, that the world we live in must have a Master as well as a Maker, a Ruler as well as a Creator, and that that Maker would assuredly speak to and commune with the man whom he placed at the head of it, and that that communication, to be permanently accessible to the race that lives upon it, must be contained in a book placed in his hands, and which the wisest and most worthy of our race all agree to call the Bible, man is thus supplied with the key to unlock the mysteries of his being and his abode, and to be ''no longer faithless but believing."

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PRBFACE TO THE

The reader will find in the Supplement appended a brief review of the IngersoU-Black discussion, which has appeared in the columns of the North American Review Whilst in warm sympathy with Judge Black, in his bold and earnest contention for the side he defends, and conceding to his answer the unquestioned merit of a cleai and able presentation of the subject from the premises he sets forth, the writer is constrained to regret that those premises logically involve the necessity of defending the tenability of the immortal soul and the eternal torment theories as Bible doctrines, which are mere Pagan inventions, interpolated into the orthodox creed, and entirely at war with the teachings of Holy Writ, thus presenting to his adversary the ready means and opportunity of a successful assault on his position, and with seeming detriment to the Sacred Oracles.

It is in deference to what the writer considers a consistent defense of the faith once delivered to the saints, that he has ventured, he hopes without presumption or offense, to offer the friendly strictures which appear in the Supplement.

I make no apology for the freedom and boldness with which I have assailed the crude theories of Pagan Mythology, such as the immortality of the soul, the eternal torment theory, and the kindred popular errors and follies of the orthodox creeds of modern Christendom — now unhappily constituting the cherished faith of what is denominated Evangelical Christianity. The creeds of Christendom are fair subjects of corrective criticism and condemnation, aud he is a recreant soldier of the Cross who hesitates to attack and demolish them in the inter-

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ests of truth, and in the cause of humanity. But those who honestly accept them, because they are not better informed, and who think that any religion is better than none, are entitled, personally, to all possible respect and courtesy. We distinguish, therefore, between the false and pernicious creeds, and those who are led captive in error by them. Let not the reader suppose that our assaults upon the former are to be resented as if directed against the latter.

The Author ventures to make one request of the reader — that is, that he will suspend his opinion and conclusions as to this work until he has carefully and candidly read it. It is so customary, even with otherwise considerate men, to judge and pronounce sentence prematurely, that this reasonable precaution becomes necessary. The wisest of men says: "He that answereth a matter before he heareth it — it is folly and shame unto him." Most readers will find the positions advanced and the arguments here adduced so unusual, so much opposed to the lessons they have learned, and tlie ideas they have imbibed from their infancy, as to be inclined to reject and repel them at once. But a little reflection sufhces to teach us that all truth, however firmly established now, was in a small minority and most strongly opposed at first. It had to win its way to popular confidence by hard and persistent effort. We only ask the benefit of the valuable lesson which «uch a fact teaches.

The greatest foes to truth are prejudice and ignorance. Her best friends are free discussion and honest investigation.

The Bible Doctrine of Life, Death, and Immortality. . 130