Henry also said I feared neither God, man nor the Devil, because I did
not believe particularly in any of them. If he would add an "o" to
God and make it good, take the "d" from devil and make it evil, then
I would have something tangible to write about besides man, in whom I
believe.
Henry also said that I was engaged in a "labor of folly," fighting the
doctrine of the immortality of the soul.
I simply expressed my opinion on the subject. My friend Henry wrote me
not long ago that there was no earthly need of a Freethought paper;
that thought was as free as air always and everywhere. I take issue
with him there, and I call his attention to the _Little Journey_ to
the home of Copernicus--of January, Nineteen Hundred Five--by Elbert
Hubbard. Copernicus was the founder of modern astronomy.
If Henry will read his life he can see what freethought meant at that
time. I also call his attention to Giordano Bruno. He can see what
happened to him and how free thought was at that time. Henry said I
could write what I pleased, and get it printed where I could.
That was well added, for I could not in the year Nineteen Hundred Nine,
in the city of Dover, New Hampshire, get my article on Immortality
printed in the only paper in the city; so you see how freethought is up
to date.
I certainly "take issue" with Henry, "That the hope or consciousness
of life beyond the grave, or immortality of the soul, inspires mankind
to all that is noble and heroic in the great struggle for progress and
development here."
Robert Ingersoll did not believe in immortality, but he was a great,
tender-hearted man, full of kindness, full of generous impulses. No man
ever loved the true, the good and the beautiful more than he. He would
take the case of a poor man into court without pay; he would give a
young reporter an interview when he could sell every word he spoke for
a dollar; he would present the proceeds of a lecture to some worthy
object as though he were throwing a nickel to an organ-grinder; and
when there was persecution he was on the side of the persecuted.
I do not believe in individual immortality, but I do the best I can,
pay one hundred cents on the dollar, and I am not afraid to die. I
know thousands who believe as I do.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, believed in the immortality
of the soul--so do his followers. He also believed that sin was the
cause of earthquakes, and the only way to stop them was to believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't know much about seismology, but he
certainly had faith, plus.
John Calvin founded the Presbyterian Church; he believed in the
immortality of the soul. So do his followers; but Calvin was a murderer.
Henry, it is absurd to say that without hope of immortality we should
be degraded to brutes; in my opinion it is not true. What we want is a
religion that will pay debts; that will practise honesty in business
life; that will treat employees with justice and consideration;
that will render employers full and faithful work; that will keep
bank-cashiers true, officeholders patriotic, and reliable citizens
interested in the purity of politics (and the woman citizen will
be)--such a religion is real, vital and effective. But a religion that
embraces vicarious atonement, miraculous conception, regeneration by
faith, baptism, individual immortality and other monkey business is, in
my opinion, degrading, absurd and unworthy.
Henry, you say you want no controversy with me. I enjoy controversy,
but if you are averse to it I'll stop and we will unite in singing one
stanza of that Christian hymn:
King David and King Solomon
Led merry, merry lives
With their many, many lady friends
And their many, many wives;
But when old age came o'er them
With its many, many qualms,
(It was said)
King Solomon wrote the Proverbs
And King David wrote the Psalms.
But did they?
[Illustration]
Where religion is afraid of liberty, liberty should be afraid of
religion.--_Lemuel K. Washburn._
So long as man believes that he has an immortal soul, he will fear
the future.