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Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, August 21, 1910.

Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, August 21, 1910. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). 400dpi TIFF G4 page images Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, Kentucky 1910 blu1910082101a These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.): n. Sunday, August 21, 1910. Blue-grass blade (Lexington, Ky.). Blade Publishing Co., Lexington, Kentucky 1910 $IMLS This electronic text file was created by Optical Character Recognitio n (OCR). No corrections have been made to the OCR-ed text and no editing has be en done to the content of the original document. Encoding has been done through an automated process using the recommendations for Level 1 of the TEI in Librar ies Guidelines. Digital page images are linked to the text file. I vLf t- 9 VJI BLUE GRASS BLADEf =34 VOLUME XVIII LEXINGTON KENTUCKY SUNDAY AUGUST 21 1910 Number u n q ON NOON N N NOO N NON H N N N N N N N NOO HOIO 3 CHRISTIANITYS I T DJ lCFi r4A MI tdi et11set 1 1t yj t N N NON 0 0 + e fi Copyright 1910 by II Si Hills I At Batavia N Y April 17 1006 Rev Algernon S Crapsey for 26 years rector of St Andrews Episci palchurch at Rochester N Y was tried for heresy because ho denit the divinity of Christ Yet Snint Augustine Bishop of Hippo Il states Sermons 37 chap 12 that From tho first some believed Christ to be God and not man Others be Moved him to bo only a man and de vied his divinity The former was tho opinion of the Munichees to which belief St Augustine himself adhered Cotelerii in answer to Ignatius Epistle to the Trallians assures us that tho doctrine that Christs body was a phantom only and that no such per son as Jesus Christ ever had any corporeal existence was held in the time of the Apostles themselves And from the Apostolic ago down through all the centuries has the existence of Christ as a man been denied not by enemies or unbelievers but by tho most learned the most sincere mid the most moral of those who profess the Christian I name In Johns Epistles 1st 4tl 3rd also 2nd 1st 7th admitted by ninny modern authors to have bcen written runny years before anyof our canonical mention is made of persons professing tho I Christian faith who taught that a belief that such a man as Christ ever of thatlived in the flesh was no part deniers of the humanity ot Christ taught that ho was only an I itfettl cuanieiti per8ouiflecl v1 fyarded tho wholo gospel story 0isublime allegory In this class of time and the very first in point always first in numberwas found the most intelligent of professing Christians In the second and less important class was found those win denied the divinity of Christ and de clarod him only human Taylors Syntagma The Nicene Council A n 325 joined the two beliefs and gave to the world our modern ortho lox creed The first three New Testameni books Matthew Mark and Luke Gospels and anare called Synoptic very much alike In many chapters there is such a close verbal agree ment that the texts of Matthew and- Mark might pass for one and tin same Rev Moses Hull says Bibli cap Encyclopedia page 278 fhere- arc only 24 verses in Mark that can- nut be found in much the same language in one of these other gos view of this undisputed fact- the most eminent critics of the past century have been agreed in the opinion that one of two suppositions must be true viz Either these three 4gospel writers copied from each otherI- II they each copied from some I previously written narrative The in the com notion of independence position of these three gospels is tenable No scholarly no longer Christina would admit that these gospels were copies of each other hence the second supposition must bo absolutely true Admitting this to ho correct as do the most learned and profound of the literati the reader will naturally ask From whence came this previously written narrative trout which the gospel Evangelists drew their inspiration copied The answer and so copiously shall be From Egypt as the follow ing quotations from the most nent ecclesiastical writers will testify It is conceded by all modern theologians that the base of all our information regarding the origin ot the gospels is found in tho writings of Orison 3rd centuryand Euse bius Pam phil us 4th century sup plemented by writings of the Apos tolic Fathers and of tho Christian apologists whom these two above mentioned prolific writers largely quote Moreover it should never bo forgotten that for 1500 years no ec clesiastical historian has pretended to have any other information than is found in tho writings of tho above mentioned authors infinitely tho ablest Christianity has ever produced Therefore without exception all be gin where Eusebius leaves off r Without Eusebiiis says the learned Pillemon9we should scan havo any edge of tho history of the first agesjf Christianity- the or of authors wlivrote in that time Allof tO Grdek authors of tt fourth centuryJdsince have begun where Eusbius ended Our flrifc witness shall be Bishop Melito ofSurdis Lydia supposed by many to be the of the churchof Sardismnentioned in tho Bookof Revelation In his over memorable letter of apology delivered A D SLTStb the Emperor Marcus Antoninus he saysIIFor this plmilosaphy or religion which we teach truly nourished aforetime among tho barbarous nations but blossomed again transplautctd been ancestor greatithe Emp r count of it antiquityas hav beenirajJorted from country Iy ing l eyidetlio limits of the Roman 3mpiro reign of Augustus who bad found its importation omii ous of goo fortune to his goverr rent ItIn Hi A Justin Martyr in his iletter of addressed to II Emperor Antomis Pius most noble Caesar and trt philosopher says- If then we hold some of tho opinions near of kin to the poets and philosophers greatest repute among you why arcVe thus unjustly hat ed all things were made in this beautiful order by God what do we sy more than Plato By opposing w1Jrshipof the mocks of handswe only con by declaring ItieftSTgos tho first begotten oif God we sly no more than what you say of the sons of Jove And these comparisons are continued for eral pages to demonstrate that the Christian philosophyor religion was NEW ONLY IN and that it was identical with the truo teachings of the Pagan religion The beginning of the third century introduced Origen born 185 deceased 254 the most learned and distinguished personage in the tire drama of Christian evidence Origen was born and brought up ir in the University Egypt and was educated of Alexandria under the instruction of the learned and justly celebrated Ammonius Sacchus from whose teachings Origen formulated his own views of morals and religion is set forth in his in his- reply to Celsus viII Christianity md Paganism when rightly understood differ in no essential points and wero- ono origin mt have a common and the same thing Nothing trickery of fanatical but tho schismatical adventurers has introduced a listinction where in reality there was- no difference In reply to the charge of Celsus- that Christian religion hall no which to buse- its nore foundation upon truth than had any of the Pagau- not by tempting beliefs Origen replies to offer any proof but by that we who- sce saingI answer plainly the advantage the com non people do reap therefrom I we the clergy who aro so well ad ised of these things do teach men to believe without examination to the foundation of the faith Our next witness is the most portant the most positive in statement that we vet introduced himselfpresents unIantl one who deniable testimony concerning the inquiry as to the origin of our pels It is Eusebius Pamphilus 260 340 Bishop of Cacsarca and tho most distinguished of all ecclesiastical historians Let all the other witnesses hide their diminished beds In second volume chapter 17 of Eu ebius Ecclesiastical History may bo found this passage ancient heranouts were Christians and gosIpelsproves tho true which cannot bo invalidated viz By quoting many pages from tht writings of Philo Judaeus who wrotc a trcatiso on beliefs habits llIl customs of the Therapeuts in loxandria Egypt showing that they hall sacred writings called Gospels of tho Egyptians and a well estab fished churchorganization withcol reties or branch churches in Rome Ephcseus Corinth Philippi and i all places mentioned by St Paul in his Epistles to the Churches This writer also states as qnoted by Eusebius that they also had mon asterics monks and nuns bishops priests and elders etc In fact thoy hadan old and well established churchorganization in all its plenitude and power Philo Judaeus or Philo the historyImowsgreat Augustus Caesar tho first Ho man Emperor Ho was about 20 years of age at the time Jesus Christ is reputed to have been born Mor over tho immortal Gibbon in his Decline and Fall of tho Roman Empire says It has been proven that Philo s treatise on the Ther peuts was written during the reign of Augustus And as tho great Augustus deceased A D 14 these cluirches to whom St Paul wrote his Epistles and this old and wellfount ed church organization oftwhich Philo wrote and so minutely de scribed as having a University at priestsIbscn fully established when Christ- was not more than ten or twelve years of age at most And all bused and founded on the sacred writings of the Therapeuts called This Gospel of the Egyptians All this from the great Eusebius based on the testimony of Philo Judaeus Higher ur better authority no man can quote Yet strange as it may seen Philo in his treatise has never once mentioned the name of Jesus Christ nor has he intimated that he had overheard of such a man above statements are all admitted by Mosheim 16041755 tho ely foremost of modern cclesiasti- eal historians He saysI The Thei ipeutan Church and University of Alexandria were nourishing when Christ was on earth and long beforo that date The eminent English ecclesiastic Dr Nathaniel Lardner 1C8417C8 in his Credibility K the Scrip quofeJTargtlyTfrOiu EuseUIui lures commenting on same says It is peculiar that Eusebius at so early a date should call the Egyptian fher- apeuts Christians though they aught the same doctrine To show how the modern lesser lights of the Christian Church hove iewed this most important question we submit the following In 444 Caxton published the first book ivor printed in England In 1474 a convocation of tho clergy the Bishop of London said If we do not destroy this dangerous invention- it will one day destroy us Compare this with Pope Leo Xs avowal in the College of Cardinals 1515 It- is well known how profitable this fable of Christ has been to us See also the frank statement of Rev Yin Paley D D Archdeacon of Carlisle 1782 We cannot afford to iave a conscience in church affairs We must support the gospel because the gospel supported us Vol 1 chap 2 Gibbons Declim ontl Fall of Rome says All ligions in the Roman world were elieved as equally true by tin people as equally false by the philosophers and as equally useful and profitable by the priests and magistrates Having presented abundant testi lony to prove that original oi our gospels was Tine Gospel of the lIgyptians we must now in ordei to more fully demonstrate the proposition examine critically some tho passages of our New Testament gospels and epistles as to the time- when written to whom addressed aUll to what scripture these passages refer Ecclesiastical writers mostly gree that no one really knows the uthor of any one of our canonical ospels nor when they were written Bishop Faustus A D 384 says It is an undoubted fact that the- New Testament gospels were not ritten by any of the Apostles but a long while after by some unknown Brsons Rev Moses Hulls Biblical Ency opedia and Dr Chadwicks Bible of Today both present arguments showing that neither Matthew uteri Luke nor John were written prior the last halfof tho 2nd century 5eo also the New International c clopedia However wishing to be absolutely fair in our statements we waive the aboo arguments and append the tnblo of dates as compiled by Dr nthanicl Lardner in his famous eatiso on the Credibility of tho Scriptures thus showing from the higllCst ecclesiastical authority when each book is supposed to have been A 6t D 1st and 2nd Tliessalonlaiis 52 1st and 2nd Corinthinns5J and 57 1st and2mn lTimothy50 and 61 EphesinuJuu 61 Philemon 62 Hebrews 1st ant 2nd Peter 1st SL Johnu 80 The 1oelationsu 05 or 06 Mark 64 John 68 Galatians 52 Titus IIIIIIIIIII 50 Romans 58 Collossians uuPhilippians St JItne8uuSt l deuuu64 or 2nd and ant St John80T- he or 90 Acts 6- 3Luke03 or 61 or 64 From this table of dates when pared with Gibbons statement that Philo s treatise was written during the life pf the great Augustus it lows that it must have been written more than fifty years before any of our canonical gospels We quote again from chapter Book nof Eusebius Ecclesiastical History concerning the Therapetit whose Gospel of Egyptians was our gospels Also observe a few of our New Testament passages as pared with the Therapeutic doctrine- vi So at the same time they declare their renunciation of all thcir property and divest themselves ofall revenues of their estates Having laid aside all anxieties of life their property was sold and divided among all so that there was not one among then that lad want- Compare this with Acts 4th 34th Neither was there any among then that laced for as many as were possessors of houses or lands sold them- and brought the of the things that were sold antI distribution wa was made unto every man according to his need Again Eusebius says As he Phi Iq has written in so many words Nm vould they eat any thing that Had blood nTTftliatwal6dnV was their drink See Acts thThat ye abstain from meats and from blood and from things strangled Again Philo says For this race jf men are found in all parts of the world and the best men betake themselves to these colonies of the Thera peuts in each of which they have cred edifices and monasteries in vhich- the monks perform the mysteries ol the sublime life For those who preside over their scriptures philosophize them expounding their literal- sense upon by allegory They have also the- 1itinbS of the first leaders of thcii sect and records of the meanings con eyed by those allegories Compare this with the universally jreached gospel as set forth in Col ossians 1st 23d The gospel which e have heard and which was preach which is undercreaturoetl to every icaven v hereof I Paul am made a minister or deacon the very est order among Therapeutic officials md with Galatians 4th 24th which things are an allegory Again He Philo describes the orders of preferment among those who aspire to clesiastical ministrations The of deacon the humblest rank and the authority of the bishops upreme Compare this with 1st Timothy 3d 13th For they that have used the ifllee of deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree Also Phil ppians 1st 1stI Paul and Timothe us the servants of Jesus Christ to all the saints with bishops and deacons Also Hebrews 13th 7th Remember them that have rule over on who have spoken unto you the wOlIlof God Also Hebrews 13th 17th Obey them that have tho rule ovel you nd submit yourselves for hey watch for your souls as one that must give an account Continued Next Week BOONE 00 PAIR Florence Erlanger Ky Round trip tickets via tho Queen Crescent Route will be sold Sept I 2 and 3 goadreturning until Sept 4 1010 Round trip rate from Lexington to Erlanger Ky for this ewision is 240 Many a heartreaching sermon reached on Sunday in fashionable lurches has been manufactured on aturday evening in some upper attic under influence of a pot of ale remains of a ham bono and a short black H clay JESUS CHRIST OF THE FOUR GOSPELS No Evidence That He or the Twelve Apostles Ever Lived By Ernest Puck Whether Jesus Christ of the- Gospels Fou ever existed is the question we propose briefly to examine and space being limited we have to waste by wayof preamble We seel to save the readers time and trust wo shall not be considered abrupt because we are direct Wo even ex pect a little credit for our considera tion First then by Jesus Christ of the Four Gospels we mean not some fa nutical man Christ or crafty iuipos tor who may leave claimed for himself divine honors but the saidtob immaculately born Son of the Virgin Mary and miracleworking Godmar this and no other It is necessarj to bo very particular upon this point for there have been many Saviours both before His reputed time and since Saviours to right of us Sav ours to left of us Saviours all round us as one might say And although- the same claims are made for there all Christians would huve us believe that their Jesus only is genuine and the others are spurious Well in our mustardandcress days we were wont to hold the samo opinion and it will be our duty to give a few reasons why we renounced it We found 1 we had been bamboozled into believing by faith in stead of by facts 2 That contem porary history had nothing to say about this mythical personage 3 The Christians had done their best tc rectify this misfortune by forging- the missing testimony 4 That no evidence was forthcoming that any such persons as the twelve Apostles- ever lived 5 That no trace of our four Gospels could be found prior tc about 150 A D and 0 we thought- that had the miracles ever taken- place during the native life of Jesus- 51w 33 ADs tlieic oui have ex isted ample records of them in the historical accounts of that period and we looked upon this solemn si lence on the part of every contem porary writer as conclusive testimony in confutation of the Christian reflected also that one little grain of evidence traceable to the- fitSt half of tho first century would have been of greater value than whole granaries of assertions mode in the latter half of the second cen ury Then there was presented to us the fact recorded by Gibbon that in Rome Christianity was rejected as an idle and extravagant opinion by every man of a liberal education and understanding Decline md Fall chap xv Wo observed likewise that H both parties Christian and pagan seemed to ac knowledge the truth of those miracles which were claimed by their adversaries and while they were tented to ascribing them to the arts of magic and to the powers of demons they mutually concurred in storing and establishing the reign of superstition Ibid chap xvi And the same great scholar sagely remarks in a footnote that It is seriously to be lamented that the Christian Fathers by acknowledging tho upermitiiralor as they deem it the nfernnl part of Paganism destroy with their own hands the great Jd vantage which we might otherwise lerive from the liberal concessions or our adversaries Ibid Further we noted in the pages of this loted writer that those among the omans who condescended to mention the Christians considered them nly as obstinate and perverse thusiasts who exacted an implicit submission to their mysterious trines without being able to produce a single argument that could engage the attention of men of sense and learning Chap xv These truths wo read and many others anti they burst upon us like a revelation while the belief of our outh was shaken mightily yea even to its very foundations and after that the earthquake1 Down fell the wholo edifice of our faith and thero wo stood looking on with mixed feelings of annoyance disappointment and regret for we received in our outh a very pious training and were ill prepared for such disquieting discoveries But the facts were too strong and forced upon us the clusion that we have been grossly de eived There can be no doubt that all Christian teaching has been an ticipat by other masters long prior N l to tho time that Christ is said to havo lived as a study of compara tive religions amply proves and ligious parallels everywhere abound Here for instance is a list of cruel fled Saviours who were all good enough to die for us before Jesus thought of doing so Chrishna of India 1200 B C Sakia of Hinduston B C Thammuz of Syria 1100 B C Wittoba tho Telingonese 522 B Iao of Nepaul 622 B C Hesus of Great Britain 834 B C Quexalcote of Mexico 587 B C Quirinus of Rome 506 B C Prometheus of Greece 547 B C Thumbs of Egypt 1700 B C Indra of Thibet 725 B C Alcestis of Greece 600 B C Atys of Phrygia 1170 B C Crite of Clmldea 1200 B C Bali of Orissa 725 B C Mithra of Persia 600 B C Salvahna of Bermuda Osiris of Egypt Horns of Egypt Odin of Scandinavia Zoroaster of Persia Bnal of Phoenicia Baliof Afghanistan Xamolxis of Thrace Zoar of the Bonzes Adad of Assyria Deva Tat of Siam Alaides of Thebes Mikado of the Sintoos Beddin of Ja pan Thor of the Gauls Cadmus of Greece Hil and Feta of the Mandi ites Gentaut of Mexico etc etc We should think that after know ing of all these human sacrifices Christians will feel more important than ever They may find the various histories of these obliging gentlemen in a work by one Kersey Graves entitled Sixteen Crucified Saviors Also they may consult The Hind Pantheon Mexican Antiquities Higgins 1 Anacalepsis and the Pro gress of Religious Ideas all strong ly recommended by tho clergy Tho present following of the principal among these Saviours is For Chrishna 400000000 for Christ 200000000 for Mahomet 150000 000 for Confucius 120000000 and for Mithra 50000000 So that there still remains much missionary work to be done- History repeats itself especially religious history Take for example the accounts of Chrishna and Christ wtncli unmhcs astrikingillgsttN 114 iq tion It is said of Chrishna that his birth was foretold that he was an incarnate god that his mother was virgin that he had an adoptedIfather who was a carpenter that there was rejoicing on earth and in that his mothers lieaven on his birth name was Main that he was born on Dee 25th was visited by wise men and shepherds who were led bya star was warned bynn angel of danger that all children were irdered to be destroped in order to include him that his parents fled to Mathura that he had a forerunner that ho was wise in his childhood vas lost and searched for by his parents had other brothers retired to solitude fasted preached a noteworthy sermon was entitled Savior md Redeemer existed prior to his birth and on earth and in heaven at t the same time was both human and livine worked miracles read thoughts ejected devils religionttics reformed the existing was poor was conspired against lenounred riches was meek nn married and chaste merciful asso iated with sinners and was rebuked for it befriended a widow met a submitted to inyonmn at a well suIts and injuries was a philanthro pist had a lust supper was cruci led between two thieves darkness iiipervened he descended to hell vas resurrected and after three days icEii by ninny people And all this f i200 B Cl With regard to propheccy we have the coming to earth foretold of oth irs besides Chrishna and Christ as for example ChnngTi Osiris Cad milS Quirinus Quexalcote and Ma- homet and Messianic prophecies ore to be found in the Vedas the nese sacred books and in those of Egypt Greece Rome Mexico Arabia antI Persia There are also many her odious comparisons Osiris is spoken of ns having bruised serpents head after it had bitten his heel Hercules is represented with his heel on a serpents head Chrishna is pictured and sculptured in the same vay and Persia has the same old egend Miraculous conceptions are ecorded of Plato who was said bo n sum of Apollo of Zoroaster of Hars and Vulcan of Quexalcoto of Suchiquelqiml of Yu of Appolonius of Buddha of Mahamaya of Chrish na of Yasuva and incidentally of Icsus Of virgin mothers wo have Yaso the motlur of Chrishna Main of Sakia Celestino of Zulis Clumalco- nf Quexalcote Sernele of Bacchus Continued on fourth page r 1 BLUE GRASS BLADE FOUfi lED BT CHARLES IILTON MOORE ad edited by turn until hi death February lAMES E HUGHES Proprietor 126128 Uorth Limestone Street Lexington Kentucky P Box SUBSCRIPTION RATES dy mall postpaid pr yr In advance Five new yearly subscribers at ono re mittance cents each Forelga subscriptions postpaid 160 per year ADVERTISING RATES One Inch single column Insertion cents one month or tour Insertions six months 3500 one year 800 Quarter column Insertion 200 one month six months 2000 one year 3000 Half columc note column or larger advertisements at special rates tnon ap plication ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS to the Blade will be discontinued at the expiration of the term for which the subscription has been paid up In advance The address slip on tae paper will show subscribers the date of expiration of subscription Back numbers or numbers omitted will be cent If asked for upon renewal in case of dlscontinuao SHOULD ANY SUBSCRIBER change his or her address advise this office giving oath old and new ddresa as desired THE OFFICE of publication of the Blade Is at 126128 North Limestone Street Lexington Kentucky to which all Free thinkers will be given a hearty come THE BLADE Is entered at the Fostofflre at Lexington Kentucky as second das mailing matter ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO JAMES E HUGHES Box Lexlng Kentucky WHY I DO NOT BELIEVE IN A GOD tI do not believe in a god First because our only authority for the existence of a god is the bible and that bible is a myth a work of fiction which can be proven by e work itself If the bible was the inspired word of god he would have in spired the author of the first book of Genesis with the truth about the formation of this world In stead he states that god made this earth and all that is in it in six days and rested on the seventh Geology proves that this Earth was not created in six days It took thousands of years to complete the formation up to its present conditon and the process of creation is still going on It will continue to create as long as this sphere retains its present form and position among the planets of the universe Second An allwise all pow erful God a creator of the uni verse would have known whether or not this Earth had four corners It took 1500 years for the people of Gods creation to discover its true spherical shape If the Bible was the inspired word of God Joshua would have commanded the Earth to standstill while he completed his in human slaughter of men instead of the Sun as is stated in Joshua 1012 when he said Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon in the Valley of Ajalon This is another proof that no god had anything to do with the authorshp of that work Third When God made Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden he also placed therein a temptation of evil in the form ofa fruit tree laden with luscious fruit commanding them saying Thou shalt not eat of it Genesis 317 Also that the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die Then Satan appeared on the scene and told them that they would notsurely die but become wise as we are So Eve ate of the fruit and gave to Adam some of it which he also ate They did not die but their eyes were opened and they became wise just as Satan had said they would which 1 IIII proved God the falsifier lI Satanic Mnjcsty spoke the truth whydo I lows If there was a God such as the ono spoken of in the Bible ho could and would males himself manifest to his children as he didj in the days of Noah and all the other notable characters of that wonderful book called the Holy keepshimselfdoesnt even try to keep abreast of the times He should at leas- give us something more to rea about himself than old back numbered Bible which has often o been revised by those mos interested in the doings of God and other mysterious happenings which can in no other way be ac counted for by the poor enfeebled brain of the orthodox man Why does God allow hi people to suffer death at all f Could he not keep them in perfect health and vigor throughout ete nity if he so desired and had the power allotted to him by the different authors of the Bible When mankind is spoken of as being saved what part of him is being saved If he is allowed to die first before being saved hi entire body is laid to rest under so many feet of earth and ther- he is left to decay and return t earth itself What would ther- be left in the course of a few thousand years to resurrect Th answer is easy Nothing How foolish it all seems to think oi man being resurrected at the end of the worlds existence which has never yet occurred and as far as we know never will Fur thermore according to our most scientific astronomers the Heaven of the Bible has so far never been located and if such a place as Heaven did exist somewhere in the universe it would be impossi ble for even a soul to penetrate the endless space into other worlds in search of a heavenly realm because of the awful frigidity of our own atmosphere after leaving the Earth some five or six miles It would necessarily have to be a very warm soul that would bo able to withstand such s an extreme temperature and me thinks but few if any will ever be able to walk the golden streets of the New Jerusalem or play on harps of golden strings or sing hallelujahs to God on the throne of everlasting lifepCarroll WyowA LETTER TO FRIEND JONES Friend Jones e Your contention that by pro fessing Christianity you are playing safe because if there is nothing in it you have nothing to lose on the other hand you say you have every thing to gain This statement in it self it seems to me borders on skep are not quite sure but like a drowning man are grasping at a straw The skeptical Mohammedan or Buddhist no doubt tries to console himself with the same kind of rea soning If he is right he too has everything to gain and in that case YOU as well as I have everything to lose But the fact of the whole matter is we are all creatures of superstition for which we are no more re sponsible than we are for the shape of our bodies or the color of our hair All our mental as well a physicalcharacteristics are inherited from our progenitors Ages and gen erations of superstitious ancestors beginning at a period of time when primitive man quit walking on all fours and begun to stand erect and when his intellectual faculties had developed sufficiently to prompt him to look about and wonder at th why and wherefore of things At first he began to realize that the sun was probably the source of and certainly did maintain all life So the sun naturally became the ob ject of his adoration But presently some of his fellows the predecessors of the preachers and priests of our time who no doubt possessed a littlo more cunning than the rest and who then as now usually II had their eyes on the main chance began to ge ten busy and created an invisible god or gods beyond the clouds as well as Gods Right Bower the Devil gether with the necessary adjuncts impressednupon our ancestors the necessity of being subservient to and worshippin- this unseen and unknowable God orI Gods This belief has been profit ably for the priesthood perpetuated fostered and propagated It has developed into a gigantic system with many and various forms ofI superstition but signs of its disin tegration are much in evidence It is beginning to dawn upon thinldng people that the world is progressing islin almost everything scraps religion There wo have linen at a standstill if not actually retrograding from an ciimt juniworxliip to the worship of a lend Jew for instance can hardly be called progress Of coiirsi we all know that the adherents of every form of religious worship claim that theirs is tho only sinnun pura and bonafido God mill that theirs is the only truo faith and worship which lends to satiation and that all who differ with them in that opinion are heathens and infidels pledf the worlds great religious bodies each of the other Observe how Cath ultra and Protestants abuse one other The Protestant says Catholics are idolaters mid accuses that or gamzation of every crime in tho cal endar The Catholic says to the Protestant Youre another Yours preachers are humbugs acting with out any authority from on High like that conferred on our priesthood b irs a fake We rank outsiders are forced to admit that in all this both sides are adhering close to the truth This belief in tho supernatural as overt render of history must know withsmisery and suffering It has encom aftereandountilenow our own generation we isehold on the accomplishingthe possibility of human achievement- if man ever shakes off tho shackles of superstition entirely L H GROBER Vevay Ind MUSINGS No3 Series IIIeBy Otto Wettstein S S Suppose a God after attending to the affairs of animate and inanimate creation on this planet would under take a voyage on Halleys comet souring within its mighty orbit at the of 50 miles yeventyfiveactivities and evolutionary processes tthingwell Death can only be a calamity if ersonal life after the death of the individual were possible but then it ould not be death but life Hence what folly and falsehood to prate about the Materialists fear of death If he fears death he is not a Mater ialist but a believer in the hideous nightmare that something terrible rant happen to him after death 0Life may portend dangers calami ties grief and painDeath never Gods souls and spirits are creatures of the imagination When put htthe crucible of reason for analysis they evaporate e Gods and spirits are vastly greater mysteries than nature and man Theists say You cannot explain nature without a God You cannot explain God We at least know ture to be a factyou know nothing of your Spiritists say You cannot plain the psychical functions of man without a soul or spirit You cannot knowsman to be a reality you know nothI ing of souls or spirits Unless you explain your explanation it is no explanation What is the use of putting Christ ianity in the Crucible Let the learned men of our Universities put finaleanalysis will Blast the Rockof Ages and prove that all religions are the crudest product of ignorance and superstition What spirits have NOT done in the past and are NOT doing now proves far more conclusively that they do not exist than all the childish and sipid socalled spirit phenomena proves their existence lies Beethov given us a grander sonata Mozart a more sublime symphony Wagner u new opera Liszt another rhapsodic Shakespeare or Goethe greater dramas Schiller Bryant or Longfellow more beautiful poetry or Ingersoll a brilliant post mortem lecture Have practigcal aid or new invention from tho great dead If not why not Spirit ists claim that all these illustrious and talented men still live that they pro gress intellectually forever that they can and do communicate with their surviving friends and are interested in the welfare of humanity in Why then in thin name of generalIask do not these gifted give us some unmistakable Ilielll evidence of their present exist cncof A liberal prohibitionist is as im possible as a generous nifccr ANY WAY TO OATOH EM Mixes Sunday Dancing and Preach ing in Seattle Seattle Wash AugSI pro scribed large doses of dancing and small doses of religion last night on the theory that it would bo best to start off easily In time I hope to equalize the two a little more said Rev Frank llciihum pastor of the Union Christian Church of George town Monday The Rev Herthum was speaking of the four hours of dancing and 15 minutes of religious services at Dreamland rink tho largest dancing pavilion in the city Sunday night The idea of mixing dancing and religion originated when the women clubs of the city conducted a campaign which resulted in the closing of Dreamland on Sunday nights but which place was reopened The evening entertainment began at 8 oclock with a walta twostep fol lowed then Rev Herthum was an nounced At the conclusion of a 15 minute sermon all joined in the Lords Prayer and the dancing tinued again until midnight WORLDS BEST WATCHES Mens New Thin Model 16 Size Waltham Riverside Maxi mus 23 jewels 55 Crescent Street 21 jewels 23 Riverside 19 jewels 21 P T Bartlett 17 jewels 1250 625 17 jewels 10 15 jewels 8 7 jewels 6 Elgin No 156 or 162 21 jewels 55 Veritas 23 jewels 3013 W Raymond 19 jew ls 21 242 17 jewels 18 241 17 jewels 12 15 jewels S 7 jewels 6 340 or 339 17 jewels 10 Oases All the abovo in the new Thin MJodel Silverine Screw Cases In Fays Crown or Deu her filled gold case guaranteed by the manufacturers for 20 ears artistic hand chased or 3 or hunting case 5 more In 25 year case 2 more in 20 year case In cases guaranteed for all time screw 8 or hunting 10 more than in Sil verinb case Prices of solid gold cases on application Every watch guaranteed fresh and now from factory no shopkeepers an accurate timekeep er and if well used good for iltty years or longer Will be kept in order for one year I pay freight send for price list of Watches not listed above Diamonds Jewelry Rings Silver and Plated Ware Optical Goods RingI Guage and my tract The Ax to the Root FREE Highest price paid for old goldIOTTO WETTSTEINI LaGrange Cook Co HI 110 N Kensington AveI Some clergymen would persecute like blazes if they could Rev R W Patterson for in stance a Presbyterian minister said recently at Philadelphia If I had my way I would have an executioner called in to deal with all heretics and blasphemers Burning at the stake would be too good for those who revile religion The growth of heresy is such that nothing but such measure as this can stop it Well then it wont be stopped for Pastor Patterson will certainly not be able to have his way ISo if hes satisfied we are The ago of the Monsiah nl death is said by Jrcnnctm Jo have boon fifty hud he comes to this conclusion from the remark of Iho Jews Thou art not yot fifty years old nod hast thou soon Abraham I According to Luke lie was thirtyeight to nat thew seventeen to Dionysius Exig uiis thirlythree the generally re ceived age according to Euscbiiis thirtyone lo Jerome and Scaliger thirty Five other eminent author it ies place him at 28 20 23 and 18 respectively so that the socalled Crucifixion is somewhat uncer tain and and the difference between the uses given by Matthew anti Luke1 and the statement of the Jews are hardly consistent with either inspi ration or historical accuracy THE Charles Chilton Moore hasLands on toot Reaching Paris he up the journey and returned home H made the trip by rail and boat about three years before his death This book gives an account of what he saw and explodes numerous Christian myths It Is especially suitable for a present Cloth Bound Pages Postpaid 1126 Address orders to BLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington K- yEXCURSION 150 CINCINNATIAND SUNDAYAUGUST SPECIAL TRAIN Leaving Luinglolf 725AM MY TRIP TO ROME by DR J WILSON The International Congress of Freethinkers vu held In the City of tome Italy September The author attended that Congress as the Amartoui delegate It la an account of travel and personal experiences that her received- an universal encomium frov press and people In It religious dogmas and tale priestly fiction are ruthlessly exposed while the general style Is without com parison In American literature of travel Cloth bound pages Illustrated Address orders to BLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington Ky TWO GREAT SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERIES The Universe Has No God And Man Has No Soul A worldwide movement to make them known and perpetuated For particulars send a self addressed envelope to the Presi dent of the Church of Humanity- W II KERR Great Bend Kas Christianitys Birthplace THE NEW TESTAMENT GOSPEL Upon Which Is Founded the Christian Religion COLLATED AUTHORITIES As to Where It Originated INCIDENTS IN THE LIVES OF SOME OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITERS ALSO EXCERPTS FROM THEIR WRITINGS The Author Makes No OlalmS to Originality pretending only to Have Compiled Accurate Statements DEDICATED 10 SUCH AS WOULD KNOW THE TRUTH CONCERN ING THE FAITH YET HAVE NOT TILE TIME TO SEARCH IT OUT Price 15 Cents Address All Orders to S HILLS IHStreet CLEVELAND OHIO n DIDNT LIKE COURSE DINNERS A colored woman native of the south had been working for n flat dwelling family of moderate means In the Kant end but resigned recently to accept a place bringing higher wage with n wealthy family who lived In n large house on Euclid heights and have their dinner served In courses every night just as It there was company This colored woman had been brought up to put everything on the table at once with tho exception pos sibly of tho dessert and did not take kindly to tho course system A taw days ago her former mis tress met her on the street and quired how she liked her now place Oh not vey well she replied dont like this hyah way of suvln things in couses Thes too much shlftln o tho dishes fo the fewness o the vlttles She Was Encouraged Was your story accepted asked friendd the struggling thor who has hopes of selling some thinke rthe tale made an impression on the editor Oh how lovely cried the bosom friend Do tell me why you think he was Impressed- A tender smile flitted across the face of the encouraged author noticed that the pages containing the ac count of my heros death were spotted with what looked like teardrops she replied Unsatisfactory Arabolla said the anxious mother what In the world did you and Mr Derox find to talk about last night It was buzz buzz the entire eve ning- Oh we were talking about trusts and combines mamma replied Ara bella merrily but the conversation was not at all satisfactory to me motherIhe he could think of except the matrimonial combine IPatient Explanation wrong with my right foot said the man at the hotel counter Could you direct me to a good carpenterr Excuse me said tho clerk with a sly glance of amusement at tho lady bookkeeper but of course you mean a chiropodistNo going to be patient with you young man and tell you want a good carpenter My right leg is a wooden one WANTED TO SCATTER HER STAKES 4 Did you bet a kiss on tho election with that girl you are sweet on bet several kisses one on the governor one on the congressman one on theHow did you come to bet so one made the bet with said sho didnt believe in putting all her eggs iii one basket- The Summer Girl She cut quite a figure on the Ice tvmcr iuuy say And now she cuts one on the beach in her bathing suit each day Not Encouraging The lady tourist timidly Are all your passengers seasick during the voyage captain The Captain tolerantlyThere are brightening Many ex ceptions captain The captain turning awnyI aint seen any fur several voyages Made a Difference Little Willie What is logic Pa Logic son is your line of argument In a controversy Little Willie And what Is sophis tryPaThe other fellows Valued Results Was your garden a success last yearIn some respects replied Mr Crosslots got some of the best fish ing worms out of it that ever saw Not an Attractive Deal DlggsI see that tho Chinese want to borrow u billion dollars Wlggs Say Id hate to lend It to em an then have to take it out in laundry workl Definition An optimist Is one who would rath er believe that everything is all right than Know the truth Lipplncotts THE FOROE OF FAOTS AND FIGURES By dimming Severance Nothing has greater force in car- illg conviction to rational minds limn facts and figures for these arc things that demonstrate truths and defy refutation When you havo a fact that can bo shown and demonstrated you have tho best of an ar gument with any opponent and can knock him out in ono round if ho will face it As Freethinkers wo havo tho facts and figures to show that Christianity is not only tho biggest fake and humbug in tho world but tho greatest failure when the realization of prom ises and predictions arc taken into consideration Christianity has always claimed to bu a divinely inspired religion with qualties superior to all others and a dead certainty of some day being tho ono andonly religion on this earth Claiming to havo conic direct from God the Creator and Controller of the Universe it declared he could and would insure such a condition and so this boast and predictive af IIrmation was made At the name of Jcsas every knee shall bow of things in heaven and things on earth and things under tho earth and ev ery tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father Christianity has entered the 20th century of its existence and by look lug backward wo can sec what it has done and by computing results we can see how near this prediction is to being verified It has claimed much promised more and accom plished little Instead of being tho one and supreme religion after all this lapse of time it is not even first in point of numbers among other ligions for Buddhism exceeds it by many millions and a now religion founded by Mahomet tho Arabian camel driver nearly 000 years after Christianity started lies 170 million devotees whoso knees refuse to bow to the name of Jesus and whose tongues if they speak his name utter it in derision and contempt With all the exaggerations that Christians make regarding their numbers their highest claim leaves them numerically less than onofifth of the population of the earth If thus is the best they could do with Gods help in over 1900 years they must if honest and candid admit that Mahomet has revealed greater powor to do things than God and Jesus to gether for comparatively he has done a greater work in the 1300 years just passed than Jesus tho lead er mid Savior of all mankind and JehovahIs this fact alone sufficient to knock all divine claims out of Christianity f To a reasonable man it must b for where there is nothing to show that an omnipotent God is boosting Christianity thero is noth ing to base belief on that he is If that hellfire and damnation religion had gone ahead and converted the whole world as it expected to and said it should then it would have had a fact that no opponent could have failed to be influenced by and everybody being Christians there would have been no opponents This is a very plain presentation of the case and as Christianity is now dy ing of dry rot and its power is wan ing every day that comes and goes if it ever had a chance to influence the whole world that time is past and gone When this religion attained its greatest power and had the most converts it was using fire and sword force and violence to mako converts and the moment it ceased to use such means for that purpose that moment it began to wane and weaken to droop and Christianity lies never been the same force in the world since it ceased to bo a militant power and it never will bo again for talk alone is not sufficient to make people accept it When they had to or go to pris on and have their properly confiscated it was easy to catch em for Christs sake and tho glory of God When tho Inquisition was in force and all its implements of torturo were being used to make Christians that Bible prophecies might bo fulfilled it was a bold man indeed who would re fuse to accept this religion of love and mercyand that was the time when every ono in Christian lands to be orwas a Christian professed had to migrate as did the Moors when driven out of Spain Toleration was never a feature of Christianity when it had unrestrained power but with fire and force it failed completely to accomplish its intentions and I now throw this fact into the face of every Christian that exists to show that what it failed to do in the past it cannot possi bly do in tho future There is no more show for converting the world to Christ than there is for seeing all men think alike or look alike and the rotten stuff put forth in his namo will be more and more rejected as the world rolls on Facts and figures provo this statement for as eminent a Christian hs Ilev Charles Hussoll of Brooklyn Tabernacle admits thoro are double tho number of heathen in the world today than thero were 100 years ago and wo do not have to go out of your own socalled Christian country to find by government ures that only a little over onethird of our people are professed Christ inns and church members and such a poor showing ten years ago is what caused Christian influence to have noses in tho census of 1010 That fact has been thrown at them so many times it caused a sure spot and it irritates our Christian friends much to hear of it It certainly is a fact that speaks wry loudly and facts not in their favor are offensive things to be suppressed if possible Hnssell and see what he is compelled Russell and see what he is compellel to admit though why he said it when the policy of Christians is to blow hind and claim everything is not clear If we lookout upon the heathen world however sympathetic we maybe in respect to foreign missionary work doing all in our power to mako known to the heathen tho grace of God and the Great Redeemer are nevertheless compelled to admit that there is absolutely no hope of our ewer causing every knee to bow und every tongue to confess Christ in heathen lands oven as we have long ago given up hope of accomplishing suchwork in civilized is plain talk and right to the point and in spito of his religion is evidence ofa streak of horse sense and candor not to be found very ten in a Christian preacher Methodists who keep boasting of building a church every day shouldchew up and digest or reflect on this true statement by comrade Russell of tho universal brotherhood that Christ wanted to establish with the Jew God as the basic idea to workon No men and brethren fellow izens saints and sinners there is mighty little consolation in facts and figures for Christianity for they plainly show the doom which awaits it which in the process of time will be just what nil religious systems experiencedeathand oblivion- It is now dying as indisputable evidence shows but wo cannot expect a quick death for such never comes to superstition in any form but the very fact it is in decline and surely passing away is a source of joy and gladness to all rational human ings who know its true history and what a curse it has ever been to Charles Russell and other mourners I extend my condolence for their mental sufferings for sympathy is one of my strong characteristics but at tho same time I am very glad that is occurring which causes them to weep and waiL So Let her go Gallagher and tho sooner the better Los Angeles Calif A FIRST OAUSE What Caused It to Cause a Universe 6000 Years and Not 60000000 Years Ago Otto Wettstein in Freethinkers Magazine There is no First Cause there never was a First Cause Within an eternal selfexistent universe evo luting processes are eternal It never beganit can never end A single parties of matter cannot be rented neither can it be annihilated Consequently the universe being posed of eternal existing particles is eternal And each particle represent in energy and force being energy and force has ever been active toj perpetuate the evolutionary processes of finite forums beings and bodies but these by virtue of their own potencies being destined to final destruction and disintegration tend in infinite variation and transformation to perpetuate the process forever All attempts to solve the riddle of cosmic existence by postulating a First Cause or God existing prior und exterior of the universe must and will ever remain efforts of childish reasoning and a lamentable failure It explains nothing It simply divests the visible everything of and invests in invisible nothing with ncies Ir power to cause all phenomena Hut ifter this cunning coup detnt the identical mysteries which first prompted such a solution still staro us in tho face even in augment ed degreeA Cause or God plies an infinite something which however wo know absolutely nothing possessing attributes and powers superior to those existing in nature and amply sufficient to cause to spring into existence miraculously from pro existim nothing an infinite universe- First Cause or God must possess within itself transcendent qualities of selfexistence and all the 1 necessary attributes to exist uncaused mid eternal as n First Cause and without again necessitating in turn another cause to cause it It implies that such II First Cause or God prior to tho imaginary II beginning was not a cause but eternally inactive latent nonproductive deadan absolute condition of negation or nothing That such First Causo during all the Infinite cycle of ages preceding such beginning did not produce a single effect It implies that after being eternally dead or inactive and cause of absolutely nothing during all tho ages of beginninglcss time it did suddenly and miraculously so stupendously change its nature as to create a universe And lust though not least it pre seats to thinking men and women tho following grotesque proposition The universe exists consequently a God or First Causo must have preceded it This First Cause is eter cal never was created and never needed a Creator It ofcourse is eternal and as such existed from all time Six thousand years ago ac cording to Biblo chronology this First Causo caused the universe No other cause or thing existed with or beside it prior to that time During all the ages of bee nmiingless time it did not cause a solitary thing not a world sun moon star or even a single atom Eternal darkness reigned preme and infinite vacum was monopolized solely by this First Cause This is a correct representation of things existing during the eternity prior to 0000 years ago when the verse according to the Christian my thology began But now the question arises what caused the First Cause after an eternity of nonactivity to create the universe Hero certainly is a magnificent and imposing effect if true The Theists God or First Cause certainly didnt cause it for what these would not do or cause to be done during the vast eterity preceding this imaginary creation they ofcourse would never do This First Causo is supposed to be omniscient omnipresent and unchangeable con sequently what this First Cause could or would not do during 9999 999999999999999 continued ad in finitumyears preceding the begin ning it of course would never do What then caused the universe or caused tho First Cause or God to create dt after an eternity of non existence There is no effect without a cause But for an eternity all isting causes had not produced a universe whntin the name of reason then WAS THE CAUSE which cans ed the First Cause to create the universe when it did But I need ao furthera cause being needed to cause the First Cause to cause or to precede the First Cause of the Theist If we keep on in our crucial test of First Causes we will no doubt need another First Cause inch another and another ad infinitum Thus we see that all argument predicating a First Cause a God a Creation or a Begin ting apes not explain but infinitely mystifies existing problems and that the only rational assumption is the eternal existence of all matter which assessing within itself all tho neces any attributes of selfexistence and selfformation not creation needs no Creator or First Cause to create or manipulate it Existing today absolutely proves that in its elementary form it has al ways existed and so will always exist urthermore assuming harmony and order today and evolving worlds suns systems trees flowers and men proves it has ever evolved such forms and that consequently there never was a first world sun tree or man but all such phenomena aro but repetitions of similar phenomena having evolved forever Because it is plain that any partic ular first world sun or system would again imply an eternity of time pre ceiling the formation of such first phenomena but which if true would absolutely havo prevented such first world sun or system at any time It is either eternal standstill or eternal etivityboth cannot be true Which then I ask is most reasonable that n First Cause of which we know absolutely nothing can exist uncaused and then from nothing create an infinite universe or that tho latter which today exists in august splendor selfevidentand real is selfexistent and eternal Is ita fact that curates generally visit Christian homes when the husband is at work clergy aro notorious for their partiality to tho fair sex and purr around tho ladies like black tomcats MAN OF HIGH IDEALS So you dont care to oncourngo that young poet with his otheroal Ideas Interrogated tho olgar sales manI dont caro a continental about hit ethereal ideas growled grocery man as long as they dont cost mo over cost you anything I should say sot Tho other day ho came In and raising his right hand struck a dramatic attitude and said love everything thats good Then with his left hand ho helped himself to the candled citron and tho 60 cent almonds dont doubt that ho likes things that are good but blamed If hes going to make this a supply station When He Needed Company Brother Philander said the Os borne Farmers village deacon our minister has worked hard and seems discouraged Isnt there some way we can shqw our appreciation of his worth and cheer him uI 11reo plied old Philander we might try tending the midweek prayer meeting That is his loneliest hour Took Precautions- want to hire a canoe Accustomed to rowing one sup poseNever was in one Can you swim Not a Well strokeIvance Ive been left In the lurch by enough suicidesIA Vivid Portrayal Why my dear expostulated Mr Ponsonby I wasnt drunk last night I was merely Imitating a drunk man to fool you Well sniffed Mrs Ponsonby all have to say is if that was an imi tation you are wasting your talents in the grocery business Youd draw 100 a week in vaudeville Education The HostWhat piece will you have Miss Tootsie Miss Tootsie Please carve me the left square tangent east to 76 segment above the loin diagonal to fat paral lel to Oh I beg pardon learned the cuts In cooking schoolPuck No Indeed- heard a man worth 1000000 wish he had some small change Pshaw man doesnt have to be worth 1000000 to wish that MORE SLEEP WANTED The DeaconParson wish you could make your sermons a little Preacher pleased Why so The DeaconWell It seems like hardly get to sleep before its time to get up It Wasnt Real Last night I had juicy steak But sad to say Wan soon awake How He Did It How asked the young lady as she looked with admiration at the rugged nonagenarian have you man aged to live so long and preserve your health so well By rigorously declining to practise what my friends have preached he candidly replied Slightly Mixed What was the lesson at school this afternoon Tommy asked the fond a reading on the destruction of Tyre responded the youngster Hm Automobile accident suppose Partly So My good woman does the system of visualization seem to take with your children at school Not all of em mum The doctor said wld Mamie and Tommy it has took tine but lilllys aint took a bit TooFaced You say he is twofaced I say he Is toofaced his wife has him so well trained that he novel opens his face except to say metoo Queer Sort What sort of fellow is Lathers He puts the accent on the first syl lable of the word hotel Its Style That singer has a velvet voice I suppose that accounts for the pile she gets from it It1 IC DO YOU rfdnyn come round Of coitmn they do Ill Just be bound Theyve como to you And made you crosi As everything And loft no heart In you to sing Nor any wish To labor more Bo tired and sad And sick and sore We nil have days Of sober brown When we are blue And frown and frown And grumble too And fume and fret Thats how wo Ways act and yet Although theres some Excuse for I dont see how It helps us much PERCY KNEW Algy The beauty of this play Per cYlsPercyOh that second one from tho end there Ill bet Great Shrinkage The last years bathing suit will shrink And shrink both day and night Until at last It shrinks so much The bather shrinks from sight All the Same What is the trouble with your hus band of late Mrs Green asked the corner grocer He acts queerly- In what way queried Mrs Green In came in here tho other day and asked for a pound of Rocky feller butter Never heard of such a thats all right John couldnt think of petroleum butter Things Will Take a Turn It was the kind of banquet we some times read about Tho tables fairly groaned under their load of good things But the hungry guests quickly ieved them of their burden After dinner speeches were next in it was the guests who groaned The Lure LadyI want to put In this adver tisement for a cook It will go In three lines wont it Clerk after counting No madam Well have to charge you for four lines but you can put in four more words if you wish Lady suddenly inspired Say Policeman stationed opposite cor ner TitBits Blasted Hopes Mr Stubb Maria do you remember that millinery store that had such a great display of fall hats Well there has been a fire down there and everything is reduced Mrs Stubb Gracious what a chance for bargains And everything is reduced John Mr StubbYes reduced to ashes EVIDENTLY SOMETHING ELSE Bleeker hear he died of appendi cltlsBoxterOh it couldnt havo been that why that was what they oper ated on him for Thats So The like a man All up And down the world he beats It lie gathers honey ull his lifeSome other fellow eats It The Oracle Explains Student of Politics And what be reely this hero coalition they do be tarklng about Oldest Living Local Authority Well Its like this Some parties says this an some says that an tother But what says there no knowlns nor no telllns nnmark my words haint far wrong Puck UIII n iitc NOT THE SAME Mother queried tho pretty daugh ter did father have his salary creased when ho married you No deer answered the mother How much was ho getting Only ten dollars a week But suppose ho had a lot of money saved up didnt bo Not a dollar he spent his money as fast as ho earned It Did you get along comfortably Yes and wo were very happy Well motoher you know dear George hasnt been able to save a cent but See here young lady if that pov ertystricken dude dares show his face around here again Ill get your fa ther to kick him into the middle of next week Tricky Sandy While passing by an old fashioned inn the tourists were attracted by an ancient bagpiper who was tooting atrocious sounds through an instru ment that was both dilapidated and Jericho Sandy exclaimed one in desperation Why dont you have your bagpipes repaired And the old man ceased playing and looked up in astonishment Havers mon ye dlnna understand If ma bag poples wor in good tune the Inn mon wlnna give ma two shillings to move on Too Much of a Good Thing Our gas meter said the alleged funny man who was trying to mako light of his bill for illumination re minds me of a centipede Whats the answer queried the innocent bystander- It has so many unnecessary feet you know replied the other After being out 13 seconds the jury returned a verdict of justifiable homi ride and the Innocent bystander was discharged from custody The Spendthrift TjarksSee where some astronomer says Halleys comet may charge the earths atmosphere and well never have any more rain BjenksBy George Give me that item to take hom- eTjarksInterested eh BjenksI should say so am going to show it to my wife every time she nags me about saving up for a rainy day WHAT NEVER WELL HARDLY EVER LovelornOh Myrtilla you dont really and truly mean that youll never never see me or speak to me againMyrtlllaYes sir do and when you call tomorrow evening Ill tell you why Skeptical Little Coy Blue said the modern kid Its now up to you to show if you really are Little Boy Blue And have any horn to blow Another Hero Hes a champion is he He doesnt look it Champion of what You dont keep abreast of the times Hes the champion clgarroot smoker lights one with the stump of another rolls them himself as he goes along and smokes sixty without letIting any of em go out- Danger Be like the early bird my son ad vised the fond parent and you will catch the worm But the uptodate youngster shrugged his shoulders No earlybird business for me he responded forcibly I might catch the hookworm Perplexing Case Professor after calling on blank and waiting for him to reciteSeemst- o me Blank you ought to be able to answer my question with all the prompting youre getting back there Blank Well professor theres such a difference of opinion around me thatTho Gargoyle A Suspicion What la a political rainbow are various kinds replied Senator Sorghum although suspect that most of them are more or less fluenced by the legend that every rainbow has a pot of gold at tho end of it Gentle Persuasion McCorkle Is it right to speak of a man as of tho male persuasion McCrackle It Is If the subject is unmarried McCorkle What has that to do with McCrackleWhy If he la married his wife persuades him 1 IIIIJW DID JESUS CHRIST OF THE FOUR GOSPELS EVER LIVE Continued from pogo one Prudence of Hercules Alcmeno of Alcides Shinginon of Yu Mayenc- of Hesus and Mary of Jesus wh is all behind ngain Angels shepherds and Magi visited Confucius Chrishna Sakia Mithra Pythagoras Zoroaster and Jesus Again Dec 25th is tho birthday given for Bacchus Adonis Chrishna Changti Chris of Chaldea Mithra Sakia nndtho inevitable Jesus Of fants threatened by hostile rulers we have Chrishna Osiris Zoroaster Al cides Yu Rama Indra Bacchus Romulus Salvahaua and our dear friend Jesus Of those who de scended into hell and were resurrect ed after three days may be named Quexalcote Chrishna Quirinus Pro metheus Osiris Atys Mithra Chris and followmyleadr Jesus We trace tho Trinity in Brahmanism Zo roastrianism and the religions of Chaldea China Mexico and Greece And then tho ceremony of the Eucharist was observed by the Essenes Persians Pythagoreans and Gnostics who used as elements bread and water It was also taught by the Brah mans and Mexicans which unpleas ant little coincidence so greatly an noyed St Justin that he remarked And this very solemnity an evil spirit introduced into the mysteries of Mithra Such is the Christian explanation but there will be those who will declare that all these little fairy tales have a common origin Well might St Augustine remark that II This in our day is the Christian religion not as having been un known in former times but as recently having received that name and Eusebius tells us that The ligion of Jesus Christ is neither new strangeWe submit that there exists not a particle of evidence to prove that Jesus Christ of the Four Gospels ever lived The nearest approach to anything of the kind is the Tacitus passage in which Christ is mentioned as having been put to death But be it known unto you my brethren the celebrated passage was never seen by mortal man until the Fifteenth Century The Rev Robert Taylor informs us Dieges that the first publication of any part of the annals of Tacitus was by Johanne de Spire at Venice in the year 1468his imprint being made from a single manuscript in his own power and possession only and purporting to have been written in the eighth century From this manuscript which none but the most learned would know of none but the most curious would investigate and none but the most interested would transcribe or would be allowed to transcribe and that too in an age and country when and where to have suggested but a doubt against tho authenticity of any document which the authorities had once chosen to adopt as evidence of Christianity would have subjected the conscientious skeptic to the fagot from this all other manuscripts and printed copies of the works of Tacitus areI derived Taylor considers this pass age to be one of the numerous forg eries of which Christian hands have been guilty for example the passage in Josephus where Jesus is referred to admitted on all hands to be a forgery and which as such has been given up by every scholar of note the church possesses It was also rejected by Ittigus Blondell Le Clero Vandale Bishop Warburton and Tanaquil FaberLikewise the menutioned by Eusebius who forged it himself Gibbon says of it The passage concerning Jesus Christ which was inserted into the text of Josephus between the time of Origen and that of Eusebius may furnish an example of no vulgar forgery And here we may ask ifI there existed undeniable evidence that Christ ever lived where was the need and what was the object ofsuch forgeries It is pretty clear that there was no evidence and that the Christians thought it about time that they manufactured a sample or two Daille on the Use of the Fath ers remarks This opinion has always been in the world that to settle a certain and assured estimation upon that which is good and truo it is necessary to remove out of the way whatever may be an hindrance to it Neither ought we to wonder that even those of honest innocent primitive times made use of these deceits seeing for a good end they made no scruple to forge whole books B 1c 3 And all the testimony against Christianity was destroyed Por phry wrote no less than thirty vol umes criticising it and these by Christian orders were all burntI Comes the question Why Why brethren why Because these books would doubtless have shed too strong a light on the subject and as Bishop Burnet not Burnit saidj Too much light is hurtful to weak eyes II So so Bishop so so But 1 IiJtJl UIIl the Christina perpetrated a worse in fnmy than burning these books They attributed to Porphry that which he never did write and then proceeded to answer the very weak arguments which they themselves ofoshowing the reasoning against tianity to be insignificant Therefore as Taylor says They attributed their own vile trash to him Thus they forged all tin testimony in favor of Christianity and burnt all the evidence against it And when they became powerful enough they not only burnt the books but their au thors also They read their blessed Scriptures by the light of the bonfires they made of their opponents books But wo must draw our remarks to a close We have not gone into this interesting subject as exhaustively as we should have liked and as it deserves but with the end in view of cramming as much material as pos sible into the very limited space at our disposalfor verily brethren printers bills arc a mighty burdcir and we are not a Rockefeller or a Morgan neither have we that leisure at our command which is enjoyed the clergy whose occupation employs their talents only one day in seven whilst we are compelled to spend the other six days uncongenially getting our talents together But if in the foregoing pages we have succeeded in exposing to view tho fraud and de deceit with which Christian history abounds and in assisting to dispel the notion that such a mythical per sonnge as the Christ of the Four Gospels ever existed we shall have achieved our object We have furnished a magazine of information upon the subject which no priest or parson is ever likely to disclose ways allowing him to be acquainted with it for though the clergy talkI much of Revelation with a capitals R these be the kind of revelations which they like not Brethren farewell WHAT WE BELIEVE AND WHAT WE DONT BELIEVE Besides Some Things We Know With Others We Dont Know And Still Some We Dont Wish to Know By Joel M Bcrryb There is no danger in knowing tooIj much truth the danger is in trying to believe too much that is not true The great trouble with the people for the last two thousand years at least lies been in trying to mate themselves believe in something the truth of which they do not or cannot possibly know anything about Consequently they have neglected the aims and object of this life and made it miserable by trying to live two lives at once They have mixed up too much Jesus in this life to make it worth living Jesus tells them that just up above us is another world where he and God reside that it is so much more beautiful than this one that the streets are paved with and that all they will have to will be to sing praises to the Lord And strange to say some of the people at least have been wonderfully deluded through His teaching- sIt is stated that the Lord will send strange delusions upon the people to make them believe lies So we think he fulfilled his promise faithfully when He sent Jesus here to delude and deceive the people Jesus Himself says He was sent just on a mission of that kindIIThink not that I come to send peace Jn earth 0 no I came to set the people to fig- htingI come not to send peace but a sword The people however are so deluded that they wont believe Him when He tells them this But when he informs them if they dont believe they will surely be damned they will swallow that down all at one mouthful So when Jesus tells them all about the life to come and the good things that He has in store for them it sets them listen Jesus asks them on one occasion at least Whom do men say that I the Son of Man am Did you ever hear of a more silly or more contradictory question asked than that The truth is this If Jesus was the son of man as he says then he was not the Son of GodI and knew no more about another life or world than any other man But here is where the trouble comes in It is claimed for Jesus that He comes on the stage of action under thb guise of a mysterious or miraculous birthsomething a little different from other men But in turning to our books we find that nothing mysterious or miraculous ever has or can happen under the inviolable laws of nature So we conclude that either Jesus deludes the people or else tho people delude themselves in listening to his teachings Again the question is asked If man die shall he live again and the question is promptly answered thus The living know that they shall f aeoo1909 1909e0cis + j ee etc Blue Grass Blade Bound volume etc y y Containing Fiftytwo Copies of The Blade and all handsomely ibound in Blue Buckram with gold letters 4 i 300 Reduced from last years price 300 1 t Subscribe NOW and get your name on the list in time t ere 1eti For Five New Subscribers For Five New Subscribers i iWe cisFREEt rTo any person sending us five new subscribers in one club at the regular rates before Dec 31 1909ereTHE CLUB IS PREFERABLE GET UP ONE SECURE A COPY FREE 2 2 BLUE GRASS BLADE Lexington i+ eeNeeNeNeONeeM eNeeeeNNeNONeN k + + + +++ die biit the dead know not anything But no they are willing to believe that for Jesus tells them that they will know ten times more fter they are dead than while he are living Just tinge the statement up a little with the mysterious and they will catch on like leeches But give them a plain scientific truth to decide upon and they will pull the wrong string every time There is a sect in this country calling themselves the II Followers of Jesus and were quite numerous a few years ago but today they dont amount to much they have become wonderfully discouraged over the way Jesus has treated them and- re now looking out for something but why they should wish to follow and worship a man who says that He canme not to send peace but a sword we cannot even surmise for even in case Jesus had been acting in good faith and had been honestly sent to seek and save the lost it would not be our province to look after and care for Him but it would be His duty to look after and care for us So as Jesus has never yet turned up or shown himself in our case we rest perfectly content that his services are not needed but in case they are He must call on us first and give an count of Himself Now as to knowing all about a fu ture life in advance we wish to say this For our part we would a thousand to one rather not know than to know And it would have been ten thousand times better for the people of this world had they never had such silly idiotic teachings set before them It is the worry over such fool untruthful teachings that keeps our prisons and lunatic asylums flooded all the time Jesus said If I be lifted up from the earth I will draw all men unto me Yes He will draw them by telling them that in case they hate their father and mothw brother and sister wife and children and place their affections on Him He will class them as one of His disciples We dont want any discipleship with Jesus on any such terms as that The truth is this Neither Jesus nor any other living man ever has been lifted as he says out of this world alive and set down in another that would be cheating Nature out of her just deserts and that is something that has never yet been done nor ever will be done And finally after the excitements allover Jesus concludes to gIIthem a few parting words and If any man hear my words and lieve not I judge him not for I came not to judge the world but to save the world John 1247 Why He not tell them this in the be ginning of His work It would have saved a vast amount of lies being told He now says that a man can believe Him or not he is not going to judge him but save him That is the way to tell it let every man believe what he pleases so long as he dont believe too mujkh Jesus and his chances for world or any other place are just as good as if He had spent a lifetime singing praises- to the Lord Tis strange that whilst Christians consider that murderers are not fit to live with decent folk on earth they are quite god enough to mix with the gory saints in glory t ruJt GOD NOT TO BLAME By Joel 31 Berry The above caption is used by the IiA Times over a special dispatch dated Springfield Mass June 3rd which reads as follows The responsibility for the earth quake disaster rests largely upon tho victims themselves and not upon Al highty God for whom no apology is needed in the roundabout way of attributing this stupendous calamity lo the inscrutable workings of divine the dccloation of the flew W 31 Crawford in the pulpit of Grace Methodist Church tonight Koferriug to the devastated earth quake section Rev 3Ir Crawford said lieu travel and live there at the risk of their lives they know the danger and assume it If men persist in building cities on the slopes of volcanoes or in earthquake sec tions why should they expect the Creator to rearrange all His laws fur their benefit If men build cities in known danger zones they must be held responsible for the re sults of their rashness Now we wish to have our say If ministers persist in telling lies about their God why should they expect God to rearrange His laws and send them to heaven instead of hell f His Bible tells him that no liar ewer gets to heaven Why should Mr Craw ford persist in shifting the blame of the awful disaster upon the poor nocent man when his Bible tells him in plain language Shall there be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it See Amos 30 Which do you propose to believe ifeitherthe Lord or Mr Craw ford f The Lord says in plain terns that Ho is the author of all suchwork us that but 3Ir Craw ford feeling just a little bit ashamed of a God that would be guilty ofa trick like that tries to put the blame upon the man- Ministers as a rule are keeping very quiet just now over the great earthquake disaster We cant believe them for like the Rev 3Ir Crawford will tell everything but the Gods truth about itand expose their ignorance of natural laws The trick of laying the blame on on those who suffered as an excuse for the nuninterference of Provi deuce is pure sophistry If Provid ence cannot be trusted to cure for hits own in this life what assurance have we that he will provide a hea ven of happiness for his faithful ones in a life to come The lesson this great calamity teaches us is this There is no such timing as an Almighty and Allmerci ful Being watching over the lives of men even of This most devoted serv ants there is no such thing as a Providential God superintending the phenomena of nture- SOMERSET FAIR August 3031 September 12 Round trip tickets via the Queen Crescent Route will be sold Aug 30 31 Sept mid 2nd good return ing until September 3 1010 Round- trip rate from Lexington to Somer set Ky for this occasion is 260 IJ SEEKING SOULS CmCKENS WAS HE The body of the aged negro found Sunday south of the city on Man chester road near several chicken ranches was buried unidentified after an investigation- The body which was badly decomposed was found by Wm Schmidt of 210 Manchester road while hunt ing Death had evidently been caused by shooting as the body was punctured in several places with large is presumed by the coroner that the negro was a chicken thiefwho was shot at several times by resid ents of Manchester road district and who disappeared several weeks ago It is thought that negro was shot at that time and crawled into the brush to hide PorterRoberts handled the body after the refusal of Orr Edwards to take the case at the cor oners order The decedent wore a frock coat A hymn book and silk hat were nearby Los Angeles Re cord Con it be said that the Christian Skypilots and Devildodgers now vite opposition at the conclusion of their sermons Xo announcement line bten made that the Archbishop of Canterbury has refused to continue receiving 53000 a year for preaching Blcsed be ye poor Tis said that the brains of the average Christian evidence man arc only fit to be boiled down into bill stickers paste It will be observed that parsons imitate Jesus in one respect he rode upon donkeys and they do the same Is it true that the rich red bloom on the average parsons nose is brought about by indigestion and not by booze It is sometimes said that Christian parsons prefer mansions on earth to those in Heaven BILLS AVENUE makes you cheerful and thoughtful It liB personal department in the WHEEL OF LIFE that grow on you You find yourself walling with Interest for what bal to say next fN flMBRIOflN- MflDONNfVlsnser ILunnlniln the WHEEL iLL Is written by Mary Ives Todd the ablest writer of Liberal fiction since Grant Allen and is n beautiful presentation of the essentially modern problem of the Woman in Business THE WHBBL OF LIFEA monthly periodical It deals with ORIGINS the origin of Marriage of Kthlcs of Religion Brotherhood of the belief in Immortality It treats broadly of Love of Human Instincts and Ideals It takee the whole Wheel of Life treatlngall 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