The _Truth Seeker_ congratulated on its Twenty-fifth Birthday--Teachings of Twenty-five Years ago--Dodging and evading--The Clerical Assault on Darwin--Draper, Buckle, Hegel, Spencer, Emerson--Comparison of Prejudices--Vanished Belief in the Devil--Matter and Force--Contradictions Dwelling in Unity--Substitutes for Jehovah--A Prophecy.
Argument in the contested Election Case of Strobach against Herbert--The Importance of Honest Elections--Poisoning the Source of Justice--The Fraudulent Voter a Traitor to his Sovereign, the Will of the People--Political Morality Imperative.
A FEW REASONS FOR DOUBTING THE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE.
Date and Manner of Composing the Old Testament--Other Books not now in Existence, and Disagreements about the Canon--Composite Character of certain Books--Various Versions--Why was God's message given to the Jews alone?--The Story of the Creation, of the Flood, of the Tower, and of Lot's wife--Moses and Aaron and the Plagues of Egypt--Laws of Slavery--Instructions by Jehovah Calculated to excite Astonishment and Mirth--Sacrifices and the Scapegoat--Passages showing that the Laws of Moses were made after the Jews had left the Desert--Jehovah's dealings with his People--The Sabbath Law--Prodigies--Joshua's Miracle--Damned Ignorance and Infamy--Jephthah's Sacrifice--Incredible Stories--The Woman of Endor and the Temptation of David--Elijah and Elisha--Loss of the Pentateuch from Moses to Josiah--The Jews before and after being Abandoned by Jehovah--Wealth of Solomon and other Marvels.
ON the 22d of October, 1883, a vast number of citizens met at Lincoln Hall, Washington, D. C., to give expression to their views concerning the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, in which it is held that the Civil Rights Act is unconstitutional.
Col. Robert G. Ingersoll was one of the speakers.
The Hon. Frederick Douglass introduced him as follows:
Abou Ben Adhem--(may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw within the moonlight of his room, Making it rich and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold: Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold; And to the presence in the room he said, "What writest thou?" The vision raised its head, And, with a look made all of sweet accord, Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord." "And is mine one?" asked Abou. "Nay, not so," Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low, But cheerily still; and said, "I pray thee, then, Write me as one that loves his fellow-men." The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night It came again, with a great wakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had blest; And, lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.