the Presbyterian church. The more I study the religious history of the
world, the more I am convinced that religion is founded on fear. The
immortal bard, from whom nothing seems to have been hidden, lays down
the foundation of all religion in those words from 'Hamlet,' where he
makes the melancholy Dane exclaim:

"To die:--to sleep,--To sleep! perchance to dream:--ay, there's the
rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have,
shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause."

"Do you realize that Ingersoll, by his teachings and his denunciations
of what he termed the 'absurdities of orthodox religious beliefs,' has
done more toward shaking faith in many church doctrines than any man of
this age'? And, after all, is not his doctrine a sane one? He says, in
effect: 'I can not believe these things. My reason revolts at them. They
are repugnant to my intellect. I can not believe that a just God will
punish one of His creatures for an honest opinion.' He denies that there
is such a God as the churches hold out to us. He denies that the world
was created in six days; that man was created in the manner described in
the Bible, and that woman was created from man's rib. He denies that
miracles were ever performed, or that there was any evidence, reliable
or authoritative, that they were ever performed. And yet he does not
deny the existence of a future life. His doctrine on this point is, 'I
know only the history of the past and the happenings of the present. I
do not know, nor does any man know, anything of the future. Let us hope
there is a life beyond the grave.'

"The old poet, Omar, argues against a future life. You will recall these
lines: