MR REDDISH ANNIHILATES DENTON.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4224, 15 July 1882, Page 3

MR REDDISH ANNIHILATES DENTON.

(To the Editor of tbo Evening Stab.) .. Sib,—Under tbo false impression that • I was a respectable man, and therefore capable of taking off my cap to the devil, some person has bad the impudence to send me a free ticket for tbe purpose of listening to Mr Denton's nonsense about . the " ©rigin of Man—is Darwin right ? " - &c, &c. I pot the ticket in tbe fire, and warned my children against a belief more degrading than the worship of an African Fetish. Geology flatly contradicts the doctrine of Evolution. The world has not had the high honor of knowing much about Mr Denton, but. it has heard a good deal about Hugh Miller, Sir C. Lyell, Murchison, Buckland, Sidgwick, &c. Mr Miller says :—"We know, as geologists, that the progress of races has been, not a development from the low to . the high, but a degradation from the high to Jhe low. The magnates of all the races came first." Sir, such facts as these are absolutely fatal to tbe hypothesis of development, and geology abounds with them. About the horse, the size of a fox, which Mr Denton speaks of, it was found in, America, of course, with three toes, and now they are looking for one with five toes, and it will be found "in America " no doubt, but J entertain faint hopes of finding it anywhere else And again it is a received maxim that in a fair exchange you recpive an equivalent, and I .want' to know if a monkey as a progenitor is a fair exchange for our belief in the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth and all mankind. For myself, I have travelled too far, and mixed up with too many races of mankind, to have any doubt about the origin of man. That the half-educated multitudes of the States will hang upon Mr Denton's words I have no doubt, and say it is the voice of a god; but I utterly deny that any considerable section. of the English people will give him a moment's consideration, except to laugh at him : because history informs us . that with the decadence of Religion come the downfall of an.) mpire. Sir, what I wish to ask English women and men in this community is, if a stop could not be put to these itinerant American showmen parading their wares, mental or otherwise, by vesting the power in one man—the Mayor, for instance—that any man using any public hall for the purpose of teaching the people, shall first receive permission from the Mayor. This would be a guarantee that publicly, at any rate, nothing would be taught to our young people that was insulting to common sense. These American lecturers are fairly inundating us. " "What shall we do to be saved ?" was the subject announced ' the other day, in derision. Sy-andbye we shall have Ingersoll lecturing.—l am, &c, G. A. Reddish. EYE SALVE. ' {To the Editor of the Evening Star.) Sib,—Mr Cass, in his lecture, told his audience that his theory rested entirely on the question, " Was man immortal by nature or not P "He then declared that God did not make man immortal; that he could not make any man or thing immortal without undeifyicg himself and making another God. My first question to Mr Cass was—" "What was the office of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden ?" Mr Cast, -for- some time, refused to answer. I "pressed the question upon him, and he replied—" That the office of the tree of life was to give life and immortality to man." This appeared very much like a contradiction. My second question was—" In what sense was man made in God's image? " Mr Cass replied, "In bis physical nature; man walked upright on two legs." I then said, " Does Christ say so when he tells us that God is a Spirit P " and Mr Cass said "No." This was contradiction No. 2. My third question was—"What .is the meaning of the Scripture, ' Then shall the dust return to the earth, as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it (Ecles., 12-7)?'" Mr Cass answered, "The body will go to the earth, and the spirit to God." I then said, " Will the spirit retain its individuality or self»connciuus» ness? " Mr Cass replied, "It never had any." I then asked, •• Do you believe in a resurrection from the dead and a general judgment ? " He replied, " Yes." I then asked, " Have you not just told us that death is the cessation of all consciousness?" He answered "Yes." I- then said, "If death be a cessation of all consciousness, and the spirit bas no personality, will you please tell me how I shall be able to identify myself at tbe resurrection as the same person that once lived on the earth?" I then maintained that such would be not a resurrection, but a new creation, for if self-conscipusness and identity ceases the person is annihilated, and cannot be made to stand again. I shouldnothave written, Mr Editor, but Mr Cass and hisdevotees cry so much that they need their eyes anointing with a little eye salve, that they may see. Mr Cass, during this questioning, told me that I was throwing dust in his eyes ; called me a coward because I would not let him evade my question; then he said I was being prompted. He knew well no man can carry on a discussion in that way. Lastly, 'he refused to have any more to do with ft, at the same time offering to debate c subject with me on the following night, and stake five pounds. I declined, stating I was not satisfied with the.* treatment, that I had received, I then begged permission to ask tbe lecturer if he were the same Mr Cass who a few years ago delivered a lecture to the people of Christ church,, in which he proved to his own satisfaction that this planet is flat and not round ? I know him to be the same person. He refused to answer the question. I then stated that my inference ' was that a man who will teach such a thing in this age, so contrary to all the demonstrations of science, is not the man *6r the people' to take as, a religious guide. Mr Editor, I need not tell you that I am not the writer of "Critical Notes," but every impartial person will know that the description of the meeting was: correctly given by the writer. I shall refuse to take any more notice nf persons who love darkness rather than light— ti" Who tells me he denies his soul immortal, T Whate'er his boast, has told me he's a knave. IK Who thinks ere long that man shall wholly dit, ' i Is dead already; nought but brute survives." —I am &c, M-.J. WIIiKES.