MR BRIGHT'S LECTURE.

Evening Star, Issue 4361, 19 February 1877, Page 1

MR BRIGHT'S LECTURE.

A large audience assembled at the Princess s Theatre last night to hear Mr Charles .Bright s lecture on " Christianity, its degradation and reformation." The lecturer raid that some people thought that investigation on such a question as he had chosen should' not be conducted by the unlicensed or lay teacher, but he thought it was anomalous to label certain subjects Bacred, only to be treated on Sundays, and others profane, which might be handled at any time. He reminded his hearers of the story of the little boy who on being reproved by his sister for drawing a picture of Jack the Giatit-killer on a Sunday, got out of the dif'. hculty by altering the title ef his efforts to David slaying Goliath, and thereby transformed himself from a sabbath-breaker doomed to an eternal punishment m hell into a rigid Sabbatarian fitted for a state of perpetual beatitude. The object of his lecture was to show that Christianity bad not so much conquered Paganism as Paganism had conquered Chris* tianity, and he drew attention to: the am*, larity of the ceremonies of the present churches to like observances coifiiected witk the worship of the Isis of the Egyptians and other idols of Paganism. He believed that Hume, Gibbon, Voltaire, Paine, and many other* of liberal mind had sifted away much of the rubbish which had accumulated round primitive Christianity, and paved the way to the revival of the pure and ethical teachings of Jesus of JSazareth, who had done more good by his ductriues and purity of life than all previous or subsequent reformers. He quoted from Paine's " Age of Reason" to show that the abuse heaped on that author's memory was mo3t unjust, and instituteda comparison between Paine'savowed belief and the unnatural severity of the Athanasian Creed. The lecturer was heartily applauded at different times during the course of his remarks.