"The New Humanity."

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 7894, 20 July 1904, Page 8

"The New Humanity."

Scathing Oriticism.of the CiH)le.

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■: .'..'' (BY •■ANTI T HuiIBUG).■■■■■.. A new preacher (Mr J. M. Wilson) | has come to Palmerston ; North He is an American by birth, and de- '' scribes himself as a Socialist. Ho professes to teach the doctrine o f " a new humanity," but if his lecture in the Lyceum, Theatre last night is to be accepted as a fair sample of his aims and objects, it may bo assumed at once that his mission is a crusade against the Bible. Three-parts,: of Mr Wilson's address last evening. of fll^-U tO % So!? h™S criticism of the. Bible. He selected, passages for the special purpose of ridiculmg the Holy Writ, a M d encouraged by the vacuous laughter of men a»d wo-, men, he continued' his fool-work for fully /three-quarters of an houi V Is thisthe aim of Socialism? To instil into the hearts and'minds of^eoWhich has boon handed down from' g-cneratiou to generation by Christian nations and which is the cornerstone of Ghiastianity. Among the diF ferent nationalities wMch comprise the American nation it may be the practice to cast a slur and doubt upon the effectiveness of Christianity, but it would be well if Socialistic orators f rom America confined themselves to their own country ; ISiew Zealand can do> without' them. Last night there were a number of children present at the Lyceum Theatre and they earrerly drank J n the ridicule to which tho Bible was sxibjected. What of the lessons these little ones have learned m the Sunday .school, and the truths they have been tauglrt in their churches? If the lecturer has instil ed in tho hearts of thes Q little ones a contempt for Christianity which will be of a lasting and permanent nature he has accomplished what is undoubtedly an evil work. The lecturer stated last . night _ that the atheists ' and infidels were in the churches ; they were the people who taught from the Bible in which, they did not believe. It was also, assorted that people who professed religion drifted into the lunatic asylums. These .are two of me most insane remarks that have ever fallen from the lips of any man on a p-latiorm- The lecturer afeo drew,an imaginary picture of ■ a young woman who, it was asserted, [draped the legs of a table because they were bare, and then walked to church with a Bible under her arm containing indecent stories Thia gives some idea of the lecturer's style of criticising the Holy Writ, and it is no wonder that he spoke to a small audience, although he excused the absence of others on account' of the., weather. Mr Wilson made an earnest appeal to the audience to take shares in a socialistic .paper to be established in Wellington, but lie was not rushed with money. It his remarks regarding religion are a lair specimen oi what will appear in this new literary production,'it' may be taken for granted that it will We but a meteoric existence. Palmerston people, at any rate, will show their good sense "by keeping their money in their pockets. Mr Wilson made reference to capitalists and millionaires with a view to proving that they grind their employees, and he also drew a harrowing word picture of the thousands of poor herded together in sudh cities as New York-. We have no millionaires i n New Zealand,, neither have we poverty such as Mr Wilson described it: Why does the lecturer trouble about such a small country as New Zealand, which is prosperous, when there is a tremendous fielcl for labour in the United States —liis native land. Ah, wliyi % Because .there arc hunidreds playing the same game as himself in America, and beinlg a lessor light, probafljly/ in this " new humanity ". movement he has had to go further afield, and is now endeavouring to play on the credulity of the New Zealand public. Mr Wilson undoubtedly has a glib tongue, but the" stuff he runs off by the yard is not the advice that will tend to make men of average ability take off their coats and^work as others have worked in order to be successful. His religion, apparently, is a levelling 'down process; he vis not a buiider, but.a destroyer. And 'much as he rates against the capitalist, even 'this exponent o£ Socialism cannot do without' money, hence his plaintive appeal to the audience for funds. Lectures such as those 'delivered last night, serve no good purpose; they create discontent, and while men are in that' frame of mind they lose opportunities in life for which no flood of oratory, even from a genius like Mr Wilson, can compensate them. WTiat he proposes to give them is, in fact, "neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring."