Robert Ingersoll: Prince of Atheists

By dealdoctor ~

If you are a Christian, the works of Robert Ingersoll will scare you out of your tennis shoes.  If you are an atheist or agnostic he win your admiration because this powerful orator strongly laid out our case during the golden age of atheism in America 1850-1900. Col. Robert G. Ingersoll 1833-1899 spoke thousands of times all across America to crowds of thousands and held them spellbound.

http://tinyurl.com/6jh69vc

Dan Barker, a former fundamentalist preacher and now the co-president of The Freedom From Religion Foundation www.ffrf.org was influenced by Ingersoll. In Dan’s book Losing Faith in Faith he writes about hearing another preacher attack Ingersoll’s book Mistakes of Moses. When Barker read that old book he saw just how powerful the thinking of Ingersoll was and why he has always been such a threat to Christianity.   Ingersoll was a heavy part of the logical arguments that moved Barker out of fundamentalism into the atheist fold. Ingersoll had the same effect on me.

Ingersoll reminded his generation in the 19th century of the long history of infidels. Infidels, those without faith, have always been the vanguard of human, scientific and philosophical progress because they have propounded the ideas that have brought the downfall of tyrannical kings, priests and superstition.  They could clearly see kings owned the bodies and the priests owned the souls of the people and controlled them accordingly for their own advantage. Infidels have worked to free humanity from physical and mental bondage.  They have challenged superstition and religion with facts, evidence and reason. Infidels know the kings are robbers and the priests are thieves.

Infidels like Robert Ingersoll, in all ages before us, have been the defenders of reason, science and progress. They have always been the enemies of the establishment and the friends of humanity.   Infidels, like Robert Ingersoll, have put the good of humankind as the highest good and have repudiated the status quo of religious and political institutional establishments which always seek to chain and use the bodies and minds of humankind for their own advantage. The passion and courage of the infidel’s heart beats with desire for free thinking and free living.  Ingersoll is a model for us today and his lectures below point us to the infidels who have come before us.  Truth and Justice, not God, and faith, are the priority for the infidel.

Lecture On The Great Infidels-By Ingersoll:

• Part I: http://tinyurl.com/49p4zhn

• Part II: http://tinyurl.com/45bxl4n

• Part III: http://tinyurl.com/65yvybd

• Part IV: http://tinyurl.com/4fzhrlu

You might like to hear an old recording of Ingersoll that is now on YouTube:

• Ingersoll on Hell: http://tinyurl.com/4zz4zy5

• Wikipedia Article on Ingersoll: http://tinyurl.com/5zx7dn

• The Major Works of Ingersoll Online: http://tinyurl.com/8n9s9

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