that _death_ that never, never _dies._'"

Soon after Mr. Barker became "religious" and attended his
class-meetings, he awaited the usual "call" to preach the gospel.
Accordingly, having received the "call," he became a Methodist preacher,
belonging to the Old Connexion, the New Connexion, and then advancing to
Unitarianism, ultimately arriving at the climax of Freethought, in
which cause he is now so distinguished an advocate. While a Methodist
preacher, he was induced by a neighbor, an Atheist, to read Carlile's
"Republican." We can readily understand why Christians are taught not
to read "Infidel" works. The effect the "Republican" produced on Mr.
Barker's mind would be augmented, did those Christians investigate what
they so often ignorantly denounce. In reference to the "Republican,"
Mr. Barker says:--

"I was very much struck in reading some portions of the work
[Carlile's], and agitated and shaken by its arguments on some points.
The object of many of its articles was to prove Christianity irrational
and false. The principal doctrines which it assailed were such as the
trinity--the common notion about the fall of man, and its effects upon
the human race--the Calvinistic notions of eternal, universal, and
absolute predestination, unconditional election and reprobation--the
Calvinistic notion of God's sovereignty or partiality--the utter
depravity of every human being born into the world, and yet the
obligation of those utterly depraved beings to steer clear of all evil,
and to do all that is right and good, on pain of eternal damnation. The
doctrine of satisfaction to justice, was also assailed, and the doctrine
of the immortality of the human soul, and the notion that because it is
immaterial, it must, as a consequence, be immortal.... The consequence
was, that my mind was thrown into a state of doubt and suspense. I
cannot say that I doubted the truth of the Christian religion exactly,
but still I doubted the truth of certain doctrines which I had been
taught to regard as parts of that religion. I can briefly describe the
doubts I had. I neither saw clearly that those doctrines to which he
objected were no part of the Christian religion, nor could I see any way
by which these doctrines could be defended and proved to be rational and
true. One thing began to seem almost certain, either that Christianity
was not true, or that those doctrines as generally laid down, were
no parts of the Christian religion. This le