"You're Another!"

The Best Way to Answer the "Anti-Christian" Argument.

Answering the foolish "argument" that because some leading Socialists deny Christianity, therefore the socialist movement is itself anti-Christian, the Labour Leader (Eng.) points out that if that is logically so, then by parity of reasoning the Liberal party is anti-Christian in its aims and objects, for many of its most distinguished representatives have been and are opposed to the Christian religion. Modern Liberalism (says the Leader) has been nurtured in religious free thought. The majority of the great Liberal thinkers of the last century were atheists or freethinkers or one kind or another ; and many of them strongly urged that the abandonment of Christian belief was an essential, alike to the political and intellectual progress of the race.
Unlike, however, the Tory and Whig statesmen infidels of the preceding two centuries, the Liberal pioneers were, in most instances, men of highly advanced opinions on all social and political questions. Among them were men whose names are beacon lights in the intellectual progress of their age.
Consider how bleak and bare would be the history of modern Liberalism without many of the following Radical names — one and all of them rejected Christianity as a Divine revelation, and many of whom were either atheists or recognised no personal God :
Adam Smith, the founder of modern political economy.
Lord Byron, poet, Liberal peer, and editor of the Liberal.
Jeremy Bentham, Radical political economist and politician.
George Grote, Radical historian and reformer.
James Mill, Radical historian, and John Stuart Mill, Radical M.P. and philosopher.
Harriet Martineau, Radical political economist and novelist.
George Henry Lewes, Radical philosopher.
George Eliot, Radical essayist and novelist.
Professor W. K. Clifford, scientist.
T. H. Buckle, Radical historian.
W. Rathbone Greg Radical essayist.
Professor Alex. Bain, moral philosopher and Radical.
Thomas Carlyle.
Charles Darwin.
Professor Huxley.
Herbert Spencer.
Sir Leslie Stephen.
George Meredith.
Charles Bradlaugh, M.P.
Ashton Dilke, M.P.
Right Hon. John Morley, M.P.
Right Hon. John Burns, M.P.
J. M. Robertson, M.P.
George Jacob Holyoake.
G. W. Foote.
Charles Watts.
To these might be added a long list of eminent Liberal politicians who have been publicly accused or privately reputed to be freethinkers. Among these are:
The late Right Hon. Prof. Fawcett, M.P.
The Right Hon. Thomas Burt. M.P.
The Right Hon. James Bryce, late Liberal Chief Secretary for Ireland, and present Ambassador to America.
Lord Rosebery
Perhaps the above calendar of Liberal atheists, agnostics, deists, and "infidels" may suffice for the moral improvement of the minds and manners of Liberal accusers of Socialism.

 Worker 14 March 1908,