"This blog is a quick but deep read. It's very moving."
It probably raises some hackles for me to identify Robert Ingersoll as "spiritual." For example, he was nationally famous in the late 1800's for inspiring political cartoons such as one that depicted churches all boarded up and abandoned, while congregations streamed in to his anti-religion lectures instead. But as co-founder and president of a Friends of Robert Ingersoll group for four years, I more and more came to appreciate Robert Ingersoll, "The Great Agnostic," as a deeply spiritual man.
Which begs the question, what do I mean by "spiritual?" To me, a spiritual person is one who is filled with good will towards humanity, who is warm-hearted and generous and kind to his fellow man (and woman, and child). Ingersoll was passionately opposed to the harsh religious doctrines and practices of conventional religion in his day, and his great fame was predicated upon his thunderous and often hilarious denunciations thereof. He saw such practices and beliefs as quite harmful to the minds and the bodies of such believers, especially upon all who refused to comply.
Thus seeing religion as harmful as any disease, he explained, "I do not dislike the man who has the disease. I dislike the disease that has the man." It was the man, woman, and child he always cared about. To me that is an outright spiritual quality. Caring, and demonstrating that care with every fiber of his being, apparently everyday of his life according to the many who knew and loved him, is something that I find to be unarguably spiritual. Whereas in countless cases throughout history, religion has overtly hurt people who dissented from cruel and unjust practices.
Robert liberated apparently thousands from exactly that, with his popular, witty, articulate and passionate lectures throughout his adult life. If you choose, please read on, and I think, no doubt ENJOY this deeply philosophical and amazing 19th century genius.
My name used to be Constance Robertson, and from 1981-1985, I was co-founder and president of The Friends of Robert G. Ingersoll. He was an extremely popular "Great Agnostic" orator who lived from 1833-1899. Our group was headquartered in Peoria, Illinois, where Ingersoll rose to fame and where his life-size statue still stands today. In August of 1983, we were granted a state charter and received a "Robert Ingersoll Week" proclamation from the mayor for our 3-day "Ingersoll Sesquicentennial and Free Thought Fair," which attracted authors, scholars, and attendees from 23 states. (See brochure slide show on the right for more details.)
Every two weeks, we held rather rollicking public meetings at the downtown library for celebrating Colonel Bob's brilliance, and for planning our events. Eventually, rather broke and exhausted (but gratified) from all our work and fun, we let our charter expire and, geographically, went our separate ways. I like to think we did some pioneering work in spearheading the now-popular designation for many people who explain they are "spiritual, but not religious." Ingersoll's great-hearted generosity and soaring poetic oratory was, and still is, arguably the supreme life-model for such intelligent and beautiful qualities that he embodied so well.
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Now that you know about the historic Ingersoll Festival that took place in Peoria in 1983 -- which, by the way, caused Madalyn Murray O'Hair to crash the party because she insisted we were not "atheist enough" -- feel free to go back up top and click on the topics of "God," "Eternal Life," "Death," etc. Each of these is a BRIEF EXCERPT of the scintillating thoughts Ingersoll conveyed to always-overflow crowds. If read in sequence, they paint an accurate portrait, a mosaic, of an influential 19th century man with an unusually beautiful mind.
I've kept the Conclusion brief, too, but put a lot of thought into it -- about really having no arguments with atheists, agnostics, and humanists who claim Ingersoll as their own. It's just that I have (what I think may be) broader concepts of God and Spirituality -- ideas which I'm glad to say the polls are trending -- and which I think indicate an exciting evolutionary leap in human intelligence!
I've offered here only samples of Robert Ingersoll's glittering jewels of love and intelligence – with Love and Intelligence being why I personally have long thought of Robert Ingersoll - as many people identify themselves today – "spiritual but not religious."
Heartfelt thanks to the Peoria HIstorical Society, which is responsible for a fabulous collection of old-time photos, archived at Bradley University. The Society can always use donations of time or money to maintain their two beautiful 1800's houses and keep them available to the public for their fun and educational events. http://www.peoriahistoricalsociety.org/
Likewise, the Ingersoll Birthplace Museum in Dresden New York deserves thanks and support for their continual efforts to preserve the only known building extant as an Ingersoll dwelling, even though it was only for a few months when he was a baby. Even so, it was his birthplace, and it is a warmly hospitable and highly educational facility for promoting awareness as they say, of "the most remarkable American you never heard of." http://www.rgimuseum.org/
Most ABUNDANT thanks and love to MARK SMITH, my husband and partner, without whom this online presentation would not exist. His enthusiasm for this project, for all my work, has kept my varieties of life-projects extant, when otherwise, they would all only exist on crumbling pieces of paper. He is indeed a WebMASTER, all self-taught, and always so helpful -- to me and to numerous others. And thanks to the wonderful group of Ingersoll Friends back in the 1980's, who did so much to make the Ingersoll Sesquicentennial Festival and Free-Thought Fair come together as a significant 1983 educational and cultural event in Peoria, Illinois, Ingersoll's ol' stompin' grounds.
I've offered here only samples of Robert Ingersoll's glittering jewels of love and intelligence – with Love and Intelligence being why I personally have long thought of Robert Ingersoll - as many people identify themselves today – "spiritual but not religious."
***
Heartfelt thanks to the Peoria HIstorical Society, which is responsible for a fabulous collection of old-time photos, archived at Bradley University. The Society can always use donations of time or money to maintain their two beautiful 1800's houses and keep them available to the public for their fun and educational events. http://www.peoriahistoricalsociety.org/
Likewise, the Ingersoll Birthplace Museum in Dresden New York deserves thanks and support for their continual efforts to preserve the only known building extant as an Ingersoll dwelling, even though it was only for a few months when he was a baby. Even so, it was his birthplace, and it is a warmly hospitable and highly educational facility for promoting awareness as they say, of "the most remarkable American you never heard of." http://www.rgimuseum.org/
Most ABUNDANT thanks and love to MARK SMITH, my husband and partner, without whom this online presentation would not exist. His enthusiasm for this project, for all my work, has kept my varieties of life-projects extant, when otherwise, they would all only exist on crumbling pieces of paper. He is indeed a WebMASTER, all self-taught, and always so helpful -- to me and to numerous others. And thanks to the wonderful group of Ingersoll Friends back in the 1980's, who did so much to make the Ingersoll Sesquicentennial Festival and Free-Thought Fair come together as a significant 1983 educational and cultural event in Peoria, Illinois, Ingersoll's ol' stompin' grounds.
