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Two Men — Part 1
“Two men … one a Pharisee, and the other a publican … the publican … went down to his house justified rather than the other” (Luke 18:10,13-14)
In 1899, two famous men died in the United States of America. The one was an unbeliever who had made a career out of attacking the Bible and the Christian faith. The other was a Christian who had spent his life preaching the gospel and ministering to believers.
Robert Ingersoll, after whom the famous Ingersoll lectures on immortality at Harvard University are named, was the unbeliever. The atheist/infidel died suddenly on July 21st, 1899 of congestive heart failure, and his death devastated his family. His body was kept at home for several days because his wife could not bare to part with it, and it was only removed because the corpse was decaying and endangering the health of the family. Finally his body was cremated and the scene at the crematorium was so dismal that the national newspapers carried feature stories about it.
When death came for Robert Ingersoll, there was no hope … only utter despair! To live without Christ is sorrowful, but to die without Christ is eternally tragic.
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