A Road Map to Heaven (1 of 66)
Series: Route 66: A Road Trip Through the Bible
Tony Thomas
Genesis
In September of 1876, Civil War General Lew Wallace boarded a train to attend the Soldier's Reunion in Indianapolis. He was recognized immediately by dozens of familiar faces, but one passenger in particular left a lasting impression.
Robert Ingersoll, the son of a Methodist pastor, had served under Wallace at the Battle of Shiloh. Ingersoll was now considered as America's most influential agnostic of his day. He was a renowned orator who traveled the country, challenging the beliefs of anyone willing to listen.
Ingersoll invited Wallace to sit and chat, and Wallace agreed, provided that he chose the topic of conversation. Later, Wallace wrote in his journal:
''I sat spellbound, listening to a medley of arguments, eloquence, wit and satire, brilliant antithesis and pungent excoriation of God. Ingersoll vomited forth ideas and arguments like an intellectual volcano!''
Ingersoll's claims had an immediate impact on Wallace: They caused him to analyze his own convictions. Did a Supreme Being exist? Was his Bible accurate? It was hard to admit, but Wallace was ashamed of his ignorance!
For the first time ever, he suffered what he called a ''crisis of faith.'' He went home to read, study and memorize his Bible! For the next four years, Wallace retreated to his now famous study and he studied the Bible!
When he emerged from his man-cave, he had written what would later become a best-selling novel, Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. What irony! Having set out to win another convert to skepticism, Robert Ingersoll inspired a Biblical epic!
Not only did Wallace write Ben Hur, he developed a ''...conviction amounting to absolute belief in God and the Divinity of Jesus Christ.''
I'm beginning a new series on the Bible called Route 66. Route 66 is a highway that was built in the 1920s that linked east with the west. It started in Chicago and meandered ...
Series: Route 66: A Road Trip Through the Bible
Tony Thomas
Genesis
In September of 1876, Civil War General Lew Wallace boarded a train to attend the Soldier's Reunion in Indianapolis. He was recognized immediately by dozens of familiar faces, but one passenger in particular left a lasting impression.
Robert Ingersoll, the son of a Methodist pastor, had served under Wallace at the Battle of Shiloh. Ingersoll was now considered as America's most influential agnostic of his day. He was a renowned orator who traveled the country, challenging the beliefs of anyone willing to listen.
Ingersoll invited Wallace to sit and chat, and Wallace agreed, provided that he chose the topic of conversation. Later, Wallace wrote in his journal:
''I sat spellbound, listening to a medley of arguments, eloquence, wit and satire, brilliant antithesis and pungent excoriation of God. Ingersoll vomited forth ideas and arguments like an intellectual volcano!''
Ingersoll's claims had an immediate impact on Wallace: They caused him to analyze his own convictions. Did a Supreme Being exist? Was his Bible accurate? It was hard to admit, but Wallace was ashamed of his ignorance!
For the first time ever, he suffered what he called a ''crisis of faith.'' He went home to read, study and memorize his Bible! For the next four years, Wallace retreated to his now famous study and he studied the Bible!
When he emerged from his man-cave, he had written what would later become a best-selling novel, Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. What irony! Having set out to win another convert to skepticism, Robert Ingersoll inspired a Biblical epic!
Not only did Wallace write Ben Hur, he developed a ''...conviction amounting to absolute belief in God and the Divinity of Jesus Christ.''
I'm beginning a new series on the Bible called Route 66. Route 66 is a highway that was built in the 1920s that linked east with the west. It started in Chicago and meandered ...
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