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THE BIBLE OF 27 BIBLES (1 christian with 2000 errors) 1879 -KERSEY GRAVES

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Prometheus:

CHAPTER VII.

THE PERSIAN BIBLES.

I. The Zenda Ayesta.

The Persians, property speaking, had two Bibles, or Testa-
ments, regarded as inspired and of divine authority,—the
Zenda Avesta and the Sadder, which may be denominated their
Old and New Testaments. With these may be classed other
sacred books of Persia, known as the “ Desatur” (or Revealed
Will of God), the u G. Javidan99 (or Eternal Wisdom), and
the “ Sophi Ibraham 99 (Wisdom of Ibraham). Hyde, in his
Biography of Brittain, eighth chapter, pronounces the G. Javi-
dan older than the writings of Zoroaster, which were penned
600 B.C.

The Zenda Avesta presents a detailed account of creation in
six kappas, or indefinite periods of time; the temptation and
fall of man, and his final restoration; the immortality of the
soul, &c.

II. Persian Bible — The Sadder.

The Sadder depicts u the war in heaven,” in which the great
dragon, or devil, Ahrimancs, is finally slain. This sacred book,
as well as the Zenda Avesta, contains many beautiful precepts.
The Persian sacred writings are all full of prayer and praise to
God. One portion addresses him as Onnvzd, another as Ahura
Mazda. None of their Holy Books countenance or show any
favor cither for idolatry or potytheism. The Persians have
always opposed the making and worship of deific images ; and
they worship but one God, with the above names. One of their
prayers, as a specimen, will show this: uO Ahura Mazda,
thou true and happj’ being! aid us to think and speak of thee,
 THE PERSIAN BIBLES.

47

and do only those things which promote the true welfare of
body and soul. I believe in thee as the just and hoty God, thou
living Wise One! Thou art the author of creation, the true
source of light and life. I will praise thee, thou Holy Spirit,
thou glorious God Mazda! Thou givest with a liberal hand
good things to the impious, as well as to the pious.” In that
portion of the Zenda Avesta called the u Yacna,” constituting
seven chapters, it is declared, 66 We worship Ahura Mazda, and
pray for the spread of his religion. We praise Mazda’s reli-
gion, and the pure brotherhood which it established. From the
Holy Spirit Mazda proceeds all good, and he is the source of
perfection and immortality.” Here let it be noted that Cyrus
of Persia was teaching the doctrine of immortality of the soul,
while Moses seems never to have thought of such a thing: he
is silent on the subject. Zenda Avesta means “ The Living
Word of God.” It has also been called by its disciples
u The Revealed Word ;” and Ahura Mazda has been called the
“ God of gods,” as the Jews called Jehovah. Who is to settle
this counter-claim?

Sin, repentance, and forgiveness are all recognized in the
sacred books of the Persians. This is evinced by a devout dis-
ciple, when he says, in prajmr, UI repent, O Lord, of my
wicked deeds in thought and words. Forgive, O Lord: I
repent of my sins.” A writer says, 66 Upon the really fun-
damental duties of man, the Zenda Avesta upholds a high
standard of morality and honesty, and seeks to inculcate the im-
mense importance of leading an upright and virtuous life, — such
a life alone as can be pleasing to God and useful to man.” A
text in this sacred book reads, u You can not be a worshiper of
the one true God and of many gods at the same time ; ” which
is a very explicit avowal of the belief in but one God. This
Persian Bible declares, that one way to advance God’s kingdom
on earth is to confer benefit upon the poor. Its spirit of kind-
ness and sympathetic regard.for suffering extends even to the
brute creation. It forbids cruelty to any class of beings, and
enjoins kindness to all. Its psalms, hymns, and liturgies
breathe forth a spirit of deep piety. A compliance with the
divine law is urged as a means of saving the sinner from future
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

punishment. The stern moral fortitude of the great teacher
and moral exemplar Zoroaster, in resisting, like Christ, the
temptations of the Evil One, evinces a high appreciation of true
virtue. As a whole, the sacred books of the Persians, like
those of other nations, contain a considerable amount of golden
truth mixed with much rubbish and superstition.

Analogy of tiie Persian and Jewish Religions.

Doctor Pocoke sa}Ts, “ Many things taught in the sacred
books of the Persians are the same as those taught in the Penta-
teuch of Moses, and other parts of the Bible. They also con-
tain many of the psalms erroneously called by the Jews and
Christians the Psalms of David.” Sir William Jones, in his
“Asiatic Researches,” says, “The primeval religion of Iran
(Persia) is called b}T Newton the oldest, and it ma}T justly be
called the noblest, of all religions.” It teaches “ a firm belief
that one supreme God made the world by his power, and governs
it by his providence. It inculcates a pious fear, love, and adora-
tion for God ; also a due reverence for parents and aged persons,
fraternal affection for the whole human species, and a compas-
sionate tenderness even for the brute creation.” Can as much
as this be said of the Christian religion ? Mr. Goodrich, after
stating that the ancient Hebrews evidently had no idea of
astronomy as a science, says, “The Chaldeans appear to have
made observations on eclipses earlier than the commencement
of written history ” (“ History of All Nations,” p. 25).

The Chaldeans and Persians have a story of creation essen-
tiall}T the same as that of the Jews. It represents Ormuzd as
creating the world through the word in six kappas, or periods of
time. Previous to that period, nothing but chaos, or darkness,
and water had existed. Ormuzd created, first, the heavens and
the earth; second, the firmament; third, the seas and waters;
fourth, the sun, moon, and stars ; fifth, birds, reptiles, quadru-
peds, &c. ; sixth, man. The Persians and Chaldeans have also
a story of a deluge, in which Xisuthra, being warned in a dream,
built an ark, in which he saved himself, his wife and daughter,
and the pilot, and a pair of every species of animals, reptiles,
and birds. After the rain had ceased, he sent out a pigeon,
 THE PERSIAN BIBLES.

49

which, finding no resting place, came back to the ark. The
second time, it came with mud in its bill, which was a better evi-
dence that the waters had subsided than the leaf which Noah’s
dove returned with, as that might have been picked up while
floating on the waters. They had a giant in strength (a Gaza)
answering to that of Samson. They had a story of a lofty
tower designed to reach to heaven, but the gods destroyed it,
and confounded the language of the builders. The Persians
had their priests, their prophets, their angels, their twelve patri-
archs, their holy fires, holy water, and rites of purification, like
the Jews ; also their ordinance of water-baptism. Their holy
mountains, holy rivers, and holy waters, their animal sacrifices,
and their sacrament or ceremony of bread and wine, were all similar
to those of the Jews. They had a Soleimon and a Soleimon’s tem-
ple. Their religion was a theocracy, and was violently opposed
to idolatry ; but, unlike the Jewish religion, it taught the doctrine
of the immortality of the soul, and the lofty idea that the human
mind is an emanation from the divine nature. We find the
principal elements of the Christian system also mixed up with
the doctrines and principles above, set forth ; such as two primary
principles of good and evil (Ormuzd and Ahrimanes), termed
by Christians God and the Devil,—two Gods with their two
kingdoms, which were always at war with each other, to mode-
rate which stands Mithra the Mediator, who was born, like
Christ, of an immaculate virgin. For a further elucidation, see
u The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors.”

Antiquity of the Persian Religion.

The historical facts to establish the existence of the Persian
religion long prior to that of the Jews are numerous, cogent,
and unanswerable. ^They have calculations in astrononry which,
scientists admit, must have been made four hundred years an-
terior to the time of Moses. ^According to Berosus, fragments
of their history have been found which extend it back fifteen
thousand years ; and he tells us it is computed with great care.N
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

CHAPTER YHI.

CHINESE BIBLES.

Kings and Shoo.

The Chinese have various sacred books, the principal of
which are the Five Kings. They have also four Holy Books,
known as Shoo, and one called Tao-te, though the word
King is a term applied to all their sacred books. Some of these
Holy Bibles are attributed to Confucius, one of them (Ta-heo,
the Great Learning) to his grandson, and others to his dis-
ciples. Some of the sects recognize thirteen Kings, or sacred
books, others only seven, and the principal sect but five.
Some of these Holy Books bear a resemblance to the Christian
Gospels, others to the Epistles ; and one of them bears a con-
siderable resemblance to Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews. They
are believed to be divinely inspired; and all are regarded as
authority in matters of faith, doctrine, and practice. All of
them inculcate virtue, and condemn vice and immorality. I will
present merely a brief exposition of a few of the leading books.

I.   Ta-IIeo ; on, Great Learning.

This book forms the basis of the religious sect known as the
Tao-ists. It treats principally of doctrines, but enjoins many
important duties, — such as famity government, the cultivation
of the natural faculties, the acquisition of knowledge, the duty
of being honest and sincere and rectifying the heart, and the
moral obligation of having good rulers and a righteous govern-
ment as means of making all peaceful and happy.

II.   The Chung Yung ; or, The Doctrine of the Mean.

This book contains the Golden Rule: “AVhat you do not
like others to do to you, do not so to them.” It recommends a
 CHINESE BIBLES.

51

state of harmony in the mental faculties as the path of duty
and the road to happiness and to heaven. It teaches that peo-
ple should follow the dictates of their own consciences, and
cultivate and fulty develop their natures. On the whole, it
admonishes a sj^stem of moral perfection. It declares that
spiritual beings are constantly around us, and we do nothing
without them, though we do not see nor hear them. Pretty
good spiritualism!

III.   The Book of Mang, or Mencius.

Mang, or Mencius, the philosopher, lived about two hundred
years after Confucius. This Holy Book of his was not admitted
into the Chinese canon till several centuries after it was
written. Up to that date it was regarded as apocryphal, but
is now held in high veneration as an inspired book. It affirms
the essential goodness of human nature, instead of the Chris-
tian doctrine of u total depravity.” It teaches that all men
are possessed of more or less goodness by nature, but are often
corrupted by bad example and bad governments. It argues the
moral right of the people to choose their own rulers.

IV.   Shoo King ; or, Book of History.

This work is constituted of fifty-eight books. It throws
much light on the history of the Chinese Empire, and bears
evidence of having been written in a very remote age, but was
compiled about 500 B.C. It argues that people are not bad
by nature, and that it is the duty of governments, to bless the
good and punish the wicked. Otherwise they need not expect
the blessing of heaven, or the favor of the people. It relates
the case of an emperor who was reformed by reading the Holy
Book.

V.   The She King ; or, Book of Poetry.

This book is about as devoid of moral instruction as the
Books of Puth and Esther in the Christian Bible. It is princi-
pally a display of human emotions and social feelings. Yet
almost every Chinese has committed portions of it to memory.
Being gotten up in the style of a poem, it is well calculated to
enlist the feelings of the devout disciple.
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TEE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

YI. The Chun Tsen ; ok, Spring and Summer.

This is principally a historical record, and is interpreted as
representing spring and summer. It is held in high estimation
as being the production of the “Great Divine Man,” Confu-
cius ; and it is wonderful with what ingenuity its commentators
and teachers have succeeded in extracting from its dry details
about wars, marriages, deaths, travels, eclipses, battles, &c.,
the most profound lessons in morals. Like the admirers and
expounders of other Holy Books in all ages and countries, they
bestow the most recondite spiritual meanings on texts contain-
ing nothing but nonsense, senseless verbiage, or immoral teach-
ings.

VII. The Tao-te King ; or, Doctrine of Reason.

“ Tao ” means absolute, and “ Te ” means virtue; which in-
dicates that it teaches absolute virtue. Of all sacred books
this is the most philosophical. It seems to constitute both a
revelation and system of philosophy. It displays considerable
wisdom and beauty, but is not free from those gross and repul-
sive elements which characterize the Christian and some other
Bibles. It declares that God created, cherishes, and loves all
the world. It has no angry God, but one enjoining love and
benevolence, and the return of good for evil, upon all the hu-
man race. It declares God made all beings : his essence formed
them, his might preserves them, his providence protects them,
and his power perfects them. It condemns war and weapons
of death: it says that Tao does not employ them, and all good
men abhor them. It also condemns the possession of worldly
wealth as being in opposition to a spiritual life, and as denoting
the absence of good from the soul. Modesty, mercy, benevo-
lence, and contentment arc recommended as the highest of hu-
man virtues. An extensive commentaiy, written b}T a Chinese
saint about 100 B.C., goes with this book to explain it, as all
“divine revelations” have to be revealed over again by the
priests, who seem to assume that Infinite Wisdom is too igno-
rant of human language to dictate a book that can be under-
stood. Must it not be mortifying to him to have his blunders
thus exposed ?
 CHINESE BIBLES.

53

Analogy of the Chinese and Jewish Religions.

The Christian historian, Mr. Milne, expressed a fear that he
might be condemned for furnishing proof, that, before Jesus was
born, a morality as pure was inculcated in the celestial empire
(China). As in the Hindoo, Egyptian, and Persian religions,
we find the Jewish and Christian religions here amalgamated
together. The Chinese had a cosmogony, or story of creation,
similar in some respects to those already noticed. These sacred
books speak of a primitive paradise, in which was a tree of
knowledge and a tree of life ; also of a deluge and an ark. Bap-
tism, the cross, and the miter are emblematical rites of their
religion. They also taught the doctrine of the eucharist and the
trinity, and practiced circumcision.

The Chinese have a story or tradition of an incarnate God,
Natigai, who, like Christ, was both creator and mediator. His
system of religious faith taught the doctrine of special provi-
dences, future rewards and punishments, a general judgment-
day, the duty of humility or self-abasement, and the moral and
religious obligation to observe strict temperate habits, and to
devote our whole lives to God, &c.

The Chinese religion inculcates many beautiful and sublime
moral precepts, which we have not space to notice here.

Antiquity of the Chinese Religion.
f The historical books of China, comprising a hundred and fifty
volumes, and called “ The Great Annals,” and recently trans-
lated by a scientific Frenchman, have a regular chronology, be-
ginning nearly two thousand six hundred years before the period
assigned for the creation of Adam. And they have calculations
in astronomy at that remote period. (The learned men of Eu-
rope have decided that they made the calculation of an eclipse
about seven hundred years before the time of Moses. These
facts are sufficient to prove the existence of their religion long
anterior to the time of Adam.

Concluding Inference.

In addition to the facts and authorities we have cited to show
that the Hindoo, Egyptian, Persian, and Chinese religions were
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all established prior to that of the Jews, there are other facts
which demonstrate the absolute impossibility of any of these
religions obtaining any of their religious elements or doctrines
from the Jews.

1.   'We find both the Jewish and Christian doctrine inter-
woven into each one of those Oriental systems. Hence, if they
borrowed one, they borrowed both. But that is impossible:
for the Christian system is known to be much younger.

2.   Those Oriental religions are all conservative in character;
so that there has been scarcely any perceptible change in their
doctrines during the thousands of years of their known exist-
ence. Hence their very nature would preclude them from bor-
rowing any new doctrines.

3.   On the contrary, the Jewish mind has been very vacillat-
ing. A disposition to change their religion has been constantly
manifested through their whole history. Such facts tas these
settle the question.
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Prometheus:

CHAPTER IX.

I.   The Soffees’ Bible — The Musnavi.

The Bible of the Soffees, the 44 Musnavi,” teaches that God
exists everywhere and in every thing; that the soul of man, and
the principle of life throughout all nature, are not from God,
but of God, and constitute a part of his essence ; that nothing
exists essentially but God ; and that 4 6 all nature abounds with
Divine Life.” Mr. Malcom, in his 44 History of the Moguls ”
(p. 269), sa}Ts: 44 The Solfees are incessantly occupied in •
adoring the Almighty, and in a search after truth.” They are
passionately fond of poetry and music (two essential elements
of civilization). Their Bible teaches many beautiful moral les-
sons.

II.   The Parsees’ Bible —44 Bohr Desch.”

The Parsees’ Bible is entitled Bour Desch, which means
“Genesis; or, the Beginning of Things.” Its cosmogony is
similar to that of Moses, though more definite, and probably
written at an earlier period. Its Eden, or primitive paradise,
lasted three thousand years before Kipo (the Devil) entered,
plucked the fruit, handed it to the woman, and thus caused her
downfall, and, after her, that of the whole human race.

III.   The Tamalese Bible.

We have space for but little more than the titles of other Bi-
bles.

The Tamalese “Holy Book” was known as the u Kali-
walcam,” and contains some excellent moral precepts.

IV.   Scandinavian Bible.

Saga, meaning “Wisdom,” is the name of the Scandinavian
44 Inspired Volume,” so called because it was believed to have
emanated from the fountain of divine wisdom.
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

t V. The Ivalmucs’ Bible.

Kaliocham, the Kalmucs’ Bible, was believed to contain in
repletion 44 all the wisdom of God and man.”

VI. The Athenian Bible.

The ancient Athenians had what they claimed to be a 44 Holy
and God-derived Book,” called 44 The Testament.” Dinarchus
alludes to it in his speech against Demosthenes. It was read
with deep, solemn awe and devoutness.

VII. The Cabalists* Bible.

Yohar, or 44 Book of Light,” the Bible of the Cabahsts, re-
lates some wonderful cures and miracles performed by that sect.
 THE MAHOMEDAN BIBLE.

57

CHAPTER X.

The Mahomed an Bible — The Koran.

The Koran, or Alkoran, is the most modern in its origin of any
in the list, having been penned six hundred years later than the
Christian Bible. It differs from most other Bibles in being the
production of a single author, and, for this reason, possesses
more uniformity of style and fewer contradictions than most
other Bibles. Mahomet did not claim to be its author, and did
not write it, but merely dictated it to his secretary Zaid. Like
the founder of the Christian religion, and nearly all the other‘s
great religions of the world, he was very illiterate. Incarnate
Gods and religious chieftains possess no aspiration to become
scholars, and no taste for science. They were governed by feel-
ing and the impulse of religious enthusiasm, which have no affin-
ity for science. Mahomet, however, did not profess to be a God,
but merely a prophet. The Koran, having originated in a later
and more enlightened age than the Christian Bible, possesses
some superior features, and, of course, is superior to still older
Bibles. It is more consistent in its teachings on the subject of
temperance, as it does not, like the Christian Bible, both sanc-
tion and condemn the use of intoxicating drinks ; but uniformly
forbids the use of it, and even prohibits the manufacture of it.

It also shows more respect for the rights of woman by provid-
ing for her maintenance by dowry. It levies a tax on its dis-
ciples of two and one-fourth per cent for the support of the poor.

It enjoins not. only kindness and respect for enemies, but a care-
ful provision for their wants.

The disciples of the Koran were taught and believed that
the Holy Book was originated in heaven, and had long been
preserved there by its divine author Allah, and, in the fullness
of time, was handed down, chapter at a time, by the angel
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TEE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

Gabriel to the prophet Mahomet; and his scribe Zaid recorded it.
The leading doctrines of the Koran are : the Unity of the God-
head, and the perfection of his attributes ; the joys of paradise,
and the terrors of hell; the awful fate of unbelievers in the
Koran. The Day of Judgment is held up as a terror to evil-
doers and skeptics, and an encouragement to the faithful. Skep-
tics, or unbelievers in the Koran and the Mahomedan religion,
are repeatedly consigned to the same terrible fate (the fires of
hell) that Christ consigns the unbeliever in the Christian religion,
and the same as that to which the founders of other religions
doom those who reject or disbelieve their pretended revelations.
The Koran abounds in precepts of a high moral tone.

Mahomet holds out the idea that Christ was created like
Adam, and therefore was but a man, though a true servant of
God. This, he asserts, was the view of Christ himself. The
doctrine that God could have a son, or that there could be more •
than one person in the Godhead, was to him profanity, infidelity,
and downright blasphemj7. It is repeatedly denounced in strong
terms in the Koran. All prayer and praises to God are ad-
dressed to him in the singular number. I will cite a few texts
in illustration : *66 Praise be to God, Lord of all worlds, the com-
passionate and merciful King. Thee only do we worship, and
to thee only do we cry for help. Guide us in the right path.”
u The sun is God’s noonday brightness; the moon followeth
him: the day revealeth his glory; and the night enshroudeth
him.” 64 He built the heavens, and spread forth the earth.”

44 And whoso shall fear God, and do good works, no fear shall
come upon them, neither shall they be put to grief. But those
who turn away from him, he will consign to eternal fire.” 44 To
those who believe (the Koran), and do things which are right,
hath God promised forgiveness and a noble recompense.”

II. The Mormons’ Bible— Tiie Book of Mormon; also
44 Tiie Revelations of Joseph Smith.”

This sacred book is claimed to have been found inscribed on
gold plates, situated several feet below the surface of the earth,
in Wayne County, N.Y., in the year 1823, by Joseph Smith, a
pious youth, then only fourteen years of age, who declared he
 THE MORMONS’ BIBLE.

59

received information with respect to the existence of the plates
and their locality from an angel of the Lord, with whom he had
had frequent intercourse for several }^ears. The following is a
description of the plates and original records composing the
book, as furnished by Orson Pratt, one of the “Latter-day
Apostles’’ of Jesus Christ: “ The records were engraven on
plates which had the appearance of gold. Each plate was not
far from seven by eight inches in length and width, being not
quite as thick as common tin. They were filled on both sides
with engravings in Egyptian characters, and bound together in
a volume as the leaves of a book, fastened at one edge with
three rings running through the whole. This volume was some-
thing near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed.
The characters, or letters, upon the unsealed part were small and
beautifully engraven. The whole book exhibited many marks
of antiquity in its construction, and skill in its engravings.
With the records was found a curious instrument called by the
ancients 4 Urim and Thummim,’ which consisted of two trans-
parent stones, clear as crystal, set in the two rims of a bow.
It was used in ancient times by persons called seers, by means
of which they received revelations of things past or future.”

Mr. Smith finally succeeded, with the aid of a profound lin-
guist in New-York City by the name of Anthon, in translating the
whole work into the English language. Several writers testify
that the ground out of which the records were dug was solid, and
covered with a thick and solid growth of grass, presenting no
appearance of having ever been disturbed. The sect now con-
stitutes about three hundred thousand disciples. The following
testimony to the truth of the story is a voluntary offering by
three witnesses: —

Testimony or Three Witnesses.

Be it known unto all nations, tongues, kindred, and people unto whom this work shall
come, that we, through the grace of God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, have
6een the plates which contain this record, Which is a record of the people of Nephi, and
also of the Lamanites. Men, brethren, and also of the people of Jared. And we also
know that they have been translated by the gift and power of God; for his voice hath de-
clared it unto us: wherefore we know of a surety that the work is true. And we also tes-
tify that we have seen engravings which are upon the plates; and they are shown unto us
by the powder of God, and not of man. And we declare with words of soberness, that an
angel of God came down, and that he brought and laid before our eyes, and we beheld
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

and saw, the plates and the engravings thereon. And we know it is by the grace of God
and our Lord Jesus Christ that we beheld and bare record that these things are true, and
it is marvelous in our eyes. Nevertheless the voice of the Lord commanded that we should
bear record of it. Wherefore, to be obedient to the commandments of God, we bear tes-
timony of these things. And we know, that if we are faithful in Christ, we shall rid our
garments of the blood of all men, and be found spotless before the judgment-seat of Christ,
and shall dwell with him eternally in heaven. And the honor be to the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost, which are one God. Amen.

Oliver Cowdery.

David Whitmer.

Martin Harris.

Mormon Sacred Book, No. 2 — The Book of Doctrines and
Covenants ; or, The Revelations of Joseph Smith.

In addition to the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith originated
and partly composed a Book of Doctrines and Covenants, pur-
porting to be a direct revelation from heaven relative to the
temporal government of their church. It enjoined the support
of the poor, the taxation of members, the establishment of cities
and temples, the education of the people, the emigration of
saints, &c. This book has been venerated by the Mormons as
a “hoty revelation from God,” and hence is, in a strict sense,
a Bible. Its title sufficiently indicates its character. As much
as Christians ridicule the idea of Joseph Smith receiving a reve-
lation from God, it comes to us with exactly the same authority
as the claimcd-to-be revelation of Moses. The evidence in each
case is the same.

III. Tiie Shakers’ Bible.

The Bible of the Shakers is entitled u A Iloty, Sacred, and
Divine Roll from the Lord God of Heaven to the Inhabitants of
the Earth, Revealed in the Society of New Lebanon, Columbiana
County, New York, United States of America.” The testi-
mony of eleven mighty angels is given, who arc said to have
attended the writing of the Roll. A copy of the Iloty Book has
been sent to every king and potentate on earth. Its contents
and style bear some resemblance to the Christian Bible ; and it
contains texts which .appear to have been drawn from that book,
and then altered. It should be borne in mind that the Shakers
also profess to believe in the Christian Bible, with their own
peculiar construction of the book, like other sects.
 THE JEWISH BIBLE.

61

CHAPTER XI.

The Jewish Bible.

In a practical sense, there are other books beside the Old
Testament which go to make up the Jewish Bible. The Talmud,
or rather the two Talmuds ; the Jerusalem Talmud (comprising
the Mishna, or Second Law), compiled about 150 B.C. by a
Jewish rabbi; and the Babylonian Talmud, compiled about six
hundred and fifty years later,—are regarded by the Jews as
equally inspired and equally binding in their moral requisitions
as that of the Old Testament. In fact, they compare the
former to wine, and the latter to water, when speaking of their
relative value. Some u tall stories ” are found in these Jewish
revelations, such as these: it tells of a bird so tall that the
water of a river in which it stood came only to its knees, though
the water was so deep that it took an ax, thrown into it, seven
years to reach the bottom; and of an egg of such enormous
dimensions, that, when broken, the white of it glued a whole
town together and a forest of three hundred cedar-trees. These
are but specimens of their miracles. Such is the character of
the Jewish sacred writings, emanating from the same source as
the Old Testament; and consequently of equal authority and
reliability, and equally entitled to our belief.
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

CHAPTER XII-
The Christians’ Bible.

The Christian Bible, as now accepted by Protestants (for it
must be borne in mind that it has been altered and amended on
various occasions, thus altering the canonical Word of God),
is composed of thirty-nine books in the Old-Testament de-
partment, and twenty-seven in the New; the whole constitut-
ing a multifarious collection of old oracles, obsolete dogmas,
Oriental legends, ancient myths, religious reveries, beautiful
precepts, poetry, heart-touching pathos, wild fancies, preceptive
admonitions, martial exploits, domestic regulations, broken,
disjointed narratives, ritual rules, and spiritual ideas; including
also cosmogony, history, theocracy, theology, annals, romance,
prophecj7, rhapsody, psalmody, mythology, allegory, dreams,
tradition, legislation, ethics, politics, and religion, all jumbled
together without arrangement, division, classification, or order;
committed to writing in various ages and nations and countries,
and hy various writers, extending over a period of several thou-
sand j’cars, including ncarty every form of composition known to
human ingenuity,—gay, grave, tragical, logical, philosophical,
religious, and romantic, — emanating from Gods, angels, men,
and devils; recorded, some of it in mountains, some of it in
caves, some of it on the banks of rivers, some of it in forests, some
of it in deserts, and some of it under the shadow of the Pyramids.
It commenced on Mount Ilorcb, and ended in the isle of Pat-
inos. From such circumstances we arc not surprised to learn
that its chronology is unreliable, chimerical, and incorrect; its
history contradictory and incredible ; its philosophy fallacious ;
its logic unsound ; its cosmogony foolish and absurd ; its astron-
om}’ fragmentary and childish; its religion pagan-derived; its
 THE CHRISTIANS' BIBLE.

63

morals defective, sometimes selfish, often extravagant, and in
some cases pernicious. Its government, both temporal and
spiritual, is, to some extent, both barbarous and tyrannical;
while its theocracy is mere brute force. It presents us with
narratives without authorities, facts and figures without dates,
and records without names. We find no order in its arrange-
ment, no system in its subjects or the manner of presenting
them, and no connection in its paragraphs, and often no agree-
ment in its statements, and no sense in its logic. It seems to
teach nearly every thing upon nearly every question of morals
which it touches. It apparently both sanctions and condemns
nearly every species of crime to which it refers, and pours ful-
some laudations upon the heads of some of the most bloody-
minded and licentious men, —such as David, Solomon, &c., —
and holds them up as examples of true practical morality. It is
often dark, ambiguous, and mysterious, as well as contradictory,
not only in its lessons of morality, but in its account of the sim-
plest occurrences, thus rendering it comparatively worthless as
a moral guide ; inasmuch as it is much easier to find out what is
right and what is not without going to the Bible, than it is to
find out what the Bible teaches upon the subject, or what it in-
tends to teach in any given case. With respect to war, slavery,
polygamy, and the use of intoxicating liquors, for example, it
is much easier to determine whether they are right or wrong by
the moral fitness of things than whether they are scriptural or
anti-scriptural; while it,is silent upon many crimes which now
infest society. If we are compelled to determine the character of
some actions without going to the Bible, why not that of all other
moral actions and duties? Edmund Burke says of the Bible,
u It is necessary to sort out what is intended as example, and
what only as narrative ; what is to be understood literally, and
what figuratively, where one precept is to be controlled and mod-
ified by another; what is temporary, and what of perpetual ob-
ligation ; what is appropriate to one state or set of men, and
what is the general duty of men in all ages.” Now, who can not
see that all this must require a quality^ofimind capable of deter-
mining or learning moral principles ancDjaoral duties without
recurrence to the Bible ? And it must require a vast amount of
 64

Prometheus:

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

time to accomplish this task, all of which is lost, inasmuch as
it is consuming time in making the Bible conform to what you
have already learned of right outside its pages,—time that
might be much better employed. Such are the moral aspects
of the Bible. But it also has its beauties, which we need not
occupy much space in depicting, as we have fifty thousand cler-
gymen in this country who attend faithfully to that matter.
Suffice it to say, that portions of it are characterized by a
high-toned spirituality, other portions by a deep, heart-stirring
pathos. And then we have manifested in other parts the most
devout piety, while the books of the prophets often breathe
forth a spirit of the most elevating poetry. And there is scarcely
a book, or even a chapter, in the whole- Bible, that does not
evince a spirit of religious devotion, and an effort for the right,
though often misdirected. Taken as a whole, the Bible may be
regarded as an exposition of the condition of science, morals,
religion, government, and domestic polity of the era in which it
was written, and suited to the temporal and spiritual wants of the
people of that age, for whom it was written, but not for this age.
When regarded in this light, and as simpty a human production
of the best minds of the age and times in which it was written,
man}" portions of it can be read with interest and instruction.
But when read, as it has been for centuries, as a perfect,
divine composition, designed for all time and as a finality in
faith and practice and moral progress, it becomes a stumbling-
block in the path of progress, an embargo upon free thought,
a fetter upon the soul, a fog of bewilderment to the mind, and
a drag-chain to the moral and intellectual reformation of the
world.
 GENEBAL ANALOGIES OF BIBLES.

65

CHAPTER XIII.

General Analogies of Bibles.

From the foregoing brief analysis of the characters of the
Bibles of various nations, it will be observed that they are, in
their main or leading features, essentially alike, including the
Holy Books of Jews, Christians, and pagans ; that they are
alike in their ends and aims and main characteristics; that all
inculcate the same fundamental doctrines; that all impart and
enjoin the observance of intrinsically the same moral lessons,
the same preceptive aphorisms. All teach substantially the
same superstitions, the same kind of miraculous feats performed
by Gods, angels, and men and devils, the same marvelous stories
and achievements over-ruling and over-riding the great laws of
nature, often checking or stopping the ponderous wheels of the
machinery of the universe. The revelations on the pages of
each are claimed to be God-derived, and to have been inspired
through prophets, orators, angels, apostles, or “holy men ; ” or to
have issued directly from the mouth of God, and descended from
his immaculate throne to earth, without the intervention or
employment of a medium. Each puts forth similar notions and
traditions concerning Gods, deities, or angels, genii, demons, or
evil spirits, priests, prophets, patriarchs, prayers, sacrifices,
penances, ceremonies, rituals, Messiahs, redeemers, intercessors,
sin-atoning, crucified Saviors, sons of God, &c. All recog-
nize the doctrine of atonement for sin ; all, or nearly all, approxi-
mate in their modes of propitiating the favor of an offended
Deity by oblations, sacrifices, and offerings of animals, men, or
Gods, or sons of God. Each has its cosmogony ; each proclaims
the doctrine of one supreme God, the doctrine of the immor-
tality of the soul, of post-mortem rewards for “ deeds done in
 G6

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

the bod}r,”—endless bliss for the righteous, and punishment for
the wicked. Each attests the truth and divine origin of its
religion by the record of a long array of the most astonishing
miracles, confirmed and ratified b}r the fulfillment of numerous
prophecies. Most of them teach the doctrine of the primeval
innocence and moral elevation of man, and of his fall, and of his
prospective subsequent restoration; and also of the necessity
of a “ change,’’ or “ being born again,” in order to a full recon-
ciliation with God, and a perfect state of righteousness. In a
word, all had essentially the same religious institutions, and the
same ecclesiastical orders of priests, pilgrims, monks, and mis-
sionaries ; the same or similar prayers, liturgies, sermons,
hymns, and sacrificial offerings; similar holy orders of saints,
angels, and martyrs. All had their “holy days,” their “holy
fasts and feasts,” “ holy rivers,” “ hoty mountains,” and
“holy temples,” &c. ; and nearly all preached essentially the
same doctrines relating to a spiritual birth, regeneration, pre-
destination, and a future life, rewards, and punishments, and a
final judgment, &c. All furnish a religion cut and dried (the
great end of all Bible creeds) so as to save the intellectual labor
and mental toil of discovering the rule of right and the road to
duty by an investigation of the great laws of cause and effect,
the nature and constitution of the human mind, and the moral
fitness of things. As a finale to creation, and a final consumma-
tion and triumph of their peculiar faith, each imagines and
portrays a great prospective millennial epoch, at which juncture
the heavens are to be “ rolled together as a scroll; ” the oceans,
seas, lakes, and rivers to take fire, and be reduced to ashes;
“ the New Jerusalem to descend from God out of heaven ; ” and
peace, righteousness, and happiness unalloyed to rule and to
reign thenceforth and for ever. Hence all Bibles and religions
are of divine origin, or none.

Note. — Sir William Jones says the ancient religions borrowed from
each other.

II. Superior Features of IIeatiien Bibles.

There is not one Oriental Bible in all the number but that is
superior in some respects in its teachings to the Christians’ Bible.
 GENERAL ANALOGIES OF BIBLES.

67

None of them sanction so explicitly every species of crime;
none of them contain so much obscene language. On the con-
trary, the Chinese Bible, as Mr. Meadows says, “ contains not
one sentence but that may be read with propriety in any drawing-
room in EnglandStrikingly different from that of the
Christian Bible, as shown in Chap. XXIII. The Mahome-
dan Bible is quite superior in its teachings, both with respect to
intemperance and the treatment of women. It forbids both the
use and the traffic in intoxicating drinks, and also the manufac-
ture ; while the Christian Bible, although condemning one, sanc-
tions both (see Chap. LVIII.). With respect to women, it con-
tains some commendable precepts% It not only enjoins husbands
to treat their wives properly, and provide for them, but provides
for their divorce in case this is not done; while the Christian
Bible, by the authority of Christ, allows divorce for no crime,
abuse, cruelty, or inhuman treatment on the part of tyrannical,
wicked, or drunken husbands, but that of fornication (see Matt,
v. 32). The Koran also enjoins a tax of two and a half per cent
on its disciples to support the poor; while the Christian Bible
sa3^s, “Thou shalt not countenance a poor man in his cause ”
(Ex. xxiii. 3), though it is true it contains counter-precepts.
These examples are sufficient to lead to the conclusion that
nothing would be gained to the cause of practical morality by
supplanting any of the Oriental Bibles with the Christian Bible.
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

CHAPTER XIV.

The Infidels’ Bible.

We find the remarkable admission in the Christian Bible, that
the moral guide adopted by infidels is superior to that book
which Christians have adopted for a guide. Paul, in his Epistle
to the Romans, says, 44 The Gentiles, who have not the Bible,
do by nature the things contained in the Bible.” An astonish-
ing Bible concession, truly! He, however, uses the word 4 4 law ’’
for Bible ; but commentators tell us the law is contained in the
Bible, and some writers make 44 law” and 44 Bible” synony-
mous terms. We therefore give the sense more fully by ren-
dering it 44 Bible ” instead of 44 law.” It is here admitted by
Paul, that the great Bible of Nature, written upon man’s con-
sciousness, and inscribed upon everjr thing around him, which is
the infidels’ Bible and revelation, is superior to any printed
Bible. If man learns by nature the moral lessons taught by the
Bible or moral law (that is, b}T nature’s laws, as learned by ob-
servation and experience, which is the infidel’s sole reliance for
learning the great lessons and duties of life), then this natural
revelation, which Paul commends so highly, is superior to any
written or printed revelation. If, as Paul teaches, the ignorant,
illiterate Gentile can learn by this revelation of nature, or law
of nature, the duties of life, the great truths of salvation, and
the right road to heaven, then it must be greatly superior to the
Christians’ Bible. For it is admitted b}r Christians themselves
(foreign missionaries), that, with all the aid that priests and
commentators can render, there is a considerable portion of
their Bible which the heathen can not learn or be made to under-
stand. But not so, according to Paul, with God’s natural Bible,
and the revelation inscribed on man’s moral nature, and learned
 THE INFIDELS’ BIBLE.

69

by the exercise of his common sense, natural judgment, and the
experience of mankind in general. Hence we have a Bible
which is not only easily read and easily understood by even the
unlettered heathen, but a Bible which possesses many advantages
over all printed Bibles, some of which I will mention. In the
first place, it is a Bible always open. It can not be kept closed
under lock and key, as the Christian Bible has been in past
ages. Second, It is a Bible that needs no translation in any
language ; for it is already written in the languages of all the na-
tions of the earth. Third, It is a Bible, thank God! that all,
whether high or low, learned or unlearned, can read and under-
stand. Its glorious truths are easily read ; for they are plainly
and legibly inscribed upon every leaf and page of the soul of
every human being. Fourth, Hence this revelation needs no
priest to expound it, and no church to unravel its mysteries, by
voluminous commentaries. Sixth, No concordance is needed to
enable its readers to find its golden gems, which glitter and
sparkle upon every page. They are what the Quakers call “ the
light within.” Seventh, Neither moths nor mice can destroy
this glorious Bible. Fire can not consume it, nor water wash it
away. It is imperishable and eternal. It is a Bible into which
no errors have ever crept, either by printers, transcribers, or
translators. And (soul-cheering thought!) it is a Bible which
contains all the important doctrines, principles, and precepts
which can be found in any perishable paper-and-ink Bible, and
all the grand truths that God ever vouchsafed to man. They can
all be found in this golden-leaved Bible, this eternal, soul-saving
revelation of God.

Paul refers to this natural Bible, or revelation, again when he
sa}Ts, u Know ye not of yourselves what is right ? ” — that is, by
the Bible planted in }^our own souls, the revelation stereotyped
upon your own moral sense or moral nature. Hence the vir-
tual acknowledgment by Paul (who is Bible authority), that
there is no necessity of running to any printed or paste-
board Bible to learn the truths of the gospel or the duties of
life; for he teaches the important lesson, that we may learn
them in our own inward selves. We can “ know of ourselves
what is right.” And there are other texts which admit that
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

God’s first revelation, and his last and only revelation, to the
human race, is far superior to that of any books of human ori-
gin ; and which admit that this glorious revelation can not be found
in the Christian Bible, or any other perishable book, but existed
for ages before any paper-and-ink Bible was ever thought of.
I will quote one other text to prove these statements, and in
further confirmation of the proposition that the Christian Bible
itself admits that the infidels’ Bible, direct from the hand of
God, is greatly superior to it in all the essential features and
principles of a Bible. Paul concedes this when he says, in his
Epistle to the Homans, “ The invisible things of God are clearly
seen and understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead ” (Rom. i. 20). Now, here it is proved,
if any thing can be proved by the Bible, that every thing that
can be learned about God and religion can be found written
upon the tablets of nature, and inscribed upon every thing that
is made. For it is declared, that even the “ invisible things of
God”—that is, the great spiritual truths of the kingdom—can
be seen and learned by the revelations, or lessons, written upon
things “ that are made.” A wonderful admission, truly ! It is
stated, they can not only be seen, but “ dearly seen and under-
stood,” by studying the things u that are made,” and learning
their important lessons. If, then, they can be “ clearly seen
and understood,” there is not the shadow of a doubt left upon
the mind as to their truth or meaning: you are not annoyed
with that perplexity, uncertainty, and painful anxiety about the
meaning of moral lessons they teach, as you are with respect to
hundreds of texts you find in the Christian Bible. This is
a grand revelation and declaration and benefit, truly. And
“even his eternal power and Godhead,” — that is, God’s charac-
ter and attributes, —we are here told, can be learned by reading
and studying this beautiful and easily comprehended Bible,
written by the finger of God upon eveiy leaf and page of nature.
Was there ever a more important, more pleasing, or more beau-
tiful revelation made to the world than this of Paul’s ? And is
it not surprising that Christians have never noticed this most
important admission? It is an important moral lesson that
throws their pen-and-ink Bible into the shade, and shows we

Prometheus:

 THE INFIDELS9 BIBLE.

71

would be better without than with it by substituting God’s
eternal and universal Bible. It will be observed, then, that it is
shown by different texts of the Bible, that the “ Holy Book ”
which came directly from the hands of God is greatly superior
to that which came through the hands of man. And the fact
that it is the only Bible, or revelation, that can now be found in
all countries, and the only Bible that can be read by all nations,
kingdoms, tongues, and people, and that not. one man, woman,
or child in a hundred, take the world over, can read any other
Bible but this, is very nearly prima facie evidence that it is the
only Bible God ever designed for the human race, and that he
never did impart, and never will impart, any other revelation to
the world ; that no other Bible is necessary for the moral, religious,
and spiritual welfare of the race, or to point the road to salvation.
Hence it is the only Bible we would recommend for the reading
of the young. It is the only Bible we are certain they can un-
derstand. It is the only Bible we are certain is free from errors.
It is the only Bible we are certain has never been altered or
mistranslated. It is the only Bible we are certain teaches no
immoral lessons. It is the only Bible which we are certain con-
tains no vulgar or obscene language, calculated to raise a blush
on the cheek of modesty, and outrage every feeling of decorum,
as many of the texts found in the Christian Bible do. It is the
only u Holy Scripture 99 we can be certain was given forth by
divine inspiration, and the only sacred volume or u Holy Word 99
which has the full seal and sanction of Almighty God. Read,
then, and study well, this open and widespread Bible which
infolds the universe. All the Bibles and religions of the past
claim to have been authorized by a direct revelation or inspira-
tion from God. ' But we are satisfied that no such revelation has
ever been given forth to any nation in any age of the world.
For inspiration is now known to be a universal law of the
natural mind; an inborn principle of the human soul, which
all ages and nations, and every’human being, have possessed a
greater or less share of. And the amount of true inspiration
possessed by each individual depends upon his or her moral,
intellectual, and spiritual elevation of the soul or mind into the
higher enjoyment of spiritual bliss where it becomes en rapport
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

with all that is lovety, inspiring, and beautiful in God’s uni-
verse ; where it can take cognizance of great moral problems
and spiritual truths; and where it can look through the long
vista of futurity, and behold the events of coming years rolling
up toward the threshold of time. This is true inspiration, and
the spirit of true prophecy. But it is the work of our own
minds, and not of Deit}r, and is not confined to any age, nation,
or religion. It depends upon the culture of the moral and intel-
lectual faculties and the spiritual aspirations of the individual,
and not upon his creed or religious belief.

As for a divine revelation, it can not be found in any book of
human origin. It could not be incorporated into a book, nor
could all the books in the world contain it. It is inscribed all
over the face of nature. We read it upon the outstretched
earth and upon the shining heavens ; we read it upon

“ Every bush and every bower,

Every leaf and every flower.,,

Here, then, we have a Bible with a revelation as broad as the
universe. Its lids are the heavens above, and the earth beneath.
Its golden-leaf pages are spread out at our feet; its lessons of
wisdom, its truths of salvation, and its soul-inspiring beauties,
are inscribed upon the soul, and written all over the face of
nature. Read and study it, O man! and become u wise unto
salvation.”
 TWO THOUSAND BIBLE EBBOBS.

73

CHAPTER XV.

Prometheus:


TWO THOUSAND BIBLE ERRORS. OLD TESTAMENT
DEPARTMENT.

A HUNDRED AND TWENTY-THREE ERRORS IN THE STORY OP
CREATION.

As the Old Testament possesses no order, no arrangement,
and no distinct system of either morals or religion, and no
regular connection in its history, we have to treat it in the same
unsystematic order in which we find it, and to expose many
foolish errors and stories which seem almost beneath the dignity
of any respectable writer to notice. But, as they constitute a
large portion of the Old Testament, we have got to deal with
them or nothing. And, although trifling in themselves, they
have done much mischief. Hence we deem it of greater im-
portance to expose their evil influence than to trace them to
their heathen origin, as we originally designed doing.

1.   The first text in the Bible is evidently an error. “ In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth ” (Gen. 1).
No geologist or philosopher at the present day believes in
either a creation or a creator. The assumption involves two
impossibilities. First, a creation could not take place with-
out something to create from:   nihilo nihil fit” — “ Out of

nothing nothing can come.” Second, to account for the ori-
gin of the earth, sun, moon, and stars, by assuming the exist-
ence of a creator, is throwing no light on the subject. We have
made no progress towards solving the problem; for we are
equally puzzled to account for the origin of the creator himself.
It is as easy to assume that matter always existed as to assume
that the creator always existed. Hence there would be no crea-
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

tion possible, and none needed. This is now regarded as a set-
tled scientific problem.

2.   It is a scientific error to assert that matter had a
beginning, as the Bible assumes. Many scientific facts have
been developed to establish the conclusion that all beings and
objects on earth were eliminated from its elements, and all the
planets we can recognize were an outgrowth from some other
worlds. The proposition is not only susceptible of much proof
(which I have not space here to present), but is very beautiful
and satisfactory. It u composes our reason to peace.’9 All we
lack of comprehending it is the capacity to grasp eternity and
infinity, which finite mortals cannot do.

3.   If God u created the heavens ” (Gen. i. 1), and heaven
is his “dwelling-place” (see 1 Kings viii. 30), then where
did he dwell before the heavens were made? Here is a very
puzzling question, and involves an absurdity equal to that
of the Tonga-Islanders, who teach that the first goose was
hatched from an egg, and that the same goose laid the egg.
An idea equally ludicrous is involved in the assumption that God
created the heavens and the earth about six thousand years ago ;
so that, previous to that era, there was nothing on which he could
stand, sit, or lie, but must have been suspended in mid-air from
all etcrnitj".

4.   If nothing existed prior to six thousand years ago, then
there was nothing for God to do, and nothing for him to
do it with. Hence he must have spent an eternity in idleness,
a solitary monarch without a kingdom.

5.   As we are told God created the light (Gen. i. 3), the
conclusion is forced upon us, that, prior to that period, he
had spent an eternity in darkness. And it has been -discov-
ered that all beings originating in a state of darkness, or living
in that condition, were formed without eyes, as is proved by
blind fishes being found in dark caves. Hence the thought is
suggested, that God, prior to the era of creation (six thousand
years ago), was perfectly blind.

0. “God saw the light that it was good” (Gen. i. 4).
Hence we must infer that God had just got his eyes open, and
that lie had never before discovered that light is good. Of
course it was good to be delivered from eternal darkness.
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75

7.   “ And God divided the light from the darkness ” (Gen.
i. 4). Hence, previous to that period, they must have been
mixed together. Philosophy teaches that light and darkness
never can be separated, any more than heat and cold, as one
is only a different degree of the other.

8.   “ And God called the light Day, and the darkness he
called Night’’ (Gen. i. 5). And to whom did he call them?
as no living being was in existence until several days after-
wards. Hence there was no need of calling them any thing;
and, as we are told Adam named every thing, he could as easily
have found names for these as for other things.

9.   The Bible teaches us that day and night were created
three days before the sun. Every school-boy now knows that
it is the revolution of the earth upon its axis that causes day
and night; and, but for the existence of the sun, there could be
no day and night. If Moses’ God was so ignorant, he had
better never have wakened out of his eternity of darkness.

10.   The Bible teaches that the earth came into exist-
ence three days before the sun; but science teaches us that
the earth is a child or offshoot of the sun. Hence it could
be equally true to say a son was born three days before his
father.

11.   “And the earth was without form, and void” (Gen.
i. 2) ; but philosophy teaches that nothing can exist with-
out form, or when void. The declaration brings to mind the
Scotchman’s definition of “nothing,” — “a footless stocking
without a leg.” We have an idea of a thing which does not
exist.

12.   “And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of
the waters” (Gen. i. 2). Here we are taught that the
original state of the earth was that of water. But geology
teaches its original constituents was fire or fusion; that water
did not exist, and could not exist, in it, or on it, for millions of
ages. Professor Agassiz says our earth was once in a state of
igneous fusion, without water, without rain, and even without an
atmosphere (“Geological Sketches,” i. 2). And even the pious,
God-fearing Hugh Miller says that “ the solid earth was at one
time, from center to circumference, a mass of molten matter ”
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

(“ Lectures on Geology,” 256). Here we have geology against
theology.

13.   God spent a day making a firmament, by which he
“ divided the waters from the waters.’’ If it had then stated
that he spent a day in making moonshine, or one day in
making breath for Adam, it would have been as sensible; for
the firmament is as truly a part of the earth (being eliminated
from it) as our breath is a part of our bodies.

14.   “Divided the waters from the waters.” Here is dis-
closed a belief which prevailed in various Oriental and heathen
nations, that the earth exists between two large lakes, or
sheets of water; and that the firmament is a solid floor, which
holds the water up, and prevents it from falling, and inun-
dating the earth ; and, being supplied with doors and windows,
when God wants it to rain he opens the windows (the Bible
says “ the windows of heaven were opened,” see Gen. vii. 11)^
He pours it down by opening the windows, and stops it by
shutting them up. “The windows of heaven were stopped ”
(Gen. viii. 2). How fully is the heathen tradition disclosed
here!

15.   We are told that God gathered “the waters under
heaven together unto one place” (Gen. i. 9). How ignorant
he must have been of geography ! He evidently had not studied
the science, or had not traveled much, or he would have known
the waters under heaven never have been “gathered together
unto one place,” but exist in many places, as the two hundred
large lakes prove.

1G. The Bible tells us, that, when God created the vegeta-
ble kingdom, he ordered each species of vegetation to “bring
forth after its kind” (Gen. i. 11). Can we suppose that
apple-trees would have borne budges, or mullein-stalks pro-
duced pumpkins, or any thing foreign to their nature, if the
command had not been given for each to bring forth after its
kind?

17.   According to the Bible, the vegetable kingdom was
created before the animal; but the learned geologist Hitch-
cock, although a Christian by profession, in his “Elements of
Geology” says, “An examination of the rocks shows us that
 TWO THOUSAND BIBLE EBBOBS.

77

animals were created as early as vegetables ” (and he might
have said much earlier). And yet the Bible says vegetables
were created on the third day, and animals on the fifth (see
Gen. i.).

18.   The Bible represents vegetables as coming into existence
before the sun; but philosophy teaches that they could neither
germinate nor grow without the warming and vivifying influence
of the sun.

19.   The Bible tells us that 44 God made two great lights,
the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule
the night; and God set them in the firmament to give light
to the earth” (Gen. i. 16, 17). That is, he made two round
balls, and then stuck them into a hole scooped out of the
firmament for the purpose. This seems to be the idea. Here
is disclosed the most egregious ignorance of astronomy. Think
of that stupendous solar luminary, as much larger than this
P3Tgmy planet as a man is larger than a mouse, being hung up or
stuck up above us for our sole accommodation ! How sublimely
ridiculous!

20.   The Bible represents the great world-builder, the almighty
architect, as spending five days in plodding and toiling at this
little mole-hill of ours before he got it finished up to his notion,
and then made such a bad job of it that he repented for
having undertaken it.

21.   But when he came to make the countless worlds, the
vast suns, and systems of suns, which roll their massive
forms in every direction around the earth, these were all
made in a few hours. 44 And he made the stars also.” This
text tells the whole story of the origin of the boundless planet-
ary system, comprising millions of worlds larger than our plan-
et. What superlative ignorance of astronomy Moses’ God
manifests !

22.   Moses is awarded great credit by Bible believers for
opposing polytheism, and teaching the existence of but one
God: but it would have been more to his credit if he had
stuck to a belief in a plurality of Gods; for it would take a
million of such Gods as his imagination has created a thousand
years to make such a universe as astronomers have brought to
fight since he wrote.
 78

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

23.   The language, “Let us make man in our own image”
(Gen. i. 26), seems to imply that there was an association of
gods,—a company of ahnighty mechanics, who had formed
a copartnership to do up a big job.

24.   If man was made in the image of God, why was he
cursed for eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge in order
to be like God ?

25.   According to the Bible, God became so tired in the
business of world-making that he had to take a rest of a whole
day (and perhaps took a nap also) when the job was com-
pleted ; but geology and philosophy both teach that creation
never was begun, and never will be finished, but is going on
all the time. Hence new species of animals and vegetables are
constantly coming into existence.

2G. The Bible represents the entire universe as being created
less than six thousand years ago; but science teaches us
that it has been in existence for millions of years.

27.   A large volume of scientific facts has been accumu-
lated by scientists, showing that even our earth, one of the
youngest of the planets, is at least several hundred thousand
years old. Look at a few of the facts which go to prove it.
The coral reefs of Florida are estimated by Professor Agassiz
to be one hundred and thirty-five thousand years old. Charles
Lyell estimates the delta of the Mississippi Valley to be
at least one hundred thousand years old. Four growths of
cypress-trees far below the surface of the ground, and situated
one above another, have been discovered near New Orleans,
whose successive growths must have occupied a period of at
least one hundred and fifty thousand 3’ears. So much for the
agreement of geology and Bible chronology.

28. But wc are told that a day in the Bible means a
thousand years. Then, as the sabbath day constitutes one
of the days spoken of in the Bible, and was provided as a
day of* rest, Christians and Bible believers should rest a thou-
sand years at a time; and, as God rested a whole day (a thou-
sand years), he must have been as tired of resting as lie was of
world-making. Why do the figures u 4004 B.C.” stand at the
top of the first page of the Bible, if a thousand years mean one
day?
 TWO THOUSAND BIBLE ERRORS.

79

29.   The Bible teaches that whales, fishes, and birds were
made on the same day; but geology assures us that fishes
came into existence long before fowls.

30.   The Bible teaches that beasts and creeping things
were all made on the fifth day of creation; but geology tells
us that reptiles and creeping things crawled upon the earth mil-
lions of years before beasts came into existence.

31.   The Bible represents man as coming into existence
about six thousand years ago; but human bones have recently
been discovered in the vicinity of New Orleans which Dr.
Dowler estimates to be at least fifty thousand years old.

32.   A deity who becomes so tired and physically exhausted
with six days’ labor as to be compelled to stop and rest,
physiology teaches would be liable to physical disease; and,
if physically diseased, it might terminate in death, and thus
leave the world without a God (Godless).

33.   The Bible tells us “ the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground” (Gen. ii. 7) ; but philosophy teaches
that dust possesses no vital properties, and that it would
have been less difficult to make man of a stone or a stump,
owing to their possessing more adhesive properties. One
writer suggests that the negro must have been made of coal-
dust.

34.   According to the Bible, a serious blunder was made
by Jehovah in the work of creation, by exhausting all the
materials in the process of world-making and man-making, so
that nothing was left to make a “ helpmeet” for Adam; and
this blunder caused the necessity of robbing Adam of one of
his ribs.

35.   But common sense teaches us that a small crooked
bone but a few ounces in weight could not furnish half the
material necessary to constitute a woman. The Parsees, with
a little more show of sense, tell us that the rib was used mere-
ly as a back-bone, around which the woman was constructed;
which revives in memory Erin’s mode of making cannon, which
consisted in “ taking a round hole, and pouring melted metal
around it.” The Tonga-Islanders have a tradition about as
sensible as that of Moses with respect to the origin of the first
 80

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

woman. Their God made the first man with three legs, and
amputated one of them to make a “helpmeet for him.” This
is an improvement, as a leg can be better spared when there are
three than a rib : it also possesses more material than a rib.

36.   The Bible teaches that man was created upright, but
fell. If it means physically, it can be easily accounted for,
and must be ascribed to his* creator; for depriving him of one
of his ribs would leave him in an unbalanced condition, so that
he would be liable to fall.

37.   The Bible imparts to us the strange intelligence that
“the Lord God brought all the beasts and birds to Adam
to see what he would call them” (Gen. ii. 19). What an
idea for Omniscience or Infinite Wisdom to engage in the
business of chasing bears, lions, tigers, elephants, and hy-
enas, and all manner of beasts great and small, and all manner
of birds, also hissing, crawling, biting reptiles, and every liv-
ing thing which he had created, and taking them to Adam “ to
see what he would call them” ! Not having sufficient intelli-
gence to find names for them himself (pardon the thought), his
curiosit}’ was no doubt aroused to see what an ignorant being of
his own creation, who had not sufficient intelligence to clothe
himself, would call the innumerable host of beasts, birds, &c.,
before any language was known, or even a single letter was in-
vented to spell names with. (We are very far from desiring to
wound the feelings or encroach upon the reverence that any
man or woman may cherish for “a God of infinite love, wis-
dom, and goodness ; ” but let it be kept constantly in mind we
are not presenting the history of such a being here, but the
mere imaginary God of Moses and the Bible.)

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