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AuthorTopic: THE BIBLE OF 27 BIBLES (1 christian with 2000 errors) 1879 -KERSEY GRAVES  (Read 20274 times)

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Offline PrometheusTopic starter

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VII.   No Divine Revelation without a Series of Miracles.

A divine revelation must be miraculously inspired ; and then
it must be miraculously preserved from the slightest alteration
by the translator or the transcriber, and from any error on
the part of the printer. And, finally, the reader’s mind and
understanding and judgment must be miraculously guarded
from any mistake or misunderstanding or wrong conclusions
relative to every text in the book. Otherwise there is no abso-
lute certainty that the revelation is a true one, or superior to a
mere human production.
 NEW-TESTAMENT ERRORS.

215

VIII.   Our Moral and Religious Duties can not be learned
from any Bible or Revelation.

A critical investigation of the matter will show that our moral
and religious duties are not half of them enumerated in the
Bible; and to suppose that God would reveal only a portion
of them, and leave us in the dark with respect to others, and
compel us to find them out by chance and conjecture, is to trifle
with Omniscience, and assume that he is short-sighted and im-
perfect.

IX.   No Moral Duty clearly defined by the Bible.

As the circumstances of each case of moral duty differ from
every other case, so our courses of action must be different.
Hence revelation, to be of any practical use, should have fore-
seen those circumstances, pointed them out, and instructed us
how to act in the case. But this is not done in any case. We
will illustrate : We are enjoined by the Bible to u bring up a child
in the way he should go; ” but that way is not pointed out or
defined. We are not told which one of the thousand churches he
should join; we are not told, when a man’s leg is broken, how
it should be mended ; we are not told what means we should use
to restore the sick to health, nor instructed as to the best means
to be used for the preservation of health and life. And, as
these are among the first and most important duties, we should
have been instructed as to the best means to be used for that
purpose ; but these things are omitted, and left to the province
of reason. There is no case in which we are not compelled to
make reason our supreme judge to decide how we shall practice
the duties of revelation ; and thus revelation is made a servant
or subsidiary agent.

Christians sometimes tell us, u Give us something better in the
place of our religion before you take it from us.” But the Bible
tells them, “ Cease to do evil [before you] learn to do well.”
Doom error to destruction, and truth will spring out of the
ashes. What would you think of a man who should say to a
physician, “Stop, sir! before you administer that medicine to
my child, I want to know what you are going to let it have in
 216

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

place of its pains and aches” ? We do not propose or desire to
destro}' any religion as a whole, but only the deleterious weeds
which are choking and poisoning the healthy plants. We do
not wish to put down or arrest the progress of any truth.

The clergy sometimes assert that 44 we could not distinguish
right from wrong, but for the Bible.” And was nothing known
to the world about right and wrong, or the means of distin-
guishing between them, during the two thousand years which
elapsed before the Bible was written? Christians place Moses,
its first writer, about fourteen hundred years before Christ,
while the Bible dates back 4004 B.C. And then what about
those millions of the inhabitants of the globe who never had
our Bible ? And millions of them never had a Bible of any kind.
Are they destitute of moral perception ? On the contrary, reliable
authority, and even Christian writers, assure us that the morals
of man}T of those nations will put to shame the morals of any
nation professing the religion of Christ. Take, for example,
the Kalaos tribe of Africa, who appear to have no formal re-
ligion whatever ; and }ret, as Dr. Livingstone informs us,
they maintain strict honesty in all their dealings with each
other, and have made considerable progress in the arts and
manufactures. They have never had a Bible or revelation of
any kind. Look also at the inhabitants of the Arru Islands.
44 These people,” saj^s Dr. Livingstone, 44 appear to have no
religion whatever; and yet they live in brotherly peace, and
respect each other’s rights,” —the rights of property in the fullest
sense. The Rev. W. H. Clark, speaking of the Yoruba nation
in Central Africa, says, 44 Their moral and even their civil rights
in some respects would put to shame any Christian nation in the
world.” We might present a hundred more cases of this kind ;
but these three cases are sufficient to show that nations with no
Bible, no revelation, and even no religion, transcend any Chris-
tian nation with respect to strict honesty and a practical sense
of right and wrong. How absurd, therefore, is the idea shown
to be, that a knowledge of the Christian Bible is essential to
the knowledge and practice of good morals ! (See chap. 30.)
 NEW-TESTAMENT ERBORS.

217

X.   Our Duties are All recorded in the Bible of Nature.

There is not a moral or religious dut}r that is not inscribed on
the tablet of man’s soul or consciousness which he would not soon
learn if his attention were not constantly directed to, and his mind
occupied with, the erroneous theories of the dark, illiterate ages.
The God of nature has endowed every human being with two
sensations,— one of pleasure, and the other of pain,—which
serve as guides in all his actions, both ph}rsical and moral.
They stand as sentinels at the door of his soul to warn him
of the approach of evil of every kind. The moment their king-
dom is invaded, they raise an alarm, which he soon learns he
must heed or suffer a penalty. If he drinks intoxicating drinks,
or improper^ indulges his appetites and propensities in any
way, he learns, by suffering, that is the penalty affixed to the
violation of the law of health, and that he can not escape it, and
that no one can suffer for him, or make any “ atonement for
his sins.” If he attempts to handle fire, he is soon apprized that
he is meddling with something that will injure him ; if he com-
mits a moral wrong against a neighbor, it re-acts upon himself in
various wa}^s, as explained in Chap. 46. It thus acts as a
two-edged sword, which cuts both ways, punishes both the vic-
tim and the perpetrator. Man learns by experience that crime
will not only injure him, but, in many cases, will destroy him.
On the other hand, when he practices virtue, she greets him with
her smiles, and fills his soul with pleasure. Let me illustrate :
The bells in some city toll the alarm of fire at midnight. In a
few minutes thousands of men and bo3Ts are congregated on the
spot, many of them half-dressed, and without hats or shoes,
in order to aid a fellow-being in rescuing his dwelling from the
all-devouring element. What prompts them to this act? It is
not an injunction of their Bible. No: it was the well-spring
of philanthropy leaping up through their souls that prompted to
the deed, and not a written Bible. Again*: why is a mother’s
loving, watchful care ever exercised for the protection and wel-
fare of her child? She will endure almost any hardship or
privation which its welfare requires. Why does she do this?
Her Bible is silent on the subject. It is the impulse of nature
 218

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

welling up from the fountain of maternal affection which prompts
to these acts of loving care, — to this moral duty. And this is
true of all the other moral duties of life. They are all imbibed at
her fountain, —at the fountain of Nature. A man with a good
moral development needs no revelation to teach him what is
right, no Bible to prompt him to the performance of his duties.
We rejoice “with jo}^ unspeakable” that the world is fast
learning this moral axiom. The Bible truly teaches us that our
moral duties are revealed in the book of nature (Chap. 14).
And Christian writers also admit this. Tertullian says, “ Why
pain yourselves in searching for a divine law while you have that
which is common to mankind, and engraven upon the tablet
of nature ? ’ ’ This is a wonderful admission for a Christian writer
to make, as it virtually concedes there is no moral or religious
necessity for a written Bible or revelation.

XI.   A Divine Revelation adverse to Human Progress.

One argument against the belief in a divine revelation is
found in the fact that it would tend to paralyze human effort,
and thus make man a mental sloth. If a man could find all his
moral and religious duties “ cut and dried,” and laid out before
him, he would be thus robbed of the motive to study and learn
his duties by the exercise of his mental powers. And having
no incentives to healthy, energetic action, he would become a
drone and mental sloth. We can not believe God ever made
such a blunder as this.

XII.   A Divine Revelation would imply Imperfection on
the Part of Deity.

It is admitted that no revelation was ever given to man for
more than two thousand years after creation. This would imply
that it was forgotten by Infinite Wisdom, or else the moral ne-
cessity for it overlooked. Either assumption would make God
an imperfect and short-sighted being. It would appear like an
after-thought. After man had lived so mail}’ years upon the
earth, it just occurred to God that he had not given him a
written revelation instructing him what to do and believe. The
assumption of a divine revelation presupposes such a blunder
 PRIMEVAL INNOCENCY OF MAN NOT TRUE.   219

as this on the part of Omniscience, and is therefore derogatory
to his character.

Now, we ask seriously, Do not the foregoing facts and argu-
ments show that there is no moral or religious necessit}^ for a
divine revelation to man ? Let the believers in the necessit}’ of
the Bible, or a divine revelation, show their fallac}^, or for ever
abandon the old Mythological assumption that it is necessary.

Another conclusive argument: A mind that could comprehend
a truth divinely revealed could originate that truth. We will
give an illustrative proof: A teacher works out a mathematical
problem on the blackboard for the benefit of his school. Now,
every teacher and every logical mind will admit that every
pupil, possessing the mental capacity to understand the mathe-
matical truth thus revealed, could, by his own unaided powers,
have developed it himself sooner or later. In like manner, the
mind that could comprehend a truth revealed from God, could
originate it without the aid of revelation. Hence revelation
would be worse than useless, as it would furnish a pretext for
mental or intellectual sloth, and thus have a tendency to stop
human progress by doing for us what we could and should do
ourselves. A logical investigation of the case will show that
we possess the mental capacity to discover every truth toe need,
whether it be scientific, moral, or religious; and such exercise
furnishes the only means to keep the mind in a healthy con-
dition. And thus the problem is proved again.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

PEIMEVAL INNOCENCY OF MAN NOT TEUE.

The tradition so universally prevalent among the disciples of
all the Oriental S}Tstems of religious faith, as well as those of a
more modern origin, and which is still a conspicuous element
of the Christian system, —that man commenced his career in a
|l state of moral perfection,—is so obviously at war with every
j principle of anthropology, and every page of human history
'A tending to demonstrate the moral character of the primitive
 220

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

inhabitants of the earth, that I shall employ but little time and
space in exposing its absurdity and falsity.

1.   All the organic remains of the earliest types of the human
species that have been found demonstrate conclusively that
man started on the animal plane with animal feelings, propen-
sities, and habits, almost totally devoid of moral feelings, and
consequently a victim to his passions, propensities, and lusts.
Where, then, were his moral purity and angelic holiness? The
idea is a mere chimera.

2.   It is now a settled problem in mental science that the
character of ever}r species of animate being corresponds with
its organization ; that the organic structure of the being, whether
dead or alive, always indicates its true character. If it pos-
sesses the form and type of the tiger, it will alwa}Ts be found
with the disposition and habits of the tiger; or, if it is a sheep
in form, it will be a sheep in character. There is no deviation
from this rule. Hence, when we find the bones of the early types
of the human species resembling those of the lower order of
animals, there is no escaping the conclusion that they possessed
an analogous character.

3.   Look, then, at the fact that the skulls and facial bones of
human beings, found embedded in the rocks of Gibraltar, be-
longing to a race which naturalists have decided existed upon
the earth sixty-five thousand }’ears ago, closely approximate
those of an animal. They possessed retreating foreheads, prog-
nathous jaws, extrcmety coarse features, and skulls nearty an
inch in thickness; hands resembling those of a monkey, feet
resembling those of a bear, and cranial receptacle showing a
very small amount of moral brain. Now, it is evident that this
early race, with such a gross, brutal organization, could not
have possessed fine moral sensibilities and lofty virtue, purity,
and perfection.

4.   And we find that nations whose organizations indicate a
higher moral character are of more modern origin, as shown b}T
th'‘ir organic remains being found in more recently formed
strata, — the tertiary formation. It is thus scientifically demon-
strated that man’s tendenc}T toward moral perfection is inversely
to the remoteness of time,—that, the nearer we retrace his
 PRIMEVAL INNOCENCT OF MAN NOT TRUE. 221

history to his origin, the lower position he occupies in the scale
of morals.

5.   We will cite one more historical fact to establish this
theory. The existence of a tribe of negroes has been traced
(as stated in Chap. 16.) to near the date of Noah’s flood,
whose organization indicates a very near approach to the animal;
thus showing, that, if they are descendants of Adam, he himself
must have possessed an inferior or defective moral organization
and character.

6.   Let the reader, after noting these facts, read the history
of the practical lives of the earliest races or nations whose
deeds have been recorded, and he will find they sustain the
same proportion; that their defective moral character corre-
sponds (ceteris paribus) to the remoteness of the era in which
they lived. The history of the Jews themselves illustrates and
corroborates the proposition, as the character of the modern
Jews is far superior to those of the era of Abraham and
Moses.

7.   Once more: The fact that the moral character of nearly
all nations is constantly improving, proves beyond question that
man once occupied a much lower plane, and that, instead of
falling from a state of moral purity, he is constantly ascending
toward that condition.

8.   The current belief of man’s primitive moral perfection is
easily traced to its origin. Nearly all the Oriental nations had
a tradition of a u golden age,” when the most sublime and
unalloyed bliss was the lot and enj^maent of the genus homo.
But the serpent that beguiled Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit
in Eden, the serpent who stole the recipe of immortal life in As-
s}Tia, the entering of Typhon into the golden paradise of Osirus
in Egypt, the opening of Pandora’s box in Greece, the piercing
of the evil egg b}7 Ahrimanes in Chaldea, the machinations of
the snake in India, of the lizard in Persia, and the demon in
Mexico, seem to have all had an agency in defeating the omni-
scient designs of Deity, and placing the reins of government in

| the hands of the world’s omnipresent, omnipotent, and omni-
i scient evil genius, thus prostrating for ever the great and glorious
j plans of Infinite Wisdom.

I

i

<
 222

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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

CHAPTER XXXV.

ORIGINAL SIN AND FALL OF IAN.

Haying shown that man commenced his earthly career on a
low moral and intellectual plane, and that therefore the as-
sumption of his original moral perfection is a fallacy, the cor-
relative dogma of his fall into a state of moral depravity falls to
the ground of its own weight. It would be a work of superero-
gation to attempt to show that man never fell in a moral sense,
after having shown that he never occupied an elevated moral
position to fall from. It is self-evident that he could not fall
if there was no lower position for him to fall to ; and this has
been shown. Nevertheless we will expose its absurdhy from
other logical stand-points. According to the Westminster Cate-
chism, u God placed man in the garden of Eden, and forbade
him to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge; and, because
he disobe}Td, he became the victim of God’s eternal wrath, an
accursed and totally depraved being.” Such doctrine is not only
morally revolting, but replete with logical absurdities. We will
recount some of them : —

1.   God formed and fashioned man, according to the Bible,
after his own image, the product of his infinite wisdom ; and if
he had not possessed infinite wisdom, which must enable him to
do cveiy thing to perfection, he had had an cternitjr to study
the matter, and get it fulty matured, so as to make every thing
work in harmony, and endow every sentient being with hap-
piness.

2.   And, as happiness is the highest end and aim of every
living being, it is hence evident that, where there is a want of
happiness, there is a want-of perfection in the being who estab-
lished such a state of things; and such a being could not by
any possibility be infinitely good and infinitely wise.
 OBIGINAL SIN AND FALL OF MAN

223

3.   A few points considered will show very clearljy that, if
man sinned and fell, God has to sustain the responsibility of it.
We are told that God made man ; and, being all-wise, he would,
of course, endow him with exactly such faculties and inclina-
tions and appetites as were best adapted to his situation, and
calculated to make him happy. But, according to orthodoxy,
God had planted a tree near the spot where he placed Adam,
and furnished it with some beautiful and luscious fruit, and
implanted in man an appetite and relish for it, and, as if to
tantalize him with perpetual hunger, forbade him to eat the
fruit; and apparently, for fear Adam would obey his command
and abstain from eating the fruit, he created a serpent-devil to
persuade him (or rather his wife) with bland smiles (assuming
that a snake can smile, which is rather doubtful) to partake of
the fruit, and satisfy their appetites. All this appears to have
been the work of their Creator, and not theirs. But the con-
spicuous features of the absurdity do not stop here.

4.   We are told that the prohibition to eat the fruit was issued
to Adam before Eve was released from her imprisonment in
Adam’s side, or from performing the functions of a rib-bone,
before she became a woman and a wife ; and it is not even im-
plied that it was intended to extend to her. Why, then, in the
name of God, should such curses be heaped upon her devoted
head for eating the fruit when she had not been forbidden to
do so ? And it does not appear to have been wrong in any
sense, only that Jehovah had issued an order forbidding it.

5.   Jehovah professed great sympathy for Adam’s lonely con-
dition, and made a help meet for him; and yet the first meat
she helped him to, it would seem, damned him and his posterity
for ever.. In view of this fact, it is probable Adam would have
preferred to let her remain a bone in his side.

6.   Here let it be noted that Adam and Eve were ignorant and
inexperienced beings. They had had no experience in any
thing, and hence could not know that such an act, or any other
act, was wrong and sinful.

7.   Nor could Adam know what the word u die ” meant when
Jehovah told him he would die the day he ate the fruit, as he

? had seen nothing die.
 224

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

8.   It may here be said in repl}T, that they should, in their
ignorance, have obeyed the command which was given them.
To this we reply, they did obey the command of one being.
God told them not to eat, and the serpent told them to eat, the
fruit; and, not having lived with or had any experience with
either of those omnipresent beings, how could they know what
would be the consequence of obeying or disobeying either of
them? This question of itself is sufficient to settle the matter.
They could not possibly know, with no experience in either
case, that the consequence would be more serious or more fatal
in disobeying Jehovah than the serpent.

9.   And as they got their eyes open by eating the fruit, and
did not die as Jehovah told them they would (while the serpent
told them they would not), it is not to be wondered at that
ever after they and their posterity should be more inclined to
serve the serp'ent-devil than Jehovah, seeing that all the happy
consequences which the former predicted as the result of eating
the fruit were realized, while those of Jehovah were falsified.
For proof see chap. 58.

10.   The most artful sophistry can not disguise the fact that
the doctrine of moral depravity is a slanderous imputation upon
divine mercy, goodness, and justice, and challenges not only
his goodness, but his good sense.

11.   And every page of history and every principle of science
demonstrate it to be both false and demoralizing.

Man fell up, and not down.

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE I0KAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN A DELUSION.

It is alleged by the orthodox world that man’s moral nature
and reasoning faculties both became depraved by the fall.
“Totally depraved” has been the doctrine; but the gradual
expansion and enlightenment of the mind by progressive science
have modified the doctrine with some of the churches, and they
have substituted “moral depravity” for “total depravity.” •
 THE MORAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN A DELUSION 225

But neither assumption can be scientifically or logically sus-
tained. The assumption that our reason is depraved is made
the pretext for urging the superiority of revelation, and making
reason subordinate to it. We are told, that, as our reason is
depraved, we can not safely rely upon it to judge and criticise
the Bible, or the doctrine of the churches. Mr. Moody recently
exclaimed, in a religious controversy, u I never reason on re-
ligion. None but the disciples of devils reason. It is danger-
ous to reason on religion.’9 Unconscious of his ignorance, Mr.
Moody assumed a very ludicrous position. By the- exercise of
his reason on religion, Mr. Moody came to the conclusion that
it is wrong to reason on religion, thus committing the very sin
he condemns in others. He reasons on religion to convince
people that it is wrong to reason on religion, and thus violates
his own principles. His case is analogous to that of the town
council which attempted to keep the prisoners of the county in
the old jail while they erected a new jail with the timbers of the
old one,—rather a difficult task to achieve, but not more so
than Mr. Moody’s attempt to keep his reason in chains while
he is trying to exercise it. Or, rather, he insults his auditors by
saying to them virtually, u I will use my reason on matters of
religion, but you must not use yours." As a reasoning being
he reasons with reasonable beings, and addresses their reason
to convince them the}" ought not to reason on certain subjects.
He uses logic to prove that logic is dangerous, and should not be
used. By reasoning against reason he pulls both ivays, like the
Scotchman who attempted to lift himself by his ears. He com-
mits logical suicide when he attempts to show there is an}" case
in which reason should not be used. The truth is, a person
can not think on the subject of religion without beginning to
reason on it, because his reasoning faculties and his thinking
faculties are both one. He thinks with*his intellect, and he
reasons with his intellect; and, the very moment he begins to
think, he begins to reason. And therefore, if it is ivrong to
reason on religion, it is ivrong to have any religion. We should
not allow it to occupy our thoughts for a single moment, and
thus we would banish religion from the world ; which, however,
would be no great loss if it is too absurd to bear the test of
 226

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

reason. And, if it is wrong to reason on religion, it is wrong
to reason on any subject. The more important the subject, the
more necessary to use reason upon it, that we may make no mis-
takes in regard to it. The truth is, reason is the only faculty
with which a man can comprehend religion, revelation, or the
Bible. This would prove again that it is wrong to have any
religion, if it is wrong to submit it to the judgment, and test it
by our reasoning faculties. Reason is the principal faculty
which distinguishes us from the brute ; and, therefore, to discard
it is to approximate to the condition of the brute. What a pity
Mr. Moody had not been consulted in his creation that he might
have had his reasoning faculties left out 1 then he would not be
under the necessity of sinning daily by exercising his reason in
his attempts to stop its exercise. And then there arc other
serious difficulties growing out of the reverend gentleman’s
position. Ilis reason being “depraved,” we can place no con-
fidence in its exercise or decision in this case, so as to assume
that his judgment and conclusions are correct when he declares
against reason. If he reaches his conclusions through a de-
praved reason, they can be of no account. The verdict can not
transcend the judge or court which makes it. The reasoner
being depraved, his reasoning and decision in the case must be
depraved also, and therefore worthless. Verily the gentleman
is in a bad position, and rather a serious quandary; and every
struggle to got out only sinks him deeper. lie is in the predica-
ment of a dog running round after his tail. And then we
should like to ask the gentleman, If our reason is not to be
depended upon in matters of religion, how is it to be depended
upon in any case? And how docs he know, or how can he
know, but that, his reason being depraved, it has lead him off
the track, in this case, in his attempts to put it in chains?
Will the reverend gentleman furnish a rule by which we can
know in what case our reason can be trusted, and in what cases
we are to doff our moral manhood, and lie prostrate in the dust
with the brute? And then the rule, being the product of a de-
praved reason, could not be relied upon. Really the reverend
gentleman is in an inextricable quandary. The case furnishes
an illustrative proof of the extent a man can make a fool of
 FREE AGENCY AND MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY. 227

himself when he attempts to shipwreck his reason, and a proof
that orthodoxy is a conglomeration of absurdities, and is entirely
out of place in an age of progressive thought, and an age of
reason and science. The only evidence we have ever had of
the truth of the depravity of human reason is found in the fact
that men professing to have common sense and reason can be-
lieve it to be true. And the fact that our moral sense instinc-
tivel}7 repels the doctrine of total depravity or moral depravity,
and our reason rises up in rebellion against it, is proof positive
of its absurdity.

The thought is here suggested, that, if God could not get along
without the adoption of an expedient calculated to corrupt our
moral nature and deprave our reason, he should not and would
not have implanted in us such an instinctive horror to the doc-
trine. This natural feeling of repugnance is alone sufficient to
condemn it, and prove that it is a slander upon Infinite Wisdom,
and a libel upon human nature, to assume its existence. And
such doctrine is evidently calculated to demoralize society.
An old Roman proverb teaches us, u Call a man a dog, and he
will be a dog.” Call a child depraved, and it will feel depraved ;
and, feeling so, it will act so. On the other hand, teach the child
he possesses the grand principle and feeling of an inherent no-
bility, and he will rise to the dignity of moral manhood. Such
is the difference in the moral value of the two doctrines.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

FREE AGENCY AND MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY.

One of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith is the
free agency of man; but the very term is a logical contradic-
tion. An agent must act in, accordance with the will and
wishes of his employer, or he will be called to account, and
perhaps dismissed. Where, then, is his moral freedom? It
may be assumed that his employer licenses him to take his
own course ; but this must be with certain conditions, or else
he will act for himself, and be no agent at all. Certain, alterna-
 228

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

tives are placed before an agent, which he is privileged to choose ;
but that does not make him free in any rational or practical
sense. If he does not act as required or desired, he will be
either punished or dismissed. That is a singular kind of free-
dom. It is the freedom of a slave, which is no freedom at all;
and this is exactly the kind of freedom orthodoxy grants to
the sinner, and to the whole human race. It marks out the
road to heaven, and says, u This is the road to eternal bliss ; and
you must walk in it, or eternal misery will be your portion.”
And, to escape such a terrible doom, millions tremblingly travel
the road impelled and propelled by fear. And this painful
alternative Christians are pleased to term free agency, or moral
freedom. It is simply the freedom of a slave to clank his chains.
It is a perversion of language to apply the term “ free agency ”
to such a case. The orthodox give us our choice to accept their
terms of salvation or reject them ; but they attach to the conse-
quence of rejecting them the most awful penalties. We will
illustrate: A father says to his son some sabbath morning,
“ John, I am going to leave you free to-day either to go to
church or go a-fishing.” He instantly darts away to the river
or the lake with the glee of a humming-bird, and is seen no
more until nightfall. As he approaches the door, his father says
to him, “ John, where have you been to-day? ” — u Why, father,
I have been fishing, to be sure.” — u Well now, John, I am
going to give you one of the most terrible floggings you ever
had in your life for not going to church.” — “ Why, father, you
told me I might take my choice, and go either to church, or go
a-fishing.” — u That is true, John ; but it was with the implied
understanding that, if you did not choose to go to church, I
would give you an unmerciful whipping.” This is free agency
indeed! It is the free agency of orthodox}' illustrated, and
applied to practice. Free agency coupled with a penalty is
moral slavery and moral tyranny. There is no moral freedom
about it. You are simply free to take your choice between two
systems of slavery and two systems of punishment or suffering.
A hare pursued by a hound enjoys a similar kind of freedom,—
the freedom to stand and be caught, or the freedom to run.
Of all the absurdities that ever entered the brain of a human
 FREE AGENCY AND MORAL ACCOUNTABILITY. 229

being, that of setting God and the Devil both after man, as
orthodoxy does, and then call him a free agent, is not excelled. "
We are told that we can not think a thought of ourselves. All
our good thoughts and actions are prompted by a good being;
and all our bad thoughts and actions by a bad being (God and
the Devil). Where, then, is our moral freedom or our moral
accountability, if neither our thoughts nor our actions are our
own, as the}" can not be if they are prompted by other beings?
When a man performs a good act, it is assumed that God is the
author of it; and he is told that he must give God praise for
it. On the other hand, all wicked actions are assigned to the
Devil. He is thus a target between these two cross-fires. Such
an assumption sweeps away the last vestige of free agency and
moral accountability. Some Christian professors accept the
doctrine of free agenc}- to escape the dreaded alternative of as-
suming man to be a mere machine, which they call fatality.
But here you have fatality to repletion. If to place man be-
tween two all-powerful beings, and have them both trying to
direct his actions at once, xlon’t make him a machine, then we
have no use for the word. It is strange that Christian pro-
fessors have never discovered that, according to the teachings
of the Bible, God himself is not a free agent. A free agent is
one who can have things as he wills or wishes, so far as he has
the power to make them so. Look, then, at the fact that,
according to their own Bible, God himself does not enjoy this
desirable boon. It is declared by that book that u God wills not
the death (destruction) of the sinner, but that all shall be
saved.” And it is elsewhere declared that u strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life ; and few there be
that find it.” According to the first text, God desires to save
all; but, according to the second, he succeeds in saving but
very few. Hence, not having things as he desires or wishes
them to be, it is evident he is not a free agent, according to
the orthodox or technical sense of that term. Why, then, talk
of men being free agents, if a being with infinite power can not
be a free agent ?

To make man a free agent strictly or truly, he should have
been consulted beforehand as to how, when, and where he
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

would be born, or whether he would be born at all or not.
Douglas Jerrold significantly remarks that, u if I had foreknown
that a portion of mankind would be born to be damned, I’ll be

d-----d if I would have been born at all.” This expression,

although profane, contains a good moral. Certainly nothing
could be more preposterous or unreasonable than to hold one
being accountable to another when the former had no agency in
creating his mind or originating his inclinations, out of which
all his actions grow. True accountability can only appertain
to beings who created their own natural inclinations, or con-
sented to receive those they are in possession of. This is clear
and unanswerable logic. If man was made by God, or Infinite
Wisdom, as Christians affirm, then common sense would teach
that God alone is accountable for his actions. The man would
be a fool who should blame a watch for not running right,
knowing that the maker conferred upon it all the properties
and powers it possessed. The maker of the watch alone is held
responsible for all its perfections and imperfections. And, if
man has a maker, it is a very clear case that that maker is
equally responsible for his running wrong. There is no resist-
ing this conclusion. The true assumption in the case is, that
man has no creator in the orthodox sense, and is only responsi-
ble to himself, and to society so far as he is a voluntary mem-
ber of it. But orthodoxy makes his salvation depend not only
upon his resisting the natural inclinations implanted in his
system, but also upon the position of his birth. As an argu-
ment in favor of sending the Bible to the heathen, they declare
that millions perish every year because they have not the oppor-
tunity of reading that “Holy Book,” and learning the name
of Jesus. This makes their salvation depend upon the locality
of their birth ; as some sections furnish the opportunity, and
others do not, of becoming acquainted with their Bible, and the
name of their Savior.

We must imagine, therefore, in u the da}" of judgment ” every
human being will have a geographical question to answer.
After being interrogated as to their conduct and practical lives,
the next question will be, “ Where were you born?” If the
answer is, “ In Arabia,” the reply of the judge will be, “ Oh,
 THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE ERRONEOUS.   231

yes! you are a Maliomedan. Our religion only saves those
born in Christian countries. I must therefore set you aside
among the goats.’’ If the applicant is from India, he will be
rejected from the kingdom, and consigned to perdition, because
he is a “ heathen.” And thus Christianity is shown to be a
geographical system of salvation, and makes a man’s eternal
destiny depend upon whether he is born in this country or that
countiy, which strips it of all claim to either justice, impar-
tiality, or good sense. The doctrine of free agency and moral
accountability is one in a long list of theological absurdities,
which originated in an age of scientific ignorance, when noth-
ing was known of the natural powers, or the philosophy of the
human mind, or the laws which control its action.

Moral Accountability.—What is it? and where is it? It is
certainly one of the greatest moral puzzles ever submitted to a
philosopher, as to how a being, forced into existence by an
omnipotent creative power, without his consultation or consent,
j can be responsible to that creative power for his conduct, when
| he had no agency and no volition in his own creation, and no
^ power of resisting it, or in shaping its conditions. If God pos-
t sesses omnipotent power and infinite wisdom, and is a creator,
he could and should have made man to act just as he wished
him to act; and, if he did not do so, common sense would sug-
gest that it was his own fault. It will be seen from the force
of this logic, that Christians must either give up the doctrine
« of a voluntary personal creator, or that of moral accountability.
i The two doctrines can not be made to harmonize together.

j   CHAPTER XXXVIII.

I| REPENTANCE,— THE DOCTRINE ERRONEOUS.

Having treated this subject somewhat lengthily and critically
i in u The World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors,” we shall devote but
| a brief space to its elucidation here. Nearly all religious na-
tions have attached great importance to the act of repentance ;
j but such an act does not repair the injury or wrong repented of.
il
 232

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

The repentance of a murderer does not restore his murdered
victim to life; nor does the repentance and tears of the incen-
diary rebuild the dwelling he has destroyed by fire. What,
then, is its practical value?

We would ask, also, what moral value or merit can attach
to an act of repentance when it is not claimed to be an act of
the sinner, but “ the power of God upon the soul ’’ ? (Luther.)
It appears then, according to orthodox logic,—1. That God
won’t save the sinner unless he repents. 2. That he can’t re-
pent only as God moves him to do so. This places him in a
bad predicament. Hence, when he does repent, it is an act of
God. 3. And then God saves him because he makes him re-
pent. Here is a jumble of logical incongruities and moral con-
tradictions that can find no lodgment in a scientific mind. A
few brief questions will set the doctrine of repentance in its true
light.

4.   Repentance consists in merety a revival of early impres-
sions, that may be either right or wrong, true or false, and
almost as likely to be one as the other.

5.   Who ever knew a person to embrace more rational doc-
trines, or become more intelligent, or have a stronger taste for
scientific pursuits, b}r repentance?

6.   Is it not a fact that repentance usualty causes a person to
cling more tenaciously to the errors and superstitions in which
he was educated ?

7.   Who ever knew a person by repenting, either in health or
sickness, to condemn one wrong act which he had erroneously
been taught to believe was right? If not, does it not prove
that repentance always conforms to education, whether that
education is right or wrong, and hence does nothing toward
enlightening the convert or aiybodjr else ?

8.   On the contraiy, when a man repents with his mind full
of religious errors, is it not evident that the act of repentance
will have the effect to rivet these errors more strong^ upon his
mind, and thus effect a moral injury instead of a moral benefit?

0. If a man ma}' abandon some of his immoral habits, which
he has been taught to believe are wrong, by an act of repent-
ance, are not the good effects to some extent counterbalanced
by his clinging more strongly to his religious errors ?
 THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE ERRONEOUS.   233

10.   Who ever knew a person to abandon a false religion by
repentance? Does a Hindoo or Mahomedan ever embrace
Christianity by repenting ?

11.   Who ever knew a Roman Catholic to become a Protes-
tant, or a Protestant a Catholic, by repentance? And yet ortho-
dox Christians will cite the belief and testimony of a dying
man as an evidence of the truth of their doctrines.

12.   How can an act of repentance do any thing toward prov-
ing what is right and what is wrong in any case, when one
person repents for doing what another repents for not doing ?
We have such cases recorded in history.

We have known a Campbellite to leave his dying testimon}rin
favor of water baptism, and a Quaker to leave his dying testi-
? mony against it. Does one case prove it to be wrong, and the
j other right? If not, why do Christians cite such cases? What
do they prove ?

1 For a further illustration of this subject, see “ The World’s
I Sixteen Crucified Saviors.”

i

Death-Bed Repentance.

If there is any class of people who need to repent for mis-
spent time, and for leading false and foolish lives, it is the
colporteurs who travel over the country distributing pious tracts,
containing doleful accounts of death-bed repentance, which,
j whether right or wrong, prove nothing.

I Such cases of repentance as are reported do not appertain to
the moral conduct, but to the religious belief, of the sinner. It
is the abandonment and condemnation of his past creeds, and
not of his past conduct, which makes the tract so valuable,
j Such a case contains no moral instruction whatever.
y If his early education was Mahomedan, his repentance will
establish that religion again in his mind; but, if Mormonism
was the religion of his childhood, he would again have full faith
in that religion. What nonsense !

J Who ever knew repentance to divorce or emancipate a man
j from all or any of the religious errors of his past life, and plant
< in his soul a better and more rational religion, or lead him to
i advocate any religion only that in which he had been educated ?
 234

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

Such repentance is worth nothing, and absolutely foolish. Let
us assume that the numerous cases of death-bed repentance
published in religious tracts are all true; and what would it
prove ? Why, simply this : that the converts had all been edu-
cated to believe in Christianity, and had gone back to that
religion. Had Budhism or Mahomedanism been their early
religion, they would have returned to that. It is merely old
errors and old truths revived and re-established in the mind.

But many facts afterwards gathered by honest investigation,
appertaining to some of these cases, show that they have either
been manufactured or greatly exaggerated. As for example,
the case of Thomas Paine is proved to be without foundation.
His close was calm and peaceful. Many times has it been de-
clared, in the pulpit and elsewhere, that44 Tom Paine repented,
and died a miserable death.” And yet we have the testimony
of those Christian professors who were present with him almost
constantly during his last illness, that he never manifested the
least compunction of conscience, or the least disposition to
condemn any thing he had said or written in opposition to
Christianity or the Bible. Take, for example, the testimony of
Willet Ilicks, a reliable Quaker preacher. On being interro-
gated by a neighbor of the author of this work as to the truth
of the statement that he repented, he replied, 4b I was with
Paine every day during the latter part of his sickness, and can
affirm that he did not express any regret for having wTitten
4 The Age of Reason,’ as has been reported, nor for any thing
he had said or written in opposition to the Bible, nor ask for-
giveness of God. He died as easy as an}r one I ever saw die ;
and I have seen a great many die.” And yet this Mr. Ilicks
was in hopes he would repent. Other similar testimon}’ might
be adduced ; but this is sufficient. The story of Ethan Allen’s
daughter calling upon her father during her last illness, and
asking him if lie would recommend her to die in his religious
belief, and his feeling so conscience-smitten b}T the question,
that he exclaimed, 44 No: die in the belief of your mother! ”
(who was a Christian) has gone the rounds of the Christian
pulpits. And yet we have the statement of his nephew, Col.
Hitchcock, that he had no daughter to die during his lifetime.
 THE DOCTRINE OF REPENTANCE ERRONEOUS. 235

There is not one word of truth in the report. These two cases
furnish samples of the manner in which a djdng cause will grasp
at straws.

We will subjoin here the testimony of a clergyman, in proof
that infidels are not more likely to die in a state of mental dis-
tress than Christians: The Rev. Theodore Clap, in his autobi-
ography, sa3^s, u In all my experience I never saw an unbeliever
die in fear. I have seen them expire without ai^ hope or ex-
pectation of the future, but never in agitation from dread or
misgiving as to what might befall them hereafter. We know
that the idea is prevalent that this final event passes with some
dreadful terror or agony of soul. It is imagined, that, in the
infidel’s case, the pangs of dissolution are greatly augmented
by the upbraidings of a guilty conscience, and by the reluctance
of the spirit to be torn from its mortal tenement, and hurried
into the presence of an avenging Judge; but this is all a su-
perstitious fancy. It is a superstitious fear, from a false educa-
I tion, that causes any one to die in fear.”

j The Rev. W. H. Spenser, of the First Parish Church (Massa-
* chusetts), says, u Some of the men most bitterly stigmatized as
| infidels have been among the most brilliant and useful minds the
| world has ever known, and, when dying and suffering from cal-
umn}T and scorn, have only to wait for time to do them justice,
and place them in history with the world’s benefactors or sa-
viors. There is not to be found on record one purety infidel
1 man, in the sense now referred to, whose death-bed was at-
tended by recantations and remorse.” Thus testifies a clergy-
man.

We will now show from reliable authority that the most ardent
faith in Christ and the Bible, and the most rigid and conscien-
tious observance of their doctrines and precepts, do not guaran-
tee permanent acquiescence or satisfaction, or protect the mind
from the most violent mental perturbation in the hour of death.
John Calvin stood in the first ranks of the Church militant in
\\ Ms time, and was considered by many the leading clergyman
in Christendom. Hear what Martin Luther, his co-laborer, says
with respect to his mortal exit: u He died forlorn and forsaken
J of God, blaspheming to the very end. ... He died of scarlet-
 236

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

fever, overrun and eaten up by ulcerous abscesses, the stench of
which drove every person away. He gave up the ghost, despair-
ing of salvation, and evoking devils from the abyss, and uttering
oaths most horrible, and blasphemies most frightful.’’ Then
tell us no more about infidels recanting and dying unhappy,
after reading this case. Yet all the cases and evidences cited
above only tend to show that no forms of religious belief have
any thing specially to do with the condition of mind in the
hour of mortal dissolution, except so far as that belief has been
invested with groundless, superstitious fears. Hence persons
who distribute death-bed tracts are in rather small business.
We like the answer of a liberal-minded man, who, when in his
dying moments he was asked by a priest if he had made his
peace with his God, replied, “ We have*never had any unfriend-
ly words.” We don’t believe there can be a case found in all
Christendom of an infidel repenting whose parents were unbe-
lievers, so that he was not educated and biased in favor of any
form of religious faith or belief.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

FORGIVENESS FOR SIN, AN IMMORAL DOCTRINE.

The doctrine of divine forgiveness for sin is another illogical
and immoral doctrine of the orthodox school, as well as that
of heathen nations, which a logical anatysis and the practical
experience of nearly all religious countries show has been per-
nicious in its effects upon the morals of society. A little reflec-
tion must convince any unbiased mind that* while men and
women are taught to believe that the consequences of sin or
crime can be arrested or mitigated by an act of forgiveness by
the divine Law-maker, they will feel the less restrained from
the commission of crime and wickedness. They naturally look
upon it as a sort of license for the indulgence of their passions
and propensities. They are taught that none of the evil conse-
quences of wrong-doing can follow them to another world if
they repent in time, and ask forgiveness. This they accept as a
 FORGIVENESS FOR SIN, AN IMMORAL DOCTRINE. 237

broad license to take their swing in vice and villainy. And thus
they are partially demoralized by the doctrine. Much more ra-
tional is the doctrine of the Swedenborgians and Harmonialists,
that every sin or wrong act we commit makes its impress upon
the soul, or immortal spirit, which will be carried with it to the
life eternal, and will there long operate to impair the happiness,
and retard the spiritual growth, of every person who in this life
indulges in crime or immoral conduct. They teach us that the
character w~e form for ourselves on this plane of existence will
be carried with us to the spirit-world ; that our character under-
goes no radical change by merely passing through the gates of
death. Hence, whatever defective moral qualities we permit to
be incorporated into our characters here will operate to sink us
to a lower plane of happiness in the after-death world. This is a
plausible and rational doctrine, to say the least, and can have no
effect to demoralize the community, as the sentiments breathed
forth by some of the orthodox hymns have evidently done.

“ There is a fountain filled with blood,

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.”

Could any doctrine be more demoralizing than that here set
forth, — that the deep-dyed stains of a life of crime, debauch-
ery, and wickedness can all be wiped out by the simple act of
plunging into a pool of blood, or rather by believing that the
atoning blood of Christ will cleanse from all sin ? The same
idea is incorporated into Watts’s well-known hymn, —

“ While the lamp holds out to bum,

The vilest sinner may return.”

The idea here set forth is shocking to the moralist, as well as
demoralizing in its effects on the community. u The vilest sin-
ner ” must feel very little concern about “ returning ” to the path
of virtue, or abandoning his wicked deeds, while the conviction
is established in his mind that he is losing nothing by leading
such a life, and will have nothing to do at the end of a long life
of the most shocking crimes, villainies, and vices, to escape
entirely their legitimate punitive consequences, but to take a dip
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

in “the blood of Jesus.” Every scientific moralist can see
very plainly that the world can never be reformed while such
license for sin and wickedness is issued from the Christian
pulpit. Practically speaking, God could not forgive a sin. An
act of forgiveness implies that the legitimate consequence of
the evil deed or sinful act can be set aside, and escaped. The
principles of moral science teach us that this is impossible. It
demonstrates that the moral law is a part of our being; and,
consequently, an act of forgiveness for the violation of that
law could not suspend its operation, or stop the infliction of its
penalty upon the perpetrator. It could then, of course, effect
nothing. Hence it will be seen that no sin can be forgiven, but
must work out its legitimate consequences. Scientifically speak-
ing, the law is the cause, and the penalty the effect: when the
cause is set in operation, the effect must follow. It would be as
easy to arrest the thunderbolt in its descent from the clouds as
to evade the penalty of this law. God could not if he would,
and would not if he could, forgive the violation of his laws. He
could not, because he has wisety arranged those laws to operate
without his interference. On the other hand, he would not if he
could, because it would encourage their future and further viola-
tion. And then a God who would confer on us an inclination to
commit certain acts, and then require us to ask his forgiveness
for committing them, would not be a veiy consistent being. For-
giveness is, theologically speaking, “a free ticket to Heaven.”
Bujt a through ticket of the priest, and you can go on “the
strait-line” road, direct to the orthodox “house of many
mansions,” without haring to switch off at any station to un-
load your burden of sins. “ All is well that ends well ” is their
motto. The orthodox clerg}’ tell the most vile and debauched
villain and blood}T assassin, after he has inhumanly butchered
and murdered his innocent and virtuous wife, can, by an act
of repentance and forgiveness, swing from the end of the
hangman’s rope directly into a heaven of pure and unalloyed
bliss, and, with his fingers all dripping with human blood, join
the white-robed saints in shouting, “Glory hallelujah to the
Lord God and the Lamb for ever and ever!” Spare me, oh,
spare me, from ever believing in such a demoralizing religion as
this!
 CAN COD BE SUBJECT TO ANGEBf

239

CHAPTER XL.

GAN GOD BE SUBJECT TO ANGER?

All Bibles, and nearly every religious nation known to history,
have taught that God often gets angry at the creatures of his
own creation. But, in the light of modern science, nothing
could be more transcendent^ absurd, or more absolutely impos-
sible, than that a being possessing all knowledge — a being
infinite in power, infinite in wisdom, and filling all space through-
out the boundless universe — should be a victim to the weakness
and ungovernable impulse of passion. The very idea is revolt-
ing and blasphemous, and presents to every reflecting and un-
biased mind a self-evident impossibility. The emotion of anger
can only be the weakness of finite and imperfect beings. It is
self-evidently impossible for a being possessing infinite perfec-
tion, and consequently infinite self-government, to cherish the
feeling of anger for a moment, as the following consideration
will show: —

1.   The modern study of mental philosophy has demonstrated
anger to be a species of moral weakness; and hence it could
not, for a single moment, occupy a mind possessing infinite
perfection. A being, therefore, who is assumed to possess such
a weakness is self-evidently not a God, but merely an imagi-
nary being, fit only to be worshiped by ignorant slaves.

2.   The practical experience of every person demonstrates
anger to be a species of unhappiness, and often of absolute
misery; and the indulgence of this passion not only makes
the possessor unhappy, but destroys the happiness of every one
around him. If, therefore, God were an angry being, instead
of heaven being a place or state of happiness, it would be the
most miserable place imaginable ; for God is represented by
the Christian Bible as getting angry every day (see Ps. vii. 11),
 240

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

and so angry that the “fury conies up in his face.” As a
Yankee would say, “ He gets mad all over.” I frankly confess
I don’t 'want to live in such a heaven, or with such a God.
Indeed, it would be no heaven at all for anybody; for heaven
is a state of happiness.

3.   In the third place, the modern study of the science of phi-
losophy has discovered that anger is a species of disease, which
may result in mental and even physical suicide if carried far
enough. It produces a congested state of the blood-vessels of
the brain, which, if not arrested in its progress, will produce
death. Dr. Gunn, in his work on domestic medicine, reports
several cases in which an inquest was held over a dead body by a
coroner’s jury, and the verdict rendered, “ Came to his death in
a fit of anger.” However irreverent, the thought forces itself
upon us, that such a verdict might be given over the dead body
of Jehovah if we were compelled to believe all we read of his
getting angry; for it is a scientific deduction that can not be
resisted, that, if anger can produce death in one being, it may
in all beings subject to its influence.

4.   Again: as the result of the study of mental philosoph}7,
anger is now known to be a species of insanity. It deranges,
more or less, all the faculties of the mind, and often disqualifies
the possessor for doing any thing right, or acting rationally,
while under its influence. It often causes him to act without
reason or judgment, and is liable to drive him to the commis-
sion of crime. As well think of entering the cage of a tiger as
to take up our abode in a heaven ruled by such a God, — a
heaven controlled by a God bereft of reason by the ungoverna-
ble action of his own passions. We could not be happy in
such a heaven: we should be constantly under the influence
of fear and apprehension, lest he should become enraged, and
his vengeance fall upon us. Where there is fear there is no
heaven or happiness. If, as the Bible tells us, he is liable to
repent, he might experience this mental perturbation at any
time, and repent for having admitted us into the heavenly
kingdom, and consequently expel us. Under such circum-
stances our motives would be very much weakened for laboring
to reach such a heaven, not knowing that w^e should be per-
 CAN GOB BE SUBJECT TO ANGER?

241

mitted to remain there a single hour. How supremely ridicu-
lous, when logically analyzed, is the conception of an angry
God! It is entirely behind the age, and adapted only to the
lowest stages of barbarism; and yet thousands of Christian
clergymen preach this demoralizing doctrine from the pulpit
every sabbath day. It is demoralizing, because no person can
believe in an angry, sin-punishing God, without cherishing such
feelings in his own bosom. It is impossible for him to avoid it.
Indeed, he has no motives for trying to avoid it; but, on the
contrary, he possesses the strongest motives for cultivating such
feelings. For Archbishop Whately sa}'s, “ Religious people
always try to be like the God they worship.” They consider
it not only their privilege, but their duty, to imitate him.
Hence, if they believe he gets mad occasionally, and pours out
his vengeance upon his offending children (his disobedient sub-
jects) , they will naturally feel like following his example, and
be cruel and revengeful to those who excite their anger. This
preaching the doctrine of an angry God has a tendency to
foster vengeful and vindictive feelings amongst the people;
when, if the clergy would preach only a God of infinite love,
infinite goodness, infinite perfection in all his attributes, we
should soon see a marked change in society. Kindness, love,
and good-will would be manifested between man and man ; and
cruel, vengeful, and vindictive feelings would gradually die out,
and be numbered amongst the things which have been and are
not. Then would the kingdom of peace be established on
earth, and the millennium be ushered in. But we can not expect
the priests to be better than their God, nor the people to be
better than their priests. “Like God like priest, and like
priest like people.” The priest deals out damnation upon
the people to be like his God ; and the people follow in his foot-
steps, and exercise cruel and revengeful feelings toward each
other. It seems astonishing that such an immoral and blas-
phemous doctrine should have been so long and so extensively
tolerated in professedly enlightened countries, as it is evident it
must have had a bad effect; and past experience proves it has
had a demoralizing effect upon the people where the doctrine
has been preached. It furnishes an illustration of the omnipo-
tent power of custom.
 242

TEE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

CHAPTER XLI.

ATONEMENT FOR SIN, AN IMMORAL DOCTRINE.

Haying appropriated a portion of two chapters in “The
World’s Sixteen Crucified Saviors ” to an exposition of the
doctrine of the atonement, we shall treat the subject but briefly
in this work.   |

1.   It is shown in the work above mentioned, that the doctrine '
of the atonement is of heathen origin, and that it is predicated
upon the assumption that no sin can be fully expiated without
the shedding of blood. In the language of Paul, “ Without the
shedding of blood, there can be no remission for sin.” A bar-
barous and bloody doctrine truly! But this doctrine was almost ,
universally prevalent amongst the Orientals long before Paul’s
time.

2.   Christians predicate the dogma of atonement for sin upon
the assumption that Christ’s death and sufferings were a substi-
tute for Adam’s death, incurred by the fall. But as Adam’s ;
sentence was death, and he suffered that penalty, this assump-
tion can not be true.

3.   If the penalty for sin was death, as taught in Gen. iii., and
Christ suffered that penalty for man, then man should not die;
but, as lie does, it makes the doctrine preposterous. It could
not have meant spiritual death, as some argue, because a part
of the penalty was that of being doomed to return to dust (Gen.
iii. 19).

4.   If crucifixion was indispensabty necessary as a penalty,

then the punishment should have been inflicted either upon the
instigator or perpetrator of the deed : either the serpent or j
Adam should have been nailed to the cross.   I

5.   We are told in reply, that, as an infinite sin was committed, ,
it required an infinite sacrifice. But Adam, being a finite being,
 ATONEMENT, AN IMMORAL DOCTRINE.

243

could not commit an infinite sin; and Christ’s sacrifice and
sufferings could not be infinite, unless he had continued to suffer
to all eternity. Therefore the assumption is false. *

6.   An all-wise God would not let things get into such a con-
dition as to require the murder of his only son from any consid-
eration whatever.

7.   And no father, cherishing a proper regard and love for his
son, could have required him to be, or consented to have him,
put to death in a cruel manner; for the claims of mercy and
paternal affection are as imperative as justice.

8.   To put an intelligent and innocent being to death for any
purpose is a violation of the moral law, and as great a sin as

1 that for which he died. Hecatombs of victims can not atone for
I the infraction of the moral law which is engraven upon our
\\ souls.

i 9. If it were necessary for Christ to be put to death, then
* Judas is entitled to one-half the merit of it for inaugurating the
H act, as it could not have taken place without his aid; and no

I\ one who took part in it should be censured, but praised,
i 10. It is evident, that, if everybody had been Quakers, no
I atonement would have been made, as their religion is opposed to
i bloodshed.

11. The atonement is either one God putting another to
i* death, or God putting himself to death to appease his own
| wrath; but both assumptions are monstrous absurdities, which
no person distinguished for science or reason can indorse.

!   12. Anger and murder are the two principal features in the

,] doctrine of the atonement; and both are repugnant to our
* moral sense and feelings of refinement, and indicate a barbar-
1 ous and heathen origin.

!   13. The atonement punishes the innocent for the guilty;

which is a double or twofold crime, and a reversal of the spirit
of justice. If a father should catch four of his children steal-
ing, and the fifth one standing by and remonstrating against the
!j act, and should seize on the innocent one and administer a
; severe flagellation, he would commit a double crime : 1st, that
I of punishing an innocent child; 2d, that of exonerating and
j encouraging the four guilty children in the commission of crime.
| The atonement involves the same principle.

7
 244

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

14.   No person with true moral manhood would consent to be
saved on any such terms ; but would prefer to suffer for his own
sins, rather than let an innocent being suffer for them. And the
man who would accept salvation upon such terms must be a
sneak and a coward, with a soul not worth saving.

15.   Who that possesses any sense of justice would want to
swim through blood to get to the heavenly mansion ? I want
neither animals, men, nor Gods murdered to save my soul.

16.   If there is any virtue in the atonement in the way
of expiating crime, then there is now another atonement de-
manded by the principles of moral justice to cancel the sin
committed by the first atonement, — that of murdering an inno-
cent being, u in whose mouth was no guile ; ” and then another
atonement to wipe out the sin of this atonement, and so on.
And thus it would be atonement after atonement, murder after
murder, ad infinitum. What shocking consequences and ab-
surdities are involved in this ancient heathen superstition !

17.   It seems strange that any person can cherish the thought
for a moment that the Infinite Father would require a sacrificial
offering for the trifling act of eating a little fruit, and require
no atonement for the infinitely greater sin of murdering “ his
only-begotten son.” Another monstrous absurdity !

18.   The advocates of the atonement tell us that man stands
toward his Creator in the relation of a debtor; and the atone-
ment cancels the debt. To be sure ! How does it do it? We
will illustrate : A man says to his neighbor, u I owe }X>u a thou-
sand dollars; but I won’t pay it.” — “Very well,” says the
creditor, u I will tell you what I will do : I will forgive the debt
by seizing on my own son, strip him of all he has, and then put
him to death. The claims of justice will then be satisfied.” A
monstrous idea of justice !

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10. The Jewish and Chaldean law of atonement required the
offender to place his hand on the head of the beast while being
consumed in sacrifice; and this was accepted as an atonement
for his transgressions. Such a conception is both senseless and
demoralizing, lie was thereby taught that he would escape the
legitimate consequences of his crime. And the Christian atone-
ment is no better. The sin-atoning offering of Christ furnishes
 ATONEMENT, AN IMMORAL DOCTRINE.

245

an open door through which the sinner escapes the just punish-
ment of law. It is at least a partial liquidation of his sins.
When one being is punished for another, this is, to the latter,
an immunity from punishment; and the ends of justice are thus
completely thwarted, and the moral law broken and trampled
under foot. If a culprit were sentenced to the penalty of death
for murder, and the punishment of another man were accepted
in his stead, every court in the civilized world would decide that
two wrongs were committed, — the punishment of the innocent,
and the pardon of the guilty. Such doctrines are repugnant to
all ideas of justice, and are most certainly demoralizing.

20.   The wrong-doer should be taught that he is just as guilty,
and just as certain of punishment for his crime, as if all the
Gods in heaven were put to death to atone for his sin; the
penalty being inseparable from the act.

21.   What would be thought of the government that should
punish the law-maker instead of the law-breaker? This is
exactly what the atonement amounts to ; so that the law-maker
falls a victim to the penalty of his own laws. It is God the
law-maker dying for man the law-breaker. Such ideas and
such doctrines are monstrous, and completely overthrow every
principle of civil jurisprudence.

22.   A God who could resort to such desperate expedients to
appease his anger, and satisfy the demands of justice, is not a
God, but merely an imaginary being which was conjured up in
an age of ignorance and superstition. The belief in such a
God is, nevertheless, demoralizing.

We will here relate an anecdote, showing that such ideas of
the Supreme Being are repulsive even to the unenlightened
heathen:   In Smith’s “ Gulf of Guinea” it is stated, that, as

a Christian missionary was presenting the doctrine of the Chris-
tian religion to Pepples, King of Bonny, and told him that God
gave his only-begotten son to die for us,—to be put to death
for our sins, —the king stopped him by saying, “ Do you think
me a fool to believe such palaver as that, —that God would kill
his own son to please himself; get mad at man, and then kill
his own son, instead of killing him? Never! never can I be-
lieve such fool palaver as that. It is big fool lie.” “ I tried,”
 246

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

says the missionary, 44 to impress upon his mind that nothing
would satisfy divine justice but such a sacrifice; but he cut me
short by exclaiming, 4 That will do; that will do: I have got
enough of such fool palaver.’ ” Quite a sensible 44 heathen ”
was King Pepples.

CHAPTER XLII.

SPECIAL PROVIDENCE, AN ERRONEOUS DOCTRINE.

All the holy books, and nearly all holy men who have figured 1
in the world, have cherished a belief in what is termed u special
providences,” —a doctrine which teaches that God individually
and personally superintends the affairs, not only of all nations,
but of each individual human being, now amounting in number
to about fourteen hundred millions. It seems strange that the   j

striking absurdity of such an assumption has not struck every   1

mind possessing the power to reflect or investigate. The
thought of his looking after the affairs and happiness of fourteen
hundred millions of human beings at a time, besides running
several thousand millions of worlds, far excels any of the 1
astounding feats of the evil genii of Gulliver. In the sublimity
of its absurdity and impossibility, it stands without a rival.

It expands beyond the utmost stretch of human credulity.
Like all the other doctrines of the popular creed, it sprang up
in an age of the world when the human mind accepted every
thing presented to it without investigation, —when nothing was
rejected on the ground of its being too absurd to be believed.
And an absurdity, when once established, no matter how mon-
strous or how stultifying to the intellectual or reasoning facul- .
tics, can bid defiance to the efforts of the few men‘of the world
whose minds arc too much expanded and enlightened to accept
such gross absurdities. There are several objections to the
doctrine of 44 special providences,” both of a logical or scien-
tific character, and also upon moral grounds, which shows that
it should have no place in an age of scientific intelligence.

One of these objections is the one just brought to notice, —?
 SPECIAL PBOVIDENCE.

247

«

? I





Jn

!i

II

i

,1

i

ii

that of its extreme absurdity and practical impossibilty. It
does not require a great mind, but only a reflecting one, to see
that no rational conception of the Supreme Being could render
it practicable for one mind, however boundless in knowledge
and infinite in power, to be so divided as to look after the
interest of each individual of a countless number, scattered
over a world of more than a hundred and seventy-five thou-
sand millions of miles in extent. A scientific investigation
of the operations of nature has settled the conviction in every
scientific mind that the life, actions, and destiny of every
human being are under the control of fixed and immutable
laws, which need only to be studied and observed to guard him
effectually from personal accidents, and those physical disasters
to which he often falls a victim through ignorance of the proper
means of avoiding them. It is now patent to all critical ob-
servers that the serious disasters and numerous causes of phys-
ical suffering to which the larger portion of the human family
were so frequently subjected in past ages, have largely dimin-
ished, and are constantly decreasing as the march of science
dispels the ignorance of the people, — such as the sinking of
ships, attributable to imperfect mechanical construction ; pesti-
lential diseases, caused by the general ignorance of the causes
of and means of preventing; the explosion of steam-boilers on
rivers, railroads, &c. And, from the present rates of improve-
ment in these respects, we may reasonably calculate that the
time is not far in the future when such disasters will be un-
known. Then we will have no need of 44 special providence” to
save the people from the fatal consequences of their ignorance.
The conviction seems now to be generally established in the
public mind, that when a boat is wrecked, or a locomotive
strap’s from the track, and a few persons escape with their lives
from the general wreck and ruin, it is to be ascribed to the
interposition of the hand of Providence. But common sense
would suggest, that, if Providence had any thing to do with it,
he should have commenced a little sooner, and put some more
brains or common sense into the heads of the managers of these
cargoes of human-beings, or kept the whiskey out of their
stomachs till they reached their point of destination. In the
 248

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

thousands of cases annually reported of Providence interposing
his aid to save some reckless mariners, or some heedless pas-
sengers on a pleasure-boat, from a watery grave, or rescuing a
few persons from the wreck of a railroad bridge, or some similar
calamity, the disasters might all have been avoided b}T Provi-
dence simpty acting upon the wisdom of the proverb, “An
ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It would be
considered an act of criminal neglect on the part of a father
who could stand by and see his children, from ignorance of the
danger of such a situation, fall from a precipice, and get crip-
pled : for which his diligence in taking care of them, and trying
to heal their bruises, would by no means excuse him, as he
should have commenced sooner, and prevented the accident
from taking place. And nearly all the cases of providential
interposition are liable to the same objection: the assistance is
too long delayed. A collision of two ships recently occurred
on the Atlantic, b}r which both vessels were reduced almost to
wrecks ; but4 4 providentially but few lives were lost,9 9 though most
of the passengers were injured. Now the question naturally
arises, Why did not God, when he perceived the vessels were
approaching each other, interpose his providential care, and
prevent the disaster? He either could not, or would not; and,
in either case, he is not infinite in all his attributes, according
to the general ideas of the matter. If he could not, he is cither
not omnipresent or not infinite in power; and, if he could and
would not, he is not infinite in kindness and benevolence, or he
would have put forth his hand, and saved his children from such
a terrible fate. It is time mankind would learn that God
governs the universe by general laws, fixed and unalterable,
and ever harmonious, and that lie never interferes immediately
or personally in the affairs of men.

That finite human spirits do, in many cases, aid in human
affairs by warning of danger, &c., is fully believed by many
persons. If this be true, their interposition would be liable to
be mistaken for that of the Infinite Spirit. But that any being
can perform millions of finite acts at once, or that God should
suspend the operation of his laws, which control the universe, for
the purpose of attending personally to the wants and prayers of
 SPECIAL PROVIDENCE.

249

each and every individual the world over, —many of the petitions
running counter to, or in direct conflict with, each other, —
is an idea too absurd to find lodgment in any truly enlightened
mind. But we entertain the pleasing thought that men are
beginning to learn that God governs by general laws, and not
b}T personal or special agency. These laws are so perfect in
their operations that no special laws or personal interference is
necessary in any case. A critical investigation of any case of
special providences would satisfy any scientific investigator that
it was governed entirely by natural causes ; but such scrutiniz-
ing investigations are seldom made.

The great mass of pious people in all past ages have been so
ignorant, and so little accustomed to reasoning or observation,

I that they have never observed, that, although many cases are
*J reported of Providence interfering to save the life of a child
who fell from the window of a basement-story, none are re-
(   corded of his saving a child that fell from the fifth story. Why

|   is this ? Does not this fact suggest a scientific lesson ? But

\   the heads of the great mass of the people have been so filled

J with creeds and catechisms that they have no room for science.

' |   It will be time enough to talk about special providences after a

i   case is known of a man escaping with his life after a cannon-

ball has passed through his head, or a bullet through his heart.
The belief in special providences is calculated to paralyze hu-
man effort in times of danger, and thus suffer the consequences
to be more frequently fatal. Let a man believe, while a ship
I is being wrecked in a storm, dashing against rocks and billows,
and her deck overflowed with water, that there is a Providence
in the case, and he will naturally labor with less zeal and effort
I   to save the vessel. If the case is in the hands of God, and it

\   is his good pleasure that they should be lost, it is of but little

use to work the pumps ; and, if it is his will that they should be
saved, they will be saved without much effort on their part.
There can be no doubt but that millions of pious people have
l!   been restrained on various occasions from putting forth their

i |   strongest efforts to arrest a threatening disaster, from the con-

j   viction that the hand of God was in it, and that no human

'   efforts could change the fate he had decreed for them. And
 250

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

thus the doctrine, in its practical consequences, has been per-
nicious. But, in this age of reason and scientific illumination,
men are beginning to learn, that, in cases of threatening dan-
ger and destruction, muscle is more necessary than “Provi-
dence ; ” that, when a ship is sinking in mid-ocean, pumps are
more efficacious than prayers ; and, when a building is on fire,
they can better do without the assistance of Providence than
without water, firemen, and engines.

CHAPTER XLIII.

FAITH AND BELIEF, BIBLE ERRORS RESPECTING.

“ Faith ” and “belief” seem to be among the most important
words in the Christian New Testament. No words are much
more frequently used. They occur in nearly every chapter, and
are used more than two hundred times. The following is a
specimen of the manner in which these words are used : —

c ‘ He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he
that believeth not shall be damned.’’ This text, and the senti-
ment it contains, have caused more misery, cruelty, and more
butchery than all the edicts of an}’ king that ever sat on the
throne of England. Never did a more delusive and fatal error
find lodgment in the human mind than the idea couched in this
text. Terrible have been the denunciations, punishments, and
cruelties poured upon the unbelievers in the popular creed,
though that creed has been one thing one day, and something
else the next. No matter how honest, how upright, how benev-
olent, or how righteous a man proved himself in his practical
life, he was doomed to the dungeon, the fagot, and the halter,
if his creed was not conformable to the orthodox faith then in
power. Men and women have been condemned and punished
for assuming the right to doubt the truth of any doctrine of the
popular creed, — an egregious mistake, showing a profound igno-
rance of the nature of the human mind. All persons versed in
the science of mental philosophy now know that a man has no
more control over his doubts and beliefs than he has over the
 BIBLE ERRORS RESPECTING FAITH AND BELIEF. 251

blood that courses through his veins: for, without evidence, he
can not believe; and, with it, he can not disbelieve, as every
one will find who will examine this matter critically. Conse-
quently it is as unreasonable to condemn a man for his belief
or disbelief, as to condemn him for the color of his hair.
Doubt, so far from being restrained, should be cultivated, as
being the first step toward the attainment of knowledge and
progress ; for a man never makes any advancement or im-
provement in his views on any subject till he begins to doubt
the correctness of his present views, or, at least, doubts their
being perfect, or being incapable of improvement.

Who, then, can not see that to threaten a man for disbelief
is tyranny and injustice, inasmuch as it has a tendency to make
him a slave, and to repress the growth of his mind? Con-
demning a man for disbelief is virtually offering a premium
for hypocrisy, as it has the effect to make thousands profess to
believe doctrines which they do not, and which their consciences
really condemn, in order to avoid the frowns and ill-will of their
neighbors. And, as hypocrisy is a greater evil in its practical
effects upon society than unbelief, it can be seen that the prac-
tice of erecting a standard for belief and disbelief is wrong,
and mischievous in its effects.

The Bible declares that u faith is the gift of God.” It is
evident, that, if this be true, no responsibility can attach to faith
or religious belief; but all responsibility rests with the being
who gives it.

Two great blunders have been committed by faith-dealers:
First, in assuming that belief is of the nature of a coat, which
can be put on and off at pleasure, —i.e., that a man can believe
what he pleases or wishes to believe. The second is, that
knowledge and belief are synonymous terms, which is very far
from being true. Knowledge begins where faith and belief end.
Belief is that uncertain state of the mind which is experienced
in the absence of knowledge; and, when that knowledge is
obtained, the belief may prove to have been entirely erroneous.
Belief implies uncertainty; knowledge implies certainty. There
is this wide difference between them. We believe a thing when
we do not know whether it is so or not; consequently the
 252

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

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belief may be true or false. How egregious, then, the blunder
of the orthodox world in condemning for disbelief! Belief,
then, is a state of guessing. We will illustrate the position
of orthodox Christendom: A bo}" throws up a copper coin, and
cries, “ Heads, or tails ?” A by-stander, believing from its
construction that “ heads ” will come up, cries out, “ Heads !”
Now, according to the logic of the orthodox, if he guesses
wrong, he should be damned eternally for it.

When you sa}- to a man, “You shall believe this, or you
shall believe that,” you bind his soul in chains, and reverse
the wheels of his progress, and push him toward the “ dark
ages.”

The fear that it would be a sin to doubt, causes religious
ignorance; and a man will never abandon his religious errors
and superstitions while he fears to doubt their truth. A man’s
belief and creed grow shorter as his knowledge increases.
And the time is not far distant when philosophers and men of
science will have no religious belief: all will be knowledge.

It can be seen from the above exposition, that it is folly and
consummate ignorance to attach so much importance to re-
ligious belief, inasmuch as it is impossible to know whether it
is right or wrong.

As the doctrine that belief is a virtue, and unbelief a crime
has inundated the world with persecution, misery, and blood,
it is time to abandon it.

Those Christians who assume that belief is under the control
of the will can settle the matter bjT trying the following experi-
ment upon themselves: Let them try to believe, for only five
minutes, that Mahomet was a true prophet, and Jesus Christ
w’as an impostor. If the}r can do this, it wfill settle the ques-
tion, and prove that man is responsible for his belief: other-
wise he is not.

Some persons adhere to the Bible upon the plea that “it is
safest to believe it, and unsafe to disbelieve it.” But lie who
can believe an error or absurdity, or, rather, profess to believe
it because he is afraid to disbelieve it, has not a soul big
enough to be saved, and will be certain to miss it; or, if he
could be saved, no man of sense would want to live in a heaven
 A PERSONAL GOD IMPOSSIBLE.

253

made up of such moral cowards and moral dwarfs. And, be-
sides, the only way to make a safe thing of being saved on this
ground, is to swallow all the two thousand systems of religion
in the world, — six hundred Christian creeds, and fourteen
hundred heathen traditions ; and, to do this, a person must have
a very capacious stomach.

CHAPTER XLIY.

A PEESONAL GOD IMPOSSIBLE.

l | Most of the Bibles, and nearly all the religious teachers of
f the world, have represented God as being a personal being, and,
l at the same time, an infinite spirit. But that is another of the
“thousand and one” absurdities that have been taught and

IK believed in the name of religion. A personal being must, in
all cases, be an organized being. This is so self-evident as to
need no argument; and that an organized being can not be
fc an infinite being is almost equally self-evident. An organized

[being must be a finite being. The word 44 finite ” is used to ex-
“ press the opposite of “infinite.” To assume, therefore, that a
finite being, or a being with a finite body, can also be infinite,
is equivalent to assuming that a thing can be white and black,
large and small, long and short, light and heavy, &c., at the
same time ; which is a self-evident absurdity. A personal being
must be constituted of different parts, or members, — as a head,
heart, bod}r, feet, &c.; and, if such a being could be infinite,
then each member must be infinite. But as it is self-evident that
a being to be infinite must fill all space, and that nothing can
be infinite unless it does occupy all space, it can be seen at
once, that, if one member were infinite, it would occupy all
space, which would preclude the possibility of another member
being infinite. Thus we are completely swamped at the first
I step toward making a personal God infinite. Here let it be
noted that the God of the Bible is represented as possessing
all the members of the human body,—eyes (1 Pet. iii. 12),

l(
 254

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

ears (Ibid.), nose (Isa. 65, 5), mouth (Isa. xlv. 23), feet
(Rev. i. 15), arms (Isa. xxx. 30), hands (Exod. xiii. 3), fingers
(Exod. viii. 19), head (Dan. vii. 9), heart (Isa. lxiii. 4),
lips (Ps. xvii. 4), &c. Now, it is evidently impossible that
such a being could be infinite. We may be told that these
members are all to be taken in a spiritual sense. Granted, and
the thing is equally impossible ; for they must still be separate
members. There could be no possible sense in appljfing all
these terms to the whole being. They must apply to separate
parts ; and, the moment we use terms which imply the existence
of more than one part, we concede the impossibility of such a
God being infinite : for only one part, one being, or one thing
can be infinite. There can not be two infinite beings, — self-
evidently not.

And there are other logical difficulties in the way of admitting
the existence of an infinite personal God. If there could be
such a thing as an infinite personality or organized being, it is
evident that only one such being could exist. What, then,
becomes of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and also the
Devil ? They are all spoken of in the Bible as being omnipres-
ent. Hence they must all be infinite, which is another self-
evident impossibilit}^. We could as easily conceive of two
heads wearing the same hat at the same time, as two such
beings being infinite. If one of them is infinite, the others can
not be; and yet each is represented as being omnipresent,
which would make them infinite. And thus we fail in every
attempt to make a personal God infinite. David, in speaking
of the God Jehovah, says, u If I descend into hell, behold thou
art there.” Then lie would not find the Devil there; for two
infinite beings could not be found there. And, if God’s dwell-
ing-place is in hell as well as in heaven, it can make but little
difference which of the two places we go to, as we are told our
happiness will consist in being in his presence.

The defenders of a personal God sometimes have recourse
to an illustrative argument. They tell us that the sun is a local,
circumscribed body, and yet shines to a boundless extent. It is
here assumed that the rays of the sun are a part of the sun ; but
this is not true. The}' once constituted a part of the sun, it
 NATURAL AND MORAL EVIL EXPLAINED.

255

is true; but to assume that they are still a part of the sun,
after the}7 have left it, is as absurd as to assume that the breath
is still a part of the human body after it has escaped from the
mouth. Thus every argument and every illustration fail to es-
tablish the self-evident absurdity of a personal God of the or-
thodox world being an infinite being; or, in other words, of
their conception of a God conforming to the teachings of science
and good sense.

Those who assume the existence of a personal God must hold
him accountable for all the crime and all the misery existing in
, the world. For such a God could not be controlled or circum-
i scribed in his actions by any arbitrary laws; and hence could
1 and should, by personal interference, put a stop to all the
| crime, misery, suffering, and wrong of every description exist-
1 ing on earth ; and the fact that he does not do it we hold to be
prima-facie evidence that there is no personal God, but that
every thing is governed by fixed, immutable laws, which control
God himself, and which no God can alter.

INote.—We have shown in the twelve preceding chapters that all the leading doc-
trines of Christianity are wrong,—from that of a belief in divine revelation to that of
the conception of a personal G-od. Hence a better religion is needed for this age.

I   CHAPTER XLV.

EVIL, NATURAL AND MORAL, EXPLAINED.

The problem of the origin of evil has been the great theo-
! logical puzzle to all theologians and with all religious systems,
j and has turned the heads of more good people, and sent more
?J devout Christians to the lunatic asylum, than any other theo-
| logical question, excepting that of endless punishment; and
yet modern science, which furnishes the principles for solving
all the u holy mysteries” and miracles embodied in the reli-
gious creeds and Bibles of the past ages, shows the question to
j be quite simple and easily understood. The true signification
] of the word evil, in a moral sense, can be expressed in a few
j words. It is only another name for imperfection or negation.

J

i

i
 256

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

It is the negative pole of the great moral battery; and with-
out it the battery could not be run. And without it there
could be no moralit}7, no moral principle or accountability, while
man exists upon the present animal plane. In fact, morality
without evil would be an unmeaning word. Evil is a state of
imperfection running through every vein of nature, from the
igneous rock to the brain of man. Some writers attempt to
discriminate between natural and moral evil; but there is no
dividing line. Moral evil is as natural as any phenomenon in
nature, and is, strictly speaking, the phenomenal action of the
brain. Moral evil is governed as rigidly by natural laws as
physical evil; because (as science demonstrates) it has its basis
in man’s moral nature. And, practically speaking, there will
be neither natural nor moral evil when nature (now in a crude
state) grows to a state of maturity. Evil or imperfection,
which now characterizes every thing, diminishes in its ratio to
goodness or perfection as we ascend from inanimate matter to
man,—the crowning work of nature. The theological world
assumes that man alone bears the impress of imperfection, and
that his imperfection is restricted principally to his moral
action. “ Man alone is imperfect: all else bears the mark
of divine perfection.” So says Archbishop TVhately. But the
converse assumption is nearer true: Man is the crowning work
of nature, and his moral attributes constitute the keystone of
the arch. He is occasionally erratic, and often wicked, but not
universally and continually so, like some of the lower animal
tribes. The hyena will murder at all times when opportunity
offers ; but man only occasionally, and when driven to it b}T the
pressure of circumstances. All monkeys are thieves ; but only
a small portion of the genus homo are such. Man derives all
liis propensity to evil and wickedness from the lower animals.
Ilis propensity to rob is exhibited in the eagle; his inclination
to steal, in the monkey ; his disposition to murder, in the hyena,
alligator, rattlesnake, &c. ; his disposition to enslave, in the red
ant, which makes a slave of the black ant, as has often been
observed by naturalists. Such was the wickedness among the
lower animals in their earlier stage of development, that, by
theft, robbery, and murder, they effected the entire extinction
 NATURAL AND MORAL EVIL EXPLAINED. 257

of many species of animals. And if we descend still lower, and
learn the practical history of the mineral kingdom, we shall find
that its operations are marked by a still more ruinous and de-
structive form of evil. The hideous and devouring earthquake ;
the heaving and overflowing volcano, burying whole cities beneath
its deep and merciless waves of running fire; the roaring and
furious tornado, destroying hundreds of dwellings, and dooming
the inmates to a terrible death; and the swift-sped lightning,
which, with no note of warning, strikes down hundreds of peo-
ple every year, — all these violent operations of nature are the
manifestation of evil, and a proof that imperfection exists
ever}~where. And man is the last and least manifestation of
this multifarious destructive outburst of nature; and he will
never outgrow it, and escape its operation entirely, till all
nature arrives at manhood. While nature is imperfect, man
will be imperfect; for he is a child of nature, and all things
move forward in correlated order. He can, however (and it is
a necessity of his nature that he should), battle with opposing
forces, and modify the circumstances around him. His nature
impels him to this as naturally as it urges him to eat food when
hungry; but, as at present constituted and situated, it will be
the work of time to rid the earth of moral evil. The only way
to accomplish the extinction of evil is to labor for the elevation
of the whole race. We are only rowing against the current in
attempting to put down evil with our present system of moral
ethics, which treats the criminal as a wicked being instead of
an unfortunate, sin-sick brother. He should be sent to a moral
hospital instead of to the gallows, the jail, and the dungeon.
He should be treated as an unfortunate brother, rather than as
a being to be spurned from society as a viper. He should be
treated kindly, not cruelly; fed, and not starved. His moral
nature should be warmed by affection, and not congealed by
frowns. His instinctive respect for virtue should be developed
by a sound moral education, and not crushed by pursuing him
with a malignant spirit. Moral evils must be treated as the
fruits of the imperfections of our nature, and not as the product
of sin-punishing devils, who first originate and stimulate crimes,
and then join with God in punishing the criminal with fiendish
 258

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

cruelty; thus applying a remedy which is a thousand times worse
than the disease.

The science of phrenology explains most beautifully the cause
and nature of sin or crime, and demonstrates that it is simply
the perverted or unbalanced action of the natural faculties of the
mind. Combativeness, when excessively developed or unduly
excited, prompts to quarrels and fighting ; destructiveness,
under similar circumstances, leads to war and bloodshed;
amativeness, when not properly restrained, leads to the various
forms of licentiousness; over-active acquisitiveness is the
main-spring in most cases of theft and robbery, and all crimes
committed for the acquisition of property or money. And other
crimes are prompted by the over-active condition of these and
other mental faculties unrestrained by the moral faculties.
Every act and every species of crime are in this way most satis-
factorily accounted for by this now generally received and
thoroughly established science of mental philosophy ; so that
“ the mystery of godliness/’ comprehended in the word sin,
which for ages perplexed the student of theology, is now unrav-
eled and understood by the scientific men of the age, and
known to have a natural basis and natural origin. And this
all-important discovery has driven the old orthodox Devil from
the arena of human action. He no longer walks uto and fro in
the earth, seeking whom he may devour.” He is dead —
dead,—killed by the sledge-hammer of science. And yet the
fifty thousand clergymen who still “ defend the faith once deliv-
ered to the saints ” are (many of them) so far behind the march
of human progress that the news of the mortal exit of his Sa-
tanic Majesty seems not yet to have reached them; or, if it
has, it is because they are unwilling to lose the services of a
long-cherished and highly valued friend that they refuse to
credit the report of his demise. Take away their Devil, and
their whole theological scaffolding falls to the ground. Revivals
could no more be carried on without his aid, than a watch could
be kept running without a main-spring. And with the de-
parture of the Devil must go “ salvation by Christ,” as there is
then nothing, in a theological sense, to be saved from. It is
an important fact, of which the clergy seem to be ignorant, that
 NATURAL AND MORAL EVIL EXPLAINED. 259

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the march of science has exploded all their old theological dog-
mas. Phrenology has banished the Devil; physiology explains
the modus operandi of repentance ; psychology, the process of
u getting religion ;” philosophy analyzes their Bible miracles ;
geology has expanded their six da}^s of creation into six thousand
years; astronomy has displaced Moses’ theory of creation,
and demolished St. John’s little eight-by-ten heaven. (See
Rev. chap. 21.) And yet the orthodox clergy refuse to shorten
their creeds by leaving out these old, exploded dogmas. Like
moles, they continue rooting and digging away among their
must}T creeds, dogmas, and catechisms, seemingly unconscious
that the sun of science is now shining with dazzling brilliancy in
the moral heavens. Some of them manifest a tenacity in hold-
ing on to musty and antiquated dogmas equal to that of the but-
cher’s dog in the army which seized a slaughtered ox by the
caudal appendange, with the intention of monopolizing the meat,
and held on with a u manly grip ” till limb after limb had been
torn off, and piece after piece had been cut away from the body
by the hungry soldiers, and nothing was left but the tail and
the backbone ; and then his canine majesty growled at passers-
by, as much as to say, u I am master of the situation.” The
fossilized clergy are “ masters of the situation,” while the old
orthodox carcass is now minus every part but the tail and naked
backbone, to which they cling with a deathly grasp worthy of a
better cause. They remind us of the hotel-keeper in Vermont,
who, in answer to the interrogatories of some travelers, stated
that he did not keep any kind of food for either men or horses.
“TThat in the name of God, then, do you keep?” inquired
one of the hungry guests. He replied, “I keep Union Hotel.”
The stand-still clergy still keep the old theological hotel minus
any' spiritual food, or supplied only with old salt junk handed
down from the camp of Moses or Father Abraham.

A word more with respect to the origin of evil: Is it not
strange that Christians should den}T their God to be the author
of evil, when it is expressly so declared in their Bible? UI
make peace, and I create evil. I Jehovah do all these things.”

Here is the positive declaration that God is the author of evil;
and, if it were not thus unequivocally taught, we could prove
 260

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

that the Bible teaches this doctrine indirectly by various texts.
If u God made every thing that was made,” then he either
made evil or the author of evil, whether that was a devil or a
serpent or a fallen angel; and this is substantially the same
thing as originating evil, —to originate the author of evil. We
challenge refutation of the proposition. But a philosophical
analysis of the question will show there is no such thing as evil
in either the abstract or absolute sense. Good and evil are but
relative terms, like heat and cold, light and darkness, &c.
There is no distinct line of demarkation between any of these
correlative terms. It is impossible to tell where one ends, and
the other begins. And then there is no act but that may
become either right or wrong under different circumstances.
The Bible says, “ Thou shalt not kill.” But the man who
should see an assassin pointing a pistol to the head of his wife,
or a dagger to her breast, and refrain from killing him as the
only means of saving her life, would be virtually* himself a mur-
derer. u Thou shalt not steal ” (Exod. xx.) ; and yet stealing
would become a moral right, as well as a physical necessity, to
avoid starvation. And so of all other acts called crime and
sin : they may become absolute virtues. How foolish, there-
fore, to erect inflexible standards for human action or conduct!
And then it should be noted that what is regarded as sin in one
age or country ma}T be imposed as a moral or religious duty in
another. It is a sin to disbelieve the Koran in Arabia, and a
sin to believe it in America. It is a sinful act to disbelieve the
Christian Bible in this country, and a moral and religious duty
in Japan. It is blasphenty and atheism to disbelieve in Jehovah
and Jesus Christ in this countiy, but a still greater blasphemy
and sin to believe in them in Arabia. And thus all human
actions are modified bjr the circumstances under which, and the
locality in which, they are committed.
 TRUE SALVATION.

261

CHAPTER XLVI.

TEUE SALVATION, OE THE EATIONAL VIEW OE SIN.

We will now attempt to show what reason, science, and
God’s eternal Bible teach as the nature of sin and its conse-
quences. The orthodox world represents sin to be a personal
affront against a personal God. But we take a broader, and,
we think, a more rational view of the matter. We believe that
no act of ours, whether good or bad, can possibly affect an infi-
nite, omnipresent, and impersonal Deity in any way whatever.
Nothing we can do can either offend or gratify such a being.
He is infinitely too far removed from our little narrow sphere
of action. But every thing we do can and does affect ourselves,
and generally our friends and all connected with us. Every
wrong act we perform inflicts an injury upon our moral con-
sciousness, and a wound upon our sense of right, and inflicts a
lasting injury upon our moral dignity, if it does not create
a painful sense of wrong. And, when once committed, no re-
pentance, no forgiveness, no prayer, no atonement, no. pardon,
can do any thing toward arresting the baneful effects, or toward
healing the wound it has inflicted upon our moral consciousness,
or the injury it has inflicted upon others. Hence we never ask
for forgiveness, nor rely upon any atonement by men, animals,
or Gods to cancel the effects, or mitigate the wrong, or alleviate
the injury in the case. When you put your finger into fire, and
burn it, you violate one of God’s laws written upon your own
constitution,—the law of self-preservation; and it inflicts a
wound which the longest and loudest prayer ever uttered can
do nothing towards healing. The effect will remain until healed
by the working of nature’s inherent laws. A similar effect is
produced by every wrong act you inflict upon yourself'or your
fellow-beings. It inflicts a wound which is beyond the reach of
 262

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

prayer, pardon, repentance, or forgiveness. It must work its
natural cure, as in the case of ply’sical injury. All bodily |
suffering comes through the mind, and hence affects the mind
as well as the bod}T; and every moral wrong we commit in-
flicts punishment or suffering upon the moral feelings. Hence
it will be seen that sin does not have to wait for God to point
out the penalty or punishment, but contains its own punish- |
ment, which no power in heaven or earth can arrest, avert,
or set aside. This is evidently the only true doctrine respecting
the punishment for sin; and it is the only doctrine that can
stop the commission of crime, and the only doctrine that
can ever reform the world; for, while the people are taught
that sin can be atoned for by anjr power in heaven or earth, they
will the more easily yield to the temptations to commit sin. <
They will feel that this doctrine is a kind of license for sin: at
least it weakens the motive for abstaining from sin. For if a j
man may lead a life of crime, sin, wickedness, and debauchee, i
destitute of all moral principle, for ninety-nine }’ears, as ortho- '
doxy teaches, and then have the effect entirety canceled, and I
the sin entirety erased from his soul, by one short hour of prayer
and repentance and forgiveness, and by acknowledging his faith
in the atoning blood of Christ, and then stand before God
without a moral blot upon his soul, all purified and read}’ to
join the pure in heart — the white-robed angels who lived a life
of self-denial and purity—in shouting gloiy to God, where 1
is the motive for leading a virtuous life? It is entirety too weak 1
to restrain from the commission of crime while the temptation
is as strong as we usualty find it in all countries, especially as
there is apparentty a large premium offered to sinners. Christ
says, “There is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repent-
eth than over ninety and nine just persons who need no re-
pentance” (Luke xv. 7). No wonder that sin abounds in all
Christian countries; and it alwaj’s will abound while people are
taught such pernicious doctrines. Therefore we hold the doc-
trines of repentance, atonement, forgiveness, &c., to be all
wrong. They are subversive of the first principles of moral
justice, and pernicious in their effects upon society. Let the
wrong-doer, instead of being taught these pernicious doctrines,
 TBTJE SALVATION.

263

be instructed in the true system of salvation, which will teach
him there is no possibility of evading or escaping the punitive
effects of wrong-doing; that every wrong act he commits will
inevitably drive the iron into his soul, — the two-edged sword
of moral conviction ; and that the blood of no goats or no Gods
can do any thing toward washing away the sin, or mitigating the
punishment. And let him be rescued also from the pernicious
error of the churches, that u sin is a sweet morsel to be rolled
under the tongue,” or that 66 there is a pleasure in the commis-
sion of sin.” We hold no such views ; we believe in no such
doctrines. We do not believe there is any real pleasure in the
commission of a moral wrong of any kind. We believe that only
a life of virtue is productive of real happiness. Let the wrong-
doer be taught this moral lesson ; and let him be also taught that
every humane and virtuous act of this life will expand his soul,
and elevate him to a higher plane of happiness, and bring him
one step nearer the door of the heavenly kingdom. Let the
world of mankind all be taught these beautiful and soul-elevating
doctrines, which many mow know by experience to be golden
truths; and we will soon witness a great moral revolution and
renovation in society by the propagation of these doctrines. We
shall soon see the proof that our system of faith, embracing these
beautiful, philosophical, and elevating doctrines, is much better
calculated to moralize and reform the world than the morally
weak and unjust doctrines of repentance, atonement, and par-
don now daily preached from the Christian pulpits. Many cases
could be cited to show that they do have a pernicious influence.
I will adduce one example : When that Christian emperor, Con-
stantine, had murdered his wife, son, nephew, and several other
relatives, he raised his hands toward heaven, and exclaimed,
u The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.” Here is an ex-
ample of the pernicious and demoralizing effect of the Christian
doctrines of atonement and forgiveness. We repeat, then, that
such doctrines are demoralizing, as they must operate to retard
the progress of truth and true religion, and the moral reforma-
tion of the world. People should be taught that it is as impossi-
ble to escape the penalty for sin or wrong-doing as it is to escape
the darts of death; and that any act of forgiveness or atonement
 2G4

TTIE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

by some other being is only calculated to aggravate the wrong,
and augment the sin, and open the door for a future commission
of the act. All should understand that there is no one to par-
don sins, and no savior but themselves. u The new religion,”
as it is sometimes called, — though it is the oldest religion in the
world, being founded in the moral and religious nature of man,
and an outgrowth of lii3 moral, religious, and spiritual ele-
ments,— this religion, which is the religion of all the truly
enlightened and scientific minds of the age, teaches that every
person must be his own savior; that every man and woman
must work out their own salvation, not with fear and trembling,
however, but with joy and rejoicing. Hence we ask no bleed-
ing saviors, no atonements, no acquittals by pardon or forgive-
ness. We offer no such bribery for crime or sin,—no such
allurements and inducements for leading a life of vice; for
many can testif}', from their own experience, that they were more
casity tempted from the path of virtue when they believed in these
old heathenish, morally deformed, and morally dwarfing doc-
trines. On the other hand, they have felt much more strongly
wedded to a life of virtue, and more powerfully restrained from
wrong-doing since they abandoned these pernicious doctrines,
and embraced the healthful, beautiful, and elevating doctrines
of the u Ilarmonial Philosophy.” This system teaches we have
to suffer the penalty in full for every wrong act we commit; that
we can not escape in any case by either repentance, atonement,
or pardon ; that we can not swim off to heaven through the
blood of a murdered or crucified God, and leave our sins behind
unpunished, or pack them on the back of a savior as the Jews
did theirs on the back of a goat. It teaches us that the penalty
is as certain as the commission of the crime ; because one is the
cause, and the other the effect. Hence we could as easily replace
a lost arm, torn off in the field of battle, by prayer, or stop the
descending lightning from splintering yonder tree into a
thousand fragments, as to avert or set aside the penalty for
crime by 4c supplicating the throne of grace.” We hold that
every wrong act we commit, if it does not destroy our happiness
at the time, and operate as a barbed arrow sticking in the soul,
will at least weaken our capacity for happiness in the future,
 TRUE SALVATION.

205

weaken onr moral strength and resolution to abstain from
crime, weaken our natural detestation of crime, and weaken our
moral ability to resist the temptation to commit the same and
other crimes in the future, and finally destroy our moral manhood
and true dignity. Now, here is a series of powerful motives for
eschewing evil, and leading a life of virtue, which will operate
to arrest that river of crime and iniquity now flowing through
all Christian countries as soon as the people are taught these
rational and beautiful doctrines in lieu of those weak and foolish
incentives to virtue which arc taught them from the Christian
pulpit. They possess a much greater moral force than the fear
of angry Gods and horned Devils. Header ponder these maxims.

The True Theory of Reform.—It requires but a few words
to show what kind of moral teaching is required to reform the
world. As happiness is the predominant desire and inalienable
right of every human being, all aim to pursue that course best
I calculated to attain it; but, as men arc now organized and cir-
| cumstanced, they often pursue a course of life which infringes
| upon and destroys the happiness of others: and some of them
^ commit acts known as crimes, which are simply trespasses upon
] the rights, peace, and happiness of their neighbors. If, in thus
pursuing happiness, they must destroy the happiness of others,
1 then it follows that the happiness of others is incompatible with
their own. If so, then God has made a serious blunder in
j making one man’s happiness depend upon destrojlng the hap-
4 pincss of others; and, as their happiness would depend equally
upon destroying his, the happiness of all would thus be de-
ll stroj’ed. Hence the theor}" won’t work. It follows, then, that
men lead a life of crime calculated to destroy the happiness

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I of others, because they are ignorant of the fact that they can
pursue a course of life that will secure their own happiness
without destroying that of others. All that is necessary to
reform them, therefore, is to convince them of this fact. This
is the true theory, and the whole theory, of reform. And when
H people become acquainted with the modern discovery in moral
$ philosoph}”, which teaches us that we can not attain to complete
] happiness without consulting the happiness of others in every
j act which affects them, there will be a double motive for leading
 266

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

a virtuous and honorable life. Even Christian professors will
profit by it when they find that the grasping avarice which
prompts them to try to monopolize wealth, and thus withhold
the means of comfort and happiness from their neighbors, is i
not the way to attain real happiness for themselves. When the '
glorious era arrives that men will daily look after the happiness i
of others as well as their own, then we shall have a true reli- !
gion, and a true state of society, and a happy world.   (

CHAPTER XLVII.

THE BIBLE SANCTIONS EVERY SPECIES OF CRIME.

“ Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt. •
v. 48). All Christian professors admit that this perfection is to i
be attained by following his practical example, and that the way |
to become acquainted with this practical example is to read
the Bible. Let us see, then, where a practical compliance with
this precept, as thus understood, will lead us. If the God of
the Bible is to be accepted as our “heavenly Father/’ then a
compliance with this precept will leave no crime uncommitted, !l
and no sin not perpetrated ; for he is represented as either
committing or sanctioning every species of crime, wickedness,
and immoralit}" known to society in the age in which the Bible
w’as written. That the truth of this statement may not be
called in question, we will proceed to bring forward evidence to
prove it.

I.   The Bible sanctions Murder.   :

We find a scriptural warrant for the highest crime known to
the law,—that of murder. God is represented as saying to
his hol}r people, “ Go ye out and slay every man his brother,
every man his companion, and every man his neighbor” (Exod.
xxxii. 27). And, relative to the dissenter from the faith, lie
is represented as saying, “Ye shall stone him with stones that
he die.” Now, if such texts arc not calculated to foster the
spirit of murder, and to extinguish the natural repugnance to
cruelty and bloodshed in the human mind, we can conceive
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS MUBDER.

267

of no language that would have such an effect, especially when
it is taken in connection with Christ’s injunction, 66 He that hath
not a sword, let him sell his coat, and buy one.”

And the practical lives of Christian professors, from the
. earliest establishment of the Church, furnishes proof of the
, demoralizing influence of such texts as these upon the readers
of the Bible. These injunctions to murder and slaughter have
been faithfully obeyed; and the effect has been to submerge
Christendom in a sea of blood. Look, for proof, at the war
among the churches for many years about the doctrine of the
Eucharist, which resulted in the destruction of three hundred
thousand lives ; the fight about images, in which fifty thousand
men, women, and children were murdered; the war of a dozen
| churches against the sect of the Manicheans in the ninth cen-
tury (A.D. 845) about some trivial doctrine of the Christian
s creed, and which left on the battle-field no less than a hundred
^ thousand murdered human beings; the Church schism, in the
time of John Huss and Jerome of Prague, followed by the war
*1 of the Hussites, which resulted in a bloody slaughter of a hun-
dred and fifty thousand fellow-Christians; the war known as
uThe Holy Inquisition,” established in the year 1208, made a
^ record in its history of human butchery of two hundred thou-
)4 sand Christian professors, who had to atone in blood for assum-
9 ing the liberty to differ from the popular creed; and, finally,
|j the Thirty Years’ war which strewed the earth with bloody
‘ corpses to the frightful number of five millions of human be-
i ings. The whole makes a sum total of eighteen millions, a
I large portion of which were Christian professors, — all the work

I   of Christian hands and Christian churches, professed followers
i of the u Prince of peace.” But, if the text quoted above
j means any thing (requiring his followers to buy swords), he
, appears also to have been the Prince of war. All the bloody

tragedies cited above, which form but a small number of the
cases which indelibly stain the records of the Christian Church,

, show how faithfully Christian professors have lived out the
j demoralizing injunctions of their Bible, and prove that the
\ Book has been a powerful lever for evil as well as for good.
j| Even the shocking cruelties displayed in the execution of these

II

4
 268   THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

bloody tragedies finds a warrant in the Bible. In their efforts
to carry out the Bible injunction to exterminate heretics, no
species of cruelty was left untried as a punishment for the 1
honest dissenter from the faith. The sword of the Church was
unsheathed, and plunged with a fierce and relentless ferocity !
into the bosoms and bowels of their neighbors and fellow- !
Christian professors, whose only offense was that of believing 1
and worshiping God according to the dictates of their con-
sciences. With a burning hatred for heretics, stimulated by
reading the Bible injunction to put them to death in a cruel
manner, they leaped upon them with the ferocity of tigers, and
tortured them to death with every species of cruelty their in-
genuity could invent. They tied them to the whipping-post, or
chained them to the fiery fagot; lacerated their bodies ; cut
their tongues from their mouths; tore their flesh from their
bones with iron hooks, tongs, and pincers; cut off their lips,
and tore out their tongues, so that their piercing cries and
heart-rending agonies could convey no intelligible sound; tore
their nails from their fingers, and thrust needles into the bleed-
ing wounds; melted red-hot metal, and poured it down their
throats; plucked out their eyes, and threw them to beasts;
and, in some cases, their bodies were stretched upon the rack,
and flayed alive, or torn limb from limb. But I forbear: the
picture is too shocking. Oh that the waves of oblivion could
roll over and cover such deeds of cruelty for ever! I rejoice
that the age for such atrocities is passed, and, I trust, can
never return. I hope the churches will never again hold the
reins of government, and shape all the laws of the country.
The reason we do not witness,, such horrible scenes now is, that
man}r church-members have’outgrown their Bible ; and, if there
are any who have not, they are restrained by laws enacted by
liberal minds of too \nuch good feeling and good sense to permit
the churches to thus cruelly persecute each other, or those who
conscientiously differ from them. I have stated that the shock- i,
ing cruelties and barbarities practiced by Christians upon each j
other in past ages, find a warrant in the Bible. The act of
David, “ the man after God’s own heart,” in placing the children ,
of Ammon under saws and harrows of iron, is scarcely equaled

•   i

\
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS MUBDER.

2G9

in atrocity by any act recorded in the history of the Fiji can-
nibals. It is revolting to every impulse of benevolence, every
feeling of humanity, and all ideas of mercy or justice. And his
wicked prayer, contained in the one hundred and ninth Psalm,
breathes forth the same spirit. It is a series of fiendish impre-
cations poured out upon the heads of those who differed from
his creed, and worshiped a different God. We will quote some
of his language : u Set thou a wicked man over him. Let there
be none to extend mercy unto him ; let his children be father-
less, and his wife a widow ; let his children be continually vaga-
bonds, and beg; let his posterity be cut off, and their name
blotted out; let the extortioner get all that he hath; let his
prayer become sin ; let the stranger spoil his land; let not the
sin of his mother be blotted out.55

Here is a series of most malignant imprecations issuing from
a mind rankling and burning with a feeling of implacable re-
venge, which is shocking to contemplate. It is murderous in
its intent, and demoralizing in its effect upon those who accept
it as being in accordance with the will of God. No person can
contemplate the cruelties practiced by this “man of God55
upon his unoffending neighbors, or read his vengeful prayer,
and accept it as emanating from “ the man after God’s own
heart,55 without having his moral strength and resolution weak-
ened, his moral standard lowered, and his ideas of the moral
perfection of Deity degraded. And it was by deriving their
conceptions of God from such a source that the Christian world
has come to entertain such low, belittling, and dishonorable
viewrs of u the Suprehie Ruler of the universe,55 as is shown in
their preaching and their writings ; and it furnishes their chil-
dren with a low and imperfect standard of morality. And this
must always be the condition of things while the Bible, with its
numerous bad examples and bad morality, is accepted as a guide
by those teachers and preachers wrho mold the moral sentiments
of the people. It will be observed, that “ the man after God’s
own heart5 5 invokes the divine vengeance upon innocent chil-
dren, and prays that the}’ may beg and starve, merely because
their father was not a worshiper of the savage Jewish Jehovah;
which exhibits a mind devoid of all idea of justice or humanity.
 270

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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

And this is a part of the religion of the Christian’s u Holy
Bible,” claimed as the product of divine inspiration. Now,
who can not see that such a religion as this is calculated to en-
gender bad feelings, bad ideas, and bad morals, and to repress
the lofty moral emotions of the human mind ?

II.   The Bible sanctions Theft or Robbery.

Robbery, practiced under the false pretense of borrowing, is
another crime claiming the sanction of God’s “ Holy Word” and
that “ Holy Being ” whose morality we are taught to imitate by
the injunction, “ Be ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is
perfect.” We are told (in Exod. xii.) that the Jews, or He-
brews, when leaving Egypt, robbed or stole from the inhabitants
to such an extent, that “ they spoiled the Egyptians,” which
leads to the conclusion that the robbery must have been very
extensive: and for this merciless, wholesale robbery, they
claimed the sanction of a just and righteous God ; for we are
told he sanctioned or commanded the act. And this is a part
of the code of morals u the Evangelical Christian Union”
would have us incorporate into the Constitution of the United
States ; but it is evident, from the facts already presented, that
such an act would be a step towards barbarism.

III.   The Bible sanctions War.

Another immoral feature of the Christian Bible, and one
which proves it to be a relic or record of barbarism, and a very
unsuitable book to “constitute the fountain of our laws, and
the supreme rule of our conduct” (as recommended and urged
by the Evangelical Christian Union), is found in its frequent
sanction of human butchery; and a just and righteous God is
represented as leaving his throne “ in the heavens” to come
down to take a part in their savage and bloody battles with
different nations about their religious creeds. He is represented
as standing in the front ranks during every battle fought by his
“holy people.” And, by long experience on the field of human
butchery, he came to receive the military title of “ God of War,”
“ A Man of War,” “ The Lord of Hosts,” &c. ; and his success
in destroying human beings won for him the reputation of a great
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS WAR.

271

and skillful general, and placed him above other Gods in valor
in his own estimation. He is represented as becoming so
excited with anger, so blood-thirsty and revengeful in spirit,
that he commanded his holy people to strike down every living
creature with the sword, whether men or animals. The word
of command was 4 4 to spare nothing; ” 44 save nothing alive
that breathes.” He is even represented as commanding the
slaughter of innocent babes. The order was, so says Samuel
(1 Sam. xv. 3), 44 Spare them not, but slay both men and
women, infants and sucklings.” Now, of all the blood-dyed
mandates that ever issued from human lips, or was heard on the
plains of human butchery, none ever excelled it in cruelty and
malignant barbarity, claimed as coming from the mouth of a
s God of infinite justice and infinite benevolence. Think of the
J murder, in cold blood, of thousands of little innocent, prattling
i babies, who never lisped an evil word, or conceived an evil
thought, in their lives! and this by command of the loving
1 Father of the human family! Who believes it? Who can
believe it? Ay, who dare believe it, if he would escape the
ij charge of blasphemy? Neither Nero nor Caligula was ever
} guilty of any thing so ruthless, so fiendish, so cruel, and so
* vindictive. And this is the God the Evangelical Union tell us
the Constitution of the United States should recognize as the
| Supreme Ruler of nations. This is the Bible which they tell us
i should become 44 the fountain of our laws, and the suprerhe
{ rule of our conduct.” This is the religion which they are
trying to revive and fasten upon us in this enlightened nine-
'll teenth century. This is the religion we are required to believe

Icame from a God of infinite justice, infinite mercy, and loving
kindness, or be denounced as infidels, and be eternally damned.
But could a person be more damned than to believe in such a
religion? Now, those who have studied the philosophy and
impressibility of the human mind know that no extortion or
contortion of the language of the text, no symbolical or spirit-
ual construction that can be forced upon it, can prevent the
reading and believing a book from producing pernicious effects,

! which represents such barbarous deeds as having the divine
s sanction. Nothing can prevent it from exercising a demoral-
 272

TUE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

izing influence upon a Christian community. The sooner, there-
fore, it can cease to be placed in the hands of the heathen and
the young people of Christian lands, and cease to constitute the
basis of our religion, the better for the progress of true morality,
and a virtuous system of religion.

IV.   The Bible sanctions the Evil of Intemperance.

There arc a number of texts in the Bible, which, if human
language can mean any thing, most unquestionabty furnish a
warrant for drunkenness, whatever might have been the intention
of the writer; and that they have had the effect to sustain
and promote this evil, the practical history of Christian coun-
tries furnish proof that can not be gainsaid. That teacher
of Bible morality — that wise man who is said to have received
his wisdom direct^ from God, and must consequent^ be con-
sidered good authority—is represented as saying, u Give to him
that is athirst, and wine to those of heavy heart. Let him drink,
and forget his poverty, and remember his misciy no morc.,,
Here we are virtually recommended to drown our sorrows, and
benumb the pangs of poverty, by becoming dead drunk ; for it
is only after the inebriate has quaffed the contents of the intox-
icating bowl, or swung the bottle to his lips till he becomes
stupefied and insensible (i.e., u dead drunk’’), that he can
“forget his poverty, and remember his misciy no more.”
Wt* dare not deny, then, that Solomon recommended a state
of beastly intoxication as a means of drowning our troubles;
for no other meaning can be forced upon the text than that
which we have assigned it, without assuming an unwarrantable
use of language. Awa}', then, with such a book as “the
source of moral and religious instruction for the heathen,” or
as a reading-book for youth and children ! The question is not
what the Bible can be made to teach ; but what is it naturally
understood to teach, and what are the moral consequences of so
understanding it?

And we find in Exodus a still more explicit license, not only
for drinking, but for buying and selling, intoxicating drinks.
It is proclaimed, upon the authorit}’of Jehovah, “Thou shalt
spend thy monejr for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for
 TUB BIBLE SANCTIONS INTEMPEBANCE.

273

strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after” (Deut.
xiv. 2G). We are sometimes told, but without reliable authority,
that the wine here referred to did not possess very intoxicating
properties. But it will be observed that the text did not stop at
wine, but 44 strong drink ; ” thus leaving no doubt upon the mind
of the reader but that they used strong liquors, even if we were
warranted in assuming the wine was not of this character,
which, however, we are not, and which we know is not true:
for, although like the wine of the grape in other countries, it
would not intoxicate while new, yet in that warm climate, as
travelers affirm, it will ferment in a few hours. It is evident,
then, that wine was one of their intoxicating beverages in
addition to 44 strong drinks.” And here we find a license for
buying and selling and using both in a book which the ortho-
dox churches would have us adopt as 4 4 the fountain of our
laws, and the supreme rule of our conduct,” ostensibly for the
improvement of the morals of the people ; when it is known to
unbiased investigators of the subject that these and similar
texts have been a stumbling-block in the progress of the tem-
perance reform among that class of people who take the Bible
as it reads without studying the art of extracting the old mean-
ing with the clerical force-pump, and coining a new meaning
of their own especially adapted to the occasion, — an art
studied and practiced by the spiritually blinded devotees of
all 44 the Holy Bibles” which God is assumed to have inspired
for the salvation of the human race. I will cite one case in
proof of the statement that a Bible containing such texts as I
have cited is calculated to do much mischief in the way of
retarding the temperance reform by furnishing the plainest
authority for drinking and trafficking in intoxicating liquors. A
friend, upon whom I can rely, related to me the following case:
A man addicted to intemperate habits was converted to religion,
and induced to sign the temperance pledge, parity by the influ-
ence of a speaker who quoted from 44 the word of God” such
texts as these: 44 Woe unto him who holds the bottle to his
neighbor’s mouth” (Ilab. ii. 15) ; 44 Wine is a mocker, and
strong drink is raging” (Prov. xx. 1). But a few days after
his conversion, as he was turning the leaves of the Bible, his
 274

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

eye accidentally caught sight of one of the texts I have quoted, —
“ Thou shalt spend thy money for strong drink,” &c. Here
he discovered that his Bible and his God both declared that
buying and drinking intoxicating beverages was all right. It
was enough. His resolution gave wajr; his firmness was un-
manned, his moral manhood prostrated, his pledge overruled;
and, in less than two hours, he was again lying in the ditch
“dead drunk.” Here is a proof of the mischief that can be
wrought by one single text upon those who have accepted the
Bible as “ the supreme rule of their conduct.” You may pro-
claim the evil of intemperance with the tongue of a Cicero, or
paint it with the pencil of a Raphael, and muster all the texts
you can find in the book condemning the practice, yet one such
text as I have quoted will poison the moral force of it all while
the Bible is read and adored as “the rule of their conduct.”
As one drop of belladonna or prussic acid will poison a whole
pint of water, in like manner will one immoral text, when found
in a book accepted by the people as their highest authority in
practical morals, have the effect to neutralize the moral force of
every sound precept that may be found in the book. It is use-
less, and labor comparatively lost, for a book or a moral teacher
to inculcate good precepts, while it is known thejT are morallj’
capable of teaching or preaching bad ones. One spark of fire
is sufficient to explode a powder-magazine. Bad precepts and
bad examples are both veiy contagious in a moralty undeveloped
and unenlightened age; and their pernicious effects can not be
wholly counteracted or prevented by any number of precepts of
an opposite character.

But we are told the precepts above quoted are in the Old
Testament, and not the New, which is now accepted as higher
authority. But then it should be borne in mind, that the Old
Testament is still being printed and bound with the New as
a part of “ the Holy Bible,” and “ God’s perfect revelation to
man” for “the guidance of his moral conduct.” It is still
circulated both in Christian and heathen countries by the mil-
lion with the New, and as of equal authority with the New Tes-
tament. It takes both to make “ the Holy Bible.” It will be
in vain, then, to plead any extenuation or apology for the immo-
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS CBIME.

275

ralities of the Old Testament on this ground. They will both
stand or fall together. The “new dispensation” could not
stand a day without the Old Testament as a basis. And then,
when we push our investigations a step further, we find the
New Testament lending its sanction to most of the evils and
crimes wliicli are supported by the Old Testament; and among
this number is that under review, —the vice or sin of intemper-
ance. Paul, one of the principal founders and expounders of
the religion of the New Testament, and one of the leading
examples and teachers of its morals, in his letter of exhortation
to Timothy, advises him to u drink no longer water, but take a
, little wine for the stomach’s sake ” (1 Tim. v. 23). As for the
plea or purpose for which the intoxicating beverage was to be
used on this occasion “ for the stomach’s sake,” it is the same
that dram-drinkers and drunkards have always had recourse to
to justify the use of strong drink. It is always drunk for “ the
stomach’s sake.” And, when we find Christ himself converting
a large quantity of water into wine (see John ii.), we must con-
clude that the New Testament does not teach a system of
morals calculated to arrest the sin of intemperance. Those,
then, who wish still to continue floundering in the cesspool of
drunkenness, can find in the New Testament, as well as the Old,
a justification for this sin.

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V.   The Creme of Slave-holding sanctioned bt the Bible.

The Bible contains a warrant for the perpetual enslavement
of men, women, and children. It is well known to the pioneer-
laborers in the antislavery reform, that this book constituted a
strong bulwark in support of the system; that it was one of
the principal obstacles in the way of effecting its extermination.
Its defenders quoted such texts as the following: “ Of the
heathen round about you, shall ye buy bondmen and bond-
maids, and they shall be }7our possession for ever” (Lev. xxv.
44). Among Christian professors, such positive and explicit
license for the practice of slave-holding was hard to be set
aside; and it undoubtedly had an influence to perpetuate the
accursed system of slavery.
 276

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

YI. The Bible sanctions Polygamy.

The practice of polygamy is indorsed by the Christian Bible.
It is frequently sanctioned in the Old Testament, both b}r pre-
cept and example, while it is nowhere condemned by the Book,
either in the Old or New Testament. This fact makes Mor-
monisrn an impregnable institution; and this is the reason it
bids defiance to the efforts of a Christian nation to put it down.
It is a Bible institution. Hence a Bible-believing nation dare
not attack it. The hand of the government is powerless to put
it down, because it is justified by the u Holy Book.” Hence
it continues to exist, a stigma upon the nation. Were it as ex-
plicitly and strongly condemned by the Bible as idolatry is, it
would have been banished from the country long ago.

VII. Licentiousness is sanctioned by the Bible.

It can hardly be wondered at that so many Christian profess-
ors fall victims to licentious habits, as is evident from reports
almost daily published in the periodicals, from which one trav-
eler has collected more than two thousand cases of priests, the
professed teachers of morality, who have fallen victims to the
vice of illegal sexual intercourse within a few years ; and prob-
ably the number whose deeds are never brought to fight is much
greater. As we have already remarked, this licentiousness
among Bible believers and Bible teachers is no cause of wonder
when we reflect that it is taught in their Bible, both b}’ example
and precept, and even, we are told, commanded by Jehovah
himself. In the thirty-first chapter of Numbers it is written,
that the Lord commanded Moses to slay all the Midianites,
except the women and girls who “ had never known man.”
amounting to about thirty thousand. They were even ordered
to kill every male among the little ones ; and it is declared the}r
left “nothing alive that breathes,” except the thirty thousand
maids saved to gratify the lust of those murderous libertines.
Who that has any mercy, justice, or refinement in their nature,
can believe that such cruelty and licentiousness was the work
of a righteous God? Christian professors contemplate these
revolting pictures with an anxious desire to save the credit of
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS CHIME.

277

the Book, until, by dint of determination to believe (for they
are afraid even to doubt), they finally persuade themselves, that, -
somehow or other, they must be right, notwithstanding their
revolting nature. The}’ conclude they don’t understand them,
or that it is our fine moral sensibilities, and our natural love of
virtue, that is at fault. And thus our moral manhood is dead-
ened and sacrificed to our barbarous religion. It is an evident
fact, and a sorrowful truth, that the moral sensibilities of all
Christendom are more or less blunted and seared in this way,

? and their standard of virtue lowered. Such is the demoralizing
influence of the 44 Holy Book ” when idolized and regarded as
1 the source of our morals, and 44 the supreme rule of our con-
duct.” It is evident we never can reach that elevated standard
|   of morals and true refinement which is   the natural outgrowth

j   of civilization till the Bible is lowered   to a more subordinate

position, and is no longer allowed to   shape our morals, and

\ mold our religion, and retard our civilization. The texts I
*| have cited are but samples of many similar passages which
I evince a sickly, licentious state of morals amongst 44 the Lord’s
^ holy people.” By the moral code of Moses and Jehovah, a
^ Jew was authorized to seize a beautiful woman (if he should
see one amongst the captives taken in war), and take her to
) his house for his wife ; but, if he finds upon trial that she don’t
suit him, then he can turn her out, and let her go whither she
j will. He was licensed to turn her adrift upon the cold charities
|   of the world. “If it shall be that thou   find no delight in her,

j . then thou slialt let her go whither she   will” (Deut. xxi. 14).

j   It does not appear that her wishes were   consulted in any case.

! She was a captive at first, and a slave to the end. And these
j hard-hearted, licentious men were 44 God’s holy people.” Those
I pious and devout Christians who are so inveterately opposed to,

1 and horrified at,44Free-Lovism ’’should not let it be known the}’
believe in the Bible, lest they should get into the same difficult}’

1 the Bev. Mr. Hitchkiss did while in Arabia. Having stated to
i a Mahomedan that there was a class of people in America
j known as 44 Free-Lovers,” and that they were infidels and Spir-
itualists, the disciple of the Koran remarked, in reply, 44 I sup-
j pose you are a Free-Lover also.” —44 What makes you entertain

J

i

I

I
 278

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

that supposition? ” asked the reverend. u Because/’ said the
Mussulman, “you are a believer in the Christian Bible; and I
have observed, by reading it, that its leading men were practical
4 Free-Lovers.’ The wise Solomon was so highly esteemed by
God, that he opened to him the fountain of wisdom; and
hence he must have been looked up to by the Jews as a leading
authorit}’ in matters of religion and morals, and an example to
be followed in practical life; and he practiced 4 Free-Lovism/
or licentiousness, on a very large scale. His subjects and vic-
tims were numbered b}’ the thousand; and with three hundred
of them he maintained no legal relation. Hence they were
what are now called prostitutes. And his father David, 4 the
man after God’s own heart,’ was also a 4 Free-Lover,’ and indi-
rectly committed murder in order to increase his number of
victims; and Abraham, the father and founder of the Jewish
nation, also belonged to that class. I suppose, therefore, }’ou
consider it all right.” The reverend gentleman replied, 441
believe it was right for them, but would not be right for us.”

44 Then,” said the Mahomedan, 44 you believe that moral prin-
ciples change,—that what is right to day may be wrong to-
morrow, and vice versa. Now, it is evident, that, if thc}T can
change once, they can change again, and ma}T thus be perpetu-
ally changing; so that it would be impossible to know what
true morality is, for it would be one thing to-day and another to-
morrow. I hold that the principles of moralit}T are perfect, and
hence can not change without becoming immorality.” Thus
reasoned the 44 unconverted heathen ; ” and thus closed his con- .
trovers}’ with the Christian missionary. The reader can judge
which had the better end of the argument.

VIII. Tiie Biiile sanctions Wife-Catching.

In the Book of Judges (Judges xxi. 20) we learn that the Israel-
ites of the tribe of Benjamin were instructed in the art of wife-
catching. 4'Go and lie in wait in the vincj’ards ; and behold,
if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then
come ye out of the vincj’ards, and catch jtou every man a wife ”
(Judges xxi. 21).   44 And they did so.” Now it was certainly

rather shameful business for God’s oracles to be engaged in, —
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS CRIME.

279

that of advising rude and lustful men to hide in ambush in the
vinej'ards, and, when they saw the young maidens approaching,
to pounce upon them while dancing, and cany or drag them
off without a moment’s warning. It was called catching a
wife ; but, in this age of a higher moral development, it would
not be designated b}" such respectful language, but would be
placed in the list of crimes, and punished as a State-prison
offense.

IX. The Crimes of Treachery and Assassination.

In the fourth chapter of Judges we find a case of barbarity
related, comprising the double crime of treachery and murder,
for which a parallel can scarcely be found in the annals of any
j heathen nation, and which appears to have received the approval
1 of the Jewish Jehovah. It is exhibited in the history of Jael,
the wife of Heber the Kenite. We read, that as a poor fugi-
I tive by the name of Sisera was fleeing from “ the Lord’s holy
i people,” who were pursuing him with uplifted swords with the
{ determination to kill him, not for any crime whatever, but
because he professed a different religion, and refused to wor-
ship their cruel God (for they seemed to consider themselves
authorized by their God to exterminate all nations who dissented
i| from their creed), — as this fugitive was flying from the swords
of the worshipers of Jehovah, Jael went out to meet him
| (Sisera), and said unto him, u Turn in, my lord; turn in to
I me. Fear not.” And, when he had turned in unto her in the
tent, she covered him with a mantle, and feigned much pity for
j him; and, when he asked for a little water, she gave him milk :
^ but, as soon as he had fallen asleep, u she took a nail of the
tent and a hammer, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail
| into his temple, and fastened it into the ground.” Who can read

I this deed of treacher}^ and cruelty without emotions of horror,
and thrilling chilly sensations at the heart? And yet Jehovah,
the God of Israel, is represented as saying, u Blessed above
, women shall Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, be ” (Judg. v.

I 24). Now, what is this but a premium offered for treachery and
j cold-blooded murder? I believe, with Lord Bacon, that u it is
j better to believe in no God than to believe in one possessing
 280

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

dishonorable traits of character;” and I can not see how it
would be possible to ascribe more dishonorable traits of charac-
ter to any being than are ascribed to the Jewish Jehovah. And
this is the God the orthodox world wants put into the Constitu-
tion of the United States ; but most unfortunate for our progress
in morals and civilization would it be to adopt such a measure.
And this is the book which the churches are constantly appealing
to the people for aid to circulate among the heathen as neces-
saiy to improve their morals, and save their souls ; but no other
book could be put into their hands so complete^ calculated to
deaden and obliterate every feeling of humanity, every natural
impulse of justice and merc}r, and kindle feelings of murder and
revenge. Such a book should not be admitted into their families
to corrupt their natural sense of right and justice.

I will cite another case evincing the same spirit, and teaching
the same kind of moral lesson. We are told in Judges (chap,
iii.) that the Lord sent a man by the name of Ehud to murder
Eglon, King of Moab, and s.ent him with a lie upon his lips.
As he came near to the king, he said unto him, “ I have a
message from God unto thee” (Judg. iii. 20, 21). And, while
conversing with him under the guise of a friend, he drew out
a dagger which he had concealed under his garments, and
plunged it into his bod}T, and killed him. And the Lord, “ the
God of Israel,” is represented as raising up the blood3'-minded
Ehud for the special purpose of perpetrating this shocking deed
of murder. To circulate a book among the heathen, detailing
such revolting deeds of cruelty as consistent with sound morality,
and approved by a just and righteous God, is an evil of no
small magnitude.

I will cite one other case illustrative of Bible intolerance. It
is found in the history of the godly Phinehas, related in the
twenty-fifth chapter of Numbers. lie was one of u The Lord’s
peculiar people,” who were such violent sectarians that the}'
showed no mercy towards any nation or any individual who
dissented from their creed, lienee, when it was reported to
Moses and his God that Zimri and his wife Cozbi had become
converts to the Baal-pcor religion, they sent Phinehas after them
with deadly weapons to slay them for heresy; and he chased
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS CRIME.

281

them into their tents, and slew them with a javelin upon their
own hearthstone for no crime whatever against the moral
law, but for simpfy exercising their God-given right to worship
God according to the dictates of their consciences. It was a
feeling of sectarianism, intolerance, and bitter animosity which
prompted the act. We can not wonder, therefore, that Chris-
tian Bible believers, who have chosen this book as “ the supreme
rule of their conduct,” should have written their histoiy in
blood, and that the whole pathway of their pilgrimage is strewn
with the bones of them murdered victims, whe were slain for
r being true to their consciences, and for believing in and wor-
shiping God according to their comictions of right and duty.

In addition to the long list of crimes already enumerated as
' being sanctioned by the Bible, we will name a few others : —
Lying.—We find that nearly all the leading characters who
figure in Bible historj", and who are* held up as moral exem
\ plars of the human race, were guilty of lying either directly or
1 indirectly. We will cite a few cases : —

It is shown that Abraham and his wife (Gen. xx.), and Isaac

•   (Gen. xxvi.), and Jacob (Gen. xxxi.), were all guilty of false-
*| hood; also Rachel, Jacob’s wife (Gen. xxxi.), Jacob’s sons

(Gen. xxxvii.), and Samson (Judg. xvi.), and Elisha (2
1 Kings), and four hundred prophets (1 Kings xxii.). And
' Jeremiah makes out all the prophets were virtual liars (Jer.

vi. 13). Peter lied three times in about seventy-five minutes
? (Luke xxii.). And Paul justifies lying (Rom. iii-7). With
so many examples of lying by u inspired and holy men of old,”
the custom became popular among the early Christians, and was
upheld and justified by them, as stated by the popular Christian
i writer, Mosheim. And some of “the heathen nations,” for

*   this reason, were accustomed to calling the Jews “ the sons

I of falsehood.” Now, we appeal to the moral consciousness of
every honest reader to decide in . his own mind whether it is
possible for a book containing such defective moral inculcations
* to be calculated to promote true virtue, or a love of truth, in

! either Christian or heathen nations, and whether it should not,
on this account, be kept out of the hands of the heathen, as
being calculated to weaken their natural appreciation of truth.

i

I
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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

Swearing. —Let the reader turn to his Bible concordance, and
observe the hundreds of cases in which God and his people are
represented as swearing. He can then understand why pro-
fanity is now more prevalent in Christian than in heathen coun-
tries. God himself is several times represented as swearing in
his wrath (Ps. xcv. 11). It should therefore be expected to be
prevalent amongst Christian Bible believers.

As a Christian missionaiy was recently returning from India
on board a British vessel, observing a Christian professor fre-
quently swearing, he stepped to him, and observed, u Here, sir,
is my son, twenty-one years old, born and raised in a heathen
land, and to-da}T is the first time he ever heard a profane oath.”
Rather a withering lesson for a Christian professor. There are
obviously two causes for the great prevalency of profane & rear-
ing in all Christian countries. One is its frequent indor ement
in the Bible, and the other is the common custom of the priest-
hood apparently indulging in the practice in the pulpit. In
their godly zeal to convert sinners, they exclaim, “God will
damn you." The bo}Ts in the congregation catch the refrain,
run into the street, and repeat the oath (dropping one word),
“ God damn you.” Before we can expect this foolish and
demoralizing practice to be abandoned, we must have a different
Bible and different religious teachers; and also before we can
prevent the heathen who read our Bible from imitating our
example in swearing, or using profane language.

Cursing. — The numerous cases of cursing recorded in the
Bible from Jehovah to Elisha, who cursed the sportive, £auey
boys, and then destined them with bears, are calculated to en-
gender and foster the worst and most malignant passions of
the human mind. The veiy name of the Jews’ God, Jehovah
(Elohim), is derived from a root which signifies “ to curse and
to swear.” And the immoral practice of cursing is continued
from the Old Testament through the New.

Murder.—AYe have spoken of murders perpetrated by the
Jews under the authority of a theocratic government. AAre will
now cite some cases of a more private character: Cain, the
first man born into the world, was a murderer; and, instead
of being punished for it, he appears to have been honored. He
 THE BIBLE SANCTIONS CRIME.

283

went into the land of Nod, and built a great cit}^ “ The man
after God's own heart" (David) indirectly killed Uriah; Ju-
dith cut off the head of Holofernes while in bed with him, — a
most shocking case; Jehoiada, the priest, murdered his queen
at the high gate in cold blood; Jael, the wife of Heber, mur-
dered the flying fugitive Sisera by driving a nail though his
head; Ehud murdered the King of Eglon under the guise of
friendship ; Absalom murdered Ammon; Joab murdered Absa-
lom ; Solomon murdered his brother Adonijah; Baasha mur-
dered Nadab ; Zimri murdered Elah; Omri murdered Zimri;
Ahab murdered Naboth; Jehu murdered Ahab and Joram;
Shallum murdered Zachariah ; Hoshea murdered Pekah. Nu-
i merous other cases might be cited. * Some of these murderers
were leading men among the Jews, —men whose life and char-
i acter exercised great influence ; and consequently such examples
were very pernicious, and the moral lesson they impart to Bible
i readers must be corrupting to their moral feelings, if not their
111 moral conduct.

j Flogging. —The practice of flogging is regarded as a relic of
barbarism by all modern writers on moral ethics. We find it was
prescribed by law under the Hebrew monarchy. Forty lashes,
in some cases, while the victim was tied or held down, was
the penalty for certain crimes. (See Deut. xxv.) If they were
i schooled in the councils of infinite wisdom as they claimed to
be, their God should have taught them a less severe and more
enlightened method of treating offenders.

J Witchcraft. — “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exod.
,] xxii. 18) has been the watchword and the authority for the
* slaughter of great numbers of human beings. Figures can not
j compute the tortures, the shocking cruelties, and the heart-
! crushing sufferings which have been endured as the legitimate
fruit of this superstitious, barbarous law of “God’s holy
people." It was continued in force to a late period, and has
been more extensively practiced by Christians than by Jews.
H The number of victims in Christian England alone amounts to
| hundreds of thousands. A large portion of them were tied hand
! and foot, and thrown into the water. If they sank; that termin-
al ated the case, guilty or not guilty ; if they swam or floated, that
 284

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

was regarded as an evidence of guilt, and they were taken out,
and burned or hanged. During its reign in England, thirty
thousand harmless women were burned as witches, mostly poor
women who had no means of self-defense.

Even the learned Sir Matthew Hale, one of England’s most
enlightened Christian jurists, sentenced a number of poor women
to be hanged in 1664 as witches; and the reason he assigned
for it was, that u the Bible leaves no doubt as to the reality of
witchcraft, and the duty of putting its subjects to death.”
Thus we have an illustration of the enormous evils which have
grown out of Bible superstitions, perpetuated by those who were
so ignorant as to accept the book as authority. Witchcraft,
which was believed by Bible writers and Bible Christians to be
the work of the Devil or of evil spirits, is now well understood
in the light of modern science as to its causes, of which Bible
revelation was ignorant.

As the want of space will permit no further exposition or
enumeration of Bible crimes, we will sum up the whole thus:
Murder, theft, robbery, war, slavery, intemperance, polygamy,
concubinage, fornication, rape, piracy, tying, assassination,
treachery, tyranny, revenge, persecution for religious opinions,
vagabondism, degradation and enslavement of women, hypoc-
risy, breach of faith, suicide, vulgarity or obscenity, witchcraft,
flogging, cursing, swearing, &c.

We have cited texts and examples in proof of the statement
that all these crimes, and others not here enumerated, are sanc-
tioned by God’s “ hoty word,” and were perpetrated by God’s
ct hoty people,” as the}' arc called. And yet a Christian writer
declares, u The Lord kept his people pure, hoty, and upright
through every period of their history.” A statement could
hardly be made that would be farther from the truth. It is
another evidence of the blinding effect of a false religion.

Again we ask, should a book, lending its sanction to the long
catalogue of crimes herein enumerated, and which represents
them as being in accordance with the will of a hoty and a right-
eous God, be placed in the hands of the illiterate and credulous
heathen as a guide for their moral conduct ? Most certainty it
must have a deleterious cllcct upon their morals ; and yet him-
 IMMORAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE.

285

dreds of thousands are distributed amongst them every year by
the Christian churches and missionary societies. And then
think of making such a book “ the fountain of our laws, and
the supreme rule of our conduct/ ’ as urged by the Evangelical
Alliance and the orthodox churches. We almost tremble at the
thought of such a step toward barbarism and demoralization.

CHAPTER XLYIII.

IMMORAL INFLUENCE OF THE BIBLE.

With the characteristic moral teaching of the Christian Bible,
presented in the preceding chapter and throughout "this work,
we see not how to escape the conviction that the Bible has
inflicted, and must necessarily inflict, a demoralizing influence
on society wherever it is read and believed. It is morally im-
possible for any person to read and believe a book sanction-
ing, or appearing to sanction, so many species of crime and
immorality without sustaining more or less moral and mental
injury by it. For whatever views he may entertain with respect
to the numerous crimes therein reported as having been com-
mitted with the approval, and often at the command, of a just
God, it must naturally and inevitably have the tendency to
weaken his detestation of those crimes, and also weaken his
zeal and effort to extinguish them and other similar crimes now
existing in society. It must also lower his conception of the
moral attributes of Deity. However honest, and however natu-
rally opposed to such immoralities at the outset, it is impossible
for him to entertain the belief that they were once approved, or
even connived at, by a morally7 perfect being, without becoming
unconsciously weakened in his feelings of opposition to, and his
hatred of, such deeds. It may be alleged that these practices
are at war with those precepts which enjoin us to do unto others
as we would have them do unto us; and that of loving our
neighbors as ourselves, &c. This is true ; but reason and expe-
rience both teach us, as an important lesson in moral and mental
philosophy, that, when a book which is accepted as a guide for
 286

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

the conduct and moral actions of men contains contradictory
precepts, the people will seize on and reduce to practice those
most consonant with their natures, and most congenial to their
natural feelings and inclinations. Hence it can easily be seen,
that as the animal feelings and propensities which lead to the
commission of crime, when unduty exercised, have always been
stronger with the masses or the populace than the moral feel-
ings, they have consequently always been more disposed to yield
a compliance with those precepts which sanction, or appear to
sanction, the commission of crime, than those which are con-
demnatory of crime. All persons in whose minds the animal
propensities are the strongest will seize with eagerness the
least authority, or appearance of authority, for committing those
crimes which they are naturally inclined to commit, and for
which they are glad to find a license or encouragement to com-
mit. Under such circumstances the}' will ignore the virtuous
precepts, and yield a compliance with those of an opposite char-
acter. Therefore Christian professors who expect the Bible to
exert a moral influence in reforming the world and freeing it
from crime, because it contains some beautiful and sound moral
precepts, will be disappointed; for those precepts will be neu-
tralized, and their effects destroyed, by those of an opposite char-
acter. A majority of the people in all countries have always
possessed a strong inclination for committing those crimes
which, we have shown, the Christian Bible appears to sanction.
Hence the Bible, with all its counteracting precepts, will only
add fuel to the fire, for the reason already pointed out. Those
who do not know this must be ignorant of the most important
principles of moral science, and the elements of human nature
Bight here is where Christians commit a serious mistake. They
scatter their Bibles among the heathen by the thousand, assum-
ing that it will have the effect to moralize and civilize them,
while they can find a warrant in it (as shown in the preceding
chapter) for every species of crime they have been in the habit
of committing. This is a solemn error they have been commit-
ting for ages, lienee their missionary labors, instead of reform-
ing the heathen, have only tended to demoralize them, where
they have not been counteracted by the more rational religion
 THE BIBLE AT WAR WITH SCIENCES.

287

of science and nature, as they have been in many cases. Many
facts could be adduced to prove this statement, some of which
may be found in Chapter 50. (“Bible a Moral Necessity ”).
Wherever the Bible has been introduced, without the arts and
sciences to counteract its influence (as in Abyssinia and the
Samoan Islands), crime has increased. History proves that
wherever the Bible has been circulated without any counter-
acting influences, both in Christian and heathen nations, it has
had the effect to weaken the moral strength of the people, lower
their natural appreciation of virtue and a true moral life, and
has had a tendency to popularize crime by making it more
respectable. It is therefore an unsuitable book to circulate as
a guide for the moral conduct of man in any country.

CHAPTER XLIX.

THE BIBLE AT WAR WITH EIGHTEEN SCIENCES.

The word “ science” is from the Latin scire (“to know”).
Hence ever}' statement incompatible with the teachings and
principles of science is simply ignorance arrayed against knowl-
edge. It may surprise some who have been taught that the
Bible contains “a perfect embodiment of truth,” or who be-
lieve, with the redoubtable Dr. Cheever, that “the Bible does
not contain the shadow of a shade of error from Genesis to
Revelations,” —it will doubtless surprise all such persons to be
told, that, so far from Dr. Cheever’s statement being correct,
“ the Holy Book,” by a fair estimate, is found to contain more
than nine thousand scientific errors alone; i.e., more than
nine thousand statements and assumptions which conflict with
the\established principles of modern science^besides errors in
morals, history, &c. It is believed there is not one chapter in
the book wThich does not contain several errors of this charac-
ter. This, perhaps, should not be a matter of surprise to any
person after viewing the character and condition of philosophy
and the wide-spread scientific ignorance which reigned over the
world at that period. Let it be borne in mind that science was
 288

TIIE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

but just budding into life, and philosophy had attained but a
feeble growth amongst that portion of the earth’s inhabitants
who constituted the representatives of the Jewish and Christian
religion. Not only does their history and their writings show
that they were, for the most part, ignorant of what little sci-
ence there was in the world, —which was small compared with
the present period,—but they opposed it whenever they came
in contact with it. Every thing was ascribed to supernatural
power. The word “ science ” only occurs twice in the Bible, —
once in the Old Testament, and once in the New; and, in the
latter case, it was used for the purpose of condemning it. Paul
advises Timothy to “beware of the babblings of science” (1
Tim. vi. 20). The word “ philosoph}" ” is used but once in
the Bible, and then not to recommend it; but Paul uses it
to condemn it, as he does science, or at least to discourage it:
“ Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
vain conceit” (Col. ii. 8). It will be observed, then, that
there is apparently a veto placed upon the study of science
and philosophy in the only two instances in which reference
is made to them in the Bible. We can not wonder, there-
fore, that its devout disciples have in all ages, until a very
recent period, set themselves squarety against the propagation
of science and philosophy. It was but carrying out the spirit
of their Bible. The earl}' Christians, almost to a man, dis-
couraged the study of science, and condemned and persecuted
those who attempted to propagate its principles, and even put
some of them to death. Copernicus was persecuted for setting
forth principles of astronomy which conflicted with the teach-
ings of the Bible; Galileo was sentenced to death because ho
taught the rotundity and revolution of the earth in opposition
to the Bible, which declares, “The earth lias foundations, and
can not be removed” (Ps. civ. 5) ; and Bruno suffered the
penalty of death for teaching substantially the same doctrine.
And every discoverer in science was condemned and persecuted.
Much was written by the early fathers in acknowledgment of
the incompatibility of science with religion and the teachings
of the Bible, and to warn the pious disciple of the danger
of occcupying his mind in the investigation and study of sei-
 THE BIBLE AT WAB WITH SCIENCE.

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ence. Even Eusebius, the popular ecclesiastical writer of the
third century, and one of the most intelligent Christians of that
age, acknowledged he had a contempt for 44 the useless baubles
of the philosophers : ” 44 We think little of these matters, turning
our souls to the exercise of better things.” And Lactantius, a
Christian of the same century, pronounced the study of physical
causes of natural things 44 empty and false.” And St. Augus-
tine, 44 a shining light of the Church,” treated with contempt
the notion that the earth is round, as 44 trees on the other
side would hang with their tops down, and the men there
would have their feet higher than their heads.” He condemns
it as false, 44 because no such race is recorded in Scripture
among the descendants of Adam.” What profound reasoning !
Martin Luther utters his malediction against astronomy in the
following language : 4 4 This false Copernicus will turn the whole
art of astronomy upside down; but the Scripture teacheth
another lesson, when Joshua commanded the sun to stand still,
and not the earth.” Of course Joshua’s order for the sun
to stop knocks the science of astronomy on the head, and
extinguishes it for ever with all true Bible believers ; and men
have had to outgrow their Bibles before they could accept the
teachings of astronomy. When we take into consideration
the almost boundless acquisitions that have been made in the
field of science since the invention of the printing art, and
the many discoveries evolved in every department of science
and art, now classified into a long list of new sciences, and
which throw a flood of light on almost every thing taught by
the ancients in morals, religion, or science, we should not be
surprised to find more or less error in every thing they taught.
Let us look for a moment at the long list of sciences now
taught in our schools, most of which were unknown two hun-
dred years ago : Astronomy, geolog}’, chemistry, mineral-
ogy, meteorology, pneumatics, hydrostatics, mechanics, psy-
chology, paleontology, anthropology, ethnology, archaeology,
biology, history, chronology, botany, zoology, philosophy,
physiology, ornithology, geography, mathematics, optics, acous-
tics, phrenology, animal magnetism, &c. The facts and prin-
ciples now comprised in these several branches of science have
 290

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

mostly been developed within a comparatively recent period |
of time ; and almost every department of science here enu- I
merated embraces facts and discoveries which reveal important I
errors in the religious creeds of the ancient representatives of |
the Christian faith. To illustrate this statement, we will cite
some examples : —   V

1.   Astronomy. —More than forty errors in astronomy will be j
found exposed in Chapter 15, treating on the Mosaic account

of creation; and here may be added a few more to the num-
ber. Several texts in the Bible speak of the stars falling to the 1
earth, or traveling in some lawless direction. Even Christ I
committed this error. (See Mark xiii. 25.) How ridiculous |
is this, conception when viewed in connection with the fact that
these stars are many of them larger than the earth! Saturn
is about a thousand times larger, and Jupiter twelve hundred
times larger, than our planet. John speaks of one-third of the
stars falling at once (Rev. xii. 4). If these twro large planets
(Jupiter and Saturn) should be of the number, our little earth •
would fare rather badly, though it is evident they could not all
have room to strike it. If the}" should strike it from opposite
sides, the}T would effectually grind it to powder. The inspired
writers of the Bible seem to have had their minds so filled with
heavenly things, that there was but little room left for scientific
knowledge appertaining to the earth. The idea of the sun
being made “ to rule by day, and the moon and stars to rule by
night,” as taught in Gen. i. 1G, discloses still further the igno- {
ranee of Bible writers on astronomy.

2.   Geological Errors. —The story of the creation in Genesis
(as exposed in Chapter 15 of this work) contains many geo-
logical errors. Almost every statement, in fact, conflicts with 1
the teachings of geology, and especially the assumption that
the earth, with the retinue of worlds which roll through infinite
space, was brought into existence by a fiat of Omnipotence, and
only about six thousand years ago ; while many facts in geological
science1 disprove its creation, and prove that it existed hundreds

of thousands, if not millions, of years ago. For the numerous
Bible errors under this head, sec Chapter 15.

3.   Errors in Geography. —The language applied to the earth
 THE BIBLE AT WAR WITH SCIENCE.

291

by various writers of the Bible show quite plainly that they
entertained very erroneous conceptions of its form and size,
and the laws that govern it. Such language as “the founda-
tions of the earth ” (Ps. civ. 5 ; Job xxxviii. 4), u the ends of
earth,” “the corners of the earth,” “the pillars of the
earth” (1 Sam. ii. 8), clearl}- indicate that Bible writers enter-
tained the common, erroneous conceptions of that age, that the
earth is a flat, square, angular figure, only inhabited on one
side. Matthew, who represents Christ as seeing all the king-
doms of the earth from the top of a mountain, plainly discloses
the same error.

4.   Errors in Ethnology.—The Bible assumption of the ori-
gin of man within a period of six thousand }Tears, and the
descent of the whole race from a single pair, is direct^ at vari-
ance with the teachings of ethnological science, which discloses
the true history of man, and proves, according to Agassiz and
other modern naturalists, that the human race has descended
from at least five pairs of original progenitors. See a work
entitled “ T}rpes of Mankind,” compiled from the writings
of the ablest naturalists of the* age.

5.   Archaeology, which treats of antiquity, presents us with
nearty the same series of scientific facts to disprove the Bible
histor}’ of man. It presents us with many facts in the history
of the ancient empires of India, Eg}rpt, Greece, China, and
Persia, which directly contradict many statements found in the
Christian Bible, which the want of space compels us to omit any
notice of here. (See chapters on Bibles.)

|   6. Biology.—The Bible statements which make a son two

I years older than his father (2 Chron. xxi. and xxii.), a girl only
three years old when she married, and two millions of people
spring from seventy persons in two hundred and fifteen years,
are all at variance with the teachings of biology.

7. Botany. —The origin of thorns and thistles, and the pre-
servation of the whole vegetable kingdom during Noah’s flood,
as inferential^ taught by the Christian Bible, conflict with the
| present established principles of botany.

]   8. Zoology.—This science, which discloses the true history

of animal life, completely disproves some statements of the

\

i
 292

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

Bible relative to the animal kingdom. The hare is pronounced
unclean in Leviticus, u because he cheweth the cud, but divideth
not the hoof” (Lev. xi. 6). Here are three incorrect state-
ments. The hare does not chew the cud, and does divide the
hoof, and is not unclean (i.e;, not unsuitable for food).

9.   Ornithology. —The writer who represents God as shower-
ing down nine hundred square miles of quails, three feet thick,
around the Jewish camp to serve as food (see Numb. xi. 32),
must have been ignorant of the size of this bird, if not of the
whole feathered tribe.

10.   Physiology.—The apostle James must have been igno-
rant of the science of physiology when he declares the praj^ers
of the elders of the Church would heal the sick (Jas. v. 15).
It is not denied but that the presence of the ciders could
exercise a healing influence on the sick; but it should be
ascribed to their magnetism, and not to their prayers. The
numerous cases in which disease is represented by Christ and
his disciples as being produced by devils or evil spirits, and a
cure effected by ejecting the diabolical intruder, shows them to
have been ignorant of plysiolog}’; as does also the story of the
sons of God cohabiting with the daughters of men (Gen. vi. 4),
and producing a race of giants which, according to the Book
of Enoch, were three hundred cubits high. Bather tall speci-
mens of humanit}’. Their heads would be above the clouds, so
that they could not see which wa}’ the}’ were traveling. This
stoiy finds a parallel in the traditions of India, which once pro-
duced a race of giants so tall that they could neither sit down
in the house, nor stand up out of doors. Their eyes were so
far from the ground that the}r could not see their feet. All
these stories originated m an age which was destitute of a
knowledge of physiolog}’; and, as this amalgamation of Gods
with human beings did nothing to improve the race, the story is
destitute ot* a moral, and proves (if it proves aiy thing) that
the Gods were no better than men.

11.   Mental i$“icncp.—The two hundred texts which repre-
sent the heart as being the seat of the mind or soul furnish
conclusive evidence that the writers were ignorant of the first
principles of mental science, u My heart uttereth understand-
 THE BIBLE AT WAB WITH SCIENCE.

293

mg,” and ua pure heart,” are examples. “ An upright
liver,” or “ a pure liver,” would be just as sensible language.
There is not one text in the book that implies a knowledge
of the brain as being the organ of the mind, which is a scien-
tific fact now well established.

12.   Animal Magnetism.—The exposition of this science by
Mesmer, Deluse, Townsend, and other writers, renders it clearly
evident that the phenomena of witchcraft, trance, and manjr
cases of spiritual vision, were nothing more nor less than the
products of animal magnetism superinduced by the action of
mind on mind, or the control of the mind by. magnetic sub-
stances, — the science of magnetism being entirety unknown in
that era of the world. Every case reported of restoring life to

a dead person by Christ, Elijah, Elisha, and other God-men, ^
if they had any foundation in truth, are explained by the prin-
ciples of this science. Similar cases have been witnessed in
modern times.

13.   Philosophy.—The science of philosophy, in its matured
aspect, is of modern origin, and furnishes the true explana-
tion for many of the “ mysteries of godliness,” and other
mysteries of the Christian Bible, which, by the illiterate
writers of that age, were ascribed to the direct manifestation
of deific powers. They are now known to be natural occur-

i rences, instead of supernatural, as assumed by the writers. The
Bible story of the rainbow furnishes one example. Moses
| must have been ignorant of philosophy when he selected the
rainbow as an evidence there should be no rain in the future in
i sufficient quantities to inundate the earth again, when it is
known that the rainbow is a certain evidence of rain, as it is
produced by the rain in the act of falling. This is but one
I of many errors which the ignorant, illiterate Bible writers
have made for want of knowledge on scientific subjects, such
as the history of creation, the story of the flood, &c. The
several cases in which thunder is spoken of as being the voice
of God disclose great ignorance of philosophy; and several
instances in which God promises to take away the sickness
of the people evince an entire ignorance of the natural laws
which control health and disease. (See Exod. xxiii. 25 ; Deut.
vii. 15.)
 294

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

14.   Mathematics. —The Bible is deficient in man}" cases with
respect to the correct observance of the rules and principles
of mathematics. Its assumption that there can be but one
God, and at the same time acknowledging three, furnishes a
striking proof of this. Its enumeration of the families and
tribes furnishes another evidence of this. Its calculation of
numbers rarely coincides with the names. For example : Luke,
in his gospel, states there are forty-two generations from David
to Joseph ; but his list of names only makes forty-one. And
Matthew says, 4 4 From Adam to David are fourteen generations ;
but, by counting his list of names, we find but thirteen. The
date of Methuselah’s birth and his age, when compared to-
gether, extend his age ten months beyond the inauguration
of the flood. How he sustained life, and avoided drowning
during that time, must be one of the mysteries of godliness.”
These are a few specimens of Bible mathematics.

15.   Chemistry.—A specimen of Bible chemistry is found in
the story of u fire and brimstone descending from heaven to-
gether” without a coalescence, or the chemical combination
and product which usually result from a contact of these two
elements. Another specimen is presented in the process of
manufacturing a golden calf by merely casting gold ear-rings,
finger-rings, &c., into the fire; and also Moses’ invention for
grinding the same gold into powder, and sprinkling it oil the
water, and compelling the people to drink it. No process is
known in modern times by which gold can be ground to powder,
nor for holding it in solution if ground and thrown into water.
The specific gravity of all gold now in use causes it to sink
to the bottom as soon as it is thrown into water. Bible chem-
istry seems to differ from natural chemistry.

1(5. Pneumatics. — Ilad Jehovah been acquainted with this
science, he could not have become alarmed about having his
kingdom invaded by the builders of Babel; for we learn, by
an acquaintance with the principles of this science, that the air
becomes so rarefied as we ascend, that we soon reach a point
where human life must cease. Hence it was unnecessary to
confound the language of the people in order to arrest the com-
pletion of the tower. They would have been compelled to
desist before they had got mail}" miles from the earth.
 THE BIBLE AT WAB WITH SCIENCE.

295

17.   Acoustics'.—Moses must have been ignorant of this sci-
ence, or presumed his readers would be, when he related the
numerous cases of himself and Joshua and others reading and
talking to two millions of people, some of whom must have been
several miles distant. JNTo human voice in modern times could
reach one-half of such an audience.

18.   Hydrostatics. —This science teaches us that several cases
reported in the Bible of the waters of rivers and seas being
separated and erected in perpendicular columns so as to form
embankments, are contradicted by all the laws governing fluids,
and hence are wholty incredible. The sciences of optics, mete-
orology, philology, and psychology might also be included in
the above list as being ignored and practical^ set aside by Bible
writers. And yet, in the face of all these facts, Dr. Cheever
says, “There is a beautiful harmony between the principles
of science and the teachings of the Bible throughout the whole
book.” And this seems to have been the universal conviction
of the disciples of the Christian faith before the progress of
scientific discovery in modern times laid bare the errors of the
Hoi}' Book. Since that juncture in biblical theology culminated,
a new theory has been set on foot to dispose of the scientific
errors of the Bible. Yvre are told, as an apology for these
errors, that “the Bible was designed to teach religion and
morality, and not science.” This is too true ; but a true system
of religion must be based on the principles of science. The plea
also discloses a scientific ignorance on the part of the objector
in not knowing “ there is science in every thing.” Hence it is
impossible to write on any subject without coming in contact
with the principles of science, which you must either conform
to or violate. Persons destitute of scientific knowledge, as were
Bible writers, are liable, in their ignorance, to stumble into
scientific errors in writing on any subject.
 296

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THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

CHAPTER L.

THE BIBLE AS A MORAL NECESSITY.

The question is frequently asked by Bible adherents, What
would be the moral condition of society without the Bible?
Would it not again relapse into barbarism? Such questions
manifest an ignorance of history and the moral instincts of the
human mind, and are easily met and answered by other ques-
tions indicating broader views. We ask, then, what was the
moral condition of the world, or that portion of it included
in the Jewish nation, during the two thousand years which
elapsed before any part of our Bible was written? Was
it any worse than the next two thousand years after it
was written ? And what is the moral condition of five-
sixths of the human famity now, who never had our Bible?
Facts in history prove that the morals of some of the na-
tions included in this class are superior to that of any Bible
nation, either now existing, or figuring in past history. Take,
for example, the Japanese. We will present the testimony
of an English officer. Col. Ilall. Reporting his own observa-
tions and experience, lie says, “During more than a 3'earis
residence in Japan, I never saw a quarrel among young or old.
I have never seen an angry blow struck, and have scarcely
heard an angry word. I have seen the children at their sports,
flying their kites on the hill; and no amount of entangled strings,
or kites lodged in the trees, provoked angry words or impa-
tience. In their games of jaekstones and marbles, I have
never seen an approach to a quarrel among them. The}' arc
taught implicit obedience to their parents; but I have never
seen one of them chastised. Respect and reverence for the
aged is universal. A ciying child is seldom seen. We have
nothing to teach them out of the abundance of our civilization.’’
 THE BIBLE AS A MOBAL NECESSITY.

297

And a description of this nation by Dr. Oliphant fully confirms
the above. He says, “ Universal testimony assures us, that, in
their domestic relations, the men are gentle and forbearing ; the
women, obedient and virtuous. Every department of crime
is less in proportion to the population than in Christian coun-
tries. The native tribunals prove their competency to deal
with criminals by giving general satisfaction. Unlike any
Christian country, locks and keys are never used ; yet theft and
robber}’ are almost unknown. Although we had the most
tempting curiosities with us, and left them laying about our
lodgings for months, not one of them was carried off, though
our room was sometimes crowded with people. During the
whole of our stay in Yeddo, we never heard a scolding woman,
nor saw a disturbance in the streets, nor a child struck or oth-
erwise maltreated. In case of disputes between neighbors,
their children are often selected as arbiters, and always give
satisfaction. And parents in their old age often give their
property and the entire management of their affairs into the
hands of their children, who never betray their trust.” Xow,
it must be evident to every reader, that no such a moral picture
of society can be presented of any Christian country. And
yet the Christian Bible is not only scarcely known among them,
but they have resisted the most determined efforts of the Chris-
tian missionaries, for more than two hundred years, to introduce
it and circulate it amongst them, and have kept it out by posi-
tive prohibition most of the time. Do such facts tend to
confirm the statement often made by devout Chrisitans, that
u the Bible must be introduced and read by the people before
they can have good morals in any country’ ’ ? As a still further
proof of the erroneousness of this statement, we will now con-
trast the state of morals in the most religious Christian coun-
tries with that of the heathen nation just referred to. And this
moral picture of our country, is from the. pen of a Christian
writer, the celebrated Parson Brownlow. He tells us, -‘The
gospel is preached to the people regularly ail over the country.

. . . And yet, notwithstanding all this, rascality abounds in
all classes of society. . . . Cheating and misrepresentation are
the order of the day. In politics there is very little patriotism
 298

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

or love of country. In religion there is more hypocrisy than
grace; and the biggest scoundrels living, crowd the church with
a view to hide their rascally designs, and more effectually serve
the Devil. Pious villains, as sanctified as the moral law, are
keeping false accounts, and resort to them for the sake of gain.
. . . In a word, rascality abounds among all classes.” Now
look on this picture, and then on that. We will now present
another contrast. We will look at another specimen of morality
among the heathen. The portraiture is furnished us by the
celebrated Christian missionary, Dr. Livingstone. Speaking of
some of the African tribes he encountered in his travels, he says,
u The inhabitants have many wise laws and politic institutions,
which would not discredit an}’ nation in Europe. They are not
a warlike people, but appear to hold martial achievements in great
contempt or abhorrence. They have such a nice sense of justice
and equity, that they will by no means make any encroach-
ments on the territory of their neighbors. Their dealings with
each other are characterized by mutual confidence, which Chris-
tians would do well to imitate.” No man is afraid of being
cheated. No precautions are used to prevent theft and rob-
bery ; and yet no theft and robbery are committed. Their goods
to be sold are stored in an open bazaar, left without any attend-
ants, and the purchaser fixes his own price, and leaves what he
considers a fair equivalent in its stead ; and all parties are sat-
isfied. It would seem, then, that, while in Christian countries
u it requires two to make a bargain,” in heathen countries it
lequires but one. Here, then, we have the morals of a heathen
nation, who not only knew nothing of Christianity, but would not
condescend to talk with the missionary on the subject, but put
him off with the plea, It makes no difference what a man’s
religion is, if his morals and practical life are right.” Sensible
reasoning. We will now turn another leaf in Christian history
with the inquiry, Is every country honored with the name
of Christian distinguished for morality, and every nation stig-
matized as heathen practically immoral? We will present
another specimen of Christian morality from the pen of that
popular Christian writer, Mr. Goodrich. Speaking of the moral
condition of one of the oldest Christian nations now existing
 THE BIBLE AS A MORAL NECESSITY.

299

(the Abyssinians), he says, 44 They are restless, savage, and
brutal, almost beyond any known tribes of men. The Scotch
traveler, Mr. Bruce, was at Gondar, the capital; and he tells us
that he seldom went out without seeing dead human bodies
lying in the streets, left to be devoured by the dogs and hyenas.
Alnaiy, who lived there some years since, says he was invited
to a feast, where, amongst the dishes he Was offered, was flesh
with warm blood. We are told the people eat the flesh from
the cattle while alive; and sometimes, after a large piece has
been cut out, the skin is drawn over it, and the bleeding b'east
driven on its wa}r. Sometimes, when a party is assembled for
a feast, and are seated, the oxen are brought to the door, the
flesh is cut off the living animal, and the meat devoured while
the agonized brutes are filling the air with their bellowings. . . .
And the manners of the people in other respects are horrible in
the extreme. Yet, strange to say, they profess Christianity,
and have numerous churches. Their saints are almost innu-
merable, and surpass in miraculous power those of the Romish
Church. The clerg}’ do not attempt to prevent divorces, nor
even polygamy.” In confirmation of the above graphic picture,
we will quote also from an English geography by Guthrie and Fer-
guson, F.R.S. (p. 923) : 44 The inhabitants of Abyssinia consist
of Christians. Some ecclesiastical writers would persuade us
that the conversion of Abyssinia to Christianity happened in the
time of the apostles ; but others state that this was after,—in
the year 333. There is no such thing as marriage in Abyssinia,
and no distinction made between legitimate and illegitimate
children, from the king to the beggar.” Here, then, is 44 Chris-
tian” morality, and here is a specimen of Christian 44 free-lov-
ism ” too, in a country where the Christian Bible has been
circulated by the thousand, and read and adored for at least
ffteen hundred years. Such facts furnish a complete refutation
of the popular Christian assumption that 4 4 true and pure
morality is inseparable from Christianity and the Bible.”
The truth is, the Bible alone has never done any thing to advance
the cause of either morality or civilization in any country,
because it is interdicted from improvement. It may be asked
here, Why is it, then, that both religion and morality prosper
 300

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

in most countries where the Bible has been introduced? The
answer to this question is found in the important fact, overlooked
by tlie Christian world, that the arts and sciences generally
accompany, or soon follow, the introduction of the Bible; but,
where this has not been the case, and the Bible has been circu-
lated alone, as in the case of Abyssinia, no progress whatever
has been made towards the establishment of true morality or a
rational religion, or any of the adjuncts of civilization, thus
proving that the causes for the moral growth and improvement
of society are outside of, and independent of, the Bible, and,
we will add (in view of the many immoral lessons taught in
the book), in spite of the Bible. A little rational reflection
must convince any unbiased person that Bibles, in the very
nature of things, must retard the moral and intellectual ad-
vancement and prosperity of society in every respect, not-
withstanding they contain many good and beautiful precepts,
for representing, as they do, the imperfect state of morals in
the age and country in which the}’ were written; while their
teachings are assumed to be a finality in moral and religious
progress, and hence are not allowed to be transcended in pre-
cept or practice. The consequence is, society would be pinned
down iinmovabty and perpetualty to the same barbarous religion
and morals of that age, if it were not pushed forward by the
irresistible influences of the arts and sciences. Hence we owe
our advancement and prosperity not to Bibles, but to causes
adequate to counteract and overcome their adverse influences.

Tiie Moral Benefits of Infidelity.

An additional argument to prove the Bible is not a moral
necessity to teach the practical duties of life is the fact that that
class of persons known as “infidels,” who entirely reject the
book as a guide or as a moral instructor on account of its very
defective and contradictory s}Tstem of morals, are admitted by
leading orthodox journals and representative men in the nation
to possess bettor moral characters and habits, and to lead better
moral lives, than Bible believers. As a proof of this statement,
we will here present the most wonderful and humiliating conces-
sions of that leading religious journal of the nation, “The*
 THE BIBLE AS A MORAL NECESSITY.

301

New-York Evangelist.” On this subject it speaks thus : “ To
the shame of the Church it must be confessed that the foremost
men in all our philanthropic movements, in the interpretation of
the spirit of the age, in the practical application of genuine
Christianity, in the reformation of abuses in high and in low
places, in the vindication of the rights of man and in practi-
cally redressing his wrongs, in the moral and intellectual regen-
eration of the race, are the so-called infidels in our land. The
Church has pusillanimously left not only the working oar, but the
very reins of salutary reform, in the hands of men she denounces
as inimical to Christianity, and who are doing with all their
might, for humanity's sake, that which the Church ought to be
doing for Christ's sake ; and if they succeed, as succeed they will,
in abolishing slavery, banishing rum, restraining licentiousness,
reforming abuses, and elevating the masses, then must the
recoil upon Christianity be disastrous in the extreme. Woe!
woe! woe to Christianity when infidels, by force of nature or
the tendencies of the age, get ahead of the Church in morals,
and in the practical work of Christianity. In some instances
they are already far in advance. In the vindication of truth,
righteousness, and liberty, they are the pioneers beckoning
to a sluggish Church to follow in the rear.” To this we
will add the testimony of another orthodox writer (the eminent
Catherine Beecher) as to the superior practical morality of
infidels as compared with that of Christians. She says, in her
u Appeal to the People ” (p. 319), “It has come to pass that
the world has been improving in practical virtue, while the
Church has been deteriorating. The writer, in her very exten-
sive travels and intercourse with the religious world, has had
unusual opportunity to notice how surely and how extensively
this fact has been observed and acknowledged b}r the best class
of clerg3nnen and laymen.” She says one of the most labori-
ous Episcopal bishops of the Western States declares, thatthe
world is growing better, and the Church is growing worse.”
She next cites the testimony of an eminent lawyer and church-
member who is carrying on an extensive financial business
throughout the country, and who makes the remarkable state-
ment, that “ the better class of worldly men are more honorable
 302

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

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and reliable in business than the majority of church-members.”
(Let the reader mark this statement.) And this declaration
was concurred in by another eminent hrayer, banker, and
church-member, who is doing a more extensive business in the
North-western States than any other man. And he states that
the most extensive business-man in Central New York has
arrived at the same conclusion as the result of his observation.
And the greatest business-man in Boston is also referred to,
whose experience led him to this conclusion. And other busi-
ness-men in different parts of the country testify to the same
effect. We may, then, set it down as the universal testimonjy of
business-men that infidels and “outsiders” are more honest,
more reliable, more truthful, and more honorable than church-
members. What a fatal argument these facts furnish against
the religion and morality of the Christian Bible ! The}r indicate
that the religion and morality of nature and science are supe-
rior.

Burning the World’s Benefactors as Infidels.

It will be perceived, from the preceding orthodox testimonies,
that the class of people usually stigmatized as infidels are the
true exemplars in practical morality, and the true benefactors
of society. And Christian countries owe them a debt of grati-
tude for all the reforms and improvements which have proved
such signal blessings to society within the last few hundred
years, and for their own elevation out of the groveling igno-
rance of barbarism into the glorious sunlight of civilization.
What withering self-reproach, what shameful mortification and
self-condemnation, they ought therefore to feel in view of having
committed so many of them to the flames, or otherwise mal-
treated and killed them! For, according to the above Christian
testimonies, they were the world’s real benefactors ; and the fol-
lowing list will show that those victims perished at the hands
of Christians as infidel martyrs: In 1511 Herman of Ityswiek
was burned for heresy; in 154G Aonius Polearius was hung,
and then burned for skepticism; in 1574 Geofroi Yallie was
burned for publishing a heretical book ; in 1546 Stephen Dolet,
a printer and bookseller, was burned at Paris for atheism; in
 SEND NO MOBE BIBLES TO THE HEATHEN.   303

1579 Matthew Hamont had his ears cut off, and was then
burned alive, in England, for denying that Christ is God; in
1583 John Lewes was burned at Norwich, Eng., for “ denying
the Godhead of Christ; ” in 1589 Francis Kett, a member of a
college in Cambridge, Eng., was burned for holding “divers
detestable opinions against Christ, our Savior;” in 1611 Bar-
tholomew Legate was burned to ashes at Smithfield for deny-
ing that Christ was God; in 1644 Edward Wightman was
burned at Litchfield for denying the divinity of Christ; in
1619 Lucilio Yanini, an Italian, was burned for atheistical opin-
ions ; in 1574 John Gonganelle was poisoned for his infidelity
by the Holy Sacrament; in 1629 Alexander Leighton had his
nose slit and his ears cut off, and was imprisoned for eleven
years for publishing a work against miracles. To make the
matter short, without extending the list, it has been estimated
that forty thousand perished at the hands of Christians in forty
years for infidelity, heresy, or other opinions deemed unsound
by orthodox. And thus it will be perceived that infidelity has
had its martyrs as well as Christianity; and that Christians, in
putting these men to death, were robbing the world (according
to “ The New-York Evangelist ”) of its real benefactors. Oh,
shame ! Christianity, where is thy blush ?

CHAPTER LI.

SEND NO MOKE BIBLES TO THE HEATHEN.

A recent work by a Christian writer states that there are now
employed in the work of converting the heathen to Christianity
fifteen thousand missionaries, and that they succeed in convert-
ing about ten thousand a year. From this statement, it appears
that ten thousand missionaries make annually one convert apiece,
while five thousand make none. And the cost the writer esti-
mates to be about twenty thousand dollars for each convert.
Col. Wiseman estimated it, about thirty years ago, to be ten
thousand dollars apiece. And, while these ten thousand con-
verts were made, the heathen population increased in numbers
 304

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

five millions. Thus it appears they increase two hundred times
faster than they are converted. How long will it take, at such
rates, to effect the entire conversion of the world? and what will
be the cost ? All the gold ever dug from the mines of Golconda
and California would be but a drop in the bucket compared with
the requisite amount. The question naturally arises here, Do
the results justify such an enormous expenditure of time and
treasure, say nothing of the loss of health on the part of the
missionaries? A learned Hindoo stated, in a speech made in
London in 1876, that the conversions made in India are con-
fined principally to the low, ignorant, superstitious class, who
do not possess sufficient sense and intelligence to know the dif-
ference between the religion they are converted to and the
religion they are converted from. Are such converts worth
ten thousand or twenty thousand dollars apiece? The case
suggests the story of the Hibernian who stated his horse had
but two faults : u First, he is hard to catch ; second, he is no
account when caught.” The heathen must be hard to convert
if it requires an expense of ten thousand dollars apiece, and of
but little account when converted if they know nothing about
the nature of the religion they are converted to. There are
various considerations which go to prove that the hundreds of
millions of dollars expended annually in this enterprise are
worse than wasted : —

1.   One missionary, becoming discouraged at the prospect,
once made the statement that nine-tenths of the converts have
not sense enough to understand the Christian religion, nor
moral principle enough to live up to its precepts, and that a
considerable portion of them relapsed into heathenism. It
should 1)0 borne in mind that it is not the most intelligent nor
the most moral portion of the heathen who profess to embrace
Christianity, but generally the credulous, ignorant, and fickle-
minded class, who are ready for any change that may be offered.

2.   No real good seems to be accomplished by the introduc-
tion of the Christian llible among the heathen, but much evil.
Its thousands of bad moral precepts and bad moral examples,
and its sanction of every species of crime, must inevitably have
the effect to weaken then* moral resolutions, and deepen them in
 SEND NO MORE BIBLES TO THE HEATHEN. 305

the commission of crime. And hence, as missionaries them-
selves indirectly confess, crime has increased in almost every
nation where missions have been established. It is true, that, in
those nations where the arts and sciences have been cultivated,
they have operated to some extent in counteracting the bad
moral lessons they learn by reading the Bible; and in some
cases, in this way, some improvement has been made. But no
instance can be found in the history of the missionary enterprise
where any improvement has been made in the morals of the
people, where their instruction has been confined to the Bible,
without the arts and sciences. On the contrary, their morals
have grown worse, or remained unimproved, as in Abyssinia and
the Samoan Islands, where, after more than a thousand years’
instruction in Bible religion, without the arts and sciences, they
are still in the lowest stages of barbarism. (See Chapter 50.)

u The Bible as a Moral Necessity.”

3.   It is a policy that must be deplored by every true philan-
thropist, that the Christian world expends millions of dollars
every year to convert the heathen to a religion that can neither
improve their morals or their intellect, but inculcates bad les-
sons in morals and science, and, in many cases, is a worse
religion than that already established in those countries. (For
evidence, see Chapter 50.)

4.   And this policy becomes still more reprehensible when
coupled with the fact that there are sixty thousand Christians
living in a state of want, beggary, destitution, and suffering, in
Christian cellars in New-York City; and two hundred thou-
sand, including Boston and Philadelphia, who are in a state
of degradation and suffering almost beyond description, who
might be relieved and placed in a situation to improve their
morals and their physical condition comfortably if the millions
of money, time, and labor were spent on them which are use-
lessly expended on foreign missions. Think of two hundred
thousand church-members living in dark, damp, dreary, sickly
cellars, with grim starvation daily staring them in the face, while
their purse-proud Christian landlords are living in luxury over
their heads. No such cruel, inhuman religion can be found in
any heathen nation.
 306

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

5.   And then the missionary enterprise inflicts physical evils,
as well as moral, upon the foreign heathen. It introduces habits
and customs amongst them, which, in some cases, destro}^ their
health, as well as corrupt their morals. Look, for example, at
the Sandwich Islands. Since the establishment of Christian
missions amongst them, the population has decreased thirty
per cent. Twent}r thousand children in schools in 1848 are
dwindled down to eleven thousand. Marriages have decreased,
and divorces have increased. Nine hundred divorces took
place in four }Tears, while previous to the introduction of Chris-
tianit}', we are told, divorces were almost unknown. Mission-
aries, ignorant of plysiolog}7 and the laws of mental science,
and in total disregard of natural law, establish habits among
the heathen which destroy both their health and their happiness.

6.   The people in several heathen countries have proved to be
sharp-sighted and intelligent enough to detect the errors in the
Bible and religious sj^stem presented to them b}T the mission-
aries. Bishop Colenso states, that, while serving as missionary
among the Zulus tribe, some of the natives started objections
to statements found in the Bible which had not occurred to his
own mind. And this fact made him resign his mission and
return home, and read his Bible with more care, which resulted
in detecting hundreds of errors in the Holy Book, which he has
published to the world in a large volume. We are informed
that the Hindoos told some of the missionaries while among
them, that such a God as the Christian Bible describes would
not be allowed to run at large in their countiy. lie would be
taken up as a criminal.

7.   The natives in several countries where the missionaries
have been operating, on becoming acquainted with the character
of the teachings of the Christian Bible, have raised objections to
its being circulated amongst them, and, in some cases, have
besought the missionaries to leave. The Lev. Mr. Ilall, a mis-
sionary in India, states that a public meeting was called at
Madras by the natives to draw up a petition to Lord Stanley
of England to send no more missionaries, and also entreat him
to withdraw those then operating there; and such was the
interest manifested that the meeting called out ten thousand
 WHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND DO TO BE SAVED f 307

people. The Chinese, also, have manifested strong opposition
to the movements of the missionaries among them; while the
Japanese have kept out from amongst them both Bible and
missionaries by positive law until a recent period.

8.   The inhabitants of the Friendly Isles, of Honolulu, of
India, and also of Japan, have all discussed the subject of send-
ing missionaries to this country to improve the morals of the
Christians; and it is certain that some of them are practically
acquainted with a better system of morals than that which pre-
vails in this country.

Here we will note the remarkable circumstance that a learned
Hindoo has recently held a two days’ debate with a Christian
missionary, which excited such an interest that it drew together
from five to seven thousand of the natives, who desired to see
the missionary beat in the debate. A writer states that the
Hindoo handled the missionary’s arguments as a cat would a
mouse, thus intimating that the missionary was completely van-
quished in the logical contest; and yet this Hindoo is called
a u heathen.” Pshaw! It would be a blessing to Christian
countries to be supplied with a few millions of such heathen.
It would improve both their morals and their intelligence.

Note. —Many anecdotes are afloat tending to prove the superior moral honesty of the
Hindoos and other “ heathen.” As a traveler was walking the streets of an Asiatic city
with one of the natives, he proposed to step into a store and purchase some article.
“ No,” said the native: “ see that chair in the door to let us know the merchant is ab-
sent.” — “ What! ” exclaimed the traveler: “ do merchants go away and leave their goods
exposed in that way?” — “Yes,” responded the honest native, “when there are no
Christians about.”

CHAPTEK LET. ^

WHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND DO TO BE SAVED ?

u What shall we believe and do in order to be saved? ” is an
all-important query, and one which daily occupies the minds
of millions of earth’s inhabitants of all countries and all climes.
There are ten thousand answers to this question, and they are
as conflicting as the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel.
No two religious orders, and scarcely any two religious believ-
 308

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

ers, agree with respect to the all-important answer to be
rendered to this all-important question. To prove this, we will
interrogate the disciples of all the leading religious orders who
have found a place in the world’s history, and compare their
answers, and observe the result. Commencing in the order of
time, the disciples of the Vedas will be the first we will
interrogate, as they represent the oldest religious faith that has
ever been promulgated in the world.

I. Hindoo’s Answer to the Question.

Well, brother Hindoo, will 3*ou be so good as to answer this
question, u What shall we do and believe in order to. be saved? ”
“ Oh, yes !” responds the devout worshiper of Brahma, point-
ing to a stone arche.d pagoda. u Go and prostrate 3*ourself in
that hoty building, made venerable b3r a thousand 3*ears’ devo-
tion, and offer up piTiyer and praise to Brahma, and, if you
have committed any sins, implore his forgiveness. You must
also believe in his Hoty Book, the Vedas, and obe3T its precepts,
which enjoin virtue and holiness, and forbid theft, robbe^,
murder, tying, dishonest3r, adulteiy, and other crimes; and
you must not onty believe in the Hoty Book as God’s revealed
will to mankind, but you must believe it is all true, — every word
of it. You must believe, also, that it existed in the mind of the
great God Brahma from all eternity; and some nine thousand
3*ears ago was revealed b3T him to certain hoty men, known as
rishis, or prophets, who recorded it in a book for the instruction
and salvation of the world ; and that this divinety revealed and
perfect book contains all knowledge, past, present, and future,
and all the relirjion necessary to save the whole human race.
And, if you would become a true-born saint [i.e., in Christian
language, “regenerated and born again ”], 3tou must read the
Iloty Book through upon 3’our bended knees. [And thousands
of its most pious and devout disciples have performed this
humble and laborious task.] And if 3*011 would advance still
farther in soul-purification and true sanctit3*, so as to become a
thrice-born saint [for the3r hold that the oftener 3*011 are born
the bettor], then you must commit the divine volume all to
meinoty. [And man3r of them, we are assured, have accom-
 WHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND BO TO BE SAVED ? 309

plisked this herculean task.] But you can not attain to
complete and perfect holiness as a Hindoo saint, unless you
forsake the busy scenes of life, retire to lonely places, and
devote yourselves to a life of religious contemplation.” By
leading this austere, self-denying life, they hold that men and
women can attain to complete holiness, and draw near to the
spirit of God, and become so exalted in his favor as to receive
important revelations from him, and be enabled by him to
perform great miracles, such as casting out devils, raising the
dead, handling fire without being burned, and swallowing poi-
son without being killed or injured, and finally become Gods,
and ascend to heaven in mortal bodies after the manner of
Enoch and Elijah. In one respect some of the sects are much
more consistent than Christian professors. Believing, as Chris-
tians have always professed to do, that sickness is often sent by
God as a punishment for sin, they never send for a physician,
nor allow one to treat the case ; because, as they argue, trying
to cure it would be trying to counteract the judgment of God,
and thus bring down his vengeance upon the heads of those
guilty of this sin. Here Christians might learn an important
moral lesson of the heathen, — that of living up to the doctrines
they preach.

We have, then, the Hindoo answer to the question, “What
must we do and believe in order to be saved ? ’ ’

The Egyptian’s Answer.

Well, brother disciple of the old Egyptian religion, let us
hear your answer to the question, “What must we do and
believe in order to be saved?” — “Well,” replies the believer
in this ancient order of faith, “ if you would make a sure thing
of escaping the pangs of hell, and being saved in the heavenly
mansion, you must not neglect to pray daily to the great God
Tulis, crucified some twenty-eight hundred }Tears ago for the
sins of mankind; and, if you have committed any sin, you
must pray to him to have them canceled from 4 The Book of
Life.’ [For the ancient Egyptians believed and taught that
our evil deeds, as well as our good deeds, are recorded in “ The
Book of Life,” in which St. John represents (see Rev. 22-19.)
 310

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

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our good deeds alone as being registered.] And, if you would
make a sure thing of being saved in ‘the day of judgment,’
you must intercede with Divine Mercy to erase your evil deeds
from this Book of Life, so that the}7 will not stand against you
in that solemn hour.” Here we find a few of the duties enu-
merated which the disciples of that ancient system of religion
believed and taught were necessary to be comprised in your
religious creed in order to be saved in the great day of accounts.

The Chinese Answer.

We will now interrogate the representative of the religion
of “The Five Volumes,” and hear his answer to this most
important question that ever occupied the thoughts of the human
mind. Well, then, brother Chinaman, please tell us what we
shall do and believe in order to reach the heavenly kingdom
when compelled to quit the things of time. “Why, the most
important thing of all is, to perform your daily vows to God, and
worship him through images prepared to represent him, whether
those images are made of wood or stone or metal, though
you are not to consider these images as the veritable living and
true God.” For no nation was ever so brainless or stupid as
to believe that idols or images made of mere inanimate matter
were living beings, much less a living God. No! the images
which have been represented by Christian writers as being
objects of worship in numerous heathen countries have been
nothing more than mere imaginary likenesses of the Divine
Being, and were gotten up for the same purpose that Christian
men obtain photograph likenesses of their absent friends, and
hang them on the walls of their dwellings. The object is sim-
ply to keep the images of our friends impressed on our minds
in their absence ; and the same motive actuates the idolater in
making supposed images of an absent God. The object is
simply to have something before them that will keep them
in remembrance of him, and his laws and commandments, — a
very laudable motive, most certainly. The}’ arc idolaters, it is
true ; and so are all nations who believe in a personal God,
whether called Jew, pagan, or Christian: for idolatry is de-
fined to be “image-making and image-worship; ” and both
 WHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND DO TO BE SAVED? 311

of these acts all religious nations have been addicted to (Chris-
tians not excepted). This can be seen in a moment, when we
look at the essential nature of idolatry; that is, the making and
worship of images. All images are first formed in the mind.
The Christian forms his conception of a personal God in his
mind; and the pagan does the same. Both thus make their
mental images of God. The only difference in the two cases
is, the pagan goes one step farther, and represents his image
in wood, stone, or metal; but it is no more an image than
while it existed only in the mind. Then it is evident there is
no essential difference between them. Both are idolaters. For
a further elucidation of this subject, see the chapter on idol-
atry. And, if you would be saved by the Chinese religion,
there are some practical duties you must perform. You must
live up to the golden rule incorporated in their Bible nearly
twenty-five hundred years ago. You must also observe the rite
of water-baptism; for it has been a religious ordinance amongst
them for several thousand years. And, if you would attain to
complete holiness, you must be kind to all human beings, and
even all animals. Kill no living thing, and eat nothing after
sundown. Then you can be saved by their religion.

The Persian’s and Chaldean’s Answer.

Brothers of the religion of Iran^ can you tell us what to do and
believe in order to be saved? u Yes, indeed. First of all, you
must believe c God’s Living Word,’ the Zenda Avesta ; for that
is the meaning of the term. Zenda means c the life ’ or 4 the
living,’ and Avesta, ‘ the word of God.’ And you must live
up to its holy precepts, which will keep you from committing
sin, and prompt you to lead a virtuous life. You must also
say grace, both before and after eating, as that was their an-
cient custom. But you are forbidden to speculate in any of
the necessaries of fife so as to cause suffering among the poor.
And their Bible declares that he who hoards up grain, and holds
it for a high price, is responsible for all the famine and all the
misery that may take place among the people. [I would recom-
mend modern Christian speculators to borrow this heathen code,
and learn from it some important moral lessons.] To insure
 312

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

salvation under this religion, you must also believe in ‘ Mithra
the Mediator,’ crucified for the sins of the world some three
thousand three hundred years ago by wicked hands, but in no
case make any idols or images of God ; for their religion prac-
tically condemns idolatry.”

The Japanese Answer to the Question.

We will now hear from a “heathen” nation distinguished
for good sense, good morals, and practical honesty.

Tell us, then, brother Japanese, what we must do and believe
in order to be saved. “ Well, first of all, you must keep the
Christian Bible out of your houses. Don’t suffer it to enter
your doors. Let all Bibles alone, and obey the inward moni-
tions of your own souls. Your own conscience and experience
and moral sense will teach you that it is wrong to lie, wrong to
swear, wrong to steal, wrong to cheat, wrong to get drunk,
wrong to fight, and wrong to kill.” Now let us learn some-
thing about the moral character and practical fives of this
“heathen nation,” who, for more than two hundred years, have
kept Christian Bibles and Christian missionaries out from
among them, most of the time by positive law. Dr. Oliphant
and Col. Hall, who both spent some considerable time amongst
them, state that the}’ are an honest, upright, moral, and sober
people. With respect to honesty of dealing, sobriety, and ab-
stinence from swearing, quarreling, fighting, or any of the
common vices of society, the best authorities assure us that
no Christian nation on earth will compare with them ; and yet
the}’ conscientiously refrain from reading the Christian Bible.
(See Chapter L. of this work.) What a startling disproof is
here furnished to the declaration of Christian writers that the
introduction of the Christian Bible, and the establishment of
the Christian religion amongst the heathen, arc essential to the
existence of good morals amongst them ! In many cases more
good would be effected by reversing the practice, and sending
heathen missionaries into Christian nations, as the pious pagans
of China, India, and the Friendly Isles have all been talking
of doing; and some of the godly people of India have already
entered upon the worK.
 IVHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND BO TO BE SAVED? 313

The Mahomed an Answer to the Question.

Brother disciple of the Koran, will you please to tell us what
the one hundred and fifty million of followers of the great
prophet believe is necessary to do and believe in order to be
saved? “ Yes, certainty. The devout believers in this soul-
saving religion have understood this question for more than a .
thousand years, and know exactly how to answer it. You
must believe that the Holy Book (the Koran) is God’s last
revelation, and his last will and testament to mankind; and
you must shape your practical fives by its precepts, which will
make you 4 true saints,’ and honest, upright, and righteous men
and women. You must also believe that the great prophet is
the true, holy, and appointed messenger of God, and that
Allah is the only true God. To believe, as Christians do, that
God is divided into three persons or beings, or three attributes,
or three branches, known as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is
not only a monstrous absurdity, but a monstrous sin and an
unpardonable blasphemy; and no man or woman who holds
such doctrine can be saved. God is but one, and Allah is his
name, and you must worship him seven times a day; and on
the sabbath day (Friday) you must present yourselves at the
mosque with the Holy Book in your hand, which, having kissed,
you are then to place it upon the holy altar, and listen,while the
priest explains its great truths and its profound and godly
mysteries.” And “ on such occasions,” says Major Denham,
u tears flow in abundance, as under Christian preaching.”

Here, then, you have the terms of salvation and the road
marked out to heaven by the believers in the Koran.

The Christian Churches’ Answer to the Question.

And now, brethren of the Christian faith, we will listen with
attention to your answer to the important question, “What
shall we do and believe in order to be saved? ” But Christian
sects are so numerous, and their views so conflicting, we can
only find room for the answers of a few of the leading churches.
 314

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

The Catholic’s Answer,

Well, brother Roman Catholic, as you represent the oldest
Christian denomination in existence, we will first hear from }x>ur
Church in answer to this great question, “What shall we do
and believe in order to be saved?” — “ Well, the question is
easily answered. You must believe that the Bible is the inspired
word of God; that Jesus Christ is the son of God; and that
St. Peter, succeeded by the Pope, is his vicegerent on the earth.
You must also worship, or at least believe in the divinity of,
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Virgin Mary; and
adhere to the various rites and ceremonies of the Church.”

The Greek Christian’s Answer.

Well, brother disciple of the Greek Church, “ what shall we
do and believe in order to be saved? ” What do you think of
the Roman Catholic’s answer? Is it correct? “ No, indeed:
far from it. It is an insult to God the Father and God the Son
both to put either St. Peter or the Pope at the head of the
Church. That is the office and mission of Jesus Christ the
Savior ; and he will never save you while you believe such blas-
phemous doctrine.” Away then goes the old mother-church,
with her hundred and fifty millions of souls, down into the
bottomless pit, being ruled out of heaven by the Greek Church;
that is, doomed to eternal perdition, according to the testimony
of the Greek Church.

The Presbyterian’s Answer to the Question.

Well, brother of the Presbjderian order, we will now listen
to your answer to the great question, “ What shall we do and
believe in order to be saved?” IIow about the Greek Chris-
tian’s answer to the question? Is it right? Docs he hold the
true doctrine, or not? “No: very far from it, indeed. Like
the Roman Christian, he believes in the divinity of the Virgin
Marj', and consequently he is an idolater; and no idolater can
be admitted into the kingdom of heaven.” So away goes the
old Greek Church, with her sevent}’ million disciples, down into
the world of endless woe, if the testimony of our Presbyterian
 WHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND DO TO BE SAVED ? 315

brother is to be relied upon. And thus two-thirds of all Chris-
tendom, comprising the disciples of the Romish Church and
the Greek Church, are doomed to an endless hell, according to
their own witnesses.

The Unitarian Christian’s Answer.

Our Unitarian brother will now please come forward, and tell
us 44 what we must do and believe in order to be saved.” Do
you indorse any of the answers already obtained, or agree with
any of the churches which have been interrogated upon this
subject, or not? “No: very far from it.” What! you don’t
dissent from the views of the Presbyterian Church upon this
question, do you? “Yes, I do: for they worship 4 the man
Christ Jesus ’ (as Paul truly calls him), and, being but a man,
they are idolaters (like the Roman and Greek Christians) for
worshiping him as a God, and therefore cannot be saved, ac-
cording to the Bible. He was born as a man; he lived as a
man; he ate as a man; he walked as a man; he talked as a
man; he slept as a man, and finally died as a man. And he
calls himself 4 the son of man ’ more than forty times, which
would make him a man. For these and various other reasons
we believe he could not have been a God, but only a man ; and
therefore those who worship him as a God are guilty of idolatry,
— the most heinous sin a man can commit, according to the
Bible. And hence they can not possibly be saved, if the Bible
teaches truly.” Away then goes four hundred Protestant sects
to the regions of eternal torment, if the testimony of Christian
witnesses is to be believed and accepted in the case.

The Jew’s Answer to the Question.

Brother Jew, can you show us the road to salvation, or tell us
what to do and believe in order to be saved? 44 Oh, yes ! it is
a plain question, and easily answered. You must believe that
the Old-Testament Scriptures are the inspired word of God,
and believe in its miracles and prophecies, though you are not
to interpret or construe any of its prophecies as foretelling
the coming and mission of Christ; for, as we wrote them, we
of course know exactly what they teach, and how to understand
 316

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES.

them. And we know most positively that they do not foretell
the coming and mission of any such a being as Jesus Christ as
the promised Messiah.”

“Now, look here, you wicked Jews,” exclaim a hundred
Christian sects, “ you are denying 4 the Lord who bought you,’
and therefore can not be saved.” So six millions of Jews are
consigned by their Protestant brethren to endless torment,—
given over to the bufferings of Satan to all eternity.

The Methodist’s Answer.

Brother Methodist, perhaps you can do something towards
settling this vexed and puzzling question, “What must we do
and believe in order to be saved?”—“ Certainly,” exclaims the
pious disciple of Wesley. “It is perfect^ plain, and easily
answered. You must believe in the Bible as the revealed will
and word of God, and in Jesus Christ 4 the Son and sent of
God ;’ and pour out j’our souls in prajTer and praises to God, and
shout4 Glory’ to his holy name.”—“ Stop ! stop ! ” cries out the
good, pious, quiet, broad-brimmed Quaker. 44 You can not be
saved in that wa}\ You drown the inward monitor of the Holy
Spirit, which must be listened to and obe3',ed in order to insure
salvation. You, by your noisy way of worshiping God, drown
the voice of this inward monitor, and consequently hear and
heed not its admonitions; thus proving that you know nothing
about the true way of worshiping God, or what true religion is.
And therefore there is no chance for you to be saved.” And
thus two millions of Methodists are doomed to eternal woe by
their Quaker brethren.

Tiie Baptist’s Answer.

Brother Baptist, will you give us your opinion, or answer the
question, 44 What shall we do and believe in order to be saved?”
— “Oh, 3'cs! the Bible is so plain upon that subject that no
honest-reader can misunderstand it. You arc to believe in the
Bible ; believe in Jesus Christ, and live up to his precepts ; and
believe in, and practically observe, the sacred ordinance of
water-baptism,.— without which, according to the Bible, it is
impossible to reach the kingdom, or inherit life everlasting.” —
 WHAT SHALL WE BELIEVE AND DO TO BE SAVED? 317

“Stop, stop!” exclaims the drab-cloth Quaker again. “I
perceive that the Baptists, as well as the Methodists, are not
on the road to salvation. No man or woman can be saved who
believes in, and relies upon, the external and carnal rite of
water-baptism. It is a reliance on such outward performances
that causes millions of ignorant and unconverted heathen to
sink to endless ruin every year. They and you are dwelling in
the outer court, and practically know nothing about the true
religion essential to salvation, and hence can not be saved.”
— “ Now, look here,” exclaims the Campbellite Baptist, “ water-
baptism is one of the positive ordinances; and the Bible declares
that no man or woman can be saved without a compliance with
all the ordinances, from the least to the greatest. Therefore
there is no chance for you infidel Quakers to get to heaven;
but you will, sooner or later, be consigned to the pit 4 where the
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.’ ” And thus we
might pursue the conflicting jargon of answers through all the
churches. But we stop confused and confounded amid chaos,
confusion, and contradiction. All seems to be wild conjecture
and blind guess-work with regard to what we must do and be-
lieve in order to be saved. There appears to be no way of
learning any thing about the road to salvation by the churches.
What is to be done ?