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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mistakes of Jesus, by William Floyd
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mistakes of Jesus
+
+Author: William Floyd
+
+Release Date: October 11, 2007 [EBook #22955]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MISTAKES OF JESUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Stephen Blundell
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE MISTAKES
+              OF JESUS
+
+
+
+                 BY
+
+            WILLIAM FLOYD
+
+   _Author of "Social Progress,"
+     "People vs. Wall Street,"
+        "Our Gods on Trial,"
+         "War Resistance."_
+
+
+
+             _New York_
+ THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSOCIATION.
+
+
+
+
+ Copyright 1932 By
+ THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSN., INC.
+
+
+
+
+ TO DEVOTEES
+ OF TRUTH
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Archaic
+    spellings have been retained. Paragraph spacing has been normalised.
+
+    A table of contents, though not present in the original publication,
+    has been provided below:
+
+      FOREWORD
+        Face the Facts. The True Jesus. Scriptures Unauthentic. Faith in
+        Jesus. Documentary Evidence. Retain the Good. Christianity Must
+        Go.
+
+      ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY
+        The Virgin Birth. The Jewish Messiah. Eternal Damnation. The
+        Atonement. Angels and Devils.
+
+      FALSE IMPRESSIONS
+        Jonah and the Whale. End of the World. Miracles. Eternal Life.
+        Raising Lazarus. God's Protection. Belief in Prayer.
+
+      OBSCURE TEACHINGS
+        Witnesses and Judge. Cannibalism. Religion Only for Children.
+        Difficult or Easy? Charity. The Scriptures Upheld. Illogical.
+        Parables Deceptive.
+
+      DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS
+        Labor. Usury. Economics. Punishment for Debts. Healing. Peace.
+        Marriage. Celibacy. Adultery. Divorce. Faulty Judgment.
+        Unconvincing. Prohibition. Lack of Experience.
+
+      AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE
+        Cursing Nature. Forgiveness. Vituperation. Destruction of
+        Property. Egotism. Lack of Courtesy. Unethical Advice. Sermon on
+        the Mount. Inconsistency. Fear. Failure.
+
+      CONCLUSION
+        Jesus a Myth. Judged by His Works. Ethical Evolution. Gains, not
+        Losses.
+
+      CODE OF LIVING
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+The tradition regarding Jesus is so glamorous that it is difficult to
+review his life and character with an unbiased mind. While
+Fundamentalists and Modernists differ regarding the divinity of Christ,
+all Christians and many non-Christians still cling to preconceived
+notions of the perfection of Jesus. He alone among men is revered as
+all-loving, omniscient, faultless--an unparalleled model for mankind.
+
+This convention of the impeccability of Jesus is so firmly established
+that any insinuation of error on his part is deemed a blasphemy.
+Doubting Jesus is more impious than mocking God Almighty. Jehovah may be
+exposed to some extent with impunity; a God who destroyed 70,000 of his
+chosen people because their king took a census[1] is too illogical for
+any but theologians to worship. But the Son of God, or Son of man, is
+sacrosanct. Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived unspotted
+by the world, free from human foibles, able to redeem mankind by his
+example.
+
+Respect for the principles of Jesus is so inbred in American people of
+all faiths that an attempt to disparage his worth is denounced as bad
+taste. The detractor is suspected of being an immoral person, no matter
+how convincing may be the proof which he presents. A conspiracy of
+silence is directed against any system of ethics advanced as superior to
+the Sermon on the Mount. In popular opinion Jesus never made a mistake;
+all his teachings were infallible; no other view is tolerated.
+
+
+_Face the Facts_
+
+This unwillingness to acknowledge the shortcomings of Jesus is partially
+due to fear of sustaining a great loss. The familiar answer to heretical
+arguments is that faith should not be destroyed unless something can be
+put in its place--ignoring the fact that something always may be
+substituted for beliefs destroyed. That substitute is faith in the world
+as it really is. And our modern world, with all its shortcomings, is
+infinitely preferable to the earth, or even the heaven, of the first
+century. We now know that man can do more to eradicate sorrow than Jesus
+ever thought of. We can have greater confidence in the world as revealed
+today than in the doubtful traditions of Biblical times.
+
+But suppose there were nothing to substitute for the myth destroyed,
+should that deter the Truthseeker from continuing his investigation?
+Scientists do not hesitate in their research because the result of a new
+discovery may be disastrous. They seek the facts regardless of
+consequences; they want to know the Truth about the physical world.
+Ethicists should have a similar desire concerning the metaphysical
+world. They should have confidence that the Supreme Intelligence (as
+Edison called it) will lead on to better things.
+
+
+_The True Jesus_
+
+If Jesus was what his followers believe, no arguments will destroy their
+faith in him; but if Jesus was not perfect, according to modern
+standards, it is important that his status as God, or man, should be
+revised. Loss of confidence in an erring idol is not loss of a true
+ideal.
+
+When an iconoclast asserts that Jesus lacked supreme intelligence, the
+natural question is, "How do you know that you are right in your
+appraisal, 'lest haply ye be found even to fight against God'?" The
+answer is that we do not claim omniscience, but merely request everyone
+to use his or her own judgment, with intellectual honesty, examining
+each act or saying of Jesus without regard to presupposed ideas or
+tradition.
+
+
+_Scriptures Unauthentic_
+
+The consensus of scholarship has rejected the creation of the universe
+in six days in 4004 B.C., science having proved the existence of the
+world for millions of years. Higher Critics refuse to credit the book of
+Genesis, according to the first chapter of which the trees, beasts and
+fowls were created before man, but according to the second chapter after
+man. It is not assuming too much for the humblest writer to say that
+Moses was mistaken concerning many things he described in the
+Pentateuch. It follows that if one important portion of the Bible is
+untrustworthy, other parts of that same book may not be the infallible
+Word of God. The New Testament, as well as the Old, may be examined
+critically, and if the gospels contain numerous contradictions, the
+statements of the authors on any point, including the life of Jesus, are
+open to question. A conscientious person should reach conclusions based
+upon the best knowledge obtainable from all sources.
+
+If anyone is convinced that Jesus made mistakes, he is not necessarily
+compelled to become an atheist. All other Gods that have been worshipped
+by men have been found imperfect. The oft exposed errors of Jehovah do
+not prevent Christians and Jews from professing belief in God. Those who
+require support from outside themselves cling to the symbol of deity
+though not thoroughly crediting any personality ever described in any
+sacred scriptures. Except Jesus.
+
+An Evolutionist passes beyond the negative denial of God to the
+construction of a new philosophy in which Truth is his guide, Truth
+being the nearest approximation to reality obtainable with our present
+knowledge. Belief in the world as it is now, and as it is going to be,
+is a sufficient creed.
+
+
+_Faith in Jesus_
+
+With Jesus entrenched in popular opinion, there is small probability
+that faith in him will be shaken unless there is a preponderance of
+evidence against his divinity. No one need abandon faith in Jesus until
+convinced that something better has been found. No one should even
+expose himself to heretical arguments unless he is a devotee of Truth.
+Then only can he rejoice at a revelation of error in confidence that the
+more nearly the universe is understood the better can man adjust himself
+to his surroundings. A worshipper of Truth fears no destruction of false
+gods, nor any facts that may cause him to throw over treasured
+superstitions. He is willing to prove all things and hold fast to that
+which is true. He rejoices when his idol is shattered, knowing that he
+is approaching nearer to the true way of living, a way that Jesus did
+not adequately explain.
+
+Any attempt to censure the character of Jesus will meet with the
+ridicule it deserves unless substantiated by documentary evidence. The
+mere improbability of events contrary to natural laws does not destroy
+the ethical value of the teachings of the Nazarene. Anything might have
+happened in the eerie days of old; the critic must do more than deny the
+historicity of Jesus and the inspiration of the Bible. To be convincing
+he must derive from the scriptures in which Christians believe whatever
+proof can be deduced to unveil the superstition of a redeeming Savior.
+
+
+_Documentary Evidence_
+
+The documents most generally accepted by Christians are those collected
+in the King James Version of the Bible. The Apocrypha and other early
+manuscripts are unreliable. None of the thirty or more writers who
+described events around Jerusalem in Jesus' time gives any account of
+his teachings. The only life of Jesus is found in the four gospels; the
+numerous biographers of Christ have had no other reliable source of
+information. It is deceptive for the publishers of revised editions of
+the Bible to claim that "original manuscripts" have been consulted. Not
+one of the original manuscripts is in existence, the earliest extant
+dating from the fourth century A.D., while the most ancient portion of
+the New Testament in any museum was transcribed in the sixth century.
+
+Accepting, therefore, the King James Version of the New Testament as the
+most reliable source of information, the question arises as to what
+portion of the chapters therein may be considered authentic. Scholars
+have rejected the entire gospel of John as less reliable than the
+synoptic gospels; and the sixteenth chapter of Mark as an addition after
+the original papyrus had broken off. Modernists, being confronted, in
+spite of these deletions, with inconsistencies in the gospels of
+Matthew, Mark and Luke, have assumed the further privilege of rejecting
+any verses which appear at variance with their beliefs. Liberals of this
+class contend that the supernatural side of Jesus may be disregarded and
+yet that Jesus will remain Our Lord. They reject certain evangelistic
+passages that conflict with modern thought, but accept other statements
+by the same authors as authoritative.
+
+As the Christian churches have not accepted any abbreviation of the
+Bible as a substitute for the King James Version, it seems proper for
+the critic to have recourse to that translation as the most authentic
+description of the life and teachings of Jesus. He is justified,
+moreover, in considering every word in the supposedly inspired gospels
+as equally reliable. His only concern should be to interpret each verse
+as nearly as possible as the original writers intended their words to be
+understood, allowing for Eastern hyperbole and the custom of the times.
+
+
+_Retain the Good_
+
+In preparing a critical analysis of the character of Jesus, it is freely
+admitted that many of the thoughts attributed to the son of Mary are
+superlatively fine. They will live forever whether the personality of
+Jesus be rejected as a divinity or not. That these beautiful preachments
+are ignored here is not due to any desire to belittle admirable
+sentiments or to disparage right living. The loving side of Jesus has
+been emphasized again and again and will be borne in mind by the reader
+when other less admirable traits are criticized. The intent of this
+criticism is not to destroy idealism but to assist the spirit of true
+progress.
+
+
+_Christianity Must Go_
+
+The significance of this investigation lies in the changes that would
+have to be made in religious thought if it should be found that Jesus
+was not perfect. If Jesus was in error concerning conditions of his own
+time and exhibited no knowledge of our modern problems, his authority
+will be lessened. Searchers after the true way of life will not continue
+to worship a person whose conception of the physical and spiritual world
+was erroneous. If Jesus made mistakes, he is neither the Son of God nor
+an infallible man.
+
+So long as people feel compelled to worship what has been proved
+imperfect, or to evade important doctrines of their creeds for fear of
+losing faith in old traditions, their minds will not be receptive to
+changes in social conditions that require abandonment of established
+customs. Christians are imbued with a psychology derived from a
+completed revelation. The firmer their belief in Jesus, the greater
+their resistance to new ideas. Catholics are more reluctant to join
+progressive movements than Modernists and Modernists than Evolutionists.
+Religious people are apt to be afraid of the new world; they doubt the
+possibility of eliminating war, poverty and injustice--customs as deeply
+rooted in the social world as belief in Jesus is in the religious world.
+If the chief reactionary bulwark of the past is abandoned, there will be
+greater possibility of accepting new revelations.
+
+What would happen if Christians should discover that their leader was
+not an incomparable guide? Absolutely nothing at first. Those accustomed
+to lead a moral life would continue to do so. Members of Christian
+churches are the very people who most wish to do what is right. They
+will not lose their character because Jesus has lost his fictitious
+divinity. On the contrary, they will search for the most elevating
+principles to substitute for the personality that has been found
+deficient. It is difficult for people to be superior to their gods.
+These same church-going individuals, when freed from the fetters of
+antiquated supernaturalism, will gradually learn to serve mankind with
+the same devotion they now render to a misunderstood God. They will no
+longer be limited by the defects of their paragon in their efforts to
+make the most of life. They will seek to solve modern problems in a
+rational way instead of deciding such matters as birth control, divorce,
+war and prohibition by reference to the scriptures, as they do now. For
+the first time they will make their decisions according to the best
+knowledge obtainable today.
+
+Jesus was in advance of his time. He declared that such revengeful
+theories as an eye for an eye must be supplanted by forgiveness. But as
+the world has evolved, Jesus has stood still. His teachings, superior as
+they were to those of the ancient Israelites, are now found to be
+inferior to the best ethics culled from the wisdom of the ages, brought
+down to date. It is heartening to feel that we can appropriate the
+superlative principles of all time instead of worshipping a deified
+personality who was limited to the best that men of his own generation
+could conceive.
+
+This examination of the life and character of Jesus will be based upon
+the accounts in the New Testament. Each passage will be construed as
+appears to the writer to have been originally intended. The reader may
+substitute his own interpretation, but should in no instance pass
+lightly over a situation as immaterial. Every word or action of Jesus is
+an important link in the chain of his divinity, or of his exalted
+position as a moral guide. Each argument should be met by acceptance or
+rejection, never with indifference. No reader of the following pages
+should ever say, "What difference does it make?" Everything concerning
+Jesus is of vast consequence in determining whether he is or is not a
+divine Savior, or a perfect guide.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Chron. xxi.
+
+
+
+
+ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY
+
+
+The first event in the life of Jesus, the gospel story of his birth, is
+now considered unauthentic by many scholars and some theologians. The
+birth of a virgin, the visitation of an angel, the star in the East are
+phenomena contrary to natural laws and rest on insufficient authority
+for acceptance as credible. The probabilities are against exceptions in
+the laws of the universe.
+
+
+_The Virgin Birth_
+
+The original evidence for the virgin birth is found only in the gospels
+of Matthew and Luke, two unknown historians, and both these evangelists
+implicitly deny their own tale when they trace the descent of Jesus from
+David through Joseph.[1] The slaughter of the children by Herod, in fear
+of Jesus as a rival, probably never took place. Mark, Luke and John do
+not mention it; Josephus, who dwelt on the crimes of Herod, knew nothing
+of this massacre. According to Luke, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to
+Jerusalem openly soon after the supposed decree.[2]
+
+There is dispute as to whether Jesus was born in Bethlehem or Nazareth,
+and the date of his birth has been placed anywhere from 4 B.C. to 7 A.D.
+Matthew says that Jesus was born "in the days of Herod", while Luke says
+it was "When Cyrenius was governor of Syria." Herod died in 4 B.C.,
+while Cyrenius did not become governor of Syria until 7 A.D.
+
+The romantic story of the Christ-child is not corroborated by the
+historians of the time and is in opposition to the theory of evolution
+by natural processes. And yet it is still one of the main sources of
+Jesus' fame, being repeated at Christmas-tide in the churches, thus
+connecting Jesus with God in a superhuman manner.
+
+The consensus of scholarship is in practical agreement that the theory
+of the virgin birth as a link between Jesus and God is a mistake; but
+whose mistake was it? Jesus never referred to his miraculous birth. If
+he was merely a man and never heard of the rumor about his conception,
+he was not to blame for the spread of this misleading story throughout
+Christendom.
+
+While Jesus did not refer to his divine paternity in a physical sense,
+he did endeavor to convince his hearers that he was more directly
+connected with God than other men. "I and my Father are one."[3] "No
+man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father,
+save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."[4]
+
+Jesus thus proclaimed himself identical with the Lord God of the Old
+Testament who called himself Jehovah. This is entirely in keeping with
+the whole Christian theory, for the _raison d'être_ of Jesus derived
+from the act of God soon after the creation. Adam and Eve ate of the
+fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God had
+commanded them not to touch, and for this disobedience, this fall of man
+from grace, God cursed mankind. Jesus came to earth to save man from the
+wrath of Almighty God.
+
+But this claim of Jesus to oneness with God renders him liable to
+censure for the acts of Jehovah which represented a standard of ethics
+inferior to that preached by the Son of God. According to the
+scriptures, which anyone may freely search, God advised or countenanced
+deception[5]; stealing[6], selfishness[7], conquest by force[8],
+indiscriminate slaughter[9], murder[10], cannibalism[11], killing of
+witches[12], slavery[13], capital punishment for rebellious sons or for
+seeking false gods[14], sacrifices of animals[15] and other acts
+representing the concepts of primitive men.[16]
+
+While Jesus could read[17] and was familiar with the scriptures, it is
+possible that he was not acquainted with the system of dictatorship
+formerly employed by his Father. Occasionally Jesus denounced the ethics
+of "them of old time", but he always referred to his Father as perfect.
+
+The dilemma is that Jesus must be condemned either for claiming identity
+with Jehovah (to whom he was really superior), or for accepting with
+only slight improvements the tyranny of God as described in the Bible,
+the Word of God. Of course if the Bible is not the Word of God, the
+whole system of Christian theology falls to the ground.
+
+
+_The Jewish Messiah_
+
+Jesus claimed to be the Messiah expected by the Jews. "And the high
+priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that
+thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith
+unto him, Thou hast said."[18] "Again the high priest asked him, and
+said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus
+said, I am."[19] "Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And
+he said unto them, Ye say that I am."[20] "The woman saith unto him, I
+know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come he
+will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am
+he."[21]
+
+These acknowledgments by Jesus that he was the Messiah are important,
+for if he claimed divinity when he was merely mortal, either under false
+pretences or being self-deceived, he made a mistake of the most serious
+character. His claim was not recognized by his own people, and many of
+his followers today deny that he was the Jewish Messiah. Jesus said that
+he came from God to save the Jews. Either he was truly the predicted
+Messiah or he made an inexcusable error. In this as in other instances
+to be cited, Fundamentalists will not admit any mistake, for they
+believe in the supernatural events connected with the Son of God. But
+Modernists, who reject the anointed Christ while clinging to the human
+Jesus, may be at a loss to reconcile Jesus' claim to Messiahship with
+their rejection of his divinity.
+
+Jesus stressed his mission to save the world, saying "For God so loved
+the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
+in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."[22]
+
+
+_Eternal Damnation_
+
+Whether Jesus was mistaken or not in his estimate of his close
+relationship with God is for each person to decide; but his theory of
+the disasters that would follow unbelief in his divinity leads to
+serious difficulties if accepted literally. For not only was Jesus in
+error when he insisted that salvation depended upon belief, he was also
+reconciled to eternal suffering for unbelievers. Note some of his
+expressions:
+
+"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."[23] "Depart
+from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
+his angels ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but
+the righteous into life eternal."[24]
+
+"Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
+forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation."[25]
+
+"Except ye repent ye shall perish."[26]
+
+"If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter
+into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire
+that never shall be quenched."[27]
+
+"How can ye escape the damnation of hell?"[28]
+
+"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth
+not shall be damned."[29]
+
+It is evident from these quotations that Jesus not only preached belief
+in his divinity as essential to salvation, but endeavored to terrify
+people into belief by threats of eternal torment. Jesus was responsible
+for the theological conception of a fiery hell. If he was mistaken, if
+there never was a place of torment for the wicked after death, is it not
+an act of constructive criticism to expose the person most responsible
+for the false doctrine that has caused so much fear and mental
+suffering? Must we not deplore this mistake of Jesus and recast our
+entire opinion of him as a religious teacher?
+
+Are we not justified in stating positively that Jesus made a mistake
+when he taught a physical hell and condemned people to spend eternity in
+torment for the doubtful sin of disbelief?
+
+
+_The Atonement_
+
+The doctrine of the Atonement was taught by Jesus. "For this is my blood
+of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
+sins."[30]
+
+Whether this sacrifice of the innocent Jesus to save sinful man was
+ordered by God or was voluntary on the part of Jesus, it represents a
+theory of reprieve from punishment long since abandoned as unethical. If
+sin must be punished, there is no justice in relieving the sinner and
+placing the burden upon the righteous.
+
+Moreover, the Atonement appears to have been ineffective, for in spite
+of the sacrifice that Jesus made, few were to be saved under his scheme
+of salvation. "Many are called but few are chosen."[31] "Strait is the
+gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
+that find it."[32] "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I
+say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."[33]
+
+If the theory of Atonement for sin by the sacrifice of the innocent was
+not ethical and if Jesus taught that doctrine, he was in error, was he
+not?
+
+The sacrifice of Jesus was not so great as often made by men. Jesus was
+sustained with the thought that he was saving the world; his physical
+suffering was not long continued; on the night of his crucifixion he was
+in paradise.[34] He endured a few hours of pain compared to weeks of
+suffering by wounded soldiers, or years spent in prison by the
+proponents of an ideal.
+
+Jesus not only claimed the power to remit sins but also said to his
+disciples: "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and
+whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained."[35]
+
+Is that true? Surely it is proper to ask that blunt question. Here is a
+definite statement concerning the power of certain men to remit sins. If
+those men did not have the power deputed to them, must we not doubt the
+accuracy of Jesus?
+
+Jesus made a distinction between himself and the Comforter: "It is
+expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter
+will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you ... And
+I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
+may abide with you forever."[36]
+
+It must surprise some Christians that the Comforter could not be present
+at the same time with Jesus.
+
+
+_Angels and Devils_
+
+Jesus believed in angels and devils, often referring to these imaginary
+supernatural beings as if they existed. "Thinkest thou that I cannot now
+pray to my Father and he shall presently give me more than twelve
+legions of angels?"[37] "So shall it be at the end of the world: the
+angels shall come forth."[38]
+
+The devils were among the first to recognize Christ's divinity: "What
+have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?"[39] "Let us alone,
+thou Jesus of Nazareth; art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who
+thou art, the Holy One of God."[40] "And unclean spirits when they saw
+him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of
+God."[41]
+
+Jesus believed in demoniacal possession, casting out devils on several
+occasions.
+
+Jesus frequently referred to heaven as a place above the earth: "And
+then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power
+and glory."[42] "And ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right
+hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."[43] "Verily, verily,
+I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of
+God ascending and descending on the Son of man."[44]
+
+When Jesus was transfigured and talked with Moses and Elias, he charged
+his disciples, saying, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man
+be risen again from the dead."[45]
+
+According to the creeds based upon the Bible, Jesus rose from the dead,
+descended into hell, and ascended bodily into heaven. According to the
+gospels he stilled the storm, walked on the water and told Peter to do
+so and to find money in a fish's mouth and catch a large draught of
+fishes. These and other miracles connected Jesus with God and were part
+of his theology.
+
+Every fair-minded person should re-read the gospels and refresh his
+memory regarding the theology of Jesus. Then a decision must be reached
+as to the correctness of the views expressed. Either conditions on earth
+were different in the first century from those of the twentieth, or
+Jesus was mistaken in his conception of God, heaven, hell, angels,
+devils and himself.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. i; Luke iii.
+
+[2] Luke ii, 22.
+
+[3] John x, 30.
+
+[4] Matt. xi, 27.
+
+[5] Ezek. xiv, 9; Num. xiv, 30-34.
+
+[6] Ex. iii, 21-22.
+
+[7] Deut. xiv, 21.
+
+[8] Num. xxxi et al.
+
+[9] Ex. xxxii, 27.
+
+[10] Deut. vii, 16 et al.
+
+[11] Jer. xix, 9 et al.
+
+[12] Ex. xxii, 18.
+
+[13] Lev. xxv, 44-46.
+
+[14] Deut. xxi, 18-21; xiii, 6-9.
+
+[15] Lev. i, 14-15.
+
+[16] See the Old Testament.
+
+[17] Luke iv, 16.
+
+[18] Matt. xxvi, 63-64.
+
+[19] Mark xv, 61-62.
+
+[20] Luke xxii, 70.
+
+[21] John iv, 25-26.
+
+[22] John iii, 16.
+
+[23] John viii, 24.
+
+[24] Matt. xxv, 31-46.
+
+[25] Mark iii, 29.
+
+[26] Luke xiii, 3.
+
+[27] Mark ix, 43.
+
+[28] Matt. xxiii, 33.
+
+[29] Mark xvi, 16.
+
+[30] Matt. xxvi, 28.
+
+[31] Matt. xxii, 14.
+
+[32] Matt. vii, 14.
+
+[33] Luke xiii, 24.
+
+[34] Luke xxiii, 43.
+
+[35] John xx, 23.
+
+[36] John xiv, 16.
+
+[37] Matt. xxvi, 53.
+
+[38] Matt. xiii, 49.
+
+[39] Matt. viii, 29.
+
+[40] Luke iv, 34.
+
+[41] Mark iii, 11.
+
+[42] Mark xiii, 26.
+
+[43] Mark xiv, 62.
+
+[44] John i, 51.
+
+[45] Matt. xvii, 9.
+
+
+
+
+FALSE IMPRESSIONS
+
+
+Jesus not only held mistaken ideas about theology, as anyone but a
+Fundamentalist must admit, but he often gave impressions about earthly
+affairs that were unreliable to say the least. Occasionally his
+statements were actual misrepresentations of fact.
+
+
+_Jonah and the Whale_
+
+"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so
+shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
+earth."[1]
+
+Evidently Jesus believed the story of Jonah and the whale, as well as
+the tale of Noah's ark[2] both of which are now generally discredited.
+Moreover, his prophecy regarding his entombment was inaccurate, for he
+was only two nights and one day in the heart of the earth, from Friday
+night to Sunday morning.
+
+
+_End of the World_
+
+Jesus was decidedly mistaken in his theory of the approaching end of the
+world.
+
+"Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."[3] "Ye shall not have
+gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."[4] "There
+be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the
+Son of man coming in his kingdom."[5] "And this gospel of the kingdom
+shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and
+then shall the end come ... Verily I say unto you, This generation shall
+not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."[6] "The time is
+fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."[7] "So ye in like manner,
+when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even
+at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not
+pass, till all these things be done."[8] "The hour is coming, in the
+which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come
+forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they
+that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."[9]
+
+Jesus was confident that the day of judgment was coming in the first
+century, but it has not come yet, nineteen hundred years later. This
+erroneous belief in the imminent end of the world had an important
+bearing upon his entire philosophy; for if the end of the world was so
+near it was far more important to prepare for life hereafter than to be
+concerned over mundane affairs. May we not view with doubt any of Jesus'
+teachings that depended upon his mistaken conception of the duration of
+the world?
+
+
+_Miracles_
+
+Jesus is reported to have fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two
+fishes, and again 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fishes. He
+walked on the water, calmed the seas, raised three persons from the dead
+and performed other miracles contrary to natural laws. These wondrous
+acts were depended upon by him to convince the people that he was the
+expected Messiah: "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear
+and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers
+are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor
+have the gospel preached to them."[10]
+
+Jesus assured his disciples that they too would be able to perform
+miracles: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
+shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they
+shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not
+hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover."[11]
+"He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
+greater works than these shall he do."[12]
+
+Jesus set great store by these marvels that only magicians attempt
+nowadays. Ministers of the apostolic succession cannot cast out devils
+or take up serpents, and they are affected by deadly drinks the same as
+others. Jesus had a primitive idea of the value of such magic. Either he
+sought to deceive the gullible, or, as is more likely, was himself
+overcredulous. It is important to remember that Jesus stressed the value
+of enchantment and advised his successors to conjure in his name.
+
+If the miraculous had not been connected with the name of Jesus, it is
+probable that he never would have been heard of. His ethical teachings
+alone would not have won for him the exalted position that has come from
+the stories of his miraculous birth, life and ascension. In other words,
+his fame rests upon the supernatural side of his life that is now
+discredited by many of his followers.
+
+
+_Eternal Life_
+
+The remarks of Jesus on the subject of death were not accurate. "If a
+man keep my saying, he shall never see death."[13] "Whosoever liveth and
+believeth in me shall never die."[14]
+
+Apparently Jesus referred to natural death, in which case he was
+utterly mistaken; but if he meant that believers in him should live
+forever in heaven, even so he gave a false impression; for there is no
+evidence that life after death is assured to Christians more than to
+others. Unbelievers were also to have eternal life, though in torment.
+
+
+_Raising Lazarus_
+
+Jesus took advantage of opportunities, even of death, to create dramatic
+effects. The eleventh chapter of John shows that when Lazarus was
+reported ill, Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the
+glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." So Jesus
+let Lazarus, one of the believers whom he loved, die[15] in order that
+he might have the triumph of raising him from the dead. "Then said Jesus
+unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I
+was not there, to the intent ye may believe."
+
+The confusion between earthly death and loss of eternal life was shown
+in the remark of Jesus to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life:
+he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." This
+might be construed to mean that believers should have eternal life
+hereafter, but Jesus evidently had reference to life on earth for he
+proceeded to raise Lazarus from the dead and cause him to live again on
+earth with his sisters.
+
+When Martha reminded Jesus that Lazarus had been dead four days, Jesus
+replied, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou
+shouldest see the glory of God?" But Jesus himself had doubts of his
+ability to bring back Lazarus to life, as shown by his spontaneous
+prayer of thanks: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me." Then
+he revealed again his desire to dramatize the occasion, saying, "And I
+knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand
+by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me."
+
+"Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which
+Jesus did, believed on him." Do the followers of Jesus, who claim that
+he made no mistakes, believe on him? If so, they must believe that he
+raised Lazarus from the dead as he claimed to have done. Do they believe
+that they can also raise people from the dead? Jesus so assured them
+when he promised that believers could do greater works than he
+performed. No, Jesus gave a false impression of his power.
+
+
+_God's Protection_
+
+Jesus continued his deception of the world by promising protection that
+has never been accorded. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And
+one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the
+very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are
+of more value than many sparrows."[16]
+
+These sayings may properly be taken as symbolical or allegorical; but
+the evident intention was to assure his followers that God would protect
+them in their daily life. Safety was promised for believers, a safety
+that has been lacking for everyone. There is no evidence that God does
+protect believers any more than unbelievers. When the Titanic went down,
+those who perished were not solely the wicked persons; there was no
+distinction in the terrible disaster between believers and unbelievers.
+
+Jesus created in the minds of his hearers and his followers the idea
+that God was watching each individual to save him from danger, but this,
+unfortunately, is not a fact. It sounds comforting; it makes people feel
+nearer to God; but experience proves that no such close relationship
+exists. Jesus gave a false impression of God's loving care for men.
+
+
+_Belief in Prayer_
+
+Modern religious people may still consistently believe in prayer as a
+form of inward aspiration, but it is difficult to take literally the
+assurance given by Jesus of practical accomplishments by means of prayer
+in his name.
+
+Jesus did not confine himself to promising spiritual results from
+prayer, but distinctly gave it to be understood that the physical world
+would respond to petitions to Jehovah. "Again I say unto you, That if
+two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
+ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."[17] "If
+ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to
+the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
+removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things
+whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."[18]
+"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
+them, and ye shall have them."[19] "If ye have faith as a grain of
+mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder
+place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto
+you."[20]
+
+These promises have not been fulfilled. Bishops, priests and deacons
+with strong faith have been unable to obtain, by means of the most
+sincere prayer, results similar to those indicated. They have followed
+Jesus in vain. No man living dare put his faith to the test by a public
+demonstration of prayer for physical changes. Christian prayers for rain
+are conventional, not being offered with confidence that rain will
+follow.
+
+Jesus has misled us.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xii, 40.
+
+[2] Luke xvii, 27; Matt. xxv, 38.
+
+[3] Matt. iv, 17.
+
+[4] Matt. x, 23.
+
+[5] Matt. xvi, 28; Mark ix, 1.
+
+[6] Matt. xxiv, 14-34; Luke xxi, 32.
+
+[7] Mark i, 15.
+
+[8] Mark xiii, 29-30.
+
+[9] John v, 28-29.
+
+[10] Matt. xi, 4-5.
+
+[11] Mark xvi, 17-18.
+
+[12] John xiv, 12.
+
+[13] John viii, 51.
+
+[14] John xi, 26.
+
+[15] John xi, 6.
+
+[16] Matt. x, 29-31.
+
+[17] Matt. xviii, 19.
+
+[18] Matt. xxi, 21-22.
+
+[19] Mark xi, 24.
+
+[20] Matt. xvii, 20.
+
+
+
+
+OBSCURE TEACHINGS
+
+
+Many of the sayings of Jesus lacked clarity. Various interpretations
+have been put upon them by scholars of distinction. No one is sure what
+was meant.
+
+According to the gospels, Jesus was descended from David, but Jesus
+mystified his hearers on this descent, saying: "If David then call him
+Lord, how is he his son?"[1]
+
+
+_Witnesses and Judge_
+
+On the subject of witnesses there is great confusion. "If I bear witness
+of myself, my witness is not true."[2] "Though I bear record of myself,
+yet my record is true."[3] "It is also written in your law, that the
+testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and
+the Father that sent me beareth witness of me."[4] "I and my Father are
+one."[5] "My Father is greater than I."[6]
+
+This and the following instruction regarding judicial procedure are far
+from clear. Jesus acknowledged the principle of law requiring more than
+one witness but said that in his case the only other witness necessary
+was his Father, although he and his Father were one.
+
+Jesus is supposed to be the judge of the world, but his statement of the
+case leaves the issue ambiguous. "For the Father judgeth no man, but
+hath committed all judgment unto the Son."[7] "I judge no man. And yet
+if I judge, my judgment is true."[8] "And if any man hear my words, and
+believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to
+save the world."[9] "For judgment I am come into this world, that they
+which see not might see; and that they which see might be made
+blind."[10]
+
+The quality of reasoning employed in these instances has naturally led
+to theological quibbling. If Jesus can argue in that fashion, so can his
+followers, at the expense of intellectual honesty.
+
+
+_Cannibalism_
+
+The Jews could not understand what Jesus meant when he said: "Except ye
+eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
+you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
+life."[11]
+
+
+_Religion Only for Children_
+
+Nor are these sayings clear: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
+earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and
+hast revealed them unto babes."[12] "Whosoever shall not receive the
+kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."[13]
+
+This train of thought implies that education is of no importance where
+belief is concerned.
+
+
+_Difficult or Easy?_
+
+After enumerating the many hardships that must be endured by his
+followers, Jesus contradicted himself by saying, "For my yoke is easy,
+and my burden is light."[14]
+
+
+_Charity_
+
+There are apparent contradictions in his instructions regarding charity:
+"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
+and glorify your Father which is in heaven."[15] "Take heed that ye do
+not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no
+reward of your Father which is in heaven."[16]
+
+
+
+_The Scriptures Upheld_
+
+Jesus reverenced the Hebrew Old Testament.
+
+"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
+come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
+and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
+law, till all be fulfilled."[17]
+
+And yet Jesus was the reformer, overthrowing ancient customs, renouncing
+the old principle of a tooth for a tooth, improving upon the Mosaic law.
+He was inconsistent.
+
+
+_Illogical_
+
+The logic of Jesus is often difficult to follow.
+
+"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
+righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they believe not on me;
+of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of
+judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."[18]
+
+Jesus admitted his obscurity: "These things have I spoken unto you in
+proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in
+proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father."[19]
+
+That time has never come.
+
+
+_Parables Deceptive_
+
+Jesus explained his obscurity in this way: "Unto you it is given to know
+the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that
+seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand."[20]
+"But unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
+that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear,
+and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their
+sins should be forgiven them."[21]
+
+In other words, Jesus, who said he came to save the world, concealed his
+meaning for fear some of his hearers should be converted and their sins
+be forgiven--which is exactly what he sought to bring about.
+
+Obscurity in a teacher is a great defect, especially when he glories in
+his ambiguity. If any Christians wish that Jesus had been more clear,
+then Jesus does not appear perfect to them, and they should admit his
+imperfections.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xxii, 41-45.
+
+[2] John v, 31.
+
+[3] John viii, 14.
+
+[4] John viii, 17-18.
+
+[5] John x, 30.
+
+[6] John xiv, 28.
+
+[7] John v, 22.
+
+[8] John viii, 16.
+
+[9] John xii, 47.
+
+[10] John x, 39.
+
+[11] John vi, 53-58.
+
+[12] Matt. xi, 25.
+
+[13] Mark x, 15.
+
+[14] Matt. xi, 30.
+
+[15] Matt. v, 16.
+
+[16] Matt. vi, 1.
+
+[17] Matt. v, 17-18.
+
+[18] John xvi, 8-11.
+
+[19] John xvi, 25.
+
+[20] Luke viii, 10.
+
+[21] Mark iv, 11-12.
+
+
+
+
+DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS
+
+
+In a number of instances the teachings of Jesus are so incomplete, or so
+inappropriate, as to render no assistance in meeting similar situations
+in modern life. Either his meaning is not clear, or his instructions are
+too primitive to be applicable to our civilization.
+
+
+_Labor_
+
+The relation between employer and employee is one that requires
+practical guidance. Let us see what information Jesus gave on this
+important subject.
+
+The parable of the laborers[1] relates that an employer hired men to
+work in his vineyard for twelve hours for a penny, and that he paid the
+same wage to other workers who toiled only nine, six, three and one
+hour. When those who had worked longest resented this treatment, as
+modern strikers would, the employer answered, apparently with Jesus'
+approval: "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for
+a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this
+last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with
+mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be
+first, and the first last."
+
+This parable may be a comfort to autocratic employers, sustaining them
+in their determination to dominate labor, but the principles enunciated
+are lacking in social vision. Equal pay for unequal work is approved,
+and the employer is vindicated in regulating wages and hours as he sees
+fit without regard for justice or the needs of the workers. In the
+manner of modern employers, the "goodman" calls his worker "Friend" but
+treats him with contempt. Jesus taught that the workers were wrong in
+demanding justice, that the employer was justified in acting
+erratically, as the money paid was his. He presented the issues between
+capital and labor and sided with capital. He stated the fact that the
+first shall be last, but said nothing to remedy that unfortunate
+situation. He did not explain how workers could obtain proper
+compensation for their labor.
+
+Jesus assumed a fair attitude when he said, "The labourer is worthy of
+his hire", and, "It is enough for the disciple to be as his master, and
+the servant as his lord", but he continued with doubtful logic: "If they
+have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they
+call them of his household", implying that if an employer is
+worldly-minded his servants will be even worse.
+
+Little respect is shown for employees in the remark, "The hireling
+fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."[2]
+Probably in those days as now many an employee stuck to his post nobly
+to do his duty.
+
+The meaning is obscure in his other comment upon an employer who told
+his tired servant to serve his master first, ending with the enigma, "We
+are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to
+do."[3]
+
+
+_Usury_
+
+In the parable of the talents the servant who did not put his money out
+at usury to make profits was condemned: "And cast ye the unprofitable
+servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
+teeth."[4] Punishment was to be severe in Jesus' program; the
+disobedient servant "shall be beaten with many stripes." Jesus did not
+advise leniency in such instances except that "he that knew not, and did
+commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes."[5]
+In his estimation the servant was a slave to be punished corporeally by
+his master, even if ignorant of his wrong-doing.
+
+A Dr. Taylor, former Yale College theologian, is reported to have said:
+"I have no doubt that if Jesus Christ were now on earth he would, under
+certain circumstances, become a slaveholder." A Southern divine in 1860
+could well maintain that slavery was approved in both Old and New
+Testaments, but no Christian would now impute slaveholding to Jesus. The
+standard of human relationships has improved since slaveholding days in
+America. The modern attitude toward servants, though by no means
+perfect, is superior to the relationships between master and servants
+accepted by Jesus. Slavery was the custom of the times and Jesus did not
+rise above it.
+
+In the parable of the unmerciful servant[6] Jesus taught the duty of
+forgiveness. He rightly rebuked the servant who oppressed his
+subordinates after being well treated by his lord. But the punishment
+suggested by Jesus for the abominable conduct was extremely harsh: "And
+his lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should
+pay all that was due unto him." Torture for criminals was thus taught by
+Jesus.
+
+Jesus, apprenticed to his father in his youth, never did any practical
+work so far as we know. He lived on the charity of others, setting an
+example that would bring trouble to anyone who followed in his train. If
+anything, he was an agitator, a peripatetic propagandist, teaching what
+he believed right but not working to support himself and therefore not
+being a good example for the workaday world today.
+
+
+_Economics_
+
+Nothing in the teachings of Jesus was more definite than his
+denunciation of riches.
+
+"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth ... A rich man shall
+hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven ... It is easier for a camel to
+go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
+kingdom of God ... The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell
+he lifted up his eyes, being in torments ... Woe unto you that are
+rich."
+
+These strictures upon the rich appear somewhat severe, and Jesus went
+much farther, condemning even ordinary thrift and precaution.[7]
+
+According to Acts ii, 44-45 and iv, 32, "All that believed were together
+and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and
+parted them to all men, as every man had need ... Neither said any of
+them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they
+had all things common."
+
+It is to be presumed that the disciples practiced this communism at the
+instruction of Jesus. If Jesus approved of communism was he right or
+wrong?
+
+"Blessed be ye poor."[8]
+
+Poverty is not a blessing but a curse. Jesus taught the theory that the
+poor would be rich hereafter while the rich would be in hell.
+
+
+_Punishment for Debts_
+
+We have seen that Jesus expected an unjust servant to be tormented until
+he paid in full. There are also other evidences that he approved of
+imprisonment for debt. "Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou
+art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to
+the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast
+into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out
+thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."[9]
+
+A legislator who patterned his life after Jesus would be justified in
+enacting laws imprisoning for debt and scourging for misdemeanors.
+
+Some may say that the sentiments expressed by Jesus were not mistakes
+but merely presented the customs of his day. Possibly he did not intend
+to advise all that he seemed to approve; but if Jesus was a practical
+and prophetic guide he should have made it clear that he did not
+sanction the actions he apparently commended.
+
+In the parable of the pounds the nobleman, seemingly with the approval
+of Jesus, denounced the servant as wicked who did not put his lord's
+money in the bank to draw interest.[10] And in the parable of the
+talents the lord rewarded those who had made 100 per cent profit through
+speculation.[11]
+
+Another contradiction of his theory of the blessedness of poverty was
+his promise that those who followed him "shall receive a hundredfold now
+in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and
+children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal
+life."[12]
+
+Finally, Jesus stated the unfortunate truth, "Whosoever hath, to him
+shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath
+not, from him shall be taken even that he hath."[13] If Jesus did not
+approve of that worldly method of distribution, he could have denounced
+its injustice instead of leaving the comment as if it expressed his own
+policy.
+
+
+_Healing_
+
+Many Christians value Jesus most for his healing powers, but Jesus
+looked upon disease almost as he did upon demoniacal possession, as
+something evil that could be cast out. "But that ye may know that the
+Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the
+sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thine house."[14]
+There was confusion in his mind between sin and sickness.
+
+Jesus healed leprosy and palsy by touching the sick person; he healed
+the servant of the centurion by absent treatment, and restored sight by
+spitting on the eyes[15] or anointing them with clay made with
+spittle[16], or by requiring faith.[17] He healed a withered hand, cured
+impediments in speech and deafness, all without medical applications,
+even replacing an ear severed by a sword.[18]
+
+Christian Scientists practice the same methods with confidence in
+success, but medical and surgical treatment are the most reliable means
+of effecting cures, disappointing as they are. If Jesus could cure
+disease, it was remiss of him not to instruct men definitely in his
+methods so that the suffering from illness that has afflicted the world
+could have been averted.
+
+Jesus did not isolate the germ of leprosy, or establish any practicable
+method of preventing disease. He has been of less value to the world as
+a healer than Pasteur, Lister, Koch, or Walter Reed.
+
+Some Christians will say that Jesus did not tell us how to avoid illness
+because man needs to be chastened by pain. If that is correct, if pain
+and disease are sent by God and are consciously permitted by Jesus, sick
+people should be allowed to suffer instead of trying to heal them.
+
+
+_Peace_
+
+Jesus has been called the Prince of Peace, but the weight of his
+testimony is not on the side of absolute pacifism. With his view of
+rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, it is possible that
+he would have advised young men to obey the state and enlist, or accept
+the draft, whenever their country called.
+
+On November 12, 1931, Rev. Dr. T. Andrew Caraker said at a banquet of
+the American Legion in Baltimore that if Jesus Christ had lived in 1917
+He would have been the first to volunteer in the American army, the
+first to wear a gas mask, shoulder a rifle and enter the trenches.
+
+Other ministers derive from the same gospels the belief that Jesus would
+not have stabbed Germans with a bayonet. Nor would Jesus have advised
+others to fight if he had been unwilling to fight himself.
+
+Most of the sayings of Jesus regarding violence or non-resistance were
+intended to apply chiefly to personal relationships; he said little of
+international strife. What he did say showed placid acceptance of the
+war system:
+
+"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
+troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
+yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
+kingdom."[19]
+
+"And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled:
+for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation
+shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."[20]
+
+"But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for
+these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then
+said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
+kingdom."[21]
+
+These verses have a more direct bearing on war as we now know it than
+any of his other sayings. They show his belief in the inevitability of
+war. Apparently he did not feel himself competent to counteract general
+mass militarism. He offered no program for arbitration of international
+disputes, no substitute for war between nations, no policy of war
+resistance.
+
+When Jesus advised non-resistance, saying to his follower, "Put up again
+thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish
+with the sword,"[22] he was merely stating the danger of using violence,
+not the immorality of employing force. In fact, he commanded his
+disciples to take the very sword which he later told them to sheathe:
+"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one ... And
+they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It
+is enough."[23]
+
+Thus Jesus, the supposed non-resistant, prepared his followers with
+swords. These swords were for defense, and when the time came he
+repudiated even that use of the weapons, but, nevertheless, he armed his
+disciples instead of adhering to his principle of non-resistance. He did
+not set a positive example of disarmament.
+
+Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers ... love your enemies ... Have
+peace one with another ... On earth peace, good will toward men ...
+Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ... These things have I
+spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace ... Resist not evil: but
+whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
+also."
+
+Other remarks of Jesus favored violence: "Think not that I am come to
+send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."[24]
+"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but
+rather division."[25] "But those mine enemies, which would not that I
+should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."[26] "My
+kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
+would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the
+Jews."[27] "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in
+peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome
+him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth
+his spoils."[28] "And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he
+drove them all out of the temple."[29]
+
+In determining whether or not Jesus was a promoter of peace it is only
+reasonable to review everything that he said or did relating to the use
+of violence, giving equal weight to every verse. We cannot accept one
+statement and reject the others. The conclusion reached must be that
+Jesus was inconsistent in advocating both non-resistance and the use of
+force. He took diametrically opposed positions, the use of swords and
+scourges and non-resistance being mutually exclusive. Jesus preached
+non-resistance and at the same time armed his retainers with two swords.
+He advocated turning the other cheek but did not criticize war.
+Therefore, pacifists and militarists, with their opposite philosophies,
+should both admit that at times Jesus was mistaken.
+
+
+_Marriage_
+
+Jesus occasionally eulogized marriage: "For this cause shall a man leave
+father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be
+one flesh ... What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
+asunder."[30]
+
+
+_Celibacy_
+
+On other occasions he made remarks which indicated his preference for
+celibacy as the higher state, the one he adopted for himself. "In the
+resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as
+the angels of God in heaven."[31] "The children of this world marry, and
+are given in marriage: but they which shall be accounted worthy to
+obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry,
+nor are given in marriage."[32] "I say unto you, That whosoever looketh
+on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
+his heart."[33] "There are some eunuchs which were so born from their
+mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of
+men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the
+kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive
+it."[34] "There is no man that hath left ... wife, or children for the
+kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this
+present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."[35]
+
+Jesus referred to the absence of marriage in heaven, the ideal realm.
+Paul's testimony adds to the evidence that Jesus considered celibacy
+preferable to any form of sex expression, even marriage.
+
+
+_Adultery_
+
+On the other hand, Jesus was tolerant of sex offenses. He chatted in a
+friendly manner with the woman of Samaria, saying: "Thou hast had five
+husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband."[36] And about
+the woman taken in adultery he said: "He that is without sin among you,
+let him first cast a stone at her ... Neither do I condemn thee: go and
+sin no more."[37] "The harlots go into the kingdom of God before
+you."[38]
+
+
+_Divorce_
+
+Jesus sanctioned divorce. His followers are so annoyed at this fact that
+they frequently quote the verse on the subject with the offensive clause
+omitted. The text reads: "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away
+his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you,
+That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of
+fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry
+her that is divorced committeth adultery."[39] Again in Matthew xix, 9,
+he makes the same exception. It is evident, therefore, that Jesus
+permitted divorce for one cause. If the wife was unfaithful the husband
+could divorce her, but otherwise no matter how unhappy the couple might
+be, they must remain married.
+
+The admirable leniency of Jesus toward sex offenders, and his permission
+to divorce, must seem like mistakes to churchmen who consider
+extramarital sex relations the unforgivable sin. And everyone must see
+the danger of having our judges adopt as a principle of justice the
+dismissal of offenders on the ground that the prosecutors have also
+sinned.
+
+A Christian girl of today would not be encouraged by the most zealous
+religious parents to marry a man exactly like Jesus.
+
+
+_Faulty Judgment_
+
+Jesus selected Judas to be the treasurer of the apostles' joint funds,
+but later admitted his error, saying: "Have I not chosen you twelve, and
+one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for
+it was he that should betray him, being one of the twelve."[40]
+
+Jesus erroneously supposed that "salvation is of the Jews."[41] "Go not
+into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter
+ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."[42] A
+nationalistic and partial spirit is expressed in these sentences, a
+spirit that has been followed to the extent that Jesus would not be
+permitted to enter America if he applied for a visa.
+
+
+_Unconvincing_
+
+Jesus failed in his mission to save the world. He made the supreme
+sacrifice in vain. His method of proving his divinity did not convince
+his hearers: "But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet
+they believed not on him."[43] "For neither did his brethren believe in
+him."[44] After he had healed many, cast out unclean spirits and
+appointed his twelve apostles to do likewise, his friends "went out to
+lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself."[45]
+
+Jesus admitted his impotence as a human being when he said, "I can of
+mine own self do nothing."[46] Even with the assistance of his Father he
+did not accomplish what he set out to do.
+
+
+_Prohibition_
+
+The miracle of turning water into wine, providing one hundred gallons of
+wine after the people at the party had "well drunk", must appear to
+prohibitionists like a mistake on the part of Jesus. Many Methodists
+and Baptists would have preferred to have him turn the wine into water;
+yet they will not admit that Jesus made a mistake.
+
+
+_Lack of Experience_
+
+So far as the gospels relate, Jesus never had any experience with three
+of the chief difficulties of human life--sex, earning a living and
+illness. He was therefore less able to explain those relationships than
+one who has struggled through in the customary manner of mankind. To
+take the inexperienced Jesus as our guide in practical living would be
+like a traveller who was planning a trip over perilous mountains and
+engaged as a guide a man who had never crossed the mountains.
+
+As Jesus believed that the end of the world was approaching, and as he
+revealed no information about the future, his teachings should be taken
+as applying solely to his own time. A divinity living now would preach
+far differently from the inadequate doctrines of Jesus.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The abandonment of reliance upon a Jesus who has not changed in nineteen
+hundred years, in favor of an Evolutionary philosophy that requires
+constant change, leads to a new conception of the world and its
+possibilities for man. A person who has thought himself out of
+antiquated theology may be expected to have an open mind towards the
+betterment of human customs.
+
+Every improvement in human relationships originates secularly and is
+adopted by the Church only after a bitter struggle. Faith in Jesus is a
+reactionary force. The Christian opposes change in the creations of God;
+the Evolutionist seeks to alter every unsatisfactory condition. The
+Evolutionist is more responsive than the orthodox Christian to proposals
+for promoting the happiness of the human race. Many liberals have
+abandoned conservatism because they saw the hypocrisy in Christianity.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xx, 1-16.
+
+[2] John x, 13.
+
+[3] Luke xvii, 10.
+
+[4] Matt. xxv, 30.
+
+[5] Luke xii, 47-48.
+
+[6] Matt. xviii, 23-34.
+
+[7] Matt. vi, 25-31, discussed under the Sermon on the Mount.
+
+[8] Luke vi, 20.
+
+[9] Matt. v, 25-26.
+
+[10] Luke xix, 23.
+
+[11] Matt. xxv, 20.
+
+[12] Mark x, 30.
+
+[13] Matt. xiii, 12.
+
+[14] Matt. ix, 6.
+
+[15] Mark viii, 23.
+
+[16] John ix, 6.
+
+[17] Mark x, 52.
+
+[18] Luke xxii, 51.
+
+[19] Matt. xxiv, 6-7.
+
+[20] Mark xiii, 7-8.
+
+[21] Luke xxi, 9-10.
+
+[22] Matt. xxvi, 52.
+
+[23] Luke xxii, 36-38.
+
+[24] Matt. x, 34.
+
+[25] Luke xii, 51.
+
+[26] Luke xix, 27.
+
+[27] John xviii, 36.
+
+[28] Luke xi, 21-22.
+
+[29] John ii, 15.
+
+[30] Matt. xix, 5-6.
+
+[31] Matt. xxii, 30.
+
+[32] Luke xx, 34-35.
+
+[33] Matt. v, 28.
+
+[34] Matt. xix, 12.
+
+[35] Luke xviii, 29-30.
+
+[36] John iv, 18.
+
+[37] John viii, 7-11.
+
+[38] Matt. xxi, 31.
+
+[39] Matt. v, 31-32.
+
+[40] John vi, 70-71.
+
+[41] John iv, 22.
+
+[42] Matt. x, 5-6.
+
+[43] John xii, 37.
+
+[44] John vii, 5.
+
+[45] Mark iii, 21.
+
+[46] John v, 30.
+
+
+
+
+AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE
+
+
+Orthodox Christians accept both Old and New Testaments as authority for
+their actions, whereas Modernists are not much concerned with the
+commands of Jehovah but maintain that Jesus is the pattern for their
+lives. Religious liberals feel that the troubles of the world come
+largely from failure to follow the teachings of the Nazarene. They look
+upon him as the perfect example of what a man should be. In their
+opinion, if everyone would act as Jesus did all would be well.
+
+On December 7, 1931, Dr. Henry Van Dyke preached at the Brick
+Presbyterian Church, New York City, that the way to end the financial
+depression was to act as Jesus would: "We can judge only by what he did
+and said in the first century, an age not so different from our own, an
+age of unsettlement, violence, drunkenness and license. Christ would
+tell us not to yield to panic.... Christ would not tell us to join any
+political party or social group...."
+
+Such a sermon sounds encouraging but, as a matter of fact, Jesus has not
+shown any of his ministers how to end the depression. To trust him for
+guidance in our modern world is to pin faith on an incompetent
+instructor. We can learn how to end the depression by examining the
+records of our own time and by correcting the errors that have been
+made. It is not safe to rely upon a person who had no knowledge of
+America's practical needs and whose acts and advice regarding worldly
+affairs in Jerusalem fell short of the best ethical values.
+
+In this treatise it has been shown that Jesus made mistakes. Every
+instance cited may not appeal to all readers as worthy of criticism, but
+there can be no doubt in the mind of any honest thinker that several at
+least of Jesus' ideas were erroneous. His theology was filled with
+superstitions, his cosmology was that of the pre-scientific era, he
+expected the end of the world within a generation, his conception of sin
+was theological rather than ethical, he failed to convince his hearers
+by his oratory, he exaggerated the results from prayer and he related
+parables that gave a false sense of values.
+
+Now we shall turn to his personal character and teachings to see if he
+was always the meek, gentle soul portrayed by the conventional Christ.
+
+
+_Cursing Nature_
+
+The act in Jesus' life that has been most difficult for theologians to
+explain was the cursing of the fig tree. The tree was created to bear
+fruit in the Summer, but when Jesus found it without fruit in the
+Spring, he cursed it so that it withered away.
+
+"Now in the morning, as he returned into the city, and when he saw a fig
+tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves
+only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever.
+And presently the fig tree withered away."[1] "For the time of figs was
+not yet."[2]
+
+This episode involves several mistakes--ignorance of the seasons;
+destruction of a profitable food-producing tree; exhibition of temper
+when thwarted, and giving false information regarding man's power to
+effect physical changes by a curse.[3]
+
+If Jesus acted unwisely in this one instance and was right in all
+others, he is neither an infallible God nor a perfect pattern for
+mankind.
+
+
+_Forgiveness_
+
+The conventional Jesus is emblematic of supreme kindness and
+forgiveness, but in reality he was far from lenient in many instances,
+nor did he advocate forgiveness for certain offenses.
+
+"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee ... tell it unto
+the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee
+as a heathen man and a publican."[4]
+
+In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Abraham was represented as
+justified in not forgiving the rich man tortured in hell, or even in
+saving the rich man's brothers as requested by the victim of Jesus'
+policy of punishment.
+
+Again Jesus said: "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also
+deny before my Father."[5] "Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy
+Ghost hath never forgiveness."[6]
+
+All the wicked were condemned by Jesus to eternal punishment with no
+chance of forgiveness.
+
+
+_Vituperation_
+
+Jesus was often vehement in his language to an extent hardly compatible
+with gentleness of character.
+
+"O generation of vipers! how can ye, being evil, speak good things?"[7]
+
+"Woe unto you, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and land to make one
+proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the child of
+hell than yourselves."[8]
+
+"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation
+of hell?"[9]
+
+"If I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you."[10]
+
+"All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers."[11]
+
+"Ye fools and blind."[12]
+
+This language may have been necessary, in Jesus' opinion, to convince
+his hearers of their sins, but such vituperation does not become a
+modern ethical teacher.
+
+
+_Destruction of Property_
+
+Two acts of Jesus, consistent with his disregard of worldly goods, were
+destructive in character.
+
+"And there was a good way off from them a herd of many swine feeding. So
+the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go
+away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they
+were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole
+herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and
+perished in the waters."[13]
+
+Jesus did what the devils requested, cruelly killing two thousand
+inoffensive valuable animals that belonged to other people.
+
+"Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold
+oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he
+had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,
+and the sheep and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and
+overthrew the tables."
+
+Jesus has been defended for other acts on the ground that he was living
+in less civilized times than our own, but here he is seen offending both
+ancient and modern sensibilities. The destruction of the swine and the
+routing of the merchants were sensational and erratic exhibitions. If
+reformers today should destroy herds of animals, except to protect
+public health by due process of law, or overthrow banks, they would be
+liable to arrest in any city of Christendom. Therefore the consensus of
+opinion denies exoneration to Jesus for his spasmodic resort to direct
+action.
+
+
+_Egotism_
+
+If Jesus was not God, but merely the ideal man, his estimate of himself
+was excessive. In addition to his remarks already quoted there are many
+other instances of an exaggerated ego.
+
+"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
+and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
+cannot be my disciple."[14]
+
+"Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."[15]
+
+"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."[16]
+
+"I am the light of the world."[17]
+
+"I am the Son of God."[18]
+
+"I am the resurrection and the life."[19]
+
+If Jesus was correct in claiming that he was the Messiah, if he could
+control the elements and send people to heaven or hell, he was justified
+in any extreme remarks; but not if he were merely a man. Every person is
+entitled to have as good an opinion of himself as his character and
+ability warrant, but expressions of his own worth are unseemly even if
+true, and are inexcusable if exaggerated. As Jesus himself said (though
+this authority is only for believers) testimony about oneself is
+unreliable.
+
+Jesus not only claimed to be more than a man, he threatened his hearers
+with death if they did not agree with him. All of which might be
+permissible if he were God, but was an egotistical illusion if he was
+merely human.
+
+
+_Lack of Courtesy_
+
+Jesus did not always exhibit the courtesy one would expect of a
+gentleman, or even of a nature's nobleman.
+
+The first instance of lack of consideration was when he slipped away
+from his parents, causing them unnecessary anxiety: "Son, why hast thou
+thus dealt with us? behold thy father and I have sought thee
+sorrowing."[20] He had remained behind to study Hebrew theology and did
+not tell his parents, presumably because he thought they would not have
+permitted the venture.
+
+Another instance was found in his daily life:
+
+"A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and
+sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had
+not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye
+Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your
+inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools ..."[21]
+
+Jesus had not only failed to wash as was expected of a guest, but
+defended his uncleanliness and abused his host.
+
+At another time Jesus was discourteous to his mother:
+
+"And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They
+have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with
+thee?"[22]
+
+Jesus was apparently annoyed at his mother's interference, though he
+followed her suggestion. He did not set a good example for children in
+addressing their mothers.
+
+When the Syrophenician woman asked him to help her daughter, "Jesus
+saith unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to
+take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she
+answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat
+of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy
+way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."[23]
+
+Jesus practically admitted that he had made a mistake in speaking
+unkindly to a Gentile. Her clever answer induced him to change his
+decision. A physician who called a stranger's child a dog would now be
+considered brutal even in a free hospital.
+
+"And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go
+and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead
+bury their dead."[24]
+
+Jesus could have allowed the man to attend his father's funeral and
+follow him later. Would not that have set a better precedent?
+
+When Peter intervened to protect Jesus, the latter "turned, and said
+unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me."[25]
+
+Even though Jesus was determined to go on with the sacrifice, he could
+have been more appreciative of his best friend's suggestion.
+
+
+_Unethical Advice_
+
+When the unjust steward cheated his employer, Jesus gave the following
+remarkable advice:
+
+"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely:
+for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the
+children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of
+the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you
+into everlasting habitations."[26]
+
+This passage should be read again before deciding whether Jesus advised
+opportunism rather than morality. The words must be taken as they are;
+no interpretation can be based upon the assumption that Jesus was always
+right and therefore meant something different from what he said.
+
+
+_Sermon on the Mount_
+
+Many Christians say that they care nothing for theology; that the Sermon
+on the Mount contains all that is necessary for a religious life, being
+a perfect system of ethics.
+
+The Sermon on the Mount does contain many admirable principles, but also
+some that are inferior to present standards. Few of the people who
+praise this Sermon would think it proper to abide by all the teachings
+therein. Christian parents do not wish their children to follow either
+the letter or the spirit of this famous preachment. It begins in the
+fifth chapter of Matthew.
+
+"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Is it better to be poor in spirit than
+rich and eager in spirit? Being poor in spirit is to be faint of heart.
+This is bad advice, is it not?
+
+"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." This means
+that those who mourn on earth will be comforted in heaven; but now that
+life on earth has assumed greater importance, so far as our daily
+conduct is concerned, than life in heaven, the philosophy of gloom is
+unfortunate. Jesus preached acceptance of unhappiness as the common lot
+of man; he should not therefore be credited with providing happiness on
+earth. His urge to rejoice was usually in anticipation of good things to
+come in the next world. He preached sorrow for all here rather than the
+greater happiness for the greater number.
+
+"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers
+places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver
+you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all
+nations for my name's sake ... and because iniquity shall abound, the
+love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the
+same shall be saved."[27]
+
+"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."[28]
+
+The beatitude, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth"
+is of doubtful accuracy or value.
+
+The commands to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand may not have been
+intended literally, although it does appear as if Jesus referred to the
+physical body, and men have often so interpreted these doubtful
+instructions.
+
+Jesus said that "Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
+adultery", which is no longer true. Those who permit remarriage after
+divorce should admit an error on Jesus' part.
+
+"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." This instruction should
+be reversed, should it not? Evil should be resisted in every possible
+way that does not involve evil in itself. What modern ethical teacher
+will say that evil should not be resisted, or that this advice of Jesus
+was perfection? If his instruction was intended to refer to physical
+resistance, then no righteous person should fight in any war, no police
+should be delegated to arrest criminals. If the phrase has merely a
+spiritual meaning, it is certainly unsound advice, for evil should be
+overcome by good.
+
+A fanatical attitude towards the law was recommended when Jesus said:
+"If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him
+have thy cloak also." Extreme generosity and non-resistance are taught,
+but the illustration was not well thought out, for if the man had
+already won his suit and taken the coat, it is evident that the owner of
+the coat had put up a legal fight instead of giving away his coat and
+cloak as Jesus implies he should. Yielding more than a legal opponent
+wins in court is not compatible with defending the suit, nor is it a
+principle that would meet the approval of most of Jesus' followers
+today.
+
+"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
+perfect." If Jesus referred to Jehovah as his Father in heaven, the
+standard of perfection advocated was very low, for Jehovah was, as
+Thomas Jefferson put it, "cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust."
+
+The Lord's Prayer is not the simple, clear, devotional petition that is
+usually supposed. Take it literally, as was undoubtedly intended, and
+its irrelevance to actual life is at once apparent.
+
+"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
+Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." This is a proper
+invocation only if there is a heaven in which God's will is done. None
+such has been discovered.
+
+"Give us this day our daily bread" indicates that God would not give our
+daily sustenance without being asked, whereas there is no apparent
+distinction in actual living between those who pray for bread and those
+who do not.
+
+"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" intimates that
+divine forgiveness is not to be superior to that of men.
+
+"And lead us not into temptation"--as if God were anxious to lead us
+there and would be deterred by our prayer.
+
+It may seem like petty cavil to criticize the prayer that has been
+acclaimed for many centuries as ideal, but, seriously, what valuable
+principle for guidance through life does the Lord's Prayer contain? Do
+its requests represent the best modern conception of prayer as an inward
+aspiration rather than as petitionary? Is it not vain repetition to
+recite it again and again?
+
+The general idea of offering prayer in order to obtain various needs
+presents the difficulty of reconciling the conception of an omnipotent,
+all-foreseeing God with the contradictory theory of a Father who
+requires prayer before caring for his children, an almighty God who will
+be turned from his course by human petitions. Man can do wonders in the
+way of conquering nature, but he has not been able to alter natural
+laws, nor is there any evidence that such laws have been changed at any
+time in answer to prayer.
+
+If the Lord's Prayer is not essential for man's welfare in the world, we
+may conclude that Jesus over-emphasized its importance.
+
+One of the most important portions of the Sermon on the Mount is the
+advice regarding worldly possessions. Nothing in the teaching of Jesus
+is more definite than his instructions regarding wealth. He strikes an
+admirable note when he says, "What is a man profited if he gain the
+whole world and lose his own soul? ... A man's life consisteth not in
+the abundance of the things which he possesseth." This general principle
+is sadly needed in the modern money-seeking world, but the teachings of
+Jesus on economics go much further, far beyond anything the best people
+of today are willing to follow.
+
+"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
+drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on ... Take therefore no
+thought for the morrow."[29]
+
+These commands, taken literally as Jesus intended, would lead to
+infinite trouble. Men are obliged to take thought for the morrow; if
+they do not they will fail to survive. In Jesus' plan provision for the
+earthly future was of no importance because of the imminence of eternal
+life, but now it is considered one's duty to provide for old age.
+
+This mistake of Jesus cannot be explained away by saying that Jesus was
+right and that man falls short of the counsel of perfection given by
+the Master. No, there are few indeed who will say that it would be right
+to shape their financial life as Jesus advised. If they do not believe
+it right to follow his instructions, definite as they are on this
+subject, they must admit that he was wrong. Either thrift is now
+unrighteous, or Jesus is not a dependable guide for modern life.
+
+The following instructions have little meaning now except for Roman
+Catholics. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy
+face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which
+is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
+openly."
+
+Another portion of the Sermon holds out false hopes that cannot be
+substantiated: "For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
+findeth." Is there any virtue in thus deceiving the people regarding the
+possibilities of prayer?
+
+"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
+ye even so to them." This is the famous Golden Rule that has been
+heralded as one of the most original portions of Jesus' teachings. But
+Jesus admitted that he did not first state this rule when he said, "for
+this is the law and the prophets."[30]
+
+Confucius, born in 551 B.C., several times announced the rule, "What you
+do not like when done to yourself, do not to others." This negative
+statement is less effective than the Jewish rule, but both are admirable
+regardless of who first formulated them. The Golden Rule is as valuable
+coming from the Hebrew fathers as if Jesus had originated it.
+
+The Golden Rule, however, is not perfect. It is one of the best rules of
+the ancients, showing the desirability of reciprocity, but it does not
+demand that our desires be always just, nor does it insure that what we
+want done to ourselves will always be what others most need. It would be
+consistent with the Golden Rule for a convivial man to entertain his
+prohibition friends at a speakeasy, or for a Catholic to take his
+atheist guests to daily mass. Possibly an even better rule than judging
+others by ourselves would be to do unto others what best pleases them.
+
+
+_Inconsistency_
+
+"The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by
+whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had
+not been born."[31]
+
+Apparently the arrangement between Jehovah and Jesus was that Jesus
+should not give himself up as a sacrifice voluntarily but should be
+betrayed by someone else; and yet, although the betrayal was desired,
+the man who assisted was to be condemned.
+
+The sacrificial plan for salvation was continued to the end in order
+that "the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."[32] The
+scriptures were Jewish, so this is additional proof that Jesus, rejected
+by the Jews, considered himself the predicted Jewish Messiah. While the
+Jews expected a Messiah, there is no clear prediction of Jesus in the
+Old Testament.
+
+
+_Fear_
+
+Jesus said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body"; but when
+threatened with bodily injury himself, he was afraid. "Then took they up
+stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself."[33] "Then the Pharisees
+went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
+But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence."[34]
+
+This avoidance of physical injury may have been due to a desire to
+postpone his end until the proper time, as indicated by "Mine hour is
+not yet come", but when the time did come, Jesus did not bear his
+approaching death bravely, as Socrates did when about to drink the cup
+of hemlock. Jesus was much afraid, "and prayed, saying, Father, if thou
+be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will but thine
+be done."[35]
+
+He was resolved to go through with the painful experience at any cost
+but was much more frightened than many a mortal man, though he had a
+greater cause to sustain him than martyrs who have suffered
+uncomplainingly; for he believed that his sacrifice would save the
+world: "and there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening
+him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was
+as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."[36]
+
+After saying, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified
+... He that loveth his life shall lose it", he again showed terror: "Now
+is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this
+hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour."[37]
+
+It is to be noted that God did not answer the prayer of Jesus, though
+Jesus had said that God would always answer prayers in his name. Jesus
+recognized his failure to obtain the answer, saying on the cross, "My
+God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"[38]
+
+
+_Failure_
+
+Many a good man is a failure from a worldly point of view, but failure
+is not what one would wish to copy. Jesus sought to save the world.
+Surely no one looking at the world today can say that he succeeded. His
+plan of salvation was a failure; it did not work out as Jehovah and
+Jesus intended. An ideal teacher is needed now almost as much as two
+thousand years ago. If the world is gradually improving, as seems
+probable, it is in spite of the superstitions of the past, not because
+of them.
+
+At one time Jesus denied his own perfection, saying: "Why callest thou
+me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."[39]
+
+Christian parents who hold Jesus up to their children as a paragon would
+not wish their sons to grow up to be just like Jesus. He is not an
+acceptable prototype.
+
+Jesus did not provide the knowledge so much needed by man to enable him
+to shape his course through life. No one knows how to live correctly,
+how best to meet each situation, what action is suited to the occasion.
+Jesus did not tell us what to do. His sayings are interpreted in many
+different ways. He failed to predict the needs of the future.
+
+Jesus did not explain relations between man and wife, nor between
+employer and employee, nor how to educate children, nor how to preserve
+health, nor how to make a living, nor how to prevent war, poverty and
+suffering. Jesus gave little practical information, and his spiritual
+advice was not clearly enough expressed to enable man to apply it to
+modern conditions. Jesus neglected to instruct people how to live. His
+knowledge of the world was less than that of the average American
+citizen.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xxi, 18-19.
+
+[2] Mark xi, 13.
+
+[3] Mark xi, 20-23.
+
+[4] Matt. xviii, 15-17.
+
+[5] Matt. x, 33.
+
+[6] Mark iii, 29.
+
+[7] Matt. xii, 34.
+
+[8] Matt. xxiii, 15.
+
+[9] Matt. xxiii, 33.
+
+[10] John viii, 55.
+
+[11] John x, 8.
+
+[12] Matt. xxiii, 17.
+
+[13] Matt. viii, 28-34; Mark v, 13; Luke viii, 26-34.
+
+[14] Luke xiv, 26.
+
+[15] John xi, 26.
+
+[16] John viii, 24.
+
+[17] John viii, 12.
+
+[18] John x, 36.
+
+[19] John xi, 25.
+
+[20] Luke ii, 48.
+
+[21] Luke xi, 37-40.
+
+[22] John ii, 4.
+
+[23] Mark vii, 25-29.
+
+[24] Matt. viii, 21-22.
+
+[25] Matt. xvi, 23.
+
+[26] Luke xvi, 1-9.
+
+[27] Matt. xxiv, 7-13.
+
+[28] Luke vi, 21.
+
+[29] Matt. vi, 25-34.
+
+[30] Matt. vii, 12.
+
+[31] Matt. xxvi, 24.
+
+[32] Matt. xxvi, 56.
+
+[33] John viii, 59.
+
+[34] Matt. xii, 14-15.
+
+[35] Luke xxii, 42.
+
+[36] Luke xxii, 44.
+
+[37] John xii, 23-27.
+
+[38] Mark xv, 34.
+
+[39] Matt. xix, 17.
+
+
+
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+The historicity of Jesus has been discussed in many books and pamphlets.
+Whether Jesus lived or not depends upon what is meant by that phrase. If
+one is satisfied that there was a peripatetic philosopher named Jesus
+who was the son of a woman named Mary and who lived and taught around
+Jerusalem, uttering some, but not all, of the words attributed to him,
+then Jesus may be said to have lived. There can be no serious objection
+to the acceptance of that Jesus as an actual personage even though he
+was ignored by secular historians and though the time and place of his
+birth and death are in doubt.
+
+On the other hand, if there never was such a person as the Jesus
+described in the New Testament--a man born of a virgin, superior to
+natural laws, able to walk on the water, and change the course of
+nature, performing miracles, casting out devils, a man who never erred,
+who was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven
+where he now sits to judge the world--if there was no such man-God as
+the Jesus of the gospels, some may hesitate to say that Jesus ever
+lived.
+
+
+_Jesus a Myth_
+
+Sincere Evolutionists who discredit miracles, must needs consider the
+gospel Jesus as a myth. This does not mean that Jesus had no reality,
+but that the original facts have been so enlarged upon that the
+principal features of his life are more fanciful than real. If you
+eliminate from the life of Jesus as unhistorical his birth, his
+miracles, his theological teachings, his resurrection, ascension and
+messianic mission, the Christ no longer exists. Jesus would have
+attracted no attention were it not for the very circumstances which
+Modernists admit were mythical.
+
+
+_Judged by His Works_
+
+Whether Jesus was God, or man, or myth, he can be judged by his works,
+as he himself recommended. If he is found to be perfect in word and
+deed, it makes little difference whether he lived or not. As a symbol he
+can be revered and copied. But if Jesus is now seen to be the product of
+his times, representing the virtues and defects of his biographers, with
+no vision beyond their ken, his authority is gone.
+
+Not only will the divinity of Jesus be discredited if he was found to
+have been occasionally in error, but his value as a guide to life will
+be impaired. What will be the result of this radical change? None of the
+beautiful ideals or sound ethical principles attributed to Jesus will
+be lost. Not one saying or counsel of valuable advice need go. Not one
+evil thought need take the place of that which was good. In fact, the
+finest qualities of existence will be more vital in our lives when their
+realization becomes of primary importance instead of being subordinate
+to worship of the supernatural. Principles are superior to persons. A
+dead personality remains unchanged; live ethical principles can be
+developed by more complete knowledge of evolutionary processes.
+
+
+_Ethical Evolution_
+
+Evolution has been progressing along ethical as well as physical lines.
+To the teachings of Jesus, once considered perfection, have been added
+many newly discovered principles of value, for knowledge is cumulative.
+All the best thoughts of the ages are ours forever, no matter who first
+originated or expressed them.
+
+Whatever the plan of the universe may be, it is more nearly comprehended
+now than in Jesus' time. Twentieth century events are more dependable in
+forming our philosophy of life than those of the first century. The
+failure to grasp this fact is the death knell of orthodox religion.
+Every existing religious sect has founded its spirituality upon events
+supposed to have occurred in the past. Christianity depends upon the
+direct creation, fall of man and life of an atoning Savior, all physical
+in character. Our new metaphysics will be based upon conditions existing
+today and that will be revealed by science in the future. The
+geologists, embryologists, biologists and astronomers of 1932 have more
+information about nature than Jesus had. On that knowledge can be
+founded a system of living superior to the Sermon on the Mount.
+
+Our own time is the most dependable era of revelation. We can safely
+accept whatever stands accredited after thorough examination, including
+all teachings of Jesus that are admirable. A modern person with
+religious zeal has confidence that the world is ordered along consistent
+lines and will respond favorably to man's best efforts to solve the true
+way of living. The scientific mind and the religious spirit are
+complementary. Religion, instead of being a system of handed-down
+sanctity, may become an inspired revelation to each individual--a
+religion of the spirit of the modern world.
+
+As the spirit derived from Truth is superior to that based upon
+credulity, the new doctrines that supplant the old may be expected to
+excel any that have preceded them. Anyone may be as spiritual as the
+proved facts permit.
+
+If the world has been improving physically and ethically, we can have
+confidence that whatever knowledge is necessary for our salvation is
+available to each of us now. No living God has died; no great principle
+has been lost. Instead of depending upon Jesus in an unthinking manner,
+we must seek the Truth wherever it is found and follow wherever it may
+lead regardless of consequences. This requires more courage than
+professing Jesus, whose teachings can be construed to mean whatever the
+reader desires. While the majority regard Jesus as an ascetic, a
+reformer, opposed to business and joviality, Bruce Barton has convinced
+thousands that Jesus was the great business man, rotarian and
+advertiser.
+
+
+_Gains, not Losses_
+
+Among the compensations that may supplant the loss of Jesus as an ideal
+are the thrill at being a pioneer in striving for the welfare of the
+human race rather than for individual salvation; the satisfaction at
+having a consistent creed that can be maintained against all criticism
+without hypocrisy or evasion; emancipation from inhibitions required by
+a supposedly divine teacher. Every pleasure is not a sin, but rejection
+of theology does not imply indifference to evil. Science warns against
+excess as strongly as any ancient command. The fear of natural or
+man-decreed punishment in this world is as potent as the dread of
+eternal torment threatened by Jesus.
+
+If Jesus really was the sort of personage described in the Bible; if he
+really was born of a virgin, controlled the elements and had power to
+condemn unbelievers to eternal damnation, all people should obey his
+every word. He should be followed literally; we should sell all our
+possessions and take no thought for the morrow. But if Jesus was not
+that sort of a person; if he was neither a supernatural God nor an
+infallible man, he should not be worshipped as a redeeming Savior nor be
+followed as a true guide for human conduct.
+
+Our faith shifts with careful examination of the scriptures from belief
+in Jesus to confidence that the world is a far pleasanter abode than
+Jesus imagined. Without reliance upon the authority of Jesus we can
+adopt a code which will prove comparatively effective in leading towards
+a wholesome life.
+
+
+
+
+CODE OF LIVING
+
+
+1. Keep the body strong that the most efficient work may be done, the
+greatest happiness obtained during life and a wholesome inheritance
+passed on to future generations.
+
+2. Cultivate the mind, learning as many important facts as possible,
+striving to become expert in some particular field of endeavor.
+
+3. Develop a scientific spirit, the essential characteristic of which is
+a search for Truth in the light of evidence and reason. Do not deceive
+yourself or others.
+
+4. Base your spiritual concepts on the latest developments of Evolution.
+Be prepared to change your philosophy to conform to the consensus of
+scientific opinion.
+
+5. Conduct all human relationships in a spirit of tolerance and love,
+having proper consideration for others, not presuming to control their
+lives.
+
+6. Treat the opposite sex honorably, respecting their complementary
+qualities, with due regard for succeeding generations.
+
+7. Endeavor to embody in the laws of the community the spirit of equity
+and progress.
+
+8. Strive for an economic system under which each individual shall be
+rewarded according to his or her value to society.
+
+9. Avoid the use of physical force for personal revenge or national
+aggrandizement, having learned from experience that reason triumphs
+while brutality degrades.
+
+10. Hold yourself in readiness to accept new revelations.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Luther Burbank wrote concerning the above code on November 11, 1925:
+
+    "_I am greatly pleased with your code of living ... The false
+    ancient theology has past or is rapidly passing with intelligent
+    people at the present time. It is not applicable to our conditions
+    and is of no more value than a worn-out suit of clothes._"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mistakes of Jesus, by William Floyd
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Mistakes of Jesus, by William Floyd
+    </title>
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mistakes of Jesus, by William Floyd
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mistakes of Jesus
+
+Author: William Floyd
+
+Release Date: October 11, 2007 [EBook #22955]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MISTAKES OF JESUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Stephen Blundell
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
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+</pre>
+
+
+
+<hr class="hrhd1" />
+
+<h1>THE MISTAKES<br />
+OF JESUS</h1>
+
+<hr class="hrhd1" />
+
+<p class="hd1">BY</p>
+
+<h2 class="h2hd1">WILLIAM FLOYD</h2>
+
+<p class="hd2">Author of "Social Progress,"<br />
+"People vs. Wall Street,"<br />
+"Our Gods on Trial,"<br />
+"War Resistance."</p>
+
+
+
+<p class="hd3"><i>New York</i></p>
+<hr class="hrhd2" />
+<p class="hd3">THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSOCIATION.</p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p class="center"><small>Copyright 1932 By<br />
+THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSN., INC.</small></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+<p class="center"><b>TO DEVOTEES<br />
+OF TRUTH</b></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<div class="trans1"><p class="trnhd">Transcriber's Note</p>
+
+<p>Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
+Archaic spellings have been retained.
+Paragraph spacing has been normalised.</p>
+
+<p>A table of contents, though not present in the original publication, has been provided below:</p>
+
+
+<ul>
+<li><a href="#FOREWORD">FOREWORD</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#Face_the_Facts">Face the Facts</a>. <a href="#The_True_Jesus">The True Jesus</a>. <a href="#Scriptures_Unauthentic">Scriptures Unauthentic</a>.
+<a href="#Faith_in_Jesus">Faith in Jesus</a>. <a href="#Documentary_Evidence">Documentary Evidence</a>. <a href="#Retain_the_Good">Retain the Good</a>. <a href="#Christianity_Must_Go">Christianity Must Go</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#ANTIQUATED_THEOLOGY">ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#The_Virgin_Birth">The Virgin Birth</a>. <a href="#The_Jewish_Messiah">The Jewish Messiah</a>. <a href="#Eternal_Damnation">Eternal Damnation</a>. <a href="#The_Atonement">The Atonement</a>.
+<a href="#Angels_and_Devils">Angels and Devils</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#FALSE_IMPRESSIONS">FALSE IMPRESSIONS</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#Jonah_and_the_Whale">Jonah and the Whale</a>. <a href="#End_of_the_World">End of the World</a>. <a href="#Miracles">Miracles</a>. <a href="#Eternal_Life">Eternal Life</a>.
+<a href="#Raising_Lazarus">Raising Lazarus</a>. <a href="#Gods_Protection">God's Protection</a>. <a href="#Belief_in_Prayer">Belief in Prayer</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#OBSCURE_TEACHINGS">OBSCURE TEACHINGS</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#Witnesses_and_Judge">Witnesses and Judge</a>. <a href="#Cannibalism">Cannibalism</a>. <a href="#Religion_Only_for_Children">Religion Only for Children</a>.
+<a href="#Difficult_or_Easy">Difficult or Easy?</a> <a href="#Charity">Charity</a>. <a href="#The_Scriptures_Upheld">The Scriptures Upheld</a>. <a href="#Illogical">Illogical</a>. <a href="#Parables_Deceptive">Parables Deceptive</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#DEFICIENT_INSTRUCTIONS">DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#Labor">Labor</a>. <a href="#Usury">Usury</a>. <a href="#Economics">Economics</a>. <a href="#Punishment_for_Debts">Punishment for Debts</a>. <a href="#Healing">Healing</a>. <a href="#Peace">Peace</a>. <a href="#Marriage">Marriage</a>.
+<a href="#Celibacy">Celibacy</a>. <a href="#Adultery">Adultery</a>. <a href="#Divorce">Divorce</a>. <a href="#Faulty_Judgment">Faulty Judgment</a>. <a href="#Unconvincing">Unconvincing</a>. <a href="#Prohibition">Prohibition</a>.
+<a href="#Lack_of_Experience">Lack of Experience</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#AN_INFERIOR_PROTOTYPE">AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#Cursing_Nature">Cursing Nature</a>. <a href="#Forgiveness">Forgiveness</a>. <a href="#Vituperation">Vituperation</a>. <a href="#Destruction_of_Property">Destruction of Property</a>.
+<a href="#Egotism">Egotism</a>. <a href="#Lack_of_Courtesy">Lack of Courtesy</a>. <a href="#Unethical_Advice">Unethical Advice</a>. <a href="#Sermon_on_the_Mount">Sermon on the Mount</a>.
+<a href="#Inconsistency">Inconsistency</a>. <a href="#Fear">Fear</a>. <a href="#Failure">Failure</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#CONCLUSION">CONCLUSION</a><ul>
+<li><a href="#Jesus_a_Myth">Jesus a Myth</a>. <a href="#Judged_by_His_Works">Judged by His Works</a>. <a href="#Ethical_Evolution">Ethical Evolution</a>. <a href="#Gains_not_Losses">Gains, not Losses</a>.</li></ul></li></ul>
+
+<ul><li><a href="#CODE_OF_LIVING">CODE OF LIVING</a></li></ul></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="FOREWORD" id="FOREWORD"></a>FOREWORD</h2>
+
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> tradition regarding Jesus is so glamorous that it
+is difficult to review his life and character with an unbiased
+mind. While Fundamentalists and Modernists
+differ regarding the divinity of Christ, all Christians
+and many non-Christians still cling to preconceived
+notions of the perfection of Jesus. He alone among men
+is revered as all-loving, omniscient, faultless&mdash;an unparalleled
+model for mankind.</p>
+
+<p>This convention of the impeccability of Jesus is so
+firmly established that any insinuation of error on his
+part is deemed a blasphemy. Doubting Jesus is more
+impious than mocking God Almighty. Jehovah may be
+exposed to some extent with impunity; a God who destroyed
+70,000 of his chosen people because their king
+took a census<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> is too illogical for any but theologians to
+worship. But the Son of God, or Son of man, is sacrosanct.
+Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived
+unspotted by the world, free from human foibles, able
+to redeem mankind by his example.</p>
+
+<p>Respect for the principles of Jesus is so inbred in
+American people of all faiths that an attempt to disparage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+his worth is denounced as bad taste. The detractor
+is suspected of being an immoral person, no matter
+how convincing may be the proof which he presents.
+A conspiracy of silence is directed against any system
+of ethics advanced as superior to the Sermon on the
+Mount. In popular opinion Jesus never made a mistake;
+all his teachings were infallible; no other view is
+tolerated.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Face_the_Facts" id="Face_the_Facts"></a>Face the Facts</p>
+
+<p>This unwillingness to acknowledge the shortcomings
+of Jesus is partially due to fear of sustaining a great loss.
+The familiar answer to heretical arguments is that faith
+should not be destroyed unless something can be put
+in its place&mdash;ignoring the fact that something always
+may be substituted for beliefs destroyed. That substitute
+is faith in the world as it really is. And our modern
+world, with all its shortcomings, is infinitely preferable
+to the earth, or even the heaven, of the first century.
+We now know that man can do more to eradicate sorrow
+than Jesus ever thought of. We can have greater confidence
+in the world as revealed today than in the doubtful
+traditions of Biblical times.</p>
+
+<p>But suppose there were nothing to substitute for the
+myth destroyed, should that deter the Truthseeker from
+continuing his investigation? Scientists do not hesitate
+in their research because the result of a new discovery<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+may be disastrous. They seek the facts regardless of
+consequences; they want to know the Truth about the
+physical world. Ethicists should have a similar desire
+concerning the metaphysical world. They should have
+confidence that the Supreme Intelligence (as Edison
+called it) will lead on to better things.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="The_True_Jesus" id="The_True_Jesus"></a>The True Jesus</p>
+
+<p>If Jesus was what his followers believe, no arguments
+will destroy their faith in him; but if Jesus was
+not perfect, according to modern standards, it is important
+that his status as God, or man, should be
+revised. Loss of confidence in an erring idol is not loss
+of a true ideal.</p>
+
+<p>When an iconoclast asserts that Jesus lacked supreme
+intelligence, the natural question is, "How do
+you know that you are right in your appraisal, 'lest
+haply ye be found even to fight against God'?" The
+answer is that we do not claim omniscience, but merely
+request everyone to use his or her own judgment, with
+intellectual honesty, examining each act or saying of
+Jesus without regard to presupposed ideas or tradition.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Scriptures_Unauthentic" id="Scriptures_Unauthentic"></a>Scriptures Unauthentic</p>
+
+<p>The consensus of scholarship has rejected the creation
+of the universe in six days in 4004 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, science<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+having proved the existence of the world for millions of
+years. Higher Critics refuse to credit the book of Genesis,
+according to the first chapter of which the trees,
+beasts and fowls were created before man, but according
+to the second chapter after man. It is not assuming
+too much for the humblest writer to say that Moses
+was mistaken concerning many things he described in
+the Pentateuch. It follows that if one important portion
+of the Bible is untrustworthy, other parts of that
+same book may not be the infallible Word of God. The
+New Testament, as well as the Old, may be examined
+critically, and if the gospels contain numerous contradictions,
+the statements of the authors on any point, including
+the life of Jesus, are open to question. A
+conscientious person should reach conclusions based
+upon the best knowledge obtainable from all sources.</p>
+
+<p>If anyone is convinced that Jesus made mistakes, he
+is not necessarily compelled to become an atheist. All
+other Gods that have been worshipped by men have
+been found imperfect. The oft exposed errors of Jehovah
+do not prevent Christians and Jews from professing
+belief in God. Those who require support from outside
+themselves cling to the symbol of deity though not
+thoroughly crediting any personality ever described in
+any sacred scriptures. Except Jesus.</p>
+
+<p>An Evolutionist passes beyond the negative denial
+of God to the construction of a new philosophy in which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+Truth is his guide, Truth being the nearest approximation
+to reality obtainable with our present knowledge.
+Belief in the world as it is now, and as it is going to be,
+is a sufficient creed.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Faith_in_Jesus" id="Faith_in_Jesus"></a>Faith in Jesus</p>
+
+<p>With Jesus entrenched in popular opinion, there is
+small probability that faith in him will be shaken unless
+there is a preponderance of evidence against his
+divinity. No one need abandon faith in Jesus until
+convinced that something better has been found. No
+one should even expose himself to heretical arguments
+unless he is a devotee of Truth. Then only can he
+rejoice at a revelation of error in confidence that the
+more nearly the universe is understood the better can
+man adjust himself to his surroundings. A worshipper
+of Truth fears no destruction of false gods, nor any facts
+that may cause him to throw over treasured superstitions.
+He is willing to prove all things and hold fast to
+that which is true. He rejoices when his idol is shattered,
+knowing that he is approaching nearer to the true way
+of living, a way that Jesus did not adequately explain.</p>
+
+<p>Any attempt to censure the character of Jesus will
+meet with the ridicule it deserves unless substantiated
+by documentary evidence. The mere improbability of
+events contrary to natural laws does not destroy the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+ethical value of the teachings of the Nazarene. Anything
+might have happened in the eerie days of old;
+the critic must do more than deny the historicity of
+Jesus and the inspiration of the Bible. To be convincing
+he must derive from the scriptures in which Christians
+believe whatever proof can be deduced to unveil the
+superstition of a redeeming Savior.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Documentary_Evidence" id="Documentary_Evidence"></a>Documentary Evidence</p>
+
+<p>The documents most generally accepted by Christians
+are those collected in the King James Version of
+the Bible. The Apocrypha and other early manuscripts
+are unreliable. None of the thirty or more writers who
+described events around Jerusalem in Jesus' time gives
+any account of his teachings. The only life of Jesus is
+found in the four gospels; the numerous biographers of
+Christ have had no other reliable source of information.
+It is deceptive for the publishers of revised editions of
+the Bible to claim that "original manuscripts" have
+been consulted. Not one of the original manuscripts is
+in existence, the earliest extant dating from the fourth
+century <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, while the most ancient portion of the New
+Testament in any museum was transcribed in the sixth
+century.</p>
+
+<p>Accepting, therefore, the King James Version of the
+New Testament as the most reliable source of information,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+the question arises as to what portion of the chapters
+therein may be considered authentic. Scholars have
+rejected the entire gospel of John as less reliable than
+the synoptic gospels; and the sixteenth chapter of
+Mark as an addition after the original papyrus had
+broken off. Modernists, being confronted, in spite of
+these deletions, with inconsistencies in the gospels of
+Matthew, Mark and Luke, have assumed the further
+privilege of rejecting any verses which appear at variance
+with their beliefs. Liberals of this class contend
+that the supernatural side of Jesus may be disregarded
+and yet that Jesus will remain Our Lord. They reject
+certain evangelistic passages that conflict with modern
+thought, but accept other statements by the same authors
+as authoritative.</p>
+
+<p>As the Christian churches have not accepted any abbreviation
+of the Bible as a substitute for the King
+James Version, it seems proper for the critic to have
+recourse to that translation as the most authentic description
+of the life and teachings of Jesus. He is justified,
+moreover, in considering every word in the supposedly
+inspired gospels as equally reliable. His only
+concern should be to interpret each verse as nearly as
+possible as the original writers intended their words to
+be understood, allowing for Eastern hyperbole and the
+custom of the times.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Retain_the_Good" id="Retain_the_Good"></a>Retain the Good</p>
+
+<p>In preparing a critical analysis of the character of
+Jesus, it is freely admitted that many of the thoughts
+attributed to the son of Mary are superlatively fine.
+They will live forever whether the personality of Jesus
+be rejected as a divinity or not. That these beautiful
+preachments are ignored here is not due to any desire
+to belittle admirable sentiments or to disparage right
+living. The loving side of Jesus has been emphasized
+again and again and will be borne in mind by the reader
+when other less admirable traits are criticized. The intent
+of this criticism is not to destroy idealism but to
+assist the spirit of true progress.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Christianity_Must_Go" id="Christianity_Must_Go"></a>Christianity Must Go</p>
+
+<p>The significance of this investigation lies in the
+changes that would have to be made in religious
+thought if it should be found that Jesus was not perfect.
+If Jesus was in error concerning conditions of his own
+time and exhibited no knowledge of our modern problems,
+his authority will be lessened. Searchers after the
+true way of life will not continue to worship a person
+whose conception of the physical and spiritual world
+was erroneous. If Jesus made mistakes, he is neither the
+Son of God nor an infallible man.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So long as people feel compelled to worship what has
+been proved imperfect, or to evade important doctrines
+of their creeds for fear of losing faith in old traditions,
+their minds will not be receptive to changes in social
+conditions that require abandonment of established customs.
+Christians are imbued with a psychology derived
+from a completed revelation. The firmer their belief in
+Jesus, the greater their resistance to new ideas. Catholics
+are more reluctant to join progressive movements than
+Modernists and Modernists than Evolutionists. Religious
+people are apt to be afraid of the new world; they
+doubt the possibility of eliminating war, poverty and
+injustice&mdash;customs as deeply rooted in the social world
+as belief in Jesus is in the religious world. If the chief
+reactionary bulwark of the past is abandoned, there will
+be greater possibility of accepting new revelations.</p>
+
+<p>What would happen if Christians should discover
+that their leader was not an incomparable guide? Absolutely
+nothing at first. Those accustomed to lead a
+moral life would continue to do so. Members of Christian
+churches are the very people who most wish to do
+what is right. They will not lose their character because
+Jesus has lost his fictitious divinity. On the contrary,
+they will search for the most elevating principles to
+substitute for the personality that has been found deficient.
+It is difficult for people to be superior to their
+gods. These same church-going individuals, when freed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span>
+from the fetters of antiquated supernaturalism, will
+gradually learn to serve mankind with the same devotion
+they now render to a misunderstood God. They
+will no longer be limited by the defects of their paragon
+in their efforts to make the most of life. They will seek
+to solve modern problems in a rational way instead of
+deciding such matters as birth control, divorce, war and
+prohibition by reference to the scriptures, as they do
+now. For the first time they will make their decisions
+according to the best knowledge obtainable today.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus was in advance of his time. He declared that
+such revengeful theories as an eye for an eye must be
+supplanted by forgiveness. But as the world has evolved,
+Jesus has stood still. His teachings, superior as they
+were to those of the ancient Israelites, are now found to
+be inferior to the best ethics culled from the wisdom of
+the ages, brought down to date. It is heartening to feel
+that we can appropriate the superlative principles of all
+time instead of worshipping a deified personality who
+was limited to the best that men of his own generation
+could conceive.</p>
+
+<p>This examination of the life and character of Jesus
+will be based upon the accounts in the New Testament.
+Each passage will be construed as appears to the writer
+to have been originally intended. The reader may substitute
+his own interpretation, but should in no instance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+pass lightly over a situation as immaterial. Every word
+or action of Jesus is an important link in the chain of
+his divinity, or of his exalted position as a moral guide.
+Each argument should be met by acceptance or rejection,
+never with indifference. No reader of the following
+pages should ever say, "What difference does it make?"
+Everything concerning Jesus is of vast consequence in
+determining whether he is or is not a divine Savior, or a
+perfect guide.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Chron. xxi.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="ANTIQUATED_THEOLOGY" id="ANTIQUATED_THEOLOGY"></a>ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY</h2>
+
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> first event in the life of Jesus, the gospel story of
+his birth, is now considered unauthentic by many
+scholars and some theologians. The birth of a virgin,
+the visitation of an angel, the star in the East are phenomena
+contrary to natural laws and rest on insufficient
+authority for acceptance as credible. The probabilities
+are against exceptions in the laws of the universe.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="The_Virgin_Birth" id="The_Virgin_Birth"></a>The Virgin Birth</p>
+
+<p>The original evidence for the virgin birth is found
+only in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, two unknown
+historians, and both these evangelists implicitly
+deny their own tale when they trace the descent of
+Jesus from David through Joseph.<a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> The slaughter of the
+children by Herod, in fear of Jesus as a rival, probably
+never took place. Mark, Luke and John do not mention
+it; Josephus, who dwelt on the crimes of Herod, knew
+nothing of this massacre. According to Luke, Mary and
+Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem openly soon after the
+supposed decree.<a name="FNanchor_2_3" id="FNanchor_2_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_3" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p><p>There is dispute as to whether Jesus was born in
+Bethlehem or Nazareth, and the date of his birth has
+been placed anywhere from 4 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> to 7 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> Matthew
+says that Jesus was born "in the days of Herod", while
+Luke says it was "When Cyrenius was governor of
+Syria." Herod died in 4 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, while Cyrenius did not
+become governor of Syria until 7 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span></p>
+
+<p>The romantic story of the Christ-child is not corroborated
+by the historians of the time and is in opposition
+to the theory of evolution by natural processes.
+And yet it is still one of the main sources of Jesus' fame,
+being repeated at Christmas-tide in the churches, thus
+connecting Jesus with God in a superhuman manner.</p>
+
+<p>The consensus of scholarship is in practical agreement
+that the theory of the virgin birth as a link
+between Jesus and God is a mistake; but whose mistake
+was it? Jesus never referred to his miraculous birth. If
+he was merely a man and never heard of the rumor
+about his conception, he was not to blame for the
+spread of this misleading story throughout Christendom.</p>
+
+<p>While Jesus did not refer to his divine paternity in
+a physical sense, he did endeavor to convince his hearers
+that he was more directly connected with God than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+other men. "I and my Father are one."<a name="FNanchor_3_4" id="FNanchor_3_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_4" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> "No man
+knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any
+man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever
+the Son will reveal him."<a name="FNanchor_4_5" id="FNanchor_4_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_5" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus thus proclaimed himself identical with the Lord
+God of the Old Testament who called himself Jehovah.
+This is entirely in keeping with the whole Christian
+theory, for the <i>raison d'&ecirc;tre</i> of Jesus derived from the
+act of God soon after the creation. Adam and Eve ate
+of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
+evil which God had commanded them not to touch, and
+for this disobedience, this fall of man from grace, God
+cursed mankind. Jesus came to earth to save man from
+the wrath of Almighty God.</p>
+
+<p>But this claim of Jesus to oneness with God renders
+him liable to censure for the acts of Jehovah which represented
+a standard of ethics inferior to that preached
+by the Son of God. According to the scriptures, which
+anyone may freely search, God advised or countenanced
+deception<a name="FNanchor_5_6" id="FNanchor_5_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_6" class="fnanchor">[5]</a>; stealing<a name="FNanchor_6_7" id="FNanchor_6_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_7" class="fnanchor">[6]</a>, selfishness<a name="FNanchor_7_8" id="FNanchor_7_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_8" class="fnanchor">[7]</a>, conquest
+by force<a name="FNanchor_8_9" id="FNanchor_8_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_9" class="fnanchor">[8]</a>, indiscriminate slaughter<a name="FNanchor_9_10" id="FNanchor_9_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_10" class="fnanchor">[9]</a>, murder<a name="FNanchor_10_11" id="FNanchor_10_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_11" class="fnanchor">[10]</a>, cannibalism<a name="FNanchor_11_12" id="FNanchor_11_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_12" class="fnanchor">[11]</a>,
+killing of witches<a name="FNanchor_12_13" id="FNanchor_12_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_13" class="fnanchor">[12]</a>, slavery<a name="FNanchor_13_14" id="FNanchor_13_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_14" class="fnanchor">[13]</a>, capital punishment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+for rebellious sons or for seeking false gods<a name="FNanchor_14_15" id="FNanchor_14_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_15" class="fnanchor">[14]</a>,
+sacrifices of animals<a name="FNanchor_15_16" id="FNanchor_15_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_16" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> and other acts representing the
+concepts of primitive men.<a name="FNanchor_16_17" id="FNanchor_16_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_17" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>While Jesus could read<a name="FNanchor_17_18" id="FNanchor_17_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_18" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> and was familiar with the
+scriptures, it is possible that he was not acquainted with
+the system of dictatorship formerly employed by his
+Father. Occasionally Jesus denounced the ethics of
+"them of old time", but he always referred to his
+Father as perfect.</p>
+
+<p>The dilemma is that Jesus must be condemned either
+for claiming identity with Jehovah (to whom he was
+really superior), or for accepting with only slight improvements
+the tyranny of God as described in the
+Bible, the Word of God. Of course if the Bible is not
+the Word of God, the whole system of Christian
+theology falls to the ground.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="The_Jewish_Messiah" id="The_Jewish_Messiah"></a>The Jewish Messiah</p>
+
+<p>Jesus claimed to be the Messiah expected by the Jews.
+"And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure
+thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether
+thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto
+him, Thou hast said."<a name="FNanchor_18_19" id="FNanchor_18_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_19" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> "Again the high priest asked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span>
+him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son
+of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am."<a name="FNanchor_19_20" id="FNanchor_19_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_20" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> "Then said
+they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said
+unto them, Ye say that I am."<a name="FNanchor_20_21" id="FNanchor_20_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_21" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> "The woman saith
+unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called
+Christ: when he is come he will tell us all things. Jesus
+saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."<a name="FNanchor_21_22" id="FNanchor_21_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_22" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>These acknowledgments by Jesus that he was the
+Messiah are important, for if he claimed divinity when
+he was merely mortal, either under false pretences or
+being self-deceived, he made a mistake of the most
+serious character. His claim was not recognized by his
+own people, and many of his followers today deny that
+he was the Jewish Messiah. Jesus said that he came
+from God to save the Jews. Either he was truly the
+predicted Messiah or he made an inexcusable error. In
+this as in other instances to be cited, Fundamentalists
+will not admit any mistake, for they believe in the
+supernatural events connected with the Son of God. But
+Modernists, who reject the anointed Christ while clinging
+to the human Jesus, may be at a loss to reconcile
+Jesus' claim to Messiahship with their rejection of his
+divinity.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus stressed his mission to save the world, saying
+"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
+perish, but have everlasting life."<a name="FNanchor_22_23" id="FNanchor_22_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_23" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Eternal_Damnation" id="Eternal_Damnation"></a>Eternal Damnation</p>
+
+<p>Whether Jesus was mistaken or not in his estimate of
+his close relationship with God is for each person to decide;
+but his theory of the disasters that would follow
+unbelief in his divinity leads to serious difficulties if accepted
+literally. For not only was Jesus in error when
+he insisted that salvation depended upon belief, he was
+also reconciled to eternal suffering for unbelievers. Note
+some of his expressions:</p>
+
+<p>"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
+sins."<a name="FNanchor_23_24" id="FNanchor_23_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_24" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
+fire, prepared for the devil and his angels ... And
+these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but
+the righteous into life eternal."<a name="FNanchor_24_25" id="FNanchor_24_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_25" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost
+hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal
+damnation."<a name="FNanchor_25_26" id="FNanchor_25_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_26" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Except ye repent ye shall perish."<a name="FNanchor_26_27" id="FNanchor_26_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_27" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p>
+
+<p>"If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for
+thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span>
+to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be
+quenched."<a name="FNanchor_27_28" id="FNanchor_27_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_28" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p>
+
+<p>"How can ye escape the damnation of hell?"<a name="FNanchor_28_29" id="FNanchor_28_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_29" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p>
+
+<p>"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but
+he that believeth not shall be damned."<a name="FNanchor_29_30" id="FNanchor_29_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_30" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is evident from these quotations that Jesus not only
+preached belief in his divinity as essential to salvation,
+but endeavored to terrify people into belief by threats
+of eternal torment. Jesus was responsible for the theological
+conception of a fiery hell. If he was mistaken, if
+there never was a place of torment for the wicked after
+death, is it not an act of constructive criticism to expose
+the person most responsible for the false doctrine that
+has caused so much fear and mental suffering? Must
+we not deplore this mistake of Jesus and recast our entire
+opinion of him as a religious teacher?</p>
+
+<p>Are we not justified in stating positively that Jesus
+made a mistake when he taught a physical hell and
+condemned people to spend eternity in torment for the
+doubtful sin of disbelief?</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="The_Atonement" id="The_Atonement"></a>The Atonement</p>
+
+<p>The doctrine of the Atonement was taught by Jesus.
+"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is
+shed for many for the remission of sins."<a name="FNanchor_30_31" id="FNanchor_30_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_31" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+<p>Whether this sacrifice of the innocent Jesus to save
+sinful man was ordered by God or was voluntary on the
+part of Jesus, it represents a theory of reprieve from
+punishment long since abandoned as unethical. If sin
+must be punished, there is no justice in relieving the
+sinner and placing the burden upon the righteous.</p>
+
+<p>Moreover, the Atonement appears to have been ineffective,
+for in spite of the sacrifice that Jesus made,
+few were to be saved under his scheme of salvation.
+"Many are called but few are chosen."<a name="FNanchor_31_32" id="FNanchor_31_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_32" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> "Strait is the
+gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life,
+and few there be that find it."<a name="FNanchor_32_33" id="FNanchor_32_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_33" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> "Strive to enter in at
+the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to
+enter in, and shall not be able."<a name="FNanchor_33_34" id="FNanchor_33_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_34" class="fnanchor">[33]</a></p>
+
+<p>If the theory of Atonement for sin by the sacrifice of
+the innocent was not ethical and if Jesus taught that
+doctrine, he was in error, was he not?</p>
+
+<p>The sacrifice of Jesus was not so great as often made
+by men. Jesus was sustained with the thought that he
+was saving the world; his physical suffering was not
+long continued; on the night of his crucifixion he was
+in paradise.<a name="FNanchor_34_35" id="FNanchor_34_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_35" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> He endured a few hours of pain compared
+to weeks of suffering by wounded soldiers, or years
+spent in prison by the proponents of an ideal.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span></p>
+<p>Jesus not only claimed the power to remit sins but
+also said to his disciples: "Whosoever sins ye remit,
+they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye
+retain, they are retained."<a name="FNanchor_35_36" id="FNanchor_35_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_36" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p>
+
+<p>Is that true? Surely it is proper to ask that blunt
+question. Here is a definite statement concerning the
+power of certain men to remit sins. If those men did not
+have the power deputed to them, must we not doubt
+the accuracy of Jesus?</p>
+
+<p>Jesus made a distinction between himself and the
+Comforter: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for
+if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;
+but if I depart I will send him unto you ... And I
+will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
+Comforter, that he may abide with you forever."<a name="FNanchor_36_37" id="FNanchor_36_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_37" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p>
+
+<p>It must surprise some Christians that the Comforter
+could not be present at the same time with Jesus.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Angels_and_Devils" id="Angels_and_Devils"></a>Angels and Devils</p>
+
+<p>Jesus believed in angels and devils, often referring to
+these imaginary supernatural beings as if they existed.
+"Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father
+and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+of angels?"<a name="FNanchor_37_38" id="FNanchor_37_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_38" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> "So shall it be at the end of the world:
+the angels shall come forth."<a name="FNanchor_38_39" id="FNanchor_38_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_39" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p>
+
+<p>The devils were among the first to recognize Christ's
+divinity: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou
+Son of God?"<a name="FNanchor_39_40" id="FNanchor_39_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_40" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> "Let us alone, thou Jesus of Nazareth;
+art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou
+art, the Holy One of God."<a name="FNanchor_40_41" id="FNanchor_40_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_41" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> "And unclean spirits
+when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried,
+saying, Thou art the Son of God."<a name="FNanchor_41_42" id="FNanchor_41_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_42" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus believed in demoniacal possession, casting out
+devils on several occasions.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus frequently referred to heaven as a place above
+the earth: "And then shall they see the Son of man
+coming in the clouds with great power and glory."<a name="FNanchor_42_43" id="FNanchor_42_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_43" class="fnanchor">[42]</a>
+"And ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right
+hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."<a name="FNanchor_43_44" id="FNanchor_43_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_44" class="fnanchor">[43]</a>
+"Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see
+heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending
+on the Son of man."<a name="FNanchor_44_45" id="FNanchor_44_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_45" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p>
+
+<p>When Jesus was transfigured and talked with Moses
+and Elias, he charged his disciples, saying, "Tell the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again
+from the dead."<a name="FNanchor_45_46" id="FNanchor_45_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_46" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p>
+
+<p>According to the creeds based upon the Bible, Jesus
+rose from the dead, descended into hell, and ascended
+bodily into heaven. According to the gospels he stilled
+the storm, walked on the water and told Peter to do so
+and to find money in a fish's mouth and catch a large
+draught of fishes. These and other miracles connected
+Jesus with God and were part of his theology.</p>
+
+<p>Every fair-minded person should re-read the gospels
+and refresh his memory regarding the theology of Jesus.
+Then a decision must be reached as to the correctness
+of the views expressed. Either conditions on earth were
+different in the first century from those of the twentieth,
+or Jesus was mistaken in his conception of God, heaven,
+hell, angels, devils and himself.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Matt. i; Luke iii.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_3" id="Footnote_2_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_3"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Luke ii, 22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_4" id="Footnote_3_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_4"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> John x, 30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_5" id="Footnote_4_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_5"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Matt. xi, 27.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_6" id="Footnote_5_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_6"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Ezek. xiv, 9; Num. xiv, 30-34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_7" id="Footnote_6_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_7"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Ex. iii, 21-22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_8" id="Footnote_7_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_8"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Deut. xiv, 21.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_9" id="Footnote_8_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_9"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Num. xxxi et al.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_10" id="Footnote_9_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_10"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Ex. xxxii, 27.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_11" id="Footnote_10_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_11"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Deut. vii, 16 et al.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_12" id="Footnote_11_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_12"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Jer. xix, 9 et al.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_13" id="Footnote_12_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_13"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Ex. xxii, 18.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_14" id="Footnote_13_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_14"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Lev. xxv, 44-46.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_15" id="Footnote_14_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_15"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Deut. xxi, 18-21; xiii, 6-9.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_16" id="Footnote_15_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_16"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Lev. i, 14-15.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_17" id="Footnote_16_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_17"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> See the Old Testament.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_18" id="Footnote_17_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_18"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Luke iv, 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_19" id="Footnote_18_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_19"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Matt. xxvi, 63-64.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_20" id="Footnote_19_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_20"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Mark xv, 61-62.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_21" id="Footnote_20_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_21"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Luke xxii, 70.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_22" id="Footnote_21_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_22"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> John iv, 25-26.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_23" id="Footnote_22_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_23"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> John iii, 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_24" id="Footnote_23_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_24"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> John viii, 24.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_25" id="Footnote_24_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_25"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Matt. xxv, 31-46.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_26" id="Footnote_25_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_26"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Mark iii, 29.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_27" id="Footnote_26_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_27"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Luke xiii, 3.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_28" id="Footnote_27_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_28"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Mark ix, 43.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_29" id="Footnote_28_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_29"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Matt. xxiii, 33.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_30" id="Footnote_29_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_30"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Mark xvi, 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_31" id="Footnote_30_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_31"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Matt. xxvi, 28.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_32" id="Footnote_31_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_32"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Matt. xxii, 14.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_33" id="Footnote_32_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_33"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Matt. vii, 14.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_34" id="Footnote_33_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_34"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Luke xiii, 24.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_35" id="Footnote_34_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_35"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Luke xxiii, 43.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_36" id="Footnote_35_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_36"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> John xx, 23.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_37" id="Footnote_36_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_37"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> John xiv, 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_38" id="Footnote_37_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_38"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Matt. xxvi, 53.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_39" id="Footnote_38_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_39"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Matt. xiii, 49.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_40" id="Footnote_39_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_40"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Matt. viii, 29.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_41" id="Footnote_40_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_41"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Luke iv, 34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_42" id="Footnote_41_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_42"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Mark iii, 11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_43" id="Footnote_42_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_43"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Mark xiii, 26.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_44" id="Footnote_43_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_44"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> Mark xiv, 62.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_45" id="Footnote_44_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_45"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> John i, 51.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_46" id="Footnote_45_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_46"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Matt. xvii, 9.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="FALSE_IMPRESSIONS" id="FALSE_IMPRESSIONS"></a>FALSE IMPRESSIONS</h2>
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Jesus</span> not only held mistaken ideas about theology, as
+anyone but a Fundamentalist must admit, but he often
+gave impressions about earthly affairs that were unreliable
+to say the least. Occasionally his statements were
+actual misrepresentations of fact.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Jonah_and_the_Whale" id="Jonah_and_the_Whale"></a>Jonah and the Whale</p>
+
+<p>"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the
+whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and
+three nights in the heart of the earth."<a name="FNanchor_1_47" id="FNanchor_1_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_47" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+<p>Evidently Jesus believed the story of Jonah and the
+whale, as well as the tale of Noah's ark<a name="FNanchor_2_48" id="FNanchor_2_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_48" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> both of which
+are now generally discredited. Moreover, his prophecy
+regarding his entombment was inaccurate, for he was
+only two nights and one day in the heart of the earth,
+from Friday night to Sunday morning.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="End_of_the_World" id="End_of_the_World"></a>End of the World</p>
+
+<p>Jesus was decidedly mistaken in his theory of the approaching
+end of the world.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."<a name="FNanchor_3_49" id="FNanchor_3_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_49" class="fnanchor">[3]</a>
+"Ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the
+Son of man be come."<a name="FNanchor_4_50" id="FNanchor_4_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_50" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> "There be some standing here
+which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of
+man coming in his kingdom."<a name="FNanchor_5_51" id="FNanchor_5_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_51" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> "And this gospel of the
+kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness
+unto all nations; and then shall the end come ...
+Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass,
+till all these things be fulfilled."<a name="FNanchor_6_52" id="FNanchor_6_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_52" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> "The time is fulfilled,
+and the kingdom of God is at hand."<a name="FNanchor_7_53" id="FNanchor_7_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_53" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> "So ye in like
+manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass,
+know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Verily I say
+unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all
+these things be done."<a name="FNanchor_8_54" id="FNanchor_8_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_54" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> "The hour is coming, in the
+which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
+and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto
+the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,
+unto the resurrection of damnation."<a name="FNanchor_9_55" id="FNanchor_9_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_55" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus was confident that the day of judgment was
+coming in the first century, but it has not come yet,
+nineteen hundred years later. This erroneous belief in
+the imminent end of the world had an important bearing
+upon his entire philosophy; for if the end of the
+world was so near it was far more important to prepare<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+for life hereafter than to be concerned over mundane
+affairs. May we not view with doubt any of Jesus'
+teachings that depended upon his mistaken conception
+of the duration of the world?</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Miracles" id="Miracles"></a>Miracles</p>
+
+<p>Jesus is reported to have fed 5,000 people with five
+loaves and two fishes, and again 4,000 with seven
+loaves and a few small fishes. He walked on the water,
+calmed the seas, raised three persons from the dead
+and performed other miracles contrary to natural laws.
+These wondrous acts were depended upon by him to
+convince the people that he was the expected Messiah:
+"Go and shew John again those things which ye do
+hear and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame
+walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the
+dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
+preached to them."<a name="FNanchor_10_56" id="FNanchor_10_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_56" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus assured his disciples that they too would be able
+to perform miracles: "And these signs shall follow them
+that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they
+shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents;
+and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not
+hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they
+shall recover."<a name="FNanchor_11_57" id="FNanchor_11_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_57" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> "He that believeth on me, the works<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>
+that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these
+shall he do."<a name="FNanchor_12_58" id="FNanchor_12_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_58" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus set great store by these marvels that only magicians
+attempt nowadays. Ministers of the apostolic
+succession cannot cast out devils or take up serpents,
+and they are affected by deadly drinks the same as
+others. Jesus had a primitive idea of the value of such
+magic. Either he sought to deceive the gullible, or, as is
+more likely, was himself overcredulous. It is important
+to remember that Jesus stressed the value of enchantment
+and advised his successors to conjure in his name.</p>
+
+<p>If the miraculous had not been connected with the
+name of Jesus, it is probable that he never would have
+been heard of. His ethical teachings alone would not
+have won for him the exalted position that has come
+from the stories of his miraculous birth, life and ascension.
+In other words, his fame rests upon the supernatural
+side of his life that is now discredited by many
+of his followers.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Eternal_Life" id="Eternal_Life"></a>Eternal Life</p>
+
+<p>The remarks of Jesus on the subject of death were
+not accurate. "If a man keep my saying, he shall never
+see death."<a name="FNanchor_13_59" id="FNanchor_13_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_59" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> "Whosoever liveth and believeth in me
+shall never die."<a name="FNanchor_14_60" id="FNanchor_14_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_60" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span></p><p>Apparently Jesus referred to natural death, in which
+case he was utterly mistaken; but if he meant that believers
+in him should live forever in heaven, even so he
+gave a false impression; for there is no evidence that
+life after death is assured to Christians more than to
+others. Unbelievers were also to have eternal life,
+though in torment.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Raising_Lazarus" id="Raising_Lazarus"></a>Raising Lazarus</p>
+
+<p>Jesus took advantage of opportunities, even of death,
+to create dramatic effects. The eleventh chapter of John
+shows that when Lazarus was reported ill, Jesus said,
+"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of
+God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."
+So Jesus let Lazarus, one of the believers whom he loved,
+die<a name="FNanchor_15_61" id="FNanchor_15_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_61" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> in order that he might have the triumph of raising
+him from the dead. "Then said Jesus unto them
+plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes
+that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe."</p>
+
+<p>The confusion between earthly death and loss of
+eternal life was shown in the remark of Jesus to Martha:
+"I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in
+me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." This might
+be construed to mean that believers should have eternal
+life hereafter, but Jesus evidently had reference to life<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+on earth for he proceeded to raise Lazarus from the dead
+and cause him to live again on earth with his sisters.</p>
+
+<p>When Martha reminded Jesus that Lazarus had been
+dead four days, Jesus replied, "Said I not unto thee,
+that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the
+glory of God?" But Jesus himself had doubts of his
+ability to bring back Lazarus to life, as shown by his
+spontaneous prayer of thanks: "Father, I thank thee
+that thou hast heard me." Then he revealed again his
+desire to dramatize the occasion, saying, "And I knew
+that thou hearest me always: but because of the people
+which stand by I said it, that they may believe that
+thou hast sent me."</p>
+
+<p>"Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and
+had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him."
+Do the followers of Jesus, who claim that he made no
+mistakes, believe on him? If so, they must believe that
+he raised Lazarus from the dead as he claimed to have
+done. Do they believe that they can also raise people
+from the dead? Jesus so assured them when he promised
+that believers could do greater works than he performed.
+No, Jesus gave a false impression of his power.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Gods_Protection" id="Gods_Protection"></a>God's Protection</p>
+
+<p>Jesus continued his deception of the world by promising
+protection that has never been accorded. "Are not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall
+not fall on the ground without your Father. But the
+very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not
+therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."<a name="FNanchor_16_62" id="FNanchor_16_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_62" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>These sayings may properly be taken as symbolical
+or allegorical; but the evident intention was to assure
+his followers that God would protect them in their daily
+life. Safety was promised for believers, a safety that has
+been lacking for everyone. There is no evidence that
+God does protect believers any more than unbelievers.
+When the Titanic went down, those who perished were
+not solely the wicked persons; there was no distinction
+in the terrible disaster between believers and unbelievers.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus created in the minds of his hearers and his followers
+the idea that God was watching each individual
+to save him from danger, but this, unfortunately, is not
+a fact. It sounds comforting; it makes people feel nearer
+to God; but experience proves that no such close relationship
+exists. Jesus gave a false impression of God's
+loving care for men.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Belief_in_Prayer" id="Belief_in_Prayer"></a>Belief in Prayer</p>
+
+<p>Modern religious people may still consistently believe
+in prayer as a form of inward aspiration, but it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+difficult to take literally the assurance given by Jesus of
+practical accomplishments by means of prayer in his
+name.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus did not confine himself to promising spiritual
+results from prayer, but distinctly gave it to be understood
+that the physical world would respond to petitions
+to Jehovah. "Again I say unto you, That if two of you
+shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they
+shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which
+is in heaven."<a name="FNanchor_17_63" id="FNanchor_17_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_63" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> "If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye
+shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but
+also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed,
+and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
+And all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
+believing, ye shall receive."<a name="FNanchor_18_64" id="FNanchor_18_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_64" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> "What things soever
+ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them,
+and ye shall have them."<a name="FNanchor_19_65" id="FNanchor_19_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_65" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> "If ye have faith as a grain
+of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
+Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove:
+and nothing shall be impossible unto you."<a name="FNanchor_20_66" id="FNanchor_20_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_66" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p>
+
+<p>These promises have not been fulfilled. Bishops,
+priests and deacons with strong faith have been unable
+to obtain, by means of the most sincere prayer, results<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+similar to those indicated. They have followed Jesus
+in vain. No man living dare put his faith to the test by
+a public demonstration of prayer for physical changes.
+Christian prayers for rain are conventional, not being
+offered with confidence that rain will follow.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus has misled us.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_47" id="Footnote_1_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_47"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Matt. xii, 40.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_48" id="Footnote_2_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_48"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Luke xvii, 27; Matt. xxv, 38.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_49" id="Footnote_3_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_49"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Matt. iv, 17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_50" id="Footnote_4_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_50"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Matt. x, 23.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_51" id="Footnote_5_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_51"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Matt. xvi, 28; Mark ix, 1.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_52" id="Footnote_6_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_52"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Matt. xxiv, 14-34; Luke xxi, 32.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_53" id="Footnote_7_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_53"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Mark i, 15.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_54" id="Footnote_8_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_54"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Mark xiii, 29-30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_55" id="Footnote_9_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_55"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> John v, 28-29.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_56" id="Footnote_10_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_56"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Matt. xi, 4-5.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_57" id="Footnote_11_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_57"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Mark xvi, 17-18.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_58" id="Footnote_12_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_58"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> John xiv, 12.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_59" id="Footnote_13_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_59"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> John viii, 51.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_60" id="Footnote_14_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_60"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> John xi, 26.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_61" id="Footnote_15_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_61"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> John xi, 6.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_62" id="Footnote_16_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_62"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Matt. x, 29-31.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_63" id="Footnote_17_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_63"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Matt. xviii, 19.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_64" id="Footnote_18_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_64"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Matt. xxi, 21-22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_65" id="Footnote_19_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_65"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Mark xi, 24.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_66" id="Footnote_20_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_66"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Matt. xvii, 20.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="OBSCURE_TEACHINGS" id="OBSCURE_TEACHINGS"></a>OBSCURE TEACHINGS</h2>
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Many</span> of the sayings of Jesus lacked clarity. Various
+interpretations have been put upon them by scholars of
+distinction. No one is sure what was meant.</p>
+
+<p>According to the gospels, Jesus was descended from
+David, but Jesus mystified his hearers on this descent,
+saying: "If David then call him Lord, how is he his
+son?"<a name="FNanchor_1_67" id="FNanchor_1_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_67" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Witnesses_and_Judge" id="Witnesses_and_Judge"></a>Witnesses and Judge</p>
+
+<p>On the subject of witnesses there is great confusion.
+"If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true."<a name="FNanchor_2_68" id="FNanchor_2_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_68" class="fnanchor">[2]</a>
+"Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is
+true."<a name="FNanchor_3_69" id="FNanchor_3_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_69" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> "It is also written in your law, that the testimony
+of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of
+myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of
+me."<a name="FNanchor_4_70" id="FNanchor_4_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_70" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> "I and my Father are one."<a name="FNanchor_5_71" id="FNanchor_5_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_71" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> "My Father is
+greater than I."<a name="FNanchor_6_72" id="FNanchor_6_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_72" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>
+
+<p>This and the following instruction regarding judicial<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+procedure are far from clear. Jesus acknowledged the
+principle of law requiring more than one witness but
+said that in his case the only other witness necessary was
+his Father, although he and his Father were one.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus is supposed to be the judge of the world, but
+his statement of the case leaves the issue ambiguous.
+"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed
+all judgment unto the Son."<a name="FNanchor_7_73" id="FNanchor_7_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_73" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> "I judge no man. And
+yet if I judge, my judgment is true."<a name="FNanchor_8_74" id="FNanchor_8_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_74" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> "And if any
+man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not:
+for I came not to judge the world, but to save the
+world."<a name="FNanchor_9_75" id="FNanchor_9_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_75" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> "For judgment I am come into this world,
+that they which see not might see; and that they which
+see might be made blind."<a name="FNanchor_10_76" id="FNanchor_10_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_76" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+
+<p>The quality of reasoning employed in these instances
+has naturally led to theological quibbling. If Jesus can
+argue in that fashion, so can his followers, at the expense
+of intellectual honesty.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Cannibalism" id="Cannibalism"></a>Cannibalism</p>
+
+<p>The Jews could not understand what Jesus meant
+when he said: "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of
+man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
+Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath
+eternal life."<a name="FNanchor_11_77" id="FNanchor_11_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_77" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span></p>
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Religion_Only_for_Children" id="Religion_Only_for_Children"></a>Religion Only for Children</p>
+
+<p>Nor are these sayings clear: "I thank thee, O Father,
+Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
+things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed
+them unto babes."<a name="FNanchor_12_78" id="FNanchor_12_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_78" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> "Whosoever shall not receive the
+kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter
+therein."<a name="FNanchor_13_79" id="FNanchor_13_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_79" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p>This train of thought implies that education is of no
+importance where belief is concerned.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Difficult_or_Easy" id="Difficult_or_Easy"></a>Difficult or Easy?</p>
+
+<p>After enumerating the many hardships that must be
+endured by his followers, Jesus contradicted himself by
+saying, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is
+light."<a name="FNanchor_14_80" id="FNanchor_14_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_80" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Charity" id="Charity"></a>Charity</p>
+
+<p>There are apparent contradictions in his instructions
+regarding charity: "Let your light so shine before men,
+that they may see your good works, and glorify your
+Father which is in heaven."<a name="FNanchor_15_81" id="FNanchor_15_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_81" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> "Take heed that ye do
+not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise
+ye have no reward of your Father which is in
+heaven."<a name="FNanchor_16_82" id="FNanchor_16_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_82" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p>
+<p class="hd4"><a name="The_Scriptures_Upheld" id="The_Scriptures_Upheld"></a>The Scriptures Upheld</p>
+
+<p>Jesus reverenced the Hebrew Old Testament.</p>
+
+<p>"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
+prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For
+verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one
+jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till
+all be fulfilled."<a name="FNanchor_17_83" id="FNanchor_17_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_83" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+<p>And yet Jesus was the reformer, overthrowing ancient
+customs, renouncing the old principle of a tooth
+for a tooth, improving upon the Mosaic law. He was
+inconsistent.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Illogical" id="Illogical"></a>Illogical</p>
+
+<p>The logic of Jesus is often difficult to follow.</p>
+
+<p>"And when he is come, he will reprove the world
+of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin
+because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because
+I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of
+judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."<a name="FNanchor_18_84" id="FNanchor_18_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_84" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus admitted his obscurity: "These things have I
+spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh,
+when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but
+I shall shew you plainly of the Father."<a name="FNanchor_19_85" id="FNanchor_19_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_85" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<p>That time has never come.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Parables_Deceptive" id="Parables_Deceptive"></a>Parables Deceptive</p>
+
+<p>Jesus explained his obscurity in this way: "Unto you
+it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
+God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might
+not see, and hearing they might not understand."<a name="FNanchor_20_86" id="FNanchor_20_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_86" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>
+"But unto them that are without, all these things are
+done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not
+perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
+lest at any time they should be converted, and
+their sins should be forgiven them."<a name="FNanchor_21_87" id="FNanchor_21_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_87" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>In other words, Jesus, who said he came to save the
+world, concealed his meaning for fear some of his
+hearers should be converted and their sins be forgiven&mdash;which
+is exactly what he sought to bring about.</p>
+
+<p>Obscurity in a teacher is a great defect, especially
+when he glories in his ambiguity. If any Christians
+wish that Jesus had been more clear, then Jesus does
+not appear perfect to them, and they should admit his
+imperfections.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_67" id="Footnote_1_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_67"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Matt. xxii, 41-45.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_68" id="Footnote_2_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_68"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> John v, 31.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_69" id="Footnote_3_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_69"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> John viii, 14.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_70" id="Footnote_4_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_70"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> John viii, 17-18.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_71" id="Footnote_5_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_71"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> John x, 30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_72" id="Footnote_6_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_72"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> John xiv, 28.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_73" id="Footnote_7_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_73"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> John v, 22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_74" id="Footnote_8_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_74"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> John viii, 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_75" id="Footnote_9_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_75"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> John xii, 47.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_76" id="Footnote_10_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_76"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> John x, 39.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_77" id="Footnote_11_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_77"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> John vi, 53-58.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_78" id="Footnote_12_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_78"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Matt. xi, 25.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_79" id="Footnote_13_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_79"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Mark x, 15.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_80" id="Footnote_14_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_80"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Matt. xi, 30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_81" id="Footnote_15_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_81"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Matt. v, 16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_82" id="Footnote_16_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_82"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Matt. vi, 1.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_83" id="Footnote_17_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_83"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Matt. v, 17-18.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_84" id="Footnote_18_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_84"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> John xvi, 8-11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_85" id="Footnote_19_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_85"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> John xvi, 25.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_86" id="Footnote_20_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_86"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Luke viii, 10.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_87" id="Footnote_21_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_87"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Mark iv, 11-12.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="DEFICIENT_INSTRUCTIONS" id="DEFICIENT_INSTRUCTIONS"></a>DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS</h2>
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">In a</span> number of instances the teachings of Jesus are
+so incomplete, or so inappropriate, as to render no assistance
+in meeting similar situations in modern life.
+Either his meaning is not clear, or his instructions are
+too primitive to be applicable to our civilization.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Labor" id="Labor"></a>Labor</p>
+
+<p>The relation between employer and employee is one
+that requires practical guidance. Let us see what information
+Jesus gave on this important subject.</p>
+
+<p>The parable of the laborers<a name="FNanchor_1_88" id="FNanchor_1_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_88" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> relates that an employer
+hired men to work in his vineyard for twelve hours
+for a penny, and that he paid the same wage to other
+workers who toiled only nine, six, three and one hour.
+When those who had worked longest resented this
+treatment, as modern strikers would, the employer answered,
+apparently with Jesus' approval: "Friend, I do
+thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give
+unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for
+me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye
+evil, because I am good? So the last shall be first, and
+the first last."</p>
+
+<p>This parable may be a comfort to autocratic employers,
+sustaining them in their determination to dominate
+labor, but the principles enunciated are lacking in
+social vision. Equal pay for unequal work is approved,
+and the employer is vindicated in regulating wages and
+hours as he sees fit without regard for justice or the
+needs of the workers. In the manner of modern employers,
+the "goodman" calls his worker "Friend" but
+treats him with contempt. Jesus taught that the workers
+were wrong in demanding justice, that the employer
+was justified in acting erratically, as the money paid
+was his. He presented the issues between capital and
+labor and sided with capital. He stated the fact that the
+first shall be last, but said nothing to remedy that unfortunate
+situation. He did not explain how workers
+could obtain proper compensation for their labor.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus assumed a fair attitude when he said, "The
+labourer is worthy of his hire", and, "It is enough for
+the disciple to be as his master, and the servant as his
+lord", but he continued with doubtful logic: "If they
+have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how
+much more shall they call them of his household", implying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+that if an employer is worldly-minded his servants
+will be even worse.</p>
+
+<p>Little respect is shown for employees in the remark,
+"The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and
+careth not for the sheep."<a name="FNanchor_2_89" id="FNanchor_2_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_89" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> Probably in those days as
+now many an employee stuck to his post nobly to do
+his duty.</p>
+
+<p>The meaning is obscure in his other comment upon
+an employer who told his tired servant to serve his
+master first, ending with the enigma, "We are unprofitable
+servants: we have done that which was our
+duty to do."<a name="FNanchor_3_90" id="FNanchor_3_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_90" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Usury" id="Usury"></a>Usury</p>
+
+<p>In the parable of the talents the servant who did not
+put his money out at usury to make profits was condemned:
+"And cast ye the unprofitable servant into
+outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
+teeth."<a name="FNanchor_4_91" id="FNanchor_4_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_91" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> Punishment was to be severe in Jesus' program;
+the disobedient servant "shall be beaten with
+many stripes." Jesus did not advise leniency in such
+instances except that "he that knew not, and did commit
+things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few
+stripes."<a name="FNanchor_5_92" id="FNanchor_5_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_92" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> In his estimation the servant was a slave to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span>
+be punished corporeally by his master, even if ignorant
+of his wrong-doing.</p>
+
+<p>A Dr. Taylor, former Yale College theologian, is
+reported to have said: "I have no doubt that if Jesus
+Christ were now on earth he would, under certain circumstances,
+become a slaveholder." A Southern divine
+in 1860 could well maintain that slavery was approved
+in both Old and New Testaments, but no Christian
+would now impute slaveholding to Jesus. The standard
+of human relationships has improved since slaveholding
+days in America. The modern attitude toward servants,
+though by no means perfect, is superior to the relationships
+between master and servants accepted by Jesus.
+Slavery was the custom of the times and Jesus did not
+rise above it.</p>
+
+<p>In the parable of the unmerciful servant<a name="FNanchor_6_93" id="FNanchor_6_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_93" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Jesus
+taught the duty of forgiveness. He rightly rebuked the
+servant who oppressed his subordinates after being well
+treated by his lord. But the punishment suggested by
+Jesus for the abominable conduct was extremely harsh:
+"And his lord was wroth and delivered him to the
+tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto
+him." Torture for criminals was thus taught by Jesus.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus, apprenticed to his father in his youth, never<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+did any practical work so far as we know. He lived on
+the charity of others, setting an example that would
+bring trouble to anyone who followed in his train. If
+anything, he was an agitator, a peripatetic propagandist,
+teaching what he believed right but not working to
+support himself and therefore not being a good example
+for the workaday world today.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Economics" id="Economics"></a>Economics</p>
+
+<p>Nothing in the teachings of Jesus was more definite
+than his denunciation of riches.</p>
+
+<p>"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth ...
+A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of
+heaven ... It is easier for a camel to go through the
+eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
+kingdom of God ... The rich man also died, and
+was buried; and in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in
+torments ... Woe unto you that are rich."</p>
+
+<p>These strictures upon the rich appear somewhat
+severe, and Jesus went much farther, condemning even
+ordinary thrift and precaution.<a name="FNanchor_7_94" id="FNanchor_7_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_94" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>According to Acts ii, 44-45 and iv, 32, "All that believed
+were together and had all things common; and
+sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+men, as every man had need ... Neither said any of
+them that aught of the things which he possessed was
+his own; but they had all things common."</p>
+
+<p>It is to be presumed that the disciples practiced this
+communism at the instruction of Jesus. If Jesus approved
+of communism was he right or wrong?</p>
+
+<p>"Blessed be ye poor."<a name="FNanchor_8_95" id="FNanchor_8_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_95" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+
+<p>Poverty is not a blessing but a curse. Jesus taught the
+theory that the poor would be rich hereafter while the
+rich would be in hell.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Punishment_for_Debts" id="Punishment_for_Debts"></a>Punishment for Debts</p>
+
+<p>We have seen that Jesus expected an unjust servant
+to be tormented until he paid in full. There are also
+other evidences that he approved of imprisonment for
+debt. "Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou
+art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary
+deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to
+the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say
+unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till
+thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."<a name="FNanchor_9_96" id="FNanchor_9_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_96" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+<p>A legislator who patterned his life after Jesus would
+be justified in enacting laws imprisoning for debt and
+scourging for misdemeanors.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Some may say that the sentiments expressed by Jesus
+were not mistakes but merely presented the customs of
+his day. Possibly he did not intend to advise all that he
+seemed to approve; but if Jesus was a practical and
+prophetic guide he should have made it clear that he
+did not sanction the actions he apparently commended.</p>
+
+<p>In the parable of the pounds the nobleman, seemingly
+with the approval of Jesus, denounced the servant
+as wicked who did not put his lord's money in the bank
+to draw interest.<a name="FNanchor_10_97" id="FNanchor_10_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_97" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> And in the parable of the talents the
+lord rewarded those who had made 100 per cent profit
+through speculation.<a name="FNanchor_11_98" id="FNanchor_11_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_98" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p>
+
+<p>Another contradiction of his theory of the blessedness
+of poverty was his promise that those who followed
+him "shall receive a hundredfold now in this time,
+houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and
+children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world
+to come eternal life."<a name="FNanchor_12_99" id="FNanchor_12_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_99" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>Finally, Jesus stated the unfortunate truth, "Whosoever
+hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have
+more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him
+shall be taken even that he hath."<a name="FNanchor_13_100" id="FNanchor_13_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_100" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> If Jesus did not
+approve of that worldly method of distribution, he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+could have denounced its injustice instead of leaving the
+comment as if it expressed his own policy.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Healing" id="Healing"></a>Healing</p>
+
+<p>Many Christians value Jesus most for his healing
+powers, but Jesus looked upon disease almost as he did
+upon demoniacal possession, as something evil that
+could be cast out. "But that ye may know that the Son
+of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith
+he to the sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed, and
+go into thine house."<a name="FNanchor_14_101" id="FNanchor_14_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_101" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> There was confusion in his
+mind between sin and sickness.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus healed leprosy and palsy by touching the sick
+person; he healed the servant of the centurion by absent
+treatment, and restored sight by spitting on the eyes<a name="FNanchor_15_102" id="FNanchor_15_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_102" class="fnanchor">[15]</a>
+or anointing them with clay made with spittle<a name="FNanchor_16_103" id="FNanchor_16_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_103" class="fnanchor">[16]</a>, or by
+requiring faith.<a name="FNanchor_17_104" id="FNanchor_17_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_104" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> He healed a withered hand, cured impediments
+in speech and deafness, all without medical
+applications, even replacing an ear severed by a sword.<a name="FNanchor_18_105" id="FNanchor_18_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_105" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<p>Christian Scientists practice the same methods with
+confidence in success, but medical and surgical treatment
+are the most reliable means of effecting cures, disappointing
+as they are. If Jesus could cure disease, it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span>
+remiss of him not to instruct men definitely in his
+methods so that the suffering from illness that has
+afflicted the world could have been averted.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus did not isolate the germ of leprosy, or establish
+any practicable method of preventing disease. He has
+been of less value to the world as a healer than Pasteur,
+Lister, Koch, or Walter Reed.</p>
+
+<p>Some Christians will say that Jesus did not tell us
+how to avoid illness because man needs to be chastened
+by pain. If that is correct, if pain and disease are sent
+by God and are consciously permitted by Jesus, sick
+people should be allowed to suffer instead of trying to
+heal them.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Peace" id="Peace"></a>Peace</p>
+
+<p>Jesus has been called the Prince of Peace, but the
+weight of his testimony is not on the side of absolute
+pacifism. With his view of rendering unto Caesar the
+things that are Caesar's, it is possible that he would
+have advised young men to obey the state and enlist,
+or accept the draft, whenever their country called.</p>
+
+<p>On November 12, 1931, Rev. Dr. T. Andrew Caraker
+said at a banquet of the American Legion in Baltimore
+that if Jesus Christ had lived in 1917 He would
+have been the first to volunteer in the American army,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span>
+the first to wear a gas mask, shoulder a rifle and enter
+the trenches.</p>
+
+<p>Other ministers derive from the same gospels the
+belief that Jesus would not have stabbed Germans
+with a bayonet. Nor would Jesus have advised others
+to fight if he had been unwilling to fight himself.</p>
+
+<p>Most of the sayings of Jesus regarding violence or
+non-resistance were intended to apply chiefly to personal
+relationships; he said little of international strife.
+What he did say showed placid acceptance of the war
+system:</p>
+
+<p>"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars:
+see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must
+come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall
+rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."<a name="FNanchor_19_106" id="FNanchor_19_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_106" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<p>"And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of
+wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs
+be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise
+against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."<a name="FNanchor_20_107" id="FNanchor_20_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_107" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p>
+
+<p>"But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be
+not terrified: for these things must first come to pass;
+but the end is not by and by. Then said he unto them,
+Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
+kingdom."<a name="FNanchor_21_108" id="FNanchor_21_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_108" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>These verses have a more direct bearing on war as we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+now know it than any of his other sayings. They show
+his belief in the inevitability of war. Apparently he did
+not feel himself competent to counteract general mass
+militarism. He offered no program for arbitration of
+international disputes, no substitute for war between
+nations, no policy of war resistance.</p>
+
+<p>When Jesus advised non-resistance, saying to his follower,
+"Put up again thy sword into his place: for
+all they that take the sword shall perish with the
+sword,"<a name="FNanchor_22_109" id="FNanchor_22_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_109" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> he was merely stating the danger of using
+violence, not the immorality of employing force. In
+fact, he commanded his disciples to take the very sword
+which he later told them to sheathe: "He that hath no
+sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one ... And
+they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he
+said unto them, It is enough."<a name="FNanchor_23_110" id="FNanchor_23_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_110" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p>
+
+<p>Thus Jesus, the supposed non-resistant, prepared his
+followers with swords. These swords were for defense,
+and when the time came he repudiated even that use of
+the weapons, but, nevertheless, he armed his disciples
+instead of adhering to his principle of non-resistance.
+He did not set a positive example of disarmament.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers ... love
+your enemies ... Have peace one with another ...<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+On earth peace, good will toward men ... Peace I
+leave with you, my peace I give unto you ... These
+things have I spoken unto you that in me ye might
+have peace ... Resist not evil: but whosoever shall
+smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
+also."</p>
+
+<p>Other remarks of Jesus favored violence: "Think not
+that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to
+send peace, but a sword."<a name="FNanchor_24_111" id="FNanchor_24_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_111" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> "Suppose ye that I am
+come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather
+division."<a name="FNanchor_25_112" id="FNanchor_25_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_112" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> "But those mine enemies, which would
+not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and
+slay them before me."<a name="FNanchor_26_113" id="FNanchor_26_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_113" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> "My kingdom is not of this
+world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would
+my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the
+Jews."<a name="FNanchor_27_114" id="FNanchor_27_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_114" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> "When a strong man armed keepeth his
+palace, his goods are in peace: but when a stronger
+than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he
+taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and
+divideth his spoils."<a name="FNanchor_28_115" id="FNanchor_28_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_115" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> "And when he had made a
+scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the
+temple."<a name="FNanchor_29_116" id="FNanchor_29_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_116" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p>
+
+<p>In determining whether or not Jesus was a promoter
+of peace it is only reasonable to review everything that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+he said or did relating to the use of violence, giving
+equal weight to every verse. We cannot accept one
+statement and reject the others. The conclusion reached
+must be that Jesus was inconsistent in advocating both
+non-resistance and the use of force. He took diametrically
+opposed positions, the use of swords and scourges
+and non-resistance being mutually exclusive. Jesus
+preached non-resistance and at the same time armed his
+retainers with two swords. He advocated turning the
+other cheek but did not criticize war. Therefore,
+pacifists and militarists, with their opposite philosophies,
+should both admit that at times Jesus was mistaken.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Marriage" id="Marriage"></a>Marriage</p>
+
+<p>Jesus occasionally eulogized marriage: "For this
+cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall
+cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh ...
+What therefore God hath joined together, let not
+man put asunder."<a name="FNanchor_30_117" id="FNanchor_30_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_117" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Celibacy" id="Celibacy"></a>Celibacy</p>
+
+<p>On other occasions he made remarks which indicated
+his preference for celibacy as the higher state, the one
+he adopted for himself. "In the resurrection they neither<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span>
+marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the
+angels of God in heaven."<a name="FNanchor_31_118" id="FNanchor_31_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_118" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> "The children of this
+world marry, and are given in marriage: but they which
+shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and
+the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are
+given in marriage."<a name="FNanchor_32_119" id="FNanchor_32_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_119" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> "I say unto you, That whosoever
+looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed
+adultery with her already in his heart."<a name="FNanchor_33_120" id="FNanchor_33_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_120" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> "There are
+some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's
+womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made
+eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have
+made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's
+sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it."<a name="FNanchor_34_121" id="FNanchor_34_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_121" class="fnanchor">[34]</a>
+"There is no man that hath left ... wife, or children
+for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive
+manifold more in this present time, and in the world to
+come life everlasting."<a name="FNanchor_35_122" id="FNanchor_35_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_122" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus referred to the absence of marriage in heaven,
+the ideal realm. Paul's testimony adds to the evidence
+that Jesus considered celibacy preferable to any form
+of sex expression, even marriage.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Adultery" id="Adultery"></a>Adultery</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, Jesus was tolerant of sex offenses.
+He chatted in a friendly manner with the woman of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+Samaria, saying: "Thou hast had five husbands; and he
+whom thou now hast is not thy husband."<a name="FNanchor_36_123" id="FNanchor_36_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_123" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> And
+about the woman taken in adultery he said: "He that
+is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at
+her ... Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no
+more."<a name="FNanchor_37_124" id="FNanchor_37_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_124" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> "The harlots go into the kingdom of God
+before you."<a name="FNanchor_38_125" id="FNanchor_38_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_125" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Divorce" id="Divorce"></a>Divorce</p>
+
+<p>Jesus sanctioned divorce. His followers are so annoyed
+at this fact that they frequently quote the verse
+on the subject with the offensive clause omitted. The
+text reads: "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put
+away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
+But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put
+away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication,
+causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall
+marry her that is divorced committeth adultery."<a name="FNanchor_39_126" id="FNanchor_39_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_126" class="fnanchor">[39]</a>
+Again in Matthew xix, 9, he makes the same exception.
+It is evident, therefore, that Jesus permitted divorce
+for one cause. If the wife was unfaithful the
+husband could divorce her, but otherwise no matter
+how unhappy the couple might be, they must remain
+married.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span></p>
+<p>The admirable leniency of Jesus toward sex offenders,
+and his permission to divorce, must seem like
+mistakes to churchmen who consider extramarital sex
+relations the unforgivable sin. And everyone must see
+the danger of having our judges adopt as a principle of
+justice the dismissal of offenders on the ground that the
+prosecutors have also sinned.</p>
+
+<p>A Christian girl of today would not be encouraged
+by the most zealous religious parents to marry a man
+exactly like Jesus.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Faulty_Judgment" id="Faulty_Judgment"></a>Faulty Judgment</p>
+
+<p>Jesus selected Judas to be the treasurer of the apostles'
+joint funds, but later admitted his error, saying: "Have
+I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?
+He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for it was
+he that should betray him, being one of the twelve."<a name="FNanchor_40_127" id="FNanchor_40_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_127" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus erroneously supposed that "salvation is of the
+Jews."<a name="FNanchor_41_128" id="FNanchor_41_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_128" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and
+into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go
+rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."<a name="FNanchor_42_129" id="FNanchor_42_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_129" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> A
+nationalistic and partial spirit is expressed in these
+sentences, a spirit that has been followed to the extent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+that Jesus would not be permitted to enter America if
+he applied for a visa.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Unconvincing" id="Unconvincing"></a>Unconvincing</p>
+
+<p>Jesus failed in his mission to save the world. He
+made the supreme sacrifice in vain. His method of
+proving his divinity did not convince his hearers: "But
+though he had done so many miracles before them, yet
+they believed not on him."<a name="FNanchor_43_130" id="FNanchor_43_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_130" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> "For neither did his
+brethren believe in him."<a name="FNanchor_44_131" id="FNanchor_44_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_131" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> After he had healed many,
+cast out unclean spirits and appointed his twelve
+apostles to do likewise, his friends "went out to lay
+hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself."<a name="FNanchor_45_132" id="FNanchor_45_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_132" class="fnanchor">[45]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus admitted his impotence as a human being when
+he said, "I can of mine own self do nothing."<a name="FNanchor_46_133" id="FNanchor_46_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_133" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> Even
+with the assistance of his Father he did not accomplish
+what he set out to do.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Prohibition" id="Prohibition"></a>Prohibition</p>
+
+<p>The miracle of turning water into wine, providing
+one hundred gallons of wine after the people at the
+party had "well drunk", must appear to prohibitionists
+like a mistake on the part of Jesus. Many Methodists<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+and Baptists would have preferred to have him turn
+the wine into water; yet they will not admit that Jesus
+made a mistake.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Lack_of_Experience" id="Lack_of_Experience"></a>Lack of Experience</p>
+
+<p>So far as the gospels relate, Jesus never had any experience
+with three of the chief difficulties of human
+life&mdash;sex, earning a living and illness. He was therefore
+less able to explain those relationships than one who has
+struggled through in the customary manner of mankind.
+To take the inexperienced Jesus as our guide in
+practical living would be like a traveller who was
+planning a trip over perilous mountains and engaged
+as a guide a man who had never crossed the mountains.</p>
+
+<p>As Jesus believed that the end of the world was
+approaching, and as he revealed no information about
+the future, his teachings should be taken as applying
+solely to his own time. A divinity living now would
+preach far differently from the inadequate doctrines of
+Jesus.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>The abandonment of reliance upon a Jesus who has
+not changed in nineteen hundred years, in favor of an
+Evolutionary philosophy that requires constant change,
+leads to a new conception of the world and its possibilities
+for man. A person who has thought himself<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+out of antiquated theology may be expected to have
+an open mind towards the betterment of human customs.</p>
+
+<p>Every improvement in human relationships originates
+secularly and is adopted by the Church only after
+a bitter struggle. Faith in Jesus is a reactionary force.
+The Christian opposes change in the creations of God;
+the Evolutionist seeks to alter every unsatisfactory condition.
+The Evolutionist is more responsive than the
+orthodox Christian to proposals for promoting the happiness
+of the human race. Many liberals have abandoned
+conservatism because they saw the hypocrisy in
+Christianity.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_88" id="Footnote_1_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_88"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Matt. xx, 1-16.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_89" id="Footnote_2_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_89"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> John x, 13.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_90" id="Footnote_3_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_90"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Luke xvii, 10.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_91" id="Footnote_4_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_91"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Matt. xxv, 30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_92" id="Footnote_5_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_92"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Luke xii, 47-48.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_93" id="Footnote_6_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_93"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Matt. xviii, 23-34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_94" id="Footnote_7_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_94"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Matt. vi, 25-31, discussed under the <a href="#Sermon_on_the_Mount">Sermon on the Mount</a>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_95" id="Footnote_8_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_95"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Luke vi, 20.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_96" id="Footnote_9_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_96"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Matt. v, 25-26.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_97" id="Footnote_10_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_97"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> Luke xix, 23.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_98" id="Footnote_11_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_98"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Matt. xxv, 20.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_99" id="Footnote_12_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_99"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Mark x, 30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_100" id="Footnote_13_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_100"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Matt. xiii, 12.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_101" id="Footnote_14_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_101"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Matt. ix, 6.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_102" id="Footnote_15_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_102"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Mark viii, 23.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_103" id="Footnote_16_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_103"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> John ix, 6.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_104" id="Footnote_17_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_104"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Mark x, 52.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_105" id="Footnote_18_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_105"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> Luke xxii, 51.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_106" id="Footnote_19_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_106"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> Matt. xxiv, 6-7.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_107" id="Footnote_20_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_107"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Mark xiii, 7-8.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_108" id="Footnote_21_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_108"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Luke xxi, 9-10.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_109" id="Footnote_22_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_109"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Matt. xxvi, 52.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_110" id="Footnote_23_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_110"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Luke xxii, 36-38.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_111" id="Footnote_24_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_111"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Matt. x, 34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_112" id="Footnote_25_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_112"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Luke xii, 51.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_113" id="Footnote_26_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_113"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Luke xix, 27.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_114" id="Footnote_27_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_114"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> John xviii, 36.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_115" id="Footnote_28_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_115"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Luke xi, 21-22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_116" id="Footnote_29_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_116"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> John ii, 15.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_117" id="Footnote_30_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_117"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Matt. xix, 5-6.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_118" id="Footnote_31_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_118"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Matt. xxii, 30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_119" id="Footnote_32_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_119"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Luke xx, 34-35.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_120" id="Footnote_33_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_120"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> Matt. v, 28.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_121" id="Footnote_34_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_121"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Matt. xix, 12.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_122" id="Footnote_35_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_122"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Luke xviii, 29-30.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_123" id="Footnote_36_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_123"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> John iv, 18.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_124" id="Footnote_37_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_124"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> John viii, 7-11.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_125" id="Footnote_38_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_125"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Matt. xxi, 31.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_126" id="Footnote_39_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_126"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Matt. v, 31-32.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_127" id="Footnote_40_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_127"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> John vi, 70-71.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_128" id="Footnote_41_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_128"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> John iv, 22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_129" id="Footnote_42_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_129"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Matt. x, 5-6.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_130" id="Footnote_43_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_130"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> John xii, 37.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_131" id="Footnote_44_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_131"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> John vii, 5.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_132" id="Footnote_45_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_132"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Mark iii, 21.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_133" id="Footnote_46_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_133"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> John v, 30.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="AN_INFERIOR_PROTOTYPE" id="AN_INFERIOR_PROTOTYPE"></a>AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE</h2>
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">Orthodox</span> Christians accept both Old and New
+Testaments as authority for their actions, whereas Modernists
+are not much concerned with the commands of
+Jehovah but maintain that Jesus is the pattern for their
+lives. Religious liberals feel that the troubles of the
+world come largely from failure to follow the teachings
+of the Nazarene. They look upon him as the perfect
+example of what a man should be. In their opinion,
+if everyone would act as Jesus did all would be
+well.</p>
+
+<p>On December 7, 1931, Dr. Henry Van Dyke
+preached at the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York
+City, that the way to end the financial depression was
+to act as Jesus would: "We can judge only by what he
+did and said in the first century, an age not so different
+from our own, an age of unsettlement, violence, drunkenness
+and license. Christ would tell us not to yield
+to panic.... Christ would not tell us to join any
+political party or social group...."</p>
+
+<p>Such a sermon sounds encouraging but, as a matter
+of fact, Jesus has not shown any of his ministers how<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span>
+to end the depression. To trust him for guidance in
+our modern world is to pin faith on an incompetent
+instructor. We can learn how to end the depression by
+examining the records of our own time and by correcting
+the errors that have been made. It is not safe
+to rely upon a person who had no knowledge of America's
+practical needs and whose acts and advice regarding
+worldly affairs in Jerusalem fell short of the best
+ethical values.</p>
+
+<p>In this treatise it has been shown that Jesus made
+mistakes. Every instance cited may not appeal to all
+readers as worthy of criticism, but there can be no
+doubt in the mind of any honest thinker that several at
+least of Jesus' ideas were erroneous. His theology was
+filled with superstitions, his cosmology was that of the
+pre-scientific era, he expected the end of the world
+within a generation, his conception of sin was theological
+rather than ethical, he failed to convince his
+hearers by his oratory, he exaggerated the results from
+prayer and he related parables that gave a false sense of
+values.</p>
+
+<p>Now we shall turn to his personal character and
+teachings to see if he was always the meek, gentle soul
+portrayed by the conventional Christ.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Cursing_Nature" id="Cursing_Nature"></a>Cursing Nature</p>
+
+<p>The act in Jesus' life that has been most difficult for
+theologians to explain was the cursing of the fig tree.
+The tree was created to bear fruit in the Summer, but
+when Jesus found it without fruit in the Spring, he
+cursed it so that it withered away.</p>
+
+<p>"Now in the morning, as he returned into the city,
+and when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it,
+and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said
+unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever.
+And presently the fig tree withered away."<a name="FNanchor_1_134" id="FNanchor_1_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_134" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> "For the
+time of figs was not yet."<a name="FNanchor_2_135" id="FNanchor_2_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_135" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>This episode involves several mistakes&mdash;ignorance
+of the seasons; destruction of a profitable food-producing
+tree; exhibition of temper when thwarted, and
+giving false information regarding man's power to
+effect physical changes by a curse.<a name="FNanchor_3_136" id="FNanchor_3_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_136" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>If Jesus acted unwisely in this one instance and was
+right in all others, he is neither an infallible God nor a
+perfect pattern for mankind.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Forgiveness" id="Forgiveness"></a>Forgiveness</p>
+
+<p>The conventional Jesus is emblematic of supreme
+kindness and forgiveness, but in reality he was far from
+lenient in many instances, nor did he advocate forgiveness
+for certain offenses.</p>
+
+<p>"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee ...
+tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear
+the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and
+a publican."<a name="FNanchor_4_137" id="FNanchor_4_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_137" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+<p>In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Abraham was
+represented as justified in not forgiving the rich man
+tortured in hell, or even in saving the rich man's
+brothers as requested by the victim of Jesus' policy of
+punishment.</p>
+
+<p>Again Jesus said: "Whosoever shall deny me before
+men, him will I also deny before my Father."<a name="FNanchor_5_138" id="FNanchor_5_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_138" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> "Whosoever
+shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath
+never forgiveness."<a name="FNanchor_6_139" id="FNanchor_6_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_139" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p>
+
+<p>All the wicked were condemned by Jesus to eternal
+punishment with no chance of forgiveness.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Vituperation" id="Vituperation"></a>Vituperation</p>
+
+<p>Jesus was often vehement in his language to an extent
+hardly compatible with gentleness of character.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"O generation of vipers! how can ye, being evil,
+speak good things?"<a name="FNanchor_7_140" id="FNanchor_7_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_140" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Woe unto you, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and
+land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye
+make him two-fold more the child of hell than yourselves."<a name="FNanchor_8_141" id="FNanchor_8_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_141" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye
+escape the damnation of hell?"<a name="FNanchor_9_142" id="FNanchor_9_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_142" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p>
+
+<p>"If I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like
+unto you."<a name="FNanchor_10_143" id="FNanchor_10_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_143" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p>
+
+<p>"All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers."<a name="FNanchor_11_144" id="FNanchor_11_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_144" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Ye fools and blind."<a name="FNanchor_12_145" id="FNanchor_12_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_145" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p>
+
+<p>This language may have been necessary, in Jesus'
+opinion, to convince his hearers of their sins, but such
+vituperation does not become a modern ethical teacher.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Destruction_of_Property" id="Destruction_of_Property"></a>Destruction of Property</p>
+
+<p>Two acts of Jesus, consistent with his disregard of
+worldly goods, were destructive in character.</p>
+
+<p>"And there was a good way off from them a herd
+of many swine feeding. So the devils besought him, saying,
+If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the
+herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when
+they were come out, they went into the herd of swine:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently
+down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the
+waters."<a name="FNanchor_13_146" id="FNanchor_13_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_146" class="fnanchor">[13]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus did what the devils requested, cruelly killing
+two thousand inoffensive valuable animals that belonged
+to other people.</p>
+
+<p>"Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the
+temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and
+the changers of money sitting: and when he had made
+a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the
+temple, and the sheep and the oxen; and poured out
+the changers' money, and overthrew the tables."</p>
+
+<p>Jesus has been defended for other acts on the ground
+that he was living in less civilized times than our own,
+but here he is seen offending both ancient and modern
+sensibilities. The destruction of the swine and the routing
+of the merchants were sensational and erratic exhibitions.
+If reformers today should destroy herds of
+animals, except to protect public health by due process
+of law, or overthrow banks, they would be liable to
+arrest in any city of Christendom. Therefore the consensus
+of opinion denies exoneration to Jesus for his
+spasmodic resort to direct action.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Egotism" id="Egotism"></a>Egotism</p>
+
+<p>If Jesus was not God, but merely the ideal man, his
+estimate of himself was excessive. In addition to his remarks
+already quoted there are many other instances of
+an exaggerated ego.</p>
+
+<p>"If any man come to me, and hate not his father,
+and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
+sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my
+disciple."<a name="FNanchor_14_147" id="FNanchor_14_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_147" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
+die."<a name="FNanchor_15_148" id="FNanchor_15_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_148" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p>
+
+<p>"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
+sins."<a name="FNanchor_16_149" id="FNanchor_16_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_149" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p>
+
+<p>"I am the light of the world."<a name="FNanchor_17_150" id="FNanchor_17_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_150" class="fnanchor">[17]</a></p>
+
+<p>"I am the Son of God."<a name="FNanchor_18_151" id="FNanchor_18_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_151" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p>
+
+<p>"I am the resurrection and the life."<a name="FNanchor_19_152" id="FNanchor_19_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_152" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p>
+
+<p>If Jesus was correct in claiming that he was the
+Messiah, if he could control the elements and send people
+to heaven or hell, he was justified in any extreme
+remarks; but not if he were merely a man. Every person
+is entitled to have as good an opinion of himself as his
+character and ability warrant, but expressions of his own
+worth are unseemly even if true, and are inexcusable if
+exaggerated. As Jesus himself said (though this authority<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span>
+is only for believers) testimony about oneself is unreliable.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus not only claimed to be more than a man, he
+threatened his hearers with death if they did not agree
+with him. All of which might be permissible if he were
+God, but was an egotistical illusion if he was merely
+human.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Lack_of_Courtesy" id="Lack_of_Courtesy"></a>Lack of Courtesy</p>
+
+<p>Jesus did not always exhibit the courtesy one would
+expect of a gentleman, or even of a nature's nobleman.</p>
+
+<p>The first instance of lack of consideration was when
+he slipped away from his parents, causing them unnecessary
+anxiety: "Son, why hast thou thus dealt
+with us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing."<a name="FNanchor_20_153" id="FNanchor_20_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_153" class="fnanchor">[20]</a>
+He had remained behind to study Hebrew
+theology and did not tell his parents, presumably because
+he thought they would not have permitted the
+venture.</p>
+
+<p>Another instance was found in his daily life:</p>
+
+<p>"A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him:
+and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the
+Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first
+washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup
+and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening
+and wickedness. Ye fools ..."<a name="FNanchor_21_154" id="FNanchor_21_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_154" class="fnanchor">[21]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus had not only failed to wash as was expected of
+a guest, but defended his uncleanliness and abused his
+host.</p>
+
+<p>At another time Jesus was discourteous to his mother:</p>
+
+<p>"And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus
+saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto
+her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?"<a name="FNanchor_22_155" id="FNanchor_22_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_155" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus was apparently annoyed at his mother's interference,
+though he followed her suggestion. He did not
+set a good example for children in addressing their
+mothers.</p>
+
+<p>When the Syrophenician woman asked him to help
+her daughter, "Jesus saith unto her, Let the children
+first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's
+bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered
+and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the
+table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said unto
+her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out
+of thy daughter."<a name="FNanchor_23_156" id="FNanchor_23_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_156" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus practically admitted that he had made a mistake
+in speaking unkindly to a Gentile. Her clever answer
+induced him to change his decision. A physician<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+who called a stranger's child a dog would now be considered
+brutal even in a free hospital.</p>
+
+<p>"And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord,
+suffer me first to go and bury my father. But Jesus said
+unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their
+dead."<a name="FNanchor_24_157" id="FNanchor_24_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_157" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p>
+
+<p>Jesus could have allowed the man to attend his
+father's funeral and follow him later. Would not that
+have set a better precedent?</p>
+
+<p>When Peter intervened to protect Jesus, the latter
+"turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me,
+Satan: thou art an offence unto me."<a name="FNanchor_25_158" id="FNanchor_25_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_158" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p>
+
+<p>Even though Jesus was determined to go on with the
+sacrifice, he could have been more appreciative of his
+best friend's suggestion.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Unethical_Advice" id="Unethical_Advice"></a>Unethical Advice</p>
+
+<p>When the unjust steward cheated his employer, Jesus
+gave the following remarkable advice:</p>
+
+<p>"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because
+he had done wisely: for the children of this world
+are in their generation wiser than the children of light.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the
+mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they
+may receive you into everlasting habitations."<a name="FNanchor_26_159" id="FNanchor_26_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_159" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p>
+
+<p>This passage should be read again before deciding
+whether Jesus advised opportunism rather than morality.
+The words must be taken as they are; no interpretation
+can be based upon the assumption that Jesus was
+always right and therefore meant something different
+from what he said.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Sermon_on_the_Mount" id="Sermon_on_the_Mount"></a>Sermon on the Mount</p>
+
+<p>Many Christians say that they care nothing for
+theology; that the Sermon on the Mount contains all
+that is necessary for a religious life, being a perfect system
+of ethics.</p>
+
+<p>The Sermon on the Mount does contain many admirable
+principles, but also some that are inferior to
+present standards. Few of the people who praise this
+Sermon would think it proper to abide by all the teachings
+therein. Christian parents do not wish their children
+to follow either the letter or the spirit of this
+famous preachment. It begins in the fifth chapter of
+Matthew.</p>
+
+<p>"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Is it better to be
+poor in spirit than rich and eager in spirit? Being poor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span>
+in spirit is to be faint of heart. This is bad advice, is it
+not?</p>
+
+<p>"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted."
+This means that those who mourn on earth
+will be comforted in heaven; but now that life on earth
+has assumed greater importance, so far as our daily conduct
+is concerned, than life in heaven, the philosophy
+of gloom is unfortunate. Jesus preached acceptance of
+unhappiness as the common lot of man; he should not
+therefore be credited with providing happiness on earth.
+His urge to rejoice was usually in anticipation of good
+things to come in the next world. He preached sorrow
+for all here rather than the greater happiness for the
+greater number.</p>
+
+<p>"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes
+in divers places. All these are the beginning of
+sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted,
+and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations
+for my name's sake ... and because iniquity shall
+abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that
+shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved."<a name="FNanchor_27_160" id="FNanchor_27_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_160" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p>
+
+<p>"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."<a name="FNanchor_28_161" id="FNanchor_28_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_161" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p>
+
+<p>The beatitude, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall
+inherit the earth" is of doubtful accuracy or value.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The commands to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand
+may not have been intended literally, although it does
+appear as if Jesus referred to the physical body, and
+men have often so interpreted these doubtful instructions.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus said that "Whosoever shall marry her that is
+divorced committeth adultery", which is no longer true.
+Those who permit remarriage after divorce should admit
+an error on Jesus' part.</p>
+
+<p>"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." This
+instruction should be reversed, should it not? Evil
+should be resisted in every possible way that does not
+involve evil in itself. What modern ethical teacher will
+say that evil should not be resisted, or that this advice
+of Jesus was perfection? If his instruction was intended
+to refer to physical resistance, then no righteous person
+should fight in any war, no police should be delegated
+to arrest criminals. If the phrase has merely a spiritual
+meaning, it is certainly unsound advice, for evil should
+be overcome by good.</p>
+
+<p>A fanatical attitude towards the law was recommended
+when Jesus said: "If any man will sue thee at
+the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy
+cloak also." Extreme generosity and non-resistance are
+taught, but the illustration was not well thought out,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+for if the man had already won his suit and taken the
+coat, it is evident that the owner of the coat had put
+up a legal fight instead of giving away his coat and cloak
+as Jesus implies he should. Yielding more than a legal
+opponent wins in court is not compatible with defending
+the suit, nor is it a principle that would meet the
+approval of most of Jesus' followers today.</p>
+
+<p>"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which
+is in heaven is perfect." If Jesus referred to Jehovah as
+his Father in heaven, the standard of perfection advocated
+was very low, for Jehovah was, as Thomas Jefferson
+put it, "cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust."</p>
+
+<p>The Lord's Prayer is not the simple, clear, devotional
+petition that is usually supposed. Take it literally, as
+was undoubtedly intended, and its irrelevance to actual
+life is at once apparent.</p>
+
+<p>"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy
+name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth,
+as it is in heaven." This is a proper invocation only if
+there is a heaven in which God's will is done. None
+such has been discovered.</p>
+
+<p>"Give us this day our daily bread" indicates that
+God would not give our daily sustenance without being
+asked, whereas there is no apparent distinction in actual
+living between those who pray for bread and those who
+do not.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our
+debtors" intimates that divine forgiveness is not to be
+superior to that of men.</p>
+
+<p>"And lead us not into temptation"&mdash;as if God were
+anxious to lead us there and would be deterred by our
+prayer.</p>
+
+<p>It may seem like petty cavil to criticize the prayer
+that has been acclaimed for many centuries as ideal, but,
+seriously, what valuable principle for guidance through
+life does the Lord's Prayer contain? Do its requests
+represent the best modern conception of prayer as an
+inward aspiration rather than as petitionary? Is it not
+vain repetition to recite it again and again?</p>
+
+<p>The general idea of offering prayer in order to obtain
+various needs presents the difficulty of reconciling the
+conception of an omnipotent, all-foreseeing God with
+the contradictory theory of a Father who requires prayer
+before caring for his children, an almighty God who
+will be turned from his course by human petitions. Man
+can do wonders in the way of conquering nature, but
+he has not been able to alter natural laws, nor is there
+any evidence that such laws have been changed at any
+time in answer to prayer.</p>
+
+<p>If the Lord's Prayer is not essential for man's welfare
+in the world, we may conclude that Jesus over-emphasized
+its importance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One of the most important portions of the Sermon
+on the Mount is the advice regarding worldly possessions.
+Nothing in the teaching of Jesus is more definite
+than his instructions regarding wealth. He strikes an
+admirable note when he says, "What is a man profited
+if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? ...
+A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the
+things which he possesseth." This general principle is
+sadly needed in the modern money-seeking world, but
+the teachings of Jesus on economics go much further,
+far beyond anything the best people of today are willing
+to follow.</p>
+
+<p>"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or
+what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye
+shall put on ... Take therefore no thought for the
+morrow."<a name="FNanchor_29_162" id="FNanchor_29_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_162" class="fnanchor">[29]</a></p>
+
+<p>These commands, taken literally as Jesus intended,
+would lead to infinite trouble. Men are obliged to take
+thought for the morrow; if they do not they will fail to
+survive. In Jesus' plan provision for the earthly future
+was of no importance because of the imminence of
+eternal life, but now it is considered one's duty to provide
+for old age.</p>
+
+<p>This mistake of Jesus cannot be explained away by
+saying that Jesus was right and that man falls short of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+the counsel of perfection given by the Master. No, there
+are few indeed who will say that it would be right to
+shape their financial life as Jesus advised. If they do not
+believe it right to follow his instructions, definite as
+they are on this subject, they must admit that he was
+wrong. Either thrift is now unrighteous, or Jesus is not
+a dependable guide for modern life.</p>
+
+<p>The following instructions have little meaning now
+except for Roman Catholics. "But thou, when thou
+fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face, that thou
+appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which
+is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
+reward thee openly."</p>
+
+<p>Another portion of the Sermon holds out false hopes
+that cannot be substantiated: "For everyone that asketh
+receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth." Is there any
+virtue in thus deceiving the people regarding the possibilities
+of prayer?</p>
+
+<p>"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
+should do to you, do ye even so to them." This is the
+famous Golden Rule that has been heralded as one of
+the most original portions of Jesus' teachings. But Jesus
+admitted that he did not first state this rule when he
+said, "for this is the law and the prophets."<a name="FNanchor_30_163" id="FNanchor_30_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_163" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span></p>
+<p>Confucius, born in 551 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, several times announced
+the rule, "What you do not like when done to yourself,
+do not to others." This negative statement is less effective
+than the Jewish rule, but both are admirable regardless
+of who first formulated them. The Golden
+Rule is as valuable coming from the Hebrew fathers as
+if Jesus had originated it.</p>
+
+<p>The Golden Rule, however, is not perfect. It is one
+of the best rules of the ancients, showing the desirability
+of reciprocity, but it does not demand that our desires
+be always just, nor does it insure that what we
+want done to ourselves will always be what others most
+need. It would be consistent with the Golden Rule for a
+convivial man to entertain his prohibition friends at a
+speakeasy, or for a Catholic to take his atheist guests to
+daily mass. Possibly an even better rule than judging
+others by ourselves would be to do unto others what
+best pleases them.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Inconsistency" id="Inconsistency"></a>Inconsistency</p>
+
+<p>"The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but
+woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed!
+it had been good for that man if he had not
+been born."<a name="FNanchor_31_164" id="FNanchor_31_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_164" class="fnanchor">[31]</a></p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p>
+<p>Apparently the arrangement between Jehovah and
+Jesus was that Jesus should not give himself up as a
+sacrifice voluntarily but should be betrayed by someone
+else; and yet, although the betrayal was desired, the
+man who assisted was to be condemned.</p>
+
+<p>The sacrificial plan for salvation was continued to the
+end in order that "the Scriptures of the prophets might
+be fulfilled."<a name="FNanchor_32_165" id="FNanchor_32_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_165" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> The scriptures were Jewish, so this is
+additional proof that Jesus, rejected by the Jews, considered
+himself the predicted Jewish Messiah. While
+the Jews expected a Messiah, there is no clear prediction
+of Jesus in the Old Testament.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Fear" id="Fear"></a>Fear</p>
+
+<p>Jesus said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the
+body"; but when threatened with bodily injury himself,
+he was afraid. "Then took they up stones to cast
+at him: but Jesus hid himself."<a name="FNanchor_33_166" id="FNanchor_33_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_166" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> "Then the Pharisees
+went out, and held a council against him, how they
+might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew
+himself from thence."<a name="FNanchor_34_167" id="FNanchor_34_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_167" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p>
+
+<p>This avoidance of physical injury may have been due
+to a desire to postpone his end until the proper time,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span>
+as indicated by "Mine hour is not yet come", but
+when the time did come, Jesus did not bear his approaching
+death bravely, as Socrates did when about to
+drink the cup of hemlock. Jesus was much afraid, "and
+prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this
+cup from me: nevertheless, not my will but thine be
+done."<a name="FNanchor_35_168" id="FNanchor_35_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_168" class="fnanchor">[35]</a></p>
+
+<p>He was resolved to go through with the painful experience
+at any cost but was much more frightened than
+many a mortal man, though he had a greater cause to
+sustain him than martyrs who have suffered uncomplainingly;
+for he believed that his sacrifice would save
+the world: "and there appeared an angel unto him from
+heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he
+prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were
+great drops of blood falling down to the ground."<a name="FNanchor_36_169" id="FNanchor_36_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_169" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p>
+
+<p>After saying, "The hour is come, that the Son of
+man should be glorified ... He that loveth his life shall
+lose it", he again showed terror: "Now is my soul
+troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from
+this hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour."<a name="FNanchor_37_170" id="FNanchor_37_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_170" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p>
+
+<p>It is to be noted that God did not answer the prayer
+of Jesus, though Jesus had said that God would always
+answer prayers in his name. Jesus recognized his failure<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span>
+to obtain the answer, saying on the cross, "My God,
+my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"<a name="FNanchor_38_171" id="FNanchor_38_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_171" class="fnanchor">[38]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Failure" id="Failure"></a>Failure</p>
+
+<p>Many a good man is a failure from a worldly point
+of view, but failure is not what one would wish to copy.
+Jesus sought to save the world. Surely no one looking
+at the world today can say that he succeeded. His plan
+of salvation was a failure; it did not work out as Jehovah
+and Jesus intended. An ideal teacher is needed now
+almost as much as two thousand years ago. If the world
+is gradually improving, as seems probable, it is in spite
+of the superstitions of the past, not because of them.</p>
+
+<p>At one time Jesus denied his own perfection, saying:
+"Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
+one, that is, God."<a name="FNanchor_39_172" id="FNanchor_39_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_172" class="fnanchor">[39]</a></p>
+
+<p>Christian parents who hold Jesus up to their children
+as a paragon would not wish their sons to grow
+up to be just like Jesus. He is not an acceptable prototype.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus did not provide the knowledge so much needed
+by man to enable him to shape his course through life.
+No one knows how to live correctly, how best to meet
+each situation, what action is suited to the occasion.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span>
+Jesus did not tell us what to do. His sayings are interpreted
+in many different ways. He failed to predict the
+needs of the future.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus did not explain relations between man and wife,
+nor between employer and employee, nor how to educate
+children, nor how to preserve health, nor how to
+make a living, nor how to prevent war, poverty and
+suffering. Jesus gave little practical information, and his
+spiritual advice was not clearly enough expressed to enable
+man to apply it to modern conditions. Jesus
+neglected to instruct people how to live. His knowledge
+of the world was less than that of the average American
+citizen.</p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_134" id="Footnote_1_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_134"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Matt. xxi, 18-19.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_135" id="Footnote_2_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_135"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> Mark xi, 13.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_136" id="Footnote_3_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_136"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Mark xi, 20-23.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_137" id="Footnote_4_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_137"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Matt. xviii, 15-17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_138" id="Footnote_5_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_138"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Matt. x, 33.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_139" id="Footnote_6_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_139"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Mark iii, 29.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_140" id="Footnote_7_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_140"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> Matt. xii, 34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_141" id="Footnote_8_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_141"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Matt. xxiii, 15.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_142" id="Footnote_9_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_142"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Matt. xxiii, 33.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_143" id="Footnote_10_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_143"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> John viii, 55.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_144" id="Footnote_11_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_144"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> John x, 8.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_145" id="Footnote_12_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_145"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> Matt. xxiii, 17.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_146" id="Footnote_13_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_146"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Matt. viii, 28-34; Mark v, 13; Luke viii, 26-34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_147" id="Footnote_14_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_147"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Luke xiv, 26.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_148" id="Footnote_15_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_148"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> John xi, 26.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_149" id="Footnote_16_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_149"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> John viii, 24.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_150" id="Footnote_17_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_150"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> John viii, 12.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_151" id="Footnote_18_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_151"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> John x, 36.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_152" id="Footnote_19_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_152"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> John xi, 25.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_153" id="Footnote_20_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_153"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> Luke ii, 48.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_154" id="Footnote_21_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_154"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> Luke xi, 37-40.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_155" id="Footnote_22_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_155"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> John ii, 4.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_156" id="Footnote_23_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_156"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Mark vii, 25-29.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_157" id="Footnote_24_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_157"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Matt. viii, 21-22.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_158" id="Footnote_25_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_158"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Matt. xvi, 23.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_159" id="Footnote_26_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_159"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Luke xvi, 1-9.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_160" id="Footnote_27_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_160"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Matt. xxiv, 7-13.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_161" id="Footnote_28_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_161"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> Luke vi, 21.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_162" id="Footnote_29_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_162"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> Matt. vi, 25-34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_163" id="Footnote_30_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_163"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Matt. vii, 12.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_164" id="Footnote_31_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_164"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> Matt. xxvi, 24.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_165" id="Footnote_32_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_165"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> Matt. xxvi, 56.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_166" id="Footnote_33_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_166"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> John viii, 59.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_167" id="Footnote_34_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_167"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Matt. xii, 14-15.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_168" id="Footnote_35_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_168"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> Luke xxii, 42.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_169" id="Footnote_36_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_169"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Luke xxii, 44.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_170" id="Footnote_37_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_170"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> John xii, 23-27.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_171" id="Footnote_38_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_171"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Mark xv, 34.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_172" id="Footnote_39_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_172"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> Matt. xix, 17.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="CONCLUSION" id="CONCLUSION"></a>CONCLUSION</h2>
+
+
+<p class="cap"><span class="dcap">The</span> historicity of Jesus has been discussed in many
+books and pamphlets. Whether Jesus lived or not depends
+upon what is meant by that phrase. If one is
+satisfied that there was a peripatetic philosopher named
+Jesus who was the son of a woman named Mary and
+who lived and taught around Jerusalem, uttering some,
+but not all, of the words attributed to him, then Jesus
+may be said to have lived. There can be no serious objection
+to the acceptance of that Jesus as an actual personage
+even though he was ignored by secular historians
+and though the time and place of his birth and death
+are in doubt.</p>
+
+<p>On the other hand, if there never was such a person
+as the Jesus described in the New Testament&mdash;a man
+born of a virgin, superior to natural laws, able to walk
+on the water, and change the course of nature, performing
+miracles, casting out devils, a man who never erred,
+who was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended
+bodily into heaven where he now sits to judge the world&mdash;if
+there was no such man-God as the Jesus of the
+gospels, some may hesitate to say that Jesus ever lived.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Jesus_a_Myth" id="Jesus_a_Myth"></a>Jesus a Myth</p>
+
+<p>Sincere Evolutionists who discredit miracles, must
+needs consider the gospel Jesus as a myth. This does not
+mean that Jesus had no reality, but that the original
+facts have been so enlarged upon that the principal features
+of his life are more fanciful than real. If you eliminate
+from the life of Jesus as unhistorical his birth, his
+miracles, his theological teachings, his resurrection, ascension
+and messianic mission, the Christ no longer exists.
+Jesus would have attracted no attention were it not
+for the very circumstances which Modernists admit
+were mythical.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Judged_by_His_Works" id="Judged_by_His_Works"></a>Judged by His Works</p>
+
+<p>Whether Jesus was God, or man, or myth, he can be
+judged by his works, as he himself recommended. If
+he is found to be perfect in word and deed, it makes
+little difference whether he lived or not. As a symbol he
+can be revered and copied. But if Jesus is now seen
+to be the product of his times, representing the virtues
+and defects of his biographers, with no vision beyond
+their ken, his authority is gone.</p>
+
+<p>Not only will the divinity of Jesus be discredited if
+he was found to have been occasionally in error, but his
+value as a guide to life will be impaired. What will be
+the result of this radical change? None of the beautiful<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span>
+ideals or sound ethical principles attributed to Jesus will
+be lost. Not one saying or counsel of valuable advice
+need go. Not one evil thought need take the place of
+that which was good. In fact, the finest qualities of existence
+will be more vital in our lives when their realization
+becomes of primary importance instead of being
+subordinate to worship of the supernatural. Principles
+are superior to persons. A dead personality remains unchanged;
+live ethical principles can be developed by
+more complete knowledge of evolutionary processes.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Ethical_Evolution" id="Ethical_Evolution"></a>Ethical Evolution</p>
+
+<p>Evolution has been progressing along ethical as well
+as physical lines. To the teachings of Jesus, once considered
+perfection, have been added many newly discovered
+principles of value, for knowledge is cumulative.
+All the best thoughts of the ages are ours forever, no
+matter who first originated or expressed them.</p>
+
+<p>Whatever the plan of the universe may be, it is
+more nearly comprehended now than in Jesus' time.
+Twentieth century events are more dependable in forming
+our philosophy of life than those of the first century.
+The failure to grasp this fact is the death knell
+of orthodox religion. Every existing religious sect has
+founded its spirituality upon events supposed to have
+occurred in the past. Christianity depends upon the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+direct creation, fall of man and life of an atoning Savior,
+all physical in character. Our new metaphysics will be
+based upon conditions existing today and that will be
+revealed by science in the future. The geologists, embryologists,
+biologists and astronomers of 1932 have
+more information about nature than Jesus had. On that
+knowledge can be founded a system of living superior
+to the Sermon on the Mount.</p>
+
+<p>Our own time is the most dependable era of revelation.
+We can safely accept whatever stands accredited
+after thorough examination, including all teachings of
+Jesus that are admirable. A modern person with religious
+zeal has confidence that the world is ordered
+along consistent lines and will respond favorably to
+man's best efforts to solve the true way of living. The
+scientific mind and the religious spirit are complementary.
+Religion, instead of being a system of handed-down
+sanctity, may become an inspired revelation to
+each individual&mdash;a religion of the spirit of the modern
+world.</p>
+
+<p>As the spirit derived from Truth is superior to that
+based upon credulity, the new doctrines that supplant
+the old may be expected to excel any that have preceded
+them. Anyone may be as spiritual as the proved
+facts permit.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>If the world has been improving physically and
+ethically, we can have confidence that whatever knowledge
+is necessary for our salvation is available to each of
+us now. No living God has died; no great principle has
+been lost. Instead of depending upon Jesus in an unthinking
+manner, we must seek the Truth wherever it
+is found and follow wherever it may lead regardless of
+consequences. This requires more courage than professing
+Jesus, whose teachings can be construed to mean
+whatever the reader desires. While the majority regard
+Jesus as an ascetic, a reformer, opposed to business and
+joviality, Bruce Barton has convinced thousands that
+Jesus was the great business man, rotarian and advertiser.</p>
+
+
+<p class="hd4"><a name="Gains_not_Losses" id="Gains_not_Losses"></a>Gains, not Losses</p>
+
+<p>Among the compensations that may supplant the
+loss of Jesus as an ideal are the thrill at being a pioneer
+in striving for the welfare of the human race rather
+than for individual salvation; the satisfaction at having
+a consistent creed that can be maintained against all
+criticism without hypocrisy or evasion; emancipation
+from inhibitions required by a supposedly divine teacher.
+Every pleasure is not a sin, but rejection of theology
+does not imply indifference to evil. Science warns
+against excess as strongly as any ancient command. The
+fear of natural or man-decreed punishment in this world<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+is as potent as the dread of eternal torment threatened
+by Jesus.</p>
+
+<p>If Jesus really was the sort of personage described in
+the Bible; if he really was born of a virgin, controlled
+the elements and had power to condemn unbelievers to
+eternal damnation, all people should obey his every
+word. He should be followed literally; we should sell
+all our possessions and take no thought for the morrow.
+But if Jesus was not that sort of a person; if he was
+neither a supernatural God nor an infallible man, he
+should not be worshipped as a redeeming Savior nor be
+followed as a true guide for human conduct.</p>
+
+<p>Our faith shifts with careful examination of the
+scriptures from belief in Jesus to confidence that the
+world is a far pleasanter abode than Jesus imagined.
+Without reliance upon the authority of Jesus we can
+adopt a code which will prove comparatively effective
+in leading towards a wholesome life.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CODE_OF_LIVING" id="CODE_OF_LIVING"></a>CODE OF LIVING</h2>
+
+
+<p>1. Keep the body strong that the most efficient work
+may be done, the greatest happiness obtained during
+life and a wholesome inheritance passed on to future
+generations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>2. Cultivate the mind, learning as many important
+facts as possible, striving to become expert in some
+particular field of endeavor.</p>
+
+<p>3. Develop a scientific spirit, the essential characteristic
+of which is a search for Truth in the light of
+evidence and reason. Do not deceive yourself or others.</p>
+
+<p>4. Base your spiritual concepts on the latest developments
+of Evolution. Be prepared to change your philosophy
+to conform to the consensus of scientific opinion.</p>
+
+<p>5. Conduct all human relationships in a spirit of
+tolerance and love, having proper consideration for
+others, not presuming to control their lives.</p>
+
+<p>6. Treat the opposite sex honorably, respecting their
+complementary qualities, with due regard for succeeding
+generations.</p>
+
+<p>7. Endeavor to embody in the laws of the community
+the spirit of equity and progress.</p>
+
+<p>8. Strive for an economic system under which each
+individual shall be rewarded according to his or her value to society.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>9. Avoid the use of physical force for personal revenge
+or national aggrandizement, having learned from
+experience that reason triumphs while brutality degrades.</p>
+
+<p>10. Hold yourself in readiness to accept new revelations.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Luther Burbank wrote concerning the above code on
+November 11, 1925:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>I am greatly pleased with your code of living
+... The false ancient theology has past or is
+rapidly passing with intelligent people at the present
+time. It is not applicable to our conditions and
+is of no more value than a worn-out suit of
+clothes.</i>"</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mistakes of Jesus, by William Floyd
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Mistakes of Jesus
+
+Author: William Floyd
+
+Release Date: October 11, 2007 [EBook #22955]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MISTAKES OF JESUS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Stephen Blundell
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+            THE MISTAKES
+              OF JESUS
+
+
+
+                 BY
+
+            WILLIAM FLOYD
+
+   _Author of "Social Progress,"
+     "People vs. Wall Street,"
+        "Our Gods on Trial,"
+         "War Resistance."_
+
+
+
+             _New York_
+ THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSOCIATION.
+
+
+
+
+ Copyright 1932 By
+ THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSN., INC.
+
+
+
+
+ TO DEVOTEES
+ OF TRUTH
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+    Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Archaic
+    spellings have been retained. Paragraph spacing has been normalised.
+
+    A table of contents, though not present in the original publication,
+    has been provided below:
+
+      FOREWORD
+        Face the Facts. The True Jesus. Scriptures Unauthentic. Faith in
+        Jesus. Documentary Evidence. Retain the Good. Christianity Must
+        Go.
+
+      ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY
+        The Virgin Birth. The Jewish Messiah. Eternal Damnation. The
+        Atonement. Angels and Devils.
+
+      FALSE IMPRESSIONS
+        Jonah and the Whale. End of the World. Miracles. Eternal Life.
+        Raising Lazarus. God's Protection. Belief in Prayer.
+
+      OBSCURE TEACHINGS
+        Witnesses and Judge. Cannibalism. Religion Only for Children.
+        Difficult or Easy? Charity. The Scriptures Upheld. Illogical.
+        Parables Deceptive.
+
+      DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS
+        Labor. Usury. Economics. Punishment for Debts. Healing. Peace.
+        Marriage. Celibacy. Adultery. Divorce. Faulty Judgment.
+        Unconvincing. Prohibition. Lack of Experience.
+
+      AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE
+        Cursing Nature. Forgiveness. Vituperation. Destruction of
+        Property. Egotism. Lack of Courtesy. Unethical Advice. Sermon on
+        the Mount. Inconsistency. Fear. Failure.
+
+      CONCLUSION
+        Jesus a Myth. Judged by His Works. Ethical Evolution. Gains, not
+        Losses.
+
+      CODE OF LIVING
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+The tradition regarding Jesus is so glamorous that it is difficult to
+review his life and character with an unbiased mind. While
+Fundamentalists and Modernists differ regarding the divinity of Christ,
+all Christians and many non-Christians still cling to preconceived
+notions of the perfection of Jesus. He alone among men is revered as
+all-loving, omniscient, faultless--an unparalleled model for mankind.
+
+This convention of the impeccability of Jesus is so firmly established
+that any insinuation of error on his part is deemed a blasphemy.
+Doubting Jesus is more impious than mocking God Almighty. Jehovah may be
+exposed to some extent with impunity; a God who destroyed 70,000 of his
+chosen people because their king took a census[1] is too illogical for
+any but theologians to worship. But the Son of God, or Son of man, is
+sacrosanct. Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived unspotted
+by the world, free from human foibles, able to redeem mankind by his
+example.
+
+Respect for the principles of Jesus is so inbred in American people of
+all faiths that an attempt to disparage his worth is denounced as bad
+taste. The detractor is suspected of being an immoral person, no matter
+how convincing may be the proof which he presents. A conspiracy of
+silence is directed against any system of ethics advanced as superior to
+the Sermon on the Mount. In popular opinion Jesus never made a mistake;
+all his teachings were infallible; no other view is tolerated.
+
+
+_Face the Facts_
+
+This unwillingness to acknowledge the shortcomings of Jesus is partially
+due to fear of sustaining a great loss. The familiar answer to heretical
+arguments is that faith should not be destroyed unless something can be
+put in its place--ignoring the fact that something always may be
+substituted for beliefs destroyed. That substitute is faith in the world
+as it really is. And our modern world, with all its shortcomings, is
+infinitely preferable to the earth, or even the heaven, of the first
+century. We now know that man can do more to eradicate sorrow than Jesus
+ever thought of. We can have greater confidence in the world as revealed
+today than in the doubtful traditions of Biblical times.
+
+But suppose there were nothing to substitute for the myth destroyed,
+should that deter the Truthseeker from continuing his investigation?
+Scientists do not hesitate in their research because the result of a new
+discovery may be disastrous. They seek the facts regardless of
+consequences; they want to know the Truth about the physical world.
+Ethicists should have a similar desire concerning the metaphysical
+world. They should have confidence that the Supreme Intelligence (as
+Edison called it) will lead on to better things.
+
+
+_The True Jesus_
+
+If Jesus was what his followers believe, no arguments will destroy their
+faith in him; but if Jesus was not perfect, according to modern
+standards, it is important that his status as God, or man, should be
+revised. Loss of confidence in an erring idol is not loss of a true
+ideal.
+
+When an iconoclast asserts that Jesus lacked supreme intelligence, the
+natural question is, "How do you know that you are right in your
+appraisal, 'lest haply ye be found even to fight against God'?" The
+answer is that we do not claim omniscience, but merely request everyone
+to use his or her own judgment, with intellectual honesty, examining
+each act or saying of Jesus without regard to presupposed ideas or
+tradition.
+
+
+_Scriptures Unauthentic_
+
+The consensus of scholarship has rejected the creation of the universe
+in six days in 4004 B.C., science having proved the existence of the
+world for millions of years. Higher Critics refuse to credit the book of
+Genesis, according to the first chapter of which the trees, beasts and
+fowls were created before man, but according to the second chapter after
+man. It is not assuming too much for the humblest writer to say that
+Moses was mistaken concerning many things he described in the
+Pentateuch. It follows that if one important portion of the Bible is
+untrustworthy, other parts of that same book may not be the infallible
+Word of God. The New Testament, as well as the Old, may be examined
+critically, and if the gospels contain numerous contradictions, the
+statements of the authors on any point, including the life of Jesus, are
+open to question. A conscientious person should reach conclusions based
+upon the best knowledge obtainable from all sources.
+
+If anyone is convinced that Jesus made mistakes, he is not necessarily
+compelled to become an atheist. All other Gods that have been worshipped
+by men have been found imperfect. The oft exposed errors of Jehovah do
+not prevent Christians and Jews from professing belief in God. Those who
+require support from outside themselves cling to the symbol of deity
+though not thoroughly crediting any personality ever described in any
+sacred scriptures. Except Jesus.
+
+An Evolutionist passes beyond the negative denial of God to the
+construction of a new philosophy in which Truth is his guide, Truth
+being the nearest approximation to reality obtainable with our present
+knowledge. Belief in the world as it is now, and as it is going to be,
+is a sufficient creed.
+
+
+_Faith in Jesus_
+
+With Jesus entrenched in popular opinion, there is small probability
+that faith in him will be shaken unless there is a preponderance of
+evidence against his divinity. No one need abandon faith in Jesus until
+convinced that something better has been found. No one should even
+expose himself to heretical arguments unless he is a devotee of Truth.
+Then only can he rejoice at a revelation of error in confidence that the
+more nearly the universe is understood the better can man adjust himself
+to his surroundings. A worshipper of Truth fears no destruction of false
+gods, nor any facts that may cause him to throw over treasured
+superstitions. He is willing to prove all things and hold fast to that
+which is true. He rejoices when his idol is shattered, knowing that he
+is approaching nearer to the true way of living, a way that Jesus did
+not adequately explain.
+
+Any attempt to censure the character of Jesus will meet with the
+ridicule it deserves unless substantiated by documentary evidence. The
+mere improbability of events contrary to natural laws does not destroy
+the ethical value of the teachings of the Nazarene. Anything might have
+happened in the eerie days of old; the critic must do more than deny the
+historicity of Jesus and the inspiration of the Bible. To be convincing
+he must derive from the scriptures in which Christians believe whatever
+proof can be deduced to unveil the superstition of a redeeming Savior.
+
+
+_Documentary Evidence_
+
+The documents most generally accepted by Christians are those collected
+in the King James Version of the Bible. The Apocrypha and other early
+manuscripts are unreliable. None of the thirty or more writers who
+described events around Jerusalem in Jesus' time gives any account of
+his teachings. The only life of Jesus is found in the four gospels; the
+numerous biographers of Christ have had no other reliable source of
+information. It is deceptive for the publishers of revised editions of
+the Bible to claim that "original manuscripts" have been consulted. Not
+one of the original manuscripts is in existence, the earliest extant
+dating from the fourth century A.D., while the most ancient portion of
+the New Testament in any museum was transcribed in the sixth century.
+
+Accepting, therefore, the King James Version of the New Testament as the
+most reliable source of information, the question arises as to what
+portion of the chapters therein may be considered authentic. Scholars
+have rejected the entire gospel of John as less reliable than the
+synoptic gospels; and the sixteenth chapter of Mark as an addition after
+the original papyrus had broken off. Modernists, being confronted, in
+spite of these deletions, with inconsistencies in the gospels of
+Matthew, Mark and Luke, have assumed the further privilege of rejecting
+any verses which appear at variance with their beliefs. Liberals of this
+class contend that the supernatural side of Jesus may be disregarded and
+yet that Jesus will remain Our Lord. They reject certain evangelistic
+passages that conflict with modern thought, but accept other statements
+by the same authors as authoritative.
+
+As the Christian churches have not accepted any abbreviation of the
+Bible as a substitute for the King James Version, it seems proper for
+the critic to have recourse to that translation as the most authentic
+description of the life and teachings of Jesus. He is justified,
+moreover, in considering every word in the supposedly inspired gospels
+as equally reliable. His only concern should be to interpret each verse
+as nearly as possible as the original writers intended their words to be
+understood, allowing for Eastern hyperbole and the custom of the times.
+
+
+_Retain the Good_
+
+In preparing a critical analysis of the character of Jesus, it is freely
+admitted that many of the thoughts attributed to the son of Mary are
+superlatively fine. They will live forever whether the personality of
+Jesus be rejected as a divinity or not. That these beautiful preachments
+are ignored here is not due to any desire to belittle admirable
+sentiments or to disparage right living. The loving side of Jesus has
+been emphasized again and again and will be borne in mind by the reader
+when other less admirable traits are criticized. The intent of this
+criticism is not to destroy idealism but to assist the spirit of true
+progress.
+
+
+_Christianity Must Go_
+
+The significance of this investigation lies in the changes that would
+have to be made in religious thought if it should be found that Jesus
+was not perfect. If Jesus was in error concerning conditions of his own
+time and exhibited no knowledge of our modern problems, his authority
+will be lessened. Searchers after the true way of life will not continue
+to worship a person whose conception of the physical and spiritual world
+was erroneous. If Jesus made mistakes, he is neither the Son of God nor
+an infallible man.
+
+So long as people feel compelled to worship what has been proved
+imperfect, or to evade important doctrines of their creeds for fear of
+losing faith in old traditions, their minds will not be receptive to
+changes in social conditions that require abandonment of established
+customs. Christians are imbued with a psychology derived from a
+completed revelation. The firmer their belief in Jesus, the greater
+their resistance to new ideas. Catholics are more reluctant to join
+progressive movements than Modernists and Modernists than Evolutionists.
+Religious people are apt to be afraid of the new world; they doubt the
+possibility of eliminating war, poverty and injustice--customs as deeply
+rooted in the social world as belief in Jesus is in the religious world.
+If the chief reactionary bulwark of the past is abandoned, there will be
+greater possibility of accepting new revelations.
+
+What would happen if Christians should discover that their leader was
+not an incomparable guide? Absolutely nothing at first. Those accustomed
+to lead a moral life would continue to do so. Members of Christian
+churches are the very people who most wish to do what is right. They
+will not lose their character because Jesus has lost his fictitious
+divinity. On the contrary, they will search for the most elevating
+principles to substitute for the personality that has been found
+deficient. It is difficult for people to be superior to their gods.
+These same church-going individuals, when freed from the fetters of
+antiquated supernaturalism, will gradually learn to serve mankind with
+the same devotion they now render to a misunderstood God. They will no
+longer be limited by the defects of their paragon in their efforts to
+make the most of life. They will seek to solve modern problems in a
+rational way instead of deciding such matters as birth control, divorce,
+war and prohibition by reference to the scriptures, as they do now. For
+the first time they will make their decisions according to the best
+knowledge obtainable today.
+
+Jesus was in advance of his time. He declared that such revengeful
+theories as an eye for an eye must be supplanted by forgiveness. But as
+the world has evolved, Jesus has stood still. His teachings, superior as
+they were to those of the ancient Israelites, are now found to be
+inferior to the best ethics culled from the wisdom of the ages, brought
+down to date. It is heartening to feel that we can appropriate the
+superlative principles of all time instead of worshipping a deified
+personality who was limited to the best that men of his own generation
+could conceive.
+
+This examination of the life and character of Jesus will be based upon
+the accounts in the New Testament. Each passage will be construed as
+appears to the writer to have been originally intended. The reader may
+substitute his own interpretation, but should in no instance pass
+lightly over a situation as immaterial. Every word or action of Jesus is
+an important link in the chain of his divinity, or of his exalted
+position as a moral guide. Each argument should be met by acceptance or
+rejection, never with indifference. No reader of the following pages
+should ever say, "What difference does it make?" Everything concerning
+Jesus is of vast consequence in determining whether he is or is not a
+divine Savior, or a perfect guide.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Chron. xxi.
+
+
+
+
+ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY
+
+
+The first event in the life of Jesus, the gospel story of his birth, is
+now considered unauthentic by many scholars and some theologians. The
+birth of a virgin, the visitation of an angel, the star in the East are
+phenomena contrary to natural laws and rest on insufficient authority
+for acceptance as credible. The probabilities are against exceptions in
+the laws of the universe.
+
+
+_The Virgin Birth_
+
+The original evidence for the virgin birth is found only in the gospels
+of Matthew and Luke, two unknown historians, and both these evangelists
+implicitly deny their own tale when they trace the descent of Jesus from
+David through Joseph.[1] The slaughter of the children by Herod, in fear
+of Jesus as a rival, probably never took place. Mark, Luke and John do
+not mention it; Josephus, who dwelt on the crimes of Herod, knew nothing
+of this massacre. According to Luke, Mary and Joseph took Jesus to
+Jerusalem openly soon after the supposed decree.[2]
+
+There is dispute as to whether Jesus was born in Bethlehem or Nazareth,
+and the date of his birth has been placed anywhere from 4 B.C. to 7 A.D.
+Matthew says that Jesus was born "in the days of Herod", while Luke says
+it was "When Cyrenius was governor of Syria." Herod died in 4 B.C.,
+while Cyrenius did not become governor of Syria until 7 A.D.
+
+The romantic story of the Christ-child is not corroborated by the
+historians of the time and is in opposition to the theory of evolution
+by natural processes. And yet it is still one of the main sources of
+Jesus' fame, being repeated at Christmas-tide in the churches, thus
+connecting Jesus with God in a superhuman manner.
+
+The consensus of scholarship is in practical agreement that the theory
+of the virgin birth as a link between Jesus and God is a mistake; but
+whose mistake was it? Jesus never referred to his miraculous birth. If
+he was merely a man and never heard of the rumor about his conception,
+he was not to blame for the spread of this misleading story throughout
+Christendom.
+
+While Jesus did not refer to his divine paternity in a physical sense,
+he did endeavor to convince his hearers that he was more directly
+connected with God than other men. "I and my Father are one."[3] "No
+man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father,
+save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."[4]
+
+Jesus thus proclaimed himself identical with the Lord God of the Old
+Testament who called himself Jehovah. This is entirely in keeping with
+the whole Christian theory, for the _raison d'etre_ of Jesus derived
+from the act of God soon after the creation. Adam and Eve ate of the
+fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil which God had
+commanded them not to touch, and for this disobedience, this fall of man
+from grace, God cursed mankind. Jesus came to earth to save man from the
+wrath of Almighty God.
+
+But this claim of Jesus to oneness with God renders him liable to
+censure for the acts of Jehovah which represented a standard of ethics
+inferior to that preached by the Son of God. According to the
+scriptures, which anyone may freely search, God advised or countenanced
+deception[5]; stealing[6], selfishness[7], conquest by force[8],
+indiscriminate slaughter[9], murder[10], cannibalism[11], killing of
+witches[12], slavery[13], capital punishment for rebellious sons or for
+seeking false gods[14], sacrifices of animals[15] and other acts
+representing the concepts of primitive men.[16]
+
+While Jesus could read[17] and was familiar with the scriptures, it is
+possible that he was not acquainted with the system of dictatorship
+formerly employed by his Father. Occasionally Jesus denounced the ethics
+of "them of old time", but he always referred to his Father as perfect.
+
+The dilemma is that Jesus must be condemned either for claiming identity
+with Jehovah (to whom he was really superior), or for accepting with
+only slight improvements the tyranny of God as described in the Bible,
+the Word of God. Of course if the Bible is not the Word of God, the
+whole system of Christian theology falls to the ground.
+
+
+_The Jewish Messiah_
+
+Jesus claimed to be the Messiah expected by the Jews. "And the high
+priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that
+thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith
+unto him, Thou hast said."[18] "Again the high priest asked him, and
+said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus
+said, I am."[19] "Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And
+he said unto them, Ye say that I am."[20] "The woman saith unto him, I
+know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come he
+will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am
+he."[21]
+
+These acknowledgments by Jesus that he was the Messiah are important,
+for if he claimed divinity when he was merely mortal, either under false
+pretences or being self-deceived, he made a mistake of the most serious
+character. His claim was not recognized by his own people, and many of
+his followers today deny that he was the Jewish Messiah. Jesus said that
+he came from God to save the Jews. Either he was truly the predicted
+Messiah or he made an inexcusable error. In this as in other instances
+to be cited, Fundamentalists will not admit any mistake, for they
+believe in the supernatural events connected with the Son of God. But
+Modernists, who reject the anointed Christ while clinging to the human
+Jesus, may be at a loss to reconcile Jesus' claim to Messiahship with
+their rejection of his divinity.
+
+Jesus stressed his mission to save the world, saying "For God so loved
+the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
+in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."[22]
+
+
+_Eternal Damnation_
+
+Whether Jesus was mistaken or not in his estimate of his close
+relationship with God is for each person to decide; but his theory of
+the disasters that would follow unbelief in his divinity leads to
+serious difficulties if accepted literally. For not only was Jesus in
+error when he insisted that salvation depended upon belief, he was also
+reconciled to eternal suffering for unbelievers. Note some of his
+expressions:
+
+"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."[23] "Depart
+from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and
+his angels ... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but
+the righteous into life eternal."[24]
+
+"Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never
+forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation."[25]
+
+"Except ye repent ye shall perish."[26]
+
+"If thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter
+into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire
+that never shall be quenched."[27]
+
+"How can ye escape the damnation of hell?"[28]
+
+"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth
+not shall be damned."[29]
+
+It is evident from these quotations that Jesus not only preached belief
+in his divinity as essential to salvation, but endeavored to terrify
+people into belief by threats of eternal torment. Jesus was responsible
+for the theological conception of a fiery hell. If he was mistaken, if
+there never was a place of torment for the wicked after death, is it not
+an act of constructive criticism to expose the person most responsible
+for the false doctrine that has caused so much fear and mental
+suffering? Must we not deplore this mistake of Jesus and recast our
+entire opinion of him as a religious teacher?
+
+Are we not justified in stating positively that Jesus made a mistake
+when he taught a physical hell and condemned people to spend eternity in
+torment for the doubtful sin of disbelief?
+
+
+_The Atonement_
+
+The doctrine of the Atonement was taught by Jesus. "For this is my blood
+of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of
+sins."[30]
+
+Whether this sacrifice of the innocent Jesus to save sinful man was
+ordered by God or was voluntary on the part of Jesus, it represents a
+theory of reprieve from punishment long since abandoned as unethical. If
+sin must be punished, there is no justice in relieving the sinner and
+placing the burden upon the righteous.
+
+Moreover, the Atonement appears to have been ineffective, for in spite
+of the sacrifice that Jesus made, few were to be saved under his scheme
+of salvation. "Many are called but few are chosen."[31] "Strait is the
+gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
+that find it."[32] "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I
+say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."[33]
+
+If the theory of Atonement for sin by the sacrifice of the innocent was
+not ethical and if Jesus taught that doctrine, he was in error, was he
+not?
+
+The sacrifice of Jesus was not so great as often made by men. Jesus was
+sustained with the thought that he was saving the world; his physical
+suffering was not long continued; on the night of his crucifixion he was
+in paradise.[34] He endured a few hours of pain compared to weeks of
+suffering by wounded soldiers, or years spent in prison by the
+proponents of an ideal.
+
+Jesus not only claimed the power to remit sins but also said to his
+disciples: "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and
+whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained."[35]
+
+Is that true? Surely it is proper to ask that blunt question. Here is a
+definite statement concerning the power of certain men to remit sins. If
+those men did not have the power deputed to them, must we not doubt the
+accuracy of Jesus?
+
+Jesus made a distinction between himself and the Comforter: "It is
+expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter
+will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you ... And
+I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
+may abide with you forever."[36]
+
+It must surprise some Christians that the Comforter could not be present
+at the same time with Jesus.
+
+
+_Angels and Devils_
+
+Jesus believed in angels and devils, often referring to these imaginary
+supernatural beings as if they existed. "Thinkest thou that I cannot now
+pray to my Father and he shall presently give me more than twelve
+legions of angels?"[37] "So shall it be at the end of the world: the
+angels shall come forth."[38]
+
+The devils were among the first to recognize Christ's divinity: "What
+have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?"[39] "Let us alone,
+thou Jesus of Nazareth; art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who
+thou art, the Holy One of God."[40] "And unclean spirits when they saw
+him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of
+God."[41]
+
+Jesus believed in demoniacal possession, casting out devils on several
+occasions.
+
+Jesus frequently referred to heaven as a place above the earth: "And
+then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power
+and glory."[42] "And ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right
+hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."[43] "Verily, verily,
+I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of
+God ascending and descending on the Son of man."[44]
+
+When Jesus was transfigured and talked with Moses and Elias, he charged
+his disciples, saying, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man
+be risen again from the dead."[45]
+
+According to the creeds based upon the Bible, Jesus rose from the dead,
+descended into hell, and ascended bodily into heaven. According to the
+gospels he stilled the storm, walked on the water and told Peter to do
+so and to find money in a fish's mouth and catch a large draught of
+fishes. These and other miracles connected Jesus with God and were part
+of his theology.
+
+Every fair-minded person should re-read the gospels and refresh his
+memory regarding the theology of Jesus. Then a decision must be reached
+as to the correctness of the views expressed. Either conditions on earth
+were different in the first century from those of the twentieth, or
+Jesus was mistaken in his conception of God, heaven, hell, angels,
+devils and himself.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. i; Luke iii.
+
+[2] Luke ii, 22.
+
+[3] John x, 30.
+
+[4] Matt. xi, 27.
+
+[5] Ezek. xiv, 9; Num. xiv, 30-34.
+
+[6] Ex. iii, 21-22.
+
+[7] Deut. xiv, 21.
+
+[8] Num. xxxi et al.
+
+[9] Ex. xxxii, 27.
+
+[10] Deut. vii, 16 et al.
+
+[11] Jer. xix, 9 et al.
+
+[12] Ex. xxii, 18.
+
+[13] Lev. xxv, 44-46.
+
+[14] Deut. xxi, 18-21; xiii, 6-9.
+
+[15] Lev. i, 14-15.
+
+[16] See the Old Testament.
+
+[17] Luke iv, 16.
+
+[18] Matt. xxvi, 63-64.
+
+[19] Mark xv, 61-62.
+
+[20] Luke xxii, 70.
+
+[21] John iv, 25-26.
+
+[22] John iii, 16.
+
+[23] John viii, 24.
+
+[24] Matt. xxv, 31-46.
+
+[25] Mark iii, 29.
+
+[26] Luke xiii, 3.
+
+[27] Mark ix, 43.
+
+[28] Matt. xxiii, 33.
+
+[29] Mark xvi, 16.
+
+[30] Matt. xxvi, 28.
+
+[31] Matt. xxii, 14.
+
+[32] Matt. vii, 14.
+
+[33] Luke xiii, 24.
+
+[34] Luke xxiii, 43.
+
+[35] John xx, 23.
+
+[36] John xiv, 16.
+
+[37] Matt. xxvi, 53.
+
+[38] Matt. xiii, 49.
+
+[39] Matt. viii, 29.
+
+[40] Luke iv, 34.
+
+[41] Mark iii, 11.
+
+[42] Mark xiii, 26.
+
+[43] Mark xiv, 62.
+
+[44] John i, 51.
+
+[45] Matt. xvii, 9.
+
+
+
+
+FALSE IMPRESSIONS
+
+
+Jesus not only held mistaken ideas about theology, as anyone but a
+Fundamentalist must admit, but he often gave impressions about earthly
+affairs that were unreliable to say the least. Occasionally his
+statements were actual misrepresentations of fact.
+
+
+_Jonah and the Whale_
+
+"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so
+shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the
+earth."[1]
+
+Evidently Jesus believed the story of Jonah and the whale, as well as
+the tale of Noah's ark[2] both of which are now generally discredited.
+Moreover, his prophecy regarding his entombment was inaccurate, for he
+was only two nights and one day in the heart of the earth, from Friday
+night to Sunday morning.
+
+
+_End of the World_
+
+Jesus was decidedly mistaken in his theory of the approaching end of the
+world.
+
+"Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."[3] "Ye shall not have
+gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of man be come."[4] "There
+be some standing here which shall not taste of death, till they see the
+Son of man coming in his kingdom."[5] "And this gospel of the kingdom
+shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and
+then shall the end come ... Verily I say unto you, This generation shall
+not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."[6] "The time is
+fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand."[7] "So ye in like manner,
+when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even
+at the doors. Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not
+pass, till all these things be done."[8] "The hour is coming, in the
+which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come
+forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they
+that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."[9]
+
+Jesus was confident that the day of judgment was coming in the first
+century, but it has not come yet, nineteen hundred years later. This
+erroneous belief in the imminent end of the world had an important
+bearing upon his entire philosophy; for if the end of the world was so
+near it was far more important to prepare for life hereafter than to be
+concerned over mundane affairs. May we not view with doubt any of Jesus'
+teachings that depended upon his mistaken conception of the duration of
+the world?
+
+
+_Miracles_
+
+Jesus is reported to have fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two
+fishes, and again 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fishes. He
+walked on the water, calmed the seas, raised three persons from the dead
+and performed other miracles contrary to natural laws. These wondrous
+acts were depended upon by him to convince the people that he was the
+expected Messiah: "Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear
+and see: the blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers
+are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor
+have the gospel preached to them."[10]
+
+Jesus assured his disciples that they too would be able to perform
+miracles: "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name
+shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they
+shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not
+hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover."[11]
+"He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and
+greater works than these shall he do."[12]
+
+Jesus set great store by these marvels that only magicians attempt
+nowadays. Ministers of the apostolic succession cannot cast out devils
+or take up serpents, and they are affected by deadly drinks the same as
+others. Jesus had a primitive idea of the value of such magic. Either he
+sought to deceive the gullible, or, as is more likely, was himself
+overcredulous. It is important to remember that Jesus stressed the value
+of enchantment and advised his successors to conjure in his name.
+
+If the miraculous had not been connected with the name of Jesus, it is
+probable that he never would have been heard of. His ethical teachings
+alone would not have won for him the exalted position that has come from
+the stories of his miraculous birth, life and ascension. In other words,
+his fame rests upon the supernatural side of his life that is now
+discredited by many of his followers.
+
+
+_Eternal Life_
+
+The remarks of Jesus on the subject of death were not accurate. "If a
+man keep my saying, he shall never see death."[13] "Whosoever liveth and
+believeth in me shall never die."[14]
+
+Apparently Jesus referred to natural death, in which case he was
+utterly mistaken; but if he meant that believers in him should live
+forever in heaven, even so he gave a false impression; for there is no
+evidence that life after death is assured to Christians more than to
+others. Unbelievers were also to have eternal life, though in torment.
+
+
+_Raising Lazarus_
+
+Jesus took advantage of opportunities, even of death, to create dramatic
+effects. The eleventh chapter of John shows that when Lazarus was
+reported ill, Jesus said, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the
+glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." So Jesus
+let Lazarus, one of the believers whom he loved, die[15] in order that
+he might have the triumph of raising him from the dead. "Then said Jesus
+unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I
+was not there, to the intent ye may believe."
+
+The confusion between earthly death and loss of eternal life was shown
+in the remark of Jesus to Martha: "I am the resurrection and the life:
+he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." This
+might be construed to mean that believers should have eternal life
+hereafter, but Jesus evidently had reference to life on earth for he
+proceeded to raise Lazarus from the dead and cause him to live again on
+earth with his sisters.
+
+When Martha reminded Jesus that Lazarus had been dead four days, Jesus
+replied, "Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou
+shouldest see the glory of God?" But Jesus himself had doubts of his
+ability to bring back Lazarus to life, as shown by his spontaneous
+prayer of thanks: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me." Then
+he revealed again his desire to dramatize the occasion, saying, "And I
+knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand
+by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me."
+
+"Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which
+Jesus did, believed on him." Do the followers of Jesus, who claim that
+he made no mistakes, believe on him? If so, they must believe that he
+raised Lazarus from the dead as he claimed to have done. Do they believe
+that they can also raise people from the dead? Jesus so assured them
+when he promised that believers could do greater works than he
+performed. No, Jesus gave a false impression of his power.
+
+
+_God's Protection_
+
+Jesus continued his deception of the world by promising protection that
+has never been accorded. "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And
+one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the
+very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are
+of more value than many sparrows."[16]
+
+These sayings may properly be taken as symbolical or allegorical; but
+the evident intention was to assure his followers that God would protect
+them in their daily life. Safety was promised for believers, a safety
+that has been lacking for everyone. There is no evidence that God does
+protect believers any more than unbelievers. When the Titanic went down,
+those who perished were not solely the wicked persons; there was no
+distinction in the terrible disaster between believers and unbelievers.
+
+Jesus created in the minds of his hearers and his followers the idea
+that God was watching each individual to save him from danger, but this,
+unfortunately, is not a fact. It sounds comforting; it makes people feel
+nearer to God; but experience proves that no such close relationship
+exists. Jesus gave a false impression of God's loving care for men.
+
+
+_Belief in Prayer_
+
+Modern religious people may still consistently believe in prayer as a
+form of inward aspiration, but it is difficult to take literally the
+assurance given by Jesus of practical accomplishments by means of prayer
+in his name.
+
+Jesus did not confine himself to promising spiritual results from
+prayer, but distinctly gave it to be understood that the physical world
+would respond to petitions to Jehovah. "Again I say unto you, That if
+two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall
+ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven."[17] "If
+ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to
+the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
+removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things
+whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."[18]
+"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
+them, and ye shall have them."[19] "If ye have faith as a grain of
+mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder
+place; and it shall remove: and nothing shall be impossible unto
+you."[20]
+
+These promises have not been fulfilled. Bishops, priests and deacons
+with strong faith have been unable to obtain, by means of the most
+sincere prayer, results similar to those indicated. They have followed
+Jesus in vain. No man living dare put his faith to the test by a public
+demonstration of prayer for physical changes. Christian prayers for rain
+are conventional, not being offered with confidence that rain will
+follow.
+
+Jesus has misled us.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xii, 40.
+
+[2] Luke xvii, 27; Matt. xxv, 38.
+
+[3] Matt. iv, 17.
+
+[4] Matt. x, 23.
+
+[5] Matt. xvi, 28; Mark ix, 1.
+
+[6] Matt. xxiv, 14-34; Luke xxi, 32.
+
+[7] Mark i, 15.
+
+[8] Mark xiii, 29-30.
+
+[9] John v, 28-29.
+
+[10] Matt. xi, 4-5.
+
+[11] Mark xvi, 17-18.
+
+[12] John xiv, 12.
+
+[13] John viii, 51.
+
+[14] John xi, 26.
+
+[15] John xi, 6.
+
+[16] Matt. x, 29-31.
+
+[17] Matt. xviii, 19.
+
+[18] Matt. xxi, 21-22.
+
+[19] Mark xi, 24.
+
+[20] Matt. xvii, 20.
+
+
+
+
+OBSCURE TEACHINGS
+
+
+Many of the sayings of Jesus lacked clarity. Various interpretations
+have been put upon them by scholars of distinction. No one is sure what
+was meant.
+
+According to the gospels, Jesus was descended from David, but Jesus
+mystified his hearers on this descent, saying: "If David then call him
+Lord, how is he his son?"[1]
+
+
+_Witnesses and Judge_
+
+On the subject of witnesses there is great confusion. "If I bear witness
+of myself, my witness is not true."[2] "Though I bear record of myself,
+yet my record is true."[3] "It is also written in your law, that the
+testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness of myself, and
+the Father that sent me beareth witness of me."[4] "I and my Father are
+one."[5] "My Father is greater than I."[6]
+
+This and the following instruction regarding judicial procedure are far
+from clear. Jesus acknowledged the principle of law requiring more than
+one witness but said that in his case the only other witness necessary
+was his Father, although he and his Father were one.
+
+Jesus is supposed to be the judge of the world, but his statement of the
+case leaves the issue ambiguous. "For the Father judgeth no man, but
+hath committed all judgment unto the Son."[7] "I judge no man. And yet
+if I judge, my judgment is true."[8] "And if any man hear my words, and
+believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to
+save the world."[9] "For judgment I am come into this world, that they
+which see not might see; and that they which see might be made
+blind."[10]
+
+The quality of reasoning employed in these instances has naturally led
+to theological quibbling. If Jesus can argue in that fashion, so can his
+followers, at the expense of intellectual honesty.
+
+
+_Cannibalism_
+
+The Jews could not understand what Jesus meant when he said: "Except ye
+eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in
+you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
+life."[11]
+
+
+_Religion Only for Children_
+
+Nor are these sayings clear: "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
+earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and
+hast revealed them unto babes."[12] "Whosoever shall not receive the
+kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."[13]
+
+This train of thought implies that education is of no importance where
+belief is concerned.
+
+
+_Difficult or Easy?_
+
+After enumerating the many hardships that must be endured by his
+followers, Jesus contradicted himself by saying, "For my yoke is easy,
+and my burden is light."[14]
+
+
+_Charity_
+
+There are apparent contradictions in his instructions regarding charity:
+"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
+and glorify your Father which is in heaven."[15] "Take heed that ye do
+not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no
+reward of your Father which is in heaven."[16]
+
+
+
+_The Scriptures Upheld_
+
+Jesus reverenced the Hebrew Old Testament.
+
+"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
+come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
+and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
+law, till all be fulfilled."[17]
+
+And yet Jesus was the reformer, overthrowing ancient customs, renouncing
+the old principle of a tooth for a tooth, improving upon the Mosaic law.
+He was inconsistent.
+
+
+_Illogical_
+
+The logic of Jesus is often difficult to follow.
+
+"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
+righteousness, and of judgment: of sin because they believe not on me;
+of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of
+judgment, because the prince of this world is judged."[18]
+
+Jesus admitted his obscurity: "These things have I spoken unto you in
+proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in
+proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father."[19]
+
+That time has never come.
+
+
+_Parables Deceptive_
+
+Jesus explained his obscurity in this way: "Unto you it is given to know
+the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that
+seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand."[20]
+"But unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
+that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear,
+and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their
+sins should be forgiven them."[21]
+
+In other words, Jesus, who said he came to save the world, concealed his
+meaning for fear some of his hearers should be converted and their sins
+be forgiven--which is exactly what he sought to bring about.
+
+Obscurity in a teacher is a great defect, especially when he glories in
+his ambiguity. If any Christians wish that Jesus had been more clear,
+then Jesus does not appear perfect to them, and they should admit his
+imperfections.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xxii, 41-45.
+
+[2] John v, 31.
+
+[3] John viii, 14.
+
+[4] John viii, 17-18.
+
+[5] John x, 30.
+
+[6] John xiv, 28.
+
+[7] John v, 22.
+
+[8] John viii, 16.
+
+[9] John xii, 47.
+
+[10] John x, 39.
+
+[11] John vi, 53-58.
+
+[12] Matt. xi, 25.
+
+[13] Mark x, 15.
+
+[14] Matt. xi, 30.
+
+[15] Matt. v, 16.
+
+[16] Matt. vi, 1.
+
+[17] Matt. v, 17-18.
+
+[18] John xvi, 8-11.
+
+[19] John xvi, 25.
+
+[20] Luke viii, 10.
+
+[21] Mark iv, 11-12.
+
+
+
+
+DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS
+
+
+In a number of instances the teachings of Jesus are so incomplete, or so
+inappropriate, as to render no assistance in meeting similar situations
+in modern life. Either his meaning is not clear, or his instructions are
+too primitive to be applicable to our civilization.
+
+
+_Labor_
+
+The relation between employer and employee is one that requires
+practical guidance. Let us see what information Jesus gave on this
+important subject.
+
+The parable of the laborers[1] relates that an employer hired men to
+work in his vineyard for twelve hours for a penny, and that he paid the
+same wage to other workers who toiled only nine, six, three and one
+hour. When those who had worked longest resented this treatment, as
+modern strikers would, the employer answered, apparently with Jesus'
+approval: "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for
+a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this
+last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with
+mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? So the last shall be
+first, and the first last."
+
+This parable may be a comfort to autocratic employers, sustaining them
+in their determination to dominate labor, but the principles enunciated
+are lacking in social vision. Equal pay for unequal work is approved,
+and the employer is vindicated in regulating wages and hours as he sees
+fit without regard for justice or the needs of the workers. In the
+manner of modern employers, the "goodman" calls his worker "Friend" but
+treats him with contempt. Jesus taught that the workers were wrong in
+demanding justice, that the employer was justified in acting
+erratically, as the money paid was his. He presented the issues between
+capital and labor and sided with capital. He stated the fact that the
+first shall be last, but said nothing to remedy that unfortunate
+situation. He did not explain how workers could obtain proper
+compensation for their labor.
+
+Jesus assumed a fair attitude when he said, "The labourer is worthy of
+his hire", and, "It is enough for the disciple to be as his master, and
+the servant as his lord", but he continued with doubtful logic: "If they
+have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they
+call them of his household", implying that if an employer is
+worldly-minded his servants will be even worse.
+
+Little respect is shown for employees in the remark, "The hireling
+fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep."[2]
+Probably in those days as now many an employee stuck to his post nobly
+to do his duty.
+
+The meaning is obscure in his other comment upon an employer who told
+his tired servant to serve his master first, ending with the enigma, "We
+are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to
+do."[3]
+
+
+_Usury_
+
+In the parable of the talents the servant who did not put his money out
+at usury to make profits was condemned: "And cast ye the unprofitable
+servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
+teeth."[4] Punishment was to be severe in Jesus' program; the
+disobedient servant "shall be beaten with many stripes." Jesus did not
+advise leniency in such instances except that "he that knew not, and did
+commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes."[5]
+In his estimation the servant was a slave to be punished corporeally by
+his master, even if ignorant of his wrong-doing.
+
+A Dr. Taylor, former Yale College theologian, is reported to have said:
+"I have no doubt that if Jesus Christ were now on earth he would, under
+certain circumstances, become a slaveholder." A Southern divine in 1860
+could well maintain that slavery was approved in both Old and New
+Testaments, but no Christian would now impute slaveholding to Jesus. The
+standard of human relationships has improved since slaveholding days in
+America. The modern attitude toward servants, though by no means
+perfect, is superior to the relationships between master and servants
+accepted by Jesus. Slavery was the custom of the times and Jesus did not
+rise above it.
+
+In the parable of the unmerciful servant[6] Jesus taught the duty of
+forgiveness. He rightly rebuked the servant who oppressed his
+subordinates after being well treated by his lord. But the punishment
+suggested by Jesus for the abominable conduct was extremely harsh: "And
+his lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should
+pay all that was due unto him." Torture for criminals was thus taught by
+Jesus.
+
+Jesus, apprenticed to his father in his youth, never did any practical
+work so far as we know. He lived on the charity of others, setting an
+example that would bring trouble to anyone who followed in his train. If
+anything, he was an agitator, a peripatetic propagandist, teaching what
+he believed right but not working to support himself and therefore not
+being a good example for the workaday world today.
+
+
+_Economics_
+
+Nothing in the teachings of Jesus was more definite than his
+denunciation of riches.
+
+"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth ... A rich man shall
+hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven ... It is easier for a camel to
+go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
+kingdom of God ... The rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell
+he lifted up his eyes, being in torments ... Woe unto you that are
+rich."
+
+These strictures upon the rich appear somewhat severe, and Jesus went
+much farther, condemning even ordinary thrift and precaution.[7]
+
+According to Acts ii, 44-45 and iv, 32, "All that believed were together
+and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and
+parted them to all men, as every man had need ... Neither said any of
+them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they
+had all things common."
+
+It is to be presumed that the disciples practiced this communism at the
+instruction of Jesus. If Jesus approved of communism was he right or
+wrong?
+
+"Blessed be ye poor."[8]
+
+Poverty is not a blessing but a curse. Jesus taught the theory that the
+poor would be rich hereafter while the rich would be in hell.
+
+
+_Punishment for Debts_
+
+We have seen that Jesus expected an unjust servant to be tormented until
+he paid in full. There are also other evidences that he approved of
+imprisonment for debt. "Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou
+art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to
+the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast
+into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out
+thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing."[9]
+
+A legislator who patterned his life after Jesus would be justified in
+enacting laws imprisoning for debt and scourging for misdemeanors.
+
+Some may say that the sentiments expressed by Jesus were not mistakes
+but merely presented the customs of his day. Possibly he did not intend
+to advise all that he seemed to approve; but if Jesus was a practical
+and prophetic guide he should have made it clear that he did not
+sanction the actions he apparently commended.
+
+In the parable of the pounds the nobleman, seemingly with the approval
+of Jesus, denounced the servant as wicked who did not put his lord's
+money in the bank to draw interest.[10] And in the parable of the
+talents the lord rewarded those who had made 100 per cent profit through
+speculation.[11]
+
+Another contradiction of his theory of the blessedness of poverty was
+his promise that those who followed him "shall receive a hundredfold now
+in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and
+children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal
+life."[12]
+
+Finally, Jesus stated the unfortunate truth, "Whosoever hath, to him
+shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath
+not, from him shall be taken even that he hath."[13] If Jesus did not
+approve of that worldly method of distribution, he could have denounced
+its injustice instead of leaving the comment as if it expressed his own
+policy.
+
+
+_Healing_
+
+Many Christians value Jesus most for his healing powers, but Jesus
+looked upon disease almost as he did upon demoniacal possession, as
+something evil that could be cast out. "But that ye may know that the
+Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the
+sick of the palsy) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thine house."[14]
+There was confusion in his mind between sin and sickness.
+
+Jesus healed leprosy and palsy by touching the sick person; he healed
+the servant of the centurion by absent treatment, and restored sight by
+spitting on the eyes[15] or anointing them with clay made with
+spittle[16], or by requiring faith.[17] He healed a withered hand, cured
+impediments in speech and deafness, all without medical applications,
+even replacing an ear severed by a sword.[18]
+
+Christian Scientists practice the same methods with confidence in
+success, but medical and surgical treatment are the most reliable means
+of effecting cures, disappointing as they are. If Jesus could cure
+disease, it was remiss of him not to instruct men definitely in his
+methods so that the suffering from illness that has afflicted the world
+could have been averted.
+
+Jesus did not isolate the germ of leprosy, or establish any practicable
+method of preventing disease. He has been of less value to the world as
+a healer than Pasteur, Lister, Koch, or Walter Reed.
+
+Some Christians will say that Jesus did not tell us how to avoid illness
+because man needs to be chastened by pain. If that is correct, if pain
+and disease are sent by God and are consciously permitted by Jesus, sick
+people should be allowed to suffer instead of trying to heal them.
+
+
+_Peace_
+
+Jesus has been called the Prince of Peace, but the weight of his
+testimony is not on the side of absolute pacifism. With his view of
+rendering unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, it is possible that
+he would have advised young men to obey the state and enlist, or accept
+the draft, whenever their country called.
+
+On November 12, 1931, Rev. Dr. T. Andrew Caraker said at a banquet of
+the American Legion in Baltimore that if Jesus Christ had lived in 1917
+He would have been the first to volunteer in the American army, the
+first to wear a gas mask, shoulder a rifle and enter the trenches.
+
+Other ministers derive from the same gospels the belief that Jesus would
+not have stabbed Germans with a bayonet. Nor would Jesus have advised
+others to fight if he had been unwilling to fight himself.
+
+Most of the sayings of Jesus regarding violence or non-resistance were
+intended to apply chiefly to personal relationships; he said little of
+international strife. What he did say showed placid acceptance of the
+war system:
+
+"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not
+troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not
+yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
+kingdom."[19]
+
+"And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled:
+for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation
+shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom."[20]
+
+"But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for
+these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. Then
+said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
+kingdom."[21]
+
+These verses have a more direct bearing on war as we now know it than
+any of his other sayings. They show his belief in the inevitability of
+war. Apparently he did not feel himself competent to counteract general
+mass militarism. He offered no program for arbitration of international
+disputes, no substitute for war between nations, no policy of war
+resistance.
+
+When Jesus advised non-resistance, saying to his follower, "Put up again
+thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish
+with the sword,"[22] he was merely stating the danger of using violence,
+not the immorality of employing force. In fact, he commanded his
+disciples to take the very sword which he later told them to sheathe:
+"He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one ... And
+they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It
+is enough."[23]
+
+Thus Jesus, the supposed non-resistant, prepared his followers with
+swords. These swords were for defense, and when the time came he
+repudiated even that use of the weapons, but, nevertheless, he armed his
+disciples instead of adhering to his principle of non-resistance. He did
+not set a positive example of disarmament.
+
+Jesus said: "Blessed are the peacemakers ... love your enemies ... Have
+peace one with another ... On earth peace, good will toward men ...
+Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ... These things have I
+spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace ... Resist not evil: but
+whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other
+also."
+
+Other remarks of Jesus favored violence: "Think not that I am come to
+send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."[24]
+"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but
+rather division."[25] "But those mine enemies, which would not that I
+should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me."[26] "My
+kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then
+would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the
+Jews."[27] "When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in
+peace: but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome
+him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth
+his spoils."[28] "And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he
+drove them all out of the temple."[29]
+
+In determining whether or not Jesus was a promoter of peace it is only
+reasonable to review everything that he said or did relating to the use
+of violence, giving equal weight to every verse. We cannot accept one
+statement and reject the others. The conclusion reached must be that
+Jesus was inconsistent in advocating both non-resistance and the use of
+force. He took diametrically opposed positions, the use of swords and
+scourges and non-resistance being mutually exclusive. Jesus preached
+non-resistance and at the same time armed his retainers with two swords.
+He advocated turning the other cheek but did not criticize war.
+Therefore, pacifists and militarists, with their opposite philosophies,
+should both admit that at times Jesus was mistaken.
+
+
+_Marriage_
+
+Jesus occasionally eulogized marriage: "For this cause shall a man leave
+father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be
+one flesh ... What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put
+asunder."[30]
+
+
+_Celibacy_
+
+On other occasions he made remarks which indicated his preference for
+celibacy as the higher state, the one he adopted for himself. "In the
+resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as
+the angels of God in heaven."[31] "The children of this world marry, and
+are given in marriage: but they which shall be accounted worthy to
+obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry,
+nor are given in marriage."[32] "I say unto you, That whosoever looketh
+on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in
+his heart."[33] "There are some eunuchs which were so born from their
+mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of
+men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the
+kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive
+it."[34] "There is no man that hath left ... wife, or children for the
+kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this
+present time, and in the world to come life everlasting."[35]
+
+Jesus referred to the absence of marriage in heaven, the ideal realm.
+Paul's testimony adds to the evidence that Jesus considered celibacy
+preferable to any form of sex expression, even marriage.
+
+
+_Adultery_
+
+On the other hand, Jesus was tolerant of sex offenses. He chatted in a
+friendly manner with the woman of Samaria, saying: "Thou hast had five
+husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband."[36] And about
+the woman taken in adultery he said: "He that is without sin among you,
+let him first cast a stone at her ... Neither do I condemn thee: go and
+sin no more."[37] "The harlots go into the kingdom of God before
+you."[38]
+
+
+_Divorce_
+
+Jesus sanctioned divorce. His followers are so annoyed at this fact that
+they frequently quote the verse on the subject with the offensive clause
+omitted. The text reads: "It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away
+his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you,
+That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of
+fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry
+her that is divorced committeth adultery."[39] Again in Matthew xix, 9,
+he makes the same exception. It is evident, therefore, that Jesus
+permitted divorce for one cause. If the wife was unfaithful the husband
+could divorce her, but otherwise no matter how unhappy the couple might
+be, they must remain married.
+
+The admirable leniency of Jesus toward sex offenders, and his permission
+to divorce, must seem like mistakes to churchmen who consider
+extramarital sex relations the unforgivable sin. And everyone must see
+the danger of having our judges adopt as a principle of justice the
+dismissal of offenders on the ground that the prosecutors have also
+sinned.
+
+A Christian girl of today would not be encouraged by the most zealous
+religious parents to marry a man exactly like Jesus.
+
+
+_Faulty Judgment_
+
+Jesus selected Judas to be the treasurer of the apostles' joint funds,
+but later admitted his error, saying: "Have I not chosen you twelve, and
+one of you is a devil? He spake of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for
+it was he that should betray him, being one of the twelve."[40]
+
+Jesus erroneously supposed that "salvation is of the Jews."[41] "Go not
+into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter
+ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."[42] A
+nationalistic and partial spirit is expressed in these sentences, a
+spirit that has been followed to the extent that Jesus would not be
+permitted to enter America if he applied for a visa.
+
+
+_Unconvincing_
+
+Jesus failed in his mission to save the world. He made the supreme
+sacrifice in vain. His method of proving his divinity did not convince
+his hearers: "But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet
+they believed not on him."[43] "For neither did his brethren believe in
+him."[44] After he had healed many, cast out unclean spirits and
+appointed his twelve apostles to do likewise, his friends "went out to
+lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself."[45]
+
+Jesus admitted his impotence as a human being when he said, "I can of
+mine own self do nothing."[46] Even with the assistance of his Father he
+did not accomplish what he set out to do.
+
+
+_Prohibition_
+
+The miracle of turning water into wine, providing one hundred gallons of
+wine after the people at the party had "well drunk", must appear to
+prohibitionists like a mistake on the part of Jesus. Many Methodists
+and Baptists would have preferred to have him turn the wine into water;
+yet they will not admit that Jesus made a mistake.
+
+
+_Lack of Experience_
+
+So far as the gospels relate, Jesus never had any experience with three
+of the chief difficulties of human life--sex, earning a living and
+illness. He was therefore less able to explain those relationships than
+one who has struggled through in the customary manner of mankind. To
+take the inexperienced Jesus as our guide in practical living would be
+like a traveller who was planning a trip over perilous mountains and
+engaged as a guide a man who had never crossed the mountains.
+
+As Jesus believed that the end of the world was approaching, and as he
+revealed no information about the future, his teachings should be taken
+as applying solely to his own time. A divinity living now would preach
+far differently from the inadequate doctrines of Jesus.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+The abandonment of reliance upon a Jesus who has not changed in nineteen
+hundred years, in favor of an Evolutionary philosophy that requires
+constant change, leads to a new conception of the world and its
+possibilities for man. A person who has thought himself out of
+antiquated theology may be expected to have an open mind towards the
+betterment of human customs.
+
+Every improvement in human relationships originates secularly and is
+adopted by the Church only after a bitter struggle. Faith in Jesus is a
+reactionary force. The Christian opposes change in the creations of God;
+the Evolutionist seeks to alter every unsatisfactory condition. The
+Evolutionist is more responsive than the orthodox Christian to proposals
+for promoting the happiness of the human race. Many liberals have
+abandoned conservatism because they saw the hypocrisy in Christianity.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xx, 1-16.
+
+[2] John x, 13.
+
+[3] Luke xvii, 10.
+
+[4] Matt. xxv, 30.
+
+[5] Luke xii, 47-48.
+
+[6] Matt. xviii, 23-34.
+
+[7] Matt. vi, 25-31, discussed under the Sermon on the Mount.
+
+[8] Luke vi, 20.
+
+[9] Matt. v, 25-26.
+
+[10] Luke xix, 23.
+
+[11] Matt. xxv, 20.
+
+[12] Mark x, 30.
+
+[13] Matt. xiii, 12.
+
+[14] Matt. ix, 6.
+
+[15] Mark viii, 23.
+
+[16] John ix, 6.
+
+[17] Mark x, 52.
+
+[18] Luke xxii, 51.
+
+[19] Matt. xxiv, 6-7.
+
+[20] Mark xiii, 7-8.
+
+[21] Luke xxi, 9-10.
+
+[22] Matt. xxvi, 52.
+
+[23] Luke xxii, 36-38.
+
+[24] Matt. x, 34.
+
+[25] Luke xii, 51.
+
+[26] Luke xix, 27.
+
+[27] John xviii, 36.
+
+[28] Luke xi, 21-22.
+
+[29] John ii, 15.
+
+[30] Matt. xix, 5-6.
+
+[31] Matt. xxii, 30.
+
+[32] Luke xx, 34-35.
+
+[33] Matt. v, 28.
+
+[34] Matt. xix, 12.
+
+[35] Luke xviii, 29-30.
+
+[36] John iv, 18.
+
+[37] John viii, 7-11.
+
+[38] Matt. xxi, 31.
+
+[39] Matt. v, 31-32.
+
+[40] John vi, 70-71.
+
+[41] John iv, 22.
+
+[42] Matt. x, 5-6.
+
+[43] John xii, 37.
+
+[44] John vii, 5.
+
+[45] Mark iii, 21.
+
+[46] John v, 30.
+
+
+
+
+AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE
+
+
+Orthodox Christians accept both Old and New Testaments as authority for
+their actions, whereas Modernists are not much concerned with the
+commands of Jehovah but maintain that Jesus is the pattern for their
+lives. Religious liberals feel that the troubles of the world come
+largely from failure to follow the teachings of the Nazarene. They look
+upon him as the perfect example of what a man should be. In their
+opinion, if everyone would act as Jesus did all would be well.
+
+On December 7, 1931, Dr. Henry Van Dyke preached at the Brick
+Presbyterian Church, New York City, that the way to end the financial
+depression was to act as Jesus would: "We can judge only by what he did
+and said in the first century, an age not so different from our own, an
+age of unsettlement, violence, drunkenness and license. Christ would
+tell us not to yield to panic.... Christ would not tell us to join any
+political party or social group...."
+
+Such a sermon sounds encouraging but, as a matter of fact, Jesus has not
+shown any of his ministers how to end the depression. To trust him for
+guidance in our modern world is to pin faith on an incompetent
+instructor. We can learn how to end the depression by examining the
+records of our own time and by correcting the errors that have been
+made. It is not safe to rely upon a person who had no knowledge of
+America's practical needs and whose acts and advice regarding worldly
+affairs in Jerusalem fell short of the best ethical values.
+
+In this treatise it has been shown that Jesus made mistakes. Every
+instance cited may not appeal to all readers as worthy of criticism, but
+there can be no doubt in the mind of any honest thinker that several at
+least of Jesus' ideas were erroneous. His theology was filled with
+superstitions, his cosmology was that of the pre-scientific era, he
+expected the end of the world within a generation, his conception of sin
+was theological rather than ethical, he failed to convince his hearers
+by his oratory, he exaggerated the results from prayer and he related
+parables that gave a false sense of values.
+
+Now we shall turn to his personal character and teachings to see if he
+was always the meek, gentle soul portrayed by the conventional Christ.
+
+
+_Cursing Nature_
+
+The act in Jesus' life that has been most difficult for theologians to
+explain was the cursing of the fig tree. The tree was created to bear
+fruit in the Summer, but when Jesus found it without fruit in the
+Spring, he cursed it so that it withered away.
+
+"Now in the morning, as he returned into the city, and when he saw a fig
+tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves
+only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever.
+And presently the fig tree withered away."[1] "For the time of figs was
+not yet."[2]
+
+This episode involves several mistakes--ignorance of the seasons;
+destruction of a profitable food-producing tree; exhibition of temper
+when thwarted, and giving false information regarding man's power to
+effect physical changes by a curse.[3]
+
+If Jesus acted unwisely in this one instance and was right in all
+others, he is neither an infallible God nor a perfect pattern for
+mankind.
+
+
+_Forgiveness_
+
+The conventional Jesus is emblematic of supreme kindness and
+forgiveness, but in reality he was far from lenient in many instances,
+nor did he advocate forgiveness for certain offenses.
+
+"Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee ... tell it unto
+the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee
+as a heathen man and a publican."[4]
+
+In the parable of Dives and Lazarus, Abraham was represented as
+justified in not forgiving the rich man tortured in hell, or even in
+saving the rich man's brothers as requested by the victim of Jesus'
+policy of punishment.
+
+Again Jesus said: "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also
+deny before my Father."[5] "Whosoever shall blaspheme against the Holy
+Ghost hath never forgiveness."[6]
+
+All the wicked were condemned by Jesus to eternal punishment with no
+chance of forgiveness.
+
+
+_Vituperation_
+
+Jesus was often vehement in his language to an extent hardly compatible
+with gentleness of character.
+
+"O generation of vipers! how can ye, being evil, speak good things?"[7]
+
+"Woe unto you, hypocrites, for ye compass sea and land to make one
+proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him two-fold more the child of
+hell than yourselves."[8]
+
+"Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation
+of hell?"[9]
+
+"If I should say I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you."[10]
+
+"All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers."[11]
+
+"Ye fools and blind."[12]
+
+This language may have been necessary, in Jesus' opinion, to convince
+his hearers of their sins, but such vituperation does not become a
+modern ethical teacher.
+
+
+_Destruction of Property_
+
+Two acts of Jesus, consistent with his disregard of worldly goods, were
+destructive in character.
+
+"And there was a good way off from them a herd of many swine feeding. So
+the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go
+away into the herd of swine. And he said unto them, Go. And when they
+were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole
+herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and
+perished in the waters."[13]
+
+Jesus did what the devils requested, cruelly killing two thousand
+inoffensive valuable animals that belonged to other people.
+
+"Jesus went up to Jerusalem, and found in the temple those that sold
+oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting: and when he
+had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple,
+and the sheep and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and
+overthrew the tables."
+
+Jesus has been defended for other acts on the ground that he was living
+in less civilized times than our own, but here he is seen offending both
+ancient and modern sensibilities. The destruction of the swine and the
+routing of the merchants were sensational and erratic exhibitions. If
+reformers today should destroy herds of animals, except to protect
+public health by due process of law, or overthrow banks, they would be
+liable to arrest in any city of Christendom. Therefore the consensus of
+opinion denies exoneration to Jesus for his spasmodic resort to direct
+action.
+
+
+_Egotism_
+
+If Jesus was not God, but merely the ideal man, his estimate of himself
+was excessive. In addition to his remarks already quoted there are many
+other instances of an exaggerated ego.
+
+"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
+and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
+cannot be my disciple."[14]
+
+"Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die."[15]
+
+"If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins."[16]
+
+"I am the light of the world."[17]
+
+"I am the Son of God."[18]
+
+"I am the resurrection and the life."[19]
+
+If Jesus was correct in claiming that he was the Messiah, if he could
+control the elements and send people to heaven or hell, he was justified
+in any extreme remarks; but not if he were merely a man. Every person is
+entitled to have as good an opinion of himself as his character and
+ability warrant, but expressions of his own worth are unseemly even if
+true, and are inexcusable if exaggerated. As Jesus himself said (though
+this authority is only for believers) testimony about oneself is
+unreliable.
+
+Jesus not only claimed to be more than a man, he threatened his hearers
+with death if they did not agree with him. All of which might be
+permissible if he were God, but was an egotistical illusion if he was
+merely human.
+
+
+_Lack of Courtesy_
+
+Jesus did not always exhibit the courtesy one would expect of a
+gentleman, or even of a nature's nobleman.
+
+The first instance of lack of consideration was when he slipped away
+from his parents, causing them unnecessary anxiety: "Son, why hast thou
+thus dealt with us? behold thy father and I have sought thee
+sorrowing."[20] He had remained behind to study Hebrew theology and did
+not tell his parents, presumably because he thought they would not have
+permitted the venture.
+
+Another instance was found in his daily life:
+
+"A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and
+sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had
+not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye
+Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your
+inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools ..."[21]
+
+Jesus had not only failed to wash as was expected of a guest, but
+defended his uncleanliness and abused his host.
+
+At another time Jesus was discourteous to his mother:
+
+"And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They
+have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with
+thee?"[22]
+
+Jesus was apparently annoyed at his mother's interference, though he
+followed her suggestion. He did not set a good example for children in
+addressing their mothers.
+
+When the Syrophenician woman asked him to help her daughter, "Jesus
+saith unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to
+take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she
+answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat
+of the children's crumbs. And he said unto her, For this saying go thy
+way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter."[23]
+
+Jesus practically admitted that he had made a mistake in speaking
+unkindly to a Gentile. Her clever answer induced him to change his
+decision. A physician who called a stranger's child a dog would now be
+considered brutal even in a free hospital.
+
+"And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go
+and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead
+bury their dead."[24]
+
+Jesus could have allowed the man to attend his father's funeral and
+follow him later. Would not that have set a better precedent?
+
+When Peter intervened to protect Jesus, the latter "turned, and said
+unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me."[25]
+
+Even though Jesus was determined to go on with the sacrifice, he could
+have been more appreciative of his best friend's suggestion.
+
+
+_Unethical Advice_
+
+When the unjust steward cheated his employer, Jesus gave the following
+remarkable advice:
+
+"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely:
+for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the
+children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of
+the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you
+into everlasting habitations."[26]
+
+This passage should be read again before deciding whether Jesus advised
+opportunism rather than morality. The words must be taken as they are;
+no interpretation can be based upon the assumption that Jesus was always
+right and therefore meant something different from what he said.
+
+
+_Sermon on the Mount_
+
+Many Christians say that they care nothing for theology; that the Sermon
+on the Mount contains all that is necessary for a religious life, being
+a perfect system of ethics.
+
+The Sermon on the Mount does contain many admirable principles, but also
+some that are inferior to present standards. Few of the people who
+praise this Sermon would think it proper to abide by all the teachings
+therein. Christian parents do not wish their children to follow either
+the letter or the spirit of this famous preachment. It begins in the
+fifth chapter of Matthew.
+
+"Blessed are the poor in spirit." Is it better to be poor in spirit than
+rich and eager in spirit? Being poor in spirit is to be faint of heart.
+This is bad advice, is it not?
+
+"Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted." This means
+that those who mourn on earth will be comforted in heaven; but now that
+life on earth has assumed greater importance, so far as our daily
+conduct is concerned, than life in heaven, the philosophy of gloom is
+unfortunate. Jesus preached acceptance of unhappiness as the common lot
+of man; he should not therefore be credited with providing happiness on
+earth. His urge to rejoice was usually in anticipation of good things to
+come in the next world. He preached sorrow for all here rather than the
+greater happiness for the greater number.
+
+"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers
+places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver
+you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all
+nations for my name's sake ... and because iniquity shall abound, the
+love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the
+same shall be saved."[27]
+
+"Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh."[28]
+
+The beatitude, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth"
+is of doubtful accuracy or value.
+
+The commands to pluck out an eye or cut off a hand may not have been
+intended literally, although it does appear as if Jesus referred to the
+physical body, and men have often so interpreted these doubtful
+instructions.
+
+Jesus said that "Whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
+adultery", which is no longer true. Those who permit remarriage after
+divorce should admit an error on Jesus' part.
+
+"But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil." This instruction should
+be reversed, should it not? Evil should be resisted in every possible
+way that does not involve evil in itself. What modern ethical teacher
+will say that evil should not be resisted, or that this advice of Jesus
+was perfection? If his instruction was intended to refer to physical
+resistance, then no righteous person should fight in any war, no police
+should be delegated to arrest criminals. If the phrase has merely a
+spiritual meaning, it is certainly unsound advice, for evil should be
+overcome by good.
+
+A fanatical attitude towards the law was recommended when Jesus said:
+"If any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him
+have thy cloak also." Extreme generosity and non-resistance are taught,
+but the illustration was not well thought out, for if the man had
+already won his suit and taken the coat, it is evident that the owner of
+the coat had put up a legal fight instead of giving away his coat and
+cloak as Jesus implies he should. Yielding more than a legal opponent
+wins in court is not compatible with defending the suit, nor is it a
+principle that would meet the approval of most of Jesus' followers
+today.
+
+"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is
+perfect." If Jesus referred to Jehovah as his Father in heaven, the
+standard of perfection advocated was very low, for Jehovah was, as
+Thomas Jefferson put it, "cruel, vindictive, capricious and unjust."
+
+The Lord's Prayer is not the simple, clear, devotional petition that is
+usually supposed. Take it literally, as was undoubtedly intended, and
+its irrelevance to actual life is at once apparent.
+
+"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come.
+Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." This is a proper
+invocation only if there is a heaven in which God's will is done. None
+such has been discovered.
+
+"Give us this day our daily bread" indicates that God would not give our
+daily sustenance without being asked, whereas there is no apparent
+distinction in actual living between those who pray for bread and those
+who do not.
+
+"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" intimates that
+divine forgiveness is not to be superior to that of men.
+
+"And lead us not into temptation"--as if God were anxious to lead us
+there and would be deterred by our prayer.
+
+It may seem like petty cavil to criticize the prayer that has been
+acclaimed for many centuries as ideal, but, seriously, what valuable
+principle for guidance through life does the Lord's Prayer contain? Do
+its requests represent the best modern conception of prayer as an inward
+aspiration rather than as petitionary? Is it not vain repetition to
+recite it again and again?
+
+The general idea of offering prayer in order to obtain various needs
+presents the difficulty of reconciling the conception of an omnipotent,
+all-foreseeing God with the contradictory theory of a Father who
+requires prayer before caring for his children, an almighty God who will
+be turned from his course by human petitions. Man can do wonders in the
+way of conquering nature, but he has not been able to alter natural
+laws, nor is there any evidence that such laws have been changed at any
+time in answer to prayer.
+
+If the Lord's Prayer is not essential for man's welfare in the world, we
+may conclude that Jesus over-emphasized its importance.
+
+One of the most important portions of the Sermon on the Mount is the
+advice regarding worldly possessions. Nothing in the teaching of Jesus
+is more definite than his instructions regarding wealth. He strikes an
+admirable note when he says, "What is a man profited if he gain the
+whole world and lose his own soul? ... A man's life consisteth not in
+the abundance of the things which he possesseth." This general principle
+is sadly needed in the modern money-seeking world, but the teachings of
+Jesus on economics go much further, far beyond anything the best people
+of today are willing to follow.
+
+"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall
+drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on ... Take therefore no
+thought for the morrow."[29]
+
+These commands, taken literally as Jesus intended, would lead to
+infinite trouble. Men are obliged to take thought for the morrow; if
+they do not they will fail to survive. In Jesus' plan provision for the
+earthly future was of no importance because of the imminence of eternal
+life, but now it is considered one's duty to provide for old age.
+
+This mistake of Jesus cannot be explained away by saying that Jesus was
+right and that man falls short of the counsel of perfection given by
+the Master. No, there are few indeed who will say that it would be right
+to shape their financial life as Jesus advised. If they do not believe
+it right to follow his instructions, definite as they are on this
+subject, they must admit that he was wrong. Either thrift is now
+unrighteous, or Jesus is not a dependable guide for modern life.
+
+The following instructions have little meaning now except for Roman
+Catholics. "But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy
+face, that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which
+is in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
+openly."
+
+Another portion of the Sermon holds out false hopes that cannot be
+substantiated: "For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
+findeth." Is there any virtue in thus deceiving the people regarding the
+possibilities of prayer?
+
+"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
+ye even so to them." This is the famous Golden Rule that has been
+heralded as one of the most original portions of Jesus' teachings. But
+Jesus admitted that he did not first state this rule when he said, "for
+this is the law and the prophets."[30]
+
+Confucius, born in 551 B.C., several times announced the rule, "What you
+do not like when done to yourself, do not to others." This negative
+statement is less effective than the Jewish rule, but both are admirable
+regardless of who first formulated them. The Golden Rule is as valuable
+coming from the Hebrew fathers as if Jesus had originated it.
+
+The Golden Rule, however, is not perfect. It is one of the best rules of
+the ancients, showing the desirability of reciprocity, but it does not
+demand that our desires be always just, nor does it insure that what we
+want done to ourselves will always be what others most need. It would be
+consistent with the Golden Rule for a convivial man to entertain his
+prohibition friends at a speakeasy, or for a Catholic to take his
+atheist guests to daily mass. Possibly an even better rule than judging
+others by ourselves would be to do unto others what best pleases them.
+
+
+_Inconsistency_
+
+"The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by
+whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had
+not been born."[31]
+
+Apparently the arrangement between Jehovah and Jesus was that Jesus
+should not give himself up as a sacrifice voluntarily but should be
+betrayed by someone else; and yet, although the betrayal was desired,
+the man who assisted was to be condemned.
+
+The sacrificial plan for salvation was continued to the end in order
+that "the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled."[32] The
+scriptures were Jewish, so this is additional proof that Jesus, rejected
+by the Jews, considered himself the predicted Jewish Messiah. While the
+Jews expected a Messiah, there is no clear prediction of Jesus in the
+Old Testament.
+
+
+_Fear_
+
+Jesus said, "Be not afraid of them that kill the body"; but when
+threatened with bodily injury himself, he was afraid. "Then took they up
+stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself."[33] "Then the Pharisees
+went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.
+But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence."[34]
+
+This avoidance of physical injury may have been due to a desire to
+postpone his end until the proper time, as indicated by "Mine hour is
+not yet come", but when the time did come, Jesus did not bear his
+approaching death bravely, as Socrates did when about to drink the cup
+of hemlock. Jesus was much afraid, "and prayed, saying, Father, if thou
+be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless, not my will but thine
+be done."[35]
+
+He was resolved to go through with the painful experience at any cost
+but was much more frightened than many a mortal man, though he had a
+greater cause to sustain him than martyrs who have suffered
+uncomplainingly; for he believed that his sacrifice would save the
+world: "and there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening
+him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was
+as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."[36]
+
+After saying, "The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified
+... He that loveth his life shall lose it", he again showed terror: "Now
+is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this
+hour, but for this cause came I unto this hour."[37]
+
+It is to be noted that God did not answer the prayer of Jesus, though
+Jesus had said that God would always answer prayers in his name. Jesus
+recognized his failure to obtain the answer, saying on the cross, "My
+God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"[38]
+
+
+_Failure_
+
+Many a good man is a failure from a worldly point of view, but failure
+is not what one would wish to copy. Jesus sought to save the world.
+Surely no one looking at the world today can say that he succeeded. His
+plan of salvation was a failure; it did not work out as Jehovah and
+Jesus intended. An ideal teacher is needed now almost as much as two
+thousand years ago. If the world is gradually improving, as seems
+probable, it is in spite of the superstitions of the past, not because
+of them.
+
+At one time Jesus denied his own perfection, saying: "Why callest thou
+me good? there is none good but one, that is, God."[39]
+
+Christian parents who hold Jesus up to their children as a paragon would
+not wish their sons to grow up to be just like Jesus. He is not an
+acceptable prototype.
+
+Jesus did not provide the knowledge so much needed by man to enable him
+to shape his course through life. No one knows how to live correctly,
+how best to meet each situation, what action is suited to the occasion.
+Jesus did not tell us what to do. His sayings are interpreted in many
+different ways. He failed to predict the needs of the future.
+
+Jesus did not explain relations between man and wife, nor between
+employer and employee, nor how to educate children, nor how to preserve
+health, nor how to make a living, nor how to prevent war, poverty and
+suffering. Jesus gave little practical information, and his spiritual
+advice was not clearly enough expressed to enable man to apply it to
+modern conditions. Jesus neglected to instruct people how to live. His
+knowledge of the world was less than that of the average American
+citizen.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Matt. xxi, 18-19.
+
+[2] Mark xi, 13.
+
+[3] Mark xi, 20-23.
+
+[4] Matt. xviii, 15-17.
+
+[5] Matt. x, 33.
+
+[6] Mark iii, 29.
+
+[7] Matt. xii, 34.
+
+[8] Matt. xxiii, 15.
+
+[9] Matt. xxiii, 33.
+
+[10] John viii, 55.
+
+[11] John x, 8.
+
+[12] Matt. xxiii, 17.
+
+[13] Matt. viii, 28-34; Mark v, 13; Luke viii, 26-34.
+
+[14] Luke xiv, 26.
+
+[15] John xi, 26.
+
+[16] John viii, 24.
+
+[17] John viii, 12.
+
+[18] John x, 36.
+
+[19] John xi, 25.
+
+[20] Luke ii, 48.
+
+[21] Luke xi, 37-40.
+
+[22] John ii, 4.
+
+[23] Mark vii, 25-29.
+
+[24] Matt. viii, 21-22.
+
+[25] Matt. xvi, 23.
+
+[26] Luke xvi, 1-9.
+
+[27] Matt. xxiv, 7-13.
+
+[28] Luke vi, 21.
+
+[29] Matt. vi, 25-34.
+
+[30] Matt. vii, 12.
+
+[31] Matt. xxvi, 24.
+
+[32] Matt. xxvi, 56.
+
+[33] John viii, 59.
+
+[34] Matt. xii, 14-15.
+
+[35] Luke xxii, 42.
+
+[36] Luke xxii, 44.
+
+[37] John xii, 23-27.
+
+[38] Mark xv, 34.
+
+[39] Matt. xix, 17.
+
+
+
+
+CONCLUSION
+
+
+The historicity of Jesus has been discussed in many books and pamphlets.
+Whether Jesus lived or not depends upon what is meant by that phrase. If
+one is satisfied that there was a peripatetic philosopher named Jesus
+who was the son of a woman named Mary and who lived and taught around
+Jerusalem, uttering some, but not all, of the words attributed to him,
+then Jesus may be said to have lived. There can be no serious objection
+to the acceptance of that Jesus as an actual personage even though he
+was ignored by secular historians and though the time and place of his
+birth and death are in doubt.
+
+On the other hand, if there never was such a person as the Jesus
+described in the New Testament--a man born of a virgin, superior to
+natural laws, able to walk on the water, and change the course of
+nature, performing miracles, casting out devils, a man who never erred,
+who was crucified, rose from the dead and ascended bodily into heaven
+where he now sits to judge the world--if there was no such man-God as
+the Jesus of the gospels, some may hesitate to say that Jesus ever
+lived.
+
+
+_Jesus a Myth_
+
+Sincere Evolutionists who discredit miracles, must needs consider the
+gospel Jesus as a myth. This does not mean that Jesus had no reality,
+but that the original facts have been so enlarged upon that the
+principal features of his life are more fanciful than real. If you
+eliminate from the life of Jesus as unhistorical his birth, his
+miracles, his theological teachings, his resurrection, ascension and
+messianic mission, the Christ no longer exists. Jesus would have
+attracted no attention were it not for the very circumstances which
+Modernists admit were mythical.
+
+
+_Judged by His Works_
+
+Whether Jesus was God, or man, or myth, he can be judged by his works,
+as he himself recommended. If he is found to be perfect in word and
+deed, it makes little difference whether he lived or not. As a symbol he
+can be revered and copied. But if Jesus is now seen to be the product of
+his times, representing the virtues and defects of his biographers, with
+no vision beyond their ken, his authority is gone.
+
+Not only will the divinity of Jesus be discredited if he was found to
+have been occasionally in error, but his value as a guide to life will
+be impaired. What will be the result of this radical change? None of the
+beautiful ideals or sound ethical principles attributed to Jesus will
+be lost. Not one saying or counsel of valuable advice need go. Not one
+evil thought need take the place of that which was good. In fact, the
+finest qualities of existence will be more vital in our lives when their
+realization becomes of primary importance instead of being subordinate
+to worship of the supernatural. Principles are superior to persons. A
+dead personality remains unchanged; live ethical principles can be
+developed by more complete knowledge of evolutionary processes.
+
+
+_Ethical Evolution_
+
+Evolution has been progressing along ethical as well as physical lines.
+To the teachings of Jesus, once considered perfection, have been added
+many newly discovered principles of value, for knowledge is cumulative.
+All the best thoughts of the ages are ours forever, no matter who first
+originated or expressed them.
+
+Whatever the plan of the universe may be, it is more nearly comprehended
+now than in Jesus' time. Twentieth century events are more dependable in
+forming our philosophy of life than those of the first century. The
+failure to grasp this fact is the death knell of orthodox religion.
+Every existing religious sect has founded its spirituality upon events
+supposed to have occurred in the past. Christianity depends upon the
+direct creation, fall of man and life of an atoning Savior, all physical
+in character. Our new metaphysics will be based upon conditions existing
+today and that will be revealed by science in the future. The
+geologists, embryologists, biologists and astronomers of 1932 have more
+information about nature than Jesus had. On that knowledge can be
+founded a system of living superior to the Sermon on the Mount.
+
+Our own time is the most dependable era of revelation. We can safely
+accept whatever stands accredited after thorough examination, including
+all teachings of Jesus that are admirable. A modern person with
+religious zeal has confidence that the world is ordered along consistent
+lines and will respond favorably to man's best efforts to solve the true
+way of living. The scientific mind and the religious spirit are
+complementary. Religion, instead of being a system of handed-down
+sanctity, may become an inspired revelation to each individual--a
+religion of the spirit of the modern world.
+
+As the spirit derived from Truth is superior to that based upon
+credulity, the new doctrines that supplant the old may be expected to
+excel any that have preceded them. Anyone may be as spiritual as the
+proved facts permit.
+
+If the world has been improving physically and ethically, we can have
+confidence that whatever knowledge is necessary for our salvation is
+available to each of us now. No living God has died; no great principle
+has been lost. Instead of depending upon Jesus in an unthinking manner,
+we must seek the Truth wherever it is found and follow wherever it may
+lead regardless of consequences. This requires more courage than
+professing Jesus, whose teachings can be construed to mean whatever the
+reader desires. While the majority regard Jesus as an ascetic, a
+reformer, opposed to business and joviality, Bruce Barton has convinced
+thousands that Jesus was the great business man, rotarian and
+advertiser.
+
+
+_Gains, not Losses_
+
+Among the compensations that may supplant the loss of Jesus as an ideal
+are the thrill at being a pioneer in striving for the welfare of the
+human race rather than for individual salvation; the satisfaction at
+having a consistent creed that can be maintained against all criticism
+without hypocrisy or evasion; emancipation from inhibitions required by
+a supposedly divine teacher. Every pleasure is not a sin, but rejection
+of theology does not imply indifference to evil. Science warns against
+excess as strongly as any ancient command. The fear of natural or
+man-decreed punishment in this world is as potent as the dread of
+eternal torment threatened by Jesus.
+
+If Jesus really was the sort of personage described in the Bible; if he
+really was born of a virgin, controlled the elements and had power to
+condemn unbelievers to eternal damnation, all people should obey his
+every word. He should be followed literally; we should sell all our
+possessions and take no thought for the morrow. But if Jesus was not
+that sort of a person; if he was neither a supernatural God nor an
+infallible man, he should not be worshipped as a redeeming Savior nor be
+followed as a true guide for human conduct.
+
+Our faith shifts with careful examination of the scriptures from belief
+in Jesus to confidence that the world is a far pleasanter abode than
+Jesus imagined. Without reliance upon the authority of Jesus we can
+adopt a code which will prove comparatively effective in leading towards
+a wholesome life.
+
+
+
+
+CODE OF LIVING
+
+
+1. Keep the body strong that the most efficient work may be done, the
+greatest happiness obtained during life and a wholesome inheritance
+passed on to future generations.
+
+2. Cultivate the mind, learning as many important facts as possible,
+striving to become expert in some particular field of endeavor.
+
+3. Develop a scientific spirit, the essential characteristic of which is
+a search for Truth in the light of evidence and reason. Do not deceive
+yourself or others.
+
+4. Base your spiritual concepts on the latest developments of Evolution.
+Be prepared to change your philosophy to conform to the consensus of
+scientific opinion.
+
+5. Conduct all human relationships in a spirit of tolerance and love,
+having proper consideration for others, not presuming to control their
+lives.
+
+6. Treat the opposite sex honorably, respecting their complementary
+qualities, with due regard for succeeding generations.
+
+7. Endeavor to embody in the laws of the community the spirit of equity
+and progress.
+
+8. Strive for an economic system under which each individual shall be
+rewarded according to his or her value to society.
+
+9. Avoid the use of physical force for personal revenge or national
+aggrandizement, having learned from experience that reason triumphs
+while brutality degrades.
+
+10. Hold yourself in readiness to accept new revelations.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Luther Burbank wrote concerning the above code on November 11, 1925:
+
+    "_I am greatly pleased with your code of living ... The false
+    ancient theology has past or is rapidly passing with intelligent
+    people at the present time. It is not applicable to our conditions
+    and is of no more value than a worn-out suit of clothes._"
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Mistakes of Jesus, by William Floyd
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