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diff --git a/38099-h/38099-h.htm b/38099-h/38099-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4d99da7 --- /dev/null +++ b/38099-h/38099-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,6225 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Mistakes of Moses, by Robert G. Ingersoll. + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mistakes of Moses, by Robert G. Ingersoll + +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: Mistakes of Moses + +Author: Robert G. Ingersoll + +Release Date: November 22, 2011 [EBook #38099] +Last Updated: January 25, 2013 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MISTAKES OF MOSES *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <div style="height: 8em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h1> + MISTAKES of MOSES + </h1> + <h2> + By Robert G. Ingersoll. + </h2> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h3> + The Destroyer Of Weeds, Thistles And Thorns, Is A Benefactor Whether He + Soweth Grain Or Not. + </h3> + <h4> + 1880. + </h4> + <h3> + MRS. SUE M. FARRELL <br /><br /> IN LAW MY SISTER; <br /><br /> AND IN FACT MY + FRIEND, <br /><br /> THIS VOLUME, <br /><br /> AS A TOKEN OF RESPECT AND LOVE, + <br /><br /> IS DEDICATED. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_PREF"> PREFACE. </a><br /><br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0002"> I. </a> SOME MISTAKES OF MOSES <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> II. </a> FREE SCHOOLS <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0004"> III. </a> THE POLITICIANS <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> IV. </a> MAN AND WOMAN <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0006"> V. </a> THE PENTATEUCH <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0007"> VI. </a> MONDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0008"> VII. </a> TUESDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0009"> VIII. </a> WEDNESDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0010"> IX. </a> THURSDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0011"> X. </a> "HE MADE THE STARS ALSO" <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0012"> XI. </a> FRIDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0013"> XII. </a> SATURDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0014"> XIII. </a> LET US MAKE MAN <br /><br /> + <a href="#link2H_4_0015"> XIV. </a> SUNDAY <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0016"> XV. </a> THE NECESSITY FOR A GOOD + MEMORY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0017"> XVI. </a> THE + GARDEN <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0018"> XVII. </a> THE + FALL <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0019"> XVIII. </a> DAMPNESS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0020"> XIX. </a> BACCHUS AND + BABEL <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0021"> XX. </a> FAITH IN + FILTH <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0022"> XXI. </a> THE + HEBREWS <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0023"> XXII. </a> THE + PLAGUES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0024"> XXIII. </a> THE + FLIGHT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0025"> XXIV. </a> CONFESS + AND AVOID <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0026"> XXV. </a> "INSPIRED" + SLAVERY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0027"> XXVI. </a> "INSPIRED" + MARRIAGE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0028"> XXVII. </a> "INSPIRED" + WAR <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0029"> XXVIII. </a> "INSPIRED" + RELIGIOUS LIBERTY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2H_4_0030"> XXIX. </a> CONCLUSION + <br /><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_PREF" id="link2H_PREF"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + PREFACE. + </h2> + <p> + For many years I have regarded the Pentateuch simply as a record of a + barbarous people, in which are found a great number of the ceremonies of + savagery, many absurd and unjust laws, and thousands of ideas inconsistent + with known and demonstrated facts. To me it seemed almost a crime to teach + that this record was written by inspired men; that slavery, polygamy, wars + of conquest and extermination were right, and that there was a time when + men could win the approbation of infinite Intelligence, Justice, and + Mercy, by violating maidens and by butchering babes. To me it seemed more + reasonable that savage men had made these laws; and I endeavored in a + lecture, entitled "Some Mistakes of Moses," to point out some of the + errors, contradictions, and impossibilities contained in the Pentateuch. + The lecture was never written and consequently never delivered twice the + same. On several occasions it was reported and published without consent, + and without revision. All these publications were grossly and glaringly + incorrect. As published, they have been answered several hundred times, + and many of the clergy are still engaged in the great work. To keep these + reverend gentlemen from wasting their talents on the mistakes of reporters + and printers, I concluded to publish the principal points in all my + lectures on this subject. And here, it may be proper for me to say, that + arguments cannot be answered by personal abuse; that there is no logic in + slander, and that falsehood, in the long run, defeats itself. People who + love their enemies should, at least, tell the truth about their friends. + Should it turn out that I am the worst man in the whole world, the story + of the flood will remain just as improbable as before, and the + contradictions of the Pentateuch will still demand an explanation. + </p> + <p> + There was a time when a falsehood, fulminated from the pulpit, smote like + a sword; but, the supply having greatly exceeded the demand, clerical + misrepresentation has at last become almost an innocent amusement. + Remembering that only a few years ago men, women, and even children, were + imprisoned, tortured and burned, for having expressed in an exceedingly + mild and gentle way, the ideas entertained by me, I congratulate myself + that calumny is now the pulpit's last resort. The old instruments of + torture are kept only to gratify curiosity; the chains are rusting away, + and the demolition of time has allowed even the dungeons of the + Inquisition to be visited by light. The church, impotent and malicious, + regrets, not the abuse, but the loss of her power, and seeks to hold by + falsehood what she gained by cruelty and force, by fire and fear. + Christianity cannot live in peace with any other form of faith. If that + religion be true, there is but one savior, one inspired book, and but one + little narrow grass-grown path that leads to heaven. Such a religion is + necessarily uncompromising, unreasoning, aggressive and insolent. + Christianity has held all other creeds and forms in infinite contempt, + divided the world into enemies and friends, and verified the awful + declaration of its founder—a declaration that wet with blood the + sword he came to bring, and made the horizon of a thousand years lurid + with the fagots' flames. + </p> + <p> + Too great praise challenges attention, and often brings to light a + thousand faults that otherwise the general eye would never see. Were we + allowed to read the bible as we do all other books, we would admire its + beauties, treasure its worthy thoughts, and account for all its absurd, + grotesque and cruel things, by saying that its authors lived in rude, + barbaric times. But we are told that it was written by inspired men; that + it contains the will of God; that it is perfect, pure, and true in all its + parts; the source and standard of all moral and religious truth; that it + is the star and anchor of all human hope; the only guide for man, the only + torch in Nature's night. These claims are so at variance with every known + recorded fact, so palpably absurd, that every free, unbiased soul is + forced to raise the standard of revolt. + </p> + <p> + We read the pagan sacred books with profit and delight. With myth and + fable we are ever charmed, and find a pleasure in the endless repetition + of the beautiful, poetic, and absurd. We find, in all these records of the + past, philosophies and dreams, and efforts stained with tears, of great + and tender souls who tried to pierce the mystery of life and death, to + answer the eternal questions of the Whence and Whither, and vainly sought + to make, with bits of shattered glass, a mirror that would, in very truth, + reflect the face and form of Nature's perfect self. + </p> + <p> + These myths were born of hopes, and fears, and tears, and smiles, and they + were touched and colored by all there is of joy and grief between the rosy + dawn of birth, and death's sad night. They clothed even the stars with + passion, and gave to gods the faults and frailties of the sons of men. In + them, the winds and waves were music, and all the lakes, and streams, and + springs,—the mountains, woods and perfumed dells were haunted by a + thousand fairy forms. They thrilled the veins of Spring with tremulous + desire; made tawny Summer's billowed breast the throne and home of love; + filled Autumns arms with sun-kissed grapes, and gathered sheaves; and + pictured Winter as a weak old king who felt, like Lear upon his withered + face, Cordelia's tears. These myths, though false, are beautiful, and have + for many ages and in countless ways, enriched the heart and kindled + thought. But if the world were taught that all these things are true and + all inspired of God, and that eternal punishment will be the lot of him + who dares deny or doubt, the sweetest myth of all the Fable World would + lose its beauty, and become a scorned and hateful thing to every brave and + thoughtful man. + </p> + <p> + Robert G. Ingersoll. + </p> + <p> + Washington, D. C, <i>Oct. 7th, 1879</i> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + I. SOME MISTAKES OF MOSES + </h2> + <p> + HE WHO ENDEAVORS TO CONTROL THE MIND BY FORCE IS A TYRANT, AND HE WHO + SUBMITS IS A SLAVE. + </p> + <p> + I want to do what little I can to make my country truly free, to broaden + the intellectual horizon of our people, to destroy the prejudices born of + ignorance and fear, to do away with the blind worship of the ignoble past, + with the idea that all the great and good are dead, that the living are + totally depraved, that all pleasures are sins, that sighs and groans are + alone pleasing to God, that thought is dangerous, that intellectual + courage is a crime, that cowardice is a virtue, that a certain belief is + necessary to secure salvation, that to carry a cross in this world will + give us a palm in the next, and that we must allow some priest to be the + pilot of our souls. + </p> + <p> + Until every soul is freely permitted to investigate every book, and creed, + and dogma for itself, the world cannot be free. Mankind will be enslaved + until there is mental grandeur enough to allow each man to have his + thought and say. This earth will be a paradise when men can, upon all + these questions differ, and yet grasp each other's hands as friends. It is + amazing to me that a difference of opinion upon subjects that we know + nothing with certainty about, should make us hate, persecute, and despise + each other. Why a difference of opinion upon predestination, or the + trinity, should make people imprison and burn each other seems beyond the + comprehension of man; and yet in all countries where Christians have + existed, they have destroyed each other to the exact extent of their + power. Why should a believer in God hate an atheist? Surely the atheist + has not injured God, and surely he is human, capable of joy and pain, and + entitled to all the rights of man. Would it not be far better to treat + this atheist, at least, as well as he treats us? + </p> + <p> + Christians tell me that they love their enemies, and yet all I ask is—not + that they love their enemies, not that they love their friends even, but + that they treat those who differ from them, with simple fairness. + </p> + <p> + We do not wish to be forgiven, but we wish Christians to so act that we + will not have to forgive them. If all will admit that all have an equal + right to think, then the question is forever solved; but as long as + organized and powerful churches, pretending to hold the keys of heaven and + hell, denounce every person as an outcast and criminal who thinks for + himself and denies their authority, the world will be filled with hatred + and suffering. To hate man and worship God seems to be the sum of all the + creeds. + </p> + <p> + That which has happened in most countries, has happened in ours. When a + religion is founded, the educated, the powerful—that is to say, the + priests and nobles, tell the ignorant and superstitious—that is to + say, the people, that the religion of their country was given to their + fathers by God himself; that it is the only true religion; that all others + were conceived in falsehood and brought forth in fraud, and that all who + believe in the true religion will be happy forever, while all others will + burn in hell. For the purpose of governing the people, that is to say, for + the purpose of being supported by the people, the priests and nobles + declare this religion to be sacred, and that whoever adds to, or takes + from it, will be burned here by man, and hereafter by God. The result of + this is, that the priests and nobles will not allow the people to change; + and when, after a time, the priests, having intellectually advanced, wish + to take a step in the direction of progress, the people will not allow + them to change. At first, the rabble are enslaved by the priests, and + afterwards the rabble become the masters. + </p> + <p> + One of the first things I wish to do, is to free the orthodox clergy. I am + a great friend of theirs, and in spite of all they may say against me, I + am going to do them a great and lasting service. Upon their necks are + visible the marks of the collar, and upon their backs those of the lash. + They are not allowed to read and think for themselves. They are taught + like parrots, and the best are those who repeat, with the fewest mistakes, + the sentences they have been taught. They sit like owls upon some dead + limb of the tree of knowledge, and hoot the same old hoots that have been + hooted for eighteen hundred years. Their congregations are not grand + enough, nor sufficiently civilized, to be willing that the poor preachers + shall think for themselves. They are not employed for that purpose. + Investigation is regarded as a dangerous experiment, and the ministers are + warned that none of that kind of work will be tolerated. They are notified + to stand by the old creed, and to avoid all original thought, as a mortal + pestilence. Every minister is employed like an attorney—either for + plaintiff or defendant,—and he is expected to be true to his client. + If he changes his mind, he is regarded as a deserter, and denounced, + hated, and slandered accordingly. Every orthodox clergyman agrees not to + change. He contracts not to find new facts, and makes a bargain that he + will deny them if he does. Such is the position of a protestant minister + in this Nineteenth Century. His condition excites my pity; and to better + it, I am going to do what little I can. + </p> + <p> + Some of the clergy have the independence to break away, and the intellect + to maintain themselves as free men, but the most are compelled to submit + to the dictation of the orthodox, and the dead. They are not employed to + give their thoughts, but simply to repeat the ideas of others. They are + not expected to give even the doubts that may suggest themselves, but are + required to walk in the narrow, verdureless path trodden by the ignorance + of the past. The forests and fields on either side are nothing to them. + They must not even look at the purple hills, nor pause to hear the babble + of the brooks. They must remain in the dusty road where the guide-boards + are. They must confine themselves to the "fall of man" the expulsion from + the garden, the "scheme of salvation," the "second birth," the atonement, + the happiness of the redeemed, and the misery of the lost. They must be + careful not to express any new ideas upon these great questions. It is + much safer for them to quote from the works of the dead. The more vividly + they describe the sufferings of the unregenerate, of those who attended + theatres and balls, and drank wine in summer gardens on the sabbath-day, + and laughed at priests, the better ministers they are supposed to be. They + must show that misery fits the good for heaven, while happiness prepares + the bad for hell; that the wicked get all their good things in this life, + and the good all their evil; that in this world God punishes the people he + loves, and in the next, the ones he hates; that happiness makes us bad + here, but not in heaven; that pain makes us good here, but not in hell. No + matter how absurd these things may appear to the carnal mind, they must be + preached and they must be believed. If they were reasonable, there would + be no virtue in believing. Even the publicans and sinners believe + reasonable things. To believe without evidence, or in spite of it, is + accounted as righteousness to the sincere and humble christian. + </p> + <p> + The ministers are in duty bound to denounce all intellectual pride, and + show that we are never quite so dear to God as when we admit that we are + poor, corrupt and idiotic worms; that we never should have been born; that + we ought to be damned without the least delay; that we are so infamous + that we like to enjoy ourselves; that we love our wives and children + better than our God; that we are generous only because we are vile; that + we are honest from the meanest motives, and that sometimes we have fallen + so low that we have had doubts about the inspiration of the Jewish + scriptures. In short, they are expected to denounce all pleasant paths and + rustling trees, to curse the grass and flowers, and glorify the dust and + weeds. They are expected to malign the wicked people in the green and + happy fields, who sit and laugh beside the gurgling springs or climb the + hills and wander as they will. They are expected to point out the dangers + of freedom, the safety of implicit obedience, and to show the wickedness + of philosophy, the goodness of faith, the immorality of science and the + purity of ignorance. + </p> + <p> + Now and then, a few pious people discover some young man of a religious + turn of mind and a consumptive habit of body, not quite sickly enough to + die, nor healthy enough to be wicked. The idea occurs to them that he + would make a good orthodox minister. They take up a contribution, and send + the young man to some theological school where he can be taught to repeat + a creed and despise reason. Should it turn out that the young man had some + mind of his own, and, after graduating, should change his opinions and + preach a different doctrine from that taught in the school, every man who + contributed a dollar towards his education would feel that he had been + robbed, and would denounce him as a dishonest and ungrateful wretch. + </p> + <p> + The pulpit should not be a pillory. Congregations should allow the + minister a little liberty. They should, at least, permit him to tell the + truth. + </p> + <p> + They have, in Massachusetts, at a place called Andover, a kind of minister + factory, where each professor takes an oath once in five years—that + time being considered the life of an oath—that he has not, during + the last five years, and will not, during the next five years, + intellectually advance. There is probably no oath that they could easier + keep. Probably, since the foundation stone of that institution was laid + there has not been a single case of perjury. The old creed is still + taught. They still insist that God is infinitely wise, powerful and good, + and that all men are totally depraved. They insist that the best man God + ever made, deserved to be damned the moment he was finished. Andover puts + its brand upon every minister it turns out, the same as Sheffield and + Birmingham brand their wares, and all who see the brand know exactly what + the minister believes, the books he has read, the arguments he relies on, + and just what he intellectually is. They know just what he can be depended + on to preach, and that he will continue to shrink and shrivel, and grow + solemnly stupid day by day until he reaches the Andover of the grave and + becomes truly orthodox forever. + </p> + <p> + I have not singled out the Andover factory because it is worse than the + others. They are all about the same. The professors, for the most part, + are ministers who failed in the pulpit and were retired to the seminary on + account of their deficiency in reason and their excess of faith. As a + rule, they know nothing of this world, and far less of the next; but they + have the power of stating the most absurd propositions with faces solemn + as stupidity touched by fear. + </p> + <p> + Something should be done for the liberation of these men. They should be + allowed to grow—to have sunlight and air. They should no longer be + chained and tied to confessions of faith, to mouldy books and musty + creeds. Thousands of ministers are anxious to give their honest thoughts. + The hands of wives and babes now stop their mouths. They must have bread, + and so the husbands and fathers are forced to preach a doctrine that they + hold in scorn. For the sake of shelter, food and clothes, they are obliged + to defend the childish miracles of the past, and denounce the sublime + discoveries of to-day. They are compelled to attack all modern thought, to + point out the dangers of science, the wickedness of investigation and the + corrupting influence of logic. It is for them to show that virtue rests + upon ignorance and faith, while vice impudently feeds and fattens upon + fact and demonstration. It is a part of their business to malign and + vilify the Voltaires, Humes, Paines, Humboldts, Tyndals, Hęckels, Darwins, + Spencers, and Drapers, and to bow with uncovered heads before the + murderers, adulterers, and persecutors of the world. They are, for the + most part, engaged in poisoning the minds of the young, prejudicing + children against science, teaching the astronomy and geology of the bible, + and inducing all to desert the sublime standard of reason. + </p> + <p> + These orthodox ministers do not add to the sum of knowledge. They produce + nothing. They live upon alms. They hate laughter and joy. They officiate + at weddings, sprinkle water upon babes, and utter meaningless words and + barren promises above the dead. They laugh at the agony of unbelievers, + mock at their tears, and of their sorrows make a jest. There are some + noble exceptions. Now and then a pulpit holds a brave and honest man. + Their congregations are willing that they should think—willing that + their ministers should have a little freedom. + </p> + <p> + As we become civilized, more and more liberty will be accorded to these + men, until finally ministers will give their best and highest thoughts. + The congregations will finally get tired of hearing about the patriarchs + and saints, the miracles and wonders, and will insist upon knowing + something about the men and women of our day, and the accomplishments and + discoveries of our time. They will finally insist upon knowing how to + escape the evils of this world instead of the next. They will ask light + upon the enigmas of this life. They will wish to know what we shall do + with our criminals instead of what God will do with his—how we shall + do away with beggary and want—with crime and misery—with + prostitution, disease and famine,—with tyranny in all its cruel + forms—with prisons and scaffolds, and how we shall reward the honest + workers, and fill the world with happy homes! These are the problems for + the pulpits and congregations of an enlightened future. If Science cannot + finally answer these questions, it is a vain and worthless thing. + </p> + <p> + The clergy, however, will continue to answer them in the old way, until + their congregations are good enough to set them free. They will still talk + about believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, as though that were the only + remedy for all human ills. They will still teach that retrogression is the + only path that leads to light; that we must go back, that faith is the + only sure guide, and that reason is a delusive glare, lighting only the + road to eternal pain. + </p> + <p> + Until the clergy are free they cannot be intellectually honest. We can + never tell what they really believe until they know that they can safely + speak. They console themselves now by a secret resolution to be as liberal + as they dare, with the hope that they can finally educate their + congregations to the point of allowing them to think a little for + themselves. They hardly know what they ought to do. The best part of their + lives has been wasted in studying subjects of no possible value. Most of + them are married, have families, and know but one way of making their + living. Some of them say that if they do not preach these foolish dogmas, + others will, and that they may through fear, after all, restrain mankind. + Besides, they hate publicly to admit that they are mistaken, that the + whole thing is a delusion, that the "scheme of salvation" is absurd, and + that the bible is no better than some other books, and worse than most. + </p> + <p> + You can hardly expect a bishop to leave his palace, or the pope to vacate + the Vatican. As long as people want popes, plenty of hypocrites will be + found to take the place. And as long as labor fatigues, there will be + found a good many men willing to preach once a week, if other folks will + work and give them bread. In other words, while the demand lasts, the + supply will never fail. + </p> + <p> + If the people were a little more ignorant, astrology would flourish—if + a little more enlightened, religion would perish! + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + II. FREE SCHOOLS + </h2> + <p> + It is also my desire to free the schools. When a professor in a college + finds a fact, he should make it known, even if it is inconsistent with + something Moses said. Public opinion must not compel the professor to hide + a fact, and, "like the base Indian, throw the pearl away." With the single + exception of Cornell, there is not a college in the United States where + truth has ever been a welcome guest. The moment one of the teachers denies + the inspiration of the bible, he is discharged. If he discovers a fact + inconsistent with that book, so much the worse for the fact, and + especially for the discoverer of the fact. He must not corrupt the minds + of his pupils with demonstrations. He must beware of every truth that + cannot, in some way be made to harmonize with the superstitions of the + Jews. Science has nothing in common with religion. Facts and miracles + never did, and never will agree. They are not in the least related. They + are deadly foes. What has religion to do with facts? Nothing. Can there be + Methodist mathematics, Catholic astronomy, Presbyterian geology, Baptist + biology, or Episcopal botany? Why, then, should a sectarian college exist? + Only that which somebody knows should be taught in our schools. We should + not collect taxes to pay people for guessing. The common school is the + bread of life for the people, and it should not be touched by the + withering hand of superstition. + </p> + <p> + Our country will never be filled with great institutions of learning until + there is an absolute divorce between Church and School. As long as the + mutilated records of a barbarous people are placed by priest and professor + above the reason of mankind, we shall reap but little benefit from church + or school. + </p> + <p> + Instead of dismissing professors for finding something out, let us rather + discharge those who do not. Let each teacher understand that investigation + is not dangerous for him; that his bread is safe, no matter how much truth + he may discover, and that his salary will not be reduced, simply because + he finds that the ancient Jews did not know the entire history of the + world. + </p> + <p> + Besides, it is not fair to make the Catholic support a Protestant school, + nor is it just to collect taxes from infidels and atheists to support + schools in which any system of religion is taught. + </p> + <p> + The sciences are not sectarian. People do not persecute each other on + account of disagreements in mathematics. Families are not divided about + botany, and astronomy does not even tend to make a man hate his father and + mother. It is what people do not know, that they persecute each other + about. Science will bring, not a sword, but peace. + </p> + <p> + Just as long as religion has control of the schools, science will be an + outcast. Let us free our institutions of learning. Let us dedicate them to + the science of eternal truth. Let us tell every teacher to ascertain all + the facts he can—to give us light, to follow Nature, no matter where + she leads; to be infinitely true to himself and us; to feel that he is + without a chain, except the obligation to be honest; that he is bound by + no books, by no creed, neither by the sayings of the dead nor of the + living; that he is asked to look with his own eyes, to reason for himself + without fear, to investigate in every possible direction, and to bring us + the fruit of all his work. + </p> + <p> + At present, a good many men engaged in scientific pursuits, and who have + signally failed in gaining recognition among their fellows, are + endeavoring to make reputations among the churches by delivering weak and + vapid lectures upon the "harmony of Genesis and Geology." Like all + hypocrites, these men overstate the case to such a degree, and so turn and + pervert facts and words that they succeed only in gaining the applause of + other hypocrites like themselves. Among the great scientists they are + regarded as generals regard sutlers who trade with both armies. + </p> + <p> + Surely the time must come when the wealth of the world will not be wasted + in the propagation of ignorant creeds and miraculous mistakes. The time + must come when churches and cathedrals will be dedicated to the use of + man; when minister and priest will deem the discoveries of the living of + more importance than the errors of the dead; when the truths of Nature + will outrank the "sacred" falsehoods of the past, and when a single fact + will outweigh all the miracles of Holy Writ. + </p> + <p> + Who can over estimate the progress of the world if all the money wasted in + superstition could be used to enlighten, elevate and civilize mankind? + </p> + <p> + When every church becomes a school, every cathedral a university, every + clergyman a teacher, and all their hearers brave and honest thinkers, + then, and not until then, will the dream of poet, patriot, philanthropist + and philosopher, become a real and blessed truth. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + III. THE POLITICIANS. + </h2> + <p> + I would like also to liberate the politician. At present, the successful + office-seeker is a good deal like the centre of the earth; he weighs + nothing himself, but draws everything else to him. There are so many + societies, so many churches, so many isms, that it is almost impossible + for an independent man to succeed in a political career. Candidates are + forced to pretend that they are catholics with protest-ant proclivities, + or christians with liberal tendencies, or temperance men who now and then + take a glass of wine, or, that although not members of any church their + wives are, and that they subscribe liberally to all. The result of all + this is that we reward hypocrisy and elect men entirely destitute of real + principle; and this will never change until the people become grand enough + to allow each other to do their own thinking. + </p> + <p> + Our government should be entirely and purely secular. The religious views + of a candidate should be kept entirely out of sight. He should not be + compelled to give his opinion as to the inspiration of the bible, the + propriety of infant baptism, or the immaculate conception. All these + things are private and personal. He should be allowed to settle such + things for himself, and should he decide contrary to the law and will of + God, let him settle the matter with God. The people ought to be wise + enough to select as their officers men who know something of political + affairs, who comprehend the present greatness, and clearly perceive the + future grandeur of our country. If we were in a storm at sea, with deck + wave-washed and masts strained and bent with storm, and it was necessary + to reef the top sail, we certainly would not ask the brave sailor who + volunteered to go aloft, what his opinion was on the five points of + Calvinism. Our government has nothing to do with religion. It is neither + christian nor pagan; it is secular. But as long as the people persist in + voting for or against men on account of their religious views, just so + long will hypocrisy hold place and power. Just so long will the candidates + crawl in the dust—hide their opinions, flatter those with whom they + differ, pretend to agree with those whom they despise; and just so long + will honest men be trampled under foot. Churches are becoming political + organizations. Nearly every Catholic is a democrat; nearly every Methodist + in the North is a republican. + </p> + <p> + It probably will not be long until the churches will divide as sharply + upon political, as upon theological questions; and when that day comes, if + there are not liberals enough to hold the balance of power, this + government will be destroyed. The liberty of man is not safe in the hands + of any church. Wherever the bible and sword are in partnership, man is a + slave. + </p> + <p> + All laws for the purpose of making man worship God, are born of the same + spirit that kindled the fires of the <i>auto da fe</i>, and lovingly built + the dungeons of the Inquisition. All laws defining and punishing blasphemy—making + it a crime to give your honest ideas about the bible, or to laugh at the + ignorance of the ancient Jews, or to enjoy yourself on the Sabbath, or to + give your opinion of Jehovah, were passed by impudent bigots, and should + be at once repealed by honest men. An infinite God ought to be able to + protect himself, without going in partnership with state legislatures. + Certainly he ought not so to act that laws become necessary to keep him + from being laughed at. No one thinks of protecting Shakespeare from + ridicule, by the threat of fine and imprisonment. It strikes me that God + might write a book that would not necessarily excite the laughter of his + children. In fact, I think it would be safe to say that a real God could + produce a work that would excite the admiration of mankind. Surely + politicians could be better employed than in passing laws to protect the + literary reputation of the Jewish God. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IV. MAN AND WOMAN + </h2> + <p> + Let us forget that we are Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, Presbyterians, + or Free-thinkers, and remember only that we are men and women. After all, + <i>man</i> and <i>woman</i> are the highest possible titles. All other + names belittle us, and show that we have, to a certain extent, given up + our individuality, and have consented to wear the collar of authority—that + we are followers. Throwing away these names, let us examine these + questions not as partisans, but as human beings with hopes and fears in + common. + </p> + <p> + We know that our opinions depend, to a great degree, upon our surroundings—upon + race, country, and education. We are all the result of numberless + conditions, and inherit vices and virtues, truths and prejudices. If we + had been born in England, surrounded by wealth and clothed with power, + most of us would have been Episcopalians, and believed in Church and + State. We should have insisted that the people needed a religion, and that + not having intellect enough to provide one for themselves, it was our duty + to make one for them, and then compel them to support it. We should have + believed it indecent to officiate in a pulpit without wearing a gown, and + that prayers should be read from a book. Had we belonged to the lower + classes, we might have been dissenters and protested against the mummeries + of the High Church. Had we been born in Turkey, most of us would have been + Mohammedans and believed in the inspiration of the Koran. We should have + believed that Mohammed actually visited Heaven and became acquainted with + an angel by the name of Gabriel, who was so broad between the eyes that it + required three hundred days for a very smart camel to travel the distance. + If some man had denied this story we should probably have denounced him as + a dangerous person, one who was endeavoring to undermine the foundations + of society, and to destroy all distinction between virtue and vice. We + should have said to him, "What do you propose to give us in place of that + angel? We cannot afford to give up an angel of that size for nothing." We + would have insisted that the best and wisest men believed the Koran. We + would have quoted from the works and letters of philosophers, generals and + sultans, to show that the Koran was the best of books, and that Turkey was + indebted to that book and to that alone for its greatness and prosperity. + We would have asked that man whether he knew more than all the great minds + of his country, whether he was so much wiser than his fathers? We would + have pointed out to him the fact that thousands had been consoled in the + hour of death by passages from the Koran; that they had died with glazed + eyes brightened by visions of the heavenly harem, and gladly left this + world of grief and tears. We would have regarded Christians as the vilest + of men, and on all occasions would have repeated "There is but one God, + and Mohammed is his prophet!" + </p> + <p> + So, if we had been born in India, we should in all probability have + believed in the religion of that country. We should have regarded the old + records as true and sacred, and looked upon a wandering priest as better + than the men from whom he begged, and by whose labor he lived. We should + have believed in a god with three heads instead of three gods with one + head, as we do now. + </p> + <p> + Now and then some one says that the religion of his father and mother is + good enough for him, and wonders why anybody should desire a better. + Surely we are not bound to follow our parents in religion any more than in + politics, science or art. China has been petrified by the worship of + ancestors. If our parents had been satisfied with the religion of theirs, + we would be still less advanced than we are. If we are, in any way, bound + by the belief of our fathers, the doctrine will hold good back to the + first people who had a religion; and if this doctrine is true, we ought + now to be believers in that first religion. In other words, we would all + be barbarians. You cannot show real respect to your parents by + perpetuating their errors. Good fathers and mothers wish their children to + advance, to overcome obstacles which baffled them, and to correct the + errors of their education. If you wish to reflect credit upon your + parents, accomplish more than they did, solve problems that they could not + understand, and build better than they knew. To sacrifice your manhood + upon the grave of your father is an honor to neither. Why should a son who + has examined a subject, throw away his reason and adopt the views of his + mother? Is not such a course dishonorable to both? + </p> + <p> + We must remember that this "ancestor" argument is as old at least as the + second generation of men, that it has served no purpose except to enslave + mankind, and results mostly from the fact that acquiescence is easier than + investigation. This argument pushed to its logical conclusion, would + prevent the advance of all people whose parents were not free-thinkers. + </p> + <p> + It is hard for many people to give up the religion in which they were + born; to admit that their fathers were utterly mistaken, and that the + sacred records of their country are but collections of myths and fables. + </p> + <p> + But when we look for a moment at the world, we find that each nation has + its "sacred records"—its religion, and its ideas of worship. + Certainly all cannot be right; and as it would require a life time to + investigate the claims of these various systems, it is hardly fair to damn + a man forever, simply because he happens to believe the wrong one. All + these religions were produced by barbarians. Civilized nations have + contented themselves with changing the religions of their barbaric + ancestors, but they have made none. Nearly all these religions are + intensely selfish. Each one was made by some contemptible little nation + that regarded itself as of almost infinite importance, and looked upon the + other nations as beneath the notice of their god. In all these countries + it was a crime to deny the sacred records, to laugh at the priests, to + speak disrespectfully of the gods, to fail to divide your substance with + the lazy hypocrites who managed your affairs in the next world upon + condition that you would support them in this. In the olden time these + theological people who quartered themselves upon the honest and + industrious, were called soothsayers, seers, charmers, prophets, + enchanters, sorcerers, wizards, astrologers, and impostors, but now, they + are known as clergymen. + </p> + <p> + We are no exception to the general rule, and consequently have our sacred + books as well as the rest. Of course, it is claimed by many of our people + that our books are the only true ones, the only ones that the real God + ever wrote, or had anything whatever to do with. They insist that all + other sacred books were written by hypocrites and impostors; that the Jews + were the only people that God ever had any personal intercourse with, and + that all other prophets and seers were inspired only by impudence and + mendacity. True, it seems somewhat strange that God should have chosen a + barbarous and unknown people who had little or nothing to do with the + other nations of the earth, as his messengers to the rest of mankind. + </p> + <p> + It is not easy to account for an infinite God making people so low in the + scale of intellect as to require a revelation. Neither is it easy to + perceive why, if a revelation was necessary for all, it was made only to a + few. Of course, I know that it is extremely wicked to suggest these + thoughts, and that ignorance is the only armor that can effectually + protect you from the wrath of God. I am aware that investigators with all + their genius, never find the road to heaven; that those who look where + they are going are sure to miss it, and that only those who voluntarily + put out their eyes and implicitly depend upon blindness can surely keep + the narrow path. + </p> + <p> + Whoever reads our sacred book is compelled to believe it or suffer forever + the torments of the lost. We are told that we have the privilege of + examining it for ourselves; but this privilege is only extended to us on + the condition that we believe it whether it appears reasonable or not. We + may disagree with others as much as we please upon the meaning of all + passages in the bible, but we must not deny the truth of a single word. We + must believe that the book is inspired. If we obey its every precept + without believing in its inspiration we will be damned just as certainly + as though we disobeyed its every word. We have no right to weigh it in the + scales of reason—to test it by the laws of nature, or the facts of + observation and experience. To do this, we are told, is to put ourselves + above the word of God, and sit in judgment on the works of our creator. + </p> + <p> + For my part, I cannot admit that belief is a voluntary thing. It seems to + me that evidence, even in spite of ourselves, will have its weight, and + that whatever our wish may be, we are compelled to stand with fairness by + the scales, and give the exact result. It will not do to say that we + reject the bible because we are wicked. Our wickedness must be ascertained + not from our belief but from our acts. + </p> + <p> + I am told by the clergy that I ought not to attack the bible; that I am + leading thousands to perdition and rendering certain the damnation of my + own soul. They have had the kindness to advise me that, if my object is to + make converts, I am pursuing the wrong course. They tell me to use gentler + expressions, and more cunning words. Do they really wish me to make more + converts? If their advice is honest, they are traitors to their trust. If + their advice is not honest, then they are unfair with me. Certainly they + should wish me to pursue the course that will make the fewest converts, + and yet they pretend to tell me how my influence could be increased. It + may be, that upon this principle John Bright advises America to adopt free + trade, so that our country can become a successful rival of Great Britain. + Sometimes I think that even ministers are not entirely candid. + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding the advice of the clergy, I have concluded to pursue my + own course, to tell my honest thoughts, and to have my freedom in this + world whatever my fate may be in the next. + </p> + <p> + The real oppressor, enslaver and corrupter of the people is the bible. + That book is the chain that binds, the dungeon that holds the clergy. That + book spreads the pall of superstition over the colleges and schools. That + book puts out the eyes of science, and makes honest investigation a crime. + That book unmans the politician and degrades the people. That book fills + the world with bigotry, hypocrisy and fear. It plays the same part in our + country that has been played by "sacred records" in all the nations of the + world. + </p> + <p> + A little while ago I saw one of the bibles of the Middle Ages. It was + about two feet in length, and one and a half in width. It had immense + oaken covers, with hasps, and clasps, and hinges large enough almost for + the doors of a penitentiary. It was covered with pictures of winged angels + and aureoled saints. In my imagination I saw this book carried to the + cathedral altar in solemn pomp—heard the chant of robed and kneeling + priests, felt the strange tremor of the organ's peal; saw the colored + light streaming through windows stained and touched by blood and flame—the + swinging censer with its perfumed incense rising to the mighty roof, dim + with height and rich with legend carved in stone, while on the walls was + hung, written in light, and shade, and all the colors that can tell of joy + and tears, the pictured history of the martyred Christ. The people fell + upon their knees. The book was opened, and the priest read the messages + from God to man. To the multitude, the book itself was evidence enough + that it was not the work of human hands. How could those little marks and + lines and dots contain, like tombs, the thoughts of men, and how could + they, touched by a ray of light from human eyes, give up their dead? How + could these characters span the vast chasm dividing the present from the + past, and make it possible for the living still to hear the voices of the + dead? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0006" id="link2H_4_0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + V. THE PENTATEUCH + </h2> + <p> + The first five books in our bible are known as the Pentateuch. For a long + time it was supposed that Moses was the author, and among the ignorant the + supposition still prevails. As a matter of fact, it seems to be well + settled that Moses had nothing to do with these books, and that they were + not written until he had been dust and ashes for hundreds of years. But, + as all the churches still insist that he was the author, that he wrote + even an account of his own death and burial, let us speak of him as though + these books were in fact written by him. As the christians maintain that + God was the real author, it makes but little difference whom he employed + as his pen, or clerk. + </p> + <p> + Nearly all authors of sacred books have given an account of the creation + of the universe, the origin of matter, and the destiny of the human race. + Nearly all have pointed out the obligation that man is under to his + creator for having placed him upon the earth, and allowed him to live and + suffer, and have taught that nothing short of the most abject worship + could possibly compensate God for his trouble and labor suffered and done + for the good of man. They have nearly all insisted that we should thank + God for all that is good in life; but they have not all informed us as to + whom we should hold responsible for the evils we endure. + </p> + <p> + Moses differed from most of the makers of sacred books by his failure to + say anything of a future life, by failing to promise heaven, and to + threaten hell. Upon the subject of a future state, there is not one word + in the Pentateuch. Probably at that early day God did not deem it + important to make a revelation as to the eternal destiny of man. He seems + to have thought that he could control the Jews, at least, by rewards and + punishments in this world, and so he kept the frightful realities of + eternal joy and torment a profound secret from the people of his choice. + He thought it far more important to tell the Jews their origin than to + enlighten them as to their destiny. + </p> + <p> + We must remember that every tribe and nation has some way in which, the + more striking phenomena of nature are accounted for. These accounts are + handed down by tradition, changed by numberless narrators as intelligence + increases, or to account for newly discovered facts, or for the purpose of + satisfying the appetite for the marvelous. + </p> + <p> + The way in which a tribe or nation accounts for day and night, the change + of seasons, the fall of snow and rain, the flight of birds, the origin of + the rainbow, the peculiarities of animals, the dreams of sleep, the + visions of the insane, the existence of earthquakes, volcanoes, storms, + lightning and the thousand things that attract the attention and excite + the wonder, fear or admiration of mankind, may be called the philosophy of + that tribe or nation. And as all phenomena are, by savage and barbaric man + accounted for as the action of intelligent beings for the accomplishment + of certain objects, and as these beings were supposed to have the power to + assist or injure man, certain things were supposed necessary for man to do + in order to gain the assistance, and avoid the anger of these gods. Out of + this belief grew certain ceremonies, and these ceremonies united with the + belief, formed religion; and consequently every religion has for its + foundation a misconception of the cause of phenomena. + </p> + <p> + All worship is necessarily based upon the belief that some being exists + who can, if he will, change the natural order of events. The savage prays + to a stone that he calls a god, while the christian prays to a god that he + calls a spirit, and the prayers of both are equally useful. The savage and + the christian put behind the Universe an intelligent cause, and this cause + whether represented by one god or many, has been, in all ages, the object + of all worship. To carry a fetich, to utter a prayer, to count beads, to + abstain from food, to sacrifice a lamb, a child or an enemy, are simply + different ways by which the accomplishment of the same object is sought, + and are all the offspring of the same error. + </p> + <p> + Many systems of religion must have existed many ages before the art of + writing was discovered, and must have passed through many changes before + the stories, miracles, histories, prophesies and mistakes became fixed and + petrified in written words. After that, change was possible only by giving + new meanings to old words, a process rendered necessary by the continual + acquisition of facts somewhat inconsistent with a literal interpretation + of the "sacred records." In this way an honest faith often prolongs its + life by dishonest methods; and in this way the Christians of to-day are + trying to harmonize the Mosaic account of creation with the theories and + discoveries of modern science. + </p> + <p> + Admitting that Moses was the author of the Pentateuch, or that he gave to + the Jews a religion, the question arises as to where he obtained his + information. We are told by the theologians that he received his knowledge + from God, and that every word he wrote was and is the exact truth. It is + admitted at the same time that he was an adopted son of Pharaoh's + daughter, and enjoyed the rank and privilege of a prince. Under such + circumstances, he must have been well acquainted with the literature, + philosophy and religion of the Egyptians, and must have known what they + believed and taught as to the creation of the world. + </p> + <p> + Now, if the account of the origin of this earth as given by Moses is + substantially like that given by the Egyptians, then we must conclude that + he learned it from them. Should we imagine that he was divinely inspired + because he gave to the Jews what the Egyptians had given him? + </p> + <p> + The Egyptian priests taught <i>first</i>, that a god created the original + matter, leaving it in a state of chaos; <i>second</i>, that a god moulded + it into form; <i>third</i>, that the breath of a god moved upon the face + of the deep; <i>fourth</i>, that a god created simply by saying "Let it + be;" <i>fifth</i>, that a god created light before the sun existed. + </p> + <p> + Nothing can be clearer than that Moses received from the Egyptians the + principal parts of his narrative, making such changes and additions as + were necessary to satisfy the peculiar superstitions of his own people. + </p> + <p> + If some man at the present day should assert that he had received from God + the theories of evolution, the survival of the fittest, and the law of + heredity, and we should afterwards find that he was not only an + Englishman, but had lived in the family of Charles Darwin, we certainly + would account for his having these theories in a natural way, So, if + Darwin himself should pretend that he was inspired, and had obtained his + peculiar theories from God, we should probably reply that his grandfather + suggested the the same ideas, and that Lamarck published substantially the + same theories the same year that Mr. Darwin was born. + </p> + <p> + Now, if we have sufficient courage, we will, by the same course of + reasoning, account for the story of creation found in the bible. We will + say that it contains the belief of Moses, and that he received his + information from the Egyptians, and not from God. If we take the account + as the absolute truth and use it for the purpose of determining the value + of modern thought, scientific advancement becomes impossible. And even if + the account of the Creation as given by Moses should turn out to be true, + and should be so admitted by all the scientific world, the claim that he + was inspired would still be without the least particle of proof. We would + be forced to admit that he knew more than we had supposed. It certainly is + no proof that a man is inspired simply because he is right. + </p> + <p> + No one pretends that Shakespeare was inspired, and yet all the writers of + the books of the Old Testament put together, could not have produced + Hamlet. + </p> + <p> + Why should we, looking upon some rough and awkward thing, or god in stone, + say that it must have been produced by some inspired sculptor, and with + the same breath pronounce the <i>Venus de Milo</i> to be the work of man? + Why should we, looking at some ancient daub of angel, saint or virgin, say + its painter must have been assisted by a god? + </p> + <p> + Let us account for all we see by the facts we know. If there are things + for which we cannot account, let us wait for light. To account for + anything by supernatural agencies is, in fact to say that we do not know. + Theology is not what we know about God, but what we do not know about + Nature. In order to increase our respect for the bible, it became + necessary for the priests to exalt and extol that book, and at the same + time to decry and belittle the reasoning powers of man. The whole power of + the pulpit has been used for hundreds of years to destroy the confidence + of man in himself—to induce him to distrust his own powers of + thought, to believe that he was wholly unable to decide any question for + himself, and that all human virtue consists in faith and obedience. The + Church has said, "Believe, and obey! If you reason, you will become an + unbeliever, and unbelievers will be lost. If you disobey, you will do so + through vain pride and curiosity, and will, like Adam and Eve, be thrust + from paradise forever!" + </p> + <p> + For my part, I care nothing for what the Church says, except in so far as + it accords with my reason; and the bible is nothing to me, only in so far + as it agrees with what I think or know. + </p> + <p> + All books should be examined in the same spirit, and truth should be + welcomed and falsehood exposed, no matter in what volume they may be + found. + </p> + <p> + Let us in this spirit examine the Pentateuch; and if anything appears + unreasonable, contradictory or absurd, let us have the honesty and courage + to admit it. Certainly no good can result either from deceiving ourselves + or others. Many millions have implicitly believed this book, and have just + as implicitly believed that polygamy was sanctioned by God. Millions have + regarded this book as the foundation of all human progress, and at the + same time looked upon slavery as a divine institution. Millions have + declared this book to have been infinitely holy, and to prove that they + were right, have imprisoned, robbed and burned their fellow men. The + inspiration of this book has been established by famine, sword and fire, + by dungeon, chain and whip, by dagger and by rack, by force and fear and + fraud, and generations have been frightened by threats of hell, and bribed + with promises of heaven. + </p> + <p> + Let us examine a portion of this book, not in the darkness of our fear, + but in the light of reason. + </p> + <p> + And first, let us examine the account given of the Creation of this world, + commenced, according to the bible, on Monday morning about five thousand + eight hundred and eighty-three years ago. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0007" id="link2H_4_0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VI. MONDAY + </h2> + <p> + Moses commences his story by telling us that in the beginning God created + the heaven and the earth. + </p> + <p> + If this means anything, it means that God produced, caused to exist, + called into being, the heaven and the earth. It will not do to say that he + formed the heaven and the earth of previously existing matter. Moses + conveys, and intended to convey the idea that the matter of which the + heaven and the earth are composed, was created. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible for me to conceive of something being created from + nothing. Nothing, regarded in the light of a raw material, is a decided + failure. I cannot conceive of matter apart from force. Neither is it + possible to think of force disconnected with matter. You cannot imagine + matter going back to absolute nothing. Neither can you imagine nothing + being changed into something. You may be eternally damned if you do not + say that you can conceive these things, but you cannot conceive them. + </p> + <p> + Such is the constitution of the human mind that it cannot even think of a + commencement or an end of matter, or force. + </p> + <p> + If God created the universe, there was a time when he commenced to create. + Back of that commencement there must have been an eternity. In that + eternity what was this God doing? He certainly did not think. There was + nothing to think about. He did not remember. Nothing had ever happened. + What did he do? Can you imagine anything more absurd than an infinite + intelligence in infinite nothing wasting an eternity? + </p> + <p> + I do not pretend to tell how all these things really are; but I do insist + that a statement that cannot possibly be comprehended by any human being, + and that appears utterly impossible, repugnant to every fact of + experience, and contrary to everything that we really know, must be + rejected by every honest man. + </p> + <p> + We can conceive of eternity, because we cannot conceive of a cessation of + time. We can conceive of infinite space because we cannot conceive of so + much matter that our imagination will not stand upon the farthest star, + and see infinite space beyond. In other words, we cannot conceive of a + cessation of time; therefore eternity is a necessity of the mind. Eternity + sustains the same relation to time that space does to matter. + </p> + <p> + In the time of Moses, it was perfectly safe for him to write an account of + the creation of the world. He had simply to put in form the crude notions + of the people. At that time, no other Jew could have written a better + account. Upon that subject he felt at liberty to give his imagination full + play. There was no one who could authoritatively contradict anything he + might say. It was substantially the same story that had been imprinted in + curious characters upon the clay records of Babylon, the gigantic + monuments of Egypt, and the gloomy temples of India. In those days there + was an almost infinite difference between the educated and ignorant. The + people were controlled almost entirely by signs and wonders. By the lever + of fear, priests moved the world. The sacred records were made and kept, + and altered by them. The people could not read, and looked upon one who + could, as almost a god. In our day it is hard to conceive of the influence + of an educated class in a barbarous age. It was only necessary to produce + the "sacred record," and ignorance fell upon its face. The people were + taught that the record was inspired, and therefore true. They were not + taught that it was true, and therefore inspired. + </p> + <p> + After all, the real question is not whether the bible is inspired, but + whether it is true. If it is true, it does not need to be inspired. If it + is true, it makes no difference whether it was written by a man or a god. + The multiplication table is just as useful, just as true as though God had + arranged the figures himself. If the bible is really true, the claim of + inspiration need not be urged; and if it is not true, its inspiration can + hardly be established. As a matter of fact, the truth does not need to be + inspired. Nothing needs inspiration except a falsehood or a mistake. Where + truth ends, where probability stops, inspiration begins. A fact never went + into partnership with a miracle. Truth does not need the assistance of + miracle. A fact will fit every other fact in the Universe, because it is + the product of all other facts. A lie will fit nothing except another lie + made for the express purpose of fitting it. After a while the man gets + tired of lying, and then the last lie will not fit the next fact, and then + there is an opportunity to use a miracle. Just at that point, it is + necessary to have a little inspiration. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me that reason is the highest attribute of man, and that if + there can be any communication from God to man, it must be addressed to + his reason. It does not seem possible that in order to understand a + message from God it is absolutely essential to throw our reason away. How + could God make known his will to any being destitute of reason? How can + any man accept as a revelation from God that which is unreasonable to him? + God cannot make a revelation to another man for me. He must make it to me, + and until he convinces my reason that it is true, I cannot receive it. + </p> + <p> + The statement that in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, + I cannot accept. It is contrary to my reason, and I cannot believe it. It + appears reasonable to me that force has existed from eternity. Force + cannot, as it appears to me, exist apart from matter. Force, in its + nature, is forever active, and without matter it could not act; and so I + think matter must have existed forever. To conceive of matter without + force, or of force without matter, or of a time when neither existed, or + of a being who existed for an eternity without either, and who out of + nothing created both, is to me utterly impossible. I may be damned on this + account, but I cannot help it. In my judgment, Moses was mistaken. + </p> + <p> + It will not do to say that Moses merely intended to tell what God did, in + making the heavens and the earth out of matter then in existence. He + distinctly states that in the <i>beginning</i> God created them. If this + account is true, we must believe that God, existing in infinite space + surrounded by eternal nothing, naught and void, created, produced, called + into being, willed into existence this universe of countless stars. + </p> + <p> + The next thing we are told by this inspired gentleman is, that God created + light, and proceeded to divide it from the darkness. + </p> + <p> + Certainly, the person who wrote this believed that darkness was a thing, + an entity, a material that could get mixed and tangled up with light, and + that these entities, light and darkness, had to be separated. In his + imagination he probably saw God throwing pieces and chunks of darkness on + one side, and rays and beams of light on the other. It is hard for a man + who has been born but once to understand these things. For my part I + cannot understand how light can be separated from darkness. I had always + supposed that darkness was simply the absence of light, and that under no + circumstances could it be necessary to take the darkness away from the + light. It is certain, however, that Moses believed darkness to be a form + of matter, because I find that in another place he speaks of a darkness + that could be felt. They used to have on exhibition at Rome a bottle of + the darkness that overspread Egypt. + </p> + <p> + You cannot divide light from darkness any more than you can divide heat + from cold. Cold is an absence of heat, and darkness is an absence of + light. I suppose that we have no conception of absolute cold. We know only + degrees of heat. Twenty degrees below zero is just twenty degrees warmer + than forty degrees below zero. Neither cold nor darkness are entities, and + these words express simply either the absolute or partial absence of heat + or light. I cannot conceive how light can be divided from darkness, but I + can conceive how a barbarian several thousand years ago, writing upon a + subject about which he knew nothing, could make a mistake. The creator of + light could not have written in this way. If such a being exists, he must + have known the nature of that "mode of motion" that paints the earth on + every eye, and clothes in garments seven-hued this universe of worlds. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0008" id="link2H_4_0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VII. TUESDAY + </h2> + <p> + We are next informed by Moses that "God said Let there be a firmament in + the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters;" + and that "God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under + the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament." + </p> + <p> + What did the writer mean by the word firmament? Theologians now tell us + that he meant an "expanse." This will not do. How could an expanse divide + the waters from the waters, so that the waters above the expanse would not + fall into and mingle with the waters below the expanse? The truth is that + Moses regarded the firmament as a solid affair. It was where God lived, + and where water was kept. It was for this reason that they used to pray + for rain. They supposed that some angel could with a lever raise a gate + and let out the quantity of moisture desired. It was with the water from + this firmament that the world was drowned when the windows of heaven were + opened. It was in this firmament that the sons of God lived—the sons + who "saw the daughters of men that they were fair and took them wives of + all which they chose." The issue of such marriages were giants, and "the + same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown." + </p> + <p> + Nothing is clearer than that Moses regarded the firmament as a vast + material division that separated the waters of the world, and upon whose + floor God lived, surrounded by his sons. In no other way could he account + for rain. Where did the water come from? He knew nothing about the laws of + evaporation. He did not know that the sun wooed with amorous kisses the + waves of the sea, and that they, clad in glorified mist rising to meet + their lover, were, by disappointment, changed to tears and fell as rain. + </p> + <p> + The idea that the firmament was the abode of the Deity must have been in + the mind of Moses when he related the dream of Jacob. "And he dreamed, and + behold, a ladder set upon the earth and the top of it reached to heaven; + and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it; and behold + the Lord stood above it and said, I am the Lord God." + </p> + <p> + So, when the people were building the tower of Babel "the Lord came down + to see the city, and the tower which the children of men builded. And the + Lord said, Behold the people is one, and they have all one language: and + this they begin to do; and nothing will be restrained from them which they + imagined to do. Go to, let us go down and confound their language that + they may not understand one another's speech." + </p> + <p> + The man who wrote that absurd account must have believed that God lived + above the earth, in the firmament. The same idea was in the mind of the + Psalmist when he said that God "bowed the heavens and came down." + </p> + <p> + Of course, God could easily remove any person bodily to heaven, as it was + but a little way above the earth. "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, + for God took him." The accounts in the bible of the ascension of Elijah, + Christ and St. Paul were born of the belief that the firmament was the + dwelling-place of God. It probably never occurred to these writers that if + the firmament was seven or eight miles away, Enoch and the rest would have + been frozen perfectly stiff long before the journey could have been + completed. Possibly Elijah might have made the voyage, as he was carried + to heaven in a chariot of fire "by a whirlwind." + </p> + <p> + The truth is, that Moses was mistaken, and upon that mistake the + christians located their heaven and their hell. The telescope destroyed + the firmament, did away with the heaven of the New Testament, rendered the + ascension of our Lord and the assumption of his Mother infinitely absurd, + crumbled to chaos the gates and palaces of the New Jerusalem, and in their + places gave to man a wilderness of worlds. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0009" id="link2H_4_0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + VIII. WEDNESDAY + </h2> + <p> + We are next informed by the historian of Creation, that after God had + finished making the firmament and had succeeded in dividing the waters by + means of an "expanse," he proceeded "to gather the waters on the earth + together in seas, so that the dry land might appear." + </p> + <p> + Certainly the writer of this did not have any conception of the real form + of the earth. He could not have known anything of the attraction of + gravitation. He must have regarded the earth as flat and supposed that it + required considerable force and power to induce the water to leave the + mountains and collect in the valleys. Just as soon as the water was forced + to run down hill, the dry land appeared, and the grass began to grow, and + the mantles of green were thrown over the shoulders of the hills, and the + trees laughed into bud and blossom, and the branches were laden with + fruit. And all this happened before a ray had left the quiver of the sun, + before a glittering beam had thrilled the bosom of a flower, and before + the Dawn with trembling hands had drawn aside the curtains of the East and + welcomed to her arms the eager god of Day. + </p> + <p> + It does not seem to me that grass and trees could grow and ripen into seed + and fruit without the sun. According to the account, this all happened on + the third day. Now, if, as the christians say, Moses did not mean by the + word day a period of twenty-four hours, but an immense and almost + measureless space of time, and as God did not, according to this view make + any animals until the fifth day, that is, not for millions of years after + he made the grass and trees, for what purpose did he cause the trees to + bear fruit? + </p> + <p> + Moses says that God said on the third day, "Let the earth bring forth + grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his + kind, whose seed is in itself upon the earth; and it was so. And the earth + brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree + yielding fruit whose seed was in itself after his kind; and God saw that + it was good, and the evening and the morning were the third day." + </p> + <p> + There was nothing to eat this fruit; not an insect with painted wings + sought the honey of the flowers; not a single living, breathing thing upon + the earth. Plenty of grass, a great variety of herbs, an abundance of + fruit, but not a mouth in all the world. If Moses is right, this state of + things lasted only two days; but if the modern theologians are correct, it + continued for millions of ages. + </p> + <p> + "It is now well known that the organic history of the earth can be + properly divided into five epochs—the Primordial, Primary, + Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary. Each of these epochs is characterized + by animal and vegetable life peculiar to itself.. In the First will be + found Algae and Skull-less Vertebrates, in the Second, Ferns and Fishes, + in the Third, Pine Forests and Reptiles, in the Fourth, Foliaceous Forests + and Mammals, and in the Fifth, Man." + </p> + <p> + How much more reasonable this is than the idea that the Earth was covered + with grass, and herbs, and trees loaded with fruit for millions of years + before an animal existed. + </p> + <p> + There is, in Nature, an even balance forever kept between the total + amounts of animal and vegetable life. "In her wonderful economy she must + form and bountifully nourish her vegetable progeny—twin-brother life + to her, with that of animals. The perfect balance between plant existences + and animal existences must always be maintained, while matter courses + through the eternal circle, becoming each in turn. If an animal be + resolved into its ultimate constituents in a period according to the + surrounding circumstances, say, of four hours, of four months, of four + years, or even of four thousand years,—for it is impossible to deny + that there may be instances of all these periods during which the process + has continued—those elements which assume the gaseous form mingle at + once with the atmosphere and are taken up from it without delay by the + ever-open mouths of vegetable life. By a thousand pores in every leaf the + carbonic acid which renders the atmosphere unfit for animal life is + absorbed, the carbon being separated, and assimilated to form the + vegetable fibre, which, as wood, makes and furnishes our houses and ships, + is burned for our warmth, or is stored up under pressure for coal. All + this carbon has played its part, and many parts in its time, as animal + existences from monad up to man. Our mahogany of to-day has been many + negroes in its turn, and before the African existed, was integral portions + of many a generation of extinct species." + </p> + <p> + It seems reasonable to suppose that certain kinds of vegetation and + certain kinds of animals should exist together, and that as the character + of the vegetation changed, a corresponding change would take place in the + animal world. It may be that I am led to these conclusions by "total + depravity," or that I lack the necessary humility of spirit to + satisfactorily harmonize Haeckel and Moses; or that I am carried away by + pride, blinded by reason, given over to hardness of heart that I might be + damned, but I never can believe that the earth was covered with leaves, + and buds, and flowers, and fruits before the sun with glittering spear had + driven back the hosts of Night. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0010" id="link2H_4_0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + IX. THURSDAY + </h2> + <p> + After the world was covered with vegetation, it occurred to Moses that it + was about time to make a sun and moon; and so we are told that on the + fourth day God said, "Let there be light in the firmament of the heaven to + divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons, + and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the + heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made two great + lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule + the night; he made the stars also." + </p> + <p> + Can we believe that the inspired writer had any idea of the size of the + sun? Draw a circle five inches in diameter, and by its side thrust a pin + through the paper. The hole made by the pin will sustain about the same + relation to the circle that the earth does to the sun. Did he know that + the sun was eight hundred and sixty thousand miles in diameter; that it + was enveloped in an ocean of fire thousands of miles in depth, hotter even + than the christian's hell, over which sweep tempests of flame moving at + the rate of one hundred miles a second, compared with which the wildest + storm that ever wrecked the forests of this world was but a calm? Did he + know that the sun every moment of time throws out as much heat as could be + generated by the combustion of millions upon millions of tons of coal? Did + he know that the volume of the Earth is less than one-millionth of that of + the sun? Did he know of the one hundred and four planets belonging to our + solar system, all children of the sun? Did he know of Jupiter eighty-five + thousand miles in diameter, hundreds of times as large as our earth, + turning on his axis at the rate of twenty-five thousand miles an hour + accompanied by four moons, making the tour of his orbit in fifty years, a + distance of three thousand million miles? Did he know anything about + Saturn, his rings and his eight moons? Did he have the faintest idea that + all these planets were once a part of the sun; that the vast luminary was + once thousands of millions of miles in diameter; that Neptune, Uranus, + Saturn, Jupiter and Mars were all born before our earth, and that by no + possibility could this world have existed three days, nor three periods, + nor three "good whiles" before its source, the sun? + </p> + <p> + Moses supposed the sun to be about three or four feet in diameter and the + moon about half that size. Compared with the earth they were but simple + specks. This idea seems to have been shared by all the "inspired" men. We + find in the book of Joshua that the sun stood still, and the moon stayed + until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. "So the sun + stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a + whole day." + </p> + <p> + We are told that the sacred writer wrote in common speech as we do when we + talk about the rising and setting of the sun, and that all he intended to + say was that the earth ceased to turn on its axis "for about a whole day." + </p> + <p> + My own opinion is that General Joshua knew no more about the motions of + the earth than he did about mercy and justice. If he had known that the + earth turned upon its axis at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, and + swept in its course about the sun at the rate of sixty-eight thousand + miles an hour, he would have doubled the hailstones, spoken of in the same + chapter, that the Lord cast down from heaven, and allowed the sun and moon + to rise and set in the usual way. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to conceive of a more absurd story than this about the + stopping of the sun and moon, and yet nothing so excites the malice of the + orthodox preacher as to call its truth in question. Some endeavor to + account for the phenomenon by natural causes, while others attempt to show + that God could, by the refraction of light have made the sun visible + although actually shining on the opposite side of the earth. The last + hypothesis has been seriously urged by ministers within the last few + months. The Rev. Henry M. Morey of South Bend, Indiana, says "that the + phenomenon was simply optical. The rotary motion of the earth was not + disturbed, but the light of the sun was prolonged by the same laws of + refraction and reflection by which the sun now appears to be above the + horizon when it is really below. The medium through which the sun's rays + passed may have been miraculously influenced so as to have caused the sun + to linger above the horizon long after its usual time for disappearance." + </p> + <p> + This is the latest and ripest product of christian scholarship upon this + question no doubt, but still it is not entirely satisfactory to me. + According to the sacred account the sun did not linger, merely, above the + horizon, but stood still "in the midst of heaven for about a whole day," + that is to say, for about twelve hours. If the air was miraculously + changed, so that it would refract the rays of the sun while the earth + turned over as usual for "about a whole day," then, at the end of that + time the sun must have been visible in the east, that is, it must by that + time have been the next morning. According to this, that most wonderful + day must have been at least thirty-six hours in length. We have first, the + twelve hours of natural light, then twelve hours of "refracted and + reflected" light. By that time it would again be morning, and the sun + would shine for twelve hours more in the natural way, making thirty-six + hours in all. + </p> + <p> + If the Rev. Morey would depend a little less on "refraction" and a little + more on "reflection," he would conclude that the whole story is simply a + barbaric myth and fable. + </p> + <p> + It hardly seems reasonable that God, if there is one, would either stop + the globe, change the constitution of the atmosphere or the nature of + light simply to afford Joshua an opportunity to kill people on that day + when he could just as easily have waited until the next morning. It + certainly cannot be very gratifying to God for us to believe such childish + things. + </p> + <p> + It has been demonstrated that force is eternal; that it is forever active, + and eludes destruction by change of form. Motion is a form of force, and + all arrested motion changes instantly to heat. The earth turns upon its + axis at about one thousand miles an hour. Let it be stopped and a force + beyond our imagination is changed to heat. It has been calculated that to + stop the world would produce as much heat as the burning of a solid piece + of coal three times the size of the earth. And yet we are asked to believe + that this was done in order that one barbarian might defeat another. Such + stories never would have been written, had not the belief been general + that the heavenly bodies were as nothing compared with the earth. + </p> + <p> + The view of Moses was acquiesced in by the Jewish people and by the + Christian world for thousands of years. It is supposed that Moses lived + about fifteen hundred years before Christ, and although he was "inspired," + and obtained his information directly from God, he did not know as much + about our solar system as the Chinese did a thousand years before he was + born. "The Emperor Chwenhio adopted as an epoch, a conjunction of the + planets Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, which has been shown by M. + Bailly to have occurred no less than 2449 years before Christ." The + ancient Chinese knew not only the motions of the planets, but they could + calculate eclipses. "In the reign of the Emperor Chow-Kang, the chief + astronomers, Ho and Hi were condemned to death for neglecting to announce + a solar eclipse which took place 2169 B. C, a clear proof that the + prediction of eclipses was a part of the duty of the imperial + astronomers." + </p> + <p> + Is it not strange that a Chinaman should find out by his own exertions + more about the material universe than Moses could when assisted by its + Creator? + </p> + <p> + About eight hundred years after God gave Moses the principal facts about + the creation of the "heaven and the earth" he performed another miracle + far more wonderful than stopping the world. On this occasion he not only + stopped the earth, but actually caused it to turn the other way. A Jewish + king was sick, and God, in order to convince him that he would ultimately + recover, offered to make the shadow on the dial go forward, or backward + ten degrees. The king thought it was too easy a thing to make the shadow + go forward, and asked that it be turned back. Thereupon, "Isaiah the + prophet cried unto the Lord, and he brought the shadow ten degrees + backward by which it had gone down in the dial of Ahaz." I hardly see how + this miracle could be accounted for even by "refraction" and "reflection." + </p> + <p> + It seems, from the account, that this stupendous miracle was performed + after the king had been cured. The account of the shadow going backward is + given in the eleventh verse of the twentieth chapter of Second Kings, + while the cure is given in the seventh verse of the same chapter. "And + Isaiah said, Take a lump of figs. And they took and laid it on the boil, + and he recovered." + </p> + <p> + Stopping the world and causing it to turn back ten degrees after that, + seems to have been, as the boil was already cured by the figs, a useless + display of power. + </p> + <p> + The easiest way to account for all these wonders is to say that the + "inspired" writers were mistaken. In this way a fearful burden is lifted + from the credulity of man, and he is left free to believe the evidences of + his own senses, and the demonstrations of science. In this way he can + emancipate himself from the slavery of superstition, the control of the + barbaric dead, and the despotism of the church. + </p> + <p> + Only about a hundred years ago, Buffon, the naturalist, was compelled by + the faculty of theology at Paris to publicly renounce fourteen "errors" in + his work on Natural History because they were at variance with the Mosaic + account of creation. The Pentateuch is still the scientific standard of + the church, and ignorant priests, armed with that, pronounce sentence upon + the vast accomplishments of modern thought. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0011" id="link2H_4_0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + X. "HE MADE THE STARS ALSO." + </h2> + <p> + Moses came very near forgetting about the stars, and only gave five words + to all the hosts of heaven. Can it be possible that he knew anything about + the stars beyond the mere fact that he saw them shining above him? + </p> + <p> + Did he know that the nearest star, the one we ought to be the best + acquainted with, is twenty-one billion of miles away, and that it is a sun + shining by its own light? Did he know of the next, that is thirty-seven + billion miles distant? Is it possible that he was acquainted with Sirius, + a sun two thousand six hundred and eighty-eight times larger than our own, + surrounded by a system of heavenly bodies, several of which are already + known, and distant from us eighty-two billion miles? Did he know that the + Polar star that tells the mariner his course and guided slaves to liberty + and joy, is distant from this little world two hundred and ninety-two + billion miles, and that Capella wheels and shines one hundred and + thirty-three billion miles beyond? Did he know that it would require about + seventy-two years for light to reach us from this star? Did he know that + light travels one hundred and eighty-five thousand miles a second? Did he + know that some stars are so far away in the infinite abysses that five + millions of years are required for their light to reach this globe? + </p> + <p> + If this is true, and if as the bible tells us, the stars were made after + the earth, then this world has been wheeling in its orbit for at least + five million years. + </p> + <p> + It may be replied that it was not the intention of God to teach geology + and astronomy. Then why did he say anything upon these subjects? and if he + did say anything, why did he not give the facts? + </p> + <p> + According to the sacred records God created, on the first day, the heaven + and the earth, "moved upon the face of the waters," and made the light. On + the second day he made the firmament or the "expanse" and divided the + waters. On the third day he gathered the waters into seas, let the dry + land appear and caused the earth to bring forth grass, herbs and fruit + trees, and on the fourth day he made the sun, moon and stars and set them + in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth. This division of + labor is very striking. The work of the other days is as nothing when + compared with that of the fourth. Is it possible that it required the same + time and labor to make the grass, herbs and fruit trees, that it did to + fill with countless constellations the infinite expanse of space? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0012" id="link2H_4_0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XI. FRIDAY + </h2> + <p> + We are then told that on the next day "God said, Let the waters bring + forth abundantly the moving creatures that hath life, and fowl that may + fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great + whales and every living creature which the waters brought forth + abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind, and + God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and + multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the + earth." + </p> + <p> + Is it true that while the dry land was covered with grass, and herbs, and + trees bearing fruit, the ocean was absolutely devoid of life, and so + remained for millions of years? + </p> + <p> + If Moses meant twenty-four hours by the word day, then it would make but + little difference on which of the six days animals were made; but if the + word day was used to express millions of ages, during which life was + slowly evolved from monad up to man, then the account becomes infinitely + absurd, puerile and foolish. There is not a scientist of high standing who + will say that in his judgment the earth was covered with fruit bearing + trees before the moners, the ancestors it may be of the human race, felt + in Laurentian seas the first faint throb of life. Nor is there one who + will declare that there was a single spire of grass before the sun had + poured upon the world his flood of gold. + </p> + <p> + Why should men in the name of religion try to harmonize the contradictions + that exist between Nature and a book? Why should philosophers be denounced + for placing more reliance upon what they know than upon what they have + been told? If there is a God, it is reasonably certain that he made the + world, but it is by no means certain that he is-the author of the bible. + Why then should we not place greater confidence in Nature than in a book? + And even if this God made not only the world but the book besides, it does + not follow that the book is the best part of Creation, and the only part + that we will be eternally punished for denying. It seems to me that it is + quite as important to know something of the solar system, something of the + physical history of this globe, as it is to know the adventures of Jonah + or the diet of Ezekiel. For my part, I would infinitely prefer to know all + the results of scientific investigation, than to be inspired as Moses was. + Supposing the bible to be true; why is it any worse or more wicked for + free-thinkers to deny it, than for priests to deny the doctrine of + Evolution, or the dynamic theory of heat? Why should we be damned for + laughing at Samson and his foxes, while others, holding the Nebular + Hypothesis in utter contempt, go straight to heaven? It seems to me that a + belief in the great truths of science are fully as essential to salvation, + as the creed of any church. We are taught that a man may be perfectly + acceptable to God even if he denies the rotundity of the earth, the + Copernican system, the three laws of Kepler, the indestructibility of + matter and the attraction of gravitation. And we are also taught that a + man may be right upon all these questions, and yet, for failing to believe + in the "scheme of salvation," be eternally lost. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0013" id="link2H_4_0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XII. SATURDAY + </h2> + <p> + On this, the last day of creation, God said:—"Let the earth bring + forth the living creature after his kind, cattle and creeping thing and + beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so. And God made the beast + of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing + that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and God saw that it was + good." + </p> + <p> + Now, is it true that the seas were filled with fish, the sky with fowls, + and the earth covered with grass, and herbs, and fruit bearing trees, + millions of ages before there was a creeping thing in existence? Must we + admit that plants and animals were the result of the fiat of some + incomprehensible intelligence independent of the operation of what are + known as natural causes? Why is a miracle any more necessary to account + for yesterday than for to-day or for to-morrow? + </p> + <p> + If there is an infinite Power, nothing can be more certain than that this + Power works in accordance with what we call law, that is, by and through + natural causes. If anything can be found without a pedigree of natural + antecedents, it will then be time enough to talk about the fiat of + creation. There must have been a time when plants and animals did not + exist upon this globe. The question, and the only question is, whether + they were naturally produced. If the account given by Moses is true, then + the vegetable and animal existences are the result of certain special + fiats of creation entirely independent of the operation of natural causes. + This is so grossly improbable, so at variance with the experience and + observation of mankind, that it cannot be adopted without abandoning + forever the basis of scientific thought and action. + </p> + <p> + It may be urged that we do not understand the sacred record correctly. To + this it may be replied that for thousands of years the account of the + creation has, by the Jewish and Christian world, been regarded as + literally true. If it was inspired, of course God must have known just how + it would be understood, and consequently must have intended that it should + be understood just as he knew it would be. One man writing to another, may + mean one thing, and yet be understood as meaning something else. Now, if + the writer knew that he would be misunderstood, and also knew that he + could use other words that would convey his real meaning, but did not, we + would say that he used words on purpose to mislead, and was not an honest + man. + </p> + <p> + If a being of infinite wisdom wrote the bible, or caused it to be written, + he must have known exactly how his words would be interpreted by all the + world, and he must have intended to convey the very meaning that was + conveyed. He must have known that by reading that book, man would form + erroneous views as to the shape, antiquity, and size of this world; that + he would be misled as to the time and order of creation; that he would + have the most childish and contemptible views of the creator; that the + "sacred word" would be used to support slavery and polygamy; that it would + build dungeons for the good, and light fagots to consume the brave, and + therefore he must have intended that these results should follow. He also + must have known that thousands and millions of men and women never could + believe his bible, and that the number of unbelievers would increase in + the exact ratio of civilization, and therefore, he must have intended that + result. + </p> + <p> + Let us understand this. An honest finite being uses the best words, in his + judgment, to convey his meaning. This is the best he can do, because he + cannot certainly know the exact effect of his words on others. But an + infinite being must know not only the real meaning of the words, but the + exact meaning they will convey to every reader and hearer. He must know + every meaning that they are capable of conveying to every mind. He must + also know what explanations must be made to prevent misconception. If an + infinite being cannot, in making a revelation to man, use such words that + every person to whom a revelation is essential will understand distinctly + what that revelation is, then a revelation from God through the + instrumentality of language is impossible, or it is not essential that all + should understand it correctly. It may be urged that millions have not the + capacity to understand a revelation, although expressed in the plainest + words. To this it seems a sufficient reply to ask, why a being of infinite + power should create men so devoid of intelligence, that he cannot by any + means make known to them his will? We are told that it is exceedingly + plain, and that a wayfaring man, though a fool, need not err therein. This + statement is refuted by the religious history of the christian world. + Every sect is a certificate that God has not plainly revealed his will to + man. To each reader the bible conveys a different meaning. About the + meaning of this book, called a revelation, there have been ages of war, + and centuries of sword and flame. If written by an infinite God, he must + have known that these results must follow; and thus knowing, he must be + responsible for all. + </p> + <p> + Is it not infinitely more reasonable to say that this book is the work of + man, that it is filled with mingled truth and error, with mistakes and + facts, and reflects, too faithfully perhaps, the "very form and pressure + of its time?" + </p> + <p> + If there are mistakes in the bible, certainly they were made by man. If + there is anything contrary to nature, it was written by man. If there is + anything immoral, cruel, heartless or infamous, it certainly was never + written by a being worthy of the adoration of mankind. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0014" id="link2H_4_0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIII. LET US MAKE MAN + </h2> + <p> + We are next informed by the author of the Pentateuch that God said "Let us + make man in our image, after our likeness," and that "God created man in + his own image, in the image of God created he him—male and female + created he them." + </p> + <p> + If this account means anything, it means that man was created in the + physical image and likeness of God. Moses while he speaks of man as having + been made in the image of God, never speaks of God except as having the + form of a man. He speaks of God as "walking in the garden in the cool of + the day;" and that Adam and Eve "heard his voice." He is constantly + telling what God said, and in a thousand passages he refers to him as not + only having the human form, but as performing actions, such as man + performs. The God of Moses was a God with hands, with feet, with the + organs of speech. + </p> + <p> + A God of passion, of hatred, of revenge, of affection, of repentance; a + God who made mistakes:—in other words, an immense and powerful man. + </p> + <p> + It will not do to say that Moses meant to convey the idea that God made + man in his mental or moral image. Some have insisted that man was made in + the moral image of God because he was made pure. Purity cannot be + manufactured. A moral character cannot be made for man by a god. Every man + must make his own moral character. Consequently, if God is infinitely + pure, Adam and Eve were not made in his image in that respect. Others say + that Adam and Eve were made in the mental image of God. If it is meant by + that, that they were created with reasoning powers like, but not to the + extent of those possessed by a god, then this may be admitted. But + certainly this idea was not in the mind of Moses. He regarded the human + form as being in the image of God, and for that reason always spoke of God + as having that form. No one can read the Pentateuch without coming to the + conclusion that the author supposed that man was created in the physical + likeness of Deity. God said "Go to, let us go down." "God smelled a sweet + savor;" "God repented him that he had made man;" "and God said;" and + "walked;" and "talked;" and "rested." All these expressions are + inconsistent with any other idea than that the person using them regarded + God as having the form of man. + </p> + <p> + As a matter of fact, it is impossible for a man to conceive of a personal + God, other than as a being having the human form. No one can think of an + infinite being having the form of a horse, or of a bird, or of any animal + beneath man. It is one of the necessities of the mind to associate forms + with intellectual capacities. The highest form of which we have any + conception is man's, and consequently, his is the only form that we can + find in imagination to give to a personal God, because all other forms + are, in our minds, connected with lower intelligences. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to think of a personal God as a spirit without form. We + can use these words, but they do not convey to the mind any real and + tangible meaning. Every one who thinks of a personal God at all, thinks of + him as having the human form. Take from God the idea of form; speak of him + simply as an all pervading spirit—which means an all pervading + something about which we know nothing—and Pantheism is the result. + </p> + <p> + We are told that God made man; and the question naturally arises, how was + this done? Was it by a process of "evolution," "development;" the + "transmission of acquired habits;" the "survival of the fittest," or was + the necessary amount of clay kneaded to the proper consistency, and then + by the hands of God moulded into form? Modern science tells that man has + been evolved, through countless epochs, from the lower forms; that he is + the result of almost an infinite number of actions, reactions, + experiences, states, forms, wants and adaptations. Did Moses intend to + convey such a meaning, or did he believe that God took a sufficient amount + of dust, made it the proper shape, and breathed into it the breath of + life? Can any believer in the bible give any reasonable account of this + process of creation? Is it possible to imagine what was really done? Is + there any theologian who will contend that man was created directly from + the earth? Will he say that man was made substantially as he now is, with + all his muscles properly developed for walking and speaking, and + performing every variety of human action? That all his bones were formed + as they now are, and all the relations of nerve, ligament, brain and + motion as they are to-day? + </p> + <p> + Looking back over the history of animal life from the lowest to the + highest forms, we find that there has been a slow and gradual development; + a certain but constant relation between want and production; between use + and form. The Moner is said to be the simplest form of animal life that + has yet been found. It has been described as "an organism without organs." + It is a kind of structureless structure; a little mass of transparent + jelly that can flatten itself out, and can expand and contract around its + food. It can feed without a mouth, digest without a stomach, walk without + feet, and reproduce itself by simple division. By taking this Moner as the + commencement of animal life, or rather as the first animal, it is easy to + follow the development of the organic structure through all the forms of + life to man himself. In this way finally every muscle, bone and joint, + every organ, form and function may be accounted for. In this way, and in + this way only, can the existence of rudimentary organs be explained. Blot + from the human mind the ideas of evolution, heredity, adaptation, and "the + survival of the fittest," with which it has been enriched by Lamarck, + Goethe, Darwin, Hęckel and Spencer, and all the facts in the history of + animal life become utterly disconnected and meaningless. + </p> + <p> + Shall we throw away all that has been discovered with regard to organic + life, and in its place take the statements of one who lived in the rude + morning of a barbaric day? Will anybody now contend that man was a direct + and independent creation, and sustains and bears no relation to the + animals below him? Belief upon this subject must be governed at last by + evidence. Man cannot believe as he pleases. He can control his speech, and + can say that he believes or disbelieves; but after all, his will cannot + depress or raise the scales with which his reason finds the worth and + weight of facts. If this is not so, investigation, evidence, judgment and + reason are but empty words. + </p> + <p> + I ask again, how were Adam and Eve created? In one account they are + created male and female, and apparently at the same time. In the next + account, Adam is made first, and Eve a long time afterwards, and from a + part of the man. Did God simply by his creative fiat cause a rib slowly to + expand, grow and divide into nerve, ligament, cartilage and flesh? How was + the woman created from a rib? How was man created simply from dust? For my + part, I cannot believe this statement. I may suffer for this in the world + to come; and may millions of years hence, sincerely wish that I had never + investigated the subject, but had been content to take the ideas of the + dead. I do not believe that any Deity works in that way. So far as my + experience goes, there is an unbroken procession of cause and effect. Each + thing is a necessary link in an infinite chain; and I cannot conceive of + this chain being broken even for one instant. Back of the simplest moner + there is a cause, and back of that another, and so on, it seems to me, + forever. In my philosophy I postulate neither beginning nor ending. + </p> + <p> + If the Mosaic account is true, we know how long man has been upon this + earth. If that account can be relied on, the first man was made about five + thousand eight hundred and eighty-three years ago. Sixteen hundred and + fifty-six years after the making of the first man, the inhabitants of the + world, with the exception of eight people, were destroyed by a flood. This + flood occurred only about four thousand two hundred and twenty-seven years + ago. If this account is correct, at that time, only one kind of men + existed: Noah and his family were certainly of the same blood. It + therefore follows that all the differences we see between the various + races of men have been caused in about four thousand years. If the account + of the deluge is true, then since that event all the ancient kingdoms of + the earth were founded, and their inhabitants passed through all the + stages of savage, nomadic, barbaric and semi-civilized life; through the + epochs of Stone, Bronze and Iron; established commerce, cultivated the + arts, built cities, filled them with palaces and temples, invented + writing, produced a literature and slowly fell to shapeless ruin. We must + believe that all this has happened within a period of four thousand years. + </p> + <p> + From representations found upon Egyptian granite made more than three + thousand years ago, we know that the negro was as black, his lips as full, + and his hair as closely curled then as now. If we know anything, we know + that there was at that time substantially the same difference between the + Egyptian and the Negro as now. If we know anything, we know that + magnificent statues were made in Egypt four thousand years before our era—that + is to say, about six thousand years ago. There was at the World's + Exposition, in the Egyptian department, a statue of king Cephren, known to + have been chiseled more than six thousand years ago. In other words, if + the Mosaic account must be believed, this statue was made before the + world. We also know, if we know anything, that men lived in Europe with + the hairy mammoth, the cave bear, the rhinoceros, and the hyena. Among the + bones of these animals have been found the stone hatchets and flint arrows + of our ancestors. In the caves where they lived have been discovered the + remains of these animals that had been conquered, killed and devoured as + food, hundreds of thousands of years ago. + </p> + <p> + If these facts are true, Moses was mistaken. For my part, I have + infinitely more confidence in the discoveries of to-day, than in the + records of a barbarous people. It will not now do to say that man has + existed upon this earth for only about six thousand years. One can hardly + compute in his imagination the time necessary for man to emerge from the + barbarous state, naked and helpless, surrounded by animals far more + powerful than he, to progress and finally create the civilizations of + India, Egypt and Athens. The distance from savagery to Shakespeare must be + measured not by hundreds, but by millions of years. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0015" id="link2H_4_0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIV. SUNDAY + </h2> + <p> + "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he + rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God + blessed the seventh day and sanctified it; because that in it he had + rested from all his work which God created and made." + </p> + <p> + The great work had been accomplished, the world, the sun, and moon, and + all the hosts of heaven were finished; the earth was clothed in green, the + seas were filled with life, the cattle wandered by the brooks—insects + with painted wings were in the happy air, Adam and Eve were making each + other's acquaintance, and God was resting from his work. He was + contemplating the accomplishments of a week. + </p> + <p> + Because he rested on that day he sanctified it, and for that reason and + for that alone, it was by the Jews considered a holy day. If he only + rested on that day, there ought to be some account of what he did the + following Monday. Did he rest on that day? What did he do after he got + rested? Has he done anything in the way of creation since Saturday evening + of the first week? + </p> + <p> + It is, now claimed by the "scientific" christians that the "days" of + creation were not ordinary days of twenty-four hours each, but immensely + long periods of time. If they are right, then how long was the seventh + day? Was that, too, a geologic period covering thousands of ages? That + cannot be, because Adam and Eve were created the Saturday evening before, + and according to the bible that was about five thousand eight hundred and + eighty-three years ago. I cannot state the time exactly, because there + have been as many as one hundred and forty different opinions given by + learned biblical students as to the time between the creation of the world + and the birth of Christ. We are quite certain, however, that, according to + the bible, it is not more than six thousand years since the creation of + Adam. From this it would appear that the seventh day was not a geologic + epoch, but was in fact a period of less than six thousand years, and + probably of only twenty-four hours. + </p> + <p> + The theologians who "answer" these things may take their choice. If they + take the ground that the "days" were periods of twenty-four hours, then + geology will force them to throw away the whole account. If, on the other + hand, they admit that the days were vast "periods," then the sacredness of + the sabbath must be given up. + </p> + <p> + There is found in the bible no intimation that there was the least + difference in the days. They are all spoken of in the same way. It may be + replied that our translation is incorrect. If this is so, then only those + who understand Hebrew, have had a revelation from God, and all the rest + have been deceived. + </p> + <p> + How is it possible to sanctify a space of time? Is rest holier than labor? + If there is any difference between days, ought not that to be considered + best in which the most useful labor has been performed? + </p> + <p> + Of all the superstitions of mankind, this insanity about the "sacred + sabbath" is the most absurd. The idea of feeling it a duty to be solemn + and sad one-seventh of the time! To think that we can please an infinite + being by staying in some dark and sombre room, instead of walking in the + perfumed fields! Why should God hate to see a man happy? Why should it + excite his wrath to see a family in the woods, by some babbling stream, + talking, laughing and loving? Nature works on that "sacred" day. The earth + turns, the rivers run, the trees grow, buds burst into flower, and birds + fill the air with song. Why should we look sad, and think about death, and + hear about hell? Why should that day be filled with gloom instead of joy? + </p> + <p> + A poor mechanic, working all the week in dust and noise, needs a day of + rest and joy, a day to visit stream and wood—a day to live with wife + and child; a day in which to laugh at care, and gather hope and strength + for toils to come. And his weary wife needs a breath of sunny air, away + from street and wall, amid the hills or by the margin of the sea, where + she can sit and prattle with her babe, and fill with happy dreams the + long, glad day. + </p> + <p> + The "sabbath" was born of asceticism, hatred of human joy, fanaticism, + ignorance, egotism of priests and the cowardice of the people. This day, + for thousands of years, has been dedicated to superstition, to the + dissemination of mistakes, and the establishment of falsehoods. Every + Freethinker, as a matter of duty, should violate this day. He should + assert his independence, and do all within his power to wrest the sabbath + from the gloomy church and give it back to liberty and joy. Freethinkers + should make the sabbath a day of mirth and music; a day to spend with wife + and child—a day of games, and books, and dreams—a day to put + fresh flowers above our sleeping dead—a day of memory and hope, of + love and rest. + </p> + <p> + Why should we in this age of the world be dominated by the dead? Why + should barbarian Jews who went down to death and dust three thousand years + ago, control the living world? Why should we care for the superstition of + men who began the sabbath by paring their nails, "beginning at the fourth + finger, then going to the second, then to the fifth, then to the third, + and ending with the thumb?" How pleasing to God this must have been. The + Jews were very careful of these nail parings. They who threw them upon the + ground were wicked, because Satan used them to work evil upon the earth. + They believed that upon the Sabbath, souls were allowed to leave purgatory + and cool their burning souls in water. Fires were neither allowed to be + kindled nor extinguished, and upon that day it was a sin to bind up + wounds. "The lame might use a staff, but the blind could not." So strict + was the sabbath kept, that at one time "if a Jew on a journey was + overtaken by the 'sacred day' in a wood, or on the highway, no matter + where, nor under what circumstances, he must sit down," and there remain + until the day was gone. "If he fell down in the dirt, there he was + compelled to stay until the day was done." For violating the sabbath, the + punishment was death, for nothing short of the offender's blood could + satisfy the wrath of God. There are, in the Old Testament, two reasons + given for abstaining from labor on the sabbath:—the resting of God, + and the redemption of the Jews from the bondage of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + Since the establishment of the Christian religion, the day has been + changed, and Christians do not regard the day as holy upon which God + actually rested, and which he sanctified. The Christian Sabbath, or the + "Lord's day" was legally established by the murderer Constantine, because + upon that day Christ was supposed to have risen from the dead. + </p> + <p> + It is not easy to see where Christians got the right to disregard the + direct command of God, to labor on the day he sanctified, and keep as + sacred, a day upon which he commanded men to labor. The sabbath of God is + Saturday, and if any day is to be kept holy, that is the one, and not the + Sunday of the Christian. + </p> + <p> + Let us throw away these superstitions and take the higher, nobler ground, + that every day should be rendered sacred by some loving act, by increasing + the happinesss of man, giving birth to noble thoughts, putting in the path + of toil some flower of joy, helping the unfortunate, lifting the fallen, + dispelling gloom, destroying prejudice, defending the helpless and filling + homes with light and love. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0016" id="link2H_4_0016"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XV. THE NECESSITY FOR A GOOD MEMORY + </h2> + <p> + It must not be forgotten that there are two accounts of the creation in + Genesis. The first account stops with the third verse of the second + chapter. The chapters have been improperly divided. In the original Hebrew + the Pentateuch was neither divided into chapters nor verses. There was not + even any system of punctuation. It was written wholly with consonants, + without vowels, and without any marks, dots, or lines to indicate them. + </p> + <p> + These accounts are materially different, and both cannot be true. Let us + see wherein they differ. + </p> + <p> + The second account of the creation begins with the fourth verse of the + second chapter, and is as follows: + </p> + <p> + "These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were + created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. + </p> + <p> + "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb + of the field before it grew; for the Lord God had not caused it to rain + upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. + </p> + <p> + "But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the + ground. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into + his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the + man whom he had formed. + </p> + <p> + "And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is + pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the + midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. + </p> + <p> + "And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was + parted and became into four heads. + </p> + <p> + "The name of the first is Pison; that is it which compasseth the whole + land of Havilah, where there is gold. + </p> + <p> + "And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. + </p> + <p> + "And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth + the whole land of Ethiopia. + </p> + <p> + "And the name of the third river is Hiddekel; that is it which goeth + toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to + dress it and to keep it. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden + thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, + thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou + shalt surely die. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I + will make him an helpmeet for him. + </p> + <p> + "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and + every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would + call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the + name thereof. + </p> + <p> + "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to + every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found a helpmeet for + him. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and + he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. + </p> + <p> + "And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman and + brought her unto the man. + </p> + <p> + "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she + shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. + </p> + <p> + "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave + unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. + </p> + <p> + "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." + </p> + <p> + Order of creation in the first account: + </p> + <p> + 1. The heaven and the earth, and light were made. + </p> + <p> + 2. The firmament was constructed and the waters divided. + </p> + <p> + 3. The waters gathered into seas—and then came dry land, grass, + herbs and fruit trees. + </p> + <p> + 4. The sun and moon. He made the stars also. + </p> + <p> + 5. Fishes, fowls, and great whales. + </p> + <p> + 6. Beasts, cattle, every creeping thing, man and woman. + </p> + <p> + Order of creation in the second account: + </p> + <p> + 1. The heavens and the earth. + </p> + <p> + 2. A mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole face of the + ground. + </p> + <p> + 3. Created a man out of dust, by the name of Adam. + </p> + <p> + 4. Planted a garden eastward in Eden, and put the man in it. + </p> + <p> + 5. Created the beasts and fowls. + </p> + <p> + 6. Created a woman out of one of the man's ribs. + </p> + <p> + In the second account, man was made <i>before</i> the beasts and fowls. If + this is true, the first account is false. And if the theologians of our + time are correct in their view that the Mosaic day means thousands of + ages, then, according to the second account, Adam existed millions of + years before Eve was formed. He must have lived one Mosaic day before + there were any trees, and another Mosaic day before the beasts and fowls + were created. Will some kind clergymen tell us upon what kind of food Adam + subsisted during these immense periods? + </p> + <p> + In the second account a man is made, and the fact that he was without a + helpmeet did not occur to the Lord God until a couple "of vast periods" + afterwards. The Lord God suddenly coming to an appreciation of the + situation said, "It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make + him a helpmeet for him." + </p> + <p> + Now, after concluding to make "an helpmeet" for Adam, what did the Lord + God do? Did he at once proceed to make a woman? No. What did he do? He + made the beasts, and tried to induce Adam to take one of them for "an + helpmeet." If I am incorrect, read the following account, and tell me what + it means: + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I + will make him an helpmeet for him. + </p> + <p> + "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and + every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would + call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the + name thereof. + </p> + <p> + "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to + every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an helpmeet for + him." + </p> + <p> + Unless the Lord God was looking for an helpmeet for Adam, why did he cause + the animals to pass before him? And why did he, after the menagerie had + passed by, pathetically exclaim, "But for Adam there was not found an + helpmeet for him?" + </p> + <p> + It seems that Adam saw nothing that struck his fancy. The fairest ape, the + sprightliest chimpanzee, the loveliest baboon, the most bewitching + orangoutang, the most fascinating gorilla failed to touch with love's + sweet pain, poor Adam's lonely heart. Let us rejoice that this was so. Had + he fallen in love then, there never would have been a Freethinker in this + world. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Adam Clark, speaking of this remarkable proceeding says:—"God + caused the animals to pass before Adam to show him that no creature yet + formed could make him a suitable companion; that Adam was convinced that + none of these animals could be a suitable companion for him, and that + therefore he must continue in a state that was not good (celibacy) unless + he became a further debtor to the bounty of his maker, for among all the + animals which he had formed, there was not a helpmeet for Adam." + </p> + <p> + Upon this same subject, Dr. Scott informs us "that it was not conducive to + the happiness of the man to remain without the consoling society, and + endearment of tender friendship, nor consistent with the end of his + creation to be without marriage by which the earth might be replenished + and worshipers and servants raised up to render him praise and glory. Adam + seems to have been vastly better acquainted by intuition or revelation + with the distinct properties of every creature than the most sagacious + observer since the fall of man. + </p> + <p> + "Upon this review of the animals, not one was found in outward form his + counterpart, nor one suited to engage his affections, participate in his + enjoyments, or associate with him in the worship of God." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Matthew Henry admits that "God brought all the animals together to see + if there was a suitable match for Adam in any of the numerous families of + the inferior creatures, but there was none. They were all looked over, but + Adam could not be matched among them all. Therefore God created a new + thing to be a helpmeet for him." + </p> + <p> + Failing to satisfy Adam with any of the inferior animals, the Lord God + caused a deep sleep to fall upon him, and while in this sleep took out one + of Adam's ribs and "closed up the flesh instead thereof." And out of this + rib, the Lord God made a woman, and brought her to the man. + </p> + <p> + Was the Lord God compelled to take a part of the man because he had used + up all the original "nothing" out of which the universe was made? Is it + possible for any sane and intelligent man to believe this story? Must a + man be born a second time before this account seems reasonable? + </p> + <p> + Imagine the Lord God with a bone in his hand with which to start a woman, + trying to make up his mind whether to make a blonde or a brunette! + </p> + <p> + Just at this point it may be proper for me to warn all persons from + laughing at or making light of, any stories found in the "Holy Bible." + When you come to die, every laugh will be a thorn in your pillow. At that + solemn moment, as you look back upon the records of your life, no matter + how many men you may have wrecked and ruined; no matter how many women you + have deceived and deserted, all that can be forgiven; but if you remember + then that you have laughed at even one story in God's "sacred book" you + will see through the gathering shadows of death the forked tongues of + devils, and the leering eyes of fiends. + </p> + <p> + These stories must be believed, or the work of regeneration can never be + commenced. No matter how well you act your part, live as honestly as you + may, clothe the naked, feed the hungry, divide your last farthing with the + poor, and you are simply traveling the broad road that leads inevitably to + eternal death, unless at the same time you implicitly believe the bible to + be the inspired word of God. + </p> + <p> + Let me show you the result of unbelief. Let us suppose, for a moment, that + we are at the Day of Judgment, listening to the trial of souls as they + arrive. The Recording Secretary, or whoever does the cross-examining, says + to a soul: + </p> + <p> + Where are you from? + </p> + <p> + I am from the Earth. + </p> + <p> + What kind of a man were you? + </p> + <p> + Well, I don't like to talk about myself. I suppose you can tell by looking + at your books. + </p> + <p> + No sir. You must tell what kind of a man you were. + </p> + <p> + Well, I was what you might call a first-rate fellow. I loved my wife and + children. My home was my heaven. My fireside was a paradise to me. To sit + there and see the lights and shadows fall upon the faces of those I loved, + was to me a perfect joy. + </p> + <p> + How did you treat your family? + </p> + <p> + I never said an unkind word. I never caused my wife, nor one of my + children, a moment's pain. + </p> + <p> + Did you pay your debts? + </p> + <p> + I did not owe a dollar when I died, and left enough to pay my funeral + expenses, and to keep the fierce wolf of want from the door of those I + loved. + </p> + <p> + Did you belong to any church? + </p> + <p> + No sir. They were too narrow, pinched and bigoted for me, I never thought + that I could be very happy if other folks were damned. + </p> + <p> + Did you believe in eternal punishment? + </p> + <p> + Well, no. I always thought that God could get his revenge in far less + time. + </p> + <p> + Did you believe the rib story? + </p> + <p> + Do you mean the Adam and Eve business? + </p> + <p> + Yes! Did you believe that? + </p> + <p> + To tell you the God's truth, that was just a little more than I could + swallow. + </p> + <p> + Away with him to hell! + </p> + <p> + Next! + </p> + <p> + Where are you from? I am from the world too. + </p> + <p> + Did you belong to any church? + </p> + <p> + Yes sir, and to the Young Men's Christian Association besides. + </p> + <p> + What was your business? + </p> + <p> + Cashier in a Savings Bank. + </p> + <p> + Did you ever run away with any money? + </p> + <p> + Where I came from, a witness could not be compelled to criminate himself. + </p> + <p> + The law is different here. Answer the question. Did you run away with any + money? + </p> + <p> + Yes sir. + </p> + <p> + How much? + </p> + <p> + One hundred thousand dollars. + </p> + <p> + Did you take anything else with you? + </p> + <p> + Yes sir. + </p> + <p> + Well, what else? + </p> + <p> + I took my neighbor's wife—we sang together in the choir. + </p> + <p> + Did you have a wife and children of your own? + </p> + <p> + Yes sir. + </p> + <p> + And you deserted them? + </p> + <p> + Yes sir, but such was my confidence in God that I believed he would take + care of them. + </p> + <p> + Have you heard of them since? + </p> + <p> + No sir. + </p> + <p> + Did you believe in the rib story? + </p> + <p> + Bless your soul, of course I did. A thousand times I regretted that there + were no harder stories in the bible, so that I could have shown my wealth + of faith. + </p> + <p> + Do you believe the rib story yet? + </p> + <p> + Yes, with all my heart. + </p> + <p> + Give him a harp! + </p> + <p> + Well, as I was saying, God made a woman from Adam's rib. Of course, I do + not know exactly how this was done, but when he got the woman finished, he + presented her to Adam. He liked her, and they commenced house-keeping in + the celebrated garden of Eden. + </p> + <p> + Must we, in order to be good, gentle and loving in our lives, believe that + the creation of woman was a second thought? That Jehovah really endeavored + to induce Adam to take one of the lower animals as an helpmeet for him? + After all, is it not possible to live honest and courageous lives without + believing these fables? It is said that from Mount Sinai God gave, amid + thunderings and lightnings, ten commandments for the guidance of mankind; + and yet among them is not found—"Thou shalt believe the Bible." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0017" id="link2H_4_0017"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVI. THE GARDEN + </h2> + <p> + In the first account we are told that God made man, male and female, and + said to them "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth and + subdue it." + </p> + <p> + In the second account only the man is made, and he is put in a garden "to + dress it and to keep it." He is not told to subdue the earth, but to dress + and keep a garden. + </p> + <p> + In the first account man is given every herb bearing seed upon the face of + the earth and the fruit of every tree for food, and in the second, he is + given only the fruit of all the trees in the garden with the exception "of + the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" which was a deadly poison. + </p> + <p> + There was issuing from this garden a river that was parted into four + heads. The first of these, Pison, compassed the whole land of Havilah, the + second, Gihon, that compassed the whole land of Ethiopia, the third, + Heddekel, that flowed toward the east of Assyria, and the fourth, the + Euphrates. Where are these four rivers now? The brave prow of discovery + has visited every sea; the traveler has pressed with weary feet the soil + of every clime; and yet there has been found no place from which four + rivers sprang. The Euphrates still journeys to the gulf, but where are + Pison, Gihon and the mighty Heddekel? Surely by going to the source of the + Euphrates we ought to find either these three rivers or their ancient + beds. Will some minister when he answers the "Mistakes of Moses" tell us + where these rivers are or were? The maps of the world are incomplete + without these mighty streams. We have discovered the sources of the Nile; + the North Pole will soon be touched by an American; but these three rivers + still rise in unknown hills, still flow through unknown lands, and empty + still in unknown seas. + </p> + <p> + The account of these four rivers is what the Rev. David Swing would call + "a geographical poem." The orthodox clergy cover the whole affair with the + blanket of allegory, while the "scientific" christian folks talk about + cataclysms, upheavals, earthquakes, and vast displacements of the earth's + crust. + </p> + <p> + The question, then arises, whether within the last six thousand years + there have been such upheavals and displacements? Talk as you will about + the vast "creative periods" that preceded the appearance of man; it is, + according to the bible, only about six thousand years since man was + created. Moses gives us the generations of men from Adam until his day, + and this account cannot be explained away by calling centuries, days. + </p> + <p> + According to the second account of creation, these four rivers were made + after the creation of man, and consequently they must have been + obliterated by convulsions of Nature within six thousand years. + </p> + <p> + Can we not account for these contradictions, absurdities, and falsehoods + by simply saying that although the writer may have done his level best, he + failed because he was limited in knowledge, led away by tradition, and + depended too implicitly upon the correctness of his imagination? Is not + such a course far more reasonable than to insist that all these things are + true and must stand though every science shall fall to mental dust? + </p> + <p> + Can any reason be given for not allowing man to eat of the fruit of the + tree of knowledge? What kind of tree was that? If it is all an allegory, + what truth is sought to be conveyed? Why should God object to that fruit + being eaten by man? Why did he put it in the midst of the garden? There + was certainly plenty of room outside. If he wished to keep man and this + tree apart, why did he put them together? And why, after he had eaten, was + he thrust out? The only answer that we have a right to give, is the one + given in the bible. "And the Lord God said, Behold the man has become as + one of us to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and + take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever: Therefore the + Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from + whence he was taken." + </p> + <p> + Will some minister, some graduate of Andover, tell us what this means? Are + we bound to believe it without knowing what the meaning is? If it is a + revelation, what does it reveal? Did God object to education then, and + does that account for the hostile attitude still assumed by theologians + towards all scientific truth? Was there in the garden a tree of life, the + eating of which would have rendered Adam and Eve immortal? Is it true, + that after the Lord God drove them from the garden that he placed upon its + Eastern side "Cherubim and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep + the way of the tree of life?" Are the Cherubims and the flaming sword + guarding that tree yet, or was it destroyed, or did its rotting trunk, as + the Rev. Robert Collyer suggests "nourish a bank of violets?" + </p> + <p> + What objection could God have had to the immortality of man? You see that + after all, this sacred record, instead of assuring us of immortality, + shows us only how we lost it. In this there is assuredly but little + consolation. + </p> + <p> + According to this story we have lost one Eden, but nowhere in the Mosaic + books are we told how we may gain another. I know that the Christians tell + us there is another, in which all true believers will finally be gathered, + and enjoy the unspeakable happiness of seeing the unbelievers in hell; but + they do not tell us where it is. + </p> + <p> + Some commentators say that the Garden of Eden was in the third heaven—some + in the fourth, others have located it in the moon, some in the air beyond + the attraction of the earth, some on the Earth, some under the Earth, some + inside the Earth, some at the North Pole, others at the South, some in + Tartary, some in China, some on the borders of the Ganges, some in the + island of Ceylon, some in Armenia, some in Africa, some under the Equator, + others in Mesopotamia, in Syria, Persia, Arabia, Babylon, Assyria, + Palestine and Europe. Others have contended that it was invisible, that it + was an allegory, and must be spiritually understood. + </p> + <p> + But whether you understand these things or not, you must believe them. You + may be laughed at in this world for insisting that God put Adam into a + deep sleep and made a woman out of one of his ribs, but you will be + crowned and glorified in the next You will also have the pleasure of + hearing the gentlemen howl there, who laughed at you here. While you will + not be permitted to take any revenge, you will be allowed to smilingly + express your entire acquiescence in the will of God. But where is the new + Eden? No one knows. The one was lost, and the other has not been found. + </p> + <p> + Is it true that man was once perfectly pure and innocent, and that he + became degenerate by disobedience? No. The real truth is, and the history + of man shows, that he has advanced. Events, like the pendulum of a clock + have swung forward and backward, but after all, man, like the hands, has + gone steadily on. Man is growing grander. He is not degenerating. Nations + and individuals fail and die, and make room for higher forms. The + intellectual horizon of the world widens as the centuries pass. Ideals + grow grander and purer; the difference between justice and mercy becomes + less and less; liberty enlarges, and love intensifies as the years sweep + on. The ages of force and fear, of cruelty and wrong, are behind us and + the real Eden is beyond. It is said that a desire for knowledge lost us + the Eden of the past; but whether that is true or not, it will certainly + give us the Eden of the future. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0018" id="link2H_4_0018"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVII. THE FALL + </h2> + <p> + We are told that the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field, + that he had a conversation with Eve, in which he gave his opinion about + the effect of eating certain fruit; that he assured her it was good to + eat, that it was pleasant to the eye, that it would make her wise; that + she was induced to take some; that she persuaded her husband to try it; + that God found it out, that he then cursed the snake; condemning it to + crawl and eat the dust; that he multiplied the sorrows of Eve, cursed the + ground for Adam's sake, started thistles and thorns, condemned man to eat + the herb of the field in the sweat of his face, pronounced the curse of + death, "Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return," made coats of + skins for Adam and Eve, and drove them out of Eden. + </p> + <p> + Who, and what was this serpent? Dr. Adam Clark says:—"The serpent + must have walked erect, for this is necessarily implied in his punishment. + That he was endued with the gift of speech, also with reason. That these + things were given to this creature. The woman no doubt having often seen + him walking erect, and talking and reasoning, therefore she testifies no + sort of surprise when he accosts her in the language related in the text. + It therefore appears to me that a creature of the ape or orangoutang kind + is here intended, and that satan made use of this creature as the most + proper instrument for the accomplishment of his murderous purposes against + the life of the soul of man. Under this creature he lay hid, and by this + creature he seduced our first parents. Such a creature answers to every + part of the description in the text. It is evident from the structure of + its limbs and its muscles that it might have been originally designed to + walk erect, and that nothing else than the sovereign controlling power + could induce it to put down hands—in every respect formed like those + of man—and walk like those creatures whose claw-armed parts prove + them to have been designed to walk on all fours. The stealthy cunning, and + endless variety of the pranks and tricks of these creatures show them even + now to be wiser and more intelligent than any other creature man alone + excepted. Being obliged to walk on all fours and gather their food from + the ground, they are literally obliged to eat the dust; and though + exceeding cunning, and careful in a variety of instances to separate that + part which is wholesome and proper for food from that which is not so, in + the article of cleanliness they are lost to all sense of propriety. Add to + this their utter aversion to walk upright; it requires the utmost + discipline to bring them to it, and scarcely anything offends or irritates + them more than to be obliged to do it. Long observation of these animals + enables me to state these facts. For earnest, attentive watching, and for + chattering and babbling they (the ape) have no fellows in the animal + world. Indeed, the ability and propensity to chatter, is all they have + left of their original gift of speech, of which they appear to have been + deprived at the fall as a part of their punishment." + </p> + <p> + Here then is the "connecting link" between man and the lower creation. The + serpent was simply an orang-outang that spoke Hebrew with the greatest + ease, and had the outward appearance of a perfect gentleman, seductive in + manner, plausible, polite, and most admirably calculated to deceive. + </p> + <p> + It never did seem reasonable to me that a long, cold and disgusting snake + with an apple in his mouth, could deceive anybody; and I am glad, even at + this late date to know that the something that persuaded Eve to taste the + forbidden fruit was, at least, in the shape of a man. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Henry does not agree with the zoological explanation of Mr. Clark, but + insists that "it is certain that the devil that beguiled Eve is the old + serpent, a malignant by creation, an angel of light, an immediate + attendant upon God's throne, but by sin an apostate from his first state, + and a rebel against God's crown and dignity. He who attacked our first + parents was surely the prince of devils, the ring leader in rebellion. The + devil chose to act his part in a serpent, because it is a specious + creature, has a spotted, dappled skin, and then, went erect. Perhaps it + was a flying serpent which seemed to come from on high, as a messenger + from the upper world, one of the seraphim; because the serpent is a + subtile creature. What Eve thought of this serpent speaking to her, we are + not likely to tell, and, I believe, she herself did not know what to think + of it. At first, perhaps, she supposed it might be a good angel, and yet + afterwards might suspect something amiss. The person tempted was a woman, + now-alone, and at a distance from her husband, but near the forbidden + tree. It was the devil's subtlety to assault the weaker vessel with his + temptations, as we may suppose her inferior to Adam in knowledge, strength + and presence of mind. Some think that Eve received the command not + immediately from God, but at second hand from her husband, and might, + therefore, be the more easily persuaded to discredit it. It was the policy + of the devil to enter into discussion with her when she was alone. He took + advantage by finding her near the forbidden tree. God permitted Satan to + prevail over Eve, for wise and holy ends. Satan teaches men first to + doubt, and then to deny. He makes skeptics first, and by degrees makes + them atheists." + </p> + <p> + We are compelled to admit that nothing could be more attractive to a woman + than a snake walking erect, with a "spotted, dappled skin," unless it were + a serpent with wings. Is it not humiliating to know that our ancestors + believed these things? Why should we object to the Darwinian doctrine of + descent after this? + </p> + <p> + Our fathers thought it their duty to believe, thought it a sin to + entertain the slightest doubt, and really supposed that their credulity + was exceedingly gratifying to God. To them, the story was entirely real. + They could see the garden, hear the babble of waters, smell the perfume of + flowers. They believed there was a tree where knowledge grew like plums or + pears; and they could plainly see the serpent coiled amid its rustling + leaves, coaxing Eve to violate the laws of God. + </p> + <p> + Where did the serpent come from? On which of the six days was he created? + Who made him? Is it possible that God would make a successful rival? He + must have known that Adam and Eve would fall. He knew what a snake with a + "spotted, dappled skin" could do with an inexperienced woman. Why did he + not defend his children? He knew that if the serpent got into the garden, + Adam and Eve would sin, that he would have to drive them out, that + afterwards the world would be destroyed, and that he himself would die + upon the cross. + </p> + <p> + Again, I ask what and who was this serpent? He was not a man, for only one + man had been made. He was not a woman. He was not a beast of the field, + because "he was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord + God had made." He was neither fish nor fowl, nor snake, because he had the + power of speech, and did not crawl upon his belly until after he was + cursed. Where did this serpent come from? Why was he not kept out of the + garden? Why did not the Lord God take him by the tail and snap his head + off? Why did he not put Adam and Eve on their guard about this serpent? + They, of course, were not acquainted in the neighborhood, and knew nothing + about the serpent's reputation for truth and veracity among his neighbors. + Probably Adam saw him when he was looking for "an helpmeet," and gave him + a name, but Eve had never met him before. She was not surprised to hear a + serpent talk, as that was the first one she had ever met. Every thing + being new to her, and her husband not being with her just at that moment, + it need hardly excite our wonder that she tasted the fruit by way of + experiment. Neither should we be surprised that when she saw it was good + and pleasant to the eye, and a fruit to be desired to make one wise, she + had the generosity to divide with her husband. + </p> + <p> + Theologians have filled thousands of volumes with abuse of this serpent, + but it seems that he told the exact truth. We are told that this serpent + was, in fact, Satan, the greatest enemy of mankind, and that he entered + the serpent, appearing to our first parents in its body. If this is so, + why should the serpent have been cursed? Why should God curse the serpent + for what had really been done by the devil? Did Satan remain in the body + of the serpent, and in some mysterious manner share his punishment? Is it + true that when we kill a snake we also destroy an evil spirit, or is there + but one devil, and did he perish at the death of the first serpent? Is it + on account of that transaction in the garden of Eden, that all the + descendents of Adam and Eve known as Jews and Christians hate serpents? + </p> + <p> + Do you account for the snake-worship in Mexico, Africa and India in the + same way? + </p> + <p> + What was the form of the serpent when he entered the garden, and in what + way did he move from place to place? Did he walk or fly? Certainly he did + not crawl, because that mode of locomotion was pronounced upon him as a + curse. Upon what food did he subsist before his conversation with Eve? We + know that after that he lived upon dust, but what did he eat before? It + may be that this is all poetic; and the truest poetry is, according to + Touchstone, "the most feigning." + </p> + <p> + In this same chapter we are informed that "unto Adam also and to his wife + did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them." Where did the Lord + God get those skins? He must have taken them from the animals; he was a + butcher. Then he had to prepare them; he was a tanner. Then he made them + into coats; he was a tailor. How did it happen that they needed coats of + skins, when they had been perfectly comfortable in a nude condition? Did + the "fall" produce a change in the climate? + </p> + <p> + Is it really necessary to believe this account in order to be happy here, + or hereafter? Does it tend to the elevation of the human race to speak of + "God" as a butcher, tanner and tailor? + </p> + <p> + And here, let me say once for all, that when I speak of God, I mean the + being described by Moses: the Jehovah of the Jews. There may be for aught + I—know, somewhere in the unknown shoreless vast, some being whose + dreams are constellations and within whose thought the infinite exists. + About this being, if such an one exists, I have nothing to say. He has + written no books, inspired no barbarians, required no worship, and has + prepared no hell in which to burn the honest seeker after truth. + </p> + <p> + When I speak of God, I mean that god who prevented man from putting forth + his hand and taking also of the fruit of the tree of life that he might + live forever; of that god who multiplied the agonies of woman, increased + the weary toil of man, and in his anger drowned a world—of that god + whose altars reeked with human blood, who butchered babes, violated + maidens, enslaved men and filled the earth with cruelty and crime; of that + god who made heaven for the few, hell for the many, and who will gloat + forever and ever upon the writhings of the lost and damned. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0019" id="link2H_4_0019"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XVIII. DAMPNESS. + </h2> + <p> + And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, + and daughters were born unto them. + </p> + <p> + "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and + they took them wives of all which they chose. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that + he also is flesh; yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. + </p> + <p> + "There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that when + the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children + to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. + </p> + <p> + "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that + every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. + </p> + <p> + "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it + grieved him at his heart. + </p> + <p> + "And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face + of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls + of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." + </p> + <p> + From this account it seems that driving Adam and Eve out of Eden did not + have the effect to improve them or their children. On the contrary, the + world grew worse and worse. They were under the immediate control and + government of God, and he from time to time made known his will; but in + spite of this, man continued to increase in crime. + </p> + <p> + Nothing in particular seems to have been done. Not a school was + established. There was no written language. There was not a bible in the + world. The "scheme of salvation" was kept a profound secret. The five + points of Calvinism had not been taught. Sunday schools had not been + opened. In short, nothing had been done for the reformation of the world. + God did not even keep his own sons at home, but allowed them to leave + their abode in the firmament, and make love to the daughters of men. As a + result of this, the world was filled with wickedness and giants to such an + extent that God regretted "that he had made man on the earth, and it + grieved him at his heart." + </p> + <p> + Of course God knew when he made man, that he would afterwards regret it. + He knew that the people would grow worse and worse until destruction would + be the only remedy. He knew that he would have to kill all except Noah and + his family, and it is hard to see why he did not make Noah and his family + in the first place, and leave Adam and Eve in the original dust. He knew + that they would be tempted, that he would have to drive them out of the + garden to keep them from eating of the tree of life; that the whole thing + would be a failure; that Satan would defeat his plan; that he could not + reform the people; that his own sons would corrupt them, and that at last + he would have to drown them all except Noah and his family. Why was the + garden of Eden planted? Why was the experiment made? Why were Adam and Eve + exposed to the seductive arts of the serpent? Why did God wait until the + cool of the day before looking after his children? Why was he not on hand + in the morning? + </p> + <p> + Why did he fill the world with his own children, knowing that he would + have to destroy them? And why does this same God tell me how to raise my + children when he had to drown his? + </p> + <p> + It is a little curious that when God wished to reform the ante-diluvian + world he said nothing about hell; that he had no revivals, no + camp-meetings, no tracts, no outpourings of the Holy Ghost, no baptisms, + no noon prayer meetings, and never mentioned the great doctrine of + salvation by faith. If the orthodox creeds of the world are true, all + those people went to hell without ever having heard that such a place + existed. If eternal torment is a fact, surely these miserable wretches + ought to have been N warned. They were threatened only with water when + they were in fact doomed to eternal fire! + </p> + <p> + Is it not strange that God said nothing to Adam and Eve about a future + life; that he should have kept these "infinite verities" to himself and + allowed millions to live and die without the hope of heaven, or the fear + of hell? + </p> + <p> + It may be that hell was not made at that time. In the six days of creation + nothing is said about the construction of a bottomless pit, and the + serpent himself did not make his appearance until after the creation of + man and woman. Perhaps he was made on the first Sunday, and from that fact + came, it may be, the old couplet, + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + "And Satan still some mischief finds + For idle hands to do." +</pre> + <p> + The sacred historian failed also to tell us when the cherubim and the + flaming sword were made, and said nothing about two of the persons + composing the trinity. It certainly would have been an easy thing to + enlighten Adam and his immediate descendants. The world was then only + about fifteen hundred and thirty-six years old, and only about three or + four generations of men had lived. Adam had been dead only about six + hundred and six years, and some of his grand children must, at that time, + have been alive and well. + </p> + <p> + It is hard to see why God did not civilize these people. He certainly had + the power to use, and the wisdom to devise the proper means. What right + has a god to fill a world with fiends? Can there be goodness in this? Why + should he make experiments that he knows must fail? Is there wisdom in + this? And what right has a man to charge an infinite being with wickedness + and folly? + </p> + <p> + According to Moses, God made up his mind not only to destroy the people, + but the beasts and the creeping things, and the fowls of the air. What had + the beasts, and the creeping things, and the birds done to excite the + anger of God? Why did he repent having made them? Will some christian give + us an explanation of this matter? No good man will inflict unnecessary + pain upon a beast; how then can we worship a god who cares nothing for the + agonies of the dumb creatures that he made? + </p> + <p> + Why did he make animals that he knew he would destroy? Does God delight in + causing pain? He had the power to make the beasts, and fowls, and creeping + things in his own good time and way, and it is to be presumed that he made + them according to his wish. Why should he destroy them? They had committed + no sin. They had eaten no forbidden fruit, made no aprons, nor tried to + reach the tree of life. Yet this god, in blind unreasoning wrath destroyed + "all flesh wherein was the breath of life, and every living thing beneath + the sky, and every substance wherein was life that he had made." + </p> + <p> + Jehovah, having made up his mind to drown the world, told Noah to make an + Ark of gopher wood three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty + cubits high. A cubit is twenty-two inches; so that the ark was five + hundred and fifty feet long, ninety-one feet and eight inches wide and + fifty-five feet high. This ark was divided into three stories, and had on + top, one window twenty-two inches square. Ventilation must have been one + of Jehovah's hobbies. Think of a ship larger than the Great Eastern with + only one window, and that but twenty-two inches square! + </p> + <p> + The ark also had one door set in the side thereof that shut from the + outside. As soon as this ship was finished, and properly victualed, Noah + received seven days notice to get the animals in the ark. + </p> + <p> + It is claimed by some of the scientific theologians that the flood was + partial, that the waters covered only a small portion of the world, and + that consequently only a few animals were in the ark. It is impossible to + conceive of language that can more clearly convey the idea of a universal + flood than that found in the inspired account. If the flood was only + partial, why did God say he would "destroy all flesh wherein is the breath + of life from under heaven, and that every thing that is in the earth shall + die?" Why did he say "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face + of the earth, both man and beast, and the creeping thing and the fowls of + the air?" Why did he say "And every living substance that I have made will + I destroy from off the face of the earth?" Would a partial, local flood + have fulfilled these threats? + </p> + <p> + Nothing can be clearer than that the writer of this account intended to + convey, and did convey the idea that the flood was universal. Why should + christians try to deprive God of the glory of having wrought the most + stupendous of miracles? Is it possible that the Infinite could not + overwhelm with waves this atom called the Earth? Do you doubt his power, + his wisdom or his justice? + </p> + <p> + Believers in miracles should not endeavor to explain them. There is but + one way to explain anything, and that is to account for it by natural + agencies. The moment you explain a miracle, it disappears. You should + depend not upon explanation, but assertion. You should not be driven from + the field because the miracle is shown to be unreasonable. You should + reply that all miracles are unreasonable. Neither should you be in the + least disheartened if it is shown to be impossible. The possible is not + miraculous. You should take the ground that if miracles were reasonable, + and possible, there would be no reward paid for believing them. The + christian has the goodness to believe, while the sinner asks for evidence. + It is enough for God to work miracles without being called upon to + substantiate them for the benefit of unbelievers. + </p> + <p> + Only a few years ago, the christians believed implicitly in the literal + truth of every miracle recorded in the bible. Whoever tried to explain + them in some natural way, was looked upon as an infidel in disguise, but + now he is regarded as a benefactor. The credulity of the Church is + decreasing, and the most marvelous miracles are now either "explained," or + allowed to take refuge behind the mistakes of the translators, or hide in + the drapery of allegory. + </p> + <p> + In the sixth chapter, Noah is ordered to take "of every living thing of + all flesh, two of every sort into the ark—male and female." In the + seventh chapter the order is changed, and Noah is commanded, according to + the Protestant bible, as follows: "Of every clean beast thou shalt take to + thee by sevens, the male and his female, and of beasts that are not clean, + by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the + male and the female." + </p> + <p> + According to the Catholic bible, Noah was commanded—"Of all clean + beasts take seven and seven, the male and the female. But of the beasts + that are unclean two and two, the male and the female. Of the fowls also + of the air seven and seven, the male and the female." + </p> + <p> + For the purpose of belittling this miracle, many commentators have taken + the ground that Noah was not ordered to take seven males and seven females + of each kind of clean beasts, but seven in all. Many christians contend + that only seven clean beasts of each kind were taken into the ark—three + and a half of each sex. + </p> + <p> + If the account in the seventh chapter means anything, it means <i>first</i>, + that of each kind of clean beasts, fourteen were to be taken, seven males, + and seven females; <i>second</i>, that of unclean beasts should be taken, + two of each kind, one of each sex, and <i>third</i>, that he should take + of every kind of fowls, seven of each sex. + </p> + <p> + It is equally clear that the command in the 19th and 20th verses of the + 6th chapter, is to take two of each sort, one male and one female. And + this agrees exactly with the account in the 7th, 8th, 9th, 14th. 15th, and + 16th verses of the 7th chapter. + </p> + <p> + The next question is, how many beasts, fowls and creeping things did Noah + take into the ark? + </p> + <p> + There are now known and classified at least twelve thousand five hundred + species of birds. There are still vast territories in China, South + America, and Africa unknown to the ornithologist. Of the birds, Noah took + fourteen of each species, according to the 3d verse of the 7th chapter, + "Of fowls also of the air by sevens, the male and the female," making a + total of 175,000 birds. + </p> + <p> + And right here allow me to ask a question. If the flood was simply a + partial flood, why were birds taken into the ark? It seems to me that most + birds, attending strictly to business, might avoid a partial flood. + </p> + <p> + There are at least sixteen hundred and fifty-eight kinds of beasts. Let us + suppose that twenty-five of these are clean. Of the clean, fourteen of + each kind—seven of each sex—were taken. These amount to 350. + Of the unclean—two of each kind, amounting to 3,266. There are some + six hundred and fifty species of reptiles. Two of each kind amount + to-1,300. And lastly, there are of insects including the creeping things, + at least one million species, so that Noah and his folks had to get of + these into the ark about 2,000,000. + </p> + <p> + Animalculae have not been taken into consideration. There are probably + many hundreds of thousands of species; many of them invisible; and yet + Noah had to pick them out by pairs. Very few people have any just + conception of the trouble Noah had. + </p> + <p> + We know that there are many animals on this continent not found in the Old + World. These must have been carried from here to the ark, and then brought + back afterwards. Were the peccary, armadillo, ant-eater, sloth, agouti, + vampire-bat, marmoset, howling and prehensile-tailed monkey, the raccoon + and muskrat carried by the angels from America to Asia? How did they get + there? Did the polar bear leave his field of ice and journey toward the + tropics? How did he know where the ark was? Did the kangaroo swim or jump + from Australia to Asia? Did the giraffe, hippopotamus, antelope and + orang-outang journey from Africa in search of the ark? Can absurdities go + farther than this? + </p> + <p> + What had these animals to eat while on the journey? What did they eat + while in the ark? What did they drink? When the rain came, of course the + rivers ran to the seas, and these seas rose and finally covered the world. + The waters of the seas, mingled with those of the flood, would make all + salt. It has been calculated that it required, to drown the world, about + eight times as much water as was in all the seas. To find how salt the + waters of the flood must have been, take eight quarts of fresh water, and + add one quart from the sea. Such water would create instead of allaying + thirst. Noah had to take in his ark fresh water for all his beasts, birds + and living things. He had to take the proper food for all. How long was he + in the ark? Three hundred and seventy-seven days! Think of the food + necessary for the monsters of the ante-diluvian world! + </p> + <p> + Eight persons did all the work. They attended to the wants of 175,000 + birds, 3,616 beasts, 1,300 reptiles, and 2,000,000 insects, saying nothing + of countless animalculae. + </p> + <p> + Well, after they all got in, Noah pulled down the window, God shut the + door, and the rain commenced. + </p> + <p> + How long did it rain? + </p> + <p> + Forty days. + </p> + <p> + How deep did the water get? + </p> + <p> + About five miles and a half. + </p> + <p> + How much did it rain a day? + </p> + <p> + Enough to cover the whole world to a depth of about seven hundred and + forty-two feet. + </p> + <p> + Some Christians say that the fountains of the great deep were broken up. + Will they be kind enough to tell us what the fountains of the great deep + are? Others say that God had vast stores of water in the center of the + earth that he used on that occasion. How did these waters happen to run up + hill? + </p> + <p> + Gentlemen, allow me to tell you once more that you must not try to explain + these things. Your efforts in that direction do no good, because your + explanations are harder to believe than the miracle itself. Take my + advice, stick to assertion, and let explanation alone. + </p> + <p> + Then, as now, Dhawalagiri lifted its crown of snow twenty-nine thousand + feet above the level of the sea, and on the cloudless cliffs of Chimborazo + then, as now, sat the condor; and yet the waters rising seven hundred and + twenty-six feet a day—thirty feet an hour, six inches a minute,—rose + over the hills, over the volcanoes, filled the vast craters, extinguished + all the fires, rose above every mountain peak until the vast world was but + one shoreless sea covered with the innumerable dead. + </p> + <p> + Was this the work of the most merciful God, the father of us all? If there + is a God, can there be the slightest danger of incurring his displeasure + by doubting even in a reverential way, the truth of such a cruel lie? If + we think that God is kinder than he really is, will our poor souls be + burned for that? + </p> + <p> + How many trees can live under miles of water for a year? What became of + the soil washed, scattered, dissolved, and covered with the <i>debris</i> + of a world? How were the tender plants and herbs preserved? How were the + animals preserved after leaving the ark? There was no grass except such as + had been submerged for a year. There were no animals to be devoured by the + carnivorous beasts. What became of the birds that fed on worms and + insects? What became of the birds that devoured other birds? + </p> + <p> + It must be remembered that the pressure of the water when at the highest + point—say twenty-nine thousand feet, would have been about eight + hundred tons on each square foot. Such a pressure certainly would have + destroyed nearly every vestige of vegetable life, so that when the animals + came out of the ark, there was not a mouthful of food in the wide world. + How were they supported until the world was again clothed with grass? How + were those animals taken care of that subsisted on others? Where did the + bees get honey, and the ants seeds? There was not a creeping thing upon + the whole earth; not a breathing creature beneath the whole heavens; not a + living substance. Where did the tenants of the ark get food? + </p> + <p> + There is but one answer, if the story is true. The food necessary not only + during the year of the flood, but sufficient for many months afterwards, + must have been stored in the ark. + </p> + <p> + There is probably not an animal in the world that will not, in a year, eat + and drink ten times its weight. Noah must have provided food and water for + a year while in the ark, and food for at least six months after they got + ashore. It must have required for a pair of elephants, about one hundred + and fifty tons of food and water. A couple of mammoths would have required + about twice that amount. Of course there were other monsters that lived on + trees; and in a year would have devoured quite a forest. + </p> + <p> + How could eight persons have distributed this food, even if the ark had + been large enough to hold it? How was the ark kept clean? We know how it + was ventilated; but what was done with the filth? How were the animals + watered? How were some portions of the ark heated for animals from the + tropics, and others kept cool for the polar bears? How did the animals get + back to their respective countries? Some had to creep back about six + thousand miles, and they could only go a few feet a day. Some of the + creeping things must have started for the ark just as soon as they were + made, and kept up a steady jog for sixteen hundred years. Think of a + couple of the slowest snails leaving a point opposite the ark and starting + for the plains of Shinar, a distance of twelve thousand miles. Going at + the rate of a mile a month, it would take them a thousand years. How did + they get there? Polar bears must have gone several thousand miles, and so + sudden a change in climate must have been exceedingly trying upon their + health. How did they know the way to go? Of course, all the polar bears + did not go. Only two were required. Who selected these? + </p> + <p> + Two sloths had to make the journey from South America. These creatures + cannot travel to exceed three rods a day. At this rate, they would make a + mile in about a hundred days. They must have gone about six thousand five + hundred miles, to reach the ark. Supposing them to have traveled by a + reasonably direct route, in order to complete the journey before Noah + hauled in the plank, they must have started several years before the world + was created. We must also consider that these sloths had to board + themselves on the way, and that most of their time had to be taken up + getting food and water. It is exceedingly doubtful whether a sloth could + travel six thousand miles and board himself in less than three thousand + years. + </p> + <p> + Volumes might be written upon the infinite absurdity of this most + incredible, wicked and foolish of all the fables contained in that + repository of the impossible, called the bible. To me it is a matter of + amazement, that it ever was for a moment believed by any intelligent human + being. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Adam Clark says that "the animals were brought to the ark by the power + of God, and their enmities were so removed or suspended, that the lion + could dwell peaceably with the lamb, and the wolf sleep happily by the + side of the kid. There is no positive evidence that animal food was ever + used before the flood. Noah had the first grant of this kind." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Scott remarks, "There seems to have been a very extraordinary miracle, + perhaps by the ministration of angels, in bringing two of every species to + Noah, and rendering them submissive, and peaceful with each other. Yet it + seems not to have made any impression upon the hardened spectators. The + suspension of the ferocity of the savage beasts during their continuance + in the ark, is generally considered as an apt figure of the change that + takes place in the disposition of sinners when they enter the true church + of Christ." + </p> + <p> + He believed the deluge to have been universal. In his day science had not + demonstrated the absurdity of this belief, and he was not compelled to + resort to some theory not found in the bible. He insisted that "by some + vast convulsion, the very bowels of the earth were forced upwards, and + rain poured down in cataracts and water-spouts, with no intermission for + forty days and nights, and until in every place a universal deluge was + effected. + </p> + <p> + "The presence of God was the only comfort of Noah in his dreary + confinement, and in witnessing the dire devastation of the earth and its + inhabitants, and especially of the human species—of his companions, + his neighbors, his relatives—all those to whom he had preached, for + whom he had prayed and over whom he had wept, and even of many who had + helped to build the ark. + </p> + <p> + "It seems that by a peculiar providential interposition, no animal of any + sort died, although they had been shut up in the ark above a year; and it + does not appear that there had been any increase of them during that time. + </p> + <p> + "The Ark was flat-bottomed—square at each end—roofed like a + house so that it terminated at the top in the breadth of a cubit. It was + divided into many little cabins for its intended inhabitants. Pitched + within and without to keep it tight and sweet, and lighted from the upper + part. But it must, at first sight, be evident that so large a vessel, thus + constructed, with so few persons on board, was utterly unfitted to weather + out the deluge, except it was under the immediate guidance and protection + of the Almighty." + </p> + <p> + Dr. Henry furnished the Christian world with the following:— + </p> + <p> + "As our bodies have in them the humors which, when God pleases, become the + springs and seeds of mortal disease, so the earth had, in its bowels, + those waters which, at God's command, sprung up and flooded it. + </p> + <p> + "God made the world in six days, but he was forty days in destroying it, + because he is slow to anger. + </p> + <p> + "The hostilities between the animals in the ark ceased, and ravenous + creatures became mild and manageable, so that the wolf lay down with the + lamb, and the lion ate straw like an ox. + </p> + <p> + "God shut the door of the ark to secure Noah and to keep him safe, and + because it was necessary that the door should be shut very close lest the + water should break in and sink the ark, and very fast lest others might + break it down. + </p> + <p> + "The waters rose so high that not only the low flat countries were + deluged, but to make sure work and that none might escape, the tops of the + highest mountains were overflowed fifteen cubits. That is, seven and a + half yards, so that salvation was not hoped for from hills or mountains. + </p> + <p> + "Perhaps some of the people got to the top of the ark, and hoped to shift + for themselves there. But either they perished there for want of food, or + the dashing rain washed them off the top. Others, it may be, hoped to + prevail with Noah for admission into the ark, and plead old acquaintance. + </p> + <p> + "'Have we not eaten and drank in thy presence? Hast thou not preached in + our streets? 'Yea,' said Noah, 'many a time, but to little purpose. I + called but ye refused; and now it is not in my power to help you. God has + shut the door and I cannot open it.' + </p> + <p> + "We may suppose that some of those who perished in the deluge had + themselves assisted Noah, or were employed by him in building the ark. + </p> + <p> + "Hitherto, man had been confined to feed only upon the products of the + earth. Fruits, herbs and roots, and all sorts of greens, and milk, which + was the first grant; but the flood having perhaps washed away much of the + fruits of the earth, and rendered them much less pleasant and nourishing, + God enlarged the grant and allowed him to eat flesh, which perhaps man + never thought of until now, that God directed him to it. Nor had he any + more desire to it than the sheep has to suck blood like the wolf. But now, + man is allowed to feed upon flesh as freely and safely as upon the green + herb." + </p> + <p> + Such was the debasing influence of a belief in the literal truth of the + bible upon these men, that their commentaries are filled with passages + utterly devoid of common sense. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Clark speaking of the mammoth says: + </p> + <p> + "This animal, an astonishing proof of God's power, he seems to have + produced merely to show what he could do. And after suffering a few of + them to propagate, he extinguished the race by a merciful providence, that + they might not destroy both man and beast. + </p> + <p> + "We are told that it would have been much easier for God to destroy all + the people and make new ones, but he would not want to waste anything and + no power or skill should be lavished where no necessity exists. + </p> + <p> + "The animals were brought to the ark by the power of God." + </p> + <p> + Again gentlemen, let me warn you of the danger of trying to explain a + miracle. Let it alone. Say that you do not understand it, and do not + expect to until taught in the schools of the New Jerusalem. The more + reasons you give, the more unreasonable the miracle will appear. Through + what you say in defence people are led to think, and as soon as they + really think, the miracle is thrown away. + </p> + <p> + Among the most ignorant nations you will find the most wonders, among the + most enlightened, the least. It is with individuals, the same as with + nations. Ignorance believes, Intelligence examines and explains. + </p> + <p> + For about seven months the ark, with its cargo of men, animals and + insects, tossed and wandered without rudder or sail upon a boundless sea. + At last it grounded on the mountains of Ararat; and about three months + afterwards the tops of the mountains became visible. It must not be + forgotten that the mountain where the ark is supposed to have first + touched bottom, was about seventeen thousand feet high. How were the + animals from the tropics kept warm? When the waters were abated it would + be intensely cold at a point seventeen thousand feet above the level of + the sea. May be there were stoves, furnaces, fire places and steam coils + in the ark, but they are not mentioned in the inspired narrative. How were + the animals kept from freezing? It will not do to say that Ararat was not + very high after all. + </p> + <p> + If you will read the fourth and fifth verses of the eight chapter you will + see that although the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth + day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat, it was not until the first + day of the tenth month "that the tops of the mountains could be seen." + From this it would seem that the ark must have rested upon about the + highest peak in that country. Noah waited forty days more, and then for + the first time opened the window and took a breath of fresh air. He then + sent out a raven that did not return, then a dove that returned. He then + waited seven days and sent forth a dove that returned not. From this he + knew that the waters were abated. Is it possible that he could not see + whether the waters had gone? Is it possible to conceive of a more + perfectly childish way of ascertaining whether the earth was dry? + </p> + <p> + At last Noah "removed the covering of the ark, and looked and behold the + face of the ground was dry," and thereupon God told him to disembark. In + his gratitude Noah built an altar and took of every clean beast and of + every clean fowl, and offered "burnt offerings". And the Lord smelled a + sweet savor and said in his heart that he would not any more curse the + ground for man's sake. For saying this in his heart the Lord gives as a + reason, not that man is, or will be good, but because "the imagination of + man's heart is evil from his youth." God destroyed man because "the + wickedness of man was great in the earth, and <i>because every imagination + of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually</i>." And he + promised for the same reason not to destroy him again. Will some gentleman + skilled in theology give us an explanation? + </p> + <p> + After God had smelled the sweet savor of sacrifice, he seems to have + changed his idea as to the proper diet for man. When Adam and Eve were + created they were allowed to eat herbs bearing seed, and the fruit of + trees. When they were turned out of Eden, God said to them "Thou shalt eat + the herb of the field." In the first chapter of Genesis the "green herb" + was given for food to the beasts, fowls and creeping things. Upon being + expelled from the garden, Adam and Eve, as to their food, were put upon an + equality with the lower animals. According to this, the ante-diluvians + were vegetarians. This may account for their wickedness and longevity. + </p> + <p> + After Noah sacrificed, and God smelled the sweet savor; he said—"Every + moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb + have I given you all things." Afterwards this same God changed his mind + again, and divided the beasts and birds into clean and unclean, and made + it a crime for man to eat the unclean. Probably food was so scarce when + Noah was let out of the ark that Jehovah generously allowed him to eat + anything and everything he could find. + </p> + <p> + According to the account, God then made a covenant with Noah to the effect + that he would not again destroy the world with a flood, and as the + attesting witness of this contract, a rainbow was set in the cloud. This + bow was placed in the sky so that it might perpetually remind God of his + promise and covenant. Without this visible witness and reminder, it would + seem that Jehovah was liable to forget the contract, and drown the world + again. Did the rainbow originate in this way? Did God put it in the cloud + simply to keep his agreement in his memory? + </p> + <p> + For me it is impossible to believe the story of the deluge. It seems so + cruel, so barbaric, so crude in detail, so absurd in all its parts, and so + contrary to all we know of law, that even credulity itself is shocked. + </p> + <p> + Many nations have preserved accounts of a deluge in which all people, + except a family or two, were destroyed. Babylon was certainly a city + before Jerusalem was founded. Egypt was in the height of her power when + there were only seventy Jews in the world, and India had a literature + before the name of Jehovah had passed the lips of superstition. An account + of a general deluge "was discovered by George Smith, translated from + another account that was written about two thousand years before Christ." + Of course it is impossible to tell how long the story had lived in the + memory of tradition before it was reduced to writing by the Babylonians. + According to this account, which is, without doubt, much older than the + one given by Moses, Tamzi built a ship at the command of the god Hea, and + put in it his family and the beasts of the field. He pitched the ship + inside and outside with bitumen, and as soon as it was finished, there + came a flood of rain and "destroyed all life from the face of the whole + earth. On the seventh day there was a calm, and the ship stranded on the + mountain Nizir." Tamzi waited for seven days more, and then let out a + dove. Afterwards, he let out a swallow, and that, as well as the dove + returned. Then he let out a raven, and as that did not return, he + concluded that the water had dried away, and thereupon left the ship. Then + he made an offering to god, or the gods, and "Hea interceded with Bel," so + that the earth might never again be drowned. + </p> + <p> + This is the Babylonian story, told without the contradictions of the + original. For in that, it seems, there are two accounts, as well as in the + bible. Is it not a strange coincidence that there should be contradictory + accounts mingled in both the Babylonian and Jewish stories? + </p> + <p> + In the bible there are two accounts. In one account, Noah was to take two + of all beasts, birds, and creeping things into the ark, while in the other + he was commanded to take of clean beasts, and all birds by sevens of each + kind. According to one account, the flood only lasted one hundred and + fifty days—as related in the third verse of the eighth chapter; + while the other account fixes the time at three hundred and seventy-seven + days. Both of these accounts cannot be true. Yet in order to be saved, it + is not sufficient to believe one of them—you must believe both. + </p> + <p> + Among the Egyptians there was a story to the effect that the great god Ra + became utterly maddened with the people, and deliberately made up his mind + that he would exterminate mankind. Thereupon he began to destroy, and + continued in the terrible work until blood flowed in streams, when + suddenly he ceased, and took an oath that he would not again destroy the + human race. This myth was probably thousands of years old when Moses was + born. + </p> + <p> + So, in India, there was a fable about the flood. A fish warned Manu that a + flood was coming. Manu built a "box" and the fish towed it to a mountain + and saved all hands. + </p> + <p> + The same kind of stories were told in Greece, and among our own Indian + tribes. At one time the christian pointed to the fact that many nations + told of a flood, as evidence of the truth of the Mosaic account; but now, + it having been shown that other accounts are much older, and equally + reasonable, that argument has ceased to be of any great value. + </p> + <p> + It is probable that all these accounts had a common origin. They were + likely born of something in nature visible to all nations. The idea of a + universal flood, produced by a god to drown the world on account of the + sins of the people, is infinitely absurd. The solution of all these + stories has been supposed to be, the existence of partial floods in most + countries; and for a long time this solution was satisfactory. But the + fact that these stories are greatly alike, that only one man is warned, + that only one family is saved, that a boat is built, that birds are sent + out to find if the water had abated, tend to show that they had a common + origin. Admitting that there were severe floods in all countries; it + certainly cannot follow that in each instance only one family would be + saved, or that the same story would in each instance be told. It may be + urged that the natural tendency of man to exaggerate calamities, might + account for this agreement in all the accounts, and it must be admitted + that there is some force in the suggestion, I believe, though, that the + real origin of all these myths is the same, and that it was originally an + effort to account for the sun, moon and stars. The sun and moon were the + man and wife, or the god and goddess, and the stars were their children. + From a celestial myth, it became a terrestrial one; the air, or + ether-ocean became a flood, produced by rain, and the sun moon and stars + became man, woman and children. + </p> + <p> + In the original story, the mountain was the place where in the far east + the sky was supposed to touch the earth, and it was there that the ship + containing the celestial passengers finally rested from its voyage. But + whatever may be the origin of the stories of the flood, whether told first + by Hindu, Babylonian or Hebrew, we may rest perfectly assured that they + are all equally false. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0020" id="link2H_4_0020"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XIX. BACCHUS AND BABEL + </h2> + <p> + As soon as Noah had disembarked, he proceeded to plant a vineyard, and + began to be a husbandman; and when the grapes were ripe he made wine and + drank of it to excess; cursed his grandson, blessed Shem and Japheth, and + after that lived for three hundred and fifty years. What he did during + these three hundred and fifty years, we are not told. We never hear of him + again. For three hundred and fifty years he lived among his sons, and + daughters, and their descendants. He must have been a venerable man. He + was the man to whom God had made known his intention of drowning the + world. By his efforts, the human race had been saved. He must have been + acquainted with Methuselah for six hundred years, and Methuselah was about + two hundred and forty years old, when Adam died. Noah must himself have + known the history of mankind, and must have been an object of almost + infinite interest; and yet for three hundred and fifty years he is neither + directly nor indirectly mentioned. When Noah died, Abraham must have been + more than fifty years old; and Shem, the son of Noah, lived for several + hundred years after the death of Abraham; and yet he is never mentioned. + Noah when he died, was the oldest man in the whole world by about five + hundred years; and everybody living at the time of his death knew that + they were indebted to him, and yet no account is given of his burial. No + monument was raised to mark the spot. This, however, is no more wonderful + than the fact that no account is given of the death of Adam or of Eve, nor + of the place of their burial. This may all be accounted for by the fact + that the language of man was confounded at the building of the tower of + Babel, whereby all tradition may have been lost, so that even the sons of + Noah could not give an account of their voyage in the ark; and, + consequently, some one had to be directly inspired to tell the story, + after new languages had been formed. + </p> + <p> + It has always been a mystery to me how Adam, Eve, and the serpent were + taught the same language. Where did they get it? We know now, that it + requires a great number of years to form a language; that it is of + exceedingly slow growth. We also know that by language, man conveys to his + fellows the impressions made upon him by what he sees, hears, smells and + touches. We know that the language of the savage consists of a few sounds, + capable of expressing only a few ideas or states of the mind, such as + love, desire, fear, hatred, aversion and contempt. Many centuries are + required to produce a language capable of expressing complex ideas. It + does not seem to me that ideas can be manufactured by a deity and put in + the brain of man. These ideas must be the result of observation and + experience. + </p> + <p> + Does anybody believe that God directly taught a language to Adam and Eve, + or that he so made them that they, by intuition spoke Hebrew, or some + language capable of conveying to each other their thoughts? How did the + serpent learn the same language? Did God teach it to him, or did he happen + to overhear God, when he was teaching Adam and Eve? We are told in the + second chapter of Genesis that God caused all the animals to pass before + Adam to see what he would call them. We cannot infer from this that God + named the animals and informed Adam what to call them. Adam named them + himself. Where did he get his words? We cannot imagine a man just made out + of dust, without the experience of a moment, having the power to put his + thoughts in language. In the first place, we cannot conceive of his having + any thoughts until he has combined, through experience and observation, + the impressions that nature had made upon him through the medium of his + senses. We cannot imagine of his knowing anything, in the first instance, + about different degrees of heat, nor about darkness, if he was made in the + day-time, nor about light, if created at night, until the next morning. + Before a man can have what we call thoughts, he must have had a little + experience. Something must have happened to him before he can have a + thought, and before he can express himself in language. Language is a + growth, not a gift. We account now for the diversity of language by the + fact that tribes and nations have had different experiences, different + wants, different surroundings, and, one result of all these differences + is, among other things, a difference in language. Nothing can be more + absurd than to account for the different languages of the world by saying + that the original language was confounded at the tower of Babel. + </p> + <p> + According to the bible, up to the time of the building of that tower, the + whole earth was of one language and of one speech, and would have so + remained until the present time had not an effort been made to build a + tower whose top should reach into heaven. Can any one imagine what + objection God would have to the building of such a tower? And how could + the confusion of tongues prevent its construction? How could language be + confounded? It could be confounded only by the destruction of memory. Did + God destroy the memory of mankind at that time, and if so, how? Did he + paralyze that portion of the brain presiding over the organs of + articulation, so that they could not speak the words, although they + remembered them clearly, or did he so touch the brain that they could not + hear? Will some theologian, versed in the machinery of the miraculous, + tell us in what way God confounded the language of mankind? + </p> + <p> + Why would the confounding of the language make them separate? Why would + they not stay together until they could understand each other? People will + not separate, from weakness. When in trouble they come together and desire + the assistance of each other. Why, in this instance, did they separate? + What particular ones would naturally come together if nobody understood + the language of any other person? Would it not have been just as hard to + agree when and where to go, without any language to express the agreement, + as to go on with the building of the tower? + </p> + <p> + Is it possible that any one now believes that the whole world would be of + one speech had the language not been confounded at Babel? Do we not know + that every word was suggested in some way by the experience of men? Do we + not know that words are continually dying, and continually being born; + that every language has its cradle and its cemetery—its buds, its + blossoms, its fruits and its withered leaves? Man has loved, enjoyed, + hated, suffered and hoped, and all words have been born of these + experiences. + </p> + <p> + Why did "the Lord come down to see the city and the tower?" Could he not + see them from where he lived or from where he was? Where did he come down + from? Did he come in the daytime, or in the night? We are taught now that + God is everywhere; that he inhabits immensity; that he is in every atom, + and in every star. If this is true, why did he "come down to see the city + and the tower?" Will some theologian explain this? + </p> + <p> + After all, is it not much easier and altogether more reasonable to say + that Moses was mistaken, that he knew little of the science of language, + and that he guessed a great deal more than he investigated? + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0021" id="link2H_4_0021"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XX. FAITH IN FILTH + </h2> + <p> + No light whatever is shed upon what passed in the world after the + confounding of language at Babel, until the birth of Abraham. But, before + speaking of the history of the Jewish people, it may be proper for me to + say that many things are recounted in Genesis, and other books attributed + to Moses, of which I do not wish to speak. There are many pages of these + books unfit to read, many stories not calculated, in my judgment, to + improve the morals of mankind. I do not wish even to call the attention of + my readers to these things, except in a general way. It is to be hoped + that the time will come when such chapters and passages as cannot be read + without leaving the blush of shame upon the cheek of modesty, will be left + out, and not published as a part of the bible. If there is a God, it + certainly is blasphemous to attribute to him the authorship of pages too + obscene, beastly and vulgar to be read in the presence of men and women. + </p> + <p> + The believers in the bible are loud in their denunciation of what they are + pleased to call the immoral literature of the world; and yet few books + have been published containing more moral filth than this inspired word of + God. These stories are not redeemed by a single flash of wit or humor. + They never rise above the dull details of stupid vice. For one, I cannot + afford to soil my pages with extracts from them; and all such portions of + the Scriptures I leave to be examined, written upon, and explained by the + clergy. Clergymen may know some way by which they can extract honey from + these flowers. Until these passages are expunged from the Old Testament, + it is not a fit book to be read by either old or young. It contains pages + that no minister in the United States would read to his congregation for + any reward whatever. There are chapters that no gentleman would read in + the presence of a lady. There are chapters that no father would read to + his child. There are narratives utterly unfit to be told; and the time + will come when mankind will wonder that such a book was ever called + inspired. + </p> + <p> + I know that in many books besides the bible there are immodest lines. Some + of the greatest writers have soiled their pages with indecent words. We + account for this by saying that the authors were human; that they catered + to the taste and spirit of their times. We make excuses, but at the same + time regret that in their works they left an impure word. But what shall + we say of God? Is it possible that a being of infinite purity—the + author of modesty, would smirch the pages of his book with stories lewd, + licentious and obscene? If God is the author of the bible, it is, of + course, the standard by which all other books can, and should be measured. + If the bible is not obscene, what book is? Why should men be imprisoned + simply for imitating God? The christian world should never say another + word against immoral books until it makes the inspired volume clean. These + vile and filthy things were not written for the purpose of conveying and + enforcing moral truth, but seem to have been written because the author + loved an unclean thing. There is no moral depth below that occupied by the + writer or publisher of obscene books, that stain with lust, the loving + heart of youth. Such men should be imprisoned and their books destroyed. + The literature of the world should be rendered decent, and no book should + be published that cannot be read by, and in the hearing of the best and + purest people. But as long as the bible is considered as the work of God, + it will be hard to make all men too good and pure to imitate it; and as + long as it is imitated there will be vile and filthy books. The literature + of our country will not be sweet and clean until the bible ceases to be + regarded as the production of a god. + </p> + <p> + We are continually told that the bible is the very foundation of modesty + and morality; while many of its pages are so immodest and immoral that a + minister, for reading them in the pulpit, would be instantly denounced as + an unclean wretch. Every woman would leave the church, and if the men + stayed, it would be for the purpose of chastising the minister. + </p> + <p> + Is there any saving grace in hypocrisy? Will men become clean in speech by + believing that God is unclean? Would it not be far better to admit that + the bible was written by barbarians in a barbarous, coarse and vulgar age? + Would it not be safer to charge Moses with vulgarity, instead of God? Is + it not altogether more probable that some ignorant Hebrew would write the + vulgar words? The christians tell me that God is the author of these vile + and stupid things? I have examined the question to the best of my ability, + and as to God my verdict is:—Not guilty. Faith should not rest in + filth. + </p> + <p> + Every foolish and immodest thing should be expunged from the bible. Let us + keep the good. Let us preserve every great and splendid thought, every + wise and prudent maxim, every just law, every elevated idea, and every + word calculated to make man nobler and purer, and let us have the courage + to throw the rest away. The souls of children should not be stained and + soiled. The charming instincts of youth should not be corrupted and + defiled. The girls and boys should not be taught that unclean words were + uttered by "inspired" lips. Teach them that these words were born of + savagery and lust. Teach them that the unclean is the unholy, and that + only the pure is sacred. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0022" id="link2H_4_0022"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXI. THE HEBREWS + </h2> + <p> + After language had been confounded and the people scattered, there + appeared in the land of Canaan a tribe of Hebrews ruled by a chief or + sheik called Abraham. They had a few cattle, lived in tents, practiced + polygamy, wandered from place to place, and were the only folks in the + whole world to whom God paid the slightest attention. At this time there + were hundreds of cities in India filled with temples and palaces; millions + of Egyptians worshiped Isis and Osiris, and had covered their land with + marvelous monuments of industry, power and skill. But these civilizations + were entirely neglected by the Deity, his whole attention being taken up + with Abraham and his family. + </p> + <p> + It seems, from the account, that God and Abraham were intimately + acquainted, and conversed frequently upon a great variety of subjects. By + the twelfth chapter of Genesis it appears that he made the following + promises to Abraham. "I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless + thee, and make thy name great: and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will + bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee." + </p> + <p> + After receiving this communication from the Almighty, Abraham went into + the land of Canaan, and again God appeared to him and told him to take a + heifer three years old, a goat of the same age, a sheep of equal + antiquity, a turtle dove and a young pigeon. Whereupon Abraham killed the + animals "and divided them in the midst, and laid each piece one against + another." And it came to pass that when the sun went down and it was dark, + behold a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between the raw + and bleeding meat. The killing of these animals was a preparation for + receiving a visit from God. Should an American missionary in Central + Africa find a negro chief surrounded by a butchered heifer, a goat and a + sheep, with which to receive a communication from the infinite God, my + opinion is, that the missionary would regard the proceeding as the direct + result of savagery. And if the chief insisted that he had seen a smoking + furnace and a burning lamp going up and down between the pieces of meat, + the missionary would certainly conclude that the chief was not altogether + right in his mind. + </p> + <p> + If the bible is true, this same God told Abraham to take and sacrifice his + only son, or rather the only son of his wife, and a murder would have been + committed had not God, just at the right moment, directed him to stay his + hand and take a sheep instead. + </p> + <p> + God made a great number of promises to Abraham, but few of them were ever + kept. He agreed to make him the father of a great nation, but he did not. + He solemnly promised to give him a great country, including all the land + between the river of Egypt and the Euphrates, but he did not. + </p> + <p> + In due time Abraham passed away, and his son Isaac took his place at the + head of the tribe. Then came Jacob, who "watered stock" and enriched + himself with the spoil of Laban. Joseph was sold into Egypt by his jealous + brethren, where he became one of the chief men of the kingdom, and in a + few years his father and brothers left their own country and settled in + Egypt. At this time there were seventy Hebrews in the world, counting + Joseph and his children. They remained in Egypt two hundred and fifteen + years. It is claimed by some that they were in that country for four + hundred and thirty years. This is a mistake. Josephus says they were in + Egypt two hundred and fifteen years, and this statement is sustained by + the best biblical scholars of all denominations. According to the 17th + verse of the 3rd chapter of Galatians, it was four hundred and thirty + years from the time the promise was made to Abraham to the giving of the + law, and as the Hebrews did not go to Egypt for two hundred and fifteen + years after the making of the promise to Abraham, they could in no event + have been in Egypt more than two hundred and fifteen years. In our bible + the 40th verse of the 12th chapter of Exodus, is as follows:— + </p> + <p> + "Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was + four hundred and thirty years." + </p> + <p> + This passage does not say that the sojourning was all done in Egypt; + neither does it say that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt four + hundred and thirty years; but it does say that the sojourning of the + children of Israel who dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. + The Vatican copy of the Septuagint renders the same passage as follows:— + </p> + <p> + "The sojourning of the children of Israel which they sojourned in Egypt, + and in the land of Canaan, was four hundred and thirty years." + </p> + <p> + The Alexandrian version says:—"The sojourning of the children of + Israel which they and their fathers sojourned in Egypt, and in the land of + Canaan, was four hundred and thirty years." + </p> + <p> + And in the Samaritan bible we have:—"The sojourning of the children + of Israel and of their fathers which they sojourned in the land of Canaan, + and in the land of Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years." + </p> + <p> + There were seventy souls when they went down into Egypt, and they remained + two hundred and fifteen years, and at the end of that time they had + increased to about three million. How do we know that there were three + million at the end of two hundred and fifteen years? We know it because we + are informed by Moses that "there were six hundred thousand men of war." + Now, to each man of war, there must have been at least five other people. + In every State in this Union there will be to each voter, five other + persons at least, and we all know that there are always more voters than + men of war. If there were six hundred thousand men of war, there must have + been a population of at least three million. Is it possible that seventy + people could increase to that extent in two hundred and fifteen years? You + may say that it was a miracle; but what need was there of working a + miracle? Why should God miraculously increase the number of slaves? If he + wished miraculously to increase the population, why did he not wait until + the people were free? + </p> + <p> + In 1776, we had in the American Colonies about three millions of people. + In one hundred years we doubled four times: that is to say, six, twelve, + twenty-four, forty-eight million,—our present population. + </p> + <p> + We must not forget that during all these years there has been pouring into + our country a vast stream of emigration, and that this, taken in + connection with the fact that our country is productive beyond all others, + gave us only four doubles in one hundred years. Admitting that the Hebrews + increased as rapidly without emigration as we, in this country, have with + it, we will give to them four doubles each century, commencing with + seventy people, and they would have, at the end of two hundred years, a + population of seventeen thousand nine hundred and twenty. Giving them + another double for the odd fifteen years and there would be, provided no + deaths had occurred, thirty-five thousand eight hundred and forty people. + And yet we are told that instead of having this number, they had increased + to such an extent that they had six hundred thousand men of war: that is + to say, a population of more than three millions! + </p> + <p> + Every sensible man knows that this account is not, and cannot be true. We + know that seventy people could not increase to three million in two + hundred and fifteen years. + </p> + <p> + About this time the Hebrews took a census, and found that there were + twenty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three first born males. It is + reasonable to suppose that there were about as many first born females. + This would make forty-four thousand five hundred and forty-six first born + children. Now, there must have been about as many mothers as there were + first born children. If there were only about forty-five thousand mothers + and three millions of people, the mothers must have had on an average + about sixty-six children apiece. + </p> + <p> + At this time, the Hebrews were slaves, and had been for two hundred and + fifteen years. A little while before, an order had been made by the + Egyptians that all the male children of the Hebrews should be killed. One, + contrary to this order, was saved in an ark made of bullrushes daubed with + slime. This child was found by the daughter of Pharaoh, and was adopted, + it seems, as her own, and, may be, was. He grew to be a man, sided with + the Hebrews, killed an Egyptian that was smiting a slave, hid the body in + the sand, and fled from Egypt to the land of Midian, became acquainted + with a priest who had seven daughters, took the side of the daughters + against the ill-mannered shepherds of that country, and married Zipporah, + one of the girls, and became a shepherd for her father. Afterward, while + tending his flock, the Lord appeared to him in a burning bush, and + commanded him to go to the king of Egypt and demand from him the + liberation of the Hebrews. In order to convince him that the something + burning in the bush was actually God, the rod in his hand was changed into + a serpent, which, upon being caught by the tail, became again a rod. Moses + was also told to put his hand in his bosom, and when he took it out it was + as leprous as snow. Quite a number of strange things were performed, and + others promised. Moses then agreed to go back to Egypt provided his + brother could go with him. Whereupon the Lord appeared to Aaron, and + directed him to meet Moses in the wilderness. They met at the mount of + God, went to Egypt, gathered together all the elders of the children of + Israel, spake all the words which God had spoken unto Moses, and did all + the signs in the sight of the people. The Israelites believed, bowed their + heads and worshiped; and Moses and Aaron went in and told their message to + Pharaoh the king. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0023" id="link2H_4_0023"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXII. THE PLAGUES + </h2> + <p> + Three millions of people were in slavery. They were treated with the + utmost rigor, and so fearful were their masters that they might, in time, + increase in numbers sufficient to avenge themselves, that they took from + the arms of mothers all the male children and destroyed them. If the + account given is true, the Egyptians were the most cruel, heartless and + infamous people of which history gives any record. God finally made up his + mind to free the Hebrews; and for the accomplishment of this purpose he + sent, as his agents, Moses and Aaron, to the king of Egypt. In order that + the king might know that these men had a divine mission, God gave Moses + the power of changing a stick into a serpent, and water into blood. Moses + and Aaron went before the king, stating that the Lord God of Israel + ordered the King of Egypt to let the Hebrews go that they might hold a + feast with God in the wilderness. Thereupon Pharaoh, the king, enquired + who the Lord was, at the same time stating that he had never made his + acquaintance, and knew nothing about him. To this they replied that the + God of the Hebrews had met with them, and they asked to go a three days + journey into the desert and sacrifice unto this God, fearing that if they + did not he would fall upon them with pestilence or the sword. This + interview seems to have hardened Pharaoh, for he ordered the tasks of the + children of Israel to be increased; so that the only effect of the first + appeal was to render still worse the condition of the Hebrews. Thereupon, + Moses returned unto the Lord and said "Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil + entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came + to Pharaoh to speak in thy name he hath done evil to this people; neither + hast thou delivered thy people at all." + </p> + <p> + Apparently stung by this reproach, God answered:— + </p> + <p> + "Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharoah; for with a strong hand + shall he let them go; and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of + his land." + </p> + <p> + God then recounts the fact that he had appeared unto Abraham, Isaac and + Jacob, that he had established a covenant with them to give them the land + of Canaan, that he had heard the groanings of the children of Israel in + Egyptian bondage; that their groanings had put him in mind of his + covenant, and that he had made up his mind to redeem the children of + Israel with a stretched out arm and with great judgments. Moses then spoke + to the children' of Israel again, but they would listen to him no more. + His first effort in their behalf had simply doubled their trouble and they + seemed to have lost confidence in his power. Thereupon Jehovah promised + Moses that he would make him a god unto Pharaoh, and that Aaron should be + his prophet, but at the same time informed him that his message would be + of no avail; that he would harden the heart of Pharaoh so that he would + not listen; that he would so harden his heart that he might have an excuse + for destroying the Egyptians. Accordingly, Moses and Aaron again went + before Pharaoh. Moses said to Aaron;—"Cast down your rod before + Pharaoh," which he did, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh not in the + least surprised, called for his wise men and his sorcerers, and they threw + down their rods and changed them into serpents. The serpent that had been + changed from Aaron's rod was, at this time crawling upon the floor, and it + proceeded to swallow the serpents that had been produced by the magicians + of Egypt. What became of these serpents that were swallowed, whether they + turned back into sticks again, is not stated. Can we believe that the + stick was changed into a real living serpent, or did it assume simply the + appearance of a serpent? If it bore only the appearance of a serpent it + was a deception, and could not rise above the dignity of legerdemain. Is + it necessary to believe that God is a kind of prestigiator—a + sleight-of-hand per-former, a magician or sorcerer? Can it be possible + that an infinite being would endeavor to secure the liberation of a race + by performing a miracle that could be equally performed by the sorcerers + and magicians of a barbarian king? + </p> + <p> + Not one word was said by Moses or Aaron as to the wickedness of depriving + a human being of his liberty. Not a word was said in favor of liberty. Not + the slightest intimation that a human being was justly entitled to the + product of his own labor. Not a word about the cruelty of masters who + would destroy even the babes of slave mothers. It seems to me wonderful + that this God did not tell the king of Egypt that no nation could enslave + another, without also enslaving itself; that it was impossible to put a + chain around the limbs of a slave, without putting manacles upon the brain + of the master. Why did he not tell him that a nation founded upon slavery + could not stand? Instead of declaring these things, instead of appealing + to justice, to mercy and to liberty, he resorted to feats of jugglery. + Suppose we wished to make a treaty with a barbarous nation, and the + president should employ a sleight-of-hand performer as envoy + extraordinary, and instruct him, that when he came into the presence of + the savage monarch, he should cast down an umbrella or a walking stick, + which would change into a lizard or a turtle; what would we think? Would + we not regard such a performance as beneath the dignity even of a + president? And what would be our feelings if the savage king sent for his + sorcerers and had them perform the same feat? If such things would appear + puerile and foolish in the president of a great republic, what shall be + said when they were resorted to by the creator of all worlds? How small, + how contemptible such a God appears! Pharaoh, it seems, took about this + view of the matter, and he would not be persuaded that such tricks were + performed by an infinite being. + </p> + <p> + Again, Moses and Aaron came before Pharaoh as he was going to the river s + bank, and the same rod which had changed to a serpent, and, by this time + changed back, was taken by Aaron, who, in the presence of Pharaoh, smote + the water of the river, which was immediately turned to blood, as well as + all the water in all the streams, ponds, and pools, as well as all water + in vessels of wood and vessels of stone in the entire land of Egypt. As + soon as all the waters in Egypt had been turned into blood, the magicians + of that country did the same with their enchantments. We are not informed + where they got the water to turn into blood, since all the water in Egypt + had already been so changed. It seems from the account that the fish in + the Nile died, and the river emitted a stench, and there was not a drop of + water in the land of Egypt that had not been changed into blood. In + consequence of this, the Egyptians digged "around about the river" for + water to drink. Can we believe this story? Is it necessary to salvation to + admit that all the rivers, pools, ponds and lakes of a country were + changed into blood, in order that a king might be induced to allow the + children of Israel the privilege of going a three days journey into the + wilderness to make sacrifices to their God? + </p> + <p> + It seems from the account that Pharaoh was told that the God of the + Hebrews would, if he refused to let the Israelites go, change all the + waters of Egypt into blood, and that, upon his refusal, they were so + changed. This had, however, no influence upon him, for the reason that his + own magicians did the same. It does not appear that Moses and Aaron + expressed the least surprise at the success of the Egyptian sorcerers. At + that time it was believed that each nation had its own god. The only claim + that Moses and Aaron made for their God was, that he was the greatest and + most powerful of all the gods, and that with anything like an equal chance + he could vanquish the deity of any other nation. + </p> + <p> + After the waters were changed to blood Moses and Aaron waited for seven + days. At the end of that time God told Moses to again go to Pharaoh and + demand the release of his people, and to inform him that, if he refused, + God would strike all the borders of Egypt with frogs. That he would make + frogs so plentiful that they would go into the houses of Pharaoh, into his + bedchamber, upon his bed, into the houses of his servants, upon his + people, into their ovens, and even into their kneading troughs, This + threat had no effect whatever upon Pharaoh, And thereupon Aaron stretched + out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered + the land. The magicians of Egypt did the same, and with their enchantments + brought more frogs upon the land of Egypt These magicians do not seem to + have been original in their ideas, but so far as imitation is concerned, + were perfect masters of their art. The frogs seem to have made such an + impression upon Pharaoh that he sent for Moses and asked him to entreat + the Lord that he would take away the frogs. Moses agreed to remove them + from the houses and the land, and allow them to remain only in the rivers. + Accordingly the frogs died out of the houses, and out of the villages, and + out of the fields, and the people gathered them together in heaps. As soon + as the frogs had left the houses and fields, the heart of Pharaoh became + again hardened, and he refused to let the people go. + </p> + <p> + Aaron then, according to the command of God, stretched out his hand, + holding the rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in + man and in beast, and all the dust became lice throughout the land of + Egypt. Pharaoh again sent for his magicians, and they sought to do the + same with their enchantments, but they could not. Whereupon the sorcerers + said unto Pharaoh: "This is the finger of God." + </p> + <p> + Notwithstanding this, however, Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews go. God + then caused a grievous swarm of flies to come into the house of Pharaoh + and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt, to such an + extent that the whole land was corrupted by reason of the flies. But into + that part of the country occupied by the children of Israel there came no + flies. Thereupon Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said to them: "Go, + and sacrifice to your God in this land." They were not willing to + sacrifice in Egypt, and asked permission to go on a journey of three days + into the wilderness. To this Pharaoh acceded, and in consideration of this + Moses agreed to use his influence with the Lord to induce him to send the + flies out of the country. He accordingly told the Lord of the bargain he + had made with Pharaoh, and the Lord agreed to the compromise, and removed + the flies from Pharaoh and from his servants and from his people, and + there remained not a single fly in the land of Egypt. As soon as the flies + were gone, Pharaoh again changed his mind, and concluded not to permit the + children of Israel to depart. The Lord then directed Moses to go to + Pharaoh and tell him that if he did not allow the children of Israel to + depart, he would destroy his cattle, his horses, his camels and his sheep; + that these animals would be afflicted with a grievous disease, but that + the animals belonging to the Hebrews should not be so afflicted. Moses did + as he was bid. On the next day all the cattle of Egypt died; that is to + say, all the horses, all the asses, all the camels, all the oxen and all + the sheep; but of the animals owned by the Israelites, not one perished. + This disaster had no effect upon Pharaoh, and he still refused to let the + children of Israel go. The Lord then told Moses and Aaron to take some + ashes out of a furnace, and told Moses to sprinkle them toward the heavens + in the sight of Pharaoh; saying that the ashes should become small dust in + all the land of Egypt, and should be a boil breaking forth with blains + upon man and upon beast throughout all the land. + </p> + <p> + How these boils breaking out with blains, upon cattle that were already + dead, should affect Pharaoh, is a little hard to understand. It must not + be forgotten that all the cattle and all beasts had died with the murrain + before the boils had broken out This was a most decisive victory for Moses + and Aaron. The boils were upon the magicians to that extent that they + could not stand before Moses. But it had no effect upon Pharaoh, who seems + to have been a man of great firmness. The Lord then instructed Moses to + get up early in the morning and tell Pharaoh that he would stretch out his + hand and smite his people with a pestilence, and would, on the morrow, + cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as had never been known in the + land of Egypt. He also told Moses to give notice, so that they might get + all the cattle that were in the fields under cover. It must be remembered + that all these cattle had recently died of the murrain, and their dead + bodies had been covered with boils and blains. This, however, had no + effect, and Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and the Lord + sent thunder, and hail and lightning, and fire that ran along the ground, + and the hail fell upon all the land of Egypt, and all that were in the + fields, both man and beast, were smitten, and the hail smote every herb of + the field, and broke every tree of the country except that portion + inhabited by the children of Israel; there, there was no hail. + </p> + <p> + During this hail storm Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and admitted that + he had sinned, that the Lord was righteous, and that the Egyptians were + wicked, and requested them to ask the Lord that there be no more + thunderings and hail, and that he would let the Hebrews go. Moses agreed + that as soon as he got out of the city he would stretch forth his hands + unto the Lord, and that the thunderings should cease and the hail should + stop. But, when the rain and the hail and the thundering ceased, Pharaoh + concluded that he would not let the children of Israel go. + </p> + <p> + Again, God sent Moses and Aaron, instructing them to tell Pharaoh that if + he refused to let the people go, the face of the earth would be covered + with locusts, so that man would not be able to see the ground, and that + these locusts would eat the residue of that which escaped from the hail; + that they would eat every tree out of the field; that they would fill the + houses of Pharaoh and the houses of all his servants, and the houses of + all the Egyptians. Moses delivered the message, and went out from Pharaoh. + Some of Pharaoh's servants entreated their master to let the children of + Israel go. Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and asked them, who wished to + go into the wilderness to sacrifice. They replied that they wished to go + with the young and old; with their sons and daughters, with flocks and + herds. Pharaoh would not consent to this, but agreed that the men might + go. There upon Pharaoh drove Moses and Aaron out of his sight. Then God + told Moses to stretch forth his hand upon the land of Egypt for the + locusts, that they might come up and eat every herb, even all that the + hail had left. "And Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, + and the Lord brought an East wind all that day and all that night; and and + when it was morning the East wind brought the locusts; and they came up + over all the land of Egypt and rested upon all the coasts covering the + face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate every + herb and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left, and there + remained not any green thing on the trees or in the herbs of the field + throughout the land of Egypt." Pharaoh then called for Moses and Aaron in + great haste, admitted that he had sinned against the Lord their God and + against them, asked their forgiveness and requested them to intercede with + God that he might take away the locusts. They went out from his presence + and asked the Lord to drive the locusts away, "And the Lord made a strong + west wind which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea so + that there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt." + </p> + <p> + As soon as the locusts were gone, Pharaoh changed his mind, and, in the + language of the sacred text, "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart so that he + would not let the children of Israel go." + </p> + <p> + The Lord then told Moses to stretch out his hand toward heaven that there + might be darkness over the land of Egypt, "even darkness which might be + felt." "And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a + thick darkness over the land of Egypt for three days during which time + they saw not each other, neither arose any of the people from their places + for three days; but the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." + </p> + <p> + It strikes me that when the land of Egypt was covered with thick darkness—so + thick that it could be felt, and when light was in the dwellings of the + Israelites, there could have been no better time for the Hebrews to have + left the country. + </p> + <p> + Pharaoh again called for Moses, and told him that his people could go and + serve the Lord, provided they would leave their flocks and herds. Moses + would not agree to this, for the reason that they needed the flocks and + herds for sacrifices and burnt offerings, and he did not know how many of + the animals God might require, and for that reason he could not leave a + single hoof. Upon the question of the cattle, they divided, and Pharaoh + again refused to let the people go. God then commanded Moses to tell the + Hebrews to borrow, each of his neighbor, jewels of silver and gold. By a + miraculous interposition the Hebrews found favor in the sight of the + Egyptians so that they loaned the articles asked for. After this, Moses + again went to Pharaoh and told him that all the first-born in the land of + Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh upon the throne, unto the first-born + of the maid-servant who was behind the mill, as well as the first-born of + beasts, should die. + </p> + <p> + As all the beasts had been destroyed by disease and hail, it is + troublesome to understand the meaning of the threat as to their + first-born. + </p> + <p> + Preparations were accordingly made for carrying this frightful threat into + execution. Blood was put on the door-posts of all houses inhabited by + Hebrews, so that God, as he passed through that land, might not be + mistaken and destroy the first-born of the Jews. "And it came to pass that + at midnight the Lord smote all the first-born in the land of Egypt, the + first-born of Pharaoh who sat on the throne, and the first-born of the + captive who was in the dungeon. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, and all + his servants, and all the Egyptians, and there was a great cry in Egypt, + for there was not a house where there was not one dead." + </p> + <p> + What had these children done? Why should the babes in the cradle be + destroyed on account of the crime of Pharaoh? Why should the cattle be + destroyed because man had enslaved his brother? In those days women and + children and cattle were put upon an exact equality, and all considered as + the property of the men; and when man in some way excited the wrath of + God, he punished them by destroying all their cattle, their wives, and + their little ones. Where can words be found bitter enough to describe a + god who would kill wives and babes because husbands and fathers had failed + to keep his law? Every good man, and every good woman, must hate and + despise such a deity. + </p> + <p> + Upon the death of all the first-born Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and + not only gave his consent that they might go with the Hebrews into the + wilderness, but besought them to go at once. + </p> + <p> + Is it possible that an infinite God, creator of all worlds and sustainer + of all life, said to Pharaoh, "If you do not let my people go, I will turn + all the water of your country into blood," and that upon the refusal of + Pharaoh to release the people, God did turn all the waters into blood? Do + you believe this? + </p> + <p> + Do you believe that Pharaoh even after all the water was turned to blood, + refused to let the Hebrews go, and that thereupon God told him he would + cover his land with frogs? Do you believe this? + </p> + <p> + Do you believe that after the land was covered with frogs Pharaoh still + refused to let the people go, and that God then said to him, "I will cover + you and all your people with lice?" Do you believe God would make this + threat? + </p> + <p> + Do you also believe that God told Pharaoh, "If you do not let these people + go, I will fill all your houses and cover your country with flies?" Do you + believe God makes such threats as this? + </p> + <p> + Of course God must have known that turning the waters into blood, covering + the country with frogs, infesting all flesh with lice, and filling all + houses with flies, would not accomplish his object, and that all these + plagues would have no effect whatever upon the Egyptian king. + </p> + <p> + Do you believe that, failing to accomplish anything by the flies, God told + Pharaoh that if he did not let the people go he would kill his cattle with + murrain? Does such a threat sound God-like? + </p> + <p> + Do you believe that, failing to effect anything by killing the cattle, + this same God then threatened to afflict all the people with boils, + including the magicians who had been rivaling him in the matter of + miracles; and failing to do anything by boils, that he resorted to hail? + Does this sound reasonable? The hail experiment having accomplished + nothing, do you believe that God murdered the first-born of animals and + men? Is it possible to conceive of anything more utterly absurd, stupid, + revolting, cruel and senseless, than the miracles said to have been + wrought by the Almighty for the purpose of inducing Pharaoh to liberate + the children of Israel? + </p> + <p> + Is it not altogether more reasonable to say that the Jewish people, being + in slavery, accounted for the misfortunes and calamities, suffered by the + Egyptians, by saying that they were the judgments of God? + </p> + <p> + When the Armada of Spain was wrecked and scattered by the storm, the + English people believed that God had interposed in their behalf, and + publicly gave thanks. When the battle of Lepanto was won, it was believed + by the catholic world that the victory was given in answer to prayer. So, + our fore-fathers in their revolutionary struggle saw, or thought they saw, + the hand of God, and most firmly believed that they achieved their + independence by the interposition of the Most High. + </p> + <p> + Now, it may be that while the Hebrews were enslaved by the Egyptians, + there were plagues of locusts and flies. It may be that there were some + diseases by which many of the cattle perished. It may be that a pestilence + visited that country so that in nearly every house there was some one + dead. If so, it was but natural for the enslaved and superstitious Jews to + account for these calamities by saying that they were punishments sent by + their God. Such ideas will be found in the history of every country. + </p> + <p> + For a long time the Jews held these opinions, and they were handed from + father to son simply by tradition. By the time a written language had been + produced, thousands of additions had been made, and numberless details + invented; so that we have not only an account of the plagues suffered by + the Egyptians, but the whole woven into a connected story, containing the + threats made by Moses and Aaron, the miracles wrought by them, the + promises of Pharaoh, and finally the release of the Hebrews, as a result + of the marvelous things performed in their behalf by Jehovah. + </p> + <p> + In any event it is infinitely more probable that the author was + misinformed, than that the God of this universe was guilty of these + childish, heartless and infamous things. The solution of the whole matter + is this:—Moses was mistaken. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0024" id="link2H_4_0024"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIII. THE FLIGHT + </h2> + <p> + Three millions of people, with their flocks and herds, with borrowed + jewelry and raiment, with unleavened dough in kneading troughs bound in + their clothes upon their shoulders, in one night commenced their journey + for the land of promise. We are not told how they were informed of the + precise time to start. With all the modern appliances, it would require + months of time to inform three millions of people of any fact. + </p> + <p> + In this vast assemblage there were six hundred thousand men of war, and + with them were the old, the young, the diseased and helpless. Where were + those people going? They were going to the desert of Sinai, compared with + which Sahara is a garden. Imagine an ocean of lava torn by storm and vexed + by tempest, suddenly gazed at by a Gorgon and changed instantly to stone! + Such was the desert of Sinai. + </p> + <p> + All of the civilized nations of the world could not feed and support three + millions of people on the desert of Sinai for forty years. It would cost + more than one hundred thousand millions of dollars, and would bankrupt + Christendom. They had with them their flocks and herds, and the sheep were + so numerous that the Israelites sacrificed, at one time, more than one + hundred and fifty thousand first-born lambs. How were these flocks + supported? What did they eat? Where were meadows and pastures for them? + There was no grass, no forests—nothing! There is no account of its + having rained baled hay, nor is it even claimed that they were + miraculously fed. To support these flocks, millions of acres of pasture + would have been required. God did not take the Israelites through the land + of the Philistines, for fear that when they saw the people of that country + they would return to Egypt, but he took them by the way of the wilderness + to the Red Sea, going before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and by + night, in a pillar of fire. + </p> + <p> + When it was told Pharaoh that the people had fled, he made ready and took + six hundred chosen chariots of Egypt, and pursued after the children of + Israel, overtaking them by the sea. As all the animals had long before + that time been destroyed, we are not informed where Pharaoh obtained the + horses for his chariots. The moment the children of Israel saw the hosts + of Pharaoh, although they had six hundred thousand men of war, they + immediately cried unto the Lord for protection. It is wonderful to me that + a land that had been ravaged by the plagues described in the bible, still + had the power to put in the field an army that would carry terror to the + hearts of six hundred thousand men of war. Even with the help of God, it + seems, they were not strong enough to meet the Egyptians in the open + field, but resorted to strategy. Moses again stretched forth his wonderful + rod over the waters of the Red Sea, and they were divided, and the Hebrews + passed through on dry land, the waters standing up like a wall on either + side. The Egyptians pursued them; "and in the morning watch the Lord + looked into the hosts of the Egyptians, through the pillar of fire," and + proceeded to take the wheels off their chariots. As soon as the wheels + were off, God told Moses to stretch out his hand over the sea. Moses did + so, and immediately "the waters returned and covered the chariots and + horsemen and all the hosts of Pharaoh that came into the sea, and there + remained not so much as one of them." + </p> + <p> + This account may be true, but still it hardly looks reasonable that God + would take the wheels off the chariots. How did he do it? Did he pull out + the linch-pins, or did he just take them off by main force? + </p> + <p> + What a picture this presents to the mind! God the creator of the universe, + maker of every shining, glittering star, engaged in pulling off the wheels + of wagons, that he might convince Pharaoh of his greatness and power! + </p> + <p> + Where were these people going? They were going to the promised land. How + large a country was that? About twelve thousand square miles. About + one-fifth the size of the State of Illinois. It was a frightful country, + covered with rocks and desolation. How many people were in the promised + land already? Moses tells us there were seven nations in that country + mightier than the Jews. As there were at least three millions of Jews, + there must have been at least twenty-one millions of people already in + that country. These had to be driven out in order that room might be made + for the chosen people of God. + </p> + <p> + It seems, however, that God was not willing to take the children of Israel + into the promised land immediately. They were not fit to inhabit the land + of Canaan; so he made up his mind to allow them to wander upon the desert + until all except two, who had left Egypt, should perish. Of all the slaves + released from Egyptian bondage, only two were allowed to reach the + promised land! + </p> + <p> + As soon as the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea, they found themselves without + food, and with water unfit to drink by reason of its bitterness, and they + began to murmur against Moses, who cried unto the Lord, and "the Lord + showed him a tree." Moses cast this tree into the waters, and they became + sweet. "And it came to pass in the morning the dew lay around about the + camp; and when the dew that lay was gone, behold, upon the face of the + wilderness lay a small round thing, small as the hoar-frost upon the + ground. And Moses said unto them, this is the bread which the Lord hath + given you to eat." This manna was a very peculiar thing. It would melt in + the sun, and yet they could cook it by seething and baking. One would as + soon think of frying snow or of broiling icicles. But this manna had + another remarkable quality. No matter how much or little any person + gathered, he would have an exact omer; if he gathered more, it would + shrink to that amount, and if he gathered less, it would swell exactly to + that amount. What a magnificent substance manna would be with which to + make a currency—shrinking and swelling according to the great laws + of supply and demand! + </p> + <p> + "Upon this manna the children of Israel lived for forty years, until they + came to a habitable land. With this meat were they fed until they reached + the borders of the land of Canaan." We are told in the twenty-first + chapter of Numbers, that the people at last became tired of the manna, + complained of God, and asked Moses why he brought them out of the land of + Egypt to die in the wilderness. And they said:—"There is no bread, + nor have we any water. Our soul loatheth this light food." + </p> + <p> + We are told by some commentators that the Jews lived on manna for forty + years; by others that they lived upon it for only a short time. As a + matter of fact the accounts differ, and this difference is the opportunity + for commentators. It also allows us to exercise faith in believing that + both accounts are true. If the accounts agreed, and were reasonable, they + would be believed by the wicked and unregenerated. But as they are + different and unreasonable, they are believed only by the good. Whenever a + statement in the bible is unreasonable, and you believe it, you are + considered quite a good christian. If the statement is grossly absurd and + infinitely impossible, and you still believe it, you are a saint. + </p> + <p> + The children of Israel were in the desert, and they were out of water. + They had nothing to eat but manna, and this they had had so long that the + soul of every person abhorred it. Under these circumstances they + complained to Moses. Now, as God is infinite, he could just as well have + furnished them with an abundance of the purest and coolest of water, and + could, without the slightest trouble to himself, have given them three + excellent meals a day, with a generous variety of meats and vegetables, it + is very hard to see why he did not do so. It is still harder to conceive + why he fell into a rage when the people mildly suggested that they would + like a change of diet. Day after day, week after week, month after month, + year after year, nothing but manna. No doubt they did the best they could + by cooking it in different ways, but in spite of themselves they began to + loathe its sight and taste, and so they asked Moses to use his influence + to secure a change in the bill of fare. + </p> + <p> + Now, I ask, whether it was unreasonable for the Jews to suggest that a + little meat would be very gratefully received? It seems, however, that as + soon as the request was made, this God of infinite mercy became infinitely + enraged, and instead of granting it, went into, partnership with serpents, + for the purpose of punishing the hungry wretches to whom he had promised a + land flowing with milk and honey. + </p> + <p> + Where did these serpents come from? How did God convey the information to + the serpents, that he wished them to go to the desert of Sinai and bite + some Jews? It may be urged that these serpents were created for the + express purpose of punishing the children of Israel for having had the + presumption, like Oliver Twist, to ask for more. + </p> + <p> + There is another account in the eleventh chapter of Numbers, of the people + murmuring because of their food. They remembered the fish, the cucumbers, + the melons, the leeks, the onions and the garlic of Egypt, and they asked + for meat The people went to the tent of Moses and asked him for flesh. + Moses cried unto the Lord and asked him why he did not take care of the + multitude. God thereupon agreed that they should have meat, not for a day + or two, but for a month, until the meat should come out of their nostrils + and become loathsome to them. He then caused a wind to bring quails from + beyond the sea, and cast them into the camp, on every side of the camp + around about for the space of a days journey. And the people gathered + them, and while the flesh was yet between their teeth the wrath of God + being provoked against them, struck them with an exceeding great plague. + Serpents, also, were sent among them, and thousands perished for the crime + of having been hungry. + </p> + <p> + The Rev. Alexander Cruden commenting upon this account says:— + </p> + <p> + "God caused a wind to rise that drove the quails within and about the camp + of the Israelites; and it is in this that the miracle consists, that they + were brought so seasonably to this place, and in so great numbers as to + suffice above a million of persons above a month. Some authors affirm, + that in those eastern and southern countries, quails are innumerable, so + that in one part of Italy within the compass of five miles, there were + taken about an hundred thousand of them every day for a month together; + and that sometimes they fly so thick over the sea, that being weary they + fall into ships, sometimes in such numbers, that they sink them with their + weight." + </p> + <p> + No wonder Mr. Cruden believed the Mosaic account. + </p> + <p> + Must we believe that God made an arrangement with hornets for the purpose + of securing their services in driving the Canaanites from the land of + promise? Is this belief necessary unto salvation? Must we believe that God + said to the Jews that he would send hornets before them to drive out the + Canaanites, as related in the twenty-third chapter of Exodus, and the + seventh chapter of Deuteronomy? How would the hornets know a Canaanite? In + what way would God put it in the mind of a hornet to attack a Canaanite? + Did God create hornets for that especial purpose, implanting an instinct + to attack a Canaanite, but not a Hebrew? Can we conceive of the Almighty + granting letters of marque and reprisal to hornets? Of course it is + admitted that nothing in the world would be better calculated to make a + man leave his native land than a few hornets. Is it possible for us to + believe that an infinite being would resort to such expedients in order to + drive the Canaanites from their country? He could just as easily have + spoken the Canaanites out of existence as to have spoken the hornets in. + In this way a vast amount of trouble, pain and suffering would have been + saved. Is it possible that there is, in this country, an intelligent + clergyman who will insist that these stories are true; that we must + believe them in in order to be good people in this world, and glorified + souls in the next? + </p> + <p> + We are also told that God instructed the Hebrews to kill the Canaanites + slowly, giving as a reason that the beasts of the field might increase + upon his chosen people. When we take into consideration the fact that the + Holy Land contained only about eleven or twelve thousand square miles, and + was at that time inhabited by at least twenty-one millions of people, it + does not seem reasonable that the wild beasts could have been numerous + enough to cause any great alarm. The same ratio of population would give + to the State of Illinois at least one hundred and twenty millions of + inhabitants. Can anybody believe that, under such circumstances, the + danger from wild beasts could be very great? What would we think of a + general, invading such a state, if he should order his soldiers to kill + the people slowly, lest the wild beasts might increase upon them? Is it + possible that a God capable of doing the miracles recounted in the Old + Testament could not, in some way, have disposed of the wild beasts? After + the Canaanites were driven out, could he not have employed the hornets to + drive out the wild beasts? Think of a God that could drive twenty-one + millions of people out of the promised land, could raise up innumerable + stinging flies, and could cover the earth with fiery serpents, and yet + seems to have been perfectly powerless against the wild beasts of the land + of Canaan! + </p> + <p> + Speaking of these hornets, one of the good old commentators, whose views + have long been considered of great value by the believers in the + inspiration of the bible, uses the following language:—"Hornets are + a sort of strong flies, which the Lord used as instruments to plague the + enemies of his people. They are of themselves very troublesome and + mischievous, and those the Lord made use of were, it is thought, of an + extraordinary bigness and perniciousness. It is said they live as the + wasps, and that they have a king or captain, and pestilent stings as bees, + and that, if twenty-seven of them sting man or beast, it is certain death + to either. Nor is it strange that such creatures did drive out the + Canaanites from their habitations; for many heathen writers give instances + of some people driven from their seats by frogs, others by mice, others by + bees and wasps. And it is said that a christian city, being besieged by + Sapores, king of Persia, was delivered by hornets; for the elephants and + beasts being stung by them, waxed unruly, and so the whole army fled." + </p> + <p> + Only a few years ago, all such stories were believed by the christian + world; and it is a historical fact, that Voltaire was the third man of any + note in Europe, who took the ground that the mythologies of Greece and + Rome were without foundation. Until his time, most christians believed as + thoroughly in the miracles ascribed to the Greek and Roman gods as in + those of Christ and Jehovah. The christian world cultivated credulity, not + only as one of the virtues, but as the greatest of them all. But, when + Luther and his followers left the church of Rome, they were compelled to + deny the power of the catholic church, at that time, to suspend the laws + of nature, but took the ground that such power ceased with the apostolic + age. They insisted that all things now happened in accordance with the + laws of nature, with the exception of a few special interferences in favor + of the protestant church in answer to prayer. They taught their children a + double philosophy: by one, they were to show the impossibility of catholic + miracles, because opposed to the laws of nature; by the other, the + probability of the miracles of the apostolic age, because they were in + conformity with the statements of the scriptures. They had two + foundations: one, the law of nature, and the other, the word of God. The + protestants have endeavored to carry on this double process of reasoning, + and the result has been a gradual increase of confidence in the law of + nature, and a gradual decrease of confidence in the word of God. + </p> + <p> + We are told, in this inspired account, that the clothing of the Jewish + people did not wax old, and that their shoes refused to wear out. Some + commentators have insisted that angels attended to the wardrobes of the + Hebrews, patched their garments, and mended their shoes. Certain it is, + however, that the same clothes lasted them for forty years, during the + entire journey from Egypt to the Holy Land. Little boys starting out with + their first pantaloons, grew as they traveled, and their clothes grew with + them. + </p> + <p> + Can it be necessary to believe a story like this? Will men make better + husbands, fathers, neighbors, and citizens, simply by giving credence to + these childish and impossible things? Certainly an infinite God could have + transported the Jews to the Holy Land in a moment, and could, as easily, + have removed the Canaanites to some other country. Surely there was no + necessity for doing thousands and thousands of petty miracles, day after + day for forty years, looking after the clothes of three millions of + people, changing the nature of wool, and linen, and leather, so that they + would not "wax old." Every step, every motion, would wear away some part + of the clothing, some part of the shoes. Were these parts, so worn away, + perpetually renewed, or was the nature of things so changed that they + could not wear away? We know that whenever matter comes in contact with + matter, certain atoms, by abrasion, are lost. Were these atoms gathered up + every night by angels, and replaced on the soles of the shoes, on the + elbows of coats, and on the knees of pantaloons, so that the next morning + they would be precisely in the condition they were on the morning before? + There must be a mistake somewhere. + </p> + <p> + Can we believe that the real God, if there is one, ever ordered a man to + be killed simply for making hair oil, or ointment? We are told in the + thirtieth chapter of Exodus, that the Lord commanded Moses to take myrrh, + cinnamon, sweet calamus, cassia, and olive oil, and make a holy ointment + for the purpose of anointing the tabernacle, tables, candlesticks and + other utensils, as well as Aaron and his sons; saying, at the same time, + that whosoever compounded any like it, or whoever put any of it on a + stranger, should be put to death. In the same chapter, the Lord furnishes + Moses with a recipe for making a perfume, saying, that whoever should make + any which smelled like it, should be cut off from his people. This, to me, + sounds so unreasonable that I cannot believe it. Why should an infinite + God care whether mankind made ointments and perfumes like his or not? Why + should the Creator of all things threaten to kill a priest who approached + his altar without having washed his hands and feet? These commandments and + these penalties would disgrace the vainest tyrant that ever sat, by + chance, upon a throne. There must be some mistake. I cannot believe that + an infinite Intelligence appeared to Moses upon Mount Sinai having with + him a variety of patterns for making a tabernacle, tongs, snuffers and + dishes. Neither can I believe that God told Moses how to cut and trim a + coat for a priest. Why should a God care about such things? Why should he + insist on having buttons sewed in certain rows, and fringes of a certain + color? Suppose an intelligent civilized man was to overhear, on Mount + Sinai, the following instructions from God to Moses:— + </p> + <p> + "You must consecrate my priests as follows:—You must kill a bullock + for a sin offering, and have Aaron and his sons lay their hands upon the + head of the bullock. Then you must take the blood and put it upon the + horns of the altar round about with your finger, and pour some blood at + the bottom of the altar to make a reconciliation; and of the fat that is + upon the inwards, the caul above the liver and two kidneys, and their fat, + and burn them upon the altar. You must get a ram for a burnt offering, and + Aaron and his sons must lay their hands upon the head of the ram. Then you + must kill it and sprinkle the blood upon the altar, and cut the ram into + pieces, and burn the head, and the pieces, and the fat, and wash the + inwards and the lungs in water and then burn the whole ram upon the altar + for a sweet savor unto me. Then you must get another ram, and have Aaron + and his sons lay their hands upon the head of that, then kill it and take + of its blood, and put it on the top of Aaron s right ear, and on the thumb + of his right hand, and on the great toe of his right foot. And you must + also put a little of the blood upon the top of the right ears of Aaron's + sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of + their right feet. And then you must take of the fat that is on the + inwards, and the caul above the liver and the two kidneys, and their fat, + and the right shoulder, and out of a basket of unleavened bread you must + take one unleavened cake and another of oil bread, and one wafer, and put + them on the fat of the right shoulder. And you must take of the anointing + oil, and of the blood, and sprinkle it on Aaron, and on his garments, and + on his sons garments, and sanctify them and all their clothes."—Do + you believe that he would have even suspected that the creator of the + universe was talking? + </p> + <p> + Can any one now tell why God commanded the Jews, when they were upon the + desert of Sinai, to plant trees, telling them at the same time that they + must not eat any of the fruit of such trees until after the fourth year? + Trees could not have been planted in that desert, and if they had been, + they could not have lived. Why did God tell Moses, while in the desert, to + make curtains of fine linen? Where could he have obtained his flax? There + was no land upon which it could have been produced. Why did he tell him to + make things of gold, and silver, and precious stones, when they could not + have been in possession of these things? There is but one answer, and that + is, the Pentateuch was written hundreds of years after the Jews had + settled in the Holy Land, and hundreds of years after Moses was dust and + ashes. + </p> + <p> + When the Jews had a written language, and that must have been long after + their flight from Egypt, they wrote out their history and their laws. + Tradition had filled the infancy of the nation with miracles and special + interpositions in their behalf by Jehovah. Patriotism would not allow + these wonders to grow small, and priestcraft never denied a miracle. There + were traditions to the effect that God had spoken face to face with Moses; + that he had given him the tables of the law, and had, in a thousand ways, + made known his will; and whenever the priests wished to make new laws, or + amend old ones, they pretended to have found something more that God said + to Moses at Sinai. In this way obedience was more easily secured. Only a + very few of the people could read, and, as a consequence, additions, + interpolations and erasures had no fear of detection. In this way we + account for the fact that Moses is made to speak of things that did not + exist in his day, and were unknown for hundreds of years after his death. + </p> + <p> + In the thirtieth chapter of Exodus, we are told that the people, when + numbered, must give each one a half shekel after the shekel of the <i>sanctuary</i>. + At that time no such money existed, and consequently the account could + not, by any possibility, have been written until after there was a shekel + of the sanctuary, and there was no such thing until long after the death + of Moses. If we should read that Cęsar paid his troops in pounds, + shillings and pence, we would certainly know that the account was not + written by Cęsar, nor in his time, but we would know that it was written + after the English had given these names to certain coins. + </p> + <p> + So, we find, that when the Jews were upon the desert it was commanded that + every mother should bring, as a sin offering, a couple of doves to the + priests, and the priests were compelled to eat these doves in the most + holy place. At the time this law appears to have been given, there were + three million people, and only three priests, Aaron, Eleazer and Ithamar. + Among three million people there would be, at least, three hundred births + a day. Certainly we are not expected to believe that these three priests + devoured six hundred pigeons every twenty-four hours. + </p> + <p> + Why should a woman ask pardon of God for having been a mother? Why should + that be considered a crime in Exodus, which is commanded as a duty in + Genesis? Why should a mother be declared unclean? Why should giving birth + to a daughter be regarded twice as criminal as giving birth to a son? Can + we believe that such laws and ceremonies were made and instituted by a + merciful and intelligent God? If there is anything in this poor world + suggestive of, and standing for, all that is sweet, loving and pure, it is + a mother holding in her thrilled and happy arms her prattling babe. Read + the twelfth chapter of Leviticus, and you will see that when a woman + became the mother of a boy she was so unclean that she was not allowed to + touch a hallowed thing, nor to enter the sanctuary for forty days. If the + babe was a girl, then the mother was unfit for eighty days, to enter the + house of God, or to touch the sacred tongs and snuffers. These laws, born + of barbarism, are unworthy of our day, and should be regarded simply as + the mistakes of savages. + </p> + <p> + Just as low in the scale of intelligence are the directions given in the + fifth chapter of Numbers, for the trial of a wife of whom the husband was + jealous. This foolish chapter has been the foundation of all appeals to + God for the ascertainment of facts, such as the corsned, trial by battle, + by water, and by fire, the last of which is our judicial oath. It is very + easy to believe that in those days a guilty woman would be afraid to drink + the water of jealousy and take the oath, and that, through fear, she might + be made to confess. Admitting that the deception tended not only to + prevent crime, but to discover it when committed, still, we cannot admit + that an honest god would, for any purpose, resort to dishonest means. In + all countries fear is employed as a means of getting at the truth, and in + this there is nothing dishonest, provided falsehood is not resorted to for + the purpose of producing the fear. Protestants laugh at catholics because + of their belief in the efficacy of holy water, and yet they teach their + children that a little holy water, in which had been thrown some dust from + the floor of the sanctuary, would work a miracle in a woman's flesh. For + hundreds of years our fathers believed that a perjurer could not swallow a + piece of sacramental bread. Such stories belong to the childhood of our + race, and are now believed only by mental infants and intellectual babes. + </p> + <p> + I cannot believe that Moses had in his hands a couple of tables of stone, + upon which God had written the ten commandments, and that when he saw the + golden calf, and the dancing, that he dashed the tables to the earth and + broke them in pieces. Neither do I believe that Moses took a golden calf, + burnt it, ground it to powder, and made the people drink it with water, as + related in the thirty-second chapter of Exodus. + </p> + <p> + There is another account of the giving of the ten commandments to Moses, + in the nineteenth and twentieth chapters of Exodus. In this account not + one word is said about the people having made a golden calf, nor about the + breaking of the tables of stone. In the thirty-fourth chapter of Exodus, + there is an account of the renewal of the broken tables of the law, and + the commandments are given, but they are not the same commandments + mentioned in the twentieth chapter. There are two accounts of the same + transaction. Both of these stories cannot be true, and yet both must be + believed. Any one who will take the trouble to read the nineteenth and + twentieth chapters, and the last verse of the thirty-first chapter, the + thirty-second, thirty-third, and thirty-fourth chapters of Exodus, will be + compelled to admit that both accounts cannot be true. + </p> + <p> + From the last account it appears that while Moses was upon Mount Sinai + receiving the commandments from God, the people brought their jewelry to + Aaron, and he cast for them a golden calf. This happened before any + commandment against idolatry had been given. A god ought, certainly, to + publish his laws before inflicting penalties for their violation. To + inflict punishment for breaking unknown and unpublished laws is, in the + last degree, cruel and unjust. It may be replied that the Jews knew better + than to worship idols, before the law was given. If this is so, why should + the law have been given? In all civilized countries, laws are made and + promulgated, not simply for the purpose of informing the people as to what + is right and wrong, but to inform them of the penalties to be visited upon + those who violate the laws. When the ten commandments were given, no + penalties were attached. Not one word was written on the tables of stone + as to the punishments that would be inflicted for breaking any or all of + the inspired laws. The people should not have been punished for violating + a commandment before it was given. And yet, in this case, Moses commanded + the sons of Levi to take their swords and slay every man his brother, his + companion, and his neighbor. The brutal order was obeyed, and three + thousand men were butchered. The Levites consecrated themselves unto the + Lord by murdering their sons, and their brothers, for having violated a + commandment before it had been given. + </p> + <p> + It has been contended for many years that the ten commandments are the + foundation of all ideas of justice and of law. Eminent jurists have bowed + to popular prejudice, and deformed their works by statements to the effect + that the Mosaic laws are the fountains from which sprang all ideas of + right and wrong. Nothing can be more stupidly false than such assertions. + Thousands of years before Moses was born, the Egyptians had a code of + laws. They had laws against blasphemy, murder, adultery, larceny, perjury, + laws for the collection of debts, the enforcement of contracts, the + ascertainment of damages, the redemption of property pawned, and upon + nearly every subject of human interest. The Egyptian code was far better + than the Mosaic. + </p> + <p> + Laws spring from the instinct of self-preservation, Industry objected to + supporting idleness, and laws were made against theft. Laws were made + against murder, because a very large majority of the people have always + objected to being murdered. All fundamental laws were born simply of the + instinct of self-defence. Long before the Jewish savages assembled at the + foot of Sinai, laws had been made and enforced, not only in Egypt and + India, but by every tribe that ever existed. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible for human beings to exist together, without certain rules + of conduct, certain ideas of the proper and improper, of the right and + wrong, growing out of the relation. Certain rules must be made, and must + be enforced. This implies law, trial and punishment. Whoever produces + anything by weary labor, does not need a revelation from heaven to teach + him that he has a right to the thing produced. Not one of the learned + gentlemen who pretend that the Mosaic laws are filled with justice and + intelligence, would live, for a moment, in any country where such laws + were in force. + </p> + <p> + Nothing can be more wonderful than the medical ideas of Jehovah. He had + the strangest notions about the cause and cure of disease. With him + everything was miracle and wonder. In the fourteenth chapter of Leviticus, + we find the law for cleansing a leper:—"Then shall the priest take + for him that is to be cleansed, two birds, alive and clean, and cedar + wood, and scarlet, and hyssop. And the priest shall command that one of + the birds be killed in an <i>earthen</i> vessel, over <i>running</i> + water. As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and + the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them, and the living bird, in + the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water. And he shall + sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy, seven times, + and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into + the open field." + </p> + <p> + We are told that God himself gave these directions to Moses. Does anybody + believe this? Why should the bird be killed in an <i>earthen</i> vessel? + Would the charm be broken if the vessel was of wood? Why over <i>running</i> + water? What would be thought of a physician now, who would give a + prescription like that? + </p> + <p> + Is it not strange that God, although he gave hundreds of directions for + the purpose of discovering the presence of leprosy, and for cleansing the + leper after he was healed, forgot to tell how that disease could be cured? + Is it not wonderful that while God told his people what animals were fit + for food, he failed to give a list of plants that man might eat? Why did + he leave his children to find out the hurtful and the poisonous by + experiment, knowing that experiment, in millions of cases, must be death? + </p> + <p> + When reading the history of the Jewish people, of their flight from + slavery to death, of their exchange of tyrants, I must confess that my + sympathies are all aroused in their behalf. They were cheated, deceived + and abused. Their god was quick-tempered unreasonable, cruel, revengeful + and dishonest. He was always promising but never performed. He wasted time + in ceremony and childish detail, and in the exaggeration of what he had + done. It is impossible for me to conceive of a character more utterly + detestable than that of the Hebrew god. He had solemnly promised the Jews + that he would take them from Egypt to a land flowing with milk and honey. + He had led them to believe that in a little while their troubles would be + over, and that they would soon in the land of Canaan, surrounded by their + wives and little ones, forget the stripes and tears of Egypt. After + promising the poor wanderers again and again that he would lead them in + safety to the promised land of joy and plenty, this God, forgetting every + promise, said to the wretches in his power:—"Your carcasses shall + fall in this wilderness and your children shall wander until your + carcasses be wasted." This curse was the conclusion of the whole matter. + Into this dust of death and night faded all the promises of God. Into this + rottenness of wandering despair fell all the dreams of liberty and home. + Millions of corpses were left to rot in the desert, and each one certified + to the dishonesty of Jehovah. I cannot believe these things. They are so + cruel and heartless, that my blood is chilled and my sense of justice + shocked. A book that is equally abhorrent to my head and heart, cannot be + accepted as a revelation from God. + </p> + <p> + When we think of the poor Jews, destroyed, murdered, bitten by serpents, + visited by plagues, decimated by famine, butchered by each, other, + swallowed by the earth, frightened, cursed, starved, deceived, robbed and + outraged, how thankful we should be that we are not the chosen people of + God. No wonder that they longed for the slavery of Egypt, and remembered + with sorrow the unhappy day when they exchanged masters. Compared with + Jehovah, Pharaoh was a benefactor, and the tyranny of Egypt was freedom to + those who suffered the liberty of God. + </p> + <p> + While reading the Pentateuch, I am filled with indignation, pity and + horror. Nothing can be sadder than the history of the starved and + frightened wretches who wandered over the desolate crags and sands of + wilderness and desert, the prey of famine, sword, and plague. Ignorant and + superstitious to the last degree, governed by falsehood, plundered by + hypocrisy, they were the sport of priests, and the food of fear. God was + their greatest enemy, and death their only friend. + </p> + <p> + It is impossible to conceive of a more thoroughly despicable, hateful, and + arrogant being, than the Jewish god. He is without a redeeming feature. In + the mythology of the world he has no parallel. He, only, is never touched + by agony and tears. He delights only in blood and pain. Human affections + are naught to him. He cares neither for love nor music, beauty nor joy. A + false friend, an unjust judge, a braggart, hypocrite, and tyrant, sincere + in hatred, jealous, vain, and revengeful, false in promise, honest in + curse, suspicious, ignorant, and changeable, infamous and hideous:—such + is the God of the Pentateuch. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0025" id="link2H_4_0025"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIV. CONFESS AND AVOID + </h2> + <p> + The scientific christians now admit that the bible is not inspired in its + astronomy, geology, botany, zoology, nor in any science. In other words, + they admit that on these subjects, the bible cannot be depended upon. If + all the statements in the scriptures were true, there would be no + necessity for admitting that some of them are not inspired. A christian + will not admit that a passage in the bible is uninspired, until he is + satisfied that it is untrue. Orthodoxy itself has at last been compelled + to say, that while a passage may be true and uninspired, it cannot be + inspired if false. + </p> + <p> + If the people of Europe had known as much of astronomy and geology when + the bible was introduced among them, as they do now, there never could + have been one believer in the doctrine of inspiration. If the writers of + the various parts of the bible had known as much about the sciences as is + now known by every intelligent man, the book never could have been + written. It was produced by ignorance, and has been believed and defended + by its author. It has lost power in the proportion that man has gained + knowledge. A few years ago, this book was appealed to in the settlement of + all scientific questions; but now, even the clergy confess that in such + matters, it has ceased to speak with the voice of authority. For the + establishment of facts, the word of man is now considered far better than + the word of God. In the world of science, Jehovah was superseded by + Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. All that God told Moses, admitting the + entire account to be true, is dust and ashes compared to the discoveries + of Des Cartes, La Place, and Humboldt. In matters of fact, the bible has + ceased to be regarded as a standard. Science has succeeded in breaking the + chains of theology. A few years ago, Science endeavored to show that it + was not inconsistent with the bible. The tables have been turned, and now, + Religion is endeavoring to prove that the bible is not inconsistent with + Science. The standard has been changed. + </p> + <p> + For many ages, the christians contended that the bible, viewed simply as a + literary performance, was beyond all other books, and that man without the + assistance of God could not produce its equal. This claim was made when + but few books existed, and the bible, being the only book generally known, + had no rival. But this claim, like the other, has been abandoned by many, + and soon will be, by all. Compared with Shakespeare's "book and volume of + the brain," the "sacred" bible shrinks and seems as feebly impotent and + vain, as would a pipe of Pan, when some great organ, voiced with every + tone, from the hoarse thunder of the sea to the winged warble of a mated + bird, floods and fills cathedral aisles with all the wealth of sound. + </p> + <p> + It is now maintained—and this appears to be the last fortification + behind which the doctrine of inspiration skulks and crouches—that + the bible, although false and mistaken in its astronomy, geology, + geography, history and philosophy, is inspired in its morality. It is now + claimed that had it not been for this book, the world would have been + inhabited only by savages, and that had it not been for the holy + scriptures, man never would have even dreamed of the unity of God. A + belief in one God is claimed to be a dogma of almost infinite importance, + that without this belief civilization is impossible, and that this fact is + the sun around which all the virtues revolve, For my part, I think it + infinitely more important to believe in man. Theology is a superstition—Humanity + a religion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0026" id="link2H_4_0026"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXV. "INSPIRED" SLAVERY + </h2> + <p> + Perhaps the bible was inspired upon the subject of human slavery. Is + there, in the civilized world, today, a clergyman who believes in the + divinity of slavery? Does the bible teach man to enslave his brother? If + it does, is it not blasphemous to say that it is inspired of God? If you + find the institution of slavery upheld in a book said to have been written + by God, what would you expect to find in a book inspired by the devil? + Would you expect to find that book in favor of liberty? Modern christians, + ashamed of the God of the Old Testament, endeavor now to show that slavery + was neither commanded nor opposed by Jehovah. Nothing can be plainer than + the following passages from the twenty-fifth chapter of Leviticus. + "Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of + them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they + begat in your land: and they shall be your possession. And ye shall take + them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a + possession, they shall be your bond-men forever. Both thy bond-men, and + thy bond-maids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are + round about you; of them shall ye buy bond-men, and bond-maids." + </p> + <p> + Can we believe in this, the Nineteenth Century, that these infamous + passages were inspired by God? that God approved not only of human + slavery, but instructed his chosen people to buy the women, children and + babes of the heathen round about them? If it was right for the Hebrews to + buy, it was also right for the heathen to sell. This God, by commanding + the Hebrews to buy, approved of the selling of sons and daughters. The + Canaanite who, tempted by gold, lured by avarice, sold from the arms of + his wife the dimpled babe, simply made it possible for the Hebrews to obey + the orders of their God. If God is the author of the bible, the reading of + these passages ought to cover his cheeks with shame. I ask the christian + world to-day, was it right for the heathen to sell their children? Was it + right for God not only to uphold, but to command the infamous traffic in + human flesh? Could the most revengeful fiend, the most malicious vagrant + in the gloom of hell, sink to a lower moral depth than this? + </p> + <p> + According to this God, his chosen people were not only commanded to buy of + the heathen round about them, but were also permitted to buy each other + for a term of years. The law governing the purchase of Jews is laid down + in the twenty-first chapter of Exodus. "If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six + years shall he serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. + If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, + then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, + and she have borne him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall + be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. And if the servant shall + plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out + free: Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring + him to the door, or unto the door-post: and his master shall bore his ear + through with an awl: and he shall serve him forever." + </p> + <p> + Do you believe that God was the author of this infamous law? Do you + believe that the loving father of us all, turned the dimpled arms of babes + into manacles of iron? Do you believe that he baited the dungeon of + servitude with wife and child? Is it possible to love a God who would make + such laws? Is it possible not to hate and despise him? + </p> + <p> + The heathen are not spoken of as human beings. Their rights are never + mentioned. They were the rightful food of the sword, and their bodies were + made for stripes and chains. + </p> + <p> + In the same chapter of the same inspired book, we are told that, "if a man + smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he dies under his hand, he + shall be surely punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he + shall not be punished, for he is his money." + </p> + <p> + Must we believe that God called some of his children the money of others? + Can we believe that God made lashes upon the naked back, a legal tender + for labor performed? Must we regard the auction block as an altar? Were + blood hounds apostles? Was the slave-pen a temple? Were the stealers and + whippers of babes and women the justified children of God? + </p> + <p> + It is now contended that while the Old Testament is touched with the + barbarism of its time, that the New Testament is morally perfect, and that + on its pages can be found no blot or stain. As a matter of fact, the New + Testament is more decidedly in favor of human slavery than the old. + </p> + <p> + For my part, I never will, I never can, worship a God who upholds the + institution of slavery. Such a God I hate and defy. I neither want his + heaven, nor fear his hell. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0027" id="link2H_4_0027"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVI. "INSPIRED" MARRIAGE + </h2> + <p> + Is there an orthodox clergyman in the world, who will now declare that he + believes the institution of polygamy to be right? Is there one who will + publicly declare that, in his judgment, that institution ever was right? + Was there ever a time in the history of the world when it was right to + treat woman simply as property? Do not attempt to answer these questions + by saying, that the bible is an exceedingly good book, that we are + indebted for our civilization to the sacred volume, and that without it, + man would lapse into savagery, and mental night. This is no answer. Was + there a time when the institution of polygamy was the highest expression + of human virtue? Is there a christian woman, civilized, intelligent, and + free, who believes in the institution of polygamy? Are we better, purer, + and more intelligent than God was four thousand years ago? Why should we + imprison Mormons, and worship God? Polygamy is just as pure in Utah, as it + could have been in the promised land. Love and Virtue are the same the + whole world round, and Justice is the same in every star. All the + languages of the world are not sufficient to express the filth of + polygamy. It makes of man, a beast, of woman, a trembling slave. It + destroys the fireside, makes virtue an outcast, takes from human speech + its sweetest words, and leaves the heart a den, where crawl and hiss the + slimy serpents of most loathsome lust. Civilization rests upon the family. + The good family is the unit of good government. The virtues grow about the + holy hearth of home—they cluster, bloom, and shed their perfume + round the fireside where the one man loves the one woman. Lover—husband—wife—mother—father—child—home!—without + these sacred words, the world is but a lair, and men and women merely + beasts. + </p> + <p> + Why should the innocent maiden and the loving mother worship the heartless + Jewish God? Why should they, with pure and stainless lips, read the vile + record of inspired lust? + </p> + <p> + The marriage of the one man to the one woman is the citadel and fortress + of civilization. Without this, woman becomes the prey and slave of lust + and power, and man goes back to savagery and crime. From the bottom of my + heart I hate, abhor and execrate all theories of life, of which the pure + and sacred home is not the corner-stone. Take from the world the family, + the fireside, the children born of wedded love, and there is nothing left. + The home where virtue dwells with love is like a lily with a heart of fire—the + fairest flower in all the world. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0028" id="link2H_4_0028"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVII. "INSPIRED" WAR + </h2> + <p> + If the bible be true, God commanded his chosen people to destroy men + simply for the crime of defending their native land. They were not allowed + to spare trembling and white-haired age, nor dimpled babes clasped in the + mothers' arms. They were ordered to kill women, and to pierce, with the + sword of war, the unborn child. "Our heavenly Father" commanded the + Hebrews to kill the men and women, the fathers, sons and brothers, but to + preserve the girls alive. Why were not the maidens also killed? Why were + they spared? Read the thirty-first chapter of Numbers, and you will find + that the maidens were given to the soldiers and the priests. Is there, in + all the history of war, a more infamous thing than this? Is it possible + that God permitted the violets of modesty, that grow and shed their + perfume in the maiden's heart, to be trampled beneath the brutal feet of + lust? If this was the order of God, what, under the same circumstances, + would have been the command of a devil? When, in this age of the world, a + woman, a wife, a mother, reads this record, she should, with scorn and + loathing, throw the book away. A general, who now should make such an + order, giving over to massacre and rapine a conquered people, would be + held in execration by the whole civilized world. Yet, if the bible be + true, the supreme and infinite God was once a savage. + </p> + <p> + A little while ago, out upon the western plains, in a little path leading + to a cabin, were found the bodies of two children and their mother. Her + breast was filled with wounds received in the defence of her darlings. + They had been murdered by the savages. Suppose when looking at their + lifeless forms, some one had said, "This was done by the command of God!" + In Canaan there were countless scenes like this. There was no pity in + inspired war. God raised the black flag, and commanded his soldiers to + kill even the smiling infant in its mother's arms. Who is the blasphemer; + the man who denies the existence of God, or he who covers the robes of the + Infinite with innocent blood? + </p> + <p> + We are told in the Pentateuch, that God, the father of us all, gave + thousands of maidens, after having killed their fathers, their mothers, + and their brothers, to satisfy the brutal lusts of savage men. If there be + a God, I pray him to write in his book, opposite my name, that I denied + this lie for him. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0029" id="link2H_4_0029"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXVIII. "INSPIRED" RELIGIOUS LIBERTY + </h2> + <p> + According to the bible, God selected the Jewish people through whom to + make known the great fact, that he was the only true and living God. For + this purpose, he appeared on several occasions to Moses—came down to + Sinai's top clothed in cloud and fire, and wrought a thousand miracles for + the preservation and education of the Jewish people. In their presence he + opened the waters of the sea. For them he caused bread to rain from + heaven. To quench their thirst, water leaped from the dry and barren rock. + Their enemies were miraculously destroyed; and for forty years, at least, + this God took upon himself the government of the Jews. But, after all + this, many of the people had less confidence in him than in gods of wood + and stone. In moments of trouble, in periods of disaster, in the darkness + of doubt, in the hunger and thirst of famine, instead of asking this God + for aid, they turned and sought the help of senseless things. This God, + with all his power and wisdom, could not even convince a few wandering and + wretched savages that he was more potent than the idols of Egypt. This God + was not willing that the Jews should think and investigate for themselves. + For heresy, the penalty was death. Where this God reigned, intellectual + liberty was unknown. He appealed only to brute force; he collected taxes + by threatening plagues; he demanded worship on pain of sword and fire; + acting as spy, inquisitor, judge and executioner. + </p> + <p> + In the thirteenth chapter of Deuteronomy, we have the ideas of God as to + mental freedom. "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or the + wife of thy bosom, or thy friend which is as thine own soul, entice thee + secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not + known, thou nor thy fathers; <i>namely</i> of the gods of the people which + are around about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one + end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth, Thou shalt not + consent unto him, nor hearken unto him, neither shall thine eye pity him, + neither shalt thou spare him, neither shalt thou conceal him. But thou + shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to + death, and afterward the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him + with stones that he die." + </p> + <p> + This is the religious liberty of God; the toleration of Jehovah. If I had + lived in Palestine at that time, and my wife, the mother of my children, + had said to me, "I am tired of Jehovah, he is always asking for blood; he + is never weary of killing; he is always telling of his might and strength; + always telling what he has done for the Jews, always asking for + sacrifices; for doves and lambs—blood, nothing but blood.—Let + us worship the sun. Jehovah is too revengeful, too malignant, too + exacting. Let us worship the sun. The sun has clothed the world in beauty; + it has covered the earth with flowers; by its divine light I first saw + your face, and my beautiful babe."—If I had obeyed the command of + God, I would have killed her. My hand would have been first upon her, and + after that the hands of all the people, and she would have been stoned + with stones until she died. For my part, I would never kill my wife, even + if commanded so to do by the real God of this universe. Think of taking up + some ragged rock and hurling it against the white bosom filled with love + for you; and when you saw oozing from the bruised lips of the death wound, + the red current of her sweet life—think of looking up to heaven and + receiving the congratulations of the infinite fiend whose commandment you + had obeyed! + </p> + <p> + Can we believe that any such command was ever given by a merciful and + intelligent God? Suppose, however, that God did give this law to the Jews, + and did tell them that whenever a man preached a heresy, or proposed to + worship any other god that they should kill him; and suppose that + afterward this same God took upon himself flesh, and came to this very + chosen people and taught a different religion, and that thereupon the Jews + crucified him; I ask you, did he not reap exactly what he had sown? What + right would this God have to complain of a crucifixion suffered in + accordance with his own command? + </p> + <p> + Nothing can be more infamous than intellectual tyranny. To put chains upon + the body is as nothing compared with putting shackles on the brain. No god + is entitled to the worship or the respect of man who does not give, even + to the meanest of his children, every right that he claims for himself. + </p> + <p> + If the Pentateuch be true, religious persecution is a duty. The dungeons + of the Inquisition were temples, and the clank of every chain upon the + limbs of heresy was music in the ear of God. If the Pentateuch was + inspired, every heretic should be destroyed; and every man who advocates a + fact inconsistent with the sacred book, should be consumed by sword and + flame. + </p> + <p> + In the Old Testament no one is told to reason with a heretic, and not one + word is said about relying upon argument, upon education, nor upon + intellectual development—nothing except simple brute force. Is there + to-day a christian who will say that four thousand years ago, it was the + duty of a husband to kill his wife if she differed with him upon the + subject of religion? Is there one who will now say that, under such + circumstances, the wife ought to have been killed? Why should God be so + jealous of the wooden idols of the heathen? Could he not compete with + Baal? Was he envious of the success of the Egyptian magicians? Was it not + possible for him to make such a convincing display of his power as to + silence forever the voice of unbelief? Did this God have to resort to + force to make converts? Was he so ignorant of the structure of the human + mind as to believe all honest doubt a crime? If he wished to do away with + the idolatry of the Canaanites, why did he not appear to them? Why did he + not give them the tables of the law? Why did he only make known his will + to a few wandering savages in the desert of Sinai? Will some theologian + have the kindness to answer these questions? Will some minister, who now + believes in religious liberty, and eloquently denounces the intolerance of + Catholicism, explain these things; will he tell us why he worships an + intolerant God? Is a god who will burn a soul forever in another world, + better than a christian who burns the body for a few hours in this? Is + there no intellectual liberty in heaven? Do the angels all discuss + questions on the same side? Are all the investigators in perdition? Will + the penitent thief, winged and crowned, laugh at the honest folks in hell? + Will the agony of the damned increase or decrease the happiness of God? + Will there be, in the universe, an eternal <i>auto da fe?</i> + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0030" id="link2H_4_0030"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + XXIX. CONCLUSION + </h2> + <p> + If the Pentateuch is not inspired in its astronomy, geology, geography, + history or philosophy, if it is not inspired concerning slavery, polygamy, + war, law, religious or political liberty, or the rights of men, women and + children, what is it inspired in, or about? The unity of God?—that + was believed long before Moses was born. Special providence?—that + has been the doctrine of ignorance in all ages. The rights of property?—theft + was always a crime. The sacrifice of animals?—that was a custom + thousands of years before a Jew existed. The sacredness of life?—there + have always been laws against murder. The wickedness of perjury?—truthfulness + has always been a virtue. The beauty of chastity?—the Pentateuch + does not teach it. Thou shalt worship no other God?—that has been + the burden of all religions. + </p> + <p> + Is it possible that the Pentateuch could not have been written by + uninspired men? that the assistance of God was necessary to produce these + books? Is it possible that Galileo ascertained the mechanical principles + of "Virtual Velocity," the laws of falling bodies and of all motion; that + Copernicus ascertained the true position of the earth and accounted for + all celestial phenomena; that Kepler discovered his three laws—discoveries + of such importance that the 8th of May, 1618, may be called the birth-day + of modern science; that Newton gave to the world the Method of Fluxions, + the Theory of Universal Gravitation, and the Decomposition of Light; that + Euclid, Cavalieri, Des Cartes, and Leibnitz, almost completed the science + of mathematics; that all the discoveries in optics, hydrostatics, + pneumatics and chemistry, the experiments, discoveries, and inventions of + Galvani, Volta, Franklin and Morse, of Trevethick, Watt and Fulton and of + all the pioneers of progress—that all this was accomplished by + uninspired men, while the writer of the Pentateuch was directed and + inspired by an infinite God? Is it possible that the codes of China, + India, Egypt, Greece and Rome were made by man, and that the laws recorded + in the Pentateuch were alone given by God? Is it possible that Ęschylus + and Shakespeare, Burns, and Beranger, Goethe and Schiller, and all the + poets of the world, and all their wondrous tragedies and songs are but the + work of men, while no intelligence except the infinite God could be the + author of the Pentateuch? Is it possible that of all the books that crowd + the libraries of the world, the books of science, fiction, history and + song, that all save only one, have been produced by man? Is it possible + that of all these, the bible only is the work of God? + </p> + <p> + If the Pentateuch is inspired, the civilization of of our day is a mistake + and crime. There should be no political liberty. Heresy should be trodden + out beneath the bigot's brutal feet. Husbands should divorce their wives + at will, and make the mothers of their children houseless and weeping + wanderers. Polygamy ought to be practiced; women should become slaves; we + should buy the sons and daughters of the heathen and make them bondmen and + bondwomen forever. We should sell our own flesh and blood, and have the + right to kill our slaves. Men and women should be stoned to death for + laboring on the seventh day. "Mediums," such as have familiar spirits, + should be burned with fire. Every vestige of mental liberty should be + destroyed, and reason's holy torch extinguished in the martyr's blood. + </p> + <p> + Is it not far better and wiser to say that the Pentateuch while containing + some good laws, some truths, some wise and useful things is, after all, + deformed and blackened by the savagery of its time? Is it not far better + and wiser to take the good and throw the bad away? + </p> + <p> + Let us admit what we know to be true; that Moses was mistaken about a + thousand things; that the story of creation is not true; that the garden + of Eden is a myth; that the serpent and the tree of knowledge, and the + fall of man are but fragments of old mythologies lost and dead; that woman + was not made out of a rib; that serpents never had the power of speech; + that the sons of God did not marry the daughters of men; that the story of + the flood and ark is not exactly true; that the tower of Babel is a + mistake; that the confusion of tongues is a childish thing; that the + origin of the rainbow is a foolish fancy; that Methuselah did not live + nine hundred and sixty-nine years; that Enoch did not leave this world, + taking with him his flesh and bones; that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah + is somewhat improbable; that burning brimstone never fell like rain; that + Lot's wife was not changed into chloride of sodium; that Jacob did not, in + fact, put his hip out of joint wrestling with God; that the history of + Tamar might just as well have been left out; that a belief in Pharaoh's + dreams is not essential to salvation; that it makes but little difference + whether the rod of Aaron was changed to a serpent or not; that of all the + wonders said to have been performed in Egypt, the greatest is, that + anybody ever believed the absurd account; that God did not torment the + innocent cattle on account of the sins of their owners; that he did not + kill the first born of the poor maid behind the mill because of Pharaoh's + crimes; that flies and frogs were not ministers of God's wrath; that lice + and locusts were not the executors of his will; that seventy people did + not, in two hundred and fifteen years, increase to three million; that + three priests could not eat six hundred pigeons in a day; that gazing at a + brass serpent could not extract poison from the blood; that God did not go + in partnership with hornets; that he did not murder people simply because + they asked for something to eat; that he did not declare the making of + hair oil and ointment an offence to be punished with death; that he did + not miraculously preserve cloth and leather; that he was not afraid of + wild beasts; that he did not punish heresy with sword and fire; that he + was not jealous, revengeful, and unjust; that he knew all about the sun, + moon, and stars; that he did not threaten to kill people for eating the + fat of an ox; that he never told Aaron to draw cuts to see which of two + goats should be killed; that he never objected to clothes made of woolen + mixed with linen; that if he objected to dwarfs, people with flat noses + and too many fingers, he ought not to have created such folks; that he did + not demand human sacrifices as set forth in the last chapter of Leviticus; + that he did not object to the raising of horses; that he never commanded + widows to spit in the faces of their brothers-in-law; that several + contradictory accounts of the same transaction cannot all be true; that + God did not talk to Abraham as one man talks to another; that angels were + not in the habit of walking about the earth eating veal dressed with milk + and butter, and making bargains about the destruction of cities; that God + never turned himself into a flame of fire, and lived in a bush; that he + never met Moses in a hotel and tried to kill him; that it was absurd to + perform miracles to induce a king to act in a certain way and then harden + his heart so that he would refuse; that God was not kept from killing the + Jews by the fear that the Egyptians would laugh at him; that he did not + secretly bury a man and then allow the corpse to write an account of the + funeral; that he never believed the firmament to be solid; that he knew + slavery was and always would be a frightful crime; that polygamy is but + stench and filth; that the brave soldier will always spare an unarmed foe; + that only cruel cowards slay the conquered and the helpless; that no + language can describe the murderer of a smiling babe; that God did not + want the blood of doves and lambs; that he did not love the smell of + burning flesh; that he did not want his altars daubed with blood; that he + did not pretend that the sins of a people could be transferred to a goat; + that he did not believe in witches, wizards, spooks, and devils; that he + did not test the virtue of woman with dirty water; that he did not suppose + that rabbits chewed the cud; that he never thought there were any + four-footed birds; that he did not boast for several hundred years that he + had vanquished an Egyptian king; that a dry stick did not bud, blossom, + and bear almonds in one night; that manna did not shrink and swell, so + that each man could gather only just one omer; that it was never wrong to + "countenance the poor man in his cause;" that God never told a people not + to live in peace with their neighbors; that he did not spend forty days + with Moses on Mount Sinai giving him patterns for making clothes, tongs, + basins, and snuffers; that maternity is not a sin; that physical deformity + is not a crime; that an atonement cannot be made for the soul by shedding + innocent blood; that killing a dove over running water will not make its + blood a medicine; that a god who demands love knows nothing of the human + heart; that one who frightens savages with loud noises is unworthy the + love of civilized men; that one who destroys children on account of the + sins of their fathers is a monster; that an infinite god never threatened + to give people the itch; that he never sent wild beasts to devour babes; + that he never ordered the violation of maidens; that he never regarded + patriotism as a crime; that he never ordered the destruction of unborn + children; that he never opened the earth and swallowed wives and babes + because husbands and fathers had displeased him; that he never demanded + that men should kill their sons and brothers, for the purpose of + sanctifying themselves; that we cannot please God by believing the + improbable; that credulity is not a virtue; that investigation is not a + crime; that every mind should be free; that all religious persecution is + infamous in God, as well as man; that without liberty, virtue is + impossible; that without freedom, even love cannot exist; that every man + should be allowed to think and to express his thoughts; that woman is the + equal of man; that children should be governed by love and reason; that + the family relation is sacred; that war is a hideous crime; that all + intolerance is born of ignorance and hate; that the freedom of today is + the hope of to-morrow; that the enlightened present ought not to fall upon + its knees and blindly worship the barbaric past; and that every free, + brave and enlightened man should publicly declare that all the ignorant, + infamous, heartless, hideous things recorded in the "inspired" Pentateuch + are not the words of God, but simply "Some Mistakes of Moses." + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0031" id="link2H_4_0031"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + A TRIBUTE + </h2> + <h3> + TO + </h3> + <p> + Ebon C. ingersoll, + </p> + <p> + BY HIS BROTHER + </p> + <p> + Robert. + </p> + <p> + Dec. 12, 1831. MAY 31, 1879. + </p> + <p> + A Tribute to Ebon C. Ingersoll, + </p> + <p> + By his Brother Robert. + </p> + <p> + THE RECORD OF A GENEROUS LIFE RUNS LIKE A VINE AROUND THE MEMORY OF OUR + DEAD, AND EVERY SWEET, UNSELFISH ACT IS NOW A PERFUMED FLOWER. + </p> + <p> + Dear Friends: I am going to do that which the dead oft promised he would + do for me. + </p> + <p> + The loved and loving brother, husband, father, friend, died where + manhood's morning almost touches noon, and while the shadows still were + falling toward the west. + </p> + <p> + He had not passed on life's highway the stone that marks the highest + point; but, being weary for a moment, he lay down by the wayside, and, + using his burden for a pillow, fell into that dreamless sleep that kisses + down his eyelids still. While yet in love with life and raptured with the + world, he passed to silence and pathetic dust. + </p> + <p> + Yet, after all, it may be best, just in the happiest, sunniest hour of all + the voyage, while eager winds are kissing every sail, to dash against the + unseen rock, and in an instant hear the billows roar above a sunken ship. + For whether in mid sea or 'mong the breakers of the farther shore, a wreck + at last must mark the end of each and all. And every life, no matter if + its every hour is rich with love and every moment jeweled with a joy, + will, at its close, become a tragedy as sad and deep and dark as can be + woven of the warp and woof of mystery and death. + </p> + <p> + This brave and tender man in every storm of life was oak and rock; but in + the sunshine he was vine and flower. He was the friend of all heroic + souls. He climbed the heights, and left all superstitions far below, while + on his forehead fell the golden dawning, of the grander day. + </p> + <p> + He loved the beautiful, and was with color, form, and music touched to + tears. He sided with the weak, the poor, and wronged, and lovingly gave + alms. With loyal heart and with the purest hands he faithfully discharged + all public trusts. + </p> + <p> + He was a worshipper of liberty, a friend of the oppressed. A thousand + times I have heard him quote these words: "<i>For Justice all place a + temple, and all season, summer!</i>" He believed that happiness was the + only good, reason the only torch, justice the only worship, humanity the + only religion, and love the only priest. He added to the sum of human joy; + and were every one to whom he did some loving service to bring a blossom + to his grave, he would sleep to-night beneath a wilderness of flowers. + </p> + <p> + Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. + We strive in vain to look beyond the heights. We cry aloud, and the only + answer is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the + unreplying dead there comes no word; but in the night of death hope sees a + star and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing. + </p> + <p> + He who sleeps here, when dying, mistaking the approach of death for the + return of health, whispered with his latest breath, "I am better now." Let + us believe, in spite of doubts and dogmas, of fears and tears, that these + dear words are true of all the countless dead. + </p> + <p> + And now, to you, who have been chosen, from among the many men he loved, + to do the last sad office for the dead, we give his sacred dust. + </p> + <p> + Speech cannot contain our love. There was, there is, no gentler, stronger, + manlier man. + </p> + <div style="height: 6em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Mistakes of Moses, by Robert G. 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