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+ float: left; + margin-right: 1em } + +.align-right { clear: right; + float: right; + margin-left: 1em } + +.align-center { margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto } + +div.shrinkwrap { display: table; } + +/* SECTIONS */ + +body { margin: 5% 10% 5% 10% } + +/* compact list items containing just one p */ +li p.pfirst { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0 } + +.first { margin-top: 0 !important; + text-indent: 0 !important } +.last { margin-bottom: 0 !important } + +span.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.1em 0 0; line-height: 1 } +img.dropcap { float: left; margin: 0 0.5em 0 0; max-width: 25% } +span.dropspan { font-variant: small-caps } + +.no-page-break { page-break-before: avoid !important } + +/* PAGINATION */ + +@media screen { + .coverpage, .frontispiece, .titlepage, .verso, .dedication, .plainpage + { margin: 10% 0; } + + div.clearpage, div.cleardoublepage + { margin: 10% 0; border: none; border-top: 1px solid gray; } + + .vfill { margin: 5% 10% } +} + +@media print { + div.clearpage { page-break-before: always; padding-top: 10% } + div.cleardoublepage { page-break-before: right; padding-top: 10% } + + .vfill { margin-top: 20% } + h2.title { margin-top: 20% } +} + +</style> +<title>A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION</title> +<meta name="PG.Rights" content="Public Domain" /> +<meta name="PG.Title" content="A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion" /> +<meta name="PG.Producer" content="David Widger" /> +<meta name="DC.Creator" content="Benjamin Offen" /> +<meta name="DC.Created" content="1846" /> +<meta name="PG.Id" content="39371" /> +<meta name="PG.Released" content="2012-04-04" /> +<meta name="DC.Language" content="en" /> +<meta name="DC.Title" content="A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion" /> + +<link href="http://purl.org/dc/terms/" rel="schema.DCTERMS" /> +<link href="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators" rel="schema.MARCREL" /> +<meta content="A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion" name="DCTERMS.title" /> +<meta content="legacy.rst" name="DCTERMS.source" /> +<meta content="en" scheme="DCTERMS.RFC4646" name="DCTERMS.language" /> +<meta content="2012-04-04T15:06:07.869314+00:00" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.modified" /> +<meta content="Project Gutenberg" name="DCTERMS.publisher" /> +<meta content="Public Domain in the USA." name="DCTERMS.rights" /> +<link href="http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39371" rel="DCTERMS.isFormatOf" /> +<meta content="Benjamin Offen" name="DCTERMS.creator" /> +<meta content="2012-04-04" scheme="DCTERMS.W3CDTF" name="DCTERMS.created" /> +<meta content="width=device-width" name="viewport" /> +<meta content="EpubMaker 0.3 by Marcello Perathoner <webmaster@gutenberg.org>" name="generator" /> +<style type="text/css"> +.pageno { position: absolute; right: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } +.pageno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } +.lineno { position: absolute; left: 95%; font: medium sans-serif; text-indent: 0 } +.lineno:after { color: gray; content: '[' attr(title) ']' } +.toc-pageref { float: right } +pre { font-family: monospace; font-size: 0.9em; white-space: pre-wrap } +</style> +</head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 39371 ***</div> +<div class="document" id="a-legacy-to-the-friends-of-free-discussion"> +<h1 class="document-title level-1 pfirst title">A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION</h1> +<div class="noindent vspace" style="height: 4em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst" id="pg-produced-by"><span>Produced by David Widger.</span></p> +<div class="noindent vspace" style="height: 1em"> +</div> +<p class="noindent pfirst"><span></span></p> +</div> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +<div class="center line-block noindent outermost"> +<div class="line"><span class="bold x-large">A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION</span></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +<div class="line"><cite class="italics">By</cite></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +<div class="line"><span class="bold x-large">Benjamin Offen</span></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +<div class="line"><span class="small-caps">PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS AND PERSONAGES OF THE BOOKS KNOWN AS THE</span></div> +<div class="line"><span class="small-caps">OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT; WITH REMARKS ON THE MORALITY OF NATURE</span></div> +<div class="line"> </div> +<div class="line"> </div> +<div class="line"><span class="small-caps">1846</span></div> +</div> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="id1"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title">CONTENTS</h2> +<div class="container contents"> +<ul class="compact simple toc-list"> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#preface" id="id3">PREFACE</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#general-introduction" id="id4">GENERAL INTRODUCTION</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#detailed-contents" id="id5">DETAILED CONTENTS</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#id2" id="id6">A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#gods-chosen-people" id="id7">GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-old-testament" id="id8">THE OLD TESTAMENT</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-i-from-the-creation-to-the-deluge" id="id9">CHAPTER I. FROM THE CREATION TO THE DELUGE</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ii-a-review-of-the-deluge-and-the-confusion-of-tongues-at-the-tower-of-babel" id="id10">CHAPTER II. A REVIEW OF THE DELUGE AND THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES AT THE TOWER OF BABEL</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iii-from-the-confusion-of-tongues-to-the-birth-of-moses" id="id11">CHAPTER III. FROM THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES TO THE BIRTH OF MOSES</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iv-from-the-birth-of-moses-to-the-death-of-joshua" id="id12">CHAPTER IV. FROM THE BIRTH OF MOSES TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-v-from-the-death-of-joshua-to-the-reign-of-saul" id="id13">CHAPTER V. FROM THE DEATH OF JOSHUA TO THE REIGN OF SAUL</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vi-the-reigns-of-saul-david-and-solomon" id="id14">CHAPTER VI. THE REIGNS OF SAUL, DAVID, AND SOLOMON</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vii-the-reign-of-jeroboam-and-the-separation-of-israel-from-judah" id="id15">CHAPTER VII. THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM, AND THE SEPARATION OF ISRAEL FROM JUDAH</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-viii-on-divine-inspiration" id="id16">CHAPTER VIII. ON DIVINE INSPIRATION</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#the-new-testament" id="id17">THE NEW TESTAMENT</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#introductory-chapter-on-the-facts-and-personages-of-the-new-testament" id="id18">INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER on THE FACTS AND PERSONAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-i" id="id19">CHAPTER I.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ii" id="id20">CHAPTER. II.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iii" id="id21">CHAPTER III.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-iv" id="id22">CHAPTER IV.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-v" id="id23">CHAPTER V.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vi" id="id24">CHAPTER VI.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-vii" id="id25">CHAPTER VII.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-viii" id="id26">CHAPTER VIII.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#chapter-ix" id="id27">CHAPTER IX.</a></p> +</li> +<li class="level-2 toc-entry"><p class="first pfirst"><a class="reference internal" href="#remarks-on-the-morality-of-nature" id="id28">REMARKS ON THE MORALITY OF NATURE</a></p> +</li> +</ul> +</div> +</div> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="preface"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3">PREFACE</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">I</span><span class="dropspan">N</span> the following pages the author has freely discussed the claims of +the books called the Old and New Testaments, to be considered Divine +revelations. He had a <em class="italics">right</em> so to do; and in presenting the work to +the public he gives the result of his exercise of such right.</p> +<p class="pnext">The right of free discussion has been questioned. It would be well +for humanity if this were all; but unhappily, the pages of history are +replete with deeds of persecution and cruelty, committed by men, in +the possession of power, on their less fortunate fellow-men, who have +presumed to exercise the right of free investigation. Cupidity has drawn +a line of demarcation; it has established boundaries for thought; and +miserable has been the fate of the unhappy wretch who, rejoicing in the +dignity of his nature, and anxious to discover the abode of Truth, has +dared to pass the Rubicon.</p> +<p class="pnext">What is Free Discussion? We answer, it is the exercise of the reasoning +faculties. Without Free Discussion man cannot exist. His physical +existence might indeed remain; but he could no longer be deemed a man; +and would have to take a lower rank in the scale of creation.</p> +<p class="pnext">Without investigation it is impossible to arrive at Truth; hence the +utility of Free Discussion. This is never denied when science is the +subject; and we have yet to learn why it should be restrained in any +case; and also <em class="italics">how</em> and <em class="italics">when</em> any set of men became possessed of +the right to restrain the exercise of the reasoning faculties of their +fellow-men.</p> +<p class="pnext">When men have not been impelled by cupidity to shackle the minds of +their fellow beings, a spirit of uncharitableness has induced them +to pursue the same line of conduct. Whoever has maintained an opinion +contrary to theirs, has been considered as being actuated, not by +mistaken, but, by dishonest motives; and has therefore been deemed a +fit subject for punishment. As this work will probably be read by many +professing Christians we will here give an extract from Dr. Blair’s +sermon on <em class="italics">Candor</em>, which will, probably, make a greater impression than +any thing we could offer on that subject.</p> +<p class="pnext">“It is one of the misfortunes of our present situation, that some +of the good dispositions of human nature are apt to betray us into +frailties and vices. Thus it often happens, that the laudable attachment +which we contract to the country, or the church, to which we belong, +or to some political denomination under which we class ourselves, both +confines our affections within too narrow a sphere, and gives rise to +violent prejudices against such as come under an opposite description. +Not contented with being in the right ourselves, we must find all others +in the wrong. We claim an exclusive possession of goodness and wisdom: +and from approving warmly of those who join us, we proceed to condemn, +with much acrimony, not only the principles, but the <em class="italics">characters</em>, of +those from whom we differ. Hence, persons of well disposed minds are too +often, through the strength of partial good affection, involved in the +crime of uncharitable judgment They rashly extend to every individual +the severe opinion which they have unwarrantably conceived of a whole +body. This man is of a party whose principles we reckon slavish; and +therefore his whole sentiments are corrupted. That man belongs to a +religious sect which we are accustomed to deem bigoted; and therefore +he is incapable of any generous or liberal thought Another is connected +with a sect which we have been taught to account relaxed; and therefore +he can have no sanctity.—Are these the judgments of candor and +charity? Is true piety or virtue so very limited in its nature, as to +be confined to such alone as see every thing with our eyes, and follow +exactly the train of our ideas?”</p> +<p class="pnext">The author disclaims any intention of wounding the feelings of those who +hold opinions different to his own. For the religions hypocrite he has +no bowels of compassion; but the sincere believer in Divine revelation, +whose conduct is regulated by the universally acknowledged roles of +morality, is to him an object of sincere respect and esteem.</p> +<p class="pnext">Many things connected with what is called Divine revelation, have been +very freely commented on by the author; and sometimes in a style which +the Christian world will probably be disposed to condemn; but it should +be remembered that what appears sacred to one, excites the ridicule of +others. The Pagan venerates his manufactured god; the Christian views it +with contempt and indignation.</p> +<p class="pnext">The object of the author has been the promotion of Truth and +Benevolence.</p> +<p class="pnext">Should he fail to produce the effects he has contemplated, he will +yet be able to console himself with the reflection, that he has been +actuated by good intentions. The time has been when the assertion was +frequently made that “hell was paved with good intentions” had the work +appeared at that time, the author would, doubtless, have been destined, +so far as human agency could effect it, to become one of the paving +stones of that remarkable edifice: but a brighter day has dawned upon +the world; Reason is asserting her right to empire; and the cheering +spirit of benevolence is animating the nations of the earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">The shades of life’s evening admonish the author that his sojourn +in the world will very shortly be brought to a close. He is anxious, +therefore, before his departure, to cast in his mite for the eradication +of human suffering, and the promotion of human felicity; and then, in +wrapping himself in the mantle of universal benevolence, to retire from +the transitory scene, in charity with all men.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="general-introduction"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4">GENERAL INTRODUCTION</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">HE</span> main object of this book is to show that Jehovah, the God of the +Jews, is not the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, but a fictitious +being, having no real existence whatever. If the above position +be correct, it follows, that the Bible, including the Old and New +Testaments, is not a Divine Revelation. But that the reader may see, +more clearly, upon what uncertain ground divine revelation rests, the +plan pursued in the following chapters will be a review of the <em class="italics">facts</em> +and <em class="italics">personages</em> as recorded in the Old and New Testaments. But the +limits of this work will only admit of a mere scantling of what might be +written on the subject.</p> +<p class="pnext">In most Christian countries (America excepted,) this work would +be answered by either fine or imprisonment, or probably both. But +fortunately for the cause of truth and free discussion, theological +power here is so happily balanced, that persecution for religious +opinions is impracticable. The period therefore has arrived, in this +country in particular, when reason is free from the former obstacles +that every where crossed its path. Now, then, is the time for us to +examine the religion of our forefathers, and explore the regions +of human credulity. A mixture of pain and pleasure will be the +result:—<em class="italics">pain</em>, in considering what suffering has befallen the human +family, when the laudable indulgence of imagining and reasoning was +considered rebellion against God; and <em class="italics">pleasure</em>, to us who, having +escaped those dreadful evils which in former ages spread terror +throughout the world, can lessen the evils that surround us, and augment +to an almost unlimited degree our happiness.</p> +<p class="pnext">To those who may have the moral courage to read the following pages, I +would say, I have neither a desire to shock their feelings, nor any +wish to change their sentiments in order to gratify my vanity; for had +Christianity been productive of “peace on earth and good will towards +men,” I should have been the last to have opposed it. But on the +contrary, the page of religious history is blotted with human gore. +The intolerant spirit that pervades the Old and New Testaments, has so +inoculated its followers of every sect, that while they profess to +love each other for Christ’s sake, one sect (the strongest) has put +to death a weaker sect for God’s sake. Nothing short of convincing +men that the Bible is not a divine revelation, can or will guarantee +posterity against a recurrence of those scenes of horror, at the very +thought of which, the heart sickens.</p> +<p class="pnext">From the pulpit, and in religious works, nothing is more common than to +exclaim with horror at the unblushing Infidel. Unblushing Infidel! What +cause have Infidels to blush? The blush, if any, ought to be on the face +of the Christians of every sect. They have never failed to persecute +when in power: they have been guilty of cruelties, at which the savage +cannibal would weep, and this will ever be the case so long as the Bible +is considered as coming from God; because, till all consequence is taken +away from faith, and transferred to moral rectitude, persecution is the +effect of believing that <em class="italics">faith</em> is the sure passport to glory, while +<em class="italics">unbelief</em> is the broad road to perdition. Men cease to be Christians +when they lose this spirit of intolerance, and become Infidels.</p> +<p class="pnext">Sects are not alike intolerant; but all are in some degree. The +Calvinists will not permit the Unitarians to preach in their churches. +The Unitarians, or Universalists, will not permit an Infidel lecturer to +speak in their churches,—no, not even on moral subjects. Christians, +then, will always be more or less of a persecuting disposition, and +nothing but giving up the Bible, as a Divine revelation, will destroy +that spirit. To show how a profession of Christianity, unfits men to do +justice to those who differ from them in religion, I will refer to the +treatment of Thomas Paine, author of “Common Sense.” His services +in the glorious struggle that “tried men’s souls” have been +shamefully forgotten. Yes! the friend of the immortal Washington, +who shared in the toils and dangers with the father of this great +republic,—how have Americans generally treated his name and efforts to +erect one of the most noble monuments of human wisdom—the <em class="italics">independent +republic of North America?</em> For all his faithful devotedness to the +independence of America, how is his name and memory spoken of at the +present time? From the pulpit, every kind of falsehood and detraction is +poured forth concerning him.</p> +<p class="pnext">If he had been, a member of a church, the same fanatical priesthood +would have lauded him to the skies. Such is the nature of +religious bigotry, that the friendship of the ever to be venerated +Washington—even that, cannot shield his name from pulpit calumny. +“Bigotry, she has no head, and cannot think; she has no heart, and +cannot feel.”</p> +<p class="pnext">But the name and services of Thomas Paine, are not, and never will be, +forgotten. Thanks to the Liberals throughout the Union, his birthday +is yearly celebrated in most of the cities and towns in the different +States. A handsome and durable monument has been erected to his memory +at New Rochelle, New York State. The thanks of-the Liberals are due +to Mr. G. Vale, Editor of the <em class="italics">Beacon</em>, published in New York, for his +untiring perseverance in urging on the completion of a monument will, in +time, command the respect of posterity. Why are the name and services +of Thomas Paine be cautiously omitted by our orators and statesmen, +when speaking of the patriotism of a Washington, Jefferson, Adams, +Hancock, and others? It would offend the church and priesthood, as well +as the whole of the Christian community; because—“<em class="italics">He that believeth +not shall be damned.</em>” This is the brightest gem in the Christian’s +crown of glory. If he nurse this intolerant spirit against Infidels, the +Christian considers his “<em class="italics">calling and election sure.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">Sincere believers in Divine revelation are not aware what monsters the +Bible makes of them; but for which they would be humane, compared to +what they are under its influence. I am surprised that they are (the +majority of them) so just, humane, and charitable, when I take into +consideration the doctrines contained (or believed to be) in what +is called the Word of God. In addition to their own evil habits and +disregard for virtue in the common concerns of life, they have a Devil +to tempt them by a thousand ways in which they are ignorant. Again, they +have a Saviour who shed his blood to save them from the just punishment +of their deserts; so that with their own evil deeds, and being urged on +by the Devil, they become monsters in crime. They then go, as the phrase +is, to Christ, be sorry, or profess to be, for what they have done, and +are pardoned, and in the sight of Heaven are considered <em class="italics">superior</em> to +the unconverted whom they have injured. Can you, my readers, wonder +at the crimes of God’s people? According to this doctrine, a man may +steal a horse and cart, by the use of which, another man earned support +for his family; the thief sells it, and spends the amount, in connexion +with wretches like himself. He then goes to Jesus, repents, is forgiven; +and, to follow the plan throughout—if the man who lost his horse and +cart is an unbeliever, he goes to Hell, while the rogue sits singing and +laughing in Glory!</p> +<p class="pnext">This book is sent into society from the best of motives; hoping it +will induce Christians to practise moderation, and somewhat abate that +raging, fanatical fever, that has been so fatal to human happiness. If +you take from us the Bible, says the Christian, what will you give in +its stead? We answer, man requires nothing but what God, or Nature, has +given him. All men in common, have reason to consult, by which man will +learn the duty he owes to himself, and also to his fellow beings. The +error lies in being taught, that reason, when in full exercise, will +lead him into error. This has been his misfortune; and his punishment +has followed as a consequence. The Bible contains many good moral +precepts; but these are, by Christians, thought little of, compared with +its doctrines. Faith is all important. By faith, barbarous Calvin caused +Servetus to be burnt by a slow fire; and through faith, St. Austin, that +drunken debauchee, obtained a good report.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Bible is at war with man’s reasoning powers; and, like a land +pirate, has held up false lights, which instead of conducting man to the +haven of happiness and safety, has caused him to make shipwreck on the +rocks and shoals of religious dogmas. Man is lost in no other sense than +that, the loss of his reason. To recover <em class="italics">that</em>, and bring it into full +exercise, is all the Saviour he needs. His moral path is as clear as +light. God, or Nature, has made it a law of man’s existence that he +must love happiness, ease, and enjoyment; and also, that he must hate +pain and trouble in every stage and form. This law is forced upon him +independent of his choice. It is ever present to his senses, till he +ceases to exist, or to be rational. This is man’s stock of moral +material furnished by God, or Nature. How clear, then, is his duty! He +has but to follow out this law, by the aid of his reasoning, judging, +and comparing powers. It will never lead him wrong. He requires +no Bible, no Saviour; he is never lost; he has no incomprehensible +doctrines to support or defend. Unlike the sectarian, he feels no +disposition to persecute others who differ from him in matters of faith; +he has no angry God to propel him on to fight for his glory; he can +balance up every night his moral account of the day; and if he has +followed out the law of his nature, by augmenting his own, and also the +happiness of his fellow beings, and lightened the load of human ills +around him, he in truth is the good man, be his faith little or much. +That the following work may forward moral improvement, and encourage +moderation and universal good will among the human family, is the +sincere wish of</p> +<p class="pnext">THE AUTHOR</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="detailed-contents"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5">DETAILED CONTENTS</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst">OLD TESTAMENT</p> +<p class="pnext">PREFACE.—Free Discussion; the right to use it in examining the +Scriptures; its certainty in destroying error and establishing +truth—Extract from Dr. Blair’s sermon on Candor—Motives of the +author in laying his work before the public.</p> +<p class="pnext">GENERAL INTRODUCTION.—Object of the book—Intolerance and persecution +of Christian sects—Their abuse of Infidels and calumnious treatment +of Thomas Paine—His name and services appreciated by +Liberals—Pernicious influence of the Bible upon morals—Knowledge of +the laws of our existence the only sure guide to wisdom, happiness, and +virtue.</p> +<p class="pnext">GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.—Character and situation of the Jews—Their +treatment by Jehovah—Why were they chosen, and did they answer the end +of their choice?—Probable reasoning of the Jewish God—Account of his +visit to Abram and Sarah, and their reception and treatment of +him—The consequences to the Jews of considering themselves the chosen +people—The five books said to have been written by Moses—Treatment +of Hagar and her child—Jehovah and the Jews.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER I.—From the Creation to the Deluge.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER II.—A Review of the Deluge and the confusion of Tongues at the +Tower of Babel.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER III.—From the Confusion of Tongues to the Birth of Moses.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER IV.—From the Birth of Moses to the Death of Joshua.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER V.—From the Death of Joshua to the Reign of Saul.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER VI.—The Reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER VII.—The Reign of Jeroboam, and the separation of Israel from +Judah.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER VIII.—On Divine Inspiration.</p> +<p class="pnext">NEW TESTAMENT</p> +<p class="pnext">INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.—Jehovah’s dealings with the Jews—His failure +to make them a pattern to the rest of the human family—The coming of +Christ—The manner of his introduction—his associates; language; and +conduct—Miracles—The Jews had sufficient reason, for rejecting Jesus +as the Messiah.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER I.—Jesus the pretended Saviour of the world, not sent from +God—Moses wrote the most minute things Connected with die system +established by himself, but Jesus left no writings whatever-—Vagueness +and want of authenticity of the writings of the Evangelists—General +ignorance among Christians of what is the true Gospel—No proof of the +heavenly origin of Jesus—His baptism by John—His temptation by the +Devil—Its absurdity—Abusive language of Jesus to the Jews—His +unfitness for his mission, and failure to prove himself sent from God.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER II.—Casting out Devils—The case of Mary Magdalene—The +doctrine of demoniacal possession, a heathen dogma—Miracles of Jesus +no proof of his Divine origin—Evidence from the New Testament that no +miracles ever took place—Inconsistent conduct and abusive language of +Jesus—The miracle at his baptism—Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus +from the clouds—Folly of miracles and their injurious consequence.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER III.—Peter—Disingenuous mode adopted by Jesus to prove his +Messiahship—The introduction of his mission to the Jews—His obscure +doctrines, and disrespectful Language—Survey of his teaching, and mode +of life—Inutility of his object—His betrayal—Judas Iscariot.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER IV.—The Almighty Power that governs the universe not the +author of the Christian Religion—Destructive saying of Jesus—The +power given to Peter; its disastrous results—Institution of the +Sacrament—Intolerance and persecution of Sectarianism—Folly of +religious teaching.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER V.—Orthodox views of Christianity—Remarks on the bad effects +of believing in the existence of the Devil, and in witchcraft, doctrines +taught in the Bible—Trial and execution of two women for witchcraft in +England, in 1664—Account of the witchcraft that prevailed in England +and Scotland, in the days of Elizabeth—Anecdote of Cromwell’s +bargain with the Devil.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER VI.—Continuation of remarks upon the supposed influence of +Satanic agency—Dreadful effects of human credulity—Sketch of the +life and tragical fate of Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans—Temptation +of Jesus.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER VII.—God and the Devil—Probable origin of the belief +in their existence—Mode of reasoning in ancient times by the +ignorant—Theology—Christian Religion—Account of Witchcraft in +Sweden, in 1670—Reflections.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER VIII.—Comprehensive view of the mission of Christ to the +Jewish nation—Plan of redemption—Willingness of the Jews to welcome +the long expected Messiah—The violence and abuse they received from +Jesus—Their condition not improved by his coming—Obscurity of +his teaching—The Jews put him to death because they believed him +an impostor—Judas, in betraying Jesus, was but the instrument to +accomplish the plan of human redemption—Unfortunate condition of the +Jews—Reflections upon their past and present treatment by Christians.</p> +<p class="pnext">CHAPTER IX.—Object of Christ’s coming into the world, uncertain and +of doubtful utility—His obvious omission to convince the Jews that +he was the Messiah, and his neglect to order his apostles to write a +history of his life, show the Christian Religion deficient in the proof +of its Divine origin—Jesus, according to the Gospels, was a moral +reformer—Ignorance of his disciples of his Divine mission, +as manifested by Peter, at the betrayal—The Resurrection of +Jesus—Sudden departure afterward—Religious quarrels—Difficulty +of defining Christianity-Reflections on the want of proof of Christ’s +Divine mission, and its insufficiency to reform the world—The Jesus of +the New Testament an imaginary being.</p> +<p class="pnext">CONCLUSION.—Remarks on the Morality of Nature—Pernicious effect of +religious faith—Its failure to moralize the world—Its intolerance +and persecution—Infidel morality founded in reason and the laws that +govern human beings—Its superiority over faith in promoting good +works, inducing correct conduct, and insuring human happiness and +improvement.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="id2"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6">A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION</a></h2> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="gods-chosen-people"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7">GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">B</span><span class="dropspan">EFORE</span> reviewing the facts and personages, as recorded in the Old and +New Testaments, it will be in order to notice the Jews, as Jehovah’s +<em class="italics">chosen race</em>. The subject will not admit of demonstration; it must be +approached and examined in the same manner as the Alkoran of Mahomet.</p> +<p class="pnext">In order to get at the truth, so as to arrive at something like +certainty, and as Infinite Wisdom makes the choice, we must +inquire—For what end were they chosen? and did they answer the end of +such choice? If they were really chosen by the Sovereign Ruler of +the Universe, they must, however strange they acted as a nation, have +fulfilled the purpose of their choice; because, whatever they did, was +known to Jehovah before the choice was made. How, then, can we reconcile +expressions of regret and disappointment by Jehovah after he had +selected them as his own peculiar people—such as, “<em class="italics">I have nourished +and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me?”</em> And +again—“<em class="italics">He hated his own inheritance,</em>”—and also his stirring +up and supporting heathen kings to subjugate them as slaves. Is this not +the language of disappointment and regret? In fact, no learned divine +can get over this striking truth that the Bible fully holds out in the +plainest manner, that Jehovah was disappointed in his choice of the Jews +as his favorite people. Were they, then, chosen to raise up and +support the religion given to them by God himself? No, impossible! they +continually rebelled against Jehovah and worshipped strange Gods; and +even Solomon himself built temples for idolatry, contrary to express +command. Jehovah says of the Jewish nation—that he did not choose +them because they were better than others, for they were always a +stiff-necked people; but because he loved their fathers. Poor, miserable +reasoning, indeed; to choose one of the most contemptible races of men, +because their ancestors, some hundreds of years before, had superior +qualities to their degenerate race.</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, another reason given why Jehovah continued to protect them, is, +that the promises before made to Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, bound him in +honor so to do. Did not Infinite Wisdom foresee that the seed of Abram +would not follow in the faithful footsteps of their great progenitor? +If this was not foreseen, then we can discover clearly the reason why +Jehovah complains of their rebellious conduct. It will be a vain attempt +in ministers of the gospel, to reconcile those complaints, if Jehovah +had foresight of what the seed of Abram would do. If “<em class="italics">God is the same +yesterday, to-day, and forever,</em>” how did it happen that he appeared +so regardless of the fate of mankind, as to allow some hundreds of years +to pass away from the time of the confusion of tongues at the tower of +Babel, till his visit to the tent of Abram, during which time, according +to Bible history, Jehovah had no worshippers on earth? The whole of +mankind were left to make the best of their deserted situation; to +worship the Gods of their imagination; and they founded mighty empires, +and became powerful on the earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">Before the Lord called on Abram and Sarah in their tent, something like +the following mode of reasoning probably took place in the mind of the +Jewish God:—</p> +<p class="pnext">“I have made a world and peopled it with inhabitants; Adam and Eve +rebelled against me; their descendants followed in the footsteps of +their progenitors; I have destroyed them all (eight only excepted,) from +whom I expected better things. But, alas! they have also sinned against +me; and to such a height of wickedness did they arrive, that they began +to build a tower to reach my holy habitation. I have sent them off in +confusion: and now I have no church, no worshippers,—not even a song +of praise to my name. I possess universal empire, without even one +single subject to obey me. What is to be done? A thought has struck +me:—I will call on honest old Abram.”</p> +<p class="pnext">And here let me remind the reader, that the Bible clearly represents the +Jewish God as being as changeable in his disposition and mode of acting +as mortals. Like man, he is sometimes in a state of inaction, towards +the fate of his offspring: at other times, he arouses from this torpor, +and is the most sensitive and active. Sometimes he appears to repent of +some failure in the calculations he has made concerning his creatures; +attempts to rectify the error, and again blunders. He at one time says: +“<em class="italics">fury is not in me,</em>” then again he is all fury. No truth is more +striking than this,—that the Jehovah of the Bible is not, cannot be, +the universal governor of the universe, but merely a creature of the +imagination, whose power is confined, having no existence without the +covers of the Bible.</p> +<p class="pnext">But to return to Abram:—Jehovah either goes to him, or sends to +him delegates, to acquaint him of the choice he is about to make of +“<em class="italics">Abram and his seed forever.</em>” This is but the beginning of a new +experiment on the human race. And here does it not plainly appear, that +Jehovah’s mode of acting, in this case, is unworthy of the governor of +the world? Does it not prove his total disregard for the welfare of +the rest of mankind? Good heavens! the believers, one and all, of such +absurdities, have ever been, and are still insane.</p> +<p class="pnext">These heavenly visiters find Abram and Sarah living comfortably in their +tent, watching flocks and herds. They (the angels) are treated with the +hospitality common in pastoral life. They have their feet washed; they +are invited to dine on the best; the calf is immediately killed; and +Sarah, was not slow on her part, in the cooking department, from which, +one might be induced to think, that over the door of the tent was +written: “Dinners Dressed at the Shortest Notice.”—Soon after +being seated, the messengers make known their errand; Abram was much +pleased; Sarah laughed outright. The promise was now ratified that had +before been made to Abram, that <em class="italics">his seed should be as the sand of the +sea in number,</em> for that Sarah should have <em class="italics">a son in her old age</em>. This, +to say the least of it, was good pay for a good dinner.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here, then, the reader will please to notice, was the final settlement +as it regards the Jews being the chosen people of God. And here the +following ceremony took place:—Three men, angels, or messengers, came +from Heaven; they had their feet washed, agreeably to eastern custom; +they sat down and did eat, and we may suppose did also drink with Abram +and Sarah; one of the three was called the Lord.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have here strictly adhered to the Bible history of this surprising +account; and if it be not literally true, the choice of the Jews, and +also the whole of the Jewish and Christian theology, falls prostrate. +The account winds up with the departure of the angels to Sodom; where, +after having dined with Abram, they took supper with Lot. The day +following, Sodom was burnt by fire from Heaven; Lot’s wife (by way of +making the most of her) was turned into a <em class="italics">pillar of salt</em>, because she +looked back on her old habitation. What became of the angels, Heaven +only knows!</p> +<p class="pnext">But to return to the Jews, as a nation. For what purpose were they +chosen? It could not be to establish and support the only true religion +on earth, whereby they became the constant and obedient servants of the +Most High, because they continued to rebel against Jehovah; and in +spite of all his commands to the contrary, to worship other gods, which +conduct provoked the Lord to anger, and the most dreadful punishment +followed for their disobedience. They were not chosen to convert other +nations to the faith and worship of the God of Israel, because they were +ordered to take the property and destroy the inhabitants of towns +and cities, with whom they had not the most distant quarrel. Once +more,—Were they chosen for the purpose that Jehovah should be their +God, and that they should be his people? No, because they, time after +time, rejected his authority as their God, and worshipped strange gods, +unknown to their fathers; for which He sent “prophets and holy men” +to remonstrate with them. But they killed the prophets; and, as a +nation, never were for any length of time converted to, nor obeyed, the +<em class="italics">God of Israel.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">It was promised to Abram, “<em class="italics">In thee and in thy seed shall all the +nations of the earth be blessed.” When and how</em> have the nations +ever been blessed? As for the poor Jews, no curse ever fell so heavy on +mortals as fell on them, in consequence of their considering themselves +God’s chosen people, and other nations treating them as such. For +eighteen hundred years, Christians have plundered and murdered them, +because they have faithfully worshipped (since He cast them off) the +God of their fathers, against whom (when under his protection) they +continued to rebel.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Jews are a strange people. Strange and hard has been their fate; and +it can be easily accounted for, from their being originally cheated into +the fact that they were <em class="italics">God’s chosen people</em> to the exclusion of the +rest of the human race. Christians ask how it could have been possible +for Moses or any other person to induce them to believe that they were +so chosen, when miracles and wonders were performed in their behalf, +if no such things did in reality take place? The answer is +easy:—Christians suppose that the books of the Old Testament were +written at the time the generation lived, before whose eyes those +wonders were performed. This is a fatal mistake. Those miracles and +wonders, no doubt, were ante-dated, and brought forward to the Jews in +after times, as proofs of what Jehovah had done for their forefathers; +for it clearly appears from the internal evidence of Jewish history, +that the five books said to have been written by Moses, were not known +to the Jews, as a nation, till after the reigns of David, Solomon, and +many others. At what time the five books were first made known to the +descendants of Abram, is not ascertained; but, whenever it was, they +contained the history of the Abrahamic family, including all the +miracles and wonders performed by Jehovah in their behalf.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is easy to perceive, how the Jews might be brought to believe all +that was written concerning God’s choice of them, as his peculiar +people. An ambitious leader and legislator could, without much +difficulty, soon establish them firmly in the conviction that they +were Jehovah’s chosen people. It would flatter their vanity; and the +credulity of the human mind is such, even now, that we need not wonder +that the Jews, as a nation, gave credence to the tales of former times +concerning their being the especial favorites of Jehovah. The Jews, +then, no doubt were cheated into the firm conviction (by their early +leaders) that <em class="italics">they</em>, of all people on earth, were the chosen of +Heaven. This will account for their keeping themselves as a separate +people—the heaviest curse that could befal them, and which remains on +them till this day.</p> +<p class="pnext">According to the Bible, the dealings of Jehovah towards mankind in +general, and of the Jews in particular, will bear out the following +remarks:—That, after the confusion of tongues at Babel, and the +descendants of Noah were dispersed abroad on the earth, the Bible God +forsook the earth for some hundred years. He had no worshippers on +earth. He then descends and selects one family to be called after his +name. From that moment, Jehovah appears to direct his whole attention +to the family concerns of his new choice. Troubles come on in +quick succession; Abram’s domestic jars claim his attention and +superintendence. Sarah and her maid servant quarrel; the maid is turned +out of doors, about a child who claimed Sarah’s husband as its father.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Lord interfered and matters were made up. But soon another +misunderstanding arose between Sarah and Hagar about the child who had +ill-behaved himself towards Abram’s wife. Sarah became enraged, and +got the better of the Lord; and Abram and she drove Hagar and her son +out of the house for good and all. The Lord again made the best of the +matter by sending an angel who took charge of Hagar’s son; and Abram +and Sarah lived happy, and directed all their attention to little Isaac.</p> +<p class="pnext">To return to the Jews, as a nation. Did they answer the end for which +they were chosen? Most undoubtedly they did. For, as “known unto the +Lord are all his works from the beginning” whatever his dealings were +towards them, in punishing them for their rebellion and disobedience, +and whatever suffering they endured in consequence of their departure +from his commands, are included in his choice; and are the ends for +which they were chosen. Here, then, we have arrived at the ends for +which they were selected,—he knowing that they would continue to +transgress, and also that such transgression would call forth his anger; +and that punishment would follow from their disobedience. These are the +only ends that we can discover by their being chosen, and these ends +were fully answered.</p> +<p class="pnext">And as Jehovah is represented as acting the same as men act under +similar circumstances, the following remarks are in accordance with his +dealings with the people of his choice, namely: that after Jehovah had +driven the inhabitants of Babel abroad on the face of the earth, and not +having any church or worshippers in the world, he became weary of +this state of inaction, and, sighing for something to do, he chose the +descendants of Abram for his future operations on the earth. And from +that moment, the Jews required all his attention; his anger was always +raging: he had no repose whatever.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the course of his watching over them, he occasionally stirred up the +heathen against them, and suffered them to become bondmen and slaves. +Then, again, they had arms put into their hands, and he marched out in +aid of their victories; and then the “Lord of Hosts was his name.” +Then, as if he had forgotten the promises made to their forefathers, he +repents of the neglect shown to them; again renews the combat and orders +them to war against nations, and <em class="italics">to spare neither old age nor infancy</em>. +So that, by turns, hating them and showing them no mercy; then again, +repenting of his severe conduct towards them, proclaiming to the world +that the Lord of Hosts or battle is his name,—the Bible account of +Jehovah confirms us, in concluding, that, he chose the family of Abram +for no other purpose than to disturb and brutalize the rest of the +world.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Jews, and their God, seem to be objects of pity and contempt. Pity +for the poor Jews, for their unfortunate fate; and as for Jehovah, if +the Bible be true, from the moment he adopted them as his favorites, he +became subject to rage, furious anger, grief, repenting of the choice +he had made; and finally casting them off. These, then, are some of +the glorious ends for which they were chosen. To conclude—Of all the +impositions that ever have been palmed on the inhabitants of the earth, +destructive of “peace on earth and good will towards men” that +of the Jews being God’s chosen people, is one of the greatest; the +Jehovah of the Bible, being nothing but an imaginary God, to cheat the +World into the faith of his being the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="the-old-testament"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8">THE OLD TESTAMENT</a></h2> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-i-from-the-creation-to-the-deluge"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9">CHAPTER I. FROM THE CREATION TO THE DELUGE</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">F</span><span class="dropspan">ROM</span> what has before been written, the reader is no doubt convinced, +that the writer of this work does not believe the Bible to have any +claim to divine authority; but is entirely, from beginning to end, a +collection of absurd tales, of historic facts, and of personages that +have no foundation in truth, which unfortunately, by being considered +of divine origin, has generated a train of calamities destructive to +the peace and welfare of the human race. And to account for its hav-ing +gained credit, and got such strong foothold in the world, we have only +to consider that <em class="italics">fable</em> is the elder sister of history; that nations +have run a long career of incidents, mostly fabulous, before any +appearance of authentic history made its way in the world. What took +place in those days may be considered like things taking place in the +dark.</p> +<p class="pnext">From such fabulous materials, then, national history always commences. +Not that the writers or authors intend to deceive and impose on +posterity; they write what they believe; what they have been told, and +what is generally credited in those days. Here, then, we discover the +Bible to be of use to us, in showing to what lamentable extent poor +mortals have sincerely erred in following the legendary tales of former +times. And now, that the bandage is removed from our eyes, let us all +use our best exertions to spread knowledge among those, who, with us, +are seeking after truth, but who have till now sought it where it is not +to be found.</p> +<p class="pnext">The authors of the Bible, no doubt, followed in the same track as those +who are called profane writers. They wrote what had been told them by +their forefathers. Hence the miracles and wonders, credited by them, of +the most extravagant nature, that never did and never could take place; +and unfortunately, for the peace and happiness of mortals, by giving +credit to such things, they, for ages, shut up every avenue that would +otherwise have led them to the temple of truth.</p> +<p class="pnext">To believe the account of Adam’s transgression, in connection with all +the circumstances attending it, to be a matter of fact, appears hardly +possible for any man of sane mind. Yet millions there are, who never +have had a doubt of its being literally true. Whoever first wrote it, +did so from tradition or hearsay, as this is the origin of all national +history. It is not impossible but that every nation of antiquity had a +similar commencement; because, as history did not appear till hundreds +of years after the facts related are said to have taken place, it +follows that hearsay evidence is the <em class="italics">best</em> and <em class="italics">only</em> evidence that can +be obtained. If this is a correct view of the strange tales related in +the Bible; then, the more strange and impossible the greater glory is +given to God, by swallowing all down, and asking no questions.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Bible commences, as to persons, with—first, Jehovah, Adam, and +Eve, and, according to the orthodox Christians, the Devil was near +at hand. Here, then, we have before us, according to Bible history, +Jehovah, God of all, about to form or make a world, and put on it both +man and beast. This was done without consulting in any way whatever, +with Adam and Eve, who were to be placed at the head of all creation. +Every circumstance that would take place to Adam and Eve, and their +posterity, throughout all ages, was planned, approved of, and finally +settled, in the mind of Jehovah, before they had life or being.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here we have a God knowing all that will take place; and arranging +circumstances favorable to its fulfilment. On the other hand, Adam and +Eve were ignorant of the past, the present, and also of the future. Only +notice the infinite difference between the two contracting parties. I +wish the reader to keep this in view, as it respects what is termed the +fall of our first parents. In all ages of the Christian superstition, +the fall of Adam has been urged as a justification of God’s quarrel +with the human race.</p> +<p class="pnext">Let us examine this subject calmly. It is but justice that this should +be done; since from one hundred thousand pulpits in the different +nations of the earth, the priests never fail to praise and thank the +Lord for his goodness to the descendants of Adam. I, on the other hand, +will honestly, though feebly, advocate the cause of poor, <em class="italics">libelled, +condemned, priest-ridden Man</em>. If, before our first parents had been +called into life, they had been informed on what conditions <em class="italics">they</em> and +their <em class="italics">posterity</em> were to receive it, together with the final destiny +of ninety out of every hundred of their unfortunate race, they would no +doubt have exclaimed, “For humanity’s sake, let us forever sleep in +the womb of chaos!” It is the common practice from the pulpit, as also +from the writings of the orthodox Christians, to libel the human race, +by saying, that man has rebelled against God, and turned from him; when +the truth is, that in all ages and nations, man, has been seeking after +the best God he could find, and God; has always remained the great +<em class="italics">Unknown</em>, while man, in whatever state we find him, “savage, saint, +or sage,” has been endeavoring to find out God.</p> +<p class="pnext">This has always been his misfortune. By trying to find out the absent +and unknown God, he has, in his imagination, invented and followed +a thousand foolish whims, till, losing all correct ideas of moral +rectitude, he has died of old age without arriving at the knowledge of +<em class="italics">whom or what</em> to worship. Whereas, if he had not troubled himself at +all about his maker, and, by the aid of his reasoning powers, had come +to the just conclusion, that as he knew not how, nor where to find God, +it would follow that it was the business of his maker, and not <em class="italics">his</em> +to instruct in the right way to worship the true God. This mode of +reasoning will be reprobated by Christians as horrid and wicked; but in +reply, it may be asked, to what amount of knowledge have they arrived by +all their seeking after him?</p> +<p class="pnext">We now return to the Bible account of Adam and Eve’s creation. The +position that justice, strict justice, is due on the part of God towards +his new creation, must never be lost sight of in our investigations. +If any thing like trickery or injustice on his part is recorded, we, +without hesitation, denounce it as a libel on his character, and totally +unworthy of the least credit. In reviewing the Old and New Testament, +as being considered a Divine Revelation, this criterion will be always +referred to; for, if any writings purporting to be of Divine authority, +represent their author to be any thing otherwise than a God impartial +and just, such writings will, by the author of this work, be considered +entirely unworthy of the broad seal of Heaven, and as fully deserving of +being held up to human beings as false, and a flagrant imposition on the +credulity of mankind.</p> +<p class="pnext">And here the reader is reminded, that we have now before us, in the +creation of man, a scene of the most surprising nature. A God, infinite +in wisdom, unbounded in power, about to bring into existence a race +of beings; he, on his part, possessing all knowledge of the past, the +present, and also of the future; and they, on their part, entirely +passive, not being consulted as to their organization, their wishes, +or the consequences that would result to their progeny. From such a +position, what ought we to expect, in order that the being about to be +made, might have a fair point from which to start in his untried career? +Would we not suppose that every advantage should have been given to the +party who had no voice concerning his future destiny, nor that of his +race? The smallest omission in providing for or securing his first +movements, would be fatal to his happiness, and also that of his race.</p> +<p class="pnext">That no such precaution, on the part of the God of the Bible, was +pursued towards his new made creatures, will be fully proved by the +examination of the events recorded as having taken place in the Garden +of Eden! Whatever were the passions or the inclinations included in the +physical organization of our first parents, they had not any control +over them whatever, because of the impossibility of their being +consulted in a state of non-existence. Whatever they were then, and, +also, what was to be their future destiny, was known to Jehovah only; +to Adam and Eve, it was all unknown. This, then, was the state of the +pretended Creator and the creatures.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will pass over the account of the six days’ creation, together with +the serpent’s deceiving Eve by the aid of what the Christians believe +to be the Devil. It deserves no comment, except, that from the account +given in the Bible, we may infer, that happy would it have been for Adam +if he had remained an old bachelor; for, in that case, Satan perhaps +would neither have scraped acquaintance with the serpent, nor ever +thought of lurking about the garden. But the source of all human +misfortune, according to the Old and New Testaments, is included +in Eve’s eating the forbidden fruit. We may ask, why was one +tree forbidden among so many? Certainly as a trap, set to catch the +inexperienced, virtuous, and harmless Eve. What humbug! to make such a +fuss about Adam’s being alone, without a help-mate; and: at the +very time the rib operation was going on, Jehovah, stood by, and knew +whatever he might say, that the woman, on leaving her ribship, would +damn all that he had declared to be good. Can we, dare we, charge the +Governor of the Universe with such trickery? It must never be lost sight +of, that the very prohibition of one tree, would be certain, in their +state of ignorance, to produce the consequence that followed: viz., to +induce Eve, from curiosity, to partake of it. Is it any thing short +of insanity to suppose that such dreadful consequences would follow so +trifling an offence?</p> +<p class="pnext">This forbidden tree had something in it, that, to us, seems very +strange. It was to impart knowledge; and as the fruit was inviting to +the eye, and a desire existing to obtain knowledge, Eve fell a victim to +her unfortunate curiosity. Nor was this all. Until Eve ate thereof, it +appears that the happy couple did not perceive their want of clothing. +Instantly they set to work to repair this first mishap, by sewing leaves +together to make aprons. But in this stage of the business, the Lord +seems to have some compassion left, for he, “<em class="italics">the Lord, made coats +of skins and clothed them</em>”—poor Adam and Eve being ignorant of +the strength and durability of leaf aprons. We may suppose the Lord as +thinking or saying to Adam,—“Why, this will never do; you must have +something more lasting, or else, by every wind that blows, you will +be no more than a bundle of tattered rags.” Soon, therefore, by +the Lord’s assistance, poor Adam and Eve jumped into a new suit of +clothes! And, to make sure of man’s destruction, by taking that which +was forbidden, the serpent was permitted to point out the advantages +that would follow; so that the appearance of the fruit, and the desire +to get knowledge, urged on by the serpent, together with Eve’s +ignorance that any thing like lying existed in the Garden of Eden, the +disobedience of our first parents was, by ninety-nine chances out of a +hundred, secured, and the damnation of their posterity made sure.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, to ascribe such conduct to God, such barefaced design to quarrel +with his new creation, is horrid in the extreme, and would disgrace (bad +as it is said he is) the very Devil himself. And if the account is not +true, if the facts, as recorded, did not take place, but are altogether +to be considered as an allegory, then it follows, that human redemption +is an allegory, also; and the whole fabric of the Jewish and Christian +religion falls to the ground.</p> +<p class="pnext">In dismissing this father of humbugs, (the fall of our first parents,) +which ended in Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise, by way of +consolation, we may in justice say, “Farewell, Adam and Eve; you have +had but a rough beginning. God and the Devil have both conspired to +make you unhappy, But never mind, do your best; comfort and console each +other; the whole world is before you. This garden trade has proved a +failure altogether. If you can but procure a spade, a hoe, and shovel, +you will in time get on; and, as your present misfortune originated from +that unforeseen quarrel in the garden, live in peace, and share equally +in your troubles, and also in your prosperity. Things are not so bad, +after all; and if Adam’s wound in the side is not yet entirely healed, +it is your duty, Eve, as a good wife, to pay particular attention to it. +It is for your interest, also; for if Jehovah should, be again offended +with you, as in the garden, and take from Adam the opposite rib from +which you sprang, and of it make a second Eve, the serpent would pay +another visit to mar your happiness, and your troubles would have no +end.”</p> +<p class="pnext">What kind of religion there was, if any, in those days, we know not; +but Cain and Abel, Adam’s sons, appear to have been worshippers of +Jehovah, notwithstanding the expulsion of their parents from Paradise. +We have it recorded that, in the course of their worship, Cain’s +offering was of the “fruits of the earth,” and Abel’s was “a +lamb with the fat thereof.” Cain’s offering had no respect paid to +it; but, on the other hand, Abel’s offering was respected. The reason +why the one was rejected and the other accepted, we have no means +of knowing; at any rate, Jehovah knew that murder would follow as a +consequence. Here, then, we have an account of the <em class="italics">first religious +quarrel</em>, and the murderous spirit that was connected with it. And +history confirms this truth, that the same murderous spirit has always, +more or less, shown itself in all religious disputes; but more dreadful +and furious in the Jewish and Christian religions than in any others. +From Cain, the first religious murderer, to the present day, intolerance +and blood appear to have stained the pages of Jewish and Christian +history. And now, that those days of persecution have passed away, let +us do all in our power to prevent their recurrence.</p> +<p class="pnext">Following the history of the antediluvians, in Genesis, chap. vi., we +are not a little surprised to find a new race of, beings on earth. We +find, that after “<em class="italics">men began to multiply an the face of the earthy and +daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters +of men, that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they +chose, and they bare children unto them; the same became mighty men, +which were of old men of renown</em>.” Here we may ask, is it possible to +believe in the truth of this account? But for its being recorded in the +Bible, no person, having one grain of common sense, would for a moment +give it the least credit. But its truth rests on the same authority +as the fall of our first parents, and no doubt is equally true. We are +told, by Christ, that in heaven, they “<em class="italics">neither marry nor are given in +marriage</em>”; but here it seems that the sons of God were tired of their +restraint, and broke loose, and came a wooing the pretty young girls +of those days: and, from the account, the courtship was short; for they +took to them, wives of all that they chose. Good heavens! how the young +men of those days must have stared to see the young ladies So pliable! +If, in those days, “bustles” were not worn by the girls, the sons of +God soon put them, one and all, in a bustle. Wonder how those gentlemen +were dressed, that the women became so soon captivated! If, in the +course of their negociations, some girl, more thoughtful than the rest, +had asked her strange lover what employment he intended to follow, he +would have been stuck fast to have given an answer. After all, if this +account is to be considered true, heaven is not in so happy a state as +is represented; for the sons of God became uneasy in their confinement, +and preferred a love frolic to Gabriel’s evening song. As heaven is +considered to have the most enchanting music, perhaps the new visiters +brought with them their instruments, and began their courtship by a +heavenly jig. It does not appear that Jehovah exhibited any displeasure +on account of the sons of God leaving the blessed abodes and marrying +the daughters of men. For aught we know, it was an experiment to improve +the antediluvian race.</p> +<p class="pnext">But leaving this point for ministers of the gospel to settle, it seems +as if their progeny were a jolly set of fellows, and became “<em class="italics">men of +renown.</em>” Taking, then, a review of the world from its creation until +it was destroyed by the deluge, we discover, that if the facts recorded +are true, and did really take place, it was one continued chapter of +blunders. First, Adam is made and set to work. It is next discovered +that he requires a partner; but, behold! no materials are left with +which to make one. Adam is then laid up in dock; taken to pieces like an +old steamboat; one of his timbers removed, and a woman appears. Things +go on well, but only for a short time. Eve soon longs for fruit; she +takes it; then, lo, and wonder! she and her husband discover, and +for the first time feel, a sense of decency. They set to work to make +aprons; this is but lost labor. The Lord, it appears by the account, was +not in the garden, but on returning, found his servants partly clothed. +He informs them of their error; sets to work and protects them from wind +and weather. To be sure, they were not turned out naked; the very ground +was cursed for their bad conduct, and thorns and thistles would spring +up to annoy them. Whether the Garden of Eden was given up altogether, or +another gardener employed to keep it, we have no account.</p> +<p class="pnext">This, at any rate, was paying dear for an apple, or peach. We find, +however, that our first parents did not despair; for they soon raised +a family. If this expulsion did actually take place, to talk of family +troubles is nothing, compared to this unfortunate couple. For one single +fault, to be driven as outcasts from their only known home, to wander +they did not know where, without experience or capital to begin with! Of +all the houseless wanderers, their lot seems to be the most piteous to +behold.</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, whether “the sons of God” Were permitted to descend and +marry the daughters of men by way of improving the race, we know not. +If improvement was Jehovah’s object in this strange union, another +failure, equal to former ones, was the result. The antediluvians, one +and all, were so wicked, that “the Lord repented that he had made man +on the earth; and it grieved him at his heart.” One exception only, +in the family of Noah; to whom Jehovah immediately communicated his +determination to <em class="italics">destroy man and beast by a flood</em>—Noah’s family +only excepted.</p> +<p class="pnext">To conclude this chapter, a few remarks will suffice.—If the foregoing +account of the creation is maintained to be truly the work of Infinite +Wisdom and Power, what a picture presents itself to the mind of a +sensible and reasonable man! Can it be possible for such an one to +believe it? His mind must reject it as the most barefaced falsehood that +ever could be proposed to human credence; as impossible to be true, and +equally impossible to be credited by any person having the least claim +on common sense. And yet, in this crazy world, to give credit to it, +is to be respectable; but to deny its truth, is to be infamous, and an +object of Christian horror, unworthy to live in this world, and sure +of damnation in the next. No man living can get over this certain +conclusion, that if the Governor of the Universe did act towards Adam +and Eve, together with the rest of the antediluvians, as is recorded in +the Bible, he made them for no other apparent end than to quarrel with +them, so as to have a pretence to punish and torment creatures who +had no power to resist. And can such a Being be the object of love and +adoration? The Devil himself is not painted in colors half so black.</p> +<p class="pnext">But enough has been said on this subject. We turn from it in disgust, +and boldly say to all the world, that no such God ever did, nor does now +exist; nor did the facts recorded in the Bible, of Adam’s fall, <em class="italics">ever +take place.</em></p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ii-a-review-of-the-deluge-and-the-confusion-of-tongues-at-the-tower-of-babel"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id10">CHAPTER II. A REVIEW OF THE DELUGE AND THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES AT THE TOWER OF BABEL</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">O</span> destroy all mankind by drowning, because of their wickedness, seems +to us a strange reason; for, when we attentively consider it, we are +compelled to conclude that the Jewish God had banished from his moral +government the very appearance of justice. What! no compassion for +the young men and women who had been brought up under circumstances so +unfavorable to virtue, from the bad example of their fathers? What! no +mercy for the thousands of infants? What! no feeling towards the youth, +from manhood through all the gradations down to helpless infancy? None. +We know that it is common for men and women to go crazy. From so strange +a perversion of justice on the part of Jehovah, it would seem that +he, at times, has his crazy fits, also. Destroy the innocent with +the guilty—allowing the innocent no chance of escape! If this were +performed by an earthly monarch, <em class="italics">insanity</em> would be the most charitable +allowance to be made for so atrocious an act. But when ascribed to the +all-wise and powerful God, and insisted on as an article of faith, +such doctrines are only fit for madmen to preach and idiots to hear. +Christians little think to what extent they blaspheme the God whom they +profess to adore.</p> +<p class="pnext">Let us bring this horrid scene nearer to our eyes:—thousands and +tens of thousands of children from six years old and up to the age of +maturity, of both sexes, imploring for mercy, cut off in the midst of +enjoyment, for crimes over which they had no control, and which their +tender age precluded them from committing: yet to them the door of mercy +was forever closed. A raging Almighty God commanding Noah to proceed, +that his vengeance might be satisfied! Only look at such a picture, so +faintly drawn; for if the deluge did really take place, this portrait +bears but a small resemblance to a scene too dreadful for the +contemplation of man, and, Oh! heavens! too unjust and cruel to ascribe +to a God. To drown the whole of the human race by a flood, is one of the +most dreadful visitations of vengeance that cruelty could execute. In +it, we discover nothing to defend. The mind shrinks back with horror +at the bare recital. It is one among hundreds of such acts recorded as +being performed by the Lord.</p> +<p class="pnext">Turn to what part of the history you will, where the Jewish God is +about to do something, or to interfere in any way in human affairs, the +conduct ascribed to him, either in punishment or granting favor, you +will find to be always contrary to justice and reason. If justice be the +theme, it will end in cruelty. If to show favor, it will be sure to +be ill directed and allied to favoritism. Among men, justice is the +foundation of correct moral principles. On the contrary, the Bible God +acts as if influenced by fury and almighty rage; soon, very soon, angry; +very hard to please; punishing and destroying his creatures, as if pain +were a good instead of an evil, and man died without a groan. It is not +possible to calculate the amount of evil that has taken place on the +earth, in consequence of Christians taking for their example the conduct +of their God. Let us mark the difference between any misfortune that +may befall the human race in the course of events, and the same evil +inflicted by the Lord. In the former case, man will sympathize with his +unfortunate fellow man; in the latter, however, it <em class="italics">appears</em> cruel and +unjust. “It is just, yes, and also merciful,” says the Christian, +“for God to destroy the innocent descend-, ants of his enemies, +because he has a right to do whatever he pleases with his own.”</p> +<p class="pnext">This mode of reasoning, the believers in the divinity of the Bible +resort to, in order to shield Jehovah from the attacks of Infidels, for +bringing on the deluge; and the same mode is followed throughout, to +justify the Lord in all his warlike movements against the nations doomed +to die by the hands of his chosen people. Can we, then, wonder that both +Jews and Christians, believing in, and worshipping, a God whose acts are +so revolting to every idea of justice and humanity,—can we, ought +we, to be surprised that they have drank so deeply of that spirit of +cruelty, injustice, and intolerance, that is recorded concerning the +dealings of Jehovah with his creatures, in involving in one common ruin +the innocent with the guilty? For it is from the horrible character +given of the Lord, that both Jews and Christians have in all ages +drawn in, as by a kind of inspiration, the same spirit of cruelty and +proscription, in imitation of their God.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is in vain that Christians assert, that the persecution that has +attended the progress of Christianity, in all ages, is but the abuse +of it No; it has been the <em class="italics">thing itself</em>. The moral precepts of the New +Testament (and many of them are excellent) have never been strong +enough to deter men from putting each other to death on account of their +difference of faith. Cruel Calvin, with the New Testament before his +eyes, and that saying staring him in the face, “<em class="italics">He that hateth his +brother is a murderer</em>,”—with this before his eyes, he caused the +unfortunate Servetus to be burnt by a slow fire, so completely had the +doctrines of the Bible destroyed in him all compassion.</p> +<p class="pnext">To show what baneful influence the doctrines of the Bible have had +upon men eminent for their wisdom, justice, and humanity, the following +authentic account will fully prove:—In the year 1664, two old women +were hanged upon a charge of witchcraft, having been tried by a Jury +before three learned Judges, at the head of whom was Sir Matthew Hale, +who passed the dreadful sentence of the law, as it then stood, which +was put into execution in about two weeks afterwards. A more upright, +honest, wise, and humane Judge never sat in a court of justice; and yet, +behold! he condemned and caused two poor, ignorant, and defenceless old +women to be hanged for a crime they neither did nor could commit +The remarks made to the Jury, by Sir Matthew, in substance were the +following:—“Gentlemen of the Jury, you have nothing to do in +inquiring whether the crime of witchcraft can be committed; the Bible +has settled that subject,—but, whether the evidence you have heard +is proof that the prisoners are guilty of the charges brought against +them,”—which charges were, killing, their neighbors’ children by +the agency and power of the Devil, and causing them to vomit pins and +nails. Here, then, it is clear that it was the Word of God, and not +Judge Hale, that brought about the death of those unfortunate women. +Had Sir Matthew been an <em class="italics">Infidel</em>, the page of history had never been +stained by the blood of two poor helpless beings.</p> +<p class="pnext">Let not Christians, then, say that persecution and intolerance are the +abuses of Christianity. Its very essence is congenial with blood and +torture in all their horrid forms. The moral precepts of the Gospel +never have nor ever will so far neutralize the doctrines of the Bible, +as to guarantee the human race in trusting power in the hands of the +disciples of Jesus. They always will, according to the New Testament, +prefer the man of orthodox faith, to men in common, however virtuous.</p> +<p class="pnext">Having shown the injustice and cruelty of drowning all the inhabitants +of the earth,—on account of the wickedness of some who ought to have +been made an example to society at large,—let us inquire, what end was +obtained by so universal a destruction? Have the human race been more +moral, and, on the whole, more virtuous, since the flood than before? If +they have not, (and that they have not, the Bible itself fully proves,) +it then follows, that no moral good resulted from their being destroyed; +and instead of the Lord’s anger being softened down, it would rage +in all its former fury. If the Lord really said to Noah, what the Bible +records, “<em class="italics">that it repented him that he had made man on the earthy and +it grieved him at his heart</em>” it is as much as to say,—“I can bear +this distracted state of mind no longer; I will try you and your family, +Noah, and ease myself of the disappointment I have endured from the +wickedness of my creation; I will have a better race on the earth which +I have made, or man shall cease to exist.”</p> +<p class="pnext">But did a better race succeed? No; for Noah, in time, became +intemperate, and in a fit of intoxication became an object of contempt +to one of his sons, who, so far forgot his duty to his intoxicated +father, that instead of concealing his folly and shame, he exposed it. +When Noah awoke from his slumber, and discovered what had taken place, +he began most heartily to curse his son and his posterity for ages +to come, and also to prophesy evil concerning them, which prophecy, +according to the Bible, the Lord approved of and brought to pass. Here, +again, Jehovah is disappointed; that is, if he expected a moral world +better than the one he had destroyed.</p> +<p class="pnext">Turning, then, with detestation from an account which represents the +Governor of the Universe as having drowned a world and repented he had +made it, and also of being grieved at heart, we will notice Noah’s +preparing the ark and making ready for his singular voyage. Nothing +short of repeated miracles could have completed the embarkation of Noah, +his family, and the living cargo, or freight. A miracle must have been +wrought on all those beasts, whose savage nature had made them a terror +to man, in order that they might become tame, and be conveyed to +the vicinity of the ark. Another miracle must have been in continual +operation on all those who were engaged in procuring the beasts, birds, +and reptiles, to induce them to labor without any remuneration for +their toils, but the certainty of being left to perish by the flood. A +continuation of miracles must follow on, to induce the then population +to stand quiet, up to their necks in water, and not to make an effort to +force their way into the ark before it was closed up; and also to +enable Noah and his family to attend to feeding and keeping clean their +respective cages and dens. The water, also, to drown the world, and +cover the highest hills, must be created for this express purpose, and +then reduced again into its native nothingness. For, from an accurate +calculation, it would require one hundred and eight times as much water +as is now on the face of the earth, to cover the highest mountain, +admitting its height to be no more than twenty thousand feet, and there +are mountains still higher. It would follow, therefore, that after the +flood, one hundred and eight oceans must be annihilated, there not being +room for so much water on the earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">From what has been said concerning the flood, it is clear that no such +thing really took place, but that the whole is fabulous; because, the +deluge is said to be in consequence of the Lord’s being grieved at the +wickedness of the antediluvians. This is no reason why he should destroy +them, even admitting the possibility of the fact. His grief could not be +lessened by so doing, as men since the flood have been equally wicked as +before; and have continued so, down to the present time. If the Lord was +grieved then, and repented at having made man, he is still unhappy and +continues to repent, because the evil that caused him then to grieve and +to repent, is not removed.</p> +<p class="pnext">The reader is requested not to lose sight of one thing that is equally +glaring both in the Old Testament and the New—that the Jehovah of the +Jews is always blundering and making mistakes; the choice he often makes +does not answer the end purposed, but falls short. Another and another +plan is pursued; still, some striking failures take place. The God +of the Bible is as unlike the Supreme Power that governs the material +universe, as the swarthy African is unlike the fair complexion of the +temperate zone.</p> +<p class="pnext">As the main object of this work is to prove, as clear as the nature of +argument will admit, that the Jehovah of the Jews is not the Supreme +Ruler of Nature, let us examine their respective characters. The God of +the Jews, in his acts, is governed by no correct principle of justice; +he is changeable, and subject to all the passions that, in turn, agitate +the minds of mortals. How different is the Ruler of the World, of +whom we know nothing, abstracted from the material universe! In the +government of the material world, we discover that “<em class="italics">order is heaven's +first law</em>”; that a regular arrangement of causes and effects pervade +every department of nature. In it, there is no doing and undoing; +no derangement in the wonderful, adaptation of cause and effect, of +principles and consequences. In the laws that rule the universe, nothing +happens that has the appearance of falling short of ends intended to be +carried out; these laws depend not on the will or conduct of mortals; +but the more we are acquainted with them, the more we are compelled to +admire the wonderful wisdom and harmony of the mighty whole.</p> +<p class="pnext">Is the kingdom of grace, or, in other words, does the Old and New +Testaments present to us a God any way similar to the power that rules +the world? The God of Nature, an expression used to convey no other +meaning than the power that mingles itself with the mighty whole,—does +this power show any thing like partiality to nations, or to sects and +parties? Do the general laws, by which the world is governed, indicate +any thing in their author of a vindictive or vengeful character. Any +thing like disappointment or regret? Does the prosperity of nations, or +of individuals, depend (abstractly considered) on whether they worship +one, or many Gods, or none at all? On the contrary, the Jehovah of +the Bible is depicted as being more unstable than mortals. Ye Jews and +Christians! in vain do you vindicate the character and conduct of your +God towards the human race, by saying that “he ought to do what he +pleases with his own.” The conduct of the most cruel and unjust tyrant +that ever lived can with more truth and propriety be exonerated than +your God; because a tyrant, however wicked and cruel, may have +to contend with those who are capable of doing him an injury, and +self-defence on his part may form some excuse for his actions. A +tyrant may have to come in contact with others, his equals in power and +physical force. But the Christian God is above any personal injury; he +has no rivals; possessing all power, all knowledge, nothing can take +place by him unforeseen. If mortals, by their conduct, call forth his +anger, he chooses to be angry. The human race did not ask for existence; +he alone was the projector. If mortals, in the course of their career +through life, (as foreseen by him) deserve punishment, he felt happy +in punishing them. Ye ministers! prate, then, no longer against the +“<strong class="bold">unblushing Infidel</strong>”; for, as you maintain that the God of +the Bible is the author of the universe, we leave you to blush at the +horrible character you portray of him whom you hypocritically call a God +of love! Oh! heavens! what dreadful consequences have resulted from +the Jehovah of the Jews being worshipped as the author of nature! The +worshippers of such a God have in all ages partaken, more or less, of +his character for cruelty, injustice, and intolerance; and under +this banner “whole armies have marched forth to glut the earth with +blood.”</p> +<p class="pnext">Viewing, then, the Bible account of the deluge, in which the innocent +were destroyed with the sinner, as but a fabulous tale, had I a voice +loud enough to make all mankind hear, I would boldly and fearlessly +proclaim it a falsehood, disgraceful to God, and too foolish to obtain +credit in the present age.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iii-from-the-confusion-of-tongues-to-the-birth-of-moses"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id11">CHAPTER III. FROM THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES TO THE BIRTH OF MOSES</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">HE</span> object to be accomplished in this chapter is, to show, from the +Bible history itself, the folly and absurdity of admitting the Jehovah +of the Bible to be the Supreme Ruler of the Universe; for, after +destroying every thing that had life, by the flood, Jehovah, somewhat +like a conquering hero, returns to heaven. The war with the human race +being over, Divine vengeance is satisfied. No religious worship, that +we read of, was then known on the earth. But, behold! a new outbreak +occurs, that requires the immediate interference of the God of Israel.</p> +<p class="pnext">In Genesis, chapter xi., it is recorded, that the then inhabitants of +the earth began to build a tower, the top of which was to reach the +heavens, that they might make to themselves a great name, and be no +more scattered abroad on the earth. What crime it could be considered +by Jehovah, for men to unite in building a tower so lofty that the +top would reach the heavens, we know not. However ignorant the then +inhabitants of the earth were, the Lord knew that they could not annoy +him by the erection of a tower to any height they might be inclined to +raise it. The writer of the account makes it appear, that Jehovah became +uneasy at the progress the workmen were making, and at last could bear +it no longer; so he came down, as the term is, and confounded their +speech in such a manner that they could not understand each other.</p> +<p class="pnext">Can it be possible, for men who reflect at all, to believe such glaring +nonsense? The writers of the Bible have not only made a God unjust and +vengeful, but they have put into his head such foolish whims, as, +that after having destroyed a world by a deluge, the innocent with +the guilty, he came down from heaven to scare away carpenters and +bricklayers from their honest labor; and have made him virtually +to say—“Be off! Clear out! I will not permit you to hammer away +here!” The conduct of the Bible God towards the builders of Babel, +and, in fact, the whole of the then human family, seems to be like that +of an unfeeling father, who cares not for his children, and who is also +equally indifferent as to whether the human race worshipped him, or fell +down to worship stocks or stones; for, instead of ordering them to build +an altar to the true and living God, he ordered them off, to wander +abroad on the earth, and do the best they could. And here an opportunity +was lost of insuring their conversion; since, as they were all of one +language and speech, how easy to convert the whole race at once! Now, +here we may discover a <em class="italics">man-made God</em>. Sometimes he is all jealousy for +his own name—all fury against idolatry; at other times, he seems to +care but little for the happiness of his creatures, or the honor of +his name. After having compelled the builders of Babel to quit their +undertaking, Jehovah returns back to heaven; and from the silence of +Bible history, he does not appear to have superintended human affairs at +all, for hundreds of years after. And now, ye ministers of the Gospel of +grace, what have you to say in vindication of the very existence of such +a God? The origin of your God is of man’s creation; he never had a +real existence.</p> +<p class="pnext">After an absence of many years, having given up, to all appearance, any +interest in human affairs, Jehovah turns his attention to Abram and his +family, and adopts them as his chosen people. And from this account, we +clearly discover the absurdity of believing the God of Abram to be the +universal sovereign; for, from the moment of the adoption of Abram and +his seed forever, from that very moment the family affairs of Abram, +Isaac and Jacob, seem to engross the attention of Jehovah; and, while I +am writing, I blush for shame at the credulity of mankind in professing +to believe such contemptible trash. What can be more weak and ridiculous +than to suppose that the Lord and two angels came to the tent of Abram, +and went through all the ceremonies of a pastoral visit,—such as +washing of feet and taking water until dinner was prepared, and that +while partaking of Abram’s hospitality, they inquired for his wife, +and then renewed what before had been promised, namely—that Sarah, +Abram’s wife, should have a son in her old age?</p> +<p class="pnext">One remarkable feature, throughout the whole of the Bible, presents +itself. It is this: that in every movement Jehovah makes among his +favorite people the Jews, and in all the correspondence he holds with +Abram and his seed, every thing is done by way of experiment on that +people; as if Jehovah did not know what would happen until he had gained +information by <em class="italics">actual experiment!</em> In the case of the builders of the +Tower of Babel, it is said—“<em class="italics">And the Lord came down to see the city, +and the tower which the children of men builded.</em>” And again—"<em class="italics">Go +to, let us go down, and there confound their language</em>.” And also, +in the case of Sodom, the Lord told Abram concerning the cry of the +wickedness of the inhabitants of Sodom. The Lord said to Abram—"<em class="italics">I +will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according +to the cry of it, which is come unto me; if not, I will +know.</em>”—[Genesis xviii. 21.] Abram, having heard of the intended +destruction of the Sodomites, remonstrates with Jehovah on the injustice +of destroying the innocent with the guilty. Then follows the pleading of +Abram with the Lord, in favor of Sodom; and from the willingness of the +Lord to comply with the request of Abram,—if the old patriarch had had +the moral courage to have gone on with one more request,—Sodom might +have been saved. The personage who communed with Abram is, by the +inspired writer, called the “<em class="italics">Judge of all the earth</em>.” The same who +had that day dined with Abram, and to whom Abram said, “<em class="italics">Behold, now +I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and +ashes</em>”!</p> +<p class="pnext">And now, patient reader, what have Christians to believe in reference to +this matter? Why, they must believe that the great immortal God came to +the earth from his Unknown abode, in the likeness of <em class="italics">man</em>, in company +with two angels; that he called on Abram, who was surrounded by his +flocks and herds, dwelling in a tent, perhaps inferior to our Indian +log-houses; that he, the Judge of all the earth, with two of his angels, +were (according to eastern hospitality) presented with water to drink, +and also, water to wash their feet—a practice most refreshing in a +warm climate. An invitation was given them to dine, which they accepted +and so particular is the narrative, that, what they had for dinner is +mentioned: the calf was instantly slain, and the baking commenced.</p> +<p class="pnext">And here we may inquire, whether or not this circumstance did really +take place, as it is recorded? If it did, then the believers in the +Bible, as a Divine Revelation, have to believe that the Great God of +all, the Universal Ruler of the Universe, came on earth to the tent of +Abram, in the form of a man, with two of the angelic host; and that they +<em class="italics">then and there</em> had their feet washed, and sat down to a dinner of veal +and griddle cakes, and did eat thereof, and drink water. Now, if Moses, +or any other pretended inspired writer, wrote this, I ask, is not the +God of Abram a <em class="italics">man-made God?</em> He is said to have feet that required +washing, and an appetite that required food. He had a mouth, teeth, and +also a stomach to receive food; and we may infer that he had hands, for +it is not recorded that Abram cut his victuals, or fed him or the angels +with a spoon.</p> +<p class="pnext">If the believers of the Bible consider that the foregoing account is +allegorical, and not to be considered as having really taken place, it +then follows that human redemption is allegorical, also; for the promise +made to Abram was, that <em class="italics">In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations +of the earth be blessed</em>. This promise included the mission of Jesus, +who was to save his people from their sins, and also to <em class="italics">heal the +nations, and to bring in everlasting righteousness</em>. Christians, then, +if they believe the Bible to be a Divine Revelation, must believe that +the Judge of the whole earth, while at dinner, in promising Abram a son, +included also, in that promise, the mission of Jesus, <em class="italics">the Saviour of +the world.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">And here we may notice the views that Abram had of the Supreme Judge +of all. As he appeared to Abram in the form of a man, and as such was +treated by him, Abram brought forth water to wash the feet of the Lord, +and invited him to dine, which he did; which is proof positive that +Abram considered that the Lord was in the habit of taking refreshment, +such as eating and drinking, or he would never have thought of giving +the Lord such an invitation. If this account be true, the New Testament +must be false, when it declares that <em class="italics">no man hath seen God at any time, +and that none can see him and live</em>. But of Abram it is written, that he +saw the Lord, face to face, and also that they dined together; and, as +if to remove all doubt of its truth, it mentions what they dined on, +namely—veal and cakes. It therefore follows, that the account, as +recorded of the Lord’s dining with Abram, must be taken in its plain +and literal sense; because it is connected with the destruction of Sodom +and Gomorrah, and also of Lot’s wife being turned <em class="italics">into a pillar +of salt</em>; which account is referred to as having taken place, by the +writers of the New Testament. After the Lord and the two angels had +retired from dinner, the Lord informed Abram of his errand to the above +cities; which was, to find out whether their ill-fated inhabitants were +as wicked as they had been reported; as he (the Lord) was determined to +know. It was then that Abram began to plead with the Lord, and to show +the injustice of destroying the innocent with the guilty, as from the +nature of the crime for which the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were +to be destroyed, all the women and children were innocent. Abram, +therefore, saw immediately the horrid cruelty and injustice of such +destruction as was about to overtake the unfortunate inhabitants of +Sodom. In the discussion, Abram had the best of the argument, but his +efforts were unavailing. Fire came down from heaven, and they were burnt +alive, innocent and guilty together.</p> +<p class="pnext">From the account it appears, that after the Lord parted with Abram, +he also took his leave of the angels; and what became of the Lord, the +Bible is silent; but the angels, after having dined with Abram, took +supper with Lot. This Lot seems to be the only man in Sodom that was +worth saving; and he certainly acted very strange: for when his townsmen +insisted on knowing who the angels were, and on what business they came, +Lot offered to turn into the street his two innocent daughters, to be +dealt with according to the wishes of those vile wretches, if they would +but permit him to lodge and entertain the strangers. Certainly, the +morality of the Bible is most sublime, and the ways of the Jewish God +<em class="italics">past finding out!</em></p> +<p class="pnext">The case of Lot’s wife is, to all appearance, very strange. Her +crime of looking back, would appear to us much less than that of her +husband’s in turning his daughters into the street. The history of +Lot winds up with a strange account, and not very favorable to strict +morality, namely—the project of his daughters in making him drunk, +and the disgusting consequences that followed. Thus, it is clear, that +Lot’s wife (bless the good old woman!) was the best, in a moral point +of view, in the whole family; and only for looking back on her beloved +home, she was treated like a dead sow, by being put into pickle. To +conclude this tirade of nonsense and folly, we will add—“<em class="italics">remember +Lot’s wife</em>.”</p> +<p class="pnext">It appears from Bible history, that when Abram left his own country, he +was any thing but rich; and as his substance consisted in a few heads of +cattle, a famine soon overtook him as he journeyed, which induced him +to go down into Egypt, the then granary of the earth. To prevent any +unpleasant consequences that might result to Abram, because of the +beauty of Sarah, his wife, she was instructed to call her husband her +brother. It turned out as was expected, for she was recommended to +Pharaoh, and taken into the royal palace. Immediately, presents came +unto Abram in quick succession, consisting of “<em class="italics">sheep and oxen, and he +asses; men-servants and maidservants; and she asses and camels</em>.” But +the Lord, ever watchful over Abram’s affairs, troubled Pharaoh and +his house; and when Pharaoh discovered the cause of this evil, he +remonstrated with Abram for his duplicity, and returned his wife +undefiled. So kind, however, was the Lord to Abram, that the presents +were made before the cheat was discovered, and he came out of Egypt a +rich man.</p> +<p class="pnext">This may be said to be the beginning of Abram’s good luck; and we may +suppose that in returning home to their old pasturage, Sarah would laugh +and exclaim—“See what it is to have a handsome wife!” Another +famine will make brother Abram and sister Sarah the richest couple in +pastoral life.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the course of events, Abram and Sarah had recourse again to the same +trick, on Abimelech, King of Gerar, which had been acted with so much +success in Egypt. Sarah, on account of her beauty, <em class="italics">at ninety years +of age</em>, was taken by the King; but the Lord, ever the guardian of +Sarah’s virtue, came to Abimelech in a dream, and threatened him +and all his house with death, if Sarah was not given up to her lawful +husband. The King remonstrated with the Lord, and justified his +conduct by declaring, that both Abram and Sarah had deceived him; and +said—“<em class="italics">In the integrity of my hearty and innocency of hands, have I +done this.</em>” The Lord replied—“<em class="italics">I know that you did it innocently, +for I withheld thee from, sinning against me; therefore, suffered I +thee not to touch her.</em>” Again, as before, presents of cattle, +men-servants, and maid-servants, with a thousand pieces of silver into +the bargain, were given to Abram, with his wife, who is as chaste as +morning dew.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have dwelt longer on this account than I at first intended, merely +to show the folly in believing that the Almighty Lord of all had any +concern in such contemptible fooleries as are recorded in the family +concerns of Abram. One thing, however, is omitted; and that is, the +quarrel between Sarah and Hagar. The tent or house became too hot to +hold those rival women; at last, Sarah triumphed by turning out Hagar +and her love-begotten child, which demanded the Lord’s interference, +and gave poor Abram no small share of trouble.</p> +<p class="pnext">From the moment that Jehovah adopted the family of Abram, the Bible +account warrants us in supposing that the family concerns of that +patriarch particularly engaged the attention of Jehovah; since, for +every trifling concern that took place, the Lord was applied to in order +to settle the matter. Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau, when about +to become a mother, applied to the Lord for information respecting her +singular situation; and the Lord informed her that she would be the +mother of two celebrated nations, and satisfied her mind as to every +other inquiry she made. And here we may ask, how it was that the Lord, +in those days, was so easy of access? How every gossipping old woman +could lay her case before the Lord, and wait his advice and answer? The +reply is at hand. The whole account of the Lord’s saying unto Abram, +or the Lord’s saying unto Moses, and again, “<em class="italics">the word of the Lord +came unto Moses, saying,”</em> is all humbug: no such word ever came; no +such conversation ever took place.</p> +<p class="pnext">Whoever wrote the Book of Genesis, has placed Jehovah in an immoral +point of view; as keeping company with unprincipled knaves, and as +acting without any regard to the strict rules of justice and mercy; as +having a system of favoritism, which does not admit of administering +impartial justice. The case of Jacob and Esau is directly opposed to +truth and impartiality. Esau was, in a moral point of view, evidently +the best of the two; but Jacob was Jehovah’s choice. Esau, according +to Bible history, was a hardy, industrious, and generous man. Jacob, on +the other hand, was his mother’s pet; and the deception which he and +his mother played on old Isaac, who was blind, is in strict accordance +with the conduct of all the Lord’s favorites. Jacob, according to +Bible history, was, through his whole life, full of deception and +trickery. He could lie and take a false oath to deceive his blind +father; and by deceit, deprive his brother Esau of his lawful right +of inheritance. And yet the Lord was with him, and connived at all his +baseness!</p> +<p class="pnext">But Jacob, conscious of his wickedness, and justly deserving his +brother’s resentment, fled to his uncle for protection. On his way, +the Lord appeared to him in visions; and, notwithstanding his lying +and false swearing to his father, promised him divine assistance. Jacob +still acted in the same crafty manner, even with the Lord himself; +always having his own self-interest in view; for, after the Lord had +said, Genesis xxvii., 15, “<em class="italics">And behold, I am with thee, and will keep +thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into +this land; for I will not leave thee until I have done that which I have +spoken to thee of</em>”—even after this promise from the Lord, in verse +20 it is said—“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, if God will be with +me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to +eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in +peace, <strong class="bold">then shall the Lord be my God</strong>.”</p> +<p class="pnext">Well done, Jacob! that is making a good Jew bargain. Jehovah and Jacob +both kept their word; for Jacob married his two cousins, the daughters +of his uncle Laban, and staid with him until he, by the help of the +Lord, contrived to jockey old Laban out of the best of his cattle, and +ran away back to his own father’s house, taking with him, by stealth, +the gods of Laban his father. Thus did Jacob not only triumph over the +heathen gods, by carrying them off captive, but continued to adhere to +Jehovah, his own God, who did not desert him in his recreant tricks. It +is not to be wondered that the sons of Jacob should be so base in their +actions, after the example of their father; and considering what a mixed +breed they were, having so many mothers. Their conduct towards their +brother Joseph is a sample of their actions; and although Bible history +records the good fortune of Joseph, he, among the rest of his brethren, +acted the tyrant as soon as power would permit him so to do.</p> +<p class="pnext">This chapter will conclude with a few remarks on the life of Joseph, and +his career in Egypt. The fame and good fortune of Joseph, depended +on his gift of interpreting <em class="italics">dreams</em>, which finally made him, under +Pharaoh, <em class="italics">Lord of the land</em>; and according to his predictions, <em class="italics">seven +years of famine were to succeed seven years of plenty</em>; by which, +Joseph planned the entire subjugation of Egypt. He, by the authority of +Pharaoh, bought up all the grain left of the seven years’ plenty; and +when the famine came, the grain was sold to the inhabitants at the price +that Joseph was pleased to put upon it. But the famine continued so long +that all the money was spent. The poor, half-starved people told Joseph +their situation, and offered their cattle in exchange for grain; the +cattle were taken by him; at last, all their cattle disappeared, and +the people continued in want; then, offer was made of their lands, which +Joseph also took; and with their lands, themselves; so the government +took all. But after the famine, Joseph proposed to furnish them with +seed wherewith to sow their fields, on condition that, ever after, +Pharaoh was to have one-fifth of the yearly produce. How kind of Joseph! +Now, if the Bible be true concerning this matter, I ask, could anything +be more unjust and cruel?</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iv-from-the-birth-of-moses-to-the-death-of-joshua"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id12">CHAPTER IV. FROM THE BIRTH OF MOSES TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">HIS</span> chapter will put beyond dispute all connection between the Jehovah +of Moses and the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe. Whoever drew the +picture of Jehovah, as it is recorded in the Bible, made him, in every +sense of the word, a mere man; and put him under the same necessity +of re-sorting to means for obtaining information, when the subject of +inquiry is involved in doubt. For instance: Jehovah informs Abram that +the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah were reported to be wicked in the +extreme; and that he (the Lord) came down to get information on that +subject. Again, when the builders of Babel were about to commence their +lofty tower, the Lord came down to see what they were doing; and, +not being pleased with their intentions, put a stop to the work, and +performed a miracle, whereby they were driven abroad on the face of +the earth. Besides, the Lord’s coming from a certain place to +another place for information, implies that, without such movement, +the information sought for could not be obtained. These instances, and +hundreds of others of the same kind, imply also that the Jewish God had +a local habitation. Again, to say that the Lord came to a place, staid +there, and then returned back again,—these are movements which are +common with men, but cannot be applied to the omnipresent God. The free +access that Moses and the Old Testament prophets had to their God will +warrant the idea that he resided next door to them, and that the Lord +was obedient to their every call.</p> +<p class="pnext">The children of Israel, after the death of Joseph, began to multiply so +fast that the Egyptians feared for their own safety in the event of a +war with other nations; and in consequence, ordered the mid wives to +destroy all the male children, but to save the females alive. But +Moses was saved, according to the Bible, in consequence of Pharaoh’s +daughter discovering him in the river; and when he came to maturity, the +Lord selected him to go to Egypt to demand of Pharaoh, the king, to +let the Israelites go out from that state of bondage in which, for four +hundred years, they had been held.</p> +<p class="pnext">The departure of Moses from Egypt was not very honorable for a future +ambassador; for before his departure he murdered a man, and buried him. +To escape justice, he then fled to Midian, and became acquainted with a +pagan priest, who took him into his house, and ultimately gave him +one of his daughters in marriage, and he became his father-in-law’s +shepherd; and the Lord made himself known to Moses. It was while tending +the flocks that he was chosen go to Egypt to demand the release of +his brethren, then in cruel bondage. After the Lord had given him his +instructions, and, to all appearance, Moses had started on his +mission, a remarkable circumstance took place, that must puzzle Bible +commentators to explain. It is recorded in Exodus iv., 24, “<em class="italics">And it +came to pass, by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him and sought +to kill him.</em>” This meeting appears to have been accidental, for +no mention is made of the business of either of them. Here, again, we +observe that the writer, whoever he was, has spoken of the Lord as a +man. It is not possible for men of sound understandings to conceive of +the reality of the Lord’s meeting Moses at an inn, if by the Lord, We +understand the Almighty Power that governs all Worlds.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the account as it stands recorded, and as Christians take it as +really having happened, the following remarks may reasonably be made, +namely: that after Moses had been ordered to proceed to Egypt on his +important mission, he loitered his time away in a tavern; and that the +Lord surprised him in that place, and showed anger for his contempt of +orders, given to and accepted by him. But the cause of a meeting so +extraordinary, it is difficult to unravel. It is easily conceived why +Moses might visit a tavern; but that the Lord of heaven and earth should +follow a creature into a pot-house, and show signs of anger, and a +quarrel should be the result, is very hard to believe; for it said, the +“<em class="italics">Lord sought to kill him</em>.” Again, if the Lord sought to kill him, it +must be in appearance only, for he could have done it. However, Moses +started off.</p> +<p class="pnext">The account warrants us in supposing, that Moses had staid in the +inn long enough for his wife to overtake him, and to upbraid him with +neglect. Something is said about his son’s being uncircumcised; and +taking a sharp stone, she performed that operation with a very clumsy +instrument; after which, she exclaimed, in an angry tone, “<em class="italics">A bloody +husband thou art, because of the circumcision</em>;” as if she meant +to say—“Shame on you! to leave it to me to do that which is so +revolting to my feelings!” Moses then departed for Egypt, and obeyed +the Lord in his journey to his brethren.</p> +<p class="pnext">We can discover neither justice nor humanity in the course that was +taken by the God of Israel, in bringing the Jews out of bondage. On +the contrary, the greatest inhumanity and injustice are discoverable in +every movement that Moses made under the authority of the Lord; which +fully proves, that Infinite Wisdom and Goodness had nothing to do in the +mighty fuss of liberating the seed of Abram from bondage. The plagues +that were inflicted on the inhabitants of Egypt, if true, make the +conduct of Jehovah more vindictive than any thing we have heard of +as proceeding from the Devil himself for the Lord had told Moses +beforehand, that he had hardened Pharaoh's heart that the people might +know the power of the Hebrew God to afflict the nation. It might have +been sport to the man made God of Moses, but not very pleasant and +comfortable to the Egyptians, to be lousy, to be stunk to death with +putrid carcasses, having frogs for bed-mates, when the Lord had hardened +the King's heart. But the worst and most infamous of all the judgments, +was the destruction of the first-born. This act would have disgraced the +very devil: to institute the Feast of the Passover.</p> +<p class="pnext">We may indulge in a little mirth in reference to the destroying angel +going round the streets, finding out the doors marked with the blood +of your paschal lamb, and taking care not to wring the neck of a little +Hebrew. Wonder if the destroying angel had a lantern? But, perhaps, +he had cat’s eyes, and could see as well by night as at noon-day! No +wonder, ye Jews, that the inhabitants of Egypt so willingly gave you +their gold and silver ornaments to get rid of a people so detestable, +and, with them, a more detestable God.</p> +<p class="pnext">In a short time after the Jews had left the house of bondage, they began +to upbraid Moses that they had changed for the worse; and in the +course of their journeying, they quarrelled with him, and the Lord had +continually to interfere, and to feed them by miracles. At Mount Sinai, +Moses halted; and, according to the command of the Lord, the law was +given to the nation, as recorded in Exodus, chapter xx. And this boasted +law is said to have been given by the Lord, in the hearing of all +the Children of Israel. The first commandment contains a spirit of +intolerance, which, whether he gave it or not, has never failed to +generate in Jews and Christians a spirit of religious persecution which +has deluged the earth with blood.</p> +<p class="pnext">The ten commandments, given by Moses to the Children of Israel, contain, +in general, good moral precepts, with the exception of the first. The +first begins by the Lord’s speaking in a language which all the people +could understand:—“<em class="italics">I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee +out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt +have no other Gods before me.</em>” This command, which by both Jews and +Christians is considered so just and reasonable, contains in it the +germ of intolerance. Had this command been given immediately after the +recorded fall of Adam, its influence would have had a very different +bearing on the peace and happiness of society, than it had at the time, +and has had ever since it was given. It would have been both just and +right in the Lord of all to demand of his creatures to worship him, and +him alone, in the way and manner he saw fit; since in that case, no evil +consequences could have followed from a command so just and proper, as +for the creature to obey his Creator.</p> +<p class="pnext">But at the time the Lord gave the first commandment, the whole world +were in the practice of worshipping the gods of their forefathers: the +origin of which worship was then lost, and the worshippers were no doubt +as sincere in their devotion as the most pious Jew or Christian of the +present day. By the publication, then, of the first commandment, at a +time when every nation had its particular god, and the worshippers lived +in peace, the spirit of intolerance and religious persecution being +unknown, the great I am declared a religious war against all the gods, +and their worshippers on the face of the earth. But according to +Bible history, Jehovah permitted his creatures to wander on earth, and +appeared regardless as to what gods were worshipped; and then, after +some thousand years, he all at once began to rage against all the +religious systems then known.</p> +<p class="pnext">But it was otherwise with what are called heathen nations. Each had its +peculiar god, and also its different forms of worship; and they lived +happily with each other on the score of theology. And here we may +observe, how unfortunate it has been for the human race, that the Lord +did not either give his law sooner, or not at all; for it is plainly to +be seen, that if the first commandment had been given by the Lord before +men had followed other gods, idolatry would have been prevented, and +Jehovah’s watchfulness over the worship he had established, would +have been productive of universal happiness. But, on the contrary, the +command being given so long after, and that, too, when religious systems +were flourishing, and temples crowded with devout worshippers, the worst +consequences have followed.</p> +<p class="pnext">The worshippers of Jehovah, whether Jews or Christians, have, by the +Bible itself, become intolerant and persecuting; and never have they +failed, when power would admit, to destroy the enemies of their God +without mercy: so that the first commandment, by coming too late, has +proved the greatest curse that ever afflicted the human family. And +hence the folly in believing that Infinite Wisdom and Goodness would +permit false religion to progress so long before the true one was made +known to the human race. After the moral law, or the ten commandments, +had been given by the Jewish God, on the mount, amid thunder and +lightning, we have it recorded that Moses was ordered to go up to the +top of the mount, and there, with the Lord, he staid forty days and +nights; during which time Aaron, his brother, remained with the whole of +the Children of Israel in camp, at the foot of Mount Sinai.</p> +<p class="pnext">And now, candid reader, prepare your mind for an account of what took +place on the mount, between Jehovah and Moses; and when you have read +it, and maturely reflected on what is recorded, then I say, ask yourself +whether there is one word of truth in the account of this strange +interview between Moses and his God? Compare it with any of the +absurdities to be found in the <em class="italics">Koran</em> of Mahomet, and discover, if you +can, whether the latter is less true than the former.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Bible record states, that Moses was ordered to ascend the mount, +on private business with the Lord, and to leave Aaron in charge of his +chosen people till his return. The account clearly states, that Moses +was then and there to receive instruction how to fit up and ornament the +Tabernacle that was to accompany the Children of Israel in their journey +to the promised land. And here we may notice, “<em class="italics">That in six days the +Lord made heaven and earth, and all things therein</em>”; yet it required +forty days to plan and fit up this moveable church; and before it was +finished, the chosen people, with Aaron at their head, became idolators; +so that before the Lord and Moses (both hard at work) had completed the +church, they lost the congregation. This, to make the best of it, was a +dreadful blunder.</p> +<p class="pnext">After the forty days had run out, during which time Moses and his God +were hard at work, and Moses had often received the precaution, +“<em class="italics">See that you make all things according to the pattern given on the +mount,</em>”—all at once, the Lord said to Moses, “Do you know what +is going on below?” Poor Moses, full of thought, and over-joyed at the +prospect of so fine a fit-out, was altogether ignorant of the Lord’s +meaning. “Why, Moses, that stubborn race you brought out of Egypt, +have set up strange gods, and have turned their backs on both you and +me”! If this story was strictly true, how Moses must feel on hearing +this unfortunate news! We must suppose he would exclaim and say, “Oh! +Lord, our forty days' labor is all knocked on the head. Is it possible, +Oh! Lord, that they have forgotten what you did for them in Egypt? What +a pity it is, Oh! Lord, that they ever got rid of the lice when they +left the house of bondage, for if they were now tormented by those +nibblers, it would remind them of the lousy miracle you performed for +them in the presence of Pharaoh. Those lice, if not destroyed, would +have been ‘a forget-me-not.’” And the Lord said unto Moses, “Now +let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against this people, for I know +that they are a stiff-necked race. I will destroy them, and from you +shall a great nation spring up.” But Moses, not having at this +time lost his temper, said, “Oh! Lord God, now do not destroy them; +besides, what will the Egyptians say? And also remember what you +promised to Abram, Isaac, and Jacob: how you swore that you would +give it to Abram and his seed forever.” “Well, Moses, you reason +correctly. I own I was rather too hasty; upon a second thought, I +retract; I will take your advice; but go down and see what you can make +of them.”</p> +<p class="pnext">Moses, not well pleased, left the Lord, and went down from the mount; +and when he came to the camp, he lost all patience, and, in a passion, +not knowing what he did, threw down the stones on which were written the +commandments—and written, too, with the finger of God—and they were +broken asunder. No wonder that Moses lost his temper: forty days’ +labor lost; having had, during the whole time, nothing to eat; and +having lost his church members before the moveable church was complete! +No one can be surprised that he acted as he did. Moses reasoned so +correctly with the Lord, that he cooled Jehovah down, but was not so +fortunate with himself.</p> +<p class="pnext">Aaron, finding himself in a dilemma, excused himself by charging the +people with the fault. But Aaron’s story was but a lame tale; for, +when the people demanded a god, to whom they might pay divine honors, +Aaron could have told them to have patience, and Moses would return with +proper instructions from their God. But poor, silly Aaron told Moses, +that when he threw the rings and bracelets into the fire, out came the +calf. At any rate, between the Lord, Moses, and Aaron, a sad blunder was +made; and to finish off, Moses commanded the Levites to go sword in hand +and kill every man his brother and neighbor; and three thousand were +slain, who, if things had been conducted properly, might have been +faithful worshippers of Jehovah. Finally, nothing can exceed in folly +this foolish story of Jehovah, Moses, and Aaron, except it be the folly +of believing it to contain one word of truth.</p> +<p class="pnext">After Moses had slain the people for their idolatry, not having been +reproved by the Lord, he was commanded to prepare two tables of stone, +in place of those that were broken, and the next morning to go up again +to the Lord, on the mount. It is then said that the Lord descended +on the mount to meet Moses; so it appears that the Lord (after the +departure of Moses to the bottom of the mount) departed also, into +heaven or to some unknown place; for it is recorded that he came down +again to meet Moses with the two new tables prepared by him. The whole +account of the Lord’s interview with Moses, on the mount, implies that +Jehovah labored, talked, and acted in concert with Moses, as one man +acts with another; and that they remained together forty days and as +many nights. Whether they continued their work through the night, we +have no account; nor whether they needed candles. At all events, if +it be considered literally as a matter of fact, it was a long time for +Moses to be without food or sleep; but as Christians are compelled to +believe it to be matter of fact, we will remark on it as such.</p> +<p class="pnext">We begin, then, by asking if the Children of Israel were indeed the +Lord’s chosen people, how can we account for the neglect in not giving +Aaron proper instruction respecting the business of Moses on the mount, +so as to prevent the people from seeking after other gods? And, also, +how came it to pass that the Lord did not inform Moses sooner of the +people’s revolt, so that the three thousand that Moses caused to be +murdered, might have been saved? And lastly, is it consistent with the +attributes of the Governor of the Universe to resolve, in wrath, to do +any thing, and then repent and not perform it?</p> +<p class="pnext">If nothing had been recorded in the Old Testament of the sayings and +doings of the Jewish God, but that which is related concerning him in +giving the law on Mount Sinai, and of his giving instruction to Moses +how to fit out the Tabernacle, it is of itself sufficient to show the +absurdity of Jehovah’s being the God of Nature. To unite in one person +the attributes of the great and all-powerful God, with the contemptible +arrangement of giving patterns for curtains, and a thousand trifling +things of no importance whatever, and to take forty days to garnish his +church, and, while so doing, to let, from sheer neglect, his people +lose sight of Moses, and then to destroy three thousand persons in +consequence of such want of foresight, is too much for credulity to +digest.</p> +<p class="pnext">When we notice the importance attached to rites and ceremonies the most +unimportant, and then again how lavish the Jewish God is of human life, +and totally regardless of human suffering, we dare not for a moment give +credence to the strange stories and foolish whims of the Bible God, and +palm them upon the all-bountiful Author of Nature. Moses, after coming +down the last time from the mount, begins to prepare for the priesthood, +by saying, that the firstlings of cattle, whether of the ox, or the +sheep which are of the male kind, belong to the Lord; but the firstling +of the ass was to be redeemed by substituting a lamb! But if the owner +had no lamb to offer, the neck of the ass was to be broken; as if the +Lord had said—if you have nothing better to give, I will not accept of +a young jack-ass!</p> +<p class="pnext">Whoever wrote the Book of Exodus, has made the God of Israel appear like +unto an old clothes-man, giving orders for a thousand ornaments for his +worship, which would disgrace a heathen temple; such as giving orders +for all kinds of brass work; likewise, gold and silver ornaments; all +kinds of oils and spices; particular patterns of cabinet work; what +kind of leather skins, and, also, of what particular color, to grace his +house withal: and even down to the cut and color of the garments: not +forgetting to give instruction concerning the making of breeches for +Aaron and his sons! In the present day, it is no uncommon thing for +ladies to wear the breeches; but in those days, when breeches were cut +by inspiration, it would have been no small crime for a woman to have +stepped into Aaron’s inexpressibles, or those of his sons. How is the +dignity of the Governor of the World disgraced, by ascribing to him an +employment fitting only for a pedler in old clothes!</p> +<p class="pnext">Let' us compare the majestic grandeur of Jupiter, the supreme god of the +Greeks, to the peddling, gossipping concerns that the writers of the +Old Testament have palmed on Jehovah, the God of the Jews! Hear what +the poet says of Jupiter, when challenging all the gods to oppose his +power:—:</p> +<pre class="literal-block"> +“Let down our golden, everlasting chain, +Whose strong embrace holds heaven and earth and main; +Strive all, of mortal or immortal birth, +By this to drag the thunderer down to earth; +Ye strive in vain; if I but lift this hand, +I heave the heaven, the ocean, and the land; +’T is thus I reign, supremely and above; +Such are men and gods compar’d to Jove!” +</pre> +<p class="pfirst">The contradictions, as recorded in the Bible, concerning Jehovah, are so +barefaced, that it is impossible to reconcile them. It is said in many +parts of the Old, and also in the New Testament, that no man can see +God and live; but we are told that Moses conversed with Jehovah, face to +face, as one conversing with his friend. It is in many places recorded +that God never repents—“<em class="italics">For he (God) cannot lie nor repent</em>.” In +many other places it is recorded that Jehovah has repented and taken a +contrary course in his dealings with the sons of men. I again repeat, +that if no other account had been recorded of the conduct of the Jewish +God, but what we have mentioned, it is impossible to believe Jehovah to +be any thing but a <em class="italics">man-made God.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">After the death of Moses, Joshua was appointed as his successor. His +business was to complete what Moses had left undone, in subjugating or +destroying the nations on the other side of Jordan. The first exploit of +Joshua was to send spies to Jericho to examine the strength of the city. +These spies entered the house of Rahab, the harlot, where they were +treated with kindness; it being such a house as would in modern times be +termed a house of <em class="italics">bad fame</em>. That it was a house of ill-fame, the proof +is positive; because the harlot’s father, mother, and all the family, +were saved when Joshua took the city, because Rahab had concealed the +spies: so no doubt remains as to the character of the house, and that it +was entirely under her control and that the whole family were supported +from the wages of prostitution.</p> +<p class="pnext">Viewing this account as having actually taken place, as Christians must +do, as believers in the Bible, it was a very proper house at which the +spies would resort; for it was a house at which all were welcome; +where all sorts of news could be collected. After the spies had become +somewhat familiar with Mrs. Rahab, they informed her who they were, +and the nature of their errand. All on a sudden, they were about to +be arrested by the city authorities; and when forced to depart, Rahab +extorted a promise from the spies that her whole family should be saved +when Jericho should fall. Such a promise, the spies could not well deny, +after having been so kindly treated. Rahab, consequently, let them out +by a private way; and, on returning to Joshua, they praised the Lord +for having directed them to so hospitable and honorable a mansion as the +house of the virtuous Rahab. This was the Lord’s doings, as also the +exploit of the seven rams’-horn trumpets that threw down the walls of +Jericho; and it is marvellous in our eyes—<em class="italics">praised be his name!</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Here, serious reader, pause and wonder how Infinite Wisdom can bring +good out of apparent evil, by taking into his employment murderers, +thieves, and harlots! and also, how such characters have immortalized +their names, when their actions have been connected with faith in the +Jehovah of Israel! For this noble act of betraying the city of Jericho, +and giving the spies comfortable lodging, and no doubt, also, very +agreeable bedmates, Rahab secured the favor of Jehovah, and her name is +recorded in connection with many others of equal virtue; for Paul says, +in Hebrews xi., 31,—“<em class="italics">By faith, the harlot Rahab perished not with them +that believed not, when she had received the spies in peace.</em>” Nothing +is acceptable to the Lord, without faith,—that faith “which keeps the +souls of sinners as sweet as salt does meat.”</p> +<p class="pnext">After the taking of Jericho and destroying every thing that had life, +(the family of Rahab excepted,) Joshua followed in the same destructive +course as had been commanded by Moses, which command Jehovah gave on +the other side of Jordan. If the warfare pursued by Moses and Joshua did +really take place, and Jehovah gave the orders, it is idle prate to +talk of a God of justice. And when the Lord is made to say that <em class="italics">he (the +Lord) hardened the hearts of those Kings on either side of Jordan</em>, that +a plausible appearance of justice in their destruction might be made +out,—for Christians to sing of a God of mercy, is horrible indeed. +Whether a God ever commanded or encouraged the Jews in their wars of +extermination, under Moses, Joshua, or any other of their generals, or +not, Christian nations, as well as individuals, have drank deep of the +spirit of religious warfare. A Lord of hosts, a fighting God, has given +a sort of license to mortals to torment each other for his glory.</p> +<p class="pnext">Every Infidel ought to oppose this spirit, and vindicate the Author of +Nature from the imputation of cruelty and carnage—an imputation that, +is opposed to every idea of justice, and contrary to every thing we can +conceive of the Supreme Ruler of all worlds. And hence, nothing can be +more honorable to a man or woman of good sense and kindness of heart, +than to assert that the God of the Bible is unworthy to be worshipped +as the Governor of the Universe; which in fact is to say, that to all +pretended divine revelations, they are no less than avowed Infidels—a +name that will eventually be as honorable as is now the name of +Christian.</p> +<p class="pnext">According to Bible history, the nations on the other side of Jordan were +so alarmed at the frightful news they received of the Jewish army, and +the ravages they committed, that five Kings, with their armies, came +out to stop their progress; and in this account, we have the climax of +divine interference on the part of Jehovah. After a desperate effort +was made by the five Kings to stop the progress of Joshua, and after +fighting the whole day, until <em class="italics">towards the going down of the sun</em>, they +retreated. At that moment Jehovah is said to have given support to his +chosen people, by causing a hail-storm to descend, and more were slain +by the hail than fell by the sword. But when the hail was exhausted, +something more was requisite to be done; Divine aid was still wanting. +Then Joshua, in sight of his army, said, “<em class="italics">Sun stand thou still upon +Gibeon, and thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon</em>,” and they obeyed +his command. So that, according to this miracle, the hostile armies were +completely destroyed, and the sun and moon (we suppose) were ordered to +pursue their courses.</p> +<p class="pnext">And now, reader, to believe this improbable, or rather impossible tale, +and hundreds of others of the same sort, even in our day, will make +a man respectable, and fit to fill any office where intelligence and +honesty are required. But to doubt it, and publicly express the doubt, +will cause him to be considered infamous, and unfit for “public trust +or private care.” And this will be the case until men shall be bold +enough to express their honest convictions that it is a libel to charge +the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe with being the direct, or the +indirect, author of the Bible, or having ever chosen the Jews to be his +peculiar people.</p> +<p class="pnext">But to return to Joshua, who appears to be more highly favored with +miracles than Moses, as the miracle of the sun and moon standing still, +to give time to Joshua to complete his victory over the Kings that came +against him, exceeds every thing of the kind on record. The writer, +whoever he was, that mentions the sun and moon standing still in the +heavens, evidently knew nothing of astronomy; for admitting the truth +of the story, and that the sun and moon appeared to stand fixed in the +heavens, it was in reality the earth that instantly obeyed the command +of Joshua. And another miracle must have followed immediately, to +prevent the dreadful consequences of the earth’s ceasing from turning +round on its axis: for we have but to consider the effects of the +earth’s instantly ceasing to turn round; the shock would have been so +great that trees and houses and the armies would have been thrown high +in the air, and the battle would have immediately ended, the combatants +being destroyed. But the tale is too foolish to be credited; and it +furnishes another proof that the Jehovah of the Jews is not the Author +of Nature. In this battle, Balaam, the soothsayer, was slain; and before +finishing this chapter, we will give the account as recorded, with some +remarks on that celebrated fortune-teller.</p> +<p class="pnext">When the Children of Israel had left Egypt, and were marching to +the land of promise, they had to go through different kingdoms and +provinces; and their numbers, connected with the depredations they +committed in the name of Jehovah, caused the inhabitants of those +regions to be greatly alarmed; and understanding that their God fought +for them and that they were about to pass through the land of Moab, +Balak, King of Moab, having learned what had been done by them to the +Amorites, sent to Balaam to consult with him, intending, if possible, +to stop their progress, or at least, to find out what the Jewish God had +destined his people to perform.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the Book of Numbers, chapter xxii., the account commences. Balaam, it +appears, was then what now would be called a celebrated conjuror, or, +as country people say, a <em class="italics">cunning man</em>, by which he made a living, and +a good one, too: for, from the Bible story, he appears to be a man well +known by princes, and was attended by two servants as out-riders. Like +our present lawyers, he never gave his services until he had received +a handsome fee; for the King sent off the elders to Balaam, with the +rewards of “<em class="italics">divination in their hand.</em>” Balaam received them, and +invited them to stay with him till the next day, for, (as he told them,) +he would first inquire of the Lord.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is then recorded, that “<em class="italics">God came unto Balaam, and said, what men +are those with thee?</em>” This inquiry of the Jewish God appears strange, +when he must have known all about it without asking; but here, as in +hundreds of other passages, the <em class="italics">man-made God</em> appears. But, for the +information of the Lord, Balaam gives a suitable answer. The Lord then +informs the fortune-teller that he must not go to Balak, <em class="italics">nor curse +them, for they are blessed</em>. The elders then returned to the King, to +inform him that Balaam could not come, because the God of Israel had +forbid him so to do. Again, Balak sent others, more honorable than the +first, with promises of riches and honor. The Lord came again to Balaam, +and told him to go with the men to Balak, King of the Moabites, but to +mind what the Lord had said to him. Balaam went off with the princes of +Moab; but the Devil, or something else, got into the jack-ass on which +the old fortune-teller rode, and he became skittish; and although then +dumb, he seemed to say to his master, “I shall go no further.” +Balaam became enraged, and laid some heavy stripes on poor jack; but +still the animal refused to go on, until neither the Lord nor jack could +bear it any longer. The beast then broke silence, and reasoned with the +old prophet on his brutality. All of a sudden, Balaam saw an angel with +a drawn sword in his hand, who told him if it had not been for jack’s +superior eye-sight, he would have been a dead man. The angel then +told Balaam to go on, but to mind what he did against Israel. What +contemptible humbug is all this! two miracles performed to do nothing! +The first, to send an angel down from nobody knows where; and the +second, to make a dumb ass reprove his owner. And what was Balaam’s +fault? He was going on as the Lord commanded; and to complete this +solemn farce, an apostle quotes it as a real fact that actually took +place, by saying—“And the dumb ass spake with man's voice, and +forbade the madness of the prophet.”</p> +<p class="pnext">After returning to Balak, Balaam ordered seven altars to be built, on +which were to be offered seven bullocks and seven rams: and again, +the Lord came to see the process, and in private conversation with the +fortune-teller, told him that it would not answer; Israel must not be +cursed. This was repeated by Balaam three times; so that twenty-one +bullocks, and as many rams, were offered up to no purpose: and at each +offering, the Lord came down and conversed in private with Balaam. Is it +possible that men possessed of reason can believe that in this account +there is one word of truth, as it respects the Governor of the Universe +having any thing to do with it? If this account, or any one like it, was +recorded in any other book than the Bible, no man of a sound mind would +give the least credit to it. But yet the Christian dares not doubt it; +for even the apostles of Jesus speak of it as a real fact that took +place with the miracles attending it.</p> +<p class="pnext">To conclude this chapter of absurdities, we beg the reader to bear in +mind—first, that Balaam was not a prophet of Jehovah, but a conjuror; +and if he professed any religion, it was that of heathenism. But he +(Balaam) had heard of the manner of sacrificing to the Jewish God, and +accordingly began by slaying seven bullocks and an equal number of rams; +and while the altars were smoking, (if the Bible be true,) the Lord of +the whole earth left his throne, and came down to see what was going +on. The old fortune-teller was hard at work, and the princes of Moab +standing by to hear the result; when lo, and behold! the Lord descends, +and we may suppose him to say—“Balaam! why, you are cooking for a +large party! Come, Balaam, before you go any further, a word with you, +if you please. Come this way. What does all this mean? We must have +some private talk about this affair.” “Why, my Lord, you know +my business. I must do all I can for my employers; I thought that if +sacrifice is made, agreeably to your order of worship, you might be +induced to alter your mind towards your people: for we have heard that +at times, when the fit comes on, you give them a severe thrashing.” +“Yes, Balaam, there is some truth in the report; but I tell you, once +for all, that if you offer all the bullocks in the world, and all the +rams beside, you cannot, must not, curse Israel.”</p> +<p class="pnext">No lawyer ever stuck closer to a rich client than did Balaam to the +King of Moab; for again and again did he sacrifice to the Lord of Hosts. +Another trial, on a mountain, was made, and again Jehovah descends and +tells Balaam the same as before. The third and last effort being made, +which would incline us to think that the patience of Heaven must have +been tired out, was enough to make the doorkeeper exclaim, “Here is +Monsieur Tonson come again!” The last descent is made by the Lord, +and the prophet gives in, reluctantly. I challenge any minister of the +gospel to produce a more absurd story, in any system of theology, than +the account of Balaam, his ass, and the Lord of Hosts.</p> +<p class="pnext">I will not insult the reader by saying, <em class="italics">do not believe it;</em> but rather +say, <em class="italics">believe it who can!</em></p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-v-from-the-death-of-joshua-to-the-reign-of-saul"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id13">CHAPTER V. FROM THE DEATH OF JOSHUA TO THE REIGN OF SAUL</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">W</span><span class="dropspan">E</span> now come to the time when the Israelites were settled in the land of +Canaan, Moses and Joshua being dead. This period of Bible history, from +the death of Joshua to the time of Saul, their first King, is about four +hundred years. And, seeing the miracles and wonders performed in behalf +of God’s chosen people, in the times of Moses and Joshua, we might +reasonably expect that the same care would be continued towards them +in succeeding generations. But, on the contrary, during the time the +different Judges presided over them, nothing but disasters and confusion +prevailed; and if their history is to be credited, it must appear as if +Jehovah had nearly given them up as a prey to his and their enemies.</p> +<p class="pnext">Notwithstanding all that has been said and written about Moses being the +author of the first five Books, including the Jewish worship, with the +laws, ceremonial and moral, it does not appear that the contents of +those Books were known and obeyed by the generations that followed after +his death; for it is recorded in the Book of Judges, ii., 10, that after +the death of Joshua, “<em class="italics">there arose another generation after them; +which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which he had done for +Israel</em>.” If the mighty works had been done in behalf of God’s +chosen people, which are recorded, it is impossible to believe that they +should have been forgotten or disregarded. Can we suppose, that, in a +few years, the Declaration of our Independence on the 4th of July, 1776, +together with the name of <strong class="bold">Washington</strong>, and the heroism of his brave +companions in arms, can be forgotten? No; it is impossible. It is then +clear, that the Books said to have been written by Moses were not known; +or if known, they were not believed in by the people.</p> +<p class="pnext">After the land of promise had been divided among the tribes of Israel, +instead of Jehovah’s setting up some permanent form of government, and +causing his name to be adored, so as to make his chosen people happy and +prosperous, they were, to all appearance, left in the most confused and +unsettled state: and hence it is often said, “<em class="italics">In those days there +was no King in Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own +eyes.</em>” It is not too much to infer, that for hundreds of years after +the death of Moses and Joshua, the Jewish God, as if he had forgotten +his engagements with Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, concerning their +posterity, became indifferent to their happiness altogether.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will now refer to their situation. As it respects government, they +had none; it was accidental; and, although it is recorded that their +God fought for them, and caused both sun and moon (as the phrase is) +to stand still, to give them time to destroy their enemies, Jehovah’s +conduct was so altered that he seemed to enjoy the troubles of his once +chosen people. With all these facts, Christian ministers prate of an +unchangeable God! We read of Jehovah’s stirring up heathen Kings +against his people; and to such a deplorable state were they reduced, +that an old woman was their Chief-Justice, and also General of their +army. At that time, to say the least of it, no nation under heaven was +in so degraded a state. At times, upstart Judges arose; the Lord was +with them; and, for a while, all things appeared prosperous. At their +death, however, the troubles were renewed. Such was their situation at +one time, that they had no weapons of war, nor smiths to repair their +ploughs or harrows. Then they <em class="italics">cried unto the Lord</em>, and he sanctioned +them in every dishonorable way to out-wit or murder their oppressors.</p> +<p class="pnext">In such a state of subjugation were the tribes to their foes when Saul +was made King, that only two swords could be found in Israel; and the +“<em class="italics">Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his +share and his coulter, and his axe and his mattock.</em>” What folly, +then, to suppose, that after all that had been done for God’s favorite +people, they should have been so neglected, and there should be nothing +but slaughter and blood throughout the land of promise! What madness, to +believe that the Author of the Universe should permit such carnage, and +his whole attention seem to be directed to the foolish quarrels of an +unfortunate race, who, by some imposture, had been taught to consider +their nation as his peculiar choice!</p> +<p class="pnext">And as to their religion, by what is recorded, it seems that their +proneness to worship the gods of their neighbors, is what brought on the +chastisements of Heaven. This is but a poor excuse, and dishonorable to +the God of the Universe, to urge on nations to make war on his people, +because he was displeased with them for worshipping strange gods. It +appears strange, <em class="italics">passing strange</em>, that Jehovah could not convert +his own people. But only substitute the term <em class="italics">Priest,</em> instead of the +<em class="italics">Lord,</em> and reject altogether the idea of God’s having any thing to +do with their theology, and the matter is plain and clear. Admitting, +however, that the Lord of Hosts had so rebellious a race, and was a +spectator of all their departures from his laws, he must be as great a +sufferer as the Jews, because he was forever punishing; for, if anger +is to a God a punishment equal to what human beings feel under its +influence, then it follows that the God of the Jews is the greatest +sufferer. Oh! ye ministers of grace you have preached up an angry God +until you have brutalized the human race; and your intolerant spirit has +ever been, and will ever continue to be, a <em class="italics">burning coal</em> taken from the +altar of an angry, vengeful God, to be rekindled when power is united to +your impositions.</p> +<p class="pnext">That the reader may form correct ideas of the Lord's fighting for +Israel, and delivering their enemies into their hands, and also of the +Lord’s giving the land or towns to his favorite people that they +had taken in war, it should be observed, that it was the manner of +expressing the results of a victory among the Jews, and also with other +nations. They all claimed for themselves the interference of their +respective gods, and to them they gave sacrifice and thanks. As a key, +to understand how God fought for his favorite people, it is recorded +in Judges i., 19, “<em class="italics">And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the +inhabitants of the mountain, but could not drive out the inhabitants of +the valley because they had chariots of iron,</em>” The same idea is to be +carried out in explaining such passages as the following:—“<em class="italics">And the +angel of the Lord appeared to [such an one] in a dream”-—“Thus +saith the Lord,” &c.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Now, all that can be made of this is, that the person mentioned, dreamed +that he saw an angel, and that he said this or that. Again, it is often +repeated, that <em class="italics">the word of the Lord came unto Moses, saying</em>. Common +sense will inquire, how came the word? who brought it? Words do not pass +through the air like birds. Suppose it should be reported, that the word +of the President of the United States came to some person in New York, +saying, <em class="italics">do this or that</em>, or something uncommon and unheard of, and +the inquiry be made, <em class="italics">who</em> brought this word, and an answer should be +required? No reasonable one could be given. It must fill the Christian +reader with astonishment to find, that during the time the Judges +presided over Israel, (some hundreds of years,) that neither the name of +Moses nor his laws are ever mentioned. On the contrary, his laws, both +moral and ceremonial, were either suspended or departed from. Neither +the Sabbath nor the Passover was observed, and the moral law said to +have been given by Jehovah, from Mount Sinai, was broken by the worship +of graven images.</p> +<p class="pnext">If we turn to Judges, chapter xvii., we there find, that after the death +of Samson, who judged Israel twenty years, <em class="italics">a young man (a Jew) stole +from his mother eleven hundred shekels of silver, which she had put by +to make a god for herself and her son's household</em>,—a worship contrary +to the express command of Jehovah, as given in the second commandment; +and when her son heard his mother curse most bitterly, he returned it to +her. She then loaded him with blessings, and with a part of the silver, +and gave the rest to the founder, or artist, and a graven image was made +and erected as their god, and a priest hired to perform worship. In the +13th verse of the same chapter, her son exults, and says, “Now know I +that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a Levite to my priest.”</p> +<p class="pnext">To conclude this account of worship, the Levite asked counsel of God, +(the image,) and received a gracious answer. This image-worship was +the religion of the Danites until they were carried away captive. This, +then, is proof positive, that the five Books said to have been given by +Moses, were then unknown; and without this admission, it is not possible +to account for the silence regarding Moses and his writings for so +many hundred years. Not only were the five Books of which Moses is the +reputed author, written many hundreds of years after his death, but +also the Book of Judges could not have been written till after Kings bad +reigned in Israel; because, it is often repeated in that Book, “<em class="italics">And +there was no King in Israel, and every man did that which was right +in his own eyes</em>”; for until the end of the Judges, no King was ever +mentioned, or thought of, among the tribes. It was in consequence of the +injustice of the sons of Samuel, that the seed of Abram demanded a King, +in order to get just judgment; and in his person to secure a leader in +time of war.</p> +<p class="pnext">The foolish story of Samson, which commences in Judges, chapter xiii., +deserves no notice, but for its being ascribed to Jehovah, the God of +Israel. The whole silly account, when it is fathered on the God of the +Universe, will not fail to convince every man of a sane mind, how human +beings have been imposed upon, in ascribing to the Sovereign Ruler of +all worlds such contemptible trash. After the Israelites had for forty +years been subjected to the Philistines, Jehovah determined to deliver +his chosen people from bondage, by raising up a man (then unborn) to war +against their enemies. Samson was the person chosen for this business. +The story is as follows:—</p> +<p class="pnext">The mother of Samson had for years lived with her husband, Manoah, but +remained childless. Her sorrow, on that account, so prevailed with the +Lord, that an angel came down from Jehovah, whom Christians believe +to be the allwise Governor of the Universe, and informed her that she +should have a son that would war against the oppressors of Israel, and +that particular care on her part must be taken during her pregnancy. She +was to drink no wine, nor strong drink, nor eat any thing unclean; and +no hair must on any account be taken from his head. The woman told her +husband the good tidings, and he was over-joyed, and prayed to the Lord +that the angel would again descend. This request was granted, and the +angel repeated to the husband what had been told to his wife. When +these instructions, given by the angel, were ended, out of gratitude to +the heavenly messenger, this joyful pair proposed to dress a kid, and +invited the angel to partake of it This request was not complied with, +but Manoah and his wife were told to sacrifice to the Lord; which +they did, and as the flame ascended, the angel went up with it, after +refusing to make known his name.</p> +<p class="pnext">In a few months, Sampson was born; and his parents were particular in +observing all things commanded, as it respected the child, until his +arrival to manhood; when, behold! this Samson, the gift of the Lord, who +was to deliver his countrymen out of bondage, from the galling yoke of +the Philistines—this Samson commenced his life by going down to the +Philistines, and taking up with different women. Some he took as wives, +and with others he carried on any thing but a respectable intercourse; +and in all his actions he sought a quarrel with the enemies of Israel. +All unknown to his parents, it is recorded that he possessed strength +superior to human beings, and that this strength resided in the hair of +his head. His enemies discovered this strength, and bribed his wives and +concubines to discover how he could be bound, so that they could destroy +him. After lying, and submitting to be bound, he betrayed the secret to +one of his favorite women. His head was shaved, his eyes put out and he +was cast into prison.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the course of his revels among his ladies, he was waring continually +with his wives’ countrymen; and such was his dexterity, that he caught +three hundred foxes and tied them tail to tail, and turned them into the +standing corn and burnt up their harvest. At another time, when pursued +by his enemies, it is recorded that he slew a thousand men with, the +jaw-bone of an ass; and so mighty was his strength, that the gates of +a city were by him carried away with ease, and placed on the top of a +mountain; and so terrific was his strength, that his favorite woman, +by bribery, at last found out that his almost almighty power was in his +hair, which had been from his birth untouched and unshorn; but as soon +as his hair was taken off, Jehovah withdrew his strength, and his foes +bound him with care, put out his eyes, and cast him into prison. +At length, his hair grew again on his head, and his mighty strength +returned. He then prayed to Jehovah to enable him to lift up the +mighty building in which the Lords of the Philistines were; and having +succeeded, down it came with a dreadful crash, and Samson, with all that +were within, perished in the ruins.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, this is the man who is recorded to have been raised up to restore +to the seed of Abram their lost power; whose whole life was a scene +of folly and madness. Can any man, in the full exercise of his reason, +believe that the Ruler of all worlds would employ such a contemptible +creature to bring about his plan of redeeming his favorite people from +bondage? Let us take a bird’s-eye view of Samson’s life; and first, +we will inquire, what end was to be answered by raising up this mighty +man? Secondly, did Samson perform the intention of Jehovah towards his +chosen race?</p> +<p class="pnext">We proceed to the first inquiry, What end was to be answered by +raising up Samson? His whole life was one continued scene of folly +and licentiousness; shedding of blood was his practice; and the mighty +strength given him by Jehovah, was employed in doing the most wanton +mischief, such as none but a madman would perform. The object of so much +murder and bloodshed, we are informed, was to deliver the Israelites +from Philistine subjugation; in doing which, he fell a victim to his own +folly, in destroying the enemies of the Lord. Can it be possible that +the Ruler of all worlds raised up such a madman to carry out his plans? +If a story of this kind should be recorded in any other book than the +Bible, no credit would be given to it. But when it is recorded as making +a part of God’s dealings with his chosen people, it is shocking to all +our ideas of Infinite Wisdom, Power, and Goodness.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the second place, What resulted to Israel by the efforts of Samson? +We answer, nothing at all; for in consequence of the wickedness of the +Benjamites, a war soon after commenced between the tribes, in which +thousands and tens of thousands were slain. The history of Samson, then, +is one of those fables with which the Scriptures abound, and which, if +recorded by heathen authors, no one could be found who would believe +them to be any thing but fables. But being a part of the Bible, +Christians attach consequence to them, and father them on the all-wise, +all-powerful God, the Ruler of the Universe.</p> +<p class="pnext">Finally, to show the folly in believing that Samson was raised up to +redeem the Israelites from serving the Philistines:—by the battle +fought immediately after the death of Samson, the Philistines gained a +complete victory over Israel, routed the whole army, and took the ark of +the Lord prisoner.</p> +<p class="pnext">It may be of service to the reader to give some account of the ark of +the Lord; and in this, we must be instructed by the Bible account alone. +The ark, it appears, was a chest: or box, in which the following things +were said to be kept: the book of the law, the pot with manna, and +Aaron’s rod, by which the wonders were performed in Egypt On the lid +or cover were placed two cherabims with their wings somewhat extended, +and their necks turned downwards to the cover of the ark, called the +mercy-seat. This holy ark was kept in the holy of holies; and when the +priests entered in to perform sacrifice on the mercy-seat, the cloud of +smoke between the cherabims became luminous. This light was considered +by the priest as an acceptance of the offering made by him for the sins +of the people. Hence the phrase of adoration applied to the Jewish God, +“<em class="italics">Oh! thou God that dwelleth between the cherubims!</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">When the Jews were in the battle with the Philistines, and about to be +routed, they brought the ark of the Lord into the camp as a protection +against a defeat, and also to encourage the Israelites to fight most +manfully: the Lord of Hosts being then in the midst of them, they +shouted for joy, as being certain of a victory over their enemies. +On the other side, the Philistines, understanding that the God of the +Hebrews had arrived in their camp, were afraid, and cried out, “<em class="italics">Woe +unto us! who shall deliver us ont of the hand of these mighty Gods?</em>” +The commanders of the Philistines then encouraged their soldiers to +battle, urging them on, so that the Jews might be vanquished; and they +slew the Israelites with a destructive slaughter, and took the ark of +the Jewish God prisoner, and killed the two sons of Eli, the High-Priest +This dreadful news so overcame the old man, who was ninety-eight years +of age, that he fell out of his chair and broke his neck.</p> +<p class="pnext">We may now ask, what will Christians say to God’s raising up Samson? +Did he deliver the Jews out of their their bondage? But I have wasted +too much time on such a contemptible madman and fool; yet I excuse +myself in this respect by the desire of showing, that, to call Samson +a servant of the Ruler of the Universe, is too contemptible even +for ridicule. A few remarks on the fate of the ark of the Lord, will +conclude this chapter. The foregoing account is recorded in 1 Samuel, +chapter iv.</p> +<p class="pnext">After the dreadful daughter of the Israelites, and the capture of the +ark, the Philistines were afflicted with a complaint that threatened +them with destruction; and after consulting among themselves as to the +cause of their sickness, they concluded that the capture and detention +of the ark was to them more than a counterbalance for the victory gained +over the Jews. They therefore agreed, one and all, to send it back to +its owners. Before sending it back, we may suppose something like the +following conversation took place:—We have defeated the Jews, and +slain thousands of them; and although their God was in the camp of +Israel, he could not save them from the edge of the sword. But, after +all, we are afflicted with a dreadful disorder, which, if it continues, +will exterminate our nation. Our complaint is of that nature, that we +shall drop to pieces in the streets and upon the highways. Our wives, +instead of baking bread, must be continually making poultices, to +prevent our being considered as walking pestilences: the ark must be +returned. Instead of a God for a prisoner, why, we have the Devil in the +box. We must get rid of it; it must be sent back to the Jews. Home it +was carried; and when it had arrived at Beth-shemesh, in the time of +harvest, the reapers, overjoyed to witness the safe return of the ark, +laid down their sickles and ran to look into it. The Jehovah of Israel +destroyed the honest-hearted reapers, to the number of fifty thousand +threescore and ten, for their impudence.</p> +<p class="pnext">Can a man on earth be found who can believe the foregoing account to +be any thing but fabulous? If this account is matter of fact, what +degrading ideas are connected with the existence of Infinite Wisdom and +Goodness! If there is any thing Divine about this foolish tale, it then +follows, that the Almighty Power that presides over all worlds,—that +astonishing Wisdom which strikes us dumb in contemplating the harmony +and surprising adaptation displayed in the universe,—associated with +such madmen and fools as Samson, and hundreds of others whose freaks +are recorded in the Bible. This is opposed to every idea that we can +possibly have of his greatness. Let those who are but little acquainted +with Astronomy, contemplate the grandeur of the universe, and ask if it +be possible that a Being who arranges all, and who governs all with that +exactness which overwhelms not only the ignorant and untaught man, but +also the most profound and learned of the human race, should thus act? +Mark well the infinite wisdom which is apparent in the vast universe of +which man forms but so small a part! For one moment reflect on boundless +space, filled with millions of millions of suns, around which revolve +innumerable worlds; all of them arranged and upheld by that Power which +Christians believe to be the author of the Bible, either directly +or indirectly. That this being should mix up with the most abandoned +characters on earth, and be forever doing and undoing; forever planning +and failing in his plans; choosing his favorites, and then repenting of +such choice; inheriting all the infirmities of fallible man; sometimes, +tired out with the follies and wickedness of his chosen people, sinking, +as it were, down into a state of inaction; again, rising in vengeance, +destroying even his chosen people without mercy; at times, appearing to +be long-suffering and merciful; at other times, revenging injuries by +destruction and death on a present generation, for the errors of another +generation long since dead and gone, is inconsistent with common sense.</p> +<p class="pnext">In fact, the Jehovah of the Bible, from the accounts recorded, appears +never to be at ease. Anger, rage, fury, alternately disturb him. The +smallest deviation of his chosen people in the performance of +some trifling ceremony, would at times call down the most horrid +chastisements on both the innocent and the guilty. If the Bible truly +records the movements of Jehovah, he must be the most unhappy Being in +the universe; for it is said that <em class="italics">he is angry every day</em>. The previous +description of the God of the Bible is but a scantling of what is +written concerning his dealings, even with the seed of Abram.</p> +<p class="pnext">Ye ministers of the gospel! look at the heavens above, and the earth +beneath! Mark well the unchangeable order which pervades the whole! How +admirably every thing is arranged! how skilfully the means are adapted +to the end intended! No arranging, and then re-arranging: no missing +the mark—no going beyond or wide of the mark. Before you talk of the +“unblushing Infidel,” and deal out the vengeance of your Bible God, +look at the order, the grandeur the undisturbed harmony that governs +the whole; and then pause, and ask yourselves, if it be possible for the +Sovereign Ruler of all worlds, to have dictated the Bible, which you so +positively assert is the Word of the only true and living God?</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vi-the-reigns-of-saul-david-and-solomon"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id14">CHAPTER VI. THE REIGNS OF SAUL, DAVID, AND SOLOMON</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">S</span><span class="dropspan">AMUEL,</span> the last of the Judges of Israel, when very old, appointed +his sons to judge the people—“But they took bribes and perverted +judgment.” The Israelites complained to Samuel of their injustice, +and demanded a King, like other nations. Now, considering the unsettled +state of the Jews for hundreds of years, “when there was no King in +Israel, and every man did that which was right in his own eyes” the +request was reasonable; for they were tired of the unsettled state of +their national affairs. Samuel inquired of the Lord what was to be done? +The reply from the Lord was, that Samuel was to let them have a King, +agreeably to their wishes; at the same time, it displeased Jehovah, who +chose Saul without consulting the people. His choice is recorded to have +been pleasing to the Lord, who gave Saul a good character. This kingly +government seemed fair in the beginning, and we ought to expect it +would have proved a change for the better, as it was by Jehovah’s own +appointment At the commencement of Saul’s reign, he was ordered to go +and fight against the Amalekites. The order was thus given:—“<em class="italics">Thus +saith the Lord of Hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel; +how he laid wait for him in the way when he came up from Egypt</em>” This +offence was given some hundred years before, when the Israelites were +passing to the land of promise; when the Amalekites opposed them, and +refused to let them go through their land. To us, this vengeance appears +cruel and unjust. This was visiting the sins of the fathers on the +children with a vengeance. At the present day, no tyrant could be found +that would imitate such base conduct as is fathered on the all-wise, +all-powerful Ruler of the World.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following statement will serve to make the situation of Saul clearly +understood by the readers of this work, and will show the nature +of Saul’s offence for which he and his family were so severely +punished:—Some four or five hundred years before Saul was born, the +Israelites were opposed by the Amalekites passing through their land; +and when Saul was chosen King, by Jehovah, his first campaign was to go +and destroy the then inhabitants of Amalek, for an offence committed by +their forefathers long since dead and gone. Saul was ordered by Jehovah +not to save old or young, but to kill (murder) all, from the suckling to +hoary old age. He fulfilled his orders as he thought, excepting that of +taking their King prisoner, and the best of the cattle to sacrifice to +Jehovah’s honor; and for this one act of mercy, Saul was deposed, and +David chosen in his stead. Now, if Jehovah knew that Saul would not +obey the orders given, why was he chosen to be their King at all? And if +Jehovah was disappointed, where was his foreknowledge? Does that Power +and Wisdom that rules the Universe, blunder in this way? What say you, +Christian ministers?</p> +<p class="pnext">According to what is written, the Jewish God repented that he made this +choice! Did he repent? We are told that when Saul was put down, and +David made King in his stead, that Jehovah could not, like man, repent +in putting down David, though he had done so as it respected Saul. To +father such inconsistency on the Author of Nature, is an outrage on +justice and common sense. Again, to punish with fire and sword a whole +nation, for what their forefathers had done five hundred years before; +and to make the God of the Universe the author of such a command,—if +blasphemy exists against God, this is it to perfection.</p> +<p class="pnext">From the short reign of Saul, we cannot form a decided opinion as to his +kingly character; but one thing is clear, from the Scriptures, that +his act of mercy towards the King of Amalek, offended Jehovah, and both +himself and family suffered grievously for it; for Samuel told Saul, +that' in consequence of his sparing Agag, the King, his royal authority +was taken from him, and <em class="italics">given to a man better than he</em>. Well might a +poet, who wrote on this subject about forty years ago, call Samuel an +impostor, and exclaim—:</p> +<pre class="literal-block"> +“From haunts of men be that impostor driven, +Who thinks humanity incenses heaven.” +</pre> +<p class="pfirst">In concluding this account of Saul, we may venture to affirm, that he +was one of the best Kings on record; his only failing appears to have +been his humanity.</p> +<p class="pnext">We now come to the reign of David, “<em class="italics">he man after God’s own +heart.</em>” It appears that his slaying Goliah, first brought him into +notice; for which act David was to be rewarded by having Saul’s +daughter in marriage. Before this took place, however, it is recorded, +in 1 Samuel xviii., 10, “<em class="italics">And it came to pass on the morrow, that the +evil spirit from God came upon Saul</em>”; but David could play so well on +some kind of a musical instrument, that his performance drove the Devil +out of the old King. From this account it seems, if the evil spirit +means a Devil, that Jehovah kept Devils ready to start off from heaven +to do any dirty work; a very worthy practice to ascribe to the God of +all! It appears that Saul’s troubles, and the evil spirit sent to him +from the Lord, had nearly made him crazy—and well it might: but I have +no pity for him, because there is not one word of truth in the whole +silly tale.</p> +<p class="pnext">David now demands his wife, according to promise; but Saul puts a heavy +tax on his intended son-in-law, before his daughter could be given up. +The demand made by Saul on David, before he was permitted to marry his +daughter, is written in 1 Samuel xviii., 25, an account showing how well +cultivated Kings and Princes were in those days, but too filthy for me +to detail. Notwithstanding Saul was deposed, and David anointed King, +still Saul kept possession of the kingdom, and David was an object of +jealousy. At this time, the Israelites were in an unsettled state; and +David, although a King, had no resources. A part of the people were with +David, but the bulk of the nation adhered to Saul.</p> +<p class="pnext">Those two Kings, then, both of whom had been chosen by Jehovah, were +still opposing each other. Now, what folly to suppose that either of +them were appointed by the Governor of all the Earth! Even admitting the +historical part to be true, who can believe that Infinite Wisdom had +any part in so unsettled a form of government? it being like unto what +England was at one time of her history, when two parties were contending +for power. What a changeable, unsettled Being do the Scriptures make the +Jewish God! and what folly to believe him to be the Sovereign Ruler +of all! The regularity and order which is every where and at all times +manifest in nature, proclaim to all nations that the Jehovah of the +Bible is not Nature’s God.</p> +<p class="pnext">Although David had been anointed King, to the exclusion of Saul and +his house, still the old King retained his authority, and David was +compelled to be cautious how he proceeded, as Saul was jealous of him as +a rival. Now David had recourse to the following expedient:—“<em class="italics">And +he collected every one that was in distress, and every one that was in +debt, and every one that was discontented, and he became a captain over +them, and there were with him about four hundred men.</em>” David, in +one of his flights from Saul, and being in want of bread, applied to +Abimelech, the priest, for five loaves; and the priest answered David, +and said, “<em class="italics">There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is +hallowed bread, if the young men have at least kept themselves from +women.</em>” And David answered the priest, and said unto him, “<em class="italics">Of +a truth, women have been kept from us about three days, since I came +out.</em>” The reader will now see how David began his reign, as the +following incident, will also fully confirm. The above account may be +found in 1 Samuel, chapter xxi.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following account of the progress of David and his small army, is +in 1 Samuel, chapter xxv.:—David fled into the wilderness, and while +there, he heard of a rich man by the name of Nabal, who had, on a +shearing, made a feast for his shearers and friends. David embraced this +opportunity, to levy a tax on Nabal, and sent ten young men to ask for a +part of the good things prepared for the sheep shearing: “<em class="italics">And Nabal +answered David's servants, and said, who is David? and who is the son of +Jesse? there be many servants now-a-days that break away every man from +his master. Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that +I have killed for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not +whence they be?</em>” This answer so enraged David, that he exclaimed, +“The time my army lay in the wilderness, near to the flock of Nabal, +we took nothing from them, and also prevented others from stealing +of the flock, and now I cannot get a dinner for me and my six hundred +men.” “<em class="italics">And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. +And they girded on every man his sword: and David also girded on his +sword: and there went up after David about four hundred men, and two +hundred abode by the stuff.</em>” Now, to use David’s own words, he +intended to slay every man living; Nabal, sheep shearers, and all +belonging to him. Don’t forget this was the man <em class="italics">after Jehovah's own +heart!</em></p> +<p class="pnext">But it happened that Abigail, Nabal’s wife, heard of her husband’s +refusal to David’s demands, and she loaded several asses with all +kinds of the best provisions, and met David as he was advancing to take +vengeance on Nabal. And when David saw her, he said, “<em class="italics">Blessed be the +Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me. For in very +deed, as the Lord God of Israel liveth which hath kept me back from +hurting thee, except thou hadst hasted, and come to meet me, surely +there had not been left unto Nabal by the morning light, any that +pisseth against the wall</em>.” It is recorded after this, that in about +ten days, “<em class="italics">the Lord smote Nabal that he died.</em>” Christians, +perhaps, will say, it served him right; because he would not give away +his dinner to the Lord’s anointed. But to complete this account of +David, it is written that he married Nabal’s widow, and then he had +sheep, goats, and all, although he had many wives before; but, being +“<em class="italics">a man after Gods own heart</em>” we Infidels must be silent.</p> +<p class="pnext">After the death of Saul, David being in favor with the people, and +strictly adhering to the worship of Jehovah, his reign bid fair to be +happy to himself, and to the nation at large: but he had too many wives, +and consequently his family troubles came on thick and fast. One son +rebelled against him, and flew to arms; and Solomon usurped the throne +after the death of his father, and put to death his elder brother by a +former wife, under a pretence the most frivolous, to secure himself +a safe possession of his usurped power. Another son ravished his +half-sister by another mother; and in return, the ravisher was murdered +by the brother of the violated virgin. In truth, if it is true as +recorded, David’s whole life was one continued scene of blood and +slaughter; and on his death-bed he recommended Solomon to murder +others—as his oath prevented him from doing it in his lifetime.</p> +<p class="pnext">However strictly David obeyed Jehovah, and “turned not aside to +worship other gods,” in a moral point of view he was a wicked man. His +conduct for licentiousness was notorious. In addition to the number +of wives he had before the death of Saul, his royal master, Nathan the +prophet says that “Jehovah gave him Saul’s wives, besides”; but, +not satisfied with all this, so contemptible was his conduct, he sneaked +about to obtain a sight of an officer’s wife while in the bath. Such +low, cowardly curiosity would disgrace the driver of a dung-cart. A +lady’s bath not to be held sacred by this filthy, dirty animal, and +yet to be called “the man after God’s own heart”! His actions +would disgrace the Devil, for Satan offered no insult to Eve: his worst +crime was no more than saying—“Madam, the fruit is good, do taste, +it will do you no harm, and you will be the wiser; after all.”</p> +<p class="pnext">Never let us forget the artifice the Lord’s anointed made use of, in +order to conceal his crime. When Uriah, his officer, came from the army +with news of importance to David, after the seduction of Bathsheba, the +cunning debauchee said, come, Uriah, do not hurry back to the camp; go +home to Bathsheba, your wife; she will be happy to see you: go home, my +faithful servant, and stay with your wife.</p> +<p class="pnext">But Uriah refused, by saying, the officers and the army are in the open +fields, and I will not go home to take comfort in my own house. So Uriah +slept in the gate with the servants. And when David found that he had +not been home, he made him tarry another day, and that night got him +drunk. In the meantime the King wrote a letter to Joab, the Captain of +the host, and sent it by Uriah, to place him in the front of the battle, +where he would be killed. The unsuspecting Uriah then returned; to his +duty, with his death warrant in his hand; and, according to the orders +given to Joab, the commander of the host of Israel, Uriah was placed +in that part of the engagement where he fell, covered with wounds and +glory.</p> +<p class="pnext">It will be seen by the orders sent to the Captain, concerning Uriah, by +the King, what cowardly artifice was used to murder his noble officer, +whose wife, unknown to him, had been seduced. David’s words are, +“<em class="italics">Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retire ye +from him that he may be smitten and die.</em>” Such an act would disgrace +the worst despot on earth, but it was done by “the man after God’s +own heart”! When Nathan was sent by Jehovah to David, to remind him of +his wickedness, it was done, in the way of a parable. David did not at +first discover its application: and it is recorded, that “<em class="italics">David’s +anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said unto Nathan as +the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die.” +“Thou art the man!</em>” said Nathan; and David exclaimed, “<em class="italics">Oh! Lord, +I have sinned.</em>” In fact, he was found out, but for which he would not +have made this acknowledgment.</p> +<p class="pnext">After the death of Uriah, David took her (Bathsheba) to wife, and +Jehovah made up the matter with him; first, by destroying the child, the +innocent victim who had no part in the murder; and, secondly, by saving +and pardoning David for crimes of the deepest dye: and, also, the Lord +told him, that because of his wickedness he should have discord in his +family:—“<em class="italics">Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against +thee, out of thine house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, +and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in +the sight of this sun.</em>” To destroy the innocent child, who had +no participation in the crime of the father, is too shocking to be +admitted, when it is recorded as the sentence of the just and impartial +God. I know Christians will reply, that the ways of God are not as our +ways, and that it is wicked in mortals to find fault with what is done +by a Being of infinite power, wisdom, and Goodness. In reply, it is +contended that the conduct pursued on this occasion by Jehovah, is +shocking when ascribed to a God impartial and just, and that it is more +becoming mortals, like ourselves, to reject the whole story as a vile +falsehood, than to father it on that Being, or that Cause, who:</p> +<pre class="literal-block"> +“Warms in the sun, refreshes in the breeze, +Glows in the stars, and blossoms in the trees.” +</pre> +<p class="pfirst">To conclude these remarks on David’s life and conduct, we ask, which +is the more reasonable supposition, that the whole account, so far as it +implicates a God of Justice, is, from beginning to end untrue? or, +that a Being of unbounded power, wisdom and goodness, should in any way +associate with so abandoned a character as King David? For myself, I +prefer the latter. I have omitted another account in the life of David, +that requires to be noticed. It is recorded in 2 Samuel, chapter xxiv., +that David ordered the people to be numbered. One account says that +Satan, and another account says that the Lord, moved David to number the +people: no doubt it was done to get the number of the fighting men of +Israel; for doing which, the Lord was angry with David; and three modes +of punishment were submitted for the choice of the King:—“<em class="italics">Seven +years' famine, or to flee three months before his enemies, or to have +three days' pestilence in the land.</em>” The last was chosen, and it +is recorded that seventy thousand men died of the pestilence, as a +punishment for the offence of David. It is a libel on the Supreme Being +to charge him with the authorship of such injustice and cruelty. That +thousands of persons may have been cut off by plague, or pestilence, +at times, and in different nations, is highly probable—but not by a +judgment for other men’s sins.</p> +<p class="pnext">In Homer’s Iliad, we have a similar account, written, according to +historians, about nine hundred years before the Christian era. In the +account of the Trojan War, the commander of the Grecian army, in the +sacking of different towns, took many female captives, among whom was +one who was the daughter of the Priest of Apollo, one of the Grecian +gods. The venerable Priest came to the General, clothed in his robes, +bearing the sublime and awe-inspiring ensigns of his god, and demanded +the liberation of his captive daughter. The General insulted the Priest +by a positive refusal to give up his daughter, and he (the Priest) +departed, and offered the following prayer:</p> +<pre class="literal-block"> +“If e’er with wreaths I hung the sacred fane, +Or fed the flame with fat of oxen slain, +God of the silver bow, thy shafts employ, +Avenge my quarrel, and the Greeks destroy.” +</pre> +<p class="pfirst">The second General in command inquired of the Grecian Priest the cause +of such mortality among the soldiers; and the Priest returned the +following answer:—:</p> +<pre class="literal-block"> +“The King of men, the reverend Priest defied, +And, for the King's offence, the people died.” +</pre> +<p class="pfirst">The similarity between the Jehovah of the Jews, and the Apollo of the +Greeks, is very striking. Jehovah slew the Jewish army because David +numbered the people; and the Grecian god slew the soldiers because the +Priest had been insulted. The number is exactly the same, each being +seventy thousand men. The God of the Jews is said to have been the +author of the destruction of the army of the Israelites, and a heathen +god the destroyer of the Greeks. The first is believed to be a part of +Divine Revelation; the last is acknowledged to be but fiction.</p> +<p class="pnext">From all the accounts recorded respecting David, to me he appears to +have been a wicked man; much worse than Saul, whose worst action seems +to have been his humanity in sparing Agag, whom he took prisoner. I +cannot, therefore, believe, that the Universal Ruler of all Nature +sanctioned his actions, directly or indirectly, any more than he does +now, or ever has done, those of any other legal murderer.</p> +<p class="pnext">A few remarks more will conclude the life and conduct of David. In 1 +Kings, chapter i., it is recorded, that David being old and infirm, +could get no warmth in bed, and a fair young damsel was sought for +throughout the land of Israel, to wait on him by day, and sleep with +him during the night, to keep the old King warm. With her he was much +pleased, but the account states, that “David the King knew her not.” +This is a strange tale, for if the sole object was, to get a young woman +to sleep with him, then not the fairest, but the fattest, plumpest girl +to be found throughout the land, would have been the most proper person +for such service; for at that time, David must have had half a score of +wives living. It is therefore clear, that warmth was only a pretence for +selecting a handsome young maiden to comfort the Lord’s anointed; and +we may safely infer that David was not cured of his former tricks.</p> +<p class="pnext">The life and conduct of Solomon must now pass in review. When his father +was on his death-bed, he gave his son Solomon instructions to put to +death several persons who had been the subjects of David, but to whom +he (David) had sworn while living, that he would spare their lives. And +accordingly, Solomon, after the death of his father, put into execution +the orders he had received, and slew the persons mentioned by David; so +that his reign commenced in blood.</p> +<p class="pnext">And here it is proper to notice, that Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and +the mother of Solomon, in order to disinherit the eldest son of David +by his former wife, prevailed on David to have Solomon anointed King, +in the lifetime of his father. So that Adonijah, the real heir, was set +aside; and the better to secure the throne, Solomon had his half-brother +put to death. The cause of this execution, as is recorded, was because +Adonijah asked leave of Solomon, the King, to marry the damsel who kept +David warm in his old age! Jehovah had chosen a strange family, after +turning out Saul from the-kingdom, and Solomon was too pure to let a +brother live, after being so wicked as to ask permission to marry the +young virgin who had kept the back of his old father warm in a cold +night!</p> +<p class="pnext">After Solomon had slain those men according to the orders before +given by his father, he added another to the list, viz., Adonijah, his +half-brother. The Lord appeared to him in a dream, and said, “Ask what +I shall give thee.” Solomon then dreamed that he gave the following +reply to the gracious permission:—<em class="italics">“Give, therefore, thy servant +an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between +good and bad.”</em> This request is said to have pleased the Lord, who +added to it <em class="italics">“both riches and honor”; “and-Solomon awoke, and +behold it was a dream.”</em> This account is written in 1 Kings, chapter +iii.; and all that can be made of it is, that Solomon dreamed the Lord +told him so, and we have nothing but his word for it.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Bible record of Solomon’s riches, and, in fact, the whole of his +life, is not entitled to any credit whatever. We may say, however, +that some allowance ought to be made for Solomon on account of the bad +example under which he was brought tip in the family of his father; +for if the Scripture history of the facts concerning Solomon is to be +considered true, then the whole of his reign is the most extraordinary +which ever happened in the world. Beginning with his riches, it exceeds +every thing in ancient or modern times. The feast at the opening of the +Temple was no small matter.</p> +<p class="pnext">Scripture informs us, that at the dedication of the Temple, Scripture +informs us, that at the dedication of the Temple, the sacrifice offered +up, was twenty-two thousand oxen, and one hundred and twenty-two +thousand sheep. This, when we consider the smallness of David’s +domains, and the general poverty of his family, is incredible; but as +every thing is so wonderful, and the whole of the reign of Solomon is +so extravagant, no dependence whatever is to be placed on any of its +accounts.</p> +<p class="pnext">As it regards Solomon’s household, the provisions named for each +day are the following:—“<em class="italics">Thirty measures of fine flour, threescore +measures of meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, +and an hundred sheep, besides harts and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and +faited fowls.” “And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for +his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.”</em> Now, in so small, and in +many parts barren land, where could they be raised? But Solomon had +need of a plentiful table, for it is recorded that he had seven hundred +wives, and three hundred concubines! If he had wisdom enough to regulate +his house so as to live happy, it must be owned that the Lord had given +him more than a common share; but as none but fools or madmen will +believe this account, we may let it pass without comment.</p> +<p class="pnext">The most astonishing inconsistency in the reign of Solo-man, is his +continual departure from the worship of Jehovah, who had been his +benefactor, and who had also repeatedly warned him of the consequences +of a departure from the God of his father. If what is recorded of his +riches be true, they were greater than those of any monarch on earth. +The gold he is said to have possessed when he built the Temple, exceeds +all calculation, and is in strict accordance, in point of magnitude, +with his feast at the dedication of the Temple, and with his daily +allowance of food for his household, and also with his seven hundred +wives, and three hundred concubines. But when we consider the poverty +of the Israelites up to the time of his father’s reign, and also +David’s poverty until the death of Saul, when at times, David had +neither food for himself nor army, neither had he gold nor silver +wherewith to purchase it—it may be asked, how Solomon came into the +possession of such an immense quantity of gold? and also from what +vast extent of country did he procure his horses, when but a few years +before, David, his father; could scarcely afford to keep a jackass? +Again, where did he procure such numerous herds of cattle and flocks of +sheep?</p> +<p class="pnext">But as I have before said, the greatest inconsistency of all is, that +Solomon should worship other gods, contrary to the express command +of Jehovah, who had given him wisdom, riches, and honors. Leaving +Christians, then, to settle with Solomon, how he, with all his wisdom, +could so play the fool and madman in the face of his God, some attention +will be directed to the God of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob. It will be +recollected that Saul, the predecessor of David, had offended Jehovah by +sparing the life of Agag, a captive King. In consequence, it is recorded +that the God of Israel repented that he put Saul on the throne. He then +chose David, and his family, to succeed the house of Saul; and having +made this second choice, he declared he should not repent again.</p> +<p class="pnext">If this last declaration had been made by man, in his choice, after +having before been mistaken, the following mode of reasoning would aptly +apply; and Jehovah would also thus reason:—“I made choice of Saul +to be King over Israel. I sent him to smite Amalek, and not to spare any +soul alive, old age and infancy not excepted; but Saul did not obey my +orders, but spared the King and brought him a captive, which I did not +expect As I took him from driving mules, and made him a King, he ought +therefore to have obeyed my commands. I dethroned him and his family +forever. I then appointed David, a man after my own heart. In this +choice I was happy. He departed not from my worship or my law, but with +a few exceptions. It is true, David committed adultery and murder, in +the case of Bathsheba and Uriah; but he repented, and I caused the brat +to die out of the way, which made room for Solomon. Now, who could ever +have thought that Solomon would have turned out so bad? Why, the fellow, +in addition to wisdom, riches, and honor, has now seven hundred wives, +and three hundred concubines! and not content with this number, he +marries the daughters of heathens, prostrates himself before their +idols, and builds new temples to their gods; but I promised not to +repent again, yet Solomon must be punished. I will not, therefore, +depose him, but in his son’s reign I will divide the kingdom, and give +the greater part of it to one of mean birth. I will not wholly take it +away from the seed of David, because I promised him that he should +not want a man to sit on his throne; but I will, for the wickedness of +Solomon, cause discord among the tribes, that will induce them to fight +against each other. It is not for the thousand women that Solomon had, +which would not fail to create discord and all manner of misery; neither +for putting to death his brother: all that I could have tolerated—but +he changed his religion, and worshipped strange gods; I will rend the +nation asunder, never more to be united. It would have been more to +my honor to have suffered Saul to continue on the throne, for he +only disobeyed my Orders once, but the son of David built temples for +idolatry, and worshipped false gods, setting my authority at defiance. +In his son’s reign, therefore, I will bring on trouble in his house, +that all Israel may know how great is the sin of worshipping false gods, +and thus rebelling against the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel.”</p> +<p class="pnext">I will now ask the Christian preachers, whether I dishonor the all-wise +Sovereign of the Universe, in not believing him to be capable of such +tomfoolery as this: in choosing, and again rejecting his former choice: +in blundering, to rectify a former blunder, and falling into one much +greater, to remedy the first: to be doing, and undoing: to have an end +to accomplish, and to make use of means that fail in its accomplishment. +Ye priests! if ye are not blind, look at the heavens above, and also on +the earth beneath, and then ask yourselves, whether the God of all is +the same personage as Jehovah, the God of Israel?</p> +<p class="pnext">To conclude these remarks respecting the house of David and +Solomon:—Even admitting that such personages had a real existence, +I cannot so dishonor the Supreme Governor of Nature as for a moment to +admit, that he dealt with either David or Solomon any otherwise than he +deals with every human being, and I should stand before my fellow men a +self-convicted hypocrite, were I to affect to believe.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vii-the-reign-of-jeroboam-and-the-separation-of-israel-from-judah"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id15">CHAPTER VII. THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM, AND THE SEPARATION OF ISRAEL FROM JUDAH</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">R</span><span class="dropspan">EVIEWING</span> the character of the three former Kings, two of whom gave +Jehovah much trouble, and David, the best of them, committed adultery +and murder, we must say, it was an unfortunate beginning of royal +government. After the death of Solomon, his son, Rehoboam, began to +reign. The people requested the new made King to ease them somewhat +of the taxes and burdens laid on them by his father, Solomon. Rehoboam +consulted with his father’s old servants on that subject, and they +advised him to attend to the wishes of his people; but he, on consulting +with his own particular party, returned the following answer:—“<em class="italics">My +little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins: my father hath +chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions</em>.” +This gives us a sample of Solomon’s reign, and also of the course +intended to be pursued by his son.</p> +<p class="pnext">Rehoboam’s answer produced a revolt, and the kingdom became divided. +Ten tribes broke off from Rehoboam, and proclaimed Jeroboam King of +Israel, while Rehoboam retained two tribes: so that the Israelites were +divided. The ten tribes were called the kingdom of Israel, and the other +two, the kingdom of Judah. This is the punishment that the Lord said he +would bring on the nations in consequence of the sins of Solomon. So +it was then, with the Lord’s people, as it has ever been in Christian +countries where the aristocracy is every thing, and, the people are +considered as nothing. According to Jewish history, Jehovah and the +Kings of his own choosing quarrelled, and then the people had to suffer +in consequence of disputes in which they had but little or no interest; +and one of the strongest proofs that “the God of the Bible” is not +that Being whom we believe to be the only true God, is, that when the +Jehovah of Moses and the Kings quarrel, the Kings are spared alive, +but the innocent people are in some way or other murdered; thus clearly +showing, that Kings are by Jehovah worth more than those who by honest +toil cultivate the earth, and labor for the benefit of society,—a +doctrine directly opposite to all our ideas of impartial justice.</p> +<p class="pnext">We now proceed to examine the course pursued by Jeroboam, the fourth +King who was chosen to reign over Israel. We ought to find him fitted +for so important a station; but, on the contrary, we have again +to record another chapter of blunders, far worse than those before +mentioned. Saul, their first King, disobeyed the command in sparing +Agag, the King, after having destroyed every soul that drew breath. +David <em class="italics">followed the Lord with his whole heart</em>; that is, he never +entered into the temple of idols except to destroy them and their +worshippers; but he was guilty of two crimes, for either of which, had +he been any thing but a King, or Priest, he would have been, by the laws +of his own country, put to death. Solomon’s character was marked by +every thing extravagant; but he did not wholly turn from the worship +of Jehovah, only at times, as when he espoused a heathen lady. Then, +to prove his love for his new spouse, he worshipped in the temple of +strange gods, and also built new churches to their honor. This is a +general outline of the three Kings, all of whom were chosen by Jehovah +himself.</p> +<p class="pnext">Jeroboam was appointed, according to what is recorded, in consequence +of Solomon’s idolatry. I then ask, whether it is not reasonable to +expect, that, in the reign of Jeroboam, the worship of the God of +Israel would alone be the religion of the ten tribes who were taken from +Solomon because of his departure at times from the God of Abram, Isaac, +and Jacob? Jeroboam being then, by Jehovah, made King, in preference +to all others, and being raised in the family, of Rehoboam, Solomon’s +son, and only as a servant connected with the family, we cannot suspect +that ever a new choice should have been made for the worse. Could +this have been the case if Infinite Wisdom had chosen him? No; it is +impossible! No sooner, however, did Jeroboam obtain the rule over the +ten tribes, by the direct order of Jehovah himself, than he set up a +religion directly opposite to the God who had elevated him to such honor +and power.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is impossible for this account to be true, for two reasons that will +be given. The first is, that Jeroboam must have known the cause why +Solomon’s family were excluded from reigning over the whole of the +Jewish nation, namely, because he (Solomon) did at times worship what +were called false gods. Now, Jeroboam well knew this, and also, that the +only way for him to secure his power was, never to depart at any time, +or under any circumstances, from the worship of Jehovah. But, contrary +to this, he commenced his reign by falling back into Egyptian idolatry. +Under pretence of keeping his subjects faithful to his government, by +not permitting them to go up to the Temple, at Jerusalem, Jeroboam +set up two golden calves, one at Dan, and the other at Bethel, and +proclaimed, “<em class="italics">These are thy Gods, O Israel who brought you up out of +the land of Egypt.</em>” Besides, he knew that Jehovah would pardon an +adulterer, or murder, as he had done in the case of David; but on no +account did he ever forgive the sin of idolatry.</p> +<p class="pnext">There is nothing improbable in admitting that the tribes should split +into two kingdoms, and have different rulers. This has often been the +case; but the only way to account for the conduct of Jeroboam is, by +concluding that he knew, the whole to be a trick, and that neither +Jehovah, nor any other God, had a hand in the putting up or dethroning +of Kings. This being admitted, we can see clearly through the whole +matter. Jeroboam then would, from policy, set up a new religion, or +revive an old one, so as to keep his subjects from mixing with their +old acquaintances of the kingdom of Judah. It is utterly impossible for +Jeroboam to have acted as is recorded, if he in truth believed that the +only true and living God was his benefactor, and had raised him to regal +authority.</p> +<p class="pnext">The second reason why Infinite Wisdom had nothing to do in the elevation +of Jeroboam, is, because he must have foreseen that Jeroboam would have +made the matter worse, so far as idolatry was concerned; and this will +appear the more striking by the first act of his reign. As soon as +Jeroboam came to the throne, he (contrary to the law of Moses) set up +images, and made priests of the lower orders of the people, and began +himself to worship in the character and office of a priest; for which, a +prophet from Judah is sent (by the God who, it is said, gave Solomon the +kingdom of Israel) to curse the altar at the time Jeroboam was in the +act of sacrificing. Now the conduct of the prophet so sent, will enable +us to see through the whole farce. This is recorded in 1 Kings, chapter +xiii.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following is in substance the prophet’s mission:—This man of +God was sent by Jehovah to cry against and curse the altar at the time +Jeroboam was performing sacrifice; and being at the altar, he ordered +his officers to lay hold of the prophet, at the same time pointing to +him; and instantly the King’s arm became useless, and could not be +drawn into its proper place. Jeroboam then cried to the man of God to +pray that his arm might be restored. The man of God besought the Lord, +and a recovery took place. Here, then, was a miracle performed; and +Jeroboam, being grateful, invited the prophet home to reward him by an +entertainment of bread and water; but the man of God refused, by saying, +that he was ordered by the Lord not to eat bread nor to drink water—in +fact, to make no friendship whatever, but to return. Off, therefore, he +went, after he had performed two miracles; one of which was, to cause +Jeroboam to lose the use of his arm; the other, to restore it The +prophet, on his way back, was met by a man who made the same request, +namely, to go home with him, and eat and drink; but the man of God +still refused. The man who thus enticed him, further said, I am also a +prophet, and <em class="italics">“an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, +bring him back into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. +But he lied unto him.”</em></p> +<p class="pnext">The lying prophet was in the service of Jeroboam, King of Israel; but +the man of God, who came to cry against the altar, belonged to the +kingdom of Judah. The man of God, who understood that his first orders +were countermanded, went home with the lying prophet, and did eat and +drink. The reader will now notice the following three verses in 1 Kings +xiii., 20, 21, 22:—“And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, +that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back: +And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus +saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, +and host not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, +but earnest back, and hast eaten bread and drank water in the place of +which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy +carcass shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers.” If men +would but exercise their reason, is it possible for them to believe that +the Sovereign Ruler of all had any concern in so paltry a transaction as +this?</p> +<p class="pnext">The sum of the whole account may be expressed in a few words. The first +prophet came to Jeroboam, by order of the Lord, to curse the altar. He +then and there performed two miracles, as proof that his commission was +Divine. He then departed. All was so far right; but, on meeting another +prophet, he was told, in so many words, that things were changed, and +that he might do now that which he was ordered not to do when he first +set out. But the old prophet of Jeroboam, we are told, was a liar; and +when they sat at meat, the word of the Lord came to the lying prophet +and gave him orders to condemn the first. So that the Lord first +employed an honest servant, who performed his errand faithfully, and +then took into his service a false prophet and a liar! Believe this who +can!</p> +<p class="pnext">It is possible that Jeroboam may have been King over Israel: this is +not the point in dispute; but that Infinite Wisdom appointed him, cannot +possibly be true, because he was made King in consequence of Solomon’s +idolatry. Solomon did not, by sinning himself, corrupt the whole nation; +but Jeroboam set up false gods, and the people followed his example, so +that the worship of Jehovah, by the ten tribes, was entirely abandoned. +Such blundering cannot be admitted, if the true and living God is to +be considered as the projector. Besides, Jeroboam was not cured of +his error by reformation, although he had been an eye-witness of the +miracles performed on his own person. Enough, then, has been said to +prove, that the whole account of God’s making Jeroboam King over +Israel, is without any solid foundation.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will now turn to the man of God who came to curse the altar, and we +shall be able to discover what we are to understand by the word of the +Lord coming unto this or that man, saying. And here I call on the +reader to keep in mind, that in many places in the Bible, when any thing +unfortunate occurred to Jehovah’s chosen people, such as the Lord +raised up such and such enemies, and also that such misfortunes were +from the Lord: also, again, <em class="italics">an evil spirit from the Lord came on +Saul</em>;—all such passages, and many others, mean no more than that the +Lord permitted such events to take place. In this sense, we may say that +it was from the Lord that Andrew Jackson destroyed a great part of the +English army; but no man is foolish enough to suppose that the Lord had +directly any thing to do in the defence of New Orleans. Again, it is +repeated in hundreds of places in the Bible, that <em class="italics">the word of the Lord +came to this or that person, saying.</em> Now, apply this interpretation to +“the word of the Lord came unto Moses,” and all that can be made of +it is, that Moses ascribed every order he gave of his to the people, as +coming from the Lord. It is in several places recorded that the word of +the Lord came to one prophet of Judah, and then this said word was +taken away from the first person, and turned over to another prophet who +belonged to Israel; and in 1 Kings xxii., 24, it is recorded, that +one prophet smote another on the face, and said, “Which way went the +Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?” Nothing can be more +clear, than that the whole of the Lord’s interference is out of the +question.</p> +<p class="pnext">After Israel and Judah were divided, they continued as two separate +governments, with each a King for a leader. Sometimes they fought +against each other, calling in other Kings to assist them; at other +times, they were united and fought together to oppose the common enemy, +their heathen neighbors. In a war with the Syrians, when Jehoshaphat, +King of Judah, and Ahab, King of Israel, united their armies against +the Syrians, and being on the eve of battle, an inquiry was made of the +Lord’s prophets, as to what success they would have? Ahab, the King +of Israel, called his prophets, four hundred in number, and, on being +consulted as to the result of a battle, they one and all said, go fight, +for the Lord will deliver your enemies into your hands. Jehoshaphat, +being more cautious, said, is there not another prophet of whom we may +inquire of the Lord? And the King of Israel (Ahab) said, there is; but +I do not like him, because he always foretells something to my +disadvantage. Then Micaiah, a prophet of the kingdom of Judah, was +called, and he foretold that the event of a battle would be favorable to +these kings; but that Ahab would be slain. One of Ahab’s prophets then +became enraged, and smote Micaiah on the face, and sneeringly asked him, +“<em class="italics">Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak to thee?</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">We have here a sample of the prophets on each side They one and all +appear to be ready to lie, and deceive each other, in the name of the +Lord, and also, to fight for their employers. In this account, it is +also recorded that the God of truth accepted of the services of a lying +spirit, to deceive four hundred prophets, in order to get rid of a +wicked king, the whole account of which is to be found in 1 Kings, +chapter xxii.</p> +<p class="pnext">After the tribes were separated, it was common for the prophets +to oppose each other. The kings, also, of each nation aided in the +destruction of the prophets, and were worshippers of strange gods. +And yet it is recorded, that Jehovah chose Jeroboam to be king over +Israel,—the very man who introduced the worship of idols, to the +entire exclusion of the worship of the God of Abram! This choice of +Jehovah laid the foundation of scenes of bloodshed too horrid to be +ascribed to the all-wise Author of Nature. It could not have been worse, +had the Devil been the chooser.</p> +<p class="pnext">For years after the Israelites became two distinct nations, we read +of little else than quarrels and bloodshed; and the prophets of Judah +(called the prophets of Jehovah) were much worse than those called false +prophets. This can be easily accounted for, as the Jewish religion +was then the most intolerant of any on earth. The Kings of Judah gave +orders, in the name of the Lord, to destroy all the heathen, as the +enemies of Jehovah. The prophets followed up the same practice; at +the same time, the prophets of the heathen gods were less cruel, and, +morally speaking, much better men. According to what is recorded, +whenever power was in the hands of the Kings of Judah, or their +prophets, no mercy was shown to the opposite party; and as to prophets, +they seemed to spring up like mushrooms, for it was often inquired by +kings, is there not a man of God here?</p> +<p class="pnext">A few remarks on the prophets of those times may be here made. Elijah +seems to have had delegated to him almost unlimited power; for lo! he, +under pretence of having orders from Jehovah, anointed kings agreeably +to his pretended orders. He then foretold what the Lord intended should +be done to certain kings and their families. Those kings, then, thus +anointed by the authority of Elijah, received orders to destroy such and +such families; so that after Jehovah had separated the Israelites into +two kingdoms by setting up Jeroboam, nothing but cruelty and murder +followed, in consequence of the Lord’s making so bad a choice.</p> +<p class="pnext">It would, judging from what transpired, have been better not to have +changed the dynasty, but to let Solomon’s heirs continued to have +reigned over the whole of the Israetish nation; for in this state of +Jewish history, idolatry, murder, carnage, and every bad passion was +let loose; and the kings of each nation of the Jews, by the direction of +these upstart prophets, showed no mercy to those of their brethren who +had, by the fortune of war, fallen into their power. All this horrid +state of things originated from Jeroboam being made king, and setting up +idolatry throughout the land. Can we then admit, for a moment, that the +Sovereign Ruler of all brought on such a wretched state of things, or +ascribe to him so foolish a choice as the appointment of Jeroboam to be +King of Israel? No! it is utterly impossible.</p> +<p class="pnext">But to return to the prophets. Elijah and Elisha were, at this time, the +Lord’s servants. Elijah was foremost, and Elisha acted as his servant. +The following circumstance brought Elijah into direct conflict with the +kingdom of Israel, and the then called false prophets:—Ahaziah, then +King of Israel and Samaria, met with an accident, and was sick; and he +sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub whether he would recover or not +Now, Elijah was sent, or, he said he was sent, to say to the messenger, +“<em class="italics">Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to +inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?</em>” The King of Israel then +inquired what sort of a man it was who thus remonstrated with the +messenger? And from the account given, he found it to be Elijah, the +prophet of Judah; consequently a prophet of the Lord. Elijah was sitting +on a hill, and the king sent a captain and fifty men to bring him before +him; and this was the order:—“<em class="italics">Thou man of God, the king hath said, +Come down. And Elijah answered, and said to the captain of fifty, If I +be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee +and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and +his fifty.</em>” And again, another captain and fifty went, and shared the +same fate. Then the third captain and fifty were sent; but the captain +of the last fifty fell on his knees before-the prophet, and begged for +his life, and for the lives of his-men. The Lord then ordered Elijah to +go down with the captain to the king.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now I ask the reader, if his mind is prepared to, believe that these two +slaughters, consisting of one hundred men, with their two captains, +were brought on them by fire from heaven, as a judgment? What was their +crime? They acted as they were ordered by the king. Here we may discover +the falsity of the statement; for if any punishment was to follow in +sending for the prophet, ought not Ahaziah to have been the victim? +This wanton shedding of blood, by the mere calling down from heaven +judgments, by an old fellow wrapped up in a bear’s-skin, and called +a man of God, is too barefaced a lie for the present state of +society. There is not one word of truth in the whole marvellous story. +Jehovah’s murdering the people for the vices of their rulers, is +anti-republican; and if men would consult their reason, and employ +common sense, the Christian priesthood would be ashamed to preach of +a God of mercy, and, at the same time, ascribe to him injustice and +cruelty.</p> +<p class="pnext">Elijah and his man Friday, Elisha, appear to be two of the most cruel +of all the band of pretended men of God. They, according to what is +recorded, seem to have had a sort of general license to kill and destroy +every thing that came in their way. All the prophets and worshippers +of the god Baal-zebub, the then worship of the kingdom of Israel and +Samaria, were put to death by the stratagem and order of Elijah; and +after him, Elisha received an affront by being called “<em class="italics">old bald +head</em>” and for this great offence, the Lord sent two she bears out of +the woods, and devoured forty and two little children! The nonsense of +the Koran cannot come up to this account. During the lives of Elijah +and Elisha, Jehovah could attend to little else than their concerns, for +they were forever praying for something to incommode or destroy human +beings.</p> +<p class="pnext">What man is there, at the present day, who can believe that the Author +of Nature gave to a mortal, power to withhold the rain or the dews of +heaven from descending on the earth, as is recorded was given to Elijah, +who told Ahab, King of Israel, (1 Kings xvii., 1,) “<em class="italics">As the Lord God +of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain +these years, but according to my words</em>”? This miracle is referred to +by a New Testament writer, but it is not the more true on that account. +I have, however, said enough of Elijah, and, as he is about to go up +into heaven, I have no wish to follow him.</p> +<p class="pnext">I will only mention his ascension. It appears that all the towns and +villages round about had heard, by what means I know not, that Elijah +was soon to be taken up into heaven; for wherever he and Elisha went, +the people said unto Elisha, <em class="italics">know you wot that Elijah is about to be +taken from you?</em> and Elisha nodded an assent, and said, “<em class="italics">hold your +peace.</em>” It appears as if Elijah endeavored to evade Elisha’s +presence when he would be taken up; but Elisha stuck to him until up he +went in a chariot of fire, with horses of the same; and Elisha saw it, +and cried out, “<em class="italics">My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the +horsemen thereof!</em>” In going up, his mantle fell off, Elisha taking +it, and with it, the prophetic spirit of his master. Elisha then +followed on in the footsteps of his predecessor; and his first act was, +to call on his God to destroy some little children, for the enormous +crime of calling so odd a looking fellow, “<em class="italics">old bald head</em>” In +truth, we discover in most of the prophets such a spirit of intolerance +and rage towards those who were so unfortunate as to differ from or +oppose them, that they ought to be considered prophets of the Devil, +and not servants of him whose wisdom, power and goodness are stamped on +all the works of this mighty universe.</p> +<p class="pnext">The prophet Jonah seems to have been a man every way unfit for the +prophetic service; for when ordered to go to Nineveh, to cry against +the wickedness of its inhabitants, he ran away; and, according to the +record, his, disobedience produced a violent storm, and when the sailors +found that he was out of his road to Nineveh, they cast lots to find +out the person who had caused the storm, and the lot fell on Jonah, who +confessed himself to be the guilty person. He then told them to cast +him into the sea, as the only way to save themselves and the ship. It is +written what followed. Another blunder again in the choice of Jonah; and +miracles must be performed to cause this run-away prophet to reach his +destination. He then again made an attempt to preach repentance to the +Ninevites; and they, hearing of the destruction against them, repented, +and this made the prophet stark mad; for his consequence as a prophet +being hurt, he exclaimed, that <em class="italics">he was tired of life</em>. Poor, paltry +trash for the employment of a God, to reason with and coax a hotheaded +creature like Jonah! but, like all the rest of such tales, there is not +one word of truth in the whole concern.</p> +<p class="pnext">Before taking leave of the prophets of the Old Testament, a few remarks +may suffice to point out their real character. From the time that +Jehovah adopted the seed of Abram for his chosen people, nothing but +trouble and vexation on his part occurred; and on the part of the +descendants of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, one disaster after another +followed in quick succession. Under whatever form of government +they lived, they strayed from his commands, and in spite of his +watchfulness, his chosen people would worship strange gods, for which +offence they were punished. Heathen kings were stirred up against them, +and their subjugation was the consequence. They then cried unto the +Lord, and matters were made up for a while. The same scenes again +took place, and punishments followed. From the beginning of the Jewish +dispensation until it ended, there was continual quarrelling between +Jehovah and his favorites, and some of those quarrels were so +contemptible that they would disgrace a foolish old man and a peevish +wife disputing how the firebrands should be put together, by an evening +fire-side. The prophets, also, partook of the same spirit; they abused +each other, and sometimes came to blows: they would lie and deceive in +the name of the Lord.</p> +<p class="pnext">But the worst part of the Jewish dispensation commenced with the reign +of their kings. Saul was first chosen by Jehovah himself; and, admitting +the account to be true, the only crime that is laid to his charge +is, the sparing of Agag, the King of the Amalekites, although he had +destroyed every other being, both old and young. For this one act of +humanity, Saul and his family were rejected by Jahovah. David, his +successor, obeyed the Lord in all things respecting religious worship; +but he committed adultery and murder, thereby forfeiting his life by +the law of Moses. But he was forgiven, and the child, the fruit of his +adulterous intercourse, was, by the Lord of Hosts, destroyed. Solomon, +his son, and the son also of his companion in guilt, was made king. +Solomon worshipped idols at times, throughout his reign, and Jehovah +was angry, and resolved to try another line of kings. Jeroboam was then +anointed king over ten tribes, and the family of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob +were split in twain.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, mark! This separation was in consequence of Solomon’s idolatry. +We might expect, judging from Jehovah’s former disappointment, that +Jeroboam would entirely devote himself and his people to the worship of +the God of Israel. But behold! Jeroboam began with setting up two golden +calves, in direct opposition, to the law of Moses, and also to the +command of Jehovah, who had raised him from a state of servitude to +sit on a throne, savage and only at times departed from the Lord, but +Jeroboam excluded every vestige of the worship of Jehovah from his +kingdom. This, then, is a just statement of the conduct of those kings +selected by the Lord of Hosts, as recorded in the Old Testament And can +it be possible that Infinite Wisdom should have been thus disappointed +by those whom he had chosen? The just conclusion, then, is, that the +Ruler of all worlds had no concern in putting up or pulling down any +of the Kings of Israel or Judah. The history is, from first to last, a +cheat on the human race, and blasphemy against the only true God.</p> +<p class="pnext">From the time that Jeroboam was made king until the tribes were carried +away into captivity, idolatry was the sin complained of by all the +prophets; it was the constant burden of all their prophecies; and the +prophets, one and all, intermixed with their complaints the prediction +that the Lord had not entirely cast them off, but that the time would +come when he would <em class="italics">raise up unto them a prophet like unto Moses</em>. Such +predictions, often repeated by all the prophets together with continued +references to their future renovation and restoration, is what caused +a general expectation of some mighty deliverer that would, <em class="italics">in the +fullness of time</em>, appear among them.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viii-on-divine-inspiration"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id16">CHAPTER VIII. ON DIVINE INSPIRATION</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">I</span><span class="dropspan"> INTENDED</span> to conclude the review of the Old Testament by examining +the passages supposed to be prophetical of Jesus Christ, and, as such, +quoted by the writers of the New Testament; but as that has already been +done, in a masterly manner, by Mr. ---------- (Name crossed out by a +former reader. ED) and as his opinion respecting them coincides entirely +with my own, I beg leave to refer my readers to the work of that able +writer on the subject. Professing Christians believe that what are +called the five Books of Moses were given by divine inspiration. I +shall, therefore, in this chapter, consider what is to be understood by +divine inspiration, abstractly considered, and also with reference to +prophecy and miracles. It is contended that Moses wrote the account of +the Creation, and that it is true. If so, then all the particulars of +that remote age must have been given to the writer by nothing short of +Supreme Intelligence. I ask, how was this information communicated? The +Christian answers—by inspiration. This does not solve the difficulty. +I therefore ask, what is inspiration?</p> +<p class="pnext">Divine inspiration, according to the Christian’s idea of it, must have +been the source of prophecy and miracles, and implies infinite knowledge +and power. Now, as Adam could not have given an account of his own +origin, whoever wrote the history of the creation of the world, and +of our first parents, must, if divinely inspired, have had all the +particulars of the past clearly made known to him. We are told, by +the New Testament writers, that “<em class="italics">all Scripture is given by +inspiration</em>”; and again, that “<em class="italics">Holy men of old spake as they +were moved by the Holy Ghost.</em>” Still, divine inspiration remains an +inscrutable mystery as to what it is abstractly considered; and, +also, with respect to the manner in which it is communicated. It seems +strange, to say the least, that divine revelation should be given to +the human race by the means of inspiration, and yet the mode of +communication be enveloped in profound mystery. As divine inspiration +and divine revelation are closely connected, the first being the avenue +of conveyance, and the latter being the subject communicated, I shall +define, as clearly as I can, what constitutes divine revelation; but in +order, if possible, to prevent mistake, I shall first point out what it +is not.</p> +<p class="pnext">The developments and improvements which man effects by the exercise +of his perceptive and reflective faculties, are results which are not +obtained through the medium of divine revelation. From being a savage, +and wandering in a state of destitution in the forests, he has, by the +use of his varied faculties, made advances in civilization and the arts, +which at first sight appear superhuman, but which were, nevertheless, +unaided by divine revelation. Contrasting the present state of the +wonderful and awe-inspiring science of astronomy with that when the best +informed of the human race were but ignorant star-gazers, we can but +feel proud that we are a part of the human family. Again, when we look +back at the period when the frail little bark could not venture out +of sight of land, and then contemplate the improvements in naval +architecture of our present times, which have presented us with that +splendid floating palace, the <em class="italics">Great Britain steamships</em> we can but +see that all this has been effected without any assistance from divine +revelation. If, at some future time, by means of improvements in the +telescope, inhabitants should be discovered in the moon, we should not +be indebted for the discovery to divine revelation. But, the discovery +not having been made, should an angel be sent from heaven to make +known the fact, such information would undoubtedly constitute a divine +revelation. So, then, it is dear that whatever improvement man may make, +by the unaided exercise of his faculties, cannot be considered as the +result of divine revelation. Divine revelation is that which man cannot +know, consequently never has known, and never will know by the aid of +his reasoning powers The Old and New Testaments collectively are called +a divine revelation; and that the information these books contain, +respecting man’s duty to his Maker, came from the Almighty; Ruler of +the universe, is the Christian’s view of the matter.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will now examine the various inlets, or avenues, by which divine +revelation is said to have been communicated to man. According to +the scriptures, the first in order is that God himself conversed +with men;—secondly, by the medium of angels;—thirdly, by inspired +prophets;—fourthly, by dreams;—fifthly, by visions;—and lastly, by +his son. These are the principal inlets. We will examine these different +modes, and make such remarks as are applicable to each. First, then, as +to the assumption that God himself, conversed with men. It is recorded +that he appeared to and conversed with, our first parents; also with +Noah, Abram, Moses, and even Balaam. The Deity’s conversing with Adam +and Eve may be considered as the commencement of divine revelation. +With respect to the truth of these conversations, and the remarkable +appearances connected with them, no positive testimony can be adduced +either for or against; we must therefore take reason for our guide in +the examination. We begin, then, by observing, that if such events did +actually occur, it is clear that God was accessible to man in those +days, and that in a manner very different to what he is in our own +times; and, also, that the unknown and invisible being could be +approached on the most trifling occasions.</p> +<p class="pnext">No good having ever resulted to man from such visits from the Great +Author of all things, is proof presumptive that they never took place. +So far from any moral good having resulted to Adam and Eve from their +daily intercourse with Jehovah, we find in the case, of Eve, that, being +seduced, either, by the serpent, or her own vicious inclination, she ate +the forbidden fruit The ejectment of our first parents from the garden +of Eden, would seem to warrant us in believing that the Lord watched +over them for evil, and not for good. A pair of human beings brought +into existence without experience of the past, or knowledge of the +future, must stand much in need of instruction from their Creator; +and yet the result of all the recorded intercourse was, they became +disobedient; and were driven out of the garden provided for them by +no less a being than the Author of the universe. Had the Bible-makers +arranged the story so as to have made the conversations and intercourse +result in the continuance of our first parents in the garden, the +account would have borne some resemblance to truth: but to represent +it as having ended in their expulsion, is by far too large a draft upon +human credulity, unless they can believe that God is what Christians +declare the Devil to be.</p> +<p class="pnext">If the advocates for the authenticity of the Bible contend that the +recorded intercourse between the Lord and our first parents is literally +true, that view of the subject is attended with so many difficulties +that it is almost impossible to give credit to it But if they contend +that it is an allegory, then the probability is that the account of the +creation is altogether a fabulous tradition, consequently not a divine +inspiration. When the Lord is represented as having appeared to Abram, +or any of the renowned men of old, such appearances are not spoken of as +being of uncommon occurrence, nor is any surprise manifested. The Lord +is always represented as having appeared in a human form. Before the +sceptic can believe in the reality of these visitations, he must know +for what end they took place; and, also, why the Lord should in the +olden times be always ready to appear to, and converse with, his +favorites, and in modern times altogether discontinue his visits, as if +there were now nothing on earth worthy of his particular notice.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Bible informs us that three angels in the form of men appeared to +Abram, and that one of them was called the Lord, the <em class="italics">Judge of all the +earth</em>. They must have been in the likeness of men: for, they had their +feet washed; they dined with Abram, and the particular kind of food is +mentioned, which in our day would be denominated veal and griddle-cake. +And at this dinner the promise was confirmed that Abram and Sarah should +be blessed with a son in their old age, and that from his descendants +one should arise who should be for the healing of the nations. After +dinner the Lord informed Abram that he had heard that Abram’s +neighbors were extremely wicked, and that he and his companions had +come to ascertain if the report were correct, and that the vengeance +of Heaven was about to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah for their crimes. The +good old man plead hard for the inhabitants, saying, “<em class="italics">Far be it from +the Lord to slay the righteous with the wicked,</em>” and thereby in +a slight degree averted the dreadful doom. The reader can peruse the +account (Genesis, chapter xviii.,) and make his own comments. The writer +could as soon believe that the moon is a large cheese, suspended in the +firmament, as give credit to this contemptible story. If it should +be asked, how Moses obtained his information as to what Abram had for +dinner, the answer is, by inspiration.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will here notice two remarkable appearances of the Lord: one of +them to Balaam, the other to Moses, A few remarks on each will suffice. +Balaam was a conjuror, and a person of no small consequence in his day. +He was applied to by the princes of Moab to prophesy evil against the +Israelites, That whole nation, under the guidance of Moses, being in the +act of marching through the land of Moab on their route to the land +of promise, and having the character of making too free with other +people’s property, the princes of Moab hired Balaam to curse them. +We are told that the heathen prophet judged it best to procure the +permission of Jehovah, the God of the Jews, before he cursed his +people. He, therefore, erected an altar on the top of a hill, and on +it sacrificed seven bullocks and seven sheep. During the sacrifice, the +Lord of heaven and earth came down, and called the prophet aside from +the presence of the princes of Moab, and forbade him to curse his +people. The sacrifice was repeated thrice. On each occasion the Lord +appeared to Balaam, giving him leave to go with the princes, but +forbidding him on any account to curse the Israelites. The remainder of +the tale is to be found in the history of Balaam.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, can it be possible, that this account contains a particle of truth? +Can we suppose, that the unknown power, whom man calls God, presented +himself at the altar of a heathen necromancer, and, whispering in his +ear, forbade him to perform his monkey tricks to the detriment of his +chosen people? And that three times he should descend from heaven to +overawe the old trickster, as if he thought him capable of doing harm +to the Israelites? This account is rendered more contemptible by being +referred to by New Testament writers, although the scripture declares +in many places that “no man can see God and live.” Christians little +think how largely their credulity is taxed when they are taught to +believe that such accounts were given by divine inspiration.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is written in the book of Exodus, (chapter xxiv.,) that After the +giving of the moral law on Mount Sinai, the Lord called Moses to the +top of that remarkable place to give him instructions respecting the +tabernacle and its paraphernalia. Moses remained there forty days, +attending to the commands of Jehovah. The Lord, on a sudden, informed +Moses that the Israelites had forsaken him, had set up a golden calf, +and were in the act of worshipping before it and dancing for joy. Moses +was ordered to go down. Before he left the mount, however, the Lord’s +anger waxed hot, and he told Moses not to plead for the wicked people. +Jehovah, being about to destroy them, Moses besought him not to cut them +off, and reminded him that, by so doing, the Egyptians would triumph and +say that their God led them into the wilderness to destroy them.</p> +<p class="pnext">Moses also reminded Jehovah of the promises made to Abram, Isaac, and +Jacob, respecting their posterity; and by the arguments he made use of +in favor of showing mercy to the Jewish people, at length prevailed on +the Lord to suppress his anger. Having descended from the mount, Moses +found the people half-naked, and dancing in a state of joyful excitement +before the Golden Calf. The man who had but just before plead the cause +of his brethren, and thereby prevented Jehovah’s destroying the whole +of the seed of Abram, found it less difficult to quiet the fury of +an angry God, than to keep his own temper; for, when he saw their +idolatrous dancing and revelry, he lost all patience, and, throwing down +the tables of stone on which the laws were written, made the inquiry, +“<em class="italics">Who is on the Lord’s side?</em>” The Levites instantly came forward +and declared for the Lord. Moses ordered every man to take his sword +and slay his neighbor and friends who had rebelled against Jehovah,—a +shocking slaughter ensued, for three thousand were slain on that day!</p> +<p class="pnext">If this account could be credited, it would be truly harrowing to the +reflecting mind. To believers in Christianity, we would say, can you +expect persons who depend on the exercise of their reason for the +discovery of truth and the detection of error, to believe the account +of the transactions of Jehovah and Moses on the mountain? Surely, you +cannot. We give the following reasons why it is out of our power +to believe it:—The narrative represents the Almighty Ruler of the +Universe as possessing the same frailties as his creature, man. The +Creator is forty days contriving (assisted by Moses) ornaments and +decorations for his own worship. Before these were completed, the +people, who were to be the worshippers, deserted their God, and either +commenced a new religion or revived an old one. For a considerable time, +Jehovah allows Moses to remain in ignorance of what is going on at the +foot of the mountain; then, all of a sudden, informs him of it; in +a burst of passion tells him to stand out of his way, so as to be no +hindrance to him in pouring out his wrath; and seems determined to +exterminate the whole race. Moses, less passionate than the Deity, +argued strenuously in favor of his brethren, and pointed out to +Jehovah two reasons why he ought to spare them:—first, that their +extermination would break the promise made to Abram; and secondly, that +the Egyptians would exult in the destruction of their former slaves, +Jehovah losing all the honor of having brought them out of bondage with +<em class="italics">a mighty hand and an outstretched arm</em>.</p> +<p class="pnext">Having thus cooled down Divine vengeance, Moses himself became the Jack +Ketch, or executioner of his brethren.</p> +<p class="pnext">If this account had been found in any book but the Bible, not one person +in a thousand would have believed it. It destroys the attributes of the +God of all worlds, gives the lie to his foreknowledge and immutability, +and then invests him with all the weakness, folly, and mutability of +poor, frail, erring man.</p> +<p class="pnext">With respect to the dreams and visions, of which we find so many +accounts in the Old and New Testaments, they are spoken of by the +prophets as being the medium of divine inspiration. One of them thus +expresses himself:—“<em class="italics">It shall come to pass in the last days, saith +the Lord, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, and your sons +and your daughters shall prophesy, your old mm shall dream dreams, your +young men shall see visions.</em>” (Joel, chapter ii.) Now we know that +dreams are not the result of divine inspiration. When we read that +an angel appeared to a man of God, no more can be made of it than +this:—the priest, or pretended prophet, dreamed that an angel appeared +to him, and conversed with him.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have many times dreamed of seeing my first wife, who died upwards of +forty years ago. If I were to insist that the dream was a reality, it +would be considered by my friends that my mind was disordered; in +short, that I was insane. From dreams, we can obtain no correct ideas of +realities. If persons, who are much subject to dreams, were to imagine +that their dreams pointed to realities, they would be all their lifetime +in pursuit of shadows. Dreams and visions would be very uncertain +channels for the conveyance of divine revelations, for the supposed +angel might be the servant of the Devil instead of a messenger from +heaven.</p> +<p class="pnext">The writings in the Old Testament which are called prophecies, +generally relate to the Jewish nation. How are we to know that they are +prophecies? In order that there may be no uncertainty with respect to a +prophet’s pretensions, he should foretell something to come to pass +in the lifetime of the persons to whom he declares the prophecy, stating +the precise time and place, so that when fulfilled, it should be a +million to one against its being the result of guess-work. It would +then carry with it a convincing proof of being the result of divine +inspiration.</p> +<p class="pnext">To show the dependence that can be placed on prophecies, we may refer to +the Millerite delusion. The pretensions and extravagances of that sect +were based on the prophecies of Daniel. I have heard many preachers, +of acknowledged learning and talent, attempt to explain Daniel’s +prophecies with regard to the time of the second advent; but they +generally differed in their views. About the year 1803, a preacher in +London, (England,) of first rate abilities, told his congregation, a +very large one, to keep, in mind the year 1833, for that he had, after +the most laborious calculations, arrived at the conclusion that about +that period, signs and wonders would indicate the near approach of him +who is to come again in <em class="italics">power and great glory</em>.</p> +<p class="pnext">There is no doubt but hundreds of learned men have, since the time that +Jesus is said to have left this world, consumed the “midnight oil” +in their researches to discover the time of the second advent, but to no +purpose. To no purpose, did I say? I mistook. In the case of Miller, it +was to a most unfortunate purpose. Thousands of his followers have been +in a state of partial insanity; many have been absolutely deranged; +some have committed suicide; others sold their lands, abandoned their +occupations, neglected their wives and children, and will never regain +their former happy homes. Can we suppose that the all-wise Ruler of the +Universe would promulgate prophecies so uncertain with respect to +their fulfilment, and so disastrous in the effects arising from their +uncertainty? I repeat, that prophecy, to answer any good purpose, should +be fulfilled in the lifetime of the persons to whom it is addressed; +otherwise, the uncertainty attending it renders it worse than useless.</p> +<p class="pnext">If Daniel had been divinely inspired to foretell any thing relating to +Christ, common sense suggests that it would have reference to his first +appearance on earth. Instead of this being the burden of his prophecy, +he makes no allusion to his first coming, but, according to Christian +expositors, his dreams and visions refer to the <em class="italics">second</em> coming of +Christ, and the final judgment. Father Miller’s bubble having +burst, his sincere but deluded followers are in a state of extreme +wretchedness; all of them injured either in mind or circumstances, +and most of them in both. Many of them will doubtless reject religion +altogether. So much, then, for depending on divine inspiration.</p> +<p class="pnext">The power to perform miracles is included in the idea of divine +inspiration, and implies the possession of a power superior to all human +power. The exhibition of a power by an individual, superior to what the +united exertions of a whole nation could perform, ought to be credited +to the exhibiter as a power <em class="italics">received from on high</em>,—a conclusion +drawn by Christian commentators, and also by Jesus himself, with respect +to his recorded miracles; for, he says—“<em class="italics">If I had not done among +them the works which no other man did, they would not have had sin; but +now</em> [they having seen his miracles, and yet rejected him] <em class="italics">their sin +remaineth.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">Miracles are uncertain evidences of divine inspiration. What an ignorant +man might deem to be a miracle, a man of intelligence and education +might know to be the result of combined natural causes. What in one +age has been currently believed to have been the effect of supernatural +agency, a succeeding and more enlightened age has known as the result +of certain operations of nature. Nothing can justly be regarded as a +miracle unless it be, past all dispute, beyond human power to perform. +To suppose that the Deity makes use of means to promote the improvement +of his creatures, which are calculated to mislead them, is to impeach +his wisdom and goodness.</p> +<p class="pnext">Miracles could not have been evidences of divine interposition to the +Jewish people, at the time of Christ’s appearance among them, owing +to the prevailing belief that supernatural beings, called devils, could +perform wonderful things, far above man’s power or comprehension; and +that some of them, more powerful than the rest, could invest mortals +with the power of performing-miracles of the same nature as those +ascribed to Jesus Christ.</p> +<p class="pnext">Most of the religious sects at the present day affect to be influenced +by something almost amounting to divine inspiration—their religion +consisting of feelings, not of action. In the Scriptures we read, “<em class="italics">If +any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his.</em>” I have +often noticed the variety of modes in which the spirit operates on +different sects. The Methodists, while seeking the Lord, as they term +it, will sigh, moan, and howl, and immediately after be in ecstasies +bordering on insanity, and bawl so loud that a passer-by might +reasonably conclude that some dreadful accident had befallen them. +Passing to the other extreme, the Friends, or Quakers, are as dumb +as mutes, and will not allow their speakers to open their lips until +impelled to do so by the spirit. But the Jumpers, in Wales, (Great +Britain,) go ahead of all, for they often perform the journey from +their homes to their churches, by the same kind of evolution as frogs +make when on their peregrinations in search of water. All these monkey +tricks are of much easier performance than feeding the hungry, or +clothing the destitute. Can, or, presuming that they can, will the +preachers please inform us, which of these three modes of spiritual +manifestation will be practised in heaven?</p> +<p class="pnext">In concluding this chapter, I shall make some remarks on the Mormons, +that being one of the last sects, of any importance, which have arisen, +professing the Christian faith. They also profess, or their leaders, at +least, to be specially moved by the Holy Spirit; in other words, +that they are the recipients of divine inspiration. Whatever other +denominations of Christians may think of their claims to supernatural +gifts, they are founded on quite as reasonable grounds as were the +pretensions of the prophets of old, not even excepting Moses, the Jewish +legislator; as a brief history of their rise and progress will prove. +The following account, the writer had from some of the principal +preachers of the Mormon faith:—“About the year 1827, or ’28, +Joseph Smith, a young man of obscure parentage, presented to the world a +production which he called the Book of Mormon, or the Golden Bible; +and of which, according to his own account, he became possessed in +the following manner:—When about fifteen years of age, being under +religious impressions, he used to retire to the fields and thickets in +the neighborhood of his home, to exercise himself in prayer. One day, +while thus engaged, an angel appeared to him, and informed him that the +Lord had a great and important work for him to perform, but that the +time had not yet arrived for its consummation. Then, after telling him +that he would be again visited, and urging him to pursue a godly life, +disappeared. A few years after this, the angel re-visited Joseph, +repeating his declaration respecting the contemplated work, and +disappeared as before. At length, on a third appearance, the angel +directed Joseph to go to a certain spot and dig in the earth, telling +him that he would there find something of vast importance. Joseph did as +the angel commanded, and found a number of golden plates, on which were +impressed characters in a language to him altogether unknown. Having +copied a portion of the characters, he sent the copy, by a friend, to +a teacher of the dead languages, in New York, in order to ascertain the +meaning; but his friend returned without having obtained the desired +information. The Holy Spirit then enabled Joseph to translate the +inscriptions, and the translation is, denominated the ‘Book of +Mormon,’ being named after the person who, fourteen hundred years +before, had, by Divine command, deposited it in the earth.” This book +can be obtained of the Mormon preachers.</p> +<p class="pnext">The progress of the Mormons, or Latter-Day Saints, as they designate +themselves, has been astonishingly rapid, their number being computed +at no less than two hundred thousand, of whom about ten thousand +are congregated in the city of Nauvoo, (or Joseph,) in the State of +Illinois. This portion of the Mormons had previously located themselves +in the State of Missouri, but after suffering great persecution, were +driven out of that State by the inhabitants. They then settled in the +western part of Illinois, and built the city of Nauvoo, and have nearly +completed a splendid temple of unique architecture. They, like the Jews, +believe that they are God’s chosen people, and that, as <em class="italics">the earth +is the Lord's</em>, they shall have the honor of calling together the Jews, +the former chosen people of God, and that all who have not then embraced +the Mormon faith will be speedily cut off. As the Mormons make the Bible +the ground-work of their religious belief, and are sparing in their +allusions to the Book of Mormon, they are likely to become permanently +established, as a portion of the Christian world, and will probably +become not only a very numerous, but also a powerful sect.</p> +<p class="pnext">But the demon of religious persecution—let me pause for a moment. +I would not knowingly libel any thing, not even religion. Am I not +mistaken? Not in the personage, most certainly, but I may be in error +with respect to his official character. Perhaps I owe an apology to the +religious world. It may be the demon of fraud. At all events, a demon +of some description is hovering over this remarkable people, and +threatening them with vengeance. Their smoking and desolate homesteads +will furnish matter for the future historian, who, with indignation, +will record, that in the nineteenth century, in the favored land of +Illinois, the ennobling principles of liberty could boast of no better +recognition than an empty name. Give ear, ye advocates of liberty in the +down-trodden nations of Europe! A voice would address you from the +land of promise. Ten thousand men, women, and children in the State of +Illinois, can receive no protection from the Genius of Liberty, but in +the coming spring are to be driven from their peaceful happy homes, to +wend their way through a dreary wilderness, and seek a resting place on +the shores of the Pacific Ocean. “Oh! shame! where is thy blush!” +Cannot even tottering age, and helpless infancy, arrest the fell +purpose?</p> +<p class="pnext">The present position of the Mormons, with respect to the rest of the +world, so nearly resembles that of the Jews when they were leaving +Egypt, that it is not unlikely for them to assimilate their movements in +a measure to those of the Israelites, and, believing, as they do, that +they are influenced by the Holy Ghost, their historians some centuries +hence will probably record miracles as having been performed by the +Mormons, similar to what are said to have taken place among the Jews, +when travelling under the guidance of Moses, to the promised land. +Feebleness of body reminds me that Death is shaking his arrow over +me, but surely my mind remains unclouded. Am I really living in the +enlightened nineteenth century? And if so, am I on the free soil of +America, or in barbarous Russia, and a subject of the Emperor Nicholas?</p> +<p class="pnext">The Mormons are to be driven out of the United States. Why? “Because +they believe themselves to be God’s chosen people, and that all other +nations must become subject to them.” Indeed! and do not the Jews +entertain the same belief with respect to their nation? Are they to be +driven out along with the Mormons? The Mormons are to be driven out. +Why? “Because they speak in an unknown tongue.” But a few years ago, +the disciples of Irving, a celebrated preacher in London, spoke in an +unknown tongue; but so far from their being driven out of the country in +consequence, the ministrations of Irving were attended by the principal +nobility and statesmen of Great Britain. The Mormons are to be driven +out. Why? “Not on account of their religious faith, but because they +are a community of thieves.” In the English navy the seamen have a +very contemptuous idea of the marines, and when a very improbable story +is told by any one, they say, “Tell that to the marines,” intimating +that <em class="italics">they</em> are weak enough to believe any thing.</p> +<p class="pnext">We are told that a religious community which numbers ten thousand +persons is composed of incorrigible rogues. And yet it is well known +that they are very industrious, have well cultivated farms, have built +a city, and nearly completed a splendid temple. What says the experience +of the world with respect to thieves—that they have been usually found +among the industrious, or the idle? What are we called upon to believe? +That a highly industrious religious sect, numbering ten thousand +souls, manifests such a total disregard of all moral principle that its +existence cannot be allowed in civilized society? Tell it not in Gath! +Oh! no; better tell it to the marines.</p> +<p class="pnext">I do believe that I am in America, and not in Russia, after all. The +film is departing from my mental vision. An idea strikes me. It is this. +In this country, under certain circumstances, <em class="italics">well</em> understood by the +public, bills of <em class="italics">exceptions</em> are frequently filed. Aye, now I have +it This is a Republic; and a Republic is a government intended for the +benefit of <em class="italics">all</em>, with the <em class="italics">exception</em> of the Mormons to-day, and of +some other religious sect to-morrow; and so on, as avarice, or bigotry, +or the tyranny of a moneyed aristocracy may dictate, to the end of the +chapter.</p> +<p class="pnext">The republicans of the State of Illinois have determined that the +Mormons shall not remain among them. “Oh! consistency, thou art indeed +a jewel” For the benefit of persons visiting Illinois, I shall close +with a quotation from the Old Testament, not remarkable, perhaps, +for elegance of diction, but having a claim to attention for its +truthfulness. It is this:—-“It is useless to search for a <em class="italics">jewel</em> in +a swine’s snout.”</p> +<p class="pnext">END OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="the-new-testament"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id17">THE NEW TESTAMENT</a></h2> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="introductory-chapter-on-the-facts-and-personages-of-the-new-testament"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id18">INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER on THE FACTS AND PERSONAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">O</span> these persons who can take, without fear, a correct view of +Jehovah’s dealings with his chosen people, as recorded in the Old +Testament, it must appear, that the Jews, as a nation, did not, in any +way, do honor to his choice; for, as it regards religion, they neither +were at any length of time faithful to Jehovah, nor did they obey his +laws. The dreadful punishments inflicted on them, together with the +teaching of the Prophets, did not cure them, so as to prevent them from +worshipping other gods.</p> +<p class="pnext">To men of common sense, it is clear that the Jewish God undertook to +make of the seed of Abram that which never took place. The attempts to +keep them as true worshippers of Jehovah, continually failed; and he, +in the language of regret and complaint, says:—“I have nourished and +brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.” And here we +may inquire, how were they brought up? The answer is at hand. They were +taught to consider themselves, as a nation, more valuable than any +people on earth; and this pride caused them to act with hostility in +their intercourse with, the Gentiles, and to rob and murder all nations +less powerful than themselves; for doing which, they had from the Lord a +direct order. To <em class="italics">show mercy</em> was forbidden, and they were punished +for so doing. The command was—“<em class="italics">Thou shall do no murder.</em>” This +command had to do with Jews only. To others it was said, “<em class="italics">Spare not +a soul alive</em>.” Again, “<em class="italics">Thou shall not steal,</em>”—that is, from +Jews: from all heathens, steal all you can. “<em class="italics">Thou shalt not covet thy +neighbor’s wife,</em>” &c. Remember!—the wife of a Jew; but when +the Lord commands, you must murder other men’s wives, and take their +daughters for the most wicked purposes. This is the manner the seed of +Abram were brought up; and, in these particulars, they seldom disobeyed +the Lord.</p> +<p class="pnext">In this manner the Jews were educated by the Lord of Hosts. Can we then +wonder that they, in a moral point of view, should have been the most +cruel and wicked of any nation on earth? It follows, that they were +a disgrace to that God who selected them as his own; and the Jewish +dispensation ended in a complete failure: so that it is recorded, that +the Lord “<em class="italics">hateth his own inheritance.</em>” Jehovah failed to rear up +and protect a nation who should serve as a pattern to the rest of the +human family. They axe acknowledged, by both God and man, to have been +the worst people on earth.</p> +<p class="pnext">We are now about to consider another attempt, on the part of the God +of Israel, to recover and convert his disobedient people to the new +covenant, or dispensation, by sending the long-expected Saviour of the +seed of Abram, according to the flesh. Here we ought to expect that a +double degree of caution will be manifest on the part of the Jewish God, +so that no mistake may happen to the Jewish nation in their reception +of, and obedience to, his Son, as an ambassador of peace and +reconciliation; because, if the mission of Jesus was not clearly +understood by the Jews, another scene of trouble, more dreadful than +their former disobedience, would follow as a consequence. We ought to +expect that Christ would be instructed so to present himself to his +brethren, that his person and his plans for their recovery would be +self-evident. No guess-work can be allowed, as it respects the vast +importance of his mission, or the identity of his person. It needs no +argument to show, that, when an end or object is to be fully obtained, +the means must be adapted to answer the end intended, or a failure is +the consequence.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here we may ask, for what purpose did Christ come to the Jews? Was it to +fulfil the promises made to them by Jehovah, <em class="italics">that he would make a new +covenant with them, and write his laws on their hearts; not according +to the covenant he made with their fathers, when he brought them out of +Egypt, but that he would write his laws on their hearts, and their +sins and iniquities remember no more, and that they should be to him a +people, and that he would be to them a God?</em> In fact, we cannot admit of +the possibility of any mistake or failure to happen in Jehovah’s plan +of salvation, when we consider that the seed of Abram longed for and +expected the Great Deliverer of Israel. No trickery or deception ought +to be resorted to in a case involving such dreadful consequences. It +is highly dishonorable to the God of the Universe, to admit of any +double-dealing on his part, when his people were prepared to receive the +Messiah.</p> +<p class="pnext">The situation of the Jews, as a nation, at the time it is said that +Christ made his appearance among them, ought to be kept in view, in +reading this introduction. They expected a king, or a deliverer, to +arrive, agreeably to what they had learned from the Old Testament. +Hence, their inquiry was, “<em class="italics">Art thou he that should come, or do we, +or are we, to look for another?</em>” As much as to say, we long for his +appearance, but we have had false Christs; and the repeated impositions +practised on our nation makes us cautious as to giving credence to any +pretender, without full proof of his being the true, the very anointed +of God. No inquiry could be more reasonable; for it is clear that the +Jewish nation were open to conviction, and ready to receive with joy the +sent of Jehovah; but repeated deception and disappointment had made them +slow to believe in the pretensions of any that came to them in the name +of the Lord.</p> +<p class="pnext">We need not be surprised that the seed of Abram should have been so +scrupulous in believing, until they had incontrovertible proof that the +hope of Israel had arrived. They considered that event as the end of +all their troubles; and relying on the promises made, to God’s chosen +people by the prophets,—that the “<em class="italics">sun of, righteousness should +arise with healing in his wings</em>” that his identity would be as +clearly known, and all obscurity entirely removed as to his being the +true Christ, the hope and expectation of Israel. The Jews, as a nation, +were not prepared for any thing short of a full manifestation of +Jehovah’s promises in the person of the Messiah, that he would be +their “<em class="italics">Prophet, Priest, and King</em>” It is not possible to conceive +that a single Jew could be found who would stretch forth his hand +against the Lord’s anointed. This, then, was the feeling and +expectation of the Jews, at the time it is recorded that Christ came as +the deliverer of Israel. It follows, then, that the only thing the Jews +required, in order to receive and obey Christ, was, unerring proof that +Jesus was the promised Messiah; for they were earnestly waiting for that +glorious event.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will now inquire, whether or not his introduction to the Jewish +nation was the most probable way to convince them that the long-desired, +the long-expected Redeemer of Israel was come? It must ever be kept +in mind, that the coming of Christ was to the Israelites of vast +importance, when we consider their former troubles, how they had been +forsaken by their God, sold, as it were, into severe bondage, and +scattered over the face of the earth, in consequence of their departure +from the God of their fathers. To all which, it may be added, that they +had been deceived by false Christs: so that, as a nation, they ought to, +and doubtless did, fully expect that the true Messiah, on his arrival, +would convince every real Jew that he was the sent of God, and that +the evidence would be different, in all respects, from what had before +attended impostors and cheats. Of all the embassies ever sent by one +nation to another, none ever equalled in importance the one where the +Son, the only Son of God, was the ambassador.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the intercourse between nations, and when a minister is sent out +from one nation to another, one thing is always provided for, and on +no account is it ever omitted, namely:—proper credentials are always +prepared and sent by one nation to another, so that the identity of the +ambassador is indisputable. This indispensable qualification appears to +have been omitted in sending Christ to the Jewish nation, and it proved +most unfortunate to those ill-fated people; for it is evident, from +Scripture, that they mistook Jesus for an impostor, since one of the +apostles admits, that if they (the Jews) had known him, “<em class="italics">they would +not have killed the Lord of life and glory</em>.”</p> +<p class="pnext">Here, then, was the fatal mistake, the unfortunate error; and now we may +ask, for what was Jesus sent? Jehovah knew that they would not receive +him, and that a failure would be the consequence. But if Jehovah did not +know of his rejection, what then are we to say of the attributes of the +God of Israel? Taking either side, involves the greatest absurdity, and +is shocking to every idea we can have of infinite wisdom, power, and +goodness.</p> +<p class="pnext">If Jesus, on his arrival to the Jews as a nation, intended to prove his +divine mission by the performance of miracles, he appears to have +taken the wrong course to carry conviction to the minds of his fellow +countrymen. Instead of performing signs and wonders before the most +learned of his nation, he associated with the most ignorant classes of +society. These were chiefly fishermen, who could be easily imposed on +by any sleight of hand, performed by a dexterous juggler. It was to the +most learned and competent men of that day to whom his appeals ought +to have been made; but on the contrary, he employed such vulgar abuse +as—“<em class="italics">O, generation of vipers! how can ye escape the damnation of +hell?</em>” It may safely be inferred, that such abusive language as this +would be considered by the priests and rulers sufficient to stamp its +author as a man of low character and violent temper.</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, instead of opening his mission with the declaration of +Jehovah’s former promises to the Jewish nation, <em class="italics">that the God of their +fathers had sent him to recover the lost sheep of the home of Israel</em>, +he tells them that the holy temple was then <em class="italics">a den of thieves</em>; and at +another time, commences with a cord, or rattan, (like a drunken man,) to +drive men from the temple. Is it possible to conceive that such could be +the conduct of him who was proclaimed to be “<em class="italics">Peace on earth and good +will towards men</em>”?</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, miracles, as proofs of Christ’s divine mission, ought to have +been performed before the most learned and talented men among the Jews. +On the contrary, it was the ignorant and unlettered part of society who +were the witnesses of his mighty deeds; for it is impossible for men +who are unacquainted with the laws and phenomena of nature, to form any +thing like a correct judgment of those laws, so as to know what were +their natural operations, to the exclusion of divine power. So that a +performance of any thing, however wonderful to ignorant and untaught +men, would, to others, who were better acquainted with the laws of the +universe, be no miracle at all.</p> +<p class="pnext">In conclusion, then, so far as miracles are concerned, a miracle must be +something performed by another, that is impossible to take place without +superhuman aid; and before persons who are so fully acquainted with the +laws of the universe, that imposition would be impossible. Now the Jews, +at the time of the coming of Christ, if he did come at all, had no such +knowledge. In that age, many strange things were believed, that never +had any real existence. For instance, it was fully believed by the +Jews, and nearly throughout the world, that evil spirits or demons took +possession of the bodies of men, and ceased, not to torment them in a +thousand ways; and the casting out of these was considered a miracle. +Jesus is said to have performed many miracles of this kind. Mary +Magdalene had seven of them ejected by the Saviour. So it is recorded.</p> +<p class="pnext">But now, no man of science gives the least credit to such tales; so that +the fact is, no devils ever were cast out, because none ever entered the +human body. If Jesus, then, pretended to cast out devils, when he knew +there were none possessed of them, how can we exempt him from the +charge of being a deceiver? If, on the other hand, he believed that Mary +Magdalene had seven, and that they left her by his orders, in that case, +what shall we say as to his knowledge?</p> +<p class="pnext">At the present day, should a person apply for medical aid to cast out a +devil, such person would be considered a lunatic. This is proof positive +that Jesus partook of the superstition of the age in which he lived; +and that his pretensions to cast out devils by the power of God, were +incompatible with his mission as the Son of God, the Redeemer of Israel.</p> +<p class="pnext">The history of Jesus, as recorded in the four Gospels, fully represents +him as acting like most reformers in all ages and nations, namely, +by abusing men of wealth and power. But, unlike most others, Jesus +represented himself as the only Son of God, by whose authority he +(Jesus) called the priests and the rulers of Israel by names the most +offensive, thereby exciting their opposition to his mode of teaching and +acting. At the same time, the lower grades of society did then, as they +do at the present day. They considered him as a reformer, the friend +of the people, in proportion as he was lavish in his abuse of the most +violent nature.</p> +<p class="pnext">In concluding this chapter, we may safely infer, that if Jesus was sent +into the world to be put to death as a sacrifice for sin, his manner +of preaching to his countrymen, and his violent abuse and denunciations +against the then rulers of Israel, were calculated to bring about his +tragical end. But, on the contrary, if Jesus came from God, To <em class="italics">restore +the lost sheep of the home of Israel</em>, as the Jews, one and all, +expected the Messiah would do, it then follows, that the Jews, as a +nation, were deceived, and in putting him to death, they thought him a +blasphemer, having no claim to be considered as the true deliverer of +his nation. If Jesus came from God to the Jews, as their long-expected +Saviour and Deliverer, and every blessing, as it respected them, +depended on their giving him an obedience agreeable to his mission as +an ambassador of peace, to mistake him for an impostor, was a misfortune +more deplorable than all the misfortunes, as a nation, the Jews had ever +experienced from the call of Abram until the time that Christ is said +to have arrived in the land of Judea. If, in reality and truth, he came +from the Jehovah of that people, as they had for ages expected, then, +instead of his collecting together a few fishermen, common sense would +instruct us to suppose, that the Lord’s anointed would go direct +to the priests and Jewish, rulers, and accost them in the following +way:—“The long-expected, the long-desired, is now in the midst of +you. I am the true, the very Christ, the anointed of Jehovah, of the +seed of Abram. My beloved mother will lift her hand, and swear on +the altar of her God and my God, the Father of us all, that I am the +offspring of God, and that in the absence of all earthly intercourse, +she brought me forth, and that angels announced her miraculous +conception, before I saw the light; and that I am endowed with power +from on high, to do before your longing eyes miracles and wonders, such +as all former pretenders could not perform. But, as you have before been +deceived by impostors who have forged my name, and assumed my character, +believe me not for my word, but for my works’ sake. Mark well my +deportment Give credit to my mighty deeds only when they are openly +addressed to your senses, that no doubts may remain as to the identity +of my person, and the high commission of which I am the bearer; +and being fully convinced of my Messiahship, obey me as the earthly +representative of your heavenly Father, while I unfold the blessings +that await you, in the fulfilment of the promises made to Abram and his +seed forever.” Instead, however, of thus openly and frankly making +known the object of his message to his nation, Jesus begins by making +use of expressions the most insulting, charging the priests and rulers +with crimes of the basest description, in the worst language possible; +the direct tendency of which was, to arouse their worst feelings, +leaving them in doubt what to think of one who arrogated to himself +authority over the Mosaic law, and whose teaching was so obscure as not +to be understood even by his own disciples. In speaking of himself and +the kingdom he was about to set up, he said that his death formed a part +of the divine arrangement included in his mission; as much as to say, I +must be put to death before my plane can be developed. At times, in the +course of his preaching, Jesus referred to his future exaltation, as the +“Judge of quick and dead.” At other times he represented himself +as the only true light that enlightens every man that cometh into the +world; and yet, he courted obscurity in most of his preaching, so much +so, that one of his most intimate friends (Judas) was bribed to inform +the rulers who this extraordinary man was, and where he could be found.</p> +<p class="pnext">What would be thought of an ambassador, sent from America to England on +business of the first importance, if, instead of proceeding to the Court +of St. James, at London, he should be found lecturing to fishermen and +people in the lower walks of society, and at the same time, in language +of the most violent kind, abusing the British Government? In fine, such +was the preaching and acting of Jesus during his stay in the land of +Israel, that to me it appears impossible to discover the object or the +utility of his coming. No wonder, therefore, that the Jews rejected him +altogether.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-i"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id19">CHAPTER I.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">W</span><span class="dropspan">HATEVER</span> may have been the moral character of the Jews, as a nation, at +the time the reputed Messiah came among them, the priests and the people +not only expected his advent, but they also considered that event as an +end to their then subjugation, and more than a renewal of their former +greatness and glory. And here the reader will perceive that they (the +Jews) had no prejudice against the appearance of such a personage; the +only thing they required was, his certain identity, that they might know +the true Messiah was among them. Nothing could have been more favorable +to his reception than such a universal expectation. This general belief +throughout the nation was on their part equivalent to their saying to +the God of Jacob, “We have long waited, and most ardently desired, the +fulfilment of the promise made to Abram and his seed forever.” +This short statement is faithful, and true as to the feelings and +expectations of the whole Jewish nation.</p> +<p class="pnext">In this stage of our remarks, every thing appears to warrant the +conclusion, that, on the part of the descendants of Abram, no difficulty +stood in the way of their submitting to their expected Lord and Master. +To make him fully known to them, so that no mistake could possibly +happen as to his person and authority, belonged to Jehovah alone; for if +the Messiah promised, seemed in nowise to be represented in the person +of Jesus, then the Jews would have been sure to have rejected him as +another impostor of the same sort as had previously imposed on their +nation. In reviewing, then, the New Testament, the object of the writer +will be to show, that Jesus, the pretended Saviour of the world, was +not sent from God, and consequently, the New Testament is not of Divine +authority.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the following inquiry, I shall not dispute the existence of Jesus, +<em class="italics">as a man</em>, living about the time recorded of him, but take for granted +the history of his life, with the exception of his divine mission, +as this method will be better understood by the reader, as excluding +irrelevant matter. In the Gospel history, then, it clearly appears, that +Jesus wrote nothing of his own sayings or doings; it was all done by +others. This omission to give a clear code of morals, adapted to the +Gospel dispensation, and also rules and regulations for this new sect, +will appear strange, when we refer to the formation and regulation of +the Jewish Church. Moses, or whoever was its founder, took great pains +to record the most minute things connected with the Jewish worship; +while, on the contrary, the Christian Church is left in such a state of +uncertainty, that its author wrote not a word himself, nor, for aught we +know, did he give orders to his followers to commit to writing any thing +he did or said, not even of the miracles he so often performed. It must +appear passing strange, that a religion of such vast importance to the +whole human race should be, as it were, left to chance, as to the +manner in which it was to descend to posterity, when compared with +the minuteness of the Mosaic code. Of the four evangelists, no one in +particular had orders to write the life and doings of Christ, so that +the inference is this: that all the history of the life of Jesus, +including his death and resurrection, is but the testimony of others; +consequently, we have no certainty that Christ ever said or did those +things recorded of him. So that it amounts to this—somebody has said +that Jesus performed miracles; and the same may be said of the rest of +his sayings and doings; and we may add, that somebody has written that +he was put to death, and that on the third day he arose from the dead.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is from such vague and unauthenticated writings, written by +nobody knows who, nor when they made their first appearance, that the +foundation is drawn on which rests the Gospel Dispensation; and as the +different writers have given different accounts of the things said to +have taken place, no reliance can be given to any of the facts recorded +as having actually occurred. The different writers have also given +rise to doctrines so opposite to each other, that every sect can find +Scripture evidence for the support of its respective dogmas. Eighteen +hundred years have then passed away, and we are still ignorant of what +is, and what is not, Gospel.</p> +<p class="pnext">Is it possible that any thing can be more directly in opposition, +than the Universalists and the different sects that believe in endless +punishment in a future life? Again, can any two things be more opposite +than the doctrines concerning the person of Christ, as held by the +Unitarians and the Trinitarians; and yet, both of these doctrines are +taken from the New Testament, which contains all that is written of him. +And what is still more wonderful, each of these sects are positive +with respect to their own opinions, and are surprised at each other’s +ignorance of God’s Word; and even at the present day, they only want +full power, and they would soon come to blows. Not only these opinions, +but many more, equally opposed to each other, can be supported by +referring to God’s unerring Word. It is a common saying, “the +glorious uncertainty of the law”; I will add, it is the glorious +uncertainty of the <em class="italics">Gospel</em> which has made so many priests, and also, it +is its uncertainty which has been in every age of the church the cause +of thousands of honest persons meeting a violent and cruel death, for +the glory of God.</p> +<p class="pnext">The reader will in the following pages discover, that my main object is +to show that Jesus was no more sent from heaven to save mankind by the +sacrifice of himself for the sins of the world, than others are sent to +build houses or dig canals; and that the plan, as it is called, of human +redemption, has brutalized the human race, and stood in the way of moral +rectitude, and the development of kind and humane feelings. Although +Matthew and Luke have recorded the miraculous conception of Jesus, yet, +as it is omitted by Mark and John, I shall begin my remarks with the +baptism of John. As it respects the heavenly origin of Jesus, he never +mentions it in the course of his ministry, neither does his mother. +Jesus, in speaking of himself, said he was <em class="italics">the son of man</em>. Now, if +Joseph, or some other man, was not his father, he (Jesus) then went by +a false name; for, in that case, he was but the son of a woman. We will +leave this point of disputation with the Christians, and begin with the +baptism of John.</p> +<p class="pnext">After Jesus had been baptized by John, it is recorded, that there came a +voice from heaven, saying, “<em class="italics">Thou art my beloved Son in whom I am well +pleased.</em>” (Mark i., 11.) “<em class="italics">And immediately the Spirit driveth him +into the wilderness, and he was there in the wilderness forty days, +tempted of Satan.</em>” What possible end was to be obtained by this +journey into the wilderness, and what kind of spirit it was that drove +him there, we have no information. At any rate, in a forlorn state, and +very hungry, Satan made his first visit to the Messenger of Peace. +Jesus seemed no way surprised at this Satanic intrusion. They conversed +together as old friends. We may suppose Satan to open the conversation +somewhat in the following manner:—</p> +<p class="pnext">“Why, Jesus! you seem to be any thing but in comfortable quarters. +This is carrying temperance rather too far; nothing to eat or drink, and +surrounded by wild beasts as hungry as yourself! I have heard that you +represent to your nation that you are sent to them from Jehovah, your +father. Now, if you have any thing to communicate to them of importance, +this secluded spot is very unfavorable to make known your mission. Come, +give over fasting, for <em class="italics">if you are the Son of God, command these +stones that they be made bread?</em>” This observation, or, as it +is called, this temptation of the Devil, caused Jesus to make this +reply:—“<em class="italics">It is written, that man shall not live by bread alone, but +by every word that proceedeth ont of the mouth of God. Then the +Devil taketh him up into the holy city, [or coaxed him to leave the +wilderness,] and setteth him on a pinnacle of the Temple, and saith unto +him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down, for it is written,, +he shall give his angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they +shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. +Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the +Lord thy God. Again, the Devil taketh him up into art exceeding high +mountain, and showeth him all the kingdoms of the worlds and the glory +of them; and saith unto him, all these things will I give thee, if +thou wilt fall dawn and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee +hence, Satan; for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, +and him only shalt thou serve. Then the Devil leaveth him, and behold +angels came and ministered unto him.</em>” (Matthew, chapter iv.)</p> +<p class="pnext">To those Who are not afraid to examine this strange account, it must +appear unworthy of the least credit. In the first place, as it stands +recorded, the Devil and Jesus act as if they had been old and intimate +acquaintances. This is the first announcement we have that any such +personage as the Devil ever visited this earth, except he is the same +identical being who, upwards of four thousand years before, came to the +garden of Eden and tempted Eve, and was the cause of herself and her +husband’s being expelled from that abode of innocence. If it were +the intention of the writers of the life of Jesus, that it should +be understood that the Devil had been resting quietly, and enjoying +himself, and then appeared, ripe for new schemes of mischief, and Satan +reasoning within himself was resolved again to try his hand,—is it +possible, when this account is duly considered, that one person in a +thousand can give credit to such nonsense?</p> +<p class="pnext">A few remarks on Christ’s temptation by the Devil will suffice to show +its absurdity. In the first place, then, can we believe that a being +of Infinite Power, Wisdom, and Goodness, ever has, or does now, keep +in existence a Devil whose whole aim and happiness consist in tempting +God’s creatures to rebel against their maker and benefactor; and that +God has given him power and capacity to induce men and women to commit +every sort of crime that disgraces humanity? Besides, so artful is this +Devil that man has but a poor chance to escape his cunning attacks and +devices. We are told that the Lord is angry with the wicked every day; +and yet for all that, he has made a being of immense power who possesses +unbounded malice against both God and man. Would any man, who was in +his right mind, keep in his employ a person who would daily destroy his +property, and breed discord among his steady workmen? None but a madman +could so act; and shall we suppose that the all-wise ruler of the +universe would follow in the path of a man out of his senses?</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, according to the account in Matthew, the Devil seems full of life +and impudence; while the reputed Saviour appears sheepish and stupid, +and seems willing to follow the Devil about at his bidding! We have no +account as to the form in which the Devil appeared, whether as a rich +man or a loafer; whether fat or lean, and how old he appeared to be; +neither are we informed in what kind of dress he walked through the +street of Jerusalem, whether it was in the costume of the age, or in +the livery of hell. At any rate, Jesus seemed rather scared at the +old serpent. Jesus commenced his mission more like a hermit than as +a messenger of peace; to God’s chosen people. In fact, there is, in +Jesus, through his whole life, something so unearthly that his existence +as a man is very doubtful. In the whole account of the temptation of the +Devil, the evidence of its being a mixture of fable and falsehood is, +apparent.</p> +<p class="pnext">Besides, it is altogether unaccountable how Jesus and the Devil became +so well acquainted with each other; for Jesus was a Jew by nation, and +strictly obeyed the law of Moses; but Moses is completely silent as to +the existence of any such personage as the Devil. At the time when it is +said Jesus came to the Jewish nation, they had, during their captivity, +embraced the theology of their conquerors; and on their return to the +land of their nativity, brought with them the-belief in the existence of +good and bad angels, and also the doctrine of a future state of rewards +and punishments,—dogmas unknown to, and never taught by, Moses. It is +clear, then, that the very existence of a Devil never was a doctrine +of the Old Testament, but on the contrary, it was borrowed from eastern +mythology; and Jesus, finding that the Jews professed to believe it, +fell in with it, as also a heaven and a hell, and a judgment to come, +which doctrines were all of heathen origin. The Old Testament is silent +as to what constitutes orthodox Christianity. Ye Christian ministers! +your heaven and hell, by the teaching of which you gain wealth and live +like princes, is nothing but an echo of by-gone ages, which had its +origin in the imagination of the priesthood of an antiquity anterior to +the existence of Moses or of the Jewish nation!</p> +<p class="pnext">But to return to the temptation of Jesus by the Devil. And here it may +be asked, how it can now, or ever could, be considered a temptation at +all? If Jesus was what they say he professed to be, <em class="italics">the sent of God</em>, +he knew well that the Devil had nothing to give him by way of inducement +to distrust his Father’s superintendence and care. Jesus might have +said to Satan, “You lying old Devil, you know that you have no kingdom +to bestow; you likewise well know that you have not land enough whereon +to build a hovel, in which to shelter your favorite associates, the +swine!” But, on the contrary, Jesus seems to act with great respect +towards the Devil. He made no objections to follow Satan wherever he +chose to lead him. We are ignorant of the object Jesus had in view by +retiring into the wilderness; and how the Devil came to be acquainted +with his destitute situation, we are also at a loss to conjecture. +Likewise, we have yet to learn whether Satan resided among the Jews, or +dwelt in the regions of the air, as he is called “the Prince and power +of the air, the spirit which works in the hearts of the children of +disobedience.”</p> +<p class="pnext">The number of forty years, or days, is repeatedly chosen by the writers +of the Old Testament, in which to perform something wonderful, and of +great importance. Thus, the Jews were forty years going from Egypt +to the land of promise, during which time nearly all that came out of +bondage were destroyed for their disobedience against the God of Abram, +Isaac, and Jacob. Jehovah and Moses were forty days on Mount Sinai, +preparing ornaments for the Jewish worship, during which time Aaron and +the rest of the Israelties returned back to worship the gods of their +former oppressors; so that it appears, before the church of Jehovah in +the wilderness was ready to sing his praise, and thank him for bringing +them out of bondage, both Aaron and the people were singing and dancing +before the golden calves of Egypt! The number forty has been most +unfortunate for Jehovah’s plans; for, in addition to repeated failures +connected with the number forty, it is recorded that Jehovah was grieved +forty years for the transgressions of his chosen people; and Jesus, +after forty days’ fasting, surrounded by devouring beasts and hungry +vultures, behold! the Devil came skulking along with brazen-faced +impudence, and Jesus, the better to get rid of him, broke up his +solitary abode. Thus, again, the number forty concluded without any +apparent object being effected.</p> +<p class="pnext">Whoever wrote this account of Christ’s temptation, as if it was not +foolish enough, has added, that after the Devil had withdrawn from +making Jesus such tempting offers to enlist into his service, angels +came and ministered unto him. What the nature of the service was, which +they performed, we know not; but one would suppose their first inquiry +ought to have been, whether he did not wish to have his dinner as soon +as possible? The whole of this account is so contemptible, that I shall +not give it any further attention.</p> +<p class="pnext">If we contrast the submissive conduct and humble deportment of Jesus, +when in conversation with the Devil, with his manner and intercourse +with the rulers and priests of his own nation, he appears, in reference +to the latter, whom we should expect he would have treated with that +respectable language due to their standing in society, and consistent +with his dignity as the Messenger of Peace, to great disadvantage as a +divine teacher: for it must be ever borne in mind, that Jesus must be +considered, according to his own account, superior to all that ever came +before him, and to the imperfections found in men in common, and even in +the prophets of old, so that he must so conduct himself that his sayings +and doings must be capable of standing the most rigid moral scrutiny. +But, instead of his appealing to the Jewish rulers in the most courteous +manner—instead of his plainly stating who he was, and the vast +importance of his coming on earth, he begins by upbraiding them in a +way calculated to disgust them, and thereby frustrate the object of his +mission. He calls them “a generation of vipers” and asks them “how +they can think to escape the damnation of hell?”</p> +<p class="pnext">Although the chief priest and rulers were over-anxious in their +inquiries as to whom he was, and by what authority he so openly +condemned others, he treated them as unworthy of a civil reply; for, +let the moral conduct of the Jewish priests and rulers be what it might, +admitting it was very bad, nothing could justify him in the use of +insult and the most violent vituperations. What kind of reception would +an ambassador meet with in England, should he, before his' mission was +fully understood by that Court, abuse the rulers of that kingdom, and at +the same time associate with a few obscure individuals as witnesses +of such abuse? Would he be considered a fit person to represent the +authorities who sent him? for, never let us forget, that of all the +missions sent by one nation to another nation for the settlement of +any difficulties that might exist between them, none ever was of such +importance as the one which Jesus was to present to "<em class="italics">the lost sheep of +the house of Israel</em>.” Let us also bear in mind, that the rulers among +the Jews made every inquiry as to whom he was, and the purport of his +coming. Yes, every effort on the part of the Jews was made to draw out +of him from whence he derived his authority: but his answers were any +thing but to the point, for, he said on one occasion, “<em class="italics">An evil and +adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign +be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas,</em>” and that was no +answer at all.</p> +<p class="pnext">I am well aware what Christians will say in this case: that his miracles +were sufficient evidence; but all the proof we have that he did perform +miracles, is, somebody has written that he did so. But here I shall +dispute the performance of some of his miracles, from the New Testament +account of them; and, in my next chapter, I shall show that modern +discoveries have proved, beyond dispute, that some of the miracles said +to have been performed by Jesus could not have taken place, for if any +person in the present age, were to pretend that he could perform similar +miracles, he would not only be considered an impostor, but would also be +deemed an ignoramus.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id20">CHAPTER. II.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">O</span><span class="dropspan">F</span> all the miracles said to have been wrought by Jesus, as recorded in +the Gospels, the casting out of devils are among the foremost. The case +of Mary Magdalene is often referred to by Jesus himself; it is related +that no less than seven had taken possession of her person. It is truly +wonderful, that at the time of Christ’s preaching, the old Devil of +all, and a host of subordinate ones, appeared to be more active than at +any other time of which we have any account The Old Devil came forward +after an absence of more than four thousand years; for, we have no +account that he, either in person or by proxy, had visited God’s +chosen people, admitting that it was he, who, by the agency of a +serpent, or by any other means, deceived Adam and Eve, by which +deception, pain, and even death, followed as a consequence. Satan might +well think that he could afford to rest awhile, till Jehovah should make +some new movement to benefit the human race.</p> +<p class="pnext">How the Devil came to know that Jesus was about to commence preaching +repentance for the remission of sin, we have no means of finding out; +but, when Jesus had retired into the wilderness, behold the Devil was +close at his heels, and they seemed to be as well acquainted as two old +playmates. The Devil was well fitted for discussion, for he appeared +well versed with the Old Testament. However, if he were the same Devil +who outwitted Jehovah in Paradise, he failed to obtain a victory over +the Son in the wilderness. What became of him after his defeat on the +Temple, and when he came down from the mountain, we have no account No +mention is made of his being concerned in riding the hogs into the sea. +We must, therefore, leave him, and attend to the triumph of Jesus in +ejecting them from their strong holds.</p> +<p class="pnext">The first in order which we shall review, as being possessed of devils, +will be Mary Magdalene, out of whom, it is recorded, Jesus cast seven +devils. This woman must be considered most grievously afflicted. How +they operated on her—whether it was by inflicting bodily pain, or +a mental disease, we know not; at any rate, she seemed incapable of +getting rid of them. The number being seven, and having dispositions +opposed to each other, they no doubt often quarrelled among themselves, +and disturbed her in her sleeping hours; at all events, her gratitude +and attachment to Jesus is proof positive that she preferred their room +to their company.</p> +<p class="pnext">Christians, in speaking of Mary Magdalene, convey the idea, that, +previous to the casting out of the devils, she did not bear a good +character. But this is a mistake; for, if the New Testament account of +devils taking possession of persons, be true, and that no human +power can eject them, it then follows, that Mary Magdalene was truly +unfortunate, since no less than seven of these intruders were constantly +about her. We are left to conjecture how the number seven could have +been discovered. If Mary had been compelled to have had seven teeth +extracted, the number could have been fully known to those who stood by; +but how, or in what way, it could have been known that seven devils +were cast out, unless they appeared visible to the by-standers, does not +appear. But we will not dwell too long on such sheer nonsense, as not +one word of truth is in the whole story of casting out devils; for the +best of all possible reasons, because there were none at all to cast +out. It is recorded that the Jews were troubled with devils of different +kinds, such as unclean devils, deaf and dumb devils, and, in one case, +a kind of devil which could not be cast out only by prayer and fasting. +If, at the present day, a person was to apply for medical aid, and hint +to the doctor that his wife was really possessed with (not seven) but +one devil, the doctor would consider such a man a fit subject for a +lunatic asylum.</p> +<p class="pnext">As it respects demoniacal possession, it is, or rather was of heathen +origin. The Jews, as a nation, believed in its truth, as did also the +surrounding nations; consequently, if a person had a complaint attended +with fits, or any thing rather out of the common way, by which human +beings were afflicted, such a disease was considered a possession of +one or more evil spirits. But now, that the laws of nature are better +understood, and medical science more fully developed, demonology, as +well as witchcraft and sorcery, are given up altogether. No doubt now +remains, but that the whole was the effect of ignorance and fraud; and +consequently the casting out of devils by Jesus and his apostles, had no +reality in it whatever. It is not possible for us to conceive why demons +or devils should have taken possession of human beings, admitting that +they have a real existence. We are ignorant as to the state of mind +of these beings. Whether in those days they took possession of men and +women out of rebellion against God, or, having no real home, were only +wanderers, and felt more comfortable when dwelling in the bodies of +animals or of human beings, we cannot determine. The latter, however, +appears to have been the case; for, an one occasion, when Jesus was +about to expel a legion, the devils <em class="italics">besought him to permit them to +enter into the swine</em>; but it is recorded, that the hogs started off +down into the sea, and were drowned. What became of the devils, we know +not. If this miracle took place, one thing is clear, namely, that +the devils, with all their cunning, made a bad calculation as to the +security they would have m the swine.</p> +<p class="pnext">At the time Jesus is said to have lived among the Jews, the casting out +of devils was a common occurrence; for Jesus, in reply to the charge +that he cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince or chief of devils, +says, “<em class="italics">If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast +them out? therefore they shall be the judges,</em>” So that, after all, it +follows, that what so many could do without the authority of Jesus, was +no miracle at all. It was nothing short of imposition, and failed of +being any proof of his divine mission. The truth is, that casting out +devils was a heathen practice, among many other things, of heathenish +origin; and Jesus, according to the New Testament, fell in with it, +as he did with many doctrines which the Jews brought into the land of +Israel when they returned from their long captivity. The Jews brought +back with them the belief of a future state of rewards and punishments, +the existence of the soul, a heaven for the virtuous and good, and a +hell for the wicked; also good and bad angels, and a future judgment, +over which Jesus said to the Jews he was appointed to be the judge. +Notwithstanding the silence of the Old Testament as to the tenets above +noticed, yet Jesus fell in with them, and he also threatened the Jews +that they were in danger of that very hell and damnation which they +gathered from their heathen conquerors. Ye Christian priests! your +heaven and hell, and also your devil, belong to and originated in a +heathen mythology, the beginning of which is lost in a remote antiquity. +Yes, Christian doctors! your heaven and hell, which, from the hope of +the first, and the fear of the last, you teach as divine truths, and, by +so doing, live in splendor,—these very doctrines have nothing divine +about them, and you ought to know it.</p> +<p class="pnext">Leaving, then, the miracles of casting out devils, which were no proof +of the divine mission of Jesus, because others, it is said, could, +without his aid, do the same, we must refer to the other miracles said +to have been performed and intended to establish his claim as being the +true Messiah, <em class="italics">the sent of God</em>. If the miracles that Jesus performed, +had been intended to remove all doubts that the Jewish nation had as +to his being an impostor, such miracles ought to have been sufficiently +convincing for that purpose; for, on such test, his reception or +rejection entirely depended. Now, from the accounts of his appealing to +his countrymen, and reproaching them for their unbelief, he does not, to +all appearance, wish nor try to convince them; for, it is said of +his, miracles, that “he did not many mighty works because of their +unbelief.” Their incredulity as to his being the true Christ, is +a reason why he should have followed up miracle after miracle, until +unbelief would have been impossible on the part of the Jews; for, the +reader must keep in mind that the dispute with Jesus and the Jews was +not of a moral character: it was as to his authority in assuming to be +greater than Abram, or all the prophets of the Old Testament.</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, Jesus says, “<em class="italics">Woe unto you</em> [of such a town or village,] <em class="italics">for +if the mighty works which have been done in you, had been done in +Sodom and Gomorrah, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes</em>.” +“Therefore it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah, in the +day of judgment, than for you.” Now here we can see, that the miracles +were not of the sort to convince. Then, why not produce others more +strong? Besides, it showed Jesus to be ignorant of the human mind, his +condemning men for not believing when the evidence was not strong enough +to convince them. It is true, according to the accounts of Christ’s +preaching to the Jews, that instead of argument he resorted to abuse of +the coarsest kind, and the same conduct is pursued by Christians towards +unbelievers at the present day. In some instances, Jesus charged the +persons on whom a miracle had been performed, that <em class="italics">they should tell +none of it.</em></p> +<p class="pnext">Again, the evidence arising from the working of miracles must always +depend on the information possessed by those before whom such signs and +wonders were wrought. If Jesus intended to rest his Messiahship on the +wonders he intended to perform, in such a case the most learned and best +informed of the Jewish nation were the proper persons to be the judges +for, in our day, in the nineteenth century, we have daily proof that so +universal is ignorance, and so credulous is the mass of society, that +such trash and inconsistent doctrines as those taught by Joseph Smith +and his famous Golden Bible have gained thousands Of believers, and the +greatest part of them are sincere, and would suffer death sooner than +renounce what they believe to be a divine revelation to Smith, and +others of the same stamp. The most learned and intelligent of the Jews +knew this truth, as many of their ignorant people had been led away +by false Christs, and lost their all, and their lives also. No wonder, +then, that they should watch closely every movement made by Jesus, +the then reputed Messiah. There are, in the present age, many things +discovered and known to the most unlearned, that, in former times, much +less remote than the time in which Jesus is said to have lived, Would +have been thought miraculous, and the persons performing them as +possessing power more than human. So that we may safely conclude, that +Infinite Wisdom would not have made use of so uncertain a species of +evidence as miracles, to convince the Jews that the <em class="italics">sent of God was +come</em>. Other and more certain means would have been resorted to, so that +the Jews could not have mistaken the real Christ, and put him to death +for an impostor.</p> +<p class="pnext">If we attentively examine the life of Jesus, as written by the four +evangelists, we shall be surprised at many parts of his proceedings. +His uncourteous language to the great men of his nation must strike the +reader very forcibly. He preaches humility and meekness, and soon we +perceive him arrogating divine honors, and calling those, who came +before him, robbers and thieves. He commands his followers to <em class="italics">judge +not</em>, and the next moment he judges others, and condemns them without +ceremony; and although it is said of him, that “a bruised reed he +would not break, and smoking flax he would not quench,” and that +“<em class="italics">his voice could not be heard in the street,</em>” yet we find him using +something very little short of outrage and violence. In the affair of +the Temple, for instance, it is recorded that Jesus took a cord, and +began to attack those sitting about that sacred place, “<em class="italics">overthrowing +the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of them that sold +doves,</em>” calling them “<em class="italics">a den of thieves.</em>” Such conduct the Jews +could not expect from their long-wished and earnestly-desired Messiah.</p> +<p class="pnext">Even at twelve years of age, his conduct seems to have had something +strange about it; namely, his absenting himself from his home. When +his parents found him, and told him that “<em class="italics">they had sought him +sorrowing,</em>” he said, in reply, “Wist ye not that I must be about my +Father’s business?” This answer appears not to have been understood +by his relations; but if Joseph was not his father, his mother could not +wonder at his straying from home; she would have said to Joseph, “As +you are not his father, he has reference to the Holy Ghost.” His +conduct also partook of the same strangeness at the marriage-feast. When +the wine was all out, his mother told her son of it; his reply was +not very dutiful—“<em class="italics">Woman</em>,” says he, “<em class="italics">what have I to do with +thee?</em>” At such a place, on the night of a marriage ceremony, there +seems something so unearthly about him, that he never appeared at ease +in any company; such an absence of mirthful enjoyment was calculated to +spread a gloom throughout the whole party.</p> +<p class="pnext">But that which appears very strange in Jesus, is his using language that +even his disciples did not understand, such as, “The kingdom of heaven +is at hand;” that he “came down from heaven;” for, says Jesus, +“<em class="italics">No man hath ascended up into heaven, but he who came down from +heaven, even the son of man, who is in heaven.</em>” And again, “<em class="italics">Repent +ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;</em>” and to the rich man, who +asked him what he was to do to secure the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, +that in addition to loving and fearing God, and doing his duty to his +neighbor, he “<em class="italics">must sell all he had, and give it to the poor.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">The reader must ever keep in mind the true merits of the case between +Jesus and the Jews. It was not, whether they were more immoral than +their heathen neighbors, nor as to their being more or less learned +than surrounding nations; for, we do not find that Jesus ever made +any inquiries as to their mechanic arts, or the state of agriculture +practised among them. Neither do we find that Jesus interested himself +as to their progress in the science of astronomy. The last of these we +can conceive would have been very useful; and it might be supposed that +he could impart some knowledge in regard to it, since, in his passage +from heaven to earth, he must have crossed: some of the planetary +orbits, and no doubt observed their satellites then undiscovered; but to +communicate such important information was not included in his mission. +His only object was, to convince the Jews that he, and he alone, was +the true and undoubted Messiah promised by the prophets to redeem and +restore the Jews, as a nation, to their former greatness and glory. +Every either subject was useless, and only stood as an hindrance in the +way of the great purpose of his coming.</p> +<p class="pnext">I have before stated, that miracles must ever be considered doubtful +evidence to prove that the performer is any thing; more than what men in +all ages have pretended to be; and to pretend to do what is far beyond +human agency, presupposes that the persons who are to be the judges, +know where human power ends, and divine power begins. But for this +knowledge, no just and certain rule can be laid down; consequently, it +is folly to conceive that Infinite Wisdom would make use of means so +ill-adapted to the end m view. It would be but an attempt to prove a +doubtful truth, by means equally if not more doubtful.</p> +<p class="pnext">But, before closing this chapter, we will inquire into the probability +of any miracles having been performed, as mentioned by the New Testament +writers. And here our attention must be turned to the internal evidence +afforded by the New Testament itself. We shall there find internal or +indirect proof, that those miracles never took place, and that the whole +of them were ante-dated; that is, after the persons were dead who are +said to have been the performers. If this can be made out, miracles will +then receive a shock from which they never can recover. To do this, will +be the work of what remains to be done in this chapter.</p> +<p class="pnext">John the Baptist is the first personage we shall select. The miracle +said to have taken place at the baptism of Jesus, is recorded by John, +as follows:—“<em class="italics">And after Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens +were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like +a dove, and lighting upon him; and, lo! a voice from heaven saying, +*This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.</em>” (Matthew iii. +16, 17.) Again, in John’s Gospel, i., 36, when John the Baptist saw +Jesus, he said of him, “<em class="italics">Behold the Lamb of God.” John also said of +Jesus, that *he knew him not till it was told him, that on whomsoever he +(John) should see the Spirit of God descend, the same is he</em>—meaning +the true Christ. Now here are repeated miracles to convince not only +John the Baptist, but also all that were present at the baptism of +Jesus. Such evidence ought to have stopped any future inquiries as to +the real Messiahship of Jesus; but there are strong doubts as to +the truth that any such wonders were exhibited at the time they are +recorded to have taken place.</p> +<p class="pnext">I shall proceed to present those doubts to the reader, as truth is my +object, and I am not afraid to follow after it:—in Matthew ii., 1, 2, +it reads, “<em class="italics">Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, +he sent two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou he that should +come, or do we look for another?</em>” This question, sent by John to +Christ, shows clearly that John did not hear of the wonders wrought +by Christ until he (John) was in prison for his reproof of Herod. +This account makes it almost certain that the whole story of John’s +baptizing Jesus, and also of the voice from heaven, saying, “This +is my beloved Son, in whom 1 am well pleased,” is a fabrication +altogether, and that John had never heard of Jesus until his confinement +For this conclusion, we have twofold proof: since if John had baptized +Jesus, and the wonders were performed as recorded, John could not have +required any further evidence us to his being no pretender, but the true +Messiah, the hope and expectation of Israel. On the part of Jesus, +his reply would have been, “Why, John, what do you mean by sending +a question as to whom I am? You heard the voice from heaven when I was +baptized; you also saw the dove descend on my head; and now you send two +of your disciples to inquire of me, by saying, ‘Art thou he that +should come, or do we look for another?’”</p> +<p class="pnext">If we consider John’s question to Jesus, and also Jesus’s reply, it +will be plain that John had not even seen nor heard much of Jesus, till +after he was in prison. What, then, aha** we say of those wonders at +the baptism of Jesus? The answer is at hand, which is, that there is +no truth in the story. The probability is, that it was recorded from +hearsay evidence, by some person unknown, and ante-dated so as to +correspond to the time of John the Baptist; but that such evidence +was given to John, of the identity of Jesus, as to prevent any future +inquiry, there can be no doubt, admitting it ever took place; but +John’s sending his disciples to Jesus to ascertain the truth of his +being the true Messiah, fully destroys the truth of any voice being +heard by John, or the Holy Spirit descending like a dove on the head of +Jesus.</p> +<p class="pnext">The ignorance of all the disciples of Jesus, as it regards who he really +was, is remarkable, if it be admitted that he performed what is said of +him. We will notice the Apostle Peter, as he may be fairly considered +the representative of the twelve. It is written, that when Jesus and +Peter were together, behold! old Moses and Elias (Elijah) came so near +to the earth that they held conversation with Jesus, and that Peter, +somehow or other, knew them; but he, so far from being alarmed at seeing +those two old prophets, was unwilling that they should return, and even +proposed to Jesus to prepare for their stay. Surely, that was an age of +miracles and wonders! We have an account of the old Devil’s crawling +out from some hole or cave, and following Jesus into the wilderness; +and, again, we have two old prophets returned, hovering in the air, and +conversing with Jesus; one of whom is said to have died a thousand years +previous to the time of his holding this supposed conversation with +Jesus from the clouds; and the other, at nearly the same time, was taken +up into heaven in a chariot of fire! Those two strange personages must +have had business of great importance with Jesus. Are we to consider +this strange visit to have taken place, when the truth of it rests +on the same authority as all the other miracles and wonders which are +recorded concerning the mission of Jesus? If Moses and Elijah did not +in truth and reality talk to Jesus from the clouds, in the hearing of +Peter, in their real persons, or by their apparitions, it then follows, +that there is no truth in any of the miracles or wonders said to have +been performed, to prove that Jesus was <em class="italics">sent from God</em>; for all the +miracles and wonders which (it is said) took place, stand or fall +together.</p> +<p class="pnext">If, for instance, the Devil did not find Jesus in the wilderness, and +go with him into the city, and tempt him to throw himself from the +Temple—if this is not strictly true, why, then, it is false as to +Moses and Elijah’s talking with him from the clouds. This incredible +story, if related in any book but what is called the Word of God, would +not be credited by one in ten thousand; but being found in the life +of the Redeemer, the man who rejects it and proclaims it unworthy of +credit, is considered an enemy of God, and will have the sentence of +“<em class="italics">Go, ye cursed</em>,” &c. As so much importance is attached to what is +called the Word of God, we will discuss a little further the business +which brought Moses and Elijah so near to this earth. As to where Moses +or Elijah reside, we have no knowledge, and what is the nature of their +employment, we know not; but if they still live, they must have some +location, and also, we suppose, must be employed about something—but +these things we must leave to those who are better acquainted with other +worlds, while our attention will be directed to the business of the +heavenly visitors.</p> +<p class="pnext">If Moses had any interest in the mission of Jesus to the Jews, he could +have been serviceable to him, as he had been their former leader, and +therefore could give him useful hints concerning them. We may suppose +he would introduce the subject of Jesus’s mission in the following +manner:—“I am Moses, the former leader of the seed of Abram, and +hearing that Jehovah had sent his son Jesus to convert them to the true +worship of God, and the practice of justice and truth, I come to offer +my services, as I am well acquainted with that disobedient race; and, in +truth, I had a terrible time of it with them: only think of forty years +in the wilderness, always murmuring, and worshipping strange gods, for +which, at times, they were cruelly punished; Jehovah destroyed thousands +of them for resisting my authority; but they were incurable. He would +have, at one time, so great was his wrath, destroyed them all; but I +told him what the Egyptians and the heathen in general would say, and +he altered his mind, and killed off the worst of them: for, getting +a little out of temper with them at one time, in consequence of their +murmurings, Jehovah became angry with me, and I was prevented from +enjoying full possession of the promised land. It always surprised me +how it came about that Jehovah should select them from the rest of the +human race, for in my lifetime nothing was ever made of them; they even +disgraced the God who had made them his choice. I left them in thy hands +of Joshua, as the most proper person to rule over them; but how he got +along with them, I have not heard.” “Your offer, Moses, is duly +appreciated; but the Jews, as a nation, are now a different people from +what they were when you had to manage them. My course will be different +altogether from what you pursued. Farewell! Moses and Elijah.” We may +suppose that Jesus would say to Peter, “As for your purposing to +erect three tabernacles in this place, one for myself, one for Moses, +and another for Elijah, it is proof that you are entirely ignorant of +my future dealings with my own nation; for, in a few months, such things +will transpire, that even you, Peter, all zealous as you are, will swear +off and deny any knowledge of me.”</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, reader, nothing can be more extravagant than to suppose that such +conversation took place between Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. But if those +two old prophets did really descend, and converse with Jesus, then what +I have supposed is no more extravagant than that two prophets, who had +not been on earth for a thousand years, should pay a visit to Jesus, and +hold converse with him. These miracles never occurred, and the world has +been imposed upon and plundered by men, who, by telling such tales, have +lived in idleness; and their quarrels about what Jesus said or somebody +said, or did, have in every age been the cause of evils of every kind, +and of rendering human beings ignorant and wretched.</p> +<p class="pnext">Christians, in speaking of the divine mission of Jesus, urge is miracles +as proofs that he came from God with full authority to give laws to, and +finally <em class="italics">to judge both quick and dead</em>; but the proof is wanting that he +ever performed one miracle. All the evidence we derive from the miracles +said to have been performed is not, that we know they were wrought by +Jesus, but that it is by somebody recorded that he did the mighty works +attributed to him, and which to us is no evidence at all. To believe, +then, what is written, without knowing by whom, or at what time and +place it was written, is to believe without evidence, which would be a +voluntary degradation of the noble faculties which have been conferred +upon man.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id21">CHAPTER III.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">P</span><span class="dropspan">ETER</span>, of all the twelve apostles, seems to have been more in the +confidence of Jesus than the rest; since when he and Peter were alone, +his inquiry of Peter was as to what the people thought of him. For +he said to Peter, “<em class="italics">Whom do the people say that I, the son of man, +am-?</em>” Peter answered him, that different opinions were abroad +concerning him. Some said one thing, and some another; but the general +opinion was, that one of the old prophets had returned. Jesus then +turned to Peter and asked him as to his own conviction, and received for +answer, “<em class="italics">Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus +answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh +and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in +heaven.</em>” In consequence of this declaration of Peter, Jesus then +grants him superhuman power. To Peter, he says—“<em class="italics">Upon this rock will +I build my church. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom +of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in +heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in +heaven. Then charged he his disciples, that they should tell no man that +he was Jesus the Christ.</em>” (Matthew xvi., 18, 19.. 20.)</p> +<p class="pnext">From the subsequent conduct of Peter, it is not possible for him to have +witnessed the astonishing miracles said to have been performed in his +presence. Peter was present when Moses and Elijah conversed with Jesus; +and while Peter was speaking to his Divine Master, “<em class="italics">Behold, a bright +cloud overshadowed them, and, behold, a voice out of the cloud, which +said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye +him.</em>” Now, if there were such a demonstration as this, (and many +such proofs Peter had been favored with,) how is it possible for us to +account for Peter’s denying that he even knew Jesus at all? This ought +to be sufficient for us to conclude that the accounts of those wonders +performed in the lifetime of Jesus, are false statements, written after +the reputed resurrection of Jesus, and the death of Peter, and that +neither of them saw nor believed any thing of the kind whatever.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the present chapter, I shall notice the mode adopted by Jesus to +prove his Messiahship. In this investigation, we shall discover a want +of openness and plain-dealing as it relates to the communication of his +objects as the expected <em class="italics">hope and deliverer of Israel.</em> The reader must +ever keep in mind, that the object of Christ’s coming, so far as +the Jews were interested, was, first, to prove, beyond the shadow of a +doubt, that the true and only Messiah had arrived among them. Until this +was settled, nothing which Jesus said or taught would be of any avail, +because, unless this point was established, none would admit his +authority to enforce any thing that appeared in opposition to Jewish +theology, or to the ceremonies of the laws of Moses, the observance of +which, the Jews could not be prevailed upon to neglect; for it clearly +appears that the Jewish priests and rulers never showed any disposition +to resist, or in any way to treat with disrespect, the <em class="italics">holy one of +Israel</em>. The Jews, then, were in a favorable state of mind to receive +him whom they had so long and so earnestly expected and desired. But, as +that nation had before been deceived, a double degree of caution became +necessary to detect deception and expose imposture; for, until Jesus had +proved, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that he had the sanction of +Heaven for all which he taught, the Jews could place no reliance on his +pretensions.</p> +<p class="pnext">It will now be proper to notice the introduction of the mission of Jesus +to the Jews. If he came by the divine command of the Governor of the +Universe, we ought to expect that his mission would be clearly made +known to all those who were interested. Nothing of such vast importance +must be guess-work; and the first and most important of all inquiries +would be, who are you, and by whom are you sent? for, until these +inquiries were 'finally settled, his sayings could not have their full +effect; since, as it has before been remarked, the moral state of the +Jews was not the point at issue, until his mission was made known, and +each party came to a right understanding. When, therefore, the Jews +understood who Jesus was, and the high authority under which he taught, +to correct their moral defects would make a part of his teaching, and +their minds would have been free from the obstacles that stood in the +way of attending to his precepts.</p> +<p class="pnext">The erratic method resorted to by Jesus, in his converse with his +nation, as recorded in the history of his life, seems very singular. +So high a personage as the <em class="italics">only Son of God</em> to be sent on a mission +of peace and reconciliation to his chosen people, it certainly must be +expected that his steps would have been directed to the most learned men +of his nation, and that all offensive language would have been withheld, +even admitting that the Jews were immoral to a very great degree. But +the acquaintances of Jesus were the most ignorant and unlearned of +the Jews, and were, from the nature of their employment, incapable of +judging correctly of those signs and wonders which Jesus produced as +proofs of his divine authority. The learned priests and scribes were the +proper persons to have resorted to, as being alone competent to examine +and explain all those predictions which related to Christ’s coming, as +foretold by the prophets of the Old Testament. What would be thought of +a Minister Extraordinary, who, being sent from Washington to London on +business of the first importance, should he, instead of repairing to +London, make known his mission, by hints and indirect sayings, to some +untaught fishermen, and, at the same time, abuse, and also make use of +the most threatening expressions towards the heads of the government +to whom he was sent? Could it be expected that such conduct would be +productive of any thing but failure? This is exactly similar to the +conduct pursued by Jesus in his intercourse with the Jewish rulers. Can +we, for a moment, admit that Infinite Wisdom could have sent such an +ambassador on the all-important subject of the salvation of the human +race? Jesus repeatedly reproaches the Jews in general, and his disciples +in particular, for their want of faith in his divine authority: at the +same time, he makes use of sayings that it was impossible for them to +understand.</p> +<p class="pnext">Jesus often referred to his treatment and death. How was it possible +for them to understand this prediction? It never could have entered +the minds of the descendants of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, that the true +Messiah must suffer death before he could begin to restore the Jews to +their former greatness. Instead of calling together the most talented +and the most influential of the Jewish nation, and openly making known +to them the object of his delegation, he associated with that portion of +society whose knowledge of Jewish history was very limited; and, as if +he dreaded publicity, often charged them to “tell no man that he +was the Christ”—the very opposite course to what appears to be +consistent with the important object of his coming. Taking the history +of Christ’s life, and also, more particularly, that of his teaching, +he seems to have no settled plan whatever. At times, he seems to be in +the strictest sense a Jew, not only as it regards his nation, but, also, +most strictly following the law of Moses, submitting even to all its +ceremonies. At other times, he opposes his sayings to those of the law +of Moses, and openly forgives sins, without having any recourse to the +offering of sacrifice according to the Mosaic law. Sometimes, he speaks +of being not only “<em class="italics">Lord of all,</em>” but that they would “<em class="italics">see him +coming down in the clouds, in power and glory, to judge both quick and +dead</em>”; and then, again, speaking of his poverty, as “not having +where to lay his head.” His living a life of wandering and mendicity, +at times making a great excitement in one place, and suddenly departing +to another,—these strange movements (admitting they occurred) entirely +took off the attention of the heads of the Jewish people, and caused him +to be considered as any thing but the promised <em class="italics">restorer of Israel</em>. +In addition to his unsettled state, his repeated attacks on the rulers, +holding them up to the scorn and contempt of the people, had generated +such feelings in the minds of the priests and scribes, that they +considered him as a pretender to the Messiahship. Besides the hostility +he showed to rich men, in speaking of the almost impossibility of their +entering that kingdom which was included in all his teachings, namely, +“<em class="italics">The kingdom of heaven is at hand,</em>” when a rich man asked him +“what he was to do to inherit eternal life?” the answer of Jesus to +him was, in addition to what the rich man had done, “Go and sell all, +and give to the poor, and follow me.” We are told that the rich man +refused to do that, and Jesus then said of the rich, “how difficult it +was for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is the wild +and levelling doctrine taught by modern prophets. Nothing can be more +unreasonable and unjust. If such doctrines as these had, in in the time +of Jesus, been practised, he would have drawn a host of idlers after +him. Besides, to teach such an unqualified practice as the one proposed +to the rich man, must, at that time, have convinced every well-informed +man how very unfit Jesus was to regulate society. I well know that +Christians will consider this mode of examination of the sayings and +doings of Jesus, as wicked and horrible; as opposing the weak judgment +of man to the infinite wisdom of God. In reply to this, I would say, +it is by investigating the teachings of Jesus as recorded in the New +Testament, that we can perceive its defects, and thereby fully discover +that the wise Ruler and Governor of all never sanctioned doctrines such +as those said to have proceeded from Jesus.</p> +<p class="pnext">In taking a candid survey of the teaching, manner, and life of Jesus as +it is written in the evangelists, we find that both he and his apostles +lived a wandering life. How they raised funds, we know not, but it seems +that Judas Iscariot was treasurer; and that he loved money better than +he did his master, his betraying him to the rulers for thirty pieces of +silver, fully proved. His having no fixed home, and following no regular +and permanent employment, will throw some light on the system of +morals which Jesus inculcated. Although some of his moral precepts were +undoubtedly good, and calculated to make those happy who reduced them +to practice, still others there were, which, if practised, would create +disorder-—such as that which repudiates the taking any thought for the +morrow. There is a vast difference in taking prudential thought for +the morrow, and always looking at the gloomy side of what may possibly +happen. Jesus makes no distinction; but in his explanation he leaves the +subject more obscure than if he had not left any comment at all. Jesus +says, “<em class="italics">Consider the lilies of the field; they toil not, neither do +they spin, yet Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of +these.” And again, “Take no thought for the morrow, what ye shall +eat or what ye shall drink, nor wherewithal ye shall be clothed, for +your heavenly father knoweth ye have need of all these. But seek ye +first the kingdom of heaven, and its righteousness, and all these things +shall be added unto you." Again, “If a man sue you at law and take +your coat, let him have your cloak also:</em>” and many more precepts +of the same nature, which are impracticable, and which must be left to +prudence and common sense to carry into practice.</p> +<p class="pnext">But this very imperfect code of morals could be practised better by +Jesus and his followers, considering their mode of life, than by others +who had fixed homes. How Jesus and his apostles lived, as to their means +to buy food or clothing, is unknown,—unless they lived the lives of +mendicants, or, to speak more plainly, by what they could pick up, which +is implied in the saying of Christ: “for,” says he, “<em class="italics">foxes have +holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has not +where to lay his head,</em>” To persons so situated, the taking thought +for the morrow would be but of little use; but by those persons who had +homes, and who, by labor, had to provide for a family, such morality +could not be practised. We will give but one instance.</p> +<p class="pnext">Suppose a person had business from home for some weeks, and had given +his wife orders to provide his linen, with other things, for his +journey; and when the time arrived for him to leave home, his wife +had, agreeable to the precepts of Jesus, taken no thought for the +morrow,—would such an excuse satisfy the husband? No. Prudent +forethought is connected with every thing moral; and without it, society +would be entirely broken up. But to persons living a wandering life, and +not knowing from one day to another how they should fare; and rising in +the morning ignorant how it might turn out as to where they could lie +down at night—to such, the sayings of Jesus would better apply. But to +those who were settled and had fixed homes, the <em class="italics">taking no thought for +the morrow</em> would break up every family who should attempt it. Had +we been of the Jewish nation, and lived in the time of Jesus, in +all probability we should have considered the conduct of Christ very +strange. Sometimes, he upbraided the Jews for their unbelief; and at +others, charged his own apostles to keep as a secret that he was the +Christ.</p> +<p class="pnext">The only way to understand this strange history of the Messiah is, to +reject the account of his preaching altogether; and to consider the +whole of his ministry as being written by unknown persons from hearsay +only. And it is nearly proof positive that no such person as Jesus +existed, who said and did those things ascribed to him; for it is +utterly impossible by his history, admitting it to be correct, to +gather, from the evangelists’ account of it, for what he came, and +also what end was answered to the Jews. They we're left in a worse state +than if Jesus had not been among them: for, as the Jews mistook the +object of his mission in consequence of the obscurity of his preaching, +so the different sects, to this day, have not decided what is +Christianity.</p> +<p class="pnext">The history of the life and preaching of Jesus, is such a confusion of +opposite doctrines, that, after eighteen hundred years’ investigation, +by men the most learned; and after thousands and tens of thousands of +volumes have been written, and commentators have endeavored to settle +the different and conflicting accounts of what he taught, it still +remains unsettled whether Christ is part God and part man, or whether he +had a natural father, and is to be considered as nothing but a man, but +of superior holiness of life. It is not settled whether Christ died for +all, or only a part of the human race. Again, it is not yet agreed on +by Christian sects whether baptism should be extended to infants, or be +administered exclusively to adults. These, and many more subjects, are +by different parties viewed differently; at the same time all and each +appeal to the New Testament in support of their respective creeds.</p> +<p class="pnext">I will now appeal to the reader whether a God of infinite wisdom and +power would be the author of a religion which could give rise to so many +contradictory doctrines? which in the life-time of the propagator was +not understood? and for eighteen hundred years has been a fruitful field +of discord, war, and murder, instead of producing “peace on earth and +good-will towards men?” It has never failed to be a source of war, +hatred, malice, and ill-will towards men; and nothing but the extension +of Infidel Principles can secure the human race against a recurrence of +those dreadful scenes, which, for ages, converted this otherwise happy +world into a slaughter house of human victims. To my brother Infidels, +then, I say, “Ye are the salt of the earth.” If you cease from +your noble exertions, the human race may again exhibit one mass +of theological putrefaction. If Infinite wisdom and power had ever +undertaken to give a revelation to man, we should not have witnessed any +blunders or mistakes. A revelation coming from such a being, would have +been directed to some beneficial end, and, like the eternal laws of the +universe, the means made use of would not have failed to bring about +the glorious end intended. But the Bible, including the Old and New +Testaments, is not only unworthy of its pretended high authority; but +it portrays the all-wise Governor and Director of all worlds as a being +changeable, cruel, and unjust.</p> +<p class="pnext">In addition to the obscure manner resorted to by Jesus in his speeches, +he seldom conversed with any of his countrymen of any distinction. It +was always the lower ranks of society to whom he directed his sayings; +so that, to the most learned and opulent of the Jews, he was little +known; for when the higher powers were about to take him into custody, +to them he was unknown. It then became expedient to offer a reward to +some one to point him out to the officers appointed to arrest him. Judas +Iscariot was the man who seemed willing as well as competent, to conduct +this ungrateful business. Jesus had often said that <em class="italics">one of his apostles +would betray him</em>. There is something very strange in the saying of +Jesus, that <em class="italics">he had chosen twelve apostles and one would betray him</em>. +If Jesus came to the Jews as the promised and expected Messiah, the +very idea of betraying him implies that he did not intend that the Jews +should ever know him as <em class="italics">the sent of God</em>. At all events, Jesus, at the +time Judas made him personally known to the chief priest and rulers, +complained of the deceitfulness of Judas, which is full proof that he +did not wish at that time to be put on his trial.</p> +<p class="pnext">But in what did this betraying consist? The Jewish rulers wished to have +the man pointed out to them who had made so much noise and stir among +the lower order of the people. Judas took the reward, and if Jesus were +really sent by the Lord of all to his nation, this betraying was only +giving him an opportunity of openly avowing his Messiahship. Here then +was the time for him to show such signs and wonders as to prevent any +doubts as to who he was, and of the important object of his coming; for +if <em class="italics">he came into the world to die for the sins of mankind</em>, Judas then +was of vast importance in bringing about that which was before ordained +by the <em class="italics">determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God</em>. But if he (Jesus) +did not intend to suffer death, then, and only then, had he cause to +complain of Judas as a traitor. Jesus, in speaking of Judas, says, +“<em class="italics">it had been good for that man if he had never been born:</em>” but +if the salvation of mankind depended on the death of Christ, a more +important person than Judas was never born of woman. Whether such a man +as Jesus ever lived or not, it is impossible to determine; but admitting +that such a man as he is said to have been, did exist, it does appear +that his life was a scene of incongruities bordering on insanity. And +the whole of his public ministry was so erratic, that it seems as if he +had no specific object in view.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-iv"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id22">CHAPTER IV.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">N</span><span class="dropspan">OTHING</span> can be more unreasonable than to admit, for a moment, that the +Almighty Power which governs the vast unbounded universe, should be the +author, either directly or indirectly, of a system which has produced so +much cruelty, carnage, and bloodshed, as the Christian Religion—a +very large portion of which has been brought about by the discordant +doctrines attributed to the preaching of Christ. If God is its author, +(which is more than doubtful,) if, in addition to the evils with which +human nature is afflicted, he had intended to make man’s misery +complete, the Christian religion seems well adapted to secure that end, +for it is the key-stone of human wretchedness. A great amount of evil +has resulted from the different sects that have arisen from the New +Testament.</p> +<p class="pnext">A few particulars will suffice to show that the various doctrines, all +gathered from and founded on the sayings of Christ, have created discord +and persecution among the followers of Jesus, the pretended pacificator +of the human race.</p> +<p class="pnext">One of the most destructive sayings of Jesus—one which has entailed on +the human race a system of continual evil, and which bids fair to last +for ages to come, is the delegated power given to the Apostle Peter, and +which is, to the present day, claimed by his successors. Peter, being +asked by Christ as to what the Jews thought of him, answered that +“some thought that one of the old prophets had returned from the dead, +while others thought differently.” But, says Jesus to Peter, “<em class="italics">Whom +do you say that I am?</em>” Give me your opinion. Peter replied, “<em class="italics">Thou +art the Christ, the Son of God.</em>” This answer was responded to by +Jesus, and to Peter he said, “<em class="italics">Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for +flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in +heaven;” and Jesus added, “Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I +build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And +I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever +thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou +shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.</em>” (Matthew xvi., 19.)</p> +<p class="pnext">After appearing to give Peter unlimited power, he tells him that “<em class="italics">the +chief priest and scribes will put him to death, and that he should be +raised the third day.</em>” Peter, not understanding this sad reverse, and +out of regard for his master, rebuked him, but very mildly, by saying, +“<em class="italics">Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee.</em>” At +this, Jesus seemed to lose his temper, and said, “<em class="italics">Get thee behind +me, Satan, thou art an offence to me.</em>” Jesus then tells Peter that +“<em class="italics">The son of man should come in the glory of his Father, with his +angels, to reward every man according to his works,</em>” Jesus then adds, +“<em class="italics">Verily, I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not +taste of death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">Now it was not possible for Peter, or any one else, to understand +Christ’s meaning. He tells them things concerning his second coming, +before they understood his object as it related to his Messiahship. +Besides, what he told them would surely come to pass in their time, is +not yet fulfilled. This obscure mode of teaching runs through all his +speeches; and he continually reproaches them for their want of faith in +his doctrines. A method so incoherent appears to approach to insanity.</p> +<p class="pnext">But to return more immediately to the power given to Peter. A power +so undefined as was given to Peter, at a time when he did not even +comprehend the final destiny of Jesus, cannot be admitted to have been +given. But as this part of Christ’s history was written long after his +leaving this earth, the writer, whoever he was, wrote from hearsay; and +there being no one to question its truth, it became, like many other +sayings, reputed as coming from Jesus. Inconsistent as it was, it became +one of the doctrines of the church; and the successors of Peter retain +it in the Catholic Church at the present day. This original power given +unto Peter is still invested in the person of the Pope of Rome, and +through him down to the rest of the clergy. This power, said to have +been given by Jesus to the church, has been productive of discord. The +Popes have held and acted upon it as a divine prerogative bequeathed +by Christ to his church, which has been denied by other sects, so +that quarrels have been the consequence. And hence both rich and poor, +learned and unlearned, have, and do still, confess to the priest their +sins, and receive pardon.</p> +<p class="pnext">All the evils that have resulted from such foolery, sprang from the +authority said to have been by Jesus given to Peter. What a rich harvest +have the priests reaped from this delegated power! Can men, possessing +one grain of common sense, believe that such power was ever given to +mortal man? But the different sects will say, that Jesus never intended +that it should be thus understood. This does not mend the matter at +all; for God must have foreseen what use would be made of it. The +consequences, therefore, rest with Him. But are we prepared to admit +that Infinite Wisdom would have left unguarded, doctrines of such vast +importance to the peace and harmony of his church?</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, the shocking consequences which have followed the institution +of the Sacrament, or Lord’s Supper. Jesus, according as Christians +believe, instituted the breaking of bread and drinking of wine, as an +emblem of his body being broken, and his blood being poured out as a +sacrifice for sin. But this doctrine or ordinance, being undefined, the +different sects of Christians have practised it under the impression of +its sacredness, taking its literal meaning instead of regarding it as a +token of remembrance. The Catholic believes, or professes so to do, that +after the descendants of Peter have prayed over, and consecrated, the +bread and wine, its nature is changed into the real body and blood +of the Saviour. One horrible consequence which has resulted from such +tomfoolery, has been, the burning of hundreds of human beings at the +stake, for not admitting so important a truth. This evil, and many +others, has arisen from the obscure doctrines taught by Jesus, whom the +scriptures describe as being the light of the world. Jesus, before being +taken into heaven, told his disciples that it was for their good that he +should leave them; for, to make up for his absence, <em class="italics">he would send +the Holy Ghost, who would be a comforter, and would lead them into all +truth</em>. How far this promise has been fulfilled, we have the evidence +of eighteen hundred years; for, immediately after Jesus had left his +church, they became divided, and ever since they have butchered each +other without mercy. This is the comfort, then, that Christians have +received by the coming of the Holy Ghost.</p> +<p class="pnext">Another fruitful field of slaughter and blood has been thrown open in +consequence of Jesus withholding from the Christian church the real +nature of his being. So confused was he on this subject, that, even now, +Christians do not agree. Some contend for his manhood alone, and that, +like all other men, he had an earthly father,—the Unitarians, for +instance, and other sects. But the real Orthodox contend that Jesus +was born of a pure virgin, who, though a mother was yet a virgin. These +contradictory views are supported by the life and history of Jesus. Does +it require any thing more than common sense to repudiate the divinity +of a Book containing such opposite statements of the same accounts, or +facts? It is the uncertainty of what Christianity really is, which has +caused so much evil in the world; and this has arisen from the dark and +obscure mode of teaching attributed to the Son of God. Those Christians +who have embraced views so opposite to each other, but who have taken +them from the same Word of God, have, in every age, been the most +implacable enemies, and have seldom failed, when power has been in their +hands, to inflict the most cruel torments on those who differed from +them. Indeed, the history of the Christian Church is one continued +record of persecution and cruelty.</p> +<p class="pnext">I was, for some few months, called on by an Orthodox deacon, who +earnestly requested me to reflect on the dangerous situation I was in as +an unbeliever, being totally unprepared for a future state. I asked, if +I were in a worse state than an Unitarian? You admit, said I, that they, +many of them, are good men, and will not be excluded from heaven. He +replied, that, morally speaking, they might be good; but, he added, that +my claim to heaven stood on equal, if not superior ground to theirs, +as they did not believe in the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus for sin; +consequently, they had neither part nor lot in the matter.</p> +<p class="pnext">All the intolerance and persecution which have deluged the earth with +blood, have arisen from Christianity not having ever been defined. +Hundreds of different creeds have been founded on the sayings and doings +of Jesus and his apostles, as found in the New Testament; and there are +yet materials for many more. Each sect regards all other sects as +being wickedly obstinate, and resisting the truth. All this misery and +destruction, arising from the different construction of the doctrines +said to have been delivered by Jesus, would never have taken place, if +the all-wise Ruler of the Universe had dictated them; but the evils they +have brought on the world can never be reconciled as coming from a Being +of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness. If such a Being had ever given +a revelation to the human race, there is no doubt but that it would have +been adapted to man’s reasoning powers; that mistakes would not have +opposed its progress; thousands of books would not have been required to +explain what Infinite Wisdom had proclaimed; no fires of martyrdom would +have been lighted, to compel men to believe what none could understand.</p> +<p class="pnext">If God had been the author of the Christian religion, it would, like all +his works, have been so arranged, and the means so wisely adapted, that +the intention or end would be fully answered. But the religion of +the Bible, both the Old and New Testament, is a continual trial of +experiments on man. And what has religion made of him? Is he generally +fit to be trusted, in word or action? Is he generally humane and +tender-hearted? No! very far from it. Society is, in its best +state, very defective in humanity. The accumulation of riches is the +Christian’s object. Gold is the god he adores.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is impossible for Christians to deny that the persecutions and +burnings, the cruel torture, and every infliction of cruelty practised +by one sect towards others, who honestly differed from the most +powerful, were all in consequence of the different sects embracing +and maintaining opposite doctrines; all of which were founded on the +teaching of Jesus. Can we, then, believe that the Almighty Ruler of all +worlds would have sent his Son to teach mankind something that should +involve the human race in a never-ending quarrel, by teaching so +obscurely that two persons, equally honest and intelligent, should form +opposite opinions; knowing, as the Almighty must, that such teaching +would engender hatred and malice, and be the cause of producing unheard +of cruelty and torture?</p> +<p class="pnext">How dreadful it is to reflect on the mad fury of religious zeal, when +the persecutor and the persecuted are equally sincere! The first, +believing he ought to put to death those who differ from him, for the +glory of God; and the latter, considering that his crown of glory can +be obtained only by sufferings death the most horrid to bear! Poor, +unfortunate creatures! Both parties are objects of pity. The evils +resulting from the different doctrines collected from the teaching of +Jesus, have, for eighteen hundred years, converted the otherwise happy +world into a pious mad-house. The doctrine of human depravity, although +it may not have been so productive of evil as some others, is a libel on +human nature. It is taught by Jesus; the preachers repeat it weekly from +the pulpit; and the necessity of a new birth results from it. A thousand +pulpits thunder forth vengeance against man because of the hardness of +his heart. We are told that he has rebelled against his God; that he is +at enmity with him, and that he has turned his back to his Maker.</p> +<p class="pnext">All this is done to humble man, and to bring about his conversion. The +Scriptures also represent the Almighty as angry with poor, feeble man, +and that he will eventually pour out his wrath in never-ending torments! +These doctrines, so earnestly taught, and so fully credited, constitute +a principal part of what comes from ten thousand preachers; and if we +examine the truth of them, none can we find. As it respects man’s +rebelling, and turning his back on his Creator, man’s error and +misfortune has ever been in trying to find out something about his +Maker.</p> +<p class="pnext">This curiosity, no doubt, originated in a state of ignorance. And even +in the present day, man has yet to learn the inutility of every attempt +to discover any thing as to the being and nature of a Supreme Power that +is supposed to govern the universe. We are lost in wonder and admiration +when we contemplate the mighty universe! but of the Grand Regulator of +all, we are, and no doubt shall ever remain, in total ignorance. It is +a libel on man, then, to teach that human beings are at enmity against +God. I ask my readers, both male and female, whether they ever had those +feelings of hatred against the unknown Governor of the grand and sublime +universe? But Christian priests proclaim it; and to those who believe +it, it is a source of lamentation; and being under the belief that +man is the natural enemy of God, the minds of such persons become +prostrated, and then this otherwise happy world is despised and +neglected for a future state of supposed bliss.</p> +<p class="pnext">Let any one attend a Protracted Meeting, where there may be some +hundreds of persons, and among the number, many youths of both sexes; +both young and old are appealed to by the speakers, who describe them as +enemies of God, and as having turned their backs on the God of goodness. +They become alarmed, not having before conceived that they could have +been so wicked. I have seen upwards of fifty, at one time, sobbing +and crying and imploring mercy, who, poor, weak mortals, until this +foolishness of being at enmity with God was preached to them, had no +conception of their dreadful enormities and danger. By exciting the +feelings with falsehood, this process is called conversion and the work +of the Holy Ghost. At the same time that the most virtuous females are +denounced as deserving damnation for their wickedness, and told that, +without repentance, their future state will be wretched to all eternity, +should one word derogatory to the character of these females, thus +represented by the priests, be spoken by any body else, an action for +slander would be instituted.</p> +<p class="pnext">But as long as people will give up their reason, and be hoodwinked with +the nonsense that God is angry, and that they are every moment in danger +of falling into hell, so long will the Christian priesthood riot in +profusion and plenty, by dealing out damnation to those whose only crime +is enmity against God. So completely hoodwinked is man, that he attends +weekly, and pays well into the bargain, to hear the priest deal out +endless damnation to nine-tenths of the human race; and it is ten +chances to one that he also is included among the subjects of the +Devil! Should an Orthodox preacher, for a few Sundays, preach on moral +subjects, and consider that morality was the one thing needful in the +Christian Church, the congregation would complain that their souls +required more substantial nourishment. The preacher must return to the +old mode of teaching, and again shake them over the lake of fire! And +hence it follows, that, as the people, are not satisfied without having +the wrath of God the constant theme, the preacher gives it as they wish +to have it. An angry God; a cunning, crafty and tempting Devil; and the +enmity of man’s wicked heart: this is the set of tools by which the +Christian teacher carries on his theological trade. The discordancy of +religious opinions, and all of them taken from the doctrines as taught +by Jesus and the apostles, each preacher referring to the favorite +passages which support his views, is and will be, a never-ending theme +of disputation; and at some future period, may renew the practice of +burning each other alive for God’s glory.</p> +<p class="pnext">Nothing but the spread of Infidelity can completely stop this dreadful +evil. We have only to suppose, that, at some future time, the savages +who have been what is called converted by preachers of opposite sects, +such as the Calvinist and the Universalist, or the Trinitarians and +Unitarians, should, by some cause not now foreseen, be left by the +missionaries to support the Christian church; then the savage converts +of different sects would be very likely to fall on each other, and the +fires of Smithfield, which Infidelity, the companion of humanity, has +extinguished, may again blaze on the Islands of the Pacific Ocean. This +is a very probable case; for, in the present day, the same Bible is the +text book of all denominations, and all of them would persecute if they +had but the power. Christianity is now what it ever has been, and what +it ever will be, a persecuting religion; and, although the fires of +martyrdom cease to torment the human race, the embers are still emitting +smoke, and may again be rekindled. Nothing short of <em class="italics">unbelief in all +divine revelation</em>, openly and fearlessly avowed, can guarantee the +human family against a renewal of the religious butchery of past ages.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-v"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id23">CHAPTER V.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">AKING</span> the Orthodox views of Christianity, there are four personages +connected with divine revelation, and each has a different department to +act out. The first three are the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Leaving, +for the present, the first three, our attention will, in this chapter, +be directed to the fourth and last, namely, the Devil. And so much +consequence do Christian sects attach to the existence of the Devil, +that, to deny it, or even to doubt it, would be enough to separate a +member from the church. Religious people must have a Devil; for, as the +Devil, by his incessant cunning and temptation, is the indirect author +of men’s sins, so, on the other hand, the Saviour stands ready to +ransom the guilty. It then follows, that the sinner, after all, stands +on pretty good ground; for, if the Devil tempts him to commit one-half +of his crimes, and the Saviour pardons the other half, man is not in +much danger of being condemned.</p> +<p class="pnext">In this chapter, it will be seen, what an amount of evil has arisen +to the peace and happiness of the human race, not from what the Devil +really has done, but from what mortals have believed he has done, by +supposing him to have almost unlimited power. And here we can perceive, +what evil has transpired from what never has, nor ever could have taken +place, but from what has been believed to have really happened. This has +been in consequence of the credulity of the human mind when reason is +departed from, and man becomes the creature of imagination. It is then +that man can give credit to the most glaring absurdities, and honestly +reject the plain dictates of common sense. It is then that he leaves +the solid earth on which he treads, and launches into the region of +airy nothings; and, by the ductility of his mind, creates beings of so +terrific a nature, that, at the thought of them, the stoutest hearts +have been made to quail. This is strictly true as to the existence and +influence of the Devil.</p> +<p class="pnext">That the New Testament sanctions the existence of the Devil, there +remains not a doubt. The temptation of Christ is proof positive. But +that alone should not suffice. The case of Mary Magdalene, and also the +expulsion of devils by Jesus and his disciples, put all doubt out of the +question. When we consider the terrible consequences of this belief on +the peace and happiness of the human race, we can but pity the deluded +creatures, who, in different ages of Christianity, have been sufferers +for the supposed commission of a crime that never was, nor ever will +be committed. All nations, in all ages, have credited, to a lesser or +a greater extent, the existence of a being, or beings, of a malignant +nature, possessing power beyond man’s conception; who, from some cause +unknown, delighted in doing mischief to the human family. And ever since +the introduction of the Christian religion, it has been credited that +such wicked spirits could delegate power to human beings equally wicked +as themselves; by which power, they, for a time, could vent their +malice, and do wonders by selling themselves, or by some infernal +contract could do harm to, or among those of, their neighbors who were +so unfortunate as to fall under their displeasure.</p> +<p class="pnext">This sin, which never was, and never can be committed, has ever been +thought the worst of crimes; and less mercy shown to the supposed guilty +person than if guilty of murder itself. And so extensively has it been +credited, and so great has been its influence, that laws have, in most +nations, been passed for its punishment; and thousands, and tens of +thousands have been put to death under circumstances of torture at which +the human heart sickens. Surely, if our minds are not entirely darkened +by the ignorance of past ages, we must be able to see that the Bible has +been the most destructive book that was ever written; and is unworthy to +claim infinite power, wisdom, and goodness for its author. If the +belief in witchcraft and sorcery had been confined to the ignorant and +unlearned of all nations, its evil would have been so limited that not +much misery would have followed, because men of good sense and talent +would have stood in the way of its progress. But, unfortunately, this +has not so happened. Its evil influence has ascended to the highest +classes in society. The king on his throne, and the learned judge +seated in the chair of impartial justice, have partaken of its deadly +contagion. The reader will now be presented with facts of the most +undoubted authority, showing what wretchedness has occurred from +believing in the existence and malignity of the Devil—a doctrine +supported by divine revelation.</p> +<p class="pnext">The first fact that is brought forward, took place at Bury, St. Edmonds, +in the County of Suffolk, (England,) in the year 1664. Amy Duny and +Rose Callender, two poor women, who were ignorant, and of the coarsest +materials, had, for eight years previous, the reputation of being +witches. So horrid were they considered, that the fishermen would not +sell them fish, and the boys in the streets were taught to fly from them +with horror. The principal charges against them were, that the children +of two families had been many times seized with fits in which they +exclaimed that they saw Amy Duny and Rose Callender coming to torment +them. They vomited, and in their vomit were often found pins, and once +or twice a two-penny nail.</p> +<p class="pnext">One or two of the children died. To support these allegations, a wagoner +appeared, whose wagon had been twice overturned in one morning in +consequence of the curses of one of these witches. Sir Matthew Hale +presided at the trial, assisted by Sir Thomas Brown, two of the most +able and learned Judges then in England. Those two poor women were by +the jury found guilty, and hanged on the seventeenth day of March, 1664, +one week after their trial.</p> +<p class="pnext">Sir Matthew Hale refused to sum up the evidence, but left it to the +jury, to whom he said, “That the Scriptures left no doubt that there +was such a thing as witchcraft; and instructed them that all they had to +do, was, first, to consider whether the children were really bewitched; +and, secondly, whether the witchcraft was sufficiently brought home to +the prisoners at the bar.” The Jury found them guilty, and they were +hanged as before stated.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here we have a shocking account of the credulity of the human mind. The +whole English nation were laboring under a mental delusion. Here it was +not to be said, “<em class="italics">O, ye of little faith!</em>” but, “<em class="italics">O, ye religious +madmen! your faith has changed your nature from kindness and pity, to +perform acts of cruelty which the savage cannibal would shudder to put +into practice.</em>” I would here remind the reader, that Judge Hale was +considered a just and humane Judge. What a dreadful state a nation must +be in, when such laws as have been referred to, were in full force, and +the jurisprudence of England was, as it were, under the influence of a +Being the supposed enemy of man! And it may in truth be said, that an +unknown and invisible world governed one that was known and visible.</p> +<p class="pnext">Now, in the case of those two poor women, who were really murdered, the +question arises, who were their murderers? Was it Judge Hale, or the +Jury? It was neither. It was the Bible-—a book which records the +existence of a Devil, the sworn enemy of God and men. Reader! can you +withhold pity from two poor creatures in such circumstances, and can you +still praise to the skies a Book that has made the best and wisest of +men cruel brutes,—who, at the same time, were happy to have a chance +to make war against the Devil, by destroying two helpless beings whose +only crime, in all probability, was poverty and ignorance? Every humane +unbeliever must exclaim, “O God! O Nature! what havoc have ignorance +and superstition made among your works!”</p> +<p class="pnext">Nothing could be better calculated to give importance to the credibility +of the activity and influence of the Devil’s employing and entering +into a league with wicked and ill-disposed persons, after Christianity +became established, than the Scripture account of the Devil’s tempting +Jesus, and endeavoring to make a contract with him to obey and submit +to his proposals. But as the Devil was non-suited by the Saviour of +mankind, it might be expected that after Jesus had left this world, the +Devil would endeavor to enlist into his service many of those who had +embraced the religion of that Saviour whom he had tried to seduce.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the course of time, in the middle or dark ages, when' men’s +imaginations were active, and reason was nearly banished from among +Christians, it became a matter of faith and certainty, that persons in +different towns and villages had really entered into a contract, for a +certain number of years, with the Devil himself; and to carry out and +complete this supposed covenant with the enemy of God and man, a motion +was started of the Devil’s Sabbath, on which, a place being appointed, +wicked men and women could meet and contract with Old Lucifer himself; +and books were printed to show the nature of the contract After this +strange opinion became fully credited, and witchcraft was made a crime +punishable by law, those persons who were accused of witchcraft were +tortured, in order to compel them to own that they had attended the +Sabbath of the Devil.</p> +<p class="pnext">Another fact will now be stated, to show what ideas of the Devil’s +influence prevailed in England and Scotland, in the days of Elizabeth. +James the First, of England, who, succeeding Elizabeth, was born in +1566, was the only direct heir to the Crown of Scotland, and had a +prospect of succeeding Elizabeth in England, which he did on the death +of the Queen. James had witnessed a great number of prosecutions for +witchcraft, in Scotland, in the reign of Mary; and he, as might be +expected, most firmly believed that the Devil was very active in the +country of his birth; so that, when he came to the Crown of England, his +mind was di-rected to put a stop to the prevailing crime of witchcraft +and to break up the Devil’s Sabbath, he believing that numbers of his +English subjects were visitors to those unholy meetings. A circumstance +will now be mentioned which will fully prove what views the people of +England and Scotland had of the activity of the Devil in drawing persons +into his service and kingdom; for it is impossible to evade the truth, +that the existence and opposition of the Devil against the progress of +the Gospel, was strengthened by what had been recorded of the Devil in +the New Testament.</p> +<p class="pnext">James the First, of England, is here cited to show what was then the +prevailing opinion of the existence of witchcraft in that kingdom. And +although it is painful to reflect on the sufferings of thousands, it +may, by its recital, assist those who are still somewhat in darkness, to +discover how the human race have been deluded. James the First had fixed +his mind on a daughter of the King of Denmark. A splendid embassy was +sent from England to conclude the treaty of marriage, and to bring home +James’s royal consort; but the ships met with violent storms, and +instead of arriving at the capital of Scotland, the news came that the +ship in which the Princess had taken passage, was driven back on the +coast of Norway; nothing uncommon m these seas at that, season of +the year. The King, being disappointed, sailed to the place where the +shattered ships lay, and the marriage was consummated; and the King and +Queen remained at Copenhagen, and did not arrive at Edinburgh until the +first of May, 1590. The storm was, after their return, considered to be +the result of some supernatural interference.</p> +<p class="pnext">The King, after his return, suspecting that witchcraft had something to +do in raising the storm which drove his intended wife on the coast of +Norway, set to work to make discoveries; and two of his female servants +were suspected of causing the storm before alluded to. Their names were +Geillis Duncan and Agnes Sampson. Both of them were put to the torture +to extort confession. These poor young women, broken down and exhausted +by so dreadful an operation, became willing to answer such questions as +this royal blockhead had prepared to put to them. Agnes Sampson told the +King, that she, in company with two hundred other witches, had sailed +in sieves from Leith to North Berwick Church; how they had there +encountered the Devil in person; how they had feasted with him, and what +obscenities had been; practised. She related, that in this voyage they +had drowned a cat, having first baptized it; and that immediately a +dreadful storm arose, and in this very storm the King’s ship had been +separated from the rest of the fleet. Inconsequence of this confession, +Agnes Sampson was condemned to the flames. The system of torture +resorted to under cir-circumstances of suspicion, compelled poor +suffering creatures to answer any questions put to them to satisfy their +cruel tormentors and in many cases, after all, they were put to death. +King James the First published his Dialogues on Demonology in three +books. But many years after he renounced his belief in the real +existence of Witchcraft altogether; and in the latter part of his reign, +declared that all he had done was the effect of delusion.</p> +<p class="pnext">These were dreadful times for humanity. Thousands and tens of thousands +of victims suffered every kind of torture that savage, ingenuity could +devise; and what made it the more to be deplored, the ignorant creatures +who inflicted the torments were honest in their abhorrence of those +unfortunate persons, who suffered for what was, in those dark ages, +considered the worst of crimes. In what horror, then, were persons held +who could be so wicked as to have dealings with the devil? The case of +James is here recorded, to show the reader that the belief in witchcraft +was not confined to the ignorant: and unlettered portion of society; but +that England, and Scotland, and, it may be said, every Christian nation +with its government, and the army also, were all laboring under this +delusion. And the truth of its existence was then, and is now, supported +by the New Testament, and fully confirmed by the Devil’s temptation of +Jesus, the Christian’s <em class="italics">Son of God</em>; for the desire manifested by +the Devil to entice Jesus to enter into his service, did, in those dark +ages, strengthen persons in the conclusion that the Devil, although he +failed to seduce the Redeemer, would continue to enlist, if possible, +great numbers into his service. The firm belief of his attempts on the +<em class="italics">Son of God</em> would dispose persons to credit the fact that people of +abandoned characters would hire themselves to the Devil. In the days +of Oliver Cromwell, a story is recorded by Echard, the historian, as +shockingly illustrative of the credulity of the age in which he lived. +It takes its date from the morning of the third of September, 1651, when +Cromwell gained the battle of Worcester against Charles the Second. +It is on the authority of Colonel Lindsey, who was senior captain in +Cromwell’s own regiment. The story recorded is, “That on the morning +of the battle, Cromwell took with him Colonel Lindsey to the side of a +wood, not far from the army, and bade him alight and follow him into the +wood, and to take particular notice of what he saw and heard. And having +secured their horses, and walked some little way into the wood, Lindsey +began to turn pale, and to be seized with horror from some unknown +cause. Cromwell asked him how he felt himself? He answered, that he was +in such a trembling that he never felt the like in all the conflicts +and battles he had ever been engaged in. ‘How, now,’ said Cromwell, +‘what! troubled with the vapors? Come forward, man.’ They had not +gone far, before Lindsey stood still, and said it was impossible for him +to go one step further. Upon which, Cromwell called him a faint hearted +fool, and bade him stand there and observe, or witness. And then the +General, advancing to some distance from him, met a grave elderly man +with a roll of parchment in his hand, who delivered it to Cromwell, and +he eagerly perused it Lindsey, a little recovered from his fear, heard +several loud words between them, particularly Cromwell said, ‘this is +but for seven years, I was to have it for one and twenty.’ The grave +elderly man told him positively, it could not be for more than seven. +Cromwell cried with great fierceness, ‘It shall, however, be for +fourteen years.’ Cromwell then took his parchment, and returning to +Lindsey, ‘Now, Lindsey,’ said he, ‘the battle is our own, I long to be +engaged.’ It did then commence. After the first charge, Lindsey deserted +his post and rode away with all speed to a friend’s in the county of +Suffolk, and never returned. Cromwell offered a great reward for him, +dead or alive. Cromwell died on that day seven years, September 3, +1658.”</p> +<p class="pnext">It is of no consequence whether this story is true or not It fully +proves that at that time it was believed, that men sold themselves to +the Devil.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vi"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id24">CHAPTER VI.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">WO</span> more remarkable cases will, in this chapter, be made known to the +reader, to show that for hundreds of years the Devil, or rather the +belief in his existence, was a source of terror to all Christians, and +must have operated on almost every transaction in which society were +engaged. In almost every town and village, to be surrounded with wicked +beings who had entered into a contract with Satan to be empower-ed to +perform deeds of darkness which no prudence could guard against, must +have had an influence on the peace and safety of almost every family. +But now, that the delusion has nearly passed away, and mankind are no +longer subject to such terror, we may be happy to think that our lives +are exempted from the evils which afflicted our forefathers. And nothing +but an open avowal of our unbelief in all systems which in any way +sanction the existence of a Being who has made a large portion of the +human family crazy, can prevent a recurrence of past ignorance with all +its baneful consequences.</p> +<p class="pnext">Joan of Arc, called the Maid of Orleans, an unfortunate creature, +demands our pity. Her tragical history ought to impel every humane +person to do all in his power to prevent mortals from again witnessing +scenes of so dreadful a nature.</p> +<p class="pnext">Henry the Fifth, of England, won the decisive battle of Agincourt in the +year 1415, and some time after concluded a treaty with the reigning King +of France, by which he was recognized, in case of that King’s death, +as heir to the throne. Henry the Fifth died in the year 1422, and +Charles the Sixth, of France, in less than two months after. Henry the +Sixth was only nine months old, at the time of his father’s death; +but such was the deplorable state of France, that he was the same +year proclaimed King in Paris, and for some years seemed to have every +prospect of a fortunate reign. John, Duke of Bedford, the King’s +uncle, was declared Regent of France. The son of Charles the Sixth was +reduced to the last extremity. Orleans was the last strong town in the +heart of the kingdom which held out in his favor; and that place seemed +on the point of surrendering to the conqueror.</p> +<p class="pnext">“In this fearful crisis, appeared Joan of Arc, and, in the most +incredible manner, turned the whole tide of affairs. She was a servant +in a poor inn at Demremi, and was accustomed to perform the coarsest +offices, and, in particular, to ride the horses to a neighboring stream +of water. Of course, the situation of France and her hereditary King +formed the universal subject of conversation, and Joan became deeply +impressed with the lamentable state of her country, and the misfortunes +of her King. By dint of perpetual meditation, and feeling in her breast +the promptings of energy and enter-prize, she conceived the idea that +she was destined by Heaven to be the deliverer of France. Agreeably +to the state of intellectual knowledge at that period, she persuaded +herself that she saw visions and held communications with the saints. +She then had conversations with St. Margaret and St. Catherine of +Fierbois. They told her that she was commissioned by God to raise the +siege of Orleans. She then presented herself to Baudricourt, Governor +of the neighboring town of Vaucouleurs, telling him her commission, and +requiring him to send her to the King at Chinon. Baudricourt, at first, +made light of her application; but her importunity, and the ardor she +expressed, at length excited him. He put on her man’s attire, gave +her arms, and sent her, under an escort of two gentlemen and their +attendants, to Chinon. Here she immediately addressed the King in +person, who had purposely hid himself behind his courtiers, that she +might not know him. She then delivered her message, and offered, in the +name of the Most High, to raise the siege of Orleans, and conduct King +Charles to Rheims to be anointed.</p> +<p class="pnext">“Desperate as was then the state of affairs, Charles and his ministers +immediately resolved to seize the occasion that offered, and put forward +Joan as an instrument to revive the prostrate courage of his subjects. +He had no sooner determined on this, than he pretended to submit the +truth of her mission to the most rigorous trial. He called together an +assembly of theologians and doctors, who rigorously examined Joan, and +pronounced in her favor. He referred the question to the Parliament of +Poictiers, and they who, previously to meeting, were persuaded that she +was an impostor, became convinced of her inspiration. She was mounted +on a highbred steed, furnished with a consecrated banner, and marched, +escorted by a body of five thousand men, to the relief of Orleans. +The French, strongly convinced by so plain an interposition of Heaven, +resumed the courage to which they had long been strangers.</p> +<p class="pnext">“Such a phenomenon was exactly suited to the superstition and +credulity of the age. The English were staggered with the rumors that +every where went before her, and struck with a degree of apprehension +and terror that they could not shake off. The garrison, informed of her +approach, made a sally on the other side of the town, and Joan and her +convoy entered without opposition. She displayed her standard in the +market place, and was received as a celestial deliverer. She appears to +have been endowed with a prudence not inferior to her courage and +spirit of enterprise. With great docility, she caught the hints of the +commanders by whom she was surrounded, and, convinced of her own want +of experience and skill, delivered them to the forces as the dictates of +Heaven. Thus the knowledge and discernment of the Generals were brought +into play at the same time that their suggestions acquired new weight +when falling from the lips of the Heaven-instructed heroine. A second +convoy arrived, the wagons and troops passed between the redoubts of the +English, while a dead, silence and astonishment reigned Among the forces +so lately enterprising and irresistible. Joan now called on the garrison +no longer to stand upon the defensive, but boldly to attack the army +of the besiegers. She took one redoubt, and then another. The English, +overwhelmed with amazement, scarcely dared to lift a hand against her. +Their veteran Generals became, spell-bound and powerless, and their +soldiers were driven before the prophetess like a flock of sheep. The +siege was raised. Joan followed the English to a fortified town which +they fixed on as the place of their retreat, and all the English were +made prisoners. The late victorious force now concentrated themselves at +Patay, in Orleanois. Joan advanced to meet them. The battle lasted not +a moment; it was rather a flight than a combat. Fastolfe, one of the +bravest of the English Generals, threw down his arms, and ran for his +life. Talbot and Scales, the other Generals, were made prisoners.</p> +<p class="pnext">“The siege of Orleans was raised on the eighth of May, 1429; the battle +of Patay was fought on the tenth of the following month. Joan was, at +that time, twenty-two years of age. This extraordinary turn having been +given to the affairs of the kingdom, Joan next insisted that the +King should march to Rheims, in order to be crowned. Rheims lay in a +direction expressly through the enemy’s garrisons. But every thing +yielded to the marvellous fortune that attended upon the heroine. +Troyes opened its gates. Chalons followed the example. Rheims sent a +deputation, with the keys of the city, which met Charles on his march. +The proposed solemnity took place amid the ecstasies and enthusiastic +shouts of his people. It was no sooner over, than Joan stepped forward. +She said, she had now performed the whole of what God had commissioned +her to do. She was satisfied. She entreated the King to dismiss her to +the obscurity from which she had sprung.</p> +<p class="pnext">“The Ministers and Generals of France, however, found Joan too useful +an instrument to be willing to part with her thus early, and she yielded +to their earnest expostulations.</p> +<p class="pnext">“Under her guidance, they assailed Laon, Soissons, Chauteau, Thirry, +Provins, and many other places, and took them one after another. She +threw herself into Compiegne, which was besieged by the Duke of Burgundy +in conjunction with certain English commanders. The day after her +arrival, she headed a sally against the enemy; twice she repelled +them, but finding their numbers increase every moment with fresh +reinforcements, she directed a retreat. Twice she returned to her +pursuers, and made them recoil; the third time she was less fortunate. +She found herself alone, surrounded by the enemy, and having performed +prodigies of valor, she was compelled to surrender herself a prisoner. +This happened on the twenty-fifth of May, 1430. It remained to be +determined what should be the fate of this admirable woman. Both friends +and enemies agreed that her career had been attended with a supernatural +power. The French, who were so infinitely indebted to her achievements, +and who owed the sudden and glorious reverse of their affairs to her +alone, were convinced that she was immediately commissioned by God, and +vied with each other in reciting the miraculous phenomena which marked +every step in her progress. The English, who saw all the victorious +acquisitions of Henry the Fifth crumbling from their grasp, were equally +impressed with the manifest miracle, but imputed all her good fortune +to a league with the Prince of Darkness. They said, that her boasted +visions were so many delusions of the Devil. They determined to bring +her to trial for the tremendous crimes of sorcery and witchcraft.</p> +<p class="pnext">“They believed that if she were once convicted and led out to +execution, the prowess and valor which had hitherto marked their +progress, would return to them, and that they should obtain the same +superiority over their disheartened foes. The Devil, who had hitherto +been her constant ally, terrified at the spectacle of the flames that +consumed her, would instantly return to the infernal regions, and +leave the field open to English enterprise and energy, and to the +interposition of God and his saints. An accusation was prepared against +her, and all the solemnities of a public trial were observed. But the +proofs; were so weak and unsatisfactory, and Joan, though oppressed +and treated with the utmost severity, displayed so much acuteness and +presence of mind, that the court, not venturing to proceed to the +last extremity, contented themselves, with sentencing her to perpetual +imprisonment, and to be allowed no other nourishment than bread and +water for life. Before they yielded to this mitigation of punishment, +they caused her to sign with her mark a recantation of her offences. She +acknowledged that the enthusiasm which had guided her was an illusion, +and promised never more to listen to its suggestions.</p> +<p class="pnext">“The hatred of her enemies, however, was not yet appeased. They +determined in some, way to entrap her; They had clothed her in a female +garb; they insidiously laid in her way the habiliments of a man. The +fire, smothered in the bosom of the maid, revived at the sight; she was +alone, she caught up the garments, and; one by one adjusted them to +her person. Spies were set to watch for this even; they burst into her +apartment. What she had done was construed into no less offence than +that of a relapsed heretic. There was no more pardon for such confirmed +delinquency. She was brought out to be burned alive; in the market place +of Rouen, and she died embracing a crucifix, and in her last moments +calling upon the name of Jesus. A few days more than twelve months had +elapsed between the period of her first captivity and her execution.”</p> +<p class="pnext">The preceding history of Joan of Arc, is taken from “Godwin’s Lives +of the Necromancers.” Reader! we see in this tragical account, the +dreadful effects of human credulity. The unfortunate; Maid of Orleans, +who so well deserved a monument for her patriotism, was thus cruelly put +to death. Her hard fate fully shows how superstition fortifies the mind +against compassion and the dictates of common sense. In that the of +religious intolerance, whole nations, had caught this theological +fever. Kings and Parliaments, Judges and Generals, from the highest to +the lowest, were alike the subjects of that awful contagion. Justice +was banished from the earth, and humanity had no existence. From whence +proceeded this state of savage barbarism? The answer is presented to us +in bold relief. It was the effects of human credulity. It was brought +on by believing without examination; and, in the New Testament, faith +is urged as the thing most pleasing to God, and unbelief as the greatest +sin. The existence of the Devil, and his enmity, to God and man, being +supported by the New Testament, to be guilty of forming a contract with +the Prince of Darkness was considered a horrid crime. The origin of +sorcery, (which consisted in holding a communion with beings from +the fabulous world of spirits,) is lost in the night and darkness of +antiquity, but all ancient-nations and people were believers in its +reality.</p> +<p class="pnext">It was of heathen origin, yet the Jews practised it, and individuals +followed it for a livelihood, as, for instance, the witch of Endor. +Christians have also been believers in it in connection with all the +different branches of magic.</p> +<p class="pnext">But that which has established its truth among Christians, is the part +performed by Jesus during his ministry. By his own temptation by the +Devil, the Existence of the Devil is put beyond all doubt And when Jesus +was about to cast out a devil, the devil is reported to have cried out +to the Saviour, “<em class="italics">We know who thou art, and art thou come to torment +us before the tinte?</em>” This mode of expression to Jesus by the Devil +who was about to be cast out, implies that when the Devil was ejected, +he had to return to hell, his native place of torment. It would lead +us to infer that devils were permitted to leave their dread abodes, and +take possession of men or animals, as a cessation of torture; but when +cast out, they had to return home, their vacation being run out Admitting +this to be warranted by the New Testament, we can account for those +devils whose names were “Legion,” petitioning to <em class="italics">be permitted to +enter the herd of swine</em>. So, then, it appears that the devils had other +motives in taking possession of human beings than to rebel against God, +or to torment men. It was a fine holiday to blow off the soot and ashes, +and to get fresh air. At any rate, Jesus, by pretending to cast out +devils, fully admitted their existence. And by the temptation of Christ, +is proved a desire on the part of the Devil to enlist persons into his +service.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-vii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id25">CHAPTER VII.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">T</span><span class="dropspan">HE</span> reader will not fail to notice, that the personage known by the +name of the Devil, Satan, &c., is treated of more fully than any +other recorded in the Old or New Testament. The reason is, because his +influence exceeds that of all the prophets, and even of the Saviour +himself. So destructive has been his supposed reign, throughout the +earth, that hundreds of volumes could be written, and still the half +would remain untold. In the conclusion of this chapter, an account will +be given of witchcraft in Sweden, which far exceeds any thing on record. +The bare recital fills the mind with horror, pity, and indignation.</p> +<p class="pnext">Before giving the dreadful tale, it will not be amiss to indulge in a +few thoughts on the probable origin of the existence of a Being who has +been a terror to all nations, both learned and ignorant. As the writer +is convinced that every thing pertaining to theology is of man’s +creation, it may be useful to express his opinions how it has happened +that all religions have been based on two beings who have ever been +opposed to each other, namely, a God and a Devil. Their opposition to +each other is the ground-work of every system, whether it be of saint or +savage.</p> +<p class="pnext">To attempt to go back to the origin of theology, as to when or where +it first assumed the form of religious worship, is to begin at the +beginning of the human race. Religion may be compared to a chain, the +first link of which is hidden in the darkness of past ages. The curtain +is continually dropping; and the most that we can do is, to peep behind +one of its comers. We find ourselves connected with that link which we +call Christianity. How many preceding links there may have been, we +know not, nor have we any means of knowing. All, therefore, is but +conjecture. But carrying our ideas back to a time we know not when, to +the beginning of that theology, the basis of which is a God and Devil +opposing each other, the following memories are presented:—Before +human beings were acquainted with the laws of nature, the universe must +have presented to them appearances which surprised and alarmed them. +Receiving no ideas but through the medium of the senses, the first idea +which must strike them would be, the great contrast between a mighty +power and their own weakness. They would discover from what they saw +around them, a mighty power which no prudence could guard against, and +which no strength, which they had, could oppose. They would see, that, +if by accident, they fell into water, it would destroy life; if, by any +means, their dwellings took fire, it would consume them; that thunder +was calculated to alarm them, and that death, often followed the storm; +and also, that the slightest accident often caused severe pain, and +sickness followed, without their being acquainted with the original +cause of all these evils. The first men, then, must have been astonished +with the mighty power which every where surrounded them, when compared +with their own weakness. Sometimes tasting the sweets of life, and at +others, its evils, the first gave them pleasing sensations, the last, +pain and distress. Having, then, nothing to guide them in drawing +conclusions but the objects by which they were surrounded, they inferred +that the mighty power which was every moment visible to their senses, +and from which they received every thing that contributed to their +happiness, resided in a being like themselves, but possessing wisdom and +goodness.</p> +<p class="pnext">To these children of nature, who saw “God in the clouds, and heard him +in the wind,” by a simple process of the mind, such conclusions were +very natural. The first theologians, then, who, by way of reasoning, we +place at the fountain head of all religious systems which have come down +to us, were convinced of the existence of a Supreme Power who governed +the destinies of the human race. Power, then, was the first idea which +man had, in the infancy of his rea-son, as to the existence of a God; +and it is all that the great-est and wisest of the human race have ever +discovered of the Being called by that name. And in this view of the +subject, there is no man living who is an Atheist. The power that +presented itself to untaught man, required no laborious investigation +to discover. It struck his senses with as equal a force as it does +the profoundest philosopher. On the contrary, the wisdom and goodness +ascribed to God, resulted from a knowledge of the order and wonderful +adaptation which pervades the universe, the investigation of which has +employed master minds in all subsequent ages.</p> +<p class="pnext">But untutored man must be overwhelmed with thinking of that power to +whose bounds he could set no limits. The wisdom and munificence that run +through all nature, were to him unknown. To those, therefore, from whom +theology took its rise, it was a world of confusion. Ignorant of cause +and effect in the order of nature, and their imaginations being active, +while their reasoning powers were undeveloped, every thing they saw or +felt was to them a mixture of pleasurable or painful sensations. The +pleasure, ease, or comfort which they enjoyed, would be considered as +the gift of a good power which conferred such blessings. On the +other hand, it would appear inconsistent to them to ascribe the evils +attending them to the author of good, they being incapable of judging +that good (pleasure) and evil (pain) could proceed from the same power.</p> +<p class="pnext">In reasoning from what they saw, they concluded that power was connected +with, and resided in, living beings, who had life and motion like +themselves. Hence they inferred, that the power from whom they received +good, existed somewhere to them unknown. Proceeding in the same track in +which they, in imagination, first set out, they conceived this power +to be a Being whose residence was in the starry heavens. Untaught man, +having imagined a Being from whom he received all the good, in following +on in the same course soon came to the certain conclusion that the +God who was the author of all his happiness, must have a location, a +dwelling above, in some of the stars—at any rate, beyond the ken of +mortals. As men’s thinking powers became move expanded, but still +under the influence of imagination, they would conclude that this +Being who dwelt in the skies, would, of course, have his attendants who +fulfilled his orders, and added splendor to his habitation.</p> +<p class="pnext">It appears, that by such a train of thinking, under the influence of the +imagination, that the religious system which has come down to us, and +which, from time to time, has had additions and modifications, namely, +the existence of a God and of a place called Heaven, inhabited by +angels, had its origin. Ignorant of the laws of nature, the power of +imagination has produced, owing to the organization of the human mind, +a world of fiction, consisting of a God, angels, and a habitation in the +skies. By the same process of reasoning, (though feeble,) yet propelled +by an active imagination, which had fixed the habitation of a good Being +in the skies, in a splendid city, with attendants singing his praises, +and eager to execute his orders, untaught man now turned hi# attention +to the author of his misfortunes and misery. Being totally ignorant that +a portion of pain was indispensable to the full enjoyment of happiness +in his precarious life, he could not think that pleasure and pain +proceeded from the same being; which must have induced him to conclude +that an evil and malignant being existed, nearly equal in power to +the one that was good; and to such an one, he ascribed all pain and +misfortune.</p> +<p class="pnext">Here, then, are all the materials for a system of theology which has +been propagated and believed in by every nation under heaven, in which +have been included “saint, savage, and sage.” In all the hundreds of +systems of religious worship, the before-mentioned materials have been +the ground-work, with the exception of the Jewish; for, during their +dispensation, the Devil made no part of it. But when Jesus came to +gather up “<em class="italics">the lost sheep of the house of Israel,</em>” along came Mr. +Devil to oppose him. As the imagination had created a Devil, the Father +of all evil, something was still wanting to complete the whole; and that +was, an abode of darkness and horror. Hell, then, is his dread mansion, +over which he reigns triumphant.</p> +<p class="pnext">It has been reserved for the Christian Religion to depict hell in all +its awful terrors. The New Testament represents hell as a place of +torment by fire never-ending, where the unfortunate occupants are +forever burning, but kept alive, and never consumed. The hell of the +Greeks and other nations is less horrible, being represented as the +abode of darkness, humiliation, and sorrow. But Christianity has a God +in heaven, and a Devil in hell, forever contending with each other, like +gladiators of old for the prize; and that prize is the human race. But +the same New Testament represents that the Devil will have by far the +greatest number of prisoners, so that, in the final winding up of this +holy war, <em class="italics">Old Nick</em> will win the field.</p> +<p class="pnext">The same process of reasoning, which led man, in the infancy of his +reason, to personify the power who presided over the human race, induced +him to infer that his pain and misfortune emanated from a malignant +being, who delighted to do him harm. He then, by the simple process of +his imagination, concluded that there must be two opposing powers which +governed the affairs of mortals. The good, proceeded from a being who +showered down blessings on mortals; and all evil and pain, from a +being who took pleasure in the unhappiness of the human race; and his +residence, to correspond with his evil disposition, was by them fixed +in the gloomy regions of darkness and horror. This, then, Christians, +appears to have been the origin of your God and Heaven; and also your +Devil and Hell. That both heaven and hell are of heathen origin, there +can be no doubt; and it is also equally clear, that the Jews, when they +returned from captivity, brought these doctrines back with them into +Judea. They then made part of the Jewish faith, and Jesus embraced them; +for he pretended to cast out devils, and the Devil enticed him in the +wilderness to rebel against God and enlist into the service of his +Satanic Majesty. And this heaven, which originated in heathenism, Jesus +promised as the reward of his faithful followers; and with this very +hell he threatened the disobedient.</p> +<p class="pnext">What can Christians say (after this) of the divinity or the antiquity of +the New Testament? Its doctrines originated in an age unknown, among a +people more ancient than Moses, or than Adam, who is said to have been +the first man. Yes! ye ministers of grace, your heaven and hell, by the +proclaiming of which you alarm the good man, but make the wicked man +worse, have no more existence in reality than the heaven and hell of +Mahomet. But if there be a heaven, such as you preach up, and the road +to it be as difficult as Jesus declared it to be, many of you will have +to put up at the half-way house; you will never reach the end of your +journey.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following account of witchcraft in Sweden, is extracted from +“Godwin’s Lives of the Necromancers:”—“The story of +witchcraft, as it is reported to have passed in Sweden, in the year +1670, and has many times been reprinted in this country, (England,) is, +on several accounts, one of the most interesting and deplorable that +has ever been recorded. The scene lies in Dalecarlia, a country forever +memorable as having witnessed some of the earliest adventures of +Gustavus Vasa, his deepest humiliation, and the first commencement of +his prosperous fortune. The Dalecarlians are represented to us as the +simplest, the most faithful, and the bravest of the sons of men;—men, +undebauched and unsuspicious, but who devoted themselves in the most +disinterested manner for a cause that appeared to them worthy of +support, the cause of liberty and independence against the cruellest of +tyrants. At least, such they were in 1520, one hundred and fifty years +before the date of the story we are going to recount. The site of these +events was at Mohra and Elfdale, in the province that has just been +mentioned. The Dalecarlians, simple and ignorant, but of exemplary +integrity and honesty, who dwelt amid impracticably mountains and +spacious mines of copper and iron, were distinguished for superstition +among the countries of the north, where all were superstitious. They +were probably subject, at intervals, to the periodical visitation +of alarms of witches, when whole races of men became wild with the +infection, without any one’s being able to account for it.</p> +<p class="pnext">“In the year 1670, and one or two preceding years, there was a great +alarm of witches in the town of Mohra. There were always two or three +witches existing in some of the obscure quarters of this place; but +now they increased in number, and showed their faces with the utmost +audacity. Their mode, on the present occasion, was, to make a journey +through the air to Blockula, an imaginary scene of retirement, which +none but the witches and their dupes had ever seen. Here they met with +feasts and various entertainments, which it seems had particular charms +for the persons who partook of them. The witches used to go into +a field, in the environs of Mohra, and cry aloud to the Devil in a +peculiar sort of recitation, “<em class="italics">Antecessor! come and carry us to +Blockula.</em>” Then appeared a multitude of strange beasts: men, spits, +posts, and goats with spits run through their entrails, and projecting +behind, that all might have room. The witches mounted these beasts of +burden, as vehicles, and were conveyed through the air over high walls +and mountains, and through churches and chimneys, without perceptible +impediment, till they arrived at the place of their destination.</p> +<p class="pnext">“Here the Devil feasted them with various compounds and confections; +and, having feasted to their heart’s content, they danced and then +fought. The Devil made them ride on spits, from which they were thrown; +and the Devil beat them with the spits and laughed at them. He then +caused them to build a house to protect them against the day of +judgment, and presently overturned the walls of the house, and derided +them again. All sorts of obscenities were reported to follow upon these +scenes. The Devil begot on the witches sons and daughters; this new +generation intermarried again, and the issue of this further conjunction +appears to have been toads and serpents. How all this pedigree +proceeded, in the two or three years in which Blockula had never been +heard of, I know not that the witches were ever called on to explain. +But what was most of all to be deplored, the Devil was not content +with seducing the witches to go and celebrate this infernal Sabbath; he +further insisted that they should bring the children of Mohra along with +them.</p> +<p class="pnext">“At first, he was satisfied, if each witch brought one: but now, he +demanded that each witch should bring six or seven for her quota. How +the witches managed with the minds of the children, we are at a loss +to guess. These poor, harmless innocents, steeped to the very lips in +ignorance and superstition, were, by some means, kept in continual alarm +by the wicked, or, to speak more truly, the insane old women, and said +as their prompters said. It does not appear that the children ever left +their beds, at the time they reported they had been to Blockula. Their +parents watched them with fearful anxiety. At a certain time of the +night, the children were seized with a strange shuddering; their limbs +were agitated, and their skins covered with a profuse perspiration. When +they came to themselves, they related that they had been to Blockula, +and the strange things they had seen, similar to what had already been +described by the women. Three hundred children, of various ages, are +said to have been seized with this epidemic.</p> +<p class="pnext">“The whole town of Mohra became subject to the infection, and were +overcome with the deepest affliction. They consulted together, and drew +up a petition to the royal counsel at Stockholm, entreating that they +would discover some remedy, and that the government would interpose its +authority to put an end to a calamity to which otherwise they could find +no limit. The King of Sweden, at that time, was Charles the Eleventh, +father of Charles the Twelfth, and was only fourteen years of age. +His council, in their wisdom, deputed two commissioners to Morah, and +furnished them with powers to examine witnesses, and take whatever +proceedings they might judge necessary to put an end to so unspeakable +a calamity. They entered on the business of their commission, on the +thirteenth of August, the ceremony having been begun with two sermons in +the great church of Mohra, in which we may be sure the damnable sin of +witchcraft was fully dilated on, and concluded with prayers to +Almighty God, that, in his mercy, he would speedily bring to an end the +tremendous misfortune with which, for their sins, he had seen fit +to afflict the poor people of Mohra. The next day they opened their +commission. Seventy witches were brought before them. They were all, +at first, steadfast in their denial, alleging that the charges were +wantonly brought against them, solely from malice and ill-will. But the +judges were earnest in pressing them, till, at length, first one, and +then another, burst into tears, and confessed all. Twenty-three were +prevailed on thus to disburden their consciences; but nearly the whole, +those who owned the justice of their sentence, as well as those who +protested their innocence to the last, were executed. Fifteen children +confessed their guilt, and were also executed. Thirty-six other +children, (who, we may infer, did confess,) between the ages of nine and +sixteen, were condemned to run the gauntlet, and to be whipped on their +hands at the church door every Sunday for a year together. Twenty others +were whipped on their hands for three Sundays.”</p> +<p class="pnext">This is certainly a very deplorable scene; and is made the more so, +by the previous character which history has imposed on us, of the +simplicity, integrity, and generous love of liberty of the Dalecarlians. +For the children and their parents, we can feel nothing but unmingled +pity. The case of the witches is different. That three hundred children +should have been made the victims of this imaginary witchcraft, is +doubtless a grievous calamity. And that a number of women should be +found, so depraved and so barbarous, as by their incessant suggestions +to have practised on the minds of these children, so as to have robbed +them of their sober sense, to have frightened them into fits and +disease, and made them believe the most odious impossibilities, argued a +most degenerate character, and well merited severe reprobation, but +not death. Add to which, many of those women may be believed innocent; +otherwise, a great majority of those who were executed would not have +died protesting their entire freedom from what was imputed to them. +Some of the parents, no doubt from folly and ill-judgment, aided the +alienation of mind in their children, which they afterward so deeply +deplored, and gratified their senseless aversion to the old women, when +they were themselves in many cases more the real authors of the evil +than those who suffered.</p> +<p class="pnext">The honest and serious reader is now recommended to pause, and, for +a moment, reflect on the foregoing recital; for if ten thousand real +devils had been let loose and turned out on the earth in a visible and +bodily form, and had been permitted to do their worst against the human +race, if such a thing had actually taken place, the evils inflicted by +them would have been little compared to what has really taken place by +men’s believing in the existence of an invisible Devil, who never had +a being but in the imagination of mortals. The destructive influence +which has spread over the whole earth has brought to a premature grave +thousands and tens of thousands of harmless beings, who have been +charged with holding converse with this supposed enemy of God and man. +Of all the crimes which have been committed on earth, to sin against +Orthodox faith has been considered the worst; when, in fact, it is no +sin at all. There is nothing immoral in it. To differ from any man, +or from all men, about religion, cannot be a crime. It is the inherent +right of every human being; and to rob him of that right is the worst of +felony. But to punish a man with death in addition, is to unite robbery +and murder. And what makes it worse is, that religious offenders are put +to death without pity or mercy. Few, very few tears of compassion ever +have fallen for them, where Christianity has been the prosecutor.</p> +<p class="pnext">The baneful influence which has spread over the world, by believing +in the existence of the Devil, is shocking to humanity. It has been +computed that as many as one million persons have suffered, in various +ways, since the commencement of the Christian era. Some have been +banished; some have been branded and imprisoned; others put to death, +after having been tortured in the most cruel manner; and thousands have +been out-lawed and driven from their peaceful homes without pity. +All this has taken place because the Scriptures teach and support the +existence of a Devil, the inveterate enemy of God and men. There is no +doctrine more fully carried out in the New Testament than the existence +and hostile activity of the Devil. Jesus, it is said, “<em class="italics">cast them +out.</em>” He also was tempted to rebel against God, and to worship the +Devil. In the Book of Job, the Devil is represented as being permitted +to afflict Job. And Jesus threatens the ungodly with a punishment +in connection with the Devil and his angels. If a devil has no being +whatever, why should Jesus pretend to cast out devils? And if there be, +in truth, such a personage as the Devil, possessing such power, and, +also, forever opposing Almighty power, can it be possible that a God of +goodness would permit him to live and annoy God and men?</p> +<p class="pnext">We see that it is the height of folly to suppose that such a personage +ever did live, or does now; but the belief of it has been one of the +greatest curses which ever befel mankind. Here, then, let us bring up +the idea, and reflect upon it, that all the evil which has taken place, +and all the sufferings endured by the unfortunate beings in the dark +ages, may possibly again occur. The Bible is the same, and mam is the +same. The difference is in the actions of men in different ages. +When reason and the morality of things are man’s guide, then he is +peaceable and humane; but when acting under the imagination, he is +capable of becoming as bad as is the Devil.</p> +<p class="pnext">In concluding this chapter, let us look back to those times of ignorance +and superstition. Let us place ourselves by the misortunate victims who +were put to torture and death for a crime they could not commit. Could +they, in their extreme pain, but have had a hope that a day would arrive +when a band of master spirits would arise on the shores of the Atlantic, +who, by reason and the moral fitness of things, would upset and +prostrate the systems under which they so severely suffered-—could the +poor, suffering victim, with his broken heart and fractured limbs, have +had assurance, when his tortured mind was about to quit its lacerated +boundary, that a time would soon surely come when the truth of the Bible +and the existence of a Devil would cease to be made the instruments of +unspeakable misery and torment, it would have been a cheerful ray of +comfort amid the devouring flame. The time <em class="italics">has</em> at length arrived, and +we ought to improve it. Let us, then, with untiring perseverance and +moral courage, give the death-blow to the Divinity of the Old and New +Testaments, and thereby forever obliterate, not only the incentives to, +but also the remembrance of all religious persecutions.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-viii"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id26">CHAPTER VIII.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">A</span><span class="dropspan">S</span> this work is about to be concluded, it will be of importance to the +reader that a comprehensive view be taken of the mission of Christ to +the Jewish nation. In doing which, an opportunity will be given to such +of my readers as may hitherto have been afraid to doubt the truth of the +Divine authority of the Bible, to see, at one glance, its absurdity.</p> +<p class="pnext">In the four Gospels, which contain the sayings and doings of Jesus +during his ministry among the Jews, and also in the Epistles of the +Apostles, it is uniformly declared and enforced, that the main purpose +of Christ’s (<em class="italics">the anointed of God</em>) coming into the world was, to die. +And this death was required by the Father as an atonement for the sins +of mankind, that whosoever believed in and obeyed him, their pardon +should be sure, not for any thing which they had done as it related to +justice, chastity, or humanity, but for the ransom paid for their sins +by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. An apostle, in speaking on +this subject, says—“<em class="italics">He (Christ) being delivered by the determined +counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have, by wicked hands, crucified +and slain.</em>” This decree, then, was absolute, and every movement then +made by Jesus, and also his preaching and conversation with the Jews, +was so arranged, that die he must, to save a lost and ruined world.</p> +<p class="pnext">This, according to the Scriptures, was the divine arrangement between +the Father and the Son. This doctrine is taught in the New Testament. +And in such a lost condition were the human race, that Jesus <em class="italics">freely +gave himself as a ransom to be completed in due time</em>. If the New +Testament does not teach this, it is not possible to know what it +does teach. To die, then, as a sacrifice for sin, included the sum and +substance of the Gospel, or good news.</p> +<p class="pnext">Having laid down the ground-work of human redemption, we proceed to +carry through the plan said to be the work of mercy and goodness flowing +from the mighty God, the author of all things. In the examination of +such an arrangement, it appears impossible to conclude that the Author +of the Universe can be considered as the God of the Jews and Christians. +The Jews had always been taught to believe that they were God’s +favorite people, and they retain the same faith to the present day. For +ages before the Christian era, they not only expected the coming of the +Messiah, but also, that no nation but their own would be interested in +that glorious event. It never entered their minds that he would come in +any disguise, for many impostors had appeared, who, being discovered, +their Messiahship procured them certain destruction. The Jews, +therefore, inferred, that when the proper time should arrive for the +long-expected and ardently-looked for Messiah to appear among them, +their nation would be raised to more than its former greatness, and +God’s chosen people would be held up to the nations of the earth as +confirming the truth of what their ancient prophets had foretold of +their future prosperity.</p> +<p class="pnext">It could never, therefore, have entered the minds of the Jews, as a +nation, that the Messiah would come in any disguise. And it must have +been far from their thoughts to expect that he, when he should arrive, +would load them with violent abuse, and reproach them as being too low +to be considered as any thing else than a nation of hypocrites. If Jesus +came into this world to die, then every thing which he taught, and also +all the intercourse which he had with his own people, was preparatory +to that event. That the Messiah would come to the Jewish nation to dwell +among them, to be their leader, to exalt them above all other nations, +was what they had been taught to expect. Instead of which, he calls them +“<em class="italics">a generation of vipers!</em>” and pronounces terrible things against +the heads of the nation, commencing his denunciations with “<em class="italics">Woe unto +you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!</em>” Such violence and abuse +surprised them, coming from one who said “<em class="italics">he came to seek and to save +that which was lost.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">Again, Jesus said that “<em class="italics">he came not to call the righteous, but +sinners to repentance.</em>” But Jesus gave them no quarter, but sent them +head and heels to the Devil. The Jewish rulers must have been more than +human to have quietly taken such vulgar abuse. Sometimes, Jesus seemed +to soften down in his conduct, as when he says, “<em class="italics">O Jerusalem! +Jerusalem! how often would I have gathered thy children together, as +a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not.</em>” So +erratic is Jesus depicted, in the account we have transmitted down to +us, that we are at a loss as to forming an opinion concerning his manner +of treating his own people. But as it was “<em class="italics">by the determined counsel +and foreknowledge of God</em>” that he was to be a “<em class="italics">sacrifice for the +sins of mankind,</em>” his mode of addressing the rulers of Israel was +calculated to bring about the “<em class="italics">will of his Father.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">Admitting, for the sake of argument, that Jesus was the true Messiah, +the Jews were in a worse state than if he had not appeared among them. +The statement made by Jesus of the destruction of Jerusalem, and of his +second coming, confounded all their ideas of the Messiah’s kingdom. +In the twenty-third and twenty-fourth chapters of Matthew, after having +pronounced a number of dreadful predictions against them, he winds up +in chapter twenty-third as follows, “<strong class="bold">YE SERPENTS! YE GENERATION +OF VIPERS! HOW CAN YE ESCAPE THE DAMNATION OF HELL?</strong>” In the +twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, Jesus gives a long account of his +second coming. How was it possible for the Jews to understand what +he there describes? Their desire was, to know if he was the Messiah +promised by the prophets; and, if so, what steps he would take for the +exaltation of their nation, so that they might enjoy all they had been +induced to expect when the “<em class="italics">sun of righteousness should arise with +healing in his hands</em>.”</p> +<p class="pnext">For Jesus to tell his disciples and the Jewish nation what would be the +signs of his second coming, before they under-stood what his object was +in coming the first time, must appear very strange. From the particular +account which Jesus gave of his second coming, the Jews must have +understood him to mean, that although he professed to be the true +Messiah, yet his stay was but short with them. As yet, his time for +operation was not come. The discourses of Jesus to his countrymen, were +all calculated to mislead and confound them. In his sermon on the Mount, +he claims an authority of his own superior to the law of Moses. Matthew, +chapter v., verse 33—“<em class="italics">Again, ye have heard that it hath been said +by them of old time, thou shalt not forswear thyself but shall perform +unto the Lord thine oaths. But I say unto you, swear not at all</em>” +Verse 38—“<em class="italics">Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, +and a tooth for a tooth. But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil; +but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheeky turn to him the other +also.</em>” What could the Jewish rulers think of a man, who, without any +ceremony, set up laws in direct opposition to the laws of Moses, when, +at other times, he declared himself a follower of Moses, and that +he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil it? Such inconsistent +teaching as this, will not admit of Infinite Wisdom’s being the +author.</p> +<p class="pnext">In Matthew, chapter xiii., 10, it reads—“<em class="italics">And the disciples came and +said unto him, Why speaketh thou unto them in parables? He answered and +said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries +of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” Verse +13—“Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing, see +not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand.” Verse +14—“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By +hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see +and shall not perceive.” Verse 15—“For this people's heart is waxed +gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have +closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear +with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be +converted and I should heal them</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">Now this mode of treating the Jewish nation is perfectly in character +with the plan, in accordance with which, Jesus came to lay down his +life for sinners; for had he convinced the Jews that he was the expected +restorer of Israel, no Jewish arm would have been raised against him; +nor would it have been possible to have prevailed on the national rulers +to have attempted his life; since although the priests and Pharisees +might, in a moral point of view, have been wicked in the extreme, still +their veneration for, and their earnest expectation of the coming of, +the Messiah, would have prevented any hostile feelings against “<em class="italics">the +anointed of the Lord, the Holy one of Israel.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">But if the preaching of Christ, and his arrangements, were of such a +nature that the Jews supposed the whole to be an imposture, then the +case took a different turn altogether. Instead of the Jews refusing to +receive Jesus as the sent of God, they put him to death from the hatred +which they had towards any one who they supposed had fabricated his +authority and office. If the main object of Christ’s coming to the +Jews was to die for the sins of mankind, both Jew and Gentile, and thus +become a willing sacrifice for sin,—if this was the plan of human +redemption, it then follows that the Jews did that part which, in the +divine arrangement, was allotted for them to do. Then the conduct of +Jesus was consistent in keeping them ignorant, so that their part might +by them be carried out. If he had convinced them, that he was, in truth, +the sent of God, but that they must hang him on a tree, the plan of +human redemption would have failed, for they, immoral as they might be, +never would have put him to death.</p> +<p class="pnext">There could be no other way of bringing about the death of Christ, +but by keeping the Jewish nation ignorant that he was the Messiah. The +course that was pursued by Jesus, would imply that his orders were to so +act among them, that their condemnation would be just for rejecting him; +but on no account to perform miracles sufficient to convince them, for +in that case the Jews would not have condemned and put him to death as +a blasphemer and an impostor. Again, if Jesus came on earth to die, and +without shedding his blood there could be “<em class="italics">no remission of sin</em>” +what mockery for him to exclaim “<em class="italics">O Jerusalem! Jerusalem I how oft +would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her +chickens under her wings, and ye would not</em>!” For if the Jews had +sheltered themselves under the wings of Jesus, how was he to die as a +sacrifice for sin? But he was not put to death, they knowing him to be +the Christ, but on the contrary, they condemned him for pretending to +be the very anointed of the Lord. And although the story was propagated +that Jesus arose, after his descent from the cross, the Jews as a nation +did not give credit to it, nor have they till this day. If, therefore, +“<em class="italics">there is no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved,</em>” +but by believing in Christ and in his dying for the sins of mankind, +then the Jews, ever since the death of Christ, and also the present +race, are lost and forever shut out from that pardon which was procured +by the death of Jesus, which was brought about by the instrumentality of +the Jews by the condemnation of the Messiah.</p> +<p class="pnext">The account of Judas, in what is called betraying his Master, is strange +indeed. In speaking of that circumstance, Jesus says, “<em class="italics">It would have +been better for that man if he had never been born</em>.” Now if Jesus +came to die, Judas, by informing the authorities where he was to be +found, did no more than bring to pass what was before ordained should +take place. Judas, then, was but the instrument to accomplish the plan +of human redemption, by informing the Jewish authorities when and where +they could secure the object which they sought after. The very idea of +betraying Jesus, proves two things:—first, that Jesus was but little +known to the Jews, except from report; and, secondly, that although +he held often said he came to lay down his life for sinful man, yet +he intended to evade death as long as possible. It was owing to this +obscure method of teaching, that his disciples, although always with +him, could not understand fully what his objects were; and though he had +so often told them of “<em class="italics">the kingdom of heaven being at hand,</em>” they +understood him not.</p> +<p class="pnext">To bring the position of the Jews nearer, at the time of Christ’s +appearance in Judea, let us suppose ourselves to have been Jews, then +living, and expecting and desiring his coming. At length, it is said, +“he is arrived.” The first inquiry would very naturally be, is he +the true Messiah, or is he an impostor? If, then, to our inquiries made +to him on that point, we had received in return nothing positive, but +the vilest abuse, and threatenings of damnation in a future world, could +we be expected to view him as the promised deliverer? When the Jews +heard him denouncing them as hypocrites, and, at the same time, assuming +an authority over Moses, and the laws of Jehovah given by Moses, and +calling the Temple (for which they had so high a veneration) a den of +thieves, it must have had a tendency to shut up their minds against his +divine mission. If Jesus wished the Jews to be convinced of his being +the personage whom they had long expected, he should, in the first +place, have attended to their inquiry, “<em class="italics">Art thou he which should +come, or are we to look for another?</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">This question being settled, by indisputable evidence, Jesus would have +had a foundation for correcting what was wrong, and exposing their base +conduct. But he began at the wrong-end, by upbraiding them for their +evil doings before he had ‘convinced them of his being appointed to +abrogate, or, in any way, to alter, the law of Moses. We may then safely +conclude, if Jesus was divinely commissioned to the Jews, that it was +not intended they should believe in him. But who, for a moment, can +think, that, if the Almighty Ruler of the Universe had sent him, his +mission would have been marked with trickery and deception, and have +failed, and the Jews have been left in a state far worse than if he +had never been among them? Can we reasonably conclude, that a Being +of infinite wisdom and goodness would have sent his Son to the Jewish +nation, without giving them any evidence of his being the Messiah, +and then have taken advantage of their unbelief to deal out judgments +against them?</p> +<p class="pnext">If Jesus was sent into the world to die, and by dying, became “<em class="italics">a +sacrifice for the sins of mankind,</em>” then the Jews, by putting him to +death, brought to maturity what God had ordained should come to pass. +In that case, then, it is clear, that Jesus was so to act, that the Jews +must not be convinced that he was the true and real Messiah, for had +they believed in him as the restorer of their race, whom they had long +expected, they would not have slain the “<em class="italics">Lord of life and glory</em>.” +Then, how would he have paid the “<em class="italics">ransom for lost sinners</em>”? But, +on the other hand, if Jesus was sent by God to the Jewish nation, and +gifted to perform signs and miracles to convert them, how did it happen +that they remained in sin and unbelief;—their whole race, the seed +of Abram, remaining in that state until the present time? The Jews have +surely been an unfortunate people. To the Jews, then, 1 must say, “I +know not which demands the most pity—you, or your God; for, after all +the attempts to subject you to his will, you are a race of outcasts, and +have been plundered by all the Christian nations on earth. After all the +pains taken by the Lord of Hosts to convert you, every one has failed; +but the last failure is the most to be deplored. From the time Jehovah +is said to have called Abram, your progenitor, and selected him from the +rest of the human race, and promised him and his seed forever, blessings +from which the rest of the world were excluded, Jehovah and your +generations have ever been on bad terms. You are spoken of in Scripture +as a stiff-necked, rebellious people. On the part of God, he has always +appeared as if he was angry with your conduct. Forty years together, he +says, he has been <em class="italics">grieved with your disobedience</em>. To such a height +has been his displeasure, that thousands and tens of thousands of your +nation have been cut off by the terrible judgments of the Lord. You have +been led into captivity and sold as slaves, time after time, and Jehovah +has even threatened to destroy your whole race.</p> +<p class="pnext">“Jehovah, in his anger, has raised heathen kings against you, and the +slaughter has been dreadful. But when you have turned to the Lord, and +humbled yourselves, he has attended to your cry, and delivered you +out of their hands. Jehovah has, at times, inspired prophets who have +foretold that you should one day have a personage appear among you, +restore you to your former greatness, be to you a God, and you should be +to him a people. This personage is said to have been among you, but <em class="italics">you +knew him not</em>. You, then, from obedience to Jehovah, rejected Jesus as +an impostor, and considered him as arrogating to himself Divine honor, +and finally put him to death. And, for eighteen hundred years, you have +suffered the most cruel treatment from every nation among whom you have +dwelt. You have been the most unfortunate people on earth; but you still +cling to your prophets, and are looking for the coming of the Messiah.</p> +<p class="pnext">“And what appears more unfortunate than all your past evils, is, you +have put to death, through mistake, your last refuge, the true Messiah. +There are, at the present time, upwards of one hundred millions of +Christians who maintain and believe that the same Jesus whom <em class="italics">ye slew +and hanged on a tree, is in truth both Lord and Christ,</em> the same whom +your nation so long and so earnestly looked for. If, then, faith in +that Christ whom you rejected, has opened the kingdom of heaven to the +Christian world, while your whole race is shut ont, the Christians owe +you a debt of everlasting gratitude, for by this sacrifice they are to +enter into the Supper of the Lamb, and your unfortunate race have the +door closed against them. But do not despair, for the Infidels of the +present day are your friends. They will make all right They will, if you +attend to them, convince you that your forefathers were imposed on, when +in a state of ignorance, by some artful impostor, who persuaded them +that the seed of Abram was chosen by God to the exclusion of all other +people and nations.</p> +<p class="pnext">“In the infancy of your nation, Moses, or some other artful leader, +took advantage of your inexperience, and by antedating miracles said to +have been performed in behalf of your ancestors by Jehovah, but which +never were performed, and which at the time was incapable of refutation, +your nation imbibed the reality that the seed of Abram was the <em class="italics">chosen +of the Lord</em>. This conviction for thousands of years has been received, +and has been handed down from father to Son till the present time. +Yes, ye seed of Abram, (by this name I address you,) by considering +yourselves the chosen people of God, this conviction has been your +perpetual curse. Your faith in the ancient accounts of those miracles +and wonders, wrought in your behalf by Moses, has been your fatal +delusion. You consider it not possible for your fore-, fathers to have +been deceived; for, say you, the miracles and wonders were performed +before your whole nation.</p> +<p class="pnext">“In this consists your error. There is no certainty as to who wrote +the history of the wonders, said to have been wrought in your behalf, +nor at what time they were first recorded. But the internal evidence +of the books ascribed to Moses, fully prove him not to have been the +author. The same evidence also proves that the first five books were not +written till after the reign of the first kings of Israel. So that, by +antedating the wonders recorded to have taken place in the infancy of +your nation, and then by a cunning impostor to have been subsequently +presented for the first time to the Jews, giving them an account of +those wonders of old, an ignorant nation would be likely to believe +them; and in that case a whole people would be converted at once, giving +credit to an absurdity producing an influence in the world which has far +exceeded any imposture that ever has been Saddled on the human race. The +dreadful error into which your forefathers fell, and by handing down to +their posterity the foolish story of your being <em class="italics">a chosen people</em>, the +greatest curse which could befal you, you have, without doubt, been the +most unfortunate people on earth; for by considering yourselves <em class="italics">God’s +chosen people</em>, you have despised the rest of the human race, and you +have in return been persecuted and plundered. You have been treated by +all nations as outcasts.</p> +<p class="pnext">“On the ground-work of your having been chosen by the supposed God of +the universe, the world has assumed an appearance very unlike to what +it would have had, if no such imposition had been practised on your +progenitors. Wars innumerable have taken place, and rivers of blood have +flowed through the earth, occasioned by theological strife. Religious +quarrels, ending in the application of the rack and torture, and +persecutions in quick succession, have been the result, and thousand of +horrid cruelties have taken place in every age, all in consequence of +that curse of all curses, the belief that <em class="italics">God has a chosen people</em>. +Although it had doubtless been thought by your nation the highest +possible honor to be chosen by the Lord, this has proved your greatest +misfortune; for from this source, Christianity has been produced. You +may exult in the idea, that you have in your sacred books, the doctrine +of but one God, notwithstanding your religion and its Christian +offspring has been more cruel and intolerant than any on earth. +According to your own books, your nation and the God who chose them, +were forever at war; your people continually rebelling and receiving +chastisement, till, at last, you are to appearance forsaken. But as has +been before mentioned, the Infidels are your friends; for, by means +of free discussion, and the diffusion of useful knowledge, they will +ultimately destroy that intolerant spirit which has been the earth’s +greatest curse, and you will eventually, with the rest of the human +family, open your eyes, and discover the folly and absurdity of +believing in a God “partial, vengeful, and unjust.” And then you +will be no longer <em class="italics">Jews</em>, but will become men.”</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="chapter-ix"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id27">CHAPTER IX.</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">I</span><span class="dropspan">N</span> the preceding chapter we have endeavored to ascertain the object of +Christ’s coming into the world, but without being able to arrive at +any positive conclusion. As it respected the Jews, they did, and they +had a right to expect, that his, coming would be to them a blessing; and +not, by any means, that it would prove disastrous in its consequences. +It is, by Christians, contended that the primary object of the +Messiah’s advent was, to die for sinners; by which death he would make +an atonement for the sins of the world. In this view of the case, (and +the Scriptures seem to bear it out,) the Jews were altogether deceived, +and are therefore objects of pity. The kingdom of heaven being opened +to the world at large, to both Jew and Gentile, the Jews were +unsuspectingly shut out. That Christ did not intend to convince the Jews +that he was the Messiah, seems to be warranted from the manner of his +preaching to them; his violence, and the abusive language he used, being +calculated to prejudice them against him. And again, if Christ was to +become a sacrifice for sin by expiring On the cross, somebody must put +him to death, and the Jews are said to have been his executioners. The +Jews, therefore, did that which the divine mind intended they should +do. But such double-dealing and deception, in order to entrap the Jews, +could never have originated with the Great Eternal, the unchangeable +ruler of all things.</p> +<p class="pnext">In reading the history of Jesus, (written nobody knows by whom, or +whether by his authority or not,) we must judge of him by the account as +it stands. It certainly appears strange that we have no intimation +that Jesus gave any orders to his Apostles to write, or in any way +to transmit to posterity an account of his life or doctrines. And it +appears more singular, when we consider in how particular a manner the +laws of Moses were written, which, without doubt, is what kept the Jews +from being divided into a number of sects. But so neglected were the +sayings and doings of Jesus, that, soon after his death, forty or fifty +Gospels were abroad; an equal number of sects sprang up, and the various +religious dogmas were introduced, which, till the present day, have +divided the Christian world, and, at times, have produced wars, +persecutions, and blood. On so important a subject as the salvation +of the human race, it might reasonably be expected that the founder +of Christianity would have left some documents to guard against so +destructive an evil. This entire neglect, if not positive proof +against the divine mission of Jesus, must create doubts leading to the +conclusion that the Christian religion is deficient as to the evidence +of its divine origin. It appears from the Gospels that Jesus was a moral +reformer; that the priests and rulers were proud, haughty, and of wicked +dispositions; that the founder of the Christian religion exposed their +hypocritical pretensions, and that, by thus exciting their malice, he +fell a victim. This has been the fate of hundreds of moral reformers, in +different ages and nations.</p> +<p class="pnext">Christians, of all sects, could they be brought to reason impartially on +the mission of Jesus, would have their faith shaken, from the following +considerations:—Admitting, as all Christians do, that the Jewish +religion is of divine authority, and had for ages been by the Jews +considered as such, to set that aside and introduce another, required +authority from heaven, but such authority was never given. The bare word +of Jesus, that he was the sum and substance of the law of Moses both +moral and ceremonial, seems to be insufficient. The Jews, however base +or immoral they were, as a nation never showed a want of faithfulness +when their religion was assailed. So that it appears, that to do away +with the form of worship, and introduce a new order of things, required +something more than the obscure sayings of Jesus, who was but little +known at the time of his death. If, by the coming of Christ, a new +dispensation was to supersede the old, then the highest and the most +incontrovertible authority should be produced. But this was not the +case, for Jesus often charged those whom he had cured of some disease, +“to tell no man” how they were made whole: as much as to say, +“Keep secret with respect to the person who restored you to your +former state.” We need not wonder that the Jews rejected Jesus, seeing +that he assumed an authority higher than that of Moses; for, at the +giving of the law on the mountain, it was Jehovah himself who spake to +them. The Jews, then, considered that the same God who gave the law, and +he alone, must change it, or introduce another, and not a person whose +object in coming they could not comprehend, and who taught doctrines, +a very great portion of which, were of a threatening and menacing +character.</p> +<p class="pnext">And, finally, so little did Christ’s disciples understand of his +divine mission, that, when he was betrayed, Peter, the boldest of them +all, became alarmed, and denied any knowledge of him. This was very +strange in Peter, if it was a fact that he heard Moses and Elias, at a +former time, conversing with his Divine Master. But be that as it +may, Jesus is reported to have suffered death on the cross, one of his +disciples informing against him to the rulers, for the paltry sum of +thirty pieces of silver, and another swearing he never knew him. This +has often happened, when a bold reformer has been taken into custody; +his followers would disown and forsake him; but it is not likely that +Peter would thus have acted, had he witnessed the mighty deeds said +to have been done by Jesus. I remember hearing an Unitarian minister +remark, that “If Moses could return from the dead, how he would be +surprised to read what was written of him after his death; and that he +would say that the wonderful things reported of him, he knew nothing +about.” This, no doubt, would be the case with Jesus, as all his +mighty works are recorded <em class="italics">of</em> him, but none were recorded <em class="italics">by</em> him.</p> +<p class="pnext">As his resurrection was the key-stone of the Christian arch, some +observations on that all-important event will be made. Whatever Jesus +communicated to his disciples respecting his rising from the dead, +during his life, is not recorded; but it appears that his death entirely +frustrated their expectations. The resurrection of Jesus presented the +most favorable opportunity to dispel all doubts of the Messiahship of +him whom the Jews had put to death as an impostor. It will be in order, +then, to observe what steps were taken by Jesus, after his resurrection, +to convince the Jews, and the world at large, that his mission was from +heaven. This, of all times, was the fittest to convince the Jews of +their unfortunate mistake. The short account given in the Gospels, does +not afford much light on that subject. But if the Jews, as a nation, had +still retained their unbelief, such incredulity must soon have given way +by his continuing among them.</p> +<p class="pnext">If the Jews, from mistaken convictions, did put Jesus to death, it seems +but just that they should have had a chance to rectify their unfortunate +error. But owing to the short stay of Jesus on earth, after his +resurrection, and he being the most of that time in company with his +disciples, the Jews had not an opportunity of fully investigating the +reality of his death and re-appearance, and his deportment after it was +said he was returned to life. The greatest difficulty experienced +by Christians in defending the divine authority of the New Testament +Dispensation, is, to account for the sudden departure of Jesus, who, +according to the Scripture record, was taken up into heaven in a few +weeks after his resurrection. To an inquiring mind, there are many +objections which deserve notice. The writer does not pretend to say that +the thing is impossible, because to deny the possibility of it would be +to set limits to the power that governs the universe.</p> +<p class="pnext">We will examine the account of Jesus’s leaving this world so soon, +to discover if possible, what end was to be obtained by his sudden +departure from the scene of his suffering and degradation. It seems +reasonable to suppose that it was of the highest importance for Jesus +to stay on earth to establish Christianity on a sure foundation. It +is written that he told his disciples that it was for their good that +things were so arranged that he should leave them, for if he went away, +he would send the comforter to them, who was to be their guide, and to +bring to their remembrance the things he had told them; and also that +the Holy Ghost, the comforter, would, to make up for his absence, lead +them into the way of truth. This is, in substance, what they were to +expect. But unfortunately it did not take place, but the reverse; for, +from the accounts which have come down to us, a great number of sects +sprang up in a few years after Jesus left the world, and numerous +gospels were extant, which, for a number of years were quoted by the +early Fathers of the Church, and were considered authentic; but were +afterwards rejected, and are now bound up together and called “The +Rejected Gospels.”</p> +<p class="pnext">In the beginning of the fourth century, the Christian sects were +not only numerous, but began to assume a spirit of intolerance and +persecution, and when that monster, Constantine, became a convert to +Christianity, religious quarrels were of the most violent character. Not +to dwell on the particulars of these religious differences, we may ask, +what did they quarrel about? The answer is at hand. They quarrelled +about something that Jesus was reported to have said or taught. Their +disputes were not of a moral, but of a theological description. In these +disputed subjects no standard of reference could be set up. Jesus was +at the right hand of his Father, and their differences could not be +settled by him. Quarrel after quarrel followed in quick succession; +the strong persecuted the weak; and the earth was deluged with blood. +Constantine, the Roman Emperor, hoisted the banner of the cross; and +after having murdered nearly the whole of his own family, he sought +consolation from that religion which says, that “the blood of Jesus +cleanses from all sin.”</p> +<p class="pnext">The history of Jesus, including his doctrines, and also what the +apostles taught concerning him, and the belief in his second coming; the +different opinions that have arisen concerning the person of Christ; and +also, the various dogmas collected from the writers of the gospels, +all taken from what is called divine revelation, have never ceased +to generate quarrels among the different churches professing to be +Christian. Ever since the commencement of Christianity, there has been +little else but religious animosity among the different sects—each of +them professing to have the truth, to the exclusion of all the rest; +all of them appealing to the same word of God to support their various +dogmas. We may then ask, has that proclamation ever been fulfilled, that +was made by <em class="italics">multitude of the “heavenly host</em>” namely,—“<em class="italics">Peace +on earth and good-will towards men”?</em> But no doubt its fulfilment is, +in point of truth, equal to its ever having been given; for angels are +airy nothings, and have no existence but in the imagination.</p> +<p class="pnext">From what has been stated, it will be seen that the religious quarrels +which have taken place from the commencement of the Christian era, arose +from the uncertain standard appealed to by the various sects. They all +referred to some particular passage or passages recorded, either by +Christ or his apostles. Every sect had a portion of truth supported +by Scripture authority; and it has at times happened, that whole +congregations, as well as individuals, have changed their opinions +concerning what the Scriptures taught. For instance: a Church, believing +that the Scriptures taught the doctrine of the Trinity, have given up +that doctrine, and embraced Unitarianism. The Scriptures remained the +same; it was their opinions that underwent the change. In fact, every +sect has Scripture for its support; so that it is plain to be seen, that +the New Testament is not, nor ever can be, a true and certain rule to +which a reference can be made, whereby disputes can be ended. The +Old Testament was superior in this respect to the New. And now, after +eighteen hundred years’ fighting; in which time, tens of thousands +have been victims, and the earth has been drenched by human blood, +nothing is certain as to what Christianity really is. Can it then be +possible, that the God of the Universe would have left that religion (to +establish which, his Son expired on the cross,) in such a wretched +state of uncertainty, by calling him so early to his holy habitation? +Impossible.</p> +<p class="pnext">If Christ was taken from this earth, he has now a local habitation, and, +also, he must be actively employed. Can Christians conceive where he +is, and what he is doing? Is it possible he would have remained so long +absent, knowing, as he must, that the cause for which he suffered would +be so wretchedly carried on? The absence of Christ, if not the entire +cause, is one cause of all the religious wars and bloodshed among +nations, and, also, of the hostile feelings of one sect against another. +Had he remained on earth, there would have been but “<em class="italics">one Lord, and +his name one</em>.” If Jesus died for the salvation of the world, common +sense would dictate, that, after his resurrection, he would dwell in +that world for whose salvation he came, and not have been taken into +heaven before his plan of redemption was arranged; so that, instead of +union and harmony prevailing in his absence, by disunion, persecution, +and religious warfare, the different churches exhibited a complete +confusion of tongues.</p> +<p class="pnext">If Jesus had remained on earth, all religious persecution would have +been prevented; for if his laws and regulations had been written, and +to each church a copy had been sent, it would not have been possible for +any difference of opinion to have brought on disorder so as materially +to have disturbed the peace of his church. And if any dispute had taken +place, Jesus, dwelling on any particular spot on earth, his authority +could, in such a case, have been appealed to, and the matter would have +been peaceably settled. But, after his death and resurrection, there was +nothing to which a reference could eb made, but certain Gospels written +by unknown persons.</p> +<p class="pnext">In summing up this matter, the following remarks may safely and truly be +made:—In a short time after Jesus arose from the dead, it was declared +by his apostles, that he had ascended into heaven, and had left orders +for the Gospel, or good news, to be proclaimed throughout the world; and +that after remaining with his disciples a few weeks, when on a journey +with some of them, a cloud intervened, and they lost sight of him. +Before his death, Jesus had told them to watch for his second coming, +for that it would be sudden and unexpected; and he also added, that +there were those standing among them that would live to see it, and that +he should then appear in glory, attended by angels, judge the world, +and reward every man acccording to his deeds. The apostles taught this, +doctrine, and the early Christians looked for that event with eager +expectation. But a long and dreary night of religious intolerance has +nearly passed away, and Jesus has not yet arrived; during which night, +the world has witnessed scenes of horror unknown to the most savage ages +of antiquity.</p> +<p class="pnext">All this confusion and wretchedness must have been known by Jesus, +and also by his Father, at whose right hand it is recorded that he is +sitting. Now can Christians conceive where Christ has been, or what +he has been doing? Strange, indeed, does it apppear, that, during the +disorder and violence in which the Christian Church was involved for +ages, when thousands of honest, pious, and sincere Christians were put +to death, their Redeemer could sit quietly in heaven and not interfere +in their behalf! Perhaps it ought to be more strange, that it was the +will of God that Jesus should ever have left that world which was the +scene of his suffering.</p> +<p class="pnext">Looking at the plan of human redemption, from the time of the birth of +Jesus, and the incomplete finish made of it by his being taken up into +heaven, leaving his followers ignorant of what he meant during his +preaching on earth;—knowing, too, that the various sects have kept +the world in an uproar, destroying each other by thousands, and that +all these evils have taken place in consequence of Jesus being quietly +seated by the right hand of God,—these considerations, and many others +not noticed in this work, convince me, that the mission of Christ was +not of Divine authority.</p> +<p class="pnext">The following remarks will contain, in substance, the strongest +objection against the divinity of Christ’s mission; and are given by +the author as presenting his final conclusions on that subject And here +he would ask—If the God of the Bible is, as Christians believe, the +Author of the universe, what are we to understand by the assertion, +“<em class="italics">That Jesus is seated at his right hand?</em>” God is a spirit +pervading all space, of whom one of the Scripture writers says, “<em class="italics">In +him we live, and move, and have our being.</em>” The same idea was +expressed by the Greeks in reference to their supreme God,—“All +things are full of Jupiter.” How, then, can it be believed that the +unknown power who is the God of all creation has a local dwelling place?</p> +<p class="pnext">Jesus, after his resurrection, declared that he had “<em class="italics">flesh and +bone.</em>” How, then, he can be located with an universal spirit, is +beyond human conception As Jesus is a being possessed of a tangible +form, he must have a place of residence; and it is impossible that +he can dwell with <em class="italics">his God and Father</em> in any other than a local +habitation. The supposition, then, that the Almighty Ruler of all worlds +has a palace on some fixed star, or planet, where Jesus has for eighteen +hundred years resided in company with the Infinite Creator, surrounded +by angels conversing and singing; the Devil, during the same time, +“<em class="italics">going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour</em>” +while Christians were cutting each other’s throats in consequence of +their disputes about the meaning of what Christ said, or the object of +his performances on earth, is very unlikely, to say the least of it.</p> +<p class="pnext">It seems astonishing that men, possessed of the noble faculty of reason, +can believe that Jesus is now alive in some unknown world, and in +company with the Sovereign Ruler of nature. In conclusion, the author of +this work (over whose head seventy-three summers’ suns have passed,) +would say that he does not, <em class="italics">cannot</em> believe that the Jesus of the +Christians has any existence but in the imagination of his followers.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +</div> +<div class="level-2 section" id="remarks-on-the-morality-of-nature"> +<h2 class="level-2 pfirst section-title title"><a class="toc-backref" href="#id28">REMARKS ON THE MORALITY OF NATURE</a></h2> +<p class="pfirst"><span class="dropcap" style="font-size: 3.00em">H</span><span class="dropspan">AVING</span> concluded my remarks on the Old and New Testaments, I have +thought it proper to give a chapter on Morality. I do this to prevent +the reader from concluding that, because I am not a believer in the +Divine authority of the Old and New Testaments, I disregard all moral +obligation, and do not hold myself accountable to God, Nature, or my +fellow beings. Nothing can be further from truth than such a conclusion. +If no such being as God exists, who will judge every man at the final +day of accounts; and if no such judgment will ever take place, admitting +all this, even then should I stand in the same relation to my fellow +beings in a moral point of view.</p> +<p class="pnext">Christian preachers, generally, teach their hearers the entire +worthlessness of good works, without they are connected with faith in +the Gospel. This mode of treating unbelievers has a bad effect on the +minds of church members, who, giving full credit to the pastor of the +flock, are taught to consider that the person, or persons (however just, +humane and virtuous they may be in all their actions,) who do not come +up to the standard of their faith, are wicked, and will, at the day of +judgment, be condemned, and their sentence will be, “<em class="italics">Go, ye cursed, +into everlasting fire.</em>” &c. We need not wonder, therefore, at the +intolerant spirit which is so active among all professing the Christian +name. Notwithstanding the moral precepts taught by Jesus, his followers, +at the present day, pay but little regard to them. To believe in the +Saviour, and consider him as the endorser of their sins, and presenting +their claims at the throne of the Eternal, form an easy way for +expiating a life of wickedness and cant. If we compare the moral +character of professing Christians with the precepts taught by Jesus, we +shall be surprised at the vast discordance between their profession and +their practice. We find that, in practice, Christianity is hostile to +justice and humanity.</p> +<p class="pnext">This is easy to be accounted for. It is because the Scriptures represent +our most virtuous actions as worthless in the sight of God, and without +faith we are told it is impossible to please him; and this is not all: +much depends on what kind of faith it is. The followers of John Calvin +think the faith of the disciples of John Wesley but little better +than the faith of devils, “<em class="italics">who believe and tremble.</em>” It has been +because men have judged by their faith, and not by moral rectitude, that +one Christian sect has persecuted even to death, others who have borne +the Christian name. It was this spirit of intolerance that propelled +John Calvin to cause Servetus to be burnt by a slow fire, not because +he was a wicked man, nor was it for want of faith in the Christian +religion, but because the faith of Servetus did not agree with the +faith of John Calvin. Had moral excellence been the standard of their +friendship, and virtue the bond of their union, Servetus would have died +in peace, and Calvin would not have been handed down to posterity as a +cold-hearted murderer.</p> +<p class="pnext">It is the common practice of Christians, when in conversation with +Infidels, to boast of the purity of Christ’s moral precepts; but in +all their sayings and doings with Infidels, the want of faith is the +unpardonable crime which induces them to fix the badge of infamy on the +head of the unbeliever. No doubt cruel Calvin would very good-naturedly +shake hands with a brother of his own church and creed, and love him for +Christ’s sake; but at the same time torment poor Servetus to death, as +the enemy of God, for God’s sake. Oh! ye persecuting Christians! your +prayers ought ever to be opposed to a day of judgment, and your constant +hope should be, that it will never take place, for “<em class="italics">how can you +escape the damnation of hell?</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">It is the high estimation of faith, enforced by Christ, and also +insisted on (as the sure passport to glory) by his followers, that +compels them to consider virtue as worthless, when it is not in +connection with what is called saving faith, which makes it clear to be +seen that Christianity in its practice is not favorable to morality; for +as the Scriptures truly say that “<em class="italics">no man can serve two masters,</em>” +so faith will be always uppermost, and justice and humanity be placed +in the background. On this principle, hard-hearted Calvin acted towards +Servetus. Christians are commanded to do good for evil. “<em class="italics">If your +enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.</em>” This is pure +morality. Thus we see that morality has no chance of justice when faith +is the prosecutor. The moral precepts of the New Testament have never +been strong enough to neutralize the violent and intolerant spirit +that runs throughout the Scriptures, and which is the very life of +the Christian faith. Had Servetus been a criminal of the worst kind, +condemned to die by the laws of Geneva, Calvin, no doubt, would have +had feelings of pity for him; but his crime came under the dominion of +faith, which will not, which cannot admit of one grain of mercy.</p> +<p class="pnext">On the contrary, Infidel morality has no alloy. It is unadulterated. +Like pure gold, it is current at all times, and in all places. Like the +bright orb of day, it shines by its own native brightness. Its principal +attribute is humanity, which, in its exercise, is not confined to +creeds, or professions; but like the bountiful hand of nature, it +dispenses its blessings even to the unthankful and unworthy. If justice +demands its aid, the balance is held even without regard to color +or clime. I have often been reminded, that if we did not take the +Scriptures for our guide, we should then have no rule to regulate our +actions. This remark would be more conclusive, if Christians generally +acted up to what they profess; but this is not the case; nor will it +ever be, so long as faith is the only sure passport to the Christian +heaven, for it is a fact that many preachers of the Gospel are the +worst characters in society. At the same time that they are preaching up +holiness of life, it is discovered that they for years have been living +in the indulgence of the most filthy of vices; and thus while they +are thundering against the Devil as the enemy of souls, they are only +abusing their betters.</p> +<p class="pnext">This being the truth, it is time that morality should be dissevered from +all religious creeds, and stand on its own intrinsic merits. Religion +has taught man that he is poor and helpless; that he has no power to +act; that he has no desire to perform virtuous actions, and that he +himself and his fellow beings are, by some (to him unaccountable) +destiny, thrown at so vast a distance from his Creator, that he can +approach him only by the means of kneeling and prostration, and that he +is so far indebted to his Maker, who will have full payment to the last +cent. Being ignorant of his real situation in the universe, and also of +the resources of his mind, he overlooks or undervalues the strength he +possesses, and neglects the means which God or nature puts within his +reach to be both virtuous and happy.</p> +<p class="pnext">In this state of mind, he seeks for happiness in a religion the author +of which is depicted as a being like himself. It is, then, the vast +importance which has been attached to faith in the Redeemer, which has +made the path to heaven so smooth, and easy for the Christian traveller, +that moral rectitude has been thought of but little consideration in his +road to glory. Let me, says the Christian, make sure of my interest in +Christ, and my salvation is sure. Hence, we often find, that even Gospel +ministers are men of the basest description; at the same time their +hearers are consoled, with believing that their immoral pastor is sound +in the faith, resting firmly on the “<em class="italics">rock of ages</em>.”</p> +<p class="pnext">The importance of faith is not the abuse of Christianity; it is the +thing itself. Jesus taught it to his disciples, and blames them for +having so little. But when Peter, his trusty servant, in a passion, +cut off a man’s ear, his divine Master only gave him a gentle rebuke, +telling him to be careful how he used the sword, for he might have to go +in mourning for his own ears.</p> +<p class="pnext">The consistent Infidel, who renounces all religious creeds, and who +views the whole human family as beings possessing the same faculties, +subject to the same wants, and liable to the same misfortunes as +himself, can, by the use of his reason, without the aid of revelation, +discover the duties which he owes to himself, and also the true relation +in which he stands to his fellow mortals. He, by what he observes around +him, and by what he feels within himself, can see clearly the correct +line of duty, and can, at any time, draw a just conclusion as to his +moral standing in society. But it is far otherwise with the Christian, +whose whole dependence is on what his Saviour has done for him. He is +alternately disturbed with doubts and fears as to the ground on which +he stands; and being taught, that his best efforts to attain a moral +elevation by a steady course of virtuous actions, is considered by his +Maker worse than nothing, he loses sight of the high responsibility he +stands in, in relation to his fellow man.</p> +<p class="pnext">In proportion, then, as faith is considered superior to moral virtue, +the first is sought after, and highly valued, and the latter is +neglected as of little consideration in securing happiness in this life +or in that which is to come. We need not, therefore, be surprised +that Christians, as a class, fall far below Infidels in point of +moral rectitude. Christianity, at best, is a cold-hearted system; its +followers are generally unsocial. They are taught to “<em class="italics">love not +the world nor the things of the world.</em>” Jesus himself says to his +disciples, “<em class="italics">Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world; +but because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world +hateth you.</em>” Pride and intolerance are leading features in the +conduct of Christians generally. These defects among professors of +religion, arise from the belief that faith in Christ, as their Redeemer, +secures them heaven; and as it respects the duties of life, they hold +them very lightly, regarding them as, matters of little or no weight in +the article of salvation.</p> +<p class="pnext">Professors of the Christian religion, at the same time that they +consider that faith in the divine mission of Jesus secures them an +acceptance with God, and that moral rectitude without faith in the +Redeemer, is worthless in the sight of God, are compelled to admit, +that where good works and virtuous conduct are wanting, the faith of the +individual not being supported by Justice, Humanity, and Chastity, with +all the virtues which adorn human nature, the damnation of such an one +is doubly sure. So that, after all, this thing called faith borrows +all its brightness and real value from moral rectitude. Faith, like a +planet, is in itself a dark body, and has no light but what it receives +from the bright sun of moral excellency.</p> +<p class="pnext">The very nature and spirit of the Christian religion, is intolerant. It +says, “<em class="italics">Whosoever believes, shall be saved; and he that believeth +not, shall be damned.</em>” This is the firm ground on which the Christian +stands, and where he must continue to stand. If he quits this strong +hold, he ceases to be a Christian, and, of necessity, becomes an +Infidel. It follows, then, that believers in the Divine authority of the +Bible must continue to be, what they always have been, intolerant and +persecuting. How differently do those feel who have given up all ideas +of Divine Revelation! They attach no consequence to faith, whatever. +They have no disposition even to blame, much less to injure persons who +believe in the most absurd inconsistencies. They, on the contrary, feel +the most lively interest in their happiness, knowing that no one can +control the honest convictions of the mind.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Infidel, then, has the advantage, in a moral point of view, over the +Christian, for the following reasons:—The Infidel has not to defend +the character nor the actions of any God or Gods, particularly of a God +“partial, vengeful, and unjust.” He imbibes no angry feelings, by +believing in a God of cruelty and carnage. The Infidel has divested +his mind of the nonsense and inconsistency of considering unbelief as +a crime; and, also, of the fallacy that men can credit absurdities on +insufficient evidence. He perceives that every man’s religion is, to +a very large extent, a consequence of the circumstances of his situation +in early life, and the influences which surrounded him at his birth. +The Infidel, therefore, has no inducement whatever to injure those who +differ from him in opinion; for, by detaching all importance from faith, +and referring entirely to good and virtuous actions, he escapes all +those angry theological quarrels in which Christians are more or less +involved. So that the mind of an unbeliever is in a sound and calm +state, not harrowed up by the terrors of an avenging God, and the +thoughts of endless damnation.</p> +<p class="pnext">These evils, and many more, the Infidel is not exposed to; consequently +his mind is at rest; his sense of degradation is not because he is +taught to believe that he is a poor lost sinner; he feels degraded only +in proportion as he neglects the duties which he owes to his fellow men. +The unbeliever, then, being free from the terror of doubting that which +he feels it is impossible for him to credit, commences to walk in the +path of moral rectitude, considering his own nature, and the connection +he occupies in relation to society, composed of beings like himself. He +listens to the voice of reason, and clearly understands that which God +or nature has done for him, and also that which remains for him to +do for himself. Leaving forever all religious dogmas, calculated to +bewilder his mind, his moral path is as clear as light. No longer +standing on the fearful precipice of faith, trembling at every step, or +chain-bound in a state of inaction, the Infidel cheerfully travels on +in the practice of justice and humanity with a calmness of mind to +which the Christian is a stranger. He has no angry God to dread, nor any +tempting Devil, against whom the Christian must forever be on the watch.</p> +<p class="pnext">All human beings on arriving at maturity, find themselves placed by an +unknown power in a world, in which they will have to enjoy pleasure or +happiness, and also to endure pain. This is the destiny of all, without +exception. The same power which propelled us into existence, has made it +a law of our nature to dread or shrink from pain, and also to desire +and love ease and pleasure. And here we can at once discover what God or +nature has done for us, and likewise what is left for us to perform for +ourselves. This, then, is the stock of moral material with which mortals +commence a life of pleasure and pain. The same unknown power has also +given man and woman reason, by the exercise of which they can augment +their pleasure, and reduce their pain. By the use of man’s rational +powers, he can plainly discover his duty towards beings like himself. He +loves happiness, ease, and every thing which makes life worth having; so +also, do his fellow beings. He hates and retreats from positive pain; so +does every being which has life, animals not excepted. What revelation, +then, but this, does man want to teach him that which he owes to +himself, and likewise those things he ought to practise to every being +that has life and feeling?</p> +<p class="pnext">And the voice of God, or nature, calls to every rational being in +language which, but for false religion, all would understand. Mortals! +attend to what is done for your permanent happiness. Ignorance and +neglect are the causes of most of the evils which, torment you. You are +made to love happiness; you are also made to shrink from and hate pain. +Every human being is subject to the same laws; only attend to the moral +this contains. You have no excuse for inflicting pain on any living +creature, because you know that every being possessing life is governed +by the same feelings as yourself. God, or nature, has so arranged things +as to induce mortals to practise virtue, and to be kind to every thing +that possesses life and feeling; because, by acting agreeably to the +laws of your own organization, you become happy in yourself, and have +the additional pleasure of making others happy also. What excuse, then, +can men have for neglecting the duties they owe to every thing that has +life and feeling? Do they need a revelation to inform them that they +ought to be just and humane? Do they require information from heaven +to inform them that cruelty to man or animals is wicked? Let them but +consult their own feelings; full information is at hand calling on them +to practise kindness and compassion.</p> +<p class="pnext">Do men and women need the Bible to learn the duty incumbent on them +toward their offspring? Must we read the pretended word of God in order +to discover that the husband ought to be kind and in every way faithful +to his wife, (making allowance for her weakness, either of body or +mind,) and perform every duty connected with her permanent happiness? +Man requires no Divine aid, beyond the exercise of his reason, to +inform him that, in order to be happy in this life, he must be <em class="italics">just, +peaceable, sober, and temperate in all things; chaste, a lover of truth, +kind, and humane</em> to all beings who possess life. Let every human being, +then, turn to the laws of his own organization, namely, to his love +of happiness, and aversion to pain. These laws will give him unerring +instruction as to the duties which he has to perform, and also as to +what evils he is to avoid.</p> +<p class="pnext">This is indeed a Divine revelation, which will never deceive or lead +astray. Man carries it within himself. It differs from all pretended +Divine revelation. It is suitable at all times, and in all places. +It requires no priest to explain it. It changes not with times and +circumstances. These laws of our nature (the love of happiness and +aversion to pain) are a never-failing revelation, to which we can always +refer with entire confidence, as a true revelation of God or nature. +Away, then, with the childish question, “If you take away the Bible, +what will you give us in its stead”? The short and final answer to +which is, study the laws of your organization, and direct your reason +to their interpretation, and let the priest read his Bible, and exclaim +against unbelief. The reader will now understand the views the Infidels +have of moral rectitude; and if the principles are faithfully carried +out in our journey through life, the end of all will be peace. These +moral principles were enforced (for upwards of eight years) in Tammany +Hall. They are now spreading far and wide, and instead of producing +evil in society, they are calculated to ensure “<em class="italics">peace on earth and +good-will towards men.</em>”</p> +<p class="pnext">It is because the Christian world have been taught to depend on a +Saviour for the pardon of the worst of crimes, believing that the price +was paid by Christ as a ransom from the captivity of the Devil, that it +is destructive of pure morality. The apostles maintained this doctrine; +and from them, till now, the true and Orthodox faith is, that moral +rectitude has nothing to do, abstractly considered, with the salvation +of the soul, but faith in what Christ has done and suffered. This +doctrine is not only unfavorable to virtue, but it places the basest of +mankind in a superior point of view to those whose whole lives have been +distinguished by the practice of correct moral actions. That divines +view and act on the vicarious sacrifice of Christ as being alone +sufficient in the last hour to save sinners, we need but to refer to +the attention paid by them to criminals up to the last moments of their +lives. It is faith in the Redeemer, which gives a passport to glory to a +wretch, who but a few days before had murdered perhaps a good father and +mother. No matter what his crimes, or how large the number, only let him +believe in the Saviour, and, although the guilty criminal is considered +unworthy to live one hour longer on earth, yet according to the Gospel +plan of salvation, he is promised, and induced to believe that he will +in the evening of the same day join in the song of angels and chant the +praises of the Great Eternal.</p> +<p class="pnext">If the doctrine of saving faith be true, the thief or murderer, if the +law lays hold of him, and the fear of the gallows induces him to rely +on Jesus, goes directly to heaven; whereas, if he had been honest and +virtuous, but had not faith in Christ, he might have died in his sins +and gone to hell! Oh! how consistent is Orthodox salvation with justice +and truth! In one case, the Orthodox Christian is in truth consistent. +It is this: that in this life, even in New York, a man will not be +admitted as a church member, however virtuous. He must be a sinner, or +he cannot be admitted. So, also, in heaven, a good man must not enter. +It would be no injustice to say that every religious society should have +it written in large capitals over the door-way of its building—“<em class="italics">No +honest men admitted as members here—sinners are always welcome.</em>” +The same should be posted at the gate of heaven. Although this statement +may to some appear wicked and untrue, it is correct in the Christian +spirit, and also true to the letter. Honest men have no business in +Christian churches, as they will also be rejected in heaven. The worst +of characters make the best Christians, if they can bring one grain of +mustard-seed faith to the altar of Jehovah.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Christian who depends for salvation and acceptance, in a future +life, is never at rest in this. He has no correct standard whereby to +judge whether he has saving faith. His hopes and his fears are regulated +by his feelings, not by his conduct. If, for instance, his animal +spirits are depressed, he desponds, and considers that the Lord has +withdrawn from him the light of his countenance. He trembles, and in +the agony of his mind, cries out, “<em class="italics">I believe, O Lord, help thou mine +unbelief.</em>” Let him become cheerful, and his mind become buoyant, he +then considers himself sure that he has, what is called, an interest in +Christ.</p> +<p class="pnext">Moral rectitude is out of the question. All the moral virtues +combined, and brought into action, are as nothing, in the sight of the +Christian’s God. The sinner’s debt is paid, by the sufferings of +Jesus on the cross. So that, according to the plan of human redemption, +if Jesus had been acquitted on his trial, the whole human race would die +(as the Scripture phrase is) in their sins. It then follows, that, +as man’s acceptance with God, and the salvation of his soul, is in +consequence of the sacrifice made by Christ on the cross, his moral +rectitude is of little consequence. The all-important state of the +believer is, not the soundness of his morals, but the relying by faith +on Jesus for what he has done by his suffering on the “accursed +tree.” This doctrine is the consolation of the murderer at the +gallows; and the same reliance on what Jesus has suffered for the +human race, was what consoled and supported Andrew Jackson in his last +moments, as reported by the newspapers.</p> +<p class="pnext">The Christian religion, by teaching believers to trust in a Saviour for +the pardon of crimes of the worst description, has been an obstacle in +the way of attaining to that moral excellence which is calculated to +dignify human nature.. Faith, the “<em class="italics">pearl of great price,</em>” has, +ever since the introduction of Christian theology, obscured the path +of virtue, and invested its haughty possessor with an intolerant +disposition, accountable only to the tribunal of faith; and, having +broken loose from the restraints of moral obligation, has, as it were, +laughed to scorn the principles of justice, of chastity and humanity. +And yet, one and all, who profess Christianity, charge those who +consider moral worth superior to faith, with demoralizing youth, and +corrupting the manners of the age in which they live.</p> +<p class="pnext">Before concluding this chapter, it will be useful to inquire, in +what way the world has been benefitted by propagating the heaven-born +doctrine of faith in the Redeemer’s kingdom? The page of history bears +witness, that, for eighteen hundred years, with but short intervals of +rest, a large portion of the earth has been the theatre of <em class="italics">crime and +war, cruelty and murder</em>; and this state of things has been brought +about by the uncertainty of what Christianity is. When the reputed +Founder of the Christian faith was about to leave this world, to sit at +the right hand of his Father, he told them that his absence would be to +his followers a real blessing; for it is recorded, that he said to them +that “<em class="italics">the Comforter</em>” would abundantly supply his place—that is, +or was to be, the Holy Ghost, who would “<em class="italics">lead them into alt truth, +and bring to their remembrance all things which he had told them.</em>” +But this promise, if ever made, proved a total failure; for soon after +Christ, their Divine Master, left this earth, upwards of forty different +sects arose, and began to dispute and quarrel about what Jesus, while +on earth, taught, concerning the kingdom of heaven. Sect opposed sect, +party opposed party, and Christianity became involved in mystery. +Conventions were formed, and the worst passions soon gave proof that +the multitude of angels, who, at the birth of Christ proclaimed, that +“<em class="italics">peace on earth, and good-will towards men</em>” would be realized, +were sadly mistaken. Nothing but one continual scene of war, +destruction, and slaughter, between Christian nations, and in society, +and and even in families, ensued; peace and harmony were unknown. The +Holy Ghost, that was to be the comforter, soon made them any thing but +comfortable!</p> +<p class="pnext">This good news, or Gospel, proved to be most unfortunate news to the +inhabitants of this world. Thousands and tens of thousands of human +beings came to a premature or violent death by rack and torture; the +fires of martyrdom were lighted up, and millions of madmen gave glory to +God. This is but a mere outline of the horrors arising from faith in +the glorious plan of human redemption; and thus mortals when they became +believers in the Redeemer’s kingdom, ceased to act as men, and became +downright devils. If, instead of teaching him the doctrines of the +Christian religion, the laws which God or nature had stamped on every +human being (which are always present, and which, at every moment of +his existence, call on him to attend to the lessons which they teach) +had been pointed out to him, man would have learned how to live in +peace and happiness, in a society of beings organized like himself, and +governed by the same laws, always loving happiness and dreading pain.</p> +<p class="pnext">To the reader, then, I recommend attention to the hints here given; and +in order to form a correct judgment how he should perform the duties +which he owes to himself, and also to his fellow mortals, to study +and always appeal to the laws of his organization. Let him bring every +action to that never-failing index of his nature, the love of happiness +and the aversion to pain. Let him sum up every day his moral accounts by +this unerring rule, and this mode will never fail to make his moral path +as clear as light; for as he knows that, according to the laws of his +nature, he is compelled to love happiness, and to shrink from pain, so +also, is every one that has life, governed by the laws of pleasure and +pain. The laws of our organization, and the voice of reason united, +proclaim to every human being, that the whole of man’s duty towards +his fellow man consists at all times, and in all places, in increasing +his happiness, and reducing his pain.</p> +<p class="pnext">To know this, so easy to be known, and strictly to practise it, is all +the revelation which man requires. But pretended revelation has either +obscured moral light, or held out lights that are false and delusive. +The false light presented to man, called revealed religion, instead +of conducting him safely into the haven of happiness, has continually +tossed him, without rudder or compass, on the roaring billows of +theology, on which troubled ocean he has met with little else than +robbers and pirates.</p> +<p class="pnext">Never, then, let us forget, that the best men or women are they, whose +whole lives are directed to the promotion of the permanent happiness +of every thing having life and feeling, and to the reduction of misery +wherever it may be found; and that whoever shall thus act, will be not +only the best, but also the happiest, of the human race.</p> +<p class="pnext">THE END.</p> +<div class="clearpage"> +</div> +<hr class="docutils" /> +<!-- -*- encoding: utf-8 -*- --> +<div class="backmatter"> +</div> +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 39371 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |