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Title: The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 7 (of 12)
Dresden Edition--Discussions
Author: Robert G. Ingersoll
Release Date: February 9, 2012 [EBook #38807]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WORKS OF INGERSOLL ***
Produced by David Widger
THE WORKS OF ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
By Robert G. Ingersoll
"EVERY BRAIN IS A FIELD WHERE NATURE SOWS THE SEEDS OF THOUGHT, AND THE
CROP DEPENDS UPON THE SOIL."
In Twelve Volumes, Volume VII.
DISCUSSIONS
Dresden Edition
1900
CONTENTS OF VOLUME VII.
MY REVIEWERS REVIEWED.
(1877.)
Answer to San Francisco Clergymen--Definition of Liberty, Physical
and Mental--The Right to Compel Belief--Woman the Equal of Man--The
Ghosts--Immortality--Slavery--Witchcraft--Aristocracy of the
Air--Unfairness of Clerical Critics--Force and Matter--Doctrine of
Negation--Confident Deaths of Murderers--Childhood Scenes returned to
by the Dying--Death-bed of Voltaire--Thomas Paine--The First
Sectarians Were Heretics--Reply to Rev. Mr. Guard--Slaughter of
the Canaanites--Reply to Rev. Samuel Robinson--Protestant
Persecutions--Toleration--Infidelity and Progress--The
Occident--Calvinism--Religious Editors--Reply to the Rev. Mr.
Ijams--Does the Bible teach Man to Enslave his Brothers?--Reply to
California _Christian Advocate_--Self-Government of French People at
and Since the Revolution--On the Site of the Bastile--French
Peasant's Cheers for Jesus Christ--Was the World created in Six
Days--Geology--What is the Astronomy of the Bible?--The Earth the Centre
of the Universe--Joshua's Miracle--Change of Motion into Heat--Geography
and Astronomy of Cosmas--Does the Bible teach the Existence of
that Impossible Crime called Witchcraft?--Saul and the Woman of
Endor--Familiar Spirits--Demonology of the New Testament--Temptation of
Jesus--Possession by Devils--Gadarene Swine Story--Test of Belief--Bible
Idea of the Rights of Children--Punishment of the Rebellious
Son--Jephthah's Vow and Sacrifice--Persecution of Job--The Gallantry
of God--Bible Idea of the Rights of Women--Paul's Instructions to
Wives--Permission given to Steal Wives--Does the Bible Sanction
Polygamy and Concubinage?--Does the Bible Uphold and Justify Political
Tyranny?--Powers that be Ordained of God--Religious Liberty of
God--Sun-Worship punishable with Death--Unbelievers to be damned--Does
the Bible describe a God of Mercy?--Massacre Commanded--Eternal
Punishment Taught in the New Testament--The Plan of Salvation--Fall
and Atonement Moral Bankruptcy--Other Religions--Parsee
Sect--Brahmins--Confucians--Heretics and Orthodox.
MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
(1879.)
Rev. Robert Collyer--Inspiration of the Scriptures--Rev. Dr.
Thomas--Formation of the Old Testament--Rev. Dr. Kohler--Rev. Mr.
Herford--Prof. Swing--Rev. Dr. Ryder.
TO THE INDIANAPOLIS CLERGY.
(1882.)
Rev. David Walk--Character of Jesus--Two or Three Christs Described
in the Gospels--Christ's Change of Opinions--Gospels Later than the
Epistles--Divine Parentage of Christ a Late Belief--The Man Christ
probably a Historical Character--Jesus Belittled by his Worshipers--He
never Claimed to be Divine--Christ's Omissions--Difference between
Christian and other Modern Civilizations--Civilization not Promoted
by Religion--Inventors--French and American Civilization: How
Produced--Intemperance and Slavery in Christian Nations--Advance due to
Inventions and Discoveries--Missionaries--Christian Nations Preserved by
Bayonet and Ball--Dr. T. B. Taylor--Origin of Life on this Planet--Sir
William Thomson--Origin of Things Undiscoverable--Existence after
Death--Spiritualists--If the Dead Return--Our Calendar--Christ and
Christmas-The Existence of Pain--Plato's Theory of Evil--Will God do
Better in Another World than he does in this?--Consolation--Life Not a
Probationary Stage--Rev. D.O'Donaghue--The Case of Archibald Armstrong
and Jonathan Newgate--Inequalities of Life--Can Criminals live a
Contented Life?--Justice of the Orthodox God Illustrated.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES.
(1883.)
Are the Books of Atheistic or Infidel Writers Extensively
Read?--Increase in the Number of Infidels--Spread of Scientific
Literature--Rev. Dr. Eddy--Rev. Dr. Hawkins--Rev. Dr. Haynes--Rev.
Mr. Pullman--Rev. Mr. Foote--Rev. Mr. Wells--Rev. Dr. Van Dyke--Rev.
Carpenter--Rev. Mr. Reed--Rev. Dr. McClelland--Ministers Opposed to
Discussion--Whipping Children--Worldliness as a Foe of the Church--The
Drama--Human Love--Fires, Cyclones, and Other Afflictions as Promoters
of Spirituality--Class Distinctions--Rich and Poor--Aristocracies--The
Right to Choose One's Associates--Churches Social Affairs--Progress
of the Roman Catholic Church--Substitutes for the Churches--Henry
Ward Beecher--How far Education is Favored by the Sects--Rivals of the
Pulpit--Christianity Now and One Hundred Years Ago--French Revolution
produced by the Priests--Why the Revolution was a Failure--Infidelity
of One Hundred Years Ago--Ministers not more Intellectual than a Century
Ago--Great Preachers of the Past--New Readings of Old Texts--Clerical
Answerers of Infidelity--Rev. Dr. Baker--Father Fransiola--Faith and
Reason--Democracy of Kindness--Moral Instruction--Morality Born of Human
Needs--The Conditions of Happiness--The Chief End of Man.
THE LIMITATIONS OF TOLERATION.
(1888.)
Discussion between Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Hon. Frederic R. Coudert,
and ex-Gov. Stewart L. Woodford before the Nineteenth Century Club of
New York--Propositions--Toleration not a Disclaimer but a Waiver of the
Right to Persecute--Remarks of Courtlandt Palmer--No Responsibility for
Thought--Intellectual Hospitality--Right of Free Speech--Origin of the
term "Toleration"--Slander and False Witness--Nobody can Control his own
Mind: Anecdote--Remarks of Mr. Coudert--Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, and
Ingersoll--General Woodford's Speech--Reply by Colonel Ingersoll--A
Catholic Compelled to Pay a Compliment to Voltaire--Responsibility for
Thoughts--The Mexican Unbeliever and his Reception in the Other Country.
A CHRISTMAS SERMON.
(1891.)
Christianity's Message of Grief--Christmas a Pagan Festival--Reply
to Dr. Buckley--Charges by the Editor of the Christian Advocate--The
Tidings of Christianity--In what the Message of Grief Consists--Fear
and Flame--An Everlasting Siberia--Dr. Buckley's Proposal to Boycott the
Telegram--Reply to Rev. J. M. King and Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr. Cana Day
be Blasphemed?--Hurting Christian feelings--For Revenue only What is
Blasphemy?--Balaam's Ass wiser than the Prophet--The Universalists--Can
God do Nothing for this World?--The Universe a Blunder if Christianity
is true--The Duty of a Newspaper--Facts Not Sectarian--The Rev.
Mr. Peters--What Infidelity Has Done--Public School System not
Christian--Orthodox Universities--Bruno on Oxford--As to Public
Morals--No Rewards or Punishments in the Universe--The Atonement
Immoral--As to Sciences and Art--Bruno, Humboldt, Darwin--Scientific
Writers Opposed by the Church--As to the Liberation of Slaves--As to
the Reclamation of Inebriates--Rum and Religion--The Humanity
of Infidelity--What Infidelity says to the Dying--The Battle
Continued--Morality not Assailed by an Attack on Christianity--The
Inquisition and Religious Persecution--Human Nature Derided by
Christianity--Dr. DaCosta--"Human Brotherhood" as exemplified by
the History of the Church--The Church and Science, Art and
Learning----Astronomy's Revenge--Galileo and Kepler--Mrs. Browning:
Science Thrust into the Brain of Europe--Our Numerals--Christianity and
Literature--Institution's of Learning--Stephen Girard--James Lick--Our
Chronology--Historians--Natural Philosophy--Philology--Metaphysical
Research--Intelligence, Hindoo, Egyptian--Inventions--John
Ericsson--Emancipators--Rev. Mr. Ballou--The Right of Goa to
Punish--Rev. Dr. Hillier--Rev. Mr. Haldeman--George A. Locey--The "Great
Physician"--Rev. Mr. Talmage--Rev. J. Benson Hamilton--How Voltaire
Died--The Death-bed of Thomas Paine--Rev. Mr. Holloway--Original
Sin--Rev. Dr. Tyler--The Good Samaritan a Heathen--Hospitals and
Asylums--Christian Treatment of the Insane--Rev. Dr. Buckley--The
North American Review Discussion--Judge Black, Dr. Field,
Mr. Gladstone--Circulation of Obscene Literature--Eulogy of
Whiskey--Eulogy of Tobacco--Human Stupidity that Defies the Gods--Rev.
Charles Deems--Jesus a Believer in a Personal Devil--The Man Christ.
SUICIDE OF JUDGE NORMILE.
(1892.)
Reply to the _Western Watchman_--Henry D'Arcy--Peter's
Prevarication-Some Excellent Pagans-Heartlessness of a
Catholic--Wishes do not Affect the Judgment--Devout Robbers--Penitent
Murderers--Reverential Drunkards--Luther's Distich--Judge
Normile--Self-destruction.
IS SUICIDE A SIN?
(1894.)
Col. Ingersoll's First Letter in _The New York World_--Under what
Circumstances a Man has the Right to take his Own Life--Medicine and the
Decrees of God--Case of the Betrayed Girl--Suicides not Cowards--Suicide
under Roman Law--Many Suicides Insane--Insanity Caused by Religion--The
Law against Suicide Cruel and Idiotic--Natural and Sufficient Cause for
Self-destruction--Christ's Death a Suicide--Col. Ingersoll's Reply to his
Critics--Is Suffering the Work of God?--It is not Man's Duty to
Endure Hopeless Suffering--When Suicide is Justifiable--The
Inquisition--Alleged Cowardice of Suicides--Propositions
Demonstrated--Suicide the Foundation of the Christian
Religion--Redemption and Atonement--The Clergy on Infidelity
and Suicide--Morality and Unbelief--Better injure yourself than
Another--Misquotation by Opponents--Cheerful View the Best--The
Wonder is that Men endure--Suicide a Sin (Interview in The New
York Journal)--Causes of Suicide--Col. Ingersoll Does Not Advise
Suicide--Suicides with Tracts or Bibles in their Pockets--Suicide a Sin
(Interview in The New York Herald)--Comments on Rev. Alerle St. Croix
Wright's Sermon--Suicide and Sanity (Interview in The York World)--As to
the Cowardice of Suicide--Germany and the Prevalence of Suicide--Killing
of Idiots and Defective Infants--Virtue, Morality, and Religion.
IS AVARICE TRIUMPHANT?
(1891.)
Reply to General Rush Hawkins' Article, "Brutality and Avarice
Triumphant"--Croakers and Prophets of Evil--Medical Treatment
for Believers in Universal Evil--Alleged Fraud in Army
Contracts--Congressional Extravagance--Railroad "Wreckers"--How
Stockholders in Some Roads Lost Their Money--The Star-Route
Trials--Timber and Public Lands--Watering Stock--The Formation
of Trusts--Unsafe Hotels: European Game and Singing Birds--Seal
Fisheries--Cruelty to Animals--Our Indians--Sensible and Manly
Patriotism--Days of Brutality--Defence of Slavery by the Websters,
Bentons, and Clays--Thirty Years' Accomplishment--Ennobling Influence of
War for the Right--The Lady ana the Brakeman--American Esteem of Honesty
in Business--Republics do not Tend to Official Corruption--This the Best
Country in the World.
A REPLY TO THE CINCINNATI GAZETTE AND CATHOLIC TELEGRAPH.
(1878.)
Defence of the Lecture on Moses--How Biblical Miracles are sought to
be Proved--Some _Non Sequiturs_--A Grammatical Criticism--Christianity
Destructive of Manners--Cuvier and Agassiz on Mosaic Cosmogony--Clerical
Advance agents--Christian Threats and Warnings--Catholicism the Upas
Tree--Hebrew Scholarship as a Qualification for Deciding Probababilities
--Contradictions and Mistranslations of the Bible--Number of Errors in
the Scriptures--The Sunday Question.
AN INTERVIEW ON CHIEF JUSTICE COMEGYS.
(1881.)
Charged with Blasphemy in the State of Delaware--Can a Conditionless
Deity be Injured?--Injustice the only Blasphemy--The Lecture
in Delaware--Laws of that State--All Sects in turn Charged with
Blasphemy--Heresy Consists in making God Better than he is Thought
to Be--A Fatal Biblical Passage--Judge Comegys--Wilmington
Preachers--States with Laws against Blasphemy--No Danger of Infidel
Mobs--No Attack on the State of Delaware Contemplated--Comegys a
Resurrection--Grand Jury's Refusal to Indict--Advice about the Cutting
out of Heretics' Tongues--Objections to the Whipping-post--Mr. Bergh's
Bill--One Remedy for Wife-beating.
A REPLY TO REV. DRS. THOMAS AND LORIMER.
(8882.)
Solemnity--Charged with Being Insincere--Irreverence--Old Testament
Better than the New--"Why Hurt our Feelings?"--Involuntary Action of
the Brain--Source of our Conceptions of Space--Good and Bad--Right and
Wrong--The Minister, the Horse and the Lord's Prayer--Men Responsible
for their Actions--The "Gradual" Theory Not Applicable to
the Omniscient--Prayer Powerless to Alter Results--Religious
Persecution--Orthodox Ministers Made Ashamed of their
Creed--Purgatory--Infidelity and Baptism Contrasted--Modern Conception
of the Universe--The Golden Bridge of Life--"The Only Salutation"--The
Test for Admission to Heaven--"Scurrility."
A REPLY TO REV. JOHN HALL AND WARNER VAN NORDEN.
(1892.)
Dr. Hall has no Time to Discuss the subject of Starving
Workers--Cloakmakers' Strike--Warner Van Norden of the Church Extension
Society--The Uncharitableness of Organized Charity--Defence of the
Cloakmakers--Life of the Underpaid--On the Assertion that Assistance
encourages Idleness and Crime--The Man without Pity an Intellectual
Beast--Tendency of Prosperity to Breed Selfishness--Thousands Idle
without Fault--Egotism of Riches--Van Norden's Idea of Happiness--The
Worthy Poor.
A REPLY TO THE REV. DR. PLUMB.
(1898.)
Interview in a Boston Paper--Why should a Minister call this a "Poor"
World?--Would an Infinite God make People who Need a Redeemer?--Gospel
Gossip--Christ's Sayings Repetitions--The Philosophy of Confucius--Rev.
Mr. Mills--The Charge of "Robbery"--The Divine Plan.
A REPLY TO THE NEW YORK CLERGY ON SUPERSTITION.
(1898.)
Interview in the New York Journal--Rev. Roberts. MacArthur--A
Personal Devil--Devils who held Conversations with Christ not simply
personifications of Evil--The Temptation--The "Man of Straw"--Christ's
Mission authenticated by the Casting Out of Devils--Spain--God
Responsible for the Actions of Man--Rev. Dr. J. Lewis Parks--Rev. Dr. E.
F. Moldehnke--Patience amidst the Misfortunes of Others--Yellow Fever
as a Divine Agent--The Doctrine that All is for the Best--Rev. Mr.
Hamlin--Why Did God Create a Successful Rival?--A Compliment by the
Rev. Mr. Belcher--Rev. W. C. Buchanan--No Argument Old until it is
Answered--Why should God Create sentient Beings to be Damned?--Rev. J.
W. Campbell--Rev. Henry Frank--Rev. E. C.J. Kraeling on Christ and the
Devil--Would he make a World like This?
MY REVIEWERS REVIEWED.
* This lecture was delivered by Col. Ingersoll in San
Francisco Cal., June 27, 1877. It was a reply to various
clergymen of that city, who had made violent attacks upon
him after the delivery of his lectures, "The Liberty of Man,
Woman and Child," and "The Ghosts."
I.
AGAINST the aspersions of the pulpit and the religious press, I offer
in evidence this magnificent audience. Although I represent but a small
part of the holy cause of intellectual liberty, even that part shall not
be defiled or smirched by a single personality. Whatever I say, I shall
say because I believe it will tend to make this world grander, man
nearer just, the father kinder, the mother more loving, the children
more affectionate, and because I believe it will make an additional
flower bloom in the pathway of every one who hears me.
In the first place, what have I said? What has been my offence? What
have I done? I am spoken of by the clergy as though I were a wolf that
in the absence of the good shepherd had fattened upon his innocent
flock. What have I said?
I delivered a lecture entitled, "The Liberty of Man, Woman and
Child." In that lecture I said that man was entitled to physical and
intellectual liberty. I defined physical liberty to be the right to do
right; the right to do anything that did not interfere with the real
happiness of others. I defined intellectual liberty to be the right to
think right, and the right to think wrong--provided you did your best to
think right.
This must be so, because thought is only an instrumentality by which we
seek to ascertain the truth. Every man has the right to think, whether
his thought is in reality right or wrong; and he cannot be accountable
to any being for thinking wrong. There is upon man, so far as thought
is concerned, the obligation to think the best he can, and to honestly
express his best thought. Whenever he finds what is right, or what he
honestly believes to be the right, he is less than a man if he fears to
express his conviction before an assembled world.
The right to do right is my definition of physical liberty. "The right
of one human being ceases where the right of another commences." My
definition of intellectual liberty is, the right to think, whether you
think right or wrong, provided you do your best to think right.
I believe in Liberty, Fraternity and Equality--the Blessed Trinity of
Humanity.
I believe in Observation, Reason and Experience--the Blessed Trinity of
Science.
I believe in Man, Woman and Child--the Blessed Trinity of Life and Joy.
I have said, and still say, that you have no right to endeavor by force
to compel another to think your way--that man has no right to compel his
fellow-man to adopt his creed, by torture or social ostracism. I have
said, and still say, that even an infinite God has and can have no right
to compel by force or threats even the meanest of mankind to accept
a dogma abhorrent to his mind. As a matter of fact such a power is
incapable of being exercised. You may compel a man to say that he has
changed his mind. You may force him to say that he agrees with you. In
this way, however, you make hypocrites, not converts. Is it possible
that a god wishes the worship of a slave? Does a god desire the homage
of a coward? Does he really long for the adoration of a hypocrite? Is
it possible that he requires the worship of one who dare not think? If I
were a god it seems to me that I had rather have the esteem and love of
one grand, brave man, with plenty of heart and plenty of brain, than
the blind worship, the ignorant adoration, the trembling homage of a
universe of men afraid to reason. And yet I am warned by the orthodox
guardians of this great city not to think. I am told that I am in danger
of hell; that for me to express my honest convictions is to excite the
wrath of God. They inform me that unless I believe in a certain way,
meaning their way, I am in danger of everlasting fire.
There was a time when these threats whitened the faces of men with fear.
That time has substantially passed away. For a hundred years hell has
been gradually growing cool, the flames have been slowly dying out, the
brimstone is nearly exhausted, the fires have been burning lower and
lower, and the climate gradually changing. To such an extent has the
change already been effected that if I were going there to-night I would
take an overcoat and a box of matches.
They say that the eternal future of man depends upon his belief. I deny
it. A conclusion honestly arrived at by the brain cannot possibly be
a crime; and the man who says it is, does not think so. The god who
punishes it as a crime is simply an infamous tyrant. As for me, I would
a thousand times rather go to perdition and suffer its torments with
the brave, grand thinkers of the world, than go to heaven and keep the
company of a god who would damn his children for an honest belief.
The next thing I have said is, that woman is the equal of man; that she
has every right that man has, and one more--the right to be protected,
because she is the weaker. I have said that marriage should be an
absolutely perfect partnership of body and soul; that a man should treat
his wife like a splendid flower, and that she should fill his life with
perfume and with joy. I have said that a husband had no right to be
morose; that he had no right to assassinate the sunshine and murder the
joy of life.
I have said that when he went home he should go like a ray of light, and
fill his house so full of joy that it would burst out of the doors and
windows and illumine even the darkness of night. I said that marriage
was the holiest, highest, the most sacred institution among men; that
it took millions of years for woman to advance from the condition of
absolute servitude, from the absolute slavery where the Bible found her
and left her, up to the position she occupies at present. I have pleaded
for the rights of woman, for the rights of wives, and what is more, for
the rights of little children. I have said that they could be governed
by affection, by love, and that my heart went out to all the children
of poverty and of crime; to the children that live in the narrow streets
and in the sub-cellars; to the children that run and hide when they hear
the footsteps of a brutal father, the children that grow pale when
they hear their names pronounced even by a mother; to all the little
children, the flotsam and jetsam upon the wide, rude sea of life. I have
said that my heart goes out to them one and all; I have asked fathers
and mothers to cease beating their own flesh and blood. I have said to
them, When your child does wrong, put your arms around him; let him feel
your heart beat against his. It is easier to control your child with a
kiss than with a club.
For expressing these sentiments, I have been denounced by the religious
press and by ministers in their pulpits as a demon, as an enemy of
order, as a fiend, as an infamous man. Of this, however, I make no
complaint. A few years ago they would have burned me at the stake and I
should have been compelled to look upon their hypocritical faces through
flame and smoke. They cannot do it now or they would. One hundred years
ago I would have been burned, simply for pleading for the rights of men.
Fifty years ago I would have been imprisoned. Fifty years ago my wife
and my children would have been torn from my arms in the name of the
most merciful God. Twenty-five years ago I could not have made a living
in the United States at the practice of law; but I can now. I would not
then have been allowed to express my thought; but I can now, and I will.
And when I think about the liberty I now enjoy, the whole horizon is
illuminated with glory and the air is filled with wings.
I then delivered another lecture entitled "Ghosts," in which I sought to
show that man had been controlled by phantoms of his own imagination;
in which I sought to show these imps of darkness, these devils, had all
been produced by superstition; in which I endeavored to prove that man
had groveled in the dust before monsters of his own creation; in which I
endeavored to demonstrate that the many had delved in the soil that the
few might live in idleness, that the many had lived in caves and dens
that the few might dwell in palaces of gold; in which I endeavored to
show that man had received nothing from these ghosts except hatred,
except ignorance, except unhappiness, and that in the name of phantoms
man had covered the face of the world with tears. And for this, I have
been assailed, in the name, I presume, of universal forgiveness. So far
as any argument I have produced is concerned, it cannot in any way make
the slightest difference whether I am a good or a bad man. It cannot in
any way make the slightest difference whether my personal character is
good or bad. That is not the question, though, so far as I am concerned,
I am willing to stake the whole question upon that issue. That is not,
however, the thing to be discussed, nor the thing to be decided. The
question is, whether what I said is true.
I did say that from ghosts we had obtained certain things--among other
things a book known as the Bible. From the ghosts we received that
book; and the believers in ghosts pretend that upon that book rests the
doctrine of the immortality of the human soul. This I deny.
Whether or not the soul is immortal is a fact in nature and cannot be
changed by any book whatever. If I am immortal, I am. If am not, no book
can render me so. It is no mure wonderful that I should live again than
that I do live.
The doctrine of immortality is not based upon any book. The foundation
of that idea is not a creed. The idea of immortality, which, like a
sea, has ebbed and flowed in the human heart, beating with its countless
waves of hope and fear against the shores and rocks of fate and time,
was not born of any book, was not born of a creed. It is not the child
of any religion. It was born of human affection; and it will continue to
ebb and flow beneath the mists and clouds of doubt and darkness as long
as love kisses the lips of death. It is the eternal bow--Hope shining
upon the tears of Grief.
I did say that these ghosts taught that human slavery was right. If
there is a crime beneath the shining stars it is the crime of enslaving
a human being. Slavery enslaves not only the slave, but the master as
well. When you put a chain upon the limbs of another, you put a fetter
also upon your own brain. I had rather be a slave than a slaveholder.
The slave can at least be just--the slaveholder cannot. I had rather be
robbed than be a robber. I had rather be stolen from than to be a
thief. I have said, and I do say, that the Bible upheld, sustained and
sanctioned the institution of human slavery; and before I get through I
will prove it.
I said that to the same book we are indebted, to a great degree, for the
doctrine of witchcraft. Relying upon its supposed sacred texts, people
were hanged and their bodies burned for getting up storms at sea with
the intent of drowning royal vermin. Every possible offence was punished
under the name of witchcraft, from souring beer to high treason.
I also said, and I still say, that the book we obtained from the ghosts,
for the guidance of man, upheld the infamy of infamies, called polygamy;
and I will also prove that. And the same book teaches, not political
liberty, but political tyranny.
I also said that the author of the book given us by the ghosts knew
nothing about astronomy, still less about geology, still less, if
possible, about medicine, and still less about legislation.
This is what I have said concerning the aristocracy of the air. I am
well aware that having said it I ought to be able to prove the truth
of my words. I have said these things. No one ever said them in better
nature than I have. I have not the slightest malice--a victor never
felt malice. As soon as I had said these things, various gentlemen felt
called upon to answer me. I want to say that if there is anything I like
in the world it is fairness. And one reason I like it so well is that
I have had so little of it. I can say, if I wish, extremely mean
and hateful things. I have read a great many religious papers and
discussions and think that I now know all the infamous words in our
language. I know how to account for every noble action by a mean and
wretched motive, and that, in my judgment, embraces nearly the entire
science of modern theology. The moment I delivered a lecture upon "The
Liberty of Man, Woman and Child," I was charged with having said that
there is nothing back of nature, and that nature with its infinite arms
embraces everything; and thereupon I was informed that I believed in
nothing but matter and force, that I believed only in earth, that I did
not believe in spirit. If by spirit you mean that which thinks, then I
am a believer in spirit. If you mean by spirit the something that says
"I," the something that reasons, hopes, loves and aspires, then I am a
believer in spirit. Whatever spirit there is in the universe must be a
natural thing, and not superimposed upon nature. All that I can say
is, that whatever is, is natural. And there is as much goodness, in my
judgment, as much spirit in this world as in any other; and you are just
as near the heart of the universe here as you can be anywhere. One of
your clergymen says in answer, as he supposes, to me, that there is
matter and force and spirit. Well, can matter exist without force? What
would keep it together? What would keep the finest possible conceivable
atom together unless there was force? Can you imagine such a thing as
matter without force? Can you conceive of force without matter? Can you
conceive of force floating about attached to nothing? Can you possibly
conceive of this? No human being can conceive of force without matter.
"You cannot conceive of force being harnessed or hitched to matter as
you would hitch horses to a carriage." You cannot. Now, what is spirit?
They say spirit is the first thing that was. It seems to me, however, as
though spirit was the blossom, the fruit of all, not the commencement.
They say it was first. Very well. Spirit without force, a spirit without
any matter--what would that spirit do? No force, no matter!--a spirit
living in an infinite vacuum. What would such a spirit turn its
particular attention to? This spirit, according to these theologians,
created the world, the universe; and if it did, there must have been a
time when it commenced to create; and back of that there must have
been an eternity spent in absolute idleness. Now, is it possible that
a spirit existed during an eternity without any force and without any
matter? Is it possible that force could exist without matter or spirit?
Is it possible that matter could exist alone, if by matter you mean
something without force? The only answer I can give to all these
questions is, I do not know. For my part, I do not know what spirit is,
if there is any. I do not know what matter is, neither am I acquainted
with the elements of force. If you mean by matter that which I can
touch, that which occupies space, then I believe in matter. If you mean
by force anything that can overcome weight, that can overcome what
we call gravity or inertia; if you mean by force that which moves the
molecules of matter, or the movement itself, then I believe in force.
If you mean by spirit that which thinks and loves, then I believe in
spirit. There is, however, no propriety in wasting any time about the
science of metaphysics. I will give you my definition of metaphysics:
Two fools get together; each admits what neither can prove, and
thereupon both of them say, "hence we infer." That is all there is of
metaphysics.
These gentlemen, however, say to me that all my doctrine about the
treatment of wives and children, all my ideas of the rights of man, all
these are wrong, because I am not exactly correct as to my notion 01
spirit. They say that spirit existed first, at least an eternity before
there was any force or any matter. Exactly how spirit could act without
force we do not understand. That we must take upon credit. How spirit
could create matter without force is a serious question, and we are
too reverent to press such an inquiry. We are bound to be satisfied,
however, that spirit is entirely independent of force and matter, and
any man who denies this must be "a malevolent and infamous wretch."
Another reverend gentleman proceeds to denounce all I have said as the
doctrine of negation. And we are informed by him--speaking I presume
from experience--that negation is a poor thing to die by. He tells us
that the last hours are the grand testing hours. They are the hours when
atheists disown their principles and infidels bewail their folly--"that
Voltaire and Thomas Paine wrote sharply against Christianity, but their
death-bed scenes are too harrowing for recital"--He also states that
"another French infidel philosopher tried in vain to fortify Voltaire,
but that a stronger man than Voltaire had taken possession of him,
and he cried 'Retire! it is you that have brought me to my present
state--Begone! what a rich glory you have brought me.'" This, my
friends, is the same old, old falsehood that has been repeated again and
again by the lips of hatred and hypocrisy. There is not in one of these
stories a solitary word of truth; and every intelligent man knows all
these death-bed accounts to be entirely and utterly false. They
are taken, however, by the mass of the church as evidence that all
opposition to Christianity, so-called, fills the bed of the dying
infidel and scoffer with serpents and scorpions. So far as my experience
goes, the bad die in many instances as placidly as the good. I have
sometimes thought that a hardened wretch, upon whose memory is engraved
the record of nearly every possible crime, dies without a shudder,
without a tremor, while some grand, good man, remembering during his
last moments an unkind word spoken to a stranger, it may be in the
heat of anger, dies with remorseful words upon his lips. Nearly every
murderer who is hanged, dies with an immensity of nerve, but I never
thought it proved that he had lived a good and useful life. Neither have
I imagined that it sanctified the crime for which he suffered death.
The fact is, that when man approaches natural death, his powers, his
intellectual faculties fail and grow dim. He becomes a child. He has
less and less sense. And just in proportion as he loses his reasoning
powers, he goes back to the superstitions of his childhood. The scenes
of youth cluster about him and he is again in the lap of his mother.
Of this very fact, there is not a more beautiful description than that
given by Shakespeare when he takes that old mass of wit and filth, Jack
Falstaff, in his arms, and Mrs Quickly says: "A' made a finer end, and
went away, an it had been my christom child; a' parted ev'n just between
twelve and one, ev'n at the turning o' the tide; for after I saw him
fumble with the sheets, and play with flowers, and smile upon his
fingers' end, I knew there was but one way; for his nose was as sharp
as a pen, and a' babbled of green fields." As the genius of Shakespeare
makes Falstaff a child again upon sunny slopes, decked with daisies, so
death takes the dying back to the scenes of their childhood, and they
are clasped once more to the breasts of mothers. They go back, for the
reason that nearly every superstition in the world has been sanctified
by some sweet and placid mother. Remember, the superstition has never
sanctified the mother, but the mother has sanctified the superstition.
The young Mohammedan, who now lies dying upon some field of battle,
thinks sweet and tender thoughts of home and mother, and will, as the
blood oozes from his veins, repeat some holy verse from the blessed
Koran. Every superstition in the world that is now held sacred has been
made so by mothers, by fathers, by the recollections of home. I know
what it has cost the noble, the brave, the tender, to throw away every
superstition, although sanctified by the memory of those they loved.
Whoever has thrown away these superstitions has been pursued by his
fellow-men, From the day of the death of Voltaire the church has pursued
him as though he had been the vilest criminal. A little over one hundred
years ago, Catholicism, the inventor of instruments of torture, red with
the innocent blood of millions, felt in its heartless breast the dagger
of Voltaire. From that blow the Catholic Church never can recover. Livid
with hatred she launched at her assassin the curse of Rome, and ignorant
Protestants have echoed that curse. For myself, I like Voltaire, and
whenever I think of that name, it is to me as a plume floating above
some grand knight--a knight who rides to a walled city and demands
an unconditional surrender. I like him. He was once imprisoned in the
Bastile, and while in that frightful fortress--and I like to tell it--he
changed his name. His name was Francois Marie Arouet. In his gloomy cell
he changed this name to Voltaire, and when some sixty years afterward
the Bastile was torn down to the very dust, "Voltaire" was the battle
cry of the destroyers who did it. I like him because he did more for
religious toleration than any other man who ever lived or died. I admire
him because he did more to do away with torture in civil proceedings
than any other man. I like him because he was always upon the side of
justice, upon the side of progress. I like him in spite of his faults,
because he had many and splendid virtues. I like him because his
doctrines have never brought unhappiness to any country. I like him
because he hated tyranny; and when he died he died as serenely as ever
mortal died; he spoke to his servant recognizing him as a man. He said
to him, calling him by name: "My friend, farewell." These were the last
words of Voltaire. And this was the only frightful scene enacted at his
bed of death. I like Voltaire, because for half a century he was the
intellectual emperor of Europe. I like him, because from his throne at
the foot of the Alps he pointed the finger of scorn at every hypocrite
in Christendom.
I will give to any clergyman in the city of San Francisco a thousand
dollars in gold to substantiate the story that the death of Voltaire was
not as peaceful as the coming of the dawn. The same absurd story is told
of Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine was a patriot--he was the first man in
the world to write these words: "The Free and Independent States of
America." He was the first man to convince the American people that they
ought to separate themselves from Great Britain. "His pen did as
much, to say the least, for the liberty of America, as the sword of
Washington." The men who have enjoyed the benefit of his heroic services
repay them with slander and calumny. If there is in this world a crime,
ingratitude is a crime. And as for myself, I am not willing to receive
anything from any man without making at least an acknowledgment of my
obligation. Y et these clergymen, whose very right to stand in their
pulpits and preach, was secured to them by such men as Thomas Paine,
delight in slandering the reputation of that great man. They tell their
hearers that he died in fear,--that he died in agony, hearing devils
rattle chains, and that the infinite God condescended to frighten a
dying man. I will give one thousand dollars in gold to any clergyman
in San Francisco who will substantiate the truth of the absurd stories
concerning the death of Thomas Paine. There is not one word of truth in
these accounts; not one word.
Let me ask one thing, and let me ask it, if you please, in what is
called a reverent spirit. Suppose that Voltaire and Thomas Paine, and
Volney and Hume and Hobbes had cried out when dying "My God, My God, why
hast thou forsaken me?" what would the clergymen of this city then have
said?
To resort to these foolish calumnies about the great men who have
opposed the superstitions of the world, is in my judgment, unbecoming
any intelligent man. The real question is not, who is afraid to die? The
question is, who is right? The great question is not, who died right,
but who lived right? There is infinitely more responsibility in living
than in dying. The moment of death is the most unimportant moment of
life. Nothing can be done then. You cannot even do a favor for a friend,
except to remember him in your will. It is a moment when life ceases to
be of value. While living, while you have health and strength, you
can augment the happiness of your fellow-men; and the man who has made
others happy need not be afraid to die. Yet these believers, as they
call themselves, these believers who hope for immortality--thousands
of them, will rob their neighbors, thousands of them will do numberless
acts of injustice, when, according to their belief, the witnesses of
their infamy will live forever; and the men whom they have injured and
outraged, will meet them in every glittering star through all the ages
yet to be.
As for me, I would rather do a generous action, and read the record in
the grateful faces of my fellow-men.
These gentlemen who attack me are orthodox now, but the men who started
their churches were heretics.
The first Presbyterian was a heretic. The first Baptist was a heretic.
The first Congregationalist was a heretic. The first Christian was
denounced as a blasphemer. And yet these heretics, the moment they get
numerous enough to be in the majority in some locality, begin to call
themselves orthodox. Can there be any impudence beyond this?
The first Baptist, as I said before, was a heretic; and he was the best
Baptist that I have ever heard anything about. I always liked him. He
was a good man--Roger Williams. He was the first man, so far as I know,
in this country, who publicly said that the soul of man should be free.
And it was a wonder to me that a man who had sense enough to say
that, could think that any particular form of baptism was necessary to
salvation. It does strike me that a man of great brain and thought could
not possibly think the eternal welfare of a human being, the question
whether he should dwell with angels, or be tossed upon eternal waves
of fire, should be settled by the manner in which he had been baptized.
That seems, to me so utterly destitute of thought and heart, that it is
a matter of amazement to me that any man ever looked upon the ordinance
of baptism as of any importance whatever. If we were at the judgment
seat to-night, and the Supreme Being, in our hearing, should ask a man:
"Have you been a good man?" and the man replied:
"Tolerably good."
"Did you love your wife and children?"
"Yes."
"Did you try and make them happy?"
"Yes."
"Did you try and make your neighbors happy?" "Yes, I paid my debts: I
gave heaping measure, and I never cared whether I was thanked for it or
not."
Suppose the Supreme Being then should say:
"Were you ever baptized?" and the man should reply:
"I am sorry to say I never was."
Could a solitary person of sense hear that question asked, by the
Supreme Being, without laughing, even if he knew that his own case was
to be called next?
I happened to be in the company of six or seven Baptist elders--how I
ever got into such bad company, I don't know,--and one of them asked
what I thought about baptism. Well, I never thought much about it; did
not know much about it; didn't want to say anything, but they insisted
upon it. I said, "Well, I'll give you my opinion--with soap, baptism is
a good thing."
The Reverend Mr. Guard has answered me, as I am informed, upon several
occasions. I have read the reports of his remarks, and have boiled them
down. He said some things about me not entirely pleasant, which I do not
wish to repeat. In his reply he takes the ground:
_First_. That the Bible is not an immoral book, because he swore upon it
or by it when he joined the Masons.
_Second_. He excuses Solomon for all his crimes upon the supposition
that he had softening of the brain, or a fatty degeneration of the
heart.
_Third._ That the Hebrews had the right to slay all the inhabitants of
Canaan, according to the doctrine of the "survival of the fittest." He
takes the ground that the destruction of these Canaanites, the ripping
open of women with child by the sword of war, was an act of sublime
mercy. He justifies a war of extermination; he applauds every act of
cruelty and murder. He says that the Canaanites ought to have been
turned from their homes; that men guilty of no crime except fighting for
their country, old men with gray hairs, old mothers and little, dimpled,
prattling children, ought to have been sacrificed upon the altar of war;
that it was an act of sublime mercy to plunge the sword of religious
persecution into the bodies of all, old and young. This is what the
reverend gentleman is pleased to call mercy. If this is mercy let us
have injustice. If there is in the heavens such a God I am sorry that
man exists. All this, however, is justified upon the ground that God
has the right to do as he pleases with the being he has created. This I
deny. Such a doctrine is infamously false. Suppose I could take a stone
and in one moment change it into a sentient, hoping, loving human being,
would I have the right to torture it? Would I have the right to give it
pain? No one but a fiend would either exercise or justify such a right.
Even if there is a God who created us all he has no such right. Above
any God that can exist, in the infinite serenity forever sits the figure
of justice; and this God, no matter how great and infinite he may be, is
bound to do justice.
_Fourth._ That God chose the Jews and governed them personally for
thousands of years, and drove out the Canaanites in order that his
peculiar people might not be corrupted by the example of idolaters; that
he wished to make of the Hebrews a great nation, and that, consequently,
he was justified in destroying the original inhabitants of that country.
It seems to me that the end hardly justified the means. According to the
account, God governed the Jews personally for many ages and succeeded
in civilizing them to that degree, that they crucified him the first
opportunity they had. Such an administration can hardly be called a
success.
_Fifth._ The reverend gentleman seems to think that the practice of
polygamy after all is not a bad thing when compared with the crime
of exhibiting a picture of Antony and Cleopatra. Upon the corrupting
influence of such pictures he descants at great length, and attacks with
all the bitterness of the narrow theologian the masterpieces of art.
Allow me to say one word about art. That is one of the most beautiful
words in our language--Art. And it never seemed to me necessary for
art to go in partnership with a rag. I like the paintings of Angelo, of
Raffaelle. I like the productions of those splendid souls that put their
ideas of beauty upon the canvas uncovered.
"There are brave souls in every land
Who worship nature, grand and nude,
And who with swift indignant hand
Tear off the fig leaves of the prude."
_Sixth_. That it may be true that the Bible sanctions slavery, but that
it is not an immoral book even if it does.
I can account for these statements, for these arguments, only as
the reverend gentleman has accounted for the sins of Solomon--"by a
softening of the brain, or a fatty degeneration of the heart."
It does seem to me that if I were a Christian, and really thought my
fellow-man was going down to the bottomless pit; that he was going to
misery and agony forever, it does seem to me that I would try and save
him. It does seem to me, that instead of having my mouth filled with
epithets and invectives; instead of drawing the lips of malice back from
the teeth of hatred, it seems to me that my eyes would be filled with
tears. It seems to me that I would do what little I could to reclaim
him. I would talk to him and of him, in kindness. I would put the arms
of affection about him. I would not speak of him as though he were a
wild beast. I would not speak to him as though he were a brute. I would
think of him as a man, as a man liable to eternal torture among the
damned, and my heart would be filled with sympathy, not hatred--my eyes
with tears, not scorn.
If there is anything pitiable, it is to see a man so narrowed and
withered by the blight and breath of superstition, as cheerfully to
defend the most frightful crimes of which we have a record--a man so
hardened and petrified by creed and dogma that he hesitates not to
defend even the institution of human slavery--so lost to all sense of
pity that he applauds murder and rapine as though they were acts of the
loftiest self-denial.
The next gentleman who has endeavored to answer what I have said, is the
Rev. Samuel Robinson. This he has done in his sermon entitled "Ghosts
against God or Ingersoll against Honesty." I presume he imagines himself
to be the defendant in both cases.
This gentleman apologized for attending an infidel lecture, upon the
ground that he had to contribute to the support of a "materialistic
demon." To say the least, this is not charitable. But I am satisfied.
I am willing to exchange facts for epithets. I fare so much better than
did the infidels in the olden time that I am more than satisfied. It is
a little thing that I bear.
The brave men of the past endured the instruments of torture. They were
stretched upon racks; their feet were crushed in iron boots; they stood
upon the shores of exile and gazed with tearful eyes toward home and
native land. They were taken from their firesides, from their wives,
from their children; they were taken to the public square; they were
chained to stakes, and their ashes were scattered by the countless hands
of hatred. I am satisfied. The disciples of fear cannot touch me.
This gentlemen hated to contribute a cent to the support of a
"materialistic demon." When I saw that statement I will tell you what I
did. I knew the man's conscience must be writhing in his bosom to think
that he had contributed a dollar toward my support, toward the support
of a "materialistic demon." I wrote him a letter and I said:
"My Dear Sir: In order to relieve your conscience of the crime of having
contributed to the support of an unbeliever in ghosts, I hereby enclose
the amount you paid to attend my lecture." I then gave him a little
good advice. I advised him to be charitable, to be kind, and regretted
exceedingly that any man could listen to one of my talks for an hour
and a half and not go away satisfied that all men had the same right to
think.
This man denied having received the money, but it was traced to him
through a blot on the envelope.
This gentleman avers that everything that I said about persecution
is applicable to the Catholic Church only. That is what he says. The
Catholics have probably persecuted more than any other church, simply
because that church has had more power, simply because it has been more
of a church. It has to-day a better organization, and as a rule, the
Catholics come nearer believing what they say about their church than
other Christians do. Was it a Catholic persecution that drove the
Puritan fathers from England? Was it not the storm of Episcopal
persecution that filled the sails of the Mayflower? Was it not a
Protestant persecution that drove the Ark and Dove to America? Let us be
honest. Who went to Scotland and persecuted the Presbyterians? Who was
it that chained to the stake that splendid girl by the sands of the
sea for not saying "God save the king"? She was worthy to have been the
mother of Cæsar. She would not say "God save the king," but she would
say "God save the king, if it be God's will." Protestants ordered her to
say "God save the king," and no more. She said, "I will not," and they
chained her to a stake in the sand and allowed her to be drowned by
the rising of the inexorable tide. Who did this? Protestants. Who drove
Roger Williams from Massachusetts? Protestants. Who sold white Quaker
children into slavery? Protestants. Who cut out the tongues of Quakers?
Who burned and destroyed men and women and children charged with
impossible crimes? Protestants. The Protestants have persecuted exactly
to the extent of their power. The Catholics have done the same.
I want, however, to be just. The first people to pass an act of
religious toleration in the New World were the Catholics of Maryland.
The next were the Baptists of Rhode Island, led by Roger Williams.
The Catholics passed the act of religious toleration, and after the
Protestants got into power again in England, and also in the colony of
Maryland, they repealed the law of toleration and passed another law
declaring the Catholics from under the protection of all law.
Afterward, the Catholics again got into power and had the generosity and
magnanimity to re-enact the old law. And, so far as I know, it is the
only good record upon the subject of religious toleration the Catholics
have in this world, and I am always willing to give them credit for it.
This gentleman also says that infidelity has done nothing for the world
in the development of the arts and sciences. Does he not know that
nearly every man who took a forward step was denounced by the church as
a heretic and infidel? Does he not know that the church has in all ages
persecuted the astronomers, the geologists, the logicians? Does he not
know that even to-day the church slanders and maligns the foremost men?
Has he ever heard of Tyndall, of Huxley? Is he acquainted with John
W. Draper, one of the leading minds of the world? Did he ever hear of
Auguste Comte, the great Frenchman? Did he ever hear of Descartes, of
Laplace, of Spinoza? In short, has he ever heard of a man who took a
step in advance of his time?
Orthodoxy never advances. When it advances, it ceases to be orthodoxy
and becomes heresy. Orthodoxy is putrefaction. It is intellectual
cloaca; it cannot advance. What the church calls infidelity is simply
free thought. Every man who really owns his own brain is, in the
estimation of the church, an infidel.
There is a paper published in this city called _The Occident_. The
Editor has seen fit to speak of me, and of the people who have assembled
to hear me, in the lowest, vilest and most scurrilous terms possible.
I cannot afford to reply in the same spirit. He alleges that the people
who assemble to hear me are the low, the debauched and the infamous.
The man who reads that paper ought to read it with tongs. It is a
Presbyterian sheet; and would gladly treat me as John Calvin treated
Castalio. Castalio was the first minister in the history of Christendom
who acknowledged the innocence of honest error, and John Calvin followed
him like a sleuth-hound of perdition. He called him a "dog of Satan;"
said that he had crucified Christ afresh; and pursued him to the very
grave. The editor of this paper is still warming his hands at the fire
that burned Servetus. He has in his heart the same fierce hatred of
everything that is free. But what right have we to expect anything good
of a man who believes in the eternal damnation of infants?
There may have been sometime in the history of the world a worse
religion than Old School Presbyterianism, but if there ever was, from
cannibalism to civilization, I have never heard of it.
I make a distinction between the members and the creed of that church. I
know many who are a thousand times better than the creed--good, warm and
splendid friends of mine. I would do anything in the world for them. And
I have said to them a hundred times, "You are a thousand times better
than your creed." But when you come down to the doctrine of the
damnation of infants, it is the deformity of deformities. The editor
of this paper is engaged in giving the world the cheerful doctrines of
fore-ordination and damnation--those twin comforts of the Presbyterian
creed, and warning them against the frightful effects of reasoning in
any manner for themselves. He regards the intellectually free as the
lowest, the vilest and the meanest, as men who wish to sin, as men
who are longing to commit crime, men who are anxious to throw off all
restraint.
My friends, every chain thrown from the body puts an additional
obligation upon the soul. Every man who is free, puts a responsibility
upon his brain and upon his heart. You, who never want responsibility,
give your souls to some church. You, who never want the feeling that you
are under obligation to yourselves, give your souls away. But if you are
willing to feel and meet responsibility; if you feel that you must give
an account not only to yourselves but to every human being whom you
injure, then you must be free. Where there is no freedom, there can be
no responsibility.
It is a mystery to me why the editors of religious papers are so
malicious, why they endeavor to answer argument with calumny. Is it
because they feel the sceptre slowly slipping from their hands? Is it
the result of impotent rage? Is it because there is being written upon
every orthodox brain a certificate of intellectual inferiority?
This same editor assures his readers that what I say is not worth
answering, and yet he devotes column after column of his journal to that
very purpose. He states that I am no speaker, no orator; and upon the
same page admits that he did not hear me, giving as a reason that he
does not think it right to pay money for such a purpose. Recollect, that
in a religious paper, a man who professes honesty, criticises a statue
or a painting, condemns it, and at the end of the criticism says that he
never saw it. He criticises what he calls the oratory of a man, and at
the end says, "I never heard him, and I never saw him."
As a matter of fact, I have never heard of any of these gentlemen who
thought it necessary to hear what any man said in order to answer him.
The next gentleman who answered me is the Rev. Mr. Ijams. And I must
say, so far as I can see, in his argument, or in his mode of treatment,
he is a kind and considerate gentleman. He makes several mistakes as
to what I really said, but the fault I suppose must have been in the
report. I am made to say in the report of his sermon, "There is no
sacred place in all the universe." What I did say was, "There is no
sacred place in all the universe of thought. There is nothing too holy
to be investigated, nothing too divine to be understood. The fields of
thought are fenceless, and without a wall." I say this to-night.
Mr. Ijams also says that I had declared that man had not only the right
to do right, but also the right to do wrong. What I really said was, man
has the right to do right, and the right to think right, and the right
to think wrong. Thought is a means of ascertaining truth, a mode by
which we arrive at conclusions. And if no one has a right to think,
unless he thinks right, he would only have the right to think upon
self-evident propositions. In all respects, with the exception of these
misstatements to which I have called your attention, so far as I can
see, Mr. Ijams was perfectly fair, and treated me as though I had the
ordinary rights of a human being. I take this occasion to thank him.
A great many papers, a great many people, a good many ministers and a
multitude of men, have had their say, and have expressed themselves
with the utmost freedom. I cannot reply to them all. I can only reply to
those who have made a parade of answering me. Many have said it is not
worth answering, and then proceeded to answer. They have said, he has
produced no argument, and then have endeavored to refute it. They have
said it is simply the old straw that has been thrashed over and over
again for years and years. If all I have said is nothing, if it is
all idle and foolish, why do they take up the time of their fellow-men
replying to me? Why do they fill their religious papers with criticisms,
if all I have said and done reminds them, according to the Rev. Mr.
Guard, of "some little dog barking at a railway train"? Why stop the
train, why send for the directors, why hold a consultation and finally
say, we must settle with that dog or stop running these cars?
Probably the best way to answer them all, is to prove beyond cavil the
truth of what I have said.
DOES THE BIBLE TEACH MAN TO ENSLAVE HIS BROTHER?
II.
IF this "sacred" book teaches man to enslave his brother, it is not
inspired. A god who would establish slavery is as cruel and heartless as
any devil could be.
"Moreover, of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you,
of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which
they begat in your land, and they shall be your possession.
"And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you,
to inherit them for a possession. They shall be your bondmen forever.
"Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, _shall be_
of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen
and bondmaids."--Leviticus xxv.
This is white slavery. This allows one white man to buy another, to buy
a woman, to separate families and rob a mother of her child. This makes
the whip upon the naked backs of men and women a legal tender for labor
performed. This is the kind of slavery established by the most merciful
God. The reason given for all this, is, that the persons whom they
enslaved were heathen. You may enslave them because they are not
orthodox. If you can find anybody who does not believe in me, the God
of the Jews, you may steal his wife from his arms, and her babe from
the cradle. If you can find a woman that does not believe in the Hebrew
Jehovah, you may steal her prattling child from her breast. Can any one
conceive of anything more infamous? Can any one find in the literature
of this world more frightful words ascribed even to a demon? And all
this is found in that most beautiful and poetic chapter known as the
25th of Leviticus--from the Bible--from this sacred gift of God--this
"Magna Charta of human freedom."
2. "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the
seventh he shall go out free for nothing.
3. "If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were
married, then his wife shall go out with him.
4. "If his master have given him a wife, and she hath borne him sons or
daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall
go out by himself.
5. "And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and
children; I w ill not go out free:
6. "Then his master shall bring him unto the judges: he shall also bring
him to the door, or unto the door-post; and his master shall bore his
ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever."--_Exodus,
xxi._
The slave is allowed to have his liberty if he will give up his wife and
children. He must remain in slavery for the sake of wife and child. This
is another of the laws of the most merciful God. This God changes even
love into a chain. Children are used by him as manacles and fetters,
and wives become the keepers of prisons. Any man who believes that such
hideous laws were made by an infinitely wise and benevolent God is, in
my judgment, insane or totally depraved.
These are the doctrines of the Old Testament. What is the doctrine
of the New? What message had he who came from heaven's throne for the
oppressed of earth? What words of sympathy, what words of cheer, for
those who labored and toiled without reward? Let us see:
"Servants, be obedient to them that are _your_ masters, according to
the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto
Christ."--_Ephesians, vi._
This is the salutation of the most merciful God to a slave, to a woman
who has been robbed of her child--to a man tracked by hounds through
lonely swamps--to a girl with flesh torn and bleeding--to a mother
weeping above an empty cradle.
"Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the
good and gentle, but also to the fro ward."--_I Peter ii., 18_.
"For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure
grief, suffering wrongfully."--_I Peter ii., 19_.
It certainly must be an immense pleasure to God to see a man work
patiently for nothing. It must please the Most High to see a slave with
his wife and child sold upon the auction block. If this slave escapes
from slavery and is pursued, how musical the baying of the bloodhound
must be to the ears of this most merciful God. All this is simply
infamous. On the throne of this universe there sits no such monster.
"Servants, obey in all things your masters, according to the flesh; not
with eye-service, as men pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing
God."--_Col. iii., 22_.
The apostle here seems afraid that the slave would not work every moment
that his strength permitted. He really seems to have feared that
he might not at all times do the very best he could to promote the
interests of the thief who claimed to own him. And speaking to all
slaves, in the name of the Father of All, this apostle says: "Obey in
all things your masters, not with eye-service, but with singleness of
heart, fearing God." He says to them in substance, There is no way you
can so well please God as to work honestly for a thief.
1. "Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters
worthy of all honor, that the name of God and _his_ doctrine be not
blasphemed."
Think of serving God by honoring a robber! Think of bringing the name
and doctrine of God into universal contempt by claiming to own yourself!
2. "And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them,
because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are
faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and
exhort."
That is to say, do not despise Christians who steal the labor of others.
Do not hold in contempt the "faithful and beloved, partakers of the
benefit," who turn the cross of Christ into a whipping post.
3. "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words
_even_ to words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is
according to godliness.
4. "He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes
of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,
5. "Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the
truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."
This seems to be the opinion the apostles entertained of the early
abolitionists. Seeking to give human beings their rights, seeking to
give labor its just reward, seeking to clothe all men with that divine
garment of the soul, Liberty,--all this was denounced by the apostle as
a simple strife of words, whereof cometh envy, railings, evil surmisings
and perverse disputing, destitute of truth.
6. "But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7. "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can
carry nothing out.
8. "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."--_I Tim.,
vi._
This was intended to make a slave satisfied to hear the clanking of his
chains. This is the reason he should never try to better his condition.
He should be contented simply with the right to work for nothing. If
he only had food and raiment, and a thief to work for, he should be
contented. He should solace himself with the apostolic reflection, that
as he brought nothing into the world, he could carry nothing out, and
that when dead he would be as happily situated as his master.
In order to show you what the inspired writer meant by the word
_servant_, I will read from the 21st chapter of Exodus, verses 20 and
21:
"And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with a rod, and he die
under his hand; he shall be surely punished.
"Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or two, he shall not be punished:
for he _is_ his money."
Yet, notwithstanding these passages the _Christian Advocate_ says, "the
Bible is the Magna Charta of our liberty."
After reading that, I was not surprised by the following in the same
paper:
"We regret to record that Ingersoll is on a low plane of infidelity and
atheism, not less offensive to good morals than have been the teachings
of infidelity during the last century. France has been cursed with such
teachings for a hundred years, and because of it, to-day her citizens
are incapable of self-government."
What was the condition of France a century ago? Were they capable of
self-government then? For fourteen hundred years the common people of
France had suffered. For fourteen hundred years they had been robbed
by the altar and by the throne. They had been the prey of priests and
nobles. All were exempt from taxation, except the common people. The
cup of their suffering was full, and the French people arose in fury and
frenzy, and tore the drapery from the altars of God, and filled the air
with the dust of thrones.
Surely, the slavery of fourteen centuries had not been produced by the
teachings of Voltaire. I stood only a little while ago at the place
where once stood the Bastile. In my imagination I saw that prison
standing as it stood of yore. I could see it attacked by the populace.
I could see their stormy faces and hear their cries. And I saw that
ancient fortification of tyranny go down forever. And now where once
stood the Bastile stands the Column of July. Upon its summit is a
magnificent statue of Liberty, holding in one hand a banner, in the
other a broken chain, and upon its shining forehead is the star of
progress. There it stands where once stood the Bastile. And France is
as much superior to what it was when Voltaire was born, as that statue,
surmounting the Column of July, is more beautiful than the Bastile that
stood there once with its cells of darkness, and its dungeons of horror.
And yet we are now told that the French people have rendered themselves
incapable of government, simply because they have listened to the voice
of progress. There are magnificent men in France. From that country have
come to the human race some of the grandest and holiest messages the ear
of man has ever heard. The French people have given to history some
of the most touching acts of self-sacrifice ever performed beneath the
amazed stars.
For my part, I admire the French people. I cannot forget the Rue San
Antoine, nor the red cap of liberty. I can never cease to remember that
the tricolor was held aloft in Paris, while Europe was in chains, and
while liberty, with a bleeding breast, was in the Inquisition of Spain.
And yet we are now told by a religious paper, that France is not capable
of self-government. I suppose it was capable of self-government under
the old régime, at the time of the massacre of St. Bartholomew. I
suppose it was capable of self-government when women were seen yoked
with cattle pulling plows. I suppose it was capable of self-government
when all who labored were in a condition of slavery.
In the old times, even among the priests, there were some good, some
sincere and most excellent men. I have read somewhere of a sermon
preached by one of these in the Cathedral of Notre Dame. This old
priest, among other things, said that the soul of a beggar was as dear
to God as the soul of the richest of his people, and that Jesus Christ
died as much for a beggar as for a prince. One French peasant, rough
with labor, cried out: "I propose three cheers for Jesus Christ." I like
such things. I like to hear of them. I like to repeat them. Paris has
been a kind of volcano, and has made the heavens lurid with its lava
of hatred, but it has also contributed more than any other city to the
intellectual development of man. France has produced some infamous
men, among others John Calvin, but for one Calvin, she has produced a
thousand benefactors of the human race.
The moment the French people rise above the superstitions of the church,
they will be in the highest sense capable of self-government. The moment
France succeeds in releasing herself from the coils of Catholicism--from
the shadows of superstition--from the foolish forms and mummeries of the
church--from the intellectual tyranny of a thousand years--she will not
only be capable of self-government, but will govern herself. Let the
priests be usefully employed. We want no overseers of the mind; no
slave-drivers for the soul. We cannot afford to pay hypocrites for
depriving us of liberty. It is a waste of money to pay priests to
frighten our children, and paralyze the intellect of women.
WAS THE WORLD CREATED IN SIX DAYS?
III.
FOR hundreds of years it was contended by all Christians that the earth
was made in six days, literal days of twenty-four hours each, and that
on the seventh day the Lord rested from his labor. Geologists have
driven the church from this position, and it is now claimed that the
days mentioned in the Bible are periods of time. This is a simple
evasion, not in any way supported by the Scriptures. The Bible
distinctly and clearly says that the world was created in six days.
There is not within its lids a clearer statement. It does not say six
periods. It was made according to that book in six days:
31. "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very
good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day."--_Genesis i_.
1. "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them.
2. "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3. "And God blessed the seventh day (not seventh period), and sanctified
it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created
and made."--_Genesis ii_.
From the following passages it seems clear what was meant by the word
days:
15. "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of
rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he
shall surely be put to death."--Served him right!
16. "Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to
observe the Sabbath, throughout their generations, for a perpetual
covenant.
17. "It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever; for
in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he
rested and was refreshed.
18. "And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with
him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written
with the finger of God."--_Exodus xxxi_.
12. "Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up
the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of
Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou, Moon, in the valley
of Ajalon.
13. "And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had
avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book
of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven; and hasted not
to go down about a whole day.
14. "And there was no day like that before it or after it, that the
Lord hearkened unto the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for
Israel."--_Josh. x_.
These passages must certainly convey the idea that this world was made
in six days, not six periods. And the reason why they were to keep the
Sabbath was because the Creator rested on the seventh day--not period.
If you say six periods, instead of six days, what becomes of your
Sabbath? The only reason given in the Bible for observing the Sabbath
is that God observed it--that he rested from his work that day and was
refreshed. Take this reason away and the sacredness of that day has no
foundation in the Scriptures.
WHAT IS THE ASTRONOMY OF THE BIBLE?
IV.
WHEN people were ignorant of all the sciences the Bible was understood
by those who read it the same as by those who wrote it. From time to
time discoveries were made that seemed inconsistent with the
Scriptures. At first, theologians denounced the discoverers of all facts
inconsistent with the Bible, as atheists and scoffers.
The Bible teaches us that the earth is the centre of the universe; that
the sun and moon and stars revolve around this speck called the earth.
The men who discovered that all this was a mistake were denounced by
the ignorant clergy of that day, precisely as the ignorant clergy of our
time denounce the advocates of free thought. When the doctrine of the
earth's place in the solar system was demonstrated; when persecution
could no longer conceal the mighty truth, then it was that the church
made an effort to harmonize the Scriptures with the discoveries of
science. When the utter absurdity of the Mosaic account of creation
became apparent to all thoughtful men, the church changed the reading of
the Bible. Then it was pretended that the "days" of creation were vast
periods of time. When it was shown to be utterly impossible that the sun
revolved around the earth, then the account given by Joshua of the sun
standing still for the space of a whole day, was changed into a figure
of speech. It was said that Joshua merely conformed to the mode of
speech common in his day; and that when he said the sun stood still, he
merely intended to convey the idea that the earth ceased turning upon
its axis. They admitted that stopping the sun could not lengthen the
day, and for that reason it must have been the earth that stopped.
But you will remember that the moon stood still in the valley of
Ajalon--that the moon stayed until the people had avenged themselves
upon their enemies.
One would naturally suppose that the sun would have given sufficient
light to enable the Jews to avenge themselves upon their enemies without
any assistance from the moon. Of course, if the moon had not stopped,
the relations between the earth and moon would have been changed.
Is there a sensible man in the world who believes this wretched piece of
ignorance? Is it possible that the religion of this nineteenth century
has for its basis such childish absurdities? According to this account,
what was the sun, or rather the earth, stopped for? It was stopped in
order that the Hebrews might avenge themselves upon the Amorites. For
the accomplishment of such a purpose the earth was made to pause. Why
should an almost infinite force be expended simply for the purpose of
destroying a handful of men? Why this waste of force? Let me explain.
I strike my hands together. They feel a sudden Heat. Where did the heat
come from? Motion has been changed into heat. You will remember that
there can be no destruction of force. It disappears in one form only
to reappear in another. The earth, rotating at the rate of one thousand
miles an hour, was stopped. The motion of this vast globe would have
instantly been changed into heat. It has been calculated by one of the
greatest scientists of the present day that to stop the earth would
generate as much heat as could be produced by burning a world as large
as this of solid coal. And yet, all this force was expended for the
paltry purpose of defeating a few poor barbarians. The employment of so
much force for the accomplishment of so insignificant an object would
be as useless as bringing all the intellect of a great man to bear in
answering the arguments of the clergymen of San Francisco.
The waste of that immense force in stopping the planets in their grand
courses, for the purpose claimed, would be like using a Krupp gun to
destroy an insect to which a single drop of water is "an unbounded
world." How is it possible for men of ordinary intellect, not only to
endorse such ignorant falsehoods, but to malign those who do not? Can
anything be more debasing to the intellect of man than a belief in the
astronomy of the Bible? According to the Scriptures, the world was
made out of nothing, and the sun, moon, and stars, of the nothing that
happened to be left. To the writers of the Bible the firmament was
solid, and in it were grooves along which the stars were pushed by
angels. From the Bible Cosmas constructed his geography and astronomy.
His book was passed upon by the church, and was declared to be the truth
concerning the subjects upon which he treated.
This eminent geologist and astronomer, taking the Bible as his guide,
found and taught: First, that the earth was flat; second, that it was a
vast parallelogram; third, that in the middle there was a vast body
of land, then a strip of water all around it, then a strip of land.
He thought that on the outer strip of land people lived before the
flood--that at the time of the flood, Noah in his Ark crossed the strip
of water and landed on the shore of the country, in the middle of the
world, where we now are. This great biblical scholar informed the true
believers of his day that in the outer strip of land were mountains,
around which the sun and moon revolved; that when the sun was on the
side of the mountain next the land occupied by man, it was day, and when
on the other side, it was night.
Mr. Cosmas believed the Bible, and regarded Joshua as the most eminent
astronomer of his day. He also taught that the firmament was solid, and
that the angels pushed and drew the stars. He tells us that these angels
attended strictly to their business, that each one watched the motions
of all the others so that proper distances might always be maintained,
and all confusion avoided. All this was believed by the gentlemen who
made most of our religion. The great argument made by Cosmas to show
that the earth must be flat, was the fact that the Bible stated that
when Christ should come the second time, in glory, the whole world
should see him. "Now," said Cosmas, "if the world is round, how could
the people on the other side see the Lord when he comes?" This settled
the question.
These were the ideas of the fathers of the church. These men have been
for centuries regarded as almost divinely inspired. Long after they had
become dust they governed the world. The superstitions they planted,
their descendants watered with the best and bravest blood. To maintain
their ignorant theories, the brain of the world was dwarfed for a
thousand years, and the infamous work is still being prosecuted.
The Bible was regarded as not only true, but as the best of all truth.
Any new theory advanced, was immediately examined in the light, or
rather in the darkness, of revelation, and if according to that test it
was false, it was denounced, and the person bringing it forward forced
to recant. It would have been a far better course to have discovered
every theory found to be in harmony with the Scriptures.
And yet we are told by the clergy and religious press of this city, that
the Bible is the foundation of all science.
DOES THE BIBLE TEACH THE EXISTENCE OF THAT IMPOSSIBLE CRIME CALLED
WITCHCRAFT?
V.
IT was said by Sir Thomas More that to give up witchcraft was to give
up the Bible itself. This idea was entertained by nearly all the eminent
theologians of a hundred years ago. In my judgment, they were right.
To give up witchcraft is to give up, in a great degree at least, the
supernatural. To throw away the little ghosts simply prepares the mind
of man to give up the great ones. The founders of nearly all creeds, and
of all religions properly so called, have taught the existence of good
and evil spirits. They have peopled the dark with devils and the light
with angels. They have crowded hell with demons and heaven with seraphs.
The moment these good and evil spirits, these angels and fiends,
disappear from the imaginations of men, and phenomena are accounted
for by natural rather than by supernatural means, a great step has been
taken in the direction of what is now known as materialism. While the
church believes in witchcraft, it is in a greatly modified form. The
evil spirits are not as plenty as in former times, and more phenomena
are accounted for by natural means. Just to the extent that belief has
been lost in spirits, just to that extent the church has lost its power
and authority. When men ceased to account for the happening of any event
by ascribing it to the direct action of good or evil spirits, and began
to reason from known premises, the chains of superstition began to
grow weak. Into such disrepute has witchcraft at last fallen that many
Christians not only deny the existence of these evil spirits, but take
the ground that no such thing is taught in the Scriptures. Let us see:
"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."--_Exodus xxii., 18_.
7. "Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a
familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his
servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a spirit at
Endor.
8. "And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went,
and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said,
I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up,
whom I shall name unto thee.
9. "And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath
done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the
wizards out of the land; wherefore, then, layest thou a snare for my
life, to cause me to die?
10. "And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth,
there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
11. "Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said,
Bring me up Samuel.
12. "And when the woman saw Samuel she cried with a loud voice: and the
woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art
Saul.
13. "And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou?
And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
14. "And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man
cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that
it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed
himself.
15. "And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me
up?"--2 Samuels xxviii.
This reads very much like an account of a modern spiritual seance. Is
it not one of the wonderful things of the world that men and women who
believe this account of the witch of Endor, who believe all the miracles
and all the ghost stories of the Bible, deny with all their force the
truth of modern Spiritualism. So far as I am concerned, I would rather
believe some one who has heard what he relates, who has seen what he
tells, or at least thinks he has seen what he tells. I would rather
believe somebody I know, whose reputation for truth is good among those
who know him. I would rather believe these people than to take the words
of those who have been in their graves for four thousand years, and
about whom I know nothing.
31 "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after
wizards, to be defiled by them; I am the Lord, your God."--_Leviticus
xix_.
6 "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and
after wizards, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut
him off from among his people."--_Leviticus xx._
10. "There shall not be found among you any one that useth divination,
or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
11. "Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or
a necromancer.
12. "For all that do these things are an abomination unto the
Lord."--_Deut. xviii_.
I have given you a few of the passages found in the Old Testament upon
this subject, showing conclusively that the Bible teaches the existence
of witches, wizards and those who have familiar spirits. In the New
Testament there are passages equally strong, showing that the Savior
himself was a believer in the existence of evil spirits, and in the
existence of a personal devil. Nothing can be plainer than the teaching
of the following:
1. "Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil.
2. "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward
an hungered.
3. "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of
God, command that these stones be made bread.
4. "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5. "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on
a pinnacle of the temple.
6. "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.
7. "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the
Lord, thy God.
8. "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and
sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.
9. "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt
fall down and worship me.
10. "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.
11. "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered
unto him."--_Matt. iv._
If this does not teach the existence of a personal devil, there is
nothing within the lids of the Scriptures teaching the existence of
a personal God. If this does not teach the existence of evil spirits,
there is nothing in the Bible going to show that good spirits exist
either in this world or the next.
16. "When the even was come they brought unto him many that were
possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and
healed all that were sick."--_Matt. vii._
1. "And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country
of the Gadarenes.
2. "And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out
of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3. "Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no,
not with chains:
4. "Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and
the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in
pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5. "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the
tombs, crying and cutting himself with stones.
6. "But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7. "And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee,
Jesus, thou son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou
torment me not.
8. "For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9. "And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name
is Legion, for we are many.
11. "Now, there was nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine
feeding.
12. "And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine,
that we may enter into them.
13. "And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went
out, and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep
place into the sea, and they were about two thousand; and were choked in
the sea."--_Mark v_.
The doctrine of witchcraft does not stop here. The power of casting out
devils was bequeathed by the Savior to his apostles and followers, and
to all who might believe in him throughout all the coming time:
17. "And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall
they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues.
18. "And they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they
shall recover."--_Mark xvi._
I would like to see the clergy who have been answering me, tested in
this way: Let them drink poison, let them take up serpents, let them
cure the sick by the laying on of hands, and I will then believe that
they believe.
I deny the witchcraft stories of the world. Witches are born in the
ignorant, frightened minds of men. Reason will exorcise them. "They are
tales told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
These devils have covered the world with blood and tears. They have
filled the earth with fear. They have filled the lives of children with
darkness and horror. They have peopled the sweet world of imagination
with monsters. They have made religion a strange mingling of fear and
ferocity. I am doing what I can to reave the heavens of these monsters.
For my part, I laugh at them all. I hold them all in contempt, ancient
and modern, great and small.
THE BIBLE IDEA OF THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN.
VI.
ALL religion has for its basis the tyranny of God and the slavery of
man.
18. "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey
the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they
have chastened him, will not hearken unto them.
19. "Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him
out unto the elders of his city, and unto, the gate of his place.
20. "And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is
stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice, he is a glutton and
a drunkard.
21. "And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he
die; so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall
hear, and fear."--_Deut. xxi._
Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. He
proceeded to obey. And the boy, being then about thirty years of age,
was not consulted. At the command of a phantom of the air, a man was
willing to offer upon the altar his only son. And such was the slavery
of children, that the only son had not the spirit to resist.
Have you ever read the story of Jephthah?
30 "And Jephthah vowed a vow unto the Lord, and said, If thou shalt
without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands,
31. "Then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my
house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon,
shall surely be the Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.
32. "So Jephthah passed over unto the children of Ammon to fight against
them; and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
33. "And he smote them from Aroer, even till thou come to Minnith, even
twenty cities, and unto the plain of the vineyards, with a very great
slaughter. Thus the children of Ammon were subdued before the children
of Israel.
34."And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and behold, his daughter
came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances; and she was his only
child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.
35. "And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and
said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one
of them that trouble me: for I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I
cannot go back....
39. "And it came to pass at the end of two months, that she returned
unto her father, who did with her according to his vow which he had
vowed."--_Judges xi._
Is there in the history of the world a sadder thing than this? What can
we think of a father who would sacrifice his daughter to a demon God?
And what can we think of a God who would accept such a sacrifice? Can
such a God be worthy of the worship of man? I plead for the rights of
children. I plead for the government of kindness and love. I plead
for the republic of home, the democracy of the fireside. I plead for
affection. And for this I am pursued by invective. For this I am called
a fiend, a devil, a monster, by Christian editors and clergymen,
by those who pretend to love their enemies and pray for those that
despitefully use them.
Allow me to give you another instance of affection related in the
Scriptures. There was, it seems, a most excellent man by the name of
Job. The Lord was walking up and down, and happening to meet Satan, said
to him: "Are you acquainted with my servant Job? Have you noticed what
an excellent man he is?" And Satan replied to him and said: "Why should
he not be an excellent man--you have given him everything he wants? Take
from him what he has and he will curse you." And thereupon the Lord gave
Satan the power to destroy the property and children of Job. In a little
while these high contracting parties met again; and the Lord seemed
somewhat elated with his success, and called again the attention of
Satan to the sinlessness of Job. Satan then told him to touch his body
and he would curse him. And thereupon power was given to Satan over the
body of Job, and he covered his body with boils. Yet in all this, Job
did not sin with his lips.
This book seems to have been written to show the excellence of patience,
and to prove that at last God will reward all who will bear the
afflictions of heaven with fortitude and without complaint. The sons and
daughters of Job had been slain, and then the Lord, in order to reward
Job, gave him other children, other sons and other daughters--not the
same ones he had lost; but others. And this, according to the writer,
made ample amends. Is that the idea we now have of love? If I have a
child, no matter how deformed that child may be, and if it dies, nobody
can make the loss to me good by bringing a more beautiful child. I want
the one I loved and the one I lost.
THE GALLANTRY OF GOD.
VII.
I HAVE said that the Bible is a barbarous book; that it has no respect
for the rights of woman. Now I propose to prove it. It takes something
besides epithets and invectives to prove or disprove anything. Let us
see what the sacred volume says concerning the mothers and daughters of
the human race.
A man who does not in his heart of hearts respect woman, who has not
there an altar at which he worships the memory of mother, is less than a
man.
11. "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12. "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the
man, but to be in silence."
The reason given for this, and the only reason that occurred to the
sacred writer, was:
13. "For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14. "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the
transgression.
15. "Notwithstanding, she shall be saved in child-bearing, if they
continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety."--_1 Tim. ii._
3. "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and
the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."
That is to say, the woman sustains the same relation to the man that man
does to Christ, and man sustains the same relation to Christ that Christ
does to God.
This places the woman infinitely below the man. And yet this barbarous
idiocy is regarded as divinely inspired. How can any woman look other
than with contempt upon such passages? How can any woman believe that
this is the will of a most merciful God?
7. "For a man, indeed, ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is
the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man."
And this is justified from the remarkable fact set forth in the next
verse:
8. "For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man."
This same chivalric gentleman also says:
9. "Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the
man."--_1 Cor. xi._
22. "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the
Lord."
Is it possible for abject obedience to go beyond this?
23. "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head
of the Church, and he is the saviour of the body.
24. "Therefore, as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives
be to their own husbands in everything."--_Eph. v._
Even the Savior did not put man and woman upon an equality. A man could
divorce his wife, but the wife could not divorce her husband.
Every noble woman should hold such apostles and such ideas in contempt.
According to the Old Testament, woman had to ask pardon and had to be
purified from the crime of having born sons and daughters. To make love
and maternity crimes is infamous.
10. "When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord
thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them
captive,
11. "And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire
unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife,
12. "Then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave
her head, and pare her nails."--_Deut. xxi_.
This is barbarism, no matter whether it came from heaven or from hell,
from a God or from a devil, from the golden streets of the New Jerusalem
or from the very Sodom of perdition. It is barbarism complete and utter.
DOES THE BIBLE SANCTION POLYGAMY AND CONCUBINAGE?
VIII.
READ the infamous order of Moses in the 31st chapter of Numbers--an
order unfit to be reproduced in print--an order which I am unwilling
to repeat. Read the 31 st chapter of Exodus. Read the 21 st chapter of
Deuteronomy. Read the-life of Abraham, of David, of Solomon, of
Jacob, and then tell me the sacred Bible does not teach polygamy and
concubinage. All the languages of the world are insufficient to express
the filth of polygamy. It makes man a beast--woman a slave. It destroys
the fireside. It makes virtue an outcast. It makes home a lair of wild
beasts. It is the infamy of infamies. Yet this is the doctrine of the
Bible--a doctrine defended even by Luther and Melancthon. It is by the
Bible that Brigham Young justifies the practice of this beastly horror.
It takes from language those sweetest words, husband, wife, father
mother, child and lover. It takes us back to the barbarism of animals,
and leaves the heart a den in which crawl and hiss the slimy serpents
of loathsome lust. Yet the book justifying this infamy is the book upon
which rests the civilization of the nineteenth century. And because I
denounce this frightful thing, the clergy denounce me as a demon, and
the infamous _Christian Advocate_ says that the moral sentiment of
this State ought to denounce this Illinois Catiline for his blasphemous
utterances and for his base and debasing scurrility.
DOES THE BIBLE UPHOLD AND JUSTIFY POLITICAL TYRANNY?
IX.
FOR my part, I insist that man has not only the capacity, but the right
to govern himself. All political authority is vested in the people
themselves, They have the right to select their officers and agents,
and these officers and agents are responsible to the people. Political
authority does not come from the clouds. Man should not be governed by
the aristocracy of the air. The Bible is not a Republican or Democratic
book. Exactly the opposite doctrine is taught. From that volume we learn
that the people have no power whatever; that all power and political
authority comes from on high, and that all the kings, all the potentates
and powers, have been ordained of God; that all the ignorant and cruel
kings have been placed upon the world's thrones by the direct act of
Deity. The Scriptures teach us that the common people have but one
duty--the duty of obedience. Let me read to you some of the political
ideas in the great "Magna Charta" of human liberty.
1. "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no
power but of God; the powers that be are ordained of God.
2. "Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance
of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation."
According to this, George III. was ordained of God. He was King of Great
Britian by divine right, and by divine right was the lawful King of the
American Colonies. The leaders in the Revolutionary struggle resisted
the power, and according to these passages, resisted the ordinances of
God; and for that resistance they are promised the eternal recompense of
damnation.
3. "For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt
thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou
shalt have praise of the same....
5. "Wherefore, ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also
for conscience sake.
6. "For, for this cause pay ye tribute also; for they are God's
ministers, attending continually upon this very thing."--_Romans, xiii._
13. "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake;
whether it be to the king as supreme.
14. "Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the
punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15. "For so is the will of God."--_1 Pet. ii._
Had these ideas been carried out, political progress in the world would
have been impossible. Upon the necks of the people still would have been
the feet of kings. I deny this wretched, this infamous doctrine.
Whether higher powers are ordained of God or not, if those higher powers
endeavor to destroy the rights of man, I for one shall resist. Whenever
and wherever the sword of rebellion is drawn in support of a human
right, I am a rebel. The despicable doctrine of submission to titled
wrong and robed injustice finds no lodgment in the brain of a man.
The real rulers are the people, and the rulers so-called are but the
servants of the people. They are not ordained of any God. All political
power comes from and belongs to man. Upon these texts of Scripture rest
the thrones of Europe. For fifteen hundred years these verses have been
repeated by brainless kings and heardess priests. For fifteen hundred
years each one of these texts has been a bastile in which has been
imprisoned the pioneers of progress. Each one of these texts has been
an obstruction on the highway of humanity. Each one has been a
fortification behind which have crouched the sainted hypocrites and the
titled robbers. According to these texts, a robber gets his right to rob
from God. And it is the duty of the robbed to submit. The thief gets his
right to steal from God. The king gets his right to trample upon human
liberty from God. I say, fight the king--fight the priest.
THE RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OF GOD.
X.
THE Bible denounces religious liberty. After covering the world with
blood, after having made it almost hollow with graves, Christians
are beginning to say that men have a right to differ upon religious
questions provided the questions about which they differ are not
considered of great importance. The motto of the Evangelical Alliance
is: "In non-essentials, Liberty; in essentials, Unity."
The Christian world have condescended to say that upon all non-essential
points we shall have the right to think for ourselves; but upon matters
of the least importance, they will think and speak for us. In this they
are consistent. They but follow the teachings of the God they worship.
They but adhere to the precepts and commands of the sacred Scriptures.
Within that volume there is no such thing as religious toleration.
Within that volume there is not one particle of mercy for an
unbeliever. For all who think for themselves, for all who are the owners
of their own souls, there are threatenings, curses and anathemas. Any
Christian who to-day exercises the least toleration is to that extent
false to his religion. Let us see what the "Magna Charta" of liberty
says upon this subject:
6. "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter,
or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul,
entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou
hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers.
7. "Namely of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh
unto thee, or afar off from thee, from the one end of the earth even
unto the other end of the earth.
8. "Thou shalt not consent unto him; nor hearken unto him; neither shall
thine eye pity him; neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal
him.
9. "But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him
to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10. "And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath
sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."--_Deut. xiii._
That is the religious liberty of the Bible. If the wife of your bosom
had said, "I like the religion of India better than the religion of
Palestine," it was then your duty to kill her, and the merciful Most
High--understand me, I do not believe in any merciful Most High--said:
"Thou shalt not pity her but thou shalt surely kill; thy hand shall be
the first upon her to put her to death."
This I denounce as infamously infamous. If it is necessary to believe
in such a God, if it is necessary to adore such a Deity in order to be
saved, I will take my part joyfully in perdition. Let me read you a few
more extracts from the "Magna Charta" of human liberty.
2. "If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord
thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the
sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3. "And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the
sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded.
4. "And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired
diligently, and behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such
abomination is wrought in Israel.
5. "Then shalt thou bring forth that man, or that woman, which have
committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that
woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die."
Under this law if the woman you loved had said: "Let us worship the sun;
I am tired of this jealous and bloodthirsty Jehovah; let us worship the
sun; let us kneel to it as it rises over the hills, filling the world
with light and love, when the dawn stands jocund on the mountain's misty
top; it is the sun whose beams illumine and cover the earth with verdure
and with beauty; it is the sun that covers the trees with leaves, that
carpets the earth with grass and adorns the world with flowers; I adore
the sun because in its light I have seen your eyes; it has given to
me the face of my babe; it has clothed my life with joy; let us in
gratitude fall down and worship the glorious beams of the sun."
For this offence she deserved not only death, but death at your hands:
"Thine eye shall not pity her; neither shalt thou spare; neither shalt
thou conceal her.
"But thou shalt surely kill her: thy hand shall be the first upon her to
put her to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
"And thou shalt stone her with stones that she die."
For my part I had a thousand times rather worship the sun than a God who
would make such a law or give such a command. This you may say is the
doctrine of the Old Testament--what is the doctrine of the New?
"He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth
not shall be damned."
That is the religious liberty of the New Testament. That is the "tidings
of great joy."
Every one of these words has been a chain upon the limbs, a whip upon
the backs of men. Every one has been a fagot. Every one has been a
sword. Every one has been a dungeon, a scaffold, a rack. Every one has
been a fountain of tears. These words have filled the hearts of men with
hatred. These words invented all the instruments of torture. These words
covered the earth with blood.
For the sake of argument, suppose that the Bible is an inspired book.
If then, as is contended, God gave these frightful laws commanding
religious intolerance to his chosen people, and afterward this same God
took upon himself flesh, and came among the Jews and taught a different
religion, and they crucified him, did he not reap what he had sown?
DOES THE BIBLE DESCRIBE A GOD OF MERCY?
XI.
IS it possible to conceive of a more jealous, revengeful, changeable,
unjust, unreasonable, cruel being than the Jehovah of the Hebrews? Is
it possible to read the words said to have been spoken by this Deity,
without a shudder? Is it possible to contemplate his character without
hatred?
"I will make mine arrows drunk with blood and my sword shall devour
flesh."--_Deut. xxxii._
Is this the language of an infinitely kind and tender parent to his
weak, his wandering and suffering children?
"Thy foot may be dipped in the blood of thine enemies, and the tongue of
thy dogs in the same." _Psalms, lxviii._
Is it possible that a God takes delight in seeing dogs lap the blood of
his children?
22. "And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by
little and little; thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts
of the field increase upon thee.
23. "But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall
destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.
24. "And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt
destroy their name from under heaven; there shall no man be able to
stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them."--_Deut. vii._
If these words had proceeded from the mouth of a demon, if they had been
spoken by some enraged and infinitely malicious fiend, I should not have
been surprised. But these things are attributed to a God of infinite
mercy.
40. "So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south,
and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left none
remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of
Israel commanded."--_Josh, x._
14. "And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of
Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with
the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, neither left they
any to breathe."--_Josh. xi._
19. "There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel,
save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon; all other they took in
battle.
20. "For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts that they should come
against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that
they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord
commanded Moses."--_Josh. xi._
There are no words in our language with which to express the indignation
I feel when reading these cruel and heartless words.
"When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim
peace unto it. And it shall be if it make thee answer of peace, and
open unto thee, then it shall be that all the people therein shall be
tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no
peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege
it. And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thy hands, thou
shalt smite every male thereof with the sword. But the women, _and the
little ones_, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even the
spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself, and thou shalt eat the
spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
"Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from
thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. But of the cities of
these people which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance,
thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth."
These terrible instructions were given to an army of invasion. The men
who were thus ruthlessly murdered were fighting for their homes, their
firesides, for their wives and for their little children. Yet these
things, by the clergy of San Francisco, are called acts of sublime
mercy.
All this is justified by the doctrine of the survival of the fittest.
The Old Testament is filled with anathemas, with curses, with words of
vengeance, of revenge, of jealousy, of hatred and of almost infinite
brutality. Do not, I pray you, pluck from the heart the sweet flower
of pity and trample it in the bloody dust of superstition. Do not, I
beseech you, justify the murder of women, the assassination of dimpled
babes. Do not let the gaze of the gorgon of superstition turn your
hearts to stone.
Is there an intelligent Christian in the world who would not with joy
and gladness receive conclusive testimony to the effect that all the
passages in the Bible upholding and sustaining polygamy and concubinage,
political tyranny, the subjection of woman, the enslavement of children,
establishing domestic and political tyranny, and that all the commands
to destroy men, women and children, are but interpolations of kings
and priests, made for the purpose of subjugating mankind through the
instrumentality of fear? Is there a Christian in the world who would
not think vastly more of the Bible if all these infamous things were
eliminated from it?
Surely the good things in that book are not rendered more sacred from
the fact that in the same volume are found the frightful passages I have
quoted. In my judgment the Bible should be read and studied precisely as
we read and study any book whatever. The good in it should be preserved
and cherished, and that which shocks the human heart should be cast
aside forever.
While the Old Testament threatens men, women and children with disease,
famine, war, pestilence and death, there are no threatenings of
punishment beyond this life. The doctrine of eternal punishment is a
dogma of the New Testament. This doctrine, the most cruel, the most
infamous of which the human mind can conceive, is taught, if taught at
all, in the Bible--in the New Testament. One cannot imagine what the
human heart has suffered by reason of the frightful doctrine of eternal
damnation. It is a doctrine so abhorrent to every drop of my blood, so
infinitely cruel, that it is impossible for me to respect either the
head or heart of any human being who teaches or fears it. This
doctrine necessarily subverts all ideas of justice. To inflict infinite
punishment for finite crimes, or rather for crimes committed by finite
beings, is a proposition so monstrous that I am astonished it ever
found lodgment in the brain of man. Whoever says that we can be happy in
heaven while those we loved on earth are suffering infinite torments in
eternal fire, defames and calumniates the human heart.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION.
XII.
WE are told, however, that a way has been provided for the salvation
of all men, and that in this plan the infinite mercy of God is made
manifest to the children of men. According to the great scheme of the
atonement, the innocent suffers for the guilty in order to satisfy a
law. What kind of law must it be that is satisfied with the agony of
innocence? Who made this law? If God made it he must have known that the
innocent would have to suffer as a consequence. The whole scheme is
to me a medley of contradictions, impossibilities and theological
conclusions. We are told that if Adam and Eve had not sinned in the
Garden of Eden death never would have entered the world. We are further
informed that had it not been for the devil, Adam and Eve would not
have been led astray; and if they had not, as I said before, death
never would have touched with its icy hand the human heart. If our first
parents had never sinned, and death never had entered the world, you and
I never would have existed. The earth would have been filled thousands
of generations before you and I were born. At the feast of life, death
made seats vacant for us. According to this doctrine, we are indebted
to the devil for our existence. Had he not tempted Eve--no sin. If there
had been no sin--no death. If there had been no death the world would
have been filled ages before you and I were born. Therefore, we owe our
existence to the devil. We are further informed that as a consequence of
original sin the scheme called the atonement became necessary; and that
if the Savior had not taken upon himself flesh and come to this atom
called the earth, and if he had not been crucified for us, we should all
have been cast forever into hell. Had it not been for the bigotry of
the Jews and the treachery of Judas Iscariot, Christ would not have been
crucified; and if he had not been crucified, all of us would have had
our portion in the lake that burneth with eternal fire.
According to this great doctrine, according to this vast and most
wonderful scheme, we owe, as I said before, our existence to the devil,
our salvation to Judas Iscariot and the bigotry of the Jews.
So far as I am concerned, I fail to see any mercy in the plan of
salvation. Is it mercy to reward a man forever in consideration of
believing a certain thing, of the truth of which there is, to his mind,
ample testimony? Is it mercy to punish a man with eternal fire simply
because there is not testimony enough to satisfy his mind? Can there be
such a thing as mercy in eternal punishment?
And yet this same Deity says to me, "resist not evil; pray for those
that despitefully use you; love your enemies, but I will eternally damn
mine." It seems to me that even gods should practice what they preach.
All atonement, after all, is a kind of moral bankruptcy. Under its
provisions, man is allowed the luxury of sinning upon a credit. Whenever
he is guilty of a wicked action he says, "charge it." This kind of
bookkeeping, in my judgment, tends to breed extravagance in sin.
The truth is, most Christians are better than their creeds; most creeds
are better than the Bible, and most men are better than their God.
OTHER RELIGIONS.
XIII.
WE must remember that ours is not the only religion. Man has in all ages
endeavored to answer the great questions Whence? and Whither? He has
endeavored to read his destiny in the stars, to pluck the secret of
his existence from the night. He has questioned the spectres of his own
imagination. He has explored the mysterious avenues of dreams. He
has peopled the heavens with spirits. He has mistaken his visions for
realities. In the twilight of ignorance he has mistaken shadows
for gods. In all ages he has been the slave of misery, the dupe of
superstition and the fool of hope. He has suffered and aspired.
Religion is a thing of growth, of development. As we advance we throw
aside the grosser and absurder forms of faith--practically at first by
ceasing to observe them, and lastly, by denying them altogether. Every
church necessarily by its constitution endeavors to prevent this natural
growth or development. What has happened to other religions must happen
to ours. Ours is not superior to many that have passed, or are passing
away. Other religions have been lived for and died for by men as noble
as ours can boast. Their dogmas and doctrines have, to say the least,
been as reasonable, as full of spiritual grandeur, as ours.
Man has had beautiful thoughts. Man has tried to solve these questions
in all the countries of the world, and I respect all such men and women;
but let me tell you one little thing. I want to show you that in other
countries there is something.
The Parsee sect of Persia say: A Persian saint ascended the three stairs
that lead to heaven's gate, and knocked; a voice said: "Who is there?"
"Thy servant, O God!" But the gates would not open. For seven years he
did every act of kindness; again he came, and the voice said: "Who is
there?" And he replied: "Thy slave, O God!" Yet the gates were shut. Yet
seven other years of kindness, and the man again knocked; and the voice
cried and said: "Who is there?" "Thyself, O God!" And the gates wide
open flew.
I say there is no more beautiful Christian poem than this.
A Persian after having read our religion, with its frightful
descriptions of perdition, wrote these words: "Two angels flying out
from the blissful city of God--the angel of love and the angel of
pity--hovered over the eternal pit where suffered the captives of
hell. One smile of love illumined the darkness and one tear of pity
extinguished all the fires." Has orthodoxy produced anything as
generously beautiful as this? Let me read you this: Sectarians, hear
this: Believers in eternal damnation, hear this: Clergy of America who
expect to have your happiness in heaven increased by seeing me burning
in hell, hear this:
This is the prayer of the Brahmins--a prayer that has trembled from
human lips toward heaven for more than four thousand years:
"Never will I seek or receive private individual salvation. Never will
I enter into final bliss alone. But forever and everywhere will I labor
and strive for the final redemption of every creature throughout all
worlds, and until all are redeemed. Never will I wrongly leave this
world to sin, sorrow and struggle, but will remain and work and suffer
where I am."
Has the orthodox religion produced a prayer like this? See the infinite
charity, not only for every soul in this world, but of all the shining
worlds of the universe. Think of that, ye parsons who imagine that a
large majority are going to eternal ruin.
Compare it with the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, and compare it with the
imprecation of Christ: "Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared
for the devil and his angels;" with the ideas of Jeremy Taylor, with the
creeds of Christendom, with all the prayers of all the saints, and in no
church except the Universalist will you hear a prayer like this.
"When thou art in doubt as to whether an action is good or bad, abstain
from it."
Since the days of Zoroaster has there been any rule for human conduct
given superior to this?
Are the principles taught by us superior to those of Confucius? He was
asked if there was any single word comprising the duties of man. He
replied: "Reciprocity." Upon being asked what he thought of the
doctrine of returning benefits for injuries, he replied: "That is not
my doctrine. If you return benefits for injuries what do you propose
for benefits? My doctrine is; For benefits return benefits; for injuries
return justice without any admixture of revenge."
To return good for evil is to pay a premium upon wickedness. I cannot
put a man under obligation to do me a favor by doing him an injury.
Now, to-day, right now, what is the church doing? What is it doing, I
ask you honestly? Does it satisfy the craving hearts of the nineteenth
century? Are we satisfied? I am not saying this except from the honesty
of my heart. Are we satisfied? Is it a consolation to us now? Is it
even a consolation when those we love die? The dead are so near and the
promises are so far away. It is covered with the rubbish of the past.
I ask you, is it all that is demanded by the brain and heart of the
nineteenth century?
We want something better; we want something grander; we want
something that has more brain in it, and more heart in it. We want to
advance--that is what we want; and you cannot advance without being a
heretic--you cannot do it.
Nearly all these religions have been upheld by persecution and
bloodshed. They have been rendered stable by putting fetters upon the
human brain. They have all, however, been perfectly natural productions,
and under similar circumstances would all be reproduced. Only by
intellectual development are the old superstitions outgrown. As only
the few intellectually advance, the majority is left on the side of
superstition, and remains there until the advanced ideas of the few
thinkers become general; and by that time there are other thinkers still
in advance.
And so the work of development and growth slowly and painfully proceeds
from age to age. The pioneers are denounced as heretics, and the
heretics denounce their denouncers as the disciples of superstition
and ignorance. Christ was a heretic. Herod was orthodox. Socrates was a
blasphemer. Anytus worshiped all the gods. Luther was a skeptic, while
the sellers of indulgences were the best of Catholics. Roger Williams
was a heretic, while the Puritans who drove him from Massachusetts were
all orthodox. Every step in advance in the religious history of the
world has been taken by heretics. No superstition has been destroyed
except by a heretic. No creed has been bettered except by a heretic.
Heretic is the name that the orthodox laggard hurls at the disappearing
pioneer. It is shouted by the dwellers in swamps to the people upon the
hills. It is the opinion that midnight entertains of the dawn. It is
what the rotting says of the growing. Heretic is the name that a stench
gives to a perfume.
With this word the coffin salutes the cradle. It is taken from the lips
of the dead. Orthodoxy is a shroud--heresy is a banner. Orthodoxy is
an epitaph--heresy is a prophecy. Orthodoxy is a cloud, a fog, a
mist--heresy the star shining forever above the child of truth.
I am a believer in the eternity of progress. I do not believe that Want
will forever extend its withered hand, its wan and shriveled palms, for
charity. I do not believe that the children will forever be governed by
cruelty and brute force. I do not believe that poverty will dwell with
man forever. I do not believe that prisons will forever cover the earth,
or that the shadow of the gallows will forever fall upon the ground. I
do not believe that injustice will sit forever upon the bench, or that
malice and superstition will forever stand in the pulpit.
I believe the time will come when there will be charity in every heart,
when there will be love in every family, and when law and liberty and
justice, like the atmosphere, will surround this world.
We have worshiped the ghosts long enough. We have prostrated ourselves
before the ignorance of the past.
Let us stand erect and look with hopeful eyes toward the brightening
future. Let us stand by our convictions. Let us not throw away our idea
of justice for the sake of any book or of any religion whatever. Let us
live according to our highest and noblest and purest ideal.
By this time we should know that the real Bible has not been written.
The real Bible is not the work of inspired men, or prophets, or
apostles, or evangelists, or of Christs.
Every man who finds a fact, adds, as it were, a word to this great
book. It is not attested by prophecy, by miracles, or signs. It makes
no appeal to faith, to ignorance, to credulity or fear. It has no
punishment for unbelief, and no reward for hypocrisy. It appeals to man
in the name of demonstration. It has nothing to conceal. It has no
fear of being read, of being contradicted, of being investigated and
understood. It does not pretend to be holy, or sacred; it simply claims
to be true. It challenges the scrutiny of all, and implores every reader
to verify every line for himself. It is incapable of being blasphemed.
This book appeals to all the surroundings of man. Each thing that exists
testifies to its perfection. The earth, with its heart of fire and
crowns of snow; with its forests and plains, its rocks and seas; with
its every wave and cloud; with its every leaf and bud and flower,
confirms its every word, and the solemn stars, shining in the infinite
abysses, are the eternal witnesses of its truth.
Ladies and gentlemen you cannot tell how I thank you this evening; you
cannot tell how I feel toward the intellectual hospitality of this great
city by the Pacific sea. Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you--I thank you
again and again, a thousand times.
MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
* Chicago Times, 1879.
To the Editor:--
NOTHING is more gratifying than to see ideas that were received with
scorn, flourishing in the sunshine of approval. Only a few weeks ago,
I stated that the Bible was not inspired; that Moses was mistaken; that
the "flood" was a foolish myth; that the Tower of Babel existed only in
credulity; that God did not create the universe from nothing, that he
did not start the first woman with a rib; that he never upheld slavery;
that he was not a polygamist; that he did not kill people for making
hair-oil; that he did not order his generals to kill the dimpled babes;
that he did not allow the roses of love and the violets of modesty to
be trodden under the brutal feet of lust; that the Hebrew language
was written without vowels; that the Bible was composed of many books,
written by unknown men; that all translations differed from each other;
and that this book had filled the world with agony and crime.
At that time I had not the remotest idea that the most learned clergymen
in Chicago would substantially agree with me--in public. I have read
the replies of the Rev. Robert Collyer, Dr. Thomas, Rabbi Kohler, Rev.
Brooke Herford, Prof. Swing and Dr. Ryder, and will now ask them a few
questions, answering them in their own words.
First. Rev. Robert Collyer.
_Question_. What is your opinion of the Bible? Answer. "It is a splendid
book. It makes the noblest type of Catholics and the meanest bigots.
Through this book men give their hearts for good to God, or for evil to
the devil. The best argument for the intrinsic greatness of the book
is that it can touch such wide extremes, and seem to maintain us in the
most unparalleled cruelty, as well as the most tender mercy; that it can
inspire purity like that of the great saints, and afford arguments in
favor of polygamy. The Bible is the text book of ironclad Calvinism and
sunny Universalism. It makes the Quaker quiet, and the Millerite crazy.
It inspired the Union soldier to live and grandly die for the right, and
Stonewall Jackson to live nobly, and die grandly for the wrong."
_Question_. But, Mr. Collyer, do you really think that a book with as
many passages in favor of wrong as right, is inspired?
_Answer._ "I look upon the Old Testament as a rotting tree. When it
falls it will fertilize a bank of violets."
_Question_. Do you believe that God upheld slavery and polygamy? Do
you believe that he ordered the killing of babes and the violation of
maidens?
_Answer._ "There is threefold inspiration in the Bible, the first,
peerless and perfect, the word of God to man; _the second, simply and
purely human, and then below this again, there is an inspiration born of
an evil heart, ruthless and savage there and then as anything well can
be_. A threefold inspiration, of heaven first, then of the earth, and
then of hell, all in the same book, all sometimes in the same chapter,
and then, besides, a great many things that need no inspiration."
_Question_. Then after all you do not pretend that the Scriptures are
really inspired?
_Answer._ "The Scriptures make no such claim for themselves as the
church makes for them. They leave me free to say this is false, or this
is true. The truth even within the Bible, dies and lives, makes on this
side and loses on that."
_Question_. What do you say to the last verse in the Bible, where a
curse is threatened to any man who takes from or adds to the book?
_Answer._ "I have but one answer to this question, and it is: Let who
will have written this, I cannot for an instant believe that it was
written by a divine inspiration. Such dogmas and threats as these are
not of God, but of man, and not of any man of a free spirit and heart
eager for the truth, but a narrow man who would cripple and confine the
human soul in its quest after the whole truth of God, and back those who
have done the shameful things in the name of the most high."
_Question_. Do you not regard such talk as "slang"?
(Supposed) Answer. If an infidel had said that the writer of Revelation
was narrow and bigoted, I might have denounced his discourse as "slang,"
but I think that Unitarian ministers can do so with the greatest
propriety.
_Question_. Do you believe in the stories of the Bible, about Jael, and
the sun standing still, and the walls falling at the blowing of horns?
_Answer._ "They may be legends, myths, poems, or what they will, but
they are not the word of God. So I say again, it was not the God and
Father of us all, who inspired the woman to drive that nail crashing
through the king's temple after she had given him that bowl of milk and
bid him sleep in safety, but a very mean devil of hatred and revenge,
that I should hardly expect to find in a squaw on the plains. It was not
the ram's horns and the shouting before which the walls fell flat. If
they went down at all, it was through good solid pounding. And not for
an instant did the steady sun stand still or let his planet stand still
while barbarian fought barbarian. He kept just the time then he keeps
now. They might believe it who made the record. I do not. And since the
whole Christian world might believe it, still we do not who gather in
this church. A free and reasonable mind stands right in our way. Newton
might believe it as a Christian, and disbelieve it as a philosopher.
We stand then with the philosopher against the Christian, for we must
believe what is true to us in the last test, and these things are not
true."
Second. Rev. Dr. Thomas.
_Question_. What is your opinion of the Old Testament?
_Answer._ "My opinion is that it is not one book, but many--thirty-nine
books bound up in one. The date and authorship of most of these books
are wholly unknown. The Hebrews wrote without vowels, and without
dividing the letters into syllables, words, or sentences. The books
were gathered up by Ezra. At that time only two of the Jewish tribes
remained. All progress has ceased. In gathering up the sacred book,
copyists exercised great liberty in making changes and additions."
_Question_. Yes, we know all that, but is the Old Testament inspired?
_Answer._ "There maybe the inspiration of art, of poetry, or oratory;
of patriotism--and there are such inspirations. There are moments when
great truths and principles come to men. They seek the man, and not the
man them."
_Question_. Yes, we all admit that, but is the Bible inspired?
_Answer._ "But still I know of no way to convince anyone of spirit, and
inspiration, and God, only as his reason may take hold of these things."
_Question_. Do you think the Old Testament true?
_Answer._ "The story of Eden may be an allegory. The history of the
children of Israel may have mistakes."
_Question_. Must inspiration claim infallibility? Answer. "It is a
mistake to say that if you believe one part of the Bible you must
believe all. Some of the thirty-nine books may be inspired, others not;
or there may be degrees of inspiration."
_Question_. Do you believe that God commanded the soldiers to kill the
children and the married women, and save for themselves, the maidens, as
recorded in _Numbers xxxi, 2_,
Do you believe that God upheld slavery?
Do you believe that God upheld polygamy?
_Answer._ "The Bible may be wrong in some statements. God and right
cannot be wrong. We must not exalt the Bible above God. It may be that
we have claimed too much for the Bible, and thereby given not a little
occasion for such men as Mr. Ingersoll to appear at the other extreme,
denying too much."
_Question_. What then shall be done?
_Answer._ "We must take a middle ground. It is not necessary to believe
that the bears devoured the forty-two children, nor that Jonah was
swallowed by the whale."
Third. Rev. Dr. Kohler.
_Question_. What is your opinion about the Old Testament?
_Answer._ "I will not make futile attempts of artificially interpreting
the letter of the Bible so as to make it reflect the philosophical,
moral and scientific views of our time. The Bible is a sacred record of
humanity's childhood."
_Question_. Are you an orthodox Christian?
_Answer._ "No. Orthodoxy, with its face turned backward to a ruined
temple or a dead Messiah, is fast becoming like Lot's wife, a pillar of
salt."
_Question_. Do you really believe the Old Testament was inspired?
_Answer._ "I greatly acknowledge our indebtedness to men like Voltaire
and Thomas Paine, whose bold denial and cutting wit were so instrumental
in bringing about this glorious era of freedom, so congenial and
blissful, particularly to the long-abused Jewish race."
_Question_. Do you believe in the inspiration of the Bible?
_Answer._ "Of course there is a destructive axe needed to strike down
the old building in order to make room for the grander new. The divine
origin claimed by the Hebrews for their national literature, was claimed
by all nations for their old records and laws as preserved by the
priesthood. As Moses, the Hebrew law-giver, is represented as having
received the law from God on the holy mountain, so is Zoroaster the
Persian, Manu the Hindoo, Minos the Cretan, Lycurgus the Spartan, and
Numa the Roman."
_Question_. Do you believe all the stories in the Bible?
_Answer._ "All that can and must be said against them is that they have
been too long retained around the arms and limbs of grown-up manhood, to
check the spiritual progress of religion; that by Jewish ritualism and
Christian dogmatism they became fetters unto the soul, turning the light
of heaven into a misty haze to blind the eye, and even into a hell-fire
of fanaticism to consume souls."
_Question_. Is the Bible inspired?
_Answer._ "True, the Bible is not free from errors, nor is any work of
man and time. It abounds in childish views and offensive matter. I
trust that it will in a time not far off be presented for common use in
families, schools, synagogues and churches, in a refined shape, cleansed
from all dross and chaff, and stumbling blocks in which the scoffer
delights to dwell."
Fourth. Rev. Mr. Herford.
_Question_. Is the Bible true?
_Answer._ "Ingersoll is very fond of saying 'The question is not, is
the Bible inspired, but is it true?' That sounds very plausible, but you
know as applied to _any ancient book_ it is simply nonsense."
_Question_. Do you think the stories in the Bible exaggerated?
_Answer._ "I dare say the numbers are immensely exaggerated."
_Question_. Do you think that God upheld polygamy?
_Answer._ "The truth of which simply is, that four thousand years ago
polygamy existed among the Jews, as everywhere else on earth then, and
even their prophets did not come to the idea of its being wrong. _But
what is there to be indignant_ about in that?"
_Question_. And so you really wonder why any man should be indignant
at the idea that God upheld and sanctioned that beastliness called
polygamy?
_Answer._ "What is there to be indignant about in that?"
Fifth. Prof. Swing.
_Question_. What is your idea of the Bible?
_Answer._ "I think it is a poem."
Sixth. Rev. Dr. Ryder.
_Question_. And what is your idea of the sacred Scriptures?
_Answer._ "Like other nations, the Hebrews had their patriotic,
descriptive, didactic and lyrical poems in the same varieties as other
nations; but with them, unlike other nations, whatever may be the form
of their poetry, it always possesses the characteristic of religion."
_Question_. I suppose you fully appreciate the religious characteristics
of the Song of Solomon.
No answer.
_Question_. Does the Bible uphold polygamy?
_Answer._ "The law of Moses did not forbid it, but contained many
provisions against its worst abuses, and such as were intended to
restrict it within narrow limits."
_Question_. So you think God corrected some of the worst abuses of
polygamy, but preserved the institution itself?
I might question many others, but have concluded not to consider those
as members of my Bible Class who deal in calumnies and epithets.
From the so-called "replies" of such ministers, it appears that while
Christianity changes the heart, it does not improve the manners, and
that one can get into heaven in the next world without having been a
gentleman in this.
It is difficult for me to express the deep and thrilling satisfaction
I have experienced in reading the admissions of the clergy of Chicago.
Surely, the battle of intellectual liberty is almost won, when ministers
admit that the Bible is filled with ignorant and cruel mistakes;
that each man has the right to think for himself, and that it is not
necessary to believe the Scriptures in order to be saved. From the
bottom of my heart I congratulate my pupils on the advance they have
made, and hope soon to meet them on the serene heights of perfect
freedom.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
Washington, D. C., May 7, 1879.
TO THE INDIANAPOLIS CLERGY.
* The Iconoclast, Indianapolis, Indiana. 1883.
THE following questions have been submitted to me by the Rev. David
Walk, Dr. T. B. Taylor, the Rev. Myron W. Reed, and the Rev. D.
O'Donaghue, of Indianapolis, with the request that I answer.
_Question_. Is the Character of Jesus of Nazareth, as described in the
Four Gospels, Fictional or Real?--Rev. David Walk.
_Answer._ In all probability, there was a man by the name of Jesus
Christ, who was, in his day and generation, a reformer--a man who was
infinitely shocked at the religion of Jehovah--who became almost insane
with pity as he contemplated the sufferings of the weak, the poor, and
the ignorant at the hands of an intolerant, cruel, hypocritical, and
bloodthirsty church. It is no wonder that such a man predicted the
downfall of the temple. In all probability, he hated, at last, every
pillar and stone in it, and despised even the "Holy of Holies." This
man, of course, like other men, grew. He did not die with the opinion
he held in his youth. He changed his views from time to time--fanned the
spark of reason into a flame, and as he grew older his horizon extended
and widened, and he became gradually a wiser, greater, and better man.
I find two or three Christs described in the four Gospels. In some
portions you would imagine that he was an exceedingly pious Jew. When he
says that people must not swear by Jerusalem, because it is God's holy
city, certainly no Pharisee could have gone beyond that expression.
So, too, when it is recorded that he drove the money changers from the
temple. This, had it happened, would have been the act simply of one who
had respect for this temple and not for the religion taught in it.
It would seem that, at first, Christ believed substantially in the
religion of his time; that afterward, seeing its faults, he wished to
reform it; and finally, comprehending it in all its enormity, he devoted
his life to its destruction. This view shows that he "increased in
stature and grew in knowledge."
This view is also supported by the fact that, at first, according to
the account, Christ distinctly stated that his gospel was not for
the Gentiles. At that time he had altogether more patriotism than
philosophy. In my own opinion, he was driven to like the Gentiles by
the persecution he endured at home. He found, as every Freethinker now
finds, that there are many saints not in churches and many devils not
out.
The character of Christ, in many particulars, as described in the
Gospels, depends upon who wrote the Gospels. Each one endeavored to make
a Christ to suit himself. So that Christ, after all, is a growth; and
since the Gospels were finished, millions of men have been adding to and
changing the character of Christ.
There is another thing that should not be forgotten, and that is that
the Gospels were not written until after the Epistles. I take it for
granted that Paul never saw any of the Gospels, for the reason that he
quotes none of them. There is also this remarkable fact: Paul quotes
none of the miracles of the New Testament. He says not one word
about the multitude being fed miraculously, not one word about the
resurrection of Lazarus, nor of the widow's son. He had never heard of
the lame, the halt, and the blind that had been cured; or if he had, he
did not think these incidents of enough importance to be embalmed in an
epistle.
So we find that none of the early fathers ever quoted from the four
Gospels. Nothing can be more certain than that the four Gospels were not
written until after the Epistles, and nothing can be more certain than
that the early Christians knew nothing of what we call the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All these things have been growths. At
first it was believed that Christ was a direct descendant from David. At
that time the disciples of Christ, of course, were Jews. The Messiah was
expected through the blood of David.--For that reason, the genealogy of
Joseph, a descendant of David, was given. It was not until long after,
that the idea came into the minds of Christians that Christ was the
son of the Holy Ghost. If they, at the time the genealogy was given,
believed that Christ was in fact the son of the Holy Ghost, why did they
give the genealogy of Joseph to show that Christ was related to David?
In other words, why should the son of God attempt to get glory out of
the fact that he had in his veins the blood of a barbarian king? There
is only one answer to this. The Jews expected the Messiah through
David, and in order to prove that Christ was the Messiah, they gave the
genealogy of Joseph. Afterward, the idea became popularized that
Christ was the son of God, and then were interpolated the words "as
was supposed" in the genealogy of Christ. It was a long time before the
disciples became great enough to include the world in their scheme, and
before they thought it proper to tell the "glad tidings of great joy"
beyond the limits of Judea.
My own opinion is that the man called Christ lived; but whether he
lived in Palestine, or not, is of no importance. His life is worth its
example, its moral force, its benevolence, its self-denial and heroism.
It is of no earthly importance whether he changed water into wine or
not. All his miracles are simply dust and darkness compared with what he
actually said and actually did. We should be kind to each other whether
Lazarus was raised or not. We should be just and forgiving whether
Christ lived or not. All the miracles in the world are of no use to
virtue, morality, or justice. Miracles belong to superstition, to
ignorance, to fear and folly.
Neither does it make any difference who wrote the Gospels. They are
worth the truth that is in them and no more.
The words of Paul are often quoted, that "all scripture is given by
inspiration of God." Of course that could not have applied to anything
written after that time. It could have applied only to the Scriptures
then written and then known. It is perfectly clear that the four Gospels
were not at that time written, and therefore this statement of Paul's
does not apply to the four Gospels. Neither does it apply to anything
written after that statement was written. Neither does it apply to that
statement. If it applied to anything it was the Old Testament, and not
the New.
Christ has been belittled by his worshipers. When stripped of the
miraculous; when allowed to be, not divine but divinely human, he will
have gained a thousandfold in the estimation of mankind. I think of him
as I do of Buddha, as I do of Confucius, of Epictetus, of Bruno. I place
him with the great, the generous, the self-denying of the earth, and for
the man Christ, I feel only admiration and respect. I think he was in
many things mistaken. His reliance upon the goodness of God was perfect.
He seemed to believe that his father in heaven would protect him. He
thought that if God clothed the lilies of the field in beauty, if he
provided for the sparrows, he would surely protect a perfectly just
and loving man. In this he was mistaken; and in the darkness of death,
overwhelmed, he cried out: "Why hast thou forsaken me?"
I do not believe that Christ ever claimed to be divine; ever claimed to
be inspired; ever claimed to work a miracle. In short, I believe that he
was an honest man. These claims were all put in his mouth by others--by
mistaken friends, by ignorant worshipers, by zealous and credulous
followers, and sometimes by dishonest and designing priests. This has
happened to all the great men of the world. All historical characters
are, in part, deformed or reformed by fiction. There was a man by the
name of George Washington, but no such George Washington ever existed
as we find portrayed in history. The historical Cæsar never lived. The
historical Mohammed is simply a myth. It is the task of modern criticism
to rescue these characters, and in the mass of superstitious rubbish to
find the actual man. Christians borrowed the old clothes of the Olympian
gods and gave them to Christ. To me, Christ the man is far greater than
Christ the god.
To me, it has always been a matter of wonder that Christ said nothing as
to the obligation man is under to his country, nothing as to the rights
of the people as against the wish and will of kings, nothing against the
frightful system of human slavery--almost universal in his time. What
he did not say is altogether more wonderful than what he did say. It is
marvelous that he said nothing upon the subject of intemperance, nothing
about education, nothing about philosophy, nothing about nature, nothing
about art. He said nothing in favor of the home, except to offer a
reward to those who would desert their wives and families. Of course,
I do not believe that he said the words that were attributed to him, in
which a reward is offered to any man who will desert his kindred. But if
we take the account given in the four Gospels as the true account, then
Christ did offer a reward to a father who would desert his children. It
has always been contended that he was a perfect example of mankind, and
yet he never married. As a result of what he did not teach in connection
with what he did teach, his followers saw no harm in slavery, no harm
in polygamy. They belittled this world and exaggerated the importance of
the next. They consoled the slave by telling him that in a little while
he would exchange his chains for wings. They comforted the captive by
saying that in a few days he would leave his dungeon for the bowers
of Paradise. His followers believed that he had said that "Whosoever
believeth not shall be damned." This passage was the cross upon which
intellectual liberty was crucified.
If Christ had given us the laws of health; if he had told us how to
cure disease by natural means; if he had set the captive free; if he had
crowned the people with their rightful power; if he had placed the home
above the church; if he had broken all the mental chains; if he had
flooded all the caves and dens of fear with light, and filled the future
with a common joy, he would in truth have been the Savior of this world.
_Question_. How do you account for the difference between the Christian
and other modern civilizations?
_Answer._ I account for the difference between men by the difference in
their ancestry and surroundings--the difference in soil, climate, food,
and employment. There would be no civilization in England were it not
for the Gulf Stream. There would have been very little here had it not
been for the discovery of Columbus. And even now on this continent there
would be but little civilization had the soil been poor. I might ask:
How do you account for the civilization of Egypt? At one time that was
the greatest civilization in the world. Did that fact prove that the
Egyptian religion was of divine origin? So, too, there was a time when
the civilization of India was beyond all others. Does that prove that
Vishnu was a God? Greece dominated the intellectual world for centuries.
Does that fact absolutely prove that Zeus was the creator of heaven and
earth? The same may be said of Rome. There was a time when Rome governed
the world, and yet I have always had my doubts as to the truth of the
Roman mythology. As a matter of fact, Rome was far better than any
Christian nation ever was to the end of the seventeenth century. A
thousand years of Christian rule produced no fellow for the greatest
of Rome. There were no poets the equals of Horace or Virgil, no
philosophers as great as Lucretius, no orators like Cicero, no emperors
like Marcus Aurelius, no women like the mothers of Rome.
The civilization of a country may be hindered by a religion, but it
has never been increased by any form of superstition. When America was
discovered it had the same effect upon Europe that it would have, for
instance, upon the city of Chicago to have Lake Michigan put the other
side of it. The Mediterranean lost its trade. The centers of commerce
became deserted. The prow of the world turned westward, and, as a
result, France, England, and all countries bordering on the
Atlantic became prosperous. The world has really been civilized by
discoverers--by thinkers. The man who invented powder, and by that means
released hundreds of thousands of men from the occupations of war, did
more for mankind than religion. The inventor of paper--and he was not
a Christian--did more than all the early fathers for mankind. The
inventors of plows, of sickles, of cradles, of reapers; the inventors
of wagons, coaches, locomotives; the inventors of skiffs, sail-vessels,
steamships; the men who have made looms--in short, the inventors of
all useful things--they are the civilizers taken in connection with the
great thinkers, the poets, the musicians, the actors, the painters, the
sculptors. The men who have invented the useful, and the men who have
made the useful beautiful, are the real civilizers of mankind.
The priests, in all ages, have been hindrances--stumbling-blocks. They
have prevented man from using his reason. They have told ghost stories
to courage until courage became fear. They have done all in their power
to keep men from growing intellectually, to keep the world in a state of
childhood, that they themselves might be deemed great and good and wise.
They have always known that their reputation for wisdom depended upon
the ignorance of the people.
I account for the civilization of France by such men as Voltaire. He did
good by assisting to destroy the church. Luther did good exactly in the
same way. He did harm in building another church. I account, in part,
for the civilization of England by the fact that she had interests
greater than the church could control; and by the further fact that her
greatest men cared nothing for the church. I account in part for the
civilization of America by the fact that our fathers were wise enough,
and jealous of each other enough, to absolutely divorce church and
state. They regarded the church as a dangerous mistress--one not fit to
govern a president. This divorce was obtained because men like Jefferson
and Paine were at that time prominent in the councils of the people.
There is this peculiarity in our country--the only men who can be
trusted with human liberty are the ones who are not to be angels
hereafter. Liberty is safe so long as the sinners have an opportunity to
be heard.
Neither must we imagine that our civilization is the only one in the
world. They had no locks and keys in Japan until that country was
visited by Christians, and they are now used only in those ports where
Christians are allowed to enter. It has often been claimed that there
is but one way to make a man temperate, and that is by making him
a Christian; and this is claimed in face of the fact that Christian
nations are the most intemperate in the world. For nearly thirteen
centuries the followers of Mohammed have been absolute teetotalers--not
one drunkard under the flag of the star and crescent. Wherever, in
Turkey, a man is seen under the influence of liquor, they call him a
Christian. You must also remember that almost every Christian nation
has held slaves. Only a few years ago England was engaged in the slave
trade. A little while before that our Puritan ancestors sold white
Quaker children in the Barbadoes, and traded them for rum, sugar, and
negro slaves. Even now the latest champion of Christianity upholds
slavery, polygamy, and wars of extermination.
Sometimes I suspect that our own civilization is not altogether perfect.
When I think of the penitentiaries crammed to suffocation, and of the
many who ought to be in; of the want, the filth, the depravity of the
great cities; of the starvation in the manufacturing centers of Great
Britain, and, in fact, of all Europe; when I see women working like
beasts of burden, and little children deprived, not simply of education,
but of air, light and food, there is a suspicion in my mind that
Christian civilization is not a complete and overwhelming success.
After all, I am compelled to account for the advance that we have made,
by the discoveries and inventions of men of genius. For the future I
rely upon the sciences; upon the cultivation of the intellect. I rely
upon labor; upon human interests in this world; upon the love of wife
and children and home. I do not rely upon sacred books, but upon good
men and women. I do not rely upon superstition, but upon knowledge; not
upon miracles, but upon facts; not upon the dead, but upon the living;
and when we become absolutely civilized, we shall look back upon the
superstitions of the world, not simply with contempt, but with pity.
Neither do I rely upon missionaries to convert those whom we are pleased
to call "the heathen." Honest commerce is the great civilizer. We
exchange ideas when we exchange fabrics. The effort to force a religion
upon the people always ends in war. Commerce, founded upon mutual
advantage, makes peace. An honest merchant is better than a missionary.
Spain was blessed with what is called Christian civilization, and yet,
for hundreds of years, that government was simply an organized crime.
When one pronounces the name of Spain, he thinks of the invasion of
the New World, the persecution in the Netherlands, the expulsion of the
Jews, and the Inquisition. Even to-day, the Christian nations of Europe
preserve themselves from each other by bayonet and ball. Prussia has a
standing army of six hundred thousand men, France a half million, and
all their neighbors a like proportion. These countries are civilized.
They are in the enjoyment of Christian governments--have their hundreds
of a thousands of ministers, and the land covered with cathedrals and
churches--and yet every nation is nearly beggared by keeping armies in
the field. Christian kings have no confidence in the promises of each
other. What they call peace is the little time necessarily spent in
reloading their guns. England has hundreds of ships of war to protect
her commerce from other Christians, and to force China to open her ports
to the opium trade. Only the other day the Prime Minister of China, in
one of his dispatches to the English government, used substantially the
following language: "England regards the opium question simply as one of
trade, but to China, it has a moral aspect." Think of Christian England
carrying death and desolation to hundreds of thousands in the name of
trade. Then think of heathen China protesting in the name of morality.
At the same time England has the impudence to send missionaries to
China.
What has been called Christianity has been a disturber of the public
peace in all countries and at all times. Nothing has so alienated
nations, nothing has so destroyed the natural justice of mankind, as
what has been known as religion. The idea that all men must worship the
same God, believe the same dogmas, has for thousands of years plucked
with bloody hands the flower of pity from the human heart.
Our civilization is not Christian. It does not come from the skies.
It is not a result of "inspiration." It is the child of invention, of
discovery, of applied knowledge--that is to say, of science. When man
becomes great and grand enough to admit that all have equal rights;
when thought is untrammeled; when worship shall consist in doing
useful things; when religion means the discharge of obligations to our
fellow-men, then, and not until then, will the world be civilized.
_Question_. Since Laplace and other most distinguished astronomers hold
to the theory that the earth was originally in a gaseous state, and then
a molten mass in which the germs, even, of vegetable or animal life,
could not exist, how do you account for the origin of life on this
planet without a "Creator"?--Dr. T. B. Taylor.
_Answer._ Whether or not "the earth was originally in a gaseous state
and afterwards a molten mass in which the germs of vegetable and animal
life could not exist," I do not know. My belief is that the earth as it
is, and as it was, taken in connection with the influence of the sun,
and of other planets, produced whatever has existed or does exist on
the earth. I do not see why gas would not need a "creator" as much as
a vegetable. Neither can I imagine that there is any more necessity for
some one to start life than to start a molten mass. There may be now
portions of the world in which there is not one particle of vegetable
life. It may be that on the wide waste fields of the Arctic zone
there are places where no vegetable life exists, and there may be many
thousand miles where no animal life can be found. But if the poles of
the earth could be changed, and if the Arctic zone could be placed in a
different relative position to the sun, the snows would melt, the hills
would appear, and in a little while even the rocks would be clothed with
vegetation. After a time vegetation would produce more soil, and in a
few thousand years forests would be filled with beasts and birds.
I think it was Sir William Thomson who, in his effort to account for the
origin of life upon this earth, stated that it might have come from some
meteoric stone falling from some other planet having in it the germs of
life. What would you think of a farmer who would prepare his land and
wait to have it planted by meteoric stones? So, what would you think
of a Deity who would make a world like this, and allow it to whirl
thousands and millions of years, barren as a gravestone, waiting for
some vagrant comet to sow the seeds of life?
I believe that back of animal life is the vegetable, and back of the
vegetable, it may be, is the mineral. It may be that crystallization is
the first step toward what we call life, and yet I believe life is back
of that. In my judgment, if the earth ever was in a gaseous state, it
was filled with life. These are subjects about which we know but little.
How do you account for chemistry? How do you account for the fact that
just so many particles of one kind seek the society of just so many
particles of another, and when they meet they instantly form a glad and
lasting union? How do you know but atoms have love and hatred? How
do you know that the vegetable does not enjoy growing, and that
crystallization itself is not an expression of delight? How do you know
that a vine bursting into flower does not feel a thrill? We find sex in
the meanest weeds--how can you say they have no loves?
After all, of what use is it to search for a creator? The difficulty is
not thus solved. You leave your creator as much in need of a creator as
anything your creator is supposed to have created. The bottom of your
stairs rests on nothing, and the top of your stairs leans upon nothing.
You have reached no solution.
The word "God" is simply born of our ignorance. We go as far as we can,
and we say the rest of the way is "God." We look as far as we can,
and beyond the horizon, where there is nought so far as we know but
blindness, we place our Deity. We see an infinitesimal segment of a
circle, and we say the rest is "God."
Man must give up searching for the origin of anything. No one knows the
origin of life, or of matter, or of what we call mind. The whence and
the whither are questions that no man can answer. In the presence of
these questions all intellects are upon a level. The barbarian knows
exactly the same as the scientist, the fool as the philosopher. Only
those who think that they have had some supernatural information pretend
to answer these questions, and the unknowable, the impossible, the
unfathomable, is the realm wholly occupied by the "inspired."
We are satisfied that all organized things must have had a beginning,
but we cannot conceive that matter commenced to be. Forms change,
but substance remains eternally the same. A beginning of substance is
unthinkable. It is just as easy to conceive of anything commencing to
exist _without_ a cause as _with_ a cause. There must be something for
cause to operate upon. Cause operating upon nothing--were such a thing
possible--would produce nothing. There can be no relation between cause
and nothing. We can understand how things can be arranged, joined or
separated--and how relations can be changed or destroyed, but we cannot
conceive of creation--of nothing being changed into something, nor of
something being made--except from preexisting materials.
_Question_. Since the universal testimony of the ages is in the
affirmative of phenomena that attest the continued existence of
man after death--which testimony is overwhelmingly sustained by the
phenomena of the nineteenth century--what further evidence should
thoughtful people require in order to settle the question, "Does death
end all?"
_Answer._ I admit that in all ages men have believed in spooks and
ghosts and signs and wonders. This, however, proves nothing. Men have
for thousands of ages believed the impossible, and worshiped the absurd.
Our ancestors have worshiped snakes and birds and beasts. I do not admit
that any ghost ever existed. I know that no miracle was ever performed
except in imagination; and what you are pleased to call the "phenomena
of the nineteenth century," I fear are on an exact equality with the
phenomena of the Dark Ages.
We do not yet understand the action of the brain. No one knows the
origin of a thought. No one knows how he thinks, or why he thinks, any
more than one knows why or how his heart beats. People, I imagine, have
always had dreams. In dreams they often met persons whom they knew to be
dead, and it may be that much of the philosophy of the present was born
of dreams. I cannot admit that anything supernatural ever has happened
or ever will happen. I cannot admit the truth of what you call the
"phenomena of the nineteenth century," if by such "phenomena" you mean
the reappearance of the dead. I do not deny the existence of a future
state, because I do not know. Neither do I aver that there is one,
because I do not know. Upon this question I am simply honest. I find
that people who believe in immortality--or at least those who say they
do--are just as afraid of death as anybody else. I find that the most
devout Christian weeps as bitterly above his dead, as the man who says
that death ends all. You see the promises are so far away, and the dead
are so near. Still, I do not say that man is not immortal; but I do say
that there is nothing in the Bible to show that he is. The Old
Testament has not a word upon the subject--except to show us how we lost
immortality. According to that book, man was driven from the Garden of
Eden, lest he should put forth his hand and eat of the fruit of the tree
of life and live forever. So the fact is, the Old Testament shows us
how we lost immortality. In the New Testament we are told to seek for
immortality, and it is also stated that "God alone hath immortality."
There is this curious thing about Christians and Spiritualists: The
Spiritualists laugh at the Christians for believing the miracles of
the New Testament; they laugh at them for believing the story about the
witch of Endor. And then the Christians laugh at the Spiritualists for
believing that the same kind of things happen now. As a matter of fact,
the Spiritualists have the best of it, because their witnesses are now
living, whereas the Christians take simply the word of the dead--of
men they never saw and of men about whom they know nothing. The
Spiritualist, at least, takes the testimony of men and women that he can
cross-examine. It would seem as if these gentlemen ought to make
common cause. Then the Christians could prove their miracles by the
Spiritualists, and the Spiritualists could prove their "phenomena" by
the Christians.
I believe that thoughtful people require some additional testimony in
order to settle the question, "Does death end all?" If the dead return
to this world they should bring us information of value.
There are thousands of questions that studious historians and savants
are endeavoring to settle--questions of history, of philosophy, of law,
of art, upon which a few intelligent dead ought to be able to shed a
flood of light. All the questions of the past ought to be settled. Some
modern ghosts ought to get acquainted with some of the Pharaohs, and
give us an outline of the history of Egypt. They ought to be able to
read the arrow-headed writing and all the records of the past. The
hieroglyphics of all ancient peoples should be unlocked, and thoughts
and facts that have been imprisoned for so many thousand years should be
released and once again allowed to visit brains. The Spiritualists ought
to be able to give us the history of buried cities. They should clothe
with life the dust of all the past. If they could only bring us valuable
information; if they could only tell us about some steamer in distress
so that succor could be sent; if they could only do something useful,
the world would cheerfully accept their theories and admit their
"facts." I think that thoughtful people have the right to demand such
evidence. I would like to have the spirits give us the history of
all the books of the New Testament and tell us who first told of the
miracles. If they could give us the history of any religion, or nation,
or anything, I should have far more confidence in the "phenomena of the
nineteenth century."
There is one thing about the Spiritualists I like, and that is, they are
liberal. They give to others the rights they claim for themselves. They
do not pollute their souls with the dogma of eternal pain. They do
not slander and persecute even those who deny their "phenomena." But
I cannot admit that they have furnished conclusive evidence that death
does not end all. Beyond the horizon of this life we have not seen. From
the mysterious beyond no messenger has come to me.
For the whole world I would not blot from the sky of the future a single
star. Arched by the bow of hope let the dead sleep.
_Question_. How, when, where, and by whom was our present calendar
originated,--that is "Anno Domini,"--and what event in the history of
the nations does it establish as a fact, if not the birth of Jesus of
Nazareth?
_Answer._ I have already said, in answer to a question by another
gentleman, that I believe the man Jesus Christ existed, and we now date
from somewhere near his birth. I very much doubt about his having been
born on Christmas, because in reading other religions, I find that that
time has been celebrated for thousands of years, and the cause of it is
this:
About the 21st or 22d of December is the shortest day. After that the
days begin to lengthen and the sun comes back, and for many centuries
in most nations they had a festival in commemoration of that event. The
Christians, I presume, adopted this day, and made the birth of Christ
fit it. Three months afterward--the 21st of March--the days and nights
again become equal, and the day then begins to lengthen. For centuries
the nations living in the temperate zones have held festivals to
commemorate the coming of spring--the yearly miracle of leaf, of bud
and flower. This is the celebration known as Easter, and the Christians
adopted that in commemoration of Christ's resurrection. So that, as a
matter of fact, these festivals of Christmas and Easter do not even tend
to show that they stand for or are in any way connected with the birth
or resurrection of Christ. In fact the evidence is overwhelmingly the
other way.
While we are on the calendar business it may be well enough to say that
we get our numerals from the Arabs, from whom also we obtained our ideas
of algebra. The higher mathematics came to us from the same source.
So from the Arabs we receive chemistry, and our first true notions of
geography. They gave us also paper and cotton.
Owing to the fact that the earth does not make its circuit in the exact
time of three hundred and sixty-five days and a quarter, and owing to
the fact that it was a long time before any near approach was made to
the actual time, all calendars after awhile became too inaccurate for
general use, and they were from time to time changed.
Right here, it may be well enough to remark, that all the monuments and
festivals in the world are not sufficient to establish an impossible
event. No amount of monumental testimony, no amount of living evidence,
can substantiate a miracle. The monument only proves the _belief_ of the
builders.
If we rely upon the evidence of monuments, calendars, dates, and
festivals, all the religions on the earth can be substantiated. Turkey
is filled with such monuments and much of the time wasted in such
festivals. We celebrate the Fourth of July, but such celebration does
not even tend to prove that God, by his special providence, protected
Washington from the arrows of an Indian. The Hebrews celebrate what is
called the Passover, but this celebration does not even tend to prove
that the angel of the Lord put blood on the door-posts in Egypt. The
Mohammedans celebrate to-day the flight of Mohammed, but that does not
tend to prove that Mohammed was inspired and was a prophet of God.
Nobody can change a falsehood to a truth by the erection of a monument.
Monuments simply prove that people endeavor to substantiate truths and
falsehoods by the same means.
_Question_. Letting the question as to hell hereafter rest for the
present, how do you account for the hell here--namely, the existence
of pain? There are people who, by no fault of their own, are at this
present time in misery. If for these there is no life to come, their
existence is a mistake; but if there is a life to come, it may be that
the sequel to the acts of the play to come will justify the pain and
misery of this present time?--Rev. Myron W. Reed.
_Answer._ There are four principal theories:
_First_--That there is behind the universe a being of infinite power and
wisdom, kindness, and justice.
_Second_--That the universe has existed from eternity, and that it is
the only eternal existence, and that behind it is no creator.
_Third_--That there is a God who made the universe, but who is not
all-powerful and who is, under the circumstances, doing the best he can.
_Fourth_--That there is an all-powerful God who made the universe, and
that there is also a nearly all-powerful devil, and this devil ravels
about as fast as this God knits.
By the last theory, as taught by Plato, it is extremely easy to account
for the misery in this world. If we admit that there is a malevolent
being with power enough, and with cunning enough, to frequently
circumvent God, the problem of evil becomes solved so far as this world
is concerned. But why this being was evil is still unsolved; why the
devil is malevolent is still a mystery. Consequently you will have to go
back of this world, on that theory, to account for the origin of evil.
If this devil always existed, then, of course, the universe at one time
was inhabited only by this God and this devil.
If the third theory is correct, we can account for the fact that God
does not see to it that justice is always done.
If the second theory is true, that the universe has existed from
eternity, and is without a creator, then we must account for the
existence of evil and good, not by personalities behind the universe,
but by the nature of things.
If there is an infinitely good and wise being who created all, it seems
to me that he should have made a world in which innocence should be a
sufficient shield. He should have made a world where the just man should
have nothing to fear.
My belief is this: We are surrounded by obstacles. We are filled
with wants. We must have clothes. We must have food. We must protect
ourselves from sun and storm, from heat and cold. In our conflict with
these obstacles, with each other, and with what may be called the forces
of nature, all do not succeed. It is a fact in nature that like
begets like; that man gives his constitution, at least in part, to his
children; that weakness and strength are in some degree both hereditary.
This is a fact in nature. I do not hold any god responsible for this
fact--filled as it is with pain and joy. But it seems to me that an
infinite God should so have arranged matters that the bad would not
pass--that it would die with its possessor--that the good should
survive, and that the man should give to his son, not the result of his
vices, but the fruit of his virtues.
I cannot see why we should expect an infinite God to do better in
another world than he does in this. If he allows injustice to prevail
here, why will he not allow the same thing in the world to come? If
there is any being with power to prevent it, why is crime permitted? If
a man standing upon the railway should ascertain that a bridge had been
carried off by a flood, and if he also knew that the train was coming
filled with men, women, and children; with husbands going to their
wives, and wives rejoining their families; if he made no effort to
stop that train; if he simply sat down by the roadside to witness the
catastrophe, and so remained until the train dashed off the precipice,
and its load of life became a mass of quivering flesh, he would be
denounced by every good man as the most monstrous of human beings. And
yet this is exactly what the supposed God does. He, if he exists, sees
the train rushing to the gulf. He gives no notice. He sees the ship
rushing for the hidden rock. He makes no sign. And he so constructed
the world that assassins lurk in the air--hide even in the sunshine--and
when we imagine that we are breathing the breath of life, we are taking
into ourselves the seeds of death.
There are two facts inconsistent in my mind--a martyr and a God.
Injustice upon earth renders the justice of heaven impossible.
I would not take from those suffering in this world the hope of
happiness hereafter. My principal object has been to take away from them
the fear of eternal pain hereafter. Still, it is impossible for me to
explain the facts by which I am surrounded, if I admit the existence of
an infinite Being. I find in this world that physical and mental evils
afflict the good. It seems to me that I have the same reason to expect
the bad to be rewarded hereafter. I have no right to suppose that
infinite wisdom will ever know any more, or that infinite benevolence
will increase in kindness, or that the justice of the eternal can
change. If, then, this eternal being allows the good to suffer pain
here, what right have we to say that he will not allow them to suffer
forever?
Some people have insisted that this life is a kind of school for the
production of self-denying men and women--that is, for the production
of character. The statistics show that a large majority die under five
years of age. What would we think of a schoolmaster who killed the most
of his pupils the first day? If this doctrine is true, and if manhood
cannot be produced in heaven, those who die in childhood are infinitely
unfortunate.
I admit that, although I do not understand the subject, still, all pain,
all misery may be for the best. I do not know. If there is an infinitely
wise Being, who is also infinitely powerful, then everything that
happens must be for the best. That philosophy of special providence,
going to the extreme, is infinitely better than most of the Christian
creeds. There seems to be no half-way house between special providence
and atheism. You know some of the Buddhists say that when a man commits
murder, that is the best thing he could have done, and that to be
murdered was the best thing that could have happened to the killed. They
insist that every step taken is the necessary step and the best step;
that crimes are as necessary as virtues, and that the fruit of crime and
virtue is finally the same.
But whatever theories we have, we have at last to be governed by the
facts. We are in a world where vice, deformity, weakness, and disease
are hereditary. In the presence of this immense and solemn truth rises
the religion of the body. Every man should refuse to increase the misery
of this world. And it may be that the time will come when man will be
great enough and grand enough utterly to refrain from the propagation
of disease and deformity, and when only the healthy will be fathers
and mothers. We do know that the misery in this world can be lessened;
consequently I believe in the religion of this world. And whether there
is a heaven or hell here, or hereafter, every good man has enough to
do to make this world a little better than it is. Millions of lives are
wasted in the vain effort to find the origin of things, and the destiny
of man. This world has been neglected. We have been taught that life
should be merely a preparation for death.
To avoid pain we must know the conditions of health. For the
accomplishment of this end we must rely upon investigation instead
of faith, upon labor in place of prayer. Most misery is produced by
ignorance. Passions sow the seeds of pain.
_Question_. State with what words you can comfort those who have, by
their own fault, or by the fault of others, found this life not worth
living?
_Answer._ If there is no life beyond this, and so believing I come to
the bedside of the dying--of one whose life has been a failure--a "life
not worth living," I could at least say to such an one, "Your failure
ends with your death. Beyond the tomb there is nothing for you--neither
pain nor misery, neither grief nor joy." But if I were a good orthodox
Christen, then I would have to say to this man, "Your life has been a
failure; you have not been a Christian, and the failure will be extended
eternally; you have not only been a failure for a time, but you will be
a failure forever."
Admitting that there is another world, and that the man's life had been
a failure in this, then I should say to him, "If you live again, you
will have the eternal opportunity to reform. There will be no time, no
date, no matter how many millions and billions of ages may have passed
away, at which you will not have the opportunity of doing right."
Under no circumstances could I consistently say to this man: "Although
your life has been a failure; although you have made hundreds and
thousands of others suffer; although you have deceived and betrayed the
woman who loved you; although you have murdered your benefactor; still,
if you will now repent and believe a something that is unreasonable
or reasonable to your mind, you will, at the moment of death, be
transferred to a world of eternal joy." This I could not say. I would
tell him, "If you die a bad man here, you will commence the life to
come with the same character you leave this. Character cannot be made by
another for you. You must be the architect of your own." There is to me
unspeakably more comfort in the idea that every failure ends here, than
that it is to be perpetuated forever.
How can a Christian comfort the mother of a girl who has died without
believing in Christ? What doctrine is there in Christianity to wipe away
her tears? What words of comfort can you offer to the mother whose brave
boy fell in defence of his country, she knowing and you knowing, that
the boy was not a Christian, that he did not believe in the Bible, and
had no faith in the blood of the atonement? What words of comfort have
you for such fathers and for such mothers?
To me, there is no doctrine so infinitely absurd as the idea that this
life is a probationary state--that the few moments spent here decide the
fate of a human soul forever. Nothing can be conceived more merciless,
more unjust. I am doing all I can to destroy that doctrine. I want, if
possible, to get the shadow of hell from the human heart.
Why has any life been a failure here? If God is a being of infinite
wisdom and kindness, why does he make failures? What excuse has infinite
wisdom for peopling the world with savages? Why should one feel grateful
to God for having made him with a poor, weak and diseased brain; for
having allowed him to be the heir of consumption, of scrofula, or of
insanity? Why should one thank God, who lived and died a slave?
After all, is it not of more importance to speak the absolute truth?
Is it not manlier to tell the fact than to endeavor to convey comfort
through falsehood? People must reap not only what they sow, but what
others have sown. The people of the whole world are united in spite of
themselves.
Next to telling a man, whose life has been a failure, that he is to
enjoy an immortality of delight--next to that, is to assure him that a
place of eternal punishment does not exist.
After all, there are but few lives worth living in any great and
splendid sense. Nature seems filled with failure, and she has made no
exception in favor of man. To the greatest, to the most successful,
there comes a time when the fevered lips of life long for the cool,
delicious kiss of death--when, tired of the dust and glare of day, they
hear with joy the rustling garments of the night.
Archibald Armstrong and Jonathan Newgate were fast friends. Their views
in regard to the question of a future life, and the existence of a God,
were in perfect accord. They said:
"'We know so little about these matters that we are not justified in
giving them any serious consideration. Our motto and rule of life shall
be for each one to make himself as comfortable as he can, and enjoy
every pleasure within his reach, not allowing himself to be influenced
at all by thoughts of a future life.'
"Both had some money. Archibald had a large amount. Once upon a time
when no human eye saw him--and he had no belief in a God--Jonathan stole
every dollar of his friend's wealth, leaving him penniless. He had no
fear, no remorse; no one saw him do the deed. He became rich, enjoyed
life immensely, lived in contentment and pleasure, until in mellow old
age he went the way of all flesh. Archibald fared badly. The odds were
against him.
"His money was gone. He lived in penury and discontent, dissatisfied with
mankind and with himself, until at last, overcome by misfortune, and
depressed by an incurable malady, he sought rest in painless suicide."
_Question_. What are we to think of the rule of life laid down by these
men? Was either of them inconsistent or illogical? Is there no remedy to
correct such irregularities?--Rev. D. O'Donaghue.
_Answer._ The Rev. Mr. O'Donaghue seems to entertain strange ideas as
to right and wrong. He tells us that Archibald Armstrong and Jonathan
Newgate concluded to make themselves as comfortable as they could and
enjoy every pleasure within their reach, and the Rev. Mr. O'Donaghue
states that one of the pleasures within the reach of Mr. Newgate was to
steal what little money Mr. Armstrong had. Does the reverend gentleman
think that Mr. Newgate made or could make himself comfortable in that
way? He tells us that Mr. Newgate "had no remorse,"--that he "became
rich and enjoyed life immensely,"--that he "lived in contentment and
pleasure, until, in mellow old age, he went the way of all flesh."
Does the reverend gentleman really believe that a man can steal without
fear, without remorse? Does he really suppose that one can enjoy the
fruits of theft, that a criminal can live a contented and happy life,
that one who has robbed his friend can reach a mellow and delightful old
age? Is this the philosophy of the Rev. Mr. O'Donaghue?
And right here I may be permitted to ask, Why did the Rev. Mr.
O'Donaghue's God allow a thief to live without fear, without remorse, to
enjoy life immensely and to reach a mellow old age? And why did he allow
Mr. Armstrong, who had been robbed, to live in penury and discontent,
until at last, overcome by misfortune, he sought rest in suicide? Does
the Rev. Mr. O'Donaghue mean to say that if there is no future life it
is wise to steal in this? If the grave is the eternal home, would the
Rev. Mr. O'Donaghue advise people to commit crimes in order that they
may enjoy this life? Such is not my philosophy. Whether there is a God
or not, truth is better than falsehood. Whether there is a heaven or
hell, honesty is always the best policy. There is no world, and can be
none, where vice can sow the seed of crime and reap the sheaves of joy.
According to my view, Mr. Armstrong was altogether more fortunate than
Mr. Newgate. I had rather be robbed than to be a robber, and I had
rather be of such a disposition that I would be driven to suicide by
misfortune than to live in contentment upon the misfortunes of
others. The reverend gentleman, however, should have made his question
complete--he should have gone the entire distance. He should have added
that Mr. Newgate, after having reached a mellow old age, was suddenly
converted, joined the church, and died in the odor of sanctity on the
very day that his victim committed suicide.
But I will answer the fable of the reverend gentleman with a fact.
A young man was in love with a girl. She was young, beautiful, and
trustful. She belonged to no church--knew nothing about a future
world--basked in the sunshine of this. All her life had been filled with
gentle deeds. The tears of pity had sanctified her cheeks. She
believed in no religion, worshiped no God, believed no Bible, but loved
everything. Her lover in a fit of jealous rage murdered her. He was
tried; convicted; a motion for a new trial overruled and a pardon
refused. In his cell, in the shadow of death, he was converted--he
became a Catholic. With the white lips of fear he confessed to a priest.
He received the sacrament.
He was hanged, and from the rope's end winged his way to the realms of
bliss. For months the murdered girl had suffered all the pains and pangs
of hell.
The poor girl will endure the agony of the damned forever, while her
murderer will be ravished with angelic chant and song. Such is the
justice of the orthodox God.
Allow me to use the language of the reverend gentleman: "Is there no
remedy to correct such irregularities?"
As long as the idea of eternal punishment remains a part of the
Christian system, that system will be opposed by every man of heart and
brain. Of all religious dogmas it is the most shocking, infamous,
and absurd. The preachers of this doctrine are the enemies of human
happiness; they are the assassins of natural joy. Every father, every
mother, every good man, every loving woman, should hold this doctrine in
abhorrence; they should refuse to pay men for preaching it; they should
not build churches in which this infamy is taught; they should teach
their little children that it is a lie; they should take this horror
from childhood's heart--a horror that makes the cradle as terrible as
the coffin.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES.
* Brooklyn Union, 1883.
_Question_. The clergymen who have been interviewed, almost unanimously
have declared that the church is suffering very little from the
skepticism of the day, and that the influence of the scientific writers,
whose opinions are regarded as atheistic or infidel, is not great; and
that the books of such writers are not read as much as some people think
they are. What is your opinion with regard to that subject?
_Answer._ It is natural for a man to defend his business, to stand by
his class, his caste, his creed. And I suppose this accounts for
the ministers all saying that infidelity is not on the increase. By
comparing long periods of time, it is very easy to see the progress that
has been made. Only a few years ago men who are now considered quite
orthodox would have been imprisoned, or at least mobbed, for heresy.
Only a few years ago men like Huxley and Tyndall and Spencer and
Darwin and Humboldt would have been considered as the most infamous of
monsters.
Only a few years ago science was superstition's hired man. The
scientific men apologized for every fact they happened to find. With hat
in hand they begged pardon of the parson for finding a fossil, and asked
the forgiveness of God for making any discovery in nature. At that
time every scientific discovery was something to be pardoned. Moses was
authority in geology, and Joshua was considered the first astronomer of
the world. Now everything has changed, and everybody knows it except
the clergy. Now religion is taking off its hat to science. Religion is
finding out new meanings for old texts. We are told that God spoke in
the language of the common people; that he was not teaching any science;
that he allowed his children not only to remain in error, but kept them
there. It is now admitted that the Bible is no authority on any question
of natural fact; it is inspired only in morality, in a spiritual way.
All, except the Brooklyn ministers, see that the Bible has ceased to be
regarded as authority. Nobody appeals to a passage to settle a dispute
of fact. The most intellectual men of the world laugh at the idea of
inspiration. Men of the greatest reputations hold all supernaturalism in
contempt. Millions of people are reading the opinions of men who combat
and deny the foundation of orthodox Christianity. Humboldt stands higher
than all the apostles. Darwin has done more to change human thought
than all the priests who have existed. Where there was one infidel
twenty-five years ago, there are one hundred now. I can remember when I
would be the only infidel in the town. Now I meet them thick as autumn
leaves; they are everywhere. In all the professions, trades, and
employments, the orthodox creeds are despised. They are not simply
disbelieved; they are execrated. They are regarded, not with
indifference, but with passionate hatred. Thousands and hundreds of
thousands of mechanics in this country abhor orthodox Christianity.
Millions of educated men hold in immeasurable contempt the doctrine of
eternal punishment. The doctrine of atonement is regarded as absurd
by millions. So with the dogma of imputed guilt, vicarious virtue, and
vicarious vice. I see that the Rev. Dr. Eddy advises ministers not to
answer the arguments of infidels in the pulpit, and gives this wonderful
reason: That the hearers will get more doubts from the answer than from
reading the original arguments. So the Rev. Dr. Hawkins admits that he
cannot defend Christianity from infidel attacks without creating more
infidelity. So the Rev. Dr. Haynes admits that he cannot answer the
theories of Robertson Smith in popular addresses. The only minister who
feels absolutely safe on this subject, so far as his congregation is
concerned, seems to be the Rev. Joseph Pullman. He declares that the
young people in his church don't know enough to have intelligent doubts,
and that the old people are substantially in the same condition. Mr.
Pullman feels that he is behind a breastwork so strong that other
defence is unnecessary. So the Rev. Mr. Foote thinks that infidelity
should never be refuted in the pulpit. I admit that it never has been
successfully done, but I did not suppose so many ministers admitted the
impossibility. Mr. Foote is opposed to all public discussion. Dr. Wells
tells us that scientific atheism should be ignored; that it should not
be spoken of in the pulpit. The Rev, Dr. Van Dyke has the same feeling
of security enjoyed by Dr. Pullman, and he declares that the great
majority of the Christian people of to-day know nothing about current
infidel theories. His idea is to let them remain in ignorance; that it
would be dangerous for the Christian minister even to state the position
of the infidel; that, after stating it, he might not, even with the help
of God, successfully combat the theory. These ministers do not agree.
Dr. Carpenter accounts for infidelity by nicotine in the blood. It is
all smoke.
He thinks the blood of the human family has deteriorated. He thinks
that the church is safe because the Christians read. He differs with his
brothers Pullman and Van Dyke. So the Rev. George E. Reed believes that
infidelity should be discussed in the pulpit. He has more confidence in
his general and in the weapons of his warfare than some of his
brethren. His confidence may arise from the fact that he has never had a
discussion. The Rev. Dr. McClelland thinks the remedy is to stick by the
catechism; that there is not now enough of authority; not enough of the
brute force; thinks that the family, the church, and the state ought to
use the rod; that the rod is the salvation of the world; that the rod is
a divine institution; that fathers ought to have it for their children;
that mothers ought to use it. This is a part of the religion of
universal love. The man who cannot raise children without whipping them
ought not to have them. The man who would mar the flesh of a boy or girl
is unfit to have the control of a human being. The father who keeps
a rod in his house keeps a relic of barbarism in his heart. There
is nothing reformatory in punishment; nothing reformatory in fear.
Kindness, guided by intelligence, is the only reforming force. An appeal
to brute force is an abandonment of love and reason, and puts father and
child upon a savage equality; the savageness in the heart of the father
prompting the use of the rod or club, produces a like savageness in the
victim; The old idea that a child's spirit must be broken is infamous.
All this is passing away, however, with orthodox Christianity. That
children are treated better than formerly shows conclusively the
increase of what is called infidelity. Infidelity has always been a
protest against tyranny in the state, against intolerance in the church,
against barbarism in the family. It has always been an appeal for light,
for justice, for universal kindness and tenderness.
_Question_. The ministers say, I believe, Colonel, that worldliness is
the greatest foe to the church, and admit that it is on the increase?
_Answer._ I see that all the ministers you have interviewed regard
worldliness as the great enemy of the church. What is worldliness? I
suppose worldliness consists in paying attention to the affairs of this
world; getting enjoyment out of this life; gratifying the senses, giving
the ears music, the eyes painting and sculpture, the palate good food;
cultivating the imagination; playing games of chance; adorning the
person; developing the body; enriching the mind; investigating the facts
by which we are surrounded; building homes; rocking cradles; thinking;
working; inventing; buying; selling; hoping--all this, I suppose, is
worldliness. These "worldly" people have cleared the forests, plowed
the land, built the cities, the steamships, the telegraphs, and
have produced all there is of worth and wonder in the world. Yet the
preachers denounce them. Were it not for "worldly" people how would the
preachers get along? Who would build the churches? Who would fill the
contribution boxes and plates, and who (most serious of all questions)
would pay the salaries? It is the habit of the ministers to belittle men
who support them--to slander the spirit by which they live. "It is as
though the mouth should tear the hand that feeds it." The nobility of
the Old World hold the honest workingman in contempt, and yet are so
contemptible themselves that they are willing to live upon his labor.
And so the minister pretending to be spiritual--pretending to be a
spiritual guide--looks with contempt upon the men who make it possible
for him to live. It may be said by "worldliness" they only mean
enjoyment--that is, hearing music, going to the theater and the opera,
taking a Sunday excursion to the silvery margin of the sea. Of course,
ministers look upon theaters as rival attractions, and most of their
hatred is born of business views. They think people ought to be driven
to church by having all other places closed. In my judgment the theater
has done good, while the church has done harm. The drama never has
insisted upon burning anybody. Persecution is not born of the stage. On
the contrary, upon the stage have forever been found impersonations
of patriotism, heroism, courage, fortitude, and justice, and these
impersonations have always been applauded, and have been represented
that they might be applauded. In the pulpit, hypocrites have been
worshiped; upon the stage they have been held up to derision and
execration. Shakespeare has done far more for the world than the Bible.
The ministers keep talking about spirituality as opposed to worldliness.
Nothing can be more absurd than this talk of spirituality. As though
readers of the Bible, repeaters of texts, and sayers of prayers were
engaged in a higher work than honest industry. Is there anything higher
than human love? A man is in love with a girl, and he has determined to
work for her and to give his life that she may have a life of joy. Is
there anything more spiritual than that--anything higher? They marry. He
clears some land. He fences a field. He builds a cabin; and she, of this
hovel, makes a happy home. She plants flowers, puts a few simple things
of beauty upon the walls. This is what the preachers call "worldliness."
Is there anything more spiritual? In a little while, in this cabin, in
this home, is heard the drowsy rhythm of the cradle's rock, while
softly floats the lullaby upon the twilight air. Is there anything more
spiritual, is there anything more infinitely tender than to see husband
and wife bending, with clasped hands, over a cradle, gazing upon the
dimpled miracle of love? I say it is spiritual to work for those you
love; spiritual to improve the physical condition of mankind--for he who
improves the physical condition improves the mental. I believe in the
plowers instead of the prayers. I believe in the new firm of "Health &
Heresy" rather than the old partnership of "Disease & Divinity," doing
business at the old sign of the "Skull & Crossbones." Some of the
ministers that you have interviewed, or at least one of them, tells
us the cure for worldliness. He says that God is sending fires, and
cyclones, and things of that character for the purpose of making people
spiritual; of calling their attention to the fact that everything in
this world is of a transitory nature. The clergy have always had great
faith in famine, in affliction, in pestilence. They know that a man is
a thousand times more apt to thank God for a crust or a crumb than for
a banquet. They know that prosperity has the same effect on the average
Christian that thick soup has, according to Bumble, on the English
pauper: "It makes 'em impudent." The devil made a mistake in not
doubling Job's property instead of leaving him a pauper. In prosperity
the ministers think that we forget death and are too happy. In the arms
of those we love, the dogma of eternal fire is for the moment forgotten.
According to the ministers, God kills our children in order that we
may not forget him. They imagine that the man who goes into Dakota,
cultivates the soil and rears him a little home, is getting too
"worldly." And so God starts a cyclone to scatter his home and the limbs
of wife and children upon the desolate plains, and the ministers in
Brooklyn say this is done because we are getting too "worldly." They
think we should be more "spiritual;" that is to say, willing to live
upon the labor of others; willing to ask alms, saying, in the meantime,
"It is more blessed to give than to receive." If this is so, why not
give the money back? "Spiritual" people are those who eat oatmeal and
prunes, have great confidence in dried apples, read Cowper's "Task" and
Pollok's "Course of Time," laugh at the jokes in _Harper's Monthly_,
wear clothes shiny at the knees and elbows, and call all that has
elevated the world "beggarly elements."
_Question_. Some of the clergymen who have been interviewed admit
that the rich and poor no longer meet together, and deprecate the
establishment of mission chapels in connection with the large and
fashionable churches.
_Answer._ The early Christians supposed that the end of the world was
at hand. They were all sitting on the dock waiting for the ship. In the
presence of such a belief what are known as class distinctions could not
easily exist. Most of them were exceedingly poor, and poverty is a bond
of union. As a rule, people are hospitable in the proportion that they
lack wealth. In old times, in the West, a stranger was always welcome.
He took in part the place of the newspaper. He was a messenger from the
older parts of the country. Life was monotonous. The appearance of the
traveler gave variety. As people grow wealthy they grow exclusive. As
they become educated there is a tendency to pick their society. It is
the same in the church. The church no longer believes the creed, no
longer acts as though the creed were true. If the rich man regarded the
sermon as a means of grace, as a kind of rope thrown by the minister
to a man just above the falls; if he regarded it as a lifeboat, or as
a lighthouse, he would not allow his coachman to remain outside. If
he really believed that the coachman had an immortal soul, capable of
eternal joy, liable to everlasting pain, he would do his utmost to make
the calling and election of the said coachman sure. As a matter of fact
the rich man now cares but little for servants. They are not included
in the scheme of salvation, except as a kind of job lot. The church
has become a club. It is a social affair, and the rich do not care to
associate in the week days with the poor they may happen to meet at
church. As they expect to be in heaven together forever, they can afford
to be separated here. There will certainly be time enough there to
get acquainted. Another thing is the magnificence of the churches. The
church depends absolutely upon the rich. Poor people feel out of place
in such magnificent buildings. They drop into the nearest seat; like
poor relations, they sit on the extreme edge of the chair. At the table
of Christ they are below the salt.
They are constantly humiliated. When subscriptions are asked for they
feel ashamed to have their mite compared with the thousands given by the
millionaire. The pennies feel ashamed to mingle with the silver in the
contribution plate. The result is that most of them avoid the church.
It costs too much to worship God in public. Good clothes are necessary,
fashionably cut. The poor come in contact with too much silk, too
many jewels, too many evidences of what is generally assumed to be
superiority.
_Question_. Would this state of affairs be remedied if, instead of
churches, we had societies of ethical culture? Would not the rich there
predominate and the poor be just as much out of place?
_Answer._ I think the effect would be precisely the same, no matter what
the society is, what object it has, if composed of rich and poor. Class
distinctions, to a greater or less extent, will creep in--in fact, they
do not have to creep in. They are there at the commencement, and they
are born of the different conditions of the members.
These class distinctions are not always made by men of wealth. For
instance, some men obtain money, and are what we call snobs. Others
obtain it and retain their democratic principles, and meet men according
to the law of affinity, or general intelligence, on intellectual
grounds, for instance.
There is not only the distinction produced by wealth and power,
but there are the distinctions born of intelligence, of culture, of
character, of end, object, aim in life. No one can blame an honest
mechanic for holding a wealthy snob in utter contempt. Neither can any
one blame respectable poverty for declining to associate with arrogant
wealth. The right to make the distinction is with all classes, and with
the individuals of all classes. It is impossible to have any society
for any purpose--that is, where they meet together--without certain
embarrassments being produced by these distinctions. Nowt for instance,
suppose there should be a society simply of intelligent and cultured
people. There, wealth, to a great degree, would be disregarded. But,
after all, the distinction that intelligence draws between talent and
genius is as marked and cruel as was ever drawn between poverty and
wealth. Wherever the accomplishment of some object is deemed of such
vast importance that, for the moment, all minor distinctions are
forgotten, then it is possible for the rich and poor, the ignorant and
intelligent, to act in concert. This happens in political parties, in
time of war, and it has also happened whenever a new religion has been
founded. Whenever the rich wish the assistance of the poor, distinctions
are forgotten. It is upon the same principle that we gave liberty to the
slave during the Civil war, and clad him in the uniform of the nation;
we wanted him, we needed him; and, for the time, we were perfectly
willing to forget the distinction of color. Common peril produces pure
democracy. It is with societies as with individuals. A poor young man
coming to New York, bent upon making his fortune, begins to talk about
the old fogies; holds in contempt many of the rules and regulations of
the trade; is loud in his denunciation of monopoly; wants competition;
shouts for fair play, and is a real democrat. But let him succeed;
let him have a palace in Fifth Avenue, with his monogram on spoons and
coaches; then, instead of shouting for liberty, he will call for more
police. He will then say: "We want protection; the rabble must be put
down." We have an aristocracy of wealth. In some parts of our country an
aristocracy of literature--men and women who imagine themselves writers
and who hold in contempt all people who cannot express commonplaces in
the most elegant diction--people who look upon a mistake in grammar as
far worse than a crime. So, in some communities we have an aristocracy
of muscle. The only true aristocracy, probably, is that of kindness.
Intellect, without heart, is infinitely cruel; as cruel as wealth
without a sense of justice; as cruel as muscle without mercy. So that,
after all, the real aristocracy must be that of goodness where the
intellect is directed by the heart.
_Question_. You say that the aristocracy of intellect is quite as cruel
as the aristocracy of wealth--what do you mean by that?
_Answer._ By intellect, I mean simply intellect; that is to say, the
aristocracy of education--of simple brain--expressed in innumerable
ways--in invention, painting, sculpture, literature. And I meant to say
that that aristocracy was as cruel as that of simple arrogant wealth.
After all, why should a man be proud of something given him by
nature--something that he did not earn, did not produce--something that
he could not help? Is it not more reasonable to be proud of wealth which
you have accumulated than of brain which nature gave you? And, to carry
this idea clearly out, why should we be proud of anything? Is there any
proper occasion on which to crow? If you succeed, your success crows for
you; if you fail, certainly crowing is not in the best of taste. And why
should a man be proud of brain? Why should he be proud of disposition or
of good acts?
_Question_. You speak of the cruelty of the intellect, and yet, of
course, you must recognize the right of every one to select his own
companions. Would it be arrogant for the intellectual man to prefer the
companionship of people of his own class in preference to commonplace
and unintelligent persons?
_Answer._ All men should have the same rights, and one right that
every man should have is to associate with congenial people. There are
thousands of good men whose society I do not covet. They may be stupid,
or they may be stupid only in the direction in which I am interested,
and may be exceedingly intelligent as to matters about which I care
nothing. In either case they are not congenial. They have the right to
select congenial company; so have I. And while distinctions are thus
made, they are not cruel; they are not heartless. They are for the
good of all concerned, spring naturally from the circumstances, and
are consistent with the highest philanthropy. Why we notice these
distinctions in the church more than we do in the club is that the
church talks one way and acts another; because the church insists that a
certain line of conduct is essential to salvation, and that every human
being is in danger of eternal pain. If the creed were true, then, in
the presence of such an infinite verity, all earthly distinctions should
instantly vanish. Every Christian should exert himself for the salvation
of the soul of a beggar with the same degree of earnestness that he
would show to save a king. The accidents of wealth, education, social
position, should be esteemed as naught, and the richest should gladly
work side by side with the poorest. The churches will never reach the
poor as long as they sell pews; as long as the rich members wear their
best clothes on Sunday. As long as the fashions of the drawing-room
are taken to the table of the last supper, the poor will remain in the
highways and hedges. Present fashion is more powerful than faith. So
long as the ministers shut up their churches, and allow the poor to go
to hell in summer; as long as they leave the devil without a competitor
for three months in the year, the churches will not materially impede
the march of human progress. People often, unconsciously and without any
malice, say something or do something that throws an unexpected light
upon a question. The other day, in one of the New York comic papers,
there was a picture representing the foremost preachers of the country
at the seaside together. It was regarded as a joke that they could enjoy
each others society. These ministers are supposed to be the apostles of
the religion of kindness. They tell us to love even our enemies, and
yet the idea that they could associate happily together is regarded as
a joke! After all, churches are like other institutions, they have to
be managed, and they now rely upon music and upon elocution rather than
upon the gospel. They are becoming social affairs. They are giving up
the doctrine of eternal punishment, and have consequently lost their
hold. The orthodox churches used to tell us there was to be a fire,
and they offered to insure; and as long as the fire was expected
the premiums were paid and the policies were issued. Then came the
Universalist Church, saying that there would be no fire, and yet
asking the people to insure. For such a church there is no basis. It
undoubtedly did good by its influence upon other churches. So with the
Unitarian. That church has no basis for organization; no reason, because
no hell is threatened, and heaven is but faintly promised. Just as the
churches have lost their belief in eternal fire, they have lost their
influence, and the reason they have lost their belief is on account
of the diffusion of knowledge. That doctrine is becoming absurd and
infamous. Intelligent people are ashamed to broach it. Intelligent
people can no longer believe it. It is regarded with horror, and the
churches must finally abandon it, and when they do, that is the end of
the church militant.
_Question_. What do you say to the progress of the Roman Catholic
Church, in view of the fact that they have not changed their belief, in
any particular, in regard to future punishment?
_Answer._ Neither Catholicism nor Protestantism will ever win another
battle. The last victory of Protestantism was won in Holland. Nations
have not been converted since then. The time has passed to preach
with sword and gun, and for that reason Catholicism can win no
more victories. That church increases in this country mostly from
immigration. Catholicism does not belong to the New World. It is at war
with the idea of our Government, antagonistic to true republicanism, and
is in every sense anti-American. The Catholic Church does not control
its members. That church prevents no crime. It is not in favor of
education. It is not the friend of liberty. In Europe it is now used
as a political power, but here it dare not assert itself. There are
thousands of good Catholics. As a rule they probably believe the creed
of the church. That church has lost the power to anathematize. It can
no longer burn. It must now depend upon other forces--upon persuasion,
sophistry, ignorance, fear, and heredity.
_Question_. You have stated your objections to the churches, what would
you have to take their place?
_Answer._ There was a time when men had to meet together for the purpose
of being told the law. This was before printing, and for hundreds and
hundreds of years most people depended for their information on what
they heard. The ear was the avenue to the brain. There was a time, of
course, when Freemasonry was necessary, so that a man could carry, not
only all over his own country, but to another, a certificate that he
was a gentleman; that he was an honest man. There was a time, and it was
necessary, for the people to assemble. They had no books, no papers, no
way of reaching each other. But now all that is changed. The daily
press gives you the happenings of the world. The libraries give you
the thoughts of the greatest and best. Every man of moderate means can
command the principal sources of information. There is no necessity for
going to the church and hearing the same story forever. Let the minister
write what he wishes to say. Let him publish it. If it is worth buying,
people will read it. It is hardly fair to get them in a church in
the name of duty and there inflict upon them a sermon that under no
circumstances they would read. Of course, there will always be meetings,
occasions when people come together to exchange ideas, to hear what a
man has to say upon some questions, but the idea of going fifty-two days
in a year to hear anybody on the same subject is absurd.
_Question_. Would you include a man like Henry Ward Beecher in that
statement?
_Answer._ Beecher is interesting just in proportion that he is not
orthodox, and he is altogether more interesting when talking against his
creed. He delivered a sermon the other day in Chicago, in which he takes
the ground that Christianity is kindness, and that, consequently, no
one could be an infidel. Every one believes in kindness, at least
theoretically. In that sermon he throws away all creed, and comes to
the conclusion that Christianity is a life, not an aggregation of
intellectual convictions upon certain subjects. The more sermons like
that are preached, probably the better. What I intended was the eternal
repetition of the old story: That God made the world and a man, and
then allowed the devil to tempt him, and then thought of a scheme
of salvation, of vicarious atonement, 1500 years afterwards; drowned
everybody except Noah and his family, and afterward, when he failed
to civilize the Jewish people, came in person and suffered death, and
announced the doctrine that all who believed on him would be saved,
and those who did not, eternally lost. Now, this story, with occasional
references to the patriarchs and the New Jerusalem, and the exceeding
heat of perdition, and the wonderful joys of Paradise, is the average
sermon, and this story is told again, again, and again, by the same men,
listened to by the same people without any effect except to tire the
speaker and the hearer. If all the ministers would take their texts from
Shakespeare; if they would read every Sunday a selection from some of
the great plays, the result would be infinitely better. They would all
learn something; the mind would be enlarged, and the sermon would appear
short. Nothing has shown more clearly the intellectual barrenness of
the pulpit than baccalaureate sermons lately delivered. The dignified
dullness, the solemn stupidity of these addresses has never been
excelled. No question was met. The poor candidates for the ministry were
given no new weapons. Armed with the theological flintlock of a century
ago, they were ordered to do battle for doctrines older than their
weapons. They were told to rely on prayer, to answer all arguments by
keeping out of discussions, and to overwhelm the skeptic by ignoring
the facts. There was a time when the Protestant clergy were in favor
of education; that is to say, education enough to make a Catholic a
Protestant, but not enough to make a Protestant a philosopher. The
Catholics are also in favor of education enough to make a savage a
Catholic, and there they stop. The Christian should never unsettle his
belief. If he studies, if he reads, he is in danger. A new idea is a
doubt; a doubt is the threshold of infidelity. The young ministers are
warned against inquiry. They are educated like robins; they swallow
whatever is thrown in the mouth, worms or shingle-nails, it makes no
difference, and they are expected to get their revenge by treating
their flocks precisely as the professors treated them. The creeds of
the churches are being laughed at. Thousands of young men say nothing,
because they do not wish to hurt the feelings of mothers and maiden
aunts.
Thousands of business men say nothing, for fear it may interfere with
trade. Politicians keep quiet for fear of losing influence. But when you
get at the real opinions of people, a vast majority have outgrown the
doctrines of orthodox Christianity. Some people think these things good
for women and children, and use the Lord as an immense policeman to keep
order. Every day ministers are uttering a declaration of independence.
They are being examined by synods and committees of ministers, and they
are beginning everywhere to say that they do not regard this life as a
probationary stage; that the doctrine of eternal punishment is too bad;
that the Bible is, in many things, foolish, absurd, and infamous; that
it must have been written by men. And the people at large are beginning
to find that the ministers have kept back the facts; have not told the
history of the Bible; have not given to their congregations the latest
advices, and so the feeling is becoming almost general that orthodox
Christianity has outlived its usefulness. The church has a great deal
to contend with. The scientific men are not religious. Geology laughs at
Genesis, and astronomy has concluded that Joshua knew but very little of
the motions of heavenly bodies. Statesmen do not approve of the laws
of Moses; the intellect of the world is on the other side. There is
something besides preaching on Sunday. The newspaper is the rival of the
pulpit. Nearly all the cars are running on that blessed day. Steamers
take hundreds of thousands of excursionists. The man who has been at
work all the week seeks the sight of the sea, and this has become so
universal that the preacher is following his example. The flock has
ceased to be afraid of the wolf, and the shepherd deserts the sheep. In
a little while all the libraries will be open--all the museums. There
will be music in the public parks; the opera, the theater. And what
will churches do then? The cardinal points will be demonstrated to empty
pews, unless the church is wise enough to meet the intellectual demands
of the present.
_Question_. You speak as if the influences working against Christianity
to-day will tend to crush it out of existence. Do you think that
Christianity is any worse off now than it was during the French
Revolution, when the priests were banished from the country and
reason was worshiped; or in England, a hundred years ago, when Hume,
Bolingbroke, and others made their attacks upon it?
_Answer._ You must remember that the French Revolution was produced by
Catholicism; that it was a reaction; that it went to infinite extremes;
that it was a revolution seeking revenge. It is not hard to understand
those times, provided you know the history of the Catholic Church.
The seeds of the French Revolution were sown by priests and kings. The
people had suffered the miseries of slavery for a thousand years, and
the French Revolution came because human nature could bear the wrongs
no longer. It was something not reasoned; it was felt. Only a few acted
from intellectual convictions. The most were stung to madness, and were
carried away with the desire to destroy. They wanted to shed blood, to
tear down palaces, to cut throats, and in some way avenge the wrongs of
all the centuries. Catholicism has never recovered--it never will. The
dagger of Voltaire struck the heart; the wound was mortal. Catholicism
has staggered from that day to this.
It has been losing power every moment. At the death of Voltaire there
were twenty millions less Catholics than when he was born. In the French
Revolution muscle outran mind; revenge anticipated reason. There
was destruction without the genius of construction. They had to use
materials that had been rendered worthless by ages of Catholicism.
The French Revolution was a failure because the French people were a
failure, and the French people were a failure because Catholicism
had made them so. The ministers attack Voltaire without reading him.
Probably there are not a dozen orthodox ministers in the world who have
read the works of Voltaire. I know of no one who has. Only a little
while ago, a minister told me he had read Voltaire. I offered him one
hundred dollars to repeat a paragraph, or to give the title, even, of
one of Voltaire's volumes. Most ministers think he was an atheist. The
trouble with the infidels in England a hundred years ago was that they
did not go far enough. It may be that they could not have gone further
and been allowed to live. Most of them took the ground that there was
an infinite, all-wise, beneficent God, creator of the universe, and that
this all-wise, beneficent God certainly was too good to be the author of
the Bible. They, however, insisted that this good God was the author of
nature, and the theologians completely turned the tables by showing
that this god of nature was in the pestilence and plague business,
manufactured earthquakes, overwhelmed towns and cities, and was, of
necessity, the author of all pain and agony. In my judgment, the Deists
were all successfully answered. The god of nature is certainly as bad as
the God of the Old Testament. It is only when we discard the idea of a
deity, the idea of cruelty or goodness in nature, that we are able
ever to bear with patience the ills of life. I feel that I am neither
a favorite nor a victim. Nature neither loves nor hates me. I do not
believe in the existence of any personal god. I regard the universe as
the one fact, as the one existence--that is, as the absolute thing. I am
a part of this. I do not say that there is no God; I simply say that I
do not believe there is. There may be millions of them. Neither do I say
that man is not immortal. Upon that point I admit that I do not know,
and the declarations of all the priests in the world upon that subject
give me no light, and do not even tend to add to my information on
the subject, because I know that they know that they do not know. The
infidelity of a hundred years ago knew nothing, comparatively speaking,
of geology; nothing of astronomy; nothing of the ideas of Lamarck and
Darwin; nothing of evolution; nothing, comparatively speaking, of other
religions; nothing of India, that womb of metaphysics; in other
words, the infidels of a hundred years ago knew the creed of orthodox
Christianity to be false, but had not the facts to demonstrate it. The
infidels of to-day have the facts; that is the difference. A hundred
years ago it was a guessing prophecy; to-day it is the fact and
fulfillment. Everything in nature is working against superstition
to-day. Superstition is like a thorn in the flesh, and everything, from
dust to stars, is working together to destroy the false. The smallest
pebble answers the greatest parson. One blade of grass, rightly
understood, destroys the orthodox creed.
_Question_. You say that the pews will be empty in the future unless
the church meets the intellectual demands of the present. Are not the
ministers of to-day, generally speaking, much more intellectual than
those of a hundred years ago, and are not the "liberal" views in regard
to the inspiration of the Bible, the atonement, future punishment, the
fall of man, and the personal divinity of Christ which openly prevail in
many churches, an indication that the church is meeting the demands of
many people who do not care to be classed as out-and-out disbelievers in
Christianity, but who have advanced views on those and other questions?
_Answer._ As to the first part of this question, I do not think the
ministers of to-day are more intellectual than they were a hundred years
ago; that is, I do not think they have greater brain capacity, but
I think on the average, the congregations have a higher amount. The
amelioration of orthodox Christianity is not by the intelligence in the
pulpit, but by the brain in the pews. Another thing: One hundred years
ago the church had intellectual honors to bestow. The pulpit opened
a career. Not so now. There are too many avenues to distinction and
wealth--too much worldliness. The best minds do not go into the pulpit.
Martyrs had rather be burned than laughed at. Most ministers of to-day
are not naturally adapted to other professions promising eminence.
There are some great exceptions, but those exceptions are the ministers
nearest infidels. Theodore Parker was a great man. Henry Ward Beecher
is a great man--not the most consistent man in the world--but he is
certainly a man of mark, a remarkable genius. If he could only get rid
of the idea that Plymouth Church is necessary to him--after that time
he would not utter an orthodox word. Chapin was a man of mind. I might
mention some others, but, as a rule, the pulpit is not remarkable
for intelligence. The intelligent men of the world do not believe in
orthodox Christianity. It is to-day a symptom of intellectual decay. The
conservative ministers are the stupid ones. The conservative professors
are those upon whose ideas will be found the centuries' moss, old red
sandstone theories, pre-historic silurian. Now, as to the second part
of the question: The views of the church are changing, the clergy of
Brooklyn to the contrary, notwithstanding. Orthodox religion is a kind
of boa-constrictor; anything it can not dodge it will swallow. The
church is bound to have something for sale that somebody wants to buy.
According to the pew demand will be the pulpit supply. In old times the
pulpit dictated to the pews. Things have changed. Theology is now run on
business principles. The gentleman who pays for the theories insists
on having them suit him. Ministers are intellectual gardeners, and
they must supply the market with such religious vegetables as the
congregations desire. Thousands have given up belief in the inspiration
of the Bible, the divinity of Christ, the atonement idea and original
sin. Millions believe now, that this is not a state of probation; that
a man, provided he is well off and has given liberally to the church, or
whose wife has been a regular attendant, will, in the next world, have
another chance; that he will be permitted to file a motion for a new
trial. Others think that hell is not as warm as it used to be supposed;
that, while it is very hot in the middle of the day, the nights are
cool; and that, after all, there is not so much to fear from the future.
They regard the old religion as very good for the poor, and they give
them the old ideas on the same principle that they give them their old
clothes. These ideas, out at the elbows, out at the knees, buttons off,
somewhat raveled, will, after all, do very well for paupers. There is a
great trade of this kind going on now--selling old theological clothes
to the colored people in the South. All I have said applies to all
churches. The Catholic Church changes every day. It does not change its
ceremonies; but the spirit that begot the ceremonies, the spirit that
clothed the skeleton of ceremony with the flesh and blood and throb of
life and love, is gone. The spirit that built the cathedrals, the spirit
that emptied the wealth of the world into the lap of Rome, has turned in
another direction. Of course, the churches are all going to endeavor to
meet the demands of the hour. They will find new readings for old texts.
They will re-punctuate and re-parse the Old Testament. They will find
that "flat" meant "a little rounding;" that "six days" meant "six long
times;" that the word "flood" should have been translated "dampness,"
"dew," or "threatened rain;" that Daniel in the lion's den was an
historical myth; that Samson and his foxes had nothing to do with
this world. All these things will be gradually explained and made to
harmonize with the facts of modern science. They will not change the
words of the creed; they will simply give "new meanings and the highest
criticism to-day is that which confesses and avoids. In other words, the
churches will change as the people change. They will keep for sale that
which can be sold. Already the old goods are being "marked down." If,
however, the church should fail, why then it must go. I see no reason,
myself, for its existence. It apparently does no good; it devours
without producing; it eats without planting, and is a perpetual burden.
It teaches nothing of value. It misleads, mystifies, and misrepresents.
It threatens without knowledge and promises without power. In my
judgment, the quicker it goes the better for all mankind. But if it
does not go in name, it must go in fact, because it must change; and,
therefore, it is only a question of time when it ceases to divert from
useful channels the blood and muscle of the world.
_Question_. You say that in the baccalaureate sermons delivered lately
the theological students were told to answer arguments by keeping out
of discussion. Is it not the fact that ministers have of late years
preached very largely on scientific disbelief, agnosticism, and
infidelity, so much so as to lead to their being reprimanded by some of
their more conservative brethren?
_Answer._ Of course there are hundreds of thousands of ministers
perpetually endeavoring to answer infidelity. Their answers have done so
much harm that the more conservative among the clergy have advised them
to stop. Thousands have answered me, and their answers, for the most
part, are like this: Paine was a blackguard, therefore the geology of
Genesis is on a scientific basis. We know the doctrine of the atonement
is true, because in the French Revolution they worshiped reason. And
we know, too, all about the fall of man and the Garden of Eden because
Voltaire was nearly frightened to death when he came to die. These are
the usual arguments, supplemented by a few words concerning myself.
And, in my view, they are the best that can be made. Failing to answer
a man's argument, the next best thing is to attack his character. "You
have no case," said an attorney to the plaintiff. "No matter," said the
plaintiff, "I want you to give the defendant the devil."
_Question_. What have you to say to the Rev. Dr. Baker's statement that
he generally buys five or six tickets for your lectures and gives them
to young men, who are shocked at the flippant way in which you are said
to speak of the Bible?
_Answer._ Well, as to that, I have always wondered why I had such
immense audiences in Brooklyn and New York. This tends to clear away
the mystery. If all the clergy follow the example of Dr. Baker, that
accounts for the number seeking admission. Of course, Dr. Baker would
not misrepresent a thing like that, and I shall always feel greatly
indebted to him, shall hereafter regard him as one of my agents, and
take this occasion to return my thanks. He is certainly welcome to all
the converts to Christianity made by hearing me. Still, I hardly think
it honest in young men to play a game like that on the doctor.
_Question_. You speak of the eternal repetition of the old story of
Christianity and say that the more sermons like the one Mr. Beecher
preached lately the better. Is it not the fact that ministers, at the
present time, do preach very largely on questions of purely moral,
social, and humanitarian interest, so much so, indeed, as to provoke
criticism on the part of the secular newspaper press?
_Answer._ I admit that there is a general tendency in the pulpit to
preach about things happening in this world; in other words, that the
preachers themselves are beginning to be touched with worldliness.
They find that the New Jerusalem has no particular interest for persons
dealing in real estate in this world. And thousands of people are
losing interest in Abraham, in David, Haggai, and take more interest
in gentlemen who have the cheerful habit of living. They also find
that their readers do not wish to be reminded perpetually of death and
coffins; and worms and dust and gravestones and shrouds and epitaphs
and hearses, biers, and cheerful subjects of that character. That they
prefer to hear the minister speak about a topic in which they have a
present interest, and about which something cheerful can be said.
In fact, it is a relief to hear about politics, a little about art,
something about stocks or the crops, and most ministers find it
necessary to advertise that they are going to speak on something that
has happened within the last eighteen hundred years, and that, for
the time being, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego will be left in the
furnace. Of course, I think that most ministers are reasonably honest.
Maybe they don't tell all their doubts, but undoubtedly they are
endeavoring to make the world better, and most of the church members
think that they are doing the best that can be done. I am not
criticising their motives, but their methods. I am not attacking the
character or reputation of ministers, but simply giving my ideas,
avoiding anything personal. I do not pretend to be very good, nor very
bad---just fair to middling.
_Question_. You say that Christians will not read for fear that they
will unsettle their belief. Father Fransiola (Roman Catholic) said in
the interview I had with him: "If you do not allow man to reason you
crush his manhood. Therefore, he has to reason upon the credibility of
his faith, and through reason, guided by faith, he discovers the truth,
and so satisfies his wants."
_Answer._ Without calling in question the perfect sincerity of Father
Fransiola, I think his statement is exactly the wrong end to. I do not
think that reason should be guided by faith; I think that faith should
be guided by reason. After all, the highest possible conception of faith
would be the science of probabilities, and the probable must not be
based on what has not happened, but upon what has; not upon something
we know nothing about, but the nature of the things with which we are
acquainted. The foundation we must know something about, and whenever we
reason, we must have something as a basis, something secular, something
that we think we know. About these facts we reason, sometimes by
analogy, and we say thus and so has happened, therefore thus and so may
happen. We do not say thus and so _may_ happen, therefore something else
_has_ happened. We must reason from the known to the unknown, not from
the unknown to the known. This Father admits that if you do not allow a
man to reason you crush his manhood. At the same time he says faith must
govern reason. Who makes the faith? The church. And the church tells the
man that he must take the faith, reason or no reason, and that he
may afterward reason, taking the faith as a fact. This makes him an
intellectual slave, and the poor devil mistakes for liberty the right
to examine his own chains. These gentlemen endeavor to satisfy their
prisoners by insisting that there is nothing beyond the walls.
_Question_. You criticise the church for not encouring the poor to
mingle with the rich, and yet you defend the right of a man to choose
his own company. Are not these same distinctions made by non-confessing
Christians in real life, and will not there always be some greater,
richer, wiser, than the rest?
_Answer._ I do not blame the church because there are these distinctions
based on wealth, intelligence, and culture. What I blame the church for
is pretending to do away with these distinctions. These distinctions in
men are inherent; differences in brain, in race, in blood, in education,
and they are differences that will eternally exist--that is, as long as
the human race exists. Some will be fortunate, some unfortunate, some
generous, some stingy, some rich, some poor. What I wish to do away with
is the contempt and scorn and hatred existing between rich and poor. I
want the democracy of kindness--what you might call the republicanism of
justice. I do not have to associate with a man to keep from robbing him.
I can give him his rights without enjoying his company, and he can give
me my rights without inviting me to dinner. Why should not poverty have
rights? And has not honest poverty the right to hold dishonest wealth in
contempt, and will it not do it, whether it belongs to the same church
or not? We cannot judge men by their wealth, or by the position they
hold in society. I like every kind man; I hate every cruel one. I like
the generous, whether they are poor or rich, ignorant or cultivated. I
like men that love their families, that are kind to their wives,
gentle with their children, no matter whether they are millionaires or
mendicants. And to me the blossom of benevolence, of charity, is the
fairest flower, no matter whether it blooms by the side of a hovel, or
bursts from a vine climbing the marble pillar of a palace. I respect no
man because he is rich; I hold in contempt no man because he is poor.
_Question_. Some of the clergymen say that the spread of infidelity is
greatly exaggerated; that it makes more noise and creates more notice
than conservative Christianity simply on account of its being outside of
the accepted line of thought.
_Answer._ There was a time when an unbeliever, open and pronounced, was
a wonder. At that time the church had great power; it could retaliate;
it could destroy. The church abandoned the stake only when too many men
objected to being burned. At that time infidelity was clad not simply in
novelty, but often in fire. Of late years the thoughts of men have been
turned, by virtue of modern discoveries, as the result of countless
influences, to an investigation of the foundation of orthodox religion.
Other religions were put in the crucible of criticism, and nothing was
found but dross. At last it occurred to the intelligent to examine our
own religion, and this examination has excited great interest and great
comment. People want to hear, and they want to hear because they have
already about concluded themselves that the creeds are founded in error.
Thousands come to hear me because they are interested in the question,
because they want to hear a man say what they think. They want to hear
their own ideas from the lips of another. The tide has turned, and the
spirit of investigation, the intelligence, the intellectual courage
of the world is on the other side. A real good old-fashioned orthodox
minister who believes the Thirty-nine articles with all his might, is
regarded to-day as a theological mummy, a kind of corpse acted upon by
the galvanic battery of faith, making strange motions, almost like those
of life--not quite.
_Question_. How would you convey moral instruction from youth up, and
what kind of instruction would you give?
_Answer._ I regard Christianity as a failure. Now, then, what is
Christianity? I do not include in the word "Christianity" the average
morality of the world or the morality taught in all systems of religion;
that is, as distinctive Christianity. Christianity is this: A belief in
the inspiration of the Scriptures, the atonement, the life, death, and
resurrection of Christ, an eternal reward for the believers in Christ,
and eternal punishment for the rest of us. Now, take from Christianity
its miracles, its absurdities of the atonement and fall of man and
the inspiration of the Scriptures, and I have no objection to it as
I understand it. I believe, in the main, in the Christianity which I
suppose Christ taught, that is, in kindness, gentleness, forgiveness.
I do not believe in loving enemies; I have pretty hard work to love my
friends. Neither do I believe in revenge. No man can afford to keep
the viper of revenge in his heart. But I believe in justice, in
self-defence. Christianity--that is, the miraculous part--must be
abandoned. As to morality--morality is born, is born of the instinct of
self-preservation. If man could not suffer, the word "conscience" never
would have passed his lips. Self-preservation makes larceny a crime.
Murder will be regarded as a bad thing as long as a majority object to
being murdered. Morality does not come from the clouds; it is born of
human want and human experience. We need no inspiration, no inspired
work. The industrious man knows that the idle has no right to rob him of
the product of his labor, and the idle man knows that he has no right to
do it. It is not wrong because we find it in the Bible, but I presume
it was put in the Bible because it is wrong. Then, you find in the Bible
other things upheld that are infamous. And why? Because the writers of
the Bible were barbarians, in many things, and because that book is a
mixture of good and evil. I see no trouble in teaching morality without
miracle. I see no use of miracle. What can men do with it? Credulity is
not a virtue. The credulous are not necessarily charitable. Wonder
is not the mother of wisdom. I believe children should be taught to
investigate and to reason for themselves, and that there are facts
enough to furnish a foundation for all human virtue. We will take two
families; in the one, the father and mother are both Christians,
and they teach their children their creed; teach them that they are
naturally totally depraved; that they can only hope for happiness in
a future life by pleading the virtues of another, and that a certain
belief is necessary to salvation; that God punishes his children
forever. Such a home has a certain atmosphere. Take another family; the
father and mother teach their children that they should be kind to each
other because kindness produces happiness; that they should be gentle;
that they should be just, because justice is the mother of joy. And
suppose this father and mother say to their children: "If you are happy
it must be as a result of your own actions; if you do wrong you must
suffer the consequences. No Christ can redeem you; no savior can suffer
for you. You must suffer the consequences of your own misdeeds. If you
plant you must reap, and you must reap what you plant." And suppose
these parents also say: "You must find out the conditions of happiness.
You must investigate the circumstances by which you are surrounded. You
must ascertain the nature and relation of things so that you can act
in accordance with known facts, to the end that you may have health and
peace." In such a family, there would be a certain atmosphere, in my
judgment, a thousand times better and purer and sweeter than in the
other. The church generally teaches that rascality pays in this
world, but not in the next; that here virtue is a losing game, but the
dividends will be large in another world. They tell the people that they
must serve God on credit, but the devil pays cash here. That is not my
doctrine. My doctrine is that a thing is right because it pays, in the
highest sense. That is the reason it is right. The reason a thing is
wrong is because it is the mother of misery. Virtue has its reward here
and now. It means health; it means intelligence, contentment, success.
Vice means exactly the opposite. Most of us have more passion than
judgment, carry more sail than ballast, and by the tempest of passion
we are blown from port, we are wrecked and lost. We cannot be saved
by faith or by belief. It is a slower process: We must be saved by
knowledge, by intelligence--the only lever capable of raising mankind.
_Question_. The shorter catechism, Colonel, you may remember says "that
man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." What is your
idea of the chief end of man?
_Answer._ It has always seemed a little curious to me that joy should
be held in such contempt here, and yet promised hereafter as an eternal
reward. Why not be happy here, as well as in heaven. Why not have joy
here? Why not go to heaven now--that is, to-day? Why not enjoy the
sunshine of this world, and all there is of good in it? It is bad
enough; so bad that I do not believe it was ever created by a beneficent
deity; but what little good there is in it, why not have it? Neither do
I believe that it is the end of man to glorify God. How can the
Infinite be glorified? Does he wish for reputation? He has no equals, no
superiors. How can he have what we call reputation? How can he achieve
what we call glory? Why should he wish the flattery of the average
Presbyterian? What good will it do him to know that his course has been
approved of by the Methodist Episcopal Church? What does he care, even,
for the religious weeklies, or the presidents of religious colleges?
I do not see how we can help God, or hurt him. If there be an infinite
Being, certainly nothing we can do can in any way affect him. We can
affect each other, and therefore man should be careful not to sin
against man. For that reason I have said a hundred times, injustice is
the only blasphemy. If there be a heaven I want to associate there with
the ones who have loved me here. I might not like the angels and the
angels might not like me. I want to find old friends. I do not care to
associate with the Infinite; there could be no freedom in such society.
I suppose I am not spiritual enough, and am somewhat touched with
worldliness. It seems to me that everybody ought to be honest enough
to say about the Infinite "I know nothing of eternal joy, I have no
conception about another world, I know nothing." At the same time, I am
not attacking anybody for believing in immortality. The more a man can
hope, and the less he can fear, the better. I have done what I could to
drive from the human heart the shadow of eternal pain. I want to put out
the fires of an ignorant and revengeful hell.
THE LIMITATIONS OF TOLERATION.
* A discussion between Col. Robert G. Ingersoll, Hon.
Frederic R. Coudert, Ex-Gov. Stewart L. Woodford, before the
Nineteenth Century Club of New York, at the Metropolitan
Opera House, May 8, 1888. The points for discussion, as
submitted in advance, were the following propositions:
Colonel Ingersoll's Opening.
Ladies, Mr. President and Gentlemen:
I AM here to-night for the purpose of defending your right to differ
with me. I want to convince you that you are under no compulsion to
accept my creed; that you are, so far as I am concerned, absolutely free
to follow the torch of your reason according to your conscience; and I
believe that you are civilized to that degree that you will extend to me
the right that you claim for yourselves.
First. Thought is a necessary natural product--the result of what is
called impressions made through the medium of the senses upon the brain,
not forgetting the Fact of heredity.
Second. No human being is accountable to any being-human or divine--for
his thoughts.
Third. Human beings have a certain interest in the thoughts of each
other, and one who undertakes to tell his thoughts should be honest.
Fourth. All have an equal right to express their thoughts upon all
subjects.
Fifth. For one man to say to another, "I tolerate you," is an assumption
of authority--not a disclaimer, but a waiver, of the right to persecute.
Sixth. Each man has the same right to express to the whole world his
ideas, that the rest of the world have to express their thoughts to him.
Courtlandt Palmer, Esq., President of the Club, in introducing Mr.
Ingersoll, among other things said:
"The inspiration of the orator of the evening seems to be that of the
great Victor Hugo, who uttered the august saying, 'There shall be no
slavery of the mind.'
"When I was in Paris, about a year ago, I visited the tomb of Victor
Hugo. It was placed in a recess in the crypt of the Pantheon. Opposite
it was the tomb of Jean Jacques Rousseau. Near by, in another recess, was
the memorial statue of Voltaire; and I felt, as I looked at these three
monuments, that had Colonel Ingersoll been born in France, and had he
passed in his long life account, the acclaim of the liberal culture of
France would have enlarged that trio into a quartette.
"Colonel Ingersoll has appeared in several important debates in print,
notably with Judge Jeremiah S. Black formerly Attorney-General of the
United States: lately in the pages of The North American Review with the
Rev. Dr. Henry M. Field, and last but not least the Right Hon. William
E Gladstone, England's greatest citizen, has taken up the cudgel against
him in behalf of his view of Orthodoxy To-night, I believe-for the first
time, the colonel has consented to appear in a colloquial discussion. I
have now the honor to introduce this distinguished orator."
I admit, at the very threshold, that every human being thinks as he
must; and the first proposition really is, whether man has the right to
think. It will bear but little discussion, for the reason that no man
can control his thought. If you think you can, what are you going to
think to-morrow? What are you going to think next year? If you can
absolutely control your thought, can you stop thinking?
The question is, Has the will any power over the thought? What is
thought? It is the result of nature--of the outer world--first upon the
senses--those impressions left upon the brain as pictures of things in
the outward world, and these pictures are transformed into, or produce,
thought; and as long as the doors of the senses are open, thoughts will
be produced. Whoever looks at anything in nature, thinks. Whoever hears
any sound--or any symphony--no matter what--thinks. Whoever looks upon
the sea, or on a star, or on a flower, or on the face of a fellow-man,
thinks, and the result of that look is an absolute necessity. The
thought produced will depend upon your brain, upon your experience, upon
the history of your life.
One who looks upon the sea, knowing that the one he loved the best had
been devoured by its hungry waves, will have certain thoughts; and he
who sees it for the first time, will have different thoughts. In other
words, no two brains are alike; no two lives have been or are or ever
will be the same. Consequently, nature cannot produce the same effect
upon any two brains, or upon any two hearts.
The only reason why we wish to exchange thoughts is that we are
different. If we were all the same, we would die dumb. No thought would
be expressed after we found that our thoughts were precisely alike. We
differ--our thoughts are different. Therefore the commerce that we call
conversation.
Back of language is thought. Back of language is the desire to express
our thought to another. This desire not only gave us language--this
desire has given us the libraries of the world. And not only the
libraries; this desire to express thought, to show to others the
splendid children of the brain, has written every book, formed every
language, painted every picture, and chiseled every statue--this desire
to express our thought to others, to reap the harvest of the brain.
If, then, thought is a necessity, "it follows as the night the day"
that there is, there can be, no responsibility for thought to any being,
human or divine.
A camera contains a sensitive plate. The light flashes upon it, and the
sensitive plate receives a picture. Is it in fault, is it responsible,
for the picture? So with the brain. An image is left on it, a picture
is imprinted there. The plate may not be perfectly level--it may be too
concave, or too convex, and the picture may be a deformity; so with the
brain. But the man does not make his own brain, and the consequence is,
if the picture is distorted it is not the fault of the brain.
We take then these two steps: first, thought is a necessity; and second,
the thought depends upon the brain.
Each brain is a kind of field where nature sows with careless hands
the seeds of thought. Some brains are poor and barren fields, producing
weeds and thorns, and some are like the tropic world where grow the palm
and pine--children of the sun and soil.
You read Shakespeare. What do you get out of Shakespeare? All that your
brain is able to hold. It depends upon your brain. If you are great--if
you have been cultivated--if the wings of your imagination have been
spread--if you have had great, free, and splendid thoughts--'r you have
stood upon the edge of things--if you have had the courage to meet all
that can come--you get an immensity from Shakespeare. If you have lived
nobly--if you have loved with every drop of your blood and every fibre
of your being--if you have suffered--if you have enjoyed--then you get
an immensity from Shakespeare. But if you have lived a poor, little,
mean, wasted, barren, weedy life--you get very little from that immortal
man.
So it is from every source in nature--what you get depends upon what you
are.
Take then the second step. If thought is a necessity, there can be
no responsibility for thought. And why has man ever believed that his
fellow-man was responsible for his thought?
Everything that is, everything that has been, has been naturally
produced. Man has acted as, under the same circumstances, we would have
acted; because when you say "under the circumstances," it is the same as
to say that you would do exactly as they have done.
There has always been in men the instinct of self-preservation. There was
a time when men believed, and honestly believed, that there was above
them a God. Sometimes they believed in many, but it will be sufficient
for my illustration to say, one. Man believed that there was in the sky
above him a God who attended to the affairs of men. He believed that
that God, sitting upon his throne, rewarded virtue and punished vice. He
believed also, that that God held the community responsible for the sins
of individuals. He honestly believed it. When the flood came, or when
the earthquake devoured, he really believed that some God was filled
with anger--with holy indignation--at his children. He believed it, and
so he looked about among his neighbors to see who was in fault, and if
there was any man who had failed to bring his sacrifice to the altar,
had failed to kneel, it may be to the priest, failed to be present in
the temple, or had given it as his opinion that the God of that tribe
or of that nation was of no use, then, in order to placate the God, they
seized the neighbor and sacrificed him on the altar of their ignorance
and of their fear.
They believed when the lightning leaped from the cloud and left its
blackened mark upon the man, that he had done something--that he had
excited the wrath of the gods.
And while man so believed, while he believed that it was necessary, in
order to defend himself, to kill his neighbor--he acted simply according
to the dictates of his nature.
What I claim is that we have nov-advanced far enough not only to
think, but to know, that the conduct of man has nothing to do with the
phenomena of nature. We are now advanced far enough to absolutely know
that no man can be bad enough and no nation infamous enough to cause an
earthquake. I think we have got to that point that we absolutely
know that no man can be wicked enough to entice one of the bolts from
heaven--that no man can be cruel enough to cause a drought--and that you
could not have infidels enough on the earth to cause another flood.
I think we have advanced far enough not only to say that, but to
absolutely know it--I mean people who have thought, and in whose minds
there is something like reasoning.
We know, if we know anything, that the lightning is just as apt to hit
a good man as a bad man. We know it. We know that the earthquake is just
as liable to swallow virtue as to swallow vice. And you know just as
well as I do that a ship loaded with pirates is just as apt to outride
the storm as one crowded with missionaries. You know it.
I am now speaking of the phenomena of nature. I believe, as much as
I believe that I live, that the reason a thing is right is because it
tends to the happiness of mankind. I believe, as much as I be-believe
that I live, that on the average the good man is not only the happier
man, but that no man is happy who is not good.
If then we have gotten over that frightful, that awful superstition--we
are ready to enjoy hearing the thoughts of each other.
I do not say, neither do I intend to be understood as saying, that there
is no God. All I intend to say is, that so far as we can see, no man
is punished, no nation is punished by lightning, or famine, or storm.
Everything happens to the one as to the other.
Now, let us admit that there is an infinite God. That has nothing to do
with the sinlessness of thought--nothing to do with the fact that no man
is accountable to any being, human or divine, for what he thinks. And
let me tell you why.
If there be an infinite God, leave him to deal with men who sin against
him. You can trust him, if you believe in him. He has the power. He has
a heaven full of bolts. Trust him. And now that you are satisfied that
the earthquake will not swallow you, or the lightning strike you, simply
because you tell your thoughts, if one of your neighbors differs with
you, and acts improperly or thinks or speaks improperly of your God,
leave him with your God--he can attend to him a thousand times better
than you can, He has the time. He lives from eternity to eternity. More
than that, he has the means. So that, whether there be this Being or
not, you have no right to interfere with your neighbor.
The next proposition is, that I have the same right to express my
thought to the whole world, that the whole world has to express its
thought to me.
I believe that this realm of thought is not a democracy, where
the majority rule; it is not a republic. It is a country with one
inhabitant. This brain is the world in which my mind lives, and my mind
is the sovereign of that realm. We are all kings, and one man balances
the rest of the world as one drop of water balances the sea. Each soul
is crowned. Each soul wears the purple and the tiara; and only those are
good citizens of the intellectual world who give to every other human
being every right that they claim for themselves, and only those are
traitors in the great realm of thought who abandon reason and appeal to
force.
If now I have got out of your minds the idea that you must abuse your
neighbors to keep on good terms with God, then the question of religion
is exactly like every question--I mean of thought, of mind--I have
nothing to say now about action.
Is there authority in the world of art? Can a legislature pass a law
that a certain picture is beautiful, and can it pass a law putting in
the penitentiary any impudent artistic wretch who says that to him it is
not beautiful? Precisely the same with music. Our ears are not all
the same; we are not touched by the same sounds--the same beautiful
memories* do not arise. Suppose you have an authority in music? You may
make men, it may be, by offering them office or by threatening them with
punishment, swear that they all like that tune--but you never will
know till the day of your death whether they do or not. The moment you
introduce a despotism in the world of thought, you succeed in making
hypocrites--and you get in such a position that you never know what your
neighbor thinks.
So in the great realm of religion, there can be no force. No one can be
compelled to pray. No matter how you tie him down, or crush him down on
his face or on his knees, it is above the power of the human race to put
in that man, by force, the spirit of prayer. You cannot do it. Neither
can you compel anybody to worship a God. Worship rises from the heart
like perfume from a flower. It cannot obey; it cannot do that which
some one else commands. It must be absolutely true to the law of its
own nature. And do you think any God would be satisfied with compulsory
worship? Would he like to see long rows of poor, ignorant slaves on
their terrified knees repeating words without a soul--giving him what
you might call the shucks of sound? Will any God be satisfied with
that? And so I say, we must be as free in one department of thought as
another.
Now, I take the next step, and that is, that the rights of all are
absolutely equal.
I have the same right to give you my opinion that you have to give me
yours. I have no right to compel you to hear, if you do not want to. I
have no right to compel you to speak if you do not want to. If you do
not wish to know my thought, I have no right to force it upon you.
The next thing is, that this liberty of thought, this liberty of
expression, is of more value than any other thing beneath the stars. Of
more value than any religion, of more value than any government, of more
value than all the constitutions that man has written and all the laws
that he has passed, is this liberty--the absolute liberty of the human
mind. Take away that word from language, and all other words become
meaningless sounds, and there is then no reason for a man being and
living upon the earth.
So then, I am simply in favor of intellectual hospitality--that is all.
You come to me with a new idea. I invite you into the house. Let us see
what you have. Let us talk it over. If I do not like your thought, I
will bid it a polite "good day." If I do like it, I will say: "Sit down;
stay with me, and become a part of the intellectual wealth of my world."
That is all.
And how any human being ever has had the impudence to speak against the
right to speak, is beyond the power of my imagination. Here is a man
who speaks--who exercises a right that he, by his speech, denies. Can
liberty go further than that? Is there any toleration possible beyond
the liberty to speak against liberty--the real believer in free speech
allowing others to speak against the right to speak? Is there any
limitation beyond that?
So, whoever has spoken against the right to speak has admitted that he
violated his own doctrine. No man can open his mouth against the freedom
of speech without denying every argument he may put forward. Why? He is
exercising the right that he denies. How did he get it? Suppose there
is one man on an island. You will all admit now that he would have the
right to do his own thinking. You will all admit that he has the right
to express his thought. Now, will somebody tell me how many men would
have to emigrate to that island before the original settler would lose
his right to think and his right to express himself?
If there be an infinite Being--and it is a question that I know nothing
about--you would be perfectly astonished to know how little I do know on
that subject, and yet I know as much as the aggregated world knows, and
as little as the smallest insect that ever fanned with happy wings the
summer air--if there be such a Being, I have the same right to think
that he has simply because it is a necessity of my nature--because I
cannot help it. And the Infinite would be just as responsible to the
smallest intelligence living in the infinite spaces--he would be just
as responsible to that intelligence as that intelligence can be to him,
provided that intelligence thinks as a necessity of his nature.
There is another phrase to which I object--"toleration." "The limits
of toleration." Why say "toleration"? I will tell you why. When
the thinkers were in the minority--when the philosophers were
vagabonds--when the men with brains furnished fuel for bonfires--when
the majority were ignorantly orthodox--when they hated the heretic as a
last year's leaf hates a this year's bud--in that delightful time
these poor people in the minority had to say to ignorant power, to
conscientious rascality, to cruelty born of universal love: "Don't kill
us; don't be so arrogantly meek as to burn us; tolerate us." At that
time the minority was too small to talk about rights, and the great big
ignorant majority when tired of shedding blood, said: "Well, we will
tolerate you; we can afford to wait; you will not live long, and when
the Being of infinite compassion gets hold of you we will glut our
revenge through an eternity of joy; we will ask you every now and then,
'What is your opinion now?'"
Both feeling absolutely sure that infinite goodness would have his
revenge, they "tolerated" these thinkers, and that word finally took
the place almost of liberty. But I do not like it. When you say "I
tolerate," you do not say you have no right to punish, no right to
persecute. It is only a disclaimer for a few moments and for a few
years, but you retain the right. I deny it.
And let me say here to-night--it is your experience, it is mine--that
the bigger a man is the more charitable he is; you know it. The more
brain he has, the more excuses he finds for all the world; you know it.
And if there be in heaven an infinite Being, he must be grander than any
man; he must have a thousand times more charity than the human heart can
hold, and is it possible that he is going to hold his ignorant children
responsible for the impressions made by nature upon their brain? Let us
have some sense.
There is another side to this question, and that is with regard to the
freedom of thought and expression in matters pertaining to this world.
No man has a right to hurt the character of a neighbor. He has no right
to utter slander. He has no right to bear false witness. He has no right
to be actuated by any motive except for the general good--but the
things he does here to his neighbor--these are easily defined and easily
punished. All that I object to is setting up a standard of authority in
the world of art, the world of beauty, the world of poetry, the world
of worship, the world of religion, and the world of metaphysics. That is
what I object to; and if the old doctrines had been carried out, every
human being that has benefited this world would have been destroyed.
If the people who believe that a certain belief is necessary to insure
salvation had had control of this world, we would have been as ignorant
to-night as wild beasts. Every step in advance has been made in spite of
them. There has not been a book of any value printed since the invention
of that art--and when I say "of value," I mean that contained new
and splendid truths--that was not anathematized by the gentlemen who
believed that man is responsible for his thought. Every step has been
taken in spite of that doctrine.
Consequently I simply believe in absolute liberty of mind. And I have no
fear about any other world--not the slightest. When I get there, I will
give my honest opinion of that country; I will give my honest thought
there; and if for that I lose my soul, I will keep at least my
self-respect.
A man tells me a story. I believe it, or disbelieve it. I cannot help
it. I read a story--no matter whether in the original Hebrew, or whether
it has been translated. I believe it or I disbelieve it. No matter
whether it is written in a very solemn or a very flippant manner--I have
my idea about its truth. And I insist that each man has the right to
judge that for himself, and for that reason, as I have already said, I
am defending your right to differ with me--that is all. And if you do
differ with me, all that it proves is that I do not agree with you.
There is no man that lives to-night beneath the stars--there is no
being--that can force my soul upon its knees, unless the reason is
given. I will be no slave. I do not care how big my master is, I am just
as small, if a slave, as though the master were small. It is not the
greatness of the master that can honor the slave. In other words, I
am going to act according to my right, as I understand it, without
interfering with any other human being. And now, if you think--any of
you, that you can control your thought, I want you to try it. There is
not one here who can by any possibility think, only as he must.
You remember the story of the Methodist minister who insisted that he
could control his thoughts. A man said to him, "Nobody can control his
own mind." "Oh, yes, he can," the preacher replied. "My dear sir," said
the man, "you cannot even say the Lord's Prayer without thinking of
something else." "Oh, yes, I can." "Well, if you will do it, I will give
you that horse, the best riding horse in this county." "Well, who is to
judge?" said the preacher. "I will take your own word for it, and if you
say the Lord's Prayer through without thinking of anything else, I will
give you that horse." So the minister shut his eyes and began: "Our
Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy
will be done,"--"I suppose you will throw in the saddle and bridle?"
I say to you to-night, ladies and gentlemen, that I feel more interest
in the freedom of thought and speech than in all other questions,
knowing, as I do, that it is the condition of great and splendid
progress for the race; remembering, as I do, that the opposite idea has
covered the cheek of the world with tears; remembering, and knowing, as
I do, that the enemies of free thought and free speech have covered this
world with blood. These men have filled the heavens with an infinite
monster; they have filled the future with fire and flame, and they have
made the present, when they have had the power, a perdition. These men,
these doctrines, have carried fagots to the feet of philosophy. These
men, these doctrines, have hated to see the dawn of an intellectual day.
These men, these doctrines, have denied every science, and denounced and
killed every philosopher they could lay their bloody, cruel, ignorant
hands upon.
And for that reason, I am for absolute liberty of thought, everywhere,
in every department, domain, and realm of the human mind.
REMARKS OF MR. COUDERT.
_Ladies and Gentlemen and Mr. President_: It is not only "the sense of
the church" that I am lacking now, I am afraid it is any sense at all;
and I am only wondering how a reasonably intelligent being--meaning
myself--could in view of the misfortune that befell Mr. Kernan, have
undertaken to speak to-night.
This is a new experience. I have never sung in any of Verdi's operas--I
have never listened to one through--but I think I would prefer to try
all three of these performances rather than go on with this duty which,
in a vain moment of deluded vanity, I heedlessly undertook.
I am in a new field here. I feel very much like the master of a ship
who thinks that he can safely guide his bark. (I am not alluding to the
traditional bark of St. Peter, in which I hope that I am and will always
be, but the ordinary bark that requires a compass and a rudder and a
guide.) And I find that all these ordinary things, which we generally
take for granted, and which are as necessary to our safety as the air
which we breathe, or the sunshine that we enjoy, have been quietly,
pleasantly, and smilingly thrown overboard by the gentleman who has just
preceded me.
Carlyle once said--and the thought came to me as the gentleman was
speaking--"A Comic History of England!"--for some wretch had just
written such a book--(talk of free thought and free speech when men do
such things!)--"A Comic History of England!" The next thing we shall
hear of will be "A Comic History of the Bible!" I think we have heard
the first chapter of that comic history to-night; and the only comfort
that I have--and possibly some other antiquated and superannuated
persons of either sex, if such there be within my hearing--is that
such things as have seemed to me charmingly to partake of the order of
blasphemy, have been uttered with such charming bonhomie, and received
with such enthusiastic admiration, that I have wondered whether we are
in a Christian audience of the nineteenth century, or in a possible
Ingersollian audience of the twenty-third.
And let me first, before I enter upon the very few and desultory
remarks, which are the only ones that I can make now and with which I
may claim your polite attention--let me say a word about the comparison
with which your worthy President opened these proceedings.
There are two or three things upon which I am a little sensitive: One,
aspersions upon the land of my birth--the city of New York; the next,
the land of my fathers; and the next, the bark that I was just speaking
of.
Now your worthy President, in his well-meant efforts to exhibit in the
best possible style the new actor upon his stage, said that he had seen
Victor Hugo's remains, and Voltaire's, and Jean Jacques Rousseau's, and
that he thought the niche might well be filled by Colonel Ingersoll.
If that had been merely the expression of a natural desire to see him
speedily annihilated, I might perhaps in the interests of the Christian
community have thought, but not said, "Amen!" (Here you will at once
observe the distinction I make between free thought and free speech!)
I do not think, and I beg that none of you, and particularly the
eloquent rhetorician who preceded me, will think, that in anything I may
say I intend any personal discourtesy, for I do believe to some extent
in freedom of speech upon a platform like this. Such a debate as this
rises entirely above and beyond the plane of personalities.
I suppose that your President intended to compare Colonel Ingersoll to
Voltaire, to Hugo and to Rousseau. I have no retainer from either of
those gentlemen, but for the reason that I just gave you, I wish to
defend their memory from what I consider a great wrong. And so I do not
think--with all respect to the eloquent and learned gentleman--that he
is entitled to a place in that niche. Voltaire did many wrong things.
He did them for many reasons, and chiefly because he was human.
But Voltaire did a great deal to build up. Leaving aside his noble
tragedies, which charmed and delighted his audiences, and dignified the
stage, throughout his work was some effort to ameliorate the condition
of the human race. He fought against torture; he fought against
persecution; he fought against bigotry; he clamored and wrote against
littleness and fanaticism in every way, and he was not ashamed when he
entered upon his domains at Fernay, to erect a church to the God of
whom the most our friend can say is, "I do not know whether he exists or
not."
Rousseau did many noble things, but he was a madman, and in our
day would probably have been locked up in an asylum and treated by
intelligent doctors. His works, however, bear the impress of a religious
education, and if there be in his works or sayings anything to parallel
what we have heard tonight--whether a parody on divine revelation, or a
parody upon the prayer of prayers--I have not seen it.
Victor Hugo has enriched the literature of his day with prose and poetry
that have made him the Shakespeare of the nineteenth century--poems as
deeply imbued with a devout sense of responsibility to the Almighty as
the writings of an archbishop or a cardinal. He has left the traces
of his beneficent action all over the literature of his day, of his
country, and of his race.
All these men, then, have built up something. Will anyone, the most
ardent admirer of Colonel Ingersoll, tell me what he has built up?
To go now to the argument. The learned gentleman says that freedom of
thought is a grand thing. Unfortunately, freedom of thought exists. What
one of us would not put manacles and fetters upon his thoughts, if he
only could? What persecution have any of us suffered to compare with the
involuntary recurrence of these demons that enter our brain--that bring
back past events that we would wipe out with our tears, or even with
our blood--and make us slaves of a power unseen but uncontrollable and
uncontrolled? Is it not unworthy of so eloquent and intelligent a man to
preach before you here to-night that thought must always be free?
When in the history of the world has thought ever been fettered? If
there be a page in history upon which such an absurdity is written, I
have failed to find it.
Thought is beyond the domain of man. The most cruel and arbitrary ruler
can no more penetrate into your bosom and mine and extract the inner
workings of our brain, than he can scale the stars or pull down the sun
from its seat. Thought must be free. Thought is unseen, unhandled and
untouched, and no despot has yet been able to reach it, except when the
thoughts burst into words. And therefore, may we not consider now, and
say, that liberty of word is what he wants, and not liberty of thought,
which no one has ever gainsaid, or disputed?
Liberty of speech!--and the gentleman generously tells us, "Why, I only
ask for myself what I would cheerfully extend to you. I wish you to be
free; and you can even entertain those old delusions which your mothers
taught, and look with envious admiration upon me while I scale the giddy
heights of Olympus, gather the honey and approach the stars and tell
you how pure the air is in those upper regions which you are unable to
reach."
Thanks for his kindness! But I think that it is one thing for us to
extend to him that liberty that he asks for--the liberty to destroy--and
another thing for him to give us the liberty which we claim--the liberty
to conserve.
Oh, destruction is so easy, destruction is so pleasant! It marks the
footsteps all through our life. The baby begins by destroying his bib;
the older child by destroying his horse, and when the man is grown up
and he joins the regiment with the latent instinct that when he gets a
chance he will destroy human life.
This building cost many thousand days' work. It was planned by more or
less skillful architects (ignorant of ventilation, but well-meaning).
Men lavished their thought, and men lavished their sweat for a pittance,
upon this building. It took months and possibly years to build it and to
adorn it and to beautify it. And yet, as it stands complete tonight with
all of you here in the vigor of your life and in the enjoyment of such
entertainment as you may get here this evening, I will find a dozen
men who with a few pounds of dynamite will reduce it and all of us to
instant destruction.
The dynamite man may say to me, "I give you full liberty to build and
occupy and insure, if you will give me liberty to blow up." Is that a
fair bargain? Am I bound in conscience and in good sense to accept it?
Liberty of speech! Tell me where liberty of speech has ever existed.
There have been free societies, England was a free country. France has
struggled through crisis after crisis to obtain liberty of speech. We
think we have liberty of speech, as we understand it, and yet who would
undertake to say that our society could live with liberty of speech?
We have gone through many crises in our short history, and we know that
thought is nothing before the law, but the word is an act--as guilty at
times as the act of killing, or burglary, or any of the violent crimes
that disgrace humanity and require the police.
A word is an act--an act of the tongue; and why should my tongue go
unpunished, and I who wield it mercilessly toward those who are weaker
than I, escape, if my arm is to be punished when I use it tyrannously?
Whom would you punish for the murder of Desdemona--is it Iago, or
Othello? Who was the villain, who was the criminal, who deserved the
scaffold--who but free speech? Iago exercised free speech. He poisoned
the ear of Othello and nerved his arm and Othello was the murderer--but
Iago went scot free. That was a word.
"Oh," says the counsel, "but that does not apply to individuals; be
tender and charitable to individuals." Tender and charitable to men if
they endeavor to destroy all that you love and venerate and respect!
Are you tender and charitable to me if you enter my house, my castle,
and debauch my children from the faith that they have been taught? Are
you tender and charitable to them and to me when you teach them that I
have instructed them in falsehood, that their mother has rocked them in
blasphemy, and that they are now among the fools and the witlings of the
world because they believe in my precepts? Is that the charity that you
speak of? Heaven forbid that liberty of speech such as that, should ever
invade my home or yours!
We all understand, and the learned gentleman will admit, that his
discourse is but an eloquent apology for blasphemy. And when I say this,
I beg you to believe me incapable of resorting to the cheap artifice
of strong words to give point to a pointless argument, or to offend
a courteous adversary. I think if I put it to him he would, with
characteristic candor, say, "Yes, that is what I claim--the liberty to
blaspheme; the world has outgrown these things; and I claim to-day, as I
claimed a few months ago in the neighboring gallant little State of New
Jersey, that while you cannot slander man, your tongue is free to revile
and insult man's maker." New Jersey was behind in the race for progress,
and did not accept his argument. His unfortunate client was convicted
and had to pay the fine which the press--which is seldom mistaken--says
came from the pocket of his generous counsel.
The argument was a strong one; the argument was brilliant, and was able;
and I say now, with all my predilections for the church of my fathers,
and for your church (because it is not a question of our differences,
but it is a question whether the tree shall be torn up by the roots, not
what branches may bear richer fruit or deserve to be lopped off)--I say,
why has every Christian State passed these statutes against blasphemy?
Turning into ridicule sacred things--firing off the Lord's Prayer as
you would a joke from Joe Miller or a comic poem--that is what I mean by
blasphemy. If there is any other or better definition, give it me, and I
will use it.
Now understand. All these States of ours care not one fig what our
religion is. Behave yourselves properly, obey the laws, do not require
the intervention of the police, and the majesty of your conscience will
be as exalted as the sun. But the wisest men and the best men--possibly
not so eloquent as the orator, but I may say it without offence to
him--other names that shine brightly in the galaxy of our best men, have
insisted and maintained that the Christian faith was the ligament that
kept our modern society together, and our laws have said, and the laws
of most of our States say, to this day, "Think what you like, but do
not, like Samson, pull the pillars down upon us all."
If I had anything to say, ladies and gentlemen, it is time that I should
say it now. My exordium has been very long, but it was no longer than
the dignity of the subject, perhaps, demanded.
Free speech we all have. Absolute liberty of speech we never had. Did we
have it before the war? Many of us here remember that if you crossed an
imaginary line and went among some of the noblest and best men that ever
adorned this continent, one word against slavery meant death. And if you
say that that was the influence of slavery, I will carry you to Boston,
that city which numbers within its walls as many intelligent people to
the acre as any city on the globe--was it different there?
Why, the fugitive, beaten, blood-stained slave, when he got there, was
seized and turned back; and when a few good and brave men, in defence
of free speech, undertook to defend the slave and to try and give him
liberty, they were mobbed and pelted and driven through the city. You
may say, "That proves there was no liberty of speech." No; it proves
this: that wherever, and wheresoever, and whenever, liberty of speech is
incompatible with the safety of the State, liberty of speech must fall
back and give way, in order that the State may be preserved.
First, above everything, above all things, the safety of the people is
the supreme law. And if rhetoricians, anxious to tear down, anxious to
pluck the faith from the young ones who are unable to defend it, come
forward with nickel-plated platitudes and commonplaces clothed in
second-hand purple and tinsel, and try to tear down the temple, then
it is time, I shall not say for good men--for I know so few they make a
small battalion--but for good women, to come to the rescue.
GENERAL WOODFORD'S SPEECH.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen>: At this late hour, I could not
attempt--even if I would--the eloquence of my friend Colonel Ingersoll;
nor the wit and rapier-like sarcasm of my other valued friend Mr.
Coudert. But there are some things so serious about this subject that
we discuss to-night, that I crave your pardon if, without preface, and
without rhetoric, I get at once to what from my Protestant standpoint
seems the fatal logical error of Mr. Inger-soll's position.
Mr. Ingersoll starts with the statement--and that I may not, for I could
not, do him injustice, nor myself injustice, in the quotation, I will
give it as he stated it--he starts with this statement: that thought is
a necessary natural product, the result of what we call impressions made
through the medium of the senses upon the brain.
Do you think that is thought? Now stop--turn right into your own
minds--is that thought? Does not will power take hold? Does not reason
take hold? Does not memory take hold, and is not thought the action of
the brain based upon the impression and assisted or directed by manifold
and varying influences?
Secondly, our friend Mr. Ingersoll says that no human being is
accountable to any being, human or divine, for his thought.
He starts with the assumption that thought is the inevitable impression
burnt upon the mind at once, and then jumps to the conclusion that there
is no responsibility. Now, is not that a fair logical analysis of what
he has said?
My senses leave upon my mind an impression, and then my mind, out
of that impression, works good or evil. The glass of brandy, being
presented to my physical sense, inspires thirst--inspires the thought
of thirst--inspires the instinct of debauchery. Am I not accountable for
the result of the mind given me, whether I yield to the debauch, or rise
to the dignity of self-control?
Every thing of sense leaves its impression upon the mind. If there be no
responsibility anywhere, then is this world blind chance. If there be
no responsibility anywhere, then my friend deserves no credit if he
be guiding you in the path of truth, and I deserve no censure if I be
carrying you back into the path of superstition. Why, admit for a moment
that a man has no control over his thought, and you destroy absolutely
the power of regenerating the world, the power of improving the world.
The world swings one way, or it swings the other. If it be true that in
all these ages we have come nearer and nearer to a perfect liberty, that
is true simply and alone because the mind of man through reason, through
memory, through a thousand inspirations and desires and hopes, has ever
tended toward better results and higher achievements.
No accountability? I speak not for my friend, but I recognize that I
am accountable to myself; I recognize that whether I rise or fall, that
whether my life goes upward or downward, I am responsible to myself. And
so, in spite of all sophistry, so in spite of all dream, so in spite
of all eloquence, each woman, each man within this audience is
responsible--first of all to herself and himself--whether when bad
thoughts, when passion, when murder, when evil come into the heart or
brain he harbors them there or he casts them out.
I am responsible further--I am responsible to my neighbor. I know that I
am my neighbor's keeper, I know that as I touch your life, as you touch
mine, I am responsible every moment, every hour, every day, for my
influence upon you. I am either helping you up, or I am dragging you
down; you are either helping me up or you are dragging me down--and you
know it. Sophistry cannot get away from this; eloquence cannot seduce us
from it. You know that if you look back through the record of your life,
there are lives that you have helped and lives that you have hurt. You
know that there are lives on the downward plane that went down because
in an evil hour you pushed them; you know, perhaps with blessing, lives
that have gone up because you have reached out to them a helping
hand. That responsibility for your neighbor is a responsibility and an
accountability that you and I cannot avoid or evade.
I believe one thing further: that because there is a creation there is a
Creator. I believe that because there is force, there is a Projector of
force; because there is matter, there is spirit. I reverently believe
these things. I am not angry with my neighbor because he does not; it
may be that he is right, that I am wrong; but if there be a Power
that sent me into this world, so far as that Power has given me wrong
direction, or permitted wrong direction, that Power will judge me
justly. So far as I disregard the light that I have, whatever it
may be--whether it br light of reason, light of conscience, light of
history--so far as I do that which my judgment tells me is wrong, I am
responsible and I am accountable.
Now the Protestant theory, as I understand it, is simply this: It would
vary from the theory as taught by the mother church--it certainly swings
far away from the theory as suggested by my friend; I understand the
Protestant theory to be this: That every man is responsible to himself,
to his neighbor, and to his God, for his thought. Not for the first
impression--but for that impression, for that direction and result which
he intelligently gives to the first impression or deduces from it. I
understand that the Protestant idea is this: that man may think--we know
he will think--for himself; but that he is responsible for it. That a
man may speak his thought, so long as he does not hurt his neighbor. He
must use his own liberty so that he shall not injure the well-being of
any other one--so that when using this liberty, when exercising this
freedom, he is accountable at the last to his God. And so Protestantism
sends me into the world with this terrible and solemn responsibility.
It leaves Mr. Ingersoll free to speak his thought at the bar of his
conscience, before the bar of his fellow-man, but it holds him in the
inevitable grip of absolute responsibility for every light word idly
spoken.
God grant that he may use that power so that he can face that
responsibility at the last!
It leaves to every churchman liberty to believe and stand by his church
according to his own conviction.
It stands for this; the absolute liberty of each individual man to
think, to write, to speak, to act, according to the best light within
him; limited as to his fellows, by the condition that he shall not use
that liberty so as to injure them; limited in the other direction, by
those tremendous laws which are laws in spite of all rhetoric, and in
spite of all logic.
If I put my finger into the fire, that fire burns. If I do a wrong, that
wrong remains. If I hurt my neighbor, the wrong reacts upon myself. If
I would try to escape what you call judgment, what you call penalty, I
cannot escape the working of the inevitable-law that follows a cause by
effect; I cannot escape that inevitable law--not the creation of
some dark monster flashing through the skies--but, as I believe, the
beneficent creation which puts into the spiritual life the same control
of law that guides the material life, which wisely makes me responsible,
that in the solemnity of that responsibility I am bound to lift my
brother up and never to drag my brother down.
REPLY OF COLONEL INGERSOLL.
The first gentleman who replied to me took the ground boldly that
expression is not free--that no man has the right to express his real
thoughts--and I suppose that he acted in accordance with that idea. How
are you to know whether he thought a solitary thing that he said, or
not? How is it possible for us to ascertain whether he is simply the
mouthpiece of some other? Whether he is a free man, or whether he says
that which he does not believe, it is impossible for us to ascertain.
He tells you that I am about to take away the religion of your mothers.
I have heard that said a great many times. No doubt Mr. Coudert has
the religion of his mother, and judging from the argument he made, his
mother knew at least as much about these questions as her son. I believe
that every good father and good mother wants to see the son and the
daughter climb higher upon the great and splendid mount of thought than
they reached.
You never can honor your father by going around swearing to his
mistakes. You never can honor your mother by saying that ignorance is
blessed because she did not know everything. I want to honor my parents
by finding out more than they did.
There is another thing that I was a little astonished at--that Mr.
Coudert, knowing that he would be in eternal felicity with his harp in
his hand, seeing me in the world of the damned, could yet grow envious
here to-night at my imaginary monument.
And he tells you--this Catholic--that Voltaire was an exceedingly good
Christian compared with me. Do you know I am glad that I have compelled
a Catholic--one who does not believe he has the right to express his
honest thoughts--to pay a compliment to Voltaire simply because he
thought it was at my expense?
I have an almost infinite admiration for Voltaire; and when I hear that
name pronounced, I think of a plume floating over a mailed knight--I
think of a man that rode to the beleaguered City of Catholicism and
demanded a surrender--I think of a great man who thrust the dagger of
assassination into your Mother Church, and from that wound she never
will recover.
One word more. This gentleman says that children are destructive--that
the first thing they do is to destroy their bibs. The gentleman, I
should think from his talk, has preserved his!
They talk about blasphemy. What is blasphemy? Let us be honest with each
other. Whoever lives upon the unpaid labor of others is a blasphemer.
Whoever slanders, maligns, and betrays is a blasphemer. Whoever denies
to others the rights that he claims for himself is a blasphemer.
Who is a worshiper? One who makes a happy home--one who fills the
lives of wife and children with sunlight--one who has a heart where
the flowers of kindness burst into blossom and fill the air with
perfume--the man who sits beside his wife, prematurely old and wasted,
and holds her thin hands in his and kisses them as passionately and
loves her as truly and as rapturously as when she was a bride--he is a
worshiper--that is worship.
And the gentleman brought forward as a reason why we should not have
free speech, that only a few years ago some of the best men in the
world, if you said a word in favor of liberty, would shoot you down.
What an argument was that! They were not good men. They were
the whippers of women and the stealers of babes--robbers of the
trundlebed--assassins of human liberty. They knew no better, but I do
not propose to follow the example of a barbarian because he was honestly
a barbarian.
So much for debauching his family by telling them that his precepts
are false. If he has taught them as he has taught us to-night, he has
debauched their minds. I would be honest at the cradle. I would not
tell a child anything as a certainty that I did not know. I would be
absolutely honest.
But he says that thought is absolutely free--nobody can control thought.
Let me tell him: Superstition is the jailer of the mind. You can so
stuff a child with superstition that its poor little brain is a bastile
and its poor little soul a convict. Fear is the jailer of the mind, and
superstition is the assassin of liberty.
So when anybody goes into his family and tells these great and shining
truths, instead of debauching his children they will kill the snakes
that crawl in their cradles. Let us be honest and free.
And now, coming to the second gentleman. He is a Protestant. The
Catholic Church says: "Don't think; pay your fare; this is a through
ticket, and we will look out for your baggage." The Protestant Church
says: "Read that Bible for yourselves; think for yourselves; but if you
do not come to a right conclusion you will be eternally damned." Any
sensible man will say, "Then I won't read it--I'll believe it without
reading it." And that is the only way you can be sure you will believe
it; don't read it.
Governor Woodford says that we are responsible for our thoughts. Why?
Could you help thinking as you did on this subject? No, Could you help
believing the Bible? I suppose not. Could you help believing that story
of Jonah? Certainly not--it looks reasonable in Brooklyn.
I stated that thought was the result of the impressions of nature upon
the mind through the medium of the senses. He says you cannot have
thought without memory. How did you get the first one?
Of course I intended to be understood--and the language is clear--that
there could be no thought except through the impressions made upon the
brain by nature through the avenues called the senses. Take away the
senses, how would you think then? If you thought at all, I think you
would agree with Mr. Coudert.
Now, I admit--so we need never have a contradiction about it--I admit
that every human being is responsible to the person he injures. If he
injures any man, woman, or child, or any dog, or the lowest animal that
crawls, he is responsible to that animal, to that being--in other words,
he is responsible to any being that he has injured.
But you cannot injure an infinite Being, if there be one. I will tell
you why. You cannot help him, and you cannot hurt him. If there be an
infinite Being, he is conditionless--he does not want anything--he has
it. You cannot help anybody that does not want something--you cannot
help him. You cannot hurt anybody unless he is a conditioned being
and you change his condition so as to inflict a harm. But if God be
conditionless, you cannot hurt him, and you cannot help him. So do
not trouble yourselves about the Infinite. All our duties lie within
reach--all our duties are right here; and my religion is simply this:
_First_. Give to every other human being every right that you claim for
yourself.
_Second_. If you tell your thought at all, tell your honest thought. Do
not be a parrot--do not be an instrumentality for an organization. Tell
your own thought, honor bright, what you think.
My next idea is, that the only possible good in the universe is
happiness. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here.
The way to be happy is to try and make somebody else so.
My good friend General Woodford--and he is a good man telling the best
he knows--says that I will be accountable at the bar up yonder. I am
ready to settle that account now, and expect to be, every moment of my
life--and when that settlement comes, if it does come, I do not believe
that a solitary being can rise and say that I ever injured him or her.
But no matter what they say. Let me tell you a story, how we will settle
if we do get there.
You remember the story told about the Mexican who believed that his
country was the only one in the world, and said so. The priest told
him that there was another country where a man lived who was eleven or
twelve feet high, that made the whole world, and if he denied it, when
that man got hold of him he would not leave a whole bone in his body.
But he denied it. He was one of those men who would not believe further
than his vision extended.
So one day in his boat, he was rocking away when the wind suddenly arose
and he was blown out of sight of his home. After several days he was
blown so far that he saw the shores of another country. Then he said,
"My Lord; I am gone! I have been swearing all my life that there was no
other country, and here it is!" So he did his best--paddled with what
little strength he had left, reached the shore, and got out of his boat.
Sure enough, there came down a man to meet him about twelve feet high.
The poor little wretch was frightened almost to death, so he said to the
tall man as he saw him coming down: "Mister, whoever you are, I denied
your existence--I did not believe you lived; I swore there was no such
country as this; but I see I was mistaken, and I am gone. You are going
to kill me, and the quicker you do it the better and get me out of my
misery. Do it now!"
The great man just looked at the little fellow, and said nothing, till
he asked, "What are you going to do with me, because over in that other
country I denied your existence?" "What am I going to do with you?" said
the supposed God. "Now that you have got here, if you behave yourself I
am going to treat you well."
A CHRISTMAS SERMON.
* This is the famous Christmas Sermon written by Colonel
Ingersoll and printed in the Evening Telegram, on December
19,1891.
I.
THE good part of Christmas is not always Christian--it is generally
Pagan; that is to say, human, natural.
Christianity did not come with tidings of great joy, but with a message
of eternal grief. It came with the threat of everlasting torture on its
lips. It meant war on earth and perdition hereafter.
It taught some good things--the beauty of love and kindness in man. But
as a torch-bearer, as a bringer of joy, it has been a failure. It has
given infinite consequences to the acts of finite beings, crushing the
soul with a responsibility too great for mortals to bear. It has filled
the future with fear and flame, and made God the keeper of an eternal
penitentiary, destined to be the home of nearly all the sons of men. Not
satisfied with that, it has deprived God of the pardoning power.
In answer to this "Christmas Sermon" the Rev. Dr. J. M. Buckley, editor
of the Christian Advocate, the recognized organ of the Methodist
Church, wrote an article, calling upon the public to boycott the Evening
Telegram for publishing such a "sermon."
This attack was headed "Lies That Are Mountainous." The Telegram
promptly accepted the issue raised by Dr. Buckley and dared him to do
his utmost. On the very same day it published an answer from Colonel
Ingersoll that echoed throughout America.'
And yet it may have done some good by borrowing from the Pagan world the
old festival called Christmas.
Long before Christ was born the Sun-God triumphed over the powers
of Darkness. About the time that we call Christmas the days begin
perceptibly to lengthen. Our barbarian ancestors were worshipers of the
sun, and they celebrated his victory over the hosts of night. Such a
festival was natural and beautiful. The most natural of all religions is
the worship of the sun. Christianity adopted this festival. It borrowed
from the Pagans the best it has.
I believe in Christmas and in every day that has been set apart for joy.
We in America have too much work and not enough play. We are too much
like the English.
I think it was Heinrich Heine who said that he thought a blaspheming
Frenchman was a more pleasing object to God than a praying Englishman.
We take our joys too sadly. I am in favor of all the good free days--the
more the better.
Christmas is a good day to forgive and forget--a good day to throw away
prejudices and hatreds--a good day to fill your heart and your house,
and the hearts and houses of others, with sunshine.
R. G Ingersoll.
COL. INGERSOLL'S REPLY TO Dr. BUCKLEY.
II.
WHENEVER an orthodox editor attacks an unbeliever, look out for
kindness, charity and love.
The gentle editor of the _Christian Advocate_ charges me with having
written three "gigantic falsehoods," and he points them out as follows:
_First_--"Christianity did not come with tidings of great joy? but with
a message of eternal grief."
_Second_--"It [Christianity] has filled the future with fear and flame,
and made God the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, destined to be the
home of nearly all the sons of men."
_Third_--"Not satisfied with that, it [Christianity] has deprived God of
the pardoning power."
Now, let us take up these "gigantic falsehoods" in their order and see
whether they are in accord with the New Testament or not--whether they
are supported by the creed of the Methodist Church.
I insist that Christianity did not come with tidings of great joy, but
with a message of eternal grief.
According to the orthodox creeds, Christianity came with the tidings
that the human race was totally depraved, and that all men were in a
lost condition, and that all who rejected or failed to believe the new
religion, would be tormented in eternal fire.
These were not "tidings of great joy."
If the passengers on some great ship were told that the ship was to be
wrecked, that a few would be saved and that nearly all would go to
the bottom, would they talk about "tidings of great joy"? It is to be
presumed that Christ knew what his mission was, and what he came for.
He says: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to
send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against
his father, and the daughter against her mother." In my judgment, these
are not "tidings of great joy."
Now, as to the message of eternal grief:
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye
cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels."
"And these shall go away into everlasting punishment; but the righteous
[meaning the Methodists] into life eternal."
"He that believeth not shall be damned."
"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God
abideth on him."
"Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul;
but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell."
"And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever."
Knowing, as we do, that but few people have been believers, that during
the last eighteen hundred years not one in a hundred has died in the
faith, and that consequently nearly all the dead are in hell, it can
truthfully be said that Christianity came with a message of eternal
grief.
Now, as to the second "gigantic falsehood," to the effect that
Christianity filled the future with fear and flame, and made God the
keeper of an eternal penitentiary, destined to be the home of nearly all
the sons of men.
In the Old Testament there is nothing about punishment in some other
world, nothing about the flames and torments of hell. When Jehovah
killed one of his enemies he was satisfied. His revenge was glutted
when the victim was dead. The Old Testament gave the future to sleep and
oblivion. But in the New Testament we are told that the punishment
in another world is everlasting, and that "the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up forever and ever."
This awful doctrine, these frightful texts, filled the future with
fear and flame. Building on these passages, the orthodox churches have
constructed a penitentiary, in which nearly all the sons of men are
to be imprisoned and tormented forever, and of this prison God is the
keeper. The doors are opened only to receive.
The doctrine of eternal punishment is the infamy of infamies. As I have
often said, the man who believes in eternal torment, in the justice of
endless pain, is suffering from at least two diseases--petrifaction of
the heart and putrefaction of the brain.
The next question is whether Christianity has deprived God of the
pardoning power.
The Methodist Church and every orthodox church teaches that this life
is a period of probation; that there is no chance given for reformation
after death; that God gives no opportunity to repent in another world.
This is the doctrine of the Christian world. If this dogma be true, then
God will never release a soul from hell--the pardoning power will never
be exercised.
How happy God will be and how happy all the saved will be, knowing
that billions and billions of his children, of their fathers, mothers,
brothers, sisters, wives, and children are convicts in the eternal
dungeons, and that the words of pardon will never be spoken!
Yet this is in accordance with the promise contained in the New
Testament, of happiness here and eternal joy hereafter, to those who
would desert brethren or sisters, or father or mother, or wife or
children.
It seems to me clear that Christianity did not bring "tidings of great
joy," but that it came with a "message of eternal grief"--that it did
"fill the future with fear and flame," that it did make God "the keeper
of an eternal penitentiary," that the penitentiary "was destined to be
the home of nearly all the sons of men," and that "it deprived God of
the pardoning power."
Of course you can find passages full of peace, in the Bible, others of
war--some filled with mercy, and others cruel as the fangs of a wild
beast.
According to the Methodists, God has an eternal prison--an everlasting
Siberia. There is to be an eternity of grief, of agony and shame.
What do I think of what the Doctor says about the _Telegram_ for having
published my Christmas sermon?
The editor of the _Christian Advocate_ has no idea of what intellectual
liberty means. He ought to know that a man should not be insulted
because another man disagrees with him.
What right has Dr. Buckley to disagree with Cardinal Gibbons, and what
right has Cardinal Gibbons to disagree with Dr. Buckley? The same right
that I have to disagree with them both.
I do not warn people against reading Catholic or Methodist papers or
books. But I do tell them to investigate for themselves--to stand by
what they believe to be true, to deny the false, and, above all things,
to preserve their mental manhood. The good Doctor wants the _Telegram_
destroyed--wants all religious people to unite for the purpose of
punishing the _Telegram_--because it published something with which the
reverend Doctor does not agree, or rather that does not agree with the
Doctor.
It is too late. That day has faded in the West of the past. The doctor
of theology has lost his power. Theological thunder has lost its
lightning--it is nothing now but noise, pleasing those who make it and
amusing those who hear.
The _Telegram_ has nothing to fear. It is, in the highest sense, a
newspaper--wide-awake, alive, always on time, good to its friends, fair
with its enemies, and true to the public.
What have I to say to the Doctor's personal abuse?
Nothing. A man may call me a devil, or the devil, or he may say that I
am incapable of telling the truth, or that I tell lies, and yet all this
proves nothing. My arguments remain unanswered.
I cannot afford to call Dr. Buckley names, I have good mental manners.
The cause I represent (in part) is too great, too sacred, to be stained
by an ignorant or a malicious personality.
I know that men do as they must with the light they have, and so I
say--More light!
III.
THE Rev. James M. King--who seems to have taken this occasion to become
known--finds fault because "blasphemous utterances concerning Christmas"
were published in the _Telegram_, and were allowed "to greet the eyes of
innocent children and pure women."
How is it possible to blaspheme a day? One day is not, in and of itself,
holier than another--that is to say, two equal spaces of time are
substantially alike. We call a day "good" or "bad" according to what
happens in the day. A day filled with happiness, with kind words, with
noble deeds, is a good day. A day filled with misfortunes and anger and
misery we call a bad day. But how is it possible to blaspheme a day?
A man may or may not believe that Christ was born on the 2 5th of
December, and yet he may fill that day, so far as he is concerned,
with good thoughts and words and deeds. Another may really believe
that Christ was born on that day, and yet do his worst to make all
his friends unhappy. But how can the rights of what are called "clean
families" be violated by reading the honest opinions of others as to
whether Christmas is kept in honor of the birth of Christ, or in honor
of the triumph of the sun over the hosts of darkness? Are Christian
families so weak intellectually that they cannot bear to hear the other
side? Or is their case so weak that the slightest evidence overthrows
it? Why do all these ministers insist that it is ill-bred to even raise
a question as to the truth of the improbable, or as to the improbability
of the impossible?
A minister says to me that I am going to hell--that I am bound to be
punished forever and ever--and thereupon I say to him: "There is no
hell you are mistaken; your Bible is not inspired; no human being is to
suffer agony forever;" and thereupon, with an injured look, he asks me
this question: "Why do you hurt my feelings?" It does not occur to him
that I have the slightest right to object to his sentence of eternal
grief.
Does the gentleman imagine that true men and pure women cannot differ
with him? There are many thousands of people who love and honor the
memory of Jesus Christ, who yet have not the slightest belief in his
divine origin, and who do not for one moment imagine that he was other
than a good and heroic man. And there are thousands of people who
admire the character of Jesus Christ who do not believe that he ever
existed--who admire the character of Christ as they admire Imogen, or
Per-dita, not believing that any of the characters mentioned actually
lived.
And it may be well enough here to state that no human being hates any
really good man or good woman--that is, no human being hates a man known
to be good--a woman known to be pure and good. No human being hates a
lovable character.
It is perfectly easy for any one with the slightest imagination to
understand how other people differ from him. I do not attribute a bad
motive to a man simply because he disagrees with me. I do not say that a
man is a Christian or a Mohammedan "for revenue only." I do not say that
a man joins the Democratic party simply for office, or that he marches
with the Republicans simply for position. I am willing to hear his
reasons--with his motives I have nothing to do.
Mr. King imagines that I have denounced Christianity "for revenue
only." Is he willing to admit that we have drifted so far from orthodox
religion that the way to make money is to denounce Christianity? I can
hardly believe, for joy, that liberty of thought has advanced so far.
I regret exceedingly that there is not an absolute foundation for his
remark. I am indeed sorry that it is possible in this world of ours for
any human being to make a living out of the ignorance and fear of his
fellow-men. Still, it gives me great hope for the future to read, even
in this ignorant present, that there is one man, and that man myself,
who advocates human liberty--the absolute enfranchisement of the
soul--and does it "for revenue"--because this charge is such a splendid
compliment to my fellow-men.
Possibly the remark of the Rev. Mr. King will be gratifying to the
_Telegram_ and will satisfy that brave and progressive sheet that it is
in harmony with the intelligence of the age.
My opinion is that the _Telegram_ will receive the praise of enlightened
and generous people.
Personally I judge a man not so much by his theories as by his practice,
and I would much rather meet on the desert--were I about to perish for
want of water--a Mohammedan who would give me a drink than a Christian
who would not; because, after all is said and done, we are compelled to
judge people by their actions.
I do not know what takes place in the invisible world called the brain,
inhabited by the invisible something we call the mind. All that takes
place there is invisible and soundless. This mind, hidden in this brain,
masked by flesh, remains forever unseen, and the only evidence we
can possibly have as to what occurs in that world, we obtain from the
actions of the man, of the woman. By these actions we judge of the
character, of the soul. So I make up my mind as to whether a man is good
or bad, not by his theories, but by his actions.
Under no circumstances can the expression of an honest opinion, couched
in becoming language, amount to blasphemy. And right here it may be well
enough to inquire: What is blasphemy?
A man who knowingly assaults the true, who knowingly endeavors to stain
the pure, who knowingly maligns the good and noble, is a blasphemer. A
man who deserts the truth because it is unpopular is a blasphemer. He
who runs with the hounds knowing that the hare is in the right is a
blasphemer.
In the soul of every man, or in the temple inhabited by the soul, there
is one niche in which can be found the statue of the ideal. In
the presence of this statue the good man worships--the bad man
blasphemes--that is to say, he is not true to the ideal.
A man who slanders a pure woman or an honest man is a blasphemer. So,
too, a man who does not give the honest transcript of his mind is
a blasphemer. If a man really thinks the character of Jehovah, as
portrayed in the Old Testament, is good, and he denounces Jehovah as
bad, he is a blasphemer. If he really believes that the character of
Jehovah, as portrayed in the Old Testament, is bad, and he pronounces it
good, he is a blasphemer and a coward.
All laws against "blasphemy" have been passed by the numerically strong
and intellectually weak. These laws have been passed by those who,
finding no help in logic, appealed to the legislature.
Back of all these superstitions you will find some self-interest. I do
not say that this is true in every case, but I do say that if priests
had not been fond of mutton, lambs never would have been sacrificed to
God. Nothing was ever carried to the temple that the priest could not
use, and it always so happened that God wanted what his agents liked.
Now, I will not say that all priests have been priests "for revenue
only," but I must say that the history of the world tends to show that
the sacerdotal class prefer revenue without religion to religion without
revenue.
I am much obliged to the Rev. Mr. King for admitting that an infidel
has a right to publish his views at his own expense, and with the utmost
cheerfulness I accord that right to a Christian. The only thing I have
ever objected to is the publication of his views at the expense of
others.
I cannot admit, however, that the ideas contained in what is known as
the Christmas Sermon are "revolting to a vast majority of the people who
give character to the community in which we live." I suppose that a
very large majority of men and women who disagree with me are perfectly
satisfied that I have the right to disagree with them, and that I do not
disagree with them to any greater degree than they disagree with me.
And I also imagine that a very large majority of intelligent people are
perfectly willing to hear the other side.
I do not regard religious opinions or political opinions as exotics that
have to be kept under glass, protected from the frosts of common sense
or the tyrannous north wind of logic. Such plants are hardly worth
preserving. They certainly ought to be hardy enough to stand the climate
of free discussion, and if they cannot, the sooner they die the better.
I do not think there was anything blasphemous or impure in the words
published by, the _Telegram_. The most that can possibly be said against
them, calculated to excite the prejudice of Christians, is that they
were true--that they cannot be answered except by abuse.
It is not possible, in this day and generation, to stay the rising flood
of intellectual freedom by keeping the names of thinkers out of print.
The church has had the field for eighteen hundred years. For most
of this time it has held the sword and purse of the world. For many
centuries it controlled colleges and universities and schools. It had
within its gift wealth and honor. It held the keys, so far as this world
is concerned, of heaven and hell--that is to say, of prosperity and
misfortune. It pursued its enemies even to the grave. It reddened the
scaffold with the best blood, and kept the sword of persecution wet
for many centuries. Thousands and thousands have died in its dungeons.
Millions of reputations have been blasted by its slanders. It has made
millions of widows and orphans, and it has not only ruled this world,
but it has pretended to hold the keys of eternity, and under this
pretence it has sentenced countless millions to eternal flames.
At last the spirit of independence rose against its monstrous
assumptions. It has been growing some-what weaker. It has been for many
years gradually losing its power. The sword of the state belongs now
to the people. The partnership between altar and throne has in many
countries been dissolved. The adulterous marriage of church and state
has ceased to exist. Men are beginning to express their honest thoughts.
In the arena where speech is free, superstition is driven to the wall.
Man relies more and more on the facts in nature, and the real priest is
the interpreter of nature. The pulpit is losing its power. In a little
while religion will take its place with astrology, with the black art,
and its ministers will take rank with magicians and sleight-of-hand
performers.
With regard to the letter of the Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., I have but
little to say.
I am glad that he believes in a free platform and a free press--that he,
like Lucretia Mott, believes in "truth for authority, and not authority
for truth." At the same time I do not see how the fact that I am not a
scientist has the slightest bearing upon the question; but if there is
any fact that I have avoided or misstated, then I wish that fact to be
pointed out. I admit also, that I am a "sentimentalist"--that is, that I
am governed, to a certain extent, by sentiment--that my mind is so that
cruelty is revolting and that mercy excites my love and admiration. I
admit that I am so much of "a sentimentalist" that I have no love for
the Jehovah of the Old Testament, and that it is impossible for me
to believe a creed that fills the prison house of hell with countless
billions of men, women and children.
I am also glad that the reverend gentleman admits that I have "stabbed
to the heart hundreds of superstitions and lies," and I hope to stab
many, many more, and if I succeed in stabbing all lies to the
heart there will be no foundation left for what I called "orthodox"
Christianity--but goodness will survive, justice will live, and the
flower of mercy will shed its perfume forever.
When we take into consideration the fact that the Rev. Mr. Dixon is a
minister and believes that he is called upon to deliver to the people a
divine message, I do not wonder that he makes the following assertion:
"If God could choose Balaam's ass to speak a divine message, I do not
see why he could not utilize the Colonel." It is natural for a man to
justify himself and to defend his own occupation. Mr. Dixon, however,
will remember that the ass was much superior to the prophet of God, and
that the argument was all on the side of the ass. And, furthermore, that
the spiritual discernment of the ass far exceeded that of the prophet.
It was the ass who saw the angel when the prophet's eye was dim. I
suggest to the Rev. Mr. Dixon that he read the account once more, and he
will find:--
_First_, that the ass _first_ saw the angel of the Lord; _second_, that
the prophet Balaam was cruel, unreasonable, and brutal; _third_, that
the prophet so lost his temper that he wanted to kill the innocent
ass, and the ass, not losing her temper, reasoned with the prophet and
demonstrated not only her intellectual but her moral superiority. In
addition to all this the angel of the Lord had to open the eyes of the
prophet--in other words, had to work a miracle--in order to make the
prophet equal to the ass, and not only so, but rebuked him for his
cruelty. And this same angel admitted that without any miracle whatever
the ass saw him--the angel--showing that the spiritual discernment of
the ass in those days was far superior to that of the prophet.
I regret that the Rev. Mr. King loses his temper and that the Rev. Mr.
Dixon is not quite polite.
All of us should remember that passion clouds the judgment, and that he
who seeks for victory loses sight of the cause.
And there is another thing: He who has absolute confidence in the
justice of his position can afford to be good-natured. Strength is the
foundation of kindness; weakness is often malignant, and when argument
fails passion comes to the rescue.
Let us be good-natured. Let us have respect for the rights of each
other.
The course pursued by the _Telegram_ is worthy of all praise. It has not
only been just to both sides, but it has been--as is its custom--true to
the public.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
INGERSOLL AGAIN ANSWERS HIS CRITICS.
IV.
_To the Editor of the Evening Telegram _:
SOME of the gentlemen who have given their ideas through the columns of
the _Telegram_ have wandered from the questions under discussion. It may
be well enough to state what is really in dispute.
I was called to account for having stated that Christianity did not
bring "tidings of great joy," but a message of eternal grief--that it
filled the future with fear and flame--made God the keeper of an eternal
penitentiary, in which most of the children of men were to be imprisoned
forever, and that, not satisfied with that, it had deprived God of the
pardoning power.
These statements were called "mountainous lies" by the Rev. Dr.
Buckley, and because the _Telegram_ had published the "Christmas Sermon"
containing these statements, he insisted that such a paper should not be
allowed in the families of Christians or of Jews--in other words, that
the _Telegram_ should be punished, and that good people should refuse to
allow that sheet to come into their homes.
It will probably be admitted by all fair-minded people that if the
orthodox creeds be true, then Christianity was and is the bearer of a
message of eternal grief, and a large majority of the human race are to
become eternal convicts, and God has deprived himself of the pardoning
power. According to those creeds, no word of mercy to any of the lost
can ever fall from the lips of the Infinite.
The Universalists deny that such was or is the real message of
Christianity. They insist that all are finally to be saved. If that
doctrine be true, then I admit that Christianity came with "tidings of
great joy."
Personally I have no quarrel with the Univer-salist Church. I have no
quarrel with any creed that expresses hope for all of the human race.
I find fault with no one for filling the future with joy--for dreaming
splendid dreams and for uttering splendid prophecies. I do not object
to Christianity because it promises heaven to a few, but because it
threatens the many with perdition.
It does not seem possible to me that a God who loved men to that degree
that he died that they might be saved, abandons his children the moment
they are dead. It seems to me that an infinite God might do something
for a soul after it has reached the other world.
Is it possible that infinite wisdom can do no more than is done for a
majority of souls in this world?
Think of the millions born in ignorance and filth, raised in poverty and
crime. Think of the millions who are only partially developed in this
world. Think of the weakness of the will, of the power of passion. Think
of the temptations innumerable. Think, too, of the tyranny of man, of
the arrogance of wealth and position, of the sufferings of the weak--and
can we then say that an infinite God has done, in this world, all
that could be done for the salvation of his children? Is it not barely
possible that something may be done in another world? Is there nothing
left for God to do for a poor, ignorant, criminal human soul after it
leaves this world? Can God do nothing except to pronounce the sentence
of eternal pain?
I insist that if the orthodox creed be true, Christianity did not come
with "tidings of great joy," but that its message was and is one of
eternal grief.
If the orthodox creed be true, the universe is a vast blunder--an
infinite crime. Better, a thousand times, that every pulse of life
should cease--better that all the gods should fall palsied from their
thrones, than that the creed of Christendom should be true.
There is another question and that involves the freedom of the press.
The _Telegram_ has acted with the utmost fairness and with the highest
courage. After all, the American people admire the man who takes
his stand and bravely meets all comers. To be an instrumentality of
progress, the press must be free. Only the free can carry a torch.
Liberty sheds light.
The editor or manager of a newspaper occupies a public position, and
he must not treat his patrons as though they were weak and ignorant
children. He must not, in the supposed interest of any ism, suppress the
truth--neither must he be dictated to by any church or any society of
believers or unbelievers. The _Telegram_, by its course, has given
a certificate of its manliness, and the public, by its course, has
certified that it appreciates true courage.
All Christians should remember that facts are not sectarian, and that
the sciences are not bound by the creeds. We should remember that there
are no such things as Methodist mathematics, or Baptist botany, or
Catholic chemistry. The sciences are secular. .
The Rev. Mr. Peters seems to have mistaken the issues--and yet, in some
things, I agree with him. He is certainly right when he says that "Mr.
Buckley's cry to boycott the Telegram is unmanly and un-American," but I
am not certain that he is right when he says that it is un-Christian.
The church has not been in the habit of pursuing enemies with kind
words and charitable deeds. To tell the truth, it has always been rather
relentless. It has preached forgiveness, but it has never forgiven.
There is in the history of Christendom no instance where the church has
extended the hand of friendship to a man who denied the truth of its
creed.
There is in the church no spirit--no climate--of compromise. In the
nature of things there can be none, because the church claims that it
is absolutely right--that there is only one road leading to heaven.
It demands unconditional surrender. It will not bear contradiction.
It claims to have the absolute truth. For these reasons it cannot
consistently compromise, any more than a mathematician could change the
multiplication table to meet the view of some one who should deny that
five times five are twenty-five.
The church does not give its opinion--it claims to know--it demands
belief. Honesty, industry, generosity count for nothing in the absence
of belief. It has taught and still teaches that no man can reach heaven
simply through good and honest deeds. It believes and teaches that the
man who relies upon himself will be eternally punished--and why should
the church forgive a man whom it thinks its God is waiting somewhat
impatiently to damn?
The Rev. Mr. Peters asks--and probably honestly thinks that the
questions are pertinent to the issues involved--"What has infidelity
done for the world? What colleges, hospitals, and schools has it
founded? What has it done for the elevation of public morals?" And he
inquires what science or art has been originated by infidelity. He asks
how many slaves it has liberated, how many inebriates it has reclaimed,
how many fallen women it has restored, and what it did for the relief
of the wounded and dying soldiers; and concludes by asking what life it
ever assisted to higher holiness, and what death it has ever cheered.
Although these questions have nothing whatever to do with the matters
under discussion, still it may be well enough to answer them.
It is cheerfully admitted that hospitals and asylums have been built
by Christians in Christian countries, and it is also admitted that
hospitals and asylums have been built in countries not Christian; that
there were such institutions in China thousands of years before Christ
was born, and that many centuries before the establishment of any
orthodox church there were asylums on the banks of the Nile--asylums for
the old, the poor, the infirm--asylums for the blind and for the insane,
and that the Egyptians, even of those days, endeavored to cure insanity
with kindness and affection. The same is true of India and probably of
most ancient nations.
There has always been more or less humanity in man--more or less
goodness in the human heart. So far as we know, mothers have always
loved their children. There must always have been more good than evil,
otherwise the human race would have perished. The best things in the
Christian religion came from the heart of man. Pagan lips uttered
the sublimest of truths, and all ages have been redeemed by honesty,
heroism, and love.
But let me answer these questions in their order.
_First_--As to the schools.
It is most cheerfully admitted that the Catholics have always been
in favor of education--that is to say, of education enough to make a
Catholic out of a heathen. It is also admitted that Protestants have
always been in favor of enough education to make a Protestant out of a
Catholic. Many schools and many colleges have been established for the
spread of what is called the Gospel and for the education of the clergy.
Presbyterians have founded schools for the benefit of their creed.
The Methodists have established colleges for the purpose of making
Methodists. The same is true of nearly all the sects. As a matter of
fact, these schools have in many important directions hindered rather
than helped the cause of real education. The pupils were not taught to
investigate for themselves. They were not allowed to think. They were
told that thought is dangerous. They were stuffed and crammed with
creeds--with the ideas of others. Their credulity was applauded and
their curiosity condemned. If all the people had been educated in these
sectarian schools, all the people would have been far more ignorant
than they are. These schools have been, and most of them still are, the
enemies of higher education, and just to the extent that they are under
the control of theologians they are hindrances, and just to the extent
that they have become secularized they have been and are a benefit.
Our public-school system is not Christian. It is secular. Yet I admit
that it never could have been established without the assistance of
Christians--neither could it have been supported without the assistance
of others. But such is the value placed upon education that people of
nearly all denominations, and of nearly all religions, and of nearly all
opinions, for the most part agree that the children of a nation should
be educated by the nation. Some religious people are opposed to these
schools because they are not religious--because they do not teach some
creed--but a large majority of the people stand by the public schools
as they are. These schools are growing better and better, simply because
they are growing less and less theological, more and more secular.
Infidelity, or agnosticism, or free thought, has insisted that only that
should be taught in schools which somebody knows or has good reason to
believe.
The greatest professors in our colleges to-day are those who have the
least confidence in the supernatural, and the schools that stand highest
in the estimation of the most intelligent are those that have drifted
farthest from the orthodox creeds. Free thought has always been and ever
must be the friend of education. Without free thought there can be no
such thing--in the highest sense--as a school. Unless the mind is free,
there are no teachers and there are no pupils, in any just and splendid
sense.
The church has been and still is the enemy of education, because it has
been in favor of intellectual slavery, and the theological schools have
been what might be called the deformatories of the human mind.
For instance: A man is graduated from an orthodox university. In this
university he has studied astronomy, and yet he believes that Joshua
stopped the sun. He has studied geology, and yet he asserts the truth
of the Mosaic cosmogony. He has studied chemistry, and yet believes that
water was turned into wine. He has been taught the ordinary theory of
cause and effect, and at the same time he thoroughly believes in the
miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes. Can such an institution,
with any propriety, be called a seat of learning? Can we not say of such
a university what Bruno said of Oxford: "Learning is dead and Oxford is
its widow."
Year after year the religious colleges are improving--simply because
they are becoming more and more secular, less and less theological.
Whether infidelity has founded universities or not, it can truthfully be
said that the spirit of investigation, the spirit of free thought, the
attitude of mental independence, contended for by those who are called
infidels, have made schools useful instead of hurtful.
Can it be shown that any infidel has ever raised his voice against
education? Can there be found in the literature of free thought one
line against the enlightenment of the human race? Has free thought ever
endeavored to hide or distort, a fact? Has it not always appealed to the
senses--to demonstration? It has not said, "He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear," but it has said, "He that hath brains to think, let him
think."
The object of a school should be to ascertain truth in every direction,
to the end that man may know the conditions of happiness--and every
school should be absolutely free. No teacher should be bound by anything
except a perceived fact. He should not be the slave of a creed, engaged
in the business of enslaving others.
So much for schools.
Second--As to public morals.
Christianity teaches that all offences can be forgiven. Every church
unconsciously allows people to commit crimes on a credit. I do not
mean by this that any church consciously advocates immorality. I
most cheerfully admit that thousands and thousands of ministers are
endeavoring to do good--that they are pure, self-denying men, trying
to make this world better. But there is a frightful defect in their
philosophy. They say to the bank cashier: You must not steal, you must
not take a dollar--larceny is wrong, it is contrary to all law, human
and divine--but if you do steal every cent in the bank, God will as
gladly, quickly forgive you in Canada as he will in the United States.
On the other hand, what is called infidelity says: There is no being in
the universe who rewards, and there is no being who punishes--every act
has its consequences. If the act is good, the consequences are good; if
the act is bad, the consequences are bad; and these consequences must be
borne by the actor. It says to every human being: You must reap what
you sow. There is no reward, there is no punishment, but there are
consequences, and these consequences are the invisible and implacable
police of nature. They cannot be avoided. They cannot be bribed. No
power can awe them, and there is not gold enough in the world to make
them pause. Even a God cannot induce them to release for one instant
their victim.
This great truth is, in my judgment, the gospel of morality. If all
men knew that they must inevitably bear the consequences of their own
actions--if they absolutely knew that they could not injure another
without injuring themselves, the world, in my judgment, would be far
better than it is.
Free thought has attacked the morality of what is called the atonement.
The innocent should not suffer for the guilty, and if the innocent
does suffer for the guilty, that cannot by any possibility justify the
guilty. The reason a thing is wrong is because it, in some way, causes
the innocent to suffer. This being the very essence of wrong, how can
the suffering of innocence justify the guilty? If there be a world of
joy, he who is worthy to enter that world must be willing to carry his
own burdens in this.
So much for morality.
Third--As to sciences and art.
I do not believe that we are indebted to Christianity for any science.
I do not remember that one science is mentioned in the New Testament.
There is not one word, so far as I remember, about education--nothing
about any science, nothing about art. The writers of the New Testament
seem to have thought that the world was about coming to an end. This
world was to be sacrificed absolutely to the next. The affairs of this
life were not worth speaking of. All people were exhorted to prepare at
once for the other life.
The sciences have advanced in the proportion that they did not interfere
with orthodox theology. To the extent that they were supposed to
interfere with theology they have been obstructed and denounced.
Astronomy was found to be inconsistent with the Scriptures, and the
astronomers were imprisoned and despised. Geology contradicted the
Mosaic account, and the geologists were denounced and persecuted. Every
step taken in astronomy was taken in spite of the church, and every fact
in geology had to fight its way. The same is true as to the science of
medicine. The church wished to cure disease by necromancy, by charm and
prayer, and with the bones of the saints. The church wished man to
rely entirely upon God--that is to say, upon the church--and not upon
himself. The physician interfered with the power and prosperity of the
priest, and those who appealed to physicians were denounced as lacking
faith in God. This state of things existed even in the Old Testament
times. A king failed to send for the prophets, but sent for a physician,
and then comes this piece of grim humor: "And Asa slept with his
fathers."
The great names in science are not those of recognized saints.
Bruno--one of the greatest and bravest of men--greatest of all
martyrs--perished at the stake, because he insisted on the existence of
other worlds and taught the astronomy of Galileo.
Humboldt--in some respects the wisest man known to the scientific
world--denied the existence of the supernatural and "the truths of
revealed religion," and yet he revolutionized the thought of his day and
left a legacy of intellectual glory to the race.
Darwin--greatest of scientists--so great that our time will probably
be known as "Darwin's Century"--had not the slightest confidence in any
possible phase of the so-called supernatural. This great man left the
creed of Christendom without a foundation. He brought as witnesses
against the inspiration of the Scriptures such a multitude of facts,
such an overwhelming amount of testimony, that it seems impossible to
me that any unprejudiced man can, after hearing the testimony, remain
a believer in evangelical religion. He accomplished more than all the
schools, colleges, and universities that Christianity has founded. He
revolutionized the philosophy of the civilized world.
The writers who have done most for science have been the most bitterly
opposed by the church. There is hardly a valuable book in the libraries
of the world that cannot be found on the "Index Expurgatorius." Kant
and Fichte and Spinoza were far above and beyond the orthodox-world.
Voltaire did more for freedom than any other man, and yet the church
denounced him with a fury amounting to insanity--called him an atheist,
although he believed not only in God, but in special providence. He was
opposed to the church--that is to say, opposed to slavery, and for that
reason he was despised.
And what shall I say of D'Holbach, of Hume, of Buckle, of Draper,
of Haeckel, of Büchner, of Tyndall and Huxley, of Auguste Comte, and
hundreds and thousands of others who have filled the scientific world
with light and the heart of man with love and kindness?
It may be well enough, in regard to art, to say that Christianity is
indebted to Greece and Rome for its highest conceptions, and it may be
well to add that for many centuries Christianity did the best it could
to destroy the priceless marbles of Greece and Rome. A few were buried,
and in that way were saved from Christian fury.
The same is true of the literature of the classic world. A few fragments
were rescued, and these became the seeds of modern literature. A few
statues were preserved, and they are to-day models for all the world.
Of course it will be admitted that there is much art in Christian lands,
because, in spite of the creeds, Christians, so-called, have turned
their attention to this world. They have beautified their homes, they
have endeavored to clothe themselves in purple and fine linen. They have
been forced from banquets or from luxury by the difficulty of camels
going through the eyes of needles or the impossibility of carrying water
to the rich man. They have cultivated this world, and the arts have
lived. Did they obey the precepts that they find in their sacred
writings there would be no art, they would "take no thought for the
morrow," they would "consider the lilies of the field."
Fourth--As to the liberation of slaves.
It was exceedingly unfortunate for the Rev. Mr. Peters that he spoke of
slavery. The Bible upholds human slavery--white slavery. The Bible was
quoted by all slaveholders and slave-traders. The man who went to Africa
to steal women and children took the Bible with him. He planted himself
firmly on the Word of God. As Whittier says of Whitefield:
"He bade the slave ship speed from coast to coast,
Fanned by the wings of the Holy Ghost."
So when the poor wretches were sold to the planters, the planters
defended their action by reading the Bible. When a poor woman was sold,
her children torn from her breast, the auction block on which she stood
was the Bible; the auctioneer who sold her quoted the Scriptures; the
man who bought her repeated the quotations, and the ministers from
the pulpit said to the weeping woman, as her child was carried away:
"Servants, be obedient unto your masters."
Freethinkers in all ages have been opposed to slavery. Thomas Paine
did more for human liberty than any other man who ever stood upon the
western world. The first article he ever wrote in this country was one
against the institution of slavery. Freethinkers have also been in favor
of free bodies. Freethinkers have always said "free hands," and the
infidels, the wide world over, have been friends of freedom.
Fifth--As to the reclamation of inebriates.
Much has been said, and for many years, on the subject of
temperance--much has been uttered by priests and laymen--and yet there
seems to be a subtle relation between rum and religion. Scotland is
extremely orthodox, yet it is not extremely temperate. England is
nothing if not religious, and London is, par excellence, the
Christian city of the world, and yet it is the most intemperate. The
Mohammedans--followers of a false prophet--do not drink.
Sixth--As to the humanity of infidelity.
Can it be said that people have cared for the wounded and dying only
because they were orthodox?
Is it not true that religion, in its efforts to propagate the creed of
forgiveness by the sword, has caused the death of more than one hundred
and fifty millions of human beings? Is it not true that where the church
has cared for one orphan it has created hundreds? Can Christianity
afford to speak of war?
The Christian nations of the world to-day are armed against each
other. In Europe, all that can be gathered by taxation--all that can be
borrowed by pledging the prosperity of the future--the labor of those
yet unborn--is used for the purpose of keeping Christians in the field,
to the end that they may destroy other Christians, or at least prevent
other Christians from destroying them. Europe is covered with churches
and fortifications, with temples and with forts--hundreds of thousands
of priests, millions of soldiers, countless Bibles and countless
bayonets--and that whole country is oppressed and impoverished for the
purpose of carrying on war. The people have become deformed by labor,
and yet Christianity boasts of peace.
Seventh--"And what death has infidelity ever cheered?"
Is it possible for the orthodox Christian to cheer the dying when the
dying is told that there is a world of eternal pain, and that he, unless
he has been forgiven, is to be an eternal convict? Will it cheer him to
know that, even if he is to be saved, countless millions are to be lost?
Is it possible for the Christian religion to put a smile upon the face
of death?
On the other hand, what is called infidelity says to the dying: What
happens to you will happen to all. If there be another world of joy, it
is for all. If there is another life, every human being will have the
eternal opportunity of doing right--the eternal opportunity to live, to
reform, to enjoy. There is no monster in the sky. There is no Moloch who
delights in the agony of his children. These frightful things are savage
dreams.
Infidelity puts out the fires of hell with the tears of pity.
Infidelity puts the seven-hued arch of Hope over every grave.
Let us then, gentlemen, come back to the real questions under
discussion. Let us not wander away.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
Jan'y 9, 1891.
INGERSOLL CONTINUES THE BATTLE.
V.
NO one objects to the morality of Christianity.
The industrious people of the world--those who have anything--are, as
a rule, opposed to larceny; a very large majority of people object to
being murdered, and so we have laws against larceny and murder. A large
majority of people believe in what they call, or what they understand
to be, justice--at least as between others. There is no very great
difference of opinion among civilized people as to what is or is not
moral.
It cannot truthfully be said that the man who attacks Buddhism attacks
all morality. He does not attack goodness, justice, mercy, or anything
that tends in his judgment to the welfare of mankind; but he attacks
Buddhism. So one attacking what is called Christianity does not attack
kindness, charity, or any virtue. He attacks something that has been
added to the virtues. He does not attack the flower, but what he
believes to be the parasite.
If people, when they speak of Christianity, include the virtues common
to all religions, they should not give Christianity credit for all the
good that has been done. There were millions of virtuous men and women,
millions of heroic and self-denying souls before Christianity was known.
It does not seen possible to me that love, kindness, justice, or
charity ever caused any one who possessed and practiced these virtues
to persecute his fellow-man on account of a difference of belief. If
Christianity has persecuted, some reason must exist outside of the
virtues it has inculcated. If this reason--this cause--is inherent in
that something else, which has been added to the ordinary virtues, then
Christianity can properly be held accountable for the persecution. Of
course back of Christianity is the nature of man, and, primarily, it may
be responsible.
Is there anything in Christianity that will account for such
persecutions--for the Inquisition? It certainly was taught by the church
that belief was necessary to salvation, and it was thought at the same
time that the fate of man was eternal punishment; that the state of man
was that of depravity, and that there was but one way by which he could
be saved, and that was through belief--through faith. As long as this
was honestly believed, Christians would not allow heretics or infidels
to preach a doctrine to their wives, to their children, or to themselves
which, in their judgment, would result in the damnation of souls.
The law gives a father the right to kill one who is about to do great
bodily harm to his son. Now, if a father has the right to take the life
of a man simply because he is attacking the body of his son, how much
more would he have the right to take the life of one who was about to
assassinate the soul of his son!
Christians reasoned in this way. In addition to this, they felt that
God would hold the community responsible if the community allowed
a blasphemer to attack the true religion. Therefore they killed the
freethinker, or rather the free talker, in self-defence.
At the bottom of religious persecution is the doctrine of self-defence;
that is to say, the defence of the soul. If the founder of Christianity
had plainly said: "It is not necessary to believe in order to be saved;
it is only necessary to do, and he who really loves his fellow-men, who
is kind, honest, just and charitable, is to be forever blest"--if he had
only said that, there would probably have been but little persecution.
If he had added to this: "You must not persecute in my name. The
religion I teach is the Religion of Love--not the Religion of Force and
Hatred. You must not imprison your fellow-men. You must not stretch them
upon racks, or crush their bones in iron boots. You must not flay them
alive. You must not cut off their eyelids, or pour molten lead into
their ears. You must treat all with absolute kindness. If you cannot
convert your neighbor by example, persuasion, argument, that is the end.
You must never resort to force, and, whether he believes as you do or
not, treat him always with kindness"--his followers then would not have
murdered their fellows in his name.
If Christ was in fact God, he knew the persecutions that would be
carried on in his name; he knew the millions that would suffer death
through torture; and yet he died without saying one word to prevent what
he must have known, if he were God, would happen.
All that Christianity has added to morality is worthless and useless.
Not only so--it has been hurtful. Take Christianity from morality and
the useful is left, but take morality from Christianity and the useless
remains.
Now, falling back on the old assertion, "By its fruits we may know
Christianity," then I think we are justified in saying that, as
Christianity consists of a mixture of morality and _something else_, and
as morality never has persecuted a human being, and as Christianity has
persecuted millions, the cause of the persecution must be the _something
else_ that was added to morality.
I cannot agree with the reverend gentleman when he says that
"Christianity has taught mankind the priceless value and dignity of
human nature." On the other hand, Christianity has taught that the
whole human race is by nature depraved, and that if God should act
in accordance with his sense of justice, all the sons of men would be
doomed to eternal pain. Human nature has been derided, has been held up
to contempt and scorn, all our desires and passions denounced as wicked
and filthy.
Dr. Da Costa asserts that Christianity has taught mankind the value of
freedom. It certainly has not been the advocate of free thought; and
what is freedom worth if the mind is to be enslaved?
Dr. Da Costa knows that millions have been sacrificed in their efforts
to be free; that is, millions have been sacrificed for exercising their
freedom as against the church.
It is not true that the church "has taught and established the fact of
human brotherhood." This has been the result of a civilization to which
Christianity itself has been hostile.
Can we prove that "the church established human brotherhood" by
banishing the Jews from Spain; by driving out the Moors; by the tortures
of the Inquisition; by butchering the Covenanters of Scotland; by the
burning of Bruno and Servetus; by the persecution of the Irish; by
whipping and hanging Quakers in New England; by the slave trade; and by
the hundreds of wars waged in the name of Christ?
We all know that the Bible upholds slavery in its very worst and most
cruel form; and how it can be said that a religion founded upon a Bible
that upholds the institution of slavery has taught and established the
fact of human brotherhood, is beyond my imagination to conceive.
Neither do I think it true that "we are indebted to Christianity for the
advancement of science, art, philosophy, letters and learning."
I cheerfully admit that we are indebted to Christianity for some
learning, and that the human mind has been developed by the discussion
of the absurdities of superstition. Certainly millions and millions have
had what might be called mental exercise, and their minds may have
been somewhat broadened by the examination, even, of these absurdities,
contradictions, and impossibilities. The church was not the friend of
science or learning when it burned Vanini for writing his "Dialogues
Concerning Nature." What shall we say of the "Index Expurgatorius"? For
hundreds of years all books of any particular value were placed on the
"Index," and good Catholics forbidden to read them. Was this in favor of
science and learning?
That we are indebted to Christianity for the advancement of science
seems absurd. What science? Christianity was certainly the enemy of
astronomy, and I believe that it was Mr. Draper who said that astronomy
took her revenge, so that not a star that glitters in all the heavens
bears a Christian name.
Can it be said that the church has been the friend of geology, or of any
true philosophy? Let me show how this is impossible.
The church accepts the Bible as an inspired book. Then the only object
is to find its meaning, and if that meaning is opposed to any result
that the human mind may have reached, the meaning stands and the result
reached by the mind must be abandoned.
For hundreds of years the Bible was the standard, and whenever
anything was asserted in any science contrary to-the Bible, the church
immediately denounced the scientist. I admit the standard has been
changed, and ministers are very busy, not trying to show that science
does not agree with the Bible, but that the Bible agrees with science.
Certainly Christianity has done little for art. The early Christians
destroyed all the marbles of Greece and Rome upon which they could lay
their violent hands; and nothing has been produced by the Christian
world equal to the fragments that were accidentally preserved. There
have been many artists who were Christians; but they were not artists
because they were Christians; because there have been many Christians
who were not artists. It cannot be said that art is born of any creed.
The mode of expression may be determined, and probably is to a certain
degree, by the belief of the artist; but not his artistic perception and
feeling.
So, Galileo did not make his discoveries because he was a Christian,
but in spite of it. His Bible was the other way, and so was his creed.
Consequently, they could not by any possibility have assisted him.
Kepler did not discover or announce what are known as the "Three Laws"
because he was a Christian; but, as I said about Galileo, in spite of
his creed.
Every Christian who has really found out and demonstrated and clung to
a fact inconsistent with the absolute inspiration of the Scriptures, has
done so certainly without the assistance of his creed.
Let me illustrate this: When our ancestors were burning each other to
please God; when they were ready to destroy a man with sword and
flame for teaching the rotundity of the world, the Moors in Spain were
teaching geography to their children with brass globes. So, too, they
had observatories and knew something of the orbits of the stars.
They did not find out these things because they were Mohammedans, or
on account of their belief in the impossible. They were far beyond the
Christians, intellectually, and it has been very poetically said by Mrs.
Browning, that "Science was thrust into the brain of Europe on the point
of a Moorish lance."
From the Arabs we got our numerals, making mathematics of the higher
branches practical. We also got from them the art of making cotton
paper, which is almost at the foundation of modern intelligence. We
learned from them to make cotton cloth, making cleanliness possible in
Christendom.
So from among people of different religions we have learned many useful
things; but they did not discover them on account of their religion.
It will not do to say that the religion of Greece was true because the
Greeks were the greatest sculptors. Neither is it an argument in favor
of monarchy that Shakespeare, the greatest of men, was born and lived in
a monarchy.
Dr. Da Costa takes one of the effects of a general cause, or of a vast
number of causes, and makes it the cause, not only of other effects,
but of the general cause. He seems to think that all events for
many centuries, and especially all the good ones, were caused by
Christianity.
As a matter of fact, the civilization of our time is the result of
countless causes with which Christianity had little to do, except by way
of hindrance.
Does the Doctor think that the material progress of the world was caused
by this passage: "Take no thought for the morrow"?
Does he seriously insist that the wealth of Christendom rests on this
inspired declaration: "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye
of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven"?
The Rev. Mr. Peters, in answer, takes the ground that the Bible has
produced the richest and most varied literature the world has ever seen.
This, I think, is hardly true. Has not most of modern literature
been produced in spite of the Bible? Did not Christians, for many
generations, take the ground that the Bible was the only important book,
and that books differing from the Bible should be destroyed?
If Christianity--Catholic and Protestant--could have had its way, the
works of Voltaire, Spinoza, Hume, Paine, Humboldt, Darwin, Haeckel,
Spencer, Comte, Huxley, Tyndall, Draper, Goethe, Gibbon, Buckle and
Büchner would not have been published. In short, the philosophy that
enlightens and the fiction that enriches the brain would not exist.
The greatest literature the world has ever seen is, in my judgment, the
poetic--the dramatic; that is to say, the literature of fiction in its
widest sense. Certainly if the church could have had control, the plays
of Shakespeare never would have been written; the literature of the
stage could not have existed; most works of fiction, and nearly all
poetry, would have perished in the brain. So I think it hardly fair to
say that "the Bible has produced the richest and most varied literature
the world has ever seen."
Thousands of theological books have been written on thousands of
questions of no possible importance. Libraries have been printed on
subjects not worth discussing--not worth thinking about--and that will,
in a few years, be regarded as puerile by the whole world.
Mr. Peters, in his enthusiasm, asks this question:
"Who raised our great institutions of learning? Infidels never a stone
of them!"
Stephen Girard founded the best institution of learning, the best
charity, the noblest ever founded in this or any other land; and under
the roof built by his wisdom and his wealth many thousands of orphans
have been reared, clothed, fed and educated, not only in books, but in
avocations, and become happy and useful citizens. Under his will
there has been distributed to the poor, fuel to the value of more than
$500,000; and this distribution goes on year after year.
One of the best observatories in the world was built by the generosity
of James Lick, an infidel. I call attention to these two cases simply
to show that the gentleman is mistaken, and that he was somewhat carried
away by his zeal.
So, too, Mr. Peters takes the ground that "we are indebted to
Christianity for our chronology."
According to Christianity this world has been peopled about six thousand
years. Christian chronology gives the age of the first man, and then
gives the line from father to son down to the flood, and from the flood
down to the coming of Christ, showing that men have been upon the earth
only about six thousand years. This chronology is infinitely absurd, and
I do not believe that there is an intelligent, well-educated Christian
in the world, having examined the subject, who will say that the
Christian chronology is correct.
Neither can it, I think, truthfully be said that "we are indebted
to Christianity for the continuation of history." The best modern
historians of whom I have any knowledge are Voltaire, Hume, Gibbon,
Buckle and Draper.
Neither can I admit that "we are indebted to Christianity for natural
philosophy."
I do not deny that some natural philosophers have also been Christians,
or, rather, that some Christians have been natural philosophers to the
extent that their Christianity permitted. But Lamarck and Humboldt and
Darwin and Spencer and Haeckel and Huxley and Tyndall have done far more
for natural philosophy than they have for orthodox religion.
Whoever believes in the miraculous must be the enemy of natural
philosophy. To him there is something above nature, liable to interfere
with nature. Such a man has two classes of ideas in his mind, each
inconsistent with the other. To the extent that he believes in the
supernatural he is incapacitated for dealing with the natural, and to
that extent fails to be a philosopher. Philosophy does not include the
caprice of the Infinite. It is founded on the absolute integrity and
invariability of nature.
Neither do I agree with the reverend gentleman when he says that "we are
indebted to Christianity for our knowledge of philology."
The church taught for a long time that Hebrew was the first language and
that other languages had been derived from that; and for hundreds and
hundreds of years the efforts of philologists were arrested simply
because they started with that absurd assumption and believed in the
Tower of Babel.
Christianity cannot now take the credit for "metaphysical research." It
has always been the enemy of metaphysical research. It never has said
to any human being, "Think!" It has always said, "Hear!" It does not
ask anybody to investigate. It lays down certain doctrines as absolutely
true, and, instead of asking investigation, it threatens every
investigator with eternal pain. Metaphysical research is destroying what
has been called Christianity, and Christians have always feared it.
This gentleman makes another mistake, and a very common one. This is his
argument: Christian countries are the most intelligent; therefore they
owe that intelligence to Christianity. Then the next step is taken.
Christianity, being the best, having produced these results, must have
been of divine origin.
Let us see what this proves. There was a time when Egypt was the first
nation in the world. Could not an Egyptian, at that time have used the
same arguments that Mr. Peters uses now, to prove that the religion
of Egypt was divine? Could he not then have said: "Egypt is the most
intelligent, the most civilized and the richest of all nations; it has
been made so by its religion; its religion is, therefore, divine"?
So there was a time when a Hindoo could have made the same argument.
Certainly this argument could have been made by a Greek. It could have
been repeated by a Roman. And yet Mr. Peters will not admit that the
religion of Egypt was divine, or that the mythology of Greece was true,
or that Jupiter was in fact a god.
Is it not evident to all that if the churches in Europe had been
institutions of learning; if the domes of cathedrals had been
observatories; if priests had been teachers of the facts in nature, the
world would have been far in advance of what it is to-day?
Countries depend on something besides their religion for progress.
Nations with a good soil can get along quite well with an exceedingly
poor religion; and no religion yet has been good enough to give wealth
or happiness to human beings where the climate and soil were bad and
barren.
Religion supports nobody. It has to be supported. It produces no wheat,
no corn; it ploughs no land; it fells no forests. It is a perpetual
mendicant. It lives on the labor of others, and then has the arrogance
to pretend that it supports the giver.
Mr. Peters makes this exceedingly strange statement: "Every discovery in
science, invention and art has been the work of Christian men. Infidels
have contributed their share, but never one of them has reached the
grandeur of originality."
This, I think, so far as invention is concerned, can be answered with
one name--John Ericsson, one of the profoundest agnostics I ever met.
I am almost certain that Humboldt and Goethe were original. Darwin was
certainly regarded as such.
I do not wish to differ unnecessarily with Mr. Peters, but I have some
doubts about Morse having been the inventor of the telegraph.
Neither can I admit that Christianity abolished slavery. Many of
the abolitionists in this country were infidels; many of them were
Christians. But the church itself did not stand for liberty. The
Quakers, I admit, were, as a rule, on the side of freedom. But the
Christians of New England persecuted these Quakers, whipped them from
town to town, lacerated their naked backs, and maimed their bodied, not
only, but took their lives.
Mr. Peters asks: "What name is there among the world's emancipators
after which you cannot write the name 'Christian?'" Well, let me give
him a few--Voltaire, Jefferson, Paine, Franklin, Lincoln, Darwin.
Mr. Peters asks: "Why is it that in Christian countries you find the
greatest amount of physical and intellectual liberty, the greatest
freedom of thought, speech, and action?"
Is this true of all? How about Spain and Portugal? There is more
infidelity in France than in Spain, and there is far more liberty in
France than in Spain.
There is far more infidelity in England than there was a century ago,
and there is far more liberty than there was a century ago. There is far
more infidelity in the United States than there was fifty years ago, and
a hundred infidels to-day where there was one fifty years ago; and there
is far more intellectual liberty, far greater freedom of speech and
action, than ever before.
A few years ago Italy was a Christian country to the fullest extent.
Now there are a thousand times more liberty and a thousand times less
religion.
Orthodoxy is dying; Liberty is growing.
Mr. Ballou, a grandson, or grand-nephew, of Hosea Ballou, seems to have
wandered from the faith. As a rule, Christians insist that when one
denies the religion of Christian parents he is an exceedingly bad man,
but when he denies the religion of parents not Christians, and becomes a
Christian, that he is a very faithful, good and loving son.
Mr. Ballou insists that God has the same right to punish us that Nature
has, or that the State has. I do not think he understands what I have
said. The State ought not to punish for the sake of punishment. The
State may imprison, or inflict what is called punishment, first, for its
own protection, and, secondly, for the reformation of the punished. If
no one could do the State any injury, certainly the State would have
no right to punish under the plea of protection; and if no human being
could by any possibility be reformed, then the excuse of reformation
could not be given.
Let us apply this: If God be infinite, no one can injure him. Therefore
he need not punish anybody or damn anybody or burn anybody for his
protection.
Let us take another step. Punishment being justified only on two
grounds--that is, the protection of society and the reformation of the
punished--how can eternal punishment be justified? In the first place,
God does not punish to protect himself, and, in the second place, if the
punishment is to be forever, he does not punish to reform the punished.
What excuse then is left?
Let us take still another step. If, instead of punishment, we say
"consequences," and that every good man has the right to reap the good
consequences of good actions, and that every bad man must bear the
consequences of bad actions, then you must say to the good: If you stop
doing good you will lose the harvest. You must say to the bad: If you
stop doing bad you need not increase your burdens. And if it be a fact
in Nature that all must reap what they sow, there is neither mercy nor
cruelty in this fact, and I hold no God responsible for it. The trouble
with the Christian creed is that God is described as the one who gives
rewards and the one who inflicts eternal pain.
There is still another trouble. This God, if infinite, must have known
when he created man, exactly who would be eternally damned. What right
had he to create men, knowing that they were to be damned?
So much for Mr. Ballou.
The Rev. Dr. Hillier seems to reason in a kind of circle. He takes the
ground, in the first place, that "infidelity, Christianity, science, and
experience all agree, without the slightest tremor of uncertainty, in
the inexorable law that whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap."
He then takes the ground that, "if we wish to be rid of the harvest, we
must not sow the seed; if we would avoid the result, we must remove the
cause; the only way to be rid of hell is to stop doing evil; that this,
and this only, is the way to abolish an eternal penitentiary."
Very good; but that is not the point. The real thing under discussion
is this: Is this life a state of probation, and if a man fails to live
a good life here, will he have no opportunity for reformation in
another world, if there be one? Can he cease to do evil in the eternal
penitentiary? and if he does, can he be pardoned--can he be released?
It is admitted that man must bear the consequences of his acts. If the
consequences are good, then the acts are good. If the consequences are
bad, the acts are bad. Through experience we find that certain acts tend
to unhappiness and others to happiness.
Now, the only question is whether we have wisdom enough to live in
harmony with our conditions here; and if we fail here, will we have an
opportunity of reforming in another world? If not, then the few years
that we live here determine whether we shall be angels or devils
forever.
It seems to me, if there be another life, that in that life men may do
good, and men may do evil; and if they may do good it seems to me that
they may reform.
I do not see why God, if there be one, should lose all interest in his
children, simply because they leave this world and go where he is. Is
it possible that an infinite God does all for his children here, in this
poor ignorant world, that it is possible for him to do, and that if he
fails to reform them here, nothing is left to do except to make them
eternal convicts?
The Rev. Mr. Haldeman mistakes my position. I do not admit that "an
infinite God, as revealed in Nature, has allowed men to grow up
under conditions which no ordinary mortal can look at in all their
concentrated agony and not break his heart."
I do not confess that God reveals himself in Nature as an infinite God,
without mercy. I do not admit that there is an infinite Being anywhere
responsible for the agonies and tears, for the barbarities and horrors
of this life. I cannot believe that there is in the universe a Being
with power to prevent these things. I hold no God responsible. I
attribute neither cruelty nor mercy to Nature. Nature neither weeps
nor rejoices. I cannot believe that this world, as it now is, as it has
been, was created by an infinitely wise, powerful, and benevolent
God. But it is far better that we should all go down "with souls
unsatisfied" to the dreamless grave, to the tongueless silence of the
voiceless dust, than that countless millions of human souls should
suffer forever.
Eternal sleep is better than eternal pain. Eternal punishment is eternal
revenge, and can be inflicted only by an eternal monster.
Mr. George A. Locey endeavors to put his case in an extremely small
compass, and satisfies himself with really one question, and that is:
"If a man in good health is stricken with disease, is assured that a
physician can cure him, but refuses to take the medicine and dies, ought
there to be any escape?"
He concludes that the physician has done his duty; that the patient was
obdurate and suffered the penalty.
The application he makes is this:
"The Christian's 'tidings of great joy' is the message that the Great
Physician tendered freely. Its acceptance is a cure certain, and a
life of eternal happiness the reward. If the soul accepts, are they not
tidings of great joy; and if the soul rejects, is it not unreasonable on
the part of Colonel Ingersoll to try and sneak out and throw the blame
on God?"
The answer to this seems easy. The cases are not parallel. If an
infinite God created us all, he knew exactly what we would do. If he
gave us free will it does not change the result, because he knew how we
would use the free will.
Now, if he knew that billions upon billions would refuse to take the
remedy, and consequently would suffer eternal pain, why create them?
There would have been much less misery in the world had he left them
dust.
What right has a God to make a failure? Why should he change dust into
a sentient being, knowing that that being was to be the heir of endless
agony?
If the supposed physician had created the patient who refused to take
the medicine, and had so created him that he knew he would refuse to
take it, the cases might be parallel.
According to the orthodox creed, millions are to be damned who never
heard of the medicine or of the "Great Physician."
There is one thing said by the Rev. Mr. Talmage that I hardly think
he could have intended. Possibly there has been a misprint. It is the
following paragraph:
"Who" (speaking of Jesus) "has such an eye to our need; such a lip to
kiss away our sorrow; such a hand to snatch us out of the fire; _such
a foot to trample our enemies_; such a heart to embrace all our
necessities?"
What does the reverend gentleman mean by "_such a foot to trample our
enemies_"?
This, to me, is a terrible line. But it is in accordance with the
history of the church. In the name of its founder it has "trampled on
its enemies," and beneath its cruel feet have perished the noblest of
the world.
The Rev. J. Benson Hamilton, of Brooklyn, comes into this discussion
with a great deal of heat and considerable fury. He states that
"Infidelity is the creed of prosperity, but when sickness or trouble or
sorrow comes he" (meaning the infidel) "does not paw nor mock nor cry
'Ha! ha!' He sneaks and cringes like a whipped cur, and trembles and
whines and howls."
The spirit of Mr. Hamilton is not altogether admirable. He seems to
think that a man establishes the truth of his religion by being brave,
or demonstrates its falsity by trembling in the presence of death.
Thousands of people have died for false religions and in honor of false
gods. Their heroism did not prove the truth of the religion, but it did
prove the sincerity of their convictions.
A great many murderers have been hanged who exhibited on the scaffold
the utmost contempt of death; and yet this courage exhibited by dying
murderers has never been appealed to in justification of murder.
The reverend gentleman tells again the story of the agonies endured by
Thomas Paine when dying; tells us that he then said that he wished his
work had been thrown into the fire, and that if the devil ever had any
agency in any work he had in the writing of that book (meaning "The Age
of Reason,") and that he frequently asked the Lord Jesus to have mercy
upon him.
Of course there is not a word of truth in this story. Its falsity has
been demonstrated thousands and thousands of times, and yet ministers of
the Gospel go right on repeating it just the same.
So this gentleman tells us that Voltaire was accustomed to close his
letters with the words, "Crush the wretch!" (meaning Christ). This is
not so. He referred to superstition, to religion, not to Christ.
This gentleman also says that "Voltaire was the prey of anguish and
dread, alternately supplicating and blaspheming God; that he complained
that he was abandoned by God; that when he died his friends fled from
the room, declaring the sight too terrible to be endured."
There is not one word of truth in this. Everybody who has read the life
of Voltaire knows that he died with the utmost serenity.
Let me tell you how Voltaire died.
He was an old man of eighty-four. He had been surrounded by the comforts
of life. He was a man of wealth--of genius. Among the literary men of
the world he stood first. God had allowed him to have the appearance of
success. His last years were filled with the intoxication of flattery.
He stood at the summit of his age. The priests became anxious. They
began to fear that God would forget, in a multiplicity of business, to
make a terrible example of Voltaire.
Toward the last of May, 1788, it was whispered in Paris that Voltaire
was dying. Upon the fences of expectation gathered the unclean birds of
superstition, impatiently waiting for their prey.
"Two days before his death his nephew went to seek the Curé of St.
Sulpice and the Abbé Gautier, and brought them into his uncle's
sick-chamber, who was informed that they were there.
"'Ah, well,' said Voltaire; 'give them my compliments and my thanks.'
"The abbé spoke some words to Voltaire, exhorting him to patience. The
Curé of St. Sulpice then came forward, having announced himself, and
asked Voltaire, lifting his voice, if he acknowledged the divinity of
our Lord Jesus Christ. The sick man pushed one of his hands against the
curé's coif shoving him back, and cried, turning abruptly to the other
side:
"'Let me die in peace!'
"The curé seemingly considered his person soiled and his coif dishonored
by the touch of the philosopher. He made the nurse give him a little
brushing and went out with the Abbé Gautier.
"He expired," says Wagniere, "on the 30th of May, 1788, at about a
quarter past eleven at night, with the most perfect tranquillity.
"Ten minutes before his last breath he took the hand of Morand, his
_valet-de-chambre_, who was watching by him, pressed it and said:
'Adieu, my dear Morand. I am gone!'
"These were his last words."
From this death, so simple and serene, so natural and peaceful--from
these words so utterly destitute of cant or dramatic touch--all the
frightful pictures, all the despairing utterances have been drawn and
made. From these materials, and from these alone, have been constructed
all the shameless calumnies about the death of this great and wonderful
man.
Voltaire was the intellectual autocrat of his time. From his throne at
the foot of the Alps he pointed the finger of scorn at every hypocrite
in Europe. He was the pioneer of his century. He was the assassin
of superstition. Through the shadows of faith and fable; through the
darkness of myth and miracle; through the midnight of Christianity;
through the blackness of bigotry; past cathedral and dungeon; past rack
and stake; past altar and throne, he carried, with chivalric hands, the
sacred torch of Reason.
Let me also tell you about the death of Thomas Paine. After the
publication of his "Rights of Man" and "The Age of Reason", every
falsehood that malignity could coin and malice pass, was given to the
world. On his return to America, although Thomas Jefferson, another
infidel, was President, it was hardly safe for Paine to appear in the
public streets.
Under the very flag he had helped to put in heaven, his rights were not
respected. Under the Constitution that he had first suggested, his life
was insecure. He had helped to give liberty to more than three millions
of his fellow-citizens, and they were willing to deny it unto him.
He was deserted, ostracized, shunned, maligned and cursed. But he
maintained his integrity. He stood by the convictions of his mind, and
never for one moment did he hesitate or waver. He died almost alone.
The moment he died the pious commenced manufacturing horrors for his
death-bed. They had his chamber filled with devils rattling chains,
and these ancient falsehoods are certified to by the clergy even of the
present day.
The truth is that Thomas Paine died as he had lived. Some ministers
were impolite enough to visit him against his will. Several of them he
ordered from his room. A couple of Catholic priests, in all the meekness
of arrogance, called that they might enjoy the agonies of the dying
friend of man. Thomas Paine, rising in his bed, the few moments of
expiring life fanned into flame by the breath of indignation, had the
goodness to curse them both.
His physician, who seems to have been a meddling fool, just as the cold
hand of Death was touching the patriot's heart, whispered in the dulled
ear of the dying man: "Do you believe, or do you wish to believe, that
Jesus Christ is the Son of God?"
And the reply was: "I have no wish to believe on that subject."
These were the last remembered words of Thomas Paine. He died as
serenely as ever mortal passed away. He died in the full possession of
his mind, and on the brink and edge of death proclaimed the doctrines of
his life.
Every philanthropist, every believer in human liberty, every lover of
the great Republic, should feel under obligation to Thomas Paine for the
splendid services rendered by him in the darkest days of the American
Revolution. In the midnight of Valley Forge, "The Crisis" was the first
star that glittered in the wide horizon of despair.
We should remember that Thomas Paine was the first man to write these
words: "The United States of America."
The Rev. Mr. Hamilton seems to take a kind of joy in imagining what
infidels will suffer when they come to die, and he writes as though he
would like to be present.
For my part I hope that all the sons and daughters of men will die in
peace; that they will pass away as easily as twilight fades to night.
Of course when I said that "Christianity did not bring tidings of great
joy, but a message of eternal grief," I meant orthodox Christianity; and
when I said that "Christianity fills the future with fire and flame,
and made God the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, in which most of
the children of men were to be imprisoned forever," I was giving what I
understood to be the Evangelical belief on that subject.
If the churches have given up the doctrine of eternal punishment, then
for one I am delighted, and I shall feel that what little I have done
toward that end has not been done in vain.
The Rev. Mr. Hamilton, enjoying my dying agony in imagination, says:
"Let the world wait but for a few years at the most, when Death's icy
fingers feel for the heartstrings of the boaster, and, as most of his
like who have gone before him have done, he will sing another strain."
How shall I characterize the spirit that could prompt the writing of
such a sentence?
The reverend gentleman "loves his enemies," and yet he is filled with
glee when he thinks of the agonies I shall endure when Death's icy
fingers feel for the strings of my heart! Yet I have done him no harm.
He then quotes, as being applicable to me, a passage from the prophet
Isaiah, commencing: "The vile person will speak villainy."
Is this passage applicable only to me?
The Rev. Mr. Holloway is not satisfied with the "Christmas Sermon."
For his benefit I repeat, in another form, what the "Christmas Sermon"
contains:
If orthodox Christianity teaches that this life is a period of
probation, that we settle here our eternal destiny, and that all who
have heard the Gospel and who have failed to believe it are to be
eternally lost, then I say that Christianity did not "bring tidings of
great joy," but a Message of Eternal Grief. And if the orthodox churches
are still preaching the doctrine of Endless Pain, then I say it would be
far better if every church crumbled into dust than that such preaching
and such teaching should be continued.
It would be far better yet, however, if the ministers could be converted
and their congregations enlightened.
I admit that the orthodox churches preach some things beside hell; but
if they do not believe in the eternity of punishment they ought publicly
to change their creeds.
I admit, also, that the average minister advises his congregation to be
honest and to treat all with kindness, and I admit that many of these
ministers fail to follow their own advice when they make what they call
"replies" to me.
Of course there are many good things about the church. To the extent
that it is charitable, or rather to the extent that it causes charity,
it is good. To the extent that it causes men and women to lead moral
lives it is good. But to the extent that it fills the future with fear
it is bad. To the extent that it convinces any human being that there is
any God who not only can, but will, inflict eternal torments on his own
children, it is bad.
And such teaching does tend to blight humanity. Such teaching does
pollute the imagination of childhood. Such teaching does furrow the
cheeks of the best and tenderest with tears..Such teaching does rob old
age of all its joy, and covers every cradle with a curse!
The Rev. Mr. Holloway seems to be extremely familiar with God. He says:
"God seems to have delayed his advent through all the ages to give unto
the world the fullest opportunity to do all that the human mind could
suggest for the weal of the race."
According to this gentleman, God just delayed his advent for the purpose
of seeing what the world would do, _knowing all the time exactly what
would be done_.
Let us make a suggestion: If the orthodox creed be true, then all people
became tainted or corrupted or depraved, or in some way spoiled by what
is known as "Original Sin."
According to the Old Testament, these people kept getting worse and
worse. It does not seem that Jehovah made any effort to improve them,
but he patiently waited for about fifteen hundred years without having
established any church, without having given them a Bible, and then he
drowned all but eight persons.
Now, those eight persons were also depraved. The taint of Original Sin
was also in their blood.
It seems to me that Jehovah made a mistake. He should also have killed
the remaining eight, and started new, kept the serpent out of his
garden, and furnished the first pair with a Bible and the Presbyterian
Confession of Faith.
The Rev. Dr. Tyler takes it for granted that all charity and goodness
are the children of Christianity. This is a mistake. All the virtues
were in the world long before Christ came. Probably Mr. Tyler will be
convinced by the words of Christ himself. He will probably remember
the story of the Good Samaritan, and if he does he will see that it is
exactly in point. The Good Samaritan was not a Hebrew. He was not one
of "the chosen people." He was a poor, "miserable heathen," who knew
nothing about the Jehovah of the Old Testament, and who had never heard
of the "scheme of salvation." And yet, according to Christ, he was far
more charitable than the Levites--the priests of Jehovah, the highest
of "the chosen people." Is it not perfectly plain from this story that
charity was in the world before Christianity was established?
A great deal has been said about asylums and hospitals, as though the
Christians are entitled to great credit on that score. If Dr. Tyler
will read what is said in the British Encyclopaedia, under the head of
"Mental Diseases," he will find that the Egyptians treated the insane
with the utmost kindness, and that they called reason back to its throne
by the voice of music; that the temples were resorted to by crowds of
the insane; and that "whatever gifts of nature or productions of art
were calculated to impress the imagination were there united. Games
and recreations were instituted in the temples. Groves and gardens
surrounded these holy retreats. Gayly decorated boats sometimes
transported patients to breathe the pure breezes of the Nile."
So in ancient Greece it is said that "from the hands of the priest the
cure of the disordered mind first passed into the domain of medicine,
with the philosophers. Pythagoras is said to have employed music for the
cure of mental diseases. The order of the day for his disciples exhibits
a profound knowledge of the relations of body and mind. The early
morning was divided between gentle exercise, conversation and music.
Then came conversation, followed by gymnastic exercise and a temperate
diet. Afterward, a bath and supper with a sparing allowance of wine;
then reading, music and conversation concluded the day."
So "Asclepiades was celebrated for his treatment of mental disorders.
He recommended that bodily restraint should be avoided as much as
possible." It is also stated that "the philosophy and arts of Greece
spread to Rome, and the first special treatise on insanity is that
of Celsus, which distinguishes varieties of insanity and their proper
treatment."
"Over the arts and sciences of Greece and Rome the errors and ignorance
of the Middle Ages gradually crept, until they enveloped them in a cloud
worse than Egyptian darkness. The insane were again consigned to the
miracle-working-ordinances of o o priests or else totally neglected.
Idiots and imbeciles were permitted to go clotheless and homeless. The
frantic and furious were chained in lonesome dungeons and exhibited
for money, like wild beasts. The monomaniacs became, according to
circumstance, the objects of superstitious horror or reverence. They
were regarded as possessed with demons and subjected either to priestly
exorcism, or cruelly destroyed as wizards and witches. This cruel
treatment of the insane continued with little or no alleviation down to
the end of the last century in all the civilized countries of Europe."
Let me quote a description of these Christian asylums.
"Public asylums indeed existed in most of the metropolitan cities of
Europe, but the insane were more generally, if at all troublesome,
confined in jails, where they were chained in the lowest dungeons or
made the butts and menials of the most debased criminals. In public
asylums the inmates were confined in cellars, isolated in cages, chained
to floors or walls. These poor victims were exhibited to the public like
wild beasts. They were often killed by the ignorance and brutality of
their keepers."
I call particular attention to the following paragraph: "Such was the
state of the insane generally throughout Europe at the commencement of
this century. Such it continued to be in England so late as 1815 and
in Ireland as 1817, as revealed by the inquiries of parliamentary
commissions in those years respectively."
Dr. Tyler is entirely welcome to all the comfort these facts can give.
Not only were the Greeks and Romans and Egyptians far in advance of
the Christians in the treatment of the mentally diseased, but even the
Mohammedans were in advance of the Christians about 700 years, and in
addition to this they treated their lunatics with great kindness.
The temple of Diana of Ephesus was a refuge for insolvent debtors, and
the Thesium was a refuge for slaves.
Again, I say that hundreds of years before the establishment of
Christianity there were in India not only hospitals and asylums for
people, but even for animals. The great mistake of the Christian clergy
is that they attribute all goodness to Christianity. They have always
been engaged in maligning human nature--in attacking the human heart--in
efforts to destroy all natural passions.
Perfect maxims for the conduct of life were uttered and repeated in
India and China hundreds and hundreds of years before the Christian
era. Every virtue was lauded and every vice denounced. All the good that
Christianity has in it came from the human heart. Everything in that
system of religion came from this world; and in it you will find not
only the goodness of man, but the imperfections of man--not only the
love of man, but the malice of man.
Let me tell you why the Christians for so many centuries neglected
or abused the insane. They believed the New Testament, and honestly
supposed that the insane were filled with devils.
In regard to the contest between Dr. Buckley, who, as I understand it,
is a doctor of theology--and I should think such theology stood in need
of a doctor--and the _Telegram_, I have nothing to say. There is only
one side to that contest; and so far as the Doctor heretofore criticised
what is known as the "Christmas Sermon," I have answered him, leaving
but very little to which I care to reply in his last article.
Dr. Buckley, like many others, brings forward names instead of
reasons--instead of arguments. Milton, Pascal, Elizabeth Fry, John
Howard, and Michael Faraday are not arguments. They are only names;
and, instead of giving the names, Dr. Buckley should give the reasons
advanced by those whose names he pronounces.
Jonathan Edwards may have been a good man, but certainly his theology
was infamous. So Father Mathew was a good man, but it was impossible
for him to be good enough to convince Dr. Buckley of the doctrine of the
"Real Presence."
Milton was a very good man, and he described God as a kind of
brigadier-general, put the angels in uniform and had regular battles;
but Milton's goodness can by no possibility establish the truth of his
poetical and absurd vagaries.
All the self-denial and goodness in the world do not even tend to prove
the existence of the supernatural or of the miraculous. Millions
and millions of the most devoted men could not, by their devotion,
substantiate the inspiration of the Scriptures.
There are, however, some misstatements in Dr. Buckley's article that
ought not to be passed over in silence.
The first is to the effect that I was invited to write an article for
the _North American Review_, Judge Jeremiah Black to reply, and that
Judge Black was improperly treated.
Now, it is true that I was invited to write an article, and did write
one; but I did not know at the time who was to reply. It is also true
that Judge Black did reply, and that my article and his reply appeared
in the same number of the _Review._
Dr. Buckley alleges that the _North American Review_ gave me an
opportunity to review the Judge, but denied to Judge Black an
opportunity to respond. This is without the slightest foundation in
fact. Mr. Metcalf, who at that time was manager of the _Review_, is
still living and will tell the facts. Personally I had nothing to do
with it, one way or the other. I did not regard Judge Black's reply as
formidable, and was not only willing that he should be heard again, but
anxious that he should.
So much for that.
As to the debate, with Dr. Field and Mr. Gladstone, I leave them to say
whether they were or were not fairly treated. Dr. Field, by his candor,
by his fairness, and by the manly spirit he exhibited won my respect and
love.
Most ministers imagine that any man who differs from them is a
blasphemer. This word seems to leap unconsciously from their lips.
They cannot imagine that another man loves liberty as much and with
as sincere devotion as they love God. They cannot imagine that another
prizes liberty above all gods, even if gods exist. They cannot imagine
that any mind is so that it places Justice above all persons, a mind
that cannot conceive even of a God who is not bound to do justice.
If God exists, above him, in eternal calm, is the figure of Justice.
Neither can some ministers understand a man who regards Jehovah and
Jupiter as substantially the same, with this exception--that he thinks
far more of Jupiter, because Jupiter had at least some human feelings.
I do not understand that a man can be guilty of blasphemy who states his
honest thoughts in proper language, his object being, not to torture
the feelings of others, but simply to give his thought--to find and
establish the truth.
Dr. Buckley makes a charge that he ought to have known to be without
foundation. Speaking of myself, he said: "In him the laws to prevent the
circulation of obscene publications through the mails have found their
most vigorous opponent."
It is hardly necessary for me to say that this is untrue. The facts are
that an effort was made to classify obscene literature with what the
pious call "blasphemous and immoral works." A petition was forwarded to
Congress to amend the law so that the literature of Freethought could
not be thrown from the mails, asking that, if no separation could be
made, the law should be repealed.
It was said that I had signed this petition, and I certainly should have
done so had it been presented to me. The petition was absolutely proper.
A few years ago I found the petition, and discovered that while it bore
my name it had never been signed by me. But for the purposes of this
answer I am perfectly willing that the signature should be regarded as
genuine, as there is nothing in the petition that should not have been
granted.
The law as it stood was opposed by the Liberal League--but not a member
of that society was in favor of the circulation of obscene literature;
but they did think that the privacy of the mails had been violated, and
that it was of the utmost importance to maintain the inviolability of
the postal service.
I disagreed with these people, and favored the destruction of obscene
literature not only, but that it be made a criminal offence to send it
through the mails. As a matter of fact I drew up resolutions to that
effect that were passed. Afterward they were changed, or some others
were passed, and I resigned from the League on that account.
Nothing can be more absurd than that I was, directly or indirectly, or
could have been, interested in the circulation of obscene publications
through the mails; and I will pay a premium of $1,000 a word for
each and every word I ever said or wrote in favor of sending obscene
publications through the mails.
I might use much stronger language. I might follow the example of
Dr. Buckley himself. But I think I have said enough to satisfy all
unprejudiced people that the charge is absurdly false.
Now, as to the eulogy of whiskey. It gives me a certain pleasure to read
that even now, and I believe the readers of the _Telegram_ would like to
read it once more; so here it is:
"I send you some of the most wonderful whiskey that ever drove the
skeleton from a feast or painted landscapes in the brain of man. It is
the mingled souls of wheat and corn. In it you will find the sunshine
and the shadow that chased each other over the billowy fields; the
breath of June; the carol of the lark; the dews of night; the wealth
of summer and autumn's rich content, all golden with imprisoned light.
Drink it and you will hear the voices of men and maidens singing the
'Harvest Home,' mingled with the laughter of children. Drink it and you
will feel within your blood the star-lit dawns, the dreamy, tawny dusks
of many perfect days. For forty years this liquid joy has been within
the happy staves of oak, longing to touch the lips of men."
I re-quote this for the reason that Dr. Buckley, who is not very
accurate, made some mistakes in his version.
Now, in order to show the depth of degradation to which I have sunk in
this direction, I will confess that I also wrote a eulogy of tobacco,
and here it is:
"Nearly four centuries ago Columbus, the adventurous, in the blessed
island of Cuba, saw happy people with rolled leaves between their lips.
Above their heads were little clouds of smoke. Their faces were serene,
and in their eyes was the autumnal heaven of content. These people were
kind, innocent, gentle and loving.
"The climate of Cuba is the friendship of the earth and air, and of this
climate the sacred leaves were born--the leaves that breed in the mind
of him who uses them the cloudless, happy days in which they grew.
"These leaves make friends, and celebrate with gentle rites the vows of
peace. They have given consolation to the world. They are the companions
of the lonely--the friends of the imprisoned, of the exile, of workers
in mines, of fellers of forests, of sailors on the desolate seas. They
are the givers of strength and calm to the vexed and wearied minds of
those who build with thought and dream the temples of the soul.
"They tell of hope and rest. They smooth the wrinkled brows of
pain--drive fears and strange misshapen dreads from out the mind and
fill the heart with rest and peace. Within their magic warp and woof
some potent gracious spell imprisoned lies, that, when released by fire,
doth softly steal within the fortress of the brain and bind in sleep the
captured sentinels of care and grief.
"These leaves are the friends of the fireside, and their smoke, like
incense, rises from myriads of happy homes. Cuba is the smile of the
sea."
There are some people so constituted that there is no room in the heaven
of their minds for the butterflies and moths of fancy to spread their
wings. Everything is taken in solemn and stupid earnest. Such men would
hold Shakespeare responsible for what Falstaff said about "sack," and
for Mrs. Quickly's notions of propriety.
There is an old Greek saying which is applicable here: "In the presence
of human stupidity, even the gods stand helpless."
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, lacked all sense of humor.
He preached a sermon on "The Cause and Cure of Earthquakes." He insisted
that they were caused by the wickedness of man, and that the only way to
cure them was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The man who does not carry the torch of Humor is always in danger of
falling into the pit of Absurdity.
The Rev. Charles Deems, pastor of the Church of the Strangers,
contributes his part to the discussion.
He took a text from John, as follows: "He that committeth sin is of the
devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil."
According to the orthodox creed of the Rev. Dr. Deems all have committed
sin, and consequently all are of the devil. The Doctor is not a
metaphysician. He does not care to play at sleight of hand with words.
He stands on bed-rock, and he asserts that the devil is no Persian myth,
but a personality, who works unhindered by the limitations of a physical
body, and gets human personalities to aid him in his works.
According to the text, it seems that the devil was a sinner from the
beginning. I suppose that must mean from his beginning, or from the
beginning of things. According to Dr. Deems' creed, his God is the
Creator of all things, and consequently must have been the Creator of
the devil. According to the Scriptures the devil is the father of lies,
and Dr. Deems' God is the father of the devil--that is to say, the
grandfather of lies. This strikes me as almost "blasphemous."
The Doctor also tells us "that Jesus believed as much in the personality
of the devil as in that of Herod or Pilate or John or Peter."
That I admit. There is not the slightest doubt, if the New Testament be
true, that Christ believed in a personal devil--a devil with whom he had
conversations; a devil who took him to the pinnacle of the Temple and
endeavored to induce him to leap to the earth below.
Of course he believed in a personal devil. Not only so; he believed
in thousands of personal devils. He cast seven devils out of Mary
Magdalene. He cast a legion of devils out of the man in the tombs, or,
rather, made a bargain with these last-mentioned devils that they might
go into a drove or herd of swine, if they would leave the man.
I not only admit that Christ believed in devils, but he believed that
some devils were deaf and dumb, and so declared.
Dr. Deems is right, and I hope he will defend against all comers the
integrity of the New Testament.
The Doctor, however, not satisfied exactly with what he finds in the New
Testament, draws a little on his own imagination. He says:
"The devil is an organizing, imperial intellect, vindictive, sharp,
shrewd, persevering, the aim of whose works is to overthrow the
authority of God's law."
How does the Doctor know that the devil has an organizing, imperial
intellect? How does he know that he is vindictive and sharp and shrewd
and persevering?
If the devil has an "imperial intellect," why does he attempt the
impossible?
Robert Burns shocked Scotland by saying of the devil, or, rather, to the
devil, that he was sorry for him, and hoped he would take a thought and
mend.
Dr. Deems has gone far in advance of Burns. For a clergyman he seems
to be exceedingly polite. Speaking of the "Arch Enemy of God"--of
that "organizing, imperial intellect who is seeking to undermine the
church"--the Doctor says:
"The devil may be conceded to be sincere."
It has been said:
"An honest God is the noblest work of man," and it may now be added: A
sincere devil is the noblest work of Dr. Deems.
But, with all the devil's smartness, sharpness, and shrewdness, the
Doctor says that he "cannot write a book; that he cannot deliver
lectures" (like myself, I suppose), "edit a newspaper" (like the editor
of the _Telegram_), "or make after-dinner speeches; but he can get his
servants to do these things for him."
There is one thing in the Doctor's address that I feel like correcting
(I quote from the _Telegram's_ report):
"Dr. Deems showed at length how the Son of God, the Christ of the
Bible--_not the Christ of the lecture platform caricatures_--is
operating to overcome all these works."
I take it for granted that he refers to what he supposes I have said
about Christ, and, for fear that he may not have read it, I give it
here:
"And let me say here, once for all, that for the man Christ I have
infinite respect. Let me say, once for all, that the place where man has
died for man, is holy ground. And let me say, once for all, that to that
great and serene man I gladly pay, the tribute of my admiration and my
tears. He was a reformer in his day. He was an infidel in his time. He
was regarded as a blasphemer, and his life was destroyed by hypocrites,
who have, in all ages, done what they could to trample freedom and
manhood out of the human mind. Had I lived at that time I would have
been his friend, and should he come again he will not find a better
friend than I will be. That is for the man. For the theological creation
I have a different feeling."
I have not answered each one who has attacked by name. Neither have I
mentioned those who have agreed with me. But I do take this occasion to
thank all, irrespective of their creeds, who have manfully advocated the
right of free speech, and who have upheld the _Telegram_ in the course
it has taken.
I thank all who have said a kind word for me, and I also feel quite
grateful to those who have failed to say unkind words. Epithets are
not arguments. To abuse is not to convince. Anger is stupid and malice
illogical.
And, after all that has appeared by way of reply, I still insist that
orthodox Christianity did not come with "tidings of great joy," but with
a message of eternal grief.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
New York, February 5, 1892.
SUICIDE OF JUDGE NORMILE.
*A reply to the Western Watchman, published in the St. Louis
Globe Democrat, Sept. 1, 1892.
_Question_. Have you read an article in the _Western Watchman_, entitled
"Suicide of Judge Normile"? If so, what is your opinion of it?
_Answer._ I have read the article, and I think the spirit in which it
is written is in exact accord with the creed, with the belief, that
prompted it.
In this article the writer speaks not only of Judge Normile, but of
Henry D'Arcy, and begins by saying that a Catholic community had been
shocked, but that as a matter of fact the Catholics had no right "to
feel special concern in the life or death of either," for the reason,
"that both had ceased to be Catholics, and had lived as infidels and
scoffers."
According to the Catholic creed all infidels and scoffers are on
the direct road to eternal pain; and yet, if the _Watchman_ is to be
believed, Catholics have no right to have special concern for the fate
of such people, even after their death.
The church has always proclaimed that it was seeking the lost--that
it was trying in every way to convert the infidels and save the
scoffers--that it cared less for the ninety-nine sheep safe in the fold
than for the one that had strayed. We have been told that God so loved
infidels and scoffers, that he came to this poor world and gave his life
that they might be saved. But now we are told by the _Western Watchman_
that the church, said to have been founded by Christ, has no right to
feel any special concern about the fate of infidels and scoffers.
Possibly the _Watchman_ only refers to the infidels and scoffers who
were once Catholics.
If the New Testament is true, St. Peter was at one time a Christian;
that is to say, a good Catholic, and yet he fell from grace and not only
denied his Master, but went to the extent of swearing that he did not
know him; that he never had made his acquaintance. And yet, this same
Peter was taken back and became the rock on which the Catholic Church is
supposed to rest.
Are the Catholics of St. Louis following the example of Christ, when
they publicly declare that they care nothing for the fate of one who
left the church and who died in his sins?
The _Watchman_, in order to show that it was simply doing its duty, and
was not actuated by hatred or malice, assures us as follows: "A warm
personal friendship existed between D'Arcy and Normile and the managers
of this paper." What would the _Watchman_ have said if these men had
been the personal enemies of the managers of that paper? Two warm
personal friends, once Catholics, had gone to hell; but the managers
of the _Watchman_, "warm personal friends" of the dead, had no right to
feel any special concern about these friends in the flames of perdition.
One would think that pity had changed to piety.
Another wonderful statement is that "both of these men determined to go
to hell, if there was a hell, and to forego the joys of heaven, if there
was a heaven."
Admitting that heaven and hell exist, that heaven is a good place, and
that hell, to say the least, is, and eternally will be, unpleasant, why
should any sane man unalterably determine to go to hell? It is hard to
think of any reason, unless he was afraid of meeting those Catholics in
heaven who had been his "warm personal friends" in this world. The truth
is that no one wishes to be unhappy in this or any other country. The
truth is that Henry D'Arcy and Judge Normile both became convinced that
the Catholic Church is of human origin, that its creed is not true, that
it is the enemy of progress, and the foe of freedom. It may be that
they were in part led to these conclusions by the conduct of their "warm
personal friends."
It is claimed that these men, Henry D'Arcy and Judge Normile "studied"
to convince themselves "that there was no God, that they went back to
Paganism and lived among the ancients," and "that they soon revelled
in the grossness of Paganism." If they went back to Paganism, they
certainly found plenty of gods. The Pagans filled heaven and earth with
deities. The Catholics have only three, while the Pagans had hundreds.
And yet there were some very good Pagans. By associating with Socrates
and Plato one would not necessarily become a groveling wretch. Zeno was
not altogether abominable. He would compare favorably, at least, with
the average pope. Aristotle was not entirely despicable, although wrong,
it may be, in many things. Epicurus was temperate, frugal and serene. He
perceived the beauty of use, and celebrated the marriage of virtue and
joy. He did not teach his disciples to revel in grossness, although his
maligners have made this charge. Cicero was a Pagan, and yet he uttered
some very sublime and generous sentiments. Among other things, he said
this: "When we say that we should love Romans, but not foreigners, we
destroy the bond of universal brotherhood and drive from our hearts
charity and justice."
Suppose a Pagan had written about "two warm personal friends" of his,
who had joined the Catholic Church, and suppose he had said this:
"Although our two warm personal friends have both died by their own
hands, and although both have gone to the lowest hell, and are now
suffering inconceivable agonies, we have no right to feel any special
concern about them or about their sufferings; and, to speak frankly, we
care nothing for their agonies, nothing for their tears, and we mention
them only to keep other Pagans from joining that blasphemous and
ignorant church. Both of our friends were raised as Pagans, both were
educated in our holy religion, and both had read the works of our
greatest and wisest authors, and yet they fell into apostasy, and
studied day and night, in season and out of season, to convince
themselves that a young carpenter of Palestine was in fact, Jupiter,
whom we call Stator, the creator, the sustainer and governor of all."
It is probable that the editor of the _Watchman_ was perfectly
conscientious in his attack on the dead. Nothing but a sense of
religious duty could induce any man to attack the character of a "warm
personal friend," and to say that although the friend was in hell, he
felt no special concern as to his fate.
The _Watchman_ seems to think that it is hardly probable or possible
that a sane Catholic should become an infidel. People of every religion
feel substantially in this way. It is probable that the Mohammedan is
of the opinion that no sane believer in the religion of Islam could
possibly become a Catholic. Probably there are no sane Mohammedans. I do
not know.
Now, it seems to me, that when a sane Catholic reads the history of
his church, of the Inquisition, of centuries of flame and sword, of
philosophers and thinkers tortured, flayed and burned by the "Bride of
God," and of all the cruelties of Christian years, he may reasonably
come to the conclusion that the Church of Rome is not the best possible
church in this, the best possible of all worlds.
It would hardly impeach his sanity if, after reading the history of
superstition, he should denounce the Hierarchy, from priest to pope. The
truth is, the real opinions of all men are perfectly honest no matter
whether they are for or against the Catholic creed. All intelligent
people are intellectually hospitable. Every man who knows something of
the operations of his own mind is absolutely certain that his wish has
not, to his knowledge, influenced his judgment. He may admit that his
wish has influenced his speech, but he must certainly know that it has
not affected his judgment.
In other words, a man cannot cheat himself in a game of solitaire and
really believe that he has won the game. No matter what the appearance
of the cards may be, he knows whether the game was lost or won. So, men
may say that their judgment is a certain way, and they may so affirm in
accordance with their wish, but neither the wish, nor the declaration
can affect the real judgment. So, a man must know whether he believes a
certain creed or not, or, at least, what the real state of his mind
is. When a man tells me that he believes in the supernatural, in the
miraculous, and in the inspiration of the Scriptures, I take it for
granted that he is telling the truth, although it seems impossible to me
that the man could reach that conclusion. When another tells me that he
does not know whether there is a Supreme Being or not, but that he does
not believe in the supernatural, and is perfectly satisfied that the
Scriptures are for the most part false and barbarous, I implicitly
believe every word he says.
I admit cheerfully that there are many millions of men and women who
believe what to me seems impossible and infinitely absurd; and,
undoubtedly, what I believe seems to them equally impossible.
Let us give to others the liberty which we claim for ourselves.
The _Watchman_ seems to think that unbelief, especially when coupled
with what they call "the sins of the flesh," is the lowest possible
depth, and tells us that "robbers may be devout," "murderers penitent,"
and "drunkards reverential."
In some of these statements the _Watchman_ is probably correct. There
have been "devout robbers." There have been gentlemen of the highway,
agents of the road, who carried sacred images, who bowed, at holy
shrines for the purpose of securing success. For many centuries the
devout Catholics robbed the Jews. The devout Ferdinand and Isabella
were great robbers. A great many popes have indulged in this theological
pastime, not to speak of the rank and file. Yes, the _Watchman_ is
right. There is nothing in robbery that necessarily interferes with
devotion.
There have been penitent murderers, and most murderers, unless impelled
by a religious sense of duty to God, have been penitent. David, with
dying breath, advised his son to murder the old friends of his father.
He certainly was not penitent. Undoubtedly Torquemada murdered without
remorse, and Calvin burned his "warm personal friend" to gain the
applause of God. Philip the Second was a murderer, not penitent, because
he deemed it his duty. The same may be said of the Duke of Alva, and of
thousands of others.
Robert Burns was not, according to his own account, strictly virtuous,
and yet I like him better than I do those who planned and carried into
bloody execution the massacre of St. Bartholomew.
Undoubtedly murderers have been penitent. A man in California cut the
throat of a woman, although she begged for mercy, saying at the same
time that she was not prepared to die. He cared nothing for her prayers.
He was tried, convicted and sentenced to death. He made a motion for
a new trial. This was denied. He appealed to the governor, but the
executive refused to interfere. Then he became penitent and experienced
religion. On the scaffold he remarked that he was going to heaven; that
his only regret was that he would not meet the woman he had murdered,
as she was not a Christian when she died. Undoubtedly murderers can be
penitent.
An old Spaniard was dying. He sent for a priest to administer the last
sacraments of the church. The priest told him that he must forgive all
his enemies. "I have no enemies," said the dying man, "I killed the last
one three weeks ago." Undoubtedly murderers can be penitent.
So, I admit that drunkards have been pious and reverential, and I might
add, honest and generous.
Some good Catholics and some good Protestants have enjoyed a hospitable
glass, and there have been priests who used the blood of the grape for
other than a sacramental purpose. Even Luther, a good Catholic in his
day, a reformer, a Doctor of Divinity, gave to the world this couplet:
"Who loves not woman, wine and song,
Will live a fool his whole life long."
The _Watchman_, in effect, says that a devout robber is better than an
infidel; that a penitent murderer is superior to a freethinker, in the
sight of God.
Another curious thing in this article is that after sending both men to
hell, the _Watchman_ says: "As to their moral habits we know nothing."
It may then be taken for granted, if these "warm personal friends" knew
nothing against the dead, that their lives were, at least, what the
church calls moral. We know, if we know anything, that there is no
necessary connection between what is called religion and morality.
Certainly there were millions of moral people, those who loved mercy
and dealt honestly, before the Catholic Church existed. The virtues were
well known, and practiced, before a triple crown surrounded the cunning
brain of an Italian Vicar of God, and before the flames of the _Auto da
fé_ delighted the hearts of a Christian mob. Thousands of people died
for the right, before the wrong organized the infallible church.
But why should any man deem it his duty or feel it a pleasure to say
harsh and cruel things of the dead? Why pierce the brow of death with
the thorns of hatred? Suppose the editor of the _Watchman_ had died, and
Judge Normile had been the survivor, would the infidel and scoffer have
attacked the unreplying dead?
Henry D'Arcy I did not know; but Judge Normile was my friend and I
was his. Although we met but a few times, he excited my admiration and
respect. He impressed me as being an exceedingly intelligent man, well
informed on many subjects, of varied reading, possessed of a clear and
logical mind, a poetic temperament, enjoying the beautiful things in
literature and art, and the noble things in life. He gave his opinions
freely, but without the least arrogance, and seemed perfectly willing
that others should enjoy the privilege of differing with him. He was, so
far as I could perceive, a gentleman, tender of the feelings of others,
free and manly in his bearing, "of most excellent fancy," and a most
charming and agreeable companion.
According, however, to the _Watchman_, such a man is far below a "devout
robber" or a "penitent murderer." Is it possible that an assassin like
Ravillac is far better than a philosopher like Voltaire; and that all
the Catholic robbers and murderers who retain their faith, give greater
delight to God than the Humboldts, Haeckels and Darwins who have filled
the world with intellectual light?
Possibly the Catholic Church is mistaken. Possibly the _Watchman_ is in
error, and possibly there may be for the erring, even in another world,
some asylum besides hell.
Judge Normile died by his own hand. Certainly he was not afraid of
the future. He was not appalled by death. He died by his own hand. Can
anything be more pitiful--more terrible? How can a man in the flowing
tide and noon of life destroy himself? What storms there must have
been within the brain; what tempests must have raved and wrecked; what
lightnings blinded and revealed; what hurrying clouds obscured and hid
the stars; what monstrous shapes emerged from gloom; what darkness fell
upon the day; what visions filled the night; how the light failed; how
paths were lost; how highways disappeared; how chasms yawned; until one
thought--the thought of death--swift, compassionate and endless--became
the insane monarch of the mind.
Standing by the prostrate form of one who thus found death, it is far
better to pity than to revile--to kiss the clay than curse the man.
The editor of the _Watchman_ has done himself injustice. He has not
injured the dead, but the living.
I am an infidel--an unbeliever--and yet I hope that all the children of
men may find peace and joy. No matter how they leave this world, from
altar or from scaffold, crowned with virtue or stained with crime, I
hope that good may come to all.
R. G. Ingersoll.
IS SUICIDE A SIN?
* These letters were published in the New York World, 1894.
Col. Ingersoll's First Letter.
I DO not know whether self-killing is on the increase or not. If it
is, then there must be, on the average, more trouble, more sorrow,
more failure, and, consequently, more people are driven to despair. In
civilized life there is a great struggle, great competition, and many
fail. To fail in a great city is like being wrecked at sea. In the
country a man has friends; he can get a little credit, a little help,
but in the city it is different. The man is lost in the multitude. In
the roar of the streets, his cry is not heard. Death becomes his only
friend. Death promises release from want, from hunger and pain, and so
the poor wretch lays down his burden, dashes it from his shoulders and
falls asleep.
To me all this seems very natural. The wonder is that so many endure and
suffer to the natural end, that so many nurse the spark of life in huts
and prisons, keep it and guard it through years of misery and want;
support it by beggary, by eating the crust found in the gutter, and to
whom it only gives days of weariness and nights of fear and dread. Why
should the man, sitting amid the wreck of all he had, the loved ones
dead, friends lost, seek to lengthen, to preserve his life? What can the
future have for him?
Under many circumstances a man has the right to kill himself. When life
is of no value to him, when he can be of no real assistance to others,
why should a man continue? When he is of no benefit, when he is a burden
to those he loves, why should he remain? The old idea was that God made
us and placed us here for a purpose and that it was our duty to remain
until he called us. The world is outgrowing this absurdity. What
pleasure can it give God to see a man devoured by a cancer; to see the
quivering flesh slowly eaten; to see the nerves throbbing with pain? Is
this a festival for God? Why should the poor wretch stay and suffer? A
little morphine would give him sleep--the agony would be forgotten and
he would pass unconsciously from happy dreams to painless death.
If God determines all births and deaths, of what use is medicine and why
should doctors defy with pills and powders, the decrees of God? No one,
except a few insane, act now according to this childish superstition.
Why should a man, surrounded by flames, in the midst of a burning
building, from which there is no escape, hesitate to put a bullet
through his brain or a dagger in his heart? Would it give God pleasure
to see him burn? When did the man lose the right of self-defence?
So, when a man has committed some awful crime, why should he stay and
ruin his family and friends? Why should he add to the injury? Why should
he live, filling his days and nights, and the days and nights of others,
with grief and pain, with agony and tears?
Why should a man sentenced to imprisonment for life hesitate to still
his heart? The grave is better than the cell. Sleep is sweeter than the
ache of toil. The dead have no masters.
So the poor girl, betrayed and deserted, the door of home closed against
her, the faces of friends averted, no hand that will help, no eye that
will soften with pity, the future an abyss filled with monstrous shapes
of dread and fear, her mind racked by fragments of thoughts like clouds
broken by storm, pursued, surrounded by the serpents of remorse, flying
from horrors too great to bear, rushes with joy through the welcome door
of death.
Undoubtedly there are many cases of perfectly justifiable suicide--cases
in which not to end life would be a mistake, sometimes almost a crime.
As to the necessity of death, each must decide for himself. And if a man
honestly decides that death is best--best for him and others--and acts
upon the decision, why should he be blamed?
Certainly the man who kills himself is not a physical coward. He may
have lacked moral courage, but not physical. It may be said that some
men fight duels because they are afraid to decline. They are between two
fires--the chance of death and the certainty of dishonor, and they take
the chance of death. So the Christian martyrs were, according to their
belief, between two fires--the flames of the fagot that could burn but
for a few moments, and the fires of God, that were eternal. And they
chose the flames of the fagot.
Men who fear death to that degree that they will bear all the pains and
pangs that nerves can feel, rather than die, cannot afford to call the
suicide a coward. It does not seem to me that Brutus was a coward or
that Seneca was. Surely Antony had nothing left to live for. Cato was
not a craven. He acted on his judgment. So with hundreds of others who
felt that they had reached the end---that the journey was done, the
voyage was over, and, so feeling, stopped. It seems certain that the man
who commits suicide, who "does the thing that ends all other deeds,
that shackles accident and bolts up change" is not lacking in physical
courage.
If men had the courage, they would not linger in prisons, in almshouses,
in hospitals; they would not bear the pangs of incurable disease, the
stains of dishonor; they would not live in filth and want, in poverty
and hunger, neither would they wear the chain of slavery. All this can
be accounted for only by the fear of death or "of something after."
Seneca, knowing that Nero intended to take his life, had no fear. He
knew that he could defeat the Emperor. He knew that "at the bottom of
every river, in the coil of every rope, on the point of every dagger,
Liberty sat and smiled." He knew that it was his own fault if he allowed
himself to be tortured to death by his enemy. He said: "There is
this blessing, that while life has but one entrance, it has exits
innumerable, and as I choose the house in which I live, the ship in
which I will sail, so will I choose the time and manner of my death."
To me this is not cowardly, but manly and noble. Under the Roman law
persons found guilty of certain offences were not only destroyed,
but their blood was polluted and their children became outcasts. If,
however, they died before conviction their children were saved. Many
committed suicide to save their babes. Certainly they were not cowards.
Although guilty of great crimes they had enough of honor, of manhood,
left to save their innocent children. This was not cowardice.
Without doubt many suicides are caused by insanity. Men lose their
property. The fear of the future overpowers them. Things lose
proportion, they lose poise and balance, and in a flash, a gleam of
frenzy, kill themselves. The disappointed in love, broken in heart--the
light fading from their lives--seek the refuge of death.
Those who take their lives in painful, barbarous ways--who mangle their
throats with broken glass, dash themselves from towers and roofs, take
poisons that torture like the rack--such persons must be insane. But
those who take the facts into account, who weigh the arguments for and
against, and who decide that death is best--the only good--and then
resort to reasonable means, may be, so far as I can see, in full
possession of their minds.
Life is not the same to all--to some a blessing, to some a curse, to
some not much in any way. Some leave it with unspeakable regret, some
with the keenest joy and some with indifference.
Religion, or the decadence of religion, has a bearing upon the number
of suicides. The fear of God, of judgment, of eternal pain will stay the
hand, and people so believing will suffer here until relieved by natural
death. A belief in eternal agony beyond the grave will cause such
believers to suffer the pangs of this life. When there is no fear of the
future, when death is believed to be a dreamless sleep, men have
less hesitation about ending their lives. On the other hand, orthodox
religion has driven millions to insanity. It has caused parents to
murder their children and many thousands to destroy themselves and
others.
It seems probable that all real, genuine orthodox believers who kill
themselves must be insane, and to such a degree that their belief is
forgotten. God and hell are out of their minds.
I am satisfied that many who commit suicide are insane, many are in the
twilight or dusk of insanity, and many are perfectly sane.
The law we have in this State making it a crime to attempt suicide is
cruel and absurd and calculated to increase the number of successful
suicides. When a man has suffered so much, when he has been so
persecuted and pursued by disaster that he seeks the rest and sleep of
death, why should the State add to the sufferings of that man? A man
seeking death, knowing that he will be punished if he fails, will take
extra pains and precautions to make death certain.
This law was born of superstition, passed by thoughtlessness and
enforced by ignorance and cruelty.
When the house of life becomes a prison, when the horizon has shrunk and
narrowed to a cell, and when the convict longs for the liberty of death,
why should the effort to escape be regarded as a crime?
Of course, I regard life from a natural point of view. I do not take
gods, heavens or hells into account. My horizon is the known, and my
estimate of life is based upon what I know of life here in this world.
People should not suffer for the sake of supernatural beings or for
other worlds or the hopes and fears of some future state. Our joys, our
sufferings and our duties are here.
The law of New York about the attempt to commit suicide and the law
as to divorce are about equal. Both are idiotic. Law cannot prevent
suicide. Those who have lost all fear of death, care nothing for law and
its penalties. Death is liberty, absolute and eternal.
We should remember that nothing happens but the natural. Back of every
suicide and every attempt to commit suicide is the natural and efficient
cause. Nothing happens by chance. In this world the facts touch each
other. There is no space between--no room for chance. Given a certain
heart and brain, certain conditions, and suicide is the necessary
result. If we wish to prevent suicide we must change conditions. We must
by education, by invention, by art, by civilization, add to the value
of the average life. We must cultivate the brain and heart--do away with
false pride and false modesty. We must become generous enough to help
our fellows without degrading them. We must make industry--useful work
of all kinds--honorable. We must mingle a little affection with our
charity--a little fellowship. We should allow those who have sinned to
really reform. We should not think only of what the wicked have done,
but we should think of what we have wanted to do. People do not hate the
sick. Why should they despise the mentally weak--the diseased in brain?
Our actions are the fruit, the result, of circumstances--of
conditions--and we do as we must.
This great truth should fill the heart with pity for the failures of our
race.
Sometimes I have wondered that Christians denounced the suicide; that
in olden times they buried him where the roads crossed, drove a stake
through his body, and then took his property from his children and gave
it to the State.
If Christians would only think, they would see that orthodox religion
rests upon suicide--that man was redeemed by suicide, and that without
suicide the whole world would have been lost.
If Christ were God, then he had the power to protect himself from the
Jews without hurting them. But instead of using his power he allowed
them to take his life.
If a strong man should allow a few little children to hack him to death
with knives when he could easily have brushed them aside, would we not
say that he committed suicide?
There is no escape. If Christ were, in fact, God, and allowed the
Jews to kill him, then he consented to his own death--refused, though
perfectly able, to defend and protect himself, and was, in fact, a
suicide.
We cannot reform the world by law or by superstition. As long as there
shall be pain and failure, want and sorrow, agony and crime, men and
women will untie life's knot and seek the peace of death.
To the hopelessly imprisoned--to the dishonored and despised--to those
who have failed, who have no future, no hope--to the abandoned, the
brokenhearted, to those who are only remnants and fragments of men and
women--how consoling, how enchanting is the thought of death!
And even to the most fortunate, death at last is a welcome deliverer.
Death is as natural and as merciful as life. When we have journeyed
long--when we are weary--when we wish for the twilight, for the dusk,
for the cool kisses of the night--when the senses are dull--when
the pulse is faint and low--when the mists gather on the mirror
of memory--when the past is almost forgotten, the present hardly
perceived--when the future has but empty hands--death is as welcome as a
strain of music.
After all, death is not so terrible as joyless life. Next to eternal
happiness is to sleep in the soft clasp of the cool earth, disturbed by
no dream, by no thought, by no pain, by no fear, unconscious of all and
forever.
The wonder is that so many live, that in spite of rags and want, in
spite of tenement and gutter, of filth and pain, they, limp and stagger
and crawl beneath their burdens to the natural end. The wonder is
that so few of the miserable are brave enough to die--that so many are
terrified by the "something after death"--by the spectres and phantoms
of superstition.
Most people are in love with life. How they cling to it in the arctic
snows--how they struggle in the waves and currents of the sea--how they
linger in famine--how they fight disaster and despair! On the crumbling
edge of death they keep the flag flying and go down at last full of hope
and courage.
But many have not such natures. They cannot bear defeat. They are
disheartened by disaster. They lie down on the field of conflict and
give the earth their blood.
They are our unfortunate brothers and sisters. We should not curse or
blame--we should pity. On their pallid faces our tears should fall.
One of the best men I ever knew, with an affectionate wife, a charming
and loving daughter, committed suicide. He was a man of generous
impulses. His heart was loving and tender. He was conscientious, and
so sensitive that he blamed himself for having done what at the time he
thought was wise and best. He was the victim of his virtues. Let us be
merciful in our judgments.
All we can say is that the good and the bad, the loving and the
malignant, the conscientious and the vicious, the educated and the
ignorant, actuated by many motives, urged and pushed by circumstances
and conditions--sometimes in the calm of judgment, sometimes in
passion's storm and stress, sometimes in whirl and tempest of
insanity--raise their hands against themselves and desperately put out
the light of life.
Those who attempt suicide should not be punished. If they are insane
they should if possible be restored to reason; if sane, they should be
reasoned with, calmed and assisted.
R. G. Ingersoll.
COL. INGERSOLL'S REPLY TO HIS CRITICS.
IN the article written by me about suicide the ground was taken that
"under many circumstances a man has the right to kill himself."
This has been attacked with great fury by clergymen, editors and
the writers of letters. These people contend that the right of
self-destruction does not and cannot exist. They insist that life is the
gift of God, and that he only has the right to end the days of men; that
it is our duty to bear the sorrows that he sends with grateful patience.
Some have denounced suicide as the worst of crimes--worse than the
murder of another.
The first question, then, is:
Has a man under any circumstances the right to kill himself?
A man is being slowly devoured by a cancer--his agony is intense--his
suffering all that nerves can feel. His life is slowly being taken.
Is this the work of the good God? Did the compassionate God create the
cancer so that it might feed on the quiverering flesh of this victim?
This man, suffering agonies beyond the imagination to conceive, is of no
use to himself. His life is but a succession of pangs. He is of no use
to his wife, his children, his friends or society. Day after day he is
rendered unconscious by drugs that numb the nerves and put the brain to
sleep.
Has he the right to render himself unconscious? Is it proper for him to
take refuge in sleep?
If there be a good God I cannot believe that he takes pleasure in the
sufferings of men--that he gloats over the agonies of his children. If
there be a good God, he will, to the extent of his power, lessen the
evils of life.
So I insist that the man being eaten by the cancer--a burden to himself
and others, useless in every way--has the right to end his pain and pass
through happy sleep to dreamless rest.
But those who have answered me would say to this man: "It is your duty
to be devoured. The good God wishes you to suffer. Your life is the gift
of God. You hold it in trust and you have no right to end it. The cancer
is the creation of God and it is your duty to furnish it with food."
Take another case: A man is on a burning ship, the crew and the rest
of the passengers have escaped--gone in the lifeboats--and he is left
alone. In the wide horizon there is no sail, no sign of help. He cannot
swim. If he leaps into the sea he drowns, if he remains on the ship he
burns. In any event he can live but a few moments.
Those who have answered me, those who insist that under no circumstances
a man has the right to take his life, would say to this man on the deck,
"Remain where you are. It is the desire of your loving, heavenly Father
that you be clothed in flame--that you slowly roast--that your eyes be
scorched to blindness and that you die insane with pain. Your life is
not your own, only the agony is yours."
I would say to this man: Do as you wish. If you prefer drowning to
burning, leap into the sea. Between inevitable evils you have the right
of choice. You can help no one, not even God, by allowing yourself to be
burned, and you can injure no one, not even God, by choosing the easier
death.
Let us suppose another case:
A man has been captured by savages in Central Africa. He is about to
be tortured to death. His captors are going to thrust splinters of pine
into his flesh and then set them on fire. He watches them as they make
the preparations. He knows what they are about to do and what he is
about to suffer. There is no hope of rescue, of help. He has a vial of
poison. He knows that he can take it and in one moment pass beyond their
power, leaving to them only the dead body.
Is this man under obligation to keep his life because God gave it, until
the savages by torture take it? Are the savages the agents of the good
God? Are they the servants of the Infinite? Is it the duty of this man
to allow them to wrap his body in a garment of flame? Has he no right to
defend himself? Is it the will of God that he die by torture? What would
any man of ordinary intelligence do in a case like this? Is there room
for discussion?
If the man took the poison, shortened his life a few moments, escaped
the tortures of the savages, is it possible that he would in another
world be tortured forever by an infinite savage?
Suppose another case: In the good old days, when the Inquisition
flourished, when men loved their enemies and murdered their friends,
many frightful and ingenious ways were devised to touch the nerves of
pain.
Those who loved God, who had been "born twice," would take a fellow-man
who had been convicted of "heresy," lay him upon the floor of a dungeon,
secure his arms and legs with chains, fasten him to the earth so that
he could not move, put an iron vessel, the opening downward, on his
stomach, place in the vessel several rats, then tie it securely to his
body. Then these worshipers of God would wait until the rats, seeking
food and liberty, would gnaw through the body of the victim.
Now, if a man about to be subjected to this torture, had within his hand
a dagger, would it excite the wrath of the "good God," if with one quick
stroke he found the protection of death?
To this question there can be but one answer.
In the cases I have supposed it seems to me that each person would have
the right to destroy himself. It does not seem possible that the man was
under obligation to be devoured by a cancer; to remain upon the ship and
perish in flame; to throw away the poison and be tortured to death by
savages; to drop the dagger and endure the "mercies" of the church.
If, in the cases I have supposed, men would have the right to take their
lives, then I was right when I said that "under many circumstances a man
has a right to kill himself."
_Second_.--I denied that persons who killed themselves were physical
cowards. They may lack moral courage; they may exaggerate their
misfortunes, lose the sense of proportion, but the man who plunges the
dagger in his heart, who sends the bullet through his brain, who leaps
from some roof and dashes himself against the stones beneath, is not and
cannot be a physical coward.
The basis of cowardice is the fear of injury or the fear of death, and
when that fear is not only gone, but in its place is the desire to die,
no matter by what means, it is impossible that cowardice should exist.
The suicide wants the very thing that a coward fears. He seeks the very
thing that cowardice endeavors to escape.
So, the man, forced to a choice of evils, choosing the less is not a
coward, but a reasonable man.
It must be admitted that the suicide is honest with himself. He is to
bear the injury; if it be one. Certainly there is no hypocrisy, and just
as certainly there is no physical cowardice.
Is the man who takes morphine rather than be eaten to death by a cancer
a coward?
Is the man who leaps into the sea rather than be burned a coward? Is
the man that takes poison rather than be tortured to death by savages or
"Christians" a coward?
_Third_.--I also took the position that some suicides were sane; that
they acted on their best judgment, and that they were in full possession
of their minds. Now, if under some circumstances, a man has the right to
take his life, and, if, under such circumstances, he does take his life,
then it cannot be said that he was insane.
Most of the persons who have tried to answer me have taken the ground
that suicide is not only a crime, but some of them have said that it
is the greatest of crimes. Now, if it be a crime, then the suicide must
have been sane. So all persons who denounce the suicide as a criminal
admit that he was sane. Under the law, an insane person is incapable of
committing a crime. All the clergymen who have answered me, and who have
passionately asserted that suicide is a crime, have by that assertion
admitted that those who killed themselves were sane.
They agree with me, and not only admit, but assert that "some who have
committed suicide were sane and in the full possession of their minds."
It seems to me that these three propositions have been demonstrated to
be true: _First_, that under some circumstances a man has the right
to take his life; _second_, that the man who commits suicide is not a
physical coward, and, _third_, that some who have committed suicide were
at the time sane and in full possession of their minds.
_Fourth_.--I insisted, and still insist, that suicide was and is the
foundation of the Christian religion.
I still insist that if Christ were God he had the power to protect
himself without injuring his assailants--that having that power it was
his duty to use it, and that failing to use it he consented to his own
death and was guilty of suicide.
To this the clergy answer that it was self-sacrifice for the redemption
of man, that he made an atonement for the sins of believers. These ideas
about redemption and atonement are born of a belief in the "fall
of man," on account of the sins of our first "parents," and of the
declaration that "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of
sin." The foundation has crumbled. No intelligent person now believes in
the "fall of man"--that our first parents were perfect, and that their
descendants grew worse and worse, at least until the coming of Christ.
Intelligent men now believe that ages and ages before the dawn of
history, man was a poor, naked, cruel, ignorant and degraded savage,
whose language consisted of a few sounds of terror, of hatred and
delight; that he devoured his fellow-man, having all the vices, but
not all the virtues of the beasts; that the journey from the den to the
home, the palace, has been long and painful, through many centuries
of suffering, of cruelty and war; through many ages of discovery,
invention, self-sacrifice and thought.
Redemption and atonement are left without a fact on which to rest. The
idea that an infinite God, creator of all worlds, came to this grain
of sand, learned the trade of a carpenter, discussed with Pharisees and
scribes, and allowed a few infuriated Hebrews to put him to death that
he might atone for the sins of men and redeem a few believers from
the consequences of his own wrath, can find no lodgment in a good and
natural brain.
In no mythology can anything more monstrously unbelievable be found.
But if Christ were a man and attacked the religion of his times because
it was cruel and absurd; if he endeavored to found a religion of
kindness, of good deeds, to take the place of heartlessness and
ceremony, and if, rather than to deny what he believed to be right and
true, he suffered death, then he was a noble man--a benefactor of his
race. But if he were God there was no need of this. The Jews did not
wish to kill God. If he had only made himself known all knees would have
touched the ground. If he were God it required no heroism to die. He
knew that what we call death is but the opening of the gates of eternal
life. If he were God there was no self-sacrifice. He had no need to
suffer pain. He could have changed the crucifixion to a joy.
Even the editors of religious weeklies see that there is no escape from
these conclusions--from these arguments--and so, instead of attacking
the arguments, they attack the man who makes them.
_Fifth_.--I denounced the law of New York that makes an attempt to
commit suicide a crime.
It seems to me that one who has suffered so much that he passionately
longs for death should be pitied, instead of punished--helped rather
than imprisoned.
A despairing woman who had vainly sought for leave to toil, a woman
without home, without friends, without bread, with clasped hands, with
tear-filled eyes, with broken words of prayer, in the darkness of night
leaps from the dock, hoping, longing for the tearless sleep of
death. She is rescued by a kind, courageous man, handed over to the
authorities, indicted, tried, convicted, clothed in a convict's garb and
locked in a felon's cell.
To me this law seems barbarous and absurd, a law that only savages would
enforce.
_Sixth_.--In this discussion a curious thing has happened. For several
centuries the clergy have declared that while infidelity is a very good
thing to live by, it is a bad support, a wretched consolation, in the
hour of death. They have in spite of the truth, declared that all
the great unbelievers died trembling with fear, asking God for mercy,
surrounded by fiends, in the torments of despair. Think of the thousands
and thousands of clergymen who have described the last agonies of
Voltaire, who died as peacefully as a happy child smilingly passes from
play to slumber; the final anguish of Hume, who fell into his last sleep
as serenely as a river, running between green and shaded banks, reaches
the sea; the despair of Thomas Paine, one of the bravest, one of the
noblest men, who met the night of death untroubled as a star that meets
the morning.
At the same time these ministers admitted that the average murderer
could meet death on the scaffold with perfect serenity, and could
smilingly ask the people who had gathered to see him killed to meet him
in heaven.
But the honest man who had expressed his honest thoughts against the
creed of the church in power could not die in peace. God would see to it
that his last moments should be filled with the insanity of fear--that
with his last breath he should utter the shriek of remorse, the cry for
pardon.
This has all changed, and now the clergy, in their sermons answering me,
declare that the atheists, the freethinkers, have no fear of death--that
to avoid some little annoyance, a passing inconvenience, they gladly
and cheerfully put out the light of life. It is now said that infidels
believe that death is the end--that it is a dreamless sleep--that it is
without pain--that therefore they have no fear, care nothing for gods,
or heavens or hells, nothing for the threats of the pulpit, nothing for
the day of judgment, and that when life becomes a burden they carelessly
throw it down.
The infidels are so afraid of death that they commit suicide.
This certainly is a great change, and I congratulate myself on having
forced the clergy to contradict themselves.
_Seventh_.--The clergy take the position that the atheist, the
unbeliever, has no standard of morality--that he can have no real
conception of right and wrong. They are of the opinion that it is
impossible for one to be moral or good unless he believes in some Being
far above himself.
In this connection we might ask how God can be moral or good unless he
believes in some Being superior to himself?
What is morality? It is the best thing to do under the circumstances.
What is the best thing to do under the circumstances? That which will
increase the sum of human happiness--or lessen it the least. Happiness
in its highest, noblest form, is the only good; that which increases
or preserves or creates happiness is moral--that which decreases it, or
puts it in peril, is immoral.
It is not hard for an atheist--for an unbeliever--to keep his hands
out of the fire. He knows that burning his hands will not increase his
well-being, and he is moral enough to keep them out of the flames.
So it may be said that each man acts according to his intelligence--so
far as what he considers his own good is concerned. Sometimes he is
swayed by passion, by prejudice, by ignorance--but when he is really
intelligent, master of himself, he does what he believes is best for
him. If he is intelligent enough he knows that what is really good for
him is good for others--for all the world.
It is impossible for me to see' why any belief in the supernatural is
necessary to have a keen perception of right and wrong. Every man who
has the capacity to suffer and enjoy, and has imagination enough to give
the same capacity to others, has within himself the natural basis of
all morality. The idea of morality was born here, in this world, of the
experience, the intelligence of mankind. Morality is not of supernatural
origin. It did not fall from the clouds, and it needs no belief in
the supernatural, no supernatural promises or threats, no supernatural
heavens or hells to give it force and life. Subjects who are governed
by the threats and promises of a king are merely slaves. They are not
governed by the ideal, by noble views of right and wrong. They are
obedient cowards, controlled by fear, or beggars governed by rewards--by
alms.
Right and wrong exist in the nature of things. Murder was just as
criminal before as after the promulgation of the Ten Commandments.
_Eighth_.--The clergy take the position that the atheist, the
unbeliever, has no standard of morality--that he can have no real
conception of right and wrong. They are of the opinion that it is
impossible for one to be moral or good unless he believes in some Being
far above himself.
In this connection we might ask how God can be moral or good unless he
believes in some Being superior to himself?
What is morality? It is the best thing to do under the circumstances.
What is the best thing to do under the circumstances? That which will
increase the sum of human happiness--or lessen it the least. Happiness
in its highest, noblest form, is the only good; that which increases
or preserves or creates happiness is moral--that which decreases it, or
puts it in peril, is immoral.
It is not hard for an atheist--for an unbeliever--to keep his hands
out of the fire. He knows that burning his hands will not increase his
well-being, and he is moral enough to keep them out of the flames.
So it may be said that each man acts according to his intelligence--so
far as what he Considers his own good is concerned. Sometimes he is
swayed by passion, by prejudice, by ignorance--but when he is really
intelligent, master of himself, he does what he believes is best for
him. If he is intelligent enough he knows that what is really good for
him is food for others--for all the world.
It is impossible for me to see why any belief in the supernatural is
necessary to have a keen perception of right and wrong. Every man who
has the capacity to suffer and enjoy, and has imagination enough to give
the same capacity to others, has within himself the natural basis of
all morality. The idea of morality was born here, in this world, of the
experience, the intelligence of mankind. Morality is not of supernatural
origin. It did not fall from the clouds, and it needs no belief in
the supernatural, no supernatural promises or threats, no supernatural
heavens or hells to give it force and life. Subjects who are governed
by the threats and promises of a king are merely slaves. They are not
governed by the ideal, by noble views of right and wrong. They are
obedient cowards, controlled by fear, or beggars governed by rewards--by
alms.
Right and wrong exist in the nature of things.
Murder was just as criminal before as after the promulgation of the Ten
Commandments.
_Eighth_.--Many of the clergy, some editors and some writers of
letters who have answered me, have said that suicide is the worst of
crimes--that a man had better murder somebody else than himself. One
clergyman gives as a reason for this statement that the suicide dies in
an act of sin, and therefore he had better kill another person. Probably
he would commit a less crime if he would murder his wife or mother.
I do not see that it is any worse to die than to live in sin. To say
that it is not as wicked to murder another as yourself seems absurd.
The man about to kill himself wishes to die. Why is it better for him to
kill another man, who wishes to live?
To my mind it seems clear that you had better injure yourself than
another. Better be a spendthrift than a thief. Better throw away your
own money than steal the money of another--better kill yourself if you
wish to die than murder one whose life is full of joy.
The clergy tell us that God is everywhere, and that it is one of the
greatest possible crimes to rush into his presence. It is wonderful
how much they know about God and how little about their fellow-men.
Wonderful the amount of their information about other worlds and how
limited their knowledge is of this.
There may or may not be an infinite Being. I neither affirm nor deny. I
am honest enough to say that I do not know. I am candid enough to admit
that the question is beyond the limitations of my mind. Yet I think I
know as much on that subject as any human being knows or ever knew, and
that is--nothing. I do not say that there is not another world, another
life; neither do I say that there is. I say that I do not know. It seems
to me that every sane and honest man must say the same. But if there is
an infinitely good God and another world, then the infinitely good
God will be just as good to us in that world as he is in this. If this
infinitely good God loves his children in this world, he will love them
in another. If he loves a man when he is alive, he will not hate him the
instant he is dead.
If we are the children of an infinitely wise and powerful God, he knew
exactly what we would do--the temptations that we could and could not
withstand--knew exactly the effect that everything would have upon us,
knew under what circumstances we would take our lives--and produced
such circumstances himself. It is perfectly apparent that there are many
people incapable by nature of bearing the burdens of life, incapable of
preserving their mental poise in stress and strain of disaster, disease
and loss, and who by failure, by misfortune and want, are driven to
despair and insanity, in whose darkened minds there comes like a flash
of lightning in the night, the thought of death, a thought so strong,
so vivid, that all fear is lost, all ties broken, all duties, all
obligations, all hopes forgotten, and naught remains except a fierce and
wild desire to die. Thousands and thousands become moody, melancholy,
brood upon loss of money, of position, of friends, until reason
abdicates and frenzy takes possession of the soul. If there be an
infinitely wise and powerful God, all this was known to him from the
beginning, and he so created things, established relations, put in
operation causes and effects, that all that has happened was the
necessary result of his own acts.
_Ninth_.--Nearly all who have tried to answer what I said have been
exceedingly careful to misquote me, and then answer something that I
never uttered. They have declared that I have advised people who were in
trouble, somewhat annoyed, to kill themselves; that I have told men who
have lost their money, who had failed in business, who were not good in
health, to kill themselves at once, without taking into consideration
any duty that they owed to wives, children, friends, or society.
No man has a right to leave his wife to fight the battle alone if he
is able to help. No man has a right to desert his children if he can
possibly be of use. As long as he can add to the comfort of those he
loves, as long as he can stand between wife and misery, between child
and want, as long as he can be of any use, it is his duty to remain.
I believe in the cheerful view, in looking at the sunny side of things,
in bearing with fortitude the evils of life, in struggling against
adversity, in finding the fuel of laughter even in disaster, in having
confidence in to-morrow, in finding the pearl of joy among the flints
and shards, and in changing by the alchemy of patience even evil things
to good. I believe in the gospel of cheerfulness, of courage and good
nature.
Of the future I have no fear. My fate is the fate of the world--of
all that live. My anxieties are about this life, this world. About the
phantoms called gods and their impossible hells, I have no care, no
fear.
The existence of God I neither affirm nor deny, I wait. The immortality
of the soul I neither affirm nor deny. I hope--hope for all of the
children of men. I have never denied the existence of another world, nor
the immortality of the soul. For many years I have said that the idea
of immortality, that like a sea has ebbed and flowed in the human heart,
with its countless waves of hope and fear beating against the shores and
rocks of time and fate, was not born of any book, nor of any creed, nor
of any religion. It was born of human affection, and it will continue to
ebb and flow beneath the mists and clouds of doubt and darkness as long
as love kisses the lips of death.
What I deny is the immortality of pain, the eternity of torture.
After all, the instinct of self-preservation is strong. People do not
kill themselves on the advice of friends or enemies. All wish to be
happy, to enjoy life; all wish for food and roof and raiment, for
friends, and as long as life gives joy, the idea of self-destruction
never enters the human mind.
The oppressors, the tyrants, those who trample on the rights of others,
the robbers of the poor, those who put wages below the living point, the
ministers who make people insane by preaching the dogma of eternal pain;
these are the men who drive the weak, the suffering and the helpless
down to death.
It will not do to say that God has appointed a time for each to die. Of
this there is, and there can be, no evidence. There is no evidence that
any god takes any interest in the affairs of men--that any sides with
the right or helps the weak, protects the innocent or rescues the
oppressed. Even the clergy admit that their God, through all ages, has
allowed his friends, his worshipers, to be imprisoned, tortured and
murdered by his enemies. Such is the protection of God. Billions of
prayers have been uttered; has one been answered? Who sends plague,
pestilence and famine? Who bids the earthquake devour and the volcano to
overwhelm?
_Tenth_.--Again, I say that it is wonderful to me that so many men, so
many women endure and carry their burdens to the natural end; that so
many, in spite of "age, ache and penury," guard with trembling hands the
spark of life; that prisoners for life toil and suffer to the last; that
the helpless wretches in poorhouses and asylums cling to life; that the
exiles in Siberia, loaded with chains, scarred with the knout, live
on; that the incurables, whose every breath is a pang, and for whom the
future has only pain, should fear the merciful touch and clasp of death.
It is but a few steps at most from the cradle to the grave; a short
journey. The suicide hastens, shortens the path, loses the afternoon,
the twilight, the dusk of life's day; loses what he does not want, what
he cannot bear. In the tempest of despair, in the blind fury of madness,
or in the calm of thought and choice, the beleaguered soul finds the
serenity of death.
Let us leave the dead where nature leaves them. We know nothing of any
realm that lies beyond the horizon of the known, beyond the end of life.
Let us be honest with ourselves and others. Let us pity the suffering,
the despairing, the men and women hunted and pursued by grief and shame,
by misery and want, by chance and fate until their only friend is death.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
SUICIDE A SIN.
* New York Journal, 1805. An Interview.
_Question_. Do you think that what you have written about suicide has
caused people to take their lives?
_Answer._ No, I do not. People do not kill themselves because of the
ideas of others. They are the victims of misfortune.
_Question_. What do you consider the chief cause of suicide?
_Answer._ There are many causes. Some individuals are crossed in love,
others are bankrupt in estate or reputation, still others are diseased
in body and frequently in mind. There are a thousand and one causes that
lead up to the final act.
_Question_. Do you consider that nationality plays a part in these
tragedies?
_Answer._ No, it is a question of individuals. There are those whose
sorrows are greater than they can bear. These sufferers seek the peace
of death.
_Question_. Do you, then, advise suicide?
_Answer._ No, I have never done so, but I have said, and still say, that
there are circumstances under which it is justifiable for a person to
take his life.
_Question_. What do you think of the law which prohibits
self-destruction?
_Answer._ That it is absurd and ridiculous. The other day a man was
tried before Judge Goff for having tried to kill himself. I think he
pleaded guilty, and the Judge, after speaking of the terrible crime of
the poor wretch, sentenced him to the penitentiary for two years.
This was an outrage; infamous in every way, and a disgrace to our
civilization.
_Question_. Do you believe that such a law will prevent the frequency of
suicides?
_Answer._ By no means. After this, persons in New York who have made up
their minds to commit suicide will see to it that they succeed.
_Question_. Have your opinions been in any way modified since your first
announcement of them?
_Answer._ No, I feel now as I have felt for many years. No one can
answer my articles on suicide, because no one can satisfactorily refute
them. Every man of sense knows that a person being devoured by a cancer
has the right to take morphine, and pass from agony to dreamless sleep.
So, too, there are circumstances under which a man has the right to end
his pain of mind.
_Question_. Have you seen in the papers that many who have killed
themselves have had on their persons some article of yours on suicide?
_Answer._ Yes, I have read such accounts, but I repeat that I do not
think these persons were led to kill themselves by reading the articles.
Many people who have killed themselves were found to have Bibles or
tracts in their pockets.
_Question_. How do you account for the presence of the latter?
_Answer._ The reason of this is that the theologians know nothing.
The pious imagine that their God has placed us here for some wise and
inscrutable purpose, and that he will call for us when he wants us. All
this is idiotic. When a man is of no use to himself or to others, when
his days and nights are filled with pain and sorrow, why should he
remain to endure them longer?
SUICIDE A SIN.
* New York Herald, 1897. An Interview.
COL. ROBERT G. INGERSOLL was seen at his house and asked if he had read
the Rev. Merle St. Croix Wright's sermon.
_Answer._ Yes. I have read the sermon, and also an interview had with
the reverend gentleman.
Long ago I gave my views about suicide, and I entertain the same views
still. Mr. Wright's sermon has stirred up quite a commotion among the
orthodox ministers. This commotion may always be expected when anything
sensible comes from a pulpit. Mr. Wright has mixed a little common
sense with his theology, and, of course this has displeased the truly
orthodox.
Sense is the bitterest foe that theology has. No system of supernatural
religion can outlive a good dose of real good sense. The orthodox
ministers take the ground that an infinite Being created man, put him
on the earth and determined his days. They say that God desires every
person to live until he, God, calls for his soul. They insist that
we are all on guard and must remain so until relieved by a higher
power--the superior officer.
The trouble with this doctrine is that it proves too much. It proves
that God kills every person who dies as we say, "according to nature."
It proves that we ought to say, "according to God." It proves that God
sends the earthquake, the cyclone, the pestilence, for the purpose of
killing people. It proves that all diseases and all accidents are his
messengers, and that all who do not kill themselves, die by the act,
and in accordance with the will of God. It also shows that when a man is
murdered, it is in harmony with, and a part of the divine plan. When God
created the man who was murdered, he knew that he would be murdered, and
when he made the man who committed the murder, he knew exactly what he
would do. So that the murder was the act of God.
Can it be said that God intended that thousands should die of famine and
that he, to accomplish his purpose, withheld the rain? Can we say that
he intended that thousands of innocent men should die in dungeons and on
scaffolds?
Is it possible that a man, "slowly being devoured by a cancer," whose
days and nights are filled with torture, who is useless to himself and
a burden to others, is carrying out the will of God? Does God enjoy
his agony? Is God thrilled by the music of his moans--the melody of his
shrieks?
This frightful doctrine makes God an infinite monster, and every human
being a slave; a victim. This doctrine is not only infamous but it is
idiotic. It makes God the only criminal in the universe.
Now, if we are governed by reason, if we use our senses and our minds,
and have courage enough to be honest; if we know a little of the world's
history, then we know--if we know anything--that man has taken his
chances, precisely the same as other animals. He has been destroyed
by heat and cold, by flood and fire, by storm and famine, by countless
diseases, by numberless accidents. By his intelligence, his cunning, his
strength, his foresight, he has managed to escape utter destruction. He
has defended himself. He has received no supernatural aid. Neither has
he been attacked by any supernatural power. Nothing has ever happened in
nature as the result of a purpose to benefit or injure the human race.
Consequently the question of the right or wrong of suicide is not in any
way affected by a supposed obligation to the Infinite.
All theological considerations must be thrown aside because we see and
know that the laws of life are the same for all living things--that when
the conditions are favorable, the living multiply and life lengthens,
and when the conditions are unfavorable, the living decrease and life
shortens. We have no evidence of any interference of any power superior
to nature. Taking into consideration the fact that all the duties and
obligations of man must be to his fellows, to sentient beings, here in
this world, and that he owes no duty and is under no obligation to any
phantoms of the air, then it is easy to determine whether a man under
certain circumstances has the right to end his life.
If he can be of no use to others--if he is of no use to himself--if
he is a burden to others--a curse to himself--why should he remain? By
ending his life he ends his sufferings and adds to the well-being
of others. He lessens misery and increases happiness. Under such
circumstances undoubtedly a man has the right to stop the pulse of pain
and woo the sleep that has no dream.
I do not think that the discussion of this question is of much
importance, but I am glad that a clergyman has taken a natural and a
sensible position, and that he has reasoned not like a minister, but
like a man.
When wisdom comes from the pulpit I am delighted and surprised. I feel
then that there is a little light in the East, possibly the dawn of a
better day.
I congratulate the Rev. Mr. Wright, and thank him for his brave and
philosophic words.
There is still another thing. Certainly a man has the right to avoid
death, to save himself from accident and disease. If he has this right,
then the theologians must admit that God, in making his decrees, took
into consideration the result of such actions. Now, if God knew that
while most men would avoid death, some would seek it, and if his decrees
were so made that they would harmonize with the acts of those who would
avoid death, can we say that he did not, in making his decrees, take
into consideration the acts of those who would seek death? Let us
remember that all actions, good, bad and indifferent, are the necessary
children of conditions--that there is no chance in the natural world in
which we live.
So, we must keep in mind that all real opinions are honest, and that all
have the same right to express their thoughts. Let us be charitable.
When some suffering wretch, wild with pain, crazed with regret, frenzied
with fear, with desperate hand unties the knot of life, let us have
pity--Let us be generous.
SUICIDE AND SANITY.
* New York Press, 1897. An Interview.
_Question_. Is a suicide necessarily insane? was the first question, to
which Colonel Ingersoll replied:
_Answer._ No. At the same time I believe that a great majority of
suicides are insane. There are circumstances under which suicide is
natural, sensible and right. When a man is of no use to himself, when he
can be of no use to others, when his life is filled with agony, when the
future has no promise of relief, then I think he has the right to cast
the burden of life away and seek the repose of death.
_Question_. Is a suicide necessarily a coward?
_Answer._ I cannot conceive of cowardice in connection with suicide. Of
nearly all things death is the most feared. And the man who voluntarily
enters the realm of death cannot properly be called a coward. Many men
who kill themselves forget the duties they owe to others--forget their
wives and children. Such men are heartless, wicked, brutal; but they are
not cowards.
_Question_. When is the suicide of the sane justifiable?
_Answer._ To escape death by torture; to avoid being devoured by a
cancer; to prevent being a burden on those you love; when you can be of
no use to others or to yourself; when life is unbearable; when in all
the horizon of the future there is no star of hope.
_Question_. Do you believe that any suicides have been caused or
encouraged by your declaration three years ago that suicide sometimes
was justifiable?
_Answer._ Many preachers talk as though I had inaugurated, invented,
suicide, as though no one who had not read my ideas on suicide had ever
taken his own life. Talk as long as language lasts, you cannot induce
a man to kill himself. The man who takes his own life does not go to
others to find reasons or excuses.
_Question_. On the whole is the world made better or worse by suicides?
_Answer._ Better by some and poorer by others.
_Question_. Why is it that Germany, said to be the most educated of
civilized nations, leads the world in suicides?
_Answer._ I do not know that Germany is the most educated; neither do I
know that suicide is more frequent there than in all other countries. I
know that the struggle for life is severe in Germany, that the laws
are unjust, that the government is oppressive, that the people are
sentimental, that they brood over their troubles and easily become
hopeless.
_Question_. If suicide is sometimes justifiable, is not killing of born
idiots and infants hopelessly handicapped at birth equally so?
_Answer._ There is no relation between the questions--between suicides
and killing idiots. Suicide may, under certain circumstances, be right
and killing idiots may be wrong; killing idiots may be right and suicide
may be wrong. When we look about us, when we read interviews with
preachers about Jonah, we know that all the idiots have not been killed.
_Question_. Should suicide be forbidden by law?
_Answer._ No. A law that provides for the punishment of those who
attempt to commit suicide is idiotic. Those who are willing to meet
death are not afraid of law. The only effect of such a law would be to
make the person who had concluded to kill himself a little more careful
to succeed.
_Question_. What is your belief about virtue, morality and religion?
_Answer._ I believe that all actions that tend to the well-being of
sentient beings are virtuous and moral. I believe that real religion
consists in doing good. I do not believe in phantoms. I believe in
the uniformity of nature; that matter will forever attract matter in
proportion to mass and distance; that, under the same circumstances,
falling bodies will attain the same speed, increasing in exact
proportion to distance; that light will always, under the same
circumstances, be reflected at the same angle; that it will always
travel with the same velocity; that air will forever be lighter than
water, and gold heavier than iron; that all substances will be true
to their natures; that a certain degree of heat will always expand the
metals and change water into steam; that a certain degree of cold will
cause the metals to shrink and change water into ice; that all atoms
will forever be in motion; that like causes will forever produce like
effects, that force will be overcome only by force; that no atom
of matter will ever be created or destroyed; that the energy in the
universe will forever remain the same, nothing lost, nothing gained;
that all that has been possible has happened, and that all that will be
possible will happen; that the seeds and causes of all thoughts, dreams,
fancies and actions, of all virtues and all vices, of all successes
and all failures, are in nature; that there is in the universe no power
superior to nature; that man is under no obligation to the imaginary
gods; that all his obligations and duties are to be discharged and done
in this world; that right and wrong do not depend on the will of an
infinite Being, but on the consequences of actions, and that these
consequences necessarily flow from the nature of things. I believe that
the universe is natural.
IS AVARICE TRIUMPHANT?
*A reply to General Rush Hawkins' article, "Brutality and
Avarice Triumphant," published in the North American Review,
June, 1891.
THERE are many people, in all countries, who seem to enjoy individual
and national decay. They love to prophesy the triumph of evil. They
mistake the afternoon of their own lives for the evening of the world.
To them everything has changed. Men are no longer honest or brave, and
women have ceased to be beautiful. They are dyspeptic, and it gives them
the greatest pleasure to say that the art of cooking has been lost.
For many generations many of these people occupied the pulpits. They
lifted the hand of warning whenever the human race took a step in
advance. As wealth increased, they declared that honesty and goodness
and self-denial and charity were vanishing from the earth. They doubted
the morality of well-dressed people--considered it impossible that the
prosperous should be pious. Like owls sitting on the limbs of a dead
tree, they hooted the obsequies of spring, believing it would come no
more.
There are some patriots who think it their duty to malign and slander
the land of their birth. They feel that they have a kind of Cassandra
mission, and they really seem to enjoy their work. They honestly believe
that every kind of crime is on the increase, that the courts are
all corrupt, that the legislators are bribed, that the witnesses are
suborned, that all holders of office are dishonest; and they feel like a
modern Marius sitting amid the ruins of all the virtues.
It is useless to endeavor to persuade these people that they are wrong.
They do not want arguments, because they will not heed them. They need
medicine. Their case is not for a philosopher, but for a physician.
General Hawkins is probably right when he says that some fraudulent
shoes, some useless muskets, and some worn-out vessels were sold to the
Government during the war; but we must remember that there were millions
and millions of as good shoes as art and honesty could make, millions of
the best muskets ever constructed, and hundreds of the most magnificent
ships ever built, sold to the Government during the same period. We must
not mistake an eddy for the main stream. We must also remember another
thing: there were millions of good, brave, and patriotic men to wear the
shoes, to use the muskets, and to man the ships.
So it is probably true that Congress was extravagant in land subsidies
voted to railroads; but that this legislation was secured by bribery
is preposterous. It was all done in the light of noon. There is not the
slightest evidence tending to show that the general policy of hastening
the construction of railways through the Territories of the United
States was corruptly adopted--not the slightest. At the same time,
it may be that some members of Congress were induced by personal
considerations to vote for such subsidies. As a matter of fact, the
policy was wise, and through the granting of the subsidies thousands
of miles of railways were built, and these railways have given to
civilization vast territories which otherwise would have remained
substantially useless to the world. Where at that time was a wilderness,
now are some of the most thriving cities in the United States--a
great, an industrious, and a happy population. The results have
justified the action of Congress.
It is also true that some railroads have been "wrecked" in the United
States, but most of these wrecks have been the result of competition. It
is the same with corporations as with individuals--the powerful combine
against the weak. In the world of commerce and business is the great
law of the survival of the strongest. Railroads are not eleemosynary
institutions. They have but little regard for the rights of one another.
Some fortunes have been made by the criminal "wrecking" of roads, but
even in the business of corporations honesty is the best policy, and the
companies that have acted in accordance with the highest standard, other
things being equal, have reaped the richest harvest.
Many railways were built in advance of a demand; they had to develop the
country through which they passed. While they waited for immigration,
interest accumulated; as a result foreclosure took place; then
reorganization. By that time the country had been populated; towns were
springing up along the line; increased business was the result. On the
new bonds and the new stock the company paid interest and dividends.
Then the ones who first invested and lost their money felt that they had
been defrauded.
So it is easy to say that certain men are guilty of crimes--easy
to indict the entire nation, and at the same time impossible to
substantiate one of the charges. Everyone who knows the history of
the Star-Route trials knows that nothing was established against the
defendants, knows that every effort was made by the Government to
convict them, and also knows that an unprejudiced jury of twelve men,
never suspected of being improperly influenced, after having heard
the entire case, pronounced the defendants not guilty. After this, of
course, any one can say, who knows nothing of the evidence and who cares
nothing for the facts, that the defendants were all guilty.
It may also be true that some settlers in the far West have taken timber
from the public lands, and it may be that it was a necessity. Our laws
and regulations were such that where a settler was entitled to take up a
certain amount of land he had to take it all in one place; he could not
take a certain number of acres on the plains and a certain number of
acres in the timber. The consequence was that when he settled upon
the land--the land that he could cultivate--he took the timber that he
needed from the Government land, and this has been called stealing. So I
suppose it may be said that the cattle stole the Government's grass and
possibly drank the Government's water.
It will also be admitted with pleasure that stock has been "watered" in
this country. And what is the crime or practice known as watering stock?
For instance, you have a railroad one hundred miles long, worth, we will
say, $3,000,000--able to pay interest on that sum at the rate of six per
cent. Now, we all know that the amount of stock issued has nothing to do
with the value of the thing represented by the stock. If there was
one share of stock representing this railroad, it would be worth three
million dollars, whether it said on its face it was one dollar or one
hundred dollars. If there were three million shares of stock issued on
this property, they would be worth one dollar apiece, and, no matter
whether it said on this stock that each share was a hundred dollars or a
thousand dollars, the share would be worth one dollar--no more, no less.
If any one wishes to find the value of stock, he should find the value
of the thing represented by the stock. It is perfectly clear that, if a
pie is worth one dollar, and you cut it into four pieces, each piece is
worth twenty-five cents; and if you cut it in a thousand pieces, you do
not increase the value of the pie.
If, then, you wish to find the value of a share of stock, find its
relation to the thing represented by all the stock.
It can also be safely admitted that trusts have been formed. The reason
is perfectly clear. Corporations are like individuals--they combine.
Unfortunate corporations become socialistic, anarchistic, and cry out
against the abuses of trusts. It is natural for corporations to defend
themselves--natural for them to stop ruinous competition by a profitable
pool; and when strong corporations combine, little corporations suffer.
It is with corporations as with fishes--the large eat the little; and it
may be that this will prove a public benefit in the end. When the large
corporations have taken possession of the little ones, it may be that
the Government will take possession of them--the Government being the
largest corporation of them all.
It is to be regretted that all houses are not fireproof; but certainly
no one imagines that the people of this country build houses for the
purpose of having them burned, or that they erect hotels having in view
the broiling of guests. Men act as they must; that is to say, according
to wants and necessities. In a new country the buildings are cheaper
than in an old one, money is scarcer, interest higher, and consequently
people build cheaply and take the risks of fire. They do not do this
on account of the Constitution of the United States, or the action of
political parties, or the general idea that man is entitled to be free.
In the hotels of Europe it may be that there is not as great danger of
fire as of famine.
The destruction of game and of the singing birds is to be greatly
regretted, not only in this country, but in all others. The people
of America have been too busy felling forests, ploughing fields, and
building houses, to cultivate, to the highest degree, the aesthetic side
of their natures. Nature has been somewhat ruthless with us. The storms
of winter breasted by the Western pioneer, the whirlwinds of summer,
have tended, it may be, to harden somewhat the sensibilities; in
consequence of which they have allowed their horses and cattle to bear
the rigors of the same climate.
It is also true that the seal-fisheries are being destroyed, in the
interest of the present, by those who care nothing for the future. All
these things are to be deprecated, are to be spoken against; but we
must not hint, provided we are lovers of the Republic, that such things
are caused by free institutions.
General Hawkins asserts that "Christianity has neither preached nor
practiced humanity towards animals," while at the same time "Sunday
school children by hundreds of thousands are taught what a terrible
thing it is to break the Sabbath;" that "museum trustees tremble with
pious horror at the suggestion of opening the doors leading to the
collections on that day," and that no protests have come "from lawmakers
or the Christian clergy." Few people will suspect me of going out of my
way to take care of Christianity or of the clergy. At the same time, I
can afford to state the truth. While there is not much in the Bible with
regard to practicing humanity toward animals, there is at least this:
"The merciful man is merciful to his beast." Of course, I am not
alluding now to the example set by Jehovah when he destroyed the cattle
of the Egyptians with hailstones and diseases on account of the sins of
their owners.
In regard to the treatment of animals Christians have been much like
other people.
So, hundreds of lawmakers have not only protested against cruelty to
animals, but enough have protested against it to secure the enactment of
laws making cruelty toward animals a crime. Henry Bergh, who did as much
good as any man who has lived in the nineteenth century, was seconded
in his efforts by many of the Christian clergy not only, but by hundreds
and thousands of professing Christians--probably millions. Let us be
honest.
It is true that the clergy are apt to lose the distinction between
offences and virtues, to regard the little as the important--that is to
say, to invert the pyramid.
It is true that the Indians have been badly treated. It is true that the
fringe of civilization has been composed of many low and cruel men. It
is true that the red man has been demoralized by the vices of the white.
It is a frightful fact that, when a superior race meets an inferior, the
inferior imitates only the vices of the superior, and the superior those
of the inferior. They exchange faults and failings. This is one of the
most terrible facts in the history of the human race.
Nothing can be said to justify our treatment of the Indians. There is,
however, this shadow of an excuse: In the old times, when we lived along
the Atlantic, it hardly occurred to our ancestors that they could ever
go beyond the Ohio; so the first treaty with the Indians drove them back
but a few miles. In a little while, through immigration, the white race
passed the line, and another treaty was made, forcing the Indians still
further west; yet the tide of immigration kept on, and in a little while
again the line was passed, the treaty violated. Another treaty was
made, pushing the Indians still farther toward the Pacific, across the
Illinois, across the Mississippi, across the Missouri, violating at
every step some treaty made; and each treaty born of the incapacity of
the white men who made it to foretell the growth of the Republic.
But the author of "Brutality and Avarice Triumphant" made a great
mistake when he selected the last thirty years of our national life as
the period within which the Americans have made a change of the national
motto appropriate, and asserted that now there should be in place of the
old motto the words, "Plundering Made Easy."
Most men believe in a sensible and manly patriotism. No one should be
blind to the defects in the laws and institutions of his country. He
should call attention to abuses, not for the purpose of bringing his
country into disrepute, but that the abuses may cease and the defects
be corrected. He should do what he can to make his country great,
prosperous, just, and free. But it is hardly fair to exaggerate the
faults of your country for the purpose of calling attention to your own
virtues, or to earn the praise of a nation that hates your own. This is
what might be called wallowing in the gutter of reform.
The thirty years chosen as the time in which we as a nation have passed
from virtue to the lowest depths of brutality and avarice are, in fact,
the most glorious years in the life of this or of any other nation.
In 1861 slavery was, in a legal sense at least, a national institution.
It was firmly imbedded in the Federal Constitution. The Fugitive Slave
Law was in full force and effect. In all the Southern and in nearly all
of the Northern States it was a crime to give food, shelter, or raiment
to a man or woman seeking liberty by flight. Humanity was illegal,
hospitality a misdemeanor, and charity a crime. Men and women were sold
like beasts. Mothers were robbed of their babes while they stood under
our flag. All the sacred relations of life were trampled beneath the
bloody feet of brutality and avarice. Besides, so firmly was slavery
fixed in law and creed, in statute and Scripture, that the tongues of
honest men were imprisoned. Those who spoke for the slave were mobbed by
Northern lovers of the "Union."
Now, it seems to me that those were the days when the motto could
properly have been, "Plundering Made Easy." Those were the days of
brutality, and the brutality was practiced to the end that we might make
money out of the unpaid labor of others.
It is not necessary to go into details as to the cause of the then
condition; it is enough to say that the whole nation, North and South,
was responsible. There were many years of compromise, and thousands of
statesmen, so-called, through conventions and platforms, did what they
could to preserve slavery and keep the Union. These efforts corrupted
politics, demoralized our statesmen, polluted our courts, and poisoned
our literature. The Websters, Bentons, and Clays mistook temporary
expedients for principles, and really thought that the progress of
the world could be stopped by the resolutions of a packed political
convention. Yet these men, mistaken as they really were, worked and
wrought unconsciously in the cause of human freedom. They believed that
the preservation of the Union was the one important thing, and that it
could not be preserved unless slavery was protected--unless the North
would be faithful to the bargain as written in the Constitution. For
the purpose of keeping the nation true to the Union and false to itself,
these men exerted every faculty and all their strength. They exhausted
their genius in showing that slavery was not, after all, very bad,
and that disunion was the most terrible calamity that could by any
possibility befall the nation, and that the Union, even at the price of
slavery, was the greatest possible blessing. They did not suspect that
slavery would finally strike the blow for disunion. But when the time
came and the South unsheathed the sword, the teachings of these men as
to the infinite value of the Union gave to our flag millions of brave
defenders.
Now, let us see what has been accomplished during the thirty years of
"Brutality and Avarice."
The Republic has been rebuilt and reunited, and we shall remain one
people for many centuries to come. The Mississippi is nature's protest
against disunion. The Constitution of the United States is now the
charter of human freedom, and all laws inconsistent with the idea that
all men are entitled to liberty have been repealed. The black man knows
that the Constitution is his shield, that the laws protect him, that our
flag is his, and the black mother feels that her babe belongs to her.
Where the slave-pen used to be you will find the schoolhouse. The dealer
in human flesh is now a teacher; instead of lacerating the back of a
child, he develops and illumines the mind of a pupil.
There is now freedom of speech. Men are allowed to utter their thoughts.
Lips are no longer sealed by mobs. Never before in the history of our
world has so much been done for education.
The amount of business done in a country on credit is the measure of
confidence, and confidence is based upon honesty. So it may truthfully
be said that, where a vast deal of business is done on credit, an
exceedingly large per cent. of the people are regarded as honest. In our
country a very large per cent. of contracts are faithfully fulfilled.
Probably there is no nation in the world where so much business is
done on credit as in the United States. The fact that the credit of the
Republic is second to that of no other nation on the globe would seem to
be at least an indication of a somewhat general diffusion of honesty.
The author of "Brutality and Avarice Triumphant" seems to be of the
opinion that our country was demoralized by the war. They who fight for
the right are not degraded--they are ennobled. When men face death and
march to the mouths of the guns for a principle, they grow great; and if
they come out of the conflict, they come with added moral grandeur; they
become better men, better citizens, and they love more intensely than
ever the great cause for the success of which they put their lives in
pawn.
The period of the Revolution produced great men. After the great victory
the sons of the heroes degenerated, and some of the greatest principles
involved in the Revolution were almost forgotten.
During the Civil war the North grew great and the South was educated.
Never before in the history of mankind was there such a period of moral
exaltation. The names that shed the brightest, the whitest light on
the pages of our history became famous then. Against the few who were
actuated by base and unworthy motives let us set the great army that
fought for the Republic, the millions who bared their breasts to
the storm, the hundreds and hundreds of thousands who did their duty
honestly, nobly, and went back to their wives and children with no
thought except to preserve the liberties of themselves and their
fellow-men.
Of course there were some men who did not do their duty--some men false
to themselves and to their country. No one expects to find sixty-five
millions of saints in America. A few years ago a lady complained to the
president of a Western railroad that a brakeman had spoken to her with
great rudeness. The president expressed his regret at the incident, and
said among other things: "Madam, you have no idea how difficult it is
for us to get gentlemen to fill all those places."
It is hardly to be expected that the American people should excel all
others in the arts, in poetry, and in fiction. We have been very busy
taking possession of the Republic. It is hard to overestimate the
courage, the industry, the self-denial it has required to fell the
forests, to subdue the fields, to construct the roads, and to build the
countless homes. What has been done is a certificate of the honesty and
industry of our people.
It is not true that "one of the unwritten mottoes of our business morals
seem to say in the plainest phraseology possible: 'Successful wrong is
right.'" Men in this country are not esteemed simply because they are
rich; inquiries are made as to how they made their money, as to how
they use it. The American people do not fall upon their knees before the
golden calf; the worst that can be said is that they think too much
of the gold of the calf--and this distinction is seen by the calves
themselves.
Nowhere in the world is honesty in business esteemed more highly than
here. There are millions of business men--merchants, bankers, and men
engaged in all trades and professions--to whom reputation is as dear as
life.
There is one thing in the article "Brutality and Avarice Triumphant"
that seems even more objectionable than the rest, and that is the
statement, or, rather, the insinuation, that all the crimes and the
shortcomings of the American people can be accounted for by the fact
that our Government is a Republic. We are told that not long ago a
French official complained to a friend that he was compelled to employ
twenty clerks to do the work done by four under the empire, and on being
asked the reason answered: "It is the Republic." He was told that, as
he was the head of the bureau, he could prevent the abuse, to which he
replied: "I know I have the power; but I have been in this position for
more than thirty years, and am now too old to learn another occupation,
and I _must_ make places for the friends of the deputies." And then it
is added by General Hawkins: "_And so it is here_."
It seems to me that it cannot be fairly urged that we have abused the
Indians because we contend that all men have equal rights before the
law, or because we insist that governments derive their just powers from
the consent of the governed. The probability is that a careful reading
of the history of the world will show that nations under the control of
kings and emperors have been guilty of some cruelty. To account for the
bad we do by the good we believe, is hardly logical. Our virtues should
not be made responsible for our vices.
Is it possible that free institutions tend to the demoralization of men?
Is a man dishonest because he is a man and maintains the rights of men?
In order to be a moral nation must we be controlled by king or emperor?
Is human liberty a mistake? Is it possible that a citizen of the great
Republic attacks the liberty of his fellow-citizens? Is he willing to
abdicate? Is he willing to admit that his rights are not equal to the
rights of others? Is he, for the sake of what he calls morality, willing
to become a serf, a servant or a slave?
Is it possible that "high character is impracticable" in this Republic?
Is this the experience of the author of "Brutality and Avarice
Triumphant"? Is it true that "intellectual achievement pays no
dividends"? Is it not a fact that America is to-day the best market in
the world for books, for music, and for art?
There is in our country no real foundation for these wide and sweeping
slanders. This, in my judgment, is the best Government, the best
country, in the world. The citizens of this Republic are, on the
average, better clothed and fed and educated than any other people. They
are fuller of life, more progressive, quicker to take advantage of
the forces of nature, than any other of the children of men. Here
the burdens of government are lightest, the responsibilities of the
individual greatest, and here, in my judgment, are to be worked out the
most important problems of social science.
Here in America is a finer sense of what is due from man to man than
you will find in other lands. We do not cringe to those whom chance has
crowned; we stand erect.
Our sympathies are strong and quick. Generosity is almost a national
failing. The hand of honest want is rarely left unfilled. Great
calamities open the hearts and hands of all.
Here you will find democracy in the family--republicanism by the
fireside. Say what you will, the family is apt to be patterned after the
government. If a king is at the head of the nation, the husband imagines
himself the monarch of the home. In this country we have carried into
the family the idea on which the Government is based. Here husbands and
wives are beginning to be equals.
The highest test of civilization is the treatment of women and children.
By this standard America stands first among nations.
There is a magnitude, a scope, a grandeur, about this country--an
amplitude--that satisfies the heart and the imagination. We have our
faults, we have our virtues, but our country is the best.
No American should ever write a line that can be sneeringly quoted by an
enemy of the great Republic.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
A REPLY TO THE CINCINNATI GAZETTE AND CATHOLIC TELEGRAPH.
* The Cincinnati Gazette, 1878. An Interview.
_Question_. Colonel, have you noticed the criticisms made on your
lectures by the _Cincinnati Gazette_ and the _Catholic Telegraph_?
_Answer._ I have read portions of the articles.
_Question_. What do you think of them?
_Answer._ Well, they are hardly of importance enough to form a distinct
subject of thought.
_Question_. Well, what do you think of the attempted argument of the
_Gazette_ against your lecture on Moses?
_Answer._ The writer endeavors to show that considering the ignorance
prevalent four thousand years ago, God did as well as one could
reasonably expect; that God at that time did not have the advantage
of telescope, microscope, and spectrum, and that for this reason a
few mistakes need not excite our special wonder. He also shows that,
although God was in favor of slavery he introduced some reforms; but
whether the reforms were intended to perpetuate slavery or to help the
slave is not stated. The article has nothing to do with my position. I
am perfectly willing to admit that there is a land called Egypt; that
the Jews were once slaves; that they got away and started a little
country of their own. All this may be true without proving that they
were miraculously fed in the wilderness, or that water ran up hill, or
that God went into partnership with hornets or snakes. There may have
been a man by the name of Moses without proving that sticks were turned
into snakes.
A while ago a missionary addressed a Sunday school. In the course of
his remarks he said that he had been to Mount Ararat, and had brought
a stone from the mountain. He requested the children to pass in line
before him so that they could all get a look at this wonderful stone.
After they had all seen it he said: "You will as you grow up meet people
who will deny that there ever was a flood, or that God saved Noah and
the animals in the ark, and then you can tell them that you know better,
because you saw a stone from the very mountain where the ark rested."
That is precisely the kind of argument used in the _Gazette_. The
article was written by some one who does not quite believe in the
inspiration of the Scriptures himself, and were it not for the fear of
hell, would probably say so.
I admit that there was such a man as Mohammed, such a city as Mecca,
such a general as Omar, but I do not admit that God made known his will
to Mohammed in any substantial manner. Of course the _Gazette_ would
answer all this by saying that Mohammed did exist, and that therefore
God must have talked with him. I admit that there was such a general
as Washington, but I do not admit that God kept him from being shot. I
admit that there is a portrait of the Virgin Mary in Rome, but I do not
admit that it shed tears. I admit that there was such a man as Moses,
but I do not admit that God hunted for him in a tavern to kill him. I
admit that there was such a priest as St. Denis, but I do not admit
that he carried his head in his hand, after it was cut off, and swam the
river, and put his head on again and eventually recovered. I admit
that the article appeared in the _Gazette_, but I do not admit that it
amounted to anything whatever.
_Question_. Did you notice what the _Catholic Telegraph_ said about your
lecture being ungrammatical?
_Answer._ Yes; I saw an extract from it. In the _Catholic Telegraph_
occurs the following: "The lecture was a failure as brilliant as
Ingersoll's flashes of ungrammatical rhetoric." After making this
statement with the hereditary arrogance of a priest, after finding fault
with my "ungrammatical rhetoric" he then writes the following sentence:
"It could not boast neither of novelty in argument or of attractive
language." After this, nothing should be noticed that this gentleman
says on the subject of grammar.
In this connection it may be proper for me to say that nothing is more
remarkable than the fact that Christianity destroys manners. With one
exception, no priest has ever written about me, so far as I know, except
in an arrogant and insolent manner. They seem utterly devoid of the
usual amenities of life. Every one who differs with them is vile,
ignorant and malicious. But, after all, what can you expect of a
gentleman who worships a God who will damn dimpled babes to an eternity
of fire, simply because they were not baptized.
_Question_. This Catholic writer says that the oldest page of history
and the newest page of science are nothing more than commentaries on the
Mosaic Record. He says the Cosmogony of Moses has been believed in, and
has been received as the highest truth by the very brightest names in
science. What do you think of that statement?
_Answer._ I think it is without the least foundation in fact, and is
substantially like the gentleman's theology, depending simply upon
persistent assertion.
I see he quotes Cuvier as great authority. Cuvier denied that the fossil
animals were in any way related to the animals now living, and believed
that God had frequently destroyed all life upon the earth and then
produced other forms. Agassiz was the last scientist of any standing who
ventured to throw a crumb of comfort to this idea.
_Question_. Do you mean to say that all the great living scientists
regard the Cosmogony of Moses as a myth?
_Answer._ I do. I say this: All men of science and men of sense look
upon the Mosaic account as a simple myth. Humboldt, who stands in the
same relation to science that Shakespeare did to the drama, held this
opinion. The same is held by the best minds in Germany, by Huxley,
Tyndall and Herbert Spencer in England, by John W. Draper and others
in the United States. Whoever agrees with Moses is some poor frightened
orthodox gentleman afraid of losing his soul or his salary, and as a
rule, both are exceedingly small.
_Question_. Some people say that you slander the Bible in saying that
God went into partnership with hornets, and declare that there is no
such passage in the Bible.
_Answer._ Well, let them read the twenty-eighth verse of the
twenty-third chapter of Exodus, "And I will send hornets before thee,
which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite and the Hittite from
before thee."
_Question_. Do you find in lecturing through the country that your ideas
are generally received with favor?
_Answer._ Astonishingly so. There are ten times as many freethinkers
as there were five years ago. In five years more we will be in the
majority.
_Question_. Is it true that the churches, as a general thing, make
strong efforts, as I have seen it stated, to prevent people from going
to hear you?
_Answer._ Yes; in many places ministers have advised their congregations
to keep away, telling them I was an exceedingly dangerous man. The
result has generally been a full house, and I have hardly ever failed to
publicly return my thanks to the clergy for acting as my advance agents.
_Question_. Do you ever meet Christian people who try to convert you?
_Answer._ Not often. But I do receive a great many anonymous letters,
threatening me with the wrath of God, and calling my attention to the
uncertainty of life and the certainty of damnation. These letters are
nearly all written in the ordinary Christian spirit; that is to say,
full of hatred and impertinence.
_Question_. Don't you think it remarkable that the _Telegraph_, a
Catholic paper, should quote with extravagant praise, an article from
such an orthodox sheet as the _Gazette_?
_Answer._ I do not. All the churches must make common cause. All
superstitions lead to Rome; all facts lead to science. In a few
years all the churches will be united. This will unite all forms of
liberalism. When that is done the days of superstition, of arrogance,
of theology, will be numbered. It is very laughable to see a Catholic
quoting scientific men in favor of Moses, when the same men would have
taken great pleasure in swearing that the Catholic Church was the
worst possible organization. That church should forever hold its peace.
Wherever it has had authority it has destroyed human liberty. It reduced
Italy to a hand organ, Spain to a guitar, Ireland to exile, Portugal to
contempt. Catholicism is the upas tree in whose shade the intellect of
man has withered. The recollection of the massacre of St. Bartholomew
should make a priest silent, and the recollection of the same massacre
should make a Protestant careful.
I can afford to be maligned by a priest, when the same party denounces
Garibaldi, the hero of Italy, as a "pet tiger" to Victor Emmanuel. I
could not afford to be praised by such a man. I thank him for his abuse.
_Question_. What do you think of the point that no one is able to judge
of these things unless he is a Hebrew scholar?
_Answer._ I do not think it is necessary to understand Hebrew to decide
as to the probability of springs gushing out of dead bones, or of
the dead getting out of their graves, or of the probability of ravens
keeping a hotel for wandering prophets. I hardly think it is necessary
even to be a Greek scholar to make up my mind as to whether devils
actually left a person and took refuge in the bodies of swine. Besides,
if the Bible is not properly translated, the circulation ought to stop
until the corrections are made. I am not accountable if God made a
revelation to me in a language that he knew I never would understand. If
he wishes to convey any information to my mind, he certainly should do
it in English before he eternally damns me for paying no attention to
it.
_Question_. Are not many of the contradictions in the Bible owing to
mistranslations?
_Answer._ No. Nearly all of the mistranslations have been made to help
out the text. It would be much worse, much more contradictory had it
been correctly translated. Nearly all of the _mistakes_, as Mr. Weller
would say, have been made for the purposes of harmony.
_Question_. How many errors do you suppose there are?
_Answer._ Well, I do not know. It has been reported that the American
Bible Society appointed a committee to hunt for errors, and the said
committee returned about twenty-four to twenty-five thousand. And
thereupon the leading men said, to correct so many errors will destroy
the confidence of the common people in the sacredness of the Scriptures.
Thereupon it was decided not to correct any. I saw it stated the other
day that a very prominent divine charged upon the Bible Society that
they knew they were publishing a book full of errors.
_Question_. What is your opinion of the Bible anyhow?
_Answer._ My first objection is, it is not true.
Second.--It is not inspired.
Third.--It upholds human slavery.
Fourth.--It sanctions concubinage.
Fifth.--It commands the most infamously cruel acts of war, such as the
utter destruction of old men and little children.
Sixth.--After killing fathers, mothers and brothers, it commands the
generals to divide the girls among the soldiers and priests. Beyond
this, infamy has never gone. If any God made this order I am opposed to
him.
Seventh.--It upholds human sacrifice, or, at least, seems to, from the
following:
"Notwithstanding no devoted thing that a man shall devote unto the Lord
of all that he hath, both of _man_ and _beast_, and of the field of his
possession, shall be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy
unto the Lord."
"None devoted, which shall be devoted, of men, shall be redeemed; but
shall surely be put to death." (Twenty-seventh Chapter of Leviticus,
28th and 29th verses.)
Eighth.--Its laws are absurd, and the punishments cruel and unjust.
Think of killing a man for making hair oil! Think of killing a man for
picking up sticks on Sunday!
Ninth.--It upholds polygamy.
Tenth.--It knows nothing of astronomy, nothing of geology, nothing of
any science whatever.
Eleventh.--It is opposed to religious liberty, and teaches a man to kill
his own wife if she differs with him on religion; that is to say, if he
is orthodox. There is no book in the world in which can be found so much
that is thoroughly despicable and infamous. Of course there are some
good passages, some good sentiments. But they are, at least in the Old
Testament, few and far between.
Twelfth.--It treats woman like a beast, and man like a slave. It fills
heaven with tyranny, and earth with hypocrisy and grief.
_Question_. Do you think any book inspired?
_Answer._ No. I do not think any book is inspired. But, if it had been
the intention of this God to give to man an inspired book, he should
have waited until Shakespeare's time, and used Shakespeare as the
instrument. Then there never would have been any doubt as to the
inspiration of the book. There is more beauty, more goodness, more
intelligence in Shakespeare than in all the sacred books of this world.
_Question_. What do you think as a freethinker of the Sunday question in
Cincinnati?
_Answer._ I think that it is a good thing to have a day of recreation, a
day of rest, a day of joy, not a day of dyspepsia and theology. I am
in favor of operas and theaters, music and happiness on Sunday. I am
opposed to all excesses on any day. If the clergy will take half
the pains to make the people intelligent that they do to make them
superstitious, the world will soon have advanced so far that it can
enjoy itself without excess. The ministers want Sunday for themselves.
They want everybody to come to church because they can go no where
else. It is like the story of a man coming home at three o'clock in the
morning, who, upon being asked by his wife how he could come at such a
time of night, replied, "The fact is, every other place is shut up." The
orthodox clergy know that their churches will remain empty if any other
place remains open. Do not forget to say that I mean orthodox churches,
orthodox clergy, because I have great respect for Unitarians and
Universalists.
AN INTERVIEW ON CHIEF JUSTICE COMEGYS.
* Brooklyn Eagle, 1881.
_Question_. I understand, Colonel Ingersoll, that you have been indicted
in the State of Delaware for the crime of blasphemy?
_Answer._ Well, not exactly indicted. The Judge, who, I believe, is the
Chief Justice of the State, dedicated the new court-house at Wilmington
to the service of the Lord, by a charge to the grand jury, in which he
almost commanded them to bring in a bill of indictment against me, for
what he was pleased to call the crime of blasphemy. Now, as a matter
of fact, there can be no crime committed by man against God, provided
always that a correct definition of the Deity has been given by
the orthodox churches. They say that he is infinite. If so, he is
conditionless. I can injure a man by changing his conditions. Take
from a man water, and he perishes of thirst; take from him air, and
he suffocates; he may die from too much, or too little heat. That is
because he is a conditioned being. But if God is conditionless,
he cannot in any way be affected by what anybody else may do; and,
consequently, a sin against God is as impossible as a sin against the
principle of the lever or inclined plane. This crime called blasphemy
was invented by priests for the purpose of defending doctrines not able
to take care of themselves. Blasphemy is a kind of breastwork behind
which hypocrisy has crouched for thousands of years. Injustice is the
only blasphemy that can be committed, and justice is the only true
worship. Man can sin against man, but not against God. But even if man
could sin against God, it has always struck me that an infinite being
would be entirely able to take care of himself without the assistance of
a Chief Justice. Men have always been violating the rights of men, under
the plea of defending the rights of God, and nothing, for ages, was so
perfectly delightful to the average Christian as to gratify his revenge,
and get God in his debt at the same time. Chief Justice Comegys has
taken this occasion to lay up for himself what he calls treasures in
heaven, and on the last great day he will probably rely on a certified
copy of this charge. The fact that he thinks the Lord needs help
satisfies me that in that particular neighborhood I am a little ahead.
The fact is, I never delivered but one lecture in Delaware. That
lecture, however, had been preceded by a Republican stump speech; and,
to tell you the truth, I imagine that the stump speech is what a Yankee
would call the heft of the offence. It is really hard for me to tell
whether I have blasphemed the Deity or the Democracy. Of course I have
no personal feeling whatever against the Judge. In fact he has done me
a favor. He has called the attention of the civilized world to certain
barbarian laws that disfigure and disgrace the statute books of most
of the States. These laws were passed when our honest ancestors were
burning witches, trading Quaker children to the Barbadoes for rum and
molasses, branding people upon the forehead, boring their tongues with
hot irons, putting one another in the pillory, and, generally, in the
name of God, making their neighbors as uncomfortable as possible. We
have outgrown these laws without repealing them. They are, as a matter
of fact, in most communities actually dead; but in some of the States,
like Delaware, I suppose they could be enforced, though there might be
trouble in selecting twelve men, even in Delaware, without getting one
man broad enough, sensible enough, and honest enough, to do justice. I
hardly think it would be possible in any State to select a jury in the
ordinary way that would convict any person charged with what is commonly
known as blasphemy.
All the so-called Christian churches have accused each other of being
blasphemers, in turn. The Catholics denounced the Presbyterians as
blasphemers, the Presbyterians denounced the Baptists; the Baptists, the
Presbyterians, and the Catholics all united in denouncing the Quakers,
and they all together denounced the Unitarians--called them blasphemers
because they did not acknowledge the divinity of Jesus Christ--the
Unitarians only insisting that three infinite beings were not necessary,
that one infinite being could do all the business, and that the other
two were absolutely useless. This was called blasphemy.
Then all the churches united to call the Universalists blasphemers.
I can remember when a Uni-versalist was regarded with a thousand times
more horror than an infidel is to-day. There is this strange thing about
the history of theology--nobody has ever been charged with blasphemy
who thought God bad. For instance, it never would have excited any
theological hatred if a man had insisted that God would finally damn
everybody. Nearly all heresy has consisted in making God better than the
majority in the churches thought him to be. The orthodox Christian never
will forgive the Univer-salist for saying that God is too good to damn
anybody eternally. Now, all these sects have charged each other with
blasphemy, without anyone of them knowing really what blasphemy is. I
suppose they have occasionally been honest, because they have mostly
been ignorant. It is said that Torquemada used to shed tears over the
agonies of his victims and that he recommended slow burning, not because
he wished to inflict pain, but because he really desired to give the
gentleman or lady he was burning a chance to repent of his or her sins,
and make his or her peace with God previous to becoming a cinder.
The root, foundation, germ and cause of nearly all religious persecution
is the idea that some certain belief is necessary to salvation. If
orthodox Christians are right in this idea, then persecution of all
heretics and infidels is a duty. If I have the right to defend my body
from attack, surely I should have a like right to defend my soul. Under
our laws I could kill any man who was endeavoring, for example, to take
the life of my child. How much more would I be justified in killing
any wretch who was endeavoring to convince my child of the truth of a
doctrine which, if believed, would result in the eternal damnation of
that child's soul?
If the Christian religion, as it is commonly understood, is true, no
infidel should be allowed to live; every heretic should be hunted
from the wide world as you would hunt a wild beast. They should not
be allowed to speak, they should not be allowed to poison the minds of
women and children; in other words, they should not be allowed to empty
heaven and fill hell. The reason I have liberty in this country is
because the Christians of this country do not believe their doctrine.
The passage from the Bible, "Go ye into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature," coupled with the assurance that, "Whosoever
believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and whoso believeth not shall
be damned," is the foundation of most religious persecution. Every
word in that passage has been fire and fagot, whip and sword, chain
and dungeon. That one passage has probably caused more agony among men,
women and children, than all the passages of all other books that
were ever printed. Now, this passage was not in the book of Mark when
originally written, but was put there many years after the gentleman who
evolved the book of Mark from his inner consciousness, had passed
away. It was put there by the church--that is to say, by hypocrisy and
priestly craft, to bind the consciences of men and force them to come
under ecclesiastical and spiritual power; and that passage has been
received and believed, and been made binding by law in most countries
ever since.
What would you think of a law compelling a man to admire Shakespeare, or
calling it blasphemy to laugh at Hamlet? Why is not a statute necessary
to uphold the reputation of Raphael or of Michael Angelo? Is it possible
that God cannot write a book good enough and great enough and grand
enough not to excite the laughter of his children? Is it possible that
he is compelled to have his literary reputation supported by the State
of Delaware?
There is another very strange thing about this business. Admitting that
the Bible is the work of God, it is not any more his work than are the
sun, the moon and the stars or the earth, and if for disbelieving this
Bible we are to be damned forever, we ought to be equally damned for
a mistake in geology or astronomy. The idea of allowing a man to go
to heaven who swears that the earth is flat, and damning a fellow who
thinks it is round, but who-has his honest doubts about Joshua, seems to
me to be perfectly absurd. It seems to me that in this view of it, it
is just as necessary to be right on the subject of the equator as on the
doctrine of infant baptism.
_Question_. What was in your judgment the motive of Judge Comegys? Is he
a personal enemy of yours? Have you ever met him? Have you any idea what
reason he had for attacking you?
_Answer._ I do not know the gentleman, personally. Outside of the
political reason I have intimated, I do not know why he attacked me. I
once delivered a lecture entitled "What must we do to be Saved?" in the
city of Wilmington, and in that lecture I proceeded to show, or at
least tried to show, that Matthew, Mark and Luke knew nothing about
Christianity, as it is understood in Delaware; and I also endeavored to
show that all men have an equal right to think, and that a man is only
under obligations to be honest with himself, and with all men, and that
he is not accountable for the amount of mind that he has been endowed
with--otherwise it might be Judge Comegys himself would be damned--but
that he is only accountable for the use he makes of what little mind
he has received. I held that the safest thing for every man was to be
absolutely honest, and to express his honest thought. After the delivery
of this lecture various ministers in Wilmington began replying, and
after the preaching of twenty or thirty sermons, not one of which,
considered as a reply, was a success, I presume it occurred to these
ministers that the shortest and easiest way would be to have me indicted
and imprisoned.
In this I entirely agree with them. It is the old and time-honored way.
I believe it is, as it always has been, easier to kill two infidels than
to answer one; and if Christianity expects to stem the tide that is
now slowly rising over the intellectual world, it must be done by brute
force, and by brute force alone. And it must be done pretty soon,
or they will not have the brute force. It is doubtful if they have a
majority of the civilized world on their side to-day. No heretic ever
would have been burned if he could have been answered. No theologian
ever called for the help of the law until his logic gave out.
I suppose Judge Comegys to be a Presbyterian. Where did he get his right
to be a Presbyterian? Where did he get his right to decide which creed
is the correct one? How did he dare to pit his little brain against the
word of God? He may say that his father was a Presbyterian. But what
was his grandfather? If he will only go back far enough he will, in all
probability, find that his ancestors were Catholics, and if he will go
back a little farther still, that they were barbarians; that at one time
they were naked, and had snakes tattooed on their bodies. What right
had they to change? Does he not perceive that had the savages passed the
same kind of laws that now exist in Delaware, they could have prevented
any change in belief? They would have had a whipping-post, too, and they
would have said: "Any gentleman found without snakes tattooed upon his
body shall be held guilty of blasphemy;" and all the ancestors of this
Judge, and of these ministers, would have said, Amen!
What right had the first Presbyterian to be a Presbyterian? He must have
been a blasphemer first. A small dose of pillory might have changed
his religion. Does this Judge think that Delaware is incapable of
any improvement in a religious point of view? Does he think that the
Presbyterians of Delaware are not only the best now, but that they will
forever be the best that God can make? Is there to be no advancement?
Has there been no advancement? Are the pillory and the whipping-post to
be used to prevent an excess of thought in the county of New Castle? Has
the county ever been troubled that way? Has this Judge ever had symptoms
of any such disease? Now, I want it understood that I like this Judge,
and my principal reason for liking him is that he is the last of his
race. He will be so inundated with the ridicule of mankind that no
other Chief Justice in Delaware, or anywhere else, will ever follow his
illustrious example. The next Judge will say: "So far as I am concerned,
the Lord may attend to his own business, and deal with infidels as he
may see proper." Thus great good has been accomplished by this Judge,
which shows, as Burns puts it, "that a pot can be boiled, even if the
devil tries to prevent it."
_Question_. How will this action of Delaware, in your opinion, affect
the other States?
_Answer._ Probably a few other States needed an example exactly of this
kind. New Jersey, in all probability, will say: "Delaware is perfectly
ridiculous," and yet, had Delaware waited awhile, New Jersey might have
done the same thing. Maryland will exclaim: "Did you ever see such a
fool!" And yet I was threatened in that State. The average American
citizen, taking into consideration the fact that we are blest, or
cursed, with about one hundred thousand preachers, and that these
preachers preach on the average one hundred thousand sermons a
week--some of which are heard clear through--will unquestionably hold
that a man who happens to differ with all these parsons, ought to have
and shall have the privilege of expressing his mind; and that the one
hundred thousand clergymen ought to be able to put down the one man who
happens to disagree with them, without calling on the army or navy to do
it, especially when it is taken into consideration that an infinite
God is already on their side. Under these circumstances, the average
American will say: "Let him talk, and let the hundred thousand preachers
answer him to their hearts' content." So that in my judgment the result
of the action of Delaware will be: First, to liberalize all other
States, and second, finally to liberalize Delaware itself. In many of
the States they have the same idiotic kind of laws as those found in
Delaware--with the exception of those blessed institutions for the
spread of the Gospel, known as the pillory and the whipping-post. There
is a law in Maine by which a man can be put into the penitentiary
for denying the providence of God, and the day of judgment. There are
similar laws in most of the New England States. One can be imprisoned in
Maryland for a like offence.
In North Carolina no man can hold office that has not a certain
religious belief; and so in several other of the Southern States.
In half the States of this Union, if my wife and children should be
murdered before my eyes, I would not be allowed in a court of justice
to tell who the murderer was. You see that, for hundreds of years,
Christianity has endeavored to put the brand of infamy on every
intellectual brow.
_Question_. I see that one objection to your lectures urged by Judge
Comegys on the grand jury is, that they tend to a breach of the
peace--to riot and bloodshed.
_Answer._ Yes; Judge Comegys seems to be afraid that people who love
their enemies will mob their friends. He is afraid that those disciples
who, when smitten on one cheek turn the other to be smitten also, will
get up a riot. He seems to imagine that good Christians feel called upon
to violate the commands of the Lord in defence of the Lord's reputation.
If Christianity produces people who cannot hear their doctrines
discussed without raising mobs, and shedding blood, the sooner it is
stopped being preached the better.
There is not the slightest danger of any infidel attacking a Christian
for His belief, and there never will be an infidel mob for such a
purpose. Christians can teach and preach their views to their hearts'
content. They can send all unbelievers to an eternal hell, if it gives
them the least pleasure, and they may bang their Bibles as long as their
fists last, but no infidel will be in danger of raising a riot to stop
them, or put them down by brute force, or even by an appeal to the
law, and I would advise Judge Comegys, if he wishes to compliment
Christianity, to change his language and say that he feared a breach of
the peace might be committed by the infidels--not by the Christians. He
may possibly have thought that it was my intention to attack his State.
But I can assure him, that if ever I start a warfare of that kind,
I shall take some State of my size. There is no glory to be won in
wringing the neck of a "Blue Hen!"
_Question_. I should judge, Colonel, that you are prejudiced against the
State of Delaware?
_Answer._ Not by any means. Oh, no! I know a great many splendid people
in Delaware, and since I have known more of their surroundings, my
admiration for them has increased. They are, on the whole, a very good
people in that State. I heard a story the other day: An old fellow in
Delaware has been for the last twenty or thirty years gathering peaches
there in their season--a kind of peach tramp. One day last fall, just as
the season closed, he was leaning sadly against a tree, "Boys!" said he,
"I'd like to come back to Delaware a hundred years from now." The boys
asked, "What for?" The old fellow replied: "Just to see how damned
little they'd get the baskets by that time." And it occurred to me that
people who insist that twenty-two quarts make a bushel, should be as
quiet as possible on the subject of blasphemy.
AN INTERVIEW ON CHIEF JUSTICE COMEGYS.
* Chicago Times, Feb. 14, 1881.
_Question_. Have you read Chief Justice Comegys' compliments to you
before the Delaware grand jury?
_Answer._ Yes, I have read his charge, in which he relies upon the law
passed in 1740. After reading his charge it seemed to me as though he
had died about the date of the law, had risen from the dead, and had
gone right on where he had left off. I presume he is a good man, but
compared with other men, is something like his State when compared with
other States.
A great many people will probably regard the charge of Judge Comegys
as unchristian, but I do not. I consider that the law of Delaware is in
exact accord with the Bible, and that the pillory, the whip-ping-post,
and the suppression of free speech are the natural fruit of the Old and
New Testament.
Delaware is right. Christianity can not succeed, can not exist, without
the protection of law. Take from orthodox Christianity the protection
of law, and all church property would be taxed like other property. The
Sabbath would be no longer a day devoted to superstition. Everyone
could express his honest thought upon every possible subject. Everyone,
notwithstanding his belief, could testify in a court of justice. In
other words, honesty would be on an equality with hypocrisy.
Science would stand on a level, so far as the law is concerned, with
superstition. Whenever this happens the end of orthodox Christianity
will be near.
By Christianity I do not mean charity, mercy, kindness, forgiveness. I
mean no natural virtue, because all the natural virtues existed and had
been practiced by hundreds and thousands of millions before Christ was
born. There certainly were some good men even in the days of Christ in
Jerusalem, before his death.
By Christianity I mean the ideas of redemption, atonement, a good man
dying for a bad man, and the bad man getting a receipt in full. By
Christianity I mean that system that insists that in the next world a
few will be forever happy, while the many will be eternally miserable.
Christianity, as I have explained it, must be protected, guarded, and
sustained by law. It was founded by the sword that is to say, by physical
force,--and must be preserved by like means.
In many of the States of the Union an infidel is not allowed to testify.
In the State of Delaware, if Alexander von Humboldt were living, he
could not be a witness, although he had more brains than the State of
Delaware has ever produced, or is likely to produce as long as the laws
of 1740 remain in force. Such men as Huxley, Tyndall and Haeckel could
be fined and imprisoned in the State of Delaware, and, in fact, in many
States of this Union.
Christianity, in order to defend itself, puts the brand of infamy on
the brow of honesty. Christianity marks with a letter "C," standing for
"convict" every brain that is great enough to discover the frauds. I
have no doubt that Judge Comegys is a good and sincere Christian. I
believe that he, in his charge, gives an exact reflection of the Jewish
Jehovah. I believe that every word he said was in exact accord with
the spirit of orthodox Christianity. Against this man personally I have
nothing to say. I know nothing of his character except as I gather it
from this charge, and after reading the charge I am forced simply to
say, Judge Comegys is a Christian.
It seems, however, that the grand jury dared to take no action,
notwithstanding they had been counseled to do so by the Judge. Although
the Judge had quoted to them the words of George I. of blessed memory;
although he had quoted to them the words of Lord Mansfield, who became
a Judge simply because of his hatred of the English colonists, simply
because he despised liberty in the new world; notwithstanding the fact
that I could have been punished with insult, with imprisonment, and with
stripes, and with every form of degradation; notwithstanding that only a
few years ago I could have been branded upon the forehead, bored through
the tongue, maimed and disfigured, still, such has been the advance even
in the State of Delaware, owing, it may be, in great part to the one
lecture delivered by me, that the grand jury absolutely refused to
indict me.
The grand jury satisfied themselves and their consciences simply by
making a report in which they declared that my lecture had "no parallel
in the habits of respectable vagabondism" that I was "an arch-blasphemer
and reviler of God and religion," and recommended that should I ever
attempt to lecture again I should be taught that in Delaware blasphemy
is a crime punishable by fine and imprisonment. I have no doubt that
every member of the grand jury signing this report was entirely honest;
that he acted in exact accord with what he understood to be the demand
of the Christian religion. I must admit that for Christians, the report
is exceedingly mild and gentle.
I have now in the house, letters that passed between certain bishops in
the fifteenth century, in which they discussed the propriety of cutting
out the tongues of heretics before they were burned. Some of the bishops
were in favor of and some against it. One argument for cutting out their
tongues which seemed to have settled the question was, that unless the
tongues of heretics were cut out they might scandalize the gentlemen
who were burning them, by blasphemous remarks during the fire. I would
commend these letters to Judge Comegys and the members of the grand
jury.
I want it distinctly understood that I have nothing against Judge
Comegys or the grand jury. They act as 'most anybody would, raised in
Delaware, in the shadow of the whipping-post and the pillory. We
must remember that Delaware was a slave State; that the Bible
became extremely dear to the people because it upheld that peculiar
institution. We must remember that the Bible was the block on which
mother and child stood for sale when they were separated by the
Christians of Delaware. The Bible was regarded as the title-pages to
slavery, and as the book of all books that gave the right to masters to
whip mothers and to sell children.
There are many offences now for which the punishment is whipping and
standing in the pillory; where persons are convicted of certain crimes
and sent to the penitentiary, and upon being discharged from the
penitentiary are furnished by the State with a dark jacket plainly
marked on the back with a large Roman "C," the letter to be of a light
color. This they are to wear for six months after being discharged,
and if they are found at any time without the dark jacket and the
illuminated "C" they are to be punished with twenty lashes upon the bare
back. The object, I presume, of this law, is to drive from the State all
the discharged convicts for the benefit of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and
Maryland--that is to say, other Christian communities. A cruel people
make cruel laws.
The objection I have to the whipping-post is that it is a punishment
which cannot be inflicted by a gentleman. The person who administers the
punishment must, of necessity, be fully as degraded as the person who
receives it. I am opposed to any kind of punishment that cannot be
administered by a gentleman. I am opposed to corporal punishment
everywhere. It should be taken from the asylums and penitentiaries, and
any man who would apply the lash to the naked back of another is beneath
the contempt of honest people.
_Question_. Have you seen that Henry Bergh has introduced in the New
York Legislature a bill providing for whipping as a punishment for
wife-beating?
_Answer._ The objection I have mentioned is fatal to Mr. Bergh's bill.
He will be able to get persons to beat wife-beaters, who, under the
same circumstances, would be wife-beaters themselves. If they are not
wife-beaters when they commence the business of beating others, they
soon will be. I think that wife-beating in great cities could be stopped
by putting all the wife-beaters at work at some government employment,
the value of the work, however, to go to the wives and children. The
trouble now is that most of the wife-beating is among the extremely
poor, so that the wife by informing against her husband, takes the last
crust out of her own mouth. If you substitute whipping or flogging for
the prison here, you will in the first place prevent thousands of wives
from informing, and in many cases, where the wife would inform, she
would afterward be murdered by the flogged brute. This brute would
naturally resort to the same means to reform his wife that the State
had resorted to for the purpose of reforming him. Flogging would beget
flogging. Mr. Bergh is a man of great kindness of heart. When he reads
that a wife has been beaten, he says the husband deserves to be beaten
himself. But if Mr. Bergh was to be the executioner, I imagine you could
not prove by the back of the man that the punishment had been inflicted.
Another good remedy for wife-beating is the abolition of the Catholic
Church. We should also do away with the idea that a marriage is a
sacrament, and that there is any God who is rendered happy by seeing a
husband and wife live together, although the husband gets most of his
earthly enjoyment from whipping his wife. No woman should live with
a man a moment after he has struck her. Just as the idea of liberty
enlarges, confidence in the whip and fist, in the kick and blow, will
diminish. Delaware occupies toward freethinkers precisely the same
position that a wife-beater does toward the wife. Delaware knows that
there are no reasons sufficient to uphold Christianity, consequently
these reasons are supplemented with the pillory and the whipping-post.
The whipping-post is considered one of God's arguments, and the pillory
is a kind of moral suasion, the use of which fills heaven with a kind
of holy and serene delight. I am opposed to the religion of brute force,
but all these frightful things have grown principally out of a belief in
eternal punishment and out of the further idea that a certain belief is
necessary to avoid eternal pain.
If Christianity is right, Delaware is right. If God will damn every body
forever simply for being intellectually honest, surely he ought to
allow the good people of Delaware to imprison the same gentleman for two
months. Of course there are thousands and thousands of good people in
Delaware, people who have been in other States, people who have listened
to Republican speeches, people who have read the works of scientists,
who hold the laws of 1740 in utter abhorrence; people who pity Judge
Comegys and who have a kind of sympathy for the grand jury.
You will see that at the last election Delaware lacked only six or seven
hundred of being a civilized State, and probably in 1884 will stand
redeemed and regenerated, with the laws of 1740 expunged from the
statute book. Delaware has not had the best of opportunities. You must
remember that it is next to New Jersey, which is quite an obstacle
in the path of progress. It is just beyond Maryland, which is another
obstacle. I heard the other day that God originally made oysters with
legs, and afterward took them off, knowing that the people of Delaware
would starve to death before they would run to catch anything. Judge
Comegys is the last judge who will make such a charge in the United
States. He has immortalized himself as the last mile-stone on that road.
He is the last of his race. No more can be born. Outside of this he
probably was a very clever man, and it may be, he does not believe
a word he utters. The probability is that he has underestimated the
intelligence of the people of Delaware. I am afraid to think that he is
entirely honest, for fear that I may underestimate him intellectually,
and overestimate him morally. Nothing could tempt me to do this man
injustice, though I could hardly add to the injury he has done himself.
He has called attention to laws that ought to be repealed, and to
lectures that ought to be repeated. I feel in my heart that he has done
me a great service, second only to that for which I am indebted to the
grand jury. Had the Judge known me personally he probably would have
said nothing. Should I have the misfortune to be arrested in his State
and sentenced to two months of solitary confinement, the Judge having
become acquainted with me during the trial, would probably insist on
spending most of his time in my cell. At the end of the two months he
would, I think, lay himself liable to the charge of blasphemy, providing
he had honor enough to express his honest thought. After all, it is
all a question of honesty. Every man is right. I cannot convince myself
there is any God who will ever damn a man for having been honest. This
gives me a certain hope for the Judge and the grand jury.
For two or three days I have been thinking what joy there must have been
in heaven when Jehovah heard that Delaware was on his side, and remarked
to the angels in the language of the late Adjt. Gen. Thomas: "The eyes
of all Delaware are upon you."
A REPLY TO REV. DRS. THOMAS AND LORIMER.
* Col. Ingersoll filled McVickor's Theatre again yesterday
afternoon, when he answered the question "What Must We Do to
Be Saved?" But before doing so he replied to the recent
criticisms of city clergymen on his "Talmagian Theology"--
Chicago Tribune, Nov. 27, 1882.
_Ladies and Gentlemen_:
WHEREVER I lecture, as a rule, some ministers think it their duty to
reply for the purpose of showing either that I am unfair, or that I am
blasphemous, or that I laugh. And laughing has always been considered
by theologians as a crime. Ministers have always said you will have no
respect for our ideas unless you are solemn. Solemnity is a condition
precedent to believing anything without evidence. And if you can only
get a man solemn enough, awed enough, he will believe anything.
In this city the Rev. Dr. Thomas has made a few remarks, and I may say
by way of preface that I have always held him in the highest esteem. He
struggles, according to his statement, with the problem of my sincerity,
and he about half concludes that I am not sincere. There is a little
of the minister left in Dr. Thomas. Ministers always account for a
difference of opinion by attacking the motive. Now, to him, it makes no
difference whether I am sincere or insincere; the question is, Can my
argument be answered? Suppose you could prove that the maker of the
multiplication table held mathematics in contempt; what of it? Ten times
ten would be a hundred still.
My sincerity has nothing to do with the force of the argument--not the
slightest. But this gentleman begins to suspect that I am doing what
I do for the sake of applause. What a commentary on the Christian
religion, that, after they have been preaching it for sixteen or
eighteen hundred years, a man attacks it for the sake of popularity--a
man attacks it for the purpose of winning applause! When I commenced to
speak upon this subject there was no appreciable applause; most of my
fellow-citizens differed with me; and I was denounced as though I had
been a wild beast. But I have lived to see the majority of the men and
women of intellect in the United States on my side; I have lived to see
the church deny her creed; I have lived to see ministers apologize in
public for what they preached; and a great and glorious work is going
on until, in a little while, you will not find one of them, unless it
is some old petrifaction of the red-stone period, who will admit that
he ever believed in the Trinity, in the Atonement, or in the doctrine of
Eternal Agony. The religion preached in the pulpits does not satisfy the
intellect of America, and if Dr. Thomas wishes to know why people go
to hear infidelity it is this: Because they are not satisfied with the
orthodox Christianity of the day. That is the reason. They are beginning
to hold it in contempt.
But this gentleman imagines that I am insincere because I attacked
certain doctrines of the Bible. I attacked the doctrine of eternal pain.
I hold it in infinite and utter abhorrence. And if there be a God in
this universe who made a hell; if there be a God in this universe who
denies to any human being the right of reformation, then that God is not
good, that God is not just, and the future of man is infinitely dark. I
despise that doctrine, and I have done what little I could to get that
horror from the cradle, that horror from the hearts of mothers, that
horror from the hearts of husbands and fathers, and sons, and brothers,
and sisters. It is a doctrine that turns to ashes all the humanities of
life and all the hopes of mankind. I despise it.
And the gentleman also charges that I am wanting in reverence. I admit
here to-day that I have no reverence for a falsehood. I do not care how
old it is, and I do not care who told it, whether the men were inspired
or not. I have no reverence for what I believe to be false, and in
determining what is false I go by my reason. And whenever another man
gives me an argument I examine it. If it is good I follow it. If it is
bad I throw it away. I have no reverence for any book that upholds human
slavery. I despise such a book. I have no reverence for any book that
upholds or palliates the infamous institution of polygamy. I have no
reverence for any book that tells a husband to kill his wife if she
differs with him upon the subject of religion. I have no reverence for
any book that defends wars of conquest and extermination. I have
no reverence for a God that orders his legions to slay the old and
helpless, and to whet the edge of the sword with the blood of mothers
and babes. I have no reverence for such a book; neither have I any
reverence for the author of that book. No matter whether he be God or
man, I have no reverence. I have no reverence for the miracles of the
Bible. I have no reverence for the story that God allowed bears to tear
children in pieces. I have no reverence for the miraculous, but I have
reverence for the truth, for justice, for charity, for humanity, for
intellectual liberty, and for human progress.
I have the right to do my own thinking. I am going to do it. I have
never met any minister that I thought had brain enough to think for
himself and for me too. I do my own. I have no reverence for barbarism,
no matter how ancient it may be, and no reverence for the savagery of
the Old Testament; no reverence for the malice of the New. And let me
tell you here to-night that the Old Testament is a thousand times better
than the New. The Old Testament threatened no vengeance beyond the
grave. God was satisfied when his enemy was? dead. It was reserved for
the New Testament--it was reserved for universal benevolence--to rend
the veil between time and eternity and fix the horrified gaze of man
upon the abyss of hell. The New Testament is just as much worse than the
Old, as hell is worse than sleep. And yet it is the fashion to say that
the Old Testament is bad and that the New Testament is good. I have no
reverence for any book that teaches a doctrine contrary to my reason;
no reverence for any book that teaches a doctrine contrary to my heart;
and, no matter how old it is, no matter how many have believed it, no
matter how many have died on account of it, no matter how many live for
it, I have no reverence for that book, and I am glad of it.
Dr. Thomas seems to think that I should approach these things with
infinite care, that I should not attack slavery, or polygamy,
or religious persecution, but that I should "mildly
suggest"--mildly,--should not hurt anybody's feelings. When I go to
church the ministers tell me I am going to hell. When I meet one I tell
him, "There is no hell," and he says: "What do you want to hurt our
feelings for?" He wishes me mildly to suggest that the sun and moon did
not stop, that may be the bears only frightened the children, and that,
after all, Lot's wife was only scared. Why, there was a minister in this
city of Chicago who imagined that his congregation were progressive,
and, in his pulpit, he said that he did not believe the story of Lot's
wife--said that he did not think that any sensible man would believe
that a woman was changed into salt; and they tried him, and the
congregation thought he was entirely too fresh. And finally he went
before that church and admitted that he was mistaken, and owned up to
the chloride of sodium, and said: "I not only take the Bible _cum grano
salis_, but with a whole barrelful."
My doctrine is, if you do not believe a thing, say so, say so; no need
of going away around the bush and suggesting may be, perhaps, possibly,
peradventure. That is the ministerial way, but I do not like it.
I am also charged with making an onslaught upon the good as well as the
bad. I say here today that never in my life have I said one word against
honesty, one word against liberty, one word against charity, one word
against any institution that is good. I attack the bad, not the good,
and I would like to have some minister point out in some lecture or
speech that I have delivered, one word against the good, against the
highest happiness of the human race.
I have said all I was able to say in favor of justice, in favor of
liberty, in favor of home, in favor of wife and children, in favor of
progress, and in favor of universal kindness; but not one word in favor
of the bad, and I never expect to.
Dr. Thomas also attacks my statement that the brain thinks in spite of
us.
Doesn't it? Can any man tell what he is going to think to-morrow? You
see, you hear, you taste, you feel, you smell--these are the avenues by
which Nature approaches the brain, the consequence of this is thought,
and you cannot by any possibility help thinking.
Neither can you determine what you will think. These impressions are
made independently of your will. "But," says this reverend doctor,
"Whence comes this conception of space?" I can tell him. There is such
a thing as matter. We conceive that matter occupies room--space--and,
in our minds, space is simply the opposite of matter. And it comes
naturally--not supernaturally.
Does the gentleman contend there had to be a revelation of God for us to
conceive of a place where there is nothing? We know there is something.
We can think of the opposite of something, and therefore we say space.
"But," says this gentleman, "Where do we get the idea of good and bad?"
I can tell him; no trouble about that. Every man has the capacity to
enjoy and the capacity to suffer--every man. Whenever a man enjoys
himself he calls that good; whenever he suffers he calls that bad.
The animals that are useful to him he calls good; the poisonous, the
hurtful, he calls bad. The vegetables that he can eat and use he calls
good; those that are of no use except to choke the growth of the good
ones, he calls bad. When the sun shines, when everything in nature is
out that ministers to him, he says "this is good;" when the storm comes
and blows down his hut, when the frost comes and lays down his crop,
he says "this is bad." And all phenomena that affect men well he calls
good; all that affect him ill he calls bad.
Now, then, the foundation of the idea of right and wrong is the effect
in nature that we are capable of enjoying or capable of suffering. That
is the foundation of conscience; and if man could not suffer, if man
could not enjoy, we never would have dreamed of the word conscience; and
the words right and wrong never could have passed human lips. There are
no supernatural fields. We get our ideas from experience--some of them
from our forefathers, many from experience. A man works--food does not
come of itself. A man works to raise it, and, after he has worked in
the sun and heat, do you think it is necessary that he should have a
revelation from heaven before he thinks that he has a better right to it
than the man who did not work? And yet, according to these gentlemen,
we never would have known it was wrong to steal had not the Ten
Commandments been given from Mount Sinai.
You go into a savage country where they never heard of the Bible, and
let a man hunt all day for game, and finally get one little bird, and
the hungry man that staid at home endeavor to take it from him, and you
would see whether he would need a direct revelation from God in order
to make up his mind who had the better right to that bird. Our ideas of
right and wrong are born of our surroundings, and if a man will think
for a moment he will see it. But they deny that the mind thinks in spite
of us. I heard a story of a man who said, "No man can think of one thing
a minute, he will think of something else." Well, there was a little
Methodist preacher. He said he could think of a thing a minute--that he
could say the Lord's Prayer and never think of another thing. "Well,"
said the man, "I'll tell you what I will do. There is the best
road-horse in the country. I will give you that horse if you will just
say the Lord's Prayer, and not think of another thing." And the little
fellow shut up his eyes: "Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be
thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done--I suppose you will throw
in the saddle and bridle?"
I have always insisted, and I shall always insist, until I find some
fact in Nature correcting the statement, that Nature sows the seeds of
thought--that every brain is a kind of field where the seeds are sown,
and that some are very poor, and some are very barren, and some are very
rich. That is my opinion.
Again he asks: "If one is not responsible for his thought, why is any
one blamed for thinking as he does?" It is not a question of blame, it
is a question of who is right--a question of who is wrong. Admit that
every one thinks exactly as he must, that does not show that his thought
is right; that does not show that his thought is the highest thought.
Admit that every piece of land in the world produces what it must; that
does not prove that the land covered with barren rocks and a little moss
is just as good as the land covered with wheat or corn; neither does it
prove that the mind has to act as the wheat or the corn; neither does it
prove that the land had any choice as to what it would produce. I hold
men responsible not for their thoughts; I hold men responsible for their
actions. And I have said a thousand times: Physical liberty is this--the
right to do anything that does not interfere with another--in other
words, to act right; and intellectual liberty is this--the right to
think right, and the right to think wrong, provided you do your best to
think right. I have always said it, and I expect to say it always.
The reverend gentleman is also afflicted with the gradual theory. I
believe in that theory.
If you will leave out inspiration, if you will leave out the direct
interference of an infinite God, the gradual theory is right. It is a
theory of evolution.
I admit that astronomy has been born of astrology, that chemistry came
from the black art; and I also contend that religion will be lost in
science. I believe in evolution. I believe in the budding of the seed,
the shining of the sun, the dropping of the rain; I believe in the
spreading and the growing; and that is as true in every other department
of the world as it is in vegetation. I believe it; but that does not
account for the Bible doctrine. We are told we have a book absolutely
inspired, and it will not do to say God gradually grows. If he is
infinite now, he knows as much as he ever will. If he has been always
infinite, he knew as much at the time he wrote the Bible as he knows
to-day; and, consequently, whatever he said then must be as true now
as it was then. You see they mix up now a little bit of philosophy with
religion--a little bit of science with the shreds and patches of the
supernatural.
Hear this: I said in my lecture the other day that all the clergymen in
the world could not get one drop of rain out of the sky. I insist on it.
All the prayers on earth cannot produce one drop of rain. I also said
all the clergymen of the world could not save one human life. They tried
it last year. They tried it in the United States. The Christian world
upon its knees implored God to save one life, and the man died. The man
died! Had the man recovered the whole church would have claimed that it
was in answer to prayer. The man having died, what does the church say
now? What is the answer to this? The Rev. Dr. Thomas says: "There is
prayer and there is rain." Good. "Can he that is himself or any one else
say there is no possible relation between one and the other?" I do. Let
us put it another way. There is rain and there is infidelity; can any
one say there is no possible relation between the two? How does Dr.
Thomas know that he is not indebted to me for this year's crops? And yet
this gentleman really throws out the idea that there is some possible
relation between prayer and rain, between rain and health; and he tells
us that he would have died twenty-five years ago had it not been for
prayer. I doubt it. Prayer is not a medicine. Life depends upon certain
facts--not upon prayer. All the prayer in the world cannot take the
place of the circulation of the blood. All the prayer in the world is
no substitute for digestion. All the prayer in the world cannot take the
place of food; and whenever a man lives by prayer you will find that he
eats considerable besides. It will not do. Again: This reverend Doctor
says: "Shall we say that all the love of the unseen world"--how does he
know there is any love in the unseen world? "and the love of God"--how
does he know there is any love in God? "heed not the cries and tears of
earth?"
I do not know; but let the gentleman read the history of religious
persecution. Let him read the history of those who were put in dungeons,
of those who lifted their chained hands to God and mingled prayer with
the clank of fetters; men that were in the dungeons simply for loving
this God, simply for worshiping this God. And what did God do? Nothing.
The chains remained upon the limbs of his worshipers. They remained in
the dungeons built by theology, by malice, and hatred; and what did God
do? Nothing. Thousands of men were taken from their homes, fagots were
piled around their bodies; they were consumed to ashes, and what did
God do? Nothing. The sword of extermination was unsheathed, hundreds and
thousands of men, women and children perished. Women lifted their hands
to God and implored him to protect their children, their daughters; and
what did God do?
Nothing. Whole races were enslaved, and the cruel lash was put upon the
naked back of toil. What did God do? Nothing. Children were sold from
the arms of mothers. All the sweet humanities of life were trodden
beneath the brutal foot of creed; and what did God do? Nothing. Human
beings, his children, were tracked through swamps by bloodhounds; and
what did God do? Nothing. Wild storms sweep over the earth and the
shipwrecked go down in the billows; and what does God do? Nothing. There
come plague and pestilence and famine. What does God do? Thousands
and thousands perish. Little children die upon the withered breasts of
mothers; and what does God do? Nothing.
What evidence has Dr. Thomas that the cries and tears of man have ever
touched the heart of God? Let us be honest. I appeal to the history
of the world; I appeal to the tears, and blood, and agony, and
imprisonment, and death of hundreds and millions of the bravest and
best. Have they ever touched the heart of the Infinite? Has the hand of
help ever been reached from heaven? I do not know; but I do not believe
it.
Dr. Thomas tells me that is orthodox Christianity. What right has he
to tell what is orthodox Christianity? He is a heretic. He had too much
brain to remain in the Methodist pulpit. He had a doubt--and a doubt is
born of an idea. And his doctrine has been declared by his own church
to be unorthodox. They have passed on his case and they have found him
unconstitutional. What right has he to state what is orthodox? And here
is what he says: "Christianity"--orthodox Christianity I suppose
he means--"teaches, concerning the future world, that rewards and
punishments are carried over from time to eternity; that the principles
of the government of God are the same there as here; that character, and
not profession determines destiny; and that Humboldt, and Dickens, and
all others who have gone and shall go to that world shall receive their
just rewards; that souls will always be in the place in which for the
time, be it now or a million years hence, they are fitted. That is what
Christianity teaches."
If it does, never will I have another word to say against Christianity.
It never has taught it. Christianity--orthodox Christianity--teaches
that when you draw your last breath you have lost the last opportunity
for reformation. Christianity teaches that this little world is the
eternal line between time and eternity, and if you do not get religion
in this life, you will be eternally damned in the next. That is
Christianity. They say: "Now is the accepted time." If you put it off
until you die, that is too late; and the doctrine of the Christian world
is that there is no opportunity for reformation in another world. The
doctrine of orthodox Christianity is that you must believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ here in this life, and it will not do to believe on him in
the next world. You must believe on him here and that if you fail here,
God in his infinite wisdom will never give you another chance. That
is orthodox Christianity; and according to orthodox Christianity, the
greatest, the best and the sublimest of the world are now in hell. And
why is it that they say it is not orthodox Christianity? I have made
them ashamed of their doctrine. When I called to their attention the
fact that such men as Darwin, such men as Emerson, Dickens, Longfellow,
Laplace, Shakespeare, and Humboldt, were in hell, it struck them all at
once that the company in heaven would not be very interesting with such
men left out.
And now they begin to say: "We think the Lord will give those men
another chance." I have succeeded in my mission beyond my most sanguine
expectations. I have made orthodox ministers deny their creeds; I have
made them ashamed of their doctrine--and that is glory enough. They will
let me in, a few years after I am dead. I admit that the doctrine that
God will treat us as we treat others--I admit that is taught by Matthew,
Mark, and Luke; but it is not taught by the Orthodox church. I want that
understood. I admit also that Dr. Thomas is not orthodox, and that he
was driven out of the church because he thought God too good to damn
men forever without giving them the slightest chance. Why, the Catholic
Church is a thousand times better than your Protestant Church upon that
question. The Catholic Church believes in purgatory--that is, a place
where a fellow can get a chance to make a motion for a new trial.
Dr. Thomas, all I ask of you is to tell all that you think. Tell
your congregation whether you believe the Bible was written by divine
inspiration. Have the courage and the grandeur to tell your people
whether, in your judgment, God ever upheld slavery.
Do not shrink. Do not shirk. Tell your people whether God ever upheld
polygamy. Do not shrink. Tell them whether God was ever in favor of
religious persecution. Stand right to it. Then tell your people whether
you honestly believe that a good man can suffer for a bad one and the
bad one get the credit. Be honor bright. Tell what you really think
and there will not be as much difference between you and myself as you
imagine.
The next gentleman, I believe, is the Rev. Dr. Lorimer. He comes to the
rescue, and I have an idea of his mental capacity from the fact that he
is a Baptist. He believes that the infinite God has a choice as to the
manner in which a man or babe shall be dampened. This gentleman
regards modern infidelity as "pitifully shallow" as to its intellectual
conceptions and as to its philosophical views of the universe and of
the problems regarding man's place in it and of his destiny. "Pitifully
shallow!"
What is the modern conception of the universe? The modern conception
is that the universe always has been and forever will be. The modern
conception of the universe is that it embraces within its infinite arms
all matter, all spirit, all forms of force, all that is, all that has
been, all that can be. That is the modern conception of this universe.
And this is called "pitiful."
What is the Christian conception? It is that all the matter in the
universe is dead, inert, and that back of it is a Jewish Jehovah who
made it, and who is now engaged in managing the affairs of this world.
And they even go so far as to say that that Being made experiments in
which he signally failed. That Being made man and woman and put them in
a garden and allowed them to become totally depraved. That Being of
infinite wisdom made hundreds and millions of people when he knew he
would have to drown them. That Being peopled a planet like this with
men, women and children, knowing that he would have to consign most of
them to eternal fire. That is a pitiful conception of the universe. That
is an infamous conception of the universe. Give me rather the conception
of Spinoza, the conception of Humboldt, of Darwin, of Huxley, of Tyndall
and of every other man who has thought. I love to think of the whole
universe together as one eternal fact. I love to think that everything
is alive; that crystallization is itself a step toward joy. I love to
think that when a bud bursts into blossom it feels a thrill. I love to
have the universe full of feeling and full of joy, and not full of
simple dead, inert matter, managed by an old bachelor for all eternity.
Another thing to which this gentleman objects is that I propose
to banish such awful thoughts as the mystery of our origin and our
relations to the present and to the possible future from human thought.
I have never said so. Never. I have said, One world at a time. Why? Do
not make yourself miserable about another. Why? Because I do not know
anything about it, and it may be good. So do not worry. That is all. Y
or do not know where you are going to land. It may be the happy port of
heaven. Wait until you get there. It will be time enough to make trouble
then. This is what I have said. I have said that the golden bridge of
life from gloom emerges, and on shadow rests. I do not know. I admit it.
Life is a shadowy strange and winding road on which we travel for a few
short steps, just a little way from the cradle with its lullaby of love,
to the low and quiet wayside inn where all at last must sleep, and where
the only salutation is "Good-Night!" Whether there is a good morning I
do not know, but I am willing to wait.
Let us think these high and splendid thoughts. Let us build palaces for
the future, but do not let us spend time making dungeons for men who
happen to differ from us. I am willing to take the conceptions of
Humboldt and Darwin, of Haeckel and Spinoza, and I am willing to compare
their splendid conceptions with the doctrine embraced in the Baptist
creed. This gentleman has his ideas upon a variety of questions, and he
tells me that, "No one has a right to say that Dickens, Longfellow, and
Darwin are castaways!" Why not? They were not Christians. They did
not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They did not believe in the
inspiration of the Scriptures. And, if orthodox religion be true, they
are castaways. But he says: "No one has the right to say that orthodoxy
condemns to perdition any man who has struggled toward the right, and
who has tried to bless the earth he is raised on." That is what I say,
but that is not what orthodoxy says. Orthodoxy says that the best man
in the world, if he fails to believe in the existence of God, or in the
divinity of Christ, will be eternally lost. Does it not say it? Is there
an orthodox minister in this town now who will stand up and say that an
honest atheist can be saved? He will not. Let any preacher say it, and
he will be tried for heresy.
I will tell you what orthodoxy is. A man goes to the day of judgment,
and they cross-examine him, and they say to him:
"Did you believe the Bible?"
"No."
"Did you belong to the church?"
"No."
"Did you take care of your wife and children?"
"Yes?"
"Pay your debts?"
"Yes."
"Love your country?"
"Yes."
"Love the whole world?"
"Yes."
"Never made anybody unhappy?"
"Not that I know of. If there is any man or woman that I ever wronged
let them stand up and say so. That is the kind of man I am; but," said
he, "I did not believe the Bible. I did not believe in the divinity
of Jesus Christ, and, to tell you the truth, I did not believe in the
existence of God. I now find I was mistaken; but that was my doctrine."
Now, I want to know what, according to the orthodox church, is done with
that man?
He is sent to hell.
That is their doctrine.
Then the next fellow comes. He says:
"Where did you come from?"
And he looks off kind of stiffly, with his head on one side and he says:
"I came from the gallows. I was just hung."
"What were you hung for?"
"Murdering my wife. She wasn't a Christian either, she got left. The day
I was hung I was washed in the blood of the Lamb."
That is Christianity. And they say to him: "Come in! Let the band play!"
That is orthodox Christianity. Every man that is hanged--there is a
minister there, and the minister tells him he is all right. All he has
to do is just to believe on the Lord.
Another objection this gentleman has, and that is that I am scurrilous.
Scurrilous! And the gentleman, in order to show that he is not
scurrilous, calls infidels, "donkeys, serpents, buzzards." That is
simply to show that he is not scurrilous.
Dr. Lorimer is also of the opinion that the mind thinks independently of
the will; and I propose to prove by him that it does. He is the last
man in the world to controvert that doctrine--the last man. In spite of
himself his mind absorbed the sermon of another man, and he repeated it
as his own. I am satisfied he is an honest man; consequently his mind
acted independently of his will, and he furnishes the strongest evidence
in favor of my position that it is possible to conceive. I am infinitely
obliged to him for the testimony he has unconsciously offered.
He also takes the ground that infidelity debases a man and renders him
unfit for the discharge of the highest duties pertaining to life, and
that we show the greatest shallowness when we endeavor to overthrow
Calvinism. What is Calvinism? It is the doctrine that an infinite God
made millions of people, knowing that they would be damned. I have
answered that a thousand times. I answer it again. No God has a right to
make a mistake, and then damn the mistake. No God has a right to make
a failure, and a man who is to be eternally damned is not a conspicuous
success. No God has a right to make an investment that will not finally
pay a dividend.
The world is getting better, and the ministers, all your life and all
mine, have been crying out from the pulpit that we are all going wrong,
that immorality was stalking through the land, that crime was about to
engulf the world, and yet, in spite of all their prophecies, the world
has steadily grown better, and there is more justice, more charity, more
kindness, more goodness, and more liberty in the world to-day than
ever before. And there is more infidelity in the world to-day than ever
before.
A REPLY TO REV. JOHN HALL AND WARNER VAN NORDEN.
* The attention of the Morning Advertiser readers was, in the
issue of February 27th, called to two sets of facts
transpiring contemporaneously in this city. One was the
starving condition of four hundred cloakmakers who had
struck because they could not live on reduced wages.
Arbitration had failed; two hundred of the number, seeing
starvation staring them in the face, were forced to give up
the fight, and the remaining number continued to do battle
for higher wages
While these cloakmakers were in the extremity of
destitution, millionaires were engaged in subscribing to a
fund "for the extension of the church." The extension
committee, received at the home of Jay Gould, had met with
such signal success as to cause comment throughout the city.
The host subscribed ten thousand dollars, his daughter
twenty-five hundred and the assembled guests sums ranging
between five hundred and one thousand. The Morning
Advertiser made inquiry as to whether any of the money
contributed for the extension of the church would find its
way into the pockets of the hungry cloakmakers.
Dr. John Hall said he did not have time to discuss the
matter of aiding the needy poor, as there were so many other
things that demanded his immediate attention.
Mr. Warner Van Norden, Treasurer of the Church Extension
Committee, was seen at his office in the North American
Bank, of which institution he is President.
He took the view that the cloakmakers had brought their
trouble upon themselves, and it was not the duty of the
charitable to extend to them direct aid.
Generally speaking, he was not in favor of helping the poor
and needy of the city, save in the way employed by the
church.
"The experience of centuries, said he, "teaches us that the
giving of alms to the poor only encourage them in their
idleness and their crimes. The duty of the church is to save
men's a souls, and to minister to their bodies incidentally.
"It is best to teach people to rely upon their own
resources. If the poor felt that they could get material
help, they would want it always. In these days if a man or
woman can't get along it's their own fault. There is my
typewriter. She was brought up in a tenement house. Now she
gets two dollars a day, and dresses better than did the
lords and ladies of other times. You'll find that where
people are poor, it's their own fault.
"After all, happiness does not lie in the enjoyment of
material things--it is the soul that makes life worth
living. You should come to our Working Girls' Club and see
this fact illustrated. There you will see girls who have
been working all day, singing hymns and following the leader
in prayer."
Don't you think there are many worthy poor in this city who
need material help?" was asked.
"No, sir; I do not," said Mr. Van Norden. "If a man or woman
wants money, they should work for It."
"But is employment always to be had?"
"I think it is by Americans. You'll find that most of the
people out of work are those who are not adapted to the
conditions of this country.
Colonel Robert Ingersoll was asked what he thought of such
philosophy.--New York Morning Advertiser, March 10,1892.
_Question_. Have you read the article in the Morning Advertiser entitled
"Workers Starving"?
_Answer._ I have read it, and was greatly surprised at the answers made
to the reporter of the Advertiser.
_Question_. What do you think of the remarks of the Rev. John Hall and
by Mr. Warner Van Norden, Treasurer of the "Church Extension Committee"?
_Answer._ My opinion is that Dr. Hall must have answered under some
irritation, or that the reporter did not happen to take down all he
said. It hardly seems probable that Dr. Hall should have said that he
had no time to discuss the matter of aiding the needy poor, giving as a
reason that there were so many other things that demanded his immediate
attention. The church is always insisting that it is, above all things,
a charitable institution; that it collects and distributes many millions
every year for the relief of the needy, and it is always quoting: "Sell
that thou hast and give to the poor." It is hard to imagine anything of
more importance than to relieve the needy, or to succor the oppressed.
Of course, I know that the church itself produces nothing, and that it
lives on contributions; but its claim is that it receives from those who
are able to give, and gives to those who are in urgent need.
I have sometimes thought, that the most uncharitable thing in the
world is an organized charity. It seems to have the peculiarities of a
corporation, and becomes as soulless as its kindred. To use a very old
phrase, it generally acts like "a beggar on horseback."
Probably Dr. Hall, in fact, does a great deal for the poor, and I
imagine that he must have been irritated or annoyed when he made the
answer attributed to him in the _Advertiser_. The good Samaritan may
have been in a hurry, but he said nothing about it. The Levites
that passed by on the other side seemed to have had other business.
Understand me, I am saying nothing against Dr. Hall, but it does seem
to me that there are few other matters more important than assisting our
needy fellow-men.
_Question_. What do you think of Mr. Warner Van Norden's sentiments as
expressed to the reporter?
_Answer._ In the first place, I think he is entirely mistaken. I do not
think the cloakmakers brought their trouble upon themselves. The wages
they receive were and are insufficient to support reasonable human
beings. They work for almost nothing, and it is hard for me to
understand why they live at all, when life is so expensive and death so
cheap. All they can possibly do is to earn enough one day to buy food
to enable them to work the next. Life with them is a perpetual struggle.
They live on the edge of death. Under their feet they must feel the side
of the grave crumbling, and thus they go through, day by day, month by
month, year by year. They are, I presume, sustained by a hope that is
never realized.
Mr. Van Norden says that he is not in favor of helping the poor and
needy of the city, save in the way employed by the church, and that the
experience of centuries teaches us that the giving of alms to the poor
only encourages them in their idleness and their crimes.
Is Mr. Van Norden ready to take the ground that when Christ said: "Sell
that thou hast and give to the poor," he intended to encourage idleness
and crime?
Is it possible that when it was said, "It is better to give than to
receive," the real meaning was, It is better to encourage idleness and
crime than to receive assistance?
For instance, a man falls into the water. Why should one standing on the
shore attempt to rescue him? Could he not properly say: "If all who fall
into the water are rescued, it will only encourage people to fall into
the water; it will make sailors careless, and persons who stand on
wharves, will care very little whether they fall in or not. Therefore,
in order to make people careful who have not fallen into the water,
let those in the water drown." In other words, why should anybody
be assisted, if assistance encourages carelessness, or idleness, or
negligence?
According to Mr. Van Norden, charity is out of place in this world,
kindness is a mistake, and hospitality springs from a lack of
philosophy. In other words, all should take the consequences of their
acts, not only, but the consequences of the acts of others.
If I knew this doctrine to be true, I should still insist that men
should be charitable on their own account. A man without pity, no matter
how intelligent he may be, is at best only an intellectual beast, and
if by withholding all assistance we could finally people the world
with those who are actually self-supporting, we would have a population
without sympathy, without charity--that is to say, without goodness. In
my judgment, it would be far better that none should exist.
Mr. Van Norden takes the ground that the duty of the church is to save
men's souls, and to minister to their bodies incidentally. I think that
conditions have a vast deal to do with morality and goodness. If you
wish to change the conduct of your fellow-men, the first thing to do is
to change their conditions, their surroundings; in other words, to help
them to help themselves--help them to get away from bad influences, away
from the darkness of ignorance, away from the temptations of poverty and
want, not only into the light intellectually, but into the climate of
prosperity. It is useless to give a hungry man a religious tract, and it
is almost useless to preach morality to those who are so situated that
the necessity of the present, the hunger of the moment, overrides every
other consideration. There is a vast deal of sophistry in hunger, and a
good deal of persuasion in necessity.
Prosperity is apt to make men selfish. They imagine that because they
have succeeded, others and all others, might or may succeed. If any man
will go over his own life honestly, he will find that he has not always
succeeded because he was good, or that he has always failed because
he was bad. He will find that many things happened with which he had
nothing to do, for his benefit, and that, after all is said and done, he
cannot account for all of his successes by his absolute goodness. So,
if a man will think of all the bad things he has done--of all the bad
things he wanted to do--of all the bad things he would have done had he
had the chance, and had he known that detection was impossible, he will
find but little foundation for egotism.
_Question_. What do you say to this language of Mr. Van Norden. "It is
best to teach people to rely upon their own resources. If the poor felt
that they could get material help they would want it always, and in this
day, if a man and woman cannot get along, it is their own fault"?
_Answer._ All I can say is that I do not agree with him. Often there are
many more men in a certain trade than there is work for such men. Often
great factories shut down, leaving many thousands out of employment. You
may say that it was the fault of these men that they learned that trade;
that they might have known it would be overcrowded; so you may say it
was the fault of the capitalist to start a factory in that particular
line, because he should have known that it was to be overdone.
As no man can look very far into the future, the truth is it was
nobody's fault, and without fault thousands and thousands are thrown out
of employment. Competition is so sharp, wages are so small, that to be
out of employment for a few weeks means want. You cannot say that this
is the fault of the man who wants bread. He certainly did not wish to go
hungry; neither did he deliberately plan a failure. He did the best he
could. There are plenty of bankers who fail in business, not because
they wish to fail; so there are plenty of professional men who cannot
make a living, yet it may not be their fault; and there are others who
get rich, and it may not be by reason of their virtues.
Without doubt, there are many people in the city of New York who
cannot make a living. Competition is too sharp; life is too complex;
consequently the percentage of failures is large. In savage life there
are few failures, but in civilized life there are many. There are many
thousands out of work and out of food in Berlin to-day. It can hardly be
said to be their fault. So there are many thousands in London, and every
other great city of the world. You cannot account for all this want by
saying that the people who want are entirely to blame.
A man gets rich, and he is often egotistic enough to think that his
wealth was the result of his own unaided efforts; and he is sometimes
heartless enough to say that others should get rich by following his
example.
Mr. Van Norden states that he has a typewriter who gets two dollars a
day, and that she dresses better than the lords and ladies did of olden
times. He must refer to the times of the Garden of Eden. Out of two
dollars a day one must live, and there is very little left for gorgeous
robes. I hardly think a lady is to be envied because she receives two
dollars a day, and the probability is that the manner in which she
dresses on that sum--having first deducted the expenses of living--is
not calculated to excite envy.
The philosophy of Mr. Van Norden seems to be concentrated into this
line: "Where people are poor it is their own fault." Of course this is
the death of all charity.
We are then informed by this gentleman that "happiness does not lie in
the enjoyment of material things--that it is the soul that makes life
worth living."
Is it the soul without pity that makes life worth living? Is it the soul
in which the blossom of charity has never shed its perfume that makes
life so desirable? Is it the soul, having all material things, wrapped
in the robes of prosperity, and that says to all the poor: It is your
own fault; die of hunger if you must--that makes life worth living?
It may be asked whether it is worth while for such a soul to live.
If this is the philosophy of Mr. Van Norden, I do not wish to visit his
working girls' club, or to "hear girls who have been working all day
singing hymns and following the leader in prayer." Why should a soul
without pity pray? Why should any one ask God to be merciful to the poor
if he is not merciful himself? For my own part, I would rather see
poor people eat than to hear them pray. I would rather see them clothed
comfortably than to see them shivering, and at the same time hear them
sing hymns.
It does not seem possible that any man can say that there are no worthy
poor in this city who need material help. Neither does it seem possible
that any man can say to one who is starving that if he wants money he
must work for it. There are hundreds and thousands in this city willing
to work who can find no employment. There are good and pure women
standing between their children and starvation, living in rooms
worse than cells in penitentiaries--giving their own lives to their
children--hundreds and hundreds of martyrs bearing the cross of every
suffering, worthy of the reverence and love of mankind. So there are men
wandering about these streets in search of work, willing to do anything
to feed the ones they love.
Mr. Van Norden has not done himself justice. I do not believe that he
expresses his real sentiments. But, after all, why should we expect
charity in a church that believes in the dogma of eternal pain? Why
cannot the rich be happy here in their palaces, while the poor suffer
and starve in huts, when these same rich expect to enjoy heaven forever,
with all the unbelievers in hell? Why should the agony of time interfere
with their happiness, when the agonies of eternity will not and cannot
affect their joy? But I have nothing against Dr. John Hall or Mr. Van
Norden--only against their ideas.
A REPLY TO THE REV. DR. PLUMB.
* Boston, 1898.
_Question_. Last Sunday the Rev. Dr. Plumb paid some attention to the
lecture which you delivered here on the 23rd of October. Have you read a
report of it, and what have you to say?
_Answer._ Dr. Plumb attacks not only myself, but the Rev. Mr. Mills. I
do not know the position that Mr. Mills takes, but from what Dr.
Plumb says, I suppose that he has mingled a little philosophy with his
religion and some science with his superstition. Dr. Plumb appears to
have successfully avoided both. His manners do not appear to me to be of
the best. Why should he call an opponent coarse and blasphemous, simply
because he does not happen to believe as he does? Is it blasphemous to
say that this "poor" world never was visited by a Redeemer from Heaven,
a majestic being--unique--peculiar--who "trod the sea and hushed the
storm and raised the dead"? Why does Dr. Plumb call this world a "poor"
world? According to his creed, it was created by infinite wisdom,
infinite goodness and infinite power. How dare he call the work of such
a being "poor"?
Is it not blasphemous for a Boston minister to denounce the work of the
Infinite and say to God that he made a "poor" world? If I believed
this world had been made by an infinitely wise and good Being, I should
certainly insist that this is not a poor world, but, on the contrary,
a perfect world. I would insist that everything that happens is for the
best. Whether it looks wise or foolish to us, I would insist that the
fault we thought we saw, lies in us and not in the infinitely wise and
benevolent Creator.
Dr. Plumb may love God, but he certainly regards him as a poor mechanic
and a failure as a manufacturer. There Dr. Plumb, like all religious
preachers, takes several things for granted; things that have not been
established by evidence, and things which in their nature cannot be
established.
He tells us that this poor world was visited by a mighty Redeemer from
Heaven. How does he know? Does he know where heaven is? Does he know
that any such place exists? Is he perfectly sure that an infinite God
would be foolish enough to make people who needed a redeemer?
He also says that this Being "trod the sea, hushed the storm and raised
the dead." Is there any evidence that this Being trod the sea? Any more
evidence than that Venus rose from the foam of the ocean? Any evidence
that he hushed the storm any more than there is that the storm comes
from the cave of Æolus? Is there any evidence that he raised the dead?
How would it be possible to prove that the dead were raised? How
could we prove such a thing if it happened now? Who would believe
the evidence? As a matter of fact, the witnesses themselves would
not believe and could not believe until raising of the dead became so
general as to be regarded as natural.
Dr. Plumb knows, if he knows anything, that gospel gossip is the only
evidence he has, or anybody has, that Christ trod the sea, hushed the
storm and raised the dead. He also knows, if he knows anything, that
these stories were not written until Christ himself had been dead for at
least four generations. He knows also that these accounts were written
at a time when the belief in miracles was almost universal, and
when everything that actually happened was regarded of no particular
importance, and only the things that did not happen were carefully
written out with all the details.
So Dr. Plumb says that this man who hushed the storm "spake as never man
spake." Did the Doctor ever read Zeno? Zeno, who denounced human slavery
many years before Christ was born? Did he ever read Epicurus, one of the
greatest of the Greeks? Has he read anything from Buddha? Has he read
the dialogues between Arjuna and Krishna? If he has, he knows that every
great and splendid utterance of Christ was uttered centuries before he
lived. Did he ever read Lao-tsze? If he did--and this man lived many
centuries before the coming of our Lord--he knows that Lao-tsze said "we
should render benefits for injuries. We should love our enemies, and
we should not resist evil." So it will hardly do now to say that Christ
spake as never man spake, because he repeated the very things that other
men had said.
So he says that I am endeavoring to carry people back to a dimly groping
Socrates or a vague Confucius. Did Dr. Plumb ever read Confucius? Only a
little while ago a book was published by Mr. For-long showing the origin
of the principal religion and the creeds that have been taught. In this
book you will find the cream of Buddha, of Christ, of Zoroaster, and you
will also find a few pages devoted to the philosophy of Confucius; and
after you have read the others, then read what Confucius says, and you
will find that his philosophy rises like a monolith touching the clouds,
while the creeds and sayings of the others appear like heaps of stone or
piles of rubbish. The reason of this is that Confucius was not simply
a sentimentalist. He was not controlled entirely by feeling, but he had
intelligence--a great brain in which burned the torch of reason. Read
Confucius, and you will think that he must have known the sciences of
to-day; that is to say, the conclusions that have been reached by modern
thinkers. It could have been easily said of Confucius in his day that he
spake as never man had spoken, and it may be that after you read him
you will change your mind just a little as to the wisdom and the
intelligence contained in many of the sayings of our Lord.
Dr. Plumb charges that Mr. Mills is trying to reconstruct theology.
Whether he is right in this charge I do not know, but I do know that I
am not trying to reconstruct theology. I am endeavoring to destroy it.
I have no more confidence in theology than I have in astrology or in
the black art. Theology is a science that exists wholly independent of
facts, and that reaches conclusions without the assistance of evidence.
It also scorns experience and does what little it can to do away with
thought.
I make a very great distinction between theology and real religion. I
can conceive of no religion except usefulness. Now, here we are, men
and women in this world, and we have certain faculties, certain senses.
There are things that we can ascertain, and by developing our brain we
can avoid mistakes, keep a few thorns out of our feet, a few thistles
out of our hands, a few diseases from our flesh. In my judgment, we
should use all our senses, gathering information from every possible
quarter, and this information should be only used for the purpose of
ascertaining the facts, for finding out the conditions of well-being, to
the end that we may add to the happiness of ourselves and fellows.
In other words, I believe in intellectual veracity and also in mental
hospitality. To me reason is the final arbiter, and when I say reason,
I mean my reason. It may be a very poor light, the flame small and
flickering, but, after all, it is the only light I have, and never with
my consent shall any preacher blow it out.
Now, Dr. Plumb thinks that I am trying to despoil my fellow-men of their
greatest inheritance; that is to say, divine Christ. Why do you call
Christ good? Is it because he was merciful? Then why do you put him
above mercy? Why do you call Christ good? Is it because he was just? Why
do you put him before justice? Suppose it should turn out that no such
person as Christ ever lived. What harm would that do justice or mercy?
Wouldn't the tear of pity be as pure as now, and wouldn't justice,
holding aloft her scales, from which she blows even the dust of
prejudice, be as noble, as admirable as now? Is it not better to love,
justice and mercy than to love a name, and when you put a name above
justice, above mercy, are you sure that you are benefiting your
fellow-men?
If Dr. Plumb wanted to answer me, why did he not take my argument
instead of my motive? Why did he not point out my weakness instead
of telling the consequences that would follow from my action? We have
nothing to do with the consequences. I said that to believe without
evidence, or in spite of evidence, was superstition. If that definition
is correct, Dr. Plumb is a superstitious man, because he believes at
least without evidence. What evidence has he that Christ was God? In
the nature of things, how could he have evidence? The only evidence
he pretends to have is the dream of Joseph, and he does not know that
Joseph ever dreamed the dream, because Joseph did not write an account
of his dream, so that Dr. Plumb has only hearsay for the dream, and the
dream is the foundation of his creed.
Now, when I say that that is superstition, Dr. Plumb charges me with
being a burglar--a coarse, blasphemous burglar--who wishes to rob
somebody of some great blessing. Dr. Plumb would not hesitate to tell a
Mohammedan that Mohammed was an impostor. He would tell a Mormon in
Utah that Joseph Smith was a vulgar liar and that Brigham Young was
no better. In other words, if in Turkey, he would be a coarse and
blasphemous burglar, and he would follow the same profession in Utah. So
probably he would tell the Chinese that Confucius was an ignorant
wretch and that their religion was idiotic, and the Chinese priest would
denounce Dr. Plumb as a very coarse and blasphemous burglar, and Dr.
Plumb would be perfectly astonished that a priest could be so low, so
impudent and malicious.
Of course my wonder is not excited. I have become used to it.
If Dr. Plumb would think, if he would exercise his imagination a
little and put himself in the place of others, he would think, in all
probability, better things of his opponents. I do not know Dr. Plumb,
and yet I have no doubt that he is a good and sincere man; a little
superstitious, superficial, and possibly, mingled with his many virtues,
there may be a little righteous malice.
The Rev. Mr. Mills used to believe as Dr. Plumb does now, and I suppose
he has changed for reasons that were sufficient for him. So I believe
him to be an honest, conscientious man, and so far as I am concerned, I
have no objection to Mr. Mills doing what little he can to get all the
churches to act together. He may never succeed, but I am not responsible
for that.
So I have no objection to Dr. Plumb preaching what he believes to be the
gospel. I admit that he is honest when he says that an infinitely good
God made a poor world; that he made man and woman and put them in the
Garden of Eden, and that this same God before that time had manufactured
a devil, and that when he manufactured this devil, he knew that he would
corrupt the man and woman that he had determined to make; that he could
have defeated the devil, but that for a wise purpose, he allowed his
Satanic Majesty to succeed; that at the time he allowed him to succeed,
he knew that in consequence of his success that he (God) in about
fifteen or sixteen hundred years would be compelled to drown the whole
world with the exception of eight people. These eight people he kept for
seed. At the time he kept them for seed, he knew that they were totally
depraved, that they were saturated with the sin of Adam and Eve, and
that their children would be their natural heirs. He also knew at the
time he allowed the devil to succeed, that he (God), some four thousand
years afterward, would be compelled to be born in Palestine as a babe,
to learn the carpenter's trade, and to go about the country for three
years preaching to the people and discussing with the rabbis of his
chosen people, and he also knew that these chosen people--these people
who had been governed and educated by him, to whom he had sent a
multitude of prophets, would at that time be so savage that they would
crucify him, although he would be at that time the only sinless being
who had ever stood upon the earth. This he knew would be the effect of
his government, of his education of his chosen people. He also knew at
the time he allowed the devil to succeed, that in consequence of that
success a vast majority of the human race would become eternal convicts
in the prison of hell.
All this he knew, and yet Dr. Plumb insists that he was and is
infinitely wise, infinitely powerful and infinitely good. What would
this God have done if he had lacked wisdom, or power, or goodness?
Of all the religions that man has produced, of all the creeds of
savagery, there is none more perfectly absurd than Christianity.
A REPLY TO THE NEW YORK CLERGY ON SUPERSTITION.
* New York Journal, 1898. An Interview.
_Question_. Have you followed the controversy, or rather, the interest
manifested in the letters to the _Journal_ which have followed your
lecture of Sunday, and what do you think of them?
_Answer._ I have read the letters and reports that have been published
in the _Journal_. Some of them seem to be very sincere, some not quite
honest, and some a little of both.
The Rev. Robert S. MacArthur takes the ground that very many Christians
do not believe in a personal devil, but are still Christians. He states
that they hold that the references in the New Testament to the devil
are simply to personifications of evil, and do not apply to any personal
existence. He says that he could give the names of a number of pastors
who hold such views. He does not state what his view is. Consequently, I
do not know whether he is a believer in a personal devil or not.
The statement that the references in the New Testament to a devil
are simply to personifications of evil, not applying to any personal
existence, seems to me utterly absurd.
The references to devils in the New Testament are certainly as good and
satisfactory as the references to angels. Now, are the angels referred
to in the New Testament simply personifications of good, and are there
no such personal existences? If devils are only personifications of
evil, how is it that these personifications of evil could hold arguments
with Jesus Christ? How could they talk back? How could they publicly
acknowledge the divinity of Christ? As a matter of fact, the best
evidences of Christ's divinity in the New Testament are the declarations
of devils. These devils were supposed to be acquainted with supernatural
things, and consequently knew a God when they saw one, whereas the
average Jew, not having been a citizen of the celestial world, was
unable to recognize a deity when he met him.
Now, these personifications of evil, as Dr. Mac-Arthur calls them, were
of various kinds. Some of them were dumb, while others could talk, and
Christ said, speaking of the dumb devils, that they were very difficult
to expel from the bodies of men; that it required fasting and prayer to
get them out. Now, did Christ mean that these dumb devils did not exist?
That they were only "personifications of evil"?
Now, we are also told in the New Testament that Christ was tempted
by the devil; that is, by a "personification of evil," and that this
personification took him to the pinnacle of the temple and tried to
induce him to jump off. Now, where did this personification of evil come
from? Was it an actual existence? Dr. MacArthur says that it may not
have been. Then it did not come from the outside of Christ. If it
existed it came from the inside of Christ, so that, according to
MacArthur, Christ was the creator of his own devil.
I do not know that I have a right to say that this is Dr. MacArthur's
opinion, as he has wisely refrained from giving his opinion. I hope some
time he will tell us whether he really believes in a devil or not, or
whether he thinks all allusions and references to devils in the New
Testament can be explained away by calling the devils "personifications
of evil." Then, of course, he will tell us whether it was a
"personification of evil" that offered Christ all the kingdoms of the
world, and whether Christ expelled seven "personifications of evil" from
Mary Magdalene, and how did they come to count these "personifications
of evil"? If the devils, after all, are only "personifications of evil,"
then, of course, they cannot be numbered. They are all one. There may
be different manifestations, but, in fact, there can be but one, and yet
Mary Magdalene had seven.
Dr. MacArthur states that I put up a man of straw, and then vigorously
beat him down. Now, the question is, do I attack a man of straw? I take
it for granted that Christians to some extent, at least, believe in
their creeds. I suppose they regard the Bible as the inspired word
of God; that they believe in the fall of man, in the atonement, in
salvation by faith, in the resurrection and ascension of Christ. I
take it for granted that they believe these things. Of course, the only
evidence I have is what they say. Possibly that cannot be depended upon.
They may be dealing only in the "personification of truth."
When I charge the orthodox Christians with believing these things, I am
told that I am far behind the religious thinking of the hour, but after
all, this "man of straw" is quite powerful. Prof. Briggs attacked this
"man of straw," and the straw man turned on him and put him out. A
preacher by the name of Smith, a teacher in some seminary out in Ohio,
challenged this "man of straw," and the straw man put him out.
Both these reverend gentlemen were defeated by the straw man, and if the
Rev. Dr. MacArthur will explain to his congregation, I mean only explain
what he calls the "religious thinking of the hour," the "straw man" will
put him out too.
Dr. MacArthur finds fault with me because I put into the minds of
representative thinkers of to-day the opinions of medieval monks, which
leading religious teachers long ago discarded. Will Dr. MacArthur have
the goodness to point out one opinion that I have put into the minds
of representative thinkers--that is, of orthodox thinkers--that any
orthodox religious teacher of to-day has discarded? Will he have the
kindness to give just one?
In my lecture on "Superstition" I did say that to deny the existence
of evil spirits, or to deny the existence of the devil, is to deny the
truth of the New Testament; and that to deny the existence of these imps
of darkness is to contradict the words of Jesus Christ. I did say that
if we give up the belief in devils we must give up the inspiration of
the Old and New Testaments, and we must give up the divinity of Christ.
Upon that declaration I stand, because if devils do not exist, then
Jesus Christ was mistaken, or we have not in the New Testament a true
account of what he said and of what he pretended to do. If the New
Testament gives a true account of his words and pretended actions, then
he did claim to cast out devils. That was his principal business. That
was his certificate of divinity, casting out devils. That authenticated
his mission and proved that he was superior to the hosts of darkness.
Now, take the devil out of the New Testament, and you also take the
veracity of Christ; with that veracity you take the divinity; with that
divinity you take the atonement, and when you take the atonement, the
great fabric known as Christianity becomes a shapeless ruin.
Now, let Dr. Mac Arthur answer this, and answer it not like a minister,
but like a man. Ministers are unconsciously a little unfair. They have
a little tendency to what might be called a natural crook. They become
spiritual when they ought to be candid. They become a little ingenious
and pious when they ought to be frank; and when really driven into
a corner, they clasp their hands, they look upward, and they cry
"_Blasphemy!_" I do not mean by this that they are dishonest. I simply
mean that they are illogical.
Dr. MacArthur tells us also that Spain is not a representative of
progressive religious teachers. I admit that. There are no progressive
religious teachers in Spain, and right here let me make a remark. If
religion rests on an inspired revelation, it is incapable of progress.
It may be said that year after year we get to understand it better, but
if it is not understood when given, why is it called a "revelation"?
There is no progress in the multiplication table. Some men are better
mathematicians than others, but the old multiplication table remains the
same. So there can be no progress in a revelation from God.
Now, Spain--and that is the great mistake, the great misfortune--has
remained orthodox. That is to say, the Spaniards have been true to
their superstition. Of course the Rev. Dr. MacArthur will not admit that
Catholicism is Christianity, and I suppose that the pope would hardly
admit that a Baptist is a very successful Christian. The trouble with
Spain is, and the trouble with the Baptist Church is, that neither of
them has progressed to any great extent.
Now, in my judgment, what is called religion must grow better as man
grows better, simply because it was produced by man and the better man
is, the nearer civilized he is, the better, the nearer civilized,
will be what he calls his religion; and if the Baptist religion has
progressed, it is a demonstration that it was not originally founded on
a revelation from God.
In my lecture I stated that we had no right to make any distinction
between the actions of infinite wisdom and goodness, and that if God
created and governs this world we ought to thank him, if we thanked him
at all, for all that happens; that we should thank him just as heartily
for famine and cyclone as for sunshine and harvest, and that if
President McKinley thanked God for the victory at Santiago, he also
should have thanked him for sending the yellow fever.
I stand by these words. A finite being has no right to make any
distinction between the actions of the infinitely good and wise. If God
governs this world, then everything that happens is the very best that
could happen. When A murders B, the best thing that could happen to A is
to be a murderer and the best thing that could have happened to B was
to be murdered. There is no escape from this if the world is governed by
infinite wisdom and goodness.
It will not do to try and dodge by saying that man is free. This God who
made man and made him free knew exactly how he would use his freedom,
and consequently this God cannot escape the responsibility for the
actions of men. He made them. He knew exactly what they would do. He is
responsible.
If I could turn a piece of wood into a human being, and I knew that he
would murder a man, who is the real murderer? But if Dr. MacArthur would
think as much as he preaches, he would come much nearer agreeing with
me.
The Rev. Dr. J. Lewis Parks is very sorry that he cannot discuss
Ingersoll's address, because to do so would be dignifying Ingersoll. Of
course I deeply regret the refusal of Dr. J. Lewis Parks to discuss the
address. I dislike to be compelled to go to the end of my life without
being dignified. At the same time I will forgive the Rev. Dr. J. Lewis
Parks for not answering me, because I know that he cannot.
The Rev. Dr. Moldehnke, whose name seems chiefly made of consonants,
denounces me as a scoffer and as illogical, and says that Christianity
is not founded upon the devil, but upon Christ. He further says that
we do not believe in such a thing as a devil in human form, but we know
that there is evil, and that evil we call the devil. He hides his head
under the same leaf with Dr. MacArthur by calling the devil evil.
Now, is this gentleman willing to say that all the allusions to the
devil in the Old and New Testaments can be harmonized with the idea that
the devil is simply a personification of evil? Can he say this and say
it honestly?
But the Rev. Dr. Moldehnke, I think, seems to be consistent; seems to go
along with the logic of his creed. He says that the yellow fever, if it
visited our soldiers, came from God, and that we should thank God for
it. He does not say the soldiers should thank God for it, or that those
who had it should thank God for it, but that we should thank God for it,
and there is this wonderful thing about Christianity. It enables us
to bear with great fortitude, with a kind of sublime patience, the
misfortunes of others.
He says that this yellow fever works out God's purposes. Of course I am
not as well acquainted with the Deity as the Rev. Moldehnke appears to
be. I have not the faintest idea of what God's purposes are. He works,
even according to his messengers, in such a mysterious way, that with
the little reason I have I find it impossible to follow him. Why God
should have any purpose that could be worked out with yellow fever, or
cholera, or why he should ever ask the assistance of tapeworms, or go in
partnership with cancers, or take in the plague as an assistant, I have
never been able to understand. I do not pretend to know. I admit my
ignorance, and after all, the Rev. Dr. Moldehnke may be right. It may be
that everything that happens is for the best. At the same time, I do not
believe it.
There is a little old story on this subject that throws some light on
the workings of the average orthodox mind.
One morning the son of an old farmer came in and said to his father,
"One of the ewe lambs is dead."
"Well," said the father; "that is all for the best. Twins never do very
well, any how."
The next morning the son reported the death of the other lamb, and the
old man said, "Well, that is all for the best; the old ewe will have
more wool."
The next morning the son said, "The old ewe is dead."
"Well," replied the old man; "that may be for the best, but I don't see
it this morning."
The Rev. Mr. Hamlin has the goodness to say that my influence is on
the wane. This is an admission that I have some, for which I am greatly
obliged to him. He further states that all my arguments are easily
refuted, but fails to refute them on the ground that such refutation
might be an advertisement for me.
Now, if Mr. Hamlin would think a little, he would see that there are
some things in the lecture on "Superstition" worth the while even of a
Methodist minister to answer.
Does Mr. Hamlin believe in the existence of the devil? If he does, will
he Have the goodness to say who created the devil? He may say that God
created him, as he is the creator of all. Then I ask Mr. Hamlin this
question: Why did God create a successful rival? When God created the
devil, did he not know at that time that he was to make this world? That
he was to create Adam and Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden, and
did he not know that this devil would tempt this Adam and Eve? That
in consequence of that they would fall? That in consequence of that
he would have to drown all their descendants except eight? That in
consequence of that he himself would have to be born into this world as
a Judean peasant? That he would have to be crucified and suffer for
the sins of these people who had been misled by this devil that he
deliberately created, and that after all he would be able only to save a
few Methodists?
Will the Rev. Mr. Hamlin have the goodness to answer this? He can
answer it as mildly as he pleases, so that in any event it will be no
advertisement for him.
The Rev. Mr. F. J. Belcher pays me a great compliment, for which I
now return my thanks. He has the goodness to say, "Ingersoll in many
respects is like Voltaire." I think no finer compliment has been paid me
by any gentleman occupying a pulpit, for many years, and again I thank
the Rev. Mr. Belcher.
The Rev. W. D. Buchanan, does not seem to be quite fair. He says that
every utterance of mine impresses men with my insincerity, and that
every argument I bring forward is specious, and that I spend my time in
ringing the changes on arguments that have been answered over and over
again for hundreds of years.
Now, Dr. Buchanan should remember that he ought not to attack motives;
that you cannot answer an argument by vilifying the man who makes it.
You must answer not the man, but the argument.
Another thing this reverend gentleman should remember, and that is that
no argument is old until it has been answered. An argument that has not
been answered, although it has been put forward for many centuries, is
still as fresh as a flower with the dew on its breast. It never is old
until it has been answered.
It is well enough for this gentleman to say that these arguments have
been answered, and if they have and he knows that they have, of course
it will be but a little trouble to him to repeat these answers.
Now, my dear Dr. Buchanan, I wish to ask you some questions. Do you
believe in a personal devil? Do you believe that the bodies of men and
women become tenements for little imps and goblins and demons? Do you
believe that the devil used to lead men and women astray? Do you believe
the stories about devils that you find in the Old and New Testaments?
Now, do not tell me that these questions have been answered long ago.
Answer them now. And if you say the devil does exist, that he is
a person, that he is an enemy of God, then let me ask you another
question: Why should this devil punish souls in hell for rebelling
against God? Why should the devil, who is an enemy of God, help punish
God's enemies? This may have been answered many times, but one more
repetition will do but little harm.
Another thing: Do you believe in the eternity of punishment? Do you
believe that God is the keeper of an eternal prison, the doors of which
open only to receive sinners, and do you believe that eternal punishment
is the highest expression of justice and mercy?
If you had the power to change a stone into a human being, and you
knew that that human being would be a sinner and finally go to hell and
suffer eternal torture, would you not leave it stone? And if, knowing
this, you changed the stone into a man, would you not be a fiend?
Now, answer this fairly. I want nothing spiritual; nothing with the
Presbyterian flavor; just good, honest talk, and tell us how that is.
I say to you that if there is a place of eternal torment or misery for
any of the children of men--I say to you that your God is a wild beast,
an insane fiend, whom I abhor and despise with every drop of my blood.
At the same time you may say whether you are up, according to Dr. Mac
Arthur, with the religious thinking of the hour.
The Rev. J. W. Campbell I rather like. He appears to be absolutely
sincere. He is orthodox--true blue. He believes in a devil; in an
acting, thinking devil, and a clever devil. Of course he does not think
this devil is as stout as God, but he is quicker; not quite as wise, but
a little more cunning.
According to Mr. Campbell, the devil is the bunco steerer of the
universe--king of the green goods men; but, after all, Mr. Campbell will
not admit that if this devil does not exist the Christian creeds all
crumble, but I think he will admit that if the devil does not exist,
then Christ was mistaken, or that the writers of the New Testament did
not truthfully give us his utterances.
Now, if Christ was mistaken about the existence of the devil, may be he
was mistaken about the existence of God. In other words, if Christ
made a mistake, then he was ignorant. Then we cannot say he was divine,
although ignorance has generally believed in divinity. So I do not see
exactly how Mr. Campbell can say that if the devil does not exist the
Christian creeds do not crumble, and when I say Christian creeds I mean
orthodox creeds. Is there any orthodox Christian creed without the devil
in it?
Now, if we throw away the devil we throw away original sin, the fall
of man, and we throw away the atonement. Of this arch the devil is the
keystone. Remove him, the arch falls.
Now, how can you say that an orthodox Christian creed remains intact
without crumbling when original sin, the fall of man, the atonement and
the existence of the devil are all thrown aside?
Of course if you mean by Christianity, acting like Christ, being
good, forgiving, that is another matter, but that is not Christianity.
Orthodox Christians say that a man must believe on Christ, must have
faith, and that to act as Christ did, is not enough; that a man who acts
exactly as Christ did, dying without faith, would go to hell. So when
Mr. Campbell speaks of a Christian, I suppose he means an orthodox
Christian.
Now, Dr. Campbell not only knows that the devil exists, but he knows
a good deal about him. He knows that he can assume every conceivable
disguise or shape; that he can go about like a roaring lion; that at
another time he is a god of this world; on another occasion a dragon,
and in the afternoon of the same day may be Lucifer, an angel of light,
and all the time, I guess, a prince of lies. So he often assumes the
disguise of the serpent.
So the Doctor thinks that when the devil invited Christ into the
wilderness to tempt him, that he adopted some disguise that made him
more than usually attractive. Does the Doctor think that Christ could
not see through the disguise? Was it possible for the devil with a mask
to fool God, his creator? Was it possible for the devil to tempt Christ
by offering him the kingdoms of the earth when they already belonged to
Christ, and when Christ knew that the devil had no title, and when the
devil knew that Christ knew that he had no title, and when the devil
knew that Christ knew that he was the devil, and when the devil knew
that he was Christ? Does the reverend gentleman still think that it was
the disguise of the devil that tempted Christ?
I would like some of these questions answered, because I have a very
inquiring mind.
So Mr. Campbell tells us--and it is very good and comforting of
him--that there is a time coming when the devil shall deceive the
nations no more. He also tells us that God is more powerful than the
devil, and that he is going to put an end to him.
Will Mr. Campbell have the goodness to tell me why God made the devil?
If he is going to put an end to him why did he start him? Was it not a
waste of raw material to make him? Was it not unfair to let this devil,
so powerful, so cunning, so attractive, into the Garden of Eden, and put
Adam and Eve, who were then scarcely half dry, within his power, and not
only Adam and Eve within his power, but their descendants, so that the
slime of the serpent has been on every babe, and so that, in consequence
of what happened in the Garden of Eden, flames will surround countless
millions in the presence of the most merciful God?
Now, it may be that the Rev. Dr. Campbell can explain all these things.
He may not care to do it for my benefit, but let him think of his own
congregation; of the lambs he is protecting from the wolves of doubt and
thought.
The Rev. Henry Frank appears to be a man of exceedingly good sense; one
who thinks for himself, and who has the courage of his convictions. Of
course I am sorry that he does not agree with me, but I have become used
to that, and so I thank him for the truths he utters.
He does not believe in the existence of a personal devil, and I guess by
following him up we would find that he did not believe in the existence
of a personal God, or in the inspiration of the Scriptures. In fact,
he tells us that he has given up the infallibility of the Bible. At the
same time, he says it is the most perfect compendium of religious and
moral thought. In that I think he is a little mistaken. There is a vast
deal of irreligion in the Bible, and there is a good deal of immoral
thought in the Bible; but I agree with him that it is neither inspired
nor infallible.
The Rev. E. C. J. Kraeling, pastor of the Zion Lutheran Church, declares
that those who do not believe in a personal God do not believe in a
personal Satan, and _vice versa_. The one, he says, necessitates the
other. In this I do not think he is quite correct. I think many people
believe in a personal God who do not believe in a personal devil, but I
know of none who do believe in a personal devil who do not also believe
in a personal God. The orthodox generally believe in both of them, and
for many centuries Christians spoke with great respect of the devil.
They were afraid of him.
But I agree with the Rev. Mr. Kraeling when he says that to deny a
personal Satan is to deny the infallibility of God's word. I agree with
this because I suppose by "God's word" he means the Bible.
He further says, and I agree with him, that a "Christian" needs no
scientific argument on which to base his belief in the personality of
Satan. That certainly is true, and if a Christian does need a scientific
argument it is equally true that he never will have one.
You see this word "Science" means something that somebody knows; not
something that somebody guesses, or wishes, or hopes, or believes, but
something that somebody knows.
Of course there cannot be any scientific argument proving the existence
of the devil. At the same time I admit, as the Rev. Mr. Kraeling says,
and I thank him for his candor, that the Bible does prove the existence
of the devil from Genesis to the. Apocalypse, and I do agree with him
that the "revealed word" teaches the existence of a personal devil,
and that all truly orthodox Christians believe that there is a personal
devil, and the Rev. Mr. Kraeling proves this by the fall of man, and he
proves that without this devil there could be no redemption for the
evil spirits; so he brings forward the temptation of Christ in the
wilderness. At the same time that Mr. Kraeling agrees with me as to what
the Bible says, he insists that I bring no arguments, that I blaspheme,
and then he drops into humor and says that if any further arguments are
needed to prove the existence of the devil, that I furnish them.
How a man believing the creed of the orthodox Mr. Kraeling can have
anything like a sense of humor is beyond even my imagination.
Now, I want to ask Mr. Kraeling a few questions, and I will ask him
the same questions that I ask all orthodox people in my lecture on
"Superstition."
Now, Mr. Kraeling believes that this world was created by a being of
infinite wisdom, power and goodness, and that the world he created has
been governed by him.
Now, let me ask the reverend gentleman a few plain questions, with
the request that he answer them without mist or mystery. If you, Mr.
Kraeling, had the power to make a world, would you make an exact copy of
this? Would you make a man and woman, put them in a garden, knowing that
they would be deceived, knowing that they would fall? Knowing that all
the consequences believed in by orthodox Christians would follow from
that fall? Would you do it? And would you make your world so as to
provide for earthquakes and cyclones? Would you create the seeds of
disease and scatter them in the air and water? Would you so arrange
matters as to produce cancers? Would you provide for plague and
pestilence? Would you so make your world that life should feed on life,
that the quivering flesh should be torn by tooth and beak and claw?
Would you?
Now, answer fairly. Do not quote Scripture; just answer, and be honest.
Would you make different races of men? Would you make them of different
colors, and would you so make them that they would persecute and enslave
each other? Would you so arrange matters that millions and millions
should toil through many generations, paid only by the lash on the back?
Would you have it so that millions and millions of babes would be sold
from the breasts of mothers? Be honest, would you provide for religious
persecution? For the invention and use of instruments of torture? Would
you see to it that the rack was not forgotten, and that the fagot was
not overlooked or unlighted? Would you make a world in which the wrong
would triumph? Would you make a world in which innocence would not be
a shield? Would you make a world where the best would be loaded with
chains? Where the best would die in the darkness of dungeons? Where the
best would make scaffolds sacred with their blood?
Would you make a world where hypocrisy and cunning and fraud should
represent God, and where meanness would suck the blood of honest
credulity?
Would you provide for the settlement of all difficulties by war? Would
you so make your world that the weak would bear the burdens, so that
woman would be a slave, so that children would be trampled upon as
though they were poisonous reptiles? Would you fill the woods with wild
beasts? Would you make a few volcanoes to overwhelm your children? Would
you provide for earthquakes that would swallow them? Would you make them
ignorant, savage, and fill their minds with all the phantoms of horror?
Would you?
Now, it will only take you a few moments to answer these questions, and
if you say you would, then I shall be satisfied that you believe in the
orthodox God, and that you are as bad as he. If you say you would not, I
will admit that there is a little dawn of intelligence in your brain.
At the same time I want it understood with regard to all these
ministers that I am a friend of theirs. I am trying to civilize their
congregations, so that the congregations may allow the ministers to
develop, to grow, to become really and truly intelligent. The process is
slow, but it is sure.
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