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1561 lines
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24 page printout
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Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
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UNPUBLISHED REPLIES
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Contents of this file page
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT. 1
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A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR. 12
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**** ****
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This file, its printout, or copies of either
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are to be copied and given away, but NOT sold.
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Bank of Wisdom, Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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The Works of ROBERT G. INGERSOLL
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**** ****
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
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1890
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________
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This unfinished article was written as a reply to the Rev.
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Lyman Abbott's article entitled, "Flaws in Ingersollism," which was
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printed in the April 1890 number of the North American Review.
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________
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In your Open Letter to me, published in this Review, you
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attack what you supposed to be my position, and ask several
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questions to which you demand answers; but in the same letter, you
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state that you wish no controversy with me. Is it possible that you
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wrote the letter to prevent a controversy? Do you attack only those
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with whom you wish to live in peace, and do you ask questions,
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coupled with a request that they remain unanswered?
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In addition to this, you have taken pains to publish in your
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own paper, that it was no part of your design in the article in the
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North American Review, to point out errors in my statements, and
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that this design was distinctly disavowed in the opening paragraph
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of your article. You further say, that your simple object was to
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answer the question "What is Christianity?" May I be permitted to
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ask why you addressed the letter to me, and why do you now pretend
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that, although you did address a letter to me, I was not in your
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mind, and that you had no intention of pointing out any flaws in my
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doctrines or theories? Can you afford to occupy this position?
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You also stated in your own paper, The Christian Union, that
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the title of your article had been changed by the editor of the
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Review, without your knowledge or consent; leaving it to be
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inferred that the title given to the article by you was perfectly
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consistent with your statement, that it was no part or your design
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in the article in the North American Review, to point out errors in
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my (Ingersoll's) statements; and that your simple object was to
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answer the question, What is Christianity? And yet, the title which
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you gave your own article was as follows: "To Robert G. Ingersoll:
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A Reply."
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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1
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
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First. We are told that only twelve crimes were punished by
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death: idolatry, witchcraft, blasphemy, fraudulent prophesying,
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Sabbath-breaking, rebellion against parents, resistance to judicial
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officers, murder, homicide by negligence, adultery, incestuous
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marriages, and kidnapping. We are then told that as late as the
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year 1600 there were 263 crimes capital in England.
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Does not the world know that all the crimes or offenses
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punishable by death in England could be divided in the same way?
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For instance, treason. This covered a multitude of offenses, all
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punishable by death. Larceny covered another multitude. Perjury --
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trespass, covered many others. There might still be made a smaller
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division, and one who had made up his mind to define the Criminal
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Code of England might have said that there was only one offence
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punishable by death -- wrong-doing.
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The facts with regard to the Criminal Code of england are,
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that up to the reign of George I. there were 167 offenses
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punishable by death. Between the accession of George I. and
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termination of the reign of George III., there were added 56 new
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crimes to which capital punishment was attached. So that when
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George IV. became king, there were 223 offenses capital in England.
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John Bright, commenting upon this subject, says:
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"During all these years, so far as this question goes, our
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Government was becoming more cruel and more barbarous, and we do
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not find, and have not found, that in the great Church of England,
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with its fifteen or twenty thousand ministers, and with its more
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than score of Bishops in the House of Lords, there ever was a voice
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raised, or an organization formed, in favor of a more merciful
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code, or in condemnation of the enormous cruelties which our law
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was continually inflicting. Was not Voltaire justified in saying
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that the English were the only people who murdered by law?"
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As a matter of fact, taking into consideration the situation
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of the people, the number of subjects covered by law, there were
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far more offenses capital in the days of Moses, than in the reign
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of George IV. Is it possible that a minister, a theologian of the
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nineteenth century, imagines that he has substantiated the divine
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origin of the Old Testament by endeavoring to show that the
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government of God was not quite as bad as that of England?
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Mr. Abbott also informs us that the reason Moses killed so
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many was, that banishment from the camp during the wandering in the
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Wilderness was a punishment worse than death. If so, the poor
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wretches should at least have been given their choice. Few, in my
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judgment, would have chosen death, because the history shows that
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a large majority were continually clamoring to be led back to
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Egypt. It required all the cunning and power of God to keep the
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fugitives from returning in a body. Many were killed by Jehovah,
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simply because they wished to leave the camp -- because they longed
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passionately for banishment, and thought with joy of the flesh-pots
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of Egypt, preferring the slavery of Pharaoh to the liberty of
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Jehovah. The memory of leeks and onions was enough to set their
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faces toward the Nile.
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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2
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
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Second. I am charged with saying that the Christian
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missionaries say to the heathen: "You must examine your religion --
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and not only so, but you must reject it; and unless you do reject
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it, and in addition to such rejection, adopt ours, you will be
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eternally damned." Mr, Abbott denies the truth of this statement.
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Let me ask him, If the religion of Jesus Christ is preached
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clearly and distinctly to a heathen, and the heathen understands
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it, and rejects it deliberately, unequivocally and finally, can he
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be saved?
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This question is capable of a direct answer. The reverend
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gentleman now admits that an acceptance of Christianity is not
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essential to salvation. If the acceptance of Christianity is not
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essential to the salvation of the heathen who has heard
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Christianity preached -- knows what its claims are, and the
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evidences that support those claims, is the acceptance of
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Christianity essential to the salvation of an adult intelligent
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citizen of the United States? Will the reverend gentleman tell us,
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and without circumlocution, whether the acceptance of Christianity
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is necessary to the salvation of anybody? If he says that it is,
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then he admits that I was right in my statement concerning what is
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said to the heathen. If he says that it is not, then I ask him,
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What do you do with the following passages of Scripture:
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"There is none other name given under heaven or among men
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whereby we must be saved."
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"Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
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creature, and whosoever believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved;
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and whosoever believeth not shall be damned"?
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I am delighted to know that millions of Pagans will be found
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to have entered into eternal life without any knowledge of Christ
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or his religion.
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Another question naturally arises: If a heathen can hear and
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reject the Gospel, and yet be saved, what will become of the
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heathen who never heard of the Gospel? Are they all to be saved? If
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all who never heard are to be saved, is it not dangerous to
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hear? -- Is it not cruel to preach? Why not stop preaching and let
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the entire world become heathen, so that after this, no soul may be
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lost?
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Third. You say that I desire to deprive mankind of their faith
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in God, in Christ and in the Bible. I do not, and have not,
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endeavored to destroy the faith of any man in a good, in a just, in
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a merciful God, or in a reasonable, natural, human Christ, or in
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any truth that the Bible may contain. I have endeavored -- and with
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some degree of success -- to destroy the faith of man in the
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Jehovah of the Jews, and in the idea that Christ was in fact the
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God of this universe. I have also endeavored to show that there are
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many things in the Bible ignorant and cruel -- that the book was
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produced by barbarians and by savages, and that its influence on
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the world has been bad.
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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3
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
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And I do believe that life and property will be safer, that
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liberty will be surer, that homes will be sweeter, and life will be
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more joyous, and death less terrible, if the myth called Jehovah
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can be destroyed from the human mind.
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It seems to me that the heart of the Christian ought to burst
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into an efflorescence of joy when he becomes satisfied that the
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Bible is only the work of man; that there is no such place as
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perdition -- that there are no eternal flames -- that men's souls
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are not to suffer everlasting pain -- that it is all insanity and
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ignorance and fear and horror. I should think that every good and
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tender soul would be delighted to know that there is no Christ who
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can say to any human being -- to any father, mother, or child --
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"Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and
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his angels." I do believe that he will be far happier when the
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Psalms of David are sung no more, and that he will be far better
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when no one could sing the 109th Psalm without shuddering and
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horror. These Psalms for the most part breathe the spirit of
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hatred, of revenge, and of everything fiendish in the human heart.
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There are some good lines, some lofty aspirations -- these should
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be preserved; and to the extent that they do give voice to the
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higher and holier emotions, they should be preserved.
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So I believe the world will be happier when the life of
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Christ, as it is written now in the New Testament, is no longer
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believed.
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Some of the Ten Commandments will fall into oblivion, and the
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world will be far happier when they do. Most of these commandments
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are universal. They were not discovered by Jehovah -- they were not
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original with him. "Thou shalt not kill," is as old as life. And
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for this reason a large majority of people in all countries have
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objected to being murdered. "Thou shalt not steal," is as old as
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industry. There never has been a human being who was willing to
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work through the sun and rain and heat of summer, simply for the
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purpose that some one who had lived in idleness might steal the
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result of his labor. Consequently, in all countries where it has
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been necessary to work, larceny has been a crime. "Thou shalt not
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lie,' is as old as speech. Men have desired, as a rule, to know the
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truth; and truth goes with courage and candor. "Thou shalt not
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commit adultery," is as old as love. "Honor thy father and thy
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mother," is as old as the family relation.
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All these commandments were known among all peoples thousands
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and thousands of years before Moses was born. The new one, "Thou
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shalt worship no other Gods but me," is a bad commandment --
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because that God was not worthy of worship. "Thou shalt make no
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graven image," -- a bad commandment. It was the death of art. "Thou
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shalt do no work on the Sabbath-day," -- a bad commandment; the
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object of that being, that one-seventh of the time should be given
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to the worship of a monster, making a priesthood necessary, and
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consequently burdening industry with the idle and useless.
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If Professor Clifford felt lonely at the loss of such a
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companion as Jehovah, it is impossible for me to sympathize with
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his feelings. No one wishes to destroy the hope of another life --
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no one wishes to blot out any good that is or that is hoped for, or
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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4
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
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the hope of which gives consolation to the world. Neither do I
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agree with this gentleman when he says, "Let us have the truth,
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cost what it may." I say: Let us have happiness -- well-being. The
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truth upon these matters is of but little importance compared with
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the happiness of mankind, Whether there is, or is not, a God, is
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absolutely unimportant, compared with the well-being of the race.
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Whether the Bible is, or is not, inspired, is not of as much
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consequence as human happiness.
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Of course, if the Old and New Testaments are true, then human
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happiness becomes impossible, either in this world, or in the world
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to come -- that is, impossible to all people who really believe
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that these books are true. It is often necessary to know the truth,
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in order to prepare ourselves to bear consequences; but in the
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metaphysical world, truth is of no possible importance except as it
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affects human happiness.
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If there be a God, he certainly will hold us to no stricter
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responsibility about metaphysical truth than about scientific
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truth. It ought to be just as dangerous to make a mistake in
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Geology as in Theology -- in Astronomy as in the question of the
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Atonement.
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I am not endeavoring to overthrow any faith in God, but the
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faith in a bad God. And in order to accomplish this, I have
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endeavored to show that the question of whether an Infinite God
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exists, or not, is beyond the power of the human mind. Anything is
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better than to believe in the God of the Bible.
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Fourth. Mr. Abbott, like the rest, appeals to names instead of
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to arguments. He appeals to Socrates, and yet he does not agree
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with Socrates. He appeals to Goethe, and yet Goethe was far from a
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Christian. He appeals to Isaac Newton and to Mr. Gladstone -- and
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after mentioning these names, says, that on his side is this faith
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of the wisest, the best, the noblest of mankind.
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Was Socrates after all greater than Epicures -- had he a
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subtler mind -- was he any nobler in his life? Was Isaac Newton so
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much greater than Humboldt -- than Charles Darwin, who has
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revolutionized the thought of the civilized world? Did he do the
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one-hundredth part of the good for mankind that was done by
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Voltaire -- was he as great a metaphysician as Spinoza?
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But why should we appeal to names?
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In a contest between Protestantism and Catholicism are you
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willing to abide by the tests of names? In a contest between
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Christianity and Paganism, in the first century, would you have
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considered the question settled by names? Had Christianity then
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produced the equals of the great Greeks and Romans? The new can
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always be overwhelmed with names that were in favor of the old. Sir
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Isaac Newton, in his day, could have been overwhelmed by the names
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of the great who had preceded him. Christ was overwhelmed by this
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same method -- Moses and the Prophets were appealed to as against
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this Peasant of Palestine. This is the argument of the cemetery --
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this is leaving the open field, and crawling behind gravestones.
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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5
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REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
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|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Newton was understood to be, all his life, a believer in the
|
|||
|
|
Trinity; but he dared not say what his real thought was. After his
|
|||
|
|
death there was found among his papers an argument that he
|
|||
|
|
published against the divinity of Christ. This had been published
|
|||
|
|
in Holland, because he was afraid to have it published in England.
|
|||
|
|
How do we really know what the great men of whom you speak
|
|||
|
|
believed, or believe?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I do not agree with you when you say that Gladstone is the
|
|||
|
|
greatest statesman. He will not, in my judgment, for one moment
|
|||
|
|
compare with Thomas Jefferson -- with Alexander Hamilton -- or, to
|
|||
|
|
come down to later times, with Gambetta; and he is immeasurably
|
|||
|
|
below such a man as Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln was not a believer.
|
|||
|
|
Gambetta was an atheist.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
And yet, these names prove nothing. Instead of citing a name,
|
|||
|
|
and saying that this great man -- Sir Isaac Newton, for instance --
|
|||
|
|
believed in our doctrine, it is far better to give the reasons that
|
|||
|
|
Sir Isaac Newton had for his belief.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Nearly all organizations are filled with snobbishness. each
|
|||
|
|
church has a list of great names, and the members feel in duty
|
|||
|
|
bound to stand by their great men.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Why is idolatry the worst of sins? Is it not far better to
|
|||
|
|
worship a God of stone than a God who threatens to punish in
|
|||
|
|
eternal flames the most of his children? If you simply mean by
|
|||
|
|
idolatry a false conception of God, you must admit that no finite
|
|||
|
|
mind can have a true conception of God -- and you must admit that
|
|||
|
|
no two men can have the same false conception of God, and that:, as
|
|||
|
|
a consequence, no two men can worship identically the same Deity.
|
|||
|
|
Consequently they are all idolaters.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I do not think idolatry the worst of sins. Cruelty is the
|
|||
|
|
worst of sins. It is far better to worship a false God, than to
|
|||
|
|
injure your neighbor -- far better to bow before a monstrosity of
|
|||
|
|
stone, than to enslave your fellow-men.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Fifth. I am glad that you admit that a bad God is worse than
|
|||
|
|
no God. If so, the atheist is far better than the believer in
|
|||
|
|
Jehovah, and far better than the believer in the divinity of Jesus
|
|||
|
|
Christ -- because I am perfectly satisfied that none but a bad God
|
|||
|
|
would threaten to say to any human soul, "Depart, ye cursed, into
|
|||
|
|
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." So that,
|
|||
|
|
before any Christian can he better than an atheist, he must reform
|
|||
|
|
his God.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The agnostic does not simply say, "I do not know." He goes
|
|||
|
|
another step, and he says, with great emphasis that you do not
|
|||
|
|
know. He insists that you are trading on the ignorance of others,
|
|||
|
|
and on the fear of others. He is not satisfied with saying that you
|
|||
|
|
do not know, -- he demonstrates that you do not know, and he drives
|
|||
|
|
you from the field of fact -- he drives you from the realm of
|
|||
|
|
reason -- he drives you from the light, into the darkness of
|
|||
|
|
conjecture -- into the world of dreams and shadows, and he compels
|
|||
|
|
you to say, at last, that your faith has no foundation in fact.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
6
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
You say that religion tells us that "life is a battle with
|
|||
|
|
temptation -- the result is eternal life to the victors."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
But what of the victims? Did your God create these victims,
|
|||
|
|
knowing that they would be victims? Did he deliberately change the
|
|||
|
|
clay into the man -- into a being with wants, surrounded by
|
|||
|
|
difficulties and temptations -- and did he deliberately surmount
|
|||
|
|
this being with temptations that he knew he could not withstand,
|
|||
|
|
with obstacles that he knew he could not overcome, and whom he knew
|
|||
|
|
at last would fall a victim upon the field of death? Is there no
|
|||
|
|
hope for this victim? No remedy for this mistake of your God? Is he
|
|||
|
|
to remain a victim forever? Is it not better to have no God than
|
|||
|
|
such a God? Could the condition of this victim be rendered worse by
|
|||
|
|
the death of God?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Sixth. Of course I agree with you when you say that character
|
|||
|
|
is worth more than condition -- that life is worth more than place.
|
|||
|
|
But I do not agree with you when you say that being -- that simple
|
|||
|
|
existence -- is better than happiness. If a man is not happy, it is
|
|||
|
|
far better not to be. I utterly dissent from your philosophy of
|
|||
|
|
life. From my standpoint, I do not understand you when you talk
|
|||
|
|
about self-denial. I can imagine a being of such character, that
|
|||
|
|
certain things he would do for the one he loved, would by others be
|
|||
|
|
regarded as acts of self-denial, but they could not be so regarded
|
|||
|
|
by him. In these acts of so-called self-denial, he would find his
|
|||
|
|
highest joy.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This pretence that to do right is to carry a cross, has done
|
|||
|
|
an immense amount of injury to the world. Only those who do wrong
|
|||
|
|
carry a cross. To do wrong is the only possible self-denial.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The pulpit has always been saying that, although the virtuous
|
|||
|
|
and good, the kind, the tender, and the loving, may have a very bad
|
|||
|
|
time here, yet they will have their reward in heaven -- having
|
|||
|
|
denied themselves the pleasures of sin, the ecstasies of crime,
|
|||
|
|
they will be made happy in a world hereafter; but that the wicked,
|
|||
|
|
who have enjoyed larceny, and rascality in all its forms, will be
|
|||
|
|
punished hereafter.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
All this rests upon the idea that man should sacrifice
|
|||
|
|
himself, not for his fellow-men, but for God -- that he should do
|
|||
|
|
something for the Almighty -- that he should go hungry to increase
|
|||
|
|
the happiness of heaven -- that he should make a journey to Our
|
|||
|
|
Lady of Loretto, with dried peas in his shoes; that he should
|
|||
|
|
refuse to eat meat on Friday; that he should say so many prayers
|
|||
|
|
before retiring to rest; that he should do something that he hated
|
|||
|
|
to do, in order that he might win the approbation of the heavenly
|
|||
|
|
powers. For my part, I think it much better to feed the hungry,
|
|||
|
|
than to starve yourself.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
You ask me, What is Christianity? You then proceed to
|
|||
|
|
partially answer your own question, and you pick out what you
|
|||
|
|
consider the best, and call that Christianity. But you have given
|
|||
|
|
only one side, and that side not all of it good. Why did you not
|
|||
|
|
give the other side of Christianity -- the side that talks of
|
|||
|
|
eternal flames, of the worm that dieth not -- the side that
|
|||
|
|
denounces the investigator and the thinker -- the side that
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
7
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
promises an eternal reward for credulity -- the side that tells men
|
|||
|
|
to take no thought for the morrow but to trust absolutely in a
|
|||
|
|
Divine Providence?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"Within thirty years after the crucifixion of Jesus, faith in
|
|||
|
|
his resurrection had become the inspiration of the church." I ask
|
|||
|
|
you, Was there a resurrection?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
What advance has been made in what you are pleased to call the
|
|||
|
|
doctrine of the brotherhood of man, through the instrumentality of
|
|||
|
|
the church? Was then as much dread of God among the Pagans as there
|
|||
|
|
has been among Christians?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I do not believe that the church is a conservator of
|
|||
|
|
civilization. It sells crime on credit. I do not believe it is an
|
|||
|
|
educator of good will, It has caused more war than all other
|
|||
|
|
causes. Neither is it a school of a nobler reverence and faith. The
|
|||
|
|
church has not turned the minds of men toward principles of
|
|||
|
|
justice, mercy and truth -- it has destroyed the foundation of
|
|||
|
|
justice. It does not minister comfort at the coffin -- it fills the
|
|||
|
|
mourners with fear. It has never preached a gospel of "Peace on
|
|||
|
|
Earth" -- it has never preached "Good Will toward men."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
For my part, I do not agree with you when you say that: "The
|
|||
|
|
most stalwart anti-Romanist can hardly question that with the Roman
|
|||
|
|
Catholic Church abolished by instantaneous decree, its priests
|
|||
|
|
banished and its churches closed, the disaster to American
|
|||
|
|
communities would be simply awful in its proportions, if not
|
|||
|
|
irretrievable in its results."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I may agree with you in this, that the most stalwart
|
|||
|
|
anti-Romanist would not wish to have the Roman Catholic Church
|
|||
|
|
abolished by tyranny, and its priests banished, and its churches
|
|||
|
|
closed. But if the abolition of that church could be produced by
|
|||
|
|
the development of the human mind; and if its priests, instead of
|
|||
|
|
being banished, should become good and useful citizens, and were in
|
|||
|
|
favor of absolute liberty of mind, then I say that there would be
|
|||
|
|
no disaster, but a very wide and great and splendid blessing. The
|
|||
|
|
church has been the Centaur -- not Theses; the church has not been
|
|||
|
|
Hercules, but the serpent.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
So I believe that there is something far nobler than loyalty
|
|||
|
|
to any particular man. Loyalty to the truth as we perceive it --
|
|||
|
|
loyalty to our duty as we know it -- loyalty to the ideals of our
|
|||
|
|
brain and heart -- is, to my mind, far greater and far nobler than
|
|||
|
|
loyalty to the life of any particular man or God. There is a kind
|
|||
|
|
of slavery -- a kind of abdication -- for any man to take any other
|
|||
|
|
man as his absolute pattern and to hold him up as the perfection of
|
|||
|
|
all life, and to feel that it is his duty to grovel in the dust in
|
|||
|
|
his presence. It is better to feel that the springs of action are
|
|||
|
|
within yourself -- that you are poised upon your own feet -- and
|
|||
|
|
that you look at the world with your own eyes, and follow the path
|
|||
|
|
that reason shows.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I do not believe that the world could be re-organized upon the
|
|||
|
|
simple but radical principles of the Sermon on the Mount. Neither
|
|||
|
|
do I believe that this sermon was ever delivered by one man. It has
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
8
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
in it many fragments that I imagine were dropped from many mouths.
|
|||
|
|
It lacks coherence -- it lacks form. Some of the sayings are
|
|||
|
|
beautiful, sublime and tender; and others seem to be weak,
|
|||
|
|
contradictory and childish.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Seventh. I do not say that I do not know whether this faith is
|
|||
|
|
true, or not. I say distinctly and clearly, that I know it is not
|
|||
|
|
true. I admit that I do not know whether there is any infinite
|
|||
|
|
personality or not, because I do not know that my mind is an
|
|||
|
|
absolute standard. But according to my mind, there is no such
|
|||
|
|
personality; and according to my mind, it is an infinite absurdity
|
|||
|
|
to suppose that there is such an infinite personality. But I do
|
|||
|
|
know something of human nature; I do know a little of the history
|
|||
|
|
of mankind; and I know enough to know that what is known as the
|
|||
|
|
Christian faith, is not true. I am perfectly satisfied, beyond all
|
|||
|
|
doubt and beyond all peradventure, that all miracles are
|
|||
|
|
falsehoods. I know as well as I know that I live -- that others
|
|||
|
|
live -- that what you call your faith, is not true.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I am glad, however, that yon admit that the miracles of the
|
|||
|
|
Old Testament, or the inspiration of the Old Testament, are not
|
|||
|
|
essentials. I draw my conclusion from what you say: "I have not in
|
|||
|
|
this paper discussed the miracles, or the inspiration of the Old
|
|||
|
|
Testament; partly because those topics, in my opinion, occupy a
|
|||
|
|
subordinate position in Christian faith, and I wish to consider
|
|||
|
|
only essentials." At the same time, you tell us that, "On
|
|||
|
|
historical evidence, and after a careful study of the arguments on
|
|||
|
|
both sides, I regard as historical the events narrated in the four
|
|||
|
|
Gospels, ordinarily regarded as miracles." At the same time, you
|
|||
|
|
say that you fully agree with me that the order of nature has never
|
|||
|
|
been violated or interrupted. In other words, you must believe that
|
|||
|
|
all these so-called miracles were actually in accordance with the
|
|||
|
|
laws, or facts rather, in nature.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Eighth, You wonder that I could write the following: "To me
|
|||
|
|
there is nothing of any particular value in the Pentateuch. There
|
|||
|
|
is not, so far as I know, a line in the Book of Genesis calculated
|
|||
|
|
to make a human being better." You then call my attention to "The
|
|||
|
|
magnificent Psalm of Praise to the Creator with which Genesis
|
|||
|
|
opens; to the beautiful legend of the first sin and its fateful
|
|||
|
|
consequences; the inspiring story of Abraham -- the first self-
|
|||
|
|
exile for conscience sake; the romantic story of Joseph the Peasant
|
|||
|
|
boy becoming a Prince," which you say "would have attraction for
|
|||
|
|
any one if he could have found a charm in, for example, the Legends
|
|||
|
|
of the Round Table."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The "magnificent Psalm of Praise to the Creator with which
|
|||
|
|
Genesis opens" is filled with magnificent mistakes, and is utterly
|
|||
|
|
absurd. "The beautiful legend of the first sin and its fateful
|
|||
|
|
consequences" is probably the most contemptible story that was ever
|
|||
|
|
written, and the treatment of the first pair by Jehovah is
|
|||
|
|
unparalleled in the cruelty of despotic governments. According to
|
|||
|
|
this infamous account, God cursed the mothers of the world, and
|
|||
|
|
added to the agonies of maternity. Not only so, but he made woman
|
|||
|
|
a slave, and man something, if possible, meaner -- a master.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
9
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I must confess that I have very little admiration for Abraham.
|
|||
|
|
(Give reasons.)
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
So far as Joseph is concerned, let me give you the history of
|
|||
|
|
Joseph, -- how he conspired with Pharaoh to enslave the people of
|
|||
|
|
Egypt.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
You seem to be astonished that I am not in love with the
|
|||
|
|
character of Joseph, as pictured in the Bible. Let me tell you who
|
|||
|
|
Joseph was.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It seems, from the account, that Pharaoh had a dream. None of
|
|||
|
|
his wise men could give its meaning. He applied to Joseph, and
|
|||
|
|
Joseph, having been enlightened by Jehovah, gave the meaning of the
|
|||
|
|
dream to Pharaoh. He told the king that there would be in Egypt
|
|||
|
|
seven years of great plenty, and after these seven years of great
|
|||
|
|
plenty, there would be seven years of famine, and that the famine
|
|||
|
|
would consume the land. Thereupon Joseph gave to Pharaoh some
|
|||
|
|
advice. First, he was to take up a fifth part of the land of Egypt,
|
|||
|
|
in the seven plenteous years -- he was to gather all the food of
|
|||
|
|
those good years. and lay up corn, and he was to keep this food in
|
|||
|
|
the cities. This food was to be a store to the land against the
|
|||
|
|
seven years of famine. And thereupon Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
|
|||
|
|
"Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so
|
|||
|
|
discreet and wise as thou art: thou shalt be over my house, and
|
|||
|
|
according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the
|
|||
|
|
throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,
|
|||
|
|
See I have set thee over all the land of Egypt."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
We are further informed by the holy writer, that in the seven
|
|||
|
|
plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls, and that
|
|||
|
|
Joseph gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in
|
|||
|
|
the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities, and that he
|
|||
|
|
gathered corn as the sand of the sea. This was done through the
|
|||
|
|
seven plenteous years. Then commenced the years of dearth. Then the
|
|||
|
|
people of Egypt became hungry, and they cried to Pharaoh for bread,
|
|||
|
|
and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph. The famine
|
|||
|
|
was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened the store-
|
|||
|
|
houses, and sold unto the Egyptians, and the famine waxed sore in
|
|||
|
|
the land of Egypt. There was no bread in the land, and Egypt
|
|||
|
|
fainted by reason of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the
|
|||
|
|
money that was found in the land of Egypt, by the sale of corn, and
|
|||
|
|
brought the money to Pharaoh's house. After a time the money failed
|
|||
|
|
in the land of Egypt, and the Egyptians came unto Joseph and said,
|
|||
|
|
"Give us bread; why should we die in thy presence? for the money
|
|||
|
|
faileth." And Joseph said, "Give your cattle, and I will give you
|
|||
|
|
for your cattle." And they brought their cattle unto Joseph, and he
|
|||
|
|
gave them bread in exchange for horses and flocks and herds, and he
|
|||
|
|
fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year. When the
|
|||
|
|
year was ended, they came unto him the second year, and said, "Our
|
|||
|
|
money is spent, our cattle are gone, naught is left but our bodies
|
|||
|
|
and our lands." And they said to Joseph, "Buy us, and our land, for
|
|||
|
|
bread, and we and our land will be servants unto Pharaoh; and give
|
|||
|
|
us seed that we may live and not die, that the land be not
|
|||
|
|
desolate." And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for
|
|||
|
|
the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine
|
|||
|
|
prevailed over them. So the land became Pharaoh's. Then Joseph said
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
10
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
REPLY TO DR. LYMAN ABBOTT.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
to the people, "I have bought you this day, and your land; lo, here
|
|||
|
|
is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land." And thereupon the
|
|||
|
|
people said, "Thou hast saved our lives; we will be Pharaoh's
|
|||
|
|
servants." "And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt unto
|
|||
|
|
this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the land
|
|||
|
|
of the priests only, which became not Pharaoh's."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Yet I am asked, by a minister of the nineteenth century,
|
|||
|
|
whether it is possible that I do not admire the character of
|
|||
|
|
Joseph. This man received information from God -- and gave that
|
|||
|
|
information to Pharaoh, to the end that he might impoverish and
|
|||
|
|
enslave a nation. This man, by means of intelligence received from
|
|||
|
|
Jehovah, took from the people what they had, and compelled them at
|
|||
|
|
last to sell themselves, their wives and their children, and to
|
|||
|
|
become in fact bondmen forever. Yet I am asked by the successor of
|
|||
|
|
Henry Ward Beecher, if I do not admire the infamous wretch who was
|
|||
|
|
guilty of the greatest crime recorded in the literature of the
|
|||
|
|
world.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
So, it is difficult for me to understand why you speak of
|
|||
|
|
Abraham as "a self-exile for conscience sake." If the king of
|
|||
|
|
England had told one of his favorites that if he would go to North
|
|||
|
|
America he would give him a territory hundreds of miles square, and
|
|||
|
|
would defend him in its possession. and that he there might build
|
|||
|
|
up an empire, and the favorite believed the king, and went, would
|
|||
|
|
you call him "a self-exile for conscience sake"?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
According to the story in the Bible, the Lord promised Abraham
|
|||
|
|
that if he would leave his country and kindred, he would make of
|
|||
|
|
him a great nation, would bless him, and make his name great, that
|
|||
|
|
he would bless them that blessed Abraham, and that he would curse
|
|||
|
|
him whom Abraham cursed; and further, that in him all the families
|
|||
|
|
of the earth should be blest. If this is true, would you call
|
|||
|
|
Abraham "a self-exile for conscience sake"? If Abraham had only
|
|||
|
|
known that the Lord was not to keep his promise, he probably would
|
|||
|
|
have remained where he was -- the fact being, that every promise
|
|||
|
|
made by the Lord to Abraham, was broken.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Do you think that Abraham was "a self-exile for conscience
|
|||
|
|
sake" when he told Sarah, his wife, to say that she was his sister
|
|||
|
|
-- in consequence of which she was taken into Pharaoh's house, and
|
|||
|
|
by reason of which Pharaoh made presents of sheep and oxen and man
|
|||
|
|
servants and maid servants to Abraham? What would you call such a
|
|||
|
|
proceeding now? What would you think of a man who was willing that
|
|||
|
|
his wife should become the mistress of the king, provided the king
|
|||
|
|
would make him presents?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Was it for conscience sake that the same subterfuge was
|
|||
|
|
adopted again, when Abraham said to Abimelech, the King of Gerar,
|
|||
|
|
She is my sister -- in consequence of which Abimelech sent for
|
|||
|
|
Sarah and took her?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Mr. Ingersoll having been called to Montana, as counsel in a
|
|||
|
|
long and important law suit, never finished this article.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
END
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
**** ****
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
11
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
1890
|
|||
|
|
________
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This fragment (found among Col. Ingersoll's papers) is a mere
|
|||
|
|
outline of a contemplated answer to Archdeacon Farrar's article in
|
|||
|
|
the North American Review, May, 1890, entitled: "A Few Words on
|
|||
|
|
Col. Ingersoll."
|
|||
|
|
________
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Archdeacon Farrar, in the opening of his article, in a burst
|
|||
|
|
of confidence, takes occasion to let the world know how perfectly
|
|||
|
|
angelic he intends to be. He publicly proclaims that he can
|
|||
|
|
criticize the arguments of one with whom he disagrees, without
|
|||
|
|
resorting to invective, or becoming discourteous. Does he call
|
|||
|
|
attention to this because most theologians are hateful and
|
|||
|
|
ungentlemanly? Is it a rare thing for the pious to be candid? Why
|
|||
|
|
should an Archdeacon be cruel, or even ill-bred? Yet, in the very
|
|||
|
|
beginning, the Archdeacon in effect says: Behold, I show you a
|
|||
|
|
mystery -- a Christian who can write about an infidel, without
|
|||
|
|
invective and without brutality. Is it then so difficult for those
|
|||
|
|
who love their enemies to keep within the bounds of decency when
|
|||
|
|
speaking of unbelievers who have never injured them?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As a matter of fact, I was somewhat surprised when I read the
|
|||
|
|
proclamation to the effect that the writer was not to use
|
|||
|
|
invective, and was to be guilty of no discourtesy; but on reading
|
|||
|
|
the article, and finding that he had failed to keep his promise, I
|
|||
|
|
was not surprised.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It is an old habit with theologians to beat the living with
|
|||
|
|
the bones of the dead. The arguments that cannot be answered
|
|||
|
|
provoke epithet.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Archdeacon Farrar criticizes several of my statements: The
|
|||
|
|
same rules or laws of probability must govern in religious
|
|||
|
|
questions as in others.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This apparently self-evident statement seems to excite almost
|
|||
|
|
the ire of this Archdeacon, and for the purpose of showing that it
|
|||
|
|
is not true, he states, first, that "the first postulate of
|
|||
|
|
revelation is that it appeals to man's spirit;" second, that "the
|
|||
|
|
spirit is a sphere of being which transcends the spheres of the
|
|||
|
|
senses and the understanding;" third, that "if a man denies the
|
|||
|
|
existence of a spiritual intuition, he is like a blind man
|
|||
|
|
criticizing colors, or a deaf man critici harmonies;" fourth, that
|
|||
|
|
"revelation must be judged by its own criteria;" and fifth, that
|
|||
|
|
"St. Paul draws a marked distinction between the spirit of the
|
|||
|
|
world and the spirit which is of God," and that the same Saint said
|
|||
|
|
that "the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of
|
|||
|
|
God, for they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot know them,
|
|||
|
|
because they are spiritually discerned." Let us answer these
|
|||
|
|
objections in their order.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
1. "The first postulate of revelation is that it appeals to
|
|||
|
|
man's spirit." What does the Archdeacon mean by "spirit"? A man
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
12
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
says that he has received a revelation from God, and he wishes to
|
|||
|
|
convince another man that he has received a revelation -- how does
|
|||
|
|
he proceed? Does he appeal to the man's reason? Will he tell him
|
|||
|
|
the circumstances under which he received the revelation? Will he
|
|||
|
|
tell him why he is convinced that it was from God? Will the
|
|||
|
|
Archdeacon be kind enough to tell how the spirit can be approached
|
|||
|
|
passing by the reason, the understanding, the judgment and the
|
|||
|
|
intellect? If the Archdeacon replies that the revelation itself
|
|||
|
|
will bear the evidence within itself, what then, I ask, does he
|
|||
|
|
mean by the word "evidence"? Evidence about what? Is it such
|
|||
|
|
evidence as satisfies the intelligence, convinces the reason, and
|
|||
|
|
is it in conformity with the known facts of the mind?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It may be said by the Archdeacon that anything that satisfies
|
|||
|
|
what he is pleased to call the spirit, that furnishes what it seems
|
|||
|
|
by nature to require, is of supernatural origin. We hear music, and
|
|||
|
|
this music seems to satisfy the desire for harmony -- still, no one
|
|||
|
|
argues, from that fact, that music is of supernatural origin. It
|
|||
|
|
may satisfy a want in the brain -- a want unknown until the music
|
|||
|
|
was heard -- and yet we all agree in saying that music has been
|
|||
|
|
naturally produced, and no one claims that Beethoven, or Wagner,
|
|||
|
|
was inspired by God.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The same may be said of things that satisfy the palate -- of
|
|||
|
|
statues, of paintings, that reveal to him who looks, the existence
|
|||
|
|
of that of which before that time he had not even dreamed, Why is
|
|||
|
|
it that we love color -- that we are pleased with harmonies, or
|
|||
|
|
with a succession of sounds rising and falling at measured
|
|||
|
|
intervals? No one would answer this question by saying that
|
|||
|
|
sculptors and painters and musicians were divinely inspired;
|
|||
|
|
neither would they say that the first postulate of art is that it
|
|||
|
|
appeals to man's spirit, and for that reason the rules or laws of
|
|||
|
|
probability have nothing to do with the question of art.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
2. That "the spirit is a sphere of being which transcends the
|
|||
|
|
spheres of the senses and the understanding." Let us imagine a man
|
|||
|
|
without senses. He cannot feel, see, hear, taste, or smell. What is
|
|||
|
|
he? Would it be possible for him to have an idea? Would such a man
|
|||
|
|
have a spirit to which revelation could appeal, or would there be
|
|||
|
|
locked in the dungeon of his brain a spirit, that is to say, a
|
|||
|
|
"sphere of being which transcends the spheres of the senses and the
|
|||
|
|
understanding"? Admit that in the person supposed, the machinery of
|
|||
|
|
life goes on -- what is he more than an inanimate machine?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
3. That "if a man denies the very existence of a spiritual
|
|||
|
|
intuition, he is like a blind man critici colors, or a deaf man
|
|||
|
|
critici harmonies." What do you mean by "spiritual intuition"? When
|
|||
|
|
did this "spiritual intuition" become the property of man --
|
|||
|
|
before, or after, birth? Is it of supernatural, or miraculous,
|
|||
|
|
origin, and is it possible that this "spiritual intuition" is
|
|||
|
|
independent of the man? Is it based upon experience? Was it in any
|
|||
|
|
way born of the senses, or of the effect of nature upon the brain
|
|||
|
|
-- that is to say, of things seen, or heard, or touched? Is
|
|||
|
|
"spiritual intuition" an entity? If man can exist without the
|
|||
|
|
"spiritual intuition," do you insist that the "spiritual intuition"
|
|||
|
|
can exist without the man?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
13
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
You may remember that Mr. Locke frequently remarked: "Define
|
|||
|
|
your terms." It is to be regretted that in the hurry of writing
|
|||
|
|
your article, you forgot to give an explanation of "spiritual
|
|||
|
|
intuition."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I will also take the liberty of asking you how a blind man
|
|||
|
|
could critici colors, and how a deaf man could critici harmonies.
|
|||
|
|
Possibly you may Imagine that "spiritual intuition" can take
|
|||
|
|
cognizance of colors, as well as of harmonies. Let me ask: Why
|
|||
|
|
cannot a blind man critici colors? Let me answer: For the same
|
|||
|
|
reason that Archdeacon Farrar can tell us nothing about an infinite
|
|||
|
|
personality.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
4. That "revelation must be judged by its own criteria."
|
|||
|
|
Suppose the Bible had taught that selfishness, larceny and murder
|
|||
|
|
were virtues; would you deny its inspiration? Would not your denial
|
|||
|
|
be based upon a conclusion that had been reached by your reason
|
|||
|
|
that no intelligent being could have been its author -- that no
|
|||
|
|
good being could, by any possibility, uphold the commission of such
|
|||
|
|
crimes? In that case would you be guided by "spiritual intuition,"
|
|||
|
|
or by your reason?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
When we examine the claims of a history -- as, for instance,
|
|||
|
|
a history of England, or of America, are we to decide according to
|
|||
|
|
"spiritual intuition," or in accordance with the laws or rules of
|
|||
|
|
probability? Is there a different standard for a history written in
|
|||
|
|
Hebrew, several thousand years ago, and one written in English in
|
|||
|
|
the nineteenth century? If a history should now be written in
|
|||
|
|
England, in which the most miraculous and impossible things should
|
|||
|
|
be related as facts, and if I should deny these alleged facts,
|
|||
|
|
would you consider that the author had overcome my denial by
|
|||
|
|
saying, "history must be judged by its own criteria"?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
5. That "the natural man receiveth not the things of the
|
|||
|
|
spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, and he cannot
|
|||
|
|
know them, because they are spiritually discerned." The Archdeacon
|
|||
|
|
admits that the natural man cannot know the things of the spirit,
|
|||
|
|
because they are not naturally, but spiritually, discerned. On the
|
|||
|
|
next page we are told, that "the truths which Agnostics repudiate
|
|||
|
|
have been, and are, acknowledged by all except a fraction of the
|
|||
|
|
human race." It goes without saying that a large majority of the
|
|||
|
|
human race are natural; consequently, the statement of the
|
|||
|
|
Archdeacon contradicts the statement of St. Paul. The Archdeacon
|
|||
|
|
insists that all except a fraction of the human race acknowledge
|
|||
|
|
the truths which Agnostics repudiate, and they must acknowledge
|
|||
|
|
them because they are by them spiritually discerned; and yet, St.
|
|||
|
|
Paul says that this is impossible, and insists that "the natural
|
|||
|
|
man cannot know the things of the spirit of God, because they are
|
|||
|
|
spiritually discerned."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
There is only one way to harmonize the statement of the
|
|||
|
|
Archdeacon and the Saint, and that is, by saying that nearly all of
|
|||
|
|
the human race are unnatural, and that only a small fraction are
|
|||
|
|
natural, and that the small fraction of men who are natural, are
|
|||
|
|
Agnostics, and only those who accept what the Archdeacon calls
|
|||
|
|
"truths" are unnatural to such a degree that they can discern
|
|||
|
|
spiritual things.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
14
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Upon this subject, the last things to which the Archdeacon
|
|||
|
|
appeals, are the very things that he, at first, utterly repudiated.
|
|||
|
|
He asks, "Are we contemptuously to reject the witness of
|
|||
|
|
innumerable multitudes of the good and wise, that -- with a
|
|||
|
|
spiritual reality more convincing to them than the material
|
|||
|
|
evidences which converted the apostles -- they have seen, and
|
|||
|
|
heard, and their hands have handled the "Word of Life"? Thus at
|
|||
|
|
last the Archdeacon appeals to the evidences of the senses.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
II.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon then proceeds to attack the following
|
|||
|
|
statement: There is no subject, and can be none, concerning which
|
|||
|
|
any human being is under any obligation to believe without
|
|||
|
|
evidence.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
One would suppose that it would be impossible to formulate an
|
|||
|
|
objection to this statement. What is or is not evidence, depends
|
|||
|
|
upon the mind to which it is presented. There is no possible
|
|||
|
|
"insinuation" in this statement, one way or the other. There is
|
|||
|
|
nothing sinister in it, any more than there would be in the
|
|||
|
|
statement that twice five are ten. How did it happen to occur to
|
|||
|
|
the Archdeacon that when I spoke of believing without evidence, I
|
|||
|
|
referred to all people who believe in the existence of a God, and
|
|||
|
|
that I intended to say "that one-third of the world's inhabitants
|
|||
|
|
had embraced the faith of Christians without evidence"?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Certain things may convince one mind and utterly fail to
|
|||
|
|
convince others. Undoubtedly the persons who have believed in the
|
|||
|
|
dogmas of Christianity have had what was sufficient evidence for
|
|||
|
|
them. All I said was, that "there is no subject, and can be none,
|
|||
|
|
concerning which any human being is under any obligation to believe
|
|||
|
|
without evidence." Does the Archdeacon insist that there is an
|
|||
|
|
obligation resting on any human mind to believe without evidence?
|
|||
|
|
Is he willing to go a step further and say that there is an
|
|||
|
|
obligation resting upon the minds of men to believe contrary to
|
|||
|
|
evidence? If one is under obligation to believe without evidence,
|
|||
|
|
it is just as reasonable to say that he is under obligation to
|
|||
|
|
believe in spite of evidence. What does the word "evidence" mean?
|
|||
|
|
A man in whose honesty I have great confidence, tells me that he
|
|||
|
|
saw a dead man raised to life, I do not believe him. Why? His
|
|||
|
|
statement is not evidence to my mind. Why? Because it contradicts
|
|||
|
|
all of my experience, and, as I believe, the experience of the
|
|||
|
|
intelligent world.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
No one pretends that "one-third of the world's inhabitants
|
|||
|
|
have embraced the faith of Christians without evidence" -- that is,
|
|||
|
|
that all Christians have embraced the faith without evidence. In
|
|||
|
|
the olden time, when hundreds of thousands of men were given their
|
|||
|
|
choice between being murdered and baptized, they generally accepted
|
|||
|
|
baptism -- probably they accepted Christianity without critically
|
|||
|
|
examining the evidence.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Is it historically absurd that millions of people have
|
|||
|
|
believed in systems of religion without evidence? Thousands of
|
|||
|
|
millions have believed that Mohammed was a prophet of God. And not
|
|||
|
|
only so, but have believed in his miraculous power. Did they
|
|||
|
|
believe without evidence? Is it historically absurd to say that
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
15
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Mohammedism is based upon mistake? What shall we say of the
|
|||
|
|
followers of Buddha, who far outnumber the followers of Christ?
|
|||
|
|
Have they believed without evidence? And is it historically absurd
|
|||
|
|
to say that our ancestors of a few hundred years ago were as
|
|||
|
|
credulous as the disciples of Buddha? Is it not true that the same
|
|||
|
|
gentlemen who believed thoroughly in all the miracles of the New
|
|||
|
|
Testament also believed the world to be flat, and were perfectly
|
|||
|
|
satisfied that the sun made its daily journey around the earth? Did
|
|||
|
|
they have any evidence? Is it historically absurd to say that they
|
|||
|
|
believed without evidence?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
III.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Neither is there any intelligent being who can by any possi-
|
|||
|
|
bility be flattered by the exercise of ignorant credulity.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon asks what I "gain by stigmatizing as ignorant
|
|||
|
|
credulity that inspired, inspiring, invincible conviction -- the
|
|||
|
|
formative principle of noble efforts and self-sacrificing lives,
|
|||
|
|
which at this moment, as during all the long millenniums of the
|
|||
|
|
past, has been held not only by the ignorant and the credulous, but
|
|||
|
|
by those whom all the ages have regarded as the ablest, the wisest,
|
|||
|
|
the most learned and the most gifted of mankind?"
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Does the Archdeacon deny that credulity is ignorant? In this
|
|||
|
|
connection, what does the word "credulity" mean? It means that
|
|||
|
|
condition or state of the mind in which the impossible, or the
|
|||
|
|
absurd, is accepted as true, Is not such credulity ignorant? Do we
|
|||
|
|
speak of wise credulity -- of intelligent credulity? We may say
|
|||
|
|
theological credulity, or Christian credulity, but certainly not
|
|||
|
|
intelligent credulity. Is the flattery of the ignorant and
|
|||
|
|
credulous -- the flattery being based upon that which ignorance and
|
|||
|
|
credulity have accepted -- acceptable to any intelligent being? Is
|
|||
|
|
it possible that we can flatter God by pretending to believe, or by
|
|||
|
|
believing, that which is repugnant to reason, that which upon
|
|||
|
|
examination is seen to he absurd? The Archdeacon admits that God
|
|||
|
|
cannot possibly be so flattered. If, then, he agrees with my
|
|||
|
|
statement, why endeavor to controvert it?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
IV.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The man who without prejudice reads and understands the Old
|
|||
|
|
and New Testaments will cease to be an orthodox Christian.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
________
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon says that he cannot pretend to imagine what my
|
|||
|
|
definition of an orthodox Christian is. I will use his own language
|
|||
|
|
to express my definition. "By an orthodox Christian I mean one who
|
|||
|
|
believes what is commonly called the Apostles' Creed. I also
|
|||
|
|
believe that the essential doctrines of the church must be judged
|
|||
|
|
by her universal formulae, not by the opinions of this or that
|
|||
|
|
theologian, however eminent, or even of any number of theologians,
|
|||
|
|
unless the church has stamped them with the sanction of her formal
|
|||
|
|
and distinct acceptance."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
16
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This is the language of the Archdeacon himself, and I accept
|
|||
|
|
it as a definition of orthodoxy. With this definition in mind, I
|
|||
|
|
say that the man who without prejudice reads and understands the
|
|||
|
|
Old and New Testaments will cease to be an orthodox Christian. By
|
|||
|
|
"prejudice," I mean the tendencies and trends given to his mind by
|
|||
|
|
heredity, by education, by the facts and circumstances entering
|
|||
|
|
into the life of man. We know how children are poisoned in the
|
|||
|
|
cradle, how they are deformed in the Sunday School, how they are
|
|||
|
|
misled by the pulpit. And we know how numberless interests unite
|
|||
|
|
and conspire to prevent the individual soul from examining for
|
|||
|
|
itself. We know that nearly all rewards are in the hands of
|
|||
|
|
Superstition -- that she holds the sweet wreath, and that her hands
|
|||
|
|
lead the applause of what is called the civilized world. We know
|
|||
|
|
how many men give up their mental independence for the sake of pelf
|
|||
|
|
and power. We know the influence of mothers and fathers -- of
|
|||
|
|
Church and State -- of Faith and Fashion. All these influences
|
|||
|
|
produce in honest minds what may be known as prejudice, -- in other
|
|||
|
|
minds, what may be known as hypocrisy.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It is hardly worth my while to speak of the merits of students
|
|||
|
|
of Holy Writ "who," the Archdeacon was polite enough to say, "know
|
|||
|
|
ten thousand times more of the Scriptures" than I do. This, to say
|
|||
|
|
the least of it, is a gratuitous assertion, and one that does not
|
|||
|
|
tend to throw the slightest ray of light on any matter in
|
|||
|
|
controversy. Neither is it true that it was my "point" to say that
|
|||
|
|
all people are prejudiced, merely because they believe in God; it
|
|||
|
|
was my point to say that no man can read the miracles of the Old
|
|||
|
|
Testament, without prejudice, and believe them; it was my point to
|
|||
|
|
say that no man can read many of the cruel and barbarous laws said
|
|||
|
|
to have been given by God himself, and yet believe, -- unless he
|
|||
|
|
was prejudiced, -- that these laws were divinely given.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Neither do I believe that there is now beneath the cope of
|
|||
|
|
heaven an intelligent man, without prejudice, who believes in the
|
|||
|
|
inspiration of the Bible.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The intelligent man who investigates the religion of any
|
|||
|
|
country, without fear and without prejudice, will not and cannot be
|
|||
|
|
a believer.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
In answering this statement the Archdeacon says: "Argal, every
|
|||
|
|
believer in any religion is either an incompetent idiot, or coward
|
|||
|
|
-- with a dash of prejudice."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I hardly know what the gentleman means by an "incompetent
|
|||
|
|
idiot," as I know of no competent ones. It was not my intention to
|
|||
|
|
say that believers in religion are idiots or cowards. I did not
|
|||
|
|
mean, by using the word "fear," to say that persons actuated by
|
|||
|
|
fear are cowards. That was not in my mind. By "fear," I intended to
|
|||
|
|
convey that fear commonly called awe, or superstition, -- that is
|
|||
|
|
to say, fear of the supernatural, -- fear of the gods -- fear of
|
|||
|
|
punishment in another world -- fear of some Supreme Being; not feat
|
|||
|
|
of some other man -- not the fear that is branded with cowardice.
|
|||
|
|
And, of course, the Archdeacon perfectly understood my meaning; but
|
|||
|
|
it was necessary to give another meaning in order to make the
|
|||
|
|
appearance of an answer possible.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
17
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
By "prejudice," I mean that state of mind that accepts the
|
|||
|
|
false for the true. All prejudice is honest. And the probability
|
|||
|
|
is, that all men are more or less prejudiced on some subject. But
|
|||
|
|
on that account I do not call them "incompetent idiots, or cowards,
|
|||
|
|
with a dash of prejudice."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I have no doubt that the Archdeacon himself believes that all
|
|||
|
|
Mohammedans are prejudiced, and that they are actuated more or less
|
|||
|
|
by fear, inculcated by their parents and by society at large.
|
|||
|
|
Neither have I any doubt that he regards all Catholics as
|
|||
|
|
prejudiced, and believes that they are governed more or less by
|
|||
|
|
fear. It is no answer to what I have said for the Archdeacon to say
|
|||
|
|
that "others have studied every form of religion with infinitely
|
|||
|
|
greater power than I have done." This is a personality that has
|
|||
|
|
nothing to do with the subject in hand. It is no argument to repeat
|
|||
|
|
a list of names. It is an old trick of the theologians to use names
|
|||
|
|
instead of arguments -- to appeal to persons instead of principles
|
|||
|
|
-- to rest their case upon the views of kings and nobles and others
|
|||
|
|
who pretend eminence in some department of human learning or
|
|||
|
|
ignorance, rather that on human knowledge.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
This is the argument of the old against the new, and on this
|
|||
|
|
appeal the old must of necessity have the advantage. When some man
|
|||
|
|
announces the discovery of a new truth, or of some great fact
|
|||
|
|
contrary to the opinions of the learned, it is easy to overwhelm
|
|||
|
|
him with names. There is but one name on his side -- that is to
|
|||
|
|
say, his own. All others who are living, and the dead, are on the
|
|||
|
|
other side. And if this argument is good, it ought to have ended
|
|||
|
|
all progress many thousands of years ago. If this argument is
|
|||
|
|
conclusive, the first man would have had freedom of opinion; the
|
|||
|
|
second man would have stood an equal chance; but if the third man
|
|||
|
|
differed from the other two, he would have been gone. Yet this is
|
|||
|
|
the argument of the church. They say to every man who advances
|
|||
|
|
something new: Are you greater than the dead? The man who is right
|
|||
|
|
is generally modest. Men in the wrong, as a rule, are arrogant; and
|
|||
|
|
arrogance is generally in the majority.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon appeals to certain names to show that I am
|
|||
|
|
wrong. In order for this argument to be good -- that is to say, to
|
|||
|
|
be honest -- he should agree with all the opinions of the men whose
|
|||
|
|
names he gives. He shows, or endeavors to show, that I am wrong,
|
|||
|
|
because I do not agree with St. Augustine. Does the Archdeacon
|
|||
|
|
agree with St. Augustine? Does he now believe that the bones of a
|
|||
|
|
saint were taken to Hippo -- that being in the diocese of St.
|
|||
|
|
Augustine -- and that five corpses, having been touched with these
|
|||
|
|
bones, were raised to life? Does he believe that a demoniac, on
|
|||
|
|
being touched with one of these bones, was relieved of a multitude
|
|||
|
|
of devils, and that these devils then and there testified to the
|
|||
|
|
genuineness of the bones, not only, but told the hearers that the
|
|||
|
|
doctrine of the Trinity was true? Does the Archdeacon agree with
|
|||
|
|
St. Augustine that over seventy miracles were performed with these
|
|||
|
|
bones, and that in a neighboring town many hundreds of miracles
|
|||
|
|
were performed? Does he agree with St. Augustine in his estimate of
|
|||
|
|
women -- placing them on a par with beasts?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I admit that St. Augustine had great influence with the people
|
|||
|
|
of his day -- but what people? I admit also that he was the founder
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
18
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
of the first begging brotherhood -- that he organized mendicancy --
|
|||
|
|
and that he most cheerfully lived on the labor of others.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If St. Augustine lived now he would be the inmate of an
|
|||
|
|
asylum. This same St. Augustine believed that the fire of hell was
|
|||
|
|
material -- that the body itself having influenced the soul to sin,
|
|||
|
|
would be burned forever, and that God by a perpetual miracle would
|
|||
|
|
save the body from being annihilated and devoured in those eternal
|
|||
|
|
flames.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Let me ask the Archdeacon a question: Do you agree with St.
|
|||
|
|
Augustine? If you do not, do you claim to be a greater man? Is
|
|||
|
|
"your mole-hill higher than his Dhawalagiri"? Are you looking down
|
|||
|
|
upon him from the altitude of your own inferiority?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Precisely the same could be said of St. Jerome. The Archdeacon
|
|||
|
|
appeals to Charlemagne, one of the great generals of the world --
|
|||
|
|
a man who in his time shed rivers of blood, and who on one occasion
|
|||
|
|
massacred over four thousand helpless prisoners -- a Christian
|
|||
|
|
gentleman who had, I think, about nine wives, and was the supposed
|
|||
|
|
father of some twenty children. This same Charlemagne had laws
|
|||
|
|
against polygamy, and yet practiced it himself. Are we under the
|
|||
|
|
same obligation to share his vices as his views? It is wonderful
|
|||
|
|
how the church has always appealed to the so-called great -- how it
|
|||
|
|
has endeavored to get certificates from kings and queens, from
|
|||
|
|
successful soldiers and statesmen, to the truth of the Bible and
|
|||
|
|
the moral character of Christ! How the saints have crawled in the
|
|||
|
|
dust before the slayers of mankind! Think of proving the religion
|
|||
|
|
of love and forgiveness by Charlemagne and Napoleon!
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
An appeal is also made to Roger Bacon, Yet this man attained
|
|||
|
|
all his eminence by going contrary to the opinions and teachings of
|
|||
|
|
the church. In his time, it was matter of congratulation that you
|
|||
|
|
knew nothing of secular things. He was a student of Nature, an
|
|||
|
|
investigator, and by the very construction of his mind was opposed
|
|||
|
|
to the methods of Catholicism.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Copernicus was an astronomer, but he certainty did not get his
|
|||
|
|
astronomy from the church, nor from General Joshua, nor from the
|
|||
|
|
story of the Jewish king for whose benefit the sun was turned back
|
|||
|
|
in heaven ten degrees.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Neither did Kepler find his three laws in the Sermon on the
|
|||
|
|
Mount, nor were they the utterances of Jehovah on Mount Sinai. He
|
|||
|
|
did not make his discoveries because he was a Christian; but in
|
|||
|
|
spite of that fact.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
As to Lord Bacon, let me ask, are you willing to accept his
|
|||
|
|
ideas? If not, why do you quote his name? Am I bound by the
|
|||
|
|
opinions of Bacon in matters of religion, and not in matters of
|
|||
|
|
science? Bacon denied the Copernican system, and died a believer in
|
|||
|
|
the Ptolemaic -- died believing that the earth is stationary and
|
|||
|
|
that the sun and stars move around it as a center, Do you agree
|
|||
|
|
with Bacon? If not, do you pretend that your mind is greater? Would
|
|||
|
|
it be fair for a believer in Bacon to denounce you as an egotist
|
|||
|
|
and charge you with "obstrepemusness" because you merely suggested
|
|||
|
|
that Mr. Bacon was a little off in his astronomical opinions? Do
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
19
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
you not see that you have furnished the cord for me to tie your
|
|||
|
|
hands behind you?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I do not know how you ascertained that Shakespeare was what
|
|||
|
|
you call a believer. Substantially all that we know of Shakespeare
|
|||
|
|
is found in what we know as his "works" All else can be read in one
|
|||
|
|
minute. May I ask, how you know that Shakespeare was a believer? Do
|
|||
|
|
you prove it by the words he put in the mouths of his characters?
|
|||
|
|
If so, you can prove that he was anything, nothing, and everything.
|
|||
|
|
Have you literary bread to eat that I know not of? Whether Dante
|
|||
|
|
was, or was not, a Christian, I am not prepared to say. I have
|
|||
|
|
always admired him for one thing: he had the courage to see a pope
|
|||
|
|
in hell.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Probably you are not prepared to agree with Milton --
|
|||
|
|
especially in his opinion that marriage had better be by contract,
|
|||
|
|
for a limited time. And if you disagree with Milton on this point,
|
|||
|
|
do you thereby pretend to say that you could have written a better
|
|||
|
|
poem than Paradise Lost?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
So Newton is supposed to have been a Trinitarian. And yet it
|
|||
|
|
is said that, after his death, there was found an article, which
|
|||
|
|
had been published by him in Holland, against the dogma of the
|
|||
|
|
Trinity.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
After all, it is quite difficult to find out what the great
|
|||
|
|
men have believed. They have been actuated by so many unknown
|
|||
|
|
motives; they have wished for place; they have desired to be
|
|||
|
|
Archdeacons, Bishops, Cardinals, Popes; their material interests
|
|||
|
|
have sometimes interfered with the expression of their thoughts.
|
|||
|
|
Most of the men to whom you have alluded lived at a time when the
|
|||
|
|
world was controlled by what may be called a Christian mob -- when
|
|||
|
|
the expression of an honest thought would have cost the life of the
|
|||
|
|
one who expressed it -- when the followers of Christ were ready
|
|||
|
|
with sword and fagot to exterminate philosophy and liberty from the
|
|||
|
|
world.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Is it possible that we are under any obligation to believe the
|
|||
|
|
Mosaic account of the Garden of Eden, or of the talking serpent,
|
|||
|
|
because "Whewell had an encyclopedic range of knowledge"? Must we
|
|||
|
|
believe that Joshua stopped the sun, because Faraday was "the most
|
|||
|
|
eminent man of science of his day"? Shall we believe the story of
|
|||
|
|
the fiery furnace, because "Mr, Spottiswoode was president of the
|
|||
|
|
Royal Society" -- had "rare mathematical genius" -- so rare that he
|
|||
|
|
was actually "buried in Westminster Abbey"? Shall we believe that
|
|||
|
|
Jonah spent three days and nights in the inside of a whale because
|
|||
|
|
"Professor Clark Maxwell's death was mourned by all"?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Are we under any obligation to believe that an infinite God
|
|||
|
|
sent two she bears to tear forty children in pieces because they
|
|||
|
|
laughed at a prophet without hair? Must we believe this because
|
|||
|
|
"Sir Gabriel Stokes is the living president of the Royal Society,
|
|||
|
|
and a Churchman" besides? Are we bound to believe that Daniel spent
|
|||
|
|
one of the happiest evenings of his life in the lion's den, because
|
|||
|
|
"Sir William Dawson of Canada, two years ago, presided over the
|
|||
|
|
British Association"? And must we believe in the ten plagues of
|
|||
|
|
Egypt, including the lice, because "Professor Max Muller made an
|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
20
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
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|
|||
|
|
eloquent plea in Westminster Abbey in favor of Christian missions"?
|
|||
|
|
Possibly he wanted missionaries to visit heathen lands so that they
|
|||
|
|
could see the difference for themselves between theory and
|
|||
|
|
practice, in what is known as the Christian religion.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Must we believe the miracles of the New Testament -- the
|
|||
|
|
casting out of devils -- because "Lord Tennyson and Mr. Browning
|
|||
|
|
stand far above all other poets of this generation in England," or
|
|||
|
|
because "Longfellow, Holmes, and Lowell and Whittier" occupy the
|
|||
|
|
same position in America? Must we admit that devils entered into
|
|||
|
|
swine because "Bancroft and Parkman are the leading prose writers
|
|||
|
|
of America" -- which I take this occasion to deny?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It is to be hoped that some time the Archdeacon will read that
|
|||
|
|
portion of Mr. Bancroft's history in which he gives the account of
|
|||
|
|
how the soldiers, commonly called Hessians, were raised by the
|
|||
|
|
British Government during the American Revolution.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
These poor wretches were sold at so much apiece. For every one
|
|||
|
|
that was killed, so much was paid, and for every one that was
|
|||
|
|
wounded a certain amount was given. Mr. Bancroft tells us that God
|
|||
|
|
was not satisfied with this business, and although he did not
|
|||
|
|
interfere in any way to save the poor soldiers, he did visit the
|
|||
|
|
petty tyrants who made the bargains with his wrath. I remember that
|
|||
|
|
as a punishment to one of these, his wife was induced to leave him;
|
|||
|
|
another one died a good many years afterwards; and several of them
|
|||
|
|
had exceedingly bad luck.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
After reading this philosophic dissertation on the dealings of
|
|||
|
|
Providence, I doubt if the Archdeacon will still remain of the
|
|||
|
|
opinion that Mr. Bancroft is one of the leading prose writers of
|
|||
|
|
America. If the Archdeacon will read a few of the sermons of
|
|||
|
|
Theodore Parker, and essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson, if he will read
|
|||
|
|
the life of Voltaire by James Parton, he may change his opinion as
|
|||
|
|
to the great prose writers of America.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
My argument against miracles is answered by reference to "Dr.
|
|||
|
|
Lightfoot, a man of such immense learning that he became the equal
|
|||
|
|
of his successor Dr. Westcott." And when I say that there are
|
|||
|
|
errors and imperfections in the Bible, I am told that Dr. Westcott
|
|||
|
|
"investigated the Christian religion and its earliest documents au
|
|||
|
|
fond and was an orthodox believer." Of course the Archdeacon knows
|
|||
|
|
that no one now knows who wrote one of the books of the Bible. He
|
|||
|
|
knows that no one now lives who ever saw one of the original
|
|||
|
|
manuscripts, and that no one now lives who ever saw anybody who had
|
|||
|
|
seen anybody who had seen an original manuscript.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
VI.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Is it possible for the human mind to conceive of an infinite
|
|||
|
|
personality?
|
|||
|
|
________
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon says that it is, and yet in the same article he
|
|||
|
|
quotes the following from Job: "Canst thou by searching find out
|
|||
|
|
God?" "It is as high as Heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than
|
|||
|
|
Hell; what canst thou know?" And immediately after making these
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
21
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
quotations, the Archdeacon takes the ground of the agnostic, and
|
|||
|
|
says, "with the wise ancient Rabbis, we learn to say, I do not
|
|||
|
|
know."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It is impossible for me to say what any other human being
|
|||
|
|
cannot conceive; but I am absolutely certain that my mind cannot
|
|||
|
|
conceive of an infinite personality -- of an infinite Ego.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Man is conscious of his individuality. Man has wants. A
|
|||
|
|
multitude of things in nature seems to work against him; and others
|
|||
|
|
seem to be favorable to him. There is conflict between him and
|
|||
|
|
nature, In the midst of this conflict he says "I."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If man had no wants -- if there where no conflict between him
|
|||
|
|
and any other being, or any other thing, he could not say "I" --
|
|||
|
|
that is to say, he could not be conscious of personality.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Now, it seems to me that an infinite personality is a
|
|||
|
|
contradiction in terms.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
VII.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The same line of argument applies to the next statement that
|
|||
|
|
is criticized by the Archdeacon: Can the human mind conceive a
|
|||
|
|
beginningless being?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
We know that there is such a thing as matter, but we do not
|
|||
|
|
know that there is a beginningless being. We say, or some say, that
|
|||
|
|
matter is eternal, because the human mind cannot conceive of its
|
|||
|
|
commencing. Now, if we knew of the existence of an Infinite Being,
|
|||
|
|
we could not conceive of his commencing. But we know of no such
|
|||
|
|
being. We do know of the existence of matter; and my mind is so,
|
|||
|
|
that I cannot conceive of that matter having been created by a
|
|||
|
|
beginningless being. I do not say that there is not a beginningless
|
|||
|
|
being, but I do not believe there is, and it is beyond my power to
|
|||
|
|
conceive of such a being.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon also says that "space is quite as impossible to
|
|||
|
|
conceive as God." But nobody pretends to love space -- no one gives
|
|||
|
|
intention and will to space -- no one, so far as I know, builds
|
|||
|
|
altars or temples to space. Now, if God is as inconceivable as
|
|||
|
|
space, why should we pray to God?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The Archdeacon, however, after quoting Sir William Hamilton as
|
|||
|
|
to the inconceivability of space as absolute or infinite, takes
|
|||
|
|
occasion to say that "space is an entity." May I be permitted to
|
|||
|
|
ask how he knows that space is an entity? As a matter of fact, the
|
|||
|
|
conception of infinite space is a necessity of the mind, the same
|
|||
|
|
as eternity is a necessity of the mind.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
VIII.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
The next sentence or statement to which the Archdeacon objects
|
|||
|
|
is as follows:
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
He who cannot harmonize the cruelties of the Bible with the
|
|||
|
|
goodness of Jehovah, cannot harmonize the cruelties of Nature with
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
22
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
the goodness or wisdom of a supposed Deity. He will find it
|
|||
|
|
impossible to account for pestilence and famine, for earthquakes
|
|||
|
|
and storm, for slavery, and for the triumph of the strong over the
|
|||
|
|
week.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
One objection that he urges to this statement is that St. Paul
|
|||
|
|
had made a stronger one in the same direction. The Archdeacon
|
|||
|
|
however insists that "a world without a contingency, or an agony,
|
|||
|
|
could have had no hero and no saint," and that "science enables us
|
|||
|
|
to demonstrate that much of the apparent misery and anguish is
|
|||
|
|
transitory and even phantasmal; that many of the seeming forces of
|
|||
|
|
destruction are overruled to ends of beneficence; that most of
|
|||
|
|
man's disease and anguish is due to his own sin and folly and
|
|||
|
|
wilfulness."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
I will not say that these things have been said before, but I
|
|||
|
|
will say that they have been answered before. The idea that the
|
|||
|
|
world is a school in which character is formed and in which men are
|
|||
|
|
educated is very old. If, however, the world is a school, and there
|
|||
|
|
is trouble and misfortune, and the object is to create character --
|
|||
|
|
that is to say, to produce heroes and saints -- then the question
|
|||
|
|
arises, what becomes of those who die in infancy? They are left
|
|||
|
|
without the means of education. Are they to remain forever without
|
|||
|
|
character? Or is there some other world of suffering and sorrow?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Is it possible to form character in heaven? How did the angels
|
|||
|
|
become good? How do you account for the justice of God? Did he
|
|||
|
|
attain character through struggle and suffering?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
What would you say of a school teacher who should kill
|
|||
|
|
one-third of the children on the morning of the first day? And what
|
|||
|
|
can you say of God, -- if this world is a school, -- who allows a
|
|||
|
|
large per cent. of his children to die in infancy -- consequently
|
|||
|
|
without education -- therefore, without character?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
If the world is the result of infinite wisdom and goodness,
|
|||
|
|
why is the Christian Church engaged in endeavoring to make it
|
|||
|
|
better; or, rather, in an effort to change it? Why not leave it as
|
|||
|
|
an infinite God made it?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Is it true that most of man's diseases are due to his own sin
|
|||
|
|
and folly and wilfulness? Is it not true that no matter how good
|
|||
|
|
men are they must die, and will they not die of diseases? Is it
|
|||
|
|
true that the wickedness of man has created the microbe? Is it
|
|||
|
|
possible that the sinfulness of man created the countless enemies
|
|||
|
|
of human life that lurk in air and water and food? Certainly the
|
|||
|
|
wickedness of man has had very little influence on tornadoes,
|
|||
|
|
earthquakes and floods. Is it true that "the signature of beauty
|
|||
|
|
with which God has stamped the visible world -- alike in the sky
|
|||
|
|
and on the earth -- alike in the majestic phenomena of an
|
|||
|
|
intelligent creation and in its humblest and most microscopic
|
|||
|
|
production -- is a perpetual proof that God is a God of love"?
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Let us see. The scientists tell us that there is a little
|
|||
|
|
microscopic animal, one who is very particular about his food -- so
|
|||
|
|
particular, that he prefers to all other things the optic nerve,
|
|||
|
|
and after he has succeeded in destroying that nerve and covering
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
Bank of Wisdom
|
|||
|
|
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
|||
|
|
23
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
A REPLY TO ARCHDEACON FARRAR.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
the eye with the mask of blindness, he has intelligence enough to
|
|||
|
|
bore his way through the bones of the nose in search of the other
|
|||
|
|
optic nerve. Is it not somewhat difficult to discover "the
|
|||
|
|
signature of beauty with which God has stamped" this animal? For my
|
|||
|
|
part, I see but little beauty in poisonous serpents, in man-eating
|
|||
|
|
sharks, in crocodiles, in alligators. It would be impossible for me
|
|||
|
|
to gaze with admiration upon a cancer. Think, for a moment, of a
|
|||
|
|
God ingenious enough and good enough to feed a cancer with the
|
|||
|
|
quivering flesh of a human being, and to give for the sustenance of
|
|||
|
|
that cancer the life of a mother.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
It is well enough to speak of "the myriad voices of nature in
|
|||
|
|
their mirth and sweetness," and it is also well enough to think of
|
|||
|
|
the other side. The singing birds have a few notes of love -- the
|
|||
|
|
rest are all of warning and of fear. Nature, apparently with
|
|||
|
|
infinite care, produces a living thing, and at the same time is
|
|||
|
|
just as diligently at work creating another living thing to devour
|
|||
|
|
the first, and at the same time a third to devour the second, and
|
|||
|
|
so on around the great circle of life and death, of agony and joy
|
|||
|
|
-- tooth and claw, fang and tusk, hunger and rapine, massacre and
|
|||
|
|
murder, violence and vengeance and vice everywhere and through all
|
|||
|
|
time. [Here the manuscript ends, with the following notes.]
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
SAYINGS FROM THE INDIAN.
|
|||
|
|
"The rain seems hardest when the Wigwam leaks."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"When the tracks get too large and too numerous, the wise
|
|||
|
|
Indian says that He is hunting something else."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"A little crook in the arrow makes a great miss."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"A great Chief counts scalps, not hairs."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"you cannot strengthen the bow by poisoNing the arrows."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
"No one saves water in a flood."
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ORIGIN.
|
|||
|
|
Origin considered that the punishment of the wicked consisted
|
|||
|
|
in separation from God. There was too much pity in his heart to
|
|||
|
|
believe in the flames of hell. But he was condemned as heretical by
|
|||
|
|
the Council of Carthage, A.D., 398, and afterwards by other
|
|||
|
|
councils.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
ST. AUGUSTINE.
|
|||
|
|
St. Augustine censures origin For his merciful view, and says:
|
|||
|
|
"The church, not without reason, condemned him for this error." He
|
|||
|
|
also held that hell was in the center of the earth, and that God
|
|||
|
|
supplied the center with perpetual fire by a miracle.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
DANTE.
|
|||
|
|
Dante is a wonderful mixture of melancholy and malice, of
|
|||
|
|
religion and revenge, and he represents himself as so pitiless that
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
when he found his political opponents in hell, he struck their
|
|||
|
|
faces and pulled the hair of the tormented.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
AQUINAS.
|
|||
|
|
Aquinas believed the same. He was the loving gentleman who
|
|||
|
|
believed in the undying worm.
|
|||
|
|
|
|||
|
|
24
|
|||
|
|
|