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2601 lines
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40 page printout.
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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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THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
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1882
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_______
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A SHORTER CATECHISM.
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QUESTION. Who made you?
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ANSWER. Jehovah, the original Presbyterian.
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QUESTION. What else did he make?
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ANSWER. He made the world and all things.
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QUESTION. Did he make the world out of nothing?
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ANSWER. No.
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QUESTION. What did he make it out of?
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ANSWER. Out of his "omnipotence." Many infidels have pretended
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that if God made the universe, and if there was nothing until he
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did make it, he had nothing to make it out of. Of course this is
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perfectly absurd when we remember that he always had his
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"omnipotence;" and that is, undoubtedly, the material used.
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QUESTION. Did he create his own "omnipotence"?
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ANSWER. Certainly not, he was always omnipotent.
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QUESTION. Then if he always had "omnipotence," he did not
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"create" the material of which the universe is made; he simply took
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a portion of his "omnipotence" and changed it to "universe"?
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ANSWER. Certainly, that is the way I understand it.
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QUESTION. Is he still omnipotent, and has he as much
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"omnipotence" now as he ever had?
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ANSWER. Well, I suppose he has.
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QUESTION. How long did it take God to make the universe?
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ANSWER. Six "good-whiles."
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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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THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
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QUESTION. How long is a "good-while"?
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ANSWER. That will depend upon the future discoveries of
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geologists. "Good-whiles" are of such a nature that they can be
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pulled out, or pushed up; and it is utterly impossible for any
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infidel, or scientific geologist, to make any period that a
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"good-while" won't fit.
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QUESTION. What do you understand by "the morning and evening"
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of a "good-while"?
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ANSWER. Of course the words "morning and evening are used
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figuratively, and mean simply the beginning and the ending, of each
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"good-while."
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QUESTION. On what day did God make vegetation?
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ANSWER. On the third day.
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QUESTION. Was that before the sun was made?
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ANSWER. Yes; a "good-while" before.
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QUESTION. How did vegetation grow without sunlight?
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ANSWER. My own opinion is, that it was either "nourished by
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the glare of volcanoes in the moon;" or "it may have gotten
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sufficient light from rivers of molten granite;" or, "sufficient
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light might have been emitted by the crystallization of rocks." It
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has been suggested that light might have been furnished by
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fire-flies and phosphorescent bugs and worms, but this I regard as
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going too far.
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QUESTION. Do you think that light emitted by rocks would be
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sufficient to produce trees?
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ANSWER. Yes, with the assistance of the "Aurora Borealis, or
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even the "Aurora Australis;" but with both, most assuredly.
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QUESTION. If the light of which you speak was sufficient, why
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was the sun made?
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ANSWER. To keep time with.
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QUESTION. What did God make man of?
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ANSWER. He made man of dust and "omnipotence.
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QUESTION. Did he make a woman at the same time that he made a
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man?
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ANSWER. No; he thought at one time to avoid the necessity of
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making a woman, and he caused all the animals to pass before Adam,
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to see what he would call them, and to see whether a fit companion
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could be found for him. Among them all, not one suited Adam, and
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Jehovah immediately saw that he would have to make an help-meet on
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purpose.
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|
||
|
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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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THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
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QUESTION. What was woman made of?
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ANSWER. She was made out of "man's side, out of his right
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side," and some more "omnipotence." Infidels say that she was made
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out of a rib, or a bone, but that is because they do not understand
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Hebrew.
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QUESTION. What was the object of making woman out of man's
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side?
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ANSWER. So that a young man would think more of a neighbor's
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girl than of his own uncle or grandfather.
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QUESTION. What did God do with Adam and Eve after he got them
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done?
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ANSWER. He put them into a garden to see what they would do.
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QUESTION. Do we know where the Garden of Eden was, and have we
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ever found any place where a "river parted and became into four
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heads"?
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ANSWER. We are not certain where this garden was, and the
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river that parted into four heads cannot at present be found.
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Infidels have had a great deal to say about these four rivers, but
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they will wish they had even one, one of these days.
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QUESTION. What happened to Adam and Eve in the garden?
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ANSWER. They were tempted by a snake who was an exceedingly
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good talker, and who probably came in walking on the end of his
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tail. This supposition is based upon the fact that, as a
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punishment, he was condemned to crawl on his belly. Before that
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time, of course. he walked upright.
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QUESTION. What happened then?
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ANSWER. Our first parents gave way, ate of the forbidden
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fruit, and in consequence, disease and death entered the world. Had
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it not been for this, there would have been no death and no
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disease. Suicide would have been impossible, and a man could have
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been blown into a thousand atoms by dynamite, and the pieces would
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immediately have come together again. Fire would have refused to
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burn and water to drown; there could have been no hunger, no
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thirst; all things would have been equally healthy.
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QUESTION. Do you mean to say that there would have been no
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death in the world, either of animals, insects, or persons?
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ANSWER. Of course.
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QUESTION. Do you also think that all briers and thorns sprang
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from the same source, and that had the apple not been eaten. no
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bush in the world would have had a thorn, and brambles and thistles
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would have been unknown?
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ANSWER. Certainly.
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|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
3
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||
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||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
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QUESTION. Would there have been no poisonous plants, no
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poisonous reptiles?
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ANSWER. No, sir; there would have been none; there would have
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been no evil in the world if Adam and Eve had not partaken of the
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forbidden fruit.
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QUESTION. Was the snake who tempted them to eat, evil?
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ANSWER. Certainly.
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QUESTION. Was he in the world before the forbidden fruit was
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eaten?
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ANSWER. Of course he was; he tempted them to eat it.
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QUESTION. How, then, do you account for the fact that, before
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the forbidden fruit was eaten, an evil serpent was in the world?.
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ANSWER. Perhaps apples had been eaten in other worlds.
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QUESTION. Is it not wonderful that such awful consequences
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flowed from so small an act?
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ANSWER. It is not for you to reason about it; you should
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simply remember that God is omnipotent. There is but one way to
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answer these things, and that is to admit their truth. Nothing so
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puts the Infinite out of temper as to see a human being impudent
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enough to rely upon his reason. The moment we rely upon our reason,
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||
we abandon God, and try to take care of ourselves. Whoever relies
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entirely upon God, has no need of reason, and reason has no need of
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him.
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QUESTION. Were our first parents under the immediate
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protection of an infinite God?
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ANSWER. They were.
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QUESTION. Why did he not protect them? Why did he not warn
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them of this snake? Why did he not put them on their guard? Why did
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he not make them so sharp, intellectually, that they could not be
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deceived? Why did he not destroy that snake; or how did he come to
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make him; what did he make him for?
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ANSWER. You must remember that, although God made Adam and Eve
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perfectly good, still he was very anxious to test them. He also
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gave them the power of choice, knowing at the same time exactly
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what they would choose, and knowing that he had made them so that
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they must choose in a certain way. A being of infinite wisdom tries
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experiments. Knowing exactly what will happen, he wishes to see if
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it will.
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QUESTION. What punishment did God inflict upon Adam and Eve
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for the sin of having eaten the forbidden fruit?
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ANSWER. He pronounced a curse upon the woman, saying that in
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sorrow she should bring forth children, and that her husband should
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|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
4
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||
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THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
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rule over her; that she, having tempted her husband, was made his
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slave; and through her, all married women have been deprived of
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their natural liberty. On account of the sin of Adam and Eve, God
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cursed the ground, saying that it should bring forth thorns and
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thistles, and that man should eat his bread in sorrow, and that he
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should eat the herb of the held.
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QUESTION. Did he turn them out of the garden because of their
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sin?
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ANSWER. No. The reason God gave for turning them out of the
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garden was: "Behold the man is become as one of us, to know good
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and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take of the tree
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||
of life and eat and live forever, therefore, the Lord God sent him
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||
forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was
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||
taken."
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||
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QUESTION. If the man had eaten of the tree of life, would he
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have lived forever?
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ANSWER. Certainly.
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QUESTION. Was he turned out to prevent his eating?
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ANSWER. He was.
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QUESTION. Then the Old Testament tells us how we lost
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||
immortality, not that we are immortal, does it?
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ANSWER. it tells us how we lost it.
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QUESTION. Was God afraid that Adam and Eve might get back into
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the garden, and eat of the fruit of the tree of life?
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ANSWER. I suppose he was, as he placed "cherubim and a flaming
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sword which turned every way to guard the tree of life."
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QUESTION. Has any one ever seen any of these cherubim?
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ANSWER. Not that I know of.
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QUESTION. Where is the flaming sword now?
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ANSWER. Some angel has it in heaven.
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QUESTION. Do you understand that God made coats of skins. and
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clothed Adam and Eve when he turned them out of the garden?
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ANSWER. Yes sir.
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QUESTION. Do you really believe that the infinite God killed
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some animals, took their skins from them, cut out and sewed up
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clothes for Adam and Eve?
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ANSWER. The Bible says so; we know that he had patterns for
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clothes, because he showed some to Moses on Mount Sinai.
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|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
5
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
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QUESTION. About how long did God continue to pay particular
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||
attention to his children in this world?
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ANSWER. For about fifteen hundred years; and some of the
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people lived to be nearly a thousand years of age.
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QUESTION. Did this God establish any schools or institutions
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of learning? Did he establish any church? Did he ordain any
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ministers, or did he have any revivals?
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ANSWER. No; he allowed the world to go on pretty much in its
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own way. He did not even keep his own boys at home. They came down
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and made love to the daughters of men, and finally the world got
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exceedingly bad.
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QUESTION. What did God do then?
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ANSWER. He made up his mind that he would drown them. you see
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they were all totally depraved, -- in every joint and sinew of
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their bodies, in every drop of their blood, and in every thought of
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their brains.
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QUESTION. Did he drown them all?
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ANSWER. No, he saved eight, to start with again.
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QUESTION. Were these eight persons totally depraved?
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ANSWER. Yes.
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QUESTION. Why did he not kill them, and start over again with
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a perfect pair? Would it not have been better to have had his flood
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at first, before he made anybody, and drowned the snake?
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ANSWER. "God's way are not our ways;" and besides, you must
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remember that "a thousand years are as one day" with God.
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QUESTION. How did God destroy the people?
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ANSWER. By water; it rained forty days and forty nights, and
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"the fountains of the great deep were broken up."
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QUESTION. How deep was the water?
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ANSWER. About five miles.
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QUESTION. How much did it rain each day?
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ANSWER. About eight hundred feet; though the better opinion
|
||
now is, that it was a local flood. Infidels have raised objections
|
||
and pressed them to that degree that most orthodox people admit
|
||
that the flood was rather local.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If it was a local flood, why did they put birds of
|
||
the air into the ark? Certainly, birds could have avoided a local
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||
flood?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
6
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
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ANSWER. If you take this away from us, what do you propose to
|
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give us in its place? Some of the best people of the world have
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believed this story. Kind husbands, loving mothers, and earnest
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||
patriots have believed it, and that is sufficient.
|
||
|
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QUESTION. At the time God made these people, did he know that
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he would have to drown them all?
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ANSWER. Of course he did.
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QUESTION. Did he know when he made them that they would all be
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failures?
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ANSWER. Of course.
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QUESTION. Why, then, did he make them?
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ANSWER. He made them for his own glory, and no man should
|
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disgrace his parents by denying it.
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|
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QUESTION. Were the people after the flood just as bad as they
|
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were before?
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ANSWER. About the same.
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QUESTION. Did they try to circumvent God?
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ANSWER. They did.
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QUESTION. How?
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||
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||
ANSWER. They got together for the purpose of building a tower,
|
||
the top of which should reach to heaven, so that they could laugh
|
||
at any future floods, and go to heaven at any time they desired.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did God hear about this?
|
||
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ANSWER. He did.
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||
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QUESTION.. What did he say?
|
||
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||
ANSWER. He said: "Go to; let us go down," and see what the
|
||
people are doing; I am satisfied they will succeed.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How were the people prevented from succeeding?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. God confounded their language, so that the mason on
|
||
top could not cry "mort'!" to the hod-carrier below; he could not
|
||
think of the word to use, to save his life, and the building
|
||
stopped.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If it had not been for the confusion of tongues at
|
||
Babel, do you really think that all the people in the world would
|
||
have spoken just the same language, and would have pronounced every
|
||
word precisely the same?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
7
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If it had not been, then, for the confusion of
|
||
languages, spelling books, grammars and dictionaries would have
|
||
been useless?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I suppose so.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do any two people in the whole world speak the same
|
||
language, now?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course they don't, and this is one of the great
|
||
evidences that God introduced confusion into the languages. Every
|
||
error in grammar, every mistake in spelling, every blunder in
|
||
pronunciation, proves the truth of the Babel story.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. This being so, this miracle is the best attested of
|
||
all?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I suppose it is.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you not think that a confusion of tongues would
|
||
bring men together instead of separating them? Would not a man
|
||
unable to converse with his fellow feel weak instead of strong; and
|
||
would not people whose language had been confounded cling together
|
||
for mutual support?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. According to nature, yes; according to theology, no;
|
||
and these questions must be answered according to theology. And
|
||
right here, it may he well enough to state, that in theology the
|
||
unnatural is the probable, and the impossible is what has always
|
||
happened. If theology were simply natural, anybody could be a
|
||
theologian.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did God ever make any other special efforts to
|
||
convert the people, or to reform the world?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, he destroyed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah
|
||
with a storm of fire and brimstone.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you suppose it was really brimstone?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Undoubtedly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think this brimstone came from the clouds?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Let me tell you that you have no right to examine the
|
||
Bible in the light of what people are pleased to call "science."
|
||
The natural has nothing to do with the supernatural. Naturally
|
||
there would he no brimstone in the clouds, but supernaturally there
|
||
might be. God could make brimstone out of his "omnipotence." We do
|
||
not know really what brimstone is, and nobody knows exactly how
|
||
brimstone is made. As a matter of fact, all the brimstone in the
|
||
world might have fallen at that time.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Lot's wife was changed into salt?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course she was. A miracle was performed. A few
|
||
centuries ago, the statue of salt made by changing Lot's wife into
|
||
that article, was standing. Christian travelers have seen it.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
8
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why do you think she was changed into salt?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. For the purpose of keeping the event fresh in the
|
||
minds of men.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. God having failed to keep people innocent in a
|
||
garden; having failed to govern them outside of a garden; having
|
||
failed to reform them by water; having failed to produce any good
|
||
result by a confusion of tongues; having failed to reform them with
|
||
fire and brimstone, what did he then do?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He concluded that he had no time to waste on them all,
|
||
but that he would have to select one tribe, and turn his entire
|
||
attention to just a few folk.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Whom did he select?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. A man by the name of Abram.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What kind of man was Abram?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. If you wish to know, read the twelfth chapter of
|
||
Genesis; and if you still have any doubt. as to his character, read
|
||
the twentieth chapter of the same book, and you will see that he
|
||
was a man who made merchandise of his wife's body. He had had such
|
||
good fortune in Egypt, that he tried the experiment again on
|
||
Abimelech.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did Abraham show any gratitude?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. yes; he offered to sacrifice his son, to show his
|
||
confidence in Jehovah.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What became of Abraham and his people?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. God took such care of them, that in about two hundred
|
||
and fifteen years they were all slaves in the land of Egypt.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How long did they remain in slavery?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Two hundred and fifteen years.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Were they the same people that God had promised to
|
||
take care of?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They were.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was God. at that time, in favor of slavery?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Not at that time. He was angry at the Egyptians for
|
||
enslaving the Jews. but he afterwards authorized the Jews to
|
||
enslave other people.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What means did he take to liberate the Jews?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He sent his agents to Pharaoh, and demanded their
|
||
freedom; and upon Pharaoh's refusing, he afflicted the people. who
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
9
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
had nothing to do with it with various plagues, -- killed children,
|
||
and tormented and tortured beasts.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was such conduct Godlike?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly. If you have anything against your neighbor,
|
||
it is perfectly proper to torture his horse, or torment his dog.
|
||
Nothing can be nobler than this. You see it is much better to
|
||
injure his animals than to injure him. To punish animals for the
|
||
sins of their owners must be just, or God would not have done it.
|
||
Pharaoh insisted on keeping the people in slavery, and therefore
|
||
God covered the bodies of oxen and cows with boils. He also bruised
|
||
them to death with hailstones. From this we infer, that "the loving
|
||
kindness of God is over all his works."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you consider such treatment of animals consistent
|
||
with divine mercy?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly. You know that under the Mosaic
|
||
dispensation, when a man did a wrong, he could settle with God by
|
||
killing an ox, or a sheep, or some doves. If the man failed to kill
|
||
them, of course God would kill them. It was upon this principle
|
||
that he destroyed the animals of the Egyptians. They had sinned,
|
||
and he merely took his pay.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How was it possible, under the old dispensation, to
|
||
please a being of infinite kindness?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. All you had to do was to take an innocent animal,
|
||
bring it to the altar, cut its throat, and sprinkle the altar with
|
||
its blood. Certain parts of it were to be given to the butcher as
|
||
his share, and the rest was to be burnt on the altar. When God saw
|
||
an animal thus butchered, and smelt the warm blood mingled with the
|
||
odor of burning flesh, he was pacified, and the smile of
|
||
forgiveness shed its light upon his face. Of course, infidels laugh
|
||
at these things; but what can you expect of men who have not been
|
||
"born again"? "The carnal mind is enmity with God."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What else did God do in order to induce Pharaoh to
|
||
liberate the Jews?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He had his agents throw down a cane in the presence of
|
||
Pharaoh and thereupon Jehovah changed this cane into a serpent.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did this convince Pharaoh?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No; he sent for his own magicians.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What did they do?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They threw down some canes and they also were changed
|
||
into serpents.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did Jehovah change the canes of the Egyptian
|
||
magicians into snakes?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I suppose he did, as he is the only one capable of
|
||
performing such a miracle.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
10
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If the rod of Aaron was changed into a serpent in
|
||
order to convince Pharaoh that God had sent Aaron and Moses, why
|
||
did God change the sticks of the Egyptian magicians into serpents
|
||
-- why did he discredit his own agents, and render worthless their
|
||
only credentials?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, we cannot explain the conduct of Jehovah; we are
|
||
perfectly satisfied that it was for the best. Even in this age of
|
||
the world God allows infidels to overwhelm his chosen people with
|
||
arguments; he allows them to discover facts that his ministers can
|
||
not answer, and yet we are satisfied that in the end God will give
|
||
the victory to us. All these things are tests of faith. It is upon
|
||
this principle that God allows geology to laugh at Genesis, that.
|
||
he permits astronomy apparently to contradict his holy word.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What did God do with these people after Pharaoh
|
||
allowed them to go?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Finding that they were not fit to settle a new
|
||
country, owing to the fact that when hungry they longed for food,
|
||
and sometimes when their lips were cracked with thirst insisted on
|
||
having water, God in his infinite mercy had them marched round and
|
||
round, back and forth, through a barren wilderness, until all, with
|
||
the exception of two persons, died.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why did he do this?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because he had promised these people that he would
|
||
take them "to a land flowing with milk and honey."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was God always patient and kind and merciful toward
|
||
his children while they were in the wilderness?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, he always was merciful and kind and patient.
|
||
Infidels have taken the ground that he visited them with plagues
|
||
and disease and famine; that he had them bitten by serpents, and
|
||
now and then allowed the ground to swallow a few thousands of them,
|
||
and in other ways saw to it that they were kept as comfortable and
|
||
happy as was consistent with good government; but all these things
|
||
were for their good. and the fact is, infidels hare no real sense
|
||
of justice.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How did God happen to treat the Israelites in this
|
||
way, when he had promised Abraham that he would take care of his
|
||
progeny, and when he had promised the same to the poor wretches
|
||
while they were slaves in Egypt?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because God is unchangeable in his nature, and wished
|
||
to convince them that every being should be perfectly faithful to
|
||
his promise.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was God driven to madness by the conduct of his
|
||
chosen people?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Almost.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he know exactly what they would do when he chose
|
||
them?
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
11
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Exactly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Were the Jews guilty of idolatry?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They were. They worshiped other gods, gods made of
|
||
wood and stone.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not wonderful that they were not convinced of
|
||
the power of God, by the many miracles wrought in Egypt and in the
|
||
wilderness?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, it is very wonderful; but the Jews, who must have
|
||
seen bread rained from heaven; who saw water gush from the rocks
|
||
and follow them up hill and down; who noticed that their clothes
|
||
did not wear out, and did not even get shiny at the knees, while
|
||
the elbows defied the ravages of time, and their shoes remained
|
||
perfect for forty years; it is wonderful that when they saw the
|
||
ground open and swallow their comrades; when they saw God talking
|
||
face to face with Moses as a man talks with his friend; after they
|
||
saw the cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, -- it is
|
||
absolutely astonishing that they had more faith in a golden calf
|
||
that they made themselves, than in Jehovah.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How is it that the Jews had no confidence in these
|
||
miracles?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because they were there and saw them.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that it is necessary for us to believe
|
||
all the miracles of the Old Testament in order to be saved?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The Old Testament is the foundation of the New. If the
|
||
Old Testament is not inspired, then the New is of no value. If the
|
||
Old Testament is inspired, all the miracles are true, and we cannot
|
||
believe that God would allow any errors, or false statements, to
|
||
creep into an inspired volume, and to be perpetuated through all
|
||
these years.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Should we believe the miracles, whether they are
|
||
reasonable or not?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly; if they were reasonable, they would not be
|
||
miracles. It is their unreasonableness that appeals to our
|
||
credulity and our faith.. It is impossible to have theological
|
||
faith in anything that can be demonstrated. It is the office of
|
||
faith to believe, not only without evidence, but in spite of
|
||
evidence. It is impossible for the carnal mind to believe that
|
||
Samson's muscle depended upon the length of his hair. "God has made
|
||
the wisdom of "this world foolishness." Neither can the unconverted
|
||
believe that Elijah stopped at a hotel kept by ravens. Neither can
|
||
they believe that a barrel would in and of itself produce meal, or
|
||
that an earthen pot could create oil. But to a Christian, in order
|
||
that a widow might feed a preacher, the truth of these stories is
|
||
perfectly apparent.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How should we regard the wonderful stories of the
|
||
Old Testament?
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
12
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They should be looked upon as "types" and "symbols."
|
||
They all have a spiritual significance. The reason I believe the
|
||
story of Jonah is, that Jonah is a type of Christ.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you believe the story of Jonah to be a true
|
||
account of a literal fact?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly. You must remember that Jonah was not
|
||
swallowed by a whale. God "prepared a great fish" for that
|
||
occasion. Neither is it by any means certain that Jonah was in the
|
||
belly of this whale. "He probably stayed in his mouth." Even if he
|
||
was in his stomach, it was very easy for him to defy the ordinary
|
||
action of gastric juice by rapidly walking up and down.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Jonah was really in the whale's
|
||
stomach?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. My own opinion is that he stayed in his mouth. The
|
||
only objection to this theory is, that it is more reasonable than
|
||
the other and requires less faith. Nothing could be easier than for
|
||
God to make a fish large enough to furnish ample room for one
|
||
passenger in his mouth. I throw out this suggestion simply that you
|
||
may be able to answer the objections of infidels who are always
|
||
laughing at this story.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you really believe that Elijah went to heaven in
|
||
a chariot of fire, drawn by horses of fire?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What was this miracle performed for?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. To convince the people of the power of God.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Who saw the miracle?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Nobody but Elisha.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was he convinced before that time?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Oh yes; he was one of God's prophets.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose that in these days two men should leave a
|
||
town together, and after a while one of them should come back
|
||
having on the clothes of the other, and should account for the fact
|
||
that he had his friend's clothes by saying that while they were
|
||
going along the road together a chariot of fire came down from
|
||
heaven drawn by fiery steeds, and thereupon his friend got into the
|
||
carnage, threw him his clothes, and departed, -- would you believe
|
||
it?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course things like that don't happen in these days;
|
||
God does not have to rely on wonders now.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you mean that he performs no miracles at the
|
||
present day?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
13
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. We cannot say that he does not perform miracles now,
|
||
but we are not in position to call attention to any particular one.
|
||
Of course he supervises the affairs of nations and men and does
|
||
whatever in his judgment is necessary.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Samson's strength depended on the
|
||
length of his hair?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The Bible so states, and the Bible is true. A
|
||
physiologist might say that a man could not use the muscle in his
|
||
hair for lifting purposes, but these same physiologists could not
|
||
tell you how you move a finger, nor how you lift a feather; still,
|
||
actuated by the pride of intellect, they insist that the length of
|
||
a man's hair could not determine his strength. God says it did; the
|
||
physiologist says that it did not; we can not hesitate whom to
|
||
believe. For the purpose of avoiding eternal agony I am willing to
|
||
believe anything; I am willing to say that strength depends upon
|
||
the length of hair, or faith upon the length of ears. I am
|
||
perfectly willing to believe that a man caught three hundred foxes,
|
||
and put fire brands between their tails; that he slew thousands
|
||
with a bone, and that he made a bee hive out of a lion. I will
|
||
believe, if necessary, that when this man's hair was short he
|
||
hardly had strength enough to stand, and that when it was long, he
|
||
could carry away the gates of a city, or overthrow a temple filled
|
||
with people. If the infidel is right, I will lose nothing by
|
||
believing, but if he is wrong, I shall gain an eternity of joy. If
|
||
God did not intend that we should believe these stories, he never
|
||
would have told them, and why should a man put his soul in peril by
|
||
trying to disprove one of the statements of the Lord?
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose it should turn out that some of these
|
||
miracles depend upon mistranslation of the original Hebrew, should
|
||
we still believe them?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The safe side is the best side. It is far better to
|
||
err on the side of belief, than on the side of infidelity. God does
|
||
not threaten anybody with eternal punishment for believing too
|
||
much. Danger lies on the side of investigation, on the side of
|
||
thought. The perfectly idiotic are absolutely safe. As they diverge
|
||
from that point, -- as they rise in the intellectual scale, as the
|
||
brain develops, as the faculties enlarge, the danger increases. I
|
||
know that some biblical students now take the ground that Samson
|
||
caught no foxes, -- that he only took sheaves of wheat that had
|
||
been already cut and bound, set them on fire, and threw them into
|
||
the grain still standing. If this is what he did, of course there
|
||
is nothing miraculous about it, and the value of the story is lost.
|
||
So, others contend that Elijah was not fed by the ravens, but by
|
||
the Arabs. They tell us that the Hebrew word standing for "Arab"
|
||
also stands for "bird," and that the word really means "migratory
|
||
-- going from place to place -- homeless." But I prefer the old
|
||
version. It certainly will do no harm to believe that ravens
|
||
brought bread and flesh to a prophet of God. Where they got their
|
||
bread and flesh, is none of my business; how they knew where the
|
||
prophet was, and recognized him; or how God talks to ravens, or how
|
||
he gave them directions, I have no right to inquire. I leave these
|
||
questions to the scientists. the blasphemers, and thinkers. There
|
||
are many people in the church anxious to get the miracles out of
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
14
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
the Bible, and thousands, I have no doubt, would be greatly
|
||
gratified to learn that there is, in fact, nothing miraculous in
|
||
Scripture; but when you take away the miraculous, you take away the
|
||
supernatural; when you take away the supernatural, you destroy the
|
||
ministry; and when you take away the ministry, hundreds of
|
||
thousands of men will be left without employment.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not wonderful that the Egyptians were not
|
||
converted by the miracles wrought in their country?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, they all would have been, if God had not
|
||
purposely hardened their hearts to prevent it. Jehovah always took
|
||
great delight in furnishing the evidence, and then hardening the
|
||
man's heart so that he would not believe it. After all the miracles
|
||
that had been performed in Egypt, -- the most wonderful that were
|
||
ever done in any country, the Egyptians were as unbelieving as at
|
||
first; they pursued the Israelites, knowing that they were
|
||
protected by an infinite God, and failing to overwhelm them, came
|
||
back and worshiped their own false gods just as firmly as before.
|
||
All of which shows the unreasonableness of a Pagan, and the natural
|
||
depravity of human nature.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How did it happen that the Canaanites were never
|
||
convinced that the Jews were assisted by Jehovah?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They must have been an exceedingly brave people to
|
||
contend so many years with the chosen people of God.
|
||
Notwithstanding all their cities were burned time and time again;
|
||
notwithstanding all the men, women and children were put to the
|
||
edge of the sword; notwithstanding the taking of all their cattle
|
||
and sheep, they went right on fighting just as valiantly and
|
||
desperately as ever. Each one lost his life many times, and was
|
||
just as ready for the next conflict. My own opinion is, that God
|
||
kept them alive by raising them from the dead after each battle,
|
||
for the purpose of punishing the Jews. God used his enemies as
|
||
instruments for the civilization of the Jewish people. He did not
|
||
wish to convert them, because they would give him much more trouble
|
||
as Jews than they did as Canaanites. He had all the Jews he could
|
||
conveniently take care of. He found it much easier to kill a
|
||
hundred Canaanites than to civilize one Jew.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you account for the fact that the heathen
|
||
were not surprised at the stopping of the sun and moon?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They were so ignorant that they had not the slightest
|
||
conception of the real cause of the phenomenon. Had they known the
|
||
size of the earth, and the relation it sustained to the other
|
||
heavenly bodies; had they known the magnitude of the sun, and the
|
||
motion of the moon, they would, in all probability, have been as
|
||
greatly astonished as the Jews were; but being densely ignorant of
|
||
astronomy, it must have produced upon them not the slightest
|
||
impression. But we must remember that the sun and moon were not
|
||
stopped for the purpose of converting these people, but to give
|
||
Joshua more time to kill them. As soon as we see clearly the
|
||
purpose of Jehovah, we instantly perceive how admirable were the
|
||
means adopted.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
15
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you not consider the treatment of the Canaanites
|
||
to have been cruel and ferocious?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. To a totally depraved man, it does look cruel; to a
|
||
being without any good in him, -- to one who has inherited the
|
||
rascality of many generations, the murder of innocent women and
|
||
little children does seem horrible; to one who is "contaminated in
|
||
all his parts," by original sin, -- who was "conceived in sin, and
|
||
brought forth in iniquity," the assassination of men, and the
|
||
violation of captive maidens, do not seem consistent with infinite
|
||
goodness. But when one has been "born again," when "the love of God
|
||
has been shed abroad in his heart," when he loves all mankind, when
|
||
he "overcomes evil with good," when he "prays for those who
|
||
despitefully use him and persecute him," -- to such a man, the
|
||
extermination of the Canaanites, the violation of women, the
|
||
slaughter of babes, and the destruction of countless thousands, is
|
||
the highest evidence of the goodness, the mercy, and the long-
|
||
suffering of God. When a man has been "born again," all the
|
||
passages of the Old Testament that appear so horrible and so unjust
|
||
to one in his natural state, become the dearest, the most
|
||
consoling, and the most beautiful of truths. The real Christian
|
||
reads the accounts of these ancient battles with the greatest
|
||
possible satisfaction. To one who really loves his enemies, the
|
||
groans of men, the shrieks of women, and the cries of babes, make
|
||
music sweeter than the zephyr's breath.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. In your judgment, why did God destroy the
|
||
Canaanites?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. To prevent their contaminating his chosen people. He
|
||
knew that if the Jews were allowed to live with such neighbors,
|
||
they would finally become as bad as the Canaanites themselves. He
|
||
wished to civilize his chosen people, and it was therefore
|
||
necessary for him to destroy the heathen.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did God succeed in civilizing the Jews after he had
|
||
"removed" the Canaanites?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, not entirely. He had to allow the heathen he had
|
||
not destroyed to overrun the whole land and make captives of the
|
||
Jews. This was done for the good of his chosen people.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he then succeed in civilizing them?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Not quite.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he ever quite succeed in civilizing them?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, we must admit that the experiment never was a
|
||
conspicuous success. The Jews were chosen by the Almighty 430 years
|
||
before he appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai. He was their direct
|
||
Governor. He attended personally to their religion and politics,
|
||
and gave up a great part of his valuable time for about two
|
||
thousand years, to the management of their affairs; and yet, such
|
||
was the condition of the Jewish people, after they had had all
|
||
these advantages. that when there arose among them a perfectly
|
||
kind, just, generous and honest man, these people, with whom God
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
16
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
had been laboring for so many centuries, deliberately put to death
|
||
that good and loving man.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that God really endeavored to civilize
|
||
the Jews?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. This is an exceedingly hard question. If he had really
|
||
tried to do it, of course he could have done it. We must not think
|
||
of limiting the power of the infinite. But you must remember that
|
||
if he had succeeded in civilizing the Jews, if he had educated them
|
||
up to the plane of intellectual liberty, and made them just and
|
||
kind and merciful, like himself, they would not have crucified
|
||
Christ, and you can see at once the awful condition in which we
|
||
would all be to-day. No atonement could have been made; and if no
|
||
atonement had been made, then, according to the Christian system,
|
||
the whole world would have been lost. We must admit that there was
|
||
no time in the history of the Jews from Sinai to Jerusalem, that
|
||
they would not have put a man like Christ to death.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. So you think that, after all. it was not God's
|
||
intention that the Jews should become civilized?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. We do not know. We can only say that "God's ways are
|
||
not our ways." It may he that God took them in his special charge,
|
||
for the purpose of keeping them bad enough to make the necessary
|
||
sacrifice. That may have been the divine plan. In any event, it is
|
||
safer to believe the explanation that is the most unreasonable.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Christ knew the Jews would crucify
|
||
him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that when he chose Judas he knew that
|
||
he would betray him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he know when Judas went to the chief priest and
|
||
made the bargain for the delivery of Christ?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why did he allow himself to be betrayed, if he knew
|
||
the plot?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Infidelity is a very good doctrine to live by, but you
|
||
should read the last words of Paine and Voltaire.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If Christ knew that Judas would betray him, why did
|
||
he choose him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Nothing can exceed the atrocities of the French
|
||
Revolution -- when they carried a woman through the streets and
|
||
worshiped her as the goddess of Reason.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Would not the mission of Christ have been a failure
|
||
had no one betrayed him?
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
17
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Thomas Paine was a drunkard, and recanted on his
|
||
death-bed, and died a blaspheming infidel besides.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not clear that an atonement was necessary; and
|
||
is it not equally clear that the atonement could not have been made
|
||
unless somebody had betrayed Christ; and unless the Jews had been
|
||
wicked and orthodox enough to crucify him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course the atonement had to be made. It was a part
|
||
of the "divine plan" that Christ should be betrayed, and that the
|
||
Jews should be wicked enough to kill him. Otherwise, the world
|
||
would have been lost.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose Judas had understood the divine plan, what
|
||
ought he to have done? Should he have betrayed Christ, or let
|
||
somebody else do it; or should he have allowed the world to perish,
|
||
including his own soul?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. If you take the Bible away from the world. "how would
|
||
it be possible to have witnesses "sworn in courts;" how would it be
|
||
possible to administer justice?
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If Christ had not been betrayed and crucified, is it
|
||
true that his own mother would be in perdition to-day?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Most assuredly. There was but one way by which she
|
||
could be saved, and that was by the death of her son -- through the
|
||
blood of the atonement. She was totally depraved through the sin of
|
||
Adam, and deserved eternal death. Even her love for the infant
|
||
Christ was, in the sight of God, -- that is to say, of her babe, --
|
||
wickedness. It can not be repeated too often that there is only one
|
||
way to be saved, and that is, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Could Christ have prevented the Jews from crucifying
|
||
him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He could.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If he could have saved his life and did not, was he
|
||
not guilty of suicide?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No one can understand these questions who has not read
|
||
the prophecies of Daniel, and has not a clear conception of what is
|
||
meant by "the fullness of time."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What became of all the Canaanites, the Egyptians,
|
||
the Hindus, the Greeks and Romans and Chinese? What became of the
|
||
billions who died before the promise was made to Abraham; of the
|
||
billions and billions who never heard of the Bible, who never heard
|
||
the name, even, of Jesus Christ -- never knew of "the scheme of
|
||
salvation"? What became of the millions and billions who lived in
|
||
this hemisphere, and of whose existence Jehovah himself seemed
|
||
perfectly ignorant?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. They were undoubtedly lost. God having made them. had
|
||
a right to do with them as he pleased. They are probably all in
|
||
hell to-day, and the fact that they are damned, only adds to the
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
18
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
joy of the redeemed. It is by contrast that we are able to perceive
|
||
the infinite kindness with which God has treated us.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not possible that something can be done for a
|
||
human soul in another world as well as in this?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No; this is the only world in which God even attempts
|
||
to reform anybody. In the other world, nothing is done for the
|
||
purpose of making anybody better. Here in this world, where man
|
||
lives but a few days, is the only opportunity for moral
|
||
improvement. A minister can do a thousand times more for a soul
|
||
than its creator; and this country is much better adapted to moral
|
||
growth than heaven itself. A person who lived on this earth a few
|
||
years, and died without having been converted, has no hope in
|
||
another world. The moment he arrives at the judgment seat, nothing
|
||
remains but to damn him. Neither God, nor the Holy Ghost, nor Jesus
|
||
Christ, can have the least possible influence with him there.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. When God created each human being, did he know
|
||
exactly what would be his eternal fate?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Most assuredly he did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he know that hundreds and millions and billions
|
||
would suffer eternal pain?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly. But he gave them freedom of choice between
|
||
good and evil.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he know exactly how they would use that freedom?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he know that billions would use it wrong?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was it optional with him whether he should make such
|
||
people or not?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Had these people any option as to whether they would
|
||
be made or not?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Would it not have been far better to leave them
|
||
unconscious dust?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. These questions show how foolish it is to judge God
|
||
according to a human standard. What to us seems just and merciful,
|
||
God may regard in an exactly opposite light; and we may hereafter
|
||
be developed to such a degree that we will regard the agonies of
|
||
the damned as the highest possible evidence of the goodness and
|
||
mercy of God.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
19
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you account for the fact that God did not
|
||
make himself known except to Abraham and his descendants? Why did
|
||
he fail to reveal himself to the other nations -- nations that,
|
||
compared with the Jews, were learned, cultivated and powerful?
|
||
Would you regard a revelation now made to the Esquimaux as intended
|
||
for us; and would it be a revelation of which we would be obliged
|
||
to take notice?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course, God could have revealed himself, not only
|
||
to all the great nations, but to each individual. He could have had
|
||
the Ten Commandments engraved on every heart and brain; or he could
|
||
have raised up prophets in every land; but he chose, rather. to
|
||
allow countless millions of his children to wander in the darkness
|
||
and blackness of Nature; chose, rather, that they should redden
|
||
their hands in each other's blood; chose, rather, that they should
|
||
live without light, and die without hope; chose, rather, that they
|
||
should suffer, not only in this world, but forever in the next. Of
|
||
course we have no right to find fault with the choice of God.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Now you can tell a sinner to "believe on the Lord
|
||
Jesus Christ;" what could a sinner have been told in Egypt, three
|
||
thousand years ago; and in what language would you have addressed
|
||
a Hindu in the days of Buddha -- the "divine scheme" at that time
|
||
being a secret in the divine breast?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It is not for us to think upon these questions. The
|
||
moment we examine the Christian system. we begin to doubt. In a
|
||
little while, we shall be infidels, and shall lose the respect of
|
||
those who refuse to think. It is better to go with the majority.
|
||
These doctrines are too sacred to be touched. You should be
|
||
satisfied with the religion of your father and your mother. "You
|
||
want some book on the "center-table," in the parlor; it is
|
||
extremely handy to have a Family Record; and what book, other than
|
||
the Bible, could a mother give a son as he leaves the old
|
||
homestead?
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not wonderful that all the writers of the four
|
||
gospels do not give an account of the ascension of Jesus Christ?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. This question has been answered long ago, time and
|
||
time again.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Perhaps it has, but would it not be well enough to
|
||
answer it once more? Some may not have seen the answer?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Show me the hospitals that infidels have built; show
|
||
me the asylums that infidels have founded.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. I know you have given the usual answer; but after
|
||
all, is it not singular that a miracle so wonderful as the bodily
|
||
ascension of a man, should not have been mentioned by all the
|
||
writers of that man's life? Is it not wonderful that some of them
|
||
said that he did ascend, and others that he agreed to stay with his
|
||
disciples always?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. People unacquainted with the Hebrew, can have no
|
||
conception of these things. A story in plain English, does not
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
20
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
sound as it does in Hebrew. Miracles seem altogether more credible,
|
||
when told in a dead language.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What, in your judgment, became of the dead who were
|
||
raised by Christ? Is it not singular that they were never mentioned
|
||
afterward? Would not a man who had been raised from the dead
|
||
naturally be an object of considerable interest, especially to his
|
||
friends and acquaintances? And is it not also wonderful that
|
||
Christ, after having wrought so many miracles, cured so many lame
|
||
and halt and blind, fed so many thousands miraculously, and after
|
||
having entered Jerusalem, in triumph as a conqueror and king, had
|
||
to be pointed out by one of his own disciples who was bribed for
|
||
the purpose?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course, all these things are exceedingly wonderful,
|
||
and if found in any other book, would be absolutely incredible; but
|
||
we have no right to apply the same kind of reasoning to the Bible
|
||
that we apply to the Koran or to the sacred books of the Hindus.
|
||
For the ordinary affairs of this world, God has given us reason;
|
||
but in the examination of religious questions, we should depend
|
||
upon credulity and faith.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If Christ came to offer himself a sacrifice, for the
|
||
purpose of making atonement for the sins of such as might believe
|
||
on him, why did he not make this fact known to all of his
|
||
disciples?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He did. This was, and is, the gospel.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How is it that Matthew says nothing about "salvation
|
||
by faith," but simply says that God will be merciful to the
|
||
merciful, that he will forgive the forgiving, and says not one word
|
||
about the necessity of believing anything?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. But you will remember that Mark says, in the last
|
||
chapter of his gospel, that "whoso believeth not shall be damned."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you admit that Matthew says nothing on the
|
||
subject?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. yes, I suppose I must.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is not that passage in Mark generally admitted to be
|
||
an interpolation?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Some biblical scholars say that it is.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is that portion of the last chapter of Mark found in
|
||
the Syriac version of the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It is not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If it was necessary to believe on Jesus Christ, in
|
||
order to be saved, how is it that Matthew failed to say so?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. "There are more copies of the Bible printed to-day,
|
||
than of any other book in the world, and it is printed in more
|
||
languages than any other book."
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
21
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you consider it necessary to be "regenerated" --
|
||
to be "born again" -- in order to be saved?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did Matthew say anything on the subject of
|
||
"regeneration"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did Mark?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did Luke?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is Saint John the only one who speaks of the
|
||
necessity of being "born again"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He is.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Matthew, Mark and Luke knew
|
||
anything about the necessity of "regeneration"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course they did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why did they fail to speak of it?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. There is no civilization without the Bible. The moment
|
||
you throw away the sacred Scriptures, you are all at sea -- you are
|
||
without an anchor and without a compass.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. You will remember that, according to Mark, Christ
|
||
said to his disciples: "Go ye into all the world. and preach the
|
||
gospel to every creature." Did he refer to the gospel set forth by
|
||
Mark?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Well, in the gospel set forth by Mark, there is not
|
||
a word about "regeneration," and no word about the necessity of
|
||
believing anything -- except in an interpolated passage. Would it
|
||
not seem from this, that "regeneration" and a "belief in the Lord
|
||
Jesus Christ," are no part of the gospel?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Nothing can exceed in horror the last moments of the
|
||
infidel; nothing can he more terrible than the death of the
|
||
doubter. When the glories of this world fade from the vision; when
|
||
ambition becomes an empty name; when wealth turns to dust in the
|
||
palsied hand of death, of what use is philosophy then? Who cares
|
||
then for the pride of intellect? In that dread moment, man needs
|
||
something to rely on, whether it is true or not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Would it not have been more convincing if Christ,
|
||
after his resurrection, had shown himself to his enemies as well as
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
22
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
to his friends? Would it not have greatly strengthened the evidence
|
||
in the case, if he had visited Pilate; had presented himself before
|
||
Caiaphas, the high priest; if he had again entered the temple, and
|
||
again walked the streets of Jerusalem?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. If the evidence had been complete and overwhelming,
|
||
there would have been no praiseworthiness in belief; even publicans
|
||
and sinners would have believed, if the evidence had been
|
||
sufficient. The amount of evidence required is the test of the true
|
||
Christian spirit.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Would it not also have been better had the ascension
|
||
taken place in the presence of unbelieving thousands; it seems such
|
||
a pity to have wasted such a demonstration upon those already
|
||
convinced?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. These questions are the natural fruit of the carnal
|
||
mind, and can be accounted for only by the doctrine of total
|
||
depravity. Nothing has given the church more trouble than just such
|
||
questions. Unholy curiosity, a disposition to pry into the divine
|
||
mysteries, a desire to know, to investigate, to explain -- in
|
||
short, to understand, are all evidences of a reprobate mind.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How can we account for the fact that Matthew alone
|
||
speaks of the wise men of the East coming with gifts to the infant
|
||
Christ; that he alone speaks of the little babes being killed by
|
||
Herod? Is it possible that the other writers never heard of these
|
||
things?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Nobody can get any good out of the Bible by reading it
|
||
in a critical spirit. The contradictions and discrepancies are only
|
||
apparent, and melt away before the light of faith. That which in
|
||
other books would be absolute and palpable contradiction, is, in
|
||
the Bible, when spiritually discerned, a perfect and beautiful
|
||
harmony. My own opinion is, that seeming contradictions are in the
|
||
Bible for the purpose of testing and strengthening the faith of
|
||
Christians, and for the further purpose of ensnaring infidels,
|
||
"that they might believe a lie and be damned."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it possible that a good God would take pains to
|
||
deceive his children?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The Bible is filled with instances of that kind, and
|
||
all orthodox ministers now know that fossil animals -- that is,
|
||
representations of animals in stone, were placed in the rocks on
|
||
purpose to mislead men like Darwin and Humboldt, Huxley and
|
||
Tyndall. It is also now known that God, for the purpose of
|
||
misleading the so-called men of science, had hairy elephants
|
||
preserved in ice, made stomachs for them, and allowed twigs of
|
||
trees to be found in these stomachs, when, as a matter of fact, no
|
||
such elephants ever lived or ever died. These men who are
|
||
endeavoring to overturn the Scriptures with the lever of science
|
||
will find that they have been deceived. Through all eternity they
|
||
will regret their philosophy. They will wish, in the next world,
|
||
that they had thrown away geology and physiology and all other
|
||
"ologies" except theology. The time is coming when Jehovah will
|
||
"mock at their fears and laugh at their calamity."
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
23
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If Joseph was not the father of Christ, why was his
|
||
genealogy given to show that Christ was of the blood of David; why
|
||
would not the genealogy of any other Jew have done as well?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. That objection was raised and answered hundreds of
|
||
years ago.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If they wanted to show that Christ was of the blood
|
||
of David, why did they not give the genealogy of his mother if
|
||
Joseph was not his father?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. That objection was answered hundreds of years ago.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How was it answered?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. When Voltaire was dying, he sent for a priest.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How does it happen that the two genealogies given do
|
||
not agree?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Perhaps they were written by different persons.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Were both these persona inspired by the same God?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why were the miracles recorded in the New Testament
|
||
performed?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The miracles were the evidence relied on to prove the
|
||
supernatural origin and the divine mission of Jesus Christ.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Aside from the miracles, is there any evidence to
|
||
show the supernatural origin or character of Jesus Christ?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Some have considered that his moral precepts are
|
||
sufficient, of themselves, to show that he was divine.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Had all of his moral precepts been taught before he
|
||
lived?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The same things had been said, but they did not have
|
||
the same meaning.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Does the fact that Buddha taught the same tend to
|
||
show that he was of divine origin?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly not. The rules of evidence applicable to the
|
||
Bible are not applicable to other books. We examine other books in
|
||
the light of reason; the Bible is the only exception. So, we should
|
||
not judge of Christ as we do of any other man.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Christ wrought many of his
|
||
miracles because he was good, charitable, and filled with pity?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
24
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Has he as much power now as he had when on earth?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Most assuredly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is he as charitable and pitiful now, as he was then?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. yes.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why does he not now cure the lame and the halt and
|
||
the blind?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It is well known that, when Julian the Apostate was
|
||
dying, catching some of his own blood in his hand and throwing it
|
||
into the air he exclaimed: "Galilean, thou hast conquered!"
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you consider it our duty to love our neighbor?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is virtue the same in all worlds?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Most assuredly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are we under obligation to render good for evil, and
|
||
to "pray for those who despitefully use us"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Will Christians in heaven love their neighbors?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; if their neighbors are not in hell.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do good Christians pity sinners in this world?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because they regard them as being in great danger of
|
||
the eternal wrath of God.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. After these sinners have died, and been sent to
|
||
hell, will the Christians in heaven then pity them?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No. Angels have no pity.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If we are under obligation to love our enemies, is
|
||
not God under obligation to love his? If we forgive our enemies,
|
||
ought not God to forgive his? If we forgive those who injure us,
|
||
ought not God to forgive those who have not injured him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. God made us, and he has therefore the right to do with
|
||
us as he pleases. Justice demands that he should damn all of us,
|
||
and the few that he will save will be saved through mercy and
|
||
without the slightest respect to anything they may have done
|
||
themselves. Such is the justice of God, that those in hell will
|
||
have no right to complain, and those in heaven will have no right
|
||
to be there. Hell is justice, and salvation is charity.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
25
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you consider it possible for a law to be Justly
|
||
satisfied by the punishment of an innocent person?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Such is the scheme of the atonement. As man is held
|
||
responsible for the sin of Adam, so he will be credited with the
|
||
virtues of Christ; and you can readily see that one is exactly as
|
||
reasonable as the other.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose a man honestly reads the New Testament, and
|
||
honestly concludes that it is not an inspired book; suppose he
|
||
honestly makes up his mind that the miracles are not true; that the
|
||
devil never really carried Christ to the pinnacle of the temple;
|
||
that devils were really never cast out of a man and allowed to take
|
||
refuge in swine; -- I say, suppose that he is honestly convinced
|
||
that these things are not true, what ought he to say?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He ought to say nothing.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose that the same man should read the Koran, and
|
||
come to the conclusion that it is not an inspired book; what ought
|
||
he to say?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He ought to say that it is not inspired; his fellow-
|
||
men are entitled to his honest opinion, and it is his duty to do
|
||
what he can do to destroy a pernicious superstition.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose then, that a reader of the Bible, having
|
||
become convinced that it is not inspired -- honestly convinced --
|
||
says nothing -keeps his conclusion absolutely to himself, and
|
||
suppose he dies in that belief, can he be saved?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Has the honesty of his belief anything to do with
|
||
his future condition?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Nothing whatever.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose that he tried to believe, that he hated to
|
||
disagree with his friends, and with his parents, but that in spite
|
||
of himself he was forced to the conclusion that the Bible is not
|
||
the inspired word of God, would he then deserve eternal punishment?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly he would.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Can a man control his belief?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He cannot -- except as to the Bible.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you consider it just in God to create a man who
|
||
cannot believe the Bible, and then damn him because he does not?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Such is my belief.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it your candid opinion that a man who does not
|
||
believe the Bible should keep his belief a secret from his
|
||
fellow-men?
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
26
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It is.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do I know that you believe the Bible? You have
|
||
told me that if you did not believe it, you would not tell me?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. There is no way for you to ascertain, except by taking
|
||
my word for it.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What will be the fate of a man who does not believe
|
||
it, and yet pretends to believe it?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He will be damned.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Then hypocrisy will not save him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. And if he does not believe it, and admits that he
|
||
does not believe it, then his honesty will not save him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No. Honesty on the wrong side is no better than
|
||
hypocrisy on the right side.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do we know who wrote the gospels?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; we do.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are we absolutely sure who wrote them?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course; we have the evidence as it has come to us
|
||
through the Catholic Church.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Can we rely upon the Catholic Church now?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No; assuredly no! But we have the testimony of
|
||
Polycarp and Irenaeus and Clement, and others of the early fathers,
|
||
together with that of the Christian historian, Eusebius.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What do we really know about Polycarp?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. We know that he suffered martyrdom under Marcus
|
||
Aurelius, and that for quite a time the fire refused to burn his
|
||
body, the flames arching over him, leaving him in a kind of fiery
|
||
tent; and we also know that from his body came a fragrance like
|
||
frankincense, and that the Pagans were so exasperated at seeing the
|
||
miracle, that one of them thrust a sword through the body of
|
||
Polycarp; that the blood flowed out and extinguished the flames and
|
||
that out of the wound flew the soul of the martyr in the form of a
|
||
dove.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is that all we know about Polycarp?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, with the exception of a few more like incidents.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do we know that Polycarp ever met St. John?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; Eusebius says so.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
27
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are we absolutely certain that he ever lived?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, or Eusebius could not have written about him.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do we know anything of the character of Eusebius?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; we know that he was untruthful only when he
|
||
wished to do good. But God can use even the dishonest. Other books
|
||
have to be substantiated by truthful men, but such is the power of
|
||
God, that he can establish the inspiration of the Bible by the most
|
||
untruthful witnesses. If God's witnesses were honest, anybody could
|
||
believe, and what becomes of faith, one of the greatest virtues?
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is the New Testament now the same as it was in the
|
||
days of the early fathers?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly not. Many books now thrown out, and not
|
||
esteemed of divine origin, were esteemed divine by Polycarp and
|
||
Irenaeus and Clement and many of the early churches. These books
|
||
are now called "apocryphal."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have you not the same witnesses in favor of their
|
||
authenticity, that you have in favor of the gospels?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Precisely the same. Except that they were thrown out.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why were they thrown out?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because the Catholic Church did not esteem them
|
||
inspired.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did the Catholics decide for us which are the true
|
||
gospels and which are the true episodes?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The Catholic Church was then the only church, and
|
||
consequently must have been the true church.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How did the Catholic Church select the true books?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Councils were called, and votes were taken, very much
|
||
as we now pass resolutions in political meetings.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was the Catholic Church infallible then?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It was then, but it is not now.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If the Catholic Church at that time had thrown out
|
||
the book of Revelation, would it now be our duty to believe that
|
||
book to have been inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No, I suppose not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not true that some of these books were adopted
|
||
by exceedingly small majorities?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It is.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
28
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If the Epistle to the Hebrews and to the Romans, and
|
||
the book of Revelation had been thrown out, could a man now be
|
||
saved who honestly believes the rest of the books?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. This is doubtful.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Were the men who picked out the inspired books
|
||
inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. We cannot tell, but the probability is that they were.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do we know that they picked out the right ones?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, not exactly, but we believe that they did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are we certain that some of the books that were
|
||
thrown out were not inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, the only way to tell is to read them carefully.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If upon reading these apocryphal books a man
|
||
concludes that they are not inspired, will he be damned for that
|
||
reason?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No. Certainly not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If he concludes that some of them are inspired, and
|
||
believes them, will he then he damned for that belief?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Oh, no! Nobody is ever damned for believing too much.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Does the fact that the books now comprising the New
|
||
Testament were picked out by the Catholic Church prevent their
|
||
being examined now by an honest man, as they were examined at the
|
||
time they were picked out?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No; not if the man comes to the conclusion that they
|
||
are inspired.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Does the fact that the Catholic Church picked them
|
||
out and declared them to be inspired, render it a crime to examine
|
||
them precisely as you would examine the books that the Catholic
|
||
Church threw out and declared were not inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I think it does.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. At the time the council was held in which it was
|
||
determined which of the books of the New Testament are inspired, a
|
||
respectable minority voted against some that were finally decided
|
||
to be inspired. If they were honest in the vote they gave, and died
|
||
without changing their opinions, are they now in hell?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, they ought to be.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If those who voted to leave the book of Revelation
|
||
out of the canon, and the gospel of Saint John out of the canon,
|
||
believed honestly that these were not inspired books, how should
|
||
they have voted?
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
29
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, I suppose a man ought to vote as he honestly
|
||
believes -- except in matters of religion.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If the Catholic Church was not infallible, is the
|
||
question still open as to what books are, and what are not,
|
||
inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I suppose the question is still open -- hut it would
|
||
be dangerous to decide it.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If then, I examine all the books again, and come to
|
||
the conclusion that some that were thrown out were inspired, and
|
||
some that were accepted were not inspired, ought I to say so?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Not if it is contrary to the faith of your father, or
|
||
calculated to interfere with your own political prospects.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it as great a sin to admit into the Bible books
|
||
that are uninspired as to reject those that are inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, it is a crime to reject an inspired book, no
|
||
matter how unsatisfactory the evidence is for its inspiration, but
|
||
it is not a crime to receive an uninspired book. God damns nobody
|
||
for believing too much. An excess of credulity is simply to err in
|
||
the direction of salvation.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose a man disbelieves in the inspiration of the
|
||
New Testament -- believes it to be entirely the work of uninspired
|
||
men; and suppose he also believes -- but not from any evidence
|
||
obtained in the New Testament -- that Jesus Christ was the son of
|
||
God, and that he made atonement for his soul, can he then be saved
|
||
without a belief in the inspiration of the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. This has not yet been decided by our church, and I do
|
||
not wish to venture an opinion.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose a man denies the inspiration of the
|
||
Scriptures; suppose that he also denies the divinity of Jesus
|
||
Christ; and suppose, further, that he acts precisely as Christ is
|
||
said to have acted; suppose he loves his enemies, prays for those
|
||
who despitefully use him, and does all the good he possibly can, is
|
||
it your opinion that such a man will be saved?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No, sir. There is "none other name given under heaven
|
||
and among men," whereby a sinner can be saved but the name of
|
||
Christ.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Then it is your opinion that God would save a
|
||
murderer who believed in Christ, and would damn another man,
|
||
exactly like Christ, who failed to believe in him?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; because we have the blessed promise that, out of
|
||
Christ, "our God is a consuming fire."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose a man read the Bible carefully and honestly,
|
||
and was not quite convinced that it was true, and that while
|
||
examining the subject, he died: what then?
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
30
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I do not believe that God would allow him to examine
|
||
the matter in another world, or to make up his mind in heaven. Of
|
||
course, he would eternally perish.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Could Christ now furnish evidence enough to convince
|
||
every human being of the truth of the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he could, because he is infinite.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are any miracles performed now?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Oh, no!
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have we any testimony, except human testimony, to
|
||
substantiate any miracle?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Only human testimony.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do all men give the same force to the same evidence?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. By no means.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have all honest men who have examined the Bible
|
||
believed it to be inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course they have. Infidels are not honest.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Could any additional evidence have been furnished?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. With perfect ease.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Would God allow a soul to suffer eternal agony
|
||
rather than furnish evidence of the truth of his Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. God has furnished plenty of evidence. and altogether
|
||
more than was really necessary. We should read the Bible in a
|
||
believing spirit.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are all parts of the inspired books equally true?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Necessarily.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. According to Saint Matthew, God promises to forgive
|
||
all who will forgive others; not one word is said about believing
|
||
in Christ, or believing in the miracles, or in any Bible; did
|
||
Matthew tell the truth?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The Bible must be taken as a whole; and if other
|
||
conditions are added somewhere else, then you must comply with
|
||
those other conditions. Matthew may not have stated all the
|
||
conditions.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. I find in another part of the New Testament, that a
|
||
young man came to Christ and asked him what was necessary for him
|
||
to do in order that he might inherit eternal life. Christ did not
|
||
tell him that he must believe the Bible, or that he must believe in
|
||
him, or that he must keep the Sabbath-day; was Christ honest with
|
||
that young man?
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
31
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, I suppose he was.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. You will also recollect that Zaccheus said to
|
||
Christ, that where he had wronged any man he had made restitution,
|
||
and further, that half his goods he had given to the poor; and you
|
||
will remember that Christ said to Zaccheus: "This day hath
|
||
salvation come to thy house." Why did not Christ tell Zaccheus that
|
||
he "must be born again; that he must "believe on the Lord Jesus
|
||
Christ"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course there are mysteries in our holy religion
|
||
that only those who have been "born again" can understand. You must
|
||
remember that the carnal mind is enmity with God."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it not strange that Christ, in his Sermon on the
|
||
Mount, did not speak of "regeneration," or of the "scheme of
|
||
salvation"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well. it may be.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Can a man be saved now by living exactly in
|
||
accordance with the Sermon on the Mount?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He can not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Would then a man, by following the course of conduct
|
||
prescribed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, lose his soul?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He most certainly would, because there is not one word
|
||
in the Sermon on the Mount about believing on the Lord Jesus
|
||
Christ; not one word about believing in the Bible; not one word
|
||
about the "atonement;" not one word about "regeneration." So that,
|
||
if the Presbyterian Church is right, it is absolutely certain that
|
||
a man might follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, and
|
||
live in accordance with its every word, and yet deserve and receive
|
||
the eternal condemnation of God. But we must remember that the
|
||
Sermon on the Mount was preached before Christianity existed.
|
||
Christ was talking to Jews.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did Christ write anything himself, in the New
|
||
Testament?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Not a word.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he tell any of his disciples to write any of his
|
||
words?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. There is no account of it, if he did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do we know whether any of the disciples wrote
|
||
anything?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course they did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you know?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because the gospels bear their names.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
32
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are you satisfied that Christ was absolutely God?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he was. We believe that Christ and God and
|
||
the Holy Ghost are all the same, that the three form one, and that
|
||
each one is three.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was Christ the God of the universe at the time of
|
||
his birth?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He certainly was.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Was he the infinite God, creator and controller of
|
||
the entire universe, before he was born?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he was. This is the mystery of "God manifest
|
||
in the flesh." The infidels have pretended that he was like any
|
||
other child, and was in fact supported by Nature instead of being
|
||
the supporter of Nature. They have insisted that like other
|
||
children, he had to be cared for by his mother. Of course he
|
||
appeared to be cared for by his mother. It was a part of the plan
|
||
that in all respects he should appear to be like other children.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did he know just as much before he was born as
|
||
after?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. If he was God of course he did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you account for the fact that Saint Luke
|
||
tells us. in the last verse of the second chapter of his gospel,
|
||
that "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. That I presume is a figure of speech; because, if he
|
||
was God, he certainly could not have increased in wisdom. The
|
||
physical part of him could increase in stature, but the
|
||
intellectual part must have been infinite all the time.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that Luke was mistaken?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No; I believe what Luke said. If it appears untrue, or
|
||
impossible, then I know that it is figurative or symbolical.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did I understand you to say that Christ was actually
|
||
God?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he was.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Then why did Luke say in the same verse of the same
|
||
chapter that "Jesus increased in favor with God"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I dare you to go into a room by yourself and read the
|
||
fourteenth chapter of Saint John!
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it necessary to understand the Bible in order to
|
||
be saved?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly not; it is only necessary that you believe
|
||
it.
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
33
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is it necessary to believe all the miracles?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It may not be necessary, but as it is impossible to
|
||
tell which ones can safely be left out, you had better believe them
|
||
all.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Then you regard belief as the safe way?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course it is better to be fooled in this world than
|
||
to be damned in the next.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think that there are any cruelties on God's
|
||
part recorded in the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. At first flush, many things done by God himself, as
|
||
well as by his prophets, appear to be cruel; but if we examine them
|
||
closely, we will find them to be exactly the opposite.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you explain the story of Elisha and the
|
||
children, -- where the two she-bears destroyed forty-two children
|
||
on account of their impudence?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. This miracle, in my judgment, establishes two things:
|
||
1. That children should be polite to ministers, and 2. That God is
|
||
kind to animals -- "giving them their meat in due season." These
|
||
bears have been great educators -- they are the foundation of the
|
||
respect entertained by the young for theologians. No child ever
|
||
sees a minister now without thinking of a bear.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What do you think of the story of Daniel -- you no
|
||
doubt remember it? Some men told the king that Daniel was praying
|
||
contrary to law, and thereupon Daniel was cast into a den of lions;
|
||
hut the lions could not touch him, their mouths having been shut by
|
||
angels. The next morning, the king, finding that Daniel was still
|
||
intact, had him taken out; and then, for the purpose of gratifying
|
||
Daniel's God, the king had all the men who had made the complaint
|
||
against Daniel, and their wives and their little children, brought
|
||
and cast into the lions' den. According to the account, the lions
|
||
were so hungry that they caught these wives and children as they
|
||
dropped, and broke all their bones in pieces before they had even
|
||
touched the ground. Is it not wonderful that God failed to protect
|
||
these innocent wives and children?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. These wives and children were heathen; they were
|
||
totally depraved. And besides, they were used as witnesses. The
|
||
fact that they were devoured with such quickness shows that the
|
||
lions were hungry. Had it not been for this, infidels would have
|
||
accounted for the safety of Daniel by saying that the lions had
|
||
been fed.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you believe that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
|
||
were cast "into a burning fiery furnace "heated one seven times
|
||
hotter than it was wont to be heated," and that they had on "their
|
||
coats, their hosen and their hats," and that when they came out not
|
||
a hair of their heads was singed, nor was the smell of fire upon
|
||
their garments"?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
34
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The evidence of this miracle is exceedingly
|
||
satisfactory. It resulted in the conversion of Nebuchadnezzar.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you know he was converted?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because immediately after the miracle the king issued
|
||
a decree that "every people, nation and language that spoke
|
||
anything amiss against the God of Shadrach and Company, should be
|
||
cut in pieces." This decree shows that he had become a true
|
||
disciple and worshiper of Jehovah.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If God in those days preserved from the fury of the
|
||
fire men who were true to him and would not deny his name, why is
|
||
it that he has failed to protect thousands of martyrs since that
|
||
time?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. This is one of the divine mysteries. God has in many
|
||
instances allowed his enemies to kill his friends. I suppose this
|
||
was allowed for the good of his enemies, that the heroism of the
|
||
martyrs might convert them.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you believe all the miracles?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I believe them all, because I believe the Bible to be
|
||
inspired.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What makes you think it is inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I have never seen anybody who knew it was not:
|
||
besides, my father and mother believed it.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have you any other reason for believing it to be
|
||
inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; there are more copies of the Bible printed than
|
||
of any other book; and it is printed in more languages. And
|
||
besides, it would be impossible to get along without it.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why could we not get along without it?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. We would have nothing to swear witnesses by; no book
|
||
in which to keep the family record; nothing for the center-table,
|
||
and nothing for a mother to give her son. No nation can be
|
||
civilized without the Bible.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did God always know that a Bible was necessary to
|
||
civilize a country?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly he did.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why did he not give a Bible to the Egyptians, the
|
||
Hindus. the Greeks and the Romans?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It is astonishing what perfect fools infidels are.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why do you call infidels "fools"?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
35
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because I find in the fifth chapter of the gospel
|
||
according to Matthew the following: "Whosoever shall say 'Thou
|
||
fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have I the right to read the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes. You not only have the right, but it is your duty.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. In reading the Bible the words make certain
|
||
impressions on my mind. These impressions depend upon my brain, --
|
||
upon my intelligence. Is not this true?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course, when you read the Bible, impressions are
|
||
made upon your mind.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Can I control these impressions?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I do not think you can, as long as you remain in a
|
||
sinful state.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How am I to get out of this sinful state?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. You must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you
|
||
must read the Bible in a prayerful spirit and with a believing
|
||
heart.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose that doubts force themselves upon my mind?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Then you will know that you are a sinner, and that you
|
||
are depraved.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If I have the right to read the Bible, have I the
|
||
right to try to understand it?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Most assuredly.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you admit that I have the right to reason about
|
||
it and to investigate it?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; I admit that. Of course you cannot help reasoning
|
||
about what you read.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Does the right to read a book include the right to
|
||
give your opinion as to the truth of what the book contains?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course, -- if the book is not inspired. Infidels
|
||
hate the Bible because it is inspired, and Christians know that it
|
||
is inspired because infidels say that it is not.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have I the right to decide for myself whether or not
|
||
the book is inspired?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. You have no right to deny the truth of God's Holy
|
||
Word.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is God the author of all books?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly not.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
36
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have I the right to say that God did not write the
|
||
Koran?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because the Koran was written by an impostor.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you know?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. My reason tells me so.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have you the right to be guided by your reason?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I must be.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Have you the same right to follow your reason after
|
||
reading the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No. The Bible is the standard of reason. The Bible is
|
||
not to be judged or corrected by your reason. Your reason is to be
|
||
weighed and measured by the Bible. The Bible is different from
|
||
other books and must not be read in the same critical spirit, nor
|
||
judged by the same standard.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What did God give us reason for?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. So that we might investigate other religions, and
|
||
examine other so-called sacred books.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. If a man honestly thinks that the Bible is not
|
||
inspired, what should he say?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. He should admit that he is mistaken.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. When he thinks he is right?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes. The Bible is different from other books. It is
|
||
the master of reason. You read the Bible, not to see if that is
|
||
wrong, but to see whether your reason is right. It is the only book
|
||
about which a man has no right to reason. He must believe. The
|
||
Bible is addressed. not to the reason, but to the ears: "He that
|
||
hath ears to hear, let him hear."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think we have the right to tell what the
|
||
bible means -- what ideas God intended to convey, or has conveyed
|
||
to us, through the medium of the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, I suppose you have that right. Yes, that must be
|
||
your duty. You certainly ought to tell others what God has said to
|
||
you.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do all men get the same ideas from the Bible?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
37
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you account for that?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because all men are not alike; they differ in
|
||
intellect, in education, and in experience.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Who has the right to decide as to the real ideas
|
||
that God intended to convey?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I am a Protestant, and believe in the right of private
|
||
judgment. Whoever does not is a Catholic. Each man must be his own
|
||
judge, but God will hold him responsible.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Does God believe in the right of private judgment?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Of course he does.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is he willing that I should exercise my Judgment in
|
||
deciding whether the Bible is inspired or not?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No. He believes in the exercise of private judgment
|
||
only in the examination and rejection of other books than the
|
||
Bible.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Is he a Catholic?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. I cannot answer blasphemy! Let me tell you that God
|
||
will "laugh at your calamity, and will mock when your fear cometh."
|
||
You will be accursed.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Why do you curse infidels?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Because I am a Christian.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Did not Christ say that we ought to "bless those who
|
||
curse us," and that we should "love our enemies"?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. but he cursed the Pharisees and called them
|
||
"hypocrites" and "vipers."
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How do you account for that?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. It simply shows the difference between theory and
|
||
practice.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What do you consider the best way to answer
|
||
infidels.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The old way is the best. You should say that their
|
||
arguments are ancient, and have been answered over and over again.
|
||
If this does not satisfy your hearers, then you should attack the
|
||
character of the infidel -- then that of his parents -- then that
|
||
of his children.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Suppose that the infidel is a good man, how will you
|
||
answer him then?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
38
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. But an infidel cannot be a good man. Even if he is, it
|
||
is better that he should lose his reputation, than that thousands
|
||
should lose their souls. We know that all infidels are vile and
|
||
infamous. We may not have the evidence. but we know that it exists.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. How should infidels be treated? Should Christians
|
||
try to convert them?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Christians should have nothing to do with infidels. It
|
||
is not safe even to converse with them. They are always talking
|
||
about reason. and facts, and experience. They are filled with
|
||
sophistry and should be avoided.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Should Christians pray for the conversion of
|
||
infidels?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes; but such prayers should be made in public and the
|
||
name of the infidel should be given and his vile and hideous heart
|
||
portrayed so that the young may be warned.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Whom do you regard as infidels?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The scientists -- the geologists, the astronomers, the
|
||
naturalists, the philosophers. No one can overestimate the evil
|
||
that has been wrought by Laplace, Humboldt, Darwin, Huxley,
|
||
Haeckel, Renan, Emerson, Strauss, Buchner, Tyndall, and their
|
||
wretched followers. These men pretended to know more than Moses and
|
||
the prophets. They were "dogs baying at the moon." They were
|
||
"wolves" and "fools." They tried to "assassinate God," and worse
|
||
than all, they actually laughed at the clergy.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you think they did, and are doing great harm?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Certainly. Of what use are all the sciences, if you
|
||
lose your own soul? People in hell will care nothing about
|
||
education. The rich man said nothing about science, he wanted
|
||
water. Neither will they care about books and theories in heaven.
|
||
If a man is perfectly happy, it makes no difference how ignorant he
|
||
is.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. But how can he answer these scientists?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Well, my advice is to let their arguments alone. Of
|
||
course, you will deny all their facts; but the most effective way
|
||
is to attack their character.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. But suppose they are good men, -- what then?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The better they are, the worse they are. We cannot
|
||
admit that the infidel is really good. He may appear to be good,
|
||
and it is our duty to strip the mask of appearance from the face of
|
||
unbelief. If a man is not a Christian, he is totally depraved, and
|
||
why should we hesitate to make a misstatement about a man whom God
|
||
is going to make miserable forever?
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Are we not commanded to love our enemies?
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
39
|
||
|
||
THE TALMAGIAN CATECHISM.
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. Yes, but not the enemies of God.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. Do you fear the final triumph of infidelity?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. No. We have no fear. We believe that the Bible can be
|
||
revised often enough to agree with anything that may really be
|
||
necessary to the preservation of the church. We can always rely
|
||
upon revision. Let me tell you that the Bible is the most peculiar
|
||
of books. At the time God inspired his holy prophets to write it,
|
||
he knew exactly what the discoveries and demonstrations of the
|
||
future would be, and he wrote his Bible in such a way that the
|
||
words could always be interpreted in accordance with the
|
||
intelligence of each age, and so that the words used are capable of
|
||
several meanings, so that, no matter what may hereafter be
|
||
discovered, the Bible will be found to agree with it, -- for the
|
||
reason that the knowledge of Hebrew will grow in the exact
|
||
proportion that discoveries are made in other departments of
|
||
knowledge. -- You will therefore see, that all efforts of
|
||
infidelity to destroy the Bible will simply result in giving a
|
||
better translation.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What do you consider is the strongest argument in
|
||
favor of the inspiration of the Scriptures?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The dying words of Christians.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What do you consider the strongest argument against
|
||
the truth of infidelity?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. The dying words of infidels. You know how terrible
|
||
were the death-bed scenes of Hume, Voltaire, Paine and Hobbes, as
|
||
described by hundreds of persons who were not present; while all
|
||
Christians have died with the utmost serenity, and with their last
|
||
words have testified to the sustaining power of faith in the
|
||
goodness of God.
|
||
|
||
QUESTION. What were the last words of Jesus Christ?
|
||
|
||
ANSWER. "My God, my God. why hast thou forsaken me?"
|
||
**** ****
|
||
|
||
Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
|
||
|
||
The Bank of Wisdom Inc. is a collection of the most thoughtful,
|
||
scholarly and factual books. These computer books are reprints of
|
||
suppressed books and will cover American and world history; the
|
||
Biographies and writings of famous persons, and especially of our
|
||
nations Founding Fathers. They will include philosophy and
|
||
religion. all these subjects, and more, will be made available to
|
||
the public in electronic form, easily copied and distributed, so
|
||
that America can again become what its Founders intended --
|
||
|
||
The Free Market-Place of Ideas.
|
||
|
||
The Bank of Wisdom is always looking for more of these old,
|
||
hidden, suppressed and forgotten books that contain needed facts
|
||
and information for today. If you have such books please contact
|
||
us, we need to give them back to America.
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
40
|
||
|