391 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
391 lines
15 KiB
Plaintext
6 page printout
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Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
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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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MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
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________
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Chicago Times, 1879
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To the Editor: --
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Nothing is more gratifying than to see ideas that were
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received with scorn, flourishing in the sunshine of approval. Only
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a few weeks ago, I stated that the Bible was not inspired; that
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Moses was mistaken; that the "flood" was a foolish myth; that the
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Tower of Babel existed only in credulity; that God did not create
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the universe from nothing, that he did not start the first woman
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with a rib; that he never upheld slavery; that he was not a
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polygamist; that he did not kill people for making hair-oil; that
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he did not order his generals to kill the dimpled babes; that he
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did not allow the roses of love and the violets of modesty to be
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trodden under the brutal feet of lust; that the Hebrew language was
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written without vowels; that the Bible was composed of many books,
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written by unknown men; that all translations differed from each
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other; and that this book had filled the world with agony and
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crime.
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At that time I had not the remotest idea that the most learned
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clergymen in Chicago would substantially agree with me -- in
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public. I have read the replies of the Rev. Robert Collyer, Dr.
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Thomas, Rabbi Kohler, Rev. Brooke Herford, Prof. Swing and Dr.
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Ryder, and will now ask them a few questions, answering them in
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their own words.
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First. Rev. Robert Collyer.
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Question. What is your opinion of the Bible?
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Answer. "It is a splendid book. It makes the noblest type of
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Catholics and the meanest bigots. Through this book men give their
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hearts for good to God, or for evil to the devil. The best argument
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for the intrinsic greatness of the book is that it can touch such
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wide extremes, and seem to maintain us in the most unparalleled
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cruelty, as well as the most tender mercy; that it can inspire
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purity like that of the great saints, and afford arguments in favor
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of polygamy. The Bible is the text book of ironclad Calvinism and
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sunny Universalism. It makes the Quaker quiet, and the Millerite
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crazy. It inspired the Union soldier to live and grandly die for
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the right, and Stonewall Jackson to live nobly, and die grandly for
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the wrong."
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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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MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
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Question. But, Mr. Collyer, do you really think that a book
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with as many passages in favor of wrong as right, is inspired?
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Answer. "I look upon the Old Testament as a rotting tree. When
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it falls it will fertilize a bank of violets."
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Question. Do you believe that God upheld slavery and polygamy?
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Do you believe that he ordered the killing of babes and the
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violation of maidens?
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Answer. "There is threefold inspiration in the Bible, the
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first, peerless and perfect, the word of God to man; the second,
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simply and purely human, and then below this again, there is an
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inspiration born of an evil heart, ruthless and savage there and
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then as anything well can be. A threefold inspiration, of heaven
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first, then of the earth. and then of hell, all in the same book.
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all sometimes in the same chapter. and then, besides, a great many
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things that need no inspiration."
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Question. Then after all you do not pretend that the
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Scriptures are really inspired?
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Answer. "The Scriptures make no such claim for themselves as
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the church makes for them. They leave me free to say this is false,
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or this is true. The truth even within the Bible, dies and lives,
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makes on this side and loses on that."
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Question. What do you say to the last verse in the Bible,
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where a curse is threatened to any man who takes from or adds to
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the book?
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Answer. "I have but one answer to this question, and it is:
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Let who will have written this, I cannot for an instant believe
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that it was written by a divine inspiration. Such dogmas and
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threats as these are not of God, but of man, and not of any man of
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a free spirit and heart eager for the truth, but a narrow man who
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would cripple and confine the human soul in its quest after the
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whole truth of God, and back those who have done the shameful
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things in the name of the most high."
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Question. Do you not regard such talk as "slang"?
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(Supposed) Answer. If an infidel had said that the writer of
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Revelation was narrow and bigoted, I might have denounced his
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discourse as "slang," but I think that Unitarian ministers can do
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so with the greatest propriety.
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Question. Do you believe in the stories of the Bible, about
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Jael, and the sun standing still, and the walls falling at the
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blowing of horns?
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Answer. "They may be legends, myths, poems, or what they will,
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but they are not the word of God. So I say again, it was not the
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God and Father of us all, who inspired the woman to drive that nail
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crashing through the king's temple after she had given him that
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bowl of milk and bid him sleep in safety, but a very mean devil of
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hatred and revenge, that I should hardly expect to find in a squaw
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on the plains. It was not the ram's horns and the shouting before
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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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MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
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which the walls fell flat. If they went down at all, it was through
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good solid pounding. And not for an instant did the steady sun
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stand still or let his planet stand still while barbarian fought
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barbarian. He kept just the time then he keeps now. They might
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believe it who made the record. I do not. And since the whole
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Christian world might believe it, still we do not who gather in
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this church. A free and reasonable mind stands right in our way.
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Newton might believe it as a Christian, and disbelieve it as a
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philosopher. We stand then with the philosopher against the
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Christian, for we must believe what is true to us in the last test,
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and these things are not true."
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Second. Rev. Dr. Thomas.
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Question. What is your opinion of the Old Testament?
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Answer. "My opinion is that it is not one book, but many --
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thirty-nine books bound up in one. the date and authorship of most
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of these books are wholly unknown. The Hebrews wrote without
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vowels, and without dividing the letters into syllables, words, or
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sentences. The books were gathered up by Ezra. At that time only
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two of the Jewish tribes remained. All progress has ceased. In
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gathering up the sacred book, copyists exercised great liberty in
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making changes and additions."
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Question. Yes, we know all that, but is the Old Testament
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inspired?
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Answer. "There may be the inspiration of art, of poetry, or
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oratory; of patriotism -- and there are such inspirations. There
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are moments when great truths and principles come to men. They seek
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the man, and not the man them."
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Question. Yes, we all admit that, but is the Bible inspired?
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Answer. "But still I know of no way to convince anyone of
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spirit, and inspiration, and God, only as his reason may take hold
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of these things."
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Question. Do you think the Old Testament true?
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Answer. "The story of Eden may be an allegory. The history of
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the children of Israel may have mistakes."
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Question. Must inspiration claim infallibility?
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Answer. "It is a mistake to say that if you believe one part
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of the Bible you must believe all. Some of the thirty-nine books
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may be inspired, others not; or there may be degrees of
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inspiration."
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Question. Do you believe that God commanded the soldiers to
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kill the children and the married women, and save for themselves,
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the maidens, as recorded in Numbers xxxi, 2?
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Do you believe that God upheld slavery?
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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3
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MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
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Answer. "The Bible may be wrong in some statements. God and
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right cannot be wrong. We must not exalt the Bible above God. It
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may be that we have claimed too much for the Bible, and thereby
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given not a little occasion for such men as Mr. Ingersoll to appear
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at the other extreme, denying too much."
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Question. What then shall be done?
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Answer. "We must take a middle ground. It is not necessary to
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believe that the bears devoured the forty-two children, nor that
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Jonah was swallowed by the whale."
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Third. Rev. Dr. Kohler.
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Question. What is your opinion about the Old Testament?
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Answer. "I will not make futile attempts of artificially
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interpreting the letter of the Bible so as to make it reflect the
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philosophical, moral and scientific views of our time. The Bible is
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a sacred record of humanity's childhood."
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Question. Are you an orthodox Christian?
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Answer. " No. Orthodoxy, with its face turned backward to a
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ruined temple or a dead Messiah, is fast becoming like Lot's wife,
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a pillar of salt."
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Question. Do you really believe the Old Testament was
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inspired?
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Answer. "I greatly acknowledge our indebtedness to men like
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Voltaire and Thomas Paine, whose bold denial and cutting wit were
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so instrumental in bringing about this glorious era of freedom, so
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congenial and blissful, particularly to the long-abused Jewish
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race."
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Question. Do you believe in the inspiration of the Bible?
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Answer. "Of course there is a destructive axe needed to strike
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down the old building in order to make room for the grander new.
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The divine origin claimed by the Hebrews for their national
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literature, was claimed by all nations for their old records and
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laws as preserved by the priesthood. As Moses, the Hebrew
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law-giver, is represented as having received the law from God on
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the holy mountain, so is Zoroaster the Persian, Manu the Hindoo,
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Minos the Cretan, Lycutgus the Spartan, and Numa the Roman."
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Question. Do you believe all the stories in the Bible?
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Answer. "All that can and must be said against them is that
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they have been too long retained around the arms and limbs of
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grown-up manhood, to check the spiritual progress of religion; that
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by Jewish ritualism and Christian dogmatism they became fetters
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unto the soul, turning the light of heaven into a misty haze to
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blind the eye, and even into a hell-fire of fanaticism to consume
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souls."
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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4
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MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
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Question. Is the Bible inspired?
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Answer. "True, the Bible is not free from errors, nor is any
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work of man and time. It abounds in childish views and offensive
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matter. I trust that it will in a time not far off be presented for
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common use in families, schools, synagogues and churches, in a
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refined shape, cleansed from all dross and chaff, and stumbling
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blocks in which the scoffer delights to dwell."
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Fourth. Rev. Mr. Herford.
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Question. Is the Bible true?
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Answer. "Ingersoll is very fond of saying 'The question is
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not, is the Bible inspired, but is it true?' That sounds very
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plausible, but you know as applied to any ancient book it is simply
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nonsense."
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Question. Do you think the stories in the Bible exaggerated?
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Answer. "I dare say the numbers are immensely exaggerated."
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Question. Do you think that God upheld polygamy?
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Answer. "The truth of which simply is, that four thousand
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years ago polygamy existed among the Jews. as everywhere else on
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earth then, and even their prophets did not come to the idea of its
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being wrong. But what is there to be indignant about in that?"
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Question. And so you really wonder why any man should be
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indignant at the idea that God up held and sanctioned that
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beastliness called polygamy?
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Answer. "What is there to be indignant about in that?"
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Fifth. Prof. Swing.
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Question. What is your idea of the Bible?
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Answer. "I think it is a poem."
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Sixth. Rev. Dr. Ryder.
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Question. And what is your idea of the sacred Scriptures?
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Answer. "Like other nations, the Hebrews had their patriotic,
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descriptive, didactic and lyrical poems in the same varieties as
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other nations; but with them, unlike other nations, whatever may be
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the form of their poetry, it always possesses the characteristic of
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religion."
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Question. I suppose you fully appreciate the religious
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characteristics of the Song of Solomon.
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No answer.
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Question. Does the Bible uphold polygamy?
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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5
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MY CHICAGO BIBLE CLASS.
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Answer. "The law of Moses did not forbid it, but contained
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many provisions against its worst abuses, and such as were intended
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to restrict it within narrow limits."
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Question. So you think God corrected some of the worst abuses
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of polygamy, but preserved the institution itself?
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I might question many others. but have concluded not to
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consider those as members of my Bible Class who deal in calumnies
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and epithets. From the so-called "replies" of such ministers, it
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appears that while Christianity changes the heart, it does not
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improve the manners, and that one can get into heaven in the next
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world without having been a gentleman in this.
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It is difficult for me to express the deep and thrilling
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satisfaction I have experienced in reading the admissions of the
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clergy of Chicago. Surely, the battle of intellectual liberty is
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almost won, when ministers admit that the Bible is filled with
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ignorant and cruel mistakes; that each man has the right to think
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for himself, and that it is not necessary to believe the Scriptures
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in order to be saved. From the bottom of my heart I congratulate my
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pupils on the advance they have made, and hope soon to meet them on
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the serene heights of perfect freedom.
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Robert G. Ingersoll.
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Washington, D.C., May 7, 1879.
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**** ****
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|
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|
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|
||
|
||
|
||
Reproducible Electronic Publishing can defeat censorship.
|
||
|
||
The Bank of Wisdom 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
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Biographies and writings of famous persons, and especially of our
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nations Founding Fathers. They will include philosophy and
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religion. all these subjects, and more, will be made available to
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the public in electronic form, easily copied and distributed, so
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that America can again become what its Founders intended --
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The Free Market-Place of Ideas.
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The Bank of Wisdom is always looking for more of these old,
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hidden, suppressed and forgotten books that contain needed facts
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and information for today. If you have such books please contact
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us, we need to give them back to America.
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Bank of Wisdom
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Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
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6
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