1106 lines
60 KiB
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1106 lines
60 KiB
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17 page printout
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From an old, undated, book published by Watts & Co. entitled:
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'Pamphlets by Charles Watts' Vol. I.
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The book contains the motto: --
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"To Believe without evidence and demonstration is an
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act of ignorance and folly." -- Volney.
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**** ****
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BIBLE MORALITY.
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by
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Charles Watts
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Vice-President of the National Secular Society
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Watts & Co. 17, Johnson's Court, Fleet Street.
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London, England.
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1873?
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**** ****
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BIBLE MORALITY.
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SECULARISTS have no desire to extol the Bible above its
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merits, nor to depreciate it below its deserts. We gladly admit
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that it contains some useful precepts; but these, as a rule, are
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intermixed with so many teachings of an injurious character that
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their beauty is often overshadowed and their utility annulled. Its
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coarse language in many places renders it unfit for general
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perusal, and destroys its value as a standard for every-day life.
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The true worth of literature should be its moral tone. Novels are
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appreciated by the intelligent reader in proportion to their being
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"adorned" with a moral. And dramas fail to gain the approval of the
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thoughtful public unless virtue is inculcated in a chaste form. So
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with the Bible: if in its ethical tone it is defective, or if it is
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questionable in its injunctions or indelicate in its records, it
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cannot with advantage be accepted as an absolute monitor in human
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conduct.
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All correct codes of morals should be clear in their authority
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and practical in their application. This is the more necessary when
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severe penalties -- as in the case of Christian ethics -- are
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threatened for non-acceptance and disobedience. Now, the ethics of
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the Bible are both contradictory and impracticable. The same line
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of conduct is enjoined in one passage, and just as explicitly
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prohibited in another. One man is blamed because he is not cruel
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enough, and will not go on slaying the Lord's enemies; another
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man's chief glory consists in being a mighty man of war and a great
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destroyer of men, women, and children; while other passages
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proclaim, "Thou shalt not kill," and enjoin mercy and "loving-
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kindness." The most absolute rest is enjoined on the Sabbath, and
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the fiercest denunciations are hurled at the most vigorous
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Sabbatarian. Retaliation for wrong is counselled, and forgiveness
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is enjoined. We are told to love one another," and we are commanded
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to hate our own flesh and blood. Industry is advised and also
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discouraged; lustful pursuits are condemned and also permitted.
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Thus Biblical morality is destitute of the first fundamental
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condition of all just ethics.
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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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BIBLE MORALITY.
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Among the general principles taught in the Bible and expounded
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by orthodoxy in this country is that belief, not conduct, is the
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foundation of virtue, and that uncharitableness towards opponents
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is justifiable. One of the first instructions which a parent should
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enforce upon a child is never to impute bad motives in matters of
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belief or non-belief. No lesson is more valuable than this, none
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more calculated to render the child's life happy and unsuspicious,
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and to make its influence in the world more useful and beneficial.
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The Bible permits just the opposite. According to Christian
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teachings, if a man does an act of kindness, we are not to accept
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it with gratitude simply as an act of kindness, but we are to judge
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from the motives of his conduct. Did he perform the act from love
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to God, or did he do it only from respect for his fellow man? If
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the former, his services will go up as a sweet smelling offering to
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Deity; if the latter, he merely performed a "splendid vice." The
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motive, not the act, is the thing to be considered. If men slay,
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ravish, and destroy for the glory of God, the motive not only
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condones, but consecrates, the act. Hence, in the early history of
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Christianity, the practice of lying for the good of the Church was
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not only allowed, but considered praiseworthy. To require universal
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belief in one particular faith, and to condemn to eternal perdition
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those who are unable to comply therewith, is not the most moral
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doctrine. Truly, a book that teaches that "many are called but few
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are chosen," or, in other words, that the majority of our fellow
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creatures are to be cast into a burning lake, cannot assist to
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promote the happiness and good of mankind. The tendency of such
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teaching as this cannot have a beneficial effect, inasmuch as it
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often produces mutual hatred between man and man. Artificial and
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unjust distinctions of government and of classes have often
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produced ill-feeling between man and man; but that evil has been
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increased by the religious distinctions based upon Biblical
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teaching. The natural law of love is simple and clear. It is a duty
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to love all men until we have reason to believe that the trust is
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misplaced or abused. It then becomes necessary to slightly modify
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our conduct as an act of self-defence; hence the enactment of laws
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for the repression of crime and the curtailment of injury. If a
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man's belief teaches him that he can persecute, we have a right to
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be upon our guard, for we know from bitter experience that such
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belief has frequently shaped itself into conduct. But whatever man
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believes about matters that do not affect his conduct should
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produce in us neither love nor hatred towards him. His belief may
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be ever so curious, absurd, unreal, and fantastic, ever so
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ridiculous and self-contradictory, and in proportion of its
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partaking of those qualities it may excite and amuse us; but it
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ought not to make us respect or dislike him one whit more. With the
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Bible it is quite different: its defect consists in its teaching us
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to love and respect certain people who believe certain things which
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have no direct beneficial bearing on their conduct; while we are to
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avoid those whose lives may be a model of purity and benevolence,
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but who cannot subscribe to a certain faith.
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The great principle of Bible morality is supposed to be
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contained in the Ten Commandments. The Decalogue, we are assured,
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enunciates moral lessons, against which no substantial objections
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can be brought. There are two versions of the Decalogue given in
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the Old Testament, varying in certain not unimportant particulars.
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Moses brought down, we are informed, the Ten Commandments from
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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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BIBLE MORALITY.
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Mount Sinai, where he had been having a 'tete-a-tete' with the
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Lord. They were written on stone, and were copied off for future
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generations in Exodus xx. They are also given in Deuteronomy v.;
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but that was merely from memory, when Moses had become somewhat
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advanced in age. It is not surprising, therefore, that he should
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insert certain interpolations in the second giving of the law which
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are absent from the first. How this incongruity can be reconciled
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with the doctrine of the Divine inspiration of the Bible may be
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left for Christians to decide among themselves. The Decalogue is
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divided into two parts: that which relates to man's duty to God,
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and that which relates to the mutual duties of man to man. It is
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worthy of notice that, although the second half contains six
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commands, and the former half only four, nevertheless the first
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half is a great deal longer than the second. Most of the commands
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of the second half are contained in the most condensed form. The
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second, third, and fourth Commandments are all developments of the
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first. The first really contains or assumes the three which succeed
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it. The first, which is, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me,"
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of course involves the second against idolatry, the third against
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blasphemous swearing, and the fourth enjoining restful remembrance
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of the creation of the world by God. It is curious, while God in
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these Commandments had so much to say in giving a complete code of
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conduct to his creatures, and confining himself as he did within
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the limits of a certain number of Hebrew characters, written on a
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stone small enough for a man to carry down the side of a steep
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mountain, that he should have wasted so much time in telling them
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how to behave to him, and have left so little space to contain what
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was far more important -- viz., the rules to regulate our conduct
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to each other. The whole prescribed duly of man to man is contained
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in seventy-seven words. The second Commandment brings out that
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particular character of the Christian God which is so conspicuous
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in other parts of the Bible. We are not to make and bow down to
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images. Very good advice, we readily admit. But why are we not to
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do so? Is there any appeal to the generous and reverential
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sentiments of the human heart? Surely a noble and good God would
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have said something similar to this: "Thou shalt not bow down
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thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, the Lord thy God, am a
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great, beneficent, and generous God, with a wide, all-embracing
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love. Thou shalt not degrade thy soul nor debase thy being by
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worshipping the gods of the heathen. I am your only father, who
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made and cares for you, and your place of reverence and trust is in
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the all-sustaining hollow of my hand." Had the Deity said this, and
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proved his sincerity by appropriate actions subsequently towards
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his subjects, it would have done more to have won the affections of
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his children to him than the whole of his present recorded sayings
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contained from Genesis to Revelation. But no; we find that a sordid
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appeal is made partly to the mean fears, and partly to the paternal
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affections, of the Jews. They are forbidden to worship other gods:
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"For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity
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of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth
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generation of them that hate me." Fancy a great, Almighty God,
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creator of the earth, being jealous of the estranged affection of
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an unfortunate Jew! But this is in keeping with the general
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character of the Christian Deity, and most of his particular and
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immediate acquaintances. The part of the Decalogue which has
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reference to us, as members of society, is so brief, in comparison
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to that which has been occupied by theology and the requirements of
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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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BIBLE MORALITY.
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God, that little room is left for the introduction of rewards and
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punishments which are to follow the fulfillment or non-fulfillment
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of so important a behest as "Thou shalt not kill." But the
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punishment of idolatry, a most cruel, unjust, and revengeful one is
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given at full length. The fifth Commandment, Honor thy father and
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mother" is certainly, as far as it goes, an excellent one. It comes
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home to the heart of everyone who has the feelings of love and duty
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within him. We can take no possible exception to its request. But
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the reason given for its fulfillment is as selfish as it is untrue.
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Yielding to no one in the belief that filial affection and
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reverence are not only duties, but carry with them (as all virtues
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do to some extent) their own reward in the satisfaction of an
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approving sense of right, it has yet to be shown that the keeping
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of the first part of this command will secure the accomplishment of
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the second. Honoring parents does not invariably carry with it the
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fulfillment of the promise, "Thy days shall be long in the land
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which the Lord thy God giveth thee." The best of sons have
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frequently been called upon to pay the last debt of nature when
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still in the bloom and vigor of their manhood, while some of the
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worst of characters live to a comparatively old age, a grief to
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their parents and a disgrace to themselves. Though, therefore, we
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would echo the command, "Children, obey your parents," we would
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also say; Do so, not from any selfish hope of personal gain or long
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life, but for the love you should have for those who have toiled
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for and protected you through years of infancy and helplessness.
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Duty, gratitude, and affection should be the inspiration to
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obedience, not the grovelling incentive given by the Bible. But may
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not this be taken as a fair sample of Bible teaching? Whenever we
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discover a noble thought, a just precept, or a generous sentiment,
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we generally find it surrounded by much that is impracticable
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misleading, and fallacious. The sixth, seventh, and eights
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Commandments call for no special remark, save that, when they point
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out the extremes of certain vices, and forbid their indulgence,
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they fail to state how far persons may go in their direction
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without committing fatal errors; and this difficulty is all the
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greater when we reflect that these were the very Commandments which
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most of God's favorites had the greatest predilection for breaking.
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The chief object of the ninth Commandment is its limitation. Why
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should the word "neighbor" be introduced in the prohibition of
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false swearing? It is equally a wrong to swear falsely against a
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stranger as against a neighbor. The tenth Commandment is the only
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one of the second part of the Decalogue which errs by excess of
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Puritanism. There can be no harm, for instance, in coveting a
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neighbor's house if sufficient compensation is offered to induce
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him to give up the lease; and, if we did not occasionally covet our
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neighbor's oxen, beefsteaks and sirloins would be even more scarce
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among the working classes than they are at present. Speaking
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broadly, the one great objection to the Decalogue is the absence of
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any noble, inspiring principle of conduct. It teaches no real love,
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no true charity; it is a penal code, not a rule of life.
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Orthodox believers are continually proclaiming that love is
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the foundation of Biblical ethics; the fact is, however, that, if
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human actions were regulated by some teachings of the Bible, there
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would be but few manifestations of love. To kill the inhabitants of
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a conquered city, and to save none alive (Deut. xx. 10-16), is a
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peculiar mode of exhibiting love to our fellow men. The conduct of
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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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BIBLE MORALITY.
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Christ was not calculated to inspire us with a superabundance of
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love when he said: "Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I
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also deny before my father which is in heaven" (Matt. x. 33) or
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when he stated "But those mine enemies which would not that I
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should reign over them, bring them hither and slay them before me"
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(Luke xix. 27). Here we have an indication of that unforgiving and
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revengeful spirit which destroys true affection. If there be any
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truth in the popular notions of sin and forgiveness, it was not
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moral for Christ to act as he did when speaking in a parable to his
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disciples. They, not being able to understand him, asked him for an
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explanation of what he then said. His reply was: "Unto you is given
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to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but, unto them that are
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without, all these things are done in parables; that seeing, they
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may see and not perceive, and hearing, they may hear and not
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understand, lest at any time they should be converted, and their
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sins be forgiven them" (Mark iv.). This is not only partial and
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unjust, but a planned determination to teach so mysteriously that
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people should not learn the truth, in case they should thereby be
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saved. Such a mode of advocacy would be deemed injurious, indeed,
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in these days, and is only squalled by the following "inspired"
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information to certain persons: "And for this cause God shall send
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them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie; that they all
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might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
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unrighteousness" (2 Thess. ii. 11, 12). We are advised to be holy,
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even as God is holy; but what is holiness according to Bible
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morality? If a "Divine" sanction to a thing constitutes it holy,
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then deceit, murder, lying, and the deepest kind of cruelty are
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allied with Scriptural holiness. In 2 Kings x. God is represented
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as rewarding the following crimes, and thereby giving the Bible
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sanction to the worst kind of immorality. Jehu, having become King
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of Israel, commences his reign with a series of murders. Having
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resolved upon the destruction of the house of Ahab, Jehu commences
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his task in a manner possible only to those who fight with the
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"zeal of the lord." Killing all who were likely to obstruct him in
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the carrying out of his base object, he arrived at Samaria, his
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purpose being to slay all the worshippers of Baal. In order,
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therefore, that he might entrap them all into one slaughter house,
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he announced that he was a great worshipper of Baal, and that he
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had come to offer a mighty sacrifice to this idol. By this craft he
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succeeded in drawing all the worshippers of Baal together. When the
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unfortunate victims were assembled, tendering their sacrifices,
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Jehu ordered his captains to go in and slay them, allowing none to
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escape. Accordingly, they were all sacrificed to the treachery of
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this "servant of the Lord." And this conduct is approved by God;
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for in verse 30 is recorded: "And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because
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thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes,
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and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in
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mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the
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throne of Israel." Bible morality is further illustrated in the
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case of Samuel (1 Samuel xvi. 1-4). This prophet is commanded by
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God to go on a certain mission under false pretenses, and with a
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direct falsehood upon his lips. Now, is it moral to deceive and
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murder? If not, why did God command and encourage such vices? And
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why should men be invited to imitate the example of one who
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practiced such immoralities? Biblical ethics are alleged to be
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based upon the "holiness of God." In order to ascertain what that
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"holiness" really is, it is only necessary to read Genesis xxx. and
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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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BIBLE MORALITY.
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xxxi., where immorality, ingratitude, deceit, and theft are found
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to be ascribed to Jacob, who was encouraged and beloved by God;
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Exodus ix. 13-16, where people are seen to have been raised up by
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God for the very purpose of being "cut off from the earth;" Exodus
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xxxii., for an account of the anger, injustice, and cruelty of
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Moses, culminating in the slaughter of thousands of human beings at
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the command of God; Joshua vi., viii., and x., for a record of his
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reckless murder of thousands of human beings, among whom were men,
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women, and children, at the special command of God; 2 Samuel xii.
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11-31, for adultery and cruelty in connection with David; and then
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peruse Psalms xxxviii. and cix. for a confession of a life of
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deceit, lying, and licentiousness. Yet we are told that David "was
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a man after God's own heart," and that he "kept God's commandments,
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and did that only which was right in his eyes" (1 Kings xiv. 8).
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Such may be Biblical morality; but it is certainly opposed to
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Secular ideas of ethical philosophy.
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The teachings of the Bible in reference to slavery are
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barbarously unjust. According to its permit, men and women can be
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bought and sold like cattle, the weak being compelled to serve the
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strong. In Exodus xxi. 2-6 we have a most cruel law for regulating
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this "Bible institution," the cruelty and injustice of which law
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are two-fold. First, if the slave when he is bought be single, and
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if, during his seven years of slavery, he marries and becomes a
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father, then, at the expiration of his time, his wife and children
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are his master's, and the slave goes out free. Is this moral? What
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becomes of the poor man's paternal affections? Is the love for his
|
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wife nothing? Is he to be separated from that he holds dear, and to
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see the object of his affections given to the man who for seven
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years had robbed him of his independence and his manhood? If,
|
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however, the poor victim's love for his wife and children be
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stronger than his desire for liberty, what is his fate? He is to be
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brought to the door, have his ear bored with an awl, and doomed to
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serve his master forever. Thus Bible morality makes perpetual
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slavery and physical pain the punishments of the exercise of the
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purest and best feelings of human nature. Where is the moral lesson
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||
in the statement: "And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever
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thy soul lusteth after; for oxen or for sheep, or for wine or for
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strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth; and thou shalt
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eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and
|
||
thine household"? If this is not giving a license to the worst of
|
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passions, words have no meaning. But Bible morality strikes at the
|
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manhood and happiness of man. It stifles our tenderest affections,
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and urges the exercise of the cruellest passions by teaching that
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a man may kill the wife of his bosom if she dare to entice him
|
||
secretly from his God (Deut. xiii. 6-9). Where is the man who will
|
||
so far belie his nature as to accept such morality as this?
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||
Unfortunately, Bible teachings have frequently caused a complete
|
||
severance and breaking up of the ties of affection in families. The
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||
Bible commands its believers to leave father, mother, sister, and
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||
brother to follow Christ. According to its teachings, it is
|
||
justifiable to break up a certain and a human bond that we may get
|
||
a problematical chance of a problematical blessedness in a
|
||
problematical future. There are few, doubtless, who have not
|
||
learned in their own sad experience how the family tie has been
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||
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|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
6
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|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
often disunited by Christian teachings. Brothers and sisters have
|
||
been separated for years from the home of their childhood because
|
||
they dared to emancipate themselves from the shackles of the
|
||
prevailing faith.
|
||
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||
Accepting the term "moral" as expressing whatever is
|
||
calculated to promote general progress and happiness, what Morality
|
||
is contained in the following passages from the Bible: "Take no
|
||
thought for your life;" "Resist not evil;" "Blessed be ye poor;"
|
||
"Labor not for the bread which perisheth;" "Servants, be subject to
|
||
your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but
|
||
also to the forward;" "Let every man abide in the same calling
|
||
wherein he was called;" "Submit yourself to every ordinance of man
|
||
for the Lord's sake;" "Let every soul be subject unto the higher
|
||
powers, for there is no power but of God ... Whosoever, therefore,
|
||
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God, and they that
|
||
resist shall receive to themselves damnation"? Were these
|
||
injunctions obeyed, health, independence of character, and
|
||
political progress would be ignored. For the reforms we have
|
||
hitherto secured we are indebted to men and women who practically
|
||
disregarded the Bible, and based their conduct upon the principle
|
||
of utility. To teach, as the Bible does, that wives are to be
|
||
subject to their husbands in everything (Eph. v.); to "set your
|
||
affections on things above, not on things on the earth " (Colos.
|
||
iii.); to "love not the world, neither the things that are in the
|
||
world" (1 John ii.); to "lay not up for yourselves treasures upon
|
||
earth" (Matt. vi.), is not to inculcate the principle of equality,
|
||
or to inspire man with a desire to take an interest in "the things
|
||
of time." Whatever service the Bible may render in gratifying the
|
||
tastes of the superstitious, it cannot, to men of thought and
|
||
energy, be of any great moral worth.
|
||
|
||
To persecute for non-belief of any teaching, but more
|
||
particularly of speculative questions, is not in accordance with
|
||
ethical justice. Is it true that the Bible encourages persecution
|
||
for the non-belief in, or the rejection of its teachings? If yes,
|
||
so far at least is its moral worth lessened. For belief in the
|
||
truth of a doctrine, or the wisdom of a precept, is, to the honest
|
||
inquirer, the result of the recognition on his part of sufficient
|
||
evidence in their favor. Whenever that evidence is absent,
|
||
disbelief will be found, except among the indifferent or the
|
||
hypocritical. Now, in the Bible there are many things that the
|
||
sincere thinker is compelled, through lack of evidence, to reject.
|
||
What does the New Testament inculcate towards such persons? When
|
||
Christ sent his disciples upon a preaching expedition he said
|
||
(Matt. x.): "Whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words,
|
||
when ye depart out of that house or city shake off the dust of your
|
||
feet." This, we are informed by Oriental writers, was a mode in the
|
||
East of showing hatred towards those against whom the dust was
|
||
shaken. The punishment threatened those who refused the
|
||
administrations of the disciples is most severe, for "it shall be
|
||
more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of
|
||
judgment than for that city." In St. John xv. we read: "If a man
|
||
abideth not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered;
|
||
and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
|
||
burned." This accords with the gloomy announcement (2 Thess. i.):
|
||
"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
7
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God,
|
||
and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be
|
||
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
|
||
Lord, and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be
|
||
glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that
|
||
believe." Again (Mark xvi.): "He that believeth not shall be
|
||
damned." St. Paul exclaims (Gal. i.): "If any man preach any other
|
||
gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
|
||
He also says (1 Tim. vi, 3-5): "If any man teach otherwise, and
|
||
consent not to the wholesome words, even the words of our Lord
|
||
Jesus Christ ... he is proud, knowing nothing ... From such
|
||
withdraw thyself." "Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have
|
||
delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme" (1 Tim.
|
||
i. 20). In these passages persecution and punishment are clearly
|
||
taught for disbelief. And that such teaching has had an immoral
|
||
tendency the excommunications, the imprisonments, and sacrifice of
|
||
the lives of heretics in connection with the history of
|
||
Christianity abundantly prove.
|
||
|
||
Orthodox Christians contend that the Bible is a necessary
|
||
factor in the educational system of all nations. While admitting
|
||
the necessity of instruction in the affairs of daily life, they
|
||
allege that a question of far greater importance is the preparation
|
||
for existence "beyond the grave." They profess to be impressed with
|
||
the notion that there is a city of refuge in store for them when
|
||
they arrive at the end of life's journey; and, having to encounter
|
||
many storms and difficulties ere they reach this supposed haven of
|
||
rest, they feel assured that the Bible is a sufficient guide to
|
||
carry them safely over the sea of time, and land them securely in
|
||
the harbor of eternity. They therefore rely on this book as if it
|
||
were unerring in its directions and infallible in its commands.
|
||
|
||
Now, there is ample reason to doubt the capability of this
|
||
Christian guide. Its inability, however, as an instructor and guide
|
||
does not arise from any lack of variety of contents, The Bible
|
||
contains a history of the cosmogony of the earth, and the story of
|
||
man's fall from what is termed his first estate of perfection and
|
||
happiness. Then we have the history of God's chosen people, from
|
||
their uprise to their national extinction, with a record of the
|
||
Jewish laws, specifying those acts most calculated to propitiate
|
||
the favor and secure the reward of heaven, and those which are
|
||
condemned, with their appropriate and stipulated punishments. We
|
||
have also glimpses of the histories of other nations, the causes of
|
||
their fall, and the account of their national sins, which drew down
|
||
upon them that wrath of heaven which extinguished or sorely
|
||
punished them. Following this, there is the story of Job -- the
|
||
lessons to be derived from the sudden collapse of his worldly
|
||
greatness, and his soliloquies upon the mysteries of nature and of
|
||
providence. Next come the Psalms -- a copious manual of praise,
|
||
prayer, cursing, and penitence, followed by the woes, lamentations,
|
||
and misfortunes of a host of prophets -- some practical, some
|
||
mystical, and some evangelical -- together with the four different
|
||
versions of the life, actions, and death of Christ; a short account
|
||
of the early doings of the Church, recorded in several epistles
|
||
written by sundry apostles, culminating in the strange and
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
8
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
extraordinary nightmare of St. John the Divine. Now, any man who
|
||
fails to discover in so large a field materials by which to
|
||
regulate his life must do so, not from the scarcity, but the
|
||
valuelessness, of the article supplied.
|
||
|
||
In estimating the real value of the Bible as a moral guide it
|
||
must be taken as a whole, by which is meant those books of the Old
|
||
and New Testaments which are bound together and commonly called the
|
||
Word of God. And here a question arises that, if the knowledge of
|
||
the whole Bible be necessary to our future happiness, which
|
||
according to St. John it is, why is it that so many of the books
|
||
that originally constituted the Bible are lost? If the testimony of
|
||
the book itself can be accepted, we have only a portion of what at
|
||
one time composed the Bible. In Numbers a quotation is given from
|
||
a book called "The Book of the Wars of the Lord;" in judges and
|
||
Samuel we read of "The Book of Jasher;" in Kings mention is made of
|
||
"The Book of the Acts of Solomon;" and in Chronicles of "The
|
||
Account of the Chronicles of King David." We further read of "The
|
||
Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah" and "The Book of the
|
||
Chronicles of the Kings of Israel." Allusion is also made to "The
|
||
Book of Nathan the Prophet" and to "The Book of Gad the Seer."
|
||
Notwithstanding the loss of these books, Christians exclaim, How
|
||
wonderfully their book has been preserved! Even the portions that
|
||
are retained are so full of mistakes, errors, and corruptions that
|
||
its intelligent supporters are compelled to give the greater part
|
||
of it up as incapable of defence, while those who still contend for
|
||
its "divinity" hesitate to come forward and support it in public
|
||
debate.
|
||
|
||
Another question suggests itself: Are we to consider the Old
|
||
Testament as the Word of God? If so, upon the Christian hypothesis,
|
||
its teachings are equally as deserving of our respect as are those
|
||
of the New Testament. If, on the other hand, the Old Testament is
|
||
not intended for our acceptance, why is it preached and enforced as
|
||
God's Word? True, it is sometimes stated that the Hebrew writings
|
||
are useful for instruction, although they are not of the same
|
||
authority with Christians as the New Testament. But here it is
|
||
overlooked that the New Testament is founded upon the Old, and
|
||
often appeals to it to corroborate its statements. Furthermore, the
|
||
New Testament distinctly says that the Old was written by good and
|
||
holy men for our instruction, etc. Besides, does not Christ
|
||
emphatically state that he did not come to destroy its authority?
|
||
"Think not," says be, "that I am come to destroy the law or the
|
||
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say
|
||
unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
|
||
in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever,
|
||
therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and shall
|
||
teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
|
||
heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be
|
||
called great in the kingdom of heaven." Here is a command not to
|
||
break even one of the least of the commandments. Again, Christ
|
||
says: "The Scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; whatsoever
|
||
they bid you observe, that observe and do." Among a collection of
|
||
Christian stories occurs the following anecdote: -- A person once
|
||
asked a poor, illiterate old woman what she deemed to be the
|
||
difference between the Old and New Testaments, to which she
|
||
replied: "The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
9
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
New Testament is the Old Testament revealed." This has been
|
||
triumphantly quoted by Christian writers to show the harmony
|
||
existing between the two books. But it is absurd and contradicts
|
||
facts. The assumption is, that the Old Testament is the partial
|
||
statement of a body of truths, from which the New Testament differs
|
||
not in kind, but only in degree. It is supposed that nothing in the
|
||
New Testament contradicts what is stated in the Old, but only
|
||
reveals and amplifies with a clearer light what had already been
|
||
stated partially and under allegorical semblance in the Old. Now,
|
||
so far is this from being correct that it would be difficult to
|
||
find any two alleged bodies of sacred truths which differ from and
|
||
contradict each other more than the divine revelation made through
|
||
Moses and the prophets, and the revelation made through Christ and
|
||
his Apostles. For instance, Moses taught that retaliation was a
|
||
duty, while Christ strictly prohibits it. With Moses persecutors
|
||
were put to the edge of the sword; with Christ, however, they were
|
||
to be blessed. Under the old system, good works and a virtuous life
|
||
were the conditions of Divine favor and reward, and bad works and
|
||
a vicious life were to incur Divine disfavor and punishment. Under
|
||
the new system, faith is the all-in-all, the essential condition of
|
||
salvation.
|
||
|
||
A proof of the inadequacy of the Bible as a guide and
|
||
instructor is furnished by what are termed the "liberal
|
||
Christians." Here we have men of the best intentions and of high
|
||
intellectual acquirements refusing to accept the Bible as an
|
||
absolute guide, or as an infallible instructor. With such persons
|
||
the Bible has no value as "infallible revelation." If, however, the
|
||
Bible is not an infallible record, it is simply a human production,
|
||
and has no more claim upon us, except what its merits inspire, than
|
||
any other book. Is it not rather inconsistent to contend, as these
|
||
liberal Christians do, that certain portions of the Bible are
|
||
"divine," while the other parts are simply human? If every
|
||
Christian sect put forward similar contentions, there would be but
|
||
few parts of the "Holy Scriptures" that would not be divine and
|
||
human at the same time, according to the respective opinions of
|
||
different classes of believers. But how are we to decide what is
|
||
"divine" and what is human? To what standard shall we appeal? What
|
||
criterion have we by which to test its genuineness? Shall we accept
|
||
the authority of the Protestant or the Catholic Church? Shall we
|
||
judge from the standpoint of the Trinitarians or the Unitarians?
|
||
|
||
For the Bible to be trustworthy as a guide it should be
|
||
reliable in its statements and harmonious in its doctrines. That it
|
||
is not so will be evident from the following reference to its
|
||
pages. The Bible teaches that God is omniscient and omnipresent;
|
||
yet in Gen. xi. 5 we read that the Lord came down to see the city
|
||
and the tower which the children of men builded; and in Gen. xviii.
|
||
20, 21: "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah
|
||
is great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go down
|
||
now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry
|
||
of it, which is come unto me; and, if not, I will know." It teaches
|
||
that God is immutable; yet, on several occasions, we find him
|
||
changing his mind, repenting, and sometimes turning back from his
|
||
repentance; as in the great instance (Gen. vi. 6): "And it repented
|
||
the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at
|
||
the heart" (also 1 Sam. xv. 10, 11). God told Baalim to go with the
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
10
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
men (Num. xxii., 20), and was angry with him because he went (Num.
|
||
xxii. 21, 22). It teaches that God is invisible, yet we read (Gen.
|
||
xxxii. 30): "And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel; for I
|
||
have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved;" and (Ex.
|
||
xxiv. 9, 10): "Then up went Moses, and Aaron, and Nadab, and Abihu,
|
||
and seventy of the elders of Israel; and they saw the God of
|
||
Israel;" and, again (Ex. xxxiii. 11, 23): "And the Lord spake unto
|
||
Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend ... And I
|
||
will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts; but my
|
||
face shall not be seen and, finally (Gen. xviii.), we have the
|
||
remarkable though perplexed account of the Lord paying a visit to
|
||
Abraham in the plains of Mamre, and eating with him of cakes,
|
||
butter, milk, and veal. It teaches that God is all good; yet we
|
||
read (Isa. xlv. 7): "I form the light and create darkness: I make
|
||
peace and create evil: I the Lord do all these things;" and (Lam.
|
||
iii. 38): "Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil
|
||
and good?" and (Ezekiel xx. 25): "Wherefore I gave them also
|
||
statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not
|
||
live." It teaches that God is no respecter of persons; yet we read
|
||
(Gen. iv. 4, 5): "And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his
|
||
offering; but unto Cain and his offering he had no respect;" and
|
||
(Ex. ii. 25): "And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God
|
||
had respect unto them;" and (Rom. ix. 11-13) For the children being
|
||
not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the
|
||
purpose of God, according to election, might stand, not of works,
|
||
but of him that calleth; it was said unto her, The elder shall
|
||
serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
|
||
have I hated." And, in fact, nearly the whole Bible story is that
|
||
of a chosen people, preferred above all other nations, surely for
|
||
no superior goodness on their part! It teaches (Ex. xx. 5) that God
|
||
is a jealous God, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the
|
||
third and fourth generation of them that hate me;" yet we read
|
||
(Ezekiel xviii. 20): "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the
|
||
father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son." It
|
||
teaches that Christ is God (John i- 1, 14; Reb. i. 8); yet we read
|
||
(John viii. 40): "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that has told
|
||
you the truth, which I have heard of God;" also (1 Tim. ii. 5):
|
||
"One mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus." It
|
||
teaches (John x. 30) that Christ and his father are one; yet we
|
||
read (John xiv. 28): "For my father is greater than I." It teaches
|
||
(John xvi. 30; Col. ii. 3) that Jesus knew all things; yet we read
|
||
(Mark xi. 13): "And seeing a fig-tree afar off having leaves, he
|
||
came, if haply he might find anything thereon; and, when he came to
|
||
it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet;"
|
||
and, far more significant (Mark xiii. 32): "But of that day and
|
||
that hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven,
|
||
neither the Son, but the Father." It teaches of Jesus (John viii.
|
||
14): "Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true; for I
|
||
know whence I came, and whither I go;" yet we read (John v. 3 1):
|
||
"If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true." It teaches
|
||
further (1 Tim. ii. 6) that he gave himself a ransom for all; yet
|
||
we read (Matt. xv. 24): "I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the
|
||
house of Israel;" and (Mark vii. 26, 27): "The woman was a Greek,
|
||
a Syrophoenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast
|
||
forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her, Let
|
||
the children first be filled; for it is not meet to take the
|
||
children's bread and cast it unto the dogs." It teaches that
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
11
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
miracles are proofs of a divine mission (Matt. ix. 6; John v. 36;
|
||
Heb. ii. 4) yet (Deut. xiii. 1-3; Matt. xxiv. 24; 2 Thess. ii. 9)
|
||
warns against false prophets and anti-Christs, who shall show great
|
||
signs and wonders. It teaches in many passages of the New Testament
|
||
that the end of the world is at hand, as in Matt. xxiv., 1 Cor. xv.
|
||
51, 52; 1 Thess. iv. 15; 1 Peter iv. 7; yet we read (2 Thess. ii.
|
||
2, 3): "That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither
|
||
by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day
|
||
of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means."
|
||
Further, on this subject, we read (Matt. x. 23), in which Jesus is
|
||
addressing the Apostles he sent forth: "Ye shall not have gone over
|
||
the cities of Israel till the Son of Man be come;" yet we read
|
||
(Matt. xxiv. 14): "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached
|
||
in all the world for witness unto all nations; and then shall the
|
||
end come and, similarly (Mark xiii. 10): "And the gospel must first
|
||
be published among all nations." It teaches (Luke i. 33; Heb. i. 8)
|
||
that the kingdom of Christ shall endure forever; yet we read, in
|
||
one of the most remarkable passages of the New Testament (1 Cor.
|
||
xv. 24, 25, 28): "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered
|
||
up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down
|
||
all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he
|
||
hath put all enemies under his feet ... And when all things shall
|
||
be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject
|
||
unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all-in-
|
||
all." It teaches that the Holy Ghost is God (Acts V. 3, 4); yet we
|
||
read (John xv. 26): "But when the Comforter is come, whom shall I
|
||
send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which
|
||
proceedeth from the Father;" and, again (John xiv. 16): "I will
|
||
pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter;" and,
|
||
again (Acts x. 38); "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy
|
||
Ghost and with power." Finally, it teaches that "all Scripture is
|
||
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable" (2 Tim. iii. 16);
|
||
yet we read (1 Cor. vii. 6, 12): "But I speak this by permission,
|
||
and not of commandment ... But to the rest speak I, not the lord;"
|
||
and similarly (2 Cor. xi. 17) That which I speak, I speak it not
|
||
after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of
|
||
boasting."
|
||
|
||
The foregoing are but a few of "apparent discrepancies," or,
|
||
as we call them, direct self-contradictions; and, be it remembered,
|
||
they concern the essentials of Christianity - the three persons of
|
||
the God, the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, and the end of the
|
||
world. The Bibliolater may be encouraged in the endeavor to
|
||
reconcile them by the assurance that an indefinite further number,
|
||
just as perplexing, await solution.
|
||
|
||
Those Christians who are too enlightened to accept the Bible,
|
||
as it has chanced to come down to us, as in every word the very
|
||
Word of God, and too free-minded to submit to the authority of a
|
||
tradition which has varied with all climes and ages, or a Church
|
||
whose history is a record of blunders, compromises, falsifications,
|
||
self-contradictions, probably unequalled in the annals of any
|
||
merely secular institution whatever, manage to remain, in their own
|
||
estimation, Christians, by believing that God's saving revelation
|
||
to mankind is made in the Bible, and that everyone may read it for
|
||
himself if he studies the volume in a reverent and prayerful
|
||
spirit. They admit many errors of copyists, reject many passages,
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
12
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
and even books, as decidedly spurious, and regard many others as
|
||
doubtful yet maintain that, all deductions made, there is left a
|
||
clear and sufficient Divine message, whose essential character is
|
||
untouched by any of the errors or defects, and unchanged by any of
|
||
the various readings.
|
||
|
||
Now, this theory is certainly the most illogical which a
|
||
Christian can hold for that of the thorough Bibliolater is
|
||
consistent in its blind submission of reason to faith and the Roman
|
||
and Church views are equally consistent in their blind submission
|
||
to faith and tradition and ecclesiastical authority; while this new
|
||
theory seeks and pretends to conciliate things which are
|
||
essentially irreconcilable -- reason and faith, freethought and
|
||
revelation, liberty and servitude, the natural and the
|
||
supernatural. But, as it is the theory of some of the best and
|
||
ablest of our religious fellow-citizens, and of those who are most
|
||
heartily with us in much sound Secular work, it practically claims
|
||
a fuller consideration here than it intrinsically merits.
|
||
|
||
In the first place, it is evidently open to the fatal
|
||
objection that it makes man the measure and standard of his God,
|
||
setting up certain Scriptures as supernatural and Divine, then
|
||
subjecting them to the arbitrament of human nature, the reason and
|
||
conscience of the creature. Each of those who hold it says in
|
||
effect; "Here are books purporting to contain the Word of God, and
|
||
I believe they do contain it, but mixed with many vain words of men
|
||
therefore, what suits me I shall consider Divine, and what does not
|
||
suit me I shall reject." Numerous clever attempts have been made to
|
||
smooth away this sharp self-contradiction; but, so far as we are
|
||
aware, and as was to be expected, not one that can be deemed even
|
||
plausible by any candid outsider. There is but one mode of getting
|
||
rid of it -- a mode swift and effectual, obvious, and facile in
|
||
theory; but, as long experience proves, very hard to put into
|
||
practice -- and this is to surrender the initial claim of Divine
|
||
inspiration of the books, when, of course, it would be quite
|
||
natural and consistent to sit in judgment on them, as on any other
|
||
human writing, welcoming what in them we find good and true,
|
||
rejecting what we find bad and false.
|
||
|
||
It is indeed alleged that the special grace of the Holy Spirit
|
||
always illumines and guides every one who studies these books in
|
||
the proper frame of mind; but, as we find, in fact, that no two
|
||
serious students read quite alike -- each reading in accordance
|
||
with his peculiar temperament, intellect, training, and
|
||
circumstances, precisely as he would read were there no Holy Spirit
|
||
in question -- the said special grace, having no perceptible
|
||
effect, may be safely left out of the calculation. Innumerable
|
||
sectaries, all alike devout and sincere, all alike drawing their
|
||
inspiration from the Bible, have differed widely on the very
|
||
fundamental doctrines of Christianity; and we never heard of the
|
||
Holy Spirit doing anything towards bringing these brethren into
|
||
unity. A Christian eclectic submits the Bible to the test of his
|
||
own reason find conscience, which have been educated and purified,
|
||
not by the book itself, nor by any supernatural grace, but by the
|
||
results of a long and gradual progress in secular enlightenment and
|
||
civilization; which progress has been at nearly every step opposed
|
||
on the authority of the book, and in the name of the religion
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
13
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
founded on it. Doctrines that now revolt the common conscience did
|
||
not in former centuries revolt the consciences of men who were
|
||
taught by the book and purified by the Holy Spirit. It is not by
|
||
special grace, nor revelation of the Holy Scriptures, but by
|
||
critical scholarship, that men have come now to decide as to the
|
||
genuineness and authenticity, the date and authority, of the
|
||
various portions. Until free learning was revived at the classical
|
||
or heathenish Renaissance, the Holy Spirit was content to leave all
|
||
the most pious Biblical students in very deep darkness as to nearly
|
||
all the points on which our eclectic Christians are now so clearly
|
||
enlightened.
|
||
|
||
The family ideal set forth in the Bible is certainly not one
|
||
of a high ethical nature. The domestic relationship of Noah,
|
||
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon could not be emulated
|
||
to-day without practicing gross injustice, and submitting to utter
|
||
moral degradation. The Indo-European race has developed in morals
|
||
as in knowledge, and two thousand years ago, when Germanicus led
|
||
the Roman legions, he beheld with wonder the respect with which the
|
||
ignorant, rude, and warlike Germans treated their wives and
|
||
daughters. It is an insult to civilized women for any one to
|
||
commend the family ideal of those who made woman a slave. Even
|
||
Christ is represented as treating women as if they were necessarily
|
||
inferior to men; while his conduct to his mother, his commendation
|
||
and personal practice of celibacy, and his encouraging others to
|
||
renounce their own obligations to their families, are not
|
||
calculated to shed a halo of peace and happiness within the home
|
||
circle. Moreover, St. Paul's doctrine of the absolute submission of
|
||
wives to their husbands can hardly be offered us to admire as an
|
||
ideal.
|
||
|
||
The Secularist family ideal is far superior to that of the
|
||
Bible, inasmuch as it is on a level with the ethics of our social
|
||
development. It teaches that marriage should be the result of
|
||
mutual affection, and that such a union creates the responsibility
|
||
of undivided allegiance, mutual fidelity, and mutual consideration.
|
||
It affirms that in the domestic circle there should be no one-
|
||
sided, absolute authority; that husband and wife should be partners
|
||
in deed, not only in theory, animated alike by the desire to
|
||
promote each other's happiness.
|
||
|
||
The basis of Bible morality, being God's will, is very
|
||
delusive, for the simple reason that, if such a will has been
|
||
recorded, it is not known to us; and the conjectured
|
||
representations of it given to us by theologians of all ages are
|
||
impracticable and conflicting. In the Bible there is not to be
|
||
found only one will ascribed to its Deity, but many; and those are
|
||
as contradictory as they are various. For instance, murder,
|
||
adultery, theft, deceit, and other crimes can be proved from the
|
||
Bible to be opposed to the expressed desire of God, as given in the
|
||
Scriptures; while upon the same authority these crimes can be shown
|
||
to accord with God's will. The result is, it is impossible to
|
||
regulate human conduct upon the sanctions of either the "inspired"
|
||
records. It is this peculiar nature of Bible teachings which was,
|
||
probably, the cause of the early Christians lying for the glory of
|
||
the Church (see Mosheim's "Ecclesiastical History"), and of
|
||
Christians at a more modern period robbing and murdering those whom
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
14
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
they termed heretics. In doing what they did in this persecuting
|
||
business, the Bible believers, no doubt, thought that they were
|
||
acting in accordance with "God's will," as set forth in the "Divine
|
||
revelation," The founders and promoters of those body-and-mind-
|
||
destroying institutions, the Inquisition and the Star Chamber, were
|
||
in all probability sincere, and many of them in the affairs of
|
||
every-day life, apart from theology, good men. In religious
|
||
matters, however, they were cruel and inhuman in the extreme. Why
|
||
was this? Because, no doubt, in punishing even to death those who
|
||
opposed the true faith, they thought the were following the Bible
|
||
as a guide (see Deuteronomy Xiii. 6-9).
|
||
|
||
The acceptance of the Bible as a standard of morality involves
|
||
also the recognition of teachings and doctrines that are
|
||
conflicting and impracticable. In one place we are told that faith
|
||
alone will save us (Romans iii. 27, 28); while in another portion
|
||
of this same "authority" we are assured that works are necessary to
|
||
secure salvation (James ii. 24). In St. John we read, "No man
|
||
cometh unto the Father but by me" [Christ] (xiv. 6); and in the
|
||
same gospel it is recorded, "No man can come to me [Christ] except
|
||
the Father draw him" (vi. 44). This makes salvation depend, not
|
||
upon man, but upon God. In John it is written, "For there are three
|
||
that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
|
||
Ghost; and these three are one;" while Timothy states distinctly
|
||
that "there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
|
||
man Christ Jesus." The New Testament teaches that Christ brought
|
||
glad tidings for all men; yet we are assured that he came but to
|
||
the lost sheep of the house of Israel -- that many are called, but
|
||
few are chosen. In one chapter we learn that all sin can be
|
||
forgiven, while in another part of the same book it is said that
|
||
the sin against the Holy Ghost is never to be forgiven. In Timothy
|
||
we read; "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
|
||
Savior, who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
|
||
knowledge of the truth." But this cannot be if it is true that "for
|
||
this cause God shall send them strong delusions, that they should
|
||
believe a lie." If the delusions are sent by God, and if in
|
||
consequence mankind believe a lie, and get punished hereafter for
|
||
such belief, it is only fair to suppose that God's will was that
|
||
they should not come to a knowledge of the truth; which contradicts
|
||
what is stated in Timothy. John assures us that "whosoever hateth
|
||
his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath
|
||
eternal life abiding in him." This is very consoling when we read
|
||
the following: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and
|
||
mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters -- yea,
|
||
and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." To be a disciple
|
||
of Christ you must hate your brother; you are thus a murderer, and
|
||
"no murderer hath eternal life." If you wish, therefore, to have
|
||
eternal life, you must not become a disciple of Christ. Martyrdom
|
||
by death may not always be the best way to advance a principle,
|
||
inasmuch as more good can generally be done by living for a cause
|
||
than by dying for it. But Christians say the martyrdom of the early
|
||
Christians proves the truth of their doctrines, and in support of
|
||
their contention they quote the words of Jesus: "And I [Jesus] say
|
||
unto you, My friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body, and
|
||
after that have no more that they can do." These words, it is
|
||
thought, prove that Jesus, taught and held life cheaply, in order
|
||
to advance more readily his doctrines. It appears, however, from
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
15
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
John that Christ did what many of his followers now do -- taught
|
||
one thing and practiced another; for on one occasion John says,
|
||
"Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in jewry, because
|
||
the Jews sought to kill him." What are we to do in this case --
|
||
follow Christ's teaching, or his example? To follow both is
|
||
impossible. Some persons condemn all war upon the ground that it is
|
||
anti-Scriptural, and in their justification they quote Matthew,
|
||
where he says: "Then said Jesus unto them, Put up again thy sword
|
||
into its place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with
|
||
the sword." The soldier, on the other hand, tells the peace man
|
||
that we ought to possess swords; for in Luke it is said: "He that
|
||
hath no sword let him sell his garments and buy one." Both would be
|
||
equally justified, and both would be equally condemned, by the New
|
||
Testament -- a very perplexing position to be in. But the man fond
|
||
of fighting would keep his sword, believing that the more
|
||
Christianity became spread the more use there would be for the
|
||
sword, as Christ declared: "Think not that I am come to send peace
|
||
on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to
|
||
set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against
|
||
her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." If
|
||
Christ had succeeded in his object -- and he has partially -- the
|
||
advocate of the sword would have had good grounds for
|
||
justification.
|
||
|
||
St. Paul considers charity the highest of virtues, without
|
||
which all other acquirements are as nothing. But then he
|
||
immediately destroys the efficacy of such teaching by the following
|
||
command: "As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach
|
||
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
|
||
accursed." We are told that "wisdom is the principal thing,
|
||
therefore get wisdom." But we are also assured that in much wisdom
|
||
there is much grief, and that he that increaseth knowledge
|
||
increaseth sorrow. It is folly to guide man to wisdom, telling him
|
||
that it is better than riches, while he is taught that "the wisdom
|
||
of the world is foolishness with God." Where is the incentive for
|
||
a youth to acquire knowledge when St. Paul says, "It is written, I
|
||
will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the
|
||
understanding of the prudent"?
|
||
|
||
From these samples of the incoherent nature of Bible
|
||
statements and teachings, it will be seen how impossible it is to
|
||
rely implicitly on such a book as a guide in human conduct. True,
|
||
Christians may urge that there is no contradiction in the cases
|
||
cited ; that the Bible is God's Word, and must therefore be all
|
||
true. It is in vain that the student points out that this
|
||
revelation abounds with impossibilities and absurdities, for he is
|
||
reminded that with God all things are possible, therefore let "God
|
||
be true, and every man a liar." It is further urged that the
|
||
mistakes occur through our lack of comprehension; that the
|
||
Scriptures would be plain enough if we could only "see our way
|
||
clear " to accept them as gospel; and that the depravity of our
|
||
nature prevents us viewing revealed truth in a spiritual light.
|
||
These are the sentiments of many who profess to accept the Bible as
|
||
a guide. Truly, we must become as little children if we endorse the
|
||
doctrine of Scriptural infallibility.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
16
|
||
|
||
BIBLE MORALITY.
|
||
|
||
The conduct of those who, in the face of such inconsistency,
|
||
contend for Bible infallibility is something more than foolish; it
|
||
is criminal. To shelter all that the Bible contains under the halo
|
||
of "divinity" is to pay homage to the worst of human weaknesses. If
|
||
a man is to pursue an intellectual career; if he is to foster a
|
||
manly independence; if he is to live a life of integrity, he must
|
||
not be bound either by ancient folly or modern orthodoxy but,
|
||
unfettered, he should learn the lessons afforded by a knowledge of
|
||
the facts of nature, and from the discoveries of science acquire
|
||
those rules which through life will be a surer counsellor than the
|
||
Bible, and a safer guide than theology.
|
||
|
||
|
||
**** ****
|
||
|
||
|
||
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
|
||
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. If you have such books
|
||
please send us a list that includes Title, Author, publication
|
||
date, condition and price.
|
||
|
||
|
||
**** ****
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
Bank of Wisdom
|
||
Box 926, Louisville, KY 40201
|
||
17
|
||
|