240
count of the golden calf. It must be borne in mind
that the worship of this calf by the people was before
the Ten Commandments had been given to them.
Christians now insist that these commandments must
have been inspired, because no human being could
have constructed them,--could have conceived of
them.
It seems, according to this account, that Moses had
been up in the mount with God, getting the Ten Com-
mandments, and that while he was there the people
had made the golden calf. When he came down and
saw them, and found what they had done, having in
his hands the two tables, the work of God, he cast
the tables out of his hands, and broke them beneath
the mount. He then took the calf which they had
made, ground it to powder, strewed it in the water,
and made the children of Israel drink of it. And in the
twenty-seventh verse we are told what the Lord did:
"Thus saith the Lord God of Israel: Put every man
"his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate
"to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man
"his brother, and every man his companion, and
"every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi
"did according to the word of Moses; and there fell
"of the people that day about three thousand men."
241
The reason for this slaughter is thus given: "For
"Moses had said: Consecrate yourselves to-day to
"the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon
" his brother, that he may bestow upon you a blessing
"this day."
Now, it must be remembered that there had not
been as yet a promulgation of the commandment
u Thou shalt have no other gods before me." This
was a punishment for the infraction of a law before
the law was known--before the commandment had
been given. Was it cruel, or unjust?
Does the following sound as though spoken by a
God of mercy: "I will make mine arrows drunk
"with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh"?
And yet this is but a small part of the vengeance and
destruction which God threatens to his enemies, as
recorded in the thirty-second chapter of the book of
Deuteronomy.
In the sixty-eighth Psalm is found this merciful
passage: "That thy foot may be dipped in the blood
"of thine enemies, and the tongue of thy dogs in the
"same.
So we find in the eleventh chapter of Joshua the
reason why the Canaanites and other nations made
war upon the Jews. It is as follows: "For it was of
242
"the Lord to harden their hearts that they should
"come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy
"them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but
"that he might destroy them."
Read the thirtieth chapter of Exodus and you will
find that God gave to Moses a recipe for making
the oil of holy anointment, and in the thirty-second
verse we find that no one was to make any oil like it
and in the next verse it is declared that whoever
compounded any like it, or whoever put any of it on
a stranger, should be cut off from the Lord's people.
In the same chapter, a recipe is given for per-
fumery, and it is declared that whoever shall make
any like it, or that smells like it, shall suffer death.
In the next chapter, it is decreed that if any one fails
to keep the Sabbath "he shall be surely put to death."
There are in the Pentateuch hundreds and hun-
dreds of passages showing the cruelty of Jehovah.
What could have been more cruel than the flood?
What more heartless than to overwhelm a world?
What more merciless than to cover a shoreless sea
with the corpses of men, women and children?
The Pentateuch is filled with anathemas, with
curses, with words of vengeance, of jealousy, of
hatred, and brutality. By reason of these passages,
243
millions of people have plucked from their hearts the
flowers of pity and justified the murder of women
and the assassination of babes.
In the second chapter of Second Kings we find
that the prophet Elisha was on his way to a place
called Bethel, and as he was going, there came forth
little children out of the city and mocked him and
said: "Go up thou bald head; Go up thou bald
"head! And he turned back and looked on them
"and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And
"there came forth two she bears out of the wood and
"tare forty and two children of them."
Of course he obtained his miraculous power from
Jehovah; and there must have been some communi-
cation between Jehovah and the bears. Why did the
bears come? How did they happen to be there?
Here is a prophet of God cursing children in the
name of the Lord, and thereupon these children
are torn in fragments by wild beasts.
This is the mercy of Jehovah; and yet I am told
that the Bible has nothing cruel in it; that it preaches
only mercy, justice, charity, peace; that all hearts
are softened by reading it; that the savage nature of
man is melted into tenderness and pity by it, and that
only the totally depraved can find evil in it.
244
And so I might go on, page after page, book after
book, in the Old Testament, and describe the cruelties
committed in accordance with the commands of
Jehovah.
But all the cruelties in the Old Testament are ab-
solute mercies compared with the hell of the New
Testament. In the Old Testament God stops with
the grave. He seems to have been satisfied when he
saw his enemies dead, when he saw their flesh rotting
in the open air, or in the beaks of birds, or in the teeth
of wild beasts. But in the New Testament, ven-
geance does not stop with the grave. It begins there,
and stops never. The enemies of Jehovah are to be
pursued through all the ages of eternity. There is to
be no forgiveness--no cessation, no mercy, nothing
but everlasting pain.
And yet we are told that the author of hell is a
being of infinite mercy.
_Second_; All intelligent Christians will admit that
there are many passages in the Bible that, if found in
the Koran, they would regard as impure and immoral.
It is not necessary for me to specify the passages,
nor to call the attention of the public to such things.
I am willing to trust the judgment of every honest
reader, and the memory of every biblical student.
245
The Old Testament upholds polygamy. That is
infinitely impure. It sanctions concubinage. That
is impure; nothing could or can be worse. Hun-
dreds of things are publicly told that should have re-
mained unsaid. No one is made better by reading
the history of Tamar, or the biography of Lot, or
the memoirs of Noah, of Dinah, of Sarah and
Abraham, or of Jacob and Leah and Rachel and others
that I do not care to mention. No one is improved
in his morals by reading these things.
All I mean to say is, that the Bible is like other
books produced by other nations in the same stage
of civilization. What one age considers pure, the
next considers impure. What one age may consider
just, the next may look upon as infamous. Civiliza-
tion is a growth. It is continually dying, and continu-
ally being born. Old branches rot and fall, new buds
appear. It is a perpetual twilight, and a perpetual
dawn--the death of the old, and the birth of the new.
I do not say, throw away the Bible because there
are some foolish passages in it, but I say, throw away
the foolish passages. Don't throw away wisdom
because it is found in company with folly; but do not
say that folly is wisdom, because it is found in its
company. All that is true in the Bible is true whether
246
it is inspired or not. All that is true did not need to
be inspired. Only that which is not true needs the
assistance of miracles and wonders. I read the Bible
as I read other books. What I believe to be good,
I admit is good; what I think is bad, I say is bad;
what I believe to be true, I say is true, and what I
believe to be false, I denounce as false.
_Third_. Let us see whether there are any contra-
dictions in the Bible.
A little book has been published, called "Self
"Contradictions of the Bible," by J. P. Mendum, of
The Boston Investigator. I find many of the apparent
contradictions of the Bible noted in this book.
We all know that the Pentateuch is filled with the
commandments of God upon the subject of sacrificing
animals. We know that God declared, again and
again, that the smell of burning flesh was a sweet
savor to him. Chapter after chapter is filled with direc-
tions how to kill the beasts that were set apart for
sacrifices; what to do with their blood, their flesh and
their fat. And yet, in the seventh chapter of Jeremiah,
all this is expressly denied, in the following language:
"For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded
"them in the day that I brought them out of the land
"of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices."
247
And in the sixth chapter of Jeremiah, the same
Jehovah says; "Your burnt offerings are not ac-
"ceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me."
In the Psalms, Jehovah derides the idea of
sacrifices, and says: "Will I eat of the flesh of
"bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer unto God
"thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the Most
"High."
So I find in Isaiah the following: "Bring no more
"vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me;
"the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of as-
"semblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even
"the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your
"appointed feasts my soul hateth; they are a trouble
"to me; I am weary to bear them." "To what
"purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me?
"saith the Lord. I am full of the burnt offerings of
"rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not
"in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.
"When ye come to appear before me, who hath re-
"quired this at your hand?"
So I find in James: "Let no man say when he is
"tempted: I am tempted of God; for God cannot be
"tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man;"
and yet in the twenty-second chapter of Genesis I
248
find this: "And it came to pass after these things,
"that God did tempt Abraham."
In Second Samuel we see that he tempted David.
He also tempted Job, and Jeremiah says: "O Lord,
"thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived." To
such an extent was Jeremiah deceived, that in the
fourteenth chapter and eighteenth verse we find him
crying out to the Lord: "Wilt thou be altogether
"unto me as a liar?"
So in Second Thessalonians: "For these things
"God shall send them strong delusions, that they
"should believe a lie."
So in First Kings, twenty-second chapter: "Behold,
"the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all
"these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil
"concerning thee."
So in Ezekiel: "And if the prophet be deceived
"when he hath spoken a thing, I, the Lord, have de-
"ceived that prophet."
So I find: "Thou shalt not bear false witness;"
and in the book of Revelation: "All liars shall have
"their part in the lake which burneth with fire and
"brimstone;" yet in First Kings, twenty-second
chapter, I find the following: "And the Lord said:
"Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and
249
"fall at Ramoth-Gilead? And one said on this
"manner, and another said on that manner. And
"there came forth a spirit and stood before the Lord,
"and said: I will persuade him. And the Lord said
"unto him: Wherewith? And he said: I will go
"forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all
"his prophets. And he said: Thou shalt persuade
"him, and prevail also. Go forth, and do so."
In the Old Testament we find contradictory laws
about the same thing, and contradictory accounts of
the same occurrences.
In the twentieth chapter of Exodus we find the first
account of the giving of the Ten Commandments. In
the thirty-fourth chapter another account of the same
transaction is given. These two accounts could not
have been written by the same person. Read them,
and you will be forced to admit that both of them
cannot by any possibility be true. They differ in so
many particulars, and the commandments themselves
are so different, that it is impossible that both can be
true.
So there are two histories of the creation. If you
will read the first and second chapters of Genesis,
you will find two accounts inconsistent with each
other, both of which cannot be true. The first account
250
ends with the third verse of the second chapter of
Genesis. By the first account, man and woman were
made at the same time, and made last of all. In the
second account, not to be too critical, all the beasts
of the field were made before Eve was, and Adam
was made before the beasts of the field; whereas in
the first account, God made all the animals before he
made Adam. In the first account there is nothing
about the rib or the bone or the side,--that is only
found in the second account. In the first account,
there is nothing about the Garden of Eden, nothing
about the four rivers, nothing about the mist that
went up from the earth and watered the whole face
of the ground; nothing said about making man from
dust; nothing about God breathing into his nostrils
the breath of life; yet according to the second ac-
count, the Garden of Eden was planted, and all the
animals were made before Eve was formed. It is
impossible to harmonize the two accounts.
So, in the first account, only the word God is
used--"God said so and so,--God did so and so."
In the second account he is called Lord God,--"the
"Lord God formed man,"--"the Lord God caused
"it to rain,"--"the Lord God planted a garden." It
is now admitted that the book of Genesis is made up
251
of two stories, and it is very easy to take them apart
and show exactly how they were put together.
So there are two stories of the flood, differing
almost entirely from each other--that is to say, so
contradictory that both cannot be true.
There are two accounts of the manner in which
Saul was made king, and the accounts are inconsistent
with each other.
Scholars now everywhere admit that the copyists
made many changes, pieced out fragments, and made
additions, interpolations, and meaningless repetitions.
It is now generally conceded that the speeches of
Elihu, in Job, were interpolated, and most of the
prophecies were made by persons whose names even
are not known.
The manuscripts of the Old Testament were not
alike. The Greek version differed from the Hebrew,
and there was no generally received text of the Old
Testament until after the beginning of the Christian
era. Marks and points to denote vowels were in-
vented probably in the seventh century after Christ;
and whether these marks and points were put in the
proper places, is still an open question. The Alex-
andrian version, or what is known as the Septuagint,
translated by seventy-two learned Jews assisted by
252
miraculous power, about two hundred years before
Christ, could not, it is now said, have been translated
from the Hebrew text that we now have. This can
only be accounted for by supposing that we have a
different Hebrew text. The early Christians adopted
the Septuagint and were satisfied for a time; but so
many errors were found, and so many were scanning
every word in search of something to assist their
peculiar views, that new versions were produced,
and the new versions all differed somewhat from the
Septuagint as well as from each other. These ver-
sions were mostly in Greek. The first Latin Bible
was produced in Africa, and no one has ever found
out which Latin manuscript was original. Many were
produced, and all differed from each other. These
Latin versions were compared with each other and
with the Hebrew, and a new Latin version was made
in the fifth century, and the old ones held their own
for about four hundred years, and no one knows
which version was right. Besides, there were Ethi-
opie, Egyptian, Armenian and several other ver-
sions, all differing from each other as well as from all
others. It was not until the fourteenth century that
the Bible was translated into German, and not until
the fifteenth that Bibles were printed in the principal
253
languages of Europe; and most of these Bibles
differed from each other, and gave rise to endless
disputes and to almost numberless crimes.
No man in the world is learned enough, nor has
he time enough, even if he could live a thousand
years, to find what books belonged to and consti-
tuted the Old Testament. He could not ascertain
the authors of the books, nor when they were written,
nor what they mean. Until a man has sufficient
time to do all this, no one can tell whether he be-
lieves the Bible or not. It is sufficient, however, to
say that the Old Testament is filled with contradic-
tions as to the number of men slain in battle, as to
the number of years certain kings reigned, as to the
number of a woman's children, as to dates of events,
and as to locations of towns and cities.
Besides all this, many of its laws are contradictory,
often commanding and prohibiting the same thing.
The New Testament also is filled with contradic-
tions. The gospels do not even agree upon the
terms of salvation. They do not even agree as to
the gospel of Christ, as to the mission of Christ.
They do not tell the same story regarding the be-
trayal, the crucifixion, the resurrection or the ascen-
sion of Christ. John is the only one that ever heard
254
of being "born again." The evangelists do not give
the same account of the same miracles, and the
miracles are not given in the same order. They do
not agree even in the genealogy of Christ.
_Fourth_. Is the Bible scientific? In my judgment
it is not
It is unscientific to say that this world was "cre-
"ated that the universe was produced by an infinite
being, who had existed an eternity prior to such
"creation." My mind is such that I cannot possibly
conceive of a "creation." Neither can I conceive of
an infinite being who dwelt in infinite space an infi-
nite length of time.
I do not think it is scientific to say that the uni-
verse was made in six days, or that this world is only
about six thousand years old, or that man has only
been upon the earth for about six thousand years.
If the Bible is true, Adam was the first man. The
age of Adam is given, the age of his children, and
the time, according to the Bible, was kept and known
from Adam, so that if the Bible is true, man has only
been in this world about six thousand years. In my
judgment, and in the judgment of every scientific
man whose judgment is worth having or quoting,
man inhabited this earth for thousands of ages prior
255
to the creation of Adam. On one point the Bible is
at least certain, and that is, as to the life of Adam.
The genealogy is given, the pedigree is there, and it
is impossible to escape the conclusion that, according
to the Bible, man has only been upon this earth
about six thousand years. There is no chance there
to say "long periods of time," or "geological ages."
There we have the years. And as to the time of the
creation of man, the Bible does not tell the truth.
What is generally called "The Fall of Man" is
unscientific. God could not have made a moral
character for Adam. Even admitting the rest of the
story to be true, Adam certainly had to make char-
acter for himself.
The idea that there never would have been any
disease or death in this world had it not been for the
eating of the forbidden fruit is preposterously unsci-
entific. Admitting that Adam was made only six
thousand years ago, death was in the world millions of
years before that time. The old rocks are filled with re-
mains of what were once living and breathing animals.
Continents were built up with the petrified corpses of
animals. We know, therefore, that death did not enter
the world because of Adam's sin. We know that life
and death are but successive links in an eternal chain.
256
So it is unscientific to say that thorns and brambles
were produced by Adam's sin.
It is also unscientific to say that labor was pro-
nounced as a curse upon man. Labor is not a curse.
Labor is a blessing. Idleness is a curse.
It is unscientific to say that the sons of God,
living, we suppose, in heaven, fell in love with the
daughters of men, and that on account of this a
flood was sent upon the earth that covered the
highest mountains.
The whole story of the flood is unscientific, and no
scientific man worthy of the name, believes it.
Neither is the story of the tower of Babel a scien-
tific thing. Does any scientific man believe that
God confounded the language of men for fear they
would succeed in building a tower high enough to
reach to heaven?
It is not scientific to say that angels were in the
habit of walking about the earth, eating veal dressed
with butter and milk, and making bargains about the
destruction of cities.
The story of Lot's wife having been turned into a
pillar of salt is extremely unscientific.
It is unscientific to say that people at one time lived
to be nearly a thousand years of age. The history
257
of the world shows that human life is lengthening
instead of shortening.
It is unscientific to say that the infinite God
wrestled with Jacob and got the better of him, put-
ting his thigh out of joint.
It is unscientific to say that God, in the likeness of
a flame of fire, inhabited a bush.
It is unscientific to say that a stick could be
changed into a living snake. Living snakes can not
be made out of sticks. There are not the necessary
elements in a stick to make a snake.
It is not scientific to say that God changed water
into blood. All the elements of blood are not in
water.
It is unscientific to declare that dust was changed
into lice.
It is not scientific to say that God caused a thick
darkness over the land of Egypt, and yet allowed it
to be light in the houses of the Jews.
It is not scientific to say that about seventy people
could, in two hundred and fifteen years increase to
three millions.
It is not scientific to say that an infinitely good
God would destroy innocent people to get revenge
upon a king.
258
It is not scientific to say that slavery was once
right, that polygamy was once a virtue, and that ex-
termination was mercy.
It is not scientific to assert that a being of infinite
power and goodness went into partnership with in-
sects,--granted letters of marque and reprisal to
hornets.
It is unscientific to insist that bread was really
rained from heaven.
It is not scientific to suppose that an infinite being
spent forty days and nights furnishing Moses with plans
and specifications for a tabernacle, an ark, a mercy seat,
cherubs of gold, a table, four rings, some dishes, some
spoons, one candlestick, several bowls, a few knobs,
seven lamps, some snuffers, a pair of tongs, some cur-
tains, a roof for a tent of rams' skins dyed red, a few
boards, an altar with horns, ash pans, basins and flesh
hooks, shovels and pots and sockets of silver and
ouches of gold and pins of brass--for all of which this
God brought with him patterns from heaven.
It is not scientific to say that when a man commits
a sin, he can settle with God by killing a sheep.
It is not scientific to say that a priest, by laying
his hands on the head of a goat, can transfer the sins
of a people to the animal.
259
Was it scientific to endeavor to ascertain whether
a woman was virtuous or not, by compelling her to
drink water mixed with dirt from the floor of the
sanctuary?
Is it scientific to say that a dry stick budded,
blossomed, and bore almonds; or that the ashes of a
red heifer mixed with water can cleanse us of sin;
or that a good being gave cities into the hands of the
Jews in consideration of their murdering all the in-
habitants?
Is it scientific to say that an animal saw an angel,
and conversed with a man?
Is it scientific to imagine that thrusting a spear
through the body of a woman ever stayed a plague?
Is it scientific to say that a river cut itself in two
and allowed the lower end to run off?
Is it scientific to assert that seven priests blew
seven rams' horns loud enough to blow down the
walls of a city?
Is it scientific to say that the sun stood still in the
midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down for
about a whole day, and that the moon also stayed?
Is it scientifically probable that an angel of the
Lord devoured unleavened cakes and broth with
fire that came out of the end of a stick, as he sat
260
under an oak tree; or that God made known his
will by letting dew fall on wool without wetting the
ground around it; or that an angel of God appeared
to Manoah in the absence of her husband, and that
this angel afterwards went up in a flame of fire, and
as the result of this visit a child was born whose
strength was in his hair?
Is it scientific to say that the muscle of a man de-
pended upon the length of his locks?
Is it unscientific to deny that water gushed from a
hollow place in a dry bone?
Is it evidence of a thoroughly scientific mind to
believe that one man turned over a house so large
that three thousand people were on its roof?
Is it purely scientific to say that a man was once
fed by the birds of the air, who brought him bread
and meat every morning and evening, and that after-
ward an angel turned cook and prepared two sup-
pers in one night, for the same prophet, who ate
enough to last him forty days and forty nights?
Is it scientific to say that a river divided because
the water had been struck with a cloak; or that a
man actually went to heaven in a chariot of fire
drawn by horses of fire; or that a being of infinite
mercy would destroy children for laughing at a bald-
261
headed prophet; or curse children and childrens
children with leprosy for a father's fault; or that he
made iron float in water; or that when one corpse
touched another it came to life; or that the sun went
backward in heaven so that the shadow on a sun-
dial went back ten degrees, as a sign that a miserable
barbarian king would get well?
Is it scientific to say that the earth not only
stopped in its rotary motion, but absolutely turned
the other way,--that its motion was reversed simply
as a sign to a petty king?
Is it scientific to say that Solomon made gold and
silver at Jerusalem as plentiful as stones, when we
know that there were kings in his day who could
have thrown away the value of the whole of Palestine
without missing the amount?
Is it scientific to say that Solomon exceeded all
the kings of the earth in glory, when his country
was barren, without roads, when his people were
few, without commerce, without the arts, without the
sciences, without education, without luxuries?
According to the Bible, as long as Jehovah attended
to the affairs of the Jews, they had nothing but war,
pestilence and famine; after Jehovah abandoned them,
and the Christians ceased, in a measure, to persecute
262
them, the Jews became the most prosperous of people.
Since Jehovah in his anger cast them away, they have
produced painters, sculptors, scientists, statesmen,
composers, soldiers and philosophers.
It is not scientific to believe that God ever pre-
vented rain, that he ever caused famine, that he ever
sent locusts to devour the wheat and corn, that he
ever relied on pestilence for the government of man-
kind; or that he ever killed children to get even with
their parents.
It is not scientific to believe that the king of Egypt
invaded Palestine with seventy thousand horsemen
and twelve hundred chariots of war. There was not,
at that time, a road in Palestine over which a chariot
could be driven.
It is not scientific to believe that in a battle between
Jeroboam and Abijah, the army of Abijah slew in
one day five hundred thousand chosen men.
It is not scientific to believe that Zerah, the Ethio-
pian, invaded Palestine with a million of men who
were overthrown and destroyed; or that Jehoshaphat
had a standing army of nine hundred and sixty
thousand men.
It is unscientific to believe that Jehovah advertised
for a liar, as is related in Second Chronicles.
263
It is not scientific to believe that fire refused to
burn, or that water refused to wet.
It is not scientific to believe in dreams, in visions,
and in miracles.
It is not scientific to believe that children have
been born without fathers, that the dead have ever
been raised to life, or that people have bodily as-
cended to heaven taking their clothes with them.
It is not scientific to believe in the supernatural.
Science dwells in the realm of fact, in the realm of
demonstration. Science depends upon human ex-
perience, upon observation, upon reason.
It is unscientific to say that an innocent man can
be punished in place of a criminal, and for a criminal,
and that the criminal, on account of such punishment,
can be justified.
It is unscientific to say that a finite sin deserves
infinite punishment.
It is unscientific to believe that devils can inhabit
human beings, or that they can take possession of
swine, or that the devil could bodily take a man, or
the Son of God, and carry him to the pinnacle of a
temple.
In short, the foolish, the unreasonable, the false,
the miraculous and the supernatural are unscientific.
264
_Question_. Mr. Talmage gives his reason for
accepting the New Testament, and says: "You
"can trace it right out. Jerome and Eusebius in the
"first century, and Origen in the second century,
"gave lists of the writers of the New Testament.
"These lists correspond with our list of the writers
"of the New Testament, showing that precisely as
"we have it, they had it in the third and fourth cen-
"turies. Where did they get it? From Irenaeus.
"Where did he get it? From Polycarp. Where did
"Polycarp get it? From Saint John, who was a per-
"sonal associate of Jesus. The line is just as clear
"as anything ever was clear." How do you under-
stand this matter, and has Mr. Talmage stated the
facts?
_Answer_. Let us examine first the witnesses pro-
duced by Mr. Talmage. We will also call attention
to the great principle laid down by Mr. Talmage for
the examination of evidence,--that where a witness
is found false in one particular, his entire testimony
must be thrown away.
Eusebius was born somewhere about two hundred
and seventy years after Christ. After many vicissi-
tudes he became, it is said, the friend of Constantine.
He made an oration in which he extolled the virtues
265
of this murderer, and had the honor of sitting at the
right hand of the man who had shed the blood of his
wife and son. In the great controversy with regard
to the position that Christ should occupy in the Trinity,
he sided with Arius, "and lent himself to the perse-
"cution of the orthodox with Athanasius." He in-
sisted that Jesus Christ was not the same as God,
and that he was not of equal power and glory. Will
Mr. Talmage admit that his witness told the truth in
this? "He would not even call the Son co-eternal
"with God."
Eusebius must have been an exceedingly truthful
man. He declared that the tracks of Pharaoh's chariots
were in his day visible upon the shores of the Red
Sea; that these tracks had been through all the years
miraculously preserved from the action of wind and
wave, as a supernatural testimony to the fact that
God miraculously overwhelmed Pharaoh and his
hosts.
Eusebius also relates that when Joseph and Mary
arrived in Eygpt they took up their abode in Hermopolis,
a city of Thebaeus, in which was the superb
temple of Serapis. When Joseph and Mary entered
the temple, not only the great idol, but all the lesser
idols fell down before him.
266
"It is believed by the learned Dr. Lardner, that
"Eusebius was the one guilty of the forgery in the
"passage found in Josephus concerning Christ. Un-
"blushing falsehoods and literary forgeries of the
"vilest character darkened the pages of his historical
"writings." (Waites History.)
From the same authority I learn that Eusebius
invented an eclipse, and some earthquakes, to agree
with the account of the crucifixion. It is also be-
lieved that Eusebius quoted from works that never
existed, and that he pretended a work had been
written by Porphyry, entitled: "The Philosophy of
"Oracles," and then quoted from it for the purpose
of proving the truth of the Christian religion.
The fact is, Eusebius was utterly destitute of truth.
He believed, as many still believe, that he could
please God by the fabrication of lies.
Irenaeus lived somewhere about the end of the
second century. "Very little is known of his early
"history, and the accounts given in various biogra-
"phies are for the most part conjectural." The
writings of Irenaeus are known to us principally
through Eusebius, and we know the value of his
testimony.
Now, if we are to take the testimony of Irenaeus,
267
why not take it? He says that the ministry of Christ
lasted for twenty years, and that Christ was fifty years
old at the time of his crucifixion. He also insisted
that the "Gospel of Paul" was written by Luke, "a
"statement made to give sanction to the gospel of
"Luke."
Irenaeus insisted that there were four gospels, that
there must be, and "he speaks frequently of these
"gospels, and argues that they should be four in
"number, neither more nor less, because there are
"four universal winds, and four quarters of the
"world;" and he might have added: because
donkeys have four legs.
These facts can be found in "The History of the
"Christian Religion to A. D. 200," by Charles B.
Waite,--a book that Mr. Talmage ought to read.
According to Mr. Waite, Irenaeus, in the thirty-
third chapter of his fifth book, _Adversus Haereses_,
cites from Papias the following sayings of Christ:
"The days will come in which vines shall grow
"which shall have ten thousand branches, and on
"each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each twig
"ten thousand shoots, and in each shoot ten thousand
"clusters, and in every one of the clusters ten
"thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed
268
"will give five and twenty metrets of wine." Also
that "one thousand million pounds of clear, pure, fine
"flour will be produced from one grain of wheat."
Irenaeus adds that "these things were borne witness
"to by Papias the hearer of John and the companion
"of Polycarp."
Is it possible that the eternal welfare of a human
being depends upon believing the testimony of Poly-
carp and Irenaeus? Are people to be saved or lost
on the reputation of Eusebius? Suppose a man is
firmly convinced that Polycarp knew nothing about
Saint John, and that Saint John knew nothing about
Christ,--what then? Suppose he is convinced that
Eusebius is utterly unworthy of credit,--what then?
Must a man believe statements that he has every
reason to think are false?
The question arises as to the witnesses named by
Mr. Talmage, whether they were competent to decide
as to the truth or falsehood of the gospels. We have
the right to inquire into their mental traits for the
purpose of giving only due weight to what they have
said.
Mr. Bronson C. Keeler is the author of a book
called: "A Short History of the Bible." I avail
myself of a few of the facts he has there collected. I
269
find in this book, that Irenaeus, Clement and Origen
believed in the fable of the Phoenix, and insisted that
God produced the bird on purpose to prove the
probability of the resurrection of the body. Some
of the early fathers believed that the hyena changed
its sex every year. Others of them gave as a reason
why good people should eat only animals with a
cloven foot, the fact that righteous people lived not
only in this world, but had expectations in the next.
They also believed that insane people were pos-
sessed by devils; that angels ate manna; that some
angels loved the daughters of men and fell; that the
pains of women in childbirth, and the fact that ser-
pents crawl on their bellies, were proofs that the
account of the fall, as given in Genesis, is true; that
the stag renewed its youth by eating poisonous
snakes; that eclipses and comets were signs of God's
anger; that volcanoes were openings into hell; that
demons blighted apples; that a corpse in a cemetery
moved to make room for another corpse to be placed
beside it. Clement of Alexandria believed that hail
storms, tempests and plagues were caused by demons.
He also believed, with Mr. Talmage, that the events
in the life of Abraham were typical and prophetical
of arithmetic and astronomy.
270
Origen, another of the witnesses of Mr. Talmage,
said that the sun, moon and stars were living crea-
tures, endowed with reason and free will, and occa-
sionally inclined to sin. That they had free will, he
proved by quoting from Job; that they were rational
creatures, he inferred from the fact that they moved.
The sun, moon and stars, according to him, were
"subject to vanity," and he believed that they prayed
to God through his only begotten son.
These intelligent witnesses believed that the blight-
ing of vines and fruit trees, and the disease and de-
struction that came upon animals and men, were all
the work of demons; but that when they had entered
into men, the sign of the cross would drive them out.
They derided the idea that the earth is round, and
one of them said: "About the antipodes also, one
"can neither hear nor speak without laughter. It is
"asserted as something serious that we should be-
"lieve that there are men who have their feet oppo-
"site to ours. The ravings of Anaxagoras are more
"tolerable, who said that snow was black."
Concerning these early fathers, Professor Davidson,
as quoted by Mr. Keeler, uses the following lan-
guage: "Of the three fathers who contributed
"most to the growth of the canon, Irenaeus was
271
"credulous and blundering; Tertullian passionate
"and one-sided; and Clement of Alexandria, im-
"bued with the treasures of Greek wisdom, was
"mainly occupied with ecclesiastical ethics. Their
"assertions show both ignorance and exaggeration."
These early fathers relied upon by Mr. Talmage,
quoted from books now regarded as apocryphal--
books that have been thrown away by the church
and are no longer considered as of the slightest
authority. Upon this subject I again quote Mr.
Keeler: "Clement quoted the 'Gospel according to
"'the Hebrews,' which is now thrown away by the
"church; he also quoted from the Sibylline books
"and the Pentateuch in the same sentence. Origen
"frequently cited the Gospel of the Hebrews. Jerome
"did the same, and Clement believed in the 'Gospel
"'according to the Egyptians.' The Shepherd of
"Hermas, a book in high repute in the early church,
"and one which distinctly claims to have been
"inspired, was quoted by Irenaeus as Scripture.
"Clement of Alexandria said it was a divine revela-
"tion. Origen said it was divinely inspired, and
"quoted it as Holy Scripture at the same time that
"he cited the Psalms and Epistles of Paul. Jerome
"quoted the 'Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach,'
272
"as divine Scripture. Origen quotes the 'Wisdom
"of Solomon' as the 'Word of God' and 'the
"'words of Christ himself.' Eusebius of Caesarea
"cites it as a * Divine Oracle,' and St. Chrysostom
"used it as Scripture. So Eusebius quotes the
"thirteenth chapter of Daniel as Scripture, but as a
"matter of fact, Daniel has not a thirteenth chapter,--
"the church has taken it away. Clement spoke of
"the writer of the fourth book of Esdras as a prophet;
"he thought Baruch as much the word of God as
"any other book, and he quotes it as divine Scripture.
"Clement cites Barnabas as an apostle. Origen
"quotes from the Epistle of Barnabas, calls it 'Holy
" 'Scripture,' and places it on a level with the Psalms
"and the Epistles of Paul; and Clement of Alexan-
"dria believed in the 'Epistle of Barnabas,' and the
"'Revelation, of Peter,' and wrote comments upon
"these holy books."
Nothing can exceed the credulity of the early
fathers, unless it may be their ignorance. They be-
lieved everything that was miraculous. They believed
everything except the truth. Anything that really
happened was considered of no importance by them.
They looked for wonders, miracles, and monstrous
things, and--generally found them. They revelled
273
in the misshapen and the repulsive. They did not
think it wrong to swear falsely in a good cause.
They interpolated, forged, and changed the records to
suit themselves, for the sake of Christ. They quoted
from persons who never wrote. They misrepresented
those who had written, and their evidence is abso-
lutely worthless. They were ignorant, credulous,
mendacious, fanatical, pious, unreasonable, bigoted,
hypocritical, and for the most part, insane. Read the
book of Revelation, and you will agree with me that
nothing that ever emanated from a madhouse can
more than equal it for incoherence. Most of the
writings of the early fathers are of the same kind.
As to Saint John, the real truth is, that we know
nothing certainly of him. We do not know that he
ever lived.
We know nothing certainly of Jesus Christ. We
know nothing of his infancy, nothing of his youth,
and we are not sure that such a person ever existed.
We know nothing of Polycarp. We do not know
where he was born, or where, or how he died. We
know nothing for certain about Irenaeus. All the
names quoted by Mr. Talmage as his witnesses
are surrounded by clouds and doubts, by mist and
darkness. We only know that many of their
274
statements are false, and do not know that any of
them are true.
_Question_. What do you think of the following state-
ment by Mr. Talmage: "Oh, I have to tell you that no
"man ever died for a lie cheerfully and triumphantly"?
_Answer_. There was a time when men "cheerfully
"and triumphantly died" in defence of the doctrine
of the "real presence" of God in the wafer and wine.
Does Mr. Talmage believe in the doctrine of "tran-
"substantiation"? Yet hundreds have died "cheer-
"fully and triumphantly" for it. Men have died for
the idea that baptism by immersion is the only
scriptural baptism. Did they die for a lie? If not,
is Mr. Talmage a Baptist?
Giordano Bruno was an atheist, yet he perished at
the stake rather than retract his opinions. He did
not expect to be welcomed by angels and by God.
He did not look for a crown of glory. He expected
simply death and eternal extinction. Does the fact
that he died for that belief prove its truth?
Thousands upon thousands have died in defence of
the religion of Mohammed. Was Mohammed an im-
postor? Thousands have welcomed death in defence
of the doctrines of Buddha. Is Buddhism true?
275
So I might make a tour of the world, and of all
ages of human history, and find that millions and
millions have died "cheerfully and triumphantly" in
defence of their opinions. There is not the slightest
truth in Mr. Talmage's statement.
A little while ago, a man shot at the Czar of Russia.
On the day of his execution he was asked if he
wished religious consolation. He replied that he
believed in no religion. What did that prove? It
proved only the man's honesty of opinion. All the
martyrs in the world cannot change, never did
change, a falsehood into a truth, nor a truth into
a falsehood. Martyrdom proves nothing but the
sincerity of the martyr and the cruelty and mean-
ness of his murderers. Thousands and thousands of
people have imagined that they knew things, that
they were certain, and have died rather than retract
their honest beliefs.
Mr. Talmage now says that he knows all about the
Old Testament, that the prophecies were fulfilled,
and yet he does not know when the prophecies were
made--whether they were made before or after the
fact. He does not know whether the destruction of
Babylon was told before it happened, or after. He
knows nothing upon the subject. He does not know
276
who made the pretended prophecies. He does not
know that Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Habakkuk, or
Hosea ever lived in this world. He does not know
who wrote a single book of the Old Testament. He
knows nothing on the subject. He believes in the
inspiration of the Old Testament because ancient
cities finally fell into decay--were overrun and de-
stroyed by enemies, and he accounts for the fact that
the Jew does not lose his nationality by saying that
the Old Testament is true.
The Jews have been persecuted by the Christians,
and they are still persecuted by them; and Mr. Tal-
mage seems to think that this persecution was a part
of Gods plan, that the Jews might, by persecution,
be prevented from mingling with other nationalities,
and so might stand, through the instrumentality of
perpetual hate and cruelty, the suffering witnesses of
the divine truth of the Bible.
The Jews do not testify to the truth of the Bible,
but to the barbarism and inhumanity of Christians--
to the meanness and hatred of what we are pleased
to call the "civilized world." They testify to the fact
that nothing so hardens the human heart as religion.
There is no prophecy in the Old Testament fore-
telling the coming of Jesus Christ. There is not one
277
word in the Old Testament referring to him in any
way--not one word. The only way to prove this
is to take your Bible, and wherever you find these
words: "That it might be fulfilled," and "which
"was spoken," turn to the Old Testament and
find what was written, and you will see that it had
not the slightest possible reference to the thing re-
counted in the New Testament--not the slightest.
Let us take some of the prophecies of the Bible,
and see how plain they are, and how beautiful they
are. Let us see whether any human being can tell
whether they have ever been fulfilled or not.
Here is a vision of Ezekiel: "I looked, and be-
"hold a whirlwind came out of the north, a great
"cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness
"was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the
"color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also
"out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four
"living creatures. And this was their appearance;
"they had the likeness of a man. And every one
"had four faces, and every one had four wings.
"And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of
"their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they
"sparkled like the color of burnished brass. And
"they had the hands of a man under their wings on
278
"their four sides; and they four had their faces and
"their wings. Their wings were joined one to
"another; they turned not when-they went; they
"went every one straight forward. As for the like-
"ness of their faces, they four had the face of a man,
"and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they
"four had the face of an ox on the left side; they
"four also had the face of an eagle.
"Thus were their faces: and their wings were
"stretched upward; two wings of every one were
"joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
"And they went every one straight forward: whither
"the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not
"when they went.
"As for the likeness of the living creatures, their
"appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like
"the appearance of lamps: it went up and down
"among the living creatures; and the fire was bright,
"and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the
"living creatures ran and returned as the appearance
"of a flash of lightning.
"Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one
"wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with
"his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and
"their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and
279
"they four had one likeness: and their appearance
"and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle
"of a wheel. When they went, they went upon
"their four sides: and they turned not when they
"went. As for their rings, they were so high that
"they were dreadful; and their rings were full of
"eyes round about them four. And when the living
"creatures went, the wheels went by them: and
"when the living creatures were lifted up from the
"earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever
"the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their
"spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over
"against them: for the spirit of the living creature
"was in the wheels. When those went, these went;
"and when those stood, these stood; and when those
"were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were
"lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the
"living creature was in the wheels. And the like-
"ness of the firmament upon the heads of the living
"creature was as the color of the terrible crystal,
"stretched forth over their heads above. And under
"the firmament were their wings straight, the one
"toward the other; every one had two, which
"covered on this side, and every one had two,
"which covered on that side, their bodies."
280
Is such a vision a prophecy? Is it calculated
to convey the slightest information? If so, what?
So, the following vision of the prophet Daniel is
exceedingly important and instructive:
"Daniel spake and said: I saw in my vision by
"night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven
"strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts
"came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings:
"I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it
"was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon
"the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to
"it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a
"bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had
"three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of
"it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much
"flesh.
"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,
"which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl;
"the beast had also four heads, and dominion was
"given to it.
"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold
"a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong ex-
"ceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured
"and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with
281
"the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts
"that were before it, and it had ten horns. I con-
"sidered the horns, and, behold, there came up
"among them another little horn, before whom
"there were three of the first horns plucked up by
"the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like
"the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
"things."
I have no doubt that this prophecy has been liter-
ally fulfilled, but I am not at present in condition to
give the time, place, or circumstances.
A few moments ago, my attention was called to
the following extract from _The New York Herald_ of
the thirteenth of March, instant:
"At the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Armi-
"tage took as his text, 'A wheel in the middle of a
"'wheel'--Ezekiel, i., 16. Here, said the preacher,
"are three distinct visions in one--the living crea-
"tures, the moving wheels and the fiery throne. We
"have time only to stop the wheels of this mystic
"chariot of Jehovah, that we may hold holy converse
"with Him who rides upon the wings of the wind.
"In this vision of the prophet we have a minute and
"amplified account of these magnificent symbols or
"hieroglyphics, this wondrous machinery which de-
282
"notes immense attributes and agencies and voli-
"tions, passing their awful and mysterious course of
"power and intelligence in revolution after revolu-
"tion of the emblematical mechanism, in steady and
"harmonious advancement to the object after which
"they are reaching. We are compelled to look
"upon the whole as symbolical of that tender and
"endearing providence of which Jesus spoke when
"He said, 'The very hairs of your head are num-
"* bered.'"
Certainly, an ordinary person, not having been
illuminated by the spirit of prophecy, would never
have even dreamed that there was the slightest re-
ference in Ezekiel's vision to anything like counting
hairs. As a commentator, the Rev. Dr. Armitage
has no equal; and, in my judgment, no rival. He
has placed himself beyond the reach of ridicule. It
is impossible to say anything about his sermon as
laughable as his sermon.
_Question_. Have you no confidence in any pro-
phecies? Do you take the ground that there never
has been a human being who could predict the
future?
_Answer_. I admit that a man of average intelli-
283
gence knows that a certain course, when pursued
long enough, will bring national disaster, and it is
perfectly safe to predict the downfall of any and
every country in the world. In my judgment,
nations, like individuals, have an average life.
Every nation is mortal. An immortal nation cannot
be constructed of mortal individuals. A nation has
a reason for existing, and that reason sustains the
same relation to the nation that the acorn does to
the oak. The nation will attain its growth--other
things being equal. It will reach its manhood and
its prime, but it will sink into old age, and at last
must die. Probably, in a few thousand years, men
will be able to calculate the average life of nations,
as they now calculate the average life of persons.
There has been no period since the morning of his-
tory until now, that men did not know of dead and
dying nations. There has always been a national
cemetery. Poland is dead, Turkey is dying. In
every nation are the seeds of dissolution. Not only
nations die, but races of men. A nation is born,
becomes powerful, luxurious, at last grows weak, is
overcome, dies, and another takes its place, In this
way civilization and barbarism, like day and night,
alternate through all of history's years.
284
In every nation there are at least two classes of
men: First, the enthusiastic, the patriotic, who be-
lieve that the nation will live forever,--that its flag
will float while the earth has air; Second, the owls
and ravens and croakers, who are always predicting
disaster, defeat, and death. To the last class belong
the Jeremiahs, Ezekiels, and Isaiahs of the Jews.
They were always predicting the downfall of Jeru-
salem. They revelled in defeat and captivity. They
loved to paint the horrors of famine and war. For
the most part, they were envious, hateful, misan-
thropic and unjust.
There seems to have been a war between church
and state. The prophets were endeavoring to pre-
serve the ecclesiastical power. Every king who would
listen to them, was chosen of God. He instantly
became the model of virtue, and the prophets assured
him that he was in the keeping of Jehovah. But if
the king had a mind of his own, the prophets im-
mediately called down upon him all the curses of
heaven, and predicted the speedy destruction of his
kingdom.
If our own country should be divided, if an empire
should rise upon the ruins of the Republic, it would
be very easy to find that hundreds and thousands of
285
people had foretold that very thing. If you will read
the political speeches of the last twenty-two years,
you will find prophecies to fit any possible future
state of affairs in our country. No matter what
happens, you will find that somebody predicted it.
If the city of London should lose her trade, if the
Parliament house should become the abode of moles
and bats, if "the New Zealander should sit upon the
"ruins of London Bridge," all these things would be
simply the fulfillment of prophecy. The fall of every
nation under the sun has been predicted by hundreds
and thousands of people.
The prophecies of the Old Testament can be made
to fit anything that may happen, or that may not
happen. They will apply to the death of a king, or
to the destruction of a people,--to the loss of com-
merce, or the discovery of a continent. Each pro-
phecy is a jugglery of words, of figures, of symbols,
so put together, so used, so interpreted, that they
can mean anything, everything, or nothing.
_Question_. Do you see anything "prophetic" in
the fate of the Jewish people themselves? Do you
think that God made the Jewish people wanderers, so
that they might be perpetual witnesses to the truth
of the Scriptures?
286
_Answer_. I cannot believe that an infinitely good
God would make anybody a wanderer. Neither can
I believe that he would keep millions of people with-
out country and without home, and allow them to be
persecuted for thousands of years, simply that they
might be used as witnesses. Nothing could be more
absurdly cruel than this.
The Christians justify their treatment of the Jews
on the ground that they are simply fulfilling prophecy.
The Jews have suffered because of the horrid story
that their ancestors crucified the Son of God. Chris-
tianity, coming into power, looked with horror upon
the Jews, who denied the truth of the gospel. Each
Jew was regarded as a dangerous witness against
Christianity. The early Christians saw how neces-
sary it was that the people who lived in Jerusalem
at the time of Christ should be convinced that
he was God, and should testify to the miracles he
wrought. Whenever a Jew denied it, the Christian
was filled with malignity and hatred, and immediately
excited the prejudice of other Christians against the
man simply because he was a Jew. They forgot, in
their general hatred, that Mary, the mother of Christ,
was a Jewess; that Christ himself was of Jewish
blood; and with an inconsistency of which, of all
287
religions, Christianity alone could have been guilty,
the Jew became an object of especial hatred and
aversion.
When we remember that Christianity pretends to
be a religion of love and kindness, of charity and for-
giveness, must not every intelligent man be shocked
by the persecution of the Jews? Even now, in learned
and cultivated Germany, the Jew is treated as though
he were a wild beast. The reputation of this great
people has been stained by a persecution spring-
ing only from ignorance and barbarian prejudice.
So in Russia, the Christians are anxious to shed
every drop of Jewish blood, and thousands are to-day
fleeing from their homes to seek a refuge from Chris-
tian hate. And Mr. Talmage believes that all these
persecutions are kept up by the perpetual intervention
of God, in order that the homeless wanderers of the
seed of Abraham may testify to the truth of the Old
and New Testaments. He thinks that every burning
Jewish home sheds light upon the gospel,--that
every gash in Jewish flesh cries out in favor of the
Bible,--that every violated Jewish maiden shows the
interest that God still takes in the preservation of
his Holy Word.