I may say right here that the Christian idea that any God can make me
His friend by killing mine is about as great a mistake as could be made.
They seem to have the idea that just as soon as God kills all the people
that a person loves, he will then begin to love the Lord. What drew
my attention first to these questions was the doctrine of eternal
punishment. This was so abhorrent to my mind that I began to hate the
book in which it was taught. Then, in reading law, going back to find
the origin of laws, I found one had to go but a little way before the
legislator and priest united. This led me to study a good many of the
religions of the world. At first I was greatly astonished to find most
of them better than ours. I then studied our own system to the best of
my ability, and found that people were palming off upon children
and upon one another as the inspired words of God a book that upheld
slavery, polygamy, and almost every other crime. Whether I am right or
wrong, I became convinced that the Bible is not an inspired book, and
then the only question for me to settle was as to whether I should say
what I believed or not. This realty was not the question in my mind,
because, before even thinking of such a question, I expressed my belief,
and I simply claim that right, and expect to exercise it as long as I
live. I may be damned for it in the next world, but it is a great source
of pleasure to me in this.