THE Bible denounces religious liberty. After covering the world with
blood, after having made it almost hollow with graves, Christians
are beginning to say that men have a right to differ upon religious
questions provided the questions about which they differ are not
considered of great importance. The motto of the Evangelical Alliance
is: "In non-essentials, Liberty; in essentials, Unity."
The Christian world have condescended to say that upon all non-essential
points we shall have the right to think for ourselves; but upon matters
of the least importance, they will think and speak for us. In this they
are consistent. They but follow the teachings of the God they worship.
They but adhere to the precepts and commands of the sacred Scriptures.
Within that volume there is no such thing as religious toleration.
Within that volume there is not one particle of mercy for an
unbeliever. For all who think for themselves, for all who are the owners
of their own souls, there are threatenings, curses and anathemas. Any
Christian who to-day exercises the least toleration is to that extent
false to his religion. Let us see what the "Magna Charta" of liberty
says upon this subject:
6. "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter,
or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul,
entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou
hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers.
7. "Namely of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh
unto thee, or afar off from thee, from the one end of the earth even
unto the other end of the earth.
8. "Thou shalt not consent unto him; nor hearken unto him; neither shall
thine eye pity him; neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal
him.
9. "But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him
to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10. "And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath
sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God, which brought thee out
of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage."--_Deut. xiii._
That is the religious liberty of the Bible. If the wife of your bosom
had said, "I like the religion of India better than the religion of
Palestine," it was then your duty to kill her, and the merciful Most
High--understand me, I do not believe in any merciful Most High--said:
"Thou shalt not pity her but thou shalt surely kill; thy hand shall be
the first upon her to put her to death."
This I denounce as infamously infamous. If it is necessary to believe
in such a God, if it is necessary to adore such a Deity in order to be
saved, I will take my part joyfully in perdition. Let me read you a few
more extracts from the "Magna Charta" of human liberty.
2. "If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord
thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the
sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
3. "And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the
sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded.
4. "And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired
diligently, and behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such
abomination is wrought in Israel.
5. "Then shalt thou bring forth that man, or that woman, which have
committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that
woman, and shalt stone them with stones till they die."
Under this law if the woman you loved had said: "Let us worship the sun;
I am tired of this jealous and bloodthirsty Jehovah; let us worship the
sun; let us kneel to it as it rises over the hills, filling the world
with light and love, when the dawn stands jocund on the mountain's misty
top; it is the sun whose beams illumine and cover the earth with verdure
and with beauty; it is the sun that covers the trees with leaves, that
carpets the earth with grass and adorns the world with flowers; I adore
the sun because in its light I have seen your eyes; it has given to
me the face of my babe; it has clothed my life with joy; let us in
gratitude fall down and worship the glorious beams of the sun."
For this offence she deserved not only death, but death at your hands:
"Thine eye shall not pity her; neither shalt thou spare; neither shalt
thou conceal her.
"But thou shalt surely kill her: thy hand shall be the first upon her to
put her to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
"And thou shalt stone her with stones that she die."
For my part I had a thousand times rather worship the sun than a God who
would make such a law or give such a command. This you may say is the
doctrine of the Old Testament--what is the doctrine of the New?
"He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth
not shall be damned."
That is the religious liberty of the New Testament. That is the "tidings
of great joy."
Every one of these words has been a chain upon the limbs, a whip upon
the backs of men. Every one has been a fagot. Every one has been a
sword. Every one has been a dungeon, a scaffold, a rack. Every one has
been a fountain of tears. These words have filled the hearts of men with
hatred. These words invented all the instruments of torture. These words
covered the earth with blood.
For the sake of argument, suppose that the Bible is an inspired book.
If then, as is contended, God gave these frightful laws commanding
religious intolerance to his chosen people, and afterward this same God
took upon himself flesh, and came among the Jews and taught a different
religion, and they crucified him, did he not reap what he had sown?