These were the last remembered words of Thomas Paine. He died as
serenely as ever mortal passed away. He died in the full possession of
his mind, and on the brink and edge of death proclaimed the doctrines of
his life.
Every philanthropist, every believer in human liberty, every lover of
the great Republic, should feel under obligation to Thomas Paine for the
splendid services rendered by him in the darkest days of the American
Revolution. In the midnight of Valley Forge, "The Crisis" was the first
star that glittered in the wide horizon of despair.
We should remember that Thomas Paine was the first man to write these
words: "The United States of America."
The Rev. Mr. Hamilton seems to take a kind of joy in imagining what
infidels will suffer when they come to die, and he writes as though he
would like to be present.
For my part I hope that all the sons and daughters of men will die in
peace; that they will pass away as easily as twilight fades to night.
Of course when I said that "Christianity did not bring tidings of great
joy, but a message of eternal grief," I meant orthodox Christianity; and
when I said that "Christianity fills the future with fire and flame,
and made God the keeper of an eternal penitentiary, in which most of
the children of men were to be imprisoned forever," I was giving what I
understood to be the Evangelical belief on that subject.
If the churches have given up the doctrine of eternal punishment, then
for one I am delighted, and I shall feel that what little I have done
toward that end has not been done in vain.
The Rev. Mr. Hamilton, enjoying my dying agony in imagination, says:
"Let the world wait but for a few years at the most, when Death's icy
fingers feel for the heartstrings of the boaster, and, as most of his
like who have gone before him have done, he will sing another strain."
How shall I characterize the spirit that could prompt the writing of
such a sentence?
The reverend gentleman "loves his enemies," and yet he is filled with
glee when he thinks of the agonies I shall endure when Death's icy
fingers feel for the strings of my heart! Yet I have done him no harm.
He then quotes, as being applicable to me, a passage from the prophet
Isaiah, commencing: "The vile person will speak villainy."
Is this passage applicable only to me?
The Rev. Mr. Holloway is not satisfied with the "Christmas Sermon."
For his benefit I repeat, in another form, what the "Christmas Sermon"
contains:
If orthodox Christianity teaches that this life is a period of
probation, that we settle here our eternal destiny, and that all who
have heard the Gospel and who have failed to believe it are to be
eternally lost, then I say that Christianity did not "bring tidings of
great joy," but a Message of Eternal Grief. And if the orthodox churches
are still preaching the doctrine of Endless Pain, then I say it would be
far better if every church crumbled into dust than that such preaching
and such teaching should be continued.
It would be far better yet, however, if the ministers could be converted
and their congregations enlightened.
I admit that the orthodox churches preach some things beside hell; but
if they do not believe in the eternity of punishment they ought publicly
to change their creeds.
I admit, also, that the average minister advises his congregation to be
honest and to treat all with kindness, and I admit that many of these
ministers fail to follow their own advice when they make what they call
"replies" to me.
Of course there are many good things about the church. To the extent
that it is charitable, or rather to the extent that it causes charity,
it is good. To the extent that it causes men and women to lead moral
lives it is good. But to the extent that it fills the future with fear
it is bad. To the extent that it convinces any human being that there is
any God who not only can, but will, inflict eternal torments on his own
children, it is bad.
And such teaching does tend to blight humanity. Such teaching does
pollute the imagination of childhood. Such teaching does furrow the
cheeks of the best and tenderest with tears..Such teaching does rob old
age of all its joy, and covers every cradle with a curse!
The Rev. Mr. Holloway seems to be extremely familiar with God. He says:
"God seems to have delayed his advent through all the ages to give unto
the world the fullest opportunity to do all that the human mind could
suggest for the weal of the race."
According to this gentleman, God just delayed his advent for the purpose
of seeing what the world would do, _knowing all the time exactly what
would be done_.
Let us make a suggestion: If the orthodox creed be true, then all people
became tainted or corrupted or depraved, or in some way spoiled by what
is known as "Original Sin."
According to the Old Testament, these people kept getting worse and
worse. It does not seem that Jehovah made any effort to improve them,
but he patiently waited for about fifteen hundred years without having
established any church, without having given them a Bible, and then he
drowned all but eight persons.
Now, those eight persons were also depraved. The taint of Original Sin
was also in their blood.
It seems to me that Jehovah made a mistake. He should also have killed
the remaining eight, and started new, kept the serpent out of his
garden, and furnished the first pair with a Bible and the Presbyterian
Confession of Faith.
The Rev. Dr. Tyler takes it for granted that all charity and goodness
are the children of Christianity. This is a mistake. All the virtues
were in the world long before Christ came. Probably Mr. Tyler will be
convinced by the words of Christ himself. He will probably remember
the story of the Good Samaritan, and if he does he will see that it is
exactly in point. The Good Samaritan was not a Hebrew. He was not one
of "the chosen people." He was a poor, "miserable heathen," who knew
nothing about the Jehovah of the Old Testament, and who had never heard
of the "scheme of salvation." And yet, according to Christ, he was far
more charitable than the Levites--the priests of Jehovah, the highest
of "the chosen people." Is it not perfectly plain from this story that
charity was in the world before Christianity was established?
A great deal has been said about asylums and hospitals, as though the
Christians are entitled to great credit on that score. If Dr. Tyler
will read what is said in the British Encyclopaedia, under the head of
"Mental Diseases," he will find that the Egyptians treated the insane
with the utmost kindness, and that they called reason back to its throne
by the voice of music; that the temples were resorted to by crowds of
the insane; and that "whatever gifts of nature or productions of art
were calculated to impress the imagination were there united. Games
and recreations were instituted in the temples. Groves and gardens
surrounded these holy retreats. Gayly decorated boats sometimes
transported patients to breathe the pure breezes of the Nile."
So in ancient Greece it is said that "from the hands of the priest the
cure of the disordered mind first passed into the domain of medicine,
with the philosophers. Pythagoras is said to have employed music for the
cure of mental diseases. The order of the day for his disciples exhibits
a profound knowledge of the relations of body and mind. The early
morning was divided between gentle exercise, conversation and music.
Then came conversation, followed by gymnastic exercise and a temperate
diet. Afterward, a bath and supper with a sparing allowance of wine;
then reading, music and conversation concluded the day."
So "Asclepiades was celebrated for his treatment of mental disorders.
He recommended that bodily restraint should be avoided as much as
possible." It is also stated that "the philosophy and arts of Greece
spread to Rome, and the first special treatise on insanity is that
of Celsus, which distinguishes varieties of insanity and their proper
treatment."
"Over the arts and sciences of Greece and Rome the errors and ignorance
of the Middle Ages gradually crept, until they enveloped them in a cloud
worse than Egyptian darkness. The insane were again consigned to the
miracle-working-ordinances of o o priests or else totally neglected.
Idiots and imbeciles were permitted to go clotheless and homeless. The
frantic and furious were chained in lonesome dungeons and exhibited
for money, like wild beasts. The monomaniacs became, according to
circumstance, the objects of superstitious horror or reverence. They
were regarded as possessed with demons and subjected either to priestly
exorcism, or cruelly destroyed as wizards and witches. This cruel
treatment of the insane continued with little or no alleviation down to
the end of the last century in all the civilized countries of Europe."
Let me quote a description of these Christian asylums.
"Public asylums indeed existed in most of the metropolitan cities of
Europe, but the insane were more generally, if at all troublesome,
confined in jails, where they were chained in the lowest dungeons or
made the butts and menials of the most debased criminals. In public
asylums the inmates were confined in cellars, isolated in cages, chained
to floors or walls. These poor victims were exhibited to the public like
wild beasts. They were often killed by the ignorance and brutality of
their keepers."
I call particular attention to the following paragraph: "Such was the
state of the insane generally throughout Europe at the commencement of
this century. Such it continued to be in England so late as 1815 and
in Ireland as 1817, as revealed by the inquiries of parliamentary
commissions in those years respectively."
Dr. Tyler is entirely welcome to all the comfort these facts can give.
Not only were the Greeks and Romans and Egyptians far in advance of
the Christians in the treatment of the mentally diseased, but even the
Mohammedans were in advance of the Christians about 700 years, and in
addition to this they treated their lunatics with great kindness.
The temple of Diana of Ephesus was a refuge for insolvent debtors, and
the Thesium was a refuge for slaves.
Again, I say that hundreds of years before the establishment of
Christianity there were in India not only hospitals and asylums for
people, but even for animals. The great mistake of the Christian clergy
is that they attribute all goodness to Christianity. They have always
been engaged in maligning human nature--in attacking the human heart--in
efforts to destroy all natural passions.
Perfect maxims for the conduct of life were uttered and repeated in
India and China hundreds and hundreds of years before the Christian
era. Every virtue was lauded and every vice denounced. All the good that
Christianity has in it came from the human heart. Everything in that
system of religion came from this world; and in it you will find not
only the goodness of man, but the imperfections of man--not only the
love of man, but the malice of man.
Let me tell you why the Christians for so many centuries neglected
or abused the insane. They believed the New Testament, and honestly
supposed that the insane were filled with devils.
In regard to the contest between Dr. Buckley, who, as I understand it,
is a doctor of theology--and I should think such theology stood in need
of a doctor--and the _Telegram_, I have nothing to say. There is only
one side to that contest; and so far as the Doctor heretofore criticised
what is known as the "Christmas Sermon," I have answered him, leaving
but very little to which I care to reply in his last article.
Dr. Buckley, like many others, brings forward names instead of
reasons--instead of arguments. Milton, Pascal, Elizabeth Fry, John
Howard, and Michael Faraday are not arguments. They are only names;
and, instead of giving the names, Dr. Buckley should give the reasons
advanced by those whose names he pronounces.
Jonathan Edwards may have been a good man, but certainly his theology
was infamous. So Father Mathew was a good man, but it was impossible
for him to be good enough to convince Dr. Buckley of the doctrine of the
"Real Presence."
Milton was a very good man, and he described God as a kind of
brigadier-general, put the angels in uniform and had regular battles;
but Milton's goodness can by no possibility establish the truth of his
poetical and absurd vagaries.
All the self-denial and goodness in the world do not even tend to prove
the existence of the supernatural or of the miraculous. Millions
and millions of the most devoted men could not, by their devotion,
substantiate the inspiration of the Scriptures.
There are, however, some misstatements in Dr. Buckley's article that
ought not to be passed over in silence.
The first is to the effect that I was invited to write an article for
the _North American Review_, Judge Jeremiah Black to reply, and that
Judge Black was improperly treated.
Now, it is true that I was invited to write an article, and did write
one; but I did not know at the time who was to reply. It is also true
that Judge Black did reply, and that my article and his reply appeared
in the same number of the _Review._
Dr. Buckley alleges that the _North American Review_ gave me an
opportunity to review the Judge, but denied to Judge Black an
opportunity to respond. This is without the slightest foundation in
fact. Mr. Metcalf, who at that time was manager of the _Review_, is
still living and will tell the facts. Personally I had nothing to do
with it, one way or the other. I did not regard Judge Black's reply as
formidable, and was not only willing that he should be heard again, but
anxious that he should.
So much for that.
As to the debate, with Dr. Field and Mr. Gladstone, I leave them to say
whether they were or were not fairly treated. Dr. Field, by his candor,
by his fairness, and by the manly spirit he exhibited won my respect and
love.
Most ministers imagine that any man who differs from them is a
blasphemer. This word seems to leap unconsciously from their lips.
They cannot imagine that another man loves liberty as much and with
as sincere devotion as they love God. They cannot imagine that another
prizes liberty above all gods, even if gods exist. They cannot imagine
that any mind is so that it places Justice above all persons, a mind
that cannot conceive even of a God who is not bound to do justice.
If God exists, above him, in eternal calm, is the figure of Justice.
Neither can some ministers understand a man who regards Jehovah and
Jupiter as substantially the same, with this exception--that he thinks
far more of Jupiter, because Jupiter had at least some human feelings.
I do not understand that a man can be guilty of blasphemy who states his
honest thoughts in proper language, his object being, not to torture
the feelings of others, but simply to give his thought--to find and
establish the truth.
Dr. Buckley makes a charge that he ought to have known to be without
foundation. Speaking of myself, he said: "In him the laws to prevent the
circulation of obscene publications through the mails have found their
most vigorous opponent."
It is hardly necessary for me to say that this is untrue. The facts are
that an effort was made to classify obscene literature with what the
pious call "blasphemous and immoral works." A petition was forwarded to
Congress to amend the law so that the literature of Freethought could
not be thrown from the mails, asking that, if no separation could be
made, the law should be repealed.
It was said that I had signed this petition, and I certainly should have
done so had it been presented to me. The petition was absolutely proper.
A few years ago I found the petition, and discovered that while it bore
my name it had never been signed by me. But for the purposes of this
answer I am perfectly willing that the signature should be regarded as
genuine, as there is nothing in the petition that should not have been
granted.
The law as it stood was opposed by the Liberal League--but not a member
of that society was in favor of the circulation of obscene literature;
but they did think that the privacy of the mails had been violated, and
that it was of the utmost importance to maintain the inviolability of
the postal service.
I disagreed with these people, and favored the destruction of obscene
literature not only, but that it be made a criminal offence to send it
through the mails. As a matter of fact I drew up resolutions to that
effect that were passed. Afterward they were changed, or some others
were passed, and I resigned from the League on that account.
Nothing can be more absurd than that I was, directly or indirectly, or
could have been, interested in the circulation of obscene publications
through the mails; and I will pay a premium of $1,000 a word for
each and every word I ever said or wrote in favor of sending obscene
publications through the mails.
I might use much stronger language. I might follow the example of
Dr. Buckley himself. But I think I have said enough to satisfy all
unprejudiced people that the charge is absurdly false.
Now, as to the eulogy of whiskey. It gives me a certain pleasure to read
that even now, and I believe the readers of the _Telegram_ would like to
read it once more; so here it is:
"I send you some of the most wonderful whiskey that ever drove the
skeleton from a feast or painted landscapes in the brain of man. It is
the mingled souls of wheat and corn. In it you will find the sunshine
and the shadow that chased each other over the billowy fields; the
breath of June; the carol of the lark; the dews of night; the wealth
of summer and autumn's rich content, all golden with imprisoned light.
Drink it and you will hear the voices of men and maidens singing the
'Harvest Home,' mingled with the laughter of children. Drink it and you
will feel within your blood the star-lit dawns, the dreamy, tawny dusks
of many perfect days. For forty years this liquid joy has been within
the happy staves of oak, longing to touch the lips of men."
I re-quote this for the reason that Dr. Buckley, who is not very
accurate, made some mistakes in his version.
Now, in order to show the depth of degradation to which I have sunk in
this direction, I will confess that I also wrote a eulogy of tobacco,
and here it is:
"Nearly four centuries ago Columbus, the adventurous, in the blessed
island of Cuba, saw happy people with rolled leaves between their lips.
Above their heads were little clouds of smoke. Their faces were serene,
and in their eyes was the autumnal heaven of content. These people were
kind, innocent, gentle and loving.
"The climate of Cuba is the friendship of the earth and air, and of this
climate the sacred leaves were born--the leaves that breed in the mind
of him who uses them the cloudless, happy days in which they grew.
"These leaves make friends, and celebrate with gentle rites the vows of
peace. They have given consolation to the world. They are the companions
of the lonely--the friends of the imprisoned, of the exile, of workers
in mines, of fellers of forests, of sailors on the desolate seas. They
are the givers of strength and calm to the vexed and wearied minds of
those who build with thought and dream the temples of the soul.
"They tell of hope and rest. They smooth the wrinkled brows of
pain--drive fears and strange misshapen dreads from out the mind and
fill the heart with rest and peace. Within their magic warp and woof
some potent gracious spell imprisoned lies, that, when released by fire,
doth softly steal within the fortress of the brain and bind in sleep the
captured sentinels of care and grief.
"These leaves are the friends of the fireside, and their smoke, like
incense, rises from myriads of happy homes. Cuba is the smile of the
sea."
There are some people so constituted that there is no room in the heaven
of their minds for the butterflies and moths of fancy to spread their
wings. Everything is taken in solemn and stupid earnest. Such men would
hold Shakespeare responsible for what Falstaff said about "sack," and
for Mrs. Quickly's notions of propriety.
There is an old Greek saying which is applicable here: "In the presence
of human stupidity, even the gods stand helpless."
John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, lacked all sense of humor.
He preached a sermon on "The Cause and Cure of Earthquakes." He insisted
that they were caused by the wickedness of man, and that the only way to
cure them was to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The man who does not carry the torch of Humor is always in danger of
falling into the pit of Absurdity.
The Rev. Charles Deems, pastor of the Church of the Strangers,
contributes his part to the discussion.
He took a text from John, as follows: "He that committeth sin is of the
devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the
devil."
According to the orthodox creed of the Rev. Dr. Deems all have committed
sin, and consequently all are of the devil. The Doctor is not a
metaphysician. He does not care to play at sleight of hand with words.
He stands on bed-rock, and he asserts that the devil is no Persian myth,
but a personality, who works unhindered by the limitations of a physical
body, and gets human personalities to aid him in his works.
According to the text, it seems that the devil was a sinner from the
beginning. I suppose that must mean from his beginning, or from the
beginning of things. According to Dr. Deems' creed, his God is the
Creator of all things, and consequently must have been the Creator of
the devil. According to the Scriptures the devil is the father of lies,
and Dr. Deems' God is the father of the devil--that is to say, the
grandfather of lies. This strikes me as almost "blasphemous."
The Doctor also tells us "that Jesus believed as much in the personality
of the devil as in that of Herod or Pilate or John or Peter."
That I admit. There is not the slightest doubt, if the New Testament be
true, that Christ believed in a personal devil--a devil with whom he had
conversations; a devil who took him to the pinnacle of the Temple and
endeavored to induce him to leap to the earth below.
Of course he believed in a personal devil. Not only so; he believed
in thousands of personal devils. He cast seven devils out of Mary
Magdalene. He cast a legion of devils out of the man in the tombs, or,
rather, made a bargain with these last-mentioned devils that they might
go into a drove or herd of swine, if they would leave the man.
I not only admit that Christ believed in devils, but he believed that
some devils were deaf and dumb, and so declared.
Dr. Deems is right, and I hope he will defend against all comers the
integrity of the New Testament.
The Doctor, however, not satisfied exactly with what he finds in the New
Testament, draws a little on his own imagination. He says:
"The devil is an organizing, imperial intellect, vindictive, sharp,
shrewd, persevering, the aim of whose works is to overthrow the
authority of God's law."
How does the Doctor know that the devil has an organizing, imperial
intellect? How does he know that he is vindictive and sharp and shrewd
and persevering?
If the devil has an "imperial intellect," why does he attempt the
impossible?
Robert Burns shocked Scotland by saying of the devil, or, rather, to the
devil, that he was sorry for him, and hoped he would take a thought and
mend.
Dr. Deems has gone far in advance of Burns. For a clergyman he seems
to be exceedingly polite. Speaking of the "Arch Enemy of God"--of
that "organizing, imperial intellect who is seeking to undermine the
church"--the Doctor says:
"The devil may be conceded to be sincere."
It has been said:
"An honest God is the noblest work of man," and it may now be added: A
sincere devil is the noblest work of Dr. Deems.
But, with all the devil's smartness, sharpness, and shrewdness, the
Doctor says that he "cannot write a book; that he cannot deliver
lectures" (like myself, I suppose), "edit a newspaper" (like the editor
of the _Telegram_), "or make after-dinner speeches; but he can get his
servants to do these things for him."
There is one thing in the Doctor's address that I feel like correcting
(I quote from the _Telegram's_ report):
"Dr. Deems showed at length how the Son of God, the Christ of the
Bible--_not the Christ of the lecture platform caricatures_--is
operating to overcome all these works."
I take it for granted that he refers to what he supposes I have said
about Christ, and, for fear that he may not have read it, I give it
here:
"And let me say here, once for all, that for the man Christ I have
infinite respect. Let me say, once for all, that the place where man has
died for man, is holy ground. And let me say, once for all, that to that
great and serene man I gladly pay, the tribute of my admiration and my
tears. He was a reformer in his day. He was an infidel in his time. He
was regarded as a blasphemer, and his life was destroyed by hypocrites,
who have, in all ages, done what they could to trample freedom and
manhood out of the human mind. Had I lived at that time I would have
been his friend, and should he come again he will not find a better
friend than I will be. That is for the man. For the theological creation
I have a different feeling."
I have not answered each one who has attacked by name. Neither have I
mentioned those who have agreed with me. But I do take this occasion to
thank all, irrespective of their creeds, who have manfully advocated the
right of free speech, and who have upheld the _Telegram_ in the course
it has taken.
I thank all who have said a kind word for me, and I also feel quite
grateful to those who have failed to say unkind words. Epithets are
not arguments. To abuse is not to convince. Anger is stupid and malice
illogical.
And, after all that has appeared by way of reply, I still insist that
orthodox Christianity did not come with "tidings of great joy," but with
a message of eternal grief.
Robert G. Ingersoll.
New York, February 5, 1892.