The object in selecting and presenting the list of texts quoted in
this chapter is to show that Bible writers entertained a very low and
dishonorable conception of the "all-loving Father," and that, on this
account, the reading of these caricatures of Infinite Wisdom must have a
demoralizing effect upon those who habitually read them, and accept them
as truth. Even if they were all accepted as metaphors, or mere figures
of speech, that would not prevent or destroy their injurious effect upon
the mind; for descriptions by metaphor or pictures have the same effect
upon the mind as literal descriptions or representations. And what must
be the effect upon the mind of the ignorant heathen who read the Book
with no suspicion of its being aught but reality, as much of it was
unquestionably designed to be?
1. "There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, fire out of his mouth
devoured: coals were kindled by it" (2 Sam. xxil. 9). Suggestion of a
volcano.
2. "He had horns coming out of his hand" (Hab. ill. 4).
3. "Out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword" (Rev. 1.16). Rather a
frightful monster to look at.
4. "He shall mightily roar from his habitation" (Jer. xxv. 30). Wonder
if it frightened the saints in glory.
6. "He shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes" (Jer. xxv.
30).
6. "He awaked as one out of sleep" (Ps. lxxviii. 60). The presumption
would be he had been asleep.
7. "And like a mighty man that shouteth by reason of wine" (Ps. lxxviii.
65). Would not this lead to the conclusion he was drunk?
8. In his anger he persecuted and slew without pity (Lam. iii. 43). Good
authority for persecuting and killing enemies. No wonder all Christendom
is noted for persecution and bloodshed.
9. "His fury is poured out like fire" (Nah. i. 0). Rather a frightful
God.
10. "The rocks are thrown down by him" (Nah. i. 6). Throwing stones is
rather a ludicrous business for a God to engage in.
11. He became angry, and sware (Ps. xcv. 11). It is easy to see why
swearing is so common in Christian countries.
12. He burns with anger (Isa. xxx. 27). Who would wish to live in heaven
with such a being?
13. "His lips are full of indignation" (Isa. xxx. 27). Who saw his lips?
and what peculiar aspect did they present to lead to this conclusion?
14. "And his tongue as a devouring fire" (Isa. xxx. 27). How came the
writer to see his tongue?
15. He "is a jealous God" (Exod. xxxiv. 14). Jealous of what? "Jealousy
is a hateful fiend" (Cato).
16. "He shall stir up Jealousy like a man of war" (Isa. xiii. 13). Of
course, if he indulged in jealousy himself, his example would stir up
this vile passion in others.
17. He rides upon horses (Ilab. iii. 8). In what part of the universe are
those horses kept? and how many does he ride at a time?
18. "He shall cry, yea, roar" (Isa. xlii. 13). Rather a frightful
object.
19. "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have
them in derision" (Ps. ii. 4). "But thou, O Lord, shalt laugh at them;
thou shalt have all the heathen in derision" (Ps. iii. 8). Who ever
heard him laugh?
20. "The Lord is a man of war" (Exod. xv. 3). What kind of arms does he
use?
21. "I will make mine arrows drunk with blood" (Deut. xxx 11. 42). A
good archer.
22. "They have provoked me to anger."--"Anger shows great weakness of
mind" (William Penn).
23. "I will heap mischief upon them."--"Mischief-makers are enemies to
society" (Socrates).
24. "I will spend my arrows upon them" (Deut. xxxii. 23). "Arrows are
the weapons of savages" (Goodrich).
25. "A fire is kindled in mine anger" (Deut. xxxii. 22). "Anger resteth
in the bosom of tools" (Solomon).
26. "I will also send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the poison of
serpents" (Deut. xxxii. 24). This exhibits a more fiendish spirit than
that of Nero.
27. "I myself will fight against you in anger and fury and great wrath"
(Jer. xxi. 5). "Anger and fury disclose a weak and unbalanced mind"
(Publius Syrus).
23. "I will laugh at your calamity" (Prov. 1. 20). "Only brutal savages
can be happy while others are miserable" (Publius Syrus).
20. "I frame evil against you" (Jer. xviii. 11). Who, then, can deny that
God is the author of evil?
30. The spirit said, "I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his
prophets" (1 Kings xxii. 22). Of course, then, all the lies they told
would be his, and not theirs.
31. "If I whet my glittering sword" (Deut. xxxii. 41). What a frightful
picture for the all-loving Father!
32. "Spare them not, but destroy both men and beasts, infant and
suckling" (1 Sam. xv. 8). We would neither worship such a God on earth,
or dwell with him in heaven.
83. "He was unto me as a bear lying in wait, and as a lion in secret
places" (Lam. ill. 10). Think of the God of the universe descending from
heaven, and crouching in ambush, like bears and lions, to spring upon
the unsuspecting traveler! The tendency of such a thought is to weaken
both moral and intellectual growth.
31. He will "cry like a travailing woman" (Isa. xlii. 14).
35. He is full of vengeance and wrath, and is furious (Nah. 1. 2). A
savage monster. Who would worship such a God?
36. "The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young
man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs" (Deut.
xxxii. 25).
37. "The sword shall devour, and make drunk with their blood" (Jer. 10).
The language of the above is blasphemous and shocking to refined
feelings, whether accepted as literal or figurative.
Though but just begun, we will pursue this sickening theme no further
at present. It is an unpleasant task to pen these shocking pictures of
"Divine Goodness;" but the time has arrived when these evils should be
fully exposed, that Christian professors may see the error of preaching
the doctrines of the semi-barbarous ages, which have the effect to dwarf
the intellect and repress the growth of every healthy moral emotion
of the mind, and thus retard the moral and intellectual progress of
society. Such considerations loudly call for a full exposition of the
errors and evils of biblical theology, so long concealed under the
sacred garb of "inspiration."
Note.--This chapter might easily be extended to a hundred pages of
similar examples.