THE object to be accomplished in this chapter is, to show, from the Bible history itself, the folly and absurdity of admitting the Jehovah of the Bible to be the Supreme Ruler of the Universe; for, after destroying every thing that had life, by the flood, Jehovah, somewhat like a conquering hero, returns to heaven. The war with the human race being over, Divine vengeance is satisfied. No religious worship, that we read of, was then known on the earth. But, behold! a new outbreak occurs, that requires the immediate interference of the God of Israel.
In Genesis, chapter xi., it is recorded, that the then inhabitants of the earth began to build a tower, the top of which was to reach the heavens, that they might make to themselves a great name, and be no more scattered abroad on the earth. What crime it could be considered by Jehovah, for men to unite in building a tower so lofty that the top would reach the heavens, we know not. However ignorant the then inhabitants of the earth were, the Lord knew that they could not annoy him by the erection of a tower to any height they might be inclined to raise it. The writer of the account makes it appear, that Jehovah became uneasy at the progress the workmen were making, and at last could bear it no longer; so he came down, as the term is, and confounded their speech in such a manner that they could not understand each other.
Can it be possible, for men who reflect at all, to believe such glaring nonsense? The writers of the Bible have not only made a God unjust and vengeful, but they have put into his head such foolish whims, as, that after having destroyed a world by a deluge, the innocent with the guilty, he came down from heaven to scare away carpenters and bricklayers from their honest labor; and have made him virtually to say—“Be off! Clear out! I will not permit you to hammer away here!” The conduct of the Bible God towards the builders of Babel, and, in fact, the whole of the then human family, seems to be like that of an unfeeling father, who cares not for his children, and who is also equally indifferent as to whether the human race worshipped him, or fell down to worship stocks or stones; for, instead of ordering them to build an altar to the true and living God, he ordered them off, to wander abroad on the earth, and do the best they could. And here an opportunity was lost of insuring their conversion; since, as they were all of one language and speech, how easy to convert the whole race at once! Now, here we may discover a man-made God. Sometimes he is all jealousy for his own name—all fury against idolatry; at other times, he seems to care but little for the happiness of his creatures, or the honor of his name. After having compelled the builders of Babel to quit their undertaking, Jehovah returns back to heaven; and from the silence of Bible history, he does not appear to have superintended human affairs at all, for hundreds of years after. And now, ye ministers of the Gospel of grace, what have you to say in vindication of the very existence of such a God? The origin of your God is of man’s creation; he never had a real existence.
After an absence of many years, having given up, to all appearance, any interest in human affairs, Jehovah turns his attention to Abram and his family, and adopts them as his chosen people. And from this account, we clearly discover the absurdity of believing the God of Abram to be the universal sovereign; for, from the moment of the adoption of Abram and his seed forever, from that very moment the family affairs of Abram, Isaac and Jacob, seem to engross the attention of Jehovah; and, while I am writing, I blush for shame at the credulity of mankind in professing to believe such contemptible trash. What can be more weak and ridiculous than to suppose that the Lord and two angels came to the tent of Abram, and went through all the ceremonies of a pastoral visit,—such as washing of feet and taking water until dinner was prepared, and that while partaking of Abram’s hospitality, they inquired for his wife, and then renewed what before had been promised, namely—that Sarah, Abram’s wife, should have a son in her old age?
One remarkable feature, throughout the whole of the Bible, presents itself. It is this: that in every movement Jehovah makes among his favorite people the Jews, and in all the correspondence he holds with Abram and his seed, every thing is done by way of experiment on that people; as if Jehovah did not know what would happen until he had gained information by actual experiment! In the case of the builders of the Tower of Babel, it is said—“And the Lord came down to see the city, and the tower which the children of men builded.” And again—"Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language.” And also, in the case of Sodom, the Lord told Abram concerning the cry of the wickedness of the inhabitants of Sodom. The Lord said to Abram—"I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; if not, I will know.”—[Genesis xviii. 21.] Abram, having heard of the intended destruction of the Sodomites, remonstrates with Jehovah on the injustice of destroying the innocent with the guilty. Then follows the pleading of Abram with the Lord, in favor of Sodom; and from the willingness of the Lord to comply with the request of Abram,—if the old patriarch had had the moral courage to have gone on with one more request,—Sodom might have been saved. The personage who communed with Abram is, by the inspired writer, called the “Judge of all the earth.” The same who had that day dined with Abram, and to whom Abram said, “Behold, now I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes”!
And now, patient reader, what have Christians to believe in reference to this matter? Why, they must believe that the great immortal God came to the earth from his Unknown abode, in the likeness of man, in company with two angels; that he called on Abram, who was surrounded by his flocks and herds, dwelling in a tent, perhaps inferior to our Indian log-houses; that he, the Judge of all the earth, with two of his angels, were (according to eastern hospitality) presented with water to drink, and also, water to wash their feet—a practice most refreshing in a warm climate. An invitation was given them to dine, which they accepted and so particular is the narrative, that, what they had for dinner is mentioned: the calf was instantly slain, and the baking commenced.
And here we may inquire, whether or not this circumstance did really take place, as it is recorded? If it did, then the believers in the Bible, as a Divine Revelation, have to believe that the Great God of all, the Universal Ruler of the Universe, came on earth to the tent of Abram, in the form of a man, with two of the angelic host; and that they then and there had their feet washed, and sat down to a dinner of veal and griddle cakes, and did eat thereof, and drink water. Now, if Moses, or any other pretended inspired writer, wrote this, I ask, is not the God of Abram a man-made God? He is said to have feet that required washing, and an appetite that required food. He had a mouth, teeth, and also a stomach to receive food; and we may infer that he had hands, for it is not recorded that Abram cut his victuals, or fed him or the angels with a spoon.
If the believers of the Bible consider that the foregoing account is allegorical, and not to be considered as having really taken place, it then follows that human redemption is allegorical, also; for the promise made to Abram was, that In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. This promise included the mission of Jesus, who was to save his people from their sins, and also to heal the nations, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. Christians, then, if they believe the Bible to be a Divine Revelation, must believe that the Judge of the whole earth, while at dinner, in promising Abram a son, included also, in that promise, the mission of Jesus, the Saviour of the world.
And here we may notice the views that Abram had of the Supreme Judge of all. As he appeared to Abram in the form of a man, and as such was treated by him, Abram brought forth water to wash the feet of the Lord, and invited him to dine, which he did; which is proof positive that Abram considered that the Lord was in the habit of taking refreshment, such as eating and drinking, or he would never have thought of giving the Lord such an invitation. If this account be true, the New Testament must be false, when it declares that no man hath seen God at any time, and that none can see him and live. But of Abram it is written, that he saw the Lord, face to face, and also that they dined together; and, as if to remove all doubt of its truth, it mentions what they dined on, namely—veal and cakes. It therefore follows, that the account, as recorded of the Lord’s dining with Abram, must be taken in its plain and literal sense; because it is connected with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and also of Lot’s wife being turned into a pillar of salt; which account is referred to as having taken place, by the writers of the New Testament. After the Lord and the two angels had retired from dinner, the Lord informed Abram of his errand to the above cities; which was, to find out whether their ill-fated inhabitants were as wicked as they had been reported; as he (the Lord) was determined to know. It was then that Abram began to plead with the Lord, and to show the injustice of destroying the innocent with the guilty, as from the nature of the crime for which the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were to be destroyed, all the women and children were innocent. Abram, therefore, saw immediately the horrid cruelty and injustice of such destruction as was about to overtake the unfortunate inhabitants of Sodom. In the discussion, Abram had the best of the argument, but his efforts were unavailing. Fire came down from heaven, and they were burnt alive, innocent and guilty together.
From the account it appears, that after the Lord parted with Abram, he also took his leave of the angels; and what became of the Lord, the Bible is silent; but the angels, after having dined with Abram, took supper with Lot. This Lot seems to be the only man in Sodom that was worth saving; and he certainly acted very strange: for when his townsmen insisted on knowing who the angels were, and on what business they came, Lot offered to turn into the street his two innocent daughters, to be dealt with according to the wishes of those vile wretches, if they would but permit him to lodge and entertain the strangers. Certainly, the morality of the Bible is most sublime, and the ways of the Jewish God past finding out!