A few particulars will suffice to show that the various doctrines, all gathered from and founded on the sayings of Christ, have created discord and persecution among the followers of Jesus, the pretended pacificator of the human race.

One of the most destructive sayings of Jesus—one which has entailed on the human race a system of continual evil, and which bids fair to last for ages to come, is the delegated power given to the Apostle Peter, and which is, to the present day, claimed by his successors. Peter, being asked by Christ as to what the Jews thought of him, answered that “some thought that one of the old prophets had returned from the dead, while others thought differently.” But, says Jesus to Peter, “Whom do you say that I am?” Give me your opinion. Peter replied, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of God.” This answer was responded to by Jesus, and to Peter he said, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven;” and Jesus added, “Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew xvi., 19.)

After appearing to give Peter unlimited power, he tells him that “the chief priest and scribes will put him to death, and that he should be raised the third day.” Peter, not understanding this sad reverse, and out of regard for his master, rebuked him, but very mildly, by saying, “Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee.” At this, Jesus seemed to lose his temper, and said, “Get thee behind me, Satan, thou art an offence to me.” Jesus then tells Peter that “The son of man should come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, to reward every man according to his works,” Jesus then adds, “Verily, I say unto you, there be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the son of man coming in his kingdom.”

Now it was not possible for Peter, or any one else, to understand Christ’s meaning. He tells them things concerning his second coming, before they understood his object as it related to his Messiahship. Besides, what he told them would surely come to pass in their time, is not yet fulfilled. This obscure mode of teaching runs through all his speeches; and he continually reproaches them for their want of faith in his doctrines. A method so incoherent appears to approach to insanity.

But to return more immediately to the power given to Peter. A power so undefined as was given to Peter, at a time when he did not even comprehend the final destiny of Jesus, cannot be admitted to have been given. But as this part of Christ’s history was written long after his leaving this earth, the writer, whoever he was, wrote from hearsay; and there being no one to question its truth, it became, like many other sayings, reputed as coming from Jesus. Inconsistent as it was, it became one of the doctrines of the church; and the successors of Peter retain it in the Catholic Church at the present day. This original power given unto Peter is still invested in the person of the Pope of Rome, and through him down to the rest of the clergy. This power, said to have been given by Jesus to the church, has been productive of discord. The Popes have held and acted upon it as a divine prerogative bequeathed by Christ to his church, which has been denied by other sects, so that quarrels have been the consequence. And hence both rich and poor, learned and unlearned, have, and do still, confess to the priest their sins, and receive pardon.

All the evils that have resulted from such foolery, sprang from the authority said to have been by Jesus given to Peter. What a rich harvest have the priests reaped from this delegated power! Can men, possessing one grain of common sense, believe that such power was ever given to mortal man? But the different sects will say, that Jesus never intended that it should be thus understood. This does not mend the matter at all; for God must have foreseen what use would be made of it. The consequences, therefore, rest with Him. But are we prepared to admit that Infinite Wisdom would have left unguarded, doctrines of such vast importance to the peace and harmony of his church?

Again, the shocking consequences which have followed the institution of the Sacrament, or Lord’s Supper. Jesus, according as Christians believe, instituted the breaking of bread and drinking of wine, as an emblem of his body being broken, and his blood being poured out as a sacrifice for sin. But this doctrine or ordinance, being undefined, the different sects of Christians have practised it under the impression of its sacredness, taking its literal meaning instead of regarding it as a token of remembrance. The Catholic believes, or professes so to do, that after the descendants of Peter have prayed over, and consecrated, the bread and wine, its nature is changed into the real body and blood of the Saviour. One horrible consequence which has resulted from such tomfoolery, has been, the burning of hundreds of human beings at the stake, for not admitting so important a truth. This evil, and many others, has arisen from the obscure doctrines taught by Jesus, whom the scriptures describe as being the light of the world. Jesus, before being taken into heaven, told his disciples that it was for their good that he should leave them; for, to make up for his absence, he would send the Holy Ghost, who would be a comforter, and would lead them into all truth. How far this promise has been fulfilled, we have the evidence of eighteen hundred years; for, immediately after Jesus had left his church, they became divided, and ever since they have butchered each other without mercy. This is the comfort, then, that Christians have received by the coming of the Holy Ghost.

Another fruitful field of slaughter and blood has been thrown open in consequence of Jesus withholding from the Christian church the real nature of his being. So confused was he on this subject, that, even now, Christians do not agree. Some contend for his manhood alone, and that, like all other men, he had an earthly father,—the Unitarians, for instance, and other sects. But the real Orthodox contend that Jesus was born of a pure virgin, who, though a mother was yet a virgin. These contradictory views are supported by the life and history of Jesus. Does it require any thing more than common sense to repudiate the divinity of a Book containing such opposite statements of the same accounts, or facts? It is the uncertainty of what Christianity really is, which has caused so much evil in the world; and this has arisen from the dark and obscure mode of teaching attributed to the Son of God. Those Christians who have embraced views so opposite to each other, but who have taken them from the same Word of God, have, in every age, been the most implacable enemies, and have seldom failed, when power has been in their hands, to inflict the most cruel torments on those who differed from them. Indeed, the history of the Christian Church is one continued record of persecution and cruelty.

I was, for some few months, called on by an Orthodox deacon, who earnestly requested me to reflect on the dangerous situation I was in as an unbeliever, being totally unprepared for a future state. I asked, if I were in a worse state than an Unitarian? You admit, said I, that they, many of them, are good men, and will not be excluded from heaven. He replied, that, morally speaking, they might be good; but, he added, that my claim to heaven stood on equal, if not superior ground to theirs, as they did not believe in the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus for sin; consequently, they had neither part nor lot in the matter.

All the intolerance and persecution which have deluged the earth with blood, have arisen from Christianity not having ever been defined. Hundreds of different creeds have been founded on the sayings and doings of Jesus and his apostles, as found in the New Testament; and there are yet materials for many more. Each sect regards all other sects as being wickedly obstinate, and resisting the truth. All this misery and destruction, arising from the different construction of the doctrines said to have been delivered by Jesus, would never have taken place, if the all-wise Ruler of the Universe had dictated them; but the evils they have brought on the world can never be reconciled as coming from a Being of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness. If such a Being had ever given a revelation to the human race, there is no doubt but that it would have been adapted to man’s reasoning powers; that mistakes would not have opposed its progress; thousands of books would not have been required to explain what Infinite Wisdom had proclaimed; no fires of martyrdom would have been lighted, to compel men to believe what none could understand.