The following remarks will contain, in substance, the strongest objection against the divinity of Christ’s mission; and are given by the author as presenting his final conclusions on that subject And here he would ask—If the God of the Bible is, as Christians believe, the Author of the universe, what are we to understand by the assertion, “That Jesus is seated at his right hand?” God is a spirit pervading all space, of whom one of the Scripture writers says, “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” The same idea was expressed by the Greeks in reference to their supreme God,—“All things are full of Jupiter.” How, then, can it be believed that the unknown power who is the God of all creation has a local dwelling place?
Jesus, after his resurrection, declared that he had “flesh and bone.” How, then, he can be located with an universal spirit, is beyond human conception As Jesus is a being possessed of a tangible form, he must have a place of residence; and it is impossible that he can dwell with his God and Father in any other than a local habitation. The supposition, then, that the Almighty Ruler of all worlds has a palace on some fixed star, or planet, where Jesus has for eighteen hundred years resided in company with the Infinite Creator, surrounded by angels conversing and singing; the Devil, during the same time, “going about like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour” while Christians were cutting each other’s throats in consequence of their disputes about the meaning of what Christ said, or the object of his performances on earth, is very unlikely, to say the least of it.
It seems astonishing that men, possessed of the noble faculty of reason, can believe that Jesus is now alive in some unknown world, and in company with the Sovereign Ruler of nature. In conclusion, the author of this work (over whose head seventy-three summers’ suns have passed,) would say that he does not, cannot believe that the Jesus of the Christians has any existence but in the imagination of his followers.
[REMARKS ON THE MORALITY OF NATURE]
HAVING concluded my remarks on the Old and New Testaments, I have thought it proper to give a chapter on Morality. I do this to prevent the reader from concluding that, because I am not a believer in the Divine authority of the Old and New Testaments, I disregard all moral obligation, and do not hold myself accountable to God, Nature, or my fellow beings. Nothing can be further from truth than such a conclusion. If no such being as God exists, who will judge every man at the final day of accounts; and if no such judgment will ever take place, admitting all this, even then should I stand in the same relation to my fellow beings in a moral point of view.
Christian preachers, generally, teach their hearers the entire worthlessness of good works, without they are connected with faith in the Gospel. This mode of treating unbelievers has a bad effect on the minds of church members, who, giving full credit to the pastor of the flock, are taught to consider that the person, or persons (however just, humane and virtuous they may be in all their actions,) who do not come up to the standard of their faith, are wicked, and will, at the day of judgment, be condemned, and their sentence will be, “Go, ye cursed, into everlasting fire.” &c. We need not wonder, therefore, at the intolerant spirit which is so active among all professing the Christian name. Notwithstanding the moral precepts taught by Jesus, his followers, at the present day, pay but little regard to them. To believe in the Saviour, and consider him as the endorser of their sins, and presenting their claims at the throne of the Eternal, form an easy way for expiating a life of wickedness and cant. If we compare the moral character of professing Christians with the precepts taught by Jesus, we shall be surprised at the vast discordance between their profession and their practice. We find that, in practice, Christianity is hostile to justice and humanity.
This is easy to be accounted for. It is because the Scriptures represent our most virtuous actions as worthless in the sight of God, and without faith we are told it is impossible to please him; and this is not all: much depends on what kind of faith it is. The followers of John Calvin think the faith of the disciples of John Wesley but little better than the faith of devils, “who believe and tremble.” It has been because men have judged by their faith, and not by moral rectitude, that one Christian sect has persecuted even to death, others who have borne the Christian name. It was this spirit of intolerance that propelled John Calvin to cause Servetus to be burnt by a slow fire, not because he was a wicked man, nor was it for want of faith in the Christian religion, but because the faith of Servetus did not agree with the faith of John Calvin. Had moral excellence been the standard of their friendship, and virtue the bond of their union, Servetus would have died in peace, and Calvin would not have been handed down to posterity as a cold-hearted murderer.
It is the common practice of Christians, when in conversation with Infidels, to boast of the purity of Christ’s moral precepts; but in all their sayings and doings with Infidels, the want of faith is the unpardonable crime which induces them to fix the badge of infamy on the head of the unbeliever. No doubt cruel Calvin would very good-naturedly shake hands with a brother of his own church and creed, and love him for Christ’s sake; but at the same time torment poor Servetus to death, as the enemy of God, for God’s sake. Oh! ye persecuting Christians! your prayers ought ever to be opposed to a day of judgment, and your constant hope should be, that it will never take place, for “how can you escape the damnation of hell?”
It is the high estimation of faith, enforced by Christ, and also insisted on (as the sure passport to glory) by his followers, that compels them to consider virtue as worthless, when it is not in connection with what is called saving faith, which makes it clear to be seen that Christianity in its practice is not favorable to morality; for as the Scriptures truly say that “no man can serve two masters,” so faith will be always uppermost, and justice and humanity be placed in the background. On this principle, hard-hearted Calvin acted towards Servetus. Christians are commanded to do good for evil. “If your enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink.” This is pure morality. Thus we see that morality has no chance of justice when faith is the prosecutor. The moral precepts of the New Testament have never been strong enough to neutralize the violent and intolerant spirit that runs throughout the Scriptures, and which is the very life of the Christian faith. Had Servetus been a criminal of the worst kind, condemned to die by the laws of Geneva, Calvin, no doubt, would have had feelings of pity for him; but his crime came under the dominion of faith, which will not, which cannot admit of one grain of mercy.
On the contrary, Infidel morality has no alloy. It is unadulterated. Like pure gold, it is current at all times, and in all places. Like the bright orb of day, it shines by its own native brightness. Its principal attribute is humanity, which, in its exercise, is not confined to creeds, or professions; but like the bountiful hand of nature, it dispenses its blessings even to the unthankful and unworthy. If justice demands its aid, the balance is held even without regard to color or clime. I have often been reminded, that if we did not take the Scriptures for our guide, we should then have no rule to regulate our actions. This remark would be more conclusive, if Christians generally acted up to what they profess; but this is not the case; nor will it ever be, so long as faith is the only sure passport to the Christian heaven, for it is a fact that many preachers of the Gospel are the worst characters in society. At the same time that they are preaching up holiness of life, it is discovered that they for years have been living in the indulgence of the most filthy of vices; and thus while they are thundering against the Devil as the enemy of souls, they are only abusing their betters.