This being the truth, it is time that morality should be dissevered from all religious creeds, and stand on its own intrinsic merits. Religion has taught man that he is poor and helpless; that he has no power to act; that he has no desire to perform virtuous actions, and that he himself and his fellow beings are, by some (to him unaccountable) destiny, thrown at so vast a distance from his Creator, that he can approach him only by the means of kneeling and prostration, and that he is so far indebted to his Maker, who will have full payment to the last cent. Being ignorant of his real situation in the universe, and also of the resources of his mind, he overlooks or undervalues the strength he possesses, and neglects the means which God or nature puts within his reach to be both virtuous and happy.
In this state of mind, he seeks for happiness in a religion the author of which is depicted as a being like himself. It is, then, the vast importance which has been attached to faith in the Redeemer, which has made the path to heaven so smooth, and easy for the Christian traveller, that moral rectitude has been thought of but little consideration in his road to glory. Let me, says the Christian, make sure of my interest in Christ, and my salvation is sure. Hence, we often find, that even Gospel ministers are men of the basest description; at the same time their hearers are consoled, with believing that their immoral pastor is sound in the faith, resting firmly on the “rock of ages.”
The importance of faith is not the abuse of Christianity; it is the thing itself. Jesus taught it to his disciples, and blames them for having so little. But when Peter, his trusty servant, in a passion, cut off a man’s ear, his divine Master only gave him a gentle rebuke, telling him to be careful how he used the sword, for he might have to go in mourning for his own ears.
The consistent Infidel, who renounces all religious creeds, and who views the whole human family as beings possessing the same faculties, subject to the same wants, and liable to the same misfortunes as himself, can, by the use of his reason, without the aid of revelation, discover the duties which he owes to himself, and also the true relation in which he stands to his fellow mortals. He, by what he observes around him, and by what he feels within himself, can see clearly the correct line of duty, and can, at any time, draw a just conclusion as to his moral standing in society. But it is far otherwise with the Christian, whose whole dependence is on what his Saviour has done for him. He is alternately disturbed with doubts and fears as to the ground on which he stands; and being taught, that his best efforts to attain a moral elevation by a steady course of virtuous actions, is considered by his Maker worse than nothing, he loses sight of the high responsibility he stands in, in relation to his fellow man.
In proportion, then, as faith is considered superior to moral virtue, the first is sought after, and highly valued, and the latter is neglected as of little consideration in securing happiness in this life or in that which is to come. We need not, therefore, be surprised that Christians, as a class, fall far below Infidels in point of moral rectitude. Christianity, at best, is a cold-hearted system; its followers are generally unsocial. They are taught to “love not the world nor the things of the world.” Jesus himself says to his disciples, “Ye are not of the world, even as I am not of the world; but because I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Pride and intolerance are leading features in the conduct of Christians generally. These defects among professors of religion, arise from the belief that faith in Christ, as their Redeemer, secures them heaven; and as it respects the duties of life, they hold them very lightly, regarding them as, matters of little or no weight in the article of salvation.
Professors of the Christian religion, at the same time that they consider that faith in the divine mission of Jesus secures them an acceptance with God, and that moral rectitude without faith in the Redeemer, is worthless in the sight of God, are compelled to admit, that where good works and virtuous conduct are wanting, the faith of the individual not being supported by Justice, Humanity, and Chastity, with all the virtues which adorn human nature, the damnation of such an one is doubly sure. So that, after all, this thing called faith borrows all its brightness and real value from moral rectitude. Faith, like a planet, is in itself a dark body, and has no light but what it receives from the bright sun of moral excellency.
The very nature and spirit of the Christian religion, is intolerant. It says, “Whosoever believes, shall be saved; and he that believeth not, shall be damned.” This is the firm ground on which the Christian stands, and where he must continue to stand. If he quits this strong hold, he ceases to be a Christian, and, of necessity, becomes an Infidel. It follows, then, that believers in the Divine authority of the Bible must continue to be, what they always have been, intolerant and persecuting. How differently do those feel who have given up all ideas of Divine Revelation! They attach no consequence to faith, whatever. They have no disposition even to blame, much less to injure persons who believe in the most absurd inconsistencies. They, on the contrary, feel the most lively interest in their happiness, knowing that no one can control the honest convictions of the mind.
The Infidel, then, has the advantage, in a moral point of view, over the Christian, for the following reasons:—The Infidel has not to defend the character nor the actions of any God or Gods, particularly of a God “partial, vengeful, and unjust.” He imbibes no angry feelings, by believing in a God of cruelty and carnage. The Infidel has divested his mind of the nonsense and inconsistency of considering unbelief as a crime; and, also, of the fallacy that men can credit absurdities on insufficient evidence. He perceives that every man’s religion is, to a very large extent, a consequence of the circumstances of his situation in early life, and the influences which surrounded him at his birth. The Infidel, therefore, has no inducement whatever to injure those who differ from him in opinion; for, by detaching all importance from faith, and referring entirely to good and virtuous actions, he escapes all those angry theological quarrels in which Christians are more or less involved. So that the mind of an unbeliever is in a sound and calm state, not harrowed up by the terrors of an avenging God, and the thoughts of endless damnation.
These evils, and many more, the Infidel is not exposed to; consequently his mind is at rest; his sense of degradation is not because he is taught to believe that he is a poor lost sinner; he feels degraded only in proportion as he neglects the duties which he owes to his fellow men. The unbeliever, then, being free from the terror of doubting that which he feels it is impossible for him to credit, commences to walk in the path of moral rectitude, considering his own nature, and the connection he occupies in relation to society, composed of beings like himself. He listens to the voice of reason, and clearly understands that which God or nature has done for him, and also that which remains for him to do for himself. Leaving forever all religious dogmas, calculated to bewilder his mind, his moral path is as clear as light. No longer standing on the fearful precipice of faith, trembling at every step, or chain-bound in a state of inaction, the Infidel cheerfully travels on in the practice of justice and humanity with a calmness of mind to which the Christian is a stranger. He has no angry God to dread, nor any tempting Devil, against whom the Christian must forever be on the watch.
All human beings on arriving at maturity, find themselves placed by an unknown power in a world, in which they will have to enjoy pleasure or happiness, and also to endure pain. This is the destiny of all, without exception. The same power which propelled us into existence, has made it a law of our nature to dread or shrink from pain, and also to desire and love ease and pleasure. And here we can at once discover what God or nature has done for us, and likewise what is left for us to perform for ourselves. This, then, is the stock of moral material with which mortals commence a life of pleasure and pain. The same unknown power has also given man and woman reason, by the exercise of which they can augment their pleasure, and reduce their pain. By the use of man’s rational powers, he can plainly discover his duty towards beings like himself. He loves happiness, ease, and every thing which makes life worth having; so also, do his fellow beings. He hates and retreats from positive pain; so does every being which has life, animals not excepted. What revelation, then, but this, does man want to teach him that which he owes to himself, and likewise those things he ought to practise to every being that has life and feeling?