As to the resurrection of Christ’s body, or anyone else’s body, we may put it down as fabulous and untrue. Dead bodies do not rise—cannot rise. From the moment a body is dead the process of decomposition begins, and resuscitation is an impossibility. No one believes it, and the priest of this century even doubts it, though the manner of Christ’s birth and death forms the creed of Christian believers, and reads as follows:
“I believe in God, the father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Father, whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the remission of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.”
Does anyone, except the most ignorant, believe any of the items contained in the above creed?
The men that composed the Old, and later the New Testament, may have been sincere in their belief, may have acted from pure motives, and I give them credit that their endeavors were honest, that they knew no better. They could not know the truth, have knowledge of the natural. Its forces, its capabilities, its phenomena—these were unknown to them. They erred, were mistaken in what they observed; that of itself is ample excuse for their opinions.
No such excuse exists at this present time, and no men or set of men, however organized, priestly or otherwise, should be permitted to delude and stupefy the more ignorant portion of a community.
The judge on the bench ought to know better than punish a man because he ridicules the efficacy of an old coat to cure miraculously. It is a disgrace to our civilization, and should not be tolerated.
We have a right to criticise any idea, opinion, set of opinions, or ceremonies, no matter how ancient, how originated or by whom entertained or put into practice.
We have as much right to protest against the truth or falsity of their statements, as any of our forefathers had in remote ages.
Any individual that permits his prejudices to get the better of his judgment, because he belongs to this or that church, is unfit to serve in a public capacity. The judge or magistrate that sentenced Reichar and Sonnenberg at Treves deserves to be branded as the greatest jackass that ever decorated a bench.
Ridicule is the only weapon that wipes out these shameful practices, that helps to enlighten the masses, that elevates their thoughts and makes their understanding.