The Spread of Scepticism.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3612, 24 July 1880, Page 1

The Spread of Scepticism.

* No. 4.

The subject I am abottt to speak of in the present article iB Christianity r. Scepticism.

In former times the religious offerings of the people were paid to a number of deities who probably numbered twenty or thirty thousand. This number was reduced to three by the Christian mythologies, and instead of worshiping heroes as' formerly, the Christians gave < their prayers to the Saints. N The statue of! Diana of Ephesus gave place to that of the Virgin Mary. The ancient mythologists had gods for everything, the- newly* established religion had saints for everything, and Borne became the seat of both. Indeed the Christian religion was as full of saints as the Pantheon was of gods. It is thus seen that Christianity has in reality grown out of the heathen mythology believed in by the Ancients. The Christians believe in the Mosaic account of the creation (or what is called such) mentioned in the first chapter jof Genesis.' They can give no tangible reasons for such belief, but, I presume, adhere to it because it is mentioned in the Bible, although science has long since given ample reasons for not crediting the story. The account mentioned has every appearance of being a tradition, and therefore I am at a loss to understand why its authorship should have been siren to Moses. It has no person, and is to my mind no more than an Israelitish tradition. The fact is that every nation has been, world makers, and the Christians had a perfect right to practise the art as well as other religionists. Moses, who is sap* posed to have written it, was brought up in] Egypt, where people excelled in astronomy, and did not authenticate the account with his name. The idea of Satan seems to have been taken from the fable in which Jupiter is said to have defeated a race of giants, who made war on him —and to have confined their leader under Mount Etna. The fable says that every time the giant turns himself Etna belches forth smoke and flames. Thus the heathen races made war we are told on Jupiter, ■■ and it is not difficult to see that the account of the conflict between Satan and the Almighty was suggested by that of Jupiter and the giants. This is an ample reason to my mind why \ ticeptics should object to the existence of his Satanic Majesty, whether in substance or spirit. The story of the fall of man, and the tete a tete of the Serpent and Eve is firmly believed in by Christians, and it has served to enrich the coffers not only of ecclesiasts, but of almost every author who has written pretty things concerning the fall of man. The beautiful " Paradise Lost," and " Paradise .Regained," the " Pilgrim's "- Progress," and hosts of other publications have been written from this subject, and . piles of filthy lucre have been amassed through enlarging on this simple legend ■ of the fall of man. Alike everything else appertaining to religion it has served a main purpose—that of producing pomp , and revenue. It is to my mind wholly impossible to manufacture a true religion, or to find one • already manufactured inasmuch that the whole is enveloped in mystery. Therefore, one religionist has . no business to denounce holders of different views as heretics, and infidels, etc. In doing this, however, the Christians show their characteristics, which are the very opposite of what, we believe their Leader intended them to hold.' When did Christ ever denounce the Gentiles in the manner sects do now-a-days? Did He not do more than any living man to unite the people in a strong/.bond v of ' affection? Whea did He ever make use of such words as the Church with reference to the future stateP Did he< not by all means in his power endeavor to obtain converts to his religion, instead, of sentencing all those who disagreed with i him to eternal damnation ? Did He not show by his exemplary, life that He was perfectly consistent both in word and action? Did He not suffer death for His heroic attempt to introduce reform, and a more beautiful religion than

had hitherto prevailed? Did he not always show by his life of poverty that he scorned the pleasures of the world, and was not his life a beautiful example of unselfishness P Do the Christian of today follow in the same track as marked out for them by the reformer who gave his life in the cause of true religion? Look as long as you will to the authorities of the church, and think over the religion they teach and preach and what conclusion do you arrive at? That the church endeavours to endow her adherents with the characteristics of Christ ? Or that her teaching is in direct opposition to that of Him who strove in vain to abolish the corruption and avariciousness of the Jewish priesthood ? The prevailing impression is in favor of the latter answer to this question, and hence the scepticism prevailing with regard to the Christianity preached and practised by the Church. As I said, a few lines before, the Christians affirm they can prove their belief from the Bible. They also say that everything can be proven from that book. They, therefore, look upon it as an authority. But, before they can prove that the Bible is an authority, should they not be able to show that it is true in itself ? Surely I cannot prove that black is white or vice versa by referring my opinion for corroboration to a work which contains as many appearances of being in favor of my supposition as against it ? No ? Then it follows that without the Bible-is tr«e, any deductions drawn from it are not to be relied on. Commentators on the Bible have put it before us as a mass of truth, and as the Word of God. Being 1 closely acquainted with the Bible, they were in a position to give opinions. This they do —one reading a passage one way, another another, and a third taking a different view of the passage under examination. This is what annotators call understanding the Bible. When we read of the attrocious acts committed (or rather said to be) at the express command of God, our ideas of humanity receive a fearful shock. , Deeds said to have been countenanced by the Almighty, are not equalled in ferocity by thoseiof Carrier, Joseph Le Bon of France,, or any other renowned assassin of modern times. We read in Joshua, one of the books ascribed, to Moses, that the Israelites " put a whole nation to the sword, spared neither age nor infancy, and left not a soul to breathe." It appears that the nation so annihilated were an unoffending race, but the exultant ferocity; with which these stories are related is sufficient to cause sceptics to denounce the belief that the Almighty countenanced such atrocities, which are not even equalled by the terrible slaughter of the Communists and petroleuses in the last Franco- German struggle. When we read of these horrible butcheries can we be sure that the Bible was written by His authority ? Is not this fact, with the numerous inconsistencies noticed in the Bible sufficient to cause thinking men to object to the divine inspiration of the book ? The fables spoken of by Homer, Plato, and all the , .old poets , • are not credited, then why should Bible stories be? If we believe in the miracles recounted in the Testament, we must believe the two miracles which Tacitus relates were performed by Vespasian— that of curing the lame and blind j men, in the same manner in which Jesus Christ is said to have worked miracles by his historians. Ancient historians we believe as far as reason anc| probability will allow us—but no further. Why then should we make a distinction between the Bible chronologists and the other ancient historians ? Many proofs can be brought to show that many portions of the Bible are spurious and without authority, and it can be proved false from itself, without taking the numerous external evidence against it, but of this I must speak in a future letter. Plato Juniob.