



Produced by David Widger






ABOUT THE HOLY BIBLE

A Lecture

By Robert G. Ingersoll

"In the nature of things there can be no evidence to establish the claim
of Inspiration."

1894.




ABOUT THE HOLY BIBLE.

THERE are many millions of people who believe the Bible to be the
inspired word of God--millions who think that this book is staff and
guide, counselor and consoler; that it fills the present with peace and
the future with hope--millions who believe that it is the fountain of
law, justice and mercy, and that to its wise and benign teachings the
world is indebted for its liberty, wealth and civilization--millions who
imagine that this book is a revelation from the wisdom and love of God
to the brain and heart of man--millions who regard this book as a torch
that conquers the darkness of death, and pours its radiance on another
world--a world without a tear. They forget its ignorance and savagery,
its hatred of liberty, its religious persecution; they remember heaven,
but they forget the dungeon of eternal pain.




I. THE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE.

A FEW wandering families--poor, wretched; without education, art or
power; descendants of those who had been enslaved for four hundred
years; ignorant as the inhabitants of Central Africa--had just escaped
from their masters to the desert of Sinai.

Their leader was Moses, a man who had been raised in the family of
Pharaoh, and had been taught the law and mythology of Egypt. For the
purpose of controlling his followers he pretended that he was instructed
and assisted by Jehovah, the god of these wanderers.

Everything that happened was attributed to the interference of this god.
Moses declared that he met this god face to face; that on Sinai's top
from the hands of this god he had received the tables of stone on which,
by the finger of this god, the Ten Commandments had been written, and
that, in addition to this, Jehovah had made known the sacrifices and
ceremonies that were pleasing to him and the laws by which the people
should be governed.

In this way the Jewish religion and the Mosaic Code were established.

It is now claimed that this religion and these laws were and are
revealed and established for all mankind.

At that time these wanderers had no commerce with other nations--they
had no written language--they could neither read nor write. They had no
means by which they could make this revelation known to other nations,
and so it remained buried in the jargon of a few ignorant, impoverished
and unknown tribes for more than two thousand years.

Many centuries after Moses, the leader, was dead--many centuries after
all his followers had passed away--the Pentateuch was written, the work
of many writers, and to give it force and authority it was claimed that
Moses was the author.

We now know that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses.

Towns are mentioned that were not in existence when Moses lived.

Money, not coined until centuries after his death, is mentioned.

So, many of the laws were not applicable to wanderers on the
desert--laws about agriculture, about the sacrifice of oxen, sheep and
doves, about the weaving of cloth, about ornaments of gold and silver,
about the cultivation of land, about harvest, about the threshing of
grain, about houses and temples, about cities of refuge, and about many
other subjects of no possible application to a few starving wanderers
over the sands and rocks.

It is now not only admitted by intelligent and honest theologians that
Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch, but they all admit that no
one knows who the authors were, or who wrote any one of these books, or
a chapter or a line. We know that the books were not written in the same
generation; that they were not all written by one person; that they are
filled with mistakes and contradictions.

It is also admitted that Joshua did not write the book that bears his
name, because it refers to events that did not happen until long after
his death.

No one knows, or pretends to know, the author of Judges; all we know is
that it was written centuries after all the judges had ceased to exist.
No one knows the author of Ruth, nor of First and Second Samuel; all we
know is that Samuel did not write the books that bear his name. In the
25th chapter of First Samuel is an account of Samuel's death, and in
the 27th chapter is an account of the raising of Samuel by the Witch of
Endor.

No one knows the author of First and Second Kings or First and Second
Chronicles; all we know is that these books are of no value.

We know that the Psalms were not written by David. In the Psalms the
Captivity is spoken of, and that did not happen until about five hundred
years after David slept with his fathers.

We know that Solomon did not write the Proverbs or the Song; that Isaiah
was not the author of the book that bears his name; that no one knows
the author of Job, Ecclesiastes or Esther, or of any book in the Old
Testament, with the exception of Ezra.

We know that God is not mentioned or in any way referred to in the book
of Esther. We know, too, that the book is cruel, absurd and impossible.

God is not mentioned in the Song of Solomon, the best book in the Old
Testament.

And we know that Ecclesiastes was written by an unbeliever.

We know, too, that the Jews themselves had not decided as to what books
were inspired--were authentic--until the second century after Christ.

We know that the idea of inspiration was of slow growth, and that the
inspiration was determined by those who had certain ends to accomplish.




II. IS THE OLD TESTAMENT INSPIRED?

If it is, it should be a book that no man--no number of men--could
produce.

It should contain the perfection of philosophy.

It should perfectly accord with every fact in nature.

There should be no mistakes in astronomy, geology, or as to any subject
or science.

Its morality should be the highest, the purest.

Its laws and regulations for the control of conduct should be just,
wise, perfect, and perfectly adapted to the accomplishment of the ends
desired.

It should contain nothing calculated to make man cruel, revengeful,
vindictive or infamous.

It should be filled with intelligence, justice, purity, honesty, mercy
and the spirit of liberty.

It should be opposed to strife and war, to slavery and lust, to
ignorance, credulity and superstition.

It should develop the brain and civilize the heart.

It should satisfy the heart and brain of the best and wisest.

It should be true.

Does the Old Testament satisfy this standard?

Is there anything in the Old Testament--in history, in theory, in law,
in government, in morality, in science--above and beyond the ideas, the
beliefs, the customs and prejudices of its authors and the people among
whom they lived?

Is there one ray of light from any supernatural source?

The ancient Hebrews believed that this earth was the centre of the
universe, and that the sun, moon and stars were specks in the sky.

With this the Bible agrees.

They thought the earth was flat, with four corners; that the sky, the
firmament, was solid--the floor of Jehovah's house.

The Bible teaches the same.

They imagined that the sun journeyed about the earth, and that by
stopping the sun the day could be lengthened.

The Bible agrees with this.

They believed that Adam and Eve were the first man and woman; that they
had been created but a few years before, and that they, the Hebrews,
were their direct descendants.

This the Bible teaches.

If anything is, or can be, certain, the writers of the Bible were
mistaken about creation, astronomy, geology; about the causes of
phenomena, the origin of evil and the cause of death.

Now, it must be admitted that if an Infinite Being is the author of
the Bible, he knew all sciences, all facts, and could not have made a
mistake.

If, then, there are mistakes, misconceptions, false theories, ignorant
myths and blunders in the Bible, it must have been written by finite
beings; that is to say, by ignorant and mistaken men.

Nothing can be clearer than this.

For centuries the Church insisted that the Bible was absolutely true;
that it contained no mistakes; that the story of creation was true;
that its astronomy and geology were in accord with the facts; that
the scientists who differed with the Old Testament were infidels and
atheists.

Now this has changed. The educated Christians admit that the writers of
the Bible were not inspired as to any science. They now say that God,
or Jehovah, did not inspire the writers of his book for the purpose of
instructing the world about astronomy, geology or any science. They now
admit that the inspired men who wrote the Old Testament knew nothing
about any science, and that they wrote about the earth and stars, the
sun and moon, in accordance with the general ignorance of the time.

It required many centuries to force the theologians to this admission.
Reluctantly, full of malice and hatred, the priests retired from the
field, leaving the victory with science.

They took another position:

They declared that the authors, or rather the writers, of the Bible
were inspired in spiritual and moral things; that Jehovah wanted to make
known to his children his will and his infinite love for his children;
that Jehovah, seeing his people wicked, ignorant and depraved, wished to
make them merciful and just, wise and spiritual, and that the Bible is
inspired in its laws, in the religion it teaches and in its ideas of
government.

This is the issue now. Is the Bible any nearer right in its ideas of
justice, of mercy, of morality or of religion than in its conception of
the sciences?

Is it moral?

It upholds slavery--it sanctions polygamy.

Could a devil have done worse?

Is it merciful?

In war it raised the black flag; it commanded the destruction, the
massacre, of all--of the old, infirm, and helpless--of wives and babes.

Were its laws inspired?

Hundreds of offenses were punished with death. To pick up sticks on
Sunday, to murder your father on Monday, were equal crimes. There is
in the literature of the world no bloodier code. The law of revenge--of
retaliation--was the law of Jehovah. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a
tooth, a limb for a limb.

This is savagery--not philosophy.

Is it just and reasonable?

The Bible is opposed to religious toleration--to religious liberty.
Whoever differed with the majority was stoned to death. Investigation
was a crime. Husbands were ordered to denounce and to assist in killing
their unbelieving wives.

It is the enemy of Art. "Thou shalt make no graven image." This was the
death of Art.

Palestine never produced a painter or a sculptor.

Is the Bible civilized?

It upholds lying, larceny, robbery, murder, the selling of diseased meat
to strangers, and even the sacrifice of human beings to Jehovah.

Is it philosophical?

It teaches that the sins of a people can be transferred to an animal--to
a goat. It makes maternity an offense, for which a sin offering had to
be made.

It was wicked to give birth to a boy, and twice as wicked to give birth
to a girl.

To make hair-oil like that used by the priests was an offense punishable
with death.

The blood of a bird killed over running water was regarded as medicine.

Would a civilized God daub his altars with the blood of oxen, lambs and
doves? Would he make all his priests butchers? Would he delight in the
smell of burning flesh?




III. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

SOME Christian lawyers--some eminent and stupid judges--have said and
still say, that the Ten Commandments are the foundation of all law.

Nothing could be more absurd. Long before these Commandments were
given there were codes of laws in India and Egypt--laws against murder,
perjury, larceny, adultery and fraud. Such laws are as old as human
society; as old as the love of life; as old as industry; as the idea of
prosperity; as old as human love.

All of the Ten Commandments that are good were old; all that were new
are foolish. If Jehovah had been civilized he would have left out the
commandment about keeping the Sabbath, and in its place would have said:
"Thou shalt not enslave thy fellow-men." He would have omitted the one
about swearing, and said: "The man shall have but one wife, and the
woman but one husband." He would have left out the one about graven
images, and in its stead would have said: "Thou shalt not wage wars
of extermination, and thou shalt not unsheathe the sword except in
self-defense."

If Jehovah had been civilized, how much grander the Ten Commandments
would have been.

All that we call progress--the enfranchisement of man, of labor, the
substitution of imprisonment for death, of fine for imprisonment, the
destruction of polygamy, the establishing of free speech, of the rights
of conscience; in short, all that has tended to the development and
civilization of man; all the results of investigation, observation,
experience and free thought; all that man has accomplished for the
benefit of man since the close of the Dark Ages--has been done in spite
of the Old Testament.

Let me further illustrate the morality, the mercy, the philosophy and
goodness of the Old Testament:




THE STORY OF ACHAN.

Joshua took the City of Jericho. Before the fall of the city he declared
that all the spoil taken should be given to the Lord.

In spite of this order Achan secreted a garment, some silver and gold.

Afterwards Joshua tried to take the city of Ai. He failed and many of
his soldiers were slain.

Joshua sought for the cause of his defeat and he found that Achan had
secreted a garment, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold.
To this Achan confessed.

And thereupon Joshua took Achan, his sons and his daughters, his oxen
and his sheep--stoned them all to death and burned their bodies.

There is nothing to show that the sons and daughters had committed any
crime. Certainly, the oxen and sheep should not have been stoned to
death for the crime of their owner. This was the justice, the mercy, of
Jehovah!

After Joshua had committed this crime, with the help of Jehovah he
captured the city of Ai.




THE STORY OF ELISHA.

"And he went up thence unto Bethel, and as he was going up by the way
there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, and
said unto him, 'Go up, thou baldhead.

"And he turned back and looked at them, and cursed them in the name of
the Lord. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood and tore
forty and two children of them."

This was the work of the good God--the merciful Jehovah!




THE STORY OF DANIEL.

King Darius had honored and exalted Daniel, and the native princes were
jealous. So they induced the King to sign a decree to the effect that
any man who should make a petition to any god or man except to King
Darius, for thirty days, should be cast into the den of lions.

Afterwards these men found that Daniel, with his face toward Jerusalem,
prayed three times a day to Jehovah.

Thereupon Daniel was cast into the den of lions; a stone was placed at
the mouth of the den and sealed with the King's seal.

The King passed a bad night. The next morning he went to the den and
cried out to Daniel. Daniel answered and told the King that God had sent
his angel and shut the mouths of the lions.

Daniel was taken out alive and well, and the King was converted and
believed in Daniel's god.

Darius, being then a believer in the true God, sent for the men who had
accused Daniel, and for their wives and their children, and cast them
all into the lions' den.

"And the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in
pieces, or ever they came at the bottom of the pit."

What had the wives and little children done? How had they offended King
Darius, the believer in Jehovah? Who protected Daniel? Jehovah! Who
failed to protect the innocent wives and children? Jehovah!




THE STORY OF JOSEPH.

Pharaoh had a dream, and this dream was interpreted by Joseph.

According to this interpretation there was to be in Egypt seven years of
plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Joseph advised Pharaoh to buy
all the surplus of the seven plentiful years and store it up against the
years of famine.

Pharaoh appointed Joseph as his minister or agent, and ordered him to
buy the grain of the plentiful years.

Then came the famine. The people came to the King for help. He told them
to go to Joseph and do as he said.

Joseph sold corn to the Egyptians until all their money was gone--until
he had it all.

When the money was gone the people said: "Give us corn and we will give
you our cattle."

Joseph let them have corn until all their cattle, their horses and their
flocks had been given to him.

Then the people said: "Give us corn and we will give you our lands."

So Joseph let them have corn until all their lands were gone.

But the famine continued, and so the poor wretches sold themselves, and
they became the servants of Pharoah.

Then Joseph gave them seed, and made an agreement with them that they
should forever give one-fifth of all they raised to Pharaoh.

Who enabled Joseph to interpret the dream of Pharaoh? Jehovah! Did he
know at the time that Joseph would use the information thus given to rob
and enslave the people of Egypt? Yes. Who produced the famine? Jehovah!

It is perfectly apparent that the Jews did not think of Jehovah as the
God of Egypt--the God of all the world. He was their God, and theirs
alone. Other nations had gods, but Jehovah was the greatest of all. He
hated other nations and other gods, and abhorred all religions except
the worship of himself.





IV. WHAT IS IT ALL WORTH?

WILL some Christian scholar tell us the value of Genesis?

We know that it is not true--that it contradicts itself. There are two
accounts of the creation in the first and second chapters. In the first