,,the ,,necessity ,,of ,,atheism    ,by 
,,dr4 ,d4 ,m4 ,,brooks     ,,freethought
 ,,press ,,association   ,,new ,,york   
,copyright1 #aicc   ,,by ,,freethought  
,,press ,,association     ,dedicated to 
,,joseph ,,lewis ,,in ,,america  ,,and  
,,chapman ,,cohen ,,in ,,england  ,,of  
,,whom ,,it ,,may ,,be ,,said3  ,how    
often it has happened that one man1     
standing at the right point of view1 has
 descried the truth1 and1 after having  
been denounced and persecuted by all    
others1 they have eventually been       
constrained to adopt his                
declarations6--7,,draper47  ,for the old
 ,gods came to an end long ago4 ,and    
verily it was a good and joyful end of  
,gods6  ,they did not die lingering in  
the twilight--although that lie is told6
 ,on the contrary1 they once upon a time
 laughed themselves to death6  ,that    
came to pass when1 by a ,god himself1   
the most ungodly word was uttered1 the  
word3 ,there is but one ,god6 ,thou     
shalt have no other ,gods before me4    

,an old grim beard of a ,god1 a jealous 
one1 forgot himself thus4  ,and then all
 ,gods laughed and shook on their chairs
 and cried3 ,is ,godliness not just that
 there are ,gods1 but no ,god8  ,whoever
 hath ears let him hear4    ,thus ,spake
 ,zarathrustra--,,friedrich ,,nietzsche 
,,contents                              
,,page    ,,preface                     
ix        ,i4 ,,the ,,evolution ,,of    
,,religious ,,beliefs                   
#ba       ,,ii4 ,,the ,,koran1 ,,the    
,,old ,,and ,,new ,,testaments          
#ca      ,,iii4 ,,the ,,prophets        
,,mohammed1 ,,jesus1          ,,and     
,,moses ,,charlatans ,,or ,,victims     
,,of ,,mental ,,and ,,physical ,,disease
                               #fe      
,,iv4 ,,soundness ,,of ,a ,,foundation  
,,for ,a          ,,belief ,,in ,a      
,,deity                                 
#id        ,v4 ,,the ,,persistence ,,of 
,,religion                              
#aae       ,,vi4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,science                               

#abj      ,,vii4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,medicine                              
#abf     ,,viii4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,astronomy                             
#adh       ,,ix4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,geography                             
#aea        ,x4 ,,religion ,,and        
,,chemistry ,,and ,,physics             
#aed       ,,xi4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,geology1 ,,philology1          ,,and  
,,evolution                             
#aeg      ,,xii4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,witchcraft                            
#afc     ,,xiii4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,morality                              
#aic      ,,xiv4 ,,christianity ,,and   
,,war                                   
#baa       ,,xv4 ,,christianity ,,and   
,,slavery                               
#bad      ,,xvi4 ,,christianity ,,and   
,,labor                                 
#bbd     ,,xvii4 ,,religion ,,and       
,,woman                                 
#bdb    ,,xviii4 ,,the ,,philosophers   
,,and ,,the ,,great          ,,illusion 

#bea      ,,xix4 ,,the ,,doom ,,of      
,,religion2 ,,the ,,necessity           
,,of ,,atheism                          
#bfi       ,,xx4 ,,contemporary         
,,opinion                               
#cji     ,,preface   ,plain speaking is 
necessary in any discussion of religion1
 for if the freethinker attacks the     
religious dogmas with hesitation1 the   
orthodox believer assumes that it is    
with regret that the freethinker would  
remove the crutch that supports the     
orthodox4 ,and all religious beliefs are
 crutches hindering the free locomotive 
efforts of an advancing humanity4 ,there
 are no problems related to human       
progress and happiness in this age which
 any theology can solve1 and which the  
teachings of freethought cannot do      
better and without the aid of           
encumbrances4  ,havelock ,ellis has     
stated that1 ,the man who has never     
wrestled with his early faith1 the faith
 that he was brought up with and that   
yet is not truly his own--for no faith  

is our own that we have not arduously   
won--has missed not only a moral but an 
intellectual discipline4 ,the absence of
 that discipline may mark a man for life
 and render all his work ineffective4   
,he has missed a training in criticism1 
in analysis1 in open-mindedness1 in the 
resolutely impersonal treatment of      
personal problems1 which no other       
training can compensate4 ,he is1 for the
 most part1 condemned to live in a      
mental jungle where his arm will soon be
 too feeble to clear away the growths   
that enclose him1 and his eyes too weak 
to find the light4 ,the man who has     
allowed his mental capacities to clear  
his way through the dense underbrush of 
religious dogma finds that he has       
emerged into a purer and healthier      
atmosphere4 ,in the bright light of this
 mental emancipation a man perceives the
 falsities of all religions in their    
historic1 scientific1 and metaphysical  
aspects4 ,the healthier mental viewpoint
 holds up to scorn and discards the     

reactionary religious philosophy of     
morals1 and the sum total of his        
conclusions must be that religion is    
doomed2 and doomed in this modern day by
 its absolute irrelevance to the needs  
and interests of modern life4 ,and this 
not only by the steadily increasing army
 of freethinkers1 but by the            
indifference and neglect of those who   
still cling to the fast slipping folds  
of religious creeds--- the future       
freethinkers4  ,it was ,spinoza who     
remarked that1 ,the proper study of a   
wise man is not how to die but how to   
live4 ,religious creeds can but teach   
how man should live1 so that when he    
dies1 he may be assured of salvation2   
and the important thing is not what he  
does to help his fellow men while he is 
living1 but how closely he lives in     
conformity to a reactionary code of     
dogmas4 ,religion has always aimed to   
smooth the sufferer's passage to the    
next world1 not to save him for this    
world4  ,freethought has dethroned the  

gods from the pedestal1 and has         
replaced1 not an empty idol1 but an     
ideal1 the ideal of a man who is his own
 god4  ,it has become increasingly      
apparent that what men have hitherto    
attributed to the gods are nothing but  
the ideals they value and grope for in  
themselves4 ,the ideal of the           
freethinker1 the conception that places 
the supreme worth of human life in the  
expanding horizon of man's usefulness to
 man1 is forever menaced by the         
supernaturalism of the theist which     
manifests itself in the multifarious    
religious sects that are the most active
 and constant menace to civilization and
 to mankind today4 ,that religion in the
 past has produced suffering            
incalculable and has been the greatest  
obstacle in the advance of secular      
knowledge is a fact too well attested to
 by history to be denied by any sincere 
and unbiased intelligent man4 ,that     
today it constitutes a cultural lag1 an 
active menace to the best interests of  

humanity and the last refuge of human   
savagery1 is the contention of the      
freethinker4  ,the conception of the    
,god-idea as held by society in general 
stands in the same position as the      
vermiform appendix does to the anatomy  
of man4 ,it may have been useful in some
 way thousands of years ago1 but today  
it constitutes a detriment to the       
well-being of the individual without    
offering any compensatory usefulness4   
,agree or disagree with this contention 
you may1 but only when you are made     
aware of the facts that can be brought  
to the aid of this conviction4 ,just as 
the fundamental principle of justice is 
outraged when a man or an institution is
 condemned by jurist or popular opinion 
when an opportunity is not given to     
present the facts on both aspects of the
 case1 just so is no man justified in   
making a decision between theism and    
atheism until he becomes acquainted with
 both sides of the controversy4         
,freethought but asks a hearing and the 

exercise of the unbiased reason of the  
man who has not hitherto been made aware
 of its contentions4  ,in the religious 
revolution of this twentieth century1   
the battle ground is squarely seen to be
 between supernaturalism and secularism4
 ,although the supernaturalists are well
 entrenched and fortified1 it is well to
 remember that it is the man with vision
 who finally prevails4 ,the time has    
passed when the freethinker could be    
held up to the community as an example  
of a base and degraded individual4 ,no  
manner of pulpit drivel can delude even 
the unthinking masses to this           
misconception4 ,the freethinker is today
 the one who beholds the vision1 and    
this vision does not transcend the      
natural4 ,it is a vision that is        
earth-bound2 a vision it may be called1 
since it leaps the boundary of the      
present and infers for him what the     
future of a secular organization of the 
entire constituency of humanity will    
bring forth4 ,this vision is but a      

product of his scientific armamentarium 
and is the means by which he is assured 
of victory over the well-entrenched and 
fortified position of the               
supernaturalists who are still          
creed-bound to use antiquated and       
useless weapons4 ,the supernaturalist's 
armamentarium of ,god1 ,bible1 ,heaven1 
,hell1 ,soul1 ,immortality1 ,sin1 ,the  
,fall and ,redemption of ,man1 ,prayer1 
,creed1 and ,dogma1 leave as much       
impression on the mind of intelligent   
man as would an arrow against a         
battleship4 ,and the comparison is apt1 
the supernaturalists have made full use 
of force1 be it in physical warfare or  
in mental coercion4 ,the freethinker has
 as much use for physical force and war 
as he has for mental coercion2 both are 
abhorrent to him4  ,supernaturalism vs4 
,secularism--that1 and that alone is the
 field of argument4 ,the                
supernaturalist1 be he the              
fundamentalist of whatever denomination1
 or the more advanced modernist1 is as  

tenaciously clinging to the             
transcendental1 to revelation1 to the   
infallibility of the ,bible1 if not in  
all respects at least in some 7although 
this is a contradiction per se71 to the 
interdisposition of a deity in the      
affairs of mankind1 as were his         
ancestors of five hundred years ago4 ,in
 these aspects as well as in the        
armamentarium enumerated above1 the     
supernaturalists are agreed and are     
making their last stand4  ,the          
secularists1 the opinion of the theists 
to the contrary1 are also agreed4 ,it   
matters not what a man calls his mental 
process2 be he infidel1 sceptic1        
rationalist1 agnostic1 or atheist2 he is
 firm in the conviction that religions  
of all varieties are rapidly sinking    
into the limbo of all other ancient     
superstitions4 ,to him it is but a      
matter of time for the inevitable       
crumbling and disappearance of these    
superstitions1 and the time involved is 
directly proportional to the ease and   

rapidity with which scientific knowledge
 is disseminated to men who have the    
mental capacity to understand the value 
of this knowledge and its utter         
destruction of all forms of             
supernaturalism4 ,when man becomes fully
 cognizant of the fact that all the     
knowledge acquired by the human race has
 been the result of human inquiry1 the  
result of reasoning processes1 and the  
exercise of mind alone1 then secularism 
will have overcome the long night of    
supernaturalism4 ,and it is this mental 
attitude of secularism that proceeds    
with an ever accelerated rapidity to    
overcome the problems that confront     
humanity by substituting human inquiry  
for divine revelation4 ,thus this       
attitude of man to proceed through life 
dependent only on his own resources will
 expand and strengthen his mentality by 
doing away with the inferiority complex 
of the ,god-idea4 ,this vision of man1  
the master of his own destinies1 the    
searcher for truth and the shaper of a  

better life for the only existence that 
he knows anything about1 this reliance  
of man upon man1 and without the        
supposed interference of any god1       
constitutes atheism in its broadest and 
true sense4  ,science and reason1 the   
constituents of secularism1 are the     
mortal enemies of supernaturalism4      
,secularism1 however1 is at a           
disadvantage at this stage of our mental
 development1 since it is approached    
only by the calm light of the intellect4
 ,and intellect can but make an appeal  
to reason4 ,if the seeds of these       
appeals fall on the fertile minds of    
mentally advanced humanity1 they will   
flourish2 if they fall on the barren    
ground of creed-bound minds1 they take  
no root4 ,recognition of facts and      
honest deductions are not natural to the
 human mind4 ,as far as religious       
matters are concerned1 the vast majority
 of men have not reached a mental       
maturity2 they are still in the         
infantile state where they have not as  

yet learned that the sequences of events
 are not to be interrupted by their     
desires4 ,the easier path lies in the   
giving way to the unstable emotions4    
,the primitive instincts are for emotion
 and for loose imaginings1 and these are
 the provinces of supernaturalism4      
,supernaturalism arouses the stupid     
interests and the brutish passions1 and 
from these are born the bitter fruits of
 ignorance and hatred4 ,the secularist  
is one in whom the intellect is         
passionate1 and the passions cold4 ,the 
supernaturalist on the other hand       
reverses the order1 and in him the      
passions are active and the intellect   
inert4 ,in each man there dwells a      
tyrant who creates for him a deity      
materialized out of these factors of    
ignorance and fear4 ,it is science and  
reason which must destroy for him this  
monstrous apparition4 ,but1 as yet1     
there is no indication that our mental  
development in relation to social       
progress has made the great strides that

 our purely material progress has made4 
,the twentieth century man utilizes and 
enjoys the material benefits of his     
century1 but his mental progress lies   
bound and drugged by the viewpoints of  
#bjjj years ago4  ,sir ,leslie ,stephen 
has declared1 ,how much intellect and   
zeal runs to waste in the spasmodic     
efforts of good men to cling to the last
 fragment of decaying systems1 to       
galvanize dead formul into some dim     
semblance of life6 ,society will not    
improve as it might when those who      
should be leaders of progress are       
staggering backward and forward with    
their eyes passionately reverted to the 
past4 ,nay1 we shall never be duly      
sensitive to the miseries and cruelties 
which make the world a place of torture 
for so many1 so long as men are         
encouraged in the name of religion to   
look for a remedy1 not in fighting      
against surrounding evils1 but in       
cultivating aimless contemplations of an
 imaginary ideal4 ,much of our popular  

religion seems to be expressly directed 
to deaden our sympathies with our fellow
 men by encouraging an indolent         
optimism2 our thoughts of the other     
world are used in many forms as an      
opiate to drug our minds with           
indifference to the evils of this2 and  
the last word of half of our preachers  
is1 'dream rather than work4'  ,there is
 always a great deal of discrepancy     
between that which is best for the gods 
and that which is best for the          
individual and for society in general4  
,one cannot serve man perfectly and the 
traditional gods as well4 ,it is1       
therefore1 the contention of            
freethinkers that if man had given to   
the service of man all that he had given
 to the gods in the past1 our present   
stage of civilization would be much in  
advance of where it is today4  ,if there
 is anything in the discussion to follow
 that may seem irreverent to the reader1
 the author wishes to call attention    
that he has but presented well          

substantiated facts4 ,it is not only his
 opinion that he is voicing1 but it is  
the facts as he has found them recorded 
in the researches of numerous sincere   
men4 ,finally1 it is the conviction of  
all freethinkers that1 as ,professor    
,james ,h4 ,leuba has stated1 ,it is1   
furthermore1 essential to intellectual  
and moral advances that the beliefs that
 come into existence should have free   
play4 ,antagonistic beliefs must have   
the chance of proving their worth in    
open contest4 ,it is this way scientific
 theories are tested1 and in this way   
also1 religious and ethical conceptions 
should be tried4 ,but a fair struggle   
cannot take place when people are       
dissuaded from seeking knowledge1 or    
when knowledge is hidden4  ,the         
cultivation of the intellect is a duty  
that is imposed on all men4 ,even those 
who still cling to the dying beliefs    
must admit the force of what ,winwood   
,reade said1 ,to cultivate the intellect
 is therefore a religious duty2 and when

 this truth is fairly recognized by men1
 the religion which teaches that the    
intellect should be distrusted and that 
it should be subservient to faith1 will 
inevitably fall4  ,when the principles  
of freethought shall have dispelled the 
intellectual cloud of the ,god-idea and 
the vanishing dream of a heaven which   
has too long drawn men's eyes away from 
this earth1 then1 and then only1 will   
these words of ,cicero have widespread  
meaning3  ,men were born for the sake of
 men1 that each should assist the       
others4     ,,the ,,necessity ,,of      
,,atheism     ,,chapter ,i  ,,the       
,,evolution ,,of ,,religious ,,beliefs  
,to early man1 the gods were real in the
 same sense that the     mountains1     
forests1 or waterfalls which were       
thought to be their     homes were real4
 ,for a long time the spirits that lived
 in drugs or     wines and made them    
potent were believed to be of the same  
order of     fact as the potency itself4
 ,but the human creature is curious and 

curiosity is bold4 ,hence1 the discovery
 that a reported god may be a     myth4 
,,max ,,carl ,,otto4   ,the geologists  
estimate that the age of the earth is   
somewhere between #hj and #hjj millions 
of years2 that the ,neanderthal race    
existed for more than #bjj1jjj years2   
that between #dj1jjj and #be1jjj years  
ago1 as the ,fourth ,glacial ,period    
softened towards more temperate         
conditions1 a different human type came 
upon the scene and exterminated ,homo   
,neanderthalensis4 ,these first true men
 descended from some more ape-like      
progenitors and are classed by          
ethnologists with the same species as   
ourselves1 and with all human races     
subsequent to them under one common1    
specific term1 ,homo ,sapiens4  ,the age
 of cultivation began with the neolithic
 phase of human affairs about #aj1jjj or
 #ab1jjj years ago2 about #fjjj or #gjjj
 years ago men began to gather into the 
first towns and to develop something    
more than the loose-knit tribes which   

had hitherto been their highest         
political organization4 ,altogether1    
there must have elapsed about #ejj1jjj  
years from the earliest ape-like human  
stage of life on this planet to the     
present time4  ,it necessarily follows  
that the age of our present civilization
 is by no means that which the ,bible   
stipulates1 but is merely an atom in the
 vast space-time of this earth4 ,the    
reason for this disparity is that with  
the development of the mind of man      
throughout the ages there was conceived 
also his self-made religious systems1   
based on a subjective interpretation of 
the universe1 and not on an objective   
one1 devoid of emotional bias4          
,primitive man did not understand the   
natural cause of shadows1 echoes1 the   
birth and death of vegetable and animal 
organisms4 ,of this ignorance religion  
was born1 and theology was evolved as   
its art of expression4 7,draper47  ,our 
story takes us back some twelve thousand
 years to neolithic man4 ,squatting in  

his rude hovel or gloomy cave1 he       
listens to the sounds of a storm        
without4 ,the howling of the wind1 the  
flashes of lightning1 and crashing of   
thunder give rise to that elemental     
emotion--fear4 ,fear was always with    
him1 as he thought of the huge stones   
that fell and crushed him1 and the      
beasts which were so eager to devour    
him4 ,all things about him seemed to    
conspire for his death3 the wind1       
lightning1 thunder1 rain and storm1 as  
well as the beasts and falling trees2   
for in his mind he did not differentiate
 animate from inanimate objects4        
,slowly1 through his groping mind there 
evolved the thought1 due to past        
experience1 that he could not contend   
with these things by physical force1 but
 must subdue them with magic2 his magic 
consisted of the beating of crude       
drum-like instruments1 dances1 and the  
mumbling of words4  ,upon falling asleep
 he dreams1 and awakening1 he finds that
 he is still in the same place where he 

had lain the night before4 ,yet1 he is  
certain that during the night he had    
traveled to his favorite wood and killed
 an animal whose tender flesh he was    
still savoring4 ,since the conception of
 a dream was as yet foreign to him1 the 
logical conclusion he arrived at was    
that he had both a body and a spirit4   
,if he possessed a body and a spirit1   
then all things about him1 he reasoned1 
must likewise possess a similar spirit4 
,some spirits1 he felt1 were friendly2  
some1 hostile to him4 ,the hostile      
spirits were to be feared2 but that     
powerful factor1 hope1 had at last      
entered into his mind1 and he hoped to  
be able to win them over to the camp of 
friendly spirits4  ,in this manner1 man 
passed from the stage of contending     
against the spirits to one of placating 
them4 ,it was believed that certain men 
carried more favor with the spirits than
 others1 and these became the original  
priests1 called the ,shamans4  ,another 
expedient for warding off evil spirits  

was by means of the fetish4 ,the        
primitive fetish was an object          
containing an active friendly spirit1   
which1 if worn by the individual1       
protected him from the evil spirits4 ,in
 a short while the manufacture of       
fetishes became a sacred profession1 and
 the men who were thought to fashion the
 best ones became the professional holy 
men of the period1 the priests4  ,at    
first1 idols were used to drive away the
 evil spirits1 and then1 the conception 
changed to one of attracting the good   
spirits to man4 ,from the individual    
fetish man passed to tribal ones1 which 
in their first form were huge boulders  
and trees4  ,as the primitive mind      
gained cunning1 it slyly smeared the    
surface of the idol with oily           
substances1 hoping that the spirit1 like
 some wild beast1 would come and lick1  
be gratified1 and remain in the idol4   
,when some favorable signs denoted that 
a good spirit had entered into the idol1
 it was regularly smeared with oils and 

then blood1 in the hope that the spirit 
would be pleased sufficiently to remain 
there permanently4 ,as time went on1 it 
became a custom1 a rite1 and the spirit 
having performed to the satisfaction of 
the tribe1 ways were invented to        
manifest their gratitude4 ,instead of   
smearing the idol with blood1 it was    
thought more fitting that an animal be  
killed and offered to the good spirit   
contained within the idol4 ,in this     
manner arose the beginning of sacrifice4
 ,it was at this time1 when man began to
 persuade the idols or spirits to do    
things for his benefit that religion    
began4  ,slowly1 slowly1 down through   
the ages1 as the mind of man progressed1
 his self-made religious conceptions    
advanced4 ,he now worshiped idols1 and  
these idols were his gods4 ,the ,celts1 
the ,babylonians1 the ,greeks1 the      
,romans1 all had their idols4 ,all were 
certain that their gods were the true   
ones1 and that the others were all      
inferior and even false gods4 ,but1 is  

the modern worshipper who is            
contemptuous of the ancients very       
different from them8  ,the centuries    
pass by1 and in their wake is man's     
self-conceived religion4 ,now1 some men 
take the prerogative in the manufacture 
of religion1 and there evolve           
,brahmanism1 ,jainism1 ,buddhism1       
,hinduism1 ,confucianism1 ,taoism1 and  
,zoroastrianism1 all inspired1 all      
supernatural1 and with their myriads of 
followers who believed and still believe
 that theirs is the only true creed4    
,very recently1 in the time-scale of our
 development1 man adopted the methods of
 ,big ,business1 and the religion of    
many gods and idols1 polytheism1 has    
given way to one ,supreme ,god1         
monotheism4 ,man found that it made for 
simplicity and saved his valuable time  
if he worshiped one god1 instead of     
obeying the hitherto many4 ,the ,chosen 
,people took it upon themselves to bring
 the next divinely concocted conception 
of a ,supreme ,god1 and they            

manufactured the creed of ,judaism4     
,after many years1 a rift arose among   
the ,jews1 and the sectarians were      
defeated and expelled4 ,foiled in their 
first object1 they cast aside the laws  
of ,moses and offered the ,hebrew       
religion without the ,hebrew ceremonies 
to the ,greek and ,roman world4 ,jesus  
was the man who prepared the way for    
this remarkable event4  ,when ,mohammed 
conceived the divine conception that he 
would follow in the footsteps of his    
brother-prophets1 ,moses and ,jesus1 the
 latest of the major religions was      
revealed4  ,at the present time1 the    
,hebrews and ,christians1 although      
worshiping the same ,jehovah1 are       
disputing with each other1 and indeed1  
amongst themselves1 with regard to the  
various attributes1 amorous pursuits1   
and lineal descendants of the ,godhead4 
,jehovah himself appears to be on the   
decline and his unity is steadily       
disintegrating into a paradoxical       
trinity4 ,but we are progressing1 for in

 #acjj years no new prophet has arisen1 
and no new divine revelation is         
perturbing our race2 the old ones1      
however1 are causing quite enough       
disturbance4  ,it would be of value for 
the modern religionist who believes that
 the worship of a deity in our own age  
is far removed from the worship of an   
idol by our savage ancestors1 to retrace
 his steps and compare the savage mind  
worshiping his particular idol and a    
so-called civilized mind of today       
worshiping his deity4  ,the savage      
prayed to his idol1 that is1 he begged4 
,he begged the idol to watch over his   
flock or his fields4 ,the modern prays1 
that is he begs of his idol1 his deity1 
to prosper his business1 to guard his   
life1 and1 as one of my super-devout    
acquaintances recently informed me1 on  
the eve of an important golf match1 for 
the ,deity to give him endurance2 in    
other words1 to cut down his golf score4
  ,the savage voiced his incantations2  
the modern sings hymns1 that is he      

flatters4 ,there is still a great deal  
of the charlatanry of the magician in   
the construction of the houses of       
prayer1 with the sunlight shut out and  
only filtering through the leaded and   
multi-colored panes1 the semidarkness1  
the solemnity1 the rise and swell of the
 organ2 all things combined to overcome 
the senses1 to play upon the emotions1  
and to subdue the reason4  ,the savage  
made sacrifices to his idols1 that is1  
he paid tribute1 chiefly out of fear1   
but partly in the hope of getting       
something better in return4 ,the modern 
does not offer human or animal          
sacrifice1 it is true2 but it must be   
borne in mind that the wealth of the    
savage consisted of his sheep1 oxen1    
oils1 and wines1 not money4 ,today1 the 
devout offer a sacrifice of money to the
 ,deity4 ,we are all familiar with the  
requests of religious institutions for  
gifts1 which nearly always finish with  
the phrase1 ,and the ,lord will repay   
you many fold4 ,in other words1         

sacrifice part of your worldly goods to 
the idol1 and he will repay with high   
interest4 ,he will give in return long  
life and much riches4 ,the savage was   
afraid to utter the real name of his    
god1 it was taboo4 ,the modern says1    
,take not the name of the ,lord in vain4
 ,even today1 the followers of ,moses   
consider it taboo to utter the name of  
,jehovah except in prayer4  ,the        
present-day methods of worship are no   
different from those of the savage2 the 
method of supplication has changed with 
the advance of the years1 but the       
fundamental ideas at the base of all    
worship are just as crude today as they 
were #djjj years ago4 ,primitive man was
 no more a fetishist than is the modern 
,catholic4 ,the latter still wears      
medals and images suspended from the    
neck and pinned to the inner clothing4  
,moreover1 a survey of the various      
religions extant indicates that the     
religious factor is no less prevalent   
today than it was in primitive          

societies4  ,in ,greenland1 one finds1  
that through nearly all of its vast area
 religion has no place1 but that is     
chiefly the result of its being largely 
uninhabited4 ,in ,alaska1 the population
 is for the most part ,catholic1        
although the natives are animists4 ,in  
,canada1 #cc per cent are ,catholic1 the
 rest are mainly ,protestant4 ,in the   
,united ,states1 #bj per cent are       
,catholic1 #c4e per cent are ,jewish1   
and the remainder are ,protestants4     
,mexico1 ,central and ,south ,america1  
are almost entirely ,roman ,catholic4   
,in ,europe1 ,russia was until recently 
dominantly ,greek ,orthodox2 the        
,scandinavian peninsula1 the ,english   
,isles1 and ,central ,europe are        
dominantly ,protestant1 while ,france1  
,portugal1 ,spain1 ,italy1 and the rest 
of the countries bordering the          
,mediterranean ,sea are ,catholic4 ,the 
rest of the continent is divided between
 ,jews and ,mohammedans4 ,in ,asia1 the 
entire vast area of ,siberia is only    

sparsely settled and its religions      
include ,animism1 ,taoism1 and          
,christianity4 ,in ,china1 we find the  
land of three truths1 ,confucianism1    
,taoism1 and ,buddhism4 ,india1 ,tibet1 
and ,burma are dominated by ,hinduism   
and ,buddhism2 ,arabia1 ,persia1 and the
 rest of the continent are ,mohammedan4 
,in ,japan1 there are the ,shintoists4  
,the ,east ,indies1 where the population
 is native1 are ,animistic4 ,in         
,australia1 the dominant religion is    
,protestantism4 ,in ,north ,africa1 the 
west coast inhabitants are ,mohammedans1
 while the ,abyssinians are ,christians4
 ,there are some ,coptic ,christians1 in
 ,egypt1 while in the ,congo and ,south 
,african countries down to the ,cape    
,settlements1 the natives are ,animists4
 ,the ,cape ,settlements themselves are 
,protestants4  ,more concretely1 it is  
estimated that #aj4g of the inhabitants 
of the globe are ,protestants2 #af4b are
 ,catholics2 #g4a are ,greek ,orthodox2 
#aj are ,animists2 #a4d are ,shintoists2

 #ah4b are ,confucians and ,taoists2    
#ab4h are ,hindus2 #h4d are ,buddhists2 
#ac4d are ,moslems2 and #a4h are        
,hebrews and unclassified sects4 ,truly1
 a religious babel6 and #aj of all the  
inhabitants of the globe1 about the same
 number of people who profess to        
,protestantism1 are ,animists4 ,this is 
the lowest stage of primitive religion1 
and millions of humans are still        
quagmired in the sloth of a primitive   
faith which once must have been the     
faith of all human beings4  ,the        
,mohammedan1 the ,jew1 the ,christian1  
will readily agree that the animism1 the
 fetishism1 and idolatry of the savage  
were man-made foolish beliefs4 ,they can
 readily perceive that there was nothing
 supernatural1 nothing revealed1 in such
 beliefs2 but they do not realize that  
to him1 in his infantile development1   
the fetish and the idol were just as    
supernatural and superior as the modern 
conception of a ,supreme ,being4 ,in    
each age man creates his god1 in his own

 image1 and within the confines of his  
own mental development4 ,the mind of man
 has expanded so that it has conquered  
more and more of his environment2 it has
 grown and wrested from nature those    
secrets which constitute his            
civilization4 ,along with this has      
progressed the conception of a deity1   
but only to a certain extent4 ,the mind 
has embellished the outward appearance  
of its gods1 consolidated them1 and     
built upon them intricate systems of    
theology1 upon which feed vast hordes of
 clergy2 but the basic conception1 the  
fundamental principle1 that there must  
be something supernatural to explain    
something which we cannot explain at the
 present moment1 that conception still  
drugs the mind of man4 ,primitive man   
did not understand the meaning of       
lightning1 thunder1 shadows1 echoes1    
etc41 and he placed these among the     
supernatural phenomena4 ,the modern mind
 explains these phenomena1 understands  
the laws governing their production4    

,yet1 it is this same modern mind which 
persists in going back to our savage    
ancestors and their mental sloth1 by    
attributing the myriads of phenomena    
which still elude its present stage of  
mental development1 to a particular     
idol1 this time1 a ,supreme ,being4     
,brahmanism1 ,jainism1 ,buddhism1       
,hinduism1 ,confucianism1 ,taoism1      
,zoroastrianism1 ,hebrewism1            
,mohammedanism1 ,christianity--which is 
the true religion8  ,let us suppose for 
a moment that an inhabitant of ,mars1 if
 there be such1 were by a miracle to be 
transported to this earth and endowed   
with the mental capacity of the average 
inhabitant of the earth 7a thing which  
perhaps would not be so flattering to   
our guest71 were to be approached by a  
zealot of each one of these faiths1 who 
hoped to convert this stranger to its   
ranks4 ,since the factor of coercion by 
force of environment to which each of   
these earthlings was subject would      
naturally be absent1 the ,martian would 

be in a position to make a fair choice4 
,how much would the visitor be impressed
 by the statements of the ,christian1   
,mohammedan1 or ,jew1 when advised that 
unless he embraced their particular     
creed1 he would be damned to eternal    
torture in their particular ,hell8  ,if 
a ,christian were to accost him and     
endeavor to put the fear of ,god into   
him1 and if our visitor1 being from     
,mars1 already knew that of the world's 
population1 only about #bg per cent are 
,christians1 and the other #gc per cent 
are ,non-,christians1 is it logical to  
suppose that he would ever be convinced 
that an omniscient1 omnipotent1         
benevolent1 ,supreme ,being would select
 only one quarter of his children whom  
he had created for redemption1 with the 
infallible knowledge that nearly        
three-quarters of them would be confined
 to ,hell for not believing what ,he    
could have made them believe if ,he were
 truly omnipotent1 omniscient1 and      
benevolent8 ,would he not rather reply  

that on his planet such a ,father who   
would select some of his children for   
rewards1 and maliciously torture his    
other children1 would not be designated 
as a ,god but a ,devil8 ,were the       
,martian to be further informed that    
each one of ,god's children was         
represented in actual figures by        
hundreds of millions and that these have
 been living on the planet ,earth for   
hundreds of thousands of years1 and were
 the visitor to contemplate the vast    
incomprehensible number of souls that   
have been confined to ,hell by such a   
father1 might he not cut his visit      
short8 ,he would be apt to repeat with  
,james ,mill1 ,think of a being who     
would make a ,hell1 who would create the
 human race with the infallible         
foreknowledge and therefore with the    
intention that the great majority of    
them should be consigned to horrible and
 everlasting torment4 ,i believe that   
our guest would assert that if such a   
,being actually existed and demanded    

worship1 he would certainly have        
revealed his true belief to the first   
man ,adam1 and therefore saved his      
children an inestimable amount of       
suffering4  ,were the visitor to be     
further pressed by the zealot with the  
vision of eternal hell1 ,i believe he   
would retort that there is no reason for
 ,god to punish those who doubt or deny 
faith in ,his existence1 since it is    
,his own doing2 and if ,he desired each 
one of ,his children to worship ,him    
according to the precepts of a certain  
creed1 ,he surely would have instilled  
that creed into man's make-up together  
with the rest of his characteristics4   
,undoubtedly1 ,he would not esteem any  
creed which damned the human intellect  
by cursing the doubts which are the     
necessary consequence of its exercise1  
or the creed which cursed the moral     
faculty by asserting the guilt of honest
 error4  ,if our visitor would but      
glance at the history1 the evolution1 of
 religious beliefs1 he would realize and

 soundly assert that all religions are  
human in their origins1 erroneous in    
their theories1 and ridiculous in their 
threats and rewards4     ,,chapter ,,ii 
,,the ,,koran ,,and ,,the ,,old ,,and   
,,new ,,testaments      ,the ,jews      
emerge into history1 not a nation of    
keen spiritual     aspirations and      
altruistic ethics1 but that pagan       
people1     worshipping rocks1 sheep and
 cattle1 and spirits of caves and wells1
     of whom the ,old ,testament1       
tending towards its higher ideal1 gives 
fragmentary but convincing evidence4    
,,james ,t4 ,,shotwell4      ,consider  
,jahveh4 ,cruel god of a horde of       
nomadic invaders settling     in a land 
of farmers1 he had his images1 ranging  
in elaboration from     an uncut        
mazzebah or asherah1 to a golden bull4  
,he was plural by     place and tribe   
and function4 ,what did the prophetic   
movement do     with his sacred powers8 
,it identified his taboos with a written
     constitution4      ,,horace ,m4    

,,kallen4      ,the mental attitude of  
these priest-dominated ancestors of ours
 is     amazing4 ,they were like        
children in the hands of unscrupulous   
teachers4 ,in reading these old         
chronicles it is impossible not to be   
shocked by the incongruity ever arising 
out of the juxtaposition of     theory  
and practice4      ,,llewelyn ,,powys4  
,our ,martian visitor1 having withstood 
the blasts of the ,zealot1 is approached
 by a ,mohammedan who places in his     
hands the ,koran and tells him that it  
is a divinely inspired revelation1 as   
revealed by ,allah through his prophet1 
,mohammed4 ,having already had some     
experience with earthly religionists1   
the ,martian is disposed to avail       
himself of the historical evidence      
regarding the life of ,mohammed4  ,he   
finds that ,mohammed1 from all accounts1
 was a demagogue1 a charlatan1 and a    
victim of mental disease4 ,it strikes   
him strangely that such an individual   
should be chosen by ,allah as his       

disciple on earth to make known his     
commands4 ,he notes ,mohammed's         
appearance on earth in #fjj ,a4,d4 and  
wonders why the ,creator should have    
procrastinated for such a long time2 but
 decides to read the revelations anyhow4
  ,he discovers that from the literary  
point of view1 the ,koran has little    
merit4 ,declamation1 repetition1        
puerility1 a lack of logic1 and         
incoherence strike him at every turn4   
,he finds it humiliating to the human   
intellect to think that this mediocre   
literature has been the subject of      
innumerable commentaries and that       
millions of men are still wasting time  
in absorbing it4  ,a ,hebrew next takes 
his turn at this obstinate guest and    
sets before him the ,old ,testament4    
,again1 the ,martian is informed that it
 is an inspired book actuated by ,god4  
,in his attempt to find the historical  
evidence corroborating this book1 the   
,martian finds that authentic history   
begins for the ,israelites with the     

constitution of ,saul's monarchy about  
#aajj ,b4,c4 ,all that precedes         
this--the deluge1 the dispersal of      
mankind1 ,abraham1 ,jacob1 ,joseph1 the 
captivity in ,egypt1 ,moses1 ,joshua1   
and the conquest of ,canaan1 is more or 
less mythical4  ,in the ,old ,testament1
 our ,martian reads the first chapter1  
glances at the chronology1 and is       
immediately bewildered since he has a   
fair knowledge of our scientific        
advances4 ,as he reads on1 he becomes   
aware of a host of errors1              
contradictions1 and manifest            
absurdities4 ,when he questions the     
zealous ,hebrew1 he comes in contact    
with what he is informed is ,concordism1
 which he perceives is a false science  
that consists in determining1 at any    
cost1 a perfect harmony between modern  
science and the knowledge possessed by  
,god's people4 ,he is thus told that the
 days of creation were not days at all1 
but periods2 although the ,bible        
mentions the morning and evening of each

 day4 ,delving further in this most holy
 of revelations1 he learns that ,god is 
represented in a manner most unworthy of
 what such a being should be            
represented4 ,he finds the ,lord walking
 in the cool of the evening1 showing his
 hind quarters to ,moses1 ordering      
abominable massacres1 and punishing     
chiefs who had not killed enough people4
 ,on further perusal1 there is revealed1
 ,a great deal of ,oriental bombast1    
incoherence and absurdity1 that the     
marvels recounted are often ludicrous or
 grotesque4  ,in a chance moment1 when  
the ,hebrew had relaxed his hold for a  
second1 a vile heretic points out to the
 visitor 7,exodus ,,xxii1 #ah73 ,thou   
shalt not suffer a witch to live6 and   
explains the witchcraft delusion to him4
  ,from a comparison between ,exodus    
,,xxxiv and ,exodus ,,xx1 he is at a    
loss to decipher which are the true     
commandments that the ,lord gave to     
,moses4 ,the first five books of the    
,pentateuch1 he finds1 are attributed to

 ,moses1 although they contain the      
account of the latter's death4 ,on      
inquiry1 he learns that this is still   
maintained by the synagogue4 ,his       
,martian intellect is unable to         
comprehend the logic of a ,god who would
 demand human and animal sacrifice1 and 
the story of ,abraham about to sacrifice
 his son ,isaac fills him with disgust4 
,his estimate of the mentality of       
,jehovah receives a severe jolt when he 
reads in ,leviticus ,,xvi1 ,herewith    
shall ,aaron come unto the holy place   
with a young bullock for a sin offering 
and a ram for a burnt offering4 ,he     
shall put on the holy linen coat1 and he
 shall have the linen breeches upon his 
flesh1 and he shall be girded with the  
linen girdle1 and with the linen mitre  
shall he be attired2 they are the holy  
garments2 and he shall bathe his flesh  
in water and put them on4 ,and he shall 
take of the congregation of the children
 of ,israel two he-goats for a sin      
offering1 and one ram for a burnt       

offering4 ,and ,aaron shall present the 
bullock of the sin offering1 which is   
for himself1 and he shall make atonement
 for himself and for his houses4 ,and he
 shall take the two goats and set them  
before the ,lord at the door of the tent
 of the meeting4  ,our visitor reads on 
to ,leviticus ,,xviii1 after which he   
must stop to question the ,hebrew1 for  
here he finds1 ,none of you shall       
approach to any that is near of kin to  
him1 to uncover their nakedness2 ,i am  
the ,lord4 ,the nakedness of thy father1
 even the nakedness of thy mother1 shalt
 thou not uncover2 she is thy mother2   
thou shalt not uncover her nakedness4   
,the nakedness of thy father's wife     
shalt thou not uncover2 it is thy       
father's nakedness4 ,the nakedness of   
thy sister1 the daughter of thy father1 
or daughter of thy mother1 whether she  
be born at home1 or abroad1 even their  
nakedness thou shalt not uncover4 ,the  
nakedness of thy son's wife--the        
nakedness of the wife of thy father--the

 nakedness of thy father's sister1 thy  
mother's sister1 the nakedness of thy   
daughter-in-law1 thy brother's wife1 the
 nakedness of a woman and her daughter1 
thou shalt not uncover4 ,and unto a     
woman separated by her uncleanliness    
thou shalt not approach to uncover her  
nakedness4 ,thou shalt not be carnally  
with thy neighbor's wife1 to defile     
thyself with her4 ,thou shalt not be    
with mankind as with womankind4 ,and    
thou shalt not be with any beast to     
defile thyself thereto2 neither shall   
any woman stand before a beast to lie   
down thereto2 it is confusion4  ,the    
,martian1 totally aghast1 is constrained
 to exclaim that he cannot believe that 
a ,deity should find it necessary to    
place this in a divine revelation4 ,the 
,hebrew ,zealot relents somewhat to     
explain that perhaps this was not       
revealed1 but found its way into the    
divine text as a moral lesson to the    
primitive tribes for which it was       
written4 ,to this1 our guest counters   

with the remark that if this be a       
parable of manners and morals1 then1    
from what he observes on the earth1 we1 
,earthlings1 have certainly outgrown the
 need for such coarse and obscene       
statements made some #bjjj years ago2   
and that on ,mars1 although the         
inhabitants are not blessed with such   
divine revelations1 common sense and    
reason have taught their most primitive 
men the same lessons in morality while  
they were yet in their infancy4         
,reflecting on this maze of             
contradictions1 the ,martian determines 
to analyze the ,old ,testament and the  
,hebrew religion in the same manner that
 he would investigate any other problem 
presented to him4  ,thirty-five hundred 
years ago1 the ,hebrews were a pastoral1
 primitive people inhabiting the        
wilderness known today as the ,arabian  
,desert4 ,their religion was that of all
 other primitive peoples--,animism1 an  
illusion which made primitive man       
recognize everywhere spirits similar to 

his own spirit4 ,they worshiped the     
spirits of the sun and the moon1 the    
mountains and rocks1 as well as the     
spirits of the dead4  ,it appears       
certain that the barrenness of this     
desert land necessitated these wandering
 tribes to migrate to adjacent areas of 
greater fertility4 ,to the north lay the
 fertile valleys of the ,tigris and     
,euphrates and the coast of the         
,mediterranean ,sea2 to the west lay the
 land of the ,egyptians4 ,time and time 
again1 these ,bedouin tribes hurled     
themselves against the inhabitants of   
the northern fertile valleys4           
,babylonia1 to the northeast1 was the   
first country to be invaded1 and later  
,canaan to the northwest4 ,successful at
 times in establishing themselves in    
,babylonia and ,canaan1 they were at    
other times driven back into the desert 
when the native inhabitants in turn     
attacked the invaders4 ,migrating into  
,egypt in search of food1 they were made
 a captive nation and escaped again into

 the desert when the ,egyptians were    
engaged in fighting the savage invaders 
from ,libya4  ,the leader of this flight
 from ,egypt was the prophet ,moses4    
,the ,martian decides to investigate the
 character and deeds of this influential
 figure at another time4 ,it is probable
 that the exodus gave the proper        
stimulus for the beginnings of a        
distinctive ,hebrew religion1 and was   
the reason for their finally            
establishing themselves in ,canaan1 with
 ,jehovah as their chief deity4 ,it has 
often been proclaimed that the value of 
,judaism has been in first establishing 
a religion of monotheism2 but it must   
not be forgotten that centuries before  
the ,hebrews escaped into the desert1   
the ,egyptians were tending to          
monotheism4 ,it is known that one god   
was exalted over all the rest in ,egypt1
 and that as far back as #acge ,b4,c4   
,king ,ikhnaton made the religion of    
,egypt an absolute monotheism4 ,the     
,hebrews1 in proclaiming their ,yahveh  

as the one and supreme deity1 were but  
following what they had assimilated from
 the ,egyptians4 ,the faith of these    
desert marauders1 at the time of their  
entrance into ,canaan1 was as crude and 
savage as the ,hebrews themselves4      
,brought into contact with the gods of  
the ,phoenicians and ,babylonians1 their
 ,yahveh underwent a change1 as have all
 other creeds since that time when      
brought into contact with another creed4
 ,the final idea of ,yahveh accepted by 
the ,hebrews was not the product of a   
sudden revelation but of a gradual      
evolution4  ,the ,hebrews1 about the    
twelfth century ,b4,c41 gained access   
into ,canaan1 and at first were         
successful in warfare1 so that under    
,king ,david they presented the aspect  
of a united nation4 ,however1 following 
the extravagant reign of ,king ,solomon1
 the nation was embroiled in a          
revolution1 and the land was divided    
into two kingdoms--,israel in the north1
 ,judah in the south4 ,these two tiny   

kingdoms were habitually at war with    
each other and1 finally1 in #gbb ,b4,c4 
,israel was conquered1 while in #ehf    
,b4,c41 ,judah was defeated and its     
population either scattered or taken    
into captivity4  ,in #ech ,b4,c41 ,cyrus
 of ,persia conquered ,babylonia and set
 the exiles free4 ,returning to their   
own land1 the exiles took back with them
 the law code which the priests had     
manufactured for them4 ,then began a    
period of priestly domination and       
corruption1 a period of subjugation to  
,rome1 of insurrection against ,rome1   
and the capture and destruction of      
,jerusalem in #gj ,a4,d4 ,with the      
capture of ,jerusalem1 the ,hebrew      
nation was finally dispersed4  ,just as 
the ,martian was able to trace the      
evolution of the ,hebrews from the stage
 of the marauding tribes of the ,arabian
 desert who wandered into ,egypt1       
,canaan1 and ,babylonia1 and finally    
established a kingdom for themselves    
which was dispersed by ,rome2 just so   

could he trace the evolution of their   
religious beliefs from their incipient  
crudities to their not too great        
refinement at #gj ,a4,d4 ,this evolution
 of the ,hebrew religion is best        
exemplified by an analysis of the ,old  
,testament itself4  ,there are several  
canons1 or official collection of books 
which comprise the ,old ,testament4 ,the
 ,jews and ,protestants accept fewer    
books than the ,roman ,catholics4 ,the  
,jewish ,canon consists of those        
so-called sacred books of which the     
,synagogue possessed ,hebrew texts about
 a century before the ,christian era4   
,about #aej ,b4,c4 the sacred books of  
the ,jews were translated into ,greek   
for the use of those ,egyptian ,jews who
 could not read ,hebrew4 ,this          
translation is called the ,septuagint1  
from a tradition that seventy or        
seventy-two translators had worked upon 
it4 7,salomon ,reinach1 ,orpheus47 ,the 
earliest manuscripts of the ,hebrew     
,bible date only from the tenth century 

,a4,d41 but there are very much older   
manuscripts of the ,greek and ,latin    
translations in existence4 ,at the time 
of ,jesus ,christ1 three divisions of   
the ,old ,testament were recognized4    
,these were1 the ,law1 the ,prophets1   
and the other ,scriptures4 ,the first   
five books1 ,genesis1 ,exodus1 ,numbers1
 ,leviticus1 and ,deuteronomy1 are known
 as the ,pentateuch1 and are attributed 
to ,moses himself2 although1 as has been
 noted1 they contain the account of his 
death4 ,this conception of the ,mosaic  
origin of the ,pentateuch was accepted  
by the ,israelites as early as the fifth
 century ,b4,c4 and has been maintained 
by the ,synagogue since that time4      
,following the example of the ,hebrews1 
the ,christian ,churches accepted this  
version as to origin1 and the ,roman    
,catholic ,church still upholds this    
view4 ,the ,jewish ,synagogue and the   
various ,christian ,churches further    
hold that the ,old ,testament is a      
collection of works inspired or dictated

 by ,god4 ,even as late as #ahfa1 the   
famous ,dean ,burgon1 in a sermon       
preached at ,oxford ,university1        
declared1 ,the ,bible is none other than
 the voice of ,him that sitteth upon the
 throne4 ,every book of it1 every       
chapter of it1 every verse of it1 every 
syllable of it1 every letter of it1 is  
the direct utterance of the ,most ,high4
 ,the ,bible is none other than the     
,word of ,god1 not some part of it more1
 some part of it less1 but all alike the
 utterance of ,him who sitteth upon the 
throne1 faultless1 unerring1 supreme4   
,the ,martian compared this statement   
with the words of the scholar ,loisy1   
,if ,god himself wrote the ,bible1 we   
must believe ,him to be either ignorant 
or untruthful4  ,as he delves further   
into the intricacies of the construction
 of the ,bible1 our visitor perceives   
that the ,old ,testament gradually      
evolved from the tenth century to the   
second century ,b4,c41 and in its       
present form is mainly a fifth century  

compilation1 so distorting the facts    
that it has taken scholars one hundred  
and fifty years to get them straight4   
,it may rightly be said that there is   
not a single book in the ,bible which is
 original in the sense of having been   
written by one man1 for all the books   
are made up of older documents or       
pre-existing sources which were combined
 with later materials1 undergoing1 in   
this way1 several revisions and editions
 at the hands of different scribes or   
compilers4 ,deep traces have therefore  
been left upon the text of the ,bible by
 these several stages of expansions1    
additions1 modifications1 revisions1 and
 incorporations--they appear to the     
scholar of biblical literature much like
 the striations grooved in the rocks by 
large glaciers to the student of        
,geology4 7,trattner1 ,unravelling the  
,book of ,books47  ,the ,martian        
ascertains that to most thinking men it 
has become very obvious that the ,bible 
is the work of man1 and not the         

inspiration of a god2 that an increasing
 number of liberal theologians are      
discarding the theory of the divine     
inspiration of the ,bible4 ,he likewise 
clearly perceives that there are as yet 
many men that have given this matter but
 little thought2 with the ,divine       
inspiration looming up as a corner stone
 in the ,hebrew faith he realizes that  
it behooves him to carry his            
investigations further4  ,the           
,christians1 accepting the ,old         
,testament as a book dictated by ,god1  
had fixed the age of the earth as #djjd 
,b4,c4 ,the harm done by the ,christian 
ecclesiastics in attempting to force    
science to conform to the ridiculous    
concept of the construction of the      
universe as contained in the ,bible1 and
 as interpreted by the ,church1 the     
,martian considers in a further chapter4
 ,scientists incline to the view that   
the earth has existed as a separate     
planet for something like two thousand  
million years 7#b1jjj1jjj1jjj74 ,the    

rocks give a history of #af1jjj1jjj1jjj4
 ,just as in the study of the origin of 
primitive beliefs1 one finds that man   
made his gods and invented all that they
 are reported to have said1 so a study  
of the ,old ,testament reveals that the 
ancient ,hebrew invented his ,god1 and  
manufactured the vast mass of myth and  
fable that are recorded as the words and
 deeds of ,god4 ,throughout the ages1   
the words of these ancient ,hebrews have
 been taken as the words of a god4      
,everything goes to show that the       
,hebrew literature was produced like    
other literatures4 ,hebrews were not the
 first to tell tales4 ,when they did    
come to write 'for our learning' they   
borrowed from other people4 ,the only   
reason why anything more than a literary
 attention is paid to these old ,jewish 
writings is that ,jesus was a ,jew4     
,when ,christianity was founded--a      
difficult date to fix--there was no such
 thing as a ,bible4 ,the old ,brahmans  
and ,buddhists had ,holy ,scriptures2   

the ,egyptians had a ,book of the ,dead1
 and the ,sayings of ,khuenaten2 the    
,persians had the ,zend-,avesta2 the    
,chinese had sacred books4 ,they were   
all as sacred as the ,jewish books4     
,priests made them sacred4 ,priests     
generally rewrote and edited them1 even 
if they had not originally imagined     
them4 ,there is nothing to guide the man
 of common sense save knowledge and     
reason4 ,every priest swears his        
religion and his scriptures are true4   
,but they cannot all be true4 ,if the   
first are true1 then the ,jews are past 
further consideration1 for they were not
 the first in the field with sacred     
writings4444 ,holy scriptures are merely
 ,jewish classics4 ,we have had to      
accept these old writings of the        
,hebrews as holy and inspired because   
the priests said so1 and for no other   
reason whatsoever4 ,there is no other   
reason4 ,assuming the existence of a    
deity1 a man exercising his common sense
 would be compelled to deny that the    

,old ,testament is inspired of ,god1    
because it abounds in stupidities and   
errors such as no god could inspire4    
,but because the ,jews accumulated these
 writings1 the subsequent adopters of   
,christianity1 realizing that ,jesus was
 a ,jew1 and had been a professing ,jew1
 promptly annexed these tales of fancy  
and of fear1 of muddled1 sensual1 silly 
things and said they must be accepted   
with the teachings of ,jesus4 ,and in   
the course of time1 people had to       
believe these old ,jewish writings were 
the ,word of ,god4 7,w4 ,h4 ,williamson1
 ,thinker or ,believer47  ,the ,hebrews 
had as one of their gods1 ,yahveh1 whom 
they endowed with their qualities2      
qualities inherent in a primitive       
people3 jealousy and might1 trickery and
 fickleness4 ,they evolved a worship    
that contained in a modified form many  
of the ceremonials that they witnessed  
when they came into contact with the    
,babylonians and ,phoenicians4 ,their   
,bible they maintained to be a          

collection of books which appeared at   
intervals1 with divine inspiration1     
during a thousand years of ,jewish      
history4 ,similarly1 they insisted that 
,moses wrote the ,pentateuch1 that      
,judges1 ,kings1 and ,chronicles go back
 to the times they describe1 that the   
prophecies were added from the ninth    
century onward1 and so on4  ,the        
,martian found that not a single book of
 the ,old ,testament is older than the  
ninth century ,b4,c4 and that in the    
fifth century ,b4,c4 all the older books
 and fragments were combined together   
into the ,old ,testament as we have it1 
and were drastically altered so as to   
yield a version of early ,jewish history
 which is not true4 ,the manipulation of
 the ,hebrew writings by the ,jewish    
priests had for its object to represent 
the ,jewish priesthood1 and its rights  
and customs1 as having been established 
in the days of ,moses4 ,deuteronomy and 
,leviticus have been classed as priestly
 forgeries4 ,nearly every occurrence1   

from the creation of the world to the   
death of ,moses1 is related twice and1  
in some cases1 three times2 and as the  
,pentateuch is supposed to have been    
written by ,moses one must assume that  
,moses had double and triple vision4    
,chronicles1 ,ezra1 and ,nehemiah are   
impudent forgeries of the fourth        
century1 giving a totally false version 
of the events4 ,the ,martian finds that 
the terms used for these fabrications   
are redaction or recension1 but1 in his 
understanding1 he finds the word most   
descriptive of the process to be        
forgery4 ,the main point is that        
practically all the experts assure you  
that in scores of material points the   
,old ,testament history has been        
discredited1 and has only been confirmed
 in a few unimportant incidental        
statements2 and that the books are a    
tissue of inventions1 expansions1       
conflations1 or recensions dating       
centuries after the event4  ,the        
,martian in his analysis becomes aware  

of instances related in the ,old        
,testament that on his planet would have
 to be termed forgeries1--deliberate    
falsifications or fabrications of       
documents or of the signature to them4  
,now the far greater part of the more   
learned clerical authorities on the     
,bible say that many books of the ,old  
,testament pretend to be written by men 
who did not write them2 that many books 
were deliberately written as history    
when the writers knew that they were not
 history2 and that the ,old ,testament  
as a whole1 as we have it1 is a         
deliberate attempt to convey an         
historical belief which the writers knew
 to be false4 ,but these learned        
authorities do not like the word        
forgery4 ,it is crude4 7,joseph         
,mc,cabe1 ,the ,forgery of ,the ,old    
,testament47 ,they veil the meaning of  
this word in the elegance1 the subtlety1
 the resources1 of diplomatic language4 
,they talk of certain books in terms of 
their legendary character1 their        

conformity to a scheme1 and their       
didactic purpose4 ,to the ,martian these
 are but an extremely polite description
 of what he would call a forgery4  ,a   
theologian in speaking of ,david states 
that ,keen criticism is necessary to    
arrive at the kernel of fact1 and1 the  
imaginative element in the story of     
,david is but the vesture which half    
conceals1 half discloses certain facts  
treasured in popular tradition4 ,the    
,martian thinks this is polite language1
 but the word forgery is much more      
concise and to the point1 and he finds  
an excellent example of this described  
by ,joseph ,mc,cabe in ,the ,forgery of 
the ,old ,testament4 ,he states1 ,some  
time ago we recovered tablets of the    
great ,persian king1 ,cyrus1 and        
,professor ,sayre gives us a translation
 of them1 and he compares them1 as you  
may1 with the words of ,daniel1 ',in    
that night was ,belshazzar1 the king of 
the ,chaldeans1 slain1 and ,darius the  
,median took the kingdom4' ,the tablets 

of ,cyrus describe the taking of        
,babylon1 and are beyond the slightest  
suspicion4 ,the ,persians had adopted   
the ,babylonian custom of writing on    
clay1 then baking the brick or tablet1  
and such documents last forever4 ,and   
these and other authentic and           
contemporary documents of the age which 
',daniel' describes show3       #a4     
,that ,belshazzar was not the king of   
,babylon4       #b4 ,that the name of   
the last king was ,nabonidos4       #c4 
,that the city was taken peacefully1 by 
guile1 not by bloodshed4       #d4 ,that
 it was ,cyrus1 not ,darius the ,median1
 who took it4       #e4 ,that ,darius1  
who is said 7,,xi1 #a7 by ,daniel to    
have been the son      of ,ahasuerus    
7,xerxes71 was really his father4       
#f4 ,that all the ,babylonian names in  
,daniel are absurdly misspelt      and  
quite strange to the writer4       #g4  
,that the writer described the          
,chaldeans in a way that no writer      
could have done before the time of      

,alexander the ,great4  ,it is now      
beyond question that the man who wrote  
,daniel1 and pretended to be alive in   
#eci ,b4,c4 7when ,babylon fell71 did   
not live until three or four centuries  
later4 ,the book is a tissue of errors1 
as we find by authentic documents and by
 reading the real ,babylonian names on  
the tablets4  ,the ,martian discovers   
glaring instances of forgery in the book
 of ,isaiah and the ,psalms of ,david1  
which1 while they pretend to have been  
written by ,isaiah and ,david1 are      
really compilations by various writers4 
,similarly1 he finds that the ,book of  
,esther has been pronounced by scholars 
as a clumsy forgery of the second       
century1 and that the story of the      
slaying of ,goliath by ,david is not    
consistent with the unlegendary         
tradition that the slayer of ,goliath   
was ,elhanan1 and the period of this    
adventure not in ,saul's but in ,david's
 reign4 ,the ,book of ,psalms1 although 
attributed to ,king ,david1 was not     

written by ,king ,david2 and the ,book  
of ,proverbs1 although attributed to    
,solomon1 was not written by ,king      
,solomon4  ,the ,book of ,genesis       
relates the mythical traditions of the  
,hebrews from the creation of the world 
to the death of ,joseph4 ,a ,french     
physician of the eighteenth century1    
,astruc1 was the first scholar to point 
out that the two principal designations 
of ,god in ,genesis1 ,elohim and        
,jahveh1 are not used arbitrarily4 ,if  
we place side by side the passages in   
which ,god is called ,elohim1 and those 
in which he is called by the other name1
 we get two perfectly distinct          
narratives1 which the author of the     
,pentateuch1 as we possess it1 has      
juxtaposed rather than fused4 ,this one 
discovery suffices to discredit the     
attribution of these books to ,moses1   
who could not have been an unintelligent
 compiler1 and also discredits the      
theory of the divine inspiration of the 
,bible text4 ,a comparison of the two   

narratives shows that all which relates 
to the creation of ,eve1 the ,garden of 
,eden1 and ,adam's transgression1 exists
 only in the ,jehovist text4 ,thus it is
 evident that two versions of the       
,creation are given in ,genesis4 ,but   
there are traces in the ,old ,testament 
of a third legend1 akin to that of the  
,babylonians1 in which ,marduk creates  
the world by virtue of a victory over   
the waters of chaos 7,tiamat74 ,this    
conception of a conflict between the    
creator and hostile forces was contrary 
to the monotheistic thesis1 and has     
disappeared from our two versions of    
,genesis2 but the suppression           
sufficiently proves that it was very    
ancient and had long been accepted4     
,the ,martian finds that theologians    
have attempted to crawl out of desperate
 situations in their interpretation of  
the ,old ,testament by a method of      
reading into a passage or extracting out
 of it ideas altogether foreign to its  
original intent4 ,this method they call 

,allegory4 ,by means of this process    
they have been able to extract any      
meaning which suits their purposes1 and 
by this method of juggling could prove  
anything4 ,a classic example is that    
licentious piece of literature called   
the ,song of ,solomon1 in which it is   
claimed that a woman's breasts1 thighs1 
and belly are the symbols of the union  
of ,jahveh and the ,synagogue4          
,continuing his researches1 the ,martian
 notices a number of passages in the    
,old ,testament that lead him to the    
conclusion that the ,hebrews were       
originally polytheists4 ,the name       
,elohim1 he finds1 is plural 7singular1 
,eloah71 meaning the gods4 ,again1 in   
another passage of ,genesis1 ,god is    
described as saying1 ,let us make man in
 our image 7,i1 #bf71 and further on1   
,the man is become as one of us4 ,it    
becomes evident to him that the         
,hebrews1 like their neighbors1         
worshiped baalim or the gods of the     
heathens4 ,the teraphim1 the etymology  

of which is unknown1 were little        
portable idols which seem to have been  
the ,lares of the ancient ,hebrews4     
,david owned some 7,i ,samuel ,,xix1    
#ac-af71 and the prophet ,hosea1 in the 
eighth century before ,christ1 seems    
still to have considered the teraphim as
 indispensable in worship 7,hos4 ,,iii1 
#d74 ,these evidences of polytheism and 
fetichism in the people of ,israel      
destroy1 in the mind of the ,martian1   
the claim of these people to have been  
faithful from their earliest origin to a
 spiritual monotheism4 ,rather does he  
find that they took the religions of    
other peoples with whom they came in    
contact4  ,the ,old ,testament contains 
numerous instances of the practice of   
magic4 ,moses and ,aaron were magicians 
who rivalled ,pharaoh's magicians 7,ex4 
,,vii1 #aa-bj72 and ,balaam was a       
magician who pronounced incantations    
against ,israel and afterwards passed   
over to the service of ,jehovah4 ,jacob 
resorted to a kind of sympathetic magic 

to procure the birth of a speckled sheep
 7,gen4 ,,xxx1 #ci74 ,thou shalt not    
suffer a witch to live1 is written in   
,exodus ,,xxii1 #ah1 and this phrase    
offered an affirmation of the reality of
 witchcraft during the period of the    
,witchcraft ,delusion4 ,the ,martian    
notes that the sentence1 ,thou shalt not
 suffer a witch to live1 has caused more
 suffering1 torture1 and death than     
probably any other sentence ever framed4
 ,his mind revolts at the stupidity and 
the slavish adherence to so-called      
authority of the human mind1 which is   
manifested in this example of what      
occurred in the period of the           
,witchcraft ,delusion1 when the words of
 an ignorant and barbaric ,hebrew were  
taken by ,christian followers to be the 
words of a god4 ,and yet our ,martian   
guest recognizes that in this day all   
men are aware of the fallacy of this    
utterance in a book which is still      
claimed to be infallible4  ,the ,martian
 then considers the many ancient ,hebrew

 rites and religious taboos that have   
come down through the ages1 and are     
still practiced in a modified form by   
the modern ,hebrew4 ,thus1 in the ,old  
,testament1 there are numerous instances
 recorded of the practices of           
slaughtering of innocent animals who    
were offered as peace offerings to      
,yahveh4 ,as time passed1 the practice  
of slaughtering and then burning the    
sacrificial animal gave way to the      
practice of only giving the blood of the
 animal as an offering4 ,this custom has
 come down to the present day in the    
modern worship of ,jehovah2 the blood of
 animals is still forbidden to the      
modern ,hebrew4 ,therefore1 the orthodox
 ,jew has the neck of the chicken slit  
by a ,shochet who allows the blood to   
drip to the ground--a modern blood      
offering to the ,gods4 ,the explanations
 given by the rabbis of our day are     
spurious4 ,similarly1 the orthodox ,jew 
of our time still persists in salting   
the meat before cooking1 a process which

 is intended to remove the blood1 which 
is the portion of the ,gods4  ,the      
reason that the pious ,jew abstains from
 pork leads to the consideration of     
,totemism as found in the ,old          
,testament4 ,totemism is a kind of      
worship rendered to animals and         
vegetables considered as allied and     
related to man4 ,the worship of animals 
and plants is found as a survival in all
 ancient societies and is the origin of 
the belief in the transmigration of     
souls4 ,totemism seems to have been as  
widespread as the animism from which it 
is derived1 and has been closely        
intertwined in the development of       
religious beliefs4 ,totemism in a       
modified form is found in the ,old      
,testament where animals speak on       
occasion1 as the serpent in ,genesis1 or
 ,balaam's ass4 ,in the most remote     
periods it is probable that every clan  
had at least one totem animal which     
might no more be killed or eaten than   
the human individuals of the clan4 ,the 

totem was protected by taboo4 ,the totem
 was sacred and in this capacity it was 
looked upon as a source of strength and 
holiness1 and to live beside it and     
under its protection was considered as a
 righteous custom4 ,in certain          
communities the idea that it was        
necessary to abstain from eating certain
 totems survived the progress of        
material civilization4 ,the cow is taboo
 to the ,hindus1 the pig is taboo to the
 ,mohammedans and to the ,jews4 ,the    
pious ,jew abstains from pork because   
his remote ancestors1 five or six       
thousand years before our era1 had the  
wild boar as their totem4 ,this is the  
origin of this alimentary taboo2 among  
the ancient ,hebrews it arose1 and only 
comparatively recently has it been      
suggested that the flesh of these taboo 
animals was unwholesome4 ,in the        
eighteenth century1 philosophers        
propagated the erroneous notion that if 
certain religious legislators had       
forbidden various aliments1 it was for  

hygienic motives4 ,even ,renan believed 
that dread of trichinosis and leprosy   
had caused the ,hebrews to forbid the   
use of pork4 ,to show the irrational    
nature of this explanation1 it will be  
enough to point out that in the whole of
 the ,bible there is not a single       
instance of an epidemic or a malady     
attributed to the eating of unclean     
meats2 the idea of hygiene awoke very   
late in the ,greek world4 ,to the       
,biblical writers1 as to contemporary   
savages1 illness is supernatural2 it is 
an effect of the wrath of spirits4      
,primitive man ascribed all diseases    
either to the wrath of ,god1 or the     
malice of an evil being4 ,the curing of 
disease by the casting out of devils and
 by prayers were the means of relief    
from sickness recognized and commanded  
by the ,old ,testament4 ,the hygienic   
explanation of an alimentary prohibition
 as still insisted upon by the rabbis is
 entirely erroneous and marks the       
expounder of such an explanation as one 

who is entirely ignorant of the         
evolution of religious beliefs4 ,the    
entire matter is well stated in one     
sentence by ,reinach1 ,nothing can be   
more absurd1 generally speaking1 than to
 explain the religious laws and         
practices of the remote past by         
considerations based on modern science4 
,the ,martian is able to trace some     
curious customs that were exhibited by  
the ancient ,hebrews as well as most    
other ancient peoples1 and which have   
persisted to this day4 ,the customs     
remain the same1 the meanings have      
become lost in the blind adherence to   
custom4 ,it is known that the old       
,jewish mourning customs originated with
 the desire for protection from the     
liberated spirit of the deceased4 ,the  
loud cries uttered by the mourners were 
thought to frighten away the spirits4   
,the change of dress1 the covering of   
the head with ashes1 and the shaving of 
the hair of the mourners were done with 
the purpose of making themselves        

unrecognizable to the spirits4 ,hence1  
the custom still prevails of wearing the
 mourning veil4 ,the covering of mirrors
 when death occurs in the household may 
well be an attempt to prevent the spirit
 from lingering in the vicinity4        
,similarly1 even today1 the orthodox    
,jew1 in case of grave illness in his   
family1 changes the given name of the   
sufferer4 ,to confuse the evil spirit   
causing the disease8  ,further survivals
 of totemism as found in the ,old       
,testament are illustrated by the       
worship of the bull and the serpent4    
,portable gilded images of bulls were   
consecrated and ,hosea protested against
 the worship of the bull in the kingdom 
of ,israel 7,hos4 ,,viii1 #e2 ,x1 #e74  
,the famous golden calf of the          
,israelites1 which was the object of    
,moses' anger1 was a totemic idol4 ,the 
worship of the serpent was practiced by 
,moses himself 7,num4 ,,xxi1 #i74 ,a    
brazen serpent was worshiped in the     
temple of ,jerusalem1 and was only      

destroyed by ,hezekiah about #gjj ,b4,c4
 7#b ,kings ,,xviii1 #d74  ,the ancient 
,hebrews1 as well as their neighbors1   
were phallic worshipers4 ,to primitive  
people it is but a natural phase to have
 the phallus become the exponent of     
creative power1 and as such to be       
worshiped4 ,to these primitive minds    
there was nothing immoral in genuine    
phallic worship4 ,signs of phallicism   
among the ancient ,hebrews can be       
clearly pointed out2 the serpent was a  
phallic symbol4 ,that the serpent was   
the phallus is proved by the ,bible     
itself4 ,the ,hebrew word used for      
serpent is ',nachash1' which is         
everywhere else translated in the ,bible
 in a phallic sense1 as in ,ezekiel     
,,xvi1 #cf1 where it is rendered        
'filthiness' in the sense of exposure1  
like the 'having thy ,boseth naked' of  
,micah4 7,j4 ,b4 ,hannay1 ,christianity1
 the ,sources of its ,teaching and      
,symbolism47 ,the ark itself was a      
feminine symbol1 and phallicism would   

explain why ,moses made an ark and put  
in it a rod and two stones4 ,the ,eduth1
 the ,shechina1 the ,tsur1 and the      
,yahveh were identical2 simply different
 names for the same thing1 the phallus4 
,they occupied the female ark with which
 they formed the double sexed life      
symbol4 ,the ,hebrew religion had thus a
 purely phallic basis1 as was to be     
expected from a ritual and symbolism    
derived from two extremely phallic      
nations1 ,babylon and ,egypt4 7,j4 ,b4  
,hannay1 ,ibid47 ,an intelligent reading
 of ,exodus ,,xxxiv1 #ac1 and #a ,kings 
,,xiv1 #bc and #bd1 will prove the above
 contention4  ,once more our ,martian   
guest is besieged by the ,hebrew ,zealot
 to examine the divine revelation of his
 religion4 ,this time the ,martian      
notes1 ,i1 ,yahveh1 thy ,god1 am a      
jealous ,god1 visiting the iniquity of  
the fathers upon the children unto the  
third and fourth generations 7,deut471  
which seems to him to savor of a cruel  
and monstrous being4 ,he cannot perceive

 of a just being favoring slavery 7,ex4 
,,xi71 or of a merciful father ordering 
human sacrifice 7,ex4 ,,xiii71 7,lev4   
,,xxvii1 #bi71 7,num4 ,,xiii1 #c74 ,he  
is dumbfounded to find references to    
cannibalism 7,lev4 ,,xxvi1 #ad-af-bh2   
,deut4 ,,xxviii1 #ec-eh2 ,jer4 ,,xix1   
#i2 ,ezek4 ,v1 #aj2 ,kings ,,vi1        
#bf-bi-cc74 ,a ,benevolent ,being1 he   
reasons1 would not sanction war and     
destruction of the captured enemy1 yet  
there are instances of this 7,deut4     
,,xxi1 #aj-ad2 ,deut4 ,,xx1 #ac-ad2     
,deut4 ,,vii1 #a-b-af74 ,the reading of 
,numbers ,v1 #aa-bi1 and ,deuteronomy   
,,xxii nauseated him4 ,the ,hebrew      
,zealot1 observing the utter disgust    
with which the reader was regarding his 
revelation1 is obliged to explain to the
 bewildered barbarian unbeliever that   
the ,old ,testament is the foundation   
for all of our morals and that without  
it we would have developed into a very  
shocking and immoral race4  ,since the  
visitor wishes to remain courteous he   

proceeds1 but with a great deal of      
hesitation1 to further examine the      
revelation of ,god4 ,at this point he is
 assured that this work is read in most 
schools and taught to small children4   
,however1 our guest is again            
disillusioned2 for no sooner does he    
arrive at ,genesis1 ,,xii1 #aa-bj1 than 
he finds that ,abraham1 good ,abraham1  
the pure1 the father of all ,hebrews1   
makes of the sacred relationship of     
marriage a means of personal gain and   
safety by betraying his own wife4 ,now  
it is the ,martian's turn to inquire of 
the ,hebrew whether the latter had ever 
read this story to his own daughter8    
,or1 the story of ,abraham's affair with
 ,hagar1 his handmaiden8 ,was the       
,hebrew's young daughter aware that     
,isaac1 son of ,abraham1 was as ready   
and willing to prostitute his wife for  
protection for himself as was his father
 ,abraham8  ,the ,martian is puzzled by 
the word sporting in ,genesis1 ,,xxvi1  
#h-aa1 and is informed of its meaning4  

,a few moments after reading ,genesis   
,,xix1 #a-g1 he informs his would-be    
converter that if ,lot had lived in     
,mars and had offered his daughters to  
appease the mob1 the account of that    
incident would never have found its way 
into any work on morals4 ,moreover1 he  
failed utterly to see how the account of
 ,lot's daughters getting him into a    
drunken state1 followed by a statement  
such as1 ,thus were both the daughters  
of ,lot with child by their father1     
could ever have any moral value4  ,the  
story of ,jacob1 ,leah1 and ,rachel does
 not appeal to this infidel ,martian1   
since he still believes that integrity  
and faithfulness are virtues4 ,yet1 in  
his endeavor to respect the courtesy due
 to his host1 he reaches for pencil and 
pad1 and notes the various moral lessons
 he had derived thus far from the ,old  
,testament4 ,he wrote lust1 incest1     
infidelity1 and prostitution2 arriving  
at the story of ,dinah1 ,genesis        
,,xxxiv1 #a-b1 he wrote that in addition

 to those vices already listed1 rape    
should be given a prominent place4 ,the 
stories of ,joseph and ,potiphar's wife1
 ,judah and ,tamar1 ,king ,david and his
 wives1 the rape of ,tamar by her       
brother ,ammon1 did not impress the     
,martian as stories for the delectation 
of children1 since he was crude enough  
to hold that anything which would shock 
the mind of a child1 could not have any 
moral value and would thus be           
automatically excluded from any         
religion4 ,he1 therefore1 returned the  
volume to the ,hebrew with the remark   
that as an adult he found the stories of
 ,de ,maupassant and ,balzac more       
interesting1 even though they belonged  
to the same genre4  ,our guest now      
repaired to one of our golf courses     
where1 during the interval of a few     
hours1 the fresh air1 the sunshine1 and 
exercise dispelled the mental nausea    
which the reading of the ,old ,testament
 had occasioned in him4 ,returning to   
his quarters1 he is approached by one of

 the ,christian ,brethren and the ,new  
,testament is placed in his hands with  
these remarks1 ,the ,christian          
recognizes that in the ,old ,testament  
the ,jews have given to the ,christian  
world its greatest heritage4 ,the fact  
that in exchange for this priceless     
heritage1 the ,christians have given to 
the ,jews a series of persecutions      
unequaled in the annals of human warfare
 is explained by the quality of the     
,brotherhood of ,man that naturally     
manifests itself after a complete       
conversion to the ,bible's precepts4    
,the ,old ,testament contains the first 
revelations of ,god2 the ,new           
,testament1 the last revelations4 ,our  
,christian ,brother forgets to remind   
the visitor that the difference of      
opinion regarding these two ,testaments 
of ,god has caused more sorrow1         
bloodshed1 harm1 devilment1 misery1 and 
devastation than any other single item  
in the life and history of the human    
race4  ,the ,martian is hard pressed to 

reconcile the fact that ,mohammedanism  
six hundred years after the appearance  
of ,christianity triumphed over         
,christianity in a great portion of the 
earth's surface2 yet he is informed that
 ,christianity is the religion of ,god1 
that ,allah made the ,mohammedans1      
,jehovah the ,jews1 the ,trinity the    
,christians1 and the rest of the        
believers were illegitimate children of 
the above gods1 was the only conclusion 
he could reach4 ,in a few moments the   
myth of ,christ begins to unfold itself 
before his eyes in the ,gospels of      
,matthew1 ,mark1 ,luke1 and ,john1 the  
,acts of the ,apostles1 and the         
,apocalypse4 ,he finds1 ,the so-called  
,messianic texts which are supposed to  
prefigure ,jesus in the ,old ,testament 
have all been either misunderstood or   
deliberately misinterpreted4 ,the most  
celebrated is that in ,isaiah ,,vii1    
#ad1 which predicts that a virgin shall 
bear a son1 ,emmanuel1 but the word1    
,al-mah1 which the ,septuagint rendered 

virgin means in ,hebrew a young woman1  
and this passage merely deals with the  
approaching birth of a son to the king  
or the prophet himself4 ,this error of  
the ,septuagint is one of the sources of
 the legend relating to the virginal    
birth of ,jesus4 ,as early as the second
 century ,a4,d4 the ,jews perceived it  
and pointed it out to the ,greeks1 but  
the ,church knowingly persisted in the  
false reading1 and for over fifteen     
centuries she has clung to her error4   
,his attentive reading convinces him    
that not one of the ,gospels is the work
 of an eyewitness to the scenes         
recorded2 a little side investigation   
reveals that there were a great many    
writings called ,gospels1 from which the
 ,church finally adopted four1          
guaranteeing their inspiration and      
absolute veracity1 no doubt because they
 were in favor in four very influential 
churches1 ,matthew at ,jerusalem1 ,mark 
at ,rome or at ,alexandria1 ,luke at    
,antioch1 and ,john at ,ephesus4        

,moreover1 what the ,gospels tell him1  
he perceives is what different          
,christian communities believed         
concerning ,jesus between the years #gj 
and #ajj ,a4,d4 ,in ,matthew ,,xxvi1    
#ci1 ,mark ,,xiv1 #ce1 and ,luke ,,xxii1
 #db1 there are words such as those     
,jesus is supposed to have uttered      
during the slumber of these very same   
,apostles4 ,this occurrence enlightens  
him as to what ,st4 ,augustine meant    
when he wrote1 ,i should not believe in 
the ,gospel if ,i had not the authority 
of the ,church for so doing4 ,if the    
documents are stuffed with the authority
 of the ,church1 these ,gospels cannot  
be utilized for a history of the real   
life of ,jesus4  ,a study of the        
,epistles of ,st4 ,paul reveals that    
,st4 ,paul taught that sin and death    
came into the world by ,adam's fall4 ,in
 spite of a diligent search the ,martian
 found no mention of this in the words  
ascribed to ,jesus4 ,from ,st4 ,paul's  
utterances he learns that ,christ came  

to redeem mankind by his voluntary      
oblation of himself4 ,he was the ,son of
 ,god6 ,paul1 not knowing that in the   
future a special form of conception     
would be superimposed on ,jesus1 states 
that he was of human birth4 ,the        
,martian determined to ascertain what   
effect the teachings of ,st4 ,paul have 
had on ,christianity4 ,he learns that1  
,ever since ,st4 ,paul1 the ruling idea 
of ,christianity has been that of the   
redemption of man1 guilty of a          
prehistoric fault1 by the voluntary     
sacrifice of a superman4 ,this doctrine 
is founded upon that of expiation2 a    
guilty person must suffer to atone for  
his fault2 and that of the substitution 
of victims1 the efficacious suffering of
 an innocent person for a guilty one4   
,both are at once pagan and ,jewish     
ideas2 they belong to the old           
fundamental errors of humanity4 ,yet1   
,plato knew that the punishment         
inflicted on a guilty person is not1 nor
 should it be1 a vengeance2 it is a     

painful remedy imposed on him for his   
own benefit and that of society4 ,at    
about the same period ,athenian law laid
 down the principle that punishment     
should be as personal as the fault1 thus
 ,st4 ,paul founded ,christian ,theology
 on two archaic ideas which had already 
been condemned by enlightened ,athenians
 of the fourth century before our era1  
ideas which no one would dream of       
upholding in these days1 though the     
structure built upon them still         
subsists4  ,in chapter ,v of the first  
,epistle of ,st4 ,john1 these words     
strike the visitor1 ,there are three    
that bear witness in heaven1 the        
,father1 and the ,word1 and the ,holy   
,ghost1 and these three are ,one4 ,if   
these two verses are authentic1 they    
would be an affirmation of the doctrine 
of the ,trinity1 dating from the first  
century1 at a time when the ,gospels1   
the ,acts1 and ,st4 ,paul ignore it4 ,it
 was first pointed out in #ahjf that    
these verses were an interpolation1 for 

they do not appear in the best          
manuscripts1 notably all the ,greek     
manuscripts down to the fifteenth       
century4 ,the ,roman ,church refused to 
bow to evidence4 ,the ,congregation of  
the ,index1 on ,january #ac1 #ahig1 with
 the approbation of ,leo ,,xiii1 forbade
 any question as to the authenticity of 
the text relating to the three heavenly 
witnesses4 ,it appeared strange to the  
,martian that a god should need the lies
 of his disciples to be incorporated in 
a divine revelation4 ,but his confusion 
was even greater when he read1 ,we      
worship one ,god in ,trinity1 and       
,trinity in ,unity1 neither confounding 
the ,persons nor dividing the           
substance--and yet1 they are not three  
,eternals1 but ,one ,eternal1 not three 
,almighties1 but ,one ,almighty4 ,so1   
the ,father is ,god1 the ,son ,god1 and 
the ,holy ,ghost ,god1 and yet they are 
not three ,gods1 but ,one ,god4444 ,the 
,father is made of none1 neither created
 nor begotten4 ,the ,son is of the      

,father alone1 not made1 nor created1   
but begotten4 ,the ,holy ,ghost is of   
the ,father and of the ,son1 neither    
made nor created1 nor begotten1 but     
proceeding4444 ,and in this ,trinity1   
none is afore or after the other2 none  
is greater or less than another2 but the
 whole three ,persons are coeternal     
together and coequal4  ,he thought this 
would make a great puzzle1 truly an     
insoluble conundrum1 to take back to    
bewilder his ,martian friends4 ,however1
 he was able to comprehend the remarks  
of ,vigilantius1 who returned from a    
journey in ,italy and the ,holy ,land   
disgusted with official ,christianity4  
,he protested vehemently against the    
idolatrous worship of images1 the legacy
 of ,paganism to the ,church1 a practice
 directly opposed to that of the ,mosaic
 law which ,jesus came1 not to destroy1 
but to fulfill4 ,it was idle to reply   
that these images were the ,scriptures  
of the illiterate1 that they were not   
the object of1 but the stimulus to1     

worship4 ,experience showed that the    
majority of the faithful confounded 7as 
indeed they still do7 the sign with the 
thing signified4 7,salomon ,reinach1    
,orpheus47  ,the result of the critical 
examination of the ,new ,testament by   
the ,martian is that just as most of the
 ,old ,testament books are not only     
anonymous but highly composite          
productions1 that as certain writings   
traditionally ascribed to ,moses1       
,david1 ,solomon1 ,daniel1 and others   
are utterly lacking in the necessary    
evidences in support of authorship1 but 
bear unmistakable evidence of having    
gone through a long compilatory process2
 so does each gospel1 despite its       
seeming unity1 give evidence of being a 
composite literary product4 ,scholars   
have agreed that ,mark first set forth  
the doings of ,jesus and it was out of  
,mark that both ,matthew and ,luke took 
the framework of their own writings1    
cleverly fitting into its arrangement   
their own distinctive material and      

coloring the whole by their own         
individual treatment4 7,trattner1       
,unravelling the ,book of ,books47 ,it  
is estimated that ,mark was written     
shortly before the ,romans destroyed    
,jerusalem in #gj ,a4,d4 ,this means    
that a chasm of #cj or #dj years        
separates ,mark's written document from 
the ministry of ,jesus--a long enough   
time to create a plastic body of oral   
teachings and a highly colored tradition
 embellished with fanciful stories4     
,luke was a ,greek physician living     
somewhere on the shores of the gean     
,sea4 ,he had been a friend of ,paul1   
just as ,mark had been with ,peter4     
,luke had no personal acquaintance with 
,jesus and had to get his information   
from what others said1 or from what the 
friends of eye-witnesses had seen4  ,the
 ,gospel of ,matthew is an anonymous    
composition which1 on analysis1 has been
 found to incorporate nearly fifty per  
cent of what is found in ,mark4 ,it is  
now believed by many scholars to have   

been written between the years #ge and  
#hj ,a4,d4 at ,antioch not1 of course1  
by the ,apostle ,matthew1 but by some   
unknown editor4  ,the ,fourth ,gospel1  
the ,gospel of ,john1 is vastly         
different in style1 arrangement1 and in 
the description of the words1 actions1  
and general spiritual character of      
,jesus4 ,many scholars believe that it  
was written in the city of ,ephesus1    
somewhere around the year #ajj ,a4,d4   
,church tradition ascribed it to the    
,apostle ,john1 the son of ,zebedee1 one
 of the fishermen whom ,jesus called to 
be a disciple4 ,years ago this view was 
easily entertained1 but there now exists
 too much refractory evidence against   
assigning this ,greek ,gospel to an     
,aramaic-speaking ,galilean4 ,that an   
untutored fisherman could have written  
so elaborate and so highly philosophical
 an account of ,jesus has always        
presented a thorny problem4 ,and so to  
most scholars ,john's authorship of the 
,fourth ,gospel is unthinkable4  ,not   

one of the ,gospels is the work of an   
eyewitness1 and the four ,gospels do not
 complete each other2 they contradict   
each other2 and when they do not        
contradict1 they repeat each other4 ,the
 ,christ of ,john is a totally different
 person from the ,christ of ,mark1      
,matthew1 and ,luke4 ,loisy1 in his     
,quelques ,lettres1 states1 ,if there is
 one thing above others that is obvious1
 but as to which the most powerful of   
theological interests have caused a     
deliberate or unconscious blindness1 it 
is the profound1 the irreducible        
incompatibility of the ,synoptical      
,gospels1 and the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,if  
,jesus spoke and acted as he is said to 
have spoken and acted in the first three
 ,gospels1 he did not speak and act as  
he is reported to have done in the      
fourth4  ,the ,martian is forced to the 
conclusion that the ,new ,testament1    
with its version of the ,virgin ,birth1 
,elizabeth1 the cousin of ,mary1        
,zacharias and the ,angel ,gabriel1     

,jesus and the ,sinner1 are on par with 
the eroticism of the ,old ,testament4   
,the interpolations1 the myth1 and fable
 also compare with the first revelation1
 and1 in his opinion1 he prefers        
,andersen's ,fairy ,tales1 or sop's     
,fables4  ,meanwhile1 a ,protestant     
,brother mentions the name of ,luther1  
and the conclusions he draws are that   
the exciting cause of the ,reformation  
was an extravagant sale of indulgences  
conceded to the ,german ,dominicans4    
,the ,augustinians grew jealous of the  
,dominicans1 and an ,augustinian ,monk1 
,martin ,luther1 affixed to the door of 
,wittenberg ,cathedral ninety-five      
articles against the abuse of           
indulgences4 ,this started the fray in  
,germany with ,luther at the head of    
this heresy4 ,the gravest difference of 
opinion had to do with the ,communion4  
,luther retained one-half of the        
mystery1 and rejected the other half4   
,he confesses that the body of ,jesus   
,christ is in the consecrated element1  

but it is1 he says1 as fire is in the   
red-hot iron4 ,the fire and the iron    
subsist together4 ,this is what they    
called impanation1 invination1          
consubstantiation4 ,thus1 while those   
they called ,papists ate ,god without   
bread1 the ,lutherans ate ,god and      
bread2 soon afterwards came the         
,calvinists1 who ate bread and did not  
eat ,god4 ,in short1 ,luther was in     
harmony with the ,roman ,church in      
nothing but the doctrines of the        
,trinity1 ,baptism1 the ,incarnation1   
and the ,resurrection4 ,luther thought  
it was time to abolish private mass4 ,he
 pretended the devil had appeared to him
 and reproached him for saying mass and 
consecrating the elements4 ,the devil   
had proved to him1 he said1 that it was 
idolatry4 ,luther declared that the     
devil was right and must be believed4   
,the mass was abolished in ,wittenberg1 
and soon afterwards throughout ,saxony2 
the images were thrown down1 monks and  
nuns left their cloisters1 and1 a few   

years later1 ,luther married a nun      
called ,catharine von ,bora4 ,this tale 
did not greatly impress our guest4  ,a  
,catholic ,brother1 not to be outdone1  
extols the glories of his ,universal    
,church1 and the ,martian again sets out
 to investigate4 ,this time he finds3   
,the quotations in the ,new ,testament  
which the ,catholic creed interprets as 
giving divine authority to its          
representatives on earth is a late      
interpolation2 the ,trinity as stated   
above is a paradox which no rational    
being can understand1 and its dogmas and
 idolatry are consistent with a         
civilization of #djjj years ago4  ,a    
study of the lives of its popes put to  
shame the statement that they could     
possibly be the earthly representatives 
of a ,benevolent ,being4 ,in the ninth  
and tenth centuries the papacy passed   
through a period of shameful disorder4  
,the ,rome of ,john ,x was a cloaca in  
which the ,popes set the example of the 
worst misconduct4 7,for a good short    

account of the lives of the popes1 see  
,draper's1 ,history of the ,intellectual
 ,development of ,europe47  ,during the 
complete control by the ,church of      
civilization in ,europe1 it has retarded
 the progress of humanity for at least  
#bjjj years1 and its precepts and       
fundamental principles are today        
detrimental to the advance of mankind4  
,it has to its credit a long series of  
judicial murders for differences of     
opinion4 ,the ,crusades1 instigated by  
the popes and seconded by the monks1    
cost millions of lives and exhausted the
 resources of ,christian ,europe2 they  
aggravated fanaticism1 exaggerated the  
worship of saints and relics to the     
point of mania1 and encouraged the abuse
 of and traffic in indulgences4 ,there  
had never been a single opinion         
persecuted by the ,church in the ,middle
 ,ages the adoption of which would not  
have brought about a diminution of her  
revenues2 the ,church has always        
primarily considered her finances4 ,the 

papacy was responsible for the          
,inquisition1 and it actively encouraged
 and excited its ferocity4 ,it gave     
birth to the ,witchcraft ,mania4 ,the   
first ,grand ,inquisitor1 ,torquemada1  
received the congratulations of the     
,pope4 ,it diabolically applauded the   
,st4 ,bartholomew ,massacre1 and        
instigated the numerous religious wars  
that tore ,europe asunder1 and was the  
cause of the loss of hundreds of        
thousands of lives and incalculable     
suffering4 ,with such savage alacrity   
did it carry out its object of          
protecting the interests of religion    
that between #adha and #ahjh it had     
punished three hundred and forty        
thousand persons1 and of these1 nearly  
#cb1jjj had been burnt4  ,it is         
perfectly certain that the ,catholic    
,church has taught1 and still teaches   
that intellectual liberty is dangerous1 
that it should be forbidden4 ,it was    
driven to take this position because it 
had taken another4 ,it taught1 and still

 teaches1 that a certain belief is      
necessary to salvation4 ,it has always  
known that investigation and inquiry    
led1 or might lead1 to doubt2 that doubt
 leads1 or may lead1 to heresy1 and that
 heresy leads to ,hell4 ,in other words1
 the ,catholic ,church has something    
more important than this world1 more    
important than the well-being of man    
here4 ,it regards this life as an       
opportunity for joining that ,church1   
for accepting that creed1 and for the   
saving of your soul4 ,if the history of 
the world proves anything1 if proves    
that the ,catholic ,church was for many 
centuries the most merciless institution
 that ever existed among men4 ,we1 too1 
know that the ,catholic ,church was1    
during all the years of its power1 the  
enemy of every science4 ,it preferred   
magic to medicine1 relics to remedies1  
priests to physicians4 ,it hated        
geologists1 persecuted the chemists1 and
 imprisoned the naturalists1 and opposed
 every discovery of science calculated  

to improve the condition of mankind4    
,there is no crime that the ,catholic   
,church did not commit1 no cruelty that 
it did not reward1 and no virtue that it
 did not persecute4 ,it was the greatest
 and most powerful enemy of human       
rights4 ,in one hand1 it carried an alms
 dish1 and in the other1 a dagger4 ,it  
argued with the sword1 persecuted with  
poison1 and convicted with faggot4 ,r4  
,g4 ,ingersoll1 ,rome or ,reason4  ,from
 the time of ,newton to our own day1 the
 divergence of science from the dogmas  
of the ,church has steadily increased4  
,the ,church declared that the earth is 
the central and most important body in  
the ,universe1 that the sun and moon and
 stars are tributary to it4 ,on these   
points she was worsted by astronomy4    
,she affirmed that a universal deluge   
had covered the earth2 that the only    
surviving animals were such as had been 
saved in the ,ark4 ,in this1 her error  
was established by geology4 ,she taught 
that there was a first man who1 some    

#fjjj or #hjjj years ago1 was suddenly  
created or called into existence in a   
condition of physical and moral         
perfection1 and from that condition he  
fell4 ,but anthropology has shown that  
human beings existed far back in        
geological time1 and in a savage state  
but little better than that of the      
brute4444 ,convicted of so many errors1 
the papacy makes no attempt at          
explanation4 ,it ignores the whole      
matter4 ,nay1 more1 relying on the      
efficacy of audacity1 although          
confronted by these facts1 it lays claim
 to infallibility4  ,the persecutions of
 ,bruno1 ,galileo1 and ,copernicus1     
together with the facts hitherto stated1
 did not impress the ,martian with the  
infallibility of the ,church4 ,the only 
great spiritual power that could have   
interposed to prevent the outbreak of   
the ,world ,war was the papacy4 ,pope   
,pius ,x had his ,nuncio admonish the   
,austrian emperor1 but he failed even to
 get an audition from that old imbecile4

 ,the next ,pope1 ,benedict ,,xv1 was   
under the influence of a majority of    
pro-,german cardinals4 ,he strove to    
remain neutral4 ,he attempted to solace 
the ,belgians with words1 but he did not
 reprove the murderous invaders4 ,he    
protested against the new and devilish  
methods of warfare but he did not       
condemn1 he did not excommunicate those 
that used them4 ,had the papacy lost its
 much-used power of commanding kings and
 nations1 and had it lost its greatest  
threat1 a threat which hitherto could   
have thrown the masses of its adherents 
into a panic1 the threat of             
excommunication8 ,no1 the papacy still  
blessed the banners of the armies1 just 
as it did during the middle ages1 and   
sent its adherents out to slaughter2 but
 first took great care that the minds of
 the devout be completely drugged with  
the poison of its creed4 ,a creed that  
told its followers that do what you     
might1 no matter how dastardly that act 
might be1 so long as you repent and     

confess your sins1 life everlasting will
 be the reward4 ,what is the value of a 
church that has claimed the moral       
leadership of the world when such things
 can happen8  ,now that the ,martian has
 become acquainted with the three major 
religions which dominate the world1     
,judaism1 ,christianity1 and            
,mohammedanism1 and has been amazed and 
shocked at the significance of their    
teachings in the history of             
civilization1 his curiosity is further  
aroused1 and he decides to obtain some  
information of the respective           
personalities responsible for the       
amassing of devotees to these creeds1   
all infallible1 and all detrimental to  
progress4 ,this time his interest leads 
him to ancient and contemporary sources1
 of a literal rather than verbal nature2
 sources dealing with the three most    
influential prophets in the history of  
mankind1 ,jesus1 ,moses1 and ,mohammed4 
,,chapter ,,iii  ,,the ,,prophets       
,,mohammed1 ,,jesus1 ,,and ,,moses      

,,charlatans ,,or ,,victims ,,of        
,,mental ,,and ,,physical ,,disease     
,the prophet or seer is a man of strong 
imaginative powers1 which     have not  
been calmed by education4 ,the ideas    
which occur to his mind     often       
present themselves to his eyes and ears 
in corresponding     sights and         
sounds4444 ,prophets have existed in all
 countries and at     all times2 but the
 gift becomes rare in the same          
proportion as     people learn to read  
and write4      ,,winwood ,,reade4      
,religious apologists are forever       
reminding us that we must interpret both
 the lives and the works of their       
prophets and recorders in the spirit and
 meaning of the ages in which they      
lived4 ,to this ,i agree2 but the       
apologists have so mutilated the meaning
 of the words of the seers and built    
about them such a mass of nonsense1     
myth1 and fable that it becomes nearly  
impossible after the lapse of centuries 
to differentiate the actual man from the

 fabled man4 ,but there are certain     
facts that do come down to us recorded  
by disinterested observers from which   
can be derived finally some conception  
of their mode of life1 and the content  
and significance of their teachings4    
,although time causes great changes in  
customs and manners1 it only effects a  
negligible variation in the vast        
majority of diseases which affect the   
body and mind of man4 ,we know from the 
examination of the skeletal remains of  
prehistoric man that the diseases of the
 bone of thousands of years ago were    
similar in their manifestations to those
 same diseases of bone of today4 ,from  
the writings of the early ,egyptian1    
,greek1 and ,roman physicians we        
identify diseases by their symptoms1 and
 recognize that the symptoms of these   
diseases have not changed throughout the
 ages4 ,therefore1 with the knowledge of
 the signs and symptoms of various      
diseases which we have today1 we can    
safely assert that if an ancient        

complained of the same group of signs   
and symptoms 7which is now termed a     
disease complex71 he was suffering from 
the same disease which we can identify  
in modern man4  ,what applies to        
physical disease is just as applicable  
to mental disease4 ,in speaking of      
mental disease1 it is important for the 
layman to keep in mind a few fundamental
 principles held by the physician4 ,the 
physician in speaking of mental disease 
means a more or less permanent departure
 from the normal or usual way of        
thinking1 acting1 or feeling4 ,in the   
examination of a patient with mental    
disease the physician looks for         
delusions1 illusions1 and               
hallucinations4  ,a delusion is a false 
belief1 concerning which the individual 
who holds it is unable to admit evidence
 such as would be admitted by ordinary  
individuals4  ,an illusion is a         
deception of the senses1 a              
misinterpretation of sensory            
impressions2 the normal person can be   

convinced of this deception4 ,the       
mirage1 for example1 is an optical      
illusion which has a starting point in  
an external stimulus4  ,a hallucination 
is a deception of any of the five       
senses1 in which there is no starting   
point but it is fabricated in a         
disordered mind4 ,illustrations of      
hallucinations are the hearing of voices
 when none are present1 smelling of     
odors1 the seeing of visions in a       
vacuum4  ,with the elementary           
understanding of fundamental symptoms of
 mental diseases as a point of          
departure1 let us consider the cases of 
,mohammed1 ,jesus1 and ,moses1 three of 
the most influential prophets in the    
history of civilization4   ,,mohammed   
,of the three1 ,mohammed should be      
considered before the others for several
 reasons4 ,first1 there is no question  
regarding the actual existence of       
,mohammed4 ,we know that he was born at 
,mecca about #ega ,a4,d4 and died at    
,medina on ,june #hth1 #fcb ,a4,d4 ,from

 the facts of his life and the religion 
which he founded we are able to see the 
manner in which legend and superstition 
were superimposed on its original simple
 form4 ,the historical records of his   
life and teachings are easier of access 
since he is nearer our time than the    
other two prophets1 and we can get a    
better understanding of his character4  
,it was ,gibbon who said1 ,it may be    
expected that ,i should balance his     
faults and his virtues1 that ,i should  
decide whether the title of enthusiast  
or impostor more properly belongs to    
that extraordinary man4444 ,at the      
distance of twelve centuries1 ,i darkly 
contemplate his shade through a cloud of
 incense4  ,in attempting to peer       
through this cloud of religious incense 
we find the following facts3 ,in the    
city of ,mecca1 probably in ,august1 in 
the year #ega1 ,mohammed1 the ,prophet  
of ,allah1 was born4 ,there seems little
 doubt that he was descended from those 
lofty ,koreish1 whose opposition1 which 

at first nearly succeeded in holding his
 name in perpetual oblivion1 eventually 
caused him to emerge into the light of  
deathless fame4  ,his birth was         
surrounded by all manner of signs and   
omens1 we are told4 ,the labor of his   
mother1 ,amina1 was entirely painless1  
earthquakes loosed the bases of         
mountains and caused great bodies of    
water1 whose names were unfortunately   
not specified1 to wither away or        
overflow2 the sacred fire of ,zoroaster 
which1 under the jealous care of the    
,magi1 had spouted ceaseless flames for 
nearly a thousand years1 was            
extinguished4 ,all the idols in the     
world except the ,kaaba tumbled to      
earth4 ,immediately after the babe was  
born an ethereal light dazzled the      
surrounding territory1 and1 on the very 
moment when his eyes were first opened1 
he lifted them to heaven and exclaimed3 
,god is great6 ,there is no ,god but    
,allah and ,i am his ,prophet6 ,all     
these poetic fancies have been          

appropriately denounced by ,christian   
scribes1 who have claimed that nature   
would never have dignified the birth of 
a pagan like ,mohammed with such        
marvelous prodigies as undoubtedly      
attended the advent of ,christ4         
,however1 ,mohammed was born shortly    
after the death of his father4 ,at the  
age of six his mother died also1 and he 
spent the first ten years among the     
,bedouins under the care of a           
foster-mother named ,halima4 ,at the age
 of four it was noticed that the child  
had signs of convulsive seizures which  
later commentators thought were of an   
epileptic nature4 ,he was brought up    
under the care of his uncle ,abu ,talib1
 and his early manhood was spent in     
caring for the flock and in attending   
caravan expeditions4  ,when the prophet 
was twenty-five years old1 his uncle    
secured for him a position with a       
caravan owned by a wealthy widow1       
,khadija4 ,thanks to ,mohammed's keen   
business sense the caravan was highly   

successful1 and he was induced to       
personally report his success to        
,khadija4 ,that lady1 a wealthy widow of
 forty years1 and the mother of three   
children1 was highly pleased at         
,mohammed's story4 ,as she listened to  
the proof of his business ability and   
fondly scanned his large1 nobly formed  
head1 his curling coal-black hair1 his  
piercing eyes1 and his comely form1 it  
naturally occurred to her that this     
vigorous and handsome young fellow would
 make an excellent successor to her     
deceased husband4 ,she had her way and  
they were married4 ,during the next     
fifteen years ,mohammed led a tranquil  
life4 ,his future was provided for and  
he had plenty of leisure to occupy      
himself as he chose4 ,in these years    
,mohammed and his wife continued to be  
conventional worshipers of idols1 who   
nightly performed rites in honor of     
various gods and goddesses1 among whom  
were ,allah and his female consoler     
,al-,lat4 ,and so1 by the year #faj1    

,mohammed1 at the age of forty1 was     
nothing more than a respectable but     
unknown tradesman who had experienced no
 extraordinary crises1 whose few        
existing utterances were dull and       
insipid1 and whose life seemed destined 
to remain as insignificant and unsung as
 any other ,arab's4  ,at this time1 he  
began to retire for days at a time to a 
cave in the foothills of ,mount ,hira1 a
 hill several miles north of ,mecca4    
,meanwhile his business languished4 ,as 
the months passed1 he still continued to
 act in the same incomprehensible       
manner2 it was noticed that little by   
little certain members of his immediate 
family attended him to his refuge or    
gathered with him in some one of their  
houses4 ,this continued for several     
years until it was rumored that         
,mohammed1 the camel driver1 was        
confidently claiming the honor of having
 made a great discovery2 namely1 that   
,there is no ,god but ,allah1 and       
,mohammed is ,his ,prophet4  ,by what   

process of thought had ,mohammed come to
 exalt ,allah not merely above all      
,arabian gods1 but above the gods of all
 times8 ,furthermore1 why was he so     
certain of his own intimate association 
with ,allah8 ,we can understand this if 
we consider ,mohammed in the light of a 
victim of mental disease4  ,one account 
informs us that as ,mohammed was        
wandering near the cave at ,mount ,hira1
 an angel from the sky cried to him1 ',o
 ,mohammed1 ,i am ,gabriel6' ,he was    
terrified and hurried home to impart his
 experience to his wife4  ,i see a      
light1 he said to his wife1 and ,i hear 
a sound4 ,i fear that ,i am possessed4  
,this idea was most distressing to a    
pious man4 ,he became pale1 haggard2 he 
wandered about on the hill near ,mecca  
crying for help to ,god4 ,more than once
 he drew near the edge of the cliff and 
was tempted to hurl himself down1 and so
 put an end to his misery at once4 ,he  
lived much in the open air1 gazing on   
the stars1 watching the dry ground grow 

green beneath the gentle rain4 ,he      
pondered also on the religious legends  
of the ,jews1 which he had heard related
 on his journeys2 and as he looked and  
thought1 the darkness was dispelled1 the
 clouds disappeared1 and the vision of  
,god in solitary grandeur rose within   
his mind1 and there came upon him an    
impulse to speak of ,god4 ,there came   
upon him a belief that he was a         
messenger of ,god sent on earth to      
restore the religion of ,abraham1 which 
the pagan ,arabs had polluted with      
idolatry1 the ,jews in corrupting their 
holy books4 ,at the same time he heard a
 ,voice1 and sometimes he felt a noise  
in his ears like the tinkling of bells  
or a low deep hum1 as if bees were      
swarming round his head4  ,at this      
period of his life the chapters of the  
,koran were delivered in throes of pain4
 ,the paroxysms were preceded by        
depression of spirit1 his face became   
clouded1 his extremities turned cold1 he
 shook like a man in an ague1 and he    

called for coverings4 ,his face assumed 
an expression horrible to see1 the vein 
between his eyebrows became distended1  
his eyes were fixed1 his head moved to  
and fro1 as if he was conversing1 and   
then he gave forth the oracle or ,sura4 
,the hitherto mentally and emotionally  
normal trader1 husband1 and father was  
thus suddenly swept off his feet and    
carried irresistibly away on a mighty   
tide4 ,his perturbed spirit now soared  
to the heights of ,heaven1 now plunged  
into the chasms of hell4 ,moments of    
ethereal bliss would be followed by     
periods of profoundest melancholy4  ,it 
is related that the ,angel ,gabriel1 who
 thus far had labored only in the field 
of ,christian endeavor1 was chosen by   
,allah as bearer of the divine          
revelation to ,mohammed4 ,one day1 while
 the trader-poet was wrestling with his 
doubts among the foothills of ,mount    
,hira1 he saw a wondrous apparition     
floating downward on celestial wings4   
',thou art ,god's ,prophet1 and ,i am   

,gabriel1' announced the awe-inspiring  
guest before he departed to receive the 
blessing of ,allah for having so        
successfully executed the heavenly      
command4 ,gabriel was a very valuable   
ambassador1 for through the to-and-fro  
journeying of this indefatigable        
messenger ,allah was able to remain at  
ease in heaven1 thus keeping up the     
appearance of intangible1 majestic      
remoteness so necessary for dignified   
gods4 ,and thus ,mohammed came into his 
own4 ,from that moment ,mohammed looked 
upon himself as ,allah's vice regent1   
through whom ,allah's incontestable     
decrees were to be given to man4        
7,mohammed--,r4 ,f4 ,dibble47           
,mohammed's every doubt had now         
vanished1 his soul was completely at    
ease1 and from his lips there burst the 
wildly exultant chant1 ,there is no ,god
 but ,allah and ,mohammed is ,his       
,prophet4  ,the obliging ,gabriel1 he   
said1 had borne him on a winged steed   
over ,medina to the ,temple of          

,jerusalem1 and from there he continued 
his celestial journey until he was      
carried completely out of this world to 
those ethereal realms of bliss where the
 ,seven ,heavens are4 ,up and up he     
flew1 while he carefully noted the order
 of precedence of those prophets whose  
model he had proclaimed himself to be4  
,jesus and ,john were in the second or  
third--he was not quite sure            
which--,moses was in the sixth1 while   
,abraham alone had the supreme          
distinction of residing in the ,seventh 
,heaven4 ,there1 at the apex of         
indescribable glory1 ,mohammed had      
entered the awful presence of his       
,maker1 ,who1 after some chit-chat1     
charged him to see that all ,moslems    
should hereafter prostrate themselves in
 prayer toward the ,temple of ,solomon  
five times a day4 ,the truth of this    
narrative rests upon two solid facts3   
from that day to this1 all devout       
,moslems have continued to bow          
themselves five times daily in prayer1  

and sceptics may still see1 upon the    
rock where stands the ,mosque of ,omar  
in ,jerusalem1 the identical print of   
the ,prophet's foot where he leaped upon
 the ,heavenly ,charger4  ,his thoughts1
 whether conceived in a white heat of   
frenzy1 or with deliberate coolness and 
sly calculations for the main chance1   
were probably not written down in any   
definite manner during his lifetime4 ,it
 is not even certain whether he could   
read or write4 ,he delighted in the     
appellation1 ,the ,illiterate ,prophet1 
possibly on account of his humility and 
possibly because he knew that inspired  
ignorance had been the indisputable     
prerogative of all successful prophets  
in the past4 ,indeed1 the very fact that
 he was unlearned was rightly supposed  
to increase the miraculous nature of his
 revelations4 ,as he tossed the divine  
emanations from his lips1 they were     
sometimes recorded by hireling scribes  
upon palm leaves1 leather1 stones1 the  
shoulder blades or ribs of camels and   

goats4 ,but often they were not         
immediately written down at all2 the    
,prophet would go around spouting forth 
his utterances to his followers1 who1   
trained from infancy to memorize verses 
and songs of every sort with infallible 
precision1 would piously commit them to 
memory4 ,such is the ,koran1 and through
 its instrumentality1 ,allah the ,wise1 
,the ,only ,wise1 revealed his immutable
 decrees3 to the good1 the rewards of a 
,paradise that utterly beggared the     
,christian ,heaven2 to the bad1 the     
punishments of a ,hell that contained an
 infinity of such refined tortures of   
heat1 and even of cold as neither the   
most imaginatively gifted ,jew or       
,christian had yet conceived4  ,reinach 
aptly states1 ,it is humiliating to the 
human intellect to think that this      
mediocre literature has been the subject
 of innumerable commentaries and that   
millions of men are still wasting time  
in absorbing it4 ,over one hundred and  
sixty million are adherents of the      

,koran4  ,in an objective analysis1     
excluding the emotional factors of      
religious bias1 ,mohammed would as      
unquestionably be considered a victim of
 mental disturbances as an individual   
living in our own day and manifesting   
the same symptoms4  ,mohammed was the   
subject of illusions1 hallucinations1   
and delusions4 ,he had suicidal         
tendencies1 and he had alternating      
periods of exhilaration and depression4 
,to simply assert that he was an        
epileptic does not explain these        
symptoms4 ,for epileptics cannot throw a
 fit at will4 ,however1 we know that ten
 per cent of epileptics develop mental  
diseases1 no particular psychosis but a 
loss of mental and moral sense4  ,there 
are two types of individuals who can    
produce seizures such as ,mohammed was  
wont to evoke at will4 ,one type is the 
hysterical1 and the other is that       
degraded individual who for the sake of 
collecting alms will place a piece of   
soap in his mouth1 enter a crowded      

street1 fall to the ground1 and proceed 
to foam at the mouth and twist and      
contort himself as an epileptic does4   
,that is the charlatan1 the faker1 and  
that brings us to the second aspect of  
his 7,mohammed's7 character4  ,outside  
of ,arabia1 ,paganism was in general    
disrepute4 ,the dissolute and declining 
,romans were cracking lewd jokes in the 
very faces of their gods1 the myriad    
followers of ,confucius1 ,buddha and    
,zoroaster were either too remote or too
 helpless to matter in one way or       
another4 ,talmudic ,judaism and         
,oriental ,christianity despised        
idolatry and worshipped the same        
,jehovah1 even though they disputed with
 each other1 and indeed1 among          
themselves1 concerning the various      
attributes1 amorous pursuits1 and lineal
 descendants of the ,godhead4 ,now1 to  
one who chose to regard himself as a    
prophet1 ,monotheism had distinct       
advantages over ,polytheism4            
7,mohammed--,r4 ,f4 ,dibble47  ,in the  

first place1 it was rather confusing to 
attempt to obey the behests of          
conflicting deities2 in the second      
place1 the different prophets of        
,jehovah in ,judaism and ,christendom   
had1 so far as ,mohammed knew1 been     
uniformly successful1 for he was        
familiar with the glorious history of   
,abraham1 ,moses1 and ,david1 and he    
always held to the perverse conception  
that ,jesus was not crucified4 ,however 
deep in the dumps prophets may have been
 on occasion1 they have invariably      
believed one thing3 victory for their   
particular cause would inevitably come4 
,neither an unbroken series of worldly  
failures nor the chastisement of his god
 have ever shaken the faith of a        
first-class prophet in himself or1 as he
 would doubtless prefer to say1 in his  
,divinity4 ,arabia1 broken1 unorganized1
 inglorious1 idolistic ,arabia1         
obviously lacked one ,supreme ,being    
whose prerogative was greater than all  
other ,supreme ,beings1 and that ,being1

 in turn1 needed a messenger to exploit 
,his supremacy4 ,the messengers who had 
served ,jehovah had certainly prospered 
well2 but ,jehovah ,himself appeared to 
be on the decline4 ,his ,unity was      
steadily disintegrating into a          
paradoxical ,trinity4 ,why1 therefore1  
not give ,allah1 the leading icon in    
,arabia1 an opportunity8 ,such          
considerations quite probably never     
entered the head of ,mohammed with any  
definiteness2 yet his behavior for the  
rest of his days seems to indicate that 
these1 or similar conceptions1 were     
subconsciously egging him on4  ,of      
certain facts1 moreover1 he was         
definitely aware4 ,he may have had      
little or no formal education1 but his  
memory was retentive and capacious1 and 
his caravan journeys1 together with the 
scores of conversations he had held at  
the yearly fairs1 as well as at ,mecca1 
with many cultivated strangers1 had     
packed his mind with a mass of highly   
valuable matter4 ,in these ways he had  

learned both the strength and the       
weakness of the ,jews and ,christians2  
their fanatical enthusiasm and despairs2
 their spasmodic attempts to proselytize
 as well as the widespread defection    
from their faiths4 ,since his conception
 of religion was largely personal1 for  
he looked upon ,moses1 ,jesus1 and the  
rest of the prophets as merely capable  
men who had founded and promulgated     
religions2 and since ,arabia had no     
pre-eminent ruler1 why should he not    
seize the reins of power and carry on   
the great tradition of prophethood8     
,what a magnificent opportunity         
beckoned1 and how fortunate that he had 
been the first to recognize the call6   
,by keeping only what was best of the   
,arabic faith1 the ,kaaba and the ,black
 ,stone1 and by a judicious selection of
 the most feasible ideas which lay      
imbedded in ,jewish and ,christian      
precepts1 he might establish a code that
 would supersede all others1 and then   
might dictate to all ,arabs alike4 ,what

 prophets had done1 he would also do and
 do better4 7,mohammed--,r4 ,f4         
,dibble47  ,such are the thoughts of a  
charlatan and a demagogue4 ,if ,mohammed
 actually had such ideas1 we can never  
know2 but a study of his further actions
 and conquests surely shows that he must
 have had something of the same trend of
 thought in mind4  ,his fits before the 
oncoming of a new ,sura have been       
mentioned4 ,eventually1 he so perfected 
his technique that he could throw a     
cataleptic fit and produce a message    
without any previous preparation4 ,he   
would drum up a crowd with his ludicrous
 snortings and puffings until the       
resounding cry1 ,inspiration hath       
descended on the ,prophet6 assured him  
that he had a sufficiently large        
audience to warrant the out-spurting of 
a new ,sura4 ,while in a room that was  
obviously empty1 he declared that all   
seats were occupied by angels2 he       
cultivated suave and benign expression2 
he flattered and astounded his followers

 by telling them facts which he had     
presumably acquired through private     
information2 he took the most           
painstaking care of his person1 painting
 his eyes and perfuming his entire body 
daily1 and wearing his hair long4       
,ayesha1 one of the ,prophet's wives1   
remarked that the ,prophet loved three  
things3 women1 scent and food1 and that 
he had his heart's content of the first 
two1 but not of the last4 ,in fact1     
,mohammed1 himself1 argued that these   
two innocuous diversions intensified the
 ecstasy of his prayers4 ,in the        
,koran's description of heaven so much  
emphasis was put on food that a jolly   
,jew objected on the grounds that such  
continual feasting must of necessity be 
followed by a purgation4 ,the ,prophet1 
however1 swore that it would not even be
 necessary to blow the nose in          
,paradise1 since all bodily impurities  
would be carried off by a perspiration  
as odoriferous as musk4  ,when his wife 
,khadija was dying he comforted her with

 the assurance that she1 together with  
three other well-known women1 the       
,virgin ,mary1 ,potiphar's wife1 and    
,kulthum1 ,moses' sister1 would occupy  
his chamber in ,paradise4  ,on          
,mohammed's escape to ,medina1 a long   
series of holy wars began which1 like   
all holy wars1 were characterized by    
extreme brutality4 ,the ,koran of the   
period contains such pacific doctrines  
as these3 ,the sword is the key of      
,heaven and ,hell2 a drop of blood shed 
in the cause of ,god1 a night spent in  
arms is of more avail than two months of
 fasting or prayer2 whosoever falls in  
battle1 his sins are forgiven4 ,at the  
day of ,judgment his wounds shall be    
resplendent as vermilion1 and           
odoriferous as musk2 and the loss of    
limbs shall be supplied by the wings of 
angels and cherubim 444 ,god loveth not 
the ,transgressors2 kill them           
wheresoever ye find them4  ,mohammed1 no
 less than many other religiously-minded
 emperors and tsars1 appears to have    

conducted himself in battle according to
 the wise principle that a head without 
a halo is infinitely more desirable than
 a halo without a head4 ,yet he was     
profoundly convinced that the ultimate  
victory of ,islam depended upon the     
sword4 ,the ,koran of this period       
breathes defiance against the enemies of
 ,islam on almost every page4 ,its      
profuse maledictions1 once confined to  
the evildoers of ,mecca1 now include all
 unbelievers everywhere4 ,when ,mohammed
 once had captured a fortress inhabited 
by a tribe of ,jews1 his judgment was1  
,the men shall be put to death1 the     
women and children sold into slavery1   
and the spoil divided amongst the army4 
,then1 trenches were dug1 some seven    
hundred men were marched out1 forced to 
seat themselves in rows along the top of
 the trenches1 beheaded1 and then       
tumbled into a long gaping grave4       
,meanwhile1 the ,prophet looked on      
until1 tiring of the monotonous         
spectacle1 he departed to amuse himself 

with a ,jewess whose husband had just   
perished4  ,he continued these conquests
 until1 at his death1 in #fcb1 he was   
the master of nearly all ,arabia and    
revered almost as a god4 ,yet1 when     
,omar1 his first lieutenant1 captured   
,jerusalem in #fcf1 he ensured the      
conquered ,jews and ,christians free    
exercise of their religion1 and the     
security of their persons and their     
goods4 ,but when the ,crusaders took    
,jerusalem in #ajii1 they massacred all 
the ,mohammedans1 and burnt the ,jews   
alive4 ,it is estimated that #gj1jjj    
persons were put to death in less than a
 week to attest the superior morality of
 the ,christian faith4  ,the successors 
of ,mohammed1 the ,caliphs1 in less than
 a century conquered ,syria1 ,egypt1    
,babylonia1 ,persia1 ,turkestan1 ,spain1
 ,northern ,africa1 ,sicily1 and        
,southern ,france4 ,today1 #afj1jjj1jjj 
are followers of ,mohammed1--a man who  
began as a humble religious leader1 and 
ended as an adroit politician and       

powerful general2 a man who hid during  
battles1 who often broke faith with     
friend and foe alike1 a charlatan and   
demagogue of general intellectual       
incompetency1 and a victim of mental    
disease4   ,,jesus  ,when we come to    
consider the life of ,jesus1 a far      
different and more intricate problem is 
met with4 ,none but the most illogical  
and purposely ignorant of religious     
apologists will admit that the life of  
,jesus has been misrepresented by his   
followers to suit their particular aims4
 ,had the followers of the moralist     
,epictetus or the ,rabbi ,hillel written
 lives of these two teachers they would 
be quite similar to the reputed life of 
,jesus4 ,the moral sentiments attributed
 to ,christ in the ,gospels were        
borrowed from the ,jewish rabbis and the
 numerous cults that flourished in that 
age4 ,the birth1 death1 and resurrection
 of ,christ is quite similar to the     
myths of that time concerning the savior
 gods ,adonis1 ,isis1 ,osiris1 ,attis1  

,mithra1 and a multitude of others4     
7,for a full exposition of the subject1 
the reader is referred to ,e4           
,carpenter1 ,pagan and ,christian       
,creeds47  ,the evidence for the point  
of view that ,jesus was actually a      
historic character is so slight that    
such scholars as ,j4 ,m4 ,robertson1    
,prof4 ,w4 ,b4 ,smith1 ,professor       
,drews1 ,dr4 ,p4 ,l4 ,couchoud1 and many
 others deny the historic reality of    
,christ on the ground that the ,gospels 
are totally unreliable as history1 that 
,paul bears no witness to a human       
,jesus1 and that the pagan and ,jewish  
writers are strangely silent about the  
,messiah ,jesus4  ,there are in         
existence only twenty-four lines from   
,jewish and ,pagan writers referring to 
,jesus4 ,these include a reference in   
,tacitus' ,annals1 and brief references 
by ,suetonius and ,pliny the ,younger4  
,these three references are considered  
spurious by many scholars1 and even if  
they were all to be accepted it would   

mean that the total pagan testimony as  
to the historicity of ,jesus is confined
 to three very vague and brief          
references written a century after the  
reputed time of ,jesus4 ,the longest    
reference to ,jesus is in the writings  
of the ,jewish historian1 ,josephus4    
,the passage referring to ,jesus in his 
,jewish ,antiquities has been considered
 as spurious even by conservative       
scholars4 ,a group of scholars has      
always deemed it very probable1 however1
 that this spurious reference may have  
replaced an unfavorable reference to    
,jesus in the original4 ,working on this
 theory1 ,dr4 ,eisler has purged of     
interpolations this work by a           
painstaking and scholarly investigation4
  ,however1 it must be pointed out that 
with regard to ,jesus' actual existence1
 what divided the ,christians and       
non-,christians was not the question    
whether or not ,jesus existed2 but the  
vastly more pertinent and essentially   
different question whether or not the   

obscure ,galilean carpenter1 executed by
 a ,roman governor as king of the ,jews1
 was really a superhuman being who had  
overcome death1 the longed-for-savior of
 mankind1 foretold by the ,prophets1 the
 only-begotten ,son of ,god ,himself4   
,to the ,jews1 ,jesus was indeed a      
heretic and an agitator of the lower    
orders2 to the pagans1 he was a magician
 who through sham miracles and with     
subversive words had incited the people 
to rebellion1 and as a leader of a gang 
of desperate men had attempted to seize 
the royal crown of ,juda1 as others had 
done before and after him4 ,the         
non-,christian writers referred to      
,jesus as a wizard1 a demagogue1 and a  
rebel4  ,we are fortunate1 at this date1
 to have brought to our attention a     
masterful work by ,dr4 ,robert ,eisler1 
a work which will be as revolutionary to
 the study of ,christianity as was      
,darwin's ,origin of the ,species in the
 realms of science2 and1 similarly1 the 
former work will be the basis upon which

 much progress will be made in a great  
field4 ,dr4 ,eisler unfolds a great mass
 of hitherto unknown information        
concerning the life1 the actual         
appearance1 and the doings of ,jesus4   
,he definitely establishes the proof of 
,jesus' actual existence1 and makes     
clear many hitherto obscure utterances  
and deeds of this ,prophet4  ,the       
descriptions which follow are based on  
the material in this work of ,dr4       
,eisler1 ,the ,messiah ,jesus4  ,in the 
complete statement of ,josephus on      
,pilate's governorship1 we find1 ,at    
that time there appeared a certain man  
of magical power1 if it is permissible  
to call him a man1 whom certain ,greeks 
call a ,son of ,god1 but his disciples1 
the ,true ,prophet1 said to raise the   
dead1 and heal all diseases4 ,his nature
 and his form were human2 a man of      
simple appearance1 mature age1 small in 
stature1 three cubits high1 hunchbacked1
 with a long face1 long nose1 and       
meeting eyebrows1 so that they who see  

him might be affrighted1 with scanty    
hair but with a parting in the middle of
 his head1 after the manner of the      
,nazarites1 and with an undeveloped     
beard4 ,only in semblance was he        
superhuman for he gave some astonishing 
and spectacular exhibitions4 ,but again1
 if ,i look at his commonplace physique1
 ,i1 for one1 cannot call him an angel4 
,and everything whatsoever he wrought   
through some invisible power1 he wrought
 through some word and a command4 ,some 
said of him1 ',our first law giver is   
risen again1 and displays many healings 
and magic arts4 ,others said1 ',he is   
sent from ,god4' ,howbeit in many things
 he disobeyed the law and kept not the  
,sabbath according to our fathers'      
custom4  ,and many of the multitude     
followed after him and accepted his     
teachings1 and many souls were excited1 
thinking that thereby the ,jewish tribes
 might be freed from ,roman hands4 ,but 
it was his custom most of the time to   
abide over against the city on the      

,mount of ,olives1 and there1 too1 he   
bestowed his healings upon the people4  
,and there assembled unto him of helpers
 one hundred and fifty1 and a multitude 
of the mob4  ,now1 when they saw his    
power1 how he accomplished whatsoever he
 would by a magic word1 and when they   
had made known to him their will1 that  
he should enter into the city1 cut down 
the ,roman troops1 and ,pilate and rule 
over us1 he disdained us not4 ,and      
having all flocked into ,jerusalem1 they
 raised an uproar against ,pilate1      
uttering blasphemies alike against ,god 
and against ,csar4  ,and when knowledge 
of it came to the ,jewish leaders1 they 
assembled together1 with the high       
priests and spake1 ',we are powerless   
and too weak to withstand the ,romans4  
,but seeing that the 'bow is bent1' we  
will go and impart to ,pilate what we   
have heard1 and we shall be safe1 lest  
he hear of it from others and we be     
robbed of our substance and ourselves   
slaughtered1 and the children of ,israel

 dispersed4  ,and they went and imparted
 the matter to ,pilate1 and he sent and 
had many of the multitude slain4 ,and he
 had that wonder-worker brought up1 and 
after instituting an inquiry concerning 
him1 he passed this sentence upon him1  
',he is a malefactor1 a rebel1 a robber 
thirsting for the crown4' ,and they took
 him and crucified him according to the 
custom of their fathers4  ,such is the  
history of ,jesus as contrasted with the
 myth of ,jesus in the ,new ,testament4 
,this description of the actual         
appearance of ,jesus for the first time 
gives us a clue to the mental and       
physical characteristics of this        
,prophet4  ,it must be borne in mind    
that at the time that ,jesus achieved   
manhood1 his people and his nation were 
under the complete domination of ,rome1 
and oppressed by a race whom the ,jews  
looked upon as cursed barbarians and    
idolaters4 ,the country was overrun with
 religious zealots who stormed over the 
cities and villages preaching the       

immediate destruction of the world and  
the proximity of the long-awaited coming
 of the ,messiah4  ,the fact that ,jesus
 had to bear the hard fate of a deformed
 body may go far in helping to explain  
this remarkable character4 ,it is common
 knowledge how frequently weak and      
deformed children have to suffer from   
the cruelty and neglect of environment1 
a factor which cannot but produce a     
peculiar reaction on the childish mind  
which has a far-reaching effect in later
 life4 ,this accounts for ,jesus'       
indifference towards his mother and     
brothers2 of a delicate constitution1 he
 must have suffered from insults a great
 deal more than the others1 which throws
 some light on the severe punishment    
demanded by ,jesus for comparatively    
harmless insults4 ,under such           
circumstances it is easy to explain how 
every neighbor1 and next-of-kin1        
although to the weak naturally an enemy1
 came to be included in the sphere of   
that all-embracing love which is the    

nucleus of ,jesus' teaching4 ,for the   
cripple has to face the dilemma either  
of warping everything into a powerful1  
misanthropic hatred1 or else to overcome
 this feeling of revenge for the high   
moral superiority of a ,plato1          
,mendelssohn1 or a ,kant4 ,jesus chose  
the latter of the two courses1 and we   
may well imagine that it was not at     
,golgotha that he had the first occasion
 to cry out1 ,father1 forgive them for  
they know not what they do6  ,in the    
case of ,jesus1 the whole paradoxical   
thought of his being the vicarious      
sin-offering and world redeemer can best
 be understood as the solution1 proposed
 in the ,deutero-,isaiah1 of the        
question which had occupied ,job--to    
wit3 ,why must the innocent suffer8 ,if 
the maimed in body refuse to consider   
himself as forsaken by his ,god1 as a   
sinner punished for some guilt of which 
he is unconscious1 he cannot but assume 
that there is such a thing as a vocation
 to suffering1 and believe in the       

inscrutable plan of salvation in which  
his own life and sufferings are called  
upon to play some part4 ,nothing but    
this conviction of being thus elected   
can afford him the desired compensation 
for his depressed and hampered ego4  ,a 
repressed nature of this type will1 in  
seeking such a compensation1 escape from
 the harsh reality into the realm of    
dreams4 ,this is the basis of what the  
physician recognizes in hysteria1 and in
 the mental disease termed ,dementia    
,prcox4 ,the glorious daydreams of the  
millennium1 the time of bliss when all  
strife and all hate will disappear from 
the earth1 when all the crooked will be 
made straight1 find their best          
explanation in this peculiarity4 ,they  
console the suffering and heavy-laden   
for the bitter reality which1 in the    
light of the old messianic prophecies1  
appears only as a nightmare1 promptly to
 be chased away by the dawn of a new    
day1 a new1 a perfect era4 ,the ,davidic
 ,jesus1 in spite or rather because of  

his servile form1 feels that he is      
himself the secret incognito king of    
that wonderful realm1 the monarch whom  
,god some time in the future1 nay1 right
 here and before the passing of the     
present generation1 will transform while
 at the same time revealing his kingdom4
  ,it is but natural that in the mental 
development of such individuals they    
should seek to be great1 glorious1 and  
to achieve the supernatural1 since they1
 themselves1 are denied the ordinary    
satisfactions4 ,if1 in addition1 such   
individuals believe that they have had a
 divine call1 if the disability of the  
body so preys on the mind that the      
sensitive structure gives way to        
delusions1 then there results an        
aberration from the normal and usual    
processes of thought1--to be sure not   
the rabid1 violent form of mental       
disease1 but yet a deviation from the   
normal manner of thinking4 ,such was the
 case with the ,prophet ,jesus4         
,afflicted in body but endowed with a   

sensitive mind1 exposed to an unusual   
environment of seething unrest and      
political ferment1 and firmly convinced 
in the current fancies regarding the    
approaching destruction of the world1   
the conquest of the ,evil ,power1 and   
the ,reign of ,god1 ,jesus became the   
subject of a delusion that he was the   
only true ,messiah who had been presaged
 by the prophets of old4  ,the greatest 
difficulty encountered in every attempt 
to present the life and work of ,jesus  
according to the evidence of his own    
words preserved in the sources is the   
sharp1 irreconcilable contradiction     
between the so-called fire and sword    
sayings on the one side1 and the        
beatitudes on the peacemakers and the   
meek1 the prohibition to kill1 to be    
angry1 to resist wrong1 and the command 
to love one's enemy1 contained in the   
,sermon on the ,mount1 on the other4    
,in the early period of his messianic   
career1 the period of the ,sermon on the
 ,mount1 ,jesus was a thorough quietist4

 ,but if we realize that the delusion   
that he was ,the ,messiah had entered   
his mind so vehemently that he firmly   
believed that the end of the world was  
imminent1 and that it was his duty to   
save as many as possible1 we can        
understand his acquiescence to the      
violence which followed4  ,moreover1 he 
was clearly forced to the fatal road by 
the idea that he must set on foot a     
movement of hundreds of thousands1 the  
picture of the exodus from ,egypt with  
the fantastic figures given in the ,old 
,testament4 ,the ,messianic rising he   
was to initiate could not be regarded as
 realized if he left the country with a 
band of some hundred elect4 ,if he      
wished1 however1 to put at least        
two-fifths of the population in motion1 
the method of sending out messengers had
 proved altogether unsatisfactory4 ,he  
must try the effect of his own words in 
a place where1 and at a time when1 he   
was sure to reach the greatest multitude
 of his people4 ,that could only be in  

,jerusalem1 at the time of the great    
pilgrimage at the feast of the          
,passover4 ,moreover1 the desired result
 could only be obtained of course if he 
openly proclaimed himself to be the     
,messiah4  ,then it was that the        
,prophet of quiet reversed his words and
 armed his disciples4 ,jesus was fully  
aware of the illegality of this arming  
of his disciples and of his own         
direction to purchase a weapon2 none the
 less1 he saw no escape from this bitter
 necessity4 ,the prediction of the      
prophet must be fulfilled1 according to 
which the righteous servant of the ,lord
 must be numbered among the lawless     
transgressors4 ,true it is that he did  
not lead the revolt himself1 but tarried
 with his disciples at the ,last ,supper
 at a house near by the fighting4 ,when 
he becomes aware that his secret hiding 
place on the ,mount of ,olives has been 
betrayed1 ,jesus hopes for a miracle    
from ,god up to the last4 ,captured1 he 
is led away to the palace of the high   

priest's family on the ,mount of        
,olives1 where1 while ,jesus is         
questioned by the high priest1 ,peter1  
unrecognized1 warms himself at the fire 
in the courtyard and thrice denies his  
master4 ,he was then taken to the ,roman
 governor's court-martial1 where        
sentence was passed and he was led off  
to the place of execution and there     
deserted by all his followers except a  
few ,galilean women4 ,then was heard the
 last despairing cry of the desolate1   
dying martyr1 ,my ,god1 ,my ,god1 why   
hast thou forsaken me8  ,thus ended the 
career of this deformed ,prophet with   
the sensitive deluded mind2 a martyr who
 attempted only to effect reforms       
amongst his own people1 in his own small
 locality4   ,,moses  ,with regard to   
the life1 the deeds1 and the words of   
the ,prophet ,moses we have no history2 
only myth and legend4 ,the existence of 
,moses is not demonstrated by the       
,biblical books which are falsely       
ascribed to him1 yet we cannot be       

certain that such a character did not   
exist4 ,in any event1 we must judge his 
character from the writings ascribed to 
him4  ,the legend of the child cast upon
 the waters is to be found in the       
folklore of all nations4 ,this legend1  
concerning ,moses1 relates that one day 
,pharaoh's daughter1 while bathing with 
her maids in the ,nile1 found a ,hebrew 
child exposed on the waters in obedience
 to a new decree4 ,she adopted the boy1 
gave him an ,egyptian name1 and brought 
him up in her palace as a prince4 ,she  
had him educated and the fair inference 
is that he was schooled in the culture  
of the ,egyptians4 ,the royal lady made 
of the ,hebrew slave-child an ,egyptian 
gentleman4  ,yet1 although his face was 
shaved1 and outwardly he appeared to be 
an ,egyptian1 at heart he remained a    
,hebrew4 ,one day1 when he was grown1   
,moses went slumming among his own      
people to look at their burdens1 and he 
spied an ,egyptian smiting a ,hebrew4   
,he was so overcome by passion at this  

scene that he killed the man on the     
spot4 ,the crime became known1 there was
 a hue and cry raised1 and the king had 
a search made for ,moses with the       
intention of slaying him4 ,with all hope
 of a career in ,egypt ended1 ,moses    
escaped to the ,peninsula of ,sinai1 and
 entered the family of an ,arab sheik4  
,the ,peninsula of ,sinai lies clasped  
between two arms of the ,red ,sea4 ,it  
is a wilderness of mountains covered    
with a thin1 almost transparent coating 
of vegetation which serves as pasture to
 the ,bedouin flocks4 ,among the hills  
that crown the high plateau there is one
 which at the time of ,moses was called 
the ,mount of ,god4 ,it was holy ground 
to the ,egyptians1 and also to the      
,arabs1 who ascended as pilgrims and    
drew off their sandals when they reached
 the top4 ,now is it strange that ,sinai
 should have excited reverence and      
dread8 ,it is indeed a weird land4 ,vast
 and stern stand the mountains1 with    
their five granite peaks pointing to the

 sky4 ,avalanches like those of the     
,alps1 but of sand1 not of snow1 rush   
down their naked sides with a clear     
tinkling sound4 ,a peculiar property    
resides in the air1 the human voice can 
be heard at a surprising distance and   
swells out into a reverberating roar1   
and sometimes there rises from among the
 hills a dull booming sound like the    
distant firing of heavy guns4  ,let us  
attempt to realize what ,moses must have
 felt when he was driven out of ,egypt  
into such a harsh and rugged land4      
,imagine this man1 the adopted son of a 
royal personage1 who was accustomed to  
all the splendor of the ,egyptian court1
 to the busy turmoil of the streets of  
the metropolis1 to reclining in a       
carpeted gondola or staying with a noble
 at his country house4 ,in a moment all 
is changed4 ,he dwells in a tent1 alone 
on the mountain side1 a shepherd with a 
crook in his hand4 ,he is married to the
 daughter of a barbarian2 his career is 
at an end4  ,he realizes that never     

again will he enter that palace where   
once he was received with honor1 where  
now his name is uttered only with       
contempt4 ,never again will he discourse
 with grave and learned men in his      
favorite haunts1 and never again will he
 see the people of his tribe whom he    
loves and for whom he endures this      
miserable fate4 ,they will suffer but he
 will not help them2 they will mourn1   
but he will not hear them4 ,in his      
dreams he hears and sees them4 ,he hears
 the whistling of the lash and the      
convulsive sobs and groans4 ,he sees the
 poor slaves toiling in the fields and  
sees the daughters of ,israel carried   
off to the harem with struggling arms   
and streaming hair4 ,he sees the chamber
 of the woman in labor1 the seated1     
shuddering1 writhing form1 the mother   
struggling against maternity1 dreading  
her release1 for the king's officer is  
standing by the door1 ready1 as soon as 
a male child is born1 to put it to      
death4  ,the ,arabs who gave him shelter

 were also children of ,abraham1 and    
they related to him legends of the      
ancient days4 ,they told him of the     
patriarchs who lay buried in ,canaan    
with their wives2 they spoke of the ,god
 whom his fathers had worshiped4 ,then1 
as one who returns to a long lost home1 
the ,egyptian returned to the faith of  
the desert1 to the ,god of ,abraham1    
,isaac1 and ,jacob4 ,as he wandered on  
the mountain heights1 he looked to the  
west and saw a desert2 beyond it lay    
,canaan1 the home of his ancestors1 a   
land of peace and soon to be a land of  
hope4 ,for now1 new ideas rose          
tumultuously within him4 ,he began to   
see visions and to dream dreams4 ,he    
heard voices and beheld no form2 he saw 
trees which blazed with fire and yet    
were not consumed4 ,he became a prophet 
and entered into the ecstatic stage4    
,that is1 he began to have illusions and
 hallucinations4  ,dwelling on the      
misery and suffering of his people1 his 
mind becomes deluded with the idea that 

he has been chosen by his new-found ,god
 to liberate his people from the tyranny
 of their oppressors4  ,meanwhile the   
king had died1 and a new ,pharaoh had   
ascended the throne4 ,moses returns to  
,egypt to carry out the great designs   
which he had formed4 ,he announces to   
the elders of his people1 to the heads  
of the houses1 and the sheiks of the    
tribes that the ,god of ,abraham had    
appeared to him in ,sinai and had       
revealed his true name4 ,it was         
,jehovah4 ,he had been sent by ,jehovah 
to ,egypt to bring away his people1 to  
lead them to ,canaan4  ,in company with 
his brother1 ,aaron1 ,moses asked       
,pharaoh to liberate the children of    
,israel1 but after several vain attempts
 to dazzle ,pharaoh with his skill as a 
magician1 he was met with an obstinate  
refusal4 ,moses before ,pharaoh descends
 to the level of a vulgar sorcerer1     
armed with a magic wand1 whose          
performances only draw our smiles4 ,this
 charlatanry having been unsuccessful1  

the wizard connives with his accomplice 
,jehovah to have inflicted upon the     
,egyptians the ten plagues4 ,then the   
loving and kind ,father1 having killed  
innumerable ,egyptians1 as the story    
relates1 so terrorizes the minds of his 
other children in ,egypt1 that ,pharaoh 
is finally convinced that he must allow 
the ,chosen ,people to leave his domain4
 ,the ,israelites quitted ,egypt        
carrying away with them the gold and    
silver of their oppressors4 ,they then  
entered the desert4  ,the magic art of  
,moses enabled them to pass dry-footed  
through the ,red ,sea1 whereas the      
,pharaoh who was pursuing them was      
engulfed with his whole army4 ,again the
 ,chosen ,people are liberated by means 
of the death of multitudes of           
,egyptians4 ,truly1 ,jehovah at that    
time must have loved them well1 or did  
some other ,deity form the ,egyptians8  
,it matters not that the crossing of the
 ,red ,sea and the drowning of ,pharaoh 
are romantic incidents1 not only unknown

 to the ,egyptian texts1 but even to the
 earliest of ,hebrew prophets4 ,it      
matters not1 for the story is the       
important thing1 even though it is an   
inspired story1 inspired by the ,jehovah
 who tortured and killed the ,egyptians 
to show how well he loved his people4   
,this ,wild ,west story1 with its       
multitudes of slaughters1 proceeds to   
the wilderness of ,sinai2 and there     
again1 the ,prophet ,moses goes into a  
secret seance and finally announces that
 ,god had delivered laws to him1 which  
had been issued from the clouds4  ,what 
a great showman was this ,prophet6      
,barnum must have been a devoted admirer
 of ,moses1 for ,moses was the first to 
create the two-ring circus2 for these   
laws given by ,jehovah are described in 
two places1 and the circus varies in    
both places4 ,exodus ,,xx and ,exodus   
,,xxxiv are the two texts which differ  
considerably4  ,to further convince the 
,children of ,israel1 ,moses tells them 
the story of how he had cajoled ,jehovah

 into allowing him to see what no man   
had hitherto seen1 the form of ,jehovah1
 for it appears that ,jehovah was so    
pleased with this murderer1 charlatan1  
and wizard that he allowed him to       
glimpse ,his hind quarters4 ,at least1  
,jehovah had a sense of humor6  ,what a 
bag of tricks this ,prophet had at his  
command6 ,the ,prophet waves his arms   
and tugs at his gown1 and lo and behold6
 ,the ,lord has spoken6 ,the following  
is a specimen of the revelations which  
the ,lord is supposed to have dictated  
to ,moses4 7,leviticus ,,xiv1 #be47     
,the priest shall take some of the blood
 of the trespass offering and put it    
upon the tip of the right ear of him who
 is to be cleansed and upon the thumb of
 his right hand1 and upon the great toe 
of his right foot1 and the priest shall 
pour of the oil into the palm of his own
 left hand and shall sprinkle with his  
right finger some of the oil that is in 
his left hand seven times before the    
,lord4  ,surely1 it must have been a    

,god with a superior mentality who      
dictated this1 for it surpasses our     
feeble comprehension4 ,and we can well  
imagine ,jehovah's wrath when the priest
 confuses his right and left4  ,twirling
 his arms again1 ,moses gives forth this
 oracle 7,numbers ,,xv1 #cg-da73 ,and   
the ,lord spake unto ,moses1 saying1    
',speak unto the ,children of ,israel1  
and bid them that they make them a      
fringe upon the corner of their garments
 throughout their generations1 and that 
they put upon the fringe of each corner 
a cord of blue1 etc41 etc4  ,jehovah    
chooses ,blue as the divine color4      
,royal ,purple4 ,divine ,blue4 ,then    
there is the familiar myth of the       
,prophet's tapping of the rock to bring 
forth water in the desert2 the story of 
the manna2 the tale of the doves4  ,thus
 can the fabled life of ,moses be       
divided into two stages1 the early      
period of illusions1 hallucinations1 and
 delusions1 and the later stage of      
wizardry1 charlatanry1 and demagoguery4 

,neither must we think that we moderns  
are the first to peer through this sham1
 for what the ,israelites thought of    
these laws appears from the bitter      
criticism of ,moses and ,aaron1 which   
the ,haggadah put into the mouth of the 
rebel ,korah4  ,when we were given the  
ten commandments1 each of us learnt them
 directly from ,mount ,sinai2 there were
 only the ten commandments and we heard 
no orders about 'offering cake' or      
'gifts to priests' or 'tassels4' ,it was
 only in order to usurp the dominion for
 himself and to impart honor to his     
brother ,aaron1 that ,moses added all   
this4  ,moses1 ,jesus1 and              
,mohammed--these prophets whose         
adherents number hundreds of millions1  
about whom there has been built up those
 vast systems of theology1--what is     
there of the divine in their characters8
 ,what supernatural in their deeds8     
,what wisdom poured forth from their    
lips which did not come from other      
philosophers8 ,what immense structures  

have been founded on these shifting     
sands1 on this morass of ignorance and  
childish fable8 ,how long can these     
structures endure1 aided by the         
bolstering up of the theologists1 and   
how long must it be before the light of 
reason will pierce these foundations of 
blindness and force them to topple over8
 ,how much longer before humanity can   
begin to build on a sound foundation8   
,moses1 ,jesus1 and ,mohammed2          
revolutionists three4 ,moses at the head
 of a weak1 squabbling1 and disgruntled 
group of ,hebrew desert marauders4      
,jesus sanctioning the insurrection     
against ,rome4 ,mohammed at the head of 
his ,arabian marauders4  ,if the        
freethinkers firmly believe that in them
 dwell the hope for a better humanity1  
for an exhilarated progress1 for        
universal freedom and liberty for all   
mankind1 and emancipation from fear and 
superstition1 then they1 too1 must      
destroy4 ,they must first undo the wrong
 before they can proceed to build on a  

right foundation4  ,they must build on  
the corner stone that all religion is   
human in its origin1 erroneous in its   
theories1 and ridiculous in its threats 
and rewards4 ,religion is the greatest  
impediment to the progress of human     
happiness4     ,,chapter ,,iv           
,,soundness ,,of ,a ,,foundation ,,for  
,a ,,belief ,,in ,a ,,deity      ,it is 
better to bury a delusion and forget it 
than to insult its     memory by        
retaining the name when the thing has   
perished4      ,f4 ,h4 ,,bradley4       
,a thousand miraculous happenings have  
been honoured by the     testimony of   
the ancients1 which in later times under
 a more     exacting and sceptical      
scrutiny can no longer be believed4     
,inherent     in man's nature is his    
disposition to be gulled4444 ,emotion is
     encouraged to supplant cool reason1
 fanaticism to supplant     tolerance4  
,not by such means can our race be      
saved4      ,,llewelyn ,,powys4   ,our  
interplanetary visitor is firmly        

convinced that all religion1 no matter  
what its antiquity or its modernity may 
be1 is an invention of our groping      
earthly minds4 ,it occurs to him that it
 would be interesting and proper to lay 
aside all theology1 all creed1 all the  
superficial trappings placed by man     
about his conceptions of a deity1 and   
consider only the basic ,god-idea4 ,the 
literature on the subject revealed to   
him that even on this broad and basic   
principle not all religionists were     
agreed4 ,he found a threefold           
classification3  7#a7 ,those who held to
 the belief in an anthropomorphic       
personal ,god who was benevolent1       
omniscient1 and omnipotent4  7#b7 ,those
 who saw in the constitution of our     
universe an impersonal ,supreme ,power1 
who had created the universe1 but who   
had not given us any revelation1 and    
thus has no need for worship by prayer  
and sacrifice4  7#c7 ,those who very    
recently conceived of the deity as a    
cosmic force1 an ultimate1 or as a      

mathematical or physical law4 ,such are 
the hypotheses of ,jeans and ,eddington4
 ,the ,martian set about1 therefore1    
with the principle that1 ,god is a      
hypothesis1 and as such1 stands in need 
of proof4  7#a7 ,the belief in a        
personal ,god3  ,the ,martian1 as our   
guest1 had by this time had ample       
opportunity to survey our civilization1 
and to acquaint himself with the things 
with which ,god in ,his goodness had    
endowed ,his earthly children4 ,a       
proponent of a personal ,god informs him
 that his deity is an infinite personal 
being of consciousness1 intelligence1   
will1 good1 unity1 and ,beauty2 the     
,supreme1 the infinite personality1 who 
was loving1 benevolent1 omnipotent1 and 
omniscient4 ,like the ,american from    
,missouri1 the visitor hastened to see  
for himself the marvelous workings of   
such an exalted being1 for surely such a
 being1 with such attributes as he was  
credited with1 would certainly be in an 
excellent position to bestow great gifts

 upon his earthly children4  ,the       
,martian is informed that the vast      
majority of our inhabitants1 no matter  
what their geographical distribution may
 be1 are suffering from a financial     
depression brought on by the last ,world
 ,war4 ,war and cruelty are synonymous  
in the mind of our seeker for ,god2 and 
immediately1 there arises a conflict    
between the conception of an omnipotent1
 all-wise and loving ,god and one who   
would permit war and cruelty4 ,fearing  
that he has not comprehended the meaning
 of an omnipotent being1 he turns to the
 lexicon for verification1 only to learn
 that it means an all-powerful being4   
,how1 then1 could an omnipotent being   
permit wholesale and private murder8 ,is
 ,he not rather a demon than a ,god8 ,on
 the other hand1 if this being is not   
omnipotent1 then ,he is a useless god1  
and there is no need for all the fears  
which religion breeds1 no need for creed
 and worship4 ,every war1 particularly  
this last one1 is an indictment of ,god4

 ,god's in ,his ,heaven1 all's right    
with the world1 is seemly only to minds 
drugged with an irrational creed4  ,if  
there is a ,god1 he is quite careless of
 human well-being or human suffering4   
,the deaths of a hundred thousand men   
mean no more to him than the deaths of a
 hundred thousand ants4 ,a couple of    
million men locked in a death struggle  
on the battlefield is only a replica of 
the struggle that has been going on in  
the animal world throughout time4 ,if   
there be a ,god1 he made1 he designed   
all this4 ,he fashioned the hooks for   
the slaughter1 the teeth for the        
tearing1 the talons for destruction1 and
 man with his multiplied weapons of     
destruction has but imitated his        
example4 ,a world without ,god1 and in  
which humanity is gradually learning the
 way to better things1 is an inspiration
 to renewed effort after the right4 ,a  
world such as this1 with ,god1 is enough
 to drive insane all with intelligence  
enough to appreciate the situation4     

7,chapman ,cohen3 ,war1 ,civilization   
and the ,churches47  ,when the ,martian 
investigated the annals of the ,world   
,war he found1 despite the opportunities
 ,providence had had of showing its     
benevolence1 the affair of the sinking  
of the ,lusitania1 the torpedoing of    
hospital ships1 vessels that were not   
engaged in fighting but in bringing home
 wounded men who had fought in ,god's   
,cause4 ,he found descriptions of the   
slaughter of men and women and children 
in air raids1 and he naturally concludes
 that the providence of ,god is an      
insult to the earthly intelligence4     
,greatly disturbed1 he picks up one of  
our newspapers and the stories of hate  
and racial antagonism rear their ugly   
heads4 ,these1 together with jealousy   
and fear1 seem to him to be the         
outstanding features of our attitudes4  
,a benevolent1 loving1 omnipotent       
father1 guiding our destinies1 yet      
allowing such monstrosities to exist6   
,the conundrum grows deeper as he       

proceeds4  ,it is a bright day1 and the 
,martian is aware of a head-ache brought
 on by the effort to understand the ways
 of earthlings1 and therefore decides to
 drive through the city streets4 ,yet   
this drive affords him no relaxation1   
for on every side two diametrically     
opposed sights meet his keen            
eyes--luxury and poverty4 ,poverty and  
starvation1 yet the ,lord's ,prayer3    
,our ,father which art in ,heaven1 give 
us this day our daily bread6 ,no        
,martian father would allow his children
 to starve2 if he did1 the law would    
fine him and imprison him4 ,since these 
earthlings are neglected by their       
,heavenly ,father1 and are powerless to 
indict him1 the least they could do     
would be to stop paying tribute to him4 
,if the ,god of these earthlings bothers
 not about them1 why should they trouble
 about ,god8 ,the ,son of ,god who could
 once create a miraculous batch of fish 
to satisfy a few fishermen1 can do      
nothing to help these starving millions6

 ,aloud he muses1 ,is there no place on 
,earth which is free from this          
contradiction8  ,his automobile happens 
to stop in front of an immense edifice  
marked ,hospital1 and his curiosity is  
sufficiently aroused to cause him to    
alight and enter4 ,the physician in     
charge courteously asks his             
distinguished visitor to inspect this   
refuge for those suffering with pain4   
,he remembers that a religionist had    
told him that disease is a visitation of
 the ,lord for our sins1 in the same    
breath with which he had added that the 
,lord was loving and compassionate4 ,if 
that were so1 then this was the ideal   
place to witness the infinite goodness  
and compassion of the ,creator of all   
earthlings4 ,but1 the first scene to    
meet his gaze was that of a woman in    
childbirth4 ,the torture1 the           
excruciating pain1 and the mental       
anguish of the human female before his  
eyes1 defied his ,martian power of      
expression4 ,this process of birth1 it  

was explained to him1 was not a         
pathological one1 nor a disease1 but a  
physiological function4 ,to this1 the   
,martian could not refrain from         
replying1 ,from your own words1 ,doctor1
 it is readily understood that your     
women experience a torture more acute1  
more nerve-wracking1 and of longer      
duration than your ,jesus experienced   
during his crucifixion4 ,and your world 
commiserates and sheds oceans of tears  
when they contemplate the anguish of    
,jesus on the cross2 but no mention is  
made of the agony which is the fate of  
every woman who brings another human    
being into this 'best of worlds4'  ,but1
 my dear ,martian1 exclaims the         
physician1 the ,heavenly ,father has    
ordained that in anguish shall woman    
bring forth her young4 ,the other       
deliberated on the compassion of the    
,benevolent ,father in silence1 and     
continued on his rounds through the     
hospital4  ,nearby was the crib         
containing a baby of a few days1        

suffering with a congenital heart       
disease4 ,the infant's lips were blue1  
so was the body blue1 and the gasping   
for breath and heaving of the small     
chest were pitiful to behold4  ,this    
infant1 nonchalantly remarked the       
physician1 was born with a greatly      
defective heart4 ,it will live for a few
 days1 it will thirst for air1 it will  
have intense air-hunger1 the lungs will 
fill with fluid and then it will drown  
in its own secretions4  ,the ,martian   
recalled the time he had plunged under  
the water and remained there too long2  
vividly1 he remembered the thirst for   
air1 the seeming bursting of the lungs1 
the compression and vise-like grip of   
the muscles of the throat and chest1 and
 he could not help exclaiming1          
,benevolent1 ,compassionate ,being6     
,the physician continued1 ,this child1  
pointing to a beautiful1 robust boy of  
ten years1 was in perfect health1 until 
he fell in the street and received a    
minor cut which the parents treated with

 home remedies1 but which in a few days 
was diagnosed as ,tetanus4 ,and the     
doctor went on to explain that the      
compassion of the ,lord is great when   
this occurs1 for the child gets         
convulsions1 the jaws become locked1 and
 beads of cold sweat stand out on the   
child's forehead in his anguish2 the    
convulsions increase in severity and in 
duration so that finally they are       
continuous and the child lies with the  
heels and back of the head only touching
 the bed1 the rest of the body is       
arched4 ,the convulsions then become so 
severe that the body is so bent         
backwards at times that the head and    
trunk touch the heels4 ,the misery of   
such a child is sufficient to cause a   
physician to lose his reason4 ,again the
 ,martian murmurs1 ,verily1 the         
compassion of the ,lord is beyond       
understanding4  ,the child in the next  
bed had just become paralyzed by an     
attack of poliomyelitis 7infantile      
paralysis74 ,the ,martian observes how  

the ,lord in ,his compassion saved a    
certain number of these children upon   
whom he vents ,his anger for their sins1
 by inflicting upon them this hideous   
disease4 ,he saves their lives1 but to  
serve as an everlasting reminder1 as a  
covenant between them and their ,lord1  
,he paralyzes their limbs4 ,the         
spectacle of these children attempting  
to move1 making intense effort to move  
paralyzed limbs1 was the most revolting 
and heart-breaking sight that he had    
ever witnessed4 ,this time1 too1 the    
,martian remarked1 ,verily1 the ,lord in
 ,his infinite wisdom and goodness      
strange tasks does perform4  ,the       
physician then informed him of the many 
men and women who have died of cancer4  
,a large number of these individuals had
 reached a period in life where they    
could just afford to relax from their   
struggles for mere sustenance2 men and  
women who had reached a calm lake after 
journeying through troubled and tortuous
 waters2 who had fought the good fight1 

and had won the just reward of resting  
after their labors4 ,but no1 the ,lord  
must trouble them for their sins4  ,a   
group of these sufferers is shown to the
 ,martian1 and the normal course of this
 disease is explained4 ,this time all he
 can do is to protest that he firmly    
asserts that not one of our savage      
chiefs1 even were he of the most        
primitive tribe1 of the cruelest        
imagination1 of the most base and insane
 nature1 would nor could conceive of    
such torture as the ,loving ,father     
conceived when he decided upon cancer as
 a visitation for our sins4 ,the        
roasting of a witch alive is but a mere 
trifle compared to the long-drawn-out   
agony1 the slow wasting1 the anguish of 
a cancer patient watching himself sink  
to death4 ,and when death mercifully    
releases this sufferer from his hellish 
torture the preacher murmurs1 ,lord1 thy
 will be done4  ,the ,martian talks for 
a few moments with a sufferer from this 
disease and ascertains that the latter  

is a devout and true religionist1 that  
he has been a good1 moral church-goer1  
and has lived strictly according to the 
tenets of his creed1 that he firmly and 
passionately believes that he has lived 
so that he will merit the reward of     
heaven1 an everlasting sojourn in a land
 where there is no pain and suffering4  
,and yet1 this devout religionist1 when 
he was informed that he had an incurable
 cancer1 traveled the length and breadth
 of his land1 from one surgeon to       
another1 allowing himself to be cut to  
pieces1 in order that he might remain on
 this earth but a moment longer4 ,to    
stay and suffer the tortures of the     
damned when he might go to heaven and   
get his reward in the land where there  
is no pain6  ,i wonder1 mused the       
,martian1 did the grim spectre of death 
finally instill a grain of scepticism   
into his mind8  ,later1 in the quiet of 
his chambers1 he reviews the day's      
impressions--cruelty1 hate1 fear1       
jealousy1 racial antagonism1 poverty1   

luxury1 disease1 pain1 superstition1    
church1 religion1 and intolerance4  ,if 
we suppose that the universe is the     
creation of an ,omnipotent and          
,benevolent ,god1 it becomes necessary  
to ask how pain and evil arise4 ,pain   
and evil are either real or unreal4 ,if 
they are real then ,god1 who1 being     
omnipotent1 was bound by no limitations 
and constrained by no necessities1      
willfully created them4 ,but the being  
who willfully creates pain and evil     
cannot be benevolent4 ,if they are      
unreal1 then the error which we make    
when we think them real is a real error4
 ,there is no doubt that we believe we  
suffer4 ,if the belief is erroneous1    
then it follows that ,god willfully     
called falsehood into existence and     
deliberately involved us in unnecessary 
error4 ,it follows once again that ,god 
cannot be benevolent4  ,if we regard    
pain and evil as due to the wickedness  
of man and not as the creation of ,god1 
we are constrained to remember that man 

himself is one of ,god's creations 7,god
 being conceived as all creative71 and  
received his wickedness1 or his capacity
 for it1 from whom8 ,if we say that man 
had no wickedness to begin with but     
willfully generated wickedness for      
himself1 we have to face the double     
difficulty of accounting for3 7a7 ,how  
man1 who is an emanation from ,god1 can 
will with a will of his own which is not
 also a piece of ,god's will2 and 7b7   
how a benevolent ,god could1 assuming   
pain and evil to be a purely human      
creation1 deliberately allow them to be 
introduced into a world that knew them  
not1 when it was open to ,him to prevent
 such introductions4 7,c4 ,e4 ,m4 ,joad1
 ,mind and ,matter47  ,he had seen that 
crime and immorality exist now1 just as 
they had existed before the belief in   
one personal ,god1 and just as they     
promise to exist beyond our time4 ,he   
had scrutinized evidence revealing the  
incontestable fact that most criminals  
were religious1 and absolutely and      

proportionately1 a smaller number of    
criminals were non-believers in a       
personal deity4 ,judging by these alone1
 a belief in a benevolent1 loving1      
omniscient1 omnipotent1 and             
compassionate ,being could not be       
sustained4 ,furthermore1 if such a ,god 
ever existed1 he certainly would have   
revealed his true religion to the first 
man1 ,adam4 ,if he required prayer to   
satisfy his vanity1 he surely would have
 told ,adam how1 when1 why1 and where to
 pray4 ,then again1 once having         
neglected to inform his first model     
about all this1 since ,he is omnipotent1
 he would certainly have instilled into 
the minds of men the true creed so that 
no doubt could have ever entered into   
any one's mind4 ,what a universe of     
suffering ,he would have saved6  ,the   
,martian is aware that a great number of
 earthlings hold that every event must  
have a cause1 therefore the ,universe   
must have had a cause1 which cause was  
,god4 ,everything as it now exists in   

the universe is the result of an        
infinite series of causes and effects4  
,everything that happens is the result  
of something else that happened         
previously and so on backwards to all   
eternity4 ,applying this reasoning that 
everything is the effect of some cause1 
and that a cause is the effect of some  
other causes1 the theists work back from
 effect to cause and from cause to      
effect until they reach a ,first ,cause4
 ,by predicating a ,first ,cause1       
however1 the theist removes the mystery 
a stage further back4 ,this ,first      
,cause they assume to be a cause that   
was not caused and this ,first ,cause is
 ,god4 ,such a belief is a logical      
absurdity1 and is an example of the     
ancient custom of creating a mystery to 
explain a mystery4 ,if everything must  
have a cause1 then the ,first ,cause    
must be caused and therefore3 ,who made 
,god8 ,to say that this ,first ,cause   
always existed is to deny the basic     
assumption of this ,theory4 ,moreover1  

if it is reasonable to assume a ,first  
,cause as having always existed1 why is 
it unreasonable to assume that the      
materials of the universe always        
existed8 ,to explain the unknown by the 
known is a logical procedure2 to explain
 the known by the unknown is a form of  
theological lunacy4  ,the effect noted  
in any particular case is not of        
necessity related to a single cause1 and
 science gives no assurance that causes 
and effects can be traced backward to a 
simple ,first ,cause4 ,a man is so      
unfortunate as to contract pneumonia4   
,what is the cause8 ,an infection of the
 respiratory tract by the pneumococcus4 
,it is not quite so simple as to        
ultimate causation4 ,the person         
afflicted was harboring these germs in  
his nose and throat1 and his resistance 
was weakened by wetting his feet4 ,the  
day was cold and his shoes were thin4   
,the humidity and temperature were such 
that rain fell4 ,the temperature and    
humidity were caused by air currents    

hundreds of miles distant from the      
scene1 and so ad infinitum4 ,in this    
series of complications where may we    
discern a first cause8 ,when applied to 
the much more difficult problem of      
physical phenomena1 we can conceive of  
an endless cycle of causes1 but we      
cannot conceive of a ,first ,cause4     
,cause and effect are not two separate  
things1 they are the same thing viewed  
under two separate aspects4444 ,if cause
 and effect are the expressions of a    
relation1 and if they are not two       
things1 but only one1 under two aspects1
 'cause' being the name for the related 
powers of the factors1 and 'effect' the 
name for their assemblage1 to talk1 as  
does the theist1 of working back along  
the chain of causes until we reach ,god1
 is nonsense4 7,chapman ,cohen3 ,theism 
or ,atheism47  ,a great many theists    
attempt to deduce the existence of an   
invisible creator and ruler of the      
universe from the visible features of   
nature such as the design1 regularity of

 movement and structure1 and the various
 aspects of beauty which one may find in
 studying natural objects4 ,this        
argument from design in nature has been 
overruled by a study of the evolutionary
 processes4 ,paley based his argument on
 the assertion of a mind behind         
phenomena1 the workings of which could  
be seen in the forms of animal life4    
,the theists no longer use ,paley's     
original arguments1 but a great deal of 
the theistic arguments are still based  
on his assumptions4 ,from the humanistic
 point of view1 and the theist bases his
 entire arguments from design in nature 
from the humanistic view1 an            
understanding of the merciless character
 of organic evolution shows clearly that
 the forces at work in nature are full  
of waste1 there are numerous plans that 
are futile1 there is an unrelenting     
preying of one form of life upon the    
other1 and it is not always the higher  
form that is victor2 there are myriads  
of living organisms coming to life only 

to perish before reaching an age at     
which they can play their part in the   
perpetuation of the species2 and there  
is a universe of pain and misery that   
serves no useful purpose4 ,the impartial
 eye of science observes ugliness as    
well as beauty1 disorder as well as     
order1 in nature4 ,if there is evidence 
of design in a rose1 there is at least  
as much evidence of design in the       
tubercle bacillus1 and the tetanus      
bacillus4 ,whatever in nature produced  
the peacock produced the itch-mite2     
whatever produced man produced the      
spirochete of syphilis4 ,if this earth  
is evolving for the better1 the past is 
still vivid in all its cruelty4 ,the old
 and familiar argument from design and  
beauty in nature is so inconsistent with
 the facts at hand1 that most theists   
have abandoned this attitude1 and the   
retreat from this position has been     
turned into a veritable rout by the     
steady advance of scientific knowledge4 
,god could by exercising ,his           

omnipotence reveal ,his existence with  
overpowering conviction at any moment2  
yet1 men have been searching for        
centuries for just the slightest        
evidence of ,his presence4  ,the        
,martian1 moreover1 holds that the      
entire argument is irrelevant1 for even 
if he grants that there is a            
supernatural being that fashions that   
which we behold at work in the universe1
 how can we say that he designed all    
this without first knowing what his     
intention was8 ,only by knowing the     
intention in the mind of a supernatural 
being before the act1 can we infer that 
something was designed4 ,when the theist
 finds intention and design in nature he
 is but reading his own feeling and     
desires into nature4 ,considering the   
universe as a whole1 the ,martian fails 
to find anything that suggests a        
conscious and purposive god1 and        
certainly nothing to suggest a being    
that considers the welfare of man4 ,the 
individual is not much interested in    

,god as manifested in nature1 what he is
 vainly seeking is ,god as ,providence2 
he is seeking an intelligence that his  
clergy tell him is devoted to his       
welfare1 an intelligence that will guide
 his stumbling efforts1 that will       
relieve him from war and misery1 that   
will shield the innocent from pain and  
poverty4 ,he finds that his clergy      
cannot point to one clear trace of the  
action of ,god in human affairs4 ,in the
 whole long record of man's career the  
finger of ,god cannot be found pointing 
to one well-substantiated fact4  ,the   
,martian considers the theistic argument
 that it would be impossible to have an 
orderly universe merely resulting from  
the inherent properties of natural      
forces1 and that directivity is         
necessary to keep the universe on its   
present track4 ,keeping in mind the     
scientific conception of the universe   
and the knowledge at hand concerning the
 atoms and their properties1 it is      
inconceivable that any other arrangement

 than the present one should have       
resulted4 ,the ,martian cannot marvel as
 most earthlings do that the present    
order exists as it does2 the marvel to  
him would be if any other order should  
be or that any radical alteration in it 
should occur4 ,he perceives that the    
state of the universe at any moment is  
the result of all the conditions then   
prevailing1 and that the natural forces 
possess the capacity to produce the     
universe as we see it4 ,it matters not  
what the ultimate nature of these forces
 may be1 electrons1 protons1            
electricity1 or wave energy2 these      
material forces possess the capacity to 
produce the universe as we see it4 ,if  
these forces do not possess this        
capacity it is indeed difficult for the 
,martian to conceive in what way even a 
directing and supreme mathematician an  
ultimate1 or any supernatural power     
however designated could produce this   
capacity4 ,unless the capacity for      
producing the universe as we see it     

existed in the atoms themselves1 no     
amount of direction could have produced 
it4 ,the property of the atom and its   
combinations to produce the material    
universe is therefore inherent in the   
atoms themselves and does not           
necessitate the operation of a deity4   
,the order manifest in the universe is  
the necessary consequence of the        
persistence of force4 ,if a             
supernatural1 intelligent force existed1
 the ,martian believes that the claims  
of the theist could in no way be better 
substantiated than if this controlling  
force would in some way manifest an     
inhibitive influence and prevent certain
 things occurring which would have      
transpired but for his interference4    
,such manifestations have not occurred4 
,it is impossible for the theist to show
 any instance in which the normal       
consequences of known forces did not    
transpire in which the aberration could 
not be accounted for by the operation of
 other known forces4  ,a law of nature  

is not a statute drawn up by a          
legislator2 it is the interpretation and
 the summation which we give to the     
observed facts4 ,the phenomena which we 
observe do not act in a particular      
manner because there is a law2 but we   
state the law because they act in that  
particular manner4 ,it cannot be said   
that the laws of nature are the result  
of a lawmaker2 it cannot be affirmed    
that a supreme intelligence told things 
in nature to act just that way and no   
other4 ,if the theist claims that a     
supreme intelligence issued laws for his
 own pleasure and without any reason1   
then he must admit that there is        
something which is not subject to law   
and the train of natural law is         
interrupted4 ,if it is claimed that a   
supreme intelligence had a reason for   
the laws which he gave1 the reason being
 to create the best possible universe1  
then it follows that ,god himself was   
subject to law and there is no advantage
 in introducing ,god as an intermediary4

 ,this contention would make it appear  
that there is a law outside and anterior
 to the divine edicts1 and ,god does not
 serve the purpose of the theist since  
he is not the ultimate lawgiver4  ,the  
anthropomorphic conception of ,god1 our 
,martian finds1 is now denied by most   
cultured theists2 nevertheless1 they    
still maintain a belief in a deity      
endowed with consciousness4 ,professor  
,h4 ,n4 ,wieman states that1 ,god is    
superhuman1 but not supernatural4 ,he is
 a present1 potent1 operative1          
observable reality4444 ,he is more      
worthy of love than any other beloved   
444 ,he is one to whom men can pray and 
do pray1 and who answers prayer4 ,this  
can be understood to be not greatly     
removed from the fundamentalists'       
conception of ,god1 but when he         
continues to say1 ,god is that          
interaction between individuals1 groups1
 and ages which generates and promotes  
the greatest possible mutuality of good1
 and it responds to prayer and is       

precisely what answers prayer1 when     
prayer is answered1 the personal ,he has
 suddenly changed to the unpersonal ,it4
 ,emotions and intelligence are         
connected with nerve structures in all  
sentient beings that we have experience 
and knowledge of4 ,how can we attribute 
these qualities to a being who is       
described to us as devoid of any nerve  
structure8  ,in former ages the theist  
saw ,god in the color and construction  
of a flower1 in the starry heavens1 and 
in a sunset or sunrise4 ,the biologists 
have driven the theists from this       
misconception1 the physicists have      
explained the phenomena of sunset and   
sunrise1 and with the advance of        
astronomy the heavens no longer proclaim
 the glory of ,god1 and the theistic    
arguments have shifted from worlds to   
atoms4 ,at the present moment the vision
 of ,god has narrowed down to a         
perception of the divine intelligence   
noted in the design of the atom4        
,astronomy1 physics1 geology1 chemistry1

 medicine1 psychology1 ethics1          
aesthetics1 and the social sciences have
 left no room for a theistic explanation
 of the universe4 ,the mystics who      
proclaim ,god in their intuitive trances
 are being crowded out into the light of
 reason by the researches of            
psychologists4 ,there are still many    
gaps in our knowledge1 and if the theist
 persists in finding the manifestation  
of a supreme being in these vague zones 
of our present ignorance1 he is at the  
mercy of the science of the future4     
,science is concerned with mind as much 
as it is with the material aspects of   
atoms and stars1 hence the sciences of  
psychology1 ethics1 and aesthetics4 ,the
 entire universe is the province of     
science and it is rapidly providing a   
scientific interpretation of all the    
contents of the universe4 ,it may well  
be a few more centuries before the      
scientific explanation is partially     
complete1 but it must be kept in mind   
that science as we conceive the term is 

less than #bejj years old1 and out of   
this infantile period1 at least #ajjj   
years must be deducted for the          
intellectual stagnation of the dark     
ages4  ,in tracing the retreat of the   
clergy from the arguments from the      
,first ,cause1 the arguments from       
design1 causation1 and directivity1 the 
,martian recalls the words of ,vivian   
,phelips1 ,how is it that ,god allowed  
earnest and learned divines to commit   
themselves to arguments in proof of ,his
 existence1 the subsequent overthrow of 
which has been a potent cause for       
unbelief8  ,the finite mind cannot      
expect to understand the ,infinite1     
retorts a theist to our ,martian4 ,what 
manner of reasoning is this1 asks our   
,martian1 that denies my finite mind the
 right to question the 'proofs' of the  
existence of an ,infinite1 when these   
same 'proofs' are derived by finite     
minds8 ,the theist cannot infer ,god    
from the cosmic process until he can    
discover some feature of it which is    

unintelligible without him4  7#b7 ,the  
belief in a deity1 but the rejection of 
revelations1 theology1 priestcraft1 and 
church4  ,to the ,martian the opinion   
held by these individuals presented two 
difficulties4 ,first1 if the adherents  
of this hypothesis considered their     
deity as a providence which took an     
active part in the life of this world1  
then the objections heretofore stated   
against belief in a personal god are    
still valid4 ,secondly1 if they         
considered this being as only a creator1
 who then leaves this world to its own  
resources1 they are only assuming a     
philosophical existence behind          
phenomena4 ,such a being1 they believe1 
they deduce intellectually4 ,but        
actually who created this creator8 ,they
 assume a god who remains always hidden 
behind phenomena1 but such a god has no 
connection with the ,god that the       
religious man worships and to whom he   
prays for guidance and for blessings1   
for actual interference in the life of  

this world4 ,such theories impress our  
visitor as but a feeble attempt at new  
concepts of the same hypothetical deity1
 and it seemed to him that we already   
had sufficient ideas of ,god to trouble 
our earthly minds4  7#c7 ,the god of the
 ,physicists4  ,it was brought to the   
,martian's attention that two           
scientists1 ,sir ,arthur ,eddington1 a  
,british astronomer1 and ,sir ,james    
,jeans1 a mathematical physicist1 had   
still another concept of ,god4          
,according to ,eddington1 ,phenomena all
 boil down to a scheme of symbols1 of   
mathematical equations4 ,he admits that 
this mathematics of nature does not     
explain anything4 ,they do not define   
reality1 they only define the relations 
that exist between the phenomena of     
reality4 ,so far does he go1 and then   
his limited mind1 our ,martian          
perceives1 meets an obstacle that he    
cannot explain4 ,he1 therefore1 abandons
 the formula and returns to the human   
mind which has conceived this formula4  

,from the spiritual essence of ,man's   
nature1 he assumes the spiritual nature 
of the cosmos itself1 which he finds in 
what religion has known for centuries as
 ,god4 ,to him1 it is impossible to     
explain the universe except in terms of 
spirit4  ,professor ,jeans insists that 
in the equations which reveal the       
relations between phenomena1 there may  
reside also the revelation of the       
ultimate which these phenomena express4 
,he believes that there may exist a     
great architect of the universe who is a
 pure mathematician4  ,however1 the     
,martian argues1 ,is it not a fact that 
in your earthly experience1 you have    
created your gods in your own image8    
,your savages created ,god in the only  
fashion their mental capacities could   
supply1 in the shape of an idol2 now the
 modern physicist creates his god in the
 light of his own intimate vision1 which
 is that of a mathematician6 ,this is   
just another attempt to formulate an    
hypothetical existence of a supernatural

 being4  ,the theologians1 by this time 
thoroughly aroused1 lay down a verbal   
barrage1 and learned ,jesuits place     
before the visitor a recent publication 
entitled1 ,the ,question and ,answer by 
,hilaire ,belloc4 ,the author1 acting as
 the mouthpiece of the ,roman ,catholic 
,church1 attempts to prove two things3  
namely1 whether ,god is1 and that the   
witness to ,revelation is the ,roman    
,catholic ,church4 ,were it not for the 
fact that the work was published by     
permission of the ,church1 one could    
logically suppose from its arguments    
that the author was attempting to give  
the answer1 ,no1 to the question        
propounded1 as to whether ,god is4      
,there is one sentence1 however1 to     
which the ,martian agrees3 this one1    
,but religions1 though not very         
numerous1 considering the vast spaces of
 time over which we can study them1 and 
the vast number of millions to which    
they apply1 differ and contradict each  
other2 on which account1 any one        

approaching this problem for the first  
time1 and being made acquainted at the  
outset with the variety of religions1   
would naturally conclude that every     
religion is man-made1 and every religion
 an illusion4  ,on reading the opening  
remarks1 the ,martian exclaims1 ,this   
earthling plainly tells us at the       
beginning that he will make his theories
 fit in with his conclusion6 ,he informs
 us that he does not seek the truth1 no 
matter where it may lead1 but he only   
deems it necessary to fit ideas1 no     
matter how distorted1 in order that the 
final conclusion will simulate what he  
deliberately sets out to prove4  ,mr4   
,belloc's statement1 ,how many men will 
agree that wanton cruelty1 treason to   
family or the state1 falsehood for      
private gain1 breach of faith1 are      
admirable8 strikes the ,martian as      
absurd when viewed in the light of the  
historical annals of the ,church itself4
 ,mr4 ,belloc's creed must have         
considered these very vices as virtues1 

judging from the actions of his ,church4
  ,in calling the ,roman ,catholic      
,church the witness to revelation1 the  
author continues with1 ,yet1 that it    
should suffer from men's hatred and     
persecution4 ,if ,god has divinely      
ordained this institution as ,his       
,church on earth1 and in ,his           
omnipotence and omniscience allows this 
,church to be hated1 then how do the    
religionists assume that their god is a 
god of love8 ,the author tells us that  
,he is a god of hate1 such a god as was 
conceived of by the barbarians and the  
,hebrews--cruel1 vengeful1 and          
monstrous4 ,does not this apologist     
confuse his god with his devil8 ,then   
again1 has it not occurred to this      
apologist that he is in all futility    
attempting to prove something which is a
 contradiction within itself8 ,if ,god  
is1 and is benevolent1 is it not logical
 to assume 7since the theologians assume
 all sorts of attributes to this deity7 
that he would not have constructed the  

minds of men when ,he created them so as
 to desire to doubt ,his being2 would   
not have tortured the minds of men with 
cruel doubt as to ,his existence8  ,if  
,he is omnipotent1 it would have been   
just as easy to instill into the minds  
of men only the strongest desire to     
believe in ,his reality2 and even that  
would not be necessary had ,he so       
arranged matters that by ,his           
everlasting presence ,he would reveal   
,himself or ,his deeds to man in such a 
conclusive manner that even the feeblest
 of intellects could not doubt ,his     
existence4  ,if ,he is omniscient1 as   
the parable asserts1 that not a hair    
falls from the head of man1 not a       
sparrow dies without ,his knowledge1 it 
must therefore be apparent that ,he     
created man with the foreknowledge that 
man would doubt ,his existence4 ,this is
 a contradiction in itself4  ,the       
,martian notes that in the entire length
 of the work not a reference is made to 
the time-worn theological defense1 the  

revelation which the ,church has always 
claimed for its scriptures4  ,appended  
as an afterthought1 as an apology1 as it
 were1 for the philosophical defense and
 not the theological1 the ,jesuit father
 reminds the reader of its messiah1     
,jesus and the ,new ,testament4 ,the    
,jesuit states1 ,the ,new ,testament    
writings1 considered merely as          
trustworthy historical documents1 inform
 us that-- but at this point the        
,martian interrupted the speaker1 for   
the audacity of any learned man terming 
the ,new ,testament writings historical 
was beyond his comprehension4 ,it       
brought forcibly to his attention the   
great change which the apologies for the
 ,church had undergone1 and the new     
methods which they assumed4 ,the old    
theological defense of the deity was    
gone2 not even philosophy was deemed    
strong enough support for the present   
day4 ,how the ,church had fallen6 ,the  
,church which had persecuted1           
anathematized1 burned1 and tortured the 

scientist1 the geologist1 the           
astronomer1 the geographer1 the         
biologist1 the chemist1 and the         
physician2 this same ,church in its last
 extremus1 casts aside theology as its  
weapon and its appeal to the minds of   
the sceptics whom they aim to convert4  
,the ,church casts aside its own        
theology1 having learned by bitter      
experience and recanting of opinions1   
bulls1 and infallible statements by     
infallible popes1 and now succumbs to   
the opinions it has formerly            
anathematized4 ,in the present age the  
,church calls science to its aid1 and   
utterly disregards its obsolete theology
 which it still practices1 and attempts1
 by means of the misinterpretation of   
scientific facts and statements of a few
 men such as ,eddington and ,jeans1 to  
force science into some illogical and   
unscientific concordance with the       
conception of a supreme being4          
,ironically it occurs to the ,martian   
that the shades of ,hypatia1 ,bruno1    

,galileo1 ,copernicus1 ,vanini1 ,darwin1
 and the vast numbers of ,waldenses1    
,albigenses1 ,huguenots1 ,jews1 and the 
victims of the ,inquisition and the     
,witch ,hunt1 must1 as they contemplate 
the present tactics of that ,holy       
,institution1 the ,church1 find some    
consolation in the depths of that hell  
to which the ,church consigned them4    
,the ,martian logically deduces that by 
employing science for its defense1 the  
,church admits the impotence of divine  
revelation1 in this age1 to convince    
even its own adherents of the           
problematical existence of a divine     
being4 ,theology is no longer recognized
 as authoritative even by theologians6  
,will the theologians now discard their 
theology based on the supernatural1 and 
build a system of theology based on     
science8 ,is this all that is left to   
the theologian3 that he must use the    
pitiful ,theology of ,gaps8 ,that is1   
wherever there are gaps in scientific   
knowledge1 the theologians insert their 

idea of ,god6 ,this is but the replacing
 of the question mark with a meaningless
 label4     ,,chapter ,v  ,,the         
,,persistence ,,of ,,religion      ,we  
believe what we believe1 not because we 
have been convinced by     such and such
 arguments1 but because we are of such  
and such a     disposition4      ,c4 ,e4
 ,m4 ,,joad4       ,the mind of the     
ordinary man is in so imperfect a       
condition that it     requires a creed2 
that is to say1 a theory concerning the 
unknown     and the unknowable in which 
it may place its deluded faith and be at
     rest4      ,,winwood ,,reade4      
,generations followed and what had been 
offered as hypothetical     theological 
suppositions were through custom and    
tradition taken for     granted as      
unquestioned truth4      ,,llewelyn     
,,powys4   ,the ,martian has had his    
attention drawn to the statement that   
religion in some form or other has      
existed from most primitive times down  
to the present day4 ,the theologians    

point to this as a proof of the         
existence of a supreme being4 ,an       
investigation of this assertion leads   
the ,martian to the conclusion that     
religions have continued to exist mainly
 because of the power which inherited   
superstitions wield over mankind4 ,men  
are born with a marked tendency towards 
superstitions4  ,certain isolated       
families of men are born with an        
inherited tendency towards tuberculosis4
 ,most of these are born1 not with an   
active tuberculosis1 but some as yet    
imperfectly understood tendency1 a      
defect in their protoplasmic make-up    
that renders them an easy prey to the   
tubercle bacillus if they are exposed to
 it4 ,similarly1 generations of men have
 been born with a weakened mental       
vitality towards superstition2 a        
weakened mental capacity that renders   
their minds an easy prey to that fear   
which manifests itself in superstition1 
creed1 religion--the ,god-idea4 ,it was 
,karl ,marx who remarked that1 ,the     

tradition of all the generations of the 
past weighs down like an ,alp upon the  
brain of the living4  ,since the days of
 our racial childhood1 our beliefs have 
been handed down from generation to     
generation1 and they have persisted     
since in all ages it was forbidden to   
question their existence4 ,man has      
persuaded himself that it is so just    
because he has said it for so long and  
so often4 ,the force of repetition is   
great2 it is1 in fact1 taken by a vast  
majority of men as the equivalent of    
proof4  ,most men have to accept their  
religions ready made4 ,their daily tasks
 leave them no time or opportunity for a
 personal search4 ,the toil for bread is
 incessant1 there is not sufficient     
leisure to verify the sources of their  
religious beliefs4 ,moreover1 the       
ecclesiastic's answers to the riddles of
 life are easier1 by far1 to grasp than 
the answers of science4 ,these two      
factors1 of innate mental inertia and   
force of repetition1 are well manifested

 by the present tactics of advertising4 
,the manufacturer of any product well   
knows that constant repetition and the  
dangling of his product before the eyes 
of the public will lead to a widespread 
acceptance of the advertising slogans   
propounded for his article4  ,the force 
of so-called authority has aggravated   
this mental inertia4 ,it takes a        
tremendous amount of will power and     
mental courage for any individual to    
assert an opinion that runs counter to  
the accepted mode of thinking4 ,it is   
much easier and much more pleasant to   
give oneself passively to that delusion 
of grandeur1 that delusion that         
pleasantly drugs the mind with the      
assumption that there is a supreme being
 who is personally interested in our    
well-being2 a providence who1 like a    
school master1 at his pleasure dispenses
 rewards and punishments2 as            
immortality1 ,heaven and ,hell4 ,so     
firmly has this become entrenched in the
 minds of men that the irrationalities  

which manifest themselves against such a
 conception make no impression4         
,schopenhauer well states1 ,nothing is  
more provoking1 when we are arguing     
against a man with reasons and          
explanations1 and taking all pains to   
convince him1 than to discover at last  
that he will not understand1 that we    
have to do with his will4  ,the         
,martian1 knowing the widespread extent 
of religious beliefs and their supposed 
influence in our daily lives1 is        
prepared to find in our annals a vast   
literature that would attest to the     
overwhelming benefits that mankind had  
derived from his religious beliefs4  ,he
 is amazed to find that the little good 
which religion had accomplished1 had    
occurred at the time when our race was  
in its infancy4 ,just as fear is        
instilled into the mind of the child to 
protect it from the dangers of its      
environment before the child has reached
 the age when it can use its reason for 
protection1 just so had religion1 by its

 implantation of fear1 served its       
purpose in the days of our racial       
childhood4 ,the child1 however1 as soon 
as it learns to reason1 replaces those  
fears by a logical comprehension of the 
laws governing his environment4 ,but in 
religious matters this fear has clung to
 man tenaciously2 and while at first    
serving a protective function1 at the   
present stage of civilization           
constitutes an embryonic impediment4    
,the assertion of ecclesiastics that    
without the aid of religious learning   
and influence our civilization would    
have been retarded is a statement that a
 study of the development of man shows  
to be directly opposed to the facts2    
that religion has been the greatest     
impediment in the road to progress4     
,this will be shown in the subsequent   
chapters4 ,the oft-repeated assertion   
that1 during the ,middle ,ages1         
ecclesiastic influence was the saving   
grace is well refuted by ,dr4 ,william  
,j4 ,robinson3  ,we are told by the     

,church apologists that during the      
,middle ,ages the priests and monks kept
 up the torch of learning1 that1 being  
the only literate people1 they brought  
back the study of the classics4         
,historically speaking1 this is about   
the most impudent statement that one    
could imagine4 ,it was the ,church that 
retarded human progress at least one    
thousand years1 it is the ,church that  
put a thick1 impenetrable pall over the 
sun of learning and science1 so that    
humanity was enveloped in utter         
darkness1 and if the priests and monks  
later learned to read and write 7from   
the ,arabs1 ,jews1 and ,greeks exiled   
from ,constantinople after #adec71 it is
 because they wanted to keep the power  
in their hands2 the people they did not 
permit to learn either to read or write4
 ,even the reading of the ,bible1 bear  
in mind1 was considered a crime4 ,we are
 told that the priests and monks built  
hospitals and gave alms to the poor4    
,having gotten enormous tracts of the   

best land into their hands1 so that the 
people were starving1 they were willing 
to throw a bone occasionally to the     
latter4 ,it cost them nothing and it    
gave them a reputation for charity4     
,they built enormous monasteries with   
well filled cellars1 and lived on the   
fat of the land1 while the people lived 
in wretched hovels1 working their lives 
away for a crust of bread4 ,the beasts1 
the domestic animals lived a more       
comfortable life than did the men1      
women1 and children of the people4 ,and 
the ,church never1 never raised a finger
 to ameliorate their condition4 ,it kept
 them in superstitious darkness and     
helped the temporal lords--for a long   
period the spiritual were also the      
temporal lords--to keep them in fear1   
subjection and slavery4  ,the ,martian  
being an impartial observer examined    
what had been done by ,christianity for 
the intellectual and material           
advancement of humanity during her long 
reign1 and what had been done by science

 and purely secular knowledge in its    
brief period of activity1 the period    
when science and secular knowledge had  
partially liberated themselves from     
ecclesiastical domination4 ,he came to  
the conclusion that in instituting a    
comparison he had established a         
contrast4     ,,chapter ,,vi  ,,religion
 ,,and ,,science      ,science1 then1   
commands our respect1 not on the basis  
that its     present assumptions and    
deductions are absolutely and for all   
time     true1 but on the ground that   
its method is for all time true--the    
method of discovery1 the method of      
observation1 research1                  
experimentation1 comparison1            
examination1 testing1 analysis and      
synthesis4      ,,maynard ,,shipley1    
,the ,war on ,modern ,science4      ,in 
the bare three and one-half centuries   
since modern science     began1 the     
churches had conducted an unremitting   
crusade against it4     ,that much of   
this crusade had turned into a          

rear-guard action was     due less to   
the weakness of the defenders of the    
faith than to the     invulnerability of
 their non-resistant victim4            
,,horace ,m4 ,,kallen1 ,why ,religion8  
,some sixty years ago in the ,dogmatic  
,constitution of the ,catholic ,faith1  
the ,church stated1 ,but never can      
reason be rendered capable of thoroughly
 understanding mysteries as it does     
those truths which form its proper      
subject4 ,we1 therefore1 pronounce false
 every assertion which is contrary to   
the enlightened truth of faith4444      
,hence1 all the ,christian faithful are 
not only forbidden to defend as         
legitimate conclusions of science those 
opinions which are known to be contrary 
to the doctrine of faith1 especially    
when condemned by the ,church1 but are  
rather absolutely bound to hold them for
 errors wearing the deceitful appearance
 of truth4 ,let him be anathema4444     
,who shall say that human sciences ought
 to be pursued in such a spirit of      

freedom that one may be allowed to hold 
true their assertions even when opposed 
to revealed doctrine4  ,can anything    
stronger be said to discourage research1
 investigation1 experiment1 and retard  
progress8 ,and only sixty years ago6 ,it
 is but the restatement of what the     
,church has uttered so many times and   
for so long--that all knowledge1        
material as well as spiritual1 is to be 
found in the ,bible as interpreted by   
the ,church4 ,it was this myth which had
 stultified the mind of man for #aejj   
years 7during the period in which the   
,church was dominant72 it was this that 
had killed the urge to search and seek  
for the truth1 which is the goal of all 
science1 the means by which humanity is 
set on the road to progress4 ,this was  
the damnable precept foisted on the     
minds of men which enslaved them        
throughout the ages1 and from which we  
are just emerging4 ,this was the precept
 that plunged the world into the ,dark  
,ages1 and retarded the advance of      

mankind for centuries4  ,this is the    
reason that it is utterly impossible for
 the intellectually honest scientist1   
and for that matter any individual1 to  
reconcile science with religion4 ,on the
 one hand1 that of religion1 we have the
 forces of intolerance1 superstition1   
and the endeavor to besmirch1 repress1  
and ridicule every advance favorable to 
mankind2 to cloak with meaningless words
 obsolete rites1 to stand in the way of 
human progress1 because it does not     
permit men to think boldly and          
logically4 ,science1 on the other hand1 
does not hesitate to tear down old      
conceptions1 and has only one motive1   
the ultimate truth4 ,religion has the   
purpose of keeping the masses in the    
narrow and false path of only accepted  
doctrines4 ,the true scientist is the   
man with the open mind1 one who will    
discard the worthless and accept only   
the proven good4 ,the religionist closes
 his mind to all facts which he is      
unwilling to believe1 everything which  

will endanger his creed4 ,religion      
teaches the individual to place all     
hope1 all desire1 in a problematical    
hereafter4 ,the stay on earth is so     
short compared to the everlasting life  
to come1 that of what interest is this  
life2 all things are vain4 ,the misery1 
the suffering1 of his fellow men leave  
him cold2 he can only think of living in
 the light of his narrow creed so that  
he may gain his future reward4 ,how well
 this philosophy has fitted in with the 
schemes of the select few for the       
control of the many6  ,truth to the     
scientific mind is something            
provisional1 a hypothesis that for the  
present moment best conforms to the     
recognized tests4 ,it is an evolving    
conception in a constantly changing     
universe4 ,it is not that science has   
attained true conclusions2 not that the 
evidence at hand must remain immutable2 
but that the scientific method of       
analyzing and formulating assumptions on
 the basis of discovery1 on ascertained 

facts1 is a superior method to the      
closed infallible method of revelation4 
,these assumptions1 based upon the known
 facts1 lead to a working hypothesis    
which in turn develops into a theory4   
,if the theory is adopted it must       
account for the facts known4 ,but the   
theory is not held as final1 it is      
always changed or abandoned if necessary
 to conform to the new discovered data4 
,science welcomes the critical attitude 
that leads to the refinement of its     
theories4 ,there may be today various   
theories held by scientists in which    
they are mistaken1 but the question of  
the method by which they arrive at      
conclusions can no longer be under      
consideration with regard to its        
validity4  ,to the scientific mind1     
knowledge is something to be arrived at 
by study and research4 ,to the          
religionist1 knowledge is something that
 is contained in an infallible and      
supernatural statement or insight4      
,religion exalts the transcendental2    

science manipulates only the material4  
,to the consistent religionist1 his     
belief1 as such1 determine the fact2 to 
the scientist it is the evidence that   
establishes the fact4 ,to the           
religionist truth is something that is  
unchanging1 that is fixed1 final1 and   
heretical to question4 ,confronted with 
a constantly changing universe1 he would
 delude himself that his inner          
convictions give him a finality         
concerning his evolving environment4 ,it
 is therefore not so much ,science that 
the religionist is fighting1 but the    
scientific method4 ,this scientific     
method of approach1 he rightly          
perceives1 has so pervaded our mode of  
thinking that it is the subtle and most 
disintegrating force that is shattering 
the religious foundations4  ,dr4 ,james 
,t4 ,shotwell1 speaking of the          
scientific method1 concludes1 ,but      
whatever strictures philosophy may pass 
upon the conclusions of science1 as     
merely relative and provisional1 there  

is no clearer fact in the history of    
thought1 that its attitudes and methods 
have been at opposite poles from those  
of religion4 ,it does no good to blink  
the fact1 established as it is by the   
most positive proofs of history and     
psychology4 ,science has made headway by
 attempting to eliminate mystery so far 
as it can4 ,religion1 on the other hand1
 has stressed mystery and accepted it in
 its own terms4 ,science is the product 
of bold adventure1 pushing into the     
realm of the mysterious to interpret its
 phenomena in terms of the investigator2
 religion enters this same realm to give
 itself up to the emotional reactions4  
,science is the embodiment of the sense 
of control1 religion yields the control 
to that power which moves in the shadow 
of the woods by night1 and the glory of 
the morning hills4444  ,science does not
 justify by faith1 but by works4 ,it is 
the living denial of that age-long      
acceptance which we accord to the       
mystery--as such4 ,it renounces         

authority1 cuts athwart custom1 violates
 the sacred1 rejects the myths4 ,it     
adjusts itself to the process of change 
whose creative impulse it itself        
supplies4 ,not semper idem but semper   
alterum is the keynote of science4 ,each
 discovery of something new involves the
 discarding of something old4 ,above    
all1 it progresses by doubting rather   
than by believing4 7,james ,t4          
,shotwell3 ,the ,religious ,revolution  
of ,to-day47  ,there has never been an  
advance in science of widespread        
importance which in some manner or other
 endangered some mouldy religious       
concept1 that the ,church has not       
bitterly opposed2 an advance which in   
time has proven of inestimable benefit  
for all mankind4 ,a glance at the       
history of human progress will reveal   
scores of such instances4  ,the two     
rival divisions of the ,christian       
,church1 ,protestant and ,catholic1 have
 always been in accord on one point1    
that is1 to tolerate no science except  

such as they considered to be agreeable 
to the ,scriptures4 ,it was the decree  
of the ,lateran ,council of #aeae that  
ordered that no books should be printed 
but such as had been inspected by the   
ecclesiastical censors1 under pain of   
excommunication and fine4  ,it is easily
 understood that having declared the    
,bible to contain all knowledge both    
scientific and spiritual1 and then      
passing a decree ordering no books to be
 printed which did not agree on all     
points with the ,church's interpretation
 of the ,bible1 the ,church was in      
absolute control of all thought1 both   
written and spoken4  ,it was to no      
advantage for the scholar to investigate
 any new fields1 for all knowledge which
 was possible for the mind to discover  
had already been revealed in the        
,scriptures4 ,thus declared the ,church4
 ,we understand why it was that         
,copernicus did not permit his book to  
be published until he was dying4 ,we    
understand also that when ,galileo and  

,bruno had the courage of their         
convictions1 and gave voice to their    
beliefs1 they were persecuted4 ,galileo 
was made to recant a discovery that the 
youngest of children now takes for      
granted4 ,bruno was burnt at the stake4 
,we know that astronomy was at a        
standstill under ,church domination1    
chemistry was forbidden1 and the study  
of natural philosophy was contradicted2 
while anthropology1 which showed on what
 mythical foundations the story of the  
fall of man rests1 was squelched4 ,the  
attitude of the ,church on geography was
 hostile to the truth1 as witness the   
persecutions of those who dared to      
venture that the earth was round4       
,botany1 mathematics1 and geometry1 as  
well as the natural sciences1 slumbered4
 ,geology1 which proved that the earth  
was more than #fjjj years old1 was      
anathematized2 archeologists had the    
greatest difficulty to expound the truth
 concerning the antiquity of the human  
race4 ,in purely civil matters1 the     

clergy opposed fire and marine insurance
 on the ground that it was a tempting of
 ,providence4 ,life insurance was       
regarded as an act of interference with 
the consequence of ,god's will4         
,medicine met the most strenuous of     
opposition4  ,it is impossible in this  
short study to analyze the specific     
forms of retardation which the ,church  
exhibited to all of these branches of   
learning1 whose only endeavor it was to 
search for the truth1 to state the      
facts1 and to alleviate and make more   
bearable man's sojourn on this earth4   
,however1 a few of the many instances of
 retardation on the part of the ,church 
will be pointed out4     ,,chapter ,,vii
  ,,religion ,,and ,,medicine      ,now1
 when physiologists study the living    
brain of an ape1 they have     no       
grounds for supposing that they are     
dealing with a dual     structure4 ,the 
brain is not a tenement inhabited by a  
spirit or     soul4 ,the spirit or soul 
is but a name for the manifestations of 

the     living brain4 ,the leading      
neurologists of the world are agreed    
that     the same is true of the human  
brain4 ,it was only when they abandoned 
the dual conception--an inheritance from
 the dark ages of     medicine--that    
they began to understand the disorders  
of man's mind     and how to treat them4
      ,modern medicine thus strikes at  
the very root of ,christian             
doctrine4 ,for1 if man is truly mortal1 
if death ends all1 if the     human soul
 is but the manifestation of the living 
brain1 as light     and heat are the    
manifestations of a glowing bar of      
steel1 then     there can be no         
resurrection of the dead4 ,man has the  
seeds of     immortality in him1 but the
 gift is for the race1 not for the      
individual4      ,,sir ,,arthur ,,keith4
   ,medicine and religion have been     
closely associated from the most        
pristine time4 ,primitive medicine had  
its origin in conjunction with the most 
primitive of religious conceptions1     

namely1 animism2 an illusion that made  
primitive man recognize in all things1  
and everywhere1 spirits such as his     
supposed spirit2 a belief that the world
 swarms with invisible spirits which are
 the cause of disease and death4 ,and   
thus primitive medicine is inseparable  
from primitive modes of religious       
belief4 ,all these phenomena which we   
consider today natural--the rustling of 
leaves in a forest1 the crash of        
thunder1 the flash of lightning1 winds1 
clouds1 storms1 and earthquakes--were to
 primitive man the outward and visible  
signs of angry gods1 demons1 and        
spirits4 ,similar spirits caused disease
 and death1 and these evil spirits that 
produced disease and death were to be   
placated and cajoled by man1 just as he 
did his other deities1 by magic1 by     
burnt offerings1 and sacrifice4  ,the   
first holy man1 the first priest1 was   
the shaman1 and it was his duty not only
 to placate and cajole the spirits that 
were thought to control the physical    

well-being of the individual members of 
the tribe2 but it was his duty also1 by 
the exercise of his magic1 to alleviate 
and cure illness by exorcism4 ,the      
shaman was therefore the first medicine 
man1 the first witch doctor1 the first  
physician4 ,he relied chiefly upon      
psychotherapy as does the modern witch  
doctor of ,christian ,science4          
,medicine could not begin to be medicine
 until it was disassociated from magic1 
religion1 and theology4 ,this struggle  
has been going on from the time of the  
shaman to the present moment4 ,primitive
 medicine stands midway between magic   
and religion1 as an attempt to safeguard
 health by control of so-called         
supernatural processes1 and the warding 
off of evil influences by appeal to the 
gods4  ,in all primitive societies1     
priest1 magician1 and medicine man were 
one and the same2 and medicine remained 
stationary until it could divorce itself
 completely from religion4 ,primitive   
medicine1 then1 springs from folklore1  

legends1 credulity1 and superstitions2  
the same forces that give rise to all   
forms of religious beliefs4  ,huxley has
 stated1 ,science commits suicide when  
it adopts a creed1 and from the earliest
 of times those men who had a scientific
 trend of mind realized this1 however   
vaguely1 and have attempted to divorce  
science from religion4 ,the science of  
medicine has been divorced from         
superstition1 but its twin brother      
religion lies as firmly bogged in the   
mire of superstition today as it did in 
the days of the incantations of the     
first theologist1 the shaman4 ,and it is
 due to this close association of       
religion and medicine that ideas of the 
greatest scientific moment have been    
throttled at birth or veered into a     
blind alley through some current        
theological lunacy4 ,medicine has       
advanced through its disassociation with
 supernaturalism1 while religion still  
remains the last refuge of human        
savagery4  ,and so it had been that     

throughout those long1 sterile1 and     
barbarous ages primitive man ascribed   
all diseases either to the wrath of     
,god1 or the malice of an ,evil ,being4 
,with the rise of the ,greek            
philosophers1 the human mind for the    
first time began to throw off the fogs  
of superstition4 ,in ,greece1 #ejj years
 before ,christ1 ,hippocrates developed 
scientific thought and laid the         
foundations of medical science upon     
observation1 experience1 and reason4    
,under his guidance1 medicine for the   
first time was separated from religion4 
,he relieved the gods of the            
responsibility for disease and placed it
 squarely upon the shoulders of man4    
,his findings were passed on to the     
,school of ,alexandria1 and there       
medical science was further developed4  
,at this stage of history all advances  
stopped1 and for the following reason3  
,with the coming of ,christianity this  
science1 as well as all others1 was     
stultified4 ,a retrogression took place 

to the ideation of the most primitive of
 men1 namely1 the conception of physical
 disease as the result of the wrath of  
,god1 or the malice of ,satan1 or by a  
combination of both4 ,the ,old          
,testament attributes such diseases as  
the leprosy of ,miriam and ,uzziah1 the 
boils of ,job1 the dysentery of         
,jehoram1 the withered hand of          
,jeroboam1 the fatal illness of ,asa1   
and many other ills1 to the wrath of    
,god1 or the malice of ,satan4 ,the ,new
 ,testament furnishes such examples as  
the woman bound by ,satan1 the rebuke of
 the fever1 the casting out of the devil
 which was dumb1 the healing of persons 
whom the devil oftimes casteth into the 
fire1 and various other episodes4       
,christian theology then evolved        
theories of miraculous methods of cure1 
based upon modes of appeasing the divine
 anger1 or of thwarting satanic malice4 
,the curing of disease by the casting   
out of devils1 by prayers1 were the     
means of relief from sickness recognized

 and commanded by the ,bible4 ,thus     
,christianity perverted the beginning of
 a science of medicine to a system of   
attempted cure of disease by fraud4     
,the treatment of disease descended to  
the cures found in holy and healing     
wells1 pools1 and streams2 in miracles  
and the efficacy that was to be found in
 the relics of saints4 ,instead of      
reliance upon observation1 experience1  
and thought1 attention was directed     
toward supernatural agencies4 ,in       
contrast to the ,greek physicians who   
were attempting to lay a scientific     
foundation1 we have the ,christian idea 
prevailing that the water in which a    
single hair of a saint had been dipped  
was to be used as a purgative2 water in 
which ,st4 ,remy's ring had been dipped 
cured lunacy2 oil of a lamp burning     
before the tomb of ,st4 ,gall cured     
tumors2 wine in which the bones of a    
saint had been dipped cured fevers2 ,st4
 ,valentine cured epilepsy2 ,st4        
,christopher cured throat disease2 ,st4 

,eutropius1 dropsy2 ,st4 ,ovid1         
deafness2 ,st4 ,vitus1 ,st4 ,anthony1   
and a multitude of other saints1 the    
maladies which bear their names4  ,in   
the year #aehe1 in the town of ,embrun1 
,france1 the male generative organ of   
,st4 ,foutin was greatly revered4 ,a jar
 was placed beneath his emblem to catch 
the wine with which it was generally    
anointed2 the wine was left to sour1 and
 then it was known as the ',holy        
,vinegar4' ,the women drank it in order 
to be blessed with children4 7,joseph   
,lewis1 ,voltaire47  ,enormous revenues 
flowed into various monasteries and     
churches in all parts of ,europe from   
relics noted for their healing powers4  
,the ecclesiastics perceived that the   
physician would interfere with these    
revenues and gifts of the shrines1 and  
deemed it the will of ,god to persecute 
and condemn physicians4 ,st4 ,ambrose   
declared1 ,the precepts of medicine are 
contrary to celestial science1 watching 
and prayer4 ,st4 ,augustine declared1   

,all diseases of ,christians are to be  
ascribed to these demons1 chiefly do    
they torment fresh baptized ,christians1
 yea1 even the guiltless1 new-born babe4
 ,gregory of ,nazianzus declared that   
bodily pains are provoked by demons1 and
 that medicines are useless1 but that   
they are often cured by the laying on of
 consecrated hands4 ,st4 ,niles and ,st4
 ,gregory of ,tours gave examples to    
show the sinfulness of resorting to     
medicine instead of trusting to the     
intercession of saints4  ,even as late  
as #aeag1 ,pope ,leo ,x1 for a          
consideration1 issued tickets bearing a 
cross and the following inscription1    
,this cross measured forty times makes  
the height of ,christ in ,his humanity4 
,he who kisses it is preserved for seven
 days from falling sickness1 apoplexy1  
and sudden death4  ,the ,council of ,le 
,mons1 in #abdh1 forbade monks to engage
 in surgery4 ,at the beginning of the   
twelfth century1 the ,council of ,rheims
 forbade monks to study medicine2 and   

shortly after the middle of the twelfth 
century1 ,pope ,alexander ,,iii forbade 
monks to study or practice medicine4 ,in
 the thirteenth century1 the ,dominican 
,order forbade all ecclesiastics to have
 any connection with medicine2 and when 
we remember that the policy of the      
,church had made it impossible for any  
learned man to enter any other          
profession1 the only resource left for a
 scholar was the ,church2 so effectively
 did the ,church kill all scientific    
endeavors4  ,the ,reformation made no   
sudden change in the sacred theory of   
medicine4 ,the ,church of ,england      
accepted the doctrine of royal touch1   
and in a prayer book of that period is  
found a service provided for that       
occasion which states that ,they 7the   
kings71 shall lay their hands on the    
sick1 and they shall recover4           
,pestilences were taught to be          
punishments inflicted by ,god on society
 for its shortcomings4 ,modern man has  
no conception of the ravages of         

infections and epidemics that swept over
 ,europe in the ,middle ,ages1 and to a 
lesser extent1 until less than fifty    
years ago4 ,tacitus described the plague
 in ,rome thus3 ,houses were filled with
 dead bodies1 and the streets with      
funerals4444 ,alike1 slaves and         
plebeians were suddenly taken off amidst
 lamentations of their wives and        
children1 who1 while they mourned the   
dead1 were themselves seized with the   
disease1 and1 perishing1 were burned on 
the same funeral pyre4  ,in #hj ,a4,d4  
an epidemic swept ,rome causing #aj1jjj 
deaths daily4 ,during the ages until the
 present century1 wave after wave of    
pestilence swept over ,europe4 ,the     
plague in #achd ,a4,d4 took no less than
 #fj million lives4 ,it was estimated   
that twenty-five per cent4 of the       
population of the then known world      
perished in that one epidemic4 ,between 
#afja and #afjc1 #abg1jjj died of the   
plague in ,moscow4 ,the epidemic of     
#afcj took #ejj1jjj lives in the        

,venetian republic2 ,milan alone lost   
#hh1jjj4 ,in #afje1 ,london lost        
#fi1jjj2 #gj1jjj died in ,vienna in     
#afgi2 the following year ,prague lost  
#hc1jjj1 all from this disease4 ,the    
horrors of such visitations are beyond  
description1 and can scarcely be        
imagined4 ,for a time1 attempts were    
made to collect and bury the dead4      
,wagons would pass through the streets  
at night collecting the victims4 ,the   
drivers1 benumbed with drink1 frequently
 failed to ascertain whether death had  
occurred4 ,living patients1 desperately 
ill1 were piled into the wagons with    
corpses beneath1 about1 and on them4    
,these gruesome loads were dumped       
pell-mell into huge pits hastily dug for
 the purpose4 ,in some instances1 living
 victims crawled out of these pits and  
survived to tell the tale4 ,as the      
epidemics progressed1 attempts to       
dispose of the dead were abandoned4     
,putrefying bodies were everywhere4     
,whole cities were left desolate1 the   

few survivors having fled4  ,it is not  
to be wondered at that such epidemics   
swept over ,europe when it was taught   
that these were the vengeance of ,god4  
,how could it be discovered that the    
real causes were the crowded conditions 
and bad sanitation of the cities1 the   
squalor1 the misrule1 and gross         
immorality occasioned by the ,holy      
,wars1 when hordes of soldier-bandits   
plagued the countryside8 ,the devout    
continued to live in their squalor1 to  
trust in the ,lord1 and to die by the   
millions4  ,in all pestilences down to  
the present time1 the ,church           
authorities1 instead of aiding and      
devising sanitary measures1 have        
preached the necessity of immediate     
atonement for offenses against the      
,almighty4 ,the chief cause of the      
immense sacrifice of lives in these     
plagues was of course the lack of       
hygienic precautions4 ,but how could    
this be discovered when1 for ages1      
living in filth was regarded by great   

numbers of holy men as an evidence of   
sanctity6  ,st4 ,hilarion lived his     
whole life long in utter physical       
uncleanliness4 ,st4 ,athanasius         
glorifies ,st4 ,anthony because he had  
never washed his feet4 ,st4 ,abraham's  
most striking evidence of holiness was  
that for fifty years he washed neither  
his hands nor his feet2 ,st4 ,sylvia    
never washed any part of her body save  
her fingers2 ,st4 ,euphraxia belonged to
 a convent in which the nuns religiously
 abstained from bathing2 ,st4 ,mary of  
,egypt was eminent for filthiness2 ,st4 
,simeon ,stylites was in this respect   
unspeakable--the least that can be said 
is that he lived in ordure and stench   
intolerable to his visitors4 ,for       
century after century the idea prevailed
 that filthiness was akin to holiness4  
,another stumblingblock hindering the   
beginnings of modern medicine and       
surgery1 was the theory regarding the   
unlawfulness of meddling with the bodies
 of the dead4 ,the dissection of the    

human body was prohibited since the     
injury to the body would prevent its    
resurrection on the ,last ,day4 ,andreas
 ,vesalius was the pioneer in the       
movement for increased knowledge of     
anatomy1 and in #aedc1 when his work    
appeared1 he was condemned to death by  
the ,inquisition as a magician4 ,he     
escaped this fate by undertaking a      
pilgrimage to ,jerusalem only to be     
shipwrecked on the ,island of ,zante    
when he attempted to return1 and there  
died in misery and destitution4  ,in the
 year #ahec1 cholera1 after having      
committed serious ravages in many parts 
of ,europe1 visited ,scotland4 ,it was  
evident to most thinking people that1   
due to the extreme poverty and squalor  
of most of the ,scottish towns at that  
time1 a great number of people would    
necessarily succumb to this disease     
unless stringent sanitary measures were 
instituted immediately4 ,instead1 the   
,scotch clergy proposed to combat this  
scourge with prayer and fasting1 which  

would have lowered the resistance to    
this disease by producing physical      
exhaustion and mental depression4 ,they 
proposed the ordering of a national fast
 day in which the people were to sit the
 whole day without nourishment in their 
churches and retire to their beds at    
night weeping and starved4 ,then it was 
hoped that the ,deity would be          
propitiated1 and the plague stayed4 ,to 
give greater effect to this fast day1   
they called upon ,england to help them1 
and the ,presbytery of ,edinburgh       
dispatched a letter to the ,english     
minister1 requesting information as to  
whether the queen would appoint a       
national fast day4 ,the ,english        
minister1 to his credit1 advised the    
,presbytery of ,edinburgh that it was   
better to cleanse than to fast1 and     
cleanse they must swiftly or else1 in   
spite of all prayers and fastings of a  
united but inactive nation1 the cholera 
would devastate them4  ,there are today1
 in this twentieth century1 two         

pestilences which could be wiped from   
the face of the earth4 ,there are two   
pestilences which thus unfortunately    
involve moral conceptions4 ,they are the
 plagues of ,syphilis and ,gonorrhea4   
,against them medicine has developed    
methods of control4 ,they could be      
eradicated1 but as yet civilization has 
not advanced entirely beyond the ancient
 idea that disease is imposed by ,god as
 a measure of vengeance for our sins4   
,it still rejects protection1 when      
without it these plagues will continue  
to exact death and suffering on a scale 
which probably exceeds that of any one  
of the medieval plagues4 ,those who     
today look upon ,syphilis and ,gonorrhea
 as punishment for sin have not         
progressed beyond the ideas of medieval 
,europe4  ,ignorance and bigotry are the
 twin allies of the plagues of ,syphilis
 and ,gonorrhea4 ,medicine and          
civilization advance and regress        
together4 ,the conditions essential to  
advance are intellectual courage and a  

true love for humanity4 ,it is as true  
today as always in the past that further
 advances or even the holding of what   
has already been won1 depend upon the   
extent to which intellectual courage and
 humanity prevail against bigotry and   
obscurantism4 7,haggard1 ,devils1       
,doctors1 and ,drugs47  ,as a result of 
the lack of control of these plagues    
there are in the world at the present   
moment thousands of children suffering  
from congenital syphilis who would never
 have been born but for the desire of   
,christians to see sinners punished4    
,with regard to the spread of sex       
knowledge1 the clergy's attitude is     
dangerous to human welfare4 ,the        
artificial ignorance of sex subjects    
which orthodox ,christians attempt to   
enforce upon the young is extremely     
dangerous to mental and physical health4
 ,the young are much less likely to act 
wisely when they are ignorant1 than when
 they are instructed4  ,these two       
venereal diseases are no more controlled

 under the moral standards of today than
 they were two centuries ago1 and yet   
medical science offers for these        
diseases what it can offer for few      
others2 both a prevention and a cure4   
,and it is due to the ignorance and the 
bigotry of the theists that the spread  
of sex knowledge is hampered so that a  
sane conception of sex and the          
prevention of venereal disease does not 
eradicate these diseases4 ,the theists  
have1 therefore1 without sense or       
justice1 founded their morality on      
disease2 neglecting the fact that all   
disease is immoral in the widest sense1 
since it is detrimental to the happiness
 of man1 and that no one disease is more
 so than another4 ,the morality of the  
body is health--not disease4 ,so much   
for the actual facts and reality4 ,in   
passing to the theoretical1 we again see
 the truth of the statement that        
religion is the last resort of human    
savagery4  ,to postulate that a supreme 
being is omnipotent1 omniscient1 and    

all-loving1 and then to assume that he  
inflicts disease on his children as     
punishment for sin is a sadistic mental 
aberration4 ,in his omniscience he full 
well knows beforehand what each of his  
children will do4 ,he foreordains their 
sins and then punishes his children for 
sins that he wills them to commit4 ,it  
is just as if a syphilitic father should
 punish his syphilitic child because the
 child has that congenital disease for  
which the father is responsible4 ,if the
 theist insists that his deity is all   
that he claims him to be1 then it is    
only logical that instead of man asking 
his god for forgiveness1 what actually  
should be is that ,god should ask the   
forgiveness of man for his bungling and 
error4  ,christianity has attempted from
 its inception to eradicate the sexual  
instinct and in so doing has antagonized
 an instinct that is as fundamental as  
that of self-preservation4 ,all it has  
accomplished is a distortion4 ,the      
church1 by claiming that it alone was   

privileged to regulate sexual desires1  
has done one of two things to each of   
its adherents4 ,it has either made him a
 hypocrite or driven him insane4 ,much  
of the insanity in this country could be
 overcome were religion and sex         
permanently divorced2 and an immediate  
amount of inestimable good could be     
accomplished when one considers that    
fifteen per cent of all mental disease  
is caused by syphilis4  ,physical       
disease having been considered as a     
malicious trick of ,satan1 it was but   
natural that the disease of the mind was
 also attributed to satanic             
intervention4 ,the conception that      
insanity was a brain disease1 and that  
gentleness and kindness were necessary  
for its treatment1 was throttled by     
,christian theology for fifteen         
centuries4 ,instead the ecclesiastic    
burdened humanity with a belief that    
madness was largely possession by the   
,devil4 ,hundreds of thousands of men   
and women were inflicted with tortures  

both physical and mental4 ,it was not   
until #agib that the great ,french      
physician ,penel1 and ,william ,tuke in 
,england1 placed the treatment of mental
 disease on a rational and scientific   
basis4 ,and this1 in spite of such      
ecclesiastical attacks as were seen in  
the ,edinburgh ,review of that period4  
,these two men1 ,penel and ,tuke1 were  
the first acknowledged victors in a     
struggle of science for humanity which  
lasted nearly two thousand years4  ,the 
clergy resisted ,jenner when he         
introduced vaccination1 and yet the     
application of this measure of defense  
against disease has probably saved more 
lives than the total of all the lives   
lost in all wars4 ,the clergy maintained
 that ,smallpox is a visitation from    
,god1 and originates in man1 but ,cowpox
 is produced by presumptious1 impious   
men4 ,the former1 heaven ordained1 the  
latter is perhaps a daring and profane  
violation of our holy order4  ,in the   
seventeenth century1 the ,jesuit        

missionaries in ,south ,america learned 
from the natives the value of the       
so-called ,peruvian ,bark in the        
treatment of ague4 ,in #afch1 quinine1  
derived from this bark1 was introduced  
into ,europe as a cure for malaria4 ,it 
was stigmatized as an invention of the  
,devil4 ,the ecclesiastical opposition  
to this drug was so strong that it was  
not introduced into ,england until      
#afec4  ,the medieval ,christians saw in
 childbirth the result of a carnal sin  
to be expiated in pain as defined in    
,genesis4 ,accordingly the treatment    
given the child-bearing woman was vastly
 worse than the mere neglect among the  
primitive peoples4 ,her sufferings were 
augmented by the fact that she was no   
longer a primitive woman and            
child-bearing had become more difficult4
 ,in these ,ages of ,faith which could  
be better called the ,ages of ,filth1   
nothing was done to overcome the        
enormous mortality of the mother and    
child at birth4 ,attempts1 however1 were

 made to form intra-uterine baptismal   
tubes by which the child1 when it was   
locked by some ill chance in its        
mother's womb1 could be baptized and its
 soul saved before the mother and child 
were left to die together4 ,but nothing 
was done to save their lives4 ,no       
greater crimes were ever committed in   
the name of civilization1 religious     
faith1 and smug ignorance than the      
sacrifice of the lives of countless     
mothers and children in the first       
fifteen centuries after ,christ among   
civilized mankind4  ,approaching our own
 time1 we have the example of ,dr4      
,james ,y4 ,simpson1 professor of       
obstetrics at the ,university of        
,glasgow about #ahej1 first             
administering an anesthetic to alleviate
 the pain of childbirth4 ,he was        
bitterly opposed by the clergy on the   
ground that it was impious to attempt to
 escape from the curse pronounced       
against all women in ,genesis4 ,it was  
,dr4 ,simpson who1 in defending this    

humanitarian practice1 asserted that    
opposition1 particularly on theological 
grounds1 had been presented against     
every humane innovation in the past4    
,when ,paul ,ehrlich1 in #aiaj1         
announced his discovery of salvarsan for
 the treatment of syphilis1 the clergy  
again were horror-struck that man should
 interfere with a visitation of the     
,lord4  ,the resistance to the spread of
 information concerning contraception1  
commonly known as birth control1 is an  
example of the ,church's dominance of   
government today2 and yet this          
information is as vital to the welfare  
of humanity as is the control of cancer4
  ,in #aibf1 our newspapers carried     
conspicuous headlines1 ,episcopal       
,church ,joins ,catholic to ,gag ,birth 
,control2 four years later1 #cbj bishops
 of the ,episcopal ,church met in       
,london1 and by a majority of #c to #a  
voted in favor of contraception when    
there is morally sound reason for       
avoiding complete abstinence4 ,the      

bishops had by this time become well    
aware of the insistence of secular      
opinion towards this movement1 and      
having done their best to prevent this  
progressive movement for the past one   
hundred years1 they finally accepted    
defeat1 proving once again that religion
 has never accepted anything that       
science has shown to be a fact or of    
benefit to humanity until it was        
compelled to do so to save its face4    
,the infallible ,church1 however1 still 
persists in its opposition and in the   
,encyclical of ,pope ,pius ,,xi1        
published in ,january1 #aica1 it is     
said1 ,the conjugal act is destined     
primarily by nature for the begetting of
 children4 ,those who1 in exercising it1
 deliberately frustrate its natural     
power1 and purpose1 are against nature  
and commit a deed which is shameful and 
intrinsically vicious4 ,so speaks the   
infallible ,pope1 but the great majority
 of physicians hold that there are few  
things more perilous to mental health1  

intellectual efficiency1 moral          
equanimity1 and physical well-being than
 prolonged denial of the sex urge for   
the average1 normal human being4 ,every 
physician can furnish numerous case     
histories to substantiate the statement 
that continual sexual abstinence is     
prejudicial to the health and happiness 
of the man and woman1 and is the        
causation of hundreds of semiderelicts  
and psychoneurotics4 ,furthermore1 the  
rising tide of insanity in this country 
would be stemmed were religion and sex  
permanently divorced4  ,today the modern
 clergy still endeavor to explain       
natural phenomena by supernatural       
theories1 and while they do not assign  
preternatural powers to witches and     
demons1 they yet persist in attempting  
to pervert facts of science1 and delude 
themselves with faith in some           
supernatural force4 ,the clergy state   
that the physician cures disease through
 the mediation of ,god1 the physician   
merely playing the part of the agent of 

,god1 through whom the real cure is     
effected4 ,is anything more ridiculous  
and at the same time more contradictory1
 than to suppose that an all-powerful   
god should have to appoint an           
intermediary to perform his work8 ,and  
if it is only by ,god's will and aid    
that a cure takes place1 then it follows
 that ,god must be willing for the      
individual to be cured2 why in the name 
of reason1 did ,he not prevent the      
initial step1 the contracting of the    
disease8 ,what a mass of suffering1 of  
mental anguish might thus have been     
spared us6 ,thus1 this omnipotent being 
either did not desire to spare us this  
misery and suffering1 in which case he  
must surely be a monster incarnate2 or1 
on the other hand1 he is powerless to   
halt it1 and thus cannot be omnipotent4 
,while the clergy maintain that a cure  
is only effected by ,god's will1 the    
physician knows otherwise4 ,the         
physician accomplishes his cures alone1 
and definitely cures and saves the lives

 of human beings by his own skill1      
intelligence1 and application of methods
 which have been developed by the       
exercise of secular knowledge1 not      
theological nonsense4 ,when man is so   
unfortunate as to contract an infection 
of the appendix1 and that inflammation  
succeeds to pus-formation so that this  
diseased and non-essential part of the  
human anatomy is on the point of        
rupturing and causing a fatal           
peritonitis1 it is not by ,god's will   
and intervention that a cure is         
effected1 but by the intervention of the
 surgeon who removes the diseased part4 
,if man depended upon ,god's will to    
save him1 as he did in the past1 the    
appendix would rupture1 peritonitis     
would set in1 and despite prayers and   
sacrificial offerings1 the ,deity would 
exact his life4  ,when an innocent      
infant1 in the first few weeks of life1 
develops an intussusception 7an         
infolding of the bowel which causes an  
acute obstruction71 the prayers and     

supplication of the parents avail not a 
particle2 if the surgeon did not save   
the infant's life by operating and      
removing the obstruction1 the benevolent
 being would allow the child to die4    
,the adult who develops a hernia1 which 
is due to a defect in the construction  
of the human body1 which is assigned to 
an omniscient being who still persists  
in forming bodies that are defective1   
and this hernia becomes strangulated    
7twisted71 the deity sits calmly by in  
omnipotent inaction1 while the prompt   
interference of the surgeon saves the   
individual's life4  ,when the surgeon   
observes a superficial cancerous growth1
 or an internal growth which can be     
removed in its entirety1 does he trust  
to the ,lord to halt this pernicious    
development8 ,no1 the surgeon does not  
consult ,god1 but resorts to his own    
knowledge and skill to save a human     
life4  ,the diphtheritic child who is   
strangling to death with a diphtheritic 
membrane in its throat is not permitted 

by the physician to be left to the      
benevolent being's will1 nor to the     
prayers of the parents4 ,the physician's
 prayer is the diphtheria antitoxin1    
which in his hands is the life-saving   
device4  ,when the physician administers
 quinine for malaria1 or salvarsan for  
syphilis1 he effects cures for these    
diseases by using agents to which the   
clergy strenuously objected when they   
were first introduced4 ,and when the    
ecclesiastic attributes to the ,deity   
whatever laws man has been able to      
evolve out of his own experience and    
wisdom1 he establishes1 fallaciously1   
the corollary that if ,god is           
responsible for the cures1 ,he is also  
responsible for the non-cures4 ,then    
what of the countless number that died  
of disease before man evolved those     
cures1 and what of the wholesale murder 
of ,his children in the past ages8  ,do 
certain diseases still baffle the       
physician8 ,surely it is less often than
 the pestilences of old which baffled   

sacrifice and prayer4 ,the cruelest laws
 ever devised by man have more equity   
and benevolence in them than the        
appalling and irrational jurisprudence  
of the ,deity4  ,do certain diseases as 
yet remain to plague man8 ,then it is   
only because religion has for the past  
#bjjj years been the greatest obstacle  
in the development of cures for these   
diseases4 ,every single individual1 in  
the past #bjjj years1 who has succumbed 
to a disease for which medical science  
has no cure1 has died directly at the   
hands of religion4 ,the obstruction     
which religion has placed on the        
development of medical science has laid 
at its feet the responsibility for the  
deaths of countless millions throughout 
the ages4  ,the religionist replies that
 man's mind cannot fathom the will of   
,god4 ,which is an irrational statement 
for it is a well established fact1 and  
indeed1 a criterion of insanity1 that   
when the deranged are confronted with   
facts which are conclusive and with     

creations of the imagination1 they      
cannot differentiate fact from fancy1   
and maintain1 instead1 that fancy is the
 real fact4 ,the religionists are guilty
 of the same breach of reason4 ,they    
suffer with what may be termed1 dementia
 religiosa4 ,the remarkable feature of  
the latter disease is its wide          
prevalence4  ,dr4 ,haggard in his book1 
,devils1 ,drugs1 and ,doctors1 declares1
 ,the early and ,medieval ,christians   
accepted the doctrine of the power of   
demons in the lives of men2 they saw    
this power particularly in the demoniac 
production of diseases4 ,they believed  
in miracles and especially in the       
miraculous healing of diseases4 ,the    
demonological belief of the ,christians 
was inherited from the doctrine of the  
,jews1 who were believers in demons and 
the 'possession by the devil4' ,jesus   
himself cured by casting out of devils4 
,following his example1 ,christians     
everywhere became exorcists4 ,jewish    
demonology was continued among          

,christian converts1 and the belief in  
supernatural interpositions in human    
affairs was widely accepted4 ,nothing   
has retarded the growth of scientific   
medicine during the past #bjjj years so 
much as the iron grip of theology in    
maintaining practices based on belief in
 this supernatural origin of disease4   
,the fabled curing of disease by casting
 out devils1 and the ,new ,testament    
recordings of ,jesus's conviction that  
disease was caused by evil spirits1 have
 had an inestimable detrimental result  
on the development of medical science4  
,the fact that ,jesus believed in the   
demoniacal production of diseases and   
cured them by exorcism was deemed so    
important by the author of the ,gospel  
according to ,mark that he has actually 
recorded the ,aramaic words ,jesus was  
reported to have used in addressing his 
patients4 ,in ,mark ,v3#da1 ,jesus is   
reported to have given the command      
,talitha cumi to a little ,jewish girl  
whom her parents believed dead4 ,in     

,mark ,,vii3#cd1 ,jesus is reported as  
uttering the magical word ,ephphatha1 as
 he put his fingers into his ears1 and  
he spit1 and touched his tongue in      
behalf of one that was deaf1 and had an 
impediment in his speech4  ,an excellent
 and timely illustration of what occurs 
when secular knowledge has not yet      
replaced ecclesiastical ignorance and   
bigotry1 particularly in the field of   
medicine1 is furnished by an article    
from one of ,philadelphia's leading     
newspapers1 ,the ,evening ,bulletin1 of 
,december #bc1 #aicb4 ,we quote it      
verbatim3  ,faith ,healers ,arrested2   
,two ,charged with ,choking to ,death   
#e-,year-,old ,girl1 ,linden1 ,texas1   
,dec4 #bc1 #aicb4 ,despite a purported  
confession1 officers to-day continued an
 investigation of the death of a        
five-year-old girl1 allegedly at the    
hands of two itinerant preachers who    
sought to 'drive out the devil' they    
believed responsible for her partial    
paralysis4 ,murder charges were filed   

against ,paul ,oaks and his brother1    
,coy ,oaks1 and precautions taken to    
prevent possible mob vengeance4 ,sheriff
 ,nat ,curtright said the accused men   
admitted they had choked the child to   
death in an attempt to cure her4        
,officers said the preachers had been   
conducting meetings in rural communities
 and had preached on the subject of     
faith healing4 ,george ,wilson1 a       
neighbor1 officers said1 found the two  
men kneeling over the prostrate form of 
the child4 ,they ordered him to leave1  
declaring he was a 'devil4' ,he said the
 child's father was in the room4        
,medieval exorcism still practised in   
one of the leading nations of the world6
 ,in ,america1 which prides itself on   
its scientific advances1 towards whom   
the rest of the world looks for guidance
 in scientific discoveries and          
practices6  ,to have retarded the growth
 of medicine for the past #bjjj years6  
,think of the strides made in medicine  
in the past hundred years1 and dwell on 

the comfort humanity derives from it1 in
 contrast to the filth1 misery1 and     
pestilences of the fourteenth1          
fifteenth1 and sixteenth centuries4     
,would so much progress have been       
possible had man still persisted in the 
belief that disease was due to demoniac 
intervention1 and that the sum total of 
all knowledge humanly possible was      
contained in the ,bible8  ,it is no     
longer necessary for children to choke  
to death with diphtheria4 ,yellow fever1
 and small pox in civilized countries   
are1 or could be1 wiped from the face of
 the earth4 ,malaria is controlled2     
tuberculosis will shortly be a rarity2  
typhoid fever and cholera have been     
eradicated wherever there is sanitation2
 erysipelas can be controlled2          
hydrophobia prevented2 childbirth fever 
has lost its tremendous mortality2      
tetanus can be checked2 syphilis and    
gonorrhea can be controlled2 diabetes   
and pernicious anemia can be controlled2
 surgery is reclaiming vast multitudes  

and restoring to useful and happy lives 
thousands who would have hitherto died4 
,so much has been done2 but it is       
especially true that there is as much1  
at least1 yet to be done4 ,but all this 
has been achieved so recently4 ,what    
might not have been won had not the     
minds of men been polluted from infancy1
 warped by the first professional holy  
men1 the religionists1 the priests8 ,had
 the idea of a supernatural force been  
allowed to die in the ,dark ,ages1 as it
 surely would have1 as man's mind       
expanded and developed1 humanity would  
today find itself more advanced on the  
road to progress4 ,but as it was1 the   
myth of religion was foisted on the     
superstitious brain1 and man resigned   
himself to his fate1 and lived in such a
 manner as to please this hypothetical  
supernatural being4 ,the inevitable     
result was the abject misery1 both      
material and spiritual1 of ,europe      
during the period when the ,church was  
in absolute control4  ,if this myth and 

mystification had died with the dead    
ages1 as it should have done1 what a    
fitter place to live in this world would
 be today6 ,consider the needless misery
 and the agony of those who died of the 
various plagues2 and think of the       
advanced stage of medicine of           
,alexandria1 three hundred years before 
the ,christian era1 where the physicians
 were welcomed to the famous library by 
the emperors4 ,the state gave them their
 livelihood and their duties were to    
advance medicine by study and research4 
,anatomy was studied and dissection was 
allowed4 ,with the coming of            
,christianity1 the remnants of this     
library were destroyed1 and with them   
went all progress in that field4 ,if    
such had been the enlightened state in  
,egypt three hundred years before       
,christianity appeared1 then why had not
 science made the same progress then as 
it does now8 ,because1 to the knowledge 
stored in the library at ,alexandria had
 not been added a progression of        

learning1 a continued process of        
research2 if this had not been halted by
 ,christianity1 how much vaster would   
our achievements be today8  ,it was not 
necessary for all of those millions to  
have been the victims of plagues1 of    
inquisitions1 of witchcraft burnings1 of
 religious persecutions and wars4 ,the  
sorrow and pain brought to untold       
numbers throughout the centuries could  
have been prevented2 and would have been
 if man had been interested in the      
welfare of his fellowmen instead of the 
glorification of an almighty being4     
,future generations may well declare    
religion to have been the curse of      
humanity4 ,the ,church had cursed the   
human intellect by cursing the doubts   
which are the necessary consequence of  
its exercise4 ,she had cursed even the  
moral faculty by asserting the guilt of 
honest error4  ,medicine which has for  
its sole objects the alleviation of     
man's sufferings1 to cure them when     
possible1 to relieve more often the     

pains and ills which make this life a   
living hell1 what might it not have     
accomplished ages ago had religion not  
interfered with its progress8 ,whatever 
cures are known1 and preventions that   
are practiced now1 could have been      
common knowledge centuries ago4 ,and    
what of the multitudes that perished who
 might have been saved1 and what of the 
misery which might have been prevented1 
had not this curse fallen upon man8     
,since #aijf1 there have been only five 
deaths from yellow fever in the ,united 
,states4 ,outbreaks of cholera and      
plague are unknown4 ,in former years1   
puerperal fever took the lives of from  
five to fifty of each one hundred       
parturient mothers4 ,at present1 an     
average of one out of #abej mothers dies
 of this infection following childbirth4
 ,deaths from many diseases are less    
than one-tenth of their former number4  
,these include wound infections1        
diphtheria1 scarlet fever1 malaria1     
dysentery1 typhoid1 small pox1 and many 

dietary and metabolic diseases4 ,since  
#ahhj1 the medical sciences have        
accomplished a total net saving of human
 life from all diseases which1 if       
equally distributed among the           
population1 would add sixteen years to  
the life span of each person4 ,in #ahhj1
 the average duration of human life1    
that is1 the average age at which death 
occurred1 was #da4gh years4 ,in #aibe1  
the average duration of life was #eh4bi 
years4 ,in other words1 those born at   
this time live on the average #af4e     
years longer than those born at any time
 prior to #ahhj4 ,in a population of    
#abj1jjj1jjj this would mean a total of 
#a1ibj1jjj1jjj additional years of life4
 ,such a figure is as difficult to      
conceive of as are the interstellar     
spaces4 ,this is one contribution1      
numerically expressed1 which medical    
science and its offspring1 preventive   
medicine1 have made to humanity in the  
short space of fifty years4  ,indeed if1
 as the religionists believe1 there is a

 god1 he could not have punished his    
subjects more than by instilling in them
 the dementia religiosa4 ,if the ,church
 had not taught that the sum total of   
all knowledge was contained in the      
,bible1 and prohibited1 on pain of death
 and confiscation of property1 the      
promulgation of any discoveries1 men    
would have reasoned as they are         
accustomed to at the present day1 and we
 would not be #bjjj years behind in all 
branches of learning4  ,but there has   
never been an advance in science of     
widespread importance1 which in some    
manner endangered some mouldy religious 
concept1 that the ,church has not       
bitterly opposed2 an advance which in   
time has proven of inestimable good for 
all mankind4 7,a glance at the history  
of human progress will reveal scores of 
such instances47 ,the opposition to     
medicine1 as previously noted1 is only  
one of many examples which might have   
been chosen4 ,in proportion1 as the     
grasp of theology upon education        

tightened1 medicine declined1 and in    
proportion1 as the grip relaxed1        
medicine developed4     ,,chapter ,,viii
  ,,religion ,,and ,,astronomy   ,in the
 early ,church1 astronomy1 like other   
branches of science1 was looked upon as 
futile1 since the ,new ,testament taught
 that the earth was soon to be destroyed
 and new heavens created4  ,the heavenly
 bodies were looked upon by the         
theologians as either living beings     
possessing souls1 or as the habitation  
of the angels4 ,however1 as time passed1
 the geocentric doctrine1 the doctrine  
that the earth is the center of the     
universe and that the sun and planets   
revolve about it1 was the theory that   
held the highest respect4  ,copernicus1 
in #aedc1 was first to bring clearly    
before the world the then astounding    
theory that the earth and planets       
revolve about the sun4 ,but not until he
 was on his deathbed did he dare to     
publish it1 for he well knew the        
opposition with which it would be met4  

,even then he published it with an      
apologetic lie by a friend ,osiander1   
that ,copernicus had propounded the     
doctrine of the earth's movement not as 
a fact1 but as a hypothesis4  ,thus was 
the greatest and most ennobling1        
perhaps1 of scientific truths--a truth  
not less ennobling to religion than to  
science--forced in coming before the    
world1 to sneak and crawl4 7,white3     
,history of ,warfare of ,science with   
,theology47  ,during the next seventy   
years the matter slumbered1 until       
,galileo upheld the ,copernican doctrine
 as the truth1 and proved it to be the  
truth by his telescope4 ,immediately the
 ,church condemned the statements of    
,copernicus and forbade ,galileo to     
teach or discuss them4 ,all books which 
affirmed the motion of the earth were   
forbidden1 and to read the work of      
,copernicus was declared to risk        
damnation4 ,all branches of the         
,protestant ,church1 ,lutheran1         
,calvinist1 ,anglican1 vied with each   

other in denouncing the ,copernican     
doctrine4  ,one man1 ,giordano ,bruno   
dared to assert the truth in the hearing
 of the ,papacy4 ,for this heresy he was
 hunted from land to land1 finally      
trapped in ,venice1 imprisoned at ,rome1
 burned alive1 and his ashes scattered  
to the winds6  ,against ,galileo1 the   
war against the ,copernican theory was  
concentrated4 ,his discoveries were     
declared to be deceptions1 and his      
announcements blasphemy when1 in #afaj1 
he announced that his telescope had     
revealed the moons of the planet        
,jupiter4  ,in #afae1 ,galileo was      
summoned before the ,inquisition at     
,rome1 and forced to promise that he    
would relinquish altogether the opinion 
that the sun is the center of the world1
 and immovable1 and that the earth      
moves1 nor henceforth to hold1 teach1 or
 defend it in any way whatsoever        
verbally or in writing4  ,pope ,paul ,v 
solemnly rendered the decree that the   
doctrine of the double motion of the    

earth about its axis and about the sun  
is false and entirely contrary to ,holy 
,scripture4  ,the climax of this        
instance of the infallibility of the    
,church occurred when in his seventieth 
year ,galileo was again brought before  
the ,inquisition2 he was forced to      
abjure under threats of torture and     
imprisonment by command of ,pope ,urban 
a truth which1 in this day1 is taken for
 granted by the youngest of children4   
,galileo was then kept in exile for the 
rest of his days1 died1 and was buried  
ignobly1 apart from his family1 without 
fitting ceremony1 without monument or   
epitaph4  ,as late as #ahgc there was   
published1 in ,st4 ,louis1 a work by a  
president of a ,lutheran teachers'      
seminary in which he stated that the    
earth is the principal body of the      
universe1 that it stands fixed1 and that
 the sun and moon only serve to light   
it4  ,astronomy brings forth a noble    
array of men who have1 by their intense 
desire for the truth1 persevered against

 the ,church1 and in spite of the vilest
 opposition of that ,church1 brought to 
the attention of man laws that have     
given a meaning and order to our        
universe4  ,copernicus escaping         
persecution only by death2 ,bruno burned
 alive2 ,galileo imprisoned2 ,kepler    
reviled1 and ,newton bitterly attacked4 
,in this manner has religion aided      
astronomy6     ,,chapter ,,ix           
,,religion ,,and ,,geography   ,the     
ancient ,greeks1 especially the         
,pythagoreans1 ,plato1 and ,aristotle1  
had evolved theories of the earth's     
sphericity1 which1 while vague1 were    
basic for subsequent accurate ideas that
 developed later4  ,when ,christianity  
sprang into existence ,eusebius1 ,st4   
,john ,chrysostom1 and ,cosmos evolved a
 complete description of the earth4     
,they considered the earth as a         
parallelogram1 flat1 and surrounded by  
four seas1 as a kind of house1 with     
heaven as its upper story and the earth 
as its ground floor4 ,to the north of   

the earth was a great mountain2 at night
 the sun was pushed into a pit and      
pulled out again in the morning1 with   
heaven as a loft and hell as a cellar4  
,in the ,atlantic ,ocean1 at some       
unknown distance from ,europe1 was one  
of the openings into hell1 into which a 
ship sailing to this point1 would       
tumble4 ,the terror of this conception  
was one of the chief obstacles of the   
great voyage of ,columbus4 ,luther1     
,melanchthon1 ,calvin1 and ,zwingli held
 to the opinion that a great firmament1 
or floor1 separated the heavens from the
 earth2 that above it were the waters   
and angels1 and below it1 the earth and 
man4  ,during the time that the         
sphericity of the earth was still       
undecided1 another question arose that  
was considered of far greater           
importance1 namely1 the conception of   
the antipodes and the problem of        
deciding whether human beings existed on
 the earth's opposite side4 ,it was     
,lactantius who asked1 ,is there any one

 so senseless as to believe that there  
are men whose footsteps are higher than 
their heads8 ,that the crops and trees  
grow downward8 ,that the rains and snow 
and hail fall upwards toward the earth8 
,i am at a loss as to what to say of    
those1 who1 when they have once erred1  
steadily persevere in their folly1 and  
defend one vain thing by another4  ,st4 
,augustine insisted that men could not  
be allowed by the ,almighty to live     
there1 since1 if they did1 they could   
not see ,christ at ,his second coming1  
descending through the air4  ,in the    
eighth century1 a ,bishop ,virgil of    
,salzburg dared to assert that there    
were men living in the antipodes4 ,he   
was strongly attacked by ,st4 ,boniface 
of ,germany1 who appealed to ,pope      
,zachary for a decision4 ,the ,pope1 as 
the infallible teacher of ,christendom1 
made the following response3 ,he        
declared it1 ,perverse1 iniquitous1 and 
against ,virgil's soul4 ,and again      
another infallible statement by the     

infallible ,pope ,zachary became a      
doctrine of the ,church4  ,in ,italy1 in
 #acaf1 ,peter of ,abano1 famous as a   
physician1 promulgated the opposite view
 to that of the ,church1 for which he   
was persecuted by the ,inquisition1 and 
barely escaped with his life4 ,in #acbg1
 ,cecco d',ascoli1 an astronomer1 was   
burned alive at ,florence for daring to 
assert that men lived in the antipodes4 
,the difficulties that beset ,columbus  
are well known4 ,how he was hounded both
 in ,portugal and in ,spain by the      
clergy2 and even after his discovery of 
,america1 the ,papacy still maintained  
its theory of the flatness of the earth 
and the nonsense of the antipodes4 ,pope
 ,alexander ,,vi and ,pope ,julius ,,ii 
attempted to settle the disputes between
 ,spain and ,portugal by drawing some   
remarkable maps that may still be found2
 but no one dares to disturb the quiet  
of the ridiculous bulls that the popes  
issued on this dispute4  ,in #aeai      
,magellan made his famous voyage and    

proved the earth to be round and that   
men actually lived in the antipodes4    
,but the force of ecclesiastical        
stultification was so great1 as it is   
today1 that men still believed the      
opposite view for two hundred years     
after the voyage of ,magellan4          
,,chapter ,x  ,,religion ,,and          
,,chemistry ,,and ,,physics   ,the      
establishment of ,christianity1         
beginning a new evolution of theology1  
arrested the normal development of the  
physical sciences for more than #aejj   
years4 ,the work begun by ,aristotle and
 carried on to such a high state of     
relative perfection by ,archimedes1 was 
stifled by the early ,christians4 ,an   
atmosphere was then created in which    
physical science could not grow4 ,the   
general belief derived from the ,new    
,testament was that the end of the world
 was at hand1 and the early ,church     
,fathers poured contempt upon all       
investigators of the science of nature4 
,then1 too1 for science there was       

established an insurmountable barrier1  
in that the most careful inductions of  
science from ascertained facts must     
conform to the view of nature given in  
the myth and legends of the ,bible4 ,for
 #aejj years science was forced to      
confine itself to a system of deducing  
scientific truth from scriptural texts4 
,it was the accepted word of the clergy 
that science was futile and dangerous   
which led to the discrediting of ,roger 
,bacon's works4  ,in #aafc ,pope        
,alexander ,,iii forbade the study of   
physics to all ecclesiastics1 which of  
course1 in that age1 meant prohibition  
of all such scientific studies to the   
only persons likely to follow them4     
,roger ,bacon was first to practice     
extensively the experimental method of  
science4 ,through his researches the    
inventions of clocks1 lenses1 and the   
formula for extracting phosphorus1      
manganese1 and bismuth were brought to  
light4 ,bitterly attacked by the clergy1
 he attempted to defend himself by      

stating that much which was ascribed to 
demons resulted from natural means4     
,this statement but added fuel to the   
flame4 ,for in #abgh the authorities of 
the ,franciscan ,order assembled at     
,paris1 solemnly condemned ,bacon's     
teachings1 and the general of the       
,franciscans1 ,jerome of ,ascoli1       
afterwards ,pope1 threw him into prison1
 where he remained for fourteen years4  
,at the age of eighty1 he was released  
from prison declaring1 ,would that ,i   
had not given myself so much trouble for
 the love of science4  ,sad is it to    
think of what this great man might have 
given to the world had ecclesiasticism  
allowed the gift4 ,he held the key to   
treasures which would have freed mankind
 from ages of error and misery4 ,with   
his discoveries as a basis1 with his    
method as a guide1 what might not the   
world have gained6 ,nor was the wrong   
done to that age alone2 it was done to  
this age also4444 ,thousands of precious
 lives shall be lost1 tens of thousands 

shall suffer discomfort1 privations1    
sickness1 poverty1 ignorance1 for lack  
of discoveries and methods which1 but   
for this mistaken dealing with ,roger   
,bacon and his compeers1 would now be   
blessing the earth4 7,white3 ,warfare of
 ,science47  ,centuries afterwards1 for 
stating the same claim1 namely1 that    
much which was attributed to demons1    
resulted from natural causes1 ,cornelius
 ,agrippa1 ,weyer1 ,flade1 ,loos1       
,bekker1 and a multitude of other       
investigators and thinkers1 suffered    
confiscation of property1 loss of       
position1 and even torture and death4   
,in the latter half of the sixteenth    
century1 ,john ,baptist ,porta1 who was 
the first to show how to reduce the     
metallic oxides and thus laid the       
foundation of several important         
industries1 was summoned to ,rome by    
,pope ,paul ,,ii1 and forbidden to      
continue his researches4  ,both in      
,protestant and ,catholic countries     
instruction in chemistry and physics was

 discouraged by ,church authorities1 and
 in ,england the theologians strenuously
 opposed the ,royal ,society and the    
,association for the ,advancement of    
,science4  ,francis ,bacon and ,boyle   
were denounced by the clergy1 and       
,lavoisier was sent to the scaffold by  
the ,parisian mob4 ,priestley had his   
home1 his library1 instruments1 and     
papers containing the results of long   
years of scientific research burned by a
 ,birmingham mob that had been          
instigated by ,anglican clergymen4 ,he  
was driven into exile1 and the mob would
 have murdered him if they could have   
laid their hands upon him4  ,yet1 in    
spite of the opposition of the clergy1  
an opposition of such force that one may
 well wonder how these tender embryonic 
sciences could have withstood the       
terrific ecclesiastical onslaughts1 the 
truths of chemistry and physics         
continued to diffuse themselves among   
the intelligent observers4 ,the value to
 humanity of these two sciences is now  

established as inestimable4             
,,chapter ,,xi  ,,religion ,,and        
,,geology1 ,,philology ,,and ,,evolution
  ,the human race has suffered three    
grave humiliations3 when ,copernicus    
showed that the earth was not the center
 of the universe2 when ,darwin proved   
that man's origin was not the result of 
direct creation2 when ,freud explained  
that man was not the master of his own  
thoughts or actions4    ,,llewelyn      
,,powys4   ,in the writings of the      
,greek and ,roman philosophers are found
 the germinal concepts of geological    
truths4 ,but as ,christianity took      
control of the world instead of a steady
 progression of knowledge in this field 
there was a distinct retrogression4     
,according to the prevailing belief the 
earth was soon to be destroyed and the  
collecting of knowledge was futile and  
any study of its nature was vain4  ,st4 
,jerome stated that the broken and      
twisted crust of the earth exhibited the
 wrath of ,god against sin4 ,tertullian 

asserted that fossils resulted from the 
flood of ,noah4 ,a scientific           
explanation of fossil remains was       
attempted by ,de ,clave1 ,bitaud1 and   
,de ,villon in the seventeenth century4 
,the theological faculty of ,paris      
protested against the scientific        
doctrine as unscriptural1 destroyed     
their treatises1 and banished their     
authors from ,paris4  ,in the middle of 
the eighteenth century ,buffon1 in      
,france1 produced a thesis attempting to
 state simple geological truths4 ,the   
theological faculty of the ,sorbonne    
dismissed him from his high position and
 forced him to print a recantation      
stating1 ,i declare that ,i had no      
intention to contradict the text of the 
,scripture2 that ,i believe most firmly 
all therein related about the creation1 
both as to order of time and matter of  
fact4 ,i abandon everything in my book  
respecting the formation of the earth   
and generally all which may be contrary 
to the narrative of ,moses6  ,the       

doctrine which ,buffon abandoned is now 
as firmly established as that of the    
earth's rotation upon its axis4 ,yet1 in
 his day1 it was heatedly asserted by   
ecclesiastics that the scientific       
doctrine that fossils represent animals 
which died before ,adam contradicts the 
theological doctrine of ,adam's fall1   
and the statement that death entered the
 world by sin--and this objection was   
further strengthened when the           
ecclesiastics became cognizant that     
geology had proved that the earth was   
vastly older than the #fjjj years       
determined by ,archbishop ,ussher's     
interpretation of the ,old ,testament4  
,about #aehj1 there was published by    
authority of ,pope ,gregory ,,xiii1 the 
,roman ,martyrology1 revised in #afdj   
under ,pope ,urban ,,viii1 which        
declared that the creation of man took  
place #eaii years before ,christ4 ,in   
#afej1 ,archbishop ,ussher announced    
after careful study that man was created
 #djjd years before the ,christian era4 

,but1 this proving too vague1 ,dr4 ,john
 ,lightfoot1 vice-chancellor of the     
,university of ,cambridge1 assured the  
world that1 ,heaven and earth1 centre   
and circumference1 were created         
together1 in the same instant1 and      
clouds full of water 444 and this work  
took place and man was created by the   
,trinity on the #bc;d of ,october1 #djjd
 ,b4,c4 at nine o'clock in the morning4 
,when the ,egyptologists1               
,assyriologists1 archeologists1 and     
anthropologists showed that man had     
reached a far advanced stage of         
civilization long before the #fjjj years
 given as the age of the earth1 their   
efforts were ridiculed by the clergy1   
and these scientists were forced to     
bring their findings before the world in
 the face of the well known methods of  
ecclesiastical opposition4  ,at a very  
early period in the evolution of        
civilization men began to ask questions 
regarding language1 and the answers to  
these questions were naturally embodied 

in the myths1 legends1 and chronicles of
 their sacred books4 ,language was      
considered ,god-given and complete4 ,the
 diversity of language was firmly held  
to be explained by the story of the     
,tower of ,babel2 and since the writers 
of the ,bible were merely pens in the   
hand of ,god the conclusion was reached 
that not only the sense1 but the words1 
letters1 and even the punctuation       
proceeded from the ,holy ,spirit4  ,at  
the end of the seventeenth century1 the 
ecclesiastical contention that the      
,hebrew punctuation was divinely        
inspired seemed to be generally         
disproven4 ,the great orthodox body of  
religiosa dementia fell back upon the   
remainder of the theory that the ,hebrew
 language was the first of all languages
 which was spoken by the ,almighty1     
given by ,him to ,adam1 transmitted     
through ,noah to the world after the    
deluge1 and that the confusion of       
tongues was the origin of all other     
tongues4  ,it has only been in          

comparatively recent time1 and in spite 
of the opposition of the clergy1 that   
language has been accepted as the result
 of evolutionary processes in obedience 
to laws more or less clearly            
ascertained4 ,babel thus takes its place
 quietly among the other myths of the   
,bible4  ,in a purely civil matter1 the 
infallible ,church from its inception   
had displayed a marked hostility to     
loans at interest4 ,from the earliest   
period the whole weight of the ,church  
was brought to bear against the taking  
of interest for money4 ,pope ,leo the   
,great solemnly adjudged it a sin worthy
 of severe punishment4 ,in the          
thirteenth century1 ,pope ,gregory ,,ix 
dealt an especially severe blow at      
commerce by his declaration that even to
 advance on interest the money necessary
 in maritime trade was damnable usury4  
,the whole evolution of ,european       
civilization was greatly hindered by    
this policy4   ,,religion ,,and         
,,evolution  ,darwinism1 which at first 

was declared by the clergy to be brutal1
 degrading1 atheistic1 and              
anti-,christian1 is now included as part
 of the ,bible teaching4  ,in a similar 
manner1 the ,copernican theory1 the     
theory of gravitation1 the nebular      
hypothesis1 the theory of uniformity in 
geology1 and every scientific advance   
has been opposed on the same grounds2   
that is1 that these are against the     
teachings of the ,christian ,church4    
,and how many ,galileos1 ,brunos1 and   
,darwins1 and other would-be benefactors
 to the human race have died mute       
because of this opposition and fear of  
persecution by the ,church8  ,in #ahgg1 
an eminent ,french ,catholic physician1 
,dr4 ,constantin ,james1 published an   
elaborate answer to ,darwin's book4 ,he 
called it1 ,on ,darwinism1 or the ,ape  
,man4 ,a copy was sent to ,pope ,pius   
,,ix1 who was so pleased with it that he
 sent the author a reply in which he    
stated that it refutes so well the      
aberrations of ,darwinism1 a system     

which is repugnant at once to history1  
to the traditions of all peoples1 to    
exact science1 to observed facts1 and   
even to reason itself1 would seem to    
need no refutation did not alienation   
from ,god and the leaning toward        
materialism1 due to depravity1 eagerly  
seek support in all this tissue of      
fables4  ,the ,protestant clergy were no
 less vigorous in their opposition4 ,in 
our own country it was opposed by ,dr4  
,noah ,porter1 president of ,yale       
,college1 and most bitterly by the ,rev4
 ,dr4 ,hodge and the ,rev4 ,dr4         
,duffield1 both leading authorities at  
,princeton ,university4  ,fundamentalism
 in the ,united ,states furnished the   
spectacle of the trial1 in #aibe1 of a  
school teacher named ,scopes1 for       
teaching the theory of evolution4       
,dayton1 ,tennessee1 became the         
laughingstock of the educated world1 and
 the derision with which this effort to 
obstruct knowledge at this late date was
 met with by the comments of the press  

in this country and abroad is at least  
encouraging4 ,but it is an excellent    
example of what effect religious        
obscurantism may exert in backward      
sections of our country4  ,dr4 ,max     
,carl ,otto1 considering the            
implications of evolution1 calls        
attention to the following3 ,take the   
evolution of living forms4 ,the more we 
learn about biological history the      
clearer it becomes that the process has 
been1 from the human point of view1     
incredibly bungling and wasteful4 ,there
 have been futile experiments without   
number2 highly successful achievements  
have been thrown aside2 one type of life
 after another has arisen and has pushed
 up a blind alley to extinction4 ,if    
there is a ,god whose method has been   
,evolution1 then seemingly his slogan   
was ',we'll fight it out along this line
 if it takes a billennium' but1 unlike  
,grant1 he has always surrendered4 ,in  
this maelstrom1 the human species1 as   
,thomas ,huxley said--'plashed and      

floundered amid the general stream of   
evolution1 keeping its head above water 
as best it might1 and thinking neither  
of whence nor whither4' ,many volumes   
have been written to give a purposive   
interpretation of the rise and          
evolutionary ramifications of living    
forms4 ,the course of evolution itself  
is their refutation4  ,when the         
,churches could no longer ignore the    
rising tide of secular opinion1 they    
resorted to compromise and called to    
their aid a certain number of           
intellectually dishonest scientists4    
,the attempt to harmonize ,christianity 
and ,evolution can only be accounted for
 in terms of either dishonesty or       
stupidity4  ,and that is true of the    
whole range of science4 ,science is1 in 
fact1 atheistic or nothing4 ,it knows   
nothing of ,god1 it does not bother     
about ,god1 its triumphs are achieved by
 leaving ,god out of account4 7,c4      
,cohen47  ,what has heretofore been     
mentioned is but a mere trifle when one 

considers the vast number of similar    
incidents in which religion has played  
the rle of barrier to progress4 ,these  
examples1 though few1 are sufficient to 
impress the mind of any clear-minded1   
intelligent individual with the         
conviction1 in spite of all the         
sophistry and casuistry of the          
ecclesiastical apologies1 that progress 
in this world has taken place in direct 
proportion to the degree that the mind  
of man has liberated itself from the    
control of theology and the myth of     
religion4     ,,chapter ,,xii           
,,religion ,,and ,,witchcraft           
,better that a man's body should be     
destroyed than his soul4 ,the     worst 
death of the soul is freedom to err4    
,,st4 ,,augustine4      ,it would be    
hard to calculate the perilous import of
 so treacherous     an utterance1 an    
utterance the latent sentiment of which 
has been     responsible for ,i know not
 how much human agony4 ,menacing indeed 
to     human happiness was such a claim1

 and in the course of time when the     
corporate body of the church became     
all-powerful in ,christendom1 it     put
 into tyrannical practice what had been 
but a theological     theory4           
,,llewelyn ,,powys4   ,it is the purpose
 of this chapter to trace the origin of 
witches1 wizards1 and devils1 the       
widespread belief in them at the time of
 pagan ,rome1 and the manner in which   
these were incorporated into ,christian 
theology4  ,with the rise of            
,christianity and the gain of political 
power by its adherents1 the perverted   
pagan idea of witchcraft became the     
source of the most terrible persecutions
 in the bloody history of religion4 ,the
 numerous references to witches and     
devils in both the ,old and ,new        
,testaments established the authority   
for the organized religious mania that  
scourged both ,roman ,catholic and      
,protestant ,europe1 and extended its   
tentacles into the ,new ,england        
colonies4  ,instigated by ecclesiastics1

 and carried into effect by the         
intellectual serfs1 their adherents1    
hundreds of thousands of witches were   
tortured and burned during the sway of  
the ,witchcraft ,delusion4 ,with the    
,bible as an inspiration1 the clergy    
inflamed the superstitious minds of the 
masses of that time with the conception 
of a ceaseless strife between the       
,kingdom of ,god and the ,kingdom of    
,satan for possession of their souls and
 their bodies4  ,we of the present age  
may readily wonder how such a belief    
could have had so firm a grasp on the   
minds of our ancestors4 ,perhaps we will
 be tempted to attribute it to the      
ignorance of that time1 particularly to 
the ignorance of the untutored masses4  
,on the contrary1 this does not         
approximate the actual situation4       
,history reveals that the greatest minds
 of that age1 men eminent in law1       
letters1 and philosophy1 not only       
defended this conception strenuously1   
but even engaged in the extermination of

 witches4  ,that men of such superior   
intellect could defend such a barbaric  
institution1 which today is revolting to
 our senses1 necessitates the conclusion
 formulated at the end of this chapter4 
99       99       99       99       99  
,the ancient ,greeks and ,romans        
believed that it was possible by        
supernatural means to inflict evil on   
their fellowmen1 and all the sects of   
philosophers admitted this1 with the    
exception of the ,epicureans1 who denied
 the existence of evil spirits4 ,the    
magicians1 in ,greece and ,rome1 were at
 times punished because they injured men
 and not because they offended the gods4
 ,during the latter period of pagan     
,rome1 some of the emperors passed laws 
against the magicians1 if it was proven 
that by casting the horoscope the       
magicians had ascertained what was1     
according to their belief1 the most     
auspicious time to start a rebellion    
against their rule4 ,the emperors1      
however1 notably ,marcus ,aurelius and  

,julian1 were the patrons of magicians  
who foretold coming events to them4 ,the
 public methods of foretelling the      
future1 such as the oracle of the gods1 
formed part of their religion4  ,when   
the first ,christians came into ,rome   
and spread ,christianity throughout the 
empire1 they were inspired by an intense
 religious enthusiasm4 ,they thought    
much less of the civil than of the      
religious consequence of magic1 and     
sacrilege seemed much more terrible in  
their eyes than anarchy4  ,the          
,christians found in ,rome a vast       
polytheistic religion in contrast to    
their own in which the entire world was 
divided into the ,kingdom of ,god and   
the ,kingdom of ,satan4 ,for them the   
world seemed to be teeming with         
malignant demons1 who had in all ages   
persecuted and deluded mankind4         
,according to these ,christians1 the    
immediate objects of the devotions of   
the pagan world were subsidiary spirits 
of finite power and imperfect morality2 

angels1 or1 as they were then called1   
demons1 who acted the part of mediators1
 and who1 by permission of the ,supreme 
and ,inaccessible ,deity1 regulated the 
religious government of mankind4 ,the   
,christians had adopted this conception 
of subsidiary spirits1 but they         
maintained them to be not the willing   
agents1 but the adversaries of the      
,deity2 and the word demon1 which among 
the pagans1 signified only a spirit     
below the level of a ,divinity1 among   
the ,christians signified a devil4      
7,lecky47  ,this notion seems to have   
existed in the very earliest period of  
,christianity2 and in the second        
century1 we find it elaborated with the 
most minute and detailed care4          
,tertullian1 who wrote in that century1 
assures us that the world was full of   
these evil spirits1 whose influence     
might be descried in every portion of   
the pagan creed4 ,if a ,christian in any
 respect deviated from the path of duty1
 a visible manifestation of the devil   

sometimes appeared to terrify him4 ,the 
terror which such a doctrine must have  
spread among the early ,christians may  
be easily conceived4 ,they seemed to    
breathe an atmosphere of miracles4      
,wherever they turned they were         
surrounded and beleaguered by malicious 
spirits1 who were perpetually           
manifesting their presence by           
supernatural arts4 ,watchful fiends     
stood beside every altar1 they mingled  
with every avocation of life1 and the   
,christians were the special objects of 
their hatred4 ,all this was universally 
believed1 and was realized with an      
intensity which1 in this secular age1 we
 can scarcely conceive4 ,the bearing of 
this view upon the conception of magic  
is very obvious4 ,among the more        
civilized pagans1 magic was mainly a    
civil1 and in the last days of the      
empire1 a political crime4 ,in the early
 church1 on the other hand1 it was      
esteemed the most horrible form of      
sacrilege effected by the direct agency 

of evil spirits4 ,it included the whole 
system of paganism1 explained all its   
prodigies1 and gave a fearful           
significance to all its legends4 ,when  
the ,church obtained the direction of   
the civil power1 she soon modified or   
abandoned the tolerant maxims she had   
formerly inculcated2 and in the course  
of a few years1 restrictive laws were   
enacted1 both against ,jews and         
heretics4 7,lecky47  ,constantine1 after
 his conversion to ,christianity1       
enacted laws against the magicians4     
,these were made more rigid under       
,constantius1 his son1 but suspended    
under ,julian4 ,these persecutions were 
renewed by ,valentinian1 spasmodically  
carried on to a slight extent1 and then 
lapsed4 ,during the period that elapsed 
between the sixth and thirteenth        
centuries the executions for sorcery    
were comparatively rare4  ,it is to be  
borne in mind1 then1 that magic as      
existing in pagan ,rome was part of the 
religious conceptions of the ,romans4   

,the oracle as well as the various      
demons1 which to them signified what the
 word angel signifies to us now1 formed 
an elaborate system of mythology and    
idolatry4 ,the early ,christians coming 
into contact with these conceptions1 at 
first found an insurmountable difficulty
 in spreading their beliefs among the   
rural inhabitants of the ,roman empire4 
,polytheism was dominant while their    
monotheism was as yet a persecuted      
belief4 ,the road of least resistance   
was compromise1 and so this vast system 
of polytheism was perverted1 while      
seemingly accepted into their beliefs1  
by making these angels1 demons1 as we   
now understand the word4 ,since the     
early ,christians were dominated by a   
belief in constant ,satanic presence1   
these demons were said to be the ,hosts 
of ,satan4 ,it was firmly believed that 
the arch-fiend 7,satan7 was forever     
hovering about the ,christians1 but it  
was also believed that the sign of the  
cross1 or a few drops of holy water1 or 

the name of ,mary1 could put him to an  
immediate and ignominious flight4  ,in  
the twelfth century1 however1 the       
subject passed into an entirely new     
phase4 ,the conception of a witch1 as we
 now conceive it1 that is to say of a   
woman who had entered into a deliberate 
compact with ,satan1 who was endowed    
with the power of working miracles      
whenever she pleased1 and who was       
continually transported through the air 
to the ,sabbath1 where she paid her     
homage to the ,evil ,one--first         
appeared4 ,the panic created by the     
belief at first advanced slowly1 but    
after a time with a fearfully           
accelerated rapidity4 ,thousands of     
victims were sometimes burnt alive in a 
few years4 ,every country in ,europe was
 stricken with the wildest fever4       
,hundreds of the ablest judges were     
selected for the extirpation of this    
crime4 ,a vast literature was created on
 the subject1 and it was not until a    
considerable portion of the eighteenth  

century had passed away that the        
executions finally ceased4 ,the vast    
majority of those accused of witchcraft 
were women1 and again the ,bible        
furnished the authority for the belief  
that women were inherently wicked4 ,that
 the ,fathers of the ,church believed   
this is exemplified by the statement of 
,chrysostom in which he said that women 
were a 'necessary evil1 a natural       
temptation1 a desirable calamity1 a     
domestic peril1 a deadly fascination1   
and a painted ill4' 7,lecky47  ,at this 
period the conception of a witch is     
radically different from that which was 
prevalent in the era prior to this one4 
,the popular belief of the witchcraft   
ages1 a belief sanctioned by most of the
 learned men of the time1 was that the  
earth swarmed with millions upon        
millions of demons4 ,they multiplied by 
reproduction in the usual way1 by the   
accession of the souls of wicked men1 of
 women dying in childbirth1 of children 
still-born1 of men killed in duels4 ,the

 air was filled with them1 and one was  
always in danger of inspiring them with 
the air1 of swallowing them in food and 
drink4 ,most ,christian writers and     
legendists said that there were so many 
of them they could not be counted1 but  
,wierus took a census of them and       
reported that there were only #g1eje1ibf
 divided into seventy-two companies1    
each commanded by a captain or prince4  
,they could make themselves hideous1 or 
beautiful1 as suited their purposes1 and
 assume any shape4 ,while capable of    
appearing at any time1 they preferred   
the night between ,friday and ,saturday4
 ,any human being who gave up to them   
his immortal soul could command their   
services for a certain time4            
,occasionally general conferences took  
place1 at the pleasure of ,satan1 which 
were attended by all the demons and all 
the witches4  ,these 'sabbaths' were    
held on the ,brocken or other high      
mountain4 ,upon the spot where they met1
 nothing would ever grow afterwards1 as 

their hot feet burnt all the fecundity  
out of the soil4 ,in ,france1 ,england1 
and the ,american ,colonies1 it was     
supposed that witches made their trips  
on broomsticks2 in ,spain and ,italy it 
was believed that they twirled on the   
back of the ,devil himself1 who1 for the
 occasion1 transformed himself into male
 goat4 ,on no account would a witch1    
when starting for a sabbath1 go out     
through the open door or window2 she    
would pass through the keyhole or up the
 chimney4 ,while they were gone1        
inferior demons assumed their shape1 and
 lay in their beds1 feigning illness4   
,assembled on the ,brocken1 the ,devil1 
as a double-headed goat1 took his seat  
on the throne4 ,his subjects paid their 
respects to him1 kissing his posterior  
face4 ,with a master of ceremonies      
appointed for the occasion1 he made a   
personal examination of all the wizards 
and witches1 to see if they had the     
secret mark about them by which they    
were stamped as the ,devil's own4 ,this 

mark was always insensible to pain1 and 
it was the sure proof of witchery when  
found by the inquisitor4 ,any witches   
found by the ,devil not so marked       
received the mark from him then and     
there1 also a nickname4 ,then they all  
sang and danced furiously4 ,if a        
stranger came to be admitted1 silence   
reigned while he denied his salvation1  
spat upon the ,bible1 kissed the ,devil1
 and swore absolute obedience to him4   
,singing and dancing was resumed1 a     
mythical formula being used in the      
singing4 ,when tired1 they sat down and 
told of their evil deeds2 those who had 
not been bad enough were scourged by    
,satan himself with thorns and scorpions
 until they could neither sit nor stand4
 ,then came a dance by thousands of     
toads who were conjured out of the      
ground and standing on their hind legs  
kept time to the music ,satan evoked    
from bagpipes or a trumpet4 ,they could 
all talk1 and asked the witches to give 
them the flesh of unbaptized babes for  

food4 ,the witches promised to do so4   
,the ,devil told them to remember and   
keep their word and then stamped his    
foot1 and the frogs disappeared         
instantly into the earth4 ,next came a  
most disgusting banquet1 except for a   
few of the most wicked witches1 to whom 
were given rich viands on golden plates 
and expensive wines in crystal goblets4 
,then came more dancing2 those who did  
not care for that amused themselves by  
mocking the sacrament of baptism4 ,for  
this purpose the toads were again called
 up and sprinkled with filthy water1 the
 ,devil making the sign of the cross1   
while the witches repeated a formula as 
absurd as that used in ordinary         
baptisms4 ,sometimes the ,devil made the
 witches take off their clothes and     
dance before him1 each with a cat tied  
around her neck1 and another dangling   
behind as a tail4 ,sometimes1 again1    
there were lascivious orgies4 ,at       
cock-crow1 all disappeared2 the sabbath 
was over4 7,the ,story of the           

,inquisition--,freethought ,press       
,association47  ,this conception of a   
witch continued from the twelfth century
 to the time witch-burning ceased4 ,with
 this idea of a witch being constantly  
instilled into the minds of their       
listeners1 the clergy set loose fervidly
 religious mobs to scourge the countries
 of innocent women4 ,with the entire    
world divided into the ,hosts of ,heaven
 and the ,hosts of ,satan1 with witches 
abounding in the air1 in the water1 and 
in the food1 and with their immortal    
souls at stake1 the frenzied population 
found evidences of witchcraft in all    
manner of happenings4  ,pope after pope 
set the seal of his infallibility upon  
the bloody persecutions4 ,at length came
 ,innocent ,,viii who1 on the #gth of   
,december1 #adhd1 sent forth his bull   
,summis ,desiderantis4 ,of all documents
 ever issued from ,rome1 imperial and   
papal1 this1 doubtless1 first and last1 
caused the greatest shedding of innocent
 blood4 ,yet no document was ever more  

clearly dictated by conscience4         
,inspired by the scriptural command1    
',thou shalt not suffer a witch to      
live1' ,pope ,innocent exhorted the     
clergy of ,germany to leave no means    
untried to detect sorcerers1 and        
especially1 those who by evil practice  
destroy vineyards1 gardens1 meadows1 and
 growing crops4 ,these precepts were    
based upon various texts of scripture1  
especially upon the famous statement in 
the ,book of ,job2 and to carry them    
out1 witch-finding inquisitors were     
authorized by the ,pope to scour        
,europe1 especially ,germany1 and a     
manual was prepared for their use1 the  
,witch-,hammer1 ,malleus ,maleficarum4  
7,white3 ,warfare of ,science47         
,another important and much discussed   
department was the connection between   
evil spirits and animals4 ,that the     
,devil could assume the form of any     
animal he pleased1 seems to have been   
generally admitted1 and it presented no 
difficulty to those who remembered that 

the first appearance of that personage  
on earth was as a serpent1 and that on  
one occasion a legion of devils had     
entered into a herd of swine4 ,saint    
,jerome also assures us that in the     
desert ,st4 ,anthony had met a centaur  
and a faun1 a little man with horns     
growing from his forehead1 who were     
possibly devils1 and at all events1 at a
 later period1 the ,lives of the ,saints
 represent evil spirits in the form of  
animals as not infrequent4 ,lycanthropy1
 however1 or the transformation of      
witches into wolves1 presented more     
difficulty4 ,the history of             
,nebuchadnezzar and the conversion of   
,lot's wife were1 it is true1 eagerly   
alleged in support of its possibility2  
but it was impossible to forget that    
,st4 ,augustine appeared to regard      
lycanthropy as a fable1 and a canon of  
the ,council of ,ancyra had emphatically
 condemned the belief4 ,on the other    
hand1 that belief has been very widely  
diffused among the ancients4 ,it had    

been accepted by many of the greatest   
and most orthodox theologians1 by the   
inquisitors who were commissioned by the
 popes1 and by the law courts of most   
countries4 ,the evidence on which it    
rested was very curious and definite4   
,if the witch was wounded in the form of
 an animal1 she retained that wound in  
her human form1 and hundreds of such    
cases were alleged before tribunals4    
,sometimes the hunter1 having severed   
the paw of his assailant1 retained it as
 a trophy2 but1 when he opened his bag1 
he discovered in it only a bleeding     
hand1 which he recognized as the hand of
 his wife4  ,a ,french judge named      
,boguet1 at the end of the sixteenth    
century1 devoted himself especially to  
the subject and burnt multitudes of     
lycanthropes4 ,he wrote a book about    
them and drew up a code in which he     
permitted ordinary witches to be        
strangled before they were burnt1 but   
excepted lycanthropes who were to be    
burnt alive4  ,now let us examine on    

what authority the popes and afterwards 
the reformers so rigorously persecuted  
the witches4 ,both the ,old and the ,new
 ,testaments are riddled with references
 to witches1 wizards1 and devils4 ,for  
example1 this passage from ,exodus      
,,xxii #ah1 ,thou shalt not suffer a    
witch to live4  ,from ,matthew ,,viii   
#bh-cb1 ,there met him two possessed    
with devils coming out of the tombs1    
exceeding fierce1 so that no man might  
pass by that way4 ,and1 behold1 they    
cried out1 saying1 ',what have we to do 
with thee1 ,jesus1 ,son of ,god8 ,art   
thou come hither to torment us before   
the time8' ,and there was a good way off
 from them a herd of many swine feeding4
 ,so the devils besought him1 saying1   
',if thou cast us out1 suffer us to go  
away into the herd of swine4 ,and he    
said unto them1 ',go6' ,and when they   
were come out1 they went into the herd  
of swine4 ,and behold1 the whole herd of
 swine ran violently down a steep place 
into the sea and perished in the waters4

  ,the ,old ,testament1 therefore1      
definitely commands its adherents to    
kill1 and the ,new ,testament gives a   
brilliant example of its chief magician1
 ,jesus1 exorcising devils from men and 
driving them into swine4 ,there are     
numerous passages of the ,bible which   
speak of the ,devil1 the ,devil and his 
angels1 spirit of an unclean devil1 dumb
 spirit1 foul spirit1 unclean spirit1   
evil spirit1 witch1 witchcraft1 wizards1
 necromancers1 satan1 the tempter1      
prince of the power of the air1 prince  
of devils1 etc4  ,these passages in the 
,bible were at once the chief source and
 sanction of the terrible atrocities    
which extended over several centuries   
and have come to be known1 taken        
collectively1 as the ,witchcraft        
,persecutions4 ,the ,devil1 with his    
subordinate demons and the human beings 
who sold their souls to him1 were       
supposed to be both capable and guilty  
of blighting the crops2 causing the     
lightning2 bringing destructive storms2 

withholding the rain2 drying up cows2   
killing domestic and wild beasts2       
afflicting the nations with pestilence1 
famine1 and war2 causing all manner of  
diseases2 betwitching men1 women1 and   
children2 planting doubts in the mind   
and weeds in the fields2 and in brief1  
doing about everything that was         
disagreeable to man in general1 or that 
offended the priests as a caste4  ,thus 
buttressed by the ,bible1 and with the  
nearly entire current of ,church        
literature setting in the same          
direction1 it is no wonder that the     
witchcraft delusion became one of the   
most appalling1 if not the most         
appalling1 fact in the development of   
the ,christian religion4  ,there is     
extant no other record of destruction   
and cruel slaughter growing out of such 
beliefs in supernatural persons and     
powers that can ever begin to tell such 
a story of degradation and mercilessness
 as the record made by the ,christian   
,church4 ,theologians laid stress       

especially upon the famous utterances of
 the ,psalmist that ,all the gods of the
 ,heathens are devils1 and ,st4 ,paul1  
,the things which the ,gentiles         
sacrifice1 they sacrifice to the devils4
  ,those suspected of heresy and        
witchcraft must confess2 they were to be
 tortured until they did confess4 ,this 
made suspicion equivalent to confession 
and conviction4 ,in the witch trial the 
victim must not only incriminate herself
 but her accomplices1 or all whom she   
knew to be in partnership with the      
,devil4 ,she was bound to be tortured   
until she had given the names or        
described the persons of those she had  
seen at the witches' sabbath4 ,then they
 would be put to the torture and the    
process repeated4 ,it was not in human  
nature long to bear the awful pain2 soon
 the leading questions of the           
inquisitors would be answered as they   
wanted them answered4 ,it would be      
incredible were it not attested by such 
a multitude of witnesses1 that men could

 honestly believe that testimony so     
extorted had the slightest value4 ,but  
it is indisputable that hundreds of     
thousands of human beings were sent to a
 cruel death on this utterly worthless  
evidence4  ,as few people realize the   
degree in which these superstitions were
 encouraged by the ,church that claims  
infallibility1 ,i may mention that the  
reality of this particular crime was    
implied and its perpetrators            
anathematized by the provincial councils
 or synods of ,troyes1 ,lyons1 ,milan1  
,tours1 ,bourges1 ,narbonne1 ,ferrar1   
,saint ,malo1 ,mont ,corsin1 ,orleans1  
and ,grenoble2 by the ,rituals of       
,autun1 ,chartres1 ,perigueux1 ,evreux1 
,paris1 ,chalons1 ,bologna1 ,troyes1    
,beauvais1 ,meaux1 ,rheims1 etc41 and by
 the decrees of a long series of        
bishops4  ,the infection was            
everywhere--,germany1 ,spain1 ,portugal1
 ,france1 ,italy1 ,england1 ,scotland1  
and even ,america was scourged4 ,it has 
been estimated that one hundred thousand

 perished in ,germany from the middle of
 the fifteenth century to the middle of 
the sixteenth century4  ,pope ,gregory  
,,ix wrote a great mass of nonsense to  
the bishop and other chiefs urging      
stringent methods against the           
,stedingers1 ,frieslanders1 inhabiting  
the country between ,weser and ,zeider  
,zee4 ,he wrote1 ,the ,devil appears to 
them 7the ,stedingers7 in different     
shapes1 sometimes as a goose or duck1   
and at other times in the figure of a   
pale1 black-eyed youth1 with a          
melancholy aspect1 whose embrace fills  
their hearts with eternal hatred against
 the ,holy ,church of ,christ4 ,this    
,devil presides at their sabbath when   
they all kiss him and dance around him4 
,he then envelops them in total         
darkness1 and they all1 male and female1
 give themselves up to the grossest and 
most disgusting debauchery4  ,the       
infallible pope of ,rome6  ,the result  
was that the ,stedingers1 men1 women1   
and children1 were slain1 the cottages  

and woods burned1 the cattle stolen and 
the land laid waste4 ,the pope's letter 
is a fair example of the theological    
literature of the time2 the slaughter of
 the ,stedingers an average illustration
 of the evangelistic methods of the     
,church4  ,millions of men1 women1 and  
children were tortured1 strangled1      
drowned1 or burned on evidence that     
today would be accepted nowhere unless  
by a court and jury composed of the     
inmates of a lunatic asylum1 if even by 
them4 ,it is unnecessary to say that the
 more severe the persecution1 the more  
widespread did witchcraft become4 ,every
 person tortured accused others and     
whole communities went mad with grief   
and fear and superstition4 ,no amount of
 human evidence establishing the actual 
whereabouts of the accused at the time  
they were asserted by the witness on the
 rack to have been at the sabbath would 
avail4 ,the husbands were told that they
 had seen or held only the devil-created
 semblance of their wives4 ,the         

originals were with ,satan under the    
oak4 ,the confessions of tens of        
thousands of witches are to be found in 
,europe's judicial records of the period
 of the ,inquisition4  ,the ,protestant 
,reformers zealously seconded the       
exertions of ,rome to extirpate         
witchcraft2 they felt that they must    
prove that they were as orthodox as the 
,catholics1 and were as loyal to the    
,bible4 ,no one urged their fundamental 
ideas more than did ,luther1 ,calvin1   
,beza1 the ,swedish ,lutherans1         
,casaubon1 ,wesley1 ,richard ,baxter1   
the ,mathers1--all stood loyally by     
,rome4 7,lecky47  ,at ,lisbon1 a horse  
whose master had taught him many tricks1
 was tried in #afja and found guilty of 
being possessed by the ,devil1 for which
 he was burned4  ,the witchcraft mania  
proper in ,england began in the         
sixteenth century and reached its climax
 in the early part of the seventeenth   
century4 ,sir ,matthew ,hale1 the great 
jurist1 sanctioned the delusions and    

passed sentences of death by burning4   
,queen ,elizabeth made witchcraft a     
capital offense in ,england2 and ,king  
,james ,i wrote a book on the subject1  
and lent his personal aid and royal     
support to the persecutions4  ,joan of  
,arc1 the noblest of all the victims of 
this belief1 perished by ,english hands1
 though on ,french soil1 and under the  
sentence of a ,french bishop4  ,in      
,scotland1 during the sixteenth century1
 as well as the seventeenth1 were seen  
the most horrible examples of what      
domination of superstitious minds by    
ecclesiastics could do4  ,nothing was   
natural1 all was supernatural4 ,the     
entire course of affairs was governed1  
not by their antecedents1 but by a      
series of miracles4 ,going still        
further1 they claimed the power 7the    
clergy7 not only of foretelling the     
future state1 but also of controlling   
it2 and they did not scruple to affirm  
that1 by their censures1 they could open
 and shut the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,as  

if this were not enough1 they also gave 
out that a word of theirs could hasten  
the moment of death1 and by cutting off 
the sinner in his prime1 could bring him
 at once before the ,judgment ,seat of  
,god4  ,the ,scotch clergy preached     
that1 ',hell was created before man came
 into the world4 ,the ,almighty1' they  
did not scruple to say1 'having spent   
his previous leisure in preparing and   
completing this place of torture1 so    
that1 when the human race appeared1 it  
might be ready for their reception4'    
,of all the means of intimidation       
employed by the ,scotch clergy none was 
more efficacious than the doctrines they
 propounded respecting evil spirits and 
future punishment4 ,on these subjects1  
they constantly uttered the most        
appalling threats4 ,the language which  
they used was calculated to madden men  
with fear and to drive them to the      
depths of despair4  ,it was generally   
believed that the world was overrun by  
evil spirits who went not only up and   

down the earth1 but also lived in the   
air1 and whose business it was to tempt 
and hurt mankind4 ,their number was     
infinite1 and they were to be found at  
all places and in all seasons4  ,at     
their head was ,satan himself1 whose    
delight it was to appear in person      
ensnaring or terrifying every one he    
met4 ,with this object1 he assumed      
various forms4 ,one day he would visit  
the earth as a black dog1 on another day
 as a raven1 on still another day he    
would be heard in the distance roaring  
like a bull4 ,he appeared sometimes as a
 white man in black clothes1 and        
sometimes he became a black man in black
 clothes1 when it was remarked that his 
voice was ghastly1 that he wore no      
shoes1 and that one of his feet was     
cloven4 ,his stratagems were endless4   
,for1 in the opinion of divines1 his    
cunning increased with his age2 and     
having been studying for more than #ejjj
 years1 he had now attained to          
unexampled dexterity4 ,he could1 and he 

did1 seize both men and women and carry 
them away through the air4 ,usually he  
wore the garb of laymen1 but it was said
 that1 on more than one occasion1 he had
 impudently attired himself as a        
minister of the ,gospel4 ,at all events1
 in one dress or other1 he frequently   
appeared to the clergy1 and tried to    
coax them over to his side4 ,in that1 of
 course1 he failed2 but out of the      
ministers thus tempted1 few indeed could
 withstand him4 ,he could raise storms  
and tempests4 ,he could work1 not only  
on the mind1 but also on the organs of  
the body1 making men hear and see       
whatever he chose4 ,of his victims1 some
 he prompted to suicide1 others to      
commit murder4 ,still1 formidable as he 
was1 no ,christian was considered to    
have attained to a full religious       
experience unless he had literally seen 
him1 talked to him1 and fought with him4
  ,the clergy were constantly preaching 
about him1 and preparing their audiences
 for an interview with their great      

enemy4 ,the consequence was that the    
people became almost crazed with fear4  
,whenever the preacher mentioned ,satan1
 the consternation was so great that the
 church resounded with sighs and groans4
 ,they believed that the ,devil was     
always and literally at hand2 that he   
was haunting them1 speaking to them1 and
 tempting them4 ,the clergy boasted that
 it was their special mission to thunder
 out the wrath and curses of the ,lord4 
,in their eyes the ,deity was not a     
,beneficent ,being1 but a cruel and     
remorseless tyrant4 ,they declared that 
all mankind1 a very small portion only  
excepting1 were doomed to eternal       
misery4  ,the ,scotch clergy taught     
their hearers that the ,almighty was    
sanguinary1 and so prone to anger that  
he raged even against walls and houses1 
and senseless creatures1 wreaking his   
fury more than ever1 and scattering     
desolation on every side4  ,the people1 
credulous and ignorant1 listened and    
believed4  ,for in ,scotland as         

elsewhere1 directly the clergy succeeded
 in occupying a more than ordinary      
amount of public attention1 they availed
 themselves of that circumstance to     
propagate those ascetic doctrines which1
 while they strike at the root of human 
happiness1 benefit no one except the    
class which advocates them2 that class1 
indeed1 can hardly fail to reap the     
advantages from a policy which by       
increasing the apprehensions to which   
the ignorance and timidity of men make  
them liable1 does also increase their   
eagerness to fly for support to their   
spiritual advisers2 and the greater     
their apprehension1 the greater the     
eagerness4 7,buckle3 ,the ,history of   
,civilization in ,england47  ,james ,i  
of ,england had become imbued with the  
idea of witchcraft while in ,scotland1  
and he believed that his stormy passage 
on his return from ,denmark was due to  
witches4 ,this storm was the origin of  
one of the most horrible of the many    
horrible ,scotch trials on record4 ,one 

,dr4 ,fian was suspected of having      
aroused the wind and a confession was   
wrung from him by torture which1        
however1 he almost immediately          
retracted4 ,every form of torture was in
 vain employed to vanquish his obduracy2
 the bones of his legs were broken into 
small pieces in the boot4 ,all the      
torments that ,scottish law knew of were
 successively applied4 ,at last1 the    
king 7who personally presided over the  
tortures7 suggested a new and more      
horrible device4 ,the prisoner1 who had 
been removed during the deliberation1   
was brought in and ,his nails upon his  
fingers were riven and pulled off with  
an instrument1 called in ,scottish a    
'turkas1' which in ,england we call a   
'payre' or 'pincers' and under everie   
nayle there was thrust in two needles   
over1 even up to the heads4 ,so deeply  
had the devil entered his heart1 that he
 utterly denied all that which he       
avouched1 and he was burnt unconfessed4 
,and this from a king of ,england6  ,the

 methods of obtaining a confession were 
as follows3 ,if the witch was obdurate1 
the first1 and it was said1 the most    
effective method of obtaining confession
 was by what was termed waking her4 ,an 
iron bridle or hoop was bound across her
 face with four prongs which were thrust
 into her mouth4 ,it was fastened behind
 to the wall by a chain1 in such a      
manner that the victim was unable to lie
 down1 and in this position she was     
sometimes kept for several days1 while  
men were constantly with her to prevent 
her from closing her eyes for a moment  
in sleep4 ,partly in order to effect    
this object1 and partly to discover the 
insensible mark which was the sure sign 
of a witch1 long pins were thrust into  
her body4 ,at the same time1 as it was a
 saying in ,scotland that a witch would 
never confess while she could drink1    
excessive thirst was added to her       
torments4 ,some prisoners have been     
waked for five nights1 one it is said1  
even for nine4  ,the physical and mental

 suffering of such a process was        
sufficient to overcome the resolution of
 many1 and to distract the understanding
 of not a few4 ,but other and perhaps   
worse tortures were in reserve4 ,the    
three principal ones that were          
habitually applied were the pennywinks1 
the boot1 and the caschielawis4 ,the    
first was a kind of thumbscrew2 the     
second was a frame in which the leg was 
inserted1 and in which it was broken by 
wedges driven in by a hammer2 the third 
was also an iron frame for the leg1     
which was from time to time heated over 
a brazier4 ,fire-matches were sometimes 
applied to the body of the victim4 ,we  
read in a contemporary legal register1  
of one man who was kept for forty-eight 
hours in vehement torture in the        
caschielawis2 and of another who        
remained in the same frightful machine  
for eleven days and nights1 whose legs  
were broken daily for fourteen days in  
the boots1 and who was so scourged that 
the whole skin was torn from his body4  

,this was1 it is true1 censured as an   
extreme case1 but it was only an        
excessive application of the common     
torture4  ,the witches were commonly    
strangled before they were burnt1 but   
this merciful provision was very        
frequently omitted4 ,an ,earl of ,wear  
tells how1 with a piercing yell1 some   
women once broke half-burnt from the    
slow fire consuming them1 struggled for 
a few moments with a despairing energy  
among the spectators1 but soon with     
shrieks of blasphemy and wild           
protestations of innocence sank writhing
 in agony amid the flames4  ,but just   
picture this scene for a moment6 ,the   
horror of such a scene6 ,what a crime   
for one human to commit against another6
 ,a burnt offering to the gods6 ,how    
well pleased the ,almighty ,god must    
have been with the stench of burning    
human flesh rising to his nostrils4 ,and
 how well he must have rewarded his     
faithful servants1 for was this not done
 in ,his name8 ,thou shalt not suffer a 

witch to live4  ,as ,lecky points out in
 his famous work on the ,history of     
,european ,morals1 such incidents are   
but illustrations of the great truth    
that when men have come to regard a     
certain class of their fellow creatures 
as doomed by the ,almighty to eternal   
and excruciating agonies1 and when their
 theology directs their minds with      
intense and realizing earnestness to the
 contemplation of such agonies1 the     
result will be an indifference to the   
suffering of those whom they deem the   
enemies of their ,god1 as absolute as it
 is perhaps possible for human nature to
 attain4  ,it is a historical fact that 
in #aeia1 a lady of rank1 ,eufame       
,macalyane1 sought the assistance of    
,agnes ,sampson for the relief of pain  
at the time of birth of her two sons4   
,agnes ,sampson was tried before ,king  
,james for her heresy1 was condemned as 
a witch1 and was burned alive on the    
,castle ,hill of ,edinburgh4  ,it is    
generally said that the last execution  

in ,scotland was in #agbb1 but ,captain 
,burt1 who visited the country in #agcj1
 speaks of a woman who was burnt as late
 as #agbg4 ,as late as #agcf1 the       
divines of the ,associated ,presbytery  
passed a resolution declaiming their    
belief in witchcraft1 and deploring the 
scepticism that was then general4  ,the 
,pilgrim ,fathers brought to our shores 
the seeds of the ,witchcraft ,delusion  
at a time when it was rapidly fading in 
,england1 and again history furnishes us
 with an example of a people with strong
 religious instincts who1 being freed   
from their persecutors1 became in turn  
the most violent persecutors of those   
that did not profess their particular   
creed4 ,it was particularly due to the  
preaching of ,cotton ,mather that a     
panic of fear was created through the   
,new ,england ,colonies4 ,mrs4 ,ann     
,hibbons was tried before the ,great and
 ,general ,court of ,massachusetts1     
sentenced and hanged on the #aith of    
,june1 #afef4 ,goody ,oliver was        

executed as a witch on ,november #afth1 
#afhh4  ,there were twenty murders in   
#afib1 and these before a civil court4  
,the trials took place before the       
illegal ,court of ,oyer and ,terminer1  
appointed by ,governor ,phipps1 at the  
instigation of the ,lieutenant-,governor
 and ,chief ,justice ,stoughton1 and    
,joseph ,dudley1 formerly governor1 and 
the ,chief ,judge of the ,court which1  
in #afhh1 had sent ,goody ,oliver to her
 death at the gallows4  ,cotton ,mather 
defended this practice in his book1 ,the
 ,wonders of ,the ,invisible ,world1 and
 ,increase ,mather1 the father of       
,cotton1 was equally as strenuous in the
 ,witch ,hunt4 ,increase ,mather        
survived this massacre thirty years1 and
 his son1 five years longer1 but there  
is hardly a word of regret or sympathy  
to be found anywhere1 even in their     
private diaries and correspondence4     
,these executions in ,massachusetts form
 one of the darkest pages in the history
 of ,america4  ,it is not surprising    

that the clergy of the sixteenth and    
seventeenth centuries supported both in 
practice and theory the ,witchcraft     
,delusion1 but when we find the ablest  
minds of the laity bursting into print  
with a vehement defense of this belief1 
it is difficult for us1 in the present  
day1 to conceive of such folly4 ,and    
yet1 today1 we have able minds defending
 a precept of which the ,witchcraft     
,delusion is but a part4  ,the defenders
 of the belief 7,witchcraft71 who were  
men of great and distinguished talent1  
maintained that there was no fact in all
 history more fully attested1 and that  
to reject it would be to strike at the  
root of all historical evidence of the  
miraculous4 7,lecky47  ,the subject was 
examined in tens of thousands of cases1 
in almost every country in ,europe1 by  
tribunals which included the acutest    
lawyers and ecclesiastics of the ages1  
on the scene and at the time when the   
alleged acts had taken place1 and with  
the assistance of innumerable sworn     

witnesses4 ,the judges had no motive    
whatever to desire the condemnation of  
the accused1 and as conviction would be 
followed by fearful death1 they had the 
strongest motives to exercise their     
power with caution and deliberation4    
,the whole force of public opinion was  
directed constantly and earnestly to the
 question for many centuries1 and       
although there was some controversy     
concerning the details of witchcraft1   
the fact of its existence was long      
considered undoubted4  ,for many        
centuries the ablest men were not merely
 unwilling to repudiate the             
superstition1 but they often pressed    
forward earnestly and with the utmost   
conviction to defend it4 ,indeed1 during
 the period when witchcraft was most    
prevalent there were few writers of real
 eminence who did not1 on some occasion1
 take especial pains to throw the weight
 of their authority into the scales4    
,st4 ,thomas ,aquinas was probably the  
ablest writer of the thirteenth century1

 and he assures us that diseases and    
tempests are often the direct act of the
 ,devil2 and the ,devil can transform   
men into any shape and transport them   
through the air4  ,gerson1 the          
chancellor of the ,university of ,paris1
 and1 as many think1 the author of ,the 
,imitation1 is justly regarded as one of
 the master minds of his age2 he too1   
wrote in defense of this belief4 ,these 
men1 he wrote1 should be treated with   
scorn1 and indeed1 sternly corrected1   
who ridicule theologians whenever they  
speak of demons1 or attribute to demons 
any effects1 as if these things were    
entirely fabulous4 ,this error has      
arisen among some learned men1 partly   
through want of faith1 and partly       
through weakness and imperfection of    
intellect4  ,bodin was unquestionably   
the most original political philosopher 
who had arisen since ,machiavelli1 and  
he devoted all his learning and         
acuteness to crushing the rising        
scepticism on the subject of witches4   

,the truth is that in those ages ability
 was no guarantee against error2 for the
 single employment of the reason was to 
develop and expand premises that were   
furnished by the ,church4 ,and this     
statement is as valid today as it was   
three hundred years ago4  ,bodin was    
esteemed1 by many of his contemporaries1
 the ablest man who had then arisen in  
,france1 and the verdict has been but   
little qualified by later writers4 ,amid
 all the distractions of a dissipated   
and an intriguing court1 and all the    
labors of a judicial position1 he had   
amassed an amount of learning so vast   
and so various as to place him in the   
very first rank of the scholars of his  
nation4 ,he has also the greater merit  
of being one of the chief founders of   
political philosophy and political      
history1 and of having anticipated on   
these subjects many of the conclusions  
of our own day4 ,in his judicial        
capacity he had presided at some trials 
of witchcraft4 ,he had brought all the  

resources of his scholarship to bear    
upon the subject1 and he had written a  
great part of his ,demonomanie des      
,sorciers before the appearance of the  
last work of ,wier4  ,john ,wier was a  
physician of ,cleves who had in #aefc   
published a work which he called1 ,de   
,prstigus ,dmonum4 ,he was quite        
convinced that the world was peopled by 
crowds of demons1 who were constantly   
working miracles among mankind2 and his 
only object was to reconcile his sense  
of their ubiquity with his persuasion   
that some of the phenomena that were    
deemed supernatural arose from disease4 
,wier1 said ,bodin1 had armed himself   
against ,god4 ,his book was a tissue of 
'horrible blasphemies4' ,for the word of
 ,god is very certain that he who       
suffers a man worthy of death to escape1
 draws the punishment upon himself1 as  
the prophet said to ,king ,ahab1 that he
 would die for having pardoned a man    
worthy of death4 ,for no one had ever   
heard of pardon accorded to sorcerers4  

,such were the opinions which were      
promulgated towards the close of the    
sixteenth century by one of the most    
advanced intellects of one of the       
leading nations of ,europe at that time2
 promulgated1 too1 with a tone of       
confidence and of triumph that shows how
 fully the writer could count upon the  
religious sympathies of his readers3 the
 ,demonomanie des ,sorciers appeared in 
#aeha4  ,with a man of the caliber of   
,bodin writing the above1 it is not to  
be wondered at that the mobs were so    
active in the ,witch ,hunt4 ,for as     
,lecky cites1 ,although the illiterate  
cannot follow the more intricate        
speculations of their teachers1 they can
 catch the general tone and character of
 thought which these speculations       
produce1 and they readily apply them to 
their own sphere of thought4  ,in #aehg1
 ,montaigne published the first great   
sceptical work in the ,french language4 
,the vast mass of authority which those 
writers loved to array1 and by which    

they shaped the whole course of their   
reasoning1 is calmly and unhesitatingly 
discarded4 ,the passion for the         
miraculous1 the absorbing sense of      
diabolical capacities1 have all vanished
 like a dream4 ,the old theological     
measure of probability has completely   
disappeared1 and is replaced by a shrewd
 secular common sense4 ,the statements  
of the witches were pronounced          
intrinsically incredible4 ,the dreams of
 a disordered imagination1 or the       
terrors of the rack1 would account for  
many of them2 but even when it is       
impossible to explain the evidence1 it  
is quite unnecessary to believe it4     
,after all1 ,montaigne said1 it is      
setting a high value upon our opinions  
to roast men alive on account of them4  
,it was the merit of ,montaigne to rise1
 by the force of his masculine genius1  
into the clear world of reality2 to     
judge the opinions of his age1 with an  
intellect that was invigorated but not  
enslaved by knowledge2 and to           

contemplate the systems of the past1    
without being dazzled by the reverence  
that had surrounded them4 ,he was the   
first great representative of the modern
 secular and rationalistic spirit4 ,the 
strong predisposition of ,montaigne was 
to regard witchcraft as the result of   
natural causes1 and therefore1 though he
 did not attempt to explain all the     
statements which he had heard1 he was   
convinced that no conceivable           
improbability could be as great as that 
which would be involved in their        
reception4 7,lecky47  ,thirteen years   
after ,montaigne1 ,charron wrote his    
famous treatise on ,wisdom4 ,in this    
work he systematized many of the        
opinions of ,montaigne4  ,voltaire      
treated the whole subject with a        
scornful ridicule and observed that1    
,since there had been philosophers in   
,france1 witches had become             
proportionately rare4  ,in #afha1       
,joseph ,glanvil1 a divine who in his   
day was very famous1 took up the defense

 of the dying belief4 ,the ,sadducismus 
,triumphatus1 which he published1 is    
probably the ablest book ever published 
in defense of the superstition1 and     
although men of the ability of ,henry   
,more1 the famous philosopher ,casaubon1
 the learned ,dean of ,canterbury1      
,boyle and ,cudworth1 came to his       
defense1 the delusion was fast losing   
ground4 ,lecky points out that by this  
time1 ,the sense of the improbability of
 witchcraft became continually stronger1
 till any anecdote which involved the   
intervention of the ,devil was on that  
account generally ridiculed4 ,this      
spirit was exhibited especially among   
those whose habits of thought were most 
secular1 and whose minds were least     
governed by authority4  ,but the belief 
did not become extinguished immediately4
 ,in ,france1 in #ahej1 the ,civil      
,tribunal of ,chartres tried a man and  
woman named ,soubervie for having caused
 the death of a woman called ,bedouret4 
,they believed she was a witch1 and     

declared that the priest had told them  
she was the cause of an illness under   
which the woman ,soubervie was          
suffering4 ,they accordingly drew       
,bedouret into a private room1 held her 
down upon some burning straw1 and placed
 a red-hot iron across her mouth4 ,the  
unhappy woman soon died in extreme      
agony4 ,the ,soubervies confessed1 and  
indeed1 exulted in their act4 ,at their 
trials they obtained the highest        
possible characters4 ,it was shown that 
they had been actuated solely by        
superstition1 and it was urged that they
 only followed the highest              
ecclesiastical precedent4 ,the jury     
recommended them to mercy1 and they were
 only sentenced to pay twenty-five      
francs a year to the husband of the     
victim1 and to be imprisoned for four   
months4 ,in #ahej66  ,a great many may  
remember the ,hex murder case near      
,lancaster1 ,pennsylvania1 in #aicj6    
,this is scarcely different from an     
incident which had occurred in #ahib in 

,wemding1 ,germany3 ,an hysterical woman
 was exorcised by the ,capuchin ,father 
,aurelian1 who accused a peasant woman  
of bewitching him4         99       99  
99       99       99  ,the foregoing has
 shown that witchcraft is not an        
isolated incident in the history of     
,christianity1 as the ecclesiastics     
would have us believe1 but is a vital   
part of their religion4 ,witchcraft     
bears the same relation to ,christianity
 that an arm bears to the body2 neither 
can be removed without destroying the   
symmetrical aspect of the whole4        
,witchcraft is an integral part of the  
,christian religion1 but its falsity has
 become so obvious that even the most   
devout have had to abandon it4 ,yet the 
other precepts are still maintained2 and
 in the ,bible which is claimed to be   
infallible1 something is forgotten and  
discarded1 something is declared to be  
ridiculous4 ,and yet they call the      
,bible infallible4 ,again1 if witchcraft
 is given up1 why not the chief witch of

 the ,bible1 the ,devil8 ,yet if this be
 yielded1 then the idea of ,atonement1  
the central doctrine of the ,christian  
,church1 must also go4  ,thou shalt not 
suffer a witch to live4 ,if this be     
,god's word1 did ,god err when ,he said 
it8 ,if ,he erred1 ,he probably did so  
in many other things2 if ,he did not    
,christians must either still maintain  
the ,witchcraft ,delusion or deny the   
,bible ,delusion4  ,the ,witchcraft     
,delusion is denied and forgotten1 and  
no one thinks of quoting1 ,thou shalt   
not suffer a witch to live4 ,but the    
,bible ,delusion despite all manner of  
ecclesiastical sophistry still maintains
 that man was created miraculously some 
#fjjj years ago from the dust of the    
earth1 that woman was made from a bone  
taken from the side of man1 that        
language came into existence in the     
course of a single night1 that ,god     
instituted a horrible massacre of the   
people by drowning because they did not 
come up to his expectations4 ,it        

maintains miracles1 virgin births1      
resurrections from the dead1 and a      
literal heaven and hell4  ,again1 in the
 ,new ,testament1 ,matthew tells how the
 chief magician of the ,new ,testament1 
,jesus1 exorcised the devils from men   
and drove them into swine4 ,what could  
be more explicit8 ,if men were possessed
 of devils in ,jesus' time1 what has    
happened to these devils now8 ,surely1  
,jesus could not misinterpret his own   
words or deeds1 if the religionists     
contend that we are now misinterpreting 
the ,bible8 ,if they state that his     
recorders were in error1 then they admit
 the error of the entire ,bible1 for it 
is illogical for one part to be true and
 another to be false1 when both are     
components of an infallible statement4  
,but they who abandon belief in         
maleficent demons and in witches as     
also1 for this follows1 in beneficent   
agents1 such as angels1 find themselves 
in a serious dilemma4 ,for to this are  
such committed3 ,if ,jesus who came that

 he might destroy the ,devil1 and who is
 reported1 among other proofs of his    
divine ministry1 to have cast out demons
 from the 'possessed human beings1' and 
in one case1 to have permitted a crowd  
of infernal agents to enter into a herd 
of swine2 if he verily believed that he 
did these things1 and if it be true that
 the belief is a superstition limited to
 the ignorant or barbaric mind1 then    
what value can be attached to any       
statement that ,jesus is reported to    
have made about the spiritual world8    
7,edward ,clodd3 ,pioneers of           
,evolution47  ,the old adage that a     
chain is just as strong as its weakest  
link is very apt in this case4 ,a belief
 in witches is part of the ,bible2 and  
if the civilized world rejects that     
concept1 it must reject the ,bible1 for 
it is no longer infallible1 since it is 
in error4  ,disregarding the internal   
evidence which declares the ,bible to be
 spurious1 and the scientific advances  
which have proven the ,bible to be a    

myth and a fable1 if man still insists  
on revealed religion he must admit that 
sorcery and witchcraft are an integral  
part of the ,bible teaching4 ,he must   
still either believe in witchcraft or   
disbelieve all of the ,bible4 ,for      
again1 one part cannot be true and      
another false of an infallible          
statement4  ,i thoroughly and           
emphatically agree with ,john ,wesley   
who1 in #agfi1 wrote1 ,the ,english in  
general1 and indeed most of the men of  
learning in ,europe1 have given up all  
accounts of witches and apparitions as  
mere old wives' fables4 ,i am sorry for 
it1 and ,i willingly take this          
opportunity of entering my solemn       
protest against this violent compliment 
which so many that believe in the ,bible
 pay to those who do not believe it4 ,i 
owe them no such service4 ,i take       
knowledge that these are at the bottom  
of the outcry which has been raised1 and
 with such insolence spread through the 
land1 in direct opposition1 not only to 

the ,bible1 but to the suffrage of the  
wisest and best of men in all ages and  
nations4 ,they well know 7whether       
,christians know it or not7 that the    
giving up of witchcraft is in effect    
giving up the ,bible4  ,lecky1 in that  
masterful work1 ,the ,rise and          
,influence of ,rationalism in ,europe1  
from which ,i have so freely quoted1    
states1 ,a disbelief in ghosts and      
witches was one of the most prominent   
characteristics of ,scepticism in the   
seventeenth century4 ,yet1 for more than
 fifteen hundred years it was           
universally believed that the ,bible    
established in the clearest manner1 the 
validity of the crime1 and that an      
amount of evidence1 so varied and so    
ample as to preclude the very           
possibility of doubt1 attested its      
continuance and its prevalence4444 ,in  
our own day1 it may be said with        
confidence1 that it would be altogether 
impossible for such an amount of        
evidence to accumulate around a         

conception which has no substantial     
basis in fact4  ,and yet today1 in the  
twentieth century1 we do have an amount 
of evidence accumulated around a        
conception which had no substantial     
basis of fact4 ,what a perfect analogy  
presents itself between one precept of  
revealed religion and religion in its   
entirety4 ,in the seventeenth century1  
scepticism confined itself to a         
disbelief in witchcraft1 one particular 
of revealed religion2 in the twentieth  
century1 scepticism expands and reveals 
the absurdity of all revealed religion4 
,just as when we read the annals of     
witchcraft today we sicken with the     
horror of this insane conception1 so    
will posterity in the none too distant  
future1 perhaps three more centuries1 do
 for all religion what three centuries  
did for witchcraft4 ,just so will they  
regard revealed religion in its entirety
 as we look upon the one factor1 the    
,witchcraft ,delusion4  ,men came       
gradually to disbelieve in witchcraft   

because they learned gradually to look  
upon it as absurd4 ,this new tone of    
thought appeared first of all in those  
who were least subject to theological   
influences1 and soon spread through the 
educated laity1 and last of all1 took   
possession of the clergy4 ,so shall it  
be with all religions4  ,a belief that  
was held for #aejj years1 in the        
comparatively insignificant period of   
#ajj years1 sinks into oblivion2 for the
 last judicial execution occurred in    
,switzerland in #aghb2 and the last law 
on the subject1 the ,irish ,statute1 was
 repealed in #ahba4 ,it is not1         
therefore1 too much of a stretch of the 
imagination to conceive what the        
inhabitants of this planet will think of
 all religion #cjj years from now4 ,we  
have the sterling example of the        
,witchcraft ,delusion before us4 ,yes1  
despite the otherwise brilliant men of  
today who still maintain the ,bible     
,delusion1 and the ,hedgers1 that group 
of religious apologists who form those  

various sects1 such as the ,unitarians1 
the ,humanists1 etc4 ,they are but the  
middle ground2 they are but the         
intermediate between the delusionists   
and those that maintain the philosophy  
that eventually must triumph1 the       
philosophy of atheism4 ,when we think   
back to that group of capable men headed
 by ,bodin1 ,gerson1 and ,joseph        
,glanvil1 who turned their ability and  
learning to the defense of the          
,witchcraft ,delusion1 we find the      
answer to that ever-present response    
which the confused of this age give when
 confronted with the incompatabilities  
in their religion1 namely1 ,oh1 well1   
more brilliant men than ,i believe in   
this delusion4  ,bodin1 ,gerson1 and    
,glanvil could not bolster up a dying   
belief2 and the ,bodins1 ,gersons1 and  
,glanvils of today cannot long bolster  
up the dying belief in all religions 444
 no matter what their ability or        
capacities may be4 ,the handwriting is  
on the wall2 the past teaches us what   

the future may be1 but there is still   
much work to be done4     ,,chapter     
,,xiii  ,,religion ,,and ,,morality     
,the current religion is indirectly     
adverse to morals1 because it is        
adverse to the freedom of the intellect4
 ,but it is also directly     adverse to
 morals by inventing spurious and       
bastard virtues4      ,,winwood ,,reade1
 ,martyrdom of ,man4   ,it had been     
formerly asserted by theologians that   
our moral laws were given to man by a   
supernatural intuitive process4         
,however1 ,professor ,e4 ,a4            
,westermarck's ,origin and ,development 
of the ,moral ,ideas1 and similar       
researches1 give a comprehensive survey 
of the moral ideas and practices of all 
the backward fragments of the human race
 and conclusively prove the social      
nature of moral law4 ,the moral laws    
have evolved much the same as physical  
man has evolved4 ,there is no indication
 whatsoever that the moral laws came    
from any revelation since the sense of  

moral law was just as strong amongst    
civilized peoples beyond the range of   
,christianity1 or before the ,christian 
era4 ,joseph ,mc,cabe1 commenting on    
,professor ,westermarck's work states1  
,all the fine theories of the           
philosophers break down before this vast
 collection of facts4 ,there is no      
intuition whatever of an august and     
eternal law1 and the less ,god is       
brought into connection with these      
pitiful blunders and often monstrous    
perversions of the moral sense1 the     
better4 ,what we see is just man's mind 
in possession of the idea that his      
conduct must be regulated by law1 and   
clumsily working out the correct        
application of that idea as his         
intelligence grows and his social life  
becomes more complex4 ,it is not a      
question of the mind of the savage      
imperfectly seeing the law4 ,it is a    
plain case of the ideas of the savage   
reflecting and changing with his        
environment and the interest of his     

priests4  ,justice is a fundamental and 
essential moral law because it is a     
vital regulation of social life and     
murder is the greatest crime because it 
is the greatest social delinquency2 and 
these are inherent in the social nature 
of moral law4 ,moral law slowly dawns in
 the mind of the human race as a        
regulation of a man's relation with his 
fellows in the interest of social life4 
,it is quite independent of religion1   
since it has entirely different roots in
 human psychology4 7,joseph ,mc,cabe3   
,human ,origin of ,morals47  ,in the    
mind of primitive man there is no       
connection between morality and the     
belief in a ,god4 ,society is the school
 in which men learn to distinguish      
between right and wrong4 ,the headmaster
 is custom and the lessons are the same 
for all4 ,the first moral judgments were
 pronounced by public opinion2 public   
indignation and public approval are the 
prototypes of the moral emotions4       
7,edward ,westermarck3 ,origin and      

,development of the ,moral ,ideas47     
,moral ideas and moral energy have their
 source in social life4 ,it is only in a
 more advanced society that moral       
qualities are assumed for the gods4 ,and
 indeed1 it is known that in some       
primitive tribes1 the gods are not      
necessarily conceived as good1 they may 
have evil qualities also4 ,if they are1 
to his mind1 good1 that is so much the  
better4 ,but whether they are good or   
bad they have to be faced as facts4 ,the
 ,gods1 in short belong to the region of
 belief1 while morality belongs to that 
of practice4 ,it is in the nature of    
morality that it should be implicit in  
practice long before it is explicit in  
theory4 ,morality belongs to the group  
and is rooted in certain impulses that  
are a product of the essential          
conditions of group life4 ,it is as     
reflection awakens that men are led to  
speculate upon the nature and origin of 
the moral feelings4 ,morality1 whether  
in practice or theory1 is thus based    

upon what is4 ,on the other hand1       
religion1 whether it be true or false1  
is in the nature of a discovery--one    
cannot conceive man actually ascribing  
ethical qualities to his ,gods before he
 becomes sufficiently developed to      
formulate moral rules for his own       
guidance1 and to create moral laws for  
his fellowmen4 ,the moralization of the 
,gods will follow as a matter of course4
 ,man really modifies his ,gods in terms
 of the ideal human being4 ,it is not   
the ,gods who moralize man1 it is man   
who moralizes the ,gods4 7,chapman      
,cohen3 ,theism or ,atheism47  ,in the  
formation of the ,old ,testament1 the   
moralization of ,yahveh led to the      
creation of a god who coincided more    
with the morality of the later writers1 
the ,god ,elohim4  ,rather must we say  
that morality begins in human social    
relations and passes from them to the   
relations maintained with the other life
 and with the ,gods4 ,or1 if one prefers
 to consider ghosts and gods as         

inseparable elements of the primary     
organism1 then we should say that       
morality is born in that all-embracing  
psychical atmosphere4 ,but it does not  
follow from that fact that the rise and 
development of morality are conditioned 
by belief in ,gods and in immortality4  
,merely human relations are sufficient  
to the production of ethical            
appreciations4 ,the invisible ghosts and
 ,gods would never have been thought    
interested in the morality of the tribe1
 had not the leaders realized the       
importance of courage1 of loyalty1 of   
respect for neighbors' possessions1 and 
the other elementary virtues4 ,it is    
when the disastrous consequences of     
their absence became evident that the   
,gods were made to sanction these       
virtues4 ,god or no ,god1 immortality or
 no immortality1 the essential morality 
of man would have been what it is4 7,j4 
,h4 ,leuba3 ,belief in ,god and         
,immortality47  ,the best that is in man
 is generated in the experiences of his 

daily life4 ,the attributing of moral   
qualities to the gods was a much later  
development in the evolution of the     
moral ideas4 ,at this stage of our      
development man is fortified by a sense 
of human fellowship1 and in practice1 as
 well as in theory1 has long since given
 up the assumption that he needed       
superhuman beliefs4 ,he has fully       
recognized the independence of morality 
from superhuman beliefs4  ,james ,mill  
and ,j4 ,s4 ,mill taught the greatest   
happiness of the greatest number as the 
supreme object of action and the basis  
of morality4 ,and it was this conception
 that introduced the new ethical        
principles of duty to posterity4 ,this  
conception is a much nobler one than the
 religious interpretation of morality to
 consist in mainly defining what man's  
duty to ,god is2 a morality whose chief 
selfish inspiration is not the helping  
of one's fellowmen but the saving of    
one's own soul4 ,a secular morality     
teaches that what man thinks1 says1 and 

does lives after him and influences for 
good or ill future generations4 ,this is
 a higher1 nobler1 and greater incentive
 to righteousness than any life of      
personal reward or fear of punishment in
 a future life4 ,there are today a      
rapidly growing number of eminent moral 
teachers who condemn the clinging to the
 belief of personal existence after     
death as a hindrance to the best life on
 earth4 ,professor ,j4 ,h4 ,leuba1 in   
his work1 ,the ,belief in ,god and      
,immortality1 concludes that1 ,these    
facts and considerations indicate that  
the reality of the belief in immortality
 to civilized nations is much more      
limited than is commonly supposed2 and  
that1 if we bring into calculation all  
the consequences of the belief1 and not 
merely its gratifying effects1 we may   
even be brought to conclude that its    
disappearance from among the most       
civilized nations would be1 on the      
whole1 a gain4  ,there are few educated 
men nowadays who would claim that       

morality cannot exist apart from        
religion4 ,theists are desperately      
attempting to harmonize a primitive     
theory of things1 with a larger         
knowledge and a more developed moral    
sense4 ,morality is fundamentally the   
expression of those conditions under    
which associated life is found possible 
and profitable1 and that so far as any  
quality is declared to be moral its     
justification and meaning must be found 
in that direction4 ,our alleged         
essential dependence upon transcendental
 beliefs is belied by the most common   
experiences of daily life4 ,who does not
 feel the absurdity of the opinion that 
the lavish care for a sick child by a   
mother is given because of a belief in  
,god and immortality8 ,are love of      
father and mother on the part of        
children1 affection and serviceableness 
between brothers and sisters1           
straight-forwardness and truthfulness   
between business men1 essentially       
dependent upon these beliefs8 ,what sort

 of person would be the father who would
 announce divine punishment or reward in
 order to obtain the love and respect of
 his children8 ,and if there are        
business men preserved from             
unrighteousness by the fear of future   
punishment1 they are far more numerous  
who are deterred by the threat of human 
law4 ,most of them would take their     
chances with heaven a hundred times     
before they would once with society1 or 
perchance with the imperative voice of  
humanity heard in the conscience4       
7,leuba47  ,the primary motive of moral 
standards and practices is man's desire 
to seek happiness and avoid pain4 ,and  
so it is not strange that morality has  
become stronger as the power of religion
 has weakened4 ,right through history it
 has been the social instincts that have
 acted as a corrective to religious     
extravagances4 ,and it is worth noting  
that with the exception of a little gain
 from the practice of casuistry1        
religions have contributed nothing      

towards the building up of a science of 
ethics4 ,on the contrary1 it has been a 
very potent cause of confusion and      
obstruction4 ,fictitious vices and      
virtues have been created and the real  
moral problems lost sight of4 ,it gave  
the world the morality of the prison    
cell1 instead of the tonic of the       
rational life4 ,and it was indeed       
fortunate for the race that conduct was 
not ultimately dependent upon a mass of 
teachings that had their origin in the  
brains of savages1 and were brought to  
maturity during the darkest period of   
,european civilization4444 ,and we know 
that the period during which the        
influence of ,christian theism was      
strongest1 was the period when the      
intellectual life of civilized man was  
at its lowest1 morality at its weakest1 
and the general outlook hopeless4       
,religious control gave us heresy hunts1
 ,jew hunts1 burning for witchcraft1 and
 magic in place of medicine4 ,it gave us
 the ,inquisition and the auto da fe1   

the fires of ,smithfield1 and the night 
of ,st4 ,bartholomew4 ,it gave us the   
war of sects1 and it helped powerfully  
to establish the sect of war4 ,it gave  
us life without happiness1 and death    
cloaked with terror4 ,the ,christian    
record is before us1 and it is such that
 every ,church blames the others for its
 existence4 ,quite as certainly we      
cannot point to a society that has been 
dominated by ,freethinking ideals1 but  
we can point to their existence in all  
ages1 and can show that all progress is 
due to their presence4 ,we can show that
 progressive ideals have originated with
 the least1 and have been opposed by the
 most religious sections of society4    
7,cohen47  ,the puerile conception of   
heaven and the savage conception of hell
 are still1 in modified form1 deemed    
necessary for a religious morality4 ,why
 it should be necessary for a supreme   
intelligence to make all things straight
 in another world1 that he could more   
convincingly rectify in this one1 is a  

conception which has escaped the reason 
of a freethinker1 but has been very     
profitable to those on earth that lead  
their adherents to believe that they    
hold the keys to our future abodes4     
,winwood ,reade in his ,martyrdom of    
,man1 discussing the moral value of the 
fears of hell-fire1 states1 a           
metaphysical theory cannot restrain the 
fury of the passions2 as well attempt to
 bind a lion with a cobweb4 ,prevention 
of crime1 it is well known1 depends not 
on the severity1 but on the certainty of
 retribution4 ,the supposition that the 
terrors of hell-fire are essential or   
even conducive to good morals is        
contradicted by the facts of history4   
,in the ,dark ,ages there was not a man 
or woman from ,scotland to ,naples1 who 
doubted that sinners were sent to hell4 
,the religion which they had was the    
same as ours1 with this exception1 that 
everyone believed in it4 ,the state of  
,europe in that pious epoch need not be 
described4 ,society is not maintained by

 the conjectures of theology1 but by    
those moral sentiments1 those gregarious
 virtues which elevated men above the   
animals1 which are now instinctive in   
our natures and to which intellectual   
culture is propitious4 ,for1 as we      
become more and more clearly            
enlightened1 we perceive more and more  
clearly that it was with the whole human
 population as it was with the primeval 
clan2 the welfare of every individual is
 dependent on the welfare of the        
community1 and the welfare of the       
community depends on the welfare of     
every individual4  ,the teachings of    
,christianity towards marriage furnishes
 a well known example of a reactionary  
philosophy of morals4 ,the views of ,st4
 ,paul on marriage are set forth in ,i  
,corinthians ,,vii #a-i3  #a4 ,now      
concerning the things whereof ye wrote  
unto me3 ,it is good for a man not to   
touch a woman4  #b4 ,nevertheless1 to   
avoid fornication1 let every man have   
his own wife1 and let every woman have  

her own husband4  #c4 ,let the husband  
render unto the wife due benevolence2   
and likewise also the wife unto the     
husband4  #d4 ,the wife hath not power  
of her own body1 but the husband2 and   
likewise also the husband hath not power
 of his own body1 but the wife4  #e4    
,defraud ye not one the other1 except it
 be with consent for a time1 that ye may
 give yourselves to fasting and prayer2 
and come together again1 that ,satan    
tempt you not for your incontinency4    
#f4 ,but ,i speak this by permission1   
and not of commandment4  #g4 ,for ,i    
would that all men were even as ,i      
myself4 ,but every man has his proper   
gift of ,god1 one after this manner1 and
 another after that4  #h4 ,i say        
therefore to the unmarried and widows1  
it is good for them to abide even as ,i4
  #i4 ,but if they cannot contain1 let  
them marry3 for it is better to marry   
than to burn4  ,these precepts furnish  
an example of the harm that can be done 
when man follows the absurd and unsocial

 decrees of an ascetic individual       
written in a barbaric age and maintained
 as law in a more advanced period4 ,the 
enlightened physician holds that it is  
not good for a man not to touch a woman2
 and one wonders what would have become 
of our race if all women had carried    
,st4 ,paul's teaching1 ,it is good for  
them if they abide even as ,i1 into     
practice4 ,bertrand ,russell1 in his    
,marriage and ,morals1 has gone to the  
root of the matter when he states1 ,he  
does not suggest for a moment that there
 may be any positive good in marriage1  
or that affection between husband and   
wife may be a beautiful and desirable   
thing1 nor does he take the slightest   
interest in the family2 fornication     
holds the center of the stage in his    
thoughts1 and the whole of his sexual   
ethics is arranged with reference to it4
 ,it is just as if one were to maintain 
that the sole reason for baking bread is
 to prevent people from stealing cake4  
,but then it is too much to expect of a 

man living nearly two thousand years ago
 to have known the psychology of the    
emotions1 but we do know the great harm 
that his ascetic principles have done4  
,st4 ,paul took the standpoint that     
sexual intercourse1 even in marriage1 is
 regrettable4 ,this view is utterly     
contrary to biological facts1 and has   
caused in its adherents a great deal of 
mental disorder4 ,st4 ,paul's views were
 emphasized and exaggerated by the early
 ,church and celibacy was considered    
holy4 ,men retired into the desert to   
wrestle with ,satan1 and when their     
abnormal manner of living fired their   
imagination with erotic visions1        
mutilated their bodies to cleanse their 
souls4 ,there is no place in the moral  
history of mankind of a deeper or more  
painful interest than this ascetic      
epidemic4 ,a hideous1 sordid1 and       
emaciated maniac1 without knowledge1    
without patriotism1 without natural     
affections1 passing his life in a long  
routine of useless and atrocious        

self-torture1 and quailing before the   
ghastly phantoms of his delirious brain1
 had become the ideal of the nations    
which had known the writings of ,plato  
and ,cicero1 and the lives of ,socrates 
and ,cato4 7,lecky3 ,history of         
,european ,morals47  ,this concept that 
the closest of association between man  
and wife is an obnoxious deed1 has      
strewn its evil influence down through  
the ages to the present day4 ,the       
stealth and obscurity placed upon sexual
 matters has had its roots so firmly    
fixed in our manner of dealing with this
 purely normal function1 that at this   
late date medical science is just       
beginning to eradicate the evils4 ,it is
 now well recognized by educators and   
physicians and all clear-thinking       
individuals that it is extremely harmful
 for men1 women1 and children to be kept
 in artificial ignorance of the facts   
relating to sexual affairs4 ,the        
obscurantism placed upon sexual matters 
has caused more physical and mental     

distress than most of our organic       
diseases4 ,the physician is constantly  
correcting the abnormal conceptions that
 exist4 ,the sex act had become         
something in the nature of a crime which
 could not be avoided1 instead of       
assuming the manifestation of the       
consummation of the greatest love and   
tenderness that can exist between two   
individuals keenly attuned to the       
natural desires of a natural act4 ,the  
love of man and woman at its best is    
free and fearless1 compounded of body   
and mind in equal proportions1 not      
dreading to idealize because there is a 
physical basis1 not dreading the        
physical basis lest it should interfere 
with the idealization4 ,to fear love is 
to fear life and those who fear life are
 already three parts dead4 7,bertrand   
,russell3 ,marriage and ,morals47       
,religion has brutalized the marital    
relations1 and ,lecky1 dealing with this
 subject1 states1 ,the tender love which
 it elicits1 the holy and beautiful     

domestic qualities that follow in its   
train1 were almost absolutely omitted   
from consideration4 ,the object of the  
ascetic was to attract men to a life of 
virginity1 and as a necessary           
consequence marriage was treated as an  
inferior state4 ,it was regarded as     
being necessary1 indeed1 and therefore  
justifiable1 for the propagation of the 
species1 and to free men from great     
evils2 but still as a condition of      
degradation from which all who aspired  
to real sanctity could fly4 ,to 'cut    
down by the axe of ,virginity the wood  
of ,marriage' was1 in the energetic     
language of ,st4 ,jerome1 the end of the
 saint2 and if he consented to praise   
marriage it was merely because it       
produced virgins4  ,indeed1 the entire  
ascetic attitude was well summed up by  
,st4 ,jerome when exhorting ,heliodorus 
to desert his family and become a       
hermit2 he expatiated with foul         
minuteness on every form of natural     
affection he desired him to violate3    

,though your little nephew twine his    
arms around your neck1 though your      
mother1 with dishevelled hair and       
tearing her robe asunder1 point to the  
breast with which she suckled you1      
though your father fall down on the     
threshold before you1 pass over your    
father's body 444 ,you say that         
,scripture orders you to obey parents1  
but he who loves them more than ,christ 
loses his soul4  ,it has only been with 
the advance of secular literature that  
the degrading assumption of ,st4 ,paul  
that marriage is to be regarded solely  
as a more or less legitimate outlet for 
lust has been discarded1 and the act of 
love as applied to marriage has come to 
have any meaning4 ,and in this modern   
day the conception of the relationship  
of the sex act to marriage is far from  
being on the high plane where it rightly
 belongs4 ,bertrand ,russell comments1  
,marriage in the orthodox ,christian    
doctrine has two purposes3 one1 that    
recognized by ,st4 ,paul1 the other1 the

 procreation of children4 ,the          
consequence has been to make sexual     
morality even more difficult than it was
 made by ,st4 ,paul4 ,not only is sexual
 intercourse only legitimate within     
marriage1 but even between husband and  
wife it becomes a sin unless it is hoped
 that it will lead to pregnancy4 ,the   
desire for legitimate offspring is1 in  
fact1 according to the ,catholic        
,church1 the only motive which can      
justify sexual intercourse4 ,but this   
motive always justifies it1 no matter   
what cruelty may accompany it4 ,if the  
wife hates sexual intercourse1 if she is
 likely to die of another pregnancy1 if 
the child is likely to be diseased or   
insane1 if there is not enough money to 
prevent the utmost extreme of misery1   
that does not prevent the man from being
 justified in insisting on his conjugal 
rights1 provided only that he hopes to  
beget a child4  ,what effect has        
,christianity had upon our moral life1  
upon crime1 drug-addiction1 sexual      

immorality1 prostitution1 and           
perversion8 ,these blights upon our     
moral character existed long before     
,christianity1 and after ,christianity4 
,but what effectual check has           
,christianity contributed8  ,the        
agitation concerning increased crime    
after the recent world conflict has     
brought this subject to the fore1 and   
aroused a great deal of discussion and  
consideration of this problem4 ,in its  
relation to religion1 we have but one   
undeniable fact to bring before the     
thinking public4 ,an examination of the 
statistics of penal institutions reveals
 that practically all criminals are     
religious4 ,absolutely and              
proportionately smaller numbers of      
criminals are freethinkers4 ,although   
church members nowhere constitute even  
half the population outside the prisons1
 they constitute from eighty to         
ninety-five per cent of the population  
inside the prison4 ,this can be verified
 by reference to any census of any penal

 institution4 ,as strangely as this may 
strike a great many readers1 just so    
strange did it appear at one time to the
 multitude that the earth was round4    
7,it is #ejj years since the earth was  
proven to be round1 yet there is a large
 colony of ,christians near ,chicago    
officially maintaining that the earth is
 as flat and four-cornered as the ,bible
 states47 ,neither ,christianity nor any
 religious creed has proved an effectual
 check on civil crime4  ,the prostitute 
has been hounded and abused by          
ecclesiastics since ,biblical times1    
yet1 it is only true to say that the    
religionist is not vitally interested in
 prostitution4 ,outwardly1 he may pour  
forth a verbal barrage of condemnation1 
but if he believes he can save her      
immortal soul1 ahunting he goes4 ,he    
does not attempt to ameliorate the      
social welfare of this poor1 degraded   
individual1 as he thinks2 her pitiful   
condition in the everlasting present on 
this earth interests him not at all1    

although it is this existence about     
which he raves1 his only interest is in 
redeeming her soul not her body4 ,if    
when the religionist tells the          
prostitute that only those who believe  
in ,christ as ,god1 in ,his ,virgin     
,birth1 and in ,his ,resurrection in the
 ,body1 will go to heaven1 and she      
agrees and repents--all is well2 the    
religionist has saved a soul1 and the   
prostitute goes about her business of   
spreading hideous venereal disease to   
others whose souls are saved by         
believing in ,christ as a ,god4 ,her    
soul is saved and safe1 but the scholar1
 the poet1 the scientist1 the benefactor
 to mankind1 all those who make this    
life bearable and livable1 their souls  
must roast in hell forever if they do   
not believe in the creed4 ,divine       
,justice8  ,the greatest number of      
prostitutes are religious1 yet          
prostitution continues to flourish4 ,the
 ecclesiastic condemns the prostitute as
 the cause1 never stopping to think that

 the cause must have an effect1 and that
 prostitution is but the effect4 ,the   
cause is our economic conditions4       
,prostitution is purely a medico-social 
problem1 and the more the ecclesiastic  
keeps his hands off the problem the     
sooner will the condition be remedied to
 its best4 ,attempts to repress         
prostitution without changing the       
economic organization will always result
 in failure4 ,prostitution has always   
existed and will continue to exist until
 our economic system has undergone a    
radical change4 ,so long as girls have  
to fight with starvation or with        
beggarly wages1 so long as men are      
deterred from early marriage by         
inability to support a family1 and so   
long as many married men remain         
polygamous in their tastes1 just so long
 will prostitution exist4 ,but we have  
seen that the clergy is never anxious to
 interfere with the rights of the few to
 tyrannize the many1 and since          
prostitution is an economic problem1    

religion never has1 and never will be1  
of any help in this case4 7,aside from  
the fact that there are many instances  
of a few centuries ago where the ,church
 in a period of temporary financial     
distress has owned well paying          
brothels47  ,when we think of morality  
we are apt to concentrate more on sexual
 morality than on the more obtuse moral 
duties4 ,religion has from time         
immemorial been held up to our minds as 
a great force in the production of this 
morality4 ,that is another myth4 ,in our
 own country it is a trite phrase that a
 man has a ,puritan code of ethics1 or  
as straight laced as a ,puritan4  ,when 
the ,puritan ,fathers landed in this    
country1 they began an existence that   
has revealed to the world for all time  
the value of a burning religious zeal4  
,in a sense they showed this zeal in    
regard to the ,witchcraft ,delusion4    
,coming as they did1 to avoid religious 
persecution in their own native country1
 they should have established a colony  

which for meekness and beneficence would
 have shown the value of a true         
religious fervor4 ,instead1 the         
persecuted immediately became the       
persecutors--again proving the worth of 
a mind that is imbued with a dominating 
religious zeal4  ,secondly1 the         
principal vocation and recreation of    
these ,fathers was their religion4 ,it  
is only reasonable to suppose that in   
such a truly religious atmosphere       
morality should have reached its zenith 
of perfection4 ,what actually happened  
is well illustrated in a very           
informative and case reporting work by  
,rupert ,hughes1 the novelist1 ,facts   
,about ,puritan ,morals3  ,everybody    
seems to take it for granted that the   
behavior of the early settlers of ,new  
,england was far above normal4 ,nobody  
seems to take the trouble to verify this
 assumption4 ,the facts are amazingly   
opposite4 ,the ,puritans admitted       
incessantly that they were exceedingly  
bad4 ,the records sustain them4444 ,the 

,puritans wallowed in every known form  
of wickedness to a disgusting degree4   
,considering the extremely meagre       
population of the early colonies1 they  
were appallingly busy in evil4 ,i do not
 refer to the doctrinal crimes that they
 artificially construed and dreaded and 
persecuted with such severity that      
,england had to intervene3 the crimes of
 being a ,quaker1 a ,presbyterian1 which
 they punished with lash1 with the      
gallows1 and with exile4 ,i do not refer
 to their inclusion of lawyers among    
keepers of disorderly houses1 and people
 of ill-fame4 ,i refer to what every    
people1 savage or civilized1 has        
forbidden by law3 murder1 arson1        
adultery1 infanticide1 drunkenness1     
theft1 rape1 sodomy1 and bestiality4    
,the standard of sexual morality among  
the unmarried youth was lower in        
,puritan ,england than it is today for  
both sexes4  ,it is important that the  
truth be known4 ,is religion1 is church 
membership1 a help to virtue8 ,the      

careless will answer without hesitation1
 ,yes6 of course4 ,the statistics1 when 
they are not smothered1 cry ,no6  ,if   
church-going keeps down sin1 then the   
,puritans should have been sinless      
because they compelled everybody to go  
to church4 ,they actually regarded      
absence from church as worse than       
adultery or theft4 ,they dragged        
prisoners from jail under guard to      
church4 ,they whipped old men and women 
bloodily for staying away4 ,they fined  
the stay-at-homes and confiscated their 
goods and their cattle to bankruptcy4   
,when all else failed they used exile4  
,disobedience of parents was voted a    
capital offense and so was              
,sabbath-breaking even to the extent of 
picking up sticks4  ,yet1 as a result of
 all this religion1 the sex life of the 
,puritan was abnormal4444 ,their sex    
sins were enormous4 ,their form of      
spooning was 'bundling1' an astonishing 
custom that permitted lovers to lie down
 in bed together in the dark1 under     

covers4 ,they were supposed to keep all 
their clothes on1 but there must have   
been some mistake somewhere for the     
number of illegitimate children and     
premature children was stupefying4      
,dunton tells us that there hardly      
passed a court day in ,massachusetts    
without some convictions for            
fornication1 and although the penalty   
was fine and whipping1 the crime was    
very frequent4  ,nothing1 ,i repeat1    
would have surprised the ,puritans more 
than to learn that their descendants    
accepted them as saints4 ,they wept1    
wailed1 and refused to be comforted4    
,they were terrified and horrified by   
their own wickedness4 ,the harsh1       
granite ,puritan of our sermons1 on     
statues and frescoes1 was unknown in    
real life4 ,the real ,puritan ,zealot   
spent an incredible amount of his time  
in weeping like a silly old woman4      
,famous ,puritan preachers boast of     
lying on a floor all night and drenching
 the carpet with their tears4 ,their    

church services according to their own  
accounts1 must have been cyclones of    
hysteria1 with the preacher sobbing and 
streaming1 and the congregation in a    
state of ululant frenzy1 with men and   
women fainting on all sides4  ,the      
authorities are the best possible1 not  
the reports of travelers or the satires 
of enemies1 but the statements of the   
,puritans themselves1 governors1 eminent
 clergymen1 and the official records of 
the colonies4 ,hereafter1 anybody who   
refers to the ,puritans as people of    
exemplary life1 or morality above the   
ordinary1 is either ignorant or a liar4 
,in our own day1 there is an enormous   
amount of crime and vice among the      
clergy4 ,most horrible murders abound1  
by ministers1 of ministers1 and for     
ministers4 ,published and unpublished   
adulteries1 seductions1 rapes1          
elopements1 embezzlements1 homosexual   
entanglements1 bigamies1 financial      
turpitudes1 are far more numerous than  
they should be in proportion to the     

clerical population4  ,governor         
,bradford breaks out in his heart-broken
 bewilderment and unwittingly condemns  
the whole spirit and pretense of        
,puritanism4 ,the ,puritans fled from   
the wicked old world for purity's sake1 
they were relentless in prayer1 they    
were absolutely under the control of the
 church and clergy1 and yet1 their      
,governor says that sin flourished more 
in ,plymouth ,colony than in vile       
,london6  ,if our people are wicked     
nowadays because they lack religion1    
what shall be said of the ,puritans who 
were far more wicked1 though they lived1
 moved1 and had their being in an       
atmosphere so surcharged with religion  
that children and grown persons lay     
awake all night1 sobbing and rolling on 
the floor in search of secret sins that 
they could not remember well enough to  
repent8 ,it is well to remember that    
there has perhaps never been in history 
a community in which ,christianity had  
so perfect a laboratory in which to     

experiment4  ,the very purpose of the   
,colony was announced as the propagation
 of the ,gospel4 ,the ,bible was the law
 book4 ,the ,colony lacked all the      
things on which preachers lay the blame 
for ungodliness2 yet1 every infamy known
 to history1 from fiendish torture to   
luxurious degeneracy flourished         
amazingly4 ,this ancient and impregnable
 fact has been ignored4 ,the records    
have been studiously veiled in a cloud  
of misty reverence1 and concealed under 
every form of rhetoric known to         
apologists4  ,we can only conclude that 
religion does not seem to act as an     
effectual check against sexual          
immorality4 ,furthermore1 high moral    
principles can be inculcated without any
 religious background1 and have been in 
spite of religion4 ,a man who is moral  
because of his reason and his           
sensibilities1 and his comprehension of 
the necessary social structure of the   
world is a far better citizen than the  
man who feebly attempts a moral life    

because he expects a mythical existence 
in a delusional heaven or wishes to     
avoid hell-fire4 ,a secular code of     
morals based upon the best experiences  
of communal and national life would     
place its highest obligation not to a   
deity but to the welfare of all         
fellowmen4     ,,chapter ,,xiv          
,,christianity ,,and ,,war   ,instead of
 diminishing the number of wars1        
ecclesiastical influence has actually   
and very seriously increased it2 we may 
look in vain for any period since       
,constantine in which the clergy as a   
body exerted themselves to repress the  
military spirit1 or to prevent or       
abridge a particular war with an energy 
at all comparable to that which they    
displayed in stimulating the fanaticism 
of the ,crusades1 in producing the      
atrocious massacres of the ,albigenses1 
in embittering the religious contests   
that followed the ,reformation4         
7,lecky47  ,any institution that can    
sanction war is the most immoral        

institution that the mind of man can    
imagine4 ,that an institution which     
claims to have under its guidance the   
moral activity of this earth1 has       
instituted and condoned war is a known  
historical fact4 ,that the ,church has  
blessed the banners of opposing         
factions1 and has gloried in the        
butchering of innocent heretics1 no     
manner of present disregard for the     
facts and apology can refute and redeem4
 ,the religious and civil wars1 the     
massacre of the ,albigenses and other   
sects1 the ,massacre of ,st4            
,bartholomew1 are still alive in the    
memories of historians and still rankle4
 ,the ,crusades were a bloody blot in   
the none too peaceful times of the      
,middle ,ages4 ,christianity hurled     
itself at ,mohammedanism in expedition  
after expedition for nearly three       
centuries4 ,millions of men perished in 
battle1 hunger1 and disease1 and every  
atrocity the imagination can conceive of
 disgraced the warriors of the cross4   

,when one crusade failed1 a papal bull  
instigated the next4 ,taxes were imposed
 to defray the expenses1 and ,europe was
 so drained of men and money that it was
 threatened with social bankruptcy and  
annihilation4  ,the ,inquisition between
 #adha and #ahjh had punished #cdj1jjj  
persons1 and of these1 nearly #cb1jjj   
had been burnt4 ,this was the result of 
the declaration that ,the ,inquisition  
is an urgent necessity in view of the   
unbelief of the present age4 ,the       
,church forgot to mention the vast      
amount of wealth that accrued to her by 
these means4 ,but we need not turn to   
the dead ages for material1 for the     
present still firmly holds its war      
memories4  ,armenians massacred by      
,turks and ,kurds2 ,christians          
slaughtered by ,mohammedans is a horror 
as hideous in the name of religion as in
 the name of war4 ,the persecution of   
,jews by ,christians in the name of     
,christ is diabolical4 ,the atrocities  
inflicted on ,christian ,belgium by     

,christian ,germany stains the ,teuton's
 hand as red as the ,turk's1 but with a 
difference4 ,the ,teuton outraged his   
own 'holy women1' despoiled and murdered
 his own 'sisters in ,christ1' while the
 ,mohammedan hordes perpetrated their   
nameless infamies on those whom they    
believed to be the imps of ,satan4      
,mercifully1 call these things the      
logical crimes of a state of war6 ,then 
we must admit that savagery still is    
more powerful than religion1 and we must
 concede that no religion so far has    
achieved the success that one might     
reasonably expect of a divine           
institution4 7,bell3 ,woman from        
,bondage to ,freedom47  ,the ,world ,war
 proved the utter worthlessness of      
,christianity as a civilizing force4    
,the nations engaged were not fighting  
non-,christians2 ,germany1 ,austria1    
,russia1 ,england1 ,belgium1 ,servia1   
,italy1 and the ,united ,states are all 
,christian nations4 ,they all worship   
the same ,god1 they are all brothers in 

,christ1 but that did not prevent their 
cutting each other's throats on the     
battlefield4 ,their common religious    
belief did not render the war less      
bitter nor less bloodthirsty4  ,is it   
not a fact that if the ,christian       
nations of the world would only live at 
peace together1 war would be impossible8
 ,neither ,mohammedan nations nor ,japan
 could threaten4 ,when the ,christian   
speaks of the brotherhood of man1 he    
means a brotherhood of believers only4  
,what kind of brotherhood did           
,christians bestow on ,jews or heretics 
in the ,middle ,ages8 ,was it the       
brotherhood of man that ,christianity   
bestowed on the conquered ,mexican and  
,peruvian nations1 and on the ,indians  
of our own country8 ,if ,christianity   
had expended as much energy in teaching 
its adherents the fundamentals of a sane
 social life1 as it did to prepare      
mankind for a mythical life in ,heaven1 
civilization would be today greatly in  
advance of where it is4  ,does any one  

believe that ,jew1 ,mohammedan1         
,catholic1 and ,protestant can long live
 in peace together8 ,common social needs
 bring mankind together but religion    
drives them apart4 ,there can never be a
 lasting peace until the myth of ,god is
 dispelled forever from the minds of    
men4 ,then and then only1 can the       
adjustment between economic and         
political forces lead to a permanent    
peace4     ,,chapter ,,xv               
,,christianity ,,and ,,slavery          
,nothing during the ,american struggle  
against the slave system did     more to
 wean religious and ,god-fearing men and
 women from the old     interpretation  
of ,scripture than the use of it to     
justify slavery4      ,,andrew ,,dickson
 ,,white4    ,the ,christian ,church has
 had the audacity1 in modern times1 to  
proclaim that it had abolished slavery  
and the slave trade4 ,it is difficult to
 understand how any righteous man could 
make that contention remembering that it
 was not until the middle of the        

nineteenth century that slavery became  
illegal in ,christian countries1 with   
one exception1 ,abyssinia1 the oldest of
 the ,christian countries1 which still  
maintains slavery4 ,in our own country1 
a nation had to be embroiled in a civil 
war before slavery could be abolished4  
,abolished by ,christianity in the      
nineteenth century1 when ,christianity  
has been dominant in most civilized     
countries since the third century1 and  
when the traffic in human flesh         
flourished right through those centuries
 in which ,christianity was most        
powerful6  ,a reference to the facts    
show that this claim is as spurious as  
many others which the ecclesiastics have
 boldly affirmed throughout the ages4   
,for not only is this contrary to the   
truth1 but it is an undeniable fact that
 it was only by the aid and sanction of 
the theological forces that slavery was 
able to degrade our civilization as long
 as it did4  ,on referring to that      
legend which has been the source of most

 of our suffering and inhumanity1 the   
,bible1 a direct sanction for slavery is
 given in the ,old ,testament4          
,leviticus ,,xxv gives explicit         
instructions as to where and from whom  
slaves should be bought1 and sanctions  
the repulsive feature of separation of  
the slave from his family4 ,leviticus   
,,xxvii gives the price of human beings4
  ,the ,koran1 which the ,christians    
look upon as a ridiculous smattering of 
utterances of a spurious prophet1 sets a
 superior example to the ,christian     
,divine ,revelations4  ,god hath        
ordained that your brothers should be   
your slaves1 therefore1 let him whom    
,god hath ordained to be the slave of   
his brother1 his brother must give him  
of the clothes wherewith he clotheth    
himself1 and not order him to do        
anything beyond his power4444 ,a man who
 illtreats his slave will not enter     
paradise4444 ,whoever is the cause of   
separation between mother and child by  
selling and giving1 ,god will separate  

him from his friends on the day of      
resurrection4  ,the ,new ,testament     
follows the ,old ,testament1 and there  
is nowhere to be found in its contents  
anything to suggest the elimination of  
this practice4 ,jesus did not condemn   
this practice1 but accepted slavery as  
he accepted most institutions about him1
 and all superstitions4 ,the teachings  
of ,paul on the question of slavery are 
clear and explicit4 ,pope ,leo1 in his  
letter of #ahhh to the ,bishop of       
,brazil1 remarks3  ,when amid the slave 
multitude whom she has numbered among   
her children1 some led astray by some   
hope of liberty1 have had recourse to   
violence and sedition1 the ,church has  
always condemned these unlawful efforts1
 and through her ministers has applied  
the remedy of patience4444  ,st4 ,peter 
was addressing himself especially to the
 slaves when he wrote1 ,for this is     
thankworthy1 if for conscience towards  
,god a man endures sorrows1 suffering   
wrongfully4  ,the ,church certainly saw 

nothing wrong with slavery when she     
preached patience to her slaves4 ,it did
 not condemn slavery1 but condemned the 
slaves for revolting4 ,this in #ahhh6   
,in the ,encyclopedia of ,religion and  
,ethics is found3 ,there is no explicit 
condemnation in the teaching of our     
,lord4444 ,it remains true that the     
abolitionist could point to no one text 
in the ,gospels in defense of his       
position1 while those who defended      
slavery could appeal at any rate to the 
letter of ,scripture4  ,it is true that 
slavery existed under ,pagan            
civilization1 but there it represented a
 phase of social development1 while     
,christian slavery stood for a          
deliberate retrogression in social life4
 ,it was ,seneca who said1 ,live gently 
and kindly with your slave1 and admit   
him to conversation with you1 to council
 with you1 and to share in your meals4  
,think of what would have occurred if   
one of our philosophers had admonished a
 slave-holding ,christian in the above  

manner4  ,we are apt to think of the    
ancient slave as being identical with   
the miserable and degraded being that   
disgraced ,christian countries less than
 a century ago4 ,this1 however1 is far  
from the truth4 ,the ,roman slave did   
not1 of necessity1 lack education4      
,slaves were to be found who were       
doctors1 writers1 poets1 philosophers1  
and moralists4 ,plautus1 ,phdrus1       
,terence1 ,epictetus1 were slaves4      
,slaves were the intimates of men of all
 stations of life1 even the emperor4    
,certainly1 it never dawned on the      
,roman mind to prohibit education to the
 slave4 ,that was left for the          
,christian world1 and almost within our 
own time4 7,for a good account of the   
close association of ,christianity with 
slavery see1 ,christianity1 ,slavery1   
and ,labor1 ,chapman ,cohen47  ,in      
,rome1 the slave kept his individuality1
 and outwardly there was no distinction 
in color and clothing2 there was very   
little sound barrier between the slave  

and the freeman4 ,the slave attended the
 same games as the freeman1 participated
 in the affairs of the municipality1 and
 attended the same college4 ,the        
ancients kept the bodies of their slaves
 in bondage1 but they placed no         
restraint upon the mind and no check    
upon his education4 ,it has even been   
said that the slave class of antiquity  
really corresponded to our free laboring
 class4 ,it is also well known that a   
well-conducted slave1 by his own        
earnings1 was able to purchase his      
freedom in the course of a few years4   
,there can be no comparison1 therefore1 
between ,pagan and ,christian slavery1  
except to the detriment of the latter4  
,the ,christian slave trade represents  
one of the most frightful and systematic
 brutalities the world has ever known4  
,the contrast between the ,pagan and    
,christian slavery is even more marked  
when the dependence of the ,christian   
slave upon the good nature of his master
 is considered4 ,compare this with the  

decrees of the ,roman emperors3         
,masters were prohibited sending their  
slaves into the arena without a judicial
 sentence4 ,claudius punished as a      
murderer any master who killed his      
slave4 ,nero appointed judges to hear   
the complaints of slaves as to          
ill-treatment or insufficient feeding4  
,domitian forbade the mutilation of     
slaves2 ,hadrian forbade the selling of 
slaves to gladiators1 destroyed private 
prisons for them1 and ordered that they 
who were proved to have ill-treated     
their slaves be forced to sell them4    
,caracalla forbade the selling of       
children into slavery4  ,all that need  
be added to this is that the later      
,christian slavery represented a        
distinct retrogression1 deliberately    
revived from motives of sheer cupidity1 
and accompanied by more revolting       
features than the slavery of ancient    
times4 7,chapman ,cohen47  ,in the      
,history of ,ethics ,within ,organized  
,christianity is recorded1 ,the ,church1

 as such1 never contemplated doing away 
with slavery as such1 even though       
,stoicism had denounced it as ',contra  
,mundum4' ,nowhere does the early       
,church condemn slavery as an           
institution4 ,kindness to the slave is  
frequently recommended1 but this was    
done quite as forcibly1 and upon a much 
broader ground by the pagan writers4 ,it
 would be indeed nearer the truth to say
 that the ,christians who wrote in favor
 of the mitigation of the lot of the    
slave were far more indebted to pagans  
than to ,christian influence4  ,the     
,church itself owned many slaves1       
advised its adherents to will their     
slaves to her1 and was the last to      
liberate the slaves which she owned4    
,yet1 the apologists for the ,church    
would have us believe that she was      
instrumental in the destruction of      
slavery1 when it is a fact that there is
 nowhere a clear condemnation of slavery
 on the part of the ,church4  ,h4 ,c4   
,lea in his ,studies of the ,church     

,history says1 ,the ,church held many   
slaves1 and while their treatment was in
 general sufficiently humane to cause   
the number to grow by voluntary         
accretions1 yet it had no scruple to    
assert vigorously their claim to        
ownership4 ,when the ,papal ,church     
granted a slave to a monastery1 the     
dread anathema1 involving eternal       
perdition1 was pronounced against anyone
 daring to interfere with the gift2 and 
those who were appointed to take charge 
of the lands and farms of the ,church1  
were especially instructed that it was  
part of their duty to pursue and        
recapture fugitive bondsmen4  ,it must  
not be assumed that the ,catholic       
,church was the only ecclesiastical body
 to condone slavery1 or that it was only
 the traffic in black slaves that       
flourished a few hundred years ago4  ,in
 the seventeenth century1 thousands of  
,irish men1 women and children1 were    
seized by the order or under the license
 of the ,english government1 and sold as

 slaves for use in the ,west ,indies4   
,in the ,calendar of ,state ,papers1    
under various dates1 between #afec-afef1
 the following entries occur3 ',for a   
license to ,sir ,john ,clotworthy to    
transport to ,america #ejj natural      
,irishmen4' ,a slave dealer1 named      
,schlick1 is granted a license to take  
#djj children from ,ireland for ,new    
,england1 and ,virginia4 ,later1 #ajj   
,irish girls and a like number of youths
 are sold to the planters in ,jamaica4  
,had the ,church been against slavery it
 would have branded it as a wrong1 and  
have set the example of liberating its  
own slaves4 ,it did neither4 ,nay1 the  
,church not only held slaves itself1 not
 only protected others who held slaves1 
but it thundered against all who should 
despoil its property by selling or      
liberating slaves belonging to the      
,church4 ,the whole history of the      
,christian ,church shows that it has    
never felt itself called upon to fight  
any sound institution1 no matter what   

its character1 so long as it favored the
 ,church4 ,slavery and serfdom1 war1    
piracy1 child labor1 have all been in   
turn sanctioned4 7,chapman ,cohen3      
,christianity1 ,slavery1 and ,labor47   
,in ,abyssinia1 the influence of        
,christianity has been dominant for a   
longer period of time than anywhere else
 in the world4 ,the population of       
,abyssinia is at least ten million1 and 
of this population not less than        
one-fifth1 probably more1 are slaves4   
,in #aibi1 ,lady ,kathleen ,simon       
published her book entitled1 ,slavery1  
dealing with the slave trade of the     
world4 ,in this work it is pointed out  
that slave-owning is an integral part of
 the religion of the country1 and that  
opposition to the abolition of slavery  
comes principally from the priesthood   
which considers itself the guardian of  
the ,mosaic law1 and regards slavery as 
an institution ordered by ,jehovah4     
,slave raids are constant in this       
country1 and are accompanied by the     

greatest brutality and cruelty4 ,vast   
areas are depopulated by these raids and
 even at this date1 gangs of slaves may 
be seen by travelers1 with the dead and 
dying bodies of those that have fallen  
strewn along the roadside4 ,the slave   
trade in ,abyssinia is open1 its horrors
 are well known1 and it is supported by 
the ,christian ,church of the country4  
,such is slavery in the most ,christian 
country in the world today1 the country 
which has the longest ,christian history
 of any nation in the world4 ,its       
existence helps us to realize the value 
of the statement that the power of      
,christianity in the world destroyed the
 slave trade4 ,slavery flourishes in the
 oldest of ,christian countries in the  
world1 backed up by the ,church1 the    
,old ,bible1 and the ,new ,testament4   
,it has all the horrors1 all the        
brutalities1 all the degradations of the
 slave trade at its worst4 ,such is     
,christian ,abyssinia1 and such1 but for
 the saving grace of secular            

civilization1 would be the rest of the  
world4 7,chapman ,cohen47  ,the slave   
system that arose in ,christian times1  
created by and continued by ,christians 
in the most ,christian of countries1    
provides the final and unanswerable     
indictment of the ,christian ,church4   
,slavery was unknown to the ,africans   
until it was introduced by the          
,christian ,portuguese4 ,in #aeag the   
,spaniards began to ship negro slaves to
 ,hispaniola1 ,cuba1 ,jamaica1 and      
,porto ,rica4 ,john ,hawkins was the    
first ,englishman of note to engage in  
the traffic1 and ,queen ,elizabeth      
loaned this virtuous and pious gentleman
 the ship ,jesus4 ,english companies    
were licensed to engage in this trade   
and during the reign of ,william and    
,mary it was thrown open to all4        
,between #afhj and #agjj1 it has been   
said that #adj1jjj ,negroes were        
imported by the ,english-,african       
,company1 and about #afj1jjj more by    
private traders4 ,between #agjj and     

#aghf1 as many as #faj1jjj were         
transported to ,jamaica alone4 ,in the  
hundred years ending #aggf1 the ,english
 carried into the ,spanish1 ,french1 and
 ,english ,colonies three million       
slaves4  ,the cruelty experienced by    
these human cargoes on their            
transportation defies description4 ,the 
chaining1 the branding1 the mutilation1 
the close quarters1 the deaths by       
suffocation and disease1 are a sterling 
example of man's inhumanity to man when 
his conscience is relieved by finding   
support of his inhumane actions         
sanctioned in that most holy of holies1 
the ,bible4 ,exclusive of the slaves who
 died before leaving ,africa1 not more  
than fifty out of a hundred lived to    
work on the plantations4 ,ingram's      
,history of ,slavery calculates that    
although between #afij and #ahbj no less
 than #hjj1jjj ,negroes had been        
imported to ,jamaica1 yet1 at the latter
 date1 only #cdj1jjj were on the island4
  ,slavery in ,america received the same

 sanction by the religionists which it  
received on the continent4 ,george      
,whitefield1 the great ,methodist       
preacher1 was an earnest supporter of   
slavery4 ,when the importation of slaves
 finally ceased the states began the new
 industry of breeding slaves2 the       
leading state for this breeding1 and the
 one which contained the largest number 
of stud farms1 was ,virginia4 ,lord     
,macaulay1 in a speech delivered before 
the ,house of ,commons on ,february #bf1
 #ahde1 said3 ,the slave states of the  
,union are of two classes1 the breeding 
states1 where the human beast of burden 
increases1 and multiplies1 and becomes  
strong for labor2 and the sugar and     
cotton states to which these beasts of  
burden are sent to be worked to death4  
,bad enough it is that civilized man    
should sail to an uncivilized quarter of
 the world where slavery existed1 should
 buy wretched barbarians1 and should    
carry them away to labor in a distant   
land2 bad enough6 ,but that a civilized 

man1 a baptized man1 a man proud of     
being a citizen of a free state1 a man  
frequenting a ,christian ,church1 should
 breed slaves for exportation1 and if   
the whole horrible truth must be told1  
should even beget slaves for            
exportation1 should see children1       
sometimes his own children1 gambolling  
from infancy1 should watch their growth1
 should become familiar with their      
faces1 and should sell them for #djj or 
#ejj a head1 and send them to lead in a 
remote country a life which is a        
lingering death1 a life about which the 
best thing that can be said is that it  
is sure to be short2 this does1 ,i own1 
excite a horror exceeding even the      
horror excited by that slave trade which
 is the curse of the ,african coast4    
,and mark1 ,i am speaking of a trade as 
regular as the trade in pigs between    
,dublin and ,liverpool1 or as the trade 
in coals between the ,tyne and the      
,thames4  ,it has been estimated that   
the members and ministers of the        

,orthodox churches in the ,south owned  
no less than #ffj1jjj slaves4  ,thomas  
,paine1 in #agge1 when he wrote his     
article on ,justice and ,humanity1 was  
the first to demand emancipation in a   
lucid manner4 ,the campaign for         
liberation of the slaves was therefore  
inaugurated by a freethinker1 and       
triumphantly closed by another          
freethinker1 ,abraham ,lincoln4 ,in this
 manner did the ,church abolish slavery4
 ,with characteristic disregard for the 
truth1 the religionists have laid claim 
to ,lincoln1 which claim has been amply 
refuted2 but we are still awaiting the  
,church's claim to ,paine as one of her 
devotees4  ,and1 truly1 the case against
 ,christianity is plain and damning4    
,never1 during the whole of its history 
has it spoken in a clear voice against  
slavery2 always1 as we have seen1 its   
chief supporters have been pronounced   
believers4 ,they have cited religious   
teaching in its defence1 they have used 
all the power of the ,church for its    

maintenance4 ,naturally1 in a world in  
which the vast majority are professing  
,christians1 believers are to be found  
on the side of humanity and justice4    
,but to that the reply is plain4 ,men   
are human before they are ,christians2  
both history and experience point to the
 constant lesson of the many cases in   
which the claims of a developing        
humanity override those of an inculcated
 religious teaching4  ,but the damning  
fact against ,christianity is1 not that 
it found slavery here when it arrived1  
and accepted it as a settled            
institution1 not even that it is plainly
 taught in its 'sacred' books1 but1 that
 it deliberately created a new form of  
slavery1 and for hundreds of years      
invested it with a brutality greater    
than that which existed centuries       
before4 ,a religion which could tolerate
 this slavery1 argue for it1 and fight  
for it1 cannot by any stretch of        
reasoning be credited with an influence 
in forwarding emancipation4             

,christianity no more abolished slavery 
than it abolished witchcraft1 the belief
 in demonism1 or punishment for heresy4 
,it was the growing moral and social    
sense of mankind that compelled         
,christians and ,christianity to give up
 these and other things4 7,c4 ,cohen3   
,christianity1 ,slavery1 and ,labor47   
,,chapter ,,xvi  ,,christianity ,,and   
,,labor      ,the mortgage which the    
peasant has on heavenly property        
guarantees     the mortgage of the      
bourgeois on the farms4      ,,marx4    
,the same ,christ1 the same ,buddha1 the
 same ,isaiah1 can stand at     once for
 capitalism and communism1 for liberty  
and slavery1 for     peace and war1 for 
whatever opposed or clashing ideals you 
will4 ,for     the life and the power of
 a church is in the persistent identity 
of     its symbols and properties4      
,meanings change anyhow1 but things     
endure4 ,the rock upon which a church is
 founded is not the word of     ,god2   
the rock upon which a church is founded 

is the wealth of men4      ,,horace ,m4 
,,kallen1 ,why ,religion8    ,during the
 ,middle ,ages the heads of the ,church 
exercised all the rights of a feudal    
lord1 and were even more tenacious of   
their privileges4 ,the serfs were       
prohibited from migrating from one part 
of the country to another4 ,the daughter
 of a serf could not marry without the  
consent of the lord1 who frequently     
demanded payment for permission2 or1    
worse still1 the infamous ,right of the 
,first ,night4 ,the serf was bonded in a
 hundred different ways1 and it is      
significant of the esteem in which the  
,church was held that in every peasant  
revolt which occurred1 there was always 
a direct attack on the ,church4         
,professor ,thorold ,rogers1 writing of 
the twelfth century1 gives the following
 picture of the poorer classes3  ,the   
houses of these villagers were mean and 
dirty4 ,brickmaking was a lost art1     
stone was found only in a few places4   
,the wood fire was on a hob of clay4    

,chimneys were unknown1 except in       
castles and manor houses1 and the smoke 
escaped through the door or whatever    
other aperture it could reach4 ,the     
floor of the homestead was filthy       
enough1 but the surroundings were       
filthier still4 ,close by the door stood
 the mixen1 a collection of every       
abomination--streams from which1 in     
rainy weather1 fertilized the lower     
meadows1 generally the lord's pasture1  
and polluted the stream4 ,the house of  
the peasant cottager was poorer still4  
,most of them were probably built of    
posts wattled and plastered with clay or
 mud1 with an upper storey of poles     
reached by a ladder4  ,what the lord    
took he held by right of force2 what the
 ,church had it held by force of        
cunning4 ,and as1 in the long run1 the  
cunning of the ,church was more powerful
 than the force of the robber-lord1 the 
priesthood grew in riches until its     
wealth became a threat to the whole of  
the community4 ,in ,england1 in the     

thirteenth century1 the clergy numbered 
one in fifty-two of the population1 and 
the possessions of the ,church included 
a third of the land of ,england4 ,no    
opportunity was lost by the ,church to  
drain money from the people whether they
 were rich or poor4 ,the trade done in  
candles1 and sales of indulgences       
brought in large sums of money1 and     
there were continuous disputes between  
the clergy and the king and the ,pope as
 to the divisions of the spoil4 ,the    
picture of the ,church watching over the
 poor1 sheltering them from wrong1      
tending them in sickness1 and relieving 
them in their poverty will not do4 ,it  
is totally without historic foundation4 
,when the poor revolted1 and apart from 
the great revolts1 there were many small
 and local outbreaks1 the anger of the  
poor was directed as much against the   
,church as it was against the nobles4   
7,c4 ,cohen3 ,christianity1 ,slavery1   
and ,labor47  ,when the downtrodden     
masses of ,spain1 ,mexico1 and ,russia  

revolted against the tyranny which had  
held them in the slough of medieval     
degradation1 they likewise1 in recent   
times1 proved that they realized that   
their submission was as much caused by  
the ,church1 allied as it is with the   
state1 as by the government itself4     
,the ,church did attend the sick1 but   
its trade was in the miracle cures and  
prayers1 and so they very much resembled
 men hawking their own goods1 and       
attending to their own business4 ,and   
there is the plain1 historic fact1 that 
in defense of its miracle cures it did  
what it could to obstruct the growth of 
both medical and sanitary science4 ,it  
did give alms but these constituted but 
a small part of what it had previously  
taken4  ,through all the changes of the 
sixteenth1 seventeenth1 and eighteenth  
centuries1 it is impossible to detect   
anxiety on the part of the ,churches1   
,roman ,catholic or ,protestant1 to     
better the status of1 or improve the    
condition of1 the working classes4      

,whatever improvements may have come    
about1 and they were few enough1 came   
independently of ,christianity1         
organized or unorganized4 ,controversies
 about religious matters might1 and did1
 grow more acute2 controversies about   
bettering the position of the working   
classes only began with the breaking    
down of ,christianity4 ,and when1 as in 
,germany1 there occurred a peasants'    
revolt1 and the peasants appealed to    
,luther for assistance1 he wrote1 after 
exhorting the peasants to resignation1  
to the nobles3  ,a rebel is outlawed of 
,god and ,kaiser1 therefore who can and 
will first slaughter such a man does    
right well1 since upon such a common    
rebel every man is alike the judge and  
executioner4 ,therefore1 who can shall  
openly or secretly smite1 slaughter and 
stab1 and hold that there is nothing    
more poisonous1 more harmful1 more      
devilish than a rebellious man4  ,and in
 pre-revolutionary ,france1 the ,church 
saw unmoved a state of affairs almost   

unimaginable1 so far as the masses of   
the people were concerned1 in their     
misery and demoralization4 ,and this at 
a time when half the land of ,france1 in
 addition to palaces1 chateaux1 and     
other forms of wealth were possessed by 
the nobility and clergy1 and were       
practically free from taxation4  ,a     
contemporary observer writes1 ,certain  
savage-looking beings1 male and female1 
are seen in the country1 black1 livid1  
and sunburnt1 and belonging to the soil 
which they dig and grub with invincible 
stubbornness4 ,they stand erect1 they   
display human lineaments1 and seem      
capable of articulation4 ,they are1 in  
fact1 men4 ,they retire at night into   
their dens1 where they live on black    
bread1 water and roots4 ,they spare     
other human beings the trouble of       
sowing4  ,in pre-revolutionary ,france1 
the clergy1 counting monks and nuns1    
numbered1 in #agfb1 over #djj1jjj1 with 
total possessions estimated at two      
thousand million pounds1 producing an   

annual revenue of about one hundred and 
forty millions4 ,the clergy were free   
from taxation and the higher members of 
the order possessed all the rights and  
privileges of the feudal nobility4 ,to  
the end the ,church in ,france1 as in   
our day1 in pre-revolutionary ,russia1  
remained the champion of privilege and  
misgovernment4  ,in ,england1 during the
 latter half of the eighteenth century  
and the beginning of the nineteenth     
century1 developed the ,english         
manufacturing system4 ,woman-and        
child-labor were common in both mines   
and factories4 ,the regular working     
hours were from #e ,a4,m4 to #h ,p4,m41 
with six full days' labor per week4 ,one
 investigator remarks3 ,it is a very    
common practice with the great populous 
parishes in ,london to bind children in 
large numbers to the proprietors of     
cotton-mills in ,lancashire and         
,yorkshire1 at a distance of #bjj miles4
 ,the children are sent off by waggon   
loads at a time1 and are as much lost   

for ever to their parents as if they    
were shipped off for the ,west ,indies4 
,the parishes that bind them1 by        
procuring a settlement for the children 
at the end of forty days1 get rid of    
them for ever2 and the poor children    
have not a human being in the world to  
whom they can look up for redress       
against the wrongs they may be exposed  
to from these wholesale dealers in them1
 whose object it is to get everything   
they can possibly wring from their      
excessive labor and fatigue4  ,in the   
mines conditions were still worse1 and a
 report in #ahdb states3 ,children are  
taken at the earliest ages1 if only to  
be used as living and waving            
candlesticks1 or to keep rats from a    
dinner1 and it is in pits of the worst  
character1 too1 in which most female    
children are employed4 ,it would appear 
from the practical returns obtained by  
the commissioner1 that about one-third  
of the persons employed in coal mines   
are under eighteen years of age1 and    

that much more than one-third of this   
proportion are under thirteen years of  
age4 ,in certain mines there was no     
distinction of sex so far as underground
 labor was concerned4 ,the men worked   
entirely naked and were assisted by     
females of all ages1 from girls of six  
years to women of twenty-one1 who were  
quite naked down to the waist4  ,but if 
oppression was rife1 education at a low 
ebb1 and misery prevalent1 the religion 
of the people was receiving attention4  
,the period was1 in fact1 one of revival
 in religion4 ,the ,wesleyan revival was
 in full swing1 and ,evangelical        
,christianity was making great advances4
 ,between #agii and #ahjd there were    
founded1 ,the ,british and ,foreign     
,bible ,society1 ,the ,london           
,missionary ,society1 and ,the ,mission 
,to ,the ,jews4  ,when the ,education   
,bill of #ahai came before the ,house of
 ,lords1 out of eighteen ,bishops who   
voted on the measure1 fifteen voted     
against it6 ,thus the religionists were 

most active during the period when a    
condition approximating white slavery   
existed4 ,and why should this not have  
been so1 when the ,church is not        
interested in the social and economic   
status of its adherents during their    
existence on this planet1 but is        
avowedly concerned with deluding its    
devotees into a mythical belief in a    
life hereafter8 ,the greatest number of 
slaves and the greatest degradation of  
workers is to be found in those times   
and places where religious superstition 
is most powerful4  ,in our own country1 
as well as in ,england1 the labor       
movement has developed not merely       
outside the range of organized          
,christianity1 but in the teeth of the  
bitterest opposition to it4             
,christianity1 since it came into power1
 has always preached to the poor in     
defense of the privileges and           
possessions of the rich4  ,in a recent  
publication by ,jerome ,davis1 which is 
entitled ,labor ,speaks for ,itself on  

,religion1 the author has compiled the  
opinions of labor leaders in the ,united
 ,states1 ,canada1 ,great ,britain1     
,russia1 ,germany1 ,czechoslovakia1     
,mexico1 ,china1 ,austria1 ,australia1  
,belgium1 and ,japan4 ,it is a terrific 
indictment by labor against organized   
religion4 ,the author tells us1 ,here is
 labor speaking for itself1 and in the  
by and large it feels that the ,church  
has not understood or helped it to      
secure justice4 ,the majority believe   
that the ,church has a capitalistic     
bias4 ,it is a class institution for the
 upper and middle classes4 ,this is     
putting the matter rather mildly when   
one considers their grievances expressed
 in their own words4 ,again ,jerome     
,davis asks1 ,is it possible that our   
,church leaders are to some extent      
blinded by current conventional         
standards8 ,are they so busy sharing the
 wealth of the prosperous with others in
 spiritual quests that they fail to see 
some areas of desperate social need8 ,do

 they to some degree unconsciously      
exchange the gift of prophecy for yearly
 budgets and business boards8  ,james   
,h4 ,maurer1 the president of the       
,pennsylvania ,federation of ,labor1    
speaks for labor and the title of his   
subject is1 ,has the ,church ,betrayed  
,labor8 ,mr4 ,maurer's opinion follows3 
,a worker living from hand to mouth1 and
 lucky if he is not hopelessly in debt  
besides1 working at trip-hammer speed   
when he has work1 with no security      
against enforced idleness1 sickness1 and
 old age1 can hardly be expected to     
become deeply interested in1 or a very  
enthusiastic listener to sermons about  
,lot's disobedient wife1 who because she
 looked back was turned into a pillar of
 salt4 ,he is far more concerned about  
his own overworked and perhaps underfed 
wife who1 due to the strain of trying to
 raise his family on a meager income    
that permits of no rest or proper       
medical care1 is slowly but surely      
turning into a corpse4 ,to go to a      

church and listen to a sermon about the 
sublimeness of being humble and meek1   
that no matter how desperate the        
struggle to live may be one should be   
contented and not envy the more         
fortunate1 because ,god in ,his infinite
 wisdom has ordained that there shall be
 rich and poor and that no matter how   
heavy one's burdens on this earth1 one  
should bear them meekly and look for    
reward in the world to come and remember
 that ,god loves the poor--such sermons 
naturally sound pleasing to the ears of 
the wealthy listeners1 and the usual    
reward is a shower of gold and hearty   
congratulations by the sleek and        
well-fed members of the congregation4   
,but to an intelligent worker such      
sermons sound like capitalistic         
propaganda1 upon which he is constantly 
being fed by every labor-exploiting     
concern in the country1 and quite       
naturally he tries to avoid getting an  
extra dose of the same kind of buncombe 
on ,sunday4444  ,in ,churches1 men have 

listened for nearly two thousand years  
to lessons and sermons about 'the       
brotherhood of man1' 'the forging of    
swords of war into plowshares of peace1'
 'man is his brother's helper1' 'peace  
on earth1 good will toward men1' 'thou  
shalt not kill1' ,we are taught to say  
the ,lord's ,prayer1 and ask for heaven 
on earth1 and yet1 at every war         
opportunity1 with a very few noble      
exceptions1 the ,church1 at the command 
of the war lords1 has scrapped its peace
 sentiments and turned its back to the  
,prince of ,peace and ,heaven on ,earth 
and has shouted itself hoarse for hell  
on earth4 ,and then the spokesmen of the
 churches of each nation at war have had
 the impudence to pray to a just ,god   
and ask ,him to play favorites1 to use  
,his infinite power on their side and   
join in the mad slaughter of ,his own   
beloved children4 ,and those slaughtered
 are the workers1 and their folks at    
home naturally wonder why the one big   
international peace organization on     

earth1 the ,church1 at the crack of the 
war demon's whip1 deserts its principles
 of ',thou shalt not kill1' and ',peace 
on earth1' and helps to stampede its    
followers in the very opposite          
direction4  ,mr4 ,maurer points out that
 labor's struggle to have a ,federal    
,child ,labor amendment to the          
,constitution ratified by the various   
state legislatures1 and to have such    
legislation enacted as the ,workmen's   
,compensation ,laws1 ,mothers'          
,pensions1 and ,old ,age ,pensions1     
received no support from the clergy4 ,he
 concludes by citing this occurrence3   
,for a good illustration of what the    
,church is sometimes guilty of let us   
take a glimpse at what happened in      
,detroit1 during the month of ,october1 
#aibf1 when the ,american ,federation of
 ,labor was holding its annual          
convention there4 ,nearly every church  
in ,detroit sent invitations to         
prominent labor officials to speak in   
their churches before ,bible classes1   

,sunday schools1 and ,young ,men's      
,christian ,associations4 ,most of the  
invitations were accepted by the labor  
officials1 including ,president ,green  
of the ,a4 ,f4 of ,l4 ,as soon as the   
big employers learned about the program 
they not only frowned upon the idea of  
allowing their sacred temples to be     
contaminated with representatives of the
 working class1 but put both feet down  
as hard as they could on the            
proposition4 ,did the clergymen stand   
firm when men with dollars talked8 ,to  
their everlasting shame they did not4   
,ninety-five percent of them bowed to   
the will of ,mammon and the             
representatives of labor were barred    
from the sacred temples erected in the  
name of ,god and the lowly ,nazarene1   
proving conclusively to the minds of the
 average citizen who controls the       
churches and whom they serve4 ,small    
wonder that many workers have a poor    
opinion of the ,church1 and that so many
 pews are empty4  ,j4 ,b4 ,s4 ,hardman1 

the editor of ,the ,advance1 the        
official journal of the ,amalgamated    
,clothing ,workers1 gives us his opinion
 regarding the religion of labor4 ,it   
lulls the social underdog with a sham   
consolation for the oppression and      
exploitation which are his lot1 and     
furnishes the exploiter and oppressor   
with graceful distraction and absolution
 from his daily practice and meanness4  
,this is the actual basis of ,church    
activity to-day4 ,the religion of labor 
is godless1 for it seeks to restore the 
divinity of man4  ,james ,p4 ,thompson1 
the national organizer of the           
,industrial ,workers of the ,world1     
heads his article for ,jerome ,davis1   
,religion is the ,negation of the       
,truth1 and in his militant manner      
proclaims ,this organization designed to
 praise ,god and help him run the       
universe is known as the ,church4 ,the  
established ,church has always been on  
the side of the rich and powerful4 ,its 
robed representatives1 pretending to be 

,godlike and favorites of ,god1 having  
special influence with ,him1 have ever  
functioned as the moral police agents of
 the ruling classes4 ,at one time or    
another1 they have asked ,god to bless  
nearly everything1 from the slave       
driver's lash to murderous wars4 ,thus  
they strive to extend the blessings of  
,god to the infamies of men4  ,to-day1  
under ,capitalism1 they teach the       
working class the doctrine of humility3 
tell them that if they get a slap on one
 cheek to turn the other1 and1 'blessed 
are the poor4' ,they tell us to bear the
 cross and wear the crown1 that we will 
get back in the next world what is      
stolen from us in this4 ,in other words1
 they try to chloroform us with stories 
of heaven while the robbers plunder the 
world4 ,for this support the ruling     
classes donate liberally to the ,church4
 ,the organized robbers and organized   
beggars support each other4  ,james ,p4 
,noonan1 vice-president of the ,american
 ,federation of ,labor1 asks a pertinent

 question1 ,labor observes an increasing
 tendency on the part of the ,church to 
regulate what man may eat1 drink1 or    
smoke1 where and how he shall spend his 
,sundays1 the character and kind of     
amusements he may participate in1 and   
various other activities1 many of which 
seem more or less trivial2 all of which 
leads the average worker to ponder      
rather seriously just why it is that the
 ,church can vigorously advocate and    
promote legislation seeking to curtail  
his liberty to enjoy1 in his own way1   
the limited number of leisure hours at  
his disposal1 and yet turn a deaf ear to
 the cry of tortured men1 women1 and    
children for relief from the curse of   
low wages1 long hours1 and scores of    
other industrial conditions and abuses  
which inevitably pave the way for       
numberless cases of moral turpitude4    
,james ,s4 ,woodsworth1 a former        
minister1 speaking for the ,canadian    
,labor ,party1 exclaims3 ,the ,church--a
 class institution--what does the       

,church do to help me and those like me8
 ,the ,church supported by the wealthy1 
yes1 ',he who pays the piper calls the  
tune4' ,the well-groomed parson1 with   
his soft tones prophesying smooth       
things1 well1 ,i'm glad ,i'm not in his 
shoes6  ,james ,simpson1 secretary of   
the ,canadian ,labor ,party1 makes this 
statement3 ,i found that the conditions 
which called for radical change if the  
social and economic security of the     
people was going to be established did  
not concern the ,church4 ,as an         
institution it was concerned in         
establishing an outlook upon life that  
would induce men to do the right1 but1  
if the right was not done1 there was    
very little distinction drawn between   
the wrong-doer and the right-doer4 ,this
 lack of distinction did not apply so   
much to what were re-regarded as moral  
indiscretions as it did to the larger   
failures to recognize man's relationship
 to man in the industrial and commercial
 activities of life4 ,labor thinks the  

,church is insincere4 ,it is an         
exceptional case for a minister to take 
a stand on the side of the workers1 even
 when the issue between the employers   
and employees is a clear case of the    
former trying to enforce conditions upon
 the latter which are unfair and        
inhuman4  ,a4 ,fenner ,brockway1 the    
political secretary of the ,independent 
,labor ,party in ,england1 writes in    
this manner3 ,the hymns of the ,church  
are obsolete2 the sermons are very      
rarely worth listening to2 the forms of 
worship are unrelated to life2 and such 
inspiration as comes from the devotion  
and beauty of some church services and  
buildings can be found ever more        
intimately and fully in the silences and
 beauty of nature4  ,george ,lansbury is
 another ,englishman speaking for       
,british ,labor1 and he tells us that1  
,ordinary working people in ,britain    
think very little about ,churches1 or   
about religion4 ,years ago ,i was asked1
 ',why don't people accept religion8    

,why don't the masses go to ,church8' ,i
 said then1 as ,i say now1 ',they1 the  
masses1 believe we ,christians do not   
believe what we say we believe4  ,lenin1
 ,trotzky1 ,lunacharsky1 and            
,yaroslavsky1 are the speakers for      
,russian ,labor in ,soviet ,russia4     
,their attitude toward ,church and      
,religion is well known4444  ,arthur    
,crispien1 president of the ,german     
,social ,democratic ,party1 gives us his
 opinion4 ,men should not look upon this
 earth as a vale of tears and fly from  
rude realities to a world of phantasms2 
they should embrace the beauties of the 
world1 and realize and fulfill their    
social rights and duties4 ,our work lies
 in this world4 ,as to the other1 each  
is at liberty to decide according to his
 needs4  ,karl ,mennicke1 another former
 minister1 points out the attitude of   
,german ,labor4 ,for modern labor the   
feeling that human life is first of all 
a matter of eternal life1 and only      
secondarily a matter of this world1 has 

been entirely lost4 ,the high-strung    
eschatologic mood1 or expectation of    
,jesus1 has no sounding board in the    
masses of the proletariat of to-day4    
,the ,christian epoch in history is     
obviously on its way to extinction4 ,the
 eschatological mood of ,christianity   
has been a handicap1 and still is1 for  
the ,christian community has difficulty 
finding an organic relationship to the  
creative problems of social life4       
,emanuel ,radl speaks of labor and the  
,church in ,czechoslovakia4 ,in general 
the churches play a far lesser part in  
our public life than in the ,united     
,states4 ,people are accustomed to speak
 of the churches as exploded            
institutions that are factors only among
 the uneducated classes4 ,the churches  
are not measuring up in understanding   
and helping the poor4  ,robert          
,haberman1 representing the ,mexican    
,labor ,party1 gives a clear-cut        
summation of the tyranny that the clergy
 of that country yoked upon the masses  

and the retardation that it has         
produced4 ,it furnishes striking and    
conclusive evidence of the harm that is 
done when the ,church and ,state are    
still integrally intertwined4 ,there is 
no better example of the efforts of a   
reactionary clergy to keep the masses in
 poverty and ignorance than is this     
study of the church in modern ,mexico4  
,mr4 ,haberman gives an account of the  
church activities in old ,mexico and    
coming to the present1 ,by the year     
#ahed1 the ,church had gained possession
 of about two-thirds of all the lands of
 ,mexico1 almost every bank1 and every  
large business4 ,the rest of the country
 was mortgaged to the ,church4 ,then    
came the revolution of #ahed1 led by    
,benito ,juarez4 ,it culminated in the  
,constitution of #aheg1 which           
secularized the schools and confiscated 
,church property4 ,all the churches were
 nationalized1 many of them were turned 
into schools1 hospitals1 and orphan     
asylums4 ,civil marriages were made     

obligatory4 ,pope ,pius ,,ix immediately
 issued a mandate against the           
,constitution and called upon all       
,catholics of ,mexico to disobey it4    
,ever since then1 the clergy has been   
fighting to regain its lost temporal    
power and wealth4 ,it has been          
responsible for civil wars and for      
foreign intervention4 ,under the rule of
 ,diaz1 the constitution was disregarded
 and the ,church was permitted to regain
 most of its lost privileges4 ,the      
,church bells rang out at sunrise to    
call the peons out1 with nothing more to
 eat than some tortillas and chili1 to  
work all day long in the burning fields1
 until sunset when the ,church bells    
rang again to send them home to their   
mud huts4 ,during their work they were  
beaten4 ,on ,sundays they were lashed   
and sent bleeding to ,mass4 ,after      
,church they had to do ,faenas 7free    
work7 for the ,church1 in the name of   
some saint or other--either to build a  
new church or do some special work for  

the priests4 ,it is no wonder then1 that
 after the revolution against ,diaz1 in 
many places1 as soon as the peons were  
told they were free1 their first act was
 to climb up the church steeples and    
smash the bells4 ,after that1 they      
rushed inside the churches and destroyed
 the statues and paintings of the       
saints4 ,during the whole period of     
havoc and exploitation1 not once was the
 voice of the ,church heard in behalf of
 the downtrodden4 ,illiteracy amounted  
to eighty-six percent4 ,but the ,church 
helped the further enslavement of the   
workers4 ,there was not a church        
ceremony1 birth1 marriage1 or death1    
that did not cost money4 ,the worker had
 to borrow for each2 and the more he    
borrowed1 the more closely he riveted   
upon himself the chains of peonage4444  
,the present conflict started in        
,february1 #aibf1 when ,archbishop ,jose
 ,mora del ,rio1 head of the ,church in 
,mexico1 issued a statement in the press
 declaring war against the              

,constitution4  ,gideon ,chen1 speaking 
for ,chinese ,labor asserts3 ,the       
,christian ,church in ,china1 brought up
 in a ,western greenhouse1 with all its 
achievements and shortcomings1 does not 
speak a language intelligible to the    
labor world4  ,karl ,kautsky1 the       
,austrian representative of labor1 takes
 the attitude that1 ,the less ,labor as 
a whole has to do with ,church questions
 and the less it is interested in the   
churches1 the more successful will be   
its strife for emancipation4  ,otto     
,bauer1 another representative of       
,austrian labor1 makes the assertion3   
,capitalism forces the worker into the  
class struggle4 ,in this class struggle 
he comes across the clergy and finds it 
the champion of his class adversary4    
,the worker transfers his hate from the 
clergyman to religion itself1 in whose  
name this clergyman is defending the    
social order of the middle classes4 ,in 
,austria the bourgeois parties take     
advantage of the belief of hundreds of  

thousands of proletarians in a ,lord in 
,heaven to keep them in subjection to   
their earthly masters4  ,ernest ,h4     
,barker1 the general secretary of the   
,australian ,labor ,party1 holds forth  
in an article entitled1 ,the ,church is 
,weighed and ,found ,wanting4 ,he is    
quite emphatic in his statements4 ,the  
attitude of the ,labor ,movement in     
,australia to the ,church is one of     
supreme indifference4 ,there is little  
or no point of contact between the two  
and apparently neither considers the    
other in its activities and plan of     
campaign4444 ,the ,church preaches the  
brotherhood of man4 ,what brotherhood   
can exist between the wealthy receiver  
of interest1 profit1 and rent and the   
struggling worker who sees his wife     
dragged down by poverty and overwork1   
and his children stunted and dwarfed    
physically and intellectually--between  
the underworked and overfed commercial  
or industrial magnate and the underfed1 
overworked denizen of the slums8 444    

,the ,church is put on trial in the     
minds of men4 ,they ask1 ',what did the 
,church do when we sought a living wage1
 shorter hours of work1 safer working   
conditions1 abolition of ,sunday work1  
abolition of child labor8' ,the answer  
is an almost entirely negative one4 ,the
 few instances when church officials    
have helped are so conspicuous as to    
emphasize the general aloofness4444 ,in 
how many of the advanced ideas of our   
time has the ,church taken the lead8 ,is
 it not renowned for being a long way in
 the rear rather than in the vanguard of
 progressive thought and action8 ,it    
resents any challenge to its ideas1     
doctrines1 or authority4  ,emile        
,vandervelde1 the leader of the ,belgian
 ,labor ,party1 discusses the personal  
religious convictions of the ,labor     
leaders in ,france and ,belgium4 ,today 
as yesterday the immense majority are   
atheists1 old-fashioned materialists1 or
 at least agnostics1 to whom it would   
never occur to profess any creed1 no    

matter how liberal it might be4         
,toyohiko ,kogawa1 the secretary of the 
,japan ,labor ,federation1 says3 ,labor 
considers the ,church too other-worldly4
 ,it thinks it has no concern with the  
interests of labor2 and that the ,church
 has lost her aim in this world and is  
looking up only into heaven4 ,and labor 
forgets where to go1 loses its sense of 
direction4 ,so labor stops thinking     
about religion1 and religion stops      
thinking about industry4 ,the ,church   
has no principle of economics1 and labor
 has no religious aspiration4  ,the     
opinions of these men who are daily in  
contact with the problem of social      
justice the world over surely furnish a 
tremendous amount of information        
regarding both the unconcern of religion
 upon the furtherance of social justice 
and its actual negative and harmful     
influence4 ,the devout ,sherwood ,eddy1 
a sincere and noble exponent of social  
justice1 is forced to exclaim2 ,but ,i  
saw that there would be much more       

opposition from professing ,christians  
if ,i preached a gospel of social       
justice1 than ever there had been from  
so called 'heathen' nations in calling  
them to turn from their idols4 ,indeed1 
,mammon is a much more potent idol1 it  
is more cruel1 smeared with more human  
blood1 than ,kali of ,siva4 ,they       
sacrifice goats to ,kali and we shudder2
 we sacrifice men to ,mammon and justify
 our 'rights4' ,in simple fact1 though  
they are not worthy of mention1 ,i have 
met with more opposition and            
misrepresentation1 ten times over1 in   
',christian' ,america1 than ,i ever met 
in fifteen years in ,india1 or in       
repeated visits to ,china1 ,turkey1 or  
,russia4 7,sherwood ,eddy3 ,religion and
 ,social ,justice47  ,religious         
philosophy is slave philosophy2 it      
teaches of a ,god who is personally     
interested in the individual and who    
will reward present misery with future  
bliss4 ,the demoralizing effect of this 
infamous fraud is apparent everywhere4  

,if a worker is constantly assailed with
 this nonsense from the pulpit1 the     
result is the production in him of a    
mental as well as a physical slavery2 it
 aggravates his mental inertia1 and the 
force of repetition achieving its       
effects1 he soon resigns himself to his 
present miserable state drugged with the
 delusion of a better life in the       
hereafter4 ,he believes that his destiny
 is predetermined by ,god and that he   
will be rewarded in heaven for his      
sufferings on earth4  ,what a marvelous 
opiate the ecclesiastics have been      
injecting into the minds of the masses6 
,it is not to be wondered at1 therefore1
 that capital has aided throughout the  
ages and has stood by religion4 ,the    
irony of the situation lies in the fact 
that the slave will fight so valiantly  
for his tyrannical master1 that the     
unscrupulous few who derive all the     
benefits1 can1 like a malignant         
parasite1 suck the life-blood of its    
victims while their still living prey   

submits without a struggle6 ,the worker1
 inebriated with his religious delusion1
 calmly allows his very substance to be 
the means through which his parasitic   
employer grows fat4  ,that was the net  
result of ,christianity1 and of the     
activity of the ,christian ,church in   
spreading abroad a spirit of kindliness1
 humanity and brotherhood6 ,the coquetry
 of ,christianity with ,labor within the
 last generation or two is only what one
 would expect4 ,but it is clear that the
 one constant function of ,christianity 
has been to encourage loyalty to        
existing institutions1 no matter what   
their character so long as they were not
 unfriendly to the ,church4 ,slavery and
 the oppression of labor continued while
 ,christianity was at its strongest and 
wealthiest2 its own wealth derived from 
the oppression it encouraged4 ,slavery  
died out when social and economic       
conditions rendered its continuance more
 and more difficult4 ,and the conditions
 of labor improved when men ceased to   

talk of a ',providential ,order1' of    
',god's ,decree1' and dismissed the     
evangelical narcotic served out by the  
,church1 and began to realize that      
social conditions were the products of  
understandable and modifiable natural   
forces4 7,c4 ,cohen3 ,christianity1     
,slavery and ,labor47     ,,chapter     
,,xvii  ,,religion ,,and ,,woman        
,she was the first in the transgression 
therefore keep her in     subjection4   
99       99       99       99       99  
,fierce is the dragon and cunning the   
asp2 but woman has the malice     of    
both4      ,,st4 ,,gregory ,,of         
,,nazianzum4      ,thou art the devil's 
gate1 the betrayer of the tree1 the     
first     deserter of the ,divine ,law4 
,,tertullian4       ,what does it matter
 whether it be in the person of mother  
or     sister2 we have to beware ,eve in
 every woman4      ,how much better two 
men could live and converse together    
than a man     and a woman4      ,,st4  
,,augustine4      ,no gown worse becomes

 a woman than the desire to be wise4    
,,luther4      ,the ,bible and the      
,church have been the greatest stumbling
 blocks in     the way of women's       
emancipation4      ,,elizabeth ,,cady   
,,stanton4   ,it is noticed in most     
calculations of churchgoers that women  
have remained attached to the churches  
in a far higher proportion than men4    
,the proportion of women in the churches
 is vastly greater than their proportion
 in the general population4 ,most of the
 men who still passively attend their   
churches do so under the pressure of    
professional interest or social or      
domestic influence4  ,the degree of     
religiosity has always been associated  
with the free play of the emotions and  
woman being more imaginative and        
emotional than man1 it seems clear that 
this strong emotional factor in woman   
accounts1 at least partly1 for the      
greater proportion of women as          
churchgoers4 ,and this1 be it noted1    
lies not in any inherent inferiority in 

the mental make-up of woman1 but rather 
in the environmental influences that    
until very recently shaped woman's      
education in such a manner that it was  
little adapted to strengthening her     
reason1 but rather calculated to enhance
 her emotionalism4  ,ecclesiastic       
historians have a notorious habit of    
viewing pre-,christian times for the    
single biased purpose of only stating   
the aspects of that civilization which  
they deemed inferior to that exerted by 
,christianity4 ,researches have         
established fairly well the position of 
women in the ,egyptian community of     
#djjj years ago4 ,it is no exaggeration 
to state that she was free and more     
honored in ,egypt #djjj years ago1 than 
she was in any country of the earth     
until only recently4 ,scholars assure us
 that1 at a period which the ,bible     
claims the ,earth was just coming into  
being1 the ,egyptian matron was mistress
 of her home1 she inherited equally with
 her brothers1 and had full control of  

her property4 ,she could go where she   
liked and speak to whom she pleased4    
,she could bring actions in the courts  
and even plead in the courts4 ,the      
traditional advice to the husband was1  
,make glad her heart during the time    
that thou hast4  ,contrast this position
 of woman in the community and society  
in general with the statement given in  
,mrs4 ,e4 ,cady ,stanton's ,history of  
,woman's ,suffrage1 in which she speaks 
of the status of the female of the      
species in ,boston about the year #ahej4
 ,women could not hold any property1    
either earned or inherited4 ,if         
unmarried1 she was obliged to place it  
in the hands of a trustee1 to whose will
 she was subject4 ,if she contemplated  
marriage1 and desired to call her       
property her own1 she was forced by law 
to make a contract with her intended    
husband by which she gave up all title  
or claim to it4 ,a woman1 either married
 or unmarried1 could hold no office or  
trust or power4 ,she was not a person4  

,she was not recognized as a citizen4   
,she was not a factor in the human      
family4 ,she was not a unit1 but a zero 
in the sum of civilization4444 ,the     
status of a married woman was little    
better than that of a domestic servant4 
,by the ,english ,common ,law her       
husband was her lord and master4 ,he had
 the sole custody of her person and of  
her minor children4 ,he could punish her
 'with a stick no bigger than his thumb'
 and she could not complain against     
him4444 ,the common law of the ,state   
,massachusetts held man and wife to be  
one person1 but that person was the     
husband4 ,he could by will deprive her  
of every part of his property1 and also 
of what had been her own before         
marriage4 ,he was the owner of all her  
real estate and earnings4 ,the wife     
could make no contract and no will1 nor1
 without her husband's consent1 dispose 
of the legal interest of her real       
estate4444 ,she did not own a rag of her
 clothing4 ,she had no personal rights  

and could hardly call her soul her own4 
,her husband could steal her children1  
rob her of her clothing1 neglect to     
support the family3 she had no legal    
redress4 ,if a wife earned money by her 
own labor1 the husband could claim the  
pay as his share of the proceeds4 ,with 
such a contrast in mind1 it is indeed   
difficult to see where the truth of the 
assertion lies when it is stated that   
the status of woman was indeed pitiful  
until ,christianity exerted its         
influence for her betterment4 ,and it is
 again curious to note that after a     
period of nearly #bjjj years of         
,christian influence it was left for a  
sceptic such as ,mrs4 ,stanton and her  
sceptical co-workers to bring about an  
amelioration of the degrading position  
of woman in ,christian society4  ,the   
degrading picture of womankind as       
depicted in the ,old ,testament is well 
known to anyone who has glanced through 
this storehouse of mythology4 ,it would 
be well for the multitude of devout     

female adherents of all creeds to take  
the time1 just a little of the time they
 give to the plight of the poor1        
benighted heathen and read some of the  
passages in the ,old ,testament dealing 
with their lot4 ,the entire history of  
woman under the administration of these 
heaven-made laws is a record of her     
serviture and humility4  ,in the #bdth  
chapter of ,deuteronomy we find the     
right of divorce given to the husband4  
,let him write her a bill of divorcement
 and give it in her hand and send her   
out of his house4 ,the discarded wife   
must acquiesce to divine justice4 ,but  
if the wife is displeased1 is there any 
justice8 ,under no clause of the        
,divorce ,law could the wife have a     
divorce on her part4 ,none but the      
husband could put her asunder from him4 
,in the #bb;d chapter of ,deuteronomy is
 enacted the law for ,test of           
,virginity1 which states that1 ,if any  
man take a wife1 and is disappointed in 
her1 and reports1 ',i found her not a   

maid1' then1 her father and mother shall
 bring forth the tokens of the damsel's 
virginity unto the elders of the city in
 the gate4 ,the gynecological elders    
then go into a peeping ,tom's conference
 and ,if virginity be not found for the 
damsel3 ,then they shall bring out the  
damsel to the door of her father's      
house1 and the men of the city shall    
stone her with stones that she die4     
,most probably the male partner in her  
crime was the first to cast the largest 
stone4  ,the law laid down in the #abth 
chapter of ,leviticus may have been     
intended for hygienic purposes but it is
 cruel and degrading to women because it
 assumes that the parturient woman who  
has borne a female child is twice as    
impure as one who has borne a male      
child4  ,the law of jealousies as       
described in the #eth chapter of        
,numbers is a good example of the       
mentality of the writers of this divine 
revelation4 ,god in ,his infinite wisdom
 had caused to be written for ,him1 that

 to test whether a woman has laid       
carnally with another man1 the priest   
shall1 take holy water in an earthen    
vessel1 and of the dust that is on the  
floor of the tabernacle the priest shall
 take and put it in the water 444 the   
bitter water that causeth the curse1 and
 shall cause the woman to drink the     
water4 ,the divine revelation then      
continues with1 if she be defiled1 her  
belly shall swell and her thigh shall   
rot4  ,but after all1 ,god did not know 
that in the dust of the ,tabernacle     
sprawled the germs of ,dysentery1       
,cholera1 and ,tuberculosis1 and a few  
other such mild infections4 ,or did the 
,divine ,father know that even a        
self-respecting germ could not inhabit  
the filthy floor of the ,tabernacle8    
,consequently1 it is not to be wondered 
at that in the good old days of the     
old-fashioned woman1 the acme of        
hospitality was the giving of wife or   
daughter to a visitor for the night4 ,it
 was not religion that put an end to    

this barbarous custom2 it was the       
advance of civilization2 not the        
religious force1 but the place rational 
thinking assumed in the life of people4 
,the following is a description of a    
religious riot which took place in      
,alexandria during the early days of the
 ,church3 ,among the many victims of    
these unhappy tumults was ,hypatia1 a   
maiden not more distinguished for her   
beauty than for her learning and her    
virtues4 ,her father was ,theon1 the    
illustrious mathematician who had early 
initiated his daughter in the mysteries 
of philosophy4 ,the classic groves of   
,athens and the schools of ,alexandria  
equally applauded her attainments and   
listened to the pure music of her lips4 
,she respectfully declined the tender   
attentions of lovers1 but1 raised to the
 chair of ,gamaliel1 suffered youth and 
age1 without preference or favor1 to sit
 indiscriminately at her feet4 ,her fame
 and increasing popularity ultimately   
excited the jealousy of ,st4 ,cyril1 at 

that time the ,bishop of ,alexandria1   
and her friendship for his antagonist1  
,orestes1 the prefect of the city1      
entailed on her devoted head the        
crushing weight of his enmity4 ,in her  
way through the city1 her chariot was   
surrounded by his creatures1 headed by a
 crafty and savage fanatic named ,peter 
the ,reader1 and the young and innocent 
woman was dragged to the ground1        
stripped of her garments1 paraded naked 
through the streets1 and then torn limb 
from limb on the steps of the           
,cathedral4 ,the still warm flesh was   
scraped from her bones with             
oyster-shells1 and the bleeding         
fragments thrown into a furnace1 so that
 not an atom of the beautiful virgin    
should escape destruction4 ,the cruelty 
of man when spurred on by the mania of  
religious zeal6  ,in more historic times
 there are numerous instances of the    
tyranny exercised over women by the     
feudal system4 ,feudalism1 composed as  
it was of military ideas and            

ecclesiastical traditions1 exercised the
 well known rights of seigniory4 ,these 
rights comprised a jurisdiction which is
 now unprintable1 and had even the power
 to deprive woman of life itself4  ,a   
history of the licentiousness of the    
monks and the early popes would fill a  
great number of volumes2 and indeed1    
many are the volumes which have been    
devoted to this subject4 ,it will       
suffice to point out only a few         
representative incidents4 ,in #abei1    
,alexander ,,iv tried to disrupt the    
shameful union between concubines and   
the clergy4 ,henry ,,iii1 ,bishop of    
,liege1 was such a fatherly sort of     
individual that he had sixty-five       
natural children6 ,william1 ,bishop of  
,padreborn1 in #adaj1 although          
successful in reducing such powerful    
enemies as the ,archbishop of ,cologne1 
and the ,count of ,cloves by fire and   
sword1 was powerless against the        
dissolute morals of his own monks1 who  
were chiefly engaged in the corruption  

of women4 ,indeed1 the ,swiss clergy in 
#abcj1 frankly stated that they were    
flesh and blood1 unequal to the task of 
living like angels4 ,the ,council of    
,cologne1 in #acjg1 tried in vain to    
give the nuns a chance to live virtuous 
lives2 to protect them from priestly    
seduction4 ,conrad1 ,bishop of          
,wurzburg1 in #aeba1 accused his priests
 of habitual gluttony1 drunkenness1     
gambling1 quarrelling1 and lust4        
,erasmus warned his clergy against      
concubinage4 ,the ,abbot of ,st4 ,pilazo
 de ,antealtarin was proved by competent
 witnesses to have no less than seventy 
concubines4 ,the old and wealthy ,abbey 
of ,st4 ,albans was little more than a  
den of prostitutes1 with whom the monks 
lived openly and avowedly4 ,the ,duke of
 ,nuremburg1 in #aebb1 was concerned    
with the clerical immunity of monks who 
night and day preyed upon the virtue of 
the wives and daughters of the laity4   
,the ,church openly carried on a sale of
 indulgences in lust to ecclesiastics   

which finally took the form of a tax4   
,the ,bishop of ,utrecht in #acdg issued
 an order prohibiting the admittance of 
men to nunneries4 ,in ,spain1 conditions
 became so intolerable that the         
communities forced their priests to     
select concubines so that the wives and 
daughters would be safe from the ravages
 of the clergy4  ,the torture1 the      
maiming1 and the murder of ,elgira by   
,dunstan illustrates further1 amongst   
thousands and thousands of similar      
bloody deeds1 the diabolical brutality  
of superstition perpetuated in the name 
of ,christianity upon women in the      
earlier centuries of our epoch4 ,indeed1
 religious superstition always has      
contrived to rob1 to pester1 to deceive1
 and to degrade women4 7,bell3 ,women   
from ,bondage to ,freedom47  ,during the
 ,middle ,ages1 the ages in which the   
,church was in complete domination of   
all forms of endeavor1 the status of    
woman was no better than the general    
conditions of the time4 ,this ,age of   

,faith is characterized by the violence 
and knavery that covered the whole      
country1 the plagues and famines that   
decimated towns and villages every few  
years1 the flood of spurious and        
indecent relics1 the degradation of the 
clergy and monks1 the slavery of the    
serfs1 the daily brutalities of the     
ordeal and the torture1 the course and  
bloody pastimes1 the insecurity of life1
 the triumphant ravages of disease1 the 
check of scientific inquiry and a       
hundred other features of medieval life4
 7,joseph ,mc,cabe3 ,religion of        
,woman47  ,the ,church was chiefly      
responsible for the terrible            
persecutions inflicted on women on the  
ground of witchcraft and this must be   
taken into calculation when one         
considers what woman owes to religion4  
,the ,reformation reduced woman to the  
position of a mere breeder of children4 
,during the sway of ,puritanism woman   
was a poor1 benighted being1 a human    
toad under the harrow of a pious        

imbecility4  ,the pioneers in the       
,modern ,woman ,movement in this country
 were1 of course1 ,mrs4 ,stanton1 ,mrs4 
,gage1 and ,miss ,susan ,b4 ,anthony4   
,in their ,history of ,woman ,suffrage  
they comment on the vicious opposition  
which the early workers encountered in  
,new ,york4 ,throughout this protracted 
and disgraceful assault on ,american    
womanhood the clergy baptised every new 
insult and act of injustice in the name 
of the ,christian religion1 and         
uniformly asked ,god's blessing on      
proceedings that would have put to shame
 an assembly of ,hottentots4  ,and while
 the clergy either remained silent or   
heaped abuse on this early movement1    
such freethinkers as ,robert ,owen1     
,jeremy ,bentham1 ,george ,jacob        
,holyoake1 and ,john ,stuart ,mill in   
,england entered the fray wholeheartedly
 in behalf of the emancipation of woman4
 ,in ,france it was ,michelet and       
,george ,sand that came to their aid4   
,in ,germany it was ,max ,sterner1      

,bchner1 ,marx1 ,engels1 and            
,liebknecht4 ,in ,scandinavia it was    
,ibsen and ,bjrnson4  ,the battle was   
begun by freethinkers in defiance of the
 clergy and it was only when the        
inevitable conquest of this movement was
 manifest that any considerable number  
of clergy came to the aid of this       
progressive movement4 ,the righting of  
the wrongs imposed on womankind         
therefore had been started not only     
without the aid of the churches but in  
face of their determined opposition4 ,it
 was not the clergy that discovered the 
injustice that had been done to women   
throughout the centuries1 and when it   
was finally pointed out to them by      
sceptics1 it was the rare ecclesiastic  
that could see it so and attempt to     
right the wrong4  ,r4 ,h4 ,bell1 in     
tracing this struggle of woman in her   
publication1 ,woman from ,bondage to    
,freedom1 has this pertinent remark to  
make4 ,if there are any personal rights 
in this world over which ,church and    

,state should have no control1 it is the
 sexual right of a woman to say1 ',yes' 
or ',no4' ,these and similar rights are 
so deeply imbedded in natural morality  
that no clear-headed1 clean-hearted     
person would wish to controvert them4444
 ,enforced motherhood1 through marriage 
or otherwise1 is a mixed form of        
slavery1 voluntary motherhood is the    
glory of a free soul4  ,in the age-long 
struggle for freedom1 woman's most      
rigorous antagonist has always been the 
,church4     ,,chapter ,,xviii  ,,the   
,,philosophers ,,and ,,the ,,great      
,,illusion      ,but the powers of man1 
so far as experience and analogy can    
guide     us1 are unlimited2 nor are we 
possessed of any evidence which         
authorizes us to assign even an         
imaginary boundary at which the         
human intellect will1 of necessity1 be  
brought to a stand4      ,,buckle4      
,there has been an effort made in       
certain religious publications to imply 
that there is a dearth of thought and   

thinkers beyond the pale of theism4 ,the
 subsequent examination of the          
theological beliefs of great minds will 
show that there has never been a lack of
 brilliant thinkers who have not sought 
truth apart from the dominant faith of  
their age4 ,it was ,socrates1 ,i        
believe1 who first asked if it was not a
 base superstition that mere numbers    
will give wisdom4 ,granting this truth1 
it certainly cannot be claimed that the 
philosophers of any time constituted a  
majority of any population1 nor that the
 philosopher1 as such1 was not greatly  
in advance of the mental status of the  
populace of his particular age4 ,it     
would seem appropriate to briefly       
comment on the opinions of the          
philosophers1 both ancient and modern1  
concerning their views on man's giant   
shadow1 hailed divine4  ,in former ages1
 philosophy was the handmaiden of       
theology4 ,from the time of ,socrates   
and ,plato1 and throughout the medieval 
ages1 the foremost task of the          

philosopher seemed to be to attempt the 
proof of the existence and nature of    
,god1 and the immortality of the soul4  
,the leading thinkers of the seventeenth
 century1 ,hobbes1 ,descartes1 ,spinoza1
 ,leibnitz1 and ,malebranche1 liberated 
philosophy from its bondage to theology4
 ,the criticism of ,kant of the         
philosophical foundations of belief     
destroyed the theological proofs1 and   
modern thinkers now spend little time on
 the question of the existence and      
nature of ,god and the soul4  ,modern   
philosophy has been completely          
secularized1 and it is a rare occasion  
to find a philosopher dwelling on the   
problems of ,god and immortality4 ,this 
question in philosophy1 as in all other 
branches of thought1 is utterly         
irrelevant and at present there is less 
insistence on ,god and more on the      
world1 man1 morals1 and the conditions  
of social life4  ,it cannot be denied   
that we are under a heavy obligation    
intellectually to the ,greek            

philosophers4 ,and it may be that the   
fruitful efforts of those minds were    
largely due to their unhampered         
intellectual freedom4 ,they had no holy 
books and few authorities to check their
 free speculation and hence these ,greek
 thinkers furnish the first instance of 
intellectual freedom1 from which arose  
their intelligent criticism and         
speculation4 ,they discovered skepticism
 in the higher and proper significance  
of the word1 and this was their supreme 
contribution to human thought4 7,james  
,harvey ,robinson3 ,the ,mind ,in ,the  
,making47  ,we know the teachings of    
,socrates only through his disciple     
,plato1 as ,socrates wrote nothing      
himself4 ,from this source we gather    
that ,socrates firmly upheld the right  
and necessity of free thought4 ,he was  
mainly a moralist and reformer1 and     
attempted to prove the existence of ,god
 by finding evidence of design in       
nature4 ,he rejected the crude religious
 ideas of his nation1 was opposed to    

anthropomorphism1 but considered it his 
duty to conform publicly to this belief4
 ,in his old age1 he was charged with   
rejecting the gods of the state1 and was
 sentenced to death4  ,the philosophy of
 ,plato has given rise to diverse       
interpretations and there are those who1
 on reading the ,dialogues1 believe that
 it is not amiss to state that in       
certain utterances there is ground to   
hold that ,plato argued for the         
pragmatic value of a belief in ,god and 
personal immortality2 that he does not  
stress the truth of the matter1 but     
argues mainly for the benefit which the 
,state derives from the belief2 that    
such theistic beliefs cannot be         
demonstrated1 and may well be but a     
craving and a hope1 yet it will be of no
 harm to believe4 ,he inferred the      
existence of ,god from what he          
considered the intelligence and design  
manifested in natural objects4 ,mainly1 
however1 ,plato's theism was founded    
upon his doctrine of a universe of      

ideas1 and as no one today holds that   
ideas are self-existing realities1 the  
foundation of his theism is destroyed4  
,james ,harvey ,robinson1 in his ,mind  
in ,the ,making1 discusses the influence
 of ,plato1 and remarks1 ,plato made    
terms with the welter of things1 but    
sought relief in the conception of      
supernal models1 eternal in the heavens1
 after which all things were imperfectly
 fashioned4 ,he confessed that he could 
not bear to accept a world which was    
like a leaky pot or a man running at the
 nose4 ,in short1 he ascribed the       
highest form of existence to ideals and 
abstractions4 ,this was a new and       
sophisticated republication of savage   
animism4 ,it invited lesser minds than  
his to indulge in all sorts of noble    
vagueness and impertinent jargon which  
continue to curse our popular           
discussions of human affairs4 ,he       
consecrated one of the chief foibles of 
the human mind1 and elevated it to a    
religion4  ,the philosophy of ,aristotle

 is commonly known to be the reverse of 
,plato's4 ,plato started with           
universals1 the very existence of which 
was a matter of faith1 and from these he
 descended to particulars4 ,aristotle1  
on the other hand1 argued from          
particulars to universals1 and this     
inductive method was the true beginning 
of science4 ,the accumulated knowledge  
of his age did not furnish him facts    
enough upon which to build and he had to
 resort to speculation4 ,it does not    
detract from the stupendous achievement 
of this man that the clergy of the      
,middle ,ages1 in control of the few    
isolated centers of learning1 looked    
upon the philosophy of ,aristotle as    
final and considered his works as       
semi-sacred1 and in their immersion in  
un-reason and unreality1 exalted as     
immutable and infallible the absurdities
 in the speculations of a mind limited  
to the knowledge of centuries before    
theirs4  ,in the attempt to explain     
plant and animal life1 ,aristotle       

formulated the theory that a special    
form of animating principle was         
involved4 ,the lan vital of ,bergson and
 the theory of ,joad are modern         
reiterations of this conception4        
,aristotle is not quite consistent when 
he attempts to give us his theistic     
beliefs4 ,at times ,god is1 for him1 a  
mysterious spirit that never does       
anything and has not any desire or will4
 ,elsewhere1 he conceives ,god as pure  
energy2 a prime mover unmoved4 ,certain 
modern physicists still cling to this   
,aristotelian god4 ,this conception of a
 deity was far from the beliefs of his  
age1 and it is not strange that         
,aristotle was charged with impiety and 
with having taught that prayer and      
sacrifice were of no avail4 ,he fled    
from ,athens and shortly afterwards died
 in exile4  ,these three supreme ,greek 
thinkers1 ,socrates1 ,plato1 and        
,aristotle1 have not contributed a      
single argument for the existence of a  
supreme being which is now not          

discredited4 ,socrates relied on the now
 outmoded argument from design2 and only
 in a greatly modified form are the     
arguments of ,plato and ,aristotle      
accepted by modern theists4 ,holding    
such heretical views in an age when     
history was a frail fabric of legends1  
and the scientific explanation of nature
 in its extreme infancy1 what would     
their views be today8  ,in the          
consideration of the ,greek thinkers of 
lesser importance one finds that they   
were continually storming against the   
religious conceptions of the populace4  
,the philosophers were ever unpopular   
with the credulous4 ,damon and          
,anaxagoras were banished2 ,aspasia was 
impeached for blasphemy and the tears of
 ,pericles alone saved her2 ,socrates   
was put to death2 ,plato was obliged to 
reserve pure reason for a chosen few1   
and to adulterate it with revelation for
 the generality of his disciples2       
,aristotle fled from ,athens for his    
life1 and became the tutor of           

,alexander4 7,winwood ,reade3 ,the      
,martyrdom of ,man47  ,anaxagoras1 the  
friend and master of ,pericles1         
,euripides1 and ,socrates1 was accused  
by the superstitious ,athenians of      
atheism and impiety to the gods4 ,he was
 condemned to death and barely escaped  
this fate through the influence of      
,pericles2 which resulted in the        
accusation of atheism against ,pericles4
 ,euripides was accused of heresy1 and  
,aeschylus was condemned to be stoned to
 death for blasphemy and was saved from 
this fate by his brother ,aminias4 ,the 
philosophy of ,parmenides was distinctly
 pantheistic1 and ,pythagoras1 who      
attempted to purify the religion of the 
,greeks and free it from its absurdities
 and superstitions1 was exiled for his  
scepticism4  ,democritus1 a materialist 
and atheist of #bejj years ago1         
formulated a mechanical view of         
phenomena in accordance with which      
everything that happens is due to       
physical impacts4 ,such a materialism   

was a great liberation from             
superstition2 and had it survived in its
 integrity1 the path of ,european wisdom
 would have been vastly different from  
what it was4 ,what the path would have  
been1 we are beginning to see to-day1   
for since the nineteenth century we have
 been treading it more or less          
consistently but by no means so         
gallantly and courageously as           
,democritus4 7,g4 ,boas3 ,the           
,adventures of ,human ,thought47        
,democritus and the ,epicureans strove  
to deliver men from their two chief     
apprehensions3 the fear of the gods1 and
 the fear of death2 and in so doing     
rejected the religious beliefs and      
substituted a rational and scientific   
conception of the universe4  ,it was    
,xenophanes1 the ,voltaire of ,greece1  
who brought to the attention of his     
countrymen the discovery that man       
created the gods in his own image4 ,he  
attacked the conceptions of the ,greek  
deities with these words1 ,mortals deem 

that the gods are begotten as they are1 
and have clothes like theirs1 and voice 
and form 444 ,yes1 and if oxen and      
horses or lions had hands1 and could    
paint with their hands1 and produce     
works of art as men do1 horses would    
paint the forms of the gods like horses1
 and oxen like oxen1 and make their     
bodies in the image of their several    
kinds4444 ,the ,ethiopians make their   
gods black and snub-nosed2 the          
,thracians say theirs have blue eyes and
 red hair4  ,considering ,greek         
philosophy in its entirety1 we see that 
it was naturalistic rather than         
supernaturalistic1 and rationalistic    
rather than mystical4 ,these gifted men 
saw no clear indication for the         
existence of a supreme being2 very few  
of them speak of the deity in the role  
of ,providence and fewer still believed 
in personal immortality4  ,professor    
,boas1 in contrasting ,asiatic mythology
 with ,greek philosophy1 remarks3 ,the  
,asiatic myths assumed the existence of 

beings beyond the world1 not subject to 
mundane laws1 who made and controlled   
the course of events4 ,there was no     
reason why they should have made a      
world4 ,they seemed to be living as     
divine a life without it as with it4    
,the question was one which persisted in
 ,asiatic thought1 and when             
,christianity became dominant in        
,europe1 much of its theologians' time  
was spent in answering it4 ,the only    
plausible answer then was that ,god made
 the world because ,he felt like it4    
,for no reason could be given           
sufficiently compelling to sway the will
 of the ,omnipotent4 ,but such an answer
 was unsatisfactory to the ,greek4 ,in  
his philosophy all this is changed4 ,no 
god steps out of the machine to initiate
 cosmic history4 ,the ,first ,cause is a
 physical substance1 some material      
thing1 which operates by the laws of its
 own nature4 ,its every movement is     
theoretically open to the scrutiny of   
reason4 ,and hence1 a scientific rather 

than a religious answer can be given to 
every question4  ,at the beginning of   
the ,christian era1 the cultured ,romans
 were stoics or epicureans4 ,the poet   
,lucretius was an epicurean who regarded
 the belief in the gods as a product of 
the terrors of primitive man and        
recommended that the mind should be     
emancipated from the fear of the gods   
and argued against the immortality of   
the soul4 ,seneca1 ,epictetus1 and      
,marcus ,aurelius were stoics4 ,cicero  
insinuates that the gods are only       
poetical creations1 that the popular    
doctrine of punishment in a world to    
come is only an idle fable1 and is      
uncertain whether the soul is immortal4 
,seneca wrote against the religion of   
his country1 and the philosophy of      
cultured ,romans of the time of the     
physician ,galen tended towards atheism4
  ,the prime factor of ,greek philosophy
 was the insistence on intelligence and 
knowledge1 and by these means it reached
 its pinnacle of reasoning4 ,the blight 

that exterminated all scientific        
progress1 with the fall of the ,roman   
,empire1 carried with it the neglect of 
the ,greek thinkers4 ,similar to the    
retrogression of scientific thought1    
traced in former chapters1 is the       
corresponding retrogression in          
philosophic thought4 ,in place of the   
free inquiry of the ,greeks we see      
arising the theology of ,clement of     
,alexandria1 ,origen1 ,st4 ,augustine1  
and finally that of ,st4 ,thomas        
,aquinas4 ,at the time of ,st4          
,augustine most of the cultural ,greek  
writings had disappeared in western     
,europe4 ,the greatest store of ,greek  
thought was in the hands of the ,arab   
scholars and led to a marked scepticism1
 as we see manifested in the writings of
 the ,spanish ,moors4  ,it is           
significant that during the age of faith
 in ,europe no philosopher of merit     
arose1 and the only philosophy permitted
 was the puerile                        
,scholastic-,aristotelic4 ,this         

scholastic philosophy1 hemmed in between
 metaphysics and theology1 sought to    
reconcile ,plato1 ,plotinus1 and        
,aristotle with the needs of orthodoxy1 
and split hairs over subtle essences and
 entities4 ,francis ,bacon impeaches1 in
 this manner1 the medieval philosophers3
 ,having sharp and strong wits1 and     
abundance of leisure1 and small variety 
of reading1 but their wits being shut up
 in the cells of a few authors1 as their
 persons were shut up in the cells of   
monasteries and colleges1 and knowing   
little history1 either of nature or     
time1 did out of no great quantity of   
matter and infinite agitation of wit    
spin out unto us those laborious webs of
 learning which are extant in their     
books4  ,the sole preoccupation of      
medieval philosophy seemed to be        
conjectures as to what would happen to  
man after death1 and the entire system  
of thought was based on authority4 ,the 
medieval philosopher turned in disdain  
from the arduous path of investigation  

of actual phenomena and confidently     
believed that he could find truth by    
easy reliance upon revelation and the   
elaboration of dogmas4 ,a few brave     
minds rebelled against this unnatural   
imprisonment of the intellect1 with the 
usual consequences4 ,peter ,abelard was 
condemned for his scepticism at a       
council at ,sens in #aadj2 the          
philosophy of ,john ,scotus ,erigena was
 condemned for its pantheistic ideas by 
a council at ,sens in #abbe2 and the    
pantheistic views of ,bruno had much to 
do with his martyrdom in the year #afjj4
  ,montaigne1 the pioneer of modern     
scepticism1 gave voice to his repugnance
 for dogmas in his brilliant ,essays1 in
 which he stated that all religious     
opinions are the result of custom2 and  
that he doubted if1 out of the immense  
number of religious opinions1 there were
 any means of ascertaining which were   
accurate4 ,bacon1 ,hobbes1 ,locke1 and  
,descartes were the inaugurators of a   
school of thought which is characterized

 by its practical spirit2 and while     
these men professed theistic beliefs1   
their systems of thought had done much1 
when applied and amplified by their     
followers1 to undermine that belief4    
,these men furnished the source of a    
later agnosticism4  ,thomas ,hobbes     
agreed with ,bacon and ,galileo that all
 knowledge starts from experience1 and1 
carrying out the inductive method of    
,bacon1 he produced his ,leviathan in   
#afea4 ,it was promptly attacked by the 
clergy of every country in ,europe4     
,hobbes says of the immortality of the  
soul1 ,it is a belief grounded upon     
other men's sayings that they knew it   
supernaturally2 or that they knew those 
who knew them1 that knew others that    
knew it supernaturally4  ,locke         
concerned himself with a philosophic    
inquiry into the nature of the mind     
itself1 and was looked upon as a        
destroyer of the faith4 ,descartes based
 his philosophy on the rejection of     
authority in favor of human reason for  

which his works were honored by being   
placed on the ,index in #affc4 ,hume1   
with the publication of the highly      
heretical ,treatise on ,human ,nature1  
threw consternation into the ranks of   
the theists4 ,his theory of knowledge   
played havoc with the old arguments for 
belief in ,god and immortality of the   
soul4 ,his works were widely read and   
were instrumental in leading to the     
philosophical agnosticism of the        
nineteenth century4  ,spinoza's         
religious views seemed in his time      
little short of atheism and brought him 
the hostility of both ,jews and         
,christians1 to which was added the     
excommunication from the synagogue4 ,in 
his philosophy ,god and nature are      
equivalent terms and it is pantheistic  
only in the sense that if man is to have
 a god at all1 nature must be that god1 
and whatever man considers godlike must 
be found in nature4 ,spinoza recognizes 
no supernatural realm and denies the    
survival of personal memory4 ,professor 

,g4 ,boas1 in his ,adventures of ,human 
,thought1 discusses the attitude of     
public opinion of the time of ,spinoza4 
,he was the arch-atheist1 the           
materialist1 the subverter of all that  
was held most dear by the reigning      
powers4 ,it was only after the ,french  
,revolution that he came into his own   
when certain ,germans1 captivated by    
,neo-,platonism1 emphasized the         
pantheistic element in him4 ,but by then
 ,christianity had ceased to be a       
dominant intellectual force and had     
become what it is today1 a folk belief4 
,in the ,tractus ,theologico-,politicus1
 ,spinoza states3 ,when people declare1 
as all are ready to do1 that the ,bible 
is the ,word of ,god teaching men true  
blessedness and the way of salvation1   
they evidently do not mean what they    
say1 for the masses take no pains at all
 to live according to ,scripture1 and we
 see most people endeavoring to hawk    
about their own commentaries as the word
 of ,god1 and giving their best efforts1

 under the guise of religion1 to        
compelling others to think as they do4  
,we generally see1 ,i say1 theologians  
anxious to learn how to wring their     
inventions and sayings out of the sacred
 text1 and to fortify them with divine  
authority4  ,in ,france1 ,pierre ,bayle 
cleverly satirized the absurdity of     
dogma1 and ,la ,mettrie1 an army        
physician1 was exiled for the           
publication of his ,man a ,machine4 ,he 
insisted that if atheism were generally 
accepted society would be happier4 ,his 
views were taken up and expanded by such
 atheists as ,helvetius1 d',holbach1    
d',alembert1 and ,diderot1 who taught   
that morality should be founded on      
sociology and not on theology4 ,the     
publication of their ,encyclopdia       
incurred the fierce opposition of the   
,church4 ,of ,voltaire's anti-clericism 
little need be said1 except to recall   
our debt to his victory over            
ecclesiasticism and superstition4 ,his  
assertion that a fanaticism composed of 

superstition and ignorance has been the 
sickness of all the centuries1 still    
holds too great an extent of truth4 ,his
 denial of miracles1 the supernatural   
efficacy of prayer1 and the immortality 
of the soul earned for him the undying  
enmity of the clergy4 ,condorcet1       
another deist1 was the successor of     
,voltaire in the ,encyclopdic warfare4  
,the ,critique of ,pure ,reason of ,kant
 demolished the ontological and the     
cosmological arguments for the existence
 of ,god and showed the weakness in the 
teleological argument4 ,he demonstrated 
that all the current arguments for ,god 
and immortality2 the entire basis of    
rational proof of religious beliefs2    
were invalid4 ,the theists protested    
vehemently1 and showed their superiority
 by calling their dogs ,immanuel ,kant4 
,in his ,critique of ,practical ,reason1
 however1 he went on to restore the     
credit of religion through the moral    
sense1 the ,categorical ,imperative1    
and1 as certain commentators have       

stated1 after having excluded ,god from 
the cosmos1 he attempted to find ,him   
again in ethics4 ,holding that the moral
 sense is innate and not derived from   
experience1 he reduced the truth of     
religion to moral faith4 ,kant believed 
that he found a divine command in his   
own conscience2 but the science of      
ethics now gives a natural account of   
moral laws and sentiments4 ,the study of
 the evolution of our moral ideas has1  
today1 destroyed ,kant's theory of an   
innate and absolute moral sense4  ,when 
,franklin showed the nature of          
lightning1 the voice of ,god was        
displaced from that of thunder4 ,the    
sciences of ethics and psychology1 like 
modern ,franklins1 show plainly that    
conscience is no more the voice of ,god 
than is thunder4 ,schopenhauer1         
commenting on ,kantian theology1 offers 
the suggestion that ,kant was really a  
sceptic1 but became frightened when he  
contemplated what he thought would      
happen to public morals if belief were  

to be denied to the masses4 ,nietzsche  
speaks of ,kant3 ,with the aid of his   
concept of ',practical ,reason1' he     
produced a special kind of reason1 for  
use on occasions when reason cannot     
function3 namely1 when the sublime      
command1 ',thou shalt1' resounds4 ,in   
his old age ,kant became more bold1 and 
perhaps voiced his true views1 for we   
find that in ,religion ,within the      
,limits of ,pure ,reason1 he is actively
 antagonistic to ecclesiasticism1 so    
much so that1 for publishing this work1 
he was censured by the ,prussian king1  
who wrote1 ,our highest person has been 
greatly displeased to observe how you   
misuse your philosophy to undermine and 
destroy many of the most important and  
fundamental doctrines of the ,holy      
,scriptures and of ,christianity4       
,indeed1 many a man approaching ,kant   
with a firm theistic belief finds his   
belief somewhat shaken by ,kantian      
logic4  ,schopenhauer's ,will has       
nothing in common with the ,god-idea as 

commonly held1 and he was bitterly      
anti-theistic4 ,in a dialogue entitled  
,religion1 he places these words in the 
mouth of his character ,philalethes3 ,a 
certain amount of general ignorance is  
the condition of all religions1 the     
element in which alone they can exist4  
,and as soon as astronomy1 natural      
science1 geology1 history1 the knowledge
 of countries and peoples1 have spread  
their light broadcast1 and philosophy   
finally is permitted to say a word1     
every faith founded on miracles and     
revelation must disappear2 and          
philosophy takes its place4  ,hegel's   
deification of thought or reason left no
 room for personal immortality1 and his 
query1 ,do you expect a tip for having  
nursed your ailing mother1 and refrained
 from poisoning your brother8 is well   
known4 ,a vague conception of a deity   
whose existence can be proved1 if it can
 be proved at all1 only by the abstruse 
arguments of a ,hegel is not a god of   
practical service to the theists4       

,schelling was pantheistic1 and         
,feuerbach played havoc with the        
philosophic evidence for ,god and       
immortality and treated all religions as
 a dream and an illusion4  ,herbert     
,spencer1 ,james ,mill1 ,j4 ,s4 ,mill1  
and ,huxley popularized the agnostic    
standpoint4 ,spencer in his ,first      
,principles argues in this manner3      
,those who cannot conceive of a         
self-existent ,universe1 and therefore  
assume a creator as the source of the   
,universe1 take for granted that they   
can conceive a self-existent creator4   
,the mystery which they recognize in    
this great fact surrounding them on     
every side1 they transfer to an alleged 
source of this great fact1 and then     
suppose that they have solved the       
mystery4 ,but they delude themselves4   
,self-existence is inconceivable2 and   
this holds true whatever be the nature  
of the object of which it is predicated4
 ,whoever agrees that the atheistic     
hypothesis is untenable because it      

involves the impossible idea of         
self-existence1 must perforce admit that
 the theistic hypothesis is untenable if
 it contains the same impossible        
idea4444 ,if religion and science are to
 be reconciled1 the basis of            
reconciliation must be this deepest1    
widest1 and most certain of all facts1  
that the ,power which the ,universe     
manifests to us is inscrutable4         
,nietzsche1 the great liberator of      
modern thought1 vigorously opposed      
religious morality1 the influence of    
,christianity1 and all religious        
beliefs4 ,when the natural consequences 
of an action1 he wrote1 are no longer   
looked upon as natural1 but are         
considered to be produced by the        
phantasms of superstition1 by ',god1'   
',ghosts1' and ',souls1' and appear as  
'moral' consequences1 as rewards1       
punishments1 guidance and revelation1   
then the whole basis of knowledge is    
destroyed2 and the greatest possible    
crime against humanity has been         

committed4  ,william ,james1 claimed as 
a supporter of religion1 argues that our
 inner experience makes us cognizant of 
a spiritual world4 ,the advance of      
psychological research does not deal    
kindly with this contention1 and such   
works as ,leuba's ,psychology of        
,religious ,mysticism give a rational   
explanation of the mystic state4        
,moreover1 ,james did not give his      
support to monotheism4 ,that vast       
literature of proofs of ,god's          
existence1 he stated1 drawn from the    
order of nature1 which a century ago    
seemed so overwhelmingly convincing1    
today does little more than gather dust 
in the libraries1 for the simple reason 
that our generation has ceased to       
believe in the kind of ,god it argued   
for4 ,whatever sort of ,god may be1 we  
know today that he is nevermore that    
mere external inventor of 'contrivances'
 intended to make manifest his 'glory'  
in which our great-grandfathers took    
such satisfaction4  ,james claimed to be

 a pluralist in the sense that there are
 several or many spiritual beings above 
us1 and his writings lead one to believe
 that he was not convinced that man1 as 
a distinct personality1 survives the    
grave4  ,royce rejected all the current 
arguments for ,god and immortality and  
argues for the mysticism of internal    
experience4 ,eucken offers no support to
 theologians2 and ,bergson does not seem
 to express a clear belief in a personal
 god or personal immortality4  ,coming  
to the more popular of contemporary     
philosophers one finds that1 just as the
 ,greek philosophers reasoned outside   
the pale of the then held beliefs which 
were theistic1 so do these modern       
philosophers reach conclusions that are 
outside the pale of organized religion  
of today4 ,george ,santayana is a       
materialist and sceptic who1 in his     
,reason in ,religion1 reveals his       
scepticism and frowns upon personal     
immortality4 ,it is pathetic1 he        
comments1 to observe how lowly are the  

motives that religion1 even the highest1
 attributes to the deity1 and from what 
a hard-pressed and bitter existence they
 have been drawn4 ,to be given the best 
morsel1 to be remembered1 to be praised1
 to be obeyed blindly and punctiliously1
 these have been thought points of honor
 with the gods1 for which they would    
dispense favors and punishments on the  
most exhorbitant scale4444 ,the idea    
that religion contains a literal1 not a 
symbolic1 representation of truth and   
life is simply an impossible idea4      
,whoever entertains it has not come     
within the region of profitable         
philosophizing on that subject4         
,bertrand ,russell1 considered by some  
the keenest philosophical mind of the   
present age1 is an agnostic who         
maintains ,the objections to religion   
are of two sorts1 intellectual and      
moral4 ,the intellectual objection is   
that there is no reason to suppose any  
religion true2 the moral objection is   
that religious precepts date from a time

 when men were more cruel than they are 
now1 and therefore tend to perpetuate   
inhumanities which the moral conscience 
of the age would otherwise outgrow4     
,the ,italian philosopher ,benedetto    
,croce is an atheist who states that    
philosophy removes from religion all    
reason for existing4 ,c4 ,e4 ,m4 ,joad  
is a young ,english philosopher who     
repeatedly predicts the disappearance in
 the near future of the present forms of
 theistic beliefs4 ,m4 ,c4 ,otto holds  
to ,an affirmative faith in the         
non-existence of ,god4 ,william ,p4     
,montague discards all organized        
religions for a ,promethean ,religion4  
,john ,dewey is a naturalistic          
philosopher who will have nothing to do 
with supernatural causation and insists 
that all things be explained by their   
place and function in the environment4  
,his philosophy is permeated with the   
secular ideal of control of the external
 world4  ,what consolation does         
organized religion receive from the     

views of such modern philosophers as    
,russell1 ,alexander1 ,joad1 ,croce1    
,santayana1 ,dewey1 ,otto1 ,montague1   
,sellars1 and the ,randalls8 ,the views 
of an intellectual incompetent1 such as 
,bryan was1 are spread widecast1 but few
 know the extent of the scepticism of   
,edison1 ,luther ,burbank1 ,albert      
,einstein1 ,paul ,ehrlich1 ,ernst       
,haeckel1 ,robert ,koch1 ,fridjof       
,nansen1 and ,swante ,arrhenius4 ,what  
consolation can the theists derive from 
the religious views of ,shelley1        
,swinburne1 ,meredith1 ,buchanan1       
,keats1 ,george ,eliot1 ,thomas ,hardy1 
,mark ,twain1 and ,anatole ,france8  ,in
 the not far distant past deism and     
pantheism served as a polite subterfuge 
for atheism4 ,there is a growing        
tendency in this present age to dress   
one's atheistic belief in an evening    
suit1 and for the sake of social        
approbation call such a belief religious
 humanism4 ,a quotation from the        
,associated ,press1 appearing recently  

in one of our magazines1 states the need
 for this new religion as being the     
inadequacy of the religious forms and   
ideas of our fathers1 and the new creed 
to be3  ,religious humanists regard the 
universe as self-existing and not       
created4  ,religion must formulate its  
hopes and plans in the light of the     
scientific spirit and method4  ,the     
distinction between the sacred and      
secular can no longer be maintained4    
,religious humanism considers the       
complete realization of human           
personality to be the end of a man's    
life1 and seeks its development and     
fulfilment in the here and now4  ,in    
place of the old attitudes involved in  
worship and prayer1 the humanist finds  
his religious emotions exprest in a     
heightened sense of personal life and in
 a cooperative effort to promote social 
well-being4  ,there will be no uniquely 
religious emotions and attitudes of the 
kind hitherto associated with belief in 
the supernatural4 ,man will learn to    

face the crises of life in terms of his 
knowledge of their naturalness and      
probability4 ,reasonable and manly      
attitudes will be fostered by education 
and supported custom4  ,we assume that  
humanism will take the path of social   
and mental hygiene1 and discourage      
sentimental and unreal hopes and wishful
 thinking4  ,the goal of humanism is a  
free and universal society in which the 
people voluntarily and intelligently    
cooperate for the common good4  ,the    
time has come for widespread recognition
 of the radical changes in religious    
thoughts throughout the modern world4   
,science and economic change have       
disrupted the old beliefs4  ,religions  
the world over are under the necessity  
of coming to terms with new conditions  
created by a vastly increased knowledge 
and experience4  ,professors ,john      
,dewey1 ,e4 ,a4 ,burtt1 and ,roy ,wood  
,sellars are among the signers of this  
statement4 ,it is an excellent and      
comprehensive statement1 but one is left

 wondering why the name religious       
humanism8 ,it is difficult to become    
enthusiastic when one realizes that     
these men take to themselves the thunder
 of the atheists of the past1 and under 
the misnomer1 religious1 place before   
the public what all atheists of the past
 ages have been preaching4  ,it is most 
gratifying to perceive that such        
distinguished men as signed this        
statement are frank enough to admit the 
extent of the religious revolution1 and 
determined enough to take a hand in the 
clearing away of the dbris that clutters
 the crumbling of all religious creeds4 
,yet it is only fair to point out that  
this statement contains nothing that    
would not be recognized by those        
intrepid atheists of the past1 and      
little more than they urged in their    
time4 ,i refer to those brilliant       
,french atheists ,la ,mettrie1          
,helvetius1 d',holbach1 d',alembert1 and
 ,diderot4     ,,chapter ,,xix  ,,the   
,,doom ,,of ,,religion2 ,,the           

,,necessity ,,of ,,atheism       ,one   
should recall the charge of atheism     
directed against the      keenest       
thinkers of antiquity and the greatest  
of its moral      reformers4 ,but what  
was personal and incidental in the past1
      depending largely upon the genius 
and inspiration of seers and            
leaders1 has now become a social        
movement1 as wide as science4           
,,james ,t4 ,,shotwell4       ,the drift
 from ,god is a movement of events1 a   
propulsion of vital      experience1 not
 a parade of words to be diverted by    
other words4       ,,max ,,carl ,,otto4 
,in the ,babylonian and ,assyrian       
mythologies we have the chief deities as
 ,ishtar1 ,tammuz1 ,baal1 and ,astarte4 
,in the ,phrygian religion we have the  
,goddess ,cybele and her husband ,attis4
 ,among the ,greeks we have the ,goddess
 ,aphrodite and the ,god ,adonis4 ,the  
,persians had their ,mithra4 ,adonis and
 ,attis flourished in ,syria4 ,in the   
,egyptian religion was found the        

,goddess ,isis and the ,god ,osiris4    
,the ,semites have their ,jehovah1 the  
,mohammedans their ,allah1 and the      
,christians the ,goddess ,mary1 the ,god
 the ,father1 and a son ,jesus4         
,christianity has divided itself into   
,catholicism and ,protestantism2 and    
when ,protestantism gave the right of   
interpretation of the ,bible to each    
individual1 there were evolved such     
forms of ,protestantism as ,christian   
,science1 ,holy ,rollerism1 ,seventh    
,day ,adventism1 ,swedenborgianism1 and 
the cults of the ,doukhobors1 the       
,shakers1 the ,mennonites1 the ,dunkards
 and the ,salvation ,army4  ,in the     
early days of the ,church were seen the 
wrangling of sects1 the incomprehensible
 jargon of ,arians1 ,nestorians1        
,eutychians1 ,monotheists1              
,monophysites1 ,mariolatrists1 etc4     
,today we behold the incomprehensible   
jargon of the first-mentioned sects4    
,christ1 born of an immaculate virgin1  
died for mankind1 arose from the dead1  

and ascended into ,heaven4  ,buddha1 who
 lived over #ejj years before ,jesus1   
was born of the ,virgin ,maya1 which is 
the same as ,mary4 ,maya conceived by   
the ,holy ,ghost1 and thus ,buddha was  
of the nature of ,god and man combined4 
,buddha was born on ,december #be1 his  
birth was announced in the heavens by a 
star1 and angels sang4 ,he stood upon   
his feet and spoke at the moment of his 
birth2 at five months of age he sat     
unsupported in the air2 and at the      
moment of his conversion he was attacked
 by a legion of demons4 ,he was visited 
by wise men1 he was baptized1           
transfigured1 performed miracles1 rose  
from the dead1 and on his ascension     
through the air to heaven1 he left his  
footprint on a mountain in ,ceylon4     
,the ,hindu ,savior1 ,krishna1 was born 
of a virgin #fjj years before ,christ4  
,a star shone at his birth which took   
place in a cave4 ,he was adored by      
cowherds who recognized his greatness1  
he performed miracles1 was crucified1   

and is to come to judge the earth4      
,christ died for mankind1--so did       
,buddha and ,krishna4 ,adonis1 ,osiris1 
,horus1 and ,tammuz1 all virgin-born    
gods1 were saviors and suffered death4  
,christ rose from the dead1 so have     
,krishna and ,buddha arisen from the    
dead and ascended into ,heaven4 ,so did 
,lao ,kium1 ,zoroaster1 and ,mithra4  ,a
 star shone in the sky at the births of 
,krishna1 ,rama ,yu1 ,lao ,tsze1 ,moses1
 ,quetzalcoatl1 ,ormuzd1 ,rama1 ,buddha1
 and others4 ,christ was born of a      
virgin1 so was ,krishna and ,buddha4    
,lao ,tsze was also born of a virgin4   
,horus in ,egypt was born of the ,virgin
 ,isis4 ,isis1 with the child ,horus on 
her knee1 was worshiped centuries before
 the ,christian era1 and was appealed to
 under the names of ,our ,lady1 ,queen  
of ,heaven1 ,star of ,heaven1 ,star of  
the ,sea1 ,mother of ,god1 and so forth4
 ,hercules1 ,bacchus1 and ,perseus were 
gods born by mortal mothers4 ,zeus1     
father of the gods1 visited ,semele in  

the form of a thunderstorm and she gave 
birth1 on the #beth of ,december1 to the
 great savior and deliverer1 ,dionysis4 
,mithra was born of a virgin1 in a cave1
 on the #beth of ,december4 ,he was     
buried in a tomb from which he rose     
again4 ,he was called savior and        
mediator and sometimes figured as a     
lamb4 ,osiris was also said to be born  
about the #beth of ,december2 he        
suffered1 died1 and was resurrected4    
,hercules was miraculously conceived    
from a divine father and was everywhere 
invoked as savior4 ,minerva had a more  
remarkable birth than ,eve2 she sprang  
full-armed from the brow of ,jupiter4   
,he did this remarkable feat without    
even losing a rib4  ,the ,chinese ,tien1
 the holy one1 died to save the world4  
,in ,mexico1 ,quetzalcoatl1 the savior1 
was the son of ,chimalman1 the ,virgin  
,queen of ,heaven4 ,he was tempted1     
fasted forty days1 was done to death1   
and his second coming was eagerly looked
 for by the natives4 ,the ,teutonic     

,goddess ,hertha1 was a virgin1 and the 
sacred groves of ,germany contained her 
image with a child in her arms4 ,the    
,scandinavian ,goddess ,frigga was a    
virgin who bore a son1 ,balder1 healer  
and savior of mankind4  ,when one       
considers the similarity of these       
ancient pagan legends and beliefs with  
,christian traditions if one believes   
with ,justin ,martyr1 then indeed the   
,devil must have been a very busy person
 to have caused these pagans to imitate 
for such long ages and in such          
widespread localities the ,christian    
mysteries4 ,indeed1 ,edward ,carpenter  
comments1 ,one has only1 instead of the 
word ',jesus' to read ,dionysis or      
,krishna or ,hercules or ,osiris or     
,attis1 and instead of ',mary' to insert
 ,semele or ,devaki or ,alcmene or      
,neith or ,nona1 and for ,pontius       
,pilate to use the name of any          
terrestrial tyrant who comes into the   
corresponding story1 and lo6 the creed  
fits in all particulars into the rites  

and worship of a pagan ,god4  ,a legend 
stated that ,plato1 born of ,perictione1
 a pure virgin1 suffered an immaculate  
conception through the influences of    
,apollo 7,b4,c4 #dbf74 ,the ,god        
declared to ,ariston1 to whom she was   
about to be married1 the parentage of   
the child4  ,st4 ,dominic1 born ,a4,d4  
#aagj1 was said to be the offspring of  
an immaculate conception4 ,he was free  
from original sin and was regarded as   
the adopted son of the ,virgin ,mary4   
,st4 ,francis1 the compeer of ,st4      
,dominic1 was born ,a4,d4 #aahb4 ,a     
prophetess foretold his birth2 he was   
born in a stable2 angels sang forth     
peace and good will into the air1 and   
one1 in the guise of ,simeon1 bore him  
to baptism4  ,the ,egyptian trinities   
are well known3 thus1 from ,amun by     
,maut proceeds ,khonso2 from ,osiris by 
,isis proceeds ,horus2 from ,neph by    
,sat proceeds ,anouk4 ,the ,egyptians   
had propounded the dogma that there had 
been divine incarnations1 the fall of   

man1 and redemption4  ,in ,india1       
centuries before ,christianity1 we find 
the ,hindu trinity2 ,brahma1 ,vishnu1   
and ,siva4 ,in the ,institutes of ,manu1
 a code of civil law as well as         
religious law1 written about the ninth  
century before ,christ1 is found a      
description of creation1 the nature of  
,god1 and rules for the duty of man in  
every station of life from the moment of
 birth to death4  ,professor ,james ,t4 
,shotwell when speaking of paganism     
reminds us1 ,who of us can appreciate   
antique paganism8 ,the ,gods of ,greece 
or ,rome are for us hardly more than the
 mutilated statues of them in our own   
museums2 pitiable1 helpless objects     
before the scrutiny and comments of a   
passing crowd4 ,venus is an armless     
figure from the ,louvre2 ,dionysos does 
not mean to us divine possession1 the   
gift of tongues1 or immortality2 ,attis 
brings no salvation4 ,but to antiquity  
the 'pagan' cults were no mockery4 ,they
 were as real as ,polynesian heathenism 

or ,christianity to-day4 7,james ,t4    
,shotwell3 ,the ,religious ,revolution  
of ,to-day47  ,it is seen1 therefore1   
that from time immemorial1 man does not 
discover his gods1 but invents them4 ,he
 invents them in the light of his       
experience and endows them with         
capacities that indicate the stage of   
man's mental development4  ,religion is 
not the product of civilized man4 ,man  
inherits his god just as he inherits his
 physical qualities4 ,the idea of a     
supernatural being creating and         
governing this earth is a phantom born  
in the mind of the savage4 ,if it had   
not been born in the early stages of    
man's mental development1 it surely     
would not come into existence now4      
,history proves that as the mind of man 
expands1 it does not discover new gods1 
but that it discards them4 ,it is not   
strange1 therefore1 that there has not  
been advanced a new major religious     
belief in the last #acjj years4 ,all    
modern religious conceptions1 no matter 

how disguised1 find their origin in the 
fear-stricken ignorance of the primitive
 savage4  ,a ,christian will admit that 
the gods of others are man-made1 and    
that their creed is similar to the      
worship of the savage4 ,he looks at     
their gods with the vision of a         
civilized being2 but when he looks at   
his own god1 he forgets his             
civilization1 he relapses centuries of  
time1 and his mental viewpoint is that  
of the savage4  ,christianity1 with its 
primitive concepts1 can make its        
adherents firm in the belief of great   
monstrosities4 ,when its adherents      
believed that the ,bible sanctioned the 
destruction of heretics and witches1    
they were certainly doing things from a 
,christian standpoint4 ,it was this     
standpoint that justified an embittered 
denunciation of evolution at one time   
and then recanting1 adopted it as a part
 of the ,bible teaching4 ,when the      
,spaniards blotted out an entire        
civilization in ,south ,america1 when   

,catholics butchered ,protestants1 or   
,protestants butchered ,catholics1 they 
were all justified from the ,christian  
standpoint4  ,man has been living on    
this planet some #ejj1jjj years4 ,jesus 
appeared less than #bjjj years ago to   
save mankind4 ,what of those countless  
millions of men that died before ,christ
 came to save the world from damnation8 
,if the ,christian creed1 that except a 
man believes in the ,lord ,jesus ,christ
 he cannot be saved1 is maintained1 then
 it must be that those millions of human
 beings who lived before ,christ and had
 no chance to believe1 are in hell-fire4
  ,it is probable that one of the       
factors that turned primitive man's     
attention away from his cruel and short1
 earthly existence to the thought of a  
more lengthy and less cruel existence in
 a hereafter1 was the extreme           
uncertainty and short duration of his   
own life4 ,and this primitive trend of  
thought that turns man's mind from the  
here and now to a contemplation of a    

mythical hereafter persists to this day1
 produces the same slavish resignation4 
,this false release from the actualities
 constitute a mental aberration which we
 see in the hysterical and weak-minded4 
,when such an individual is confronted  
by problems that tax his mental         
strength1 if that individual has not    
strength of mind to reason and to       
persevere so that he overcomes his      
environmental difficulties1 he will seek
 an avenue of escape in a fanciful      
existence which the physician recognizes
 in hysteria and certain forms of mental
 disease4 ,so1 throughout the ages1 man 
has sought release from the realities of
 his existence into a fanciful and      
pleasantly delusional flight into a     
hereafter4 ,there is no salvation in    
that sickly obscurantism which attempts 
to evade realities by confusing itself  
about them4 ,safety lies only in clarity
 and the struggle for the light4 ,no    
subliminal nor fringe of consciousness  
can rank in the intellectual life beside

 the burning focal center where the rays
 of knowledge converge4 ,the hope must  
be in following reason1 not in thwarting
 it4 ,to turn back from it is not       
mysticism1 it is superstition4 ,no2 we  
must be prepared to see the higher      
criticism destroy the historicity of the
 most sacred texts of the ,bible1       
psychology analyze the phenomena of     
conversion on the basis of adolescent   
passion1 anthropology explain the       
genesis of the very idea of ,god4 ,an   
where we can understand1 it is a moral  
crime to cherish the un-understood4     
7,james ,t4 ,shotwell3 ,the ,religious  
,revolution of ,today47 ,religious      
beliefs are clearly mental aberrations  
from which it is high time that the     
progress of knowledge should lead to a  
logical cure4 ,man is steadily          
overcoming and conquering his           
environment2 the uncertainty of life and
 cruelty are much diminished as compared
 with the past ages1 but man has not as 
yet fully utilized the means of an      

emancipating measure from his mental    
enslavement and fear of his environment4
  ,chapman ,cohen1 in his ,theism or    
,atheism1 clearly states3 ,we know that 
man does not discover ,god1 he invents  
him1 and an invention is properly       
discarded when a better instrument is   
forthcoming4 ,to-day1 the hypothesis of 
,god stands in just the same relation to
 the better life of to-day as the fire  
drill of the savage does to the modern  
method of obtaining a light4 ,the belief
 in ,god may continue awhile in virtue  
of the lack of intelligence of some1 of 
the carelessness of others1 and of the  
conservative character of the mass4 ,but
 no amount of apologizing can make up   
for the absence of genuine knowledge1   
nor can the flow of the finest eloquence
 do aught but clothe in regal raiment   
the body of a corpse4  ,religion arose  
as a means of explanation of natural    
phenomena at a time when no other       
explanation of the origin of natural    
phenomena had been ascertained4 ,god is 

always what ,spinoza called it1 the     
asylum of ignorance4 ,when causes are   
unknown1 ,god is brought forward2 when  
causes are known1 ,god retires into the 
background4 ,in an age of ignorance1    
,god is active2 in an age of science1 he
 is impotent4 ,history attests this     
fact4  ,the single and outstanding      
characteristic of the conception of ,god
 at all times1 and under all conditions 
is that it is the equivalent of         
ignorance4 ,in primitive times it is    
ignorance of the character of the       
natural forces that leads to the        
assumption of the existence of ,gods1   
and in this respect the ,god idea has   
remained true to itself throughout4     
,even to-day1 whenever the principle of 
,god is invoked1 a very slight          
examination is enough to show that the  
only reason for this being done is our  
ignorance of the subject before us4     
7,chapman ,cohen47  ,the belief in ,god 
is least questioned where civilization  
is lowest2 it is called into the most   

serious question where civilization is  
most advanced4 ,it is clear that had    
primitive man known what we know today  
about nature1 the gods would never have 
been born4  ,the suspicious feature must
 be pointed out that the belief in ,god 
owes its existence1 not to the trained  
and educated observation of civilized   
times1 but to the uncritical reflection 
of the primitive mind4 ,it has its      
origin there1 and it would indeed be    
remarkable1 if1 while in almost every   
other direction the primitive mind      
showed itself to be hopelessly wrong1 in
 its interpretation of the world in this
 particular respect1 it has proved      
itself to be altogether right4 7,chapman
 ,cohen47  ,all intelligent men admit   
that human welfare depends upon our     
knowledge and our ability to harness the
 forces of nature4 ,i myself1 writes    
,llewelyn ,powys1 do not doubt that the 
good fortune of the human race depends  
more on science than on religion4 ,in   
all directions the bigotry of the       

churches obstructs amelioration 444 as  
long as the majority of men rely upon   
supernatural interference1 supernatural 
guidance1 from a human point of view all
 is likely to be confusion4444 ,trusting
 in ,god rather than in man it is in the
 nature of these blind worshippers to   
oppose every advance of human knowledge4
 ,it was they who condemned ,galileo1   
who resisted ,darwin and who to-day     
deride the doctrines of ,freud4 ,science
 has given us an account of the         
operation of the universe sans ,god1 and
 investigation has also given us a clear
 conception of the evolution of all     
religious beliefs from the crude        
conceptions of the savage to the but    
little altered form of the modern       
conception4  ,if we are to regard the   
,god idea as an evolution which began in
 the ignorance of primitive man1 it     
would seem clear that no matter how     
refined or developed the idea may       
become1 it can rest on no other or      
sounder basis than which is presented to

 us in the psychology of primitive man4 
,each stage of theistic belief grows out
 of the proceeding stage1 and if it can 
be shown that the beginning of this     
evolution arose in a huge blunder1 ,i   
quite fail to see how any subsequent    
development can convert this            
unmistakable blunder into a demonstrable
 truth4 7,chapman ,cohen47  ,men of     
today are trying to force themselves to 
believe that there must be something    
true in that which had been believed by 
so many great and pious men of old4 ,but
 it is in vain2 intellect has outgrown  
faith4 ,they are aware of the fallacy of
 their opinions1 yet angry that another 
should remind them of it4 ,and these men
 who today are secretly sceptics1 are   
loudest in their public denunciation of 
others who publicly announce their      
scepticism4 ,in ancient ,greece1 when   
the philosophers came into prominence1  
,zeus was superseded by the air1 and    
,poseidon by the water2 in modern times1
 all hitherto supernatural events are   

being explained by physical laws4 ,plato
 regarded it as a patriotic duty to     
accept the public faith although he full
 well knew the absurdities of that      
faith4 ,today1 there are many ,platos   
that hold to the same conviction4 ,the  
freethinkers hold to the view of        
,xenophanes who denounced the public    
faith as an ancient blunder which had   
been converted by time into a national  
imposture4 ,all religion is a delusion  
which transfers the motives and thoughts
 of men to those who are not men4 ,no   
ecclesiastic has as yet offered a       
satisfactory answer as to why there has 
been a marvelous disappearance of the   
working of miracles1 and why human      
actions alone are now to be seen in this
 world of ours4  ,we are witnessing     
today what happened in the ,roman empire
 during the decline of polytheism4      
,draper states3 ,between that period    
during which a nation has been governed 
by its imagination1 and that in which it
 submits to reason1 there is a          

melancholy interval4 ,the constitution  
of man is such that1 for a long time    
after he has discovered the             
incorrectness of the ideas prevailing   
around him1 he shrinks from openly      
emancipating himself from their         
dominion1 and1 constrained by the force 
of circumstances1 he becomes a          
hypocrite1 publicly applauding what his 
private judgment condemns4 ,where a     
nation is making this passage1 so       
universal do these practices become that
 it may be truly said hypocrisy is      
organized4 ,it is possible that whole   
communities might be found living in    
this deplorable state4  ,and1 indeed1 in
 our own country we are witnessing an   
example of this very thing4 ,religion   
has led to widespread hypocrisy4 ,our   
religious influences have created a race
 of men mentally docile and obedient to 
the dictates of tyrannical              
ecclesiasticism4 ,it has created a fear 
of truth1 and our minds are still       
brutish and puerile in our methods of   

reasoning4 ,credulity has led to        
stultification1 and stultification of   
the mind is the bitter fruit which we   
have been reaping for thousands of      
years4  ,there are probably hundreds of 
thousands of men and women in these     
,united ,states that give lip-service to
 their creed1 but deep in the recesses  
of their minds a small voice cries to   
them and shames them1 for as soon as    
they reason1 they become sceptics4 ,how 
can we know the actual number of        
earthlings that are sceptics8 ,it is    
impossible in our present state of      
development4 ,religious persecution     
today is just as active as it was during
 the ,middle ,ages4 ,surely1 a man is   
not burned at the stake for his         
scepticism in this age2 but is he not   
done to death8 ,if the grocer1 the      
butcher1 the doctor1 the lawyer1 the    
scholar1 the business man1 were to      
boldly announce his scepticism1 what    
would happen to him8 ,the answer is well
 known to all4 ,immediately1 each of his

 religious customers would take it upon 
himself to act as a personal            
inquisition4 ,the sceptic would be      
shunned socially1 he would be ignored1  
his wares would be sought after         
elsewhere1 and he would suffer4 ,his    
wife1 his family1 his children1 would   
suffer with him1 for our economic scheme
 makes the would-be sceptic dependent   
upon the whims of the majority          
believers4 ,he is forced to hold his    
tongue1 or else is tortured4 ,are not   
the wants of his family1 the hunger1 and
 ostracism torture8 ,thus thousands are 
forced into hypocrisy4 ,many others1    
although they have outgrown all fear of 
the god of orthodoxy1 the fear of the   
god of social pressure remains4  ,there 
are embodied in all creeds three human  
impulses3 fear1 conceit1 and hatred2 and
 religion has given an air of           
respectability to these passions4       
,religion is a malignant disease born of
 fear1 a cancer which has been eating   
into the vitals of everything that is   

worth while in our civilization2 and by 
its growth obstructing those advances   
which make for a more healthful life4   
,morally and intellectually1 socially   
and historically1 religion has been     
shown to be a pernicious influence4     
,some of these influences falling into  
these classifications have been         
considered in previous chapters4  ,the  
modern ,christian1 in his amusing       
ignorance1 asserts that ,christianity is
 now mild and rationalistic1 ignoring   
the fact that all its so-called mildness
 and rationalism is due to the teaching 
of men who in their own day were        
persecuted by all orthodox ,christians4 
,historically1 churches have stood on   
the side of the powers that be4 ,they   
have defended slavery or have held their
 tongues about it4 ,they have maintained
 serfdom and kept serfs4 ,they have     
opposed every movement undertaken for   
the liberation of the masses of men2 the
 ideals of liberty1 equality and        
fraternity are the creations of the     

camps of their enemies1 of the          
rationalists of the eighteenth century1 
and the liberals and socialists of the  
nineteenth century4 ,they have defended 
and condoned the industrial exploitation
 of children4 ,they have fought bitterly
 the enfranchisement of women4 ,they    
have justified unjust war4 ,they have   
fought with book and bill and candle and
 fagot every new great step in the      
advancement of science from gravitation 
to evolution4 ,wardens1 ever since      
,constantine gave the schools of        
antiquity into the keeping of the       
,christian bishops1 of the education of 
the people1 they have fought with all   
their power the establishment of free   
public schools and the spread of        
literacy and knowledge among the people4
 7,horace ,m4 ,kallen3 ,why ,religion47 
,if ,christianity has made any progress 
in the assimilation of doctrines that   
are less barbarous than heretofore1 they
 have been effected in spite of the most
 vigorous resistance1 and solely as a   

result of the onslaught of freethinkers4
  ,throughout the ages1 when a thinking 
man had questioned the how and why of   
any secular problem1 so long as that    
problem had no direct or indirect       
bearing upon religion1 or upon any      
branch of knowledge that was assumed to 
be infallibly foretold in the ,bible1   
that man was unmolested4 ,the problems  
falling into the above classification   
were extremely small due to the strongly
 defended theological lunacy that       
asserted itself in the declaration that 
all knowledge both spiritual and        
material was contained in the ,bible as 
interpreted by the ,church4  ,man1      
however1 when he broached his religious 
doubts1 was regarded as the most sinful 
of beings1 and it was forbidden him to  
question and yield to the conclusions   
that his mind evolved4  ,think of the   
irony and tragedy of this               
self-enslavement of the human mind6     
,there is one characteristic that man   
prides himself as having apart from all 

lower animals1 his ability to reason and
 to think4 ,is it his superior          
musculature and brute strength that has 
placed man upon his present pinnacle of 
advanced civilization1 or is it his     
mental development1 his mind1 that has  
taught him to harness the forces of     
nature8 ,has not his mind so            
co-99ordinated his movements that he has
 enslaved those forces of nature to be  
his aid8 ,and yet1 if mind is one thing 
that has enabled man to pull himself out
 of the morass of brute life1 why has it
 been that man himself has been so      
persistently decrying and degrading the 
efforts of that mind8  ,the answer is1  
that religion has provided the shackles 
and securely and jealously enslaved the 
mind4 ,with the aid of his religious    
beliefs man has been ensnared into a    
mental prison in which he has been an   
all too willing captive4 ,surely it is  
easier to believe than to think4        
,napoleon1 himself a sceptic1 was       
cognizant of this slave philosophy4     

,what is it1 he is reported to have     
asked1 that makes the poor man think it 
is quite natural that there are fires in
 my castle when he is dying of cold8    
,that ,i have ten coats in my wardrobe  
while he goes naked8 ,that at each of my
 meals enough is served to feed his     
family for a week8 ,it is simply        
religion1 which tells him that in       
another life ,i shall be only his equal1
 and that he actually has more chance of
 being happy than ,i4 ,yes1 we must see 
to it that the doors of the churches are
 open to all1 and that it does not cost 
the poor man much to have prayers said  
on his tomb4  ,how well the             
ecclesiastical psychologists have       
grasped this fact1 and how well they    
have fashioned a strong chain for the   
mind out of this weakness of human      
minds6  ,church and government have been
 well aware of this psychology1 and have
 fought constantly the spread of        
,freethought literature to the masses4  
,professor ,bury1 in his ,history of    

,freedom of ,thought1 speaking of       
,england1 tells us1 ,if we take the     
cases in which the civil authorities    
have intervened to repress the          
publication of unorthodox opinions      
during the last two centuries1 we find  
that the object has always been to      
prevent the spread of free thought among
 the masses4  ,think but a moment how   
well the above is borne out by the      
attitude of the ,church in the stand    
that it took during the ,middle ,ages1  
when she prohibited the reading of the  
,bible by any person except her clergy4 
,when she prohibited the printing of all
 books except those that she approved   
of2 books that minutely agreed in all   
details with the phantastic fables of   
her ,bible were the only ones allowed to
 be printed4  ,the ,church also         
strenuously objected to the printing of 
,bibles in the languages of the masses4 
,that most efficient shackle to the     
mind1 that precept that there was no    
knowledge1 whether material or          

spiritual1 that was not contained in the
 ,bible1 how strenuously the ,church    
upheld that doctrine6  ,and in our own  
day1 the ridiculous assumption that     
mysteries 7a special form of ignorance7 
are the special province of the ,church4
 ,considering these few examples as well
 as all ecclesiastical endeavor1 no     
rational mind can escape the fact that  
that primeval curse1 religion1 has had  
for its object1 down through the        
centuries1 the sadistic desire to       
enslave and trample on the mind of man4 
,it has been a defensive measure on the 
part of the ,church1 for she well       
recognizes that once the mind is free1  
it will free itself of the shackles of  
religion also4  ,nor is this all4 ,i    
execrate the enslavement of the mind of 
our young children by the ecclesiastics4
 ,is anything so pitiful to behold as   
the firm grasp that the ,church places  
on the mind of the youngest of children8
 ,children at play1 children of four and
 five years of age1 will be heard to    

mention with fearful tones various      
religious rites1 such as baptism and    
confirmation1 and to perform in their   
manner these rites with their dolls4    
,fear6 ,fear6 instilled into the minds  
of the impressionable children6 ,think  
of the degradation that the             
ecclesiastics practice when they insist 
that from the time a child is out of its
 infancy its instruction shall be placed
 in their hands4 ,they take the most    
precious possession of man1 his mind1   
and mould it to their desire4 ,the mind 
of a child is plastic1 it is like a     
moist piece of clay and they mould it   
and form it to their desire4 ,warped and
 poured into the ecclesiastic mould of  
fear1 the mind of the child becomes set 
and fixed with the years4 ,then it is   
too late for rational thinking1 as far  
as religious matters go1 the mind of the
 adult is firmly set in the form that   
the ecclesiastic has fashioned for him  
in his youth4 ,it is impossible for the 
adult so taught to reason clearly and   

rationally concerning his religion2 the 
mould is too strong1 the clay has set1  
reason cannot penetrate into that       
hardened form4 ,that is why it is almost
 impossible for the adult who has been  
exposed to this mental moulding from his
 infancy to break away from the fears   
and superstitions learned on his        
mother's knee4  ,if ,christianity1      
,hebrewism1 ,mohammedanism1 or any other
 creed is true1 its truth must be more  
apparent at the age of twenty-five than 
it is at the age of five4 ,why does the 
ecclesiastic not leave off his advances 
until the child reaches a mature age1 an
 age when he can reason8 ,then1 if      
theism is true1 he can accept it with a 
reasoning mind1 not a blindly faithful  
mind4 ,the theist realizes1 however1    
that belief is at one pole1 reason at   
the other4 ,belief1 creed1 religion1 are
 ideations of the primitive mind and the
 mind of the child2 reason is the       
product of mature thought4 ,schopenhauer
 remarked that1 ,the power of religious 

dogma when inculcated early is such as  
to stifle conscience1 compassion1 and   
finally every feeling of humanity4  ,it 
is an undeniable fact that if the clergy
 would but leave their tainted hands off
 the minds of our children until they   
would have reached a mature age1 there  
would be no religious instinct4         
,religious instinct is a myth4 ,give me 
but two generations of men who have not 
been subjected to this religious        
influence in childhood1 and there will  
be a race of atheists4  ,the            
ecclesiastic has from earliest times    
taken the standpoint that the masses of 
people are of crude susceptibility and  
clumsy intelligence1 sordid in their    
pursuits and sunk in drudgery2 and      
religion provides the only means of     
proclaiming and making them feel the    
high import of life4 7,schopenhauer47   
,thus the theist is led to the          
conclusion that the end justifies the   
means4  ,theism is a hypothesis which1  
among other things1 attempts an         

explanation of the universe4 ,the theist
 recognizes a creator who created the   
universe and is responsible for its     
operation4 ,the atheist clearly         
perceives that the assumption of a      
creator does not advance him in the     
slightest degree towards the solution of
 the mysterious problem of the universe4
 ,the oft-repeated question still admits
 of no answer1 ,who created the creator8
  ,it is an absurd answer to reply that 
the creator created himself1 yet1 even  
if this is granted1 may not the universe
 have created itself8 ,if the theist    
puts forward the statement that ,god has
 always existed1 the atheist may well   
reply that if ,god has always existed1  
why can he not say that the universe has
 always existed8 ,the atheist is not    
concerned with the creation of the      
universe2 to him it presents a problem  
which is beyond the comprehension of his
 present mental capacities4 ,he         
comprehends the fact of its being1 and  
that is as far as he or any rational    

mind can go4 ,atheism confines itself to
 a refutation of theism1 and avoids the 
theistic fallacy of assuming without any
 proofs or reasonable arguments to      
substantiate the assumption of an       
intelligent1 omnipotent1 omniscient1    
anthropomorphic1 and anthropocentric    
creator4 ,the theistic assumption has   
but retarded the advance of practical   
knowledge1 and prepared the soil for    
superstition and the countless terrors  
of religious beliefs4  ,atheism1 as far 
as a rational explanation of the        
universe is covered1 although it does   
not offer an explanation of the         
ultimate1 or the riddle of the universe1
 does insist that any view held be one  
that shall be based on truth and        
conformity to reality4 ,it further      
maintains that if a view be propagated  
it should be held in the same position  
that any scientific proposition is held4
 ,it must be open to verification2 if it
 be verified as any scientific theory is
 verified1 it will be accepted in part1 

or in toto1 and be proven to be true or 
displaced by a closer approximation to  
the truth4 ,to certain types of men     
there may be a negative attitude        
expressed in this credo1 which leaves   
the mind unsatisfied4 ,this is but an   
emotional bias and has nothing to do    
whatsoever with the attainment of truth4
 ,a delusion may be more comforting than
 the truth1 but that does not           
necessitate the conclusion that a       
delusion may be of more ultimate benefit
 than a constant striving for the truth4
 ,it has often been said that atheism1  
in that negative aspect1 places a       
question mark upon our problems4        
,however1 while a question mark may     
indicate a negative value1 it may also  
prove to be a mental provocative4 ,a    
period placed at the end of a problem   
denotes that it has been definitely     
solved4 ,in connection with the origin  
of the universe1 no period can be placed
 at the end of that problem1 and since  
we are awaiting the solution1 it is much

 more to the interest of further        
advances to place the question mark     
there1 than to consider the matter      
solved4 ,surely1 sufficient instances   
have been enumerated in this discussion 
to show the stultification and          
retardation that ensues when an         
institution maintains an insistence that
 a problem be held to conform in any of 
its explanatory aspects to a            
preconceived infallible statement1 or   
considers a problem not to exist1 or    
closes its eyes to the inconsistencies  
in an explanation which is being        
maintained by mental persuasion and     
force4 ,when the ,bible was considered  
as containing the answer to all our     
problems we have seen what the result   
was4 ,if atheism places a question mark 
upon the problem of the universe1 it    
does so in a constructive manner2 for   
that mark points to the direction in    
which a logical solution may be         
possible4 ,such is the mental attitude  
of the scientist4 ,he places an         

interrogation point upon his problems   
and that mark is the impetus1 the mental
 stimulus1 that leads him on to take    
infinite pains in his labors and1 as    
time passes1 each question mark is      
replaced by knowledge2 it is knowledge  
and knowledge alone1 reason not faith1  
that furnishes the period4  ,it was     
,haeckel who asserted that1 ,the most   
dangerous of the three great enemies of 
reason and knowledge is not malice1 but 
ignorance1 or perhaps1 indolence4 ,the  
question mark as applied to a problem   
that is recognizably not solved is a    
signpost to the knowledge that time must
 bring4 ,the spurious period placed at  
the end of a problem is the death       
warrant for that problem and there it   
must lie devitalized by ignorance and   
indolence4  ,it has often been affirmed 
that what we see in this universe is    
phenomena1 and all explanations but     
interpret the manifestations of these   
phenomena4 ,what is in back of and      
beyond these phenomena may never be     

known1 and if it be known1 would be of  
no further use to us4 ,it is equally as 
true that if we but see phenomena and   
our mental capacities deny us a         
conception of the reality beyond        
phenomena1 yet1 we have a growing       
knowledge of the laws that govern these 
phenomena4 ,and it is a comprehensive   
knowledge of these invariable laws that 
govern the universe that are of         
universal value4 ,these laws have been  
ascertained by the questioning mental   
attitude1 and not by a futile reliance  
on faith4  ,human knowledge has expanded
 immensely in the last fifty years1 and 
this by the purely scientific method1   
the materialistic method1 and the       
questioning attitude4 ,the value of     
these findings when they can be         
converted into practical applications in
 industry are well known to all4  ,we   
have added nothing to our store of      
knowledge except by the exercise of our 
mentality and reason4 ,the application  
of the scientific method to the workings

 of the mind has made more progress in  
explaining the mind in the brief period 
of fifty years than philosophical       
deductions had made in the past two     
thousand years4 ,every new fact that has
 been discovered has fitted into the    
mechanistic scheme of the universe1 and 
not one new fact has been disclosed that
 suggested anything beyond nature4 ,the 
theistic interpretation of the universe 
has been completely discredited by the  
scientific investigations4 ,science has 
brought to the confines of invariable   
laws multitudes of problems that had    
hitherto been supposed to point to      
spiritual interference4 ,theology has   
been driven out of the open spaces of   
reason and still persists in clinging to
 the twilight zone of the present       
unknown1 only to be driven from its     
precarious position constantly by our   
increasing knowledge and with increasing
 rapidity from shadow to shadow4  ,there
 has been an increasing tendency shown  
by physicists to consider that matter   

and energy are interchangeable1 and that
 the one ultimate reality is energy4 ,if
 this be so1 we are still dealing with  
an ultimate that is a material reality4 
,the ,nobel prize in medicine for the   
year #aicb was awarded to two ,british  
investigators1 ,sir ,charles ,scott     
,sherrington1 professor of physiology at
 ,oxford ,university1 and ,dr4 ,edgar   
,douglas ,adrian1 professor of          
physiology at ,cambridge ,university4   
,their researches seem to have settled  
definitely a problem that has long been 
a bone for contention4 ,nerve energy has
 been shown conclusively to be of an    
electric type of energy4 ,the old       
question of whether mind was part of the
 material world has been shown by these 
experiments to be answered in the       
affirmative4 ,there is no duality1 mind 
and matter are one1 and mind is but a   
special property of highly specialized  
matter4  ,it is with a great deal of    
regret that the freethinker contemplates
 the attitude of such scientists as     

,jeans1 ,eddington1 ,millikan1 and the  
philosopher ,professor ,whitehead4      
,their hesitation to divorce themselves 
completely from all conceptions of a    
supernatural force leads to a great deal
 of confusion4 ,an acquaintance with the
 writings of ,einstein brings one the   
certainty that he is as much in         
accordance with the attitude of         
freethought as is the most militant     
atheist4 ,the cosmic sense and totality 
of existence of ,einstein is as far     
removed from the conception of a ,yahveh
 as is the mentality of an ,australian  
black man from that of ,einstein's      
mental grasp4 ,similarly with the cosmic
 consciousness expressed in the writings
 of ,jeans1 ,eddington1 and ,whitehead4 
,with characteristic disregard for the  
truth certain modern theologians have   
grasped this cringing attitude of the   
above-mentioned men and have stressed   
their viewpoints by a dishonest         
interpretation that these men actually  
give a scientific certitude to their own

 theologic creeds and dogmas4 ,nothing  
can be further from the truth4 ,the     
freethinker would have each theologian  
who tells his adherents that these men  
lend credence to their beliefs to       
consider the following3 if the          
above-named men would be asked if they  
believed in a deity who actively        
interposed his will and influence in the
 lives of men1 as is commonly expressed 
in the term ,providence1 if they        
ascribed to the belief in personal      
immorality1 if they themselves believed 
in the existence of a soul1 if they     
ascribed to the statement that prayer   
influenced the opinion of an            
all-powerful being to intercede for them
 in their problems and grief1 if they   
believed that the ,bible was a book     
dictated by ,god1 or that a god caused  
to be written for him his revelations2  
that heaven and hell exist in the       
meaning that theologians assure their   
adherents that they do2 that sin and    
morality is what theologians still hold 

it to be2 that there has been a fall and
 therefore the necessity for a          
redemption of man2 and that creed and   
dogma are necessary factors in the      
worship of a deity1--what would their   
answers be8 ,eddington1 ,jeans1         
,einstein1 and ,whitehead would answer  
these questions exactly as would the    
most militant atheists4  ,the mental    
attitude of these men can best be       
explained when one considers certain    
similarities between theological        
asceticism and scientific asceticism4   
,and it is the duty of the freethinker  
clearly to point out why this confusion 
has arisen4 ,during the ages of faith1  
the world beheld a swarm of men and     
women who retired from the grim         
realities of a world which at that time 
was made abhorrent to all sensitive men 
by the most exacting insistence of      
theologians that faith was the all      
necessary ingredient of life1 and that  
closed its eyes completely to the       
degrading actualities of life that this 

insistence led to4 ,multitudes of men   
retired to the desert and to the        
protective walls of monasteries4 ,there1
 by constant privations1 fastings1      
continual prayer1 flagellation1 and     
introspection1 they spent their lives4  
,these ascetic individuals by these     
means were enabled to enter what may be 
called a theologic trance and their     
subsequent hallucinations1 illusions1   
and delusions gave to them what they    
deemed to be a transcendental insight   
into the construction of the universe   
and what was expected between fallen and
 debased man and his omnipotent creator4
 ,these men keenly apprehended what some
 today1 in a gentler age1 have called   
cosmic consciousness4  ,i do not mean to
 imply that these before-mentioned      
scientists have applied such a rigor to 
their lives4 ,what is meant to be stated
 is that these men by their research and
 comprehension of the vastness of the   
universe stand in awe and fear before   
this brain-benumbing aspect4 ,modern    

astrophysics1 to one who attempts to    
comprehend its vastness1 imposes on the 
mind but a faint comprehension of the   
vastness of the universe in space1 time1
 and size2 but imposes a deep conviction
 of the infinitesimal meaning of our    
planet ,earth1 both as to size and its  
relation to the millions of related     
heavenly bodies4 ,the evolution of man  
on our planet in this broad conception  
of space and time is most infinitesimal4
 ,it has been just a few hours ago in   
this widened conception of time that    
,halley's comet was excommunicated from 
the skies by ,pope ,calixitus ,,iii1 who
 looked upon this comet as one of       
unheard-of magnitude and from the tail  
of which was flung down upon the earth1 
disease1 pestilence1 and war4  ,most    
certainly the minds of ,jeans and       
,eddington carry in their recesses a    
vast amount of knowledge that was not   
common to men living in #adef1 the year 
in which the above-mentioned comet      
caused such consternation4 ,much as one 

admires the superiority of the minds of 
these present-day physicists1 yet one   
cannot help but think that if our       
present rate of progress meets no       
serious obstacle1 then in another five  
hundred years1 the attitude of awe of   
,jeans and ,eddington towards the       
vastness of our universe will be held in
 some similar position to which ,jeans  
and ,eddington now hold the misguided   
conception of ,halley's comet in the    
year #adef4 ,the mind of man is just    
beginning to emerge from its swaddling  
clothes and we cannot assume to judge   
what its broadest capabilities may be4  
,certain great modern minds1 therefore1 
when they contemplate this vastness of  
astrophysics are apt to dwell a bit too 
literally on the music of the heavenly  
spheres1 and under the influence of     
these celestial harmonies fall into the 
trance of scientific asceticism4 ,men   
who can no longer seriously hold to a   
belief in an anthropomorphic god1 the   
soul and immortality are apt to allow   

themselves when in this mood to         
emotionalize their knowledge2 and these 
same men are the ones who would in their
 scientific endeavors be the first to   
eliminate all emotions from their       
reasoning efforts in their laboratories4
 ,one seems justified1 therefore1 in    
stating that this conception of cosmic  
consciousness is but another instance of
 the mere illusions of a craving heart4 
,discussing the question as to whether  
science and religion conflict1 the      
physicist ,professor ,bazzoni1 of the   
,university of ,pennsylvania1 in a      
recent work ,energy and ,matter1 makes  
the following pointed comment3 ,some    
scientists resort to metaphysics and    
make contact with a kind of mysticism   
which may be taken for a religious      
belief at precisely that point where    
ignorance prevents further progress     
along sound scientific lines4 ,the      
primitive medicine man appealed to the  
gods to explain the precipitation of    
rain and the phase changes of the moon1 

and some modern scientists appeal to    
metaphysics and mysticism to explain the
 limits of the infinite and the nature  
of electricity4  ,he further cautions   
theologians against placing undue       
emphasis on the opinions of scientists  
when they express their minds on        
religious topics1 and he remarks3 ,they 
7the laity7 should realize that in the  
spiritual field the opinion of an       
eminent scientist has exactly the same  
weight as the opinion of any other      
cultivated and thoughtful individual4   
,when the scientist examines with the   
impartial mind of the laboratory the    
science of the origin of religious      
beliefs and delves into the complicated 
intricacies of religious history1 he    
becomes as convinced as any other       
thoughtful individual that the facts of 
science and history are deadly to       
religion4 ,moreover1 as man contemplates
 the construction and forces at work in 
the universe he still must exclaim1 end1
 beginning1 or purpose1 it knows not of4

  ,the theologians are devoting a great 
deal of their time to the writings of   
physicists who venture into the field of
 theology4 ,it may be that in this      
manner they can divert attention from   
the drastic findings concerning all     
religious beliefs that the              
anthropologists and psychologists are   
patiently accumulating4 ,many physicists
 and biologists like ,pupin1 ,millikan1 
,oliver ,lodge1 ,j4 ,arthur ,thomson1   
and ,henry ,fairfield ,osborn1 have     
recently blossomed forth as liberal     
theologians4 ,they are still emotionally
 attached to the older religious faith4 
,they are aware that modern physics and 
biology have abandoned doctrines that   
once were hostile to religious claims4  
,they1 therefore1 proclaim that there is
 no further conflict between religion   
and science4 ,in so doing1 however1 they
 show themselves abysmally ignorant of  
all that anthropology and psychology    
have done to study religion and         
religious man scientifically4 ,they show

 their ignorance of the philosophy that 
has built upon such data4 ,they do not  
realize that the present-day conflict   
between religious faith and science is  
no longer with a scientific explanation 
of the world1 but with a scientific     
explanation of religion4 7,j4 ,h4       
,randall and ,j4 ,h4 ,randall1 ,jr43    
,religion and the ,modern ,world47  ,the
 cultured ,greeks and ,romans had their 
omnipotent gods and these have long ago 
died a death of ridicule4 ,at a time    
when beauty and sculpture were at their 
height the religion of these ancient    
artists was absurd4 ,similarly1 with    
some of our modern scientists1 their    
religion has not kept pace with their   
intellect4 ,their emotions have         
overbalanced their reason in this field4
 ,professor ,h4 ,levy1 of the           
,university of ,london1 tersely remarks3
 ,the assertion of contemporary         
scientists1 who state that the universe 
is a fickle collection of indeterminate 
happenings1 and a great thought in the  

,mind of its ,architect1 a ,pure        
,mathematician1 serves merely to divert 
the activity of the scientific brain    
from its concentration on the           
contradictions and confusions of the all
 too real outward world to a state of   
passive and unreal contemplation4       
7,professor ,h4 ,levy3 ,the ,universe of
 ,science47  ,among the theologians1    
some at least have learned the futility 
of waxing indignant at each new         
scientific hypothesis that encroached1  
as they thought1 within their domain4 ,a
 great many liberal theologians have as 
yet not learned the extreme danger to   
their theology in grasping at some      
concept of science that for the present 
moment does not appear to be detrimental
 to their theology1 or1 as they think1  
seems to bolster up their particular    
creed4 ,the enthusiasm aroused in       
certain theological circles by recent   
developments in mathematical physics1   
states ,dr4 ,m4 ,c4 ,otto1 seems to me  
to indicate just one thing1 that these  

theologians felt themselves to be in so 
desperate a state that a floating straw 
assumed the appearance of a verdure-clad
 island4 ,i am of the opinion that all  
persons who would work for a more decent
 and happy existence for themselves and 
for their fellows must turn their backs 
upon religion just to the extent that   
religious leadership seeks spiritual    
renewal in these hallucinations of      
despair4 7,drs4 ,wieman1 ,macintosh1 and
 ,otto3 ,is ,there a ,god87  ,it is only
 proper to point out that what certain  
emancipated minds are trying to         
reconstruct as a basis of religious     
belief is not what is held by the masses
 as their conception of religion4 ,in a 
recent clear and frank statement of the 
religious revolution1 ,john ,herman     
,randall and ,john ,herman ,randall1    
,jr41 state3 ,such beliefs1 even so     
fundamental a one as belief in ,god1    
must stand their chances with the       
philosophic interpretation men give     
their experience4444 ,the really        

revolutionary effect of the scientific  
faith1 so far as religion is concerned1 
has been not its new view of the world1 
but its new view of religion4           
,reinterpretations of religious belief  
have been unimportant compared with     
reinterpretations of religion itself4   
,for those who have come to share the   
scientific world-view1 even more for    
those who have absorbed the spirit of   
scientific inquiry1 it has been         
impossible to view religion as a divine 
revelation entrusted to man4 ,it has    
even been impossible to see it as a     
relation between man and a cosmic deity4
 ,religion has rather appeared a human  
enterprise1 an organization of human    
life1 an experience1 a social bond1 and 
an inspiration4 7,j4 ,h4 ,randall and   
,j4 ,h4 ,randall1 ,jr43 ,religion and   
the ,modern ,world47 ,to the man who    
literally entreats his deity1 ,our      
,father1 who art in ,heaven1 grant us   
our daily bread1 the above              
reinterpretation of what is meant by    

religion can have no meaning4 ,to the   
cultivated mind that comprehends what is
 meant1 the above interpretation is what
 he conceives of as his social secular  
activities for the betterment of his    
fellowmen4 ,a living philosophy of life 
is a much better name for this attitude 
than is the misnomer religion1 and      
avoids a great deal of confusion4  ,some
 of our scientists on a holiday1 as they
 have been facetiously called when they 
stepped into a field in which they had  
not become well acquainted with the     
ground1 have proceeded to lend assurance
 that ,god is by subtracting so         
drastically from what is generally      
attributed to the conception of ,god1   
that there is nothing much left to what 
they conceive as what ,god means4 ,they 
have stripped the conception of what has
 been heretofore regarded as            
fundamental1 namely1 the conception that
 ,god is a superhuman personality or    
mind4  ,in ,mr4 ,whitehead's philosophy1
 ,god is spoken of as1 ,god is not      

concrete1 but ,he is the ground for     
concrete actuality4 ,i believe such     
confusion of language may have been in  
the mind of ,dr4 ,m4 ,c4 ,otto when he  
remarked3 ,some persons endeavor more   
than ever to make necessary distinctions
 to keep meanings as clear as possible2 
and to have an eye on the tendency of   
language to become its own object4      
,other persons repudiate these          
obligations4 ,they act as if it were a  
virtue to love darkness rather than     
light if your intentions are good4      
,under their manipulations conceptions  
are dimmed or replaced by vague         
intimations4 ,one boundary line after   
another is obliterated until the whole  
substance of things swims in mists4     
,history has illustrated that the       
greatest source of evil on this planet  
has arisen from the fact that physical  
phenomena for which our limited mental  
capacities were not able to formulate a 
logical solution1 were ascribed to      
preternatural causes4  ,from this       

original stem arose religion and the    
,church1 the two greatest obstacles     
which have been a burden to mankind for 
#bjjj years and a barrier to all        
progress which has made life endurable  
and desirable4  ,the lower man is in the
 scale of civilization1 the more does he
 call in the supernatural to explain all
 the happenings and experiences of his  
life4 ,when he had been beset by an     
intellectual failure he had been thrown 
back to religion4 ,lacking the courage  
and mental capacity to proceed further  
against obstacles he succumbed to the   
drug of religious explanations4 ,the    
need was not for a narcotic1 but for a  
stimulant4  ,the mental stimulant was   
provided for man in the form of science4
 ,science is but organized knowledge1   
and it is this knowledge that has       
elevated man to the position where he is
 now1 his own god4 ,when difficulties   
confront him in this age1 he blames them
 upon his own ignorance and             
incompetence4 ,and1 when he sets about  

to overcome these difficulties1 he does 
not rely on divine revelation or        
supernatural aid or on miracles2 he     
relies on his reason4 ,he knows that    
when a problem eludes his mental        
capacity1 it is not the supernatural    
which eludes him but some natural force1
 some law which he has not been able to 
grasp as yet4 ,there is no resignation  
in this attitude2 only resolute1        
peaceful patience4 ,the problem that he 
cannot solve at present will yield to   
his reason eventually4 ,the ecclesiastic
 is well aware that science is his      
natural and implacable enemy4 ,he knows 
that every time the bounds of exact     
knowledge are widened1 the domain of    
religion is narrowed4  ,man's knowledge 
of the universe is still incomplete1 but
 it is certainly more complete than it  
was fifty years ago2 and when we        
consider what that knowledge was a few  
thousand years ago1 it is no breach of  
logic to state that all natural         
processes1 in the course of time1 will  

be brought into the confines of         
invariable laws4  ,sir ,arthur ,keith   
clearly states3 ,the ancient seeker1 to 
explain the kingdom of life1 with man as
 its ,regent1 had to call in the miracle
 of creation4 ,the modern seeker finds  
that although life has the appearance of
 the miraculous1 yet all its            
manifestations can be studied and       
measured1 and that there is a machinery 
at work in every living thing which     
shapes1 evolves1 and creates4 ,his      
inquiries have led him to replace the   
miracle of creation by the laws of      
evolution4  ,whichever department of the
 realm of ,nature the man of science has
 chosen for investigation1 the result   
has always been the same2 the           
supernatural has given place to the     
natural1 superstition is succeeded by   
reason4 ,the world has never had such   
armies of truth seekers as it now has4  
,those equipped with ladders of science 
have so often scaled the walls which    
surround cities of ignorance that they  

march forward in the sure faith that    
none of ,nature's battlements are       
impregnable4  ,in the last analysis1 if 
we reach a point in thinking where we   
cannot proceed further1 a fathomless    
landmark1 must we revert to the         
theological error of thinking1 and      
assume it must be of supernatural       
character8 ,because the unknown in the  
past has been assigned to the           
supernatural is no indication for us    
also1 in the present age1 to relegate   
the unknown to divine cause4 ,it is     
unseemly that minds that have           
emancipated themselves should go just so
 far--as far as their own reason can    
explain the unknown--and when their     
limited reason can go no further to     
revert back to the primitive stage where
 solution is considered impossible to   
man save it be revealed to him by ,god4 
,if man's mind is free1 if no coercion  
of any kind is placed on its exercise1  
it will expand and unravel what at      
present is still fathomless4 ,give man  

endless centuries and ample             
opportunities and he will unravel the   
miracles of development and growth just 
as he has done other miracles which at  
first seemed impossible of rational     
solution4  ,for how much longer will man
 be a slave to his inferiority complex  
with regard to his own rational         
capacities8 ,if faith is vital to man1  
why not relate it to that which at least
 holds a promise of solution8 ,man's    
mind has not as yet arrived at the point
 which might give even the slightest    
indication of its ultimate exhaustion4  
,we cannot assume the knowledge of what 
man's fullest capacities are4 ,all      
things must unravel themselves with the 
progress of his mind1 those things that 
he cannot explain now1 he must not      
assign to a superhuman force2 man must  
use his reasoning faculties to          
investigate and search for the truth so 
that these unknown may become part of   
the known4  ,again to quote ,sir ,arthur
 ,keith3 ,only eighty years have come   

and gone since the anatomist obtained   
his first glimpse of the structural     
complexity of the human brain2 it will  
take him eight thousand years and more  
to find out the exact part played by    
every departmental unit of this colossal
 system of government which carries on  
the mental life of a human being4 ,we   
have no reason to think there is        
anything supernatural in its            
manifestation4 ,as our knowledge of the 
brain accumulates1 the names and terms  
we now use will give place to others    
which have a more precise meaning4 ,in  
our present state of ignorance we have  
to use familiar and loose terms to      
explain the workings of the brain--such 
words as soul1 spirit1 heart1           
superstition1 and prejudice4 ,these     
manifestations of the mind will be      
dissected and made understandable4      
,science has as yet not fully explained 
the origin of life on earth1 but there  
is reason to believe that it will do so 
in the future4 ,the laws governing the  

production of life itself are under     
investigation in the laboratories and it
 is highly probable that this law will  
be unraveled at some future date4 ,it   
will be interesting for our posterity to
 witness the confusion of the           
ecclesiastics and their attempted       
confirmation of this fact in the ,bible2
 their finding of some obscure phrase   
that will be interpreted by them as a   
prediction of the fact in the ,bible4   
,the theists have maintained1 as we have
 seen1 many false beliefs that have cost
 the lives of innumerable men and       
suffering incalculable2 beliefs which   
they themselves have subsequently       
recognized as false but relinquished    
only by the onslaught of rising secular 
knowledge4 ,it was the ecclesiastic who 
pointed to the ,god-dictated phrase1    
,thou shalt not suffer a witch to live1 
and the various precepts that have been 
enumerated in the preceding chapters4   
,surely sufficient evidence has been    
noted to convince a thinking being that 

reason is a better guide than theism4   
,belief is the antithesis of reason2    
reason is rationality2 religious belief 
is clearly mental abnormality4  ,if a   
religionist is asked what he thinks of a
 secular institution which vigorously   
condemns and persecutes inquiry1        
experiment1 and truth1 he will reply    
with the logical answer4 ,when it is    
pointed out to him that religion has    
done and still is doing this1 he will   
hem and haw until he manufactures some  
illogical answer4 ,it has been stated   
that the more we think1 the less we     
believe2 and that the less we think1 the
 more we believe4 ,the ,christian will  
analyze the creed of the ,mohammedan and
 find it ridiculous2 the ,mohammedan    
analyzes the creed of the ,christian and
 in turn finds it ridiculous4 ,that is  
thinking4 ,but does the ,mohammedan or  
the ,christian analyze as critically    
each his own belief8 ,will he endeavor  
to analyze it at all8 ,that is          
believing4 ,the ecclesiastic concerns   

himself not with truth or knowledge2 it 
is creed which is his shrine4 ,he       
definitely is at war with knowledge and 
he wants to learn only such things as   
fit in with his preconceived notions and
 prejudices4 ,when the minds of men are 
from infancy perverted with these       
ideals1 how can mankind build a virile  
race8  ,it is often asserted that the   
alleged universality of the belief in   
,god is an argument for its truth4 ,but 
what of the fact that men had everywhere
 come to the conclusion that the earth  
was flat1 and yet a wider and truer     
knowledge proved that universal belief  
to be false6 ,in the discussion of      
witchcraft1 it has been shown that a    
delusion may be as widespread as a      
truth4 ,during the tenth and eleventh   
centuries1 the ,spanish ,moors had      
recognized the sphericity of the earth  
and were teaching geography from globes 
in their common schools4 ,rome1 during  
the same ages1 was asserting in all its 
absurdity the flatness of the earth4 ,it

 was not until almost five hundred years
 later that ,rome was forced to see its 
absurdity and then only when the        
enlightened world mocked at its error4  
,in this twentieth century1 certain     
enlightened men are teaching the        
absurdity and harmfulness of a belief in
 a deity4 ,must it take five hundred    
years for all mankind to come to a      
similar conclusion8 ,may it not well be 
that in a few centuries our posterity   
will view belief in a deity in the same 
light that we in this age view the      
,church's insistence that the earth was 
flat8  ,the ,god idea has been one of   
the most divisive and anti-social       
notions cherished by mankind4 ,in fact  
it has been asserted that the idea of   
,god has been the enemy of man4 ,it has 
driven multitudes of men and women into 
the unnatural asceticisms and wasted    
lives of the convent and abbey4 ,it has 
taxed the economic resources of every   
nation4 ,every church1 no matter of what
 creed1 is a pathetic monument of       

,god-ridden humanity which has been     
built by the pennies sweated by the     
poor1 and wrested from them by          
fraudulent promises of reward1 appeals  
to fear1 and the pathetic human tendency
 to sacrifice4  ,the theologians have in
 their arguments resorted to philosophy4
 ,the consequence of this transference  
of the idea of ,god to the sphere of    
philosophy is the curious position that 
the god in which people believe is not  
the god whose existence is made the     
product of an experimental argument1 and
 the god of the argument is not the god 
of belief4  ,it is a nice question1     
remarks ,walter ,lippmann1 whether the  
use of ,god's name is not misleading    
when it is applied by modernists to     
ideas so remote from the ,god men have  
worshipped4 ,plainly the modernist      
churchman does not believe in the ,god  
of ,genesis who walked in the garden in 
the cool of the evening and called for  
,adam and his wife who had hidden       
themselves behind a tree2 nor in the    

,god of ,exodus who appeared to ,moses  
and ,aaron and seventy of the ,elders of
 ,israel1 standing with his feet upon a 
paved walk as if it were a sapphire     
stone2 nor even in the ,god of the      
fifty-third chapter of ,isaiah who in   
his compassion for the sheep who had    
gone astray1 having turned everyone to  
his own way1 laid on the ,man of        
,sorrows the iniquity of us all4        
7,walter ,lippmann3 ,a ,preface to      
,morals47  ,it is one kind of god that  
is being set up in argument1 and it is  
really another god that is being        
depended upon and believed4 ,the        
philosophical conception of a deity that
 may be in control of phenomena is an   
impersonal physical law1 and has nothing
 to do with the conception of a personal
 deity to whom people pray for active   
intervention in their troubles4         
,religious belief is a monstrous        
apparition2 the philosophy of atheism is
 a solid structure laboriously founded  
on solid rock4  ,the philosophy of      

atheism had temporarily failed in       
previous ages1 since the knowledge of   
those ages did not furnish facts enough 
upon which to build4 ,at the present1   
although our knowledge is far from      
complete and the surface has only been  
scratched1 yet sufficient facts have    
been unearthed to reveal that there is  
no supernatural and the greatest hope of
 advancement lies in the philosophy of  
atheism4 ,a philosophy that builds upon 
a foundation of purely secular thought1 
that leaves the idea of ,god completely 
discarded as a useless and false relic  
of bygone days1 is the essence of       
atheism4 ,atheism is more than the      
speculative philosophy of a few1 that it
 is in sober truth the logical outcome  
of mental growth4 ,so far as any phase  
of human life can be called inevitable1 
atheism may lay claim to being          
inescapable4 ,all mental growth can be  
seen leading to it1 just as we can see  
one stage of social development giving a
 logical starting point for another     

stage1 and which could have been        
foretold had our knowledge of all the   
forces in operation been precise enough4
 ,atheism is1 so to speak1 implicit in  
the growth of knowledge1 its complete   
expression is the consummation of a     
process that began with the first       
questionings of religion4 ,and the      
completion of the process means the     
death of supernaturalisms in all forms4 
,circumstances may obstruct its         
universal acceptance as a reasoned      
mental attitude1 but that merely delays1
 it does not destroy the certainty of   
its final triumph4 7,c4 ,cohen47  ,the  
philosophy of atheism leads man to a    
critical1 analytical1 and logical       
examination of his environment1 and it  
is this that has lead to all of our     
advances4 ,religion creates a stunted   
standard of reasoning4 ,the pathetic cry
 of ,st4 ,augustine1 ,but if ,i was     
shapen in iniquity1 and in sin did my   
mother conceive me1 where ,i pray thee1 
,o my ,god1 where1 ,lord1 or when was   

,i1 thy servant innocent8 typifies the  
major concern of the narrow1 egotistical
 mystic4 ,from the time that the ideas  
of the later ,greek philosophers had    
been forgotten until the present time1  
man has floundered in a sea of          
supernaturalism4 ,it is high time that  
man faced his realities with fortitude  
in his own mentality1 and when he does  
this1 there will be produced a race of  
men who will seek for truth1 for truth's
 sake1 a race of supermen who will lead 
the world intellectually4  ,it is to    
,russia that all eyes will turn in the  
next few generations4 ,at the present1  
she is going through the throes of      
childbirth4 ,she is immature1 and as a  
child she staggers4 ,the abuse and      
ridicule heaped upon her now is but the 
repetition of that given by all         
frightened societies of past ages1 when 
they contemplated new ideas which their 
immature minds could not fathom4 ,but   
,russia will emerge in the not too      
distant future1 and the infant will     

shortly reach maturity2 and that        
maturity may set a standard for those   
timid and frightened societies that at  
present look with dilated eyes upon her 
daring4  ,the age is approaching when   
the god idea in its entirety will be    
classed with the gods of the ,egyptians 
and ,babylonians1 when surplices and    
sacramental plate will be exhibited in  
museums2 when nurses will relate to     
children the legends of the ,christian  
mythology1 as they now tell them fairy  
tales4 ,the gods of monotheism will join
 the gods of polytheism and ,yahveh and 
his associates will occupy in the minds 
of men the position now held by the gods
 of ,olympus4 ,to our ancestors ,jupiter
 and ,yahveh will have the same         
significance4 ,in a little time the     
cathedrals and churches will have taken 
upon themselves the proud1 poetical     
glamour of abandoned temples4 ,men and  
women will enter them with reverent     
indulgence as they now in meditative    
mood visit the few remaining pantheons  

of the pagan worship4 7,llewelyn ,powys3
 ,an ,hour ,on ,christianity47  ,the age
 is approaching when the current idea of
 the hereafter will be accounted a      
strange and selfish idea1 just as we    
smile at the savage chief who believes  
that his station will be continued in   
the world beneath the ground1 and that  
he will there be attended by his        
concubines and slaves4 ,the age is fast 
approaching when love1 not fear1 will   
unite the human race4 ,in that age1 the 
ideal1 not the idol1 will be truth1 and 
the one faith1 not religion1 but a      
sincere and lofty conception of the     
dignity and resourcefulness of the human
 mind2 and an overwhelming desire to aid
 in the progress of all mankind1 the    
extinction of disease1 the perfection of
 genius1 the perfection of love1 and1   
therefore1 the abolition of war1 the    
exploration of the infinite1 and the    
conquest of creation4  ,such an age can 
never come to be during the             
maljurisdiction of a theistic           

philosophy4 ,it can only come into being
 when the vast majority of men are by   
the force of advancing knowledge made   
aware of the truth of the atheistic     
philosophy4  ,an ,english observer1 ,c4 
,e4 ,m4 ,joad1 remarks3 ,the churches1  
no doubt1 will continue to function for 
a time1 but they will be attended       
increasingly1 and in the end            
exclusively1 by ignorant men1 women1 and
 children4 ,already1 a stranger         
attending an average church of ,england 
service would almost be justified in    
assuming that the churches1 like theatre
 matines1 were kept up for the benefit  
of women and children4 ,so far as       
present indications go1 it seems not    
unlikely that science will deliver the  
coup de grace to organized ,christianity
 within the next hundred years4  ,we    
have caught a glimpse of what theism has
 done1 and what the philosophy of       
atheism might have done1 and will yet   
achieve4 ,has man profited by having    
remained in his mental infancy so long8 

,atheism is an emancipating system of   
thought that frees the mind from myths1 
fables1 and childish fancies4 ,there can
 be no inquisition1 no witchcraft       
delusion1 no religious wars1 no         
persecutions of one sect by another1 no 
impediment to science and progress1 no  
stultification of the mind1 as a result 
of its teachings4  ,the philosophy of   
atheism teaches man to stand on his own 
feet1 instills confidence in his        
reasoning powers1 and forces him to     
conquer his environment4 ,it teaches him
 not to subject himself and debase      
himself before mythical superhuman      
powers1 for his reason is his power4    
,the march from faith to reason is the  
march on which dwells the future hope of
 a really civilized mankind4  ,atheism  
teaches man to endeavor constantly to   
better his own condition and that of all
 of his fellowmen1 to make his children 
wiser and happier2 it supplies the      
powerful urge to add something new to   
the knowledge of mankind4 ,and all this1

 not in the vain hope of being rewarded 
in another world1 but from a pure sense 
of duty as a citizen of nature1 as a    
patriot of the planet on which he       
dwells4 ,this is no cold and cheerless  
philosophy2 it is an elevating and      
ennobling ideal which may console him in
 his afflictions and teach him how to   
live and how to die4 ,it is a           
self-reliant philosophy that makes a man
 intellectually free1 and this mental   
emancipation allows him to face the     
world without fear of ghosts and gods4  
,it relates solely to facts1 while      
theism resorts to opinions that are     
grounded only upon emotionalism4 ,joseph
 ,lewis has well noted that1 ,atheism   
does not believe that man's mission on  
earth is to love and glorify ,god1 but  
it does believe in living this life so  
that when you pass on1 the world will be
 better for your having lived4  ,the    
history of the past ages informs us what
 the world was like with ,god4 ,the     
progress of secular knowledge and       

science have given us measures by which 
we could produce a better society than  
has ever existed under the              
obstructionism of the ,gods4  ,the      
knowledge exists by which universal     
happiness can be secured1 the chief     
obstacle to its utilization for that    
purpose is the teaching of religion4    
,religion prevents our children from    
having a rational education2 religion   
prevents us from removing the           
fundamental causes of war2 religion     
prevents us from teaching the ethics of 
scientific cooperation in place of the  
old fierce doctrines of sin and         
punishment4 ,it is possible that mankind
 is on the threshold of a golden age1   
but if so1 it will be necessary to slay 
the dragon that guards the door1 and    
this dragon is religion4 7,bertrand     
,russell47  ,it is interesting to       
contemplate the changes that may occur  
in our civilization in the next few     
centuries4 ,on the one hand we have that
 long period of sterile time1 #ae1jjj   

years1 for the stage of neolithic man1  
and on the other the vast material      
progress of the past three hundred      
years4 ,we may not be able to discern   
with clarity in what direction changes  
will occur1 but in one aspect we can    
discern a well-marked tendency4 ,that is
 the inevitable conquest of the         
philosophy of atheism4 ,and with this   
conquest can be clearly seen that it    
would give to this earth a much sounder 
foundation upon which to build our      
progress1 and that long-delayed freedom1
 the emancipation of the mind from all  
myths and fables4 ,the inevitableness of
 atheism has been well summed up by     
,chapman ,cohen3  ,looking at the whole 
course of ,human ,history1 and noting   
how the vilest and most ruinous         
practices have been ever associated with
 religion1 and have ever relied upon    
religion for support1 the cause for     
speculation is1 not what will happen to 
the world when religion dies out1 but   
how human society has managed to        

flourish while the belief in the ,gods  
ruled4444  ,substantially1 we have by   
searching found out ,god4 ,we know the  
origin and history of one of the        
greatest delusions that ever possessed  
the human mind4 ,god has been found out2
 analytically and synthetically we      
understand the ,god-idea as previous    
generations could not understand it4 ,it
 has been explained1 and the logical    
consequence of the explanation is       
,atheism4  ,man is fast attaining a     
mastery of his environment1 and his     
religious creeds are becoming as        
irrational to him as the witchcraft     
delusion4 ,religion with its burden of  
fear ties him to the dead ages4 ,but    
knowledge not only supplies him with    
power1 but also furnishes him with      
courage1 and that courage will aid him  
in freeing himself from that            
fear--religion4 ,religion is doomed to  
occupy the same place in history as the 
institution of slavery4 ,lies and       
imposture1 no matter how powerfully     

sustained1 can be dispelled by          
knowledge4 ,the ,church will destroy    
itself with its own poison4 ,knowledge  
and courage spell the doom of religion4 
,,chapter ,,xx  ,,contemporary ,,opinion
       ,the ,vanguard       ,let us make
 no mistake--great minds are            
skeptical4444 ,the strength      and the
 freedom which arise from exceptional   
power of thought      express themselves
 in skepticism4444 ,a mind which aspires
 to great      things and is determined 
to achieve them is of necessity         
skeptical4       ,,nietzsche4           
,,bertrand ,,russell  ,my own view on   
religion is that of ,lucretius4 ,i      
regard it as a disease born of fear and 
as a source of untold misery to the     
human race4 ,i cannot1 however1 deny    
that it has made some contributions to  
civilization4 ,it helped in early days  
to fix the calendar1 and it caused      
,egyptian priests to chronicle eclipses 
with such care that in time they became 
able to predict them4 ,these two        

services ,i am prepared to acknowledge1 
but ,i do not know of any others4       
,,max ,,carl ,,otto  ,it is my          
conviction that the happiest and noblest
 life attainable by men and women is    
jeopardized by reliance upon a          
superhuman1 cosmic being for guidance   
and help4 ,i know1 of course1 that ,god 
has been defined in various terms4 ,i do
 not choose among them4 ,for it seems to
 me indisputable that those who turn to 
,god1 however ,god be defined1 do so    
because1 consciously or unconsciously1  
they seek there the satisfaction of     
wants1 the worth of living1 and security
 for what they passionately prize1 which
 they have not found and despair of     
finding in the human venture as they    
know it4 ,reliance upon ,god for what   
life does not afford1 has1 in my        
opinion1 harmful consequences4 ,it      
diverts attention from the specific     
conditions upon which a better or a     
worse life depends2 it leads men to     
regard themselves as spectators of a    

course of events which they in reality  
help to determine2 it makes the highest 
human excellence consist in acquiescence
 in the supposed will of a being that is
 defined as not human1 a being that is  
above the driving force of impulse1 that
 does not experience vacillating moods  
or conflicting desires1 that is never   
harassed by doubts or misled by         
ignorance4444 ,theism is in essence     
repressive1 prohibitory1 ascetic4 ,the  
outcome of its influence is that        
expertness in practical living and      
expertness in evaluating life1 instead  
of uniting to take advantage of a common
 opportunity1 are set against each      
other4 ,this is the profound dualism    
which remains to be mastered4 ,it can be
 mastered by the concentration upon     
human needs and powers4   ,,john ,,dewey
  ,the method we term scientific forms  
for the modern man 7and a man is not    
modern merely because he lives in #aica7
 the sole1 dependable means of          
disclosing the realities of existence4  

,it is the sole authentic mode of       
revelation4 ,this possession of a new   
method1 to the use of which no limits   
can be put1 signifies a new idea of the 
nature and possibilities of experience4 
,it imports a new morale of confidence1 
control1 and security4  ,c4 ,e4 ,m4     
,,joad  ,all through the century        
7nineteenth71 whenever and wherever     
there is a movement for change and      
betterment1 the clergy are found        
opposing it4 ,in this they are merely   
carrying on the tradition of their      
order4 ,when one looks back over        
history1 one realizes that there is     
scarcely any discovery which science has
 made for human advancement and         
happiness which churchmen and           
theologians have not violently opposed4 
,not content with burning each other1   
they burnt the men who discovered the   
earth's motion1 burnt the men who made  
the first tentative beginnings of       
physics and chemistry1 burnt the men who
 laid the foundations of our medical    

knowledge4444 ,bad as has been the      
church's record in the past1 it is not  
greatly improved in the present4444 ,for
 two thousand years teachers and        
preachers have striven1 by inculcating  
the principles and precepts of          
,christianity1 to mould men's character 
and to improve their conduct2 yet we    
still have our prisons1 our judges1 and 
our wars1 and it remains today1 as it   
has done for two thousand years past1 an
 arguable question whether men are      
better or worse than they were before   
,christianity was introduced4           
,,william ,,pepperell ,,montague  ,if we
 will for a moment imagine the ,bible to
 have come suddenly to our attention    
today1 unencumbered by a tradition of   
divine authority1 and with no more      
sacredness than a newly discovered      
writing of ancient ,china or ,egypt1 we 
can see quite readily that it would     
occur to nobody who took the work merely
 on its merits either to accept it as   
scientifically and historically true1 or

 to twist its statements into a         
far-fetched allegory of the truth4      
,religion will be outmoded2 and its     
tidings of escape to another and better 
world will ring cold in the ears of     
those who love this4 ,the new           
worldliness that religion must face is  
based on the faith that there is not    
only no place for heaven1 but no need   
for it4 ,humanity1 adolescent at last1  
has tasted the first fruits of the      
victory of secular intelligence over    
nature1 and dreams grandly of far       
greater victories to come4   ,,irwin    
,,edman  ,the hope of the world         
certainly lies in intelligence4         
,certainly1 there is no hope anywhere   
else4 ,i cannot look to anything so     
remotely definable as ,god for aid1 nor 
do ,i ever regret not being able to do  
so4   ,,walter ,,lippmann  ,many reasons
 have been adduced to explain why people
 do not go to church as much as they    
once did4 ,surely the most important    
reason is that they are not so certain  

that they are going to meet ,god when   
they go to church4 ,if they had that    
certainty they would go4 ,if they really
 believed that they were being watched  
by a ,supreme ,being who is more        
powerful than all the kings of the earth
 put together1 if they really believed  
that not only their actions but their   
secret thoughts were known and would be 
remembered by the creator1 and ultimate 
judge of the universe1 there would be no
 complaint whatever about church        
attendance4 ,the most worldly would be  
in the front pews1 and preachers would  
not have to resort so often to their    
rather desperate expedients to attract  
an audience4 ,if the conviction were    
there that the creed professed was      
invincibly true1 the modern congregation
 would not come to church1 as they      
usually do today1 to hear the preacher  
and to listen to the music4 ,they would 
come to worship ,god4   ,h4 ,l4         
,,mencken  ,alone among the great       
nations of history we have got rid of   

religion as a serious scourge1 and by   
the simple process of reducing it to a  
petty nuisance4 ,for men become         
civilized1 not in proportion to their   
willingness to believe1 but in          
proportion to their readiness to doubt4 
,the more stupid the man1 the larger his
 stock of adamantine assurances1 the    
heavier his load of faith4 ,when        
,copernicus proved that the earth       
revolved around the sun1 he did not     
simply prove that the earth revolved    
around the sun1 he also proved that the 
so-called revelation of ,god1 as        
contained in the ,old ,testament1 was   
rubbish4 ,the first fact was relatively 
trivial3 it made no difference to the   
average man then1 as it makes no        
difference to him today4 ,but1 the      
second fact was of stupendous           
importance1 for it disposed at one      
stroke of a mass of bogus facts that had
 been choking the intelligence and      
retarding the progress of humanity for a
 millennium and a half4444  ,i believe  

that religion1 generally speaking1 has  
been a curse to mankind2 that its modest
 and greatly overestimated services on  
the ethical side have been more than    
overborne by the damage it has done to  
clear and honest thinking4   ,,horace   
,m4 ,,kallen  ,it is a significant trait
 of history that the times and nations  
most distinguished for piety are also   
most distinguished for backwardness4    
,czarist ,russia1 and contemporary      
,spain are near examples1 but           
illustrations may be drawn from any part
 of the world2 the ,southern ,states of 
the ,united ,states of ,america1 for    
instance4 ,everywhere the scope and     
intensity of belief in the supernatural 
seem to be directly proportional to the 
misery and weakness of the believer 7one
 compensates for the other74 ,freedom of
 speech and of press and discussion     
which means generally restraint of all  
interference in the amicable threshing  
out of conflicting opinions1 means1 with
 respect to religious beliefs1          

refraining from talking1 writing or     
discussing candidly at all4 ,in every   
society belief in the supernatural is   
privileged belief1 and there accrue to  
it all the advantages and disadvantages 
of privilege4444 ,but mystics and       
religionists are not silent4 ,on the    
contrary1 they become1 having passed    
through a religious experience1 voluble4
   ,,albert ,,einstein  ,i do not       
believe we can have any freedom at all  
in the philosophical sense1 for we act  
not only under external compulsion1 but 
also by inner necessity4444 ,i cannot   
imagine a ,god who rewards and punishes 
the objects of his creation1 whose      
purposes are modelled after our own1 a  
,god1 in short1 who is but a reflection 
of human frailty4 ,neither can ,i       
believe that the individual survives the
 death of his body1 although feeble     
souls harbor such thoughts through fear 
or ridiculous egotism4 ,it is enough for
 me to contemplate the mystery of       
conscious life perpetuating itself      

through all eternity1 to reflect upon   
the marvelous structure of the universe 
which we can dimly perceive1 and to try 
humbly to comprehend even an            
infinitesimal part of the intelligence  
manifested in nature4   ,,luther        
,,burbank  ,our lives as we live them   
are passed on to others1 whether in     
physical or mental forms tinging all    
future lives forever4 ,this should be   
enough for one who lives for truth and  
service to his fellow passengers on the 
way4 ,no avenging ,jewish ,god1 no      
satanic devil1 no fiery hell is of any  
interest to him4 ,the scientist is a    
lover of truth for the very love of     
truth itself1 wherever it may lead4     
,every normal human being has ideals1   
one or many1 to look up to1 to reach up 
to1 to grow up to4 ,religion refers to  
the sentiments and feelings2 science    
refers to the demonstrated everyday laws
 of nature4 ,feelings are all right1 if 
one does not get drunk on them4 ,prayer 
may be elevating if combined with works1

 and they who labor with head1 hands1 or
 feet have faith and are generally quite
 sure of an immediate and favorable     
reply4  ,those who take refuge behind   
theological barbed wire fences1 quite   
often wish they could have more freedom 
of thought1 but fear the change to the  
great ocean of scientific truth as they 
would a cold bath plunge4   ,,sir       
,,arthur ,,keith  ,certainly the        
creative power which is at work bears no
 resemblance to the personal ,god       
postulated by the ,hebrews1 and the     
modern man of science cannot fit ,him   
into the scheme of the world as he knows
 it4 ,he has to try to reconceive ,god1 
and when he has done so1 nothing but an 
unsatisfying abstraction is left4 ,it is
 unsatisfying because even the greatest 
men of science1 although they possess   
the intellects of giants1 have still the
 hearts of children4 ,and children cling
 to that which is endowed with a human  
shape and has been given the warmth of  
living flesh4   ,h4 ,,levy  ,a structure

 of absolute moral and religious beliefs
 erected initially as beyond criticism1 
imposed upon a changing society from    
above rather than emerging from below1  
has no affinity with science1 whatever  
personal solace and comfort it may      
provide1 for it assumes that the facts  
of life1 including the material facts of
 the world1 can be compassed within a   
rigidly prescribed framework4 ,it has   
taken several centuries of history for  
the scientific movement to be           
emancipated from just these cramping    
human assumptions4 ,the writings of many
 scientists show1 alas1 that the        
emancipation has not yet been completed4
   ,j4 ,b4 ,s4 ,,haldane  ,we know very 
little about what may be called the     
geography of the invisible world4 ,the  
religions1 if ,i may continue the       
metaphor1 have covered the vacant spaces
 of its map with imaginary monsters2 the
 philosophies have ruled them with      
equally imaginary parallels of latitude4
 ,but both have affirmed1 in opposition 

to the so-called practical man1 that the
 meaning of the visible world is to be  
found in the invisible4 ,that has been  
the secret of their success4 ,they have 
failed when they tried either to        
describe the details of the visible     
world or to dictate the details of      
conduct in it4 ,the churches are half   
empty today because their creeds are    
full of obsolete science1 and their     
ethical codes are suited to a social    
organization far simpler than that of   
today4   ,,howard ,w4 ,,haggard1 ,m4 ,d4
  ,when in the fifth century the ,roman 
,empire fell at the hands of the        
barbarians1 rational medicine ceased    
altogether in ,europe4 ,although the    
,christian religion survived1 the       
,christian theology of that time denied 
liberty of conscience and taught        
superstitions and dogma4 ,it was        
bitterly hostile to the scientific      
spirit4 ,all knowledge necessary to     
man's salvation1 physical as well as    
spiritual1 was to be found in the ,bible

 as the ,church interpreted the ,bible4 
,since the teachings of the ,church were
 supposed to be sufficient for all      
needs1 there was no excuse for          
observations and experimental           
investigations4 ,the inquisitive spirit 
was wholly suppressed1 the rigorous     
methods of ,greek logic were for many   
centuries lost from ,european           
civilization1 and intelligent thought   
was replaced by revelation1 speculation1
 tradition1 and subservience to the     
written word of the ,bible1 to the      
writings of saints1 and later1 in       
medical matters1 to the work of ,galen4 
,the theological beliefs of the time    
became the controlling influence in     
,western civilization4   ,,harry ,,elmer
 ,,barnes  ,there has never been any    
religious crisis of this kind before1   
and any attempt at exact comparisons    
with the past are here bound to be      
misleading and distorting4 ,even the    
extreme assailant of pagan religions1   
like ,lucretius1 had no basis for the   

critical attitude as the contemporary   
sceptic4 ,the bitter attack of          
,lucretius upon supernatural religion   
was based mainly upon assumptions and   
intuitions1 as incapable of proof at the
 time as were the most extreme pietistic
 views of his age4 ,today the situation 
has been profoundly altered4            
,contemporary science1 especially       
astrophysics1 renders the whole set of  
assumptions underlying the              
anthropomorphic and geocentric          
supernaturalism of the past absolutely  
archaic and preposterous4 ,our          
scientific knowledge has undermined the 
most precious tales in the holy books of
 all peoples4 ,the development of       
biblical criticism has discredited the  
dogma of direct revelation and unique   
nature of the ,hebrew ,bible4 ,textual  
scholarship has been equally devastating
 to the sacred scriptures which form the
 literary basis of the other world      
religions4 ,it avails one nothing to    
deny these things1 for they are actually

 undeniable4 ,we must face the implied  
intellectual revolution honestly and see
 what is to be done about it4   ,,george
 ,,jean ,,nathan  ,to be thoroughly     
religious1 one must1 ,i believe1 be     
sorely disappointed4 ,one's faith in    
,god increases as one's faith in the    
world decreases4 ,the happier the man1  
the farther he is from ,god4   ,,rupert 
,,hughes  ,it is important that the     
truth be known4 ,is religion1 is church 
membership a help to virtue8 ,the       
careless will answer without hesitation1
 ,yes6 ,of course4 ,the statistics1 when
 they are not smothered1 cry1 ,no6      
,,hu ,,shih  ,on the basis of           
biological1 sociological1 and historical
 knowledge1 we should recognize that the
 individual self is subject to death and
 decay1 but the sum total of individual 
achievement1 for better or for worse1   
lives on in the immortality of the      
,larger ,self2 that to live for the sake
 of the species and posterity is        
religion of the highest kind2 and that  

those religions which seek a future life
 either in ,heaven or in the ,pure      
,land1 are selfish religions4   ,,dr4   
,,frankwood ,e4 ,,williams  ,in these   
difficult times we are told that we     
should go to the temple1 that we should 
get in touch with ,god4 ,we do not need 
the temple4 ,we do not need to get in   
touch with ,god4 ,we need to get in     
touch with each other4   ,,william      
,,floyd  ,this ,bible bears every       
evidence of being a book like every     
other book1 conceived by man1 written by
 man1 altered by man1 translated by man1
 printed by man1 but--and this is where 
it differs from every other book--the   
,bible is swallowed by man4 ,and it has 
disagreed with him2 man has not digested
 it properly through lack of sufficient 
dissection of its parts4 ,it has been   
taken with a spiritual sauce that has   
disguised its real flavor4 ,anything in 
the ,bible1 no matter how raw1 is taken 
as ,god's food4 ,it is used to          
demonstrate problems of diet which do   

not provide a balanced ration2 it is    
accepted by the gullible though         
contradicted by the revelations of      
,geology1 ,astronomy1 ,anthropology1    
,zoology1 and ,biology4 ,taken as       
prescribed by the doctors of divinity1  
the ,bible is a poisonous book4         
,,llewelyn ,,powys  ,the idea of an     
incarnation of ,god is absurd3 why      
should the human race think itself so   
superior to bees1 ants1 and elephants as
 to be put in this unique relation to   
its maker8 ,christians are like a       
council of frogs in a marsh or a synod  
of worms on a dung hill croaking and    
squeaking1 ,for our sakes was the world 
created4   ,,theodore ,,dreiser  ,and   
why again1 composed though we may be of 
this1 that1 and the other proton1       
electron1 etc41 etc41 why should we not 
in some way be able to sense why we are 
as we are--assembled as we are of the   
same ultimate atoms and doing as we do8 
,why8 ,good ,god--surely in the face of 
all this sense of aliveness and motion1 

and this and that1 there should be some 
intimation of ,,why8 ,but no--none4     
,,upton ,,sinclair  ,it is a fact1 the  
significance of which cannot be         
exaggerated1 that the measure of the    
civilization which any nation has       
attained is the extent to which it has  
curtailed the power of institutionalized
 religion4 ,there are a score of great  
religions in the world1 each with scores
 or hundreds of sects1 each with its    
priestly orders1 its complicated creed  
and ritual1 its heavens and hells4 ,each
 has its thousands or millions or       
hundreds of millions of true believers2 
each damns all the others1 with more or 
less heartiness1 and each is a mighty   
fortress of ,graft4         99       99 
99       99       99       ,the ,middle 
,guard       ,it is terrible to die of  
thirst at sea4 ,is it necessary that you
      should salt your truth that it    
will no longer quench thirst8           
,,nietzsche4         99       99        
99       99       99   ,,alfred ,,north 

,,whitehead  ,indeed1 history1 down to  
the present day1 is a melancholy record 
of the horrors which can attend         
religion3 human sacrifice1 and1 in      
particular1 the slaughter of children1  
cannibalism1 sensual orgies1 abject     
superstition1 hatred as between races1  
the maintenance of degrading customs1   
hysteria1 bigotry1 can all be laid at   
it's charge4 ,religion is the last      
refuge of human savagery4   ,,robert    
,,andrews ,,millikan  ,the              
anthropomorphic ,god of the ancient     
world--the ,god of human passions1      
frailties1 caprices1 and whims is gone1 
and with him the old duty to propitiate 
him1 so that he might be induced to     
treat you better than your neighbor4    
,can anyone question the advance that   
has been made in diminishing the        
prevalence of these medieval1           
essentially childish1 and essentially   
selfish ideas8 ,the new ,god is the ,god
 of law and order2 the new duty1 to know
 that order and to get into harmony with

 it1 to learn how to make the world a   
better place for mankind to live in1 not
 merely how to save your individual     
soul4 ,however1 once destroy our        
confidence in the principle of          
uniformity1 our belief in the rule of   
law1 and our effectiveness immediately  
disappears1 our method ceases to be     
dependable1 and our laboratories become 
deserted4   ,,albert ,c4 ,,dieffenbach  
,the plain truth is1 thousands upon     
thousands of men and women have gone out
 of the ,church4 ,they take no stock in 
its obsolete teachings to which they    
once subscribed in order to become      
members4 ,after great tribulation1 they 
have made their declaration of religious
 independence4 ,they have taken the     
right turn for their own salvation4 ,the
 churches as a whole do not know that   
today there is a violent intellectual   
revolution among all people who think4  
,the so-called theism that is embalmed  
in the old theology and is still        
preached is utterly defunct for many    

persons of this generation4 ,like it or 
not1 that is a fact4   ,,dr4 ,,charles  
,w4 ,,eliot  ,the creeds of the churches
 contain conceptions of ,god's nature   
and of his action toward the human race 
which are intolerable to the ethical    
mind of the twentieth century4 ,the     
conception of one being1 human or       
divine1 suffering1 though innocent1 for 
the sins of others1 is revolting to the 
universal sense of justice and fair     
dealing4 ,no school1 no family1 no      
court1 would punish the innocent when   
the guilty were known4 ,this conception 
of ,god is hideous1 cruel1 insane1 and  
no ,christian church which tolerates it 
can be efficient in the promotion of    
human welfare and happiness4