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30 chapters
PREFACE
PREFACE
INFIDEL! I put the word in capitals, because it is my new name, and I want to get used to it. The name has been bestowed on me by several Christian gentlemen as a reproach, but to my ears it has a quaint and not unpleasing sound. Infidel! "The notorious infidel editor of the Clarion " is the form used by one True Believer. The words recurred to my mind suddenly, while I was taking my favourite black pipe for a walk along "the pleasant Strand," and I felt a smile glimmer within as I repeated them
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FOREWORDS
FOREWORDS
It is impossible for me to present the whole of my case in the space at my command; I can only give an outline. Neither can I do it as well as it ought to be done, but only as well as I am able. To make up for my shortcomings, and to fortify my case with fuller evidence, I must refer the reader to books written by men better equipped for the work than I. To do justice to so vast a theme would need a large book where I can only spare a short chapter, and each large book should be written by a spe
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THE SIN OF UNBELIEF
THE SIN OF UNBELIEF
Huxley quotes with satirical gusto Dr. Wace's declaration as to the word "Infidel." Said Dr. Wace: "The word infidel, perhaps, carries an unpleasant significance. Perhaps it is right that it should. It is, and it ought to be, an unpleasant thing for a man to have to say plainly that he does not believe in Jesus Christ." Be it pleasant or unpleasant to be an unbeliever, one thing is quite clear: religious people intend the word Infidel to carry "an unpleasant significance" when they apply to it o
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ONE REASON
ONE REASON
I have been asked why I have opposed Christianity. I have several reasons, which shall appear in due course. At present I offer one. I oppose Christianity because it is not true . No honest man will ask for any other reason. But it may be asked why I say that Christianity is not true; and that is a very proper question, which I shall do my best to answer....
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WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT BELIEVE
WHAT I CAN AND CANNOT BELIEVE
I hope it will not be supposed that I have any personal animus against Christians or Christian ministers, although I am hostile to the Church. Many ministers and many Christian laymen I have known are admirable men. Some I know personally are as able and as good as any men I have met; but I speak of the Churches, not of individuals. I have known Catholic priests and sisters who were worthy and charming, and there are many such; but I do not like the Catholic Church. I have known Tories and Liber
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IS THE BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD?
IS THE BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD?
The question of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures is one of great importance. If the Bible is a divine revelation, if it contains the actual word of God, and nothing but the word of God, then it is folly to doubt any statement it contains. If the Bible is merely the work of men, if it contains only the words of men, then, like all other human work, the Bible is fallible, and must submit to criticism and examination, as all fallible human work must. The Christian Religion stands or falls b
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THE EVOLUTION OF THE BIBLE
THE EVOLUTION OF THE BIBLE
We now reach the second stage in our examination, which is the claim that no religion known to man can be truly said to be original. All religions, the Christian religion included, are adaptations or variants of older religions. Religions are not revealed : they are evolved . If a religion were revealed by God, that religion would be perfect in whole and in part, and would be as perfect at the first moment of its revelation as after ten thousand years of practice. There has never been a religion
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NOTES ON THE MOSES MYTH.
NOTES ON THE MOSES MYTH.
It is impossible to form a just estimate of the Bible without some knowledge of ancient history and comparative mythology. It would be impossible for me to go deeply into these matters in this small book, but I will quote a few significant passages just to show the value of such historical evidence. Here to begin with, are some passages from Mr. Grant Allen's Evolution of the Idea of God . THE ORIGIN OF GODS. Much of the Bible is evidently legendary. Here we have a jumble of ancient myths, alleg
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THE UNIVERSE ACCORDING TO ANCIENT RELIGION AND MODERN SCIENCE
THE UNIVERSE ACCORDING TO ANCIENT RELIGION AND MODERN SCIENCE
The theory of the early Christian Church was that the Earth was flat, like a plate, and the sky was a solid dome above it, like an inverted blue basin. The Sun revolved round the Earth to give light by day, the Moon revolved round the Earth to give light by night. The stars were auxiliary lights, and had all been specially, and at the same time, created for the good of man. God created the Sun, Moon, Stars, and Earth in six days. He created them by word, and He created them out of nothing. The c
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JEHOVAH THE ADOPTED HEAVENLY FATHER OF CHRISTIANITY
JEHOVAH THE ADOPTED HEAVENLY FATHER OF CHRISTIANITY
In giving the above brief sketch of the known universe my object was to suggest that the Creator of a universe of such scope and grandeur must be a Being of vast power and the loftiest dignity. Now, the Christians claim that their God created this universe—not the universe He is described, in His own inspired word, as creating, but the universe revealed by science; the universe of twenty millions of suns. And the Christians claim that this God is a God of love, a God omnipotent, omnipresent, and
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THE BOOK OF BOOKS
THE BOOK OF BOOKS
Floods of sincere, but unmerited, adulation have been lavished on the Hebrew Bible. The world has many books of higher moral and literary value. It would be easy to compile, from the words of Heretics and Infidels, a purer and more elevated moral guide than this "Book of Books." The ethical code of the Old Testament is no longer suitable as the rule of life. The moral and intellectual advance of the human race has left it behind. The historical books of the Old Testament are largely pernicious,
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OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
The Rev. T. Rhondda Williams, in Shall We Understand the Bible? shows very clearly the gradual evolution of the idea of God amongst the Jews from a lower to a higher conception. Having dealt with the lower conception, let us now consider the higher. The highest conception of God is supposed to be the Christian conception of God as a Heavenly Father. This conception credits the Supreme Being with supernal tenderness and mercy—"God is Love." That is a very lofty, poetical, and gratifying conceptio
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PRAYER AND PRAISE
PRAYER AND PRAISE
As to prayer and praise. Christians believe that God is just, that He is all-wise and all-knowing. If God is just, will He not do justice without being entreated of men? If God is all wise, and knows all that happens, will He not know what is for man's good better than man can tell Him? If He knows better than Man knows what is best for man, and if He is a just God and a loving Father, will He not do right without any advice or reminder from Man? If He is a just God, will He give us less than ju
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VALUE OF THE EVIDENCE IN LAW
VALUE OF THE EVIDENCE IN LAW
Christianity as a religion must, I am told, stand or fall with the claims that Christ was divine, and that He rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Archdeacon Wilson, in a sermon at Rochdale, described the divinity and Resurrection of Christ as "the central doctrines of Christianity." The question we have to consider here is the question of whether these central doctrines are true. Christians are fond of saying that the Resurrection is one of the best attested facts in history. I hold tha
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THE GOSPEL WITNESSES
THE GOSPEL WITNESSES
As men of the world, with some experience in sifting and weighing evidence, what can we say about the evidence for the Resurrection? In the first place, there is no acceptable evidence outside the New Testament, and the New Testament is the authority of the Christian Church. In the second place, there is nothing to show that the Gospels were written by eye-witnesses of the alleged fact. In the third place, the Apostle Paul was not an eye-witness of the alleged fact. In the fourth place, although
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THE TIME SPIRIT IN THE FIRST CENTURY
THE TIME SPIRIT IN THE FIRST CENTURY
A story emanating from a superstitious and unscientific people would be received with more doubt than a story emanating from people possessing a knowledge of science, and not prone to accept stories of the marvellous without strict and full investigation. A miracle story from an Arab of the Soudan would be received with a smile; a statement of some occult mystery made by a Huxley or a Darwin would be accorded a respectful hearing and a serious criticism. Now, the accounts of the Resurrection in
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CHRISTIANITY BEFORE CHRIST
CHRISTIANITY BEFORE CHRIST
If the story of Christ's life were true, we should not expect to find that nearly all the principal events of that life had previously happened in the lives of some earlier god or gods, long since acknowledged to be mythical. If the Gospel record were the only record of a god coming upon earth, of a god born of a virgin, of a god slain by men, that record would seem to us more plausible than it will seem if we discover proof that other and earlier gods have been fabled to have come on earth, to
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OTHER EVIDENCES OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY
OTHER EVIDENCES OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY
Archdeacon Wilson gives two reasons for accepting the doctrines of Christ's divinity and Resurrection as true. The first of these reasons is, the success of the Christian religion; the second is, the evolution of the Christlike type of character. If the success of the Christian religion proves that Christ was God, what does the success of the Buddhist religion prove? What does the success of the Mohammedan religion prove? Was Buddha God? Was Mahomet God? The archdeacon does not believe in any mi
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THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY?
What is Christianity? When I began to discuss religion in the Clarion I thought I knew what Christianity was. I thought it was the religion I had been taught as a boy in Church of England and Congregationalist Sunday schools. But since then I have read many books, and pamphlets, and sermons, and articles intended to explain what Christianity is, and I begin to think there are as many kinds of Christianity as there are Christians. The differences are numerous and profound: they are astonishing. T
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CAN MAN SIN AGAINST GOD?
CAN MAN SIN AGAINST GOD?
I have said several times that Man could not and cannot sin against God. This is the theory of Determinism, and I will now explain it. If God is responsible for Man's existence, God is responsible for Man's acts. The Christian says God is our Maker. God made Man. Who is responsible for the quality or powers of a thing that is made? The thing that is made cannot be responsible, for it did not make itself. But the maker is responsible, for he made it. As Man did not make himself, and had neither a
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CHRISTIAN APOLOGIES CHRISTIAN APOLOGIES
CHRISTIAN APOLOGIES CHRISTIAN APOLOGIES
Christian apologists make some daring claims on behalf of their religion. The truth of Christianity is proved, they say, by its endurance and by its power; the beneficence of its results testifies to the divinity of its origin. These claims command wide acceptance, for the simple reason that those who deny them cannot get a hearing. The Christians have virtual command of all the churches, universities, and schools. They have the countenance and support of the Thrones, Parliaments, Cabinets, and
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CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILISATION
CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILISATION
It is a common mistake of apologists to set down all general improvements and signs of improvements to the credit of the particular religion or political theory they defend. Every good Liberal knows that bad harvests are due to Tory government. Every good Tory knows that his Party alone is to thank for the glorious certainties that Britannia rules the waves, that an Englishman's house is his castle, and that journeymen tailors earn fourpence an hour more than they were paid in the thirteenth cen
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CHRISTIANITY AND ETHICS
CHRISTIANITY AND ETHICS
Christianity, we are told, inaugurated the religion of humanity and human brotherhood. But the Buddhists taught a religion of humanity and universal brotherhood before the Christian era; and not only taught the religion, but put it into practice, which the Christians never succeeded in doing, and cannot do to-day. And, moreover, the Buddhists did not spread their religion of humanity and brotherhood by means of the sword, and the rack, and the thumb-screw, and the faggot; and the Buddhists liber
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THE SUCCESS OF CHRISTIANITY
THE SUCCESS OF CHRISTIANITY
We are told that the divine origin and truth of Christianity are proved by the marvellous success of that religion. But it seems to me that the reverse is proved by its failure. Christianity owed its magnificent opportunities (which it has wasted) to several accidental circumstances. Just as the rise of Buddhism was made possible by the act of King Asoka in adopting it as the State Religion of his vast Indian kingdom, was the rise of Christianity made possible by the act of the Emperor Constanti
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THE PROPHECIES
THE PROPHECIES
Another alleged proof of the divine verity of the Christian religion is the Prophecies. Hundreds of books—perhaps I might say thousands of books—have been written upon these prophecies. Wonderful books, wonderful prophecies, wonderful religion, wonderful people. If religious folk did not think by moonlight those books on the prophecies would never have been written. There are the prophecies of Christ's coming which are pointed out in the Old Testament. That the Jews had many prophecies of a Jewi
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THE UNIVERSALITY OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF
THE UNIVERSALITY OF RELIGIOUS BELIEF
Christians declare the religious sentiment to be universal. Even if it were so, that would show a universal spiritual hunger; but would not prove the Christian religion to be its only food. But the religious sentiment is not universal. I know many young people who have never been taught religion of any kind, who have never read Bible nor Gospel, who never attended any place of worship; and they are virtuous and courteous and compassionate and happy, and feel no more need of spiritual comfort or
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SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
SPIRITUAL DISCERNMENT
Christians say that only those who are naturally religious can understand religion, or, as Archdeacon Wilson puts it, "Spiritual truths must be spiritually discerned." This seems to amount to a claim that religious people possess an extra sense or faculty. When a man talks about "spiritual discernment," he makes a tacit assertion which ought not to be allowed to pass unchallenged. What is that assertion or implication? It is the implication that there is a spiritual discernment which is distinct
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SOME OTHER APOLOGIES
SOME OTHER APOLOGIES
Christianity, we are told, vastly improved the relations of rich and poor. How comes it, then, that the treatment of the poor by the rich is better amongst Jews than amongst Christians? How did it fare with the poor all over Europe in the centuries when Christianity was at the zenith of its power? How is it we have twelve millions of Christians on the verge of starvation in England to-day, with a Church rolling in wealth and an aristocracy decadent from luxury and self-indulgence? How is it that
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COUNSELS OF DESPAIR
COUNSELS OF DESPAIR
"If you take from us our religion," say the Christians, "what have you to offer but counsels of despair?" This seems to me rather a commercial way of putting the case, and not a very moral one. Because a moral man would not say: "If I give up my religion, what will you pay me?" He would say: "I will never give, up my religion unless I am convinced it is not true ." To a moral man the truth would matter, but the cost would not. To ask what one may gain is to show an absence of all real religious
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CONCLUSION THE PARTING OF THE WAYS
CONCLUSION THE PARTING OF THE WAYS
I have been asked why I have "gone out of my way to attack religion," why I do not "confine myself to my own sphere and work for Socialism, and what good I expect to do by pulling down without building up." But these questions arose from a misconception of my position and purpose. I have been called an "Infidel," a Socialist, and a Fatalist. Now, I am an Agnostic, or Rationalist, and I am a Determinist, and I am a Socialist. But if I were asked to describe myself in a single word, I should call
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