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41 chapters
PREFACE.
PREFACE.
— Shelley. At this time, in this age of agitation, unrest, dissatisfaction, and doubt among the masses, and all classes, in every civilized part of the globe, in all communities and human organizations, in church and out of church, ecclesiastical bodies of all shades; besides the vast number of theories and doctrines of a popular socialistic, anti-poverty, communistic order, etc., a prevailing skepticism has seized the minds of men, as to the truth, validity, and stability of the entire religiou
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THE CREATION OF GOD. CHAPTER I. UNIVERSAL ASPECT.
THE CREATION OF GOD. CHAPTER I. UNIVERSAL ASPECT.
The great civilizer, the press of modern times, was recently filled with accounts about the planet Mars, comet, etc., giving all the detailed information obtainable. Everyone who reads the newspapers learns something about Mars, and ventures to give his opinion, whether it is like the earth—inhabited, has seas or atmosphere, etc. So that, whatever new facts are revealed, new truths announced, the minds of men are made so much richer. Knowledge, the progress of science, the discoveries of importa
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SYNOPSIS.
SYNOPSIS.
The precise chemical action upon the elements composing these various geological formations at different remote periods, is no doubt difficult to ascertain. That there always has been some chemical action going on, and that it is continually going on, is certain. How and to what extent we can judge only from the experience of actual observation in the laboratory. Mr. Crale remarks: “The whole surface of the land is exposed to chemical action of the air, and of the rainwater with its dissolved ca
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THE ATMOSPHERE.
THE ATMOSPHERE.
By the word chemistry we understand the science which investigates the composition of all material substances, taking them apart or separating them, by a chemical process, and discovers the nature and properties of the minutest particle. These small particles have received the name, elements or elementary substances; that term is applied in chemistry to those forms of matter which have hitherto resisted all attempt to decompose them. “We know that we have earth, air, water, and we have seen in C
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CHAPTER III. THE CHEMICAL ASPECT.
CHAPTER III. THE CHEMICAL ASPECT.
As to physical properties of gases—they have weight, volume, diffusion, density, etc. Theologians insist that there is a God, a God that was first introduced to us by a man with the name of Abraham, advertised by Moses, and has been palmed off upon the masses as a something exceedingly wonderful. A multitude of men who find it to their interest to advocate his pretended claims, are still doing their utmost to sustain their God. We are trying to discover where he is to be found, whether he is a l
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CHAPTER IV. THE SUN.
CHAPTER IV. THE SUN.
There is not the slightest reason why every man, woman, and child at proper age should not be instructed in matters wherein they are immediately interested, the knowledge whereof would undoubtedly be to their benefit. Men have lived through centuries of fable, ages of fiction, long periods of myth. The Christian God is as much of a myth as any myth that ever existed. Humanity having passed through these various mental afflictions, gone through so many bloody surgical operations, we are, as it we
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CHAPTER V. GENESIS—THE CREATION.
CHAPTER V. GENESIS—THE CREATION.
(1) God could not have created the earth, as a planet distinct and separate by itself. This terrestrial globe belongs to a system of planets, and they are all not only dependent on one another, but all dependent on the sun for their existence. (2) How can God create a planet, this earth? Where did he get his material from? And was it possible for God to overcome the laws of gravitation? (3) Does it not seem strange that God, who seemed to have direct dealings with Moses, did not give him more in
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CHAPTER VI. GENESIS—THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
CHAPTER VI. GENESIS—THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
(4) The proportion of mineral matters contained in a man—or dust, as it is termed in scripture—is about 1⁄23 to 1⁄24 of the bodily weight. That is, a body weighing about 125 to 130 pounds would yield about 4½ to 5 pounds of dust, or rather ashes, and the largest proportion of these ashes comes from the solid framework, the skeleton, the bones, composed of phosphates and carbonate of lime. (5) More than two-thirds of the body’s weight is water—that is, hydrogen and oxygen. The principal element
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CHAPTER VII. THE DELUGE.
CHAPTER VII. THE DELUGE.
We will consider, first, a general deluge . A deluge over the whole earth is an impossibility. 1. We have to take in consideration the inequality of the earth’s surface—lowlands, highlands, hills and mountains, plateaus, etc. As to mountains: Asia possesses no less than sixty or seventy mountains, the highest being some 29,000 feet above the sea’s level—the Himalaya, Everest. Africa boasts of some thirty or forty mountains, the Kenia and Killamandja being 20,000 feet above the level of the sea,
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CHAPTER VIII. THE SCRIPTURAL GOD—THE CREATION.
CHAPTER VIII. THE SCRIPTURAL GOD—THE CREATION.
That these Chaldeans were great observers will not be disputed—otherwise they could not have discovered the fixed stars, planetary system, etc. That they must have had considerable intellectual qualities—perceptive powers and skill in reasoning—developed will be admitted, inasmuch as they were the inventors of astrology, and of what more we have no knowledge. They were great admirers of nature. We may infer that from the fact that they were students of astronomy, acute and close observers of nat
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CHAPTER IX. THE CREATION OF GOD—ABRAHAM.
CHAPTER IX. THE CREATION OF GOD—ABRAHAM.
Nature is mighty only under certain conditions. Peculiar combinations of elements are essential. The presence or absence of the sun’s heat plays always an important part. Nature’s being beautiful depends largely upon the education of the senses, the capability of discerning symmetry, harmony, color, etc., and this is acquired by comparison, taste, and habit. What strikes one eye as beautiful, may have just a contrary effect on another, or be passed with perfect indifference by a third. As to wis
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CHAPTER X. MOSES.—THE CONFIRMATION OF THE IDEA OF GOD.
CHAPTER X. MOSES.—THE CONFIRMATION OF THE IDEA OF GOD.
Moses was born in 1571 B.C. , and was made general of the Egyptian army when he was about thirty-five or thirty-seven years of age. In 1531 B.C. he fled from Egypt and arrived at Midian. He made the acquaintance of a priest named Raguel or Jethro—his future father-in-law, for he married Zipporah, Jethro’s daughter. Aaron, his brother, three years older, being born 1574 B.C. , must have been a man of considerable influence. He remained during Moses’s absence in Egypt. The exodus of the Israelites
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CHAPTER XI. SAMUEL THE KINGMAKER—THE WARWICK OF ANTIQUITY.
CHAPTER XI. SAMUEL THE KINGMAKER—THE WARWICK OF ANTIQUITY.
Competition and struggle with other nations had, if anything, an educational tendency. As they grew numerically stronger, jealousies arose. Ambitious men were grasping for power, and contending faction naturally was the result. The story about the lost asses is like that about another ass we have heard of, that saw the angel and talked—we have many such, even at the present day. These stories are excellent fabrications to entertain juveniles with. And people must be precious asses to believe thi
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THE TWO KINGDOMS—JUDAH, ISRAEL.
THE TWO KINGDOMS—JUDAH, ISRAEL.
The kingdom of Judah lasted to the time the Temple was burnt, 588 B.C. , having lasted three hundred and eighty-seven years—one hundred and thirty-three years longer than the kingdom of Israel. And what is more, these are the very Jews that are scattered all over the world. These latter are the representatives of these three tribes, Levi, Benjamin, and Judah. And if any person is curious enough to inquire of any Jew to what tribe he belongs, he will receive the answer that he belongs to one of t
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THE MIRACLE-MONGERS.
THE MIRACLE-MONGERS.
Civilization had not advanced much, but it nevertheless was progressing. The minds of men had undergone an evolution. The Jehova of Moses, or the simple abstract form of the Chaldean idol of Abraham, had lost its force, prestige, and importance. The ark, that sacred box, is completely lost sight of in these stirring times of revolution, rebellion, dissension, and fighting. The high priest since the time of Saul had to take a subordinate position. He was the minor oracle, the fault-finder, someti
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CHAPTER XIII. JEHOVA TAKES A REST.
CHAPTER XIII. JEHOVA TAKES A REST.
Lust, robbery, plunder, slaughter, superstition, and barbarism marked these few centuries with little intermission. The Levites had utilized the time in establishing the church and their priestly order, and that was actually the governing power during the four hundred and seventy-six years, but always under the name of the God of Moses, and was therefore designated the theocratic form of government. I ask now in all seriousness, can anyone possessing a reasonable amount of understanding really b
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CHAPTER XIV. THE END OF NATIONAL LIFE.
CHAPTER XIV. THE END OF NATIONAL LIFE.
Why should this almighty God, this Jehova, keep his chosen people continually on the rack of transgression, crime, and folly? Why did he create them so that they should so easily forget him, and devote their reverence, their veneration, their sacrifices, and their prayers to some brass or wooden image? The excuse so frequently made throughout the Bible, as a reason for losing battles or being made captives, that the Jews forsook their Jehova, their God, is no extenuating circumstance. How comes
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CHAPTER XV. THE CHRISTIAN ERA.
CHAPTER XV. THE CHRISTIAN ERA.
These few citations I hope will be convincing proof of the progress made, thus showing that men were observing, reasoning, calculating, governed by demonstration and proof. It would have been impossible for Moses, or any other man, to perform miracles of the nature theologians believe, at the time of Christ. Two conditions are always necessary for every miracle—profound ignorance on the one hand, and a clever fraud on the other. There are, however, another class of miracles, that are at all time
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ANIMAL-VEGETABLES, PROTISTA.
ANIMAL-VEGETABLES, PROTISTA.
Mineral bodies have no life to lose, and contain no internal principle of destruction. Once formed, they exist until destroyed by some external power. They lie passive under control of physical forces. Life. The great characteristic of plants and animals is life, which these beings enjoy, but minerals do not. We may safely infer that life is not a product, or result, of the organization; but is a force manifested in matter, which it controls and shapes into peculiar forms—into an apparatus, in w
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ANIMAL LIFE.
ANIMAL LIFE.
The more highly organized tissues found in the animal are composed of five elements, as muscle, brain, blood; these are Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, and sulphur. Albumen , for example, exists in most of the tissues of the body, but especially in the nervous tissue, lymph, chyle, blood, etc. Fibrine is found most abundantly in the blood and the more perfect portions of the lymph and chyle. Gelatinous substances are contained in the cellular or fibro-cellular tissues in all parts of the bod
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PHILOSOPHICO-ANATOMICAL VIEWS OF A CELEBRATED HEBREW AUTHOR, AFTER TALMUDISTIC INTERPRETATION.
PHILOSOPHICO-ANATOMICAL VIEWS OF A CELEBRATED HEBREW AUTHOR, AFTER TALMUDISTIC INTERPRETATION.
World : Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon. Man : Wisdom, riches, dominion, life, kindness, posterity, peace. Year : The seven days in the week. The twelve single one letters not mentioned—Man : Organs of hearing, seeing, smelling, speaking, tasting, begetting, dealing, walking, thinking, anger, laughing, sleeping. World : The twelve Zodiacs. “One on three and three on seven and seven on twelve. And these numbers have their functions in common one with another. For example, ‘the ki
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THE MUSCULAR TISSUES.
THE MUSCULAR TISSUES.
Besides, there is every reason to believe that the ground substance is similar in nature to ordinary protoplasm, but without the granular character commonly but not always exhibited. Blood-vessels are largely distributed in the substance of a muscle, carrying the materials necessary for its nourishment and chemico-vital changes, and there are also lymphatic vessels as in other vascular parts of the body. Nerves run through every muscle, by which the muscular contractions are called forth, and a
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THE CEREBRO-SPINAL SYSTEM.
THE CEREBRO-SPINAL SYSTEM.
The nerves immediately connected with the brain are of several kinds. And there are twelve pairs of them. They are called cerebral nerves. There are four kinds. 1. Nerves of special sense. 2. Nerves of common sensation. 3. Nerves of motion. 4. Mixed nerves of sensation and motion. The nerves of special sense may with great propriety be termed the nerves of observation, perception—the gateways of intelligence and education. I.—Nerves of special sense: 1. The olfactory supplies the nose, special s
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Non-Nitrogenous Substances.
Non-Nitrogenous Substances.
Animals cannot subsist on any but organic substances, and these must contain the elements which are naturally combined with them—in other words, not even organic compounds are nutritive unless they are supplied in their natural state. Pure fibrine, pure gelatine, and other principles purified from the substances naturally mingled with them, are incapable of supporting life for more than a brief time. Moreover, health cannot be maintained by any number of substances derived exclusively from one o
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HEAT AND TEMPERATURE.
HEAT AND TEMPERATURE.
The temperature maintained by mammalia of an active state of life averages 101° F. In birds , the average is as high as 107° F., the highest temperature, 111.25°, being in the species of the linnets, etc. The sources and distribution of heat. Wherever metabolism of protoplasm is going on, heat is being generated. All over the body heat is being set free; more abundantly in the more active tissues, and most of all in those tissues the metabolism of which leads to little or no external work. The m
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THE CIRCULATION.
THE CIRCULATION.
The principal force provided for constantly moving the blood on this course, is that of the muscular substance of the heart; other assistant forces are (2) those of the elastic walls of the arteries, (3) the pressure of the muscles among which some of the veins run, (4) the movements of the walls of the chest in respiration, and (5) probably to some extent the interchange of relations between the blood and the tissues which ensues in the capillary system during the nutritive processes. The right
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THE BLOOD.
THE BLOOD.
Of the proteid substances the great mass consists of the so-called serum-albumen . Composition of red corpuscles : The red corpuscles contain less water than the serum. In 100 parts of red corpuscle there are: The solids are almost entirely organic matter, the inorganic salts in the corpuscles amounting to less than 4 per cent. In 100 parts of dried organic matter of the corpuscles of human blood there are: The blood is distributed as follows in round numbers: The average proportion of the princ
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THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION.
THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION.
The average weight in twenty-nine cases, male and female: The proportionate weight of the lungs to the body is: The substance of the lungs is of a light porous spongy texture, and when healthy is buoyant in water. Specific gravity, 0.126; deprived of air, 1.056. When pressed between the fingers, the lungs impart a crepitant sensation, which is accompanied by a peculiar noise, both effects being caused by the air contained in the tissue. On cutting the lung the same crepitation is heard. The pulm
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CHAPTER XX. DIGESTION, NUTRITION.
CHAPTER XX. DIGESTION, NUTRITION.
We will now examine briefly the organs and their secretions that convert food-substances into blood, and, by the blood, into tissue. The solvents and diluents of food in the human animal economy are the saliva of the mouth, the gastric juice of the stomach, the pancreative juice of the pancreas, the bile of the liver, and the juices of the intestines—the succus entericus. The digestive apparatus consists mainly of the alimentary canal together with various glands of which it receives the secreti
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The products of vegetation.
The products of vegetation.
We have other vegetable products called alkaloids , that are principally found in the bark and the leaves. A few examples will suffice: The alcohols, acids, ethers, and so on, are all composed of these elements: The combinations are infinite. Volumes are filled with organic chemistry. Mere mention only can be made, to show the wonderful power these elements display when variously combined. The products of destructive distillation of coal yield a remarkable series of combinations: These may under
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CHAPTER XXII. ALCOHOL AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE SYSTEM.
CHAPTER XXII. ALCOHOL AND ITS EFFECTS ON THE SYSTEM.
The watery portion of the muscle is not mentioned. Please notice the large quantity of Carbon and the small quantity of Hydrogen in the composition of the solid part of the muscle. We are aware that the muscles are always producing Carbonic Acid —that is, C and O 2 —and when a muscle contracts, there is a sudden and extensive increase of the normal production. The blood that comes from a contracting muscle is richer in Carbonic acid—that is, it contains one atom more of Carbon and two atoms of O
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THE MIND.
THE MIND.
5. One year.— A child one year old—( a ) Recognizes its parents imperfectly. Has slight coördinate movement of the upper extremities, and beginning of coördination of the lower extremities. Manifests its wants by making noises, but has no articulation. Sensations of pleasure, pain, and anger are more plainly expressed. Playfulness is greater. Fear is exhibited. ( b ) It has no mind, no intellect, no will power. No God, no religion, no soul. No thought, no idea, no conscience. No faculties, no me
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THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
THE LITANY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN.
From the time of Luther up to the present, God, Christ, Holy Ghost, Virgin, etc., have been toned down considerably, until there is indeed very little left except a shade of God. Our creeds now that have dismissed Christ, Holy Ghost, and Virgin, yet retain a hazy something which they still call God. The most erratic of these denominations yell themselves hoarse with shouting Sin and Salvation! The modern kindergarten of Protestant fashionable church organizations, the society churches, the schol
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CHAPTER XXV. THE ECCLESIASTICAL KINDERGARTEN.
CHAPTER XXV. THE ECCLESIASTICAL KINDERGARTEN.
Nowhere in the Old Testament is mention made of spirit and flesh after the manner of Paul. They had no knowledge of Grecian philosophy. Of course the mental condition had undergone some changes from the time of Ezra to Christ. Numerous sects had paved the way, and the ideas of various nations had been exchanged. A wonderful metamorphosis had taken place in the God during the one thousand five hundred years that passed between Moses and Paul. The ideal of Moses was a barbarous, cruel God—a determ
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Second.
Second.
No things can leave this earth, whether they are things visible, or things that are not visible. Nothing can come to us from any distant planet, whether it is visible or not visible. All things or beings, whether visible or not visible, tangible or not tangible, perceptible or imperceptible, belong to this earth, are the products of the earth. All things, beings, forms, or shapes, whatever be their nature or consistence, however they have appeared or been produced, on any portion of the surface
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Third.
Third.
A mind may be simple, mixed, complex, complicated, perverted, disordered, rational or irrational, etc., etc. The mind is of ages—infantile, childish, youthful, young, mature, deliberate, strong, weak, and senile, feminine or masculine, etc., etc. Nervous effects not understood are interpreted to be supernatural, not the product of the matter composing brain; this is false. The so-called spiritual manifestations are, in plain terms, delusions for susceptible nervous conditions, and generally larg
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Fourth.
Fourth.
The same may be said of plants and trees. The structural tissue of all trees is wood, yet are the trees not all alike. Nor can the wood tissue of the various trees be used for the same purpose. Each one is useful in its own particular line or sphere. The same may be said of minerals as to their appearance, qualities, uses, etc., etc. Each individual is simply the offspring of his parents. God has had nothing whatever to do in shaping or fashioning him. He has not endowed him with anything. He ha
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CHAPTER XXVII. VISIONS—BIBLE DREAMS—REVELATIONS.
CHAPTER XXVII. VISIONS—BIBLE DREAMS—REVELATIONS.
Chapter xxiii : Whoredoms. Chapter xxxviii : Boneyard. Chapter xlvii : Visions of holy waters. Daniel’s visions , dreams: Verse 3 : Four great beasts came up from the sea. The first was a lion and had eagle’s wings. The second was like a bear, it had three ribs in the mouth between the teeth, etc. The third was like a leopard, and had four wings of a fowl, and had four heads. The fourth a beast dreadful and terrible, strong exceedingly—had great iron teeth—and it had ten horns. A little horn cam
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CHAPTER XXVIII. THE PLANETARY GODS.
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE PLANETARY GODS.
As to the forethought, adaptation, or convenience, the hog, the elephant, the ass, and the fly enjoy their life just as much as men do. It is very convenient for them. But not more so than it is for man, and it is no more convenient for man than it is for the animals. We are certainly nearer the truth to say that the other planets are inhabited by beings, races, that may exhibit as much intelligence as, if not more than, we do on this globe. The conditions of light and heat may not be the same.
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CHAPTER XXIX. EVERY MAN HIS OWN GOD.
CHAPTER XXIX. EVERY MAN HIS OWN GOD.
It is but reasonable to inquire, Does God create the Brain, or does the Brain create God? That is really the entire question in a nutshell. We know, with absolute certainty, that God does not make brain, otherwise we should have it perhaps a little more uniform, and of a better quality. Besides, all other animals possessing brain would, of course, be entitled to the knowledge of this God in proportion to the size, quantity, and quality of the brain. This, then, being impossible, we have no other
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CHAPTER XXX. THE NON CREDO.
CHAPTER XXX. THE NON CREDO.
These are the terms and doxologies, forms of prayer and blessings. Can anyone conceive a more meaningless set of phrases? These are automatically repeated year in and year out, with the same intonation, gesture, whirling and buzzing in a circle. Do not the brains become blunted, the senses dulled? Or is it a mere mechanical effort, accompanied by an extraordinary amount of insincerity and actual duplicity of character? The conceit of these theological gentlemen, claiming divine superiority, is i
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