A Few Words About the Devil, and Other Biographical Sketches and EssaysBradlaugh, Charles
Religion
A Few Words About the Devil, and Other Biographical Sketches and Essays
Bradlaugh, Charles
Free thought
Here ends the new life of Jonah. Of the prophet's childhood we know
nothing; of his middle age no more than we have here related; of his old
age and death we have nothing to say. It is enough for good Christians
to know that "Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly;
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of
the earth." According to Jesus the story of Jonah is as true as Gospel.
WHO WAS JESUS CHRIST?
Many persons will consider the question heading this pamphlet as one to
which the Gospels have given a sufficient answer, and that no further
inquiry is necessary. We, in reply, point out that while the general
Christian body affirm that Jesus was God incarnate on earth, the
Unitarian Christians, less in numerical strength, but numbering a large
proportion of the more intelligent and humane, absolutely deny this
divinity; and even in the earliest ages of the Christian Church
heretics were found who scrupled not to deny that Jesus had ever existed
in the flesh. Under these circumstances, it is well to prosecute the
inquiry to the uttermost, that our faith may rest on sure foundations.
The history of Jesus Christ is contained in four books, or gospels. We
know not with any degree of certainty, and have now no means of knowing,
when these gospels were written, we know not where they were written,
and we know not by whom they were written. Until after the year A. D.
200, no author, except Irenæus, professes to mention any gospels by
Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John, and there is no sufficient evidence to
identify the gospels we have with the writings to which Irenseus refers.
The Church has, however, kindly provided us with an author for each
gospel, and the early Fathers have proved there ought to be four
gospels, because there are four seasons, four principal points to the
compass, etc. Our duty is simply to believe. With regard to the gospel
first in order, it is true that divines themselves disagree as to the
language in which it was written. Some allege that the original was in
Hebrew, others deny that our Greek version has any of the characters
of a translation. This increases our difficulty, but if we wish
for temporal welfare we must believe with the party which is most
fashionable, and if we simply wish for truth, we had better disregard
all parties and avoid their creeds. Our authorized English translation
of the four gospels is made from the received Greek version; this
version was made at Alcala in Spain, and the MSS. from which it was
obtained were afterward sold by the pious Christians and manufactured
into sky-rockets by one Torjo, a firework maker. So that the same
Christians who threaten us with the pains of hell if we reject the
gospels, actually condemned their own books to brimstone and fire. The
only variation in the mode of burning is this--the holy MSS., when made
into sky-rockets, were shot upward and burnt in their ascent to the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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