The object of the author has been the promotion of Truth and Benevolence. Should he fail to produce the effects he has contemplated, he will yet be able to console himself with the reflection, that he has been actuated by good intentions. The time has been when the assertion was frequently made that “hell was paved with good intentions” had the work appeared at that time, the author would, doubtless, have been destined, so far as human agency could effect it, to become one of the paving stones of that remarkable edifice: but a brighter day has dawned upon the world; Reason is asserting her right to empire; and the cheering spirit of benevolence is animating the nations of the earth. The shades of life’s evening admonish the author that his sojourn in the world will very shortly be brought to a close. He is anxious, therefore, before his departure, to cast in his mite for the eradication of human suffering, and the promotion of human felicity; and then, in wrapping himself in the mantle of universal benevolence, to retire from the transitory scene, in charity with all men. GENERAL INTRODUCTION THE main object of this book is to show that Jehovah, the God of the Jews, is not the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, but a fictitious being, having no real existence whatever. If the above position be correct, it follows, that the Bible, including the Old and New Testaments, is not a Divine Revelation. But that the reader may see, more clearly, upon what uncertain ground divine revelation rests, the plan pursued in the following chapters will be a review of the _facts_ and _personages_ as recorded in the Old and New Testaments. But the limits of this work will only admit of a mere scantling of what might be written on the subject. In most Christian countries (America excepted,) this work would be answered by either fine or imprisonment, or probably both. But fortunately for the cause of truth and free discussion, theological power here is so happily balanced, that persecution for religious opinions is impracticable. The period therefore has arrived, in this country in particular, when reason is free from the former obstacles that every where crossed its path. Now, then, is the time for us to examine the religion of our forefathers, and explore the regions of human credulity. A mixture of pain and pleasure will be the result:—_pain_, in considering what suffering has befallen the human family, when the laudable indulgence of imagining and reasoning was considered rebellion against God; and _pleasure_, to us who, having escaped those dreadful evils which in former ages spread terror throughout the world, can lessen the evils that surround us, and augment to an almost unlimited degree our happiness.