A Short History of Freethought Ancient and Modern, Volume 1 of 2: Third edition, Revised and Expanded, in two volumesRobertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Religion
A Short History of Freethought Ancient and Modern, Volume 1 of 2: Third edition, Revised and Expanded, in two volumes
Robertson, J. M. (John Mackinnon)
Free thought -- History
7. Specific restriction of salvation to Israelites (Mt. x, 5, 6;
xv, 24; xix, 28); equally specific declaration that the Kingdom of
God shall be to another nation (Mt. xxii, 43); no less specific
assurance that the Son of Man (not the Twelve as in Mt. xix,
28) shall judge all nations, not merely Israel (Mt. xxv, 32;
cp. viii, 11).
8. Profession to teach all, especially the simple and the childlike
(Mt. xviii, 3; xi, 25, 28-30; Mk. x, 15); on the contrary, a flat
declaration (Mt. xiii, 10-16; Mk. iv, 11; Lk. viii, 10; cp. Mk. iv,
34) that the saving teaching is only for the special disciples;
yet again (Mt. xv, 16; Mk. vi, 52; viii, 17, 18) imputations of
lack of understanding to them.
9. Companionship of the Teacher with "publicans and sinners"
(Mt. ix, 10); and, on the other hand, a reference to the publicans
as falling far short of the needed measure of loving-kindness
(Mt. v, 46).
10. Explicit contrarieties of phrase, not in context (Mt. xii,
30; Lk. xi, 50).
11. Flat contradictions of narrative as to the Teacher's local
success (Mt. xiii, 54-58; Lk. iv, 23).
12. Insistence that the Messiah is of the Davidic line (Mt. i;
xxi, 15; Lk. i, 27; ii, 4), and that he is not (Mt. xxii, 43-45;
Mk. xii, 35-37; Lk. xx).
13. Contradictory precepts as to limitation and non-limitation
of forgiveness (Mt. xviii, 17, 22).
Such variously serious discrepancies count for more than even the
chronological and other divergences of the records concerning the
Birth, the Supper, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection, as proofs
of diversity of source; and they may be multiplied indefinitely. The
only course for criticism is to admit that they stand for the ideas of
a variety of sects or movements, or else for an unlimited manipulation
of the documents by individual hands. Many of them may very well have
come from various so-called "Lords" and "Messiahs"; but they cannot
be from a single teacher.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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