About The Holy Bible: A LectureIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
About The Holy Bible: A Lecture
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
It is perfectly apparent that the Jews did not think of Jehovah as the
God of Egypt--the God of all the world. He was their God, and theirs
alone. Other nations had gods, but Jehovah was the greatest of all. He
hated other nations and other gods, and abhorred all religions except
the worship of himself.
IV. WHAT IS IT ALL WORTH?
WILL some Christian scholar tell us the value of Genesis?
We know that it is not true--that it contradicts itself. There are two
accounts of the creation in the first and second chapters. In the first
account birds and beasts were created before man.
In the second, man was created before the birds and beasts.
In the first, fowls are made out of the water.
In the second, fowls are made out of the ground.
In the first, Adam and Eve are created together.
In the second, Adam is made; then the beasts and birds, and then Eve is
created from one of Adam's ribs.
These stories are far older than the Pentateuch.
Persian: God created the world in six days, a man called Adama, a woman
called Evah, and then rested.
The Etruscan, Babylonian, Phoenician, Chaldean and the Egyptian stories
are much the same.
The Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Chinese and Hindus have their Garden of
Eden and the Tree of Life.
So the Persians, the Babylonians, the Nubians, the people of Southern
India, all had the story of the Fall of Man and the subtle serpent.
The Chinese say that sin came into the world by the disobedience of
woman. And even the Tahitians tell us that man was created from the
earth, and the first woman from one of his bones.
All these stories are equally authentic and of equal value to the world,
and all the authors were equally inspired.
We know also that the story of the Flood is much older than the book of
Genesis, and we know besides that it is not true.
We know that this story in Genesis was copied from the Chaldean. There
you find all about the rain, the ark, the animals, the dove that was
sent out three times, and the mountain on which the ark rested.
So the Hindus, Chinese, Parsees, Persians, Greeks, Mexicans and
Scandinavians have substantially the same story.
We also knew that the account of the Tower of Babel is an ignorant and
childish fable.
What then is left in this inspired book of Genesis? Is there a
word calculated to develop the heart or brain? Is there an elevated
thought--any great principle--anything poetic--any word that bursts into
blossom?
Is there anything except a dreary and detailed statement of things that
never happened?
Is there anything in Exodus calculated to make men generous, loving and
noble?
Is it well to teach children that God tortured the innocent cattle of
the Egyptians--bruised them to death with hailstones--on account of the
sins of Pharoah?
Does it make us merciful to believe that God killed the firstborn of the
Egyptians--the firstborn of the poor and suffering people--of the poor
girl working at the mill--because of the wickedness of the King?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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