Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers: Reprinted From an English Work, Entitled "Half-Hours With The Freethinkers."Bradlaugh, Charles
Religion
Ancient and Modern Celebrated Freethinkers: Reprinted From an English Work, Entitled "Half-Hours With The Freethinkers."
Bradlaugh, Charles
Rationalists -- Biography
was it Infidelity? No! It was for church and chapel-going; it was for
adoring, believing, and worshipping. They worshipped the beast: I know
not what beast they worshipped; but I know that if you go into any of
our churches and chapels at this day, you will find them worshipping the
Lamb; and if worshipping a lamb be not most suspiciously like worshiping
a beast, you may keep the color in your cheeks, while mine are blanched
with fear. The unbeliever only can be absolutely safe from this danger.
He only who has no religion at all, is sure not to be of the wrong
religion. He who worships neither God nor Devil, is sure not to mistake
one of those gentlemen for the other. But will it be pretended, that
these are only metaphors of speech, that the thing said is not the
thing that's meant? Why, then, they are very ugly metaphors. And what is
saying that which you don't mean, and meaning the contrary to what you
say, but lying? And what worse can become of the Infidel, who makes it
the rule of his life 'to hear and speak the plain and simple truth,'
than of the Christian, whose religion itself is a system of metaphors
and allegories, of double meanings, of quirk and quiddities in dread
defiance of the text that warns him, that 'All liars shall have their
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone?' Rev. xxi. 8.
"Is it a parable that a man may merely entertain his imagination withal,
and think no more on't,--though not a word be hinted about a parabolical
signification, and the text stands in the mouth of him who, we are told,
was the truth itself? And he it is who brought life and immortality to
light, that hath described in the 16th of Luke, such an immortality as
that of one who was a sincere believer, a son of Abraham, who took the
Bible for the rule of his life, and was anxious to promote the salvation
of his brethren, yet found for himself no Saviour, no salvation; but,
'In Hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment: and saith Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip
of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in
this flame.' But that request was refused. 'Then he said, I pray thee,
therefore, Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house; for
I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they also come
to this place of torment.' But that request was refused. There's 'glad
tidings of great joy' for you! That the believer's danger of coming
or going into that place of torment is so great, that greater cannot
possibly be: and that his belief will stand him in no stead at all,
but make his plight a thousand times worse than if he had not been a
believer; and that unbelief is the safer side--Christ himself being
judge--I quote no words but his to prove. Is the believer concerned
to save his soul, then shall he most assuredly be damned for being so
concerned: for Christ hath said, 'Whosoever will save his soul shall
lose it.' Matthew xvi. 25.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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