FLOWERS OF FREETHOUGHT (First Series) G. W. FOOTE. LONDON 1893. CONTENTS: PREFACE. OLD NICK. FIRE!!! SKY PILOTS. DEVIL DODGERS. FIGHTING SPOOKS. DAMNED SINNERS. WHERE IS HELL? SPURGEON AND HELL. IS SPURGEON IN HEAVEN? GOD IN JAPAN. STANLEY ON PROVIDENCE. GONE TO GOD. THANK GOD. JUDGMENT DAY. SHELLEY'S ATHEISM. * LONG FACES. OUR FATHER. WAIT TILL YOU DIE. DEAD THEOLOGY. MR. GLADSTONE ON DEVILS. HUXLEY'S MISTAKE. THE GOSPEL OF FREETHOUGHT. ON RIDICULE. WHO ARE THE BLASPHEMERS? CHRISTIANITY AND COMMON SENSE. THE LORD OF LORDS. * CONSECRATING THE COLORS CHRISTMAS IN HOLLOWAY GAOL. * WHO KILLED CHRIST? DID JESUS ASCEND? THE RISING SON. ST. PAUL'S VERACITY. NO FAITH WITH HERETICS. THE LOGIC OF PERSECUTION. LUTHER AND THE DEVIL. BIBLE ENGLISH. LIVING BY FAITH. VICTOR HUGO. * DESECRATING A CHURCH. WALT WHITMAN. * TENNYSON AND THE BIBLE. * CHRIST'S OLD COAT. CHRIST'S COAT, NUMBER TWO. SCOTCHED, NOT SLAIN. GOD-MAKING. GOD AND THE WEATHER. MIRACLES. A REAL MIRACLE. * JESUS ON WOMEN. PAUL ON WOMEN. MOTHER'S RELIGION. PREFACE. Heinrich Heine called himself a soldier in the army of human liberation. It was a modest description of himself, for he was more; his position was that of a leader, and his sword was like the mystic Excalibur, flashing with the hues of his genius, and dealing death to the enemies of freedom. Humbler fighters than Heine may count themselves as simple soldiers in that great army, whose leaders' names are graven deep in the history of modern Europe. I also venture to rank myself with them, and it is the summit of my ambition. To be indeed a soldier in that army, however low and obscure, is not to have lived in vain; to persevere, to fight to the end, is to live (if unknown) in the future of humanity. In the course of my service to "the cause" I have wielded tongue and pen as weapons. The spoken word has gone, like spilt water, except as it may have made an impression on the listeners. The written word remains. Most of it, in truth, was only the week's work, done honestly, but under no special impulse. Some of the rest--as I have been told, and as in a few cases I feel--is of less doubtful value; having occasionally the merit of a free play of mind on subjects that are too often treated with ignorance, timidity, or hypocrisy. This is my reason for publishing in a separate and durable form the articles in this collection. Whether it is a sufficient reason the reader will judge for himself.