We would charge him with no such driveling nonsense. It is the legitimate prerogative of reason to assume that a perfect being could make a perfect revelation or Bible, the language of which should be so absolutely perfect and plain that no person of ordinary understanding could possibly fail to understand every text, every word, and every syllable of it, and no two persons could possibly differ about the meaning of one text in the whole book. Such a revelation or Bible, and only such, could be ascribed to an all-wise God. Even men and women can now be found who are so far master of human language that they can write books so plainly that there can be no dispute about the meaning of one sentence in them. To assume, then, that an infinitely wise God could not produce such a book is to place him lower in the scale of intelligence than a common schoolboy. When, therefore, I find the Christian Bible so far from possessing such characteristics, I set it down as _prima-facie_ evidence that an intelligent and all-wise God had nothing to do in originating it. And if he were not superior to, or incapable of, such human weakness, he would reject with contempt and disdain the honor, or rather dishonor, ascribed to him in the authorship of such a book,--such a medley of contradiction, ignorance, superstition, and barbarism as is ascribed to him. It is sometimes alleged (as we have already observed) in defence or mitigation of the endless disputes among Christian professors about the teachings of the Bible, that this disagreement does not appertain to any of the essential doctrines of Christianity, but only to minor points, or doctrines of minor importance. But such an admission is fatal either to their honesty or to their good sense. It concedes that the quarrels among the churches for ages has been about mere trifles, not worth spending breath about. It concedes that it is "non-essentials," or mere trifles, that keep them apart, and that have led them to build five or six churches, and hire five or six priests, in every little village throughout the country, at an expense of many thousand dollars. It is certainly a criminal waste of time and money to spend it by the million for churches and priests to propagate doctrines which they themselves admit possess no real intrinsic importance. It shows they have been actuated by selfish, dishonorable, and ignoble motives in fighting each other for a thousand years, and in some cases murdering each other by the thousand, for a difference of opinion they admit to be of no importance. Those murdered Christians and devout Bible-believers were charged with preaching damnable doctrines and devilish heresies; but now we are told it was minor and unimportant doctrines that they were quarreling about, and for which they were tortured and killed for preaching. Yes, non-essential doctrine! _O tempora! O mores!_ But they make a serious blunder when they talk about non-essential doctrine; for