The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and EnglandConway, Moncure Daniel
History
The Life Of Thomas Paine, Vol. 2. (of 2): With A History of His Literary, Political and Religious Career in America France, and England
Conway, Moncure Daniel
Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809
There are other admissions in his silences and evasions. For instance,
having elaborated a theory as to how the error in Ezra might occur, by
the close resemblance of Hebrew letters representing widely different
numbers, he does not notice Nehemiah's error in the same matter, pointed
out by Paine,--a self-contradiction, and also a discrepancy with Ezra,
which could not be explained by his theory. He says nothing about
several other contradictions alluded to by Paine. The Bishop's evasions
are sometimes painful, as when he tries to escape the force of Paine's
argument, that Paul himself was not convinced by the evidences of the
resurrection which he adduces for others. The Bishop says: "That Paul
had so far resisted the evidence which the apostles had given of the
resurrection and ascension of Jesus, as to be a persecutor of the
disciples of Christ, is certain; but I do not remember the place where
he declares that he had not believed them." But when Paul says, "I
verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to
the name of Jesus of Nazareth," surely this is inconsistent with his
belief in the resurrection and ascension. Paul declares that when it
was the good pleasure of God "to reveal his Son in me," immediately he
entered on his mission. He "was not disobedient to the heavenly vision."
Clearly then Paul had not been convinced of the resurrection and
ascension until he saw Christ in a vision.
In dealing with Paine's moral charges against the Bible the Bishop has
left a confirmation of all that I have said concerning the Christianity
of his time. An "infidel" of to-day could need no better moral arguments
against the Bible than those framed by the Bishop in its defence. He
justifies the massacre of the Canaanites on the ground that they were
sacrificers of their own children to idols, cannibals, addicted to
unnatural lust Were this true it would be no justification; but as no
particle of evidence is adduced in support of these utterly unwarranted
and entirely fictitious accusations, the argument now leaves the
massacre without any excuse at all. The extermination is not in the
Bible based on any such considerations, but simply on a divine command
to seize the land and slay its inhabitants. No legal right to the land
is suggested in the record; and, as for morality, the only persons
spared in Joshua's expedition were a harlot and her household, she
having betrayed her country to the invaders, to be afterwards exalted
into an ancestress of Christ. Of the cities destroyed by Joshua it is
said: "It was of Jehovah to harden their hearts, to come against Israel
in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have
no favor, but that he might destroy them, as Jehovah commanded Moses"
(Joshua xi., 20). As their hearts were thus in Jehovah's power for
hardening, it may be inferred that they were equally in his power for
reformation, had they been guilty of the things alleged by the Bishop.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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