Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net THE MISTAKES OF JESUS BY WILLIAM FLOYD _Author of "Social Progress," "People vs. Wall Street," "Our Gods on Trial," "War Resistance."_ _New York_ THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSOCIATION. Copyright 1932 By THE FREETHOUGHT PRESS ASSN., INC. TO DEVOTEES OF TRUTH Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note. Archaic spellings have been retained. Paragraph spacing has been normalised. A table of contents, though not present in the original publication, has been provided below: FOREWORD Face the Facts. The True Jesus. Scriptures Unauthentic. Faith in Jesus. Documentary Evidence. Retain the Good. Christianity Must Go. ANTIQUATED THEOLOGY The Virgin Birth. The Jewish Messiah. Eternal Damnation. The Atonement. Angels and Devils. FALSE IMPRESSIONS Jonah and the Whale. End of the World. Miracles. Eternal Life. Raising Lazarus. God's Protection. Belief in Prayer. OBSCURE TEACHINGS Witnesses and Judge. Cannibalism. Religion Only for Children. Difficult or Easy? Charity. The Scriptures Upheld. Illogical. Parables Deceptive. DEFICIENT INSTRUCTIONS Labor. Usury. Economics. Punishment for Debts. Healing. Peace. Marriage. Celibacy. Adultery. Divorce. Faulty Judgment. Unconvincing. Prohibition. Lack of Experience. AN INFERIOR PROTOTYPE Cursing Nature. Forgiveness. Vituperation. Destruction of Property. Egotism. Lack of Courtesy. Unethical Advice. Sermon on the Mount. Inconsistency. Fear. Failure. CONCLUSION Jesus a Myth. Judged by His Works. Ethical Evolution. Gains, not Losses. CODE OF LIVING FOREWORD The tradition regarding Jesus is so glamorous that it is difficult to review his life and character with an unbiased mind. While Fundamentalists and Modernists differ regarding the divinity of Christ, all Christians and many non-Christians still cling to preconceived notions of the perfection of Jesus. He alone among men is revered as all-loving, omniscient, faultless--an unparalleled model for mankind. This convention of the impeccability of Jesus is so firmly established that any insinuation of error on his part is deemed a blasphemy. Doubting Jesus is more impious than mocking God Almighty. Jehovah may be exposed to some extent with impunity; a God who destroyed 70,000 of his chosen people because their king took a census[1] is too illogical for any but theologians to worship. But the Son of God, or Son of man, is sacrosanct. Jesus is reverenced as the one man who has lived unspotted by the world, free from human foibles, able to redeem mankind by his example.