The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 01 (of 12): Dresden Edition—LecturesIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 01 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Lectures
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Free thought
Did Julius Cæsar send the following report to the Roman senate? "And we
took all his cities at that time, there was not a city which we took not
from them, three-score cities, all the region of Argob, the kingdom of
Og in Bashan. All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and
bars; beside unwalled towns a great many. And we utterly destroyed
them, as we did unto Sihon, king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men,
women, and children of every city."
Did Cæsar take the city of Jericho "and utterly destroy all that was
in the city, both men and women, young and old"? Did he smite "all the
country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the
springs, and all their kings, and leave none remaining that breathed, as
the Lord God had commanded"?
Search the records of the whole world, find out the history of every
barbarous tribe, and you can find no crime that touched a lower depth of
infamy than those the Bible's God commanded and approved. For such a God
I have no words to express my loathing and contempt, and all the words
in all the languages of man would scarcely be sufficient. Away with such
a God! Give me Jupiter rather, with Io and Europa, or even Siva with his
skulls and snakes.
_Tenth_. With having repudiated the doctrine of "total depravity."
What a precious doctrine is that of the total depravity of the human
heart! How sweet it is to believe that the lives of all the good and
great were continual sins and perpetual crimes; that the love a mother
bears her child is, in the sight of God, a sin; that the gratitude of
the natural heart is simple meanness; that the tears of pity are impure;
that for the unconverted to live and labor for others is an offence to
heaven; that the noblest aspirations of the soul are low and groveling
in the sight of God; that man should fall upon his knees and ask
forgiveness, simply for loving his wife and child, and that even the act
of asking forgiveness is in fact a crime!
Surely it is a kind of bliss to feel that every woman and child in the
wide world, with the exception of those who believe the five points, or
some other equally cruel creed, and such children as have been baptized,
ought at this very moment to be dashed down to the lowest glowing gulf
of hell.
Take from the Christian the history of his own church--leave that
entirely out of the question--and he has no argument left with which to
substantiate the total depravity of man.
_Eleventh_. With having doubted the "perseverance of the saints."
I suppose the real meaning of this doctrine is, that Presbyterians are
just as sure of going to heaven as all other folks are of going to hell.
The real idea being, that it all depends upon the will of God, and not
upon the character of the person to be damned or saved; that God has the
weakness to send Presbyterians to Paradise, and the justice to doom the
rest of mankind to eternal fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account