The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 11 (of 12): Dresden Edition—MiscellanyIngersoll, Robert Green
Religion
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 11 (of 12): Dresden Edition—Miscellany
Ingersoll, Robert Green
Free thought
The church has taught, and still teaches, that every Jew is an outcast;
that he is to-day busily fulfilling prophecy; that he is a wandering
witness in favor of "the glad tidings of great joy;" that Jehovah is
seeing to it that the Jews shall not exist as a nation--that they shall
have no abiding place, but that they shall remain scattered, to the end
that the inspiration of the Bible may be substantiated.
Dr. John Hall of this city, a few years ago, when the Jewish people were
being persecuted in Russia, took the ground that it was all fulfillment
of prophecy, and that whenever a Jewish maiden was stabbed to death, God
put a tongue in every wound for the purpose of declaring the truth of
the Old Testament.
Just as long as Christians take these positions, of course they will do
what they can to assist in the fulfillment of what they call prophecy,
and they will do their utmost to keep the Jewish people in a state
of exile, and then point to that fact as one of the corner-stones of
Christianity.
My opinion is that in the early days of Christianity all sensible Jews
were witnesses against the faith, and in this way excited the hostility
of the orthodox. Every sensible Jew knew that no miracles had been
performed in Jerusalem. They all knew that the sun had not been
darkened, that the graves had not given up their dead, that the veil
of the temple had not been rent in twain--and they told what they knew.
They were then denounced as the most infamous of human beings, and this
hatred has pursued them from that day to this.
There is no other chapter in history so infamous, so bloody, so cruel,
so relentless, as the chapter in which is told the manner in which
Christians--those who love their enemies--have treated the Jewish
people. This story is enough to bring the blush of shame to the cheek,
and the words of indignation to the lips of every honest man.
Nothing can be more unjust than to generalize about nationalities, and
to speak of a race as worthless or vicious, simply because you have met
an individual who treated you unjustly. There are good people and bad
people in all races, and the individual is not responsible for the
crimes of the nation, or the nation responsible for the actions of the
few. Good men and honest men are found in every faith, and they are not
honest or dishonest because they are Jews or Gentiles, but for entirely
different reasons.
Some of the best people I have ever known are Jews, and some of the
worst people I have known are Christians. The Christians were not bad
simply because they were Christians, neither were the Jews good because
they were Jews. A man is far above these badges of faith and race. Good
Jews are precisely the same as good Christians, and bad Christians are
wonderfully like bad Jews.
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