13. His belief in a literal hell and a lake of fire and brimstone (see
Matt, xviii. 8) is an ancient heathen superstition science knows nothing
about, and has no use for.
14. His belief in a personal devil also (see Matt. xvii. 88), which is
another oriental tradition, furnishes more sad proof of an utter want of
scientific knowledge, as science has no place for and no use for such a
being.
15. Christ taught the unphilosophical doctrine of repentance, as he
declared he "came to call sinners to repentance" (Matt. ix. 13)--a
mental process, which consists merely in a revival of early impressions,
and often leads a person to condemn that which is right, as well as that
which is wrong. (For proof, see Chapter XLIII.)
16. The doctrine of "forgiveness," which Christ so often inculcated,
is also at variance with the teachings of science, as it can do nothing
toward changing the nature of the act forgiven, or toward cancelling its
previous effects upon society. Science teaches that every crime has its
penalty attached to it, which no act of forgiveness, by God or man, can
arrest or set aside.
17. But nothing evinces, perhaps, more clearly Christ's total lack of
scientific knowledge than his holding a man responsible for his belief,
and condemning for disbelief, as he does in numerous instances (see Mark
xvi. 16), for a man could as easily control the circulation of the blood
in his veins as control his belief. Science teaches that belief depends
upon evidence, and without it, it is impossible to believe, and with
it, it is impossible to disbelieve. How foolish and unphilosophical,
therefore, to condemn for either belief or disbelief!
18. The numerous cases in which Christ speaks of the heart as being
the seat of consciousness, instead of the brain, evinces a remarkable
ignorance of the science of mental philosophy. He speaks of an "upright
heart," "a pure heart," &'c., when "an upright liver," "a pure liver,"
would be as sensible, as the latter has as much to do with the character
as the former.
19. And the many cases in which he makes it meritorious to have a right
"faith," and places it above reason, and assumes it to be a voluntary
act, shows his utter ignorance of the nature of the human mind.
20. And Christ evinced a remarkable ignorance of the cause of physical
defects, when he told his hearers a certain man was born blind, in order
that he might cure him. (Matt. vii. 22.)
21. And Christ's declaration, that those who marry are not worthy of
being saved (see Luke xx. 34), shows that he was very ignorant of the
nature of the sexual functions of the human system.
22. Nothing could more completely demonstrate a total ignorance of the
grand science of astronomy than Christ's prediction of the stars falling
to the earth. (See Luke xxi. 25.)
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