Sacrifice is an early, prominent, and with slight exception an abiding feature in the Hebrew record—sacrifice of life finds appreciative acceptance from the Jewish Deity. Cain’s offering of fruits is ineffective, but Abel’s altar, bearing the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof, finds respect in the sight of the Lord. While the face of the earth was disfigured by the rotting dead after God in his infinite mercy had deluged the world, then it was that the ascending smoke from Noah’s burnt sacrifice of bird and beast produced pleasure in heaven, and God himself smelled a sweet savor from the roasted meats. To preach atonement for the past by sacrifice is worse than folly—it is crime. The past can never be recalled, and the only reference to it should be that, by marking its events, we may avoid its evil deeds and improve upon its good ones. The Levitical doctrine of the atonement, with its sin laden scapegoat sent into the wilderness to the evil demon Azazel, though placed in the Pentateuch, is of much later date, being one of the myths acquired by the Jews during their captivity. The general notion of atonement by sacrifice is that of an averting of the just judgment by an offering which may induce the judge, who in this case is also the executioner, to delay or remit the punishment he has awarded. In the gospel atonement story the weird folly of the scapegoat mystery and the barbarous waste of doves, pigeons, rams, and bulls as burnt offerings are all outdone. We have in lieu of these the history of the Man-God subject to human passions and infirmities, who comes to die, and who prays to his heavenly father—that is, to himself—that he will spare him the bitter cup of death; who is betrayed, having himself, ere he laid the foundations of the world, predestined Judas to betray him; and who dies, being God immortal, crying with his almost dying breath—“My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me?” WHEN WERE OUR GOSPELS WRITTEN? AN ANSWER TO THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY PREFATORY NOTE TO FOURTH EDITION SINCE this pamphlet was originally penned in 1867, the author of “Supernatural Religion” has in his three volumes placed a very storehouse of information within the easy reach of every student, and many of Dr. Tischendorf’s reckless statements have been effectively dealt with in that masterly work. In the present brief pamphlet there is only the very merest index to matters which in “Supernatural Religion” are exhaustively treated. Part II of “The Freethinkers’ Text-Book,” by Mrs Besant, has travelled over the same ground with much care, and has given exact reference to authorities on each point.