National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-06-01
AN ICONOCLAST
BREAKING OUR LIFETIME IDOLS.
What Learned Man Has to Say Of Jesus Of Naza
reth-An Effort to Provo Oar Saviour
Ayth-Evidence in Support
Of His Assertion.

well-known gentleman of this city
sends THE REPUBLICAN the following startling
article: The publication of the revised New Tesla
ment and the general reading of the "Old, old
story" over and over again is good time TO pre-
sent the facts that Jesus is myth; that no such
man as Jesus Of Nazareth ever existed Mosheim,
the great church historian says that the Gnostics
were older and were the FIRST Christians. Now the
GnoStics taught that Jesus was mere phantom But
the strongest evidence is the three contempt
raneous Jewish historians Josephus. Justus, and
Philo Judeas. Josephus was born and raised at
Jerusalem and Justus on the Sea of Gallilee, in
both of which places Jesus is said to have per-
formed some of his most wonderful works. All
three were priests, and all wrote yoluminous his
tories OF the Jews in which all the religious sects
and all the wonderful occurrences in Judea at and
long before their time were especially mentioned,
AND NEITHER EVER MENTIONED
the name of Jesus Josephus and Justus wrote at
Rome about A. D. 70. and Philo at Alexandria, in
Egypt A. D. 65. The paragraph in Josephus in
which Jesus is mentioned is now admitted on all
hands TO be forgery, probably by Eusebius. in
the fourth century and the necessity for this for
gerry is the strongest evidence that no real evil
dence of the existence of Jesus was anywhere to
be found. 1t may also be mentioned that Pliny,
Plutarch, Seneca, Marcus Aurelius, Antonius and
several other noted writers of Greece and Rome
ond century, all of whom wrote upon morals and
religion and the great occurrences in the Roman
empire, never once mention Jesus. In fact there is
not line of contemporaneous history on earth
which proves that such man as Jesus ever eX-
listed, and its absence proves his nom existence.
1t may also be mentioned that ST. Iren9uS, one of
the fathers. Bishop of Lyons who wrote in the
second century, devotes one whole chapter of his
book against the GnosticS to prove that Jesus lived
to be an old man; and he atirms that the apostle
John, who saw ali the other apostles in Asia, de-
clared the same
AND IT SHOULD ALSO BE STATED
that, while this was an age of great art, not
picture medal, or even written description of the
person of Jesus, Mary. or any Of the Apostles ex
listed at that time Those that we now see are all
imaginary, coming down through later centuries.
There has not been q century since the story of
Jesus was given to the world that there have not
been numerous writers who denied His existence:
but perhaps more notably in the last and the pres
ent century. The great Gibbon said: ALAS!
outside of Judea there is not a trace
of Jesus and His Apostles" He might have
added that inside of Judea there is no trace
The Rev. RobergTaylor, in!his Digesis. one ofthe
most learned works ever published against Chris
tianity written some forty years ago, proved that
Christianity was mere religious romance, SuS-
tanned by thousands of Roman Catholic legends
since, of no better authority. He declared that the
whole story was myth, copied from the Greek
and Roman pagan mythology, and that neither the
Angel Gabriel, the Holy Ghost, Mary, Joseph, the
devil, the Twelve Apostles ever had any exist
ence on earth The story of Christ is also precisely
parallel to the story of Chrsna of India the latter
being several centuries older and both equally
myths copied from still older stories In fact it is
now proved that the world has had sixteen cruel
fed savior rs, and
ALL ANTERIOR TO JESUS.
The world is filed with romance and mythical
heroes to illustrate certain ideas-relision, war,
love- adventure, patriotism, and hundred others.
But perhaps the patriotic hero, William Tell, the
Washington of Switzerland, is the most notorious.
This story was written and rewritten during FIVE
centuries by noted authors was translated into all
European languages, was dramatzed and played
on every stage for many centuries, and, peEhaps.
was the best known and most beloved of all patri-
otto actions of man. During all these CEN
turtles it was as universally believed as the
story of Jesus and, being more recent, it was even
better sustained by contemporary authority. Yet
late iconoclasts have torn it to pieces-haye scat
tered it into thin air. In "Appletons American
Cyclopedia is Tell. William-A mythical hero
of Switzerland" Swiss critics have blown their
greatest heroes to the winds. 1t is demonstrated
that
THERE WAS NO TELL,
no GeSsler, no town of Altorf. and no revolution
and liberation from Austria at that time, of which
Tell and his associates were the reputed heroes.
But they have even gone further and proved that
the story of heroic and patriotic father shooting
an apple from the head of his son at the COM
mand of tyrant existed several centuries pre-
Vious in Persia, and even other eastern coun-
tries; in fact, that it was very ancient.
They found that it was first imported from
the East into Denmark, and afterward it
was adopted in Switzerland, where the mountains
and lakes made it even more plausible, and where
it was finally naturalized. Tell was mere myth
cal hero like thousands of others, and no better
than Munchausen. Sinbad the Sailor. Aladdin and
his Wonderful Lamp, Robinson Crusoe or Uncle
Tom, Of Uncle Toms Cabin. 1t is submitted that
THE STORY OF TELL
was better sustained than the story of Jesus and
thousand times more probable. And now let the
public read the story over again and then read
over the story of Jesus given in the old or the
new revised New Testament, and with the idea
that the latter is myth the same as the former,
and see if it does not tally with such idea pre-
cisely. He is man who is said to have Holy
Ghost for father and a Virgin for
a mother. His life is not given until he is
thirty years of age, when he suddenly bursts
forth wonder worker. He has no home, and is
first in this place and then in that without the or
passes through locked doors. as if they were air. he
heals the sick and raises the dead without medi-
cine, feeds 5000 men, besides women and children,
on five small loaves and two little fishes. He is
then crucifed, buried. and rose from the dead as
sound as ever, and TO cap the climax he goes off
TO HEAVEN on A CLOUD.
However on this last point there is some doubt.
Matthew and John, reputed apostles. say nothing
of this. but leave him on the earth. while Mark
and Luke, not apostles, in the old translation as
cend him to heaven. But presto change! in the
revised translation this is left off from the last
chapter OF Mark. leaving the ascension upon the
single and poor authority of Luke, which last
chapter has been pronounced by many critics
equally an Interpolation. IN this whole story not
man has declared that he ever saw Jesus, but
was story commonly believed among u.s." It
rests wholly upon two narratives According to
Matthew and JOHN" reputed apostles. whom no.
body ever knew. Mark and Luke were not even
reputed apostles, and admit that they knew moth
ing personally of what they: wrote. They were
equally unknown TO history, and are not authority
And yet the Christian world rests its belief upon
this slender thread. spun over 800 years ago and
without a particle of contemporaneous veritable
historical evidence.
Taking Leave OF a Retiring COmmisaioner.
The clerks employed in the General
Land Office at the Interior Department. number