Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-03-10

We're slain by the church; In the span
ish inquisition which burned $1,000; in
the expulsion OF the Moors from Spain.
Then think Of the lives you have snuff
ed out under the command Thou
shalt not suffer witch to live" Do
you still claim right to "regulate?"
He says my succinct statement OF
his logical basis Of Christianity was
blasphemous. but he doesn't prove IT
was not correct. He quotes few
phrases OF that statement:
"All his descendants inherited
Adams depravity." Do You deny 1t?
After God had repented that he had
made man. Doesn't the Book say so?
Do you ask for any better authority?
He invented plan to redeem fallen
man" If he didn't get up the plan OF
salvation who did? "And God murder
done and you know 1t was in the
scheme that Jesus should be killed.
Gods blunder in creating man. God
says he Numbered for he ''repented"
of doing the job. And whoever would
not or could not believe should be
forever punished.' Isn't that a part
the scheme? have been told so q hum
bred times by the preachers. Do you
deny IT,.
Instead of my being the blasphemer,
say 1T is the rankest blasphemy 70
accuse God of beino the author Of the
mythical, impossible actions OF the
early Hebrews: the foolish story OF
Adams creation in the Garden and Eve
from one OF his ribs, ne fall Of man
and consequent inherited depravity,
the creation of Satan in the form of a
serpent, the command to build the
tower Of Babel because God was afraid
men would get UP into heaven, which
they thought was little way above
them. in the sky. and Of course God
thought SO too; the plaques Of Egypt,
the terribly brutal work in the war to
subdue Canaan. Joshua commanding
the sun to stand still that he might
continue to slaughter people who had
never done him any harm. and hum
dred other foolish or wicked acts
which 1t is blasphemy to impute to
God as the author and participation.
Think Of the God Of the vast unlim-
tied universe, of worlds stopping to at
tend to such simple and often wicked
transactions as are attributed to him.
Who is guilty of biasphemy?
The idea of God among the old
Hebrews was simple and childish, as
their ideas of astronomy and geog-
raphy. With them the earth was the
center of little universe, over which
were passed back and forth the sun.
moon and stars, especially for their
benefit.
But the IDEAS of astronomy and 9TH
er sciences have changed vastly since
the day of Genesis, and as the race
has thus advanced, our ideas of God
have been ennobled and enlarged. We
look into the heavens with It's millions
of stars, many Of them suns, billions
tof miles from us. with no limit to
space, and the idea is grand and awe
inspiring So is the idea of God In the
mind that realizes the vastness and
mystery Of nature and natures Cod
the great God of life, OF light, of love
and motion, whom all mankind feel
and acknowledge, but whose nature
and person no one has been able to
define.
When a nation OF people are savage.
f1ckle, cruel and unjust, the gods OF
that people are the same: and as the
nation advances in Intelligence, virtue
and reason their conception Of their
gods makes a similar advance. This
rela ton between mankind and their
gods has proven true in all times and
countries. 1t was true in the time Of
the semi barbarous Hebrews of Egypt
and Palestine and it Is true in the
twentieth century, in the more civiliz-
ed nations.
DR.. Senex. who is q much more
learned man, apparently, than DR..
White. tries to make the reader be-
lieve Copernicus and Calico were not
prosecuted but rather rewarded for
their scientific discoveries. Then why
did Copernicus wait until he was on
his death bed before daring to have
his book published? And why did Gall
ileo have to recant on his knees to es-
cape the prosecutions OF the church?
The church will probably make saints
of them yet. You know Joan Of Arc
was burned as a witch four or Ave
hundred years ago, and now the
4. =. P,,1t
fiedged saint. OF course Copernicus and
Calico were Catholics, but their rs-
searches in astronomy had made them
unorthodox.
He says: Ellis (rny) Bible has, also,
chapter and numbered verse. Does he
know that the original has not and
that this is merely modern convel1-
ience?" And ask him: Do you know
that the original was without punctua-
tion marks and also without vowel
points?
Now the second main part Of this
discussion DR.. Senex has not touched
upon at all, viz; That the vast an
tiquity Of man on the earth complete
ly knocks out the foundation of his
logical basis Of Christianity Why
he continues to berate DIR. White and
his work. cannot see as all proved
by him and others has been admitted
'SSsA 80.
the earth $4,000 or 10000 years. Now
he knows, if he is fair enough to ack-
nowledge it. that the whole scheme OF
the Christian religion is founded upon
the creation OF Adam and the fall
Is 1t possible to so lengthen out the
Old Testament genealogles as to ex-
tend back $4,000 years farther And it
is very probable that the human race
has been on this globe thirty or forty
thousand years
DR.. senex didn't touch upon the
logical basis. probably because he
hasn't got his new chronology so ar
ranged as to conform to the Bible
chronology
Now, in my writings ] have said
nothing against the teaching and pre-
cepts of Jesus. With only few excep-
lions they are excellent. admirable. but
no better than those Of Buddha, Zoro-
aster, Confucius or Socrates. And
many of his precepts were taken from
the Buddhist religion which existed
500 years before Jesus. He probably
Travelled and studied in that country
before the time when he returned to
Palestine and preached to the people
Of his country, and his doctrines were
SO unorthodox that he was called an