28. Several similar stories are found in heathen mythology, a few of which we will briefly sketch here. The Hindoo sacred book, the Purans, states that Chrishna was swallowed by a crocodile, and, after remaining three days in its stomach, was thrown upon dry land, much to his relief and also to that of the crocodile. A Grecian demi-God (Hercules), according to Gales, was swallowed by a dog, and remained in his stomach three days. But the story entitled to the premium is one preserved in the legends of some of the Eastern islanders. A man, for some misdemeanor on a voyage across the Indus, was thrown over-board, and swallowed by a shark; but, as the fish still followed the vessel, it was finally caught, and search made for the man, when, to the surprise of the whole crew, he was found sitting bolt upright, playing the tune of "Old Hundred" on a fiddle he had in his possession when he went down the throat of the sea-monster. This was rather a pleasant way of putting in the time. Jonah, it appears, was not so fortunate as to have a fiddle in his possession while in the stomach of the whale. The foregoing ten stories, from that of the serpent to Jonah, have been for hundreds of years printed by the thousand, struck off in almost every known human language, and sent off by ship-loads to almost every nation on the globe, to be placed in the hands of the heathen as beingproductions of Infinite Wisdom, the inspirations of an All-wise God, and calculated toenlightenthem andimprove their morals. What sublime nonsense! what egregious folly! And what a deplorable and sorrowful mistake has been thus committed by the blinded disciples of the Christian faith!
Having devoted a chapter to this subject in "The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors," we shall treat the subject but briefly in this work. The Old Testament has been thoroughly searched for prophecies, and more than a hundred texts selected, by various Christian writers, and assumed to be prophetic of some future event. But a critical and impartial investigation of the subject will show that not one of them is, strictly speaking, a prophecy; but most of them refer to events either in the past, or eventsnaturallysuggested by the circumstances under which the writer was placed. And in many cases the text has no reference whatever to the event which Bible commentators assume they refer to. In treating the subject briefly, we will show,—
1. That if one-fourth of the texts from Genesis to Revelation were prophecies, and it could be shown that every one of them has been fulfilled to the letter, it would not prove that there was any divine inspiration or divine aid in the matter; because many facts show that prophecy, or the power to discover future events, is anaturaland not a supernatural, gift.
2. Many cases are reported in history of the prediction of future events by pagan or heathen seers, and also by persons not claiming to be inspired nor even religious. I will cite a few cases: Josephine, wife of Napoleon, relates that she had all the important events of her future life pointed out to her by an ignorant, illiterate fortune-teller, long before they occurred; such as her marriage, her unhappy life, and the death of her husband,—all of which was fulfilled to the letter. An astrologer predicted the great fire in London. Rousseau foretold the French Revolution. Cicero made a remarkable prophecy, which was realized in the discovery of America and the history of George Washington by consulting the Sibylline oracles. These, and many other cases that might be cited, furnish satisfactory evidence that the capacity for foretelling the occurrence of future events is a natural and inherent power of the human mind, and hence can do nothing toward proving the divine origin of any religion, or the divine illumination of any prophet. Therefore any further argument in the case would be superfluous. We will only briefly review a few of the Jewish prophecies (or texts assumed to be prophecies) to show that the Jewish nation occupied a lower moral plane, and possessed less of the gift of prophecy than some of the contemporary heathen nations. Hence Christian writers are wrong in assuming that the Jews alone possessed this power, while they possessed it in a less degree than some of the Oriental prophets. Prophecies (assumed to be) relating to Babylon, relating to Damascus, relating to Tyre, relating to the dispersion of the Jews, relating to the advent of Christ, &c., have been quoted time and again by Christian writers and clergymen, and dwelt upon at great length in attempts to show their fulfillment, in order to deduce therefrom the argument and conclusion that the Jewish nation were divinely commissioned to furnish the world with a true system of religion and morals. But we are prepared to show thatevery oneof these prophecies so called hasutterly failedof any fulfillment in the sense that writers and preachers assume. As it would require a large work to treat this subject fully, we shall only briefly refer to one or two cases as samples of the whole. As Babylon and Tyre are the most frequently referred to, and are regarded as the strongest cases, our attention will be confined to them. Relative to Babylon, Isaiah says, "It shall not be dwelt in from generation to generation; neither shall the Arabian pitch his tent there" (Isa. xiii. 19): but he says, "It shall be inhabited by wild beasts of the desert and satyrs and dragons,"—not one of which predictions has ever been realized. It is still inhabited, though its name has been changed to Hillah, which has now a population of about nine thousand. So far from the "Arabian not pitching his tent there," it is the very thing they have done, and are now doing daily. Mr. Lay-ard, who recently visited the place, says, in his work ("Nineveh and Babylon"), "The Arab settlement showed the activity of a hive of bees." What a singular rebuff to Isaiah's prophecy, and also to that of Jeremiah, who says it should become a "perpetual desolation" (xxv. 12), and that it should not be dwelt in by man nor the son of man! (Jer. 1. 40.) Isaiah declared, "Her days shall not be prolonged" (Isa. xiii). And thus the prophecies have all failed which refer to Babylon. Speaking of Tyre, Ezekiel says, it should be taken by Nebuchadnezzar, and trodden down by his chariots and horses; and "thou shalt be built no more, and thou shalt never be found again." And yet Tyre never was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, nor by any power; and, although it has suffered like other Eastern cities, it is still a flourishing city with a population of about five thousand.
St. Jerome spoke of it in the fourth century as being "the most noble and beautiful city in Phoenicia." And this was more than a thousand years after Ezekiel's maledictions were pronounced against it, which declared it should be destroyed, and never be rebuilt. True, it has been partially destroyed several times,—and what ancient city has not?—but it has been rebuilt as often. We have, then, before us two illustrative cases of the failures of Jewish prophecies pronounced against neighboring cities and kingdoms, probably prompted by a spirit of envy and animosity because they had either overruled the Jewish nation, and subjected it to their power, or outstripped it in temporal prosperity. The Jewish prophets were continually fulminating their thunders and curses upon those powers and principalities which had overpowered them, and held them in subjection. This was very natural; and occasionally an unpropitious prediction may have been realized. But it is a remarkable fact, that more than forty disastrous events, which the Jewish prophets declared the Lord would inflict upon Egypt (the nation they so much contemned and envied because it held them in slavery for four hundred years), have never been realized in the history or experience of that nation. Some of these cases are noticed in "The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors," as also the prophecies and failures in regard to Damascus and other cities, to which the reader is referred for a further elucidation this subject.
Having treated the subject of miracles at some length in "The World's Sixteen Crucified Saviors," we shall give it but a brief notice in this work, and will comprehend the whole thing in a few points.
1. The history of miraculous achievements by Gods and men form a very large chapter in the "inspired writings" of nearly all the ancient religious systems which have flourished in the world; and to notice all these cases would require volumes enough to make a library.
2. Almost the only evidence we have in any case of the actual performance of a miracle is the report of the writer who relates it.
3. St. Chrysostom declares that "miracles are not designed for men of sense, but only for sluggish minds." It will be understood, therefore, that what we write here on the subject will not be designed for persons of sense, but only for the ignorant and superstitious.
4. Many things in the past which were set down as miracles are now known to be the result of natural causes; such as the rainbow, most cases of sickness, and, in fact, nearly every phenomenon of nature. And, as every age develops new light on natural causes, it has made the list of miracles not already explained so small, that we may reasonably conclude that they will all yet be explained and understood in this light, excepting those fabricated without any basis of truth.
5. As God appears to have regulated every thing in the beginning by fixed laws, if he should break one of those laws by the performance of a miracle, it would throw every thing into chaos and confusion, and prove that he is not a God of order and stability.
6. If God, as we are told, made every thing perfect, then the performance of a miracle must make them imperfect, or prove that they have always been imperfect.
7. The performance of a miracle would prove that God is an imperfect being in not having every thing regulated by the laws of nature.
8. If the performance of miracles can authenticate the truth of one religion, then it must prove the truth of all religions; for all report miracles of some kind, and furnish, in most cases, the same kind of evidence that these miracles were performed.
9. There is not a miracle related in either the Old or New Testament that has not a parallel reported in the Bibles or sacred writings of the Orientals; such as curing the halt and blind, raising the dead, crossing streams in a miraculous manner, &c. Many cases are reported of the Hindoo Savior and Son of God, Chrishna, raising dead persons who had been drowned, murdered, or died a natural death. According to Tacitus, Vespasian performed a number of miraculous cures; such as curing the lame, restoring sight to the blind, &c., just as is related of Jesus. According to Josephus, Alexander with his army passed through the Sea of Pamphylia in the same miraculous manner that Moses did through the Red Sea. As Alexander's army was engaged in the work of human butchery, we may assume that, if God could have had anything to do with it, he would have embraced the opportunity to drown them, and wash them all away.
10.Jewish Miracles.—The Jewish Talmud speaks of birds so large that they darkened the sun, and shut out the light of the sun from the earth. Probably they supposed, like Moses, that nearly all the earth was located between Dan and Beersheba. Another kind of bird was so tall, that, when walking in a river seventy feet deep, the water only reached its knees. This is a tall story; but it should be remembered that it is related by the same people who tell us about sticks being converted into serpents, water into blood, dust into lice, &c., and a man (Samson) overturning a house with several thousand people in it, &c. Hence all these stones are equally reliable or unreliable.
11.Mahomedan Miracles.—Mahomedans bear off the palm in miraculous prodigies. For instance, a cock is spoken of so large that the distance between its feet and head was five hundred days' journey. What a pity Barnum could not obtain it! Another example: an angel so large that the distance between his eyes was seventy thousand days' journey. The head of this tall ghost must have been among the planets. The earth would have been too small to furnish him with a seat; and the attempt to-use it for that purpose would probably have thrown it out of its orbit.
12.Christian Miracles.—The early Christians seem to have had the whole miracle-making machinery of heaven under their control. Their miracles were prodigious and numerous. They claimed they could cast out devils, call the dead from their graves, and make ghosts walk about either end up. We are told that when a Mr. Huntingdon was reduced to great poverty and suffering, and prayed for divine assistance, fishes came out of the water to him, and larks and leather breeches from heaven, to serve as food and clothing. It is difficult to conceive how leather breeches came to be stored in heaven. With these few specimens, selected at random, we will stop. They are too large even to excite our marvelousness. The most ignorant and superstitious nations have always had the longest creeds and the tallest miracles.
13. We have stated that the only evidence of the performance of any miracle in most cases is the simple narration of it by the writer who records it. The Roman Catholics, however, claim to have the testimony of thousands of reliable witnesses to attest to the performance of some extraordinary miracles which they have reported the history of; such as a picture of the Virgin Mary, hanging on the walls of the church, opening and shutting its eyes daily for six or seven months, which they declare was witnessed by sixty thousand people, including Pope, cardinals, bishops, &c.,—leading men of the Church.
14. There is as much evidence that Esculapius raised Hypolitus from the dead (as related by the Roman historian Pausanias), as that Elijah or Christ raised the dead; as much evidence that the serpent's egg inclosed in gold (as related by Pliny in his "Arguinum Ovum") swam up stream when thrown into the river, as that Elisha raised an ax to the surface of the water by casting a stick into it (2 Kings vi. 6); as much evidence that Mahomet opened a fountain of water in the end of his little finger, as that Samson found a spring of water in the jaw-bone of an ass; as much evidence that Mahomet's camel talked to him, as that Balaam's ass was endowed with human speech; and as much evidence that Esculapius cured the blind with spittle, as that Christ performed such cures. All stand upon a level; all lack the proof.
15. Here let it be noted that many of the miracles recorded in the Christian Bible are susceptible of an explanation upon natural principles; such as the shadow going back on the dial of Ahaz, as the phenomenon has been witnessed in some of the Eastern countries of the shadows appearing to recede, when the sun is near the solstice, once in the forenoon and once in the afternoon. The story of the devils entering the hogs may be explained by assuming the devils to have been frogs; for they are described as being like frogs. (See Rev. xvi. 13.)
The resurrection of Lazarus may be explained by assuming him to have been in a state of coma, or trance; for Christ once declared, "This sickness is not unto death," but "he sleepeth" (John xi). The bloody sweat of Christ, and his transfiguration, can also be explained on natural principles; also Paul's conversion, and his miraculous cures with a handkerchief. Dr. Newton, the great healer, has cured hundreds of cases in a similar manner. And the time will come when all real occurrences, now called miracles, will be accounted for, and understood as the operation of natural causes.
A spiritual or metaphorical interpretation, if allowable in any case, can not avail any thing towards either removing, explaining, or mitigating, in the least degree, the numerous palpable Bible errors represented byfigures. "Figures never lie" and admit of no construction. The almost innumerable errors, therefore, of this character which abound in the Bible utterly and for ever prostrate it as a work possessing any authority, reliability, or credibility in matters of history, science, or even theology. Bible writers, when they have occasion to refer to numbers which they are interested in makingappearvery large, seem to make almost a lawless use of figures. I will present some examples, stated in brief language, commencing with the Pentateuch. The author of these five books, in speaking of the genealogy, population, armies, &c., of his own tribe, makes use of figures which are not only incredible, but utterly impossible. The number of valiant fighting men, for example, among the Israelites, is frequently stated to be about six hundred thousand, and never less. (See Exod. xii. and xxxviii.; Num. xxvi., &c.) This number, as Bishop Colenso demonstrates, reaches far beyond the utmost limits of truth. If the regular army had been six hundred thousand, then the whole population (women and children included) could not have been less than two millions,—a number which many facts, cited by the Bible writer himself, demonstrate to be impossible. I would ask, in the first place, how Moses could address all this immense congregation at once, as he is often represented as doing. (See Ex. xxiv. 3; Lev. xxiv 15; Num. xiv. 7, &c.) Joshua makes "all the congregation" to include women and children. But how could Moses address this vast multitude of people, some of whom must have been at least ten miles distant, unless he used a speaking-trumpet or a telephone, neither of which, however, had then come to light. The writer of Deuteronomy says, "Moses spake unto all Israel" (Deut. i. 1). But not one in a hundred could have heard it, therefore it was very nearly "labor lost." And Joshua says Moses wrote out his commandments, and he read them "before all the congregation of Israel" (Josh. viii. 35). But it would have required a voice as loud as thunder to make "all" of them hear. And it should be borne in mind that the people on these occasions were assembled in the tabernacle,—as we infer from many texts,—a building one hundred and eight yards square, and capable of holding about five thousand people, which would be just one to four thousand of the congregation; so there were five thousand people inside, and one million nine hundred and ninety-five thousand outside. These last, we are told, occupied the outer court, which was just eighteen feet wide.
This would place the most distant hearers twenty miles off.
How comforting the thought, that, when Moses called them to the temple to worship (see Josh. viii. 35), they could get within twenty miles of him and "the tabernacle of the Lord"! The Lord had built a tabernacle for them to worship in, but only one or two in six thousand could get inside of it. This small number only could enjoy seeing and hearing Moses and the Lord.
The rest—one million nine hundred and ninety-five thousand—were outside, waiting for admission. Bishop Colenso estimates, the size of the camp of Israel at about twelve miles square.
This camp was situated in a desert of Sinai for at least a year; and the business of keeping this camp in order, waiting upon the people, and removing also, the remains of the daily sacrifice of two hundred thousand oxen, sheep, &c., devolved upon three priests,—Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar. It would be quite an improvement of the sacerdotal order if the priests of to-day could be subjected occasionally to some such healthy exercise; but they have managed to get the rule reversed. They now have the people to wait upon them. But those three priests of the Israelites must have achieved a herculean task to wait each one upon three hundred and thirty-three thousand people daily, and, after preparing their food outside the camp, travel twelve miles to supply each one of this vast multitude with food and water. If they carried provision for only one person at a time, they would have had to perform this journey of twelve miles five thousand five hundred times an hour, which would have required them to be rather fleet on foot. And, besides the labor of carrying away every day, to the distance of six or seven miles, five hundred cart-loads of the offal of the dead animals, there would be at least one pound of victuals to be carried to each person, making, in the aggregate, five thousand five hundred pounds. They must have enjoyed good health, if abundant exercise would produce it. They could not have been much troubled with dyspepsia or liver-complaint, as many of that order are nowadays.
1. We are told that Moses gave notice to the children of Israel at midnight, that they must take their departure from Egypt the next morning for the promised land (Exod. xii.); but, if they constituted the immense number represented, they would have made a column two hundred miles long, arranging them five abreast, so it would have taken several days for all to get started. How, then, could they all start thenext morning?And how did they keep their two millions of sheep and cattle alive for several days while passing over a sandy desert too poor to produce dog-fennel? And it is strange how the whole tribe of Israelites, if two millions in number, could live forty years in a wild, barren desert, and keep their immense flocks and herds alive.
2. The number of first-born male children over a month old, on a certain occasion, is set down at twenty-two-thousand two hundred and ninety-three, which would make about eighty-eight children for each mother. This was "replenishing" rapidly. But their little tents, like the tabernacle of the Lord, would not accommodate one-fourth of that number. This would necessitate the mothers to leave most of their children "out in the cold."
The number of the children of Israel that went down to Egypt, according to Exod. i. 5, was seventy souls; and they remained there during four generations, represented by Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Moses, making a period (as marginal notes state) of two hundred and fifteen years; though Exod. xii. 40, gives it at four hundred and thirty years. But this is another case of incredible exaggeration Four generations of ordinary length, in that age, would not exceed the marginal calculation of two hundred and fifteen years; and for those seventy souls to increase to two millions in that short period of time, of four generations, would have required each mother to have had twelve or fifteen children at a birth.
3. Dan, in the first generation, had but one son (Gen. xlvi. 23); yet in the fourth generation he had increased to sixty-two thousand seven hundred, or, according to Num. xxvi. 43, to sixty-four thousand, which would have required each son and grandson to have had about eighty children apiece. This would have been "multiplying and replenishing" on a rapid scale.
4. Aaron and his two sons had to make all the offerings, and on an altar only nine feet square; and an offering had to be made at the birth of every child, which would require about five hundred sacrifices daily; and then there were thirteen cities where these offerings had to be made, and only three priests to do it. (See Lev. i. 11.) And, besides, the priests had to eat a large portion of the burnt offerings (see Num. xviii. 10); and, as these offerings consisted of five hundred lambs and pigeons, it would subject them to the task of eating enormous quantities daily.
5. At the second passover, an offering had to be made for every family (Exod. xii.), which would require the slaughter of about one hundred and fifty thousand lambs. The three priests had to sprinkle the blood of these lambs; and it had to be done in about two hours (1 Chron. xxx. 35). The lambs had to be sacrificed at the rate of about one thousand two hundred and fifty a minute, and each priest had to sprinkle the blood of more than four hundred lambs per minute with their own hands, which would make the affair rather a bloody business, if it were not wholly impossible, and therefore an incredible story.
6. If we could credit the statements of "the inspired writer" of the book of Numbers (see chap. xxxi.), we should have to believe twelve thousand Israelites, in a war with the Midianites, after selecting out thirty-two thousand young damsels, killed forty-eight thousand men, eight thousand women, and twenty thousand boys; burned all their cities, and captured all their stock, amounting to eight hundred and eight thousand, and all this without the loss of a single man. Each Israelite would have had to conquer seventy-five resisting enemies, including men, women, children, and stock. It is a story too incredible for serious reflection. We are told that the clothing of the Israelites lasted forty years "without waxing old" (see Deut. xxix. 5),—another story too incredible to be entertained for a moment.
7. In Deuteronomy the priests are always called sons of Levi, or "Levites;" but, in the other books of the Pentateuch, they are always called "the sons of Aaron," which is an evidence they were not written by the same hand. Contradictions. According to Exod. xviii. 25, Moses appointed judges over Israel before the giving forth of the law; but (Deut. i. 6) we are told that the appointment took place after the law was issued at Sinai.
8. According to Deuteronomy, chap. x., "the Lord separated the tribe of Levi" after the death of Aaron; but, according to Numbers, chap. iii., the separation took place before his death.
9. According Exodus, God instituted the sabbath because he rested on that day; but, according to Deuteronomy, it was because he brought the Israelites out of Egypt "by a stretched-out arm." In Deuteronomy, chap. xiv., every creeping thing that flieth is declared to be unclean, and is forbidden to be eaten; but in Leviticus, chap. xi., every creeping thing, including four kinds of locust, is allowed, and is prescribed as a part of their food.
10. In Exodus, chap. vi., God is represented as saying, "By my name Jehovah was I not known to them" (the patriarchs). But he was mistaken; for that name occurs frequently in Genesis. In 1 Sam. chap. viii., we are told the name of Samuel's first-born was Joel; and the name of his second, Abiah: but in Chroniclcs, vi. 28., we are told the name of Samuel's eldest son was Vashni. Which is right?
11.Bad Bible Morals.—Persons mutilated by accident, or otherwise in helpless condition, were excluded from the congregation of the Lord; while the guilty culprits who caused this mutilation were allowed free access to the holy sanctuary. (Set Lev. xxi.) We consider this bad morality. Innocent base-born children were also excluded from the temple, while the guilty parents were allowed free admission.
12. By the law of Moses and the will of God, as is claimed, parents were required to stone rebellious children to death; and yet the parents were often the cause of this rebellious disposition, and tenfold more guilty than the children, having corrupted them by bad influences. (See Deut. xxi.) This is a specimen of Bible justice and Bible morality.
13.The Jews not Civilized.—The Lord's chosen people possessed so little of the element of civilization, they had to go to the King of Tyre to hire artisans and skilled workmen to build their temple. (See 2 Chron. ii. 3, and 1 Kings v. 6.)
14. It is stated that it took one hundred and fifty-three thousand men seven years to build Solomon's temple,—and heathen at that. (See 2 Chron. ii. 17,18.) Strange, indeed, when it was only a hundred and ten feet long, thirty-six feet wide, and fifty-five feet high! (1 Kings vi. 2.) Some of our modern churches are much larger buildings, and generally erected in less than a year by less than a dozen workmen. It is certainly very damaging to the exalted pretensions of "the Lord's peculiar people" that they possessed minds and intelligence so far below the heathen, that no workmen could be found amongst them, and they had consequently to go to these same heathen to hire workmen to build the Lord's house. Such facts sink the reputation both of them and their God.
It is difficult to conceive how any real benefit or any reliable instruction can be derived from a book which contains statements with respect to doctrines or matters of fact that are contradicted on the next page, or in some other portion of the book; because it not only confuses the mind of the reader, but renders it impossible for him to know, as he reads a statement in one chapter of the book, that it is not contradicted and nullified in some other chapter, until he has sacrificed sufficient time to commit the whole book to memory: and but few persons have ever achieved that herculean task. Hence it must be an unreliable book as an authority. We know it has been stated by many admirers of the "Holy Book" that it contains no conflicting statements when properly understood. But who is to decide when it is properly understood? Here, again, is a conflict of ideas. All words have certain specific meanings attached to them by common consent. And certainly any man of good sense would not attempt to attach any other meaning to them, without stating the fact and clearly defining his new meaning, if he expects any reader to understand him, or any two readers to understand him alike; and, if he writes without giving a hint that he has invented or employed new meanings for the words he uses, we are compelled to assume that his words and language have the ordinary and universally adopted signification. With this view of the case (as the writers of the Bible have given no hint that they employed new meanings), it is false to assume or say there are no contradictions in the Bible, when, if we accept language with its ordinary and established signification, an honest and unbiased investigation will show that it contains several thousand statements which conflict with each other or with science, history or moral truth, and hence must be totally unreliable as an authority. To prove this, we will now enter upon the unpleasant task of arranging and classifying a large number of these contradictions found both in the Old and New Testaments.
1. Was it death to eat the forbidden fruit? Yes: "In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die" (Gen. II. 17). No: "And all the-days of Adam were nine hundrcd and thirty years" (Gen. v. 5).
2. Can a woman, according to scripture, ever speak on religious matters? Yes: "The same man had four daughters—virgins—who did prophesy" (Acts xxi. 9). No: "I suffer not a woman to teach, but to be in silence" (1 Tim. ii. 12).
3. Should a man ever laugh? Yes: "There is a time to weep and a time to laugh" (Eccles. iii. 4). No: "Sorrow is better than laughter" (Eccles. viii. 3). Yes: "I commend mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat, drink, and be merry" (Eccles. vii. 15).
4. What is our moral duty relative to trimming the hair on our heads? "There shall no razor come upon his head,... let the locks of his head grow" (Num. vi. 5). "If a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him" (1 Cor. xi. 14).
5. Is there any remedy for a fool? Yes: "The rod of correction will drive it far from him" (Prov. xxii. 15). No: "Though thou bray a fool in a mortar, yet will his foolishness not depart from him" (Prov. xxvi. 6).
6. Should we pay a fool in his own coin? Yes: "Answer a fool according to his folly" (Prov. xxvi. 5). No: "Answer not a fool according to his folly" (Prov. xxvi. 6).
7. Is man's life threescore years and ten? Yes: "The days of our years are threescore years and ten" (Ps. xc. 10). No: "His days shall be a hundrcd and twenty years" (Gen. vi. 3).
8. Is it desirable to be tempted? Yes: "Count it all Joy to be tempted" (Jas. i. 2). No: "Watch and pray, that ye enter not Into temptation" (Matt. xxvi. 41).
9. Which is the tempter, God or the devil? The devil: The devil tempted Christ and Judas. (See Matt. iv. 1). God: God tempted David (2 Sam. xxiv. 1).
10. Does the Lord ever tempt man? No: "Neither tempteth he any man" (Jas. i.13). Yes: "And God did tempt Abraham" (Gen. xxii. 1). No: "He blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts" (John xii. 40).
11. Can God be tempted? No: "God can not be tempted" (Jas. i. 13). Yes: "They have tempted me, the Lord, ten times" (Num. xiv. 22).
12. Is any thing good? Yes: Every thing (1 Tim. iv. 4). No: "Every thing is corrupt" (Gen. vi. 12).
13. How many Gods are there? One: "The Lord our God is one Lord" (Deut. vi.4). Several: "Let us make man in our own image" (Gen. i. 26). Three: "There are three that bear record in heaven, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" (1 John v. 7).
14. Is God omnipresent? Yes: David declares the Lord is everywhere, In heaven and earth, and even in hell (Ps. cxxxix. 7). No: "The Lord came down to see Sodom" (Gen. xviii. 20). Yes: "There is no place where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves" (Job xxxiv. 22). No: "Adam and Eve hid themselves from the presence of the Lord" (Gen. iii. 8). No: "Cain fled from the presence of God" (Gen. iv. 16). Yes: "Man can not get out of his presence" (Ps. cxxxix. 7).
15. Is God omniscient? Yes: "He knoweth the hearts of all men" (Acts i. 24). No: "The Lord had to prove the Israelites, and also Abraham, to know what was in their hearts" (Deut. viii. and Gen. xxii.).
18. Is God omnipotent? Yes: "With God all things are possible" (Matt. xix. 26). No: "He could not drive out the Inhabitants of the valley, because their chariots were made of iron" (Judg. i. 19).
17. Is God unchangeable? Yes: With him "there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning; I change not" (Mal. iii. 6). No: "And the Lord repented of the evil he said he would inflict upon the Ninevites" (Jon. iii. 10).
18. Is God a merciful being? Yes: "The Lord is very pitiful, and full of mercy" (Jas. v. 11). No: "I will not pity nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy" (Jer. xiii. 14) Yes: "His tender mercies are over all his works" (Ps. cxiv. 9). No: "Have no pity on them, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling" (Sam. xv. 2). Yes: "His mercy endureth for ever" (1 Chron. xvi. 34). No: "I have taken away my loving kindness and mercies" (Jer. xvi. 3).
19. Does God over hate? No: "God is love" (1 John iv. 16). Yea: "He hated his own inheritance" (Ps. cvi. 40).
20. Is God's anger perpetual? No: "His anger endureth but a moment" (Ps. xxx 5). Yes: "Mine anger shall burn for ever" (Jer. xvii. 4).
21. Is God the author of evil? Yes: "I make peace, and I create evil" (Isa. xiv. 7). No: "Out of his mouth proceeds not evil" (Lam. iii. 38).
22. Is God in favor of war? No: "He is the God of peace." Yes: "The Lord is a man of war" (Exod. xv. 3). No: "He is not the author of confusion, but of peace" (1 Cor. xiv. 33).
23. Is the spirit of God for peace? Yes: It is "love, peace, joy, gentleness, and goodness" (Gal. v. 22). No: "The spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he slew a thousand men" (Judg. xv. 16). Yes: "The spirit of the Lord begets love, peace, and goodness" (Gal. v. 22). No: "By the spirit of the Lord Samson slew thirty men" (Judg. xiv. 19).
24. Has any man seen God? Yes: "Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Ablho, and the seventy elders of Israel" saw the God of Israel (Exod. xxiv.9). No: "No man hath seen God at any time" (John i. 18). Yes: "I have seen God face to face, and my life has been preserved" (Gen. xxxii. 30). No: "There shall no man see me, and live" (Exod. xxxiii. 20). Yes: "I saw also the Lord standing upon the throne" (Isa. vi. 1). No: "Ye have never seen his shape" (John v. 37).
25. Can any man hear God's voice? Yes: "I heard thy voice in the garden" (Gen. iii. 9). No: "Ye have never heard his voice at any time" (John v. 37).
26. Does God dwell in light? Yes: "He dwelleth in light which no man can approach to" (1 Tim. vi. 16). No: "The Lord said he would dwell in thick darkness" (1 Kings viii. 12).
27. Does God dwell in temples? Yes: "I have chosen this [Solmon's] temple for a house" (2 Chron. viii. 16). No: "The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts xvii. 24).
28. Does God ever tire? Yes: "God rested, and was refreshed" (Exod. xxxi. 17). No: "God fainteth not, neither is he weary" (Isa. xl. 28).
29. Is God a respecter of persons? No: "There is no respect of persons with God" (Rom. ii. 11). Yes: "And God had respect to Abel and his offering" (Gen.).
30. Can God always be found? Yes: "Those who seek me early shall find me" (Prov. viii. 17). No: "They shall seek me early, but shall not find me" (Prov. i. 28).
31. Does the Lord believe in burnt offerings? No: "I delight not in the blood of bullocks or of lambs or of he-goats" (Isa. i. 11). Yes: "Thou shall offer every day a bullock for a sin-offering" (Exod. xxix. 36).
32. Does the Lord believe in animal sacrifices of any kind? No: "Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me" (Jer. vi. 20). Yes: "Burnt sacrifices are sweet unto the Lord" (Lev i. 9).
33. Does God believe in human sacrifices? No: For he condemned the human sacrifices of the Gentiles. (See Deut. xii. 30.) Yes: "For his anger was abated by David's hanging the five sons of Michal in the hill before the Lord." (See 2 Sam. xxi. 8, and Judg. xi. 30.)
34. Does God ever repent? Yes: "It repenteth the Lord that he had made man" (Gen. vi. 6). No: "The Lord is not a man that he should repent" (Num. xxiii. 19).
35. Is all scripture given by inspiration of God? Yes: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim. iii. 16). No: "I speak it not after the Lord" (2 Cor. xi. 17).
36. Is war and fighting right? No: "They that take the sword shall perish with the sword" (Matt, xxvi. 32). Yes: "He that hath no sword, let him sell his coat and by one" (Luke xxii. 36). No: "Beat your swords into plowshares, and your spears into pruning-hooks" (Mic. iv. 3). Yes: "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning-hooks into spears" (Joel iii. 10). Yes: "Cursed be he who keepeth back his sword from blood" (Jer. xlviii. 10).
37. Shall nation war against nation? Yes: "Nation shall rise up against nation" (Matt. xxiv. 7). No: "Nation shall not rise up against nation" (Mic. iv. 3).
38. Shall we love our enemies? Yes: "Love your enemies" (Luke vi. 27). No: "Bring my enemies, and lay them before me" (Luke xix. 27).
39. Is hatred right? No: "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer"(1 John iii. 15) Yes: "You must hate father and mother, brother and sister, &c., or ye can not be true followers of Christ" (Luke xiv. 26).
40. Is anger commended? Yes: "Be ye angry, and sin not" (Eph. iv. 26). No "Anger resteth in the bosom of fools" (Ecclcs. vii 9).
41. Is it right to steal and rob? No: "Thou shalt not steal" (Exod. xx. 15); "Neither rob" (Lev. xix. 13). Yea: The Israelites took from the Egyptians "Jewels of silver and Jewels of gold, and raiment, and they spoiled the Egyptians" (Exod. xii. 35).
42. Is it right to kill? No: "Thou shalt not kill" (Exod. xx. 13). Yes: "Kill every male child amongst them." Yes: "Go ye out and slay every man his companion and every man his neighbor, and every man his brother" (Exod. xxxii. 27).
43. Is it right to lie on any occasion? No: "All liars are to be punished with fire and brimstone" (Rev. xxi. 8). Yes: "Go put a lying spirit into the mouths of all the prophets" ( I Kings xxii. 21). No: "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. xii. 22). Yes: "The harlot Rahab lied, and was justified by works" (Jas. ii. 25). No: "Say nothing but the truth" (2 Chron. xviii. 15). Yes: "If the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie for his glory, why am I adjudged a sinner?" (Rom. iii. 7).
44. Is God in favor of lying and deception? No: "Thou shalt not bear false wit-ness" (Exod. 20). Yes: "If a prophet is deceived, I the Lord deceived that prophet" (Ezek. xiv. 9).
45. Is a pious life a happy life? Yes: "Come unto me, and I will give you rest" (Matt. xi. 28). No: "In the world ye shall have tribulation" (John xvi. 33).
46. Will righteousness make a man happy? Yes: "There shall no evil happen to the just" (Prov. xii. 21). No: "It is through much tribulation the righteous enter the kingdom of heaven" (Acts xiv. 21). Yes: "The righteous shall flourish" (Ps. xcii. 12). No: "The righteous shall perish" (Isa. lvii. 1). Yes: "The prayer of the righteous availeth much" (Jas. v. 16). No: "There is none righteous; no, not one" (Rom. iii. 10). Yes: The righteous to be slain with the wicked (Ezek. xxi. 3). No: The "righteous not to be slain" (Exod. xxiii. 7).
47. Can we live without sinning? Yes: "Those born of God can not sin" (1 John iii. 9) No: "There is no man that sinneth not" (I Kings viii. 46). Yes: "He that committeth sin is of the devil" (1 John ill. 8). No: "There are none that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Eccles. vii. 20).
48. Does wickedness shorten a man's life? Yes: "The years of the wicked shall be shortened" (Prov. x. 27). No: "The wicked live, and become old" (Job xxi. 7). Shall we resist evil? Yes: "Put away the evil of your doings" (Isa. i. 16). No: "Resist not evil" (Matt. v. 37).
49. Who can know whether the golden rule is right or wrong? Right: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do you even so unto them" (Matt. vii. 12). Wrong: "Spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling" (1 Sam. xv. 3).
50. Is wisdom desirable? Yes: "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom" (Prov. iii. 13). No: "Much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow" (Eccles. i. 18). Yes: "Get wisdom with all thy gettings" (Prov. iv. 7). Yes: "Be wise as serpents" (Matt. x. 16). No: "The wisdom of the wise shall be destroyed" (1 Cor. i. 19).
51. Shall we aim at a good reputation? Yes: "A good name is better than riches" (Prov. xxii. 1). No: "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you" (Luke vi. 26).
52. Are riches desirable? Yes: "The rich man's wealth is his strong City" (Prov. x. 15). No: "Woe unto you that are rich" (Luke vi. 24). Yes: "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord,... wealth and riches shall be in his house" (Ps. cxii.). No: "Blessed be ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke vi. 20).
53. Can a righteous man be rich, or a rich man be saved? Yes: "In the house of the righteous is much treasure" (Prov. xv. 6). No: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matt. xix. 24).
54. Does the Lord believe in riches? Yes: "The Lord blessed Job with fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen," &c. (Job xiii. 12). No: "A rich man can not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. xix. 24). Yes: "Wealth and riches shall be in the house of the man that feareth God" (Ps. cxii. 1). No: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth" (Matt. vi. 19).
55. Shall we use strong drink? No: "Wine is a mocker, and strong drink is raging" (Prov. xx. 1). Yes: "Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish" (Prov. xxxi. 6).
56. Should we ever use wine? No: "Do not use wine nor strong drink" (Lev. x. 9). Yes: "Use a little wine for the stomach's sake" (Tim. v. 23). No: "Look not upon the wine when it is red" (Prov. xxiii. 31). Yes: "Give wine to him that is of heavy heart" (Prov. xxxi. 6).
57. Is it right to eat all kinds of animals? Yes: "There is nothing unclean of itself; eat every moving thing" (Gen. ix. 3). No: "Swine, hares, and camels are unclean; ye shall not eat of their flesh" (Deut. xiv. 7).
58. Is it good to eat flesh? Yes: It is good to eat flesh (Deut. xii. 20). No; It is not good to eat flesh (Rom. xiv. 21).
59. Is man justified by works? Yes: "Abraham was justified by works" (Jas. ii. 21). No: "A man can not be justified by works" (Gal. ii. 16).
60. Is man saved by faith? Yes: "Man is saved by faith without works" (Rom. iii. 28). No: "Man can not be justfied by faith without works" (James ii. 24).
61. Should our works be seen? Yes: "Let your light shine before men" (Matt. v. 16). No: "Do not your alms before men" (Matt. vi. 1),
62. Is public prayer right? No: "Enter into thy closet, and shut thy door" (Matt vi. 6). Yes: "Solomon prayed before all the congregation" (1 Kings viii. 22).
63. How can it be a moral duty to pray, there being no certainty of an answer? "Every one that asketh receiveth" (Matt. vii. 8). "They that seek me early shall find me" (Prov. viii. 17). "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but shall not find me" (Prov. i. 28).
64. Is man to be rewarded in this life? Yes: Both the righteous and the wicked an to be rewarded on earth (Prov. xi. 31). No: They are to be rewarded after death (Matt. xvi. 27).
65. Are children punished for the sins of their parents? Yes: "The iniquities of the father are visited upon the children" (Exod. xx. 6). No "The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father" (Ezek. xviii. 20).
66. Should marriage be encouraged? Yes: "Marriage is honorable to all" (Heb. xiii. 4). No: "It is good for a man not to touch a woman" (1 Cor. vii. 1).
67. Is divorce right or wrong according to the Bible? Right: "If thou have no delight in her (thy wife), then thou shalt let her go" (Deut. xxi. 11). Wrong: "Whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the crime of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery" (Matt. v. 32).
68. Is it right to marry a brother's widow? Yes: "If a man die childless, his brother shall marry his widow" (Deut. xxv. 5). No: "To marry a brother's widow is an unclean thing" (Lev. xx. 21).
69. Is it ever right to marry a sister? No: "Cursed shall he be who does so" (Deut. xxvii. 22). Yes: "Abraham married his sister, and was blessed" (Gen. xx. 2).
70. Does the Bible allow adultery? No: "Whoremongers and adulterers God will Judge" (Heb. xiii. 4). Yes: "The Lord commanded Hosea to take a wife of whoredoms" (Hos. i. 2).
71. Is fornication sinful? Yes: "You should abstain from fornication" (1. Thess. iv. 8). No: "Every woman who hath not known man by lying with him, save for yourselves" (Num. xxxi. 18).
72. Should we always obey kings and rulers? Yes: "To resist [them] is to resist the ordinance of God" (Rom. xiii. 3). No: "Whether it is right to obey God or man, judge ye." Yes: "Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake" ( 1 Pet. ii. 14). "Whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do" (Matt, xxiii. S). No: "We ought to obey God rather than man" (Acts v. 29).
73. Is the obedience of servants a duty? Yes: "Servants, obey your masters" (Col. iii. 22). No: "Be ye not the servants of men" (1 Cor. vii. 23).
74. Is slavery right? No: "Be not called master;" "Break every yoke" (Isa. lviii. 6). Yes: "Ye shall buy of the children of the stranger, &c., and they shall be your possession" (Lev. xxv. 46). No: "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land" (Lev. xxv. 10).
75. Who can tell if baptism is an obligatory ordinance? Yes: "Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them," &c. (Matt, xxviii. 19). No: "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel" (1 Cor. i. 17).
76. Is image-making right? No: "Ye shall make no image of any thing" (Exod. xx. 4). Yes: "Moses made an image of a serpent" (Num. xxi. 9).
77. Is circumcision right? Yes: "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of men, ye can not be saved" (Acts xv. 1). No: "If ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing" (Gal. v. 2). Yes: "Ye must be circumcised" (Acts xv. 24). No: "Circumcision is nothing" (Cor. vii. 19).
78. Is it right to swear? No: "Swear not at all" (Matt. v. 35). Yes: God swore eleven times, says the Bible.
79. Why was the sabbath instituted? Because "God rested on the sabbath day" (Exod. xx. 11). Because "he delivered his people on that day" (Deut. vi. 15).
80. Is it right to observe the sabbath? Yes: "Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy." No: "Your new moons and your sabbaths,... I can not away with. It is iniquity" (Isa. i. 12).
81. Is it right to judge? Yes: "Judge righteous Judgment" (John vii. 24). No: "Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Matt. vii. 2).
82. Can a man work miracles without divine aid? No: "No man can work such miracles except God be with him" (John iii. 2). Yes: "The Egyptians did in like manner with their enchantments" (Exod. vii. 10).
83. Can any man ascend to heaven? Yes: "Elijah ascended in a chariot of fire" (2 Kings ii.11). No: "No man hath ascended up to heaven" (John iii. 13). Yes: "All men must see death" (Heb. ix. 27). No: "Enoch did not see death" (Heb. xi. 5).
84. Should we fear death? Yes: "Christ walked not in Jewry because the Jews sought to kill him" (John vii. 1). No: "Fear not them that kill the body" (Matt. x. 28).
85. Will the earth ever be destroyed? Yes: "The earth also shall be burned up" (2 Pet. iii 10). No: "But the earth abideth for ever" (Eccles. i. 4).
86. Does the Bible teach a future life? Yes: "They shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matt. xxv. 46). No: "For that which befelleth men befalleth beasts;... as the one dieth, so dieth the other," &c. (Eccles. iii. 19).
87. Does the Bible teach a future resurrection? Yes: "The dead shall be raised" (Cor. xv. 52). No: "They shall not rise" (Isa. xxvi.14). Yes: "The saints came up out of the ground" (Matt, xxvii. 62). No: "Those who go down into the grave never come up again" (Job vii. 9).
88. Are the actions of men ever to be judged according to the Bible? First, "The Father judgeth no man" (John v. 22). Second, "I [Jesus Christ] judge no man" (John viii. 15). So there is to be no judgment.
89. No: "God saw every thing was corrupt" (Gen. vi. 11). Yes: "God saw every thing he had made was good" (Gen. i. 31).
90. Yes: "God forgives the sinner" (Jer. xxxi. 34). No: "God kills the sinner" (Ezek. xviii. 20).
91. Yes: "God justifies the ungodly" (Rom. iv. 5). No: "God will not clear the guilty" (Exod. xxxiv. 7).
92. Yes: "Man is justified by the law" (Rom. ii. 13). No: "Man can not be justified by the law" (Gal. iii. 11).
93. Yes: "Many have sinned without the law" (Rom. ii.12). No: "Where there is no law there is no transgression" (Rom. iv. 18).
94. Yes: "Heaven is a kingdom that can not be moved" (Heb. xii. 18). No: "I will shake heaven and earth" (Heb. xii. 26).
95. Yes: "Every thing is afraid of man" (Gen. i. 28). No: "The lion is not afraid of man" (Prov. xxx. 30).
96. Yes: "Every man in his own tongue" (Gen. x. 5). No: "The whole earth one tongue" (Gen. xi. 1).
97. Yes: "All things are become new" (2 Cor. v. 17). No: "There is nothing new under the sun" (Eccles. i. 9).
98. Yes: "You shall make a likeness of a serpent and a cherubim" (Exod. xxv. 18). No: "Make no likeness of any thing in heaven above or the earth beneath," &c. (Exod. xx. 4).
99. Yes: "Deborah the prophetess judged Israel" (Judg. iv. 4). No: "A woman is not to judge or rule a man" (1 Tim. Ii. 12).
100. Yes: "God's people shall be ashamed" (Hos. x. 6). No: "God's people shall never be ashamed" (Ps. xxxvii. 19).
101. Yes: "Blessed are the fruitful" (Gen. i. 28). No: "Blessed are the barren" (Luke xxiii. 29).
102. Yes: "Edom being thy brother, do not abhor him" (Deut. xxiii. 7). No: "He slew of Edom ten thousand" (2 Kings xiv. 7).
103. Yes: "Bear ye one another's burdens" (Gal. vi. 2). No: "Every man must bear his own burden" (Gal. vi. 5).
104. Yes: "Labor not for meat" (John vi. 27). No: "He that labors not shall not eat" (2 Thess. iii. 10).
105. In Genesis vi. 5 God declared he would pour out his curses because "the imagination of man's heart is evil, and only evil continually." In Genesis viii. 21 he gives the same reason for not cursing the world.
And these are mere specimens of a vast number of similar kind. Kings and Chronicles especially are full of such discrepancies of dates, numbers, names, &c. In one case the author of Chronicles makes a son two years older than his father, the father being forty and the son forty-two. For proof, compare 2 Chron. xxi. 20 with xxii. 1, 2. And observe, the author of 2 Chron. xvi. 1 has Baasha, King of Israel, fighting against Judah ten years after the author of 1 Kings xvi. 8 has him dead and buried. But we have not space to spare to continue the list, as it would comprise a large chapter. Let the reader compare the names and numbers of the leaders, families, tribes, &c., of the children of Israel, as recorded by Ezra (chap. ii.), with those of Nehemiah (chap, vii.), and he will find more than a dozen discrepancies and contradictions; the difference amounting in some cases to thousands. He will also find a difference with respect to the coronation, period of rule, and termination of the reign of various kings, and wide differences tracing genealogie, families, tribes, &c., if he will compare Kings, Chronicles, Samuel, Ezra, Nehemiah, &c. Such are the verbal discrepancies of the "Word of God;" such is arithmetic when "inspired."
Two questions upon the above: 1. How much older can a son be than his father according to scripture, basing the inquiry upon Chron. xxi. and xxii.? 2. How long can a man continue to fight after he is dead and buried, as is illustrated in the case of Baasha, King of Israel? (See contradictions 142, 143, and 144.)
100. When was man created? Gen. i. 25 says after the other animal. Gen. ii, 13 says before the other animals.
107. Were seed-time and harvest to be perpetual? Yes: "Seed-time and harvest shall not cease" (Gen. viii. 22). No: "There was neither earing nor harvest" for five years (Gen. xiv. 6).
108. Did Eve see before she ate the forbidden fruit? Yes: "Woman saw before she ate the fruit" (Gen. iii. 6). No: "Her eyes were opened by eating the fruit" (Gen. iii. 7).
109. When did the earth become dry after the flood? "In the first month the waters of the flood were dried up" (Gen. viii. 13). "In the second month the waters of the flood were dried up" (Gen. viii. 12).
110. How old was Abraham when he left Haran? The eleventh chapter of Genesis makes him one hundred and thirty-five years old; but the twelfth says he was only seventy-five.
111. Did Abraham know where he was going? Yes: "He went forth to go into the land of Canaan" (Gen. xii. 5). No: "He went out, not knowing whither he went" (Heb. xi. 8).
112. Did God give Abraham land? Yes: "I give it to thy seed for ever" (Gen. xiii. 15). No: "Abraham had none inheritance in it, not so much as to set his foot on" (Acts vii. 5).
113. Did Moses fear Pharaoh? Yes: "Moses fled, fearing Pharaoh" (Exod. ii. 14 and 18). No: "Moses did not fear Pharaoh" (Heb. xi. 21 ).
114. Who hardened Pharaoh's heart? "The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh" (Exod. ix. 12). "Pharaoh hardened his heart" (Exod. viii. 15).
115. How many fighting men in Israel? Samuel says eight hundred thousand (2 Sam. xxiv. 9). Chronicles says one million one hundred thousand (1 Chron. xxi. 5).
110. How many fighting men in Judah? Samuel says five hundred thousand (2 Sam. xxiv. 9). Chronicles says four hundred and seventy thousand (1 Chron. xxi. 5).
117. Who moved David to number Israel? God: "The Lord moved David to number Israel" (2 Sam. xxiv. 1). The devil: "Satan provoked him to do it" (Chron. xxi. 1).
118. Did David sin more than once? Yes: "I have sinned greatly in numbering Israel" (2 Sam. 24. 10). No: "He sinned only when he killed Uriah" (1 Kings xv. 5).
119. How many years of famine was David to suffer? Chronicles says it was three years (1 Chron. xxi. 11). Samuel says it was seven years (2 Sam. xxiv. 13).
120. How many horsemen did David capture? Samuel says it was seven hundred (2 Sam. viii. 4). Chronicles says it was seven thousand (1 Chron. xviii. 4).
121. What did David pay for his threshing-floor? Samuel says fifty shekels of silver (2 Sam. xxiv. 24). Chronicles says six hundred shekels of gold (1 Chron. xxi. 25).
122. Was David's throne to come to an end? No: "It shall be established for ever" (Ps. lxxxix. 4). Yes: "It was cast down to the ground" (Ps. lxxxix. 44).
123. Was David really a man after God's own heart? Yes: "David was a man after God's own heart" (Acts xiii. 22). No: "David displeased the Lord" (2 Sam. xi. 24).
124. Was it a man or God that Jacob wrestled with? "Jacob wrestled all night with a man" (Gen. xxxii.24). "Jacob wrestled all night with God" (Gen. xxxii. 30).
125. How many were there of Jacob's family? "Jacob's family was only seventy souls" (Gen. xlvi 27). "Jacob's family was seventy-five souls" (Acts vii. 14).
126. How long was Israel in Egypt? "Israel was four hundred and thirty years in Egypt" (Exod. xii. 41). "Jacob was only four hundred years in Egypt" (Acts vii. 6).
127. Did they see what the Lord did in Egypt? Yes: "You have seen all the Lord did in Egypt" (Deut. xxix. 2). No: "You have seen nothing he did in Egypt" (Deut. xxix. 4).
128. Who was the father of Salah? Arphaxad (Gen. xi. 12). Cainan (Luke iii. 85).
129. Had Michal any children? No: "Michal had no children unto the day of his death" (2 Sam. vi. 23). Yes: "The five sons of Michal" (2 Sam. xxi. 8).
130. Where was the law written? Exodus says it was written on Mt. Sinai. Deuteronomy says it was written on Mt. Horeb.
131. How many died of the plague? Numbers says it was twenty and four thousand (Num. xxv. 9). Corinthians says three and twenty thousand (1 Cor. x. 8).
132. When did Zachariah begin to reign? "In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah" (2 Kings xv. 8). But a comparison of 2 Kings xlv. 29 and xv. 1 makes but fourteen years.
133. How many stalls for horses had Solomon? We are told in 1 Kings iv. 26, he had forty thousand. But, according to 2 Chron. ix. 25, it was only four thousand.
134. How much oil did Solomon give Hiram? According to Kings v. 11, it was twenty measures. But, according to Chron. ii. 10, it was twenty thousand.
135. Of what tribe was Solomon's artificer, who came from Tyre? According to 1 Kings vii. 14, he was of the tribe of Naphthali. But, according to 2 Chron. ii. 14, he was of the tribe of Dan.
136. How long were the two pillars of Solomon's porch? According to 1 Kings vii. 15, they were eighteen cubits long. But, according to 2 Chron. iii. 15, they were thirty-five cubits long.
137. How many baths were contained in the brazen sea? According to 1 Kings vii. 26, it contained two thousand; but, according to 2 Chron. iv. 5, three thousand.
138. How many mothers had Abijah? and who was she? According to 1 Kings xv. 2, she was the daughter of Ablshalom. But 2 Chron. xi. 20 says she was the daughter of Absalom; and 2 Chron. xiii. 2 says she was the daughter of Uriel.
139. Where was Ahazlah killed, and how often? According to 2 Chron. xxii. 8, he was killed at Samaria; and, according to 2 King ix. 27, he was killed again.
140. How many did Jashobeam kill? "Jashobeam slew eight hundred at one time" (2 Sam. xxiii. 8). No: It was only three hundred he slew (1 Chron. xi. 11).
141. Who killed the Amalekites? Samuel says "Saul utterly destroyed them" (1 Sam. xv. 3). But, according to chapter twenty-seven of the same book, David killed them all, "left neither man nor woman" (1 Sam. xv. 13). And yet it appears they were not well killed; for, forty years after, they fought a battle with Ziklag (see 1 Sam. xxx. 18), and they were all killed again, "save four hundred young men;" and Simeon after-wards slew them. (See 1 Chron. iv. 3.) And yet, although destroyed three times, Josephus says he was a descendant of the Amalekites. They must have been a live people.
142. When did Baasha fight a battle with Judah? According to 2 Chron. xvi. 1, it was in Asa's thirty-sixth year. But, according to 1 Kings xvi. 8, in the twenty-sixth year of Asa, Baasha died, or, at least, vacated the throne,—a difference of ten years.
143. How did Asa and Baasha stand toward each other? "There was war between Asa and Baasha all their days" (1 Kings xv. 16). But, according to Chron. xiv. 1, they were at peace ten years.
144. How long aid Baasha reign? "Baasha reigned over Israel twenty-four years" (1 Kings xv. 33). But, according to 1 Kings xvi. 8, it was twenty-three years.
145. How long did Elah reign? According to 1 Kings xvi. 8, Elah reigned two years, commencing in Asa's twenty-sixth year.
146. When did Ahazlah begin to reign over Judah? Kings says it was the eleventh year of Joram (2 Kings viii. 16). Kings also says it was the twelfth (2 Kings viii. 25).
147. When did Omri begin to reign? "In the thirty-eighth year of Asa began Omri to reign" (Kings xvi. 15). But, as Zimri only reigned seven days, and began in Asa's twenty-seventh year, Omri must also have commenced in his twenty-seventh year.
148. When did Ahab commence his reign? "In the thirty-eighth year of Asa began Ahab, son of Omri, to reign" (1 Kings xvi. 29). How can that be if Omri reigned twelve years? (See 1 Kings xvi. 23).
149. When did Jeboram, son of Ahab, begin to reign? "In the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, began Jeboram to reign" (2 Kings iii. 1). Impossible, if his son Amaziah commenced in Jehoshaphat's nineteenth year (see 1 Kings xxii. 31), and reigned two years: seventeen and two are nineteen. And, according to 2 Kings 1. 17 and 1 Kings, it was twelve years later, if Jehoshaphat reigned twenty-five years. (See 1 Kings).
150. When did Azzlah, or Uzzlah, begin to reign? In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam, according to 2 Kings xv. 1. But, according to 2 Kings xvi. 17 and 23, it was only sixteen years.
151. How long did Jehu reign over Israel? "Jehu reigned over Israel twenty-eight years" (2 Kings x. 36). But, according to 2 Kings xiii. 1, he reigned thirty years.
152. "How long did Jehoahaz reign? Jehoahaz reigned seventeen years" (2 Kings xiii. 1). But, according to 2 Kings xiii. 10, it was twenty years.
153. How old was Ahaz when he began to reign? Twenty years. (2 Kings xvi. 2.) A wording to the text (2 Chron. xxiv. 2), his father was about eleven years old when he was born.