there is nothing about the Garden of Eden, nothingabout the four rivers, nothing about the mist thatwent up from the earth and watered the whole faceof the ground; nothing said about making man fromdust; nothing about God breathing into his nostrilsthe breath of life; yet according to the second ac-count, the Garden of Eden was planted, and all theanimals were made before Eve was formed. It isimpossible to harmonize the two accounts.So, in the first account, only the word God isused—"God said so and so,—God did so and so."In the second account he is called Lord God,—"the"Lord God formed man,"—"the Lord God caused"it to rain,"—"the Lord God planted a garden." Itis now admitted that the book of Genesis is made up251of two stories, and it is very easy to take them apartand show exactly how they were put together.So there are two stories of the flood, differingalmost entirely from each other—that is to say, socontradictory that both cannot be true.There are two accounts of the manner in whichSaul was made king, and the accounts are inconsistentwith each other.Scholars now everywhere admit that the copyistsmade many changes, pieced out fragments, and madeadditions, interpolations, and meaningless repetitions.It is now generally conceded that the speeches ofElihu, in Job, were interpolated, and most of theprophecies were made by persons whose names evenare not known.The manuscripts of the Old Testament were notalike. The Greek version differed from the Hebrew,and there was no generally received text of the OldTestament until after the beginning of the Christianera. Marks and points to denote vowels were in-vented probably in the seventh century after Christ;and whether these marks and points were put in theproper places, is still an open question. The Alex-andrian version, or what is known as the Septuagint,translated by seventy-two learned Jews assisted by252miraculous power, about two hundred years beforeChrist, could not, it is now said, have been translatedfrom the Hebrew text that we now have. This canonly be accounted for by supposing that we have adifferent Hebrew text. The early Christians adoptedthe Septuagint and were satisfied for a time; but somany errors were found, and so many were scanningevery word in search of something to assist theirpeculiar views, that new versions were produced,and the new versions all differed somewhat from theSeptuagint as well as from each other. These ver-sions were mostly in Greek. The first Latin Biblewas produced in Africa, and no one has ever foundout which Latin manuscript was original. Many wereproduced, and all differed from each other. TheseLatin versions were compared with each other andwith the Hebrew, and a new Latin version was madein the fifth century, and the old ones held their ownfor about four hundred years, and no one knowswhich version was right. Besides, there were Ethi-opie, Egyptian, Armenian and several other ver-sions, all differing from each other as well as from allothers. It was not until the fourteenth century thatthe Bible was translated into German, and not untilthe fifteenth that Bibles were printed in the principal253languages of Europe; and most of these Biblesdiffered from each other, and gave rise to endlessdisputes and to almost numberless crimes.No man in the world is learned enough, nor hashe time enough, even if he could live a thousandyears, to find what books belonged to and consti-tuted the Old Testament. He could not ascertainthe authors of the books, nor when they were written,nor what they mean. Until a man has sufficienttime to do all this, no one can tell whether he be-lieves the Bible or not. It is sufficient, however, tosay that the Old Testament is filled with contradic-tions as to the number of men slain in battle, as tothe number of years certain kings reigned, as to thenumber of a woman's children, as to dates of events,and as to locations of towns and cities.Besides all this, many of its laws are contradictory,often commanding and prohibiting the same thing.The New Testament also is filled with contradic-tions. The gospels do not even agree upon theterms of salvation. They do not even agree as tothe gospel of Christ, as to the mission of Christ.They do not tell the same story regarding the be-trayal, the crucifixion, the resurrection or the ascen-sion of Christ. John is the only one that ever heard254of being "born again." The evangelists do not givethe same account of the same miracles, and themiracles are not given in the same order. They donot agree even in the genealogy of Christ.Fourth. Is the Bible scientific? In my judgmentit is notIt is unscientific to say that this world was "cre-"ated that the universe was produced by an infinitebeing, who had existed an eternity prior to such"creation." My mind is such that I cannot possiblyconceive of a "creation." Neither can I conceive ofan infinite being who dwelt in infinite space an infi-nite length of time.I do not think it is scientific to say that the uni-verse was made in six days, or that this world is onlyabout six thousand years old, or that man has onlybeen upon the earth for about six thousand years.If the Bible is true, Adam was the first man. Theage of Adam is given, the age of his children, andthe time, according to the Bible, was kept and knownfrom Adam, so that if the Bible is true, man has onlybeen in this world about six thousand years. In myjudgment, and in the judgment of every scientificman whose judgment is worth having or quoting,man inhabited this earth for thousands of ages prior255to the creation of Adam. On one point the Bible isat least certain, and that is, as to the life of Adam.The genealogy is given, the pedigree is there, and itis impossible to escape the conclusion that, accordingto the Bible, man has only been upon this earthabout six thousand years. There is no chance thereto say "long periods of time," or "geological ages."There we have the years. And as to the time of thecreation of man, the Bible does not tell the truth.What is generally called "The Fall of Man" isunscientific. God could not have made a moralcharacter for Adam. Even admitting the rest of thestory to be true, Adam certainly had to make char-acter for himself.The idea that there never would have been anydisease or death in this world had it not been for theeating of the forbidden fruit is preposterously unsci-entific. Admitting that Adam was made only sixthousand years ago, death was in the world millions ofyears before that time. The old rocks are filled with re-mains of what were once living and breathing animals.Continents were built up with the petrified corpses ofanimals. We know, therefore, that death did not enterthe world because of Adam's sin. We know that lifeand death are but successive Elinks in an eternal chain.256So it is unscientific to say that thorns and brambleswere produced by Adam's sin.It is also unscientific to say that labor was pro-nounced as a curse upon man. Labor is not a curse.Labor is a blessing. Idleness is a curse.It is unscientific to say that the sons of God,living, we suppose, in heaven, fell in love with thedaughters of men, and that on account of this aflood was sent upon the earth that covered thehighest mountains.The whole story of the flood is unscientific, and noscientific man worthy of the name, believes it.Neither is the story of the tower of Babel a scien-tific thing. Does any scientific man believe thatGod confounded the language of men for fear theywould succeed in building a tower high enough toreach to heaven?It is not scientific to say that angels were in thehabit of walking about the earth, eating veal dressedwith butter and milk, and making bargains about thedestruction of cities.The story of Lot's wife having been turned into apillar of salt is extremely unscientific.It is unscientific to say that people at one time livedto be nearly a thousand years of age. The history257of the world shows that human life is lengtheninginstead of shortening.It is unscientific to say that the infinite Godwrestled with Jacob and got the better of him, put-ting his thigh out of joint.It is unscientific to say that God, in the likeness ofa flame of fire, inhabited a bush.It is unscientific to say that a stick could bechanged into a living snake. Living snakes can notbe made out of sticks. There are not the necessaryelements in a stick to make a snake.It is not scientific to say that God changed waterinto blood. All the elements of blood are not inwater.It is unscientific to declare that dust was changedinto lice.It is not scientific to say that God caused a thickdarkness over the land of Egypt, and yet allowed itto be light in the houses of the Jews.It is not scientific to say that about seventy peoplecould, in two hundred and fifteen years increase tothree millions.It is not scientific to say that an infinitely goodGod would destroy innocent people to get revengeupon a king.258It is not scientific to say that slavery was onceright, that polygamy was once a virtue, and that ex-termination was mercy.It is not scientific to assert that a being of infinitepower and goodness went into partnership with in-sects,—granted letters of marque and reprisal tohornets.It is unscientific to insist that bread was reallyrained from heaven.It is not scientific to suppose that an infinite beingspent forty days and nights furnishing Moses with plansand specifications for a tabernacle, an ark, a mercy seat,cherubs of gold, a table, four rings, some dishes, somespoons, one candlestick, several bowls, a few knobs,seven lamps, some snuffers, a pair of tongs, some cur-tains, a roof for a tent of rams' skins dyed red, a fewboards, an altar with horns, ash pans, basins and fleshhooks, shovels and pots and sockets of silver andouches of gold and pins of brass—for all of which thisGod brought with him patterns from heaven.It is not scientific to say that when a man commitsa sin, he can settle with God by killing a sheep.It is not scientific to say that a priest, by layinghis hands on the head of a goat, can transfer the sinsof a people to the animal.259Was it scientific to endeavor to ascertain whethera woman was virtuous or not, by compelling her todrink water mixed with dirt from the floor of thesanctuary?Is it scientific to say that a dry stick budded,blossomed, and bore almonds; or that the ashes of ared heifer mixed with water can cleanse us of sin;or that a good being gave cities into the hands of theJews in consideration of their murdering all the in-habitants?Is it scientific to say that an animal saw an angel,and conversed with a man?Is it scientific to imagine that thrusting a spearthrough the body of a woman ever stayed a plague?Is it scientific to say that a river cut itself in twoand allowed the lower end to run off?Is it scientific to assert that seven priests blewseven rams' horns loud enough to blow down thewalls of a city?Is it scientific to say that the sun stood still in themidst of heaven, and hasted not to go down forabout a whole day, and that the moon also stayed?Is it scientifically probable that an angel of theLord devoured unleavened cakes and broth withfire that came out of the end of a stick, as he sat260under an oak tree; or that God made known hiswill by letting dew fall on wool without wetting theground around it; or that an angel of God appearedto Manoah in the absence of her husband, and thatthis angel afterwards went up in a flame of fire, andas the result of this visit a child was born whosestrength was in his hair?Is it scientific to say that the muscle of a man de-pended upon the length of his locks?Is it unscientific to deny that water gushed from ahollow place in a dry bone?Is it evidence of a thoroughly scientific mind tobelieve that one man turned over a house so largethat three thousand people were on its roof?Is it purely scientific to say that a man was oncefed by the birds of the air, who brought him breadand meat every morning and evening, and that after-ward an angel turned cook and prepared two sup-pers in one night, for the same prophet, who ateenough to last him forty days and forty nights?Is it scientific to say that a river divided becausethe water had been struck with a cloak; or that aman actually went to heaven in a chariot of firedrawn by horses of fire; or that a being of infinitemercy would destroy children for laughing at a bald-261headed prophet; or curse children and childrenschildren with leprosy for a father's fault; or that hemade iron float in water; or that when one corpsetouched another it came to life; or that the sun wentbackward in heaven so that the shadow on a sun-dial went back ten degrees, as a sign that a miserablebarbarian king would get well?Is it scientific to say that the earth not onlystopped in its rotary motion, but absolutely turnedthe other way,—that its motion was reversed simplyas a sign to a petty king?Is it scientific to say that Solomon made gold andsilver at Jerusalem as plentiful as stones, when weknow that there were kings in his day who couldhave thrown away the value of the whole of Palestinewithout missing the amount?Is it scientific to say that Solomon exceeded allthe kings of the earth in glory, when his countrywas barren, without roads, when his people werefew, without commerce, without the arts, without thesciences, without education, without luxuries?According to the Bible, as long as Jehovah attendedto the affairs of the Jews, they had nothing but war,pestilence and famine; after Jehovah abandoned them,and the Christians ceased, in a measure, to persecute262them, the Jews became the most prosperous of people.Since Jehovah in his anger cast them away, they haveproduced painters, sculptors, scientists, statesmen,composers, soldiers and philosophers.It is not scientific to believe that God ever pre-vented rain, that he ever caused famine, that he eversent locusts to devour the wheat and corn, that heever relied on pestilence for the government of man-kind; or that he ever killed children to get even withtheir parents.It is not scientific to believe that the king of Egyptinvaded Palestine with seventy thousand horsemenand twelve hundred chariots of war. There was not,at that time, a road in Palestine over which a chariotcould be driven.It is not scientific to believe that in a battle betweenJeroboam and Abijah, the army of Abijah slew inone day five hundred thousand chosen men.It is not scientific to believe that Zerah, the Ethio-pian, invaded Palestine with a million of men whowere overthrown and destroyed; or that Jehoshaphathad a standing army of nine hundred and sixtythousand men.It is unscientific to believe that Jehovah advertisedfor a liar, as is related in Second Chronicles.263It is not scientific to believe that fire refused toburn, or that water refused to wet.It is not scientific to believe in dreams, in visions,and in miracles.It is not scientific to believe that children havebeen born without fathers, that the dead have everbeen raised to life, or that people have bodily as-cended to heaven taking their clothes with them.It is not scientific to believe in the supernatural.Science dwells in the realm of fact, in the realm ofdemonstration. Science depends upon human ex-perience, upon observation, upon reason.It is unscientific to say that an innocent man canbe punished in place of a criminal, and for a criminal,and that the criminal, on account of such punishment,can be justified.It is unscientific to say that a finite sin deservesinfinite punishment.It is unscientific to believe that devils can inhabithuman beings, or that they can take possession ofswine, or that the devil could bodily take a man, orthe Son of God, and carry him to the pinnacle of atemple.In short, the foolish, the unreasonable, the false,the miraculous and the supernatural are unscientific.264Question. Mr. Talmage gives his reason foraccepting the New Testament, and says: "You"can trace it right out. Jerome and Eusebius in the"first century, and Origen in the second century,"gave lists of the writers of the New Testament."These lists correspond with our list of the writers"of the New Testament, showing that precisely as"we have it, they had it in the third and fourth cen-"turies. Where did they get it? From Irenæus."Where did he get it? From Polycarp. Where did"Polycarp get it? From Saint John, who was a per-"sonal associate of Jesus. The line is just as clear"as anything ever was clear." How do you under-stand this matter, and has Mr. Talmage stated thefacts?Answer. Let us examine first the witnesses pro-duced by Mr. Talmage. We will also call attentionto the great principle laid down by Mr. Talmage forthe examination of evidence,—that where a witnessis found false in one particular, his entire testimonymust be thrown away.Eusebius was born somewhere about two hundredand seventy years after Christ. After many vicissi-tudes he became, it is said, the friend of Constantine.He made an oration in which he extolled the virtues265of this murderer, and had the honor of sitting at theright hand of the man who had shed the blood of hiswife and son. In the great controversy with regardto the position that Christ should occupy in the Trinity,he sided with Arius, "and lent himself to the perse-"cution of the orthodox with Athanasius." He in-sisted that Jesus Christ was not the same as God,and that he was not of equal power and glory. WillMr. Talmage admit that his witness told the truth inthis? "He would not even call the Son co-eternal"with God."Eusebius must have been an exceedingly truthfulman. He declared that the tracks of Pharaoh's chariotswere in his day visible upon the shores of the RedSea; that these tracks had been through all the yearsmiraculously preserved from the action of wind andwave, as a supernatural testimony to the fact thatGod miraculously overwhelmed Pharaoh and hishosts.Eusebius also relates that when Joseph and Maryarrived in Eygpt they took up their abode in Hermopolis,a city of Thebæus, in which was the superbtemple of Serapis. When Joseph and Mary enteredthe temple, not only the great idol, but all the lesseridols fell down before him.266"It is believed by the learned Dr. Lardner, that"Eusebius was the one guilty of the forgery in the"passage found in Josephus concerning Christ. Un-"blushing falsehoods and literary forgeries of the"vilest character darkened the pages of his historical"writings." (Waites History.)From the same authority I learn that Eusebiusinvented an eclipse, and some earthquakes, to agreewith the account of the crucifixion. It is also be-lieved that Eusebius quoted from works that neverexisted, and that he pretended a work had beenwritten by Porphyry, entitled: "The Philosophy of"Oracles," and then quoted from it for the purposeof proving the truth of the Christian religion.The fact is, Eusebius was utterly destitute of truth.He believed, as many still believe, that he couldplease God by the fabrication of lies.Irenæus lived somewhere about the end of thesecond century. "Very little is known of his early"history, and the accounts given in various biogra-"phies are for the most part conjectural." Thewritings of Irenæus are known to us principallythrough Eusebius, and we know the value of histestimony.Now, if we are to take the testimony of Irenæus,267why not take it? He says that the ministry of Christlasted for twenty years, and that Christ was fifty yearsold at the time of his crucifixion. He also insistedthat the "Gospel of Paul" was written by Luke, "a"statement made to give sanction to the gospel of"Luke."Irenæus insisted that there were four gospels, thatthere must be, and "he speaks frequently of these"gospels, and argues that they should be four in"number, neither more nor less, because there are"four universal winds, and four quarters of the"world;" and he might have added: becausedonkeys have four legs.These facts can be found in "The History of the"Christian Religion to A. D. 200," by Charles B.Waite,—a book that Mr. Talmage ought to read.According to Mr. Waite, Irenæus, in the thirty-third chapter of his fifth book,Adversus Hæreses,cites from Papias the following sayings of Christ:"The days will come in which vines shall grow"which shall have ten thousand branches, and on"each branch ten thousand twigs, and in each twig"ten thousand shoots, and in each shoot ten thousand"clusters, and in every one of the clusters ten"thousand grapes, and every grape when pressed268"will give five and twenty metrets of wine." Alsothat "one thousand million pounds of clear, pure, fine"flour will be produced from one grain of wheat."Irenæus adds that "these things were borne witness"to by Papias the hearer of John and the companion"of Polycarp."Is it possible that the eternal welfare of a humanbeing depends upon believing the testimony of Poly-carp and Irenæus? Are people to be saved or loston the reputation of Eusebius? Suppose a man isfirmly convinced that Polycarp knew nothing aboutSaint John, and that Saint John knew nothing aboutChrist,—what then? Suppose he is convinced thatEusebius is utterly unworthy of credit,—what then?Must a man believe statements that he has everyreason to think are false?The question arises as to the witnesses named byMr. Talmage, whether they were competent to decideas to the truth or falsehood of the gospels. We havethe right to inquire into their mental traits for thepurpose of giving only due weight to what they havesaid.Mr. Bronson C. Keeler is the author of a bookcalled: "A Short History of the Bible." I availmyself of a few of the facts he has there collected. I269find in this book, that Irenæus, Clement and Origenbelieved in the fable of the Phoenix, and insisted thatGod produced the bird on purpose to prove theprobability of the resurrection of the body. Someof the early fathers believed that the hyena changedits sex every year. Others of them gave as a reasonwhy good people should eat only animals with acloven foot, the fact that righteous people lived notonly in this world, but had expectations in the next.They also believed that insane people were pos-sessed by devils; that angels ate manna; that someangels loved the daughters of men and fell; that thepains of women in childbirth, and the fact that ser-pents crawl on their bellies, were proofs that theaccount of the fall, as given in Genesis, is true; thatthe stag renewed its youth by eating poisonoussnakes; that eclipses and comets were signs of God'sanger; that volcanoes were openings into hell; thatdemons blighted apples; that a corpse in a cemeterymoved to make room for another corpse to be placedbeside it. Clement of Alexandria believed that hailstorms, tempests and plagues were caused by demons.He also believed, with Mr. Talmage, that the eventsin the life of Abraham were typical and propheticalof arithmetic and astronomy.270Origen, another of the witnesses of Mr. Talmage,said that the sun, moon and stars were living crea-tures, endowed with reason and free will, and occa-sionally inclined to sin. That they had free will, heproved by quoting from Job; that they were rationalcreatures, he inferred from the fact that they moved.The sun, moon and stars, according to him, were"subject to vanity," and he believed that they prayedto God through his only begotten son.These intelligent witnesses believed that the blight-ing of vines and fruit trees, and the disease and de-struction that came upon animals and men, were allthe work of demons; but that when they had enteredinto men, the sign of the cross would drive them out.They derided the idea that the earth is round, andone of them said: "About the antipodes also, one"can neither hear nor speak without laughter. It is"asserted as something serious that we should be-"lieve that there are men who have their feet oppo-"site to ours. The ravings of Anaxagoras are more"tolerable, who said that snow was black."Concerning these early fathers, Professor Davidson,as quoted by Mr. Keeler, uses the following lan-guage: "Of the three fathers who contributed"most to the growth of the canon, Irenæus was271"credulous and blundering; Tertullian passionate"and one-sided; and Clement of Alexandria, im-"bued with the treasures of Greek wisdom, was"mainly occupied with ecclesiastical ethics. Their"assertions show both ignorance and exaggeration."These early fathers relied upon by Mr. Talmage,quoted from books now regarded as apocryphal—books that have been thrown away by the churchand are no longer considered as of the slightestauthority. Upon this subject I again quote Mr.Keeler: "Clement quoted the 'Gospel according to"'the Hebrews,' which is now thrown away by the"church; he also quoted from the Sibylline books"and the Pentateuch in the same sentence. Origen"frequently cited the Gospel of the Hebrews. Jerome"did the same, and Clement believed in the 'Gospel"'according to the Egyptians.' The Shepherd of"Hermas, a book in high repute in the early church,"and one which distinctly claims to have been"inspired, was quoted by Irenæus as Scripture."Clement of Alexandria said it was a divine revela-"tion. Origen said it was divinely inspired, and"quoted it as Holy Scripture at the same time that"he cited the Psalms and Epistles of Paul. Jerome"quoted the 'Wisdom of Jesus, the Son of Sirach,'272"as divine Scripture. Origen quotes the 'Wisdom"of Solomon' as the 'Word of God' and 'the"'words of Christ himself.' Eusebius of Cæsarea"cites it as a * Divine Oracle,' and St. Chrysostom"used it as Scripture. So Eusebius quotes the"thirteenth chapter of Daniel as Scripture, but as a"matter of fact, Daniel has not a thirteenth chapter,—"the church has taken it away. Clement spoke of"the writer of the fourth book of Esdras as a prophet;"he thought Baruch as much the word of God as"any other book, and he quotes it as divine Scripture."Clement cites Barnabas as an apostle. Origen"quotes from the Epistle of Barnabas, calls it 'Holy" 'Scripture,' and places it on a level with the Psalms"and the Epistles of Paul; and Clement of Alexan-"dria believed in the 'Epistle of Barnabas,' and the"'Revelation, of Peter,' and wrote comments upon"these holy books."Nothing can exceed the credulity of the earlyfathers, unless it may be their ignorance. They be-lieved everything that was miraculous. They believedeverything except the truth. Anything that reallyhappened was considered of no importance by them.They looked for wonders, miracles, and monstrousthings, and—generally found them. They revelled273in the misshapen and the repulsive. They did notthink it wrong to swear falsely in a good cause.They interpolated, forged, and changed the records tosuit themselves, for the sake of Christ. They quotedfrom persons who never wrote. They misrepresentedthose who had written, and their evidence is abso-lutely worthless. They were ignorant, credulous,mendacious, fanatical, pious, unreasonable, bigoted,hypocritical, and for the most part, insane. Read thebook of Revelation, and you will agree with me thatnothing that ever emanated from a madhouse canmore than equal it for incoherence. Most of thewritings of the early fathers are of the same kind.As to Saint John, the real truth is, that we knownothing certainly of him. We do not know that heever lived.We know nothing certainly of Jesus Christ. Weknow nothing of his infancy, nothing of his youth,and we are not sure that such a person ever existed.We know nothing of Polycarp. We do not knowwhere he was born, or where, or how he died. Weknow nothing for certain about Irenæus. All thenames quoted by Mr. Talmage as his witnessesare surrounded by clouds and doubts, by mist anddarkness. We only know that many of their274statements are false, and do not know that any ofthem are true.Question. What do you think of the following state-ment by Mr. Talmage: "Oh, I have to tell you that no"man ever died for a lie cheerfully and triumphantly"?Answer. There was a time when men "cheerfully"and triumphantly died" in defence of the doctrineof the "real presence" of God in the wafer and wine.Does Mr. Talmage believe in the doctrine of "tran-"substantiation"? Yet hundreds have died "cheer-"fully and triumphantly" for it. Men have died forthe idea that baptism by immersion is the onlyscriptural baptism. Did they die for a lie? If not,is Mr. Talmage a Baptist?Giordano Bruno was an atheist, yet he perished atthe stake rather than retract his opinions. He didnot expect to be welcomed by angels and by God.He did not look for a crown of glory. He expectedsimply death and eternal extinction. Does the factthat he died for that belief prove its truth?Thousands upon thousands have died in defence ofthe religion of Mohammed. Was Mohammed an im-postor? Thousands have welcomed death in defenceof the doctrines of Buddha. Is Buddhism true?275So I might make a tour of the world, and of allages of human history, and find that millions andmillions have died "cheerfully and triumphantly" indefence of their opinions. There is not the slightesttruth in Mr. Talmage's statement.A little while ago, a man shot at the Czar of Russia.On the day of his execution he was asked if hewished religious consolation. He replied that hebelieved in no religion. What did that prove? Itproved only the man's honesty of opinion. All themartyrs in the world cannot change, never didchange, a falsehood into a truth, nor a truth intoa falsehood. Martyrdom proves nothing but thesincerity of the martyr and the cruelty and mean-ness of his murderers. Thousands and thousands ofpeople have imagined that they knew things, thatthey were certain, and have died rather than retracttheir honest beliefs.Mr. Talmage now says that he knows all about theOld Testament, that the prophecies were fulfilled,and yet he does not know when the prophecies weremade—whether they were made before or after thefact. He does not know whether the destruction ofBabylon was told before it happened, or after. Heknows nothing upon the subject. He does not know276who made the pretended prophecies. He does notknow that Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Habakkuk, orHosea ever lived in this world. He does not knowwho wrote a single book of the Old Testament. Heknows nothing on the subject. He believes in theinspiration of the Old Testament because ancientcities finally fell into decay—were overrun and de-stroyed by enemies, and he accounts for the fact thatthe Jew does not lose his nationality by saying thatthe Old Testament is true.The Jews have been persecuted by the Christians,and they are still persecuted by them; and Mr. Tal-mage seems to think that this persecution was a partof Gods plan, that the Jews might, by persecution,be prevented from mingling with other nationalities,and so might stand, through the instrumentality ofperpetual hate and cruelty, the suffering witnesses ofthe divine truth of the Bible.The Jews do not testify to the truth of the Bible,but to the barbarism and inhumanity of Christians—to the meanness and hatred of what we are pleasedto call the "civilized world." They testify to the factthat nothing so hardens the human heart as religion.There is no prophecy in the Old Testament fore-telling the coming of Jesus Christ. There is not one277word in the Old Testament referring to him in anyway—not one word. The only way to prove thisis to take your Bible, and wherever you find thesewords: "That it might be fulfilled," and "which"was spoken," turn to the Old Testament andfind what was written, and you will see that it hadnot the slightest possible reference to the thing re-counted in the New Testament—not the slightest.Let us take some of the prophecies of the Bible,and see how plain they are, and how beautiful theyare. Let us see whether any human being can tellwhether they have ever been fulfilled or not.Here is a vision of Ezekiel: "I looked, and be-"hold a whirlwind came out of the north, a great"cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness"was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the"color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also"out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four"living creatures. And this was their appearance;"they had the likeness of a man. And every one"had four faces, and every one had four wings."And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of"their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they"sparkled like the color of burnished brass. And"they had the hands of a man under their wings on278"their four sides; and they four had their faces and"their wings. Their wings were joined one to"another; they turned not when-they went; they"went every one straight forward. As for the like-"ness of their faces, they four had the face of a man,"and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they"four had the face of an ox on the left side; they"four also had the face of an eagle."Thus were their faces: and their wings were"stretched upward; two wings of every one were"joined one to another, and two covered their bodies."And they went every one straight forward: whither"the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not"when they went."As for the likeness of the living creatures, their"appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like"the appearance of lamps: it went up and down"among the living creatures; and the fire was bright,"and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the"living creatures ran and returned as the appearance"of a flash of lightning."Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one"wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with"his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and"their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and279"they four had one likeness: and their appearance"and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle"of a wheel. When they went, they went upon"their four sides: and they turned not when they"went. As for their rings, they were so high that"they were dreadful; and their rings were full of"eyes round about them four. And when the living"creatures went, the wheels went by them: and"when the living creatures were lifted up from the"earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever"the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their"spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over"against them: for the spirit of the living creature"was in the wheels. When those went, these went;"and when those stood, these stood; and when those"were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were"lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the"living creature was in the wheels. And the like-"ness of the firmament upon the heads of the living"creature was as the color of the terrible crystal,"stretched forth over their heads above. And under"the firmament were their wings straight, the one"toward the other; every one had two, which"covered on this side, and every one had two,"which covered on that side, their bodies."280Is such a vision a prophecy? Is it calculatedto convey the slightest information? If so, what?So, the following vision of the prophet Daniel isexceedingly important and instructive:"Daniel spake and said: I saw in my vision by"night, and behold, the four winds of the heaven"strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts"came up from the sea, diverse one from another."The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings:"I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it"was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon"the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to"it. And behold another beast, a second, like to a"bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had"three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of"it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much"flesh."After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,"which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl;"the beast had also four heads, and dominion was"given to it."After this I saw in the night visions, and behold"a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong ex-"ceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured"and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with281"the feet of it; and it was diverse from all the beasts"that were before it, and it had ten horns. I con-"sidered the horns, and, behold, there came up"among them another little horn, before whom"there were three of the first horns plucked up by"the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like"the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great"things."I have no doubt that this prophecy has been liter-ally fulfilled, but I am not at present in condition togive the time, place, or circumstances.A few moments ago, my attention was called tothe following extract fromThe New York Heraldofthe thirteenth of March, instant:"At the Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, Dr. Armi-"tage took as his text, 'A wheel in the middle of a"'wheel'—Ezekiel, i., 16. Here, said the preacher,"are three distinct visions in one—the living crea-"tures, the moving wheels and the fiery throne. We"have time only to stop the wheels of this mystic"chariot of Jehovah, that we may hold holy converse"with Him who rides upon the wings of the wind."In this vision of the prophet we have a minute and"amplified account of these magnificent symbols or"hieroglyphics, this wondrous machinery which de-282"notes immense attributes and agencies and voli-"tions, passing their awful and mysterious course of"power and intelligence in revolution after revolu-"tion of the emblematical mechanism, in steady and"harmonious advancement to the object after which"they are reaching. We are compelled to look"upon the whole as symbolical of that tender and"endearing providence of which Jesus spoke when"He said, 'The very hairs of your head are num-"* bered.'"Certainly, an ordinary person, not having beenilluminated by the spirit of prophecy, would neverhave even dreamed that there was the slightest re-ference in Ezekiel's vision to anything like countinghairs. As a commentator, the Rev. Dr. Armitagehas no equal; and, in my judgment, no rival. Hehas placed himself beyond the reach of ridicule. Itis impossible to say anything about his sermon aslaughable as his sermon.Question. Have you no confidence in any pro-phecies? Do you take the ground that there neverhas been a human being who could predict thefuture?Answer. I admit that a man of average intelli-283gence knows that a certain course, when pursuedlong enough, will bring national disaster, and it isperfectly safe to predict the downfall of any andevery country in the world. In my judgment,nations, like individuals, have an average life.Every nation is mortal. An immortal nation cannotbe constructed of mortal individuals. A nation hasa reason for existing, and that reason sustains thesame relation to the nation that the acorn does tothe oak. The nation will attain its growth—otherthings being equal. It will reach its manhood andits prime, but it will sink into old age, and at lastmust die. Probably, in a few thousand years, menwill be able to calculate the average life of nations,as they now calculate the average life of persons.There has been no period since the morning of his-tory until now, that men did not know of dead anddying nations. There has always been a nationalcemetery. Poland is dead, Turkey is dying. Inevery nation are the seeds of dissolution. Not onlynations die, but races of men. A nation is born,becomes powerful, luxurious, at last grows weak, isovercome, dies, and another takes its place, In thisway civilization and barbarism, like day and night,alternate through all of history's years.284In every nation there are at least two classes ofmen: First, the enthusiastic, the patriotic, who be-lieve that the nation will live forever,—that its flagwill float while the earth has air; Second, the owlsand ravens and croakers, who are always predictingdisaster, defeat, and death. To the last class belongthe Jeremiahs, Ezekiels, and Isaiahs of the Jews.They were always predicting the downfall of Jeru-salem. They revelled in defeat and captivity. Theyloved to paint the horrors of famine and war. Forthe most part, they were envious, hateful, misan-thropic and unjust.There seems to have been a war between churchand state. The prophets were endeavoring to pre-serve the ecclesiastical power. Every king who wouldlisten to them, was chosen of God. He instantlybecame the model of virtue, and the prophets assuredhim that he was in the keeping of Jehovah. But ifthe king had a mind of his own, the prophets im-mediately called down upon him all the curses ofheaven, and predicted the speedy destruction of hiskingdom.If our own country should be divided, if an empireshould rise upon the ruins of the Republic, it wouldbe very easy to find that hundreds and thousands of285people had foretold that very thing. If you will readthe political speeches of the last twenty-two years,you will find prophecies to fit any possible futurestate of affairs in our country. No matter whathappens, you will find that somebody predicted it.If the city of London should lose her trade, if theParliament house should become the abode of molesand bats, if "the New Zealander should sit upon the"ruins of London Bridge," all these things would besimply the fulfillment of prophecy. The fall of everynation under the sun has been predicted by hundredsand thousands of people.The prophecies of the Old Testament can be madeto fit anything that may happen, or that may nothappen. They will apply to the death of a king, orto the destruction of a people,—to the loss of com-merce, or the discovery of a continent. Each pro-phecy is a jugglery of words, of figures, of symbols,so put together, so used, so interpreted, that theycan mean anything, everything, or nothing.Question. Do you see anything "prophetic" inthe fate of the Jewish people themselves? Do youthink that God made the Jewish people wanderers, sothat they might be perpetual witnesses to the truthof the Scriptures?286Answer. I cannot believe that an infinitely goodGod would make anybody a wanderer. Neither canI believe that he would keep millions of people with-out country and without home, and allow them to bepersecuted for thousands of years, simply that theymight be used as witnesses. Nothing could be moreabsurdly cruel than this.The Christians justify their treatment of the Jewson the ground that they are simply fulfilling prophecy.The Jews have suffered because of the horrid storythat their ancestors crucified the Son of God. Chris-tianity, coming into power, looked with horror uponthe Jews, who denied the truth of the gospel. EachJew was regarded as a dangerous witness againstChristianity. The early Christians saw how neces-sary it was that the people who lived in Jerusalemat the time of Christ should be convinced thathe was God, and should testify to the miracles hewrought. Whenever a Jew denied it, the Christianwas filled with malignity and hatred, and immediatelyexcited the prejudice of other Christians against theman simply because he was a Jew. They forgot, intheir general hatred, that Mary, the mother of Christ,was a Jewess; that Christ himself was of Jewishblood; and with an inconsistency of which, of all287religions, Christianity alone could have been guilty,the Jew became an object of especial hatred andaversion.When we remember that Christianity pretends tobe a religion of love and kindness, of charity and for-giveness, must not every intelligent man be shockedby the persecution of the Jews? Even now, in learnedand cultivated Germany, the Jew is treated as thoughhe were a wild beast. The reputation of this greatpeople has been stained by a persecution spring-ing only from ignorance and barbarian prejudice.So in Russia, the Christians are anxious to shedevery drop of Jewish blood, and thousands are to-dayfleeing from their homes to seek a refuge from Chris-tian hate. And Mr. Talmage believes that all thesepersecutions are kept up by the perpetual interventionof God, in order that the homeless wanderers of theseed of Abraham may testify to the truth of the Oldand New Testaments. He thinks that every burningJewish home sheds light upon the gospel,—thatevery gash in Jewish flesh cries out in favor of theBible,—that every violated Jewish maiden shows theinterest that God still takes in the preservation ofhis Holy Word.I am endeavoring to do away with religious288prejudice. I wish to substitute humanity for super-stition, the love of our fellow-men, for the fear ofGod. In the place of ignorant worship, let us putgood deeds. We should be great enough and grandenough to know that the rights of the Jew are pre-cisely the same as our own. We cannot trampleupon their rights, without endangering our own; andno man who will take liberty from another, is greatenough to enjoy liberty himself.Day by day Christians are laying the foundationof future persecution. In every Sunday school littlechildren are taught that Jews killed the God of thisuniverse. Their little hearts are filled with hatredagainst the Jewish people. They are taught as apart of the creed to despise the descendants of theonly people with whom God is ever said to have hadany conversation whatever.When we take into consideration what the Jewishpeople have suffered, it is amazing that every one ofthem does not hate with all his heart and soul andstrength the entire Christian world. But in spite ofthe persecutions they have endured, they are to-day,where they are permitted to enjoy reasonable liberty,the most prosperous people on the globe. The ideathat their condition shows, or tends to show, that289upon them abides the wrath of Jehovah, cannot besubstantiated by the facts.The Jews to-day control the commerce of theworld. They control the money of the world. It isfor them to say whether nations shall or shall not goto war. They are the people of whom nations borrowmoney. To their offices kings come with their hatsin their hands. Emperors beg them to discount their