About the Holy Bible ......by Robert G. Ingersoll (1894)?

Question

Somebody ought to tell the truth about the Bible. The preachers dare not, because they would be driven from their pulpits. Professors in colleges dare not, because they would lose their salaries. Politicians dare not. They would be defeated. Editors dare not. They would lose subscribers. Merchants dare not, because they might lose customers. Men of fashion dare not, fearing that they would lose caste. Even clerks dare not, because they might be discharged. And so I thought I would do it myself.
There are many millions of people who believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God -- millions who think that this book is staff and guide, counselor and consoler; that it fills the present with peace and the future with hope -- millions who believe that it is the fountain of law, Justice and mercy, and that to its wise and benign teachings the world is indebted for its liberty, wealth and civilization -- millions who imagine that this book is a revelation from the wisdom and love . ..

God to the brain and heart of man -- millions who regard this book as a torch that conquers the darkness of death, and pours its radiance on another world -- a world without a tear.
They forget its ignorance and savagery, its hatred of liberty, its religious persecution; they remember heaven, but they forget the dungeon of eternal pain. They forget that it imprisons the brain and corrupts the heart. They forget that it is the enemy of intellectual freedom. Liberty is my religion. Liberty of hand and brain -- of thought and labor, liberty is a word hated by kings -- loathed by popes. It is a word that shatters thrones and altars -- that leaves the crowned without subjects, and the outstretched hand of superstition without alms. Liberty is the blossom and fruit of justice -- the perfume of mercy. Liberty is the seed and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy.

THE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE.
A few wandering families -- poor, wretched, without education, art or power; descendants of those who had been enslaved for four hundred years; ignorant as the inhabitants of Central Africa, had just escaped from their masters to the desert of Sinai. Their leader was Moses, a man who had been raised in the family of Pharaoh and had been taught the law and mythology of Egypt. For the purpose of controlling his followers he pretended that he was instructed and assisted by Jehovah, the God of these wanderers.
Everything that happened was attributed to the interference of this God. Moses declared that he met this God face to face; that on Sinai's top from the hands of this God he had received the tables of stone on which, by the finger of this God, the Ten Commandments had been written, and that, in addition to this, Jehovah had made known the sacrifices and ceremonies that were pleasing to him and the laws by which the people should be governed.

In this way the Jewish religion and the Mosaic Code were established.
It is now claimed that this religion and these laws were and are revealed and established for all mankind.
At that time these wanderers had no commerce with other nations, they had no written language, they could neither read nor write. They had no means by which they could make this revelation known to other nations, and so it remained buried in the jargon of a few ignorant, impoverished and unknown tribes for more than two thousand year's.
Many centuries after Moses, the leader, was dead many centuries after all his followers had passed away -- the Pentateuch was written, the work of many writers, and to give it force and authority it was claimed that Moses was the author.
We now know that the Pentateuch was not written by Moses.
Towns are mentioned that were not in existence when Moses lived.
Money, not coined until centuries after his death, is mentioned.

So, many of the laws were not applicable to wanderers on the desert -- laws about agriculture, about the sacrifice of oxen, sheep and doves, about the weaving of cloth, about ornaments of gold and silver, about the cultivation of land, about harvest, about the threshing of grain, about houses and temples, about cities of refuge, and about many other subjects of no possible application to a few starving wanderers over the sands and rocks.
It is now not only admitted by intelligent and honest theologians that Moses was not the author of the Pentateuch, but they all admit that no one knows who the authors were, or who wrote any one of these books, or a chapter or a line. We know that the books were not written in the same generation; that they were not all written by one person; that they are filled with mistakes and contradictions. It is also admitted that Joshua did not write the book that bears his name, because it refers to events that did not happen until long after his death.

No one knows, or pretends to know, the author of Judges; all we know is that it was written centuries after all the judges had ceased to exist. No one knows the author of Ruth, nor of First and Second Samuel; all we know is that Samuel did not write the books that bear his name. In the 25th chapter of First Samuel is an account of the raising of Samuel by the Witch of Endor.
No one knows the author of First and Second Kings or First and Second Chronicles; all we know is that these books are of no value.
We know that the Psalms were not written by David. In the Psalms the Captivity is spoken of, and that did not happen until about five hundred years after David slept with his fathers.
We know that Solomon did not write the Proverbs or the Song; that Isaiah was not the author of the book that bears his name; that no one knows the author of Job, Ecclesiastes, or Esther, or of any book in the Old Testament, with the exception of Ezra.

We know that God is not mentioned or in any way referred to in the book of Esther. We know, too, that the book is cruel, absurd and impossible.
God is not mentioned in the Song of Solomon, the best book in the Old Testament.
And we know that Ecclesiastes was written by an unbeliever.
We know, too, that the Jews themselves had not decided as to what books were inspired -- were authentic -- until the second century after Christ.
We know that the idea of inspiration was of slow growth, and that the inspiration was determined by those who had certain ends to accomplish.
II
IS THE OLD TESTAMENT INSPIRED?
If it is, it should be a book that no man -- no number of men -- could produce.
It should contain the perfection of philosophy.
It should perfectly accord with every fact in nature.
There should be no mistakes in astronomy, geology, or as to any subject or science.
Its morality should be the highest, the purest.
Its laws and regulations for the control of conduct

the control of conduct should be just, wise, perfect, and perfectly adapted to the accomplishment of the ends desired.
It should contain nothing calculated to make man cruel, revengeful, vindictive or infamous.
It should be filled with intelligence, justice, purity, honesty, mercy and the spirit of liberty.
It should be opposed to strife and war, to slavery and lust, to ignorance, credulity and superstition.
It should develop the brain and civilize the heart.
It should satisfy the heart and brain of the best and wisest.
It should be true.
Does the Old Testament satisfy this standard?
Is there anything in the Old Testament -- in history, in theory, in law, in government, in morality, in science -- above and beyond the ideas, the beliefs, the customs and prejudices of its authors and the people among whom they lived?
Is there one ray of light from any supernatural source?
The ancient Hebrews believed that this earth was the center of the universe, and that the sun, mo

Answer 1

1894???

Answer 2

This sure seems a lot of cut and paste, sure is not your thoughts in origin, when all you have to do is hit four keys on your keyboard, and they would be:

H. E. L. P. It seems that this is what you are looking for, and are too proud to ask. Not mental help, but Spiritual. Someone has led you astray and now you blame everyone, but in reality you are the one to blame because you have not noticed that what you were being told were lies or excuses. Please pray for understanding, and the Holy Spirit will see that you receive it, IF you are serious about getting it. May your eyes be opened to the Truth, which is The Lord Jesus Christ.

Answer 3

oh please, just your basic premise is so flawed

this band of ignorant Jews escapes the mightiest army in the world at the time?


The great discovery is that the Bible is a message system: it's not simply 66 books penned by 40 authors over thousands of years, the Bible is an integrated whole which bears evidence of supernatural engineering in every detail!

stop being bitter over whatever it is that has broken your heart and seek the Lord

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Answer 4

While I have some essential disagreements with the content of your opening statements, the second paragraph seems accurate. I do, however, fail to see anything 'new' or revealing in your treatise. It's more the 'truth about how people believe' regarding the Bible rather than 'the truth about the Bible.

Then there is the issue of, which Bible?

Answer 5

There actually *IS* a "ray of sunshine"...

Jehovah's Witnesses have the true religion. They are Christian (of course), but they are unique for their rejection of paganisms, use of God's personal name, and global preaching by every active adherent. No other religious organization can claim such purity of worship.

These facts about Jehovah's Witnesses are perhaps relevant to this question. The more one compares this Christian religion with others, the more remarkable it is shown to be.

1. Jehovah's Witnesses have no paid clergy. Yet they remain tightly organized with more than 6.5 million active Jehovah's Witness preachers (about 16 million associate themselves with the religion). Even fulltime preachers and workers at their branch offices are unpaid volunteers.

2. There is no elite class among Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the few 'anointed' among them enjoy no special privileges in their congregations on earth. An anointed person (one of those relative few with a heavenly hope) is not elevated above his fellow congregants in any way, and he may not even qualify for appointment as a simple 'deacon' or elder. There are no titles; EVERYONE is addressed as 'brother' or 'sister'.

3. No person benefits economically from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the 8 to 20 men who serve on their Governing Body receive simply room, board, medical care, and reimbursement for certain personal expenses according to the exact same provision as every other branch volunteer.

4. About a hundred men have served on Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body committee during the past 125 years or so. The vast majority of them have spent the vast majority of their adult lives volunteering for their organization's purposes, and the vast majority have died faithfully and near-pennilessly while still under their legal 'vow of poverty'.

5. Amazingly, Jehovah's Witnesses did not splinter as a sect from some other religion. Instead, a truly tiny but sincere group of bible students studied only the Scriptures to determine the will of God. Thus their religion remains absolutely independent of and not carrying the sins of Christendom's history, yet carries the authority of Christ's teachings.

6. Despite the distortions of anti-Witnesses, throughout their modern history Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to claim divine inspiration or infallibility for their teachings. They have pointed to the bible (and not any particular translation) as the only inspired infallible means of knowing God's thoughts. For over 125 years, their teachings have been presented as merely the results of sincere bible research by imperfect but godly humans.


Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/jt/article_07.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20040601/article_02.htm
http://jw-media.org/people/who.htm
http://jw-media.org/people/statistics.htm

Answer 6

CAN'T ANY ONE COME UP WITH ANYTHING THAT HAS TIME IN IT?
0000 0000 Gen.1:1,2; ALL EXIST TIME AS BILLIONS Job 38:30-32;
0000 0000 Gen.1:3-25; TIME AS HIGH THOUSANDS EARTH PREPARATION
0000 0000 Gen.1:26; THOUSANDS IN TIME FOR THE WORLD Job 37:12;
1056 0000 Gen.5:3,6,9,12,15,18,21,25,28 IS 1056 years, Noah born.
0600 0000 Gen.7:6 [ AGE 600 ]; Noah #10 son, Gen 9:28,39;
1656 0000 Flood YEAR WITH NOAH 375 DAYS TO DRY LAND Gen.8:21,22;
0000 0000 AFTER THE FLOOD BELOW [ Noah 350 & Shem 502 years ]:
0222 0222 Gen.11:10,12,14,16,18,20,22,24 IS 222 years, Terah born, dies.
0205 0427 Gen.11:32; 12:4; Abraham #20 son. Promised Land covenant.
0430 0857 Exo.7:7 [ Moses 80 ]; 12:40,41; Gal.3:16-18 [ the law ];
0040 0897 Deut.1:3; 29:5; 34:7 [ Moses age 120 dies in 40th year ];
0001 0898 Joshua 5:6,10,12; 14th day in New Year ends 40 years.
0300 1198 Judges 11:26 [ 300 years of Judges to Jair dies, 1198 ];
0029 1227 1Sam.4:15,18; Eli. 1Sam.7:2,13,15; Samuel age 80 at 1307.
0080 1307 Acts 13:20; 450 plus 857 Moses, is 1307 years after flood.
0026 1333 Acts 13:21; Saul 1117 less 40 years is 1077 before Christ.
0040 1373 1Ki.2:10,11; David 1077 less 40 is 1037 before Christ.
0004 1377 1Ki.6:1; 480 plus 897 Moses died is 1377 after flood.
0036 1413 1Ki.11:42; Solomon dies. 1037 less 40 is 0997 BCE.
0391 1804 2Ki.25:8; 2Chr.36:20-23; Judah kings end at Babylon #3.
0606 0000 THERE WILL BE NO KING UNTIL THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST.
0000 2410 1656 PLUS 2006 CE IS 6072 after Adam created.
1000 year reign Rev.20:1-6,12,13 [ No Satan ]; Rev.21:1-5; ALL MADE NEW.
Eph.2:7; 3:21 The world with Jesus is with out end. John 3:16;

Answer 7

actually, you are just one of many who denounce the bible. Don't feel too special. Entire nations, many scholars, and other entities have put the bible to the test and have failed. You fail because you look to answers within the box. You should look out of it, where God is. And you will find the answers you seek. If you were to truly investigate and seek a true answer, you would end up converting yourself as many others have. If you just look for evidence to refute it, you'll find it in any nickel and dime book or website you seek it in. The choice is yours. Truth or Lies.

Answer 8

Many individuals understand the truth, but the Churches are now so embedded in society, and they have misled so many that it is nearly impossible to imagine a world free of all their lies and deceit. It saddens me to know that without them we would have progressed far beyond where we are today in many areas like medicine and even spirituality.

Answer 9

But you have to have the right emotional equipment to handle intellectual freedom.

Answer 10

My My My! what made you so testy today. Hey it's Christmas give it a break okay?Merry CHRISTmas.