Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays Part 21

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC G.o.d

Cicero said that "men, having exhausted all the mad extravagancies they are capable of, have yet never entertained the idea of eating the G.o.d whom they adore." The extravagance which was beyond the contemplation of the Pagan mind, is an every day affair with a large part of the Christian world. The Roman Catholic eats his G.o.d every week, and Catholics have been guilty of this religious cannibalism for centuries.

In the celebration of the eucharist, which is a service commemorative of the death of Jesus, bread and wine are used in Protestant churches as emblems of the body and blood of the crucified one. But in Roman Catholic churches the real presence of Jesus is seen in the "host," which, in itself, is a little wafer of baked flour and water, but when consecrated by the priest and offered as a sacrifice, during ma.s.s, becomes the actual body of G.o.d. According to Roman Catholic doctrine, dough is changed to Deity by the mumbling of a few Latin words over it by a priest. When the priest swallows the consecrated wafer he really swallows this G.o.d he adores.

There is an absurdity which the doctrine of transubstantiation is accountable for, which cannot be paralleled among all the religions of heathenism. Not only does this doctrine make it possible for one G.o.d to be eaten by one priest, but for thousands of G.o.ds to be thus devoured. The Roman Catholic religion teaches that G.o.d is manufactured out of flour and water by a pastry cook. Every time a wafer is turned into a "host," a G.o.d is made.

Were there a tribe in Asia or Africa guilty of such ridiculous practices as are witnessed in the Roman Catholic church, missionaries would be sent out to them. It seems to us, that if people know no better than to believe that when the priest swallows a little lump of bread he is actually swallowing the body of a person who lived eighteen hundred years ago, whom they look upon as G.o.d, they are not intelligent enough to be ranked in the army of progress and civilization.

No one is to blame for what no one knows.

It is singular that people want to live another life when it is so hard to live this.

A church that sets up a religious faith as more essential than purity, than kindness, charity or goodness, is a dangerous inst.i.tution.

HUMAN CRUELTY

The mosquito inflicts his sting upon the place whence he draws his life.

Not unlike this venomed insect is the person who, through malice, wounds the feelings of a human being. There seems to be in certain organizations the poison of hatred, and woe betide those on whom it falls. The heart that can take delight in saying cruel things, in raising unkind doubts or starting unpleasant thoughts, ought never to have had a human face to hide behind. Such an individual ought to crawl in its native shape that it might be crushed under the heel of scorn.

The only way to treat a human viper is to keep away from it, ignore its presence, and to shut the ears to its venomed hiss. We know of no more cruel occupation than wounding human hearts and human feelings.

A great many men believe in providence until they get caught in a railroad accident.

Treasures well used on earth will help the world more than treasures laid up in heaven.

INFIDELITY

When the minister wants to frighten his congregation he draws a picture of infidelity. The infidel has been used for years to scare weak-minded persons into accepting Christianity. Outwardly the infidel is painted like a man, but the world is warned not to trust to appearances, for the infidel is not what he looks to be; he is "a fiend in human shape;" he is "a moral monster," and a mirror in which everything bad and vicious can see its face.

We do not wonder that a minister paints the infidel in black. He has hurt the minister's business, and so must suffer for what he has done. But we do wonder that so large a part of the world is frightened at the word "infidelity."

It is a fact that an infidel would never be known if he himself did not disclose his character. To conceal his infidelity he has only to keep still, to hide behind silence.

Infidelity is nothing more or less than intellectual fidelity, and an infidel is a man too honest to disguise his real thoughts and convictions.

Had the infidel not been honest he would still be in the church, a hypocrite, to be sure, but this could not affect his religious status at all. Intellectual and moral uprightness is the distinguis.h.i.+ng characteristic of modern infidelity. The modern infidel trusts his brain and his heart; he accepts as true what appeals to his reason, and makes known his convictions as though to conceal them were a vice or a crime.

The infidel gains nothing by avowing his convictions; on the contrary, he is condemned for making them known. The Christian presumes upon the right to d.a.m.n infidels here and to teach that G.o.d will d.a.m.n them hereafter. It is in the face of a fate, in many instances cruel, that a man acknowledges that his honest thoughts, his honest convictions place him in antagonism to the popular faith, and yet he is denounced, rather than praised, for his brave action.

Infidelity is the proof of an honest man. Hypocrisy cannot hide in its shadow. Every man in the Christian church may be a hypocrite, a knave, a pretender professing its faith, while laughing inwardly at its foolish superst.i.tions, but every man who espouses infidelity must reveal his true character, must show exactly what he is.

A dishonest or hypocritical infidel is an impossibility. There is nothing to be gained, but much to be lost, by confessing one's disbelief of the Christian dogmas. It is the man who prizes self-respect above the world's approval who takes the fate of infidelity-be it what it may.

Don't put too much faith in the man who wants to know the distance to the nearest church before he has written his name in the hotel register.

ATHEISM

What is called atheism is not a light, flippant a.s.sertion, but a calm, thoughtful conclusion. It is a conviction which human experience and human reflection have generated. Atheism is not the irresponsible opinion of moral debauchery; it is the outcome of an intelligent consideration of Nature and life. The atheist has been honest with himself and with the world. He has made a careful survey of the universe, as far as he is able, and has canva.s.sed the facts of life which have come within the range of his observation, and he has candidly declared the result of his study and freely related the reasons for his conclusions.

Atheism is the universe as science finds it and as interpreted by human understanding. It is an attempt to state the simple truth, to give a fair likeness of things, to photograph facts. Atheism is denial of nothing true, of nothing good, of nothing that can be proved. We see no good reason for abusing the atheist. His opinions don't make him a bad citizen or a bad man. He is as moral as his Christian neighbor, and is as ready to help a fellow-being.

In countries where atheism is a crime, hypocrisy is more honored than integrity.

A great many who expect to hear the angels sing always get near the stage at a comic opera.

CHRISTIAN HAPPINESS

Christians are constantly telling "how happy their religion makes them,"

how happy they feel "since they found Jesus." We will take them at their word and believe that they are just as happy as they say they are. What has their religion done for them, what has Jesus done for them, that they should be so happy? They will answer that they have been saved, that their souls have been rescued from destruction. Without going into the question whether they need to be saved or whether their souls are in any danger of destruction, let us see what kind of happiness the Christian enjoys. The great song of Christians is: _My_ soul is saved. The Christian is happy on his own account alone; he rejoices in his own good fortune; he is pleased to think that he is out of it. The Christian's happiness is a purely selfish feeling. In his exultation is no thought of another's condition, of another's lot.