EXISTENCE OF CHRIST

AS A HUMAN BEING,

DISPROVED!

BY IRRESISTIBLE EVIDENCE, IN A SERIES OF LETTERS,

FROM A GERMAN JEW,

ADDRESSED TO CHRISTIANS OF ALL DENOMINATIONS.

LETTER 17.

WEEKLY.

ONE PENNY.

"I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel. Before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and besides me there is no Saviour."-ISAIAH XLIII. 3, 10, 11.

CHRISTIANS,

The first part of our work is accomplished; the origin of all religions, including the Christian, has been shewn by a reference to history, and if our reference to the multitudinous facts of history has not been so full or complete as some, who love to search, probe, and examine, with a view to obtain truth, may desire, it will, we think, be efficient for all practical purposes. All are not searchers and inquirers-when that searching and inquiring is of a difficult and abstruse character; besides, the object of these Letters is not to give a history of religion, but only so much of evidence, drained from authentic records, as will suffice to satisfy the unlettered reader, who desires to know, that information, without which he cannot understand how human errors have taken root, grown up, and, like the poisoned trees of fable, spread evil and death. around. Error is poisonous-its antidote is Truth! but there is no royal road to truth, the path is beset with difficulty and danger, and those who seek and find it, must be bold, enthusiastic,. and persevering-not to be deterred by danger. This is not the. language of hyperbole it is the language of common sense and plain reason, nothing but industry, determination, and perseverance, can emancipate the human mind; but, at the same time, to

abuse those who differ from us to use foul language of and denounce men-is not the best way to implant truth. It is far wiser to implant a truth than to extirpate an error, as education is now given, errors are far more numerous than truths,for, as Rosseau justly observes, " truths come single, whilst errors run in crowds ;" > but one truth. well understood will destroy all that opposes it for truth is to falsehood what light is to darkness they cannot coexist, for, as in nature there must be either light or darkness, so in `man or man's conceptions there must be truth or error. Error is the Satan, Devil, Great Fiend, or Spirit of Evil personified by poetic theologists, error is moral darkness, while truth is moral light, personified, and called Jupiter, God, Jehovah, Lord, &c. This makes plain and intelligible the Scriptural language, that "God is a Spirit, to be worshipped in spirit and in truth;" for as light was to the Jews, and others, the body of divinity-the divine essence, and as truth is to the mind what light is to the eye, darkness being antagonistic and typical of evil or error, which is its parent, the demon of darkness was and is the demon of error said to be immortal, because error is immortal, as darkness is. Both are inseparable, from the nature of things; but it is with truth as with light--the more of these we have, the less of darkness and error; the strengthening of the one is the weakening of the other: so we find that in Egypt the triumph of Osiris, or the god of light, was the defeat of Typhon, or god of darkness or evil; in Persia, Ormusd, or the luminous deity, was worshipped and adored, while Ahrimanes, the spirit of darkness and protector of error, was dreaded as an embodiment of all that is bad in nature. When we read in the book of Genesis that "the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," &c., we have the language of the ancient mystics; for no man in his senses-no man who does not sacrifice sense and reason upon the shrine of folly-will for a moment suppose it possible that the earth could be without form, and void; for whatever was, must have had some form, and could not by possibility have been void, unless we believe (for we cannot really think it) that the earth was and was not at the same time, or that what was existed without form, and was void, or that the spirit of God moved upon the face of that which had no face! but all these mistakes have been a consequence of the false teaching of theologians, who, forgetting that God is a spirit, and a spirit of

lové too," and that he who hath not love hath not seen God, for God is love," have read the Scriptures, and expounded the Scriptures, without knowing the true meaning of its contents; but the time has arrived to give a true interpretation of Scripture, which must be read aright ere it can be realized: this we do not propose to do in this work, though we may attempt it in some other; but a concise exposition of Biblical history, at least such portions as relate to the supposed existence of Christ, will now be useful. The Christian expounders, or confounders, of the Bible, are certainly, taken en masse, the most ignorant, invincible simpletons, that ever profaned the sanctuary of reason,-like certain filthy creatures, they defile while they attempt to undermine the temple of true philosophy. With all our boasted science-with all the practical improvements in the arts of life-our rail roads, canals, steam-ships, and wonderful results of human curiosity, pricked on by avarice, this country, which prides itself upon its enlightenment, is overrun by wild fanatics, whose ignorance is only to be equalled by their presumption, who rave about gods and devils as though both gods and devils were among their familiar acquaintances,-who talk so lustily about heaven, that such vulgar things that belong to earth seem to these celestials as unworthy of regard. They tell us what is, what was, and that which is to be, which, if all do not believe, hell is to be their portion; from which horrible place there is, we are told, no redemption! They are far better acquainted with the government of hell than the government of earth; but then, indeed, the earth under their teaching is but a hell in miniature, so that in describing the one they give a tolerably correct account of the other. Their descriptions of hell are warranted sound and orthodox, though no two of their descriptions entirely agree; they cannot all be accurate, though in the main they may be tolerably correct; and we are told that it is a pit to which there is no bottom-full of devils of all sorts of shapes, with some green devils, which are shapeless, like Milton's Death,-shapes they can hardly be called that shapes have none whose only occupation seems to be to roast and torture and torment, by sundry tricks, those unfortunate souls whose deeds done in the flesh have been displeasing to the Deity, that is, to his agents the priests, who are rarely particular as to what may be said about religion or Deity, if they are left alone. These people are remarkably sensitive when the honour of Deity is concerned— when the honour of Deity and their own power and emoluments

are concerned. This greatly puzzled Moliere, the celebrated French wit, who, when in one of his comedies he made an exposé of the rogueries of the priests, found that he had greatly sinned and thrust himself into a lions' den without any of the preternatural protection afforded to the lucky and prophetic Daniel; but a friend let him into the grand secret, by saying, "Ah! Moliere, if you had been content to write against religion, you would have been perfectly safe; but you wrote against the priests, and that priests will never endure." There is an old proverb, that "what can't be cured must be endured," and the modern priests have found to their cost, that the arm of flesh, upon which they formerly relied, is now palsied, like that of the tyrant Gloster-it is shrunk up like a withered shrub. Persecution, once the staff which supported their giant corruptions, is now snapped asunder! and if the priests of these times rely upon persecution as the prime support of their power, they will find it as a "broken reed, which not only basely fails, but cruelly wounds the hand that rests upon it." Already they have many splinters sticking in their flesh-true thorns goading them into wisdom, which, however painful, do not convince priestly sufferers that the reed is a broken and dangerous one; they are incurable in their folly, and armed to the teeth in their own incurable and horny bigotry; the arrows of reason cannot reach them; they strike, but do not penetrate, so the Bible, which ought to be the book, telling us of things as they were is made an instrument of despotism-wielded by knaves and fools!

It has been contended that neither a god nor man called Jesus Christ existed in Jerusalem; but, as stated in a former Letter, it is not contended that neither a man or men called Christ once existed in Jerusalem, any more than we should deny that a man named Brama, Vishnou, or Chrishnou, once did certain things in India; or that a man called Hercules once played a conspicuous part in Phenecia and Egypt; but it is denied that a man or god called Christ was born of a virgin, performed certain miracles, was crucified by the Jews, and after remaining three days, or nearly so, in the tomb, ascended into heaven,-it is denied that a man called Jesus Christ performed those wonders, and delivered those instructions which have been ascribed to him. All Christians will agree that the story told by ignorant and abused Indian enthusiasts about the god Brama coming down upon the earth in the form of a man, and eating of flesh like a Canibal, is absurd and unworthy

of credit. What Christian would believe that Chrishnou, or Chrishna, or Vishnou, suffered all the metamorphoses which credulous Indians believed they did? Who, one degree above or below lunacy, would credit the idle tales (for idle and most mischievous they are when taken in relation of facts) about Hercules and his club, Balaam and his ass, Sampson with and without his hair, Jupiter and Juno, Ceres and Bacchus, Proserpine and Pluto, and a hundred other gods and goddesses, whose histories have ben deemed veritable, sacred, and most holy,-to disbelieve which, was deemed execrable, and a crime worthy of death. The poet says, Would that God the gift would gie us

To see ourselves as others see us.

If Christians could see themselves as others see them, they would be far more humble-far less self-sufficient and arrogant than they now are-think less highly of themselves, and far better of others have less of love for themselves, and more for their fellowbeings, or rather, their self-love would be far more social in its consequences.

Fearful denunciations are uttered against those whose interpretations of Scripture are not a la mode ;-pulpits ring with the indignant eloquence of divines, who forget the text, "Judge not, lest ye be judged; condemn not, lest ye be condemned; and forgive, as ye desire to be forgiven;"-men who seek to, blow the coals of bigotry, and re-kindle the torch of persecution at the almost expiring embers of fanaticism. Such impotent rage we fear not, and shall proceed to prove by the Bible that neither Christ nor Abraham ever existed, but were purely fictional characters. Christ was, as

all Christians, we presume, know, a branch of the genealogical tree of which Abraham was the root; but as there can be no branch without roots-and as the existence of Christ, according to the Scriptures, is contingent upon that of Abraham, to destroy the belief in the existence of Abraham, is to destroy the existence of Christ. It is easy to lop a branch from a tree without disturbing its root, but when the root is destroyed the branches wither; and where there never was a root, there never could have been branches. Priests, who are ever straining after types and shadows, affect to believe that what is written in Zechariah, "Thus speaketh the Lord of Hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The Branch; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord," is typical of Christ; but theological eyes can seetheological ears can hear, what can neither be heard nor seen by