The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll Volume V Part 26

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statements are false, and do not know that any of them 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 doctrine of the "real presence" of G.o.d 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 for the idea that baptism by immersion is the only scriptural baptism. Did they die for a lie? If not, is Mr. Talmage a Baptist?

Giordano Bruno was an atheist, yet he perished at the stake rather than retract his opinions. He did not expect to be welcomed by angels and by G.o.d.

He did not look for a crown of glory. He expected simply death and eternal extinction. Does the fact that he died for that belief prove its truth?

Thousands upon thousands have died in defence of the religion of Mohammed. Was Mohammed an im- postor? Thousands have welcomed death in defence of the doctrines of Buddha. Is Buddhism true?

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So I might make a tour of the world, and of all ages of human history, and find that millions and millions have died "cheerfully and triumphantly" in defence of their opinions. There is not the slightest truth 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 he wished religious consolation. He replied that he believed in no religion. What did that prove? It proved only the man's honesty of opinion. All the martyrs in the world cannot change, never did change, a falsehood into a truth, nor a truth into a falsehood. Martyrdom proves nothing but the sincerity of the martyr and the cruelty and mean- ness of his murderers. Thousands and thousands of people have imagined that they knew things, that they were certain, and have died rather than retract their honest beliefs.

Mr. Talmage now says that he knows all about the Old Testament, that the prophecies were fulfilled, and yet he does not know when the prophecies were made--whether they were made before or after the fact. He does not know whether the destruction of Babylon was told before it happened, or after. He knows nothing upon the subject. He does not know

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who made the pretended prophecies. He does not know that Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Habakkuk, or Hosea ever lived in this world. He does not know who wrote a single book of the Old Testament. He knows nothing on the subject. He believes in the inspiration of the Old Testament because ancient cities finally fell into decay--were overrun and de- stroyed by enemies, and he accounts for the fact that the Jew does not lose his nationality by saying that the 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 part of G.o.ds plan, that the Jews might, by persecution, be prevented from mingling with other nationalities, and so might stand, through the instrumentality of perpetual hate and cruelty, the suffering witnesses of the 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 pleased to call the "civilized world." They testify to the fact that 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 one

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word in the Old Testament referring to him in any way--not one word. The only way to prove this is to take your Bible, and wherever you find these words: "That it might be fulfilled," and "which "was spoken," turn to the Old Testament and find what was written, and you will see that it had not 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 they are. Let us see whether any human being can tell whether 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 bra.s.s. And "they had the hands of a man under their wings on

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"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: and

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"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."

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Is such a vision a prophecy? Is it calculated to convey the slightest information? If so, what?

So, the following vision of the prophet Daniel is exceedingly 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 with

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"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 to give the time, place, or circ.u.mstances.

A few moments ago, my attention was called to the following extract from _The New York Herald_ of the 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-

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"notes immense attributes and agencies and voli- "tions, pa.s.sing 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 been illuminated by the spirit of prophecy, would never have even dreamed that there was the slightest re- ference in Ezekiel's vision to anything like counting hairs. As a commentator, the Rev. Dr. Armitage has no equal; and, in my judgment, no rival. He has placed himself beyond the reach of ridicule. It is impossible to say anything about his sermon as laughable as his sermon.

_Question_. Have you no confidence in any pro- phecies? Do you take the ground that there never has been a human being who could predict the future?

_Answer_. I admit that a man of average intelli-

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gence knows that a certain course, when pursued long enough, will bring national disaster, and it is perfectly safe to predict the downfall of any and every country in the world. In my judgment, nations, like individuals, have an average life.

Every nation is mortal. An immortal nation cannot be constructed of mortal individuals. A nation has a reason for existing, and that reason sustains the same relation to the nation that the acorn does to the oak. The nation will attain its growth--other things being equal. It will reach its manhood and its prime, but it will sink into old age, and at last must die. Probably, in a few thousand years, men will 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 and dying nations. There has always been a national cemetery. Poland is dead, Turkey is dying. In every nation are the seeds of dissolution. Not only nations die, but races of men. A nation is born, becomes powerful, luxurious, at last grows weak, is overcome, dies, and another takes its place, In this way civilization and barbarism, like day and night, alternate through all of history's years.

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In every nation there are at least two cla.s.ses of men: First, the enthusiastic, the patriotic, who be- lieve that the nation will live forever,--that its flag will float while the earth has air; Second, the owls and ravens and croakers, who are always predicting disaster, defeat, and death. To the last cla.s.s belong the Jeremiahs, Ezekiels, and Isaiahs of the Jews.