The Bible of Bibles; Or, Twenty-Seven "Divine" Revelations. Kersey Graves
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Название: The Bible of Bibles; Or, Twenty-Seven "Divine" Revelations

Автор: Kersey Graves

Издательство: Bookwire

Жанр: Языкознание

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isbn: 4057664621603

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СКАЧАТЬ their pen-and-ink Bible into the shade, and shows we would be better without than with it by substituting God's eternal and universal Bible. It will be observed, then, that it is shown by different texts of the Bible, that the "Holy Book" which came directly from the hands of God is greatly superior to that which came through the hands of man. And the fact that it is the only Bible, or revelation, that can now be found in all countries, and the only Bible that can be read by all nations, kingdoms, tongues, and people, and that not one man, woman, or child in a hundred, take the world over, can read any other Bible but this, is very nearly prima facie evidence that it is the only Bible God ever designed for the human race, and that he never did impart, and never will impart, any other revelation to the world; that no other Bible is necessary for the moral, religious, and spiritual welfare of the race, or to point the road to salvation. Hence it is the only Bible we would recommend for the reading of the young. It is the only Bible we are certain they can understand. It is the only Bible we are certain is free from errors. It is the only Bible we are certain has never been altered or mistranslated. It is the only Bible we are certain teaches no immoral lessons. It is the only Bible which we are certain contains no vulgar or obscene language, calculated to raise a blush on the cheek of modesty, and outrage every feeling of decorum, as many of the texts found in the Christian Bible do. It is the only "Holy Scripture" we can be certain was given forth by divine inspiration, and the only sacred volume or "Holy Word" which has the full seal and sanction of Almighty God. Read, then, and study well, this open and widespread Bible which infolds the universe. All the Bibles and religions of the past claim to have been authorized by a direct revelation or inspiration from God. But we are satisfied that no such revelation has ever been given forth to any nation in any age of the world. For inspiration is now known to be a universal law of the natural mind; an inborn principle of the human soul, which all ages and nations, and every human being, have possessed a greater or less share of. And the amount of true inspiration possessed by each individual depends upon his or her moral, intellectual, and spiritual elevation of the soul or mind into the higher enjoyment of spiritual bliss where it becomes en rapport with all that is lovely, inspiring, and beautiful in God's universe; where it can take cognizance of great moral problems and spiritual truths; and where it can look through the long vista of futurity, and behold the events of coming years rolling up toward the threshold of time. This is true inspiration, and the spirit of true prophecy. But it is the work of our own minds, and not of Deity, and is not confined to any age, nation, or religion. It depends upon the culture of the moral and intellectual faculties and the spiritual aspirations of the individual, and not upon his creed or religious belief.

      As for a divine revelation, it can not be found in any book of human origin. It could not be incorporated into a book, nor could all the books in the world contain it. It is inscribed all over the face of nature. We read it upon the outstretched earth and upon the shining heavens; we read it upon

      "Every bush and every bower,

       Every leaf and every flower."

      Here, then, we have a Bible with a revelation as broad as the universe. Its lids are the heavens above, and the earth beneath. Its golden-leaf pages are spread out at our feet; its lessons of wisdom, its truths of salvation, and its soul-inspiring beauties, are inscribed upon the soul, and written all over the face of nature. Read and study it, O man! and become "wise onto salvation."

       Table of Contents

       Table of Contents

      As the Old Testament possesses no order, no arrangement, and no distinct system of either morals or religion, and no regular connection in its history, we have to treat it in the same unsystematic order in which we find it, and to expose many foolish errors and stories which seem almost beneath the dignity of any respectable writer to notice. But, as they constitute a large portion of the Old Testament, we have got to deal with them or nothing. And, although trifling in themselves, they have done much mischief. Hence we deem it of greater importance to expose their evil influence than to trace them to their heathen origin, as we originally designed doing.

      1. The first text in the Bible is evidently an error. "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1). No geologist and philosopher at the present day believes in either a creation or a creator. The assumption involves two impossibilities. First, a creation could not take place without something to create from: "Ex nihilo nihil fit,"—"Out of nothing nothing can come." Second, to account for the origin of the earth, sun, moon, and stars, by assuming the existence of a creator, is throwing no light on the subject. We have made no progress towards solving the problem; for we are equally puzzled to account for the origin of the creator himself. It is as easy to assume that matter always existed as to assume that the creator always existed. Hence there would be no creation possible, and none needed. This is now regarded as a settled scientific problem.

      2. It is a scientific error to assert that matter had a beginning, as the Bible assumes. Many scientific facts have been developed to establish the conclusion that all beings and objects on earth were eliminated from its elements, and all the planets we can recognize were an outgrowth from some other worlds. The proposition is not only susceptible of much proof (which I have not space here to present), but is very beautiful and satisfactory. It "composes our reason to peace." All we lack of comprehending it is the capacity to grasp eternity and infinity, which finite mortals cannot do.

      3. If God "created the heavens" (Gen. i. 1), and heaven is his "dwelling-place" (see 1 Kings viii. 30), then where did he dwell before the heavens were made? Here is a very puzzling question, and involves an absurdity equal to that of the Tonga-Islanders, who teach that the first goose was hatched from an egg, and that the same goose laid the egg. An idea equally ludicrous is involved in the assumption that God created the heavens and the earth about six thousand years ago; so that, previous to that era, there was nothing on which he could stand, sit, or lie, but must have been suspended in mid-air from all eternity.

      4. If nothing existed prior to six thousand years ago, then there was nothing for God to do, and nothing for him to do it with. Hence he must have spent an eternity in idleness, a solitary monarch without a kingdom.

      5. As we are told God created the light (Gen. i. 3), the conclusion is forced upon us, that, prior to that period, he had spent an eternity in darkness. And it has been discovered that all beings originating in a state of darkness, or living in that condition, were formed without eyes, as is proved by blind fishes being found in dark caves. Hence the thought is suggested, that God, prior to the era of creation (six thousand years ago), was perfectly blind.

      6. "God saw the light that it was good" (Gen. i. 4). Hence we must infer that God had just got his eyes open, and that he had never before discovered that light is good. Of course it was good to be delivered from eternal darkness.

      7. "And God divided the light from the darkness" (Gen. i. 4). Hence, previous to that period, they must have been mixed together. Philosophy teaches that light and darkness never can be separated, any more than heat and cold, as one is only a different degree of the other.

      8. "And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night" (Gen. i. 5). And to whom did he call them? as no living being was in existence until several days afterwards.

      Hence there was no need of calling them any thing, and, as we are told Adam named every thing, he could as easily have found names for these as for other things.

      9. СКАЧАТЬ