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A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION is eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at hp://www.gutenberg.org/license. Title: A Legacy to the Friends of Free Discussion Author: Benjamin Offen Release Date: April , [EBook #] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF- *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION*** Produced by David Widger. ii A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION By Benjamin Offen PRINCIPAL HISTORICAL FACTS AND PERSONAGES OF THE BOOKS KNOWN AS THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT; WITH REMARKS ON THE MORALITY OF NATURE CONTENTS PREFACE GENERAL INTRODUCTION DETAILED CONTENTS A LEGACY TO THE FRIENDS OF FREE DISCUSSION GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE THE OLD TESTAMENT CHAPTER I. FROM THE CREATION TO THE DELUGE CHAPTER II. A REVIEW OF THE DELUGE AND THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES AT THE TOWER OF BABEL CHAPTER III. FROM THE CONFUSION OF TONGUES TO THE BIRTH OF MOSES CHAPTER IV. FROM THE BIRTH OF MOSES TO THE DEATH OF JOSHUA CHAPTER V. FROM THE DEATH OF JOSHUA TO THE REIGN OF SAUL CHAPTER VI. THE REIGNS OF SAUL, DAVID, AND SOLOMON CHAPTER VII. THE REIGN OF JEROBOAM, AND THE SEPARATION OF ISRAEL FROM JUDAH CHAPTER VIII. ON DIVINE INSPIRATION THE NEW TESTAMENT iv INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER on THE FACTS AND PERSONAGES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHAPTER I. CHAPTER. II. CHAPTER III. CHAPTER IV. CHAPTER V. CHAPTER VI. CHAPTER VII. CHAPTER VIII. CHAPTER IX. REMARKS ON THE MORALITY OF NATURE PREFACE N the following pages the author has freely discussed the claims of the books I called the Old and New Testaments, to be considered Divine revelations. He had a right so to do; and in presenting the work to the public he gives the result of his exercise of su right. e right of free discussion has been questioned. It would be well for hu- manity if this were all; but unhappily, the pages of history are replete with deeds of persecution and cruelty, commied by men, in the possession of power, on their less fortunate fellow-men, who have presumed to exercise the right of free investi- gation. Cupidity has drawn a line of demarcation; it has established boundaries for thought; and miserable has been the fate of the unhappy wret who, rejoicing in the dignity of his nature, and anxious to discover the abode of Truth, has dared to pass the Rubicon. What is Free Discussion? We answer, it is the exercise of the reasoning fac- ulties. Without Free Discussion man cannot exist. His physical existence might indeed remain; but he could no longer be deemed a man; and would have to take a lower rank in the scale of creation. Without investigation it is impossible to arrive at Truth; hence the utility of Free Discussion. is is never denied when science is the subject; and we have yet to learn why it should be restrained in any case; and also how and when any set of men became possessed of the right to restrain the exercise of the reasoning faculties of their fellow-men. When men have not been impelled by cupidity to shale the minds of their fellow beings, a spirit of unaritableness has induced them to pursue the same line of conduct. Whoever has maintained an opinion contrary to theirs, has been considered as being actuated, not by mistaken, but, by dishonest motives; and has therefore been deemed a fit subject for punishment. As this work will probably be read by many professing Christians we will here give an extract from Dr. Blair’s vi sermon on Candor, whi will, probably, make a greater impression than any thing we could offer on that subject. “It is one of the misfortunes of our present situation, that some of the good dispositions of human nature are apt to betray us into frailties and vices. us it oen happens, that the laudable aament whi we contract to the country, or the ur, to whi we belong, or to some political denomination under whi we class ourselves, both confines our affections within too narrow a sphere, and gives rise to violent prejudices against su as come under an opposite description. Not contented with being in the right ourselves, we must find all others in the wrong. We claim an exclusive possession of goodness and wisdom: and from approving warmly of those who join us, we proceed to condemn, with mu acrimony, not only the principles, but the aracters, of those from whom we differ. Hence, per- sons of well disposed minds are too oen, through the strength of partial good af- fection, involved in the crime of unaritable judgment ey rashly extend to every individual the severe opinion whi they have unwarrantably conceived of a whole body. is man is of a party whose principles we reon slavish; and therefore his whole sentiments are corrupted. at man belongs to a religious sect whi we are accustomed to deem bigoted; and therefore he is incapable of any generous or lib- eral thought Another is connected with a sect whi we have been taught to account relaxed; and therefore he can have no sanctity.—Are these the judgments of candor and arity? Is true piety or virtue so very limited in its nature, as to be confined to su alone as see every thing with our eyes, and follow exactly the train of our ideas?” e author disclaims any intention of wounding the feelings of those who hold opinions different to his own. For the religions hypocrite he has no bowels of compassion; but the sincere believer in Divine revelation, whose conduct is reg- ulated by the universally anowledged roles of morality, is to him an object of sincere respect and esteem. Many things connected with what is called Divine revelation, have been very freely commented on by the author; and sometimes in a style whi the Christian world will probably be disposed to condemn; but it should be remembered that what appears sacred to one, excites the ridicule of others. e Pagan venerates his manufactured god; the Christian views it with contempt and indignation. e object of the author has been the promotion of Truth and Benevolence. Should he fail to produce the effects he has contemplated, he will yet be able to console himself with the reflection, that he has been actuated by good intentions. e time has been when the assertion was frequently made that “hell was paved with good intentions” had the work appeared at that time, the author would, doubtless, vii have been destined, so far as human agency could effect it, to become one of the paving stones of that remarkable edifice: but a brighter day has dawned upon the world; Reason is asserting her right to empire; and the eering spirit of benevolence is animating the nations of the earth. e shades of life’s evening admonish the author that his sojourn in the world will very shortly be brought to a close. He is anxious, therefore, before his departure, to cast in his mite for the eradication of human suffering, and the promotion of hu- man felicity; and then, in wrapping himself in the mantle of universal benevolence, to retire from the transitory scene, in arity with all men. GENERAL INTRODUCTION HE main object of this book is to show that Jehovah, the God of the Jews, is T not the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe, but a fictitious being, having no real existence whatever. If the above position be correct, it follows, that the Bible, in- cluding the Old and New Testaments, is not a Divine Revelation. But that the reader may see, more clearly, upon what uncertain ground divine revelation rests, the plan pursued in the following apters will be a review of the facts and personages as recorded in the Old and New Testaments. But the limits of this work will only admit of a mere scantling of what might be wrien on the subject. In most Christian countries (America excepted,) this work would be answered by either fine or imprisonment, or probably both. But fortunately for the cause of truth and free discussion, theological power here is so happily balanced, that perse- cution for religious opinions is impracticable. e period therefore has arrived, in this country in particular, when reason is free from the former obstacles that every where crossed its path. Now, then, is the time for us to examine the religion of our forefathers, and explore the regions of human credulity. A mixture of pain and plea- sure will be the result:—pain, in considering what suffering has befallen the human family, when the laudable indulgence of imagining and reasoning was considered rebellion against God; and pleasure, to us who, having escaped those dreadful evils whi in former ages spread terror throughout the world, can lessen the evils that surround us, and augment to an almost unlimited degree our happiness. To those who may have the moral courage to read the following pages, I would say, I have neither a desire to sho their feelings, nor any wish to ange their sen- timents in order to gratify my vanity; for had Christianity been productive of “peace on earth and good will towards men,” I should have been the last to have opposed it. But on the contrary, the page of religious history is bloed with human gore.
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