sides many other villanies, emanated the bloody scenes in the Crusades, in which the Christians massacred thousands, crying "God wills it."

The New Testament teaches intolerance by the words: "Every plant my father did not plant must be eradicated." In this way the Bible became the mother of the heinous Inquisition, by which it was branded with eternal infamy. Its dogma that Christ by his voluntary death on the cross, propitiated the divine ire, and took away every sin of the faithful, has given the death-blow to the moral energy of the Christians. Moreover, hope of heavenly bli-s and fear of hell are impure motives to virtue and honesty.

MANY PRECEPTS OF THE BIBLE CONTRADICT EACH OTHER.

Finally, do not many of its precepts contradict each other? For instance, this one: "Take no thought for the morrow," and compare it with the injunction: "But if one provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an Infidel "

THEOLOGY

MUST

ADVANCE, WITH THE AGE, LIKE
OTHER SCIENCES.

I have touched here only the most impure spots of the Biblical morals, but even from my few remarks the thinking reader will infer that the moral doctrine of the Bible cannot suffice for our age. It cannot be otherwise. As the religious perceptions of the individual man by and by change in proportion as he advances from infancy to manly age, just so is it with whole nations-nay, with mankind generally. In the lapse of time all sciences advance; religion alone cannot remain back; it must share the progress with them. In vain its priests and blind reverers oppose the revolving wheel of time; the reforms in its domains are either insensibly,

in calmness, or, sometimes on a sudden performed by religious revolutions, as, e. g., in the age of Martin Luther, Zwingli, Knox etc. The Mosaical religion was well adapted to the rude, ignorant Israelites; when Greeks and Romans spread the seed of civilization among them, Jesus stood up as a reformer. When, in the 16th century, the dawn of the sciences broke in Italy, France, England, and Germany, the iconoclasts of that time set to work in the reformation of the Church. And since, sciences-especially physical science-have advanced with gigantic strides. Then why should theology alone be allowed to continue its lazy slumber upon the mouldy pillow of the Bible?

REFORM OF BIBLICAL MORALS.

No, a new mental revolution has already begun, and we are living in the midst of it. Concerning, particularly, the morals of the Bible, they don't answer the grade of culture of our age. This won new views of the Universe and life; it demands a moral doctrine which rests upon the necessary, natural laws of Nature, upon Reason and Conscience as its base; it demands a righteous State, in which the people are the sovereign; for it is tired of that Biblical theocracy. It demands equal rights for all men, without distinction of color, sex and rank; it demands, instead of the bloody wars which are sanctioned by the Bible, the solid brotherhood of all nations, instead, to one league of humanity; it demands a better education of the youth, because it thinks this to be the foundation of an unshaken State. For these reasons the morals of a barbarian people— the morals of the Bible-do not suffice for our age.

DECAY OF THE BELIEF IN THE BIBLE.

And what is the Bible, generally, still worth to our age? It resembles an old, decaying fortress, in the walls of

which already many breaches have been shot; its defendants repulse sometime a feeble attack of the adversaries, take again possession of an outwork; but upon the whole, they are always repelled by the well directed artillery of science; even theology takes the field against it. In France, Renan, a renowned priest, wrote a heretical book, "The Life of Jesus." In Germany, Dr. David Strauss, a young professor of theology, declared the narratives of the gospel myths, others even call them anile fables. Not only men of science, even the common people desert the belief in the Bible more and more.

THE CALL OF DR. DAVID FREDERICK

STRAUSS.

Dr. David Frederick Strauss, who in his famous work "Life of Jesus" tried to prove that its history is but a pious myth, was, in 1839, appointed Professor of Theology in Zurich, Switzerland. The population of the Canton opposed his arrival. At that occasion, I published a pamphlet in Zurich, in which I faithfully took side with the government. I communicate here a part of the writing.

CHARACTER OF DR. STRAUSS.

PARTICULARS OF HIS LIFE.

Dr. Strauss was born in 1807 at Ludwigsburg in Wurtemberg. His father is a wealthy merchant, in whose family plain manners and religious sense sway; his mother is an intelligent and talented lady. He frequented the institutes of Ludwigsburg, Blaubeuren, and Tubingen. In 1830. he became vicar of a parsonage, and in 1831 he had obtained a professorship. At the end of 1831 he was a student at the University of Berlin, and in 1832 he became professor of Theology

in Tubingen. Here, the most talented young men, were his pupils. They respected him, for his deep erudition, for faithfulness in his profession, and for his incessant assiduity.

HE IS PERSECUTED.

His great work "The life of Jesus" made its appearance. It opened a new period in the history of the Christian Church. Before the printing of its second part was finished, the tempest of persecution burst upon the head of the bold man. The government of Wurtemberg declared that he should no longer be permitted to continue the professorship of theology. He was turned out of the pulpit, stigmatized a dangerous subject and proclaimed to be incompetent to hold any position in the public schools. This is religious liberty in highly civilized Germany

After the supreme magistrates had given their verdict of "guilty," the authors and colleagues of his guild pounced upon him and his book and distorting it, selecting here and there a feeble passage, forged out of them scorching paragraphs against the helpless. Then the people took part. A great many approved of his doctrine, and received it with enthusiasm. But many rejected it without having any knowledge of its con

tents.

CHARACTER OF HIS ADVERSARIES.

Let us stop a moment at this event! Think of a man who had to go to school for many years, in order to be able to graduate. You can easily calculate what sums of money must have been spent for this purpose. What toil and exertion of the mind it required! At last the man reached the goal. He graduates a doctor of philosophy, a teacher of theology. He is appointed pro

fessor in the university of Tubingen. The brightest Now the verdict is proposition as a public minister, away from

prospects are opened to him. claimed: "You can hold no teacher, none as a preacher and your chair!" Hereby the access to office and honor is debarred from him forever. When he had written his "Life of Jesus," a friend warned him not to publish it, as the publication of the book would cost him his employment and livelihood. Strauss replied that he felt himself urged to this work, and that he could not do otherwise. He said: "If I lose my position, I shall leave it to God, he will probably open for me another door."

When Doctor Strauss was dismissed, many tears were shed by the people and students for their beloved and admired teacher. He retired to Ludwigsburg, where he lived as a private person in modest silence. While his king here indulged in pleasure, the most honest citizen suffered from the missiles of wrong. Meanwhile, his adversaries did not stop to sputter their poison upon the innocent. He who had lost his office and competence, still saw new libels appear every day. In our Canton, too, a man of charity (parson in * *) was busy to collect "the votes of Germany" against Strauss. A sad business! Not only this! Some hinted even that Strauss had escaped happily enough by having lost only his employment! They praised the government of his country for being merciful. It acted, indeed, kinder than the Inquisition of Spain in former times. Doctor Strauss was not burned alive! O Christians! will you learn to be men!

When