historical evidence regarding the life of Mohammed.

He finds that Mohammed, from all accounts, was a demagogue, a charlatan,
and a victim of mental disease. It strikes him strangely that such an
individual should be chosen by Allah as his disciple on earth to make
known his commands. He notes Mohammed's appearance on earth in 600 A.D.
and wonders why the Creator should have procrastinated for such a long
time; but decides to read the revelations anyhow.

He discovers that "from the literary point of view, the Koran has little
merit. Declamation, repetition, puerility, a lack of logic, and
incoherence strike him at every turn. He finds it humiliating to the
human intellect to think that this mediocre literature has been the
subject of innumerable commentaries and that millions of men are still
wasting time in absorbing it."

A Hebrew next takes his turn at this obstinate guest and sets before him
the Old Testament. Again, the Martian is informed that it is an inspired
book actuated by God.

In his attempt to find the historical evidence corroborating this book,
the Martian finds that authentic history begins for the Israelites with
the constitution of Saul's monarchy about 1100 B.C. All that precedes
this--the deluge, the dispersal of mankind, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, the
captivity in Egypt, Moses, Joshua, and the conquest of Canaan, is more
or less mythical.

In the Old Testament, our Martian reads the first chapter, glances at
the chronology, and is immediately bewildered since he has a fair
knowledge of our scientific advances. As he reads on, he becomes aware
of a host of errors, contradictions, and manifest absurdities. When he
questions the zealous Hebrew, he comes in contact with what he is
informed is Concordism, which he perceives is a false science that
consists in determining, at any cost, a perfect harmony between modern
science and the knowledge possessed by God's people. He is thus told
that the days of creation were not days at all, but periods; although
the Bible mentions the morning and evening of each day. Delving further
in this most holy of revelations, he learns that God is represented in a
manner most unworthy of what such a being should be represented. He
finds the Lord walking in the cool of the evening, showing his hind
quarters to Moses, ordering abominable massacres, and punishing chiefs
who had not killed enough people. On further perusal, there is revealed,
"A great deal of Oriental bo