anity. Mohammed taught certain doctrines that
are good, but the good in the teachings of Mohammed is not Mohammedism.
When I speak of Christianity I speak of that which is distinctly
Christian. For instance, the idea that the Infinite God was born
in Palestine, learned the carpenter's trade, disputed with the
parsons of his time, excited the wrath of the theological bigots,
and was finally crucified; that afterward he was raised from the
dead, and that if anybody believes this he will be saved and if he
fails to believe it, he will be lost; in other words, that which
is distinctly Christian in the Christian system, is its supernaturalism,
its miracles, its absurdity. Truth does not need to go into
partnership with the supernatural. What Christ said is worth the
reason it contains. If a man raises the dead and then says twice
two are five, that changes no rule in mathematics. If a multiplication
table was divinely inspired, that does no good. The question is,
is it correct? So I think that in the world of morals, we must
prove that a thing is right or wrong by experience, by analogy,
not by miracles. There is no fact in physical science that can be
supernaturally demonstrated. Neither is there any fact in the
moral world that could be substantiated by miracles. Now, then,
keeping in mind that by Christianity I mean the supernatural in
that system, of course I am just as far away from it as I can get.
For the man Christ I have respect. He was an infidel in his day,
and the ministers of his day cried out blasphemy, as they have been
crying ever since, against every person who has suggested a new
thought or shown the worthlessness of an old one.

Now, as to the third part of the question, the Bible. People say
that the Bible is inspired. Well, what does inspiration mean?
Did God write it? No; but the men who did write it were guided by
the Holy Spirit. Very well. Did they write exactly what the Holy
Spirit wanted them to write? Well, religious people say, yes. At
the same time they admit that the gentlemen who were collecting,
or taking down in shorthand what was said, had to use their own
words. Now, we all know that the same words do not have the same
meaning to all people. It is impossible to convey the same thoughts
to all minds by the same language, and it is for that reason that
the Bible has produced so many sects, not only disagreeing with
each other, but disagreeing among themselves.

We fin