ould have
been any civilization if it had not been for this bible. Um! The Jews
had a bible; the Romans had not. Which had the greater and the grander
government? Let us be honest. Which of those nations produced the
greatest poets, the greatest soldiers, the greatest orators, the
greatest statesmen, the greatest sculptors? Rome had no bible. God
cared nothing for the Roman Empire. He let the men come up by chance.
His time was taken up by the Jewish people. And yet Rome conquered the
world, and even conquered God's chosen people. The people that had the
bible were defeated by the people who had not. How was it possible for
Lucretius to get along without the bible? How did the great and
glorious of that empire? And what shall we say of Greece? No bible.
Compare Athens with Jerusalem. From Athens comes the beauty and
intellectual grace of the world. Compare the mythology of Greece with
the mythology of Judea. One covering the earth with beauty, and the
other filling heaven with hatred and injustice. The Hindoos had no
bible; they had been forsaken by the creator, and yet they became the
greatest metaphysicians of the world. Egypt had no bible. Compare
even Egypt with Judea. What are we to do without the bible? What
became of the Jews who had no bible; their temple was destroyed and
their city was taken; and, as I said before, they never found real
prosperity until their God deserted them. Do without the bible?

Now I come again to the new testament. There are a few things in
there, I give you my word, I cannot believe. I cannot--I cannot
believe in the miraculous origin of Jesus Christ. I believe He was the
son of Joseph and Mary; that Joseph and Mary had been duly and legally
married; that He was the legitimate offspring of that marriage, and
nobody ever believed the contrary until He had been dead 150 years.
Neither Matthew, Mark nor Luke ever dreamed that He was of divine
origin. He did not say to either Matthew, Mark or Luke, or to any one
in their hearing, that He was the son of God, or that He was
miraculously conceived. He did not say it. The angel Gabriel, who,
they say, brought the news, never wrote a word upon the subject. His
mother never wrote a word upon the subject. His father never wrote a
word upon the subject. We are lacking in the matter of witnesses. I
would not believe it now! I cannot believe it then. I would not
believe people I know, much less would I believe peopl