t is the God they
want to put into the constitution in order to make our children gentle
and kind and loving.

You hate a God like that. I do; I despise him. And yet little
children in the Sabbath-school are taught that infamous lie. Why, I
have very little respect for an old man that will get mad about such a
thing, anyway. What would the Christian world say of me if I should
have a few children torn to pieces if they should make that remark in
my face? What would the devil have done under the same circumstances?
I tell you, I cannot worship a God who is no better than the devil! I
cannot do it. And if you will just read the old testament with the
bandage off your eyes and the cloud of fear from your heart, you will
come to the conclusion that it was written not only by men, but by
barbarians, by savages, and that it is totally unworthy of a civilized
age. I believe in no God who believes in slavery. I will worship no
God who ever said that one of His children should own another of His
children. But they say to me, there must be a God somewhere! Well, I
say I don't know. There may be. I hope there is more than one--one is
so lonesome. Just think of an old bachelor, always alone! I want more
than one. And they say, somebody must have made this! Well, I say I
don't know. But it strikes me that the indestructible cannot be
created. What would you make it of? "Oh, nothing!" Well, it strikes
me that nothing, considered in the light of a raw material, is a
decided failure. For my part, I cannot conceive of force apart from
matter, and I cannot conceive of matter apart from force. I cannot
conceive of force somewhere without acting upon something; because
force must be active, or it is not force; and if it has no matter to
act upon, it ceases to be force. I cannot conceive of the smallest
atom of matter staying together without force. Beside, if some god made
all this, there must have been some morning when he commenced! And if
he has existed always, there is an eternity back of that when he never
did anything; when he lived in an infinite hole, without side, top or
bottom! He did not think, for there was nothing to think about.
Certainly he did not remember, for nothing had ever happened. Now I
cannot conceive of this! I do not say it is not so. I may be damned
for my smartness, yet--I simply say I cannot conceive of it, that is
all. But men tell me, you cannot conceive of eternity! That is just
w