"What shall we believe and do in order to be saved?" is an all-important query, and one which daily occupies the minds of millions of earth's inhabitants of all countries and all climes. There are ten thousand answers to this question, and they are as conflicting as the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel No two religious orders, and scarcely any two religious believers agree with respect to the all-important answer to be rendered to this all-important question. To prove this, we will interrogate the disciples of all the leading religious orders who have found a place in the world's history, and compare their answers, and observe the result. Commencing in the order of time, the disciples of the Vedas will be the first we will interrogate, as they represent the oldest religious faith that has ever been promulgated in the world.

I. HINDOO'S ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

Well, brother Hindoo, will you be so good as to answer this question, "What shall we do and believe in order to be saved?" "Oh, yes!" responds the devout worshiper of Brahma, pointing to a stone arched pagoda. "Go and prostrate yourself in that holy building, made venerable by a thousand years' devotion, and offer up prayer and praise to Brahma, and, if you have committed any sins, implore his forgiveness. You must also believe in his Holy Book, the Vedas, and obey its precepts, which enjoin virtue and holiness, and forbid theft, robbery, murder, lying, dishonesty, adultery, and other crimes; and you must not only believe in the Holy Book as God's revealed will to mankind, but you must believe it is all true,—every word of it. You must believe, also, that it existed in the mind of the great God Brahma from all eternity; and some nine thousand years ago was revealed by him to certain holy men, known as rishis, or prophets, who recorded it in a book for the instruction and salvation of the world; and that this divinely revealed and perfect book contains all knowledge, past, present, and future, and all the religion necessary to save the whole human race. And, if you would become a true-born saint [i.e., in Christian language, "regenerated and born again"], you must read the Holy Book through upon your bended knees. [And thousands of its most pious and devout disciples have performed this humble and laborious task.] And if you would advance still farther in soul-purification and true sanctity, so as to become a thrice-born saint [for they hold that the oftener you are born the better], then you must commit the divine volume all to memory. [And many of them, we are assured, have accomplished this herculean task.] But you can not attain to complete and perfect holiness as a Hindoo saint, unless you forsake the busy scenes of life, retire to lonely places, and devote yourselves to a life of religious contemplation." By leading this austere, self-denying life, they hold that men and women can attain to complete holiness, and draw near to the spirit of God, and become so exalted in his favor as to receive important revelations from him, and be enabled by him to perform great miracles, such as casting out devils, raising the dead, handling fire without being burned, and swallowing poison without being killed or injured, and finally become Gods, and ascend to heaven in mortal bodies after the manner of Enoch and Elijah. In one respect some of the sects are much more consistent than Christian professors. Believing, as Christians have always professed to do, that sickness is often sent by God as a punishment for sin, they never send for a physician, nor allow one to treat the case; because, as they argue, trying to cure it would be trying to counteract the judgment of God, and thus bring down his vengeance upon the heads of those guilty of this sin. Here Christians might learn an important moral lesson of the heathen,—that of living up to the doctrines they preach.

We have, then, the Hindoo answer to the question, "What must we do and believe in order to be saved?"

THE EGYPTIAN'S ANSWER.

Well, brother disciple of the old Egyptian religion, let us hear your answer to the question, "What must we do and believe in order to be saved?"—"Well," replies the believer in this ancient order of faith, "if you would make a sure thing of escaping the pangs of hell, and being saved in the heavenly mansion, you must not neglect to pray daily to the great God Tulis, crucified some twenty-eight hundred years ago for the sins of mankind; and, if you have committed any sin, you must pray to him to have them canceled from 'The Book of Life.' [For the ancient Egyptians believed and taught that our evil deeds, as well as our good deeds, are recorded in 'The Book of Life,' in which St. John represents (see Rev. 22-19.) our good deeds alone as being registered.] And, if you would make a sure thing of being saved in 'the day of judgment,' you must intercede with Divine Mercy to erase your evil deeds from this Book of Life, so that they will not stand against you in that solemn hour." Here we find a few of the duties enumerated which the disciples of that ancient system of religion believed and taught were necessary to be comprised in your religious creed in order to be saved in the great day of accounts.

THE CHINESE ANSWER.

We will now interrogate the representative of the religion of "The Five Volumes," and hear his answer to this most important question that ever occupied the thoughts of the human mind. Well, then, brother Chinaman, please tell us what we shall do and believe in order to reach the heavenly kingdom when compelled to quit the things of time. "Why, the most important thing of all is, to perform your daily vows to God, and worship him through images prepared to represent him, whether those images are made of wood or stone or metal, though you are not to consider these images as the veritable living and true God." For no nation was ever so brainless or stupid as to believe that idols or images made of mere inanimate matter were living beings, much less a living God. No! the images which have been represented by Christian writers as being objects of worship in numerous heathen countries have been nothing more than mere imaginary likenesses of the Divine Being, and were gotten up for the same purpose that Christian men obtain photograph likenesses of their absent friends, and hang them on the walls of their dwellings. The object is simply to keep the images of our friends impressed on our minds in their absence; and the same motive actuates the idolater in making supposed images of an absent God. The object is simply to have something before them that will keep them in remembrance of him, and his laws and commandments,—a very laudable motive, most certainly. They are idolaters, it is true; and so are all nations who believe in a personal God, whether called Jew, pagan, or Christian: for idolatry is defined to be "image-making and image-worship;" and both of these acts all religious nations have been addicted to (Christians not excepted). This can be seen in a moment, when we look at the essential nature of idolatry; that is, the making and worship of images. All images are first formed in the mind. The Christian forms his conception of a personal God in his mind; and the pagan does the same. Both thus make their mental images of God. The only difference in the two cases is, the pagan goes one step farther, and represents his image in wood, stone, or metal; but it is no more an image than while it existed only in the mind. Then it is evident there is no essential difference between them. Both are idolaters. For a further elucidation of this subject, see the chapter on idolatry. And, if you would be saved by the Chinese religion, there are some practical duties you must perform. You must live up to the golden rule incorporated in their Bible nearly twenty-five hundred years ago. You must also observe the rite of water-baptism; for it has been a religious ordinance amongst them for several thousand years. And, if you would attain to complete holiness, you must be kind to all human beings, and even all animals. Kill no living thing, and eat nothing after sundown. Then you can be saved by their religion.

THE PERSIAN'S AND CHALDEAN'S ANSWER.

Brothers of the religion of Iran, can you tell us what to do and believe in order to be saved? "Yes, indeed. First of all, you must believe 'God's Living Word,' the Zenda Avesta; for that is the meaning of the term. Zenda means 'the life' or 'the living,' and Avesta, 'the word of God.' And you must live up to its holy precepts, which will keep you from committing sin, and prompt you to lead a virtuous life. You must also say grace, both before and after eating, as that was their ancient custom. But you are forbidden to speculate in any of the necessaries of life so as to cause suffering among the poor. And their Bible declares that he who hoards up grain, and holds it for a high price, is responsible for all the famine and all the misery that may take place among the people. [I would recommend modern Christian speculators to borrow this heathen code, and learn from it some important moral lessons.] To insure salvation under this religion, you most also believe in 'Mithra the Mediator,' crucified for the sins of the world some three thousand three hundred years ago by wicked hands, but in no case make any idols or images of God; for their religion practically condemns idolatry."

THE JAPANESE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

We will now hear from a "heathen" nation distinguished for good sense, good morals, and practical honesty.

Tell us, then, brother Japanese, what we must do and believe in order to be saved. "Well, first of all, you must keep the Christian Bible out of your houses. Don't suffer it to enter your doors. Let all Bibles alone, and obey the inward monitions of your own souls. Your own conscience and experience and moral sense will teach you that it is wrong to lie, wrong to swear, wrong to steal, wrong to cheat, wrong to get drunk, wrong to fight, and wrong to kill." Now let us learn something about the moral character and practical lives of this "heathen nation," who, for more than two hundred years, have kept Christian Bibles and Christian missionaries out from among them, most of the time by positive law. Dr. Oliphant and Col. Hall, who both spent some considerable time amongst them, state that they are an honest, upright, moral, and sober people. With respect to honesty of dealing, sobriety, and abstinence from swearing, quarreling, fighting, or any of the common vices of society, the best authorities assure us that no Christian nation on earth will compare with them; and yet they conscientiously refrain from reading the Christian Bible. (See Chapter L. of this work.) What a startling disproof is here furnished to the declaration of Christian writers that the introduction of the Christian Bible, and the establishment of the Christian religion amongst the heathen, are essential to the existence of good morals amongst them! In many cases more good would be effected by reversing the practice, and sending heathen missionaries into Christian nations, as the pious pagans of China, India, and the Friendly Isles have all been talking of doing; and some of the godly people of India have already entered upon the work.

THE MAHOMEDAN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

Brother disciple of the Koran, will you please to tell us what the one hundred and fifty million of followers of the great prophet believe is necessary to do and believe in order to be saved? "Yes, certainly. The devout believers in this soul-saving religion have understood this question for more than a thousand years, and know exactly how to answer it. You must believe that the Holy Book (the Koran) is God's last revelation, and his last will and testament to mankind; and you must shape your practical lives by its precepts, which will make you 'true saints,' and honest, upright, and righteous men and women. You must also believe that the great prophet is the true, holy, and appointed messenger of God, and that Allah is the only true God. To believe, as Christians do, that God is divided into three persons or beings, or three attributes, or three branches, known as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is not only a monstrous absurdity, but a monstrous sin and an unpardonable blasphemy; and no man or woman who holds such doctrine can be saved. God is but one, and Allah is his name, and you must worship him seven times a day; and on the sabbath day (Friday) you must present yourselves at the mosque with the Holy Book in your hand, which, having kissed, you are then to place it upon the holy altar, and listen while the priest explains its great truths and its profound and godly mysteries." And "on such occasions," says Major Denham, "tears flow in abundance, as under Christian preaching."

Here, then, you have the terms of salvation and the road marked cut to heaven by the believers in the Koran.

THE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES' ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

And now, brethren of the Christian faith, we will listen with attention to your answer to the important question, "What shall we do and believe in order to be saved?" But Christian sects are so numerous, and their views so conflicting, we can only find room for the answers of a few of the leading churches.

THE CATHOLIC'S ANSWER.

Well, brother Roman Catholic, as you represent the oldest Christian denomination in existence, we will first hear from your Church in answer to this great question, "What shall we do and believe in order to be saved?"—"Well, the question is easily answered. You must believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God; that Jesus Christ is the son of God; and that St. Peter, succeeded by the Pope, is his vicegerent on the earth. You must also worship, or at least believe in the divinity of, the Father, son, and Holy Ghost, and the Virgin Mary; and adhere to the various rites and ceremonies of the Church."

THE GREEK CHRISTIAN'S ANSWER.

Well, brother disciple of the Greek Church, "what shall we do and believe in order to be saved?" What do you think of the Roman Catholic's answer? Is it correct? "No, indeed: far from it. It is an insult to God the Father and God the Son both to put either St. Peter or the Pope at the head of the Church. That is the office and mission of Jesus Christ the Savior; and he will never save you while you believe such blasphemous doctrine." Away then goes the old mother-church, with her hundred and fifty millions of souls, down into the bottomless pit, being ruled out of heaven by the Greek Church; that is, doomed to eternal perdition, according to the testimony of the Greek Church.

THE PRESBYTERIAN'S ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

Well, brother of the Presbyterian order, we will now listen to your answer to the great question, "What shall we do and believe in order to be saved?" How about the Greek Christian's answer to the question? Is it right? Does he hold the true doctrine, or not? "No: very far from it, indeed. Like the Roman Christian, he believes in the divinity of the Virgin Mary, and consequently he is an idolater and no idolater can be admitted into the kingdom of 'Heaven." So away goes the old Greek Church, with her seventy million disciples, down into the world of endless woe, if the testimony of our Presbyterian brother is to be relied upon. And thus two-thirds of all Christendom, comprising the disciples of the Romish Church and the Greek Church, are doomed to an endless hell, according to their own witnesses.

THE UNITARIAN CHRISTIAN'S ANSWER.

Our Unitarian brother will now please come forward, and tell us "what we must do and believe in order to be saved." Do you indorse any of the answers already obtained, or agree with any of the churches which have been interrogated upon this subject, or not? "No: very far from it." What! you don't dissent from the views of the Presbyterian Church upon this question, do you? "Yes, I do: for they worship 'the man Christ Jesus' (as Paul truly calls him), and, being but a man, they are idolaters (like the Roman and Greek Christians) for worshiping him as a God, and therefore cannot be saved, according to the Bible. He was born as a man; he lived as a man; he ate as a man; he walked as a man; he talked as a man; he slept as a man, and finally died as a man. And he calls himself 'the son of man' more than forty times, which would make him a man. For these and various other reasons we believe he could not have been a God, but only a man; and therefore those who worship him as a God are guilty of idolatry,—the most heinous sin a man can commit, according to the Bible. And hence they can not possibly be saved, if the Bible teaches truly." Away then goes four hundred Protestant sects to the regions of eternal torment, if the testimony of Christian witnesses is to be believed and accepted in the case.

THE JEW'S ANSWER TO THE QUESTION.

Brother Jew, can you show us the road to salvation, or tell us what to do and believe in order to be saved? "Oh, yes! it is a plain question, and easily answered. You must believe that the Old-Testament Scriptures are the inspired word of God, and believe in its miracles and prophecies, though you are not to interpret or construe any of its prophecies as foretelling the coming and mission of Christ; for, as we wrote them, we of course know exactly what they teach, and how to understand them. And we know most positively that they do not foretell the coming and mission of any such a being as Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah."

"Now, look here, you wicked Jews," exclaim a hundred Christian sects, "you are denying 'the Lord who bought you' and therefore can not be saved." So six millions of Jews are consigned by their Protestant brethren to endless torment,—given over to the buffetings of Satan to all eternity.

Brother Methodist, perhaps you can do something towards settling this vexed and puzzling question, "What must we do and believe in order to be saved?"—"Certainly," exclaims the pious disciple of Wesley. "It is perfectly plain, and easily answered. You must believe in the Bible as the revealed will and word of God, and in Jesus Christ 'the Son and sent of God;' and pour out your souls in prayer and praises to God, and shout 'Glory' to his holy name."—"Stop! stop!" cries out the good, pious, quiet, broad-brimmed Quaker. "You can not be saved in that way. You drown the inward monitor of the Holy Spirit, which must be listened to and obeyed in order to insure salvation. You, by your noisy way of worshiping God, drown the voice of this inward monitor, and consequently hear and heed not its admonitions; thus proving that you know nothing about the true way of worshiping God, or what true religion is. And therefore there is no chance for you to be saved." And thus two millions of Methodists are doomed to eternal woe by their Quaker brethren.

THE BAPTIST'S ANSWER

Brother Baptist, will you give us your opinion, or answer the question, "What shall we do and believe in order to be saved?"

—"Oh, yes! the Bible is so plain upon that subject that no honest reader can misunderstand it. You are to believe in the Bible; believe in Jesus Christ, and live up to his precepts; and believe in, and practically observe, the sacred ordinance of water-baptism,—without which, according to the Bible, it is impossible to reach the kingdom, or inherit life everlasting."—"Stop, stop!" exclaims the drab-cloth Quaker again. "I perceive that the Baptists, as well as the Methodists, are not on the road to salvation. No man or woman can be saved who believes in, and relies upon, the external and carnal rite of water-baptism. It is a reliance of such outward performances that causes millions of ignorant and unconverted heathen to sink to endless ruin every year. They and you are dwelling in the outer court, and practically know nothing about the true religion essential to salvation, and hence can not be saved."

—"Now, look here," exclaims the Campbellite Baptist, "water-baptism is one of the positive ordinances; and the Bible declares that no man or woman can be saved without a compliance with all the ordinances, from the least to the greatest. Therefore there is no chance for you infidel Quakers to get to heaven; but you will, sooner or later, be consigned to the pit 'where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.'" And thus we might pursue the conflicting jargon of answers through all the churches. But we stop confused and confounded amid chaos, confusion, and contradiction. All seems to be wild conjecture and blind guess-work with regard to what we must do and believe in order to be saved. There appears to be no way of learning any thing about the road to salvation by the churches. What is to be done?

THE QUAKER'S ANSWER.

Brother Quaker, as you profess to get light from above, perhaps you can throw some light on this dark question. We have not yet heard your answer to this puzzling question. Can you tell us "what to do and believe in order to be saved"? "Most certainly I can," replies the inspired disciple of Fox and Penn. "There can be no mistake about what the Bible teaches on the subject. It is perfectly plain, and easily understood. You are to retire into the quiet, and turn your minds inward with a prayerful desire to know the will of God. In this state of mind, open your Bible and you will learn that you are to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, and become established in the true faith: for the Bible declares that, 'without faith, it is impossible to please God;' that is, faith in his beloved Son, whom he sent into the world to die a propitiatory offering for the sins of man."—"What!" exclaims the Hicksite Quaker, "do you mean to teach the dark and bloody doctrine of the atonement? Do you mean to say that we have to swim through blood to get to 'the house of many mansions'? If you do, you are egregiously mistaken. You are teaching and preaching an old, worn-out, bloody, heathen doctrine that never did and never can save a single soul."—"Now, look here," cries the Orthodox Quaker, "the Bible declares, 'There is no other name given under Heaven whereby men can be saved than that of Jesus Christ;' and you are blaspheming his name by denying the efficacy of his death and sufferings. Therefore your chance for salvation is a hopeless one. You will be lost, and consigned to the pit where there is eternal weeping and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." So away go both the Quaker orders, each booked by the other for eternal perdition. But we most stop, or we will swell this chapter on the war of conflicting creeds to a volume. We have now interrogated all the leading churches relative to what it is necessary to do and believe in order to make a sure thing of salvation, and escape the awful and dreadful fate of endless damnation. And what is the result? No two churches—and it could easily be shown that scarcely any two Christians—agree upon this all-important question, upon which they tell us is hung the salvation of the world. As we have shown, the churches all virtually shut the door of heaven against each other. They are all off the track, all on the road to eternal damnation, according to the testimony of their own witnesses. In the name of God, what is the use or sense, then, of professing to believe in the Bible, or claiming to be Christians, when it is thus demonstrably proved that nobody knows any thing about what the Bible teaches, or what it takes to make a Christian? The picture we have presented is no mere fancy sketch. It is not the work of mere imagination. Hundreds, if not thousands, of quotations could be furnished from the writings of eminent Christian writers of the different churches to show that it is a solemn reality, and that they differ in the way, and as widely, as we have represented. And what is the solemn lesson taught by it? Why, the absolute impossibility of our finding the road to heaven through the churches and it is an entire waste of time, besides being demoralizing to the mind, to attempt it. We are often told by the orthodox Christians, by way of defending their creeds, that the churches are agreed upon all the leading doctrines of the Christian faith.

Well, let us see how this is, and whether they in reality agree upon any thing. We will institute another court of inquiry, and briefly examine and compare the views of the various churches relative to the cardinal doctrines of the Christian religion.

1. Moral Depravity.—The first in order will be the fall and depravity of man.

Well, brother Calvinist, as you hail from the oldest Protestant Church, we will first solicit your views upon this all-important question. We wish to know whether you believe that man fell from a state of purity, and became morally depraved by the fall. "Oh, yes! we believe he fell so low that he became totally depraved by the fall; so that all men are now the children of wrath, born in sin, and conceived in iniquity, and covered with corruption from the crown of the head to the sole of the foot."

Brother Arminian, what do you think of this view of the matter? Is it Bible doctrine, or not? "No: it is neither according to the Bible, nor according to common sense, but a damnable doctrine, that will send any man's soul to hell who believes in such outrageous doctrine. It is not only untrue, but it is demoralizing to rob man so completely of his moral attributes as to make him feel like a brute, and, consequently, act like one."

2. Man's Restoration.—How is this to be effected, brother Calvinist? "Why, by the outpouring of the blood of Christ, the propitiatory offering." Brother Arminian, is this true Christian doctrine? "No, it is not. Man's salvation is effected in no such a way. Every man is to work out his own salvation. I can prove it by the Bible."

3. Endless Punishment.—Most Protestant sects hold and preach that the wicked, when they die, are consigned to a place or state called "the bottomless pit." (How they are kept in it with the bottom out, the Lord only knows, or perhaps we should say the Devil). But the Universalists affirm that the Bible teaches no such doctrine, but tells us that, "as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive;" which proves, as they affirm, the ultimate salvation of all the human race. But the Restorationists prove that there is "a mediate place for souls, which is neither heaven nor hell, but a preliminary and a temporary abode for all souls, good and bad." And there is another class of Christians who find in the same book a still different doctrine, that of the absolute and total destruction of the wicked. They quote Phil. 3-19. Which of these four Christian sects teach the true Bible doctrine? Who can tell?

4. Divinity of Christ.—Most of the Protestant sects tell us that the Bible makes a belief in the supreme divinity of Jesus Christ essential to salvation; but the Parkerite Christian, the Hicksite Christian, and the Unitarian Christian affirm that it does not, that it only makes him a perfect or superior specimen of manhood. Which is right? Who can tell?

5. Polygamy.—Most of the churches once believed that polygamy is a Bible doctrine, and practiced it for eight hundred years. But now they tell us it is not. The Mormons, however, declare that it is sanctioned in the Old Testament, and not condemned in the New, and hence is a Bible doctrine. Which is right? How can we tell?

6. Marriage.—Nearly all the sects hold that marriage is a Bible institution. But the Shakers declare that it is not, and quote Christ's own words to prove it as found in Luke 20-35. "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage; but they who shall be counted worthy of that world, and the resurrection, neither marry nor are given in marriage." They reasonably conclude that those who shall not be considered worthy of being saved (which includes all married people) will not be saved, being cut off by Christ's positive prohibition of marriage. Which is right? Who can tell? The text, however, furnishes a consoling hope for old bachelors and old maids, to say the least.

7. The Sabbath.—Most of the churches keep the first day of the week as the Bible sabbath. But the Seventh-day Baptists affirm that it is not, that the seventh day of the week is the true sabbath of the Lord; while other sects tell us that Christ, both by precept and example, labored to do away with all sabbath observances and all holy days. Which is right? Who can tell?

8. The Godhead.—All Trinitarians teach that there are three persons in the Godhead. The Paulite Christians say there are but two, while the Unitarians affirm there is but one. Which is right? Who can tell?

9. Baptism.—The churches are not agreed with regard to baptism as to what it is, how, and when it should be applied, and on whom it should be administered. Some hold to dipping, some to douching, and some to sprinkling, as the scripture mode of administering it. Which is right? Who can tell?

I should prefer the dipping process. It would do something toward saving the body of the sinner from disease, if not the soul from hell, if frequently applied. He should be baptized once a week, if not once a day, with water and soap. We have now enumerated nearly all the leading doctrines of the Christian faith, and shown that the views of the churches, with respect to them, are about as different as day from night. The important query then arises, What progress have we made towards determining, by the Bible or by the churches, what we must do and believe in order to be saved? Why, about the same progress the boy had made toward reaching the schoolhouse, who, on being interrogated by the teacher as to the cause of his late appearance, replied, "Why, master, you see the road was so slippery, that, when I attempted to take one step forward, I slipped two steps backward."—"How did you manage to get here, then?" asked the teacher. "Why," replied Tom, "I turned round and went the other way." I would suggest that the churches try this policy of turning round, and going the other way. My conviction is they would find the true road to salvation much sooner, and be better prepared to settle the question as to what they should do and believe in order to be saved. It is a question, however, they never can settle. The Bible is a very old book; and, the farther we get away from the age in which it was written, the more difficult it will become to understand it: for human language, and even human thought and the meaning of words, are constantly changing. These circumstances will constantly augment the difficulty of ever understanding any old Bible, or of determining what it teaches or designed to teach with respect to an important doctrine.

10. The Number of Hells.—When the disciple of the Christian faith talks of a hell in the presence of a Hindoo, he tells him he don't know any thing about the matter: that there are no less than three institutions of this kind. But here the Mahomedan rises up, and says, "You, too, are totally ignorant on the subject; for there are no less than seven institutions of this character. One of them is set apart for Christians who believe in the divinity and atonement of Christ." Lieut. Lynch, of the United-States navy, says that a Mahomedan told him, "No man or woman can be saved who believes that God was born of a woman, and then became a malefactor to a human tribunal; for the doctrine is blasphemous." Which of all these opinions is right? Who can tell?

11. Bible Doctrines constantly changing.—The increase of intelligence, and the growth and expansion of the human mind, have the effect to change the views of the people generally and constantly upon almost every subject that occupies the mind; so that the creeds of the churches are constantly changing. Hence the Bible is made to teach widely different doctrines in different ages; and what is Christianity to-day is infidelity to-morrow, and vice versÂ. (See Chapter lviii.) And so thorough is the change wrought upon the meaning or interpretation of nearly all the important texts in "God's perfect revelation," that it virtually makes a new Bible for each generation. I will present some proofs and illustrations of this statement by comparing the doctrine of the churches of the last century with those of the present. In the days of Jonathan Edwards, a hell, constituted of a lake of fire and brimstone, was preached in nearly all the Christian churches; also the doctrine of infant damnation, when the Methodists sang that beautiful and charming hymn,—

also the doctrine of predestination, the doctrine of election and reprobation, the doctrine of purgatory, the doctrine of Christ's descent into hell, &c. All these and other similar doctrines were preached in nearly every pulpit nearly every sabbath; and the preacher who would have neglected to preach these doctrines would have been denounced as on the road to hell. But now the clergyman who should attempt to preach these old Calvinistic tenets would be denounced as "an old fogy." Hence the important query arises, When were the churches preaching Bible doctrine, then or now? Who can tell? Such changes are unceasingly going on. Important changes are sometimes made in the popular creed in a few years' time, as we will cite a case to prove. Just before the last war the peace doctrine was becoming quite popular in nearly all the churches, and sermons were often preached from such texts as the following: "Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more." But, when the war broke out, new texts were hunted up, and the preaching all ran in the opposite direction. "Cursed be he who holseth back his sword from blood" (Jer. xlviii. 10); "He who hath not a sword, let him sell his coat, and buy one,"—then constituted the texts for a sound sermon. Now it is evident that a book which thus teaches opposite doctrines virtually teaches nothing. Its moral force is destroyed. If a man wants to perform a certain act to-day, and an act of an opposite character to-morrow, and can find a warrant for both in the Bible, then it is evident the Bible can have no effect whatever towards changing his course of life. When every moral duty is both commanded and countermanded, and every crime both sanctioned and condemned, as appears to be the case with the Christian Bible, then it is evident that a man with the Bible would act exactly as the man without the Bible; for whatever he may naturally feel inclined to do, or whatever he wants to do, he finds Bible authority for. Hence it is evident the Bible can't change his conduct in the least; for it merely tells him to do what he wishes to do, and had made up his mind to do. I will prove this position by citing several cases for illustration. We will suppose a man has become convinced by observation, or his own experience, that it is wrong to drink intoxicating liquors, and wants Bible authority for preaching temperance. He can find it by turning to Isa. v. 22: "Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine." But a friend of his, a member of the same church, living in the city, where there is great demand for intoxicating beverages, wants to make some money by selling it. He finds the authority for that act also in Deut. xiv. 26: "Thou shalt spend thy money for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatever thy soul lusteth after." Another Christian becomes very angry, and filled with the spirit of a murderer towards a neighbor, and concludes to kill him. He finds Bible authority for it in the text, "Go ye out and slay every man his companion, every man his brother, and every man his neighbor" (Exod. xxxii. 27). Another pious Christian has become convinced, by "the logic of history," that all war and fighting is wrong, and hence concludes to preach the doctrine of peace. He finds Bible authority for that in the Decalogue: "Thou shalt not kill." Another devout Christian, whose common sense has taught him that it is wrong for one human being to enslave another, wants Bible authority against the practice. He finds it in the text, "Thou shalt proclaim liberty through all the land," &c. Another godly saint, living in a slave-holding country, and being both a tyrant and a mammon worshiper, wants Bible authority for trafficking in the blood and bones of his fellow-beings. He finds it in Lev. xxv. 45: "Of the heathen round about you shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids, and they shall be your possession for ever;" so he knows it is all right. And thus this exposition might be continued so as to show that there is no crime, no sin, no vice, and no wicked deed but that is both sanctioned and condemned by "God's Holy Word," and no moral duty that is not both commanded and countermanded; thus proving it to be absolutely impossible to follow it as a guide without being led into the commission of every species of sin, crime, and abomination, as well as prompted to the practice of virtue. Every person who has not made shipwreck of common sense must see at once that it is utterly impossible to learn any thing about what is right and what is wrong, what is sin and wickedness, and what is virtue, what is morality and what is immorality, or what he should approve, and what condemn, what he should do and what leave undone, or, finally, any thing about the duties of life or the rules and principles of morality, by such a book. What can such a book, then, be worth, either in the cause of religion or morality? Where, oh! where is the common sense of Christendom? It is wonderful to what extent rationality and good sense have been banished from the human mind in all Bible countries by a false and perverted education. It can not be wondered at that we have so many antagonistic churches with innumerable conflicting creeds, when we examine and learn something about the endless contradictions and confusion of the teachings of the book on which they are founded.

SIX HUNDRED ROADS TO HEAVEN.

We are swamped with endless difficulties in determining what to do and believe in order to be saved either by the Bible or the churches, when we look at the fact that there are, as some writers have computed, more than six hundred conflicting churches, each one claiming to preach and to teach the only true and saving faith of the gospel and yet differing heaven-wide with respect to what constitutes that true and saving faith. They point out six hundred roads to heaven, when Christ says there is but one,—"One Lord, one faith, and one baptism." The churches are simply guessing institutions, and their creeds so many stereotyped systems of guess-work. How much has been learned, or what important questions have been settled, either in religion or morals, by the nearly two thousand years' reading and study of the Christian Bible? The six hundred jarring churches, and their constantly increasing number, furnish a sufficient answer to this question. What a ludicrous aspect would the cause of science now be in, and what torrents of ridicule and contempt would be poured upon our institutions of learning, if they differed in their principles, or with respect to the principles of any branch of science, as the churches differ with respect to the doctrine of the Bible! We will illustrate by an imaginary examination of the students of one of our institutions of learning with respect to their attainments in mathematics. A class having recited, we will interrogate each one separately. "Well, John, as you have been studying figures several years, can you now tell us how many are twice two?"—"Yes, sir: twice two are six."—"Very well: take your seat. The next student will rise. James, can you tell us how many are twice two?"—"Yes, I can: twice two are eleven."—"Very well: be seated, and let Tommy rise. Tommy, as you are a diligent student, and have been through the arithmetic and the principal text-books, please tell us how many are twice two."—"I will. It is a plain case: twice two are fourteen."—"Very well: stand aside. That intelligent-looking boy yonder we will hear from now. Well, Moses, can you tell us, as the result of your five years' close study of mathematics, how many are twice two?"—"Certainly I can. To be nice and exact about the matter, twice two are nine and a half."—"Very well: I am done with you. There is one more student to be interrogated. Well, Solomon, can you do any thing towards settling the disputed question, how many are twice two?"—"Yes: I am astonished there should be any difference of opinion about the matter, when it is plain that no person who is really in earnest to understand it can fail to see that twice two are seventeen." Such an institution of learning as this would be broken up as a nuisance in less than two hours after it was known to exist; and yet it furnishes a striking illustration of the character and condition of our theological institutions in which are professedly taught the science of Christianity and the Bible. The difference among the professors and students of theology is as great and important as in the former supposed case; and were not the eyes of the soul put out, and the Christian sectarians rendered blind by their false or mistaken teachers, they would see that this is a true picture of their condition. We will institute another illustration. The Christian churches are virtually six hundred guide-boards professedly pointing the way to heaven. Let us suppose a traveler, hunting his way to "the Queen City of the West," finds on a hill a tree or post, to which are nailed six hundred guide-boards pointing in six hundred different directions, and all labeled "To Cincinnati." How much would he learn from them about the proper road to travel to reach the city? The chance of striking the right course would lay within six hundred guesses; and those guesses could be made as well without the guide-boards as with them. And it is equally certain, and most self-evidently certain, that the road to heaven could be found as well if there were no churches and no Bibles pointing six hundred different directions. Indeed, the chances of finding it would be much better without them, because the minds of the people are confused and confounded, and their time wasted, their mental and spiritual vision darkened, and their judgments weakened, by attempting to grope their way through such a labyrinth of chaos, confusion, and uncertainty, which really incapacitates them for searching and finding the right way and the sure road "to the kingdom."

ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY BIBLE TRANSLATIONS AND COMMENTARIES.

When we learn that there have been no less than one hundred and fifty different translations and commentaries upon the Bible put in circulation, we can see at once that this is calculated to greatly augment the difficulty of ever arriving at any thing like a unity of belief among the churches, or of settling the question as to what it is necessary to do and believe in order to be saved, or of finding the road to heaven through the churches. Translation after translation of the Bible has been made by different churches, each one alleging that all preceding translations were full of errors. The learned Dr. Robinson of England has estimated that some of the modern translations of the Bible, made for the special purpose of getting the errors out of "the Holy Book," contain the frightful number of one hundred and fifty thousand errors; and the American Christian Union, now engaged in translating the Bible, declare that our present popular version, translated by fifty-four of the most learned Christian scholars, and which has long been an established standard authority in a large portion of Christendom and regarded as nearly perfect, yet contains twenty-four thousand errors. How many more translations we are to have, God only knows. The thought occurs here, that, by the time all the errors are gotten out of the Bible in this way, there will not be much of it left,—that it will not be much larger than "Poor Richard's Maxims," or a common-sized almanac. Now, to show the utter impossibility of establishing any doctrine or settling any question in theology by the Bible, or of learning any thing about what constitutes Christianity, or what we are to do and believe in order to be saved, we have only to compare some of these translations together, and observe the wide difference in their teachings, and the fatal contradictions in their doctrines and precepts. We will cite a few examples by way of proof and illustration. In our translation, known as "King James's Bible," a text makes Christ say, "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke xxiv. 39); but, in the most popular translation in Europe (the Royal), this text is made to read, "A spirit hath not flesh and blood, as you see I have not." Here is a direct contradiction. One of these Bibles makes Christ say he is a spirit, and the other that he is not, which is a flat, and almost a fatal, contradiction. Now, where on earth is the tribunal to which we can appeal to find out which of these translations is right? or how can the matter be settled? Again: the text which in our own version is made to read, "There are three that bare record in heaven,—the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost," reads in another translation, "There are three witnesses,—the water, the blood, and the spirit," which knocks the trinity and divinity of Jesus Christ both out of the Bible, so far as they are founded upon this text. We will cite one more example: "The wonderful Messianic prophesy" as it is called (found in Isa. ix. 6.),—which reads in our translation, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father," &c.,—is made in another translation to say, instead of "the Mighty God," "the Mighty Hero," and, instead of "the Everlasting Father," "the Father of the everlasting age," &c., which shows that the text is not a prophecy at all, and has no more reference to Jesus Christ than to Mahomet. "The Mighty Hero" is not a term that is ever applied to God but to bloody warriors. Now, who is to settle the question as to which of these translations is the right one? It will be observed, then, that we have, in the fifty contradictory translations of the Bible, no-less than fifty contradictory moral codes and fifty contradictory systems of doctrines, which are virtually fifty assumed-to-be-perfect revelations from God (of course, all infallible). Now, let us multiply the number of Christian sects (six hundred) by the number of Bible translations and commentaries (one hundred and fifty), and we will have indicated the number of roads marked out to heaven by the churches. The result is ninety thousand (600 X 150 = 90,000). Here, then, we have ninety thousand roads leading to "the house of many mansions," which suggests the conclusion that nobody can possibly miss getting there; for we must presume that it would be impossible to travel in any direction without striking one of these numerous roads: so that the world of sinners may be comforted with the assurance they will all be saved. "The broad road" they are traveling must be intersected at many points by some of these many pathways to paradise; and they have only to turn off at the last crossing to be landed safe in "kingdom come." They have therefore ninety thousand chances of being saved by traveling "the broad road," if they prefer that to one of "the straight and narrow roads." This soul-saving system may be regarded as a lottery scheme in which there are eighty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine blanks, and but one prize. Who would risk a farthing in such an investment, with eighty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine chances against drawing any thing? Certainly no person with common sense or any intelligence. We will use an illustration. We will suppose the proprietor of a brick building comprising ninety thousand, bricks, one of which contains a gold medal worth one thousand dollars, says to one of his neighbors, "Sir, the walls of this building comprise ninety thousand bricks, and one of them contains a gold medal worth one thousand dollars. If you will step to it, and put your finger on it, you can have it." Can we suppose he would be very sanguine about winning the gold medal? Certainly not. We will make another illustration. We will suppose the Queen of England sends a company of a thousand men to Australia to dig for a treasure known to have been buried there during a war, the locality of which she describes in writing so accurately that she presumes there can be no difficulty in finding it. In a few weeks she dispatches a messenger to the island to ascertain what progress the miners are making. But imagine his surprise, on reaching the place, to learn that the laborers are divided up into six hundred companies, and each company stoutly insisting that the spot where they are digging answers exactly to the locality described by the written instrument. Now, on the messenger reporting the case to the queen, what would she conclude—ay, what could she conclude—but that she had made some serious blunder or omission in her attempted description of the place? It is not possible that an explicit revelation of the matter could have led to such endless confusion and disputes. In like manner we are morally compelled to conclude—yes, every principle of reasoning and common sense impels us to the conclusion—that God has made a serious blunder in attempting to give forth a perfect revelation to the world, if (as it seems) he has left it so ambiguous, so unintelligible, and so contradictory in its doctrines and teachings, that six hundred churches have risen up, and are now disputing about what its doctrines and teachings are. These six hundred churches comprise a hundred and fifty millions of guessing Christians, all guessing their way to heaven, with ninety-thousand chances against their ever reaching the heavenly kingdom. To "the angel host" looking down, observing this infinite diversity, demoralization, and conflict among the disciples of the Christian faith, it must be regarded as a species of religious monomania; for we may assume that no intelligent mind, which is not blinded by religious superstition, could be drawn into such a delusion as to conclude that such a book or such a religion or revelation is from an all-wise and all-powerful God, or that it is necessary to believe it, or that it is possible to believe it in any rational sense, or that it can have the remotest connection with our salvation. It makes God a fool, man a lunatic, religion a farce, and the Bible superlative nonsense. Revelation is defined to be "the act of making known." But what is made known by a book whose language is so contradictory and so ambiguous that no two persons in a million agree with respect to all it teaches? Every preacher and teacher simply makes known his ignorance whenever he assumes to know what the Bible teaches; and yet i is called "a perfect revelation of God's will." It is an assumption that makes God an ignoramus and a tyrant to suppose he would give forth a perfect revelation to the world, and require us to accept it as such on pain of endless damnation, and yet leave it in such a jumbled, bungling, and unintelligent condition that it is impossible to understand it. Such an assumption certainly borders on blasphemy. We would charge him with no such driveling nonsense. It is the legitimate prerogative of reason to assume that a perfect being could make a perfect revelation or Bible, the language of which should be so absolutely perfect and plain that no person of ordinary understanding could possibly fail to understand every text, every word, and every syllable of it, and no two persons could possibly differ about the meaning of one text in the whole book. Such a revelation or Bible, and only such, could be ascribed to an all-wise God. Even men and women can now be found who are so far master of human language that they can write books so plainly that there can be no dispute about the meaning of one sentence in them. To assume, then, that an infinitely wise God could not produce such a book is to place him lower in the scale of intelligence than a common schoolboy. When, therefore, I find the Christian Bible so far from possessing such characteristics, I set it down as prima-facie evidence that an intelligent and all-wise God had nothing to do in originating it. And if he were not superior to, or incapable of, such human weakness, he would reject with contempt and disdain the honor, or rather dishonor, ascribed to him in the authorship of such a book,—such a medley of contradiction, ignorance, superstition, and barbarism as is ascribed to him.

It is sometimes alleged (as we have already observed) in defence or mitigation of the endless disputes among Christian professors about the teachings of the Bible, that this disagreement does not appertain to any of the essential doctrines of Christianity, but only to minor points, or doctrines of minor importance. But such an admission is fatal either to their honesty or to their good sense. It concedes that the quarrels among the churches for ages has been about mere trifles, not worth spending breath about. It concedes that it is "non-essentials," or mere trifles, that keep them apart, and that have led them to build five or six churches, and hire five or six priests, in every little village throughout the country, at an expense of many thousand dollars. It is certainly a criminal waste of time and money to spend it by the million for churches and priests to propagate doctrines which they themselves admit possess no real intrinsic importance. It shows they have been actuated by selfish, dishonorable, and ignoble motives in fighting each other for a thousand years, and in some cases murdering each other by the thousand, for a difference of opinion they admit to be of no importance. Those murdered Christians and devout Bible-believers were charged with preaching damnable doctrines and devilish heresies; but now we are told it was minor and unimportant doctrines that they were quarreling about, and for which they were tortured and killed for preaching. Yes, non-essential doctrine! O tempora! O mores! But they make a serious blunder when they talk about non-essential doctrine; for their Bible teaches that all doctrines are essential,—that there is no such thing as a non-essential doctrine; for it first proclaims "one Lord, one faith, and one baptism," and then declares that "he who offends in the least, offends in the whole."

These two declarations taken together prove (if they prove any thing) that there is no "non-essential doctrine," and that the slightest departure from the right faith, or the least disregard of the most trivial doctrine of the Christian creed, will land the soul of the man or woman in endless perdition who is guilty of it. The solemn question arises here, then, Who can escape eternal damnation? For, if there is only one true faith, then the hundred and forty thousand different and conflicting faiths cherished and propagated among Christians must all be wrong but one,—a fact which impels us to the awful and inevitable conclusion that not one Christian in a thousand—no, not in ten thousand—can be saved by these terms of the gospel. The thought sometimes occurs to the writer, that no truly enlightened person, possessing a true moral dignity of character, could consent to hang his salvation upon a book which, after eighteen hundred years of the most critical investigation and explanation by the most learned minds in Christendom, still remains a mystery with regard to all its most important doctrines, so that more than six hundred churches are now disputing about what it teaches; and the difficulty is still increasing by the uprising of new churches with new creeds and new interpretations of the Bible. Let the reader observe the striking difference in the harmony of views which prevail in the various scientific societies throughout the country and those of the churches, and he will discover at once that there is no science in our religion. Take for example the astronomical societies. They are all perfectly agreed with respect to what the great Bible of nature teaches concerning that science. There is no contention and no dispute with respect to the doctrines and principles of that grand revelation of nature, because they are all susceptible of proof and demonstration. Were it otherwise,—were the amateurs and students of that science divided into six hundred conflicting factions, like the churches, each with a different theory with respect to what it teaches,—one contending that the sun rises in the east, another that it rises in the west; one arguing that the sun is the revolving center of our solar system, another contending that the earth is; one teaching that the starry orbs which roll their massive forms through infinite space are mere wax tapers stuck in the azure vault to light this pigmy planet, or mere peep-holes for Gods to look out upon our world; and one arguing that they were all knocked up in a single day out of that singular substance called nothing, and another that they are the outgrowth of other worlds, or have existed from all eternity. Had the author, who was once a member of one of those societies, observed such a chaos of confusion and conflict of opinion, he would have discovered at once that nothing is realty known about the science of astronomy,—that what is called such is nothing but a jargon of conflicting dogmas and wild speculations. Hence he would not have remained with them a single day after making such a discovery. Having learned that the churches are in such a condition, he withdrew, and has not been a member of one of those discordant institutions for many years. He considers it a waste of time to be a member of a religious body which only increases this difficulty and confusion. He has but one life to live, and does not wish to waste that in a mere wild-goose chase after religious speculations that can never be settled. Why fool away our lives in chasing theological butterflies that can never be caught, when there is a hundred times as much to be learned within the domain of positive science as can be acquired in a lifetime, that is practically useful and calculated to enlarge the boundaries of our knowledge and elevate us to a higher plane of happiness, while the occupancy of the mind with theological dogmas is only calculated to "lead to bewilder, and dazzle to blind"?