It is a circumstance indicative of the natural moral defects of the Jewish character, that their most "holy men," who were assumed to be familiar with the counsels of Infinite Wisdom, and on terms of daily intercourse with Jehovah, yet were, according to their own history, men of such defective moral habits and moral character as to be unreliable either as examples of moral rectitude, or with respect to their prophetic utterances. We will here present a brief sketch of the character of the principal prophets, drawn from their own "inspired writings:"—

The leading prophet Isaiah says, "The priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink. They are swallowed up of wine. They are out of the way through strong drink. They err in vision. They stumble in judgment" (Isa. xxiv. 7).

Here is a sweeping charge against all the prophets,—not one of them excepted. If they err in vision (of course he means spiritual vision), then what reliance can be placed in their prophecies, especially if it is true, as he declares in chap. ix., that "the prophets teach lies"? Then we can not confide implicitly in any thing they say. This conclusion, and also the foregoing portraiture of their character, is confirmed by Hosea. 2; who says, in chap. ix., that "the Lord will punish the prophets for their sins and their iniquities;" also, "The prophet is a snare in all his ways; the prophet is a fool," &c. (Hos. ix. 7, 9). Micah says that they divined for money, and made the people err. What confidence, we ask, can be placed in men, either for truthfulness or as moral teachers, who are thus represented by their own historians and their own friends to be almost destitute of moral principle? Each one denounces all the others. The implied meaning in each case seems to be, "Take my pills, and beware of counterfeits." Zechariah, who was one of them, declared the Lord would drive them all out of the land with the unclean spirits (Zech. xiii. 2). We should not, however, be surprised to find them possessing such a character, when their God, Jehovah, is represented as being no better, and is on the same moral plane. They, in fact, make him responsible for all their moral derelictions and sinful acts by representing him as being the author or instigator. "If a prophet be deceived,... I the Lord have deceived that prophet" (Ezek. xiv. 9).

Here the word prophet is used in a general sense, so as to imply that none are excepted. Jeremiah takes God at his word when he exclaims, "O Lord, thou hast deceived me" (Jer. xx. 7).

Here, it will be observed, the moral character of Jehovah and his prophets were all cast in the same imperfect mold.

That superstition reigned supreme in the very highest order of the Jewish minds, to the exclusion of science, is shown by some of the wild, superstitious freaks of the prophets. Isaiah traveled through Egypt and Ethiopia three years stark naked (Isa. xx. 3). Such a disgusting exhibition, if attempted in this age of civilization, would terminate in a few hours by the lodgment of the lunatic in the calaboose. Jehovah, it appears, first prompted the act, and afterwards spoke approving of it by saying it was performed by "my servant Isaiah" (Isa. xx. 3).

Ezekiel and Habakkuk both would have us believe that God seized them by the hair of the head, and carried them,—the former, the distance of eight miles; and the latter, three hundred, miles. How Jehovah himself traveled while performing this feat of carrying the prophets is not explained. It must have been rather an unpleasant way of traveling, and must have caused some serious perturbation of mind lest the hair-hold should slip, and precipitate them to the ground. If this mode of travel could have been continued, it would have superseded the necessity of railroads.

Ezekiel, we are told, lay three hundred and ninety days on his left side, and forty days on his right side; and then, having swallowed a roll of parchment with the aid of Jehovah (Ezek. iii. 1), he was prepared for business. We are not told what was the object in swallowing such a formidable document, or how he managed to get into his stomach an article having a diameter four times that of his throat. Jeremiah wore cords around his neck, and a yoke on his back (rather a singular place for a yoke). Hosea claimed that God commanded him twice to go and marry a whore (Hos. i. Z). This looks like a connivance at, if not a tacit indorsement of, whoredom. Ezekiel relates a "story" about being carried by "the hand of the Lord," and set down among some old dry bones, which he proceeded to invest with human flesh and sinews, and then drew skins over them to hold the flesh and bones together (Ezek. xxx vii.). Having thus manufactured a new supply of the genus homo, he invoked the four winds to inflate their bodies with breath, when, lo! there "stood upon their feet an exceeding great army." We use his own language. Here is a story that casts all the wild and weird tales of heathen mythology in the shade. There would have been no necessity for drafting soldiers in the recent Rebellion if the country could have been blessed with such a creative genius as Ezekiel. Such stories set all logic at defiance. If the first commandment, "Multiply and replenish the earth," had been neglected so as to render it necessary to adopt another process for increasing the number of human beings, certainly a more rational and decent mode might have been invented. We will not relate any more of the curious capers of these "inspired men of God."

Some Christian writers have disposed of such erratic conduct, and such wild freaks of fancy, by assuming them to be the garb or metaphor of some great spiritual truth. This is explained by the proverb, "Necessity is the mother of invention;" but the common mind knows nothing of these inventions of the priesthood to save the credit of the Bible. Hence, whether true or false, such an explanation does not destroy the demoralizing influence of such ideas and language upon the public mind; and then it is derogatory to the character of God to assume he would do such senseless and unrighteous things as are related in some of the above cases. We insist that it would be a serious calamity upon the country to make a book containing such moral lessons, or rather immoral lessons, "the fountain of our laws and the supreme rule of our conduct," as urged by the Evangelical Alliance; and it is a sorrowful and deplorable circumstance that such a book is circulated among the heathen by the thousand as guides for their moral conduct. We wish they would refuse to accept it, as the Japanese have done in the past.

II. THE PROPHETS ELIJAH AND ELISHA.

There are some peculiar features in the history of these two Hebrew prophets, for which they seem to merit a special notice. They appear to have been on very familiar terms with Jehovah; and the whole machinery of heaven, we are led to conclude, was under their control, with no special reason why they should merit such divine partiality, as they were not overstocked with practical righteousness. The acts of raising the dead and controlling the elements appear to have been to them very common-place performances. One of Elijah's greatest miraculous feats was that of "shutting up the heavens," so that there was no dew nor rain for three years (1 Kings xvii. 1). Aside from the absolute impossibility of intercepting the action of the laws which control and regulate the entire machinery of the universe, there are several considerations which render this story wholly incredible. It appears, from the language used, that this drought extended over the whole earth, and all nations must have suffered the direful consequences; and yet none of their histories allude to it. The absence of rain and dew for three years must have caused the surface of the earth to become dry and parched to a considerable depth, particularly in the torrid zone. The creeks and rivulets must have been dried up. Every spear of grass, every tree, every plant, must have withered and perished; and all the cattle must have died for want of food and drink; and the people must have shared the same fate. Indeed, not a living thing could have been left upon the face of the earth where this drought prevailed. And yet no other history makes any allusion to such a calamity; and a circumstance which renders it more incredible is, that the moisture which is constantly ascending from the earth could not have been held in the upper strata of the atmosphere for half that period of time. When it ascends and accumulates, and becomes sufficiently condensed, it must fall in the shape of rain.

2. It appears that the prophet himself, in order to escape the fatal consequences of this terrible visitation of divine wrath, was instructed to flee, and hide near the Brook Cherith, which was in the vicinity of Jordan. Here, we are told, he was fed by a raven, which brought him both bread and water. The queries naturally arise here, Where did the raven obtain those articles of food? Why can not suffering and starvation be prevented at the present day by a similar expedient? Why should several millions of human beings have suffered a terrible death by starvation in India within a recent period, if ravens can be employed as messengers of mercy? Why should God be partial? The preservation of the life of the prophet could not have been of so much more importance, judging from his subsequent history, as he achieved but little good afterward; and, as nobody claims to have seen the raven but Elijah, the case looks a little doubtful.

3. The next miraculous feat of Elijah was that of increasing a widow's barrel of meal and cruse of oil after they were nearly exhausted, so that they lasted for many months. In nearly all such cases we find incredible features, in addition to the impossibility of performing the act. No reason can be found, in the history of this case, for bestowing such miraculous favors upon this woman that would not apply to thousands of women now, some of them even in a worse state of suffering, and in greater need of divine aid. It does not appear that the miracle had the effect to convince anybody of the might and power of his God, nor that it was designed to produce such an effect. Hence nothing was accomplished by it but the relief of the poor widow's wants, which was a very good thing; but, as we have already remarked, she had no more claim upon the benevolence and munificence of God than thousands of poor widows and others of the present day who receive no such aid.

4. The prophet performed, we are told, another miracle for the benefit of this woman, though we do not learn that she was more righteous than other women. Her son sickened and died (perhaps the meal was not in a very healthy condition); and Elijah restored him to life. If there were any truth in the story, it could be accounted for by supposing the boy was in a state of catalepsy, or trance, as life has been revived in numerous cases in persons in this condition in modern times; and the conduct of Elijah furnishes some evidence that he understood it in this light. He took the body into an upper room, so the performance should not be witnessed by any of the company (perhaps for fear of being disturbed; and he was probably apprehensive that they would suspicion, from his actions, that the boy was not dead). In fact the narrator does not say he was dead, but only that the breath had gone out of him; and this could be said in any case of swooning, trance, or catalepsy.

5. Ahab is reported as reproving Elijah for bringing so much suffering upon the people by the great drought. The reason the prophet assigns for this divine judgment is worthy of note. It was because Ahab and his subjects worshiped a false God (Baalim). This explains the whole affair. The Jews were always assuming that those who did not worship as they did worshipers of false Gods: but there is no evidence of were this, and no reason in the assumption. As St. John (i. 18) declares, "No man has seen God at any time," it follows that each worshiper, under every system of religion, pictures on the form, size, shape, and character of God for himself; and certainly, other nations had as much right to form their own mental conceptions of God as the Jews had, and were as likely to form a correct idea of him as they. They could not picture out a worse God than Jehovah. Here we have a true explanation of the reason the Jews were perpetually denouncing and would not subscribe to the Jewish creed. The Jews were creed-worshipers.

6. This conclusion is confirmed by the relation, in the next contest between the God of Elijah and the God of the prophets of Baal: We are told that Elijah's God could kindle a fire upon the altar, while theirs could not. Here is admitted the existence of other Gods. The only difference between them is, Elijah's God was a little smarter. The same thing is aimed to be shown in numerous other contests between Jehovah and other Gods. It is merely a trial of skill, strength, and knowledge.

7. And because the God of the prophets of Baal fell a little behind, and could not quite equal the achievements of Jehovah, we are told that Elijah put the prophets all to death. Here is another circumstance tending to show that Elijah could not have been a true servant of a lust God; for such a God would not sanction such cruelty. But the story carries an absurdity upon the face of it. To suppose that four hundred and fifty men would stand quietly, and submit to be slain by one man single-handed and alone, without any resistance, is altogether too incredible to be entertained for a moment.

8. The next achievement of Elijah, after eating a barley cake, baked on the coals, and drinking a cruse of water (1 Kings xix. 8), was to walk forty days and forty nights, without stopping to eat or sleep. This performance was almost equal to that of the Hindoo, Yalpa, who walked round the sun in eleven hours. One story is just as credible as the other.

9. We are told that, when Ahaziah, who succeeded his father making war on other nations: it was simply because Ahab upon the throne, got crippled by falling, and sent to consult the God of Ekron, Elijah, on hearing of it, asked why he did not consult the God of Israel (2 Kings i. G); and, when the king's messengers reported to him what the prophet Elijah had said, he sent fifty messengers to the prophet to invite him to come and see him, that he might consult with him. These messengers treated him very respectfully, and called him "the man of God;" but the prophet, we are told, instead of complying with the king's request, called down fire from heaven, which consumed the whole number. When the king heard of the circumstance, he sent fifty more messengers, who shared the same fate, and were likewise consumed by fire from heaven. An uncivil and very wicked thing for a righteous prophet to do.

10. We are told that Elijah, in the course of his travels, came to a stream of water, and took off his mantle, and smote it. The water parted hither and thither, and permitted him to walk in the bottom of the stream. Another display of his great miraculous power; but it is void of truth.

11. The last astounding feat reported of this miraculous prophet was that of ascending to heaven in a chariot of fire, with horses made of the same material. Rather a hazardous mode of traveling. This story is contradicted both by the laws of nature, and the express declaration of the Bible itself. The former teaches us that the fire would have been extinguished for want of oxygen before he had ascended many miles from the earth; and the latter declares, "Flesh and blood can not enter the kingdom of heaven;" and also that "no man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven,"—Christ Jesus (John iii. 13). There are several circumstances which render these marvelous achievements of Elijah wholly incredible, in addition to their setting aside the laws of nature. We can not learn that any good was accomplished by it. It does not appear that anybody was converted to a life of practical righteousness; while we must assume that God must have had some great purpose in view to cause him to thus set aside and trample under foot his own laws. On the other hand, a great deal of bad feeling was engendered, and a great many lives destroyed. And then there is no allusion whatever to these astonishing miracles in any other history. All these circumstances and considerations warrant us in discarding the whole affair, though Christian writers attach great importance to it.

THE FEATS OR ELISHA.

The marvelous deeds of Elisha appear to be, to a considerable extent, a mere repetition of those of Elijah. Like his predecessor, he raised a dead child to life, increased the supply of oil for a widow after it had run short, and also increased the quantity of good water for the people by a supernatural process, though not by a shower of rain, as Elijah did, after a three years drought. There is evidently a disposition to imitate and outdo his predecessor: hence he brings water without the process of rain. There are two or three incidents in his history worthy of notice:—

1. When Elijah took his perilous flight heavenward, and left him alone, we are told he rent his garments. This act, although customary among "the Lord's holy people," was rather an insane way of manifesting his grief. A man in this age doing so would be taken to the insane asylum.

2. The second performance of Elisha, deserving particular notice, was an act of malignant revenge upon some frolicsome boys reminding him that he was bald-headed. For this simple, childish, though rude, act of calling him "bald-head," we are told he caused "two bears to come out of the woods, and tear forty-two of them to pieces." Why the other children escaped this fate, we are not told. This conduct on the part of the prophet evinces a morose, cruel, and revengeful disposition, instead of a philanthropic and benevolent one, as we should have expected the Lord's chosen prophet to manifest. If the story were a credible one, it would be a stigma upon his character while it stands on the page of history.

3. There is one circumstance related in the history of Elisha which seems to indicate that he was a man of rather gross habits. It is stated, that, when he killed a yoke of oxen for food, he "boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen," and gave the people to eat (1 Kings xix. 21). We infer, from this lan guage, that the oxen were thrown into the cooking-vessel whole, without being skinned or cleaned. It most have been rather a rare dish, and a tough one also.

4. We will notice one more remarkable incident in the history of this remarkable prophet. We are told, that, as some men were felling some trees on the banks of the Jordan, one of them, by accident, let his ax fall into the stream. On the case being reported to Elisha, he soon relieved the man of his trouble by throwing a stick into the water, which caused the ax to swim. Here is another specimen of the philosophy of the Christian Bible. Heathen mythology is full of such lawless stories. When the boat in which a Hindoo was rowing capsized, and threw his dinner into the Indus, a fish was accommodating enough to arrest it in its descent, and bring it to the surface, and restore it to the hungry boatman. A very accommodating fish! as much so as the stick!

We will now take a view of the moral bearing of the stories of these great "God-chosen" and "God-favored prophets," as one Christian writer styles them. We must assume that God would not suspend the action of those laws which secure order and harmony throughout nature to perform such miracles as these prophets are represented as performing, unless some great and important end was to be accomplished by it. Well, let us see if this was the result; if not, we must assume that these miracles were never performed. According to Dr. Lardner, miracles were always designed to accomplish some great good, and generally to remove the skepticism of unbelievers, and to convince them of the mighty power of God. But we do not find that any such effects were produced by any of the miracles here reported. The performance of Elijah did not convert Ahab nor Jezebel, nor the worshipers of Baal, either to the faith or to a life of practical righteousness; nor did those of Elisha convert Naaman; nor did either of the prophets convert or reform any of the thousands of heathen in the countries through which they traveled. The contemporary kings of Judah and Israel still continued in their ungodly course as before. In a word, nobody was benefited, nobody reformed, and no good effected by any of these miracles, only to a few individuals, which could have been accommodated in the usual way,—by ordinary means. On the other hand, bad feelings were engendered, many lives lost, and much suffering caused by their miraculous proceedings. We must conclude, then, that, so far as any agency of God is claimed in the several cases, these miracles were never performed; and we have the negative testimony of history to prove still further that these miracles were never wrought. The history of no other nation mentions them, not even the three years of drought; yet Christ speaks of it, and indorses it with all its impossibilities and all its bad consequences, which is an evidence of his ignorance of natural law. As these stories, by their stultifying absurdities, do violence to our reason, and also to our moral faculties, on account of the cruelty, injustice, bloodshed (for it shows both prophets were murderers), we hold, from these considerations, that the influence of these stories is demoralizing, and that they should not be put into the hands of the heathen, as they are every year by the thousand.