"When Jesus discerned that his claims were more readily accepted by
the poorer and more ignorant class of people, he lauded them in his
teachings, while the learned and more respectable classes were subjected
to his abuse and sarcasm.
"By his unusual tactics" overcame the prejudices of his enemies and,
for a long time, escaped punishment. But finally he was arrested and
convicted and, notwithstanding his so-called Divine power, he came to
an inglorious end by death on a cross. His friends, unable to prevent
his cursed death, quickly formed a plot to perpetuate his doctrines.
They carried out their plot by stealthily robbing Christ's body from
the grave and secretly burying it elsewhere, and then spreading the
news that he, of his own power, came forth from the grave. To complete
the fraud they also claimed, a little later, that he had ascended into
Heaven. What was the purpose of all this? It was to prove that Christ
was Divine and thereby to make his teachings authoritative and eternal.
"I wish to inform you that the manuscripts and parchments, in sub-
department number six of this hall, all point to the fact that Jesus
Christ was born like any other babe and that his father was Joseph.
Dishonest, indeed, is any one who would rob Joseph of this honor.
'Honor to whom honor is due.' While Christ was a great man, he never
had in him the elements of Divinity. Let millions in the world glory
in their imaginary theology, yet that is no reason why scholarly
research should be put to naught, or why it should be sacrificed. We
are living in the morning twilight of a better day when God shall be
worshiped and Jesus Christ ignored when all thought of Divinity will
center at the true focus and a man will no longer receive the glory
that belongs to God."
The vigorous applause which followed the remarks of this speaker fell
with grating horror on my ears. "Can it be possible," thought I, "that
any one can publicly teach such doctrines of Hell, and be thus
applauded? Whither are so many of the church and the world drifting
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