PREFACE. In January, 1901, the following announcement appeared in The Truth Seeker, of New York: To the Readers of The Truth Seeker: Two years ago that able and sagacious Liberal leader, L. K. Washburn, wrote: “The next great moral revolution o ... Read more

PREFACE. In January, 1901, the following announcement appeared in The Truth Seeker, of New York: To the Readers of The Truth Seeker: Two years ago that able and sagacious Liberal leader, L. K. Washburn, wrote: “The next great moral revolution of the world will be a crusade against the Christian Bible.” The church expects this and is preparing for it. In an address before the Methodist ministers of Chicago, the Rev. Dr. Curry, a distinguished Methodist divine, said: “We are standing on the eve of the most stupendous revolution in reference to the doctrines of the Bible that the church has ever known.” In this long war with bibliolaters the younger readers of The Truth Seeker will take a prominent part. To call their attention to the impending struggle, and to aid in a small way in fitting them for it, the editor of The Truth Seeker has invited me to open a sort of Bible school in his paper. For nearly a quarter of a century I have been writing and lecturing and debating against the divinity of the Bible. My opposition from the trained defenders of the book has been at times both keen and bitter. I was compelled to become and remain a diligent student of the Bible and of Biblical criticism. As far as possible I collected all of the damaging facts obtainable. I digested and classified them and filed them away in the labeled pigeon-holes of my brain for use when needed. I am growing old. My hair which was black when I began my work will soon be white. I have at the most but a few more years to labor. This arsenal of facts which I have gathered and the arguments that I have formulated from them I wish to place within the reach of others. Whether the thought be a Spiritualistic assurance or an Irish bull, it will be a pleasure to me when I am dead to know that I am still of some service to the cause. In the next issue of The Truth Seeker I shall begin a series of some thirty lessons or chapters on “The Bible.” The chief purpose of the work will be to combat the dogmas of the divine origin and infallibility of the Christian Bible. The points of attack will be three: 1. Its Authenticity; 2. Its Credibility; 3. Its Morality. I shall endeavor to disprove in a large degree the authenticity of its books, the credibility of its statements, and the morality of its teachings. Less