heaven, with the greatest nonchalance looking out of heaven's windows at his son nailed on the cross, "like a dead rat on a barn door." as a wag the other day observed. We have "three gods in one," all almighties, all infinites, which puts to flight every rule of arithmetic, and laughs at proportional mathematics! Is there many true believers in this think you? If there is, they must have a strange notion of the word infinite. It is impossible for two infinites to exist, much less three; therefore Messrs. Holy Ghost and Son must go naked, if no other clothing can be obtained for them. In truth, it good for the human race that their every day experience proves their practical disbelief of this dogma of christianity. It has, however, been destructive of man's moral nature, nor could we believe that superstition could so degrade the human mind, did not the fact stare us in the face. Where we to believe what Christians say, there could have been no morality before their sect sprung into existence; that all was dark, dismal, and gloomy before Christ's appearance. But are not the precepts of Socrates. Confucius, and the Gymnosophists of India equal, aye, and superior to those of the messiah? And amongst them, too, we find numberless cases of humanity, justice, temperance, meekness, and patience, proving that virtue flourished antecedent to Christ. Christ said that "men should love one another; "Pythagoras, long before the time of Christ had said, let men revenge themselves upon their enemies by converting them into friends." And Socrates said "that it was not lawful for a man, who had received an injury, to revenge by doing another." To love one's enemies is impossible, we may refrain from doing them an injury, but we can only love that which excites in us pleasur able feelings, and this an enemy is not likely to do, therefore we find it to our interest to "make friends of them." Faith, it is said, is the pedestal on which stands the Christian religion. against which the gates of Hell will never prevail. What is faith? Religious faith consists in believing, trying, or saying you believe that which ap pears absurd, unlikely, and undemonstrable, therefore it exacts the total renunciation of reason, a stupid assent to things improbable, and a blind reverence for everything holy, which reduces man to a level with the beasts, and must be injurious to him. It is only beneficial to the priests who fatten upon the credulity and degradation of mankind. Charity is another stone of the fabric, Christian charity consists in "loving god and our neighbours," but this, with Christians, must be mere pretence, because we cannot love a being whom we fear, and we must fear a being who would embrue his hands in the But loving our neighbours," yes, that is very good, but impracticable to a Christian, for we are commanded to love a jealous god, who like a jealous woman, wants it all to himself; besides, it would be degrading to offer a heart to deity shared by another. How can a Christian love an Infidel who worships not his god? And who, likewise, turns both him and his god into ridicule, 'tis impossible. Beings who are by their religion taught to hate themselves, can never love any one else. We do not find the Ranters or the Methodists who say they love god very much," care a great deal about their neighbours, on the contrary, they are proverbial for being screws, beings who will have their pound of flesh. 'l'is true they are zealous, but it is the zealousness of rabid intolerance, which makes them starve them. selves and their dependants at home, to send out muskets and missionaries abroad. In a word Mr. E., the Christian religion seems invented to destroy nature, and the reason of man, it converts virtue into positive vice, it has interposed between the union of the sexes; it has invented artificial barriers to their happiness, it has converted the mar riage ceremony into a pantomimic farce, commencing with debauchery, and ending with death. Those nations who profess Christianity are more immoral than any heathen nations yet discovered, and where it is said that religiou most flourishes, there you find the people more ignorant of their duties, of their obligations. There you find that robbery, assassination, debauchery, and persecution reign triumphant Witness Spain, Rome, Italy, Portugal, or Ireland. he fact is, they are too religious to be moral. T. P. ANTI-PERSECUTION UNION. 8, Holywel-street, Strand, IT is requested that all collectors who hold Subscription Books will send in the amount of money mittee to complete their report to lay before a pub received as early as possible, to enable the Com lic meeting in October, agreeable to former resolutions, of which due notice will be given. M. RYALL, Sea. Now Publishing. in Fortnightly Numbers, With numerous ADDITIONS by the Author. Printed and Published by THOMAS PATERSON, No. 8, Holywell-street, Strand, London.-Agent for Coventry, J. Morris, 35, Union place, Butts. Saturday, September 24, 1842. THE SCOTTISH EDINBURGH RACLE OF REASON UNION Or, Philosophy Vindicated. FAITH'S EMPIRE IS THE WORLD; ITS MONARCH, GOD; ITS MINISTERS, THE PRIESTS; EDITED BY THOMAS PATERSON. " 1.] Originally Edited by CHARLES SOUTHWELL, sentenced, on January 15, 1842, Second Editor, G. J. HOLYOAKE, sentenced, on August 15, 1842, to Six Months' WHAT IS GOD? ISTS, Sceptics, and so-called Infidels i hitherto it has been conceded that answer. at is the reply? All theologians de- r all this who would not say with Mr. ke, "I do not believe there is such a 8 a god," and what Christian should that ilence is the least injurious praise. Carlile further informs us that the zod is threefold, father, son, and holy and of the ever-blessed trinity the folexplanation is given : e father-god is what man knows of raical or natural world. he son-god is what man knows of the al or mental world. [PRICE ID. Three very nice distinctions without a particle of difference. What can man know of the "mental or spiritual world," but as a part of the "natural world?" And what is the difference between "the educated state of man in wisdom, virtue, and love," and "what man knows of the natural or physical world ? " In the words of the Athanasian creed, we may say "such as the father is, such is the son, and such is the holy ghost." Definitions of god three in number hut one in meaning. But if we must have a plurality of gods, why stop at the number three, since we have only to multiply the effects of education to have gods innumerable. Thus we should have gods of finely formed limbs, noble minds, and artistic conceptions-gods of clean wide streets, noble mansions, and commodious workshops-gods of baths, tennis courts, pleasure grounds--gods more numerous than the stars of heaven, and only to be calculated when the effects of education may be summed up and registered. In fine we may call them mother-god, sister god, brother-god, cousingod, niece-god, grand-daughter-god, &c. through all the variations of great, grand, and great-grand children gods, till the grand becomes perfectly ridiculous, and "numbers drowns the thought." This dearth of names would not be the least inconvenience the gods would have to put up with. I am afraid we could hardly find them standing room. On the lowest calculation each man would have in him three gods. Hence the world would be overrun with some two thousand four hundred millions, and this nation alone would possess eighty-one millions, a visitation of gods from which we fervently hope this nation may ever be free. Three gods are more than we can support, and more than we ought to have-surely no man would' wish to have eighty-one millions. Worse than the plagues of locusts in Egypt, their presence would be "very grievous,' covering the face of the earth so that the land would be darkened, "and eating every herb of the land." Yet we may lay the flattering unction to our souls that "these gods are incarnateable he holy-ghost god is the educated state in man by education in all science." How in wisdom, virtue, and love." science, which says not a word of even one Three reviews of this work appeared Oracle, but Mr. M. objecting to the spe which the reviews were written der answering them, or holding any dise with the writers upon the subject. Subse ly, Mr. Mackintosh having reconsider determination, declared his willingness cuss the question of the existence of s verning principle, power, or being," directed the universe. This article app in No. 35. He then stated that his c tion of a god was that of "an idea da. in the mind of man." In No. 36 I e voured to show the absurdity of the core Mr. Carlile commenced with a very sensible observation, which it would have been well had he adhered to, namely, "that if god is not comprehensible it would be nonsense to talk about it." With this I heartily concur, and hence easily account for the nonsense which great men sometimes talk on behalf of religion. Thus Newton, the prince of phi-that an idea of a finite being could coun losophers in his "Principia," sank into contempt in his "Apocalypse," and the six years' imprisonment of Richard Carlile in Dorchester will be remembered and admired when his answer to the question, What is god? has been long forgotten. Cheltenham. Jos. B. LEAR. IS THERE NO GOD? "I am a believer in the being of one god, powerful, wise, and good."-Preface to a " Dissertation on the Being and Attributes of God," by T. S. MACKINTOSH. "We (T. S. Mackintosh) have found that it may be "God is an idea DWELLING in the mind of man."- "With me god is a principle, not a thing, or still direct the operations of an infinite univ To the objections contained in this latt ticle Mr. M. has never replied, and wh right or wrong they still remain unans In No. 38 there appeared another a from the pen of Mr. Mackintosh, in wh elaborated his latest idea of a god, ar with his previous declaration in No. 35. that number (38) he classes his idea of with the ideas entertained by men c justice, and honour, all of which it known are derived from man's observat the result of human actions, which a are declared to be right or wrong. ficial or injurious, as far as they tend mote the happiness or misery of m They are thence called true or false, unjust, honourable or dishonourablecase may be. These ideas are consequ confined to the interests or economy of manity, or the mutual relation of man t having no influence whatever upon the r of nature's operations, which are inv the same, whether men are virtuous or vi If the "governing principle, power, or be which directs and controlls the univers idea only, it will be necessary to establ eternal existence of man and of the his mind before we can imagine the ex of our system and the motions of its bos for unless the motion be sustained by power it would cease, and chaos would again, according to Mr. Mackintosh. if the motion of the planets require to tained it must have been originated, self-originated it can be self-sustained. THE above quotations are some few opinions from the pen of Mr. Mackintosh in support of the question of the existence of a god, in opposition to the negative opinion of the Atheist, namely its non-existence-both parties being If man murders man the earth is ret understood to take their stand upon the prob-vulsed in consequence. Nay, if every ability or non-probability of such an existence, and not upon the proof or dis-proof of such a being. Mr. Mackintosh some time since published a work, intitled "A Dissertation upon the Being and Attributes of God." In this work he declares himself to be "a believer in the being of one god, powerful,wise, and good," and that this god was an "omnipotent, omnipresent power," who "actuated and governed" an "eternal and infinite universe" "in all its motions great and little." ber of the human family was to be d of life, nature would go on just as now. just as it did before he came into ex The earth is not injured nor any of the mals upon it by man's death, exceptia himself in some cases, on the contrary, decomposition which follows death is p tive of life to numberless other animals, happiness is conserved by man's destro for if life be happiness then are they in the possession of it and in the me sustaining it. The same effects follo thence over all the earth, we asked why this was done ? Now it might do well enough to say it was to prevent their breaking like thieves into heaven, as long as we are in the habit of seeing the clouds open and display Jupiter upon his marble throne; this might do when the glorious place was just above our heads; but modern astronomers will langh at this, and as we are not inclined to charge god with ignorance, we must seek another reason; now that Jacob's ladder is so worn as not to bear an angel s tread, and Garbiel no longer pays his court either to the women or men of this lower world; this tale wont do: well we sought the reason and we have found it. God helps the salmon up the river, assists it to exert its last strength in a leap to lay its body at the feet of man, who must otherwise starve; and of course he scattered the people at the tower of Babel, and sent them into the interior of continents, which could otherwise have never been inhabited, in order that they might eat the salmon which could not otherwise have been eaten ! Who, with a moment's reflection, sees not this? And who shall refuse to glorify his holy name? Who will not praise his power, wisdom, and goodness? Again we ask, can we be surprised at the existence of atheism? This is where and why all former writers upon this subject have erred. They have pretended to argue from analogy, and they have no sooner commenced their reasoning than their analogy breaks down; yet they go blundering on, draw just the opposite conclusion to that which their premises warrants, and call on us to bow! They first make their god, and then cut and carve all existences, like a tailor with his cloth, to make them fit. If the argument of helping the salmon up the stream was worth anything-if it prove the power, wisdom, and goodness of god-does it not prove his impotence, ignorance, and folly, to send salmon where they were not absolutely necessary, or to let a single circumstance fail in producing proper and those happy effects? W. it away? and the wicked one invariably the victor. In external creation, exclusively and adequately contemplated, there is no escape from Manichenism. It is vain to say that the death of the inferior creatures is a blessing to man; for why, in the creation of a god of love, should any such ne cessity exist? And how would this account for the death of man himself?"-REV. H. M NEILE. I CONCLUDED an article under the above head last week, by saying I considered "there are no arguments to be drawn from nature against the existence of a god of love, if there be any god at all," and I shall now offer a few remarks in explanation of my views upon this matter, as well as conclude my reply to the objections of our anonymous friend in No. 38. It is the universal belief amongst Christians, and I believe I may say among mankind generally, that this earth was created by a being called god, at the same time that he created innumerable others in the ani verse, but that all the rest were provided for the special benefit of this one globe of ours, or rather for man, who was to inhabit it. The Christians draw their arguments for such belief from the Jew-book, wherein it is expressly declared that the whole of the universe, with the exception of this planet. was created in one day, whilst the creation of the earth occupied four days, and the creation of man one day. After which arduous nn. dertaking, the lord is said to have blessed his work, and to have declared that it was good, there being then no one to dispute the question with him, and that on the seventh day he rested from his labour, having first, I should presume, washed himself, combed his beard, and put on a clean shirt--though this latter circumstance is not mentioned by the holy phantom who chronicled the other events. That Christians should entertain such notions is a matter of no wonder, but that Atheists, although they should previously have been Christians, should continue to do' so, does surprise me. Yet this is the hypothesis upon which our friend argues the question of the existence of a god of love-that the earth, "and all that therein is." is man's inheritance, and that because man alone is not perfectly happy, therefore there cannot be a god of love. Just as though every other plant or animal which inhabits the globe were not as justly entitled to an equal share of divine consideration as man had not an equal claim upon divine love and attention. and WHY ARE WE ATHEISTS? "I am convinced, I say, that, from external creation, no right conclusion can be drawn, concerning the moral character of god. The authors of a maltitude of books on this subject have given an inadequate and partial induction of particulars. Already aware (though perhaps scarcely recog A god of love should have an equal affecnising how or whence) that god is love, they have looked on nature for proofs of this conclu- tion for all his creatures, and man is but an sion, and taken what suited their purpose. But insignificant part of the whole. From what they have not taken nature as a whole, and collected fact in man's history or economy do parties a conclusion from impartial premises. They expatiate on the blessings and enjoyments of life, in arrive at the conclusion that his happiness the countles tribes of earth, air, and sea. But if alone is the great desideratum with the deity ? life be a blessing, death is a curse. Nature pre-In what is man different to other animals? sents the universal triumph of death. Is this the In physical characteristics he is vastly indoing of a god of love? Or are there two godsa kind one, giving life; and an unkind one taking ferior to many, and in mental powers his superiority is only one of degree, and not of But leaving the general view of the ques- In continuation of my reply to our anonymous friend's objections, I would observe, that his sneer at my "illogical idiosyncracies,” Our friend asks, what it is to me that my |