the imperturbable "God said." The heart and conscience of man
indignantly rebel against the representations of the Most High
given in some parts of the Bible. What happens? Why, such
men declare--are now declaring, and will in constantly
increasing numbers, and with constantly increasing force and
boldness declare--that they can have nothing to do with a book
whose errors a child can discover, and whose revelation of God
partakes at times of blasphemy against man.

I need hardly say that I agree with every word of the above. If
anyone asked me what evidence exists in support of the claims that
the Bible is the word of God, or that it was in any real sense of
the words "divinely inspired," I should answer, without the least
hesitation, that there does not exist a scrap of evidence of any
kind in support of such a claim.

Let us give a little consideration to the origin of the Bible.
The first five books of the Bible, called the Pentateuch, were said
to be written by Moses. Moses was not, and could not have been,
the author of those books. There is, indeed, no reliable evidence
to prove that Moses ever existed. Whether he was a fictitious hero,
or a solar myth, or what he was, no man knows.

Neither does there appear to be any certainty that the biblical books
attributed to David, to Solomon, to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the rest
were really written by those kings or prophets, or even in their age.

And after these books, or many of them, had been written, they were
entirely lost, and are said to have been reproduced by Ezra.