t but everybody
else is all wrong. Of the several hundred religions now extant, would it
not be more reasonable to suppose that they were all wrong than to
believe they were all right? Take your own religion for instance; you
are worshiping a most unnatural god. In fact your Bible puts him in the
position of a vain-glorious tyrant. According to the Bible an Apeman can
be no worse than his god no matter how bad he may be. The main reason
why. the Apeman believes in religion is because he is an inveterate
coward and fears some dire punishment if he investigates the matter. But
believe me, if the Creator gave you the power to reason, he certainly
will not condemn you for making use of your reasoning faculties in not
accepting opinions which appear untenable. So let us look into this
matter from an impartial point of view. In the first place the offer of
rewards for doing good, which is the foundation of all religions is
wrong, for it carries selfishness right to the very gates of the
imaginary heavens. Goodness is very shallow indeed if it cannot exist
without rewards being offered for it. I shall enumerate a few things
your god was supposed to have said or allowed, according to the Bible,
which would make no Apeman living, any worse in his moral conduct.

"Enmity.--'And I will put enmity between thee and the woman.' Gen. iii,
15.

"Unkindness.--'Unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy
sorrow.' Gen. iii, 16.

"Flesh Eaters.--'Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you.'
Gen. ix, 3.

"Revenge.--'Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed.'
Gen. ix, 6.

"Drunkenness.--'And he drank of the wine, and was drunken.' Gen. ix, 21.

"Partiality.--'God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the
tents of Shem and Canaan shall be his servant.' Gen. ix, 27.

"Hunting--'He was a mighty hunter before the Lord.' Gen. x, 9.

"A curser.--'And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse them that
curseth thee.' Gen. xii, 3.

"Fraud.--'By fraud, Jacob received the blessing intended for Esau and
then God blessed him and made him prosperous forever afterward. Gen.
xxvii to xxix.

"Fornication.--'And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again and bare
Jacob a second son.' Gen. xxx, 7.

"Anger.--'And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses.' Exodus
iv, 14.

"Thievery.--'Speak now into the ears of the people and let every man
borrow of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor jew