In
a world of cruelty, sympathy is a crime, and in a world of lies, truth
is blasphemy. Who are the real blasphemers? Webster offers the
definition; blasphemy is an insult offered to God by attributing to Him
a nature and qualities differing from His real nature and qualities,
and dishonoring Him. A very good definition, if you only know what His
nature and qualities are. But that is not revealed; for, studying Him
through the medium of the bible, we find Him illimitably contradictory.
He commands us not to work on the Sabbath day, because it is holy. Yet
God works himself on the Sabbath day. The sun, moon and stars swing
round in their orbits, and all the creation attributed to this God goes
on as on other days. He says: "Honor thy father and mother," and yet
this God, in the person of Christ, offered honors, and glory, and
happiness a hundred fold to any who would desert their father and
mother for Him. Thou shalt not kill, yet God killed the first-born of
Egypt, and he commanded Joshua to kill all His enemies, not sparing old
or young, man, woman or child, even an unborn child. "Thou shalt not
commit adultery," he says, and yet this God gave the wives of defeated
enemies to His soldiers of Joshua's army. Then again He says, "Thou
shalt not steal." By this command He protected the inanimate property
and the cattle of one man against the hand of another, and yet this God
who said "Thou shalt not steal," established human slavery. The
products of industry were not to be interfered with, but the producer
might be stolen as often as possible. "Thou shalt not bear false
witness against thy neighbor." And yet the God who said this said
also, "I have sent lying spirits unto Ahab." The only commandment He
really kept was, "Thou shalt have none other gods but Me."

Is it blasphemous to describe this God as malicious? You know that
laughter is a good index of the character of a man. You like and
rejoice with the man whose laugh is free and joyous and full of good
will. You fear and dislike him of the sneering laugh. How does God
laugh? He says, "I will laugh at their calamity and mock at their
misfortune," speaking of some who have sinned. Think of the malice and
malignity of that in an infinite God when speaking of the sufferings He
is going to impose upon His children. You know that it is said of a
Roman emperor that he wrote laws very finely, and posted them so high
on the walls that no one could read t