Anonymous

“ However, men are not to be judged of by the titles they choose to give to themselves, without some scrutiny being made into their conduct. This self styled Society for the Suppression of Vice, exhibit themselves to us as the foes to free inquiry, and stifling the arguments on one side of a question. In vain will they excuse themselves as preventing the poisonous effects of reasonings on the wrong side ”

“ That the Deists and other unbelievers are more immoral than Jesus's followers, is more than can be proved. And when we consider that Jesus's religion is always taken up as a prejudice, and is maintained in the world by violence, and by a pertinacious determination of Jesus's adherents to hear the reasons only on one side of the question, that side which is favourable to his pretensions, a procedure which is utterly repugnant to the love of truth, the most probable conjecture is, that the unbelievers should be, upon the whole, the more moral party. ”

“ Disinenuousness, as far as it extends, cannot consist with the love of truth, but error may. Now as the love of truth is the basis of all real morality, this disingenuous self-styled Society for the Suppression of Vice, are, therefore, detected to be a Society for the Suppression of Virtue. ”

“ Let them consider that religion can be defended only by argument, or by force; and that it cannot be defended by the union of both; for it is in vain to say, it may be defended by argument, when the reasonings on one side only can be heard aloud, while those on the other draw down on the head of the user of them pillory and imprisonment. It is certainly a very unequal conflict when one of the combatants may make use of an argument or a halter at his discretion. ”

“ Real truth is best established by the free production of the arguments on both sides; for thereby suspicion of unfairness is re moved. So many absurdities attend upon error and falsehood, that truth has a very preponderating advantage against them, where enquiry is left free. The arguments then adduced on the wrong side of a question, are not so noxious and poisonous as disingenuous men wish to insinuate. The truth abhors to be indebted to suppression of argument, from that it never can derive advantage ”

“ Now, as inspiration or direct revelation from Heaven is not believed even by Christians (at least the more rational) of this day, though in the early and middle ages of Christianity priests and monks would have sworn that God communicated with them every day, let me suggest that, in the course of your defence, you ask the Jury trying your guilt or innocence as a libeller of that religion, whether they believe it to be founded on truth? ”

“ When you declaim upon the too great prevalence of infidelity, you speak a language which implies the insane and monstrous notion that natural belief is dependent upon the will; whereas it is the known and suggested reasons which always naturally determine the assent. ”

“ Once trampled upon by man in the energy of his wrath, these monsters can never again rear their Gorgon heads. Like the Apollo represented by the Grecian sculptor, in the act of destroying the Pythian serpent, man will then stand as God created him, the impress of his own image, erect, free, noble, and grand. ”

“ As a friend to the universal freedom of mankind, civil and religious, I take leave to address you, for the purpose of contributing my sincere congratulations on the honours that await you, and the fine opportunity presented to you of benefiting mankind. ”

“ And how shall such an assent without reasons sufficient be distinguished from what is universally allowed, by physicians and all others, to be insanity and mental derangement?
"That the propagators of infidelity are instigated by the Devil." This assertion, very usual from men in your office, Mr. Attorney-General, you are unable to prove. And hereby you remind us, that Jesus's followers universally admit the very absurd notion of two principles in the universe, a good and a bad one. ”

“ There are some drawbacks in this world, at any rate, if we reckon the Sunday's weekly gloom, and the tythes on all landed property. Whether this future happiness be attained to at last or not by Jesus's followers, it is a long, a very melancholy road, however, that they go to it. And as a tenth levied on all landed produce and other church dues are pretty large, payment in advance for an inheritance in an unseen country, which no man living has visited, it seems unreasonable for the law to hinder a scrutiny and examination into the validity of the title-deeds. ”

“ When I see any set of men resort to punishment, instead of argument, in its defence, I can with difficulty conceive they are serious in the belief of its doctrines, for the smallest reflection might convince them, that such a course is the most effectual method they could take to lower its estimation, and to cover it with discredit. ”

“ If the Creator were to require an assent without a sufficient reason to determine it, he would demand what is contrary to the structure of the human mind, which was formed by himself: thus he would disorder his own work, which is a thing incredible. If he has suggested reasons which would not have been otherwise thought of, let Jesus's priests produce them, and let them be examined. Then the prosecutions of Deists would be superfluous, for they would be forced to: believe when the reasons were found cogent enough. ”

“ The Deists do not endeavour to conceal any thing, it is the hiding, hushing, concealing party which are the guilty; where morality is concerned concealment implies guilt. If the Deists venture to bring forward demonstrations from the four Gospels against the personal moral character of Jesus, you call that blasphemy. But recollect, that when the Deists make you the offer to discuss the moral character and the pretensions of Jesus to a mission from the Almighty upon honourable and fair terms, and you choose to decline this equitable proposal, the charge of blasphemy falls upon yourselves ”

“ If so established, what can hurt it—what can be a libel on it? Unless their religion be capable of demonstration, it is at best but doubtful, and may, therefore, be at least susceptible of confutation. If, in spite of the objections and attacks to which it has been exposed, it can be shewn to be the true religion after all, such discussion, instead of doing harm, must do good, inasmuch as it fixes the religion on a firmer basis. ”

“ These ill-timed interruptions, by breaking the thread of connection of the defence of the accused, must so maul it, and put it out of shape, that the jury become unable to make either head or tail of it, even though it should have been previously drawn up with good judgement, and contain the soundest reasonings. ”

“ A man is no more culpable merely for what he believes, than he is for discovering by the taste that sugar is sweet and aloes bitter. Your slang when you speak of infidelity and belief, as virtues or vices, reprehensible or laudable, would be quite unintelligible to us, if we were not already acquainted with the tricks and machinations of priests to create prejudice, or frighten people into an assent to points, which they dare not trust and submit to the test of fair inquiry. ”

“ The progress of liberal opinion has been very rapid, indeed, of late years; and though Judges and Attorney-Generals, whose daily pursuits, certainly so unfavourable to liberal and comprehensive reasonings, are generally among the last persons to shake off antiquated prejudices, yet they too, however slowly, will, unquestionably, at last, be borne down by the tide of public opinion. ”

“ No description of people, besides Jesus's followers, ever admitted the execrable principle of the transfer of an oath. In fact, if the godfathers had sworn that the boy should turn out a pickle, after all the rest of priestly management, they would have stood a pretty good chance of having nothing fall upon their conscience from that quarter.
Jesus's priests are apt to injure the intellect of young people by telling them, that if they do not believe Jesus's religion they will be damned to eternal punishments. ”

“ Now as in all natural belief, when the intellect is sound and healthy, the mind is always passive in the act of giving its assent to any proposition, this trick of Jesus's priests disturbs, impairs, and disorders the understanding ”

“ Now, as the authority of the Creator is a higher one than the British Government, so to forge a revelation from him would be a more criminal imposture than the former one; and a rigid examination and scrutiny into its truth or falsehood, and all doubts and rational exceptions against a supposed revelation, would always be innocent, and might sometimes be laudable. ”

“ It is like a battle between a pugilist and one armed with a stiletto, which, though he may not use at first, he knows he can use if hard pushed. Such defenders of Christianity would do well to remember, that the means they are resorting to are those which so successfully promoted the cause of infidelity in France. ”

“ I imagine them, on the contrary, to be men whose time and attention have been completely ingrossed by secular affairs, and who believe the Christian religion as they would believe the Mohammedan, merely because their fathers believed it before them. ”

“ The deistical writings are argumentative, and therefore cannot be read by the young till they are almost grown up, and the judgement is always appealed to by the Deists; neither do they discourage the examination of the other side of the question, as Jesus's followers usually do. On the other hand, Jesus's priests burden the memory of children, not seven years old, with creeds and catechisms; besides, they labour to prejudice the young in favour of Jesus's system, and to discourage all fair inquiry into what concerns its truth ”

“ If the accused adduces instances of opposite decisions in similar proceeding suits, with a view to point out an inconsistency, the Judge will exclaim, "That is not the cause before us;" though how in the world can inconsistency be shewn without bringing forward more than one particular? ”

“ You cannot have a better ground-work for your defence than the theological works of Paine, which, indeed, settle the question about the inspiration of the scriptures and the divinity of Christ. On the subject of religion generally there is a book which every lover of truth must regret is not so well known as it will infallibly be in no long time—I allude to a work entitled "Principles of Morality," by George Ensor, Esq. ”

“ Attorney-General, as you think proper upon the good moral tendency of the religion as by law established, but you will find it very difficult to prove your assertions in its favour, whenever you may please to advance them. The oath extends so far as that the child shall believe not one article only but all the articles of Jesus's religion, and that without even comprehending them all, for some, as that of the Trinity, are quite unintelligible ”

“ This endeavour to suppress argument implies disingenuousness, and this last named quality is always at variance with real truth. Error may be designed, but disingenuousness never can be; and, therefore, when accompanied with violence, it is always criminal. ”

“ But as the legislature is composed of fallible men, their sanction does not prove the truth and validity of Jesus's pretensions; and as the conduct of the legislature in sanctioning this revelation might be directed and influenced by political motives, their sanction is an argument rather against than in favour of its truth. ”

“ Jesus's religion has caused the affliction and death of far more people than it has solaced on such occasions.
"Their moral instructor in this world." The real moral tendency of Jesus's system is one of the points at issue between his followers and the Deists; therefore that position is not to be assumed as it has not been fairly proved. The effect of Jesus's religion may have been to repress some vices in the world, but it has greatly increased others. ”

“ And since it would be to insult them, you can add, to suppose they should profess belief of a subject doubtless considered by them of the highest importance to their present and future welfare, without having thoroughly examined it, again ask—whether in their hearts and consciences they think that any sophistical reasoning, which every thing contrary to it they must deem so, could shake their principles thus established on the basis of demonstration? ”

“ It betrays that diffidence and fear for the result which a man thoroughly impressed with the truth of the Christian doctrines would surely not be the most likely to entertain. I cannot bring myself, therefore, to believe, that those who manifest a zeal to crush the enemies of Christianity by the arm of the law, are themselves acquainted with that religion. ”

“ The jury will be conjured, as they value the preservation of good morals, the peace and good order of society, both individual and public welfare, the happiness of their fellow-subjects both in this world and in a future life, to arrest the fatal poison in its progress, and give a verdict of conviction and condemnation against the accused. ”

“ Every friend to the progress of knowledge, reason, and truth, as well as of sincere humanity, is warmly interested in the nature and result of those severe proceedings instituted against you. They devoutly hope that your character as a man and a neighbour will afford no handle for disparagement of you and your conduct ”

“ Observe, that those very men who lay heavy taxation upon this country, and, what was unknown to Pagan times, entail those taxes upon unborn children, those men are among the most zealous asserters of Jesus's pretensions, and employ Jesus's priests as diligent advocates for the imposition of public burdens on the land, and sundry abuses. ”