"The believer in the inspiration of the Bible is compelled to say, that there was a time when slavery was right, when women could sell their babes, when polygamy was the highest form of virtue, when wars of extermination were waged with the sword of mercy, when religious toleration was a crime, and when death was the just penalty for having expressed an honest thought. He is compelled to insist that Jehovah is as bad now as he was then; that he is as good now as he was then. Once, all the crimes that I have mentioned were commanded by God; now they are prohibited. Once, God was in favor of them all; now the Devil is their defender. In other words, the Devil entertains the same opinion to-day that God held four thousand years ago. The Devil is as good now as Jehovah was then, and God was as bad then as the Devil is now."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Activists from the United StatesMilitary leaders from the United StatesHumanistsSocial activistsAgnostics from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_G._Ingersoll
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Robert G. Ingersoll
lawyer, politician, writer
1833 – 1899 · United States
Robert Green Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was a lawyer, a Civil War veteran, political leader, and orator of the United States during the Golden Age of Freethought, noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism. He was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic".
372 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Robert G. Ingersoll →
Related Quotes
"Would an infinitely wise, good, and powerful God, intending to produce man, commence with the lowest possible forms o…"
"In nature I see, or seem to see, good and evil—intelligence and ignorance—goodness and cruelty—care and carelessness—…"
"If Christ wished to convince his fellow-men by miracles, why did he not do something that could not by any means have…"
"The resurrection. I want to speak about it as we would about any ordinary transaction. In the first place, I do not b…"
"Let us be honest. Suppose a man came into this city and should meet a funeral procession, and say, “Who is dead?” and…"
"Stories that made Christianity powerful then, weaken it now."
"The Christians mistake an incident for a cause, and honestly imagine that the Bible is the foundation of modern liber…"
"Rome had no Bible. God cared nothing for the Roman Empire. He let the men come up by chance. His time was taken up wi…"
"Besides, God may have changed his mind on many things; he has on slavery, and polygamy at least, according to the chu…"
"I cannot believe in the miraculous origin of Jesus Christ. I believe he was the son of Joseph and Mary; that Joseph a…"