and to teach the doctrines of love, forbearance, humility and charity 

 while in this world. Respecting- the bringing- of salvation to men in 

 the next world, we cannot well determine to what extent the religion 

 has been successful ; but with regard to its earthly mission it has 

 signally and utterly failed. The two thousand years have passed away 

 and still the evils surrounding us continue, and are even intensified ; 

 poverty, misery, immorality and tyranny exist as of old, in spite of the 

 promise to the church that she should be helped, even to the end, by 

 the divine power. So far from love, charity, forbearance and humility 

 being inculcated by the church, we find the followers of the meek and 

 lowly one occupying high and lucrative offices, one declaring himself 

 the vice-regent of god on earth, and others, in our own country, being- 

 in receipt of salaries ranging- from fifteen and ten thousand pounds 

 annually to two or three hundred, driving their carriages, sporting- 

 livery servants and cockades, stiling- themselves as Reverend, Very 

 Reverend, Venerable, Most Reverend Father in God, Right Honorable 

 and other titles expressive of superior quality of make ; and all in a 

 constant state of warfare amongst themselves. One cannot take up a 

 daily paper without seeing an instance of clerical intolerance, hatred, 

 envy or malice. The Romanist damns the Protestant ; the churchman 

 rides the high horse over the dissenter, and would like to deprive him 

 of what is vulgarly considered to be decent burial ; the evangelicals 

 denounce the high church party ; the nonconformist bodies are all at 

 constant war with each other on points of doctrine ; and while all are 

 eaten up with pride, egotism, selfishness, greed and mutual hatred, 

 each sect declares itself to be the genuine teacher of love, forbearance, 

 humility and charity. 



As a body the church has from the first opposed all progress. As 

 early as the year 414 Bishop Cyril's mob brained the learned Hypatia 

 in a Christian church, for the heinous crime of teaching mathematics. 

 The Pope and his pious court attempted to prevent the art of printing- 

 becoming known in Europe. Copernicus was excommunicated for the 

 sin of announcing the grand truth that the earth revolves round the 

 sun. Galileo rotted in the prison of the Inquisition for daring to say 

 that the earth rotates on its axis. Bruno was burnt at the stake for 

 declaring his belief in the Copernican philosophy. Newton's theory of 

 oravitation was denounced by the church. Descartes, Kepler, Locke. 



