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PROSPECT; or, View of the Moral World.

VOL. I.

SATURDAY, August 25, 1804.

No. 38.

Comments upon the Sacred Writings of the Jews and Christians. Exodus Chapter 20.

THE DECALOGUE, OR TEN COMMAND

WE

MENTS.

E now come to that exalted moral code celebrated over all the christian world for its fuppofed internal excellence, and faid to have been delivered by the Majesty of Heaven, amidst the lightning blaze and thunder's roar on Sinai facred top! Christian theologians affirm, that this code is fo pure, and fo pre-eminently divine, that it bids defiance to the fcrutinizing operations of human reason, and the profane touch of unbelieving blaf phemers. We fhall, however, for a few moments place in the back ground the thundering anathemas of the church, and deliberately proceed to examine the effential character of thefe moral precepts. Moral, they are called, and generally believed to be fo by the advocates of revelation; but of this we fhall be better able to judge when they have paffed the ordeal of intellectual examination.

The first commandment is, thou fhalt have no other Gods before me. This precept poffeffes a theological and not a moral character; it is defcriptive of Jewish theifin, and the ideas which that people entertained upon this important fubject. It is, however, fubjected to a doubtful explanation, and is fufceptible of being placed in two different points of light. The word before must mean either in preference to, or befides-that is, thou fhalt have no other Gods in preference to me, or thou fhalt have no other Gods befide me. Upon the first explanation it would inculcate the doctrine of Polytheism, which both Jews and Christians pretend to hold in abhorrence. Thou fhalt have no other Gods in preference to me, plainly implies, that they might have other Gods, but to those ther Gods they thould not give the preference. If this

explanation be correct, the monotheifm of the jews is destroyed at once, and the chofen people are no better than idolators. Let us however take the contrary explanation ;-Which is, that they fhould have no other God but one. This in point of principle would be correct; but in point of character, extremely incorrect. The Jewish God, as we have feen already, and as we fhall more fully demonstrate hereafter, is a being poffeffed of immoral, odious and destructive properties, and this of course renders the theifm of the Jews extremely defective. This first commandment, according to the last meaning afcribed to it, is at war with the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, and places the Old and New Testament in a state of oppofition to each other. But we fhall leave the Jews and Christians to fettle this matter, and pass on to the fecond commandment, which is a thousand times more exceptionable in point of principle, after having forbidden the making of images, the reafon offered for this prohibition is the jealoufy of the Jewish God; for I the lord thy god am a jealous god. What fort of a god is this, that could expect to be rivalled by images made of wood, stone, or brafs? he must have a poor opinion of himself indeed, when he could imagine that all the energies and attributes of his existence were incompetent to excite the adoration and retain the affectionate homage of his chofen people. But befides this, to afcribe jealousy to God, is to reduce his character to a level with imperfect creatures, and to render it contemptible in the view of reafon. This, however, is not the worst of this command; for after faying I am a jealous God, it goes on and says, visiting the iniquitics of the fathers upon the children. unto the third and fourth generation. Here opens a scene. of wickedness at which believers in revelation ought to blush! God is stripped of the important attribute of juftice, and man is made to fuffer for crimes which he never committed. If this be good morality, we may give up all pretenfions to a just difcrimination between one principle and another, and confent at once to be cheated out of our fenfes by the terrifying voice of fuperstition

There is not in all the records of ancient history, a more immoral or wicked fentiment than that which is contain-ed in this fecond commandment. The bible fystem of religion goes upon the idea of damning posterity for the crimes of their ancestors; but how can a man be guilty before he has an existence, or where is the justice of punifhing of him for the fins of his father and grandfather? This old doctrine of original fin is a departure from every idea of distributive justice; it destroys the moral character of God; it infufes into the mind of man the malignant idea of cruel perfecution, and fubjects the children of many families to odious calumnies which they do not deferve. This fecond commandment, which contains this abominable doctrine, was never revealed by God; it is not true, it is not moral, and ought to be struck out of every code which has any pretentions to the principles of virtue. The third commandment fays, thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain. It is not eafy to afcribe to this. any precise or definite meaning; if it means that the exalted name of the creator ought not to be lightly, improperly or profanely employed upon any occafion whatever, it is correct enough; but by the conduct of believers we fhould fuppofe that it meant fomething elfe, for they ufe the name of God upon all occafions, and addrefs him in a style of as much familiarity as if he had been an old fchool mate with them. They ufe his facred name for the purpose of damning their fellow creatures in a lake of fire and brimstone to all eternity; this appears to be the most profane ufe that can be poffibly made of the name of God; this is taking his name in vain with a witnels, and for purposes extremely destructive of the moral good nefs of the creator. We pafs next to the fourth com mandment. Here, perhaps, we fhall agitate the weak. nerves of fanaticifm, and give to them a tremulous anxiety not eafily tranquilized. Our first pofition upon this. head is that all time is equally facred, and ought to be. employed by every intelligent being for the great pur. poles of fcience, virtue and human happiness. In the or der of nature God has prefented us with no difcriminative

preferences of one day over another; the courfe of na ture is constant, and the marks her operations with an uniformity defcriptive of infinite wifdom. The institu

tions of fociety, which have arifen from this fourth command, make it neceffary that the fubject fhould be examined in a triple point of view, Philofophically, Morally and Politically. First, it is held by all believers, that one and the fame portion of time ought to be held facred over the whole earth. This is impoffible in regard to latitude and longitude; for at the equator the days arealways twelve hours long, and within the polar circles, there is always fix months day, and fix months night. If the fubject be confidered in regard to the longitude of the earth, it will be evident that the inhabitants occupy ing distant and distinct fections of the globe cannot have their fabbath at the fame time. The earth revolves once in twenty-four hours upon its own axis, and from this circumstance it is eafy to perceive that the fabbath in London, or Paris, must begin five or fix hours before it does in New-York, or Philadelphia. The fame principle and proportion will hold good over other parts of the globe, which destroys the idea of any given portion of time being more facred than any other portion.

2dly, In a moral point of view, this fubject affumes an important and impreffive character. If the fabbath, which is marked with fo much facrednefs throughout christendom, were to be employed for purpofes purely moral and fcientific, might be confidered as an institution fpecially tending to the best good of man; but when it is a well know fact, that fuperstition has almost wholly monopolized the day and devoted it exclufively to defigns baneful and destructive, it becomes very questionable in the estimation of reafon, whether all the advantages refulting from this sacred institution are not overballanced by the mifchief and miferies which have refulted from it. Lectures on Geography, Astronomy, Morals, Philofophy and Science in general, would undoubtedly be of the first importance and contribute effentially to the improvement of human fociety; but instead of thefe we know what

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are the habits and customs of the Christian world. The difcourfes in general which are delivered upon this day are made up of mystery, fanaticifm, blood and divine vengeance! They preach down morality in order to preach up the blood of Christ; they call it dry morality, and they moisten it with the blood of their God; they impress man with the idea of his own nothingness and infufficiency, and thus relax his intellectual nerves, by which they become incapable of affuming a tenfenefs favourable to the practice of an exalted virtue. Ceremo nies of various kinds either useless or pernicious are substituted in the room of morality, and the motives to vir tue are weakened by a reliance upon the whimfical institutions of the church. It would be for the interest of the Christian world to make it either a day of morality and science, or reject it altogether; for to instruct man in fuperstition is worfe than no instruction at all. As a day of rest it is a wholefome institution, and furnishes confolation to fatigued and industrious man. In a poli tical point of view it is often productive of the worst confequences, efpecially in countries where the church and state are leagued together, to rob the people of their intellectual rights, and reduce them to an unqualified fubjugation. One remark more and we fhall pass on to the fifth command; this decalogue is found alfo in the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy, and the fourth commandment there varies from the fourth commandment here. In this the creation is offered as a reafon for keeping holy the fabbath day, and in that the bringing the chosen pec. ple out of Egypt with a mighty hand and outstretched We must appeal to believers in revelation for an explanation of this difficulty.

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The fifth commandment is, honor thy father and mor ther, that thy days may be long upon the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. The injunctive part of this command goes too far; for it imposes an obligation of bestowing honor before the fact be afcertained, whe. ther it is merited or not. This world has always made foo much of the ties of confanguinity, and too little of real

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