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their writings serve for us lies in the fact that we are enabled to form an estimate of the degree of drone manifestation with their help, and, also, to check the conclusions we might ourselves draw from the facts within our knowledge. Man must take the religious records as he finds them, and should try to understand the truth for himself. He should be prepared to reject that which is not compatible with the facts of experience, or with good, sound common sense. It is only then that he will be able to understand religion. The orthodox theory of vicarious atonement by the first and the only begotten Son of God, if taken literally, comes to grief at the very commencement. God declared (Isaiah, XLIII. 11): "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour."
RESURRECTION.
To the same effect is the following from Ecclesiastes, IV. 8:
"There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother."
It would be waste of time to dwell upon the subject any longer; suffice it to say that there is not a word of proof in favour of the orthodox theory either in the Bible or outside it.
If a real Son of God (in the sense in which orthodox Christianity uses that expression) had come down to the world to save mankind from sin, and to sacrifice his life so that humanity might be saved, he would have behaved in a manner quite different from that of Jesus. The very first point of difference lies in the method of teaching. One can understand why Jesus spoke in parables and short, pithy aphorisms which are remarkable for their hidden meaning. The reason is to be
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