and altogether a Being far from respectable, or worthy to be considered infinite in wisdom, power, and goodness.  Is it credible that a Being supernaturally wise and good, proclaimed the murderous adulterer David, a man after his own heart, and commanded the wholesale butchery of Canaanites?  Or that a God of boundless power, ’whose tender mercies are over all his works,’ decreed the extermination of entire nations for being what he made them?  Jehovah did all three.  Confessedly a God of armies and Lord of Hosts; confessedly, too, a hardener of men’s hearts that he might destroy them:  he authorised acts at which human nature shudders, and of which it is ashamed:  yet to love, respect, yea, reverence Him, we are commanded by the self-styled ’stewards of his mysteries,’ on peril of our ‘immortal souls.’  Verily, these pious anathematisers ask our credulity a little too much.’  In their zeal for the God of Israel, they are apt to forget that only Himself can compass impossibilities, and altogether lose sight of the fact that where, who, or what Jehovah is, no man knoweth.  Revelation (so-called) reveals nothing about the imagined creator of heaven and earth on which a cultivated intellect can repose with satisfaction.  Men naturally desire positive information concerning the superhuman Deity, belief in whom is the sine qua non of all religion.  But the Bible furnishes no such information concerning Jehovah.  On the contrary, he is their pronounced ‘past finding out,’ incomprehensible, and the like.  ’Canst thou, by searching, find out God?  Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection?’ are questions put by an ‘inspired writer,’ who felt the cloudy and unsatisfactory nature of all human conceit about Gods.

Now, a Revelation from God, at least so thinks the Author of this Apology, might reasonably be expected to make the mode and nature of His existence manifest.  But the Christian Bible falls infinitely short in this particular.  It teaches there is a God; but throws no light on the dark questions, who, what, or where is God?  Numerous and various as are Scripture texts, none can be cited in explanation of a Deity no older to-day than he was yesterday, nor younger to-day than he will be to-morrow; of a Deity who has no relation to space, not being a part here and a part there, or a whole anywhere:  in short, of that Deity written about by Bishop Watson, who, like every other sincere Christian, made the mistake of resting his religious faith on ’words without knowledge.’

It is to this description of faith Atheists object.  They think it the root of superstition, that greatest of all plagues, by which poor humanity is afflicted.  Are they to blame for thus thinking?  The Christian has no mercy on the superstition of the Heathen; and should scorn to complain when the bitter chalice is returned to his own lips.  Atheists believe the God of Bishop Watson a supernatural chimera, and to its worshippers have a perfect right to say, ’not one of you reflects that you ought to know your Gods before you worship them.’  These remarkable words, originally addressed to the Heathen, lose none of their force when directed against the Christian.