{
  "schema": "tga.work.v1",
  "identifier": "dresden:vol-12:jesus-christ",
  "slug": "jesus-christ",
  "title": "Jesus Christ",
  "subtitle": "An unfinished lecture, begun a few days before Ingersoll's death.",
  "excerpt": "The unfinished lecture Ingersoll began a few days before his death in July 1899 — a close examination of the man Jesus, stripped of the centuries of praise that had eulogized him into unreality.",
  "year": 1899,
  "volume": 12,
  "category": "Lecture",
  "author": {
    "name": "Robert G. Ingersoll",
    "wikidata": "Q360326",
    "viaf": "44331023"
  },
  "isPartOf": {
    "title": "The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll",
    "edition": "Dresden Edition",
    "publisher": "C. P. Farrell",
    "year": 1900
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/",
  "url": "https://thegreatagnostic.com/works/jesus-christ/",
  "wordCount": 472,
  "body": "• An unfinished lecture which Colonel Ingersoll commenced a\n    few days before his death.\n\nFOR many centuries and by many millions of people, Christ has been\nworshiped as God. Millions and millions of eulogies on his character\nhave been pronounced by priest and layman, in all of which his praises\nwere measured only by the limitations of language—words were regarded\nas insufficient to paint his perfections.\n\nIn his praise it was impossible to be extravagant. Sculptor, poet and\npainter exhausted their genius in the portrayal of the peasant, who was\nin fact the creator of all worlds.\n\nHis wisdom excited the wonder, his sufferings the pity and his\nresurrection and ascension the astonishment of the world.\n\nHe was regarded as perfect man and infinite God. It was believed that\nin the gospels was found the perfect history of his life, his words and\nworks, his death, his triumph over the grave and his return to heaven.\nFor many centuries his perfection, his divinity—have been defended by\nsword and fire.\n\nBy the altar was the scaffold—in the cathedral, the dungeon—the\nchamber of torture.\n\nThe story of Christ was told by mothers to their babes. For the most\npart his story was the beginning and end of education. It was wicked to\ndoubt—infamous to deny.\n\nHeaven was the reward for belief and hell the destination of the denier.\n\nAll the forces of what we call society, were directed against\ninvestigation. Every avenue to the mind was closed. On all the highways\nof thought, Christians placed posts and boards, and on the boards were\nthe words \"No Thoroughfare,\" \"No Crossing.\" The windows of the soul\nwere darkened—the doors were barred. Light was regarded as the enemy of\nmankind.\n\nDuring these Christian years faith was rewarded with position,\nwealth and power. Faith was the path to fame and honor. The man who\ninvestigated was the enemy, the assassin of souls. The creed was\nbarricaded on every side, above it were the glories of heaven—below\nwere the agonies of hell. The soldiers of the cross were strangers to\npity. Only traitors to God were shocked by the murder of an unbeliever.\nThe true Christian was a savage. His virtues were ferocious, and\ncompared with his vices were beneficent. The drunkard was a better\ncitizen than the saint. The libertine and prostitute were far nearer\nhuman, nearer moral, than those who pleased God by persecuting their\nfellows.\n\nThe man who thought, and expressed his thoughts, died in a dungeon—on\nthe scaffold or in flames.\n\nThe sincere Christian was insane. His one object was to save his soul.\nHe despised all the pleasures of sense. He believed that his nature was\ndepraved and that his desires were wicked.\n\nHe fasted and prayed—deserted his wife and children—inflicted tortures\non himself and sought by pain endured to gain the crown.   *\n"
}