Lectures of Col. R.G. Ingersoll, vol 1 | Page 7

resorted to
prayer, to flattery, to worship and to sacrifice. These ideas appear to
have been almost universal in savage man.

For ages all nations supposed that the sick and insane were possessed
by evil spirits. For thousands of years the practice of medicine
consisted in frightening these spirits away. Usually the priests would
make the loudest and most discordant noises possible. They would
blow horns, beat upon rude drums, clash cymbals, and in the meantime
utter the most unearthly yells. If the noise-remedy failed, they would
implore the aid of some more powerful spirit.
To pacify these spirits was considered of infinite importance. The poor
barbarian, knowing that men could be softened by gifts, gave to these
spirits that which to him seemed of the most value. With bursting heart
he would offer the blood of his dearest child. It was impossible for him
to conceive of a god utterly unlike himself, and he naturally supposed
that these powers of the air would be affected a little at the sight of so
great and so deep a sorrow. It was with the barbarian then as with the
civilized now--one class lived upon and made merchandise of the fears
of another. Certain persons took it upon themselves to appease the gods,
and to instruct the people in their duties to these unseen powers. This
was the origin of the priesthood. The priest pretended to stand between
the wrath of the gods and the helplessness of man. He was man's
attorney at the court of heaven. He carried to the invisible world a flag
of truce, a protest and a request. He came back with a command, with
authority and with power. Man fell upon his knees before his own
servant, and the priest, taking advantage of the awe inspired by his
supposed influence with the gods, made of his fellow-man a cringing
hypocrite and slave. Even Christ, the supposed son of God, taught that
persons were possessed of evil spirits, and frequently, according to the
account, gave proof of his divine origin and mission by frightening
droves of devils out of his unfortunate countrymen. Casting out devils
was his principal employment, and the devils thus banished generally
took occasion to acknowledge him as the true Messiah; which was not
only very kind of them, but quite fortunate for him. The religious
people have always regarded the testimony of these devils as perfectly
conclusive, and the writers of the New Testament quote the words of
these imps of darkness with great satisfaction.
The fact that Christ could withstand the temptations of the devil was
considered as conclusive evidence that he was assisted by some god, or
at least by some being superior to man. St. Matthew gives an account

of an attempt made by the devil to tempt the supposed son of God; and
it has always excited the wonder of Christians that the temptation was
so nobly and heroically withstood. The account to which I refer is as
follows:
"Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of
the devil. And when the tempter came to him, he said: 'If thou be the
son of God command that these stones be made bread.' But he
answered, and said 'It is written: man shall not live by bread alone, but
by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.' Then the devil
taketh him up into the holy city and setteth him upon a pinnacle of the
temple and saith unto him: 'If thou be the son of God, cast thyself down,
for it is written. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee, lest at
any time thou shalt dash thy foot against a stone.' Jesus said unto him 'It
is written again, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.' Again the devil
taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain and showeth him all the
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and saith unto him 'All
these will I give thee if thou wilt fall down and worship me.'"
The Christians now claim that Jesus was God. If he was God, of course
the devil knew that fact, and yet, according to this account, the devil
took the omnipotent God and placed him upon a pinnacle of the temple,
and endeavored to induce him to dash himself against the earth. Failing
in that, he took the creator, owner and governor of the universe up into
an exceeding high mountain, and offered him this world--this grain of
sand--if he, the God of all the worlds, would fall down and worship
him, a poor devil, without even a tax title to one foot of dirt! Is it
possible the devil was such an idiot? Should any great credit be given
to