Lectures of Col. R.G. Ingersoll, vol 1 | Page 8

this deity for not being caught with such chaff? Think of it! The
devil--the prince of sharpers--the king of cunning--the master of finesse,
trying to bribe God with a grain of sand that belonged to God!
Is there in ail the religious literature of the world any thing more
grossly absurd than this?
These devils, according to the bible, were various kinds--some could
speak and hear, others were deaf and dumb. All could not be cast out in
the same way. The deaf and dumb spirits were quite difficult to deal
with. St. Mark tells of a gentleman who brought his son to Christ. The
boy, it seems, was possessed of a dumb spirit, over which the disciples
had no control. "Jesus said unto the spirit: 'Thou dumb and deaf spirit. I

charge thee come out of him, and enter no more into him.'" Whereupon,
the deaf spirit having heard what was said, cried out (being dumb) and
immediately vacated the premises. The ease with which Christ
controlled this deaf and dumb spirit excited the wonder of his disciples,
and they asked him privately why they could not cast that spirit out. To
whom he replied: "This kind can come forth by nothing but prayer and
fasting." Is there a Christian in the whole world who would believe
such a story if found in any other book? The trouble is, these pious
people shut up their reason, and then open their bible.
In the olden times the existence of devils was universally admitted. The
people had no doubt upon that subject, and from such belief it followed
as a matter of course, that a person, in order to vanquish these devils,
had either to be a god, or to be assisted by one. All founders of
religions have established their claims to divine origin by controlling
evil spirits--and suspending the laws of nature. Casting out devils was a
certificate of divinity. A prophet, unable to cope with the powers of
darkness, was regarded with contempt. The utterance of the highest and
noblest sentiments, the most blameless and holy life, commanded but
little respect, unless accompanied by power to work miracles and
command spirits.
This belief in good and evil powers had its origin in the fact that man
was surrounded by what he was pleased to call good and evil
phenomena. Phenomena affecting man pleasantly were ascribed to
good spirits, while those affecting him unpleasantly or injuriously,
were ascribed to evil spirits. It being admitted that all phenomena were
produced by spirits, the spirits were divided according to the
phenomena, and the phenomena were good or bad as they affected man.
Good spirits were supposed to be the authors of good phenomena, and
evil spirits of the evil--so that the idea of a devil has been as universal
as the idea of a god.
Many writers maintain that an idea to become universal must be true;
that all universal ideas are innate, and that innate ideas cannot be false.
If the fact that an idea has been universal proves that it is innate, and if
the fact that an idea is innate proves that it is correct, then the believer
in innate ideas must admit that the evidence of a god superior to nature,
and of a devil superior to nature, is exactly the same, and that the
existence of such a devil must be as self-evident as the existence of

such a god. The truth is, a god was inferred from good, and a devil
from bad, phenomena. And it is just as natural and logical to suppose
that a devil would cause happiness as to suppose that a god would
produce misery. Consequently, if an intelligence, infinite and supreme,
is the immediate author of all phenomena, it is difficult to determine
whether such intelligence is the friend or enemy of man. If phenomena
were all good, we might say they were all produced by a perfectly
beneficent being. If they were all bad, we, might say they were
produced by a perfectly malevolent power; but as phenomena are, as
they affect man, both good and bad, they must be produced by different
and antagonistic spirits; by one who is sometimes actuated by kindness,
and sometimes by malice; or all must be produced of necessity, and
without reference to their consequences upon man.
The foolish doctrine that all phenomena can be traced to the
interference of good and evil spirits, has been, and still is, almost
universal. That most people still believe in some spirit that can change
the natural order of events, is proven by the fact that nearly all resort to
prayer. Thousands, at this very moment, are probably imploring some
supposed power to interfere in their behalf. Some want health restored;
some ask that the loved and absent