Excerpt from Is the Morality of Jesus Sound?

A system of thought, or a code of morals, is much like a building; A serious crack in one of the walls, or a post that is not secure in its socket, is enough to make the whole build ing unsafe. When a building is condemned, it is not con demmed for the parts that are sound, but for the part or parts that are unsound. To change my illustration, the strength of a chain is in its weakest link. So is the strength of a religion in its most vulnerable parts. By overlooking the weakness and dwelling solely upon the strong points, we could make any religion appear as the best in the world; as a similar bias would prove the most rickety building even perfectly safe. A lawyer, an advocate, or Special pleader, may conceal, or cover' up the cracks in the walls of a building, or the defects of an institution. But why should I? My object is not to save the building, but the people who are in it. I am not interested in saving the creed or the religion, but the people who stake their lives on it. I am not trying to earn my fee, I am trying to serve the people. Why should I, then, be expected to spread the mantle of charity over a building that deserves to be con demmed, or plead for a religion that blocks the path of advance ment? And why, - why should any religion beg for charity? To a cashier of a bank, to a treasurer of a corporation, to an ofl'icial of the municipality or the state, who should beg the examining committee not to look into all his dealings, but only to report what good they can of him, we say: You are guilty. Not only that, but he is also trying to make us his accomplices.

Lawyer-like, preachers often tell their hearers to see only the good in the bible, for instance. When you are eating fish, they say, you eat the meat and throw away the bones. Do the same with the bible. But why should anything in the bible be meant to be thrown away? Pardon me if I use a stronger expression - why should any part of the Word of God be destined for the garbage box?

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