What, now, can be said of women, those who have only attained their right to property within a century ago? Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who had worked her entire life so that she and her children may enjoy the same rights as men, did not accept the Christian superstition. To quote her, “Through theological superstitions, woman finds her most grievous bondage…. Among the clergy we find our most violent enemies, those most opposed to any change in woman’s position.” [Views of Religion, by Rufus K. Noyes, (Boston: L. K. Washburn, 1906).] In Matthew 5:32, Jesus says it is permissible for divorce when the wife commits adultery, but makes no mention of any punishment towards a man for committing adultery. (In fact, a true thinker would question the very institution of this abomination called marriage!) Romans 1:27 states that the “natural use” of women is for sex. 1 Corinthians 11:3 states, “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” Ephesians 5:22, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.” Colossians 3:8, “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” 1 Timothy 2:11-12, “Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.” 1 Peter, 3:1, “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives.” The Bible has confirmed again and again that it detests females. This sentiment was expressed clearly in the Dark Ages when clergymen took up the task of persecuting any obscure woman, by calling her “witch!” Hundreds of thousands of women were burned at the stake, all for the excuse of this superstitious claim, this bigoted belief that women were inferior, were undeserving of affection, were to be submissive, were not capable. This ethic still preseveres in the Roman Catholic Church today, as women are still not allowed to lead a church as the Bible commands! The Protestants who have thrown off the chains of the triumphant beast — the Catholic Church — have allowed their female members to lead churches and congregations. The reason why they have developed into moral, upstanding individuals is not because they followed the Bible, but because they outrightly denied its precepts!

“The parasite of woman is the priest.” — Robert Green Ingersoll, from Men, Women, and Gods, by Helen H. Gardner. The churches have been executing and killing witches for centuries. They have committed more cruelties than those without heart, have debauched more beauty than a tyrant could ever possibly destroy — they have been living daemons on this planet, spreading fear and hate, fostering prejudice and bigotry. It has been the long-surviving code of Christianity that nothing is to be questioned, and that such questioning is blasphemy, deserving of death. A scientist or philosopher, when asked a question concerning their theory, will answer as best and as simply as they can, sometimes even compassionately. A clergyman, depending on the era, when asked a question, will either kill you are disallow you from his church. So it goes with its moral creed — those who have questioned the submission of women, those who have defiantly upheld the rights of those the church has been so determined to oppress, these men and women — heroes in the hearts of Humanitarians — have been outcast. Little is written of Thomas Paine or Robert Green Ingesoll or Charles Bradlaugh or Giordano Bruno — yet all of these men have been lovers of life, soldiers in the army of compassion, merciful, kind, revering, affectionate; they have been the men who offered aid in time of need, the men who offered undying passion to the cause that stirred their heart. Pat Robertson of Christian Coalition has said, “The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.” [Pat Robertson, fundraising letter, 1992.] Exodus 20:29 states, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, … nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.” As it goes with cruel and vicious doctrines, monogamy married to religion, women are treated as property. This practice is called marriage and it is sanctioned by the Bible. In Deuteronomy 22:23-34, it states that a rape victim is to be murdered. It provides the reasoning that she did not scream out loud enough. This is but an unspeakable cruelty.

There are numerous reasons for rejecting the Bible. If someone were to ask me why I do not believe the Bible, I could give one of these simple answers: “Because I believe that all humans deserve to be treated equally, and that slavery is an abomination.” — “Because I believe that women are not supposed to be submisse, and that all people, despite gender, deserve equal consideration.” — “Because I am opposed to rape, and feel that a rape victim should not be consumed in fire for being raped.” Or, an extremely simplified version, “I disbelieve the Bible because it has condoned every brutality and every heartless action over the centuries of time. It has been the burden of superstition on the minds of men, just as it has been the burden of bigotry on the hearts of men. It has turned cities into chaotic witchhunts where women were sought out to be burned. Women and slaves were denied any rights, and everyone was denied the right to think. When men were denied the right to think for themselves, when women were denied all of their rights, and when slaves were abundant, it was under this state of affairs that the church flourished greatly.”