Some Mistakes of Moses (ISBN 0879753617)

sacrilarious:
It's really interesting to think about how Ingersoll would view modern politics. On the one hand he was rabidly opposed to Biblical literalism, also known as the cement shoes around the feet of the American electorate. But his opposition to the Bible wasn't due to any of the forces that get today's Bible-thumpers foaming at the mouth. He wasn't (as far as I know) a communist, hippie, satan-worshipper, or even an atheist. He was actually a family-values kind of guy, and his problems with the Bible stemmed from his hatred of slavery, murder, rape, genocide, and polygamy. Hard to argue with that, and even harder to argue that the god of the Pentateuch doesn't clearly endorse all of the above. In Some Mistakes of Moses Ingersoll reproduces the relevant Bible passages, interspersed with his own commentary, which alternates between funny and furious. I suppose if Ingersoll were around today, his writing would be more like that of his intellectual heir Sam Harris. I recently read this funny quote from Harris's new book: "The President of the United States has claimed, on more than one occasion, to be in dialogue with God. Now, if he said that he was talking to God through his hairdryer, this would precipitate a national emergency. I fail to see how the addition of a hairdryer makes the claim more ludicrous or more offensive." Ha!

An incredibly BRUTAL critique!:
Wow. I thought that I knew the first 5 books of the bible fairly well, and had found most of the logical flaws that existed... but wow! Ingersoll has an incredible intellect and is quite witty as well. He goes through the first 5 books of the bible and just rips them apart. I don't see how any objective/rational person could read this and continue to believe any of it. Brilliance!

Why does God tell me how to raise my children when he had to drown his?:
Reading Robert Ingersoll always leaves one amazed that he is not known as one of the greatest writers of his century. Criminally underrated for his views, his works, partially inspired by Voltaire's and Thomas Paine's literary attacks on the Church, are written more for the man-in-the-street, but behind his style hides a vast intellect and love for mankind. It's a tragedy that he was hated, and still is, by so many, the atheist infidel who dared cast doubts on, even mock, the unmockable. But there there's no doubt that when in centuries to come, when the world has evolved enough both spiritually and intellectually to accept Ingersoll's many truths, his work is reappraised, his name will be held higher than many of the so-called greats we revere today. Despised as an atheist, I'll leave it to Robert to clarify just what he condemns in this book, and why: 'And here let me say, once for all, that when I speak of God I mean the being described by Moses: the Jehovah of the Jews. There may be, for aught I know, somewhere in the unknown shoreless vast, some being whose dreams are constellations, and within whose thought the infinite exists. About this being, if such a one exists, I have nothing to say. He has written no books, inspired no barbarians, required no worship, and has prepared no hell in which to burn the honest seeker after truth. When I speak of God, I mean that God who prevented man from putting forth his hand and taking also of the fruit of the tree of life that he might live forever; of that God who multiplied the agonies of woman, increased the weary toil of man, and in his anger drowned a world; of that God whose altars reeked with human blood, who butchered babes, violated maidens, enslaved men, and filled the earth with cruelty and crime; of that God who made heaven for the few, hell for the many, and who will gloat for ever and ever upon the writhings of the lost and damned.' He certainly doesn't mince his words, but what intelligent person could possibly disagree with a word he says? Don't think he's always deadly serious though. The subject matter at hand certainly offers a potentially rich source of humor, and Ingersoll makes full use of it, for example: 'Of course, God knew, when he made man, that he would afterwards regret it. He knew that the people would grow worse and worse until destruction would be the only remedy. He knew that he would have to kill all except Noah and his family, and it is hard to see why he did not make Noah and his family, in the first place, and leave Adam and Eve in the dust.' And towards the end he comes up with this gem: 'If you find the institution of slavery upheld in a book said to have been written by God, what would you expect to find in a book inspired by the Devil?' 'Some Mistakes of Moses' is his longest work, but most of his other lectures and essays are worth reading too, and are as captivating today as when they were first written.

Some Mistakes of Moses:
This book is a sharp-witted, poignant and outright hilarious critique of the Old Testament. Light years ahead of his time, Ingersoll asks his readers to take the Old Testament with a large dose of salt, rather than consider it to be of divine inspiration. 'Some mistakes of Moses' is very well-written and thought provoking. Strongly recommended.

Great old book!:
I loved it. Had me laughing out loud several times. Book is more than 125 years old, but still much more believable than that black book most people have but don't read. As a staunch atheist, I loved his writing. Especially liked his response to personal attacks from Christians - (I'm paraphrasing) - Even if I was the worst man in the world, it still would not make the story of the great flood less doubtful.