An Apology for Atheism | Page 3

live. Sagacious enough to
perceive that whatever influence they possess must vanish with the
ignorance on which it rests, they moved heaven and earth to disgust the
Irish people with an educational measure of which religion formed no
part. Their fury, like 'empty space,' is boundless. They cannot endure
the thought that our ministers should so far play the game of 'infidelity'
as to take from them the delightful task of teaching Ireland's young
ideas 'how to shoot.' Sir Robert Inglis christened this 'odious' measure,
a 'gigantic scheme of godless education,' and a large majority of Irish
Roman Catholic Prelates have solemnly pronounced it 'dangerous to
faith and morals,' Neither ministerial allurements, nor ministerial
threats can subdue the cantankerous spirit of these bigots. They are all
but frantic, and certainly not without reason, for the Irish Colleges Bill
is the fine point of that wedge which, driven home, will shiver to pieces
their 'wicked political system.' Whatever improves Irish intellect will
play the mischief with its 'faith,' though not at all likely to deteriorate
its 'morals.' The best guarantee for national morality is to be found in
national intelligence; nor need any one feel alarmed at the progress of
principles and measures inimical to faith in either Romanism or
Protestantism. Let the people of Ireland be properly employed, as a
preliminary to being well educated, and speedily they may deserve to
be singled out as 'the most moral people on the face of the earth.'
An educated nation will never tamely submit to be priest-ridden, and
well do Ireland's enslavers know it. The most stupid of her priests,
equally with the shrewdest of her 'patriots,' are quite alive to the
expediency of teaching as facts, the fraudulent fables of the 'dark ages.'
To keep the people ignorant, or what is worse, to teach them only what
is false, is the great end of their training; and if a British ministry
propose anything better than the merest mockery of education, they call

it 'dangerous to faith and morals.'
The sage who writes 'leaders' for the Morning Herald, is of opinion that
Ireland would indeed be 'great, glorious, and free,' if its Roman
Catholic people were to cease all efforts for Repeal, and turn good
Protestants. But the Herald does greatly err not knowing human nature
and the source of Irish evils. It is not by substituting Protestantism for
Romanism that those evils are to be cured. Were every Romanist in
Ireland at once to turn 'good Protestant,' their political emancipation
would be far off as ever. Protestantism everywhere, like Romanism
everywhere, is 'a political system, and a wicked political system, for it
regards only the exercise of power, and neglects utterly the duty of
improvement.'
Religion is the curse of Ireland. To the rival churches of that country
may be traced nearly all the oppressions suffered by its people, who
never can be materially improved till purged of their faith in priests.
When that salutary work shall be accomplished, Ireland will indeed be
'a nation' in the secure enjoyment of political liberty. The priest-ridden
may talk of freedom, but can never secure it; for, as truly said by one of
our most admired poets--
Tis man's base grovelling nature makes the priest, Who always rides a
superstitious beast.
And he is a poor politician who expects to see political liberty achieved
or enjoyed by nations made up of 'base, grovelling' specimens of
human nature.
What then can be thought of the first-rate reformers before alluded to,
who are going to emancipate every body without the least offence to
any body's superstition? It should be borne in memory that other people
are superstitious as well as the Irish, and that the churches of all
countries are as much parts of 'a wicked political system' as are the
churches of Ireland. The judges of our own country frequently remind
us that its laws have a religious sanction; nay they assure us
Christianity is part and parcel of those laws. Do we not know that
orthodox Christianity means Christianity as by law established? And

can any one fail to perceive that such a religion must needs be political?
The cunning few, who make a market of delusion, and esteem nothing
apart from their own aggrandisement, are quite aware that the civil and
criminal law of England is intimately associated with Christianity--they
publicly proclaim their separation impossible, except at the cost of
destruction to both. They are sagacious enough to perceive that a
people totally untrammelled by the fears, the prejudices, and the
wickedness of religion would never consent to remain in bondage.
Hence the pains taken by piety-mongers to perpetuate the dominion of
that ignorance which proverbially is 'the mother of devotion.' What care
they for universal emancipation? Free themselves, their grand object is
to rivet