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NATIONAL SECULAR SOCIETY
NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
BY
i
CHARLES BRADLAUGH.
[revised edition.]
LONDON:
FREETHOUGHT
PUBLISHING
63, FLEET STREET E.C.
1 8 8 4.
PRICE
TWOPENCE.
COMPANY.
�LONDON:
PRINTED BY ANNIE BESANT AND CHARLES BRADLAUGH,
63, FLEET STREET, E.C.
�NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
-------------- _
In compiling a biographical account of any ancient per
sonage, impediments often arise from the uncertainty,
party bias, and prejudiced coloring of the various tra
ditions out of which the biography is collected. Here no
such obstacle is met with, no such bias can be imagined,
for, in giving the life of David, we extract it from an all
wise God’s perfect and infallible revelation to man, and
thus are enabled to present it to our readers free from
any doubt, uncertainty, or difficulty. There is perhaps
the fear that the manner of this brief sketch may be
adjudged to be within the operation of such common law
as wisely protects the career of the saints from mere sinful
common-sense criticism; but as the matter is derived
from the authorised version for which England is in
debted to James, of royal and pious memory, this new
life of David may be safely left to the impartial judgment
of Mr. Justice North, aided by the charitable and pious
counsel of Sir Hardinge Giffard. The latter, who has had
more than one criminal client for whom he has most ably
pleaded, might be relied on to make out a strong, if not a
good, case for punishing any one who is unfair to the man
after God’s own heart. Mr. Justice Stephen has furnished
me with some slight guide in his notice of Voltaire’s play
called “ David ” :—
“ It constitutes, perhaps, the bitterest attack on David’s
character ever devised by the wit of man, but the effect is
produced almost exclusively by the juxtaposition, with hardly
any alteration, of a number of texts from different parts of
David’s history. It would be a practical impossibility to
charge a jury in such a case, so as to embody Lord Coleridge’s
view of the law. The judge would have to say : “ It is lawful
f.o say that David was a murderer, an adulterer, a treacherous
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NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
tyrant who passed his last moments in giving directions for
assassinations; but you must observe the decencies of contro
versy.. You must not arrange your facts in such a way as to
mix ridicule with indignation, or to convey too striking a
contrast between the solemn character of the documents from
which the extracts are made, and the nature of the extracts
themselves, and of the facts to which they relate.”
It is in the spirit of this paragraph that I have penned the
present life.
The father of David was Jesse, an Ephrathite of Bethle
hem Judah, who had either-eight sons, (1 Samuel c. xvi.,
w. 10 and 11, and c. xvii., v. 12), or only seven (1
Chronicles, c. ii., vv. 13 to 15), and David was either the
eighth son or the seventh. Some may think this a difficulty,
but such persons will only be those who rely on their own
intellectual faculties, or who have been misled by arithmetic.
If you are in any doubt, consult some qualified divine, and
he will explain to you that there is really no difference be
tween eight and seven when rightly understood with prayer
and faith, by the help of the spirit. Arithmetic is an utterly
infidel acquirement, and one which all true believers should
eschew. The proposition that three times one are one is a
fundamental article of the Christian faith. When young,
David tended his father’s sheep, and apparently while so
doing he gained a character for being cunning in playing,
a mighty valiant man, a man of war and prudent in
matters. He obtained his reputation as a soldier early
and wonderfully, for he was “but a youth;” and God’s
most holy word asserts that when going to fight with
Goliath, he tried to walk in armor and could not, because
he was not accustomed to it (1 Samuel c. xvii., v. 39 c. f.
Douay version). Samuel shortly prior to this anointed
David, who, while yet a lad, had been selected by the
(Lord to be King of the Jews in place and stead of Saul,
who had wickedly disobeyed the commands of the Lord,
who in his infinite love and mercy had said (1 Sam., c. 15,
v. 3): “ Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all
that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man
and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and
ass.” Saul, however, behaved unrighteously, for he
“ spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen,
i and of the failings, and the lambs, and all that was good,
* and would not utterly destroy them.’’ This not unnaturally
�NKW LIFE 01* DAVID.
5
irritated and annoyed the Lord. “ Then came the word of
the Lord unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I
have set up Saul to be King : for he is turned back from
following me, and hath not performed my commandments,”
and the Lord bid Samuel fill a “horn with oil,” and sent
Samuel, who anointed David the son of Jesse in the midst
of his brethren, and the spirit of the Lord came upon
David from that day forward. If a man takes to spirits
his life will probably be one of vice, misery, and misfor
tune ; and if spirits take to him, the result in the end is
nearly the same. Every evil deed which the Bible records
as having been done by David was after the spirit of the
Lord had so come upon him. Saul being King of Israel, an
evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.. The devil has, it
is said, no love for music, and Saul was recommended to
have David to play on a harp, in order that harmony
might drive this evil spirit back to the Lord who sent it.
The Jew’s harp was played successfully, and Saul was
often relieved from the evil spirit by David’s ministrations.
There is nothing miraculous in this; at the People’s Concerts
many a working man has beenrelieved from the “bluedevils”
by a stirring chorus, a merry song, or patriotic anthem; and
on the contrary many evil spirits have been aroused by
the most unmusical performances of the followers of
General Booth. David was appointed armor-bearer to
the King; but curiously enough, this office does not appear
to have interfered with his duties as a shepherd; indeed,
the care of his father’s sheep took precedence over the care
of the king’s armor, and in the time of war he “ went
and returned to feed his father’s sheep.” Perhaps his
■“ prudence in matters ” induced him thus to take care of
himself.
A Philistine, one Goliath of Gath (whose height was six
cubits and a span, or about nine feet six inches, at a low
computation) had defied the armies of Israel. This Goliath
was (to use the vocabulary of a reverend sporting corres
pondent to a certain religious newspaper) a veritable cham
pion of the heavy weights. He carried in all about two
cwt. of offensive and defensive armor upon his person,
and his challenge had great weight. None dared accept
it amongst the soldiers of Saul until the arrival of David,
who brought some food for his brethren. David volnnteered to fight the giant, but Elias, David’s brother, having
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NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
mocked the presumption of the offer, and Saul objecting’
that the venturesome lad was not competent to take part in
a conflict so dangerous, David related how he pursued a n
lion and a bear, how he caught him, by his beard and slew '
him. Which animal it was that David thus bearded the i
text does not say. The Douay says it was “a lion or a
bear.” To those who have chased the king of the.forests
or studied the habits of bears, the whole story looks, on
an attentive reading, “very like a whale.” David was
permitted to fight the giant; his equipment was simple, a ) *
sling and stones, and with these, from a distance, he slew
the giant. Some suggest that the weapon Goliath fell
under was the long bow. This suggestion is rendered pro
bable by the book itself. One verse says that David slew
the Philistine with a stone, another verse says that he slew
him with the giant’s own sword, while in 2 Samuel c. xxi.,
v. 19, we are told that Goliath the^Gittife”was slain by
Elhanan. Our translators, who have great regard for our
faith and more for their pulpits, have kindly inserted the
words “the brother of ” before Goliath. This emendation
saves the true believer from the difficulty of understanding
how Goliath of Gath could have been killed by different \
men at different times. David was previously well known
to Saul, and was much loved and favored by that monarch.
He was also seen by the king before he went forth to do
battle with the gigantic Philistine. Yet (as if to verify
the proverb that kings have short memories for their
friends) Saul had forgotten his own armor-bearer and
much-loved harpist, and ’was obliged to ask Abner who
David was. Abner, captain of the king’s host, familiar
with the person of the armor-bearer to the king, of course
knew David well; he therefore answered: “As thy soul
liveth, 0 king, I cannot tell.” David, having made known
his parentage, was appointed to high command by Saul;
but the Jewish women over-praised David, and thus dis
pleased the king. One day the evil spirit from the Lord
came upon Saul and he prophesied. Men often talk great
nonsense under the influence of spirits, which they some
times regret when sober. It is, however, an interesting4It
tyl fact in ancient spiritualism to know that Saul prophesied I I
with a devil in him. Under the joint influence of the devil i
and prophecy, Saul tried to kill David with a javelin, and
this was repeated, even after David had married the king’s
�NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
7
daughter (whose wedding he had secured by the slaughter
of two hundred men). Saul then asked his son and ser
vants to kill David; but Jonathan, Said’s son, loved David,
‘ ‘ And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and
Saul sware, As the Lord liveth, he shall not be slain.” It
is interesting as showing the utility of oaths that after
having thus sworn Said was more determined than ever to
kill David. To save his own life David fled to Naioth, and
Saul sent there messengers to arrest David; but three sets
of the king’s messengers having in turn all become pro
phets, Said went himself, and the spirit of the Lord came
upon him also, and he stripped off his clothes and pro
phesied as hard as the rest, “laying down naked all that
day and all that night.”
David lived in exile for some time in godly company,
having collected round him every one that was in distress,
and every one that was in debt, and every one that was
discontented. Saul made several fruitless attempts.<to
effect his capture, with no better result than that he
twice placed himself in the power of David, who twice
showed the mercy to a cruel king which he never conceded
to an unoffending people. David having obtruded himself
upon Achish, King of Gath, doubtful of his safety, feigned
madness to cover his retreat. He then lived a precarious
life, sometimes levying a species of black mail upon defence
less farmers. Having applied to one farmer to make bim
some compensation for permitting the farm to go unrobbed,
and his demand not having been complied with, David,
who is a man after the heart of God of mercy, immediately
determined to murder the farmer and all his household for
their wicked reluctance in submitting to his extortions.
The wife of farmer Nabal compromised the matter. David
'''accepted her person ” and ten days after Nabal was found
dead in his bed. David afterwards went with 600 men and
lived under the protection of Achish, King of Gath, and
while thus residing (being the anointed one of God who
says, “ Thou shalt not steal ”) he robbed the inhabitants
of the surrounding places. Being also obedient to the
statute, “Thou shall do no murder,” hs slaughtered, and
left neither man nor woman alive to report his robberies to
King Achish; and as he “ always walked in the ways ” of
a God to whom “ lying lips are an abomination,” he made
false reports to Achish in relation to his actions. Of
�NEW LINE OF DAVID.
course this was all for the glory of God, whose ways are
not as our ways. Soon the Philistines were engaged in
another of the constantly recurring conflicts with the
Israelites. Who offered them the help of himself and
band ? Who offered to make war on his own countrymen ?
David, the man after God’s own heart, who obeyed God’s
statutes and who walked in his ways, to do only that
which was right in the sight of God. The Philistines
rejected the traitor’s aid, and prevented the consnnmm.fion
of this baseness. While David was making this un
patriotic proffer of his services to the Philistines, his own
city of Ziglag was captured by the Amalekites, who were
doubtless endeavoring to avenge some of the most unjusti
fiable robberies and murders perpetrated by David and his
followers in their country. David’s own friends evidently
thought that this misfortune was a retribution for David’s
crimes, for they spoke of stoning him. The Amalekites
had captured and carried off everything, but they do not
seem to have maltreated or killed any of their enemies.
David was less merciful. He pursued them, recaptured
the spoil, and spared not a man of them, save 400 who
escaped on camels. In consequence of the death of Saul,
David was elevated to the throne of Judah, while
Ishbosheth, a son of Saul, was made king of Israel. But
Ishbosheth having been assassinated, David slew the
assassins, when they, hoping for reward, brought him the
news, and he reigned ultimately over Israel also.
As religious readers are doubtless aware, the Lord God
of Israel, after the time of Moses, usually dwelt on the top
of an ark or box, between two figures of gold; and on one
occasion David made a journey with his followers to Baal,
to bring thence the ark of God. They placed it on a new
cart drawn by oxen. On the journey the oxen stumbled,
and consequently shook the cart. One of the drivers,
whose name was Uzzah, possibly fearing that God might
be tumbled to the ground, took hold of the ark, apparently
in order to steady it, and prevent it from overturning.
God, who is a God of love, was much displeased that any
one should presume to do any such act of kindness, and
killed Uzzah on the spot as a punishment for his sin. This
shows that if a man sees the Church of God tumbling
down, he should never try to prop it up; if it be not
strong enough to save itself, the sooner it falls the better
�NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
9
for humankind—that is, if they keep away from it while
it is falling. David was much displeased that the Lord
had killed Uzzah; in fact, David seems to have wished
for a monopoly of slaughter, and always manifested dis
pleasure when any killing was done unauthorised hy
himself. Being displeased, David would not take the ark
to Jerusalem, but left it in the house of Obed Edom; then,
as the Lord proved more kind to Obed Edom than he had
done to Uzzah, David determined to bring the ark away,
and did so, dancing before the ark in a state of semi-nudity,
for which he was reproached by Michal. Lord Campbell’s
Act is intended to hinder the publication of indecencies,
but the pages of the Book which the law affirms to be
God’s most holy word do not come within the scope of the
Act, and lovers of obscene language may therefore have
legal gratification so long as the Bible shall exist. The
God of Israel, who had been leading a wandering life for
many years, and who had “walked in a tent and in a
tabernacle,” and “from tent to tent,” and “from one
tabernacle to another,” and “who had not dwelt in any
house” since the time that he brought the Israelites out of
Egypt, was offered “ an house for him to dwell in,” but he
declined to accept it during the lifetime of David, although
he promised to permit the son of David to erect him such
an abode. David being now a powerful monarch, and
having many wives and concubines, saw one day the
beautiful wife of one of his soldiers. To see with this
licentious monarch was to crave for the gratification of his
lust. The husband Uriah was fighting for the king, yet David
was base enough to steal his wife’s virtue during Uriah’s
absence in the field of battle. “ Thou shalt not commit
adultery ” was one of the commandments, yet we are told by
God of this David, that he was one ‘ ‘ who kept my command
ments, and who followed me with all his heart to do only
that which was right in mine eyes” (1 Kings, c. xiv.,
v. 8). David having seduced the wife, sent for her
husband, wishing to make him condone his wife’s dishonor.
In modern England under a Stuart or a Brunswick, Uriah
might have become a Marquis or a Baron. Some hold
that virtue in rags is less worth than vice when coroneted.
Uriah would not be thus tricked, and David, the pious
David, coolly planned, and without mercy caused to be
executed, the treacherous murder of Uriah. God is all
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just; and David having committed adultery and murder,
God punished and killed an innocent child, which had no
part or share in David’s crime, and never chose that it
should be born from the womb of Bathsheba. After this
king David was even more cruel and merciless than
before. Previously he had systematically slaughtered the
inhabitants of Moab, now he sawed people with saws, cut
them with harrows and axes, and made them pass through
brick-kilns. Yet of this man, God said he “did that
which was right in mine eyes.” So bad a king, so
treacherous a man, a lover so inconstant, a husband so
adulterous, was of course a bad father, having bad children.
We are little surprised, therefore, to read that his son
Amnon robbed of her virtue his own sister, David’s
daughter Tamar, and that Amnon was afterwards slain by
his own brother, David’s son Absalom, and we are scarcely
astonished that Absalom himself, on the house-top, in the
sight of all Israel, should complete his father’s shame by
an act worthy a child of God’s select people. Yet these
are God’s chosen race, and this is the family of the man
“who walked in God’s ways all the days of his life.”
God, who is all-wise and all-just, and who is not a man
that he should repent, repented that he had made Saul’
king because Saul spared one man. In the reign of David
the same good God sent a famine for three years on the
descendants of Abraham, and upon being asked his reason
for thus starving his chosen ones, the reply of the Deity was
that he sent the famine on the subjects of David because
Saul slew the Gibeonites. Satisfactory reason!—because
Oliver Cromwell slew the Eoyalists, God will punish the
subjects of Charles the Second. One reason is, to profane
eyes, equivalent to the other, but a bishop or even a rural
dean would soon show how remarkably God’s justice was
manifested. David was not behindhand in justice. He had
sworn to Said that he would not cut off his seed—2.0., that
he would not destroy Saul’s family. He therefore took two
of Saul’s sons, and five of Saul’s grandsons, and gave them
up to the Gibeonites, who hung them. Strangely wonderful
are the ways of the Lord! Saul slew the Gibeonites,
therefore years afterwards God starves Judah. The Gibe
onites hang men who have nothing to do with the crime
of Saul, except that they are his descendants, and then
we are told “the Lord was intreated for the land.” The
�NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
II
anger of the Lord being kindled against Israel, he, want
ing some excuse for punishing the descendants of Jacob,
moved David to number his people. The Chronicles say
that the tempter was Satan, and pious people may thus
learn what there is of distinction between God and Devil.
Philosophers would urge that both personifications are
founded in the ignorance of the masses, and the continu
ance of the myth will cease with the credulousness of the
people. David caused a census to be taken of the tribes
of Israel and Judah. There is a trival disagreement of
about 270,000 soldiers between Samuel and Chronicles,
but readers must not allow so slight an inaccuracy as this
to stand between them and heaven. What are 270,000
men when looked at prayerfully ? That any doubt should
arise is to a devout mind at the same time profane and
preposterous. Statisticians suggest that 1,570,000 soldiers
form a larger army than the Jews are likely to have
possessed; but if God is omnipotent, there is no reason to
limit his power of miraculously increasing or decreasing
the armament of the Jewish nation. David, it seems, did
wrong in numbering his people, but we are never told that
he did wrong in robbing or murdering their neighbors, or
in pillaging peaceful agriculturists. David said: “I have
sinned,” and for this an all-merciful God brought a pesti
lence on the people, and murdered 70,000 Israelites, for
an offence which their ruler had committed. The angel
who was engaged in this terrible slaughter stood some
where between heaven and earth, and stretched forth his
hand with a drawn sword to destroy Jerusalem itself; but
even the bloodthirsty Deity of the Bible “repented him
of the evil,” and said to the angel: “It is enough.” Many
volumes might be written to answer the enquiries—where
did the angel stand, and on what ? Of what metal was
the sword, and where was it made ? As it was a drawn
one, where was the scabbard ? and did the angel wear a
sword-belt ? Examined in a pious frame of mind, much
holy instruction may be derived from the attempt to solve
these solemn problems.
David now grows old and weak, and at last his deathhour comes. Oh! for the dying words of the Psalmist I
What pious instruction shall we derive from the death-bed
scene of the man after God’s own heart I Listen to the
last words of Judah’s expiring monarch. You who have
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NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
been content with the pions frauds and forgeries perpe
trated with reference to the death-beds and dying words
of the great, the generous, the witty Voltaire; the manly,
the self-denying, the incorruptible Thomas Paine; the
humane, simple, child-like man, yet mighty poet, Shelley—
you who have turned away from these with unwarranted
horror—come with me to the death-couch of the special
favorite of God. Bathsheba’s child stands by his side.
Does any thought of the murdered Uriah rack old David’s
brain, or has a tardy repentance effaced the bloody stain
from the pages of his memory? What does the dying
David say ? Does he talk of cherubs, angels and heavenly
choirs ? Nay, none of these things passes his lips. Does
he make a confession of his crime-stained life, and beg
his son to be a better king, a truer man, a more honest
citizen, a wiser father ? Nay, not so—no word of sorrow,
no sign of regret, no expression of remorse or repentance
escapes his lips. What does the dying David say ?
This foul monster whom God has made king; this redhanded robber, whose life has been guarded by “our
Father which art in Heaven; ” this perjured king, whose
lying lips have found favor in the sight of God, and who,
when he dies, is safe for Heaven. It is written: “ There
shall be more joy in heaven before God over one sinner
that repenteth than over ninety and nine righteous men.”
Does David repent ? Nay, like the ravenous wolf, which,
tasting blood, is made more eager for the prey, he too
yearns for blood; and with his dying breath begs his son
to bring the grey hairs of two old men down to the grave
with blood. And this is God’s anointed king, the chief
one of God’s chosen people.
The learned and pious Puffendorf explains that David
having only sworn not himself to kill ‘Shimei (1 Kings ii.
8) there was no perjury on the part of David in persuad
ing Solomon to contrive the killing from which David had
sworn to personally abstain.
David is alleged to have written several Psalms, but of
this there is little evidence beyond pious assertion. In one
of these the psalmist addresses God in pugilistic phrase°l°gy, praising Deity that he had smitten all his enemies
on the cheek-bone, and broken the teeth of the ungodly.
In these days when “muscular Christianity ” is not without
advocates, the metaphor which presents God as a sort of
�NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
13
magnificent Benicia Boy may find many admirers. In the
eighteenth Psalm, David describes God as with “smoke
coming out of his nostrils and fire out of his mouth,” by
which “coals were kindled.” He represents God as
coming down from heaven, and says: “he rode upon a
cherub.” The learned Parkhurst gives a likeness of a
one-legged, four-winged, four-faced animal, part lion, part
bull, part eagle, part man, and if a cloven foot be any
criterion, part devil also. This description, if correct, will
give some idea to the faithful of the wonderful character
of the equestrian feats of Deity. In addition to a cherub,
God has other means of conveyance at his disposal, if
David be not in error when he says that the chariots of the
Lord are 20,000.
In Psalm xxvi. the writer adds hypocrisy in addition to
his other vices. He has the impudence to tell God that he
has been a man of integrity and truth, and that he has
avoided evil-doers, although, if we are to believe Psalm
xxxviii., the hypocrite must have already been subject to
a loathsome disease—a penalty consequent on his licentious
ness and criminality. In another Psalm, David the liar tells
God that “ he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight.”
To understand David’s pious nature we must study his
prayer to God against an enemy (Psalm cix., w. 6-14) :
“ Set thou a wicked man over him; and let Satan stand at
his right hand. When he shall be judged, let him be con
demned : and let his prayer become sin. Let his days be
few : and let another take his office. Let his children be
fatherless, and his wife a widow. Let his children be con
tinually vagabonds, and beg : let them seek their bread also
out of their desolate places. Let the extortioner catch all
that he hath ; and let the strangers spoil his labor. Let
there be none to extend mercy unto him : neither let their
be any to favor his fatherless children. Let his posterity be
cut off; and in the generation following let their name be
blotted out. Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered
with the Lord; and let not the sin' of his mother be blotted
out.”
A full consideration of the life of David must give great
help to the orthodox in promoting and sustaining faith.
While spoken of by Deity as obeying all the statutes and
keeping all the commandments, we are astonished to find
that murder, theft, lying, adultery, licentiousness, and
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NEW LIFE OF DAVID.
treachery are amongst the crimes which may be laid, to his
.charge. David was a liar, God is a God of truth ; David
was merciless, God is merciful, and of long suffering;
David was a thief, God says: “Thou shalt not steal;”
David was a murderer, God says : ‘‘ Thou shalt do no mur
der;” David took the wife of Uriah, and “ accepted” the
wife of Nahal, God says : “ Thou shalt not covet thy neigh
bor’s wife.” Yet, notwithstanding all these things, David
was the man after God’s own heart!
Had this Jewish monarch any redeeming traits in his
character ? Was he a good citizen? If so, the Bible has
carefully concealed every action which would entitle him to
such an appellation. Was he a kind and constant husband ?
To whom ? To which of his many wives and mistresses ?
Was he grateful to those who aided him in his hour of need?
Bather, like the serpent which, half-frozen by the wayside,
is warmed into new life in the traveller’s breast, and then
treacherously stings his succorer with his poisoned fangs,
so David robbed and murdered the friends and allies of the
King of Gath, who afforded him protection against the
pursuit of Saul. Does his patriotism outshine his many
vices ? Does his love of country efface his many misdoings ?
Not even this. David was a heartless traitor who volun
teered to serve against his own countrymen, and would have
done so had not the Philistines rejected his treacherous
help. Was he a good king? So say the priesthood now;
but where is the evidence of his virtue ? His crimes brought
plague and pestilence on his subjects, and his reign is a
continued succession of wars, revolts, and assassinations,
plottings and counterplots.
The life of David is a dark blot on the page of human ’
history, fit in companionship for the biographies of Con
stantine the Great and Henry VIII.; but it is through
David that the genealogies of Jesus are traced, and with
out David there would be no Christian faith.
�Works sold by the Freetliought Publishing Com
pany, 63, Fleet Street, London, E.C.
Postage must be sent with Orders less than One Shilling in value.
Cheques should be crossed “ London and South- Western Bank.”
Bradlaugh., Charles—(See also Biternational Series.)
Genesis : its Authorship and Authenticity. Cloth, gilt, pp. 341, 5s.
The Freethinker’s Text-Book. Part I. Section I.—“ The Story
of the Origin of Man, as told by the Bible and Science.” Sec
tion II.—« What is Religion
“ How has it Grown ?” “ God
and Soul.” Bound in cloth, price 2s. 6d.
Impeachment of the House of Brunswick. Ninth edition. Is.
Political Essays. Bound in cloth, 2s. 6d.
Theological Essays. Bound in cloth, 3s.
Hints to Emigrants, containing important information on the
United States, Canada, and New Zealand. Is.
Debates—All Verbatim Reports.
Four—with the Rev. Dr. Baylee, in Liverpool ■ the Rev. Dr.
Harrison, in London ; Thomas Cooper, in London ; the Rev.
R. A. Armstrong, in Nottingham; with Three Discourses by
the Bishop of Peterborough, and Replies by C. Bradlaugh.
Bound in one volume, cloth, 3s.
What does Christian Theism Teach ? Two nights’ Public Debate
with the Rev. A. J. Harrison. 6d.
God, Man, and the Bible. Three nights’ Discussion, at Liverpool,
with the Rev. Dr. Baylee. 6d.
God as the Maker and Moral Governor of the Universe. Two
nights’ Discussion with Thomas Cooper. 6d.
Has Man a Soul ? Two nights’ Debate, at Burnley, with the Rev.
W. M. Westerby. Is.
Christianity in relation to Freethought, Scepticism, and Faith.
Three Discourses by the Bishop of Peterborough, with
Special Replies. 6d.
Secularism Unphilosophical, Unsocial, and Immoral. Three
nights’ Debate with the Rev. Dr. McCann. Is.
Is it.Reasonable to Worship God ? Two nights’ Debate, at Not
tingham, with the Rev. R. A. Armstrong. Is.
�Bradlaugii, Charles {continued)—•
Pamphlets—
s. d.
The True Story of my Parliamentary Struggle. Contain
ing a Verbatim Report of the proceedings before the Select
Committee of the House of Commons; Mr. Bradlaugh’s
Three Speeches at the Bar of the House etc., etc.
... 0 &
Fourth Speech at the Bar of the House of Commons. 30th
Thousand
...
...
...
...
... 0 |
May the House of Commons Commit Treason ? ...
... 0 £
Correspondence with Sir Stafford Northcote, M.P.
... 0 2
John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough—“Mob,” “Scum,”
and “Dregs”
...
...
...
...
...0 2
A Cardinal’s Broken Oath ...
...
...
... 0 1
Perpetual Pensions. Fortieth thousand
...
... 0 2
Civil Lists and Grants to Royal Family
...
... 0 1
Real Representation of the People
...
...
... 0 2
Letter to Albert Edward Prince of Wales, on Freemasonry 0 1
Why do Men Starve ?
...
...
...
...0 1
Jesus, Shelley, and Malthus: an Essay on the Population
Question
...
...
...
...
... 0 2
Poverty and its effect upon the People
...
... 0 1
Labor’s Prayer
...
...
...
...
... 0 1
The Land, the People, and the Coming Struggle
... 0 2
India. A lecture
...
...
...
...
... 0 1
Five Dead Men whom I Knew when Living. Sketches of
Robert Owen, Joseph Mazzini, John Stuart Mill, Charles
Sumner, and Ledru Rollin...
...
• ...
... 0 4
Cromwell and Washington: a Contrast
...
... 0 G
Anthropology. In neat wrapper
...
...
... 0 4
When were our Gospels Written ? ...
...
... 0 6
Plea for Atheism
...
...
...
...
... 0 3
Has Man a Soul ?
...
...
...
...
... 0 2
Is there a God?
...
...
...
...
... 0 1
Who was Jesus Christ?
...
...
... ,
...01
What did Jesus Teach ?
...
...
...
... 0 1
The Twelve Apostles
...
...
..
..0 1
The Atonement
...
...
...
...
...0 1
Life of David
...
...
...
...
... 0 2
Life of Jacob
...
...
...
...
... 0 1
Life of Abraham ...
...
...
...
... 0 1
Life of Moses
...
...
...
...
... 0 1
Life cf Jonah
...
...
...
...
...0 1
A Few Words about the Devil
. .
...
... 0 1
Were Adam and Eve our First Parents ?
...
... 0 1
Heresy: its Morality and Utility. A Plea and a Jus: ification ...
...
...
...
...
... 0 9
The Laws Relating to Blasphemy and Heresy ...
... 0 6
Verbatim Report of the Trial of C. Bradlaugh before Lord Cole
ridge for Blasphemy, in Three Special Extra Numbers of the
National Reformer. 6d.
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Victorian Blogging
Description
An account of the resource
A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2018
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Conway Hall Ethical Society
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Pamphlet
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
New life of David
Description
An account of the resource
Edition: Rev. ed.
Place of publication: London
Collation: 14, [2] p. ; 18 cm.
Notes: Annotations in pencil. Part of the NSS pamphlet collection. Publisher's list on unnumbered pages at the end.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Bradlaugh, Charles [1833-1891]
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Freethought Publishing Company
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1884
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
N098
Subject
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Bible
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (New life of David), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
Format
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application/pdf
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Language
A language of the resource
English
Hebrew Bible
King David
NSS