19th Century
The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 2
“The clergy know, that I know, that they know, that they do not know.”
In Twelve Volumes, Volume II.
Lectures
1900
The Dresden Edition
To Mrs. Sue. M. Farrell, in law my sister, and in fact my friend, this volume, as a token of respect and love, is dedicated.
Contents
- Some Mistakes of Moses (1879) — with preface; twenty-nine sections
- Some Reasons Why (1881) — eleven sections
- Orthodoxy (1884)
- Myth and Miracle
About this volume
The second volume of the Dresden Edition contains three of Ingersoll’s longest and most ambitious lectures, plus the shorter “Myth and Miracle.”
Some Mistakes of Moses is Ingersoll’s most systematic critique of the Pentateuch — a chapter-by-chapter examination of Genesis and Exodus that combines biblical scholarship, scientific argument, and devastating wit. At over 50,000 words, it is the longest single work in the first four volumes.
Some Reasons Why presents Ingersoll’s case against Christianity in compact form — a summary of his arguments against inspiration, miracles, the atonement, and eternal punishment.
Orthodoxy is Ingersoll’s response to the religious establishment’s attempts to answer his earlier lectures. It surveys the state of religious belief in America and argues that orthodox Christianity is dying from the advance of knowledge.
Myth and Miracle examines the relationship between religious mythology and claims of the miraculous.