A  MARTIAN  EXAMINES  CHRISTIANITY         by  Arthur Levett,                                             Page  67
Chapter  X
The Martian Examines The
Moral Precepts Of Christianity
“ You have admitted,”  said the Modernist to the Martian when the party assembled a few days later,  “ that there are many noble sentiments and precepts expressed in the Bible,  in spite of its contradictions and inconsistencies ? ”
     “ Unquestionably,”  said the Martian,  “ there are some highly ethical principles not only in your New Testament,  but in your Old Testament as well.  Do I understand that your whole system of ethics and morality is based on this book? ”
     “ Without the moral teachings of that Book,”  said the Modernist,  “ the world would be chaos.  Crime and vice would be rampant,  and no man would be safe.”
     “ That is hardly an answer to my question,”  said the Martian.  “ It is,  of course,  self-evident that without a system of social laws by which men may live together  no man would know how to conduct his life.  My question, however,  was not whether this book contained moral precepts,  but whether your present code of ethics and social intercourse is based solely upon the teachings of this book.”
     “ It is,”  said the Fundamentalist;  “ that Book is the only source of morals we have.  The Lord not only revealed His laws and commandments through the patriarchs of old,  but came down to earth Himself to save us from our sins and teach us the nobler principles of the New Testament.

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It is only since then  that man has been able to live his full life in Him.”
     “ I deny that,”  said the Rabbi.  “ There are sentiments just as noble in the Old Testament  as in the New.”
     “ Let us not go into a discussion of that now,  if you please,”  said the Martian.  “ Since our last meeting  I have had the opportunity to examine your Bible more thoroughly,  and have also visited your public libraries.  I would like to know whether it is your contention that the Bible alone is the source of morality and right living.”
     “ The only source,”  said the Fundamentalist.  “ The world would have been wicked and without any morals whatever  had God not taught us in the Bible  what is right and wrong.”
     “ And is that your view also? ”  asked the Martian,  turning to the Priest.
     “ It is,”  said the Priest.
     “ And yours? ”  addressing the Modernist.
     “ I would hardly go so far as to say that it is the only source of our morality;  but without the example and the teachings of Jesus to guide us  we would flounder helplessly.”
     “ I have learned,”  said the Martian,  “ that your world had many ancient religions and schools of philosophy which taught many of these principles.”
     “ Their followers were heathens,”  said the Fundamentalist.  “ Their religions were false;  their gods were myths.  How then could their principles be the same as the blessed teachings of our Lord? ”
     “ Let us examine into them,”  suggested the Martian.  “ I understand that the most venerated principle taught by your saviour god is to do unto others  as you would be done by.”

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     “ Yes,  the Golden Rule,”  said the Modernist,  “ and the highest moral principle that could be taught.”
     “ I doubt that,”  replied the Martian.  “ To me it contains elements of selfishness and implies that one is to be kind  only in the expectation that he may receive kindness from others.  Moreover,  he sets his own standard as the standard for others.  There are, however,  men whose greatest joy is in sacrificing themselves for the good of others without hope of return.  Such men would not wish others to make sacrifices for them;  they follow a higher ideal.  Still,  I will admit your rule is a good working rule from a utilitarian standpoint.  But you do not mean to imply that this rule of conduct was not taught before the coming of your saviour god some two thousand years ago? ”
     “ That is just what I do mean to tell you,”  said the Fundamentalist.  “ It was our blessed Saviour who first taught it.”
     “ I regret I must disagree with you,”  said the Martian.  “ According to the records in your libraries,  the same teaching was advanced by a Chinese named Confucius  who lived five hundred years before the advent of your saviour god.  He taught,  ‘ Have one heart with your fellow-men  or  behave to them as you would have them behave to you.’  Lao-tze,  his contemporary,  expressed the same rule.  Moreover,  if you will examine your Bible where this rule is given,  you will see it is followed by the statement of your saviour god,  ‘for this is the law and the prophets,’ 1  indicating that it was merely a restatement of an old precept.”
     “ That is what I maintain,”  said the Rabbi,  “ and I want to say further  that Rabbi Hillel,  who taught in Judea just before the time they say Jesus appeared,  formulated the rule as follows:  ‘ What thou dost not like,  do thou not to thy neighbour.  This is the whole law;  all the rest is explanation.’ 2
1 Matt.  vii. 12.
2 Sabbath  xxxi. 1.
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The author of the Book of Tobit also said,  ‘ Do that to no man which thou hatest.’ ” 3
     “ But the rabbis put the golden rule in the negative form,”  said the Modernist;  “ they did not teach action towards our fellow-men along this principle,  but merely to refrain from doing things.”
     “ A distinction without a difference,  I should say,”  replied the Martian.  “ Obviously one living in the society of his fellow-men  must act in some manner towards them.  If he refrains from doing anything to others which he would not have them do to him,  it is plain that all his actions towards them would necessarily be such as he believes to be just.
     “ The Greek Epictetus also taught:  ‘ What thou avoidest suffering thyself seek not to impose on others.’ 4  However,  the rule is put in the affirmative in the Indian Epic poem ‘Maha-Bharata,’  written during the sixth century before the birth of your saviour.  I find it there expressed:
‘ This is the sum of all true righteousness: — Treat others as thou wouldst thyself be treated.  Do nothing to thy neighbour which thereafter  thou wouldst not have thy neighbour do to thee.  In causing pleasure,  or in giving pain,  in doing good or injury to others,  in granting or refusing a request,  a man obtains a proper rule of action by looking on his neighbour as himself.’ ” 5
“ Nevertheless,”  said the Modernist,  “ the fact that Confucius and others taught the rule  cannot deprive Jesus of the credit of having taught it.”
3 Tobit  iv. 15 (Apocrypha).
4 Fragments  xxxviii.
5 Doane,  Bible Myths and their Parallels
   in other Religions,  7th ed.,  p. 416.
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     “ Surely not,”  answered the Martian,  “ only I am curious to learn why you insist that it is distinctively a Christian doctrine,  since it was taught by many others before the coming of your saviour god.”
     “ But after all,”  said the Priest,  “ that is only one moral rule.  You will find many other noble precepts which I am sure you will not find anywhere else.  Take, for example,  His command to love your enemies,  to bless them that hate you.  The Old Testament taught revenge,  an eye for an eye,  and a tooth for a tooth,  but the New Testament teaches us to return good for evil.  Where else can you find that noble sentiment? ”
     “ The precepts were not new,”  said the Rabbi.  “ In Leviticus we are taught,  ‘ Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.’ 6  In the Book of Exodus it is said:  ‘ If thou meet thy enemy’s ox or his ass going astray,  thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.’ 7  In the Book of Proverbs it says: ‘ If thine enemy be hungry,  give him bread to eat;  and if he be thirsty,  give him water to drink.’ 8  Job said:  ‘ This also were an iniquity;  if I have rejoiced in the destruction of him that hated me.’ 9  And in the Book of the Rabbis it is said:  ‘ If thine enemy and thy friend both have need of thee,  aid first thy enemy  as it is a greater victory for thyself.’ ” 10
     “ I find these sentiments expressed also,”  said the Martian,  “ outside of your religious books.  Marcus Aurelius,  a pagan Roman emperor,  stated:  ‘ Shall any man hate me?  Let him look to it;  but I will be meek and benevolent towards every man;’ 11  Plutarch said:  ‘ To forgive an enemy when a man hath the opportunity to avenge is a token of magnanimity;  but who doth not love for his humanity,  and admire for his probity,  the man who showeth mercy to an enemy in affiiction,  who helpeth him when he is in want,  and giveth aid to his children and family in adversity? ’ ” 12
6 Lev.  xix. 18.
7 Exod.  xxiii. 4-5.
8 Prov.  xxv. 21.
9 Job  xxxi. 28-29.
10 Baba Mezia,  32.
11 M. Aurelius,  xi. 13.
12 Plutarch,  Of the Use of Enemies,  ix.
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     “ But Jesus taught more than that.  We must not only return good for evil and love our enemies,  but we should also bless them that hate us,”  said the Fundamentalist.
     “ And you believe that is a worthy principle of conduct? ”  asked the Martian.
     “ Most certainly,”  answered all the clerics.
     “ It seems to me that neither your god of the Old Testament nor your saviour god seems to have practised it,”  commented the Martian.  “ And may I ask in this connection who is the greatest enemy of mankind? ”
     “ The Devil is man’s greatest enemy,”  answered the Fundamentalist.  “ He it is  who has caused all the sin and suffering in the world;  he was,  and always has been,  the enemy of God and man.”
     “ And you love this ‘Devil,’  as you call him?”  asked the Martian.
     “ How can you ask that? ”  said the Fundamentalist.  “ You horrify me.”
     “ And does your saviour god love this Devil? ”
     “ No,  no;  He repeatedly showed His abhorrence  of him and of his works.  The Devil even tried to tempt Him,  but failed miserably.”
     “ He endeavoured to tempt your all-powerful god! ”  exclaimed the Martian.
     “ Yes,  and failed.”
     “ Rather a foolish devil,  I should think,”  remarked the Martian sotto voce.  He added aloud:
     “ Then neither your god  nor you  love this enemy  nor bless him? ”
     “ God did not mean that  when He said  ‘ love your enemies and resist not evil,’ ”  said the Priest.  “ We of course must detest evil and fight evil.  We must protect ourselves and our homes against evil;  otherwise evil would conquer the whole world.”

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     “ But,”  observed the Martian,  “ your Lord commands that  if your enemy smite you on one cheek  you should turn to him the other also;  that if a robber takes your coat  you should give him your cloak also.”
     “ No, no;  you have misinterpreted that,”  said the Modernist.  “ It means that we must not carry hate even against our enemies.”
     “ I nevertheless believe it is a noble principle to love your enemies,”  said the Fundamentalist,  “ and you must admit that it belongs to the teachings of Jesus only.”
     “ Oh, no,”  said the Rabbi,  “ you will find it taught in the Old Testament.” 13
     “ Well,  at any rate it is found only in the Bible,”  said the Fundamentalist.
     “ Impracticable as the principle seems to me,”  said the Martian,  “ I find it has been taught by many who lived before your saviour god.  In fact,  it would appear that practically every moral precept in your New Testament was taught many years before.  I will enumerate a few which you will undoubtedly recognize.  In the ‘Maha-Bharata,’  to which I have just referred,  it is said:  ‘ Conquer a man who never gives  by gifts;  subdue untruthful men  by truthfulness;  vanquish an angry man  by gentleness,  and overcome the evil man  by goodness.’ 14  In the Egyptian  ‘ Book of the Dead,’  written centuries before your Bible,  the following are indicated as the duties of a pious man:  ‘ To feed the hungry,  give drink to the thirsty,  clothe the naked,  bury the dead,  loyally serve the king.’
13 Prov.  XXV. 21.
14 Doane,  Bible Myths and their Parallels
     in other Religions,  7th ed.,  p. 415.
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     “ Plutarch said:  ‘ He who has done some good and laudable action and then telleth it to others  showeth that he still looketh without and desireth glory  and hath not yet a true vision of virtue.’ 15  Seneca said:  ‘ How sweet and precious a thought it is if a giver will take no thanks  and hath already,  in giving,  forgotten his deed.’ 16  Epictetus said:  ‘ Wait not for applauses,  and shouts,  and praises  in order to do good.’ ” 17
     “ I would like to refer to some of the sayings of my people,”  said the Rabbi.  “You will find them in the writings of the rabbis antedating the Christian era.  Practically all of them,  some thinly disguised,  others not,  have been placed in the mouth of Jesus of Nazareth as original with him.
     “ You will find these sayings of the rabbis:  ‘ Do good for good’s sake with a pure intention:  make not of it a crown wherewith to adorn thyself;’ 18  ‘ Whosoever hath a crumb of bread in his sack,  yet asketh,  What shall I eat to-morrow?  is a man of little faith;’ 19  ‘ Let care wait until its hour cometh;  it will then weigh heavy enough;’ 20  ‘ Judge not thy neighbour until thou hast stood in his place;’ 21  ‘ There was a time when to him who said,  Remove the toothpick from thy tooth,  a man used to say,  Do thou remove the beam from thine own eye;’ 22  ‘ Cast not pearls before swine;’ 23  ‘ From the stalk ye know what fruit the gourd will bear;’ 24  ‘ It is not fine words,  but good deeds, that avail.’ 25
     “ Even the Christian Lord’s Prayer is antedated by the Talmud and the rabbis,  as shown by these excerpts:
     “ The opening of the ancient Kaddish Prayer is given as follows:  ‘ Magnified and sanctified be His great name. . . . May He establish His Kingdom.’
15 Plutarch,  On Progress in Virtue.
16 Seneca,  On Benefits,  ii. 6.
17 Epictetus,  Fragments,  lxxxiii.
18 Nedarin  62.
19 Sotah  xlviii. 2.
20 Berachot  ix. 2.
21 Pirke Abot  ii. 4 (a saying of Hillel).
22 Baba Bathra  xv. 2.
23 Mibchar Hapninim,  1.
24 Berachot,  xlviii. 1.
25 Pirke Abot,  i. 17.
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When asked for a short prayer,  Rabbi Eleazar said:  ‘ Thy will be done in Heaven,  and peace to those who fear Thee on earth;’ 26  Rabbi Hillel said:  ‘ Blessed be God every day for the daily bread He gives us;’ 27  Rabbi Megileah said:  ‘ Whoever is ready to forgive shall have his sins forgiven;’ 28  another Rabbi said:  ‘ Lead me neither into sin nor into temptation;’ 29  and the public prayers in the temple ended thus:  ‘ Praised be the name of the glory of thy kingdom for ever.’ ” 30
     “ Yes,” remarked the Martian,  “ I have noted those sayings,  and it seems to me impossible to avoid the conclusion that every rule of conduct taught by your saviour god was old when your saviour was born;  that his entire teaching is merely an iteration of what had been taught in other religions and by pagans,  as you call them,  for many, many years prior to his coming.  Therefore your present code of morals,  while to an extent in accord with the principles he taught,  is in no way,  or in the slightest degree,  founded upon his life as an example,  or upon his teachings as original precepts.  It seems your system of ethics is a growth,  as everything is a growth.  In your advance towards civilization  men of noble sentiments have appeared and expounded their doctrines,  and as you have progressed in enlightenment you have adopted them.”
     “ Such men were inspired of God and sent to us as noble examples of how we should follow in His steps,”  said the Fundamentalist.
     “ But I find it impossible to understand the necessity for the visit and sacrifice of your saviour god to the earth,  since he taught nothing new,  and your history indicates that men followed these precepts as much before as after his coming.”
26 Berachot,  xxix. 2.
27 Jom. Tob  xvi. 1 (a saying of Hillel).
28 Megileah  xxviii.
29 Berachot  xvi. 2.
30 Berachot  xiii. 3.

Chapter  XI      The Martian Inquires
                        As To Miracles

Chapter  IX      The Martian Inquires
                        As To Everlasting Life

Home:  Chapter  I         The Martian Visits The Earth