A Memoir- the Testament

by Jean Meslier

  Secondly, it is not true that the alleged Christ truly freed men from the eternal punishment that they would have deserved for their sins, since, as our Christ-cultists themselves say, every day we find a near-infinity who still miserably fall into the eternal flames of hell to suffer the punishment of their sins forever. For they take it for granted that all who die in mortal sin, as they call it, will be eternally damned and miserable in Hell, and, as there are far more wicked than good people, and far more, according to them, who die in mortal sin than who die in the good graces of their God, it follows from their doctrine that there would be incomparably more who are not delivered from the penalty of their sins than who would be. And there is no doubt about what the supposed Christ himself wanted his disciples to understand, when he told them that many would be called, but few would be chosen, which would be closely related to what would have been said of this Christ, by the good man Simeon the just, when he said of him, while still an infant, that he would be subjected for many days to the contradictions of men, and that he would be the cause of the ruin, as well as the salvation of many in Israel. Ecce positus est hic in ruinam… and according to that, it would be more reasonable to say that he came to destroy humanity, than that he came to save them. But this is something our Christ-cultists would never say: but if, according to they themselves, so few were delivered from the punishment of eternal damnation, then it’s not true to say that he would free his people from their sins, i.e., from eternal damnation, which can’t be understood in that way; for these few people, by comparison with an entire people, are not and should not be called “the people”; it’s the majority which gives the denomination to anything. A dozen or two Frenchmen or Spaniards, for example, aren’t either the French people or the Spanish people. And if an army, for example, of 100 or of 120 thousand men, was taken as prisoners of war by a stronger enemy, and if the King or the head of this captive army only redeemed a few men from his army, for example, ten or a dozen soldiers or officers, by paying their ransom, nobody would say that he delivered or redeemed his army, and it would be both false and absurd to say that he redeemed or delivered it, if he had only delivered such a small number of men. Just so, it would be false and absurd to say that Christ delivered his people from the penalty of eternal damnation, which it deserved because of its sins, if only a few of them were delivered by him. Again, our Christ-cultists, such as they are, can’t show that even one of them truly enjoys the benefit of this supposed deliverance: for, since the supposed eternal penalty is not seen, and the supposed deliverance is completely invisible, they have no way to show that even a single one of them has truly been delivered, or that any of them is a true reprobate, condemned to the eternal punishments of Hell.

  To say on this occasion, as our Chris-cultists usually do, that one should not seek or ask for proofs or tangible witnesses of the things of faith, but that they must be believed blindly, without seeing them, on the pretext that they could not fail to be anything but true and certain in themselves, even though no proofs can be given or perceived, nor is there any visible and plain testimony of them: this is a weak and completely vain argument, since it would mean posing as a foundation of certainty a principle of errors, illusions, and imposture. For then, anyone could claim to see, believe in, or compel others to believe in all manner of errors, illusions, or deceptions, on the supposed pretext of divine faith, if any consideration were paid to it. But it is obvious, as I’ve said already, that a principle of errors, illusions, or imposture such as that one, can never serve as a foundation to establish, or to clarify any truth, and can never, consequently, serve to show or to prove that there is even a single man who truly enjoys the benefit of this supposed deliverance, which is only an imaginary deliverance or redemption.

  Equally, it does not help our Christ-cultists to say, as they still do, that their Christ has truly satisfied God for all the sins of men, and that, if they are not all effectively delivered from eternal punishment and damnation, this isn’t because of any failure in their Redeemer, but that the sinners themselves, who voluntarily surrender themselves to vice, and who remain in their sins, refusing to convert to God or bring forth fruits worthy of repentance, it being necessary, as they say, to live in virtue, or to make a worthy repentance for one’s sins, and dying in the grace of God, to enjoy the benefits of the deliverance and the redemption of Christ. It’s no use, I say, to use these arguments, for true, as they say, it would ,first, show injustice in God, if He still punished anyone for since for which He had already received full satisfaction, for, just as it would be an injustice if creditor made a man pay a debt, when his friend had already satisfied him on his behalf, by paying all he owes, just as it would manifestly be unjust, and even cruel for God to still severely punish men with eternal torment, for sins for which Christ would have already paid the debt, since He would then be requiring two satisfactions for the same offenses, which would be discordant, both with justice, and with the will or the goodness of a God who is infinitely good and merciful.

  Secondly, if it were requisite, as our Christ-cultists say, for men always to live well and virtuously, or to worthily repent of their sins before they die, in order to profit by this supposed blessing of the deliverance, or redemption of the Christ, then it would follow that this supposed deliverance or redemption of Christ does nothing to discharge men with respect to God, and consequently offers them no comfort, and consequently, it would have been completely vain and ridiculous. But our Christ-cultists would certainly disagree with this point; nevertheless, it clearly follows from what they say about the application to men of the benefit of the supposed deliverance or redemption performed by Jesus Christ. For it is clear, and right Reason clearly shows us that a God who would be infinitely good, just, and merciful could not, as a righteous and kind being, demand of those who never offended Him, anything except what they are capable of doing to honor him, for example, by loving and worshiping Him, serving Him, and living virtuously, according to His laws and ordinances. Similarly, the same right Reason clearly indicates that He could not justly demand that those sinner who have offended Him, anything beyond what they are capable of doing to make up for their sins, for example, by converting to Him with all their heart, hating, detesting, and leaving their sins and vices completely behind them, and doing worthy penance for their sins in the prescribed manner, and this is, in effect, all that God is claimed to require in His Law, as can be seen in this law itself, and in the testimony of all the prophets. “If, then,” said Moses to the people of Israel, speaking for God:

  You will listen to the voice of the Lord, your God, if you will love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and if you faithfully keep all His commandments[366], then all these blessings shall come upon you and follow you everywhere, you will be blessed in your towns and in your fields, blessed in your children and in your flocks, blessed in the fruits of your lands and your gardens, blessed in everything you do and in all your endeavors, etc.

  And, as for the sinners who would have offended Him, He also required of them, prior to the advent of Jesus Christ, and before he had made any supposed satisfaction for their sins, that they should behave justly and mercifully with their neighbors, that they should be converted in their hearts, that they should depart from their vices and sins, and faithfully keep the commandments, promising favor and mercy to all those who would convert to Him with all their hearts, who would leave their vices and sins behind, who would extend justice and mercy to their neighbor, and who would faithfully observe all the commandments, promising even then, that He would no longer remember their sins and that He would forget them entirely[367].

  Here, according to this supposedly divine law, is all that God actually required from men, before the coming of Jesus Christ, and that, consequently, before he had delivered them from their sins, and made any satisfaction for them, as our Christ-cultists claim. If, then, God demanded only this from men, before the coming of Jesus Christ, and would require as much, if not more, after t
he coming of Christ, and after he had delivered men from their sins, as our Christ-cultists claim, it is obvious that this supposed deliverance and supposed satisfaction provided by Jesus Christ really discharges men from nothing, since they now have to do nothing but what they needed to do before this supposed deliverance, to obtain grace and mercy, they would equally easily and perhaps even more easily than afterwards, have found grace and mercy. I say, that they would perhaps more easily have found it than afterwards, because prior to this supposed deliverance, God didn’t ask from sinners, as I’ve just said, anything but a true conversion of their heart, with the practice of good works of justice and mercy, and a faithful obedience to His commandments, whereas after this supposed deliverance of the Christ, sinners would be obliged, not only to do what they had to do previously, but aside from that, would still be obliged, according to the maxims of Christianity, to renounce themselves, to bear their crosses, to carry out great acts of penance, and rigorous mortifications of their flesh, which they wouldn’t have been obliged to do before the supposed deliverance of the Christ.

  That being so, it is evident that this supposed deliverance discharges men for nothing, and that it releases them in no way. And if it doesn’t discharge them from anything, and if it doesn’t comfort them in any way, it is obvious that it is completely vain and futile in what sense it can be taken.

  2) It is said that this Christ would be called the Son of the Highest, that God would give him the Throne of David, his Father, that he would reign forever in the house of Jacob and that his Reign would have no end[368]. Let him be called, if you like, the Son of the Highest, let him be thought just that, since our Christ-cultists do indeed consider him the almighty Son of an omnipotent God, despite the fact that he was seen in his times as nothing only a miserable fanatic. But that God would have given him the throne of David and that he reigned or had reigned in the house of Jacob, that is, the people of Israel, which is what “the house of Jacob” means, and that his reign should have no end, this is obviously false: for everyone can see that he never mounted the throne of David, that he never reigned over the Jewish people, which is the people of Israel, and we can now clearly see that he never reigned anywhere, unless we’re referring to the worship and adoration paid to him by our Christ-cultists, as a kind of reign, and Christianity as a sort of kingdom; but in this sense there would be no impostor on earth who couldn’t flatter themselves that they also reigned in a similar manner, if we accept their impostures and worship them as Divinities. Besides, the promise and the supposed prophecy of the angel says clearly and expressly that God would give the throne of David to Jesus Christ, his Father, and that he would reign forever in the house of Jacob. But Christianity is not the throne of David, and never has been David’s throne. Equally, the Christian people is not the house of Jacob and never has been Jacob’s house, and therefore, since the Christ has never reigned in the house of Jacob, it’s obvious that this promise or prophecy is completely false.

  3) It’s said that this Christ would be like a light, giving light to the nations, and that it would be the glory of the people of Israel, that is, the Jewish people[369]. This promise or prophecy is also absolutely false, since in the flesh he never seemed as anything but an object of scorn and that his doctrine, his life, and his death were seen only as manifestations of folly as far as the nations were concerned, and a scandal to the Jews. And if he is now held in honor among the Christians, it’s not by persuasion, nor by knowledge of the truth that this has come about, but rather by stubbornness and seduction to falsehood, as with all the other religions. And as a proof of that, according to the above-mentioned promise or prophecy, he should have been equally the glory of the people of Israel, as the glory or light of the nations, which are now the Christian people. But instead of being the glory of the people of Israel, as was predicted or promised, he would obviously be seen more as its shame or confusion, which clearly shows the falseness of the above-mentioned promise or prophecy.

  4) It is said that Jesus Christ would begin to preach and to say: repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near[370]. If this supposed Kingdom had truly been near, as he claimed, then it should have shown up a long time ago, and should certainly have come by now. For, after nearly 2,000 years after its having been predicted to being near at hand, if the promise and the prediction had been true, then the fulfilment of this should have happened a long time ago. Still today, we see no likelihood of this, which is a manifest proof of the falseness of the promise and prediction, and we must be wondrously seduced, abused, blind, and gullible, to believe that this kingdom will ever come.

  To say, like some of our Christ-cultists do, that the kingdom of Heaven spoken of by Jesus Christ is nothing other than the doctrine and policy, or government of his Church, which truly leads souls to the kingdom of Heaven, is a pure illusion, since then any people on earth could similarly call their religions, their policies, and their governments a kingdom of Heaven, and every impostor could similarly promise the coming of a kingdom of Heaven. But if it was known that they meant nothing else by their kingdom of Heaven, then their promises would be discounted, along with their supposed kingdoms, which would soon be recognized as only imaginary kingdoms.

  5) Jesus Christ himself says that we should not worry, nor struggle at all to drink or eat, or concern ourselves about the clothes required for life, but that one should rely completely on the Providence of his Heavenly Father for that, who feeds, he says, the birds of the sky, although they don’t sow or have granaries, and who dresses the flowers and the lilies of the fields, although they don’t toil, and don’t sew, assuring his disciples that if his Heavenly Father takes such care of the birds of the sky and the flowers of the fields, that, with all the more reason will he take even more care of men, and that he won’t let them go without anything, as long as they seek first the kingdom of God and its justice[371]. It would certainly be beautiful to see men trust such a promise as that. What would become of them, if they only had a year or two without working, without plowing, without sowing, without harvesting, and without filling the granaries, in this wishing to imitate the birds of the sky, they would then want to dedicate themselves, and piously seek this supposed kingdom of Heaven and its justice; would this Heavenly Father then provide any better for their needs? Would He miraculously bring them food and drink, when they were hungry, and would He miraculously bring them threads and clothes as required? They could well call on their heavenly father, when they then cry loud and long, like the prophets of Baal, invoking the assistance of their God, to make his power appear to help them in their time of need; he would certainly be no less deaf to their cries than that God was to the cries of his prophets. This is also why there are no peoples so stupid, even among our Christ-cultists, none are so stupid, I repeat, to trust such a promise as this, and if there are among the nations some individuals, some families, or even some communities of Priests, Monks or Nuns, who don’t work, who only concern themselves about the vain cult of their false Divinities, this is because they know well that there are others who do work more usefully than themselves, without which they would certainly have to put their shoulder to the wheel like anyone else.

  6) Jesus Christ says that all it takes to receive is to ask, that one only has to seek to find, he assures that whatever one asks God, in His name, will be given, and that, if people only had faith the size of a mustard seed, that one would move, by sheer force of words, mountains from one place to another[372]. If this promise were true, or had its true effect, then nobody, especially none of our Christ-cultists, should ever lack anything they needed, since they would only have to seek in order to find, they would only have to ask in order to receive. Likewise, nothing should be impossible for them, since they have faith in their Christ. And yet, we see no effect from all these pretty promises, on the contrary, we see daily examples among them of an infinity of poor wretches who are in need, who seek but don’t find, and who ask but don’t receive anything. It’s even clear that the entire Chris
tian Church rushes to ask from God, in often-repeated, public prayers, for many things which it hasn’t yet been able to obtain. It's been more than 1000 years since it asked God, in public and private prayers, for the extirpation, for example, of heresy, the conversion of the infidel, and of all sinners, the health of the body and the soul for all its children, the unity and peace of all the faithful, the spirit of obedience, to serve it always with fear and love, the spirit of wisdom to choose, in all things, that which is best and most salutary for it, and to reject all that which is contrary to its glory and to the salvation of the soul. It asks and has all these children request that the will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven, and many other such things, that the Christian Church asks every day in public and private prayers; however, it doesn’t obtain them; heresies are still present, and they’re even reproducing, rather than going away; there is still an infinity of wicked sinners and unbelievers, who fail to convert, and there’s still an infinity of people who are truly afflicted by the infirmities of body and spirit. Discord still continues to disturb and divide suffering humanity, and finally, the spirit of wisdom never leads them to their true good, even less does it inspire in them the fear and love of God, such that it never seems that the will of God is done on Earth, as they imagine it to be done in heaven, and thus the Church itself, the Christian, Roman Catholic Church, which calls itself the beloved spouse of its God and His Christ, itself fails to obtain what it asks for on a daily basis and so insistently of God, even though it makes all these requests in the name of its good Lord Jesus Christ, who promised that whatever was asked in his name would be given. Which clearly shows the falseness of this Promise.