Project Gutenberg 2014-04-16 Public domain in the USA. 215 Bell, W. S. (William S.) 1832 A handbook of Freethought : $b containing in condensed and systematized form a vast amount of evidence against the superstitious doctrines of Christianity Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) "A Handbook of Freethought" by W. S. Bell is a philosophical treatise that was likely written in the late 19th century, focusing on critiquing the superstitions inherent in Christianity. The book presents a systematic collection of arguments and evidence against the traditional narratives and doctrines of Christianity, aimed at encouraging a rational and skeptical approach to religious beliefs. Its content is structured to serve as a reference for individuals seeking to challenge religious dogma and promote independent inquiry into matters of faith. The opening of the handbook sets the stage for a critical examination of the biblical creation account, starting with the assertion that the narrative, particularly the concept of creation from nothing, is fundamentally flawed. Bell questions the coherence of the Genesis descriptions and juxtaposes them with scientific understanding. He highlights contradictions within the biblical text and points to the evidence provided by geology and astronomy that contradicts a literal interpretation of the creation story. Through this analysis, the author advocates for the application of reason and critical thinking to religious texts, suggesting that doing so reveals the mythological nature of these traditional beliefs, ultimately framing faith as a barrier to knowledge rather than a pathway to it. (This is an automatically generated summary.) file:///public/vhost/g/gutenberg/html/files/45414/45414-h/images/new-cover.jpg Reading ease score: 68.6 (8th & 9th grade). Neither easy nor difficult to read. en Free thought Christianity -- Controversial literature BL Text Browsing: Philosophy & Ethics Browsing: Religion/Spirituality/Paranormal Category: Philosophy & Ethics Category: Religion/Spirituality 1183784 2025-06-18T12:12:54.532617 text/html 1142732 2024-10-24T05:59:52 text/html 538736 2025-06-18T12:13:18.450466 application/epub+zip 584835 2025-06-18T12:12:59.802602 application/epub+zip 510947 2025-06-18T12:12:56.922574 application/epub+zip 918371 2025-06-18T12:13:30.158464 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 769654 2025-06-18T12:13:15.670521 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 674310 2022-09-20T17:43:59.489881 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 765994 2023-09-19T17:16:46.244062 text/plain 746137 2024-10-24T05:59:52 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 15815 2025-06-18T12:13:30.346413 application/rdf+xml 23718 2025-06-18T12:12:57.335572 image/jpeg 2223 2025-06-18T12:12:57.120618 image/jpeg 483458 2025-06-18T12:12:54.622676 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog