Biblical Extracts; Or, The Holy Scriptures Analyzed; Showing Its Contradictions, Absurdities, and Immoralities — A Closer Reading

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In Category - Ethics

Authors: Cooper, Robert, 1819-1868 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2011 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.; Bible -- Miscellanea; Bible -- Controversial literature Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 27,383

Reading time 120 min

Text sections 4

The catalog record for Biblical Extracts; Or, The Holy Scriptures Analyzed; Showing Its Contradictions, Absurdities, and Immoralities — A Closer Reading provides practical reading context through 27,383 words, 2 hr estimated reading time, and 4 detected text sections.

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Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #37700

Robert Cooper's 1860 compilation arranges Bible verses under headings like 'Contradictions' and 'Absurdities' to expose inconsistencies and troubling passages, using a numbered list format that lets the excerpts speak for themselves.

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Lord said unto me, Behold I have put my words in thy mouth. Jer. i. 9.

19. Behold the Lord's _hand_ is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his _ear_ heavy, that it cannot hear. Isaiah lix. 1.

20. Mine _hand_ also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my _right hand_ hath spanned the heavens,--when I call unto them they stand up together. Isaiah xlviii. 13.

21. I will also smite mine hands together, and I will cause my fury to rest; I the Lord have said it. Ezekiel xxi. 17.

22. And the Lord _spake_ unto Moses, saying. Num. xxv. 16.

23. And God _spake_ unto Noah, saying. Genesis viii. 15.

24. And the Lord _spake_ unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. Jonah ii. 10.

25. And Abraham fell on his face; and God _talked_ with him saying. Genesis xvii. 3.

26. And the Lord _smelled_ a sweet savour, and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake, for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth, neither will I again smite any more every thing living as I have done. Genesis viii. 21.

27. And the Lord formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life: and man became a living soul. Genesis ii. 7.

28. By the _breath_ of God frost is given and the breadth of the waters is straitened. Job xxxvii. 10.

29. And the Lord said unto him, this is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying I will give it unto thy seed; I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died therein the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And _he_ buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. Deut. xxxiv. 4-6.

Also notes 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 44; 46, 637 64, 65, 72, 114, 130, 133.

One God and father of all, who is, above all, through all, and in you all. Ephesians iv. 6.

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalms cxxxix. 7---10.

30. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus; Who _being in the form of God_ thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Phil. ii. 5, 6.

31. And the Lord _came down_ upon Mount Sinai on the top of the mount; and the Lord _called Moses up_ to the top of the mount, and Moses went up. Exodus xix. 20.

32. And the Lord _came down in a cloud_, and spake onto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass that when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease. Numbers xL 25.

33. And the Lord _came down in the pillar of the cloud_, and _stood in the door_ of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forth, Numbers xii. 5.

34. For I know their works and their thoughts; it shall come that I will gather all nations and tongues, and they shall _come and see my glory_. Isaiah lvi. 18.

35. And _come and stand before me in this house_, which is called by name, and say, we are delivered to do all these abominations. Jeremiah vii. 10.

36. And the Lord said unto Moses, _Come up to me in the mount_ and be there; and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayst teach them. Exod. xxiv. 12.

37. And he left on talking with him, and God _went up from Abraham_. Genesis xvii. 22.

38.. And the Lord _came down to see the city and the tower_, which the children of men builded. Gen. xi..5.

39. And the Holy Ghost _descended in a bodily shape like a dove_ upon him, and a voice came from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved son; in thee I am well pleased. Luke iii. 22.

40. For the Lord himself shall _descend_ from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. 1 Thessalonians iv. 16.

41. Thus saith the Lord, I am _returned_ unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain. Zech. viii. 3.

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Robert Cooper's Biblical Extracts opens with a preface that frames the work as a product of its era: “the freedom of inquiry and discussion which prevails upon all subjects.” Cooper names Paine, Voltaire, and others as predecessors, positioning his compilation as part of a rationalist critique. The book then proceeds not with argument but with a numbered series of Bible quotations, each followed by a parenthetical citation. The first excerpt under “Contradictions” pairs Genesis 1:3-5 (“God called the light Day”) with Genesis 1:14-18 (“let them be for signs, and for seasons”), letting the juxtaposition imply inconsistency. This method—selection and arrangement rather than commentary—defines the entire project.

A Catalog of Contradictions

The opening section, “Contradictions,” lists pairs or groups of verses that appear to conflict. For example, entry 1 contrasts “God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31) with “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth” (Genesis 6:6). Cooper supplies no explanation; the contradiction is meant to be self-evident. Later entries juxtapose passages on the nature of God, the law, and prophecy. The cumulative effect is a rapid-fire demonstration of textual inconsistency, relying on the reader’s familiarity with the Bible to recognize the tension. This approach assumes an audience already versed in Scripture, one that can appreciate the pointed selection without needing interpretive gloss.

Passages Labeled Absurd and Unnatural

Under the heading “Passages Absurd and Unnatural,” Cooper collects miraculous narratives: the sun standing still at Joshua’s command (Joshua 10:12-13), the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21-22), and Aaron’s rod becoming a serpent (Exodus 4:1-4). The label “absurd” signals the editor’s rationalist stance, but again the excerpts are presented without explicit ridicule. The section also includes apocalyptic imagery from Revelation—a woman clothed with the sun, a red dragon with seven heads—grouped with Old Testament wonders. By mixing testaments and genres, Cooper implies that the Bible’s supernatural claims are uniformly implausible. The reader is left to assess the cumulative strangeness of these passages, arranged to highlight their departure from natural law.

Immoralities and Offensive Details

A later section, “Immoralities,” gathers verses that describe or sanction acts considered unethical by Cooper’s standards. Entry 219 cites Deuteronomy 25:9, where a widow spits in the face of her brother-in-law who refuses to marry her. Entry 220 quotes Romans 1:26-27 on same-sex relations, and entry 221 presents 2 Samuel 12:11, where God threatens to give David’s wives to his neighbor. The selection emphasizes violence, sexual content, and divine retribution. Cooper’s preface had already quoted R. L. Shiel’s remark that parts of the Bible “could not be mentioned in the presence of a virtuous woman without exciting Horror.” The excerpts thus serve as evidence for that claim, arranged to shock or unsettle a Victorian reader.

Structure and Rhetorical Strategy

Cooper’s editorial hand is most visible in the book’s organization. The work is divided into thematic sections—Contradictions, Absurdities, Immoralities—each containing numbered entries. Within each section, verses are ordered by biblical book, not by topic, creating a sense of systematic coverage. The preface argues that “intelligent and thinking men” must examine religion freely, and the numbered list format mimics a scientific or legal presentation of evidence. Cooper rarely adds his own words; the Bible’s text is made to serve as its own indictment. This structure invites the reader to become a judge, weighing the compiled evidence without the interference of a narrator’s opinion. The result is a polemic that operates through arrangement rather than rhetoric.

Cooper’s Biblical Extracts is best read as a curated anthology, not a treatise. The numbered entries reward sequential reading, but the work also functions as a reference—a reader might consult the “Contradictions” section to find specific juxtapositions. Because Cooper supplies no commentary beyond the headings, the book’s force depends entirely on the reader’s willingness to see the verses as he does. Approaching it as a historical document of 19th-century freethought, rather than a modern critique, clarifies its method and its intended audience.

There are evenings when truth feels less like a key and more like a weight, and Cooper's numbered verses ask you to carry that weight quietly. I found myself thinking of Darwin afterwards — not the debates, but the lonely patience of it all. The Theories of Darwin and Their Relation to Philosophy, Religion, and Morality — Inside the Classic sits beside that old feeling, like a letter you almost wrote but never sent.