Judge — December 19, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes **Robert G. Ingersoll**, a prominent 19th-century atheist lecturer and freethinker. The caption quotes his famous assertion: "No, Colonel, that is not the God of the Bible." The image depicts a small, armed man (Ingersoll) defending himself against a large, menacing shadow cast by an open Bible. The Bible's pages display passages affirming God's existence, mocking Ingersoll's attempt to argue the Biblical God is incompatible with reason or morality. The satire suggests Ingersoll's atheist arguments are absurdly inadequate against religious faith—he's a tiny, vulnerable figure battling something vastly more powerful. This reflects late-19th-century American anxiety about religious skepticism and the "New Atheism" movement that challenged traditional Christianity.