Is it God's Word.. An Exposition of the Fables and Mythology of the Bible and of th impostures of Theology

Joseph Wheless's "Is it God's Word?" represents a forceful contribution to early twentieth-century rationalist criticism of biblical authority and religious claims. Writing in 1926, Wheless employs systematic textual analysis to challenge the divine inspiration of scripture, arguing that the Bible consists primarily of mythological narratives, internal contradictions, and deliberate fabrications rather than revealed truth. His work engages directly with fundamentalist assertions about biblical inerrancy while contributing to broader modernist debates about the compatibility of traditional religious claims with scientific and historical knowledge.

The monograph proceeds through meticulous examination of biblical texts, identifying what Wheless considers irreconcilable contradictions, historical impossibilities, and parallels with earlier pagan mythologies. He analyzes creation narratives, flood accounts, miraculous events, and prophetic claims, arguing that these elements demonstrate human authorship rather than divine inspiration. Wheless particularly focuses on comparing biblical stories with Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Greek mythological traditions, suggesting that Hebrew scriptures represent cultural borrowing and adaptation rather than unique revelation. His method combines source criticism with comparative mythology, reflecting the influence of both German biblical scholarship and anthropological approaches to religion emerging in the early twentieth century.

Wheless extends his critique beyond scriptural texts to what he terms "the impostures of theology," examining how religious institutions have allegedly perpetuated and defended demonstrably false claims. He argues that theological doctrines represent post-hoc rationalizations designed to preserve institutional authority rather than genuine attempts to understand divine truth. This dual focus on textual criticism and institutional critique positions his work within the tradition of Enlightenment anticlericalism while incorporating more recent scholarly developments in biblical studies and comparative religion.

The significance of Wheless's contribution lies in its comprehensive attempt to synthesize various strands of biblical criticism for a popular audience. Writing during the aftermath of the Scopes Trial and amid fundamentalist-modernist controversies, he provides rationalist readers with detailed ammunition against literalist biblical interpretation. His work exemplifies the confidence of early twentieth-century secularist thought that careful textual analysis would definitively disprove religious claims. While his polemical tone and selective use of evidence reflect the limitations of militant rationalism, the monograph remains valuable for understanding how modernist critics marshaled scholarly methods to challenge traditional religious authority during this pivotal period in American religious history.