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diff --git a/old/52414-8.txt b/old/52414-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d6e125e..0000000 --- a/old/52414-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3091 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Christian Mythology, by Brigham Leatherbee - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Christian Mythology - -Author: Brigham Leatherbee - -Release Date: June 26, 2016 [EBook #52414] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTIAN MYTHOLOGY *** - - - - -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.) - - - - - - - - - - THE - CHRISTIAN MYTHOLOGY. - - BY - BRIGHAM LEATHERBEE - - "Knowledge is power, but ignorance - is the mother of devotion." - - - New York: - THE TRUTH SEEKER COMPANY, - 62 Vesey Street. - - - - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - I. The Virgin Birth. - II. Pagan Miracles. - III. Spurious Relics. - IV. Trial and Execution Myths. - V. Distorted Prophecies. - VI. The Resurrection. - VII. Miracles. - VIII. Atonement and Salvation by Faith. - IX. The Trinity--Mariolatry. - X. Saints--Good and Evil Spirits. - XI. Religious Holidays and Rites. - XII. The Eucharist. - XIII. Spread of Christianity. - - - - - - - -THE CHRISTIAN MYTHOLOGY. - - -That Christianity, as to-day presented by the orthodox, is far -different from the Christianity promulgated by the early fathers, few -are so blinded as to doubt. Christianity, like all other religions, -came not into the world full-grown, but from the simple conceptions of -its early followers became gradually elaborated by the introduction of -pagan forms and customs until it supplanted its early rivals and gave -its adherents a compact and solid theology not very different from -that of its predecessors. However, before considering the genealogy -of Christianity, or its heirlooms from paganism, let us turn our -attention to what were presumably the beginnings of the religious -views of mankind. - -Probably the true source of that human characteristic which is defined -as the religious instinct and which is supposed to be an elevating and -moral agent, is to be found in the superstition which originated in -fear of the unknown. The first ages of human life were so devoted to -the animal needs that little attention was given to anything else, but -later the craving for protection and help from some power greater than -himself led primitive man to look about him for something to sustain -and aid him in his struggle for existence. Surrounded by natural -phenomena of which he could give no explanation satisfactory to his -experience, he came to the conclusion that he was in an environment -permeated with bodiless intelligences who governed these matters by -supernatural power. Awed to fear by the inexplicable workings of -nature, he sought to propitiate the spiritual agencies by bribes, -and he did all things for them which he thought would be agreeable -to them to keep them in good-natured interest or indifference toward -him. And, naturally, he considered that what would be pleasing to -himself would be pleasing to them. Therefore, his offerings and his -conduct towards these spirits were such as he would have desired shown -toward himself. Death and its imitation, sleep, being the greatest -mysteries confronting him, he naturally began to consider the spirits -of the dead, with whom he seemed to have intercourse in his dreams, -as being influential factors in his career; and thus originated -ancestor-worship with its highly-developed rites and sacrifices, -which in a modified form still exists in the Roman church in the -practice of reading masses for the souls of the dead. At the same -time, noticing the great benefits derived from the warmth of the -sun, to whose rays he owed his subsistence and whose glorious and -awful presence was constantly before him, man began to feel grateful -to that mighty power which was the source of all his welfare, and, -appreciating that all terrestrial life depended upon it, he came to -recognize it as the great creative power. - -From such superstitious fear and weakness of primitive man arose -all those religious feelings which the pious call instinctive and -which have, through progress, evolution, and elaboration, controlled -certain races, and from whose union have arisen all the religious -systems that have ever flourished. Owing to the varied influences -of climate, environment, and racial character, the various forms -of worship predominating in different geographical situations have -naturally assumed different characteristics, but, when stripped -of their surrounding, and often enveloping rites, ceremonies, -and superficialities they may all be traced to the above-mentioned -fundamental sources. - -It is my intention to show, as briefly as possible, that in the -Christianity of to-day we have nothing new nor of vital difference -from what has always been taught and believed in the many epochs of -the past. In common with all religious systems, Christianity has a -hero--the personified sun-god of all time--who is of obscure origin, -who passes through various episodes common to all, who is finally -executed, and who rises once more to renewed power. In our perusal of -the subject, we shall first consider the life of Jesus as taught by -the Christian church; secondly, the dogmas affecting the source of -his power and the results of his influence; and, thirdly, the rites -and ceremonies with which his worship is performed. - - - - - - - -I--THE VIRGIN BIRTH. - - -Some two thousand years ago there is said to have appeared in the -notoriously rebellious province of Galilee, the headquarters of Hebrew -radicalism, a wandering teacher called Jesus, who passed from village -to village expounding certain ethical and socialistic ideas, which -were condemned by the Roman government and which resulted in this -man's arrest and subsequent execution. After his death, his various -pupils continued to preach his theories, and, separating, spread -these ideas over various parts of the then civilized world. These -pupils, naturally, having a firm belief in their former leader, -and desiring to strengthen in every possible manner their faith -as well as to increase the number of their proselytes, and, also, -being themselves more or less affected by the ancient messianic idea, -did not deny Jesus more than mortal powers, and allowed certain pagan -theories of deity to creep into their faith. Later, when the vicious -and crafty Constantine found it advisable for political reasons to -adopt Christianity as the state religion, the great mass of Roman -worshipers merely transferred the attributes of their ancient deities -to the objects venerated by the new sect. - -There was nothing new in bestowing a divine origin on Jesus. All the -lesser gods of antiquity were the sons of Zeus, and, in later times, -monarchs were accorded the same origin. It was a common myth of -all ancient peoples that numerous beings derived their birth from -other than natural causes. Virgins gave birth to sons without aid -of men. Zeus produced offspring without female assistance. Almost -all the extraordinary men that lived under the old heathen mythology -were reputed to have been the sons of some of the gods. The doctrine -of the virgin birth is perhaps one of the oldest of religious ideas; -it is so universal that its origin is impossible to trace. Therefore, -no wonder is excited when we find that most of the religious leaders -have been of celestial origin. - -Krishna, the Indian savior, was born of a chaste virgin called Devaki, -who, on account of her purity, was selected to become the mother of -God. Gautama Buddha was born of the virgin Maya and "mercifully left -Paradise and came down to earth because he was filled with compassion -for the sins and miseries of mankind. He sought to lead them into -better paths, and took their sufferings upon himself that he might -expiate their crimes and mitigate the punishment they must otherwise -inevitably undergo." - -The great father of gods and men sent a messenger from heaven to -the Mexican virgin, Sochiquetzal, to inform her that it was the -will of the gods that she should immaculately conceive a son. As a -result she bore Quetzalcoatl, the Mexican savior, who "set his face -against all forms of violence and bloodshed, and encouraged the arts -of peace." The Mexican god Huitzilopochtli was likewise immaculately -conceived by a woman who, while walking in a temple, beheld a ball of -feathers descending in the air. She grasped this and placed it in her -bosom. It gradually disappeared and her pregnancy resulted. The Mexican -Montezumas were later supposed to have been immaculately conceived -by a drop of dew falling on the exposed breast of the mother as she -lay asleep. - -The Siamese have a virgin-born god and savior whom they call Codom; -the Chinese have several virgin-born gods, one being the result of -his mother's having become impregnated by merely treading on the -toe-print of God; while the Egyptians bowed in worship before the -shrine of Horus, son of the virgin Isis. - -Setting aside the mythological interpretation of the miraculous -conception of Jesus and the theory that his history is entirely -fictitious, and viewing his birth from a natural human standpoint, -even admitting that he may have been a "divinely inspired man," -a little better than any other human being, there seems to be only -one explanation for his peculiar conception as recorded in Luke i. - -Some critics of the rational school have not failed to notice -a solution of the problem in the appearance of the angel Gabriel -and his private interview with Mary (Luke i, 28-38). Say they very -pertinently, why may not some libidinous young man, having become -enamoured of the youthful wife of the aged Joseph, and, knowing the -prophecy of the messiah, have visited the object of his desire in -angelic guise and, having won her confidence in this rôle, gained those -favors that produced the miraculous birth? And such an explanation -is not improbable when we consider that it is an historical fact that -young and confiding women often resorted to the pagan temples at the -instigation of the unscrupulous, where they enjoyed the embraces of -ardent but previously unsuccessful lovers, under the impression that -they were being favored by deities. - -So those Christians whose reasoning powers will not allow them -to believe in the absurdity of an unnatural conception, and whose -superstitious adoration will not permit of their believing Mary guilty -of an intentional faux pas, try in this manner to reconcile the two, -and declare Joseph the guilty man. - -According to the Gospels, Joseph, the husband, knowing Mary to be -with child, married her (Matt. i, 18); but that is no reason for -believing that he regarded the Holy Ghost's responsibility for his -wife's condition with faith. He told of a dream in which he had been -informed that such was the case (Matt. i, 20-23). He may have believed -the dream, and he may not. The most sensible view is that he, "being a -just man," took this method of preserving her reputation, and that he -himself was the actual parent. Having betrayed the girl, he honestly -married her, but, to defend her and himself from the accusation of a -serious misdemeanor among the Jews (Deut. xxii), he invented the dream -story to account for her unfortunate condition. Girls have ever told -improbable stories to explain like misfortunes. Danæ concocted the -shower of gold yarn; Leda preferred to accuse herself of bestiality -with a swan to acknowledging a lover, and Europa blamed a bull. Modern -damsels have invented more modern but just as innocent agents. - -It would seem from the subsequent actions and words of Mary that -she must have forgotten that her son was miraculously conceived of -God, for we find her reproaching him for remaining in the temple of -Jerusalem to argue with the rabbis with, "Son, why hast thou thus -dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing" -(Luke ii, 48). Again, when Simeon and Anna proclaimed the messiahship -of Jesus (Luke ii, 25-32; 36-38), we are told that "Joseph and his -mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him" (Luke ii, -33). This would hardly have been the case had they already known him -as "the Son of the Highest, who shall reign over the house of Jacob -forever" (Luke i, 32-33). Neither would Mary, had she realized that -she was the mother of God, have considered it necessary to resort -to the temple (Luke ii, 22-24) to be purified from the stains of her -childbirth. Women, having borne natural children, were considered to -have become defiled in the act of parturition, through the contact -of the perpetually active agency of original sin, whereof they must -be purified. The mere fact of her submitting to such a churching is -evidence that Mary did not know that she had done anything remarkable -in bearing Jesus, and was ignorant of an unusual conception. - -Their neighbors, despite the dream, always recognized Jesus as Joseph's -son (Matt. xii, 55; Luke iv, 22; John ii, 45; vi, 42; Nicodemus i, -2). The orthodox explain this on the supposition that Joseph and -Mary kept all these things in their hearts, and did not tell the -actual facts of the case, which seems unlikely. Joseph would want -to explain the early birth of Jesus, and Mary would be desirous of -saving her reputation, and both would naturally boast of the honor -conferred by the Holy Ghost, had they known of it, for in such case -Joseph's relation to his god was the same as that of the peasant to -his seigneur in the days of the jus primæ noctis. The liaison was an -honor, and would have been related to save Jesus from the disagreeable -allusions made by his neighbors regarding his birth (John viii, 41). - -Conforming to the narrations of the miraculous conception in Luke, -Mary, and the Protevangelion, is an old miracle play called "Joseph's -Jealousy," in which we find a very natural picture of the good old -husband discovering a condition in his wife for which he is not -responsible and accusing her in plain old English of adorning his -brow with antlers. The following is the dialogue as given in Hone's -"Ancient Mysteries Described": - - -Jos. Say me, Mary, this childys fadyr who is? - I pry the telle me, and that anon? - -Mry. The Fadyr of hevyn, & se, it is, - Other fadyr hath he non. - - -To which Joseph very naturally replies in a burst of anger: - - -Jos. Goddys childe! thou lyist, in fay! - God dede nevyr rape so with may. - But yit I say, Mary whoos childe is this? - -Mry. Goddys and your, I sey, I wys. - - -Then in wrath at her obstinacy he breaks forth: - - -Jos. Ya, ya! all olde men, to me take tent, - & weddyth no wyff, in no kynnys wyse. - Alas! Alas! my name is shent; - All men may me now dyspyse, - & seyn olde cokwold. - - -Mary tries to explain and says that her child is from God alone and -that she was so informed by an angel. The suspicious Joseph will not -be deceived, and gives way to some words that have since been accepted -as a true explanation of the miraculous conception: - - -Jos. An A'gel! alas, alas! fy for schame! - Ye syn now, in that ye to say; - To puttyn an A'ngel in so gret blame. - Alas, alas! let be do way; - It was s'n boy began this game, - That closhyd was clene and gay, - & ye geve hym now an A'ngel name. - - -The old prophecy in Isaiah (vii, 14) that a virgin shall bear a son -loses its utility when we recognize that this was the sign given Ahaz -that God would preserve his kingdom, although he was then threatened -by a coalition of the kings of Ephraim and Syria. If the prophecy -referred to the Christ, how could it have any influence on Ahaz? How -could he be calmed and made to preserve his courage in the face of -danger by a sign which would not be given until centuries after he -slept with his fathers? But such was not the case. Isaiah made his sign -appear as he had promised (vii, 16), "Before the child shall know to -refuse evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall -be forsaken of both her kings" (the rulers of Israel and Syria). Now, -this prophecy was fulfilled, either by the trickery of the prophet or -the compliance of a virgin, for we find in the next chapter (Isaiah -viii, 3), "And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived and bare -a son." And that is the whole story. To apply it to the mythical -birth of Jesus is puerile. No one can doubt that so good a Jew as -Josephus believed in the prospect of a messiah, yet so little did -Isaiah's prophecy impress him that he did not even mention the virgin -episode. Probably, on the whole, he thought it a rather contemptible -bit of trickery and rather detrimental to the memory of Isaiah. - -James Orr, in his treatise written expressly to prove the historical -fact of the virgin birth, denies that the prophecy of Isaiah could be -applied to Jesus. Here we have an orthodox writer who firmly believes -in the miraculous conception, shattering the great cornerstone of the -church's foundation for this belief. He says that the word "almah" -was not Hebrew for virgin at all, but meant only a marriageable -young woman. He says it can have no connection with Jesus, and thus -he agrees with Thomas Paine, but for opposite reasons. - -While Orr evidently considers that all pagan tales of divine paternity -are legends, he affirms that the case of Jesus is genuine. Just why God -became Deus Genetrix only once, he does not explain. If God approved -of this method of creation, he would surely have performed it more -than once. That he should have chosen a woman at all seems strange, -when he could have produced Jesus without female assistance. Why -should he have given his son, coexistent with the father, and, -as such, undoubtedly of a fully developed intelligence, all the -discomfort and danger of infantile life? If Jesus were but another -phase of the godhead, one of the divine eternal trinity, it was -degrading and ridiculous to have inflicted him with the processes of -foetal life, with all the embryonic phases of development from ovule, -through vertebrate and lower form to human guise; to have given him -the dangers of human gestation and parturition, the inconvenience -of childhood, with teething and other infantile discomforts, and the -slow years of growth. Why did he inflict all these things on a part, -a third, of himself, in many years of preparation for but a few years -of preaching, when he could have produced the Christ in a wonderful -manner, full grown in all the beauty and dignity and strength of -perfect and sublime manhood? Probably some will answer that then Jesus -would have been regarded as an impostor. But no more doubt could be -cast on such an appearance than has been thrown on the doubtful story -of the purity of Mary. Orr, in his haste to prove his belief, gives a -very good argument against it (page 82) in the words, "The idea of a -Virgin birth ... was one entirely foreign to Jewish habits of thought, -which honored marriage, and set no premium on virginity." Therefore, -it could not have been of Jewish origin. The Jews never accepted it, -and it grew up only under the influence of Gentile converts. - -It was an idea of classic paganism, an adoption of universal -phallism, this conception of a divine impregnation. The doctrine -that by conjunction with a woman, God begat the Christ is merely -another phase of the phallic idea of the procreative principles of -the deity--it is another form of the deus genetrix, the generative -principle of male procreation. - - - - - - - -II.--PAGAN PARALLELS. - - -The orthodox church denies that the Christ had any brothers and -declares that Jesus was the only child of Mary, in spite of gospel -testimony to the contrary. Matthew i, 25, referring to Joseph, says, -"And he knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son," -which implies that after his birth marital relations began between -Joseph and Mary, from which other children were born, for how, -otherwise, could Jesus have been the "first-born"? That Jesus had -both brothers and sisters is declared in Matthew xii, 46; xiii, 55, -56; Mark iii, 31; vi, 3; Luke viii, 19-20; John ii, 12; vii, 3, 5, -10, and Acts i, 14, while Paul in Galatians i, 19, expressly names -"James, the Lord's brother." - -As the veneration for Mary increased under the influence of the pagan -conceptions of an immaculate mother-queen of heaven, these simple -and natural consequences of her marriage could not be tolerated, -even allowing for the exceptional conception of Jesus, and the -orthodox began to assert that Mary was not only an uncontaminated -virgin at the birth of Jesus, but that by miracle she did not lose -her virginity by that event. They attempted to explain the above -references, first, by asserting that these children were of Joseph by -a previous marriage, and later, when they felt it necessary to endow -the consort of their pure mother with perfect celibacy, they named -them as cousins only. Jerome was so strong a champion for Joseph's -virginity that he considered Epiphanius guilty of impious invention -for supporting the earlier belief regarding Jesus' brethren. - -The Buddhists were far wiser than the Christians and eluded all such -difficulties by causing Maya to die seven days after the birth of -Sakyamuni, and by asserting such to have been the case with all the -mothers of the Buddhas. - -At the time of Jesus' birth a brilliant star is believed to have -heralded the event, and has passed into tradition as "the star -of Bethlehem." There is nothing novel in this idea, as all ancient -peoples were very superstitious about the celestial bodies, firmly -believing in astronomical influences on human affairs, and it seems -to have been a common idea that the births of great men were announced -by the presence of peculiar stars. - -In China, a new star appeared at the birth of Yu, founder of the first -dynasty, as was also the case when the sage Laoutze was born, while -in Mexico the "morning star" was the symbol of the national savior -Quetzalcoatl. The primitive Christians, however, did not have to look -so far for such an idea, but easily found a parallel in the unusual -star reported by the friends of Terah to have appeared on the night -of Abraham's birth, which they said shone so brightly in the east. - -Not only was the birth of the messiah announced by the brilliant star, -but it was also celebrated by the singing of the heavenly host. Similar -phenomena occurred at the birth of Krishna, when "the clouds emitted -low pleasing sounds and poured down a rain of flowers." On the eve -of the birth of Confucius "celestial music sounded in the ears of -his mother"; at Buddha's a "marvelous light illumined the earth"; -and at the birth of Osiris a voice was heard proclaiming that the -ruler of the earth was born. - -The savior having been born, he must necessarily be recognized, -so the myth of the wise men and their gifts follows--in a fashion -very similar to that told of the other saviors. The marvelous infant -Buddha was visited at the time of his birth by wise men who immediately -recognized in him all the characteristics of divinity. At the time of -Confucius' birth "five celestial sages entered the house whilst vocal -and instrumental music filled the air." Mithras, the Persian savior, -was visited by wise men called magi at the time of his birth, and -was presented by them with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh; and -the same story is told by Plato in relation to the birth of Socrates. - -While it is claimed for all the world's saviors that they were borne by -virgins and begotten by God, genealogies of royal descent are traced -for them through the husbands of their mothers in a most illogical -manner. As may be seen in the New Testament, the pedigree of Jesus is -most elaborately set forth in both Matthew and Luke, who claim that -through Joseph (whose parentage is denied) the Christ was a direct -descendant of King David, though, strange to relate, the connecting -generations are different in one inspired gospel from what they are -in the other. Krishna, in the male line, was of royal descent, being -of the house of Yadava, the oldest and noblest of India; and Buddha -was descended from Maha Sammata, the first monarch of the world. - -Therefore, it is not surprising to find a royal pedigree for the god -Christ, especially when the religious position occupied by the king -in rude societies is considered. The Kaffres acknowledge no other -gods than their monarch, and to him they address those prayers which -other nations are wont to prefer to the supreme deity. Every schoolboy -knows of the apotheosis of the Roman emperors, and the monarchs of -Mexico and Peru were regarded as divinities. Every king of Egypt was -added to the list of gods and declared to be the son of Ra, and even, -in some cases, was made the third person of a trinity. Each denied -that he owed his birth to the father from whom he inherited the crown, -and claimed to have been miraculously begotten. Special temples were -erected for the worship of the kings, which was conducted by special -priests. The Parthian rulers of the Arsacid house, likewise, claimed -divinity and styled themselves brothers of the sun and moon. - -The fable of the slaughter of the innocents, which was merely a -new form of the ancient myth of the dangerous child whose life is -a constant menace to some tyrant, was copied from several ancient -religions, and the flight of the holy family into Egypt has its -counterpart in other tales. King Kansa sought the life of Krishna -and sent messengers to kill all infants in the neighboring places, -but a heavenly voice warned his foster-father to fly with him across -the river Jumna, which was immediately done. Salivahana, a virgin-born -savior anciently worshiped in southern India, had a similar experience; -and fable tells that at Abraham's birth Nimrod sought his life, fearing -a prophecy that a child was born who should overthrow his power, and, -as a result, he murdered 70,000 newly-born male children. At the time -of Moses' birth, Pharaoh is said to have dreamed that a new-born child -would cause Egypt's ruin, and he ordered that all the new-born sons -of Israel should be cast into the Nile. Similar stories, familiar to -all readers of the classics, are told of Perseus, Herakles, Paris, -Jason, Bacchus, Romulus and Remus. - -All these tales of the birth and early life of Jesus are similar to -those of the other and more ancient saviors, and so is the story of -the temptation and the forty days' fast. Moses fasted "forty days and -forty nights" on the mount where he received the law (Ex. xxiv, 18; -xxxiv, 28; Deut. ix, 9, 11). Elijah fasted "forty days and forty, -nights" on Mt. Horeb (I Kings xix, 8). Joachim, in shame at being -childless, retired to the wilderness for a fast of "forty days and -forty nights" (Protevangelion i, 6, 7). Buddha fasted and held his -breath until he became extremely weak, when Mara, Prince of Evil, -appeared and tempted him to break his fast by offering to make him -emperor of the world. Quetzalcoatl was also tempted by the devil -during a forty days' fast; and the temptation of Zoroaster forms the -subject of many legends. - -All these myths readily implanted themselves in the Christian -mythology, but the execution of its hero gave a great opportunity -for mythical expansion and elaboration. - -It is taught that Jesus was crucified; whether he was or not nobody -knows, although there are more pieces of the "true cross" extant than -could ever have flourished as trees on Mount Calvary. - -If such a person as Jesus of Nazareth ever lived and was ever -executed by the Romans, it is very probable that he was hanged, and -the gallows may, very likely, have been of a form similar to that of -a rude cross. The term crucifixion does not necessarily imply that one -must be nailed outspread upon a symmetrical cross. It was the ancient -custom to use trees as gibbets for execution, or a rude cruciform -gallows, often called a "tree" (Deut. xxi, 22, 23; Nicodemus ix, -10). To be hung on such a cross was anciently called hanging on a -tree, and to be hung on a tree was crucifixion. This rough method of -execution was later modified by the Christians to the present theory -of the crucifixion, as they very naturally desired to appropriate the -cross for their own especial emblem, owing to the fact that its great -antiquity as a universal religious symbol would aid in the propagation -of their faith, and since its earliest inception, Christianity has -been ever prone to aid its proselyting by the adoption of pagan dogmas, -symbols and practices from the so-called heathen theologies. - -Of all religious symbols, the cross is the most ancient and sacred. It -has from the earliest antiquity been the mystic emblem for reverence -and awe, and appears to have been in the aboriginal possession of -every ancient people. Populations of essentially different culture, -tastes, and pursuits have vied with one another in their superstitious -adoration of it. Greek crosses of equal arms adorned the tomb of Midas -of Phrygia; and long before the time of the Eutruscans, the inhabitants -of northern Italy erected crosses over the graves of their dead. The -cross was common to Mexico; white marble crosses were found on the -island of Saint Ulloa by its discoverers; and it was greatly revered -in Paraguay and Peru. - -While the origin of the cross, shrouded as it is in the mists of the -remotest antiquity, has been the subject of much speculation which has -resulted in numerous theories, it is, undoubtedly, a conventionalized -result of primitive phallic ideas. Sexual motives underlie and permeate -all known religious systems. The idea of a creative god naturally -gave rise to characteristic symbolical expression of the male and -female principles, which were gradually modified and reduced to the -tau (a Gothic T), representing the male principle, and the ring, -representing the female principle. As a complete expression of the -creative power, these two symbols were often placed in conjunction; -and the most ancient form of the conjunction was, probably, that -of the crux ansata, known to the Egyptians as "the emblem of life," -which was very simply formed by placing the ring above the T. This -emblem is sometimes called the "cross with the handle," because in -ancient sculpture it is often represented as being carried by the -ring. (See Doane, "Bible Myths"; Inman, "Ancient Faiths," etc.). This -handled cross was also sacred to the Babylonians and occurs repeatedly -on their cylinders, bricks and gems. - -In ancient Scandinavian mythology the great warrior god Thor was always -closely associated with a cruciform hammer, this being the instrument -with which he killed the great Mitgard serpent, with which he destroyed -the giants, and performed other acts of heroism. Cruciform hammers, -with a hole at the intersection of the arms for the insertion of the -haft, have been discovered in Denmark, and were used in consecrating -victims at Thor's altars. The cross, or hammer, of Thor is still -used in Iceland as a magical sign in connection with wind and rain, -just as the corresponding sign of the cross is now used among the -German peasantry to dispel a thunderstorm; both being expressions -of the same idea that the cross is sacred to the god of thunder. As -Christians blessed the full goblet with the sign of the cross, -so the ancient Vikings made the sign of the hammer over theirs; -and the signs were identical. - -The practice of making the sign of the cross before eating, which -has, in Protestant sects, degenerated to the saying of grace, which -again has assumed the form of a prayer of thanks to God for bestowing -the sustenance, was originally merely a method of prevention against -demonical possession. It was thought that demons abounded everywhere -and that one was very likely to imbibe one of these spirits unless -he took the precaution of making the sign of the cross, which they -could not endure and from which they fled. This belief in the efficacy -of a talisman, universal among all peoples from the most barbarous -to so-called civilized communities, was not only countenanced but -encouraged by Christianity, and even today we find orthodox Christians -who--although they cannot be called educated in the highest sense, -yet are not to be classed as illiterate--who are still practicing -it. Every good Catholic wears a scapular, and many a one carries a -little image of some saint to ward off disaster. The sign of the -cross is still used in time of danger and is considered a weapon -of miraculous power. Sword hilts are still constructed in the form -of the cross to give fortune in battle, and the masts of ships with -yards were once considered the symbol of the cross. - -The burial of the dead about churches is another modern form of -the ancient superstition that within the shadow of the cross demons -dare not disturb the body, which was necessary for resurrection and -immortality. This idea is a descendant of the ancient savage notion -that bodies in the vicinity of the idol were protected. Even in our -modern Protestant cemeteries we constantly find crosses erected over -the graves in the same superstitious manner, although in most cases -it has become merely a surviving custom, the origin of which the -performers do not know. - - - - - - - -III.--SPURIOUS RELICS. - -Accompanying the worship of the cross, we find among orthodox -Christians the adoration of the three nails of the passion -which are nothing more than a union of the two Egyptian forms of -architecture--the obelisk, expressing the male idea, and the inverted -pyramid, expressing the female. - -Two of these nails are supposed to have been found in the time of -Constantine, who adorned his helmet and horse's bridle with them. Rome, -Milan and Treves each boast of possessing one of them, while still -another may be seen at the church of the Holy Cross of Jerusalem, -where it is annually exposed to the veneration of the people. In 1353 -Pope Innocent VI. appointed a festival for these holy nails. Despite -these facts, a legend arose in the latter part of the sixteenth century -that these three nails were fashioned into an iron ring three-eighths -of an inch broad and three-tenths thick and presented by the Empress -Helena to Constantine to protect him in battle, and that this ring -was later used to support the golden plates of the celebrated Iron -Crown of Lombardy. - -In reference to the practice of relic worship in the Christian church, -it is interesting to note that numerous objects of worship seem endowed -with remarkable powers of multiplication. The Church of Coulombs, -Diocese of Chârtres; the Cathedral of Pry, the Collegiate Church -of Antwerp, the Abbey of Our Savior at Charroux, and the Church of -St. John Lateran at Rome, all boast themselves the sole possessors -of the only authentic "holy prepuce," which was circumcised from -Jesus on the eighth day after his birth (Luke ii, 21), and preserved -by the midwife in oil of spikenard, which was later poured upon his -head and feet by Mary Magdalene (Infancy ii, 1-4). - -Likewise, there are numerous "holy shrouds." That at Besancon, which -was brought from Palestine by crusaders about the beginning of the -twelfth century, won fame by delivering the city from a destructive -plague in 1544, while that at Turin had a festival instituted for -it by Pope Julius II. in 1506. Other authentic shrouds may be found -at the Church of St. Cornelius at Compeigne, in Rome, Milan, Lisbon, -and Aix la Chapelle. - -Another much multiplied relic is the Virgin's ring, supposed to have -been the marriage ring used at the nuptials of Joseph and Mary. This -sacred souvenir was discovered in 996 by a jeweler of Jerusalem -and was readily recognized by its remarkable powers of healing and -self-multiplication. Many European churches claim to possess this -ring and profess to expose it to the devout for veneration, but, -undoubtedly, the most celebrated is that held by the Cathedral -of Perouse. - -Relic worship and belief in the miraculous powers residing in the -bones of departed saints, which continues, despite the more general -education of the laity, is by no means of Christian origin. In ancient -Greece the bones of heroes were superstitiously regarded and those -of Hector of Troy were sacredly preserved at Thebes; the tools used -in the construction of the Trojan horse were kept at Metapontum; -the sceptre of Pelops was held at Chæroneia; the spear of Achilles -at Phaselis; and the sword of Memnon at Nicomedia. Miraculous statues -of Minerva that brandished spears, abounded, and paintings that could -blush and images that could sweat also existed. - -In India there are numerous teeth of Buddha which his worshipers -believe capable of performing miracles; and his coat, which as -Prince Siddhatto he laid aside on entering the priesthood, has been -miraculously preserved, and is still shown. - -Jerome, in defending the worship of relics which had been attacked -by Vigilantus of Barcelona, did not deny that it was adopted from -paganism, but commended it and explained that as this reverence had -been previously "only given to idols, and was then to be detested, -was now given to martyrs, and therefore to be received." - - - - - - - -IV.--TRIAL AND EXECUTION MYTHS. - - -That Jesus should have been executed, either as an historical fact or -as a mythological theory, is not remarkable; and even when considered -in the light of his being one of the godhead, there is nothing new in -the relation of his death. The idea of a dying god is very old. The -grave of Zeus was shown at Crete, and the body of Dionyseus was -buried at Delphi. Osiris and Buddha both died, and numerous deities -were crucified. Krishna, the Indian god, suffered such execution, as -did also the Mexican savior Quetzalcoatl. Representations of Krishna -abound wherein he is depicted as nailed to a cross and having a round -hole in his side. Prometheus was nailed by hands and feet to Mount -Caucasus, with arms extended in the form of a cross. - -So immeasurably voluminous have been the writings of the orthodox -upon the trial, execution, and resurrection of Jesus that it seems -advisable to consider these matters, from a rational point of view, -upon the hypothesis that such a man really lived and suffered -experiences similar to those narrated in the Gospels. With that -premise the following views are offered: - -The attitude of Jesus before Pilate shows him to have been a willing -martyr, yea, desirous of martyrdom. In all probability his fanatical -mind believed that when the supreme moment should come, when his -execution should take place, and when his death seemed instantly -imminent, some great natural phenomenon would occur to save him. He -undoubtedly believed that he would not die, but that God would -miraculously interpose to rescue him and that at that time he would -not only be saved, but that the kingdom of heaven would be established -under his control. That this was his belief seems to be shown by his -cry of disappointment when he realized that nothing supernatural was to -prevent his death. When that moment of realization came, his surprise -was evident and, unlike many of his courageous followers who died in -calmness and bravery, he cried aloud in mental and physical anguish, -"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. xxvii, 46; Mark -xv, 34.) - -His indifferent bearing before Pilate showed this faith in his -redemption, for when the Roman procurator courteously asked him if -he were the king of the Jews, he replied ambiguously, as had always -been his practice, "Thou sayest it" (Matt. xxvii, 11; Mark xv, 2; -Luke xxiii, 3; John xviii, 37; Nicodemus iii, 10). But such ambiguity, -which had served very well among the lower classes who had flocked to -hear and question him, was of no avail before the matter-of-fact Roman, -who, as an imperial officer, desired straightforward answers, and was -little impressed by Jesus' silence, except that he was rightfully -astonished that when given the chance the prisoner should not have -availed himself of it to explain his position. Therefore, seeing Jesus -had no will to answer his questions except in an exasperating manner, -after he had shown a willingness to save him, Pilate delivered Jesus -over to the Jews according to the custom of the Romans in regard -to the theological disputes of a subject people--but not until -he had requested them to spare the preacher. Had Jesus given the -Roman a frank explanation of his position as an itinerant preacher, -Pilate would probably have saved him, but the chimerical idea of -the interposition of God by a miracle, which would glorify him above -all else that could occur, led Jesus to make a willing sacrifice of -himself and throw away the opportunity offered him by Pilate. - -There is nothing noble nor grand in this impudent conduct toward the -Roman officer, but there is a good deal of justice and consideration -in the conduct of Pilate. There is nothing noble in Jesus' willingness -to die nor in his courting death at this trial, for it was entirely -unnecessary and was desired on his part only because he expected a -miraculous salvation. According to his belief, he was to be the gainer, -and he staked his life for a heavenly glory and lost, although he was -probably keen enough to see that in any case his death would increase -his fame, for the execution of a fanatic always lends a little glory -to a cause, no matter how base, as witness the desire of anarchists -for martyrdom and the attitude with which they view those who die -for their horrible ideas. - -The only question with the Roman was as to whether Jesus had proclaimed -himself the king of the Jews, and as he declined to answer this -question, Pilate could do nothing to save him. The blind hatred of -orthodox Christianity toward Pilate is absurd. Aside from the argument -above, there is another reason why his memory should be leniently -treated. According to the Christian dogma, Jesus was the son of God, -and it was only by his sacrifice, by his actual death, that he could -save man. By dying he took the sins of mankind upon himself, and thus -became the Savior. As the eternal Son, knowing all things, as a part -of the godhead, he knew his death must occur--that was his mission on -earth. Therefore, as instruments in the accomplishment of this grand -plan, by which mankind was saved, and Jesus became the Savior, Caiaphas -and Pontius Pilate should be regarded as divine agents worthy of glory -and praise. Any other conclusion is entirely illogical. But then, -who will look for logic in the dogmas of Christianity? When one makes -a logical investigation of this faith, he abandons its unreasonable -teachings, which cannot be accepted by a logical mind. The person -who allows his reason to govern his belief cannot in any way accept -the teachings of the absurd and ridiculous Christian cult. - -While suffering his execution, Jesus, according to the Gospel -writers, lost both his moral and physical courage, and cried aloud -in agony, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?" In view of this fact, it -seems impossible for reasonable creatures to accept the Christian -dogmas of the atonement and the trinity, for, if Jesus were one of -the godhead and had left his heavenly abode to descend to earth for -the especial purpose of saving mankind by shedding his blood for them, -he must necessarily have been aware of what was in store for him and -have known all the details attendant upon his execution. - -Looking at this fable rationally, Jesus was inferior in courage -to many of his followers. When we recall the innumerable martyrs -who went to meet death with smiling lips, in perfect confidence, -the wailing savior, with his doubting cry to God, presents anything -but an impressive figure. Surely, to burn at the stake, to lie under -the axe, to endure the awful tortures of the Inquisition, were fully -as agonizing as a crucifixion; and yet men--and delicate women--who -have never pretended to divinity, have borne these things silently. - -To be sure, the whole story of the Christ is largely legendary and -very uncertain, but, according to the gospels of Matthew and Mark, -Jesus was weak in his convictions, afraid to die for his own teachings, -and on the whole, his conduct at the supreme moment reminds one of -the weak French peasants of revolutionary times rather than the brave -nobility. His peasant blood rose to the surface and in his fear he -cried, "Why hast thou forsaken me?" although but a few moments before -he had assured one of the malefactors who suffered beside him that -on this day he should be in paradise (Luke xxiii, 43). - -Everything considered, it is not strange that the Jews would not accept -Jesus as the awaited messiah who should free them from the yoke of -Rome. They desired a strong and powerful leader, not a socialistic -wandering teacher, and the prophecies promised a ruler surpassing the -wisdom and power of the gorgeous Solomon. There is not one prophetic -passage in the Old Testament that can properly be applied to Jesus, -although many have been distorted for such purpose. The Jews looked -upon him as an impostor and a revolutionist who not only pretended -to be what he was not, but who disregarded their ancient laws and -preached a doctrine contrary to that held by their rabbis. - -It was not until long after his death that he was regarded as a -prophet, and it was not until every proof of his very existence had -vanished that divine honors were paid him. To the Jews he was a vagrant -revolutionist worthy of death, and the Jews knew him personally; to a -large majority of twentieth century Christians, he is a god, and they -know absolutely nothing about him, save a collection of puerile myths -which tax their credulity as children, but which as adults they accept. - -However, regarding the execution of Jesus, there is always the -legitimate doubt that it ever occurred. Aside from the fact that -the usual mode of death for criminals was by hanging, there is much -internal evidence in the gospels themselves which points to the -conclusion that the whole story of the execution and resurrection is -mythical and was composed from various Hebrew and pagan legends. The -dying cry was copied verbatim from Psalms xxii, 1, wherein David -"complaineth in great discouragement" over his diseased condition. - - - - - - - -V.--DISTORTED "PROPHECIES." - - -The Jews, desirous that the spectacle of the execution should not -pollute the sanctity of their Sabbath, requested that the death of -the victim might be hastened (John xix, 31). Therefore, according -to custom, the Roman soldiers broke the legs of the thieves, but, -finding Jesus already dead, they did not break his legs (John xix, -33). In this the writer of John sees the fulfillment of a prophecy -(John xix, 36). In Exodus xii, 46, occur the words "neither shall -ye break a bone thereof," which were nothing more than a command of -"the ordinance of the passover" (Ex. xii, 43), and applied to the -sacrificial animals to be eaten then. But the gospel writers, delving -for prophecies, saw with their queerly distorted eyes a prophecy in -this and Numbers ix, 12, regardless of the fact that for centuries, -in celebrating the passover, the Jews had conformed to this practice -of not breaking the bones of the animals eaten. But the biographers -saw Jesus as the paschal lamb, and associated him with the meat of -the passover. The tendency to regard his body as the solid of the -Eucharist has likewise aided in this construction of the passages -in Exodus and Numbers into a prophecy. In David's apostrophe to the -righteous he says that though their afflictions are many, "the Lord -delivereth him out of them all" and preserves him. "He keepeth all -his bones; not one of them is broken" (Psalm xxxiv, 19-20). This -has no reference to the Christ, but the distorted vision of the -apostolic writer saw in it such an intent. He says (John xix, 36), -"For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, -A bone of him shall not be broken." - -In order, however, to be sure that Jesus was actually dead and, in -case he was not, to hasten that event, one of the soldiers pierced -his heart with a lance. Here John sees another prophecy fulfilled -(John xix, 37), "They shall look on him whom they pierced." This -refers to Zechariah xii, 10, where we find the words, "And I will -pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, -the spirit of grace and supplications; and they shall look upon me -whom they have pierced." This was the language of a prophet in a -diatribe against the enemies of Juda. How could the writer of John -have seen a prophecy in this, when the context reads "in that day -I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem" -(Zech. xii, 9), and when at the time of the crucifixion, Jerusalem -was in the hands of the Romans? - -Likewise, the writers of Matthew and John saw in the drawing of lots by -the soldiers at the foot of the cross for the garments of Jesus--the -usual custom regarding the minor possessions of executed criminals, -which were always considered the spoil of the military guard--"the -fulfillment of a prophecy" (Matt. xxvii, 35 John xix, 23, 24) found -in Psalms xxii, 18, "They part my garments among them, and cast -lots upon my vesture," which really was a metaphorical expression -of David concerning the treatment accorded him by his enemies. In -the preceding verse 16, in the same relation and rhetorical figure, -he says "they pierced my hands and my feet." On the whole, Psalm -xxii was a particularly happy composition for the Christian adepts -at misconstruction. Neither Mark nor Luke refers to the fulfillment -of a prophecy regarding the vestments, but content themselves with -narrating the event (Mark xv, 24; Luke xxiii, 34). - -It was customary to give the condemned a drink of wine and myrrh -to stupefy him and thus decrease the sufferings of execution. When -this was offered to Jesus he refused it (Mark xv, 23), probably -because he wished to be perfectly conscious at the time when God -should miraculously reprieve him. Matthew, xxvii, 34, intentionally -falsifies the episode and calls the drink vinegar and gall, so bound is -he to see a messianic prophecy in Psalms xix, 21, "They gave me also -gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink," -which words were really applied by David to his own personal enemies. - - - - - - - -VI.--THE RESURRECTION. - - -Regarding the resurrection, it is interesting to note that, whereas -most crucified men lived a number of hours and even a day in this -torture, the wounds in the hands not being mortal and the position only -affecting the circulation, causing death by exhaustion or starvation, -Jesus lived only three hours. Therefore, it may have been that he -was not actually dead, but merely in a state of coma, or perhaps a -cataleptic condition. The custom he had of using his subjective mind -in telepathic cures, as told in the gospels, seems to point to this -conclusion, that, being strongly subjective, his condition here was -cataleptic. Many cases are known of men having been restored after -crucifixion, and, as the embalming given Jesus in the Jewish custom -consisted in nothing more than a wrapping in a shroud with myrrh and -aloes, there is nothing to oppose this hypothesis. After resting for -a while in the tomb, he may have revived and gone out and been seen -by others, after which he wandered away again to die in solitude from -exhaustion and lack of food. - -It is more probable, however, that this legend was copied from those -of other religious heroes, who likewise rose from the dead, as there -seems to be much variance between the different versions of the visit -of Mary Magdalene to the sepulchre and her meeting with Christ. Matthew -says (xxviii, 1) that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary visited the -sepulchre (3), where they saw a male angel descend from heaven during -an earthquake and roll back the stone from the door and sit upon it -(7). And he told them to "go quickly, and tell his disciples" that -he had risen, which they did. But as they were going (9) "Jesus met -them ... and they came ... and worshiped him." Mark tells a similar -story with some variations as to the angel, but he relates that Jesus -appeared first to Mary Magdalene "early the first day of the week" -(xvi, 9), and not on her visit with Mary, the mother of James, and -Salome at the tomb. According to Luke, the women went to the tomb, -where they were informed by (xxiv, 4) "two men in shining garments" -that Jesus had risen, and they left and told the apostles. No mention -is made here of the encounter of Mary Magdalene. John, however, gives -a more elaborate version. He narrates (xx) that Mary, going early and -alone to the tomb, which she found entirely empty, ran and informed -Peter, who verified her story and departed. After she was left alone -she looked into the sepulchre again, where she beheld two angels, -and on turning away saw Jesus standing by her. - -Setting aside the idea of a mythical plagiarism in these tales, -and also the cataleptic theory already mentioned, and considering -them from yet another point of view, we can still find a rational -explanation. The meeting of Jesus with Mary may have been the -hallucination of a hysterical woman. According to Mark xvi, 9, -and Luke viii, 2, Jesus had cast seven devils out of her, which is -surely sufficient proof that she was of neurotic temperament and -had been subject to delusions and hysteria. Undoubtedly after the -shock of witnessing the crucifixion and death of her master, for -three gospels agree in stating that she was present (Matt. xxvii, -56; Mark xv, 40; John xix, 25), this fond woman's mind, which seemed -more normal in his presence, again gave way and she returned to her -hysterical condition. On visiting the tomb, she found it empty because -"his disciples came by night and stole him away," that they might -declare he had risen from the dead, "as is commonly reported among -the Jews until this day" (Matt. xxviii, 11-15). As she was leaving, -she heard his voice (a common delusion of hysterical subjects) and -saw his form (another hallucination), but when she went to touch -him, she could not do so. The relation has all the marks of simple -neurosis, and yet many modern Christians base their whole faith upon -the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians xv, 14, "If Christ be not risen, -then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain." - -As noted in various parts of this work, unless Christians believe in -the possibility of miracles, the power of a personal devil, and the -physical resurrection of the body, there is no foundation for their -faith, and it is a mockery. - -Not satisfied with having executed their god according to the most -approved methods of antiquity, Christians felt the necessity of the -presence of some remarkable natural phenomena at the time of his -death, for among all ancient peoples it was customary to attribute -some remarkable natural convulsions to the death of a great man. When -Prometheus was crucified on Mount Caucasus "the earth quaked, thunder -roared, lightning flashed, wild winds rent the air and boisterous -billows rose." On the death of Romulus, there was "darkness over the -face of the earth for six hours," and when Quetzalcoatl died the -sun became black! Even in historical times, we find narrations of -similar phenomena accompanying the deaths of royalty; and we read in -many authenticated histories of the frightful thunderstorms that were -coincident with the deaths of Isabella of Castile, Charles the Fifth, -Napoleon the Great, and Oliver Cromwell. - -Therefore, it is not surprising to find mention of such occurrences -at the time of the execution of the Christian god, although we are -not prepared for such astonishing and unprecedented phenomena as -related by the ever exaggerating author of the "Gospel according to -St. Matthew," who states very seriously that "the vail of the temple -was rent in twain from top to bottom; and the earth did quake, and the -rocks rent; and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints -which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, -and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." - -But the execution, while it completes the mortal life of the incarnate -Christian deity, by no means finishes the legend. Like the gods of -antiquity, the Christ must also descend into hell and perform wonders -similar to those of the ancient heroes. All the saviors of mankind -had done so--Zoroaster, the Persian; Osiris, the Egyptian; Baldur, -the Scandinavian; Quetzalcoatl, the Mexican; and Krishna, the Hindu; -while Ishtar voluntarily descended into the Assyrian inferno. - -Having descended into hell, resurrection was necessary, for it was -unreasonable that the savior of mankind, the son of the supreme god, -should remain perpetually in the place of punishment; and, as his life -on earth was over, he could no longer abide there, and so the only -plausible sequence was an ascension to heaven. Krishna, the crucified -Hindu savior, rose from the dead and ascended bodily into the celestial -regions, as did Rama, another avatar of Vishnu. Buddha also ascended -bodily into heaven when his mission on earth was fulfilled, and marks -on the rocks of a high mountain are shown as the last impressions of -his footsteps on earth. Zoroaster and Æsculapius also had similar -experiences, as did Elijah and Adonis. Osiris rose from the dead -and bore the title of "The Resurrected One," his ascension being -celebrated in Egypt at the vernal equinox, as is the Christ's and -as was Adonis'. Other saviors who rose from the dead were Dionysius, -Herakles, Memnon, Baldur and Quetzalcoatl. - -Modern Catholics are still taught the fables of the bodily ascension -of Jesus, Mary the Virgin, and Mary the Magdalene and many other holy -persons, as actual miraculous truths, not to be questioned nor denied. - -Very good, but how can educated Catholics of today reconcile such -truths with their actual scientific knowledge? They know that the -earth is spherical, that the stars and planets are members of solar -systems, that outside the terrestrial atmosphere is nothing but -vast space. There is no such place as a heaven anywhere in these -celestial regions, and the zenith of any geographical situation -changes every moment. Clouds are mere masses of vapor, not furniture -for the repose of the glorified dead. Then whither did these adored -beings ascend? Certainly, God in his love for them never flung them -far into space to whirl about for eternity. - -These Catholics also know the law of gravitation, which would not allow -of such a method of transportation. But why ask these questions? No -religious person is capable of thinking sensibly on the teachings -of his faith, no matter how ridiculous. He accepts, as an adult, -what he questions as a child. - -While the idea of bodily ascension of the Christ was probably copied -into his biography from that of Enoch (Gen. v, 24) and Elijah (2 Kings -ii, 11), such stories form a large part of the annals of classical -mythology, almost every hero of antiquity having been translated to -the heavens when his earthly life was spent. The custom of converting -the tombs of prominent Christians into shrines likewise aided this -belief, as, it being impossible to discover the burial places of -the most conspicuous, the idea arose that they had been physically -removed to heaven. - -The principal weakness of all the great theological systems now in -practice is that they are terrestrial in their conception of God and -man. Their foundations were laid at a period when mankind knew little, -and cared less, about the planets; at a period when it was presumed -that the sun, moon, and stars were either beneficent deities or natural -objects placed in the firmament to light the world and please the eye -of man by their beauty. Therefore God, as recognized in these systems, -takes heed of naught else than this particular world. He totally -ignores the other innumerable spheres of matter floating in space, -many of which may support life. All his interests center on this -infinitesimal portion of his creation. It is with the doings of the -inhabitants of this planet that he is engaged. For this earth alone -he creates man, animals and vegetables; to this alone, he sends his -only son, or Savior; and it is here, in the purified state, that the -souls of men shall eternally dwell after the great judgment. - -Since science has proved that our solar system is but one of the many, -and that in this system the earth is not the largest nor most important -body, should not such absurd theological ideas be abandoned and a -grander and vaster conception of the Deity be inaugurated? Should -not organized theology turn to nobler thoughts and say with Paul, -"When I was a child ... I thought as a child; but when I became a man, -I put away childish things" (1 Cor. xiii, 11)? - -All such doctrines as predestination, which are based upon the sin -of Adam, are now anachronistic. The acceptance of the theory of -evolution, which entirely destroys the reality of the mythical Adam, -sweeps away his biography and leaves no foundation for such dogmas. If -the Christian church desires to remain, she must cast aside these -worthless doctrines, founded upon false hypotheses, when the minds -of men were in darkness regarding the origin of species, and when -they saw in these the only solution of their problem. - -Having accomplished his ascension and entered on his eternal kingdom, -one of the Christ's attributes is that of judging the dead. This -idea undoubtedly came from the Alexandrian school of theology, -where so many of the Christian theories were promulgated, for one -of the best-known attributes of Osiris was that of the judge, and -he was generally represented as seated on his throne of judgment, -bearing a staff (the crozier of the modern bishop) and holding the -crux ansata. Buddha is also supposed to be the judge of the dead. - -In connection with the idea of the Christ as the divine judge of men, -certain sects of Christians have advocated that of his return to -earth at some future period, which will terminate all terrestrial -life as it is known to-day, basing this belief upon Jesus' own -proclamation of his second advent, although in his prophecy he -declared the coming of the kingdom of heaven to be soon after his -death. He even told his disciples that they could not visit all the -cities of Israel before he should come again (Matt. x, 23); that -their own generation should see these things (Matt. xxiv, 34; Mark -xiii, 30); that some of those then listening to him should live to -see his kingdom (Matt. xvi, 28; xxiii, 36; xxiv, 34; Mark viii, 38; -Luke ix, 1-27; xxi, 32). Such were his words, and it seems strange -that people, believing these words, can still regard him as a very -part of God. Such improbabilities did Jesus gradually grow to preach, -and so wild did he become in his exhortations that even his disciples -at times appear to have believed him mad (Mark iii, 21), an opinion in -which his enemies agreed (Mark iii, 22; John vii, 5-20; viii, 48-52; -x, 20). They certainly had good cause for their suspicion. Was not his -conduct in cursing the fig tree for not bearing fruit out of season -an act of lunacy (Matt. xxi, 19-20; Mark xi, 13-14), and likewise -his arrogant assertion of the power of faith (Matt. xvii, 20; xxi, -21; Mark xi, 23; Luke xvii, 6)? It is, however, quite probable that -this idea of a second advent was copied from the Persian theology, -it being one of the tenets of the Zoroastrian religion that in the -end Ormuzd, God of Light, should conquer Ahriman, God of Darkness, -and that he should then summon the good from their graves, remove all -evil from the face of nature, and permanently establish the kingdom -of righteousness and virtue upon the earth. - -But such ideas are not unique to Christians and Persians. The Hindus -believe that Vishnu will have another avatar; the Siamese live in -constant expectation of the second coming of Codom; the Buddhists -are looking forward to the return of Buddha; the Jews are awaiting -the messiah; and the disciples of Quetzalcoatl expected that deity's -second advent--and most unfortunately thought their dream realized on -the arrival of the Spaniards, who took advantage of their consequent -submissiveness to exterminate them. - - - - - - - -VII.--MIRACLES. - - -It is customary among orthodox Christians to assert that the godhead -of their Christ was fully proven by the many miracles attributed to -him in the New Testament. But one must not forget that the performance -of miracles is one of the most common attributes of founders of new -sects, and one which all religious charlatans claim. Krishna lulled -tempests, cured lepers, and restored the dead; Buddha, Zoroaster -(who walked on water on his way to Mount Iran to receive the law), -Horus, Æsculapius, and innumerable others did likewise. Mohammed, not -content with miracles of the omnipotent physician type, juggled the -moon through his sleeve. Even to-day faith in miracles is not dead, -and miracle-working attributes have been claimed for Mrs. Eddy, -founder of Christian Science, Dowie, founder of Zion City, and -Sandford, leader of the Holy Ghost and Us. - -There can be no doubt in the mind of a student of comparative theology -that Moncure D. Conway was correct when he stated in his essay on -Christianity that "among all the miracles of the New Testament not -one is original. Bacchus changed water into wine.... Moses and Elias -also fasted forty days.... Pythagoras had power to still waves and -tempests at sea. Elijah made the widow's meal and oil increase; Elisha -fed a hundred men with twenty loaves.... As for opening blind eyes, -healing diseases, walking on water, casting out demons, raising the -dead, resurrection, ascension, all these have been common myths--logic -currency of every race." - -"One of the best attested miracles of all profane history is that which -Tacitus reports of Vespasian, who cured a blind man in Alexandria by -means of his spittle, and a lame man by the mere touch of his foot, -in obedience to a vision of the god Serapis," says Hume in his "Essay -on Miracles," and we might here mention the numerous attested cures -resulting from the laying on of royal hands by divinely appointed -sovereigns. - -The rulers of France, Aragon, and England touched for scrofula, -this practice being continued by the latter from the period of its -origin with Edward the Confessor until the accession of William the -Third, whose good sense put an end to it. James the Second, the last -practitioner of this art, had so great a belief in his curative powers -that he set aside certain days on which he touched the afflicted from -his throne at Whitehall, while the sufferers came in throngs to kneel -at his feet. The princes of the house of Austria likewise held divine -power and were supposed to be capable of casting out devils and curing -stammering by the touch of their aristocratic fingers. - -Numerous cases are narrated in which Jesus, by simply touching the -person of the afflicted, effected instantaneous cures. Such were -those of the leper (Matt. viii, 2-3; Mark i, 40-42; Luke v, 12-13); -the curing of Peter's mother-in-law of a fever (Matt. viii, 14-15; -Mark i, 30-31; Luke iv, 38-39), although in the Luke version he -"rebuked" the fever; and the opening of the eyes of two blind men -(Matt. ix, 27-30). Another method seems to have been by allowing the -ill to touch him or his garments (Matt. ix, 20-22; xiv, 36; Mark iii, -10; v, 25-34; Luke vi, 19; viii, 43-48). At other times he simply told -the patient, or the agent of the patient, that faith had effected the -cure, as with the centurion's servant (Matt. viii, 5-13; Luke vii, -2-10) and the daughter of the Canaanite (Matt. xv, 22-28; Mark vii, -25-30); or told the stricken to hold forth a withered arm or pick up -his bed and walk, by which command the cure was completed (Matt. ix, -2-7; xii, 10-13; Mark ii, 3-12; Luke v, 18-25). - -Among all primitive peoples, the principal cause of disease was -supposed to lie in the displeasure of some deity toward the afflicted -person, who was punished by this deity for some offense or neglect -(Psalms xxxviii, 3). One of the favorite methods of the gods in -afflicting was sending evil and tormenting spirits into the body of -the victim. After more was learned of disease, this theory gradually -diminished in strength as regarded some troubles, but for centuries -it was the universal theory that mental derangements and nervous -afflictions were solely due to demoniacal possession, and all priests -and medicine-men resorted to various exorcisms, from the primitive -banging of gongs and tooting of trumpets to scare away the spirit, -to the prayers and sprinkling of holy water of the mediæval church -to rid the patient of the unwelcome inhabitant of his body. - -That Jesus believed in this demoniacal possession is undoubted, and -he effected his cures by ordering or calling out the devil from the -body of the possessed. For example, there is a story of Jesus driving -devils into an innocent herd of swine (Matt. viii, 28-33; Mark v, -2-14; Luke viii, 26-34). We also find him casting out and rebuking -devils in various instances (Matt. ix, 32-34; xii, 22-24; xvii, 14-18; -Mark i, 23-24, 34; iii, 11; Luke iv, 33-36, 41; ix, 37-42). - -In all probability, these medical miracles of Jesus were copied from -older legends by his biographers. But, even if they actually occurred, -they were not miracles at all, for a miracle must be, in the very -meaning of the word, performed by the suspension of a natural law, -and from all gospel accounts the mental therapeutics of the Christ -were performed, if at all, in perfect accordance with well-established -psychological laws. They had been performed years before his birth, -and they have continued to be performed years after his death, -even to the present time. Through the force of faith, the patients -were placed in passivity (hypnosis) and treated by suggestions being -impressed upon their subjective minds, when present; at a distance, -they were cured by the telepathic suggestions conveyed from the -healer to their subjective mentalities. There is no miracle here; -it is merely a demonstration of telepathic and hypnotic phenomena, -governed by psychic laws, and does not place the Christ on a higher -intellectual plane than modern hypnotists and mental healers, who -consciously and knowingly work within the dispensation of these -laws. They are anything but proofs of the godhead of Jesus. - -It would seem that the Pharisees had some such idea in mind when -they demanded an astronomical miracle and requested "a sign from -heaven." But, unable to comply, he evaded this performance by calling -them hypocrites and "an evil and adulterous generation," and saying, -"There shall no sign be given unto this generation" (Matt. xii, 38-39; -xvi, 1-4; Mark viii, 11-13; Luke xi, 16, 29; John ii, 18, 24; vi, 30). - -One of the commonest miracles ascribed to religious leaders of all -sects and times, and one which never fails to convince witnesses and -hearers of the authenticity of such a leader's claims, is that of -restoring the dead to life. Such miracles have been so well attested -that there seems little reason to suppose them entirely fictitious. - -Everyone has heard of cases of catalepsy, and medical history teems -with cases of "suspended animation"; in fact, the only actual proof -of death is the entire decomposition of the vital organs; therefore, -the cruelty and crime of embalming corpses before such a condition -is apparent. Some undertakers actually insist upon embalming before -such conditions, because the dead can then be made to "present a -better appearance"! - -There are numerous well-proven cases of people lying for days in -cataleptic conditions, even with slight signs of decomposition due -to restricted circulation, and then returning to renewed lives and -perfectly healthy states. All Eastern travelers are familiar with the -practices of Hindu fakirs who allow themselves to be buried alive for -weeks, and are "resurrected" without having suffered. Therefore, it -does not seem improbable that some such acts on the parts of various -religious leaders may have occurred which have excited wonder with -the ignorant, and interest among the educated. The early Christians -proclaimed many such wonderful works, albeit when challenged by a -wealthy pagan to produce even one such case, in payment for which he -would become a convert, a failure was the result. - -Orthodox Christians proclaim that Jesus raised from death Jairus' -daughter, in entire forgetfulness of the actual words accredited -to their leader, which were, "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth" -(Matt. ix, 24; Mark v, 39; Luke viii, 52), showing his opinion that -she was in a cataleptic condition. While neither of the first three -gospels says aught of the raising of Lazarus, we find it in John, -who seems to have substituted it for the story of Jairus' daughter, -which does not appear in his gospel. According to this hyperbolical -and probably demented authority, Jesus raised Lazarus to life after he -had been dead four days (John xi, 17), although Jesus maintained that -Lazarus was not dead (John xi, 11). He declared that "this sickness is -not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be -glorified there-by" (John xi, 4), or, in other words, Jesus believed -that the unfortunate Lazarus was obliged to undergo this frightful -experience that his seeming resurrection might cause gaping among -the vulgar, and add to the prestige of the miracle worker. For this -reason, he purposely postponed going to the dying man, whom he might -have saved, that he might later have the glory of bringing him to -life! Excellent ethics! Finally, however, when he did depart, he said -positively, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake -him out of sleep" (John xi, 11). Having arrived at the sepulchre, -he approached it, groaning and weeping, in a most theatrical manner, -such as would appeal to a highly strung audience, and cried in a loud -voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" whereupon the dead man arose and came -out (John xi, 33, 35, 43). - -Now, this may have been catalepsy, and it may have been the strong -voice and will of the Christ which caused the awakening, but, in -all probability, if the affair ever occurred, it was a preconceived -dramatic incident. All the actors were partisans of the professed -messiah, and the whole story reads like a play, and undoubtedly the -words "come forth" were the cue for the waiting man to appear. - -It is by such contemptible methods that religions are established. If -the tale were due to the imagination of the author of John, it is most -discreditable to him, and places his hero in a very bad light. If -it actually occurred, it shows Jesus as a vain-glorious boaster, -anxious to show his power to the vulgar, and desirous of gaining a -following by charlatanry, either by raising a hypnotized man or by -creating a cheap melodrama. - -It had been prophesied (2 Esdras xiii, 50) that the messiah should -be a miracle worker, which probably caused Jesus to affect this -rôle when he accepted the part of the messiah, and to condescend to -soil his mission by charlatanism, even to the raising of the dead in -imitation of the former prophets, Elijah and Elisha (I Kings xvii, -16-24; II Kings iv, 18-37). - -It is rather amusing to hear Theodore Christlieb, that well-named, -sturdy old German supporter of orthodoxy, boldly assert in irrevocable -simplicity and straightforwardness, in his "Modern Doubt and Christian -Belief": "However much in other respects our opponents may differ, -they all agree in the denial of miracles, and unitedly storm this -bulwark of the Christian faith; and in its defense we have to combat -them all at once. But whence this unanimity? Because with the truth -of miracles the entire citadel of Christianity stands or falls. [The -italics are his own.] For its beginning is a miracle, its author is a -miracle, its progress depends upon miracles, and they will hereafter -be its consummation. If the principle of miracles be set aside, then -all the heights of Christianity will be leveled with one stroke, and -naught will remain but a heap of ruins. If we banish the supernatural -from the Bible, there is nothing left us but the covers" (pages 285-6). - - - - - - - -VIII.--ATONEMENT AND SALVATION BY FAITH. - - -The dogma of the atonement which very naturally resulted from the -theological interpretation of the crucifixion, was readily accepted -by the Christian church. The idea of averting disasters by sacrifice -and thus causing one devoted victim to bear the load of the sins of -others, in payment of which his death was acceptable, is one of the -greatest antiquity, and we find sacrifices of various kinds offered to -propitiate the deities, from the simple offerings of primitive man to -the more elaborate sacrifices of a more complicated society. Finally -came the idea of human sacrifice and then the culminating theory of the -sacrifice of a divine being whose suffering should atone for all the -sins of mankind. The belief of redemption from sin by the sufferings -of a divine incarnation was general and popular centuries before -the time of Jesus. In the temple of the moon the Albanians of the -eastern Caucasus kept a number of sacred slaves. When one exhibited -more than usual symptoms of inspiration, the high priest maintained -him in the utmost luxury for a year, after which he was anointed and -led forth to be sacrificed. After his death, the people stood upon the -body as a purificationary ceremony, it being believed that the dead -man was possessed of a divine spirit. The ancient Greeks were also -familiar with the use of the human scapegoat, and it was customary -at Marsailles, one of the busiest and most brilliant of the Greek -colonies, to sacrifice an inspired man when the city was ravaged by -the plague. All are familiar with the old Jewish practice of using -the scapegoat as the vehicle for the expiation of sins, and the whole -theory of the atonement is little more than a modernized expression -of the old idea that the sins of the community may be delegated to -one agent to be sacrificed for the purification of the rest. - -The prophecy, as it is called by John, made by Caiaphas, the high -priest, "it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, -and that the whole nation perish not" (John xi, 50; xviii, 14), which -has been seized upon by the Christians as a reference to the vicarious -atonement, is nothing more than the opinion of an ardent orthodox Jew -that if Jesus were permitted to live and preach he would destroy the -ancient faith and his converts would abandon the old religion. The -words "it is expedient for us" qualify the whole statement. They -signified that the priesthood would be without a following were he -allowed to continue. The idea of a vicarious atonement for all the -people would have been of no expediency whatever to Caiaphas and -his class. They felt that if orthodoxy fell by Jesus' preaching, the -Romans could easily crush them, for it was only by their union and the -support of their ancient rites that they could form any front to the -imperial government; it was by these alone that they had any political -significance. Once dismembered, the Jews would be scattered to the -corners of the earth (John xi, 52). This was the meaning of Caiaphas' -words, and he was correct, for such was the actual case. When orthodoxy -was undermined, the Jewish nation was ruined. - -The doctrine that God was angry with humanity because of its ancestors' -transgressions, and would forgive its sins only on its acceptance of -belief in the godhead of Jesus, is so entirely at variance with the -Jewish teachings, which held that God freely forgave penitents on -the confession of their sins (Ex. xxxiv, 6-7; Neh. ix, 17; Ps. ciii, -3; cxxx, 4; Is. xxxiii, 24; Dan. ix, 9) that it was never accepted -by them. - -Some old Christian writers believed that it was to the devil that the -Christ was sacrificed. Their belief in the justice of the Supreme -would not allow them to think that he demanded the sacrifice of an -innocent for the sins of the guilty. Proclus of Constantinople, in the -age of Austin, wrote that "the devil held us in a state of servitude, -boasting that he had bought us. It was necessary, therefore, that -all being condemned, either they should be dragged to death, or a -sufficient price be paid; and because no angel had the wherewithal -to pay it, it remained that God should die for us." - -While such an idea is certainly of a higher moral nature than that -which states that God sacrificed his own innocent son for man, it -has the unfortunate result of attributing to the devil greater power -than to God; for if the devil could demand and receive a part of the -god-head as ransom, then God himself was weaker than the arch fiend. - -Hislop, in his "Two Babylons," commenting upon the Chaldean doctrine -that it was "by the works and merits of men themselves that they must -be justified and accepted of God," utterly condemns it, and glories in -the dogma of the atonement with great and illogical pleasure. Having -reviewed the Egyptian belief that Anubis weighed the merits and -defects of departed souls, so that Osiris, in accordance with the -result, might judge and sentence them; and the Parsee belief that the -Angel of Justice sat on the bridge of Chinevad, which connected heaven -and earth, weighing souls to decide whether or not they should enter -paradise, he condemns such theories as "utterly demoralizing," and -asserts that no believer can ever have "any solid feeling of comfort, -or assurance as to his prospects in the eternal world," which very fact -would seem conducive to clean lives and good deeds. Then he continues -in ecstasy to exalt the immoral Christian doctrine of "justification -by faith alone," which he declares alone "can produce a life of loving, -filial, hearty obedience to the law and commands of God," and by which -man may reach salvation "absolutely irrespective of human merits, -simply and solely through the righteousness of Christ." - -This is one of the most absurd and immoral doctrines of all the -absurd and immoral doctrines of Christianity, and one which leads to -all varieties of crime and misery. A man who believes that simple -faith alone is a perfect and acceptable passport to eternal bliss -will take no pains to lead either a decent or useful life. He is at -liberty to commit all the crimes known to his nature; he may murder, -steal, rape, and lie with impunity, for his faith in Christ will -save him from his well-deserved punishment; while a man of high -ethical standards and immaculate moral principles, who spends his -whole life in self-sacrifice for the progress of humanity is doomed -to damnation, unless he believe! What a horrible doctrine! What a -blasphemous conception of the justice of God! - -Every student of comparative theology knows that such views of -atonement were centuries old at the date of the supposed birth of -the Christ, and that all sorts of sacrifices were made at the altars -of different gods with the same idea of atonement; but, aside from -this, is there not something cowardly and mean in trying to shirk the -responsibilities of one's actions upon either an animal, a man, or a -god? Is it not contemptible to suppose that the death and suffering -of another will allow one to go unpunished, or that such suffering is -a license for humanity to sin? All that is ridiculous, blasphemous, -and illogical appears in this stupid dogma. - - - - - - - -IX.--THE TRINITY--MARIOLATRY. - - -The dogma of the trinity, which was introduced, strongly advocated, -and finally successfully lobbied through the famous Council of Nicaæ -in 315, by that astute theological politician Athanasius, Bishop of -Alexandria, split the Christian church in twain and threw Europe into -turmoil and bloodshed. - -Athanasius was the leader of the Alexandrian school of Christian -theology which drew its inspirations and ideas largely--one -might almost say, exclusively--from ancient Egyptian sources. The -Egyptians were an essentially religious people whose deistic ideas -were surrounded by ceremony, priestcraft, and mysticism, all of which -made such a deep impression upon the pliant minds of the Alexandrian -Christians that they molded their new faith in the form of their old. - -The Egyptians highly revered the number three, which they generally -represented under the form of a triangle. To the Egyptians nothing -could be perfect or complete unless it was of three component -parts. Therefore, their gods were generally grouped in sets of three, -many cities having their own especial trinities. Horus was divided -into three persons, and Osiris, Isis and Horus were worshiped under -the sign of the triangle. - -But Egypt was not alone in her trinitarian ideas. The theory of sex -worship had a strong hold on all the peoples of antiquity, and it is -not surprising to find similar religious expressions in India. One -of the most prominent features of Indian theology is the doctrine -of the divine triad governing all things. This triad is called the -Tri-murti and consists of Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, -and Siva, the destroyer. It is an inseparable unity though three in -form. The inhabitants of China and Japan, most of whom are Buddhists, -worship God in the form of a trinity. The Persians have a similar -triad composed of Ormuzd, the creator, Mithras, the son, and Ahriman, -the destroyer. The ancient Scandinavians likewise worshiped a triple -deity who was yet one god, and consisted of Odin, Thor, and Frey. - -One of the many weak points in the doctrine of the trinity, and one -that must be noticeable even to Christians, is that, according to the -New Testament, the apostles themselves never seem to have recognized -the divinity of Jesus, but always treated him as a human Jew like -themselves. This attitude of the early Christian disciples is noted by -Priestley, who remarks in his "Corruptions of Christianity" (page 136): -"It can never be thought that Peter and the others would have made -so free with our Lord, as they sometimes did, if they had considered -him as their maker, and the being who supported the whole universe; -and therefore must have been present in every part of creation, giving -his attention to everything, and exerting his power upon everything, -at the same time that he was familiarly conversing with them. Moreover, -the history of the temptation must be altogether improbable in such -a supposition. For what could be the offer of the kingdoms of this -world to him who made the world, and was already in possession of it?" - -Numerous texts which tend to affirm the humanity of Jesus have been -stumbling blocks in the paths of the trinitarians, and they have -taken great pains to explain away these embarrassing texts, even at -the cost of much ingenuity and absurdity. Paul, the real founder of -the faith, in his first epistle to Timothy, says: "For there is one -God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" -(1 Tim. ii, 5); and again in his first epistle to John he remarks: -"No man hath seen God" (1 John iv, 12). Such phrases as "Why callest -thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God" (Matt. xix, -17), and "But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the -truth, which I have heard of God" (John viii, 40), do not appear to be -fitting remarks for the second person of the trinity. Again, the words, -"My Father is greater than I" (John xiv, 28), were likewise difficult -of explanation by those who held that every member of the trinity is -coequal, but Austin got around this by declaring that "Christ having -emptied himself of his former glory, and being in form of a servant, -was then less, not only than his Father, but even than himself"! - -The same writer asserts that the words, "that the Son knew not the -time of the day of judgment, but only the Father" (Mark xiii, 32), -means that while Jesus did know something of the trinity, he would -not make it known to others--thus making a downright liar of his God. - -The whole of trinitarianism is epitomized in the phrase of Peter -Lombard, who, having made the impossible arithmetical assertion -that no one person of the trinity is less than the other two, says: -"He that can receive this, let him receive it; but he that cannot, -let him, however, believe it; and let him pray that what he believes -he may understand." - -Jesus having been ordained one of the godhead, the only begotten son -of the most high god, the worship of his mother naturally followed; -for who could reasonably refuse to bend the knee to the one virgin -of all humanity, considered worthy of the honor of bearing the -incarnate deity? It was all the easier for the Christian church to -adopt this practice, that it had been one of the principal features -of the ancient theologies. All nations have worshiped a pure, chaste -queen of heaven, a personification of that beautiful celestial body -that smiles so benignly down on earth every month. In every land the -moon was worshiped as a mother goddess, pure, beautiful, and loving; -for there is not the slightest doubt that the virgin queen of heaven, -so commonly worshiped by all nations, was merely a personification -of the moon. - -Isis, mother of the Egyptian savior Horus, was worshiped as a virgin -and was styled "Our Lady," "Queen of Heaven," "Mother of God," -"Intercessor," and "Immaculate Virgin." She was commonly represented -with the divine infant seated on her lap, or standing on a crescent -moon, and having a glory of twelve stars about her head. - -With the adoption of the worship of Isis to Christianity, the crescent -moon became a sacred symbol of Mary, who was often portrayed standing -upon one. It was held peculiarly sacred by the Greek church and -a large crescent moon of gold adorned the dome of St. Sophia at -Constantinople. When the city fell in 1453 before the Turkish arms, -the Sultan adopted the crescent as a symbol of his victorious power -and as a humiliation to his Christian enemies, and thus again the -religious significance of the crescent changed, and as an emblem of a -Mohammedan power soon came to be regarded by the forgetful Christians -with horror and a deadly hatred. - -The ancient Chaldees believed in a celestial virgin-mother to whom -the erring sinner might appeal, and Shin-moo, the mother goddess, -occupies a conspicuous place in Chinese worship. The Babylonians and -Assyrians worshiped a goddess called Mylitta, whose son Tammuz is -said to have arisen from the dead. - -In India they have worshiped for ages Devaki, the mother of Krishna, -and Maya, the mother of Buddha, both of whom are represented with the -infant saviors in their arms. Their statues, similar to the Christian -madonnas, are found in Hindu temples, and their portraits are always -accompanied by halos. - -Sochiquetzal, mother of Quetzalcoatl, was worshiped in Mexico as -the mother of their crucified savior. As queen of heaven and the -chaste and immaculate protectress of women, the Greek Hera and her -Roman prototype, Juno, were worshiped by the ancient classical world, -while the virtuous Diana of Ephesus held a similar place in Phoenician -mythology. - -All the ancient beliefs in the virgin queen of heaven and her -miraculous child probably had more or less effect on the growth -of virgin worship in the Christian church; but it was undoubtedly -Egyptian influence which was most powerful in the adoption of it, -just as it was in regard to the trinitarian dogma. The worship of -Isis and Horus was introduced into Rome during the early days of -the empire and was readily accepted. And with its introduction came -those basalt images of the goddess and her child which have since -been adopted by the Christians as ancient representations of Mary and -Jesus, albeit they are as black as Ethiopians. Many centuries before, -the worship of the Greek goddess Hera had been instituted at Rome -under the name of Juno, and she was especially regarded as the chaste -and immaculate protectress of women. And it was the combination of -the worship offered to these two deities that the Christian church -condensed into the worship of the mother of Jesus, to which it added -the attributes of Diana, making Mary the patroness of chastity as -well as fruitfulness! In Dante's day it was customary to invoke the -Virgin Mary at childbirth just as Juno Lucina was invoked by the -pagan ancestors of the Italians. - -The worship of the virgin as theotokos, the mother of god, was -promulgated at the general council of Ephesus, which was called by -the Emperor Theodosius II in 431, and, after that date, and up to -the present time, we find this lowly Jewish peasant girl delineated -in all the insignia of royalty and portrayed in the most beautiful -and patrician type of classical beauty. - -With the adoration of Mary rose the legend that she, too, had ascended -bodily into heaven and was there crowned by her son and bidden to -sit eternally upon his right hand that she might plead with him to -mitigate the punishments of sinners, thus allowing that the judgment -of this second member of the holy trinity might be fallible, or at -least open to influence. - -Having raised the virgin to this immense height, the natural sequence -was to go a step farther and grant to her also immaculate origin. This -idea was first noticed in the eleventh century and steadily grew -until in 1494 Sextus the Fourth officially recognized it and gave it -the solemn sanction of the church, and in July, 1615, Paul the Fifth -instituted the office commemorating her immaculate conception. Virgin -worship has continued to grow and flourish, and even so late as 1854, -Pius the Ninth issued a bull officially declaring Mary the "Mediatrix" -between Christ and the faithful. - -Mary is not, however, the only intercessor that stands between man and -his God. There is an immense horde of saints who also occupy positions -of honor about the heavenly throne. These immortal semi-human beings -are created by a decree of the Roman pontiff and their canonization -has often been due to whimsical reasoning. That all the apostles, -martyrs, and early Christian fathers should have been raised to this -holy peerage is not so remarkable; but that such honor should have -been conferred on the wicked, unscrupulous, and vicious Constantine, -and his almost unknown mother Helena; on the powerful and warlike -Charlemagne; and on the ambitious and ungrateful Thomas à Becket, -seems strange to say the least. - - - - - - - -X.--THE SAINTS--GOOD AND EVIL SPIRITS. - - -That this army of saints was originally created to replace the body -of heroes and demi-gods of antiquity cannot be doubted. The compliance -with which the church converted pagan deities into Christian heroes is -perfectly well known, and it is shown in many ways. Ancient statues -were declared to represent newly canonized saints to whom pagan -attributes were unhesitatingly given--often most ridiculously. At -the temple of Sebona, in Nubia, the Christians replaced the figure -of the old god of the temple, which appeared in a fresco, by that of -St. Peter, thus depicting King Rameses the Second as presenting his -offering to the Christian saint! The statue of Jupiter in St. Peter's -at Rome has been declared that of the erstwhile fisherman, and its -original thunderbolts have been replaced by the keys, which the -Christian mythologists have filched from the god Janus to bestow on -their revered patron in accordance with the promise of Matthew xvi, -19. Rome is full of proofs of this conversion of heathen to Christian -deities. The temple formerly sacred to the Bona Dea was dedicated -to the Virgin Mary; the church of Saint Apollinaris stands on the -spot formerly dedicated to Apollo; and the temple of Mars was given -to St. Martina. The very names of some of the saints have an old -familiar sound--as St. Baccho, St. Quirinus, St. Romula, St. Redempta, -St. Concordia, St. Nympha, and St. Mercurius. - -The Christian symbolism of its heroes has also a decidedly pagan -flavor. The ancient winged lion of the Egyptian mythology is made to -portray St. Mark; the sacred bull denotes St. Luke; while St. John -is generously supplied with both the eagle of Jove and the hawk's -head of Horus. - -The idea of intercession, which is the principal attribute of all the -saints, is also a very ancient religious theory and probably came with -the other dogmas already mentioned from Alexandria, as we find that -the Egyptians believed that some of their gods--and particularly the -four gods of the dead--acted as mediators with the stern judge Osiris -and attempted to turn aside his wrath and the punishment of sins. - -Much akin to the saints, though differing from them in form and in -never having been mortal, are the angels. These beings combine the -wings of the Roman victories with the sweet voices of the Teutonic -elves and the classical sirens, and are in many ways similar to -the famous northern valkyries who wore shirts of swan plumage and -hovered over Scandinavian battlefields to receive the souls of -falling heroes. The Hindu apsaras and Moslem houris belong to the -same family. A few years ago a bitter controversy arose in New York -Episcopal circles as to the sex of these unearthly creatures, some -strenuously advocating their masculinity, while others gallantly -asserted that they were essentially feminine, but the earlier idea -was that they were entirely sexless, combining the characteristic -virtues of both sexes. - -Apart from both saints and angels stands another figure in the -Christian mythology--one, however, that has no actual counterpart in -the ancient faiths. This is Satan. The classical religious systems -had no such conception, their king of the dead being a gloomy and -austere deity without any of the malicious or mischievous propensities -of the more modern devil, and having no designs upon the welfare of -mankind. The medieval conception of the devil was a grotesque compound -of elements derived from all the pagan mythologies which Christianity -superseded. From the sylvan deity Pan he gets his goat-like body, his -horns and cloven hoofs; his lameness was due to his fall from heaven, -in imitation of the fall of the Roman Vulcan; and his red beard was -taken from the lightning god Thor, as was also his power over the -thunderbolts; while his pitchfork is the converted trident of Neptune. - -That much of the absurd fabric of Christianity is built upon a -belief in Satan cannot be denied, for the whole theology is based -upon the necessity of a savior whose death atones for the sins of -mankind, which were consequent upon man's fall from grace through the -machinations of the devil. Had man never fallen, there were no need -of a savior. Had man never been tempted, he would never have fallen, -and in no words was the necessity of a belief in the devil more -plainly set forth than by that most orthodox writer, des Mousseaux, -in his "Moeurs et Pratiques des Demons," published in 1852. He says: -"The Devil is the chief pillar of Faith. He is one of the grand -personages whose life is closely allied to that of the church, and -without his speech, which issued out so triumphantly from the mouth -of the serpent, the fall of man could never have taken place. Thus, -if it were not for him, the Savior, the Crucified, the Redeemer, -would be but the most ridiculous of supernumeraries and the cross an -insult to good sense!" In his preface to "Les Hauts Phenomènes de la -Magie," des Mousseaux repeats this theory: "If magic and spiritualism -were both but chimeras, we would have to bid an eternal farewell -to all the rebellious angels now troubling the world; for thus we -would have no more demons down here.... And if we lost our demons, -we would lose our Savior likewise; for, from whom did that Savior -save us? And then there would be no more Redeemer; for, from whom -or what could that Redeemer redeem us? Hence, there would be no more -Christianity." He evidently regards Satan as "the prince of this world" -(John xii, 31; xvi, 11); "the god of this world" (Cor. iv, 4); and -"the prince of the power of the air" (Eph. ii, 2). - -The universally accepted belief of Christendom in the almost absolute -power of the devil was the cause of the most awful persecution -of innocence that the world has ever seen. While the tortures of -the heretics by the Inquisition had some cause of a political as -well as ecclesiastical nature, the houndings of those accused of -witchcraft and sorcery had no foundation save in superstition and -gross ignorance. During the Christian era millions of persons have -been destroyed for this crime in conformity to the command, "Thou -shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Ex. xxii, 18). The Roman church -recognized and punished the crime; Luther approved of the burning of -witches; the Scotch reformers did likewise, and the Puritans of New -England delighted in the persecution. - -While all religiously orthodox people accept the narrative of -scriptural miracles with unquestioning faith and never cast a doubt -on the greatest improbabilities so long as they are told of biblical -heroes, these very people assign all the seeming supernatural affairs -of post-scriptural times to the devil. Psychical phenomena which, if -performed two thousand years ago by Jesus (such as the resurrection -of Lazarus and the materialization to the Magdalene), they accept -without hesitation, they brand as trickery or a delusion or Satan, -when placed before them by a professed Spiritualist. - -Witches and wizards were condemned to horrible deaths by the medieval -church for performing the very identical acts for which the same church -canonized departed saints and instituted offices for their adoration -and worship; and modern Christians smile and sneer derisively at -fortune tellers, but condemn in holy horror as heretics those who -refuse to believe in the foreseeing powers of the ancient Hebrew -prophets. - -This Christian devil-worship, for it can be called little else, crept -into Judaism during the Babylonian captivity, and was originally a -recognition of the dual powers of good and evil, seemingly coequal. By -placing Satan in opposition to God, in giving him eternal life, and -endowing him with miraculous powers, and even allowing him to upset -and vanquish the plans of God, Christians have made Satan equal, if not -superior, to the Deity. A Puritan bigot hanging witches in New England -was admitting in the plainest manner his faith in Satan's power, though -it never occurred to him for an instant that these curious happenings -might be attributed to God. The power of God to perform miracles was -then, as now, a matter of the past. With the Protestant Reformation -came the idea that no longer did God interfere for the benefit of -man. In the seventeenth century God had ceased to work by other than -natural agencies. His miraculous powers, if not lost, were at least -suspended. But not so Satan--that archfiend was as powerful as ever, -if not more so. He could inflict magical tortures on God's divinely -elect and make them writhe in agony. Pious Cotton Mather had ceased -to believe in divine miracles, but he had no doubt of devilish ones, -and it appears to all students of that dark and shameful period of our -history that the belief was rampant among the majority that God was -vanquished and Satan ruled. Never was belief in the dual principles -of good and evil more surely set forth in ancient Persia than it was -in New England by such harsh, cruel, and bigoted priests as Mather -and Parrish. - -Today, while all churchmen have grown more liberal, we still find -both in pulpit and pew innumerable believers in the power of Satan -to tempt and force erring humanity into wrong and sinful paths in -miraculous salvation from which by God they have no faith. Today, -instead of earthly and present salvation by the Deity from the -clutches of Satan, the belief seems prevalent that a post-mortem -salvation is more efficacious, and that all that is required for -eternal bliss is belief in the vicarious atonement of the Christ. To -hear our orthodox friends declaim on the powers of Satan almost makes -one ready to believe that God is dead and Satan rules supreme. Such -is the blasphemy of demonic faith. - -While Satan, as the arch-enemy, is somewhat similar to the Persian -Ahriman, he is not alone in his wickedness. When Christianity came -into power and supplanted paganism as the Roman state religion, -it immediately debased all of the pagan gods, whom it did not -appropriate to itself as saints, to devils and assigned them -subordinate positions in hell, under command of the great Satan. And -thus, all the beautiful water sprites, sylvan nymphs, spirits of the -air, and other lesser deities, became the associates of wickedness, -and, as such, continued, until a very recent date, to hold sway over -the superstitious imaginations of the majority of Europeans. - -The mediæval church likewise invented the famous succubæ and incubi, -the former demons impersonating the beautiful nymphs of the old -mythology and attacking the virtue of youths with their seductive -arts, while the latter, in imitation of the ancient satyrs, sought the -virginity of unsuspecting maidens; all of which may readily be learned -of in accounts of the many trials held by "the Holy Inquisition," -in which such were condemned as had held intercourse with these demons. - -In many cases, women swearing to have had intercourse with incubi -were merely suffering from erotic and nymphomaniac hallucinations, -while others may have found it a convenient excuse for explaining -illicit impregnations. Men, falling under the charms of women, -found it a convenient method for disposing of their loves, after the -infatuation had passed, by declaring them succubæ; and monks, who had -contracted venereal diseases, laid their sufferings to these same fair -demons. In the case of the monks, however, the succubæ were often of -purely hallucinary origin, due to excessive asceticism together with -the suppression of natural desires and a too faithful conformity to -the ordinance of celibacy. Nymphomania is also prevalent in convents, -owing to the unnatural sexual lives led by the nuns, who either -remain truly chaste or abandon themselves to all sorts of debauchery -and perverted lubricities. In former times these rages of demented -women were supposed to have been caused by possession of demons, -which tormented them at the orders of magicians, and advantage was -often taken by the unscrupulous to accuse their enemies of the crime -of sorcery, and thus cause their execution. - -One of the most famous of these horrible affairs was that of Loudin in -Poitiers, where the nuns of the Ursuline convent, becoming hysterical -and demented, swore themselves afflicted by Urbain Grandier, a priest -of the local church, and despite the attempts of the rational bailiff -and sensible civil lieutenants, some enemies of the curé among the -exorcists managed to secure the arrest, torture, and final burning -of the unfortunate man in 1632. Later, it was discovered that, being -personally attractive, handsome and gallant, Grandier, who never -denied his numerous amours, had incurred the enmity of the Loudin -nuns by entirely ignoring their advances; and hell hath no fury like -a woman scorned! These libidinous women, constantly brooding over -disappointment to their fond hopes, gave such a character of demonic -possession to their neurosis that advantage could be taken of it by -rival priests to rid themselves of an envied enemy. The writhings, -gesticulations, convulsions, etc., of these unfortunate women, -combined with the indecency of their actions on the approach of the -exorcists (caused merely by the approach of a male), were believed by -the vulgar to be demonstrations of demonic possession. Other nuns, -seeing the attention and notoriety thus gained by these sisters, -although themselves free from dementia, could not resist the temptation -to simulate its forms and thus acquire renown for themselves. - -Thus arose those horrible demonical scenes which occupied the attention -of all Europe during the seventeenth century and seemed to point to -the possession of all convents by devils. And not convents alone, for -other hysterical women, without the walls, possessed of the same rage -for notoriety, took up the character of demonic possessed and spread -the vulgar superstition until it seems that every woman in Europe who -was so unfortunate as to be in any way afflicted with tendencies to -hysteria, neurosis, idiocy, or dementia of any character whatever, -came to be regarded as in the power of a demon, which in turn was -the slave of some magician. And thus, through the influence of an -ignorant and unscrupulous priesthood, a powerful engine was placed -at its disposal for the removal of enemies. Executions for sorcery -continued until their very number and barbarity palled, and the wearied -people were ready for their abolition, when the Reformation opened and -with the accession of power, Protestantism, in this matter, at least, -swayed the masses to reason once more. - -Dr. Figuier, in his "Histoire du Merveilleux," explains these -demonical possessions as entirely due to hypnotism, and, ignoring the -nymphomaniac theory, asserts that the exorcists themselves hypnotized -the nuns for their own glory and for purposes of vengeance. One page -234 of volume I he says: "L'appareil deployé par les exorcistes, -leurs adjurations, leurs gestes imposants et forcenés, tenaient -lieu des manipulations que nos magnetiseurs emploient pour endormir -leurs sujets. Operant sur des jeunes filles nerveuses, malades, -melancoliques, les exorcistes produisaient chez elles une partie des -phenomènes auxquels donné lieu le somnambulisme artificiel." - -The universal belief in evil spirits became a powerful engine for the -advancement of the church. By its use all those who were inimical to -the church could be put out of the way as comrades of devils, and, -furthermore, the theory was advanced that only by the exorcisms of -the church could man be protected from malevolent powers. Holy water, -signs of the cross, repetitions of the name of Mary had full power -to annul all the machinations of the demons, but only in the hands -of the true believers was this efficacious. To preserve one from the -dangers of demonic spite, absolute orthodoxy was essential, and thus -a great premium was imposed upon strict adherence to the church. Thus -was gross superstition a most powerful factor in the growth and spread -of Christianity. According to Lecky: "There was scarcely a village or -a church that had not, at some time, been the scene of supernatural -interposition. The powers of light and the powers of darkness were -regarded as visibly struggling for the mastery. Saintly miracles, -supernatural cures, startling judgments, visions, prophecies, and -prodigies of every order, attested the activity of the one, while -witchcraft and magic, with all their attendant horrors, were the -visible manifestations of the other.... Tens of thousands of victims -perished by the most agonizing and protracted torments, without -exciting the slightest compassion.... Nations that were separated -by position, by interests, and by character, on this question were -united." And the germ of all this evil lay in the very foundation of -Christianity--the faith held in supernatural agencies. - -The belief in the supernatural agency in the temptation of Eve, the -temptations of Jesus, the possibility of the miraculous conception, -and the miracles of Christ, were but stepping-stones to faith in -innumerable invisible but potent powers. One who can conscientiously -believe in the supernatural as found between the covers of the -Bible can, by but a slight stretch of the imagination, believe any -preposterous tale that is woven about a supernatural agency. If one -can believe a woman can conceive without contact with semen, one -can believe some old woman can dry up his cow. If one can believe -that Jesus actually raised Lazarus from the dead, one can believe -that a man can kill him by sticking pins in a wax effigy. If one -can believe that Elijah ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot, one -can believe that Goody Jones rode a broomstick through the air. If -one can believe that the Christ was actually tempted by the devil, -one can believe in succubæ and incubi. It is all a matter of logical -reasoning. As soon as a Christian's intellectual powers develop to -a point where he can find no place for the miraculous in the world -about him, he begins to doubt that which was in the world before him; -but, regarding theological tales, he either places them in another -category or ignores them, unless faced with them, when he crawls and -calls them "sacred mysteries." That an old woman can sour his milk -or kill his child by the evil eye he does not believe, for reason has -taught him otherwise. And for the same reason he would not believe his -daughter if she told him she was pregnant with a miraculous child. He -did not believe Josephine Woodbury when she made a similar statement -in Boston a few years ago. But he does believe it of Mary, because it -is a "holy mystery," and is in another category. He has inherited his -faith from a long line of orthodox ancestors, and he has never stopped -to consider it by the light of pure reason. It is fortunate for the -dogma of the virgin birth that it took root when people believed such -things, otherwise Mary would have been adorned with the scarlet letter. - -Feasts, fasts and elaborate ceremonials were important features of -the most ancient worships, and it is not, therefore, strange to find -somewhat modified adaptations of them in the Christian church. For, -wherever Christianity wandered and found firmly implanted religious -theories and customs, it immediately gave them new significations and -accepted them, until finally the greater part of paganism was gathered -from all parts of the civilized world and amalgamated into one strong -theological organization. Finding in almost every nation a festival -at the winter solstice, in commemoration of the accouchement of the -celestial, virgin queen of heaven, and the birth of the sun-god, -the Christian fathers decided to adopt the 25th of December as the -natal day of their Christ. - -Mithras, Osiris, Horus, Bacchus, Adonis and Buddha were all said to -have been born on this day, and it is the date of one of the greatest -religious festivals of India, during which the people decorate their -houses with garlands and make presents to relatives and friends; -a custom adopted by the Christians in much the same manner as was -that of the ancient German yule-log, burned in honor of the sun-god. - - - - - - - -XI.--RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND RITES. - - -The winter solstice was also the time of the great Scandinavian -festival in honor of Frey, son of Odin and Frigga, who was supposed -to have been born at this time. The Jews, likewise, have a feast -beginning on the 25th of December, which lasts eight days, and is in -memory of the victory of the Maccabees over the Greeks. It is called -the feast of Hanuca. - -A great annual festival, called the "feast of lamps," was held by the -Egyptians in the early part of the year in honor of the goddess Neith, -during which lamps of oil were burned all night before the houses. This -festival was renamed Candlemas or the "purification of the virgin," -and was adopted by the Christian church. - -The ancient pagan inhabitants of Europe annually celebrated a spring -festival which began with a week's indulgence in all kinds of sports -and was called the carne-vale, or taking farewell of meat, because a -fast of forty days immediately followed. In Germany this was held in -honor of the Saxon goddess Hertha, or Ostara, or Eostre--as you may -prefer to call her--whose name was adopted as Easter by the Christians -as the name to be applied to the end of their lenten period. Among -the Syrians it was the custom to celebrate an elaborate festival -at the time of the spring equinox in honor of the glorious Adonis, -beloved of the great goddess Astarte. This worship was later introduced -into Greece, whence it traveled to Rome with the majority of Grecian -mythological theories. It was later introduced into Egypt, where it was -annually celebrated at Alexandria, the cradle of Christianity, until -the latter part of the fourth century, when a Christian significance -was given it. - -The myth of Adonis is too well known to need repetition here, and -its parallel to that of the Christ is readily seen. The ceremonies -now held in Rome at Easter are but slightly different from those -held there at the same time of year centuries ago. This similarity -was explained away by the assertion of the Christian fathers "that -a long time before there were Christians in existence, the devil had -taken pleasure to have their future mysteries and ceremonies copied -by his worshipers"--a very simple and satisfactory explanation! - -That Easter is in reality an astronomical festival in honor of the -sun-god seems conclusive from the fact that it occurs on no settled -date, but takes place on the first Sunday after the first full moon -after the passing of the vernal equinox, which, for convenience, -is fixed at March 21. - -Among the many Christian fasts of pagan origin none is more familiar -to all than the weekly Friday abstinence from meat. Under the old -mythology, Friday, the dies veneris, was sacred to Venus, and on that -day the devout worshipers of this charming goddess ate nothing but -fish, as all the "finny tribe" were sacred to her, and considered -proper diet for those that worshiped at her shrine. - -When the Bishop of Rome assumed the power and dignity of head of -the western church, he also assumed all the prerogatives of the -ancient pontifex maximus (who was supposed to be the direct physical -communication between the people and the deities), and many of the -attributes of the emperors. He adopted the gorgeous vestments of the -ancient high priest and even stretched forth a foot to be kissed, as -Heliogabalus had done. He considered himself capable of raising such as -he saw fit to semi-divine honors by canonization, just as the emperors -had raised altars to their favorites, and he claimed precedence over -every monarch of the earth, just as they also had done. But the Roman -pontiff is not unique in his position of viceroy of the deity. The -grand lama of Thibet is considered as the representative of Buddha -and has the power of dispensing divine blessings on whomsoever he -will. Taoism also has a pope who resides on the Lung-hû mountain, -in the department of Kwang-hsi, who bears the surname Chang and is -called "Heavenly Master." - -The best known rites of the Christian church are probably those of -baptism, confession and communion, with which are associated the -ideas of purification, prayer and transubstantiation. - -The rite of baptism, like all ideas which refer to the purification -of sin by water, is a most ancient one. Rivers, as sources of -purification, were at an early date invested with a sacred character, -and every great river was supposed to be permeated with a divine -essence and its waters were believed to cleanse from all mortal -guilt and contamination. The Ganges and the Jordan are well known -examples of this faith, and vases of Ganges water are to be found in -almost every dwelling in India for religious purposes. In Mongolia -and Thibet children are named by the priests, who immerse them in -holy water while reading a prescribed prayer, after which the name is -bestowed. Baptism preceded initiation into the mysteries of both the -Egyptian Isis and the Persian Mithras, and was held to be the means -of regeneration and of remission of sins. - -Tertullian, noticing the great similarity between the Christian and -pagan baptisms, naïvely remarked that the devil "baptizes some, of -course, such as believe in him and are faithful to him; he promises -expiation of sins from the bath, and, if my memory of Mithras serves -me still, in this rite he signs his soldiers on their foreheads." - -Much akin to baptism is the general use by the Christian church of -so-called holy water, which is ascribed to Pope Alexander the First, -who ruled during the first century. This pontiff probably did little -more than officially to condone, by his papal sanction, the very -general use of lustral water, which the Romans had inherited from -their pagan ancestors; for lustral water was always kept in vases -at the entrance of the Roman temples, that those passing in and out -might sprinkle themselves with it; and the priests used a sprinkling -brush called the aspersorium with which they threw the purifying -water over their congregations, in the same manner as modern priests -use the hyssop. The druids gave, or sprinkled upon, the worshipers -water in which mistletoe had been immersed or steeped. - -Similar to the idea of purification by baptism is that of purification -by confession and prayer. The idea involved in confession is -that the declaration of the crime relieves the conscience of its -criminality. In Iceland and among the Scandinavian and Teutonic -peoples in general, murder ceased to be a crime when the slayer had -declared himself guilty. Among the Jews confession was practiced, -the purpose of its institution being that the priest might judge of -the sacrifice required for the expiation of the sin committed, and, -also, that every crime might be rehearsed over the scapegoat. The -Peruvians confessed their sins to their priests with the exception -of the Incas, who confessed to the sun. At the famous Samothracian -mysteries a priest was especially charged with hearing the confessions -of great criminals and with granting them absolution. - -Among Protestant Christians confession is often made directly to -the supreme deity in the form of prayer, which, like most other -religious practices, is an eminently pagan custom. The Assyrians, -Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, and most other ancient peoples -offered sacrifices on the altars of their gods to propitiate them, -and accompanied these offerings with prayers. Today, instead of -presenting wines and viands to his god, the devout Christian offers -verbal expressions of a contrite spirit or, more often, asks a -favor. He demands, begs, or advises through this method, according -to his own nature and disposition. - -The expression used in modern orthodox Protestant prayers, "through -our Lord, Jesus Christ," is merely the concrete expression of the -idea of mediation. The great supreme God was looked upon by most -nations of antiquity as being too great, too sublime, too holy, to -be addressed directly; and, in this lofty conception of the deity, -they prayed for favors to mediators whom they created to request -boons from the real ruler of heaven and earth. - -Among the Hindus, supplications were addressed to the various -apotheosized incarnations of Vishnu, rather than to the great Brahma; -the Greeks made supplication to numerous lesser gods, rather than to -Zeus; Persians addressed Mithras instead of Ormuzd; and the modern -Romanist kneels to saints and martyrs, or Jesus or his mother, at -whose shrines they place offerings which are bribes for favors; but -almost never do they immediately supplicate the supreme God. In this -they are certainly less blasphemous than their Protestant fellows, who -do not hesitate to talk familiarly to God of the most trivial affairs. - -Belief in the efficacy of prayer is an absurdity which owes its -origin to a hereditary trait of humanity, descended through a long -line of superstitious ancestors. Primitive man prayed to his dead -fathers for their good will, believing them more powerful in their -post mortem state than during life. The ancients offered prayers -at the shrines of their various gods and, among all nations, from -time immemorial, deities have been supplicated to bestow gifts and -avert misfortunes. The overcharged mind of the superstitious has -ever found relief in expressing its troubles to the imaginary beings -on whom it has bestowed superhuman attributes. All over the world, -in all languages, have arisen various petitions to the deities, -and still do they continue to arise. Savages pray to their idols, -Moslems crouch facing Mecca to pray to Allah, Hindus pray to the -avatars of Vishnu, and all Christendom besieges the throne of God in -constant supplication. - -Can any rational mind believe that these numerous, varied and even -antagonistic petitions will be answered? Some are praying for rain, -some for a cessation of it, some for health, some for happiness, -some for material blessings, and some for spiritual welfare. Vain -repetitions! The material universe is governed by immutable laws which -all the breath in creation wasted in prayer cannot in any way affect; -while such spiritual benefits as morality, character and virtue "are -equally dependent on the invariable laws of cause and effect." Prayers -for forgiveness of sins are perhaps the most common, as well as the -most absurd, that are daily offered. Sin is the breaking of a material -or moral law, and no law can be broken without the transgressor's -incurring the penalty. Is it not absurd of the church to preach the -immutable justice of God, and at the same time declare that sinners -may escape punishment by prayer? - -Communion, or union with the deity, is an idea of great antiquity -and has been common to all religions; although the methods practiced -are numerous and varied. The more common mode, however, is by the -consumption of consecrated foods and drinks, with the idea that these -have acquired (by the act of consecration) a divine character of which -the communicant becomes a partaker through their reception. The dogma -of the eucharist was instituted many centuries before the Christian era -and was believed in by the ancient Egyptians (from whom the Christians -probably received it through the Alexandrian school), who, at the -time of the celebration of the resurrection of Osiris, ate a sacred -wafer, which, after consecration by a priest, was declared the flesh -of the god. In ancient Greece, bread was worshiped as Ceres and wine -as Bacchus; and, when the devout ate the bread and drank the wine, -they claimed they were eating the flesh and drinking the blood of -their deities. The ancient Mexicans used bread of corn meal mixed -with blood, which, after, having been consecrated by the priests, -was given to the people to eat as the flesh of Quetzalcoatl, much -to the surprise and horror of the first Spanish missionaries, who -ascribed it to mockery of their holy eucharist due to Satan. - - - - - - - -XII--THE EUCHARIST. - - -The primal origin of the eucharist probably occurred far back in the -period of universal anthropophagy. Most savage and semi-savage peoples -have practiced cannibalism because they believed that by eating the -flesh of the dead they gained the qualities of the deceased. Just as -some Africans eat tiger to become brave, savages ate their courageous -foes to attain their virtues. Following this same idea further, -the belief was established that by consuming the flesh of a god, -supernatural powers might be acquired. Thus the early Christian -missionaries to the New World found such customs in Peru and Mexico. - -Father Acosta described one of these festivals which occurred annually -each May in Mexico, wherein the statue of a god was made of dough, and -"killed" by an arrow in the hand of a priest. The god was then broken -in pieces which by means of "certain ceremonies ... were blessed and -consecrated for the flesh and bones of this idoll." These pieces the -priest gave "to the people in manner of a communion who received it -with such feare, and reverence, as it was an admirable thing, saying -that they did eate the flesh and bones of God." - -Likewise came the idea that sacrifices to the gods in some way attained -godlike characteristics, and so the Guatemalan priests ate the bodies -of the sacrificed. - -The words of the modern Roman priest, "hoc est corpus meum," -which are supposed, by some magical influence, to cause the actual -transubstantiation in the celebration of the eucharist, remind one -forcibly of the dotting of the memorial Chinese tablet by a mandarin, -by which official act the spirit of the departed, to whom it is -dedicated, is presumed to take up residence in the new abode. - -As a logical deduction from a given hypothesis, any Roman priest -is greater than the virgin. She conceived God but once, while the -priest may through his mass create the body of the Christ whenever -he so desires. Every time a priest performs this function he is the -father of God. - -However, in spite of the absurdity of the practice, to deprive the -communion of the real presence is to make it a senseless and useless -ceremony. While the communicants believe in the efficacy of the wafer -as the actual body, there is reason for absorbing it, as they thus -unite themselves with the actual spirit of the Christ. But the moment -this dogma is rejected, the rite becomes futile, and nothing is more -ridiculous than its perpetuation in the Protestant churches. The -quibble that it is performed in memory of Jesus is a fallacy. In -Unitarian churches it is an arrant absurdity (one that is retained -in many cases simply because the old historical churches of that -denomination have inherited fine old communion plate which is proudly -displayed), and one can only respect and admire Ralph Waldo Emerson's -stand in the matter, when he preferred to relinquish his remunerative -and honorable pastorate in the Second Church of Boston (the only -pulpit he ever filled) rather than celebrate this anachronistic and -indefensible rite. - -Jerome carried his reverence for the Eucharistic bread [1] so -far that he considered that the table on which it was consecrated, -together with the cloth in which it was wrapped, and the other utensils -connected with its service, were to be worshiped with equal respect as -that given the body and blood of the Savior. This theory led to the -consecration of altars, which by a decree of the Council of Epaone, -in 517, in imitation of the Jewish and pagan sacrificial altars, were -ordered to be of stone, which material had been originally chosen -as the most suitable material for the execution of the sacrifices, -whose blood should flow over it, without danger of absorption. - -Another of the ancient pagan ideas which took a strong hold upon -Christianity and rose to an abnormal power during the middle ages -was that of monasticism with its accompanying asceticism. There is -scarcely a religion of ancient and modern times that does not recognize -asceticism as an element of its system. Buddha taught his disciples a -religion of abstinence, and, among the Buddhists, there are ordained -and tonsured priests, living in monasteries under vows of celibacy, -while there are similar asylums for women. Brahmanism also has its -orders of ascetics and Hinduism has its fakirs. Fasting and self-denial -were observances required by the Greeks of those who desired initiation -into the mysteries; the Jews observed many fasts; and the Egyptian -priests passed their novitiate in the deserts engaged in prayer and -living in caves. Like many other Christian customs, the monastic habit -probably came from Egypt, and it was considered by Gibbon to have -had a potent influence on the fall of the western empire, in that it -removed from active and useful life so many able-bodied men and women. - - - - - - - -XIII.--SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY. - - -Having now shown that there is nothing new in Christianity; nothing -in which it differs essentially from the older faiths; having shown -that it brought no new ideas in its dogmas, practices, or morality, -but a few words are necessary to explain its marvelous growth and rapid -acceptance. Christianity grew so rapidly, and was adopted so readily -in many parts of the world simply because it was so cosmopolitan and -elastic. It went forth to proselyte in a very conciliatory manner, -embracing and absorbing every deeply rooted theological idea and -custom which obstructed its path, and, in every way, exerting itself -to propitiate its converts. And it was not until it became strong -and powerful and was well supported by fanatical adherents that it -dared to assume the rôle of conqueror. Then, when the period of its -strength was full, its tone changed and, strong in self-confidence, -Christianity became militant and strode forth in armor to vanquish -with the sword and fill the world with blood. - -One of the reasons for the rapid acceptance of Christianity among the -Romans and its remarkable growth in their dependencies was that for -centuries the people had ceased to take their religion seriously. The -vulgar masses, undoubtedly then as now, and at all times, unthinkingly -swallowed all that was taught them of their deities, but the writings -of cultivated men show clearly that for centuries the worship and -reverence of their ancestral gods had but slight influence upon their -ethical ideas. - -Lucretius (95-52 B. C.), the exponent of the Epicurean doctrines, -regarded the gods as the creations of human fear. Ennius (239-169 -B. C.) translated and expounded the writings of Euhemerus (316 B. C.), -wherein it was claimed that all the ancient myths were historical -events, that the gods were originally kings who were accorded post -mortem worship by their grateful subjects. The Stoics regarded the -gods as personifications of the different attributes of nature. Cicero -adopted the Platonic conception of the deity as mind freed from all -taint of matter, while Ovid made the gods ridiculous in his mocking -"Metamorphoses," and, in his lascivious descriptions of their amours, -degraded them forever as ethical models. Horace likewise mocked them. - -The glorious military conquests of the Roman arms in Asia and Africa -brought the soldiers into contact with alien religions, and the germs -instilled in the minds of the armies spread among all the peoples of -Rome's domains, upon their return. Likewise the ever-increasing influx -of foreigners, bringing with them their native gods and theological -systems, had more or less influence, while the apotheoses of the -emperors gave a powerful impetus to the degradation of the ancient -faith. - -The vulgar clung to their ancient shrines and the cultured sneered -at them for so doing. They bent the knee in public and they laughed -mockingly in private. In such a state was the religion of Rome when -the first Christians began to proselyte; and on such fertile ground, -amid the ruins of an ancient faith, the seed readily took root and -rapidly spread out. Any other faith, supported by sturdy, conscientious -and indomitable missionaries, would have done the same. The old faith -was dead and the time was ripe for something new and vigorous. - -As the civilized world was then under one powerful government, which -allowed no political discord within its borders and which granted -absolute religious freedom, the Christian missionaries could travel in -safety from one province to another and, without fear of molestation, -could propagate their doctrines among the people through the media -of the Greek and Latin tongues, which were universal throughout the -empire. Early Christianity was merely a sect of Judaism, and as the -Jews were scattered all through the Roman provinces, every Jewish -settlement having its synagogue which the Christian missionaries -visited in order to preach their message, "the new religion, which was -undertaken in the name of the God of Abraham, and Moses, found a sphere -already prepared for itself." The new sect was naturally welcomed by -the Roman Jews, as it was a purely national religion, founded upon -the teachings of a Jewish peasant for the Jewish people. There is -nothing in the gospels which portrays Jesus as anything other than -a prophet to his own nation. While his moral doctrines, like all -ethical principles, are applicable to all races, he was ignorant of -all peoples save his own, and it was to them alone that he preached, -proclaiming his messiahship for them only. He was content to remain -within the boundaries of his own country and expressed no wish -nor desire to visit other lands. Had it remained as Jesus desired, -Christianity would never have been separated from Judaism. It was -owing to the direct disobedience of Peter and Paul in this particular, -that Christianity spread among the gentiles (Acts xiv, 46). In sending -forth his apostles to preach his mission, Jesus commanded, "Go not -into the way of the gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans -enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" -(Matt. x, 5-6). When appealed to by the Canaanite woman, he said, -"I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" -(Matt. xv, 24). It was to the Jews that he spoke when he said, "Ye are -the salt of the earth" (Matt. v. 13). "Ye are the light of the world" -(Matt. v, 14). It was in reference to the twelve tribes of Israel -that he so numbered his apostles (Matt. xix, 28). And it was of his -compatriots that he thought when prophesying his resurrection, "Ye -shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man -be come" (Matt. x, 23). There is no thought of a universal mission -in all this. His mission and sacrifice were for his own nation, and, -as Paul writes to Titus, he "gave himself that he might purify unto -himself a peculiar people" (Tit. ii, 14). - -Thinking probably of the political strife which his messiahship would -cause, Jesus said, "I came not to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. x, -34), in which remark he was a truer prophet than the heavenly host -that sang at his birth "on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke -ii, 14). "The Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any -other institution that ever existed among mankind," says Lecky in his -"Rationalism in Europe" (vol. ii, p. 40). The Holy Office in Spain -burned over 31,000 persons and condemned to punishment hardly less -severe 290,000. During the reign of Charles the Fifth 50,000 heretics -were executed in the Netherlands and on February 16, 1508, the Holy -Office condemned all the inhabitants, numbering 3,000,000 of people, -to death as heretics, and Philip the Second confirmed the decree and -ordered its instant execution. - -The whole history of Christianity, in all its forms, reeks with blood -and smells to heaven with carrion. In the first centuries Christians -persecuted pagans or, divided among themselves, persecuted each other -as heretics. Later arose the feuds of orthodox and Arian, then came -a united Christendom against Islam, followed by Protestant wars. In -these Catholics murdered, pillaged, and devastated Protestants and -burned and tortured them as heretics by ecclesiastical tribunals; -Protestants persecuted and executed Catholics and, divided among -themselves, persecuted one another. In the sixteenth century Anglican -Episcopalians persecuted Catholics and Nonconformists. In the -seventeenth century Puritans persecuted Catholics, Episcopalians, -and Quakers, and so on. The whole history of this religion is a -long narration of blasphemous and degrading theories propagated by -violence, hypocrisy and crime. Christian charity is a delusion which -is found only among the persecuted, who, the instant the scale turns, -become the ruling faction, forget its meaning, and hasten to avenge -their sufferings in persecutions. No other religion has so bloody -a history as Christianity. The old heathen religions went calmly on -their way, indifferent to one another and showing the most perfect -toleration. Rival gods of rival nations were worshiped in temples side -by side, without conflict or ill feeling. Buddhists and Brahmins mildly -flourish in proximity. But Christians who believe that the Christ was -sacrificed for love of humanity, that their gospel is one of love, -peace, and good will, vie with one another to outstrip the ferocity -of wild beasts. - -While many students believe that Jesus was a purely mythical being, -without actual existence save in the brains of religious Christians, -I see no reason to doubt that a certain Jewish rabbi may have come out -of the rebellious province of Galilee about the time of Herod. Such -messiahs had come before him and such have succeeded him. Some of -the messiahs subsequent to Jesus were: one who appeared in Persia in -1138, another in Arabia in 1167, and one in Moravia at the close of -the twelfth century. Eldavid proclaimed himself messiah in Persia in -1199, Sabathai Tzevi assumed the title of "King of Kings" in 1666 -and was executed at Constantinople by the Sultan. So late as 1829 -there appeared in India the eight-year-old son of a peasant who was -a wonderful serpent charmer and was called Marayum Powar. It was an -ancient belief that the ability to handle serpents unharmed was a -proof that one had become perfectly holy--absorbed in God! Therefore, -numerous people came to believe Powar a god and in ten months ten -thousand followers were about him, baptizing and performing miraculous -cures--and his cult seemed well on the road to establishment when, -over-confident of his power, he was bitten by a serpent and died. His -followers, after vainly awaiting his resurrection, dispersed. - -That Jesus' whole career is lost in encircling myth is no proof that -the original figure never existed. There is plenty of historical -evidence to show that the central portion of Europe was once ruled by -a king named Karl, and we do not doubt this simply because a great -cloud of myths has been gathered about the name of St. Charlemagne, -any more than we feel bound to believe that because he once lived he -must now necessarily exist, sleeping in a mountain, until it shall -be necessary for him to spring forth and save the German fatherland. - -One set of students assert that the Christ was merely the -personification of vegetable life, claiming that his death and -resurrection typify the death and revivification of vegetation. Others -hold that he is the modern phase of the eternal sun-god. To sustain -this hypothesis the following allegorical interpretation of his -supposed career is offered as an explanation. He was born on the -early dawn of the twenty-fifth day of December, the day on which -commences the sun's apparent revolution around the earth; his birth -was announced by the brilliant morning star; his virgin mother was -the pure and beautiful dawn; his temptation was his struggle with -the adverse clouds which he dispersed; his trial, execution, and -death were emblematic of the solar decline and crucifixion at the -beginning of winter; his descent into hell was typical of the three -days of the winter solstice; and his resurrection and ascension refer -to the return of the sun after its seeming extinction. - -I have now shown that among the great majority of the nations of -antiquity, no matter as to how they may have differed in the details, -all held one general idea of faith in a savior-mediator between man -and the supreme deity. Some such medium seemed necessary to them, for -they had not reached that intellectual plane on which one feels able -to hold direct communication with the creator. Modern Christianity, -in all its forms, still panders to this ancient superstition that man -must needs have an agent between himself and his God. He must have -an intercessor between his weakness and God's power--and vengeance. - -But when the human mind is freed from superstition and men learn -that right living and a clean ethical code is all that is required, -then they will cease to bow, either physically or mentally, to -any humanly invented mediator, and their enlarged ideas of the -justice of the supreme deity will prohibit any belief in impossible -demi-gods. However, for the majority, that happy time of emancipation -is still in the distant future, and, until its dawn lightens the -general intelligence, men will continue to adore and supplicate the -mediator whom inheritance and environment have taught them to revere, -as Krishna, Buddha, Mithras, or the Christ, as the case may be. - - - - - - - -BIBLIOGRAPHY. - - -Apocryphal New Testament, Being All the Gospels, Epistles and Other -Pieces Now Extant, Attributed in the First Four Centuries to Jesus -Christ, His Apostles, and their Companions, and not Included in the -New Testament by its Compilers. London. Printed for William Hone, 1821. - -Baring-Gould, S.--Curious Myths of the Middle -Ages. London. 1877. Legends of the Patriarchs and Prophets, and other -Old Testament Characters. New York. 1872. The Origin and Development -of Religious Beliefs. New York. 1870. 2 vols. - -Blavatsky, H. P.--Isis Unveiled: A Master-key to the Mysteries of -Ancient and Modern Science and Mythology. 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Edinburgh. 1889. - -Strauss, David Friedrich.--The Life of Jesus. Translated by George -Eliot. London. 1892. - -Tuttle, Hudson.--The Career of the Christ-Idea in History. Boston. The -Career of the God-Idea in History. Boston. - - - - - - - -NOTE - - -[1] The use of unleavened bread by the Greek church caused great -disputes between it and the Latin in the eleventh century, but -the latter finally accepted it on the argument that as the Christ -instituted the supper during the passover, he must have used it, -as there was no leaven procurable at that time. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Christian Mythology, by Brigham Leatherbee - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRISTIAN MYTHOLOGY *** - -***** This file should be named 52414-8.txt or 52414-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/4/1/52414/ - -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.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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