The God-Idea of the Ancients Part 23
137) Tylor, Primitive Culture, vol. ii., p. 271.
In a description recently given of the "moral, religious, and social disease" which broke out A.D. 1374, in the lower Rhine region, and which was denominated as the "greatest, perhaps, of all manifestations of possession," Andrew D. White says: "The immediate origin of these manifestations seems to have been the wild revels of St. John's Day."(138)
138) Pop. Science, vol. x.x.xv., p. 3.
Upon this subject Toland observes that he has seen the people of Ireland running and leaping through the St. John's fire proud of pa.s.sing through it unsinged. Although ignorant of the origin of this ceremony, they nevertheless regarded it as some kind of a l.u.s.tration by means of which they were to be specially blessed.
To every domestic hearth was carried the seed of Bealtine, or St. John's fire, which during the year was not permitted to go out.(139)
139) Although the preservation of holy fire upon every hearth was clearly a religious observance, still, as in those days there were no matches, the material benefit to be derived from this precaution doubtless had a significance apart from that connected with worship.
According to the testimony of Tylor, the festival of John the Baptist was celebrated in Germany down to a late date. This writer quoting from a low German book of the year 1859, refers to the "nod fire" which was sawed out of wood to light the St. John's bonfire "through which the people leapt and ran and drove their cattle."
With regard to the worship of Fire and Light it is related that in Jerusalem, at the present time, the Easter service is performed by the bishop of the church emerging from a tomb with lighted tapers "from which all crave lights."
On the authority of Peter Martyr, Bishop of Alexandria in the third century, we are informed that the place in Egypt where Christ was banished, which is called Maturea, a lamp is kept constantly burning in remembrance of this event. Although the story of this banishment is doubtless borrowed from the life of the Hindoo G.o.d Crishna, the fact is evident that those who appropriated it, and used it in furbishing the mythical history of Christ, had no scruples against fire worship--a religion which we have been taught to regard as belonging exclusively to the pagans.
In the ecclesiastical processions of the Church of Rome is frequently to be observed the figure of a dragon, in the mouth of which "holy and everlasting fire" is observed to be burning. A boy follows the procession with a lighted taper, so that in case the fire is extinguished it may be relighted. In referring to this subject the Rev.
J. B. Deane says:
"The whole ceremony may be considered as a lively representation of an ophite procession as it advanced through the sinuous paralleiths of Karnak. So that no wonder the illiterate races were deceived into thinking that there was no harm in calling themselves Christians, for all their dear old faiths are here--fire, arks, poles, and fire in an ark."
Almost innumerable instances are given by various writers upon this subject, showing that the sun worship of the ancients has been continued to the present time by the so called followers of Christ, in the shrines of the East, with no change even of names to distinguish it from that of the Christian faith. By those who have spent much time in investigating the Holy Land, it is related that nearly all the spots in and about Jerusalem, sacred to Greek and Romish Christians as connected with the life and death of their risen Lord, are equally sacred to the pagans as commemorating the life and death of their Savior--the New Sun. Even Gethsemane is marked by characteristics which prove that it is no less interesting to pagans, or, more properly speaking, to the pagan followers of Christ, than it is to those of the Greek and Romish churches. Here is a holy tree, and not far distant is a cave of Mithras.
There is also to be seen a trinity of stones "those of Ja.n.u.s (Chemosh), Petros and Ion, all solar terms and connected with the sitting or sinking down to rest of the Kuros."
Messrs. Maundrell and Sandys, who in 1697 visited all the holy places in and around Jerusalem, state that the entire city, but especially the sites of Moriah, Zion, and suburbs were hotbeds of fire and phallic worship as usually developed still in the East.
The topography of ancient Delphi, on the site of which was built the village of Kastri, and at which place excavations are now being made under the direction of the American School of Archaeology, has ever been a place of peculiar interest to the mystic. Here are to be found all the natural features and objects which gladden the heart and stimulate the imagination of a solo-phallic worshipper. The holy Mt. Parna.s.sus, the fountain of Kastali, the deep cave said to be Pythian, and the remnants of huge sepulchres hewn in the rocks all conspire to make of this spot a perfect abode for the G.o.d, or G.o.ddess, of fertility. Here, too, is a beautiful lake and near it a sacred fig-tree which has been struck by lightning, or, "touched by holy fire." Of this sacred place Forlong writes:
"Christianity has never neglected this so-called Pagan shrine, nor yet misunderstood it, if we may judge by the saint she has located here, for Mr. Hobhouse found in the rocky chasm dipped in the dews of Castaly, but safe in a rocky niche, a Christian shrine; and close by a hut called the church of St. John; yea verily of Ione, she who had once reigned here supreme; whilst on a green plot a few yards below the basin, in a little grove of olive trees, stood the monastery of Panhagia or Holy Virgin, so that here we still have and beside her sacred form in the cleft, men who have consecrated their manhood to the old Mother and Queen of Heaven, just as if she of Syria had never been heard of.
"Doubtless they knew little of what civilized Europe calls Christianity, for I have spent many days conversing with such men, and seen little difference between them and those similarly placed in the far East--fervid Christians though Greeks and Syrians are."
Perhaps nothing shows the extent to which the religion of the pagans has been retained by Christianity more than does the worship of the serpent.
It has been said that this reptile enters into every mythology extant.
Ferguson is authority for the statement that "he is to be found in the wilderness of Sinai, the groves of Epidaurus, and in Samothracian huts."
He const.i.tutes a prominent factor in the religious worship of India, a.s.syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and, notwithstanding the fact that he is not a native of Ireland, in an earlier age representations of him appear in profusion among the symbols of that country. It has been said that there is scarcely an Egyptian sculpture known in which this reptile does not figure. The serpent whenever it appears as a religious emblem always typifies desire--creative energy--which, proceeding from the sun, is manifested in man and in animals. Whether it be a veritable snake in a box, a serpent connected with the figure of a woman, or as a carved representation on monuments or stones, or as chains or wreaths on columns, bas-reliefs or friezes, the signification is the same.
The sacred character of this reptile among the Gnostics is shown by the accounts given of their religious rites and ceremonies. By many of these sects this holy creature was kept in a box, ark, or chest, and when the eucharistic service was to be performed, he was enticed forth from his resting-place by a bit of bread. So soon as his holiness had wound himself about the offering, the sacrifice was complete and the service was concluded by "singing a hymn to Almighty G.o.d, and praying for acceptance in and through the serpent."
In later ages when the attempt was made to abolish serpent worship from the Christian church, it was declared by the leaders in the movement that Ophiolatry had been imported from Persia--that it had been brought in by ignorant devotees who were too weak to renounce their former faith.(140)
140) Forlong, Rivers of Life.
The extent to which the symbols representing Serpent, Sun, Tree, and Plant worship are still retained as part and parcel of the symbolism of Christianity is shown by the following report regarding the adoption of a seal by the Presbyterian Church which appeared in the daily press only a few years ago.
"After the a.s.sembly opened, the committee for the selection of a seal made a report recommending: That the general a.s.sembly hereby adopts as its official seal the device of a serpent suspended upon a cross, uplifted within a wilderness, in form as represented upon the official seal of the trustees of the general a.s.sembly, and displayed upon a circular field of the same proportions. In addition thereto the figure of a rising sun appearing above the margin of the wilderness, whose out-shooting beams shall occupy the centre of the field. Further, the decoration of a demi-wreath of two palm branches (in the form of the wreath upon the seal of the Westminster a.s.sembly of divines), placed around the margin of the upper hemisphere of the field; and on the lower hemisphere of the field a demi-wreath composed of a branch of oak united with an olive branch. Further, that the words of the motto, 'Christus Exaltus Salvatar,' shall be displayed in a semi-circle upon the upper part of the field, on either side of the standard of the cross, and, encompa.s.sing the whole in a bordure, the following words, in full or in proper abbreviation thereof, 'The Seal of the General a.s.sembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America.'"
The origin of the rite of Baptism as performed at the present time in Christian churches, may be traced directly to the worship of the sun, within which were supposed to reside the reproductive powers of Nature.
All nations have had ceremonies corresponding to our baptism and confirmation rites, such baptism being either by fire or water. When we remember that for ages fertility, or the power to reproduce, const.i.tuted the idea of the Deity, we are not surprised to find that the original signification of the rite of baptism had, and still has, in some of the oriental countries, special reference to the child's s.e.xual obligations.
In India, the religious rites performed upon the individual occur at birth or soon after; at betrothal, which takes place in childhood; at p.u.b.erty; at marriage, and at death. The fact will be noticed that all s.e.xual (spiritual) obligations and seasons fall within the domain of priestly supervision and surveillance. The child at baptism is dedicated to Vesta, or Hestia, the Queen of Hearths and Homes, a divinity who is supposed to a.s.sist him in securing the special evidence of divine favor, namely, fruitfulness of body.
Among Hindoos and Jews, excessive reproduction was the Lord's mark of favor. In India there has been a special h.e.l.l provided for childless women, and with Jewesses no curse was equal to barrenness.
Baptism, or the ceremony connected with the naming of children in Christian countries, is seen to be identical with that performed in Mexico among the Aztecs. After the lips and bosom of the infant had been sprinkled with water, the Lord was implored to "permit the holy drops to wash away the sin that was given to it before the foundation of the world, so that the child might be born anew."
Among the pet.i.tions which are offered to the Deity is the following: "Impart to us, out of thy great mercy, thy gifts which we are not worthy to receive through our own merit." In their moral code appear these maxims: "Keep peace with all; bear injuries with humility; G.o.d who sees, will avenge you." "He who looks too curiously on a woman, commits adultery with his eyes."(141)
141) Quoted by Prescott from Sahagun. Conquest of Mexico, book i., chap 3.
CHAPTER XIV. CHRISTIANITY A CONTINUATION OF PAGANISM--(Continued).
From the facts recorded in the foregoing pages, we have seen that true Christianity was but a continuation of that great movement which was begun in Persia seven or eight centuries before, and whose gathering strength had been emphasized by the humane doctrines set forth in the various schools of Greek philosophy.
In the first century of the Christian era may be observed among various sects, notably the Gnostics, a desire to popularize the teachings of an ancient race, and to accentuate those principles which had been taught by Buddha, Pythagoras, the Stoic philosophers, the Roman jurisconsults and others. In other words the object of the new religion was to stimulate the altruistic characters which had been developed during the evolutionary processes, and to strengthen and encourage the almost forgotten principles of justice and personal liberty upon which early society was founded, but which through ages of sensuality and selfishness had been denied expression.
When we remember the tenacity with which the human mind clings to established beliefs and forms, it is not perhaps singular that in a comparatively short time these principles were lost sight of, and that the entire system of corrupt paganism, with Christ as the New Solar Deity, was reinstated; neither is it remarkable, when we reflect upon the length of time required to bring about any appreciable change in human thought and action, that the principles which this Great Teacher enunciated are at the present time only just beginning to be understood.
To one who carefully studies the history of Christianity by the light of recently developed truths, the fact will doubtless be discovered that the fundamental difference existing between Catholic and Protestant sects is grounded in the old feud arising out of the relative importance of the s.e.x-principles. From the days of Zoroaster to the final establishment of Christianity by Paul, the tendency--although slight--had been toward the elevation of woman, and consequently toward a greater acknowledgment of the female element in the G.o.d-idea.
Considerable impetus was given to the cause of woman's advancement through the doctrines of the various schools of philosophy in Greece, and subsequently by the efforts put forth by the Roman lawyers to establish their equality with men before the law; hence, during the first hundred years of the Christian era the "new religion" seems to have contained much of the spirit of the ancient philosophy.
By several of the early Christian sects, the second person in the trinity was female, as was also the Holy Ghost.
In a "fragment of a gospel preserved by St. Jerome, and believed to have been from the original Aramaean Gospel of St. Matthew, with additions, the Holy Ghost (ruach), which in Hebrew is feminine, is called by the infant Savior, 'My Mother, the Holy Ghost.' "(142)
142) Barlow, Essays on Symbolism, p. 135.
The mission of Christ was that of a Regenerator of mankind, an office which had been symbolized by the powers of the sun. He was to restore that which was lost. He attempted to teach to the ma.s.ses of the people the long neglected principles of purity and peace. He did not condemn woman. He was baptized by John (Ion or Yon) in water, the original symbol for the female element, and while in the water; the Holy Ghost in form of a dove (female) descended upon him. To those who have given attention to the symbolism of the pagan worship these facts are not without signification.
Because of the peculiar tendency of Christ's teachings women soon became active factors in their promulgation. If there were no other evidence to show that they publicly taught the new doctrines, the injunction of St.
Paul, "I suffer not a woman to teach," would seem to imply that they were not silent.
The doctrines of the Gnostics were particularly favorable to women.
Marcellina, who belonged to this order, was the founder of a sect called Marcelliens. Of her works Waite observes: "It would scarcely be expected that the heretical writings of a woman would be preserved amid such wholesale slaughter of the obnoxious works of the opposite s.e.x. The writings of Marcellina have perished."(143) Not only did women teach publicly, and write, but according to Bunsen they claimed the privilege of baptizing their own s.e.x. The reason for this is evident. Before baptism it was customary for the newly-made converts to strip and be anointed with oil. After the establishment of Paul's doctrines, however, "the bishops and presbyters did not care to be relieved from the pleasant duty of baptizing the female converts."(144)