The Crucifixion Of Christ Jesus
The punishment of an individual by crucifixion, for claiming to be "King
of the Jews," "Son of God," or "The Christ;" which are the causes
assigned by the Evangelists for the Crucifixion of Jesus, would need but
a passing glance in our inquiry, were it not for the fact that there is
much attached to it of a dogmatic and heathenish nature, which
demands considerably more than a "passing glance." The doctrine of
atonemen
for sin had been preached long before the doctrine was deduced
from the Christian Scriptures, long before these Scriptures are
pretended to have been written. Before the period assigned for the birth
of Christ Jesus, the poet Ovid had assailed the demoralizing delusion
with the most powerful shafts of philosophic scorn: "When thou thyself
art guilty," says he, "why should a victim die for thee? What folly it
is to expect salvation from the death of another."
The idea of expiation by the sacrifice of a god was to be found among
the Hindoos even in Vedic times. The sacrificer was mystically
identified with the victim, which was regarded as the ransom for sin,
and the instrument of its annulment. The Rig-Veda represents the gods
as sacrificing Purusha, the primeval male, supposed to be coeval with
the Creator. This idea is even more remarkably developed in the
Tandya-brahmanas, thus:
"The lord of creatures (praja-pati) offered himself a
sacrifice for the gods."
And again, in the Satapatha-brahmana:
"He who, knowing this, sacrifices the Purusha-medha, or
sacrifice of the primeval male, becomes everything."[181:1]
Prof. Monier Williams, from whose work on Hindooism we quote the
above, says:
"Surely, in these mystical allusions to the sacrifice of a
representative man, we may perceive traces of the original
institution of sacrifice as a divinely-appointed ordinance
typical of the one great sacrifice of the Son of God for the
sins of the world."[182:1]
This idea of redemption from sin through the sufferings and death of a
Divine Incarnate Saviour, is simply the crowning-point of the idea
entertained by primitive man that the gods demanded a sacrifice of
some kind, to atone for some sin, or avert some calamity.
In primitive ages, when men lived mostly on vegetables, they offered
only grain, water, salt, fruit, and flowers to the gods, to propitiate
them and thereby obtain temporal blessings. But when they began to eat
meat and spices, and drink wine, they offered the same; naturally
supposing the deities would be pleased with whatever was useful or
agreeable to themselves. They imagined that some gods were partial to
animals, others to fruits, flowers, etc. To the celestial gods they
offered white victims at sunrise, or at open day. To the infernal
deities they sacrificed black animals in the night. Each god had some
creature peculiarly devoted to his worship. They sacrificed a bull to
Mars, a dove to Venus, and to Minerva, a heifer without blemish,
which had never been put to the yoke. If a man was too poor to sacrifice
a living animal, he offered an image of one made of bread.
In the course of time, it began to be imagined that the gods demanded
something more sacred as offerings or atonements for sin. This led to
the sacrifice of human beings, principally slaves and those taken in
war, then, their own children, even their most beloved "first-born." It
came to be an idea that every sin must have its prescribed amount of
punishment, and that the gods would accept the life of one person as
atonement for the sins of others. This idea prevailed even in Greece
and Rome: but there it mainly took the form of heroic self-sacrifice for
the public good. Cicero says: "The force of religion was so great among
our ancestors, that some of their commanders have, with their faces
veiled, and with the strongest expressions of sincerity, sacrificed
themselves to the immortal gods to save their country."[182:2]
In Egypt, offerings of human sacrifices, for the atonement of sin,
became so general that "if the eldest born of the family of Athamas
entered the temple of the Laphystan Jupiter at Alos in Achaia, he was
sacrificed, crowned with garlands like an animal victim."[182:3]
When the Egyptian priests offered up a sacrifice to the gods, they
pronounced the following imprecations on the head of the victim:
"If any evil is about to befall either those who now
sacrifice, or Egypt in general, may it be averted on this
head."[183:1]
This idea of atonement finally resulted in the belief that the incarnate
Christ, the Anointed, the God among us, was to save mankind from
a curse by God imposed. Man had sinned, and God could not and did not
forgive without a propitiatory sacrifice. The curse of God must be
removed from the sinful, and the sinless must bear the load of that
curse. It was asserted that divine justice required BLOOD.[183:2]
The belief of redemption from sin by the sufferings of a Divine
Incarnation, whether by death on the cross or otherwise, was general
and popular among the heathen, centuries before the time of Jesus of
Nazareth, and this dogma, no matter how sacred it may have become, or
how consoling it may be, must fall along with the rest of the material
of which the Christian church is built.
Julius Firmicius, referring to this popular belief among the Pagans,
says: "The devil has his Christs."[183:3] This was the general
off-hand manner in which the Christian Fathers disposed of such matters.
Everything in the religion of the Pagans which corresponded to their
religion was of the devil. Most Protestant divines have resorted to the
type theory, of which we shall speak anon.
As we have done heretofore in our inquiries, we will first turn to
India, where we shall find, in the words of M. l'Abbe Huc, that "the
idea of redemption by a divine incarnation," who came into the world
for the express purpose of redeeming mankind, was "general and
popular."[183:4]
"A sense of original corruption," says Prof. Monier Williams, seems
to be felt by all classes of Hindoos, as indicated by the following
prayer used after the Gayatri by some Vaishnavas:
"'I am sinful, I commit sin, my nature is sinful, I am
conceived in sin. Save me, O thou lotus-eyed Heri (Saviour),
the remover of sin.'"[184:1]
Moreover, the doctrine of bhakti (salvation by faith) existed among
the Hindoos from the earliest times.[184:2]
Crishna, the virgin-born, "the Divine Vishnu himself,"[184:3] "he who is
without beginning, middle or end,"[184:4] being moved "to relieve the
earth of her load,"[184:5] came upon earth and redeemed man by his
sufferings--to save him.
The accounts of the deaths of most all the virgin-born Saviours of whom
we shall speak, are conflicting. It is stated in one place that such an
one died in such a manner, and in another place we may find it stated
altogether differently. Even the accounts of the death of Jesus, as we
shall hereafter see, are conflicting; therefore, until the chapter on
"Explanation" is read, these myths cannot really be thoroughly
understood.
As the Rev. Geo. W. Cox remarks, in his Aryan Mythology, Crishna is
described, in one of his aspects, as a self-sacrificing and unselfish
hero, a being who is filled with divine wisdom and love, who offers up a
sacrifice which he alone can make.[184:6]
The Vishnu Purana[184:7] speaks of Crishna being shot in the foot
with an arrow, and states that this was the cause of his death. Other
accounts, however, state that he was suspended on a tree, or in other
words, crucified.
Mons. Guigniaut, in his "Religion de l'Antiquite" says:
"The death of Crishna is very differently related. One
remarkable and convincing tradition makes him perish on a
tree, to which he was nailed by the stroke of an
arrow."[184:8]
Rev. J. P. Lundy alludes to this passage of Guigniaut's in his
"Monumental Christianity," and translates the passage "un bois fatal"
(see note below) "a cross." Although we do not think he is justified
in doing this, as M. Guigniaut has distinctly stated that this "bois
fatal" (which is applied to a gibbet, a cross, a scaffold, etc.) was "un
arbre" (a tree), yet, he is justified in doing so on other accounts,
for we find that Crishna is represented hanging on a cross, and we
know that a cross was frequently called the "accursed tree." It was
an ancient custom to use trees as gibbets for crucifixion, or, if
artificial, to call the cross a tree.[185:1]
A writer in Deuteronomy[185:2] speaks of hanging criminals upon a
tree, as though it was a general custom, and says:
"He that is hanged (on a tree) is accursed of God."
And Paul undoubtedly refers to this text when he says:
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us; for it is written, 'Cursed is every one
that hangeth on a tree.'"[185:3]
It is evident, then, that to be hung on a cross was anciently called
hanging on a tree, and to be hung on a tree was called crucifixion. We
may therefore conclude from this, and from what we shall now see, that
Crishna was said to have been crucified.
In the earlier copies of Moor's "Hindu Pantheon," is to be seen
representations of Crishna (as Wittoba),[185:4] with marks of holes in
both feet, and in others, of holes in the hands. In Figures 4 and 5 of
Plate 11 (Moor's work), the figures have nail-holes in both feet.
Figure 6 has a round hole in the side; to his collar or shirt hangs
the emblem of a heart (which we often see in pictures of Christ Jesus)
and on his head he has a Yoni-Linga (which we do not see in pictures
of Christ Jesus.)
Our Figure No. 7 (next page), is a pre-Christian crucifix of Asiatic
origin,[185:5] evidently intended to represent Crishna crucified. Figure
No. 8 we can speak more positively of, it is surely Crishna crucified.
It is unlike any Christian crucifix ever made, and, with that described
above with the Yoni-Linga attached to the head, would probably not be
claimed as such. Instead of the crown of thorns usually put on the
head of the Christian Saviour, it has the turreted coronet of the
Ephesian Diana, the ankles are tied together by a cord, and the dress
about the loins is exactly the style with which Crishna is almost always
represented.[185:6]
Rev. J. P. Lundy, speaking of the Christian crucifix, says:
"I object to the crucifix because it is an image, and
liable to gross abuse, just as the old Hindoo crucifix was an
idol."[186:1]
And Dr. Inman says:
"Crishna, whose history so closely resembles our Lord's, was
also like him in his being crucified."[186:2]
The Evangelist[186:3] relates that when Jesus was crucified two others
(malefactors) were crucified with him, one of whom, through his favor,
went to heaven. One of the malefactors reviled him, but the other said
to Jesus: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." And
Jesus said unto him: "Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with
me in paradise." According to the Vishnu Purana, the hunter who shot
the arrow at Crishna afterwards said unto him: "Have pity upon me, who
am consumed by my crime, for thou art able to consume me!" Crishna
replied: "Fear not thou in the least. Go, hunter, through my favor, to
heaven, the abode of the gods." As soon as he had thus spoken, a
celestial car appeared, and the hunter, ascending it, forthwith
proceeded to heaven. Then the illustrious Crishna, having united himself
with his own pure, spiritual, inexhaustible, inconceivable, unborn,
undecaying, imperishable and universal spirit, which is one with
Vasudeva (God),[186:4] abandoned his mortal body, and the condition of
the threefold equalities.[186:5] One of the titles of Crishna is
"Pardoner of sins," another is "Liberator from the Serpent of
death."[187:1]
The monk Georgius, in his Tibetinum Alphabetum (p. 203), has given
plates of a crucified god who was worshiped in Nepal. These
crucifixes were to be seen at the corners of roads and on eminences. He
calls it the god Indra. Figures No. 9 and No. 10 are taken from this
work. They are also different from any Christian crucifix yet produced.
Georgius says:
"If the matter stands as Beausobre thinks, then the
inhabitants of India, and the Buddhists, whose religion is the
same as that of the inhabitants of Thibet, have received these
new portents of fanatics nowhere else than from the
Manicheans. For those nations, especially in the city of
Nepal, in the month of August, being about to celebrate the
festival days of the god Indra, erect crosses, wreathed with
Abrotono, to his memory, everywhere. You have the
description of these in letter B, the picture following after;
for A is the representation of Indra himself crucified,
bearing on his forehead, hands and feet the signs
Telech."[187:2]
P. Andrada la Crozius, one of the first Europeans who went to Nepal and
Thibet, in speaking of the god whom they worshiped there--Indra--tells
us that they said he spilt his blood for the salvation of the human
race, and that he was pierced through the body with nails. He further
says that, although they do not say he suffered the penalty of the
cross, yet they find, nevertheless, figures of it in their books.[188:1]
In regard to Beausobre's ideas that the religion of India is corrupted
Christianity, obtained from the Manicheans, little need be said, as all
scholars of the present day know that the religion of India is many
centuries older than Mani or the Manicheans.[188:2]
In the promontory of India, in the South, at Tanjore, and in the North,
at Oude or Ayoudia, was found the worship of the crucified god Bal-li.
This god, who was believed to have been an incarnation of Vishnu, was
represented with holes in his hands and side.[188:3]
The incarnate god Buddha, although said to have expired peacefully at
the foot of a tree, is nevertheless described as a suffering Saviour,
who, "when his mind was moved by pity (for the human race) gave his
life like grass for the sake of others."[188:4]
A hymn, addressed to Buddha, says:
"Persecutions without end,
Revilings and many prisons,
Death and murder,
These hast thou suffered with love and patience
(To secure the happiness of mankind),
Forgiving thine executioners."[188:5]
He was called the "Great Physician,"[188:6] the "Saviour of the
World,"[188:7] the "Blessed One,"[188:8] the "God among Gods,"[188:9]
the "Anointed," or the "Christ,"[188:10] the "Messiah,"[188:11] the
"Only Begotten,"[188:12] etc. He is described by the author of the
"Cambridge Key"[188:13] as sacrificing his life to wash away the
offenses of mankind, and thereby to make them partakers of the kingdom
of heaven. This induces him to say "Can a Christian doubt that this
Buddha was the TYPE of the Saviour of the World."[189:1]
As a spirit in the fourth heaven, he resolves to give up "all that
glory, in order to be born into the world," "to rescue all men from
their misery and every future consequence of it." He vows "to deliver
all men, who are left as it were without a Saviour."[189:2]
While in the realms of the blest, and when about to descend upon earth
to be born as man, he said:
"I am now about to assume a body; not for the sake of gaining
wealth, or enjoying the pleasures of sense, but I am about to
descend and be born, among men, simply to give peace and rest
to all flesh; to remove all sorrow and grief from the
world."[189:3]
M. l'Abbe Huc says:
"In the eyes of the Buddhists, this personage (Buddha) is
sometimes a man and sometimes a god, or rather both one and
the other--a divine incarnation, a man-god--who came into the
world to enlighten men, to redeem them, and to indicate to
them the way of safety. This idea of redemption by a divine
incarnation is so general and popular among the Buddhists,
that during our travels in Upper Asia we everywhere found it
expressed in a neat formula. If we addressed to a Mongol or a
Thibetan the question 'Who is Buddha?' he would immediately
reply: 'The Saviour of Men!'"[189:4]
According to Prof. Max Mueller, Buddha is reported as saying:
"Let all the sins that were committed in this world fall on
me, that the world may be delivered."[189:5]
The Indians are no strangers to the doctrine of original sin. It is
their invariable belief that man is a fallen being; admitted by them
from time immemorial.[189:6] And what we have seen concerning their
beliefs in Crishna and Buddha unmistakably shows a belief in a
divine Saviour, who redeems man, and takes upon himself the sins of
the world; so that "Baddha paid it all, all to him is due."[189:7]
The idea of redemption through the sufferings and death of a Divine
Saviour, is to be found even in the ancient religions of China. One of
their five sacred volumes, called the Y-King, says, in speaking of
Tien, the "Holy One":
"The Holy One will unite in himself all the virtues of
heaven and earth. By his justice the world will be
re-established in the ways of righteousness. He will labor and
suffer much. He must pass the great torrent, whose waves shall
enter into his soul; but he alone can offer up to the Lord a
sacrifice worthy of him."[190:1]
An ancient commentator says:
"The common people sacrifice their lives to gain bread; the
philosophers to gain reputation; the nobility to perpetuate
their families. The Holy One (Tien) does not seek himself,
but the good of others. He dies to save the world."[190:2]
Tien, the Holy One, is always spoken of as one with God, existing with
him from all eternity, "before anything was made."
Osiris and Horus, the Egyptian virgin-born gods, suffered
death.[190:3] Mr. Bonwick, speaking of Osiris, says:
"He is one of the Saviours or deliverers of humanity, to be
found in almost all lands." "In his efforts to do good, he
encounters evil; in struggling with that he is overcome; he is
killed."[190:4]
Alexander Murray says:
"The Egyptian Saviour Osiris was gratefully regarded as the
great exemplar of self-sacrifice, in giving his life for
others."[190:5]
Sir J. G. Wilkinson says of him:
"The sufferings and death of Osiris were the great Mystery
of the Egyptian religion, and some traces of it are
perceptible among other peoples of antiquity. His being the
Divine Goodness, and the abstract idea of 'good,' his
manifestation upon earth (like a Hindoo god), his death and
resurrection, and his office as judge of the dead in a future
state, look like the early revelation of a future
manifestation of the deity converted into a mythological
fable."[190:6]
Horus was also called "The Saviour." "As Horus Sneb, he is the
Redeemer. He is the Lord of Life and the Eternal One."[190:7] He is
also called "The Only-Begotten."[190:8]
Attys, who was called the "Only Begotten Son"[190:9] and
"Saviour," was worshiped by the Phrygians (who were regarded as one of
the oldest races of Asia Minor). He was represented by them as a man
tied to a tree, at the foot of which was a lamb,[191:1] and, without
doubt, also as a man nailed to the tree, or stake, for we find
Lactantius making this Apollo of Miletus (anciently, the greatest and
most flourishing city of Ionia, in Asia Minor) say that:
"He was a mortal according to the flesh; wise in miraculous
works; but, being arrested by an armed force by command of the
Chaldean judges, he suffered a death made bitter with nails
and stakes."[191:2]
In this god of the Phrygians, we again have the myth of the crucified
Saviour of Paganism.
By referring to Mrs. Jameson's "History of Our Lord in Art,"[191:3] or
to illustrations in chapter xl. this work, it will be seen that a common
mode of representing a crucifixion was that of a man, tied with cords by
the hands and feet, to an upright beam or stake. The lamb, spoken of
above, which signifies considerable, we shall speak of in its proper
place.
Tammuz, or Adonis, the Syrian and Jewish Adonai (in Hebrew "Our
Lord"), was another virgin-born god, who suffered for mankind, and who
had the title of Saviour. The accounts of his death are conflicting,
just as it is with almost all of the so-called Saviours of mankind
(including the Christian Saviour, as we shall hereafter see) one
account, however, makes him a crucified Saviour.[191:4]
It is certain, however, that the ancients who honored him as their Lord
and Saviour, celebrated, annually, a feast in commemoration of his
death. An image, intended as a representation of their Lord, was laid on
a bed or bier, and bewailed in mournful ditties--just as the Roman
Catholics do at the present day in their "Good Friday" mass.
During this ceremony the priest murmured:
"Trust ye in your Lord, for the pains which he endured, our
salvation have procured."[191:5]
The Rev. Dr. Parkhurst, in his "Hebrew Lexicon," after referring to what
we have just stated above, says:
"I find myself obliged to refer Tammuz to that class of
idols which were originally designed to represent the promised
Saviour, the Desire of all Nations. His other name, Adonis,
is almost the very Hebrew Adoni or Lord, a well-known
title of Christ."[191:6]
Prometheus was a crucified Saviour. He was "an immortal god, a friend
of the human race, who does not shrink even from sacrificing himself
for their salvation."[192:1]
The tragedy of the crucifixion of Prometheus, written by AEschylus, was
acted in Athens five hundred years before the Christian Era, and is by
many considered to be the most ancient dramatic poem now in existence.
The plot was derived from materials even at that time of an infinitely
remote antiquity. Nothing was ever so exquisitely calculated to work
upon the feelings of the spectators. No author ever displayed greater
powers of poetry, with equal strength of judgment, in supporting through
the piece the august character of the Divine Sufferer. The spectators
themselves were unconsciously made a party to the interest of the scene:
its hero was their friend, their benefactor, their creator, and their
Saviour; his wrongs were incurred in their quarrel--his sorrows were
endured for their salvation; "he was wounded for their transgressions,
and bruised for their iniquities; the chastisement of their peace was
upon him, and by his stripes they were healed;" "he was oppressed and
afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth." The majesty of his silence,
whilst the ministers of an offended god were nailing him by the hands
and feet to Mount Caucasus,[192:2] could be only equaled by the modesty
with which he relates, while hanging with arms extended in the form of
a cross, his services to the human race, which had brought on him that
horrible crucifixion.[192:3] "None, save myself," says he, "opposed his
(Jove's) will,"
"I dared;
And boldly pleading saved them from destruction,
Saved them from sinking to the realms of night.
For this offense I bend beneath these pains,
Dreadful to suffer, piteous to behold:
For mercy to mankind I am not deem'd
Worthy of mercy; but with ruthless hate
In this uncouth appointment am fix'd here
A spectacle dishonorable to Jove."[192:4]
In the catastrophe of the plot, his especially professed friend,
Oceanus, the Fisherman--as his name Petraeus indicates,[193:1]--being
unable to prevail on him to make his peace with Jupiter, by throwing the
cause of human redemption out of his hands,[193:2] forsook him and fled.
None remained to be witness of his dying agonies but the chorus of
ever-amiable and ever-faithful which also bewailed and lamented
him,[193:3] but were unable to subdue his inflexible philanthropy.[193:4]
In the words of Justin Martyr: "Suffering was common to all the sons of
Jove." They were called the "Slain Ones," "Saviours," "Redeemers," &c.
Bacchus, the offspring of Jupiter and Semele,[193:5] was called the
"Saviour."[193:6] He was called the "Only Begotten Son,"[193:7] the
"Slain One,"[193:8] the "Sin Bearer,"[193:9] the "Redeemer,"[193:10] &c.
Evil having spread itself over the earth, through the inquisitiveness of
Pandora, the Lord of the gods is begged to come to the relief of
mankind. Jupiter lends a willing ear to the entreaties, "and wishes that
his son should be the redeemer of the misfortunes of the world; The
Bacchus Saviour. He promises to the earth a Liberator . . The
universe shall worship him, and shall praise in songs his blessings." In
order to execute his purpose, Jupiter overshadows the beautiful young
maiden--the virgin Semele--who becomes the mother of the
Redeemer.[193:11]
"It is I (says the lord Bacchus to mankind), who guides you;
it is I who protects you, and who saves you; I who am Alpha
and Omega."[193:12]
Hercules, the son of Zeus, was called "The Saviour."[193:13] The words
"Hercules the Saviour" were engraven on ancient coins and
monuments.[193:14] He was also called "The Only Begotten," and the
"Universal Word." He was re-absorbed into God. He was said by Ovid to be
the "Self-produced," the Generator and Ruler of all things, and the
Father of time.[193:15]
AEsculapius was distinguished by the epithet "The Saviour."[194:1] The
temple erected to his memory in the city of Athens was called: "The
Temple of the Saviour."[194:2]
Apollo was distinguished by the epithet "The Saviour."[194:3] In a
hymn to Apollo he is called: "The willing Saviour of distressed
mankind."[194:4]
Serapis was called "The Saviour."[194:5] He was considered by Hadrian,
the Roman emperor (117-138 A. D.), and the Gentiles, to be the peculiar
god of the Christians.[194:6] A cross was found under the ruins of his
temple in Alexandria in Egypt.[194:7] Fig. No. 11 is a representation of
this Egyptian Saviour, taken from Murray's "Manual of Mythology." It
certainly resembles the pictures of "the peculiar God of the
Christians." It is very evident that the pictures of Christ Jesus, as we
know them to-day, are simply the pictures of some of the Pagan gods, who
were, for certain reasons which we shall speak of in a subsequent
chapter, always represented with long yellow or red hair, and a florid
complexion. If such a person as Jesus of Nazareth ever lived in the
flesh, he was undoubtedly a Jew, and would therefore have Jewish
features; this his pictures do not betray.[194:8]
Mithras, who was "Mediator between God and man,"[194:9] was called
"The Saviour." He was the peculiar god of the Persians, who believed
that he had, by his sufferings, worked their salvation, and on this
account he was called their Saviour.[194:10] He was also called "The
Logos."[194:11]
The Persians believed that they were tainted with original sin, owing
to the fall of their first parents who were tempted by the evil one in
the form of a serpent.[194:12]
They considered their law-giver Zoroaster to be also a Divine
Messenger, sent to redeem men from their evil ways, and they always
worshiped his memory. To this day his followers mention him with the
greatest reverence, calling him "The Immortal Zoroaster," "The
Blessed Zoroaster," "The First-Born of the Eternal One," &c.[195:1]
"In the life of Zoroaster the common mythos is apparent. He was born in
innocence, of an immaculate conception, of a ray of the Divine Reason.
As soon as he was born, the glory arising from his body enlightened the
room, and he laughed at his mother. He was called a Splendid Light from
the Tree of Knowledge, and, in fine, he or his soul was suspensus a
lingo, hung upon a tree, and this was the Tree of Knowledge."[195:2]
How much this resembles "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and
from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints."[195:3]
Hermes was called "The Saviour." On the altar of Pepi (B. C. 3500)
are to be found prayers to Hermes--"He who is the good
Saviour."[195:4] He was also called "The Logos." The church fathers,
Hippolytus, Justin Martyr, and Plutarch (de Iside et Osir) assert that
the Logos is Hermes.[195:5] The term "Logos" is Greek, and
signifies literally "Word."[195:6] He was also "The Messenger of
God."[195:7]
Dr. Inman says:
"There are few words which strike more strongly upon the
senses of an inquirer into the nature of ancient faiths, than
Salvation and Saviour. Both were used long before the
birth of Christ, and they are still common among those who
never heard of Jesus, or of that which is known among us as
the Gospels."[195:8]
He also tells us that there is a very remarkable figure copied in Payne
Knight's work, in which we see on a man's shoulders a cock's head,
whilst on the pediment are placed the words: "The Saviour of the
World."[195:9]
Besides the titles of "God's First-Born," "Only Begotten," the
"Mediator," the "Shepherd," the "Advocate," the "Paraclete or
Comforter," the "Son of God," the "Logos," &c.,[195:10] being applied to
heathen virgin-born gods, before the time assigned for the birth of
Jesus of Nazareth, we have also that of Christ and Jesus.
Cyrus, King of Persia, was called the "Christ," or the "Anointed of
God."[196:1] As Dr. Giles says, "Christ" is "a name having no
spiritual signification, and importing nothing more than an ordinary
surname."[196:2] The worshipers of Serapis were called
"Christians," and those devoted to Serapis were called "Bishops of
Christ."[196:3] Eusebius, the ecclesiastical historian, says, that the
names of "Jesus" and "Christ," were both known and honored among the
ancients.[196:4]
Mithras was called the "Anointed" or the "Christ;"[196:5] and Horus,
Mano, Mithras, Bel-Minor, Iao, Adoni, &c., were each of them
"God of Light," "Light of the World," the "Anointed," or the
"Christ."[196:6]
It is said that Peter called his Master the Christ, whereupon "he
straightway charged them (the disciples), and commanded them to tell no
man that thing."[196:7]
The title of "Christ" or "The Anointed," was held by the kings of
Israel. "Touch not my Christ and do my prophets no harm," says the
Psalmist.[196:8]
The term "Christ" was applied to religious teachers, leaders of
factions, necromancers or wonder-workers, &c. This is seen by the
passage in Matthew, where the writer says:
"There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall
show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect."[196:9]
The virgin-born Crishna and Buddha were incarnations of Vishnu, called
Avatars. An Avatar is an Angel-Messiah, a God-man, a CHRIST; for the
word Christ is from the Greek Christos, an Anointed One, a
Messiah.
The name Jesus, which is pronounced in Hebrew Yezua, and is
sometimes Grecized into Jason, was very common. After the Captivity it
occurs quite frequently, and is interchanged with the name Joshua.
Indeed Joshua, the successor of Moses, is called Jesus in the New
Testament more than once,[196:10] though the meaning of the two names is
not really quite the same. We know of a Jesus, son of Sirach, a writer
of proverbs, whose collection is preserved among the apocryphal books
of the Old Testament. The notorious Barabbas[197:1] or son of Abbas,
was himself called Jesus. Among Paul's opponents we find a magician
called Elymas, the Son of Jesus. Among the early Christians a certain
Jesus, also called Justus, appears. Flavius Josephus mentions more than
ten distinct persons--priests, robbers, peasants, and others--who bore
the name of Jesus, all of whom lived during the last century of the
Jewish state.[197:2]
To return now to our theme--crucified gods before the time of Jesus of
Nazareth.
The holy Father Minucius Felix, in his Octavius, written as late as
A. D. 211, indignantly resents the supposition that the sign of the
cross should be considered exclusively as a Christian symbol, and
represents his advocate of the Christian argument as retorting on an
infidel opponent. His words are:
"As for the adoration of crosses which you (Pagans) object
against us (Christians), I must tell you, that we neither
adore crosses nor desire them; you it is, ye Pagans . . . who
are the most likely people to adore wooden crosses . . . for
what else are your ensigns, flags, and standards, but crosses
gilt and beautiful. Your victorious trophies not only
represent a simple cross, but a cross with a man upon
it."[197:3]
The existence, in the writings of Minucius Felix, of this passage, is
probably owing to an oversight of the destroyers of all evidences
against the Christian religion that could be had. The practice of the
Romans, here alluded to, of carrying a cross with a man on it, or, in
other words, a crucifix, has evidently been concealed from us by the
careful destruction of such of their works as alluded to it. The priests
had everything their own way for centuries, and to destroy what was
evidence against their claims was a very simple matter.
It is very evident that this celebrated Christian Father alludes to some
Gentile mystery, of which the prudence of his successors has deprived
us. When we compare this with the fact that for centuries after the time
assigned for the birth of Christ Jesus, he was not represented as a man
on a cross, and that the Christians did not have such a thing as a
crucifix, we are inclined to think that the effigies of a black or
dark-skinned crucified man, which were to be seen in many places in
Italy even during the last century, may have had something to do with
it.[197:4]
While speaking of "a cross with a man on it" as being carried by the
Pagan Romans as a standard, we might mention the fact, related by
Arrian the historian,[198:1] that the troops of Porus, in their war with
Alexander the Great, carried on their standards the figure of a
man.[198:2] Here is evidently the crucifix standard again.
"This must have been (says Mr. Higgins) a Staurobates or
Salivahana, and looks very like the figure of a man carried on
their standards by the Romans. This was similar to the dove
carried on the standards of the Assyrians. This must have been
the crucifix of Nepaul."[198:3]
Tertullian, a Christian Father of the second and third centuries,
writing to the Pagans, says:
"The origin of your gods is derived from figures moulded on
a cross. All those rows of images on your standards are the
appendages of crosses; those hangings on your standards and
banners are the robes of crosses."[198:4]
We have it then, on the authority of a Christian Father, as late as A.
D. 211, that the Christians "neither adored crosses nor desired them,"
but that the Pagans "adored crosses," and not that alone, but "a
cross with a man upon it." This we shall presently find to be the case.
Jesus, in those days, nor for centuries after, was not represented as
a man on a cross. He was represented as a lamb, and the adoration of
the crucifix, by the Christians, was a later addition to their religion.
But this we shall treat of in its place.
We may now ask the question, who was this crucified man whom the
Pagans "adored" before and after the time of Jesus of Nazareth? Who
did the crucifix represent? It was, undoubtedly, "the Saviour crucified
for the salvation of mankind," long before the Christian Era, whose
effigies were to be seen in many places all over Italy. These Pagan
crucifixes were either destroyed, corrupted, or adopted; the latter was
the case with many ancient paintings of the Bambino,[198:5] on which
may be seen the words Deo Soli. Now, these two words can never apply
to Christ Jesus. He was not Deus Solus, in any sense, according to the
idiom of the Latin language, and the Romish faith. Whether we construe
the words to "the only God," or "God alone," they are equally heretical.
No priest, in any age of the Church, would have thought of putting them
there, but finding them there, they tolerated them.
In the "Celtic Druids," Mr. Higgins describes a crucifix, a lamb,
and an elephant, which was cut upon the "fire tower"--so-called--at
Brechin, a town of Forfarshire, in Scotland. Although they appeared to
be of very ancient date, he supposed, at that time, that they were
modern, and belonged to Christianity, but some years afterwards, he
wrote as follows:
"I now doubt (the modern date of the tower), for we have, over
and over again, seen the crucified man before Christ. We have
also found 'The Lamb that taketh away the sins of the world,'
among the Carnutes of Gaul, before the time of Christ; and
when I contemplate these, and the Elephant or
Ganesa,[199:1] and the Ring[199:2] and its Cobra,[199:3]
Linga,[199:4] Iona,[199:5] and Nandies, found not far from
the tower, on the estate of Lord Castles, with the Colidei,
the island of Iona, and Ii, . . . I am induced to doubt my
former conclusions. The Elephant, the Ganesa of India, is a
very stubborn fellow to be found here. The Ring, too, when
joined with other matters, I cannot get over. All these
superstitions must have come from India."[199:6]
On one of the Irish "round towers" is to be seen a crucifix of
unmistakable Asiatic origin.[199:7]
If we turn to the New World, we shall find strange though it may appear,
that the ancient Mexicans and Peruvians worshiped a crucified
Saviour. This was the virgin-born Quetzalcoatle whose crucifixion is
represented in the paintings of the "Codex Borgianus," and the "Codex
Vaticanus."
These paintings illustrate the religious opinions of the ancient
Mexicans, and were copied from the hieroglyphics found in Mexico. The
Spaniards destroyed nearly all the books, ancient monuments and
paintings which they could find; had it not been for this, much more
regarding the religion of the ancient Mexicans would have been handed
down to us. Many chapters were also taken--by the Spanish
authorities--from the writings of the first historians who wrote on
ancient Mexico. All manuscripts had to be inspected previous to being
published. Anything found among these heathens resembling the religion
of the Christians, was destroyed when possible.[199:8]
The first Spanish monks who went to Mexico were surprised to find the
crucifix among the heathen inhabitants, and upon inquiring what it
meant, were told that it was a representation of Bacob
(Quetzalcoatle), the Son of God, who was put to death by Eopuco. They
said that he was placed on a beam of wood, with his arms stretched
out, and that he died there.[200:1]
Lord Kingsborough, from whose very learned and elaborate work we have
taken the above, says:
"Being questioned as to the manner in which they became
acquainted with these things, they replied that the lords
instructed their sons in them, and that thus this doctrine
descended from one to another."[200:2]
Sometimes Quetzalcoatle or Bacob is represented as tied to the
cross--just as we have seen that Attys was represented by the
Phrygians--and at other times he is represented "in the attitude of a
person crucified, with impressions of nail-holes in his hands and feet,
but not actually upon a cross"--just as we have found the Hindoo
Crishna, and as he is represented in Fig. No. 8. Beneath this
representation of Quetzalcoatle crucified, is an image of Death, which
an angry serpent seems threatening to devour.[200:3]
On the 73d page of the Borgian MS., he is represented crucified on a
cross of the Greek form. In this print there are also impressions of
nails to be seen on the feet and hands, and his body is strangely
covered with suns.[200:4]
In vol. ii. plate 75, the god is crucified in a circle of nineteen
figures, and a serpent is depriving him of the organs of generation.
Lord Kingsborough, commenting on these paintings, says:
"It is remarkable that in these Mexican paintings the faces of
many of the figures are black, and that the visage of
Quetzalcoatle is frequently painted in a very deformed
manner."[200:5]
His lordship further tells us that (according to the belief of the
ancient Mexicans), "the death of Quetzalcoatle upon the cross" was "an
atonement for the sins of mankind."[200:6]
Dr. Daniel Brinton, in his "Myths of the New World," tells us that the
Aztecs had a feast which they celebrated "in the early spring," when
"victims were nailed to a cross and shot with an arrow."[200:7]
Alexander Von Humboldt, in his "American Researches," also speaks of
this feast, when the Mexicans crucified a man, and pierced him with an
arrow.[200:8]
The author of Monumental Christianity, speaking of this, says:
"Here is the old story of the Prometheus crucified on the
Caucasus, and of all other Pagan crucifixions of the young
incarnate divinities of India, Persia, Asia Minor and
Egypt."[201:1]
This we believe; but how did this myth get there? He does not say, but
we shall attempt to show, in a future chapter, how this and other
myths of Eastern origin became known in the New World.[201:2]
It must not be forgotten, in connection with what we have seen
concerning the Mexican crucified god being sometimes represented as
black, and the feast when the crucified man was shot with an arrow,
that effigies of a black crucified man were found in Italy; that
Crishna, the crucified, is very often represented black; and that
Crishna was shot with an arrow.
Crosses were also found in Yucatan, as well as Mexico, with a man
upon them.[201:3] Cogolludo, in his "History of Yucatan," speaking of a
crucifix found there, says:
"Don Eugenio de Alcantara (one of the true teachers of the
Gospel), told me, not only once, that I might safely write
that the Indians of Cozumel possessed this holy cross in the
time of their paganism; and that some years had elapsed since
it was brought to Medira; for having heard from many persons
what was reported of it, he had made particular inquiries of
some very old Indians who resided there, who assured him that
it was the fact."
He then speaks of the difficulty in accounting for this crucifix being
found among the Indians of Cozumel, and ends by saying:
"But if it be considered that these Indians believed that the
Son of God, whom they called Bacob, had died upon a cross,
with his arms stretched out upon it, it cannot appear so
difficult a matter to comprehend that they should have formed
his image according to the religious creed which they
possessed."[201:4]
We shall find, in another chapter, that these virgin-born "Saviours"
and "Slain Ones;" Crishna, Osiris, Horus, Attys, Adonis, Bacchus,
&c.--whether torn in pieces, killed by a boar, or crucified--will all
melt into ONE.
We now come to a very important fact not generally known, namely: There
are no early representations of Christ Jesus suffering on the cross.
Rev. J. P. Lundy, speaking of this, says:
"Why should a fact so well known to the heathen as the
crucifixion be concealed? And yet its actual realistic
representation never once occurs in the monuments of
Christianity, for more than six or seven centuries."[202:1]
Mrs. Jameson, in her "History of Our Lord in Art," says:
"The crucifixion is not one of the subjects of early
Christianity. The death of our Lord was represented by various
types, but never in its actual form.
"The earliest instances of the crucifixion are found in
illustrated manuscripts of various countries, and in those
ivory and enameled forms which are described in the
Introduction. Some of these are ascertained, by historical or
by internal evidence, to have been executed in the ninth
century, there is one also, of an extraordinary rude and
fantastic character, in a MS. in the ancient library of St.
Galle, which is ascertained to be of the eighth century. At
all events, there seems no just grounds at present for
assigning an earlier date."[202:2]
"Early Christian art, such as it appears in the bas-reliefs on
sarcophagi, gave but one solitary incident from the story of
Our Lord's Passion, and that utterly divested of all
circumstances of suffering. Our Lord is represented as young
and beautiful, free from bonds, with no 'accursed tree' on
his shoulders."[202:3]
The oldest representation of Christ Jesus was a figure of a
lamb,[202:4] to which sometimes a vase was added, into which his blood
flowed, and at other times couched at the foot of a cross. This custom
subsisted up to the year 680, and until the pontificate of Agathon,
during the reign of Constantine Pogonat. By the sixth synod of
Constantinople (canon 82) it was ordained that instead of the ancient
symbol, which had been the LAMB, the figure of a man fastened to a
cross (such as the Pagans had adored), should be represented. All
this was confirmed by Pope Adrian I.[202:5]
A simple cross, which was the symbol of eternal life, or of salvation,
among the ancients, was sometimes, as we have seen, placed alongside of
the Lamb. In the course of time, the Lamb was put on the cross, as
the ancient Israelites had put the paschal lamb centuries
before,[202:6] and then, as we have seen, they put a man upon it.
Christ Jesus is also represented in early art as the "Good Shepherd,"
that is, as a young man with a lamb on his shoulders.[202:7]
This is just the manner in which the Pagan Apollo, Mercury and others
were represented centuries before.[203:1]
Mrs. Jameson says:
"Mercury attired as a shepherd, with a ram on his
shoulders, borne in the same manner as in many of the
Christian representations, was no unfrequent object (in
ancient art) and in some instances led to a difficulty in
distinguishing between the two,"[203:2] that is, between
Mercury and Christ Jesus.
M. Renan says:
"The Good Shepherd of the catacombs in Rome is a copy from the
Aristeus, or from the Apollo Nomius, which figured in the
same posture on the Pagan sarcophagi; and still carries the
flute of Pan, in the midst of the four half-naked
seasons."[203:3]
The Egyptian Saviour Horus was called the "Shepherd of the
People."[203:4]
The Hindoo Saviour Crishna was called the "Royal Good
Shepherd."[203:5]
We have seen, then, on the authority of a Christian writer who has made
the subject a special study, that, "there seems no just grounds at
present for assigning an earlier date," for the "earliest instances of
the crucifixion" of Christ Jesus, represented in art, than the eighth
or ninth century. Now, a few words in regard to what these crucifixes
looked like. If the reader imagines that the crucifixes which are
familiar to us at the present day are similar to those early ones, we
would inform him that such is not the case. The earliest artists of the
crucifixion represent the Christian Saviour as young and beardless,
always without the crown of thorns, alive, and erect, apparently elate;
no signs of bodily suffering are there.[203:6]
On page 151, plate 181, of Jameson's "History of Our Lord in Art" (vol.
ii.), he is represented standing on a foot-rest on the cross, alive, and
eyes open. Again, on page 330, plate 253, he is represented standing
"with body upright and arms extended straight, with no nails, no
wounds, no crown of thorns--frequently clothed, and with a regal
crown--a God, young and beautiful, hanging, as it were, without
compulsion or pain."
On page 167, plate 188, are to be seen "the thieves bound to their
cross (which is simply an upright beam, without cross-bars), with the
figure of the Lord standing between them." He is not bound nor nailed
to a cross; no cross is there. He is simply standing erect in the form
of a cross. This is a representation of what is styled, "Early
crucifixion with thieves." On page 173, plate 190, we have a
representation of the crucifixion, in which Jesus and the thieves are
represented crucified on the Egyptian tau (see Fig. No. 12). The
thieves are tied, but the man-god is nailed to the cross. A similar
representation may be seen on page 189, plate 198.
On page 155, plate 183, there is a representation of what is called
"Virgin and St. John at foot of cross," but this cross is simply an
upright beam (as Fig. No. 13). There are no cross-bars attached. On
page 167, plate 188, the thieves are tied to an upright beam (as Fig.
13), and Jesus stands between them, with arms extended in the form of a
cross, as the Hindoo Crishna is to be seen in Fig. No. 8. On page 157,
plate 185, Jesus is represented crucified on the Egyptian cross (as No.
12).
Some ancient crucifixes represent the Christian Saviour crucified on a
cross similar in form to the Roman figure which stands for the number
ten (see Fig. No. 14). Thus we see that there was no uniformity in
representing the "cross of Christ," among the early Christians; even the
cross which Constantine put on his "Labarum," or sacred banner, was
nothing more than the monogram of the Pagan god Osiris (Fig. No.
15),[204:1] as we shall see in a subsequent chapter.
The dogma of the vicarious atonement has met with no success whatever
among the Jews. The reason for this is very evident. The idea of
vicarious atonement, in any form, is contrary to Jewish ethics, but it
is in full accord with the Gentile. The law ordains that[205:1]
"every man shall be put to death for his own sin," and not for the sin
or crime committed by any other person. No ransom should protect the
murderer against the arm of justice.[205:2] The principle of equal
rights and equal responsibilities is fundamental in the law. If the law
of God--for as such it is received--denounces the vicarious atonement,
viz., to slaughter an innocent person to atone for the crimes of
others, then God must abhor it. What is more, Jesus is said to have
sanctioned this law, for is he not made to say: "Think not that I am
come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but
to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law."[205:3]
"Salvation is and can be nothing else than learning the laws of life and
keeping them. There is, in the modern world, neither place nor need for
any of the theological 'schemes of salvation' or theological 'Saviours.'
No wrath of either God or devil stands in man's way; and therefore no
'sacrifice' is needed to get them out of the way. Jesus saves only as he
helps men know and keep God's laws. Thousands of other men, in their
degree, are Saviours in precisely the same way. As there has been no
'fall of man,' all the hundreds of theological devices for obviating its
supposed effects are only imaginary cures for imaginary ills. What man
does need is to be taught the necessary laws of life, and have brought
to bear upon him adequate motives for obeying them. To know and keep
God's laws is being reconciled to him. This is health; and out of
health--that is, the perfect condition of the whole man, called holiness
or wholeness--comes happiness, in this world and in all worlds."
FOOTNOTES:
[181:1] Monier Williams: Hinduism, pp. 36-40.
[182:1] Monier Williams: Hinduism, p. 36.
[182:2] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 303.
[182:3] Kenrick's Egypt, vol. i. p. 443.
[183:1] Herodotus: bk. ii. ch. 39.
[183:2] In the trial of Dr. Thomas (at Chicago) for "doctrinal
heresy," one of the charges made against him (Sept. 8, 1881) was that
he had said "the BLOOD of the Lamb had nothing to do with salvation."
And in a sermon preached in Boston, Sept. 2, 1881, at the Columbus
Avenue Presbyterian Church, by the Rev. Andrew A. Bonar. D. D., the
preacher said: "No sinner dares to meet the holy God until his sin has
been forgiven, or until he has received remission. The penalty of sin
is death, and this penalty is not remitted by anything the sinner can
do for himself, but only through the BLOOD of Jesus. If you have
accepted Jesus as your Saviour, you can take the blood of Jesus, and
with boldness present it to the Father as payment in full of the
penalties of all your sins. Sinful man has no right to the benefits and
the beauties and glories of nature. These were all lost to him through
Adam's sin, but to the blood of Christ's sacrifice he has a right; it
was shed for him. It is Christ's death that does the blessed work of
salvation for us. It was not his life nor his Incarnation. His
Incarnation could not pay a farthing of our debt, but his blood shed
in redeeming love, pays it all." (See Boston Advertiser, Sept. 3,
1881.)
[183:3] Habet ergo Diabolus Christos suos.
[183:4] Huc's Travels, vol. i. pp. 326 and 327.
[184:1] Hinduism, p. 214.
[184:2] Ibid. p. 115.
[184:3] Vishnu Purana, p. 440.
[184:4] Ibid.
[184:5] Ibid.
[184:6] Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 132.
[184:7] Pages 274 and 612.
[184:8] "On reconte fort diversement la mort de Crishna. Une tradition
remarquable et averee le fait perir sur un bois fatal (un arbre), ou il
fut cloue d'un coup de fleche." (Quoted by Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i.
p. 144.)
[185:1] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 499, and Mrs. Jameson's
"History of Our Lord in Art," ii. 317, where the cross is called the
"accursed tree."
[185:2] Chap. xxi. 22, 23: "If a man have committed a sin worthy of
death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his
body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any
wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that
thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an
inheritance."
[185:3] Galatians, iii. 13.
[185:4] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 146, and Inman's Ancient
Faiths, vol. i. p. 402.
"The crucified god Wittoba is also called Balue. He is worshiped in a
marked manner at Pander-poor or Bunder-poor, near Poonah." (Higgins:
Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 750, note 1.)
"A form of Vishnu (Crishna), called Viththal or Vithoba, is the
popular god at Pandharpur in Maha-rashtra, the favorite of the
celebrated Marathi poet Tukarama." (Prof. Monier Williams: Indian
Wisdom, p. xlviii.)
[185:5] See Lundy: Monumental Christianity, p. 160.
[185:6] This can be seen by referring to Calmet, Sonnerat, or Higgins,
vol. ii., which contain plates representing Crishna.
[186:1] Monumental Christianity, p. 128.
[186:2] Ancient Faiths, vol. i. p. 411.
[186:3] Luke, xxiii. 39-43.
[186:4] Vasudeva means God. See Vishnu Purana, p. 274.
[186:5] Vishnu Purana, p. 612.
[187:1] See Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 72.
[187:2] "Si ita se res habet, ut existimat Beausobrius, Indi, et
Budistae quorum religio, eadem est ac Tibetana, nonnisi a Manichaeis
nova haec deliriorum portenta acceperunt. Haenamque gentes praesertim in
urbe Nepal, Luna XII. Badr seu Bhadon Augusti mensis, dies festos
auspicaturae Dei Indrae, erigunt ad illius memoriam ubique locorum
cruces amictas Abrotono. Earum figuram descriptam habes ad lit. B,
Tabula pone sequenti. Nam A effigies est ipsius Indrae crucifixi signa
Telech in fronte manibus pedibusque gerentis." (Alph Tibet, p. 203.
Quoted in Higgins' Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 130.)
[188:1] "Ils conviennent qu'il a repandu son sang pour le salut du genre
humain, ayant ete perce de clous par tout son corps. Quoiqu'ils ne
disent pas qu'il a souffert le supplice de la croix, ou en trouve
pourtant la figure dans leurs livres." (Quoted in Higgins' Anacalypsis,
vol. ii. p. 118.)
[188:2] "Although the nations of Europe have changed their religions
during the past eighteen centuries, the Hindoo has not done so, except
very partially. . . . The religious creeds, rites, customs, and habits
of thought of the Hindoos generally, have altered little since the days
of Manu, 500 years B. C." (Prof. Monier Williams: Indian Wisdom, p. iv.)
[188:3] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. pp. 147, 572, 667 and 750;
vol. ii. p. 122, and note 4, p. 185, this chapter.
[188:4] See Max Mueller's Science of Religion, p. 224.
[188:5] Quoted in Lillie's Buddhism, p. 93.
[188:6] See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 20.
[188:7] See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, pp. 20, 25, 85. Prog. Relig. Ideas,
vol. i. p. 247. Huc's Travels, vol. i. pp. 326, 327, and almost any work
on Buddhism.
[188:8] See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 20.
[188:9] Ibid. Johnson's Oriental Religions, p. 604. See also Asiatic
Researches, vol. iii., or chapter xii. of this work.
[188:10] See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 18.
[188:11] Ibid.
[188:12] Ibid.
[188:13] Vol. i. p. 118.
[189:1] Quoted in Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 118.
[189:2] Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 20.
[189:3] Beal: Hist. Buddha, p. 33.
[189:4] Huc's Travels, vol. i. pp. 326, 337.
[189:5] Mueller: Hist. Sanscrit Literature, p. 80.
[189:6] See Maurice: Indian Antiquities, vol. v. p. 95, and Williams:
Hinduism, p. 214.
[189:7] "He in mercy 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." (Prog. Relig. Ideas,
vol. ii. p. 86.)
"The object of his mission on earth was to instruct those who were
straying from the right path, expiate the sins of mortals by his own
sufferings, and produce for them a happy entrance into another
existence by obedience to his precepts and prayers in his name. They
always speak of him as one with God from all eternity. His most common
title is 'The Saviour of the World.'" (Ibid. vol. i. p. 247.)
[190:1] Quoted in Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 211.
[190:2] Ibid.
[190:3] See Renouf: Religions of Ancient Egypt, p. 178.
[190:4] Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 155.
[190:5] Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 848.
[190:6] In Rawlinson's Herodotus, vol. ii. p. 171. Quoted in Knight's
Art and Mythology, p. 71.
[190:7] Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 185.
[190:8] See Mysteries of Adoni, p. 88.
[190:9] See Knight: Ancient Art and Mythology, p. xxii. note.
[191:1] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 255.
[191:2] Vol. ii.
[191:3] Lactant. Inst., div. iv. chap. xiii. In Anacalypsis, vol. i. p.
544.
[191:4] See chapter xxxix. this work.
[191:5] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 114, and Taylor's
Diegesis, p. 163.
[191:6] See the chapter on "The Resurrection of Jesus."
[192:1] Chambers's Encyclo., art. "Prometheus."
[192:2] "Prometheus has been a favorite subject with the poets. He is
represented as the friend of mankind, who interposed in their behalf
when Jove was incensed against them." (Bulfinch: The Age of Fable, p.
32.)
"In the mythos relating to Prometheus, he always appears as the friend
of the human race, suffering in its behalf the most fearful tortures."
(John Fiske: Myths and Myth-makers, pp. 64, 65.) "Prometheus was
nailed to the rocks on Mount Caucasus, with arms extended."
(Alexander Murray: Manual of Mythology, p. 82.) "Prometheus is said to
have been nailed up with arms extended, near the Caspian Straits, on
Mount Caucasus. The history of Prometheus on the Cathedral at Bordeaux
(France) here receives its explanation." (Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii.
p. 113.)
[192:3] See AEschylus' "Prometheus Chained." Translated by the Rev. R.
Potter: Harper & Bros., N. Y.
[192:4] Ibid. p. 82.
[193:1] Petraeus was an interchangeable synonym of the name Oceanus.
[193:2] "Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying: Be it far
from thee, Lord; this shall not be unto thee." (Matt. xvi. 22.)
[193:3] "And there followed him a great company of people, and of women,
which also bewailed and lamented him." (Luke, xxiii. 27.)
[193:4] See Taylor's Diegesis, pp. 193, 194, or Potter's AEschylus.
[193:5] "They say that the god (Bacchus), the offspring of Zeus and
Demeter, was torn to pieces." (Diodorus Siculus, in Knight, p. 156,
note.)
[193:6] See Knight: Anct. Art and Mythology, p. 98, note. Dupuis:
Origin of Religious Belief, 258. Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 102.
[193:7] Knight: Ancient Art and Mythology, p. xxii. note.
[193:8] Ibid.
[193:9] Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 169.
[193:10] Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 135.
[193:11] Ibid.
[193:12] Beausobre quotes the inscription on a monument of Bacchus,
thus: "C'est moi, dit il, qui vous conduis, C'est moi, qui vous
conserve, ou qui vous sauve; Je sui Alpha et Omega, &c." (See chap.
xxxix this work.)
[193:13] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 322. Dupuis: Origin of
Religious Belief, p. 195. Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 152. Dunlap:
Mysteries of Adoni, p. 94.
[193:14] See Celtic Druids, Taylor's Diegesis, p. 153, and Montfaucon,
vol. i.
[193:15] See Mysteries of Adoni, p. 91, and Higgins: Anac., vol. i. p.
322.
[194:1] See Taylor's Diegesis, p. 153.
[194:2] See the chapter on "Miracles of Jesus."
[194:3] See Dupuis: Origin of Religious Belief, p. 254.
[194:4] See Monumental Christianity, p. 186.
[194:5] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 15.
[194:6] See Giles: Hebrew and Christian Records, vol. ii. p. 86.
[194:7] See Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 15, and our chapter on Christian
Symbols.
[194:8] This subject will be referred to again in chapter xxxix.
[194:9] See Dunlap's Spirit Hist., pp. 237, 241, 242, and Mysteries of
Adoni, p. 123, note.
[194:10] See Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 99.
[194:11] See Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 20.
"According to the most ancient tradition of the East-Iranians recorded
in the Zend-Avesta, the God of Light (Ormuzd) communicated his
mysteries to some men through his Word." (Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p.
75.)
[194:12] Wake: Phallism, &c., p. 47.
[195:1] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. pp. 258, 259.
[195:2] Malcolm: Hist. Persia, vol. i. Ap. p. 494; Nimrod, vol. ii. p.
31. Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 649.
[195:3] Col. i. 26.
[195:4] See Bonwick: Egyptian Belief, p. 102.
[195:5] See Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 89, marginal note.
[195:6] "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God." (John, i. 1.)
[195:7] See Bell's Pantheon, vol. ii. 69 and 71.
[195:8] Inman: Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 652.
[195:9] Ibid. vol. i. p. 537.
[195:10] See Bunsen's Angel-Messiah, p. 119. Knight's Ancient Art and
Mythology, pp. xxii. and 98. Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 71, and Spirit
History, pp. 183, 205, 206, 249. Bible for Learners, vol. ii. p. 25.
Isis Unveiled, vol. ii. pp. 195, 237, 516, besides the authorities
already cited.
[196:1] See Bunsen's Bible Chronology, p. 5. Keys of St. Peter, 135.
Volney's Ruins, p. 168.
[196:2] Giles: Hebrew and Christian Records, p. 64, vol. ii.
[196:3] Ibid. p. 86, and Taylor's Diegesis, pp. 202, 206, 407. Dupuis:
p. 267.
[196:4] Eusebius: Eccl. Hist., lib. 1, ch. iv.
[196:5] See Dunlap's Son of the Man, p. 78.
[196:6] See Ibid. p. 39.
[196:7] Luke, iv. 21.
[196:8] Psalm, cv. 15. The term "an Anointed One," which we use in
English, is Christos in Greek, and Messiah in Hebrew. (See Bible for
Learners, and Religion of Israel, p. 147.)
[196:9] Matthew, xxiv. 24.
[196:10] Acts, vii. 45; Hebrews, iv. 8; compare Nehemiah, viii. 17.
[197:1] He who, it is said, was liberated at the time of the crucifixion
of Jesus of Nazareth.
[197:2] See Bible for Learners, vol. iii. p. 60.
[197:3] Octavius, c. xxix.
[197:4] See Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 116.
[198:1] In his History of the Campaigns of Alexander.
[198:2] See Anacalypsis, vol. ii. p. 118.
[198:3] Ibid.
[198:4] Apol. c. 16; Ad Nationes, c. xii.
[198:5] See the chapter on "The Worship of the Virgin."
[199:1] Ganesa is the Indian God of Wisdom. (See Asiatic Researches,
vol. i.)
[199:2] The Ring and circle was an emblem of god, or eternity, among
the Hindoos. (See Lundy: Monumental Christianity, p. 87.)
[199:3] The Cobra, or hooded snake, is a native of the East Indies,
where it is held as sacred. (See Knight: Anct. Art and Mytho., p. 16,
and Fergusson's Tree and Serpent Worship.)
[199:4] Linga denotes, in the sectarian worship of the Hindoos, the
Phallus, an emblem of the male or generative power of nature.
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