The titles "lamb," "anointed," etc., which were applied to Christ, all appear attached to former incarnations of the sun, the first named standing for the sun in Aries. The effigies of a crucified savior found in Ireland and Scotland in connection with the figure of a lamb, a bull, or an elephant, the latter of which is not a native of those countries, shows that they do not represent Christ, but a crucified sun-god worshipped by the inhabitants of the British Islands ages before the birth of the great Judean philosopher and teacher.
It is plain that Crishna of India and the Persian Mithra furnished the copy for the Jesus of the Romish Church, all of whom mean one and the same thing—the second person in the Solar Trinity. By the Jews, who attempted to ignore the female principle, this God is called the "Lord of Hosts" and "God of Sabaoth," which astronomically means God of the stars and constellations, and astrologically the creator or producer of the multitudes. Of this God, ieue, I H S, the author of Anacalypsis says that he was the son of the celestial virgin, which she carries in her arms; the Horus, Lux, of the Egyptians, the Lux of St. John.
"It is from this infant that Jesus took his origin; or at least it is from the ceremonies and worship of this infant that this religion came to be corrupted into what we have of it. This infant is the seed of the woman who, according to Genesis, was to bruise the head of the serpent, which, in return, was to bruise his foot or heel, or the foot or heel of her seed as the figure of the Hindoo Crishna proves. From the traditionary stories of this god Iao, which was figured annually to be born at the winter solstice, and to be put to death and raised to life on the third day at the vernal equinox, the Roman searchers after the evangelion or gospel made out their Jesus. The total destruction of everything at Jerusalem and in Judea—buildings, records, everything—prevented them from coming to any absolute certainty respecting this person who, they were told by tradition, had come to preach the gospel of peace, to be their savior, in fulfilment of the prophecy which their sect of Israelites found in their writings, and who had been put to death by the Jews. From all these circumstances he came to have applied to him the monogram of I H S.... and to him at last all the legendary stories related of the god Iao were attributed."(131)
According to Faber, Jesus was not originally called Jesus Christ, but Jescua Hammassiah—Jescua meaning Joshua, and Jesus, Savior. Ham is the Om of India, and Messiah, the anointed. Commenting on this Higgins remarks: "It will then be, The Savior Om the Anointed, precisely as Isaiah had literally foretold; or reading in the Hebrew made, The Anointed Om the Savior. This was the name of Jesus of Bethlehem."
We have observed the fact that at the time of the birth of Christ the entire world was expecting a Savior—a new incarnation of the sun. The end of a cycle had come and the entire earth was to undergo a process of renovation.
In a poem by Virgil, who was a Druid, the birth of a wonderful child is celebrated, and the prophecy of a heathen Sibyl is seen to be identical with that of Isaiah.
"The last period sung by the Sibylline prophetess is now arrived; and the grand series of ages. That Series which recurs again and again in the course of our mundane revolution begins afresh. Now the Virgin Astrea returns from heaven; and the primeval reign of Saturn recommences; now a new race descends from the celestial realms of holiness. Do thou, Lucina, smile propitious on the birth of a boy who will bring to a close the present age of iron and introduce throughout the whole world, a new age of gold. Then shall the herds no longer dread the fury of the lion, nor shall the poison of the serpent any longer be formidable. Every venomous animal and every deleterious plant shell perish together. The fields shall be yellow with corn, the grape shall hang its ruddy clusters from the bramble, and honey shall distil spontaneously from the rugged oak. The universal globe shall enjoy the blessings of peace, secure under the mild sway of its new and divine sovereign."
There is no lack of evidence to prove that for several centuries great numbers of Christians regarded Christ as a solar incarnation similar to those which from time to time were born in the valleys of the Nile and the Ganges. By the fathers in the church Jesus Christ was named the New Sun, and in the early days of Christianity the Egyptians struck a coin representing O. B. or the holy Basilisk, with rays of light darting from his head, on the reverse side of which was figured "Jesus Christ as the New Solar Deity."
The similarity if not the actual identity of the religion of Christ and that of the pagans in the second century is shown by various writers. The Emperor Hadrian writing to his friend Servianus says:
"Those who worship Serapis are also Christians; even those who style themselves the Bishops of Christ are devoted to Serapis.. .. There is but one God for them all; him do the Christians, him do the Jews, him do all the Gentiles also worship."
It has been said that the head of Serapis supplied the first idea of the portrait of Christ. Before the figure of Serapis, in his temple, used to stand Isis, the Celestial Virgin, with the inscription "Immaculate is our Lady Isis." In her hand she bore a sheaf of grain.
As Serapis, or Pan, finally became Christ, so Isis, or the Queen of Heaven, became his mother, and to the latter were transferred all the titles, ceremonies, festivals, and seasons which from the earliest time had belonged to the great Goddess of Nature. Subsequently, probably about the close of the second century, Christianity began slowly to emerge from the worship of Mithras and Serapis, "changing the names but not the substance."
Upon the coinage of Constantine appears Soli Invicto Comita—"To the invincible sun my companion or guardian," and when the Greek and Roman Christians finally separated themselves from the great body of pagan worshippers they apologized for celebrating the birthday of their Savior on the 25th of December, saying that "they could better perform their rites when the heathen were busy with theirs." We are assured that the early Christians no less than the Maji acknowledged Mithras as the first emanation from Ormuzd, or the God of Light. He was the Savior which in an earlier age had represented returning life—that which follows the cold of winter. It was doubtless while they worshipped the Persian Mithras that many of the so-called Christians gathered their first ideas concerning the immortality of the soul and of future rewards and punishments.
The analogy existing between the festivals, seasons, mythoses, etc., of the various incarnations of the sun which were worshipped by the early historic nations and those belonging to Christianity is too striking to be the result of chance.
Buddha originally represented the sun in Taurus. Crishna was the sun in Aries. The laborings and sufferings of Hercules, a god who was an incarnation of the latter, portrays the history of the passage of the sun through the signs of the Zodiac.
All the principal events of Christ's life correspond to certain solar phases; or, in other words, all ecclesiastical calendars are arranged with reference to the festivals which commemorate the important events of his life from his conception and birth to his ascension and reception in heaven. Each and every one of the solar deities has been born at midnight, on the 25th of December, at the time when the sun has reached its lowest position and begins to ascend. Macrobius, a learned Roman writer, observes that the early historic nations "believed that the sun comes forth as a babe from its cradle at the winter solstice." Neith is made to say, "The sun is the fruit of my womb."
The 15th of August, assumption day, the time when Mary, the mother of Jesus, ascends to heaven is the day when the Zodiacal constellation Virgo, "the Greek Astrea, leaves the European horizon," and the "8th of September, when Virgo emerges from the sun's rays, is held sacred as the Nativity of the Queen of Heaven."
Of the mid-winter festival, Bede says: "The Pagans of these isles began their year on the eighth of the Kalends of January, which is now our Christmas Day. The night before that (24th Dec. eve) was called by them the Medre-Nak, or Night of Mothers, because of the ceremonies which were performed on that night."(132)
Among Christians as among Pagans the Christmas season was in honor of "returning light," the vernal equinox of "growing light" and St. John's day of "perfected light."
In England, among pagan Saxons, the midwinter festival lasted twelve days, during which time light, fire, the sun, huge stones and other similar manifestations of the Deity were adored. Christian and pagan alike worshipped these objects. They called Christmas "the birthday of the god who is light." The Savior, or the New Sun, was the true light which lighteth every man who cometh into the world. According to the testimony of various writers, the festival held by Christians on Christmas eve used to resemble the Feast of Lights, celebrated in Egypt in honor of Neith. The tokens distributed among friends were cakes made of paste in the form of babies. These cakes were called yuledows. Dow means to "grow bigger," or, "to increase."
The Kalends of January at Rome were sacred to Janus and Juno to whom sacrifices were offered. The Etruscans also worshipped Janus who was the god (or goddess) of the year. Although this Deity does not appear among the twelve gods it is said to be the parent of them all. It was represented as having two faces. Upon one were the letters representing 365, and upon the other were the keys of life and death. According to Bryant this Deity was called Junonius, from the goddess Juno, whose name resolves itself into Juneh, a dove. In the Hebrew this name is identical with Yoni or Yuni—the female principle. On the coins of this god (which was subsequently regarded as male) is usually figured a boat, although a dove with an olive branch is sometimes observed.(133)
Juno is thought to be the same as Jana, which came from Jah of the Hebrews. Diana was Diva Jana or "Dea Jana who is the same as Astarte or Ashtaroth of the Sidonians."
Regarding the transference of the mid-winter festival of the pagans to the Christian calendar, Forlong says:
"The early Christians undoubtedly selected this Roman Saturnalia as an important period in the life of Christ, at first calling it the time of his conception, and later of his birth, this last best suiting the views and feelings of their Solo-Christian flocks. The Jews called the day of the Winter Solstice The Fast of Tebet. The previous time was one of darkness, and on the 28th began their Feast of Lights."(134)
In France the ancient name for Christmas is Noel, a term which until recently has baffled all antiquarian research. It is now thought that it is formed from Nuadh and Vile which together mean All Heal.
Although every possible effort has been put forward to give to this date (the 25th of December) the appearance of authenticity as the birth of Christ, still, so far as I am able to find, no one accredited with any degree of trustworthiness has ever been rash enough to attempt its ratification as a matter of history.
Tylor calls attention to the fact that in the religious symbolism of the material and spiritual sun Augustine and Gregory of Nyssa discourse on the "growing light and dwindling darkness that follow the nativity," and cites the instance of Leo the Great who, in a sermon, rebukes the "pestiferous persuasion, that this solemn day is to be honored not for the birth of Christ, but for the rising of the New Sun."
On the authority of this same prelate it is found that in the fifth century, the faithful, before entering the Basilica of St. Peter, were wont to turn and salute the shining orb of day.
The Roman winter solstice which was connected with the worship of Mithra, and which was named the "Birthday of the Unconquered Om," was adopted by the western churches some time during the fourth century. From the west it passed to the eastern churches, where it finally became "the solemn anniversary of the birth of Christ."
In Ireland the ceremonies attending the mid-winter festival were formerly regarded as exceedingly important. A short time before the approach of the winter solstice, voices were heard throughout the island proclaiming: "The New Year is at hand! Gather the Mistletoe!" The mistletoe wreaths which formed the principal decorations of Venus' temple were at first proscribed by the Christian preachers, but, in process of time they not only found their way into the sanctuary, but were given a place over the altars, their final signification being "good will to men."(135)
Although the tokens of friendship which were distributed by the pagans at the season of the mid-winter festival differed somewhat from those which at the present time are exchanged among Christians at the same season of the year, still, there can be no doubt that the Christmas tree, loaded with gifts, is a remnant of that worship under which the sun was recognized as the source whence all blessings flow. Down to a late date, fire was a conspicuous element at the festival of the winter solstice. As the yule-log blazed upon the hearth, our ancestors set up huge stones and danced round them, thus worshipping the god of fertility.
On the 20th and 21st of March the sun illumines exactly half the earth. At this time the Day has conquered the Night. Light has dethroned Darkness, a complete victory has been gained over Typhon and the new god comes forth "with healing in his wings." On Lady's day, the 25th of March, the Virgin conceives. In Phoenicia numerous fetes were instituted to rejoice with Astarte in her conception. During the months preceding the birth of the young sun-god the Queen of Heaven receives marked homage.
In a former portion of this work we have observed that the festival which celebrated the return of spring was instituted by the inventors of the Neros thousands of years prior to the beginning of the Christian era, to celebrate the vernal equinox and to commemorate a return of Nature's bounties; but, after male reproductive power began to be regarded as the creator, when passion came to be considered as the moving force in the universe, and when the operations of Nature began to be typified by a dead man on a cross who was to rise again, Easter was celebrated in commemoration of a risen savior or sun-god.
The following is an account given in Ramsay's Travels of Cyrus, concerning the vernal equinox festivals in the East. When Cyrus entered the temples he found the public clad in mourning. In a cavern lay the image of a young man (the dying savior) on a bed of flowers and odoriferous herbs Nine days were spent in fasting, prayers, and lamentations, after which the public sorrow ceased and was changed into gladness. Songs of joy succeeded weeping (for Tamuz), the whole assembly singing hymns: "Adonis is returned to life, Urania weeps no more, he has ascended to heaven, he will soon return to earth and banish hence all crimes and miseries forever." This scene, it will be remembered, was presented 500 years prior to the birth of Christ. In Rome, throughout the months preceding the winter solstice, Hilaria or Ceres, was especially honored. Apollo and Diana rose on the 7th of the Julian April and on the 10th their religious festivals began.
On Easter morn, during the earlier ages of the church, the observances of Christians were exactly the same as were those of the so called pagans, all together hurried out long before the break of day that they might behold the sun ascend, or "dance" as they called it, for on this morning he was to "make the earth laugh and sing." Pagan and Christian alike greeted each other with the salutation "The Lord is risen," and the reply was "The Lord is risen indeed." On Easter morning the peasants of Saxony and Brandenburg still climb to the hilltops "to see the sun give his three joyful leaps."
In Buckland's Land and Water it is stated that on the first of May all the choristers of Magdalene College, Oxford, still meet on the summit of their tower, 150 feet high, and sing a Latin hymn as the sun rises, during which time ten bells are rung "to welcome the gracious Apollo." Formerly, high mass was celebrated here and early mass for Sol was held in the College chapel, but, as at the time of the Reformation this service was forbidden, "it has since been performed on the top of the tower." After the hymn is sung "boys blow loud blasts to Sol through bright new tin horns."
Perhaps none of the ideas which enter into present religious rites and ceremonies proclaims its eastern origin more forcibly than do those connected with the veneration of fire. The testimony of all writers upon this subject agrees that in Europe, down to a late date in the Christian era, fire was still adored, and in some mysterious manner was connected with the Creator.
Upon the subject of the continuation of sun and fire worship to modern times, it is stated that the ancient bonfires with which the North German hills used to be ablaze mile after mile are not altogether given up by local custom. In Ireland as late as the year 1829, the ancient Canaanitish and Jewish rite of passing children through fire as a cleansing or regenerating process was still in operation. It is related that at stated seasons great fires were lighted in public places, on which occasions, fathers, taking their children in their arms, would leap and run through the flames. At the same time, two large fires were kindled a short distance from each other through which the cattle were driven. It was believed that by means of this ceremony, fecundity is imparted both to man and beast. May, the month in which all Nature revives, and in which life starts anew, is the time selected for the lighting of those sacred fires. May is the month of the fires of Baal. According to Maurice in his work on the Antiquities of India, the festival and the May-pole of Great Britain are the remnants of a religious ceremony once common in Egypt, India, and Phoenicia, which nations all worshipping the same Deity, celebrated the entrance of the sun into the sign of Taurus at the vernal equinox, but which in consequence of the precession of the equinoxes is removed far in the year from its original situation. This festival is thought to be coeval with a time when the equinox actually took place at that time. It was formerly in honor of the goddess Bhavania, who, under various names, was once worshipped in every country of the globe. "She is identical with the Dea Syria of Chaldea, and the Venus Urania of Persia."
At the present time there is direct and indisputable evidence that sacred fires once flamed over the whole of Britain. A few days prior to Bealtine season, every flame was ordered extinguished, to be relighted on the first of May by holy fire drawn directly from the sun. Of fire-worship Toland observes:
"On May-day the Druids made prodigious fires on these cairns, which being every one in sight of some other could not but afford a glorious show over a whole nation. These fires were in honor of Beal, or Bealan, Latinized by the Roman writers into Belanus, by which name the Gauls and their colonies understood the sun, and therefore, to this hour, the first of May is, by the aboriginal Irish, called la Bealtine, or the day of Belan's fires. May-day is likewise called la Bealtine by the Highlanders of Scotland, who are no contemptible part of the Celtic offspring. So it is with the Isle of Man: and in Armorica a priest is called Belee, or the servant of Bel, and the priesthood Belegieth."(136)
Down to a comparatively recent time, in the British Isles, the youth of both sexes used to arise long before daybreak on May-day, and in large companies set out for the woods, there to gather flowers, boughs, and branches, which, on returning at night, were used to decorate their homes. This festival is said to be the most ancient of any known, and during the earlier and purer ages of human faith was celebrated in honor of returning spring. In later ages, however, after passion had become the only recognized god, May-day was celebrated with "all manner of obscenity and lewdness."
Although the uneducated masses among the Gauls worshipped Apollo, Mercury, and Mars without understanding their true significance, the Druids, who are thought to be Pythagorians, invoked one great power, the animating force which pervades the universe, the essence of which they believed resides in fire.
It is related that although after the introduction of Romish Christianity, May fires still continued to be lighted on Bealtine day, the more impressive ceremonies took place on the 23d of June, on the eve of the nativity of St. John. The early preachers, wishing to defer to the prejudices and usages of the people, "yet not so as to interfere with the celebration of Easter at the vernal equinox, retained the Bealtine ceremonial, only transferring it to the saint's day." Of these fire festivals and their adoption by the Christian church Tylor says:
"The solar Christmas festival has its pendant at mid-summer. The summer solstice was the great season of fire festivals throughout Europe on the heights, of dancing round and leaping through the fires, of sending blazing fire-wheels to roll down from the hills into the valleys, in sign of the sun's descending course. These ancient rites attached themselves in Christendom to St. John's Eve.
"It seems as though the same train of symbolism which had adapted the mid-winter festival to the Nativity, may have suggested the dedication of the mid-summer festival to John the Baptist, in clear allusion to his words 'He must increase but I must decrease.' "(137)
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)
Upon this subject Toland observes that he has seen the people of Ireland running and leaping through the St. John's fire proud of passing through it unsinged. Although ignorant of the origin of this ceremony, they nevertheless regarded it as some kind of a lustration 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)
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 god 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 Janus (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. Parnassus, 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 god, or goddess, 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 constitutes a prominent factor in the religious worship of India, Assyria, 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 God, 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)
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 assembly opened, the committee for the selection of a seal made a report recommending: That the general assembly 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 assembly, 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 assembly 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, encompassing the whole in a bordure, the following words, in full or in proper abbreviation thereof, 'The Seal of the General Assembly 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, constituted 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 sexual obligations.
In India, the religious rites performed upon the individual occur at birth or soon after; at betrothal, which takes place in childhood; at puberty; at marriage, and at death. The fact will be noticed that all sexual (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 assist 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 hell 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 petitions 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; God who sees, will avenge you." "He who looks too curiously on a woman, commits adultery with his eyes."(141)
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 sex-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 god-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)
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 masses 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 sex. 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 sex. 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)
Although the utmost care has been exercised to conceal the fact that women equally with men, performed the offices connected with the early church, yet by those who have paid attention to the true history of this movement, there can be no doubt about the matter. Notwithstanding the early tendencies of the "new religion" toward the recognition of women, and toward the restoration of the female principle in the Deity, the policy to be pursued by the church was soon apparent, for Paul, the real founder of the system calling itself Christian, and a man imbued with Asiatic prejudices concerning women, arrogantly declared that "man is the head of woman as Christ is the head of the Church." Women were commanded to be under obedience. Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man; thus was re-established and emphasized the absurd doctrine of the Lingaites, that the male is an independent entity, that he is spirit and superior to the female which is matter. After this indication of the policy to be pursued under the new regime, it would scarcely be expected that the efforts put forth by the various sects among the Gnostics to reinstate the female element either on the earth or in heaven would be successful, and as might be anticipated from the facts already adduced, as early as the year 325, at the council of Nice, a male trinity was formally established, and soon thereafter, the Collylidians, a sect which rigorously persisted in the adoration of the female principle, were condemned. At the council of Laodicea, A.D. 365, the 11th canon forbade the ordination of women for the ministry and the 44th canon prohibited them from entering the altar.
The devotees of female worship, although for a time silenced, were evidently not convinced, and to force their understanding into conformity with the newly established order, the Nestorians, in the year 430 A. D., reopened the old dispute, and formally denied to Mary the title of Mother of God. Their efforts, however, were of little avail, for in the year 451, at the council of Ephesus, the third general council, the decision of the Nestorians was reversed and the Virgin Mother reinstated. Upon this subject Barlow remarks: "Well might those who made this symbolical doctrine what it now is, at length desire to do tardy justice to the female element, by promoting the mother to the place once occupied by the Egyptian Neith, and crowning her Queen of Heaven."(145) The fact will doubtless be observed, however, that by the Romish Church the idea of the god-mother differs widely from the Queen of Heaven—the original God of the ancients. Mary the Mother of Jesus is not a Creator, but simply a mediator between her Son and His earthly devotees—a doctrine only a trifle less masculine in texture than that of an Almighty Father and his victimized son. The worship of Mary was adopted by the so-called Christians in response to a craving in the human heart for a recognition of those characters developed in mankind which may be said to contain the germ of the divine. The masculine god of the Jews was feared not loved, and his son had already been invested with his attributes. He was all powerful, hence a mediator, a mother, was necessary to intercede in behalf of fallen man, and this, too, notwithstanding the fact that woman had become the "cause of evil in the world."