By Mark Owen - © 2010
Chapter 23 - The cycle of belief
And like the baseless fabric of this vision,
The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces,
The solemn temples, the great globe itself,
Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve
And, like this insubstantial pageant faded,
Leave not a rack behind.
- Shakespeare: The Tempest
I have already drawn attention to the fact that all religions have evolved from pre-existent religions. Indeed, religion itself has evolved alongside the physical evolution of man. One can clearly see, when burial sites and other records are studied, that it appears highly probable that there was a blessed time in human experience when there was no religion, when the mind of emergent man was not clouded by belief in goblins and ghoulies.
But as we scan the centuries and millennia, we come to a time when the first wisps of the dark clouds of religious sentiment began to appear. The reason for this change? Who knows? We can only speculate. The insecurity of life on earth probably had much to do with it; still does. There is nothing like a bit of perceived insecurity to drive men and women into the arms of religion. Come war, natural disaster or personal grief, in they go. Whatever the reason, religion eventually emerged from the dim recesses of history and became a part of the human experience, a very important part to some.
Simple forms of worship evolved into more complex, ideas passed from one group of people to another, changing and evolving as they did. The new was ever being founded upon the old and if the new is carefully evaluated the old is usually revealed, hidden, changed, but still there. A perfect example is the Genesis Creation fable. The broad outlines of the story can easily be traced in earlier Babylonian and Sumerian records. Indeed, the origins of Hebrew religion can be traced back to many sources, including even strong influences from the Egyptians, so often presented as enemies of the Jews (too close for comfort?).
How the old emerges as the new is clearly evident in an aspect of Catholic worship. One of the greatest gods of the Rig-Veda (the ancient Hindu scriptures) is Agni (Ignis). This god is fire personified in all its forms in heaven and upon earth. In over two hundred hymns in the Rig-Veda, Agni is lauded. A curious link with water is also formed in these poetic outbursts. In the lightning breaking from the clouds in the rain-drenched sky Agni is born and reborn, descending to earth in the lightning-bolt. Here the natural forces of fire and rain and lightning, so awesome in their power and fury, can be seen playing a major role in the development of religious concepts.
Now a central feature of the Zoroastrian religion (the faith of Zarathustra) was the fire-shrine, in which a sacred fire was kept burning upon an altar, tended by the fire-priests. Early reliefs depict the king standing before the fire-altar under an open sky. The fire itself is fed with carefully selected wood. Modern Parsees, the inheritors of Zoroastrianism, use sandalwood, and services are held five times a day. The sacred fire was a gift from Ahura Mazda. It symbolized light and purity and was inherited from earlier Aryan religion. Thus, Zarathustra himself was said to be tending a fire-altar when he encountered Ahura Mazda. It is through this fire worship that we see one of the many strong links between the religion of India and that of Persia.
In the first chapter of the prophecies of Ezekiel we find the Prophet seeing visions of Yahweh. 'And I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself [RV marginal alternative: 'flashing continually'], and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire came four living creatures . . .' and 'as for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches; it went up and down among the living creatures: and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning . . . And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness of a man upon it above . . . I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him.' (Ezekiel 1:4-5,13,26,28).
The crazed visions of Ezekiel may have been drug-induced, as some believe, but the true origin of the basic imagery is clearly evident. Ezekiel prophesied a little after Zarathustra's time and the same influences that permeated all religion in that region would surely have been active in the Babylon of Ezekiel's exile. In the Eastern tradition the abode of Agni is also the sun, the great fire in the sky, and thus Agni is linked with a long line of solar deities stretching back through immemorial time. And he is born anew each day when he bursts forth from his hiding-place in the wood of the two fire-sticks that are rubbed together to kindle the sacred flame on the altar. Agni is, in fact, a kind of priest of the gods. He conveys in his flames and smoke the sacrificial offerings and worship of the people to the very seats of the divinities on high. Believers even looked upon their household fires as sacred. Agni is man's good friend, a guest in every home, driving away demons and bestowing prosperity and all material good.
And Agni's flame still lingers with us today as worshippers in the churches of Catholicism and Orthodoxy stare into the flickering flames of the votive candles. The Christian priests are all unwittingly participating still in the ancient rites that had their origins in the Aryan religion. Agni bore the prayers of the worshippers to the gods above. The flame of the candle, we are told, likewise bears aloft the hopes and prayers of the worshippers. But even Protestants do not entirely escape the long reach of the past. Agni is with them whenever they participate in the ceremony of 'Carols by Candlelight,' bearing aloft the sung prayers of the supplicants. And as I write these words there lies before me a newspaper. Blazoned across the front page is the headline: 'Candles lit for Port Arthur dead'. The report that follows describes how 'memorial candles will burn in private windows and churches throughout the country' on the anniversary of this tragedy and at Port Arthur 35 candles will be lit, one for each of those who died. Agni's hand is still reaching us down through the ages.
There were also Buddhist influences evident in the development of Christianity; indeed, this process went both ways and it is difficult at times to discern which faith originated which doctrine or practice. There were strong links between Greece, Persia and India around the era of the 6th century BCE and we find, for example, that in later Buddhist iconography there appears the nimbus or aureole, which seems to be derived from Persian sources and which was adopted by the Christians in representations of the saints. One incarnation of the Buddha was known as Amida or Amitabha, the God of Boundless Light. He has a strong following in China and Japan. Through the God of Boundless Light salvation comes by faith, the believer is 'born again,' as in the Christian doctrine. We see also Buddhist influences in teachings ascribed to Jesus, e.g. the Buddha's teaching: 'Hatred does not cease by hatred at any time; hatred ceases by love.' (Dhammapada 5) and: 'Let a man overcome anger by love, let him overcome evil by good. Let him overcome the greedy by liberality, the liar by truth.' (Dhammapada 223).
There is even a hint of Confucianism in the formation of Christianity. Christians are fond of quoting the so-called Golden Rule, an important guide to behaviour ascribed to Jesus. Note these words: 'Do to another what you would have him do to you, and do not do to another what you would not have him do to you. Thou needest this law alone. It is the foundation of all the rest.' The words of Jesus, in yet another translation? No, the words of Confucius, recorded around BCE 500. Probably even Confucius himself derived the basic thought from still earlier wise sayings.
Even the much-quoted 'Lord's Prayer' is not an original utterance of Jesus but was derived from an earlier source. Yet the Duke of Wellington, sadly misinformed, had the temerity to cite the Lord's Prayer as 'proof' of the divine origin of Christianity! The Duke was a great military man but as a theologian he was a dud! The so-called Lord's Prayer was not a distinct utterance of Jesus the Nazarene at all, although made out to be so by the dishonest New Testament writings. It is clearly derived from much earlier Jewish sources. Here is the original, known as the Kadesh:
Our Father which art in heaven, be gracious to us, O Lord, our God; hallowed by thy name, and let the remembrance of thee be glorified in heaven above and in the earth below. Let thy kingdom reign over us now and for ever. The holy men of old said, Remit and forgive unto all men whatsoever they have done against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil thing. For thine is the kingdom, and thou shalt reign in glory for ever and for evermore.
Interestingly, when the New Testament documents quoted this prayer as if it came from the Nazarene, the writers couldn't get it correct. Thus the version in the Gospel of Matthew is longer than the versions in Luke. But, strangest fact of all - this supposedly important utterance of Jesus does not appear at all in the other two Gospels! Incidentally, there are many more alleged utterances of Jesus that are mere repetitions of original Jewish texts. So much for this proof text of the divine origin of Christianity.
We can look at just about any aspect of Christian theology and find traces of earlier religious beliefs, going right back to the most primitive stirrings within early humans. I have already referred to the origins of both Christmas and Easter and drawn attention, for example, to the link between the Easter feast and primitive moon worship via the Jewish Passover. Doubtless the primary example of the old hidden in the new is the supposed sacrificial offering of Jesus, 'the Lamb', which is referred back to the animal sacrifices of the Jews. But animal sacrifice to appease the gods has a long history and other peoples engaged in such offerings long before the Jews did. And more, they engaged in human sacrifice. Even the Jews were not averse to this.
You might think I am referring to the offering up by Abraham of his beloved son Isaac. Ah, you say, but this was a mere test; Isaac was saved. But while the apologists for the faith love telling this story - over and over - they conveniently forget to mention another interesting story, that of Jephthah's daughter (Judges 11: 29-31 and 34-40), a clear case of human sacrifice among the Jews. Jephthah, under the influence of 'the spirit of the Lord [Yahweh]' vowed a vow. If he successfully won the pending battle against the Ammonites he promised, 'whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, it shall be the Lord's [Yahweh's], and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.' Jephthah won the battle and returned to be greeted by his daughter, 'his only child,' coming out of his house. Jephthah was devastated but kept his vow and offered his daughter as a burnt offering. There can be no doubt that this passage clearly indicates that Jephthah, unlike Abraham, whose son was spared, could not escape the deity's demand and that his virgin daughter was offered up on a sacrificial fire (verse 39). But this sacrificial demand should not surprise us. In the law as set down in Exodus 22: 29 provision was made for 'the firstborn of thy sons' to be given to Yahweh.' And this is not merely a symbolic 'giving', for the very next verse refers to the firstborn of sheep and oxen to be likewise 'given'; and it wasn't symbolic for the sheep and oxen, it was the real thing! Their blood was shed.
Thus this bloodthirsty sacrifice-seeking diety demanded what had been promised to him and, we are led to believe, it is this same bloodthirsty diety who stood by while Jesus, his son (so we are told) became a sacrificial offering to save the world. As if this were not a sufficiently gross record the church through the centuries has perpetuated the memory of the gruesome death of Jesus by symbolically distributing bread and wine - the 'body' and 'blood' of the Saviour - among the people. Indeed, the Catholic Church teaches the doctrine of transubstantiation, the notion that the bread and wine actually change into the body and blood of the Christ-god. Thus, effectively, the animal sacrifices of the Jews have come full circle to a bloody human sacrifice. What a bizarre belief! What a monstrous god!
