Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions

Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions.

by T. W. Doane.

INTRODUCTION.

The idea of publis.h.i.+ng the work here presented did not suggest itself until a large portion of the material it contains had been acc.u.mulated for the private use and personal gratification of the author. In pursuing the study of the Bible Myths, facts pertaining thereto, in a condensed form, seemed to be greatly needed, and nowhere to be found.

Widely scattered through hundreds of ancient and modern volumes, most of the contents of this book may indeed be found; but any previous attempt to trace exclusively the myths and legends of the Old and New Testament to their origin, published as a separate work, is not known to the writer of this. Many able writers have shown our so-called Sacred Scriptures to be unhistorical, and have p.r.o.nounced them largely legendary, but have there left the matter, evidently aware of the great extent of the subject lying beyond. As Thomas Scott remarks, in his _English Life of Jesus_: "_How_ these narratives (_i. e._, the New Testament narratives), unhistorical as they have been shown to be, came into existence, _it is not our business to explain_; and once again, at the end of the task, as at the beginning and throughout, we must emphatically disclaim the obligation." To pursue the subject from the point at which it is abandoned by this and many other distinguished writers, has been the labor of the author of this volume for a number of years. The result of this labor is herewith submitted to the reader, but not without a painful consciousness of its many imperfections.

The work naturally begins with the Eden myth, and is followed by a consideration of the princ.i.p.al Old Testament legends, showing their universality, origin and meaning. Next will be found the account of the birth of Christ Jesus, with his history until the close of his life upon earth, showing, in connection therewith, the universality of the myth of the Virgin-born, Crucified and Resurrected Saviour.

Before showing the _origin_ and _meaning_ of the myth (which is done in Chapter x.x.xIX.), we have considered the _Miracles of Christ Jesus_, the _Eucharist_, _Baptism_, the _Wors.h.i.+p of the Virgin_, _Christian Symbols_, the _Birthday of Christ Jesus_, the _Doctrine of the Trinity_, _Why Christianity Prospered_, and the _Antiquity of Pagan Religions_, besides making a comparison of the legendary histories of _Crishna and Jesus_, and _Buddha and Jesus_. The concluding chapter relates to the question, What do we really know about Jesus?

In the words of Prof. Max Muller (_The Science of Religion_, p. 11): "A comparison of all the religions of the world, in which none can claim a privileged position, will no doubt seem to many dangerous and reprehensible, because ignoring that peculiar reverence which everybody, down to the mere fetish wors.h.i.+per, feels for his own religion, and for his own G.o.d. Let me say, then, at once, that I myself have shared these misgivings, but that I have tried to overcome them, because I would not and could not allow myself to surrender either what I hold to be the truth, or what I hold still dearer than truth, the right of testing truth. Nor do I regret it. I do not say that the _Science of Religion_ is all gain. No, it entails losses, and losses of many things which we hold dear. But this I will say, that, as far as my humble judgment goes, it does not entail the loss of anything that is essential to _true religion_, and that, if we strike the balance honestly, _the gain is immeasurably greater than the loss_."

"All truth is safe, and nothing else is safe; and he who keeps back the truth, or withholds it from men, from motives of expediency, is either a coward or a criminal, or both."

But little beyond the arrangement of this work is claimed as original.

Ideas, phrases, and even whole paragraphs have been taken from the writings of others, and in most, if not in all cases, acknowledged; but with the thought in mind of the many

BOSTON, Ma.s.s., _November, 1882_.

BIBLE MYTHS.

PART I.

THE OLD TESTAMENT.

CHAPTER I.

THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN.

The Old Testament commences with one of its most interesting myths, that of the Creation and Fall of Man. The story is to be found in the first _three_ chapters of Genesis, the substance of which is as follows:

After G.o.d created the "Heavens" and the "Earth," he said: "Let there be light, and there was light," and after calling the light Day, and the darkness Night, the _first_ day's work was ended.

G.o.d then made the "Firmament," which completed the _second_ day's work.

Then G.o.d caused the dry land to appear, which he called "Earth," and the waters he called "Seas." After this the earth was made to bring forth gra.s.s, trees, &c., which completed the _third_ day's work.

The next things G.o.d created were the "Sun,"[1:1] "Moon" and "Stars,"

and after he had _set them in the Firmament_, the _fourth_ day's work was ended.[2:1]

After these, G.o.d created great "whales," and other creatures which inhabit the water, also "winged fowls." This brought the _fifth_ day to a close.

The work of creation was finally completed on the _sixth_ day,[2:2] when G.o.d made "beasts" of every kind, "cattle," "creeping things," and lastly "man," whom he created "male and female," in his own image.[2:3]

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the _seventh_[2:4] day G.o.d ended his work which he had made: and he _rested_ on the seventh day, from all his work which he had made. And G.o.d blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it, because that in it he had _rested_ from all his work which G.o.d created and made."

After this information, which concludes at the _third_ verse of Genesis ii., strange though it may appear, _another_ account of the Creation commences, which is altogether different from the one we have just related. This account commences thus:

"These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day (not days) that the Lord G.o.d made the earth and the heavens."

It then goes on to say that "the Lord G.o.d formed man of the dust of the ground,"[2:5] which appears to be the _first_ thing he made. After planting a garden eastward in Eden,[2:6] the Lord G.o.d put the man therein, "and out of the ground made the Lord G.o.d to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the _Tree of Life_,[2:7] also in the midst of the garden, and the _Tree of Knowledge_ of good and evil. And a _river_ went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted, and became into _four_ heads." These _four rivers_ were called, first Pison, second Gihon, third Hiddekel, and the fourth Euphrates.[3:1]

After the "Lord G.o.d" had made the "Tree of Life," and the "Tree of Knowledge," he said unto the man:

"Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, _for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die_." Then the Lord G.o.d, thinking that it would not be well for man to live alone, formed--out of the ground--"every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."

After Adam had given names to "all cattle, and to the fowls of the air, and to every beast of the field," "the Lord G.o.d caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, and he (the Lord G.o.d) took one of his (Adam's) ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof."

"And of the rib, which the Lord G.o.d had taken from man, made he a _woman_, and brought her unto Adam." "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed."

After this everything is supposed to have gone harmoniously, until a _serpent_ appeared before the _woman_[3:2]--who was afterwards called Eve--and said to her:

"Hath G.o.d said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?"

The woman, answering the serpent, said:

"We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G.o.d hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, _lest ye die_."

Whereupon the serpent said to her:

"Ye shall _not_ surely die" (which, according to the narrative, was the truth).

He then told her that, upon eating the fruit, their eyes would be opened, and that they would be as _G.o.ds_, knowing good from evil.

The woman then looked upon the tree, and as the fruit was tempting, "she took of the fruit, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband, and he did eat." The result was _not_ death (as the Lord G.o.d had told them), but, as the serpent had said, "the eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked, and they _sewed_ fig leaves together, and made themselves ap.r.o.ns."

Towards evening (_i. e._, "in the cool of the day"), Adam and his wife "_heard_ the voice of the Lord G.o.d _walking_ in the garden," and being afraid, they hid themselves among the trees of the garden. The Lord G.o.d not finding Adam and his wife, said: "Where art thou?" Adam answering, said: "I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself."

The "Lord G.o.d" then told Adam that he had eaten of the tree which he had commanded him not to eat, whereupon Adam said: "The _woman_ whom thou gavest to be with me, _she_ gave me of the tree and I did eat."

When the "Lord G.o.d" spoke to the woman concerning her transgression, she blamed the _serpent_, which she said "beguiled" her. This sealed the serpent's fate, for the "Lord G.o.d" cursed him and said:

"Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and _dust_ shalt thou eat all the days of thy life."[4:1]

Unto the woman the "Lord G.o.d" said:

"I will greatly multiply thy sorrow, and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, _and he shall rule over thee_."