Part 1 (1/2)

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 hours of research this book may save the student in this particular line of study; with the consciousness of having done for others that which I would have been thankful to have found done for myself; and more than all, with the hope that it may in some way help to hasten the day when the mist of superst.i.tion shall be dispelled by the light of reason; with all its defects, it is most cheerfully committed to its fate by the author.

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.