¹ The dawn of worship begins from the primitive level. Mankind moves from a state of society where stronger men or chiefs rule over the majority. They are regarded as little demi-gods. Earthly chiefs became princes and had to be flattered and appeased. They were as powerful as their shadows in the spirit land. Where is this spirit land? Where they the shadows, hiding in the dark forests out of sight? Were they underground in the mountains or up in the sky with the clouds, moon, stars or sun? This was the dawn of heaven and hell. Life became more complete what with having to earn the favour of the demi-gods in only the correct and most effective way. Their crops, life, livestock and success in hunting depend on their worship. A caste of experts offers their valuable consultant services. This was the dawn of priesthood. The existences of spirits are questioned to be replaced by the priests. They resort to invented reasons why sacrifices did not reward to further suggest mankind’s sins were in the way. This was the dawn of priest craft. Mankind’s mind continues to grow in speculation of things in motion questioning fire, rain, river flow, storms, thunder and women. Why were animals like the big cats, crocodiles, eagles and sharks powerful? Why did the corn and trees rise again every year? This was the dawn of fetishism and taboo. Greater sprits are reintroduced to explain the motions of the broad blue sky, earth, moon, rain, sun, thunder and the wind – all the great elements – must have mighty gods to work them. This was the dawn of polytheism. Kings are growing more powerful by war and annexation. The bigger they make their ruler the godlier they become. One god might take the place of ten. Rival priests would not sacrifice their gods instead they stirred up trouble between the faithful; to rebel and fight for them. Rivals were suppressed by a prince listening to their priest before a royal decree was issued, freezing them into a guilt of silence. It was the dawn of monotheism. As mankind’s mind grew larger and larger, society happened. Cities were built, books were written and questions were asked tracing the gods to gases, steam, vapours or even priests. Could they explain all of nature this way? That was two thousand years ago – the dawn of self-awareness or atheism. ²
Social conduct is important to propagation; so social law becomes a semi-sacred moral law. It evolves into a religious law dictated by the gods – through the priests. The priest said all the gods wanted was ceremony, sacrifice and proper support of the priests until they grow more powerful. Power makes them more leisured and better educated; to better control more of the daily life of ordinary mankind. The early history of religion is much the same but with differences of climate, economic conditions and location moving through polytheism, monotheism and towards atheism. Archeologists study religion as impartially as other scientists study stars or economic systems with great care. The supposed historical parts of the Chinese, the Hebrew, the Hindu and the Persian sacred writings uncover the material remains of old religious civilizations. The later and higher evolution of religion is much more interesting than the earlier. Instead of naive speculation about the universe, on the part of some profoundly ignorant race, a stream of human thought was dammed and diverted by priesthoods for an age that is until reformation poured in. The substitution of one god (monotheism) for many (polytheism) was natural and occurred before the first of the Hebrew prophets was born.³
Dawn of Chinese Civilization
Civilization appeared in the west of Asia about 2,700 BC with the Babylonian civilization. East Asia was influenced by the simple Mongolian tribes (Chukchees, Yukaghirs, Karyaks and Ainu) around or within the Chinese frontiers. Twenty-five hundred (2500) years ago, amidst decay and confusion, two Agnostic sages (Lao-tse and Kong-fu-tse) began reaching China with “Confucius” and “Taoism” (before it got mixed up with ritualistic Buddhism) an Agnostic code of morality – as high as any in the world. For two thousand years, it has been the standard of Chinese gentlemen but has never taken a religious format. Therefore, the conservative Asiatic mind reached religious evolution, both in China and India, over two thousand years before the Europeans of the Mediterranean even began to approach it. The dawn of the Agnostic moral culture shows the Chinese scholars reaching the last term of religious evolution, ages before any other body of educated people in the world. The Chinese language is unique in that it has no alphabetic letters. Each word is a separate character requiring several years of study learning the tens of thousands of characters. The bulk of the Chinese culture is therefore condemned by the very unique nature of its own language keeping it ignorant, isolated and in primitive superstition. ²
India’s Religion
The ancient literature of the Hindus, written in Sanskrit, enabled scholars to learn long ago they were related to the Mediterranean and Persians. Thirty-three hundred years ago a treaty was drawn up describing Hindu and Persian divinities separating; until the warriors saw the fertile plains of Hindustan. Their sacred books called the Vedas from 1000 BC, allowed the scholars to generalize a local religion based on Animism (nature worship) attributed to the Dravidian- Aryan, or the common fathers of the Celts, Greeks, Hindus, Persians, Romans, Slavs and Teutons. Tribes such as the Todas and Khasis numbered approximately ten million people, 216 million Hindus, 68 million Mohammedans, 11 million Buddhists, 3 million Sikhs, 1 million Jains, 3 million Christians, and small numbers of other religions. Seven centuries before Christ, the priests of the Hindu religion called themselves Brahmans. The supreme principle of Brahma is the religion of the educated Hindus today and is sold as a commodity at high profit in American markets as, “the Wisdom of the East.” The vast majority of India’s people are either unconcerned or incapable of understanding this new development. It is based on a phase of speculation or metaphysics of a crude nature spirit. Buddha (the enlightened) was originally called Gautama and was the son of chief or small prince, born about 560 BC. He wandered as a teacher gathering disciples diverting them away from religion. Buddha was like Kong-fu-tse, a pure humanitarian and Agnostic moralist referred to later as an Atheist. He rejected all religion, denied the existence of a soul but believed in reincarnation, acknowledged suffering as a way of life, marketed universal charity and kindness to all beings. These teachings, gave Buddha the highest note of ethics – five centuries before Christ. ²
Modern Asian Religion
Within the last century, the Chinese people were given an alphabet. A better understanding of their language improved their communication and learning beyond their borders. The Chinese learned to read in a few weeks. Great changes are expected. Japanese culture is borrowed from the Chinese Taoism and referred to as “Shintoism” within the ritualistic Buddhism. With eight million gods it is the old Mongolian nature and spirit worship. Educated Japanese use a moral standard of Confucianism – remaining Agnostic. The Japanese sacred book of “Bushido” is merely a collection of moral sentiments culled from many sources – including the Bible. The Japanese middle-class, after studying European religion, opted to stay with Buddhism. This is the dawn of the modern linking-up of the globe entirely altering the conditions of language and religious isolation²
Sources:
¹ British Fantasy Pics
² “The World’s Great Religions” by J. McCabe, 1926.
³ “The Pocket Essential of Ancient Greece ” by M. Paine, 2002
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