pagan and christian creeds-第34章

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；　〃As　in　Adam　all　die；　so　in　Christ　shall　all　be　made　alive〃；　and　whereas　some　at　any　rate　of　the　Pagan　cults　had　taught　a　glorious　salvation　by　the　new　birth　of　a　divine　being　within　each　man：　〃Be　of　good　cheer；　O　initiates　in　the　mystery　of　the　liberated　god；　For　to　you　too　out　of　all　your　labors　and　sorrows　shall　come　Liberation〃the　Nicene　creed　had　nothing　to　propound　except　some　extremely　futile　speculations　about　the　relation　to　each　other　of　the　Father　and　the　Son；　and　the　relation　of　BOTH　to　the　Holy　Ghost；　and　of　all　THREE　to　the　Virgin　Maryspeculations　which　only　served　for　the　renewal　of　shameful　strife　and　animositiesriots　and　bloodshed　and　murderwithin　the　Church；　and　the　mockery　of　the　heathen　without。　And　as　far　as　it　dealt　with　the　crucifixion；　death　and　resurrection　of　the　Lord　it　did　not　differ　from　the　score　of　preceding　pagan　creeds；　except　in　the　thorough　materialism　and　lack　of　poetry　in　statement　which　it　exhibits。　After　the　Council　of　Nicaea；　in　fact；　the　Judaic　tinge　in　the　doctrines　of　the　Church　becomes　more　apparent；　and　more　and　more　its　Scheme　of　Salvation　through　Christ　takes　the　character　of　a　rather　sordid　and　huckstering　bargain　by　which　Man　gets　the　better　of　God　by　persuading　the　latter　to　sacrifice　his　own　Son　for　the　redemption　of　the　world！　With　the　exception　of　a　few　episodes　like　the　formation　during　the　Middle　Ages　of　the　noble　brotherhoods　and　sisterhoods　of　Frairs　and　Nuns；　dedicated　to　the　help　and　healing　of　suffering　humanity；　and　the　appearance　of　a　few　real　lovers　of　mankind　（and　the　animals）　like　St。　Francis（and　these　manifestations　can　hardly　be　claimed　by　the　Church；　which　pretty　consistently　opposed　them）it　may　be　said　that　after　about　the　fourth　century　the　real　spirit　and　light　of　early　Christian　enthusiasm　died　away。　The　incursions　of　barbarian　tribes　from　the　North　and　East；　and　later　of　Moors　and　Arabs　from　the　South；　familiarized　the　European　peoples　with　the　ideas　of　bloodshed　and　violence；　gross　and　material　conceptions　of　life　were　in　the　ascendant；　and　a　romantic　and　aspiring　Christianity　gave　place　to　a　worldly　and　vulgar　Churchianity。

＇1＇　When　travelling　in　India　I　found　that　the　Gnanis　or　Wise　Men　there　quite　commonly　maintained　that　Jesus　（judging　from　his　teaching）　must　have　been　initiated　at　some　time　in　the　esoteric　doctrines　of　the　Vedanta。


I　have　in　these　two　or　three　pages　dealt　onlyand　that　very　brieflywith　the　entry　of　the　pagan　doctrine　of　the　Savior　into　the　Christian　field；　showing　its　transformation　there　and　how　Christianity　could　not　well　escape　having　a　doctrine　of　a　Savior；　or　avoid　giving　a　color　of　its　own　to　that　doctrine。　To　follow　out　the　same　course　with　other　doctrines；　like　those　which　I　have　mentioned　above；　would　obviously　be　an　endless　taskwhich　must　be　left　to　each　student　or　reader　to　pursue　according　to　his　opportunity　and　capacity。　It　is　clear　anyhow；　that　all　these　elements　of　the　pagan　religionspouring　down　into　the　vast　reservoir；　or　rather　whirlpool；　of　the　Roman　Empire；　and　mixing　among　all　these　numerous　brotherhoods；　societies；　collegia；　mystery…clubs；　and　groups　which　were　at　that　time　looking　out　intently　for　some　new　revelation　or　inspiration　did　more　or　less　automatically　act　and　react　upon　each　other；　and　by　the　general　conditions　prevailing　were　modified；　till　they　ultimately　combined　and　took　united　shape　in　the　movement　which　we　call　Christianity；　but　which　onlyas　I　have　saidnarrowly　escaped　being　called　Mithraismso　nearly　related　and　closely　allied　were　these　cults　with　each　other。


At　this　point　it　will　naturally　be　asked：　〃And　where　in　this　scheme　of　the　Genesis　of　Christianity　is　the　chief　figure　and　accredited　leader　of　the　movementnamely　Jesus　Christ　himselffor　to　all　appearance　in　the　account　here　given　of　the　matter　he　is　practically　non…existent　or　a　negligible　quantity？〃　And　the　question　is　a　very　pertinent　one；　and　very　difficult　to　answer。　〃Where　is　the　founder　of　the　Religion？〃or　to　put　it　in　another　form：　〃Is　it　necessary　to　suppose　a　human　and　visible　Founder　at　all？〃　A　few　years　ago　such　a　mere　question　would　have　been　accounted　rank　blasphemy；　and　would　only　if　passed　overhave　been　ignored　on　account　of　its　supposed　absurdity。　To…day；　however；　owing　to　the　enormous　amount　of　work　which　has　been　done　of　late　on　the　subject　of　Christian　origins；　the　question　takes　on　quite　a　different　complexion。　And　from　Strauss　onwards　a　growingly　influential　and　learned　body　of　critics　is　inclined　to　regard　the　whole　story　of　the　Gospels　as　LEGENDARY。　Arthur　Drews；　for　instance；　a　professor　at　Karlsruhe；　in　his　celebrated　book　The　Christ…Myth；＇1＇　places　David　F。　Strauss　as　first　in　the　myth　fieldthough　he　allows　that　Dupuis　in　L'origine　de　tous　les　cultes　（1795）　had　given　the　clue　to　the　whole　idea。　He　then　mentions　Bruno　Bauer　（1877）　as　contending　that　Jesus　was　a　pure　invention　of　Mark's；　and　John　M。　Robertson　as　having　in　his　Christianity　and　Mythology　（1900）　given　the　first　thoroughly　reasoned　exposition　of　the　legendary　theory；　also　Emilio　Bossi　in　Italy；　who　wrote　Jesu　Christo　non　e　mai　esistito；　and　similar　authors　in　Holland；　Poland；　and　other　countries；　including　W。　Benjamin　Smith；　the　American　author　of　The　Pre…christian　Jesus　（1906）；　and　P。　Jensen　in　Das　Gilgamesch　Epos　in　den　Welt…literatur　（1906）；　who　makes　the　Jesus…story　a　variant　of　the　Babylonian　epic；　2000　B。C。　A　pretty　strong　list！＇2＇　〃But；〃　continues　Drews；　〃ordinary　historians　still　ignore　all　this。〃　Finally；　he　dismisses　Jesus　as　〃a　figure　swimming　obscurely　in　the　mists　of　tradition。〃　Nevertheless　I　need　hardly　remark　that；　large　and　learned　as　the　body　of　opinion　here　represented　is；　a　still　larger　（but　less　learned）　body　fights　desperately　for　the　actual　HISTORICITY　of　Jesus；　and　some　even　still　for　the　old　view　of　him　as　a　quite　unique　and　miraculous　revelation　of　Godhood　on　earth。

＇1＇　Die　Christus…mythe：　verbesserte　und　erweitezte　Ausgabe；　Jena；　1910。

＇2＇　To　which　we　may　also　add　Schweitzer's　Quest　of　the　historical　Jesus　（1910）。


At　first；　no　doubt；　the　LEGENDARY　theory　seems　a　little　TOO　far…fetched。　There　is　a　fashion　in　all　these　things；　and　it　MAY　be　that　there　is　a　fashion　even　here。　But　when　you　reflect　how　rapidly　legends　grow　up　even　in　these　days　of　exact　Science　and　an　omniscient　Press；　how　the　figure　of　Shakespeare；　dead　only　300　years；　is　almost　completely　lost　in　the　mist　of　Time；　and　even　the　authenticity　of　his　works　has　become　a　subject　of　controversy；　when　you　find　that　William　Tell；　supposed　to　have　lived　some　300　years　again　before　Shakespeare；　and　whose　deeds　in　minutest　detail　have　been　recited　and　honored　all　over　Europe；　is　almost　certainly　a　pure　invention；　and　never　existed；　when　you　rememberas　mentioned　earlier　in　this　book＇1＇that　it　was　more　than　five　hundred　years　after　the　supposed　birth　of　Jesus　before　any　serious　effort　was　made　to　establish　the　date　of　that　birthand　that　then　a　purely　mythical　date　was　chosen：　the　25th　December；　the　day　of　the　SUN'S　new　birth　after　the　winter　solstice；　and　the　time　of　the　supposed　birth　of　Apollo；　Bacchus；　and　the　other　Sungods；　when；　moreover；　you　think　for　a　moment　what　the　state　of　historical　criticism　must　have　been；　and　the　general　standard　of　credibility；　1；900　years　ago；　in　a　country　like　Syria；　and　among　an　ignorant　population；　where　any　story　circulating　from　lip　to　lip　was　assured　of　credence　if　sufficiently　marvelous　or　imaginative；why；　then　the　legendary　theory　does　not　seem　so　improbable。　There　is　no　doubt　that　after　the　destruction　of　Jerusalem　（in　A。D。　70）；　little　groups　of　believers　in　a　redeeming　'Christ'　were　formed　there　and　in　other　places；　just　as　there　had　certainly　existed；　in　the　first　century　B。C。；　groups　of　Gnostics；　Therapeutae；　Essenes　and　others　whose　teachings　were　very　SIMILAR　to　the　Christian；　and　there　was　now　a　demand　from　many　of　these　groups　for　'writings'　and　'histories'　which　should　hearten　and　confirm　the　young　and　growing　Churches。　The　Gospels　and　Epistles；　of　which　there　are　still　extant　a　great　abundance；　both　apocryphal　and　canonical；　met　this　demand；　but　how　far　their　records　of　the　person　of　Jesus　of　Nazareth　are　reliable　history；　or　how　far　they　are　merely　imaginative　pictures　of　the　kind　of　man　the　Saviour　might　be　expected　to　be；＇2＇　is　a　question　which；　as　I　have　already　said；　is　a　difficult　one　for　skilled　critics　to　answer；　and　one　on　which　I　certainly　have　no　intention　of　giving　a　positive　verdict。　Personally　I　must　say　I　think　the　'legendary'　solution　quite　likely；　and　in　some　ways　more　satisfactory　than　the　opposite　onefor　the　simple　reason　that　it　seems　much　more　encouraging　to　suppose　that　the　story　of　Jesus；　（gracious　and　beautiful　as　it　is）　is　a　myth　which　gradually　formed　itself　in　the　conscience　of　mankind；　and　thus　points　the　way　of　humanity's　future　evolution；　than　to　suppose　it　to　be　the　mere　record　of　an　unique　and　miraculous　interposition　of　Providence；　which　depended　entirely　on　the　powers　above；　and　could　hardly　be　expected　to　occur　again。

＇1＇　Ch。　II。

＇2＇　One　of　Celsus'　accusations　against　the　Christians　was　that　their　Gospels　had　been　written　〃several　times　over〃　（see　Origen；　Contra　Celsum；　ii。　26；　27）。


However；　the　question　is　not　what　we　desire；　but　what　we　can　prove　to　be　the　actual　fact。　And　certainly　the　difficulties　in　the　way　of　regarding　the　Gospel　story　（or　stories；　for　there　is　not　one　consistent　story）　as　TRUE　are　enormous。　If　anyone　will　read；　for　instance；　in　the　four　Gospels；　the　events　of　the　night　preceding　the　crucifixion　and　reckon　the　time　which　they　would　necessarily　have　taken　to　enact　the　Last　Supper；　the　agony　in　the　Garden；　the　betrayal　by　Judas；　the　haling　before　Caiaphas　and　the　Sanhedrin；　and　then　before　Pilate　in　the　Hall　of　judgment　（though　courts　for　the　trial　of　malefactors　do　not　GENERALLY　sit　in　the　middle　of　the　night）；　thenin　Lukethe　interposed　visit　to　Herod；　and　the　RETURN　to　Pilate；　Pilate's　speeches　and　washing　of　hands　before　the　crowd；　then　the　scourging　and　the　mocking　and　the　arraying　of　Jesus　in　purple　robe　as　a　king；　then　the　preparation　of　a　Cross　and　the　long　and　painful　journey　to　Golgotha；　and　finally　the　Crucifixion　at　sunrise；he　will　seeas　has　often　been　pointed　out　that　the　whole　story　is　physically　impossible。　As　a　record　of　actual　events　the　story　is　impossible；　but　as　a　record　or　series　of　notes　derived　from　the　witnessing　of　a　〃mystery…　play〃and　such　plays　with　VERY　SIMILAR　incidents　were　common　enough　in　antiquity　in　connection　with　cults　of　a　dying　Savior；　it　very　likely　IS　true　（one　can　see　the　very　dramatic　character　of　the　incidents：　the　washing　of　hands；　the　threefold　denial　by　Peter；　the　purple　robe　and　crown　of　thorns；　and　so　forth）；　and　as　such　it　is　now　accepted　by　many　well…qualified　authorities。＇1＇

＇1＇　Dr。　Frazer　in　The　Golden　Bough　（vol。　ix；　〃The　Scapegoat；〃　p。　400）　speaks　of　the　frequency　in　antiquity　of　a　Mystery…play　relating　to　a　God…man　who　gives　his　life　and　blood　for　the　people；　and　he　puts　forward　tentatively　and　by　no　means　dogmatically　the　following　note：〃Such　a　drama；　if　we　are　right；　was　the　original　story　of　Esther　and　Mordecai；　or　（to　give　their　older　names）　Ishtar　and　Marduk。　It　was　played　in　Babylonia；　and　from　Babylonia　the　returning　Captives　brought　it　to　Judaea；　where　it　was　acted；　rather　as　an　historical