Chapter XII: The Miraculous Birth of Christ Jesus (1)

According to the dogma of the deity of Jesus, he who is said to have lived on earth some eighteen centuries ago, as _Jesus of Nazareth_, is second of the three persons in the Trinity, the SON, God as absolutely as the Father and the Holy Spirit, except as eternally deriving his existence from the Father. What, however, especially characterizes the Son, and distinguishes him from the two other persons united with him in the unity of the Deity, is this, that the Son, at a given moment of time, became incarnate, and that, without losing anything of his divine nature, he thus became possessed of a complete human nature; so that he is at the same time, without injury to the unity of his person, "_truly man and truly God_."

The story of the miraculous birth of Jesus is told by the _Matthew_ narrator as follows:[111:1]

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his
mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together,
she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her
husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a
public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while
he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of
David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall
bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he
shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the
prophet, saying: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name
Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."[111:2]

A Deliverer was hoped for, expected, prophesied, in the time of Jewish misery[112:1] (and _Cyrus_ was perhaps the first referred to); but as no one appeared who did what the Messiah, according to prophecy, should do, they went on degrading each successive conqueror and hero from the Messianic dignity, and are still expecting the true Deliverer. Hebrew and Christian divines both start from the same assumed unproven premises, viz.: that a Messiah, having been foretold, must appear; but there they diverge, and the Jews show themselves to be the sounder logicians of the two: the Christians assuming that Jesus was the Messiah _intended_ (though not the one _expected_), wrest the obvious meaning of the prophecies to show that they were fulfilled in him; while the Jews, assuming the obvious meaning of the prophecies to be their real meaning, argue that they were not fulfilled in Christ Jesus, and therefore that the Messiah is yet to come.

We shall now see, in the words of Bishop Hawes: "that God should, in some extraordinary manner, visit and dwell with man, is an idea which, as we read the writings of the _ancient Heathens_, meets us in a thousand different forms."

Immaculate conceptions and celestial descents were so currently received among the ancients, that whoever had greatly distinguished himself in the affairs of men was thought to be of supernatural lineage. Gods descended from heaven and were made incarnate in men, and men ascended from earth, and took their seat among the gods, so that these incarnations and apotheosises were fast filling Olympus with divinities.

In our inquiries on this subject we shall turn first to _Asia_, where, as the learned Thomas Maurice remarks in his _Indian Antiquities_, "in every age, and in almost every region of the Asiatic world, there seems uniformly to have flourished an immemorial tradition that one god had, from all eternity, _begotten another god_."[112:2]

In India, there have been several _Avatars_, or incarnations of Vishnu,[112:3] the most important of which is _Heri Crishna_,[112:4] or _Crishna the Saviour_.

In the _Maha-bharata_, an Indian epic poem, written about the sixth century B. C., Crishna is associated or identified with Vishnu the Preserving god or Saviour.[113:1]

Sir William Jones, first President of the Royal Asiatic Society, instituted in Bengal, says of him:

"Crishna continues to this hour the darling god of the Indian
woman. The sect of Hindoos who adore him with enthusiastic,
and almost exclusive devotion, have broached a doctrine, which
they maintain with eagerness, and which seems general in these
provinces, that he was distinct from all the _Avatars_
(incarnations) who had only an _ansa_, or a portion, of his
(_Vishnu's_) divinity, _while Crishna was the person of Vishnu
himself in human form_."[113:2]

The Rev. D. O. Allen, Missionary of the American Board, for twenty-five years in India, speaking of Crishna, says:

"He was greater than, and distinct from, all the _Avatars_
which had only a portion of the divinity in them, while he was
the very person of Vishnu himself in human form."[113:3]

Thomas Maurice, in speaking of _Mathura_, says:

"It is particularly celebrated for having been the birth-place
of _Crishna_, who is esteemed in India, not so much an
incarnation of the divine Vishnu, _as the deity himself in
human form_."[113:4]

Again, in his "_History of Hindostan_," he says:

"It appears to me that the Hindoos, idolizing some eminent
character of antiquity, distinguished, in the early annals of
their nation, by heroic fortitude and exalted piety, have
applied to that character those ancient traditional accounts
of an _incarnate God_, or, as they not improperly term it, an
_Avatar_, which had been delivered down to them from their
ancestors, the virtuous Noachidæ, to descend amidst the
darkness and ignorance of succeeding ages, at once to reform
and instruct mankind. We have the more solid reason to affirm
this of the Avatar of Crishna, because it is allowed to be the
most illustrious of them all; since we have learned, that, in
the _seven_ preceding Avatars, the deity brought only an
_ansa_, or portion of his divinity; but, in the _eighth_, he
descended in all the plentitude of the Godhead, _and was
Vishnu himself in a human form_."[113:5]

Crishna was born of a chaste virgin,[113:6] called _Devaki_, who, on account of her purity, was selected to become the "_mother of God_."

According to the "BHAGAVAT POORAUN," _Vishnu_ said:

"I will become incarnate at Mathura in the house of _Yadu_,
and will issue forth to mortal birth from the womb of
Devaki. . . . It is time I should display my power, and
relieve the oppressed earth from its load."[114:1]

Then a chorus of angels exclaimed:

"In the delivery of this favored woman, all nature shall have
cause to exult."[114:2]

In the sacred book of the Hindoos, called "_Vishnu Purana_," we read as follows:

"Eulogized by the gods, Devaki bore in her womb the lotus-eyed
deity, the protector of the world. . . .

"No person could bear to gaze upon Devaki, from the light that
invested her, and those who contemplated her radiance felt
their minds disturbed. The gods, invisible to mortals,
celebrated her praises continually from the time that _Vishnu_
was contained in her person."[114:3]

Again we read:

"The divine _Vishnu himself_, the root of the vast universal
tree, inscrutable by the understandings of all gods, demons,
sages, and men, past, present, or to come, adored by Brahma
and all the deities, he who is without beginning, middle, or
end, being moved to relieve the earth of her load, descended
into the womb of Devaki, and was born as her son, Vasudeva,"
_i. e._, _Crishna_.[114:4]

Again:

"Crishna is the very _Supreme Brahma_, though it be a
_mystery_[114:5] how the Supreme _should assume the form of a
man_."[114:6]

The Hindoo belief in a divine incarnation has at least, above many others, its logical side of conceiving that God manifests himself on earth whenever the weakness or the errors of humanity render his presence necessary. We find this idea expressed in one of their sacred books called the "_Bhágavat Geeta_," wherein it says:

"I (the Supreme One said), I am made evident by my own power,
and as often as there is a decline of virtue, and an
insurrection of vice and injustice in the world, I make myself
evident, _and thus I appear from age to age_, for the
preservation of the just, the destruction of the wicked, and
the establishment of virtue."[114:7]

Crishna is recorded in the "_Bhágavat Geeta_" as saying to his beloved disciple Arjouna:

"He, O Arjoun, who, from conviction, acknowledgeth my _divine
birth_ (upon quitting his mortal form), entereth into
me."[115:1]

Again, he says:

"The foolish, being _unacquainted with my supreme and divine
nature, as Lord of all things_, despise me in this _human
form_, trusting to the evil, diabolic, and deceitful principle
within them. They are of vain hope, of vain endeavors, of vain
wisdom, and void of reason; whilst men of great minds,
trusting to their divine natures, _discover that I am before
all things and incorruptible_, and serve me with their hearts
undiverted by other gods."[115:2]

The next in importance among the _God-begotten_ and _Virgin-born_ Saviours of India, is _Buddha_[115:3] who was born of the Virgin Maya or Mary. He in mercy left Paradise, and came down to earth because he was filled with compassion for the sins and miseries of mankind. He sought to lead them into better paths, and took their sufferings upon himself, that he might expiate their crimes, and mitigate the punishment they must otherwise inevitably undergo.[115:4]

According to the _Fo-pen-hing_,[115:5] when Buddha was about to descend from heaven, to be born into the world, the angels in heaven, calling to the inhabitants of the earth, said:

"Ye mortals! adorn your earth! for Bôdhisatwa, the great
Mahâsatwa, not long hence shall descend from Tusita to be born
amongst you! make ready and prepare! Buddha is about to
descend and be born!"[115:6]

The womb that bears a Buddha is like a casket in which a relic is placed; no other being can be conceived in the same receptacle; the usual secretions are not formed; and from the time of conception, Maha-maya was free from passion, and lived in the strictest continence.[115:7]

The resemblance between this legend and the doctrine of the _perpetual virginity_ of Mary the mother of Jesus, cannot but be remarked. The opinion that she had ever borne other children was called heresy by Epiphanius and Jerome, long before she had been exalted to the station of supremacy she now occupies.[115:8]

M. l'Abbé Huc, a French Missionary, in speaking of Buddha, says:

"In the eyes of the Buddhists, this personage is sometimes a
man and sometimes a god, or rather both one and the other, _a
divine incarnation_, _a man-god_; who came into the world to
enlighten men, to redeem them, and to indicate to them the way
of safety.

"This idea of redemption by a _divine incarnation_ is so
general and popular among the Buddhists, that during our
travels in Upper Asia, we everywhere found it expressed in a
neat formula. If we addressed to a Mongol or a Thibetan the
question, 'Who is Buddha?' he would immediately reply: '_The
Saviour of Men._'"[116:1]

He further says:

"The miraculous birth of Buddha, his life and instructions,
contain a great number of the moral and dogmatic truths
professed in Christianity."[116:2]

This Angel-Messiah was regarded as the divinely chosen and incarnate messenger, the vicar of God. He is addressed as "God of Gods," "Father of the World," "Almighty and All-knowing Ruler," and "Redeemer of All."[116:3] He is called also "The Holy One," "The Author of Happiness," "The Lord," "The Possessor of All," "He who is Omnipotent and Everlastingly to be Contemplated," "The Supreme Being, the Eternal One," "The Divinity worthy to be Adored by the most praiseworthy of Mankind."[116:4] He is addressed by Amora--one of his followers--thus:

"Reverence be unto thee in the form of Buddha! Reverence be
unto thee, the Lord of the Earth! Reverence be unto thee, an
incarnation of the Deity! Of the Eternal One! Reverence be
unto thee, O God, in the form of the God of Mercy; the
dispeller of pain and trouble, the Lord of all things, the
deity, the guardian of the universe, the emblem of
mercy."[116:5]

The incarnation of Gautama Buddha is recorded to have been brought about by the descent of the divine power called The "_Holy Ghost_" upon the Virgin _Maya_.[116:6] This Holy Ghost, or Spirit, descended in the form of a _white elephant_. The _Tikas_ explain this as indicating power and wisdom.[117:1]

The incarnation of the angel destined to become Buddha took place in a spiritual manner. The Elephant is the symbol of power and wisdom; and Buddha was considered the organ of divine power and wisdom, as he is called in the Tikas. For these reasons Buddha is described by Buddhistic legends as having descended from heaven in the form of an Elephant to the place where the Virgin Maya was. But according to Chinese Buddhistic writings, it was the Holy Ghost, or _Shing-Shin_, who descended on the Virgin Maya.[117:2]

The _Fo-pen-hing_ says:

"If a mother, in her dream, behold
A white elephant enter her right side,
That mother, when she bears a son,
Shall bear one chief of all the world (Buddha);
Able to profit all flesh;
Equally poised between preference and dislike;
Able to save and deliver the world and men
From the deep sea of misery and grief."[117:3]

In Prof. Fergusson's "_Tree and Serpent Worship_" may be seen (Plate xxxiii.) a representation of Maya, the mother of Buddha, asleep, and dreaming that a white elephant appeared to her, and entered her womb.

This dream being interpreted by the Brahmans learned in the _Rig Veda_, was considered as announcing the incarnation of him who was to be in future the deliverer of mankind from pain and sorrow. It is, in fact, the form which the Annunciation took in Buddhist legends.[117:4]

"----Awaked,
Bliss beyond mortal mother's filled her breast,
And over half the earth a lovely light
Forewent the morn. The strong hills shook; the waves
Sank lulled; all flowers that blow by day came forth
As 'twere high noon; down to the farthest hells
Passed the Queen's joy, as when warm sunshine thrills
Wood-glooms to gold, and into all the deeps
A tender whisper pierced. 'Oh ye,' it said,
'The dead that are to live, the live who die,
Uprise, and hear, and hope! Buddha is come!'
Whereat in Limbos numberless much peace
Spread, and the world's heart throbbed, and a wind blew
With unknown freshness over land and seas.
And when the morning dawned, and this was told,
The grey dream-readers said, 'The dream is good!
The Crab is in conjunction with the Sun;
The Queen shall bear a boy, a holy child
Of wondrous wisdom, profiting all flesh,
Who shall deliver men from ignorance,
Or rule the world, if he will deign to rule.'
In this wise was the holy Buddha born."

In Fig. 4, Plate xci., the same subject is also illustrated. Prof. Fergusson, referring to it, says:

"Fig. 4 is another edition of a legend more frequently
repeated than almost any other in Buddhist Scriptures. It was,
with their artists, as great a favorite as the Annunciation
and Nativity were with Christian painters."[118:1]

When Buddha _avatar_ descended from the regions of the souls, and entered the body of the Virgin Maya, her womb suddenly assumed the appearance of clear, transparent crystal, in which Buddha appeared, beautiful as a flower, kneeling and reclining on his hands.[118:2]

Buddha's representative on earth is the _Dalai Lama_, or _Grand Lama_, the High Priest of the Tartars. He is regarded as the vicegerent of God, with power to dispense divine blessings on whomsoever he will, and is considered among the Buddhists to be a sort of divine being. He is the Pope of Buddhism.[118:3]

The _Siamese_ had a Virgin-born God and Saviour whom they called _Codom_. His mother, a beautiful young virgin, being inspired from heaven, quitted the society of men and wandered into the most unfrequented parts of a great forest, there to await the coming of a god which had long been announced to mankind. While she was one day prostrate in prayer, she was _impregnated by the sunbeams_. She thereupon retired to the borders of a lake, between Siam and Cambodia, where she was delivered of a "_heavenly boy_," which she placed within the folds of a _lotus_, that opened to receive him. When the boy grew up, he became a prodigy of wisdom, performed miracles, &c.[118:4]

The first Europeans who visited Cape Comorin, the most southerly extremity of the peninsula of Hindostan, were surprised to find the inhabitants worshiping a Lord and Saviour whom they called _Salivahana_. They related that his father's name was Taishaca, but that he was _a divine child horn of a Virgin_, in fact, an incarnation of the Supreme _Vishnu_.[119:1]

The belief in a virgin-born god-man is found in the religions of China. As Sir John Francis Davis remarks,[119:2] "China has her mythology in common with all other nations, and under this head we must range the persons styled _Fo-hi_ (or Fuh-he), _Shin-noong_, _Hoang-ty_ and their immediate successors, who, like the demi gods and heroes of Grecian fable, rescued mankind by their ability or enterprise from the most primitive barbarism, and have since been invested with _superhuman_ attributes. The most extravagant prodigies are related of these persons, and the most incongruous qualities attributed to them."

Dean Milman, in his "History of Christianity" (Vol. i. p. 97), refers to the tradition, found among the Chinese, that _Fo-hi_ was born of a virgin; and remarks that, the first Jesuit missionaries who went to China were appalled at finding, in the mythology of that country, a counterpart of the story of the virgin of Judea.

Fo-hi is said to have been born 3463 years B. C., and, according to some Chinese writers, with him begins the historical era and the foundation of the empire. When his mother conceived him in her womb, a rainbow was seen to surround her.[119:3]

The Chinese traditions concerning the birth of Fo-hi are, some of them, highly poetical. That which has received the widest acceptance is as follows:

"Three nymphs came down from heaven to wash themselves in a
river; but scarce had they got there before the herb _lotus_
appeared on one of their garments, with its coral fruit upon
it. They could not imagine whence it proceeded, and one was
tempted to taste it, whereby she became pregnant and was
delivered of a boy, who afterwards became a great man, a
founder of religion, a conqueror, and legislator."[119:4]

The sect of _Xaca_, which is evidently a corruption of Buddhism, claim that their master was also of supernatural origin. Alvarez Semedo, speaking of them, says:

"The third religious sect among the Chinese is from India,
from the parts of Hindostan, which sect they call _Xaca_, from
the founder of it, concerning whom they fable--that he was
conceived by his mother Maya, from a white elephant, which
she saw in her sleep, and for more purity she brought him from
one of her sides."[120:1]

_Lao-kiun_, sometimes celled _Lao-tsze_, who is said to have been born in the third year of the emperor _Ting-wang_, of the Chow dynasty (604 B. C.), was another miraculously-born man. He acquired great reputation for sanctity, and marvelous stories were told of his birth. It was said that he had existed from all eternity; that he had descended on earth _and was born of a virgin_, black in complexion, described "marvelous and beautiful as jasper." Splendid temples were erected to him, and he was worshiped as a _god_. His disciples were called "Heavenly Teachers." They inculcated great tenderness toward animals, and considered strict celibacy necessary for the attainment of perfect holiness. Lao-kiun believed in _One God_ whom he called _Tao_, and the sect which he formed is called _Tao-tse_, or "Sect of Reason." Sir Thomas Thornton, speaking of him, says:

"The mythological history of this 'prince of the doctrine of
the _Taou_,' which is current amongst his followers,
_represents him as a divine emanation incarnate in a human
form_. They term him the 'most high and venerable prince of
the portals of gold of the palace of the _genii_,' and say
that he condescended to a contact with humanity when he became
incorporated with the 'miraculous and excellent Virgin of
jasper.' Like Buddha, he came out of his mother's side, and
was born under a tree.

"The legends of the _Taou-tse_ declare their founder to have
existed antecedent to the birth of the elements, in the Great
Absolute; that he is the 'pure essence of the tëen;' that he
is the 'original ancestor of the prime breath of life;' and
that he gave form to the heavens and the earth."[120:2]

M. Le Compte says:

"Those who have made this (the religion of Taou-tsze) their
professed business, are called _Tien-se_, that is, 'Heavenly
Doctors;' they have houses (Monasteries) given them to live
together in society; they erect, in divers parts, temples to
their master, and king and people honor him with _divine_
worship."

_Yu_ was another _virgin-born_ Chinese sage, who is said to have lived upon earth many ages ago. Confucius--as though he had been questioned about him--says: "I see no defect in the character of Yu. He was sober in eating and drinking, and eminently pious toward spirits and ancestors."[120:3]

_Hâu-ki_, the Chinese hero, was of supernatural origin.

The following is the history of his birth, according to the "Shih-King:"

"His mother, who was childless, had presented a pure offering
and sacrificed, that her childlessness might be taken away.
She then trod on a toe-print made by God, and was
moved,[121:1] in the large place where she rested. She became
pregnant; she dwelt retired; she gave birth to and nourished a
son, who was _Hâu-ki_. When she had fulfilled her months, her
first-born son came forth like a lamb. There was no bursting,
no rending, no injury, no hurt; showing how wonderful he would
be. Did not God give her comfort? Had he not accepted her pure
offering and sacrifice, so that thus easily she brought forth
her son?"[121:2]

Even the sober Confucius (born B. C. 501) was of supernatural origin. The most important event in Chinese literary and ethical history is the birth of _Kung-foo-tsze_ (Confucius), both in its effects on the moral organization of this great empire, and the study of Chinese philosophy in Europe.

Kung-foo-tsze (meaning "the sage Kung" or "the wise excellence") was of _royal descent_; and his family the most ancient in the empire, as his genealogy was traceable directly up to Hwang-te, the reputed organizer of the state, the first emperor of the semi-historical period (beginning 2696 B. C.).

At his birth a prodigious quadruped, called the Ke-lin, appeared and prophesied that the new-born infant "would be a king without throne or territory." Two dragons hovered about the couch of _Yen-she_ (his mother), and five celestial sages, or angels, entered at the moment of the birth of the wondrous child; heavenly strains were heard in the air, and harmonious chords followed each other, fast and full. Thus was Confucius ushered into the world.

His disciples, who were to expound his precepts, were seventy-two in number, _twelve_ of whom were his ordinary companions, the depositories of his thoughts, and the witnesses of all his actions. To them he minutely explained his doctrines, and charged them with their propagation after his death. YAN-HWUY was his favorite disciple, who, in his opinion, had attained the highest degree of moral perfection. Confucius addressed him in terms of great affection, which denoted that he relied mainly upon him for the accomplishment of his work.[121:3]

Even as late as the seventeenth century of our era, do we find the myth of the virgin-born God in China.[121:4]

All these god-begotten and virgin-born men were called _Tien-tse_, _i. e._, "Sons of Heaven."

If from China we should turn to Egypt we would find that, for ages before the time of Jesus of Nazareth, the mediating deity, born of a virgin, and without a worldly father, was a portion of the Egyptian belief.[122:1]

_Horus_, who had the epithet of "_Saviour_," was born of the virgin Isis. "His birth was one of the greatest Mysteries of the Egyptian religion. Pictures representing it appear on the walls of temples."[122:2] He is "the second emanation of _Amon_, the son whom he begot."[122:3] Egyptian monuments represent the infant Saviour in the arms of his virgin mother, or sitting on her knee.[122:4] An inscription on a monument, translated by Champollion, reads thus:

"O thou avenger, God, son of a God; O thou avenger, Horus,
manifested by Osiris, engendered of the goddess Isis."[122:5]

The Egyptian god _Ra_ was born from the side of his mother, _but was not engendered_.[122:6]

The ancient Egyptians also deified kings and heroes, in the same manner as the ancient Greeks and Romans. An Egyptian king became, in a sense, "the vicar of God on earth, the infallible, and the personated deity."[122:7]

P. Le Page Renouf, in his Hibbert Lectures on the Religion of Ancient Egypt, says:

"I must not quit this part of my subject without a reference
to the belief that the ruling sovereign of Egypt was the
living image and vicegerent of the Sun-god (_Ra_). _He was
invested with the attributes of divinity_, and that in the
earliest times of which we possess monumental
evidence."[122:8]

_Menes_, who is said to have been the first king of Egypt, was believed to be a god.[122:9]

Almost all the temples of the left bank of the Nile, at Thebes, had been constructed in view of the worship rendered to the Pharaohs, their founders, after their death.[122:10]

On the wall of one of these Theban temples is to be seen a picture representing the god Thoth--the messenger of God--telling the _maiden_, Queen Mautmes, that she is to give birth to a _divine son_, who is to be King _Amunothph_ III.[123:1]

An inscription found in Egypt makes the god _Ra_ say to his son Ramses III.:

"I am thy father; by me are begotten all thy members as
divine; I have formed thy shape like the Mendesian god; I have
begotten thee, impregnating thy venerable mother."[123:2]

_Raam-ses_, or _Ra-mé-ses_, means "Son of the Sun," and _Ramses Hek An_, a name of Ramses III., means "engendered by Ra (the Sun), Prince of An (Heliopolis)."[123:3]

"_Thotmes_ III., on the tablet of Karnak, presents offerings to his predecessors; so does _Ramses_ on the tablet of Abydos. Even during his life-time the Egyptian king was denominated '_Beneficent God_.'"[123:4]

The ancient Babylonians also believed that their kings were gods upon earth. A passage from Ménaut's translation of the great inscription of Nebuchadnezzar, reads thus:

"I am Nabu-kuder-usur . . . the first-born son of Nebu-pal-usur,
King of Babylon. The god _Bel_ himself created me, the god
_Marduk_ engendered me, and deposited himself the germ of my
life in the womb of my mother."[123:5]

In the life of _Zoroaster_, the law-giver of the _Persians_, the common mythos is apparent. He was born in innocence, of an immaculate conception, of a ray of the Divine Reason. As soon as he was born the glory from his body enlightened the whole room.[123:6] Plato informs us that Zoroaster was said to be "the son of Oromasdes, which was the name the Persians gave to the Supreme God"[123:7]--therefore he was the _Son of God_.

From the East we will turn to the West, and shall find that many of the ancient heroes of Grecian and Roman mythology were regarded as of divine origin, were represented as men, possessed of god-like form, strength and courage; were believed to have lived on earth in the remote, dim ages of the nation's history; to have been occupied in their life-time with thrilling adventures and extraordinary services in the cause of human civilization, and to have been after death in some cases translated to a life among the gods, and entitled to sacrifice and worship. In the hospitable Pantheon of the Greeks and Romans, a niche was always in readiness for every new divinity who could produce respectable credentials.

The Christian Father Justin Martyr, says:

"It having reached the Devil's ears that the prophets had
foretold the coming of Christ (_the Son of God_), he set the
_Heathen Poets_ to bring forward a great many who should be
called _the sons of Jove_. The Devil laying his scheme in
this, to get men to imagine that the _true_ history of Christ
was of the same character as the _prodigious fables_ related
of the sons of Jove."

Among these "sons of Jove" may be mentioned the following: _Hercules_ was the son of Jupiter by a mortal mother, Alcmene, Queen of Thebes.[124:1] Zeus, the god of gods, spake of Hercules, his son, and said: "This day shall a child be born of the race of Perseus, who shall be the mightiest of the sons of men."[124:2]

_Bacchus_ was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Semele, daughter of Kadmus, King of Thebes.[124:3] As Montfaucon says, "It is the son of Jupiter and Semele which the poets celebrate, and which the monuments represent."[124:4]

Bacchus is made to say:

"I, son of Deus, am come to this land of the Thebans, Bacchus,
whom formerly Semele the daughter of Kadmus brings forth,
being delivered by the lightning-bearing flame: _and having
taken a mortal form_ instead of a god's, I have arrived at the
fountains of Dirce and the water of Ismenus."[124:5]

_Amphion_ was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Antiope, daughter of Nicetus, King of Boeotia.[124:6]

_Prometheus_, whose name is derived from a Greek word signifying foresight and providence, was a deity who united the divine and human nature in one person, and was confessedly both man and god.[124:7]

_Perseus_ was the son of Jupiter by the virgin Danae, daughter of Acrisius, King of Argos.[124:8] Divine honors were paid him, and a temple was erected to him in Athens.[124:9]

Justin Martyr (A. D. 140), in his Apology to the Emperor Adrian, says:

"By declaring the Logos, the first-begotten of God, our
Master, Jesus Christ, to be born of a virgin, without any
human mixture, we (Christians) _say no more in this than what
you_ (Pagans) _say of those whom you style the Sons of Jove_.
For you need not be told what a parcel of sons the writers
most in vogue among you assign to Jove. . . .

"As to the Son of God, called Jesus, should we allow him to be
nothing more than man, yet the title of 'the Son of God' is
very justifiable, upon the account of his wisdom, considering
that you (Pagans) have your Mercury in worship under the title
of the Word, a messenger of God. . . .

"As to his (Jesus Christ's) being born of a virgin, _you have
your Perseus to balance that_."[125:1]

_Mercury_ was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Maia, daughter of Atlas. Cyllene, in Arcadia, is said to have been the scene of his birth and education, and a magnificent temple was erected to him there.[125:2]

_Æolus_, king of the Lipari Islands, near Sicily, was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Acasta.[125:3]

_Apollo_ was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother, Latona.[125:4] Like Buddha and Lao-Kiun, Apollo, so the Ephesians said, was born under a tree; Latona, taking shelter under an olive-tree, was delivered there.[125:5] Then there was joy among the undying gods in Olympus, and the Earth laughed beneath the smile of Heaven.[125:6]

_Aethlius_, who is said to have been one of the institutors of the Orphic games, was the son of Jupiter by a mortal mother, Protogenia.[125:7]

_Arcas_ was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother.[125:8]

_Aroclus_ was the son of Jupiter and a mortal mother.[125:9]

We might continue and give the names of many more sons of Jove, but sufficient has been seen, we believe, to show, in the words of Justin, that Jove had a great "parcel of sons." "The images of self-restraint, of power used for the good of others, are prominent in the lives of all or almost all the Zeus-born heroes."[125:10]

This Jupiter, who begat so many sons, was the supreme god of the Pagans. In the words of _Orpheus_:

"Jupiter is omnipotent; the first and the last, the head and
the midst; Jupiter, the giver of all things, the foundation of
the earth, and the starry heavens."[125:11]

The ancient Romans were in the habit of deifying their living and departed emperors, and gave to them the title of DIVUS, or the Divine One. It was required throughout the whole empire that divine honors should be paid to the emperors.[125:12] They had a ceremony called _Apotheosis_, or deification. After this ceremony, temples, altars, and images, with attributes of divinity, were erected to the new deity. It is related by Eusebius, Tertullian, and Chrysostom, that Tiberius proposed to the Roman Senate the Apotheosis or deification of Jesus Christ.[126:1] Ælius Lampridius, in his Life of Alexander Severus (who reigned A. D. 222-235), says:

"This emperor had two private chapels, one more honorable than
the other; and in the former were placed the deified emperors,
and also some _eminent good men_, among them Abraham, Christ,
and Orpheus."[126:2]

_Romulus_, who is said to have been the founder of Rome, was believed to have been the son of God by a pure virgin, Rhea-Sylvia.[126:3] One Julius Proculus took a solemn oath, that Romulus himself appeared to him and ordered him to inform the Senate of his being called up to the assembly of the gods, under the name of Quirinus.[126:4]

_Julius Cæsar_ was supposed to have had a god for a father.[126:5]

_Augustus Cæsar_ was also believed to have been of celestial origin, and had all the honors paid to him as to a divine person.[126:6] His divinity is expressed by Virgil, in the following lines:

"----Turn, turn thine eyes, see here thy race divine,
Behold thy own imperial Roman Sine:
Cæsar, with all the Julian name survey;
See where the glorious ranks ascend to-day!--
This--this is he--_the chief so long foretold_,
To bless the land where Saturn ruled of old,
And give the Learnean realms a second eye of gold!
The promised prince, _Augustus the divine_,
Of Cæsar's race, and Jove's immortal line."[126:7]

"The honors due to the gods," says Tacitus, "were no longer sacred: _Augustus_ claimed equal worship. Temples were built, and statues were erected, to him; a mortal man was adored, and priests and pontiffs were appointed to pay him impious homage."[126:8]

Divine honors were declared to the memory of Claudius, after his death, and he was added to the number of the gods. The titles "Our Lord," "Our Master," and "Our God," were given to the Emperors of Rome, even while living.[126:9]

In the deification of the Cæsars, a testimony upon oath, of an eagle's flying out of the funeral pile, toward heaven, which was supposed to convey the soul of the deceased, was the established proof of their divinity.[127:1]

_Alexander the Great_, King of Macedonia (born 356 B. C.), whom genius and uncommon success had raised above ordinary men, was believed to have been a god upon earth.[127:2] He was believed to have been the son of Jupiter by a mortal mother, Olympias.

Alexander at one time visited the temple of Jupiter Ammon, which was situated in an oasis in the Libyan desert, and the _Oracle_ there declared him to be a son of the god. He afterwards issued his orders, letters, decrees, &c., styling himself "_Alexander, son of Jupiter Ammon_."[127:3]

The words of the oracle which declared him to be divine were as follows, says Socrates:

"Let altars burn and incense pour, please Jove Minerva eke;
The potent Prince though nature frail, his favor you must seek,
For Jove from heaven to earth him sent, lo! Alexander king,
As God he comes the earth to rule, and just laws for to bring."[127:4]

_Ptolemy_, who was one of Alexander's generals in his Eastern campaigns, and into whose hands Egypt fell at the death of Alexander, was also believed to have been of divine origin. At the siege of Rhodes, Ptolemy had been of such signal service to its citizens that in gratitude they paid _divine honors_ to him, and saluted him with the title of _Soter_, _i. e._, Saviour. By that designation, "_Ptolemy Soter_," he is distinguished from the succeeding kings of the Macedonian dynasty in Egypt.[127:5]

_Cyrus_, King of Persia, was believed to have been of _divine origin_; he was called the "_Christ_," or the "_Anointed_ of God," and God's messenger.[127:6]

_Plato_, born at Athens 429 B. C., was believed to have been the son of God by a _pure virgin_, called Perictione.[127:7]

The reputed father of Plato (Aris) was admonished in a dream to respect the person of his wife until after the birth of the child of which she was then pregnant by a god.[127:8]

Prof. Draper, speaking of Plato, says:

"The Egyptian disciples of Plato would have looked with anger
on those who rejected the legend that Perictione, the mother
of that great philosopher, a pure virgin, had suffered an
immaculate conception through the influences of (the god)
Apollo, _and that the god had declared to Aris, to whom she
was betrothed, the parentage of the child_."[128:1]

Here we have the legend of the angel appearing to Joseph--to whom Mary was betrothed--believed in by the disciples of Plato for centuries before the time of Christ Jesus, the only difference being that the virgin's name was Perictione instead of Mary, and the confiding husband's name Aris instead of Joseph. We have another similar case.

The mother of _Apollonius_ (B. C. 41) was informed by a god, who appeared to her, _that he himself should be born of her_.[128:2] In the course of time she gave birth to Apollonius, who became a great religious teacher, and performer of miracles.[128:3]

_Pythagoras_, born about 570 B. C., had divine honors paid him. His mother is said to have become impregnated through a _spectre_, or Holy Ghost. His father--or foster-father--was also informed that his wife should bring forth a son, who should be a benefactor to mankind.[128:4]

_Æsculapius_, the great performer of miracles,[128:5] was supposed to be the son of a god and a worldly mother, Coronis. The Messenians, who consulted the oracle at Delphi to know where Æsculapius was born, and of what parents, were informed that a god was his father, Coronis his mother, and that their son was born at Epidaurus.

Coronis, to conceal her pregnancy from her father, went to Epidaurus, where she was delivered of a son, whom she exposed on a mountain. Aristhenes, a goat-herd, going in search of a goat and a dog missing from his fold, discovered the child, whom he would have carried to his home, had he not, upon approaching to lift him from the earth, _perceived his head encircled with fiery rays, which made him believe the child was divine_. The voice of fame soon published the birth of a miraculous infant, upon which the people flocked from all quarters _to behold this heaven-born child_.[128:6]

Being honored as a god in Phenicia and Egypt, his worship passed into Greece and Rome.[128:7]

_Simon the Samaritan_, surnamed "_Magus_" or the "Magician," who was contemporary with Jesus, was believed to be a _god_. In Rome, where he performed wonderful miracles, he was honored as a god, and his picture placed among the gods.[129:1]

Justin Martyr, quoted by Eusebius, tells us that Simon Magus attained great honor among the Romans. That he was believed to be a _god_, and that he was worshiped as such. Between two bridges upon the River Tibris, was to be seen this inscription: "Simoni Deo Sancto," _i. e._ "To Simon the Holy God."[129:2]

It was customary with all the heroes of the northern nations (Danes, Swedes, Norwegians and Icelanders), to speak of themselves as sprung from their supreme deity, _Odin_. The historians of those times, that is to say, the poets, never failed to bestow the same honor on all those whose praises they sang; and thus they multiplied the descendants of Odin as much as they found convenient. The first-begotten son of Odin was Thor, whom the Eddas call the most valiant of his sons. "Baldur the Good," the "Beneficent Saviour," was the son of the Supreme Odin and the goddess Frigga, whose worship was transferred to that of the Virgin Mary.[129:3]

In the mythological systems of _America_, a virgin-born god was not less clearly recognized than in those of the Old World. Among the savage tribes his origin and character were, for obvious reasons, much confused; but among the more advanced nations he occupied a well-defined position. Among the nations of Anahuac, he bore the name of _Quetzalcoatle_, and was regarded with the highest veneration.

For ages before the landing of Columbus on its shores, the inhabitants of ancient Mexico worshiped a "Saviour"--as they called him--(_Quetzalcoatle_) who was _born of a pure virgin_.[129:4] _A messenger from heaven announced to his mother that she should bear a son without connection with man._[129:5] Lord Kingsborough tells us that the annunciation of the _virgin Sochiquetzal_, mother of Quetzalcoatle,--who was styled the "_Queen of Heaven_"[129:6]--was the subject of a Mexican hieroglyph.[129:7]

The embassador was sent from heaven to this virgin, who had two sisters, Tzochitlique and Conatlique. "These three being alone in the house, two of them, on perceiving the embassador from heaven, died of fright, Sochiquetzal remaining alive, to whom the ambassador announced that it was the will of God that she should conceive a son."[130:1] She therefore, according to the prediction, "conceived a son, _without connection with man_, who was called Quetzalcoatle."[130:2]

Dr. Daniel Brinton, in his "Myths of the New World," says:

"The Central figure of Toltec mythology is _Quetzalcoatle_.
Not an author on ancient Mexico, but has something to say
about the glorious days when he ruled over the land. No one
denies him to have been a god. _He was born of a virgin_ in
the land of _Tula_ or _Tlopallan_."[130:3]

The Mayas of _Yucatan_ had a virgin-born god, corresponding entirely with Quetzalcoatle, if he was not the same under a different name, a conjecture very well sustained by the evident relationship between the Mexican and Mayan mythologies. He was named _Zama_, and was the only-begotten son of their supreme god, Kinchahan.[130:4]

The _Muyscas_ of Columbia had a similar hero-god. According to their traditionary history, he bore the name of _Bochica_. He was the incarnation of the Great Father, whose sovereignty and paternal care he emblematized.[130:5]

The inhabitants of _Nicaragua_ called their principal god Thomathoyo; and said that he had a _son_, who came down to earth, whose name was Theotbilahe, and that he was their general instructor.[130:6]

We find a corresponding character in the traditionary history of _Peru_. The Sun--the god of the Peruvians--deploring their miserable condition, sent down his son, _Manco Capac_, to instruct them in religion, &c.[130:7]

We have also traces of a similar personage in the traditionary _Votan_ of _Guatemala_; but our accounts concerning him are more vague than in the cases above mentioned.

We find this traditional character in countries and among tribes where we would be least apt to suspect its existence. In _Brazil_, besides the common belief in an age of violence, during which the world was destroyed by water, there is a tradition of a supernatural personage called _Zome_, whose history is similar, in some respects, to that of Quetzalcoatle.[130:8]

The semi-civilized agricultural tribes of _Florida_ had like traditions. The _Cherokees_, in particular, had a priest and law-giver _essentially corresponding to Quetzalcoatle and Bochica_. He was their great prophet, and bore the name of _Wasi_. "He told them what had been from the beginning of the world, and what would be, and gave the people in all things directions what to do. He appointed their feasts and fasts, and all the ceremonies of their religion, and enjoined upon them to obey his directions from generation to generation."[131:1]

Among the savage tribes the same notions prevailed. The _Edues_ of the Californians taught that there was a supreme Creator, _Niparaga_, and that his son, _Quaagagp_, came down upon the earth and instructed the Indians in religion, &c. Finally, through hatred, the Indians killed him; but although dead, he is incorruptible and beautiful. To him they pay adoration, as the _mediatory power_ between earth and the Supreme Niparaga.[131:2]

The _Iroquois_ also had a beneficent being, uniting in himself the character of _a god and man_, who was called _Tarengawagan_. He imparted to them the knowledge of the laws of the Great Spirit, established their form of government, &c.[131:3]

Among the _Algonquins_, and particularly among the _Ojibways_ and other remnants of that stock of the North-west, this intermediate great teacher (denominated, by Mr. Schoolcraft, in his "_Notes of the Iroquois_," "the great incarnation of the North-west") is fully recognized. He bears the name of _Michabou_, and is represented as _the first-born son of a great celestial Manitou_, or _Spirit, by an earthly mother_, and is esteemed the friend and protector of the human race.[131:4]

I think we can now say with M. Dupuis, that "the idea of a God, who came down on earth to save mankind, is neither new nor peculiar to the Christians," and with Cicero, the great Roman orator and philosopher, that "brave, famous or powerful men, after death, came to be _gods_, and they are the very ones whom we are accustomed to worship, pray to and venerate."

Taking for granted that the synoptic Gospels are historical, there is no proof that Jesus ever claimed to be either God, or a god; on the other hand, it is quite the contrary.[131:5] As Viscount Amberly says: "The best proof of this is that Jesus never, at any period of his life, desired his followers to worship him, either as God, or as the Son of God," in the sense in which it is now understood. Had he believed of himself what his followers subsequently believed of him, that he was one of the constituent persons in a divine Trinity, he must have enjoined his Apostles both to address him in prayer themselves, and to desire their converts to do likewise. It is quite plain that he did nothing of the kind, and that they never supposed him to have done so.

Belief in Jesus _as the Messiah_ was taught as the first dogma of Christianity, but adoration of Jesus _as God_ was not taught at all.

But we are not left in this matter to depend on conjectural inferences. The words put into the mouth of Jesus are plain. Whenever occasion arose, _he asserted his inferiority to the Father_, though, as no one had then dreamt of his equality, it is natural that the occasions should not have been frequent.

He made himself _inferior in knowledge_ when he said that of the day and hour of the day of judgment no one knew, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; no one except the Father.[132:1]

He made himself _inferior in power_ when he said that seats on his right hand and on his left in the kingdom of heaven were not his to give.[132:2]

He made himself _inferior in virtue_ when he desired a certain man not to address him as "Good Master," for there was none good but God.[132:3]

The words of his prayer at Gethsemane, "all things are possible unto _thee_," imply that all things were _not_ possible to _him_, while its conclusion "not what _I will_, but what _thou wilt_," indicates submission to a superior, not the mere execution of a purpose of his own.[132:4] Indeed, the whole prayer would have been a mockery, useless for any purpose but the deception of his disciples, if he had himself been identical with the Being to whom he prayed, and had merely been giving effect by his death to their common counsels. While the cry of agony from the cross, "_My God, my God! why hast thou forsaken me?_"[132:5] would have been quite unmeaning if _the person forsaken_, and _the person forsaking_, had been _one and the same_.

_Either, then, we must assume that the language of Jesus has been misreported, or we must admit that he never for a moment pretended to be co-equal, co-eternal or consubstantial with God._

It also follows of necessity from _both the genealogies_,[133:1] that their compilers entertained no doubt that _Joseph_ was the father of Jesus. Otherwise the descent of Joseph would not have been in the least to the point. All attempts to reconcile this inconsistency with the doctrine of the Angel-Messiah has been without avail, although the most learned Christian divines, for many generations past, have endeavored to do so.

So, too, of the stories of the Presentation in the Temple,[133:2] and of the child Jesus at Jerusalem,[133:3] _Joseph is called his father_. Jesus is repeatedly described as _the son of the carpenter_,[133:4] or the _son of Joseph_, without the least indication that the expression is not strictly in accordance with the fact.[133:5]

If his parents fail to understand him when he says, at twelve years old, that he must be about his Father's business;[133:6] if he afterwards declares that he finds no faith among his nearest relations;[133:7] if he exalts his faithful disciples above his _unbelieving mother_ and brothers;[133:8] above all, if Mary and her other sons put down his prophetic enthusiasm to _insanity_;[133:9]--then the untrustworthy nature of these stories of his birth is absolutely certain. If even a _little_ of what they tell us had been true, then _Mary at least_ would have believed in Jesus, and would not have failed so utterly to understand him.[133:10]

The Gospel of Mark--which, in this respect, at least, abides most faithfully by the old apostolic tradition--says not a word about Bethlehem or _the miraculous birth_. The congregation of Jerusalem to which Mary and the brothers of Jesus belonged,[133:11] and over which the eldest of them, James, presided,[133:12] can have known nothing of it; for the later Jewish-Christian communities, the so-called Ebionites, who were descended from the congregation at Jerusalem, called Jesus _the son of Joseph_. Nay, the story that the _Holy Spirit_ was the father of Jesus, must have risen among the _Greeks_, or elsewhere, and not among the first believers, who were Jews, for the Hebrew word for _spirit_ is of _the feminine gender_.[134:1]

The immediate successors of the "congregation at Jerusalem"--to which Mary, the mother of Jesus, and his brothers belonged--were, as we have seen, the Ebionites. Eusebius, the first ecclesiastical historian (born A. D. 264), speaking of the _Ebionites_ (_i. e._ "poor men"), tell us that they believed Jesus to be "_a simple and common man_," born as other men, "_of Mary and her husband_."[134:2]

The views held by the Ebionites of Jesus were, it is said, derived from the Gospel of Matthew, _and what they learned direct from the Apostles_. Matthew had been a hearer of Jesus, a companion of the Apostles, and had seen and no doubt conversed with Mary. When he wrote his Gospel everything was fresh in his mind, and there could be no object, on his part, in writing the life of Jesus, to state falsehoods or omit important truths in order to deceive his countrymen. If what is stated in the _interpolated_ first two chapters, concerning the miraculous birth of Jesus, were true, Matthew would have known of it; and, knowing it, why should he omit it in giving an account of the life of Jesus?[134:3]

The Ebionites, or Nazarenes, as they were previously called were rejected by the Jews _as apostates_, and by the Egyptian and Roman Christians _as heretics_, therefore, until they completely disappear, their history is one of tyrannical persecution. Although some traces of that obsolete sect may be discovered as late as the fourth century, they insensibly melted away, either into the Roman Christian Church, or into the Jewish Synagogue,[134:4] and with them perished the _original_ Gospel of Matthew, _the only Gospel written by an apostle_.

"Who, where masses of men are burning to burst the bonds of time and sense, to deify and to adore, wants what seems earth-born, prosaic fact? Woe to the man that dares to interpose it! Woe to the sect of faithful Ebionites even, and on the very soil of Palestine, that dare to maintain the earlier, humbler tradition! Swiftly do they become heretics, revilers, blasphemers, though sanctioned by a James, brother of the Lord."

Edward Gibbon, speaking of this most unfortunate sect, says:

"A laudable regard for the honor of the first proselytes has
countenanced the belief, the hope, the wish, that the
Ebionites, or at least the Nazarenes, were distinguished only
by their obstinate perseverance in the practice of the Mosaic
rites. Their churches have disappeared, _their books are
obliterated_, their obscure freedom might allow a latitude of
faith, and the softness of their infant creed would be
variously moulded by the zeal of prejudice of three hundred
years. Yet the most charitable criticism must refuse these
sectaries any knowledge of the pure and proper _divinity of
Christ_. Educated in the school of Jewish prophecy and
prejudice, they had never been taught to elevate their hope
above _a human_ and temporal Messiah. If they had courage to
hail their king when he appeared in a plebeian garb, their
grosser apprehensions were incapable of discerning their God,
_who had studiously disguised his celestial character under
the name and person of a mortal_.

"The familiar companions of Jesus of Nazareth conversed with
their friend and countryman, who, in all the actions of
rational and human life, appeared of the same species with
themselves. His progress from infancy to youth and manhood was
marked by a regular increase in stature and wisdom; and after
a painful agony of mind and body, he expired on the
cross."[135:1]