(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

ANCIENT CONCEPTIONS OF GOD.—(Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "I will sanctify My great name, which was profaned among the heathen; which ye [Israel] have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes." Ezekiel xxvi:23.

NOTES.

1. The Scythians: "The Scythians inhabited a large tract of country to the north of Europe and Asia. In early times their religion was very simple; it taught the belief of a Supreme God, to whom were attributed infinite power, knowledge, and wisdom; it forbade any representation of this being under a corporeal form, and enjoined the celebration of his worship in consecrated woods. Under him, a number of inferior divinities were supposed to govern the world, and preside over the celestial bodies. The doctrine of a future state formed an important part of the mythology of these people; and their fundamental maxims were, to serve the Deity with sacrifice and prayer, to do no wrong to others, and to be brave and intrepid. But in the course of time, the religion of the Scythians degenerated, a multitude of other divinities were introduced amongst them, and as they were a warlike people, they made the god of battles their favorite deity; to him they consecrated groves of oak, which were held so sacred that whoever injured them was punished with death. A Scimitar raised upon the summit of an immense wooden altar was the emblem of this God, to whom they sacrificed horses, and every hundredth man taken in battle; the first fruits of the earth, and a portion of the spoils gained in war, were the offerings made to the other divinities. The principal Scythian deities were: Tabite, the Vesta of later times; Papius, the Jupiter; Apia, or the Earth, the consort of Papius; Stripassa, the Venus; Oestasynes, the Apollo; Thamimasides, the Neptune.

"The Scythians venerated fire, as the principle of all things; and the wind and the sword, as the cause of life and death; a being called Zamolxis, was supposed to have the charge of conducting departed spirits to their respective abodes; and sacrifices were made to him by the friends of deceased persons on their behalf." (Burder's History of All Religions, pp. 524-5).

2. The Scandinavian Mythology: "The Gothic Mythology is so called from the Getae; or Goths, a tribe of Scythians, who, at an early period passed over into Scandinavia, whence they over-spread all Sweden, Denmark the islands of the Baltic, and the neighboring parts. Their mythological scheme is explained in a work called the 'Edda,' which was compiled by Snorro Sturleson, in the thirteenth century, from the poems of the Scalds or bards particularly one bearing the same name, and a still older one, called the 'Voluspa.' The Goths, like the Indians [American] believed in a supreme being, to whom they ascribed many of the divine attributes, but offered him no worship, which they paid only to the subordinate deities. This being they designated by the name of 'Alfader,' that is 'Father of all.' They believed that giants existed before the gods, the chief of whom, named Odin, was the offspring of one of them. After this, according to their fables, which agree with that of the Greeks, a war ensued between the gods and the giants, which terminated in the destruction of the latter. The gods then proceeded to the work of creation, and fashioned the globe out of the body of one of the giants, named Ymir. Before all this, however, we find from the Voluspa, that in accordance with the Mosaic account, 'In the beginning, there was neither shore nor sea; the earth was not to be found below, nor the heavens above.' Besides Odin, before mentioned, who was the god of war, and is supposed to be the Buddha, or Bood, of the Hindoos, the gods of the Gothic mythology were Frigga, the wife of Odin, and Thor, their son, who, from the legends told of them, correspond to the Osiris, Isis, and Orus, of the Egyptians. Among the other children of Odin, were Balder, a powerful god; Boder, the blind; Vidar, the god of silence, who walked on the waters and in the air; Vali, the archer; Uller, who presided over trial by the duel; Forsette, the arbiter between gods and men; Iduna, the queen of truth, who presided over witnesses and oaths; Lofen, the guardian of friendship; Synia and Snootra, who presided over wisdom and discretion. To these may be added, Heimdall, the son of nine virgins, and sentinel of the gods; Braga, the god of poetry; Niord, the god of winds and the sea; Tyr, the god of might; Eica, the goddess of medicine; Freya, the wife of Holder, and goddess of love; Gna, the messenger of Frigga; Tylia, the goddess of beauty, secrecy, and chastity; Siona and Soona, presiding over marriage; and the Valkyries, virgins, who always attended Odin in battle. Among their evil spirits was Loke, the spirit of evil and contradiction who was always opposing the gods. Besides the giants and gods, the Goths, like the Greeks and Romans, had their Genii; like the Arabians, their fairies; and, like the Indians, their dwarfs or pigmies. The genii presided over the destinies of man, of whom there were three principal—Urda, Verdandi and Skulda, answering to the Parcae. [I. e., the Fates of Roman Mythology.] They had their evil as well as good genii, of whom Surtur was the prince.

"That they worshipped the sun and moon may be inferred from two days in the week being sacred to them, namely, Sonndag and Mondag, that is, Sunday and Monday. The heaven of the Goths was in the highest regions of the earth, and consisted of two abodes, namely, the Valhalla, or hall of Odin, where warriors only were admitted; and a higher abode, called Gimle, where the good and virtuous, in general, were to be admitted. They had also two abodes for the wicked, namely, Nifleheim, or Evil home, and Nastrond, or the shore of the Dead. Nifleheim consisted of nine regions, over whom Hela, or Death, held absolute sway. Mention is also made of two gods of this hell, instead of the single Cerberus among the Greeks and Romans.

"The Goths also held that Valhalla and Nifleheim were both perishable abodes; and that at the last day, the respective inhabitants of these two places were to be consigned by Alfader, either to Gimle or to Nastrond, both of which would be eternal; a fable evidently borrowed from the Scripture account of the day of judgment. They denominated this the Twilight of the Gods." (Crabb's Mythology, pp. 165-167).

3. Religion of the Old Europeans: "The religion of the barbarian Europeans was in many respects like that of the American Indians. They recognized a 'Great Spirit'—omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent. In the earliest times they made no representation of him under the human form, nor had they temples; but they propitiated him by sacrifices, offering animals, as the horse, and even men, upon rude altars. Though it was believed that this 'Great Spirit' might sometimes be heard in the sounds of the Forests at night, yet, for the most part, he was too far removed from human supplication, and hence arose, from the mere sorcerous ideas of a terrified fancy, as has been the case in so many other countries, star worship—the second stage of comparative theology. The gloom and shade of dense forests, a solitude that offers an air of sanctity, and seems a fitting resort for mysterious spirits, suggested the establishment of sacred groves and holy trees. Throughout Europe there was a confused idea that the soul exists after the death of the body; as to its particular state there was a diversity of belief. As among other people, also, the offices of religion were not only directed to the present benefit of individuals, but also to the discovery of future events by various processes of divination and augury practiced among the priests." (Intellectual Development of Europe, Draper, p. 240).

4. Chief Divinities of the Scandinavians: "The Scandinavians sacrificed human victims, and sometimes offered up even their kings, to appease the gods in times of public calamity. Their chief divinities were Odin or Wodin, Frea or Friga, and Thor. Odin or Wodin is generally supposed to have been a deified war-like prince; he was the god and father of war, and was thought to adopt as his children all who died in battle; he was also worshipped as the god of arts and sciences, from his having in some degree civilized the countries which he subdued. The fourth day of the week was consecrated to him, and was called 'Odin's day,' which now is corrupted into our 'Wednesday.'

"Frea or Friga, the consort of Odin, was the most amiable of all the Scandinavian goddesses. She was also called Vanadis, or the goddess of Hope; and under the name of Hertha she was considered as a personification of earth. Virgins of high birth devoted themselves to her service; and Friday, the sixth day of the week, was named after her.

"Thor, the eldest and bravest of the sons of Odin and Frea, was the god of the aerial regions; prayers were addressed to him for favorable winds and refreshing showers; and Thursday, the fifth day of the week, was dedicated to him.

"In the earliest times, the Scandinavians performed their rites in groves; but they afterwards raised temples to their gods, the most magnificent of which were at Upsal and Drontheim.

"The inferior deities of the Scandinavians were: Niorder, who presided over the seas, navigation, hunting and fishing; Isminsul, or the column of the universe; Surtar, prince of the genii of fire; Balder, son of Odin; Tur, the dispenser of victory; Heimdal, the guardian of the heavens; Norder, the blind, a son of Odin; Vidar, the god of silence, a son of Odin; Braga, the god of poetry; Vati, the formidable archer; Uller, presiding over trials by duel; Hela, the dreadful goddess of death; Torset, decided the differences of gods and men; the Valkyries were goddesses of slaughter; Iduna, the queen of youth; Saga, the goddess of waterfalls; Vara, the witness of oaths; Lofen, the guardian of friendship; Synia, the avenger of broken faith." (Burder's History of All Religions, pp. 525-6).

5. Scandinavian Notions of Hell: "The notions the Scandinavians entertained of hell were very remarkable; it was called Niflheim, and consisted of nine vast regions of ice, situated under the North Pole, the entrance to which was guarded by the dog of darkness, similar to the Grecian Cerberus. Loke, the evil genius, who was the cruel enemy of gods and men, with his daughter Hela, the goddess of death; the giantess Angherbode, the messenger of evil; the wolf Femis, a monster, dreaded by the gods, as destined to be their destruction, and the equally formidable serpent, resided in this gloomy abode; which has been described by Gray, in his 'Descent of Odin.'

"The Scandinavians believed that what formed their highest enjoyments in this world, would likewise constitute their happiness in the next. They imagined that the souls of heroes who had fallen in battle would pass their days in hunting shadowy forms of wild beasts, or in combats with warriors; and at night would assemble in the hall of Odin, to feast, and drink mead or ale out of the skulls of their enemies whom they had slain in their mortal life. This view of happiness in a future state of existence has prevailed amongst all nations." (Burder's History of All Religions, pp. 525-6).

6. The Druids: "We have reason to believe that the Britons inhabited England not long after the days of Noah. We might therefore expect to find resemblances between their religion and the religion of other ancient peoples; and we are not disappointed. There is a striking correspondence between the system of the ancient Britons and those of the Hebrew patriarchs, the Brahmins of India, the Magi of Persia, and the Greek priests. It was one system that was finally conveyed to these different parts of the globe. Take, as a single instance of the many points of comparison, their idea of God. Among their names for the supreme God which they had in use before the introduction of Christianity, were terms which have been literally translated, "God," "Distributor," "Governor," the "Mysterious One," the "Eternal," "He that pervadeth all things," "the Author of Existence," "the Ancient of Days." These expressive appellations sufficiently indicate their views of the moral character and attributes of God." (The World's Worship—Dobbins—p. 188).

7. Druid Priesthood: "The Celtic priests were called Druids. All the Celtic nations, like the early Scythians, performed their religious ceremonies in sacred groves; and they regarded the oak, and the mistletoe growing upon it, with peculiar reverence. Their principal deities were: Teulates, the god of war; Dis, the god of the infernal regions, and the Pluto of after times; and Andate, the goddess of victory. The god of war was the divinity of the greatest importance; upon his altars human victims were sacrificed; and though criminals were deemed the most acceptable offerings, innocent persons were frequently immolated.

"Druid is derived from the word deru, which in the Celtic language signified an oak; because their usual abode was in woods. These priests were most highly reversed; they were referred to in all civil, as well as religious matters; and so great was their influence in the state, that even kings could not ascend the throne without their approbation. They were divided into four classes,—druids, bards, sarronides, and vates or eubages; the first were the supreme chiefs, and so highly reverenced, that the inferior orders could not remain in their presence without permission to do so. The bards, whose Celtic name signifies a singer, celebrated the actions of heroes in verse which they sang, and accompanied on the harp. The sarronides had the charge of instructing youth whom they were enjoined to inspire with virtuous sentiments; and the vates or eubages had the care of the sacrifices, and applied themselves particularly to the study of nature. The Druids enjoyed great privileges; they were exempted from serving in war and paying taxes.

"Numbers aspired to gain admission into this order of society, for it was open to all ranks; but this was rather difficult, as the candidates were obliged to learn the verses which contained the maxims of their religion and political government. It was unlawful to commit the Druidical doctrine to writing; and therefore they were taught, and transmitted from generation to generation, entirely by the poems recited by the Druids, who required a period of fifteen, or even twenty years, to acquire an adequate knowledge on that subject. The Druids considered the mistletoe as a special gift from the divinity to the oak, and the gathering of this plant was the most sacred of their ceremonies." (Burder's History of All Religions, pp. 526-7).

8. Druid Worship: "They worshipped in the open air; it being a maxim with them, that it was unlawful to build temples to the gods, or to worship them within walls and under roofs. Their favorite place was a grove of oaks, or the shelter of a majestic tree of this kind. Here they would erect stone pillars in one or two circular rows; and in some of their principal temples, as particularly that of Stonehenge, they laid stones of prodigious weight on the tops of these perpendicular pillars, which formed a kind of circle aloft in the air. Near to these temples they constructed their sacred mounts, their cromlechs or stone tables for their sacrifices, and every other necessary provision for their worship. These sacred places were generally situated in the center of some thick grove or wood, watered by a consecrated river or fountain, and surrounded by a ditch or mound, to prevent intrusion." (The World's Worship, p. 190).