(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

ANCIENT CONCEPTIONS OF GOD.—(Continued.)

SPECIAL TEXT: "Their idols are silver and gold; the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not; they have ears, but they hear not; . . . . they that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them." Ps. cxv.

NOTES.

1. The Vedas: "Vedas means, originally, knowing or knowledge, and this name is given by the Brahmans not to one work, but to the whole body of their most ancient sacred literature. Veda is the same word which appears in the Greek, 'I know,' and in the English, 'wise,' 'wisdom.' The name of Veda is commonly given to four collections of hymns, which are respectively known by the names of 'Rig-veda,' 'Yagur-veda,' 'Sama-veda,' and 'Atharva-veda;' but for our own purposes, namely, for tracing the earliest growth of religious ideas in India, the only important, the only real Veda, is the Rig-veda. The other so-called Vedas, which deserve the name of Veda no more than the Talmud deserves the name of Bible, contain chiefly extracts from the Rig-veda, together with sacrificial formulas, charms, and incantations, many of them, no doubt, extremely curious, but never likely to interest any one except the Sanscrit scholar by profession." ("Chips from a German Workshop" (Muller), Vol. I, p. 8).

2. Doctrine of the Vedas: "The Vedas, which are the Hindo Scriptures, and of which there are four, the Rig, Yagust, Saman and Atharvan, are asserted to have been revealed by Brahma. The fourth is, however, rejected by some authorities and bears internal evidence of a later composition, at a time when hierarchical power had become greatly consolidated. These works are written in an obsolete Sanscrit, the parent of the more recent idiom. They constitute the basis of an extensive literature.

"The Vedas are based upon an acknowledgement of a universal Spirit pervading all things. Of this God they therefore necessarily acknowledge the unity; 'There is in truth, but one Deity, the Supreme Spirit; the Lord of the universe, whose work is the universe.' 'The God above all gods, who created the earth, the heavens, the waters.' The world, thus considered as an emanation of God, is therefore a part of him; it is kept in a visible state by his energy, and would instantly disappear if that energy were for a moment withdrawn. Even as it is, it is undergoing unceasing transformations, everything being in a transitory condition. The moment a given phase is reached, it is departed from, or ceases. In these perpetual movements the present can scarcely be said to have any existence, for as the Past is ending, the Future has begun.

"In such a never-ceasing career, all material things are urged, their forms continually changing, and returning, as it were, through revolving cycles to similar states. For this reason it is that we may regard our earth, and the various celestial bodies, as having had a moment of birth, as having a time of continuance, in which they are passing onward to an inevitable destruction, and that after the lapse of countless ages similar progresses will be made, and similar series of events will occur again and again." (Draper, Intellectual Development of Europe, Vol. I, pp. 58-60).

3. The Hindu Pantheism: "But in this doctrine of universal transformation there is something more than appears at first. The theology of India is underlaid with Pantheism. "God is one because he is All." The Vedas, in speaking of the relation of nature to God, make use of the expression that he is the 'Material as well as the Cause of the universe,' 'the Clay as well as the Potter.' They convey the idea that while there is a prevading spirit existing everywhere of the same nature as the soul of man, though differing from it infinitely in degree, visible nature is essentially and inseparably connected therewith; that as in man the body is perpetually undergoing changes, perpetually decaying and being renewed, or, as in the case of the whole human species, nations come into existence and pass away, yet still there continues to exist what may be termed the universal human mind, so forever associated and forever connected are the material and the spiritual. And under this aspect we must contemplate the Supreme Being, not merely as a presiding intellect, but as illustrated by the parallel case of man, whose mental principle shows no tokens except through its connection with the body; so matter, or nature, or the visible universe, is to be looked upon as the corporeal manifestation of God." (Draper, Intellectual Development of Europe, Vol. I, pp. 58-60).

4. The Two Aspects of Pantheism: "Pantheism, speaking in a general way, is of two kinds: First, the Pantheism that sinks all nature into one substance, one essence, and then concludes that that one substance or essence is God. Such Pantheism as this is the purest Monism—that is, the one-substance theory of existence; and is spoken of by some of our philosophers as the purest Theism—that is, faith in one God. Indeed, Pantheism, in this aspect of it, is looked upon as a sort of exaggerated Theism; for it regards "God" as the only substance, of which the material universe and man are but ever-changing manifestations. It is the form of Pantheism which identifies mind and matter, the finite and infinite, making them but manifestations of one universal being; but in effect it denies the personality, by which I mean the individuality, of God. This was, and, for matter of that, is now, the general belief of many millions in India.

"Second, the Pantheism which expands the one substance into all the variety of objects that we see in nature, and regards those various parts as God, or God expanded into nature, is the second kind of Pantheism referred to a moment since. This leads to the grossest kind of idolatry, as it did in Egypt, at the time of which I am speaking. Under this form of Pantheism, men worshipped various objects in nature; the sun, moon, stars; in fact, anything and everything that bodies forth to their minds some quality, or power, or attribute of the Deity. This was the Pantheism of Egypt; and led to the abominable and disgusting idolatry of that land." (From "Mormon Doctrine of Deity,"—Roberts—pp. 173-4).

5. Chief God—The Hindoo Trinity: "The three idols sculptured on the walls of Elephanta Cave are found all over India, and constitute the chief gods which are worshipped by the Hindus. All the human race is said to have come from the highlands of Central Asia, and the worship of these, our Aryan forefathers, was at first exceedingly simple. Their manner of life brought them into close contact with nature, and we learn from the hymns then written, many of which are still preserved in the Vedas (the sacred book of the Hindus), that they regarded the powers of nature as manifestations of gods. In the storms, they supposed these rival gods were quarreling. In the Vedic hymns, frequent mention is made of the chief god, called Dyaus, the 'Heavenly Father.' Also Aditi, the 'Infinite Expanse,' is called the mother of all gods. Next comes Varuna, the 'Sky in its Brightness,' then Indra, the God of the 'Atmosphere;' so running through the whole list. After a time, the names of the gods are somewhat altered, and a sort of trinity is formed. Agni, god of fire, becomes Brahma; Surya, the sun-god, becomes Vishnu, and Indra, the atmosphere-god, becomes Siva. These constitute what is called the Tri-murti, and are generally said to represent one god as Creator, Preserver or Destroyer. Hindus often write in their honor verses like the following:

'In those three persons the one God was shown—
Each first in place, each last—not one alone;
Of Siva, Vishnu, Brahma, each may be
First, second, third, among the Blessed Three.'

"As to which of the three gods is to be called the Supreme Being, opinions differ." (Dobbins' "The World's Worship," pp. 215-216).