It has been well remarked that the ordinary Christian13 in this part of the world appears to imagine that the Bible dropped down from heaven—in English. Even the expounders of the Higher Criticism, in our own country, read it first in their mother tongue; and although they afterwards read it in the original Greek, and sometimes in the original Hebrew, they are under the witchery of early impressions, and their apologetics are almost entirely14 founded upon the vernacular15 Bible. Thus they lose sight, and their readers never catch a glimpse, of the predominant element, the governing factor, of the problem.
All the Bibles in the world, like all the religions in the world, came from the East. "Not one of them," as Max Müller remarks, "has been conceived, composed, or written down in Europe."*
* Max Müller, Natural Religion, p. 538.
He classes the Pilgrim's Progress among the "many books which have exercised a far greater influence on religious faith and moral conduct than the Bibles of the world"; but Bunyan's originality16 was artistic17 and not religious; he absorbed the Puritanism of his age, and reproduced it in the form of a magnificent allegory. Religious originality does not belong to the Western mind, which is too scientific and practical. Every one of the fashionable crazes that spring up from time to time, and have their day and give place to a successor, is merely a garment from the old wardrobe of superstition18. This is true of Theosophy, for instance; all its doctrines19, ideas, and jargon20 being borrowed from India. "There are five countries only," Max Müller says, "which have been the birthplace of Sacred Books: (1) India, (2) Persia, (3) China, (4) Palestine, (5) Arabia." All come from the East, and all have a generic21 and historic resemblance. Not one of them was written by the founder22 of its religion. Moses did not write the Pentateuch, Christ did not write a line of the New Testament23, Mohammed did not write the Koran, Zoroaster did not write the Avesta, the Buddhist24 Scriptures25 were not written by Buddha26, and the Vedic hymns27 are far more ancient than writing in India. All these Sacred Books embody28 the accepted beliefs of whole peoples; all of them are canonical29 and authoritative30; all contain very much the same ethical31 groundwork, in the form of elementary moral prohibitions32; all of them are held to be of divine character; all of them become a kind of fetish, which is worshipped and obeyed at the expense of the free spirit of man, who is told not to be wise above what is written. Ecclesiastical or kingly authority has generally given these books their final form and character. Their establishment takes place in open daylight, but their origin is more or less shrouded34 in mystery. "It is curious," Max Müller says, "that wherever we have sacred books, they represent to us the oldest language of the country. It is so in India, it is the same in Persia, in China, in Palestine, and very nearly so in Arabia."* According to Max Müller, the Veda was referred to in India fifteen hundred years before Christ. Consequently it precedes by many centuries even the earliest parts of the Bible:—
"The Vedic hymns come to us as a collection of sacred poetry, belonging to certain ancient families, and afterwards united in one collection, called the Rig-veda-samhita. The names of the poets, handed down by tradition, are in most cases purely35 imaginary names. What is really important is that in the hymns themselves the poets speak of their thoughts and words as God-given—this we can understand—while at a later time the theory came in that not the thoughts and words only, but every syllable36, every letter, every accent, had been communicated to half-divine and half-human prophets by Brahma, so that the slightest mistake in pronunciation, even to the pronunciation of an accent, would destroy the charm and efficacy of these ancient prayers."**
* Natural Religion, p. 295.
** Max Müller, ibid, p. 558.
With a slight variation of language, to suit the special circumstances, nearly all this would apply to the Bible.
Christianity, like Brahmanism, like Buddhism37, like Mohammedanism, is a book religion. It is "God-given," or revealed, and its Bible has been elevated to a position of infallibility, above the reach of human reason, precisely38 like the Bibles of other oriental faiths. This sanctification of every thought and word and letter is declared by Max Müller to have been "the death-blow given to the Vedic religion," destroying its power of growth and change. A similar observation is made by Sir William Muir respecting the petrified39 gospel of the Koran:—
"From the stiff and rigid shroud33 in which it is thus swathed, the religion of Mohammed cannot emerge. It has no plastic power beyond that exercised in its earliest days. Hardened now and inelastic, it can neither adapt itself nor yet shape its votaries40, nor even suffer them to shape themselves, to the varying circumstances, the wants and developments of mankind."*
How curious it is, after reading this strong passage, to come across a diametrically opposite one in the work of another eminent41 writer on the same subject. Professor Arnold closes his important book on the propagation of the Muslim faith with a reference to "the power of this religion to adapt itself to the peculiar42 characteristics and the stage of development of the people whose allegiance it seeks to win."** Historically, it is perfectly43 certain that Mohammedanism has been found compatible with a high degree of civilisation44. Many instances might be given, but a single one is sufficient. The Mohammedan civilisation in Spain was far superior to the Christian civilisation which, after terrible bloodshed and enormous destruction, was established upon its ruins. The truth is, that religions always change when they must change, and never otherwise. When the necessity arises, learned divines will always be found to make the requisite45 accommodations. This, indeed, is the explanation of the labors46 of Dr. Farrar and other exponents47 of the Higher Criticism. They are simply accommodating Christianity, and the Bible with it, to the serious changes that have taken place in educated opinion and sentiment, in consequence of the development of physical science, the progress of historical criticism, and the growth of moral culture. All the truth in Sir William Muir's impeachment48 of Mohammedanism is no less applicable to Christianity. The Bible, like the Koran, and like every other revelation, stereotyped49 old ideas, and gave them a factitious longevity50. Dr. Farrar himself not only admits, but contends, that the Bible has been invoked51 against every advance in science, politics, and sociology. What more could be said of the Koran or any other sacred book?
* Sir William Muir, Rise and Decline of Islam, pp. 40, 41.
** T. W. Arnold, The Preaching of Islam.
Bring any oriental religion into Europe, and it must change or perish. Christianity is not true, as Mr. Gladstone and so many orthodox apologists have argued, because the Christian nations are at the top of civilisation. The Caucasian mind led the world before the advent52 of Christianity, and it is doing the same now. Christians53 are apt to forget that Greece and Italy are in Europe, and that Athens and Rome—two imperishable names in the world's history—were far-shining cities before a good deal of the Old Testament was written.
Keep any oriental religion in the East, however, and there is no saying how long it will last unaltered. Do not travellers talk of the unchanging East? The civilisation of China is almost what it was thousands of years ago. Syrian life to-day is like a picture from the Bible. And the old Orient, as Flaubert said, is the land of religions; and where Asia looks upon Europe, and the communication between them began of yore, you may sample all the faiths of antiquity54. Flaubert remarked that the assemblage of all the old religions in Syria was something incredible; it was enough to study for centuries.*
* Flaubert, Correspondence, vol. i., p. 344.
Asia spawned55 forth56 all the great religions, and produced all the great revelations. Arabia is in Africa, but the Arabs are not Africans; they belong to the Semitic race, like the Jews, and the Koran embodies57 Jewish and other Semitic traditions.
The Bible, then, is an oriental book, an Asiatic book, in spite of the Greek elements which are incorporated in the New Testament, notably58 in the fourth Gospel. It has never been in harmony with the real life of the West. When it has dominated the life of a particular locality, for a certain period, the result has been something typically non-European; as in the case of Scotland under the despotism of the Kirk, whose spiritual slaves prompted Heine's epigram that the Presbyterian Scotchman was a Jew, born in the north, who ate pork. Modern civilisation is mainly a return to the spirit of secular59 progress which inspired the immortal60 achievements of Greece and Rome.
"The revival61 of learning and the Renaissance62 are memorable63 as the first sturdy breasting by humanity of the hither slope of the great hollow which lies between us and the ancient world. The modern man, reformed and regenerated64 by knowledge, looks across it, and recognises on the opposite ridge65, in the far-shining cities and stately porticoes66, in the art, politics, and science of antiquity, many more ties of kinship and sympathy than in the mighty67 concave between, wherein dwell his Christian ancestry68, in the dim light of scholasticism and theology."*
* James Cotter Morison, The Service of Man, p. 178.
Well, if we once fully69 recognise the Bible as an oriental book, we are on the road to its complete comprehension. Its grossness of speech, its gratuitous70 reference to animal functions, its designation of males by their sexual attributes even on the most serious occasions, its religious observances in connection with pregnancy71 and birth, its very rite12 of circumcision; all this, and much more, becomes perfectly intelligible72. It is in keeping with all we know of the ideas, practices, and language of the East. Moreover, we perceive why it is that similarities to the theology, the poetry, and the ethics of the Bible have been so liberally disclosed by the progress of oriental studies. The Bible, being brought from the East, has to be carried back there to be properly understood. It is true that Christian divines have offered their own explanation of these similarities. At first they declared them to be Satanic anticipations73, devilish pre-mockeries, of God's own truth. Then they declared them to be confused echoes of the oracles74 of Jehovah. Finally, they declare them to be evidences of the fact that, although God chose the Jewish race as the medium of his special revelation, he also revealed himself partially75 to other nations. But these explanations are alike fantastic. They rest upon no ground of history or evolution. The real explanation is that the Bible is one of the many sacred books of the East. Its differences from the rest are not of kind, but of degree; and any superiority that may be claimed for it must henceforth be argued upon this basis.
This oriental Bible is at utter variance76 with the vital beliefs, the political and social tendencies, and the ethical aspirations77, of the present age. Science has destroyed its naive78 supernaturalism; reason has placed its personal God—the magnified, non-natural man—in his own niche79 in the world's Pantheon; philosophy has carried us far beyond its primitive80 conceptions of human society; our morality has outgrown81 its hardness and insularity82, however we may still appreciate its finer ejaculations; even the most pious83 Christians, with the exception of a few "peculiar" people, only pay a hypocritical homage84 to its clearest injunctions; and the higher development of decency85 and propriety makes us turn from its crude expressions with a growing sense of disgust, while the progress of humanity fills us more and more with a loathing86 of its frightful87 wars and ruthless massacres88, its tales of barbaric cruelty, and its crowning infamy89 of an everlasting90 hell.
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1
justification
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| n.正当的理由；辩解的理由 | |
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outrageous
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| adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的 | |
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crudity
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| n.粗糙，生硬；adj.粗略的 | |
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rigid
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| adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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propriety
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| n.正当行为；正当；适当 | |
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extenuation
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| n.减轻罪孽的借口；酌情减轻；细 | |
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scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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mythology
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| n.神话，神话学，神话集 | |
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ethics
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| n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准 | |
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interpretation
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| n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理 | |
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rite
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| n.典礼，惯例，习俗 | |
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Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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vernacular
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| adj.地方的，用地方语写成的；n.白话；行话；本国语；动植物的俗名 | |
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originality
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| n.创造力，独创性；新颖 | |
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artistic
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| adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的 | |
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superstition
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| n.迷信，迷信行为 | |
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doctrines
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| n.教条( doctrine的名词复数 )；教义；学说；（政府政策的）正式声明 | |
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jargon
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| n.术语，行话 | |
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generic
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| adj.一般的，普通的，共有的 | |
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Founder
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| n.创始者，缔造者 | |
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testament
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| n.遗嘱；证明 | |
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Buddhist
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| adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒 | |
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scriptures
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| 经文，圣典( scripture的名词复数 )； 经典 | |
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Buddha
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| n.佛；佛像；佛陀 | |
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hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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embody
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| vt.具体表达，使具体化；包含，收录 | |
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canonical
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| n.权威的；典型的 | |
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authoritative
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| adj.有权威的，可相信的；命令式的；官方的 | |
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ethical
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| adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的 | |
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prohibitions
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| 禁令，禁律( prohibition的名词复数 )； 禁酒； 禁例 | |
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shroud
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| n.裹尸布，寿衣；罩，幕；vt.覆盖，隐藏 | |
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shrouded
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| v.隐瞒( shroud的过去式和过去分词 )；保密 | |
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purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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syllable
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| n.音节；vt.分音节 | |
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Buddhism
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| n.佛教（教义） | |
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precisely
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| adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地 | |
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petrified
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| adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词) | |
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40
votaries
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| n.信徒( votary的名词复数 )；追随者；（天主教）修士；修女 | |
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eminent
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| adj.显赫的，杰出的，有名的，优良的 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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civilisation
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| n.文明，文化，开化，教化 | |
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requisite
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| adj.需要的，必不可少的；n.必需品 | |
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46
labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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47
exponents
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| n.倡导者( exponent的名词复数 )；说明者；指数；能手 | |
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48
impeachment
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| n.弹劾；控告；怀疑 | |
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49
stereotyped
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| adj.(指形象、思想、人物等)模式化的 | |
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50
longevity
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| n.长命；长寿 | |
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51
invoked
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| v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求 | |
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52
advent
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| n.(重要事件等的)到来，来临 | |
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53
Christians
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| n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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54
antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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55
spawned
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| （鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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57
embodies
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| v.表现( embody的第三人称单数 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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58
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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59
secular
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| n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的 | |
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60
immortal
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| adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的 | |
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61
revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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62
renaissance
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| n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴 | |
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memorable
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| adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的 | |
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regenerated
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| v.新生，再生( regenerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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65
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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66
porticoes
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| n.柱廊，（有圆柱的）门廊( portico的名词复数 ) | |
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mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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ancestry
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| n.祖先，家世 | |
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69
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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70
gratuitous
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| adj.无偿的，免费的；无缘无故的，不必要的 | |
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71
pregnancy
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| n.怀孕，怀孕期 | |
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72
intelligible
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| adj.可理解的，明白易懂的，清楚的 | |
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73
anticipations
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| 预期( anticipation的名词复数 )； 预测； （信托财产收益的）预支； 预期的事物 | |
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oracles
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| 神示所( oracle的名词复数 )； 神谕； 圣贤； 哲人 | |
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75
partially
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| adv.部分地，从某些方面讲 | |
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76
variance
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| n.矛盾，不同 | |
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77
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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78
naive
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| adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的 | |
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79
niche
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| n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等) | |
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80
primitive
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| adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物 | |
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81
outgrown
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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82
insularity
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| n.心胸狭窄；孤立；偏狭；岛国根性 | |
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83
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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84
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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85
decency
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| n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重 | |
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86
loathing
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| n.厌恶，憎恨v.憎恨，厌恶( loathe的现在分词)；极不喜欢 | |
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frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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88
massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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89
infamy
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| n.声名狼藉，出丑，恶行 | |
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everlasting
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| adj.永恒的，持久的，无止境的 | |
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