Beacon Lights of History, Volume 01 | Page 4

a higher antiquity for their religion--like the Egyptians and
Chinese--than that which the sacred writings of the Hebrews show to

have been communicated to Abraham, and to earlier men of God
treated of in those Scriptures; but their claims are not entitled to our full
credence. We are in doubt about them. The origin of religions is
enshrouded in mystical darkness, and is a mere speculation. Authentic
history does not go back far enough to settle this point. The primitive
religion of mankind I believe to have been revealed to inspired men,
who, like Shem, walked with God. Adam, in paradise, knew who God
was, for he heard His voice; and so did Enoch and Noah, and, more
clearly than all, Abraham. They believed in a personal God, maker of
heaven and earth, infinite in power, supreme in goodness, without
beginning and without end, who exercises a providential oversight of
the world which he made.
It is certainly not unreasonable to claim the greatest purity and loftiness
in the monotheistic faith of the Hebrew patriarchs, as handed down to
his children by Abraham, over that of all other founders of ancient
religious systems, not only since that faith was, as we believe,
supernaturally communicated, but since the fruit of that stock,
especially in its Christian development, is superior to all others. This
sublime monotheism was ever maintained by the Hebrew race, in all
their wanderings, misfortunes, and triumphs, except on occasions when
they partially adopted the gods of those nations with whom they came
in contact, and by whom they were corrupted or enslaved.
But it is not my purpose to discuss the religion of the Jews in this
connection, since it is treated in other volumes of this series, and since
everybody has access to the Bible, the earlier portions of which give the
true account not only of the Hebrews and their special progenitor
Abraham, but of the origin of the earth and of mankind; and most
intelligent persons are familiar with its details.
I begin my description of ancient religions with those systems with
which the Jews were more or less familiar, and by which they were
more or less influenced. And whether these religions were, as I think,
themselves corrupted forms of the primitive revelation to primitive man,
or, as is held by some philosophers of to-day, natural developments out
of an original worship of the powers of Nature, of ghosts of ancestral

heroes, of tutelar deities of household, family, tribe, nation, and so forth,
it will not affect their relation to my plan of considering this
background of history in its effects upon modern times, through
Judaism and Christianity.
* * * * *
The first which naturally claims our attention is the religion of ancient
Egypt. But I can show only the main features and characteristics of this
form of paganism, avoiding the complications of their system and their
perplexing names as much as possible. I wish to present what is
ascertained and intelligible rather than what is ingenious and obscure.
The religion of Egypt is very old,--how old we cannot tell with
certainty. We know that it existed before Abraham, and with but few
changes, for at least two thousand years. Mariette places the era of the
first Egyptian dynasty under Menes at 5004 B.C. It is supposed that the
earliest form of the Egyptian religion was monotheistic, such as was
known later, however, only to a few of the higher priesthood. What the
esoteric wisdom really was we can only conjecture, since there are no
sacred books or writings that have come down to us, like the Indian
Vedas and the Persian Zend-Avesta. Herodotus affirms that he knew
the mysteries, but he did not reveal them.
But monotheism was lost sight of in Egypt at an earlier period than the
beginning of authentic history. It is the fate of all institutions to become
corrupt, and this is particularly true of religious systems. The reason of
this is not difficult to explain. The Bible and human experience fully
exhibit the course of this degradation. Hence, before Abraham's visit to
Egypt the religion of that land had degenerated into a gross and
complicated polytheism, which it was apparently for the interest of the
priesthood to perpetuate.
The Egyptian religion was the worship of the powers of Nature,--the
sun, the moon, the planets, the air, the storm, light, fire, the clouds, the
rivers, the lightning, all of which were supposed to exercise a
mysterious influence over human destiny. There was doubtless an
indefinite sense of awe in view of the wonders of the material universe,

extending to a vague fear of some almighty supremacy over all that
could be seen or known. To these powers of Nature the Egyptians gave
names, and made them divinities.
The Egyptian polytheism