CHAPTER III

EGYPT AND BABYLONIA

GASTON MASPERO, the distinguished Egyptologist, tells us the very earliest glimpses of Egyptian history show innumerable divinities and a corresponding priesthood already installed. cerning the earliest history he says:

Con

"Fantastic legends concocted by the priests go on to relate how at length Egypt was civilized by Osiris and Isis. Elaborate, intricate, and hopelessly confused are the fables relating to the Osirian embalment and the opening of Osiris to the followers of Horus, the son of Isis." He also says:

"The incredible number of religious scenes to be found represented on the ancient monuments of Egypt is at first glance striking. Nearly every illustration in the works of Egyptologists shows us the figure of some deity. One would think the country had been inhabited for the most part by gods, with just men and animals enough to satisfy the requirements of their worship."

There developed here as always under a priesthood the rich and powerful aristocratic class, and the poor, half-starved, masses of the people. Slavery too was almost universal and thousands of these slaves perished in the building of the pyramids. The military power was developed and wars frequent. The flower of the youth of many countries was destroyed in battle, Egypt like the other coun

tries exhausting her men and materials in this way. She commenced sinking very low in the scale of nations about 1500 B. C. and continued descending for centuries and now for nearly 2500 years she has been a prey to different foreign nations until she has finally lost her distinct nationality. What other issue could have been expected?

Babylonia too, emerging from the mists and uncertainties of antiquity had countless divinities and a numerous and powerful priesthood. We again quote Dr. Maspero:

"The gods of the Euphrates like those of the Nile constituted a countless multitude of visible and invisible beings. While the gods of Egypt were generally kindly and friendly, those of Babylonia were for the most part cruel and implacable. While the ordinary priest chose for himself a single deity the priest king exercised universal, sacerdotal functions. On great festival days or for sacerdotal functions they laid aside all insignia of royalty and were clad as ordinary priests. At first the priests seemed to have precedence. Later as the cities became more powerful the king claimed and asserted that precedence."

"The women in Babylonia were not treated with even the respect paid them in Egypt; and conquered peoples were often slaughtered or reduced to pitiless slavery." It is sufficient commentary on ancient Babylonia that all that can be found of her today has to be dug out of mounds forgotten for thousands of years. "Semper eadem". The results of priestly

superstition and tyranny are always the same whether ancient or modern, i. e. ignorance, superstition, poverty and slavery.

BALEFUL INFLUENCE OF THE PRIESTHOOD ON MODERN CIVILIZATION

IN the previous chapter was indicated the decline and fall of ancient and powerful nations largely because of the baleful, degrading and tyrannical influence of a priestly caste.

In this chapter we shall discuss the influence of the priestly caste on modern nations in paralyzing the intellect; in destroying initiative and independence; and in operating as the principal cause of ignorance, poverty, and crime. To the unprejudiced thinker and reader these facts are as plain as daylight, unquestioned, decisive, and final. To the prejudiced and bigoted, an appeal to intelligence, facts and reason, is as futile as a verbal appeal to man totally deaf. The man who can believe that a few latin words said over a wafer changes it into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the identical atoms of this matter can be in 10,000 or 10,000,000 different places at once; can believe any absurdity concerning his religion; which he could not believe or entertain for a moment concerning any other subject or object on earth. In fact he would vigorously resent any accusation of such credulity. It is useless to try to reason with such people. Its immediate reIsult would be similar to the accusation of the Athenians concerning Socrates,-"Impiety". The

same old story of every priestly caste against all who reject their mythologies, whether of Jupiter, Zeus or Osiris; whether of Diana of the Ephesians, or Isis of the Egyptians, or the Queen of Heaven of Jeremiah's time or the present time! Arrest him! torture him! imprison him! burn him! This has always been the spirit and practice of priestly bigotry and despotism. Under the psuedoChristian priesthood it has been more cruel, vindictive and Satanic, than under any of the ancient pagan priesthoods. Let us repeat, "God is Love." "He that loveth not knoweth not God." Hate is Satanic. This is the ultimate test of all religions. O for the spear of Ithuriel, to pierce all masks of hypocrisy! To eventually destroy all efforts to do the Devil's work in the name of Christ! The love of God will finally triumph over all Commercial Greed, all Racial Pride, all Religious Bigotry. The Fatherhood of God and Universal Brotherhood of Man will emerge from the clash and thunder, and ruin of nations and their idolatries. The Original and Creative Rights and Responsibilities of Manhood will be recognized, and "he will be the true worshipper who worships God in Spirit and in Truth" regardless of race, condition, clime, color or creed.

Rome has been the most bitter and bloody persecutor of what she deemed heresy, of all that ever existed upon the earth. As late as 1895 eight persons, men, women, and children, were burned to death publicly in southern Mexico for heresy. It seems to us horrible and impossible in this enlighten