Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions: Being a Comparison of the Old and New Testament Myths and Miracles with those of the Heathen Nations of Antiquity Considering also their Origin and MeaningDoane, T. W. (Thomas William)
Religion
Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions: Being a Comparison of the Old and New Testament Myths and Miracles with those of the Heathen Nations of Antiquity Considering also their Origin and Meaning
"_Let all the sins that were committed in this world fall on
me, that the world may be delivered._"[189:5]
The _Indians_ are no strangers to the doctrine of _original sin_. It is
their invariable belief that _man is a fallen being_; admitted by them
from time immemorial.[189:6] And what we have seen concerning their
beliefs in _Crishna_ and _Buddha_ unmistakably shows a belief in a
_divine Saviour_, who _redeems man_, and takes upon himself the sins of
the world; so that "_Baddha_ paid it all, all to him is due."[189:7]
The idea of redemption through the sufferings and death of a _Divine
Saviour_, is to be found even in the ancient religions of China. One of
their five sacred volumes, called the _Y-King_, says, in speaking of
_Tien, the "Holy One"_:
"The _Holy One_ will unite in himself all the virtues of
heaven and earth. By his justice the world will be
re-established in the ways of righteousness. He will labor and
suffer much. He must pass the great torrent, whose waves shall
enter into his soul; _but he alone can offer up to the Lord a
sacrifice worthy of him_."[190:1]
An ancient commentator says:
"The common people sacrifice their lives to gain bread; the
philosophers to gain reputation; the nobility to perpetuate
their families. The _Holy One_ (_Tien_) does not seek himself,
but the good of others. _He dies to save the world._"[190:2]
_Tien_, the Holy One, is always spoken of as one with God, existing with
him from all eternity, "before anything was made."
_Osiris_ and _Horus_, the Egyptian virgin-born gods, suffered
death.[190:3] Mr. Bonwick, speaking of _Osiris_, says:
"He is one of the _Saviours_ or deliverers of humanity, to be
found in almost all lands." "In his efforts to do good, he
encounters evil; in struggling with that he is overcome; he is
killed."[190:4]
Alexander Murray says:
"_The Egyptian Saviour Osiris_ was gratefully regarded as the
great exemplar of self-sacrifice, in _giving his life for
others_."[190:5]
Sir J. G. Wilkinson says of him:
"The sufferings and death of _Osiris_ were the great Mystery
of the Egyptian religion, and some traces of it are
perceptible among other peoples of antiquity. His being the
_Divine Goodness_, and the abstract idea of 'good,' his
manifestation upon earth (like a Hindoo god), his death and
resurrection, and his office as judge of the dead in a future
state, _look like the early revelation of a future
manifestation of the deity converted into a mythological
fable_."[190:6]
_Horus_ was also called "The Saviour." "As Horus Sneb, he is the
_Redeemer_. He is the Lord of Life and the Eternal One."[190:7] He is
also called "The Only-Begotten."[190:8]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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