The Bible UnveiledMangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch)
Religion
The Bible Unveiled
Mangasarian, M. M. (Mangasar Mugurditch)
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Let us make a brief comparison between the Book of God and some of
the books of man. Suppose we wished to teach the splendid truth of the
solidarity of the human race--the oneness of mankind--is there anything,
either in the New or the Old Testament, which in breadth or beauty
approaches the thoughts of the pagan philosophers on this subject?
_I am a citizen of the world.--Socrates.
Nature ordains that a man should wish the good of every man, whoever he
may be, and for this very reason--that he is a man.--Cicero._
Did any Jew, or Christian, ever say anything like that?
_I was not born for one corner; my country is this whole
world.--Seneca._
And it was not a slave, but a citizen of the proudest empire the world
ever saw, who thus opens his sympathies to embrace the whole of
the human family. Where is the bible prophet, or apostle, who could
transcend creed and country with the same _elan?_
_The much admired Republic of Zeno aimed simply at this, that neither in
cities nor towns we should live under distinct laws, one from another,
but should look on all men as our fellow countrymen and citizens...
like a flock feeding together with equal rights in a common
pasture_.--Plutarch. *
* The Fortune of Alexander, 6.
What would not Jews or Christians give for such a passage in their
"holy" book! How proudly the clergy would quote it, to prove the
divinity of their religion, if this beautiful gem sparkled somewhere
within the covers of their bible!
_I am a man, and nothing human can be foreign to me.--Terrence._
A sentiment like that makes the whole page which expresses it of solid
gold. In vain do we look for so big an utterance in "infallible" books.
To the Hebrew there was no world outside Israel, and to Jesus all that
came before him were "thieves and robbers." Not until Christianity
crossed over into Europe did its missionaries discover that "God hath
made of one blood all the nations of the earth," though even then it was
a creed they had to accept or perish.
_In the name of the universal brotherhood which binds together all men
under the common father of nature.
Nature is the only impartial father. The chosen people of this father
are those of whatever race and religion who conquer knowledge and follow
Reason.--Quintillian.
Love mankind.--Antoninus._
Is it not better than the "love one another," of Jesus, which really
meant, "love only your fellow-believer"? Jesus declared that it will be
worse for those who rejected him and his apostles, on the last day, than
for Sodom and Gomorrah, which were consumed by fire from heaven.
_What good man will look on any suffering as foreign to
himself?--Juvenal.
The Universe is but a great city; never, in reply to the question to
what country you belong, say you are an Athenian, or a Corinthian, but
say you are a Cosmopolitan--a citizen of the world.--Epictetus._ *
* Discourses i, 9.
But it was not only in their universalism that the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account