Bible Myths and their Parallels in other Religions Part 41

"Take me down from the a.s.s, for that which is in me presses to come forth."

Joseph, replying, said:

"Whither shall I take thee, _for the place is desert_?"

Then said Mary again to Joseph:

"Take me down, for that which is within me mightily presses me."

Joseph then took her down from off the a.s.s, and he found there a _cave_ and put her into it.

Joseph then left Mary in the cave, and started toward Bethlehem for a midwife, whom he found and brought back with him. When they neared the spot a bright cloud overshadowed the cave.

"But on a sudden the cloud became _a great light in the cave_, so their eyes could not bear it. But the light gradually decreased, until the infant appeared and sucked the breast of his mother."[155:1]

Tertullian (A. D. 200), Jerome (A. D. 375) and other Fathers of the Church, also state that Jesus was born in a _cave_, and that the _heathen_ celebrated, in their day, the birth and _Mysteries_ of their Lord and Saviour Adonis in this very cave near Bethlehem.[155:2]

Canon Farrar says:

"That the actual place of Christ's birth was a _cave_, is a very ancient tradition, and this cave used to be shown as the scene of the event even so early as the time of Justin Martyr (A. D. 150)."[155:3]

Mr. King says:

"The place _yet_ shown as the scene of their (the Magi's) adoration at Bethlehem is a _cave_."[155:4]

The Christian ceremonies in the Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem are celebrated to this day in a _cave_,[155:5] and are undoubtedly nearly the same as were celebrated, _in the same place_, in honor of _Adonis_, in the time of Tertullian and Jerome; and as are yet celebrated in Rome every Christmas-day, _very early in the morning_.

We see, then, that there are _three_ different accounts concerning the _place_ in which Jesus was born. The first, and evidently true one, was that which is recorded by the _Matthew_ narrator, namely, that he was born in a _house_. The stories about his being born in a _stable_ or in a _cave_[155:6] were later inventions, caused from the desire to place him in as _humble_ a position as possible in his infancy, and from the fact that the virgin-born Saviours who had _preceded_ him had almost all been born in a position the most humiliating--such as a cave, a cow-shed, a sheep-fold, &c.--or had been placed there after birth. This was a part of the _universal mythos_. As ill.u.s.trations we may mention the following:

_Crishna_, the Hindoo virgin-born Saviour, was born in a _cave_,[156:1]

fostered by an honest _herdsman_,[156:2] and, it is said, placed in a _sheep-fold_ shortly after his birth.

_How-Tseih_, the Chinese "Son of Heaven," when an infant, was left unprotected by his mother, but the _sheep_ and _oxen_ protected him with loving care.[156:3]

_Abraham_, the Father of Patriarchs, is said to have been _born in a cave_.[156:4]

_Bacchus_, who was the son of G.o.d by the virgin Semele, is said to have been _born in a cave_, or placed in one shortly after his birth.[156:5]

Philostratus, the Greek sophist and rhetorician, says, "the inhabitants of India had a tradition that Bacchus was born at _Nisa_, and was brought up in a _cave_ on Mount Meros."

_aesculapius_, who was the son of G.o.d by the virgin Coronis, was left exposed, when an infant, on a mountain, where he was found and cared for by a _goatherd_.[156:6]

_Romulus_, who was the son of G.o.d by the virgin Rhea-Sylvia, was left exposed, when an infant, on the banks of the river Tiber, where he was found and cared for by a _shepherd_.[156:7]

_Adonis_, the "Lord" and "Saviour," was placed in a _cave_ shortly after his birth.[156:8]

_Apollo_ (Phoibos), son of the Almighty Zeus, was born in a cave at early dawn.[156:9]

_Mithras_, the Persian Saviour, was born in a _cave or grotto_,[156:10]

at early dawn.

_Hermes_, the son of G.o.d by the mortal _Maia_, was born early in the morning, in _a cave or grotto_ of the Kyllemian hill.[156:11]

_Attys_, the G.o.d of the Phrygians,[156:12] was born in a _cave_ or grotto.[156:13]

The _object_ is the same in all of these stories, however they may differ in detail, which is to place the heaven-born infant in the most humiliating position in infancy.

We have seen it is recorded that, at the time of the birth of Jesus "there was a _great light_ in the cave, so that the eyes of Joseph and the midwife could not bear it." This feature is also represented in early Christian art. "Early Christian painters have represented the infant Jesus as welcoming three Kings of the East, _and shining as brilliantly as if covered with phosphuretted oil_."[157:1] In all pictures of the Nativity, the light is made to arise from the body of the infant, and the father and mother are often depicted with glories round their heads. This too was a part of the old mythos, as we shall now see.

The moment _Crishna_ was born, his mother became beautiful, and her form brilliant. The whole cave was splendidly illuminated, being filled with a _heavenly light_, and the countenances of his father and his mother emitted rays of glory.[157:2]

So likewise, it is recorded that, at the time of the birth of Buddha, "the Saviour of the World," which, according to one account, took place in an _inn_, "_a divine light diffused around his person_," so that "the Blessed One" was "heralded into the world by a supernatural light."[157:3]

When _Bacchus_ was born, a _bright light_ shone round him,[157:4] so that, "_there was a brilliant light in the cave_."

When _Apollo_ was born, _a halo of serene light encircled his cradle_, the nymphs of heaven attended, and bathed him in pure water, and girded a broad golden band around his form.[157:5]

When the Saviour _aesculapius_ was born, his countenance shone like the sun, and he was surrounded by a fiery ray.[157:6]

In the life of _Zoroaster_ the common mythos is apparent. He was born in innocence of an immaculate conception of a Ray of the Divine Reason. As soon as he was born, _the glory arising from his body enlightened the whole room_, and he laughed at his mother.[157:7]

It is stated in the legends of the Hebrew Patriarchs that, at the birth of _Moses_, a bright light appeared and shone around.[157:8]

There is still another feature which we must notice in these narratives, that is, the contradictory statements concerning the _time_ when Jesus was born. As we shall treat of this subject more fully in the chapter on "The Birthday of Christ Jesus," we shall allude to it here simply as far as necessary.

The _Matthew_ narrator informs us that Jesus was born _in the days of Herod the King_, and the _Luke_ narrator says he was born _when Cyrenius_ was _Governor of Syria_, or later. This is a very awkward and unfortunate statement, as Cyrenius was not Governor of Syria until some _ten years after the time of Herod_.[158:1]

The cause of this dilemma is owing to the fact that the Luke narrator, after having interwoven into _his_ story, of the birth of Jesus, the _old myth_ of the tax or tribute, which is said to have taken place at the time of the birth of some _previous_ virgin-born Saviours, looked among the records to see if a taxing had ever taken place in Judea, so that he might refer to it in support of his statement. He found the account of the taxing, referred to above, and without stopping to consider _when_ this taxing took place, or whether or not it would conflict with the statement that Jesus was born _in the days of Herod_, he added to his narrative the words: "And this taxing was _first made_ when Cyrenius was governor of Syria."[158:2]

We will now show the ancient myth of the taxing. According to the _Vishnu Purana_, when the infant Saviour _Crishna_ was born, his foster father, _Nanda_, had come to the city _to pay his tax or yearly tribute to the king_. It distinctly speaks of Nanda, and other cowherds, "_bringing tribute or tax to Kansa_" the reigning monarch.[158:3]

It also describes a scene which took place after the taxes had been paid.

Vasudeva, an acquaintance of Nanda's, "went to the wagon of Nanda, and found Nanda there, rejoicing that a son (Crishna) had been born to him.

"Vasudeva spoke to him kindly, and congratulated him _on having a son in his old age_.[158:4]

"'Thy yearly tribute,' he added, 'has been paid to the king . . . why do you delay, now that your affairs are settled? Up, Nanda, quickly, and set off to your own pastures.' . . . Accordingly Nanda and the other cowherds returned to their village."[158:5]

Now, in regard to _Buddha_, the same myth is found.

Among the thirty-two signs which were to be fulfilled by the mother of the expected Messiah (Buddha), the fifth sign was recorded to be, "_that she would be on a journey at the time of her child's birth_."

Therefore, "that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets," the virgin Maya, in the tenth month after her heavenly conception, was on a journey to her father, when lo, the birth of the Messiah took place under a tree. One account says that "she had alighted at an _inn_ when Buddha was born."[159:1]

The mother of _Lao-tsze_, the Virgin-born Chinese sage, was away from home when her child was born. She stopped to rest _under a tree_, and there, like the virgin Maya, gave birth to her son.[159:2]

_Pythagoras_ (B. C. 570), whose real father was the Holy Ghost,[159:3]

was also born at a time when his mother was away from home on a journey.

She was travelling with her husband, who was _about his mercantile concerns_, from Samos to Sidon.[159:4]