The Book of Religions Part 24

PANTHEISTS.

Abner Kneeland's "Philosophical Creed," as he terms it, is probably a good definition of the views of those who consider the universe as an immense animal,

"Whose body nature is, and G.o.d the soul."

Mr. Kneeland says, "I believe in the existence of a universe of suns and planets, among which there is one sun belonging to our planetary system, and that other suns, being more remote, are called stars; but that they are indeed suns to other planetary systems. I believe that the whole universe is NATURE, and that the word NATURE embraces the whole universe, and that G.o.d and Nature, so far as we can attach any rational idea to either, are perfectly synonymous terms. Hence I am not an Atheist, but a PANTHEIST; that is, instead of believing there is no G.o.d, I believe that, in the abstract, all is G.o.d; and that all power that is, is in G.o.d, and that there is no power except that which proceeds from G.o.d. I believe that there can be no will or intelligence where there is no sense, and no sense where there are no organs of sense; and hence sense, will, and intelligence, is the effect, and not the cause, of organization. I believe in all that logically results from those premises, whether good, bad, or indifferent. Hence I believe that G.o.d is all in all; and that it is in G.o.d we live, move, and have our being; and that the whole duty of man consists in living as long as he can, and in promoting as much happiness as he can while he lives."

MAHOMETANS.

Mahometanism is a scheme of religion formed and propagated by _Mahomet_, who was born at Mecca, A. D. 569, and died at Medina, in 632.

His system is a compound of Paganism, Judaism, and Christianity; and the Koran, which is their Bible, is held in great reverence. It is replete with absurd representations, and is supposed to have been written by a Jew. The most eloquent pa.s.sage is allowed to be the following, where G.o.d is introduced, bidding the waters of the deluge to cease:-"Earth, swallow up the waters; heaven, draw up those thou hast poured out; immediately the waters retreated, the command of G.o.d was obeyed, the ark rested on the mountains, and these words were heard-'Woe to the wicked!' "

This religion is still professed and adhered to by the Turks and Persians, and by several nations in Asia and Africa. The best statistical writers estimate the number of Mahometans in the world at about one hundred and forty millions.

Mahomet descended from an honorable tribe, and from the n.o.blest family of that tribe; yet his original lot was poverty. By his good conduct, he obtained the hand of a widow of wealth and respectability, and was soon raised to an equality with the richest people in Mecca.

Soon after his marriage, he formed the scheme of establishing a new religion, or, as he expressed it, of replanting the only true and ancient one professed by Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all the prophets, by destroying the gross idolatry into which most of his countrymen had fallen, and weeding out the corruptions and superst.i.tions which the later Jews and Christians had, as he thought, introduced into their religion, and reducing it to its original purity, which consisted chiefly in the worship of one G.o.d.

The Mahometans divide their religion into two general parts, faith and practice, of which the first is divided into six distinct branches-belief in G.o.d, in his angels, in his Scriptures, in his prophets, in the resurrection and final judgment, and in G.o.d's absolute decrees. The points relating to practice are, prayer, with washings, alms, fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca, and circ.u.mcision.

They believe that both Mahomet and those among his followers who are reckoned orthodox, had, and continue to have, just and true notions of G.o.d, and that his attributes appear so plain from the Koran itself, and all the Mahometan divines, that it would be loss of time to refute those who suppose the G.o.d of Mahomet to be different from the true G.o.d, and only a fict.i.tious deity, or idol of his own creation.

They believe that the existence of angels, and their purity, are absolutely required to be believed in the Koran; and he is reckoned an infidel who denies there are such beings, or hates any of them, or a.s.serts any distinction of s.e.xes among them. They believe them to have pure and subtile bodies, created of fire; that they neither eat, drink, nor propagate their species; that they have various forms and offices, some adoring G.o.d in different postures, others singing praises to him, or interceding for mankind. They hold that some of them are employed in writing down the actions of men, others in carrying the throne of G.o.d, and other services.

As to the Scriptures, the Mahometans are taught by the Koran, that G.o.d, in divers ages of the world, gave revelations of his will in writing to several prophets, the whole and every one of which it is absolutely necessary for a good Moslem to believe. The number of these sacred books were, according to them, one hundred and four; of which ten were given to Adam, fifty to Seth, thirty to Edris or Enoch, ten to Abraham, and the other four, being the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Koran, were successively delivered to Moses, David, Jesus, and Mahomet; which last being the seal of the prophets, those revelations are now closed, and no more are to be expected. All these divine books, except the four last, they agree now to be entirely lost, and their contents unknown, though the Sabians have several books which they attribute to some of the antediluvian prophets. And of those four, the Pentateuch, Psalms, and Gospel, they say, have undergone so many alterations and corruptions, that, though there may possibly be some part of the true word of G.o.d therein, yet no credit is to be given to the present copies in the hands of the Jews and Christians.

They believe that the number of the prophets which have been from time to time sent by G.o.d into the world, amounts to no less than 224,000, according to one Mahometan tradition; or to 124,000, according to another; among whom 313 were apostles, sent with special commissions to reclaim mankind from infidelity and superst.i.tion; and six of them brought new laws or dispensations, which successively abrogated the preceding: these were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mahomet. All the prophets in general the Mahometans believe to have been freed from great sins and errors of consequence, and professors of one and the same religion, that is, Islamism, notwithstanding the different laws and inst.i.tutions which they observed. They allow of degrees among them, and hold some of them to be more excellent and honorable than others. The first place they give to the revealers and establishes of new dispensations, and the next to the apostles.

They believe in a general resurrection and a future judgment.

The time of the resurrection the Mahometans allow to be a perfect secret to all but G.o.d alone; the angel Gabriel himself acknowledging his ignorance in this point, when Mahomet asked him about it. However, they say the approach of that day may be known from certain signs which are to precede it.

After the examination is past, and every one's work weighed in a just balance, they say that mutual retaliation will follow, according to which every creature will take vengeance one of another, or have satisfaction made them for the injuries which they have suffered. And, since there will then be no other way of returning like for like, the manner of giving this satisfaction will be by taking away a proportional part of the good works of him who offered the injury, and adding it to those of him who suffered it; which being done, if the angels (by whose ministry this is to be performed) say, "_Lord we have given to every one his due, and there remaineth of this person's good works so much as equalleth the weight of an ant,_" G.o.d will, of his mercy, cause it to be doubled unto him, that he may be admitted into paradise; but if, on the contrary, his good works be exhausted, and there remain evil works only, and there be any who have not yet received satisfaction from him, G.o.d will order that an equal weight of their sins be added unto his, that he may be punished for them in their stead, and he will be sent to h.e.l.l laden with both. This will be the method of G.o.d's dealing with mankind. As to brutes, after they shall have likewise taken vengeance of one another, he will command them to be changed into dust; wicked men being reserved to more grievous punishment, so that they shall cry out, on hearing this sentence pa.s.sed on the brutes, "_Would to G.o.d that we were dust also!_"

The trials being over, and the a.s.sembly dissolved, the Manometans hold that those who are to be admitted into paradise will take the right hand way, and those who are destined into h.e.l.l-fire will take the left; but both of them must first pa.s.s the bridge called in Arabic _al Sirat_, which, they say, is laid over the midst of h.e.l.l, and described to be finer than a hair, and sharper than the edge of a sword; so that it seems very difficult to conceive how any one shall be able to stand upon it; for which reason most of the sect of the Motazalites reject it as a fable; though the orthodox think it a sufficient proof of the truth of this article, that it was seriously affirmed by him who never a.s.serted a falsehood, meaning their prophet, who, to add to the difficulty of the pa.s.sage, has likewise declared that this bridge is beset on each side with briers and hooked thorns, which will, however, be no impediment to the good; for they shall pa.s.s with wonderful ease and swiftness, like lightning, or the wind, Mahomet, and his Moslems leading the way; whereas the wicked, what with the slipperiness and extreme narrowness of the path, the entangling of the thorns, and the extinction of the light which directed the former to paradise, will soon miss their footing, and fall down headlong into h.e.l.l, which is gaping beneath them.

As to the punishment of the wicked, the Mahometans are taught that h.e.l.l is divided into seven stories or apartments, one below another, designed for the reception of as many distinct cla.s.ses of the d.a.m.ned.

The first, which they call _Jehenan_, they say, will be the receptacle of those who acknowledged one G.o.d, that is, the wicked Mahometans; who, after having been punished according to their demerits, will at length be released; the second, named _Ladha_, they a.s.sign to the Jews; the third, named _al Hotama_, to the Christians; the fourth, named _al Sair_, to the Sabians; the fifth; named _Sakar_, to the Magians; the sixth, named _al Jahin_, to the idolaters; and the seventh, which is the lowest and worst of all, and is called _al Howyat_, to the hypocrites, or those who outwardly professed some religion, but in their hearts were of none. Over each of these apartments they believe there will be set a guard of angels, nineteen in number; to whom the d.a.m.ned will confess the just judgment of G.o.d, and beg them to intercede with him for some alleviation of their pain, or that they may be delivered by being annihilated.

Mahomet has, in his Koran and traditions, been very exact in describing the various torments of h.e.l.l, which, according to him, the wicked will suffer, both from intense heat and excessive cold. The degrees of these pains will also vary in proportion to the crimes of the sufferer, and the apartment he is condemned to; and he who is punished the most lightly of all will be shod with shoes of fire, the fervor of which will cause his skull to boil like a caldron. The condition of these unhappy wretches, as the same prophet teaches, cannot be properly called either _life_ or _death_; and their misery will be greatly increased by their despair of being ever delivered from that place, since, according to that frequent expression in the Koran, _they must remain therein forever_. It must be remarked, however, that the infidels alone will be liable to eternity of d.a.m.nation; for the Moslems, or those who have embraced the true religion, and have been guilty of heinous sins, will be delivered thence after they shall have expiated their crimes by their sufferings. The time which these believers shall be detained there, according to a tradition handed down from their prophet, will not be less than nine hundred years, nor more than seven thousand. And, as to the manner of their delivery, they say that they shall be distinguished by the marks of prostration on those parts of their bodies with which they used to touch the ground in prayer, and over which the fire will therefore have no power; and that, being known by this characteristic, they will be released by the mercy of G.o.d, at the intercession of Mahomet and the blessed whereupon those who shall have been dead will be restored to life, as has been said; and those whose bodies shall have contracted any sootiness or filth, from the flames and smoke of h.e.l.l, will be immersed in one of the rivers of paradise, called the _River of Life_, which will wash them whiter than pearls.

The righteous, as the Mahometans are taught to believe, having surmounted the difficulties, and pa.s.sed the sharp bridge above mentioned, before they enter paradise, will be refreshed by drinking at the _Pond_ of their prophet, who describes it to be an exact square, of a month's journey in compa.s.s; its water, which is supplied by two pipes from al Cawthay, one of the rivers of paradise, being whiter than milk or silver, and more odoriferous than musk, with as many cups set round it as there are stars in the firmament; of which water whoever drinks will thirst no more forever. This is the first taste which the blessed will have of their future and now near-approaching felicity.

Though paradise be so very frequently mentioned in the Koran, yet it is a dispute among the Mahometans, whether it be already created, or to be created hereafter; the Motazalites and some other sectaries a.s.serting that there is not at present any such place in nature, and that the paradise which the righteous will inhabit in the next life will be different from that from which Adam was expelled. However, the orthodox profess the contrary, maintaining that it was created even before the world, and describe it from their prophet's traditions in the following manner:-

They say it is situated in the seventh heaven, and next under the throne of G.o.d; and, to express the amenity of the place, tell us that the earth of it is of the finest wheat-flour, or of the purest mask, or, as others will have it, of saffron; that its stones are pearls and jacinths, the walls of its building enriched with gold and silver, and that the trunks of all its trees are of gold; among which the most remarkable is the tree called _tuba_, or the tree of happiness. Concerning this tree, they fable that it stands in the palace of Mahomet though a branch of it will reach to the house of every true believer; that it will be laden with pomegranates, grapes, dates, and other fruits of surprising bigness, and of tastes unknown to mortals; so that, if a man desire to eat of any particular kind of fruit, it will immediately be presented him; or, if he choose flesh, birds ready dressed will be set before him, according to his wish. They add that the boughs of this tree will spontaneously bend down to the hand of the person who would gather of its fruits, and that it will supply the blessed not only with food, but also with silken garments, and beasts to ride on ready saddled and bridled, and adorned with rich trappings, which will burst forth from its fruits; and that this tree is so large, that a person mounted on the fleetest horse, would not be able to gallop from one end of its shade to the other in one hundred years.

As plenty of water is one of the greatest additions to the pleasantness of any place, the Koran often speaks of the rivers of paradise as a princ.i.p.al ornament thereof: some of these rivers, they say, flow with water, some with milk, some with wine, and others with honey; all taking their rise from the root of the tree tuba.

But all these glories will be eclipsed by the resplendent and ravishing girls of paradise, called, from their large black eyes, _Hur al oyun_, the enjoyment of whose company will be a princ.i.p.al felicity of the faithful.

These, they say, are created, not of clay, as mortal women are, but of pure musk; being, as their prophet often affirms in his Koran, free from all natural impurities, of the strictest modesty, and secluded from public view in pavilions of hollow pearls, so large that, as some traditions have it, one of them will be no less than sixty miles square.

The name which the Mahometans usually give to this happy mansion is _al Jannat_, or "the Garden;" and sometimes they call it the "Garden of Paradise," the "Garden of Eden," the "Garden of Abode," the "Garden of Pleasure," and the like; by which several appellations some understand so many different gardens, or at least places of different degrees of felicity, (for they reckon no less than one hundred such in all,) the very meanest whereof will afford its inhabitants so many pleasures and delights, that one would conclude they must even sink under them, had not Mahomet declared that, in order to qualify the blessed for a full enjoyment of them, G.o.d will give to every one the abilities of one hundred men.

The orthodox doctrine is, that whatever hath or shall come to pa.s.s in this world, whether it be good or whether it be bad, proceedeth entirely from the divine will, and is irrevocably fixed and recorded from all eternity in the preserved table; G.o.d having secretly predetermined not only the adverse and prosperous fortune of every person in this world, in the most minute particulars, but also his faith or infidelity, his obedience or disobedience, and consequently his everlasting happiness or misery after death; which fate or predestination it is not possible by any foresight or wisdom to avoid.

The pilgrimage to Mecca is so necessary a point of practice, that, according to a tradition of Mahomet, he who dies without performing it, may as well die a Jew or a Christian; and the same is expressly commanded in the Koran.

What is princ.i.p.ally reverenced in Mecca, and gives sanct.i.ty to the whole, is a square stone building, called the _Caaba_. Before the time of Mahomet, this temple was a place of worship for the idolatrous Arabs, and is said to have contained no less than three hundred and sixty different images, equalling in number the days of the Arabian year. They were all destroyed by Mahomet, who sanctified the Caaba, and appointed it to be the chief place of worship for all true believers. The Mussulmen pay so great a veneration to it, that they believe a single sight of its sacred walls, without any particular act of devotion, is as meritorious in the sight of G.o.d as the most careful discharge of one's duty, for the s.p.a.ce of a whole year, in any other temple.

The Mahometans have an established priesthood and a numerous body of clergymen: their spiritual head, in Turkey, whose power is not inferior to the Roman Pontiff, or the Grecian Patriarch, is denominated the _Mufti_, and is regarded as the oracle of sanct.i.ty and wisdom. Their houses of worship are denominated mosques, many of which are very magnificent, and very richly endowed. The revenues of some of the royal mosques are said to amount to the enormous sum of 60,000 pounds sterling. In the city of Fez, the capital of the emperor of Morocco, there are near one thousand mosques, fifty of which are built in a most magnificent style, supported by marble pillars. The circ.u.mference of the grand mosque is near a mile and a half, in which near a thousand lamps are lighted every night. The Mahometan priests, who perform the rites of their public worship, are called _Imams_; and they have a set of ministers called _Sheiks_, who preach every _Friday_, the Mahometan Sabbath, much in the manner of Christian preachers. They seldom touch upon points of controversy in their discourses, but preach upon moral duties, upon the dogmas and ceremonies of their religion, and declaim against vice, luxury, and corruption of manners.

The rapid success which attended the propagation of this new religion was owing to causes that are plain and evident, and must remove, or rather prevent, our surprise, when they are attentively considered. The terror of Mahomet's arms, and the repeated victories which were gained by him and his successors, were, no doubt, the irresistible arguments that persuaded such mult.i.tudes to embrace his religion, and submit to his dominion.

Besides, his law was artfully and marvellously adapted to the corrupt nature of man, and, in a most particular manner, to the manners and opinions of the Eastern nations, and the vices to which they were naturally addicted; for the articles of faith which it proposed were few in number, and extremely simple; and the duties it required were neither many nor difficult, nor such as were incompatible with the empire of appet.i.tes and pa.s.sions. It is to be observed, further, that the gross ignorance under which the Arabians, Syrians, Persians, and the greatest part, of the Eastern nations, labored at this time, rendered many an easy prey to the artifice and eloquence of this bold adventurer. To these causes of the progress of Mahometanism we may add the bitter dissensions and cruel animosities that reigned among the Christian sects-dissensions that filled a great part of the East with carnage, a.s.sa.s.sinations, and such detestable enormities as rendered the very name of Christianity odious to many. Other causes of the sudden progress of that religion will naturally occur to such as consider attentively its spirit and genius, and the state of the world at this time.

To show the subtlety of Mahomet's mind, and the extreme ignorance of his followers, we give the story of that impostor's night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, and from thence to heaven.

The story, as related in the Koran, and believed by the Mahometans, is this: "At night, as he lay in his bed, with his best beloved wife Ayesha, he heard a knocking at his door; upon which, arising, he found there the angel Gabriel, with seventy pair of wings, expanded from his sides, whiter than snow, and clearer than crystal, and the beast Alborak standing by him; which, they say, is the beast on which the prophets used to ride, when they were carried from one place to another, upon the execution of any divine command. Mahomet describes it to be a beast as white as milk, and of a mixed nature, between an a.s.s and a mule, and also of a size between both; but of such extraordinary swiftness as to equal even lightning itself.

"As soon as Mahomet appeared at the door, the angel Gabriel kindly embraced him, saluted him in the name of G.o.d, and told him that he was sent to bring him unto G.o.d, into heaven, where he should see strange mysteries, which were not lawful to be seen by any other man. He prayed him, then, to get upon Alborak; but the beast, having lain idle and unemployed from the time of Christ to Mahomet, was grown so mettlesome and skittish, that he would not stand still for Mahomet to mount him, till at length he was forced to bribe him to it by promising him a place in paradise. When he was firmly seated on him, the angel Gabriel led the way, with the bridle of the beast in his hand, and carried the prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem in the twinkling of an eye. On his coming thither, all the departed prophets and saints appeared at the gate of the temple to salute him, and, thence attending him into the chief oratory, desired him to pray for them, and then withdrew. After this, Mahomet went out of the temple with the angel Gabriel, and found a ladder of light, ready fixed for them, which they immediately ascended, leaving Alborak tied to a rock till their return.

"On their arrival at the first heaven, the angel knocked at the gate; and, informing the porter who he was, and that he had brought Mahomet, the friend of G.o.d, he was immediately admitted. This first heaven, he tells us, was all of pure silver; from whence he saw the stars hanging from it by chains of gold, each as big as Mount Noho, near Mecca, in Arabia. On his entrance, he met a decrepit old man, who, it seems, was our first father, Adam; and, as he advanced, he saw a mult.i.tude of angels in all manner of shapes-in the shape of birds, beasts, and men. We must not forget to observe that Adam had the piety immediately to embrace the prophet, giving G.o.d thanks for so great a son, and then recommended himself to his prayers. From this first heaven he tells us that he ascended into the second, which was at the distance of five hundred years'

journey above it, and this he makes to be the distance of every one of the seven heavens, each above the other. Here the gates being opened to him as before, at his entrance he met Noah, who, rejoicing much at the sight of him, recommended himself to his prayers. This heaven was all of pure gold, and there were twice as many angels in it as in the former; for he tells us that the number of angels in every heaven increased as he advanced.

From this second heaven he ascended into the third, which was made of precious stones, where he met Abraham, who also recommended himself to his prayers; Joseph, the son of Jacob, did the same in the fourth heaven, which was all of emerald; Moses in the fifth, which was all of adamant; and John the Baptist in the sixth, which was all of carbuncle; whence he ascended into the seventh, which was of divine light; and here he found Jesus Christ. However, it is observed that here he alters his style; for he does not say that Jesus Christ recommended himself to his prayers, but that he recommended himself to the prayers of Jesus Christ.

"The angel Gabriel, having brought him thus far, told him that he was not permitted to attend him any farther, and therefore directed him to ascend the rest of the way to the throne of G.o.d by himself. This he performed with great difficulty, pa.s.sing through rough and dangerous places, till he came where he heard a voice saying unto him, 'O Mahomet, salute thy Creator;' whence ascending higher, he came into a place where he saw a vast expansion of light, so exceedingly bright, that his eyes could not bear it. This, it seems, was the habitation of the Almighty, where his throne was placed; on the right side of which, he says, G.o.d's name and his own were written in these Arabic words: 'La ellah ellallah Mahomet reful ollah;' that is, 'THERE IS NO G.o.d BUT G.o.d, AND MAHOMET IS HIS PROPHET,'

which is at this day the creed of the Mahometans. Being approached to the divine presence, he tells us that G.o.d entered into a familiar converse with him, revealed to him many hidden mysteries, made him understand the whole of his law, gave him many things in charge concerning his instructing men in the knowledge of it, and, in conclusion, bestowed on him several privileges above the rest of mankind. He then returned, and found the angel Gabriel waiting for him in the place where he left him.

The angel led him back along the seven heavens, through which he had brought him, and set him again upon the beast Alborak, which stood tied to the rock near Jerusalem. Then he conducted him back to Mecca, in the same manner as he brought him thence; and all this within the s.p.a.ce of the tenth part of one night."

Dr. Joseph White thus concludes one of his discourses on Mahometanism: "What raises Christ and his religion far above all the fictions of Mahomet, is that awful alternative of hopes and fears, that looking-for of judgment, which our Christian faith sets before us. At that day, when time, the great arbiter of truth and falsehood, shall bring to pa.s.s the accomplishment of the ages, and the Son of G.o.d shall make his enemies his footstool,-then shall the deluded followers of the great Impostor, disappointed of the expected intercession of their prophet, stand trembling and dismayed at the approach of the glorified Messiah. Then shall they say, 'Yonder cometh in the clouds that Jesus whose religion we labored to destroy; whose temples we profaned; whose servants and followers we cruelly oppressed! Behold, he cometh, but no longer the humble son of Mary; no longer a mere mortal prophet, the equal of Abraham, and of Moses, as that deceiver taught us, but the everlasting Son of the everlasting Father; the Judge of mankind; the Sovereign of angels; the Lord of all things, both in earth and in heaven!' "