Both in the that applied to it by Ecclesiastical adaptation. Latin and the Greek it signifies messenger. The Anglo-Saxons switched the "I" giving the word angle a more practical meaning, applying it to themselves. The English like to be thought angel-like men; the same applies alike to High and Low Dutch. Men love to be classed with angels. Cherubim means terrible. In several parts of the Bible this word is printed with a final s—“cherubims." This is wrong. The singular of the word is Cherub, the plural is Cherubim, without the s. Satan merely means an enemy or adversary. Devil means a slanderer. In the Anglo-Saxon the word yfel signifies both evil and devil. The common synonyms of this word are, "old Nick," "old scratch," and "old Harry." Therefore these are all merely names or terms to express hatred and contempt for those opposing or speaking ill of one. is not the slightest religious significance connected with the name, any more than there is with the name evil, from which it is derived. A thing may be good or evil, according to the cir cumstances. There It is needless to continue this analogy. Every word in the Bible is of human origin, and the original root will quickly reveal any misuse to which it may have been put. What merit is there in introducing and advocating a god who must wholly depend upon human language to prove his existence, and this unsupported by anything but arbitrary assertion. In this connection we must insist that the warlike nature of the Christian pretense, as revealed in more than a hundred passages in the Bible, has a sinister significance which should not be belittled. On May 11th, 1924, a newly installed Catholic cardinal was welcomed and escorted through the streets of Chicago by armed forces. It is said that a million people applauded this scene. In what respect could this enhance a belief in a Christian God? It was not intended to convey any such thing; it was to inspire mankind with a fear of the church power. Each gun displayed by a soldier, according to the Ecclesiastical similitude, signified death to those who opposed Romanism. And this in the United States, a republic, "of the people, by the people, and for the people." What hypocrisy! Beware of any movement which smacks of war, it has a hidden purpose of political and commercial nature, and is secretly inspired. PART XII THE PERSONIFICATION OF NATURE (Mankind has been dwarfed by superstition and fear.) It is not difficult to trace the process by which Ecclesiasticism foisted Christianity upon the world. Fabulous traditions of the unrecorded past, and romantic stories by which nature was personified, and human beings were deified, thrilled and enthralled the ignorant masses while they were being drilled in superstition and fear, to become the militant guard of the church. It is by the personification of forces and powers and natural objects, and the arbitrary transference of their imaginary authority to human beings, that religious control and "divine rights" are created. In the designing of the Christian scheme, the head of the church poses as "God on earth;" the priesthood symbolizes the cosmic things, and the church assumes control over mankind as the earthy subject of this heavenly government. This enables the humanizing of wholly usurpative powers, which subjects the government of mankind to all the ills due to the weaknesses, passions and shortcomings of vain, selfish and ambitious men. The doctrine of reward and punishment, to enforce the will of government and law, is, in its last analysis, plain bribery and vengeance, neither of which is naturally corrective. The one begets avarice and the other hatred. Education alone can inspire loyalty to a cause involving control of large masses of people. A singleness of mind and purpose may only be established by recognized mutuality, agreement and understanding. This gives us an immediate clue as to why Ecclesiasticism concealed its purposes in a secret symbolism and code understood only by the initiated priesthood. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Gen. 1:1.) Heaven signifies an Ecclesiastical government. Earth signifies producing humanity. This explains why the priesthood symbolizes the stars, raising them above the common herd, the earthy mass. To perfect such a system was to personify upon earth the astronomical knowledge which had been acquired by ancient philosophy and science, and garnered by Gnosticism. For the Ecclesiasts to confiscate this wisdom, and exploit it as their own, necessitated the elimination or absorption of the Gnostics; the destruction of all extant evidences of previous education and learning; the persecution of those who attempted to reveal the Gnostic wisdom, and the subsequent antagonism toward science and philosophy. Does anyone dispute this? Then, they must condemn all history subsequent to the introduction of Christianity. It is a well known fact that it required five hundred years for Ecclesiasticism to eradicate Gnosticism, and, it is equally well established that the "dark ages," covering a thousand years, date from 486 to 1495. The purpose of this drastic policy has subsequently been well defined. It was intended to reduce the common people to a plastic mass out of which to mould the imaginary new people. What did the church accomplish in that thousand years of abject ignorance? It cultivated its hysterical, fanatical, bigoted, intolerant mob, as a militant guard, while it usurped temporal power. It dwarfed the human intellect and forever stunted mental growth. Superstition, fear and hysteria are permanent human diseases. To thus bind the world in a state of ignorance, some great underlying motive must be concealed. That motive is palpable, and its selfishness stands out like an accusing finger. It was to establish a class of men, banded together as an oath-bound priesthood, for profit and political power. It was first to pose as mediator between the ignorant masses and a fabulous power in heaven, an unknowable God, located in some remote realm which cannot be identified or demonstrated by the most learned men in the world. After having thus brought humanity under the spell of superstition and fear, it seized the temporal power, set up an antagonism between the peoples and their sovereigns, and posed as mediator between the people and their governments. Thus the heaven is brought to earth and established as the Ecclesiastical government. Its ulterior scheme is exposed by its secret code. Earth means producing mankind-its soil or field. Rain means doctrines-to fertilize this field. Waters mean ordinances—to govern and cultivate this field. This clearly defines a secret purpose to both educate the people and dictate the laws. To lay claim to divine authority necessitated an imaginary origin in antiquity, dating far back of extant history. This is the fabulous Hebraic or Mosaic system, pretending to date back to the first cause of earthly creations. The old testament-or so-called scriptures-is a mass of senseless jargon, profane and vulgar in the extreme. The word scripture merely means writings, having no religious significance excepting that given it by Ecclesiastic law. It is an insult to make this the foundation of a decent self-respecting religious sentiment. It is neither instructive nor edifying, and it teaches neither morals nor logic. Nevertheless, this spurious stuff contained the poisons with which humanity was to be inoculated-superstition and fear. All the well known natural elements and forces were appropriated by the Ecclesiasts, to be made fearsome agents in their great enterprise. Thunder, lightning, rain, hail, clouds, water, all were made to simulate the voice and will of the unseen, unknown God, whose every thought was known to the priest. The Hebraic system develops this fear of the natural phenomena to a degree of hysteria in order to impress the untutored masses. "I will call unto the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain, that ye may perceive and see that your wickedness is great. "So Samuel called unto the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day, and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel. |