Synopsis: To understand the present doctrines of our religion it is necessary to study the circumstances in which it arose, and to learn something about the authorship and dates of the books in which its story WAS first told. The earliest known copies of those books are fourth-century or later, and in some respects vary from the texts from which our Bibles were translated. Many errors crept into the old manuscripts, and some deliberate falsifications were made. The early "Fathers of the Church" relied more on tradition than upon written books. Dates of some of the principal earliest "Fathers of the Church." The Epistles, the Patristic writings, and the contemporary Gnostic literature. The Epistles avowedly earlier than the Gospels. The Christians to whom the Epistles were addressed had never read the Gospels. Some of the methods by which commentators attempt to date the writing of books. The "Higher Criticism," External and Internal Evidence as to the date of books. Criticism not an attack on the books, but an attempt to discover the true facts about them.
Synopsis: The Epistles and their authors. The fourteen attributed to St. Paul. Modern criticism of their dates and authorship. The seven others. Their prefaces. Pseudepigraphic authorship. Addressed to men ignorant of the Gospel story as we know it. Epistle of St. James. Iittle or nothing about Jesus. None of his acts or sayings quoted. Paul and the rival Christian teacher or teachers. Peter and the question of circumcision or no circumcision. Paul's claim to be the originator of the religion he teaches. Paul's Epistles not referred to by Justin and earliest Fathers, but accepted by Gnostics and other early sects afterwards called heretics. Pauline and Gospel Christianity blended together only at the end of the second century.
Synopsis: Paul and Peter's rival forms of Christianity. Clementine Homilies. The cult of Jesus and Gnosticism combine into Christianity. The Jesuists and the Christians. The 'Petrine" form of Christianity a development of the pre-Pauline cult of Jesus and opposed to the Pauline Christianity. Gnosticism pre-Christian. Christian Gnosticism older than Catholicism. (Gnosticism and Pauline Christianity closely connected. Gnostics and Marcionites the most important sects of Christians in the middle of the second century. The Docetists. The Adoptionists. The general Gnostic doctrines. Gnostic and pagan mysteries. The esoteric doctrines learnt only by initiates. Gnostic references in the Epistles.
Synopsis: Necessity for studying when and by whom they were written. No references to them until the middle of the second century, and even these references very doubtful. Papias' evidence quoted by Eusebius, if reliable, proves only that the Gospels first appeared about one hundred years after the events which they relate. If unreliable, there is no evidence for their appearance until much later. But even Papias' evidence refers only to Mark, and that evidently a different Mark from ours, and to a collection of "Sayings" upon which our Matthew is supposed to be founded. Moreover, Papias is said to have preferred oral tradition to any writings, and not to have considered these books authoritative. Probability of error in such late documents. The Synoptic Gospels. Inferences drawn from their agreements and disagreements. Mark the oldest. Matthew and Luke founded on Mark. Additions from "Q" or some primitive, now lost, Gospel. Complaints made by the Fathers and others about tampering with the texts. Copyists and glosses. Oldest manuscripts date from fourth century. Additions made to Mark. No Virgin Birth story in Mark. The authorship of Mark. Even by tradition not an eye-witness. Probably written about the middle of the first half of the second century. Authorship and date of Matthew. Original Matthew said to have been written in Aramaic; ours written in Greek. Jerome's evidence about the difference between the present and the original Matthew. Date and author unknown, but latter certainly not the traditional eye-witness. Authorship and date of Luke. Not even traditionally an eye-witness. Luke's Gospel unknown to the Fathers who lived before the middle of the second century. John's Gospel differs greatly from the Synoptics. Probably written after the middle of the second century; certainly not by the disciple of that name. Its relation to Gnosticism. Additions made to it after its original publication. The four Gospels not four independent accounts, but all founded upon one original account.
CHAPTER. V.-THE "APOCRYPHAL" BOOKS AND THE CANON
Synopsis: The books used in the early Christian ahurchos. Most of them now lost, and known only from references and quotations made from them by the Fathers. A list of some of the principal survivors of those not admitted to our Canon. The Canon of St. Athanasius. Books selected on account of their orthodoxy, not on account of their age or authenticity. An orthodox argument about the lateness of the books adding to their value. The sublime and the ridiculous in Apocryphal literature. How our New Testament books were selected from the others.
PART II THE VIRGIN BIRTH STORY
CHAPTER. I.-THE EVIDENCE FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
Synopsis: The earliest New Testament books make no reference to it, and are obviously written by men who had never heard of the doctrine. Of the Gospels two alone mention it. All four lay great stress upon the inspiration of Jesus by the Holy Ghost at his baptism-an inspiration which was unnecessary if Jesus was already "the anointed one," the Christ. Mark's doctrine. John's doctrine. The lateness of Matthew and Luke. Note on the date assigned to the birth of Jesus. The accounts given of the Virgin Birth by Matthew and Luke differ widely from each other. Matthew's account. Genealogy. Originally stated explicitly that Joseph was the Father of Jesus. Differs from Luke's genealogy. Matthew's "proof" from prophecy. Misunderstanding of Isaiah's prophecy. The Massacre of the Innocents unknown to any historians, though the history of Herod's reign has been recorded in much detail. Note on the various members of the Herod family. After the first two chapters of Matthew no further reference to the Virgin Birth story, but the Gospel recommences where Mark's Gospel began, and, like Mark's, has many texts which seem irreconcilable with the Virgin Birth story. The first two chapters are undoubtedly late additions to a previously existing Gospel, which had no Virgin Birth story.
Luke's account. Wonder piled upon wonder, but in beautiful language. Again only the first two chapters make any mention of the Virgin Birth, and again much in them refers to a descent from David through Joseph. The census story whose only possible date is incompatible with the date originally fixed upon for the birth of Jesus. Mistakes of the evangelist about the census, and gross improbabilities of the story. No record of any event in the life of Jesus from the time of his childhood until he is about thirty years of age. Story recommences with the baptism episode. Details of episode modified to conform with birth story. Genealogy. Further details of differences between Matthew and Luke. Luke's original Gospel did not contain the Virgin Birth story. Evidence of this and of the disbelief of many Christians in the Virgin Birth story, from the writings of the Fathers of the Church. The probable evolution of the story. The desire to show that the prophecies about a Messiah had been fulfilled. The doctrine was first heard of in the second century, but Marcion and the majority of second-century Christians did not believe in it. Justin Martyr and other "orthodox" Christians recognize the fact that all Christians do not believe in it. Many passages in the Gospels are incompatible with the Virgin Birth story. Jesus is regarded by his parents as mad. Joseph is referred to as his father. Mary is surprised that her son is at all different from other people. His brethren do not believe in him. The Virgin Birth stories rejected by many Christians as unsupported by evidence, both accounts having evidently been added to the Gospels long after these were first written.
CHAPTER. II.-THE POSSIBILITY AND IMPROBABILITY OF A VIRGIN BIRTH
Synopsis: Miracles not all rejected because they are prima facie incredible, but only rejected if, after examining the witnesses, their evidence is not found to be convincing. Virgin births known to take place under certain conditions among certain species. Aphides. Fresh-water shrimps. Frogs. Sea urchins. Plants. Only cases of parthenogenesis that have ever been heard of among human beings are those recorded in religious works, mythologies, and legends. Nearly every ancient religion had a story about the virgin birth of its god. Men now reject all these stories except the one connected with their own religion. Is the evidence for that one better than the evidence adduced for the others ? Note upon the credibility of miracles.
CHAPTER III.-OTHER STORIES OF VIRGIN BIRTHS
Synopsis: A Virgin Birth story not new at the time when the Gospels were written. Mythology is full of such stories. Gods who lived on earth as mortal men all had such stories told of them. An Egyptian Virgin Birth story told about two thousand years before Christianity was founded, with many details identical with those to be found in the Gospel stories. Another virgin goddess and child. The virgin birth of Horus. Statuettes of the virgin Isis and the child Horus used to represent Mary and the infant Jesus. Other pre-Christian figures similarly employed. The miraculous birth of Apis. The virgin mother of Ra. The virgin births of Attis, of Dionysos, of Jason, and of Perseus. The religions in vogue at the time when Christianity arose. How all the men-gods worshipped in these religions were said to have been miraculously born. Adonis, Osiris, and Mithra. Legend about Plato's virgin birth. Glorification of virginity. The story of Hypermnestra. Unicorns and virgins. Vestal virgins. Chinese myth about the race being descended from a virgin mother. The virgin birth of Gautama, the Buddha. Details of this story which correspond to the later Christian story. Rama's miraculous birth. The virgin and otherwise remarkable births of many other Indian divinities. The Pandavas, Karna, Kansa, Kartikeya, Garuda, Ganesa, Marisha. A god incarnate in a human being so late as the seventeenth century. Kings looked upon as gods and assuming divine titles and honours. Legends about their births. Sons of gods. The Pharaohs. Alexander the Great. The love of gods for mortal women; Silvia and the god Mars. Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus. Laymen and priests posing as the divine lovers. Examples in fact and in fiction. Mundus.
The god Astrabacus. The birth of Hercules. Nectanebus. Women as mistresses of the gods. Mortals hailed as gods and given divine titles. Ptolemy. Lysander. Demetrius and others. The rise of new religions in the East. Legends of the virgin or otherwise unusual births of great conquerors or their ancestors. Zingis Khan. Togrul Beg, the Seljuk. Nurhachu. Targitaus. Scythes. Sargon. Gudea. Caesar. Macduff. The virgin or otherwise remarkable births of the founders of the great world-religions. Lao-Tzu. Confucius. Zoroaster. (Mohammed.) The virgin birth of Terebinthus, the legendary originator of the doctrines of Manes. An ephemeral legend about St. Dominic. A Christian sect which believes that John the Baptist was conceived by a kiss. Fairy tales about the miraculous impregnation of women. A tale from Sicily. Danae. A Siberian tale. General belief in the truth of such stories. How gossip spreads, and how some people boast of seeing things which have never occurred. The virgin-birth stories of Mexico. Huitzilopotchli. The birth of gods and goddesses fully armed. Karna. Athena. Conception by the touch of a flower. Mars. The virgin mother Here, and the recovery of her virginity when lost. Stories from the South Pacific, from China, and from North America. A virgin-born being who lives a life of self-sacrifice for the good of others. Gods incarnate in animals. Archaic virgin-birth myths. Sources of the myths. Phallicism. Astronomy. The virgin goddesses and the mothers of the gods in Roman and Greek mythology. Mary as "the mother of God," a refined version of the older conceptions. Christian attempts to give a spiritual explanation of the story of a physical act. The physiology of conception.
CHAPTER. IV.-SUPERSTITIONS AND MYTHS ABOUT CONCEPTION
Synopsis: The ignorance of ancient men about physiological processes. Some primitive races of men have not even recognized any connection between sexual intercourse and the birth of children. The aborigines of Queensland. Our earliest human ancestors must have all been equally ignorant. A curious Red Indian belief. The Amazons. Fertilization of mares and other animals by the wind itself. This belief quoted as an explanation of the Holy Ghost's power of procreation. Artificial fertilization of date palms by men who were ignorant that the process was sexual. Similar ignorance in twentieth century England. Hop gardens. Superstitions about fertility. Sympathetic magic. Vegetation gods. Isis and Osiris. The rationalization of myths. Ancient and modern natural-history fallacies. The scarab beetle. The Alchemists and the generation of metals. Spontaneous generation. Bees. Eels. Illegitimate children said to be born without male congress. Fishes. How the superstitions of primitive men survive to ages when men are less ignorant, and how the ancient myths were combined with spiritual conceptions.
CHAPTER. V.- SPIRITUAL VIRGIN BIRTHS-GNOSTIC DOCTRINES
Synopsis: Gnostic influences upon the Virgin Birth story. The spiritual beings who were said to emanate from God-created by an act of his will. How some of these spiritual beings were said to have given rise to other spiritual beings, their alone-begotten sons. Sophia or Wisdom, a spiritual being, gives birth to another spiritual being. The Logos made flesh. The Egyptian "Virgin of the World." An allegory of Nature. The Gnostic spiritual beings-Jesus and Christ. Their spiritual pedigree. Other Gnostic accounts of the origin of Jesus, and of his relation to Christos. The descent of Jesus through the seven heavens. Hypothesis as to the evolution of the Gospel story. Other Gnostic doctrines. Pistis-Sophia (Faith-Wisdom) story. The Cerinthians and Basilidians. The Manichaeans accept a Gnostic doctrine. The dove as an emblem of Sophia, and as an emblem of the Holy Spirit. Tho Ebionite doctrine. The Carpocratians. The Indian re-incarnation doctrine. Christhood attainable by all. Renunciation of bodily things. The doctrine of Valentinus. Yoga and Yogi in India. Philo the Jew.
CHAPTER. VI.-DETAILS OF THE TWO GOSPEL STORIES
Synopsis: The details of the two stories in the Gospels correspond with the details of similar events in mythology. The Massacre of the Innocents. Krishna's escape from King Kansa. The escape of Cyrus from King Astyages. Abraham and King Nemrod. Cypselus. Telephus. Many other heroes and gods escape great dangers in their infancy. The threatened children and their mothers set forth on journeys so as to avoid the perils. Moses and Pharaoh. Sargon. Horus. The census. Krishna. Other minor details of Krishna story correspond with minor details of the Luke story. The stable or cave and the manger. Traditional details come from the "Apocrypha" and not from the Canonical Gospels. The story as depicted in art. Dramatic representations corresponding with those given in honour of Krishna. Tammuz. Dionysos. Zeus. Mithra. Confucius. An Egyptian cult. Hermes. Krishna and Dionysos in mangers. Hypothetical astronomical origin. Hypothetical vegetation origin. The Wise men from the East guided by a star. Kepler's hypothesis. Indications of the birth of great men. A rainbow showing where new Grand Lamas are born. The heavenly host. Buddhist legend of flowers falling from heaven. The adoration of the Shepherds. Possible Mithraic origin.
CHAPTER. VII.-THE CATHOLIC DOCTRINE-MODERN SCEPTICISM
Synopsis: The Virgin Mary substituted for the pagan goddesses. Inherits the festivals and worship of the "mother of the gods." Rise of Mariolatry. The glorification of virginity. A re-action of pagan philosophers as well as of Christian theologians against sexual excesses. Reaction goes to absurd lengths. Original sin. Further development of the Virgin Birth doctrine. Mary's own immaculate birth. New doctrine accepted by Catholic Church. Mary's perpetual virginity. Buddhist parallel. Josoph's perpetual celibacy. The fate of a mildly sceptical monk. Legends about Mary's death, burial, resurrection, and ascension. Disputes about the Incarnation. How the doctrine was made obligatory, and enforced for hundreds of years. The Virgin Birth story rejected by many early Christians as well as by Jews and pagans. The accusations of Celsus. The story about Jesus bon Pandira. The evidence of the Fathers of the Church that the Virgin Birth story was disbelieved by many Christians. Paul of Samosata. Heresies suppressed by the Catholic Church when it became the State religion of the Roman Empire. Doubts effectually silenced by the Inquisition and other methods. The Unitarians. Servetus burnt to death in 1553. Unitarians burnt to death in England. Persecution continues until the nineteenth century. Orthodoxy the only path to honours and rewards. Scepticism visited by heavy penalties. Expressions of doubt forbidden. Milman's "History of Christianity." Blasphemy Laws still on the Statute Book, but during the last thirty years seldom enforced. As soon as it became possible for laymen to study the origin of the Virgin Birth doctrine, scepticism became widespread. Now very few even of the clergy believe it. The clergy, however, fear to speak openly, lest the whole ecclesiastical fabric fall about their ears. They either remain silent or they speak in metaphors. Occasionally bishops, deans, and other clergymen essay a more candid confession, but they still hesitate to repudiate the doctrine openly and honestly. Examples given of the casuistry employed to veil the repudiation of the Creeds. The Virgin Birth not mentioned, but in lieu thereof meaningless phrases about divinity and humanity. Is it honest to repeat the Creeds when the doctrine is disbelieved? It would be difficult to-day to find more than one student of the question who really believes that Jesus was born of a virgin.