, 1879-06-08

II appeared TO nave reaCQeO lts mOeL interesting
point,-its strongest arguments rather sug-
gested than demonstrated.-it seems to have
fallen into disfavor, giving place to more meta
physical and intricate rcasonings.
This is to be regretted. II it can be demon
strated beyond cavi1 that al the so-called his
torical facts Of the Hebrew and Christian re-
ligtons are but allegories, illustrating the changes
Of the revolving year, the whole question will
be set at rest; it. on the other hand, it can be
shown that the arguments in favor Of that the
ory rest upon few faucied or accidental resent
blances, serious doubts and 'perDlexities will be
removed from the minds OF many. .~~
While it is undcniable that the argument in
this direction has been carried to extremes in
some particulars, it is equally certain that many
strong points have not been brought forward /;
and I have never seen the main argument
squarely met. So far ns have observed, the
tactics OF the. advocates for the inspiration OF
the Scriptures have been avoidance OF the M real
issue, and abuse Of their opponents. When q
man Gays that the name Jesus Is but the Phoe-
niciap name OF the sun; or that the title kurios
given HIN in the New Testament is but the
Perstan name OF, the sun; or that the
and da the % sTsvs 'u APOSTLES er' aud the s1 tWevs
gates OF the heavenly Jerusalem are bpt
the twelve months and the twelve signs
Of the Zodiac: Or that the four beasts Of Ezekiel
and John, and the attendant beasts OF the four
Evaneclists, are but hc.attendant signs Of the
spring aud autumn equtnoxes, and the sum-
nler and winter solstices,-whcn these aud Il
hundred other things of Iikeimport are affirmed,
with at least show Of evidence to support them,
it is surely worth the while Of the Christian
apoogist to rcfute them rather than to say that
their author is All ini1del and deserving Of eter-
nal damuatiou.
The history OF Samson only REQUIRES that the
names be translated into English that its charac-
ter az sun-myth may be clearly seen. Sam
sons name is spelled, in Hebrew. Shemshon,
the Hebrew name OF the sun is tsshemesh," and
the Egyptian name of the sun is ''on.'' but the
lexicon gives the definition OF Samson as the
strong suu." Delilah is the Hebrew word for
night, With the letter ''d'' prefxed; but it ia
probable that the "dn was originally written
the night. The change Is but mere tick, and
precisely that sort Of change las been made In
another name, which is spelled Dodanim In one
place aud Rodanim In another. It is vert plain,
who lays hts head In the lap of Lilah. the Night,
and goes to sleep, when be is shorn OF hia yellow
hair or bright beame, loses his strength, aud be-
comes dark or blind. The Phttisttnes, or adver~
sates, seize him and bear him away bcyond the
rolling waves to the temple Of Dagon, the Fish,
God. When bis yellow hair grows again bis
strength returns, and he pulls down the strong
pillars on which the dark temple OF Dagon
rests.
When Max Muller shows that Grecfan fable
is but q nature myth, borrowed from the
sapscrit, nobody objects. to bis reasoning or
counts. his derivattons OF words fanciful or re-
mote. II he says that zeus or Deus is but the
Sancrit "Dyaus" acllenized, nobody objects;
If; he says that the Greek "ouranos ",is but the
Sanscrtt ssvaruna," nobody isscaudalized. Why,
then, should people fiv into passion the mo-
mcnt one asserts that Adam is but Semitic
name Of the earth, and Ere 4 word signifyng
lie: and that therefore the story OF Adam and
Eve is only myth, saying that from the side OF
the earth the Gods leiohim, the plural form)
brought forth the principle OF iifc, and that
from the earth and life descended the race Of
the Adami, or rnena
It would be very interesting to have the in-
vestigaton carried farther In this direction than
1t has been carried, for We can never be able to
judge correctly OF the Bible till we know what
it means. There must be scholars In Chicago
able to tell ue, and 1t would surely be more
profitable to give us facts and the literal trans
lation Of names THAI to draw fine distinctions in
moral philosophy and reason indefinitely about
what God CHI or cannot do. AEPH.