Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-08-08
RIDICULOUS RELIGION.
Forerunners Of the PerfectIonisis-
People Who Thought II Holy TO
Run Naked In the Streets.
The walnut Hnis People WIN nave to Bet
High or Guido Their Old
Time Rivals.

Perfectionists, much curiosity has been
awakened and inquiry made m regard to
the extravagant v0garies and disgusting
orgies under the name OF religion that
nave from time to time startled and APP
palled decent peop'e. A contributor has
compiled d few historical anecdotes re-
latlng to the self-styled Christian re-
ligious sects Of the past--perhaps some
OF them still exist on the sly. All OF them
are more or less analogous IN their eX-
travagant foollshness with the home artl-
Gle, the Perfectionists Of Walnut Hills.
Pleasure Is taken in printing this bit OF
history, believing that It will prove
especially interesting reading at this par
t.cnlar time.
RIcart Ia his great work, "Ccremonees
ct Coutumes Religieuses dc tous les
Peublcs," gives an account OF sect or
gang Of religious folks or knayes
CALLED ADAMIrKs.
He says. sThe existence Of adam
ties Is not to be questioned. Such men
have been in former ages, and some are
still In being. II by the word Adamites
we mean people who out Of q principle OF
religion or TO do penanco have cast OF
their clothes and gone naked without any
lear OF offending either their own modes
~ or that OF others, paganlsm, both an
Gent and modern, and even Christianity,
furnishes us with several examples OF re-
ligious nakednoss,
"Ihose Of whom we now give au aC-
count are supposed TO have formed a sect,
often renewed under various denominR-
lions. They act upon principles, and pre-
tend TO give reasons TO justify their prac-
tice. They even draw their reasons from
the Christian revelation, though true
Christians have already deseryedly looked
upon them as fanatic and dangerous
notions. Some Adamites, or Adamians,
pretend to Initiate the state Of inno-
cency and nakedness Of our FIRST parents,
and TO live as chastely as they did In
Paradise. Some accused them OF COM
hitting the most shameful denominations,
and their assemblies, being nocturnal and
secret gave color to the most extrayagant
charges that were made against them"
PROPAGATE AND DEBAUCHEE.
Fandeme, hereto OF the twelfth cen
tury, is one Of those who arc charged
with renewing the cynical opinions of the
ancient Adamltes. The author gives u
brief account Of the teachings and dOngs
of this profigate debauchee under the
name OF religion, adding "But neither
he nor the ancient Adamltes obliged their
disciples TO 60 about stark.naked, whereas
the modern Adamites were not TO wear
any clothes, but out OF religious prin-
cipIe appeared In the open streets In the
plain state OF nature, In that condition
the Adamites showed themselves among
the AuabaptistE OF the low countries
about the m ddle Of the sixteenth cen
tury.n
Here is an account OF those "modcrn
Adamites,v or religious fanatics, referred
to NM. plcart's "Religious Ceremonies"
as given by Lambertus Ifortensius, and
quoted by Boyle in his great "IlIstorical
Dlctlonary:p
RKAps LIKE FABLE.
On the 18th OF February, 1886, seven
men aud 1--we women met at Amsterdam, In
the house of John Sibert, One OF those
men, whose name was Theodorej
Sart0r, pretended to be prophet
he lay upon the ground to pray to God
and, having made an end OF his prayer,
he told one OF his brethren that he
had seen God In His majestyj that hC
had spoken to Him; That he had descend.
ed from heaven into hell, and that he
knew the day of judgment was near at
hand They mot together the same day,
and after they had spent four hours In
prayer auG explorations the prophet, all
OF sudden, pulls OF his helNet and his
armor and throws them into the fire with
the rest OF his arms, and shows himself
naked TO all the company He bid them
all do tho likej every one obeyed so OK.
actly that they did not so much as leave
aribbon upon their heads TO keep their
hair tied.
THEY THREW EVERYTHING INToTIIE FIRM
as burned Offering unto the Lord
Then the prophet bids them follow him
and do as he does They go out, all OF
them, and do as he does. They go out
ali OF them, and run INTO the streets with
most horrld cries, wo, wo, wo, divine
Z vengeance, divine vengeance, divine ven,
geancei Thepeople being frightened with
these howlinga, think that the town Is Ia,
ken by the enemy and take up arms. The
naked crew are apprehondod and brought
before the judges; they scorn to put on
clothes that are offered them. In the
mean time the house from which that inia.
nous procession set out was burning, ant
they had much ado TO put out the fire
On the 2Sth OF March the seven men wer,
put TO death, and nine OF thelr accom-
pllces were punished In the same manner
some few days after.
BOYLE adds that this story Ia related
enthusiastically Lie same by another au
hHulf WI Wv A'iNpi ~ " HNNAN fNN'tNANN ~
1865.
Picart, in his Religious Ceremonies
gives two dine oopperplate engrayings o.
these scenes, one an interior view repre-
scnting the Adamites preparing for wor
ship by disrobing, etc, the other repre-
sentlng them IN the streets OF Amster.
dam, both sexes stark naked, being
arrested aud carried to prison by the
armed citizens.
THE ARABIAN WARRANTS.
Picart concludes his dissertation on
these AdRmites with this account OF an
Arabian sect-the Houames. They are
Arabian Migrants, and live like them IN
tents. They have very remarkable Gus.
tom, peculiar to themselves. Every Night
they perform their (religious) ceremonies
and say their prayers In their tents, with
out any Hight, then cohabit with the very
tlrst person they meet In the dark place,
Bio It father, mother, sister or brother.
This Is nuch worse than the religion OF
the Adamites. They keep themselves
very private, for If they were found out
TO be Houames they would lnfalllhly De
burned,
Another sect OF Pcrfoctionists arose IN
the hfteenth century, and were known as
Plcards.
PICARD rKRrncTI0NIsls.
Tho name OF Plcards was given TO the
followers Of certain man who, about the
beginning Of tho fifteenth century, over
stretched the error Of the Adamites with